opium haze

2002-02-25T07:47:00.000-08:00

I will kill Mitsuhiro.

I will kill him, and flay him and have him flogged to death.

Even then, I will not be happy.

I will have his body hung by the boughs of a banyan tree and take morbid delight in using it as target practice.

I am insane.

I am delirious.

Dammit... someone spiked my tea again.

Gah!

~ Ayumi

2002-01-28T20:33:00.000-08:00

I am bored. Very very bored. The students are taking a test today and I am supposed to be invigilating them. So, I'm not supposed to be writing this journal now, but... hehe. I snitched one of Ayumi-sempai's kunai! And it's going to end up on someone's test paper if they dare to cheat. Heh. They don't call me the hawk for nothing.They're too afraid of me to cheat anyway. Which is a pity... I was looking forward to some target practice. Fortunately, this isn't my form class or I'd be much harder on them. Then again, Yamada-sensei's students are reputed to be very good, obedient kids. We'll just have to see about that.

... No one's cheated so far, although it's one hour into the test already. Sigh. Looks like their reputation's for real. Bah.

I still can't believe that Akio-kun came to the school yesterday. I haven't seen him for so many months already, although he's living in Kyoto too. He came to the school to pick up his nephew or something. Luckily for me, he had his glasses on, so I didn't have to look for the kid among all the other kids. We didn't have much time to talk, so he said he'd drop by the clinic after he sent the kid home.

It was a good thing that Ayumi-sempai was out, and Saicho-kun was busy with the patients. They would probably ask me some... um... uncomfortable questions about Akio-kun. He's almost a head taller than I am, and I am not a short girl. I had to stand up on tiptoes to ruffle his hair like I used to do when we were young.

"Kitaka-chan, I'm not a kid anymore," he complained.

"Wakatteru! That's why I wanted to do that. Hehe."

"You're weird as always," he said, grinning.

"And you're as blind as always, aren't you?" I snatched the spectacles off his face and held up three fingers. "How many fingers?"

"Uh..." he squinted. "Three?"

"Eh?! You can see now?"

"Iie. I was just guessing. Lucky guess, huh? Can I have my glasses back now?"

I frowned at him, but handed them back. "All right, I'll believe you. So what have you been doing all this time? Teaching kenjutsu?"

"Sometimes... ok, most of the time. A friend of mine owns a dojo. I go there every other day to teach," he said, "What about you? A school teacher and a nurse? Aren't you interested in kenjutsu any more?"

"Well... I still am, but not openly."

"Oh... that 'organisation', huh?"

"Yeah..." I paused. I couldn't tell him about the Kagetai. It was too risky.

"Hey, tell you what, why don't we have a sparring session some day? You could come down to my friend's dojo," he suggested eagerly.

"Don't be silly. What if one of the kids in school see me there?"

"So? What's the problem?" he asked. "You're not the only female fighter around. Or if it makes you feel uncomfortable, we could have a private sparring session, with only my friend as an audience and judge. You could ask your doctor friend along if you want. I'm sure he'll be interested."

I nearly choked on my tea. "Are we talking about Koyuki-sempai here? Um... She's a girl, Akio-kun. The boy, Saicho, is her assistant."

"What? A female doctor? I was talking about the guy in the black haori. The one who owns this clinic."

"The doctor is a female! Her name's Koyuki Ayumi."

He stared at me, astounded. "And all this time I thought he-- excuse me-- she was a boy," he mused, sipping his tea.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. She gets that a lot, but she doesn't like wearing kimono."

~ * ~
Oh good, the test is finishing soon. Finally...

2002-01-24T09:59:00.000-08:00

I'm tired.

It's not my fault.

I spent the whole week running around. From the stupid gaijin lessons with that baka, to doing the three recon mission Saitou-sama has sent me on. Seriously. Of all people he chose, me. I know I ought to feel honoured but... argh. I should think I'm more suited to work behind the scenes. I'm a doctor, a physician. Yes, I can fight. But I'm a liabilty to the group, especially after my precious thirty minutes are up.

