CHAPTER 6: Hidden Feelings
Saito opened his eyes. He was leaning against a dirt wall in a dark room in goodness knows where. How long had he been unconscious? He felt his hands behind his back, and tried to pull them apart to help push himself up with, but a sharp pain stopped him. He felt the wire that was binding his wrists together had spikes on it and that some of them were sticky and wet no doubt from his blood. Saito gave a small moan as he found that the mysterious wire also bound his ankles.
"GIMMEI-DONO!" an unknown voice yelled. There were footsteps outside the door.
"What do you want, Bussho?" Gimmei's voice returned. The one known as Bussho stopped outside the door.
"I completed the mission!" Bussho's loud voice bellowed. "I got the information on the woman you wanted!" There were more voices and more names being called.
"Chuichi, Danjuro, Hirofumi, Taikan, you all can go into the main room and wait for me!" Gimmei commanded. "The rest of you are not needed yet." There was more talking and discussing of missions.
"So, Chuichi, what was your mission?" Bussho's voice asked another.
"Getting rid of a few cops on the east side of Tokyo. What about you?" Chuichi replied. They were still standing outside of the door.
"I had to get information on a woman named Fujita Tokio," Bussho said. "Don't know why, she seems like just another face in the crowd, though she is married to some top police officer in the government named Fujita Goro. I think he's the assistant investigator, but I don't know..." Saito snapped awake at that.
"That sounds like a pointless mission. Who needs to know about the wife of a policeman? All we know is that we want to kill the man, the woman doesn't need to be involved!" Chuichi laughed. "Oh well, it was easier for you, then. The cops actually put up a good fight!"
"Let's get going, idiots!" Gimmei yelled.
"Coming, Gimmei-dono!" Bussho yelled back. Chuichi sniggered.
"You know, she shouldn't be bossing us around!" Chuichi said.
"You're right," Bussho said. "Her brother is dead and she is only a little girl! We shouldn't be led by a little girl!"
"Let's go listen what the twirp has to say," an unknown voice said. There were more footsteps and they eventually faded away. Saito listened hard, but he couldn't seem to hear anything more. He sighed.
"I knew I should have left Tokio in Kyoto..." Saito thought angrily. "I don't want her to get hurt... not like last time..." He attempted to stand, but the barbed wire restricted his movements and prevented him from doing so. Saito sighed and leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"As you all know, Shiki has been...... killed," Gimmei said, trying to hold back tears. "By the same man who killed my father. For this, I need all of your help to exact revenge." She was standing in front of at least 200 men and women, all dressed in black ninja outfits (A/N: Like Shishio's men's outfits... if you remember them...).
"I have the man who killed Shiki and my father bound in the storage room, but Shiki's master plan was more than killing him. His name is Saito Hajime, renamed Fujita Goro. I want to use Shiki's ideas as my revenge plan against Saito!" Gimmei said. She swallowed hard. It was hard to talk about her late brother, but she knew that she had to do it. "And so, I am sending the first and second groups, led by Chuichi and Danjuro to attack Saito's house where his wife, Tokio, and child, Eiji, will be. Move out!" Chuichi and Danjuro stood and ordered their men to leave with a number of barks and yells. Then, about two fifths of the men in the room filed out of the door.
"I'm going to have Hirofumi's group make sure that no policemen pass by the house while the other two are attacking!" Gimmei said. Hirofumi rose and ordered his men out as well. "Taikan, you can either follow them with your men or stay here and watch the base." Taikan also stood and he and his men retreated to their rooms.
"And Bussho, you'll be in charge of............" Gimmei stopped. "Never mind... you can stay here... and I will now lead Shiki's group. You are free to do as you wish." She jumped from the platform and ran off to the room where Saito was being held.
What exactly am I doing? Gimmei wondered as she slid open the door. I am going to attack an innocent woman and child because of this man? She walked into the room where Saito was sleeping against the wall, a puddle of blood under his wrists. She slid the door closed. I guess the best thing to do is at least cut him free. I AM killing his wife after all.
"Wake up!" Gimmei hissed, nudging Saito's ribs with her toe.
