Disclaimer: RK and PMK are not owned by me. Neither are their characters.

This is a sequel to my earlier fic "An Assassin's Tale". I have received reviews for the said fic requesting a sequel where Okita and Kichi meet up again and a possible new life for Kichi with Hotaru. I thought, it might be a good idea, so… This is not in chronological order. It is more like a series of flashbacks.

If you have not read "An Assassin's Tale", you may find the characters OCC. BTW, I have merged the characters of PMK Saitou and his RK counterpart.

1. Meiji Spring

One spring day in the Meiji era, Fujita Goro stopped in front of the modest house where a clerk lived with his wife and children. He was amused to see it had been built in the traditional manner, almost an oddity in the sea of Western-style buildings popping up in this Nagasaki neighbourhood. He had been passing through the port-city on business for Lord Okubo and this was simply a detour. He didn't really want to spend too long dallying. He took one final drag on his cigarette before flicking it away. Two youngsters, both about nine years of age, were engaged in a mock swordfight before the open gate.

"Ryouma! Soujirou! Don't get your clothes dirty!" A woman's voice cried out, followed by the howl of a younger sibling. Fujita looked askew at the name by the gate. Ueda. It seemed almost too good a coincidence. Whether it was to satisfy his personal curiosity or to fulfil some obscure sense of duty to a departed comrade, he had to call on the nondescript clerk who worked in a major trading firm founded by the late Sakamoto.

"Mother! A policeman!" A boy's attention was drawn to the gate where he stood watching. A mistake on the lad's part as his playmate swung his toy sword around and gave him a half-hearted crack on the wrist. A man's laugh echoed through the spring morning, one that brought memories back to the old Miburou. Okita had a laugh similar to this when he was amused by something. The difference was that this laugh was more mellowed and deeper, since the owner had the good fortune to live past his twenty-fifth year.

"Never take your eyes off an opponent, Soujirou!" Soujirou rubbed at his sore wrist and glared at his brother. They were twins, another quirk of fate. A pretty woman in her twenties came out of the house. A squealing toddler was tied on her back. The man who was sitting on the veranda just out of Fujita's sight got up and walked to his sons. He looked like an older version of Okita even though his hair was cut short and he wore a Western buttoned shirt under his haori. The pair of eyeglasses on his nose did not hide the fact that he had eyes the same shade as Okita's when smiling. He had been whittling a wooden top. There were wood shavings on his hakame and a small knife in his hand.

The smile died when he recognized the policeman. The eyes narrowed and hardened. Assassin's eyes, Saitou smirked. "Ryouma, Soujirou, go in with Mother now…" he passed the freshly-made top to one of the boys. Obediently, both boys scurried to their mother. Puzzled and a little fearful of their visitor and the sudden change in her husband's mood, the woman hurriedly shooed them indoors.

"What brings you here, officer?" The tone was menacing.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Officer Fujita Goro. Mr Ueda, I was just checking if you have noticed any suspicious persons in the vicinity …" Fujita lied and put on his best bumbling cop act. Ueda saw right through it. "Cut the crap," he took off his glasses and slipped them into a pocket in the folds of his hakame.

"What business really brings you here, Saitou Hajime?"

"I was simply passing through and I thought I'd check on the family of a late comrade," Saitou lit another cigarette.

"Really…" The man sounded far from convinced.

"Don't act coy now, Ueda, or should I say, Okita Akira, or would you prefer I call you Kichisaburo? One-time guard with Sakamoto's trading company, involved in gun-running during the Bakumatsu. During this time, you wed a serving girl named Hotaru. After the war, you put away your sword and became a clerk in the company, not a particularly outstanding one, but good enough to provide your family with a life of relative comfort."

"So you did your homework well… What can I say? The age of the sword was over, and my family needed to be provided for. Besides, didn't they pass a law banning samurai from carrying their swords in public? My swords sealed and before the family shrine, if you are interested." Ignoring Ueda, Saitou continued.

"Before that, you were living in Kyoto under the name Kichisaburo. However, you were born the younger son of the Okitas, a samurai household in Edo. At age eight you were fostered to a merchant household, the Uedas. A fire destroyed the household soon after and you were presumed dead. Strangely, you showed up in Kyoto involving in some unsavoury business. It was in Kyoto that we crossed paths and swords…"

"Saitou Hajime, I bid you a good day and please see yourself off." Akira turned on his heel in a huff. Saitou was being rude.

