damned_institute | Night 43: F-A Block Hallway

"No, you're the worst kind of woman, Sen-san," Kaoru's rage simmered under the surface. It was one thing to lose her temper at her friends, it was wholly another for her to fight stupidly and blindly. She wasn't so inexperienced that she would make such a foolish mistake of rushing into Sen's space. Kenshin said the woman was dangerous. Kaoru believed him.

"I just wonder how women like you sleep at night, knowing that you are the cause for all your loved ones problems," it was a gamble, a dangerous gamble, but Kaoru hoped it worked. Robin had been hurt last night, and Kaoru didn't doubt for a second Sen was the root of the problem. She felt the atmosphere around her change.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/703548.html?thread=58095676#t58095676).]

"Oro? Kaoru-dono? This one wasn't expecting you to be--" Kenshin stopped when he realized who Kaoru was with, felt the tension in the air.

Sen. Of course it would be her. The Shinsengumi's spy had the nastiest habit of popping up in inconvenient places at inconvenient times, almost as if she were trying to catch them off guard. The rurouni wouldn't put it past her if that was exactly why she was here right now.

"Good evening Sen-dono," he said with a rather stiff smile and a slightly dangerous glint in his eyes. "This one apologizes that we can't stay longer, but we must be on our way now. We have an assignment. Please be safe tonight."

Though Ayumu was in such a mood as she'd likely never been before, she was still the product of years of training and drills; had Kaoru mentioned something about the brother she fortunately didn't know Ayumu had, it was possible that she would have been testing one of her new toys on the woman at this point. However, since the words were directed at "Sen" and her presumed affection for Robin they were easy enough to shrug off.

"I simply can't imagine what you mean by that," she replied, with an indifferent shrug, and turned away to leave for real this time. There was nothing to be gained by baiting Kaoru any further, and she truly did need to accomplish something this night. Even as she began to toss a last retort over her shoulder, however, that "Oro?" washed away anything further.

It was him.

Himura.

Choushuu.

Battle of Toba-Fushimi.

The confusion of emotions within her abruptly settled into cold, vengeful purpose and she merely acted without thought. In an instant she had shifted from the Sen persona to grim-faced kunoichi, and in one fluid motion drew the sharp steel skewer from concealment and lunged forward to drive it into the man's throat.

[skipping Kaoru with permission.]

Finally, Sen was showing her true colors. It had certainly taken her long enough.

She was fast, so fast that Kenshin no longer had any doubts about her role within the Shinsengumi. Housekeeper, indeed.

The rurouni drew his sword just in time to counter Sen's thrust, turning the skewer's path so that went into his shoulder, not his throat. Still painful, of course, but not life-threatening. "This one wasn't aware that the Shinsengumi employed kunoichi," he said coldly. "Obviously, Yamazaki wasn't enough." Kenshin yanked the small blade from the wound and threw it aside.

"Let's go, Kaoru-dono. We've wasted enough time here already."

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/699758.html?thread=58055022#t58055022)]

He had just stepped into the hall when that bright red hair caught his attention. Of course he'd have just the luck of running into Himura Kenshin when he was going to see Ayumu. Thinking better of this action, Okita had started to turn to leave when he heard that name. Sen-dono.

Ayumu.

In an instant, Okita whipped around and started forward, putting his hand on the hilt of his sword - and with good reason. Between the wall flashing in and out of existence distracting him on his right, he could clearly see Ayumu stabbing something toward Himura; and he could see Himura drawing his sword. Sprinting forward, Okita reached out and snatched the skewer out of the air before it hit the ground, using his left hand to bring the katana around, sliding it up between Ayumu and Himura to stop the kunoichi from moving forward.

"Enough." He shot all three of them a quick glance before settling his eyes on Himura. There was no use in keeping up the act now, not with the way Ayumu had blown her cover. Something had definitely happened today, otherwise she'd never chance this - never dream of breaking her cover. But then, after Himura's last little comment about Yamazaki? Very carefully, he turned the edge of his blade just slightly toward Ayumu. "Sen - stand down. Himura-san: sheath your weapon and watch your tongue. Further provoking her is a stupid move."

"She's the one that went after him without reason," Kaoru replied pointedly, not liking this other person's tone one bit. But, Kenshin was right, they had a place to be, and she didn't want to be late. Later, she knew, she would look back and congratulate herself on keeping her temper so well. That, or she would just take her frustrations out on Kenshin later. Still, it didn't stop her from gripping her skillet a little tighter, as she walked around Sen and Okita and behind Kenshin.

"We don't have time for this, Kenshin. Or for her. Let's go." Her voice felt strange to her, as if she were walking on a very thin rope and if she let herself sound any softer or any angrier the rope would break and she would just go on a pan-whacking spree. That woman had hurt Kenshin, and in the back of her mind, Kaoru knew she would find a way to make her pay for it. She started off down the hall without him briskly.

