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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
- 18
- 19
- 20
Disclaimer: standard disclaimers apply. RK belongs to Watsuki, but the ideas, text and OCs are mine.
Warning: strong R for violence.
Irresistible
Chapter 19: The monster behind the shoji

Walking back to the residence, Tokio was still overwhelmed by the feelings that Saitoh had awakened in her. She shivered only at remembering the feeling of his lips on hers, teasing and imperative, the heat of his skin, the intimate touch of these�.estranged hands on her body, his invading her mouth. She felt herself blushing again as she passed her tongue on her lips, the taste of him still lingering. It had been wrong, surely; after all, they weren�t married nor even engaged. It was forbidden. But forbidden things had always attracted her, made her more eager to break the rules. Anyway, with the way he had looked at her, his presence so close to her, she didn�t even think about such ridiculous things as her reputation. She had been like hypnotized, under his wicked stare�.it had made her feel wicked, too, and glad to be.
It wasn�t the first time that she had seen desire in a man�s eyes, but she had never responded to it. She had wondered, whenever she was reading love stories, what a man�s touch was like. Nevertheless she had never allowed any of them to approach her; she had never wanted it, even out of curiosity. She had been unable to deny Saitoh, though, and it had felt so�.right. Yes, it had been as if he had the right to do that to her, to take possession of her in that kiss, and she had surrender gladly in exchange of the wonderful sensations he had given to her. He had, and no other could, she was dimly aware of the fact. That was so strange.
She couldn�t stop thinking about it, bewildered and thrilled. He had promised more�.what could be more than this? Although she knew there was, he had lit in her a fire that demanded to be fed, a yearning that was more urging than thirst or hunger.
Hungry. That�s how he had looked like, a hungry wolf devouring her mouth, biting the sensitive flesh of her shoulder and neck, groaning that he wanted her. She had wanted him, too, she still did. She wanted to consume in that passion that they had shared, to sink again, irrepressibly, in this new world of sensations that he had given her a glimpse at.
The characteristic smell of humid earth and heavy grass scent took her out of her reverie. Suddenly aware of the sound of the rain hitting the ground, she realized that she had reached the building, and was protected by the roof of the engawa. She paused a moment, observing the vegetation turning oddly greener as the sky was getting darker, the strengthening flow, louder and louder, creating a thick curtain of water. She could barely see the other side of the courtyard, now. She was as isolated physically as she had been from reality, lost in her thoughts about Saitoh. She imagined how pleasant it would be, if he was there with her now, as if they were alone in the world�.
She discarded the thought, trying to get her good sense back. She had just been walking on clouds, what an idiot she was. How could she be so unpractical, with the problems they were in? To speak the truth, she was considering them over. Saitoh had been so confident, arrogant, even, that she didn�t doubt that he was at the moment arresting Michiko. He had said that the problem was solved, and she had believed him.
It was another �how could she�. Yesterday, he was the enemy, and today, she *trusted* him. She had despised him, and now she admired him. Overnight�.or almost. She had done her best to see him in a bad light, yet she had had to admit that he had some qualities. And what she knew now being physical attraction had always been there�.since that night in the woods.
She let out an exasperated sigh. Her thoughts had drifted to him again. That didn�t change a lot from the last days, to be honest�.enemy or not, he had been on her mind for almost two weeks.
Nevertheless, she�d better try to find a way to understand Michiko�s implication into the conspiracy, she scolded herself, shrugging, and entering the corridor of the right aisle, adjusting her vision to the dim light. She had been unbelievably stupid to underestimate the woman, and she had to compensate, it was a question of personal pride. Saitoh would surely get a confession�though Tokio knew that Michiko wouldn�t speak easily, and that material evidence would help their cause better than a confession extracted under torture. She would think about it after visiting Miyu, she decided, passing by her own room without stopping, to get to her friend�s.
The shoji was half opened, and she was trying to remember if she had closed it properly, when she stopped neat on her tracks as she noticed something�unnatural from the corner of her eyes.
There was someone in.
Her body didn�t seem to answer to her will, and she could turn her head towards the opening only in slow motion. The odd smell of metal and rotten sugar reached her nose.
There was a dead body in Yuka�s yellow kimono.
