[FFML] [fic][rk][cont] Rurouni Yahiko Chapter 34: Tying Up Loose Ends

[Abdiel]

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Rurouni Yahiko
A Rurouni Kenshin Continuation Fan Fiction
By Chester Castañeda
chester.castaneda at gmail.com
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/223441/

When Yahiko met Minoe. Again.


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Chapter 34: Tying Up Loose Ends

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At Shinshu; on the morning of November 22, 1884...

"I'm going," Yahiko told the people gathered at the Sakaguchi Soba Shop
for breakfast as he stood at the doorway. "It was nice meeting you all.
I'll come back to visit as soon as I can!"

"Then I'm going with you, Yoshi-boy!" said the Great Gan as he scarfed
down the tray of meat buns he brought from another store and washed them
down with soba soup.

"Not without paying your food tab _again_, you aren't!" shouted Chizuru
as she grabbed hold of the big lug's earlobe and twisted hard. The Kaoru
clone's gaze met Yahiko's, but she merely harrumphed and looked away.

'What's her problem? Ah, whatever,' contemplated Yahiko as he waved
goodbye to all three Sakaguchis (Satoru decided to stay a little longer
in order to help the shorthanded Shinshu Police out in dealing with the
Shinshushin Mansion Massacre before heading back to Yokohama).

"Take care, Yahiko-san! Thank you for helping out Soujiro-kun!"

"Yes! Thank you for saving my daughter from all those hooligans!"

"I can't wait to see you improve your swordsmanship skills, young man!
You've even impressed Mister Akahori's top bodyguard!"

'So Psycho-Kid did get to talk to Sergeant Daddy... I mean, Mister
Sakaguchi. I wonder what they talked about,' Yahiko reflected. Come to
think of it, didn't Kosaburo Shinichi make the same excuse as Satoru did
to extend his stay in Shinshushin? Where was that copper student of his
anyway?

"Hey! Yahiko-kun! Aren't you going to bring Kaoru-san along with you?"
Kosaburo called out from outside the shop. Apparently, Chizuru hadn't
told Shinichi the truth about her.

"If you're going to leave, then leave!" Chizuru snapped as she pushed
the Throbbing-Eared Gan away and turned her back on Yahiko.

Myojin groaned before facing the Tokyo Police Rookie. "Kosaburo! I was
just about to... What? EEEHH? K-Kami-sama!"

"Yo! Kid! I heard from your policeman friend that you're leaving soon,
so I brought the whole family to see you off!" Kamishimoemon
Higashidani... Sanosuke Sagara's biological father whose name was
difficult to say five times fast... waved along with his daughter Uki
and his youngest son, Outa.

"Jeez, I visit Shinshu every other month! There's no need for long
goodbyes!" said Yahiko, although he didn't even bother hiding his smile
regardless.

"Be thankful that we went here to bid you farewell, you ungrateful
brat!" Uki berated Yahiko with her arms crossed and her head turned,
although she did keep one eye open while peeking at the spiky-haired
young lad's reaction.

Yahiko sniggered. "Don't worry, Triangle Head. Next time I visit
Shinshu, I'll bring along the _real_ Sanosuke with me."

"Idiot! No one told you to do that! Do whatever you want!" the red-faced
Uki seethed before stomping on Yahiko's foot.

"Jeez, get a room," said Chizuru to the bickering pair without irony
while slapping the Pained Gan's meaty head around with her slipper.

Meanwhile, as Outa tugged at Yahiko's shirt sleeve and smiled at the
kendoist, the Coadjutant Master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu patted and
ruffled the young lad's head.

Outa beamed, turned, and showed off the sign bearing the kanji for
"evil" stitched on the back of his shirt. Yahiko chuckled, turned, and
did the same, showing off a smaller version of the same patch on his
back that was near his collar.

"Ah, have you met the Sakaguchis? Or that psychotic chick from behind
the counter who's beating up their customers?" By reflex, Yahiko ducked
Chizuru's other slipper after she heard his crack at her, letting it
sail past his head and into Kamishimoemon's hand. The old man caught and
tossed the footwear back to its owner's waiting hands.

"Of course we have, you silly boy! Shinshushin isn't exactly that big of
a town!" guffawed the Elder Higashidani as he moved over and shook
Sergeant Satoru's hand. "It's nice to see you again, Officer Sakaguchi.
It's been a while. How's the leg?"

"A lot better than before. Thank you for asking, Mister Higashidani."
Satoru and the rest of the Sakaguchis were all grins. The sergeant told
Yahiko, "When Keisuke first run amok in our village and assaulted my
daughter, it was Higashidani-san who swooped in and saved the day! He's
the hero of all Shinshushin indeed!"

Nonoko further explained, "Higashidani-san is one of our most regular
customers. It's also through his efforts in propagating the silk trading
industry here in Shinshu that we're able to set up shop in this post
town in the first place. Without him, our restaurant wouldn't have been
able to thrive and Shinshushin would've ended up a ghost town instead."

"That's nice to hear. I should've figured. His son, Sano, told me the
same thing. Well, see you around, I guess," came Yahiko's lame reply
after realizing something depressing.

"'See you around'? Don't be silly! Come on in! Let's have your farewell
party during breakfast before you go!" Nonoko insisted, and she wouldn't
take no for an answer.

As Yahiko was ushered in by the Sakaguchi and Higashidani Families, he
couldn't help but think, 'If I hadn't arrived here, then Kami-sama,
Sergeant Sakaguchi, or Psycho-Kid would've taken care of Keisuke and his
stupid gang instead of me. Jeez, I wasn't needed here in Shinshu at
all.'

Then again, he didn't really think that his involvement with the crazy
people of Shinshu was a _complete_ waste of time, especially since it
helped him confront the Great Leader of the Battousai Group himself,
Shogo Amakusa.

As the Higashidani Family entered the Sakaguchi Soba Restaurant in order
to grab a bite to eat, Yahiko also noticed, 'Oh, right. Somebody else
_did_ take care of Keisuke's Fake Battousai Group. And horribly so.'

The red-haired, cross-scarred vision of Kenshin appeared in his mind's
eye, except this time around, Battousai had rounder, more feminine
features, a lazy eye, and petite round breasts hidden behind a swathe of
bandages.

His shoulder throbbed in remembrance. 'Morinaga Kaede.'

He entered the restaurant and had his last breakfast in Shinshu for good
measure.


===


"So where are you really off to, Yoshi-boy?" the Black and Blue Gan
asked after finally prying himself away from the violent hands of
Chizuru Raikouji.

"Did you already pay your tab? I won't answer your questions unless
you've paid your tab."

"Of course, I did! How the hell did you think I was able to get away
from that screaming banshee?" Gan answered. "So where are you going?"

