Chapter 2: Reflection and Realities

Part 1 Reflections

Tokio smiled, her mind replaying very pleasant memories from early this morning. In the middle of celebrating being reunited in this era, Hajime was called into work. She knew he had no choice but to go, regardless of how much he wanted to stay with her, and the attorney had no doubt about exactly how much he'd wanted to stay. But it was duty first for both of them; the era didn't matter. It was the same now, as it was then.

In the past no matter how hard it was to see him go on his missions, Tokio always put on a good face, and this morning was no different, even though he was just leaving to go into work early, and not on a month's long mission to take out someone like that burn victim, who had delusions of grandeur, as happened during Meiji 1. She was still so beat up from yesterday that she crawled back into bed after giving him a properly passionate send off. While he was in the shower, she even made him a thermos full of hot, strong, black coffee. After an exhausting twelve hours, she was sure he would need it.

The attorney suspected that her former husband had very little sleep, between watching over her, and doing that infernal paperwork that seemed to follow him from one century to the next. There were vague memories from last night when she saw him sitting at the small desk, working. Aroused from a fitful sleep, she'd asked him if he was coming to bed, and told him that his paperwork would still be there in the morning. It was as if she was repeating a familiar, oft occurring event from another time and place. She had to be, since she wasn't accustomed to inviting men into her bed. Tokio really couldn't think of him as a stranger, not any longer. They had too much of a shared past, most of which she was beginning to remember quite clearly. In private she would not address him by anything other than his given name, Hajime. To do otherwise would be to deny what transpired between them so many years ago.

Tokio supposed that it was probably for the best that he'd had to leave. Things were heating up quite fast between the two of them, now that she recognized him as her former husband. She realized that since she was no longer married to the man, there was only so far that she would allow things to progress in the physical arena, no matter how much she wanted him. She did want him, but not just because they got caught up in the heat of the moment. This morning she was so overjoyed at finding him, she hadn't even tried to put on the brakes. If it hadn't been for his phone ringing, she wondered just how far their reunion would have gone. Since she'd almost succeeded in removing his shirt, it didn't take much to know the answer to that question. In her mind…when it was logically functional…and she knew that it hadn't been functioning several hours ago… commitments needed to be seriously considered. If she gave herself to him, fully, at this point, and he was not, for whatever reason, willing to marry again, she would be devastated. There was no way she would set herself up for a lifetime of heartache.

She was now confident that it was severe stress or trauma that triggered her mind to release long hidden events from her past life. Beginning with the massacre in the diner, it seemed to have come to a head last night in the parking garage where Hajime's quick thinking had once again saved her life. The brush with death in the car bombing caused clear memories to surface, the worst being the wrenching loss of their first baby when they lived in impossibly harsh conditions in Tonami. After reliving the painful birth Tokio needed no further convincing that she'd been the Captain's wife during the first Meiji era, nearly two hundred years ago.

She felt like she should be in her office today. She needed to be in her office. There was too much to do with the Umagoe Fujimori fiasco and the latest attempt on her life. But she also knew that she needed to stay alive for her former husband. Her intuition told her that he would need her, perhaps even more than he had needed her nearly 200 years ago, during their first life together. She also knew that she would not be safe apart from him until whomever put the hit on her was apprehended, or until she had a safe place of her own to stay. With Saitoh's responsibilities he couldn't be with her on a continuous basis, no matter how much she wanted that. For now she would just have to sit tight, here in his house, until he thought it was safe for her to be out on the streets again. One thing she knew, she never had, and never would question his judgment in serious matters.

She did feel completely safe in his home. This place was probably the safest place to be in the whole New Meiji area. It had security systems up the kazoo, and they were the latest technology. If anyone even breeched the perimeter of the yard, Saitoh, himself, would be notified immediately. Views from all the security cameras were on the monitor sitting on the little table at the end of the sofa where she could keep an eye on them. She wasn't wearing her body armor, because he had taken it to be repaired, but she did have her new side arm in her shoulder holster, prepared for whatever might come.

