An Iris in the Rain
A Gundam Wing - Rurouni Kenshin fusion
Parts 1 and 2
By Lys ap Adin
Author's Notes:
I *swore* to myself that I wouldn't start another crossover so long as I lived... I really really did.
But the gods laugh at oaths like that...
Warnings: Fushion with the Rurouni Kenshin OVAs. Severe and total spoilers for RK. Yaoi on its way. A lot of the dialogue is taken directly from the Kenshin OVAs and modified to suit my nefarious schemes. Gore, death, blood, angst, bishounen, swords, and me trying not to flub up Japanese history too badly. If I make any horrific mistakes, let me know. I'll try to fix them.
PART 1
The young man wove his way down the rain-soaked street, his umbrella wobbling in his grasp. His eyes were vague with sake, and an observer might have wondered if he even had an ultimate destination in mind as he wandered through the dark streets of Kyoto.
He turned down another street, and stopped short at the sight of two figures locked together in combat; the larger man seemed fully capable of overpowering the small, lithe figure--a boy, really, who seemed far too young to be carrying a sword or even fighting for his life.
The unwitting witness blinked unfocused blue eyes at the scene, hypnotized by the flash of blade and chain and the muffled grunts of the combatants. The boy crouched, dodged, spun, and cut through his opponent's chest with speed that dazzled drunken senses. Blood sprayed through the moist air, splattering across the observer's face and clothes.
The boy looked up, eyes widening fractionally as he registered the presence for the first time.
The drunk blinked, murmuring, "How remarkable... you made it rain blood..." as he pitched forward, toppling into unconsciousness.
Duo Maxwell, better known to most people as the Hitokiri Battousai, was moving forward to catch him before he had time to think better of it. As the young man's limp body sagged in his arms and sake-tinged breath washed over his face, Duo wondered what he was getting himself into.
PART 2
Duo staggered under the weight of the drunk, muscles that had already been brutally exercised once in the evening protested further maltreatment. The unconscious man's head lolled against his shoulder as Duo struggled to regain his balance, and he murmured something nasal and unintelligible as he burrowed his face into Duo's chest.
There were those in Kyoto who would have been amused by the startled look that flitted across Duo's face at that.
As the rain and blood slid down their faces, he tried to decide what to do.
"Give me a room for him," Duo told the landlady of the Kohagi House when the woman met him the foyer of inn that had been his destination when he and Solo had parted ways.
Sally Po looked at the odd pair, both soaked to the skin and dripping red-stained water onto her clean floor. "There is no empty room for him," she said finally, her evaluation completed. "You of the Choushuu-han keep us busy, and this isn't a one-night inn. He'll have to share your room if he's to stay here." She shook her head, the soft movement sending her blond braids bobbing. "First an assassin, then a caretaker. Is there any end to your duties, Duo?"[1]
He ignored the question with dismay and shifted the limp body in his arms. "There are no empty rooms at all?"
"None." Sally shrugged. "As I've said, we're very busy with the lot of you. I'll draw a bath for him, and find some clean clothes." She gestured to the wide-eyed serving girl who was watching and listening the exchange. "Fetch towels and blankets." The girl bobbed her head and scurried to do Sally's bidding.
Duo bowed to the inevitable; if he had to share his room for the night to ensure his secrecy as an assassin for the Ishin Shishi, so be it.[2]
Sally emerged from Duo's room, followed by the serving girl who had helped her bathe and put the stranger to bed, and approached the assassin who had been evicted from his room temporarily. The girl closed the door behind her, leaving just a crack that let a thin line of lamplight spill across the floor, and moved away with a bundle of sodden clothing.
"Thank you for your help," Duo said, looking away from the window where he stood watching the darkness.
"It's nothing... but tell me, what do you plan on doing about this?" Sally held out a dagger for Duo's inspection. "I found this hidden on him, like he wanted to appear harmless... until it was too late."
Duo took the weapon from her and turned it over in his hands, examining it. When he gave her no answer, Sally clicked her tongue slightly and walked away.
The blade was of quality make, though unadorned, and worn with use. Duo frowned and looked at his door, trying to decide what to do.
The rain had stopped, and moonlight split the sky, marking a silver path across the floor to where the sleeping stranger lay.
Duo stalked him along this path, decision made. Standing over the sleeper, he lifted his hand to end the threat to his secrecy with the stranger's own dagger. As the blade swept down, sleeping eyes flew open, glittering blue in the moonlight.
Duo's head jerked up, and he stared wildly around the familiar shapes of his room, empty but for himself and the neat bundle of bedclothes where the stranger had slept. He scrambled to his feet, automatically tugging clothes disarrayed by a night's sleep into place as he went in search of the missing guest.
He passed Sally on her route into the common room where breakfast was being served. "Where is he?" Duo asked, stung by the thought that anyone could have moved so quietly that it had not woken him.
"Outside," Sally told him. "Making himself useful."
Duo nodded his thanks and headed outside.
He found the stranger in the courtyard, sweeping the pavement. Comforted by the fact that the risk was at bay, Duo lingered in the doorway to study the young man. His hair was unruly and short, framing a face full of sharp planes. Duo estimated his age to be about twenty.
As if feeling the eyes upon him, the young man looked up, eyes much clearer than they had been the night before. The motion of the broom stilled as Duo stepped out into the sunlight.
The assassin cast about for words. "Are you feeling better this morning?"
The other dipped into a tiny bow. "Yes. My apologies for causing you trouble." He began sweeping again, broom moving in short, jerky arcs across the paving stones.
