The men found Toki lying in a nearby tree and dragged her roughly by the
arm back to the mansion.
"Heh. The little girl got away. Damn I was thinking of playing with her too.", said one of them.
"Well at least we got this one. I'm sure Mr. Welsch will satisfy us once he's done with her.", the other laughed.
Toki was still bleeding profusely as she was led into Mr. Welsch's room. Upon Welsch's orders her bloody garmet was stripped off her. The man motioned the others to get out of the room. He eyed Toki carefully and took a syringe from the drawer. She tried to cover herself, but his hand grabbed her arm and forcefully injected something into her. She felt a bit drowsy. "It's probably from the blood loss." she thought half-awake as she was dragged into the shower.
Welsch took his time washing her body. His hand staying longer in her intimate parts than was necessary. "I'm glad you're back." He whisphered to her ears. "I think it's now a good time to show you what it feels to be a woman."
Toki found the whole sensation perplexing. She could not gather her thoughts. She was glad when she started feeling drowsy but unfortunately the sleep she wanted desperately did not come. It was as if whatever was injected in her just made her weak but concious of what was happening to her body. She did not want to react to Welsch's skillful play on her body, but somehow she was responding to it. He defiled her over and over again until the wee hours of the morning. She felt exhausted and out of place. Finally everything ended, she lost conciousness with the man on top of her smiling.
Welsch handed Toki over to two men. "Do what you want with her.", he said. He was sure Toki will not last long. He had already drugged her and got the responses he wanted back. Plus that bullet wound was starting to smell. "By the way, make sure you dispose of her properly."
Two other men enjoyed her that morning. She was unconcious and they did all the animalistic acts they could possibly do to a woman. She was turning blue and the men decided that they'll have to get rid of her soon. They never did get to dispose of her. A man in police uniform came up behind from them and beheaded them. Making sure that his blade dragged slowly through their necks so that they could feel excruciating pain. The man looked over the naked woman by the stream, horror written all over his face. He ran towards her and dropped his katana. He took his blue jacket and wrapped it around her, the muscles in his jaw tightening. He dashed for the nearest doctor in the area. "Toki, don't die on me just yet. Please.", Saitou clutched her. Running as fast as he could.
----------------------------------------
He stayed with her all night. The doctor said she has lost too much blood and was drugged. The doctor was not sure if she'll live through it.
Saitou buried his face in her hands. Helplessness was not something he handled well. He has gotten rid of two men. He wanted so desperately to go back to the mansion and execute that Welsch person. But he wanted to be here just in case she woke up.
"Anou...", a girl came up from behind him and handed him tea.
"Arigatou.." said Saitou.
The girl looked at Toki. Saitou noticed how worried the girl was. Apparently this girl that Toki helped saved was a good friend. "She'll be alright.", he reassured her.
The night passed and Saitou stayed beside her. Always holding her hand, not even leaving to go smoke. He realized this and had to smile to himself. Toki really did get under his skin. There was no use denying it now. He loved her eventhough he denied the fact just a few weeks ago. He loved her eventhough, he was still hurting over his lost. He loved her all the more when she decided to go away. He loved her eventhough she got herself hurt in the process. Now all that was left for him to do was gain her trust back, so that he can protect her. The smile faded. Protect. Something I was not able to do again. He gulped, the amber eyes started to water but he immediately wiped them away.
Unknown to him Toki has just regained conciousness and was observing him. "He's crying...", she thought to herself. She squeezed his hand and shook her head. The purple eyes looking back, finally understanding the situation between her and Hajime. "Don't.."
Amber eyes stared back at her. She was certain there was sadness and relief in them just now. Saitou gently brushed the hair from her face and held her hand tightly. "You know... You're so stubborn sometimes..." Saitou let go of her hand his gaze turned the other way and said "I was worried."
Toki smiled. It wasn't exactly the confession she dreamt of, but to Saitou this was as close as she was ever going to get. Then suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by the pain in her leg and the throbbing in her private parts. The reality of what has just happened a couple of nights ago hit her. "How can I face him now?", she started to sob. She turned away towards the window.
