Chapter 1 - Meetings

Kyoto, 1863

"Okaasan! I'm going out!" a young man called out behind him, making quick work out the gates before anyone - mother, father, grandmother - could raise a voice in protest. Free free I'm free! She would skip, but young men don't skip. Another thing to remember...

And even as a young woman... she was past the age of skipping. But Hidejiro... until recently was a young woman named Hide, couldn't resist a grin. Of satisfaction, of triumph... she only had to wait for them to be busy with breakfast dishes and now -

She looked at the streets of Mibu village before her, those that led into Kyoto proper. On this early spring day in the year the foreigners called 1863, she was free. While she should have brought a haori for the slight chill - a man's kimono had significantly fewer layers than a woman's - temperature didn't matter. It didn't matter if it rained. She could do as she wished without looking over her shoulder - all of the pressures... from her parents to play along in this cross-dressing charade; to keep her brothers behaved; to stay scarce from those well-meaning men who thought that Hidejiro could use some martial arts or sword training. No - this morning she was free.

But not entirely, she realized, hearing the clatter of the swords on her hip and feeling the constraints against her chest as she took a deep breath. Bindings... and reasons for her to not tarry in Mibu. They may be able to fool those country samurai, but people in the village that had known her since she was born? Best to not have any rumors going on about the "strange" Yagi girl. At this rate, she reflected, Otousan will never get me married off.

As she neared Kyoto, Hide almost by instinct turned towards the district where the cloth dealers and kimono shops were... thinking of how it would soon be summer, and time for something new... a yukata the color of summer grass as it stirs in the breeze, dotted with small flowers. That would be a dream of simple beauty... Waiting by the gates, looking up at my beloved as he comes to see me to the Gion festival and laughing with him as he takes my hand.

She shook her head. What a thing to think! Soon she would be as man-crazy as her two cousins, the biggest flirts in all of Kansai region. But still, the idea...

It is such a nice idea.

Saitou Hajime made his way down the back streets of Kyoto. Weighing ties to the past and assessing the change that beckoned. The group lead by Kondou Isamu from the Shikan dojo back in Edo offered more than just a job - it was a chance to do something. To live as a samurai - to show those fools in Aizu that laughed behind his father's back about their status, that his son could serve Japan in a time of crisis and keep its capital city safe. To restore the honor he took from his family when he killed that ahou. The Yakuza... he frowned. It was time to cut those ties. But one thing he accomplished this morning, he had secured lodgings with what little money he had. A simple room above a teahouse - some privacy.

There was something about staying at the Yagi house with the others. It wasn't just the tension between the two factions of the Miburoshi; between those who supported Kondou Isami and those who were the men of Serizawa Kamo, but that house...

Was this the best temporary lodgings to be found? It felt so strange to be boarding with that family. A perfectly nice, ordinary family. A man and his wife, and mother-in-law. Two sons, servants. They seemed so nice.

Two sons. He smirked slightly at that. Did those people think that he and his comrades were fools? But then after seeing how the others seemed to accept that... perhaps they were. Was he the only one who could tell the difference between a man and a woman, and when one was doing a poor job at posing as the other? For all the tales of wild nights in Shimbara and Gion, perhaps they weren't as knowledgeable as they believed themselves to be.

Yet while it was amusing to a point it vexed him. She was so bad at playing a man that it must be a recent disguise, and given that she seemed reluctant enough to learn swords she wasn't the type, like those in stories, who cut her hair and decided to fight as a man for whatever reason. So the reason must be, then...

They wanted to protect the young girl against him and his comrades. After all, who were they but a group of country samurai?

But weren't they -still- samurai? Yagi-san himself was a farmer - one long past working in the dirt, as evidenced by his crest and swords and fine city home. But the honor was still there, from Kondou and Hijikata, from farms themselves, to himself. That girl would have remained untouched. But no, they were not even allowed the chance to behave as honorable men. The polite bows hid deceit.

That was why the trickery gnawed at him. That and it also bothered him the other morning... to see how roughly they treated her. The girl also seemed bothered as well, as evidenced by the look of grim shock she wore. She has such an expressive face... for a moment he half-wondered what her real smile looked like, but shook away such foolish thoughts.

It was that expressive face that sailed past him, to his surprise. What is she doing outside of the house?

What secrets did this girl have? A rendezvous with a lover?

Or… was the reason that this family kept secrets was not to protect the girl's virtue, but for darker purposes? Saitou was very aware of the politics that circled around the group - of shifting alliances, inside and outside. Could this "Hidejiro" be a part of this? A woman spy wasn't unheard of, however, this one seemed rather ill at ease.

It only added to the mystery. And that's why he followed - he would not see this group be taken down by some mischievous girl.

Where am I going? Hide didn't really know as she made her way through Kyoto's ancient streets, past places she knew so well.

And I don't really care. That, too, added to the reckless feeling of freedom that made every step lighter. Even before a trip into the city alone was rare, and then it was for a quick errand or another. After all, young girls don't run about unescorted.