"Ow... hey, my ribs haven't healed yet!" Saito mumbled. She looked at him for a moment.
"Are you okay?" Gimmei asked. Saito gave her a glare.
"Okay? What are you talking about? You're the one who bound me with this... wire... and smashed my skull in with a shovel, Neko. You shouldn't be asking if I'm okay!" Saito snapped. Gimmei blinked.
"Sorry," she said. Saito looked away. Then, she took out a dagger and kneeled next to him. "Turn over."
"Why? So you can stab me in the back?" Saito asked. Gimmei pouted.
"So I can cut you free idiot!" Gimmei growled under her breath. "If anyone found out I was doing this for you, they'd—"
"GIMMEI-DONO!" yelled Bussho's voice. Gimmei took in a sharp breath. Then, she put a finger to her lips and grabbed onto the barbed wire, trying to cut it away in the dark. Saito watched her over his shoulder.
"GIMMEI-DONO!" Bussho yelled again. Gimmei cut through the wire, stabbing herself and Saito in the process. They both held back chokes of pain. She crawled to his ankles.
"GIMMEI-DONO!" Bussho shouted. "I WAS WONDERING IF I COULD SEE OUR HOSTAGE!" Gimmei narrowed her eyes, squinting to try and see how close she was to Saito's skin.
"Oh well..." Bussho said. "I guess I'll do it... without permission..." Gimmei drew in a sharp breath. Bussho's footsteps were only a little ways down the hallway. There was no way she could get out without being seen.
"Give me the dagger, Neko," Saito breathed. Gimmei gave him a look. "Give it to me, then lie down over there." He pointed to the corner of the room.
"Why?" Gimmei asked, handing him the dagger. "You better not try to kill me..."
"I won't, just smear the blood from your hand on your leg," Saito ordered VERY quietly, reaching over to her pant leg and tearing it open. Gimmei nodded, understanding Saito's intentions, and lay down in the corner as instructed. Saito quickly sliced through the rest of the wire on his ankles, then stood and limped over to where Gimmei was lying. He positioned himself as if to stab her.
"GIMMEI? I'M GOING IN! HOPE YOU DON'T MIND..." Bussho bellowed. He grabbed the door and threw it open. He saw Saito standing over Gimmei. Both were bloody and battered.
"Who are you?" Saito asked. Gimmei gave a forced whimper. Bussho grinned.
"Wow, I never thought the GREAT BRAT would get so beaten up... and by a wounded cop!" Bussho laughed. He drew his sword.
"What?" Gimmei asked, sitting up. Saito felt like smacking himself. She blew it!
"Oh, so you were both tricking me, huh?" Bussho asked. "Well, I'll just have to kill you both!" Saito gripped the dagger and took a Gatotsu stance with it. Gimmei stared at him.
"What are you doing?" Gimmei asked. Saito glanced down at her.
"Trying to save my skin," Saito said, then added with a smirk, "And maybe yours." Gimmei frowned at that one. Then, a loud roar brought them both back to the situation. Bussho was already rushing for Saito, wielding his sword with clumsy fingers. Saito instantly focused on his opponent and charged with a Gatotsu.
"Not even you can block his katana with a dagger!" Gimmei yelled. "It's just spelling death for you!" And me, she thought grimly. She watched him toss the dagger at Bussho's foot and it hit the target exactly.
"AAAAAAAAA!" Bussho howled in pain. He slashed clumsily at Saito's head, but Saito moved out of the way with ease. Bussho retreated toward the door, gripping the sword as tight as he could. He knelt down and ripped the dagger from his bleeding foot.
"Yeah! Good going!" Gimmei cheered. "But if I were you, I would've chucked it at his head!" Saito gave her a look.
"That wouldn't be a smart move, Neko. Even with his inexperience, I'm sure he could swat away the dagger with his sword. It's not a hard block, just a simple parry at the right moment," Saito explained to Gimmei. "And doing that would've cost me my life. I wouldn't be able to dodge his attack even if he's slow. If he didn't get injured, his speed would've equaled mine in the state I'm in..." Saito gave her a glare. "Because some annoying little Cat-girl had to bind my ankles with spiky wire."
