Chapter Five: Putting Evil to Rest

Something within him told him to stop. Deep within Sojiro's mind, a warning cry seemed to make him freeze in his tracks; and it was apparent that Saito was sensing the same thing.

"It's close, whatever it is..." Saito murmured, having noticed Sojiro's unease, and getting a nod from the younger swordsman as a response.

"I'd only felt this ki once or twice before...Usually when Shishio-san was around...It feels almost like...!" Sojiro thought, before he was forced to parry a blow from above; hiding a wince when the vibrations traveled down his arms and into his injured ribs.

"Saito-san!" Sojiro shouted, when he heard a snarl from Saito, and saw him sink to one knee, struggling to hold a gash in his side closed as he fell.

"I see you have sided with the enemy, Tenken." a low voice growled, as the owner of it emerged from the growing shadows before him.

"Kuroi of the Owl Clan...I thought you'd died while on patrol sometime back." Sojiro retorted, as he stood in front of the wounded cop with his sword bared. Kuroi sneered.

"As though a measly bunch like that could kill me? Feh. They were hardly even worth my time." Kuroi said, watching Sojiro's wary stance for anything that would hint at an easy distraction and an opportunity to kill.

"Don't let him goad you, son." Okita's voice murmured, in the back of Sojiro's mind.

"Father?" Sojiro asked, barely believing that the deceased leader of the First Shinsengumi unit was there within him.

"Don't worry. Stay strong, and protect Saito-san." Okita ordered, gently; getting a mental nod from the young man in response.

"I will. You can count on me, Tou-san." Sojiro responded, as a deadly calm emerged in his deep blue eyes.

"So, come to terms with the fact that you are about to die, traitor?" Kuroi asked, when he'd noticed the change in Sojiro's demeanor. The former 'right hand' of Makoto Shishio shook his head, and gave Kuroi a semblance of his old smile.

"How can I be a traitor to Shishio Makoto when I am not the same Sojiro that had stood by his side?" Sojiro questioned, his ki now getting Saito's attention; startling him in the fact that it was becoming almost exactly like his father's!

"There is no mistake now, Okita-kun. This is indeed your son...I can only hope I can get his name cleared of the assassination of Okubo..." Saito mused, looking up and smirking when he saw rage appear on the assassin's face.

"What do you mean by that?.! You are the Tenken, are you not?.!" Kuroi again asked, as madness entered his eyes. Sojiro only smiled, yet betrayed a deadly calm when he tightened his grip on his sword.

"I am Okita Sojiro, son of the captain of the First Shinsengumi Unit Okita Soshi...and you, Kuroi, are the one who is about to die." Sojiro said, coldly, before disappearing in a flash; his almost godlike speed bringing certain death to the one who had done so much harm to both him and Saito in the last couple of days. With a scream, Kuroi leaped to avoid the first strike; unleashing his own brand of inhuman speed and clashing with the younger swordsman in midair. And, as on a few occasions before in the past, Saito suddenly found himself as a spectator in a very crucial moment in his life.

"It's like watching a Wolf of Mibu be reborn right before my eyes..." Saito thought, watching, with some degree of shock, as the youth nimbly adjusted his grip on his father's sword, and unleashed a Hiratsuki into Kuroi's defenses; sending his opponent hurtling into some of the brush beside the path that led into the city.

"In some ways, it is, Saito-san." Okita's bemused voice stated, as a ghostly version of him appeared alongside Saito and watched the battle.

"Feh. I just wonder what the police chief is going to think of this? How will I convince them to clear your son's name?" Saito asked, as at a loss about the problem now as he had been in the beginning. Okita only turned and gave him an enigmatic smile.

"Don't worry. It'll work itself out. In fact, it may just have. You heard what he'd called himself just now, didn't you?" Okita replied, as Saito nodded.

"I did. He is no longer the same young man the Battousai and I had met in Shingetsu Village...It is now safe to say that 'Seta Sojiro' has ceased to exist." Saito mused, thoughtfully.

"Aa. And he is now who he was supposed to be to begin with...Okita Sojiro." Okita murmured, then gave his former comrade an almost teary smile.

"Arigato, Saito-san." Okita said, with his first genuinely happy smile during all that time.

"Don't mention it." Saito replied, looking up when he heard Sojiro utter one last growl, and smiled when he heard the words that had just been uttered under a calm, deadly breath.

"Aku...Soku...Zan..."

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It was early in the morning, several days after the battles in Mt. Hiei, that the police chief of Kyoto's police force, and several of his underlings came upon an unusual sight emerging from the morning mists.

"Lieutentant Fujita! There you are! Where the blazes have you been?.! That wife of yours' has been so...!" the chief yelped, then froze when he saw that the cop was carrying what appeared to be a person in his arms.

"Who...? Is that Okubo's...?" the chief asked, trailing off when he got a deadly glare from the cop as a response.

"No. It isn't, chief. This happens to be the son of a good friend of mine. He got caught in the 'crossfire' on my way back from the mountain, and needs a doctor's attention." Saito, as the cop so happened to be, growled, irritably.

"And it looks as though you could use some medical attention yourself, Lieutenant. There's a clinic close to the station; check yourself and the lad in there, and get those wounds seen to. That will be all." the chief said, understanding the look in those amber eyes and not wishing to cross the ex-Shinsengumi captain at that point in time. He got a nod as a response, and then Saito continued walking.

"It seems I will be able to live up to that promise after all, old friend." Saito thought; struggling not to breathe a sigh of relief as he headed in the direction of the help both he and Sojiro desperately needed.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Author's Note!

I am so, so sorry about the long wait, minna. This year has not been a kind one (the loss of my job last year, the inability to get a new one, the loss of internet access, and family problems have prevented me from updating as much as I would have liked). I have not forgotten this story (and I fully intend to finish it!) And I am sorry it had seemed like I had. I hope this was worth the wait, and again, I am truly sorry to have made everybody wait so long. Thanks for your patience, minna!

Gemini14