Hello folks, this is my first post here. Hope the story entertains a little. If I offend anyone by dumping these foreigners into the midst of the Miburo, well….that is just tough. So just deal with it (grin). I have just recently discovered the PMK and am rediscovering the Shinsengumi. I have been working on the original characters for another project and could not resist the opportunity to take them for a 'test drive' of sorts. If the first chapter seems a little light on your favorite member, just bear with me; they all show up later on.

So on to business……the men of the Shinsengumi are a matter of historical record. They appear here as realized by Nanae Kurono. I do not own them in any way.

This is probably best rated as 13+ for mild sexual content and samurai-type violence.

Prologue

A Conversation with a Priest

A rustle of fabric announced the visitor's arrival. Although he was garbed in a simple priest's cassock, it was still made of the finest silk and his pectoral cross was far better than what any working cleric would own.

"Well Ivor, you are looking as well as ever," he greeted the stocky man waiting for him.

"Thank-you and so do you. You have risen considerable since we last met, Giovanni. Please," he gestured to a chair, "Sit yourself down. Can I get you anything?"

"Thank-you, but no."

Ivor Evans ignored his outstretched hand, turned back to stare into the fire, and waited.

After a few moments silence the priest cleared his throat, "So you got my letter?"

"Yes."

"Do you think you can help?"

"Yes," Evans turned to face him, "Why did you wait so long? So many deaths and you did nothing."

The priest looked down at his hands; he had been working the large signet ring he wore back and forth nervously, "A fair question. At first we thought we could deal with him……but we were wrong. And then, well, frankly, I was not sure if I should contact you. With the recent changes in your ranks, I do not see how you can be up to the task."

"Ahh, so that is it. You disapprove of her?"

The priest made a sound of disgust, "How can you stand it? You should have been chosen as the new leader and not her. The way she behaves is scandalous."

"I have always found the Lady Jeanne to be a proper lady."

"Bah, no proper widow should act as she does. I saw that child she brought with her. He is young enough to be her son. I know what he is, although I doubt he could be as effective as his predecessor. I cannot believe that Jonas would accept this, let alone you."

To his amazement, Evans started to laugh, his black eyes twinkling. He ran his fingers through his beard, "Boy? Ah, my old friend, it is worse than that. That 'child' will be most effective once on the trail of your wayward priest. Assuming we can find him after all this time. But…boy, no, not even close."

"What do you mean?"

Evans broad grin was his only response. After a moment the priest realized what he meant.

"But…..no. How could such a thing happen? Never before…"

"Well not that anyone can remember. But do not let the physical form fool you. She is every bit as deadly as the man you knew. What would it be now? Twenty-five years ago? And she has been well trained, better than we could have ever expected."

"So this is the reason that the Lady Jeanne was selected to lead instead of you?"

"Perhaps. So do you want our help or not?"

The priest sighed heavily, "Yes. Ivor Evans please help us. One of our members has gone badly astray."

Evans nodded, "We shall take up this hunt for you. But will this cause a problem among your people? We are not as close as we once were, not currently having any clerics among us. I do not want a repeat of the last time we were at odds with the Roman Catholic Church."

"No, no, there will be no interference."

"Good. Where was he last sighted?"

"He was headed east."

"East? Then we shall go east also."

Chapter 1

Interesting Events Unfold Outside Osaka

People tried not to stare at the duo strolling along the road. In these times, the wayward look was reason enough for some men to draw their swords and start killing, but these two were just far too interesting.

First, one could not but gawk at the barbarian at the side of the young samurai. It was said that some barbarians were exceedingly large and hairy, and this fellow seemed to confirm the rumour. His long bare shins and fore arms were very hairy and his hair was an astounding shade of red. And then there was the strange short kimono-thing he was wearing. It was outrageously patterned and the belt securing it around his waist seemed to have all, or at least part, of a dead animal as a buckle. A strip of the same material looped over his left shoulder. He was armed with a large sword, or at least that is what it had to be. But who could really be sure based on the sight of what appeared to be a hilt? But who was going to be fool enough to get him to draw that thing to find out?