Saitou called out Hidejiro's name once as he followed her meandering through the streets, then twice, and she still didn't turn. He smirked, she really was bad at this… couldn't even remember her name. As she turned down an alley he followed, and was pleased to see that it was a dead end.
I thought this went to… Hide turned around to leave, only to see her path blocked by… one of them.

Saitou smirked. "Lost, Hidejiro-kun?" He leaned slightly against the wall but was no less alert. "You should pay attention… especially when someone's been following you for some time." He chuckled slightly, she looked so surprised, even though she was trying to hide it. If she were a spy, either she was the worst or being transparent was part of her game.

"Ah… I'm sorry… Saitou-san," she remembered his name just in time. Saitou Hajime. From Edo. Part of Kondou-san's group, not Serizawa-san's. "I was on an errand for my mother…" Yes, that would explain it, wouldn't it?

"You are a poor liar, Hidejiro-kun," he chuckled but he was also smarting from her lie - did she think him a fool? His eyes narrowed as he glared at the small figure in front of him, how her cheeks were now flushed, and he couldn't shake how ridiculous she looked with those swords at her waist. A thought crossed his mind and he smirked. "So you've been taking lessons… let's see what you've learned."

Hide almost jumped. "I've just started, Saitou-san." She wanted to refute his "liar" comment but she was lying… so many lies upon lies that it was suffocating her.

"Maaa… excuses, -boy-," he relished calling her that. "Draw, or are you a coward?"

I may be going along in deception but I am not a coward. Her eyes flashed and she drew her sword in what she hoped was a decent interpretation of how Kondou-san had taught her. She tried to keep her hands steady and her gaze even, because that tall, smirking man was coming to infuriate her more than scare her. But while she wore real swords, she had only practiced with shinai…

He expected her to be this awkward, but the fire in her eyes… he had almost expected her to burst
into tears, like a woman would. He drew his sword and charged to her without warning.

She only had a moment to react. I don't know what to do! Her sword felt heavy and she didn't know what do - hit him? And his was coming at her - she let go of the hilt and ducked against the side of the alleyway.

"Tch…" He stopped, shaking his head, and picked up her sword. "Better a coward and not fight than pull a stunt like that." I wasn't going to hurt her…

"I've just begun training," she protested again, aware of what a terrible excuse it was.

"You're very bad at this," Saitou returned his sword to his saya. "Even for a girl."

"What?" Hide used her best boyish voice. "I'm not…"

"I'm not a fool, and I know what you are." Saitou watched her through narrowed eyes, that horrid tone she affected . "So where were you going? Who were you going to see?" He crossed his arms, standing in the middle of the alleyway.

She looked away, and slipped back into her natural voice. "I wanted to get away. Just for an hour…" she looked down at her hands, wondering why she felt so compelled to confess to this man - but he had asked, and she needed so badly to tell. Hide knew that her parents would only be upset since they were the ones forcing her into being who she wasn't, and her brother was too young to understand. Since that night she had cried on her mother's shoulder as her grandmother watched… she had promised to herself to keep what she felt from her family and always smile - today, out of the house, was to be her time to escape from being Hidejiro, the Yagi boy and Hide, the dutiful daughter and just breathe the free air… "I simply needed to get out."

Get out? Something within him… an idea came to mind. "You can be my page, Hidejiro-kun. I'll keep your secrets; I'll even teach you something about swords. And you will," he chuckled, and that little room flashed in his mind, "get out."

She tossed her hair, and said in that horrid voice she affected, "and if I don't agree?"

Saitou smirked and moved closer to the girl, grabbing her wrist so she wouldn't run. "Then… young lady… I'll make sure some know. You should not be so naïve… you can see what kind of men Serizawa has with him." Most of Kondou's men were good men but those men of Serizawa's were rough around the edges, and not in a friendly way like Harada.

Blackmailed… I'm being -blackmailed-… she thought in terror. Who was this man?

But what choice did she have? "Hai," she said in a low voice.

"Speak up, boy," he moved closer.

I'm not afraid I'm NOT. She looked up at him, her eyes resolute. "Saitou-san, I will serve as your page." Hide stepped away, pulling her arm free from his grip and bowed, formally.

He couldn't help it as he grinned. Good she has some fire in her… it would have been tedious if she had begun weeping. "Then tomorrow, Hidejiro-kun… be waiting at dawn. We start -early-."

Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and I'll have dreamed all of this, she thought - and hoped - as Saitou moved aside, and she walked back to Mibu in a daze.

That girl, Saitou walked back towards that teahouse, a smirk still on his face, she has no idea what she's just agreed to. And this was also for the others… that this game this girl in playing at will not cause damage to what they were all working for.

Then he realized that he didn't even know her name. But there would be time for that later.

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Authors Notes: An attempt to blend NHK's tagia drama "Shinsengumi!" with Rurouni Kenshin. I don't own any of these characters... a big thanks to those who inspire me. :) A work in progress.