Suegaku Na Aki
Chapter 17
Orochi raised his eyebrows as he watched Yuri and Asuka bow in front of him. He has just returned from his meeting with Enishi when Shingo told him what took place in Tokyo, including the capture of Ukyo by Saitou. From the place where he was sitting, Orochi examined their condition. They didn't even bother to change their clothes and treat their wounds when they reached the camp, but instead, they went to directly there to bow, waiting for whatever judgment he felt fit to dispense.
He could see that Asuka was shaking, probably unused to keeping still for a long time, unlike Yuri who was trained to do so. Smiling, he used the sheath of his swords to touch Asuka's body.
Asuka stiffled a scream as his body felt a sharp tingling sensation. Despite the earlier news Shingo has given him, Orochi could still laugh at the boy's antics.
"Well, Asuka, what do you have to say for yourself?" Despite the smile, there was no mistaking the seriousness of the question.
From his bowing position, the boy tried to raise his body to answer but another sharp tingling sensation cause him to fall, leaving a mess of tangled limbs. "Itai..."
Orochi smiled and waited patiently as the boy tried to sit correctly.
Asuka bowed once more and the raised his body, with his arms still on the floor. "It is my mistake; Yuri sempai has nothing to do with this. I was the one who left this camp without permission. She was only looking after me"
From her position, Yuri turned to look at him. "Asuka..."
Asuka bowed again. "Please let her off. Punish me instead"
Orochi stared at him for a long time in silence. Finally he began, "Very well, you will receive the proper punishment. I will not hold her accountable for anything pertaining to your actions"
"Thank you"
"But that does not mean she did not do anything wrong"
"But..."
"Your punishment, Asuka, is to be confined to this camp until I say so. Two guards will be assigned to watch over you at all times"
The boy in front of Orochi frowned. "But that... that... punishment is too light compared to my sins. Please, punish me more"
"There is no need"
"Please"
"You will carry out this punishment with the knowledge that due to your brash and reckless behavior, your brother made a mistake and has been captured by the government and now is being held prisoner in a heavily guarded place. It is almost impossible for any rescue attempts to be made without incurring heavy losses"
Asuka's eyes became very wide.
Flicking his wrist, Orochi threw a letter in front of the shocked boy. "And as a request from your brother that should he be captured, you are to be stopped from making any attempt to rescue him. The letter in front of you contains that request"
"Brother..." Asuka took the letter with regret etched on his face.
"Now go and calm yourself. Your brother would not want you to be like this"
With heavy footsteps, Asuka dragged himself out of the place. Orochi shifted his gaze to the remaining person. "Come here"
Yuri still bowed.
"Come here to me. That is an order"
The female ninja approached him, her head down.
"Sit down" Orochi pointed to the place in front of him. She obediently followed the command. He took out a box from a hidden place. Yuri closed her eyes, waiting for a sharp pain, signaling her torture for failing for the first time. A tear drop rolled on her cheek, but not because she was scared of her punishment; rather she felt guilty.
Only when a damp cloth was dabbed on her injured neck did she open her eyes to see her leader was treating her wound. She opened her mouth to say something but a finger on her lips silenced her. When the finger was removed, she tried once more but was stopped by a kiss placed directly on her open mouth. The kiss was full of tenderness. When he finally broke their kiss, she was stunned and could not anything but look at him. "Orochi-sama..." she finally whispered after she regained herself. The soft look in his eyes was something she hadn't seen before, but had secretly hoped for.
"I am not a good leader. I am a man obsessed with revenge for what happened to my family" He paused, taking a long breath. "Maybe I'm leading all of us to our doom" He cupped her face and claimed her lips once more. This time this kiss was longer and with Yuri responding to it. Breaking the kiss, he continued to hold her face. "But, in spite of my madness, I do know that I care for you deeply. I trust you can take care of yourself, yet I still feel the urgency to tell you to be careful"
"Orochi-sama..." Yuri's hands touched his hands. "I'm willing to do anything and follow you anywhere, even to hell" Her eyes fluttered downward, trying to contain the tears, but failed as few drops rolled down her cheeks. But she was smiling. "But your words, they made me feel... very happy"
He hugged her, "I do not know what will happen tomorrow, but I am contended to be with you tonight, not as the Orochi, but as a simple man" He held her at arms length. "For tonight, please don't call me by my title"
"Yes"
-
Saitou gave the man sitting in front of him an annoyed look. He put his hands on the table and leaned forward, stopping at inch in front of the other man's face. "Now tell me what I want to know"
"My name is simply Ukyo and under the Geneva Convention 1949, I am not required to tell you more than my name and my serial number" Ukyo smirked.
"What are you blabbing about? There is no such thing as the Geneva Convention, and the year now is not 1949" Saitou rapped on Ukyo's forehead. Did I accidentally damage your head that day?"
"...Sorry. I don't know what the hell I was mumbling about"
Saitou stood up and walked around him. "Now tell me, what are you doing in the police force?"
"I'm doing a multi-level marketing" was the sarcastic answer. What do you think I'm doing? Of course I'm spying for Orochi"
Saitou slammed the table in front of Ukyo, startling him. Then he glared the man in the eyes. "I don't like wise guys"
"Like I care, Saitou. We know that both of us fought in the restoration war, although you may have a few more years under your belt. If you're thinking of scaring me like you did with that broom guy, you're making a mistake"
'Interesting. Ukyo knew about Chou being a prisoner once and perhaps he also knew about Shishio and the Juppongatana. "So you know that I wouldn't be tied to the normal procedures when interrogating criminals. I can be less 'compassionate' than what the government required me to be"
"In another words you can beat the information out of me. Obviously you forgot something"
Despite the defiance, Saitou smiled to himself. "Of course, I forgot that Orochi have has your brother held hostage"
"If you see it that way"
"Very well. I don't think that your boss would tell you his plan anyway"
"Not that I would understand, except for the conquering the whole of Japan part. He can be quite complicated sometimes" Ukyo looked at the table. "Wow, you managed to leave your handprint on the desk"
-
It was still dusk when Orochi strolled around the compound of his headquarters. Shingo walked to him. "Master, what should we do about Ukyo?"
