DISCLAIMER: All copyrighted characters belong to their respective
owners. No money is being made out of this fanwork. Please do not
distribute without permission.
WARNING: Spoilers! If you don't know who Kenji is, please read at your own risk!
WITH DUE CREDIT: This fic was loosely spun off from two fics - "Over the Sting" by sasori and "Chronicles of a Rurouni", one of my earlier fics.
------------------------------------------
Yesterday's Shadow is Tomorrow's Twilight
------------------------------------------
Chapter 32: On the Trail
"I remember Kiyamachi was a long stretch of road where much fighting took place from since Kyoto's advent until recent times," Soujirou remarked casually with a small gesture, as he made his way out of the temple via a small beaten track in the forest with Aoshi. "It seems strange that a parade of peace will now be going through it. How the world changes."
"It is also a street famous for some of the better food you can find in Kyoto," Aoshi stated factually.
"I never knew you were a gourmet, Shinomori-san!" The wanderer gasped, more shocked that the tall ninja had spoken than the fact that he had spoken about where to find good food.
"Vegetarian food does get to you after a while," Aoshi replied with a slight scowl of displeasure. "This way," he continued, quickening his pace towards a spot in between two large trees that likely acted as an exit. Aoshi stepped through the threshold first and glanced around, before nodding at Soujirou.
The boyish wanderer nodded back and stepped into the open as well, realising that they now stood at a long stretch of empty street that presided between the forest and the back of a row of establishments from left to right. Soujirou was careful to test to see first if anyone was nearby and had seen their exit. There proved to be none.
"People hardly come here during the day," Aoshi quickly informed, and, as if he had not just stepped out from a secret pathway through the forest, started strutting down the stretch of road without a care in the world. "It would be less suspicious if you did not act so tensed up all the time."
Snapping out of his tensed state, Soujirou laughed nervously and quickly fell into step alongside the tall ninja. "I'm sorry," he offered sheepishly by way of apology, "I'm too used to expecting danger at every turn of the corner."
Aoshi did not say anything in response to that.
"Anyway," the wanderer bubbled, suddenly remembering the haori he still had in his hands. "Since Kashiwazaki-san was so kind as to lend us these clothes, we might as well make good use of it!"
As Soujirou walked and spoke, he spread the haori wide in between his outstretched hands to firstly measure the size of the garment, and secondly to examine the pattern imprint. "It's been so long since I've worn a haori!" He chirped brightly, noticing that Aoshi was not particularly concerned about what the long overcoat looked like and was already slipping it on. Not wanting to appear like a hapless frog in the well, Soujirou quickly donned the garment without much thought, noticing how it smelled of something familiar, although he could not quite put his finger onto the odour at the moment.
As he pondered, they turned around at the corner of the empty street and sidled their way through a dirty side alley before finally coming out onto a busy main lane bustling with festival activity.
There were stalls lining the street and people jostling to get a go at some of the games that were being offered. The hustle and bustle of a throng of happy people could be heard even in amongst the loud noises the festival was making collectively. Soujirou found himself completely taken aback by the mood. A banner above him confirmed that this was Kiyamachi. He had been to festivals before, but ever since his wanderings both him and Enishi had taken great pains to avoid crowds, so it was indeed a long time since he was able to immerse himself in the mood of merry-making.
Aoshi glanced briefly at the younger person, then moved ahead to walk through the streets. Seeing that his companion had taken action, Soujirou quickly scurried after him, determined not to be lost in the crowd. "I'm sorry," he said, when he got within range, "I should pay more attention. But Shinomori-san, how are we supposed to find our target in a crowd as huge as this?"
"We are not going to find him," was the sombre reply, causing Soujirou to blink in confusion. Stopping by a stall that was displaying a variety of wooden replicas of banned weapons, Aoshi clarified, "We are going to let him come to us."
Soujirou lapsed a thoughtful, wondering silence, staring at his quiet partner for answers to questions he did not know how to phrase.
------------------------------------------
"You know, everytime I come to Kyoto, it'll always be having a big or small festival somewhere around," Kamatari remarked from his seat on the dark, wooden bench that had been laid out on the corner of the one of the quieter part of the festival street. "There's just something about Kyoto and festivals, isn't that right, Captain Saitou?" He smiled coyly at the police in plain clothes, sitting adjacent to him, casting furtive, scrutinising eyes at the busy conglomerate of people trying to get as much fun as they possibly could.
