-Unfinished--

Bankyuu no 3nen, 4gatsu.

The sun rose on a beautiful spring day. Birds called energetically, accompanied by the light that broke through the barred window of Keioko's new room. The restrained, neutral wood walls were strangers to her, and whether it had been the potion Hazu had given her the night before, or a simple trick of light, it seemed as though the room was new. She hadn't even had time to unpack, but when she lifted her head from the simple futon, the entire room had been ordered neatly and arranged while she had slept. Someone had gone so far as to hang a prayer on the wall, the simple calligraphy the only decoration in the room. The attempt to make the room more comfortable only lent to the surreality of the foreign enviroment.

The birds and daylight had not woken her, however. The sounds of young voices interspersed with a quiet baritone had crept through the thin walls and pulled at her consciousness until her eyes opened. She could only hear parts of the conversation.

"Uun, she's fine, ne. Just tired...Ja, well I think she should sleep, ne...gomen nasai, I didn't mean to be rude..."

"Un, did you see it, Rin-san? Un, hayai ne...Iie, I'm not mad. I'm happy...much better, I think. She's Kakkoii na! Ne..."

*nen - year
*gatsu - month
*Hayai - fast
*kakkoii - slang: cool

Groaning gently to herself, Keioko raised her head from the floor. It was a habit of hers, that when she slept, she eventually rolled off the pillow and slept on one or both of her arms throughout the night. She was sleep on her right side this time, laying on her right arm, which was still asleep, tingling painfully. She pouted, hating it when that happened, as she sat up and rubbe dher eyes, the blankets drifting off her. Kei could barely remember coming in last night, she was just so tired, and having that aweful dream last night didn't help. It was another "habit" of hers, that when she travelled or went somewhere new, she'd have some kind of forboding nightmare.

She sighed and slowly got up, standing and coming her hands through her rat's nest of a head of hair. Her short, duo-coloured hair was always messy in the mornings, giving her that "sex-hair" kind of look, but the expression on Kei's face showed she'd just woken up and was still tired. Kei, not being a morning person, grumbled to herself as she moved quietly over to the mirror to comb out her hair before going to see who was in the room.

Making sure her hair wasn't as messy as before, she set the comb down and got up, heading to the hallway as quietly as she could in the clumsiness that was still-tired Kei. Once there, she paused at the door to the room next to hers and listened for a moment before sliding it open slightly and peeking in. Her eyes had now returned to their normal blue-gold colour.

 
The voices became distinct: Hazu's rapid enthusiasm purposefully toned down to not wake Keioko, and Rin's quiet questions, more insightful than an eight year old should have been. As she combed her hair, they continued to talk quietly outside her door.
"Un, probably. With Kazuo-san gone, she'll have to fill in, ne."

"It's been nice. Would you like tea?"

"I'm ok. I'll just wait until she gets up, ne."

"Just not like last time, ne Hazu-kun," She said admonishingly.

When she opened the door, but looked up, Hazu a bit startled, but Rin as though she had known the entire time of Keioko's approach. She stood quietly, her pink kimono a bright contrast to her quiescent posture. With a bow of greeting, she padded into the main room. Hazu seemed more surprised.

"Ja, senpai-sama, ohayou! How are you feeling today? Are you hungry?" He scrambled to his feet with a light blush, but serious look. Where Keioko's hair might have been askew from sleeping, his stubborn locks were always chaotic. Besides that, he was perfectly dressed.

Keioko bowed in response to Rin, but her own was a tad lazy due to her half-asleep nature for the moment. She looked over at Hazu groggily. Stifling a wide yawn, she wondered where the deeper baritone voice had come from.

"Ohayo gozaimasu..." She murmured lazily to Hazu. "You guys woke me up with your talking..." This time she really did yawn, though covering her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono of light and dark blues. She lowered her arm and soon folded her arms within her sleeves. "I heard another talking..." She muttered almost to herself. "A third..." She hadn't answered Hazu's question, but her stomach spoke for itself when it grumbled gently. Keioko lowered her arms to rest over her stomach with a tiny pout on her face.
 
Hazu's grin only grew as Keioko's stomach grumbled. "Na, senpai, you aren't eating enough," He said like a parent, though his voice broke at the last moment, leaving him looking hopelessly adolescent. He blushed.

"Third?" He asked quizzically, then laughed. "Oh, that was just Kawa-sama. I guess you haven't actually heard him talk yet, ne." Hazu shrugged, and then ushered her into the main room. Somehow, amidst the piles of disguises, clothes, and weapons, he had managed to make a full breakfast that sat in neat order waiting for her. Rin and Kawa were nowhere to be seen.

"Your miso might be a little cold. I didn't think you would be so tired. Are you ok from last night?" He looked on while she woke up to the smells of food with concern, but also reverence. For a moment, he hovered over her, then sat carefully at the table, hands on his knees, waiting patiently, and just enjoying conversation with her.

 
The pout grew a bit, dissappointed that she was unable to see Kawa. For some reason, she was eager to see him off duty and actually speak with him. That moment or two they had exchanged nods in the alleyway barely counted for anything. She sighed softly and looked over to where Hazu was heading, blinking a few times.

"Did you make this Hazu-kun?" She asked as she rubbed some sleep from her eyes and padded quietly over to him, the hem of her blue kimono fluttering slightly from the strides she was taking. She kneeled down across from him, looking over the food set out, then looking up to Hazu for his response. She didn't seem as tired now, her eyes well-open and not half-lidded from fatigue. SBefore he could answer though, she responded to his question.

"Yes, I'm alright from last night, just tired. Before last night, I hadn't gotten much sleep during my travels, so I really needed to catch up." She smiled softly, a reflection of those shy smiles from the previous night. She reached over the table and ruffled Hazu's hair affectionately. "Thanks." She had become quite fond of Hazu already, thinking of him as a little brother, a brother she never had.

 
Hazu smiled brightly at her touch. It was a wonder that he could lie to anyone with how his emotions showed on his face, and in the immediate bow to her thanks. He nodded in response to her question.

"Un, I made it. Do you like it? That's how my mother would make it, I think...If you want something special, lemme know, ne?" He said with his odd mix of formality and slang. He was definitely from Kyoto. The house was strangely silent after the jublient laughter that had filled it the day before. Even so, it was an oddly cheery place in spite of the near endless supply of assassination tools crowding the two in.

"Anshin yo, I was worried you might be upset with my mistakes last night, but it was no problem for you, ne! It's good you got sleep, na. Last night was just helping Kawa-sama out, but I think today Oyama-sama wants to give you your own job. He said he wanted to speak with you when you got up anyways. Ganbatte, ne!" He seemed to have been impressed with her from the night before, asking her circumspectly about techniques, favorite weapons, if she liked those kind of geta. His voice played between casual conversation with a superior, and professionally learning her preferences.

"Ah, Your playing last night was wonderful. I didn't think it was you," He laughed. "Do you think that solution I gave you helped, senpai?"

*anshin - relief, as in, that's a relief.

Keioko smiled in return to the boy's bow, then reached down and took a sip of miso and a bite of omlette. After swallowing, she answered his question with a thoughtful look. "You're right, it is a bit cold, but still good nonetheless." She smiled softly and ate a few more pieces as she listened to him speak. She was starving and intended to finish everything in front of her.

"I want to relax on my own for a bit before I go see him, so I have some time to wake up and change and such. Just tell him I'm still sleeping, then come get me in about twenty minutes. Kay?" She smiled through a mouthful of rice, keeping her lips closed. She seemed to rarely speak formally unless the occasion called for it. Kei could be considred a laid back person, only formal when she needed to be.

"Oh, and yes, it did work, quiet well actually. I want to use it again."Her smile broadened a bit. "And for that, I'm gonna buy you some candy next time I get a chance."

"Ja, senpai. I was only doing my job, ne. But I've got lotsa mixes like those eyedrops, don't worry!" He said with an embarrassed laugh. "Oyama-sama wouldn't notice if you showed up tomorrow! Though...I think he's in a bad mood today. Something happenned..." He shrugged.

"I'll go find out what's up!" He bound to his feet with the effortless energy that equally as often tripped him as not, and hurried up the stairs. Alone in the main room, Keioko could hear the door open and shut, quiet voices confiding, and then greeting Hazu, Oyama's demeanour just as boisterous as the boy's. Nothing moved, and there was no indication of pressing need in the enclosed room, just the quiet sounds Keioko made eating the simple food.

"Alright then, twenty minutes." She said with a gentle smile. Despite his cheery nature, Kei couldn't help but worry at what would put Oyama in such a mood. She decided it wouldn't be a good idea to dwell on the thoughts and she just kept eating, finishing not long after as she hurried up a bit once hazu had left. She was quite hungry. She sipped down the last of her soup and tea before sitting back on her rear-end and relaxing with a satisfied sigh. She needed to change now.

Getting up, Keioko moved to her closet to pull out her black hakama and a black and white patterned yukata. She slipped out of her blue yukata and adjusted her undergarments, then grabbed some wide wrap-bandages and wrapped them around her chest. She wasn't a very big girl by means of bosom size, so the bandages flattened her out quite nicely. Now she looked even more boyish, just how she liked it. She secured the wrap firmly and pulled on the black and white yukata, then the hakama, adjusting the obi and pulling the tie around her waist to make sure it wasn't too tight or to loose.

Now she moved back over to the mirror, grabbing a comb and a piece of ribbon to tie her hair back. Being short, she wouldn't be able to get much back, but there was just enough to create a small ponytail at the base of her skull. She combed her hair out neatly and did just that, leaning her uneven bangs to drift across her face, as usual. By now, she would be expecting Hazu within the next five minutes, so she moved over to the window in the corner of the room and sat down beside it, against the wall. She leaned her back against the wall, her left leg bent up and leaning against the wall under the window, her right left outstretched and laying on the floor, her black tabi-covered foot on a slight angle. She reste dher arms in her lap and closed her eyes, relishing the few minutes of peace she had to herself in this moment.


No noise indicated Hazu's return, and the door to her room slid open with careful precision. Rin stood diminutively framed by the dim light of the hallway, the two pigtails of hair and cheerfully colored kimono never matching her sober attitude. It was a gentle hint of the activity that would disturb Keioko's tranquility.

"Matsukaze-san, Hazu-kun started Oyama-san talking, and he has not stopped yet," She said with such seriousness that it was impossible to see if it was a joke or not. "But I heard him say he would come for you. I came instead. Are you ready? I should return to Kawa-sama soon." It was all she said with even a hint of eagerness, though even that died before it reached her face. Her black eyes raced with hidden thoughts.

 
Keioko didn't open her eyes, but instead she listened to Rin's small voice carefully. She took in a few breaths, then answered the girl in a soft voice, mirroring Rin's own. "Where is Kawa-san? She opened her blue eyes and looked over to Rin, staring at her calmly.

"And I'll wait until Hazu comes instead. I'd rather remain here in peace until then. But thank you for coming." She leaned her head against the wall beside her, closing her eyes once more.
 
Rin looked put out, but bowed, respectful as always.

"Kawa-sama is busy already preparing for his day," She said, her reticence giving nothing away. If she was not a child of no more than 8 years old, it would have sounded almost catty.

"Hazu-kun will probably be awhile. He might not be able to come down and get you if Oyama-san is talkative." With that, she shut the door quietly, without saying more of Kawa's location; however, Keioko could hear the door across the hall, not to the main room, open just a moment later with Rin's usual assuredness, and shut with polite care.

 
Keioko rolled her eyes underneath their closed lids and she smirked, listening to the tone in Rin's voice. She sounded almost reprimanding, accusing Kei of being lazy. What did she know? She wasn't with her this entire time and most definately wasn't as exausted. Sighing heavily, Kei opened her eyes again and sat up. Either way, Rin was right, she had to go see Oyama on her own. Poor Hazu.

She stood and stretched in a cat-like way, yawning widely and somewhat loudly, putting some voice behind it. She didn't seem like she was a ninja, judging by how she acted. She seemed more of a female ronin if anything. She scrathed the back of her neck and left the room, heading upstairs to Oyama's. From the other side of the thin door, she could hear Oyama takling joviantly with Hazu, who would respond and Oyama would keep on going. Poor thing, she thought again. She tapped the knuckle of her right index finger against the wooden frame a few times to let her prescence be known outside the door.

She sat back and waited to be admitted, most likely by Hazu's smiling face.

Although no sound came from the room across the hall, as Keioko passed it, just the vaguest sensation of movement, and narrowly gathering focus seemed to radiate from it. Nothing more. The upstairs room, however, had begun to bust with noise. The thump of bodies falling to the floor, thrashing and then laughter.

The door wasn't answered by Hazu, but by a bleary-eyed Megumi, who looked as though she, too, and just woken up. Or perhaps was just still drunk. She waved a hand vaguely for Keioko to enter and smiled.

"Keioko-chan, you look cute today," She said in a quiet purr, almost sexual if they hadn't been in the language of speaking to a child. The noise emanating from the room made her wince. Behind her, Oyama was sitting on Hazu's back, mercilessly tickling him. The boy was in tears and have given up getting the much larger man off him. When he saw Keioko, he squirmed desperately to regain some of his dignity in front of her, to no avail.

"Keioko-chan!" Oyama called out, laughing himself, when he noticed her entrance. Megumi had trailed to the opposite wall and seemed to fall asleep against it. "I hope you are paying attention on how to punish misbehaving servants!" As last he let Hazu up, who scrambled to his feet, and Keioko's side with a look of appology.

 
Kei's eyes widened slighty as the scene was unfolded in front of her. She glanced at Megumi in front of her and bowed politely, not answering to her comment. This early and already so active, what had she gotten herself into? Kei was still fairly dreary. She watched as Oyama greeted her and Hazu scrambled out from under the large man and over to her. She looked at him, one eyebrow raising itself and blinking curiously.

"What did you do?" Her tone was more that of a curious child, instead of condescnding and serious. She then glanced over at Oyama. She bowed to the man politely as she walked into theroom, shutting the door behind herself and wakling a few paces away from him, and kneeling.

"Ohayo gozaimasu Oyama-san." She said as she bowed once more in greeting.

"Ohayou," Oyama replied, settling down cross-legged after shaking an unresponsive Megumi and finally giving up at waking her. "Nothing if you don't think so. Little Hazu can worry away all day, but it is your opinion that is important. More than they being your hands, you are your servant's head. Wakatta?" He smiled and Hazu bowed his head, seating himself behind Keioko.

"I understand there was some confusion last night," His face darkened, but didn't hint at anger, only concern. "I hadn't wanted you to begin here with bloodshed, but from what Kawa told me, it couldn't be helped. I will tell you again, however. We already have two assassins. You will be more efficient in other capacities. Beyond killing." Megumi had again managed to rise and pour a cup of sake for herself. Oyama took it from her without thinking and drank it down. She pouted a moment and poured again.

"Zuizan-sama has gathered four men, his hitokiris...I doubt you've heard yet. Through them, he will terrorize our enemies. It is our job to help them gain tengaku no fukyuu...heaven's revenge." The sober bloodthirst of the words, cold in his usually warm tone, was obviously not his own -- a speech revealing the worst of their job.

