NOTES:
FIRST! I don't own Rurouni Kenshin nor Saitou Hajime
(although I wish)... RK is owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki.
It's
time for me to write again! Yey! This time, it'll be a fic about
Saitou's life before Kyoto and the Shinsengumi. This will be a
romanticized tale of what he was before joining the Shinsengumi and
why he left Tokyo (Edo). There will be times when Saitou will be OOC,
I intend to keep most of his personality just twisting it now and
then. But the OOC will be very apparent when it comes to his fighting
abilities, I don't think Saitou became a great swordsman overnight.
Agree? :O)
I also found out about how cigarettes were not
introduced until the Meiji.. Well since this is set before the Meiji,
please pardon.. I just had a hard time envisioning Saitou-kun not
smoking. As for the piano, well I think that's acceptable since I've
read that prior to the Bakumatsu, foreign good were already shipped
albeit slowly to Japan.
ABOUT YUUTA/SAITOU - I modeled
Saitou's view on homosexuality from what I saw happen to a good
friend of mine who is gay. Apparently this view in the original
country that I came from is still holding true. Homosexuality in the
Asian country that I came from is not viewed favorably and
gay/lesbians cannot come out easily unlike in the US.
ABOUT
SAITOU'S NAME - Someone asked me why I chose to use Saitou Hajime in
this fic. If I wanted to be historically correct I knew I should've
used Yamaguchi Hajime as that is his real name before he left Edo but
I chose Saitou Hajime because for me it feels weird to use a
different name.
ABOUT TATSUO - Tatsuo is actually the name of
one of Fujita Gorou's (aka Saitou Hajime's) sons. I used it
haphazardly unfortunately. It is only after I was already into
chapter IX that I found out he really did have a brother named
Hiroaki Yamaguchi.
ABOUT SASUE - same thing as what happened
with Tatsuo - Saitou's sister's real name is Katsu.
Oh by the
way as most of the readers know.. In this fic both Saitou's parents
are already dead. In case you wanted to know what their names are.
It's Yusuke Yamaguchi and Masu Yamaguchi.
asterisks - denotes sound/thoughts/miscI DECIDED TO ADD THE REVIEWER NOTES ON THE BOTTOM AS I DON'T WANT TO GIVE AWAY THE CHAPTER.. :o)CHAPTER XI – Our Plights at an Inn
"Saitou! Hurry and come out!" Midori knocked at the gates heavily "Don't hide in there!"
Tatsuo hurried to open the gates to Saito's dismay. He followed his older brother muttering "Ahou" at both Tatsuo and Midori.
"Hai! Hai! Come one in Midori-san! Let's hear it!" Tatsuo by now lost his annoyance as he welcomed the spectacle Midori into the household. The siblings held their breaths anticipating an all out barrage of insults to be directed to their little brother.
Midori pushed Tatsuo aside, shot him a quick look and said "I'll deal with you later."
"Nani? (What?)"
Midori ignored him and directed her attention to Hajime. As she was about to speak Tatsuo grabbed her ponytail and dragged her closer to him.
"Hey that's very rude. When someone's talking to you don't turn your back." Tatsuo sneered at his prey.
"Let me go! BAKA!" Midori tried to hit Tatsuo with her free hand but Tatsuo grabbed it and twisted her arm.
"Itai!" She shouted as she felt his hand dig through her injured palm.
Hajime's sheath went flying through the air hitting Tatsuo's face. He took advantage of the surprise attack and hit Tatsuo's arm with the handle of his katana at the same, while grabbing hold of Midori to take her away from the assailant. Running as fast as he could, he half-dragged Midori behind him through the muddy snow.
By the time Tatsuo recovered the two were barely dots on the horizon. "Ahou! Don't you DARE come back or I will hurt you so BAD you'll wish Emma (ruler of hell) would take you!" He kicked the snow in front of him in anger.
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They finally stopped. Both figures collapsed at the snow behind a small tree.
Midori looked over her moss green kimono speckled with mud. Baka Hajime! This is my favorite one too.
As if reading her mind Saitou mumbled an apology as he stood up. He held out his hand to help her off the snow. They squatted under the tree. Saitou held his unsheathed katana close by as if afraid it would get lost. Midori sighed. A while ago, she would've gone all out and fought with Hajime, but right now as she looked at him, she felt almost sorry for him.
He must be freezing.
She looked around trying to find a nearby inn where they could at least stay, to her dismay the only place was a "couples" inn. She hesitated but a gust of wind finally forced her to decide.
"Come on Hajime! We're going in." Midori pointed at the inn.
Saitou gave her a "glare" and "inquisitive" look.
She chuckled. "Baka! Not in a hundred years would I even think about such a thing."
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The man gave them linens and towels. He was laughing as he handed the towels to Midori.
