Author's Notes: I'm still working out the kinks of where this is going. At any rate, I hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks to those who have reviewed!

Warning: There is some talk about drug use in this chapter. Drugs are BAD. Opium is a scary thing. It is very, very addictive and can cause you to die. Last time I checked, death was BAD.

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 5

by Fujimiya Maru

Any other man would have stayed in bed. Other men were not Sagara Sanosuke, however, so despite his injuries he was up and about. The creepy old cop had a pretty nice house, if not a little quiet and bare. Sano surmised that Fujita lived alone, with only an elderly maid who would stop by daily to clean the house and wash clothes.

After a bit of exploring, Sanosuke realized that he had been sleeping on the other man's futon, not in a spare bedroom. He wasn't sure if he should be disturbed or flattered by that fact; it still bothered him that Fujita was being nice. As nice as a psychotic sword-weilding pervert gets, anyway.

He found his white pants hanging with the other wash in the backyard, clean and marvelously white. He put them on and ditched the cop's plain gray yukata. His jacket was trashed -- ripped up and soaked in blood. But his chest was so covered in bandages, people on the street might not notice he was only half-dressed.

The policeman had left for work early in the morning, but the maid was still puttering around the main room. She was positively ancient and nearly resembled a prune. Sano figured that he should get out of here, but not while the old woman was still around. He had a feeling that if he did sneak out on her watch, the poor lady might get in trouble.

So he waited. Dusting and doing laundry couldn't take that long, could it? Shimatta... what if he comes back while she's still here? I'll never be able to leave...

Then, he heard the front gate creak open and shut. Peering around the corner, he spied the old maid walking down the street, perhaps on her way to buy food for dinner.

With a grin, he quickly made his way to the backyard, where he easily jumped the fence and made his way down the alley. Freedom!

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

"Takeda Kanryuu?"

"Yes, sir. He appears to be a young entrepreneur, but our sources say he's into some shady business. Possibly opium production, but we aren't completely certain yet." The young officer reported stiffly, "He certainly has a bunch of dangerous men in his employ, supposedly as his bodyguards."

Saitou looked over the report. Finally, he thought. Someone evil enough to be worth my time.

"Very well," he replied after a minute of thought. "I'll go see what I can dig up about this Kanryuu. Dismissed."

The other man departed, leaving the ex-Shinsengumi alone in his office. It was almost definite that this "entrepreneur" was dealing drugs, perhaps more. He'd have to do some investigating first, then deal with the situation as he saw fit. This was why he went undercover. To deliver justice to creeps like Takeda Kanryuu.

Focussing on the mission, Saitou got up and prepared to go to Kanryuu's estate. Much to his distaste, his thought upon leaving was, That ahou Sagara better still be there when I get home.

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

Smack!

In a cascade of raven-black hair and violet silk, the woman tumbled to the floor of the opulent western-style mansion.

Looming over her stood Takeda Kanryuu, trying to maintain his composure, only to succeed in looking like an angry weasel. He brushed some imaginary dust off his powder-blue linen suit, then reached down to cup the fallen woman's chin with a gloved hand.

"Please try to understand, Megumi-san, you are too valuable to me to let you just run away like that. You seemed to be fine with your job before; why so rebellious now?"

"You know why," Megumi nearly spat at the oily businessman, her voice shaking with both anger and fear. "The new opium is too dangerous. You'll make me a mass-murderer if you sell it."

"Making opium is your job... Beyond that, it should be no concern of yours." He gave Megumi a toothy grin. "We shall be on good terms like before. You will do your job, and make the opium... or I will get the formula from you and then dispose of you."

Megumi shuddered, unable to look her boss in the eye. Kanryuu paused to light a handy cigar, then turned to the small man cowering in the shadows.

"Thank you very much for retrieving her for me, Beshimi. I'll be sure to tell your okashira what a good job you did."

The small man bowed. "It was my pleasure, Takeda-san," he replied in a raspy voice. "If you will excuse me, I must go report."

With barely a sound, the strange ninja was gone.

Kanryuu turned back to Megumi, hauling her to her feet by the hair. "Now, Megumi-san," he drawled. "How can I... convince you to stay?" He got a wicked gleam to his eye that the woman did not like one bit. Smirking, he threw her into a nearby armchair. He retrieved a small packet from an ornate box on his desk.

"Perhaps if you... sampled some of your own wonderful medicine, you might be more willing..." Kanryuu advanced, and seized her by the throat.

Megumi trembled with absolute fear now, knowing exactly what her latest batch of opium could do to a person. She struggled, but it was useless as Kanryuu was both bigger and stronger than her. Changing his grip to force her mouth open, he forced her to swallow the drug.

