Chapter 8: The strongest bonds are those of blood, be it shared or spilled
On the Earth's orbit, just out of reach of the Earth's authorities, an unremarkable space ship stationed. It was rather large, but nowhere near the largest of the ships the space has seen. There were no markings on the ship, proclaiming it's provenance or allegiance, which was rare but not unusual enough to catch attention. What could make it interesting were the battle marks on the hull, but there has been an increased activity of the Harusame space pirates and the ship could have been one of their victims.
Only very few would recognize the vessel as the Kiheitai's flagship. And most of them were not looking.
'Your man is right on time,' mentioned the red-haired kid, once the commander of the 7th division of Harusame, watching the docking procedures taking place. Shinsuke Takasugi spared him a fleeting glance and said nothing. He returned to studying the view through the command deck's window. Predictably, this made Kamui pout. 'You're no fun, why are you no fun?' he asked, sounding like a spoiled brat. Takasugi sighed.
'You're fun for the both of us,' he intoned in a flat voice. Kamui smirked and Takasugi rolled his eye. 'Let the grown-ups work for a while, will you?' he asked mockingly. Kamui made a disgruntled sound, not because he was insulated but because he considered work boring, and turned around to irritate his second in command, Abuto, who invariably impressed Takasugi with his patience.
Only the door sliding open, to admit Bansai Kawakami onto the command deck, silenced the teenaged Yato.
'That's quite a welcome committee,' Bansai noted dryly when all eyes turned to him. He nodded towards the two Yato before bowing his head slightly in front of Takasugi. 'I come with bad news, Shinsuke,' he said straight away. Takasugi twitched, lips pressing in a tight line. He didn't like bad news and the way Bansai said it made it sound like major bad news.
'Your negotiations failed? The Yakuza got cold feet?' he asked with contempt, not for the first time wishing that he has gone himself and shown to the people planet side what happens with those who refuse his offers. But Henpeita was rather firm about not threatening anybody into collaboration and insisted they send Bansai.
'The negotiations went fine,' Bansai reassured him calmly. 'It took me some time to get in contact with anybody of decisive power and then a considerable amount of money to convince them to join forces with the Kiheitai, even temporarily, but they will do as you ask. The only thing they refuse is touching Katsura, afraid of what Katsura's followers would do. It seems that the story of-' he trailed off seeing Takasugi's warning glare. He bowed his head in a silent apology for almost breaching the taboo surrounding the sourest of Takasugi's failures.
'The Shinsengumi were supposed to take care of Katsura,' Takasugi pointed out. Bansai winced and immediately Takasugi knew what the bad news was. 'Ito failed?' he guessed, not hiding his displeasure. He has considered that part of the plan completely fool-proof. Bansai nodded curtly. 'Don't tell me Katsura saw through him?' he asked and this time Bansai shook his head.
'From what I have heard, Ito has managed to introduce himself into Katsura's faction exactly like you have predicted,' his right hand man admitted, a hint of admiration in his tone. Takasugi ignored it: Zura was too predictable to warrant it. 'Once in, he used the information we have prepared previously to gain trust and he managed to rise in rank to one of the main advisors of Katsura. He took his time and introduced the other five into the organization with long intervals. Finally, he contacted successfully contacted Hijikata. Our little spy with the Shinsengumi confirmed to me that the police have been given the information necessary to arrest Katsura and get him out of our way.'
'You're giving me way too many details on how he succeeded. You said he has failed. What went wrong?' Takasugi asked. Ito's tactics didn't interest him at all ever since he has given the other his orders.
'I have no idea,' Bansai admitted. Silently, glaring, Takasugi demanded him to elaborate. 'Acting upon Ito's information, the Shinsengumi tried to arrest Katsura three times, but he escaped unscathed each time. According to our spy, the third time Katsura has even had the time to set a trap for the Shinsengumi. Unless he is more impressive than we gave him credit for, he has been tipped off, I suppose.'
