The men laugh, the distinct odor of sake and opium filling the air as they kneel around a lowered table, two women and one girl walking quietly between the Samurai, replacing food and refilling cups of steaming sake. From outside, the voices are only heard to be mumbles to Okita as he waits patiently.
~~~
One of the men reaches up and grabs the kimono of the child. Her eyes stay downcast as the man stands, a muscular build towering over her as he half drags her off, the shouting and whistling of his companions following him to his room, the sound muted as he closes the door and pushes the girl to the ground. She lands and slides a bit but stays quiet, a look in her eyes saying that what was to happen was nothing new. The man grabbed her frail body and viciously tore the cloth from the child, exposing her snow colored skin to the light of the lanterns within the room. The man, his breath rancid with the smell of sake, sucks on the young flesh, his eyes focusing on the act he was about to proceed with.
His eyes though did not see the child’s hand brace herself against the floor, her hand just slipping under a torn section of her kimono, his lust and drunkenness blinding him as she grasps the tanto and brings it quickly across his neck, the shock in his eyes almost making her smile as he grasps for his neck, blood dripping down onto her flesh as she pulls herself out from under the man, putting the small blade through the back of his neck. A stir in the shadows does not make her look away but her calmness shows that she knows who is there, and indeed she did. Okita steps out, hand resting on the handle of his blade as he kneels behind the child, kissing her lightly on the top of her head. "You did well Yuu-chan. This one shall not be killing any more of the Bakumatsu." He picks her body up, wrapping her up in a cloak he had around himself and leisurely walks out, kicking over the lantern that rested near the door. The small flame catches and erupts into a blaze, engulfing the entire house, their forms shadowed as the flames devour the entire dojo. |