"The Port of Naoetsu in Joetsu, Niigata. To be honest, Shinshu is just a
stopover I took so that I could check up on my kendo student who lives
here. I didn't even expect my _other_ kendo student to end up here too.
I was supposed to go straight to Port Naoetsu because I heard an old
friend of mine is currently looking for a crew there."

"Your friend is a sea captain?"

"Uh, sort of."

Gan invaded Yahiko's personal space in order to take a better look at
the boy's shifty eyes. The beefy man then shrugged and said, "Eh,
whatever. Let's go."

"What? No! _I'll_ be going to Naoetsu! _You_ can go fuck yourself! Don't
decide things on your own!" Yahiko berated as he put on Takae's worn
kabuto, slung his duffel bag, and started to walk away from the
Sakaguchi Soba Shop.

"I thought you owe me your life!" Gan pointed out as he jogged beside
the Myojin kid.

"If you're going to be a parasite for the rest of it, then I might as
well commit seppuku right now! Go away!"

"Hey, if you're worried about the Food Bandit thing, that was a one-time
deal!"

"Don't you have better things to do? Don't follow me around, fatso!"

"I'm not a fatso, I'm big boned! Also, if we're short on cash, I can
play the biwa so that we can earn a few more bucks on the side! You
should totally take me with you, Yoshi-boy!"

"No! The only reason I'd be short on cash is if you came along with me
and I had to feed your fat ass!"

"...You're going to Naoetsu because there's a martial artist there who
can help you master those new techniques you've developed, aren't you?"
supposed the surprisingly Insightful Gan with a knowing smirk.

Yahiko harrumphed. He hated it when the normally Dense Gan hit the nail
right on the head.

"I have no idea what a sea captain has to do with martial arts, but if
you haven't noticed, I'm a bit of a martial artist myself," Gan pointed
out.

"You don't say?" was Yahiko's droll response.

"Don't be so cold! I helped you out yesterday with that Ban Hammer
thingy you were doing at the East Valley. Oh, and that Hell on Earth
technique too."

Ashamed as Yahiko was to admit it, the Great Galoot was right. Gan was
probably even stronger than Myojin was, judging by how well the brute
held his own against Amakusa.

However, Yahiko couldn't in good conscience let Gan risk his life again
to save his. Seeing him chopped up into pieces... albeit in his
imagination... was something he didn't ever want to see ever again.

"No means... Oh." The Tokyo Samurai Descendant stopped dead in his
tracks.

"'Oh' what? Oh-kay?" asked the Clueless Gan before his gaze shifted in
the same direction as Yahiko's. "Oh."

Right under the cool shade of a birch tree leaned the missing Munenori
Minoe, his leather eye patch replaced with what appeared to be a sword's
hand guard, his wig still in the style of a bowl cut, the bangs nearest
his ears long enough to reach his cheeks and mouth.

"Y-Yahiko-chi. Gan-chi."

"M-Minoe."

"Patches."

"I-It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"AWAWAWA!"

With a soft "pomf", Gan grabbed hold of the eye-patched non-pirate in an
overwhelming bear hug of sorts.

"Are you for real, Patches? You're not some sort of ghost?" asked the
Sniveling Gan.

"M-Mochiron! I'm the genuine article!" said Minoe in between gasps.

"B-But the police have been looking all over for you... or at least,
your body! I could've sworn Kumamoto chopped you up into little pieces!
We thought you were part of the pile of unidentified Togakudan corpses
back in the Oyakata's Mansion! You've been missing for weeks now! Where
have you been?" the Flabbergasted Gan blabbed in a single breath.

"I'm okay, Gan-chi! It must have been a big misunderstand... Y-Yahiko-
chi? What are you...?"

Yahiko walked towards the diminutive Togakudan member without thinking,
took him away from Gan's clutches, grabbed hold of his wigged hair, and
pulled the toupee off along with his eye patch before their thuggish
friend could even yelp out in protest.

'Let's settle this once and for all, Minoe. Or rather... Morinaga
Kaede.'


===


Meanwhile, back at the Sakaguchi Soba Shop...

"Excuse me, Miss, but that place is reserved for Sakaguchi Restaurant
Staff only... Ch-Chizuru-san? Those clothes... That hair... Those boots!
I barely recognized you! Where are you going?"

"I can't take it anymore, Kyoko-chan. I've been lying to myself all this
time! I have to be true to my heart."

"Y-Your heart? What is this all about?"

"I'm going to go wherever Yahiko's going!"

"Eh? EEEHH?"

"Oh, it's so romantic! Go to him, Chizuru-san! Go to him!"

"Wait, what? NO! That's gross! You got it all wrong, Nonoko-san! I'm
following that spiky-haired brat because of the vagabond! The vagabond!"


===


Around noontime on November 6, 1884; somewhere inside a log cabin within
the Nagano wilderness...

"The Black Book, you say?" asked Shogo Amakusa.

Kaede Morinaga nodded. "That's what Akahori and the Togakudan were
trying to find prior to you giving out your death threats and declaring
war on him in the name of the Battousai Group."

"What is the Black Book?" probed Shogo further.

"It has something to do with the past history of the Ishin Shishi and
the Tokugawa Shogunate. Perhaps it contains national secrets that the
Meiji Government didn't want to leak. I also doubt it's just one book...
more like a tome or a whole library of information," said Kaede.

"As expected of that manipulative bastard. He's just the type of person
who'd resort to extorting even his so-called allies." Amakusa growled.
"Is there anything else you know about it?"

Morinaga shook her head. "My apologies. Minoe... busied himself
gathering intelligence on the Kanto policemen that Akahori requested to
protect himself with. He may or may not have gotten enough influence to
do so even after the Chichibu Riots happened because of those classified
documents."

"There's no need to apologize, you've done excellent spy work as always,
my young apprentice," assured the Battousai of Style. "I mean... Minoe
did."

The Battousai of Speed raised an eyebrow. "'Young' apprentice, huh? Are
you making fun of my age again?"

"Don't be silly. If I made fun of your age, then I'd be making fun of my
age too," Shogo pointed out. "At least I don't call you Himura Battousai
anymore."

Kaede rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Those were the days, huh?"

"You know, come to think of it, when I first met you, I thought Himura
Kenshin himself has hunted me down in order for us to have our final
showdown in Shimabara to see who truly was the inheritor of the Hiten
Mitsurugi Ryu," said Amakusa.

Morinaga laughed in remembrance. "In hindsight, I was kind of surprised
when you suddenly attacked me in the middle of my introduction. It's a
good thing I didn't die then and there!"

Amakusa choked on his chuckles, his hand behind his back. "My bad,
Morinaga. If I had finished you off then and there, you wouldn't be
here today to save my hide." The Christian leader cleared his throat.

Kaede smirked. "Well, that's a comforting thought. And here I believed
you merely took our sparring sessions seriously. I should've known your
intentions when you kept daring me to use 'my' Amakakeru Ryu no
Hirameki against your Kuzu Ryu Sen."

