A/N: Heeeey people! How are you? How have you been? Hope you have had a better week than I did! So, my pc has just been revived this Monday, I lost my previous chapter, and most of my files but HEY! I wrote it again...slightly altered. But still as good, don't worry. It was the motherboard by the way and that fried the CPU and ah...! It was a little hellish, but we pulled through, we pulled through.

Enough of that; on to the story!

Historical facts:
1. 25th of September: Nagakura Shinpachi was attacked as he was leaving an establishment in Gion by the Chousuu spies - Miura Isetake, Arakida Samanosuke and Kusunoki Kojuurou - within the Shinsengumi. The attack on his life was successfully averted, because Saitou was there with him.
2. 26th of September: Saitou tracked and subjugated Arakida Samanosuke and Kusunoki Kojuurou. Miura Isetake is killed in the process. All three men appear on a roster of Shinsengumi regimental soldiers.
Edit: 3. Lunar calendar sets New Years around mid-February.

A fine lady...

...and announcements.

"Tokio-sama, Tokio-sama, wake up…"

Tokio felt a nudge pull her out of the lull of sleep. Hushed whispers registered a moment later. The fact Hachiro didn't bark up a storm when whoever it is that is trying to wake her came in, only told her this was someone she knew and most possibly a woman.

"Tokio-sama, come on…"

She concentrated on the sound. Ah, yes, she was right; it was Ochako. But her eyes wouldn't open. Odd; all of the times Ochako came to wake her up, she was quick on her feet. She struggled with the feeling of her eyelids being as heavy as lead. She swayed some, but managed to sit up in; when she finally found the strength to open her eyes…it was dark.

Huh. No wonder her eyes wouldn't open, it wasn't morning yet—or even close to the break of dawn. Even Ochako was wearing her night clothes…! But she was there. Something must have happened, her brain immediately warned and she was almost standing immediately.

"Wait; Tokio-sama, let me tell you what's going on first." The woman caught her lady be the wrist, forcing her to sit back down. "Nagakura-san is here in the mansion and from what I heard…they took him to the medical room."

Tokio stared shocked. "So late at night!?"

Ochako was baffled. "Well, if he's hurt, does the time-?"

"Oh!" She started laughing "I didn't mean it like that; I meant, if he's brought here now that means he was out and about so late at night, closer to us than the headquarters…is he wearing the Shinsengumi uniform?" She shook her head no. "Then he wasn't on patrol. See? it's odd."

"…maybe he was somewhere you can only visit during night-time."

Of course; the brothels. How could she miss that? Tokio shook her head disappointed, but no less interested. "Did you see if he was injured badly or not?"

"I only saw him from afar, as one of the servants guided him to the room to wait for the doctor, but no one helped him walk so how serious can he be?"

She snorted. "You never know!" Shaking her head once more she continued. "They are very proud, the whole lot of them. they could be dying and still wouldn't allow anyone to carry their weight." Ochako inhaled sharply. "N-not that he's dying of course! Not at all, I bet he's well…"

But the damage was done; Ochako looked very upset and shocked at the same time. Tokio knew she had a small crush on the shy man, why did she have to run her mouth like that? ah, damn it.

She thought fast. "Why don't we sneak out and go there to make sure of his condition?"

That seemed to brighten up not just her, but the entire room! Heh, she was so easily pleased, it was adorable. But that was just the start of the night. She managed to quiet Hachiro enough – sadly, the pup did not stay behind as they had hoped, but took to following them around – to slip out unnoticed. The difficulty was getting there, equally unseen.

Nagakura's arrival must have sparked something big, for there were many people in the hallways. The number of guards that usually patrolled outside was inside the mansion this once – imagine how many were positioned outside – despite all being freshly awakened, much like herself. That pegged the question of how hurt was Nagakura-san exactly, to cause this state of alert; on the other hand, she didn't want to further worry Ochako.

They reached the med room much later than they had planned, and Ochako and her even had to split up if they didn't want to be seen. Of course, Hachiro stayed with Tokio, making for the perfect distraction: whenever she wanted the path cleared, she'd send the dog out and the guards would dismiss any and all signs as Hachiro roaming around. Then, when their guard was lower, she would dart out and make it to the next corridor. She felt quite accomplished for her method.

