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Terms of Engagement	By : Tamlin Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 3347 -:- 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
- 9
- 10
- 11
AN: Yes, Saitou was a bit of a jerk, but he had his reasons�

Terms of Engagement

Chapter Ten: Rain

Saitou

�Stay put.� He gave his darling wife a small warning glower,
which he already knew was doomed to failure, and slid the door to his personal
quarters closed.

He turned and went down to Serizawa�s office where the
little lackey that had tracked him and Tokio down while they�d been coming back
from the baths stood shifting nervously. Considering the afternoon plans that
the little bootlicker had interrupted, his nervous shifting was an almost
comically mild twitch. After the meeting, Saitou planned on making the kid�s
life nothing short of hellish. Dragging him off on patrol and running him at
top speed around all of Kyoto sounded like a start, he could �make the little puppy practice wrestling in
the courtyard with Timo the ex-sumo that evening, then finish the day by making
him clean every chamber pot in the officer�s quarters. He smiled to the fool as
he entered Serizawa�s office.

Serizawa, as usual, was sitting in the middle of a disaster
and agitatedly reading a document, sipping tea, and
trying to eat breakfast. He didn�t waste time with small talk, but just looked
briefly up at Saitou and grunted, stuffing a small bean pastry into his mouth
so he could scoop up a few map scrolls and held them out.

�Take �em.� Serizawa muttered, swallowing quickly and taking
a sip of tea. �Okita�s sick and you get his patrols today.�

Saitou took the maps and sighed to himself. He should have
known that he�d pay for having one night to himself. He looked at the maps and
felt a headache start. Not only did he have Okita�s brainless bunch to shepherd
around Kyoto for an entire patrol, he�d have to do it through some of the worst
slums in Kyoto. He could already imagine those dimwitted bumpkins ambling
through that rat warren singing some idiotic ditty while one by one they got
dragged into back alleys and stabbed for their shoes. He didn�t let any of this
show though. He saluted smartly and went out to gather the patrol before
Serizawa found another way to make sure he and his
wife didn�t get another moment of private time.

Okita was in the common room talking to one of the
Shinsengumi�s top scouts when Saitou appeared. His friend looked more than
sick. His cheeks were bright red, while the rest of his skin was ghost pale.
The exhausted slump of his shoulders and his leaning heavily against the wall
were not as worrying as his labored wheezing.

Saitou stalked over to him. �What are you doing?! Get back
to bed.�

Okita nodded, �J�st mom�nt. Got�a j�st �range��

�I�ll arrange it.� Saitou could practically hear the gurgle
in Okita�s lungs. �Go, before I drag you up there.� He glanced at Okita�s men
then snarled. �Only you would catch a cold at a wedding feast.�

His friend smiled gratefully, but shook his head his
normally bright eyes half focused and glassy. �R�por�s.
I�shi�n.�

�I�ll do it. Go.� He glared at the man who was giving the
report, silently promising to kill him slowly if he didn�t shut up.

Okita blinked, panting for a moment then nodded. �Than�s.�

�I�ll tell you what you owe me for this later.� Saitou
grumbled carefully watching Okita stumble slowly up the stairs.

He turned back to the man. �Now, what were you saying?�

�We�ve spotted a group of Ishinshishi over by the banks of
the Honzu. They seem to be scanning the trade boats coming down the river.� The
man reported promptly.

�How many?�

�We spotted five, but four left, leaving a spy to watch the
river. We continued surveillance to see if they�d return, but when I left, only
the one was there. He was keeping under cover along the bank.�

Saitou looked over to where Okita�s patrol stood laughing
and telling jokes, then frowned. There was no chance, not even a slight one
that he�d take that lot along, even on a relatively small matter. He considered
a few moments, came up with a solution, and turned back to the waiting man.

�Continue surveillance. Report back to me this evening at
dinner.� Saitou dismissed the scout with a wave and got a salute back as the
man returned to his duties.