Only a few gave much thought to his companion, but those who did were also intrigued. Perhaps he was the escort that foreigners were required to have. But this was an unusual place for them to be, Osaka not being one of the major ports of trade with the outside world. The samurai was most likely young, judging by his slim figure and jaunty stride, but only carried one sword. Still, his clothes were quite good. His hakama were black, subtlety striped with dark grey and his kimono was green, but was not adorned with the crest of any lord. Most men without an overlord would not be so well dressed, not assigned escort duty, and certainly not in such company. His hat covered most of his face, only his square chin and his long hair could be seen. The oddest thing however, was that he seemed to be able to converse with the barbarian. He could be heard speaking to the large man in a foreign tongue that rolled over the warm afternoon breeze. The large man had a deep voice that sounded like a dog growling. From the young samurai it was a softer sound, like a cat purring.

And along they went, seemingly unaware of all the covert glances and outright stares. That was not the case, of course, because outward appearances are usually deceiving.

"I am thinking now that Evans was right. This was not a good idea. We are far too conspicuous," Alexander Cameron said.

"We? They are too busy looking at you to even notice me. And when they do, they see exactly what they expect. This was your idea. After all this walking I need some refreshment, so let's get a snack before we go back. We can stop in some teahouse or something. Then we will be off the road and out of sight."

Cameron made a harrumphing sound deep in his chest, "Well then lass, just take off that basket you are wearing on your head and then we will see who they stare at."

"It is not a basket," Cameron could not see it but he knew that she was grinning. "Do not be so cranky. Just relax, man. Soon we will pick up his trail and the hunt will continue. Enjoy the quiet while you can. And who knows, we might discover something useful."

"Aye, you are right. Still, I wish that we could just go to Kyoto ourselves. Waiting here for this fellow to show up is just another delay. We spent too much time lingering in Nagasaki and now here. And it just involves more people who will not really be able to help. There is no way they will have anything useful for us."

"Normally I would agree, but in this case I think that it is prudent to be cautious. We are in a strange land Cameron; well out of our usual field of operations. I cannot imagine how Evans got us permission to come here and then got Lord Matsudaira to agree to help us."

"Well, you know our Evans. He knew young Glover's father. So that is how we got to land. I cannot say how he met that Alcock fellow, but he set up the arrangement with the Lord Matsudaira. And as its protector, Lord Matsudaira is our way into Kyoto."

"Hmm, I'll bet he met Alcock in Spain. It is lucky for us that he has returned to Japan at this time. It must have been quite the thing to for Evans to explain. Glover does a lot of his trade with the Choshu, as well as the Satsuma. So the Lord Matsudaira must really think that the outcome will be to his advantage to allow friends of the friend of his enemies into his town. I really hope that this group of his can be of use. Apparently these Shinsengumi employ a fairly extensive spy network. They may have heard something useful. And who knows, they may have exactly what we need," she lowered her voice a little. They were speaking Gaelic just to be sure that no one could eavesdrop, but one never really knew who was listening. "And I am thinking that Evans may be right, this may have been his destination all along. Can you feel it? The wellsprings are still fairly deep. Magic flows strongly here."

"It does that. It is also another reason to not delay."

"Too true," she sighed, "It is so beautiful here. But it will not last much longer. Can't they see what is going to be the result of the conflict that is brewing? So much will be lost if things keep going as they are. The Americas, Europe, here. It is just constant. We are winning the battles, but losing the war. Just how does one keep fighting?"

Cameron shrugged, "You should have a better answer to that then any I could give you. You are a warrior for the Light and have been that through many lifetimes. How have you done it? I think the better question is: just how will we go on when all the magic is gone? How do you fight against the power replacing it? Evil always finds a way, but what will we do? What will you do the next time, lass, when you cannot carry a weapon to use the way you use the one on your hip?"

