Chapter Four: The Remains

Meanwhile back in present day Tokyo:

The Kenshin-gumi had listened intently to Chisa's first story of how she became more familiar with the man who would go on to kidnap Kaoru and murder so many.

"So you didn't speak to him for two whole years even though you were in the same classes?" Yahiko asked. "And did one of those boys say Jin-e had gotten a black eye from his mom?!"

Chisa nodded. "He held onto a lot of anger when he was younger, and it was initially aimed at me. He couldn't fight with me and so we chose to simply exist with no interactions. I regret not pushing further and becoming more quick friends, but who knows how things would have turned out one way or another."

Sanosuke chimed in, "You dodged the question about his mother." Chisa frowned.

"Jin-e never knew who his father was, but his mother was a horrible alcoholic. She cooked and cleaned for some other families to make ends meet, and they often didn't meet at all. If she could get her hands on alcohol, she felt she didn't need to eat. Her son, she felt, was old enough to fend for himself. This isn't just Jin-e's story, these are things that she told my mother as well. Jin-e often fought at school, but he was quick and tough. He rarely lost fights, but still came to school with bruises. We all knew where they came from but only the most cruel classmates would call him on it."

"This isn't an excuse you know…Plenty of people from terrible family situations avoid becoming murderers…" Kaoru said partially under her breath.

"I'm not here to make excuses for him or for myself. I simply want to tell the story as it happened. I have had no one to tell these stories to aside from my sister and my mother for years. Kenshin-san, I simply feel that as a hitokiri who has had such a personal encounter with him, you are the audience I have been looking for."

"Former hitokiri…" Kaoru added. Chisa cocked her head at Kenshin.

"I have my own opinions on how possible it is for one to be 'former'. I do not share the same views or ideas on humanity with my husband in many ways, but there are things we have agreed on. It's not an accusation at all, and I'm not here to argue. It's simply my viewpoint. Kaoru," she added, "it impresses me that you were able to pull Kenshin out of his Battosai moment. I want to give you credit for that. I believe it speaks to the positive influence you have over a hitokiri."

"Were you ever able to do that to Jin-e as Kurogasa?" Sanosuke stood to stretch.

"Not so easily. And certainly not in the past few years as he escalated. We had a general agreement that he would take a few days to regroup after a job so that it was Jin-e coming home and not Kurogasa. He knew when it was safe to return most of the time. When it was Kurogasa who came home, I had to go stay with my parents or my sister. The interesting thing about a madman is the distinction between the two personalities. When a sword was not in his hands, he could hold a conversation, cook, hold me, and all the things that make a person seem to have humanity. When that sword was drawn however, or the bloodlust hit, all of those things became impossible." The group saw more than a glimmer of grief in Chisa's eyes. For the first time, a few tears fell in her lap.

Kaoru thought back to those few days ago when she was captive. She had a difficult time imagining that person could hold a conversation or hold another person without suffocating the life from them. A chill ran through her body and she stood up. "I'm going to make tea. Would anyone else like any?"

All raised their hands except for Chisa and Kaoru went to fetch the kettle.

"Kenshin, before I continue, I do want to take care of those few items at the police station. Would you please accompany me there? Do you feel that I am who I say I am? I also brought my marriage certificate with me." she stood and brushed herself off.

"This one would be happy to, but if Jin-e's body is released…what are you going to do with it while you are here?" Kenshin felt a little disturbed at the idea of a nearby corpse at the dojo, even if it was one he had already seen.

"There is a crematorium nearby. I have already looked into it. While it is more traditional to cremate the body after the funeral, the days that have passed and a trip back to our home in the Kansai region make transportation exceedingly difficult. The cremation will take some time and I likely won't be able to pick up the remains until late tomorrow." Chisa added in a matter-of-fact way. "That will give me time to tell my stories, if you have the time and willingness."

On the way to the police station, Kenshin and his guest were rather quiet. He could sense the apprehension she felt at identifying the body of a loved one. Seeing death on someone close to you is an immensely heavy feeling, and one with which Kenshin was familiar. He was wondering if she was already familiar with this feeling as well.

