Author's Notes: Many thanks to those who submitted reviews on this fic. It's nice to know that someone is actually reading it. ^__^

In this chapter Sano meets and fights with Saitou. Since Kenshin isn't around, someone has to beat some sense in to the fighter-for-hire, don't they? No real shounen-ai or anything in this chapter. Maybe in the next one.

Disclaimer: The characters actually belong to N. Watsuki/Shueisha, etc. I am just borrowing them to amuse myself.

Italics indicate thoughts or emphasized words.

Alternate Tale of the Meiji Era, Chapter 3

by Fujimiya Maru

I really, really should have stayed in Kobe.

The ex-Shinsengumi captain ran that thought through his head over and over as he poured through the mountains of paperwork on his desk. All were reports of crimes, most of them minor, but for some reason the police chief felt that Saitou, or rather, Fujita should know absolutely everything that was happening in Tokyo. Never mind that all of it was completely irrelevant to his real mission.

He had gone undercover as a police officer for a reason. As a cop, he had sufficient cover and resources to continue his work he had started in the Shinsengumi; to keep the government clean of corruption and evil. If he had known that he'd spend most of his time reading about pickpockets and domestic disturbances, he would have found a different way.

Sitting at a desk for hours on end did not suit Saitou Hajime. Besides, he still felt unsatisfied from his last fight. Since swords had been banned in this Meiji Era, many warriors stopped training and lost their edge, and the new generation seemed prefer pure academics. Not many still followed the path of the samurai.

How many years has it been since I had a decent fight? Cigarette smoke drifted up to the ceiling in lazy curls.

Tossing the report he'd been pretending to read into a random pile, he picked up another. A problem with some local yakuza. No, wait, the local yakuza have a problem. Saitou inspected the form more closely.

Apparently some young thug busted up the yakuza hideout and pummeled most of the members. With no motive. All the gang could say was that the kid was super-strong, and that he had kanji on the back of his jacket. Aku.

Feh. Young punks these days have no direction or purpose. Such a waste...

*************

Going home to a rotting, dilapidated one-room apartment was bad enough, but going home to a rotting, dilapidated one-room apartment with your landlord waiting outside demanding the rent money you owe is the worst. Sanosuke managed to fend the guy off, promising to pay him tomorrow night at the latest. He felt bad not having the cash, but that's what happens when you don't have a regular job to go to every day.

His landlord also told him that some sleazy-looking guys were prowling around Ruffian Row, looking for him. Sano hoped that they weren't bill collectors, because he was fresh out of excuses at this point.

Settling in for a meager supper of fish and rice, someone finally knocked on his door. The door was tossed open without even waiting for Sanosuke to answer.

"Are you the fighter-for-hire, Zanza?" on of the three men asked.

Sano scarfed down his rice, answering between mouthfuls. "What's it to you, bastard?"

"We have a job for you. A fight," Eager brown eyes lit up slightly. "We're more than willing to give you adequate compensation for your troubles."

Intrigued with the possibility of both money and a fight, but not wanting to abuse anyone weak, he asked, "Who's my opponent? I'm pretty picky these days, y'know..."

The three men snickered and entered Sano's small apartment, sitting down on the edge of the worn-out tatami. The guy on the left, the apparent leader of this little group, spoke up.

"The target is a cop."

Sano coughed and choked on his rice. "Are you nuts? That's like, a one-way ticket to prison. I ain't fighting no police..."

"This is different though. We were in a group - learning swordsmanship from our sensei - when this asshole just comes out of nowhere. He slaughtered most of our guys and our sensei, too!"

"Just like that, huh?"

"Just like that. We barely escaped with our lives!" He and the other men exchanged glances. One of them even shuddered a bit, as if remembering a bad memory.

"Doesn't sound like normal cop," the fighter-for-hire said, finishing off his tea and wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Is he strong? Do you know anything about the guy?"

The guy on the right grinned like a maniac. "Yes, yes, I managed to snoop around and get some information on him. He's an assistant inspector by the name of Fujita Goro, and he didn't start working in Tokyo until recently."

"That's not much to work with... " Sano mumbled, picking his teeth.