"I guess next time around it will be bullets. This," she tapped the sword on her hip, "is just a tool," she laid a hand on her chest and then her forehead. "It is here, in my heart and my head. That is what I use to kill. That does not change, magic or no magic. Besides, it will not be permanent. The wellsprings will refill again someday. It will just take time. Then we will see both magic and machinery trying to co-exist. And that, my friend, will be quite the thing. Here, can we stop and get some tea or something? I am parched. This place looks pretty good. We can get a little privacy here, if you are tired of people staring at you."

"Fine," Cameron squinted at the characters painted on the banner hanging outside the teahouse and then read them out loud, "Is that right?" he asked when done.

"Aye. You are getting good. I wish I could pick up languages like you do. I had my Japanese beat into my head along with my swordsmanship. With you it's just," she snapped her fingers, "and you are speaking like a native. And you seem to have picked up Japanese especially fast."

"Well, we all have our gifts," Cameron paused and switched to Japanese so he could greet the hostess and request a private place along with their tea.

When they were settled in, he continued again in Gaelic, "But you do pretty well. You have English, Japanese, Gaelic, and you get along decently in that heathen tongue of your brother-in-law……"

"That would be Mi'kimaq."

"Aye, and you are getting the French and German that her Ladyship is teaching you."

"Anything to serve better," she watched him a moment as he tried to get more comfortable. Cameron could see the mischievous glint in her green eyes. "Cameron, do not sit cross-legged on the floor in the kilt please. You will scare our waitress."

"I would think that she will be most impressed," he replied archly. "I do not know how you can be comfortable like this. And this is no decent tea, it's no better than the liquor. Bah," he continued to mutter to himself for a few moments about the lack of meat, low doorways, and men in nightgowns. "And you lass, out in naught but your under things. It is not decent."

She looked down at her hakama and kimono. Everything was clean, neat, and properly pleated, "I am in perfectly proper attire. It goes a lot better with the sword than the corset her Ladyship would have me wear. There is more of you exposed by that kilt than is considered proper, you know. I can move about in this and I blend in fairly well in it."

Cameron made a low rumbling noise to indicate his disgust and started to pick through the selection of food that came with their tea. She sat in silence, listening to the various noises he made to indicate his approvable or dislike of each item he tried. She extended her senses beyond the room, making a routine check of their situation. As relaxed as she might seem, she never completely lowered her defenses. This teahouse was quite nice, but not very busy, which seemed a little strange to her. There was another guest in the next room, but almost no one else. The hostess had also seemed nervous, but that may have just been from the sight of a large, red-headed Scot. She set her teacup down, "Cameron……."

She was interrupted by a crash in the next room. This was immediately followed by loud cries. Cameron knew that sound. Combat sounded the same way in any language. They both rose to their feet. She laid her hand on her sword.

"Wait a moment, we have no idea what is going on."

She nodded and stepped towards the door of the room. Someone screamed nearby, mortally wounded by the sound of it. Then a body crashed into the wall knocking it down and revealing the action on the other side. A second body landed almost at Cameron's feet. For a moment it was a toss up as to who was the most surprised, the man being attacked, his attackers, or the two onlookers. Everyone paused for a heartbeat and then the attacked man growled and pressed on, viciously slicing his way through his next opponent. He was obviously more than just competent with a sword, but he was still quite outnumbered.

"I don't like those odds."

"Now just wait……" he gasped. Another figure dropped from a ceiling panel. Dressed entirely in black, his features were obscured, but just for a moment Cameron got a glimpse of his eyes. They glowed with an unnatural red color.

"Cameron!"

"Right," now he drew his own sword. "You take him. I'll draw the others off. There is no room in there for all of us."

"Then I'll just have to make some," her voice had roughened and deepened. She was grinning, but not pleasantly, "You!" she raised her voice to be heard over the din. "Creature of darkness. Face me!"