***
Okita entered the first hall of the residence, trying to dry his wet hair and face the best he could. The last conference would soon come to a conclusion, and Kondo had sent them to get him the results immediately, since Saitoh and Nagakura would stay permanently at the residence, for security reasons. He and Takeda had been surprised by rain on the way. Damn rainy season. He hated it. Why did it have to start already?
�Needing sun to be sunny?� Takeda remarked.
Okita�s didn�t answer. He had just spotted Saitoh coming from the left aisle, his hair wet, too. He was with Nagakura and they were talking to a servant, who seemed terrified.
�Okita!� Saitoh called imperatively.
The first captain frowned. He didn�t see such a severe expression on his friends� face in a long time. Saitoh didn�t bother to hide his frustration, neither some impatience, and anger was deforming Nagakura�s usually placid features.
�Go and inform Matsudaira-sama immediately,� Shinpachi ordered to the valet.
�And be discreet,� Saitoh barked to the departing figure.
�What�s the matter?� asked Takeda, his cultivated voice modulated by fatalistic intonations, as they joined the group.
�Matsudaira Michiko is the mole from Satsuma. She is the murderer, too.�
Saitoh�s voice resounded like a whip in the empty hall.
�Isn�t that good news?�
Nagakura threw a dirty look at Takeda; obviously, he didn�t like the suavely superior tone of the other. �If she didn�t escape, it would be, yes.�
***
Tokio couldn�t move anymore, unable to tear her eyes apart from the inert form.
The skin of the face was white, so white, the uncolored mouth contorted in a now silent, endless cry of pain, the orbs were also white, as those of a blind, there was no look anymore, no soul, but in the blood soaking her clothes, her hair, spreading like a slow yet unstoppable tide around the broken form, last trace of life, yet blatant evidence of death.
As nausea took over her, awful memories flashed through her mind. It had been like this. That. Day.
The body lying on the floor, the blood�.the moans of pain of a barely alive Tami.
She could hear them. They were real. They were *now*.
Miyu!
The thought made her recover at last her mobility, and she ran, sliding on the tatami, falling, to barely notice that her own kimono was now stained. Blood in the corridor, too�.bloody hand printed on Miyu�s room shoji�.blood everywhere.
She pushed the panel open, the furious thunder of the rain beating louder, the heavy and humid air from the outside, entering freely, exacerbating the syrupy odor. Her friend was on her futon, still delirious with fever, but her white kimono was opened on her collarbone, and she could see a deep wound�the flesh was torn off, screaming the sadist intend to hurt of the aggressor.
Miyu was breathing, but so shallowly, her lips were covered in blood, and Tokio could discern the bruises under the marks left by bloody fingers around it. She took her friend in her arms, the reflexive tension of the body and the long whimper of fear, the utter terror in the brown cloudy eyes when the girl opened her lids, freezing her heart with compassion, sorrow, and anger. Miyu was trying to speak, yet she couldn�t, no sound was passing her lips albeit croaked moans.
�Don�t worry,� she whispered, cradling her, at loss.
She had to go for help, for a doctor, but she couldn�t leave Miyu there. Michiko could come back and finish her task. She could scream, but the rain was now falling so heavily on the roof that it would muffle her calls, and as the aisle was empty there was not a chance that she could be heard. Her eyes stumbled upon the engawa: the room was opened on the garden. Did she escape? Maybe then�
Sound of a tongue clasping. Presence behind her.
She let go of Miyu, turning towards the third shoji. Too caught by the vision of her friend, she hadn�t noticed earlier that it was opened, too.
And the monster of her nightmares was waiting for her behind it.
***
�How come? How did you reach that conclusion, anyway?� asked Takeda again.
Saitoh gave him a look deprived of amenity.
�Later. I went to arrest her as soon as I knew, but she was gone. Not in the study, not in her room, but she has picked up things there. I gathered information on her moves. She asked for a horse, and at the barn they saw her leaving half an hour ago,� the third Captain provided, walking towards the door.
�I should go and warn the headquarters,� said Takeda.
�Thank you, I�m a complete moron, I didn�t think of this. Of course, I immediately sent Tanaka,� Saitoh snorted. �When she wasn�t in her study, unlike she was supposed to.�
�They should be after her now. He was supposed to ask the sentinels outside for the direction she has taken,� Nagakura added.