"What's your name?" Duo asked, processing the apology that was so abrupt that it was hardly an apology.
"Heero. Heero Yuy." And Heero continued the chore, moving past Duo on the pathway.
Troubled, Duo looked at Heero's retreating back, trying to reconcile the man's chilly demeanor to the memory of the sake-fogged emotion he had seen in Heero's eyes the night before.
There was a murmur at breakfast over the new face as the men discussed Heero and his sudden appearance; Duo ate his breakfast in silence, missing none of the discussion but contributing nothing.
Solo breezed into the common room, as late as always for the day's first meal. He sat beside Duo, grabbing a fruit from a serving girl's tray. "Morning, Duo. Is that your find I saw just now? He's lovely--a truly quality piece." Solo bit into the fruit as Duo set down his cup of tea with a click of porcelain against porcelain. "I heard Sally let him sleep in your room. I had no idea your taste ran to such things as well--"
Duo's hand flashed to the hilt of his sword, gripping it so tightly that the knuckles shone white. The room of men went still, tension thick in the face of potential bloodshed. Duo rose to his feet, still wordless, and stalked from the room.
Solo made a face. "He's so touchy," he complained, rolling his eyes and taking another bite of his fruit. "He nearly scared me into swallowing a seed!"
Around him, the conversations began to pick up their broken threads, and no one noticed the speculative expression that crossed Solo's face.
When Duo found Heero again, the young man was lending a hand to Sally as she went from room to room, setting them to order. If Heero felt anything about working at such menial tasks, he showed nothing of it. "With your permission, Sally, Heero and I need to speak."
"Of course." Sally excused herself, leaving the two alone.
"Listen," Duo said, gathering himself.
Heero looked at him, eyes flat.
"Forget about what you saw last night. Leave this place. Leave Kyoto, if you can."
"Why?" Heero asked. "I think I'd like to stay in Kyoto."
Duo's lips thinned. "I think you know that Kyoto is dangerous. Go home to your family. I'm sure that they're worried about you."
"If I had a family to worry about me, would I sit alone at night and drink sake?" Heero's eyes changed; flatness changed to assessment. "The wound on your face seems to have stopped bleeding."
"Don't change the subject," Duo snapped. He pulled the dagger from the night before from where he had stashed it at his waist, and showed it to Heero. "Is this yours?"
Heero's eyes flicked to the weapon and held out his hand. Duo dropped the dagger into the outstretched palm. "Yes."
"It's a small dagger." Duo's eyes lingered on the blade and the hand clasping it. "And Kyoto is large, and dangerous. It will be of little use to you here. Leave, while you can."
"An assassin."
Duo's eyes snapped up. "What did you call me?" he demanded.
Heero shook his head, tucking the dagger into some secret hiding place. "Did I call you something?" He inclined his head slightly to Duo, and left the room in search of Sally.
Duo let him go.
Sally looked at Duo expectantly. "Well, say whatever it is you're wanting to say."
"You aren't going to hire him, are you?" Duo asked, with a jerk of the shoulder to the door, through which Heero could be seen trundling firewood towards the kitchen.
"Your stray cat?" Sally smiled. "What else did you bring him to Kohagi House for, if not that?"
"He was just someone I bumped into on the street. I didn't expect it to become permanent." Duo made a gesture. "I didn't expect this."
"Choushuu-han leaves us no time for idleness, Duo. We appreciate the business, of course, but there come times when even a stray cat's help is welcomed." Sally's smile turned sly. "And who's to ask questions about one more strange face in these troubled times?"
Solo entered the kitchen. "Duo. Treize and Alex are here." Duo followed him from the kitchen.
Sally looked from Duo to Heero, her thoughts spinning in ways that a pair of violet eyes might be made to soften.
As Duo and Solo joined Treize and Alex's procession through the corridors of Kohagi House, Heero approached them from the opposite direction, busy with some errand of Sally's. The four watched him pass by before Treize asked, "Who is that?"
"That's the one, isn't it?" Alex guessed, with a tiny smirk.
Solo answered with his own smirk. "That would be him."
"Solo." Duo's edge held just a fraction of warning.
"He's prettier than some women I've seen," Alex commented, for the sake of seeing Duo's reaction.
"Alex, please." Duo's tone, though deferential as was appropriate, still held the note of warning. The three older men chuckled.
"There's nothing wrong with that, of course," Alex continued blithely. "Solo, I would feel more comfortable about our handsome stranger if we were to check his background and keep a careful eye on him."
"Of course," Solo nodded.
"Duo," Treize interrupted. At the questioning glance, he continued, "We did not come here just to talk about the young man. You killed someone last night?"
"It was necessary."
"And then on your way back here, you were attacked again--without warning?" Treize pressed. Duo simply nodded.
"It was a real mess to clean up, too," Solo put in. "No one was expecting to deal with a second body last night. I can't take my eyes off you for a minute, can I?"
"Could you tell who the attacker was?" Alex asked.
Duo frowned, remembering. "From the Bakufu. Not the Shinsengumi, though. Another group I've not seen before."[3]
Treize and Alex looked at each other and nodded, faces grim. "Duo... there are not many in Kyoto who know of your existence... and yet someone was able to ambush you."
Duo's eyes went chilly. "A traitor," he said, voice barely a hiss.
"It seems likely. I will be looking into the matter," Alex said. "Meanwhile, beware of the Shinsengumi."
"Of course." Duo nodded.
Treize and Alex turned to go, but Alex turned back for one last comment. "Duo?"
"Yes?"
