Inevitable Association
A harsh wind picked up, blowing my long hair and bangs wildly about the place as I went in search of information regarding this Takagi Tokio. Thanks to my superiors decisions this woman was now bounded to me. It was pointless to question them as to why they wanted me of all the Shinsengumi to protect that woman as I'd never receive a truthful answer or more importantly I was never one to question their motives.
Stepping onto the very road that I'd noticed her being harassed upon I had found an alley way where she had been lying in the mud. Perhaps that alleyway was the direction of where she had lived and so I headed own it to come to the end of it and found that a large property lay behind a high fence. It appeared to me back then that someone quite wealthy or perhaps even a government official lived there.
'Are my eyes deceiving me or is there a Shinsengumi member at my front gate?' Slowing turning around that night I had found myself face to face with a short man in his fifties looking at me and smiling all the while too. As I silently looked him over I noted he was wearing a uniform which only meant,
'You work for the government correct?'
'I'm a Senior Superintendent in the Aidu Clan and I very much support the Shinsengumi. I am a little shocked at the fact only one of you has come to my very door though. Has something happened to my daughter?'
'Your daughter?' I remembered muttering and then narrowed my golden eyes to look at the man more closely. How could the Wolf of Mibu miss such a similarity between this man's eyes and the eyes of Takagi Tokio?
'She is fine, but why is she a servant to the Shinsengumi?' I wasn't one to beat around the bush and watched the man head towards me.
'I found her trying to wash one of her kimonos and trying to hide the fact she had several bruises from me a few nights ago. I asked her outright and she stated a man wearing a Shinsengumi uniform helped her flee from her attackers.' Remaining quiet that cold evening I observed him open his gate and allow me inside. He was a strange man, trusting me openly as he did, which funnily enough his daughter did exactly the same.
'She didn't get a proper look at him, but she knew his scent well for he smelled of tobacco and wielded his sword to perfection.' As we headed towards the large house this government official lived in, I quirked my lips at his words from what he was relaying back to me. So she was quite the smart woman...interesting.
'Its tradition in our family that one pays back a life debt and therefore Tokio on her own accord went to seek out the very man whom saved her from being...harmed.' It appeared that if I hadn't come along those worthless thugs would have done more then bruised her pale skin.
'So may I enquire as to your visit Sir?'
'Saitou Hajime, Captain of Third Squad Shinsengumi. I am currently looking after your daughter.' It was odd watching the old man's eyes lit up as I introduced myself to him. It was after all the proper thing to do even if his daughter was going to cause me more problems as we began to grow accustomed to one another as the days passed. Odd indeed.
'I can see my daughter is in very good hands.' Arching an eyebrow at that, I never spoke another word as Takagi-san's old man prattled on about life with his daughter as her mother had died years ago. It appeared I need not seek out information on my own as this Senior Superintendent was happy to spill everything about his family. Takagi-san was two years younger then me and had a very high education. She had previously been an assistant to a doctor and also a head chef in one of the popular restaurants as well. No wonder my superiors had allowed her to join, she was multitalented after all.
Heading back to headquarters my mind was plagued with past memories of Takagi-san thanks to her elderly father speaking so lovingly of her. It would seem he missed her greatly for the fact he now lived in that large home by himself as she took up residence in the Shinsengumi Headquarters.
Opening the shoji to my private quarters I found her resting quietly against the wall sitting right next to my already laid out futon. Heading inside on silent feet I made my way over to her and found...she'd fallen asleep. It was then I recalled my thoughts of telling her to wait for me and that night, though my own body craved sleep as much as the next person I sat awake that entire night just looking quietly at her while she slept oblivious to my prying eyes.
Time passed by and coming back from a mission and wounded like many of my comrades we were guided into the main dojo where the servants attended to the ones that'd been badly injured. It appeared several Shinsengumi members were corrupted and I had no problem with killing them off. It was our motto after all. Aku Soku Zan – kill evil instantly. No one would ever bring down the Shinsengumi as I cut off their lives with a flash of my sword. It was as simple as that for me.
'Captain Saitou, the commander is looking for you.' One of the page boys spoke as he had entered the dojo and spotted me out. Even with blood trickling from my wounds I headed quietly for my superiors quarters as no doubt they wished to have an update on how the battle had gone. We had won against one of the enemies that wished to defy us, but we paid the price for being too trustworthy to several outsiders in the Shinsengumi and several members had died...ones that were loyal to Shinsengumi and ones that were corrupted which were not Shinsengumi to me. Knocking lightly on the shoji I had entered when told to and found all three superiors gazing expectant eyes over at me as I walked in with bloody clothes.
Over the next hour or two as the sun slowly began to set, I ignored the concerned look one of the servants that used to serve me before Takagi-san came along as I continued with my debriefing while the blood from my wounds began to darken my uniform as they were not being treated.
'You are ordered to rest for the next couple of days Saitou. Squad one and two will have patrol and guard duties while you and your men recover.' I had bowed my head at my superiors and left quietly heading for my quarters. My entire being ached all over that night, but the Wolf of Mibu would never complain and as I entered my quarters I instantly knew the aura of the one waiting quietly for me.
Takagi-san spoke of nothing as she stood from her kneeling position and made her way towards me as she guided me further into the room where a basin, water, wash cloths, bandages, ointments and new clothing were positioned.