The leader spoke up again. "He's really strong - he cut through our guys like they were nothing, and he defeated our sensei! Our sensei was a top-notch swordsman!" The other two nodded enthusiastically in agreement. Reaching into his yukata, the man drew out a wallet and threw it at Sanosuke.

"If the prospect of a good fight isn't enough for you, perhaps this will be. We just want revenge for what he did to us."

Sano looked at the wallet. There was enough there for rent, plenty of decent food and sake, with enough leftover for a really fun night at the gambling house! He had already made up his mind before seeing the money, though.

If this delinquent cop can cut through that many men with no problems, he just may be the tough guy I'm looking for.

Pocketing the money anyway, he stood up and asked, "Allright, I'll do it. What does this cold-hearted bastard look like, so I can find him?"

The third guy, who had remained silent, replied in a surprisingly squeaky voice. "Tall, sorta creepy looking. Sort of narrow eyes, too. Oh, and he's the only police officer I've ever seen who carries a Japanese sword rather than a saber."

Sano reached down and hauled up his zanbatou from the floor, resulting in all three of the men looking suddenly nervous. "It's been a while, but I think tall and creepy-looking is strong enough to face this, my partner," Heaving it over his shoulder he headed out the door. The leader-guy smirked at the fighter as he made his way to the main street.

"No less from the fighter-for-hire, Zanza. An arrogant lone wolf looking for a good fight..."

*************

It took him a much shorter time to find the freaky cop than he thought it would, especially since it was so late in the day. Sano would normally avoid police stations like the plague, but he managed to find an alley where he could watch the station pretty much unnoticed. After all, it is hard to go unnoticed when wearing all white and carrying a sword as tall as he was.

Those guys weren't kidding about this police officer; he was very tall, carrying himself with grace only an accomplished swordsman could possess. The man had obviously just finished a long day at work as he was bidding his associates farewell and was probably heading home. What struck Sano the most was, however, the man's aura. Something about him screamed "Danger!"

Definitely the tough guy I've been looking for...

Grinning, he followed at what he thought was a safe distance behind the assistant inspector.

Saitou, for his part, was not unaware of the boy's presence. His stalker didn't seem to bother with hiding his fighting spirit. It practically radiated out to the policeman with a tangible heat. Whoever this was, Saitou decided, they seem pretty intent on fighting him. Didn't seem like a bad idea to him, either. Trying not to appear obvious, Saitou started to lead his opponent to an empty field by the river. No point in bothering the neighborhood with their battle, it was rather late after all...

The former Shinsengumi captain made his way to the clearing by the water and waited with a fresh cigarette. This punk wasn't far behind him.

Sano was starting to wonder why this policeman lived all the way out here. It wasn't a particularly nice part of town. Cresting over the hill leading down to the river, he realized his mistake. The cop was standing there waiting for him. Shit... he must have known I was following him...

Figuring he would just look stupid if he acted all surprised, Sanosuke cut to the chase. Reaching up, he ripped the linen wrappings from his zanbatou and yelled, "I'm here to pick a fight!"

Saitou was absolutely amused and intrigued. Everything about his boy was brash, from his white outfit, to his gravity-defying hair, to the obscenely huge sword he carried. He had heard of the zanbatou before; a sword designed to cut both horse and rider down. Due to its sheer size and weight, no one had really mastered it. However, this spiky-haired fighter seemed to have no problems swinging it around.

"Nice sword," the policeman smirked. "Any particular reason you're picking a fight with me?"

His sarcastic tone annoyed Sano. "I'm Zanza, a fighter-for-hire. I was paid to come here. Stop asking stupid questions and draw your sword!"

"Who hired you?"

Sano's eye twitched in irritation. "I didn't ask. Are you going to fight me or not, asshole?"

"In a minute. Did they say why they want you to fight me?" Saitou finished off his cigarette and tossed it away.

"In a minute?!?!" Sano growled. "Look, they said you just popped out of nowhere and killed a bunch of guys and their sensei. Does it really matter why?"

"No, I'm just curious." Another smirk. Probably was those men that ran away when I got rid of the guy pretending to be the Battousai.