Saitou heard her crying. He knew the reality was just starting to sink in with Toki. In an effort to comfort her he placed his hand on her right shoulder. "Please look at me.", he shook her gently. Toki did not turn. He sighed and went to the opposite side of the bed. She tried to turn but his strong hands steadied her to were she was. The amber eyes looked deeply into hers as Saitou took his free hand to wipe away hot tears coming from the purple eyes. "Listen to me.", he demanded softly.
Toki nodded.
"Between us. What's past is past. I still respect you.", not turning his eyes away he took her other hand. Placed them in his calloused ones and said, "I love you. Please trust me." An urge to kiss her engulfed him, but he resisted. He will not give in to passion right now. His sincerity has got to come through to Toki first.
Saitou waited until Toki was asleep. She has calmed down and he breathe a sigh of relief. It was time he thought to seek out retribution for his beloved. He donned a black shirt and thought about donning his uniform but decided against it. Personal vengeance was not fitting for a police officer, but tonight he was just going to be a manslayer. He never noticed that Meiko was watching him carefully, from the time he took his katana to the time he left.
Meiko woke Toki immediately after Saitou left. The girl's grey eyes were full of fear. By the time Meiko revealed everything to Toki, she was already up and dressed.
"Meiko, I need you help. Make sure you go to the police with this. Don't tell them anything more than you have to. Just say there's trouble in the mansion.", she continued "Make sure they come in time, before Fujita-san spills blood."
They parted ways. Toki limped as fast as she could towards the mansion. The times were now different, although the Meiji government supported Saitou's underground activities, Osaka was different. Aside from that, she desperately wanted for Saitou to stop spilling blood. He spilt blood only for Japan not for personal reasons. That's what he was in the Shinsen-gumi. She will not let him drag himself down just because of her.
-----------------------------------
Saitou lit up a cigarette. He surveyed the room where he was told Welsch stayed in. There was a western bed to the right. The bathroom was into the far right corner. He still smelled blood from the place, so he went to look at it in the bathroom. What greeted him was a kimono torn to pieces dried with blood at the bottom part. He stiffened, there was no doubt, that was what Toki was wearing when he left her that night. "Yarou.", he muttered under his breath.
The door opened and a large man, stockily built came in. Saitou stayed in the darkness observing him. This was the same man he met that time he took Toki home. The bastard reeked of alcohol. Saitou wondered how he will kill the man.He did not want this man Welsch to die quickly, he wanted him to taste hurt deep into his body right down to his bones. Saitou decided he will have to gatotsu him first in the non vital areas and let him bleed to death, just like what would've happened to Toki if he did not find her down by the stream.
"Yarou... I think it's about time.", he said to the man, showing him the blade of his katana.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?", asked the english man backing slightly to the wall.
"No need for names. There's only one thing you need to know." replied Saitoul, his amber eyes burning.
The man laughed slowly.. "And what's that?" The man slowly inched his way towards the nightstand.
"I came for retribution for Takatsuki Toki.", Saitou readied himself into the gatotsu position, slightly lowering his katana so that he will not hit the man's vital area. As he was about to lunge, the door burst open and a young lady threw herself at Saitou, throwing him out of balance. He looked behind him his amber eyes burning annoyed at the fact that his gatotsu missed. Surprised, he did not expect Toki there.
Seeing the opportunity. Welsch took a gun from the table and started shooting. In a frenzy to shield Toki from the gunshots, Saitou threw himself at her and they rolled on the floor. Taking cover at the other side of the bed, Saitou felt a sharp pain on his back.
"Hajime you're bleeding...", Toki said clutching at him.
"Don't mind that!", he yelled at Toki. "What are you doing here?", his eyes glowed dangerously. "You'll get killed here."
Saitou once again took his katana and started to get up but Toki did not let go of him.
"Hajime.. Onegai.. Stop this!", she clung to him like a child. Saitou tried to wrestle free.
"You don't want to die here don't you?" Saitou asked.
Toki shook her head.
"Then let me go Toki! This isn't the time for this. Trust me for once, I have not lost myself.", he pried himself free and jumped away from the bed.