Hajime called her a couple of hours after he left and told her to turn on one of the news channels, letting her know that there was going to be a press conference that she needed to see. During the call, her former husband also told her that her office was secure and that he had a "quick chat" with her secretary on the merits of confidentiality and taking care to notify him directly if there were any strange packages, letters, etc. that came addressed to Tokio, or any strange people asking about her. The attorney detected weariness in his voice that spoke of more than just physical tiredness. If she had her way, he'd be tucked in his bed right now, catching up on much needed sleep. That thought caused a memory flash of her backside snuggled against his front, as they tried to keep warm under a pile of comforters on a cold Tokyo night.

Sitting curled up on his couch, cold therapy bands on her right shoulder and knee, eyes focused on the large screen across the room, she'd unconsciously grabbed a small pillow, holding it tightly to her chest with one arm. It smelled of his cigarettes. She flipped through the channels with the remote she held in her other hand, waiting for the press conference to begin, taking in all the news clips about the latest police department debacle, and the garage bombing, but not really paying close attention to any of them.

Her body still ached everywhere. She'd only been able to forget the pain she was feeling when he gave her that great greeting after she tried to sneak up on him this morning. She knew he was a light sleeper, but it was still fun to pretend to be a cat quietly trying to surprise a wolf, and he had indulged her, letting her play her little game and then giving her quite the payback.

Now that she knew the truth about her past, there was so much that needed sorting out. Her lawyer's mind couldn't help but wander through the possibilities and meanings of all that had happened in a mere 40 hours.

Tokio was joyful beyond words at being reunited with her former husband. She knew that she had loved him in the past; he meant more to her then, than her own life, which she would have given up, willingly, to protect him. Question was, could she love him like that again? It didn't take more than a second or two of reflection for Tokio to realize that she had never stopped loving him, that the reason she refused to engage in serious relationships was that she was waiting to find someone. It dawned on her that she was waiting for Hajime. Now that she had him in her life again, she could not bear the thought of letting him go.

But was she willing to risk his life and the lives of his children? Her job was dangerous; in only a matter of days there were two violent attempts on her life. If she became part of this family…not that he would ask her …could she in good conscience put them in danger? No, she couldn't. The corruptive forces she was trying to expose had no reservations about killing a person's family. All she needed to do was to remind herself what happened to her predecessor, Fujita Hiroshi, and his family. But didn't she have this same discussion with Hajime last night? It was hard to remember exactly what they had talked about on the way home; she was so shell-shocked at the time. 'Yes, moron, you did,' her fuzzy brain screamed at her, 'and he resolutely dismissed your fears'.

It was obvious to her that Hajime loved Yaso very much. The woman's death had nearly torn him apart. The fact that he tried to literally drink himself into the grave spoke volumes. He held himself totally responsible for what Yaso suffered. There was no way Oharu, her secretary, could have known that revealing the information about Saitoh's family to Tokio would be so important. It was knowledge that was imperative for Tokio to have if she was going to understand the man as he was in the current era.

Could Hajime love her as much as he had loved Yaso? Tokio had no desire to compete with the memory of a dead woman. She wanted to be loved for who she was, not whose shoes she would fill if she became a part of the Saitoh family. But that was jumping the gun. They may have been husband and wife two hundred years ago, but could he love her again like he had so many years before? Tears welled in her eyes at the prospect that maybe he wouldn't. His actions this morning clearly said he could, but one intense kissing session was a long way from a marriage proposal, and Tokio knew it.

Currently, his desire was to protect her, perhaps as his duty to a former spouse, or as his obligation as an officer of the law to see to the safety of DOJ employees. But the way he'd kissed her, several times on the lips yesterday, and then this morning before his phone rang, interrupting them, had to mean something, didn't it? Maybe this morning it was just an automatic reaction because he was pleased that she finally believed what he told her about being his wife long ago.