Said eyes narrowed further and turned their attention to the police spy instead. "We're not here on holiday, if that's what you're trying to tell me."
Kamatari felt the smile slipping from his face. "Spoilsport!" He stuck a tongue out at the stoic-faced Saitou, who had returned to staring at the crowds. "I bet you don't even know the meaning of 'fun'! Types like you are best suited for being stern-faced police post officers sitting at the counter and laughing at the faces of anybody who come to report a case-"
"Hold your horses!" A new voice entered the scene, and footsteps on the gravel could be heard getting closer and closer. Saitou gave the newcomer a sidelong glance, whilst Kamatari turned to face him completely. The unmistakable figure of Chou stepped into sight from the mass and he saluted with a grin. "Quarreling over something so early in the morning already?"
Kamatari snorted, even as Chou took a seat on the bench opposite Saitou. "If /you/ had to partner this massive pain in the ass during a festival first thing in the morning, you'd be screaming your lungs off at him too."
The broomhead made as if to reply, but a waiter cut him short, zipping past the crowds and other tables towards their particular one with a loud, "Yakiniku soba and three cups of green tea!" He slammed the dishes and cups down on the table, collected the money already prepared for him there and whisked away to serve other customers.
Whatever Chou had wanted to say earlier melted into a sly, "Soba for breakfast? You've not changed since Tokugawa, Saitou."
The police officer snapped apart a pair of chopsticks and calmly rebutted, "House broom for hair? You've not changed since crawling out from the litter pile, Sawagejou."
Kamatari ended up having to restrain a shrieking Chou for the next few minutes.
When the mood was calmer and tempers weren't flaring as much, some time later, Kamatari sighed and cupped his chin with his hands out of sheer boredom. "So," he directed his glance at Saitou, who had finished his noodles in the time it had taken Chou to be placated, "what /are/ we supposed to be on the lookout anyway? We're not going to be of any help if you don't tell us."
Saitou took this opportunity to glance quickly at the still fuming Chou, who had taken to drumming his fingers on the table in a show of his frustration. He noticed Saitou staring expectantly at him and said unhappily, "Yeah yeah, I went there and told the old man we wanted to talk to the big boss again. The old man said he'd convey the message but did not confirm anything - so even if we continued waiting here all morning, we got no guarantee that that Oniwabanshuu guy is gonna show up." Finishing his report, he turned to gaze purposelessly at the throng of people. "I'd bet my hide that he ain't gonna show up, anyway," the blond shrugged. "He's about as tight-lipped as a scorned spy can get."
"So we're waiting for the block of ice!" Kamatari concluded for Chou and shot Saitou a menacing glare. "Why wasn't I briefed about this before being set up for the mission?"
Saitou eyed the spy strangely. "The same reason why you're not told when I go to the toilet, to bed, to lunch, to dinner, and to my other duties." He relaxed slightly in his seat and held the cup of tea in his hands, taking a few sips. "Look, you don't always have to know what's on the drawboard. A bit of intelligent guessing can get you everywhere sometimes."
"I'm frankly too exasperated with your attitude to argue anymore," the petite warrior pouted and shook his head. "All right, all right, we'll wait for that Oniwabanshuu guy to show up," Kamatari held both hands up in a pose of surrender. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to drink my tea before it gets cold."
"I wasn't aware that I have been stopping you from drinking your tea," Saitou replied nonchalantly.
"Shut up!"
------------------------------------------
"Here," Aoshi held out a plain looking string of sorts, disrupting Soujirou's perusal of the wooden weapons booth. The latter had noticed the taller man disappear somewhere else just now, but thought the better of asking. Now, however, he was back, and doing something decidedly out of character. Therefore Soujirou shrank backwards slightly and stared at the string like it would explode anytime. "You had better tie your hair up before people start mistaking you for a girl," the ninja solemnly expounded, not a muscle in his face twitching.
"Oh, right," Soujirou quickly agreed when he remembered the state of disarray his hair was currently in, and the kind of misunderstandings it was bound to induce sooner or later. He accepted the band sheepishly and said, "Thank you."
