Disclaimer: None of the RK characters are mine; they belong to Nobuhiro
Watsuki the Great. However, all original characters belong to me.

Author's Notes: Whew! Finally ff. net is back online and fully working
now. Many thanks to all those who took the trouble to mail me, I
appreciate it very much. To the E/K haters who took the time to read and
sent me feedback, I am very honoured and thank you people for having the
open-mindedness and imagination to read an E/K fic. Anyone up for
Sakka-chan's Aoshi/Kaoru pairing? ^_^

To Firuze Khanume, waaaaai!! This fic wouldn't be what it is without
you. *bows*



Chapter Four: Contact


Tyger Tyger, burning bright.
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye.
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?


Who had written that poem? A British man named Blake, Saitou recalled.
English he had mastered a long time ago; it had been a necessity in
dealing with foreign incursions upon Japanese sovereignty. But it had
been Tokio who introduced the culture and art of the language to him.
And it had been she who had first called Enishi a tiger. As he waited
for the messenger that Yukishiro had sent out earlier to return, the
poem danced in and out of his head but Saitou made no attempt to quell
it. After all, it was highly appropriate.

Soon enough, as he expected, the man appeared and hurried up the stairs.
If only he had known exactly what kind of person his guest was, he would
have been a lot less eager to report his findings. Leaning back in his
seat, Saitou rubbed his thumb along the rim of the teacup he held and
waited. In less than ten minutes, the man reappeared, pale with the
stench of fear rising off him. 'Yukishiro must have been very
displeased.' Saitou smirked and picking up his hat and sword, he paid
the bill and slipped unobtrusively into the streets. Leisurely, he made
his way to the Kamiya dojo, knowing that Enishi would not arrive until a
few hours later. But why? That was the question that mildly puzzled
Mibu's Wolf. What had Battousai said or done that would lure his former
nemesis back to Tokyo and bring him into such close contact with the
residents of the dojo?

In any case, it was a good thing that the tori-atama was not in Tokyo.
The last Saitou had heard, the ahou had returned from wherever he had
run off to and later settled down with Takani Megumi. In fact, they were
expecting their firstborn any time now this month. After Battousai's
death, they had stayed with Himura Kaoru until she had pulled herself
together before returning to Aizu. The birth of the child should keep
them out of Tokyo for at least three months. The Weasel Girl and
Shinomori were in Kyoto and since they were still not married, Saitou
assumed that the former's infatuation for her Okashira was truly a
hopeless cause. But as things were, everyone who had a secondary
involvement in Enishi's Jinchuu was safely out of the way except for
Myoujin Yahiko. But that would probably change soon, Saitou mused. As
for himself, it still wasn't time to make his move and he was content to
wait and watch in the meantime. This was going to be interesting.

.....................................

Just what the hell was Battousai up to? If he had lied to him...Enishi
was getting angrier by the minute. Here he was, manipulated into coming
back to Tokyo, forced to watch his back for Battousai's friends,
slinking around like he was up to no good when all he wanted was to
speak to Battousai and then get the hell out of this place. He should
never have let Himura into his house that night. But it was too late
now, Enishi thought, slowing his pace as he approached the Kamiya dojo.

From above the stars winked mockingly at him and for the first time, he
hesitated. When the messenger had returned and narrated the incident to
him, Enishi almost could not believe his ears. "You're lying to me," he
had accused, rising to his feet and stalking the terrified man until the
latter had all but collapsed in a trembling heap. But no matter how he
questioned him, Enishi knew, from the facts and also from his keen
senses that the man was not. And that naturally pointed to some
deviousness on Battousai's part. Enishi had been livid and for a moment,
the nerves beneath his skin had surged and quivered in response. Forcing
himself to keep calm or at least in control, he had dismissed the man
and decided that he would confront Battousai that very night itself.
There was no point in waiting any longer. Either Battousai had really
been deceiving him all along, in which case Enishi seriously
contemplated killing him. Or, there had been a misunderstanding between
the messenger and the "rude boy" whom Enishi correctly guessed to be
Yahiko.

But now that he actually was practically at the doorstep of the dojo, he
was reluctant to go inside. The man had spoken of children, a little boy
and girl. Battousai and Kaoru's children. Envy or longing, perhaps a mix
of both gnawed at him and he pushed the feeling aside although he
couldn't quite banish the thought of Kaoru in Himura Kenshin's arms.
Suddenly he felt very much like the outsider he was, lurking beyond the
walls, looking in. Not only did he feel awkward and strange here, it
hurt as well, evoking too memories and feelings he had buried. And what
if, by some stroke of ill luck, she saw him? She wouldn't understand and
he wouldn't know what to say. Torn by doubts and apprehension, Enishi
was just deciding that he would send another message in the morning when
shrill cries pierced the air. They were coming from inside the dojo.
Without thinking twice he leapt over the wall and to his horror, Enishi
saw a tiny figure tumbling down the sloping roof of the practice hall.
If the child fell it would break its neck!

....................................

