Standard disclaimers: We don't own Ruroken. We wish we did, but
unfortunately
Watsuki and some big name companies already have this privilege.

That was a long wait, I admit it.
I am sorry for the delay...completely my (Mara's) fault. =^^= again....
Oh, please be gentle and forget about the OOCness you might find.



CHAPTER 8


An awkward feeling was crawling down his spine as he looked down at the
silent woman directly behind him. Being used to her constantly looking
around with bright curious eyes and to her sudden changes of direction
when she spotted a bargain or something to eat, this silence and
obedience from HER was disturbing to say at least.

In addition to this, passerbys furtively watched them.
Not that this was new to him, he had always been stared after.
Fearful glances when he was patrolling with his comrades, admiring
or even envious glimpses when walking together with Tokio Takemoto
down the streets, but this time the stares where different. While
passerbys used to look behind them discretely because of the pretty girl's
lively and stubborn behaviour or her undeniable beauty, they now looked
because of her desolate outer appearance.

To be honest, he could completely understand the people's reactions
since Tokio looked a lot like something the cat dragged in at the moment.
Her kimono and her face were covered with blood, tears were rolling
down her face, leaving clear traces on her cheeks and her now short-cut
hair made her look like a unkempt street kid.

As if she could hear his thoughts, Tokio sniffed once more by his side
and an extra discomforting glance was cast in their direction.

Looking down at her and noticing her expression, Saitou decided to
cancel the interogation he had wanted to start on their way back. At
the moment she reminded him too much of a lost kitten discarded on the
streets to bother her with any questions.

But, he honoured inwardly, despite her miserable appearance she hadn't
lost one bit of her feline gracefullness or her proud posture. Although
having witnessed the death of one person very close to her, she was not
broken like he had presumed before.

*You are harder in taking than I first thought, Tokio Takemoto.*

Strangely enough this stirred his sympathy. He fumbled in his kimono.
"Here, you should use this."

With tearful eyes she looked up to him, an expression of astonishment
on her face, but then she gratefully accepted the offered handkerchief.
"Thank you."

Not very lady-like she cleaned her nose and wipped away some of her
tears together with her make up. If possible, she looked even worse
now, and in addition to that his handkerchief was ruined. He wouldn't
take this one back, so much was clear.

Much to his surprise she started to talk a few moments later, her voice
trembling and sometimes interupted by suppressed sobs.
"I should have insisted to keep away from this street, I knew something
terrible would happen."

If she wanted to talk about her brother's death on her own account,
than there was no reason for him to keep this facade of piety.
Even more important: it was his last chance to get some first-handed
information from her without others listening. And then there was this
irritating self-accusation she had already uttered in front of her brother.
"How could you know something would happen?" he asked suspiciously.

She stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed his arms, looking up to him
with red eyes. "First you must promise me that you won't inform the
other Shinsen-gumi about what I will tell you."

Saitou's eyes narrowed. Surely her information could prove important,
but there were rank-orders he had to respect
"I can promise you not to tell the other captains and the minor
members...", he hesitated. Would she still be coorperative when he told
her the truth? "but I can't promise not to tell Hjikata-san and
Kondou-sama", he finished finally.

To his suprise she accepted his conditions without any protest. Perhaps
she had already expected something like this.

After one more minute of quietness, she took a deep breath.
"Do you believe that some persons have the ability to see the future to
some extent?"

To see the future? Had the death of her brother affected her perception?

"What do you mean?"

She looked down, obviously unsure if it was a good idea to tell him
what was on her mind. Then she met his eyes again, this time with a
determinded expression. "Probably you won't believe me, but I have this
ability since I am seven, when I had to witness my mother being killed
like..." her voice trailed of and with a strength of will he secretely
acknoledged, she re-gained her composure. "...like Michinori. It was at a
remote, nearly forgotten shrine deep in the forests around Osaka."

"And this event caused a crack in your brain so you can see the future?"

Too late he remembered that sarcasm wasn't the best choice in this
moment, and he already prepared for an angry reply, but nothing like
this happened, she just grabbed his arm harder.
"I am not kidding, Saitou-san." With a sudden move and a strength he
never considered her capable of using she forced him to turn around,
her voice barely a whisper "It was the same murderer... and they did
some horrible things with me."

