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.

*denotes sound/music/etc

Thoughts are in italics

CHAPTER IX – Revelations of Sorts

"Dozo…" Midori handed Okita some Sashimi and Miso soup she prepared for lunch.

"Itadakimasu!" The boy ate ravenously. "Hey Midori… Why haven't you started eating?"

"Ah! Gomenasai… I'm not hungry yet." She kept looking out to the garden.

"Hmmm… Are you still thinking of Saitou-kun?" the boy asked.

"Hai… Isn't he supposed to meet with ah…." She paused, she couldn't remember their names.

"I think so… Maybe we should ask Hijikata-san…" the boy started to get up "Speaking of the devil…"

Two men appeared by the shoji. Slightly bowing to Midori they entered Okita's room and settled themselves down on the tatami mat.

"Konnichi-wa Midori-san." Said Kondou.

"Konnichi-wa…" she replied meekly.

"How are you feeling?" asked Hijikata.

"Much better than early this morning, thanks to Okita." She nodded towards the boy who was smiling back.

Hijikata scanned the food laden table and frowned. "Looks like Okita has made you work already."

Okita laughed nervously but Midori was quick to point out that she was feeling a bit restless and preparing the meal was a good distraction.

"Anou… Hijikata-san… Anou… Did you meet with Saitou?" she didn't want to waste time.

"Ee (yes). Unfortunately. He rejected our offer." He searched Midori's face and found disappointment clearly written all over it.

"He… I really sensed he needed to join this dojo to find his purpose." She looked sadly at the floor.

Okita and Kondou was quick to respond "Don't worry!" Her head shot up to the both of them…

Kondou cleared his throat, "Ahem. What I meant was there is no need to worry. He will come around."

"Before joining this dojo, there are things he must resolve. If he continues as he is, he will not last long on the streets here in Tama nor in Kyoto."

"What did you say?"

Hijikata almost hit himself for that slip of the tongue. So she has no idea what we are…

"I'm just making an emphasis of how time has changed and it is pretty much dangerous anywhere." He dismissed the subject and proceeded to get up and leave.

In a frenzy she asked "Hijikata-san… Do you know where he is?"

"No." Both men left the room leaving her puzzled and looking at Okita for answers.

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Saitou Hajime kept himself hidden from view. He has been watching the gates of the Nisan's house for signs of Midori to no avail. The house seemed pretty quiet with the exception of guards roaming in and out of the house. A carriage stopped by the household and a man in his forties got off with Akio, he couldn't help the rising anger in himself by just looking at Akio. Nisan Kyoda greeted them, bowing his head as low as he could. He saw the old man by Akio ask something and Kyoda shook his head in an answer. Both men angrily got on the carriage again and left Kyoda. Two guards escorted Nisan Kyoda in the house.

What has happened here?? Are they in house arrest?

He slipped into the house by climbing a tree at the back of the garden that he and Midori shared during the afternoons. Apparently, the guards did not notice that this part of the household had it's own small garden in it. As he moved to the music room, he heard voices coming from what seemed to be Yuuta-kun.

"Father! This is preposterous! They can't keep us locked up in here like pigs!"

"Don't talk to your father like that Yuuta." Came Misa's voice. "It is not his fault that he misjudge them."

He could hear Kyoda's shaky voice.. "Yuuta. Suma (Sorry). Once Midori comes back, things will be back to normal. All she needs is to marry Akio and we will be okay. I only hope she'll be back before the three months is over for their wedding."

*KLUNK* *CRASH*

"Sorry otou-san! She shouldn't have to marry that bastard. It's a good thing I helped her escape when she did."

Saitou sighed. So his fears were correct, the Nisan's had been put to house arrest, aside from this Midori was not there and there was wedding to be held in three months. His heart sank as he feared that she probably fell into the wrong hands that night. He would have gladly handed her over to Akio if only he knew beforehand that he would bring her misfortune. He felt a lump form at his throat as he left to check the last place Midori might be, his own house.

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"Okita-san. Thank you for your help." She placed her few belongings into her purse, fixed her hair and started to leave.

Okita ran to the shoji and planted himself between Midori and the outside world. "Where are you going? You are not well yet!"

"Okita-kun… I'm going to the inn, maybe he's still there." She placed her left hand on top of his shoulder to indicate that she needed to pass.

"He's not there, don't waste your time." Okita said in a desperate effort to stop her. "Don't take me for a fool, you have not even recovered, you have not once moved your right hand!"

"Don't worry about that. My right hand has been invalid for quite some time now, it's unable to grasp anything." She glared at the boy. "How do you know Hajime is not there?"

"Anou… anou… It's not important." The boy formed a fist.