The pair arrived at the station and walked inside. Things seemed to be much more calm than they had been in the previous few days. Kenshin asked Chisa to stay in the front area while he went to fetch the chief. "Wait here while I speak to him. May I please see your marriage certificate?"

She handed it to him and sat in a nearby chair. Kenshin opened the document to inspect it prior to presenting it to the police chief. It showed the two names, Kitagawa Chisa and Udo Jin-e, as well as the date and wedding location. "Shiga prefecture." Kenshin thought to himself, "Close to Kyoto but a safe distance." It also seemed that the two had been married for thirteen years. An official seal from a Shiga court adorned the bottom of the page. All things considered, Kenshin felt that it was genuine.

Kenshin approached the police chief. "I have a visitor who says you sent her to me."

"Yes, a woman claiming to be Kurogasa's wife. I did not know him outside of his crimes, and I am not here to become involved in family matters." The chief was fiddling through some papers.

"And so you are allowing this one the opportunity to deal in family matters?" Kenshin tilted his head, "That aside, speaking to her and looking at this marriage certificate, I believe her claims are true."

"So what does she want? A pardon for him?" He laughed.

"No sir, just some personal effects and…" Kenshin swallowed, "Jin-e's body. I feel she has the right to do with it as she pleases. We have no use for it."

"We may have saved her some work; we just sent it over to the crematorium this morning. As you said, we have no use for it. She's more than welcome. What other 'effects' are on her list?" The chief drew out a piece of paper and wrote a quick note to the crematorium releasing Jin-e's remains to Chisa. He stamped it with his personal seal.

"Well, the simple request is Jin-e's pocket watch. She said it should have engraving inside the cover. The other item I'm not so sure we can do…She wants his wakizashi. The one he used to kill himself."

"I will not release the wakizashi; yet anyway. There are several men still hospitalized from their encounter with Kurogasa the other night and I'm not going to turn the weapon that injured them loose on the streets at the request of a grieving widow. The pocket watch is right here." The chief handed it to Kenshin, who opened the cover. Inside, was simply the kanji "千" or "chi", which he assumed stood for "Chisa."

"Thank you, chief..." Kenshin bowed and walked out to the front area.

At the front, Chisa was sitting quietly, but as Kenshin approached he saw a spark in her eyes that he hadn't seen yet. She had seen the pocket watch. He handed it to her and she held it close to her chest. "No wakizashi, but this one hopes that this watch is a small victory." Kenshin smiled softly.

"And his body?" She whispered so that the people around them couldn't hear.

"It is already at the crematorium. If we rush we may be able to catch them before they begin." Kenshin said as he handed Chisa the release that the chief had stamped.

The two asked directions and hurried to the crematorium by carriage, which was further on the outskirts of town. When they arrived, they knew exactly why it needed to be further away from the other areas. Black, oily smoke rose from three chimneys on top of the building. The smell was more than either could stand without covering their faces.

They entered the building and were greeted by an enormous man covered in soot. Chisa tried hard to not imagine that this soot was made up of her late husband. She handed the release to the man. "I am the wife of Udo Jin-e and I would like to retrieve his remains."

The man shook his thumb towards the back area that seemed to be the morgue, "He hasn't gone in yet. You want him before or after?" Chisa didn't flinch at the blunt way the man communicated.

"I would like you to proceed with the cremation, please. But first, may I see his body?" Her eyes were intense.

"Sure, lady. Back this way." He motioned for the two of them to follow him. Kenshin excused himself to go outside. He felt this moment was too private for his involvement.

Chisa followed the hulking man to a room with large bags and wooden caskets. It smelled like pure death, a smell she was familiar with from her husband's laundry. On a table was a bag much longer than the others. It was buttoned tightly at the top. The crematorium operator nodded and walked out into the front area to give her the space she needed.

After taking a breath of rotten, stale air, Chisa began to unbutton the bag that she knew held her dead husband.