Title: In Tokyo Where the Shadow Lies

Three rings for the eleven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the dwarf-lords in their halls of stone

Nine for mortal men doomed to die,

One for the dark lord on his dark throne

In the land of Mordor where the shadow lie.

One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,

One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In the land of Mordor where the shadow lie

AN: This fic has nothing to do with Lord of the Rings except the derived title

Summary: The Hitokiri Battousai is part of the modern-day Japanese Mafia, and together with the Spy and the Wolf, they rule a group involved in the deepest, darkest crimes possible, with the rest of the original Kenshin-gumi in tow in a tangle of secrets and love.

Chapter One: Jargon of The shadow

            There were only three people in that room: the Assassin, the Spy, and the Wolf. He who was crowned with blood red hair stood, bangs shielding his eyes from the otherwise single dim lamp, which hung from the ceiling.

            He, who watched everything with cold blue eyes sat behind the old square table upon which lay a piece of parchment which served as the most accurate map of all of Japan – all its ports, whether they were used for legal or illegal purposes were marked with a red star.

But of course, no one else knew about the latter type of ports. Except of course, the men who did.

            The third person in the room who rolled a cigarette between his fingers and curled smoke with his mouth looked like the very animal attributed to him, carefully plotting a way to kill its prey with his wolfish yellow eyes.

            Kenshin spoke up. "It begins here." His finger landed on the eastern port, his leather sleeve following his every deadly move.

            Aoshi looked up. "You are sure, Himura?" The Assassin took a breath and immediately began explaining with a burst of cleverness and a hint of cool pride as he told of the move he believed would be the next greatest one the shadow ever made.

            "First Group will meet at the North Headquarters at Hokkaido, the Second will meet west; we order for the goods ten days later. We hold a meeting boldly at the Edge Hotel. If the Green Serpent shows up, I myself will cut its men with my own sword.

Laying low for another ten days will do us some good. Meanwhile, the goods stay at the Shinoda Inn with our constituents.

            "Equipment will be handled by Section W, not A; we use our normal working hours from Monday to Thursday and change men the next week. We make it seem as if the goods are to be transferred here, but we keep half of it with Sanosuke."

            Saitou raised an eyebrow. "A plan based on the Element of Surprise, Himura; I'm shocked." The Wolf smirked and Kenshin smirked back, afterwards walking to open the shutters, which barred the black room of any sunlight, staring remorsefully at the view outside.

            "I'm dying to get out of this country, Hajime, and you know how badly I need to be in Japan."

            Aoshi eyed Kenshin carefully before standing up to leave after laying a hand on The Assassin's shoulder. "You are right. The sooner we tell the others the plan, the sooner we get out of here." He motioned for Saitou and both left the room.

***@***

            Kaoru sat, long, elegant legs crossed in front of her, milky shoulders bare with the loose silk green blouse she wore. She was waiting for her man, and she could sense he would walk into the room any moment now, and they would be back together, back in Japan where they both belonged.

             She indeed was his woman, equal to him when it came to leading the women who were involved with the shadow.

She wasn't as fiery as Takani,

Nor as quick as Makimachi,

            But his woman or not, they all knew she had the right wisdom in the innocence she seemed to have in her surface and sufficient knowledge behind those striking blue eyes.

'Where is he,' she thought, craving to have him hold her and anxious to hear his voice, longing to touch.

            The grand oak doors swung open, revealing at first a sight seeming to be a group of festivities, led by Misao whose arm was hooked with Shinomori's, then a certain tall man with a lazy look about him: Sanosuke, who winked at her before grabbing a bottle of gin they kept in the huge elegant hall.

A few more people.

Saitou

Chou

Okina

More people.

Then he came to her, eyes a mixture of purple and gold, smile like the devil's.

A/N: Whew, done with the first. :D Please review.