As a loud shout of laughter came from Okita�s group, he
looked up the stairs towards where Tokio was. He�d rather hoped for a long,
lazy day with her, watching how her eyes would glitter, her cheeks would flush,
and her sweet mouth would purse into a tempting moue when she was angry. He�d
been looking forward to it. He�d had every intention of taking advantage of it.
He was sure that with only a little persuasion his docile, innocent wife would
fly into a complete rage. He could only imagine how stunning she�d look then.

Now he was stuck with a double patrol, a worrisomely sick
friend, and the Ishinshishi lurking in bushes watching tradesmen ship goods
down the river.

Tokio

�Stay put.�

Grumbling, Toki glared at the door after Saitou left.

Insufferable man. Insufferable, smirking, gloating wolf. She huffed lightly
and looked around. A few of her things were now tucked next to Saitou�s. Her
clothes chest was sitting next to the wall by a dark wood chest of Saitou�s. On
one of his tables, her raku dish with a small arrangement of fall grasses sat
swaying gracefully.� Her writing desk was
set in a corner by Saitou�s sword rack.

Meido must have brought her things yesterday. She went over
to her chest and pulled out clean clothes. The bath, annoyingly smug husband
aside, had been delightful. Even though Saitou had been nearly obnoxiously
pleased with himself, it had been kind of him. His game from last night, as
enjoyable as it had been, had left her sore and the bath had soothed away most
of the ache. She glanced back at the door, wondering when he�d return. Maybe
they could play again when he did. But she doubted he�d be back anytime soon.
As a captain of the Shinsengumi, Saitou had responsibilities and dallying with
his wife was probably low on his list of things that needed to be done to
ensure a safer Kyoto.

She yawned and went over to where a futon was rolled up
against the wall. She could use a nap, and while she waited for Meido to come
and deliver the rest of her things, she could spend the rest of the morning
sleeping. She was actually a bit surprised that Meido hadn�t already arrived.
Usually the maid would be up before dawn, shaking out clothes, collecting
flowers for arrangements, and organizing the chaos of daily life in a household
of scared children and plotting mistresses.

She was just smoothing the futon when a knock interrupted
her.

�Yes?� She got up and went over to the door, sliding it open
to face a dour looking man with one of her servants from home lurking at his
elbow.

�He says he�s got a message for you.� The man�s voice was
depressing as he nodded to the boy. �And he brought more of your things.� He
looked past her into the room. �I�ll have someone bring them up.� He made it
sound like funeral arrangements.

As she nodded, the boy scampered to her side. �Thank you.�

She slid the door closed as the man turned and plodded
dismally away. �You have a message?�

The boy jerked nervously around, blinking at her and
nodding. �Yes, Lady�uhm�� he looked around again then ducked
his head nervously. �We� uhm� you see, your uncle, Lord Choju��

What has he done now?
Toki braced herself.

The boy looked more frightened. ��have you seen Miss Meido?
We� uhm�Lord Choju was asking about her last night and��

Toki felt the world slam to a quick halt. Meido�

��and we saw�� The boy looked down. ��we saw him and her
and�� He glanced up at her hopelessly hopeful. �She�s here, right? We haven�t
seen her, since he� and we thought we heard her, but�she�s here.�

She�d been so distracted -damn Saitou and his idiot games- that she�d forgotten the danger
they were all in. She didn�t have to be a genius to figure out what had
happened. Uncle had seen her. She�d been so busy playing games with Saitou, so
proud of her cleverness, so worried about what Saitou might do, that she�d lost
sight of what her uncle would do. Uncle had seen her and had gone home and
found the one person who could give him the information he�d want. Which meant
he probably knew everything and Meido� Uncle had never been known for his
gentle disposition with the servants and Meido would have resisted, which
meant�

Meido� oh, Meido, I�m
so sorry�

�No. I haven�t seen Meido.� She looked around the room, not
trusting its privacy. Paper walls held few secrets. She needed to get out of
here before more people paid for her mistakes, not to mention her own head
being taken off. �She�s probably at the market.�

The boy looked doubtful, but she glared at him to keep
silent.

�I have a few things of my own I need to get there for
Saitou.� She glanced around the room then turned away. �Let me write a note to
my husband, and we can go together.�

She went over to her writing desk. Saitou had, after poking
his wolfy nose in it and discovering her letters, been nice enough to put it
all back in order. She slipped a piece of paper out and found one of her
uncle�s hated, western pens and a bottle of the stinky ink he treasured.� She quickly wrote a note, sealed it, and set
it out on Saitou�s chest then went over to the raku dish.

