Haunted Destiny

by Mana-chan

Part 3

Keiseki took a deep breath and looked up sadly at Kaoru.

"I suppose I can spare a few minutes to tell you....about the Bakumatsu...I find it strange
that you don't know....anyway, it doesn't matter. I planned to escape today anyway. The
Gaizu won't find me for another half an hour or so.."

Kaoru frowned. "The Gaizu?"

Keiseki nodded grimly. "You don't know about them either? Well..I'll explain...."

Taking a deep breath, Keiseki tore down the dam restraining her painful memories and let them
flood into her mind, her soul....

A cold, damp wind caresses my cheek as I look down the alley towards
the Shisengumi Headquarters. Tonight is the night I am supposed to kill
him...the mysterious leader....the one in charge of the Shisengumi...
and my actions will determine the future of all of Japan. A year ago, this would
have been pleasurable for me- the feeling of Shisengumi flesh in my sword, blood
on my hands, but now I'm tired of the fighting, sick of the blood..sick of death.
They don't know this. The Ishin Shishi see me as their beloved hitokiri battousai-
their victory. I never thought bringing forth the Meiji Era would bring so much pain,
so much death, but then we never know what the future holds, do we?

A sound startles me, and instinctively, I grab my katana with my left hand and grasp the
sheath with my right.

"Keiseki..it's me."

I relax immediately...only Meshito, the doctor kid.

"What are you doing here?"

He shrugs and smiles- a sad smile- so old and full of pain, and he's only a kid.

"It's gonna be a bad fight, and you're gonna get hurt, so I brought some medicine
in case you get injured really badly.."

A kid like him shouldn't be involved in situations with killers like me...
He hands me a small packet, and I secure it in the folds of my hakama.

"Arigatou, Meshito-chan. Go back now. I don't want you getting yourself hurt."

The boy nods and turns to go, whispering softly back at me, "Don't get yourself killed,
Keiseki-san."

I bight down hard on my bottom lip and frown. I never get killed, and he knows that, so why
does he suddenly warn me today? He's never done it before.. No.. I can't think about death..
or losing, because if I lose, we all lose- the entire Ishin Shishi.

Shisengumi headquarters is right in front of me now, and I move into another alley, smoothing my
back against the wall. It's dead silent everywhere, and an ominous feeling is starting
to coalesce around me. The faint smell of smoke fills my nostrils, but I dismiss it. Fires aren't
uncommon in the Bakumatsu era. A little voice is whispering inside my head- "You can't kill all
of them, you don't have it in you anymore...." I tell it to shutup. A door is to my right, and I
grope around in the semi-darkness for the handle. Staying still for a moment, I listen
for any activity within that part of the building. Silence. Tightening the hold on my katana,
I push the door open as softly as possible and slip into the room- dark as an abyss. After
my eyes adjust to the blackness, I make out shapes of the objects around me- a desk, chairs- it's
an office. Strange..there's no one there. I store this unusual bit of information in the back
of my head for reference and proceed to the next door. There's activity on the other side.
Crouching down to the floor, I peer through the crack at the bottom of the door and look in.
There! I see the leader! In the midst of about 3 dozen guards sits a tall, dignified man on
a large, cushioned chair. His face is flushed, and in his hand he holds a cup of some
intoxicating substance. I smile- the drunker they are, the easier to kill. Taking note of
the positions of all the guards, I stand up quickly and unsheath my sword- the time has come.

Taking a deep breath, I kick the door open and leap into the room. Cries of surprise erupt from
the guards and I take them out- three or four at a time before they can react. The sensation of
the kill- the exhiliration ignites my spirit and I whirl through the ranks, killing three-fourths
of the guard in minutes. The remaining one-fourth guards the leader. I narrow my eyes and
shift the grip on my sword. This will be fun.

One of the guards looks at me disdainfully.

"So you are the legendary hitokiri battousai that has come to kill me? A mere girl?! I expected
more from the Ishin Shishi."