'Our little bird in the Shinsengumi knows nothing?' Takasugi asked, even though he was sure of the answer. How disappointing, he thought. An idea that maybe Ito has been convinced by Katsura crossed his mind, but he discarded it immediately. He hasn't sent one of the most violent of his men for nothing.
'The last information she gave me was that Ito was arrested and considered to be Katsura's spy sent to confuse the Shinsengumi,' Bansai replied nevertheless. Takasugi snorted quietly, although of course it was a relief that the Shinsengumi haven't guessed the truth. It could possibly ruin his plans if the police knew he was on the move. 'She believes that Katsura must have an efficient spy in the police, but she cannot identify him. She has been suspecting the other woman in the force, but has managed to overhear that the woman is Ito's adopted sister.'
'So?' Kamui asked with a frown when Bansai made a meaningful pause. Both Bansai and Takasugi looked at the Yato. Idly, Takasugi thought that the spoiled brat has managed to keep silent for surprisingly long. Of course, it also meant that he was listening, which was just as bad as being disturbed by him. It meant possibly being disturbed later on, because Kamui had a nasty habit of wreaking havoc and enjoying it far too much.
Not that Takasugi had the right to criticise him for that too much.
'So even if she has been helping Katsura, she will have stopped to preserve the life of her brother,' Bansai explained patiently. Kamui gave him a blank stare, seemingly not understanding the logic. Then he laughed shortly.
'You humans are so weird sometimes,' he said. Abuto rolled his eyes, but obviously chose to not point out that it was Kamui the weird one. Takasugi turned back to Bansai, because he too would have sold out his family if it got him what he wanted and Zura has always had a nasty habit of awakening admiration and devotion in soldiers.
'Tell Hikari to keep a close eye on that woman, just in case,' he instructed. Bansai kept his opinions to himself, a quality Takasugi greatly appreciated about him, and nodded. 'If we're lucky, Zura hasn't realized Ito's the traitor and will save him,' he added, even though it wasn't very probable. Bansai gave him a weird look and he realized he has slipped and said "Zura". It was funny how old habits died hard, he thought. Outwardly, he ignored the look and continued talking.
'We have five more people in Katsura's organization,' he pointed out, this time making sure he hasn't used the nickname. 'One of them at least should be good enough as replacement. If nothing else, Katsura's group and the Shinsengumi will keep each other's busy while we move in.'
'There is one more thing Shinsuke,' Bansai started hesitantly. Takasugi looked at him expectantly, not bothering to mask his irritation. Bansai didn't seem to care. 'When I was passing on the money, I have encountered the White Demon,' he admitted. To add that he has been recognized was redundant. So was to mention that Sakata has realized the Kiheitai were making moves. If he somehow found out that the traitor in Katsura's faction was an "ex-Kiheitai" chances were he would realize who has sent Ito as well and why.
Kamui laughed in the earnest this time.
'Kotarou Katsura and Gintoki Sakata are friends even now, aren't they? They are the two who have thwarted your plans when you got a hold of the Benizakura, aren't they?' he asked, infinitely amused. Takasugi gritted his teeth. Nobody but Kamui dared to remind him of Benizakura. 'From what I remember they were good. Do you think they will come to stop you again?'
He really didn't like to be reminded about the complete and costly fiasco of the Benizakura plan. What has happened then was the precise reason for why he made an effort to lock Katsura away or even have him killed. He was sure that Katsura had spies a bit everywhere in the underworld and would, sooner or later, get the wind of the Yakuza's deal with the Kiheitai. Like he had with Benizakura, he would then probably take whatever risk to remove the threat to the peace in Edo.
And most likely, Katsura would recruit Sakata's help. The "Odd Jobs" was as pathetic with his fake-happy life as he was problematic. Other than sending an assassin, Takasugi hasn't figured out how to remove Sakata from the picture. He knew, however, that an assassin would simply get his ass handed back to him and so he has prepared to take on the White Demon if need arose. It was a part of the plan B and a couple of others.