�So, we should go too,� Okita remarked. �Half an hour, that was before the rain� she must have a serious advance on us.�
***
Tokio felt her blood turning slowly into ice.
The girl was standing on the threshold, licking the blood on the fingers of one hand, passing the dagger she had used on her cheek with the other, spreading more red on her face. It was already all around her mouth.
Kana?
Her expression was absorbed, delighted, and she was exhaling little sighs of contentment. Understanding that she was being watched, she lifted her eyes and smiled to Tokio.
A frozen smile, only her lips moving, her rough features unmoved, and her eyes empty. There was *nothing*, no dim light of dumbness, no sick joy, no bloodlust.
Speechless, Tokio stared at her.
�Why didn�t you want to play with me?� the girl asked, her voice full of childish sorrow, but her blackened orbs still void.
***
At last, thought Michiko, arriving safely to the old house, taking off the heavy coat and the hood covering her as soon as she was inside. It didn�t prevent her from being soaked by rain. The couple of servants presented her a dry towel, and she ordered the man to take her horse and deliver a message to Murakami, before sending the woman preparing her some tea.
She forgot her discomfort to give a satisfied look around her, approaching the window. Her accomplice might know, by now. He would be here soon, unless Kana�s work had been discovered already.
She let out a sharp laugh. Oh, the efforts she had made into controlling the girl would at last pay. She was organized and all her years administrating the court had taught her to always count on several options in advance. She had always thought that she could use Kana, one way or another, and the result compensated largely the annoyance.
She had immediately noticed that the girl was abnormal. Everybody had, of course, but they just thought that she was merely the natural result of an alliance between two idiots. Intelligence wasn�t running the Kawashita family: that was for all to know. But Michiko remembered vividly that day, about 3 years ago, when the girls of Kana�s age had entered the court, and that she was examining each of them, methodically drawing a pattern of temper, to know who would be the troublemaker, whom she could trust to report to her, who could be used and who had to be tamed. Whenever Kana was looking at Torimi or Tokio, behind the fake admiration, Michiko had discerned a feeling that she was very familiar with: frustration.
People were wrong to think that Kana was retarded: she was indeed slow and stupid, but there was more to it. She wasn�t witty and beautiful like Tokio, she wasn�t full of gall and ambitious like Torimi, she wasn�t fresh and sweet like the youngest ones. Her features were more of a rough peasant girl who would have borrowed the kimonos of her lady, her personality was bland: in a word, she was desperately common. But she had enough consciousness to realize it, and she resented her situation. She was envious of the others, yet fascinated. She was aware that she couldn�t compete, and she would have to expulse these frustrations one day or another, Michiko had thought. The court had always been full of intrigues, hatred, and passion crimes had been happening before.
She had hence watched the girl closely, winning her trust by giving her attention, and arranging that Torimi did, too, until she had finally seen the true nature of Kana, the day she had caught her trying to get a bird in the garden by throwing stones at it. She wasn�t retarded: she was plainly insane. She didn�t have enough brains to hide it behind a sweet attitude or gentle behavior, but she had enough to hide her madness behind a mask of stupidity. It was a gesture of survival. If her parents had learnt of it, to avoid the dishonor of having their name tainted by her abnormality, they would have had her executed. Michiko didn�t want problems at the court, thus she had decided to denounce her and get rid of eventual complications.
She had mentioned it to Kamo. Was he already thinking of getting rid of Katamori, then? Probably. He had shown her that the girl could be of use, if anybody noticed their little financial manipulations. She could control her, and use her to eliminate in all safety an eventual witness.
And he had been right. Once her revenge plan had been decided, once the occasion she had been waiting for months had been presenting, Kana had fitted perfectly into her plan. She wasn�t sure that she would use her. She would be the ultimate recourse.
It hadn�t been easy. The girl�s homicidal mania had been gaining on her already weak brain, and she had started to kill animals. Each time that Kana was watching Torimi with approval, Michiko could discern the need to kill. She was watching her in the same way as she was watching the willows in the garden. Yet it was nothing comparing to the fascination that Tokio provoked in her.
