CHAPTER 6: The Rescue

Saito pulled off his Shinsengumi jacket and uniform until he was left with a gi and pants and nothing else. Then, he hid the bundle of clothing in a small space between two crates. Sliding his sword into his belt, he put on a friendly smile and closed his distinctive eyes. Now, no one could really recognize him as a member of the Shinsengumi. He sauntered into the restaurant, noticing some familiar faces from the battle before.

"Excuse me, sir, but we are not serving the public at this time," the waitress informed him. He nodded at her.

"I know. I am a member of the Ishin Shishi," Saito lied. The girl smiled.

"Oh. Then you are more than welcome! Here, take a seat." She motioned to a table filled with men.

"Hello," one of the Ishin Shishi warriors at the table greeted him. "And who might you be?"

"Fujita," Saito replied, thinking fast. "Fujita Goro."

"Well then, Fujita-san, it's nice to meet you. You've heard about Himura, right?" the man asked.

"Yes, I have. Actually, I heard about the battle that you had with the Shinsengumi last night," Saito said. "I heard that you managed to capture a woman of the Shinsengumi."

"Yes, we did. Actually, Suzuke did. He found her when she tried to help one of the leaders Saito Hajime. She must really have skill, though, to get into the Shinsengumi, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Saito said absentmindedly. He stood up. "Could you take me to this girl? I want to see if she looks... erm... tough!"

"Okay. Actually, I was wondering what she looked like myself! You think she's pretty?" the man also stood and placed his sword into his belt, walking toward a door. He opened it and began to walk down the stairs. Saito followed.

"I don't know," Saito walked through the damp cellar. He stopped at a door and waited for the man to open it.

"The Battousai's too kind when he's out of battle. He wants to treat the girl with respect," the man unlocked the door and pushed it open. Tokio was sitting on the floor of the closet, sniffing.

"So, this is the Shinsengumi girl, huh?" Saito ventured toward Tokio. She pulled away in fear. "TOKIO!" Saito breathed in her ear. He hoped that the other man hadn't heard. Tokio gasped, but stayed silent.

"So, is she as cute as we'd hoped?" the man behind Saito asked.

"Yeah, come over and have a look!" Saito beckoned him over. He walked over to Tokio and touched her cheek.

"A bit of cleaning up is needed, but she'll do." the man laughed. His hand slid down Tokio's body and she gulped. Saito's eyes opened in a flash. He tore the man away from Tokio and cut him down. His blood seeped into the floor. Then, Saito re-sheathed his sword and closed his eyes, putting on yet another friendly smile. It hid his ki perfectly.

"Hajime, I was so scared," Tokio sobbed softly into his gi. He patted her head and then pushed her away. He slit his forearm and wiped the blood onto Tokio's Shinsengumi uniform. Then, he ruffled her hair and spread some dirt from the floor onto her skin. He tore her pants on the bottom and cut through her clothes with his katana.

"You have to look like I've been terrible to you. He sheathed his sword and wrapped a piece of her gi on his cut. Then, he gently slid his arm around her waist and held her by her hair. They walked out of the cellar like that. When they reached the top, Tokio put on her most frightened face and Saito smirked evilly (A/N: Like he always does...). One of the men in the restaurant walked over to Saito.

"Why are you taking her?" the man questioned.

"To have FUN," Saito smirked. "Know of a PRIVATE area were we can go?" The man nodded and laughed.

"Yes, down that hallway and to your right. That room is free. No one uses it," the man pointed. "Here, I'll take you there." Then, the man guided Saito and Tokio into the room. They stepped in.

"Thank you," Saito smiled. The man nodded. It appeared he wouldn't leave until he saw what he wanted to see, so Saito grabbed Tokio as roughly as he could bare and planted his lips onto hers. Satisfied, the man walked away from the door. Quickly, Saito pulled away and closed the door. Tokio stared at him.

"What?" Saito asked, taking out his sword. He walked over to the wall and stood in Gatotsu position.

"Thank you, Hajime," Tokio said, looking at her toes. "For saving me."

"What'd you think? That I'd just leave you here? Not with all of those Ishin Shishi-" he was about to swear, but Tokio placed her hand on his mouth and finished his sentence for him.

"Freaks," she said, letting her hand fall to his chest. "Ishin Shishi freaks." He charged at he wall, creating a hole just big enough to crawl through.

"Let's go," Saito took her hand and crawled through first. Then, he helped her out. They ran down the street, all of their senses alert. They turned a corner and right before the impact, Saito shoved Tokio out of the way. She fell onto the street, wincing at her stinging palms. She looked up just in time to see the Battousai's sword stab through Saito's stomach. Battousai wrenched his sword out. He cast a glance at her and then ran off into the night. She ran over to Saito and saw a stream of blood pour out of his mouth.

"HAJIME!" she screamed. She saw more blood drip from his mouth; he was hunched on his knees, clutching his stomach, feeling warm blood seep out.

"Help... me... get... a doctor... hurry..." Saito choked, spitting blood. He gave a low moan.

"Hajime, I don't know my way around Kyoto very well without you..." Tokio said, hugging his trembling body.

"Please try, Tokio..." Saito pleaded. He allowed another mouthful of the warm red liquid to splash onto the pavement. "I... can't live... like this..." Then, he fell to the floor, knocked unconscious.

A/N: Mua ha ha! I'm so evil! Leaving you all hanging like this... oh, and I might only be able to update a little because... well... school is beginning in a day. (Bum bum bum...) Please review! And I was thinking of creating a comedy fanfic, but... the problem is that... it's about Halloween and it's not quite Halloween yet! Let me know what you think! ^_^

REVIEWER RESPONSES:

Koneko: Hello. Just put the idea on the review page, please!!! My email is kind of... messed up. Just put it on the review page! If it's that top secret, then... uh... find another way to tell me about it (Or just don't tell me at all... what's it about anyway?)!

Stungun Millie: As I said in the previous review response thinga bobba ding, my email is kind of messed up at the moment. Just communicate through reviews... they don't even have to be reviews, just messages! Okay, gotta go.

ANYONE ELSE THAT I MISSED:

Sorry I missed you, but thanks for all of your support!