"I already apologized!" Gimmei said. Saito shrugged.
"I know," he replied. "I just like rubbing it in." Gimmei frowned. He turned back to Bussho. Bussho stood and spat on the floor.
"Now that you're unarmed, I can kill you easily... but after what you did to my foot... I don't think I want to make your death so fast..." Bussho grinned. Saito clenched his fists and settled into a defensive stance.
"Saito, you have no chance," Gimmei pointed out. Saito made a face.
"I don't need you to tell me that," he said. Gimmei was taken back by that statement.
He's risking his life for... what? Gimmei wondered. And as if he could read her mind, he replied.
"I'm trying to prevent two deaths from happening tonight," Saito said. Gimmei gasped.
He's doing this... for... ME? Gimmei thought. Bussho attacked with a thrust to the chest. Saito ducked under it and tripped Bussho. Bussho fell heavily, but before losing his footing, he grabbed Saito's neck with his free hand. The two men fell to the floor. Gimmei watched the scene, then saw a flash of steel, and knowing what was to come, she shut her eyes and put her hands on her face.
Why didn't I help him? Gimmei wondered. She felt her hot tears on her fingers. Why was she crying? Did he really matter that much to her? Well, he couldn't matter anymore. He was dead. She wiped away the tears and looked to Bussho, who was holding a bloody sword in his hand.
"Your turn," he cackled.
A/N: Saito's So OOC!!! Ha ha ha... I killed him off! HA HA HA!!!! ^______^ No, I felt bad to kill him off, I really did. I'm sorry, Saito fans. So sorry. Don't flame me. Please don't... I'll be posting another chapter soon, so... don't kill me... everything will be explained... but not yet...
REVIEW RESPONSES:
Kairi7: Yup. They worked! I don't know if you liked this chapter, though...
MissBehavin: Yeah, he's unhappy about the wire but... okay. There's not much to say about this chapter... or the ones to come.
Shiro: Yeah, I know. Ahh, well... he has to have SOME sort of conflict...
Saito opened his eyes. He was leaning against a dirt wall in a dark room in goodness knows where. How long had he been unconscious? He felt his hands behind his back, and tried to pull them apart to help push himself up with, but a sharp pain stopped him. He felt the wire that was binding his wrists together had spikes on it and that some of them were sticky and wet no doubt from his blood. Saito gave a small moan as he found that the mysterious wire also bound his ankles.
"GIMMEI-DONO!" an unknown voice yelled. There were footsteps outside the door.
"What do you want, Bussho?" Gimmei's voice returned. The one known as Bussho stopped outside the door.
"I completed the mission!" Bussho's loud voice bellowed. "I got the information on the woman you wanted!" There were more voices and more names being called.
"Chuichi, Danjuro, Hirofumi, Taikan, you all can go into the main room and wait for me!" Gimmei commanded. "The rest of you are not needed yet." There was more talking and discussing of missions.
"So, Chuichi, what was your mission?" Bussho's voice asked another.
"Getting rid of a few cops on the east side of Tokyo. What about you?" Chuichi replied. They were still standing outside of the door.
"I had to get information on a woman named Fujita Tokio," Bussho said. "Don't know why, she seems like just another face in the crowd, though she is married to some top police officer in the government named Fujita Goro. I think he's the assistant investigator, but I don't know..." Saito snapped awake at that.
"That sounds like a pointless mission. Who needs to know about the wife of a policeman? All we know is that we want to kill the man, the woman doesn't need to be involved!" Chuichi laughed. "Oh well, it was easier for you, then. The cops actually put up a good fight!"
"Let's get going, idiots!" Gimmei yelled.
"Coming, Gimmei-dono!" Bussho yelled back. Chuichi sniggered.
"You know, she shouldn't be bossing us around!" Chuichi said.
"You're right," Bussho said. "Her brother is dead and she is only a little girl! We shouldn't be led by a little girl!"
"Let's go listen what the twirp has to say," an unknown voice said. There were more footsteps and they eventually faded away. Saito listened hard, but he couldn't seem to hear anything more. He sighed.