Shogo guffawed and looked away. When he first battled the Battousai of
Speed, he didn't expect his swarming Dragon Nest Flash to be blocked so
easily by her Cancer Stance's Protective Shell. Her hand speed was
unlike anything he'd ever seen.

She wasn't strong enough to handle the might of the Kuzu Ryu Sen the
first time they met, but now that he saw how well she dealt with a
difficult opponent like the Heaven Sword, the so-called Child of God had
to wonder how much more powerful she'd become these last six years of
training under him, finding ways to counter each and every last Hiten
Mitsurugi Ryu technique.

Shamed as Amakusa was to admit it, Akahori was right. He was not a Son
of God anymore, but instead a Son of Man. He needed an heir to the
throne. Morinaga was the perfect candidate because she didn't have her
body battered to the limit or suffer the same amount of wear-and-tear
like his did thanks to the Second Shimabara Rebellion. Even though they
were about the same age, she had more years left in her career as a
swordswoman.

On one hand, Morinaga hadn't deteriorated in age and abilities as much
as Amakusa had. The scary part was, like fine wine, she was still
improving and getting better at kenjutsu even at her age. Who knew what
her true potential was? She, among several other candidates, was a loyal
apostle of his that he trusted the most. He believed that she had the
strength to carry on his legacy.

On the other hand, from his past experience with Kaede, Shogo had a hard
time making heads or tails out of the girl. He was certainly surprised
to know that she was even a girl.

Had his sister not pointed it out to him, he would have fought alongside
Morinaga without ever knowing the truth. Furthermore, her gender was
just one of the many mysteries surrounding her.

Shogo shuddered as he remembered Morinaga going berserk at Soujiro after
the boy cut her top off and exposed her breasts. She attacked him with
savage, wild strikes that were in stark contrast to her actual fighting
style.

He also recalled her being a lot more antagonistic to him back in the
days when they were off murdering policemen and terrorizing the Meiji
Government.

It was a shame that Morinaga's fear of men had been exposed to that
slimy bastard Akahori, though.

Hindsight was twenty-twenty in this case, because he now had an idea why
she, during her first few months with the Hidden Christians of
Shimabara, was closer around the women and children than the men.

She was reclusive among large groups, and if a man tried to touch her or
be familiar with her in any way, she'd pull her wakizashi and stick it
to his neck by reflex. 'She also hated my guts, come to think of it.'

Maybe she didn't fear men after all? There were times when she dealt
with the Kakure Kirishitan men like she had no fear whatsoever. She
could joke and jibe with them, like they were her older brothers. She
switched back and forth to hating men and being friendly around
everyone. It drove Amakusa nuts at the time.

What changed about her? Did she really change and become mellower or was
she always this way and she was only able to show this side of her to
Shogo as she began to trust him? He could never figure out what was on
her mind. She was an enigma to him. An unsolvable puzzle.

'However, the same could be said of all the women I've dealt with,' he
supposed. The thing was, if he didn't know any better, he'd swear he'd
been dealing with different people entirely. Many people. Her being a
woman aside, she was a mystery he had yet to unravel.

'I wonder... Are there more secrets about her I don't know?'

Amakusa shook his head and thought, 'First thing's first, though.' To
Morinaga, he said, "As you already know, my skills and health aren't as
good as when I was still young. The reason I formed the Battousaigumi is
the same reason Shishio Makoto formed the Juppon Gatana, according to
our research into Battousai and the Meiji Government's history..."

"What are you saying, Shogo-sama?" asked Morinaga as she began searching
the Nagano safe house for several items. "The only reason why you
weren't able to finish all those squads from Kanto off was because you
were feeling guilty over killing their friends and families back in
Shimabara. Plus, the Ten Ken was only able to defeat you because you
were exhausted by the time you reached Akahori. As far as I'm concerned,
you haven't lost a step!"

Amakusa chuckled as he ruffled Morinaga's hair. "Thank you for the vote
of confidence, but there's still much to do. We have a whole government
to topple, and I'm not getting any younger."

Kaede pouted as she smoothened out her disheveled lion mane. "Don't
treat me like a kid, Lord Shogo! I'm the same age as you." She then
reassured, "The Battousai Group is here to help you carry out your
mission all the way through. You have nothing to fear."

Her eyes lit up as she found what she was looking for; a box full of
hair and makeup products Shogo kept around to help aid in impromptu
disguises just in case their safe house was raided and whatnot. Hidden
Christians were all about hiding things, after all.

"That's the spirit. The Battousai Group, unlike the Ten Swords, isn't
merely composed of 'lackeys'. Every one of you were chosen to be part of
our group because you're my most trusted allies and born leaders in your
own right. My apostles. You're all capable of becoming shepherds of my
flock. That's why, if worse comes to worst, and I..."

"I don't want to hear it, Shogo-sama. You are our leader. None of us can
replace you."

"In order for my ministry to spread across the land, I need fishers of
men and women like you, Morinaga. I wish you to be filled with the Holy
Spirit, so that you'll be able to take over as leader of my people once
I'm not able to lift my sword any more. You're the one in the Battousai
Group whom I trust the most."

"All things are possible to him who believes," reminded Kaede. "Remember
that quote? I don't want to talk about me or anyone else in your
precious Battousai Group replacing you, Shogo-sama. As far as we're all
concerned, you're irreplaceable, and we believe in you. We believe that
you can still accomplish great things when everything is said and done."

Amakusa guffawed. "Mark Nine: Verse Three. Jesus Christ himself said
that. So you _have_ been listening to our bible studies, my young
apprentice."

"Ugh! I'm not a kid anymore! We're the same age! And I wasn't listening
to them, I... overheard that."

"Relax. I was only kidding." Shogo shut his eyes. "I hope you'd accept
my request to become the leader of the Battousai Group. Forget your
grudge against Himura Battousai. Stay with us. Stay with me, for my yoke
is easy and my burden is light."

Kaede gulped. "Shogo-sama..."

"Once our Battousai Group is complete, no force on Earth, Heaven, or
Hell can stop us. I've learned from my past mistakes. I now know that
Akahori is the sole person who's standing in the way of my people's
freedom from the tyranny of this Meiji Government. We will have our
utopia, I swear it."

"In order for us to do that, you'll need to learn more about Akahori's
Black Book and whatnot, right?" asked Morinaga as she placed on a nearby
table her reverse-edged wakizashi, her broken katana, the impromptu
disguise kit, and a bucket of water.

Shogo nodded. "Whatever this Black Book is supposed to be, I want to
know more about it." Morinaga posed as Minoe not just to get closer to
Akahori's information network and help out with their recent
assassination attempt of the politician, but to also learn more about
that despicable man's current plans.

The last time they encountered each other six years ago, Akahori was an
unknown... one of the many faceless Meiji statesmen who was out to turn
Japan into a worldwide superpower by abandoning its past completely,
even to the detriment of their own people.

