Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

Irresistible	By : kamorgana Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 5018 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Disclaimer: standard disclaimers apply. RK belongs to Watsuki, but the ideas, text and OCs are mine.
Irresistible

Chapter 16: Lies and truths
�Saitoh-kun, have you heard about truth potions?� Okita smiled boyishly, pretending to ignore their prisoner tied up on a chair in the middle of the nauseating laboratory. Thankfully, he and Saitoh had changed into plain clothes for their incursions, not wanting to alarm the other suspect if he learnt that Shinsengumi captains were visiting the first one: the smell was surely going to impregnate their clothes, and Hatsue would have made them pay for the extra efforts in washing their uniforms.
The first name that Mariko had provided was known to Okita, who had discarded it temporarily: the man was notoriously in good terms with the rebels, but mostly with Choshu. Okita had even gone to search his place after Katsura had escaped. This was why he had decided, in agreement with Saitoh, to try the other apothecary first; and more because it was the one that Mariko could lead them to. They had never heard his name before.
Considering the repugnant materials that they had found in the laboratory, it had been a good choice: the man was apparently specialized in poisons rather than in potions.
�Yes, and you know my opinion about it,� Saitoh snorted, exasperated. �The traditional method is the best way to untie reluctant tongues.�
Okita smiled more tentatively: �Let me prove you the opposite�Look at all these flasks. Don�t you want to know the effects that they have? That could be funny��
Saitoh�s mood had made a complete turn over. He had come back from the residence with a perpetual scowl, and if Okita hadn�t known better than teasing Saitoh when he was in that state he would have joked about a lovers� quarrel. His friend had been extremely rude to Mariko; he was not happy with her coming with them, and less with her waiting in the main room of the house. Saitoh seemed even more frustrated as she hadn�t seemed to bother the least his attitude.
The obvious squirm of the captive seemed to make Saitoh think about it. He finally had a cruel smirk.
�I can show some lenience�and give him the choice. Moron, what method has your preference?�
�I will talk!! I will tell you all that you want to know!� the man yelled, terrified.
The mention of their names had surely made him think the whole matter over, too. Okita sighed. �Ah, no, you said that you wouldn�t talk even under torture a mere minute ago. It isn�t fair to change the rules like this��
�Okita-kun, would you please be a bit serious?�
�Of course, Saitoh-kun.� He took the little flask and explained: �This poison has been used for a suicide, or a murder, that we would very much like to solve. It was also used to kill a maiko, a few months ago�ah, I see that it rings a bell.�
�I don�t know�I�m innocent!�
�Be serious too, moron. I�m not in the mood to hear fairytales. Okita-kun, I will use my method.�
�Wait! I�ll talk!�
�You said that already.� Saitoh was drawing his katana.
�I made it�I didn�t want to, but they menaced me��
�I would rather think that they paid you fatly,� Okita noticed. �Listen to my friend and just give us the facts, no fairytale.�
�I didn�t want to, I had had problems with this one already�But I had debts. When they��
�What we want is the �they�, moron.�
�I didn�t see their faces. I had a message from a man called Ishikuni, and I went to meet this other man��
�Where?�
�In Gion, the night after the Ikedaya. I gave him the poison, he gave me the money, and he was covered in a hood, I saw nothing.�
�Yes, we believe you�not.�
The man sent a pleading look to Okita at Saitoh�s intervention. �That�s the truth! But I wanted to know in what I had put my feet, and I followed him�he met with somebody else, under Shijo bridge, and he gave her the poison.�
�Her?� Okita had raised a brow.
�Yes, her�I�m sure that it was a woman. She was in a mantel with a hood, I didn�t see her face. The only thing I saw, when he helped her to mount on her horse, was the color of the man�s haori. A blue one, which should be familiar to you��
�Describe the man,� Saitoh ordered.
Okita bolted as he heard the door of the house splitting, angry voices, as well as Mariko letting out a scream. The shoji broke, three men rushed into the room where he and Saitoh were, and he saw another one about to slay her. He flew more than he ran, able to stop the sword as it was a few inches from her head, and to push the attacker away.
He heard Saitoh yelping a curse, which surprised him, yet he had to focus on his own adversary, and on a fifth man coming to the rescue. It didn�t take long, and he turned towards Saitoh to see him getting rid of his last enemy. He understood the reason of his friends� cursing as he took a look at the apothecary: a dagger was planted through his throat. Probably it has been thrown by the last attacker while Saitoh had been busy with the others.