"So your name is Hajime is it?", the stout man laughed again. "Are you one of those old samurais who still don't know what a gun is. Come now, you're wounded I'm not hard to talk to. I can let you go."
"A Miburo does not take favors from anyone, especially from a dead man." Saitou retaliated.
A couple of shots were fired again to Saitou's feet, he dodged them both. "Now. Now. You sure can dance can't you?" said the stout man.
In a blink of an eye, Saitou managed to get closer and thrust his katana to Welsch's belly. For an instant he was tempted to drag the katana up to break the man's rib cage and possibly puncture his lungs, but Toki was staring at him. Fear again written in the purple eyes. He let go of the man. His promise to her he could not break, if she was going to trust him again.
He let his katana dropped to his side and took the gun from Welsch's hand. The cut was deep, had he deepened it enough, the man would've probably died, he thought to himself. He turned to Toki, moved her to the side. "Suma Toki. I'll call the police and turn myself in."
Toki shook her head. "No need for that, they're coming."
------------------------------------
Saitou was taken to the local precint. The Chief of police was waiting for him.
"Gorou Fujita. You are one lucky bastard.", the chief continued. "If that man had died I would have no choice but to lock you up."
Saitou was not paying attention. His thoughts were drifting to Toki. It was not the first time he'd seen her stare at him fearfully. He just didn't want to see it again. He sighed and started to smoke.
"Fujita. You'll have to stay here for the night. We can't let you go."
"Wakatta", replied Saitou.
"Chief of police Kawaji will be coming in early tomorrow to investigate your case. You're dismissed."
--------------------------------
Kawaji came early that day. He was displeased with what he saw. True enough Fujita was able to crack this illegal activity and was able to save several women, still he did not approve of Fujita's ways of handling things. He frowned. It will be hard to acquit Fujita of frustrated manslaughter, especially here in Osaka where eveything was transparent. It was a small peaceful place, that things like this were not easily overlooked eventhough the end result was beneficial to all.
He stopped by the mansion. It was almost deserted when he got there. He started interviewing witnesses and one particular woman caught his attention. She was middle aged short and fat. She kept complaining about a niece she had just took in and had caused all this mess, along with a man named Gorou Fujita. He reprimanded her telling her that all this was illegal and inhuman. She should not be upset that the police foiled the foreigners 'plans'. Finally he got the name of her niece. Takatsuki Toki. He'll have to get to talk to her first.
"Konnichi-wa. Toki-san. I am Police commissioner Kawaji", Kawaji greeted the young lady.
"Anou.. What can I do for you sir?", Toki asked.
Kawaji eyed the young lady carefully. She's cute and pretty, but she also looked tired and sad. He decided to be very brief. He did not want to ask unnecessary questions, as it was obvious that the girl has been subject to harassment in the mansion.
"I just wanted to ask, what exactly happened that night Fujita came.", Kawaji was straight to the point.
Toki carefully chose her words. The man standing in front of her was a high ranking police official. The insignia embroidered in his uniform told her so.
"What has happened to Fujita-san?", she couldn't help but ask.
"We are trying him for frustrated manslaughter. Since he is a police official, he will be punished heavily.", he stated bluntly.
Toki fought to retain her composure. Saitou's life will depend on the next few words she'll say. She did not want to lie to Kawaji so she said, "He came there for me. I am an old friend back in Tokyo and he was worried that I might be in trouble."
"Sou ka. Is there anything else?", Kawaji made it sound like he was unconvinced to get more out of her.
Toki made sure they had eye contact. If she was going to help Saitou, she better do the best she can. "Everything that happened that night was for self-defense."
"Can you stand in a closed door trial for this?", Kawaji narrowed his eyes. Trying to intimidate the young lady, just in case she was lying.
"I'll gladly do so." the young lady replied.
-------------------------------------
Two months has passed and two figures found themselves in Tokyo. They were walking silently among a groove of trees just outside their house. The cherry blossom had started to bloom a delicate pink. A lady in a kimono adorn with lillies was walking with a man in a dark blue uniform. The man stopped and waited for the lady to catch up.