This time around, Amakusa knew better. The killing of his personal Satan
was about to commence.

Shogo saw Morinaga pick up both the henna dye and the "silver of
nitrate" dye (also known as silver nitrate or AgNO3, which was an
inorganic compound), seemingly considering for a minute which one she
wanted to use.

"Ah, are you going to dye your hair? That takes me back..." In order to
escape authorities, both Amakusa and Kaede had dyed their hair and
changed their wardrobe.

Morinaga mentioned to Shogo that she'd been putting on disguises ever
since she was a teenager, while she was traveling across Japan with her
caretaker and master.

Amakusa flinched as he saw his most loyal apprentice slice through her
copper locks outright, her hair now about neck length instead of long
enough to reach the small of her back. "Morinaga! What do you think
you're doing?"

The now short-haired Kaede smiled at Shogo as strands of her hair fell
to the floor like the red leaves of autumn. "This will serve as my
reparations for failing to finish what you've started back in the
Shinshushin Mansion. Because of me, you'll now be forced to deal with
Akahori a little while longer."

"I don't need reparations from you. _I_ failed to kill Akahori myself,
and _I_ was defeated by his bodyguard, the Heaven Sword. You were merely
my backup. If anything, this was my mission to fail. I take full
responsibility for everything!"

Kaede grabbed the remains of the katana that Soujiro sliced in twain
with his Shun Ten Satsu, took it apart, held the tsuba or the hand guard
between the hilt and the blade, and tied ropes around either end of the
slit where the blade was supposed to enter.

Voila. She now had a new eye patch.

"That's the reason why we could never replace you as our leader, Lord
Shogo. You were born for this role. Let me be the one to serve as your
sword from now on. I will find out the truth behind the Black Book."

She then took a mirror and started putting on foundation that best
approximated her complexion on the cross-shaped scar right underneath
her left eye. She admired her reflection.

While up close, there were still hints of her scar underneath the
makeup. However, at a quick glance, it seemed completely hidden. 'This
could work.'

"If you're serious about me taking over as leader of the Shimabara
Rebellion, then I must become strong enough to live up to your example.
Only then will I feel worthy enough to accept your request. As for now,
I am not yet worthy to take your yoke, no matter how light you believe
it is."

"Morinaga..." Amakusa didn't know what else to say. It would seem his
apostle had made up her mind.

Kaede scooped water from the bucket and put it on her shortened, banged,
and soft rusty-red hair. She began the process of dyeing her hair
black, ultimately choosing henna as her hair dye. She mixed the coloring
substance together and put it on her hair in sections to streamline the
process, coating it completely in a purplish-black hue.

All the while, Shogo could only stand there and gawk in silence.

As soon as Morinaga placed her new eye patch on her left eye, she looked
at Shogo with seemingly different eyes (or a seemingly different _eye_).

"Hello, Amakusa-chi." Morinaga... or rather, "Minoe"... beamed. "Fancy
meeting you here. I'll be the one to find out what Akahori is up to when
it comes to that Black Book of his, correct?"

Amakusa nodded absently. "Of course, Morinaga."

Minoe made a clicking sound with his tongue while he wagged his pointer
finger. "I'm Minoe right now, silly Amakusa-chi."

'There she goes again.' Creating different "characters" as she put on
new disguises was yet another one of Kaede Morinaga's many "quirks".
Then again, she'd been acting like "Kaede" for many hours straight.
Perhaps it was about time "Minoe" came out of the woodwork.

"I can't wait for the time when you're ready to accept my offer. I'll
keep your words in mind. I'll be waiting, Morinaga."

"Minoe," Minoe corrected.

"Er, Minoe," Shogo amended.

"Uh, just one thing, Amakusa-chi."

"What is it, _Minoe_?"

Minoe bit his lower lip and scrunched his face up. "What 'offer' are we
talking about? Is there a sale at a nearby flea market that I should
know about?"

"...."

Oh, _now_ Amakusa remembered what was so peculiar about Morinaga. She
was so forgetful to the point of being absentminded. She'd already
forgotten some of the things she'd said mere minutes earlier.

She'd keep asking him or those around her where she was, what she was
doing there, and what she was supposed to do, as though her head was in
the clouds.

It had been six years since they met, and still Amakusa had a hard time
figuring Morinaga out.


===


If Minoe were truly Morinaga, he... or rather, she... would've detected
Yahiko's intentions a mile away and dodge his attempt to remove her not-
so-clever disguise. On the other hand, the teenaged samurai wouldn't put
it past her to feign ignorance.

However, as soon as he removed her wig, he saw the same raven-haired
bowl cut underneath the hairpiece instead of the expected red strands of
hair that Kenshin himself sported.

Moreover, the cross-shaped scar that was supposed to be near her eye was
nowhere to be found. Granted, that only meant the oversized eye patch
she had on was totally useless were she not hiding a scar underneath it,
but...

It took a minute for Minoe to react. "Ah! My wig! My eye patch! What are
you doing, Yahiko-chi?" came the remark of the diminutive spy as he...
she... flailed around.

"Eh? You were wearing a wig all this time?" asked the Nonchalant Gan
with his head tilted to the side. "Why wear a wig if your hair looks the
same as the wig? And there's nothing wrong with your other eye too?
What's the point of wearing an eye patch then, you pirate wannabe?"

'What's with that lack of a reaction?' thought Myojin.

What was going on? Wasn't Minoe supposed to be Morinaga? Yahiko was at a
loss for words. Was this really the woman version of Kenshin who nearly
killed him by stabbing his shoulder with her Sasori Gatame? Where was
the scar? The red hair? The...

Yahiko blinked twice. There was one other way for him to check if Minoe
truly was Morinaga. Just as Soujiro exposed Kaede's gender by taking off
her top, so too would he...

"Ah! Yahiko-chi! Are you okay?" asked Minoe.

To Gan and Minoe's puzzlement, Yahiko went down on all fours and bowed
his head towards the ground.

'Seriously? The only way to reveal Minoe's true identity is to grope her
or expose her breasts in front of Gan and me? I can't do it! No way!'

Come to think of it, was that the first time he ever saw a woman naked?
He did remember getting an accidental peek at Kaoru in the bath, but
that didn't count. As for Tsubame, well, he didn't want to think about
it... but no, he hadn't seen her naked yet.

Yahiko felt something warm start to drip from his nostrils. 'What the
hell am I thinking? This isn't the time to get turned on!'

"What's the big idea, Yoshi-boy? We've discovered that Patches is still
alive, and here you are assaulting him! Apologize to the man!"

''Man', huh?' thought Yahiko. He soon figured out that Minoe... or
rather, Kaede... probably cut her hair, dyed it black, and put something
on her cheek to hide her scar. He would not be fooled. 'Tsubame, I'm
sorry...!'

