Author's notes:
Hello everyone, how's your weekend? Mine is alright so far, thankfully I managed to finish all my homework...okay not all of them since I have an english paper to work on but I shall work on that later on. Anyways want to know something? I was so bored yesterday that I decided to paint my nails purple...and here's the good part...if you watch naruto you may be familiar with the Akatsuki and how they paint their nails purple. Yup I pretended I was an Akatsuki member, go me! I even put on my naruto headband...I'm such a dork. Anyways here's chapter XI of my story and I've been thinking of a title change so tell me if you like the title or want it changed...Read and Review okay???
Discalaimer:
Voices...those voices...LEAVE ME ALONE!!! I don't own Peacemaker Kurogane...you happy now???? (um...yeah...weird right?)
Chapter XI
No choice
Heisuke smiled sheepishly at the crowd of angry faces that hovered around him, once again he had been the source of the problem and this time there was no way talking himself out of the situation. Not even the saintly Tatsunosuke wanted to save the poor captain, for he too was enraged by yet again another loop hole in their situation.
"Um…well it all began…" Heisuke started but was soon rudely cut off by an enraged demon vice commander
"Just what the hell happened to the money we gave you?" Hijikata asked furiously, "Despite my regrets towards it we set aside some funds to pay for Ichimura's party, so tell me where in the world the money went?"
"I was getting to it…patience my dear…patience"
"I'm running out of patience Todou and you know what happens to those who test my patience"
Heisuke gulped, "Okay, I know I was in charge of the money and I was supposed to use it to pay for Tatsu's birthday party but I had some minor complications along the way"
"What kind of complications?" Shinpachi eyed him menacingly
"Well, along the way to Shimabara I met this girl…"
The crowd around him groaned, "YOU ASS! YOU SPENT THE MONEY ON HER DIDN'T YOU?" Shinpachi screeched
"Let me finish damn it! Anyways she was really beautiful and she seemed kind of sad so I went to her and we started talking and well the next thing I knew I was on a date with her" Heisuke smiled sheepishly
"So you used the money that we gave you to pay for your date?" Hijikata asked through gritted teeth
"Well yeah, but here's the good part to it; when I got to the red dragon inn there was this cute hostess…"
"ANOTHER WOMAN?" Shinpachi screeched, his tone now deadly
"Heisuke we need to put you on house arrest, you're a freaking menace when it comes to women" Sano stated simply
Heisuke grinned stupidly, "I know" He replied smugly
"So what happened next?"
"Well, she was really cute and knowing that no one could resist the gallant Todou Heisuke I kind of bribed her"
"What kind of bribe?"
"Well, I told her about Tatsu's party and us needing a room and I told her about my dilemma with the cash shortage, well basically I told her in exchange for the room and food I'd take her out to dinner but…"
"But…but…but what? Spill it out freak!" Tetsu demanded
"But it turns out she didn't want to go out on a date with me, she wanted to go out on a date with…with…"
"Why do I have a feeling this idiot sold one of us cheap?" Susumu whispered softly
"I bet he'd sell us anytime" Tetsu said as he cracked his knuckles, "That bastard's going to see death soon"
"Well Todou-kun, who did the young miss want to go with instead?" Kondou asked softly
"Well, she wanted a date with…with…with Soji"
Everyone twitched angrily, "Y-you…YOU SOLD OUT CHEAP!" Shinpachi was now in death mode
"Hey, we needed the room and so the deal was the only way and besides she really likes Soji and she said when she gets her date with him she'll do all the paying"
"YOU SOLD OKITA-SAN FOR A LOUSY ROOM! YOU SICKEN ME!" Tetsu said angrily
"Heisuke you're an idiot…oh wait idiot is too good for you, Heisuke you're a low life" Shinpachi said coldly
"Oddly…I'm okay with that"
Everyone slapped their foreheads with dismay
"Well seeing that you're little bribe didn't work its back to round one with us" Hijikata stated with a sigh, "Todou…this better be the last mistake you make…one more wrong and I'll make it right by killing you"
Heisuke nodded, "Y-you got it sir!"
"So anyone here got any plans how to solve this issue?" Hijikata asked stressing on the word issue as he eyed the whimpering captain menacingly
"Well, we do what we always do" Kondou said with a smile
"And what would that be?"
"We stall"
Afternoon had come so quickly, and Kondou and his "nieces" soon found themselves once again face to face with the feisty manager of the Red Dragon inn. The room was silent, silent enough that you could hear a pin drop.
"We do what we always do"
"And what would that be?"
"We stall…get her mind off the debt…"
Their commander's words rang in their heads as everyone smiled sheepishly at the stoic manager
"Um…would the beautiful lady like some tea?" Heisuke offered
"Trying to get on my good side won't work, if you think I'll just drop the debt you imbeciles owe fat chance…"
"Shit, she's on to us" Heisuke thought
"…but I would like some tea" Miss Yakamura smiled politely as she handed him her cup
Heisuke poured the tea, his hands shaking causing the tea to land everywhere.
