All for Love- Chapter Five Disclaimer: *All Rurouni Kenshin characters belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Jump comics, and Sony.* Things were different now. Sanosuke lay beside her breathing softly in his sleep, and Megumi could not help but feel afraid. So much had happened today. So much had been learned. Megumi had a difficult time adjusting to the circumstances. She still could not believe that any of this had happened. What came over me? she wondered to herself, as she turned to Sano�s sleeping form, and traced a finger down his spine. He moaned quietly, but he did not awaken. Perhaps he was too involved with his dream. Perhaps he thought that what they had just shared was a dream. Megumi rose from the futon, and began to dress. As much as she wanted to stay, she needed to find some answers. She still believed that Sanosuke was keeping something from her. He had not explained why he decided to work for a government that he hated so much. This she could not understand, and she was still uneasy about what had happened earlier. The rape attempt; the Katana; and the sound of death. Did Sanosuke kill that man? She had refused to look, but she was sure that he had died. The sound of his flesh tearing, and his blood dripping-these would haunt her thoughts for weeks. She looked to Sano�s sleeping form one last time before she made her departure. There are some things that I need to know about you, Sanosuke, for I have surrendered my heart...and I have to know that you will not cause it to bleed. And with that, she made her trip into the darkness, knowing that she was in danger of an attack, but risking it nonetheless. She knew exactly whom she wanted to talk to, and if need be, she would drag her dying carcass to him. Almost 2AM, with no plans to go home anytime soon. He felt as if he had to wait for someone, and so he sat back in his chair, lit cigarette after cigarette, and puffed away until he saw whom it was that he waited for. She opened the office door without knocking, and walked toward him with determination piercing through her dark eyes. She regarded him with contempt as she stopped at the foot of his desk and glared down at him. He smirked up at her, the cigarette smoke making spirals around his head. �Why are you out of your cage, Fox? I gave that dumbass specific orders to keep you on guard at all times. How could you be so dumb to walk around in the middle of the night?� Megumi stood her ground against Saitou Hajime. She was not going to let him intimidate her. She ignored his question, and slapped him with one of her own. �Saitou-san. Don�t you have a wife to go home to?� He stopped in mid puff and glanced at her. �Eh?� �Well, it was not my intention to wander this far, but since you were not at home I had to make my way through these dangerous streets to find you. I have something on my mind.� �I have a hundred things on my mind and I don�t need to add to it, �a stupid fox getting herself killed�.� Saitou stood up. �I�m taking you back to Roosterboy.� Megumi fumed for a moment wondering why this man still insisted on using that name to refer to Sanosuke. Had he any respect for an officer who he, himself trained? She pushed that thought out of her mind so that she could concentrate on how she was going to outsmart this Wolf. From what Sanosuke described, he could be very clever and apparently nothing went by him. She pressed her arms against her sides and held her chin high meeting his stone gaze with one of her own. �I�m not going anywhere.� Saitou narrowed his eyes, and took one last drag from the cigarette before pressing it into the ashtray. �If you refuse to cooperate, I will make sure that you pay the most extreme consequences.� Megumi didn�t flinch. �You forget how extreme I am willing to go for the sake of those that I care for. If I have to die for Sanosuke, then that is exactly what I will do. I came here because I want information.� This man was insufferable, and she feared she would lose her patience with him. He couldn�t possibly understand what she wanted to know, but she had to try. She had to know. Saitou was intrigued now. He smelled it on her-she was in love with that stupid rooster boy. Yare yare. No way to get out of this one, he thought and took his seat again. Megumi took the seat facing him. �There is much to tell, Kitsune. This could take a while,� he informed her, lighting another cigarette. �I don�t need all the information. I know why Sano decided to work for you-� �You know nothing of why he decided to work for me. This goes far deeper than his desire to be stronger. It all connects to one person, and that would be you.� Megumi was struck cold by those words. Hearing it from Sano�s explanation was different than hearing it from the blunt statement that came from Saitou. Was she so clueless that she needed some psycho cop to point out the obvious? She opened her mouth to speak, but Saitou cut her off. �It all connects to you because this man, Henry Austin has been in and out of Japan for the past year and a half planning his personal war against you. But I believe that rooster of yours has informed you that it will not end with you. He plans to leave his mark on Tokyo, and perhaps the rest of Japan. He seems to think that we are inferior with our swords, and lack of military weaponry, which they have an abundance of. He is driven by money. He has lots of it, and he wants more.� Megumi looked perplexed. �I don�t understand. What does his desire for money have to do with me? I have none for him to claim.� Saitou chuckled. �Your father apparently messed up his chance at claiming a huge fortune through his son. He was going to marry an heiress whose father planned to sign half of his oil company to Henry Austin. But that would only happen if his son and the girl wed one another. Since the boy is dead, that deal withered, and Henry Austin loses out on a fortune.� �And he blames my father for this. How petty, and selfish.� Megumi had flames behind her stare. �Why was he in Japan ten years ago?� �Opium. He sold it in the Southern states of America, and throughout the western coast of the Atlantic Ocean.� Megumi shuddered in disgust. �He is such a horrible man. I have never heard of him until now. Is he known among the officials of Japan?� Saitou nodded. �But they�re not worried about him. He can be handled on a local level by my department. He is pretty well known among the Yakuza of Japan. They have no respect for him, but they work for his money whenever he comes to town.