However, as he was about to sexually harass Kaede for the sake of ending
her flimsy charade, he remembered what had happened the last time she
was groped.

His shoulder seethed, recalling the cold bite of that reverse-edged
wakizashi that plunged into it. He also cringed at how Morinaga's hands
blurred as she turned a wall into sawdust and plaster powder thanks to
her Swarming Barbs and Scorpion Nest techniques.

The image of him leaking blood all over like a holey bucket full of
blood made him stop in mid-grope; that, and he wasn't up to the task of
molesting anyone to prove a point.

His halfhearted attempt at groping Minoe's chest had him lose his
balance and end up falling to the seat of his pants underneath the shade
of a nearby tree. He winced and covered his eyes with the back of his
hand as the glare of the morning sun pierced through his vision.

A shadow emerged in the haze of white, forming the familiar silhouette
of a cropped-haired, bowl-cut young "man" with bandaged forearms, a
bandaged chest with a kimono covered on top of it, and a small wakizashi
tucked inside his obi.

Even Yahiko, knowing what he knew, was having second thoughts concerning
Munenori Minoe's true identity. On the surface of his mind, he knew that
the boyish, clumsy runt of the Togakudan litter was a cold-blooded
murderer who backstabbed her own comrades because she was actually loyal
to the Christian cult leader known as Shogo Amakusa.

He knew she probably did something to conceal her red hair and cross-
shaped scar. He knew that her new eye patch was from her sword that
Soujiro Seta probably cut apart at the last stanza of their deadlocked
battle. He knew she was really Kaede Morinaga and not Munenori Minoe.

He had his suspicions as soon as he saw Minoe block the unblockable Kuzu
Ryu Sen. He remembered the way she practically swooned around the mere
mention of Amakusa. He figured out that the chopped-up man that fell on
him from the veranda of the Shinshushin Mansion's ballroom was none
other than Raedo Nagaoka, whom Morinaga killed.

He knew the person before him was a lie.

"Yahiko-chi? Are you okay?" asked Minoe as he dusted him off with his
dainty hands.

Yahiko sighed. "Mochiron."

So why was Yahiko "lying" too? Why was he going along with her lie?

Because he saw it in her eyes. No, his eyes. Minoe's eyes. There was not
a trace of cloudiness or doubt in them. For whatever reason, whenever
Kaede had that wig and eye patch on, she believed with her whole might
that she was Minoe.

The Myojin kid then realized something. For good or for ill, throughout
the entire back and forth fights against Amakusa and Morinaga, Kaede
actually tried to protect him. He wasn't sure, but she must've held
back when she did her Scorpion Death Lock on him.

On the other hand, even if she did hold back, she certainly didn't do so
against Raedo or any of the Togakudan. She made many widows and orphans
that day. Those spies had mothers, fathers, siblings, and friends who've
lost them forever. She was still one of the bad guys. She was still part
of a terrorist organization. Her holding back on his account was no
excuse for what she'd done.

Then again, wasn't Kenshin, Kaede's look-alike, also part of a rebellion
of sorts? The infamous Hitokiri Battousai himself had made widows and
orphans out of the wives and children of the people he'd killed for the
sake of bringing down the shogunate and installing a new form of
government. How was what Kenshin did any different from what Kaede had
done?

'That's not the same thing,' Yahiko told himself, but he didn't entirely
believe it. He wasn't what one would call an unbiased observer. 'Kenshin
would never become part of a group as a mole, only to betray them in the
last minute. He was the one who'd been betrayed. Morinaga is a lot more
cutthroat and heartless than even Battousai himself.'

Nevertheless, the young warrior balked at the bitterness of his own
double standards. His rationalizations made him sick to his stomach. It
was either what the Battousai of Speed did was understandable in light
of what Kenshin himself did, or the original Hitokiri Battousai was a
lot more despicable than Yahiko allowed himself to admit.

Ultimately, before Myojin knew it, he grabbed hold of Minoe's hand,
which prompted the eye-patched ex-Togakudan to lift him up to his feet.
Yahiko never realized how tiny Munenori's hands were. How could someone
so small be so strong?

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Now why the hell did he do that? What was he thinking? Did he really
intend to harbor a criminal... a fugitive... who'd served as an
accomplice to a cop killer while she himself had murdered her own share
of people, including the criminals that held Shinshu under siege?

Yahiko himself was not sure why he accepted Minoe's helping hand. Maybe
he wanted to keep an eye on him, to see what he'd do next. Perhaps it
was the other way around, and Minoe was keeping Yahiko nearby until he
fulfilled his own mission for his master, Amakusa. Or it could be that
both the above statements were true, and they were keeping an eye out
for each other.

Yahiko then remembered how Kenshin beat Zanza the Street Fighter to a
pulp and made him question his beliefs, only for him to reform himself
and become part of their group as Sanosuke Sagara, the Fighting Idiot.

'Why did I imagine that? What happened then and what happened now is
completely different!'

Minoe's eyes met with Yahiko's as he put on his wig that looked exactly
like the hair he had underneath and tied his new eye patch that was a
sword's hand guard with rope attached to it (to replace the leather one
he lost at the mansion) around his "unmarked" left eye.

"IYAA! Don't stare at me with those undressing eyes!" said Minoe as he
covered himself up.

Both Yahiko and Gan almost choked on their spit, but for different
reasons altogether.

"You heard the man! Don't stare at him with undressing eyes!" said the
Dense Gan as he conked Yahiko with his metal bat. A fist fight between
the two ensued.

As he held his reddened cheeks, Minoe pleaded, "Please don't fight for
my sake, Gan-chi! Yahiko-chi! I love you both equally! I don't want the
reunion of the Sanbaka to get ruined by an argument!"

"NOBODY'S FIGHTING FOR YOU AND STOP CALLING US THAT!" spat both Gan and
Yahiko at the kowtowed Minoe.

Yahiko had no idea what Minoe's plans were or why she... he... came back
as this... persona _now_ of all times, when his charade had already been
exposed.

Morinaga would have to pay for her crimes sooner or later, Yahiko
realized. However, even if he were to turn Minoe in, nobody would
believe that this bumbling, eye-patched idiot was the same assassin who
wiped out the Togakudan and pushed the former Ten Ken of the Juppon
Gatana to the brink.

'I don't know what Morinaga's deal is, but for now...' Even though his
shoulder ached at the mere sight of the disguised Kaede, Yahiko decided
to humor Amakusa's lackey at the moment. He couldn't explain it. He
trusted the Battousai of Speed as far as he could throw her, but his
mind was perfectly at ease when Minoe was around.

'Or maybe I'm a huge hypocrite,' Yahiko retorted to no one in
particular.

"Hey, what about me?" asked Gan. He was still on the ground after all
that time since Yahiko jumped him and tried tenderizing his testicles.
"No fair! Help me up too, Patches!"