It's almost hilarious, this medical condition of mine. I don't know what would happen once my time limit is up. Heck, I can't even recall having found out my time limit. And it's all because of these Ishin bastards...

Kisei-kun might be coming round again. He usually does at the end of the month. I have yet to introduce him to Ki-chan. Sai-chan has met him and I think the two get on fairly well. *yawns* I need to sleep, I'm tired, exhausted and utterly drained. Screw Sakuya for not doing those stupid assignments of his. I have better things to do.

Oyasumi.

I'll write again later.

2002-01-24T03:29:00.000-08:00

ooc: Kitaka: Blame Karei if this post turns out melancholy. Bah.

ic: Haven't been feeling too good lately. I was recovering from a flu and remembered Otouchan's last days. Oh, I forgot. I call him Ishida nowadays. Anyway, those weren't particularly nice memories. I would rather recall the times when we practised kata together, even though... *shudder* Ok, so those memories aren't very good either. Right... let's not go there then.

Did a rather stupid survey yesterday. Sempai's English tutor, Sakuya, 'persuaded' me to do it. He said that Ayumi had already done it. That liar. He had to get her drunk enough to do it. Some of the questions were really weird. What in the world is 'tsupeetsu' anyway? Some sort of gaijin invention? And they asked a couple of questions on 'karu'. I assumed that those were carriages or some form of transport, which was what Sakuya told me. It seems that the gaijins are inventing some sort of horseless carriage that runs on oil or something. The streets are probably going to be smoky in the future.

The gaijin always seem to be inventing strange things that are supposed to make things more convenient in the future. If that's the case, I'm glad I'm not going to be alive in the future, with all those fat, lazy peeps. What's wrong with life now anyway? People manage to live on anyway, so why bother? Not all the new inventions are beneficient. Take guns, for example. And now with the invention of the Gatling gun, more people are going to be killed more quickly. Sore mo ii desu ka?

Iie, yoku nai desu.

2002-01-16T17:51:00.000-08:00

ooc: Yes! It's working again!! Post, Rei-chan!!

2002-01-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

argh... stupid blogger...

2002-01-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

ooc: bwaaa... sorry for not posting for so long. ^^ anyway, hope this new layout is okay. hehehe. i love yoh and anna. *drools at fanart of them* and ayumi will be back to post soon. i promise you that. and karei-san, mail me bout the info okey day? *gryn*

2001-12-31T02:07:00.000-08:00

The new year’s coming soon. I wonder what resolutions I’ll make, but it probably doesn’t matter anyway, since I seldom keep them.

… Now that was a pointless sentence. -_-;; Anyway, a new year means new students! And perhaps a new teacher or two too. That’s fun. Oh, speaking of which, a student of mine visited the clinic today. I almost died of embarrassment. *sigh*

Student: *eyes wide with surprise* Nishikaze-sensei! What are you doing here? Are you sick too?
Me: *shocked* Nakama-kun! Er… no, I’m not sick. I’m, er, helping out here. *quickly changing the subject* What about you? Are you sick?
Student: No, but my grandma is, so my ‘kaasan asked me to bring her here.
Me: Ah, I see. Well, that’s good. I’ve got to go help the doctor. See you tomorrow, all right?
Student: *smiling* Hai!

Actually, it should not embarrassing to be working at a clinic. I don’t know why I felt like getting the heck out of sight of the boy. When I see my students on the street it isn’t the same. How… strange. *shakes head*

Oh no! I just realised that I’ll be twenty next year! *gasp!!* That makes me feel very, very strange for some reason. I keep thinking that I’m still eighteen. Haha. Maybe I should grow up.

~ Spirit Hawk of the Western Wind ~

2001-12-30T05:45:00.000-08:00

Kami-sama save the man who is teaching me the language of the gaijins. He's fortunate enough to be easy on the eyes but he enjoys grating on my nerves.

Yes. Nerves. Can you imagine what he called me? Erisu. After some weird gaijin girl who falls down a hole and talks to creatures and asks questions that never make sense. I knew it! He was mocking me! He was fortunate enough, once again, to be spared from being skewered and flayed, alive. Apparently, knowing my unpredictable temperament, that crazy wolf actually had Kisei to collect my weapons before being allowed into that gaijin's home.

