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Descent into Madness: Chapter 3

by Conspirator

When Kenshin awoke the next morning, he was surprised to find a blanket covering him. He remembered deciding to sleep sitting up, but he was sure he hadn’t bothered with a blanket. ‘Must have been Katagai,’ he decided. The older man had been very fatherly towards him ever since they left Chousu. He quietly got up and stretched his muscles. It wasn’t as if he had never slept sitting up like this before—he and Hiko had done it many a time during his tracking lessons in the forest—but his muscles nevertheless felt a bit stiff.

He eyed the packet of new clothes Okami had delivered yesterday and decided he’d wear them today. His own clothes were in desperate need of washing, and the thought of clean clothes appealed to him. He wasn’t quite ready, however, to put on the blue of the Chousu, so he took out the used green gi the seamstress’s son had outgrown. It was, indeed, a bit big on him. ‘That kid must be a giant,’ Kenshin mused ruefully as he looked at the sleeves hanging down to his fingertips. Next he took out the grey hakama, which was folded and tied neatly into a square. He undid the tie, shook out the fabric, and stared. It was beautifully made, but it looked wide enough to fit him and about two other men. Figuring that this had something to do with the way the hakama tied, he slipped it over his legs and tried doubling the ties around his waist. Not right. He tried catching fabric between the two ties and then doubling it around his waist. Still no luck, and what was he supposed to do with that crazy flap in the back anyway? He decided to just wear his own peasant pants for now and tackle the puzzle of hakama-tying later. He had taken so long fooling around with the hakama, in fact, that he found Okami already in the kitchen. "Ohayou, Himura-chan!" she called out cheerily. "Nice gi you’ve got there—looks good with that red hair of yours." Kenshin blushed slightly. "Thank you, Okami-san," he managed. Then he went to fetch the firewood and the water. When he returned, Okami said, "I hear you cleaned out the men last night at dice." "Oh, they told you about that, did they?" Kenshin said with a small smile. "Seems you’re a man of many talents," she laughed. "If I’m so talented," Kenshin said, "how come I can’t figure out something as simple as tying hakama!" Then, looking to make sure no one was around, he said in a low voice, "I don’t suppose you know how to do it, do you?" "Me? Heavens, no!" Okami said. "Why don’t you ask one of the men—I’m sure one of them would be glad to show you." Kenshin lowered his gaze. "I couldn’t do that," Kenshin said softly. "They already make fun of my age, my hair—it would just be something else for them to laugh about." "Oh, I see what you mean," she said. "Well, let me see what I can do about it." He gave her a thankful look. Kishi and Yuka came in not long after, and much to Kenshin’s relief, they merely said good morning and left him alone. He busied himself with chopping vegetables, stirring the soup, and helping Okami make rice balls. He found it very relaxing after the mental anguish of the previous day and the problem of the hakama this morning.

Finally, it was time for breakfast. As he left the kitchen, he was surprised to find Yoshida waiting for him.

"Himura," Yoshida said in practically a whisper, "got a favor to ask." He started leading Kenshin into the dining room. "Remember that technique you told me about last night for predicting the dice? Think you could teach it to me?"

"I suppose," he answered, surprised that anyone would want to learn anything from him, "although it takes a lot of concentration and practice."

"Yeah, well, I really want to learn," Yoshida pressed, but he shushed Kenshin before he could say anything else because his friends Sato and Tanaka had come to the table. "Not a word to them, hear?" he whispered.

It was his first breakfast eating with someone other than Katsura, Katagai, and the Chousu contingent, and he felt that maybe he was beginning to feel a little bit more at home here. Still, he studiously avoided the eyes of Shinzu Tora, the man who had challenged him the day before. After finishing breakfast, he promised to teach Yoshida about the dice once he got his laundry taken care of.

With that in mind, he headed upstairs to his room to gather his dirty things. As he was doing so, Katsura walked in and picked up the package with Kenshin’s new blue gi and grey hakama.

"I see you’ve received your uniform," Katsura said as he inspected the garments. "Junko-san must like you—big hems."

"She said something about growing room," Kenshin replied, somewhat embarrassed.

"Well, now that you’ve got the uniform, let’s make sure you know how to tie your hakama." As he said it, Katsura started untying his own hakama. Kenshin just stared, dumbfounded. "Come on," Katsura laughed, "just put your legs in the hakama and do what I do."