"Nagakura-san, hello!"

He nearly jumped out of his skin while going for his sword at the same time. "T-Tokio-san!" When he saw who it was though, he relaxed. "Why are you here? And awake at this time of night—go back to sleep."

Hachiro had come in right after her, yet didn't go to Nagakura to growl or show his teeth. Maybe he sensed the man was hurt, or maybe it had to do with the fact his mistress went to greet him first, but the dog simply looked on from his spot in the corner of the room—the same he was sent to after he almost attacked Hijikata.

She sighed in relief to see no major or even a lot of damage dealt on him: all he had was evidence of a nosebleed, a couple of scratches on his face and a torn but not all that bloody sleeve. "I am most glad to see you are well, much better than I feared when I saw all the men running about. That does beg one question though. What has happened?"

Nagakura became downcast and looked away from her; she noticed he was watching out the open balcony door, at the garden. "The traitors," he finally said "they showed their faces tonight." Her intake of breath was sharp. "They came for me as I was leaving…an establishment from Gion."

She tried not to roll her eyes for two reasons: he was a grown man who visited yet couldn't say "whorehouse" and he was actually visiting that place.

"But you intercepted them."

"Not even close…" shame rose to his cheeks. "I was far too distracted." He said it between his teeth; she fought with herself not to slap her forehead with the palm of her hand. "They came at me out of nowhere, it was insane! They simply walked out of the shadows, as if knowing exactly where I'd be…" They did; probably because Nagakura had visited the certain establishment a number of times and always took the same path home, but decided not to speak those thought out loud. "They had their swords drawn and all three of them were prepared to take my life—people from my own unit no less."

Ah, maybe that was the reason he was so ashamed; he didn't manage to spot them, even if they were right under his nose. "Even Hijikata-sama couldn't spot them, Nagakura-san; take heart in the fact you now know their faces."

At the same time, she started cleaning the blood off of him—she took a rag, dipped it in water and started.

"Indeed…thank you Tokio-san, you are too kind." He inclined his head towards her and a faint smile crossed his lips. "Anyway, they came for me; said I was the next best target, as Saitou-san proved too difficult and Okita-san nearly untouchable. And they attacked."

"But you fended them off."

He shook his head. "I wasn't capable. I was, still am, to be honest…inebriated." Then how-? "It was Saitou-san who took them on," he answered her question, obvious on her face that now changed from wonder to surprise to doubt. "He used to always come, to keep an eye on me. That had changed ever since we were given the Shinsengumi positions though. And he wasn't supposed to be there tonight either, but Harada-san who was supposed to come with, fell ill. Okita-san was on patrol so Saitou-san decided to indulge after so much time."

He sighed. "He even drunk more than I did, but it didn't bother him."

She tried not to be too angry at the news; on one hand, he was going there again. On the other, he just saved his friend's life.

"No matter, he had fallen a little behind, as a guest at the-…establishment" she did roll her eyes this once "was causing trouble. He took it upon himself to sort it out because the man was harassing the girls and the owner is a stringy old man who cannot stand up to anyone without help. So, he wasn't with me when I left…but I don't need to tell you how fast Saitou-san is, nor his excellent instinct at knowing when trouble is near. And just as I drew my sword to lamely defend myself, he swooped in from the left and pushed all of them back." He snorted self-depreciatingly. "He just looked at me straight in the eye and said he'd take care of it, I could come here and alert people."

He shook his head. "That man is scary to watch yielding his sword in a dark alley at night; I can't imagine what his opponents thought. Probably that was their worst-case scenario come to life…well, second worst; the first would have been to face Okita and Saitou together." He sighed, looking out again. "So of course, they ran."

"So, basically you're telling me Saitou-san is chasing the traitors as we speak."

"If he hasn't caught them by now. Wouldn't put it past him…"

"I see." She considered; there was something in this tale she didn't like. And after a while, it clicked; Nagakura was a wise man, a strategist, one who saw ahead. He was also prudent. How did he get himself into such a mess? Only one answer existed. "Have you ever had so much to drink before Nagakura-san?"