"How many times do I have to tell you to walk beside me?", the amber eyes seemed to smile at her.
"Not enough...", the purple eyes smiled back.
He reached out his sword calloused hands to her and she gladly obliged. He stopped to lean at a big sakura tree while the lady followed. She rested her head on his chest, while he let his other arm embrace her.
For the first time in many months two souls became happy and content. A good future awaited them, that was enough.
END OF CHAPTER XV
Finally the end of my story.. Yes there were good chapters and bad ones. There were slow ones and fast ones. It's my first fic and I'm so happy. I finally found out what my friend meant when she said it's an absolute joy to write.
I hope you enjoyed the pairing. Basically, I've always thought of Saitou as a restrained man. Yes he was decisive and full of discipline, but I think his achilees heel is when he is dealing with feelings of affection and feelings for his loved ones. I hope somehow I captured some of that.
Toki was a different matter. We only know of her from the RK movie as quite helpless but has a good heart. I wanted to portray her as someone who was brave and able to make decisions for herself. I doubt if anyone would contest, as there is no indication in the movie that she was the contrary.
I doubt if I'll ever write the two together again. I see no need to. I think they'll be happy and content the way they are.
Again for the fans of Tokio, SUMA. I needed Saitou to be with someone else. I don't know much about Tokio and the way I portrayed her here might be off the mark. I also don't want to expound on the fact that she became a member of the Shinsen-gumi as I've never read the Burai manga. Who knows? I might also be jealous of her for having Saitou for a husband. *sighs*
Thanks for reading and reviewing. SPECIAL THANKS TO IMALEFTY, who stuck with me to the bitter end.
~wounds
To the reviewers:
Lalalalala - Thank you! That's exactly what I wanted out of Toki. To make her more likable. When I watched the RK movie, I thought her character was a little bland so I thought to give her more of a personality here.
Babonwonsuni - Arigatou! Shades of grey. Yeah I guess I did :O) I'm glad you were entertained. I hope though that you did well on your finals so that I won't feel guilty writing this fic :O)
---------shameless advertising---------- new story "Leaving Edo" is now up!
"Heh. The little girl got away. Damn I was thinking of playing with her too.", said one of them.
"Well at least we got this one. I'm sure Mr. Welsch will satisfy us once he's done with her.", the other laughed.
Toki was still bleeding profusely as she was led into Mr. Welsch's room. Upon Welsch's orders her bloody garmet was stripped off her. The man motioned the others to get out of the room. He eyed Toki carefully and took a syringe from the drawer. She tried to cover herself, but his hand grabbed her arm and forcefully injected something into her. She felt a bit drowsy. "It's probably from the blood loss." she thought half-awake as she was dragged into the shower.
Welsch took his time washing her body. His hand staying longer in her intimate parts than was necessary. "I'm glad you're back." He whisphered to her ears. "I think it's now a good time to show you what it feels to be a woman."
Toki found the whole sensation perplexing. She could not gather her thoughts. She was glad when she started feeling drowsy but unfortunately the sleep she wanted desperately did not come. It was as if whatever was injected in her just made her weak but concious of what was happening to her body. She did not want to react to Welsch's skillful play on her body, but somehow she was responding to it. He defiled her over and over again until the wee hours of the morning. She felt exhausted and out of place. Finally everything ended, she lost conciousness with the man on top of her smiling.
Welsch handed Toki over to two men. "Do what you want with her.", he said. He was sure Toki will not last long. He had already drugged her and got the responses he wanted back. Plus that bullet wound was starting to smell. "By the way, make sure you dispose of her properly."
Two other men enjoyed her that morning. She was unconcious and they did all the animalistic acts they could possibly do to a woman. She was turning blue and the men decided that they'll have to get rid of her soon. They never did get to dispose of her. A man in police uniform came up behind from them and beheaded them. Making sure that his blade dragged slowly through their necks so that they could feel excruciating pain. The man looked over the naked woman by the stream, horror written all over his face. He ran towards her and dropped his katana. He took his blue jacket and wrapped it around her, the muscles in his jaw tightening. He dashed for the nearest doctor in the area. "Toki, don't die on me just yet. Please.", Saitou clutched her. Running as fast as he could.