Feh... and I thought Kisei would actually be sympathetic and leave me with a kunai.

I have nothing more to say, this place shall be revamped very soon.

2001-12-30T00:07:00.000-08:00

Ayumi-sempai had behaving strangely the past two days. She left Saicho and I in charge of the clinic while she went off somewhere, muttering about some baka gaijin. When she came back on Friday, she was in a terrible temper and we didn’t dare to ask her where she went. But strangely, when she returned to the clinic the next day, her mood seemed much improved and I overheard her saying something about having five more days without seeing his face.

I didn’t want to inform Saicho-kun in case this had something to do with Kagetai business, but I just had to know what all this was about, so, in the end, I asked her directly. At first, she frowned and glared suspiciously at me, but then she finally revealed that she had been studying English from a gaijin professor.

“I thought Saitou-sama had ordered you to check on me or something,” she said.

“He hasn’t, but I’m sure he’ll appreciate a report from me,” I chuckled, then hastily changed the subject. “So, how are the lessons going?”

Ayumi withdrew her hand from her haori (without kunais!), her eyes still fixed on mine. “Not too bad, so far. However, the blasted language is so difficult to learn, not at all like Japanese. I can’t even pronounce Sakuya’s English name properly. It’s K’risuhorum or something like that.”

“This Sakuya-sensei, what is he like?”

“Like any other gaijin, I suppose, tall and rather fair-skinned, with light-coloured hair and eyes. He isn’t as ugly as some gaijin, though,” she remarked thoughtfully.

My eyes narrowed. “Really…”

“Yes, really,” she said as she glared at me, daring me to contradict her.

“Fine, fine. But I was wondering, why did Saitou-sama ask you to learn from that gaijin when I can teach you? Admittedly, my English isn’t all that good, but it’s better than going to some outsider, right?”

“How am I supposed to know?” she muttered.

And that ended our conversation. Sometimes I wonder about Saitou-sama. He is willing to go to any extent to further his motto of Aku Soku Zan. It’s a simple motto, but can be scary in its simplicity. After all, life isn’t just made up of white and black or right and wrong. There are degrees of rightness and degrees of wrongness. Who are we to judge? If everyone could judge fairly what was right and what was wrong, the world would be a better place. Would it?

I guess all we can do is to trust that Saitou-sama knows what he’s doing and do what he orders us to. We may question his orders sometimes, and argue against doing it, but someone will have to do them anyway, so why waste time arguing?

Heh. Ayumi-sempai would certainly not be happy about this. And Hikaru-san too. After all, Saitou-sama is only human, and humans make mistakes, ne?

Or on the other hand, Saitou-sama? Fallible? No! Hehehe.

Well, let’s just hope that Sempai learns enough of the language before her patience finally snaps. And I do not want to be there when that happens. Maybe it’s a good idea to have her learn from a gaijin rather than from me after all. Ah, I know! I can lend her some of my English childern’s books to read, although they’re mostly gaijin fairytales. And there’s my copy of Alice in Wonderland as well. Perhaps she might enjoy that.

~ Spirit Hawk of the Western Wind ~

2001-12-26T07:44:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? What that... that MAN has just told me? A little replay of the events.

Saitou-sama: You are going to have to learn English
Me: Whatever for? I'm a doctor? I just heal.
Saitou-sama: To communicate better.
Me: -You- don't send me on -much- missions? What about neechan? Yuri-san?
Saitou-sama: They know the language quite well.
Me: Why would I need it?
Saitou-sama: Because there are more and more diplomats from the Western countries coming in and I don't want them to resort to learning sign language because one little ignorant Kage cannot understand their language.
Me (muttering): Then tell them to learn nihongo.