"No, now that you mention it." The gears seemed to start turning in his head, too. "It was the first time I ever had so much to drink in general in fact. Kept cursing how it was this night they chose to target me. Unless…"

"It wasn't a coincidence, Nagakura-san." She stated it with confidence. "Don't be ashamed now and answer me truthfully: did you lie with a woman tonight?"

"…yes…"

She knew it! "Was it the first time you ever lay with her?" He nodded fiercely, finally piecing it together himself. The remaining headache from the drink seemed to evaporate as his eyes held their old shine, kept fixing his glasses that kept sliding down the bridge of his nose. "Was she by any chance the one who kept pouring your drink for you?"

"Yes, it was." He shook his head disappointed in himself and life in general. "Who would have thought; Hanabi works with the Chousuu spies."

"This is maybe a good time to tell someone about it."

"Ah, right; we should. But don't worry, if Saitou-san is looking for them that would be his first thought and Hanabi would be his first stop."

"That's both a relief to hear and a tiny bit alarming."

"My sentiments exactly."

"We should definitely tell someone though."

"You won't be doing anything of the sort; you will be going back to your room now, to sleep and rest. I'll inform the first guard of these news. Yes?"

She gave him a dubious look. What was that about? Up till now he had no problem with her presence and talking to her, suddenly he cared? Suspicious. An eyebrow rose sky high, almost not visible because of her hair, who were loose and covered some of her forehead.

But he persisted. "Yes?"

She simply bowed, but had one blow to deal of her own. "As you wish; but Ochako is probably coming to visit, too—be kinder and don't mention Hanabi to her. and I will leave once you are fully taken care of."

His cheeks became an interesting shade of red that she glimpsed as she was finishing up; then she snuck out – always using Hachiro as a distraction for the guards – and she felt satisfied. So satisfied, in fact, that Nagakura chose not to mention how alike Saitou-san's expression her own had become for a second there. Thinking back on that, oops; wasn't their first ever fight about Saitou going to the red-light district? He hoped he did no more damage tonight.

.

.

"Hajime!"

She had looked around her three times to make sure no one who knew her or of her was close by; she was in the middle of the Kyoto market so anyone not close enough would never hear what she had to say, which was why she basically looked over her shoulder. She even did as she approached the tall man, clad in his Shinsengumi uniform – he looked really nice in it, she decided – as hurriedly but properly as she could. Come to think of it, it wasn't too proper, she nearly lifted her fabrics a little to reach him.

The man in question stopped dead in his tracks; he had an uncanny ability to pick up her voice and even her silhouette through crowds or all sorts of places. This once was no exception. His head immediately snapped in the right direction and spotted her sooner rather than later; when he saw her haste, he took steps towards her to save her the same of accidentally showing her ankles to people, such impropriety, he could have smacked her…

But he was happy to see her again. He realised when he literally perked up at the sound of his name being called and the faint smile that reached his lips. How naïve of him.

"Hajime…" she bowed a little finally reaching him; he returned the gesture. When she looked back up her smile was big, but he could sense something was eating at her, urging her on. "I get to see you in person after so long! How are you?"

"I am well; work has been hectic though."

"Oh, I know; Nagakura-san was at the mansion two nights ago, too, told Matsudaira-sama all about it."

Uh huh. He had a feeling he was about to receive a scolding. Also, he was under the impression the whole deal with the traitors was kept very hush hush from the higher ups; did she find out about it? "Do you know why he was there?"

She looked left; she looked right. "…yes…" she did it again. "It was about the Chousuu men."

Of course, she knew; why did he even bother? "Who blabbed?"

"Nagakura-san did…did he not tell you?" Oh no; she felt like she just put the shy man in a whole lot of trouble. "We…met…after he was attacked…"

Shit; she betrayed him! He hadn't said anything to Saitou, oh no. But why not? And why didn't he tell her to keep it a secret then, oh Buddha? She felt like kicking herself and Nagakura-san because now the expression on Saitou's face was a mix of "I'm going to kill him" and "ah shit". He took a deep breath. "And what did he say exactly?"

She looked at him well and for a long time. "He said he was attacked by the spies; while he was going back; miraculously, you were there and helped him escape; then you went after the spies…" She only shared the basic information, and only what she deemed absolutely necessary, staring right into his eyes to judge his reaction to every piece of information. So far so good. "Which is also one of the reasons I wanted to see you in person! How is your health? Were you hurt? I heard you arrested two and killed one."

