126

 

126.  Aquarian Ataraxia

 

A woman's soft giggles sounded out from the darkened paper screens of the deepest chamber in Shinsengumi Commander Kondo Isami's private residence. Hijikata Toshizo was the only other man allowed inside, and he tried to make his visits as infrequent as possible.

 

His walk down the darkened, silk-carpeted corridor had taken him past the tanned, lounging bodies of 'companion woman' whom Kondo had enlisted. Their bodies writhed faintly in the darkness, like invisible serpents flicking their tongues out at the hint of any new prey.

 

Their suntanned skin told Hijikata that they were low-paid prostitutes who used to be peasants or farm workers. After being either captured, sold, or voluntarily registered into a prostitution house, they were able to live a relatively secure life as long as they continued to sell themselves. The Vice-Commander hated the sight of their browned thighs and their seductive gazes. To him they were nothing but an embodiment of the low class, a reminder of the desperation for money and the life he had long since left behind.

 

Hijikata Toshizo had never fallen prey to a working woman's charm. For as long as he could remember, he dreamed of a woman who stood tall with unshakable pride, commanded power, and begged for nothing. Ever since a formative experience when he was still a boy, she had always been inside his mind: ivory white skin, sharp, educated eyes, and long, clean hair that swirled downwards. She symbolized class and knowledge, and that was what truly aroused the Yamatoan. Even now, what he lusted for more than anything was a woman who was capable of downing entire nations.

 

In every rural Yamatoan town there existed 'darkness festivals,' which happened in the dead of night, with only dim lanterns to light the way. They were festivals to pray for fertility and abundance, and also a way for the old and young to let loose without fear of shame. Like every other Yamatoan man, Hijikata had been introduced to these public orgies in his youth, and he had embraced many women. But he had never had slept with a woman he genuinely loved, and that frustration made his heart smolder.

 

Hijikata would never be able to create a harem of women like Kondo had, and that was yet another reason why he felt his childhood friend made the better leader. The number of women who went in and out of Kondo's residence did not only appease the man's extravagant appetite, they also informed other men about the warrior's virility and masculinity. It was just another method of social intimidation required of the leader of the strongest band of men in Yamato.

 

Recent political developments had kept Hijikata extremely busy, and it had been months since he had lain with a woman. In times of weakness, he sought the only solace he could find – dreaming of his tall, ivory queen.

 

Hijikata knelt outside Kondo's sleeping chambers. "Commander, it is I."

 

Clothing and blankets ruffled. Kondo's deep voice called out the nickname only he used: "Toshi?"

 

Hijikata's irritation heightened. "How many times must I tell you, Commander? You are to refer to me as Vice-Commander."

 

Kondo snorted. "Alright, Vice-Commander. What business do you bring to me at such a late hour?"

 

"I come to announce to you that I will be taking the Spy Division into Kyo for an inspection."

 

"Understood." Kondo never questioned anything the man said. "Anything I should take care of back here?"

 

"Oh, I should return by noon at the latest." Hijikata turned to leave. "Just don't let your guard down while I'm gone."

 

"You got it!" Kondo replied casually. He was no genius at strategy, but Kondo had down-to-earth charm that made him well-liked, and that much more easy to use.

 

As Hijikata moved out of the dim wooden hallway, he felt something tug at the end of his robes. Shooting his right hand to the hilt of his sword, he spun around and set eyes on the offender.

 

A tipsy prostitute reached up to him. "Don't leave so soon, master," she whispered up seductively.

 

But as she took a good look at his face, the woman realized just who she was talking to – and no quantity of alcohol could mask the ferocious eyes of the most feared man in all of Neo-Edo. The woman pulled back her hand from the Vice-Commander's robes as if she had touched a hot iron.

 

He glared at her for another moment before uttering a single line: "Don't you ever place your filthy hands on me again."

 

Frustration at his own uncontrollable disappointment bubbled up within the man, and he frantically bit his nails as he stepped

 

*************

 

through the water, using her aquatic tentacles to relocate the injured Sakakibara Ban, Muro Kyokuran, and Caleb Harper to safety.

 

Despite Rose's bone-crushing wave, Harada's body still burned with psynergy. She watched him closely as he picked himself up, rippling with power in the center of his stage, then she spoke to him.

 

"Some people in this land practice water worship. Did you know this?"

 

With white, entranced eyes, Harada replied by sending streams of bone spikes straight at the woman. Jets of blue psynergy exploded from her palms, splintering each one.

 

"I'll take that as a no," Rose raised an eyebrow. "But for your knowledge – in your world, the god of water supply is known as Kibune, and the symbol is a horse."