Aoshi said nothing in return, turning to glance at the shadows on the street, then at the position of the sun. "We still have some time," he mentioned, his attention returning to Soujirou and the stall. "Are you looking for something?"
Soujirou broke away from staring at some of the items on display at the question, smiling simply in reply. "Not really. I was just wondering if I needed a temporary hitting stick of sorts for this assignment, since Yukishiro-san said he has donated my previous one to a matchstick seller," the smile continued on, unwavering. "Oji-san, can I try this one out for a while?" He called out to the owner of the stall, who waved and nodded lazily while fanning himself with the towel around his neck. "Thank you!" The polite wanderer then drew from the wicker basket the wooden weapon of his choice - a pair of daishou, complete with the sheaths.
"These are made of standard ply," Aoshi remarked from a side, "they won't make very convincing weapons even if you had the skill."
"Considering the organisation we're up against, I'm thinking that a weapon for show is probably better than none at all," Soujirou quickly responded, while making a few experimental swings on the makeshift swords. "Ah, Shinomori-san, please hold them for a while," he handed the relics to Aoshi and smiled as sweetly as he could. "I need to get my hair out of the way."
Wordlessly, Aoshi took the wooden weapons into his hands and let Soujirou tie his hair up into his usual half-high ponytail. That done, the wanderer was about to collect his wares back from their temporary holder when he saw that Aoshi had started moving into the distance already.
"Shinomori-san?" He stood rooted to the spot, unsure of what conclusions to draw from the other man's actions.
"Let's move on," the stoic man responded. Then, after a pause, added, "I already paid for them."
Soujirou automatically exchanged glances with the shop owner, who nodded knowingly and waved lazily at him. "Oh," he said, feeling stupid all of a sudden. Quietly, he slithered through the crowds in the trail of his companion, and when alongside, said, "Thank you very much, Shinomori-san... but that wasn't really very necessary."
"Who knows how long you would have meandered at that booth in indecision?" Aoshi replied plainly, while handing over the makeshift daishou, causing Soujirou to wince at the accuracy of those words. Even Enishi often poked fun of his wishy-washiness, as the ex-mafia boss had so kindly put it. The wanderer kept his head bowed for lack of a better response and simply followed the lead of the taller person meekly.
They turned from the busy street down into a more controllable alley, packed from lane to lane with fixed stores, inns and restaurants. Although not as crowded, it still emitted a festive feel, so Soujirou kept staring. As he did, however, he noticed that a few building owners who were relaxing outside their inns or restaurants took one look in the duo's direction and turned ghastly white in the face. That was before they quickly stumbled back into the safety of their stores behind them and slid the doors tightly shut as if in wordless protest.
Three times it happened, and countless other times Soujirou found that people stared openly at them with slack jaws, before he finally turned to Aoshi to ask, "Do we smell that bad?"
Evidently also having noticed the weird stares directed at them, Aoshi frowned slightly and shrugged. Further down the path, a few younger looking inn assistants were squealing and pointing at the duo instead of gasping and gawking, and Soujirou decided that he didn't know which event was more frightening.
While quickly glancing around to map an escape route, he spotted several familiar looking figures in the distance. As they got closer and closer to the open-air table at the corner where the figures were seated, Soujirou's smile stretched into a beam. He tugged at the sleeve of Aoshi's haori.
"Shinomori-san, look!" Soujirou happily pointed down the direction of the three figures seated by the table, sipping away at their tea. Aoshi took a glimpse and nodded stiffly in acknowledgement.
"Okina mentioned that we should be looking out for them," the taller person dully stated, folding his hands inside the sleeves of his haori as a sudden gust of warm wind rushed from behind them.
"Are they part of the mission today?" Soujirou asked curiously, as they continued to go near the unsuspecting trio, two of whom were engaged in animated conversation about something, the other simply sipping his tea.
"Not necessarily," Aoshi replied plainly, strolling along. His cryptic answer drew a sidelong glance from his companion, and so he continued, "It will depend on what he has to tell us; as well as what he wants from us."
"Hmmm..." the wanderer made a random noise, trying to read the unreadable expression of the stone-faced Aoshi. He gave up after a while and turned to look at the trio of police and spies instead, noticing that Saitou had shifted his line of sight slightly and was now looking in their general direction. Even so, it did not seem like he had noticed the duo, so Soujirou raised a hand high above his head and waved while exclaiming happily, "Saitou-san ! Over here !"
