Rebel Encounter

Chapter 6

Tatsu carefully sneaked through the courtyard, looking for the intruder. He heard the bell chime just when he was falling asleep. With a quick survey of the area, he moved around the side of the house, clinging to the wall and the cover it provided. The only thing he could hear was his own breathing. The wind had died down, and the moon lit a path to the front gate where he saw an opposing figure. By the movements alone he knew it was Shinra. Tatsu issued a signal with his hand, and Shinra moved on. Each taking one side of the property, they covered more ground faster. As Tatsu exited the empty springs, he saw the lantern’s light coming from Yume’s room. Shinra stood in the doorway, and simply shook his head.

Tatsu ran in the direction of the room. Standing in the doorway, he saw all of the bedding was still folded in the corner. After going through the drawers, the only item he found missing was her wakizashi. All of her kimonos and jewelry were in place, like she would be returning for them in the future. Tatsu moved back to the courtyard, with Shinra following close behind. All her clothes were here, so what was she wearing when she left? “Damn it!” Tatsu yelled, running back to his room. Checking the cabinet where he kept his shinobi gear, he found several items missing including clothing. He shook his head, and laughed out loud. They both knew where Yume had gone, but she did not have a large head start. Tatsu nodded to Shinra, no words needed for their thoughts were in sync. “I will follow in a day’s time. Find her, but keep your presence a secret. I want to know what she’s planning,” Tatsu stated, and Shinra ran for the gate. Tatsu sighed, turning back to let the full moon’s rays illuminate his pale skin. ‘I have preparations to make,’ he thought, as the bell tolled once again.

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It had taken over a week to get back to Kyoto, and this momentary lapse of movement was a welcome relief to my body. I was now sitting in a tree across from the brothel. The fall leaves blew around my hidden form. I watched the shadows of people play across the screen door to my old room. If I knew the chief, he couldn’t go without his ‘action’ for too long. Every man has a breaking point. With me he always kept a strict schedule, every two days, two hours after sunset. The sun went down over an hour ago, now it was just a matter of waiting it out. I didn’t even know if tonight would be the night, but I had to start somewhere. I had some time to plot my next move. I know Tatsumaki has an investigation to conduct, but it just wasn’t working with my timetable. This man needed to pay for what he did to me before he did it to another unsuspecting woman.

Just thinking of Tatsumaki gave me a small smile. He would be coming after me; I had no doubt of that. He would be the valiant man riding in to save his latest conquest, with his faithful sidekick in tow. And now that I thought about it, I’d had the feeling lately that I was being watched. It couldn’t have been theYakuza for they are not that sneaky. A bounty hunter would have attacked me on the spot. That only left a ninja; question was, which one was it? It couldn’t have taken them long to find out I was gone. I was hoping they wouldn’t figure it out until at least breakfast, but I might have triggered something when I left. But I can’t worry about that now, I needed to stain my hands with the blood of a sinner.

Movement from the room below caught my attention. Two bodies moved past the door, their shadows coming together for a kiss. The taller shadow then left. The shorter shadow turned and blew out the light. This was my chance. I jumped from the branch to the roof below, and silently ran to the edge. Remaining low against the roof, I watched as a police carriage pulled up, and Chief Nanaka stepped out, waving the driver on. He nodded to the two guards at the door, and handed his saber to the one on the right. A row of lanterns hung across the way in front of me, the other end stopping at the floor above my own. Removing the ribbon from hair, it fell long and dark behind me. I threw the ribbon across the wire, and gripped both ends. Silently, I pulled up my legs, and slid down the length of the wire, careful not to knock off any of the hanging lanterns.

I landed on the balcony directly above my own. The lanterns continued to swing, but it looked more like they were caught in the wind rather than some nefarious revenge plot. I leaned over the edge to check the ground below. The guards were just underneath the main awning, so they wouldn’t see my next trick. Slipping on the clawed gloves that I stole from Tatsu, I swung my body over the railing to hang only by my fingertips. Once my body was steady and still, I released into a short freefall. Just as the next banister came into view, I grabbed it with one hand and used the claw of the other hand’s glove. My bare hand slipped, as I knew it would, but the claw held firm under my weight. Securing my grip once more, I pulled my body up before anyone could see me hanging there, and quietly treaded to the sliding door. Slipping it open by just a crack, I could see that the room was empty. I immediately went inside, careful not to make a sound. I could hear Nanaka’s voice radiating from down the hallway. Frantic, I wasn’t sure where he was heading, so I climbed into the bedding closet.

