Disclaimer: RK characters aren't mine. All rights and privileges of
Nobuhiro Watsuki and the companies associated with this wonderful anime,
I acknowledge. I just borrow.


Re-edited: 8/4/02. Decided to change the plot a little. I needed Chou to
do more than just catch spies.



Chapter Seven: Raven Wings


Outside the surroundings whizzed by in a blur of darkening blue and
green. Evening was advancing and fading with equal speed. Night would be
upon them soon. Misao stretched her legs, covering her mouth as she
yawned. They had been on the road since the previous evening and had
only stopped twice to change horses. It was no wonder they were almost
at Yokohama.

A glance to her side informed her that Kamatari was still fast asleep.
He slept like a child, she thought, curled up into a corner with his
feet tucked under him, his cheek pillowed in his hands. Then the fine
hairs on her arms rippled and she looked up to see a pair of deep amber
eyes watching her speculatively.

Not five minutes had passed since she cried out in her sleep and yet the
itachi musume didn't seem to realise that. Saitou had been indulging in
a light nap when the sound of whimpering woke him. He was right;
something had happened on the way to Okayama that had deeply traumatised
the girl.

Misao squirmed as Saitou continued examining her. She dared not look at
him, she was afraid of what she might reveal. With a slight start, Misao
realised that she didn't know much about the man who had once saved her
life at a little godforsaken village called Shingetsu. He was once
Himura's archenemy, he was a spy for the government, he had no qualms
about killing. Cold, calculating and cunning, Saitou Hajime was the last
man she wanted to talk to about her problems. It was a miracle that that
beautiful gentle woman Misao had met was married to such a man. She
wished she had paid more attention to Saitou Tokio but she had been too
wrapped up in her own misery to notice much else.

A match was struck and she could hear the crisp crackle of paper being
consumed by flame. Seconds later Saitou exhaled deliberately in her
direction. "When we get to Yokohama you'll be put in a safe-house."

"Huh?"

"You can't be of any use to me. It's better you stay out of the way
rather then become another problem I have to deal with." His words and
the disinterested expression he wore were all calculated to provoke her
anger. As on previous occasions, Misao did not disappoint. Her irate
response came fast and furious.

"Look here! Saitou, you can't lock me up like-"

"Oh, can't I?" His cool sharp voice cut across her tirade before it
gathered full steam, effectively silencing her. He could and he would,
she knew that very well. "Give me one good reason not to."

"I can be of help. Kamatari said so himself."

Saitou looked across at the sleeping spy. "Yes, he did. But he also
omitted some events that happened. I could tell." Not that Kamatari
hadn't been convincing, he had looked Saitou right in the eye and not
blinked once. But there was always something else, a slight catch in his
tone, the way Misao had tensed when he described their flight to
Okayama. Oh yes, Saitou had known from the beginning. "And it concerns
you. You've been crying in your sleep, Weasel. I heard you."

Misao's face burned and she looked down. Her knuckles turned bone white
as she clutched her fingers so tightly together she almost cut off the
blood circulation. She felt completely humiliated, to say the least. 'No
wonder Aoshi-sama can't love you. You are a baby. You cry in your sleep
damn it!' Kamatari was right; she was weak. Tears stung her eyes but
Misao bit her cheek, using the physical pain to override the anguish inside.

When she had composed herself, Saitou spoke again. "There is nothing
embarrassing about withdrawing from a battle you aren't ready for. In
fact, it's a lesson every boy learns before he becomes a man. Or in your
case, every girl. This isn't a game Itachi," Saitou said, his words
echoing Kamatari's, "You'd be better off and so will I if you stayed out
of this matter."

Once more Saitou had managed to surprise her. He was speaking to her
like ...like a ...... Misao frowned as the word 'teacher' came to mind.
He was teaching her something at any rate; she knew a lesson when she
heard one. But what was surprising was the tiny little degree by which
his voice softened. For once he wasn't taunting or sarcastic but just
plain serious.

She took a minute to collect her thoughts and harden her resolve. The
guilt was still very much there, she was achingly aware of it. Yet what
was done had been done. There was no going back. And there was still
much left to do. Lifting her chin, she looked Saitou in the eye and said
quietly with newfound steel in her voice, "I won't allow personal
problems to get in the way of my duty." It was not so much a promise to
him as it was to herself. "Whatever you need me to do, I'll get it done.
You have my word as a Makimachi."

Saitou almost smiled. For one startling second she had reminded him
vividly of her grandfather, Makimachi Ichikawa. Misao looked nothing
like him but perhaps she had inherited a thing or two after all. "I
accept. But the moment you waver I lock you up."

"Done." An elated flash of triumph was followed by a sobering sense of
foreboding. She had thrown herself into the deep end this time. It was
all or nothing. She couldn't fathom what the cost was and yet she had
promised she would pay. So she would. "How long more before we reach
Yokohama?"

"We'll be there within the hour." So saying, Saitou lifted his nihontou
and prodded Kamatari awake. The spy woke at once, eyes narrowed before
he relaxed, remembering where he was. "When we get to the police
headquarters, Kawaji Toshiyoshi will be there, as will Shinomori Aoshi."