That certainly caught the beady-eyed policeman's attention, for he lifted his eyes to look at the duo fully, still posed in the middle of sipping some liquid out from his teacup. Soujirou continued waving, just in case Saitou couldn't catch them in the crowd.
Saitou, however, most certainly did.
The ex-Shinsengumi captain's eyes widened - as if he had just seen a ghost.
And the unswallowed tea that was still in his mouth sprayed out in a mighty jet across the table.
Where Chou was sitting.
The world jerked to a spinning halt.
Aoshi and Soujirou were so shocked at the sudden uncharacteristic action from the man they had known to be a lean, mean reasoning machine that they abruptly stopped in their steps, frozen in place with a disbelieving gape until they could be sure that the person sitting there was Saitou and not an imposter in disguise. Kamatari, who had not been at the receiving end of the spat-out tea, shrank back and stared at Saitou with an expression alternating between horror and disgust, while Chou kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut, as drops of clear green liquid slowly dribbled off his chin onto various parts of his clothing.
The Mibu wolf alone was unconcerned. He wiped the tea that had inadvertably stained his chin and coughed, putting the cup back down on the table slowly.
"Excuse me," he announced calmly, without a shake in voice or apology in tone.
"I thought I saw a couple of old friends."
... to be continued
--------------
10/7/04
tougenkyou . net / xd
a/n
guess what kind of haori aoshi and soujirou were wearing to make saitou act so ooc?!?! GASP! all of you are geniuses! how did you find out?!
:3
more shinsengumi mad misalignments next chapter. XD
misaoshiru - opium?! oops!! O.Ox as usual, that was a terrible slip up on my part. i'll go back to correct it. Minsada - muchos thankies! i'm a fan of long chapters myself. XD Sailor-Earth13, yes, the mysterious artist will step in soon. XD hope this chpt was exciting enough! Zeromaru, hahaha you got it spot on. :3 we'll see kenji and eni in another chapter or so only, though. XD sasori - woo hoo! you be right! i wus kindda thinking of the ring XD aww, eni? jealous? maybe he's happy he got time with the red instead. :P
WARNING: Spoilers! If you don't know who Kenji is, please read at your own risk!
WITH DUE CREDIT: This fic was loosely spun off from two fics - "Over the Sting" by sasori and "Chronicles of a Rurouni", one of my earlier fics.
------------------------------------------
Yesterday's Shadow is Tomorrow's Twilight
------------------------------------------
Chapter 32: On the Trail
"I remember Kiyamachi was a long stretch of road where much fighting took place from since Kyoto's advent until recent times," Soujirou remarked casually with a small gesture, as he made his way out of the temple via a small beaten track in the forest with Aoshi. "It seems strange that a parade of peace will now be going through it. How the world changes."
"It is also a street famous for some of the better food you can find in Kyoto," Aoshi stated factually.
"I never knew you were a gourmet, Shinomori-san!" The wanderer gasped, more shocked that the tall ninja had spoken than the fact that he had spoken about where to find good food.
"Vegetarian food does get to you after a while," Aoshi replied with a slight scowl of displeasure. "This way," he continued, quickening his pace towards a spot in between two large trees that likely acted as an exit. Aoshi stepped through the threshold first and glanced around, before nodding at Soujirou.
The boyish wanderer nodded back and stepped into the open as well, realising that they now stood at a long stretch of empty street that presided between the forest and the back of a row of establishments from left to right. Soujirou was careful to test to see first if anyone was nearby and had seen their exit. There proved to be none.
"People hardly come here during the day," Aoshi quickly informed, and, as if he had not just stepped out from a secret pathway through the forest, started strutting down the stretch of road without a care in the world. "It would be less suspicious if you did not act so tensed up all the time."
Snapping out of his tensed state, Soujirou laughed nervously and quickly fell into step alongside the tall ninja. "I'm sorry," he offered sheepishly by way of apology, "I'm too used to expecting danger at every turn of the corner."
Aoshi did not say anything in response to that.
"Anyway," the wanderer bubbled, suddenly remembering the haori he still had in his hands. "Since Kashiwazaki-san was so kind as to lend us these clothes, we might as well make good use of it!"
