Chp. 6: Alliance

"Haha," Okita laughed nervously. "Sorry, Sokusai-san…it took us a while to get here…"

"What are you doing he—"

"Oops, sorry, no time to explain!" Okita grabbed my wrist and began to run. I could see Shishio surrounded by various blue and white-clad figures, but it seemed that they stood no chance against him.

"Okita-kun, your men…" I said, glancing over my shoulder and continuing to run.

"Wah? Oh yes, well, sacrifices do have to be made for this country, right?" he smiled, not slowing down. "Not to worry, they knew that they would have to die when they joined us. Our main concern today…was you."

We sped through the forest, dodging the trees here and there. Okita was extremely agile, and it took us no time to find ourselves at the bottom of the mountain. We finally slowed our pace down.

"Whew," he laughed, shaking his head, and turning around as to wait for someone. "That was quite a run. Of course, I would have loved to take a stab at Battousai, and get that pesky Katsura too, considering that he left at the last attempt, but—ah, here comes Saitou-san!"

The tall, winky-eyed man came racing down the mountain, slowing as he came to us.

"Why did you stop?" he demanded. "You should be at the headquarters by now!"

"Ha, well, we decided to wait for you," Okita said confidently. "They seem to have given up on us. Of course, with Battousai so badly wounded and only one bodyguard, Katsura would not be so stupid as to come after us. We two, excuse me, three, are quite a match for one bodyguard, Battousai's successor or not."

"A successor already, hm?" Saitou smirked. "It's as if they're expecting their men to die, and even appointing successors to specific ones. Amusing, no self-confidence, whatsoever."

He gestured for the three of us to get a move on, avoiding the main roads and staying among the trees.

"…Is that natural?" I questioned, as we trod along at a brisk pace.

"What?"

"Appointing…successors. Ken—Battousai isn't even twenty yet, and it's as if they're…quite prepared to drop down on the ground dead any moment," I said uneasily. "Are they so unconfident about their own hitokiri's abilities?"

"Ha, they'd probably say that they were 'playing it safe', no?" Okita snickered, lights of disgust flaming in his eyes. His eyes widened in shock, however, as he stopped and erupted in a coughing fit.

"Okita-kun!" I exclaimed. I rushed over to him, but Saitou grabbed my arm and held me back.

"Wait it out," he ordered. "He is ill in the lungs. We must not disturb him, and transport him to a doctor when he is well enough to walk."

Tuberculosis. I was surprised that he could even swing a sword, much less be a Captain of the Shinsengumi squads.

"Is our destination far from here?" I inquired, a bit worried. I was not so arrogant as to throw all concern away for someone that had just saved my life.

"Not much. It seems to be getting better. Okita-kun, are you all right?" Saitou questioned, walking over to him.

"I'm fine," he laughed weakly. "No blood. Not as bad as the last. This is rather embarrassing, I must say…so sorry, Sokusai-san."

"It's nothing," I said, quite relieved. "But the cold seems to be affecting you. We should…go wherever we're supposed to be."

Saitou chuckled. "I suppose you'd like to know why we helped out?"

"'Helped out' is quite a light term for it," I commented grimly. "But yes, I would like to know."

**********************

We eventually reached the Shinsengumi headquarters, and after a hot bath and a change of clothes ("Sorry, you seem to have left your stuff there, you'll just have to borrow my smaller casual outfits," said Okita nervously), Saitou and Okita began to get to the point.

Well, almost. "Tea?" asked Okita. "It's good for you!"

We sat quietly for a few moments, sipping our tea and staring at each other. It was unnerving.

"Well?" I asked bluntly, breaking the silence.

"We received reports of your assassination attempt last night," answered Saitou. "Quite alarming, really, to hear that you'd failed, considering your quick success over the past few months ever since your appearance. We also heard that Battousai was clearly involved and had taken you to the mountain area. So we just took some men there as quickly as we could, rescued you, and brought you back. Gallant, isn't it?" he smirked.

"…and that's it?" I asked, an eyebrow raised. "So you decided to sacrifice your men and help me out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Yup," Okita grinned, sipping his tea cheerfully. I looked at him with a sardonic expression.

"Just kidding," Okita said happily. "We couldn't just afford to lose someone that we really wanted to recruit—oops." He placed a hand over his mouth and snuck a glance at Saitou. Saitou shot a dangerous look at him.

"Ha, I thought as much," I smirked. "You still want me in the Shinsengumi? I thought I clearly declined your offer."

"Yes, well, I really can't take 'no' for an answer," Okita said, his expression becoming serious for the first time. "We almost got that Katsura a few weeks ago, and that was when Battousai went into hiding. However, our power is a bit stretched, and we need to employ as much power as we can."

"I don't care for politics, Okita-kun. You know that," I said, playing with my hair.

"Yes, well, if you help us out, maybe you can come into contact with that Shindou and have another chance of finishing him off," Saitou smirked.

"Tempting," I said dryly. "Very well, I'll help you out."

Okita clapped his hands. "Really? Wow, that took less convincing than I thought!"

"I'm assisting you not because of Shindou, but because I owe you one," I said simply. "I don't forget when people save my life. Yes," I added, seeing Okita's surprised face, "I'm saying that I most likely would have died back there. That man was different from the rest, I'm still injured from last night, and I don't fight as well in snow. However…I'd rather not really 'join'…just 'cooperate'. And I don't want to wear the uniform. It'll just be easier for me to blend in, since you uniforms clearly mark you as Shinsengumi."

"Well," Okita remarked, scratching the back of his head, " despite you not really joining, I can't say I'm not pleased. Either way, we have what we want." He stood up abruptly. "I think I'm going to see the doctor now. Bye!" He gave a small wave of his hand and disappeared through the doors.

"Is he always like that?" I asked Saitou. "Okita-kun, I mean. Is he always smiling and carefree?"

"You'd be surprised if you saw him battling," Saitou replied. "That boy never lets his guard down, and that smile never leaves his face. It's quite disarming, really." He finished his tea and also stood up. "I'll see to your rooms." His soft footsteps soon died away as he left the room, leaving me alone.

I let out a sigh, being extremely tired. Closing my eyes, I leaned against the wall and thought of my courses of action. Kenshin wouldn't be up for a while, and Katsura must be furious. As for Tomoe-san…she still had my kimono. Really nothing I could do about it. Maybe I could pay her a visit in a few weeks. Giving a weary yet satisfied scoff, I drifted off to sleep.