And then he whacked me on the head with his tea cup. Really! That man! Argh! And now I have to go see this -ba~ka- gaijin professor every Friday and Saturday and tolerate learning that DRATTED language just to please THAT man. Hmpf! It's good enough I'm going all this healing for free. No one has ANY ideas how much healing poisonous stabs/wounds/cuts/gashes etc cost. A fortune! And it's not as if the villagers have gold mines beneath their houses.

Oh well.

Kitaka-chan hasn't returned yet. She enjoys teaching those little demons. I just enjoy scaring them with tales of the bakemono who comes crawling out of the well at night. Hehehe... It's nice though... now. I guess Kami-sama decided to let me off his torture list. It's not much, I know. But it's like having a small family of my own. Sai-chan, Ki-chan (although she'd probably fume and throw my sake cups at me if she heard me call her that) and me.

Saa ne... this is making me feel all mellow and slightly weepy. Not good. Sai-chan would start asking me if I've inhaled something wrong again, which would warrant him to scrub the floors again. I'm not really -that- evil... I think. Just that. Oh well. It's close to dinner time anyway and I'm hungry. Plus, I think I've been infected. The flu season coming again. Saa... oh man. And tomorrow is my first lesson with the baka-gaijin. Great, Kami-sama give me strength.

I really -don't- want to kill him yet. I hear gaijin blood stains don't come out as easily.

(she who heals)

2001-12-25T21:04:00.000-08:00

Today was a semi-horrible day. Those horrible, horrible kids at the school. Sigh. The older ones aren’t so bad, but the little ones are terrors. They’re all kawaii, for sure, but so… so… Argh. I don’t want to think about it. I still have to face them tomorrow. Shudder.

They pay me far too little for having to deal with the little demons day after day, but most my fellow sufferers are quite nice and encouraging. Fortunately, there was only one complaint from a parent in the last week. Parents are so blind. They all think their kids are angels and if you say otherwise, you’re dead wrong. Ok, maybe badly-injured-and-about-to-die wrong. Whatever. It’s just like working as a fruit seller on a street. The customer is always right. Always.

Poor Yamada-sensei. Not that I like that fellow. He had the cheek to blame me for the brat’s misbehavior. I wasn’t even in school that day. Just because I’m the only female teacher in the school he thinks he can push me around. Baka. If Purinshiparu-sama (I think that’s what they call the school master in Eigo) hadn’t been there to sort him out, I would have done so the painful way.

… Just had a thought. Didn’t I also have a mean sensei named Yamada when I was a kid? Karma? Great. I’m starting to hate the name Yamada now.

Well, anyway, the day wasn’t all bad. Ayumi-sempai didn’t throw a single kunai at me. Perhaps because I wasn’t in the mood to tease her about Saicho-kun. Speaking of which, he was especially nice to me when I got back to the clinic. Which I found out later was because he needed a favour. Bah. What a baka.

He said he had something on in the evening and asked if I could cook in his place. All I told him was that Sempai wouldn’t be too happy about it, as his cooking’s the best out of the three of us. Wonder what the ‘something on’ is. Whatever it is, it’s important enough for him to risk Sempai’s wrath for. Hmm… I wonder if she knows about it.

I’m not sure if I should ask. She’s also had a tiring day today. Lots of patients with colds and other related illnesses. When I came back, I barely had time for a short break before Saicho-kun asked me to help with the packaging of the herbs and other prescriptions. I think I may be getting a cold myself from associating too much with all the patients. Occupational hazard. Hah. Just as long as Ayumi-sempai doesn’t get it as well, or Saicho and I will be totally swamped.

What will we do without her? Whenever she goes off on a mission, I worry for her, especially if I’m not involved in the assignment. So many people depend on her. Saicho-kun, the other Kage, all the people in the villages nearby, even myself. If it was me… probably some of the Kage, including Ayumi-sempai, and Saicho-kun and maybe a teacher or two in the school. I wonder what I will come back as…

Iyaa… why am I thinking such gloomy thoughts? Shimatta! It’s almost dinner time and I haven’t started cooking yet. Ahhh…!

~ Spirit Hawk of the Western Wind ~

2001-12-11T02:22:00.000-08:00

She has given this site a make-over. She has yet to give THIS site a make-over.