"I knew I should have left Tokio in Kyoto..." Saito thought angrily. "I don't want her to get hurt... not like last time..." He attempted to stand, but the barbed wire restricted his movements and prevented him from doing so. Saito sighed and leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"As you all know, Shiki has been...... killed," Gimmei said, trying to hold back tears. "By the same man who killed my father. For this, I need all of your help to exact revenge." She was standing in front of at least 200 men and women, all dressed in black ninja outfits (A/N: Like Shishio's men's outfits... if you remember them...).
"I have the man who killed Shiki and my father bound in the storage room, but Shiki's master plan was more than killing him. His name is Saito Hajime, renamed Fujita Goro. I want to use Shiki's ideas as my revenge plan against Saito!" Gimmei said. She swallowed hard. It was hard to talk about her late brother, but she knew that she had to do it. "And so, I am sending the first and second groups, led by Chuichi and Danjuro to attack Saito's house where his wife, Tokio, and child, Eiji, will be. Move out!" Chuichi and Danjuro stood and ordered their men to leave with a number of barks and yells. Then, about two fifths of the men in the room filed out of the door.
"I'm going to have Hirofumi's group make sure that no policemen pass by the house while the other two are attacking!" Gimmei said. Hirofumi rose and ordered his men out as well. "Taikan, you can either follow them with your men or stay here and watch the base." Taikan also stood and he and his men retreated to their rooms.
"And Bussho, you'll be in charge of............" Gimmei stopped. "Never mind... you can stay here... and I will now lead Shiki's group. You are free to do as you wish." She jumped from the platform and ran off to the room where Saito was being held.
What exactly am I doing? Gimmei wondered as she slid open the door. I am going to attack an innocent woman and child because of this man? She walked into the room where Saito was sleeping against the wall, a puddle of blood under his wrists. She slid the door closed. I guess the best thing to do is at least cut him free. I AM killing his wife after all.
"Wake up!" Gimmei hissed, nudging Saito's ribs with her toe.
"Ow... hey, my ribs haven't healed yet!" Saito mumbled. She looked at him for a moment.
"Are you okay?" Gimmei asked. Saito gave her a glare.
"Okay? What are you talking about? You're the one who bound me with this... wire... and smashed my skull in with a shovel, Neko. You shouldn't be asking if I'm okay!" Saito snapped. Gimmei blinked.
"Sorry," she said. Saito looked away. Then, she took out a dagger and kneeled next to him. "Turn over."
"Why? So you can stab me in the back?" Saito asked. Gimmei pouted.
"So I can cut you free idiot!" Gimmei growled under her breath. "If anyone found out I was doing this for you, they'd—"
"GIMMEI-DONO!" yelled Bussho's voice. Gimmei took in a sharp breath. Then, she put a finger to her lips and grabbed onto the barbed wire, trying to cut it away in the dark. Saito watched her over his shoulder.
"GIMMEI-DONO!" Bussho yelled again. Gimmei cut through the wire, stabbing herself and Saito in the process. They both held back chokes of pain. She crawled to his ankles.
"GIMMEI-DONO!" Bussho shouted. "I WAS WONDERING IF I COULD SEE OUR HOSTAGE!" Gimmei narrowed her eyes, squinting to try and see how close she was to Saito's skin.
"Oh well..." Bussho said. "I guess I'll do it... without permission..." Gimmei drew in a sharp breath. Bussho's footsteps were only a little ways down the hallway. There was no way she could get out without being seen.
"Give me the dagger, Neko," Saito breathed. Gimmei gave him a look. "Give it to me, then lie down over there." He pointed to the corner of the room.
"Why?" Gimmei asked, handing him the dagger. "You better not try to kill me..."
"I won't, just smear the blood from your hand on your leg," Saito ordered VERY quietly, reaching over to her pant leg and tearing it open. Gimmei nodded, understanding Saito's intentions, and lay down in the corner as instructed. Saito quickly sliced through the rest of the wire on his ankles, then stood and limped over to where Gimmei was lying. He positioned himself as if to stab her.