� Megumi sat silently for a moment. She still could not understand. �So, I know the history. Now why did you want Sanosuke involved?� she asked. Saitou answered the question with a chuckle. His expression was unmistakably evil. It enraged Megumi. �Why him?� she asked, more forcefully this time, the venom tingeing her voice as she lashed out at him. Saitou raised his eyebrows. He was naturally unmoved by the outburst, but the determined gleam in her eyes caused him to believe the statement she had made earlier. She would indeed die for the damned Rooster. He shook his head slowly. Maybe she should know what she�s getting herself into, he thought finally giving in. He lit another cigarette and then he continued. �I hate to admit it, but that Rooster impresses me. I thought that I could use him in Downtown Tokyo. He knows everyone so he can spot a stranger within ten miles. He�s a good cop. No one knows that he�s a cop-which is what makes him so good.� Megumi glared at Saitou. �I hate to admit this to you Saitou-san, but that Rooster blew his cover.� Saitou smirked at her. If she wasn�t so annoyingly sly could actually begin to like her. �I see that we weren�t able to hide his secret for very long. Well, I guess it�s time to let it all out. I used the situation with Henry Austin to lure your Rooster,� Saitou began, �He still had ties to his former Yakuza days, and I thought that he would be useful to this investigation. He took the bait faster than I expected him to, and in so doing he became a part of my Secret Police Unit. Now he oversees all operations in Downtown Tokyo, under me, and he dispenses officers as he sees fit. You never noticed it but he had an entire squad watching you from afar. He wanted to make sure that you were safe. That is until Henry Austin finally came to Tokyo last month, which is when the Rooster decided to take over those duties and watch over you himself. But I�m afraid that he has gotten himself much too involved in this situation.� Saitou stopped a moment, and glanced at Megumi knowingly. �Like I said, he did all of this for you.� Megumi looked down at the floor. Saitou had revealed what she was afraid of. Sanosuke had put himself in danger on account of her. He had endured a grueling training, and possibly committed murders in the name of justice just so he could protect her. She thought about the rape attempt, and wondered if indeed that man had been killed. �I trained him to follow my code of justice: AKU. SOKU. ZAN. Killing is inevitable,� Saitou whispered, as if he had read her thoughts. But he had read it in the expression on her face. Her features were tinged with guilt, for she felt that this was yet another death that she was responsible for. Saitou sighed. �Is this what you wanted to hear? Your beloved is an officer of the highest rank now. He is part of my exclusive team of officers. He carries a katana, which means that he may need to kill whenever sees it necessary to do so, and for you he felt that it was. Don�t look so disappointed. I doubt that he took any pleasure out of it, which is actually quite disappointing. But that is how he is. He has been hanging around the Battousai too much, I guess.� Saitou finished his cigarette. �Now what do you plan to do, Kitsune? Does this change things between you both?� The fire in Megumi�s gaze slowly grew until it finally burst through. She hated the Wolf. �You made him into a killer!� she accused, her teeth clenched so tightly her jaw ached. Saitou shook his head. �I was merely a guide to make him stronger. You really should be proud of him. He has turned into a fine warrior, and his love for you was what drove him so far. You should feel honored.� The fire burned out of control. �How can I feel proud! One who had once taken the words of Kenshin to heart now goes by the code of the Shinsen-Gumi! He had never killed before! He never had the heart to do such a thing!� �Love makes a man do things he would not normally attempt. His devotion to you indescribable.� Megumi immediately felt the tears in her eyes, and the fire was gone. This can�t be the reason why he has chosen to do this. There has to be something else. He can�t be in this because of me, she thought to herself, but the more she pondered it, the more closely the realization came. She looked to Saitou who had stood up, and made his way around the desk. He extended his arm, leading the way to the door. �It�s late, and you should go, before he finds that you�re nowhere around.� Saitou extended his hand, uncharacteristically the gentleman. �Come, I will take you to him.� Megumi looked closely at the hand that hung before her eyes, at the lines that ran across the palm in all directions. She wondered where Sanosuke fit among those lines. She spotted the calluses, that lined the palm and she wondered if Sano had these same markings on his hand. So much had changed about him. She wouldn�t be surprised if he took up smoking. If she had to deal with the Wolf each day she would find herself drinking sake until she could no longer stand straight. She got up from her chair and waved Saitou�s hand away. �Get away from me. I will escort myself if you don�t mind. You have told me what I wanted to hear, and I thank you for that. I must make my way out of here now.� Saitou shook his head sadly at her. �Ahou! You haven�t heard any of what I have just told you! You are in danger, and you are not to walk these streets by yourself. If you get into trouble that will be a year and a half of investigation that will all go into the trash. I don�t know how long Henry Austin would keep you alive. The police may be too late to save you, and Roosterboy would have done all of this work for nothing. He really is trying his best to keep you safe. Don�t make it any harder than it has to be.� Megumi looked down at the floor. She knew that Saitou was right, and she didn�t want to make Sanosuke�s job harder. He had already done enough for her. She looked up again, and nodded her head. �Fine, I�ll go with you.� Another smirk spread across Saitou�s lips. He looked amused. �You talk as I were giving you a choice, Kitsune. If you would have told me no, then I would have had to take you to jail, for failing to cooperate in a police investigation.� �That�s not an official law. The wolf is trying to deceive me.� �Anything can fall under, AKU. SOKU. ZAN. As long as justice is served, there is nothing wrong with what I do. Now, as you pointed out before, I have a wife to go home to, so let us leave now.� Chapter 6 Fanfiction Archive Main Page |