While Michiko was still hoping to keep the murders out of the court and thus to avoid the slightest beginning of suspicion, using her Shinsengumi accomplice and her Satsuma allies, she had had a very hard time controlling Kana�s impulses. She reminded her sheer panic when Tokio had disappeared from the welcome reception, a few minutes after Kana had, and her worry when looking for the girls. The state of frustration in which she had found Kana in the garden had been eloquent on how close the call had been.
If she had known how things would turn, she wouldn�t have bothered. She shouldn�t have confiscated her dagger; she should have let her kill the bitch. Yet, it wasn�t time according to her plan. Kana would have been discovered and Katamori would have avoided the troubles he was now in.
Nevertheless, thanks to these frustrations, directing her on killing Torimi when it had been needed had been quite easy. Of course, Kana wasn�t intelligent enough to think of escaping or setting a trap, but Michiko had arranged all this, and her influence on the girl had allowed a complete success of her plan. Torimi had been killed, and she had used Aiko as an alibi and then as a scapegoat, planning and executing herself the poisoning. She knew that the girl would be interrogated and would tell the truth: they had been together all the afternoon. Then, she had planned her elimination, after lying to the Shinsengumi about the time when Aiko had left, to create a doubt�and have finally her false version accepted, and the girl accused without any possibility of contradicting her. How easy it had been to enter a second under a stupid pretext, pour the poison into the teapot, after diverting the poor idiot�s attention, and leaving unnoticed from the others. She had already hidden the letter in the closet, that morning. Not bad, for a strategy decided overnight.
What did she underestimate? she wondered bitterly. Her influence on Kana or the proportions of her madness? Maybe both. She had been so furious when the nutcase had attacked Miyu, and spoiled it all, when at last the world was crumbling around her enemies, and the case considered closed. She had been busy with the residence supplies check, and had arrived only to limit the damages�though, after she hurt herself with a stone, to divert definitely the suspicions from her, she had thought for a minute of finishing the work, for fear that Miyu had seen Kana�s face and that her use of the loony was discovered�Nagakura�s arrival only had prevented her from acting.
Yet, finally, it didn�t matter. It was maybe for the best. If she still had been in her previous state of victory, and not extremely careful, she would not have followed Tokio this morning, and she would have been arrested. Moreover, Kana had chosen the perfect moment to look for her confiscated dagger in her room.
Her astonished, then delighted expression when Michiko had given her own to her, with the authorization to kill all the girls, and above all Takagi Tokio, had been the assurance that those standing in her way would regret it dearly.
Had she already made her office?
After accepting the tea from the mousy servant, and dismissing her curtly, Michiko watched the rain falling, a cruel smile lifting her lips.
***
�Play�.�Tokio breathed, repeating the odd word Kana had used.
�I went to your room, but you weren�t there. They aren�t as pretty as you. I prefer pretty dolls,� Kana went on, a note of admiration flicking swiftly in her fix stare. �I wanted to play with you first, but she wouldn�t let me.�
Her eyes are empty.
That was the unnatural, the disturbing, the paralyzing. The light had coursed at the surface of her eyes, but it wasn�t a look. There was no more soul in her completely dark pools than in Yuka�s white dead ones. She was appearing as what she was deep down: a monster without a conscience.
Tokio felt adrenaline pumping down her veins, her blood circulating again, but fast, so fast, too fast, she could barely breathe. Her mind refused to obey: she was estranged to herself.
�She?�
I know. Michiko. Why do I ask?
�She didn�t want me to play at all,� she answered, pouting, this time, �she was so mad because of the birds. And she was mad about Miyu, too.�
Miyu. Scream.
�But she said I could play with you today. You weren�t there, and I had to play with the others. But you�re here now.�
Run. Outside. RUN.
***
�Saitoh-kun, the ladies?� Okita wondered.
�Most of them are in the left aisle with the maids, and Michiko didn�t approach the right aisle. The servants I talked to said that she went directly to the barn. They�re safe. Let�s go, now,� he answered, dryly, before disappearing outside.
***
Kana smiled more, revealing red-tainted teeth, laughing silently. Tokio put reflexively her hand to her heart, and felt a sharp form inside her obi.
Your dagger.
Her eyes fixed on Kana�s, Tokio was trying to take her weapon out of her kimono calmly.
Fine, don�t excite her.
