Each tiny drop sparkled shortly during its fall, before it reached the half-frozen ground with a soft splashing sound, creating an atmosphere of rain despite the morning sky up above Leadville was crystal blue. The warm beams melting the hoarfrost covering the needles of trees all around were the cause of that beautiful natural shower.
The sun, which bobbed up on the sky an hour ago and soothed the still sleeping city with its early spring power, had already also touched the spacious balcony of Slabtown´s Tavern. The wooden platform with high railing was facing the woods behind the back yard of the building, so it was hidden from of any curious looks from the street.
A pretty woman entered the balcony, carrying a plate with two tall glasses of water, and two mugs for coffee, which was hidden in the huge kettle made of strong ceramics. She placed everything on the small table and walked away, leaving two young black-haired men, who were very similar to each other, alone again.
The Akanishi brothers kept their silence for a little while longer, before the younger of them reached out for the kettle and poured the steaming liquid into both mugs.
"Thanks," Jin nodded gratefully, taking one cup from the table to warm his cold and numb hands. The coffee was hot, strong and very good.
Everybody else was sleeping in the room downstairs, just under the balcony where the two brothers settled themselves, after even Ryo lost his fight against tiredness and started snoring lightly in his chair, with his head laying on the table. The bar was closed, as the owner of the tavern hadn´t get up yet either, so it was Leo´s girlfriend, as Jin had assumed about the woman to be the one, who prepared some early kick off for them, not commenting on their decision to sit outside, wrapped in their coats.
The drams and beer they had drunk during the welcome party had already lost almost all their effect in the freezing morning and the coffee helped to clear their minds as well. It was a long and funny night. Jin was introduced to all present companions of his brother; they drank a lot and laughed even more, but in an unspoken agreement, they all carefully avoided any serious subject for discussion.
The brothers were now alone, but neither Jin nor Leo knew how to start, so they were sitting in silence, observing the awakening nature.
"It´s been a long time…" it was the younger one, who spoke first in the end, keeping his voice as neutral as it was possible.
"Yeah, more than two years," Jin agreed, feeling a hint of sadness. Somehow, he really regretted losing those years in the life of his sibling. For him, it was still the same Leo, that man sitting next to him, but he had changed more than Jin would have expected. The younger one was no longer that stubborn boy, whom he knew before…
"So… You came to scold me just like the last time?" Leo asked half-joking, half-serious.
"No," Jin frowned. "I came because I was worried."
"You saw the poster then?" the younger brother asked, staring at the surface of his coffee.
"It´s kind of impossible to overlook them," the older Akanishi reacted. "They´re in each city, little Brother, attracting quite an attention with that ridiculously high reward."
"You´re also eager for my head now?" Leo asked with a strange smirk.
Jin´s coffee lost its taste after he heard that remark.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" he snapped. "You´re my family in case you forgot!"
Leo´s grin changed into a fleeting smile: "Just kidding, Brother…"
"It´s not funny!" Jin was still pissed. "They put a price on your life in the value of three-thousand dollars; and I´m supposed to be amused by that?!"
"Sorry…" Leo pushed the empty mug away and seemed to be a little down.
Jin observed his face closely for a long while. His little brother was older, and all grown up, that was true, but at that moment, he could see the boy from four years ago – lost and a little scared.
"Even if I disagree with what you do, I would never betray you, Leo," he stated in a serious tone, waiting for Leo to raise his eyes to him. "No matter what."
"Glad to hear that," the younger one reacted quietly.
"What did you expect, damn it?" Jin murmured, honestly surprised with his brother´s humble reaction.
"I don´t know…" Leo said slowly. "Why did you come, Jin?"
"I´ve told you I…" Jin stopped talking under the stare of his sibling. He sighed and poured more coffee from the kettle for them both. "I want to help you, little one," he replied in the end.
A hint of pure joy ran across Leo´s face: "You´re serious?" he asked tensely.
"Of course!" Jin confirmed almost offended. "In any way I can!"
"You´ll stay then?" Leo leant closer, shifting in his armchair excited.
That caught Jin unprepared. Leo was suddenly so eager, his face all brightened up and he just couldn´t let down that expectation he saw in his eyes. He didn´t know what were Leo´s current circumstances yet, the men around him were unpredictable strangers, and there were still too many unanswered questions, but who cared, when there was his younger brother, who needed him.
