Bonus Chapter 2: A Job (Continued)

Kurogasa surveyed the disarray, lit a scroll on fire with the butt of his cigarette, and exited the house. He had chills from the chaos and destruction he had created.

He made his way quietly back to the inn, trying to contain his excitement. He was able to carefully avoid any interactions with anyone; with his bloody clothes it would not be an ideal situation.

As soon as the door to his room slid shut, he sat in the floor and stared into nothing, lost in thought. Though the body count wasn't as high as he would have liked, the itch was scratched. He smelled his clothes: Pure blood and sweat. He sighed and popped open his pocket watch. Three in the morning. Although he was basking in the post-kill high now, if he waited a few hours he felt that he could return to Shiga without alarming Chisa. Without bringing Kurogasa home with him.

He shook thoughts of home away. This was his time to reflect and enjoy the thrill of the kill. It was a feeling that never got old, though he noticed he was needing more to feel fulfilled. More blood, more bodies, and a greater feeling of being feared by the pigs in power. He didn't mind this, but it did require more planning and more specific contracts from Goto.

He laughed out loud and caught himself before it went on too long. He settled down with his back to a wall facing the door. He was confident that he wasn't seen or followed, but not quite enough not to be careful. He would leave in the morning to head back towards his home. He fell into a light sleep and waited for the sun to rise.

A few hours later, he awoke feeling relaxed and satiated, but starving. It was a day's travel back to Shiga and so he knew he needed to get a bite to eat before moving on. He spoke to the couple at the inn one last time and had breakfast with them. By this time, the darkness of his eyes was fading. He could still feel the snake-like expression on his face as he looked down at the couple, but tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible.

"So, what is it that brings you to our town again?" The older woman asked.

He, whether he was Jin-e or Kurogasa, looked up from his meal. "I trade vegetables with a man here locally. My stock for his stock." A lie.

"Ah, many do the same here. Do you have a family?" She pressed further.

He thought of Chisa, home alone and waiting for him. They weren't yet married, but he did not want the couple to think ill of Chisa for their living situation. "Yes, a wife. No children."

"Oh, I'm certain those will come along. Maybe sooner than you think." She smiled at him. He didn't know at the time but he was around two or three months away from an extraordinarily cold and snowy winter.

He scoffed, finished his meal quietly, bowed to the couple and left. Children were a sensitive issue for him, as the child of an abusive mother and an absent father. He knew also that his profession put whatever family he did have at risk. Chisa was able to handle the seriousness of the situation; children might not.

A son though…He thought, to establish a bloodline. Carry on the Nikaido Heiho style, and perhaps the shin no ippo…

He shook the idea from his mind. Although loyalty was not a strength of his, he was taught to never pass down the technique to anyone and had no intention to do so.

Unless you had a son. The voice in his head pressed further, but he ignored it and simply continued down the road with his pack, making his way steadily back to the Shiga homestead.

When he arrived, the evening was beginning to wind down, with the sun glazing the fields with honey-colored beams. He saw Chisa's silhouette at the crest of the hill. He couldn't read her expression with the sun in his eyes, but he could see that she was wrapped in a shawl feeding their chickens. He approached quietly, letting her know that he was there as Jin-e, not the unpredictable Kurogasa. When he left, she had been seemingly upset about the state of his relationship with work, the requirement of days and weeks away, and the murder. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation he anticipated was coming.

They locked eyes. Chisa smiled at him playfully and ran inside the house, scaring the chickens. Jin-e broke out in a jog and followed behind her.

The house smelled like cooking rice, though there was nothing else cooking with it. Chisa didn't know when Jin-e would come and go and so she was never really prepared for his return.

"Go prepare a bath. You stink." She waved a hand in front of her face. "I'll join you when you're all settled."

He sat his pack down in a corner and went to set up the bath. He was relieved at Chisa's demeanor but wasn't expecting it given their last conversation. She was right though; he did stink.

He sank down in the hot water and felt his muscles relax. Coming back from a satisfying job was one thing, but having a bath after a long trip home was always something he looked forward to. Despite the chilly weather, Chisa stepped in the room in a thin yukata, and her hair was down from her typical braid or loose bun. She sat down by the side of the bath, faced Jin-e, and smirked at him.

He smirked back, grabbed her face, and pulled her to him. He enjoyed when she was in good spirits; this was one of the reasons he wanted her to live with him to begin with. He brushed her hair out of her face with a wet hand, but she flipped her hair back to where it was.

"Chisa…" He looked at her flatly.

She rolled her eyes, tucked the hair behind her ears obediently, slipped off her yukata, and crawled into the tub with him. Jin-e kissed her lightly on the neck and looked over her shoulder. Standing in the doorway, was his target from the previous evening. His ruined eye cascaded down his face and he could hear the pattering sound of his blood dripping onto the floor.

These apparitions were not unfamiliar to the hitokiri. He had seen them since his mother died. He simply chose to ignore them.

He turned his attention back to the woman in his lap. She leaned forward towards him and when he looked at her, he saw that her eyes were both gone: Bloody blank holes.

"Just relax." She pushed her face so close to his that he could smell the blood on her. He could see the bath water slowly turning red.

"Just relax." He repeated. He closed his eyes, tensed all the muscles in his body, and then let them go. This always helped for some reason. Plus, he had a perfectly good distraction right in front of him. He opened his eyes and all was as it should be.

It wasn't so much that the visions scared him. He had seen so much in his lifetime that those were nothing. The issue was that he was beginning to consider these trophies; reminders that he could dominate the lives of others.

After the bath, Chisa fixed a quick meal and informed Jin-e of how the days of his absence had been. She had gone to visit Akari for a bit, but aside from that she mentioned that she had caught up on housework and gotten some reading time in. She mentioned she was just glad he was home.

He told her of the lovely older couple he had met at the inn and that they had taken care of him. To avoid suspicion, he doubted that he would ever go back to them, but in the time he was there they were quite helpful.

Finally, Chisa stood and collected their dishes and then walked up to him. She grabbed his hand and led him to their room. He didn't see any more apparitions for the rest of the night.