"You hear too much…" That was said with a touch of humour; she felt relieved. "My health is fine. One of the reasons they attacked Nagakura when he was somehow, um, incapacitated," he really didn't want to say drunk; he had the faint hope the man hadn't spilled about going to Gion and Saitou felt like saving his hide as long as he could "all three of them, risking not only exposure but also their lives, was because they aren't up to par with us in terms of skill."

"Ah, I see; they thought it was a certain kill." He nodded affirmatively. "Too bad for them, you were there."

"Walk with me," he said out of the blue "I'm still patrolling."

"Indeed." He had the curtesy to make smaller steps so she could catch up in her kimono. "What did the other two say? Any more spies within your unit?"

"That is between Hijikata and Matsudaira-sama and not for you to know." She made a face. "To my knowledge though, that was it. At least the extremists who wanted to do something about the existence of this unit. Maybe there are others but feel this appointment is fine with them after all. Who knows."

She tried not to sass him. "I see. But there is one source you can use—what did Hanabi sa…y…"

Ah shit, now she had really done it. The man stopped walking altogether and stared at her, hard. She immediately looked away, thinking as quickly as she could for a way to not give away all that Nagakura told her. His staring didn't abate though. "Where did you hear that name?"

"…I heard it randomly, Matsudaira-sama mentioned her…didn't say who she is, only she was a source that could be used as an asset maybe, in the future. Is she one of the men's lover maybe?"

Her words made sense; yet something about the way she spoke was off. Despite this being a very possible way how she had heard the name, it felt disingenuous. And he could always tell when she was lying, because her nose twitched twice as usual…much like now.

He shook his head. "What else did Nagakura tell you?" And when she became her own special brand red of shame, spluttering to make excuses, he waved her off, recommencing his walking. "Save it; answer me."

"…pretty much everything."

A pause for silence; and then "I'll kill him."

She giggled. "No," she drawled "please don't; I spent so much time patching both of you up, it'd be a waste."

He grunted. "Well, I don't like wasting time."

"Good; I even cleaned up his little cuts and bruises that night, so it feels all the more personal."

She blanched, seeing Saitou stopped walking for the second time since he suggested the kept moving. Swallowing with difficulty, she tried not to fold under his scrutiny. "…you mean to tell me you saw him that same night?" and the bastard told him none of it? "How?"

"O…Ochako heard…sh-she was worried so she woke me up to tell me about it…and I went to check on him immediately."

A weird feeling he had never experienced before, overtook him. It was strange but it was potent. It shook him. "You went to see him in your nightclothes?"

She considered; think fast Tokio. He looked very incensed, too she feared to tell the truth. She was concerned for poor Nagakura-san, too—but what person keeps such things a secret and doesn't tell the only other person about it, really now?

"No…" He glared, eyes even smaller; their amber hue felt almost threatening. "No as in, I don't remember…"

He covered his face with his eyes, slowly turning into a pinch of the bridge of his nose. "I'll kill him and then I'll kill you, too. And after I kill you both maybe you get to learn some basic manners!"

"I was upset! I saw all the guards running around the mansion, I thought he was in a critical condition."

What was it, he couldn't place it. It was affront sprinkled with anger and a sense…of something. Entitlement? But for what? He shook his head, trying to shake the thought away with it. "He's not your-…you can't just leave your room underdressed to go find strange men in rooms, hasn't anyone told you that?"

Well, when he put it like that he maybe had a point… "But no one saw me, at least." His glare became fiercer. "What else do you want me to say? I did it now, it happened!"

"No wonder he told no one he met you that night, he was too ashamed. And at least apologise!"

"To whom? No one saw me, anyway."

"But I know now."

She was a little shocked at his matter of fact tone but a tiny bit entertained, too so she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. "So what? You'll tell on me?"

"Do I have to tell on you to get it in your head to be more proper?"

She started laughing now, no bars held. "Hajime, I was trying to ascertain his state of being, not chat him up. I think I am in the clear as far as morality is concerned, yes? I'm not the one making a habit out of visiting whorehouses anyway. If only he had changed his schedule a little bit we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Or he had a sound sense of judgement and chose another geisha, one that didn't actively try to get him wasted to later get him killed."

