--This story was co-written with my sister, Rosemary, whom you may contact at gohorses@yahoo.com.
--The story idea itself belongs to her, though I contributed to adding details to them. I was
--also the one who wrote the story, while she only made decisions. As a result, neither she nor
--I actually own Rurouni Kenshin. Heck, we don't even own Tsuyosa because we protray him along
--the elusive lines of Kaoru's father. We're not sure Tsuyosa is his real name even, but it's
--Japanese for strong and we thought it sounded pretty, so we decided to use it. Apoligies for
--any Out of Charactor you see, though we tried greatly to keep them out of that rut. Heck, we
--don't know how Tokio is supposed to act eithor, so we're not too sure about her . . .
--One final word: This story is slightly crossed over with Ranma 1/2. You don't need to be familar
--with it to be left in the dark, since I believe I explained everything in the story. However,
--it might be helpful for any inside jokes/puns I felt like tossing in. ^_^ C&C is ever so welcome.
--Please do not take and distribute this anywhere without my permission (dalimata@yahoo.com), or
--even run off with the idea. Thankyouverymuchos!
They dined upon a simple fare of rice, pickles, and sweet potatoes. Tokio
sat beside her husband, silent and seething with a righteous fury. On the
other side of Saitou going in a counterclock direction sat a very somber
Yahiko. Beside him was Soujirou, then Tsuyosa, Kaoru, and Kenshin was the
last before they came full circle around the table.
Kenshin was also the most uncomfortable of all, for he sat on Tokio's other
side. In her lap was Saitou's unsheathed katana, the sharp edge of it pointing
at Kenshin's unprotected side. Tokio set her tea down with a thump upon the
table.
"Now," she began patiently, "let's start from the top here. After the war,
Kenshin turned into a kind rurouni that wandered over Japan doing good deeds
to pay for the lives he took. Ten years later, he comes across my Kaoru who
takes him in. From there, they go through a series of events where people
usually want to have revenge or something of the like against Kenshin, or he
and Kaoru help those who are in trouble."
She paused for a breath, then glared at her husband. She suddenly smiled
sweetly. "Why did you never tell me any of this?" she asked Saitou in a
pouting voice.
Saitou shrugged, feeling vulnerable and naked without his sword, and at the
same time, jealous that his wife had gotten so far with the Battousai in such
a short time. He decided it was because she was a woman. "Because," he
answered truthfully, "you would have killed him before I could." Kenshin
sweatdropped as Tokio thought of the reply for a moment and then found she
had to agree with it. She turned to her nephew with a gentle smile.
"And you," she said, reaching across the table to cover his hand with one
of hers, "what have you been doing for the past eleven years?"
Soujirou stiffened visibly, almost choking on the tea he had been sipping
as his smile turned stale. He threw a wild glance over to Saitou for help.
The Mibu Wolf shrugged eloquently, not wanting his wife's wrath brought down
upon his own head in front of the Battousai. He had his pride after all . . .
Tokio waited patiently as Soujirou quickly sought to come up with a
plausible lie. After all, the truth in this matter was not really an option.
He was not going to tell his current family that he killed his other family,
right? Right!
Soujirou opted to plead to Tokio's weak side.
He burst into tears.
Instantly, Tokio was on her face and had sprinted to the other side of the
table where he was sitting. She booted a surprised Tsuyosa out of her way,
and then gathered Soujirou close as he began to stutter out a somewhat
changed version of what had really happened.
"It was Shishio! It was all Shishio!" he sobbed.
"It's okay," Tokio whispered, rubbing his back. "It's okay." Normally,
this would have created a soothing effect, but Soujirou knew he needed to
keep up a distraught appearance if he wanted to stutter the story out without
Tokio getting suspicious.
"I had found Shishio in the rice barn, and I didn't know he was a bad
person! So I gave him everything he asked—food, blankets, bandages. And he
killed them when they found out! And then he said, since I was such a nice young boy, he'd take
care of me!" Soujirou took a deep sniff, rubbing his face against Tokio's soft bosom. His face
turned red when he realized what he was doing. He tried to pull himself away before Saitou Aku
Soku Zan'ed him.
"It's okay," Tokio whispered assuredly. "I will never let anyone harm you.
Nothing like that will ever happen again. You are safe with me."
Humph, thought Tsuyosa as he settled down in Tokio's old spot. And how! He
couldn't think of anyone who would prove to be a better guardian than Tokio.
Tokio planted a kiss upon Soujirou's forehead as he began to squirm around
in her tight grasp. "Shishio will never hurt you again."
. . . Deep in the Underworld . . .
Shishio paused in sharpening his sword. He glanced upward, and then
wickedly smiled. "If the kid dies before you do, then yes, I will," he said.
