Chapter 6

The Sun Always Shines Brightest After the Rain

 
He looked thoughtful as he formulated a reply.

 
“Continue shadowing them. See how this situation plays out. We may not have to do anything at all. Domoto Koichi is a formidable opponent to have,” he read aloud as he wrote the note.

 
Waving to a waiting servant, Higashiyama gave the note, along with the order, “Use our fastest messenger hawk. Ayumi must receive this immediately.”

 
The servant bowed, hurrying to comply with her master’s wishes.

 
“Your biggest mistake was to make your best samurai your enemy, Kitagawa. If only you had more respect for the man,” Higashiyama mused, reflecting back to that fateful day not too long ago.

 
******************

 
“Kill them,” Kitagawa said coldly.

 
Koichi paused, looking back at his master with silent plea in his eyes. He could not. He would not.

 
Kitagawa’s personal bodyguards, Kimura Takuya and Nakai Masahiro were on their knees, bleeding heavily. Surrounding them were the other samurais of the castle.

 
These two were the men that had accepted Koichi into their lives, when he had turned up one day with Kitagawa.

 
Koichi’s family had been murdered when he was two, and Kitagawa had taken him into his household. As he grew, Kimura and Nakai had taught him the way of the samurai. He spent his days with the two men, listening to their experiences and idolizing their steadfast loyalty to their lord and the code of the samurai.

 
They were the closest thing Koichi had to a family. And now, they were kneeling in front of him, wounds littering their bodies. Even in their position, they still held their head up high, proud to be samurai. Proud to be doing the right thing.

 
Koichi’s hand shook. “But they haven’t….” he began.

 
A loud smack was heard. Koichi’s right cheek stung, where Kitagawa had just slapped him.

 
“They attempted to murder me. That is cause enough for them to forfeit their lives,” Kitagawa sneered, spitting at the two men.

 
Kimura struggled to stand up, grimacing as pain hit every fiber of his being. “You deserve worse.”

 
Koichi looked desperately at the older man. “Please, Kimura-senpai. That’s enough.”

 
Slowly, Nakai stood up as well, and both men gripped their katanas tightly. “Stay out of this, Koichi. It’s not your fight.”

 
“But senpai…”

 
“I said, stay out of this! I don’t want to fight you,” Kimura shouted, turning a glare at the young man.

 
Koichi flinched visibly. Kimura had never raised his voice, not in all the years Koichi had known him. Koichi did the next best thing he could. He turned to Kitagawa.

 
“My lord, please. They’ve served you loyally for so long. Please. Please don’t do this,” Koichi begged, getting on his knees and bowing deeply.

 
“Stand up, Koichi,” Nakai’s strong voice rang out. “Never lower your head to that sorry excuse for a human ever again.”

 
Kitagawa smirked. Koichi continued to bow deeply. “I beg you, my lord!”

 
“Your begging means nothing to me,” Kitagawa kicked dust into Koichi’s face.

 
Kimura ran over, forcefully dragging Koichi to his feet. “Now you see who he really is. Never bow before him again,” he repeated Nakai’s words.

 
“But I don’t understand, senpai…” Koichin said, confusion in his eyes.

 
Kimura turned his attention back to the lord of the castle. “That monster was the one who murdered my family. He killed them all and tricked me into serving him, under the pretense of kindness.”

 
Koichi’s eyes widened. “But that’s not possible, senpai… Lord Kitagawa would never… Not to us…”

 
Nakai stumbled over. “It’s true, Koichi. Kitagawa is the man behind the murders of our families.”

 
“That’s not true! I don’t believe you!” Koichi screamed, katana clattering to the ground as he clutched his head.

 
Kimura release his grip on Koichi, using Koichi as leverage to charge at Kitagawa. Before Kimura could take more than a few step, a loud bang resounded in the compound. Kimura’s form stilled, and he slumped to the ground.