Minoe answered, "Um, you're too heavy for me to lift, Gan-chi. You
should try to get up by yourself."

Gan looked like he was about to cry as he sat up and drew circles on the
ground. "How come only Yoshi-boy gets helped up by you?"

Yahiko groaned as Minoe tugged at the teenager's sleeves. "I'm sorry for
bothering you, but we should help Gan-chi up, Yahiko-chi."

The Grateful Gan had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face as both
Yahiko and Minoe struggled to lift him up to his feet. As revenge for
Minoe's rebuff earlier, he intentionally made it hard for the two to
get him off the ground by acting like some sort of sandbag.

After that was over, Minoe asked, "So where are you off to, Yahiko-chi?
Gan-chi?" with a tilted head and shining eyes.

Yahiko arched his eyebrow at the pirate-looking ninja wannabe. "And what
makes you think you'll be coming along?"

Minoe pouted. "Gan-chi is going with you, why not me?"

"That's the first I've heard of _that_! No, he's not coming along
either!"

Gan pouted, which made Yahiko turn green. "But we've been through so
much together!"

"We've met for barely a few weeks! Don't try to act chummy around me!
You're still practically strangers to me. My business with you was over
as soon as I helped get that food tab of yours paid, Gan!"

"So where is Yahiko-chi going, Gan-chi?"

"Somewhere in Niigata."

"Then we should go there too."

"I'm way ahead of you, Patches."

"DON'T DECIDE THINGS LIKE THAT ON YOUR OWN!"

But they weren't listening. Also, no matter how much Yahiko protested,
he wasn't really trying too hard to lose either of them.

"Did you know that Yoshi-boy is friends with a sea captain?"

"No, he doesn't look the type. I'm not even sure if he knows how to
swim."

Yahiko had enough of their banter, though. "Yeah, well I'm sorry for
not looking like pirates like you two do!"

"Who are you calling a pirate, Yoshi-boy?" said the bandanna-wearing
Gan with his open vest, barrel chest, pants, and bandaged arms.

"We have no idea what you're talking about, Yahiko-chi," said the wigged
and eye-patched Minoe who was also a human spool for bandages.

If they wore any more bandages, and they'd look like Makoto Shishio
impersonators or patients from the hospital's burn ward.

"I don't want to hear such things from you two!"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, SANBAKA!"

"DON'T CALL US THE THREE STOOGES!" the trio shouted and turned in
unison.

"I didn't. I called you 'Sanbaka'."

"...What?"

It was usually around this juncture of the story that we'd skip ahead to
the part where they'd actually go to Niigata to do whatever it was
Yahiko was off to do.

Niigata wasn't even that far away from Nagano, after all. However, one
more character wanted to join the party, and she wouldn't take "No," for
an answer.

Right before the Sanbaka (not "Three Stooges") stood a maiden with long,
flowing hair with an ornate ribbon tied on her crown, a colorful kimono
top, a hakama fit for a priestess at a temple, and Western-style boots
that somehow made the traditional garb more modern-looking.

"Who the hell are you?" demanded Yahiko.

The boot-wearing girl did a drop kick right at Yahiko's face.

"You IDIOT! I'm Chizuru! Raikouji Chizuru! How can you not recognize
me?"

"EEEH?" the supposed trio of idiots chorused.

Back when Yahiko first met Chizuru Raikouji, she was the spirit and
image of Kaoru Kamiya mostly because she had the same taste in kimonos
and slippers. If someone had put her in a kendo outfit, she'd produce
about the same effect, save of course the likely fact that she knew as
much about kendo as Sanosuke did about defensive maneuvers during
fights.

She looked a little less like Kaoru now. Or rather, she looked like
Kaoru had Kaoru decided to wear her hair down without her ponytail and
sport boots instead of slippers, come to think of it.

"What the hell are you doing, dressed like a... like a... Seriously,
what are you dressed like?" said Yahiko as he got up and rubbed his
sore jaw. Didn't she know that he still had a shoulder injury?

"I'm dressed like _me_, Urchin Head!" said Chizuru as she punched right
into Yahiko's other shoulder.

'I guess she did remember,' thought Yahiko as he karate-chopped
Chizuru's head by reflex, because that was how he and Kaoru used to
greet each other.

"And? What the heck are you doing in Shinshu? Go back to the Sakaguchi
Soba Shop! You have no business with us... I mean, me!"

"No, I do have business with you. I don't care that the vagabond is
married. I won't leave your side until you tell me where he lives!"

It took barely a second for Yahiko to respond, "He lives in Tokyo. Now
go away."

Chizuru kicked Yahiko on the shin with her boot. Already, the lone
teenager of the group was missing Miss Raikouji's handy slippers.

"Tokyo is a big place! You might as well have told me he lives in Japan
or... Earth!"

Yahiko took out a pen and paper from his duffel bag and wrote the Kamiya
Dojo's mailing address. "Here. They're in a dojo somewhere in Asakusa. I
used to work at a restaurant nearby called Akabeko. They're hard to
miss. Now will you please go away? Where we're... _I'm_ going, we don't
need _nags_."

Chizuru took the paper, folded it, put it in her own packed bags, and
walked beside two of the three Sanbaka.

"So where's the runt going, Gan?"

"He said he's going to Niigata, Kaori-neechan. He's off to see a crusty
old sea captain! Arr! Either that or he's going on a tuna boat voyage
for an entire year!"

"Really? He doesn't look like the seafarer type."

"That's what I said! Uh... Chizuru-chi?"

"Are you really going to attach 'chi' to everyone's names?"

"Well, I do listen to requests to quit it if people are annoyed by it.
Raedo-sempai, bless his soul, told me to call him something other than
'chi', so I called him 'sempai'."

"Huh. In that case, I wouldn't mind 'Chizuru-chi', uh... What's your
name again?"

"Minoe."

"Right. Minoe... chan?"

"Oh, that's _way_ too embarrassing, Chizuru-chi!"

"How about Minoe-kun, then?"

"How about you call him Patches?"

"No, I won't do that, 'Bandanna'."

"WHY AREN'T _YOU_ TAKING THE FIRST TRAIN BACK TO TOKYO? Stop following
me!" Yahiko screamed at Chizuru. "At least Gan and Minoe have the excuse
of not having anything better to do!"

"Don't tell me what to do. I'm not your wife." Chizuru harrumphed and
looked away. "Besides, Grandpa is just going to whine about me not
entertaining that matchmaker of his. I can go back whenever I want."

"UGH! You're all IMPOSSIBLE! Keep in mind, I'm not going to pay for your
train fares!" shouted Yahiko while hiding his smile.

As he glanced back at the figures of Minoe, Gan, and Chizuru, he thought
he saw for a fraction of a second Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Kaoru.

He must've been seeing things. Sanosuke wasn't fat.