The soulless monster advanced slowly towards her, sliding more than walking, almost gracefully, in a disturbing contrast with her usual heaviness, and chanting: �Pretty, so pretty�.come to me, kitty�play with me�.�
You�re almost there.
Kana�s expression changed into a hungry, cruel one only at the moment she lunged forwards.
***
Yes, the perspective of her revenge was pleasant. But Michiko would be satisfied only when she would see Kondo dead, and Katamori disavowed by the Bakufu. The day her cousin would stop enjoying what should have been Kamo�s, and her lover�s murderer�s head would be exposed on a wooden platter, then she would be satisfied.
Kamo had been traitorously executed. She had waited for the Tokugawa to ask at least for Kondo�s head for murdering a member of their family. It was honor: it was how they were supposed to react. When she had realized that her cousin had obtained their approbation, she had consumed in hatred. She had decided to carry on her revenge.
It had been easy to contact the mole that Kamo had placed in Kondo�s camp, during one of the direct reports of the Shinsengumi to her cousin. He had looked forward into meeting her, too. He had had his own plan, and had managed to contact Murakami�s cell. He wanted Kondo�s head, but she had convinced him that Katamori had also to pay. She had helped the Satsuma rebels to attack and pressure Aizu, wining their trust, and prepared to escape with the money that she and Kamo had taken, after her cousin would have been dismissed, or maybe forced to seppuku for his incompetence. And whatever it destabilized the Bakufu: by not avenging him, the Tokugawa had failed him, too. They were enemies.
Her relation with Satsuma had become a real alliance when Murakami had showed up these few weeks ago, with the Ikedaya reunion�s date. Satsuma wanted Choshu down, and founds to hire soldiers. She had had the masterful idea to use the Shinsengumi for their dirty work, and saw the perfect occasion to kill two birds with one stone. If attacking their properties and interests weren�t enough to deter the Aizu officials from supporting their Daimyo, their children would do better. Nothing was thicker than blood for these people.
She put her empty teacup on the tray, jubilating as whenever she reminded the awe in her allies� eyes when she had organized how to leak the information to the Shinsengumi. If one of the attackers on the way had said it, Kondo would have been skeptic, but leading them to the imbecile from Choshu and letting them discover it �by coincidence� was a strike of genius. The only thing that she regretted was that none of the girls had been killed on the way. She had hoped that the thugs would have eliminated at least one. That would have hastened the fall of her enemies. She wondered what had gone wrong�.
�Ryoko-sama, a visitor for you,� the maid said, interrupting her train of thought.
She nodded, and the woman left way to her partner. He didn�t bother to take off the brown coat concealing his Shinsengumi haori. He just flipped back the hood, sending the raindrops permeating the fabric splashing around him. His composure was impatient and unsatisfied.
�You�ve been fast.�
�I met the messenger from the residence on my way back to the compound. I pretended to go looking for you immediately.�
�Suspect?�
�Not the least. The rain will slow them, hence we can discuss on the strategy to adopt. It�s a complete mess.�
�Apart from my role into this, they just know that Choshu has nothing to do with it.�
He frowned. �I know that since this morning. Kanryuusai told me that they probably figured out that we were allied with Satsuma, and not with Choshu. He was supposed to warn you at the residence. The letter you left betrayed us.�
�Don�t use this tone with me. I had no time to prepare a better fake, and I was merely fixing your mistake. Since when have you included Takeda in the confidence? You didn�t consult me on this.�
�He realized with my schedule during the Takamura murder, some gossip about us�.and he saw the plan that I had drawn for Ishikuni, with Takagi�s itinerary.�
�He is in Kondo�s camp. You�ll have to get rid of him.�
�Oh, no. He is fully devoted to *me*. He had a fit, and was upset, but that didn�t last. He has no intention to betray. But he will lie to save my head,� asserted confidently Tani Sanjuuro.
Michiko frowned slightly, before she had a knowing smile. �Your lover is fooling himself.�
That was how she had started. People had to pay the price for loving a devil.
***
Takeda was already following Saitoh. Okita gave a look at a still preoccupied Nagakura.
�Let�s go, Shinpachi. Terada-kun is guarding the right aisle, anyway.�
The second captain�s expression changed into determination, mixed with the regret to have let other preoccupations overcome his duty.
