Chapter 19
"That was truly an awful site," said some of the crowd that was leaving. Tetsu stood frozen on his spot. The body has already been moved by the police leaving only the ropes behind, but that's not why he couldn't take his eyes off the willow tree. The woman in white (I got it from a series call Supernatural) he saw earlier were still crystal clear in his mind. The way she looked at him and the way the body was dangling down from the rope… all seem familiar. He didn't realize sooner, but that woman reminds him of someone he knew, in the past of course.
"What are you doing staring at that willow tree?" Hijikata-san asked. Tetsu step a bit forward and pointed towards the root of the willow tree where he saw the woman in white, "There was a woman in white right there earlier. She was sitting on that root and staring at me. Like… she knew me…"
Hijikata-san stared at the direction he was pointing. /There's nothing there. / He turn back to Tetsu who's eyes was looking at him. "Let's go, we have to meet with our client soon," Hijikata-san pointed out. Tetsu nodded and stole one last glance at the willow tree before following Hijikata-san back to town. The woman in white flew back to her spot beside the root "Tetsunosuke-kun?"
"You said you saw a woman in white under the willow tree, why were you able to see her?" Hijikata-san asked as soon as they started the car.
"I don't… know," Tetsu answered with a distant voice, "She… reminds me of someone I knew." Hijikata-san shot him a glance, "Remind you of someone? Who?"
He shakes his head slowly, "I… can't remember. I just can't remember who she is! I know I knew her, but I don't have any memories of her!" he was starting to panic. What if all his memories of the past were just a dream after all? What if everything right now was all a dream?
A warm hand patted his head. He looked up at him. "Don't worry about what you saw. It will reveal itself in due time." Hijikata-san comforted him. Tetsu smile at him and nod, but he couldn't help but feel like it wouldn't reveal itself unless he does it himself.
"Is this the place," Tetsu asked in terror. He hadn't expected the client to live in a house built in the 1500, not to mention the dead plants around it. He gulp as he followed the wordless Hijikata-san inside. If he wasn't here with Hijikata-san, he wouldn't have dared to come near here. Hijikata-san knock on the wooden gate once and the gate slowly open up. Tetsu jump back a bit when no one was at the gate. "H-Hijikata-san is it really s-safe to go in?" he asked in complete terror. Hijikata-san just gave him a smirk and continues into the house. Tetsu cross his finger and hurriedly ran inside after Hijikata-san with every brave nerves he had left.
The door slide opens as soon as they approach the front door. A girl in a white kimono bows and introduces herself, "My name is Kimiko. You must be Hijikata Toshiro-san and Ichimura Tetsunosuke-kun. Please follow me this way. The Master had been awaiting your arrivals. Your room had also been prepared." She got up and led them through a long corridor under the eaves. They took a right turn before he they reaches the end of the corridor. Tetsu couldn't help but admired the design on the wall and the decorated wall paper.
They stop in front of a small room near the garden of roses. Kimiko got down on her knees and bow, "I have brought them here as instructed Master."
"Come in," replied someone from inside. Kimiko slide the door opens to reveal the master of the house. He was only a little boy who looks a bit older than him. Tetsu tilted his head a bit. / He's just a kid. / Their client smile innocently toward them as they bow. "Sit down if you please," he said softly, like he was sick of something. They sat down willingly and almost immediately, Hijikata-san started business.
"We saw what happen earlier. Why did she strike?" Hijikata-san asked with a serious expression. The master tilted his head and continued to smile, 'Why did you assumed that she was she?"
Tetsu stared in confusion at what is going on. He doesn't know who the client even if he's here before him. He wasn't told much of this so he had no clue what they're saying. The client caught onto his confusion at last. "What don't you introduce me to this cute little puppy," the client asked.
Hijikata-san sighs in annoyance, "This is Ichimura Tetsunosuke. Ichimura, this is our client and the head of this town, Yashiko Rie." Tetsu bow once again in respect. Rie bow his head in return. "Now then, shall we start?" Rie asked. They nodded. "As you know and saw what happen earlier," he begins, "Miko had started attacking the townspeople once again. At first, we thought it was just a prank, but as more and more townspeople began to died, we knew something was wrong." He turn to Kimiko, "Kimiko, would you go to my and bring me the Tale of Miko." She nodded and left the room. Rie turn back to them, "What I'm about to tell you is the true story of Miko, and what really happens to her."
/ What really happen to her? / Tetsu asked. Just then, Kimiko came back in with an old book that used to be blue. She handed it to him and sat back down on her earlier spot. Rie begin to tell a tale without looking through the book, "Miko was one of my ancestors." Tetsu's eyes widen a bit. Rie continued, "Miko was bought by my family early ancestor from a brothel in one of the towns he visited. Miko's real name was Hana." Tetsu's eyes widen even more. / Hana… as in O-Hana-chan? / He continued on, "Or O-Hana. She was bought not long after her Oiran by my ancestor Jin, and was taken into this family as a wife of the Yashiko family. But the family refuses to accept a woman from the brothel as a wife of this family, and thus she was treated cruelly. O-Hana was force to live life even lower than that of a slave. She was treated even more badly than anything.
"But she believed that someday something good will comes her way. She continued to live under the abuse of the Yashiko family for many years. No matter how many years she waits, only misfortune and cruelty falls upon her. Then one unfaithful day…" his expression hardens, "My ancestor created the most painful taboo of all."
"Taboo? What kind of taboo?" Hijikata-san asked.
Rie return to his normal facial expression, "He promised O-Hana that he would love and marry only her. But… when he came back from his trip, he bought back along an unknown woman. When the townspeople asked about O-Hana, he denies any connection with her. Her heart was broken into many pieces with just those words… and so, she hung herself on the day of the wedding… making a vow under that willow tree…"