"It's spring. The flowers are blooming." With that, Alex walked away.
Duo lifted an eyebrow, and Solo wisely chose to say nothing to needle the young man.
Sitting next to the window, with his sword leaning across his chest and against his shoulder, Duo watched Heero move his bedding into the adjacent room with something akin to relief. He was grateful to Sally for finding an empty room so soon.
Heero paused on his way out the door with the last armful of bedding, giving the room, or perhaps Duo, a final sweeping glance. Duo looked away, staring out the window.
Once settled into his new quarters, Heero settled himself before the table, setting his journal open before him and beginning to write.
Every so often, he looked up at the shared wall between his and Duo's room.
As Treize sipped tea in a public stall, Solo walked by and paused, pretending to look at the wares on display. Alex moved to join them, with the same elaborate casualness. "Well?" he asked, as they looked anywhere but at each other.
"I've looked into him. There's not much to tell, though. He's educated well and he's not from Kyoto. That's about all that I can say for certain. I think he's from Kanto, but there's no family there that can confirm it," Solo replied, picking up a knick-knack for closer inspection. "I even asked around some of the better pleasure houses, but there was nothing there, either."
"Is he a spy?" Alex asked.
"He's better than I am if he is. He hasn't made contact with anyone outside the Kohagi House. My theory is that his family has died out and he drifted here. Not uncommon in these times."
"Can we rely on this information?" Alex asked, wanting dearly to look at Solo's face for confirmation but not daring to in the public place.
"As you can rely on me," Solo retorted.
"Enough. Good work." Treize finished his tea and stood up, drifting away. Solo lingered a few minutes longer before ambling in the opposite direction.
Alex frowned, not fully satisfied with the sketchy story, even if one of Choushuu-han's best spies had gathered it. He resolved to keep a close watch on Duo's stray cat, despite Solo's approval.
"The Bakufu is spying on everyone these days, so be careful. I don't foresee things settling down soon. Also, watch out for Noventa. This is just my hunch, but these are dark days."
Treize put Howard's letter aside, and his wife asked, "Another bad letter?"
"It feels like a very long time since I have had a good letter," Treize murmured, draining his cup of sake.
"What about the letters I've written you?" Une teased. She moved closer, offering to pour another cup of sake.
"Those are different." Treize shook his head slightly at the offer and set the cup down. They shared a fond smile.
"Has Howard's health improved at all?" she asked, settling herself closer to him.
Treize shook his head, losing some of the gentle mood. "He's sent his woman away so that she won't catch it from him."
Une sighed. "Poor thing."
"She is understanding," Treize replied, smiling. "Howard has lived his life like a naked blade, but none of us may question his motives."
Une's smile was impish. "A naked blade? Then his woman must be his sheath."
"A sheath?" Treize glanced at his own sword, thinking of many things. "Indeed."
Duo's eyes glittered in the darkness as he stalked his prey, a lone man wearing the blue and white of the Shinsengumi. The man, sensing that he was not alone on the dark street, stiffened, drawing his katana in a challenge to the darkness.
Duo's lips quirked up; he admired the Shinsengumi for their willingness to confront death so boldly. Since this one was so prepared, it was only fitting to oblige him. Duo hurtled forward, feet barely making noise against the pavement.
The man in blue blocked the first strike, contemptuous of the assassin. "Are you the best the rebels have?" he demanded, aiming a blow at Duo.
Duo parried the strike, the sheer strength behind his sword shearing through the inferior steel of his opponent's blade.
"That is for others to decide," Duo retorted, coming in low, using his momentum for extra force. The man died with wide eyes as Duo's sword cut through soft organs and propelled him into a wall.
Voices called out from down the street; Duo listened carefully, and then smiled grimly. "I forgot that these wolves always travel in packs."
The Shinsengumi men descending to the street saw only a dark blur rushing at them from the night before they too died, blood spraying from throat and chest as Duo whirled through them. He lost no time in wiping his blade clean; the encounter had been noisier than he had intended, and who knew how many more Shinsengumi might be in the area? Duo had no illusions about his own skills, and the entire division was more than he cared to engage at one time.
Then he felt the prickle-sting on his cheek, and knew even before he put his hand up to touch it that it was bleeding again, warm and sticky blood trickling down his cheek. Duo spun on his heel, heading back to the Kohagi House at a brisk pace, brushing by Solo without a word.
"Are you all right?" Solo called after him, without hoping for an answer. He sighed and hurried after Duo. "Another ambush, wasn't it? There's no doubt now that we definitely have a traitor." Duo said nothing to this, either. "Someone is feeding information to the Shinsengumi... Treize will not be pleased to hear this."
Duo stared at his reflection on water's surface. Blood slid down his face; a drop fell into the bucket, scattering his reflection into ripples. He dipped his hands into the water, rinsing the grime from them. From behind him, there was the soft noise of footsteps. "You," he said, not turning.
"Wash your face before your hands," Heero instructed him, offering him a towel.
Duo glanced at the man from the corner of his eye, but accepted the warm, damp towel. "Why are you still awake?" he asked, sponging his cheek gingerly. Whatever malice had prompted the scar to bleed again seemed to have subsided.
"The walls are thin, so I can hear your comings and goings. I heard you leave, and then I heard you return," Heero said, taking the soiled towel away from Duo. "It's not bleeding anymore."
"Don't concern yourself with me," Duo snapped, cleaning the last of the dirt and blood from his hands. "You're not my nursemaid. Go back to sleep."
"Who said I was sleeping?" Heero asked, turning away. At the door, he stopped and looked back at Duo. "I almost thought I had dreamed that the night rained blood. Good night." He shut the door behind him.