"Um…Hisaki-chan do you need some help?" Shinpachi offered through gritted teeth, "You have to excuse her, she's not a very bright girl" he added with a smirk
"Shina-chan, you shouldn't be talking" Heisuke replied angrily
Miss Yakamura rolled her eyes, "On second thought, forget the tea…you pour tea like a man"
"A man? Now why in the world would you say that, I'm a man? I mean if I were a man I wouldn't have such beautiful hair, such shapely body, such…" Heisuke began nervously
"Um…Hisaki, we don't really need to know what assets you have and no man doesn't" Shinpachi snarled
Miss Yakamura eyed the two suspiciously, "Drop my last comment and let's just get down to business"
"Funny you should mention business; um…Tatsuki-chan is into business" Sano added sheepishly, once again stalling
Tatsunosuke who realized that he was now the topic of the conversation smiled sheepishly, "Oh yes, I know a thing or two about business…I am a bookkeeper…I mean…my…um…my boyfriend is a bookkeeper"
The crowd around him tried to stifle their up coming laughs
"That's right, my sister has the cutest boyfriend ever…he's in bookkeeping" Tetsu added jokingly as the others broke into fits of laughter
Miss Yakamura now aggravated twitched madly, "That's…um…very nice…so without further interruptions I'd like to go back to business"
"Such a persistent woman!" Heisuke whispered harshly
"Quick think of something to get her mind off the subject" Shinpachi said
"Women love to cry…think of something sad!" Heisuke stated
Sano's eyes lit up, "I got it!"
"Well…let's get down to business…"
"Um…Tatsuki-chan's boyfriend died…" Sano said out of the blue earning him "what the hell" expressions from his comrades
"Um…yeah…Tatsuki-chan…her boyfriend…her love…her reason of living…he died…so sad" Shinpachi added sheepishly
"It was a tragic fate, he loved his business so much he was willing to die for it" Sano added once again to prolong the moment
"I'm very sorry to hear that…um…how did he die?"
"Jackpot! I told you women love to cry" Heisuke said as he slapped a low five to Shinpachi
"For once you didn't screw up, I'm proud of you freak boy"
"Thanks…hey…"
Sano who had now captured the attention of the stoic manager began his tragic "tale", "Well he was a bookkeeper in the Shinsengumi…" mock tears falling from his eyes
"MY SISTER LOVED HIM SO MUCH!!!" Tetsu began crying wildly
The rest taking their queue began to act as if they were in grieving, even the silent 3rd division captain started to pretend he was in prayer or was he?
"Oh my…did he…did he…did he die in battle?" Miss Yakamura asked sadly, her voice hinting concern and curiosity
Sano sniffed, "No…he…he died…he died a much tragic fate…"
"What could be more tragic than dying in battle?" Shinpachi whispered
"Beats me, hopefully giant boy over there won't mess this up"
Miss Yakamura who now felt her eyes watering looked on with concern, "Was it seppuku?" she asked sadly
Sano sniffed once again, "No, it was much more tragic…he…he was working one night when…"
"Yes…when what…what happened?"
Kondou and Hijikata who had been observing the scene smiled
"Looks like your plan of stalling worked Isami"
"When you can't do anything else, you stall."
"Well…well…he was working one night, when…when…when a stack of papers collapsed and killed him"
Miss Yakamura now twitched, "He died because of a stack of papers?" She asked sarcastically
Hijikata now twitched; the plan of stalling had gone so perfectly well that was until the idiot made up the lamest reason of death.
"Um…well…um…the papers were heavy, extremely heavy that it crushed the bit of life in him…tragic…so very tragic"
"MY SISTER LOVED HIM SO MUCH!!!" Tetsu screeched out of the blue
"Well…that's an odd way to die…" Miss Yakamura stated
"Indeed it may have been odd, but he died like a samurai…" Sano said proudly his eyes streaming with fake tears
"How could he die like a samurai, he was crushed by a stack of papers. That has got to be the worst case of dying" Miss Yakamura retorted smugly
"MY SISTER LOVED HIM SO MUCH!!!!"
"WE GET IT ALREADY!" Susumu said as he slapped the poor page upside the head
"He died like a samurai because…um…because…um…he died with his work! He loved his work so much he died by it!"
Miss Yakamura was now seething with rage, "ENOUGH! I came here to collect your debt but so far all that we've been doing is chat like a bunch of old ladies…WHERE THE HELL IS MY MONEY!!!!"
Everyone backed away, Miss Yakamura was now furious; the same kind of furious state that no man would dare cross.