----------------------------------------
He stayed with her all night. The doctor said she has lost too much blood and was drugged. The doctor was not sure if she'll live through it.
Saitou buried his face in her hands. Helplessness was not something he handled well. He has gotten rid of two men. He wanted so desperately to go back to the mansion and execute that Welsch person. But he wanted to be here just in case she woke up.
"Anou...", a girl came up from behind him and handed him tea.
"Arigatou.." said Saitou.
The girl looked at Toki. Saitou noticed how worried the girl was. Apparently this girl that Toki helped saved was a good friend. "She'll be alright.", he reassured her.
The night passed and Saitou stayed beside her. Always holding her hand, not even leaving to go smoke. He realized this and had to smile to himself. Toki really did get under his skin. There was no use denying it now. He loved her eventhough he denied the fact just a few weeks ago. He loved her eventhough, he was still hurting over his lost. He loved her all the more when she decided to go away. He loved her eventhough she got herself hurt in the process. Now all that was left for him to do was gain her trust back, so that he can protect her. The smile faded. Protect. Something I was not able to do again. He gulped, the amber eyes started to water but he immediately wiped them away.
Unknown to him Toki has just regained conciousness and was observing him. "He's crying...", she thought to herself. She squeezed his hand and shook her head. The purple eyes looking back, finally understanding the situation between her and Hajime. "Don't.."
Amber eyes stared back at her. She was certain there was sadness and relief in them just now. Saitou gently brushed the hair from her face and held her hand tightly. "You know... You're so stubborn sometimes..." Saitou let go of her hand his gaze turned the other way and said "I was worried."
Toki smiled. It wasn't exactly the confession she dreamt of, but to Saitou this was as close as she was ever going to get. Then suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by the pain in her leg and the throbbing in her private parts. The reality of what has just happened a couple of nights ago hit her. "How can I face him now?", she started to sob. She turned away towards the window.
Saitou heard her crying. He knew the reality was just starting to sink in with Toki. In an effort to comfort her he placed his hand on her right shoulder. "Please look at me.", he shook her gently. Toki did not turn. He sighed and went to the opposite side of the bed. She tried to turn but his strong hands steadied her to were she was. The amber eyes looked deeply into hers as Saitou took his free hand to wipe away hot tears coming from the purple eyes. "Listen to me.", he demanded softly.
Toki nodded.
"Between us. What's past is past. I still respect you.", not turning his eyes away he took her other hand. Placed them in his calloused ones and said, "I love you. Please trust me." An urge to kiss her engulfed him, but he resisted. He will not give in to passion right now. His sincerity has got to come through to Toki first.
Saitou waited until Toki was asleep. She has calmed down and he breathe a sigh of relief. It was time he thought to seek out retribution for his beloved. He donned a black shirt and thought about donning his uniform but decided against it. Personal vengeance was not fitting for a police officer, but tonight he was just going to be a manslayer. He never noticed that Meiko was watching him carefully, from the time he took his katana to the time he left.
Meiko woke Toki immediately after Saitou left. The girl's grey eyes were full of fear. By the time Meiko revealed everything to Toki, she was already up and dressed.
"Meiko, I need you help. Make sure you go to the police with this. Don't tell them anything more than you have to. Just say there's trouble in the mansion.", she continued "Make sure they come in time, before Fujita-san spills blood."
They parted ways. Toki limped as fast as she could towards the mansion. The times were now different, although the Meiji government supported Saitou's underground activities, Osaka was different. Aside from that, she desperately wanted for Saitou to stop spilling blood. He spilt blood only for Japan not for personal reasons. That's what he was in the Shinsen-gumi. She will not let him drag himself down just because of her.
-----------------------------------
Saitou lit up a cigarette. He surveyed the room where he was told Welsch stayed in. There was a western bed to the right. The bathroom was into the far right corner. He still smelled blood from the place, so he went to look at it in the bathroom. What greeted him was a kimono torn to pieces dried with blood at the bottom part. He stiffened, there was no doubt, that was what Toki was wearing when he left her that night. "Yarou.", he muttered under his breath.
