Author's Notes: Woo! I seem to be on a roll with these chapters for the time being. This will wrap up the Kanryuu story arc, and develop Sanosuke's role in the story a bit more.

FarStrider: Hehehe, yeah, Saitou will smack Aoshi over the head for being stupid, but not literally. ^_^

mibu no ookami: I guess you don't like AoshixMisao? To tell you the truth, Misao isn't my favorite match for Aoshi either... but in this fic, I hope to portray a slightly different Misao. Since things happen differently than in the series, they'll affect her differently. It's worth a try, at any rate...

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 7

by Fujimiya Maru

Takeda Kanryuu's grating laughter bounced off the walls like the bullets firing from the Gatling gun. The four fallen Oniwaban spies quickly jumped up and spread out across the room. Bullets embedded themselves in the floor inches from their feet. Kanryuu swung the machine around and aimed it towards the leader of the Oniwaban group.

"How do you like it? It's the newest model, even! It can fire 200 bullets a minute!"

"Kanryuu! Where did you get such a thing?" shouted Hannya from his place near his leader.

"That's Kanryuu-SAMA to you, asshole!" He fired again, but towards Hannya. In a panic, Aoshi pushed the masked man out of the way, and three bullets pierced his thighs.

"Aoshi-sama!" the four spies shouted in unison, running to the aid of their injured leader.

Kanryuu paused to light another cigar. "I have no intention of becoming just a drug dealer. With the money I raise from the new opium, I will purchase more wonderful weapons like this Gatling gun. It's no longer time to fling swords about, you know!"

"You want money so badly, that you will destroy countless lives to get it?" growled Aoshi from his spot on the floor.

"Money is power!" yelled Kanryuu. "With money, I will be the strongest! For insulting me earlier, you will be the first to die, Shinomori Aoshi!" The gun was once again pointed at Aoshi. Shikijo, Beshimi, and Hyottoko moved to shield the fallen man.

"Saitou Hajime," spoke Hannya, "I will draw his fire. Show me the strength of the Shinsengumi!" He briskly ran towards the businessman, veering towards the right. Taking his cue, Saitou drew his sword into his trademark stance, and lunged forward to the opposite side with unbelievable speed.

Kanryuu saw Hannya move first, and reacted by shooting towards him. A bullet found a way into Hannya's shoulder, but he did not slow down.

Before he could change his aim towards Saitou, the sword thrust deeply into his heart. The force of the attack threw Kanryuu towards the hallway wall explosively, shattering the plaster behind him. The blade snapped under the force of the Gatotsu, leaving the gleaming metal poking out of the entrepreneur's chest.

Kanryuu hadn't even had time to scream. His eyes were wide, as if not believing that he could be dead.

"Hn. Hidden swords certainly are useful, but they're as flimsy as toys. Japanese swords are the only true swords, after all..." Saitou tossed the hilt of the broken weapon to the side. He glanced calmly towards the Oniwaban group. Aoshi and Hannya were sitting on the ballroom floor nursing their wounds, the other three fussing over them.

"So," smirked Saitou, "Do you want to continue our fight now?"

Aoshi narrowed his eyes at the policeman. "Hn. Your sword is broken."

"I can defeat you whether I have a sword or not. Do you want to know why?"

"Enlighten me."

"Your fighting spirit is admirable, but wasted. You fight for nothing except the fight itself. I fight for the sake of Japan." Saitou pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "I know the Meiji Era has been hard on people like you, but why become mercenaries?"

"Look at us," said Hannya. "After the revolution many of our fellow Oniwaban moved on and found suitable jobs. However, for four old-fashioned warriors like us, there is no place in society. Looking at us in this condition, our okashira never deserted us. He refused an offer to be a government official to find us new homes."

Aoshi spoke up, his usually expressionless eyes glittering with emotion. "I was the one who made you members of the Oniwaban. The least I can do is honor you with the flower of the title of the strongest."

"I see. Well, I'll make you a deal then," he paused to blow smoke off to the side. "If you insist on being mercenaries, I want you to work for me."

"In what capacity?" asked Aoshi.

"I've been working undercover as a policeman here in Tokyo. As you know, the Meiji Era is still unstable, and unrest can erupt at any time. I wish to avoid another war, and keep the government from becoming too greedy. To do so, I need both information and manpower."

"So you want to hire us as spies." Aoshi stated.

"Big trouble is already brewing. Even Okubo Toshimichi knows this. I can pretty much guarantee your group a chance to fight, and restore your honor. It would be a shame if you missed the chance to fight again..."

Aoshi looked thoughtfully at the floor. "I suppose it is the correct path to take, then. I agree to your offer." The other four looked relieved.

"Very well. Let's get you to a doctor, the rest of the police will be here to clean up this mess shortly."

Shikijo suddenly smacked himself in the forehead, remembering something.

"What is it, Shikijo?" inquired Aoshi.

"Kanryuu had me take Megumi-san up to the observatory. She must be in great pain from withdrawl by now..." the scarred man said, clearly upset.

"Megumi, the woman in the violet kimono I saw Kanryuu abuse? What relation is she in all this anyway?" Saitou asked.

Aoshi struggled to stand. "Takani Megumi. She was the chemist who produced that opium. He got her hooked on it by accident."

"Takani? As in the family of doctors from Aizu?" Aoshi nodded. "Hn. Well, go get her then. You realize I'll have to arrest her?"

"That's to be expected. However, she was forced by Kanryuu to make the opium. We will testify to that, if it will gain her some lenience. Shikijo, please go fetch Megumi-san."

"Yes, okashira!" The large man bounded his way up the stairs.