===


At the train station in Joetsu, Niigata...

"I can't believe you paid for the train fares of those two freeloaders,"
said Yahiko, remembering that Muneiwa Raikouji, Chizuru's grandfather,
was filthy rich.

She also didn't even need to work, but she'd been helping out in the
Sakaguchi Soba Shop nonetheless.

"Stop being such a cheapskate. Money is no object for me," came
Chizuru's offhand remark.

Unlike those two. Minoe at least had a job... if betraying the country
and being a domestic terrorist of sorts could be considered a job. Gan
had no excuse. He was a bum through and through.

"And we won't pay for anything unless we absolutely need to! That's the
hobo motto!" chimed in the Impoverished and (Non-Religious) Mendicant
Gan.

"Mochiron!" agreed Minoe as they bumped fists while Yahiko groaned.

"So where are we off to next? Are we going to Takada Castle?" the
Curious Gan asked. Both Chizuru and Yahiko (literally) kicked his ass
for that question.

"Honestly..." said Chizuru.

"We're not off on a vacation, Gan. I can't believe I need to remind you
of that," said Yahiko. To Chizuru, the young boy asked, "So _why_ didn't
you just hire a private investigator to find Kenshin?"

"Kenshin? You mean Uesugi Kenshin?" supposed Chizuru as she feigned
ignorance, because Kenshin Uesugi was in fact the daimyo that ruled the
Echigo Province, from which Niigata was once a part of.

"Oh, screw you! I'm talking about the rurouni! Rurouni Kenshin! Why go
to Nagano and look for the Battousai Group instead of searching in
Tokyo?"

"Oh, that," said Chizuru as she handed the Annoying Gan pocket money for
him to use at the nearby meat bun stall after he kept on tugging at her
kimono's sleeve like a lost child. Yahiko had to tip his (well, Takae's)
hat off when it came to Raikouji's generosity. Apparently, she was only
insistent in getting Gan to pay for his debts if he were leeching off
one of her friends instead of herself.

Chizuru answered, "I went to Nagano on a whim. I wasn't supposed to
search for the Battousai, because as you know, I was kidnapped by
disgruntled samurai the last time I met him, so grandpa was furious at
me when he found out my plans. He swore to cut me off the will, but he
eventually let me be when I started living by my own means."

She then let slip, "I would've ended up marrying some old, stinky geezer
had I stayed at Tokyo. I can't go back yet! Grandpa should mind his own
business!" which instantly made the conversation quite awkward. Both she
and he ignored the remark afterwards while shifting clumsily as they
walked side-by-side.

This made the kabuto-wearing youth idly wonder if Kaoru would've ended
up a desperate spinster herself had Kenshin chosen one look-alike over
the other.

"Have you been keeping that stab wound of yours clean, Yahiko? Because
it'll totally be gross if that gets infected! You may even lose an arm!"
said Chizuru, changing the subject.

Yahiko exhaled as he cleaned his ear with his pinky finger. "Yes, _Mom_,
I've been keeping it clean. I keep getting fresh bandages from Gan and
Minoe."

"You know, I'm kind of amazed how quick you heal. You can heal up in
two to three weeks what some men need to recover in six to eight weeks.
Ah, the wonders and seeming indestructibility of youth..." Chizuru said.

"Uh... thanks? I'm not all that totally healed, you know."

"Yoshi-boy's display of youthfulness is making you feel old... Right,
Kaori-neechan?" commented the Imbecilic Gan, figuratively biting the
hand that fed him. Chizuru proceeded to literally feed him her fist,
which made him choke on his vendor-bought meat bun.

"So what are we doing here, Yahiko-chi?" asked Minoe while adjusting
her... his... well, for now _his_... eye patch.

"A friend of mine needs a crew for a ship," said Yahiko while avoiding
Minoe's eyes... eye... _gaze_.

"Youw fwiend needs a cwew?" repeated Gan as spit and meat bun bits flew
from his mouth. He sounded like Kenji with a deeper, moronic voice. "So
he is a sea captain!"

"...Yeah, and I hope we're not too late. I've been going to and fro
Niigata and Nagano to check on everything, but this Battousai Group
business got in the way. I hope they didn't sail off already while I was
busy recuperating back in Shinshu."

It sure was awkward talking about these things right in front of one of
the mass murdering culprits of that case. Yahiko chanced upon a quick
glance at Minoe, who smiled and waved back.

The genuineness of the smile sent shivers up his spine and made his
shoulder throb. The goddamned sociopath could at least _act_ guilty. Was
it really such a good idea to harbor a criminal just to keep an eye on
him?

They took a rickshaw cab... because poor _Princess_ Chizuru's feet were
hurting from wearing boots for the first time in months... straight to
the Port of Naoetsu just two miles away, specifically in front of the
sashimi restaurant and bar that Yahiko's friend frequented.

The Port of Naoetsu lay on the Sea of Japan's shores in Niigata.
Yahiko's grasp of Ancient Japanese History was tenuous at best, but he
had heard from locals and tour guides that the port was some sort of
major Sea of Japan port during the Kamakura Period... to be more
specific, it was an important outport of Takada.

Back in the seventeenth century, it served as a commercial center of
sorts for the Echigo Province. Many merchant ships from all over Asia
regularly gathered to this very port back and forth Tokyo, Kyoto, and
Sado during the Heian Period. Echigo jofu (the hemp fabric used in
kimonos), salty salmon, and rice were the main exports of Naoetsu at the
time.

During Japan's "Sakoku" or "Seclusion Period" from 1633 to 1868, trading
in general was limited to four gateways, such that the policy only
permitted European influence in the form of a Dutch factory built on
Dejima, Nagasaki.

Japan traded with the Ainu through the Masumae Domain of Ezo (later
known as Hokkaido), while Joseon Dynasty Korea traded with Tsushima's So
Clan. Nagasaki, meanwhile, was tasked to handle all trade with the Dutch
East India Company as well as the Qing Dynasty Chinese traders who also
traded with the Ryukyu Kingdom (which was controlled by the Satsuma
Domain's Shimazu Family).

For fear of the penalty of death, Chinese private merchants and their
junks (as well as the Koreans) stayed in the ports nearest Nagasaki and
Ryukyu (which later became modern-day Okinawa) in Southern Japan.

It was also thanks to the locked country foreign policy that piracy and
smuggling became rampant in Nippon. These foreign trade restrictions and
the xenophobic attitude of the Japanese towards foreigners made way for
a huge black market for smuggled international goods, of which criminal
organizations like the Shanghai Mafia were a part of.

As for the Naoetsu Port, it was repurposed during the Locked Country Era
from a foreign trading post to a crucial distribution hub for the
Shinshu area when it came to the movement of rice from Echigo to
Kamigata and Edo. With that said, the cargo port also served as one of
the many safe havens of the wokou.