Kenshin did as he was told. As Katsura slowly started retying his own hakama, Kenshin followed his movements; his hakama was now tied properly.

"Now, Himura, untie it and do it once by yourself." Kenshin did as he was told, and miracle of miracles, his hakama was once again tied properly.

"Don’t worry, it’ll become second nature pretty soon," Katsura said reassuringly. "There’s a fancy way to fold them up, too, but I wouldn’t worry too much about that."

Kenshin bowed low to the floor, pouring forth profuse thanks. Katsura laughed, pulling Kenshin up by his arm.

"That’s quite enough of that!" he said. "Now, tell me what progress you’ve made learning the city. It’s crucial that you learn it quickly."

"Well, I’ve already learned the layout of this entire area," Kenshin replied, "and I’ve figured out the pattern of back alleys in the imperial district…" Katsura’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at that. "…. so I thought I’d strike out on my own today and investigate the rest of the city out to the edge of town. But what I really need to do is go out at night—everything will look different then."

"Just so, just so," Katsura agreed. "However, Himura, I must ask that you be very careful at night, when the streets are most dangerous. Not that I think you can’t defend yourself---" he said that quickly as he saw Kenshin ready to cut in---"but because you’re a secret right now. No one here knows of you or your style, and if there were a confrontation, there’s no question that you would prevail. Then there would be evidence of your skills, and it’s essential to our plan that you remain a secret. For that reason, you might not want to wear the Chousu blue just yet—it’ll attract unwanted attention from certain quarters, if you know what I mean."

"Katsura-san, just what is the plan?" Kenshin pressed. "What is my job? If I don’t get something to do pretty soon, I’ll go stir crazy."

"We should have things nailed down by the end of today’s meetings," Katsura answered. "Until, then, please—use extreme caution whenever you’re out, especially at night."

Kenshin nodded his assent. "And thanks for the lesson, Katsura-san."

As soon as Katsura left, Kenshin grabbed his laundry and ran downstairs to find a bucket, some soap, and some water. He wanted to finish quickly so he could teach Yoshida and still get out into the city before lunch. As he rushed by Okami, he yelled out, "Thanks, Okami-san!" He knew exactly who it was who had arranged for that hakama-tying lesson! Grabbing a bucket and some soap from the kitchen, he headed out into the courtyard to get his laundry done. As he settled into the rhythm of scrubbing, his mind wandered back to his conversation with Okami the day before about the reasons the men here had joined the Ishin Shishi. He decided that if the opportunity arose, maybe he’d ask Yoshida why he joined, just to see what the answer would be.

It turned out he didn’t have to wait long—Yoshida found him as he was finishing up. As his new friend sat watching him rinse the soap from his clothes, Kenshin asked, "What brought you to the Ishin Shishi, if you don’t mind my asking?" "Who, me?" Yoshida replied. "Geez, I don’t know. I was a ronin, and I guess I heard that Kyoto was the place to earn some money, so I came. That was about four months ago. Why?" "Oh, nothing, just curious," Kenshin said. "So why the Ishin Shishi and not the Bakufu?" "Oh, that’s simple," Yoshida answered. "I was over in the pleasure quarters—you been there yet? No? Well, you should! Anyway, who do I run into but Tanaka and Sato! We used to know each other back in Hagi, see, but I became a ronin—gambling debts to escape, if you know what I mean. They told me about Katsura’s group and told me about the pay, so here I am. After all, we have the honor of Chousu to uphold!" "What about the others—Shinzu, for example?" Shinzu’s challenge from the day before still worried him. "That prick? Pfeh! He’s just out for glory, pure and simple. He thinks he’s so great, being a master from the same dojo that Katsura studied at, but to tell you the truth, I think he’d throw everyone over if it meant more glory for him. He struts around like a peacock, that one does." "And the notion of bringing a new era of peace and justice?" Kenshin asked as he dumped out the rinse water. "Well, sure, that’s what we’re all fighting for—death to the Shogunate, and all that," Yoshida laughed. He took the empty bucket from Kenshin and started carrying it back to the inn.

‘Well, that was enlightening,’ Kenshin thought somewhat dejectedly as he gathered up his now clean clothes. This conversation had not calmed his mind at all.