Saitou leaned against the wall, savoring the last of his cigarette. He felt as smug as he usually did when a mission turned out the way he planned. He got rid of Kanryuu, had both the drugs and Gatling gun to confiscate, and had even gained some valuable resources. He didn't get a chance to test Aoshi's skill in battle, but he supposed they could spar some other day.

"Saitou," asked Aoshi, "Do you know of a place where we can stay? We need somewhere discreet to recover and train if we're going to help you."

The lanky policeman looked thoughtful for a minute. There certainly wasn't room at the police station for them, and the city would certainly want to seize Kanryuu's mansion as it was very expensive property. Someplace where they can train, and people won't get suspicious of them... Of course.

"There is an abandoned dojo not far from here. The owner was recently murdered and had no family to inherit the place. I'll have to pull some strings with city officials, but how does that sound?"

"Ah. That will be fine." said Aoshi, leaning heavily on Beshimi.

Just then, Shikijo reentered the ballroom, carrying the still form of Takani Megumi. She was white as a sheet, and the front of her doctor's smock was stained with crimson. A short dagger protruded from her chest.

"I guess she couldn't handle it," said Shikijo sadly. All of the men in the room were silent, staring at the woman in the ninja's arms.

Saitou studied her face, as it was the first time he'd seen her close up. She had porcelain-perfect skin, and unusually long hair. She was very beautiful, he mused. She looks a lot like my wife did back when I first married her. Unwanted memories surfaced, so he turned away.

"I could have prevented this," Aoshi suddenly said in a mere whisper.

Saitou studied the okashira, reading the guilt that flashed across the younger man's face. He dropped his cigarette and ground it out on the hardwood floor. "This fate is most likely kinder than if she had lived," he said. "Opium addiction is a messy thing, and jail is not a good place for a woman."

"Still," said Aoshi, "I should have prevented this."

"It is unfortunate. But there's nothing to be done now. Let's go, the rest of the police will be here soon."

Saitou made his way out of the ruined ballroom, and the Oniwaban group followed.

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

It had been two weeks since he had escaped from the psycho cop's house, and Sanosuke was feeling much better. Most of his wounds had healed, although his shoulder still ached pretty bad. His leftover money was now long gone, but at least he had a new jacket and wasn't going home with an empty stomach. He had been asking around for recommendations of who could train him to become stronger, but none of the guys he met seemed good enough.

Shit. I'll never be able to get one up on that bastard.

Sano sulked as he made his way home from a day of gambling, fishbone jutting out of his pouting mouth. He kicked idly at pebbles as he made his way down the alley. He turned and made his way through Ruffian Row.

A few yards away from his place, he noticed that his door was wide open. While he didn't really have much of value in his apartment, he was still dismayed that someone would break into it.

He ran up to confront the burglar. "Oi, what the hell do you think your-" He trailed off when he realized who was in his hovel. Damn. I didn't think he knew where I lived.

There, standing as calmly as ever, stood the psycho cop himself. His blue uniform was crisp and annoyingly pristine, and his cigarette was leaving ashes all over his tatami. His cap was tucked under one arm.

"Ahou," greeted the cop.

"Temee," returned Sano. "Gee, just when I was sure you weren't going to stalk me, you old pervert."

"Hn. I've been busy."

Sano stood awkwardly in the doorway. The policeman made no move, only continued to smoke in the middle of his room.

"So, uh... Is there something you want from me? You said you weren't going to arrest me!" he said defensively.

"True," Saitou gave a wolfish grin, "I'm not here to arrest you."

"Well, what the hell do you want then?"

"To see how you are, I guess... You certainly left in a hurry after I last saw you."

Sano snorted. "You didn't actually expect me to stick around, did you?" The cop moved to stand closer to the fighter. Sanosuke took a step back, wary of getting hurt again.

"When I give someone an order, I expect them to follow it. You're not very good at listening to other people, are you?"

"Asshole! I don't take orders from anyone!" Sano yelled, flushing with anger.

"Did you take orders from Sagara Souzou?"

Sano instantly paled. The older man smirked and flicked his cigarette past the boy to the street.

"Yes, I know about your past." he said, "And I also know about how you've been wasting your time these past two weeks. You've been searching for someone to train you. Why?"

Sano scowled again. "So I can get you back for kicking my ass!"

"Ahou. You wouldn't be able to beat me if you trained for 100 years."

The young man fumed with animosity. "Shut up! As soon as I find someone good enough, I'll train hard and become stronger than you!"

Saitou gave him a scary smile. "I'd like to see that. You really want to kick my ass that badly?"

"Of course!"

"Your heart isn't in the right place, but I admire your determination. Come with me." The policeman pushed past Sanosuke into the street.

"Huh? I'm not going home with you. You'll probably molest me or try to kill me again."

"Ahou. I'm taking to someone who can adequately train you. Pack your things, you won't be coming back here." He crossed his arms and waited outside the door.

Sano studied the taller man's eyes for a minute, and considered his options. If he refused, he'd never get stronger and would probably get the other man mad at him. If he, of all people, thinks this person is good enough to teach me... Maybe I should...

The former fighter-for-hire quickly moved about his apartment, throwing his meager belongings into a small satchel. Having done that, he joined the other man outside.

"Let's go, narrow-eyes. The sooner you take me there the sooner I can beat you to a pulp!"

More Author's Notes: Waaah! I'm sorry, I killed Megumi! Don't be mad at me! The way I see it, without Kenshin and Sanosuke being all compassionate, she would have succeeded in committing suicide. It's a shame, but I felt I had to do it for this fic. Consider it a trade for having all of the Oniwaban survive (which means that Aoshi will be at least 75% less guilt-ridden and 100% less homicidal-suicidal!).

Next chapter: Sano meets his new instructor, and learns Saitou's true identity!