He reported his attention to the woman next to him. Her breathing was fast. She was used to death more than to fights, he realized, looking around the devastated room, the blood splattered around and the cadavers on the tatami. She surely dealt with the consequences of violence more than with violence itself since a doctor wasn�t usually threatened. He helped her to stand up, smiling reassuringly to her.
�He�s dead, damn it,� Saitoh let out, furious.
Mariko let go of Okita�s hand with a nod and a thankful look, and then her attitude baffled him. She checked on the bodies of their enemies.
�What are you doing?�
�In case one is still alive, and needs treatment��
�They�re all dead,� Saitoh asserted with unlimited scorn. �Mine, at least, and I�m pretty sure that Okita didn�t waste his pity on your attacker.�
His eyes were cold and almost accusatory.
***
�Tokio-sama! Tokio-sama, this is just not possible. If we are caught�� Yuka was protesting, looking around Tokio�s room as if she could find something to hold on to.
�Stop arguing. You will do as I say,� Tokio answered impatiently, wrapping one of her maids� yukata around her. �They all saw that I�m sick and I announced that I will sleep here all afternoon. Help me with this obi.�
�But�� Yuka pleaded, obeying nevertheless under the compelling look of her mistress.
�No buts. Let�s repeat a last time. What do you do if anybody comes?�
�I will answer that you are sleeping and do not wish to be bothered.�
�What if they insist?�
�I will say that your fever is gone and that you just need to sleep. Tokio-sama! Your hair, please, this is so inappropriate!�
Tokio had changed her hairstyle into the commoners� one; and she was presently busy washing her make up off, before she dirtied her hands. In spite of her nervousness, she couldn�t help to chuckle.
�My *hair* is what you find more inappropriate? Now, it�s the same for dinner, you will bring a tray here and eat it, and if my father comes afterwards��
�What if he comes before?�
�Please. He is in the middle of important negotiations and he won�t be able to leave dinner before it ends. The etiquette is going to be useful to me this time. So?�
�You should be back, otherwise I should tell him that you awoke and ate, and that you are sleeping again. But if he enters��
�Yuka, this is pure precaution. I should be back by dinner time. And just in case, I paid attention to behave like this whenever I was sick: nobody will find it strange. Perfect,� she added, looking at her reflection in the mirror. �And be convincing, Yuka. If you aren�t, we will get caught for sure. You can do it.�
�Tokio-sama, your lover is surely a fair person, but he isn�t worth this dang��
�Yuka. Stop your idiocies. I�m going now. Distract the guard�s attention while I�m taking the way to the bathhouse.�
Once out and in spite of her haste, Tokio paid attention not to walk in a too arrogant way. She was impersonating a servant, she had to remember it. Thankfully, she was still small enough to take the little way that she had discovered when a child, at the end of the residence�s garden. A bit of crawling in the bushes and she would find herself at the bottom of Higashiyama. She had been wise to tell no one, if only because they would have used it to accuse Aiko of having taken it and of killing Reiko at the Kyomizudera. It was way too small for a man to take it so it was of no danger for the residence�s security. The only effect of her revelation would have been preventing her from sneaking out.
Once hidden from the view by the trees around the bathhouse, she walked faster.
Less than an hour and she would be there.
***
She was so excited. There was nobody to look after her right now. She was free, so free. There was nobody to prevent her from doing what she wanted. She smelled the while lily perfume, and peeping outside the shoji she watched the silhouette disappearing near the bathhouse.
The bathhouse. It had been wonderful, what a great memory�but it was blurring, she realized, furious. She couldn�t remember the images as well, and the horror in the doll�s eyes, and even more frustrating, it wasn�t as fulfilling to think about it now. Why? She had been giggling with pleasure just reminding it until last night.
Maybe�if she was going to the bathhouse, it would be refreshing her memory?
There was no one around, she could go and nobody would see, as nobody had seen her going there the other day. She grinned maliciously.
Maybe there would be another doll in the bathhouse.
***
Saitoh and Okita had gone with Mariko, accompanying her back to her clinic. Okita made her a sign to enter and turned towards his friend as soon as she had closed the entrance shoji.
�I will make sure that she is fine.�
�I need to change clothes. This smell is insufferable,� Saitoh announced, lighting a cigarette. Okita could see that he was still furious.