The implications of what might happen should Tokio die and reach Shishio
first hung unspoken in the air, haunting and weighing heavily with unpleasant
implications.
While Tokio was comforting what she thought to be a traumatic Soujirou
(Kaoru had joined as well, wrapping her arms around Soujirou and pressing
her forehead against his back), Saitou thought it would be a good time to
discuss the problem with Tsuyosa. He tugged at his sleeve and then made a
gesture to the door.
Tsuyosa limped out of the dining room with him. Saitou raised an eyebrow.
"Long story," Tsuyosa explained. "Needless to say, my leg will never be what
it once was. Now, what did you want to talk about?"
"We have a problem," Saitou began, crossing his arms over his chest.
Tsuyosa looked curious.
"The great Mibu Wolf has a problem and he comes to me with it?"
Saitou glared at the smaller man. "No, we have a problem as in we share a
mutual emergency."
"Oh?" This perked Tsuyosa's interest. He and the cop never really saw eye
to eye about certain things—mainly concerning swords, fighting techniques,
and Saitou's choice of wife—but they had respected one another for their own
codes of honor and for other personal reasons. "What is it?"
"It's about a certain purple-haired individual."
Tsuyosa turned pale. "You saw her too?" he asked.
Saitou nodded. "Little wench destroyed my house."
"Uh oh."
And now the secret is revealed!
Three years ago while fighting in a war, the squadron of men Tsuyosa was leading
rebelled—more from having to have a leader with his sort of sanity than anything else—and
thought they killed him. After all, certain minds can only take so much nonsense before they
were snapped.
But three years before that, Saitou had been asked to investigate some Japanese terrorists
hiding in China. Because China wasn't on the greatest of terms with Japan, they had to sneak
them across the border. In order to make his cover up more believable, Saitou had asked Tsuyosa
to come with him.
______________________________________
"Tsuyosa, you are coming to China with me."
" . . . Eh? Don't I get any say in this?"
"No."
"What if I don't want to go?"
"I don't think you don't want to do that."
"Yeah? And what do you intend to do if I don't go?"
"It involves Tokio staying here in my absence."
"Oh. Oh! So, uh, when do we leave?"
______________________________________
Tsuyosa had been under the strict orders to act like he was at home. That
is to say, he was to try and act as foolish as possible.
After all, why would the great Mibu Wolf really want to bring an idiot
along?
Together they had found the camp of the terrorists and then split into two
groups, heading into different directions to scout out all sides of the camp.
Saitou was found and attacked by a young native from the nearby Chinese
Amazon village. He effortlessly beat her. He didn't kill her; that went
against his code of who not to kill—being forced upon him by Tokio herself.
______________________________________
"Hiiiiiii!"
"Aku Soku Zan."
WHAM!
______________________________________
After she came to, the girl kissed Saitou and then disappeared.
______________________________________
*smooch*
"Er. I hope Tokio ddoens't find out about that."
______________________________________
She then came across Tsuyosa and tried to beat him. Unfortunately, there
was such a time when Tsuyosa was a very fast person in his lifetime—this was
before he got the limp. He dodged the bonborries the Amazon tried to pull on
him, knocked them out of her hands. They flew up into the air and came down
upon her head.
______________________________________
Bop! Bop!
"Um, oops. I didn't mean to do that miss! Miss? Say, are you all right?"
______________________________________
When Tsuyosa had managed to arouse her from her dizzy state, she burst
into tears, kissed him, and then ran away.
______________________________________
"Waaaa!" *smooch*
"Ach! I was just kissed by a . . . cute . . . girl. Ha! This is my lucky
day!"
______________________________________
The two men later found out from their Chinese guide that Amazon women
are to be married to any outside male who beats them.
______________________________________
"But I'm already married."
"Oh, too bad sirs. When woman get in way of Amazon, Amazon give woman
Kiss of Death. No let Amazon find out. They very powerful warrior who kill."
"Tsuyosa, wipe that look from your face."
"What look Saitou? Besides that, I doubt anyone would be able to stand up against
'Battle-axe' Tokio."
______________________________________
Tsuyosa's eyes glinted as he rubbed his hands together. "Okay, so what do
we know about Chinese Amazons?" he asked, beginning to pace the hall. "Maybe
we can find a loophole somewhere here."
Saitou watched him pace. Like everyone else, he often got tired of thinking
through problems for other people. It was a living, but that didn't mean he
had to like doing it off duty. There were few people whom Saitou actually
trusted to help him come up with a decent plan, and in this problem, it was
better to have Tsuyosa's mind on the often-scantily clad purple-haired
Chinese Amazon should Tokio ever discover the mess.