So she knew the assassin since she was seven. If this wasn't interesting.

But she wasn't done yet.
"Since then I can feel the future. It is not like I can precisely say
what will happen, it is more that I can feel the misfortune and evil of
a place or an upcoming event, but I can't name it. I can also feel the
emotions of persons around me in the future, that doesn't mean that I
know what will happen next."

Irony wouldn't get him any further, so much was clear. As less as he
believed in these things.
"So what can you feel when I am around you?"

Her face reddened and she bite her lips. Not able to stand his look any
longer she turned her head aside so that he had to listen closely to
understand her next words.
"I can't tell."

Great, this was getting more annoying and odd with every second.

"... Saitou-san?"

But then talking about her so-called ability seemed to distract her
from her dead brother.

"I am still listening."

"I can't see the future of persons close to me. I am not able to see
what will happen with Kenichiro and I failed to see Michinori's death.
But otherwise..." For one moment she hesitated, her eyes suddenly
clouded by something he couldn't quite name. Then she continued in one
hoarse whisper. "Otherwise I can tell that Okita-san hasn't much time
left and that the cheerful girl from the Aoiya and her young friend will
have to face hard times to come."

Saitou's features froze.
Okita hadn't much time left? How could she know about the serious
illness of his friend? And there was no way in hell she could have
found out something about the secrets of the Aoiya-inhabitants. The
awkward feeling was getting stronger.
"And what is wrong with my future?"

Her eyes were wide and softening as her resistance was getting less
when she whispered: "I told you that I can't see anything about the
future of the persons close to me."

Somewhere in her eyes, behind her grief and sadness, he could see hope
and affection for him, feelings he had failed to realize when she had
been less vulnerable and defenseless, feelings that had been hidden
behind her witt, stubbornness and strong will.

Unable to find an appropriate retort, he took the ruined handkerchief
from her hands and stuffed it back into his kimono. Hadn't he made up
his mind not to take this one back?

If the situation could get more awkward, then now, and it did indeed.
She longed for his Haori, pulled him closer, laid her head against his
chest and cried loudlessly. Passerbys stared openly at the strange
pair now.

Nearly analytically Saitou thanked all gods he could think of, that she
wouldn't be recognisable when she had gained her composure back.
Still... he had to get her back to the headquarters quickly, and
speeding up he continued to walk down the street.
"Pull youself together, Takemoto. This doesn't bring your brother back."

As he had observed it earlier from Kenichiro, rough treatment seemed to
help her to get back her strength. With a deep breath she let go of his
Haori, but not of his arm as if she feared that weakness would betray
her otherwise and as if she needed the contact with him.

With astonishing less trouble and interuptions they reached the
Shinsen-gumi house and he led her directly to the bath-house, deciding
that she needed a bath before she would be ready for an interogation by
Hijikata and Kondou.

Sending one of his followers upstairs to get one of his kimonos, he
frowned thoughtfully.

Usually Kenichiro or Michinori used to take care of her when she was
bathing; surely a neccessary precaution with a yard filled with men who
hadn't seen a naked woman for what seemed an eternity. Better he stood
his ground here so that she could clean herself without interuption.

It didn't take her long to peek outside in order to take the kimono he
offered her wordlessly and only a few minutes later they were in
Kondou's audience room, facing not only him, but also Hijikata and the
other squad leaders.

This was an official questioning and not the right place to discuss
sensible matters.

Some odd intuition told him that she would tell him what he wanted to
know later privately. Glancing towards her, he remarked that she looked
astonishing refreshed. The last traces of make-up were gone as
well as the last remains of her tears while her hair was appropriately
combed back. Indeed she seemed to have snapped back with her fierce
exuberance and something else, a steadiness he had sensed in her from
the beginning on.

Nor ordinary girl, that was sure.

An inviting wave of Kondou was enough for Hijikata to start the questioning.
"I heard Michinori Takemoto-san, one of your underlings, was killed
within a sword-fight tonight."

He felt Tokio tensing beside him, but she kept her composure and didn't
burst out in tears. He couldn't quite explain it to himself but in this
moment he was nearly painfully conscious of her presence, of her
perfume, of all of her and everything that had happened to her.

"You were informed right", he finally answered. "He passed away two
hours ago on the borders to Gion near the Uchida's pleasure house."

