Genre

Rating

Spoiler Level

Absolution: Chapter 6 - Revelations

by Sakusha

It had taken hours to finish fixing all those crates. Miko-sama was nothing if not frugal. All the old used crates were to be checked for damage, refurbished and reused. The doors of the warehouse as well as some of the loading equipment was also on the to-do list, but we had gotten a late start, thus, just the crates had been done. I kept my own council for the most part, the others to busy to interrupt, other than to ask for the occasional tool. I kept thinking about what Youji had said ‘What if he’s doing something..bad’. I really hoped that his uncle didn’t hear that conversation.

The last few crates were different from the rest. The wood had been doubled, as if to insulate . That in itself hadn’t been all that weird, after all, some spices could be rather sensitive to the salt, taking away the taste and with it the worth, but these crates didn’t smell at all like any spice I had even smelled, it smelled almost like … well I could be wrong, so I let it go.

Finally, I was on the last one. The planks on the bottom seemed loose, so I found a couple of nails and went to work on it. I had to add nails on the inside as well due to the double planks of wood, it would not just hold from the inside. I stepped back to survey my work, quite proud. I looked at my hands. Hands that had killed, hands that had destroyed. These hands could build as well. As I looked, I noticed that my fingers were coated with something. I smelled the dark substances, and recognized it immediately. Gunpowder! Not just any gunpowder, this was the pure unadulterated stuff. I only knew because it had been my job to soak Shishio-sama’s gloves in it. ‘What if he’s doing something..bad’

My heart started to beat faster as I realized the implications. This stuff was the heavy-duty stuff. It was not for fireworks or regular ammunition. This stuff was dangerous, and regular civilians did not have access to it. Matter of fact, I was fairly certain it was quite illegal, if you weren’t part of the military guard.

I turned to the others in the warehouse, “ Where did this crate come from? Which ship I mean.”

One of the men, Hounto, I think his name was, looked at me little puzzled, then replied

“ That one, and the other two, their from the ship that just came in today. You know, the one they got the other crew workin’ on ”

Oh Kami. How the hell had I let all the clues go like that? The secretive shipments, Miko-sama’s odd behavior… and Youji was with him right now!

I dropped everything, and ran out of the warehouse leaving the others to gape in my wake..

He wouldn’t hurt his own nephew would he; I mean he’s just a kid. Yet, I remembered,

“Soujirou”

“Yes, Shishio-sama”

“Take care of it Soujirou”

“Yes, Shishio-sama”

There are people out there who would hurt anyone who got in their way, and if Miko-sama thought for a moment that Youji had stumbled upon his little smuggling operation, he would hurt him, because ultimately, good people are just stumbling blocks on the road to success. And stumbling blocks could be cut down; Kami , I’ve cut down enough to know.

I couldn’t get to the offices fast enough. All I could think of was that Youji would not even be here if it wasn’t for me. There was of course the chance that I was overreacting. Really, it was quite likely that Miko had not heard us at all, or even dismissed the conversation as the ramblings of a curious child. But there had been something in his eyes….

The offices were locked when I got there. I rattled the door, then the windows, becoming more frantic as seconds passed. Someone was in there, I heard shuffling. The door opened, and I stepped back, trying to remain calm. At the same time, I heard movement behind me. I turned to the immediate threat, anyone who stood to my back. There were two of them, each armed with there own swords, though they hadn’t drawn, yet.

“And you are?” said the first.

“Sorry to intrude, My name is Soujirou. I was looking for Youji-san.”

A hand reached out to grab mine, as the other one said “ Just who we were looking for.”

At that moment the swordsman that had been cultivated for the better part of my life kicked in. I held him in check however. I needed to find Youji, and I needed them to underestimate me. They would take me to Youji, I was sure. I let them take my hands, pulling my wrist behind me, I grimiced at the feeling of being manhandled, but then I knew what pain was. This was nothing. They shoved me forward though the open door of the office. There sat Youji, wide-eyed and scared, hands also behind his back. He started to say something, but I gave him a look that suggested he be quite. There had been a guard with him in the office, Miko-sama was nowhere to be seen. They shoved me into a chair beside Youji, eyed me with more than a little disgust, and then the two guards who brought me in left, leaving Youji and I in the care of the third who sat behind Miko-sama’s desk.

“Soujirou..” Youji started.

“Quit!” the guard looked up from the desk “You two have a couple of hours before Miko-sama returns, I suggest you just sit there like good little boys and don’t give me any problems.” He then pulled his weapon from his hip and placed it on the table as if silently challenging us to do otherwise.

It occurred to me then that whatever had transpired between Youji and his uncle had gone bad enough that they were going to get rid of him, and me because I would be the only other link to the boy. I also realized that whatever was going to happen, was going to happen well after dark. Too many people, too many questions. Miko-sama obvoisly did not like questions. We still had some time.

“ Get some rest.” I whispered to Youji, the guard gave me a death glare but made no other comment. Youji looked at me like I had lost my mind, no doubt he knew just how dire our situation was. I gave him a smile of reasurrance, and nodded that everything would be fine. Youji rolled his eyes, and huffed. It was going to a long couple of hours.