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)

About Midori... Well I just thought of her. I like the name Midori since my code name since childhood is Green2 (from Bioman). What's interesting is I got interested if the real Saitou Hajime had a woman before Tokio, since I was writing this fic. On one of my searches (about chapter 2 in this fic) I found out that there was a rumor that he did. It's located in www.3- hajime.com but you'll have to babelfish it because it's all in Japanese. I then posted this in the miburo group in yahoo and several people who were very knowledgeable in Japanese and the Shinsengumi found out more. Suffice it to say that there is a good probability that there was another woman and this woman whose name is Yaso, he probably married her too. Cool isn't it? I suggest to anyone interested in Saitou and the Shinsengumi to join the two groups; miburo and SHQ (the new mailing list).

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.

IMPORTANT: There are a bunch of names characters here… I can't go into much detail but I wanted to make sure that this fic is NOT historically accurate. Don't take it word for word, some of it is really true like the people involved, but the relationships, some attitudes and some events never did happen.

I'll mention two people:

Kiyokawa Hachirou – before he turned traitor to the shogun, he was head of the newly enlisted masterless samurai (including Kondou and the Shieitan guys) to protect the shogunate. He was assassinated for supporting the Ishin-shishi

Takeda Kanryuusai – I believe he was a homosexual who joined the shinsengumi in Kyoto. I believe though (correct me if I'm wrong), that he was already connected to the shogunate even before joining the shinsengumi. Later he betrayed the Shinsengumi to support the Ishin-shi (for money), then Saitou assassinated him.

About the Mimawarigumi – recently I've learned of this group from the yahoo groups at the newly formed edojidai. Apparently this group is similar to the Shinsengumi but is composed mainly of the sons of the politicians and influential people related to the Tokugawa. Funny, this was mentioned in the Kenshin OVA's before, and even though I have watched that at least 10 times now, I zoned out on this group. It's really great timing that I read about them, thanks to Tokugawa Hirotada. I decided to change my plot a bit to incorporate this group. Akio would fit in perfectly, because he was the son of an influential man, who was an advisor to the shogun in Kyoto, plus it makes Saitou's life harder.

*denotes sound/music/etc

*Thoughts are in italics

CHAPTER XXV – Secrets Hidden to but a Few

"That's it for today. Make sure to be here at dawn so we can do the routines early."

Hijikata could almost hear the stifled groans from the members. He couldn't quite blame them for feeling that way. He himself has been feeling a bit worn out and exhausted. Aside from this the dojo had started feeling the effect of the food shortage and most other basic necessities. The only free commodity nowadays was water. He kept himself in check though, if the men started suspecting that he himself has been feeling this way, it would bring the groups morale down.

As the men dispersed, he looked towards the far right of the dojo. Apparently Saitou did not hear his announcement. He was about to bring up the subject when he heard…

"Come on! Our group's progress has been unsatisfactory lately. Put in more effort!", Saitou barked.

"But Saitou-san… Hijikata-san already said we were done for the day…" protested the young man right in front of him.

Saitou's menacing amber eyes glared back as he took a step closer to the protestor. "Care to repeat that?"

"Ano…. I… Well… I guess it's okay…" The young lad felt like he was melting under the smoldering amber eyes.

"GOOD! Anyone else?" Saitou skimmed the other five men under his direction. No one dared to speak up. They resumed practice.

Hijikata smiled to himself.

Well... Well… Looks like we have another slave driver.

"Saitou-kun.." Hijikata called out.

"Yes?"

Hijikata winced a bit at Saitou's reply. He particularly did not like Saitou's blatant disregard of honorifics and respectful titles but he was not the kind of man to argue about that, so he let it go.

"Come and have dinner with me later."

Saitou gave him a questioning look, thought about it for 10 seconds and then finally agreed.

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"Ooh… I'm so TIRED!!!!!" Okita laid himself down the futon and stretched his arms lazily. He cracked his neck and hands a couple of times. He saw Midori enter the room so he immediately sat up and started commenting on how exhausted he was and how HUNGRY he was.

"Souzi… I've prepared the meal already, we just have to wait for Hajime." She smiled at the boy. It was hard to believe that the young lad in front of her was a genius swordsman only two years younger than her. Okita was so small and had baby blue eyes that she had to constantly remind herself that the boy in front of her was actually a young man.

"Saitou-san isn't coming today."

"Nani (What)? Why?" She immediately felt disappointed.

"Oh Hijikata-san mentioned to me he'd like to speak with Saitou-san. You shouldn't wait up for him either."

Midori felt herself pout. "Oh… But we barely see each other since you started that rigorous training of yours… He barely notices I'm alive anymore…"

Okita smiled. His adopted sister was so funny when it came to Saitou. She's always so affected by him…

"Oh don't feel that way. I'm sure Saitou-san will find time for you. It's just that… Well he's a little unlucky… Those five guys he is training have horrible kendo skills, that he always had to put in an extra hour to help them catch up.

"I know…" Midori felt the pout turn into a full blown frown.

Okita stood up and tip toed up to reach Midori's ear… "I'll let you in on a secret… Once when we went out to drink… He…"

Okita started laughing gleefully while Midori let out an embarrassed but cheerful laugh. Midori felt her heart lighten. She was so glad Souzi was around, next to Hajime, he was the next best thing to have happened to her. Souzi reminded her of Yuuta when they were kids. I have to write to him soon...

She started preparing the table for Okita and her. As she did so all she thought of was…

Hajime you baka! Now why would you let Souzi know that we… You stupid man…

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As Saitou slid the shoji door leading to Hijikata's quarters, he immediately hinted at the smell of tobacco. The man in question was sitting cross legged on the tatami and gingerly savoring the aroma (if you call that "aroma") coming from the pipe in his hands. Saitou removed the wooden slippers and proceeded to sit at the other end of the table.