Tsk.

Web onnas...

2001-12-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

I found a letter that my father had addressed to me. It appears he had planned before-hand, perhaps having a glimpse of his fate at the hands of those cursed Ishin. It was an amazingly short letter. Knowing tou-san, I expected something long and extemely detailed.

I do miss him. I do miss mother.

My thoughts are often very simple. I do not ponder deep into life's complexity, I do not have the correct breeding and the correct depth for such an intellectual ability. I have always been content to see things as a child would, accept the world - its harshness and kindness - at face value. Perhaps, to soften the blows of reality that threates the very edges of my sanity. I cannot understand the loathing my sister apparently has for Torigoe, I cannot understand my assistant's infatuation with me as I cannot understand why Battousai has decided to no longer be a hitokiri.

Is this what they call naivety? Saitou-sama hides things from me, as though he knows that the knowledge and information he hides would cause my downfall. What is it that you hide Miburo-sama? Why do you watch me, carefully masking that worrying glint in your eyes with cool composure and stoicism? What are you not telling me? What had happened the day father died? What happened during the months of my recovery? Why won't you tell me?

Perhaps I miscalculate, that I had lost more memories during that brief relapse when reality and fantasy were the same canvas. As Hake-kun had once written to me, that sometimes the worst memories of our lives are suppressed at the back of our mind and often better left forgotten. But what if I don't want to forget it? I want to recall, I want to remember, I want to know.

Perhaps this is the reason why I would embark on the journey to find that doctor who had healed me. Why I want to find my father's grave and hope that perhaps some of the memories would return. Why I desperately need to find out who am I, and figure out if the Ayumi who has barely been alive for the last seven years, is the same Ayumi who saw her father die at the age of fourteen. If the Ayumi who exists now is the real, and not just a bitter reflection of the girl who wanted to live.

2001-12-07T01:26:00.000-08:00

She's furious. He's furious. Isn't life so wonderful? The stage has been set and the players await (if not in a very jittery manner) for the play to go on. I will not be daunted by their threats, what can they exactly do? Tie me to a tree and tickle me senseless?

Threats are futile my dear dear neechan. I thought you knew that by now.

I have to be off and try to cajole Sai-chan into staying at the clinic with Kitaka-san. I have this strange feeling that they're best suited together. Oh dear, Yuriko-sama's matchmaking ways must be rubbing off me. But I do think it's quite fun.

Plus, neechan still owes me for the four, no, five shoji that have fallen victim to her tessen. If you're reading this neechan, that's four hundred and twenty yen that you owe me.

2001-12-04T03:15:00.000-08:00

For the Innocents
It's one thing to feel... and another to see. Senses that humans take advantage every day that they are alive. Emotions are what differentiates us from one another. The lack of it, brings us to the standard of animals.

And thus here comes the story and morals I learnt from a child who was treated at the clinic. A brave young thing on the verge of death who told me, the doctor, not to cry and that he will join his sisters and brothers up there in heaven.

How could I not cry when I too yearned to be back amongst loved ones? Yet seeing him as he was, young and fragile. He wasn't ready yet to leae this earth. There was much more he could see, feel and learn. Why not take my life instead of his? The world deserves more innocents than those that have had blood shed by their very own hands.

Saicho was watching me carefully, shrewd brown eyes that could detect even the slightest shift in temperament. Why does he still choose to remain with me? Nothing made sense. What was I doing here? I didn't make sense.

The boy recovered, much to his personal chagrin; and I spent everytime that I could sitting and talking with him. His thoughts and ideas were refreshing, a far cry from the sordid and morbid resolutions that constantly seemed to revolve in my head. In just a matter of days, a little boy of eight had changed the way a nineteen-year old doctor felt and saw the world.

it's like being reborn again, being given the chance to start afresh, anew. There were new things to try out, new ways to treat patients and to cure diseases. And all of this thanks to a little boy of eight. I understood then why my father chose the career that I am practising now. I understand his moans of anguish late in the night when he couldn't understand a diagnosis.