'Aoshi-sama...' His name passed through her like fire, as did the
realisation that she was finally going to see him. 'Aoshi-sama...'

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently moved important diplomats
and officials into its newly established quarters at Yokohama. This is
in preparation for the forthcoming summit. Kamatari, your ex-colleague
Saitsuchi is there as one of the chief negotiators. Locate him and talk
to him about every single meeting he has had, both with our officials
and the foreign ones. I want a full report. Shinohara Sasaki is working
for someone who doesn't want this treaty signed and I want to find out
who he is."

Kamatari nodded. "But what about Shinohara himself?"

"I have no doubt that he knows we are on the way. We have no photos of
the man, no information. He will come to us and we must be ready. But in
the meantime, I intend to stalk his employer. If he bolts or if we catch
him, then Shinohara will be exposed to us eventually." Saitou took a
final drag before grinding out the cigarette, tossing it out the window.
"Either way, I will have them both."

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

If she hadn't known that Saitou was unaware of her current estrangement
from Aoshi, Misao would have suspected him of deliberately torturing
her. They had gotten off at a white modern colonial building that was
the police headquarters. Kamatari had disappeared into the night in
search of Saitsuchi. As she expected, Aoshi was already inside Saitou's
office. She listened in silence as Saitou told Aoshi what had happened.
But what Misao had not anticipated was Saitou's curt order for both of
them to wait there while he met with Kawaji.

She had taken the furthest corner from him. Aoshi remained where he was,
quietly observing her. In a mere month she had changed so much. Always
slim, she had lost even more weight and her delicate bone structure made
her look even more fragile than usual. Her blue eyes were shadowed with
some new pain and a strange fire he had never seen before. It startled
him, to see her like this. Misao had always been stable, securely
centred in her unshakably cheery spirit. Now that familiar light was
dying out and he didn't know why.

"Misao?"

Too quickly she looked up and cursed herself for it. Determined to
ignore him, she was ironically even more aware of him while trying to
pay him no heed. The sight of him brought fresh stabs of pain, so she
concentrated on a spot near his boots instead. She didn't care what he
thought. For once she was more concerned with protecting herself from him.

"Are you alright?" What a stupid question, Aoshi rebuked himself as the
words left his lips. Obviously she wasn't. But what could he say? There
were a thousand things he wanted to say but he could not. 'Or maybe I
just don't know how to say them. And it might be too late,' he surmised
as a cold look swept over her beautiful face.

"I'm fine."

And then she returned to gazing out the window. Two words after a month.
Two words. His chest tightened and Aoshi knew that what he was
experiencing was hurt. She had hurt him. Still, he persisted gently,
trying to find a way around these new barriers. As a leader he could not
allow a member of his group to be involved if her emotions were in a
position to cloud her judgement and performance. But more than that, he
wanted to find out what was troubling the woman he had fallen in love
with a year ago.

"I don't think so. Perhaps if you shared what happened with me..." He
stopped when she stared at him, a bitter smile twisting her lips.

"Aoshi-sama, since when did you care about my feelings? Certainly not
when you told Jiya he had your blessing to arrange a miai for me. Did
you care about me then?"

'Yes ......I did it for you...' But those words would have enraged her
so he kept them inside.

"You're a cruel man, Aoshi." Misao was hardly aware that she dropped the
honorific. The dam had broken and now the flood could not be stemmed.
"You mock my feelings, you don't care about them. So don't you start
pretending that you care now." Her eyes stung with unshed tears and she
quickly turned away, wiping them with the back of her hands. For too
long she had walked on eggshells around him. It felt good telling him
how she felt.

Because her back was to him, Misao did not see Aoshi's face whiten under
the impact of her words. He stood there, helpless to say or do anything
that could change her mind, or soothe the invisible wounds he had
inflicted on her. "Misao......"

She shook her head almost violently, the braid whipping back and forth
like the tail of some strange exotic beast. "I don't want to hear
anymore. This isn't the time or place for this kind of talk. We have a
job to do and the last thing I need is this."

Aoshi was contemplating what to say when the door swung open and Saitou
walked in. His face hardened into a mask as Saitou's bemused eyes swept
past him and onto Misao. "I trust you had a nice reunion," he said
sardonically, sitting himself behind the table. Both shinobi glared at
him. Saitou ignored them. "Kawaji agrees with me that the Oniwabanshuu
are needed in this investigation. You will be able to get around
diplomatic barriers that I will encounter. However, your involvement
with us will be strictly unofficial."

"Meaning that if anything happens, you will deny any knowledge of
working with us," Aoshi pointed out.

"Politics is a messy business Shinomori. You know that," Saitou replied
succinctly.

Misao listened in confusion before speaking up. "What do you mean by
diplomatic barriers and politics? Don't you have free reign to
investigate anyone you want?"

Saitou raised a brow at Aoshi and waved his hand. "Perhaps you'd like to
tell her what's going on."

If Aoshi could have hit Saitou he might have done it. With the tension
running between them, he was the last person that Misao would want to
have expose her ignorance. "You're right to say that Saitou has a free
reign in his investigation. But only where the Japanese government is
concerned. It would be hard for him to check up on the British officials
here and that's where we come in."