�I know what you think. If she hadn�t been there, our witness would be still alive. But considering that they were already after him, if she hadn�t led us to him so rapidly, we wouldn�t have anything at all.�
�If the foreigners had never found Japan, we wouldn�t be facing a revolution,� Saitoh answered sarcastically.
Okita sighed, trying not to get unnerved. He *was* a bit guilty, to be honest, and of course Saitoh would call him upon it.
�We are sure, now, that the traitor in our camp and the traitor at the court are linked�we also know that the latter is a woman. You always say that facts are better than suspicions,� he added with a small smile.
To his surprise, it seemed enough for Saitoh to calm down. His friend smirked.
�Indeed. Yet, more facts wouldn�t hurt.�
�Why don�t you go back and take a bath? Kondo-sama is at the residence because of the departure of the Tokugawa messenger. I will go directly to report to him.�
�Are you bribing me, Okita-kun?�
�Yes, in a way,� the man laughed boyishly.
�I�ll see you later at the compound. I will try to get more from Kido and Kikuta in the meanwhile,� the third Captain said, before turning his back on him.
***
Miyu looked at Tokio�s room and passed by it with a sigh. She needed someone to talk to, but her friend had seemed so sick during lunch. She stopped, taking in the view of the four shoji. Reiko, Tokio, Aiko, herself�and two rooms were empty.
She stepped outside, and the garden seemed so peaceful�she went to the big sakura, caressing the trunk, remembering hiding there with Nagakura-san. She couldn�t help to smile, he was so nice, and she was reassured whenever she thought of him. Walking a few paces, she stopped on the bench where they had talked in the morning. She stayed for a while, watching the blue sky, head tossed back. She noticed a woman walking on the engawa from the corner of her eye, surely Sarina had forgotten something again, or was it Kana�she was so affected since Torimi was dead, she spent so much time in her room and she almost never talked. Ah�she had to be careful, Michiko was very concerned for Kana, and she shouldn�t be far�
She couldn�t decide to move yet, less when she heard the kittens and that the fluffy animals got out of their favorite massive. She observed them, her mood clearing, and she noticed something shining near them.
Intrigued, she stood up and went to see what it was, taking the object in hands with a frown.
It was Tokio�s hairpin, the one with the ruby�
***
The clinic was relatively fresh comparing to the hot air outside, and the closed shoji of the windows was creating a dim light.
Mariko was already in the consultation room and she was reading a message, frowning.
�Will you be all right?� he asked in a gentle voice.
She looked at him, blankly at first, and then she bowed. �Yes. Thank you, Okita-sama. I�m sorry that I was a complication.�
�You weren�t.�
�That isn�t what your friend thinks�and he isn�t wrong,� she objected.
�Saitoh is never happy about anything. The important is that you�re still alive,� he smiled brightly.
�It�s funny to hear you say that,� she let out.
He stilled. �What?�
�Nothing, I was thinking aloud��
�Were you?�
He was sure now that she had been honest with him all along. She was lying and she was very bad at it�or she didn�t care much for him to know that she did.
�Are you judging me, Mariko-san?� he insisted. What had annoyed him more was that she had used the same tone as she had had for describing Misao�s antics. He was no child.
She looked intently at him, only to blurt out so calmly that he doubted his ears: �I�m surprised that you think of human life as most important to be preserved, since you don�t even have any consideration for yours.�
�You�re talking about things that you ignore.� He was getting angry, he realized.
�Yes, Okita-sama,� she bowed respectfully, having noticed it.
�No, don�t dismiss me like this. These are my beliefs. My duty is the most important, and my duty is to suppress human lives so others, many more, will be preserved. You might not agree, but you can�t save everybody. I�m realistic.�
�You talk about your duty, and I can guess why you refuse to rest and to spare your body, which is certainly what these doctors you saw have recommended. Yet you could earn some more years of life if you did. See in what state you are with the incessant fights of these days.�
�My duty is all that I have left, and I won�t renounce to it until I have no choice,� he asserted.
�There are other things in life than killing people around. Family, children��
�I can�t have these, now!� he spat.
He knew that he had no right to be mad at her, but he couldn�t help. It was the first time that he talked about his disease, except for getting the death sentence. He knew that he would die, he had accepted, but it was unfair. Tuberculosis would deprive him of everything, not only of his life itself, but of what made a life, including the chance for love and even worse of a family. He loved children, he had always wanted some�but he would never have some to abandon them after a few months of existence. He knew too much how vulnerable were orphans and what ordeals they had to go through, even from so-called �relatives�. Since he had been welcomed at Kondo�s dojo he had known what the warmth of a family was, and he had always imagined that he could have on his own one day. Renouncing to it cost him more than the rest, maybe more than anything.