Zura and Gintoki together, however, now that was a different matter. Together they made the best tag team, perhaps second only to himself and Gintoki together. If they have agreed to forego their headcount competition beforehand. When they have, their combined headcount would rival that of the whole of Kiheitai taken together and Zura often said it was a shame they never wanted to work together.
Perhaps if they had the war would have ended differently.
Internally, Takasugi scowled at his own thoughts, betraying him. He has decided to burn everything down and die in the fire, he has decided that his brothers were nothing to him, but he couldn't erase the fond memories from his mind. The memories of comradery were still there, fuelling his hate as much as they were haunting him whenever he was forced to remember the existence of his brothers.
'I'll take them on. I want to take them on. Can I take them on?' Kamui suggested with more enthusiasm than Takasugi considered healthy. He looked like he was a step away from jumping on the spot and clapping his hands. While Takasugi cleared his mind, Bansai shot the Yato a doubtful look.
'You're stronger than them, but they are fast. I have seen them on the deck of our ship, back then. Together they-'
'Don't underestimate my boss,' Abuto laughed, interrupting Bansai's possibly groundless worries. 'The Harusame Katsura and Sakata fought were nothing compared to a single, trained Yato. And my boss is the best among the best. It will not be the same kind of fight as any you have seen before,' Abuto promised, a rare gleam of hunger in his eyes.
'Your job will be to clear the path, as you have previously requested,' Takasugi reminded Kamui firmly and paused. There were some things he could not quite say "no" to, could he? And he was curious to see who would win that fight. 'If you meet Katsura and the White Demon, you are free to deal with them as you see fit. As long as your job is done,' he added. The smile on Kamui's face brightened the command deck.
'That's all I'm asking for,' he assured Takasugi.
'You're so easy to please,' Takasugi mocked and exchanged knowing smirks with Kamui. They were both looking forward to the fight. For a moment, Takasugi found himself hoping that Gintoki and Zura show up, but then he scolded himself internally: it would be better if things went smoothly. Then Kamui excused himself and Abuto followed, like an overgrown babysitter he was.
'I will tell Henpeita to prepare alternatives accounting for Katsura's presence,' Bansai muttered, getting a nod of agreement. 'The message to Hikari will take two days to arrive and the message to the other men in Katsura's faction will take twice that time, since they have just been to the pick-up point today according to the schedule,' he added. Takasugi waved the words away.
'Go take some rest, you have earned it,' he said. Bansai looked like he was about to protest, but even with the sunglasses Takasugi could see the fatigue on his face and Bansai was the most reasonable of his men, in a way. He nodded curtly and left.
Alone, Takasugi turned to the large window again. Far below he could see Earth. The Japanese islands were submerged in darkness of the night, lights of the cities sparking like diamonds. In a way, it was a beautiful sight, but he couldn't find it in himself to enjoy it.
Somewhere there were two men he has once considered as brothers. Three, if he took into account the fact that the Kaientai fleet has been noticed descending towards Edo. The traders visited regularly and Takasugi had no reasons to suspect anything more than a coincidence of Sakamoto's arrival right as he was entering in the last stages of his plan. He couldn't, however, stop himself from wondering whether the three of them would meet to catch up casually.
He would enjoy watching them burn. Sakata deserved it for being stupid and cutting down their master, rather than sacrificing him and Zura for the sake of the man they had waged war for. And Katsura deserved it just as much, if not more, for forgiving that bloody murderer, for reforging the bonds of friendship with the coward who has acted out Naraku's wish. Sakamoto deserved it for that as well, but most importantly for deserting.
It would have pleased him to see how the White Demon paced his office, wondering what he could do to stop whatever it was Takasugi was planning. It would have pleased him to know that his men in Katsura's faction have already started acting upon his wishes, without even knowing them, that they have forwarded information to Ito, who gave it to the Shinsengumi. It would have pleased him to see Katsura drifting in and out of consciousness on a rooftop, wounded, alone and too afraid of pursuit to descend and find the medical supplies he desperately needed.