Then she charged forward, pushing men out of her way to reach the creature. It seemed to be trying to get to the lone swordsman. Cameron bellowed his own challenge and three of the human swordsman turned to face him. He played with them a bit, leading them out of the room. Once Cameron would have thought that he had a definite advantage, being larger and having a longer reach. But he had learned that these men would probably be deadly quick and very strong for their size. So before they could settle into any attack pattern he roared again charged for the man on his left, a man he had identified as being the most timid of the three. Sure enough, his loud ringing battle cry froze the man just long enough. Cameron crashed through his guard. The other two spread apart to fill the space left by their fallen comrade. Cameron glared at them, "Alright then you lads. Keep waving those wee butter knives at me."

The creature was dismayed to see what was bearing down on him. His master had not described this when he had given his orders. Their target was to be the single samurai who would eventually fall to their greater numbers and their spells. It was hard to believe that they would run into this particular enemy here, but there was no mistaking what this woman was. Her sword glowed with a faint blue light, visible only to those with the Sight or to supernatural creatures such as itself. With a hiss it turned to meet her. She came at it, swerving around the sword of one of the other men in the room. She raised her sword and cut him down as she passed. A second man who stepped into her path also fell. A warrior of the Light fully roused to battle could make the most powerful demons quiver. This particular opponent realized that it could not stand against her, so instead it attempted to buy just enough time for its partner to finish the job.

She looked up from its smoking carcass just in time to see the throwing stars that had been hurled at the other swordsman from above, "Watch out," she called out, but feared that it was too late. Amazingly though, the swordsman was able to deflect the stars at his two of his three remaining opponents. She turned her attention to the creature who had thrown the stars. However, it seemed to have vanished in a puff of foul-smelling smoke. She looked over her shoulder to see that Cameron had dispatched the three men he had drawn away and the only attacker left was about to fall to the lone swordsman.

"Wait. Leave him. He could……" Cameron started, thinking to take the man captive, but it was too late, and he went down under the other man's sword.

Cameron stepped forward cautiously. He waited a moment to get his breath back. The unknown man returned his gaze dispassionately; he was also winded, but had not relaxed his guard. He was obviously still deciding if he faced friend or foe. With a quick jerk of his head he tossed hair back from his lean face and then continued to stare intently at them. The room was silent except for their breathing. She had gone to retrieve her hat and placed it on her head. Cameron took a quick look in her direction, but did not say anything to her. Sometimes after a fight it could take her some time to get control over herself again; to recover from the bloodlust that would sometimes possess her. During these times she was unpredictable, so it was best to just leave her alone.

Then the man broke the silence with a sudden movement. Cameron recognized the motion, meant to flick blood off a sword at the end of a fight. Still staring at them, he sheathed his sword. For a moment he glared past Cameron.

"A woman," he had a deep gravelly voice.

She raised her head to stare back at him. Cameron saw the flash of her eyes in the shadows of the hat. After a moment she tilted it back and Cameron could see that she had come back to herself.

"Humph, a samurai," she said in the exact same tone, and mirrored his movements with her own sword.

Cameron would not have thought it possible, but the man glared even harder at her. Obviously he was not accustomed to having people take any kind of a tone with him.

"Be nice now," he said over his shoulder to her and then bowed to the man and introduced himself in Japanese, "Alexander Cameron of the Camerons of Kinlochiel at your service, sir. Are you hurt at all? Can we get you any help?"

"No, I am unharmed. But I should leave this place quickly. I must continue to Osaka."

"Perhaps we could go back together. We are staying in Osaka also. Strength is found in numbers, uh, Mister…?"

"Yes," he bowed to Cameron, "I am Hijikata Toshizo. Thank-you for your assistance."

"Hijikata?" she stepped forward, "Hijikata. Cameron, this is the man himself."

Cameron made one of his rumbling noises, "It may be. Sir, are you the Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi out of Kyoto?"

He backed a step away from them, his hand settling back on his sword hilt.

"No, no, do not worry. You see, we are the reason that the Lord Matsudaira ordered you to come here."