And, as much as he freely admitted it, Tsuyosa had a mind that was far
sharper than what he usually showed. In the few emergencies when he and
Tsuyosa had worked together, the older man had proven to be far sharper than
what he actually let on. Unfortunately, he was only this way during
emergencies. Because of this, it was a side rarely seen by anyone, least of
all Tokio.
"We know that the Amazons are not limited to one husband only," Tsuyosa
began, halting in his pacing and facing Saitou. He craned his neck to look
upward at the policeman. "We also know from past experiences of trying to
lose her and that prune she calls a mother, that the Amazons are a very
destructive force, and civilians are likely to be hurt."
Tsuyosa rubbed at his neck. Saitou mourned for the loss of his cigarettes.
He hadn't had time to replace his supply, and even if he did, he knew that
Tokio would do her best to make sure he couldn't get them. "And," Tsuyosa
continued, "to top it all off, we both realize the significance of the
Kisses of Marriage and Death."
There was a long pause and then Tsuyosa's eyes slyly shifted over to the
taller man. "You're a cop," he said slowly, "tell me if the Chinese Amazon
laws can be upheld here in Japan."
Saitou shrugged. "First of all, because we were in their territory, we
were subjected to their laws. We continue to be so because their law has not
been invalidated here as of yet. Second of all, since it has not been
invalidated by either their courts or ours, we can still be held responsible
for breaking them."
"But don't our laws of marriage override their laws of marriage if they
came first? I mean, you already have a wife by way of Japanese law and those
Amazons cannot lay an attack or assassination attempt upon a Japanese
citizen without risk of being punished for it. Invariably, that should leave
both you and Tokio safe."
"You look almost disappointed," Saitou pointed out. Tsuyosa gave him a
sheepish smile. Saitou rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Point taken though,
but what about you? You're not married so you don't have an excuse."
"Yeah well, if I can draw the line of fire from you, then that solves half
of our problems. Besides, they are a tribe that respects elders and their
decisions. I'm very sure they might have a law somewhere concerning the
choice of marriage for widows and widowers."
"Perhaps. Come on, we better be getting back to the dining room before—"
The door slid open and Tokio stepped though. "Hajime!" she pronounced
happily, spotting her husband. Her gaze fell upon Tsuyosa and turned
disproving. "Tsuyosa," she said darkly. She turned back to her husband, all
but ignoring her brother-in-law. She brightened and grabbed Saitou's arm.
"Darling, we still have some papers to go over with the children," she
reminded. She frowned at Tsuyosa as he began to make faces at her. "I suppose
you want to come," she grumbled. "Fine; just don't you dare get into my way,"
she added ungraciously, tugging Saitou towards the door.
Tsuyosa limped along behind them. "Kind of you to think of inviting me,"
he said dryly.
They entered the dining room where the others were still waiting for them.
Tsuyosa, Tokio, and Saitou sat down together in that exact order. Tsuyosa
and Tokio began to glare at each other. Saitou cleared his throat and forced
Soujirou to sit between them. The young rurouni kept casting glances at each
other, waiting for one of them to say, "Soujirou, tell your aunt/uncle that
she/he is a . . ."
Tokio demurely folded her hands before herself and waited for Tsuyosa to
begin.
He cleared his throat first. "Now, Kaoru-chan," he began gently, reaching
across the table to take her hand into his. "As we both know, I left three
years ago to fight in a war. I was attacked, presumed dead, and life sort of
went on from there. But while that may have been what happened, there is
much more to it than just that . . ."
____________________________
" . . . And besides that, Kaoru would be left without a father! I got to
live! I got to move! I got to—OUCH!!! Okay, I'll concentrate on that living
part, and gradually work my way up to moving."
Tsuyosa collapsed on the ground, his leg and stomach aching like hell
though they bled no more. He looked up at the sky and blinked tears away as
the sun shone harshly down upon him.
"You'd think they'd have the courtesy to at least attack and leave me for
dead under a tree in the much more pleasant shade, but ooooooh nooooo!" He
pulled his sticky cloak over his head, curling his nose at the rancid smell
of dried blood. Soon the flies would come and make his life even more
miserable. He sighed with the turn his life was taking.
"You know, I think I hate them," he thought to himself just before he
passed out from the pain and lack of blood.
He awoke to hear a cackling old voice. "Oh joy! What a haul!" Silently. He
pulled the cloak off his face, wincing with each movement. He blinked his
eyes at the moonlight as a cool breeze swept over his hot body. He sighed
and closed his eyes. Life didn't seem too hopeless now that his stomach only
dully ached and he couldn't feel a thing in his leg.
After a few moments. He felt something tugging his purse off his body. He
swiftly grabbed the little old lady trying to run off with his purse, though
the movements made him grunt with the pain his stiff body protested under.
She jumped, yen pieces scattering in the dark night.