Duo looked around to the door, never realizing how tightly he was gripping the edges of the water basin.
Quatre nudged Abdul's body with one foot. "He the wall hard enough to break some of his bones," he noted.
"What kind of technique did this?" asked one of the newer recruit, who seemed disturbed that someone had not only dared attack so many of the feared Shinsengumi, but had killed them so easily.
"Nothing that I am familiar with," Wufei said, staring at the body. "Come, there are more dead over there." Quatre followed, mulling over the deaths. "He was following Abdul," Wufei muttered, abstracted as he paced out the running duel, "and then these came upon him, so he killed them, very quickly, so that they couldn't give him away."
"Four men... some of our better men," Quatre agreed. "Sent here to personally deal with this assassin."
"I was not expecting this level of skill," Wufei admitted, coming to stand at the head of the last victim.
There was a shout from down the street. Rashid approached them, carrying something in his hands. "Abdul's sword," he said, presenting the two objects for Quatre and Wufei's inspection.
"Broken?" Quatre exclaimed.
Wufei took the hilt from Rashid, examining it. "One's sword *might* be broken when dealing with the best of opponents," he said, mostly to himself. "I was not expecting such skill... I should have been here to deal with this assassin myself." His eyes gleamed, ready for the chase. Quatre's own eyes sparkled with his eagerness to meet this killer, and they shared a smile of perfect understanding.
Solo found relaying Treize's latest orders to the Ishin Shishi was rapidly becoming a risky proposition.
One of the burliest fighters stood up. "What do you mean, Treize wants us to stay put and not do anything?" he exploded, gesticulating. "That's not going to do any of us good!
"Exactly what I said," Solo said impatiently. "Treize wishes to hold us in reserve until the time is right."
"The Shinsengumi are picking off Choushuu-han's people with impunity and he tells us to wait? What kind of plan is that? We should get together and assault the Shinsengumi for once and for all!" the man bellowed. The room murmured in agreement.
Over the cry for Shinsengumi blood, Solo raised his hands, trying to placate the Ishin Shishi. "Wait! If we gather at once to fight them, the traitor in our midst will only play us into their hands, and *then* you'll really see the Shinsengumi picking us off at their leisure."
The room froze at the word traitor, and suspicious eyes slid across one another, asking, -Is it you? Are you the traitor?-
Relieved that the blood-thirst had been alleviated, Solo sighed. "You see how it is? Look at how you're already suspecting each other--and you're our best and most trusted warriors! This is no time to attempt an attack. For now, we must bow to Treize's wisdom and wait."
In the back of the room, Duo watched and said nothing. The only time his face showed any emotion was the moment the scar began to bleed anew.
Heero stepped into the kitchen, shaking some of the water out of his hair. "Is it raining again?" Sally asked, exasperated. "It's always raining."
Heero shrugged, not able to do anything about the weather. "Here." He handed her the bundle of irises. "These were the last that the flower lady had."
Sally took the bouquet and gave it to one of the serving girls to arrange. "The rain makes it difficult for the flowers to bloom. Will you peel those potatoes, please?"
"Of course." Heero seated himself at the table, pulling the bowl and knife over to work with.
Sally's next comment caught him by surprise. "These irises remind me of you, Heero."
"What?" Heero put down the potato he was working on to look at the landlady, waiting for her to explain such an odd comparison.
"Irises have their strongest scent when they are in the rain." Sally touched one of the petals.
Heero waited to see if she would say anything more, but the landlady only went about her business. He shook his head slightly over the foolishness of women and continued peeling potatoes.
Heero blew on the last brushstrokes of the entry, urging the ink to dry so that he could close the book and attend to his work. At length the glossy wetness of the ink gave way to matte black and it was safe to shut the journal.
Duo's door was open as he passed. Heero snuck a glance into the room, and saw its occupant dozing by the window in the same cross-legged position he'd first seen Duo sleeping in. The assassin's head nodded over his chest, and his sword leaned against one shoulder, ready at hand even when its owner slept.
Heero could feel the cool breeze from Duo's open window even where he stood in the hall. *So foolish, to fall asleep in front of an open window.*
Duo didn't stir as Heero crossed the room more quietly than a whisper. Leaning over Duo to grasp the window frame without waking him was trickier, requiring Heero to arch his body carefully. The window wanted to stick--Heero glared at it, willing it to move but not daring to exert the pressure it would take to unstick it for fear of losing his precarious balance.
At last, with a tiny creak of protest, the window slid past the tiny snag. Heero straightened and back away from the soundly sleeping Duo, who hadn't stirred through the entire process.
Heero took a moment to study Duo. A book lay on the floor, abandoned when its reader had drifted to sleep. Duo's face retained its remoteness from waking, but it was gentler. For the first time, Heero wondered how old Duo might be... seventeen, perhaps? *Just a kid,* he realized. "Just a kid who kills people," he said, voice hardly a whisper, as he stepped in front of Duo to continue his scrutiny.
The scar stood out, red and angry against the pale cheek--the mysterious scar that continued to bleed when it should have healed long since. *Such a peculiar thing...* Encouraged by his success so far in not waking Duo, Heero reached out, brushing a finger against the ridge of scar tissue.
Duo reacted with instinctive speed, eyes snapping open as his ingrained instincts screamed that he was being attacked. He lunged forward, fisting one hand in his assailant's collar and scrambling for his sword with the other. His snarl of rage at having been attacked in the relative safety of his room died abruptly as he recognized Heero's face, the normally emotionless facade cracked enough to show alarm. He froze, eyes locked on Heero's and several inches of steel hovering over Heero's throat.
