Unexpected Revenge
By Sarun
CHAPTER TWO:
An Eye for an Eye
Misao stayed in her room all morning, only coming downstairs when Okina offered to call the doctor to see what was wrong with her.
Coming down the stairs, Misao knew the others would definitely be talking about the murder of the policeman.
Upon hearing their voices in the kitchen, she stopped at the foot of the stairs. Hesitant, she bit her lip, but once again decided she had to keep her mouth shut.
"Feeling better?" Omasu asked when she appeared in the kitchen.
"Uh-yeah, I am." Misao forced herself to seem normal.
"Well, come on now, your lunch will get cold." Okina called from the table.
Misao sat down at the table, but the image of the headless police officer was stuck in her mind. She took a piece of food to her mouth, but could hardly chew.
"Did you know a police officer was murdered last night?" Okina asked Misao.
Misao nearly choked on the shrimp she had been chewing, and after some major coughing, said: "N-no, I had no idea."
All the others began talking at once, but Misao remained silent, her hands clenched into fists on her lap.
"Apparently, the one who killed the police officer left a note. It seems they are after someone who killed Tsuna Hanawa, whoever that was." Okina continued.
Misao picked at her food with her chopsticks aimlessly. She couldn't eat another bite, so she cast about wildly for some excuse to leave.
"I'm going to the temple to see Aoshi-sama." she said quickly, and headed out the front door before anyone could say anything.
Okina frowned. Misao isn't behaving like herself today…Normally; she would have been suspicious and alert about this sort of news…
Setting out at a brisk pace, Yone, headed out into the streets of Kyoto. She had left her things hidden back in the alley, but she carried a neatly hidden set of four-point shuriken.
She glanced at the faces of people bustling about, looking for the face she could recall almost perfectly.
Stopping a passing flower vendor, Yone asked if she knew of a Misao Makimachi. The flower vendor nodded. "She lives about two streets away, in the Aoiya restaurant."
Yone thanked the woman and walked on, her eyes narrowed.
The streets of Kyoto were crowded, as usual. The policeman's body had already been removed. A few other policemen were walking around the scene, looking for clues or something.
As Misao approached, she felt a fresh wave of guilt and uneasiness wash though her.
There was still a large blood stain on the ground, which was scarcely covered by the straw mat over it but would have to remain there until the searching of the area for clues was complete.
Misao walked slowly, finally stopping nearby to watch the activity. She stood with her arms crossed, thinking. Had the policeman been killed out of spite to anger her? Or had the policeman tried to apprehend the individual responsible?
Misao shook her head in frustration. There was no way of knowing until she could find out who was chasing her. Until then there was nothing that could be done.
Yone approached the area where the murder had occurred. Seeing all the policemen made her edgy, although she knew there was no was she would be suspected. Deciding to take the back alley to go around, she headed towards a small side path beside a house.
Passing through the back alley, she glanced into the main street at intervals. Out of the corner of her eyes at one time, she caught sight of a girl with a long braid of black hair.
She stopped, coming closer to take a look. There was a girl standing in the main road, staring at the crime scene with her arms crossed. The girl's face was blocked by her hair.
Yone felt the blood rush to her face as she clenched her fists involuntarily. Calm down…Yone told herself…it might not be her…
Not wanting to risk facing the wrong person, Yone headed her way to get a closer look. She emerged from the alley and walked straight past the girl with the braid.
Glancing once again at her face, she recognized Misao at once. Looking away quickly, she walked to the other side of the street and hid behind a wood column.
Her breath came out in short, angry gasps. After all this time, she had finally found her brother's killer.
Misao sensed someone staring at her. She turned her head, but saw that no one was there.
Shaking off the feeling, she returned to her train of thought.
She didn't notice Yone approach from behind.
One of the officers chased off a rat that had come over to the mat, doubtlessly drawn by the smell of blood.
Misao let out a small hiss at the sight, disgusted.
"Yes, it is sad, isn't it?" A voice beside her spoke suddenly.
Misao turned to see a girl with long brown hair standing next to her. There was a small smile playing around her lips, but it was an empty, fake one.
The girl raised her eyes slowly to hers. She had dark brown eyes. Misao couldn't place it, but she felt like she had seen those eyes somewhere before.
The girl leaned closer and whispered: "Did you find my note this morning?"
Misao froze.
She turned around to face her, but the girl was already walking away calmly into an alley by the road.
She followed her into the alley, Misao placing a careful hand on the kunais in her pocket as she went. The girl stood at the very back of the alley, arms crossed.
"Well, well, we meet at last."
"Who are you?" Misao demanded
At this, Yone looked Misao straight in the eye. "You might remember me as the shuriken throwing rat?" she smirked. "My name is Yone. Tsuna's sister. I believe you found my note this morning?"
"You had no reason to kill that policeman! You're problem is with me, Yone!"
"I could say the same to you, Misao. My brother may have been a thief, but at least he never stole anyone's life."
Misao took a deep breath. "I never meant to kill your brother. It was an accident. I'm sorry."
"That's a lie!" Yone shouted, "I was there, in the forest! I saw everything!"
"I don't want to fight you, Yone. I know its revenge you're after. If you continue to threaten people in Kyoto, I'll have to turn on you."
After a moments thought, she added: "With the Oniwaban group behind me."
Yone took an involuntary step back. Misao was the leader of the Oniwaban group?
"So you're chickening out, is that what you're saying? Too scared to face me by yourself?" she snapped.
Misao added: "I'm sorry Yone. I really am. But I won't get myself into this type of fight."
At this, Misao turned and walked away quickly. Yone remained where she was, shaking with suppressed rage.