"What are you doing?" he demanded. The little old lady burst into tears,
making him feel like a callous cad.
"Oh shonny! I'm jusht a poor old lady who'sh trying to get by! Mosht of my
own children are dead, and I wash shearching thish battlefield for any
money—er, shurvivorsh I could help!"
Tsuyosa sighed and released her. "Look ma'am," he began patiently. "I'm
not going to be angry with you. I undershta—ahem, understand."
The woman stopped crying and gave him a disbelieving look. "You do?"
"Yes, and as it is, I fear something is quite wrong terribly wrong with me."
"Oh." She quickly looked over his body and spotted his leg, which was
twisted in an odd angle and covered with several clotted wounds. "You mean
like thish leg?" She poked it.
"Yiiii!" Tsuyosa's hair stood on end.
______________________________
Tsuyosa appeared lost in the memory for a moment, and then he broke away
from it to give Kaoru a smile. "Anyway, my leg had been broken in several
different places and I guess it never really healed right. I suppose having
the muscles shredded into several different pieces did not help any. Because
of it, I could not properly get around without help for a year. Even a year
after that, I couldn't really walk. I'm only now up to strength enough to
get around anywhere without too much trouble, which is why it took so long
for me to get home."
Kaoru gave him a hurt look. "But daddy," she said, "why didn't you at least
send me a message and let me know?"
He gave her a steady look. "Because the lady's son was the only one capable
of delivering a message for me, and believe me, I had plenty of reasons for
Happousai not to deliver any messages to you. Besides, we were in a remote
region in the mountains that never saw anyone.
"A long time ago—just after your dear sweet mother died, in fact—you
remember your aunts come over to help with the house and yourself and with
the funeral matters. I'm sure we all—" he shot a quick glance at Yahiko and
Kenshin "—well, most of us remember that happening."
Soujirou and Kaoru nodded their heads in fond agreement and remembrance.
Tsuyosa continued. "Now, back then, Soujirou and Kaoru were always hanging
out together—well, with the rest of the Delinquents, but that is beside the
point."
"Whatever happened to those little Mongolians?" Tokio wondered.
Kaoru spoke up about the same time as Soujirou did.
"Tae runs a restaurant."
"Chou is now working as a policeman."
Kenshin gave the cousins startled looks. "Tae? Chou?!"
"Nice to see they came out good in the end," Tsuyosa said as he pried
Kaoru's teacup from her hands. "No dear, you don't want to be holding this."
She gave him a puzzled look and he smiled in return. "Going back to our
original subject, Soujirou and Kaoru were always hanging out together. I
mean, you couldn't separate them for all the world! Back then, both Yumi and
Tokio were both trying to figure out what could be done with Soujirou, who
is illegimate. And don't smile so sheepishly boy, it's not your fault. But I
was worried about Kaoru—I mean, she no longer had a mother, so what would
happen if I died!"
He glanced sideways as Tokio who seemed to be in a relatively good
mood—perhaps because she was remembering her sisters.
"I couldn't bear the thought of Kaoru getting by without someone being
there for her. So Yumi, Tokio, and I devised a plan to make sure both she a
nd Soujirou would come out ahead here. We asked them both if they really
liked once another; they said yes. We asked them if they ever wanted to be
parted from one another. They said no." He took a deep breath, and then
reached around Soujirou to nudge Tokio out of her dream-like state.
She gave him a glare sharp enough to reduce mountains down to beaches of
sand. "What?"
"Your turn to continue," he replied, pointing at Kaoru and mouthing, 'I
don't want to be the one she kills.' Tokio gave him another glare and then
tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She sat up straighter before
leaning against her husband.
"Fine. Together, we drew up two papers. The first said that Kaoru had to
be married by her twentieth birthday should her father die beforehand in
order for her to inherit the dojo." She took a deep breath and then withdrew
a piece of paper from her pocket. She held it in front of Kaoru and Soujirou.
"This is the second paper. It engages the two of you together."
Kaoru's eyes bugged out as she saw the writing. "I have to marry . . .
Souji . . . chan . . ." She fainted, falling over the back of her mat.
Tsuyosa did not afford her a look as he sipped his tea.
Soujirou took a deep breath to steady his nerves, thought better of it,
and then decided to join Kaoru in blissful unconsciousness.
"Ah!" Tsuyosa smacked his lips at the tea's bitter flavor. "They took that
better than I thought they would!"
Yahiko shot a quick glance over to a pale Kenshin. "Hey," he said softly,
tugging at a sleeve. "You're looking a little startled. Are you all right?"
Kenshin gave the little boy a false smile that even he could see right
through without a problem.
"Eh, I'm fine Yahiko de gazaro," he assured him. He did not notice
Tsuyosa's eyes glinting slyly at him over his cup of tea.