"We are just pawns in bigger, stronger men's games. While I believe in our cause, I want you to know it for what it is. No one who serves me will be in the dark. After this, you cannot go back in your dedication. You will be a part of us, for better or worse. Do you accept?" There was no indication of which he prefered. His question, that filled the whole house, also left it silent and still. Even the downstairs seemed to wait on her answer before rolling again forward.

*wakatta - informal 'understood?'
*tengaku no fukyuu - literally heaven's revenge. I'm sure they used a more poetic phrase though.

 
Keioko glanced at Hazu as he sat down behind her, nodding understanding to Oyama as she got herself comfortable in her sitting position. Every word Oyama said was heard and understood by the girl, several thoughts flowing through her mind, some never to be thought again. Keioko considered herself a hitokiri, and she was slightly dissappointed that this wasn't what she was to do here. Another part of her was relieved, meaning she wouldn't have to clean her blades as often. A silent sigh creeped past her partially-parted lips.

"Do you accept?" Keioko focused her eyes on Oyama, as in her thoughts she'd slightly gone out of focus and looking at the wall behind him for a quick moment. She blinked a few times, her face impassive as she leaned forewards, bowing and nodding. "*Hai, watashi ha ukeire ru."

*Yes, I accept.

 
Oyama smiled, relaxed, and stole Megumi's drink again. "Good. Good! I wouldn't have known where to send you if you refused anyway!" He drank down the sake in toast.

"Kazuo is out of town, and I've asked Kawa to look into a new group...they killed one of Choshu's better spies. He isn't happy about it, but I think it's for the best, and I'm the boss, na!" He laughed uproariously. Loud enough that Kawa could no doubt hear him. "I want you to continue with the Aizu. They are a large group...maybe too large for you alone, but I won't have other groups taking all the recognition for them."

"Mostly, you will work freely. Choose how you will infiltrate them. Hazu says you have an appointment with Kano today. It is just one option. Move in if you can. Become one of them. Decide what is important and what is not, and report to Kawa each night. He will find you. The one thing I want to warn you on is this. Do not begin killing people without my word, unless it is absolutly necessary. We lost our last kunoichi from recklessness," He had grown stern, his already tall stature taking up the whole room, almost claustrophobically, but at the mention of loss, softened. "So take care. It is dangerous to sleep with the wolves."

It was a dismissal. In after thought, he added. "The group Kawa is researching has named themselves the Shinsengumi. If you hear anything, let him know, na." Megumi finally finished her own cup of sake, and smiled at Hazu across the room.

 
That's right, I have an appointment with Kana today... Keioko internally groaned, the look of slight distress on her face expressing her inner complaints. However, she erased this off her face quickly. She would much rather have the day off, hoping that she didn't have to work with Kaza today, even after the appointment.

"And the lamb that slept with the lion lived to see his next day." She smiled slightly, bowing her head a tad. "I understand." She bowed and stood up, turning top head to the door when she was stopped short by Oyama's voice again. She looked over her shoulder at him.

"The group Kawa is researching has named themselves the Shinsengumi. If you hear anything, let him know, na." Keioko nodded slightly, repeating the Shinsengumi name back to herself before bowing quickly and leaving the room, motioning for Hazu to go with her. Once in the hallway and heading down the stairs, Keioko spoke to Hazu in a quiet tone that would suit a female Kawa.

"When is my appointment with Kana?" At the last step, she stopped and sat down, resting her elbows on her knees and cradling her face in her hands, staring down at the wooden floor.

Oyama turned back to Megumi, their gentle conversation subsiding as Keioko descended the stairs, Hazu's energetic trot a bright contrast to her quiet care. He almost slipped behind her, but caught himself and slowed to a walk, and finally came up short when she sat.

"Oh, you'll be ten minutes late no matter when you get there," He joked, sitting next to her in a mimic of her own posture, though his head turned to look curiously at her. After a long silence, he spoke gently, though his voice had neither the restaint of Kawa, not the smoothness of Shinritsu, the Aizu. "Ne, senpai, you look...ano...down ne. Do you want some mochi? That always cheers me up." He smiled and bumped her leg with his reassuringly.


Keioko looked over at him, her eyes glistening with what looked like tears, but she wasn't crying, nor looked like she was about to. She blinked slowly, then stared back down at the ground, sighing heavily.

"It's Kawa..." She murmured. "He's been bothering me for some reason... I dunno why..." She wondered if Kawa could hear her, and some small part of her mind hoped he was listening. "How long has he been working here?"

"Kawa-sama? Chotto...omoshiroi, ne. Only Rin really knows him...I guess." He trailed off and shrugged, then smiled in over-reassurance to her. "He's been here six months. I know some stuff about him, but only what Rin tells me, and that he's strong. He only talks to me about business, but he's always polite. Him and Kazuo fight a lot sometimes...Kazuo's been here two months. I think he knows stuff about Kawa that Kawa doesn't want him to." He spoke his hunch as though he had been analyzing it for some time.

"I was gonna be Kazuo's servant, but he ended up with Aku-- Soto-kun instead...but Kawa...he's nice, I guess. I think he's more quiet than shy. When I tell Rin that she says he talks all the time to her but I think that's just cause she's protective of him, na...but...I'm pretty sure he likes you!" Whether he actually thought this, or was just saying it to make peace was unclear.

"Did he do something?" He said it with such wide-eyed innocent concern, that he might well have stormed off to demand an appology from the reticent ninja.

*omoshiroi - interesting, but kind of negative, not quite strange

 
"I doubt it..." She muttered, standing up with a frown on her face. She headed off towards her room to grab something, as she wanted to go out for a while and familiarize herself with the immediate city. She motioned Hazu to come, knowing full well he'd follow her anyways. In truth, Kei wanted tog et to know kawa, instead of being kept in the dark about her new co-worker. She was curious about Kazuo also, wondering when she'd meet him and his servant. Kei's noticed that Hazu had corrected himself on Akutei's name, calling him Soto instead. She sighed, wondering why he'd done so. Oh well, nothing to worry about.

"Hazu. How'd you come to be here?" She asked quietly as she padded down the hallway.

Hazu scurried after her, scrambling to ready himself so she wasn't delayed. Although he always managed to be ready on time, it seemed to always be in the most haphazard manner possible. He stood in her doorway as she asked him about himself, and watched her get ready, scanning the room for anything he might do to help.

"Ja...it was a long time ago ne. Oyama-sama found me a few years ago and, adopted me, ne. I guess he's like my father now, but don't tell him I said so! He'd tease me forever," He turned red just at the thought. "He was a samurai then, but he's a ronin now. He asked me how'd I like to be a ninja, and I was just a little kid then, so I said yeah...but, I'm not too good at a lot of that stuff that you are, ne. So I've been helping him out as a servant for the real fighters since. Now, I'm here." He smiled at the simplistic retelling with its obvious holes: how he could be adopted, who he had helped, what else he had done, all glossed over in a happy story of his life.

"Different for you though, ne. I bet your life's been much more exciting. And you're so fast too, ne. I think Oyama-sama isn't being fair. He should let you see more action. He just didn't see how strong you are. I bet if he did he'd make Kawa-sama serve tea to fat old Aizu," He laughed too loud at the image of a delicate Kawa, and checked guiltily over his shoulder to see if anyone had heard.

 
She nodded, listening to his story. At the mention of Hazu serving the Aizu, she couldn't help but giggle gently. Imagining Kawa in a kimono and delicately pouring tea was just too much. However, his head was blank save for the geisha-like hairstyle, as she could not remember his face too well, having never had much contact with him.

"I get he would... But Rin would probably critisie you for saying that moreso than Kawa would." She responded to his backwards glance with a small smile. She indeed didn't like Rin too much, as she seemed somewhat snobby in her young maturiy. Either way, a perfect match for Kawa. Keioko herself glanced at the doorway before looking around, then returning her gaze to Hazu.

"I need your help with something."

 
Hazu laughed harder at the mention of Rin's criticism. "Rin would never forgive me ne, but I bet she would love to dress him up!" Fortunately for him, no one came out of the opposing door.

Instantly at Keioko's side, he still smiled easily, never relaxed around her. He looked down, following her movements more than her face to discern things. Na, What can I do?"


 
By then, Keioko had pulled her yukata off her shoulders and it was resting around her waist. Her uper half, starting under her armpits and ending around the end of her ribs were loose, messily-wrapped bandages covering her chest and ribs. She started to untie them. "I need you to wrap me a bit tighter. I did a messy job on my own."

Hazu was only glad Keioko's back was turned to him. He could not have turned more red between the doorway and standing beside her. His voice stammered, but his actions were professional. Years of training saving him from disgracing his position. He placed heated hands on her back and took the wrapping from her own hands with an overly-careful grip.

"H-hai, senpai. Tighter, ne..." He loosened them quickly, trying his best to not touch her in anyways inappropriate, or to stare too much. He was respectful even with her back turned. His arms looped around her so they stood close, she could feel his unconscious breath on her back as he reached around her, the pragmatic embrace of a servant threatening to be usurped by that of a boy. His hands worked with rapid assurance to finish baring her skin, only trembling at a pause, and then attempted, still without looking to rewrap it, starting from just under her arms. The fabric pulled tight to pressing into her skin, more secure than the obi he had so skillfully dressed her in the night previous. As he moved down her chest, he grew more gentle, then knowing he had made a mistake with her orders, fumbled to fix it.

At last, with a firmness that supported her body, held her chest flat and ribs tightly in its embrace, he finished, nervous fingers tying the knots off once, twice, and again. "Ja, senpai-sama...is that ok?" He almost whispered it in concern for having made a mistake, forgetting to move away, his hands still at the knot.

 
Keioko tested her breathing with it on, feeling that it was comfortale and safe-feeling. Keioko liked her own personal feeling of safety, physical safety, even in something so trivial. She glanced over at Hazu. "Why so nervous? I don't mind if you see me. But the looks of it, you've never seen a woman before... in certain ways." She smiled comfortingly, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"It's good, thanks." She moved her arms back into the yukata, not bothering to tighten it. She was somewhat flat-chested now, her short hair would make her easily mistaken for a boy. She breathed a heavy breath and tugged ar her hakama slightly, pulling it down to rest on her hips instead of her waist.

"I'm going around the city today. D'you want to come nii-san?"

 
Hazu didn't answer her, though the color of his face said she was right. Suddenly he laughed, able to find humor even in his flustered state. "One time I saw Megumi-san fall asleep under a table naked, but not, ano, close...ne." He scratched his head and gave a quiet appology for his behavior, promising to act more 'normal' next time. When he looked at her again, the change of subject brought comfort.

"You look totally different from last night, yo! Even I wouldn't know who you were!" With a step back he inspected her, again with a critical eye and nodded, satisfied. With that, he was out the door.

"Un, mochiron, ne. What do you want to see? I know the whole city! Temples, restaurants, stores, secret stores, places to find weapons. Ne, I'll be your tour guide!" His smile always entered his eyes, his enthusiasm impossible to hide.

 
She smiled gently at Hazu's comments about Megumi, imagining his reaction to that. She giggled at this thought. Hazu was quite something, very energetic, even in Kei's still-lazy not-a-morning-person state of mind right now. "I usually disguise myself as a boy when I'm out and about. That way I can carry a sword out in the open." She smiled, taking a wakizashi and slipping it into her obi, then it's katana counterpart.

"I don't need a tour guide, just a companion. Whenever I go somewhere new, I like to tour on my own and figure things out of my own. If you don't mind." Keioko grabbed a few more things, tucking them here and there, then taking her small money pouch and sticking it into her sleeve. She made her way to the door, taking it slowly as she tried to remember if she forgot anything.

 
Hazu nodded, but looked a bit consternated. "ii, kedo...Ja, even as a boy you're prettier than me, ne. If I forget and call you my nee-chan, people will think strange things," He laughed and inspected her katana with the same sharp eye he had her a moment ago. "Can you use a katana too, senpai? Kawa-sama uses a lot of weapons, but you maybe more ne." He seemed content to carry no weapon of his own, even dressed in his simple kendo training style garb. His feet lit down the stairs in quick pace ahead of her and onto the street.

When the door opened, the noise of the vendors and customers murmured in. Not the flood of people from the night before, but a steadily paced stream. What had been mysterious in the dark turned cheerful in the mid-day light, and the peaceful colors of the buildings rose up until Keioko had to crane her neck to see the overhangs that stood even with her own window. The neighboring vendor called to Hazu, who greeted him with a bow, but did not approach. He waited for Keioko's direction before moving.
 
 
She squinted as the daylight obscured her vision from the darkness she was used to, putting a hand over her brow to shield her eyes as she allowed them to adjust. She glanced down at Hazu, but began walking, lowering her hand and making her way into the stream of people and blending in. Despite the blending though, she got several looks from some men and several females, as she appeared as an effeminate boy.

"Hazu-kun. I will ask you something about the city. Where's the closest candy shop?" She smiled down at him, wondernig if he recalled the offer she'd made to buy him some candy yesterday.


It was a strange combination of Hazu's soft, boyish features, and Keioko's harder feminine features as companions. The two might have been yakuza, more likely from their ages than ronin, but it had become expected in Kyoto lately. Both thieves and warriors were beginning to fill the streets. In this merchant area, they were left untroubled.

Hazu nodded in thought, and gave her directions not far into down, though down the hill they lived on. Deeper in the city, more warriors began to appear. More people who sized her up, carrying her blades in the open. There was talk of what had happenned the night before for both sides, but independent ronin muttering vague allegience to either side without much consideration for the causes, but the survivability. The restaurants were filled with men, all over-sized, all poor farmers hurrying the staff with calls for food, sake, entertainment. Only the finer places, such as Kano's, remained less rowdy, protected as much by their prices as the Aizu.

The candy shop was more a confectionary. As the two lined up in front of the vendor's displays, several other men stood with them, eyeing them not for the strangness of Keioko's look, but for her katana, and Hazu's lack of them. A man stood beside them in worn garb, the bright colors of his yukata faded and eaten through, the grips of his katana frayed. He stood several inches taller than either she or Hazu.

"Oi, Bishounen-san. Are you buying candy for your girlfriend there?" He snickered, and it became apparent he was talking to Keioko about Hazu. It was more an aspersion on Hazu than a question of Keioko's sexuality. "Joudan, joudan naa. I bet you're pretty strong to be protecting your friend though, na. Who are you with?" The rough tones were those of a peasant not looking for a fight, just starting a conversation, trying to establish equality with the younger, much better dressed boy. Just as those she had arrived with were, this man was probably alone in the city. His eyes were hungry not for blood, but for belonging. Hazu turned red and tried to ignore him.

*joudan - joke

 
Keioko couldn't help but smile softly as she browsed through the different selections of candy.

"This is my nii-san, not my girlfriend..." She said, deepening her voice and adding a Kyoto accent to disguise it. "As for who I'm with, as you say, I'm not quite sure what you mean." She picked up a pouch of small wrapped candies and weighed the bag in her hand, wondering how many were in there. Content, she reached into her sleeve and took out her money pouch, taking out the labeled amount and then pocketing her pouch again. She handed the money over to the vendor and opened up the bag of candy, unwrapping one and popping it into her mouth. She handed one to Hazu with a small smile.