�You�re right. Let�s go.�
***
The small room of the old house was darkening again as the rain gained more intensity, the opened shoji not providing enough light. Michiko served herself another cup of tea.
�You�re forgetting your manners, Tani-san, so I guess that you aren�t in the mood for some beverage.�
Drinking by little sips, she smiled, as her accomplice seemed to retrieve some politeness.
�Should I assume that all isn�t as lost as the messenger made me believe it was?� he provided, his nervousness disappearing. �Serizawa-sama used to say that nothing could rattle you.�
�I left a souvenir to my cousin�.it should provoke enough diversion at the residence, and in the traitors� camp, to allow us time to cover our traces.�
�The Kawashita girl��
�Yes. She doesn�t know about you, so stay quiet. She�ll be dead by the end of the day anyway, and probably they will have to kill her if they want to stop her. I sent my servant to Murakami, by the way, who will take care of him and of the horse. We have only to get rid of his wife, as you know. I will be hiding for a few months, and will contact you again with the next instructions and payment for our allies then.�
Tani nodded. �Nobody could link me to you anymore, neither to this treason of my Daimyo�.�
�Exactly,� she sighed. Tani was too nervous to be reliable, and she had hoped to replace him with Saitoh. Too bad�
�I�m afraid that you forgot somebody, Michiko-sama.�
She lifted a brow, disdainfully, at this incredible insult to her intelligence. �And who would that be?�
�You.�
***
Okita and Nagakura were on the top of the stairs, when they heard a dim scream, muffled by the sound of the rain.
They stopped on their tracks, exchanging a swift look, and distinctly heard other one.
�Saitoh!� Okita yelled.
He turned around, with an annoyed expression. Of course, he was already on his way to the barn, he couldn�t have heard.
�The right aisle!�
Nagakura was gone, and Saitoh already tripping the stairs, when Okita started to run.
***
Tani left the room, closing the shoji carefully, to see the maid hurrying to open the entrance door for him. He smiled inwardly at her respectful stance. His task would be easier than he had thought.
�Your mistress isn�t feeling well�.�he began, trying to look worried.
***
Saitoh barely noticed that Terada wasn�t at his post, his eyes fixed on Nagakura, who slammed the heavy door of the right aisle open. He ran after him in the dark corridor, only filled by the sound of the rain hitting loudly the wooden roof, shutting any other noise, the smell of blood overwhelming him. This time, no feeling of anticipation, no excitation of the fight, and the smell itself was different; it wasn�t the one lingering in the streets of Kyoto after the Ikedaya. It wasn�t the familiar, unavoidable odor that he tended to forget on the battlefield. It was more present, it was out of place, and it was accompanied with feelings of failure, anger, and a vicious sensation knotting his stomach, a sensation that he had never experienced before.
Anguish.
He speeded up when Okita stopped in front of a room, the opened shoji allowing enough daylight to stress the red stains under his feet. Nagakura was running towards another one after a rapid glance, but the first captain had stilled any move, a saddened expression on his boyish features.
It was *her* room.
Dead� Yellow kimono. Not her. The one-second sensation of relief didn�t last, and Saitoh rushed after Nagakura, in the other opened room, hearing vaguely that Okita was informing Takeda on the macabre discovery.
He was just two seconds behind the second Captain, who kneeled with a roar of indignation near a bleeding, barely conscious Kojima Miyu, in a devastated room, and he heard again the screams coming from the engawa.
He almost slipped when he put a feet on the wooden floor. The wind had awoken, and the rain had changed direction, soaking the exterior corridor. Then he saw her, his mind shutting everything, but one fact.
She was alive.
She was walking back towards the exterior wall, obviously seeking support, her mauve kimono strained with blood, water running down her hair, her face, her body, the rain washing away the red stains. His trained eyes scanned every detail, rapidly, her legs were shaking but she could stand, her hands were trembling but she could let down her dagger, and move her arms to fold them around herself, her face was white but no blood on her pale skin.
She wasn�t hurt.
She was shaken to the core, though, her eyes full of retrospective terror and of unbearable disgust as she was fixing a point on the floor. She seemed to realize his presence, and lifted her eyes to him.