Oh, now he remains silent, does he? Of course, he does, it's not in his best interest to keep talking. "Not to mention, if someone else had more of a mind on keeping an eye on their friend rather than being entertained they could have helped with making better decisions!"

"Nagakura is one of the most prudent men in our entire organisation," he expertly deflected and conveniently started walking again "he is the one helping others making the right decisions. Why should anyone think he needs help in that exact field?"

"Only because he is provenly terrible with women!"

"Shyness does not equal terribleness."

"Excuses!" She crossed her hands but immediately uncrossed them since it wasn't too easy to walk like that and the prick never stopped to address her accusations. "You just didn't want to stop whatever you were doing to pay attention to him."

"Shinsengumi police criminal acts, not people having fun."

"Then I guess I just found one piece of information Nagakura-san was wrong about."

"And what is that?"

"He was under the apparently ridiculous impression most of the times you accompanied him there, you did it to help or keep an eye him. Poor thing was taken in by your few words and misleading series of nods that you think consist of actual communication. How could he have known better?"

She was taking so many shots, he was really taken by surprise. "Men!" she stated, shaking her head. "Men, really; if I had half the mind, I could have conquered half of Japan already. Gullible idiots, all of you…"

"What's gotten into you?"

"What's—don't you dare ask me that! You act all high and mighty because I walked out of my room in two layers less than usual and my hair down while you two got into such a mess, even if it turned out well, simply because you couldn't distinguish between geishas and wanted to get some drink!"

"But drinking and keeping company isn't seen as something indecent by the public; what you did is though."

She couldn't believe the stubbornness and the ego of this man! She let out a "ha!" and shrugged her shoulders, far less casual than anyone who had ever moved like that was. "I should just find myself a sponsor and walk around Kyoto all airs and grace until father decides to marry me off, then, seeing that is all the rage with fine young ladies lately and the public doesn't see it as indecent."

"S-sponsor!?" The look he gave her was unrivalled compared to all the other furious glares she had ever received before and that vague feeling from before, the same one that set this whole thing in motion, came back full throttle and damn, it burned his throat like something acidic. "Imbecilic, unwritten rules of society that only became the norm because of a handful of generation's worth the indecency and reach!"

"Oh dear, it sounds almost as if everything that's accepted by the public as decent isn't always the right thing!"

She had never seen him turn so red, it was very rewarding. She didn't know exactly why but he could feel the internal struggle of recognising he was wrong and owning it in front of her, or maintain some semblance of ego and just leave while she was being cocky and ground her a little. This was the first time in his entire life he felt like this, he was always the one in the right, in his mind at least, which was the one opinion he valued higher than the rest, as his father had advised him years ago. But now—damn it, what was it with this woman?

He looked between her and the ground; he started bubbling over…until he exploded! "I didn't even see Hanabi, okay?" his words were almost whispered, teeth gritted. "He picked her before I so much as sat down with them and they went to her personal, separate room before I was even served first drink."

"But you got there at the same time."

His superior look surprised her. "I don't enjoy rushing through formalities; I prefer to salute the owner before heading to the common room." His answer surprised her even more and she couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her.

"…what happened with Hanabi in the end?"

"I arrested her that same night; she tried to deny it but I scared her into confessing and is indeed working as a liaison from now on. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out though. He had never been so sloshed for as long as I'd known him, had to be a woman's job. As you so aptly put earlier, women have their way…" Her head turned away discreetly. "Though not all have such high aspirations as all of Japan, or half of it for that matter."

"It was a figure of speech."

"Your speech."

"I only said it because I'm so close to the emperor," she hastily explained.

"Uh huh; aim to rid yourself of unwanted suitors first and then try to play war general."

"Shut up. I divorced you, didn't I? I can probably do something for myself, too."

"Idiot. But bringing that up, we just received a letter the divorce will be official in two months."

"Good to know…"

But then, he shook his head. "Really? A sponsor?"

"It is all the rage lately; Sa-chan's been telling me all about it. Tries to pretend she didn't get one for herself, but I know better."

He felt his skin crawl at the memory. "Of course, she did." Where else would Tokio hear of these things on the first place? "Why are you still friends with that horrible person anyway?"