Regardless of how their future ultimately played out, somehow Tokio knew that he would always be her friend, watching over her and keeping her safe as best he could. She just hoped that should he remarry someone else, she would be strong enough to hold herself together and accept it. There would be a lot of tears shed on her part; that was something she knew already. For some reason, the thought of him with another woman was unbearable to her.

But what if he did want her again? She was so inexperienced. But when she first married him, she must have been the same way. That marriage was arranged. They did have 3 children together, so she must have overcome her shyness back then. She sure seemed to overcome any shyness she might have had this morning. She already felt attracted to him, very much so, too much so for her own good. She couldn't keep her hands off of him at the diner, or in the armory and firing range, or this morning. After all, she was the one who started all this kissing business by thanking him with a peck on the cheek after target practice yesterday, and then angling for another one right before her car blew.

The attorney didn't even want to think about what happened this morning…ah well, she really did want to think about it, but she dared not read too much into it, because those kisses were probably due to several things…the joy that both of them felt at surviving the bombing… finding each other after so many years apart…the heat of the moment. When she woke this morning, she felt so good to be alive, and to know without doubt that Hajime had been her husband, that she felt like celebrating with him. She should be embarrassed for being so forward, but she couldn't help her behavior. It felt too natural, too normal to be wrong.

She had to be an idiot to try to analyze his attentions in an attempt to determine what it all meant. But that was exactly what her logical lawyer's mind was doing. She was old enough to know that some things had no logic, no matter how hard one tried to apply that concept. Hajime had already given her more kisses than she could count. Granted, most of them, except for that last, long, fire-blazing session… first thing this morning…had been light, almost chaste, but a kiss was still a kiss none the less. The first one could just have been in response to the emotional nature of the moment down in the firing range when she told him she knew about his problem with alcohol, and they'd shared aspects from their former lives that came to mind. She felt stupid when she realized how she was picking apart every little detail in an attempt to gauge the extent of his feelings for her.

All of their physical contact, as limited as it actually was, seemed so 'right' that she didn't give it a second thought. He also told her yesterday that he wouldn't push her for more than she was willing to give. It finally occurred to her, that he must have been talking about marital intimacy. She was slow picking up on that, wasn't she? But did that frighten her? No, not really. It was something she wouldn't engage in, ever, unless she was married. She didn't even know if he would want to remarry her, so at this point, there was no sense in worrying about whether she could measure up to his late wife in that way.

To fully understand him now, all she needed to do was to find a key to completely unlock the past, because somehow, she knew that she had understood him then, better than anyone else ever had, except maybe his friend, Okita, that little voice reminded her.

Part 2 Realities

Tokio looked at the time on the bottom corner of the screen. The press conference would start soon, and she didn't want to miss a minute of it. She knew in her heart that Hajime would be fine, if he participated in it, but she needed to watch it to reassure herself of that fact. She shook her head. She was acting the part of either a protective mother hen, or a worried wife, neither one was very becoming of a woman who had confidence in the ability of the man she loved. The man she loved? Yes, she admitted it to herself for the second time today; she did love him, she had never stopped. She just hadn't recognized that until this morning.

The prosecutor knew that to get the unedited version of the press conference she would have to sign into VPN, the virtual proxy network, which all DOJ employees could access. All she needed to do was to use the keypad on his remote to log in. She quickly punched in the site address, her access code, and pressed her thumb on the appropriate spot on the keypad for an ID scan. The screen went black then switched to a message with a timer counting down to the live feed for the press conference.

When the monitor finally flicked to life, showing members of the police department filing into a very crowded room, the attorney couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Uramura was first, followed by Hajime. That was a bit strange. Why was the captain of the Third Squadron walking in immediately after the head of NMMPD?