 

As Rose spoke, Caleb crawled over to the two girls and inspected their wounds.

 

"There are six observances of worship for water." Rose's black-mesh garb shone with liquid. "First: Water is deep."

 

Blue psynergy flared from within the woman, flooding the chamber.

 

"Second: Water is pure."

 

Ceiling tiles in the back part of the room gave way and a massive waterfall exploded down, shielding the wounded and further adding to the flood.

 

"Third: Water is beautiful."

 

As the water in the room heightened, Rose dissipated herself and joined it. Soon, Harada was locked in place by multiple Aqua Leashes.

 

"Fourth," Rose's psynergetic voice echoed through the room. "Water is strong."

 

Blasts of foaming white water cannoned up to the surface and splintered Harada's bones.

 

"Fifth: Water is sacred."

 

A whirlpool formed in the center, pulling in the wheezing Shinsengumi.

 

"Sixth: Water is godly."

 

Just as she finished, seven colossal geysers of aquatic cyclones rocketed up, shattering both ceiling and earth. Instead of crashing back down, the pillars of water continued upwards, piercing

 

*************

 

the surface above the Boneyard. Neither Kamo, Hanayo, nor Yayoi noticed these new tremors, for they were all desperately focused on Suzuki and his monstrous fungus network. It was not until the geysers exploded from beneath their feet that they realized something was amiss.

 

Debilitated by fatigue and the wounds all over his body, Kamo let the water carry him upwards. Instead of tossing him into the air, however, he felt it embrace him – tightly, just like the leashes that had bound him so many moons ago in Enmetropolis.

 

As the water softly carried down Kamo and his two allies, it also ripped up Suzuki Mikisaburo's roots from the ground. Left with no solid foundation, the Shinsengumi's stem began to teeter and collapse.

 

A bellow echoed

 

*************

 

down from the surface as rubble, water, and humans fell down into the subterranean lake Rose had created, pummeling Harada Sanosuke. Hanayo and Yayoi slid down with the protection of Rose's tentacles, followed by the bloodied, exhausted body of Kamo, heaving and coughing through the musty air. Across from them, on top of the mountain of soil, fell the severed body of Suzuki Mikisaburo.

 

"What the?" Yayoi waded through the water. "Is that Kyokuran? And Ban!"

 

Caleb raised his body up onto a piece of stone. "Captain Kamo!"

Kamo hacked up blood, struggling to prop his drained body up on a rock so as not to sink. His eyes were barely open, and his body heaved, struggling to breathe. "Hanayo, Yayoi...and Caleb." He smiled. "You're all okay."

 

"Rose saved us," Caleb said, as he rushed over to his mentor. "Oh my God, what happened to you?!"

 

Kamo chuckled, squinting as he stared at the woman. "Rosie...so that really is her. Good, I thought I was seeing things for a moment."

 

Rose's countenance faltered as she looked upon her former enemy, studying his bloodied body with concerned eyes. "I felt his aura flickering...I tried to be as gentle as possible..."

 

"He's covered in wounds..." Caleb murmured shakily, as he ran his hands gently over his Kamo's body. "How did this happen?!"

 

"Awful nice of you to come lend us a hand here, Rosie..." Kamo wheezed, paying no mind to his condition. "Caleb, don't tell me you let her steal your thunder..."

 

"We need to get him out of here right now!" Caleb shouted, visibly growing more and more panicked as he realized the seriousness of Kamo's situation. "I'll freeze his wounds. In the meantime, Rose, can you transport us up to the surface?"

 

"Don't," Kamo said quickly, and reached out a weak hand to lightly grasp Caleb's wrist. "You can't waste your psynergy...they're not dead yet..."

 

"What?!" Caleb screamed. "But after all this...how..."

 

"They aren't fighting alone," Kamo coughed. "Something else is powering them...something inhuman. And judging from the way the blond asshole's power works, this water is going to be nothing but a pick-me-up for him..."

 

Listening to his mentor, Caleb scanned the water. Sure enough, he saw roots edging their way around the room from Suzuki's floating, motionless body. Harada floated face-up next to him, motionless, yet firmly supported by more of Suzuki's roots.

 

"The dirt's probably already absorbed a ton of water. It's packed with nutrients..." Kamo struggled to continue through wheezes and coughs. "Son of a bitch has all needs to heal himself right there in front of him..."

 

Hearing this, Rose wasted no time in shooting a powerful globule of water straight at the man's head. With a clench of her fist, she surrounded the man's head with it in an attempt to drown him. In the next moment, her eyes widened in horror. The liquid was swallowed and absorbed by the samurai in no time, and only served in boosting the speed at which his body regenerated.