The difference between Hazu and the ronin who towered behind him was immense. The stocky man's shadow engulfed the boy, no taller than Keioko herself, and while the rough peasant samurai took no notice of Hazu, Hazu couldn't help but be offended by him. As she handed him the candy, he gave her a forced smile, knowing the stranger was either mocking him, or and dismissed him entirely. The stranger nodded knowingly when Keioko revealed nothing, as though her silence indicated everything.

The difference between the two was made even clearer when a body flew through the wooden window slats of the restaurant next door. Hazu didn't flinch, and the ronin jumped all the way behind Keioko for protection with a shriek. Hazu ate his candy with a satisfied smile.

Out the door, but no less violently, Shinritsu stalked, his blue sleeves catching the cross-wind, his eyes, bleeding with hatred, his katana, dripping with the fallen mans blood. Although the lust of the night before was not as pronounced without Hazu's potion, his anger was palpable. "Omaera! Only yakuza ship whores in! Only yakuza contract unknown women out! If you think I'll believe they have a kunoichi I don't know about..." He growled indistinguishable words. Like the ronin, the group and fled quickly, a wide circle surrounding the two men. Shinritsu stepped into the middle of the road, standing above the man, staring into the gaping hole in his chest. "Now tell me, who killed my lieutenants!" He yelled coldly.

From behind him, still in the restaurant, a commotion had sounded. Angry yells in yakuza dialect ready to fall on the lone Aizu. Four more stormed out of the door, not ready to rush him, just creeping up.

"Ja, There are three around the corner too, ne. They'll be here in...a hundred count," Hazu said, chewing on his candy. He hadn't yet turned away from her, only concerned for her. Even the ronin had moved off to be a spectator. "That's Shinritsu Kangen...you met him last night...ne," He blushed a bit for a moment. "You could make a good impression here maybe, ne." He smiled, again light-hearted.

*Omaera - you(plural). Fightin words.


As the man was thrown into the wooden, Keioko had to bite her lip to stop from laughing at the ronin's reacion to it. She glanced behind herself at him with a dissapproving look mixed with amusement, popping another candy into her mouth. Oh great... She thought as her gaze fell towards the screaming words, recognizing Shinritsu at once. Her expression darkened slightly, despite knowing that he wouldn't recognize her.

"What do you suggest I do to make an impression?" She asked, taking a handful of candies and taking Hazu's open hand and placing them in it, then taking another one for herself and slipping it past her lips. She remained standing in front of the candy store vendor, watching calmly, also listening to the Yakuza closing space between themselves and the Aizu.

 
Hazu turned to stand shoulder to shoulder with her as spectators on the ugly scene, his mouth half-full with candy, as casual as the crowd that surrounded them, though his words through the chewing held disturbing analysis.

"Shinritsu is pretty strong, ne, and the yakuza don't want to fight him yet...but they're gonna, cause they'd look kinda silly in front of all these people if they didn't, ne." His eyes moved rapidly over the scene, and he took her by her sleeve, his embarrassment at touch forgotten in the moment. He skulked through the crowd like a thief until they were at the edge of the crowd.

"See that guy? I know 'im, ne," He pointed to a smirking man on the other side of Shinritsu, Hazu's words muffled by the candy he snacked on. "He's pretty strong and the others are just so-so. If when he attacks, you get to the others before Shinritsu gets to 'em, you'll look pretty good protecting him, ne!" He made it sound too simple with his mouth full and a big grin. He seemed to have total faith in her ability to do so, and a total disregard to Oyama's warnings.

"Na, if you want to, you should hurry. I bet the three I saw have heard about it by now..." The four in the circle edged closer to the lone Aizu. He raised his sword defensively. The two nearest Keioko had long knives drawn, the third a katana, and the last, the strong one had not drawn yet, his body turned in an iaijutsu stance. Where the other three were simple gangsters, that man was trained ronin.


"Nya, Hazuuuu...."She whimpered slightly as he dragged her over to the edge of the group, yanking her sleeve back as if he were just a curious younger brother bugging his brother for a look. She looked down at him with a pout, almost looking as if she didn't want to be there, as she didn't truly want to get caught up in this and make a scene.

She nodded slightly, listening to Hazu's analysis of the situation at hand, a small smile on her face. Maybe she would go through with it. Oyama said no killing, but he didn't say no fighting. She grinned a bit wider, closing the bag of candy and slipping it into her sleeve.

"Are you suggesting that I protect Shinritsu-san, or the ronin?" He looked over at him, blinking a few slow times, then glancing behind her as she heard the footsteps of the three more coming closer. She was indeed in the mood for a small scuffle, since her actions the previous night had left her unsatisfied with the shortness of it.

 
"Shinritsu, mochiron. You do need to get the Aizu to trust you, ne." Hazu grinned and finished the candy with a gulp. Bloodshed seemed to be a normal sight for him. "I'll make sure the other three don't come too quick, ok?" With a quick bow good-bye, he slipped into the crowd as rapidly as he had the night before. Even without the cover of darkness, he vanished nearly instantly. The fight was left to her.

All five men crouched simultaneously, and the crowed held its breath as they paused. The silence broke as the strongest jumped with a cry, drawing his blade in a flash. Shinritsu was engaged, his hand on the back of his blade to ward the attack off. Two others began to creep in, the third, ran at his opponent, knife raised at his back. Shinritsu saw him in the corner of his eye, Keioko could see his mind race for a solution.

---

Sighing heavily as Hazu ran off, Keioko herself dissappeared into the
crowds, moving through them swiftly as she placed her hand on the hilt of  her katana "Amaterasu", the other holding the scabbard steady. She quickly glanced at Shinritsu, judging where he was to defend next before she burst from the crowd, ducking under a swinging katana and pulling her own to counter the knifeman and knock the small blade from his hands. She narrowed her eyes slightly and threw herself at him, rolling around his body as he aimed a blow at her with his fist towards her face.

She grabbed his arm as it outstretched with her free right arm, pulling it over her body and using her own bodyweight and the momentum from his attack to throw him over her body onto the ground. She quickly kicked his face to send his conciousness spiralling into banishment.

Glancing at Shinritsu to check his position, she marked the second Yakuza that was positioned behind Shinritsu. She moved into the crowd, the people parting slightly, but she creeped up on him by surprise, jumping from the crowd behind him and landing a harsh blow to the base of his skull with the butt-end of her tsuka. The promptly knocked him out cold, his body crippling to the ground in a heap of cloth. She turned towards Shinritsu to see how he was handling the other Yakuza, her katana held at waist-level and ready for anything.

Blood spurted from the falled yakuza's face in a spray that flung off Keioko's sandaled foot. He clutched his face with a groan of pain. The second fared worse, simply collapsing to the ground. As strong as Hazu had claimed the yakuza who fought Shinritsu was, Shinritsu was stronger. With no need to watch his back, Shinritsu's blade slipped
Lengthwise across the snarling yakuza's and the sudden vacating
of force left his opponent falling forward. Whether he would have caught himself or not was irrelevant when Shinritsu lunged from the side, driving the tip of his already stained katana through the man's chest. With a spasm, his back arched in pain, and blood sprayed in an trail after the invading steel. The yakuza collapsed on his own blade, a red pool growing underneath him. There was just a sole man left, and yakuza were not samurai. Without hesitation, he turned and fled into
the crowd. Whether he would be back with the other three or not, still remained. Shinritsu stood for a moment longer, his blade aimed at the fleeing man, before wiping his blade clean and regarding the effeminite young boy who had come to his assistance.

 "Did you fight for bloodlust, or because you saw I was Aizu?" Was the first question he asked, his eyes still boiling with anger, though the question itself was not offensive, just direct. "Thank you, samurai-san. I am glad to see some honor in this crowd." He looked out accusingly at the crowd, now just as quickly dispersing, some stepping over the prone bodies as though they weren't there. "Shinritsu
Kangen to moushimasu." He offered with a strong, respectful bow to the shorter fighter. "Bishounen-san! Sugoi!" The cowardly ronin called
from behind Keioko, approaching them quickly and giving a winning smile. "I knew you could do it, na!" Shinritsu's eyes narrowed once again, flickered to the ronin and back to Keioko.

"Do you know this...person?"

*to moushimasu - I am called, respectful


As Shinritsu did was he does best, Keioko stood back and watched, careful to avoid any spraying blood. It wouldn't show up on her
black and red kimono that well, but she was still concerned with getting dirty. The final man had fled, and Keioko relaxed somewhat, sheathing her katana which had remained unstained. She bowed politely when he addressed her.

"I fought to aid you, because you were a man outnumbered." She motioned to the bodies. "I killed none, and thank you." She kept a small smile on her face, deepending her voice to disguise it as before when she spoke to him.

Keioko looked back at the ronin, narrowing her own eyes. "I didn't see you helping..." She muttered, gently shaking her head. She turned back to Shinritsu, shaking her head again. "We exchanged brief words at the sweets stand, but that is it." She soon stepped back to give herself some room as she bowed deeply to Shinritsu, introducing herself. "Watashi wa Tenshi Makai desu." She straightened up and folded her arms
within her wide haori sleeves. For just a moment, she allowed her gaze to drift across the retreating crowds to try and catch a glimpse of Hazu so she knew he was safe.

Hazu didn't appear, but the three yakuza did. Shinritsu turned on the ronin with a smile that was false at best. "Why don't you help out with those three and catch up with us later, na." He turned quickly and walked away, motioning to Keioko, and leaving the quickly paling ronin behind. As the crowd slowly embraced him, he had turned to face the
Three screaming gangsters.

  "Tenshi Makai," He repeated. "I guess you can have that kind of name if you're willing to piss the yakuza off and leave them breathing." He paused once they were away from the battle scene. "You're from Kyoto, I
can tell. Ano aitsu niteiru ja nai de. Denbu no ronin ja nai naa." He waved back towards the fight. "So what's your story? Are you a mercenary or looking for a group to fight in? What? It'd be ridiculous to let your skill go to waste like fools like that ronin." He was direct, to the point, exactly as he had been the night before. Although his speech was rough, it wasn't disrespectful towards Keioko, just plain-spoken, as though he hadn't the time for flowery answers.

*Ano aitsu niteiru ja nai de. Denbu no ronin ja nai
naa - You aren't like that asshole. You aren't a
hick ronin.


Keioko's face was calm as smiling softly as she walked alongside the Aizu, her arms remaining folded inside her sleeves. Occasionally, she would glance back at the battling ronin and Yakuza. When she heard her cover name, her gaze reverted back to Shinritsu, smiling at his commentary of her courage. She chuckled softly. "I'm perhaps a Rurouni. Maybe a
mercenary, but that all depends on how you look at it." She kpt her voice deep, but her words fluid and wise-sounding. "I'm not much of a killer, as I only do it if I must and theres no other choice. But what of you, Shinritsu Kangen-san? What is your place in this war-torn capital?"


Shinritsu nodded. Most people had not yet found an allegiance, and it stood to reason that the stronger might seek to gain something from their skills, even if it was not the honorable thing. He was a practical man.

 "I will be a lieutenant for the Aizu," He said, almost in disgust. "Last night, two of our lieutenants were assassinated, through my carelessness. I offered to commit seppuku, but it was denied. Instead they want to promote me. Funny, isn't it?" He smiled grimly, without humor.

 "The Aizu will be in charge of this city in just a few months, and I'll tell you, Tenshi-kun, I'm going to be running it. I could use some outsiders to help me both outside and inside the clan. Do you understand what I mean?" He looked sideways at Keioko, implying more than just joining the Aizu, and then nodded. "I'm going to need strong men, na. Think about it. If you're interested, come find me at the inn outside the temple district, Kano's. And if you really want some work, get me the head of the bitch yakuza who killed two Aizu last night." He nodded and turned to go, the ronin fighting the yakuza forgotten, only his own path in his sights.

 "Ja mata, Tenshi Makai."

 The moment he left, Haza was again at her side, one eye blackened almost shut, but showing no signs of pain. "What'd he say, senpai?"

Keioko nearly snorted when Shinritsu cursed about "the bitch Yakuza". Wow, quite a presumpsion. She was glad he thought Shizuka a Yakuza. Once he left, she bowed to him politely, waiting for him to get out of sight. She giggled to herself, it soon turning into laughter which was quickly cut short as Hazu popped up. She gasped this time, her eyes going very wide.

"Ah! Hazu! What happened?!" She grabbed his head and pulled his face close so she could examine his eye a little better. Sheer concern was expressed on her face and in her voice as she looked at his blackened eye. "Those yakuza did that didn't they? Kuso! Why I oughtta! Grrr!" Now she sounded like a fussing mother, boiling over bullies.

Hazu looked embarrassed when she grabbed his face, squirming, but then laughed helplessly. "Ja, that's what happens when you get in yakuza's way, ne." He put his hand on hers gently to remove it. "It doesn't really hurt, senpai. Besides, they could've cut me in half, ne!" He grinned and winced, but changed the subject, more comfortable helping her than worrying
over himself.

 "So what did Shinritsu-san say? Was he impressed? I saw the one running away, so I bet he was, ne!" Almost without her knowing, he was steering her away from the fight, and perhaps her desire to re-enter it, slowly fading into the crowd.

"You should be more careful..." She said, pouting. "I'm just glad you weren't hurt even worse. I have something back at the house that'll help clear it up and get rid of the swelling. Wakatta?" She smiled, patting his head gently. She began to walk off, placing an arm around Hazu's shoulders to make him follow her before she refolded her arms within her sleeves.

"Yes, I do believe he was impressed. He offered for me to go to Kano's and see about joining the Aizu or something like that..." She muttered, taking her hands from her sleeves and entwining her fingers behind her head, closing her eyes and leaning her head back on her folded hands as she kept walking. She soon grinned and laughed gently as a memory came up. "He referred to Shizuka as 'that yakuza bitch.' Ahahah! Yakuza... do they even have females working for them?"

With an easy shrug, Hazu dismissed his wounds, "Don't worry, senpai! It's my job, ne. If I get beat up, it's just a black eye. If you get beat...it's worse, na." He followed after her, listening carefully to Shinritsu's reaction, looked a bit offended that he would have called even Keioko's alter ego a name, but moved on to her next question like a tour guide of the underworld.

 "Un. Yakuza women are usually prostitutes though, ne. Like Megumi-san!" He said, excited to find such a ready example, but then turned red at the outburst. "Tonikaku, it's kind of a yakuza trick to get a woman to separate men and then kill them...Also, Rin and I made it look like yakuza, after...na..." He shrugged and gave no more details.

 "He's looking for Shizuoka? Fum...that seems, strange...ne, I wonder why he cares? It'll be hard to find her if he looks right at her and doesn't see, ne!

 "So, where to next? I'll have to tell Kano-san why you aren't coming...that's the beating you should've saved me from!" He joked. Even with the fighting, the morning had been more a relaxing walk through a beautiful day. Hazu led her through back alleys without a second thought, as if their destination was some obscure place, unknown to all but a few, when
they really had no destination at all.

