Guy's Night Out
Chapter 7
(AN: Yes, I just had to bring Saitou into my story. He was created to be hated, no doubt, but he cracks me up. He's rather fascinating and even if you hate his guts for the way he treats our heroes, you gotta admit, he's a witty bastard. Who could resist writing a scene between him and Sano? Their hilarious exchanges in the manga during the Kyoto arc are some of my favorite RK moments. By the way, the name "Kageboushi" means "shadow man", fitting for my villain, I thought. Eep, my story is turning PG-13, be warned, kiddies!)
"Sit down, Himura and you too, ahou."
Kenshin shook his head. "I don't know if we should sit with you, Fujita. After all, we're just a couple of 'lowlifes'. Aren't you afraid for your reputation being seen with the likes of us?"
"Bring us more sake, and be quick about it, woman." Saitou ordered. Ona nodded and hurried away.
"Saitou, you bastard, what are you doing, spying on us?" hissed Sano.
"Glad to see me, ahou?" smirked Saitou.
"Yeah, sure, like I enjoy bamboo slivers driven under my fingernails" retorted Sano sarcastically.
"That could be arranged," Saitou murmured silkily. Sano glared at him from under his red headband, mouth opening to trade another insult.
"Enough of that, Sanosuke." Kenshin folded his legs under him and lowered himself to one of the cushions opposite Saitou.
"What do you want?" he queried in a level tone, meeting the eyes of the wolfish man.
Sano exhaled his anger and likewise sat across from Saitou, his eyes never leaving the face of the man he thoroughly disliked.
"A proposition, Himura. You too, ahou, if you wish to make a living by honorable means for change." Sano bristled, but Kenshin placed a hand on his arm, silencing him before he could retort to the taunt.
"What?" Kenshin asked shortly.
"As you already know, The White Tiger bakuchiyadi(gambling parlor) is owned by Sagawa-san, who also happens to be my cousin. He also does a good job of keeping me abreast of, shall we say, certain developments, in this part of Tokyo."
"An informant, then," said Sano, starting to be interested in spite of himself.
"Yes, an informant. He has discovered that there is a traitor among my own men, someone who sells information to the gangsters in this part of the city so that they can evade our investigations. I suspect it may be one or more of the four men you had your little 'encounter' with just now. In fact I was here tonight to see if Sagawa had overheard anything of value. Those four come here frequently and they seem to meet the same man almost every time. He's ordinary looking, wears Western clothing. Nothing really distinguishing. I'm sure he's a contact for a gangster boss only known to us as Kageboushi. "
"Kageboushi," repeated Sano. "Wait, I'm sure I've heard that name before. No one seems to know much about him, though."
"Exactly." murmured Saitou, lighting a cigarette from the oil lamp's flame at the table and inhaling deeply. Kenshin's nose twitched at the acrid smell of burning tobacco.
"How does his poor wife stand the smell?" he wondered, not for the first time.
Sano sneered at the white-gloved police officer. "One of these days, yer gonna set yer hair on fire with those things. I just pray to all the gods I'm there to see it."
"My only vice, I assure you, Sagara, unlike some people who seem to go out of their way to acquire as many as possible in a lifetime."
"Yer just jealous because I know how to enjoy life, you spider-haired freak!" retorted Sano.
"I wouldn't bring up the subject of hair if I were you, ahou. The last time I saw hair like yours, the person in question had been hit by lightening."
"Can we get back to the reason we're having this conversation?" Kenshin said, rolling his eyes in disgust and clicking his tongue at them.
"Very well. Tell your moronic friend to hold his wagging tongue and I'll continue."
He took another deep drag on his cigarette and cleared his throat into a gloved hand.
"Kageboushi is deeply involved in the opium trade, that we know. His name has been on a few letters we've intercepted from those who deal in it. What I want you to do is observe Tanaka, Furukizo, Hanahige, and Saiyou , those four you just argued with, and discover where their contact goes from here. Perhaps if we can find out who he in turn reports to, we'll be able to get a lead as to who exactly this Kageboushi really is. My men are too well known in the city to accomplish this and besides, none of them has the skills to do this sort of thing."
"What's in it fer us?" asked Sano, yawning into Saitou's face.
"You mean besides something to do besides fight, drink, and gamble your worthless life away? My department pays its informants well. "
"Now yer talkin', kumo(spider). Money talks, and bullshit walks."