"Please Okita. If he rejected this dojo, there is something troubling him deeply. I need to know where he is. I do not want him to get himself into trouble." She threw her anger aside and sighed. "Talk to me Okita. You are not like the other two men earlier. Onegai (Please).

Okita sighed heavily. Midori reminded him so much of his beloved sister, if only she was still alive… He seated himself on the wooden plank just outside his quarters and waited for Midori to come.

"When I found you… You were being beaten up by those men. I had just taken several children home, when I heard you scream. This dojo, the men and I, we patrol the streets. You could say we protect people with our katanas. So, when I saw them beating you I immediately put those men to "rest"."

Midori's eyes widened. You killed them?

As if reading her mind, "Yes I killed them. That is what our katanas stand for. It is a force needed in this day and age. I would rather have it another way, but there is no option for that now. He… If he joins here, it will be expected of him. It might be better that he rejected the offer anyway." Okita couldn't help but feel sad at his own words.

"Sou ka. Okita, don't weigh yourself down so heavily. I do not approve of taking any forms of life, but if you and these men think it is a necessary evil to preserve peace and order, then so be it. Does Hajime know about this?"

"I would think so. We are well known to the Samurai clan back in Edo."

Midori smiled a little… So Hajime… You knew about them… It isn't all about self-preservation isn't it? You just don't want to admit that there are things more important than just that…

"Tell me Okita… Did you see him? Come for me?" It was a selfish question, but she just wanted to know nonetheless.

"No. But I heard from Hijikata-san that when he came here, he was so grimy that he almost got dismissed as they thought he was being rude. He said Saitou didn't look like he had any sleep and was distraught."

"I see…" Midori nodded her head slowly.

"Okita… I know this is asking a little bit too much of you…" Midori looked at the boy earnestly "What happened? Why did he reject to join the Shieitan?"

Okita thought for a minute. He will get in trouble with Hijikata for saying so much already. He looked at Midori again, her face reminded him so much of his sister. He sighed, from the moment he met her he had liked her demeanor and now that he had associated her face with his sister, the combination just disarmed him.

"Promise this won't go anywhere."

Midori nodded her head to the boy.

"We cannot have someone in our ranks that has doubts about what they do. Hijikata-san probably saw some unresolved issues with him, as he said to you earlier. That is why he asked him if he could give up the most important person in his life at that moment. That was it, he just left saying he had something far more important to do."

"Who was that, the important person you are talking about?" She looked at him, the question written all over her face.

Okita smiled "BAKA! Who else but you!"

"Nani! (What!) That can't be! How would Hijikata-san know such a thing? Anyway we had never been more than friends!" she protested.

"Hijikata-san is perceptive like that. He knew you were here and you got into trouble since he treated you that morning. Then when Saitou-san came looking all haggard, it wasn't hard for him to figure Saitou had been looking for you. He knew Saitou had the wrong notions in his head for wanting to join our dojo yesterday, so he told me he was a bit surprised that Saitou came up with the correct answer yesterday. Although, he didn't have to go so far as to say to protect Japan, people protect Japan for all kind of personal reasons. He was glad that Saitou admitted he wanted to protect his loved ones, so Hijikata-san just wanted to prove how deep this devotion is by offering him membership to the dojo if he let that which is important to him go. Knowing that Saitou was still searching for you, he thought it worked out perfectly. I think Hijikata-san has big plans for him, otherwise he wouldn't have gone through this…"

!

Midori's eyes widened. She did not know if she wanted to throw a fit at the ruse that they played on her beloved or if she would jump for joy at knowing that Saitou deemed her important enough to give up the Shieitan. There was one thing, she knew for sure though, that Saitou Hajime was one step closer to finding his purpose. She gave Okita a big hug, almost crying for joy. She looked at the boy teary eyed and thanked him while she kissed his cheek.

TO REVIEWER:

MissBehavin – Hopefully I answered some questions you had about why Okita lied to Midori. Just so it's clear, my perception of Okita is that he really is too much of a nice guy stuck in a bad era. He doesn't like getting rid of people and I doubt if anyone ever did. It was just called for and needed so he did it. About Hijikata and Saitou… Well their relationship I believe will be beyond the scope of this fic, as you saw it was only a test for Saitou, since going forwards (again not covered in this fic), Hijikata will give him various missions that require Saitou's complete loyalty to Hijikata. As for Saitou accepting… I'm usually not straightforward with Saitou coming to terms with himself about certain relationships. Maybe I will or maybe not. Who knows? Maybe he'll just be hit on the face with a big 'I LOVE MIDORI" sign… Ah well, we'll see.

Glad to hear there will be a new chapter on To Hazard a Guest! Type it NOW! PUBLISH IT FIRST THING! HAHAHAHA! Joke only! Or do I mean half-joke only? Or do I don't really mean to joke at all? Glad to hear though that it's coming