Keioko frowned on Hazu's easy reactions to his wounded eye. At least he wasn't whining about it. She sighed softly and listened to him speak, fishing out once more the bag of candies. She pulled a few out for him and a few out for herself before putting them away again, handing the few to Hazu. "So you're saying Megumi-san is a yakuza prostitue?" She grinned over at him with a small chuckle.

"Anyway, there a teensy weensy problem with Shizuka and Makai." She started, slipping a candy past her lips and continuing. "Shizuka will be working at Kano's while Makai is perhaps expected to be with the Aizu in future dates? Hmm, maybe Shizuka can only work certain days while Makai can only work certain days... Hmm." She placed a finger to her lower lip in thought, her eyes rolled upwards at the cracks of sky between the eaves of the buildings overhead. But for some strange reason, as she looked at the eaves of the roofs, her thoughts drifted over to Kawa, wondering what he would be doing on such a beautiful dayas this. Working probably. A shame he can't enjoy this peaceful weather.

"I like Megumi-san, I think she wants to be my mother, ne, but when we first met, un, she worked for yakuza, na," He smiled at Keioko as he swallowed a candy, but his eyes were serious. "But don't tell her I told you, ne. She's trying to be better, but...ano...relapses," He laughed at the absurdity and shook his head.

 "Ja, mondai ne. You wanna do both? Sounds complicated...but you're good enough to make it work!" He said with total faith. "If you want to work at Kano's too, we should hurry, na. She's gonna yell at me as it is!" He hurried his steps, for whatever she decided, he was sure he would have to scramble to catch up.

Keioko smiled patiently. "Shizuka will go to Kano's tomorrow. Makai will go tonight." She glanced down at him and placed a hand around his shoulders. "Lets go back home. I could use a short nap. some food, and report to Oyama-san. How's that sound Hazu-nii?" She smiled and took her arm from his shoulders, refolding them inside her sleeves. She rested her left arm in the crook between her body and her blades of her left hip.

*mondai – problem

Hazu leaned briefly into Keioko as she put her arm around him, the tension from the fight draining out of him, he smile lost a ferocious quality unseen except by its absence. He had sought out a fight as much as she.

 "Ii ne. What would you like to eat? Oh, I know! I'll get Rin to help me while you sleep, na. You're really lucky to have such a good cook for a servant," He said and laughed at his own mock confidence. "Oyama-sama will be happy to hear from you, I think. Kawa-sama
hardly ever shows up. I think it's to make Oyama mad, but Rin says he's just very busy..."

 Hazu did his best to entertain as they wound their way through back streets filled with apartments and tiny shops selling everything from 'magic' to fish. These less popular shops only staffed by one person, almost uniformly staring past the two into the empty street without a call or imploration to buy. It seemed as if they were all waiting, but for what, Keioko
would probably never see.

 The two came out just across the street from the house, and the crowds again buzzed with noise and energy. Already word had begun to spread on the lips of the populace about battles taken place today, and Shinritsu's was not the only one. Not enough blood had been shed in the war to jade the people, and fear was still mixed with fascination.

 The sound of their footsteps against the backdrop of the commotion outside was all that could be heard entering the home. Sunlight diffused through screens lit the rooms up golden and cheery, not harsh. Hazu slipped into Keioko's room, presumably to clean and prepare it for her nap while she met with Oyama. Rin sat quietly in the main room, studiously copying
characters down, her quiet face intent on the page. She bowed briefly to Keioko and returned to her work without comment.

Keioko returned Rin's bow with a small one of her own as she slipped out of her zori and watched as Hazu entered her room. She walked past, her view cut off as Hazu closed the door behind him. She smiled gently and climbed the stairs in front of her, elading up to Oyama's
quarters. Once there, she kneeled in front of the door and knocked on the wooden frame gently.

"Oyama-san, its Keioko." Were the only words she said as she waited a response with closed eyes and a bowed head. She had much on her mind.


"Keioko-san, enter," Oyama's deep voice rumbled through the door. No one was there to open the door this time. As Keioko did it herself, the room revealed Oyama, cross-legged, studying a sheaf of paper with kanji scribbled down by numerous hands. He continued reading them even as she knelt again in front of him. After a long pause, he set the papers aside and
smiled, studying her features.

 "Keioko-san, what can I do? Trouble at Kano's?" He asked mildly, but with a patience that seemed to expect mistakes on her first real day.

She bowed politely as she kneeled in front of him, holding it for a moment before straightening up. Before she had sat, she removed the two blades from her obi and set them beside her. She acted as if she were a ronin coming to meet him, as she appeared to be.

"I've come to report a happening today." She began, a calm and somewhat serious expression on her face.

"I've earned a new personality named Tenshi Makai, a wandering ronin, perhaps a mercenary. Makai helped the new Aizu Lieutenant Shiritsu Kangen against four or so Yakuza thugs and was, in turn, invited to join the Aizu tonight at Kano's. Despite Shizuka's appointment tonight at Kano's, Hazu-kun will be letting her know that Shizuka will be meeting her tomorrow night. The good thing is, Shinritsu suspects Shizuka of being a yakuza prostitute."

Oyama regarded her mildly through the description of the day, but took more interest as she came to Shinritsu. He was much more calm, almost placid with Megumi conspicuously absent, as though all the energy had left the room with her.

 "So the killing was disguised well. If he recognizes you, he will kill you," Oyama said candidly. "Be careful with too much resemblance in your disguises. Cover your tracks before you reappear as this, Shizuoka." He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, as if sizing her up. "How close do you think you can get to them as Tenshi? I ask because something is
happening there now. There are people important to them who we have reports have entered the city. If you think you can find out, then I will give the job to you, but if not, I will ask Kawa to perform this duty as well. He has several contacts within the Aizu. It will be easier if you are on the inside, however."

 He watched her face carefully, the sedate, sleepy cast of his face let nothing escape him in his judgement of her. He smiled paternally.

 "I asked for a kunoichi from Zuizan, but it seems for awhile you may be acting more as a ninja, naa."

"What more is a kunoichi than a female ninja?" She said with a small smile and polite bow of the head. "Perhaps as Tenshi I can join them and get some insider information to you, as spy of sorts. I do well-understand the risks involved, but I am confident with my skills to continue with such a plan. I am already in the Aizu's good graces with my run-in with Shinritsu today."

"More than one of our ninja infiltrating the Aizu is more of an advantage to us." She bowed her head again, then straightened back up, smiling gently.

"You will do fine here, Keioko-san," He said softly,
perhaps a bit sadly. "If they come to trust you, they
will give you a room at their inn. It is dangerous to
be in such a position all the time, but it would be of
advantage to us all. This is neither Kawa nor Kazuo's
strong point. If you can succeed in this way, it will
fill a hole our team has been missing...for some time.
Take care in doing this. I have information here," He
scooped up the papers he had set aside in one hand,
shuffled through them quickly, and with a gentle push,
set one in front of her. "This is all the information
we have, but it isn't much. Kawa will give you
anything we recieve." With that, he returned to the
remaining papers in slow study of the scrawled kanji,
unless she had more to say, she was dismissed.
 Before she left, he called to her one last time. "A,
Keioko-san, tell Hazu that if he suggests you do
something so foolish as fight with yakuza again, he
will be cleaning floors for a week." He didn't look up
from his papers, though a small smile graced his lips.
How he knew it was Hazu's suggestion, was only her
guess.

Keioko smiled gently, bowing and nodding with a gentle "Sir." Before she stood, grabbing her blades and setting them into her obi before bowing once more and leaving the room. Once she slid the dor closed beside her, she released a nearly inaudible breath of relief. Whenever she was in the prescence of her superiors, she was always nerous and afraid of messing up, even around someone as easygoing as Oyama. She quietly stepped down the stairs and headed to her room, her eyes downcast in thought. She pause din front of her door, listening for signs of Hazu and if he'd finished what he was doing or not.

Hazu was whistling without melody, and
the small sounds of cleaning crept from the room in
the clicks of wood on wood, and thick fabric aired and
folded. The downstairs door opened, and slow,
deliberate footfalls made their way towards Keioko
until at last, Megumi's hungover visage appeared with
a tired nod.
 "Keioko-chan," She said quietly. Everyone but Hazu
had entered a midday lull. Hazu, however, upon hearing
Megumi's voice, flung the door open with a bright
look.
 "Ja, senpai, I didn't hear you! Megumi-san, genki
no?" He grinned. Behind him the room was organized,
Keioko's futon laid out for her already.
 "Un, Hazu-chan, genki yo. How are you?" She brushed
his hair back familiarly from his eyes.
 "Ii, mochiron, ne. I was just cleaning." He laughed
at his own enthusiasm for menial work.
 "Good boy." Megumi looked back at Keioko, her arm
around Hazu so they would both face her. "Hazu-chan,
your senpai is cute as a boy, na. Maybe I'll call her
Keioko-kun from now on, ne." Hazu looked embarrassed.
 "Ja, Megumi, that's just because you didn't see her
last night, ne. She is ninja yo, she can look however
she wants." Megumi laughed, either at his assurance in
Keioko, or in agreement with him.
 "Tabun, you are right, Hazu-chan...I'll be down in a
bit to help Rin with tea ceremony," She waved and
meandered into the main room, the slow pace losing all
sense of direction.

"I'm thinking Megumi is in more of a need for a nap than I..." Keioko said with a small smile. In all truths, She wouldn't mind being called Keioko-kun, it would just add to her disguise. She grinned at this thought and looked into her room, then walked into it, motioning for Hazu to follow. Once Hazu had closed the door behind him, she turned to him. "Megumi-san is quite affectionate of you, eh?" She grinned, mimicking on herself the brush-of-the-hair that Megumi had performed on Hazu. She giggled and pulled her swords from her obi and set them onto their respective rack on the other side of the room.

"Ja, She said you were cute!" Hazu said defensively,
but laughed. "Un. When she gets drunk she likes to
chase me around trying to kiss me." He took her blades
from her with gentle respect and laid them aside for
the moment, possibly to clean later.
 "Megumi-san always needs sleep, na. You are kind of
the same, ne. Maybe it is adult women? I dunno..." He
sighed and flopped into kneeling. "You will nap, ne?
I'll get things ready for later. Do you need anything,
senpai?" Although his words were ready to leave, his
body relaxed from its upright position, like a playful
dog, still energetic, but basking in the brief respite
by her bed, watching her as a servant, but something
similar to fighter with an opponent. It was a study in
her habits.

"It is only for today that I will be napping as I'm
still tired for the
amount of time I remained awake yesterday. This nap
and tonight's sleep and
I will be finally caught up, then spend my days
without sleep until
evening." She smiled at him over her shoulder as she
untied her obi and
stepped out of her hakama, laying it down on the
floor beside her as she'd
need it when she awoke. She also pulled off her
haori and set that on top of
it, adjusting her yukata for sleep. A small yawn
escaped her lips as the
inevitabled prospect of sleep entered her mind and
put it to drift.

"I don't think I'll need anything more than a cup of
tea when I awaken." She
said smiling. "And I'm sure that your dinner tonight
will be excellent." A
gentle pat on the shoulder and Keioko laid down on
her side, facing the wall
with her back to Hazu. She pulled up the covers to
her chin with her left
hand and sighed heavily, closing her eyes and
allowing herself to slow her
breathing as she prepared to sleep. She wouldn't
actually fall unconcious
until Hazu was gone.

"Oyasumi nasai, senpai," Hazu said softly, and his
footfalls receeded out the door. As she fell into
unconsciousness, only the slight murmur of quiet
voices from the main room mixed with the ambient
whispers of the streets outside...

 Flashes of an oppressive heat pervaded Keioko's
dreams, images just at the edge of consciousness that
made little sense, and were left unremembered. When
she awoke, it was as though no time had passed, though
the light had shifted from midday to late afternoon,
the noises were still the same. The cool spring air
was a relief from the fires of sleep. Unlike the
morning, the voices were inaudible, though she thought
she could hear the polite clink of porcelain, and the
speech rhythms of instruction. Her door opened, then
shut, without the sound of feet entering or exiting,
then a third voice, its bright timber just deepening,
mixing with the others in the main room. Hazu, at
least, was there.

A gentle sigh left her slightly parted lips as she
sat up from under the
covers. As usual, she'd fallen off her pillow and
was resting on her arm.
She looked around the room, squinting slightly from
the light that her eyes
hadn't yet gotten used to. She murmured Haxu's name
gently, wondering where
he was and where the voices were coming from.

From the cocoon of the small room, Keioko hear the
sudden rush of footsteps, a trip, a crash, a moments
pause, and then more footsteps down the stairs towards
the exit. Behind them, Megumi's voice called.
 "Hazu-chan! Stop running! Mou, if you drop the eggs,
I'm NOT giving you more money this time!" There was no
response but the outside door slapping shut. The quiet
voices in the main room continued as before.
 Keioko's katana had been replaced while she slept,
even the saya cleaned perfectly, and the blade
assumedly sharpened within its sheath. Hazu had just
left, but his work remained behind, as it did in all
the little touches around the room. As far as she
could ascertain, only Megumi and another in the main
room, and Oyama upstairs were left in the house.

lazy, and usual still half-asleep Keioko got up
and adjusted her yukata,
combing a few knots from her hair. She grabbed her
hakama and quickly put it
on, then made way to the door, rubbing her eyes
gently. She slid it open and
looked into the main room, leaning against the
doorframe. She covered her
mouth as she supressed a gentle yawn, blinking
slowly. "What's all the
ruckus?" She murmured lazily.

At the table which occupied the middle of the main
room sat Rin, and facing Keioko, Megumi. Megumi gave
the most coherant smile she had seen yet, and
graciously motioned to the seat opposite her for
Keioko. A full tea set occupied the table, with three
cups already set out.
 "Hazu went on an errand for me, I hope you don't
mind. Please, sit." Her nod to Rin set the little girl
into the motions of serving tea. Though Keioko's eye
was not expert, the young girl seemed competent, if
ostentatious.
 "Hazu asked me to tell you that he would meet you at
Kano's tonight because..." She trailed off.
 "Because it wouldn't be good to be seen with him as
two different people in such a short time," Rin
finished Hazu's message without breaking from the
meditative performance.
 "That's right, good girl, Rin-chan." Megumi smiled
at her affectionately, seemingly oblivious to her own
lack of memory. She picked up a thin, feminine pipe
and lit it, enjoying the smoke sensually, her eyes on
Keioko.
 "You can relax and talk with just the girls before
you go, ne Keioko-chan?" Whereas Rin sat with upright
discipline, similar to Hazu, but without ever giving
up the formality, Megumi lounged on the floor, her
thin graceful hands made languid sweeps with her pipe
in expression of her words. "I heard you fought with
some Yakuza today, and now you'll go to the Aizu?"


Keioko took the offered seat across from Megumi,
tucking her hakama
underneath her neatly as if she were wearing only a
yukata. Her posture was
neither Megumi's nor Rin's, but perhaps a mix of
both. While formal in her
stance, she was relaxed. The tired girl gently shook
her head to Megumi's
statement. "I don't mind. Not at all."

