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Preys	By : kamorgana Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 5568 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: I don�t own Rurouni Kenshin, this fic is written for non-profit purpose. The characters belong to Watsuki, but the plots, ideas and text are *mine*.

Edited for disclaimer. Thanks to Firuze, Taiki, Heather, gx-silver, Fireminx and Sugi for their reviews.

Tags and general author�s notes (second edit February 2004, last edit January 2005):
�Preys� is an AU/ mystery/romance, posted here in its NC-17 version. It�s rated for language, violence (not too graphic), characters enjoying smoking (which is bad, I know) and of course NC-17 lemons (graphic: in chapters 10, 11, 16, and a good dose of lime in chapter 26). I post this story complete finally because I wrote it as a whole, planning every detail in advance: some things take sense in the end only. �Preys� is the first piece of several stories in the same alternate universe, but since it�s the central fic it stands on its own (although reading the short prequel, �Verdict�, can be useful half-way of the fic).
Main characters: Saitoh and Tokio. The other characters with an important role are my other favorites, Enishi, Aoshi and Misao. But all the RK characters will feature, especially Megumi, Sano, Tsunan and Hiko.

WARNING: A note on Kenshin, as I had several reviews about him on ff.net: this isn�t a Kenshin-fic, he isn�t the hero, he won�t save the day in the end, and some characters don�t like him (I do, see note on OOCness). I warn at the beginning not to create false expectations, and to avoid a waste of time for people who might not like it.
�And a note about Kaoru: the character can be selfish, not very smart and immature in the manga, and that�s how I write her -while of course mentioning her qualities too-. I don�t like this character but I�m too old for writing or appreciating OOC bashing.
�And a note on K/K: this is NOT a K/K fic.

The plot: it�s a mystery one. I tried to come up with something coherent and hopefully not too obvious. I also tried to avoid gratuitous details: there are hidden hints in every chapter. Some situations mirror the manga, some are transposition and some are original. Some chapters have a humorous tone, but others are very dark. The investigation is about serial murders: *there are several character deaths*.

OOCness: AU doesn�t allow changing the characters into somebody completely different without reasons, imo. The modifications have to be justified, i.e., have to rely on changes in the history of the characters as given in the manga (events they went through, way those turned out, people they met etc�.). I tried to stay faithful to the characters, but some of them will have a part of their temper (which existed already in the manga, even only strongly hinted) stressed/dominating, because of these differences. Staying true to the originals also means, sometimes, making remarks on other characters according to their vision, which isn�t always mine. Ex: when a scene is seen from Saitoh�s POV, Sano is getting a certain number of depreciating remarks. I LOVE Sano, and I don�t see him that severely. But Saitoh expressing my opinion would be OOC, so�(T-T)

The pairings: Saitoh/Tokio, their romance is a parallel main plot (no WAFF). The other canon pairing is Aoshi/Misao (unfortunately, sugary). All the others will be *alternate*, eventually (K/K/Enishi triangle).

English: I�m not a native speaker. �Preys� is one of my first fics, and the first chapters are very stiff, it gets better after a handful, thanks to my beta-readers. Excuse the remaining mistakes, which are mine (^-^) I reposted the first chapters on AFF since the format had been messed up, and they've been edited.

Special thanks: This story owes a lot to Mara and FiruzeKhanume, thank you for your help, support and encouragement while I was writing it and after. You�re the best! Thanks to L.Sith for the precious beta-reading and comments.

Edited for two precisions: The noun �prey� has two plural forms, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary: �preys� ISN�T a grammatical mistake. Secondly, I use the �old school� spelling of �Saitoh�, with the �h�. I�m a Japanese speaker, if I don�t use �Saitou� I have my reasons.
I hope that I was clear enough about what Preys is and is not. So, if you go past these author�s notes, I hope that you�ll enjoy the read (^-^)

Preys

Prologue
He savored the bittersweet taste of tobacco, the warmth of the smoke sliding down his throat. It shouldn�t be too long now. He was leaning on the dirty wall of that narrow street, behind dumpsters and garbage, in the gray shades of the city�s early dawn. The shadows at the very end began to move, and he tossed his cigarette away. His prey. Now. He walked in the middle of the street just as the man passed by.
�Where do you think you�re going?� he growled, knocking the scum unconscious.

