May 9

Today, I received an unexpected surprise.

When I woke this morning, I was in a daze. I still felt so angry and desperate from yesterday. I didn't have anything else to do, so I decided to go out and look for a job. But somehow, I found myself standing outside the Mimawarigumi again. I didn't go inside. I just stood across the street, staring at it. I remembered my beloved Akira, and imagined him going in an out of those doors, training there, joking with the other men.

Around the afternoon, I realized I wasn't alone. Standing beside me was the large man, the one who used to watch me.

"So you're here again," he said.

How did a man so large get so close to me without my noticing? I turned to walk away as fast as I could, when I felt his hand grip my shoulder.

"Yukishiro-san, I'd like to speak with you." How did he know my name?

"I can't stay, please let me go." I said it slowly, so it didn't come out whiny or scared.

"Yukishiro-san, I have the information you seek." His eyes gleamed. "Concerning the death of Kiyosato Akira?"

I stopped trying to get away. This man knew about the Monster?

"We shouldn't speak in the open," he said. "Kyoto's not the city it once was."

He led me down the street into an inn, and then led me to a private room. I felt nervous- what if this was a trap? What if he was planning on raping me? But Akira's face clouded my vision, and I followed. Besides, I had my knife hidden in my obi.

Once we reached the room, he sat down. I knelt across from him.

"I'm sure you have some questions," he said.

"Yes." I said. "Who are you? How do you know my name? And how do you know about Akira's death?"

He smiled. "You can call me Tatsumi. I am the leader of a secret group of assassins, called the Yaminobu. I've watched you for a while, Yukishiro-san, and I think we can help each other out." His smile was almost a leer. "I know the identity of Kiyosato-san's murderer."

My breath caught in my throat, but only for a moment.

"How?" I asked. "When I asked the Mimawarigumi, they said that they didn't know his killer because there were no witnesses. Did they lie to me?"

"No," Tatsumi-san said. "The Mimawarigumi told you all that they know. However, I have more access to secret information than they do. We have an informant in the Inshin Shishi, and he's told us all about their secret weapon; your fiancé's killer."

I could hardly sit still. It took all of my strength to appear calm. But he still sensed my excitement and smirked.

"His name is Himura Kenshin, but they call him Himura Battousai." Tatsumi-san said. "He is Choshuu's greatest hitokiri, active for a little over a year. Already, his body count is in the hundreds."

Himura Kenshin. Battousai. The Monster has a name now.

"According to our informant, Battousai's skills are unmatched. He wields an ancient sword style known as Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. Nothing else is known about Hiten Mitsurugi except its name. In short, Battousai is the Inshin Shishi's perfect instrument of Tenchuu."

"Tenchuu?" I repeated.

"At each murder, they leave behind notes for us to find, marked with the character Tenchuu," he explained. "It means that they believe that their murder is divine justice from the gods."

Divine justice? How could Akira's murder be divine justice? What kind of god would want a world without him?

I could feel my face in its frozen mask. Everything about me was still, except for my hand. It was clenched into a fist on my knee, and shaking. But when I spoke, my voice was calm.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you waited for two weeks for those idiots to tell you what they didn't know." Tatsumi-san wasn't smiling anymore, and there was a hard glint in his eyes. "That shows dedication. Clearly, you want revenge for your fiancé's murder. But clearly, you cannot do it alone." I tried to protest, but he shook his head. "No, you can't. Battousai is a skilled hitokiri. He's killed some of the greatest samurai in the past year, and a little girl would be nothing to him. That's why the Yaminobu was made- to deliver Tenchuu to Battousai."

"So why do you need me?"

He sighed. "The Yaminobu are skilled. But despite our strength, Battousai might still be able to defeat us. So Yukishiro-san, I'd like to offer you a deal. Work with the Yaminobu. Help us find Battousai's weakness, and we'll get your revenge."

I was quiet for a long time. I thought about the man that died the day before in the genkan of the Mimawarigumi. And then I thought of Akira.

"I'll do it."

Later that Night

You are either very brave or very stupid to go out at night in Kyoto. Perhaps I am both.

"It's not safe to keep talking here," Tatsumi-san told me this afternoon. "Tonight at midnight, meet me here, and I'll take you to the Yaminobu."

So I went out, and met the Yaminobu. They meet in a small shack in the woods near the city. There are five, including Tatsumi-san. They all wear black clothes and masks, and have different weapons. Two men were large and muscular, one had an axe. The other had two katana, with a long chain connecting the hilts of his swords. Another thin man had a katana at his waist, and a strange device on his wrist. I didn't see the last man; he hid in the ceiling.

Unlike the Mimawarigumi, these men didn't seem to care that I was a woman. They seemed to accept that I would assist them with killing Battousai. However, I was still unnerved when they remained standing when I knelt before Tatsumi-san.

"Watch him until you know the meaning behind his every movement," he instructed. "Once you find his weakness, your goal and our victory is accomplished."

I nodded.

"When the time comes, once he trusts you, we'll send someone you know," he continued. "I can't tell you who or by what means. Just work your way close to him and continue watching him closely."

"So I can't contact you at all?" I asked.

"No, it'll be too dangerous," he said.

"How do you want me to find his weakness?"

"That's all up to you," Tatsumi-san said. "The method doesn't matter, as long as you find it. We can supply you with information about his habits so you can find him."

"Please do."

"According to our source, Battousai doesn't go out into the city very often. The only thing he does regularly is drink in a bar, the Pub Nagura. He goes there every night from around sunset to closing time. Or at least during his free nights."

"What does he look like?"

"Small, with red hair. He's got a scar on his left cheek."

I nodded. "Is that all?"

"Yes," Tatsumi-san said. "Don't forget, we'll contact you when the time is right."

I stood and opened the door of the shack. But before I left, Tatsumi-san said, "Wait." I paused.

"There's something you should know," he said. "According to our informant, Battousai has never once been injured in battle, until recently. The scar on Battousai's cheek is that wound, which was given to him by your Kiyosato-san."

I paused at the door. Akira wounded Battousai. Good.

"Thank you," I bowed and left.

I now have what I wanted. I know the Monster's name, and I know what he looks like. I know where to find him. And I know how to kill him. My beloved Akira will be avenged soon.

May 10

I spent most of today listening. I walked around to different places in Kyoto, listening to all of its sounds. Street vendors, scolding mothers, laughing children. The song of birds and hum of insects. And whenever I heard his name, I listened to the whispers about Battousai.

All of what I heard was rumors. It was mostly men I heard talking, and those men were samurai. Although I did hear some women, mostly maids, talking about him too. The rumors are ridiculous.

"Battousai uses magic to slay his enemies!"

"I hear he can run faster than the gods!"

"He isn't a man, but an ogre."

"His hair is made of fire!"

The things I heard were so silly, I wanted to laugh. But the fear I heard in the voices stopped me. And besides, he might have the body of a man, but he must have the heart of an ogre. He proved that when he murdered Akira.

Tonight, I'll go to the Pub Nagura. If he's there, then I'll follow him. Maybe I'll find a way to talk to him. Hopefully, he won't suspect a woman of trying to kill him. My expressionless, hateful face will be my weapon and my shield against him. He won't know what I'm feeling as I'm taking him down. I'll bring this diary with me, and tuck it in my obi. If something happens to me, then this diary will tell whoever finds me my name and where to send my body.