As Megumi smoked from her pipe, Keioko wrinkled her
nose slightly, the smoke
bothering her as it always had no matter where she
went. She'd tolerate it
if only for a small amount of time. She knew that
the smoke wasn't healthy
for her. She nodded to Rin slightly before picking
up her tea cup and gently
blowing over the surface. Her mouth was parched of
thirst and nearly
completely dry. The quicker the tea cooled down, the
better.

She smiled gently, closing her eyes and setting down
the cup before her gaze
floated up to Megumi's. "Yes, that is correct. I did
indeed fight where
nobody was killed by my blade this day. While I do
plan to meet with the
Aizu tonight, Hazu and I are still discussing
possibilities." She picked up
her cup again, blew over the surface and took a tiny
sip, morely wetting her
lips to check the temperature.

"What an interesting torture," Megumi said with
breathy cynicism. "You left the yakuza alive to be
punished even more harshly later, ne. Now that sounds
more like what Miran would have done," She smiled
through the thick smoke and poured herself a glass of
sake from a bottle that lay against her curled legs.
At the name, Rin's face darkened, but continued
through to the finish of her ceremony.
 "Miran was our last kunoichi, a beautiful girl, ne
Rin-chan. But Keioko is more like Kawa than her, ne?"
Rin glared with as much authority as an eight year old
could in disapproval. "I don't think I ever even saw
her carrying a weapon. I guess you are confident or
just like the danger then, Keioko-chan? How...strong
of you." The choice of words deeper than their
meaning.
 "It is better she is different from...her," Rin said
suddenly with quiet decisiveness.
 "Well you would say that," Megumi laughed and took
another drag from her pipe, smoke filling the air,
"But I'm surprised Hazu-chan even remembers how
sharpen a katana. That's why he's so good at dressing
women as geisha," She said confidentially. "And I
don't remember him ever getting hurt with Miran."
 "He was." Rin interjected into Megumi's ruminations
without interrupting. Her voice was a ghostly whisper.
 "He is not the strongest boy, ne Keioko-chan. I
always feel like I should protect him, but he is your
servant now, maybe it's better that you're
so...capable." If Keioko had been a man, it would have
sounded flirtatious, as it was, it carried a more
probing edge. "So can you use that sword well then?"
With another drag from her pipe, she held up an empty
sake cup in offering to Keioko, as if to tempt her
with the same things she was drawn in by. Rin only
observed, sipping at her own tea the steam from the
clean smelling liquid mixing with the heavy smoke of
tobacco.


"Well, Megumi-san. I couldn't very well kill them
when I was instructed not
to. Besides, with my joining the Aizu, I'll have
more swords at my back for
protection." She sipped her tea gently, shaking her
head in refusal to
Megumi's offered drink of sake. She wondered what
happened to Miran. Oyama
must have been talking about her when he spoke of
losing a kunoichi earlier.
She looked at Rin as she listened to her words.

"I agree Rin-chan. I worry about Hazu though. I
nearly had a heart attack
when he returned to me with a black eye." She sighed
heavily and finished
her tea, looking back to Megumi. "Yes, I guess you
could say that I can. A
variety of weapons actually, but I won't further
into that. I wasn't killed
when I fought with the Yakuza, so that must mean I
am proficient with a
sword."

"Well the yakuza certainly like the Aizu less than
us, so I'm sure you'll do fine," Megumi said,
withdrawing the sake cup and sipping at her own. "That
boy would walk into sword without blinking if he
thought it would do any good." Megumi laughed, but Rin
withdrew, as if the topic were too offensive for her.
 "Shitsureishimasu," She said curtly, and headed back
for the room across from Keioko's.
 "Rin-chan is so serious," Megumi said with a raised
eyebrow. "Kawa could bore anyone to old age though I
suppose...You don't seem like him in that way. No, I
think it will be, interesting to have another woman
around, even if we aren't quite the same...type. Ne."
The embers from her pipe extinguished, and she leaned
forward with a slow smile.
 "But if you need any help with anything
besides...your swords, you let me know, ok, Kei-chan?"
She rose slowly, leaving the tea set out, and slowly
made her way up the stairs. Keioko could hear the door
slide open and shut, and the slow growing din of
Oyama's voice rose from the silence. The main room
still felt cozy with the piles of clothing and
weapons, but alone with two other rooms occupied. Rin
returned a minute after Megumi had left to clean up
the tray.

Keioko remained in silence after Megumi left,
thinking over her words. When
Rin came in to clean up, Keioko watched her for a
moment, waiting for her to
get closer. Once closer to Keioko, Rin would feel a
pair of arms take her
around the torso and drag her body over into
Keioko's lap, hugging her in a
motherly manner.

"I'm sorry Rin-chan..." Keioko's soft-spoken and
somewhat saddened voice
spoke outside of Rin's vision. Keioko had her
embraced against her own body,
holding her as a mother would hold a daughter.
"You're really feeling
protective of Hazu-kun, aren't you?"

Rin stiffened at the touch in surprise, the small
cups shifting as she set the tray down quickly, her
small body fitting easily on Keioko's lap. She made no
response but to sit quietly in her arms, for just a
moment, her head resting against Keioko's chest as an
actual child her age might, then nodded almost
imperceptibly.
 "Hazu is the only one to have his master...go,
Matsukaze-san. I think if Kawa-sama was gone, I would
be the same. Hazu-kun can't be angry like Akukei, and
doesn't fight, but he is stronger to be able to
continue, na, and will risk more for you." Her voice
was filled with too much heavy emotion for its young
tone, and she rose from Keioko's lap quickly,
adjusting her kimono in a self-conscious mastery of
vulnerable feeling. She lifted the tray again, and
when she had turned back, again was able to face
Keioko with her usual confidence.
 "It is inappropriate to hug me, Matsukaze-san." She
reprimanded with serious formality, and scurried off
with her tray.

Keioko frowned and stared down at the ground,
feeling almost tempted to cry
from Rin's behavior. Keioko could see nothing wrong
with hugging the girl,
but of course, Rin was uncomfortable with it. She
seemed like she wasn't at
first, but that was obviously not true. She clenched
her eyes tightly for a
moment and balled her hands into fists, her left
fist slamming itself down
on the ground in frustration.

"I wish I could help you Rin-chan..." She murmured
under her breath, her
voice wavering slightly. "You are too sad..." Keioko
sighed and eventually
stood, making her way back to her chambers to relax
in quiet solitude before
she was to go to Kano's.


The house brooded for a long time as the sun
stretched its way into evening, and the warmth of the
light struggling to not die out gave way to the
peaceful breezes and sounds drawn up from the stars.
Even the baudy laughter of Megumi and Oyama seemed
distant. The main door opened and shut, and Hazu's
heavy footsteps tromped up the steep stairs. He sailed
by the open door with a smile.
 "Tadaima, senpai!" He spun, almost fell, and
recovered by the time his momentum had carried him
into the main room. A moment later his head peeked
back again around the doorway, his breath heavy from
exertion.
 "Ne, senpai, I thought you'd be gone already. I
talked to Kano though and she said she'd beat you like
a disobedient child if she ever saw you again, but
that just means she likes you, so it's ok," He laughed
and scratched his head. "They've got a whole buncha
people down there, the Aizu do! It's a party. We
should go!" He grinned and entered her room, kneeling
down beside her with his customary posture.

"I don't want you to go." Keioko said, sitting in
her usual corner with one
leg bent up, the other outstretched. Her left side
was leaning against the
wall, her back against the wall behind her, as well
as her head with closed
eyes. She had a blank expression on her face, maybe
considered cold or
serious. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I'm thinking you should be more careful in being
seen around me as Shizuka,
Keioko or Makai. If anyone would recognize you,
they'd make a connection and
eventually figure things out." She sighed heavily.
"I feel so bad for Rin.
She cares for you, you know..."


Hazu nodded without question to her command, but
seemed unconcerned about the issue himself. "Mochiron,
senpai. I won't go with you tonight, but don't worry
about me, ne. If you worry about me, then you're in
more danger than you need to be, na. It's my job to
worry, and if you steal my job, then Oyama-sama will
throw me out into the street and then what'll I do?"
He laughed, a bit nervous, as was his rambling speech.
He bowed quickly in understanding, and his eyes
softened talking about Rin.
 "Rin's a good girl, ne. She's pretty serious though,
naa. That's just why she's protective," He laughed and
blushed. "Don't tell Kazuo-san that I get protected by
an little girl, ok?" Without really pausing for a
breath, he was up and preparing her for the night,
choosing clothes, setting out her two katana
carefully. He turned and regarded her with his large
brown eyes. "What all do you want to take with,
senpai?"


"I'm still not used to having a servant..." She
murmured. "...So I'll just
do it on my own tonight. You can go somewhere you'd
like, just stay away
from Kano's and he Aizu and Yakuza. I don't want you
to get any more
hurt..." She tilted her head at him, her blue eyes
golding a cold stern look
in them. She seemed mentally exausted almost,
perhaps from thinking too
much.

"Hai, senpai! Wakarimashita!" He bowed deeply, and
turned to go with just a quick look back. "Ganbatte
ne!" He said with a smile, apparently taking no notice
of her severe look, and ran out the door. She could
hear him race up the steps, and the call of Oyama in
greeting the servant. The room was again empty, though
his energy seemed to remain, filling the space that
the others lacked. Only she and Rin remained quiet in
the suddenly burdgeoning with cheer household. All
that was left downstairs was the Aizu again looming in
the night.

*wakarimashita - Understood
*ganbatte - good luck!

Again, she sighed heavily and hoisted herself up.
She kept in her black
hakama, changing into a red yukata and a black and
red patterened haori
overtop. The two blades she chose tonight were the
katana Amaterasu, and the
wakizashi, Izanami. She had a thing for naming her
katanas after female
kamis. Her ninjatos were named differently. Oh well.
As she put her haori
on, she realized that she had smoe candy left over,
and she'd munch on it
while she made her way over to Kano's to visit the
Aizu this evening.

Keioko was truly worried for Hazu's safety, and
she'd ask Oyama to reassign
him if it helped Keioko keep him safe. She had
always done her job alone,
without the aid of anyone else, so having a servant
to help was strange to
her. Sometimes she liked the company, sometimes she
didn't. "Sayonara!"
Keioko called up the stairs to notify them she was
leavnig for the night
before she walked to the door and slipped on her
zori.

Amidst the ruckus, no one seemed to hear her exit,
and on the still busy street, no one seemed to see
her. People hurried for a destination as the sun fell,
and those who walked slowly all carried themselves
with a hardened look. The risk they couldn't see was
as real as those who sought cover from the night. The
battles had not begun on a scale to turn the city
entirely into a war zone, but Keioko could feel it
building like the moment before a rain. People still
laughed, but knew when it was time to move on.
 The closer she came to Kano's the fewer normal
citizens populated the roads, and the more ronin,
yakuza, Aizu, milled restlessly. Like adolescent boys,
many rough-housed in the street, cutting off traffic,
others spoke confidentially to each other, and others
still merely observed, motionless except for
flickering eyes.
 Everyone watched everyone else. Keioko could feel a
hundred eyes on her at any one time, each judging her,
weighing the katana at her side against her size,
against the way she carried herself. The only
difference between being a man and a woman was the
emotion behind the stares. A fight broke out in the
distance. It was quickly quelled in the clashing of
steel.
 Kano's was choked with ronin, many looking for
enterance with the Aizu, some just looking for a
fight. At the door, Kano herself stood imposingly,
staring down at Keioko.
 "Another ronin? We're full up of you tonight. You
can wait outside with your buddies though," She
commanded, unimpressed with however dangerous Keioko
might have looked. The men she refered to, four rough
looking men, all stood in a circle, watching the scene
with a mixture of sympathy and impatience. She hadn't
let them in either. Night had fallen completely,
though the sounds of revelry from inside were louder
than the markets in the day.

She narrowed her eyes, her arms folded in front of
her in a non-threatening
way as she stared at the woman. She glanced back at
the four ronin behind
her, surveying them up before turning her attention
back to Kano. "I am not
with these rough-looking men." She spoke
confidently, yet indirectly
reprimandingly to the ronin for not taking better
care of themselves. Keioko
herself had a nice clean and crisp kimono, well
taken care of. She herself
was clean and well-groomed. Being female, her face
was no doubt absent of
any facial hair other than eyebrows and lashes.

"Then Tell Lieutenant Shinritsu Kangen of the Aizu
that Tenshi Makai is here
via his request for my company tonight..." She
blinked a few times in a
slow, mock-impatient manner. She knew she'd be
allowed in if Shinritsu
confirmed her being there to Kano.


"Lieutenant hm? That boy is getting a bit full of
himself these days..." She seemed to deliberate
without giving in, and nodded. "Fine. But only you! I
don't care who you know, full is full." She stepped
aside for Keioko, her arms folded across her chest
commandingly. The ronin who had begun to call
objection to Keioko's insult were brought up short by
the imposing woman.
 "If you have a problem with him, you can wait until
he comes back outside!" She ordered, and led Keioko
in, only now taking in her appearance, her own the
chaotic fluster of a woman bent on maintaining some
semblance of order among the unruly samurai children.
 "You aren't too big, Tenshi-san, but I don't want
any trouble around here. That's why I let the Aizu
stay: they're respectful towards my girls, and don't
start fights," She lectured as she climbed through the
rowdy crowd towards the back. The main room was
spacious with high, well lit ceilings to match the
cheerful mood of the customers. Demure women, quite
the opposite of the owner hurried from one table to
the next, entertaining, taking orders, laughing with
the rough crowd. Although there were many Aizu, Keioko
didn't see Shinritsu. Kano answered his whereabouts
before she had a chance to even ask.
 "Shinritsu is upstairs. I'll go get him. You wait
here," She ordered, and bustled up the stairs. All
around the room was abuzz with movement, leaving her
mostly alone, unknown by any. Even the waitresses
didn't seem to notice as they squeezed by from one
side of the inn to the other. Shinritsu descended the
stairs with a confident look, and a nod of the head to
Keioko.
 "Tenshi-san. Good. You came. You haven't heard
anything about that yakuza girl, have you?" He stood
close, his gaze not meeting her own, rather looking
over her head and scanning the crowd as if for some
future plan just out of sight that he would tell her
confidentially of. "Let's talk upstairs. Kano-san!" He
called to the woman just passing by him. "Sake,"
 "And sakana, I know Kangen-kun!" She said irritably.
 "Futatsu choudai." He finished and turned back
towards the stairs. "I'll show you why it is we want
this girl so badly."

*futatsu choudai - I want two orders!

Keioko chuckled to Kano's orders, smiling gntly.
"Hai, Kano-san. Don't
worry, I'm not one to make trouble." When she was
put by the wall by the
stairs, she waited patiently, bowing politely to
anyone who bothered to
greet with one in passing.She didn't seem too
anxious, but in her mind she
was working things out for what tonight was about,
and what would happen.

She bowed to Shinritsu as he greeted her, gently
shaking her head. "No, I
apologise, I've not heard nor found out anything."
Kei followed Shinritsu up
the stairs, leaving a good amount of room between
them. She was curious as
to why they needed Shizuka so much, but she also had
a few ideas of why they
would. A small grin curled up the corners of her
mouth, but she quickly
forced it away, knowing the subject at hand was a
serious one. She was soon
to enter the wolve's den, a sheep in wolf's
clothing.