I can understand that look in his eyes when a patient recovers. Be it from a tame bout of cold or from a life-risking operation.

I understand.

It is the joy to be able to bring another innocent back into a world so tainted and corrupted, the joy of seeing the smile of the faces of his patients, the joy that he too could contribute to society. It is what I am doing now, living on in my father's footsteps and carrying out his dream.

It doesn't matter that there are still those who see me as Soryuu's daughter. For it is the truth isn't? And even I wouldn't want it any other way.

2001-12-02T05:02:00.000-08:00

I just want to sing...
I had never been talented as a child. That was unless you counted extortionism, rebellion and gangsterism a talent. Father had always chided me for being a 'gregariously aggresive child' and told me to be more like the frivolous girls who were often treated at the clinic for having scraped their kneesplaying 'house'.

Oh please.

Mother had mentioned nothing more. Her, with her kind smile and open arms, whispererd words in my ear and tales of fireflies that hovered and flickered in the summer air. Then it was all gone.

When was it the first time that I sang? I couldn't quite remember. It was one of the random songs that mother often hummed to me before I drifted off to sleep. It always left me in a vision of wide open plains and a comforting summer breeze. Calm... peace... serenity. Mother always striked me as being so at one with herself, unlike Father; who was always rushing about the clinic. The forgetful git I used to call him.

It was one of those missions that Saitou-sama had sent me on. Blending in with a crowd of gaijin diplomats, although I wouldn't consider being stuffed in an elaborate kimono and gaining predatory looks from the drunk males in the room as blending in.

And then they asked me to sing.

Naturally, people would assume that I was an entertainer. How else would it explain the rich and elaborately-embroidered kimono? The make-up that Yuriko-sama had ceremoniously applied onto my face? The coy and flirtatious look I was said to have been giving as accounted by a friend.

I haven't sung since Mother died... since the Ishin robbed me of the only surviving family that I had left. One could only imagine the visual representation of my heart twisting viciously within me. Yet, a Kage does as he or she has been instructed. Perhaps he knew this before-hand. Old Shirujo must have told him.

It was the exact same song that Mother had sung, the night before we left for Edo. The story of the lovers who promised to wait for one another by the river's bend. The hero going off to aid his country in war, returning home to find his village in shambles and in ruin. The only memory of his beloved, a small stone placed obscurely on the river's bank. Heart-broken, he killed himself; driving the very sword that had helped win the war, into the broken heart.

It brought tears to the eyes of those who understood, many more were transfixed by the haunting melody of the song. And perhaps then I realized that I could sing again. In memory of Mother, and of Father. Of the only family that I had once before, waiting for me at the end of time.

So allow me to sing will you? And drown you in the melody of memoirs.

2001-12-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

Morning Rituals
There was something to be said about morning rituals. Everyone has them. From the stoned Sagara who tries to drown himself in icy cold water in an effort to wake up, to Himura-sama desperately trying to cover graying hair with Clairol's flaming red hair dye.

That... was done in jest.

Noenetheless, Ayumi-sempai is one of the few people who rarely stuck to morning rituals. That was, until I came into the picture. Who am I? Sad isn't it? Secondary characters always get short air time even if they're needed vitally to make a plot/story more wholesome. The name is Saicho, Aikigawa Saicho. The so-called blundering assistant to Koyuki-sensei, official bishounen with boyishly-charming good looks and eternally smitten with the psychotic and random doctor.

It's not my fault really. She should know better than to get herself in a drinking frenzy the night before. If she actually heeded my advice, she wouldn't be snarling at me right now, like a cornered feline in a cage. Perhaps in some sick sense, one could consider her disposition is exactly like that.

Oh well...

"Sensei... I assure you, this will make the hangover less of a private hell." He pushed the cup closer to the moaning figure in the corner of the sun-filled room.

"Oh god... get away... get all this happy vibes away. Sunshine... cheeriness... what are you on? The happy drug?" She snarled. Saicho sighed again, shaking his head, the shaggy mass of brown hair following his movements. The doctor scowled, her nose wrinkling at the putrid and vile-looking concoction that had been placed in front of her. A finger, the bandaged one, reached out to push the cup away.