"You can bet I stay here," Jin nodded smirking. "Somebody must watch over you."
"I don´t need a baby sitter," Leo pouted just like he used to do when he was younger.
"I can imagine you don´t… What about a caring older brother then?"
"Sounds good," Leo repaid his grin.
"I would have smacked you if you said anything else," Jin huffed. "But first, you must tell me what was going on with you these past two years and…"
"I know," the younger one interrupted him, also serious again. "You have some questions, right?"
"That´s quite an understatement," Jin reacted.
"I´m more than willing to answer them, but… It´s not only up to me, Jin. I must talk with others first."
Jin was not very happy to hear that; it was obvious that the other Riders would not trust him so easily. But it seemed there was no other way.
"Can you be a bit more patient?" Leo asked.
"I´ll try…" Jin murmured. "You know I´m not good at it."
"I do," Leo nodded amused and reached for his coffee.
Jin did the same and they both sipped on the warm liquid again. The tension between them eased up a lot and both brothers felt much more relaxed. The air started warming up as well, and the sun continued higher on its way.
"Did you hear about Karnaka?" there was a sudden question from the younger one, in a quiet and somewhat dark voice. "That he died during the fire on his farm some months ago?"
"Well," Jin leant into his armchair more comfortably. "I heard," he confirmed calmly.
"Aren´t you pissed?" Leo asked confused, when he noticed Jin´s satisfied expression.
"Why would I be?" the older brother raised his eyebrows.
"That he died before…" the younger one didn´t finish the sentence, but Jin did it instead.
"Before I carried out my revenge for our parents and Pi? But I did, little Bro…"
"So that fire was your work?" the younger one asked with his eyes widened.
"Yeah," Jin nodded. "Mine and… of a few friends."
"Friends… Wait, you mentioned Yamapi right now. Did he help you with this?"
A painful pinch in his chest pretended Jin from replying right away. It was such a long time and he still missed his dear friend.
"No… He´s dead," he somehow managed to force himself to say that bad news aloud.
"Damn… I´m sorry, Jin…" Leo shook his head regretfully. "What happened?"
"That would take a while… Maybe later, all right?"
"No problem," the younger brother didn´t intend to press Jin on the topic. "Did Karnaka suffer at least?" he asked after a short silence, more quietly.
"Yes. We… we let him burn to death," Jin admitted slowly.
"Well, I hope he still burns in Hell," there was a hateful reaction from the younger one.
"I´m quite sure about that," Jin assured him.
"How did you do it?" Leo wondered. "I had heard that the farm was more like a fortress, it was supposed to be impossible to get inside."
"As I said, I had help," Jin answered the curious question shortly, suddenly remembering the smell of burning furniture, the noises of cracking flames and the slim shaking body clinging to his own right after they managed to escape the hungry fire… He gulped the rest of his coffee down hastily, shaking the vivid memories off.
"I´d love to get to know those friends of yours then," Leo stated quite amazed.
"Maybe you will…" Jin smiled faintly.
"We should definitely drink to your victory," the younger one suggested after a moment.
"I will not argue," the older Akanishi reacted with an amused smile. "But first, we should eat something, don´t you think?"
"Aah, right! Brother, let me invite you to the best breakfast feast in Colorado," Leo stood up, suddenly very lively. "I´m sure that Jane´s already back from shopping and nobody can make better scrammed eggs than her."
"Sometimes, you must tell me just where you found a woman like her," Jin teased the younger one, as he followed him inside. "What does she find so interesting in such a brat?"
"Oh, don´t be jealous, Jinny…" Leo mocked him back. "It doesn´t fit you."
Jin just murmured something while going down the stairs behind his brother. It was strange to hear that nickname, which nobody else but Leo used.
The younger one was right in a way; Jin really was jealous, but from a very different reason than his brother thought… He envied Leo having his loved one by his side…
***
"It is… impressive," Kame commented the view, which was slowly opening in the distance.