"Fine. Fine, Misao. Be that way. You will fight me, one way or another. Just wait and see…" Yone whispered.
Misao watched Yone leave the alley from behind a large wooden crate where she was hiding. Yone walked away at a rapid pace, her face set.
Misao knew perfectly well someone like Yone would need more than a threat to back off. She had to make sure to stay clear of the Aoiya as long as she could. Should Yone attempt to attack her, at least the others would not know.
She had used the Oniwaban group as an empty threat. She never had any intention of letting the rest of the group know what was going on.
Yone walked through the street, then turned and strode into the alley where she had hidden her supplies. She slumped against the wall, thinking.
She had thought the first thing she would do was kill Misao. Now, thing weren't going exactly according to plan. She had no intention of backing off, but Misao had become the leader of the Oniwaban group, and she definitely was not gonna be able to make Misao face her alone.
Yone slapped her forehead suddenly. Of course! If she couldn't get Misao, then a little "eye for an eye" would be good enough.
Yone took out her traveling bag. She removed a small round metal box with holes on the lid. Then, reaching again into the bag, she retrieved a small silk bag filled with dried poison herbs.
Her brother had taught her a long time ago about this poison. When burned, the herbs let off deadly fumes. It was odorless, making it practically impossible to detect. It came from a very rare plant as well, so few would know about how to cure it.
She carefully tied the herbs together and placed them inside the metal box. Yone frowned. She only had enough herbs to use once successfully.
She tucked the metal case into her sleeve and once again left the inn, headed towards the Aoiya.
There was no one outside the Aoiya, and by the looks of it, Misao hadn't returned yet.
Yone snuck silently along the back wall of the Aoiya, and then hid behind a tree near the front. It would be easy enough. She would set the tin down somewhere and light the herbs on fire.
The fumes would fill the entire house in a matter of minutes. She tried to find an opening to where she could set the metal case and light the herbs. An open window or door…?
Voices could be heard from behind the closed kitchen shoji, and Yone strained her ears to her them as she passed.
"Misao hasn't returned from the temple yet, has she?" said what sounded like the voice of an elderly man.
"No, not yet, Okina" answered another voice.
"Those two kids! When will they realize they both share the same feelings?" the old man chuckled.
Yone raised her eyebrows in interest, stopping to listen.
The old man's voice continued: "Misao hasn't given up hope that Aoshi has feelings for her. It's obvious he does, being worried about her all the time and going personally to get her from Tokyo, but it will probably be a long time before he shows them."
Yone smiled, her eyes glinting. She slid the iron box back into her pocket. It would be wasted if she used it there. There was a much better use for it.
Misao walked back towards the Aoiya. It was past noon now, the others would be wondering where she was by now.
She had spent the past few hours walking through the city. To her surprise, she hadn't sensed Yone at all, even though Misao had been sure to make herself visible.
Omasu was waiting for her by the front door when she arrived.
"Oh, Misao, there you are. I have to ask you if you could go to the store to pick up some vegetables for dinner."
"Sure, Omasu, I will." Misao headed off again in direction of the market, glad for an excuse to spend some more time outside the Aoiya.
As Misao walked away, she wondered again what Yone could be up to right now. The look of hatred in Yone's eyes had made her blood run cold.
Still, she reasoned with herself, even someone like Yone wouldn't be dumb enough to take on an entire group like the Oniwaban.
Aoshi Shinomori, huh? Yone thought to herself as she neared the temple. She had heard of him. The leader of the real Oniwaban group, which was now gone. "He won't be an easy target, but it won't be impossible either."
Yone soon reached the temple. She climbed up the front steps and into the main shrine room. A few people were inside, offering prayers at different shrines. In the far end of the room, one man sat alone meditating.
'Shinomori' Yone mumbled to herself. She waited behind a wood pillar until the people at the shrine left. She walked slowly the shrine nearest Aoshi. She bowed her head, pretending to pray; but actually watching Aoshi out of the corner of her eye.
Reaching a hand into her pocket, she drew out the iron box and removed the herb strands. Setting them alight, she placed them in the back inside the metal box and set it in the shrine shelf, near the burning incense.
She bowed her head one last time towards the shrine and started walking toward the front door. In a few minutes time, the room would be filled with deadly fumes.
Aoshi listened to the footsteps of the last visitor to the temple fade away. Once he was certain he was alone in the room once more, he returned to his meditation. He found it a lot harder to focus when others were nearby.
A while later he glanced up at the open window of the shrine. It was late afternoon. If he stayed any longer Misao would be sure to come looking for him; he might as well head back to the Aoiya now.
He moved to stand up. But he nearly fell back down, placing a hand on his chest; his lungs suddenly felt as though they were on fire.
Grabbing onto the nearest shrine to steady himself, Aoshi gasped for breath. 'What's happening to me?' His hand suddenly landed on something. He saw it was a small tin case, with almost unnoticeable strands of smoke unfurling from the holes in the lid.
His eyes narrowed as he realized what it was. He grabbed it and hurled it outside, but it was too late.
Holding his sleeve over his nose and mouth, Aoshi ran out of the temple, jumping onto the garden outside.
As soon as Aoshi had landed on the ground, his vision began to blur. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He forced himself to keep going – he had to…
He had to stop, placing a hand on his chest; his heart felt as though it was going to burst, it was pounding. He collapsed onto the ground.
Aoshi tasted blood in his mouth; he felt it drip down his chin…his eyes rolled back into his head, he felt himself falling…into…darkness…
Yone reappeared, smiling to herself as she looked at Aoshi's limp body on the ground. He wouldn't die, not yet. The poison would take a couple of hours to do that. Too bad she wouldn't be able to see Misao's face when she found him.