Disclaimer: I do not own PMK.

Chapter 5: First Date

Okita told him that she'll be waiting by the willow bridge. She'll be wearing a red kimono with a willow-leaf design. She'll be carrying a yellow parasol... Saitou was nervous. He'd rather be facing twenty Ishii in a dead end alley, unarmed. He'd rather be facing Hijitaka's wrath when the Demon's in a really, really bad mood. He'd rather be...

How did Okita find her in this city? Had she sought out her cousin?

There she stood with her back facing him, a slender lady holding a yellow parasol above her head. Saitou mentally measured the distance between him and her. Were they far too close?

"Go!" Okita gave him a hard shove towards the woman. Saitou almost stumbled. She stiffened. "Say something," Okita prompted. Saitou stuttered.

"T-Takagi-san..." he floundered. "H-how are you? I hope Kyoto has been to your liking..." Ask her out, Okita mouth the words. Saitou struggled as his face burnt with embarrassment. Okita pushed a pair of tickets to the evening kabuki theatre into his hands.

"Do you like the theatre? There's a good play on tonight..." Takagi-san turned to face him slowly...

"Fujita-san?" Saitou gaped as he dropped the tickets. What on earth was the lad doing? Seeing the look of shock and surprise on Saitou's face, Okita burst out laughing. "Souji! Fujita! What's this!?" He fumed. Fujita wore a blank look on his face as he dropped the parasol. Okita bent over with laughter.

Saitou wanted to strike out in anger. So it was a juvenile prank by two boys. He can't possibly hit a woman in public, even if 'she' is actually a boy dressed as one. So he hit Okita instead. The young man fell like a sack of potatoes. Saitou stalked off, still fuming.

"Souji-chan!" Tokio gasped as her cousin hit the ground. Okita choked. That punch was unexpected. Tokio helped him up. He coughed. "Tokio, now Hajime thinks Fujita is the real you. How are you going to get out of it?"

"Souji!" Tokio cried in alarm as she saw the blood on his palm. Crap! Okita coughed out more blood. "Don't you dare tell anyone," he hissed a warning. Tokio nodded. Something was wrong with Souji but he doesn't want anyone to know.He hasn't changed since he was a boy...

Hajime's mad at me, Tokio thought as she struggled to catch up with the rest of the patrol. Being the smallest built, she was all but left behind as Saitou drove his men through the streets. He could see Fujita struggling out of the corner of his eye. The memory of the morning's prank was still fresh in his mind. He urged his men on faster.

Stinking bastard! Fujita alias Tokio cursed under her breath. Then it happened. The first daylight attack on a Shinsengumi patrol unit...

It started innocently enough. A woman screamed robbery and the thief dashed across their path into a small alley. Smelling blood, the Miburou followed the snatch-purse. They found themselves in a trap. Several arrows rained down on them as the high narrow walls of the alleyway hindered their escape.

"Saitou-san!" Tokio yelled as an arrow caught Hajime's sword-arm. She dashed in front of her betrothed, shielding him from the arrows as they continued to rain down. Saitou was amazed by the deft way Fujita blocked the arrows using both blade and sheath.

Poison! Saitou felt his vision clouding. This attack is carried out by Ishii-affiliated ninjas... he thought as he blacked out. "Saitou-san!" They had repelled their attackers but the injured were now feeling the effects of the poisoned arrows. Tokio watched as a man who was struck in the thigh lost consciousness and soon began to foam at the mouth.

Hajime had been hit! She reacted instinctively. It was a race against time. She tore open his sleeve. It was a deep graze. Quickly, she ripped a strip from her own sleeve and tied it tight above the wound. Taking a deep breath, she started to suck the poisoned blood out.

"Fujita-san?" Saitou regained his senses to find his friend sucking and spitting out blood from his wound. Fujita smiled. His lips were stained red with Saitou's blood. "Saitou-san, you're alright." So they have managed to mitigate the effect of the poison. Another patrol soon came to help them.

"Fujita-san, that was a dangerous stunt you pulled back there," Susumu scolded as he gave her the drink to remove any remnants of the poison from her system. He had administered the same concoction earlier to the surviving men of the Third Patrol. "You could have poisoned yourself."

"It was the power of love, Susumu-kun," Hotaru chirped. Susumu cringed. After Okita's failed attempt at an introduction, how were Saitou and Tokio going to even meet? Okita's been hiding in his room since that disastrous incident. He was busy coughing...

"Souji, drink your medicine," Hijitaka ordered the young man. Okita obeyed and downed the bitter liquid slowly. They have heard about the afternoon attack. Things were getting too dangerous. Tokio should not be running about pretending to be a taishi. Both men spoke in hushed tones.

"Okita, you're wicked," Hijitaka slapped Okita lightly on his shoulder after listening to Okita's master plan...

Notes:

Muahahaha...Saitou went on a date with Fujita? Master plan?

NightOwl123: Basically, I'm at a pit stop situation in my life, searching for a direction to continue. And once I get an idea for a story, it just comes... meh, life is short. Live it.