"This is nothing; just wait until you walk the streets in the center. One must be careful not to be run over by some of those expensive carriages," the blonde one warned him, as if he knew all about the city, before he stopped his stallion at the small crossroad created by the narrow path, which cut across the main road. "Well… I´d love to spend some free time there with you, handsome, but unfortunately – I can´t," the older one said with an obvious disappointment in his voice.
Kame turned Ukushi to face Koki directly: "Going your way then?"
"Yeah, and it won´t be a short one to travel," the other rider murmured. "Anyway, I´m more than happy I can go my way, so… Thank you for helping me once again, Kame," Koki reached out his hand, which the younger one accepted for a firm grip. "It was a great pleasure to meet you. And I don´t forget my debts, so in case there will be a chance…"
"I will remember you," Kame reacted nodding. "Just be careful not to get caught again."
"No need to worry about that. After this experience, I´ll be super-watchful," the blonde one assured him confidently.
"Let´s hope it will be enough," the younger one stated a little gloomily, remembering more than well what troubles those two men were able to bring.
"You be on alert as well – bigger city means more thieves," Koki winked leaning closer to him, again reminding Kame that he should have shut up about Ukushi being stolen from him in Fort Collins.
"Thank you so much for warning me," he reacted with a sigh, already kind of used to the other one´s teasing.
Koki patted Kame´s shoulder in a friendly way: "You´re absolutely welcome," he said almost laughing.
Then the older one spurred his horse, raised his hand for a final parting wave and trotted off along the path, heading west, to the mountains.
Kame followed the cheerful rider with his eyes for a short while, honestly hoping Koki would be all right; he was a little annoying, but a good guy. Then he turned toward his own destination, from which the first houses could be seen in front of him…
*
Mr. Barto from Fort Collins described it as an incredible city. Koki indicated the same. Neither of them overdid it with their statements. But they couldn´t have prepared Kame for the so-called ´Queen City of the Plains´ in advance.
Being born in the mountainous area of Montana, spending most of his life among the Indians and just shortly residing in a quite usual small city of the Wild West, which Bozeman was, he could have never imagined what Denver would be.
The rails of Denver Pacific Company led Kame to the biggest and most crowded place he had ever visited. The capital of the State of Colorado was rapidly growing just twenty miles away from the foot of the Rocky Mountains, which peaks could be fairly seen on the horizon.
First, he passed around the pastures, which barely awaken from winter, but they were already full of impatient cattle, and the huge fields for corn and wheat; empty but definitely fertile; the small houses of farmers and barracks for mines´ workers. The main road branched out into many smaller streets; the wooden buildings were replaced with the stone ones and even made of bricks. The houses grew bigger after each crossroad Kame passed, until, to his great astonishment, he counted six floors at one of them.
Kame passed around each district in silent amazement, as there were not just houses anymore, there were beautiful mansions, painted in various colors and decorated with incredible garden statues. Only when he noticed the strange sound under Ukushi´s hooves, he saw that the road was paved with the hundreds of little stones to make the ride more comfortable. In his awe, Kame almost failed to avoid the carriage dragged by four stallions, which passed around him with its coachman shouting rudely at his carelessness.
He was already impressed by the neatness of the Fort Collins´ streets. But Denver was not only big and lively; it was rich. Mr. Barto told him that many famous millionaires came to live in the city, building up their mansions there, but to see it with his own eyes was something different.
There were almost more shops than customers, tons of saloons and pubs, the hotels which looked like some palaces out of fairy tales. There was even a half-white half-brown building with more windows than Kame could count, which carried a ´Tabor Opera House´ sign bigger than Ukushi above its entrance.
Kame continued passing through that incredible place so awestruck that it took him quite a while before he noticed that he became a center of the citizens´ attention. But there wasn´t much curiosity in their glances – gentlemen in tail-coats and women in dresses so richly decorated it was a miracle they could bear the weight – stared at the young rider with arrogance and disgust.
He was honestly confused about it, not knowing what he had done wrong; until he realized that in comparison with the Denver citizens, his outfit seemed quite… shabby. After the long trip it was worn out and dirty, but Kame didn´t really think about it until he saw all those anxiously clean people with strange or overly decorated hats on their heads. He entered this different world unprepared for what was a natural part of it and he had to look like a beggar there.