In an ordinary situation, Ayumu would have retreated once the initial attack failed, given that she would be a at a significant disadvantage in an open battle with an armed samurai. If this were an ordinary situation, however, she would never have broken cover to make such an attack to begin with, and when Himura said that name it only made things worse.

She had drawn away as soon as it was obvious he'd be able to divert the blow, but at the word Yamazaki Ayumu flinched, cold rage flaring clear to be seen in her eyes. A quick motion of one hand brought one of her scalpels from concealment and she started to move - but then Okita was there.

It was something familiar again, the uniform, the voice, the order barked in a tone impossible to ignore; it cut through what drove her and she immediately froze in place. Her gaze flicked to the blade held before her, then up to Okita, and after a heartbeat she inclined her head slightly and took a step back again. There was still tension clear to be read in her posture, and her expression was set in a blank mask, but she would obey the order.

She didn't dare look after Himura or his friend, much as she wanted to demand what he knew of her brother, of the battle Makoto's book had mentioned. But she'd already done far too much this night, she realized, now that she was thinking again; best not to say a word, to even acknowledge his presence any longer.

And then, almost on cue, Okita came in to stop the fight. Kenshin couldn't say he wasn't ungrateful to the Shinsengumi officer; he hadn't looked forward to a fight with an angry kunoichi. And Sen was angry. There had been a flash of recognition in her eyes when he'd mentioned Yamazaki. Recognition. The name was important to her. A lover, maybe? Or, perhaps, a relative.

Who knew?

The rurouni sheathed his sword and bowed slightly to Okita. "Apologies, Okita-dono," he said softly, and then turned to join Kaoru.

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/699758.html?thread=58248814#t58248814) with Kaoru.]

The woman with Himura had to be the Kaoru that Kenshin was so devoted to saving. As one of his only allies from home, Okita could see why, but he hardly appreciated her tone - barely concealed anger, albeit righteous. There was blood on the skewer Okita held in his right hand, and he knew who the blood belonged to since he himself had drawn it before. Even as the woman walked over to Kenshin, Okita never lowered his sword or moved his eyes from the scene in front of him. Ayumu seemed to be standing down, but he wasn't about to let anyone further this fight.

It wasn't until Himura sheathed his sword that Okita pulled his back and slipped it into the ties of his hakama, slightly inclining his head to acknowledge Kenshin's apology. He could warn Himura to keep his mouth shut, or to reign in the woman at his side against doing anything stupid to Ayumu later, but for now he thought such things were tacitly understood. With Ayumu's identity revealed as a member of the Shinsengumi, any move against her would be a direct attack on Okita himself. And such an attack would free him from the truce - and subsequently free Ayumu as well.

He didn't speak again until he was certain the other two were out of the way, and then he turned to Ayumu, studying her for a moment. The tension was clear as day, but what had brought it? The flash of anger at the mention of Susumu, this sudden outburst, the breaking of her cover - these things weren't what the shinobi was known for. It put her in a dangerous position; one which Okita had hoped to avoid. Wiping the blood from the skewer onto the pleats of his hakama, he turned it around and held it out to her. "You wouldn't answer me on the board, so I'll ask you again - what happened?"

With Himura and his friend gone Ayumu found it somewhat easier to regain control once more. For the moment her anger turned inward, becoming shame for her rash and foolish actions. It was for good reason that a ninja must avoid emotional attachment; her flaw had led to the undoing of a great deal of work, with even more potential repercussions in the future should Himura decide to spread word of what had happened. It was a betrayal of all she had been taught, of who and what she was, and it would take considerable effort to atone for it.

She drew in a breath, willing at least an outward calm before she reached to accept her weapon back again. "My deepest apologies, Okita-san," Ayumu said, with a bow. "My actions this evening were inexcusable. It will not happen again."

As she straightened again she slid the skewer back into its previous place of concealment, her voice taking on the detached tone of an official report. "Susumu was brought here this afternoon as a visitor. He claimed, however, that he was not in fact Yamazaki Susumu, as the real Yamazaki Susumu fell in battle against Choushuu forces in the year 1868."

And the information had been sufficient to unsettle her in a way that nothing should have been able to do. If nothing else it was a sign that she needed to eliminate the weakness she had allowed to grow under Tetsunosuke's influence; he was not here, and she had other people to think of besides herself.

He didn't want an apology, he wanted answers. He knew just how deeply this place could shake a person and he'd wanted to protect Ayumu from that. That she potentially ruined a great deal of her work by revealing herself to Himura was of no consequence. Okita had seen things that didn't sit right with him between Yuffie and Himura and he had constantly worried about Ayumu's safety in this matter. Now that it was over, she could turn her focus to more important places - Lelouch, Robin, or elsewhere as she was needed.

Right now, however, work wasn't what mattered.