Hijikata and Kondou both nodded, the location was not unknown
to them though it wasn't one of the most famous ones.

"It was the same assassin who already killed the other members of our
group, especially my unit", Saitou went on with a short glance in
Tokio's direction. "Takemoto-san tried to fight him, but he didn't
have the slightest chance."

Though Tokio had herself under control surprisingly well, he felt her
nearly unpercivable twitch beside him. At the same time Hijikata and
Kondou were nodding acknoledging, they all had known about the
young Takemoto's poor skills.

Saitou cleared his throat. "And for the second time we have an
eye-witness, the same one as from the other attack; his sister,
Tokio Takemoto-san."

He didn't need to mention how odd this was: this deadly murderer
had let one and the same eye-witness escape from two scenes of crime.
Maybe three cases, if he took the death of her mother she had told him
of into account.

Unison Hijikata and Kondou turned their looks on the woman half-hidden
behind him, head bowed, eyes locked to the ground. Both men exchanged
quick looks, thinking that the recent loss of her brother had affected
her rebellious behaviour visibly.

"Would you please tell us what you saw, Takemoto-san?" Kondou began
carefully, obviously not wanting to deal with an outburst.

But his expectations were betrayed; when Tokio started her report her
voice was surprisingly solemn, while her eyes were fixed on some point
in the ceiling she alone could see.
"We spend the evening in Gion and were on our way home when we were
attacked. It was the same man as last time, he was even wearing the
same kimono. Everything happened very fast, but I can tell you that the
attacker used the same technique I already described."

Frowning Hijikata looked closer at her.
"Your hair is cut. How did that happen?"

This time she wasn't able to hide her hurt completely to Saitou, but he
was sure that Hijikata and Kondou didn't notice it for they didn't
spend as much time with her as he had.
"The assassin used me to enrage Michinori..." her voice trailed of,
they all waited patiently for her to continue "He was successful. He
seemed to gain some odd pleasure of enraging and torturing his victims,
Michinori included."

Kondou nodded thoughtfully. "Can you tell us what houses you did visit
in Gion?"

"Only a restaurant and later a theatre. I haven't seen the murderer
there and I am sure we weren't followed." Her eyes darkened for one
moment, before regaining their seeming calmness. "He awaited us in the
street we had to go down on way back here."

"Is this all you can tell us?"

Tensly he waited if she would tell them about her further knowledge of
the murderer, but she made no effort to do so. Instead she bowed deeply.
"This is all I have to say to you."

Why didn't she tell Hijikata and Kondou that this man had murdered her
mother?

A strange feeling of loyality towards her kept him from revealing his
information. Maybe she would entrust herself to him later.

The two leaderss exchanged suspicious glances. Obviously they
suspected the girl to hide something, and so he quickly interfered
"It was a exhausting and streneous evening for her. I am sure if she
remembers all, she will tell us. Surely she wants to get the murder
of her brother to get caught." Laconically he shrugged his shoulders.
"After all she is only a woman, what more could she know?"

He felt her tensing again, but Hijikata and Kondou gave in and
dismissed them.

Outside the room, she gave him a tired, yet thankful smile, before
wishing him a good night and vanishing.

Thoughtfully he stared after her, so that he nearly didn't notice
Okita's arrival beside him.

"Poor girl", his friend mused softly. "She loved him very much."

"I suppose so", Saitou retorted shortly, thinking of her earlier words.

*I can tell you that Okita-san hasn't much time left.*

He still looked healthy, nothing in his outward appearance gave an hint
to his serious illness. How could she know? All persons informed were
thrustworthy.

The younger captain frowned thoughtfully. "I fear that the
relationship between her and her elder brother will be tense and
problematic from now on. Michinori-san was always the one who mediated
between them." He smiled sadly. "Kenichiro-san and her, they're just too
similiar to get along."

"Both have a strong will", Saitou agreed. Then he shook his head.
"What an extraordinary family!"

Okita chuckled. "If I were you, I wouldn't criticize them to much. She
could be a part of your family in shorter time than you think." When he
saw his friend just raising an eyebrow, he became serious again. "But I
agree with you. The Takemotos are strange people. But then they don't
realize it themselves."

"True enough." Saitou narrowed his eyes. "What do you think, Okita-kun?
What have they to do with this murderer? And why does Takemoto-san
insist of marrying his sister into the Shinsengumi?"