"GIMMEI? I'M GOING IN! HOPE YOU DON'T MIND..." Bussho bellowed. He grabbed the door and threw it open. He saw Saito standing over Gimmei. Both were bloody and battered.
"Who are you?" Saito asked. Gimmei gave a forced whimper. Bussho grinned.
"Wow, I never thought the GREAT BRAT would get so beaten up... and by a wounded cop!" Bussho laughed. He drew his sword.
"What?" Gimmei asked, sitting up. Saito felt like smacking himself. She blew it!
"Oh, so you were both tricking me, huh?" Bussho asked. "Well, I'll just have to kill you both!" Saito gripped the dagger and took a Gatotsu stance with it. Gimmei stared at him.
"What are you doing?" Gimmei asked. Saito glanced down at her.
"Trying to save my skin," Saito said, then added with a smirk, "And maybe yours." Gimmei frowned at that one. Then, a loud roar brought them both back to the situation. Bussho was already rushing for Saito, wielding his sword with clumsy fingers. Saito instantly focused on his opponent and charged with a Gatotsu.
"Not even you can block his katana with a dagger!" Gimmei yelled. "It's just spelling death for you!" And me, she thought grimly. She watched him toss the dagger at Bussho's foot and it hit the target exactly.
"AAAAAAAAA!" Bussho howled in pain. He slashed clumsily at Saito's head, but Saito moved out of the way with ease. Bussho retreated toward the door, gripping the sword as tight as he could. He knelt down and ripped the dagger from his bleeding foot.
"Yeah! Good going!" Gimmei cheered. "But if I were you, I would've chucked it at his head!" Saito gave her a look.
"That wouldn't be a smart move, Neko. Even with his inexperience, I'm sure he could swat away the dagger with his sword. It's not a hard block, just a simple parry at the right moment," Saito explained to Gimmei. "And doing that would've cost me my life. I wouldn't be able to dodge his attack even if he's slow. If he didn't get injured, his speed would've equaled mine in the state I'm in..." Saito gave her a glare. "Because some annoying little Cat-girl had to bind my ankles with spiky wire."
"I already apologized!" Gimmei said. Saito shrugged.
"I know," he replied. "I just like rubbing it in." Gimmei frowned. He turned back to Bussho. Bussho stood and spat on the floor.
"Now that you're unarmed, I can kill you easily... but after what you did to my foot... I don't think I want to make your death so fast..." Bussho grinned. Saito clenched his fists and settled into a defensive stance.
"Saito, you have no chance," Gimmei pointed out. Saito made a face.
"I don't need you to tell me that," he said. Gimmei was taken back by that statement.
He's risking his life for... what? Gimmei wondered. And as if he could read her mind, he replied.
"I'm trying to prevent two deaths from happening tonight," Saito said. Gimmei gasped.
He's doing this... for... ME? Gimmei thought. Bussho attacked with a thrust to the chest. Saito ducked under it and tripped Bussho. Bussho fell heavily, but before losing his footing, he grabbed Saito's neck with his free hand. The two men fell to the floor. Gimmei watched the scene, then saw a flash of steel, and knowing what was to come, she shut her eyes and put her hands on her face.
Why didn't I help him? Gimmei wondered. She felt her hot tears on her fingers. Why was she crying? Did he really matter that much to her? Well, he couldn't matter anymore. He was dead. She wiped away the tears and looked to Bussho, who was holding a bloody sword in his hand.
"Your turn," he cackled.
A/N: Saito's So OOC!!! Ha ha ha... I killed him off! HA HA HA!!!! ^______^ No, I felt bad to kill him off, I really did. I'm sorry, Saito fans. So sorry. Don't flame me. Please don't... I'll be posting another chapter soon, so... don't kill me... everything will be explained... but not yet...
REVIEW RESPONSES:
Kairi7: Yup. They worked! I don't know if you liked this chapter, though...
MissBehavin: Yeah, he's unhappy about the wire but... okay. There's not much to say about this chapter... or the ones to come.
Shiro: Yeah, I know. Ahh, well... he has to have SOME sort of conflict...