"I hope you have a NICE stay at our inn." He chuckled and gave Midori a wink before leaving.
Midori shouted back at the man, indicating that they were NOT a couple, NOT sleeping together. Alas! The man just laughed harder and raised his hand saying "Hai! Hai! Wakatta! ENJOY!"
She sighed and closed the door. She looked around the scantily decorated room. A shoji lamp was to the side and only one futon was at the corner. Well it's better than freezing.
"Here." She handed him the towel as he took his shirt off. She immediately turned quite baffled at her sudden discomfort seeing him partially naked.
"I don't have a spare shirt. If you feel uncomfortable, I'll just use my wet one."
She sighed. He's right. I might as well get used to this. "No need for that. We better get used to this." She slid off her kimono. Thankfully she had always wore a thin short sleeved shirt underneath. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable though since that and her underwear was the only thing covering her. Aside from this Hajime was openly "studying" her. Baka Midori! He's really not staring. You're just too self-conscious.
They sat across from each other. Midori couldn't help but look at Hajime's form. He's well defined. It also doesn't look like he's bruised anywhere. She breathe a sigh of relief. Another moment of silence.
"I'll get some food." They said at the same time, as both kneeled to get up.
"Ah.. okay.." Midori settled back to sit.
"What do you want?"
"Ramen." (another Japanese noodle dish)
--------------------------
"Here you go Sir." The innkeeper handed Hajime a soba and ramen bowl.
"Arigatou." He replied.
The innkeeper a bit more curious "You have a very nice looking lady in there. I think she's a bit shy though."
Saitou stared at the man and gritted his teeth. The man not noticing went ahead and gave him "tips" on how to calm a girl down. Saitou looked down on the noodles and frowned, they were getting cold. Finally the man let go of him and winked.
"Let me know how it goes. You lucky bastard."
Saitou just scowled at him and proceeded to his room, not turning back.
"Don't forget!" the innkeeper shouted.
Saitou closed his eyes and sighed, trying to calm his senses before meeting up with Midori again.
-------------------------
They ate silently. Midori kept glancing at the futon that was rolled in the corner. The futon was large enough to share but she didn't want to share it with "HIM".
She sighed. What the hell am I thinking? There's more important things to do right now.
"Huh?? You're done already?" she pointed at Hajime's bowl.
"Yes."
"What the? I haven't even started mine yet?" she gawked.
"Your ramen will not taste good if it's cold. Stop being so distracted and start eating." He commanded.
Midori smiled at him. His temperament has improved. He's coming back as his usual bossy confident self.
"Anou. Hajime." She stopped herself. When did she start addressing him so familiarly? She waited for him to speak, half expecting him to insult her for her unguarded expression of familiarity with him.
The amber eyes turned at her, clear and relaxed. "Nani?"
She released her breath. Good he doesn't mind.
"It's about my brother. I don't understand." she started "You know he's a sweet brother to me and I know he doesn't lie. So Hajime what happened?"
All at once the clear eyes started to cloud. He grunted "He's yaoi."
"What? That can't be. I've known him all my life."
"I wouldn't have done that to him if he hadn't approached me expecting to respond back to him." He said coldly. "You really think that I just pick fights for no reason?"
"That's not what I meant Hajime! I'm just saying." she paused.. " What I'm saying is we're close. If he told me, I would've accepted it."
He stopped and looked at her and said "There are some things people would like to keep to themselves."
"But still you didn't have to do that!" she tried to control her rising voice.
"It might seem wrong to you but I wanted him to know exactly how he will be treated if it ever comes out." He turned away and searched his pockets for a cigarette.
"Is that really why?" she pleaded for an answer.
He stared back at her "I have no reason to lie about this to you."
"Do you know anything else?"
Saitou hesitated. There was something else. "My sister she doesn't deserve you."
"No. You're his sister, so I think you'll have to help him. I can't do anymore for him.", he proceeded to light his cigarette.
Saitou left her at the corner to compose her thoughts. He himself had questions in his mind that needed answers.
REVIEWERS:
AbsolutelyNoSoliciting - Yeah poor Saitou. This fic is really not going to be nice to Saitou. The name itself "Leaving Edo" really does point to that. Sorry. Yes the framing will end, I think it has ended.
MissBehavin - Humiliations galore. Well.. Some people will definitely pay. I'm undecided what to do with Yuuta right now, whether to make him into a good guy or bad guy.. sighs There is one lemon chapter that I need to write (essential to the story) but I'm not sure how or where to post it. Any suggestions? BTW, I LOVED the Chocolate Chapter in "To Hazard a Guest"!
LinkLovr - Yeah.. It was so obvious. Actually that's good because I really wanted it to be obvious as we got closer to the SaitouxYuuta moment.. grins Akio and Tatsuo are both really filthy, however I can't guarantee that Saitou will triumph with both. ducks at flamethrower KUME!