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 romanticised 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)
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.
Okay here comes
some of the Shinsengumi members.. Note this is not the Shinsengumi, I
think the Shinsengumi was formed after this group led by Kondou-san
left Tama for Kyoto.
italics - denotes thoughts
asterisks
- denotes sound/thoughts/misc
Shieitan Dojo – This must be it
The young man pushed the unlocked gates open. Huh? It looks pretty deserted he thought disappointedly.
Kyah!!!
Klunk
A katana plummeted from the air and at once Saitou found himself on guard with his katana interfering with the straight slice of the boy with blue eyes. He gritted his teeth at the boys downward force. Surprised that such a runt could be so strong.
"Okita. Are you causing trouble again?" a handsome man with long flowing black hair tied in a ponytail was smoking a pipe and stared disapprovingly at the boy.
The boy at once withdrew his katana and started to scratch the back of his head laughing. "Hijikata-san. I didn't know you were there!" he smiled.
"I hope that doesn't mean what I think it does." He came closer to them and took another drag on his pipe.
"What is your business here?" Hijikata asked Saitou.
"If this is the Shieitan dojo then I want to join." He replied confidently.
"We don't accept baggages." Nodding at the young woman behind Saitou.
"I told her to go home." Saitou keeping his back turned towards Midori.
"Huh?" The boy ran behind Saitou towards the young lady. "Oh I didn't notice you had company." He said to Saitou.
"Hajimemashite! (How do you do?) I'm Okita Souji." The boy laughed nervously "I hope I didn't scare you earlier, if I'd notice I wouldn't have... You know.."
Midori couldn't help but smile back at Okita. "Yeah... Well if Saitou didn't mind. I guess, I shouldn't..."
"Ah so you're Saitou. Hajimemashite!" Okita extended his hand but Saitou ignored him and turned back to Hijikata.
"Is the headmaster here?" he asked coldly.
"He's inside the training hall. Come."
Both men started to leave the boy and the girl.
"Anou... Can I come?" asked Midori nervously.
"No." said Hijikata.
"Yes you can." Okita smiled again and took her hand leading her into the garden. "Don't mind Hijikata, he's just a bit sour as breakfast wasn't too good this morning."
Hijikata shot Okita a scowl to which Okita just dismissed with a wider grin. He sighed, no point in arguing with Okita especially when he took a fancy at someone or something.
The boy turned to the girl once more. "So do you know how to cook?"
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"Kondou-san."
"Aa. Hijikita, looks like you brought some guest." A man in his thirties greeted the party jovially.
Hijikata pointed at Saitou. "This young man here wants to join our dojo."
Kondou eyed Saitou carefully.. Hmm... Good posture, nice height.. Wow.. such frightening eyes. I wonder if he's any good?
"Where did you train before young man?"
"Under my father and brother. I did not belong to any dojo."
"And your father was?"
"My late father was a ronin, Saitou Yusuke." note: his father's real name was Yamaguchi Yusuke – see prior author's notes
Kondou's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Yusuke was an old acquaintance and a very good swordsman. He remembered the sparring he lost in Edo ten years ago, he was so relieved when his former master moved to Tama because it meant not crossing swords with Yusuke, even if it was just sparring. If this young man is half as decent as his father was he will be a great addition to the Shieitan.
He already knew the whole story but decided to ask Saitou nonetheless, if only to cover from Hijikata's keen observation. He did not want Hijikata questioning why he will let this young man to their dojo so easily.
"What has happened to your father?"
"He committed Seppuku."
Kondou did not dwell anymore. He had always asked himself why Yusuke decided to take the long way about. Imagine having your master assassinated under your own nose.
I would've committed Seppuku right then and there. Why become a ronin first only to have your conscience eat at you and bring you to the same conclusion anyway?
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Okita and Midori was left outside the training hall. Midori exhausted and worried decided to sit down for the first time at the wooden plank just to the side of the dojo.
"Hey Midori... Don't worry he'll be okay." Okita gave her another cheery smile.
"Ah.. Okay."
"Kondou-san is a good man. So is Hijikata. They won't bite him." He paused momentarily. "You know the worse they could do is reject him."
Midori looked at the young man puzzled. "This is a training dojo right?"
"It is. But only certain types of people are accepted as student here."
"What do you mean?"
"We have a purpose. Everyone here is a samurai by virtue, even though we are not of higher class, but aside from the loyalty we give to our master, our loyalty first and foremost belongs to this country."
Midori smiled at him. "That's grand and noble."
"You think?" Okita by now dropped his cheery face and became more somber.
"You don't think so?"
"I'm not sure. This is sort of like my family and so I guess I'm just following Kondou-san and Hijikata-san."
Midori patted Okita's head. "You're young, you will know in time what you would like to do and if this is right for you."
"I hope."
"You're happy here right?"
"I can't complain." He smiled again.
"Good then stay for a while until you know." She smiled again. "I feel the same way."
"Huh?"
"Oh nothing." She suppressed a laugh.
"Hey that's not fair!"
"That's another thing you'll find out. Life isn't fair." She joked with him.
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"Sou ka. Before I accept you, answer one more thing... Why do you want to join our dojo?"
Saitou grinned confidently at Kondou. "To become strong."
In Kondou's mind, his jaw dropped to the floor. This was not the kind of answer he was expecting from Yusuke's son. Did you learn anything?
He stole a peek at Hijikata. The man was frowning quite heavily and shaking his head. The answer itself was enough to justify denying him entrance. This will be a tough one to explain to the group if he decided to go through with it. He needed some time to think.
"Come back tomorrow and think about your answer. I will give my decision then."
Hijikata shot Kondou a meaningful look, to which Kondou nodded in acknowledgment.
---------------------------------
"Let's go."
Midori looked at Hajime and couldn't help but notice that something was amiss.
"What happened? Did you get rejected?"
"No." he replied annoyed.
"Well?"
"Let's find a place to stay first. I'll explain later." He paused to look at her. "Aren't you tired?"
TO REVIEWERS:
MissBehavin – Great that you liked it that way. Akio will get his share after our Saitou-kun trains more formally instead of relying on that fake training by Tatsuo. I've tried watching some PMK and reading a bit on Kondou, Hijikata and Okita, so personality wise this is how I thought they might act. Oh well. It's probably quite OOC. How OOC is it? Also am I getting confusing?
Ooka-chan – Aa! So that's what it meant. Hmm.. I should've known that. Now I can't call myself a Saitou-Shinsengumi worshipper.. Well actually I'm not really a Shinsengumi worshipper, they're a group of interesting people though so maybe I'll be a convert soon. I agree with you on Saitou, definitely. He's just a deep character and more real that maybe people mistake him for just being a jerk (which he is absolutely not). I'm not sure if I'll read a TokioxSaitou fic yet. I've tried but I usually stop after a couple of chapters.. WHY? Coz I get jealous. Yeah you read that right! I'm jealous of Tokio that's probably why I get her killed in my other fic and make her bad in another. Sorry for the Tokio fans.. Just being real to myself here... I did make one okay poem about the two of them though. :O)