 
Kitagawa kept the western gun he had recently purchased back into his armor. Kimura coughed out more blood, a gaping bullet wound in his chest.

 
“Kimura-senpai!” Koichi cried, rushing over to the dying man. He clutched Kimura’s hand tightly in his own. “Senpai…”

 
Kimura gave the young man a gentle smile. “Your family suffered the same fate as mine, young one,” he said, breathing his last.

 
Koichi shook the still form. “Kimura-senpai!”

 
“You have betrayed me as well, Koichi,” Kitagawa’s voice was heard. Koichi looked up to see him master towering above him, katana poised to strike.

 
“My lord…”

 
The katana swung down in an arc. Koichi closed his eyes, ready for the impact.

 
“Koichi!”

 
Koichi’s eyes flew open, just in time to see Nakai shielding him. Crimson drops fell to the ground where the katana impaled Nakai’s body.

 
“Nakai-kun!”

 
Nakai fell backwards in a heap, landing on Kimura. Koichi’s wide eyes looked at the man who helped bring him up.

 
Nakai cupped Koichi’s face with a bloodied hand. “You’re our family. We can’t let anything happen to you. Stay alive. Stay strong,” he said weakly, giving Koichi’s face a few pats.

 
“But Nakai-kun…”

 
Nakai sighed tiredly. “It’s alright. You have to be strong, Ko-chan. Be free and find your happiness.”

 
Koichi’s vision blurred as tears welled up in his eyes. The last image he saw before everything became a blur was Nakai’s gentle, reassuring smile.

 
“This is how we enforce discipline here,” Kitagawa called to his guest over his shoulder. Kitagawa repositioned his katana above Koichi’s head.

 
Higashiyama watched from the balcony of his room on the first floor. He felt disgusted with the way Kitagawa treated his samurai.

 
Higashiyama continued to watch silently as the samurai called Koichi remained in his place cradling the bodies of the fallen samurai.

 
Kitagawa raised his katana.

 
“You’re no better than them. It was such a waste to nurture you. It was such a pity your family had only one boy.”

 
Koichi’s head snapped up. Disbelief in his features, Koichi croaked out, “What?”

 
“If you had a brother, I should have let him live instead of you,” Kitagawa said, disdain clear on his face.

 
Higashiyama saw clearly when Kitagawa’s katana made its downward descent. Koichi’s features hardened into pure hate. His hand reached for the katana in Nakai’s hand.

 
Steel hit steel as Koichi parried Kitagawa’s blow.

 
“You murdered my family?” Koichi hissed.

 
Kitagawa grunted as Koichi applied more pressure. “Get over it. You weren’t the only one.”

 
Koichi’s eyes narrowed as Kitagawa pushed him off and they separated.

 
“I want out,” Koichi said resolutely.

 
“You’ll never be free of me,” Kitagawa snorted.

 
They circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

 
Koichi’s lips formed a grim line. “Then I’ll be free when you die.”

 
Kitagawa smirked. “Never.”

 
Koichi lunged forward, spotting an opening as Kitagawa shifted to his left.

 
Suddenly, as Koichi was a few paces away, Kitagawa reached into his armor, producing another gun. A shot rang out, but Koichi ignored the pain, only stumbling a few paces before continuing on his path to Kitagawa.

 
Panic washed over Kitagawa’s face. “Protect me! Cut him down!” Kitagawa managed to cry out before Koichi’s blade cut him on the cheek.

 
Suddenly, Koichi found himself surrounded by men he called his brothers. Men he had grown up with, shared memories with. Men he would die for. Now they were against him, all at the order of one man.

 
As he was attacked, Koichi was careful not to cause grievous injuries to his fellow samurai. Most of them were also apprehensive to engage Koichi in combat. As soon as they were hit, they did not get up, opting to feign injury.

 
As his vision blurred from the loss of blood, Koichi found himself stumbling away from the castle, vowing never to return. Vaguely, he remembered picking his katana and sheath from the ground.