He and Yoshida now headed up to his room so he could teach him the Hiko method of predicting dice. All his life, Kenshin had pretty much assumed that he was, as Hiko regularly reminded him, a baka deshi—dense as they came—but now he was beginning to think that maybe he wasn’t so dumb after all. As he patiently explained how to calculate trajectory and spin to his friend, he could see Yoshida’s eyes glazing over. He tried showing him every method he could think of to help him understand even the most basic concept of predicting dice, but no success. He might as well have been trying to teach a rock as teach him.

"Himura," Yoshida finally said, "I give up. You make it sound so easy, but I just can’t seem to see what you see. Anyway, I gotta go. I’ve got some things to take care of before tonight—we’ve been detailed to a mission, and it sounds pretty big. Say, when are you going to get assigned to something?

"I don’t know," Kenshin said. "Katsura-san said something about maybe tomorrow. If I don’t see you later, good luck."

Kenshin noticed that it was already past mid-morning, so he stopped by the kitchen to grab some food for lunch and then went out to explore more of Kyoto. His first stop—the small market area he had visited his first day with Okami, to buy a hat. What a great feeling to walk about now without attracting stares over his hair! He decided he’d have to find Shozo, the stable boy, some time and thank him for the idea.

With the hat taken care of, he decided to head west to the city limits. It turned out that the edge of the city was not that far away, and soon he was in an open area of meadows, small streams, and groves of trees, with the western mountains looming in the distance. As he walked out into this uninhabited area, he realized what was meant by the sound of silence—the silence was like a calming breeze, after all the noise and bustle of the city. It occurred to him that this might be the perfect place for him to come when he wanted to practice his kata—it was quiet, there were no prying eyes, and it had a landscape that was a comforting reminder of home. He looked around to check for signs of people having visited the area and saw only the tracks of some small animals; it was perfect. It was with great reluctance that he headed back to civilization.

After reaching the city limits once again, he headed south, then east as he followed a river that seemed to be leading into the city. The farther he went on this route, the poorer the dwellings seemed to be. From the houses and alleys he could hear angry wives yelling at deadbeat husbands and drunks brawling with each other. He instictively knew that conditions like this made it a breeding ground for violence, so he put himself on the highest alert for any hostile ki. Then he entered what looked like a warehouse district lining the river. He could see wagon upon wagon lined up outside these buildings while dozens of laborers loaded sacks of rice, barrels of goods, and whatnot. As he wandered the streets, he could see signs of past fighting—sword gashes and bullet holes in some walls, the remnants of dried blood here and there, and even scraps of fabric from some victim’s clothing. Several buildings were apparently important enough that they had guards, most wearing the uniform of the Bakufu government. It was obvious that this was a neighborhood he needed to learn.

It was while he was walking the back alleys of the warehouses that he sensed it—the hostile ki of two, maybe three men, and they seemed to be following him. To make sure he was right, he doubled back down an alley; he sensed that two men had doubled back as well. The buildings were a bit too tall for him to jump to the roof for safety, so he decided to turn the next corner and look for the nearest recessed doorway. As he did, however, he found himself face to face with the third man, who was armed with a knife.

"Boys shouldn’t be wandering around without their mommies," the man sneered as he sized up his short, boyish-looking opponent. He unsheathed his knife and started to lunge at Kenshin.

Kenshin could sense that within seconds, the other two men would be at his back. He knew he had promised Katsura to keep himself and his fighting style a secret, but there was no question that he had to defend himself in some fashion. In an instant, he decided to attack using his sheathed sword. Faster than the eye could see, he pulled his sword, sheath and all, from his belt and flew forward at the man, hitting him under the chin with the hilt and knocking him backward. Then he whirled around, swinging the sword in a huge lateral arc just as the other men rounded the corner. The sheathed blade hit them in the chest, breaking their ribs and knocking them to the ground. As they cried out, Kenshin ran as fast as he could down another alley and away from the scene. By the time anyone arrived to find out what had happened, he was long gone.

He got back to the inn late in the afternoon, so he went to his room to recover from the day’s exertions and to clean up. Since no one was around, he also decided to spend some time practicing how to tie his hakama. It was a pain to do, he thought sourly, but he had learned from the short fight at the warehouse that hakama certainly afforded great freedom of movement. He decided it was well worth his time and effort to get it down right.