Kenji had not really given it a second thought when he snuck out of bed,
past a sleeping Keishi and out the door. He tiptoed to the dojo hall and
with dexterous skill a monkey would have been proud of, climbed up a
wooden beam and made his way to the centre of the roof, where the
moonlight shone brightest. There was a full moon tonight, as there had
been the previous night and Kenji loved sitting under the full round
moons with their golden-white faces. It felt magical somehow,
otherworldly and there were stories about how the moon was really a god
punished by his sister the sun and forced to live apart from her
forever. Kenji couldn't imagine living apart from Keishi forever,
although there were times when they fought and squabbled. But Keishi was
always willing to make up and she was fiercely protective of him.
Besides, she and Kaa-san were the only family he had left.

The wind brushed back his red bangs and Kenji fingered his hair. Like
his father, his own hair was red and now under the moonlight, it was
almost luminous, like a smouldering ray of sun fallen to earth. "I miss
you," the boy whispered as he curled his knees up to his chest, resting
his chin on them. "But I'll take care of them, I will." His father had
extracted no such promises from him at his deathbed, but Kenji knew what
was expected of him. It was the duty of the sons to care for their
family and he would do no less. He was only a child and yet when the
elder folk looked into Kenji's face and studied his eyes, they often
commented that the boy would grow old in spirit before his time.

He had all but forgotten the hour, lulled by the surroundings into a
half-sleep when he heard Keishi somewhere nearby, calling softly for
him. She was going to get him caught one of these days, Kenji thought,
frowning with annoyance. If Keishi thought he was missing she would wake
up Kaa-san and then he would really get it. Quickly, Kenji scrambled to
his feet, unaware that the edge of his hakama had caught on a tile. He
turned, slipped as the cloth tightened, pulling him back and completely
lost his footing. To Kenji's horror, he couldn't get a grip on the
smooth tiles and as he slid helplessly to the edge, he forgot all about
his mother and started screaming. He went over the edge headfirst and
although he was terrified, Kenji couldn't shut his eyes and watched as
the ground rushed up in a dizzying blur to meet him. Even if he didn't
die this was going to-

'Hurt?' The falling had stopped, or rather, he had stopped falling.
Kenji blinked and realised that he was dangling in midair by his feet.
For a moment he thought it was Yahiko who had saved him. 'But Yahiko-nii
is not home yet.' Kenji was quite sure of that. On his way out he had
passed Yahiko's room and the door had been open, revealing it to be
empty. Then a warm arm encircled his back, righting him and Kenji looked
up at the stranger who had saved him. The man wore funny blue glasses
and had the strangest looking hair he had ever seen. It was like
Sano-jisan's, only white and silver.

The boy was a miniature replicate of Battousai. Enishi simply stared at
him, unable to fully absorb the child's uncanny resemblance to its
father. Flame-red hair, purple eyes and even the slender petite built.
The only thing lacking were the crossed scars.

Kenji and Enishi were still staring at each other when Keishi came
racing around the corner, frantic with worry. She had heard her
brother's screams and imagined some grave danger had befallen him. So
when she saw Enishi, a total stranger and intruder, holding Kenji, she
leapt to the wrong conclusion. Frightened but angry, she charged over to
the man who was hurting her brother and did the first thing that came to
mind. Sharp teeth latched onto Enishi's forearm as Keishi bit him as
hard as she could.

Enishi almost dropped Kenji but the plucky boy had the presence of mind
to cling onto his shirt. Gritting his teeth to stop from yelling with
pain, he tried to prise the girl from his arm but to no avail. "This
can't be happening," he thought in exasperation. "So much for sneaking
in undetected." The entire household must have been roused by the boy's
cries. He had to get out of there fast but nothing short of a slap was
going to make the little wildcat release him. Still, upset as he was,
Enishi was not about to hit her. She was doing to him what he himself
had done to Battousai years ago and the uncanny coincidence, not to
mention the irony of it all, was not lost on him. However, he had bitten
Battousai out of sheer spite and resentment whereas this little girl
with flashing blue eyes and midnight hair was only trying to protect her
sibling. Enishi knew what that felt like, the desperate need to keep a
loved one safe. There had to be another way-

"Keishi, stop that!"

Enishi froze. His back was to her but he knew that voice anywhere. Kenji
peeped over his shoulder and squeaked out "Kaa-san!" Keishi wasn't
showing the least inclination to listen to her mother but at the moment,
she might have taken a katana to Enishi and he still wouldn't have been
able to move. A thousand thoughts rushed through his mind but none
registered, save one.

It was Kaoru.




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Comments: 
The above poem is the first stanza of "The Tyger" by William
Blake, written in 1794. And if anyone feels surprised that Saitou knows
English...*coughs*...in my humble opinion, I think Saitou is Perfect and
this is my fic so there...*l*...seriously though, I wouldn't put it past
that man to know more than one language. He was/is exceptional in real
life and in the manga.

The remarks about the sun and moon were gleaned from Jan Story's site,
which is wonderful for reading quality fics and learning more about
Japanese culture etc.

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