Uncle, in his last rampage never realized how close he�d
come to destroying all her plans. She lifted the heavy weight that held the
grasses in place and pulled the leaves out. She turned it over in her fingers
and carefully pried the bottom off, revealing a small water tight compartment
with carefully horded man�en oban, enough to get them safely to Hokkaido. She
glanced at the letter, then to the boy and nodded.

�Let�s go.�

Saitou

He was proud of himself. He hadn�t snapped and killed all of
Okita�s men. It had been a close call a few times, but he�d managed to restrain
himself. When they�d dallied their dim witted selves
through the slums, he�d been so busy discouraging would be thieves, that he
hadn�t had time to slaughter them himself. When they�d scattered like a bunch
of birds through the market without even a tiny thought about staying in
contact with each other, much less him, he�d been too busy chasing after them
while searching of Ishishishi. By the time they�d made their way through
hotels, gaming halls, and geisha houses, he�d been numbed to their continuing
stupidity and hadn�t done much more than memorize
faces for when he recovered to deal out a bit of retribution.

And for all that grief, all he had was a vague rumor that
some of the lower caste Ishin were planning on killing someone, or maybe had
already killed someone connected with the Shinsengumi. He planned, when he had
his own men, to track that rumor down. It just wouldn�t do to allow the Ishin
to amble around killing people without a bit of protest. Maybe the batousai
would show up�

He trudged wearily up the stairs to the common room,
wondering if Tokio had eaten dinner yet. After a long, long day, he wanted to
take a few moments to tease his wife and have a good meal before he went out on
the next patrol. It only took a few seconds for his plan to die a painful
death. Standing in the common room, waiting for him was the scout that had been
keeping an eye on the Ishinshishi�s spying.

The man didn�t waste any words. �They�re up to something. A
group of them joined with the one they�d left behind this morning and brought
ropes and what looks like hooks.�

Saitou nodded. �How many?�

�Ten. Eleven if you count the one stationed to watch. Some
were armed, most had armor.�

His men were already in the common room. He motioned for
them to come and headed back out into Kyoto. They fell in behind him as he
trudged down the stairs after the scout. It was a nice change from the
brainless prattling from the last patrol to hear the soft, professional murmurs
as his men fell into place and readied themselves for
the work ahead.

The air was cool with a cutting chill that signaled a rain
storm looming overhead. Clouds that had only been passing wisps in the morning
had steadily been gathering till now they brushed low over the city. Saitou
never quite decided if he liked it to rain in Kyoto. It made clean up easier
when the rain would wash the blood down into the sewers, but it also made
footing trickier and harder to pick out sounds that gave away enemy positions.

They slipped through Kyoto�s streets passing people rushing
quickly to their homes trying to outrun the storm. Shop keepers were closing up
early shivering in the early evening air as they closed up their shops eyeing
the sky suspiciously. Even the bars were tightly shuttered against the coming
rain with only rough voices drifting out through shuttered windows into streets.

By the time they reached the banks of the Honzu, Kyoto
looked deserted of everyone save the drunks and the desperate. Fat, cold rain
drops thudded into the dirt at their feet as they edged their way along the
riverbanks to nearly the edge of town, where the scout led them through some
low underbrush till they came to where two other men crouched in hiding.
Everyone nodded a small greeting as they squatted down.

�They�re over there.� One of the men they�d met whispered
pointing to where a small group of men could just vaguely be seen through the
brush and small trees a few hundred yards downstream. �They seem to be waiting
for something. They seem most interested in small boats.�

Saitou nodded. �We�ll find out what they�re looking for
after we deal with them.� He motioned to his men to split up. �How many are
there?�

�Right now, seven. Four just left.
They looked like they were headed upstream. Two that remain look like trained swordsmen.
I think three have firearms. The others look like kids hired for the evening,�
the man whispered.