 

"You have to stop him..." Kamo wheezed. "I held on as long as I could. I protected them, just like I said I would. It's your turn now, kid..."

 

"No!!" Caleb screamed. "You can't die yet! We need to go take down the Church together, Kamo! Remember?! You can't die here, not to these idiots!"

 

"I've been living on borrowed time ever since she died..." Kamo let out a long sigh, as if exhaling his soul. "And this cat's used up all nine of his lives. There's no cure for bad luck, kid."

 

"No...!" Caleb screamed, glancing at the ever-expanding roots from Suzuki's softly breathing body. "No, Kamo! I'm not ready!"

 

"No one's ever ready..." Kamo let out a dry, hollow laugh. "But you'll figure it out. Trust me."

 

Caleb held on tight to his mentor's body, struggling to keep whatever ounces of blood from spilling out of the numerous wounds. Panicked, he scanned the room only to see Hanayo wading right over to their enemies.

 

"Don't worry, Kamo," she said, tears streaming from her eyes. "I'll finish this battle. He'll never take another life..."

 

As if on cue, another white pike of bone burst out from Harada's body. It didn't seem to matter whether or not the Shinsengumi were aware of what was going on – their psynergy was on overdrive, fighting blindly on nothing but unconscious instincts.

 

The vice of fear on Caleb's heart clinched tighter as he watched a white pike of bone shot through Hanayo's upper arm, staggering her in the water. With a growl, she fastened her hand around the bone and snapped it in two, forcing her battered body forward.

 

Left without a choice, Rose allowed water to flow back out in an attempt to drown the tenacious greaser, who had somehow survived after being smothered under all the rubble.

 

"No!" Hanayo screamed. "Don't push them down! I want my revenge!"

 

"Rose!" Caleb heaved. "Gimme more water! I can stop them!"

 

Kamo's eyelids slipped down, and he squeezed his pupil's hand again, although it only felt like a slight shiver of his fingers.

 

"That's it..." Kamo whispered. "You know what to do."

 

"Don't you die on me..." Caleb murmured, as he sent out the last remnants of his psynergy into the atmosphere. "Please, Kamo...don't leave me here alone..."

 

As Rose filled the room with more water, the atmosphere grew colder, and gradually, the surrounding air began to glitter and sparkle. By that point, Suzuki's rhizomorphs had absorbed a substantial amount of nutrients from the water, and his gun-arm had been restored. With a snap, it took aim at the most powerful aura in the room and fired a Ballistospore.

 

As soon as Rose saw the ball of fungus fly toward her torso, she reverted her body into pure water. The spore flew into a wall, and Rose emerged from the surface once again.

 

It was then that the glitters and sparkles in the atmosphere manifested into diamonds, stabbing into Suzuki's body as their mass increased and they intruded on his space. In a chain reaction, the water vapor surrounding him became frozen and crystallized. Ice spread along the Shinsengumi's body and down to the rhizomorphs, freezing and cutting them off.

 

Yayoi stared at the phenomenon in awe. "This is..."

 

"Diamond Dust," Caleb cut in.

 

Within seconds, Suzuki and Harada were swallowed up by layers and layers of sparkling ice. Caleb's psynergy intermingled with Rose's, producing more crystals and freezing both the air and the muddy mound into a multi-peaked ice sculpture.

 

"We did it," Caleb forced the words out through tears, squeezing his mentor's motionless hand as he used his agony to power the ice. "We did it, Captain...we did it..."

 

But Kamo lay still in Caleb's hands, frozen and motionless.

 

"He was strong," Rose's voice echoed out from the water. "The first one to ever convince me that leaving someone alive would be better than killing them."

 

Suddenly, Hanayo climbed up to the side of the ice that encased Suzuki and raised her blade, bleeding and panting. "He must...die... We need to avenge Tomoyo...Kamo...everyone..." Hanayo hoisted her body up and raised her psynergy blade high. "Go to Hell!"

 

Without any hesitation, Hanayo stabbed her blade deep through Suzuki's head. She pulled it out and flicked the blood to the ground, then turned to do the same to the equally frozen Harada.

 

"Yose!" A voice suddenly called from the hole in the surface.

 

"Now what?!" Yayoi looked up in horror, then began to mobilize more insects.

 

"Wait!" Rose raised a hand. "They're on our side!"

 

Peering down at the carnage were three figures in black, wearing silver headbands with three interlocking circles crested on them. The only opening on each outfit was a thin rectangle at their dark eyes.

 

"Like Madame Rose says, we are your allies," the center figure spoke. "We are nin of the Iga clan, and we need the Shinsengumi alive."

Next: The Enthralled