Shinritsu nodded, dissatisfied with the lack of
progress in finding Shizuoka. He led her wordlessly
down the narrow hall, the sounds of the main room
receeding behind them, even the bright light dimming
to a lulling yellow that aged the smoke stained walls
without eroding the simple elegance of the inn. He
stopped at the furthest door and turned to make sure
Keioko was following before sliding it open. Inside
sat five Aizu, all bearing themselves proudly, all
unreadable besides a heavy anger that pervaded the
room. The last occupant, a woman, cried openly in one
of the elder's arms. The woman from the night before,
the one who had been with Masa. Shinritsu kneeled and
bowed deeply, his head touching the floor.
 "Matsudaira-ue-sama, we are honored you came," He
said to one man ostentatiously dressed in finer kimono
than Keioko could ever hope to afford. He barely
noticed the two newcomers, except with the slightest
of nods.
 "Takeda, losing two lieutenants to yakuza is
unacceptable. I want the assassins found, and made an
example of," The noble man said in a voice too boyish
for his status, "And see that this woman is cared
for."
 "Hai, wakariitashimashita," The man on whom the
woman cried, presumably Takeda, said respectfully.
 "There will be news tonight, of your new members.
Perhaps an answer to heaven's revenge." The lord said
mysteriously with a nod and rose with the youngest of
the men left with him. He was the only man who had
acknowledged Keioko's entrance into the room. His eyes
still had not left her. All bowed, even the sobbing
woman, as he swept from the room. His presence had
made even this clean, well-lit inn seem dirty, and
with him gone, at last attention was turned on Keioko.
 "Shinritsu, we are going to be busy tonight. Who is
this?" Takeda said with a stern look towards her, his
eyes boring into her bowed head, seeking to look right
through her. Although he had asked Shinritsu, they all
waited on her for an answer, three men watching her
from all sides. Although none bore swords, they were
all obviously swordsmen.

*wakariitashimashita - really respectfuly 'I
understand'

Keioko remained with her head lowered for a good few
more seconds before she
introduced herself. "Watashi wa Tenshi Makai
desu..." She again deepened her
voice a bit and lined her words with a Kyoto accent.
The room was tense
around her, so much so that she felt almost choked
by the thickness of the
anger and grief in the room. She herself felt
saddnened by the deaths of the
lieutenants, but she did not regret it. She kept her
head bowed a moment
longer before straightening up and remaining where
she was, standing by the
door. She wondered if she was going to be invited to
sit down with them. She
recrossed her arms within her wide haori sleeves,
the sleeves inadverently
half-covering the hilts of the two blades at her
left side.

She recognized the woman from the night before, and
knew she wouldn't be
recognized. She didn't have the mask of white makeup
to diguise her face and
be known as Shizuka. She was now Tenshi Makai,
rurouni ronin of Kyoto.
"He helped me in my search for Masa and Tou's
killers today. I asked him to meet me here to discuss
helping me further," Shinritsu explained. "If he can
prove himself, I would like to have him work for me in
the future." It was a round-about way of explaining
Keioko's purpose there. Takeda grunted once in
acknowledgement and waved her in.
 "Enter. If Shinritsu wants to take you on, I trust
his judgement. Sit." Shinritsu made room for her, and
though the mood had hardly lightened, they were men of
action, and didn't dwell as the lone woman did.
 "Ja, Tenshi-san, what school do you come from?"
Takeda asked, their attention not wavering from her.
"You are from Kyoto, na." They were passingly cordial,
but too much had happened in the last day for them to
accept someone so easily. It also occurred to Keioko
that this was probably the captain of the clan.

She nodded and bowed slightly, walking up and taking
her eat, pulling her
swords from her obi and laying them down beside her
in the process. Keioko
hesitated slightly. It hadn't occurred to her that
this part of Makai's bio
would be needed in conversation. She cursed herself
for not thinking this
far ahead. She thought rapidly, coming up with a
name. Of course it wouldn't
exist in Kyoto, but morely... Ah! She got it in her
mind. She would use the
name of a school where she was born. "Saitenshi
nitou ryuu." She nodded
slightly. "Yea, that's right... The school is not
one of Kyoto, as the name
will perhaps be alien to you."

For a moment Takeda's eyes lit up. "Sou ka...and
where is this style from? It is a two sword style, na.
Tell me, Tensh--" The door had shifted open, and
Takeda stopped his inquiry to look up at the
impassively bland man behind her. "Sou...Tenshi-san, I
am sorry to ask you so suddenly, but please take
Haruko-chan into the room across the way. I will have
food and entertainment sent up for you as well so you
will not have to be bored by our business." He gave a
small bow of thanks, fully assuming that Keioko would
leave and take the crying woman with obediently.
Shinritsu nodded in hope of the favor as well, and
Haruko barely acknowledged that she was being spoken
of. The man who waited, as yet unseen by her at the
door did not move.
 "I will be out in a minute, enjoy yourself,"
Shinritsu said quietly with a second nod.

Keioko's heart thumped hard in her chest for a
moment, the sudden change
surprising and scaring her for that moment. She
nodded, standing and
slipping her swords back into her obi before walking
over to Haurko. "I can
do that, Takeda-san." She placed an arm around
Haruko's shoulders. "Come on
Miss." She said softly, giving the woman a gentle
tug upwards to initiate
her to stand. Haruko did so, and quite shakily as
her body continued to
rattle with sobs. She led the grief-stricken woman
from the room to the room
she was asked to move to, bowing politely to the
Aizu before shutting the
door behind her.

The man who had just entered slipped by her without
so much as a glance. He seemed determined to keep a
low profile, and the well-controlled looks of the
experienced Aizu grew even more closed.
 "Domo, Tenshi," Takeda said. The last she saw as the
door slide closed was of the stranger kneeling and
speaking in a quietly hushed tone. A single folded
over slip of paper was slid towards Takeda, and then
the door closed.
 Haruko clung onto Keioko, stumbling out with her
compliently, careless of where they were going, or
why. When they entered the empty room across the
hall, it was eerie in its comfort: gently lit lanterns
and elegant paintings adorned the walls. Haruko saw
none of it. She simply dropped to the floor, her arms
around Keioko's legs as though for comfort. After long
minutes, she seemed to calm herself, drying her eyes.
 "S-sumimasen, samurai-san," She said sweetly. It was
hard to imagine the backstabbing woman she had been
the night before now with her unpowdered, tear-stained
face. "W-who are you, sir? I suppose you think I am
shameless acting so openly...ne?" She sniffed, and let
go of Keioko's legs, pulling herself to a wall to lean
against. All the energy had run out of her tired body.
She was younger than Megumi, and her delicacy even in
crying spoke of years of training. Her vulnerability
crying in the empty room seemed complete.

She frowned gently, taking a seat against the wall
and sighing heavily. "I'm
not bothered by it Miss. You can cry your eyes out
for all I care. I believe
woman can express themselves as they wish." She
didn't answer Haurko's
question about her identity. "Come sit over here so
you aren't alone. Tellm
e why you are so upset." She knew of course, but she
wanted to hear it from
Haruko and perhaps figure out her connection to Masa
and the Aizu.

Haruko slide across the floor as though it took all
her energy just to make it to Keioko. Gently, she
leaned against Keioko. Even to her, Haruko seemed too
light, weightless, to be real. She dried her eyes and
screwed up her courage to try to tell the story.
 "Four years ago, I met a man. My parents would never
have approved, but I ran away with him...but," She
sniffed, "My parents were right. He was the worst kind
of ronin, and what I thought was romantic about
him...his free nature, turned out to be my curse. Men
who can't commit themselves to a cause can never
commit themselves to a woman, ne." She wasn't even
looking at Keioko, but off into space, her head rested
on Keioko's shoulder, her hands gripping her sleeves
as though her slight body might be blown away by the
evening breeze.
 "I ran away from him for...many reasons, but I'm
sure you know this is no time for women on their own.
When I thought I was lost, my parents had sent a man
to find me, but, even if my life was empty, I wouldn't
go back to them. But he...Masa was his name, he said I
could go with him and he would care for me...but now,
he's dead," She said simply. "He was killed, and now I
have nowhere to go. What will I do, samurai-san?" She
sniffed and pulled Keioko closer, her head pressed
against her neck, wiped her eyes, and closed them,
still enough that she seemed to sleep.
 "Hai? Tenshi-san desu ka?" A bright woman's voice,
likely a waitress, called from outside the room.
"Irashaimasu ka?"

*irashaimasu - Are you there?

Keiokko remained where she was, leaning against the
wall. As usual, one leg
was drawn up, the farthest from Haruko, the other
outstretched, closer to
Haruko. She placed an arm around the woman's
shoulders to comfort her,
placing her hand just between the woman's
shoulderblades. She heaved a heavy
sigh, leaning her head against Haruko's slightly.
She perked somewhat at
hearing Tenshi's name, then replied. Her voice was
not strong as she didn't
want to hurt haruko's ears, but firm for the
waitress to hear over the dull
roar coming from everywhere else.

"Hai, I'm here..."

The door slid open, and a woman leaning down smiled
in at them. "Jaa, sumimasen! I have the food
Shinritsu-han ordered, and sake. Also I have sushi..."
She began bringing plates in, courteously not noticing
the tear-stained face of Haruko, nor the couple's
closeness. She set out the food and drink for both
before bowing out.
 "Takeda-san asked for music, they will be up for you
in a moment. Haiii," She bowed again and shut the
door, leaving the two alone. Haruko lifted herself to
her own knees and set out two sake cups, filling them
both.
 "Hai, dozo, Tenshi-san," She said quietly and pushed
the cup forward, taking one herself to sip. But for
breakfast, Keioko hadn't eaten, and the variety of
fish wet with freshness at her fingers was more than
the both of them could eat. Haruko waited on Keioko,
then experimentally had some herself. She remained
close by, as if at any moment she would simply
collapse over again.
 "Now they are talking about their answer to the
hitokiris. Nobody but Takeda-sama knows what that is,
the answer to heaven's revenge," Her laugh was filled
with sadness. "I don't think it was yakuza who killed
Masa-san. It had to be those Ishin Shishi...and I hope
whoever they found to kill them does it," She choked
back a sob and drank her sake. "Hai, dozo," She said
quietly and filled as much as Keioko had drank, and
hers as well.

dozo - here you are, polite

She smiled charmingly and took the sake cup, sipping
at it. She'd not had
sake for a while, so it tasted strange, but
nonetheless satisfying. She'd
not eaten all day and was quite hungry, as was made
apparant when her
stomach growled loudly as she smelled the food being
set in front of her. A
tint of pink graced her pale cheeks and she tried to
hide the embarrassed
smile that came to her face. "Ahh, I'm so hungry."
She picked up the pair
of hashi and set them into her grip before reaching
down and picking up a
piece of fish and slipping it into her mouth with a
small smile.

"The Ishin Shishi you say?" She began after
swallowing. "Who're they?"
Figuring she'd play coy, she wanted to know what
those on the outside would
think of the Ishin. However, Haruko's opinion would
be biased due to her
close affiliation with the Aizu.

Haruko actually managed a smile for Keioko at the
noise of her stomach, and touched her shoulder
endearingly.
 "You tease me, Tenshi-san, but you shouldn't ask
things like that around Shinritsu, he might start to
think you aren't as knowledgable as he seems to
think." She took a drink of her sake and watched
Keioko eat before answering.
 "The Ishin Shishi are trying to bring the ruin of
this country, Tenshi-san. They are ruthless. The
couldn't stand a good man like Masa being alive,
that's why I think it was them. I'm surprised you
haven't had any encounters with them, being from
Kyoto," She noted, too wrapped in her own grief to
give it much notice.
 "It's becoming much too dangerous in this city
because of them. You'll have to be...bloodthirsty if
you'll join Kangen-san." She smiled reassuringly. A
call from outside, graceful in its pitch asked again
for Tenshi, but Haruko put her arm on Tenshi's with a
sad smile beautiful on her lips.
 "Let me play for you instead. I didn't get to last
night because of...her, and, I want to thank you for
your kindness." She moved towards the door, but waited
for Keioko's permission to take the shamisen or allow
the woman in.

She nodded slightly. "I've been travelling a lot and
only recently come back
to Kyoto. This is why I've not heard of the Ishin
Shishi. I've barely heard
of the Aizu." She smiled softly, sipping her sake
some before leanign back
against the wall. "Alright, you may play if you
wish. Who knows, perhaps it
will help you relax some, ne?" She smiled and
slipped another piece of fish
into her mouth, watching Haruko as she waited by the
door.

Haruko took the shamisen from the pretty geisha who
sat outside, and returned, sitting across from Keioko,
deumurely watching her feet so as not to meet her
eyes. She began to play a sad, slow song, her tired
voice barely rising over the buzz of the strings. In
the midst of her song, the door opened again, and
Shinritsu entered with care to not disturb the song.
He sat close to keioko and spoke confidentially.
 "Thank you for trying to cheer her up. Now you can
tell why I want to take that whore's head. It's my
fault for letting her into our group." He poured
himself a cup of sake and took a strip of salmon,
eating it carelessly.
 "They don't trust me," He whispered under his
breath. "They'll promote me to lieutenant, but they
don't trust me enough to tell me about their
'solution'. That messenger just passed Takeda a note
and he hid it away. That was it. I won't have them
move on without me. It's my goal to be captain of
Kyoto's Aizu. If you want to come with, you'll have to
be fast and unforgiving, get it? I haven't seen you
kill, but I can smell it on you. Are you ready to
join me, Tenshi Makai?" He asked with an urgency in
his voice. He finished his drink and filled both cups
again and watched Haruko play in silence.
 "She's beautiful, na," He said with just a hint of
softness touching his voice.

Keioko bowed her head politely to Shinritsu as he
walked in and she
continued to take small bites of fish and sips of
sake, refilling it when it
was needed. Haruko's song was indeed saddening, and
it made Kei's mood
decline even if a little more, the frown on her face
a bit more prominent.
She listened to Shinritsu speak, taking his words
into consideration.

"I will have to think over that offer, as I'm not
quite in the right mind to
make such a descision tonight. I grieve for your
slain lieutenants and the
moods of the men and Haruko-san affect me deeply. My
own mood mirrors
theirs." She sighed deeply, taking a larer sip of
sake than she intended,
choking slightly and coughing to clear her throat
and covering her mouth
with the sleeve of her haori.

"Gomen. Tried to breathe and swallow at the same
time." An embarrassed
smile rose her lips slightly as she reached down for
a piece of sushi.

"Don't think too long, Tenshi Makai, I can only take
three people and avoid notice. I already have one." He
finished his sake quickly and rose. His face ad subtly
changed since the morning, perhaps softer for the
younger boy. "At your age to spend your time thinking
too much would be a waste. Act. Use what you see here
to inspire you to act. I have to go out to on a
meeting with Takeda-san. All these rooms are paid for.
Feel free to stay the night and enjoy yourself. Ja."
He bowed after a protracted look of longing towards
Haruko, his eyes again filling with anger, and left.
From the hall, Keioko could hear the other leaders of
the Aizu filing out of their room as well. When that
door shut, they were gone.
 Haruko had drunk too much to stay awake with how
exausted she was. As she finished her song, she
appologized for not being able to play more, crawled
back to Keioko, and laid her head in Keioko's lap,
curling up like a child who couldn't be bothered to
change into sleeping clothes. She was the opposite of
Rin earlier. She had stopped crying, only mumbling
about what she should do, where she could go, before
falling off into heavy, drunken sleep. Keioko was
alone in the Aizu inn, for the moment.