"You have samurai blood in your veins, you trained your sons in kendo and they are outstanding students at the local dojo down the road even at their young age. Your little wife was a poor kunoichi but a kunoichi nevertheless. You have been approached by various dissidents in the past months on account of your skills as a swordsman and your gun-running involvement in the past. Given Kichi's propensity for tumbling into hare-brained schemes for anarchy, tell me are you planning something?"

"Some of my former comrades had approached me but I turned them down. I have no idea of their plans, if any."

"Their names?"

"Slipped my mind," Akira replied tersely.

"Really. Your sense of loyalty is sadly misplaced."

"Unlike a wolf who switched sides mighty quickly…"

"Loyalty comes in many forms. Mine is to my country, not some outdated shogun. You do realize that you and your wife can get imprisoned or worse. What about your two pretty sons? Although they have laws on that kind of thing now, no one really bothers to make sure they are kept. You think your boys will be more popular than their pa in that field?" Saitou continued his goading.

"Shut up!"

Saitou drew his sword, deflecting the knife Akira threw at him. Saitou smirked. "This really brings back old memories… Still sharp, aren't you? How about a good old-fashioned duel? You could get a couple extra scars on you. Or are you still worried your girlish looks..."

"Hotaru! Bring me my sword! I'm gonna cut this big-mouthed carp down to sashimi-size!"

"Just make sure you don't mess up the garden!" Hotaru threw the sheathed sword out of the window to her husband, who caught it in a fluid move. Still swift on his feet, he drew his sword as he charged towards Saitou. Saitou chuckled as he parried. The blades caught with a resounding clash of steel on steel. Then a quick right feint by Saitou, followed by a swift punch to Akira's exposed side with the sheath. Akira crumpled to the ground.

"I have no intention of arresting you or threatening your family. Sorry about anything offensive earlier, I had to test you. Obviously, you are out of practice and will be a major liability in any dissident plot. One more thing, you are too easy to provoke, unlike Okita."

"Have you ever told my brother to his face that he resembles a girl?" Akira coughed and winced at the bruise in his side.

"Yeah, that was probably the only way I can get him to be deadly serious during practice. He sorta got immune to it after a while… then he got ill and I lost my only serious sparring partner…" Saitou stopped and watched as the boys and Hotaru run out of the house. Akira was still sprawled on the ground.

"Sweetheart, I'm alright, he's just an old acquaintance…" Akira reassured his wife. The two boys wielded their bokkens and ran at Saitou, only to be yanked back by their collars by their parents. "I said he is an old acquaintance from the Bakumatsu!" He rapped both lightly on the head.

"If he's an old friend of yours, I'll go prepare some tea!" Hotaru chirped and skipped off with the boys in tow. Saitou and Akira sweatdropped. She hadn't changed one bit. The tension was defused as Hotaru hummed and prepared some tea and snacks for their visitor. While the boys drowsed on the veranda, Akira and Saitou waited in the tea room.

"She's a good girl," Saitou remarked, recalling the last time he saw the innocent little scatterbrain. "I know. All the more reason for me to tell those nitwits to stuff their plots up their asses and go jump in the harbour," Akira laughed dryly. One lousy scheme was more than enough. Saitou observed the boys. For a moment, he felt the pangs of homesickness. Tokio and his young son might be sitting on their little porch, watching the clouds…

"So, has Fujita-san settled down?" Hotaru gracefully returned with the tea and manju cakes. Thankfully, she did not spill the tea this time.

"First marriage didn't work out. The second seems alright so far… Little ones grow up fast, don't they? When I left my son the last time, he was still a baby. The last time I saw him again, he was walking and calling me Papa."

Hotaru laughed musically. "Fujita-san, I think you should spend more time with your family. Some things can never come back once they have passed." Saitou nodded in agreement. She politely excused herself.

"You know, sometimes I wish things turned out differently…" Akira mused.

"Ueda, did you see your brother again after that?"

"Yes, once before he… passed away…" Akira blinked as his thoughts went back to that day in Edo…

Author's Notes:

Ryouma and Soujirou? Now how did Akira come up with those names? (Rolls eyes innocently)