--The story idea itself belongs to her, though I contributed to adding details to them. I was
--also the one who wrote the story, while she only made decisions. As a result, neither she nor
--I actually own Rurouni Kenshin. Heck, we don't even own Tsuyosa because we protray him along
--the elusive lines of Kaoru's father. We're not sure Tsuyosa is his real name even, but it's
--Japanese for strong and we thought it sounded pretty, so we decided to use it. Apoligies for
--any Out of Charactor you see, though we tried greatly to keep them out of that rut. Heck, we
--don't know how Tokio is supposed to act eithor, so we're not too sure about her . . .
--One final word: This story is slightly crossed over with Ranma 1/2. You don't need to be familar
--with it to be left in the dark, since I believe I explained everything in the story. However,
--it might be helpful for any inside jokes/puns I felt like tossing in. ^_^ C&C is ever so welcome.
--Please do not take and distribute this anywhere without my permission (dalimata@yahoo.com), or
--even run off with the idea. Thankyouverymuchos!
They dined upon a simple fare of rice, pickles, and sweet potatoes. Tokio
sat beside her husband, silent and seething with a righteous fury. On the
other side of Saitou going in a counterclock direction sat a very somber
Yahiko. Beside him was Soujirou, then Tsuyosa, Kaoru, and Kenshin was the
last before they came full circle around the table.
Kenshin was also the most uncomfortable of all, for he sat on Tokio's other
side. In her lap was Saitou's unsheathed katana, the sharp edge of it pointing
at Kenshin's unprotected side. Tokio set her tea down with a thump upon the
table.
"Now," she began patiently, "let's start from the top here. After the war,
Kenshin turned into a kind rurouni that wandered over Japan doing good deeds
to pay for the lives he took. Ten years later, he comes across my Kaoru who
takes him in. From there, they go through a series of events where people
usually want to have revenge or something of the like against Kenshin, or he
and Kaoru help those who are in trouble."
She paused for a breath, then glared at her husband. She suddenly smiled
sweetly. "Why did you never tell me any of this?" she asked Saitou in a
pouting voice.
Saitou shrugged, feeling vulnerable and naked without his sword, and at the
same time, jealous that his wife had gotten so far with the Battousai in such
a short time. He decided it was because she was a woman. "Because," he
answered truthfully, "you would have killed him before I could." Kenshin
sweatdropped as Tokio thought of the reply for a moment and then found she
had to agree with it. She turned to her nephew with a gentle smile.
"And you," she said, reaching across the table to cover his hand with one
of hers, "what have you been doing for the past eleven years?"
Soujirou stiffened visibly, almost choking on the tea he had been sipping
as his smile turned stale. He threw a wild glance over to Saitou for help.
The Mibu Wolf shrugged eloquently, not wanting his wife's wrath brought down
upon his own head in front of the Battousai. He had his pride after all . . .
Tokio waited patiently as Soujirou quickly sought to come up with a
plausible lie. After all, the truth in this matter was not really an option.
He was not going to tell his current family that he killed his other family,
right? Right!
Soujirou opted to plead to Tokio's weak side.
He burst into tears.
Instantly, Tokio was on her face and had sprinted to the other side of the
table where he was sitting. She booted a surprised Tsuyosa out of her way,
and then gathered Soujirou close as he began to stutter out a somewhat
changed version of what had really happened.
"It was Shishio! It was all Shishio!" he sobbed.
"It's okay," Tokio whispered, rubbing his back. "It's okay." Normally,
this would have created a soothing effect, but Soujirou knew he needed to
keep up a distraught appearance if he wanted to stutter the story out without
Tokio getting suspicious.
"I had found Shishio in the rice barn, and I didn't know he was a bad
person! So I gave him everything he asked—food, blankets, bandages. And he
killed them when they found out! And then he said, since I was such a nice young boy, he'd take
care of me!" Soujirou took a deep sniff, rubbing his face against Tokio's soft bosom. His face
turned red when he realized what he was doing. He tried to pull himself away before Saitou Aku
Soku Zan'ed him.
"It's okay," Tokio whispered assuredly. "I will never let anyone harm you.
Nothing like that will ever happen again. You are safe with me."
Humph, thought Tsuyosa as he settled down in Tokio's old spot. And how! He
couldn't think of anyone who would prove to be a better guardian than Tokio.
Tokio planted a kiss upon Soujirou's forehead as he began to squirm around
in her tight grasp. "Shishio will never hurt you again."
. . . Deep in the Underworld . . .
Shishio paused in sharpening his sword. He glanced upward, and then
wickedly smiled. "If the kid dies before you do, then yes, I will," he said.