Otherwise known as Japanese pirates, the wokou were notorious for
raiding the aforementioned Korean and Chinese merchants unfortunate
enough to be caught off-guard by them.

Some of these maritime criminals even went straight to the home turf
coastlines of Korea and China to start trouble, steal their wares, and
smuggle the loot back to Sakoku-Era Japan.

The wokou (known colloquially in Japan as the wako or yamatoada and in
Korea as the waegu) were originally composed of defectors, smugglers,
merchants, ex-soldiers, and ronin from Japan. However, as their infamy
grew and the centuries rolled on, the majority of these wokou pirates
started coming mostly from China instead of Japan.

There were East Asian pirates who have taken it upon themselves to ride
the coattails of the wokou movement and claim to be wokou as well. A
typical wokou ship in the later centuries of Japanese piracy could be
composed of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese pirates working under the
command of a captain who was also of varying national origin.

All this talk about wokou and the Shanghai Mafia reminded Yahiko of
Enishi Yukishiro, who himself was able to gain power, wealth, and
influence by becoming the young head of the very same Chinese Arms
Dealer Mobsters by adopting the martial arts style known as wattoujutsu,
which incorporated Chinese kung fu with Japanese swordsmanship.

In fact, wattoujutsu... a dynamic and unconventional form of weapon-
based fighting school that gave even Kenshin's seemingly invincible
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu a run for its money... had roots to wokou culture.
Wattoujutsu came to exist exactly because Japanese pirates had a lot of
contact with the Chinese and their skilled martial artists.

In time, both countries noticed the superior craftsmanship of the
Japanese blade and its unique swordsmanship style as well as the
unlimited forms and flexibility of Chinese martial arts, which led to
the merging of Japanese kenjutsu and Chinese close-quarter combat
together into one dangerous killing style.

At any rate, Naoetsu ultimately became a foreign trade post once again
after Commodore Matthew C. Perry's steamships arrived and ushered the
Meiji Era, which led to growth in domestic trade and the increase in the
importation of raw materials like coal, ore, and salt.

To be honest, Yahiko could've taken a train towards Naoetsu, because it
was just a mere hundred and thirty-one miles away from Tokyo on the
Naoetsu Shinkansen. However, when he first met with his acquaintance a
few weeks back, he was told to check back later, because a new crew
still needed to be gathered at the time. His friend had somehow lost
some old crew members since the last time they corresponded with each
other.

"So who will be my contact for today," murmured Yahiko as he, Minoe, and
Chizuru glared at the Salivating Gan. The thug's eyes bugged out at the
selection of available seafood and booze at their designated restaurant.

Gan wiped his jaw after he noticed the flat glares aimed at his person.
"What? Kaori-neechan only bought me one meat bun!"

"Did you come here for a free trip and a meal?" demanded Yahiko.

The Mortified Gan looked away and stared at the ceiling. "Maaaybe..."

"Are you Myojin Yahiko?"

The group of four turned as one towards the voice.

"We've been waiting for you."

Yahiko easily recognized the mute companion of the captain he was
talking about... a man-child of indeterminate age with monkey-like
mannerisms wearing a bandanna and typical sailor gear. He, however, did
not recognize the burly, mustachioed, and slightly greasy man beside
the monkey boy.

He expected that, though. For some reason, his friend had been sending
different lookouts to meet with him whenever he went to the seaport.
Some of these sailors were actually from the growing amount of crew
members that'd been gathered so far, while others were messengers paid
to contact him.

Maybe there were Minoe-like spies lurking about the port near Joetsu?
There were an awful lot of precautions being taken to meet with him
every time. His captain friend had been rather scarce the last few times
he arrived in Niigata as well. It was okay, though; his shoulder hadn't
quite healed around that time.

He honestly couldn't care less about the crew thing, but he had every
intention to collect on his... well, his and the Kamiya Family's...
favor from this captain without a complete crew, even if he had to deal
with bullshit like setting foot on a boat.

'I wonder how strong the captain has gotten...' the boy thought. To the
grease ball of a seaman, Yahiko confirmed, "I'm Myojin Yahiko. Can we
see the Crimson Captain now?"

The rotund man with a coating of oil on his skin smiled, revealing
multiple gold teeth. "Come with me." He gave Myojin's three companions
a quick glance before his stare lingered at Chizuru's direction. He
wolf-whistled. "Good work. We need more girls in the ship."

Chizuru glared at the seaman, then at Yahiko. The latter shrugged. "You
can leave and go back to Tokyo anytime you want. Nobody's forcing any of
you to come with me."

"I suppose the presence of unwanted admirers is a curse that we
beautiful people will have to get used to. My big round eyes, cute
little face, and slim body is something I have to live with every single
day. It's a terrible burden," decided Chizuru with a toss of her ribbon-
tied raven hair.

"One more word from you and I'll tell him how old you really are, you
old crone," said Yahiko before casually dodging another one of Chizuru's
signature shin kicks. He wasn't able to block the eye poke, though.

"Can't we stay for a bit? I'm still hungry!" complained Gan while Minoe
followed closely behind, answering, "Mochiron. We have no intention of
getting sidetracked by another food bet of yours, Soba King-chi!"

"But I wanted to see if I'm a Sashimi Emperor or a Sake Shogun too!"

"Um, are we going or not...?" asked the tubby mustachioed man as he,
along with the monkey boy sailor, produced large dollops of sweat on
their foreheads.


===


"I don't get it, Sarujiro. Why do I and the rest of my... those
strangers I'm with have to split up into four different doors leading to
the same warehouse?" Yahiko asked the mute, monkey-like sailor in vain.
He only got a sheepish grin and a chortle in return.

Minoe, Gan, and Chizuru went with the Crimson Captain's other liaison
agents, which were (thankfully) more professionally clothed as sailors
than pirates, who merely wore fundoshi (or the traditional undergarment
for Japanese men) and nothing else.

Yahiko knew he could trust the Crimson Captain, but his instincts were
screaming at him that something was amiss. Was it paranoia? Or was it
because of the past interactions that he and the rest of the Kenshingumi
(his self-coined term for the group consisting of Kenshin, Kaoru,
Sanosuke, and himself) had with the ex-pirate leader?

It was too late to ponder about it anyway. The memory of his last
meeting with Soujiro Seta... Makoto Shishio's right-hand man and the
Akahoris' current bodyguard... spurred him into action.

"The Shun Ten Satsu is about as fast as the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki,
even though it's not as strong as Himura-san's technique. Just a little
tip. Say hello to Himura-san for me."


===


Next: All aboard the privateer's boat.

If you have to ask, I think Yahiko is suffering from a bit of
Stockholm Syndrome, which is why he's harboring a terrorist under
his care.

Disclaimer: All characters used in this fanfic (save some others)
are the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen
Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and
ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted
material that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me
please, I'm very poor.

Say my name,
Abdiel
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