I growled and crouched into a battle stance. "I want Takeda Shisengi..."

The guard laughs in my face. "Well, babe, you're gonna have to get through us first."

He and the rest of the guards leap at me, their swords flashing in the dim candle light. They're
better than the guards of before, but no match for the Hiten Mitsurugi School. Smiling
coldly, I leap into their ranks.
"Hitenmitsurugiryu!!!!"

All but the one guard lies dead at our feet, and Takeda Shisengi's face is becoming a rather ugly
shade of grey.


"Is there more you expect from the Ishin Shishi now? This mere girl just destroyed the rest
of your resistance. I came to kill Shisengi and I will, believe me."

The guard laughed maniacally and I cringed at the sound. He disgusted me. Killing him would be
sweet. Then, suddenly he stopped, his face dead serious.

"You forget....now that you are here, there is no one adequate to guard the Ishin Shishi
Headquarters. Did you really think we didn't know of your little scheme? We have inside
information, you know... and now the Ishin Shishi are vulnerable, and the little Meiji
prince will DIE!"

My eyes widen and I look at him, horrified. How stupid can I be! No wonder the resistance was
so weak, and there was no one guarding the entrances... It had been too easy, and I couldn't even
figure out why! The Ishin Shishi....were doomed...in coming here, I had failed them.

"You...bastard."

The guard only smiled. "If you defeat me now, you will be back in time to save the Ishin Shishi,
but if not, you and the rest of your sorry kind will suffer under the hands of the Shisengumi
for your insolence."

I scream in rage and charge at the bastard's ugly face. He will die- I will make sure of that.

"Hitenmitsurugiryuu!!!!!"

The guard smiles and disappears suddenly. I skid to a halt, confused. Behind me! I whirl around
and block with my sheath, but I'm too slow, and his sword grazes my shoulder. Wincing, I press
my advantage at his shout of victory and catch him unaware. A satisfied feeling washes over me
as I feel the sword sinking into human flesh. A gurgling sound catches my attention, and I
see that the sword had not pierced the guard, but rather Takeda Shisengi, who was choking
on his own blood. No...the guard wouldn't give up the leader of the Shisengumi so quickly. The
man was a fake.

"Where's the real Shisengi, bastard?!"

He spits at me. "You think I'd really release that information to the likes of you?!"

I narrow my eyes. Whatever, I'll just kill him and get it over with. Someone else will spill.
I twist my sword around and bring it back behind me- a new techinique I've wanted to try for a
long time.

"Hitenmitsurugiryushu!!"

Slicing upward, I aim for him, but deliberately miss, and while he's concentrating on forming
another attack to take me down, I bring the sword back, in a side stroke, striking his side.
he doubles over and spits blood, and triumph washes over me. Yes! I've won!

The sound of choked laughter interrupts my stream of victory thoughts, and I look down at the
guard, annoyed.

"You may have killed me, but Shisengi still lives, and the Ishin Shishi are ours!!!! You're
too late, girl! We defeated the Ishin Shishi Headquarters even before you attacked...and
you never even knew...HAHAHA"

Shock explodes in my brain, and erupts into anger and hatred.

"SHUTUP!!! SHUTUP!!! I'll KILL YOU NOW!!!"

With one quick thrust of my sword, I stab him through the heart, and the laughter stops.

The Ishin Shishi is gone....I can't believe it..we can't be defeated. It was our dream-
to bring the Meiji Era....we cannot lose. NO!!!!!!!

I scream in anger at the heavens, and the tears begin to fall one by one....

In the distance, bright, red flowers explode in the sky, and Ishin Shishi Headquarters can
be seen in the center of the explosion, licked up by glimmering red flames. A new age
has come- but not the long awaited Meiji Era...a new era ruled by the old ways- the
ways of the Shisengumi, and we patriots will be punished. All of my skill, and all of my
strength could do nothing to save our destiny...