Past and Future By Hitokiri-san

Authoress' note: F-I-N-A-L-L-Y. I'm sorry. Two months for a chapter? Jesus. But contrary to common believe I'm still considered alive, so bear with me, ne? I think I'll be off until December due to my mid-year exam, which galls me to no end. I would like to greet my old readers again! Especially: Koe- san, who is a great artist and a great friend; CeeCee-san, my fellow Chinese writer and a fantastic one at that; are-en-san; who moved me very much by putting me on her Author Alert list; B-chan-san, a Misao-chan reborn; liemtenshi-san, who is going to trip at the ice rink *ouch!*; and the sacred night-san, who astonished me by her fic "History behind the History". At last, Lucrecia Levrai-san, who is a real great support to me! I know I owe you all a re-review but...*sneaky smile* gomen nasai!

The wooden shack would no longer be a safe place to meet the man, Takehashi decided. He waited till the footsteps of his "Gumi-chou" had died away, then followed out of the shack like a soundless shadow. Attaining the air of a blushing boy meeting his lover for good measure, he crept away from the winding cobblestone path and into the shelter of the garden bushes.

A pair of ebony eyes followed him as he leapt past the garden wall before they, too, vanished into the darkness of the night.

And tonight, Kami decided, would be the night when the paths of spies, samurai and hitokiri cross.

*~*

He tapped his foot softly, growing uneasy.

From his spy knowledge he knew being alone in the street at the dead of the night wasn't what you call "wise". Heck, even common civilians know about that one - thus the street was completely deserted.

Takehashi shrank into the shadow, waiting. He should be passing this way. No, he *would* be passing this way, there's no doubt about it. And if he didn't - well, may the devils blast him for goodness' sake.

As if on cue, a dark figure emerged from the end of the street, careful and silent.

But not careful enough.

Before the person knew what was happening, a hand had grabbed him from the side - into the shade of the row of houses. Horror struck him, not fear for his life, but for his mission...

// I cannot die, I have to deliver the news to Takehashi, I promised him that...//

With much vigor he attempted to unsheathe his katana, only to be stopped by a firm hand pushing the hilt back into the sheath.

"Baka, it's me." A voice muttered softly.

"Takehashi - ?"

Takehashi nodded, but noted immediately that the man couldn't see it with his back turned to him.

"Shut up and follow me." The man scowled irritably, but decided to save it for later. Takehashi sprinted off towards an alley, the other following closely behind. One wrong turn and the damned spy would be gone like the wind, he knew; and unfortunately Takehashi just didn't have the considerate habit of waiting for his comrades.

Curse him, then.

Just as the man was thinking about inconsiderate comrades Takehashi skidded to a halt in front of an alley stuck with wooden planks and other varieties of objects, then jumped cleanly over the ten-feet-high stack without hesitation.

The man cursed softly in earnest. Apparently thoughtfulness *was* really a foreign idea to Takehashi. He in turn glared sullenly at the stack. What did Takehashi think he was, Hitokiri Battousai? He might not be such a fantastic spy like Takehashi, but at least he knew his abilities - there was no way, none on earth, that he could jump over that whole stack without falling flat on his face.

A small laugh traveled down from above him. He looked up; Takehashi was perching on the brim of the roof, extending a helping hand. The man scowled; then took up the offer and held on to his outstretched hand.

"You're a bastard, Takehashi."

The spy just laughed, stifling it a bit as not to wake whoever sleeping in the houses near them.

"You're going to be a bastard for the rest of your life," the man added with a smile.

*~*

Two men lurking in the covers of a dark alley; the strangest and most dangerous place one could think of going at this hour. But close by nothing stirred and all was well; Takehashi knew that the place was a blind spot free of Shisengumi patrols.

"So, Himura's secret guest has just disappeared into nowhere?" Takehashi sat cross-legged on the granite floor, frowning lightly. That wasn't expected at all. He had bid the man to keep a close watch on Himura; and from the reports the windows in the Battousai's room were constantly shut - not even opened once. And he never came out from his room. Knowing Himura as a self-effacing man, the spy wasn't at all surprised by all these - what intrigued him was one question only.

Where did the other person - the so-called Himura's brother - go?

Well, as reluctant as Takehashi was to admit it, those Ishinshishi warriors did at least have something called eyes. It was okay for Himura himself, but anyone that was unidentified couldn't just stroll around the headquarters like that. Someone would at least have stopped him for an investigation.

"Unless he's a twin brother?" Takehashi suggested after a moment of pensive silence.

"Huh?" His companion blinked; a funny look crossing his features. "And your point is?"

Takehashi pondered solemnly. "S'pose our Himura-san got a twin brother who's a...well, anything - who will know the difference if that twin just walk around the place with a Ishin uniform, ne?" he wondered at his own stupidity in missing that point.

"No," the man rejected thoughtfully, drawing a slanting finger across his own face, "he would't have the scar."