Sure enough his voice entered the room just as I shut the door. From the laughter I figured he was in the company of at least two girls. Apparently one could no longer meet his tastes. While I listened to his seduction dance, I pulled two poison darts from my belt. Wrapping my long hair around my hand, I twisted it into a bun at the back of my head, and secured it with two darts. I might need them later for a quick escape. Heavy breathing now permeated my hiding space, the mating ritual was beginning right on schedule. One girl moaned while the other giggled, sloshing sake. Nanaka was breathing harder, and I knew he was already close to his end. He never could go for very long. He groaned, the guttural sound signaling his climax, then one of the girls screamed. “I’m bleeding, you bastard!” someone yelled. I heard the hollow sound of flesh against flesh, and knew someone had been slapped. “Bitch! Get out, both of you, before I strip you of your skin!” Nanaka yelled. Two sets of footsteps padded down the hallway, and the door slammed. Nanaka breathed a heavy sigh, and then I heard him hit the floor again.

Not sure of his position, I cracked open the closet door. He was sitting on the floor, his knees drawn up into his chest. His body was still shaking from its recent release, like it didn’t have the time to fully enjoy its pleasure. I slid the door open far enough to slip out. Keeping my steps light, I could hear him mumbling to himself as I drew closer. Careful to keep my movements to a minimum, I slid another dart out of my waistband and put the non-lethal end in my mouth. Creeping closer, I could hear that his mumbles were actually prayers. Maybe his evil deeds were finally catching up with his soul. I slid up behind him, placing my lips just behind his ear. “Confessing your sins before I send you to Hell?” I breathed into his ear. Before he could rebound, I jammed the dart into his neck. He screamed, and crawled away from me. ‘Damn it!’ I thought, that scream would definitely draw some attention, so I had to move fast. I pulled my tanto blade from its sleeve. The gleam of the blade caught Nanaka’s attention, and brought him back to the present. As I walked toward him, he lunged for me. When our bodies hit the floor, the blade was knocked from my hand and bounced out of reach.

“Well, there’s my favorite bitch, returning to me, and even on schedule!” Nanaka breathed in my ear. I bucked my body upwards to throw him off, but he just secured my wrists under his hands, and sat his body on my torso. “My, haven’t we gotten feisty since our last encounter. And I thought I might have broke your spirit,” he whispered into my ear before licking it with his tongue. “I won’t make the same mistake twice.” From my position on the mat, I could feel heavy footsteps running in this direction. Nanaka’s scream was like a signal flare to the bouncers. I gritted my teeth, and pushed against his body again. “This time, you better kill me because your days are already numbered,” I spat during my struggles. Nanaka sucked in a breath, then proceeded to lick a trail down my throat. “Now, tell me, why would I want to kill my favorite prize when I could just chain her to a wall for the rest of her days?”

The door burst open as four Yakuza bouncers filed into the room, followed by the proprietor of this establishment. “Nanaka,” he said, “please release Miss Yume. This matter is now out of your hands.” I laughed as one of the guards pulled the chief off of me, the dart still protruding from the back of his neck. A second guard picked me up, and tossed me over his shoulder. My former boss approached me. “Yume, I really wished it didn’t have to come to this. Unfortunately, you haven’t outlived your purpose just yet. I’m still waiting for your inspector friend to make his reappearance. I’m sure he’s worried about his little whore.” I spat in his face. “Itachi, you might as well kill me now, I have already started the chain reaction that will take this whole place down. How do you think the public will feel about its police chief dying from something he picked up in a brothel?” Nanaka started yelling again, and while Itachi was distracted, I pulled a dart from my hair and stabbed my captor. He dropped me, and I immediately ran for the door. I took off down the hall, dodging ladies escorting their gentlemen. I made it to the end of the walkway when I received a blinding pain from back. It threw me off balance and I collided with the wall. I slid to the floor, and watched as a puddle of blood formed at my side. Turning my head, I saw the handle of my tanto jutting out of my right shoulder.

I put my hand against the wall, and used it to steady my body as I rose to my feet again. Thinking I could just run down the stairs into the street, I turned, but instead ran into Itachi. He backhanded me across the face, and I hit the floor for a second time. The impact drove the blade further into my flesh, causing the tip to sprout from the other side of my shoulder. Too dazed to move, another guard picked me up bridal style, and carried me downstairs. The last thing I saw before the darkness took me was the bud of a lit cigarette from the alley across from the brothel. Apparently my rescuers were already here…


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