Same old disclaimer drill: I do not own the two animes, Ruronin Kenshin and Peace Maker Kurogane. You guys must know this by now. Or I would have this in manga or anime form.

Saitou's Suspicions

If there is one person Okita was hoping he would not meet as he limped back into the compound with the help of the Ichimuras, it was Saitou. The man had a mind as keen as his blade. Hijikata was fairly preoccupied by a certain Itou's attempts to destabilize the morale of the group such that he had failed to register Okita's absence. And the former inspector Yamazaki was away in Aizu furthering his medical studies those few days.

Their lack of a suitable spy had led Okita to playfully suggest Saitou for the post. Hijikata muttered something about giving it some thought. The trio told their little tale about Okita tripping and falling to the concerned sentries, who swallowed the lie. Just when they were nearing Okita's room…

"I'm amazed you are still alive." Okita froze. That calm voice could only belong to one person. Tatsu went pale as Saitou stepped out from the shadows and fixed his glare on them. Grabbing Tetsu by the collar, he hastily excused himself, and ran off dragging a reluctant Tetsu. Saitou's eyes darted quickly to Okita's injured leg.

"So the great Battousai kicked you in the shin? But going by the absence of his blood on you, I say he survived as well… What on earth are you playing at, Okita?" The air sang as Saitou whipped out his sword. Okita watched unflinchingly as the blade pointed at him, as if daring Saitou to kill him there and then.

"Saitou-san, do you intend to kill me as you did Tani-san and Takeda-san?" Okita referred pointedly to two late captains who were rumoured to have met their unfortunate ends by Saitou's sword after they were suspected of consorting with the Imperialists. Of course, the official word was they were killed by unknown persons.

"Has Kondo-san or Hijikata-san given the orders?" His voice caught. The two leaders had watched over him as a child, trained him in kendo. They had lived, dreamt and laughed together since he came to the Kondo's dojo as a child.

"Hn, so you do remember them. I thought you have thrown all that away on account of your red-haired friend." Saitou sheathed his sword. "No, they have not given any orders because Yamazaki and I decided not to let your little friend's identity be known." Yamazaki knew? Okita closed his eyes. No wonder Yamazaki had been checking in on him so often these days for fear of him leaving the compound.

"Will you be telling them then?"

"No. I'm leaving this little hellhole before they ask me to kindly lop off your head, you ahou. Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving with Itou." Saitou sneered as he mentioned that name. "And Toudou, the ahou." The tone of his voice was almost sad as he said the Eighth Captain's name. Shaking his head slowly, Saitou left Okita.

Saitou-san, why? Why are you leaving with that person? And Toudou too? Suddenly, Okita felt very lonely as he stood outside his room.

The next day, the whole compound was abuzz. Itou was leading the breakaway faction of his followers from the Shinsengumi, a total of thirty men, including two captains. Okita watched them go with a sinking heart. Saitou was stoic, his expression unreadable. Toudou was obviously torn between his loyalties to his old comrades and those to his new ones.

Toudou often glanced at Itou with some degree of hero-worship. No wonder considering they both hailed from the Hokushin Itto Ryu and Itou was a good swordsman. However, he cast backwards glances over his shoulder as if reluctant to leave.

Okita suddenly felt faint. His world had tilted suddenly on its axis and he couldn't make any sense of events. Hijikata was by his side, supporting him. "Souji, please go take a rest in your room," he coaxed gently. Toshi was gentle now, but Okita had been around him long enough to know forgiveness was not among the man's strong points. Itou and company would have hell to pay later.

Okita decided he did not want to think any further on this matter. He allowed himself to be steered back to his room.

"The Japan we know will change both quickly and tremendously," Katsura paused to take in the morning air. He and his red-haired bodyguard were sitting at a roadside inn after they had left Kyoto on important business. "Sakamoto has sent word to Tosa and Satsuma. If we can get their support…" Katsura rushed on as Kenshin nodded.

They were in friendly parts. Here, Katsura could relax and tell his dreams for the future. They must believe in those dreams, if only to justify what they had committed.

"We can do this without any more needless bloodshed, Kenshin," Katsura patted him on the back. Those early assassinations had bothered Katsura as much as they had bothered Kenshin. "If Sakamoto played his cards right, we can restore his Imperial Majesty to power and force the shogun to abdicate, without…"

It was too good to be true. There would be some fighting, hopefully not as bad as those disastrous campaigns after the Ikedaya incident.

"Kenshin, after all this is over, I'll marry Ikimatsu, we'll have a dozen kids… then you can find a nice girl, settle down, and start a family…"

"Katsura-san, do you really think I can do that?" Kenshin replied. The eyes that met Katsura's were much too old to be in a face so painfully young. Katsura soberly patted the young man's shoulder. They were both sick of the killing. Even if he didn't lift a blade, the smell of blood was getting to Katsura Kogoro.

"Takasugi-san's illness has worsened." Katsura informed Kenshin on the current health of his one-time captain from the training fields.

"I see."

"But his students are carrying on where he left off. They have the support of the people… One in particular, Sagara Souzou, managed to turn a rag-tag group of peasants into a…" Katsura felt he needed to cheer up his companion. The road ahead was long enough.

Kenshin looked away. Sou is dying. Maybe he would never see Sou again. It was for the best, wasn't it?

Author's notes:

Saitou was rumoured to be the Shinsengumi's assassin when other members fell out of line. However, this is doubtful. The Shinsengumi did have a reputation for the brutal punishments, sometimes carried out covertly, as in Serizawa's assassination. Takeda was captain of the fifth patrol before he was killed for his Imperialist connections. Saitou was credited with his death in many accounts although he may not have been in the vicinity of the killing. Tani was Seventh Captain. His sudden death is shrouded in mystery. Popular accounts had it that Saitou lost his temper with Tani over some matter and killed him.

Hijikata and Kondo did get their back on Itou and company eventually. Saitou was their spy sent to join the Itou group. Itou was killed, his followers ambushed. Many were killed, including Toudou, by their former Shinsengumi comrades.

The three-way peace treaty between Tosa, Choushu and Satsuma was the brainchild of Sakamoto. The then shogun was forced to abdicate in 1867. An uneasy truce was reached between the imperialists and the bakufu. However, later developments led to Tosa Fushimi and the Boshin war where the last vestiges of Tokugawa power were destroyed.