"It's hot." She said in a bland tone. The slightly-younger apprentice rolled his eyes.

"Of course it is. You don't drink coffee when it's cold. The same as you don't drink tea when it' cold either."

"Cold tea tastes good." She whimpered. Using the strength she'd not known, he dragged her until the welcoming sunlight and forced the tea, or coffee, cup to her lips. She refused, an amazing feat; considering the fact she was sprawled in an unlady-like manner in his arms and her arms were pinned to her sides and were of no valuable use in the uprisal.

"Drink. Or no mochi." Strange how the fast the roles were reversed. He had the upper hand, and the leverage. Usually by this time he'd be nose-bleeding at the direct and extremely close contact with her. 'Bugger... it was all a farce.' She relented, reluctantly, and allowed the hot black liquid to course down her throat and into her stomach - warring with the alcohol that had been ingested the night before.

"Urgh. I'm going to be sick." He released her and she scrambled out of his lap. Definite role-reversal. She was blushing. Oh god...

"Just note sempai, if you keep drinking yourself into a stupor every night, this is how you'll be waking up to." Stupid bastard, he was so calm and smooth, cleaning away the cup and the slight spill she'd made when struggling. Ayumi growled, wrapping the blanket tighter about her amazingly small frame, shrewd azure eyes narrowed to near slits. He got up in a graceful and fluent motion that made her speculate that he'd be perfect as a ninja.

Then she shrugged her head. Alcohol...

Outside in the hallway, Saicho paused; trying to calm down the erratic beat of his heart. So close... he was sure he'd have fainted by then. His hands ached and trembled at the immense control he'd exerted. With a slight burst in speed, he headed in the direction of the kitchen; where the cup clattered into the Meiji equivalent of a sink and where his slender and lithe frame collapsed to a small heap against the stove.

2001-11-30T07:36:00.000-08:00

Koyuki Ayumi
Name: (pre-Kagetai) Miyuki Ayumi (post-Kagetai) - Koyuki Ayumi
Birthdate: 25th June 1860
Height: 5"3
Weight: 100lbs.

Appearance:
A slender individual who borders on being skinny to the point of scrawny. Often mistaken to be a male due to her shortly cropped glossy black hair and the baggy white gi and black hakama that hides one's usual feminine attributes. Tucked within the many layers are at least 150 kunais, some laced with poison whilst others are just... normal. The twin katanas are secured into her obi, used only when necessary. Her eyes are azure, sometimes narrowed in intense scrutiny over an object, or just having that glazed-over look; specially when she's met with a potion experiment. A distinguishing mark upon her would be the tightly bandaged left arm (from elbow to fingertips). Never unravelled, many have speculated as to what lies beneath the white linen. To complete the ensemble, Ayumi wears a black haori with the kanji for 'Angel' emblazoned onto the back.

Background:
A rebellious child since young, Ayumi Miyuki, or Yuki-chan as often her father called her, was the cause for her his hair to turn white. An honest yet renowned doctor, Soryuu Miyuki tried instilling the basics for medical practices into his almost wayward daughter. His wife, Yui Rakenouji, had passed away when Ayumi was 8, a victim of the vicious cholera epidemic. He whisked his daughter away to Edo, a death wish from his wife. She didn't want her precious daughter to suffer the same fate as she. At age 10, Ayumi was enrolled into the local dojo. The owner, Menuro Kagehoushi, found her to be a talented student with great potential. If only she didn't use her abilities to bully others. Trained in the arts of Hikarameki Takatsu and in throwing the Kunai, Ayumi was the youngest to graduate at 11. As a gift, Menuro presented the girl with a pair of twin katanas. On either sheath were the kanji for good and evil engraved into the thin wood.

