A Wolf in Officer's Clothing
(official fic, not teaser)
Prologue
The police officer sat at his desk, scowling at the pile of papers. He hated paperwork. It was one part of his job that he didn't think he'd ever learn to like. But he'd avoided this batch for too long while working on other projects, and now he had this mess to deal with. He sighed and lit a cigarette. At least he could enjoy something while working his way through this stuff.
As he shuffled through one stack of files, yesterday's newspaper caught his eye, and he paused to read the headline of an article on the front page. Frowning, he picked up the paper. It was just a small article. Deaths by natural causes didn't often make interesting headlines. Anyway, most people in this day and age probably didn't even realize the significance of it. Katsura Kogoro, one of the three greatest revolutionaries of the Bakumatsu, had died.
The officer leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. Katsura. They had been at opposite ends of the war, but in the end, they weren't so different. There were a number ofpeople during Bakumatsu who had truly believed in what they fought for. Saito scowled. Of course, now most of them had either warped into sickening parodies of what they once had been, while sitting comfortably in some government position, or else they were dead. It was that simple. Katsura was just another name to add to the list.
Saito felt a heavy feeling in his chest. Even though they'd opposed each other in the past, Saito felt the loss. Because honestly, when it came down to it, there weren't many left in Meiji worth remembering. Of the three great revolutionaries, only one was left alive: Toshimichi Okubo, Saito still wasn't sure what he thought of that man.
He began digging through his paperwork again.
Battousai.
Papers spilled from his hand. What had brought him to mind? But Saito knew. Battousai had been one of Katsura's best. He'd disappeared ten years ago without a trace: was was either dead, mad, or working for the government. Saito tried not to think about it. None of the possibilities was really something he wanted to contemplate. He preferred to think of Battousai as the teenager he'd fought ten years ago at Toba Fushima. Someone who fought for his beliefs. Someone who hadn't let Meiji destroy what he was.
Battousai was a legend nowadays. Nothing more. People could hardly believe that he'd really existed. And those few, like Saito, who had faced him and survived, realized what sort of fate existed for a man such as that in Meiji. Especially with the sword ban in place. Saito tried to picture Battousai as part of the sword police. An amusing mental image if nothing else. It involved a lot of bloodshed as the corrupt officers were cut down by their own colleague. Saito smirked as he was reminded why he didn't join that branch of the division, and shuffled through some more papers.
No, Battousai was no legend to him. But the memory was something to hold on to. Because as long as there was no word on the red-haired hitokiri, then Saito was free to imagine him still alive somewhere, fighting for justice as he had a decade ago. It was a pleasant thought. Because this wolf was rapidly running out of people he could respect in this day and age.
Author's Note: Okay, this is the OFFICIAL start of Saito fic. The first "Chapter" is only a teaser, and you'll probably even see it somewhere in the fic... but honestly, I didn't want to pull it. Some people seemed to like it as a one-shot, so it will remain there...
And a big thanks to sueb262, lolo popoki and FrostPhoenix for beta-ing! (hugs to each of them!)
Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review! (sweatdrops) Saito is sooo hard to write sometimes... I really hope i didn't bite off more than I can chew this time!
Dewa mata!