Chp. 1: Wolves of Mibu
I woke up to a bright and shining morning, a large contrast between the bloody night before. Changing into a loose red upper robe and white lower leggings, I tied up my hair with the red ribbon that was my Sekihoutai ribbon. Walking outside of the house with my sword at my waist and my bow slung across my shoulder, I stepped lazily around the bustling city. It had been eight months since the disbandment of the Sekihoutai, since Souzou's death. I felt a jabbing pain in my throat every single time I thought of him, knowing that he would never approve of what I was doing to get revenge. Stopping at a public tea shop, I sat down and listened to the sources of gossip around me. One conversation caught my attention, about last night's events.
"Did you hear about the assassination last night?" a young woman exclaimed. "It was near here, at the patriot's house. They say all that was reported was a horde of bodies, and the famous hitokiri Battousai was there himself, and all he could say was a whisper of words and the flow of a red ribbon."
"Truly?" another woman said, excited. "Haven't you realized that all the assassinations made by the Sokusai have been reported of a red ribbon? I find it very odd, as men don't wear ribbons."
"It's the Shinsengumi!" a cry sounded from the road.
I perked up, watching the mass of blue and white robes moving in unison towards the tea shop. They dissembled to tables in groups, talking in low mutters. Two of them, whom I assumed to be the leaders, sat behind me. One was a young teenage boy, no older than twenty, perhaps around eighteen or so, with mid-length brown hair tied up in a ponytail. The other was older, around the mid-thirties, with small squinty eyes and black hair also tied up in the same fashion. I noted to myself that almost all assassins had long hair tied up high. Stirring my tea idly, I couldn't help but notice that the two Shinsengumi members kept watching me, even though their backs were to me and mine to them. The Shinsengumi had never been fondly referred to, as they were assassins of the patriots and lived by the rule of "Aku, Soku, San", "Sin, Slay, Swift." They were known to "maintain" order in the society of Kyoto, and not very merciful.
"Oh, and by the way, Sokusai-san, we appreciate your assassination last night of that annoying patriot," a voice said behind me, just loud enough to let me hear.
I stiffened automatically, my hand automatically resting upon the hilt of my sword, a reflexive reaction. I turned around slowly and casually, careful not to rouse any suspicion.
"We're not looking for a duel, Sokusai-san," the younger one continued, laughing. "We're not interested at all for that. In fact, why don't the three of us talk in the outskirts of the city, privately? You don't want to be given away here…"
I replied in a low mutter. "Do what you want. I'll leave first just in case people get nervous." With this, I stood up and left, walking slowly. The presence of the two captains appeared slightly afterwards, walking a fair distance away but still within their sight. I arrived at the forest surrounding the city, far from the fair amount of noise Kyoto could make. They arrived shortly after. I turned to face them.
"What do you want?" I demanded, hand not leaving my sword.
"What we want?" the teenage boy said. "Well, first for introductions, my name is Okita Souji, captain of the first squad of the Shinsengumi, and my companion is Saitou Hajime, captain of the third squad. We don't really need anything…just…"
"If you don't need anything, then there was really no point of scaring the hell out of me by calling me that in the tea shop," I interrupted coldly.
"Actually, we do need something," Saitou said, taking over. "We have no wish to harm you in any way, but all the assassinations you have done lately have greatly helped the Shinsengumi. Therefore…" his squinty eyes opened, revealing piercing golden eyes. "…we would like to extend an offer to you to join the Shinsengumi."
"Join the Shinsengumi?" I repeated. "A bit personal, no?"
"Well, since you've been helping us immensely," Okita said cheerfully, "we thought it would be proper for us to ask, in the least."
"And if I decline?" I asked softly.
"There's no harm done," Saitou answered. "All we ask if you decline is that you don't hurt any of the Shinsengumi in any of your missions."
"If they get in the way, I will," I said. "Hitokiri Sokusai works alone. I cannot have contacts that will prove as weaknesses as targets. I decline your offer."
"It's understandable," Okita said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "But I must contradict that the Wolves of Mibu can never be counted as weaknesses. How about a little match to prove that?"
"Facing which one of you?" I questioned, hand on my sword hilt. I still had two swords, one of which I had during the time of the Sekihoutai, and the other that Souzou had given me on the day he died. That sword had remained untainted of blood, and surprisingly didn't rust. Then again, it was created by Shekku Arai, the famous swordsmith of the age, and none of his swords rusted easily.
"Me," Saitou said, stepping up. His golden eyes glittered, representing great skill and no mercy, in similarity to Battousai's. He drew his sword, the beams of sun bouncing off the silver metal. He positioned himself in the famous parallel thrust stance of the Shinsengumi, his famed for the Gatotsu, his own version of it. My eyes narrowed as I analyzed the possibilities of the Gatotsu.
Parallel thrust technique led to the openings of many positions. Any angle could be reached in a fairly quick speed, no matter where I went. Parallel to the sword was definitely not an option, as that was where the sword could reach the quickest. Up was eliminated, even if it took a longer while, it could still be reached in almost the same speed. But under…he could still reach, but it could leave a second's opening, hopefully enough to slip behind him and take him down.
"I trust you're done, Sokusai-san," Saitou said, smirking. "Here I come."
He was fast, much faster than the normal swordsman. I wasn't surprised. As he came charging, I waited until the precise moment and ducked under, slipping around him and coming behind. I drew my sword and pointed it at his neck, just to find myself looking at the end of the his blade.
"I suppose we should call it a draw," Okita commented, staring at the position of the two of us. "That was quite a short match."
I withdrew my sword and sheathed it, turning to leave.
"You two are worthy of the position of the Shinsengumi captains," I said, leaving. "It was an honor meeting you."
"Just a moment, Sokusai-san," Saitou said, sheathing his own sword. "We understand that you'll have another assassination tonight. Who will it be this time?
"…Shindou Tatewaki."