Possessing both knowledge in the medicinal field as well as having been taught the advanced techniques for both Hikarameki Takatsu and Kunai, Ayumi was ready to face the world. Surprisingly enough, she remained in Edo to help her father with the increasing number of injured patrons prior to the Tokugawa war. Perhaps it was the fact she put her faith in the Ishin Shishi in taking care and protecting Japan or simply because she realized that her father was aging and would desperately need help in taking care of his patients. After all, it would only be so much to realize that the daughter he treasured and cherished most died in the ravaging war. It was a bizarre and a heart-wrenching event, which caused her to loose her beloved father, but in return, found home in the arms of an elite group of swordmasters.

About to celebrate her father's 45th birthday on a frosty November morning, Ayumi was on her way to the clinic clutching grocery bags laden with food in either hand. As she walked up the dusty path, several people, mostly injured, ran past her. Their faces were that of sheer horror and terror. It appeared they were running away from the clinic. Fearing her father's safety, she tossed the bags aside, much to the delight of starving homeless people on the streets, and dashed in the direction of the clinic. What greeted her at the doorway had left her unprepared for events that were to follow.

Grinning, mocking, snarling and belching in the doorway to the clinic, were the people she had put faith in to honour and guard Japan. The now cursed Ishin Shishi. They were using their katanas and jabbing it into an object that hung suspended on the far end of one wall. Her father, being the object of their thrusts. In that instant, the more savage and harsh side of Ayumi revealed herself. Her alter ego had taken this opportunity to revel in the satisfaction of mutilating the Ishin soldiers.

A group of passing Shinsengumi led by the famous and heroic first and third division captains happened to pass by. Okita Souji, one of Soryuu's patients (kept unknown from his own daughter) accompanied by his colleague Saitou Hajime, did not expect the sight that lay before them as they arrived at the clinic.

Now drenched in blood, clutching the lifeless body of what seemed to be the remnants of the well-known sensei, Ayumi silently cried for the honourless death her father went through. Sensing another presence within the clinic, Ayumi immediately jumps into a Gufuu Senkou stance, able only to use her right arm. But as Okita and Saitou advanced nearer towards the battle-enraged girl, she suddenly drops her katana and sank to the ground; her body racked with deep gashes, cuts and bruises from the group of 15 men she single-handedly butchered.

While not actually witnessing the carnage itself, Saitou Hajime noted that the girl had potential and skill, even in the most sadistic sense. Within 2 weeks after her recovery, Miyuki Ayumi, now known as Koyuki Ayumi, received a letter from a man named Hajime Saitou. An invitation to join his own elite group of skilful swordsmen and women. While Ayumi did accept, she vanishes for 3 months before returning to the Kagetai and carrying out her duties as part of the group; a skilled assassin and an inquisitive doctor.

Techniques:
Hurricane Phoenix:
Able to execute only when she is airborne. A series of very quick jabs and thrusts which are done within milliseconds of each other and thus creating a vacuum. The opponent will unknowingly be pulled into the vacuum and receive the second wave of blows that come after the first.

Lightning Phoenix:
Two cuts, both delivered perpendicularly to each other.

Heavenly Phoenix:
A varied version of battoujitsu which requires her to wear her katana on her right and draw the sword with her left hand. Requires very good hand coordination and if executed correctly, will deliver a devastating blow which will hew the opponent into half.

Weakness:
While the battle against the Ishin Shishi seemed one-sided, Ayumi received more injuries and wounds she could hope for. Located from her solar plexus to the base of her spine, lies a long cut which in later years, forbids Ayumi to engage in long battles.

Personality:
Three words - psychotic, hilarious, endearing.

Likes:
Singing, muttering incohereable words under her breath, grinning madly (or insanely as the case most often would be) and spending time watching the sun set.

Dislikes:
"That *censored* gaijin chess.", cigarette smoke and the black gaijin poison which her apprentice still forces her to take every morning.

Rivals:
Of there's one, but not privy to the public as of yet.

Current sketch:
A few weeks shy of joining the Kagetai, Ayumi opens up a medical outpost on the outskirts of Kyoto. She meets her assistant, Aikigawa Saicho, at around the same time. Thus from then on, she and her assistant resides at the clinic, occasionally traveling to Kurohane's residence to catch up on old times or to have Takeda-sama berate Ayumi on her lack of female sense.