Ignoring the stares the best he could, Kame focused on the road, trying to find anything that might help him locate the Blake Street in this labyrinth. After a while, he had decided it would be better to ask for a correct direction than wander around without a goal. Dismounting Ukushi, he spotted a young girl, which was dressed as a servant, going somewhere with a heavy basket. As one of very few, she didn´t seem in a rush to somewhere, so Kame approached her carefully, leading Ukushi behind him, holding the bridle firmly, as he was afraid the mare might have get startled by something unexpected.
"Excuse me, Miss, may I ask you something?"
The girl looked at the young stranger alarmed, her eyes scanning his clothes and then his animal companion. She smiled a little at the sight of Ukushi, before looking back at Kame more kindly.
"How can I help you, Mister?"
"Could you please tell me, where´s the Blake Street?"
"Oh, it´s a little further. Keep going straight on this street," the girl showed him the correct direction. "You have to cross a small river. There will be a park on your right hand and once you see the red colored saloon, you´re already at the Black Street."
"It´s not far, I assume…"
"Not really, just a few minutes´ walk," the girl confirmed. "I have to go now, so… Have a nice day, Mister."
"You too, Miss. And thank you!"
*
Fortunately, Kame found the right place quite quickly. Maybe it was even faster than he had expected, as his heart started to beat harder at the sight of red walls of the Blake Street Saloon, which dominated the location. Just the idea of that he might meet with Jin again made him foolishly excited. But it was better to keep his expectations down; who knew what might have happened during that time and where Jin was at the very moment. Knowing the older one, Kame seriously doubted that the young gunman would have sat on his ass waiting patiently. He was probably furiously searching for any tracks, which would lead him to his younger brother.
After Kame passed the narrow bridge across the cheerfully running stream, he stopped Ukushi close the big wooden board, where many various announcements and posters were displayed. Naturally, Kame didn´t care much about the news related to the upcoming elections or the recruitment of new workers for the mines. He paid attention only to the wanted posters, which were pinned right on the top, one next to the other, with more or less detailed pictures of the criminals on the run.
As always, there was the already familiar face of Leo Akanishi. The reward hadn´t risen since the first time the posters were issued, even though this one was obviously printed quite recently. Not like in the other towns though, there was an additional announcement informing about the big group of gunmen around Akanishi, whose names and faces were unknown, and a small reward was offered for any information which might have led to their capture.
It was not for the first time when Kame found this quite strange. The leader of Black Riders, basically the most important figure in the gang, was exposed like this, while none of the others, nobody from his subordinates, had his face known to the Marshals, who were after them along with the bounty hunters. Weren´t the others supposed to protect the one who led them?
Moreover, there was mentioned something, what Kame didn´t know about yet. The poster said that the Riders had been recently very active around Denver, especially along the roads to Colorado Springs and Leadville and Glenwood Springs. There was an urgent warning for all travelers and merchants to be prepared and hire some guards or soldiers for protection of their goods.
Kame had to admit that the gang had a quite wide scope in their reach – the described area included the wide part of the mountainous area. Inciting Ukushi to move further on the road toward the saloon, he pondered what Jin might have done with this piece of information…
The Blake Street Saloon building was not originally painted red, but the dark brown color faded in time so now it seemed that way. Kame firmly tied Ukushi´s reins around the railing, checking the surrounding a few times, considering a few obviously decent ladies enjoying some tea on the veranda as a sufficient charge-free guard. He couldn´t have brought his mare inside anyway.
Patting Ukushi across the blowholes gently first, to assure her he would be back, Kame took his bags and headed to the small entrance. The saloon had been obviously standing there for a longer time than those monstrously rich houses and hotels, but it was defending its good position proudly, not seeming to be poor of customers.
Right behind the door, there was a dark-red partition wall, conveniently covering the room from the draft and noises from outside, when the entrance was opened. Only when Kame went around it, the view on the main hall opened in front of him.
The space was huge and divided into two parts. There was a dark and almost empty bar on his right hand; he noticed only one dark figure in the distant corner. On his left, there was some kind of a counter with the big window, some chairs and also the wide stairway up. The counter was described as ´Reception´ and just as Kame headed toward it, a sturdy woman in dark blue dress appeared behind it, her long hair properly tied on the top of her head. It was as if she knew somebody came in and despite her strict appearance, she smiled at Kame as he approached her with a greeting.
