AN: I really need a beta. Really. I had a terrible time with this chapter. I agonized over it…for six months and 12 copies. I know I have let this slide before, but now I really, really need one to bounce my worries and ideas off of. Anyone still interested?
Collateral Damage
Chapter9: Duel
"So, you came back." Kenshin's commented from behind him. "Seeing how you have been avoiding her, I had a few doubts."
Saitou growled glancing back at the smaller man. "Go away."
"I thought it was odd that you avoided us at the market, and that you never came near while we worked on your house."
"I was busy." Saitou dug into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette case and then thought better of it and put them both away. It wouldn't do to have to Battōsai seeing that his hands were slightly shaking. "I do have a job."
Kenshin went on in a musing voice. "I also thought it strange that you never came near the dojo while Karou-dono was teaching the boys." Kenshin paused a second as Saitou huffed slightly and turned away. "You will be happy to know they are doing fine with that."
"Thank you for the report. Now leave." Saitou made his voice smooth. It took a bit of concentration. When he had come into the house, saw that not only was Tokio not there, but an iron, English monstrosity had taken up residence in the corner of the room where his over strung nerves had only registered an enemy, his composure had briefly deserted him. He wondered if the red haired menace he was somehow cursed with noticed.
"When the accidents started to happen, and you didn't take notice, I began to wonder." Instead of leaving, Kenshin came closer. "I had heard that you two were close, but that was during the revolution. Things do change."
"My married life is not your concern." Saitou eyed the menace out of the corner of his eyes. He really didn't want to deal with him right now. He just wanted to make sure Tokio was safe, and then he could deal with whoever was stupid enough to try and harm her. After, he would slink back to his den with another mark to weigh down his soul. It didn't take more than a brief half second to realize that someone was after him and Tokio was in danger because of it. Even when he tried to let her go find a new, happier life, he did nothing but bring misery down on her.
"Yet here you are and quickly too." Kenshin walked around to stand in front of Saitou. "I suppose you do care."
"Whether I care or not is not your concern." Saitou turned away heading for the door, feeling a thrill shiver through him as he deliberately turned his back on Kenshin. He liked it. Turning his back on a dangerous enemy, wondering what it would be like to feel the slender, coldness of a sword slice through him."I take it my wife is at the dojo."
"Aoshi is staying with her at the moment." Kenshin followed along behind the retreating figure, watching him with a worried frown. "I thought it best that she not be left with only Karou and Yahiko for company."
Saitou only grunted as he stepped out the door.
"I wonder though, if she summoned you back because you are her husband, the father of her son, and felt obligated, or if she called you back because she honestly wanted you here. You have not been what anyone would call a loving husband, or even a dutiful one." Kenshin's musing voice froze Saitou in place. "A husband who hides from his wife, who makes up excuses to stay away from her…is not much of a husband at all."
"Battōsai …" Saitou's voice growled menacingly. He didn't need the Battōsai giving him marriage advice, not now. Hell, not ever.
"You need not worry, Satiou. Between Aoshi and myself, we can keep Tokio-dono safe. You can run away again." Kenshin's voice had changed pitch. It wasn't the happy rurouni voice but more shadowed. "Or perhaps you want something else? How long Saitou will you play with death before you let it reach out and take you?" Kenshin's gold eyes watched his opponent carefully. "I doubt you will keep it waiting long, will you?"
"Tokio…"
"Was being polite." Kenshin stepped around him into the street and started walking away. "Do not concern yourself. I will tell Tokio-dono that you came, assessed the situation, and left it to Aoshi and I to deal with." Kenshin paused, then looked back over his shoulder, his eyes gleaming in the night. "I doubt she will be surprised. I wonder if you will even be missed."
Saitou shivered. It was one thing to listen to his own doubts, but to have them come from the Battōsai's mouth was more than he could stand. His hand shifted to his katana hilt. "Stay out of this Battōsai. This is not your concern."
"Not my concern…" Kenshin's voice purred. "I found it odd when the wasps attacked. They don't often come to the city, much less stay in the beams of an occupied house unnoticed. The roof itself was a bit of a mystery too, how it managed not to fall on top of Tokio-dono and the children with the majority of the pegs cut away is probably more a fortune of good weather than building, but odd still since it should have collapsed during the last rainy season. A flat of tiles falling where Tokio-dono was standing? An accident? A clumsy boy? Or the man in the market who attacked, was that random too? Just a man who suddenly remembered one of the wives of the Shinsengumi over a decade later and decided to take vengeance?"
"I will deal with this." The blade inched slightly out of its sheath.
"No. You won't." Kenshin turned. "You won't deal with this. You will find those that sought to harm Tokio-dono, you will fight and probably kill them, but you will not deal with this. You will run like a coward until someone has mercy and puts you down for good."