She groaned, "I just hate this type of coincidence. But Mister Hijikata is right: let's get out of here before something worse comes after us."

"Right, but you lead the way, just in case that other thing is still around."

She nodded and cautiously entered the corridor, extending her senses outward, seeking for any evidence of another ambush. The men followed her closely, also ready for another attack. As they reached the street she relaxed a little and settled her hat down so it obscured most of her face, "We are clear. It has gone back to its Master. That thing reeked of Constantine."

Hijikata cleared his throat, "Thing? You mean it was not a ninja?"

"Well no," Cameron paused, "It was……hmmm. I do not know the word. What is it called?"

"I guess kenyo would be as good a description as any. A human turned into something else by magical interference. Awh, crap, Cameron, he has allies here and soon he is going to know that we are here," her shoulders slumped a little. "We were supposed to stay out of trouble. Mistress Jeanne is just not going to be amused."

"Maybe. Maybe not. You are missing something important. Why ambush Mister Hijikata here, unless you already knew that he was coming to help us? If that is the case, it was a stroke of good fortune that we were there."

"Well, you could be right. But how would he find out? We were pretty careful. And we have been here such a short time. That is some pretty good information he had, if you are right. Did the Lord Matsudaira say why he wanted you to come here?" This was directed at Hijikata.

"No, the orders were passed on to me by Commander Kondo. They were simply orders to come to Osaka on an errand."

"Well in that case it just makes no sense."

The red-haired barbarian made a rumbling noise deep in his chest. Hijikata could not tell if that meant he agreed, disagreed, or something else.

"There is another possibility; it may have had nothing to do with you at all. They may have just used my trip as an opportunity to try and assassinate me again. One of those men was definitely a Choshu clansman."

"Again?" Cameron frowned at him.

"Yes, this is the second time this month that I have been ambushed."

The big barbarian made another of his noises; this one seemed to indicate amazement and disbelief, "Well, it could be that then. That was an awful lot of men for a simple assassination, plus the kenyo. Someone wants you very dead, Sir."

The woman shook her head, "Uh, so you knew that someone wanted to kill you? So why not bring some kind of back up with you? That's a little………."

"Woman, please. Leave the man alone. You know, I think that we are seeing the beginnings of an alliance. Constantine helps out with the assassination as a show of good will. But then what would he get out of it?" he peered down at Hijikata thoughtfully for a moment. "He does not seem to be Constantine's usual target. Do you agree?"

She nodded, "Definitely. There are a lot of pieces missing from this picture. I think we need to get back and then sort it out," she grinned up at Cameron, "Well, at least you do not have to wait any more."

Hijikata scowled but did not say anything. He did not like this one bit. His first instinct was to demand answers in plainer language than they had been using. However, he suspected that these two would not recognize his authority to do so. That the Choshu could have resorted to more esoteric methods to achieve their goals was not good news. It was also somewhat unnerving to know that he was again a target of their attack. Obviously they had identified him as more of a danger than either Kondo or Yamanami. And then there was this new element, these foreigners. He had claimed ignorance when she had asked him if he knew why he had been ordered to come to Osaka, but was beginning to guess the reason. Obviously, someone wanted his opinion on whether or not the Shinsengumi should be involved in whatever it was they were doing.

He glanced at the man beside him. He had never seen such a large man before. Harada was probably close in height, but not bulk. Still, he had been quick with his sword. He wondered if the two were related somehow; their facial features were similar enough to indicate some sort of common blood, even though their coloring was quite different. He was the fairer of the two, but they both had wide mouths and long noses, the woman's had a more delicate arch to it. Cameron's was thicker and a little crooked, perhaps due to being broken in the past. She had a slightly rounder version of his square jaw, but it was still decidedly unfeminine, as was her long stride and whole demeanor. But there had been no denying her skill with the sword she carried, although he could not begin to guess where she had acquired both. He glanced at them both again and caught her gaze from under her hat. She grinned at him impudently. No, it would be pointless to try for any more information. So instead of asking more questions he decided to wait until he could talk with Lord Matsudaira's representative in Osaka.

