Disclaimer: all character rights belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shueisha etc. This is a fictionalized account based on the manga 'Rurouni Kenshin' and in part on historical facts.

MEIJI KEIKAN ROMANTAN - A Sequel to 'The Courtship of Lady Tokio'

Prologue

One hundred fifty years ago, with the arrival of the Black Ships, chaos and turmoil rose up in Japan.

In the eye of the storm, in Kyoto, there was a man who was feared as 'Miburo', 'Wolf of Mibu'. He bloodied his sword countless times in order to protect the law and order of the land, and to uphold his vision of justice. He fought valiantly through the madness of the Bakumatsu, although ultimately the war was lost. He disappeared on the battlefields of Aizu, but his name remained infamous though time passed.

In the eye of the storm, there was a lady from the northern lands, who was cherished as 'The Flower of Aizu'. Those who knew her said that her beauty was the least of her charms, and she worked tirelessly for the sake of her land, her lord, and the man she loved. Hers was a bitter lot when her people were branded as 'Imperial Enemies', in spite of years of loyal duty to the Emperor and the Tokugawa Shogunate. Yet, despite defeat, she held her head high and she persevered, though almost everything she held dear was lost.

In the 11th year of Meiji, in downtown Tokyo, there lived a police officer and his wife. Their neighbors thought that they were a nice, respectable couple, with a nice house and nice garden and a nice little boy. This was true, but not the whole truth, for theirs was a life far from ordinary. Nonetheless, it was the ordinary joys of everyday living that they both treasured and worked hard to protect.

Though the times changed and so too their names, flowers still bloomed, and the Wolf of Mibu was still the Wolf of Mibu.

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Please check out the tumblr site for updates, extras (pictures!) and Eeni's doujinshi for 'The Courtship of Lady Tokio'! Details are on the profile page.

Eeni has now posted chapter 2 of the CLT doujinshi, and if you haven't already seen her work, it's brilliant! The action scenes are fantastic, I love her take on the characters, and she's added her own unique touch and sense of humor. It's incredibly ambitious and she has my full support and undying gratitude. We hope you enjoy it too: after all, how many quality English-language doujinshis are there for RK?! We would be delighted if you would take a look, follow us, leave comments, and in general, send us your encouragement! CLT took a lot of love and research, and drawing manga is no walk in the park. Thank you very much!

Greetings: To anyone who read my previous work, hello again! To all first time readers, a warm welcome! To be honest, I had no plans to start writing again so soon, but what with Eeni making the doujinshi and the 2012 RuroKen Renaissance, I was so fired up that I couldn't relax. I realized that there was so much that I had left out and that there were so many gaps to be filled. Readers do not need to read CLT before starting this, though it will feature certain characters and settings from the story. This work will take place during the manga timeline, wherein l endeavor to fill in the events from Saitou's side. There will be historical and cultural stuff to get through (again), so my apologies in advance. There will also be flashbacks to the Bakumatsu, in which our beloved Shinsengumi characters will reappear. As a result, the chapters may not all be in sequence and could be more 'stand-alone' types.

My main hope, as always, is that people will enjoy it and spread the Saitou x Tokio love! Thank you very much in advance for your time and all your kind support, and I look forward to hearing from you!

The title is a play on RK's own subtitle, "Meiji Kenkaku Romantan": 'Keikan' means 'police officer' and 'Romantan' is a 'romance' in the novelistic sense (a tale dealing with a chivalrous hero; a quality or feeling of mystery, excitement and remoteness from every day life). The prologue itself is based on the opening page of the manga.

Notes: I have not watched all of the anime - I'm a manga purist for the most part. I have tried to keep the characterizations as true as possible to Watsuki-sensei's vision, but will not always succeed (please do let me know where I fail). FYI: this Saitou-san has a quirky sense of humor and is not all snarls and blood lust. After all, he's the kind of person who'll dress up as a kooky medicine peddler, and give people funny nicknames. He's the type of guy who sneezes four times while eating soba and apologizes to the waitress. He does not always come off as cool and aloof - take his parting scene at Shingetsu-mura for example, where he actually *pats* Kenshin on the shoulder. He's quite a generous and honorable man, willing to take in the orphan brother of his subordinate (he could have just packed him off to an orphanage). And he's the kind of husband who casually brags about his wife to his arch-rival. So that's the kind of Saitou-san that I fell in love with - it's that contrast with his ruthlessness that adds depth - and I hope that's the kind of Saitou-san that people will enjoy reading about too!