"Nothing"
"But he could compromise this location"
"Put yourself in his place. Would you tell betray us? No. He won't either. But dispatch three of our Kensais to kill the other prisoners. I trust that you already have the location of the police stations where they are being held"
"Yes. The police thought that if they were put in different locations it would be hard for us to get rid them at once" Shingo grinned. "Too bad for them we have many informers ready to betray the secret locations for a tiny sum of money"
"If possible, try to minimize the killing of the police force guarding them. I want the government to guess what we hope to accomplish by doing something that defies the normal strategic wisdom" He looked at Yuri who has just exited his room. "Shingo, I want you to bring Neuwindst to meet our samurais. I have other thing I want to do"
"Understood. Master, can I ask you a question?"
"You may"
"May I know where are you going?"
"Certainly. I will be visiting the Kamiya Dojo" Orochi smiled evilly.
-
Kenshin eyed the newcomers wearily. The fact that he knew one of them didn't put him at ease. Mindful that Kaoru was in the house, he motioned toward another direction, signaling that he would meet them at the location he pointed, rather than at the dojo. The people nodded and left. Kenshin sighed and continued to finish his job.
Normally, hanging newly washed clothes brought a sense of satisfaction to him, but not that day.
Later, he met with the group of people who were waiting patiently for him at the place he pointed at. "Ohaiyo de gozaru"
"Ohaiyou, Himura" Yamagata, leading the group answered.
"Does this visit have something to do with Orochi?"
Yamagata was perplexed with the less cordial reception he got. "We have heard what happened"
Kenshin regarded all of them silently. The last time Yamagata met him it was to persuade him to join the army. And now, they have come to his house, probably to ask for his help to defeat Orochi. His house? Since when had the dojo become his house? Ignoring the inner conflict, Kenshin starred at Yamagata. "The army has doubled their manpower in the last few months. Isn't it enough to tackle him?"
The army commander neither missed the annoyed tone nor the veiled question. Somehow, Himura was fed up of being asked to settle the problems the Ishinshishi themselves created. But as the future of Japan probably lay in the hands of the smaller man in front of him, Yamagata was willing to bow and kiss his feet if it what was needed to get his assistance. "Our army and police force combined might not be enough to stop the madness"
Kenshin sighed. "What do you want sessha to do?"
"By now, we all have known what Orochi motives are. We need your help when he finally makes the final move"
"If I don't want to help?"
One of men that came with Yamagata took a step forward. "You're saying that you're scared?"
Kenshin merely turned toward Kamiya dojo. "Sessha is not scared. But sessha isn't a hitokiri anymore"
"Huh! What a crap!"
Yamagata looked at Kenshin and then at the man who said that. "Kakeru-san, you should not say that"
The man called Kakeru ignored him and continued. "This Orochi, Battousai, is our problem. What we Ishinshi should face. It's probably one of our sins that unleashed this problem"
Kenshin merely turned his head a bit. "Our sins? Yamagata?"
Yamagata lowered his head. "During the war, we d coerced a number of small factions into joining us, using less than scrupulous tactics. What Kakeru-san is implying is that this Orochi is probably the leader of one of those groups"
"I see"
Another one stepped forward. "No. You don't see. You have experienced first hand what Orochi can do. The only way to stop the threat to the Kamiya dojo is for you to join us. You can't protect them by being with them"
The surrounding atmosphere began to become uncomfortable, but Kakeru ignored it. "Kimoto-san is right. Look at how many enemies that attacked you and that Kamiya woman despite you being there to protect her" Kakeru wanted to continue but Yamagata's punch threw him to the ground.
"Don't ever talk to Himura-san in that manner again or I will have you shot" Yamagata didn't know it, but he had saved Kakeru's live. Kenshin was in a barely suppressed rage, despite his calm demeanor. "I'm sorry for our rudeness. And I apologize for disturbing you, Himura-san. We will take our leave" Disappointed, Yamagata and the others turned toward the carriages that had brought them there. While walking toward them, he tried to come up with alternative plans that didn't include Kenshin. All of them looked quite grim.
"Wait".
1 February 2005
Author's note
1. It's been a while, but story flow problem has been plaguing me lately. Almost made me jump a few chapters ahead into the final battle instead of writing chapter 17 and 18. Oh well, things we must do to make ourself happy with our work. So, to let out some of the steam, I've been working on a weird Ranma side story. I'll post it after I have finished this story (or earlier).
2.Happy New Year! Yeah, A bit late you tell me, but think about it. A new year is just something we give a certain day to celebrate a milestone in our life. And this chapter is a mile stone for me.
3.I dedicate this chapter to all of you. Well, fujifunmun is a swell editor, and all of you whose reading this chapter, you contribute to its birth and hopefully its continuity. There would be no story if there is no reader, right?
Misenagi -> The secret is in the crust of the pizza. The hidden cheese does make it less cheesy in appearance. But the stuffed crust pizza still have more cheese.
Kik Tingi-> I'll gladly answer your question. Technically, it is a Kenshin and Kaoru match up. No, even Megumi in this story may seem kinder (or slightly OOC) than usual. But I believe she did that because of a reason. So there will be no fight between Kaoru and Megumi ( or other character). But, I'm keeping mum about what will happen in the end of my story. Matte kudasai, OK?
Bewarethemel->The wine's taste will mature, given time.