The implications of what might happen should Tokio die and reach Shishio
first hung unspoken in the air, haunting and weighing heavily with unpleasant
implications.
While Tokio was comforting what she thought to be a traumatic Soujirou
(Kaoru had joined as well, wrapping her arms around Soujirou and pressing
her forehead against his back), Saitou thought it would be a good time to
discuss the problem with Tsuyosa. He tugged at his sleeve and then made a
gesture to the door.
Tsuyosa limped out of the dining room with him. Saitou raised an eyebrow.
"Long story," Tsuyosa explained. "Needless to say, my leg will never be what
it once was. Now, what did you want to talk about?"
"We have a problem," Saitou began, crossing his arms over his chest.
Tsuyosa looked curious.
"The great Mibu Wolf has a problem and he comes to me with it?"
Saitou glared at the smaller man. "No, we have a problem as in we share a
mutual emergency."
"Oh?" This perked Tsuyosa's interest. He and the cop never really saw eye
to eye about certain things—mainly concerning swords, fighting techniques,
and Saitou's choice of wife—but they had respected one another for their own
codes of honor and for other personal reasons. "What is it?"
"It's about a certain purple-haired individual."
Tsuyosa turned pale. "You saw her too?" he asked.
Saitou nodded. "Little wench destroyed my house."
"Uh oh."
And now the secret is revealed!
Three years ago while fighting in a war, the squadron of men Tsuyosa was leading
rebelled—more from having to have a leader with his sort of sanity than anything else—and
thought they killed him. After all, certain minds can only take so much nonsense before they
were snapped.
But three years before that, Saitou had been asked to investigate some Japanese terrorists
hiding in China. Because China wasn't on the greatest of terms with Japan, they had to sneak
them across the border. In order to make his cover up more believable, Saitou had asked Tsuyosa
to come with him.
______________________________________
"Tsuyosa, you are coming to China with me."
" . . . Eh? Don't I get any say in this?"
"No."
"What if I don't want to go?"
"I don't think you don't want to do that."
"Yeah? And what do you intend to do if I don't go?"
"It involves Tokio staying here in my absence."
"Oh. Oh! So, uh, when do we leave?"
______________________________________
Tsuyosa had been under the strict orders to act like he was at home. That
is to say, he was to try and act as foolish as possible.
After all, why would the great Mibu Wolf really want to bring an idiot
along?
Together they had found the camp of the terrorists and then split into two
groups, heading into different directions to scout out all sides of the camp.
Saitou was found and attacked by a young native from the nearby Chinese
Amazon village. He effortlessly beat her. He didn't kill her; that went
against his code of who not to kill—being forced upon him by Tokio herself.
______________________________________
"Hiiiiiii!"
"Aku Soku Zan."
WHAM!
______________________________________
After she came to, the girl kissed Saitou and then disappeared.
______________________________________
*smooch*
"Er. I hope Tokio ddoens't find out about that."
______________________________________
She then came across Tsuyosa and tried to beat him. Unfortunately, there
was such a time when Tsuyosa was a very fast person in his lifetime—this was
before he got the limp. He dodged the bonborries the Amazon tried to pull on
him, knocked them out of her hands. They flew up into the air and came down
upon her head.
______________________________________
Bop! Bop!
"Um, oops. I didn't mean to do that miss! Miss? Say, are you all right?"
______________________________________
When Tsuyosa had managed to arouse her from her dizzy state, she burst
into tears, kissed him, and then ran away.
______________________________________
"Waaaa!" *smooch*
"Ach! I was just kissed by a . . . cute . . . girl. Ha! This is my lucky
day!"
______________________________________
The two men later found out from their Chinese guide that Amazon women
are to be married to any outside male who beats them.
______________________________________
"But I'm already married."
"Oh, too bad sirs. When woman get in way of Amazon, Amazon give woman
Kiss of Death. No let Amazon find out. They very powerful warrior who kill."
"Tsuyosa, wipe that look from your face."
"What look Saitou? Besides that, I doubt anyone would be able to stand up against
'Battle-axe' Tokio."
______________________________________
Tsuyosa's eyes glinted as he rubbed his hands together. "Okay, so what do
we know about Chinese Amazons?" he asked, beginning to pace the hall. "Maybe
we can find a loophole somewhere here."
Saitou watched him pace. Like everyone else, he often got tired of thinking
through problems for other people. It was a living, but that didn't mean he
had to like doing it off duty. There were few people whom Saitou actually
trusted to help him come up with a decent plan, and in this problem, it was
better to have Tsuyosa's mind on the often-scantily clad purple-haired
Chinese Amazon should Tokio ever discover the mess.