In response his younger friend just shrugged his shoulders. "It's
impossible to understand this man's motives if you ask me. Do you heard
about the amount of money the eldest brother granted the Shinsen-gumi
to finance their entry?"

Saitou snorted.
"Yes, and I thougth they were broken by it. But Tokio spends money as
if it was the most self-evident thing on the world. She invited me to
lunch, bought me a new Hakama,..." He broke off as he noticed Okita barely
supressing his laughter. "What is so funny about it, Okita-kun?"

His friend struggled for breath.
"Do you know how many men here envy you, Saitou-san?"

The older man rose an eyebrow. "Why should someone envy me? I spent the
last weeks walking with the most annoying, unbearable, spoiled,
fastidious woman I've ever met through the streets to elicit the assassin.
All I got was one fact after another once she had made up her mind. - I
don't find this very amusing, Okita-kun."

But nevertheless Okita didn't stop laughing, hinting with the amused
gleam in his eyes that he knew the fascination this woman had on his
friend better.
"Really, Saitou-san. You got the priviledge to walk around with a
beautiful, intelligent, entertaining woman with perfect manners"
Saitou snorted "and got delicious meals and new cloths instead of
dealing with annoying scholars in the dojo and trying to teach these
stubborn children some rules. In addition to that you might even marry
a member of an extreme rich family. Kenichiro will support her no
matter what. You can believe me, Saitou-san, there are *some* men
here envying you."

"Idiots. They never dealt with her, they wouldn't stand against her
one second."

Okita's eyes widened as if he thought his friend had gone completely insane.
"SAITOU-SAN! It isn't some kind of fight to walk with Tokio-san through
Kyoto!"

"You have no idea, Okita-kun. It is. It is indeed."

Dismissive the younger man waved his hands.
"I give up. Maybe someday I'll find some feeling inside you."

Saitou's grin was creeping, but Okita was used to it and pointed
towards his room. "I think I will lay me down now. No chance that
something else will happen today."

Saitou nodded arreeingly. "Good night."

Still in thoughts he wandered into his room and changed his clothing.

He had already finished to clean his armor and was just about to lay
down on
his futon when he perceived a shuffling sound in front of his room.
"May I enter?" a feminine voice was heard.

Frowning he laid his armor aside. Tokio. Maybe she would reveal her
knowledge to him now.
"Come in."

With her usual fluid movements she followed his invitation, a tray with
a sake-pitcher and two cups in her hand.

He rose an eyebrow. This promised to be interesting.

In appropriate shy and devote manner, that wasn't her true nature as he
knew by now, she set the tray in front of him and poured them two cups.

"You certainly want to know why I am here?" she asked nearly casually.

"Yes."

For some reason unknown to him he couldn't divert his eyes from her
figure, which looked thorougly fragile in a silken sleeping yukata, as she
explained her presence. "Kenichiro isn't back yet and I felt alone in
the room, I used to share with him and Michi."

Without any return he tasted the sake. An excellent quality, it was
even better than he remembered. Perhaps, he added with an inner smirk,
this was because of his company.

Settling back, he waited until she started; after all it was her who
had come to him.

Like he had presumed she didn't waste much time; playing with the empty
cup in her hand as if it was a fascinating piece of art, she looked
directly into his eyes, her expression absolutely honest. "You know...
Michinori meant very much for me."

He nodded, he had realised this fact when he had observed how the two
siblings treated each other.

She poured the next cup and took another sip, while her usually
emphatic eyes suddenly hardened. "I want you to find this man and to
kill him for me."

He nearly choked on his sake and looked at her astonished. She was
deadly serious.
"You should know that this is my intention anyway, Tokio-san."

That was his job and she knew it.

Somehow it felt strange to call her Takemoto any longer. She wasn't
just one member of this family to him, but an individual. An individual
who was able to astonish him every day for new.

But she still held more surprises for him as she leaned forward to lay
her icy hand on his own.
"I'll do anything to help you, even when it means that we have to
search whole Kyoto for this man."

As if he hadn't already tried it this way.