And she didn�t have the right to judge him, either. That was what she was doing, surely; her superior, quite disdainful expression gone, she only stared at him again, in silence, her black eyes unreadable.
�I take that you might be interested into being able to carry on your duty longer than what the other doctors told you?� she just said. �That�s what getting a correct treatment can offer to you.�
�There is no treatment for tuberculosis.�
�Yes, there is. Nothing that can cure, of course�but I have access to some new medicine which can delay the progresses of the disease. Though you seem decided to die fast, for a reason that I ignore��
Decided to die fast? It was rid�Keisuke. The thought of his friend occurred to him. He sank into a deep silence, her calm voice only reaching him.
��then, if your duty is so important for you, carrying it on longer is sensibly a better option. This is where I judge you, because you aren�t reasonable and because I don�t like to see a life wasted by foolishness. I don�t agree with violence, I don�t like it, but I know that it is necessary. You saved my life today. More years for you might be more lives saved. Or are you afraid to live?�
She shut up, a bit out of breath and flustered at her boldness. He stared back, feeling uncomfortable. He was rarely showing his anguish, doubt or anger with anybody, and he had with this woman whom he barely knew. That made him feel uncovered�vulnerable, and this was something that he had always tried to avoid since his early childhood. Moreover, she had taken him at fault: now that he understood why he had unconsciously not done all he should have to get some treatment, he was ashamed. Samurai had to accept death, but he had been so focused on this that he had indeed not thought about his duty first. That was an unforgivable mistake. Keisuke had forsaken his life to spare him and that was unforgivable to give up so easily, too�and to consider death as a payment for his sacrifice. As Saitoh would say, he had been a moron.
She just made him realize all this, and he wasn�t angry anymore, just shocked at his delusion and puzzled at her behavior.
�Why are you trying to help me?� She didn�t like him; that was obvious. Why did she bother? It had been more personal than a doctor�s duty or she wouldn�t have been angry.
�My father asked me to talk to you, and also, you saved my life today,� she said, and then she smiled, as he felt his unexplainable disappointment painting on his face. �And I think that you might be a good man. Misao likes you. She is wrong on what she is able to do or not, but never on people�s hearts.�
�I owe her, then. As you don�t share her opinion,� he added, with a self-depreciating laugh.
�What tells you that I don�t?� she let out, a brow lifted, and she turned on her heels to arrange the desk covered in papers.
Her voice was still resounding to his ears way after he left her, on his way to the residence.
***
The old man looked by the window of the large kitchen and he smiled, fixing a woman walking in the street.
�Ah�it had been a long time. Kuro, Shiro, come here!�
Two teenagers, one big and one skinny, let down their work of peeling vegetables and obeyed.
�Yes, Okina?�
�See this girl?� he asked, pointing his finger at her. �You will follow her from afar, and make sure that nothing nefarious happens to her.�
�Why?� Shiro asked.
�You have to learn not to ask questions,� the fourth occupant of the kitchen said detachedly.
�Yes, Aoshi-sama,� the boy bolted, stiffening and blushing.
�Go, and apply strictly what I have taught you,� Okina finished.
�Hai!�
�Don�t run!� he exclaimed, but they were already gone. He shook his head. �Youth��
�I�m surprised that you don�t go by yourself,� Aoshi noticed, with that slight undertone that Okina knew being a mark of his irony.
�Ah, I can�t all the time�and I prefer being there when she goes back, at night. She is sharp, this little girl, she would realize��
�Yes, so sharp that she doesn�t notice she looks like anything but a servant.�
�In your eyes, and mine�not for the people around,� Okina retorted, before adding, smugly: �It�s hard not to ask questions sometimes, Okashira.�
Aoshi shrugged. �It has nothing to do with curiosity. Makimachi-sama accepted to help Honda, I trust his judgment that there is nothing endangering us. Nevertheless��He seemed to hesitate. �Misao is quite a lot in Mariko�s company,� he finally said, aloof.
Okina�s face lost its mocking expression. Misao was the only person that Aoshi would never take any risk with. None of them would.