She bowed in return to Shinritsu as he left,
straightening up against the
wall and frowning some. She moved her head to look
over to Haruko, but the
woman was soon in her lap before her eyes caught her
sitting figure. She
looked down at the woman with a pang of pity in her
heart. It seemed to
Keioko that this woman had lost one of the most
important people in her
life. Indeed, Kei truly did pity her. She place a
hand on her head, gently
feeling the softness of her hair before she placed
both hand under her head
and lifting. She scooted out from under the woman,
slowly lowering her head
to the floor, careful not to wake her. Perhaps she
could do some exploring
and research while the night was still young?

Standing and slipping her blades into her obi,
Keioko made her way to the
door and slid them open, moving into the hallway and
careful not to make too
much noise in contrast to the niose surrounding the
entire building. Keioko
had not had much sake, perhaps only a cup and a
half, so she wasn't at all
disabled by drunkeness. She was quite sober despite
being weak to alcohol.
She moved to the room she'd been in previously and
cracked the door open
slightly to peer in. If someone was in there, she
would say: "Ano.. Excuse
me? Can I have some help with something?" If nobody
was there, she'd
continue onto the next room, looking for Aizu.

As Keioko left, Haruko stirred, then curled of
against the wall, still murmuring softly in her sleep.
The hall outside seemed glaringly bright after the dim
light of the room she had been given. The room behind
the door which she opened was almost dark, and at
first no response came to her call. In the silence,
thrumming conversations could be heard throughout the
hall, likely Aizu who had no patrols or business this
night. Further in the distance, the din of the dining
room clattered up to her.
 "Ja, dare?" As she slid the door shut to move on, a
voice called out from the darkness. At the back of the
room, she could just make out the form of a man
sitting cross-legged against the wall, a katana at his
side. After a pause he spoke again. "Tenshi-san desu
ne...I am on duty now, but what can I do for you?" He
asked. From his voice he was no longer a teenager, but
not old. She heard him rise and make his way
unsteadily to the door. With a slow push, he leaned
out of the doorway, rubbing his eyes. She recognized
him as one of the men from her brief meeting with
Takeda, possibly a guard.

*dare - who

Keioko looked up to the taller man with wide eyes
for a moment, then bowed
politely as she took a step back. "I... I was just
curious. Where are
Shinritsu-san and Takeda-san going?" She'd barely
noticed him in there.
Maybe the sake had done more than she thought? She
stared up at the man as
she waited for a responce, her arms instinctively
folding themselves into
her sleeves. She felt the small half-full bag of
candy she'd purchased
earlier, a mental smile forming.


The man had obviously been asleep, and Keioko was
not authoritative enough to frighten him awake. His
eyes cleared, however, and he looked her over
critically. "Shinritsu probably told you as much as I
know, Tenshi-kun. Something too big for the mere
soldiers to worry about na." He laughed. Unlike the
others, he seemed more easy going, less affected by
the recent deaths. He had a gentle face even with his
hair pulled into a topknot, and though he was taller
than Shinritsu, seemed wholly unintimidating.
 "You picked a bad time to join us. There's going to
be a lot of blood spilt soon. I think they're meeting
to start it, so enjoy this while it lasts, na." He
laughed. "What? Did Haruko fall asleep on you in
there? Some hostess she is, na. Well, it's been hard
on her, you'll have to forgive her." He looked down
the hall towards the entertaing rooms. Women walked in
and out, with food or instruments, all smiling all
laughing.
 "If you want, they'll probably be happy to have
another person around. More exciting than guarding a
dark room at least, ne." He sighed, glancing back into
the shadows, but smiled. Even if he was unaffected by
the lieutenants' deaths, the coming events would
ripple out across the whole of the Aizu, if he was
right. "At least Takeda-san left me a bottle of sake.
He's a lot more lenient master than Shinritsu yo."

"I was invited..." She murmured quietly, looking
away from the man for a
moment before returning her gaze to him as he
continnued to speak. When he
laughed, she smiled, somewhat relieved not everyone
was such a hard-ass
around here.

"It's alright. I surely don't mind that she did. She
much be exausted from
grieving for Masa-san. She still deserves her rest."
She glanced over at the
other woman who'd walked into the hallway and into
other rooms. Sighing
softly, she looked back to the man. "Why were you
assigned to guard the room
anyways? Is Shinritsu-san or Takeda-san afraid
someone will steal it?"

The man suddenly came fully awake, laughing so
genuinely, it struck Keioko that where Oyama and Hazu
made an effort to be cheerful, this man merely was.
 "Not with my big ass in it they aren't!" He laughed
again. The change from polite language to a heavily
sarcastic Osakan accent was immediate. "Look at this,"
He flung the door open, letting some of the ambient
light of the hall spill into the bare room. "All I ask
is if something is so small that I can't find it or
know what it is I'm protecting, that Takeda-san takes
it with. What if some ninja sneaks in through the
window? how am I supposed to know what to guard? And
it isn't like it wouldn't be safer with Takeda-san
anyways. He would cut me up in a second," He
complained, but entirely good-naturedly.
 "Come in and have some sake before you go down the
hall, na." He moved back into the room, lighting
several lanterns and sat back against the wall,
beckoning to Keioko. In the light, he was as big as he
had implied, not soft at all, but thickly muscled. A
worker, not a samurai.
 "Are you sure you're from Kyoto?" He asked while
pouring out some sake for the both of them. "You
must've spent a lot of time away to grow a sense of
humor. I was afraid you were another little sociopath
Shinritsu was recruiting." He didn't mention who the
other might be, but held up a full cup with a smile.
"Kampai."

She smiled warmly as the man laughed, taking up his
invitation to go into
the room. However, she refused the sake with a small
shake of the head. "No
thank you. I've already had much tonight and I'm not
too keen on getting
drunk. I'm very weak to alcohol." She smiled
embarrassedly, scratching the
back of her head. Where his hair was up in a
topknot, hers was short and
emo-ish (modern example =P). She took a seat across
from him, then glanced
behind her. "I'm sure we don't have to worry about
anyone stealing the other
room. Haruko's got it well-guarded." She laughed
gently.

"I wouldn't want to go in there" He laughed and
shrugged as she refused the alcohol, drinking his own
then reclining back. "I feel bad for her, but with
every other guy here just waiting for her to get free,
it isn't like she's got much to worry about, you know?
Then Masa going off with that other girl...she's
better off." He closed his eyes again, relaxing, or
seeing Haruko in his mind before returning to the
conversation. The room was as bare as he said, only a
rolled up futon and the three tatami mats across the
floor furnishing it. Why they would protect it, or
where they might conceal something was hard to tell
just from looking.
 "So Shiritsu-san gave you his little speech about
joining? What do you think of him?" He had opened his
eyes again, totally relaxed, his sword lay just within
arm's reach.

Keioko's own swords lay beside her, also within
arm's reach. She shrugged
about MAsa going off with the other girl and
Haruko's being better off. She
sighed softly. "Still, she's a pretty woman. And one
such as she doesn't
deserve to be alone. She's lost the one she most
loves..." She shrugged
slightly to his question.

"Yes, he gave me his speech. I can't say much of
what I think of him, as I
don't know him long enough to judge him. But so far,
he's patient and
confident in himself, but he can sometimes lack the
trust or be too trusting
of others." She shrugged. "I wil most likely join
the Aizu, but I will need
to sleep on the descision and tell Shinritsu-san
tomorrow..." Her eyes had
wondered off, her gaze retaining that 'zoned-out'
look in them, her
expression vacant for a moment. When she snapped
back into reality, she
remembered she'd forgotten something.

"Ah! I don't even know your name yet!"


"Koichi Chi ya de. From Osaka," He said with and
easy tone. "Un, Shinritsu's good alright, but he's got
the judgment of a kid in a brothel sometimes. When you
meet your um, the other guy he hired, you'll see. He's
young but not pretty like you. Guy's a little psycho
if you ask me. But Shinritsu-han's all right." He
poured himself another glass, apparently fogetting
that Keioko had declined, offering her another.
 "What about you though? I heard you say you've got a
two-sword style. Are you samurai or ronin, Tenshi-kun?
You must've done somethin to get Shinritsu's
attention, na. Do you have family here in Kyoto?" He
played with his cup idly, relaxing, his eye lids
drooping gently without succumbing to sleep. "Sorry I
can't get some entertainment in here."

*ya de - osaka dialect for desu yo. casual.


"Hanjimemashite, Koichi-san." She said with a polite
bow of the head. A
gentle blush rose upon her cheeks as he made the
comment of her being young
and pretty, as it would be considered less of a
compliment to a guy than it
would a female. "Psycho? What's his name?" She asked
with a slight tilt of
the head. She decided to take up his offer on the
other cup of sake, but she
only drank half to make it an even two she drank
tonight.

She nodded. "Un. I'm not sure what to consider
myself, but I guess a ronin
would work. I've no master to serve other than
myself." She smiled gently,
sipping down the rest of the cup without thinking.
Now it was two and a
half. She'd better stop before she got drunk.

"That's more like it," He laughed, filling her cup
and his again. "Takeda-san wouldn't have given me a
whole bottle if he didn't want it all the be drunk,
na." He raised his glass again, "Kampai, Tenshi-kun!"
He laughed, drinking his own. "Saa, I don't know that
kid's name, but he drew his katana on me for saying
hello. I'm not the best fighter, but I don't take shit
from scrawny kids, no offense Tenshi-kun, but when
someone's that ready to fight, I know better, na.
You're pretty polite though, I guess that's the Kyoto
in you." He seemed to not suspect it as her being
female at all.
 "Ronin ya naa. Are you sure you're mean enough to be
ronin?" He asked with a laugh. "Most of them're more
like gangsters than samurai...Maybe it's better to be
free though. You can find a place in the shogunate
again if you join the Aizu then, na. Personally I
don't care, but some people around here are uptight
about it. So you have no family then in Kyoto anymore?
Taihen, for someone younger like you, na. The Aizu is
probably a good place for you then..." He smiled
reassuringly at her, as though she were really alone
in the city, and fell silent. The light numbness of
first drunkeness buzzed around Keioko's hearing, and
even Chi, for all his size, looked a bit slow, a bit
carefree.
 "Tonikaku, what do you think they're hiding in
here?" He grinned slyly, looking around the room as
though to find whatever it might be concealed, then
back at her.

Keioko was feeling a bit uneasy around Chi as he
started to move into his
drunken haze. Keioko stopped drinking after that.
She didn't want to have
more than two glasses tonight, and that's how it
would stay. She couldn't
let herself be so irresponsible or give herself
away. She needed to stay on
guard and alert. When he offered to fill hers up
again, she refused. "No
more for me tonight."

"I'm pretty sure not all ronin are mean and
gangerster-ish. You must be
confusing them with Yakuza?" She shrugged and
continued to watch him
intently, a small headache forming from the sake.
The dull thump in her head
was somewhat relaxing though, the thump itself being
not very strong. As for
his last question, Keioko merely shrugged and
glanced around the room. "I
dunno. Maybe some secret documents or plans?"


"Aaa, I would probably drink you to the floor," He
laughed. The comforting warmth of the sake lay like a
blanket in the cool room over the both of them.
 "Uun, yakuza, ronin, does it really change
anything?" He shrugged, "In the end we--"
 "Koichi-han!" A woman suddenly called out from the
hall. At first it sounded like panic, but was followed
with a laugh. He groaned playfully and rose to the
door, looking out.
 "Nani? Ja," He laughed, "What is it?"
 "What are you doing all alone in there?" A girl's
voice complained back. He had, for the moment, turned
his back on the room and Keioko.

Keioko's heart nearly jumped to her throat when she
heard the woman scream
to Koichi, but she soon calmed down a tad when she
heard the laugh that
followed it soon after. She glanced behind at
Koichi and saw his back was
to her. She quickly got up, but she stumbled
slightly due to the slight bit
of wooziness she was feeling from the sake. She
gently shook her head and
moved over to the walls, pushing them in at the
coerners to look for hidden
panels. She did the same wit floorboardsand glancing
under the tatami mats.
"Not alone, na. We're sharing some sake."
 "Without me? I'm jealous," She pouted.
 "Don't worry, it's with another Aizu de."
 "Mou, Why don't you both come out and visit then,
naaa."
 The dim room was pierced by the white light of the
hall, Chi's silhouette plastered on the wall Keioko
searched. Her hands traced over the smooth wood and
found nothing. Her feet lay quietly over well fitted
tatami mats.
 "Oi, I'm on duty. And last time you didn't even talk
to me!"
 "Poor baby, are you jealous?"
 "Yes!" He laughed loudly.
 There was nothing. No secret openings, no loose
mats. Even the futon was a mere futon. Chi stepped
further into the hall and the light flooded in. It
caught the scrim of a high placed lantern, and through
it shined thickly scrawled kanji on the wall. It
must've been paper folded over on itself, some kanji
was backwards some forwards in two separate lines. All
that was prominent from her vantage point, however,
was, 'Satsutenchuu - located at Yaya--' It cut off as
it folded over.
 "Well maybe a few of you should come in here!"
 "Koichi-han, what would Takeda-han say?"
 "Fine! Can you bring us some food though then, na."
 "For you, mochiron ne. What do you want?"
 "Makai-kun, whaddya want?" He turned back, still
grinning and looked a little surprised to see her
standing. "You aren't tired, are you?"

*satsutenchuu - Killing heaven's revenge. Heaven's
revenge is a reference to hitokiris.

Keioko bent her knees and put her weight on the
wall, making it ook as if
she'd stumbled into it trying to stand, feigning
drunkeness. She blinked a
few times, standing slowly but still leaning against
the wall. "I'm not that
tired, no..." She murmured with a small smile. "But
I shouldn't have had
that cup of sake..." She allowed her gaze to wander
slightly, looking back
up to the lantern and trying to figure out a place
where she could quickly
and easily grab the piece of paper without being
seen or disturbing the
lantern.


"Saaa..." Chi laughed at Keioko like an older
sibling. "Don't start dancing around just yet. I'll
get someone for you to dance with first," He grinned
and turned away again.
 "Oi, Bring someone who can dance too...I guess we
aren't sitting down anymore," He laughed, assuming she
was far more intoxicated than she actually was.
"Someone...short, and happy! We're done with you
depressed women!" He laughed. The woman made a
sarcastic remark, and began to leave. Keioko was
running out of time to take it. On closer inspection,
the message had been fit inside the screen on the
lantern, the top slightly split to do so. She would
have to spread it open to remove the thin slip of
paper.