Duo threw himself backwards, losing his balance and landing heavily against the table loaded with books that took flight upon his impact. Heero, propelled back by the sudden violence of Duo's response, sat down hard. The sword clattered to the floor between them.
"I'm sorry." Duo inhaled huge, shuddering gulps of air, unable to look at Heero. His hand shook as he reached out for his sword, sliding the blade home in the sheath without really seeing it. His hands shook, and he rubbed his eyes. *Even asleep, my first instinct is to kill.* "What are you doing in here?"
"Your window was open, and it is cold."
Duo glanced at the window, which was now closed. "I'm sorry," he said again, shamed.
Heero stood, moving past him and picking up the first book. "Have you read many of these?" he asked, ignoring the apology.
"No. They help me to fall asleep. I'm not the kind of person who has any other use for studying." Duo touched the cover of the book he had been reading before falling asleep, allowing his fingers to linger on the cover.
"So you plan to be a killer forever," Heero observed, aligning the piles of books so that every corner matched. He leaned down, taking the book from beneath Duo's hand and adding it to the stack. "It's strange. Everyone here has a safe place except you. You can't even sleep without your sword in your hands."
Duo shot a glare at Heero. "I've been doing this since I was a boy. There were people killed in front of me... I won't forget that. I won't forget them."
"So you're going to use their memory as a reason to go on killing." Duo couldn't decipher Heero's face; was that a look of derision? Or of pity?
"I have my role to play in this." Duo waved his hand, the gesture vague and empty. "It won't last forever." *Am I promising him, or am I promising myself?* He pushed himself to his feet. Heero started to say something else, but Duo interrupted him. "I'm a killer. I make it rain blood. I do this so that people like *you* won't have to know the smell of blood."
Heero stiffened. "Forgive my presumption in meddling with your affairs. Obviously I'm someone who's never been a witness to a loved one's death. How could I expect to understand such weighty matters? Excuse me." He walked away, trailing his anger behind him.
"Heero." Heero stopped, but didn't turn. "Thank you."
Some of the tension in Heero's shoulders eased as he stepped through the door.
The light of the lone lamp gleamed dully across the blade of Heero's dagger as he inspected it. The steel was quality, proud for all its simplicity, and no rust dared mar its surface. He tested the blade against a thumb and found it still sharp when blood beaded up from the resulting cut.
"A good knife." Treize hovered in the door, observing.
Heero scrambled to his feet, caught off guard and made wary by Treize's sudden appearance. *How long was he there?*
Treize half-smiled, amused by the stance and the ready grip on the dagger. "Not entirely for show, either."
Heero lowered his eyes, wiping the blade clean and sheathing it. "Forgive me. I was startled."
"It seems that some of Duo's habits are rubbing off on you."
Heero gave a little shrug, setting the knife on top of his journal. "My reactions will never equal half of his."
"Perhaps not. He is exceptional in many ways."
"Ways that are useful to you, of course." It was dangerous to say such things, especially when one lived in so uncertain a situation, but it needed to be said to this man who wanted to change the future of Japan.
"Yes, ways that are useful," Treize agreed, not budging from his place in the doorway. "Ways that are dangerous."
"Yes." Heero's expression turned wry. "I am familiar with that danger."
"So I'd heard. Duo... We--I--have made him into the tool that he is, or I have helped with the molding process." Treize's eyes held a measure of sorrow. "It is a job that was done too well. He's becoming a threat."
"To you?" Again, he pushed at the limit of Treize's patience.
"To himself. To his own soul," Treize retorted, voice sharp. He sighed and his eyes turned distant. "I have a friend, Howard, who has lived his life wildly. It has been his choice to live like a naked blade, dangerous to those around him and to himself, but he has a woman as well, and she controls his excesses in some ways, curbs him. She is the sheath for his character."
Heero waited for Treize to continue.
"Do you know, you are the only person to have gotten this close to Duo? You are the closest thing he has to a friend." Treize went from distant to grave. "I would like you to be Duo's sheath. Will you do this for me?"
"Why?"
"You know that this era of bloodshed will not last forever. Someday, whether for the good or the ill, it will end. I have no doubt that Duo will live to see that day. He is a survivor. Having made him what he is, it's my concern to see that he not only survives, but lives with himself." Treize searched Heero's face; whatever he found there must have satisfied him. "Good night, Heero."
Heero turned away from Treize as the man vanished, looking at the dagger lying so innocently on top of his journal.
Making his report to Quatre and Wufei, Rashid betrayed no sign that he'd just finished extracting most of his information in the most creatively painful ways possible. "Noventa admitted that leaders from Choushuu and Higo are here in Kyoto. The streets are practically swarming with Choushuu men."
Wufei frowned. "Their known weapon sources aren't enough to support many men... They must have another supplier, another outpost. Send men to keep an eye on them, and find out their secrets."
"We'll have to hurry. Noventa said that they're meeting tonight," Rashid said.
Wufei's frown deepened to a scowl. "I don't like it."
"Choushuu's planning something, that's for sure--something big, if Noventa is to be believed... and I gave him many reasons not to lie to me." Rashid's smile was unpleasant.
"Will Treize Khushrenada be heading the meeting?" Quatre asked.
"More than likely. All of our problems with Choushuu have him at the root," Wufei muttered.
"I'll go talk to Hakim and get some men on surveillance." Rashid bowed and left the room.