 
“You’ll never be free of me! I’ll hunt you down! And then, you’ll bring nothing but death to those around you again! You’re the angel of death!”

 
Kitagawa’s words followed him as he stumbled out into the rain.

 
******************

 
“Ko-chan, did something good happen today?” Kyoko asked, looking at Tsuyoshi expectantly.

 
Koichi looked thoughtful for a moment. “Nope. Why do you ask?”

 
“Oh, it’s nothing. Tsuyo-chan seems very happy today,” Kyoko commented, smiling contentedly.

 
Koichi raised an eyebrow, looking back and forth between the two. “Do you like him?”

 
“What?” Kyoko’s eyes widened as she blinked confusedly at Koichi.

 
Koichi rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I mean, do you like, like him-like him? I mean, you did give him a note a few days ago. And you seem to come here quite often… and the two of you obviously share some secrets, smiling at each other and all. Not that I was looking, but, you know…”

 
Kyoko had to cover her laughter, amused by Koichi’s flustered rambling. At the sound of her giggles, Koichi looked up. “What’s so funny?”

 
“Nothing,” Kyoko replied, fighting to keep a straight face. “It’s just that… it’s just… you sounded jealous,” she managed before bursting out in laughter.

 
“Oi! I’m not jealous!” Koichi denied indignantly, stomping away from the laughing girl to other customers.

 
When she had her laughter under control, Kyoko saw Tsuyoshi looking at her. Giving the man a wink and a thumbs up, she continued with her meal.

 
Koichi was heading over to place more orders to Tsuyoshi when two figures stumbled in.

 
“Takki? Tsubasa?” Koichi looked at the two samurais panting in the middle of the shop.

 
Takki grabbed Koichi by the shoulder, struggling to catch his breath. “You… Koichi… senpai… Leave… now… lord… coming…”

 
Koichi’s eyes widened considerably, and he made a dash to the back room, throwing the blankets and futon around and retrieving his katana.

 
When he returned to the store, it was empty. Warily, Koichi scanned his surroundings. A pained yelp sounded from outside.

 
“Come out, Koichi. I know you’re in there,” Kitagawa’s voice called out. Koichi’s grip on his katana tightened instinctively.

 
Taking slow, measured steps, he exited the store. Outside, all the customers, Tsuyoshi and Tom were huddled together. Koichi’s gaze flitted to Tsuyoshi momentarily, to reassure his worried aikata.

 
Kitagawa followed his gaze, a smile appearing on his lips. “Restrain him. The rest of you can go. You’re a waste of my time.”

 
Everyone else scrambled away when Nagase and Mabo picked Tsuyoshi up by his arms.

 
“Let him go,” Koichi said, his tone even and measured. But there was no mistaking the steely gaze he fixed on Kitagawa.

 
“Whatever happened to ‘my lord’?” Kitagawa sneered, gesturing to have Tsuyoshi brought closer to him.

 
Koichi’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t deserve that title, murderer.”

 
Kitagawa gave a maniacal laugh. He grabbed Tsuyoshi, pointing his katana at his throat.

 
“Tsk tsk… You should know better, Koichi-kun. Whoever you get close to, dies. You’re the angel of death,” Kitagawa said, applying pressure. The tip of the blade broke Tsuyoshi’s skin, causing a small trail of blood to flow.

 
Koichi took a step forward, alarmed when Tsuyoshi grimaced from the pain. Kitagawa shook his head.

 
“Move one more step and bye-bye pretty head,” Kitagawa said, pulling on Tsuyoshi’s hair, exposing more of his neck to the blade.

 
Koichi took a step back. “What do you want from me?”

 
“I want nothing from you. But! I haven’t been able to sleep since you left. This has been calling out for your blood, night after night after night,” Kitagawa said, tracing the scar on his cheek.

 
Koichi’s eyes narrowed. “Then your fight is with me. Let the shopkeeper go.”