As Soujirou walked and spoke, he spread the haori wide in between his outstretched hands to firstly measure the size of the garment, and secondly to examine the pattern imprint. "It's been so long since I've worn a haori!" He chirped brightly, noticing that Aoshi was not particularly concerned about what the long overcoat looked like and was already slipping it on. Not wanting to appear like a hapless frog in the well, Soujirou quickly donned the garment without much thought, noticing how it smelled of something familiar, although he could not quite put his finger onto the odour at the moment.
As he pondered, they turned around at the corner of the empty street and sidled their way through a dirty side alley before finally coming out onto a busy main lane bustling with festival activity.
There were stalls lining the street and people jostling to get a go at some of the games that were being offered. The hustle and bustle of a throng of happy people could be heard even in amongst the loud noises the festival was making collectively. Soujirou found himself completely taken aback by the mood. A banner above him confirmed that this was Kiyamachi. He had been to festivals before, but ever since his wanderings both him and Enishi had taken great pains to avoid crowds, so it was indeed a long time since he was able to immerse himself in the mood of merry-making.
Aoshi glanced briefly at the younger person, then moved ahead to walk through the streets. Seeing that his companion had taken action, Soujirou quickly scurried after him, determined not to be lost in the crowd. "I'm sorry," he said, when he got within range, "I should pay more attention. But Shinomori-san, how are we supposed to find our target in a crowd as huge as this?"
"We are not going to find him," was the sombre reply, causing Soujirou to blink in confusion. Stopping by a stall that was displaying a variety of wooden replicas of banned weapons, Aoshi clarified, "We are going to let him come to us."
Soujirou lapsed a thoughtful, wondering silence, staring at his quiet partner for answers to questions he did not know how to phrase.
------------------------------------------
"You know, everytime I come to Kyoto, it'll always be having a big or small festival somewhere around," Kamatari remarked from his seat on the dark, wooden bench that had been laid out on the corner of the one of the quieter part of the festival street. "There's just something about Kyoto and festivals, isn't that right, Captain Saitou?" He smiled coyly at the police in plain clothes, sitting adjacent to him, casting furtive, scrutinising eyes at the busy conglomerate of people trying to get as much fun as they possibly could.
Said eyes narrowed further and turned their attention to the police spy instead. "We're not here on holiday, if that's what you're trying to tell me."
Kamatari felt the smile slipping from his face. "Spoilsport!" He stuck a tongue out at the stoic-faced Saitou, who had returned to staring at the crowds. "I bet you don't even know the meaning of 'fun'! Types like you are best suited for being stern-faced police post officers sitting at the counter and laughing at the faces of anybody who come to report a case-"
"Hold your horses!" A new voice entered the scene, and footsteps on the gravel could be heard getting closer and closer. Saitou gave the newcomer a sidelong glance, whilst Kamatari turned to face him completely. The unmistakable figure of Chou stepped into sight from the mass and he saluted with a grin. "Quarreling over something so early in the morning already?"
Kamatari snorted, even as Chou took a seat on the bench opposite Saitou. "If /you/ had to partner this massive pain in the ass during a festival first thing in the morning, you'd be screaming your lungs off at him too."
The broomhead made as if to reply, but a waiter cut him short, zipping past the crowds and other tables towards their particular one with a loud, "Yakiniku soba and three cups of green tea!" He slammed the dishes and cups down on the table, collected the money already prepared for him there and whisked away to serve other customers.
Whatever Chou had wanted to say earlier melted into a sly, "Soba for breakfast? You've not changed since Tokugawa, Saitou."
The police officer snapped apart a pair of chopsticks and calmly rebutted, "House broom for hair? You've not changed since crawling out from the litter pile, Sawagejou."
Kamatari ended up having to restrain a shrieking Chou for the next few minutes.
When the mood was calmer and tempers weren't flaring as much, some time later, Kamatari sighed and cupped his chin with his hands out of sheer boredom. "So," he directed his glance at Saitou, who had finished his noodles in the time it had taken Chou to be placated, "what /are/ we supposed to be on the lookout anyway? We're not going to be of any help if you don't tell us."
