Saitou

Saitou didn't even bother with an excuse as he jumped up after Chou announced Heishin's death. He could see Aoshi and Misao exchanging looks as he quickly exited the dining car – and Kenshin's heavy and questioning look on him. He ignored them all and rushed out with the crowd of gawkers. Despite the protests of the conductors, he pushed through the crowd and threw the door to Heishin's suite open.

Heishin lay slumped on the floor, a bullet hole in his forehead. The 'four gods' lay around him, blood oozing from bullet holes through their heads and chests. The blood still looks relatively fresh, Saitou thought as he crouched down near one of the bodies. This must have been recent. Less than an hour ago. Who would have done it? Shishio's people? Shinomori? But I know for a fact that Shinomori had a deal with the guy. Why would he kill him?

The bodyguards looked as if they were reaching for their weapons when they were shot which meant that the person who had shot them was very fast. And since they had been reaching for their weapons, it meant that something had happened for them to do so. For instance, Heishin being shot.

But these bodyguards were the best. They would have seen it coming. If a man came in with a gun and an intention to shoot their employer, he would be assaulted with fire from four sides. So they must've been shot at around the same time as Heishin was. And that was impossible, unless there was more than one person doing the shooting. Saitou lit a cigarette, thinking.

There are four of Shishio's cronies. The one in the dress, the one who looks like a girl and the big guy who prays all the time. And then there's Sawagejou Chou. As far as I know, Shinomori only has himself and the Weasel. It would be more likely that it was Shishio's people who did it, since there's more of them. I've only heard rumors about Shinomori himself, but I wouldn't think that he's crazy enough to take on four highly trained meatheads and a crime boss with only two guns and a little girl. But then again, I've heard that he and the kid are really good. Like, really, really good. He made a dissatisfied sound and waved off a staff member who was trying to pull him away.

He suddenly caught a glimpse of something that Heishin was holding in his hand. A pen. Saitou's eyebrows rose. A pen? He was writing something? He absentmindedly pushed away a staff member who was trying to wrestle him out of the room. Saitou cast a cursory glance around the room, then stood up and searched carefully. No paper. So what was he writing? Either Chou or the killer took it. Or maybe there was a third person in between them. The 'fifth god'? Possibly.

Saitou began to pace. If Shinomori was the killer, it would've been easy for him to walk into Heishin's room. Hell, the idiot would've probably invited him in, for some business or maybe even a friendly chat. He might have signed or written something business-related, then Shinomori and the kid would've just started shooting. If it was Shishio's hitmen, they would've easily forced their way in – and just shot everybody. Why the pen? Maybe he was writing something when they came in and they thought it was important.

Then it clicked – and he threw aside the member of staff who was almost crying as he begged Saitou to leave. He kicked the door closed behind him and pushed through the crowd. In the dining car, it was only the Himuras and Shishio's lackeys. Aoshi and Misao had left and the Himura family were preparing to do so. Saitou glanced at Kenshin, but the other was not aware of it. Their eyes did not meet.

However, Saitou met the eyes of a certain 'girly-looking' young bowl-cut individual. And with a slow smile, he stood up and walked over to Saitou on the other end of the dining car. "I do not believe we've had the pleasure of meeting each other before, Saitou-san." he said, his smile widening.

Vaguely reminded of Okita by the boy, Saitou blinked, disconcerted. Then he snorted. Okita? This kid is a pale imitation. "I believe we haven't."

"I'm Seta Soujiro." he smiled pleasantly again, but there was a look in his eyes that belied his pleasant tone. Saitou almost grinned. He's evaluating me. And you don't seem to like what you see, do you kid.

Saitou nodded. "I'm sure you are." he said. "As you're aware of, unless you're even more of an idiot than I took you for, I'm here not just for a pleasant chat. I want to ask you a few questions."

Soujiro laughed, his sky-colored eyes sparkling with excitement. "You are just as the rumors say you are, Saitou-san! And I hope I do not disappoint you – as I may be just a little bit more of an idiot than you first took me for, I'm afraid, as I would only go so far as to hazard a guess at the questions you have for me."

"Heishin." Saitou said bluntly. "Who killed him?"