�Mariko-chan is aware of it, and she promised me to never take her there.�
�Mariko is in the company of the Shinsengumi quite a lot too, recently. She was in that shack where rebels have attacked two captains earlier today, according to the report that I just had.�
�This is more annoying.�
�While I�m in Edo, talk to her. I don�t want Misao to find herself in the middle of a fight.�
Okina nodded, and said jokingly: �Another chore for me�announcing to Misao that you will leave her for two weeks isn�t going to be any easy, so if I have to restrict her visits to Mariko��
�I can�t take her with us, not this time. Don�t try to pressure me, this is no subject to discussion. The decision is taken. Misao has to learn duty, spoiling her will do her no good.�
The old man sighed. All right, this was not his pupil anymore, he should have known better than trying this trick on him. Aoshi had been Okashira for a year now and Okina knew that the doubts of the beginning, hidden carefully but to him, had changed into assurance.
�As you wish, Okashira,� he concluded.
***
Saitoh heard more than he saw Okita leaving. He stayed covered between the houses, in the small alley, resisting the craving for tobacco which was usually easing his stakes.
That woman was suspect, and Okita was right. Facts were better than doubts.
He had decided to stay and to follow her. If she hadn�t been there, the witness would still be alive. She had led them to the place, but she could as well have known�she had had the poison, too. Maybe she had let them get part of the information to get herself out of trouble, and had sent some thugs to prove her good faith.
He couldn�t figure it out, but he had the feeling that there were a bit too many coincidences for his taste. Okita didn�t know her for long, he had joked about �fate� having arranged their meetings�Saitoh knew that �fate� was usually hiding manipulations.
He thought that he would have had to wait for her to move, since she had told during the way back to her clinic that she had some work to do there. Yet Okita was gone for less than 20 minutes when Saitoh saw her leaving the place.
He moved, discreetly following her through the crowd in big arteries and in the deserted little streets.
***
Nagakura hesitated in front of the right aisle of the residence. It was time for him to go back to the compound. Okita had arrived a while ago and told him briefly about the result of the search on the poison. He was transmitting the information to Kondo and then they would go back. He had 15 minutes in front of him, more or less, and he had found himself thinking about Miyu.
She was burdened by what she knew about the person in Aiko�s room the night of the poisoning, and more by what she didn�t, her lack of certainty; and if she had been rather animated in the morning, the deteriorating state of Tokio�s health had seemed to weight on her mood. He had the time to go, have a small talk with her, and be sure that she was going to be all right.
He decided to take the engawa way, time to see whether he was right or not. His interest for her was changing nature, he wasn�t blind or na�ve enough not to know it, and he wasn�t sure of what he should do with it.
He stopped neat as he arrived outside; there was something weird in the atmosphere. A woman in the garden, Matsudaira Michiko, which wasn�t abnormal�unlike the light bruise bleeding on her forehead. She was vacillating, standing up with difficulties, in the garden near the big sakura tree. He saw her picking out something and looking down in front of her.
Running, he called: �Michiko-sama!�
She turned towards him and he could see that she hadn�t recovered from her physical shock: her eyes, usually sharp, were blurred under her heavy lids.
Alerted by his yelling, the guards showed up, but he didn�t pay attention to them. He had seen the bloody dagger in Michiko�s hands, and then, looking in the same direction as she was, Miyu lying on the ground and the blood dripping from her shoulder.
The guards seized Michiko as he knelt to take the young woman in his arms.
�What are you doing?� the governess snarled, in a kind of lazy hiss. Groggy, he noticed vaguely, relief spreading over him in a soothing wave.
�She�s alive, just passed out, but the wound on her shoulder is bad�Release Michiko-sama, please, Miyu-sama was stabbed in the back, she couldn�t have hit her attacker. Tanaka, you go and look for the doctor, and Terada, I charge you to warn discreetly Kondo-sama and Okita. The others, you take back your place around the right aisle, nobody comes in or out. If any of the ladies has wandered outside her room, place her under custody.�
They saluted and ran to execute his orders.
***
Kondo and Okita arrived just after the doctor, who had already required two guards� help to transport Miyu in her room.
�Her life isn�t in danger,� he assured, leaving hastily with the little troop.
�Michiko-sama, you should get treatment, too,� Okita proposed, as Nagakura�s gaze wasn�t leaving the inert form of Miyu, furor and worry mixing on his face.