And, as much as he freely admitted it, Tsuyosa had a mind that was far
sharper than what he usually showed. In the few emergencies when he and
Tsuyosa had worked together, the older man had proven to be far sharper than
what he actually let on. Unfortunately, he was only this way during
emergencies. Because of this, it was a side rarely seen by anyone, least of
all Tokio.
"We know that the Amazons are not limited to one husband only," Tsuyosa
began, halting in his pacing and facing Saitou. He craned his neck to look
upward at the policeman. "We also know from past experiences of trying to
lose her and that prune she calls a mother, that the Amazons are a very
destructive force, and civilians are likely to be hurt."
Tsuyosa rubbed at his neck. Saitou mourned for the loss of his cigarettes.
He hadn't had time to replace his supply, and even if he did, he knew that
Tokio would do her best to make sure he couldn't get them. "And," Tsuyosa
continued, "to top it all off, we both realize the significance of the
Kisses of Marriage and Death."
There was a long pause and then Tsuyosa's eyes slyly shifted over to the
taller man. "You're a cop," he said slowly, "tell me if the Chinese Amazon
laws can be upheld here in Japan."
Saitou shrugged. "First of all, because we were in their territory, we
were subjected to their laws. We continue to be so because their law has not
been invalidated here as of yet. Second of all, since it has not been
invalidated by either their courts or ours, we can still be held responsible
for breaking them."
"But don't our laws of marriage override their laws of marriage if they
came first? I mean, you already have a wife by way of Japanese law and those
Amazons cannot lay an attack or assassination attempt upon a Japanese
citizen without risk of being punished for it. Invariably, that should leave
both you and Tokio safe."
"You look almost disappointed," Saitou pointed out. Tsuyosa gave him a
sheepish smile. Saitou rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Point taken though,
but what about you? You're not married so you don't have an excuse."
"Yeah well, if I can draw the line of fire from you, then that solves half
of our problems. Besides, they are a tribe that respects elders and their
decisions. I'm very sure they might have a law somewhere concerning the
choice of marriage for widows and widowers."
"Perhaps. Come on, we better be getting back to the dining room before—"
The door slid open and Tokio stepped though. "Hajime!" she pronounced
happily, spotting her husband. Her gaze fell upon Tsuyosa and turned
disproving. "Tsuyosa," she said darkly. She turned back to her husband, all
but ignoring her brother-in-law. She brightened and grabbed Saitou's arm.
"Darling, we still have some papers to go over with the children," she
reminded. She frowned at Tsuyosa as he began to make faces at her. "I suppose
you want to come," she grumbled. "Fine; just don't you dare get into my way,"
she added ungraciously, tugging Saitou towards the door.
Tsuyosa limped along behind them. "Kind of you to think of inviting me,"
he said dryly.
They entered the dining room where the others were still waiting for them.
Tsuyosa, Tokio, and Saitou sat down together in that exact order. Tsuyosa
and Tokio began to glare at each other. Saitou cleared his throat and forced
Soujirou to sit between them. The young rurouni kept casting glances at each
other, waiting for one of them to say, "Soujirou, tell your aunt/uncle that
she/he is a . . ."
Tokio demurely folded her hands before herself and waited for Tsuyosa to
begin.
He cleared his throat first. "Now, Kaoru-chan," he began gently, reaching
across the table to take her hand into his. "As we both know, I left three
years ago to fight in a war. I was attacked, presumed dead, and life sort of
went on from there. But while that may have been what happened, there is
much more to it than just that . . ."
____________________________
" . . . And besides that, Kaoru would be left without a father! I got to
live! I got to move! I got to—OUCH!!! Okay, I'll concentrate on that living
part, and gradually work my way up to moving."
Tsuyosa collapsed on the ground, his leg and stomach aching like hell
though they bled no more. He looked up at the sky and blinked tears away as
the sun shone harshly down upon him.
"You'd think they'd have the courtesy to at least attack and leave me for
dead under a tree in the much more pleasant shade, but ooooooh nooooo!" He
pulled his sticky cloak over his head, curling his nose at the rancid smell
of dried blood. Soon the flies would come and make his life even more
miserable. He sighed with the turn his life was taking.
"You know, I think I hate them," he thought to himself just before he
passed out from the pain and lack of blood.
He awoke to hear a cackling old voice. "Oh joy! What a haul!" Silently. He
pulled the cloak off his face, wincing with each movement. He blinked his
eyes at the moonlight as a cool breeze swept over his hot body. He sighed
and closed his eyes. Life didn't seem too hopeless now that his stomach only
dully ached and he couldn't feel a thing in his leg.
After a few moments. He felt something tugging his purse off his body. He
swiftly grabbed the little old lady trying to run off with his purse, though
the movements made him grunt with the pain his stiff body protested under.
She jumped, yen pieces scattering in the dark night.