"I have ne…" Saitou drew his blade and faced Kenshin directly.
"How long, Saitou? How long have you been running?" Kenshin was already ready.
"I never run." Saitou lunged forward. It was a simple attack which he was not surprised to see the battousai easily side-step, but it gained him better ground to fight on. Fighting in the front garden was hardly optimal.
"Coward." Kenshin hissed as he slipped past landing a kick to Saitou's hip with a small thank you to his Shishou for teaching him that move. "Slinking away from his own wife like a beaten cur."
"Shut up." Saitou shifted his weight, minimizing the impact of the kick and swinging away lightly to strike from the side. "What would a man who ran away for ten years know? Oh, yes, you know how to slink away, don't you."
"What are you afraid of, Saitou?" Kenshin brought his sakabato up, parrying the blow. "What keeps you running?"
Saitou smirked, shifting his weight on the ball of his left foot and allowing his blow to be parried and using the blade's momentum to swing into a lower blow towards Kenshin's hip.
Kenshin hurriedly brought his blade around to block and danced lightly away. Saitou followed and for a few moments, the street only had the sounds of the nearly musical ching of fine swords striking each other, the soft shuffle of well trained feet flitting lightly over raked gravel, and the sound of lungs gasping in exertion. Kenshin managed to land the first cut, striking Saitou across the side of his calf in a half deflected blow. Saitou retaliated by slamming his elbow into the slighter man's midsection and sending him reeling for a precious half second.
"Does this make you feel better, Saitou? To forget what a complete failure you are in a fight? Or is that the problem? I won't kill you? You would like to forget permanently, to bow away from Tokio-dono by dying in a fight." Kenshin taunted, slicing another cut across Saitou's leg parallel to the first. "How frustrating for you."
"I am not a failure." Saitou hissed, shifting his weight and using it to drive Kenshin back with a heavy blow.
"That's pure crap." Kenshin flicked to the side, using his speed to get a better position. "Don't lie to me, Saitou. I know you."
Saitou slipped into gatatsou stance. He already knew Kenshin would block it, but it would leave an opening after the block to take a counter strike against the red head's right side with a kick. Two could play the kicking game. "Correction, you knew me."
As planned, the kick landed and the battōsai was thrown into a neighbor's garden wall.
Tokio
"…and Aoshi-sama said, "I really think we should leave now. But, hey, what fun would that have been?" Misaou smiled happily at Tokio who smiled numbly back.
Karou and Yahiko were arguing in the kitchen. Kenshin had made dinner and left it to keep warm by the fire. It was a beef hot pot (the recipe provided by Tae and the meat provided by Tokio wanting to avoid another round of Karou's family eel recipes) which Karou thought needed a bit of doctoring, probably with an eel or two.
"I told Aoshi-sama I could handle it, but he kept insisting…"
The beloved Aoshi-sama was sitting quietly next to the happily bubbling Misaou, sipping his tea and managing to maintain an impressive dignity while his companion tried her best to make a fun exciting story out of buying mochi balls from a less than thrilled vendor.
"…said to leave it alone." Yahiko was sounding desperate.
"It's just a small addition."
"And then, Aoshi…"
Tokio wondered if Saitou had received the message yet. She guessed if all went well, it should have reached him yesterday morning, or maybe in the afternoon. She glanced out at the now dark yard surrounding the dojo, considering if she should perhaps go inside behind closed shutters or if she should remain here where she could see if Saitou would come. No, when he comes. He will come. My wolf would not leave me like this.
"…everything suddenly went flying and it was nearly raining mochi balls."
Tokio eyed the small trees that swayed softly in the dusk, framed by the last of the day's light. She had heard enough stories about assassins lurking in bushes, trees, and other foliage to make her bite her lip slightly with worry. Didn't Okita come back once with a knife wound from someone falling on him from a tree? Or was that Harada?
"Perhaps you would like more tea?" Aoshi broke into Misaou's story with his calm voice.
Tokio noticed that the small, chipped cup she held was empty and cold. She couldn't remember drinking it or even having picked it up in the first place. "Thank you, but allow me." She reached over and poured them all another round of tea.
"It is a lovely night."Aoshi murmured. "With only ourselves to enjoy the view."
Tokio gave him a searching look, then nodded. "The moon is quite beautiful and clear tonight."
"Yes. Quite beautiful." Aoshi sipped his tea peacefully.
Tokio watched the ninja for a moment. The sounds of the argument from the kitchen were dying down. Misaou was now happily watching the moon with Aoshi. The boys were sleeping quietly, and she was still waiting.
He'll come. He's probably run into something.
Saitou
He had stepped out onto the porch to watch the wind play with the leaves in the garden. It was sunrise and Tokio had made him promise to stay for breakfast before he left again, so he got out of her way to wait uncomfortably on the porch.