 
“Shopkeeper? What happened to ‘aikata’?” a voice came from behind Kitagawa.

 
Sakamoto emerged from behind the feudal lord, flanked by his lackeys. Kitagawa gave the gangster a displeased scowl.

 
“This is not your place to speak, swine.”

 
Sakamoto hurriedly slinked back.

 
Kitagawa turned his focus back on Koichi. “Where were we? Oh yes,” a smile formed on his face, “Release your aikata? How absurd. You wouldn’t want to die with no one beside you, would you?”

 
Koichi tightened his grip on his katana. He flicked an inch of the blade from its sheath.

 
Kitagawa shoved Tsuyoshi to Nagase. “Keep your blade on him. Kill him if he so much as moves.” Then he turned his full attention back to Koichi.

 
Nagase held Tsuyoshi by the back of his neck, a katana held in position at his throat.

 
“Stay still. Trust Koichi,” Tsuyoshi heard the whispered words. He gave Nagase a confused look, and was returned with a wink.

 
******************

 
Kitagawa took his stance, aiming his katana at Koichi.

 
Koichi fully unsheathed his katana, facing his former master head on.

 
Both men stood in their stances for the longest time, neither making the first move. Both playing out the fight in their minds. Both completely focused on every twitch of the other’s muscles.

 
Tsuyoshi sucked in a deep breath, suddenly remembering to breath. The tension was so thick it stifled him. He had never seen Koichi so focused. For the first time, he got a glimpse of Domoto Koichi, feared samurai of Lord Kitagawa’s court.

 
Tsuyoshi shuddered. He did not know this man. This was not the man he took into his home over a month ago. This was not the man he had grown fond of.

 
Tsuyoshi felt nothing but fear when faced with the stoic face of the samurai. Gone was the fondness of watching Koichi play with Kenshiro, a gentle smile on his face. Gone was the warm feeling he got when Koichi made nonsensical happy noises when he ate.

 
Neither Koichi nor Kitagawa flinched when the first drops of rain fell. Soon, the drizzle became a downpour.

 
Both men struggled to keep their eyes open in the deluge. Koichi forcefully stopped his body from shivering to generate heat in the cold rain.

 
Suddenly, Kitagawa sneezed, his eyes closing for a split second. It was then that Koichi made his move.

 
As quick as lighting, Koichi exploded into action, rushing the feudal lord, blade poised to strike.

 
Kitagawa managed to dodge a fatal blow at the last second, but he still got a deep cut on his arm.

 
Kitagawa gave a grunt of pain, giving his wounded arm a cursory glance before focusing back on Koichi.

 
“Nagase, cut off his left ear,” Kitagawa commanded, his voice light and humorous.

 
Tsuyoshi’s eyes flew open as he felt Nagase tighten his grip on his neck.

 
Koichi panicked for a moment, turning his attention to Tsuyoshi and Nagase. In that moment, a loud bang sounded.

 
Tsuyoshi reached his hand out to Koichi. “Koichi-san!”

 
The samurai fell onto one knee, supporting his weight with his blade. Blood flowed freely from the gunshot wound on the left side of his belly.

 
Koichi’s face was scrunched up in pain, but his eyes never left Tsuyoshi’s. It’ll be alright, he mouthed the words.

 
Tsuyoshi nodded, relaxing back in Nagase’s hold.

 
“I told you to trust him. My lord was just using you to distract Ko-chan,” Nagase hissed, giving Tsuyoshi a warning shake.

 
Kitagawa grinned, licking his lips. “You’re losing your touch, Koichi.”

 
Koichi stumbled back onto his feet, calling on years of training to push the pain from his mind. He took his stance again, facing Kitagawa.

 
Koichi knew he wouldn’t be able to hold his focus and mental strength for long, as blood kept flowing steadily from his wound, accelerated by the flow of rain water over his body.

 
Focusing all his energy into the next attack, he waited for an opening. Kitagawa’s weight shifted slightly.

