Part 2/2

Another area filled with the light pink blossoms of the cherry trees. Again morbidly decorated with corpse of beautiful women, throats cut open, no blood. Two of them this time. One, Hina, only in her daylight kimono, the other one in a beautiful Susohiki, surely catched away from the big and important party last night. Shin woke him up even before anyone informed the police. He promised again to stay with the kitten till Ryuma would be back.

So here he was, under the first arriving policemen this time. Quietly he looked down at the still untouched scene. Again he saw the bodies in their normal state. Not sound but also not really damaged before death. Throat cut open, no blood around or on them. Shin told him a guy got the already dead body of Hina on a cart, got the other body about five hours later and brought both to the cherry trees. Here he used a katana to maul the two women and prepared them like Ryuma could see now. It seems this strange Gami-san guy was a sort of cleaner. “Still, if we get him he might know something about the real murderer.” Ryuma whispered.

Together with the two women, cold in death, Ryuma got to Taro. He normally was a doctor but also does a few things for the police too. “Two more?” no greeting, straight to work. “Yeah, seems to be the same as the other three. Could you find something out Taro?” “Kind of… See this cramped hands?” Ryuma git closer and looked at all corpse again. “Yeah, the others too.” “Ryuma i think they got globefish to eat, and i don't mean the good stuff! More the death bringing sort… “ Ryuma walked over to Hina’s body. “I know globefish can be toxic, but, what exactly did it do with them?” “I think they slowly lost their ability to move, starting in the limbs and ending with… Not be able to breathe anymore… ”

Now there was no difference between the silence of the dead and the silence of the two men standing amongst them.

~~~~

Shin felt uncomfortable. Not because of the dark doings he witnessed in the night or knowing his friend out there at the case again. It was bright day and Ryuma was with so many coworkers, plus it seems this Gami-san guy was more for subtle treatment. No, the reason was the kitten. Of course she woke up together with Ryuma in the exact moment Shin entered the house. Now she was sitting in the bed, bare-chested, and Shin got reminded she has already grown up to a young woman and wasn't really a kitten anymore. “Should i make you something to eat again?” her voice was sleepy. “No, no.. No need to bother yourself about me. I'll just wait outside, so you can get ready.” Shin escaped through the door. It wasn't that he disliked the girl, just… His thoughts got interrupted. A telltale sound, a bit dust falling from the roof, Shin was already casting the dark shadow away from the home of his friend when the woman looked out of the door.

The hunt went across the city, over the rooftops and through shady back alleys, mostly unaware of the town people. In an almost empty storehouse near the harbor they stopped. The air was salty and the voices of men, shouting things in disarrange soaked through the walls. The stranger spoke first. “So here we are, only the two of us.” “So it is!” Shin eyed his opposite calm. “Let me guess, you're this Gami-san guy.” “Yeah, it seems i am for some people. But it also seems you don't remember the real me.” “The real you? Is this a Kabuki play for you?” Shin asked. Gami-san laughed and answered in a deep angry voice “No, i'm not playing around here. I'll let him suffer, I'll let him lose everyone dear to him! I planned to kill you at least, his dearest friend lost after everything else, but now we're both here, so why not just reschedule your death?!” and with this the stranger attacked. Shin, still calm, reached behind his neck and countered the hit with both of his blades crossed in front of him.

So the fight started and blade caromed from blade, despite all this noise still unaware for the people outside the storehouse. The other one was good, soon Shin had to fight for real. “Ha, it's been a while since i needed to use all my tricks.” he laughed. “They won't help you!” Gami-san continued to attack with angry hits. “We will see about that. So tell me, while you want to kill me anyway, what did Ryuma do to you?” “You really don't remember? You were just beside him, there in Kyoto!” the other shouted at Shin. “Can't remember anything about you. Perhaps it wasn't so important?” Shin danced back. “Arg!” a big swing of Gami-sans sword, “He killed my brother!” an opening, a not metallic sound, blood at one of Shins twinblades. “So your brother did either something really bad or was on the right side of the imperial flag!” more clangor and heavy breathing. “No, this hasn't anything to do with the coward of a shogun or the Satsuma bandits! He just wanted to save me as your so-called friend started to attack me!”