"Ah, more moronic babbling from the mouth of Sagara. Please spare me. I have children at home who make more sense."
"You have kids!!?" Sano and Kenshin said together, their eyes bugging out and mouths hanging open.
"Yes, of course, I've been married for years, not that it's any of your business."
Sano had a frightening vision of little Saitou's running around with cigarettes in their mouths, demonic amber eyes, torturing their playmates for information and smirking into their frightened faces.
"Kuso, that's the scariest thing I've heard in months. I'm gonna have nightmares!" muttered Sano under his breath.
"So, are you two willing to do this for the department? Decide, one way or the other, it makes no difference to me, but I must know quickly." Saitou took another drag of his cigarette, the smoke curling up in the lamplight, his eyes narrowing in enjoyment of his addiction.
"Well, count me in, I guess," said Sano, "It's not like I have anything better to do. Sounds like an fast way to make some nomishiro(drinking money)."
Kenshin frowned. "Very well, agreed. It seems like an easy enough task to accomplish and I'm sure Kaoru-dono will find a use for the extra money."
Saitou grinned at Kenshin. "Still mooning over that Kamiya girl like some moonstruck adolescent, Himura? Why don't you just ask her to marry you and get it over with? You lack courage in matters of romance, Himura. The heart of a woman is the only thing you fear, and your fear makes you foolish."
Kenshin's eyes narrowed and flashed a dangerous amber color. He clenched his hand around the hilt of his sakabattou in reflex. "I'll thank you to keep your filthy mouth shut about matters you know nothing about."
Sanosuke felt his friend ready to explode next to him, and decided it was time to intercede. He didn't mind fighting the spider-haired bastard, but secretly, he agreed with Saitou. "Well, that makes twice in a lifetime," he mused.
"Come on, Kenshin, ignore him, he's a jerk. I'm curious to find out who this Kageboushi is myself. I hate drug dealers, they're complete scum."
"Very well, Sano," Kenshin replied, his voice still hard and deep.
Sano grabbed the cup of sake in front of him, now cooled a bit, and downed it. "No sense wasting this meishu(choice sake)," he said, pouring himself more.
Chapter 7
(AN: Yes, I just had to bring Saitou into my story. He was created to be hated, no doubt, but he cracks me up. He's rather fascinating and even if you hate his guts for the way he treats our heroes, you gotta admit, he's a witty bastard. Who could resist writing a scene between him and Sano? Their hilarious exchanges in the manga during the Kyoto arc are some of my favorite RK moments. By the way, the name "Kageboushi" means "shadow man", fitting for my villain, I thought. Eep, my story is turning PG-13, be warned, kiddies!)
"Sit down, Himura and you too, ahou."
Kenshin shook his head. "I don't know if we should sit with you, Fujita. After all, we're just a couple of 'lowlifes'. Aren't you afraid for your reputation being seen with the likes of us?"
"Bring us more sake, and be quick about it, woman." Saitou ordered. Ona nodded and hurried away.
"Saitou, you bastard, what are you doing, spying on us?" hissed Sano.
"Glad to see me, ahou?" smirked Saitou.
"Yeah, sure, like I enjoy bamboo slivers driven under my fingernails" retorted Sano sarcastically.
"That could be arranged," Saitou murmured silkily. Sano glared at him from under his red headband, mouth opening to trade another insult.
"Enough of that, Sanosuke." Kenshin folded his legs under him and lowered himself to one of the cushions opposite Saitou.
"What do you want?" he queried in a level tone, meeting the eyes of the wolfish man.
Sano exhaled his anger and likewise sat across from Saitou, his eyes never leaving the face of the man he thoroughly disliked.
"A proposition, Himura. You too, ahou, if you wish to make a living by honorable means for change." Sano bristled, but Kenshin placed a hand on his arm, silencing him before he could retort to the taunt.
"What?" Kenshin asked shortly.
"As you already know, The White Tiger bakuchiyadi(gambling parlor) is owned by Sagawa-san, who also happens to be my cousin. He also does a good job of keeping me abreast of, shall we say, certain developments, in this part of Tokyo."
"An informant, then," said Sano, starting to be interested in spite of himself.