 
As Koichi coiled to attack, a sudden flash of steel caught his attention. The whiz of a knife was heard and the silver glint was headed straight for Tsuyoshi from Kitagawa’s direction.

 
Koichi’s eyes widened in horror. At the last second, Tsuyoshi’s reflexes kicked in, and he ducked. The throwing knife flew over his head, catching Sakamoto’s shoulder. The gangster howled in pain.

 
Realizing that it was another trick, Koichi turned back to come face-to-face with the barrel of Kitagawa’s gun.

 
As he prepared to breathe his last, the gun was forcefully hit away. Both Koichi and Kitagawa’s attention fell to the gun, a few feet away with a shuriken stuck to its side.

 
Kitagawa turned to the opposite direction. There, he saw a rustle in the trees, but he could not see the culprit.

 
As he turned his attention back to Koichi, he saw the samurai poised for attack.

 
All sounds were drowned out. Koichi only heard the steady beating of his heartbeat. His breath came out evenly, and he entered a state of total focus. Nothing else was in his vision, only the form of Kitagawa.

 
It was all over in a blink of an eye. Koichi sprang from his position, rushing Kitagawa. With one swipe of his blade, he stilled, his back facing Kitagawa’s.

 
Everyone there held a collective breath, until Kitagawa fell to the ground, lifeless. Koichi followed soon after, still bleeding heavily.

 
“Koichi-san!” Tsuyoshi cried, rushing to the samurai’s side. He shook the samurai a few times, worry etched into his features. “Koichi-san!!”

 
Koichi groaned, batting Tsuyoshi’s hands away. “Ow ow ow…That hurts! Stop trying to kill me,” he complained, arm flailing aimlessly in Tsuyoshi’s direction.

 
“Baka!” Tsuyoshi said, swatting Koichi on the head. “You should have been paying attention to the fight!”

 
Koichi sighed. “Yeah? And who’s fault was it to become a hostage?”

 
“I didn’t ask to be a hostage!” Tsuyoshi pouted.

 
“Ugh, enough arguing. Help me up. I don’t want to die in the street.”

 
“You’re not dying!” Tsuyoshi slipped an arm under Koichi, helping the samurai up.

 
They made their way back into the ramen shop, dripping wet.

 
“Hey, Ko-chan~” a voice sing-songed behind them.

 
Koichi turned to see Nagase, Mabo and Yamaguchi standing in the doorway.

 
“What do you want?” Koichi scowled, cursing the fact that he left his katana outside.

 
Nagase shrugged, exchanging grins with the other two. “Well, now that you’ve killed off our livelihood…” he began, strolling over to rest an arm on Koichi’s shoulder.

 
Koichi rolled his eyes at his best friend. Then, he turned to Tsuyoshi. “It’s going to get a lot rowdier here.”

 
******************

 
“Boss!! More freeloaders?!” Tom could be heard yelling in the other room.

 
Nagase raised an eyebrow, while Mabo and Yamaguchi stopped eating. Takki and Tsubasa sipped their tea, waiting for Koichi’s response.

 
Koichi shrugged. “He’ll get used to it,” he said, before stuffing another piece of ginger pork into his mouth.

 
“Koichi-san! Shopping time!” Tsuyoshi’s voice carried into the room.

 
“Hai!” Koichi replied, stuffing the last mouthful of rice before hurrying out.

 
“He’s…,” Mabo started, staring at the door which Koichi slipped out of.

 
“Happier?” Takki suggested. Mabo shook his head.

 
“Gentler?” Tsubasa said, and received another shake of the head.

 
“…domesticated,” Nagase and Yamaguchi said in unison, shaking their heads.

 
The three older men sighed, turning back to their food, leaving their kouhais with confused looks.

 
“Koichi-san, hurry up!”

 
“I’m coming! I’m coming! Wait up for me!” Koichi called as he followed Tsuyoshi out into the sunshine.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~owari ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*