Her smile became teasing. "She's bad only if you are a tall, serious samurai with a penchant for rules."

"Or her husband; poor bastard."

"Not poor at all! he got many privileges with this wedding that his previous merchant class didn't allow him, so don't feel too sorry for him. Besides, Sa-chan is a very giving person. If she's so hell bent on cheating on him, I have no doubt in my mind he must have done the same or at least treats her badly. But since it was a rushed wedding…"

"I love how you try to defend her."

"I'm not; I am sharing my opinion. We talked at length in letters in which, surprisingly, she admitted what happened between you two." He looked at her shocked. "I know; she owned up to it. So, she's not all that bad…she simply asked me to keep it a secret. Oh, and she says hi."

"Tell her I said she should try to be a good wife."

Effectively diffused, the situation turned from an escalating argument to pleasant conversation – for their standards – in a twist she wasn't expecting. "I shall," she assured and stopped walking. "I am afraid I took myself too far away from the guards, I am heading back."

He too stopped. "Should I walk you back?"

"Ah, no, I'll be fine." She glanced behind her but tried to move forward, towards him. "I…I am simply happy you are well. I also heard good things about you, so you are on a good track, yes?"

"It seems so."

"Congratulations on arresting those people, too."

"Thank you."

"And—…" She moved forward again, but stopped before doing anything, again. Colour rose to her cheeks when she realised why she had moved forward—she had meant to touch him…! how shameful. Her head fell too much in her small bow, to hide her rising colour. "Never mind, farewell. Hope I see you sooner next time."

She bowed respectfully again and left in a hurry, though nearly as urgently as when she reached him. He watched her mingle with the crowd for a while, until he noticed and recognised one of the guards of the mansion seeing and moving to reach her.

He walked away feeling a little conflicted until he realised, last time they had spoken was thirteen days ago; the night after she found out about Kamo and his lover's fate. And then the next thing she hits him with is this, how could he not be defensive? He seemed to do no right lately, putting his friend in danger on the list of inept things he did, yet all people did was offer him accolades. This all must have been some elaborate hoax from the universe, for daring, even for a moment, to enjoy her company in any shape or form.

But he wasn't a man who gave in easily. He would fight this until there was nothing left to give.

.

When he'd said he'd fight it, he never thought his word would be put to the test so soon; then again, he never did ask her how come she was at the market that day. If he had, he wouldn't have been so blindsided by the news she gave him, three days later, in the middle of the night, at their usual spot.

"I am soon to depart for Aizu!"

She said it with a bright smile and immense pride, as if she wanted to leave. Yet wasn't her who didn't want to leave Kyoto? What's going on?

It must have shown on his face though, because Tokio seemed to mentally berate herself and shake her head before explaining. "Every year, Teruhime-sama and I take a trip around some part of Japan that always ends in Aizu, where we stay for a…short while, so I can see my family."

Oh right; she was from Aizu. And her mother and sisters hadn't visited with her father. "Despite our annual trip being delayed this year due to all sorts of circumstances, Matsudaira-sama finally allowed his sister to organise it; we are leaving the day after tomorrow."

"That is…very soon."

"Indeed; I was only told this morning."

"Don't lie to me," he scolded her "weren't you buying provisions for your trip the other day at the market, basically?"

She blanked. And then "I'm such an idiot. Of course! That's why Teruhime-sama…sometimes subtlety doesn't work on me," she admitted, shaking her head. "And to think we always take the certain things with us! But it was never me who bought them before, so I didn't realise." She sighed. "I should have known."

"Idiot."

She crossed her hands, obviously unamused by his attitude. "Be that as it may, I also bought this" she reached into her sleeve "to store some of my special anti-poison brew and give to you."

She produced a tasteful glass bottle with a wooden stopper and offered it to him with both hands, as proper. She even bowed her head, as etiquette commanded. He remained looking between her and the thing. After a moment too long, he pocketed it. "Thanks," his tone non-committal "but you could have gotten something a little plainer. If I ever try to use this with anyone around, they'll know it was a woman who gave it to me."

That was the last thing she expected to hear, or be called out on, so she changed ten colours! "W-what's wrong with…? I didn't even think of that and…so, so what if…?"