Okita arriving in a rush on the engawa took Saitoh back to reality, the sounds reaching his mind again, the rain and also the hurls of the creature that Tokio had been watching, lying on the floor.
�Tokio-san, are you all right?� his friend asked, full of concern.
That seemed to take her out of her second state, too. When their gazes had locked, hers had blurred, to take a vulnerable expression, to ask for comfort, but Okita�s presence had broken the moment. The gray eyes were clear now, and she shook her head, trying to regain her composure and her mind, also. Saitoh felt the effort that she made to unfold her arms and steady her shuddering body.
�I�m�I�m fine,� she said, her voice more assured on the end of the sentence.
That was when he was able to catch his own wits back. He was able to tear his eyes away from her, to give a look at the crooked form of the murderess, swearing that orders or not, he would be the one interrogating the damn bitch, when the sight of her made him frown.
She was too big to be Matsudaira Michiko. The governess had an extremely frail body, and this one�
�Kana��Tokio murmured, appalled, and trying not to take a step back.
The mad girl had nothing left of human. She was yelling like a beast, between menacing hisses and long complaints of pain, and in spite of her obvious inability to stand up, she was still trying to crawl towards Tokio.
Saitoh and Okita needed several minutes to master, gag and tie-up the demented Kana.
�It wasn�t Matsudaira Michiko? Where is she, then?� Okita wondered aloud, once their task was achieved.
Tokio, who had watched fixedly, turned towards them, incredulous.
�She escaped,� informed Saitoh.
�You have to arrest her. She was using Kana�.it�s her dagger�.�
Takeda, arrived, walking rapidly. �I went to find a servant and asked for a doctor, and for guards here. Terada was in the first room, he has been stabbed in the back. He�s unconscious, but he might have a chance.�
�She wanted to play with dolls,� Tokio said, as if it was an explanation.
Saitoh frowned. She was way too composed to be true, and her hands were trembling uncontrollably again. He stepped closer to her. She might faint or break down.
Nagakura went out, too. �Kojima-san will be fine, but she needs medical attention. Who is it?� he added, a puzzled expression spreading on his still preoccupied face.
�Kawashita Kana. You�ll stay here, and get her to the headquarters for interrogation as soon as you can. Let�s go, Takeda-kun,� Okita ordered. �And Saitoh��
�Go,� Tokio whispered to him, her eyes conveying her understanding as he turned to her. �Go and get her.�
�I�m going with you,� he announced firmly, nodding to her a last time, and following the two others as the servants and guards alerted by Takeda were invading the aisle and the engawa.
***
Tokio watched Saitoh going away. There were so many people around, all of a sudden. She was feeling dizzy. She was cold in spite of the heat, and she didn�t quite realize what was happening.
Nagakura-san was giving orders, and she saw two guards taking Kana away.
She was tired and feeling heavy. She let the servant take her away, too. She had had a clear mind a few minutes ago, but it had asked her too much, and now she felt so weak�.
She closed her eyes for a second. She would feel better when she reopened them.
TBC�
Fortunately Saitoh got to play the hero in chapter 13, because as you see Tokio didn�t need him in this one, LOL. Not that a �hero saving the heroine� isn�t swoon-worthy every now and then, but Saitoh of all people needs a woman who can save herself most of the time since he has Japan to save first. I can�t see him with a weak little thing getting kidnapped every ten minutes and needing him to hold her hand whenever she has to cross a street. So well, our Miburo just had the last shove he needed to fall. The damn romance did progress finally *takes a blissful long drag on cigarette*.
Of course Tokio is no Trinity here: she sure won�t go all kung-fu on her enemies, and how she got herself out of this situation will be explained �
The story is also rated for violence and I can�t have a dagger-loving nutcase without adding a touch of gore�here we are. Kana�ah, Kana got me some of my funniest moments to write. I will miss her, *sniff*. Perfect nutjob, I doubt I�ll be able to do better, LOL. Love me my villains in this story. No the traitor wasn�t Takeda (too obvious and already done) not that Tani was the unthinkable option here. Last explanations missing yet about this and the murders in �
Next chapter: The masks fall, Saitoh and Tokio come to term with the latest events and with each other. Some sweet moments�not too waff, hopefully, and lemony action, part 2!
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Irresistible