The sounds of grief could be heard in the background. Had to be the relatives and friends of the slain second unit. Tokio wasn't surprised due to the preliminary reports she'd read this morning as part of her DOJ briefing. She had logged into the secure, prosecutors only, update pages right after Hajime called her. She was sure that Uramura would do everything he could to shirk all responsibility for what happened in that storage room. Umagoe Fujimori had been a glory hungry idiot. In Tokio's opinion the person who put him in the position of captain deserved to be prosecuted for treason against the people.

"Today's conference will be conducted by the new Superintendent of our Criminal Investigations Department. Major Saitoh Hajime has been tasked with leading this investigation…"

Major Saitoh Hajime? Tokio gasped. Hajime had been promoted to Superintendent of Criminal Investigations. Her countenance took on a grim look, knowing that the powers that be were going to try and hang her former husband out to dry with the police department's dirty laundry. Well, just let them try, because she would not let them get away with it. If there was a way she could throw a legal wrench into it, she would. Deep down she also knew that Hajime would not allow himself to be put in any compromising positions. He was too smart for that. She also knew that he was the best that NMMPD had to offer. He was honest, honorable, thorough, unflappable, incorruptible and dedicated. Her heart ached when it hit her how much time this new position would require. He would have less time with his boys.

Her eyes were glued to his face as he spoke. She was so proud of the way he handled things, mincing no words –contrary to police procedure-, telling the truth –intercept leaked by the police-, not hiding a thing –the public deserves to know, that is why we are releasing the complete unedited footage-. Then he did what he could to spare the loved ones the trauma that was sure to come, by reminding everyone that the content was not for minors, and insisting that a woman leave with her small children.

The lights dimmed and the video played. Tokio riveted her attention to the screen, focusing on the images now playing. It was footage of officers on their way to the intercept, a woman being murdered, a sword wielding man, officers being cut down like grass beneath a lawnmower. It was a nightmare of Umagoe Fujimori's making; all because he wanted personal glory. It made Tokio sick to her stomach. She was glad she hadn't eaten anything this morning, or she'd be back in the bathroom on her knees.

All the damning evidence was out in the open for everyone to see. Drinking on duty, bragging, no warrants, injecting illegal drugs, an innocent civilian killed in cold blood, a cop lifting a gun to another officer's face and pulling the trigger. As far as Tokio was concerned, this type of intercept was a festering wound that needed to be lanced and drained. This footage was proof positive of AMP or METAL use by MPD officers. Not only that, but it showed the dark side of the drug, when the officers actually turned their weapons on their brothers in arms slaughtering them without hesitation. These types of events needed to be exposed, if the department was ever to clean up its act and become a trustworthy protector of the people.

This was going to be a night mare for the DOJ attorneys to sort out. She was very happy that she was only one of the underlings here in New Meiji, and not the lead attorney. Being undercover for her brother might actually have a benefit or two after all, she decided. There were going to be a lot of wrongful death suits brought up for this one. She could feel it.

Hajime was back at the podium once the lights came back up. He masterfully got everyone's attention by simply causing feedback on the microphone in front of him. Tokio gave a little snort at his antics, and hugged the small pillow that smelled of his cigarettes a little closer to her heart.

"This is a composite sketch of the suspect based on descriptions given to the police"

The picture on the screen caught her eye, something familiar, the hair, the face, the voice. Oh..gads…it was the waiter from the Sunshine Café. What was his name? Ken? She could hardly believe that he was someone who would kill indiscriminately, not after seeing him in the diner. He went after the criminals, not the innocents. She would have to talk to Hajime when he got home to see what he had to say about this development.

She couldn't be more proud of her former husband as he outlined the steps that would be taken to stop the drug use inside the department. She would gladly volunteer to prosecute those officers who possessed, sold, or used. She startled, brows rising, when Hajime reveal that there was more to it than just a glory run by one rogue officer. There were payments made. That meant that there was much deeper, more insidious penetration into the internal workings of the police department. The syndicates, yakuza, corrupt politicians? Throw a dart, she thought because it could be one or all. Then a reporter asked the same question that she had, who was responsible. Her former husband provided the answer, the Nezume Syndicate, a name that caused an involuntary shiver to run down the prosecutor's back.