"Papa." Tsutomo toddled out the open shoji to land clumsily against his back. "Papa."
Saitou froze but the child giggled wrapping himself around his neck with chubby arms. "Why aren't you with your mother?"
"Papa."
The child seemed to want to burrow into his back. It wasn't the most comfortable of sensations, and he hated anyone coming up behind him, much less touching his neck from behind. Still, this was Tokio's son. He could tolerate it.
He looked around. He could hear Tokio in the kitchen clicking something against the side of a bowl. He wondered if she would make tamagoyaki for him or if it would be soba. For once, he would like the tamagoyaki. It would take a bit longer to prepare, so he would have a good excuse to sit here near her for a few minutes longer.
Tsutomo, not liking being ignored, pulled on his hair. "Papa."
Saitou turned and pulled the child to sit in his lap. "Don't do that."
"Hmph." The child gave him one of his own scowls then smiled.
Now that he had the child, he was at a loss. What does one do with a tiny person? He studied the child and noticed that he was being studied back with his own cool, analytical expression. "Tell me, do you do this to your mother too?"
The child seemed unimpressed and turned away to scratch his nose.
"Does it work for you?" Saitou glanced over to where Tokio still could be heard puttering. "It never worked for me."
"Hmph."
"Thought so." Saitou went back to looking at the leaves. "When you are older and you find something that actually works on her, write to me and let me know."
Tsutomo watched the garden. The rising sun was casting a pattern of shadows and light through the tall bamboo that lined this section of the garden. The child watched the light wave and dance as the wind tousled the leaves.
He was a good looking child with strong, chubby arms and legs. His face was not quite the chubby angelic faces small children often had, but instead promised to be leaner and more angular when he was grown. His eyes though were soft and large with a thick fringe of lashes that swept in a girlish wing to highlight his eyes.
"You have your mother's eyes." Saitou finally commented. "Do you also see the world as she does?"
The little one, done with sitting, struggled back to his feet and made his way down into the garden to inspect the light and shadows more closely. He squatted next to one and peered at it a moment, studying it. "Papa. Look."
Saiou considered for a moment, then deciding Tokio wouldn't like her son to be wetted down with dew so early in the morning, went to see, and collect the child. "Yes, light and grass. It is quite nice."
"Breakfast is…Oh, Tomo. Can't you stay clean for more than two minutes?" Tokio sounded both amused and a bit tired.
Saitou picked her son up feeling guilt. He had only been in charge of the tot for a few minutes and he had already added to Tokio's workload for the day. "I didn't notice the dew until he was already…"
Tokio smiled, enoying the rare moment of seeing Saitou holding his son. She wondered if he even noticed that Tsutomo would one day be nearly his twin. "No, no. That's fine. Breakfast is ready husband. You should eat while it is still hot."
He set the boy on the porch next to his mother. "Thank you."
As he stepped past her into the house, Tokio and Tsutomo watched him walk away with identical expressions of regret.
"The garden was very nice this morning." Tokio smiled down at Tomo. "Did you like being here with your father?"
"Papa." Tsutomo nodded and headed in to breakfast.
Saitou
They had long ago lost the ability to plan strategically, and their grand sword fight had degenerated into a brawl with swords. They both weaved unsteadily on their feet from exhaustion.
"You scampered off like a scared rabbit." Kenshin taunted. "Forget the Wolf of Mibu, you are the Bunny of Mibu."
"Speaks the man who went off for ten years to find himself." Saitou panted swiping vindictively at Kenshin's ass as the other wobbled into a turn. "I've heard of people with lousy direction sense, but not being able to find yourself for ten years, that's a record."
"At least I have Karou-dono to come back to. Who do you have?" Kenshin skipped away from the blow and donkey kicked backwards, semi-surprised to hear Saitou grunt in pain as the blow connected. He hadn't expected such a childish move to strike, much less do damage. He filed the information away for the next time he and Saitou had to have a talk.
"No one."Saitou staggered back to lean against his own garden wall, holding his now outraged private parts. It took all his training not to fall to the ground and howl.
"You have Tokio-dono, so don't try and…"
"Shut it, Battōsai. The only reason I have even the semblance of a marriage is because Tokio is too honorable to leave." Saitou sighed, shaking his head trying to clear it.
"I don't think…"
"I noticed." Saitou sank down to sit against the wall. "You don't think. What do you think happened Battōsai, when the shogunate fell? Do you think everyone just dropped their swords and wandered off to find themselves? That a few unhappy people like Shishio crawled out of the wreckage like cockroaches to spread misery but the rest of us stepped into our new lives with hardly a blink?"
"I heard a few…"
"To the victor go the spoils. Isn't that what the Westerners say?" Saitou leaned his head back, not caring what Kenshin was doing. "The Choshu were hardly gracious in their victory. Those of us who bowed and accepted our defeat were punished. It would have been better if I had resisted, but I chose, for Tokio's sake to bow, so instead of a clean death, I got a slow one."