The door opened and a large man, stockily built came in. Saitou stayed in the darkness observing him. This was the same man he met that time he took Toki home. The bastard reeked of alcohol. Saitou wondered how he will kill the man.He did not want this man Welsch to die quickly, he wanted him to taste hurt deep into his body right down to his bones. Saitou decided he will have to gatotsu him first in the non vital areas and let him bleed to death, just like what would've happened to Toki if he did not find her down by the stream.
"Yarou... I think it's about time.", he said to the man, showing him the blade of his katana.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?", asked the english man backing slightly to the wall.
"No need for names. There's only one thing you need to know." replied Saitoul, his amber eyes burning.
The man laughed slowly.. "And what's that?" The man slowly inched his way towards the nightstand.
"I came for retribution for Takatsuki Toki.", Saitou readied himself into the gatotsu position, slightly lowering his katana so that he will not hit the man's vital area. As he was about to lunge, the door burst open and a young lady threw herself at Saitou, throwing him out of balance. He looked behind him his amber eyes burning annoyed at the fact that his gatotsu missed. Surprised, he did not expect Toki there.
Seeing the opportunity. Welsch took a gun from the table and started shooting. In a frenzy to shield Toki from the gunshots, Saitou threw himself at her and they rolled on the floor. Taking cover at the other side of the bed, Saitou felt a sharp pain on his back.
"Hajime you're bleeding...", Toki said clutching at him.
"Don't mind that!", he yelled at Toki. "What are you doing here?", his eyes glowed dangerously. "You'll get killed here."
Saitou once again took his katana and started to get up but Toki did not let go of him.
"Hajime.. Onegai.. Stop this!", she clung to him like a child. Saitou tried to wrestle free.
"You don't want to die here don't you?" Saitou asked.
Toki shook her head.
"Then let me go Toki! This isn't the time for this. Trust me for once, I have not lost myself.", he pried himself free and jumped away from the bed.
"So your name is Hajime is it?", the stout man laughed again. "Are you one of those old samurais who still don't know what a gun is. Come now, you're wounded I'm not hard to talk to. I can let you go."
"A Miburo does not take favors from anyone, especially from a dead man." Saitou retaliated.
A couple of shots were fired again to Saitou's feet, he dodged them both. "Now. Now. You sure can dance can't you?" said the stout man.
In a blink of an eye, Saitou managed to get closer and thrust his katana to Welsch's belly. For an instant he was tempted to drag the katana up to break the man's rib cage and possibly puncture his lungs, but Toki was staring at him. Fear again written in the purple eyes. He let go of the man. His promise to her he could not break, if she was going to trust him again.
He let his katana dropped to his side and took the gun from Welsch's hand. The cut was deep, had he deepened it enough, the man would've probably died, he thought to himself. He turned to Toki, moved her to the side. "Suma Toki. I'll call the police and turn myself in."
Toki shook her head. "No need for that, they're coming."
------------------------------------
Saitou was taken to the local precint. The Chief of police was waiting for him.
"Gorou Fujita. You are one lucky bastard.", the chief continued. "If that man had died I would have no choice but to lock you up."
Saitou was not paying attention. His thoughts were drifting to Toki. It was not the first time he'd seen her stare at him fearfully. He just didn't want to see it again. He sighed and started to smoke.
"Fujita. You'll have to stay here for the night. We can't let you go."
"Wakatta", replied Saitou.
"Chief of police Kawaji will be coming in early tomorrow to investigate your case. You're dismissed."
--------------------------------
Kawaji came early that day. He was displeased with what he saw. True enough Fujita was able to crack this illegal activity and was able to save several women, still he did not approve of Fujita's ways of handling things. He frowned. It will be hard to acquit Fujita of frustrated manslaughter, especially here in Osaka where eveything was transparent. It was a small peaceful place, that things like this were not easily overlooked eventhough the end result was beneficial to all.