"Ah. I see. So it's that, isn't it." The smile on Soujiro's face widened, but his eyes became cold and dangerous. "…Now, Saitou-san." he said. "If it was me or my friends, do you really think I'd say, 'Yes, Saitou-san, it was me'?"

"You would. Because you'd so desperately want to make things more interesting for yourself." Saitou lit a cigarette. "I'm waiting." I'm a good judge of character. This one'll dance around the subject for a little while and then he'll tell me.

Laughing again, Soujiro shook his head. "Oh gosh… Saitou-san, you know me so well even though it is our first meeting… Things are already rather interesting – what makes you think that me telling you anything will make it any more so? Ah well. I suppose you're right, though." he looked up and met Saitou's eyes. His voice was as pleasant as ever, although it was lowered just the slightest bit. "…Shinomori Aoshi-san and Misao-chan beat us to it. We were going to use Heishin as an excuse to kill one of our own and his people – someone who Shishio-san can no longer trust."

Saitou raised an eyebrow. "And who is that?" I could show him a blank piece of paper and he'd say it's a list of people who Shishio Makoto trusts.

"Oh… It's a rather funny coincidence, actually." Soujiro began to giggle.

Saitou rolled his eyes. "…Just talk already." he grumbled.

"Yukishiro Enishi is his name, Saitou-san. A rather interesting character, he is. He hasn't left his room at all, but he would be very surprised to see our Himura-san aboard, wouldn't he? After all, I've heard him say many times before, 'I'd set the whole world on fire if it meant that he'd burn too'."

Saitou's eyes widened. Shit.

**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**o**

Saitou tried to corner Kenshin many times that day, but somehow the red-head always seemed to leave when he entered the room. Finally, he managed to catch the eye of the young woman who was now Kenshin's wife. She sat in the smoking car with a cigarette clenched in her teeth and a book in her hands. He made his way over and introduced himself. "I am Saitou Hajime and I need to talk to Battou- I mean Himura right now. It's of the utmost importance."

For a second the young woman looked as if she wanted to punch him (a common reaction) then she looked almost pityingly at him. Then she raised an eyebrow. "Is it not something I can relay to him?" she asked coolly, standing up.

Well, she married him, she probably knows everything and can deal with some shit, Saitou decided. He shrugged. "I guess you can. Tell him that Yukishiro Enishi is here on this train and that my warning from before applies." he took a gun from his jacket and handed it to her. She seems somehow used to holding firearms, he noticed. "Give this to him. He may choose to use it, he probably won't because he's gone soft." here Saitou really tried not to scoff but he probably failed, seeing as the woman narrowed her eyes at him. "But I have a bad feeling about this. And I've never been wrong about those sorts of things." At the slightly shocked look on her face he paused. "Look, kid." he said a little more softly. "Shit's going to go down and I owe the Battousai one from ten years ago. Just tell him what I said, alright?"

She looked up at him, no longer showing any shock or fear. "My name is Himura Kaoru." she said. "I will relay your message to Kenshin." she put special emphasis on the name. She smiled tiredly, her eyebrows furrowing in worry. "Thank you, Saitou-san."

He shook Kaoru's hand and departed. She seems like a capable kid. Then, unbidden, a thought came to him. Wait… if the 'Takani' woman is a Fox-lady, Shinomori's little protégée is a Weasel kid then this one is a… A Raccoon-girl. Then he stopped and shook his head. …I'm not even drunk, what am I thinking about.

As he exited the smoking car, he saw Kenshin who looked back up at him. "Saitou?" he asked.

"Don't look so happy to see me." Saitou grumbled. "I couldn't catch you anywhere so I gave the details to the Raccoon-girl. Yukishiro Enishi's on the train. He hasn't seen you yet but it's only a matter of time now that Heishin's dead. I gave her a gun to give to you, I have no way of knowing if you're gonna use it or not."

Kenshin's eyes widened and he gasped, his face pale. "Yukishiro… Enishi…" he repeated in a quiet, shaky voice.

"Yeah. Oh shit." Saitou sympathized. "From what I heard, he still… Doesn't like you very much. Meaning, he'd set the world on fire if it meant you burned too. You've been underground for far too long, Battousai. Rather, avoiding the underground for too long."

"…It can't be…"