"Echigo prison. " Kenshin stumbled to sit near Saitou, wincing as his side snarled at him from the wound Saitou had given him.
"Lovely place." Saitou rummaged in the tatters of his uniform top and pulled out his cigarettes. "If the cold didn't kill you, the guards would. To this day, if I really hate someone, I let them live to go to prison. I have mercy on those I generally don't care about and kill them quickly so they don't have to suffer."
"Tokio-dono stayed with you though."
Saitou snorted out a small plume of smoke. "She has too much honor to leave." He took another drag. "It's only a matter of time though. She'll leave. She can do better."
Kenshin sat, prodding his wounds. The one in his side was not serious, but it would be painful for a few days. The other bruises, cuts, and scrapes were hardly better. "I have come to know Tokio-dono. If she wanted to leave, she would have done so by now."
"Do you know what happened after they let me out Battōsai?" Saitou glanced over to the smaller man. "I was sent to Gonohe. Do you know what kind of pit Gonohe was?"
"I went through it once. I thought it was very pretty." Kenshin considered his ruined gi and wondered if Karou would be able to fix it.
"Not as a farmer. The winters are brutal. The rainy season begins early and lasts until late. There is roughly two weeks every year that are nice. One that qualifies as spring and one that stands in for fall. You must have come through during one of those weeks."
"Still, you both managed…"
"Managed." The word fell dead out of Saitou's mouth.
"Have you considered that maybe she stayed because she cares for you?"
"No."
"Perhaps you should."
"Fuck off."
"Just consider it, Saitou. You managed to survive the revolution, Echigo, and Gonohe. You have never backed down once. Like the swordsman you are, you shifted your position for your own advantage, you bided your time to find an opening, and pressed forward to gain ground. That is the nature of a fight. Is it a surprise to you that you do it in your life as well? Does it surprise you that Tokio-dono has been waiting for you to finish this battle?"
"Hmph."
"I'll take that as an 'I'll think about it.'" Kenshin painfully stood up. "We should get back to the dojo before Karou adds too much wasabi to the beef. Yahiko promised to defend our dinner, but she can be tricky."
Saitou painfully pulled himself up. "You are such a good housewife."
"As you said, fuck off." Kenshin's gold stained eyes glittered another moment before fading to a harmless blue. "We should be getting back, that we should."
"Perhaps."
Author's Notes:
Thank you for the wait. I did do a lot of research for this section, but I haven't managed to beat out the site address clipping. So…
Gonohe Village- I found it! Yes! Go me. I finally located the lovely village that Saitou lived in after his imprisionment. It is Gonohe, Aomori. You can search for it yourself and find out all sorts of fun facts. I will state here that I am painting a horrid picture of this place for the purpose of my fic. While it is far from the balmy tropics, and farming there is neigh on impossible, it probably is quite nice in some ways. Okay, it probably isn't, but the people who presently live there like it so I'm trying to sound positive.
Battōsai- I found this spelling and am trying it out. I don't love it, but here it is for those of you who like this spelling. I'm going to head back to the old spelling in the next chapter.
To those who complained that I don't like Kenshin- I actually do like him. He is annoying Tokio though. Have you ever been around a woman who is in the last months of pregnancy? It isn't all happiness and sunshine. They are scary, grumpy people who should be feared.
SunMoonNeko- When I have a moment, I'd like to know more. Thank you!
Tamagoyaki: My best author's note yet! Here is how to make it!
1-egg Tamagoyaki from Just Bento (a wonderful site which you should all go find!) http colon backslash backslash justbento dot com
1 'large' egg
1 Tbs. water
1 tsp. soy sauce (regular or light-colored; here I used regular, since that's all I had in stock)
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbs. bonito flakes (optional, for added flavor)
Vegetable oil for cooking
Mix all the ingredients together well with a fork or chopsticks. Heat up a small (6 inch or 15cm) non-stick frying pan and spread thinly with oil (or use a non-stick cooking spray).
From this point on, it only takes about a minute and a half!
Once the pan is hot (if you put a droplet of water in, it dances and evaporates immediately), pour in the egg.
Stir gently with a fork or chopsticks until it's half-set.
Fold in half with a spatula.
Tidy up the other side a bit with the spatula.
Fold the one third of the egg over with the spatula. Press down.
Fold the other end of the egg over with the spatula. Press the whole thing down.
Flip over, and press again. Remove from the heat before it browns too much. (If you use light colored soy sauce, it won't get as brown.)
Cut in half and put cut side up, it is nicely multi-layered.
A 1-egg tamagoyaki is only about 100 calories and is great as a secondary protein, paired with a small piece of fish, a tiny tuna tofu burger or black bean mini burger and so on.