"I had no idea Rashid would go so far to get information from Noventa," Quatre commented, giving a polite shudder of distaste. "Putting the nails through the man's hands!..."
"Like many of us, Rashid is gambling on making this night a herald for the rise of the Shinsengumi." Wufei smiled faintly at Quatre's revulsion. "He is more than willing to do what is necessary to ensure that our rise will not be our fall as well."
Quatre started to say something, but went into a fit of coughing instead. Wufei waited for him to catch his breath. "Do you think the killer will be there, Wufei?"
"Those who do such dirty work often get left out of the decisions," Wufei shrugged. "I doubt he'll be there. What would you do if he were?"
"I'd fight him, what else?" Quatre's eyes shone with confidence. "Do you think that I'd end up like poor Abdul?"
"Forgive me, it was a stupid question." Wufei mock-bowed to Quatre, then returned to being serious. "The festival begins tonight--with so many people in town, causing trouble will be doubly easy." His smile turned wolfish. "But anyone who gets in our way will die nonetheless."
Solo trailed Duo through the crowded streets as the afternoon sun fell across the people. "What orders are there from Septem?" Duo asked as he dallied at a stall to look at the wares.
"Anyone who has a woman should have her leave Kyoto by tonight." Solo's expression was rakish.
*What kind of orders are those?* "You mean a lover?"
"Is there any other kind of woman?" Solo nudged Duo slyly.
Duo passed over the jest. "What does Treize say?"
"Who knows? He hasn't been saying much lately. Rumors have it that he and Septem have had a falling out of some kind. It may be that they're ending things."
Duo set down the teacup he was examining and turned to look fully at Solo. "They're not getting along?"
"I'll ask around, find out what's going on." Solo smirked and nudged Duo's shoulder again. "So what are you going to do about Heero, hm?"
Duo flinched back, eyes narrowing. "Why should I do anything? He's certainly *not* my lover. I leave that sort of thing to you."
"Ah, ah, hide your fangs, Duo. No one thinks that he is. Still, you should give it some thought." Solo wagged an admonishing finger at the assassin.
"What, making him my lover?" Duo looked ready to choke on the thought.
"No, sending him away!" Solo laughed. "It seems your thoughts already lie in the other direction." Before the irritated assassin could react, Solo shrugged. "Well, I'll see you later." Having given the boy what warning he could, he walked away.
Exasperated with Solo's foolishness, Duo stalked back to the Kohagi House and the relative sanctity of his room.
The building buzzed with subtle tension that vibrated under the floorboards and through the air. He passed a door that stood open just a crack, and heard a snatch of the conversation within.
"But I don't understand why!" a woman wailed. From the sound of it, she was in tears.
"Just leave Kyoto, go home to your parents. You *do* have parents?" a man's voice rumbled. It sounded as pained as the woman's. "Good. Where do they live?"
"Yamashira."
"Go to them. Go wherever, I don't care. Just don't stay in Kyoto."
Duo moved on, not desiring to share any more of their conversation. Entering his own room, he found Heero sweeping the floor. Duo stifled a sigh, wondering why fate was conspiring to keep the man forever in the foremost part of his attention.
"Sorry, I'll be finished soon" Heero said, barely looking up from his task.
"Thanks, I appreciate your doing this." Duo walked to the window to keep watch on the world outside and to stay out of the way.
"Just doing some odd jobs for Sally. Some of the serving girls have left."
"Of course," Duo muttered. "Is there any woman who will still be in Kyoto by the time the sun goes down?"
"What's that?" Heero looked up from his broom.
"Never mind." Duo turned away from the window, only to see that Heero was leaning the broom against the wall and beginning to tidy up the room. Annoyed by the continuing intrusion on his privacy, Duo headed for the door.
"Will you go out with me tonight?"
Duo lurched to a halt, turning to see Heero standing in the middle of the room, hands fisted at his sides. "What?"
"Sally gave me some time for myself tonight. I would like to leave Kohagi House, but I don't want to go alone," Heero explained, managing to sound dignified but shy at the same time.
Duo sagged against the doorjamb for needed support. "And you're asking *me* for company?"
Heero lifted one shoulder in an eloquent shrug. "You're the only person in Kyoto that I know well."
They stared at each other, Duo with a welter of confused thoughts tumbling over themselves, and Heero waiting for his answer.
"Fine. I'll go." *And then I'll send you away from Kyoto.* Duo told himself that the decision stemmed from concern for Heero's safety, and not from a desire to excise a troublesome new complication from his life.
"Thank you." Heero took his broom and brushed through the door past Duo. A trifle dazed, Duo let him go. Only later did it occur to him to wonder, *Was the cleaning just an excuse to wait for me?*
The tavern's crowd bubbled and swarmed, intoxicated by the festival spirit (or something stronger), but left the awkward pair in the corner to themselves. Neither Heero nor Duo said very much to each other--neither knew what to say.
When the sake finally arrived, Heero poured a cup for Duo first. Duo tasted the sake, and stared into the cup with something akin to astonishment.
"What's wrong with it?" Heero asked.
"Nothing... nothing at all." Duo blinked.
"Then why the surprised face?"
"It tastes good." Duo looked up at Heero's bemused expression. "It's been a long time since sake has tasted good to me."
"It's just the festival," Heero said, pouring more sake into Duo's cup.
"The group of you will go with Quatre," Rashid instructed, pointing at one of the smaller groups of the Shinsengumi. "The rest of you will follow me. Hakim?"