Finally, it was time to go down for dinner. Yoshida and his friends had already left on their mission, as had a number of the other men, so he sat with some of the Chousu contingent. Soon, a player from the previous night’s dice game, a man named Hamada, came by.

"Hey, Himura," Hamada said, "a friend and I are going to the pleasure quarters tonight to gamble and have a good time. Want to come?"

"No thanks," Kenshin replied.

"Come on, it’ll be fun," the man pressed. "We could be a team at dice—you call the shots, we all split the money, and we make back what you won off us."

One of the Chousu men leaned over to Kenshin and said, "Go on, kid, have yourself a good time. You don’t have to stay there all night."

He considered the proposal. The pleasure district, Gion, was the one place he hadn’t explored yet, and it would be a good idea to do it at night. Perhaps he could go just to gamble and then leave when the other men went off to pursue other ‘pleasures.’ He agreed.

So, after dinner, Kenshin, Hamada, and Hamada’s friend Oono headed off for the Gion area. They regaled him with tales of their past amorous conquests; Kenshin just nodded quietly as his eyes took in the unusually narrow streets and odd-looking buildings. Finally, they arrived at a small inn. They appeared to be expected because three women, all with faces painted white, greeted them at the door by name and took each one by the arm.

"Um, Hamada," Kenshin said, clearly unnerved by this, "I thought we were here just to play dice."

"Oh…yeah, sure," Hamada mumbled. Then he brightened up. "Hey, don’t worry, it’s all part of the service for us gamblers, right, Asagao?" The woman on Hamada’s arm giggled in the most unnaturally high tone Kenshin had ever heard. The other two giggled in exactly the same high tone.

He was relieved, therefore, when the room they entered was filled only with other gamblers, all with women at their sides. For the next hour, they played dice, with Kenshin’s skills raking in more than enough money for the three of them. Eventually, however, the gamblers started drifting away with their women until there were just Kenshin, Hamada, and Oono left, along with the three women.

The woman who had been sitting with Kenshin, whose name was Yugao, started trailing her fingers along the back of his neck. He batted her hands away. Then she started tracing the line of his collarbone as she tried to part the collar of his gi. His now-distracted mind registered that his two companions and their women were walking out, leaving him alone with a woman who seemed to have on her mind something that recalled several of Hiko’s more colorful lectures.

His body was beginning to feel strangely uncomfortable, but he finally managed to say, "I really should be going." He tried to get up, but Yugao pushed him down until he found himself leaning back on his elbows. Now her hands were sliding along his legs. His eyes grew wide as he saw that she was going to try to kiss him. He bolted upright, knocking her to the floor.

"Yugao-dono! –san! –whatever!! Please! I’m only 14!!" he cried out, his face a violent shade of scarlet.

"Fourteen?" she repeated in surprise. The unnaturally high-pitched voice had turned into a normal woman’s voice. "He told me you were 16."

"He? He who?"

"Shinzu-san, of course," she answered. "Just wait ‘til I get my hands on that man…."

"Shinzu," Kenshin growled. He was beginning to think he was living in a nest of unpredictable wasps ready to sting. He turned to Yugao with a pained expression on his face. "That man has a grudge against me," he said slowly. "I’m guessing this must be his way of trying to play me for a fool. I’m sorry you got dragged into this. I’ll just leave now."

"Oh, you don’t know the half of it," Yugao replied. "Shinzu’s already paid me to entertain you all night, and then I’m supposed to deliver you to your friends at dawn. If you leave now, they’ll just make fun of you."

Kenshin realized, unhappily, that she was right. Yugao, seeing how uncomfortable and embarrassed Kenshin was, decided to take pity on him.

"Tell you what," she said. "Technically, you’re too young to be here, but why not come to my room anyway and stay the night…"

"Please, Yugao, I’m really not…." Kenshin cut in.

Yugao laughed gently. "No, not for that. We’ll sleep separately—I’ll consider it a paid night off from work. Then, in the morning, you hook up again with your buddies. I have a feeling that will be a blow to Shinzu’s grand plan, whatever that is."

Kenshin reluctantly agreed. He followed Yugao through the halls and past rooms filled with fevered moaning and groaning. ‘Hiko’s lectures come to life,’ he thought grimly.

Her room was at the end of the hall so that noise only came through one wall. She pulled out a screen and went behind it, saying, "Make yourself comfortable while I change into my regular clothes. What’s your name?"

