Leaving Edo 42: A Fateful Day
In the early spring of the 7th year of the Meiji a man returns to his home. He has tarried in Kyoto and Aizu long enough and had met his sanity once again in the persona of an Aizu woman. An arranged marriage but a marriage nonetheless and he had learned to love her for she was the mother of his child and she was the light that guided him back after the chaos.
He called out to her softly. "Call for me if you need anything. I will be at the Precinct."
"Eto... Goro...", She called out handing him a package. "Don't forget your bento."
"Ah... yes... Arigatou Tokio."
"Hai..." She smiles as she takes the little one beside her and held the boy up. "Say goodbye Tsutomu..."
The man grinned and held the little ones hand for a moment. Finally donning his hat, he waved them goodbye.
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Their house wasn't too far from his old residence... Walking the streets gave him a very nostalgic feeling. A scene from the past... Of snow and of sunsets... Of music and of sincerity... Of the house a few blocks down that he frequented almost 12 yrs ago... It was this nostalgic feeling that had him turn a corner away from the main street and off the road which lead to the Precinct... It was why he found himself knocking on the gates eventhough he had no idea if he was welcome or not. After all what do you say to a family who has lost their only daughter?
He knocks and a boy answers the door. He had short black hair, a heart shaped face and soft curves on his chin. As the boy smiled and greeted the police officer a pair of dimples embedded itself in the young man cheeks. His eyes were the color of sepia.
"Otou-san! A man is asking to see you!" The young man hollered out towards the back while the Police Officer watched in amusement. The boy was too carefree and rugged for his own good.
Finally he was let in to a familiar but worn out garden. He sat himself on the stone bench.
"Saitou-sensei!" A familiar voice exclaimed. "When did you get back from Aizu?"
"Yuuta... It's been quite a long time. What do you do now?" Saitou tried to keep his voice even. He had missed his former student.
"I am a full fledged doctor now Saitou-sensei." He beamed happily. "Actually Tatsuo and I just got back from China for a conference on homoepathic medicine."
Tatsuo?
"Aah... Please do not call me Saitou anymore, I go by Fujita Goro now..."Saitou's gaze fell upon the boy that was playing and he smiled. "So that young man is your son? Omedetto, I didn't know you got married." He never would've figured Yuuta could do so well for himself. Seeing Yuuta now so different from the bumbling fool he knew then made Saitou rather proud.
"Well.. I'm not married.." Yuuta laughed nervously, then just as soon as he started his congenial demeanor dropped. "Tatsuo is my sisters son..."
Tatsuo is a good name... Just like my brother. Come to think of it, he lived quite a peaceful life here in Edo.
This is what he was afraid off... To bring bad memories back to life for him and for anyone else he knew. "Sumanai... That was the best we could do during the time..." He stood up and stared at the ground.
Yuuta followed and picked the child up in his arms. "Don't worry about it Saitou sensei... Without your help this child wouldn't have survived and I would be left without a family... It's too bad Onee-san succumbed to illness. I do not think Tatsuo remembers his mother well for he was still young back then."
Saitou removed his glove and wiped the strand of hair that fell on the boy's face. "He looks just like his mother..."
Yuuta started chuckling... "You know... Midori always complained to me that Tatsuo looked too much like his father Akio."
Ah so this is Akio's child…
Not hearing an answer from Saitou, Yuuta continued, "Children should have grandparents... But it's too bad Chichi and Haha ue died shortly after war. And I don't want him taking after his grandfather Kaneda... That man was ruthless and I'm glad he's now in jail."
A loud knock comes through the gates. Placing the child down Yuuta answers it. An old lady pulls at Yuuta's sleeve imploring his help that her husband had broken a limb. Yuuta throw back Saitou a look and nodded towards the child.
"Yare yare... Looks like I'll have to keep you company for now kodomo." He grinned and lighted up a cigarette.
"You're a little weird mister... And the smoking is bad for you.."
"Oh, you're a little to young to tell me what to do don't you think? And why do you think I'm weird?" The old wolf was starting to get amused.
"Because you let Uncle away i easily /i . Heh you should've put up a fight! Or better yet you can just leave me here... I can take care of myself." The young man placed his hands on his hip confidently. A devilish smirk creeping over his face.
"And let you ransack the house and play all you want?" The old wolf smirked back as the sunshine accentuated the gold hue of his eyes.
"Hai!!!" The boy replied eagerly... "Mister... Your eyes are also weird..."
Saitou quirked up one eyebrow as he let out a long chain of smoke. "And why's that?"
"Eto... Anou..." The boy frowned as he tried to recall the little conversations he had with his mother while she was still alive. "I don't remember much of Haha ue... But I never forgot when she told me about Chichi... That he had eyes of pure gold, just like when the sun sets... But you're not him... Because... Eto... She said he was the kindest man in the world and that he loves us..."
Ashes... Ember they fall... Towards the ground slowly as if time was going to stop for Hajime. Why didn't he notice it earlier? He should have... But the question is whether to pursue it. He had his own life now and so does the child... Will he be content to watch from a distance? No... But can a child understand such things? I don't know. He put out the cigarette under his boots and motions the child to sit on his knee.
"I know your father..." He began. "Yes and even if he is not here... He loves you and will protect you."
The child's eyes lit up. It's been a while that someone spoke to him about his own family. Not that his Uncle Yuuta wasn't enough. Not that calling Uncle Yuuta as Otou-san wasn't enough... It was just that he needed to be sure that what he heard from his mother was true... That he wasn't hearing things.. Or that he was remembering things incorrectly. A tear fell from the child's face. A happy one. Saitou took out a white cloth and handed it to the child.
"Who are you mister? Are you my uncle?" The child asked while he returned to cloth to Saitou.
Saitou got down on one knee to meet the boy's face. "You may call me that if you wish. Uncle Goro would be good." He smiled.
Then the gates opened once again. Yuuta came rushing in apologizing profusely that he was detained. The old man didn't have a fractured bone after all. Just rheumatism from old age. Saitou bid them goodbye.
From time to time, the old wolf passed by his friend's house. Sometimes... He would purposely eat too much soba and get sick the next day... It was always a good excuse to see the doctor and Tatsuo.
THE END:
Thank you to all the readers who stuck with me. It was a long and sometimes weird journey to finish this story. I must say though that when I was writing this story, I was very happy and when I got your reviews it got even more pleasant. You will notice a period of months that I did not update at all. I did not mean to alienate anyone... It was just hard to write since I was going through some things. But thank you to those who have e-mailed me inquiring if I will finish. It reminded me of my responsibilities So thank you.
When this story first started... There were rumors that Saitou had an adopted son... Hehehe his name was Tatsuo... Although this story was inspired by that, the real truth is that Saitou let his son be adopted by a more prominent/affluent family. And anyway Tatsuo who got adopted out was the youngest son... In this story which is the complete opposite... Tatsuo is the oldest son of RK Saitou and he is adopted by Yuuta. Let me know if you readers have any question. I know it's a little confusing... Especially what happened to Midori... Basically, Kaneda did not want to hurt Midori since Akio loved her. He let Shishio (I named him shishio just for fun), kill the Geisha to get Saitou in trouble without witnesses. Hijikata seeing the opportunity of switching used the geisha's body and he let Midori escape to China. Saitou did not find out about this till later which is why Kondou asked him to have some faith. Saitou listened so in time he finally learned the truth (not shown).