Hakim stood to address the crowd. "The place we're storming tonight is the Choushuu headquarters, where they are having an important meeting. If we fail to checkmate them tonight, tomorrow night may be their turn to checkmate us. Therefore, I don't want you to permit any of them to escape." The Shinsengumi roared their approval. "Now, move out!"
Heero sipped his sake. "I'm not like you," he announced. "In fact, I'm the opposite. I don't drink as much as I used to."
"It's lost its flavor for you like it did for me?" Duo asked, grateful for the alcohol that had warmed and loosened both their tongues.
"Nothing like that." Heero's eyes were brighter and more alive than Duo had ever seen them. "I just can't tolerate it."
"Tolerate it?" Duo poured some more into Heero's cup.
"I can't keep a head for it." Heero drained his cup and fixed his eyes on Duo's cheek. "Has it stopped bleeding?"
Duo touched the scar from reflex. "I--forgot about it," he admitted.
"Then it's healed," Heero concluded.
Duo thought about it, and the feeling of the malice pulsing just beneath the surface of the scar tissue, waiting for an excuse to burst forth again. "No... it's just stopped bleeding for a time."
"I look at that scar and I wonder what the person who gave it to you saw." Heero's eyes darkened. "You say you kill people so that you can make them happy."
Looking at Heero, Duo saw another face, a face with panicked green eyes determined not to die. /"I want to live," rasped the blood-choked voice. "I don't want to die..."/
"I don't know how you can make anyone happy by killing," Heero continued.
"People die every day. The reasons are always different," Duo argued. "And I don't kill randomly, like some animal. I have reasons, every time."
"So you honor the value of the souls you take, but you see no value in the life being lived." Heero sneered. "You don't have reasons. You're just following your orders."
Duo slammed a hand down. "I do not! You don't know what I go through! I have doubts every time I kill, and the more I know about them, the more doubts I have. The more doubts, the harder it is to take the life." He glared. "But I do this to change the world, to make this killing unnecessary in the future. That's my justification. It's the only one I need."
Heero was preparing his retort when Solo burst into the tavern. Solo's expression flickered slightly as he saw Duo and Heero sitting together, but it twisted back into its previous state of excitement. "You must get out of here now!" he hissed to Duo.
Duo grabbed his sword, standing. "What's wrong?"
"Treize's in danger."
Duo's eyes narrowed, and he glanced at Heero, jerking his head to follow before heading to the door with Solo. Heero, face set with annoyance, hurried after.
Outside, they melted into the crowd, Duo and Solo setting a swift pace. Without thinking, Duo grabbed Heero's wrist to pull him along.
"Septem is planning on setting Kyoto on fire tonight," Solo hissed to Duo.
"What?" Duo nearly stumbled in his surprise. "What is he thinking?"
"He says he's going to overthrow the emperor. He's most certainly broken his ties to Treize." They came to an intersection that was mostly deserted, and Solo stopped them. "The worst part is that someone has leaked the news of his plan to the Shinsengumi, and they know about the meeting tonight." Solo looked at Duo and down the length of his arm to where one thin hand was clasped around Heero's wrist, and made his choice. "You go to the meeting. I'll round up some help."
"Got it. Where is the meeting?"
"The Ikeda House--you know it?"
Duo nodded and headed into the darkness, still dragging Heero in tow.
Solo's face was grim as he watched them go. "Goodbye," he whispered.
The Shinsengumi spread out around the Ikeda House, blue-and-white clad shadows that were cutting off all possible retreats for the occupants. Lights shone from the upper story of the building, and one captain indicated them to his men. "Charge upstairs," he commanded.
Too late, the Ishin Shishi guard noticed the noose tightening around the building. "Who are you?" he demanded.
Quatre sprinted forward, cutting the man down in one smooth flash of his sword. He looked at the body in dismay as blood trickled across the pavement. "It's not him," he complained.
"Did you really expect the Hitokiri Battousai?" Wufei asked.[4]
Inside, all the men froze when the guard downstairs cried out. "What was that?" someone asked.
"Kill the light!" Septem commanded. Darkness fell over the room as the lanterns were snuffed out. Everyone froze and stayed silent.
It was a futile gesture as Rashid burst into the room, followed by the rest of his men, bellowing, "We are the Shinsengumi!" Confusion reigned in the darkness as the Shinsengumi, better organized and better trained, fell upon the surprised men. Men fought, killed, screamed, and died in the darkness without ever seeing the faces of their opponents.
Duo could hear the sound of the raging battle as he ran through the shadows, and swore to himself for being late. The handful of Shinsengumi left outside the house as both a rearguard and to prevent any retreat by the Choushuu men caught sight of him at the same time he saw them. They called to each other, "That's him! That's gotta be him, the killer!"
Duo cursed his luck again and turned to Heero. "Run back the way we came--quickly now. Don't stop for anyone, and don't look back. Now go!"
Heero's face was utterly tranquil. "No."
Duo looked at the charging Shinsengumi and back at Heero, his eyes wild. "What are you saying?! Don't be an idiot!"
"How long do you think you can go on killing?" Heero demanded. "Are you going to go through the rest of your life killing anyone who gets in your way? Or does it matter as long as there isn't anyone to see you kill?"
Furious, Duo whirled away, preparing himself for the oncoming group of men and calculating the odds of reaching the battle within the Ikeda House in time to do any good.
"I am Akram!" called one of the Shinsengumi, challenging the assassin. "Come on, if you're really the Hitokiri Battousai, and fight with a real swordsman!"