"Whatever. Now fight me!" Sano swung his sword into a new stance. The other man was infuriatingly calm and composed. He was still just standing there, arms crossed over his chest. Cloud parted overhead, casting moonlight onto their battlefield. Sanosuke got his first clear look at his opponent, and realized that description the guys gave him didn't do the man justice. He was tall, angular, and not so much creepy looking as... unique. A few black bangs fell in front of the officer's narrow eyes, which were a disturbing gold color. The fighter-for-hire felt that although the officer was acting mellow, something about this man was completely wild.

Deciding that there's no better time than the present, Sanosuke charged forward and swung the zanbatou down. It hit the ground and debris flew to either side, but he realized the cop was no longer standing there. Getting his wits back, Sano quickly detected policeman in his peripheral vision, and brought his weapon around to cut him from the side. That move was sidestepped too, and suddenly the cop was less than a foot in front of him.

With a few quick, well-placed punches, Sanosuke's zanbatou went flying from his hands. It landed with a great crash into an abandoned boat by the side of the river.

"It's nice that you're strong enough to wave that stupid toy around, but it's only slowing you down. You're going to have to find another way to defeat me."

Sanosuke sputtered, realizing that the punches thrown didn't even hurt him, only get rid of the weapon. "Damn you, Fujita Goro!"

The cop rolled his eyes. "You really don't know who you're dealing with, do you, ahou?"

"Bastard! I'll defeat you with just my fists, you psycho cop!" He charged again.

His punch landed right on the side of the man's face. He grinned at his little victory, but his joy was short-lived.

"I see. Nice punch."

Sano jumped back in shock. My punch didn't affect him at all?

He didn't have much time to worry about it. The older man was again in front of him, and instead of punches meant to disarm, the lightning-quick blows hit him in the ribs and face. Sano felt his nose break and blood start to run down his upper lip, then the breath knocked out of him. The cop delivered one final uppercut to the boy's chin, and Sano flew back and onto the ground.

Figuring that would be enough to render the boy unconscious, he turned away and started to straighten out his uniform.

"Hey, you narrow-eyed bastard... I'm not done yet..." Sano rolled over onto his stomach and tried to push himself to his feet.

He can still move, after that blow to the jaw? Saitou watched with well-hidden surprise as the punk struggled to his feet. Then he saw it, clear in the moonlight. Kanji, on the back of the boy's jacket: Aku. Ah, this is the "super-strong kid" that beat up the Shuei Yakuza.

"It would be better for you if you stayed down, Zanza."

"Asshole! I may be all messed up, but I can still beat you!" Sano rushed towards him again. This time the officer just blocked the punch, then grabbed the boy by the face and slammed his skull down to the ground. If the previous hits hadn't incapacitated him, perhaps a major head injury would.

Although this ahou is unskilled and not terribly bright, his stamina is admirable. With proper training, he could be quite strong...

Saitou watched the boy breathing heavily, blood and sweat glistening on his well-built chest. As if he wasn't surprised enough the first time, the fighter started to get up again. Yes, his stamina is very admirable...

The ex-Shinsengumi knew he would win no matter what, but decided that this was an interesting fight anyway. He certainly hadn't been this amused for a very long time. It was getting rather late, though, so it was time to end it for now. Saitou unsheathed his sword.

"Che, now you use your sword, you bastard." Despite the pain in most of his upper body and the fact that his head was spinning, Sano focused on the other man. I've never seen that sword style before. Why the hell is his right hand by the tip of the blade like that?

With speed the fighter could never fathom, more than half of that blade was suddenly buried through Sanosuke's shoulder. He was unable to do much more than choke on a groan and fall down; this time he decided it was definitely better if he stayed there.

"All done letting me beat you up now?" the officer asked, flicking the young man's blood off his sword.

"Yeah... guess so. Man, that was a really good fight..." I want to fight him again...

Then he was unconscious.

Saitou drew another smoke from his pack and lit it. "Ahou," he muttered, then slung the kid over his shoulder and headed home.

More Author's Notes: Ack, I think this chapter was longer than the first two. I couldn't figure a way to balance it out though. I could use some feedback on this, as I feel like I'm over-explaining parts and being too obvious. I've also never really written fight scenes before. Tell me if this sucks or not, people! I appreciate your input. ^__^

Next chapter: Saitou finds out about Sano's past (Sekihotai and all that) and Sano gets all cranky about it. You'll also find out what happens with Megumi, and eventually, the Oniwabanshuu.