Nevertheless she continued, her voice hoarse. "I already told you
everything about this man I know. He killed my mother and our
guardians over fifteen years ago. Kenichiro and Michinori arrived too
late back then, all they could do was to pick me up and bring me back home.
I've never seen this man since then, until I came to Kyoto and saw him
finishing two of your men" She fixed him and he felt as if her black
eyes could see through him like through glass "and I know that he killed
my father in front of the Aoiya."

How had she revealed this? They kept the death of Takemoto a
secret. Being the first victim of the odd assassin, her father had been
a gifted swords-man, not comparable to Michinori at all, he had even
been better than Kenichiro. Maybe.

"I don't know why he didn't kill me back then. The first time in the temple,
when he killed my mother..." her voice trailed off, but soon she continued
"he used my mother's blood to paint some signs on my body while murmuring
weird incantations. I was totally horrified back then, there was my murdered
mother lying right in front of me, and there was her murderer, using
her blood to mark me and touch me in places I never wanted to be touched
by anyone beside my family. He let me alive, he let me escape after I
witnessed the assassination some weeks ago though he surely knew that I
would report to you, and he didn't kill me yesterday."

A thought popped up: maybe the man was interested in her abilities? As
soon as it had popped up, he discarded the thought. He didn't believe
in this madness... but...it was a considerable possibility.
Others believed in such things and surely would murder for them.

"How did this man mark you?"

"There is still one mark left, look."

Unexpectely she reached up to undo the bottons of her dress in order to
let it slip down around her. If he weren't able to control himself, he
would have spat the sake across the place.

Scooting closer, she exposed her shoulder directly under his nose. For
one moment his eyes laid on the soft pale skin of midriff above the
snow-white band of her brassiere, then they wandered to her shoulder
and narrowed.
"There is a scar in form of three bamboo-leaves."

She nodded and somehow relieved he watched her moving back while
placing the yukata back on her shoulder. Her white and silky skin had been
more attractive to him than he had imagined or wanted to think about.
"Yes, this one he cut in with his knife, all others were abtract
patterns drawn with my mothers blood on my body. Kenishiro and
Michinori never found out what it could mean."

With the remembrance of her brother her eyes shimmered dangerously in
the candle-light, stirring a strange feeling inside him.

"I don't know why I am here in Kyoto, I didn't want to come here, but
Keni insisted. Now our brother is dead and I can't help the feeling
that Keni knew that this could happen." There was a glimmer of tears in
her eyes, before she caught herself again. "Maybe this might be important
for you to know also: We travelled over Edo and Keni met the Shogun in
order to discuss some political matters. Our family had had problems
getting
along with the Daimyo for years -he was interested in our land- and the
situation escalated just at the time our mother was murdered and our
father had left Osaka to fight for the Shogunate. I am suspicious our
Daimyo is opposing secretely the Shogunate, whereas our family was always
a supporter. That was the reason why our father left our family: he
wanted to support the Shogunate."

She fixed a point behind him and her merciless expression earned her
some of his respect.
"I know that I am too weak to defeat this assassin, but you might be
able to kill him. I am sure when you investigate a bit you will find a
connection, perhaps even a traitor within the Shinsen-gumi. There must
be a reason why Kenichiro is fixated with the Shinsen-gumi, there must
be a connection."

A traitor? He had had this idea already, better: he was absolutely sure
that there was one. But how did this woman understand all this so well?
"I'll find and fight him, Tokio-san, that is my intention since he
killed the best of my men."

Her voice was barely a whisper "I know, Hajime-san."

He thought she couldn't hold more surprises, but nevertheless she did.
He had wondered over all the time she was here, why she was wearing
this impropriate sleeping yukata, but now as she was slipping under his
blanquet, he began to understand.

"What are you doing there, Tokio-san?" he asked alarmed.

With the determinded expression with which she always drove him crazy,
she turned her back on him. "I don't want to sleep alone in our room
tonight, and Keni isn't back yet. I am not used being alone during
the night."

Inwardly he cured the woman's wickedness.
There was no chance he could remove her without causing an uproar and
alarming the whole house. What they would think then was obvious. Not
an option. But where should he sleep tonight?
She already occupied his futon. But she had brought her own head-rest
with her as he noticed, this had been planned in advance, so much was
sure.

He needed more sake... luckily she had brought a second pitcher along.

The tatami had to be enough tonight.


--------------------------------------------------------------------

Started: October 2nd 2002
Finished: November 4th 2002
First posted: November 5th 2002
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