---

The lantern teetered dangerously on the wall, its light flickering wildly and threatened to either die or tumble to the floor. The door slapped shut and Chi turned with playful ruefullness. "What're you doing, Makai-kun?" He laughed, sliding down the wall and crossing his legs. "You may not be a psycho, but you're a little wild, na. Well, I invited a few girls up...and some food...and some sake," He laughed. "Long as the room doesn't get stolen, I guess it's allright then, ne." He shrugged, and almost as soon as he had spoken, there was a call from outside. The door was flung open, and people began to stream in. Chi obviously enjoyed himself, and the more people, the better. Within seconds, she was surrounded by waitresses and entertainers talking at Keioko, cajolling the two to play with them. The lantern was, for the moment, forgotten.
 "Nee, Makai-han desu ne, sit down, relax," One pulled at Keioko's sleeve. "You're not getting away without entertaining us a little bit! Kawaii, naa," She commented to the woman kneeling beside her.
 "I knew it! I was ignored again!" Chi laughed. "Don't embarrass him so much Hina-chan!"

 
Keioko's face lit up bright red as the woman began to pay her so much attention. "Ahh....anoooo... Anooo..." She was at a bit of a loss for words at the moment, quite unsure how to deal with them. She eventually moved to her previous place by the table and sat down, looking around at the woman, then looking at Chi with a somewhat pleading look, as if asking for help. She blinked and looked around the room of woman, sake and food. She wondered what kind of food was there, because she was slightly more hungry, despite having eaten earlier.

 
 The girls giggled at Keioko's response and sat around her, presenting her with food and pouring her sake. Chi just shrugged helplessly and laughed at her embarrassment. "The sooner you give up, the sooner you can accept that women are going to win everytime." The irony of the statement was obviously lost on him. One made a coy face and held up a piece of sushi for her to eat.
 "Tabete, Makai-han," She called with a smile. Another began to play music, far more lively than the dirge Haruko had played. The other poured her cup of sake, both near to leaning against her when again the door opened. In the flurry of activity, Keioko hardly had the chance to look up, but a bright voice interrupted them.
 "Tenshi Makai-san? There is someone waiting for you," The waiter said politely as he kneeled to set the food down. When she looked up, Hazu's smiling face shone back at her. "Could you spare a moment to come down, sir?" The two girls nearest her began to complain, holding at Keioko's sleeves as if to keep her there. Chi smiled.
 "Don't worry, Makai-kun, I'll keep them entertained if you want to go." He bowed with joking politness, and one of the girl's pouted.
 "Chi-han, you are simple not bishounen!" They laughed. He took it good-naturedly.

Keioko's eyes widened when she laid eyes upon Hazu Inside now, she was beaming with relief. Thank Gods! She quickly scrambled to her feet, somewhat sloppily due to the sake she'd drank earlier. Quickly waving the women off her, she smiled and told them she'd probably come back sometime later. With a few quick steps, she moved over to the door and went out it right away then leaned against the wall beside the door. She looked at Hazu with relief painted all over her face.

"Thank you sooo much!"

Hazu scratched his head and laughed softly once the sounds of the room had been muffled by the closed door. "Un, I thought maybe they would be too, ano, friendly to you...ne, so I came. But, I am sorry I disobeyed you. Moshi wake gozaimasen, senpai," He bowed deeply in appology, though his voice said he would have done it again. "Let's just hope they don't come looking for you again then, ne!" Suddenly his eyes grew conspiritorially bright, the left twinkling even through the bruising. "Did you find anything then, senpai?" He asked in a hushed tone, standing close beside her in case the din died and they were left as the sole voices of the inn.

*moshi wake gozaimasen


 
"Ah! Yes! Keioko said in an excited whisper. "Don't worry about disobeying me, you got me out of there. Anyways, here. It's best you have this so I'm not caught with it later on. Bring it to Father right away." Keioko reached into her kimono and held it there for a moment before looking around to make sure nobody was around. Thankfully there weren't, so she grasped the piece of folded paper and handed it to Hazu, telling him to put it away quickly.

"Don't read it, just give it to Father, now scoot!" She ushered him away with a gentle push and a small wink before turning to go back to the room. She glanced back at Hazu if he had anything to say before he left, but either way, she was to go back to the room.

 
"Not father, senpai," He smiled a bit mysteriously. "Oniisan. When you're done in there, he'll find you, but I'll give this to him now." The slip of paper disappeared inside his kimono with a nimble flick of his fingers, and he bowed quickly before turning down the hall without a look back. Again, he was just a waiter.

When Keioko opened the door, a welcoming call from four women and Chi burst out at her. "Irrashai!" The all burst into laughed and waved her in.

"Hayai de! What did you do, run down and back?" Chi laughed.

"Nee, He just missed us, didn't you Tenshi-han?" The two girls who had sat near her said in syncronicity with an overly-cute laugh. They had resituated themselves near Chi, but looked nearly ready to pounce on Keioko. The one playing music just smiled, and the last, the quietest, dressed as a waitress, not an entertainer smiled welcomingly near the food.

"Sake, sir?" She asked politely, though her coy smile belied any innocence her voice carried.

 
Keioko's eyes once again went wide and she felt a tad lightheaded. She sure was the popular one now. She smiled embarrassedly and weaved her way through the several sitting woman and eventually reclaimed her seat in front of Chi.

"No more sake for me please. I'd like some tea though." Keioko was so apprehensive, she was sure she needed to go back to Haruko's room soon. She would much rather be in the peace and quiet with the sleeping female instead. "Alas ladies, I will have to leave you after I finish my tea." She prepared herself for the loud whines that was sure to follow her last statement.

 
"Iie, Tenshi-han, you aren't going anywhere tonight except visiting with us," One of the two women by Chi said with a wink. The quieter girl began to pout a tea for Keioko. At last, Chi interceeded for her.

"Ja, don't tease the boy too much. He has to go to work for Shinritsu in the morning, isn't that right, Makai-kun?" The girls sighed but seemed to now understand. One of the women crawled to Keioko's side and like a hunter lept onto her, hugging Keioko's head to her and moaning in mock misery.

"No! Poor Tenshi-han! If only I had known your pretty face would soon be old and over-worked by that evil Shinritsu! I can't let you go so soon! Please Tenshi-han, you can stay with us, we'll hide you!" As she clutched Keioko's head in a tight embrace, Chi and the other girl had almost fainted from laughter. She stroked Keioko's hair as though soothing a child. "Tenshi-han, do you even have to shave? That's it, I'm marrying you," She said with an official look.

"That's because you're a pervert!" The other girl squealed in laughter. The one who held Keioko pretended offense.

"Mou! There are two problems with marrying men, and one is that they are always rough!"

"What's the other?"

"You'll never get far enough with a man for it to matter."

Chi finally stopped laughing at Keioko's predicament and held up a placating hand. "Oi, Let him breath or he'll never get old enough to shave." The girl at last let her go and kneeled down beside her. The quiet girl placed the tea in front of her and bowed.

"Hai, dozo."

The conversation finally flowed back around with the three making jokes, all obviously having known each other for some time, though all three happily including Keioko in the odd, rough conversation. When the conversation turned to her departing, they sighed.

"You are in the room with Haruko, ne. You aren't, ano, with her though, are you? She always gets the good ones," The woman beside her pouted.

 
"Now ladies..." She began with a gentle but flustered tone. " I'm not with anyone and I don't intend to for a long time. I thank you for your offers, but right now all I'm interested in is my tea and some more quiet company. I mean no offense, but the sake has given me a headache."

With a polite bow of the head to the quiet girl and a warm, rather charming smile, she picked up her cup of tea and blew gently over the surface before taking a small sip, then setting it down to cool off some more. She leaned back on her hands some, looking around at all the happily chattering woman, a small smile on her face. She liked the quieter one, as she wasn't being foolishly loud like the rest of them. She sighed softly. "Iie, I don't have to shave my head. I prefer to keep it this way anyways. If I shave it, I'll look too old." She looked over to Chi and wrinkled her nose, playfully sticking out her tongue.


"My name is Hime," The girl who sat beside her said with a quietly sultry voice. Although she didn't attack Keioko again, she flirted throughout the night, feeding her, trying to get her to drink sake, teasing her until she blushed. When Keioko spoke of shaving, Hime laughed. "I meant your face, Makai-kun."

The quiet girl was Hime's sister. It explained the rather worldly look her eyes held despite her reticence. Although she bowed to Keioko's smile with a polite blush, she didn't enter the conversation, leaving the two more experienced girls to flirt and chat while she kept everyone's drinks filled and food on their plates. As the night wore on, even the shamisen player stopped and sat with them to talk. All except for Keioko and the quiet girl drank until eventually they were the only two completely awake. They were the first two to hear the voice at the door:

"Chi-han! Shinritsu-han just came into the inn!" The girl paled and with an efficiency borne by panic began to desperately clean the plates off the floor, stacking them without regard to order. She pause only long enough to give Keioko a wide-eyed look.

"Tenshi-san! Please wake them up or we'll be in trouble! We have to go! Onegaishimasu!" She fumbled so much, however, that it was hardly necessary. The others groggily rose, laughing at the situation, though Chi himself looked a bit panicked trying to push them all, stubborn because of alcohol, out of the room and anywhere else. He couldn't help but laugh at the helplessness of it, but glanced back at Keioko as well for help.

"Get those dishes with her or else he'll skin us alive!"

 
"Ahhhh. Get up, get up!! Please, you have to go!" She said urgently as she pulled the women to their feet hurriedly, helping them stack the plates and tables to go. She was worried that she'd get in trouble, and she had to get back into the same room as Haruko.

"Thank you for a good time. Chi-san, it was nice meeting you." With a quick bow, Keioko opened the door and peered out into the hallway, then ran across and into the room with Haruko in it, closing the door almost simultaneously. She left the other door open for the women to leave out of. She resumed her spot by the table and moved Haruko's head gently back into her lap as they were before, leannig against the wall and slowing down her breathing. She closed her eyes and pretended to be dozing with her arms folded inside her sleeves.

 
Keioko could hear the scrambling feet of the women hustling from the room, the crossing of paths, the mumbled greetings, and Shinritsu entering the opposite room with a call to rouse the falsely sleeping Chi. They seemed to have made it. Her room was dark, she suddenly realized, though she had not put the lights out herself. It wasn't until he spoke that she realized someone else was in the room.

"Matsukaze-san...ogenki desu ka?" She couldn't see who call so softly through the shadows, his deep voice barely reaching her in its careful control, just a whisper amongst the scuffling of the inn.

 
Keioko's eyes fluttered open upon hearing the voice. She looked about the room carefully, attempting to locate the origin of the voice. She was called by her real name, rather than her male name, so it would only be one of few people. It was too deep to be Hazu, so she figured it to be the other male. Oyama wouldn't come here.

"Kawa-san?" She asked quietly, her voice a barely audible whisper in the darkness of the room. She glanced down at Haruko in her lap, then back to where she thought the owner of the voice ought to be located.

"Hai." There was no sound, but the birth of a single dim candle illuminated the bottom of Kawa's face. He sat cross-legged, a look of continual readiness about him. The one time she had seen him in daylight, his face was unreadable, now with his eyes just two pits of shadow, he seemed more immortal than man. He said nothing for a long while, and then, as softly as her own voice had been, "Your legs will fall asleep, Matsukaze-san." His voice may have been warmed with a gentle smile, or totally neutral. He did not lack passion, it was merely hidden. It was the first time she had truely heard him speak.

"Why are you caring for Kuma, Matsukaze-san?" His careful use of her name and strictly polite speech meshed perfectly with his deep, unforced tone. He did not enlighten her as to who or what Kuma was.

*Kuma - spider
 
 
A small smile alighted her face as she watched his become illuminated within the small flickering light of the candle held under his face. "Please, call me Tenshi-san, Haruko might be faking sleep." She glanced down at the woman before looking back up to Kawa.

"Who is Kuma?" She had a feeling that Kuma was a nickname for Haruko or Chi, maybe Shinritsu. She wasn't completely sure. She watched him, almost admiring him for his stealth and the quiet of which he used to enter the room unnoticed. He was an enigma to her, and she found that quite intruiging.

((*Gets all excited when Kawa appears*

I thought Kuma meant bear?))

 
(ooc: kumO. gomen. I forget vowels often. Hantai and hentai always used to confuse me, and that is a big mistake. hehe)

The light flickered and shadows stretched over Kawa's pale face. When he spoke, they covered him too fully to see his mouth move, and the stillness with which he sat made him appear a stone idol. "Shinpai arimasen. We are safe from her waking at the moment." He didn't explain how knew that. "She is Kumo, a kunoichi. Hazu would object, but she is the best poisoner in the Ishin Shishi. They have been rivals since I've been here. Her group is the largest spy group in the Ishin Shishi. If she finds out, she might ruin your cover...Hazu will be jealous..." Kawa, unlike the Aizu with whom Keioko had spent the evening, seemed poor at making small talk. After a moment's silence, he turned to business.

"I recieved the paper," He held up the slip of paper she had stolen. He spoke so simply, it was impossible to tell how useful it really was. "I will go to this place and investigate after I leave here." His voice was unphased at having to work yet more into the night. "I have copied the information down, do you need it back?" He offered it to her then asked, "Did you find anything more, Matsukaze-san? I will report to Oyama in your stead." It was easy to see how Rin emulated Kawa's polite manner, though she seemed fussy where he was controlled. There was no opinion or judgement in his words, just a sense of running waters beneath the smooth surface of his demeanor. His was more subtle than Hazu's forthrightness and Rin's innocence.

*shinpai arimasen - don't worry. polite.
 
 
Keioko grinned gently as he explained Haruko's position, once again glancing down at her. She had now a new appreciation for the woman. She looked back up to Kawa, nodding slightly at his question.

"Yes, I'll need it back." She reached it out and took it with a gentle flick of the hand from Kawa, slipping it inside her kimono. She gently shook her head after his second inquiry.

"I heard that they were going to be busy tonight, and that they were contemplating heaven's revenge and have new members." She shrugged slightly. "They hadn't said much else that I can recall. But still, you should be careful, Kawa-san, Shinritsu is just across the hall. You should eb ready to jump out the window as soon as that door opens." A small, concerned smile lifted the corners or her mouth, glancing towards the door, then back at Kawa. She had a feeling he wouldn't be there when she looked back, as he would probably have dissappeared like Rin does, seeing as he didn't need any more information.

 
The small candle had gone out, and there was silence in the room. From across the hall, Keioko could hear the rumble of voices through the thin walls then nothing. The window was open, and Kawa's silhouette filled it.

"Matsukaze-san...everything you do here will effect you and others. You will need to do things others might judge as...dishonorable, but that is the price we pay as shinobi. We are not samurai, we are shadows people can only guess at. Miran, Hazu's previous mistress thought differently. If you are caught, you will die, but Hazu, and others, will have to live with it." Although his voice flowed gently to her, there was an undercurrent of passion that hardened his tone to more than mere warning. Betrayal or guilt, something hidden behind his face made dark by the light of the moon behind him. He pause a moment longer, then merged into the shadows of the night, and was gone. The moonlight streamed in on Keioko and the woman who slept like a child in her lap.

---

-Hantai Katana Episode 3
-Return to Hantai Katana