Saitou took this opportunity to glance quickly at the still fuming Chou, who had taken to drumming his fingers on the table in a show of his frustration. He noticed Saitou staring expectantly at him and said unhappily, "Yeah yeah, I went there and told the old man we wanted to talk to the big boss again. The old man said he'd convey the message but did not confirm anything - so even if we continued waiting here all morning, we got no guarantee that that Oniwabanshuu guy is gonna show up." Finishing his report, he turned to gaze purposelessly at the throng of people. "I'd bet my hide that he ain't gonna show up, anyway," the blond shrugged. "He's about as tight-lipped as a scorned spy can get."
"So we're waiting for the block of ice!" Kamatari concluded for Chou and shot Saitou a menacing glare. "Why wasn't I briefed about this before being set up for the mission?"
Saitou eyed the spy strangely. "The same reason why you're not told when I go to the toilet, to bed, to lunch, to dinner, and to my other duties." He relaxed slightly in his seat and held the cup of tea in his hands, taking a few sips. "Look, you don't always have to know what's on the drawboard. A bit of intelligent guessing can get you everywhere sometimes."
"I'm frankly too exasperated with your attitude to argue anymore," the petite warrior pouted and shook his head. "All right, all right, we'll wait for that Oniwabanshuu guy to show up," Kamatari held both hands up in a pose of surrender. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to drink my tea before it gets cold."
"I wasn't aware that I have been stopping you from drinking your tea," Saitou replied nonchalantly.
"Shut up!"
------------------------------------------
"Here," Aoshi held out a plain looking string of sorts, disrupting Soujirou's perusal of the wooden weapons booth. The latter had noticed the taller man disappear somewhere else just now, but thought the better of asking. Now, however, he was back, and doing something decidedly out of character. Therefore Soujirou shrank backwards slightly and stared at the string like it would explode anytime. "You had better tie your hair up before people start mistaking you for a girl," the ninja solemnly expounded, not a muscle in his face twitching.
"Oh, right," Soujirou quickly agreed when he remembered the state of disarray his hair was currently in, and the kind of misunderstandings it was bound to induce sooner or later. He accepted the band sheepishly and said, "Thank you."
Aoshi said nothing in return, turning to glance at the shadows on the street, then at the position of the sun. "We still have some time," he mentioned, his attention returning to Soujirou and the stall. "Are you looking for something?"
Soujirou broke away from staring at some of the items on display at the question, smiling simply in reply. "Not really. I was just wondering if I needed a temporary hitting stick of sorts for this assignment, since Yukishiro-san said he has donated my previous one to a matchstick seller," the smile continued on, unwavering. "Oji-san, can I try this one out for a while?" He called out to the owner of the stall, who waved and nodded lazily while fanning himself with the towel around his neck. "Thank you!" The polite wanderer then drew from the wicker basket the wooden weapon of his choice - a pair of daishou, complete with the sheaths.
"These are made of standard ply," Aoshi remarked from a side, "they won't make very convincing weapons even if you had the skill."
"Considering the organisation we're up against, I'm thinking that a weapon for show is probably better than none at all," Soujirou quickly responded, while making a few experimental swings on the makeshift swords. "Ah, Shinomori-san, please hold them for a while," he handed the relics to Aoshi and smiled as sweetly as he could. "I need to get my hair out of the way."
Wordlessly, Aoshi took the wooden weapons into his hands and let Soujirou tie his hair up into his usual half-high ponytail. That done, the wanderer was about to collect his wares back from their temporary holder when he saw that Aoshi had started moving into the distance already.
"Shinomori-san?" He stood rooted to the spot, unsure of what conclusions to draw from the other man's actions.
"Let's move on," the stoic man responded. Then, after a pause, added, "I already paid for them."
Soujirou automatically exchanged glances with the shop owner, who nodded knowingly and waved lazily at him. "Oh," he said, feeling stupid all of a sudden. Quietly, he slithered through the crowds in the trail of his companion, and when alongside, said, "Thank you very much, Shinomori-san... but that wasn't really very necessary."
"Who knows how long you would have meandered at that booth in indecision?" Aoshi replied plainly, while handing over the makeshift daishou, causing Soujirou to wince at the accuracy of those words. Even Enishi often poked fun of his wishy-washiness, as the ex-mafia boss had so kindly put it. The wanderer kept his head bowed for lack of a better response and simply followed the lead of the taller person meekly.