He couldn't help it, he smiled at her indistinct spluttering. "Idiot," he snapped again and this once she glared. He really enjoyed messing with her, didn't he? Then he had the gull to call Hijikata a sadist…she shook her head and he smirked. "So how long is a little while?"

"Three…maybe four months."

Months; did she say months? He was expecting to hear weeks. That's a long time for two women to be on the road, entourage or not. They could easily fall victim or worse, should anyone recognise them, they could easily be abducted. He let none of that show though, he kept his face neutral. "That's not a little while, but not too long in general."

"Well, I haven't seen my mother and my sister for a while; I think a full month is the minimum I could spend there. I have so much catching up to do! My youngest just turned ten so she'll have a mountain of things to tell me, to be sure. And of course, we do take time to visit some places we never had before; this year Teruhime-sama set a course that's simply…amazing, for anyone studying to become a doctor. Ah, I am too excited."

"I hope you get to have a fun and educational trip."

"Thank you, Hajime! Well, come to think of it, September is ending; we will most probably be back for New Year's. Couldn't allow Matsudaira-sama be by himself on such a night."

"Matsudaira-sama has three wives; I think he will be fine even without you."

He was only trying to make a joke, but she seemed to be experiencing an epiphany. "You're right…I could spend the holidays there and come back around the end of February." Did he just dig a bigger hole for himself? "Teruhime-sama has never seen an Aizu New Year celebration after all—oh, they are too beautiful, you'd love it." Yes, he did just do that. "Oh, I can't wait for our trip now…!"

She turned to him to catch his eye. Seeing he was as neutral as usual, she assumed he shared her excitement at some level, or at least appreciated her mirth, so she allowed herself a wider smile. He acknowledged her feelings with a subtle nod and she became even more excited. "Have you ever been to Aizu, Hajime?" He nodded no. "Oh, you must come! Whenever your post allows you anyway, you must surely visit. You of all people are going to enjoy your stay." She giggled in her sleeve like a proper lady. "We are very militant up there."

"Then I should definitely visit."

"Indeed…I'd be happy to hear you liked it."

"I'll try."

She deemed him honest; she beamed at him. "Oh, I meant to ask you," she suddenly remembered "is Saitou Hajime the name you use after you left your home or do you go by another formal name?"

"I used to be called Yamaguchi Hajime; Saitou is the family name I chose for myself after I left."

"Thank you for telling me."

"Why the sudden interest?" seeing her cheeks colour once more, and feeling too caged in by all the new information, he decided to tease her again. "If you get into any trouble up there, don't you dare ask Kondo for me formally!"

She started giggling; slowly but steadily, it turned into a laugh and all sort of formality was discarded when he added "laugh all you want, I'm not coming."

"I…I'll try," she managed between hiccups of mirth "not to get myself into any sort of trouble. I won't leave my guards' sight."

"Or your dog's; that animal is amazing, Hijikata did tell me about the incident."

Clouds appeared in her sunny eyes as a sigh escaped her. "Sadly, I cannot take him with me. But they did promise me to take good care of him—and I asked them to let him sleep in my futon if he so desires, poor thing wants to have my smell around him."

Distantly, he recalled how he had taken and actually kept the tuff of hair her kidnappers had sent Matsudaira-sama – in fact, it was on his small office in his room as they spoke – and felt a mighty bit like a dog; the shame was a little much. he promised to throw it away as soon as he entered his room.

"Those were some news, I admit."

He referred to her cryptic note that pretty much eluded to some ground-breaking ones. But he wasn't sarcastic, not really; these were some big news and he definitely felt like some things went into perspective. What sort of perspective that was, he didn't know yet. "But why didn't you tell me tomorrow?"

"We leave the day after tomorrow with first light; I'll need a good night's sleep!"

"I meant normal hours, idiot."

"Oh." But she simply blushed. "Matsudaira-sama didn't want anyone to know…he asked us to keep it secret until after the fact, to avoid any leaks."

He stared. "But you told me?"

"…you won't tell anyone."

"You went against his express orders." He was mildly impressed, to be honest.

"I am no soldier." She blushed deeper but this once avoided his gaze. "And I wanted to see you one last time before I left…"

Ow, it hurt; something inside him hurt at that but couldn't fathom what. It hurt even more when she continued with: "Besides, I didn't want you to find out I left from a third party; I wanted to let you know personally."