Chapter one: Setting boundaries
He entered the rather small office and realized how it had changed, in spite of the appearances. The window was opened yet cigarette smell was lingering in the room, mixing with the discreet note of her expensive perfume. She had made few changes in the furniture, only bringing her laptop and having a new TV installed, on her private funds, she had retorted dryly when he had made the remark. Nevertheless, she was indubitably there: she had made the place her own. Not with flowers or feminine ornaments, like his colleagues had joked when she had been chosen to take the lead, but just with her presence. He didn�t like this; he had never wanted her to be there in the first place. She didn�t belong in there. She had merely changed the place of the desk, which wasn�t at the end of the room and parallel to the window anymore, but perpendicular to it and situated just in front of the door. Her predecessor had told him that he wanted his subordinates to be conscious that it was his place, and probably them to squirm a few seconds more when they had screwed up and were called for a scolding. Was it self-importance or need to be closer to her troops, she was the first thing that one saw when opening the door. And he could currently see that she wasn�t happy at all. He couldn�t say whether it was satisfying or not to him. The hostility had grown between them since she was in charge and instead of creating a bond, which could have been a logical possibility, the last events had on the opposite provoked more tension. The message that she had left on his cell phone might have frozen the lines. On the other hand�he had wanted to tell her off for a long time. He would like to confront her, to destabilize her, yet something in him murmured that he had better not go there. She was going to give him the occasion to, with her moronic lecture, and he wasn�t sure that he would take it, this time.
He decided to be smug, anyway. If he had to be unnerved, she would be unnerved too.
She considered him, her barely contained anger renewing at the view of the imbecile. She looked at him, infuriated and not hiding it for once. She wanted to slap this satisfied smirk out of his face. His attitude had gotten on her nerves since she had been in charge. If she wanted to be accurate, it had gotten on her nerves for longer than this: since the first time she saw him, he had done all he could to drive her mad. Yet, she was more intelligent than falling into his traps and this time, he had made a mistake. She wanted to tell him off, she had never been afraid of him, and how tempting it was�yet, she had the feeling that it could get out of control. She couldn�t remember having loathed someone as much as she loathed him�and she had a section to rule, she recalled. She couldn�t allow herself to let her nerves control her and have negative consequences for the team. She had to behave like a professional, unlike him, and that would be the best proof of his obnoxiousness.
But if she had to make this effort, he would have to make it too.
�You may sit,� she said, using her most condescending tone and knowing how he hated to be reminded of her rank.
He bowed, mockingly, and sat in the leather chair in front of her desk. He looked so at ease that the uninformed witness could have thought he was in *his* office. He hadn�t been the least rattled. The golden eyes were ironic as he uttered: �Thank you.�
�Detective Saitoh, you have the reputation of having a very accurate memory. Could you remind me of the directives concerning this case?�
Yes, she just had to be professional, she thought. Put aside her personal dislike for the guy and his smarter than you attitude, and she would go through this without problems.
�I know what the directives were. And I also know that I broke them. It was the best way to resolve the case,� he said flatly, lighting a cigarette.
She dug her nails into her palms, under the desk so he wouldn�t notice, and then she also lit one. She needed the blissful sensation so much, and now. It would help her to remain calm.
�You mean that you wanted to seek personal revenge and ignored the orders. Do I have to point that this kind of behavior is not tolerated in the police forces, less in this unit?�
She had the satisfaction to see his smirk disappear and leave only his usual cold, impenetrable mask on his face. Good.
�I caught the contact. He spat, we went to the building were they kept the merchandises and arrested them. End of the case.� How dared the bitch lecture him on the way he fulfilled his duty?
�Let me correct, Detective. You took the initiative to go after the contact, in spite of the official order to hand the case to the Narcotics. You beat the crap out of him to get his confession. And you went, along with two other members of this section � should I mention here that I wasn�t informed of the fact, either?- to complete a dangerous operation which would have needed back-up. All that because your partner was shot. Now tell me, Detective Saitoh, would you call this a responsible attitude?� Her last words were stinging with disdain and mockery.