Usually at the site of blood many women would be crying hysterically or passing out, but Takagi-san was different. With her experienced hands she effortlessly took my swords, placed them gently to the side and then began working away my uniform from my wounded body. I sat completely still as I looked down at the top of her head as she carefully worked my arms from my sleeves.
'I'm glad you are safe Saitou-san.' That was all she spoke to me before she attended to cleaning and bandaging my injuries. There was no loathing that I killed people or no questions on why I picked such a life like the Shinsengumi gave me and in fact was just the general knowledge that she was glad I was back...and back safely even with blood seeping from my body. It somehow felt...warmer in those quarters that evening as Takagi-san went about her business of taking care of me.
Since it had been several months since Takagi-san had come, she was very capable of taking care of herself I realised. True I was assigned to protect her, but as a Captain I could never be around all the time and had given her a tanto for emergencies. She knew that when she and the other women went out for supplies, Shinsengumi ninjas were watching them, but it was still a precautionary to at least carry a hidden weapon. When she had received that very tanto from me, Takagi-san had smiled up at me, before she placed it into the folds of her kimono. By giving her such a weapon that was generally used for killing she'd given me such a warm smile that had somehow touched my supposedly cold heart. It was as though giving her that very weapon was a silent statement to her that I wanted her to be safe.
That evening after I was patched up and dressed in a plain grey robe, I was sitting in my quarters eating a meal. Usually the meals consisted of rice, vegetables and some form of meat whether it chicken, beef or pork. Tonight though as I pulled the lid from a bowl, I stared silently down at,
'It's kake-soba.' I never responded and ate in silence while she sat in front of me and read one of the many worn books lining the cupboards in this very room as I did so. It was the first time I'd ever tasted Takagi-san's cooking and from that day on kake-soba had become my favourite meal.
As the evening wore on, my body grew tired and I thanked her, for once, for the meal but underneath that thanks I'm sure she received the hidden message as I showed appreciation to her for taking care of me. I headed for my futon and found it already out for me to fall upon. During the course of the evening she never left my side and in my half asleep half awake daze I knew she was silently gazing upon me just like I did to her.
The next day had come and I continued to rest, never truly leaving my quarters since I was ordered by my superiors to heal properly before any other missions were brought forth to my squadron.
I hadn't realised it'd been a week that I'd been gone and had last seen Takagi-san as she said farewell to me. Now though as she remained in my quarters, something within me clicked in place as I felt comfortable with her being around me...and constantly by my side as well. It was strange for me, the Wolf of Mibu, to come to this conclusion but as I sipped my tea, smoked a few cigarettes and eyed her quietly she didn't feel uncomfortable at all in this silence and in fact I found her serenely sitting in a chair, book folded in her lap as she faced the window and watched the tranquil rain continue to fall outside.
'Would you like kake-soba for dinner tonight?' She had quietly questioned me when her brown-gold orbs broke from the trance of the rain and turned to my seated form still wearing the grey robe, but the front gaped open showing the expanse of my chest and the bandages beneath it. Instead of answering her I stood and walked towards her still resting in that wooden chair and wondered why my hand trailed down her cheek as I wiped the spray of rain from her porcelain face. I had waited for some sign of fear from her, but the smile on her face was definitely not of fear, but of warmth and contentment as I had finally touched her for the first time.
That rainy afternoon I'd taken her to my bed and made her my woman. My words from the street when she was pushed into me flashed through my mind as I looked upon her flushed and breathless form beneath me.
'With an attitude like that I'll remember your face and make you my woman'
It appeared this was very true indeed as she was untouched by any man. I never really knew what drew me to her and wondered why I even saved her that evening. It was no business of mine what was going on and yet there I was, the supposedly lone wolf going to help some damsel in distress. When I thought it'd be over, fate decided to intervene with those thoughts and brought us together once more. It appeared our inevitable association together would link us even closer then I had ever imagined.
As the rain fell outside I admired her flawless skin as Tokio slept amongst the blanket of my futon with I right at her side. She was curled into my body, searching for warmth it seemed and her soft brown hair was splayed about the place while her lips were parted bringing in short silent breaths. She was an exquisite vision as my fingers ran down her cheek. I'd been caught by her and the lone wolf inside of me became unsure as to whether I should let her go or not. When she murmured against me, looking oh so innocent, I had leaned into her wanting to hear what she voiced and for once in the history of my life even though no one witnessed it, my entire being softened for the woman beside me as she mumbled out...
"Hajime?" Snapping out of my past thoughts and halting in my walking I turned my head to the soft voice that had called out my very name, my real name and not Fujita Goro, which is what I used while serving as an officer in this new Meiji Era.
There, in a yard brimming with flowers, I found a petite woman in her 30's hanging out some washing just as the sun was heading for the horizon.
# To be continued... #
Authors Notes: Ah, this chapter and the last one (which is the next chapter) are in fact my own interpretation (like this entire story) of Saitou's life and was helped out by gaining some Saitou/Tokio/Shinsengumi Information I found at two awesome Saitou sites. If you are a Saitou fan then I totally recommend these two sites, so please go check them out http:saitou dot blood-price dot org and http:hikarikat dot com / sher / RK / Saitou / main dot html
Well I hope you guys can figure that out just take away all the spaces and such and it should work out in the end, but that has got to be the stupidest way to EVER place addressesin here. Why does this siteblow more and more with its stupidness!