�I will be fine,� she said haughtily, wiping the blood off her forehead with her handkerchief, in purposeful gestures. ��as long as I�m not ridiculously accused of this felony.�
That seemed to make Nagakura react.
�Please excuse our men, Michiko-sama. They saw you near the body with the dagger in hands, and they are conditioned not to analyze too much the situations beyond the first appearances.�
�Unlike you,� she answered more graciously.
�Can you tell us what happened? Did you see the aggressor?�
�Unfortunately, no�� she regretted, her lips tightening. �I was going to see Kana-san, who is extremely depressed since Torimi-san�s death, and I noticed Miyu-san in the garden. She was supposed to go back to her room directly after the end of our ikebana session, and I went to scold her, though we were supposedly out of danger��
�Supposedly,� Okita repeated, shaking his head. They had been right: Aiko wasn�t the traitor�she had just lost it and killed Torimi�did she? It was a dagger again, and inside the residence. He exchanged a dark glance with Kondo.
�I arrived near here, and when I turned around the sakura tree, something hit my head.�
�This�� Nagakura said, pointing at a stone which had the typical dark red color stain on an extremity. �Were you unconscious a long time?�
�I wasn�t totally out, I heard the person escaping, but when I managed to stand up, there was nobody left. I don�t know why, but the first thing attracting my eyes was the dagger, and I picked it up��
Kondo nodded. It was a usual, very stupid, but very normal reflex in a state of shock. He looked at the weapon�it was common, not one of the ladies�. That wouldn�t lead them to the culprit.
�Only then, I saw Miyu-san and that she was hurt, and I took a step towards her. That�s when you arrived.�
�You noticed nothing about your attacker?�
�It was a woman. I couldn�t explain you why�maybe the odor, or a perfume, though I can�t identify it, but it wasn�t a man.�
Okita watched Ikeda stopping in front of Tokio�s room, verifying that she was inside, as he had been ordered. He frowned as underling didn�t enter, yet he was obviously having a conversation. She was all right.
The soldier turned towards his Captain, and by a sign, indicated that all the ladies were in their rooms.
�Michiko-sama, do you have any idea of the direction that your attacker took?�
The governess hesitated, and seemed to think long and hard before she talked. �It�s extremely difficult to give you any reliable answer. Please don�t take it as a certainty�but I would say that she ran into that direction.�
She was pointing towards the bathhouse.
***
They were in Gion now. Saitoh had no problems to keep the girl in sight; she seemed oblivious of his presence. She had tried nothing to lose an eventual follower, it was for sure: he was used to that kind of subtle maneuvers.
She didn�t even look beyond her shoulder: if she had noticed his presence, which he doubted more and more, she didn�t let it show. She turned right, walking towards the smallest alleys boarding the Kamo river; not too fast, not too slow. The narrow little street was completely deserted and he moved between the perpendicular alleys, relying on the sound of her paces rather than on the view, careful not to be spotted.
The sound stopped, and he peeped from behind a wall to see her waiting in front of the door of a small and neat two-floor house, 10 meters away from him.
An old woman opened and stepped out.
�Mariko-chan, thanks for coming. I will go for food since you�re here, before the shops close,� she smiled. Saitoh didn�t see her face: she had her back turned to him. The accent was familiar, Tohoku, for sure.
�How is she?� Mariko asked calmly.
�Better, I think,� another voice said from inside the house.
Saitoh froze. He knew this voice.
In utter dismay, he watched Tokio appearing on the threshold.
To be continued�
And the nutcase didn�t stay idle for too long *ohohoho*.
Ah, the Oniwabanshu. I like them, and it was nice to write some Okina/Aoshi interaction before the latter goes bonkers too.
The surprise was more for Saitoh than for the reader, since Megumi knows Tokio and Mariko�s father knows Megumi�s, the last link was rather logical. You might have an idea of what Tokio is doing there�but surely not of what Saitoh will be confronted to. Hehehe.
Okita refers of course to Yamanami Keisuke. (just in case:) The latter ran away from the Shinsengumi after a long dispute with Hijikata (motivated by religious divergences amongst others) and Okita found him. To avoid that Okita bore the consequences of letting him escape (although there are as always several versions) Yamanami went back to Kyoto and to the seppuku order waiting for him. It took place in February 1865.
Next chapter: Tokio�s secret is uncovered, but the one in danger is Saitoh �and on top of it, it seems that Kondo wants to kill him. Hard day�s night for the Wolf.
- 15
- 16
- 17
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Irresistible