The Lady Jeanne nodded to her young charge across the chess board, "Surely, you are not still upset about it?"

She snorted, it was one of those terrible noises that all Scots seemed to learn in the womb.

"It is that obvious, eh? You are our true leader and you let them exclude you from all the discussion. I know that we will get a good report from Evans, but still. I guess I expected a slightly different reception. My previous Master would tell me stories about famous women samurai and it seemed to be fine with him. I have never had to put up with this before…….well not me exactly, but you know what I mean."

"Do the many memories bother you? Or is it that none of them are a woman's."

She snorted again, "Bother me? What is there to be bothered about? That I can remember the first Crusades, the fall of Rome, the first Tokugawa, and many other nameless battles against many foul creatures? Who would not be bothered? But I have learned to cope with it. The fact that the weapons I remember were always held in a man's hands was always a secondary concern."

"Child, I worry about you sometimes. You need to learn that in your current incarnation you have the potential to be more effective than in any other time. Most of your life has been spent training the warrior at the expense of the woman."

"I do not feel slighted. And it is your move."

Jeanne turned her attention to the game. Her young charge was not playing well this evening and she had been testy and restless. Jeanne had come to learn that this meant that she was worried about something. She moved one of her chess men.

"You miss Connor don't you?"

"What? Connor? How did you…? M'lady I just hate when you do that. Of course I miss him. We are short without him, Ian, and now Hillerman on this mission. It is unlikely we will find anyone here to fill the gap. And before you say it, there was no way I was about to drag Ian away on this mission with my sister expecting their first child," she moved one of her men.

"This is an interesting move. But no, that is not what I meant."

"No?" she sighed, "I know it m'lady, but you must know that there can be nothing between us. Not with what we do. Not with what I am."

"What you are is more than those memories you have and more than your ability to kill. That is what I am trying to teach you. I see that potential, as did your previous Master. Why can't you, child?"

"I am not a child. I have just turned twenty-two as you well know. And really, you could say that I have not been a child since I was twelve. And as for my previous Master, I do not think that is was my potential he saw, but more the interest in what I did. While it is unusual for a twelve year old girl to kill, it was even more unusual that it was done using a Japanese sword form that she had never been taught."

She sighed sadly and the Lady Jeanne heard the rustle of fabric as her shoulders slumped, "M'lady I appreciate the effort, but I cannot see how it can be helpful. I am a hunter and a warrior. I will kill evil without hesitation for you, but there is no room in my heart for any softer emotion. There cannot be, it would make me less effective. You must know that."

"I disagree. Was it not this 'softer emotion' that caused you to pick up a blade in defense of your sister?"

"There is nothing soft about fear and rage. And there is nothing soft about me. If that means I cannot live as a normal woman, then so be it. To think that it could be otherwise is a sort of torment for me, so please, let it go," her voice had taken on a pleading tone.

"I would be doing a great disservice to my calling if I did," Lady Jeanne replied softly, "Does Connor feel the same way, do you think?"

"Back to him, eh? I am thinking that this is just a ploy to put me off my chess game," she moved a man and then waited. After a few moments she realized that Lady Jeanne would not be distracted, "I could not say. You know how he can be sometimes. Besides, from what I hear, he is currently engaged to another woman."

"That is most likely just a ploy, to help him with his current mission. If he gets close to the family he can get information."

"Probably, but what happens when the mission is over? Knowing Connor, she will be head over heels in love with him. So what happens when he destroys her father and then leaves? There is a real ruthless streak under all that charm of his. He can use people and then discard them with no regrets. I am not sure I am comfortable with that. Sometimes the things he does….and myself as well. Sometimes I wonder if we are any better than men like Constantine. How far can one go and still be on the right path? Take our new allies here, these Shinsengumi. They are sworn to uphold the rule of what is essentially a dictatorship using the sword and who knows what other means. And we are working with them just so we can get to Constantine."