He glared at her. He had had no intention to explain anything to that little bureaucrat, but now, she would get his opinion.
�And if I had given up on the case, they would have disappeared before those incompetent morons of the Narcotics could even add two and two. We dismantled Kanryuu�s drug dealing organization in two weeks whereas they have been after him for years. He is behind the bars. And I won�t tolerate you guessing my motivations. My partner has been shot, yes. We�re working in the streets, we all know it can happen at any moment and we accept it. My aim was to complete my investigation and no personal feelings, nothing else, entered in consideration when I made my decision. Now you can try to fire me, and the others, for that. Good luck, because your friend the Mayor is really happy to brag about the outcome. Did you watch the 6 o�clock news?�
She shook her head, laughing somewhat, then took another puff and she was deadly serious again.
�It seems that you�re the one assuming too much here, Detective. You�re a god cop: you know it, I know it, and the chief of police Kondo knows it. I have no intention to fire you for what happened. Concerning Yukishiro and Kitaoka, it isn�t difficult to guess how you manipulated them into helping you. I won�t expect them to bear any responsibility for YOUR mistakes. All I could do is opening an internal investigation on you so you would get a warning or a blame. And I won�t. Here�s why. This unit costs a lot to the city. Kondo had to lobby for years to have it created. Yes, the Mayor is happy about us now, he is most of the time because we have results. But the other sections aren�t very thrilled about us stepping into their jurisdictions and receiving money that could go to their budgets. They want us to shut down, and one fiasco could get their voices listened to. I think that I don�t need to explain you what would have been the consequences if your initiative had turned wrong. If I asked for the Internal Affairs now, it would be used against the whole section. I just want you to be conscious of the fact that we�re permanently in jeopardy. We have to work together and to stick together.�
During her all speech, she had been staring at the incandescent tip of her cigarette. She crushed it into the big ceramic ashtray which was always half-full, gazed straight into his eyes, and added: �I know that you despise bureaucracy. And I know that you don�t like me or the fact that I�m at the head of this unit. But lobbying is unfortunately a reality, and I care for this section. My goal is the same as yours: make the streets safe for the people whom we swore to protect.�
He said nothing for a while, sustaining her direct gaze.
�Do you expect to earn my respect with those words?� he asked negligently, then.
Her gray eyes took the shade of pure, hard steel. Her voice was dry, metallic as she spoke.
�What I expect from you, Detective Saitoh, is to respect my authority and to make sure that I don�t have to have this kind of conversation with you again. I want your official report tomorrow morning on my desk. It will point that you were on a stake with Yukishiro and Kitaoka when we had the order to give up the case and didn�t get it in time. It will also ignore your beating of Kanryuu�s contact. I took care of that already. You are dismissed.�
He stood up, his tall body unfolding in a feline move. His stare fell on the plate standing on her desk, reading: �Chief of Section. Takagi Tokio� and he remembered the name that was there before. That pushed him to a last sarcasm.
�Yes, sir. I mean, ma�am,� he corrected obsequiously, his eyes daring.
She didn�t pay attention. Bitch, he thought as he left her office.
Tokio took a deep breath after he closed the door. Heavens, this man wasn�t easy to handle, not that she had ignored it. Kondo had warned her. Untamable. Still she had to find a way to control him. Did her words reach him? She hoped so, controlling *herself* was less and less easy, and she didn�t want to have this kind of confrontation again. She stretched her arms, allowing the tension to disappear. She had the hell of a day. Time to have a drink, and forget about the mess she was in because of Saitoh Hajime.
To be continued.

The first version was written December 2002. Edited version written in spring 2004 and corrected in January 2005. I added a little bit of context and descriptions; the first version was a little too basic :))

Who is Saitoh partner? (easy to guess but is he alive?) Who is the Mayor? And the other members of the unit? This is a first exposition chapter, the main plot coming soon.

Yoroshiku ne. See you!

Kamorgana
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