Chapter 6: It's Always Good To Be Back Home
Here are the replies to the reviews for the last chapter. Thank you all for reviewing, I'm really, really grateful to all of you.
Miku Walker: I'm glad you found the story funny and interesting! And my first language is Bengali, it's a language spoken in east India. No problem if you haven't heard about it though… Thank you for waiting for this chapter; I hope you like it!
nathan19bane: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm also really interested in the story you're writing, I'll definitely read it! And I wish you all the best of luck with it!
Akely: Thank you so much for that incredibly detailed review! I found your advice really valuable, and I'll definitely work hard to tailor the dialogues to reflect the characters. You've always encouraged me and helped me improve and I'm really grateful to you for it. I hope you like this chapter!
Kimchimustard: Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad I could cheer you up, though I personally think that everyone will be just alright! I'm happy to hear that you find them in character. It would be pretty interesting to include Gin san and Shinpachi in this, though I'm not too sure if I can work that out, because I mostly write on the spur of the moment… I really do have to correct myself…
Anyway, now on to the story!
A few days later, the corridors of the Rakuyou palace were empty and lifeless, for all the residents had gone out to bid farewell to their princess, who was leaving with her husband and his company. Even though they would miss their princess, they could hardly feel too upset as they watched her argue rather violently with her husband, her blue eyes sparking. They had a feeling that she was going to be just fine, a feeling that was not shared by their bald ruler. He had been quite upset when his daughter had declared that she would not stay any longer as his nagging was getting unbearable. However, he still sent them off with astonishingly good cheer, which was mostly due to Tae, Sarutobi and Tsukuyo standing just behind him, armed with their favorite weapons and their sweetest smiles.
Seated in the carriage, Sougo still felt uneasy. Sure, he had been successful in bringing back his wif- no, rival, but a question still kept bothering him. Who was the guy who had been hitting on Kagura? Every time he had asked her, she would stare at him as if she hadn't the least idea of what he was talking about and their conversation would invariably end in an argument or brawl. He was really having a tough time knowing what to think; was China lying to him or did she truly know nothing about it at all? He doubted that she could ever say a lie to save her life, and yet, he could not be sure that the rumor was false. Knowing Sasaki, his sources were usually elite and impeccable.
Even though he knew it would be futile, he decided to ask again, "Oi, China? Who was the blind guy who liked you? It would be interesting to do a study on him; he must truly be nuts."
"Why the hell are you always asking that question, yes? And what do you mean that no one will like me, yes? I'm the prettiest in this universe, because I have Mami's model genes, uh huh!"
"Please, and I'm a cabbage. What makes you think you're so pretty? And why don't you give an answer to a question for once instead of asking another?"
"I'm telling you there's no one like that! Wait, though, you're jealous? Sadist, you're jealous, yes?! You're no different from a tsundere high school student! Now admit you've fallen for the Queen of Edo!"
"Like hell I'm jealous, China. Stop grinning at me with that ridiculous troll face; it makes me want to puke. You're the only one crazy enough to think that I like you. Or maybe it's because you like me and you don't want to admit it yourself?"
"Who'd like you, Sadist?! I hate you!"
Meanwhile, in the adjacent carriage, Yamazaki looked nervously at Hijikata, wondering whether it would be alright to tell the smoker what he had just heard. On one hand, he might just get killed for it, but someone needed to enlighten the prince, and he definitely did not want to do it. Taking a deep breath, he decided to go ahead, his police man instincts favoring the revelation of truth.
"Um, Hijikata san, I've heard something from the maids... It is actually a little important..."
"What is it, Yamazaki? Hurry up and spill it already. Though it better not be any stupid nonsense, or you are going to have to commit seppuku. "
"Ah… Well, the maids in Rakuyou asked me the specific reason why we had come all of a sudden, and I told them that the prince had heard that someone was hitting on the China princess. But he wouldn't admit that he was jealous and that's why he made up excuses about the dog and everything. The maids told me that there was no such person! But they soon began giggling and wouldn't explain what they meant…"
"No such person, eh? Well, why do you sound so surprised? It seems pretty obvious now, doesn't it?"
"What do you mean, Vice-Chief?"
"Yamazaki, haven't I told you never to believe the gossip that women indulge in. It was obvious from the start that there ain't any such person, and anyway I don't at all believe that the China girl can do something like that. My best guess is that someone spread the rumors with the intention of making Sougo jealous and thus compelling him to overcome that huge ego of his and go to get her back. And if there was such a person, the very fact that none of her retainers know anything about it would be proof enough that he doesn't exist."
"But shouldn't we tell that to the prince? He and the China princess have been arguing over it for days…"
"You go tell him, Zaki. I'm not interested in getting killed again."
"But I'll be killed if I do that!"
"You do know that violation of orders means seppuku, right?"
The next morning, Sougo awoke to the sound of loud laughter, barks, crashes and even blasts. Not feeling in the least perturbed, he turned over and fell asleep again. It sure was relaxing to find everything as usual at home.
Downstairs, Kagura was playing with Sadaharu, even as the maids struggled to cook the huge breakfast their mistress would soon eat, in time. Hijikata got blasted away when he decided to offer the dog mayonnaise, with Yamazaki becoming Sadaharu's new chew toy. Kagura laughed merrily as she fooled around; it was great to be home.
When Sougo woke up at noon that day, after Hijikata had yelled his lungs out, he was quite dismayed to find that a mountain of paperwork awaited him. As he wondered whether he could make Yamazaki do it for him, he saw the very same plain policeman heading nervously towards him.
"Prince Okita, there's something a little important I've to tell you… Um, please don't kill me after hearing it…"
"I'll kill you if you don't tell me, Zaki. But it had better be something other than affairs of the kingdom and boring crap like that."
"It's not about the kingdom, prince. It's just that the rumors about a man courting the China princess weren't true at all… What I meant is that there is no such guy. We were mistaken."
"Yamazaki, does anyone else know about this?"
"Ah,…no, no one but me does, really, Okita sama."
"Good. Make sure that no one else gets to know of this matter, especially not that China brat. And I order you to find out who spread such false rumors; I'll make sure they find the worst path to hell. Also, complete all that paperwork within today, or I'll send you to the afterworld." The extremely sadistic grin plastered on the prince's face sent a chill down Yamazaki's back. The plain person felt that no matter what he did, death would always be looming over him, as long as he stayed with such 'unique' personalities.
Meanwhile, somewhere in a dark niche of Edo...
Crimson blood spattered the walls of the dark alleyway. A mutilated body fell to the ground with a sickening thud. At least three more corpses lay beside it, all in similar states. The murderer carelessly wiped his bloody hands, a wild, beastly grin spread over his face.
"This is boring…."
A/N: So there ends the sixth chapter! I wonder who the bloody butcher is... Even though it might be a little obvious already…. Anyway sorry for such a short and late update, exams have occupying all my thoughts these few days. But the next chapter will definitely be a lot more interesting; at least, I hope so!
Thanks a lot for reading this story! Please do take the time to leave a review, your support never fails to keep me going! Feel free to send me suggestions, requests, anything you wish, I love to know what you think about it. Constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement are also greatly appreciated!