He stopped by the mansion. It was almost deserted when he got there. He started interviewing witnesses and one particular woman caught his attention. She was middle aged short and fat. She kept complaining about a niece she had just took in and had caused all this mess, along with a man named Gorou Fujita. He reprimanded her telling her that all this was illegal and inhuman. She should not be upset that the police foiled the foreigners 'plans'. Finally he got the name of her niece. Takatsuki Toki. He'll have to get to talk to her first.
"Konnichi-wa. Toki-san. I am Police commissioner Kawaji", Kawaji greeted the young lady.
"Anou.. What can I do for you sir?", Toki asked.
Kawaji eyed the young lady carefully. She's cute and pretty, but she also looked tired and sad. He decided to be very brief. He did not want to ask unnecessary questions, as it was obvious that the girl has been subject to harassment in the mansion.
"I just wanted to ask, what exactly happened that night Fujita came.", Kawaji was straight to the point.
Toki carefully chose her words. The man standing in front of her was a high ranking police official. The insignia embroidered in his uniform told her so.
"What has happened to Fujita-san?", she couldn't help but ask.
"We are trying him for frustrated manslaughter. Since he is a police official, he will be punished heavily.", he stated bluntly.
Toki fought to retain her composure. Saitou's life will depend on the next few words she'll say. She did not want to lie to Kawaji so she said, "He came there for me. I am an old friend back in Tokyo and he was worried that I might be in trouble."
"Sou ka. Is there anything else?", Kawaji made it sound like he was unconvinced to get more out of her.
Toki made sure they had eye contact. If she was going to help Saitou, she better do the best she can. "Everything that happened that night was for self-defense."
"Can you stand in a closed door trial for this?", Kawaji narrowed his eyes. Trying to intimidate the young lady, just in case she was lying.
"I'll gladly do so." the young lady replied.
-------------------------------------
Two months has passed and two figures found themselves in Tokyo. They were walking silently among a groove of trees just outside their house. The cherry blossom had started to bloom a delicate pink. A lady in a kimono adorn with lillies was walking with a man in a dark blue uniform. The man stopped and waited for the lady to catch up.
"How many times do I have to tell you to walk beside me?", the amber eyes seemed to smile at her.
"Not enough...", the purple eyes smiled back.
He reached out his sword calloused hands to her and she gladly obliged. He stopped to lean at a big sakura tree while the lady followed. She rested her head on his chest, while he let his other arm embrace her.
For the first time in many months two souls became happy and content. A good future awaited them, that was enough.
END OF CHAPTER XV
Finally the end of my story.. Yes there were good chapters and bad ones. There were slow ones and fast ones. It's my first fic and I'm so happy. I finally found out what my friend meant when she said it's an absolute joy to write.
I hope you enjoyed the pairing. Basically, I've always thought of Saitou as a restrained man. Yes he was decisive and full of discipline, but I think his achilees heel is when he is dealing with feelings of affection and feelings for his loved ones. I hope somehow I captured some of that.
Toki was a different matter. We only know of her from the RK movie as quite helpless but has a good heart. I wanted to portray her as someone who was brave and able to make decisions for herself. I doubt if anyone would contest, as there is no indication in the movie that she was the contrary.
I doubt if I'll ever write the two together again. I see no need to. I think they'll be happy and content the way they are.
Again for the fans of Tokio, SUMA. I needed Saitou to be with someone else. I don't know much about Tokio and the way I portrayed her here might be off the mark. I also don't want to expound on the fact that she became a member of the Shinsen-gumi as I've never read the Burai manga. Who knows? I might also be jealous of her for having Saitou for a husband. *sighs*
Thanks for reading and reviewing. SPECIAL THANKS TO IMALEFTY, who stuck with me to the bitter end.
~wounds
To the reviewers:
Lalalalala - Thank you! That's exactly what I wanted out of Toki. To make her more likable. When I watched the RK movie, I thought her character was a little bland so I thought to give her more of a personality here.
Babonwonsuni - Arigatou! Shades of grey. Yeah I guess I did :O) I'm glad you were entertained. I hope though that you did well on your finals so that I won't feel guilty writing this fic :O)
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