He listened as she confirmed his fears that Susumu had come to visit her. And worse, that he had told her about 1868. Did she know that they lost? Did she know the way things were going to be? Himura had told him what he needed to know before and it had nearly destroyed him - shot in the back on the field of battle in Ezo. So far away. With so few of his friends at his side. Alone, with no one to walk with him - and he did not want that happening to her. It seemed, however, history was inevitable. It would find a way to dig its claws into them and rip them apart, no matter how far they ran.

"Then save him," Okita said quietly, stepping to turn to the side. He faced the wall, not wanting to stare at her anymore. It would only make her uncomfortable. "If they can bring us here, it means we can go back - we can change what the future holds. You know how he falls; so save him." Prevent the move to Ezo, stop the Choushuu from banding together, route them at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. They had to do it because no one else could. "This place...does things to those on the outside, Ayumu-san. It changes them, makes them believe and spout lies." Michael Sugiyama was the lie Hijikata wore now. Okita would save him. "He is alive now and that is what matters. It means you have a chance."

That she wanted to save him -- had to, would do so, no matter what it took or what she had to give -- remained forever true despite whatever resolve Ayumu might make, and hardly needed to be spoken. The only question that remained, the only choice she had left to make, was whether she needed to do so there or here.

Even if she chose not to accept the opportunity that had been offered, to give in and accept the pretty lies and thus allow Susumu the chance to live as she'd always secretly wanted him to, the fact remained that he was here. Here, now, though believing himself to be someone else. She simply couldn't return to Kyoto without him.

And a return to Kyoto was a return to her interrupted mission, and the near-inevitable end to it. Even if she'd managed to survive that (which Okita certainly would not confirm even if she'd asked him outright) there was always another job, always danger for one such as she, and even if -- when -- she returned home with Susumu it would still likely fall to Okita to change the future that they now knew.

Still, she spoke none of this, allowed none of her thoughts to show. Now that her careful control had returned she'd not allow it to crack again. Not this night.

"As you say, Okita-san," she agreed calmly, brushing a hand across her waistband to test the placement of the skewer she'd hidden within it. "I thank you for your timely intervention, but I'm certain I'm keeping you from your assignment for the evening?"

Although Ayumu seemed calm, Okita knew the truth. There were things she would never tell him, thoughts that she would never let anyone know, but that was precisely why she was good at her job. And precisely why Okita wasn't leaving her on her own tonight. There was no telling what the shinobi might do without a mission and with the weight of the new-found knowledge crushing in on her. And no matter how she looked, he knew how she was feeling. She wasn't the only one who had thought those things, wondered who could take the message back and who to save. Returning to their time meant death for them and for anyone who came back with them.

Reaching into his sleeves, he pulled out a small package wrapped in his old sling and then held it out to her. "And it is now your assignment. Keep your armaments close and follow me. If anyone who knows you sees you with me, tomorrow the excuse is that I came upon you in the halls and could not leave a woman behind." You're in no state to be alone, Ayumu-san. I know how it is. I've seen him here twice. He waited for her to put her newest weapons away and then turned to start down the hall. "Keep close."

The package was greeted with a look of faint curiosity and one uplifted brow, then the other rose to meet the first as Ayumu actually opened it and found her gift. So this must be what he'd mentioned on the bulletin earlier in the day - somehow she'd managed to completely forget about that, as well as the small present she'd picked up for him in town the day before. Ah, well, there'd be time to get that to him later; unlike a gift such as these it would be easy enough to slip candy to him even during the day.

She'd also neglected the board during the last shift, since after her "visitor" had left she'd only left him a message and then gone back to her room until dinner. Which meant, of course, that she'd completely missed vital information, such as what the so-called History Club was planning to do this evening. Somehow, though, that didn't seem as important as it should have been - being given an assignment meant that she had something to do tonight. Something to focus on that didn't involve chasing her thoughts around in circles.

And so she merely nodded slightly in acknowledgement, murmuring thanks for the gift before distributing the new weaponry about her person. It was at times like these that she dearly missed her normal clothing, in which it was so much easier to hide items such as these. But still, she did her best before moving to follow Okita, keeping close as ordered.

Hopefully they'd not encounter anyone else that she knew before they arrived at their destination, but just in case she resumed her attitude of the frightened noncombatant attempting to be brave in a dangerous situation. As nervous as she seemed outwardly, inwardly she was still alert to her surroundings. It took enough concentration and focus that she could not think of anything else for now, and she welcomed that.

She had apparently forgotten that he had mentioned a gift for her earlier today. Considering that she had such a stressful afternoon? Okita didn't blame her. He honestly would have forgotten if he were in her shoes, too. As he waited for her to finish hiding the knives in her clothes, Okita straightened his uniform, checking the ties at his waist and the knot in his bandana. He had never been a big fidgeter, but tonight they were going up against those things again. People would be hurt again - possibly all of them.

It would be a taxing night to end the day with.

Once Ayumu was ready, Okita turned and started forward - knowing that she'd follow.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/699758.html?thread=58295662#t58295662)]

Night 43: F-A Block Hallway

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