"I care nothing for dead men's names or their boasts!" Duo darted forward, lashing into the detachment. Swords screamed against swords and the air grew loud with the cries of dying men. Every movement Duo made was smooth and efficient, and though he snarled with rage as every opponent died, his anger at Heero did not dissipate.
Heero's stern expression never changed as he watched Duo kill.
"Treize!" Alex hurried into the room where Treize and Une bent their heads over a Go board. "Treize--"
"What is it, Alex?" Treize's tone was impatient. "I've already told Septem that I will hold no responsibility for what happens tonight." He moved a tile.
"Treize, the Shinsengumi have attacked the Ikeda House," Alex said.
Treize froze for a long moment, then sighed and took up his sword. He looked at Une with regret in his eyes. "Une, you had better find a place to hide for a while."
She nodded in perfect understanding. "Take care."
After some trouble, they had finally found a lantern not destroyed during the fight. Now, by its feeble glow, Wufei investigated the bodies of the dead men, turning them over with a foot and searching for particular faces.
The last of the Shinsengumi in the street had died. Still raging, Duo was starting for the Ikeda House (where a light had just appeared in the upper story), when a firm hand settled on his shoulder, pulling him back into the shadows of an alley. "You really are a naked blade, always ready to do battle," Heero said.
Duo tried to shake himself free of the grasp, but Heero was stronger than the assassin had realized, and held on. "Let me go! Don't you understand that I have duties?"
"Be realistic! Listen! What good can you possibly do in there now?" Heero demanded.
The sound of battle that Duo had heard on his approach to the Ikeda House had disappeared. Defeat replaced the battle-rage in his eyes.
"It seems that Treize was not here," Quatre complained. "First the Battousai, now Treize... such disappointments!" He coughed into his sleeve.
"As you grow older, you will find it easier to deal with such things," Wufei said absently, turning over another body. "It appears that Septem committed suicide."
"Figures," Quatre muttered as they left the room and headed downstairs. "This has been a very unsatisfactory evening all around."
"Come on." Heero took the lead this time, pulling them away from the area and leading them back through the dark streets.
Moments later, Wufei and Quatre emerged from the Ikeda House. Wufei stopped on the steps, transfixed by some sixth sense.
"What is it?" Quatre asked, looking at the lean man with curiosity in his eyes.
"I fell like there was someone here..." Wufei said, perplexed, but prepared to dismiss the feeling.
Then Quatre stumbled over the first body of the detachment left outside as a guard.
The Kohagi House was dark and felt abandoned when Duo and Heero reached it, but Sally was still there. "Is Treize here?" Duo asked, having recovered some of his spirit during the flight from Ikeda House.
Sally shook her head. "I don't know where he is. Listen, I know what has happened at the Ikeda House. This place won't be safe for very much longer, if it even *is* still safe." She led them to the kitchen, where she began gathering food and adding it to a small bundle. "I've gathered your things," she said. "You had best go through the back door. Here." She gave the bundle of food and supplies to Heero. "Remember what I told you about the iris and the rain. That still stands, even when the rain is one of blood." She searched their faces, her own expression drawn with anxiety. "Now, get out of here."
"Thank you," Duo said, in too much of a hurry to ponder Sally's eccentricities as Heero hustled them out the door.
They had barely gone a few feet when someone called Duo's name.
"Treize!" Duo exclaimed, as the man materialized from the shadows. "I thought you might be dead."
"Not yet." Treize's smile was ghost-pale. "They've gotten into our headquarters, Duo. Everything's been lost." Treize grimaced. "For now, it's going to take all any of us can do to stay alive."
"What can I do to help?" Duo asked.
"I have a few contingencies--for days like this one. There's a house for you in Otsu. Go there, stay inconspicuous. The two of you might be brothers, or maybe even lovers." Both Duo and Heero went still at that. Treize carried on, ignoring their discomfort. "I'll send Solo to you with word. Wait for that." He turned his final statement to Heero. "I'll be counting on you." Then he walked away.
"We go to Otsu... as brothers?" Duo said, voice weak with surprise.
"Or... as lovers," Heero said.
The pair headed out of Kyoto early in the morning, only a small part of the much larger crowd fleeing the city. Duo walked ahead of Heero, jaw set in a firm line, as if he wanted to deny Kyoto and everything forcing him away from the city. Heero lagged behind, and was stopped by an old woman. "Why, you're Heero of Kohagi," she said.
"Yes..." Heero finally placed her face. "You're the one who sold us flowers."
She nodded, pleased. "Going somewhere?"
"Who isn't?"
Duo looked back and called, "Heero! Let's hurry!"
"Who's that?" the old woman, with a gossip's natural inquisitiveness, asked.
Heero looked at the retreating back and gave her the tale they'd finally agreed upon. "That's... my lover," he said, before giving the woman a faint nod and hurrying to catch up with Duo.
Self-consciously, he reached behind him to touch the weight of his hidden dagger.
*One month later, in late July, Bakufu and Choushuu forces fought in Kyoto, and the city was burned to the ground. Choushuu forces won a surprise victory in their own domain, and conservative political forces find their fortunes on the rise. Howard, one of the primary leaders of the Choushuu forces, has been imprisoned, though gravely ill.*
~tbc~
Notes:
[1] Choushuu-han: The domain of Choushuu, the faction for which Duo is working.
[2] Ishin Shishi: The fighting group for the Choushuu-han, of which Duo is a member.
[3] Bakufu: Shogunate government
[4] Hitokiri Battousai: hitokiri = assassin, battousai = battle speed. This is a reference to Kenshin's/Duo's amazing speed and his occupation as a killer.Lys ap Adin