"Good afternoon to you, too! How can I help you?"
"Well, I´m looking for someone…" Kame took a deep breath. "He´s supposed to be accommodated in your establishment. His name is Jin Akanishi."
The woman´s smile disappeared as she eyed him suspiciously: "We do not usually provide any information about our guests…"
"I´m his friend, Madame. He sent me a telegram to meet with him here," Kame continued pleadingly.
"His friend, you say? What´s your name?"
"Kamenashi."
The woman hesitated for a while, before she searched for something in the drawer under the desk.
"Let´s see… Where it was… Aah, here," she unfolded something, with Kame waiting anxiously. "Tell me what the name of his horse is," the receptionist looked at him in cool expectation.
"It´s Kuro," Kame replied calmly, glad that Jin thought about something like this.
"Correct," the woman said glancing at the paper. "Great. Since you´re his friend, I´m sure you will be fine with covering his expenses."
"Excuse me?" Kame asked surprised.
"That young mister already owes us for two nights," the receptionist said not very happily. "He promised to come back, but I hadn´t seen him since he left three days ago, leaving most of his belongings here, along with this note with the security question in case anyone would come asking after him."
A hint of fear awoke inside Kame´s heart, but he suppressed it immediately.
"Did he say where he intended to go?"
"No, sorry, young man; he wasn´t very talkative," the woman complained a little. "Polite and nice, that´s true. We accommodate only decent people, you know? But Mr. Akanishi was a very closed up person. No wonder with a family like that…"
"Pardon me?" that remark surprised Kame even more.
"Didn´t you see the posters?" the receptionist shook her head, leaning over the counter familiarly. "So young and already a murderer… A distant relative, he said."
"Oh…" Kame was glad that he didn´t ask directly about the person, as he would have definitely used a ´brother´ term. "You mean that leader of Black Riders…"
"Of course! And they look so alike, don´t you think?"
"I suppose…" Kame reacted hesitantly, not very willing to discuss the topic further with this talkative woman. "Well, didn´t he leave any message at least?"
"Nothing except the security question," the receptionist said. "So… What will it be, Mr. Kamenashi? My boss is not very happy about the debt, and I need to make my living as well, I´m sure you understand…"
"Can I get into his room?" Kame asked, thinking that maybe he could find something in there.
"Only if you cover those costs," the receptionist insisted. "And pay for two more nights in advance," she added stubbornly. "For the troubles."
Kame suppressed a sigh; it seemed useless to argue with this woman. She was nice at the first sight, but also quite clever.
"I understand; I will cover it, Madame."
During his conversation with Mrs. April, as the woman introduced herself, Kame didn´t care about those few guests, who were occupying the bar. But one of them paid the young traveler much more attention than was necessary, observing Kame with a suspicious and somehow calculative look in the dark eyes…
*
Kame felt a strange nostalgia entering the room on the second floor. It was two-beds and cozy and… just as messy as Jin´s room always used to be in Harada´s Saloon. There was some of his clothes threw over the bed sheets, pile of old newspapers on the window sill, dirty mug on the table and box with his precious guitar leaning on the wall.
Kame closed the door behind himself, with his stomach clutched. It was undeniably Jin´s place, but without his presence, it felt awfully empty. He left his stuff on the floor next to the door, slipped from his coat and sat down on the unmade bed with a heavy sigh.
Three days… Such a short time to catch up and they might have already been together. Instead, he could only worry about what might have happened to the older one.
No, worrying won´t help me right now… Kame scolded himself.
He had to think like Jin. What would the other one do, after he arrived here? He definitely kept searching for Leo, probably keeping watches along the roads which were mentioned on the posters. He might have come across his sibling or other Riders and was with them now. But how to figure out where?
Kame didn´t even think much about the other possibilities, like that Jin might have been hurt or…
He sighed again and lied down. It felt so nice to be able to have some rest finally; his journey here was very long.
Ukushi was taken care of in the saloon´s stables, so he could sleep for a while, gain some strength back and think about what to do later. Especially when it was so comfortable in that bed, warm, soft and smelling a little like Jin. Even though Kame had a suspicion that he had imagined that, just because he missed the older one so much…