A thought slammed through her. Now that he was charged with cleaning up the police force, his life was in just as much danger, as hers, if not more. Now every corrupt element in the city would be gunning for him from corrupt law officers and politicians to syndicate thugs and yakuza members. The blood drained from her face at the realization. He hadn't asked for any of this, either, but she had. She had knowingly painted a target on herself by begging her brother to let her be his spy in New Meiji.

Hajime was a strong man, but he couldn't be everywhere at once. There would be times when his children would be as vulnerable, as they were when Yaso was alive. She knew she wanted to be his wife again, but the decision was really up to him. He and his children would still be in danger because of her, but she and his children would, like-wise, be in danger because of his job. This made a difference. Maybe she could help him; maybe she could help keep the boys safe when he couldn't be present. She was trained in the use of firearms, even though it hadn't protected her from a car bombing.

She was quickly torn from her thoughts when she heard the next question posed by a reporter.

"Is it true you are having an affair with a Department of Justice employee?"

Tokio paled. The only person who had seen her and Hajime together…oh…everyone at the Sunshine Café had, including the first responders, both police and medics. She was half dressed then, but Ken draped his jacket over her shoulders in an attempt to keep her as modest as possible. But Umagoe was in Hajime's office yesterday, and he did make a poorly veiled insinuation about the two of them. It wasn't difficult to see where the blame for this one lay. At least the guy was dead. Good riddance, she thought in an uncharacteristic, uncharitable display of emotion. She usually wasn't so quick to be both jury and sentencing judge.

A cold chill went down her back when it was suggested that perhaps this intercept had been a test to find out whether cops trussed up with drugs could do a better job apprehending criminals than those that weren't users. Hadn't Hajime and that old armory master, his name escaped her at the moment, talked about this very controversy? The old man seemed to support the idea, while her former husband was emphatically against it.

As soon as Hajime left the press conference, the prosecutor clicked off the streaming video. She had no desire to hear Uramura yammer on and make excuses for what happened, or lay the blame on some innocent police department employee. The implications of what was revealed at the press conference needed to be discussed with Hajime. So that would wait until he got home.

The attorney needed to think of more practical matters. She still needed to slog her way through the aftermath of the last two days. First, she needed a car. She would stick to her favorite, a Honda Accord in black. But getting one would be tricky. She couldn't order it on-line, because it might be tampered with at the dealership. Surely, there were things such as a delayed detonation in car bombs. She could give someone access to an account, to buy one off the lot for her, driving it away immediately. The problem with that was where to store the thing once she took possession. She had no secure garage space. How could she drive it to work? It would just be targeted again. Maybe, she should buy a house with its own garage. Then there was the headache of selling the place once she left New Meiji. The assignment for her brother was never intended to be permanent. This was too much for her still over taxed brain to contemplate at the moment.

Her heart sank when she remembered what was in her car. Besides her purse, cell phone and all her ID, she also lost that special dress she bought while shopping with Tae. Not only that, she lost the perfume that Hajime liked. Well, since she tried on the dress at the store, she could go on-line and order one just like it, and have it delivered to her office, the perfume, too.

But she was still tired. She thought about her former husband, who had to be exhausted by now. But Hajime was Hajime and always functioned perfectly regardless of how tired he might be. With him it was mind over body, push on for the good of the cause. At least that was the way it was back in Meiji 1. Maybe a nap on the couch would be good for her, or maybe she should check out Hajime's kitchen and see what he had on hand. She was a decent cook, and he would need to eat when he returned. She smiled to herself, thankful that she had her memories back, because she wouldn't have to ask him what he liked to eat. She already knew.