"Himura Kenshin," Kenshin replied, still wary of this strange woman.

"Well, mine’s Kumiko."

"I thought your name was Yugao," Kenshin said.

"That’s just my work name. I don’t tell many people my real name. You’re underage—do your parents know you’re here?"

"My parents died when I was five," Kenshin answered. He was getting tired of telling his story every time he met someone. "I’ve lived with my shishou since then, up in the mountains."

"Well, it was kind of his wife to take you in," Yugao said as she continued changing her clothes.

"Shishou, married?" Kenshin laughed. "He’s too full of himself to let a wife into his life!"

"So," she said as she came out from behind the screen and sat down, "it was just you and your shishou up in the mountains?" She thought for a moment, then added, "It’s just professional curiosity, of course, but exactly what did you two do up there—alone?"

"He spent every waking moment I had teaching me sword skills, what did you think?!"

"This was not an old man, right? And he had no women?"

"Well…." Kenshin thought about that question. Hiko certainly had a huge stock of stories to regale Kenshin with. They seemed awfully detailed to have been made up, but where? when? Then he realized—those weekly trips to that young widow’s farm; it wasn’t just so that Kenshin could chop a week’s worth of firewood for her while watching her two toddlers, was it. And all those extra trips to the village Hiko took—alone—last summer when the store owner’s beautiful young niece was visiting? Baka deshi! He smiled at Kumiko. "I guess I just figured out his secret," he said.

That broke the ice. Now the two started trading stories, and Kenshin learned that Kumiko had been sold by her family to the owner of this inn when she was 13. "There were six kids, no money, and I was the oldest one, so off I went," she said matter-of-factly. That was 12 years ago. She had been a courtesan ever since, and she hated it.

"So why not leave?" Kenshin asked.

"And where would I go?" she answered bitterly. "Who would have me? No, this is what I’ll do the rest of my life, and actually, it could be worse. I’m mostly my own boss, and there’s at least a week every month I don’t have to work, if I’m not pregnant."

"But if you hate it, how can you live with yourself?" he asked.

"Simple," she said. "When the white makeup goes on, I close off my real self and hide it away. I become someone else. When the makeup comes off, I lock that other person away and try to forget she exists. That’s the only way to survive."

Kenshin had an inkling of what she meant, for he had done something similar after his family died—he had locked away his memories of his happy childhood. It was the only way he could survive the slavers, or even Hiko.

It was getting late, and he still wanted to explore more of the Gion area. Kumiko offered to go with him and showed him secret alleyways and hiding places known, she said, only to those who worked in her profession. "If you ever find yourself in a tight spot," she said, "don’t ever hesitate to use them! Just let people know that Kumiko sent you." Then they returned to her room. Kenshin found a comfortable spot in a corner and slept sitting up, sword propped on his shoulder, while Kumiko settled down on the futon.

At dawn, as planned, they went to fetch Hamada and his friend. It was clear that Hamada, who was still half-asleep, did not expect Kenshin to have stayed the night.

"You—you’re still here? With her?" Hamada sputtered.

"Of, course," Kenshin answered with a smirk. "What did you expect?"

"But…. but Kishi…."

"Kishi what?" Kenshin asked evenly. Now things were beginning to make sense—leave it to those flirty kitchen girls to be involved in this. His smirk grew into a small smile.

"She told Shinzu you wouldn’t know what to do with a woman all night!" Hamada finally blurted out. "We had a bet!" His friend Oono now joined them blearily in the hall. He, too, was astonished to find Kenshin still at the inn.

Kenshin laughed. "She told you that, did she?" Then, in a suggestive tone, he added, "Ah, Kishi, a girl of intriguing charms, ne?"

Now Kumiko started to laugh. Hamada and Oono stood, jaws hanging, not knowing what to say or think. Kenshin could just make out Hamada’s words as the man muttered, "Wait ‘till I get my hands on that bastard Shinzu…."

As Kenshin turned to leave, Kumiko took his arm and said softly, "Himura-san, you’re a nice kid—we don’t get many like you around here. Any time you feel like chatting, come on over and find me. Just make sure it’s during the day, when I’m not working, ok? And be sure to ask for me by my real name."

He smiled and thanked her. Then he left by himself to return to the inn for breakfast.