Disclaimer: I do not own PMK or the Shinsengumi .
Next on, the dinner show...
Case 010: Dinner Party
Okita was glad. He missed having Toshi about. He was worried too. Tetsu seemed to be terrified of the man. Also there was the problem with the Oniwabanshu's Yamazaki's cover being blown. Ayu-nee confided that her brother was not very forgiving at the best of times. Tetsu might find himself in some trouble…
Okita came up with an idea. Invite the Ichimura brothers, the Yamazaki siblings and Hijitaka over to his place for dinner.
"Ichimura-kun!" Tatsu fell off his chair in shock as Okita surprised him. "Lessons tonight?" Tatsu shook his head weakly as his heart tried to recover.
"Dinner at my place tonight, bring Tetsu-san! It's important!" Before Tatsu could answer, Okita strolled out of the room whistling.
Okita lived in a traditional Japanese house that he and his sister had inherited from their grandfather. His sister was out tonight at a party with some of her girl-friends. The host called for a sushi platter delivery, party size. The Ichimuras came straight from work. Hijitaka and the Yamazaki siblings came a half-hour later.
Saizou watched the guests arriving from his pen and buhied a protest. Doesn't his master know that the old man bagged him in a smelly sack like he wasgarbage? The pig butted the gate of his sty trying to get out. "Saizou sounds angry…" Hijitaka muttered as Okita gave him a hug. Not in front of the others!
"Brat!" The undercover agent hissed as he spotted the boy stuffing his face at the table. Tetsu gaped and dropped his salmon sushi. "You're the Oniwa…"
"Tetsu! How can you start before the others?" Tatsu scolded as he returned from the privy. "Sorry, I didn't eat lunch…Ow!!" His brother rapped him on the head. Okita laughed. "Let's eat!"
"Susumu, you forgive Tetsu-kun now, will you?" Ayu-nee coaxed her frowning brother. Susumu glared at the redhead. Sure, after I wash his head in the toilet. "Don't be childish… now shake on it." Susumu reluctantly held out his hand. Tetsu gingerly put his smaller hand in Susumu's.
Revenge is sweet… Tetsu yelped as Susumu closed his hand in a crushing grip. "Susumu!" Ayu-nee chided. Susumu loosened his grip. Tetsu kicked Susumu under the table. "BOYS!!!" Ayu-nee yelled. Shocked by the gentle policewoman's outburst, they both stopped.
Okita and Tatsu returned with the drinks. "Is everything alright here?" Okita asked. "Everything's just fine, right, boys?" Ayu-nee smiled sweetly at Susumu and Tetsu, daring them to challenge her. Both nodded. If you discount the fact Susumu/ Tetsu tried to break my hand/ leg…
"Where's Toshi?" Okita asked as he noticed his best friend was missing. "He went to…" Ayu-nee need not continue. Okita's question was answered by a roar from the garden. "SOUUJIII!!! Call your pig off!" A loud splash followed as the vice-chief fell into the koi pond.
Saizou had broken out of his sty and attacked the vice-chief as Hijitaka was returning from the privy. Saizou buhied angrily from the edge of the pond as the man floundered in the knee-deep water. Okita's pet koi swam about in panic. Okita helped him out and went to get him a towel.
"Get along now," Okita reminded as he went to show Tatsu-nii his coin collection. The Yamazaki siblings have left. Susumu promised his neesan not to cause Tetsu bodily harm or rough him up in any way. Too bad Tetsu doesn't know that. Tetsu will be on his guard for the next few months against a revenge attack by the young man.
Okita gleefully dragged poor Tatsu off despite protests from the young man he had no interest in coin collections. "I'll show you my sister's Japanese doll collection if you wish! I'm just letting Tetsu and Toshi get some time alone." Tatsu sweatdropped.
"Okita-san…" When you say it that way… Tatsu cast a worried eye at the closed shoji. "Aren't they lovely?" Okita opened a box of tarnished coins. "Maybe later we can get some candy from the 24-hr…" Okita chattered and cuddled his pet pig blissfully.
Back in the hall, vice-chief and rookie measured each other up. Hijitaka was wearing one of Okita's yutakas as his clotheswere in the dryer. The garment was way too small. It exposed much of his thighs and upper arms as well as his chest. Tetsu could see that the man was muscular.
"Oji-san, are you really as bad as they say? They say you beat a suspect up so bad they suspended you…" Tetsu choked as Hijitaka grabbed his collar and lifted him off the mats. "Name's Hijitaka, kid. Use it." He let the boy go.
"H-Hai, H-Hijitaka-san," Tetsu stuttered. Yep, the guy's like Yoshida.
"I did punch the man, fine?" Hijitaka sat down and lit his cigarette. He had punched that crook after the rogue had the nerve to call Souji the vice-chief's toy-boy. Souji stopped him from breaking the suspect's skull with a chair. The majority of the damage was done much later when the suspect tried to flee Hijitaka's custody and fell down the stairs in the process. Still…
Tetsu coughed. The smell of tobacco was irritating his nose. The quiet was uneasy. Better try to strike up a conversation. "So, kid, your name's Ichimura Tetsunosuke right?" Hijitaka puffed idly. Tetsu nodded. "Well?" Hijitaka waited. "Aren't you gonna tell me more about yourself?"
"I live with my elder brother as our parents died in a fire three years ago…" An orphan? Kid's had it tough…
"I want to join the Shinsengumi because it's so cool…" Kid's got loads to learn…
The boy stopped and stared at Hijitaka. "Hijitaka-san… Are you and Okita-san… I mean, I saw you guys in the tub the other day and…" Toudou has warned him of Hijitaka's er- preferences.
"The Trio says we're gay. The answer's NO. Understand?" Hijitaka groaned. Why does two-thirds of the Shinsengumi think he and Souji are having carnal relations with each other? If Tetsu told the Trio about what he saw… Up the figure to three-quarters. It's too late now if he did, right? Hello more brawdy locker room jokes featuring Toshi and Souji…
"Tetsu, stay out of my way tomorrow, understand?" Hijitaka stubbed out his cigarette. At least the boy will be about for only one more day. Tetsu nodded and prayed that Hijitaka has no interest in redhead middle school boys who look like elementary school kids.
They spent the remaining time without exchanging another word. The man has not shown any such inclinations towards him in the last ten minutes they were alone. Still, Tetsu spent the next twenty minutes hoping that his brother will come get him soon. Tetsu was so distracted when it was time to go home that he stepped into the koi pond on the way out.
Author's notes:
R&R welcome.
Senbi likes to pat koi and hand feed koi. Senbi wants to duck irritating kid brother in the pond... juz kidding.
Susumu listens to his sis a fair bit in this fic. More OkitaHijitaka sweetness. And back to the old question of their orientation.... Naturally, Souji's playing peacemaker here, trying to anyway. Did he manage to smooth over the rifts? Stay tuned.