"Yes, an informant. He has discovered that there is a traitor among my own men, someone who sells information to the gangsters in this part of the city so that they can evade our investigations. I suspect it may be one or more of the four men you had your little 'encounter' with just now. In fact I was here tonight to see if Sagawa had overheard anything of value. Those four come here frequently and they seem to meet the same man almost every time. He's ordinary looking, wears Western clothing. Nothing really distinguishing. I'm sure he's a contact for a gangster boss only known to us as Kageboushi. "
"Kageboushi," repeated Sano. "Wait, I'm sure I've heard that name before. No one seems to know much about him, though."
"Exactly." murmured Saitou, lighting a cigarette from the oil lamp's flame at the table and inhaling deeply. Kenshin's nose twitched at the acrid smell of burning tobacco.
"How does his poor wife stand the smell?" he wondered, not for the first time.
Sano sneered at the white-gloved police officer. "One of these days, yer gonna set yer hair on fire with those things. I just pray to all the gods I'm there to see it."
"My only vice, I assure you, Sagara, unlike some people who seem to go out of their way to acquire as many as possible in a lifetime."
"Yer just jealous because I know how to enjoy life, you spider-haired freak!" retorted Sano.
"I wouldn't bring up the subject of hair if I were you, ahou. The last time I saw hair like yours, the person in question had been hit by lightening."
"Can we get back to the reason we're having this conversation?" Kenshin said, rolling his eyes in disgust and clicking his tongue at them.
"Very well. Tell your moronic friend to hold his wagging tongue and I'll continue."
He took another deep drag on his cigarette and cleared his throat into a gloved hand.
"Kageboushi is deeply involved in the opium trade, that we know. His name has been on a few letters we've intercepted from those who deal in it. What I want you to do is observe Tanaka, Furukizo, Hanahige, and Saiyou , those four you just argued with, and discover where their contact goes from here. Perhaps if we can find out who he in turn reports to, we'll be able to get a lead as to who exactly this Kageboushi really is. My men are too well known in the city to accomplish this and besides, none of them has the skills to do this sort of thing."
"What's in it fer us?" asked Sano, yawning into Saitou's face.
"You mean besides something to do besides fight, drink, and gamble your worthless life away? My department pays its informants well. "
"Now yer talkin', kumo(spider). Money talks, and bullshit walks."
"Ah, more moronic babbling from the mouth of Sagara. Please spare me. I have children at home who make more sense."
"You have kids!!?" Sano and Kenshin said together, their eyes bugging out and mouths hanging open.
"Yes, of course, I've been married for years, not that it's any of your business."
Sano had a frightening vision of little Saitou's running around with cigarettes in their mouths, demonic amber eyes, torturing their playmates for information and smirking into their frightened faces.
"Kuso, that's the scariest thing I've heard in months. I'm gonna have nightmares!" muttered Sano under his breath.
"So, are you two willing to do this for the department? Decide, one way or the other, it makes no difference to me, but I must know quickly." Saitou took another drag of his cigarette, the smoke curling up in the lamplight, his eyes narrowing in enjoyment of his addiction.
"Well, count me in, I guess," said Sano, "It's not like I have anything better to do. Sounds like an fast way to make some nomishiro(drinking money)."
Kenshin frowned. "Very well, agreed. It seems like an easy enough task to accomplish and I'm sure Kaoru-dono will find a use for the extra money."
Saitou grinned at Kenshin. "Still mooning over that Kamiya girl like some moonstruck adolescent, Himura? Why don't you just ask her to marry you and get it over with? You lack courage in matters of romance, Himura. The heart of a woman is the only thing you fear, and your fear makes you foolish."
Kenshin's eyes narrowed and flashed a dangerous amber color. He clenched his hand around the hilt of his sakabattou in reflex. "I'll thank you to keep your filthy mouth shut about matters you know nothing about."
Sanosuke felt his friend ready to explode next to him, and decided it was time to intercede. He didn't mind fighting the spider-haired bastard, but secretly, he agreed with Saitou. "Well, that makes twice in a lifetime," he mused.
"Come on, Kenshin, ignore him, he's a jerk. I'm curious to find out who this Kageboushi is myself. I hate drug dealers, they're complete scum."
"Very well, Sano," Kenshin replied, his voice still hard and deep.
Sano grabbed the cup of sake in front of him, now cooled a bit, and downed it. "No sense wasting this meishu(choice sake)," he said, pouring himself more.