They turned from the busy street down into a more controllable alley, packed from lane to lane with fixed stores, inns and restaurants. Although not as crowded, it still emitted a festive feel, so Soujirou kept staring. As he did, however, he noticed that a few building owners who were relaxing outside their inns or restaurants took one look in the duo's direction and turned ghastly white in the face. That was before they quickly stumbled back into the safety of their stores behind them and slid the doors tightly shut as if in wordless protest.
Three times it happened, and countless other times Soujirou found that people stared openly at them with slack jaws, before he finally turned to Aoshi to ask, "Do we smell that bad?"
Evidently also having noticed the weird stares directed at them, Aoshi frowned slightly and shrugged. Further down the path, a few younger looking inn assistants were squealing and pointing at the duo instead of gasping and gawking, and Soujirou decided that he didn't know which event was more frightening.
While quickly glancing around to map an escape route, he spotted several familiar looking figures in the distance. As they got closer and closer to the open-air table at the corner where the figures were seated, Soujirou's smile stretched into a beam. He tugged at the sleeve of Aoshi's haori.
"Shinomori-san, look!" Soujirou happily pointed down the direction of the three figures seated by the table, sipping away at their tea. Aoshi took a glimpse and nodded stiffly in acknowledgement.
"Okina mentioned that we should be looking out for them," the taller person dully stated, folding his hands inside the sleeves of his haori as a sudden gust of warm wind rushed from behind them.
"Are they part of the mission today?" Soujirou asked curiously, as they continued to go near the unsuspecting trio, two of whom were engaged in animated conversation about something, the other simply sipping his tea.
"Not necessarily," Aoshi replied plainly, strolling along. His cryptic answer drew a sidelong glance from his companion, and so he continued, "It will depend on what he has to tell us; as well as what he wants from us."
"Hmmm..." the wanderer made a random noise, trying to read the unreadable expression of the stone-faced Aoshi. He gave up after a while and turned to look at the trio of police and spies instead, noticing that Saitou had shifted his line of sight slightly and was now looking in their general direction. Even so, it did not seem like he had noticed the duo, so Soujirou raised a hand high above his head and waved while exclaiming happily, "Saitou-san ! Over here !"
That certainly caught the beady-eyed policeman's attention, for he lifted his eyes to look at the duo fully, still posed in the middle of sipping some liquid out from his teacup. Soujirou continued waving, just in case Saitou couldn't catch them in the crowd.
Saitou, however, most certainly did.
The ex-Shinsengumi captain's eyes widened - as if he had just seen a ghost.
And the unswallowed tea that was still in his mouth sprayed out in a mighty jet across the table.
Where Chou was sitting.
The world jerked to a spinning halt.
Aoshi and Soujirou were so shocked at the sudden uncharacteristic action from the man they had known to be a lean, mean reasoning machine that they abruptly stopped in their steps, frozen in place with a disbelieving gape until they could be sure that the person sitting there was Saitou and not an imposter in disguise. Kamatari, who had not been at the receiving end of the spat-out tea, shrank back and stared at Saitou with an expression alternating between horror and disgust, while Chou kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut, as drops of clear green liquid slowly dribbled off his chin onto various parts of his clothing.
The Mibu wolf alone was unconcerned. He wiped the tea that had inadvertably stained his chin and coughed, putting the cup back down on the table slowly.
"Excuse me," he announced calmly, without a shake in voice or apology in tone.
"I thought I saw a couple of old friends."
... to be continued
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10/7/04
tougenkyou . net / xd
a/n
guess what kind of haori aoshi and soujirou were wearing to make saitou act so ooc?!?! GASP! all of you are geniuses! how did you find out?!
:3
more shinsengumi mad misalignments next chapter. XD
misaoshiru - opium?! oops!! O.Ox as usual, that was a terrible slip up on my part. i'll go back to correct it. Minsada - muchos thankies! i'm a fan of long chapters myself. XD Sailor-Earth13, yes, the mysterious artist will step in soon. XD hope this chpt was exciting enough! Zeromaru, hahaha you got it spot on. :3 we'll see kenji and eni in another chapter or so only, though. XD sasori - woo hoo! you be right! i wus kindda thinking of the ring XD aww, eni? jealous? maybe he's happy he got time with the red instead. :P