~~~~

Ryuma started his patrol while still thinking about the things Taro told him. “If you could find the victims even shortly after they got poisoned, we might be able to save them!” he was determined to prevent any more deaths. So he walked through almost empty streets, from house to house, telling the owners of business to check on their customers. A foreign man, feeding the girls globefish. A really strange and short description. And most of the addressed only had less sympathy for his request. So the time went on without producing results or even hints. When the sky turned dark Ryuma had spoke to almost every women in almost every house. Only one place was left. It was a special house, at least for him. It was the place where he had found his kitten again.

~~~~

Ami looked outside but Shin seemed to be gone, his presence nowhere to sense for her. She wasn't mad about it. Quickly she ran out of the house and to a place well-known to her. A house full of caring sisters and the most suitable person for a mother she ever had. She entered a room in the back of the house through the window and found herself face to face to a beautiful woman. Ami didn't hesitate and hugged her tight. “Akane, can you borrow me one of your clothes?” the older woman laughed “Sure, go ahead sweety.” she even helped the kitten to dress up as a Geisha. “What are you after this time sweety?” the younger one got excited “I want to help Ry…” the door opened abruptly while Ami tried to answer Akanes question. A old woman was in front of the room. “Oh Ami sweety! What are you doing here? You look lovely like always, wearing such clothes! But, Akane, hurry, there's a customer!” and like she appeared from nowhere she was gone it a blink of an eye. “I'm sorry sweety” Akane also left the room and Ami just went along with her to the front door. “Oh, what beautiful girls do we have here? Please accompany me both! “

~~~~

Ryuma took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The old woman appeared almost instantly. “Mister did you forgot something?” she asked even before looking up. “Oh Ryuma, it's you! What a consideration! Ami was here too just a few minutes ago.” she happily chattered. Ryuma froze. ”She was? Why? Where is she now?” his voice almost stumbled. “Oh she went out with Akane and a customer, some foreign guy, good paying.” Ryuma almost fainted. “W w where are they now?” he whispered “In the teahouse down the street… Uh, Ryuma? Why are you running away?”

He raced down the darkening alley, straight into the teahouse, not bothering the door for even a moment, only stopped in the middle of the big room to look around. The ruckus was there instantly. From every direction every customer and service person seemed to approached him. Ryuma turned around to the house owner, a woman behind a counter. “The foreigner, with two girls! Where is he?” he shouted without taking the time to catch his breath. “I i in the last b backroom…” she stammered. Another door, wide open thanks to a thoughtful customer, the policemen dashed through a corridor till he, at least, smashed the door of the backroom into pieces while simply running through it.

The scene before his eyes was ridiculous. Akane was left in the corner, knocked out with a bit of blood on the temple. Ami was on the floor too, in the middle of the room. She was conscious, backing off from the man towering over her. There was a table next to them, flipped over, and a lot of dishes, food and liquid lying on the ground. The foreigner tried to force a bit of something into Amis mouth while holding her down. “Gulp down already stupid woman!” “Stop right there!” his shout froze the scene before him. Ryuma drew his sword and got between the kitten and the man. He didn't wait for the other one to reply and struck him down instantly. “Ami! Speak to me!”

~~~~

The fight in the storehouse went on. Both were skilled with the blades but with the time passing by they both seemed to get tired. Gami-san had a few more or less deep cuts, the child of the night only some scratches. He sidestepped most of the attacks. But this way of fighting wasn't intended for long matches. Shin attacked but failed to hit. The other one tried a big attack. With all his might he hit Shin. Or at least he thought so. But the child of the night wasn't standing in front of his opponent anymore. While the attacker still tumbled forward he was already behind him, slit his back deeply with both blades. “You are the guy who attacked the little kitten, back then. Screamed something about her robbing you and your brother. I remember it very clearly.” Shin said in an icy voice. He kicked the other man in the back and started wandering back and forth in front of the dying guy, now lying on the floor. “I mean, it was an important day for Ryuma. He felt for this girl so hard, he wasn't endurable for weeks. And also we had to drag the kid along till Ryuma found a safe place for her between all the fighting, murdering and dying.” Shins voice was dripping of scorn. He stopped and turned back to the other man. ”And so you put all this murdering on just to… yeah, what were you doing all this for exactly? I really don't get this part… “ but the other one wasn't explaining himself, he couldn't anymore, he was lying in a puddle of his own blood, dead.

~~~~

“Ami!” he shook the girl lightly. “Did you swallow anything?” she trembled while answering “He forced me to swallow a piece of sushi… Ryuma, what is happening here? I can't move my feet to stand up… “ “Ami…” Ryumas voice died down while he hugged the frightened girl. He didn't recognize the tears on his face or the people surrounding them. “Ryuma!” only this calm husky voice snapped in his mind. “Shin! Quickly, i need coal and water!” “I know, i have always a piece of coal with me and you have a water bottle in your uniform.” Shin crushed some coal into a cup from the floor and added water. Then he forced Ami to drink the mixture. “It'll take a while to get the poison out of your body but i think, again, we're not too late.“ Shin smiled down on Ami.

~~~~~~~~

Silent night. Ami was snuggling in Ryumas arms, both lying on the bed. She has recovered completely. Also nobody else was hurt. The foreigner got arrested and his cleaner, the guy with the grudge against Ryuma, had been killed by Shin. They had never learned what he was doing all this for, but it doesn't matter to Ryuma at this moment. He hugged his kitten tight. “I'll never let you go, not even to death! I'll always protect you!” “Thank you my love.“ the woman spoke, “But who will protect you?“

Above the both of them, on the roof of the house, sat a tall black shadow, quietly whispering “I'll do that of course…”