"Ahh, well, I see. You have been thinking about this for some time. It is not an easy question. The line between the dark and the light is not as clear cut as many say it is. And it is always a constant struggle to determine where the boundary lies. It is good that you have already realized that. It is when one ceases to care, that the danger begins. Connor has much to learn about these things. It will be a harder lesson for him, I think. But back to my original point, you say that you are nothing more than a killer and a hunter. You must see that this is not entirely true. A balance can be found. Do not shut yourself off from the rest of humanity."

"Hmmph. I do not know. At least in the United States our allies are fighting for a good cause. Lincoln seeks to end slavery. We can use his help to wipe out the evil that is feeding off that whole system. Clearly, some good will come of it. And in the two other missions I have been on, we had no need of allies. Here, it is so complex. Both sides support a different dictator although they both make some noises about changing. The clans switch allegiances constantly. Men join and leave clans. And on both sides the attitude towards us foreigners ranges wildly from total exclusionism to total openness. I'll bet that there will be members of the Shinsegumi who will be horrified to learn we are here. They are sworn to protect the Shogun and the Emperor from outsiders like us. Yet the Shogunate controls all foreign trade and is currently increasing the amount of trade. It makes my head spin. How do we know that we have not allied ourselves with people who are no better than Constantine?"

Jeanne laughed softly, "Well, that is something coming from a Scot. The comings and goings of your own clans are by no means simple. But this is another part of your previous question. I should point out that the end of the slave trade is only one of several reasons for the war in the United States. It is the one that was used to gain our aid. There were many other, less noble, motivations. So it is really not as simple as you think. The hearts of those who were masters and those who were slaves will be stained with that evil for some time to come. And it may never truly be erased, I am afraid. But, consider this, what do you think would happen if we did nothing? And second, look to your allies, this Vice-commander, would he see war just for war's sake?"

"Well, it would just go on and on, feeding on itself. I can see that. So, I guess in the war will put a stop to something that would otherwise fester for years and years. Sort of like cauterizing something, I guess. Some damage is done to save the whole body."

Jeanne nodded.

"As for the other, that is more difficult. You seem to think that we have made a good choice in our allies and I trust your judgment. If Constantine had come to them instead, would they have helped him? I guess that is the question I have to ask. Right?"

"It is a place to start to determine what lies in his heart. I believe I have you in check."

"Blast! Well, not having your gifts I will never know that. All I can do is look at his actions. And I have not really seen many of those. To carry a sword here means that you are supposed to follow a code. And anyone who follows that code properly would not desire to kill just for the love of death. All I can say so far is that he needs to work on his humility a little harder. He reminds me of Connor a wee bit. And it is this similarity that makes me inclined to trust him."

"Indeed? Is that the only similarity you see?"

"No, no. I think I have had enough of that for one night, thank-you. The issue of my femininity….or the lack thereof will have to wait. In that thing, you have had a very poor pupil these past two years. But your other council is useful and I appreciate it. I feel a little better…..a little clearer and more focused. If nothing else, I will not fail to bring him down for you. That I can promise. This 'daughter of hounds' is ready to hunt."

Jeanne smiled, "You do your clan credit in that regard. But in others," she moved one of her men, "I am afraid this is not your night. Checkmate."

Yeah, yeah, I know, in 1863 there was an order to ban foreigners from Japan. But it was never really official government (or rebel) policy and was not enforced with any rigor. And it certainly did not stop anyone from buying guns from them! The Glover (Thomas Blake Glover) mentioned by Cameron was a real person who lived and worked in Japan as a trader. Rutherford Alcock is also a historical figure who was a civil servant in Japan throughout the late 1850's and early 1860's. So, some foreigners were to be found, although probably not in Kyoto, and certainly not without armed escort. But then again, these are Camerons. "Sons of the hounds come and get flesh." Are you really going to mess with anyone with that as their battle cry?