"Do you smoke?" Hijikata started to hand him a pipe.

"No thank you. I have my own." He reached from under his Yukata and pulled out a cigarette stick.

"Ah… I see you like foreign brands… Tell me how good is it?"

In reply Saitou took out another cigarette and handed it to Hijikata. "Why don't you try it for yourself."

Hijikata lighted it and took a puff. He started hacking uncontrollably. Saitou let a grin escape his lips.

"Agh.. Agh.. Agh… Here take it back… That's a bit strong for me."

Saitou snuffed the cigarette and threw it out the window.

"Tell me Hijikata… You don't strike me as the one to invite anyone over without anything in mind." Saitou puffed another white cloud over his head.

Saitou.. Saitou… Not the kind of man to beat around the bush eh?

"It's really quite simple Saitou-kun. I am to announce a week from now that we are leaving the Shieitan and will head for Kyoto."

"Okay?"

"Well… There's a little bit of a problem from where you are concerned."

"And?"

"Midori."

Hijikata could almost see Saitou's face flinch at the mention of the name.

"You can't take her with you." Again Toshi took note of Hajime's defensive stance.

"Why not?"

"Let me put it this way… We are going to Kyoto to join other patriots  to help the Shogunate. It is common knowledge that Kyoto is infested with subversives right now and bringing a woman will definitely slow us down."

Silence.

"I hate to put it this way, but surely you understand she will be a baggage. She is a vulnerability for you and possibly for us. Our resources our low as of the moment but I have been kind enough to grant both of you some time to spend together. I can't have anymore of that. She has to go by before this week is over."

"Hijikata-SAN…"

Hijikata's ears pricked up to hear the honorific/respectful title in his name.

"I just want to set one thing straight, Midori is NOT my weakness nor is she a vulnerability to anyone here."

"Don't take this the wrong way Saitou…" Hijikata could feel the restrained anger from Hajime's voice.

"I will part with her NOT because of that. I will part with her for her own safety. I will not compromise that."

Hijikata shrugged. Well it really doesn't matter does it Saitou? What only matters is that you DO part ways.

"Wakatta. (Understood). Sumanai (Sorry) if I threaded on dangerous grounds."

Saitou stiffly nodded.

Hijikata let out a breath and smiled at the young man. "Now that's over with… How about we start dinner?"

"Sumimasen (Sorry/Excuse me)… I have other plans." He puffed his last cigarette, threw it out the window and left as quietly as possible. Still though Hijikata noticed the slight tremor of the shoji as Saitou slowly slid it close.

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Midori took out the futon that she and Hajime shared. She wandered vaguely if she should write to her brother. Come to think of it, it has been almost two months since she left the house.

I wonder if haha we and otou-san are still mad at me. Well they have a right to be… I did runaway… I hope Yuuta is taking care of them.

After she laid out the futon, she proceeded to the table. There was a Japanese lantern and a pen and paper there. She picked up the pen and tried to compose her thoughts. All the while she was doing this, she didn't realize that Hajime had just returned and was watching her closely as he laid himself on the futon. Absent-mindedly she started to write with her right hand as that was her dominant hand. The pen slid off. She had forgotten that she had almost lost complete control of that hand. She picked the pen with her left and tried to write with it. She frowned. No matter how she looked at the sentence she tried to write, it wasn't very legible. She slightly shook her head and held up her right hand that had a deep scar in the middle. I'll never be able to gain full use of it…  Although Hajime took notice of each move she made, he suddenly groaned to himself and turned away. She heard the noise and looked back…

"Hajime??? Oh Hajime okaeri (welcome back)!!!" She stood up ecstatic and settled beside him. She let her arms embrace half of him as she knew he was only pretending to sleep.

"You came home early… Are you hungry?"  she whispered to his ear.

"I ate already." Saitou groaned..  Liar…

"Sou ka… I'm glad your back…" She snuggled closer to him, enjoying his warmth and his musky smell.

"Arigatou…" he said not turning to face her. "Midori…"

"Can't you call me "Anata"?" She said teasing him but he knew she was serious.

"H-A-I… A-NA-TA.." he replied monotonously.

"Say it like you mean it… Or else I'll make you repeat it over and over again" She whispered teasing him…

He decided to ignore her, but took the hand she embraced him with and placed his on top. "Why don't we go out tomorrow?"

"I'd like nothing more… But you have training duties again don't you?" she said half asleep.

"No… I'm taking the day off. Souzi owes me one."

"Sou ka… He sure does Anata…" She replied as she drifted to sleep.

He could feel her breath evening out. She was always like this at night. She easily slept like she had no cares in the world. Hajime wondered how she could… The past few months, once in a while when they were like this, he slept easily like she did. Tonight though was a completely different matter. He had too many things on his mind.

Midori a burden? No I am to her.

TO REVIEWER:

Ooka-chan – Hey there… I hope you got my e-mail before... You might find something interesting so please check it out…

About the story, okay here's the deal… This chapter is mushy and dramatic (in a way)… It WILL get WORSE… So read at your own risk… There's a couple of important things that is happening in this chapter and one very important thing that this chapter hinted at as "happened". I won't tell you this now. I'll leave it up to your imagination, but it shouldn't be too hard to deduce. Also I made a mistake on the "hit" list that Akio had, put the people in the wrong order… I'm uploading an updated chapter to fix that.

Please don't feel obligated to write long reviews… It's really okay. Actually your last review was longer than the one before that ^_^

I'm so envious you got the entire RK Tokyo arc on DVD. I'm thinking you bought the box set? Argh!!!! Disk skipping is always a bad thing.. You should try and get it replaced..