She couldn't even manage to scream.

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

From his vantage point in the trees lining the Takeda estate, Saitou saw many things which made him like Kanryuu less and less.

He watched as the entrepreneur hit a woman, then force feed her something. She wasn't dressed like a geisha, and they didn't seem to be on good enough terms to be lovers. Saitou figured she must be a disobedient servant, or something. It didn't really matter; hitting a woman was pretty much unforgivable. After a while, he noticed that the woman had slumped down in the chair in some sort of sleepy daze.

I see, that may have been opium he made her swallow. What a bastard.

He had already learned from his contacts around town at down at the docks exactly what Kanryuu was involved in. Besides ordering his thugs to bully various people, the sale of opium (and several deaths) were traced back to the businessman. On top of all that, Kanryuu seemed to have set his sights on even more deadly merchandise.

Kanryuu had a "gatling gun" smuggled in from a foreign country.

Familiar with weapons both native and otherwise, Saitou knew that if the yakuza and scum of Japan got their hands on weapons like the gatling gun, it would be a total massacre.

He had seen the absurdly tiny man that brought the woman to Kanryuu; what he lacked in stature he appeared to make up with training. Men with such skills were a rarity nowadays, so Saitou decided to see where the stealthy twerp went.

The stealthy twerp was making his way to another office on the second floor, and had been joined by another man. This time, it was one of absurdly large size. Where do they find these people?

He watched as the diminutive ninja talked to someone in the office, but the placement of windows didn't allow him to see who. These were obviously not in the ranks of Kanryuu's regular bodyguards.

Eventually the strange-looking men left, but Saitou kept his watch over the office window. Suddenly, a curtain was pulled back and the office's occupant examined the darkness where Saitou was hiding.

He stayed motionless, lest the other man see him.

He studied the supposed henchman of Kanryuu. Young, elegant, dressed in a high-collard black shirt. The man backed away from the window after a few minutes, apparently satisfied that no one was out there. But Saitou now had all the information he needed.

Why on earth would the Oniwaban group work for scum like Kanryuu? Perhaps Shinomori has lost his mind...

It didn't really matter, though. The former Shinsengumi captain already had a plan to shut the opium ring down.

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

Shinomori Aoshi sat back down at his desk, and returned to the book he had been reading. Whoever the spy was out in the trees wasn't really his concern, unless Kanryuu himself asked him to do something about it.

For the sake of those four... he thought, not paying attention to the characters on the page. As long as Kanryuu pays us, it doesn't matter.

Deep down, the leader of the Oniwaban group knew he wasn't comfortable with what his employer was doing.

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

He managed to get back to his apartment on Ruffian Row well before sundown, but exhaustion overwhelmed him. Sanosuke had barely managed to cook himself some rice before collapsing.

It annoyed him greatly that his futon wasn't nearly as comfortable as the policeman's had been.

I wonder if he'll even notice if I'm gone, that bug-faced pervert... he wondered. He seemed pretty intent on me staying with him, for some reason, but hopefully he won't come looking for me...

He mentally went over his plans for the next few days. Laying low would certainly be in order, and rest so he could heal his injuries. He still had the money he'd been given to beat up the cop in the first place, so he should get food and a new jacket. Rent needed to be paid, too.

After that, I'll train to get stronger. Then I'll find that bastard and kick his ass... He slipped into blissful sleep, dreaming of sharp swords and even sharper amber eyes.

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

It was unacceptable. The boy not only had the nerve to escape, but had even managed to leave a mess behind. The wrinkled yukata he'd put on him was in a heap in the dirt in the backyard, dishes from lunch were still on the table, and the futon was unmade.

His housekeeper Kaede apologized profusely, stating that the young guest had been in the house when she left to go to the market. Saitou knew it wasn't the gentle old woman's fault, and sent her home. He hadn't lived in this house for long, but with his guest gone, it suddenly seemed much colder and quieter.

He knew he should have more important concerns than some street-trash kid, but it still... bothered him. He'd been nice enough to give Sanosuke medical attention and a nice place to stay, so why did the fighter leave? He needed to give Kanryuu his full concentration for now, but he decided to look for the boy when he wrapped up the case.

I knew I should have tied him up...

More Author's Notes: Shinomori Aoshi is a sexy, sexy man. If he were real, I would stalk him. Since he's not real, I'm going to have to settle for giving him a prominent role in my fanfic from this point on. ^_^

Next chapter: Saitou goes undercover at Kanryuu's estate, and Aoshi vs. Saitou fight!