"Good point."

"But, who will notice?" a freezing voice penetrated from the shadows.

A gleam of silver, a strand of redness caught in the faraway light of a lantern.

Mauve eyes, sparkling with unknown emotions.

Both man jumped up from their leisurely postures, reaching for their weapons. Both watched as Battousai approached, sword out and stepping forward with swift ease.

Seeing who it was, Takehashi released his grip on the sword hilt. "So you've finally come."

"It's you on the roof that night, then." Battousai stared at him with a completely blank look, his features betraying not a trace of his emotions, "so what do you want?"

Takehashi smiled, a challenging look in his eyes. "You should have understood that letter, Himura-san."

"I understand it completely."

"So why are you asking me this question?" Takehashi inquired good- naturedly.

"You misunderstood my question. I was asking - what do you want from helping me?" Battousai replied calmly.

Takehashi was taken aback.

"What do I want?" he repeated blankly, "just to avoid the hitokiri from getting killed, Battousai-san."

Battousai scowled mentally at the emphasis of his nickname.

"And how, may I ask, would you benefit from this?"

"Ah, Himura-san! Have being a hitokiri tainted your mind that badly? I don't think you'd believe it if I tell you that I helped you for a little goodwill, ne?" Takehashi cocked his head amiably.

Battousai returned his katana into the saya with an audible snap. "No, I don't. I don't trust anyone...except dead people." The hitokiri answered candidly, "Betrayal is, indeed, the most popular game in these times. I, for one, am not falling for it."

"You will either say your real purpose or receive my judgment." He concluded coolly, staring straight into the spy's hazel eyes.

Takehashi clapped enthusiastically. "Fitting words for a hitokiri, Himura- san. Except that I have no other real answers to offer." He stared back at the smaller samurai, ignoring the inky bangs that tickled his face. Takehashi was willing the hitokiri to believe him, a task that was deemed almost impossible. Being trusting meant offering your life to a potential enemy, and working as a hitokiri certainly was no help.

Himura would never trust another person completely...save one particular one.

To everyone's great surprise, Battousai brushed his bangs and smiled, a faint smile. "Are you sure you don't want to offer those fantastic answers of yours, spy-san?"

Takehashi blinked in ultimate surprise; then his features quickly returned to their previous innocence.

"Eh?"

Battousai smiled pleasantly. "Don't play innocent with me, spy-san. I have seen many a spy before. Your stance, your words, your eyes..." he left the comment hanging in the air for a while, "all resembles a spy."

Takehashi shrugged in a so-what style, sobering. Playing naïve was pointless for now. "Himura-san - I would like to ask you a question."

Battousai knew the answer. " Yes?"

" I'll be blunt. Where's your brother?"

"You must mean sessha." Another figure appeared beside Battousai, smiling disarmingly.

Hazel eyes widened before returned to their normal size. "So...what is your business in the Ishin headquarters?" this question was directed at the rurouni.

The rurouni blinked - that was a good point.

Seeing that he had no intention of answering, Takehashi merely shrugged. "Well, I won't force it out of you. It isn't my business anyway."

" *I* am quite interested in your business, however." Said Battousai, frowning slightly. "It doesn't make sense. Why'd you help me?"

The inquiry didn't manage to ruffle Takehashi's pleasant-as-ever exterior. "A thickskulled idiot deserves at least a little bit of help...in this case a *pair* of thickskulled idiots."

He laughed softly. Battousai looked like he was going to pull off a Ryu Tsui Sen anytime soon.

*~*

The lanterns swayed; ebony eyes trailed up to the top of the tall piled-up boards.

"Well well well...look what we have here." A voice muttered, young and cheerful. A less sensitive man would never have noticed the serious note in his tone. " A stack-up of such height...one would have expected a Ishinshishi base behind."

It was a joke, but in the meantime he was serious. Thus none of his group did so much as chuckle.

"Gumi-chou?" one of his men indicated the stack-up. "Shall we pull it down?"

A flicker of a presence flitted through the wooden boards and into the captain's mind.

Okita Souji smiled cheerily. "Oh no we don't. We shall make a temporary alliance with these piles.

*~*

The ghastly feeling of a ken-ki. It was undetectable, more a feeling than an actual sense. Maybe their minds were kidding them...

Or maybe not.

Battousai noticed that his three companions - Kenshin and Takehashi - have both gone rigid. He cursed at his own loss of ki sensibility. It was a pain- in-the-ass, he decided.

"Hey? Spy-san?" he touched the spy in bafflement.

A crow shrieked misfortune into the night air.

"Someone's coming."

Footsteps reverberated in the alley, disrupting the serenity of night.

"Aa."

Someone was coming from behind. Their only choice was...

"Jump over the stack." Kenshin instructed his companions.

It was a good idea to come up with.

But then a hint of light shone on them from behind the wooden planks.