"Oh." No wonder Aoshi-sama had said what he did. Should they get caught
spying on he British, the Meiji government would deny working with them
to avoid an international conflict. The hypocrisy of it sickened her but
at the same time she could see why it was necessary for them to do so.

"We'll have to wait for Kamatari to return before deciding on anything
else. But it would be best for you two to maintain a cover of secrecy."
Aoshi's eyes narrowed but Saitou didn't elaborate on his subtle warning.
"What a pity you know nothing about Shinohara Sasaki, Shinomori. I was
hoping the Oniwabanshuu might have more information." When Aoshi didn't
respond, he leaned back and pulled off his gloves. "When Kamatari
arrives I will inform the both of you. Until then, there are some spare
quarters on the second floor. You can rest here."

When they were gone, he idly slapped the gloves against the table's
edge, recalling the meeting with his superior. Kawaji had been extremely
worried about Shinohara and furious that the police networks had been
infiltrated. If circumstances were not so dire, Saitou might have had
difficulty obtaining the information he had just squeezed out of
Kawaji.........

"There are only four men who know everything there is to know about you
and Himura. And only two of them knew your previous location in Okayama:
me and General Yamagata. I've checked the records of the government
archives and there is absolutely no one who has touched Himura's file in
the past two years. The traitor isn't from our side unless-" The
diminutive Police Commissioner had broken off at the point and Saitou
pounced.

"You'd better tell me everything there is to know. Who else has access
to information about Battousai and I?" Kawaji had dithered about until
Saitou bluntly told him that he would go to Yamagata himself. Saitou
knew that the government looked on Kawaji as his 'keeper', the one who
kept the wolf under control. Kawaji had more sense than that but he
didn't like Saitou's independent streak, reliable as he had proved
himself to be.

"The British Consulate has ...certain documents, information that we
give them in return for ...favours they do us."

"You're trading information about me to them?" He had been livid,
controlled but so visibly angry that Kawaji had taken a step back. "Did
you check their records?"

"I can't. Diplomatic red tape. And for your information, I was not the
one who agreed to give information about you. I argued against it but
the incident with Shishio had reached their ears somehow and they
insisted on knowing what happened. Said that they wouldn't invest in a
country with internal security problems and they had to be placated. It
was just an excuse of course. And they also insist on keeping tabs on
you once in a while."

When it was decided what course of action they would next take, Kawaji,
looking tired and irritated, left the room. Saitou spent the next five
minutes getting his temper under control before going back to his
office.........

When the door knob turned, interrupting his train of thought, Saitou
half-expected it to be Kamatari. Instead, a man with gravity-defying
blond hair slipped into the room, his face perpetually locked in a sly
expression thanks to one eye that he kept closed for some unfathomable
reason.

"I was expecting you tomorrow."

Chou flung himself onto the small couch and sprawled out, making a show
of his exhaustion. "I hauled my ass all the way here the moment your
message reached me. And yes, I made sure no one saw me or knew where I
was going. What's up?"

When Saitou had finished filling him in, Chou blinked and rubbed his
chin. "Somehow I get the feeling that you are only telling me what you
think I need to know."

Saitou gave a dry laugh. "What do you expect, ahou?"

"Don't call me that or I won't help you out now."

"Help me out? I pay you your salary."

"Yeah well," Chou muttered. "So what do I have to do?"

He smirked a little before dropping the bomb on Chou. "Go to the British
Consulate in Tokyo. I want you to break in and check their records for
anyone who has looked into Battousai's and my files."

Silence greeted this latest order as the blonde spy stared at him in
disbelief. "Are you serious? You know the British will probably chew us
up and spit us out if they discover Japanese spies on their premises."

"Then don't get caught ahou. I told Shinomori and the Weasel the exact
same thing."

Normally that would have elicited a snappy comeback from him but the
enormity of the job silenced Chou. Scratching his head, he got up
slowly. Shooting Saitou a sideways glance, he asked in an
uncharacteristically subdued tone, "Why would the British want to
sabotage the treaty they helped set up?"

Saitou's lips thinned into a grim line. "Apparently not all of them want
this arrangement. There will always be dissidents even in times of
peace. And it's our job to catch them."

Chou shrugged, accepting the reply from his sharp-tongued boss. He had
been one of those dissidents, had tried together with Shishio Makoto to
raise hell in Japan. Now he was working for its peace. His life was
ironic, interesting but most importantly, never boring. Slipping off the
couch with lazy grace, he exited the room.

'At least that's taken care of,' Saitou thought. Groping in his pocket
for a cigarette, he realised to his mild annoyance that he had finished
the entire pack. At that moment, the clock on the wall chimed softly.
The twelfth note faded and with it came a new day, the 24th of June. He
had six days left.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Comments: Time is driving me nutty in this fic. I had to count and
recount before I got the dates right. (I think) Finally, both storylines
share the same date: the 24th. (Events in Chapt. 5 & 6 occur on the
24th) I hate counting dates...

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