"Um…Tatsuki-chan had a boyfriend…and he….he loved money…" Sano once again tried his best to stall
"I thought you said her boyfriend died, crushed by a stack of freaking papers which by the way wouldn't even kill you no matter how heavy!" Miss Yakamura said with rage
"Um…Tatsuki-chan had lots of boyfriends…she…she's quite the popular one…" Shinpachi added with a grin
"MY SISTER LOVED THEM ALL VERY MUCH!!!!" Tetsu added
"You're sister's a whore" Miss Yakamura said coldly as she turned to the commander
Tatsu upon hearing this nearly fainted, "She…she…she called…she called…she called me…" Tatsu stuttered
"Relax…breathe in…breathe out…that's it…now push, push all the troubles away" Tetsu said comfortingly
"I'M NOT PREGNANT DAMN IT!" The bookkeeper screeched
"Hey, I always see Hijikata do that little trick when he goes on demon mode"
Miss Yakamura now started angrily at the commander; she had had enough of their little antics.
"Well, did you guys manage to cough up the money you owe me?" Miss Yakamura said with a grin plastered on her face, an utter sign that she was the victor.
"Well…um…yes…we have some of the money…" Kondou stated with a smile
"By some of the money, you mean you don't have it all. Am I correct in this assumption commander?"
"Um…yes…"
"Just as I thought" Miss Yakamura bent her head low, trying her best to hide her malicious grin.
"Maybe she'll leave us alone" Hijikata whispered to his commander
"No chance of that Toshimi-chan, she seems very determined" Kondou replied in hushed whispers
"Isami, didn't I tell you not to call me that infernal name?"
"You don't want to blow your cover now, would you?"
"Well seeing that you don't even have a cent of the money you owe me, then here's my proposal…"
"Don't agree to anything until I think this over" Hijikata whispered harshly
"Relax, proposals are my expertise" Kondou whispered back, "Well Miss Yakamura, I'm willing to hear out your proposal"
"Since you seem to lack the money I so need, I have no choice but to take a few things of your procession in order to pay off the debt" Miss Yakamura started with a sly grin
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Hijikata now enraged by the woman's audacity spoke up
"Um…um…please excuse my niece, she's…she's explosive"
"Explosive? I'M NOT A CANON!"
"You see what I mean?" Kondou said sheepishly
"Yes and I don't care, back to business; I wish to take a few belongings from you and relax demon girl, I won't take any material possessions from your uncle" Miss Yakamura said with a smile
"What…what did you have in mind?" Hijikata asked now regaining his composure
"Well…I've been thinking about it and yes it's the only way…"
Hijikata did not like the sound of her tone, he did not like it one bit.
"CUT THE CHASE LADY AND TELL US WHAT THE HELL YOU WANT!"
"Well…I want you…"
The room gasped and stared at each other with disbelief
"Wow even if he's a woman he's still irresistable"
"I hate him...he still gets the girls even if he is one"
"No matter what happens the women still flock to Hijikata"
Hijikata who had been listening on his comrades conversation twitched angrily, "I'm sorry but I don't...I'm...I'm not like that" He said stressing on the word "like"
Miss Yakamura who understood what he meant grinned slyly, "You didn't let me finish…I was about to say that I want you and you're girl friends to come and work for me"
The room gasped once again, "And for your information...I'm not like that either" she replied with a grin
"BUT YOU WORK AT SHIMABARA!" Kondou said, a hint of worry in his voice
"Yes I do and since I'm short on helpers I guess you girls would do" Miss Yakamura smiled, an evil smile.
"THERE IS NO WAY I'M WORKING AT A WHORE HOUSE!" Hijikata snarled
"Too bad…since this is the only way to pay your debt you have no choice"
Kondou sighed heavily; this was going to be a really bad problem. First of all his "nieces" were not nieces to begin with, they were his men who had been transformed into women!
"So do we have an agreement commander?" Miss Yakamura asked sweetly
"My nieces…my nieces are not for sale…and they will never work at such a place" Kondou stated simply, "I am sorry but they are not like you"
"And you think I enjoy working at such a place? You think I enjoy men and their boorish behaviors? You think my friends who work at Shimabara enjoy that kind of life as well?" Miss Yakamura was now furious and possibly hurt
"That's not what I meant…"
"Its too late commander…you have a debt to pay…your nieces will work for me until the debt is cleared and once it's been paid you can have them back"
Miss Yakamura stood up from her seat, "I expect all of you girls to be at the red dragon inn by eight in the morning tomorrow" with that said the woman left.
The room was once again silent as they looked at each other with concern in their eyes
"There…There is no freaking way that I'm going to sleep with a man" Heisuke said with distaste, "Hello, I may be a woman with this body but I'm still a freaking man mentally!"
Everyone looked at Heisuke with angry eyes
"Well…looks like we have no choice…" Hijikata sighed, "We'll have to work our way out of this debt"
The crowd around him nodded solemnly
"Shimabara here we come" the men said but this time with less enthusiasm
End of chapter
Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and yes I just brain stormed some new ideas for this story and my other PMK stories to come, anyways you know the drill...read and review!!!
PREVIEW FOR CHAPTER XII
"Glad you girls came, it's time to put you to work!"
"Heisuke what the hell are you doing?"
Stay tuned for the next chapter...the boys...I mean girls work at Shimabara...