Why she wanted that was simple. She wanted to see his face when he heard the news. And something about the cool, nonchalant way he was taking everything, left her unsatisfied. It prompted her to compensate by putting all of her energy in big smiles and over the top enthusiasm that not all of it was honest.

"You did well. I am slightly concerned you disobeyed Matsudaira-sama, but no one will know, so maybe I'm overthinking things."

Her smile became a little guilty. At that, he put his hand on top of her head, a gesture she found odd but not unwelcome. "No matter, I am certain you will have a great time; be well and take care of yourself." He removed his hand. "Take care of Teruhime-sama, too." He bowed.

"Farewell, Tokio."

"Goodbye, Hajime."

She watched him go a little bitter; she remembered when Teruhime said "aw, no, don't go tell him; you'll break his heart" to tease her and she had assured her, he'd be fine. His heart wouldn't break, that's silly. But maybe, just maybe, deep down she had wanted that to happen. And if not entirely that, at least some show of sadness…or a sign he cared, at all. But no, he remained perfectly apathetic. Like it didn't concern him. She wanted to think he didn't fully grasp the amount of time they would be gone, but he himself had pointed it out.

She pouted. She was being childish. It was better he didn't take this badly, what was she thinking? Slapping her cheeks, she made up her mind this was a good thing, even if now it was her heart that felt like it hurt.

Saitou on the other hand, felt like a jerk. He walked away without looking back at her even once and what's worse, he didn't even wait for her to get back inside! Nothing would happen to her, but if it did, it would be his fault. But he couldn't look back, sentimentalities like these weren't in his character. And he felt ten minutes too long like he was hit by a carriage right at the chest as soon as she told him of her trip. And little drama queen first said she was leaving for home and then decided to inform him it was just a trip. He really thought she'd be going back for good for a moment – and with what her being in mortal danger twice in a year, who would blame her father for deciding that – and it rendered him speechless. He hadn't withheld his response for dramatic effect or anything, no; he was simply shocked.

And then she goes on to explain…at least it was some sort of relief she'd be back. though two or three months' worth of trip, wasn't that a little too long for a girl her age? When she'd only being escorted by another woman and their servants? The guards don't count as escort, only as protection after all, but he saw how ineffective numbers were when he found Tokio's fiancé and his entire entourage slaughtered.

Shit, he was worried now. And considering she said no one was to know about it until after the fact and how concerned Matsudaira was about leaks, he bet news of their wellbeing would be well restricted. He'd have no idea what was going on, if she was safe, if she was in danger…he might have joked about it before, but thinking back on it now, being in a task force appointed with helping her, should anything happen in Aizu, sounded ideal right about now.

His head hurt; something inside his chest still hurt from before. Why did everything hurt suddenly? So, she would be leaving for a while, big deal! Calm down, he told himself, you weren't this upset about your sister three years ago, when she left home all on her own with no more than three guards to go find her fiancé who had gotten lost in the mountains. Why was this affecting him so much?

Because he had been hardwired to worry about her, that's why; protect Tokio-sama, that's all anyone ever told him; because apparently hime-sama attracted more trouble than the shogun! How was that even possible? And how did he still manage to convince everyone to do as she pleases? They should really keep her inside and on a watch at all times…said the man who had just caused her to sneak out right underneath the guards' noses to meet him. Shame on him; he should really stop that. But at the same time, how could he feel confident she'd be safe with them on her entourage when those same men couldn't even spot her sneaking out every other night? Had this not been a matter kept so close to the chest, he'd have gone first thing tomorrow morning to ask him to replace one of the men; maybe Nagakura, too. But not Souji, that man would enjoy it too much.

Alright, he was being unfair to those men; they had an entire mansion to keep an eye on…at the same time though, what if that was an intruder? Ugh, this type of thinking didn't get him anywhere.

Okay that settles it; he is not throwing that thing away, at least not until she comes back again. If that makes him worse than a dog, so be it.

A/N: Aaaaaaye! It's up, it's done, it's over! Thank you so much for your patience I love you forever. Hope you had fun with it and if you did, drop a line in a form of a review, tell me your thought. It gives me the strength to keep going.

Kisses,
FAI