"What are you doing?" he demanded. The little old lady burst into tears,
making him feel like a callous cad.
"Oh shonny! I'm jusht a poor old lady who'sh trying to get by! Mosht of my
own children are dead, and I wash shearching thish battlefield for any
money—er, shurvivorsh I could help!"
Tsuyosa sighed and released her. "Look ma'am," he began patiently. "I'm
not going to be angry with you. I undershta—ahem, understand."
The woman stopped crying and gave him a disbelieving look. "You do?"
"Yes, and as it is, I fear something is quite wrong terribly wrong with me."
"Oh." She quickly looked over his body and spotted his leg, which was
twisted in an odd angle and covered with several clotted wounds. "You mean
like thish leg?" She poked it.
"Yiiii!" Tsuyosa's hair stood on end.
______________________________
Tsuyosa appeared lost in the memory for a moment, and then he broke away
from it to give Kaoru a smile. "Anyway, my leg had been broken in several
different places and I guess it never really healed right. I suppose having
the muscles shredded into several different pieces did not help any. Because
of it, I could not properly get around without help for a year. Even a year
after that, I couldn't really walk. I'm only now up to strength enough to
get around anywhere without too much trouble, which is why it took so long
for me to get home."
Kaoru gave him a hurt look. "But daddy," she said, "why didn't you at least
send me a message and let me know?"
He gave her a steady look. "Because the lady's son was the only one capable
of delivering a message for me, and believe me, I had plenty of reasons for
Happousai not to deliver any messages to you. Besides, we were in a remote
region in the mountains that never saw anyone.
"A long time ago—just after your dear sweet mother died, in fact—you
remember your aunts come over to help with the house and yourself and with
the funeral matters. I'm sure we all—" he shot a quick glance at Yahiko and
Kenshin "—well, most of us remember that happening."
Soujirou and Kaoru nodded their heads in fond agreement and remembrance.
Tsuyosa continued. "Now, back then, Soujirou and Kaoru were always hanging
out together—well, with the rest of the Delinquents, but that is beside the
point."
"Whatever happened to those little Mongolians?" Tokio wondered.
Kaoru spoke up about the same time as Soujirou did.
"Tae runs a restaurant."
"Chou is now working as a policeman."
Kenshin gave the cousins startled looks. "Tae? Chou?!"
"Nice to see they came out good in the end," Tsuyosa said as he pried
Kaoru's teacup from her hands. "No dear, you don't want to be holding this."
She gave him a puzzled look and he smiled in return. "Going back to our
original subject, Soujirou and Kaoru were always hanging out together. I
mean, you couldn't separate them for all the world! Back then, both Yumi and
Tokio were both trying to figure out what could be done with Soujirou, who
is illegimate. And don't smile so sheepishly boy, it's not your fault. But I
was worried about Kaoru—I mean, she no longer had a mother, so what would
happen if I died!"
He glanced sideways as Tokio who seemed to be in a relatively good
mood—perhaps because she was remembering her sisters.
"I couldn't bear the thought of Kaoru getting by without someone being
there for her. So Yumi, Tokio, and I devised a plan to make sure both she a
nd Soujirou would come out ahead here. We asked them both if they really
liked once another; they said yes. We asked them if they ever wanted to be
parted from one another. They said no." He took a deep breath, and then
reached around Soujirou to nudge Tokio out of her dream-like state.
She gave him a glare sharp enough to reduce mountains down to beaches of
sand. "What?"
"Your turn to continue," he replied, pointing at Kaoru and mouthing, 'I
don't want to be the one she kills.' Tokio gave him another glare and then
tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She sat up straighter before
leaning against her husband.
"Fine. Together, we drew up two papers. The first said that Kaoru had to
be married by her twentieth birthday should her father die beforehand in
order for her to inherit the dojo." She took a deep breath and then withdrew
a piece of paper from her pocket. She held it in front of Kaoru and Soujirou.
"This is the second paper. It engages the two of you together."
Kaoru's eyes bugged out as she saw the writing. "I have to marry . . .
Souji . . . chan . . ." She fainted, falling over the back of her mat.
Tsuyosa did not afford her a look as he sipped his tea.
Soujirou took a deep breath to steady his nerves, thought better of it,
and then decided to join Kaoru in blissful unconsciousness.
"Ah!" Tsuyosa smacked his lips at the tea's bitter flavor. "They took that
better than I thought they would!"
Yahiko shot a quick glance over to a pale Kenshin. "Hey," he said softly,
tugging at a sleeve. "You're looking a little startled. Are you all right?"
Kenshin gave the little boy a false smile that even he could see right
through without a problem.
"Eh, I'm fine Yahiko de gazaro," he assured him. He did not notice
Tsuyosa's eyes glinting slyly at him over his cup of tea.