Author's Notes: (eyes pop out of head) Aiee, so many reviews! Thanks, I'm really glad you guys like this. I feel bad for neglecting this fic for such long periods of time, so here's a new chapter. I'll be out of town for Thanksgiving, so any more updates will have to wait till December!
YaoiLuvr: Oh don't worry, Soujiro will be there, when I get to the Kyoto Arc. I'm still trying to figure out how his situation changes, since Kenshin isn't in the picture anymore.
Ayce Shade: Yeah, Udou Jine... I hate that guy, he's creepy. I didn't feel like writing about him, but he will be mentioned in retrospect (in this chapter, actually). There probably will be episodes and events that I skip, but that's because I think Saitou would have handled them differently, or deemed them unimportant.
Kuroiyousei: I'm a big fan of your work! I'm super-glad you approve of my fic. ^____^
HitokiriBattousai214: I'm considering having Kenshin wander into a scene at some point before the Kyoto arc, but it will really just be a tiny cameo appearance for humor's sake. I want this fic to be as free from Kenshin-influence as possible. (Thanks for reviewing my other fic, too!)
Also thanks to Sano, MsJadey, meron pan daisuki, rj, kid, FarStrider, and all the other people who reviewed.
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 9
by Fujimiya Maru
The Hashizume estate was large and western-styled, with covered patios on the first and second floors. The Senator himself sat at a lavishly set table on the lower porch, enjoying a glass of red wine imported from Europe. He was a round-faced, nondescript middle aged man, but he reveled in the power that his position had granted him. He felt young again, since his plan was going so well.
Toma and his Jinpuu Squad were doing well, getting rid of his opposition. The bloodthirsty brat was even expecting a high-ranking government job when all was said and done! Idiot assassins. Once they've outgrown their usefulness, I'll turn them over to the police. I'll be a hero!
Yes, the plan was going to go off without a hitch. And once Yamagata was out of the way, it would be all blue skies and clear sailing.
Saitou got bored with watching the politician be all smug and full of himself, so he motioned for Aoshi to go around the back of the house. He wanted to meet with Hashizume without interruptions, so Aoshi was to neutralize any bodyguards on the premises. The ninja, without his usual white trenchcoat, nodded and stealthily made his way out of the tree they were hiding in. He disappeared into the shadows like a ghost.
The former Shinsengumi captain felt his blood vibrate with excitement. Justice was about to be served.
He dropped out of his hiding spot and backtracked a ways until he got back on the road. Unlike his ninja counterpart, he was going to execute his plan without stealth, through the front gate. He'd have himself a nice chat with the Senator, as well.
Hashizume watched curiously as the police officer made his way up to the porch. Better play it cool, he thought. He probably is looking for a lost kitten or something.
"Good evening, officer. Can I do something for you?"
"Senator Hashizume, I presume?" Saitou said, his face and demeanor pleasant. "I was hoping I could speak with you."
"Oh, what about?" The politician broke into a cold sweat.
"Pardon my rudeness. I am assistant inspector Fujita Goro, at your service." He bowed and tipped his cap to the man.
"Nice to meet you. What is it you want to speak with me about?" Hashizume swirled his wine in his glass, hoping not to appear nervous.
Saitou stepped up onto the porch but made no move to join the Senator at his table.
"The police inspector asked that I check on you," he said. "I'm sure you've heard of the recent wave of assassinations..."
"Yes, yes, absolutely horrible. Do the police have any idea who the culprits are?"
"Not as yet, no. We were just concerned about your safety, since as a Senator you make a possible target."
Hashizume laughed heartily. "Oh, don't worry about me. I've hired some men as bodyguards; any attempt on my life is futile."
Saitou kept himself from grinning at the thought that those bodyguards were currently being beaten to a pulp by Aoshi. "I see, that's good. Actually, I was hoping you could help us discern the pattern to the assassinations..."
"Pattern?" Hashizume nearly choked. "Is there one?" Why won't this cop get lost? What is it he's looking for?
"Yes. It seems that all of those killed were your political opponents." He kept his face neutral and pleasant, waiting for a reaction. The Senator was sweating visibly now, eyes darting from his wine, to the woods, and back to Saitou.
"Eh- Really? How odd!" he stuttered.
"And I suppose once you have your assassins hit Yamagata, life would be pretty easy for you, wouldn't it?"
Hashizume stood quickly, bumping into the table and knocking over his wine. He turned red, and sputtered indignantly. "What is this?" he growled. "That is quite a serious accusation, and you have no proof-" He stopped as Saitou abruptly dropped his friendly mask and casually grasped the hilt of his sword.
"I have plenty of proof. I'm here to put an end to your plans."
Hashizume looked utterly panicked. He turned desperately towards his house, yelling for his bodyguards.
Aoshi dropped lightly from the upper porch. "Your guards will not answer you. They're all taking a nice, long nap."
"Are you going to arrest me, then?" the Senator mumbled, his face pale and drawn.
"No." A long metal rasp, and his blade glinted in the low light. Hashizume trembled, but made no move to run. "This era will fail because of men like you. It is my life's work to clean up messes."
He swiftly executed his Gatotsu first stance, without much fanfare. The corrupt politician fell without uttering a sound.
Wiping clean his blade, he turned to Aoshi. "Go to the police station and check that they've apprehended the Jinpuu Squad without messing it up. While you're at it, have them stop by here to deal with the bodyguards as well. I'll clean up this," he nodded towards the dead man.
All business, thought Aoshi.
"Go ahead, I'll catch up with you at the dojo later."
"Allright." Aoshi turned to go, but paused. "Saitou?"
"What?"
"I heard the bodyguards talking before I attacked. They mentioned something interesting."
"And what was that?" Saitou raised an eyebrow towards the younger man.
"They mentioned another assassin. One that used to be in the Shinsengumi."
"Udou Jine." he replied, without looking at Aoshi. He started moving the chairs away from the table and putting the spilled wine glass upright.
Aoshi masked his surprise. "You already know."
"I already took care of it." Saitou replied sharply.
"Why didn't you ask for my help?"
"The Shinsengumi takes care of its own." he paused, and turned to the younger man. "Jine was an excellent swordsman, but at the end of the revolution he continued to thirst for blood. He was consumed by it, and it twisted his ego beyond repair." His tone was bitter even if his face showed no regret.
Aoshi remained silent for a moment, eyeing Saitou, and chosing his next words carefully. "Do all Shinsengumi thirst for blood?"
"... No." Saitou lit a cigarette. "I know what you're getting at, Shinomori. I have never thirsted for blood or death. Only justice, for the sake of Japan."
The ninja nodded. "That's good to know. I'll see you later at the dojo." He started to walk away.
"Shinomori," Saitou called after him. Aoshi halted, but did not turn around. "My thirst for justice consumes me. I do what I think is right. However, I expect you to stop me if I do something that you disagree with."
Aoshi turned slightly and nodded. "Ah. I'll let you know."
*************
Business at the station took longer than necessary, as the Jinpuu didn't take very well to being arrested. The leader, Toma, kept babbling about justice, and eventually, about how Senator Hashizume had hired them.
The man's whining had given Aoshi a headache, and was glad when all the loose ends were tied up and he could return to the dojo. It was already morning when he started to walk back. The sounds of sparring drifted beyond the cracking walls of the dojo.
In the middle of the yard, Sanosuke and Shikijo were testing out punches on one another as Hyottoko looked on, enjoying a meal.
Aoshi watched as Sano let loose a barrage of tremendous blows at Shikijo's abdomen. The Oniwaban guard felt nothing, of course, due to his impressive physique.
"This is great, man!" Sanosuke laughed, bouncing from foot to foot as he readied his next attack. "I always had to hold back when sparring with people before, but you can take pretty much anything!"
"The same can be said about you." replied Shikijo, obviously pleased. "That headbutt I gave you earlier should have cracked your skull, but apparently it's too thick!"
Both men laughed. Sano quickly moved in to attack again, but Shikijo managed to backhand him, sending the lean youth flying across the yard. Aoshi walked up and got down on his knee beside the former fighter-for-hire.
"You should have been able to block or dodge that."
Sano didn't move or say anything.
"Welcome back, Aoshi-sama." said Hyottoko from his spot, then gestured towards the fallen man. "Is he dead?"
"No, no, I'm fine. Just waiting for the ground to stop spinning." He shook his head and got back up.
"You really don't know the first thing about defense, do you?" Aoshi sighed.
"Oh, screw defense. We're only practicing," Sano grinned, scratching his head.
"Well, if you're only practicing, practice some defensive moves. Have Hannya show you." He turned to Shikijo. "Has Saitou stopped by yet?"
"No, okashira."
As if on cue, the policeman in question stepped through the door behind Aoshi.
"Good morning..." he said, but he looked obviously annoyed.
"Something wrong?" asked Aoshi. "I just got back from the station, everything seemed to be in order."
"That's all fine, I just stopped by there myself. Thank you for keeping your eye on that for me."
"So what's with the sour face, temee?" asked Sanosuke. He stared intently at the older man, wanting to say what really was on his mind. How the hell do you bring something like this up? 'Hey, why didn't ya tell me your true identity after you nearly killed me then molested me?'... No, he'd probably tell me it's none of my business and call me an ahou...
Saitou smirked at the boy, who was covered with dirt and a few new bruises.
"The police inspector asked me to... investigate something."
Aoshi looked at him quizically. "So, a new case. Why does that bother you?"
"Because it's a damn waste of my time." Saitou growled.
"I'm sure it must be of some importance, if he asked you personally. What needs to be investigated?"
"Circus." he mumbled.
They all stared at him. Sano repressed a snicker. "Excuse me?" asked Aoshi.
"There are some Circus groups in town." he clarified. "One of them seems to be bullying the others, extortion, blackmail, all that great stuff."
"Well, why's that a waste of time? They need to be stopped, right?" blurted Sanosuke.
"Ahou," sighed Saitou, "I never said they shouldn't be arrested. It's just a waste of my time. The local police must really be incompetent if they can't handle such a minor case themselves."
"How about this," said Aoshi. "We'll investigate for you. If we find anything that may require your attention, which is doubtful, we'll let you know. If it truly is a minor case, we'll just take care of it. Does that sit well with you?"
"I think that sounds wonderful." replied Saitou. "Got any breakfast?"
"Beshimi has some ready around back," Hyottoko spoke up, picking up his own dishes. They all started to walk to the back of the house; Sano ran to catch up to Saitou, bounding like a persistent puppy at his heels.
"Uh, hey, I need to talk to you..."
"Not now, ahou."
"But... Oi! Come back here!"
"I've had a long night and just want some breakfast. Is that too much to ask!"
"Don't be an ass, I just want to talk to you!"
"What part of "not now" do you not understand?"
"Temee, you don't have to be rude!"
"Ahou..."
*************
The small, cloaked figure in a far-off tree listened as the bickering of the two strange men faded into the distance. Their presence, and identity, was irrelevant. Instead, the stealthy shadow focused on one man in the dojo yard.
"I've found you at last... my Aoshi-sama."
More Author's Notes: You know who the small, cloaked figure is. I know you do.
Next chapter: Fun at the circus! Maybe...