Saitou nodded. His men had already separated into two units and
were ready to move. He waved one unit out giving a signal for circling around.
The other unit he motioned to come with him. With only seven men, two with
swords and three with guns, he wasn�t too worried. The guns might be a problem
and unless the Ishin assigned one of their hitikori�s to this project, he�d be
able to deal with the swords.

As they approached, keeping low and under the cover of the
underbrush, the enemy kept their attention on the river. A couple of small
boats were making their way downstream. The enemy tensed, and nodded to each
other, signaling towards one of the boats.

Saitou waved his men down to see what would happen. The boys
scampered down to the river edge toting coils of rope and large four pronged
hooks and then started wading into the river.

One of his men nodded and gestured towards the Ishen. Saitou
nodded and signaled for a quick, quiet advance while the Ishin were distracted.
They slipped forward like shadows, the rain covering the sound as they slid
into place.

He could see them clearly now, five men sitting focused on
the boat that was slowly making its way down the river, trying to get into
town. Two had swords ready in their hands, waiting for a signal for an attack.
One of the three men with guns was scanning the riverbank and whispering
intently to the others, obviously the man in charge of the group. The two other
gunmen shifted around nervously, but kept their eyes on the boat.

Saitou nodded and signaled toward the Ishin�s leader,
marking him as the main target. His men shifted slightly and got ready. He
listened carefully trying to locate the other half of his patrol, but could
only feel a small hint of their ki in the forest. He frowned and signaled for a
small wait.

He eyed the Ishin again. He could, with surprise, make do
with the men he had with him, but� He frowned towards where the rest of his men
were. It would be safer to wait. He looked back to where the two boys were now
swimming into the river current dragging the ropes and hooks with them. With
the Ishin distracted, he could hit them quick and take out the three gunners,
leaving the two swordsmen to fall to his men�s blades. He�d deal with his other
men later. He signaled the plan to his men and received a quick nod and a
couple of grins in return.

The attack was quick, the leader falling first and one of
the gunmen a moment behind him. The third gunman had a surprise as he slipped
back and drew a kodachi and proceeded to use it on the men around him. The two
swordsmen were also a nasty surprise as they quickly drew and defended
themselves with far more skill than Saitou expected.

It still wasn�t a problem. Saitou felt more than adequate to
deal with them, but it was an annoyance. With the rain making the riverbank
slippery, and half of his men wandering around lost in the forest, he really
wasn�t in the mood for one more annoyance. He dodged as one of the swordsmen
swung, then had to dodge again as one of his men skidded by him as the kodachi
wielding man pressed his attack. The swordsman struck again, forcing him to
take a step back to avoid the thrust. He slipped into gatotsu stance, but was
forced to dodge as the other swordsman forced another of his men to slip and
sprawl against his legs, making him take a couple of uncoordinated steps back
to regain his footing.

Damn. We�re more of a
danger to ourselves in this rain. Saitou parried an attack and shifted
position to avoid the kodachi wielder and his men as they trampled around. Where the hell are those men!

He found himself at the edge of the fight with his opponent
smirking at him. Considering the spectacular demonstration of falling into each
other that his men were providing, he didn�t blame him for the smirk. If he was
the man, he�d have been laughing his ass off. As it was, once he finished this
fight, he was going to be chewing asses off and there would be little laughing
done. Maybe a few pained moans, but no laughing.

He slipped back into gatotsu and grinned back at the man.
The man grinned back and fell into a defensive stance, readying himself. His
men had finally finished the kodachi wielder and were surrounding the other
swordsman. This fight was finished; it was all over but the clean up. Saitou
drew his arm back, focusing on his target.

Then he was on the ground. He didn�t know how he got there.
It was like time had stopped and reset, only a couple of seconds in the future.
He could feel the muddy sand against his cheek, the slow seep of water into his
clothes, even the rain falling on his hair, but oddly most of his body was
numb. It took him a moment to realize his eyes were closed. When he opened
them, he saw his hand resting a couple of inches in front of his face. He tried
to raise his head, to see what had happened, but his body refused the request.
His hand didn�t even twitch.

�Captain!� A voice yelled in his
ear.

Strange, he hadn�t noticed that everything had gotten silent.
What had happened to the fight? Where were his men? His
opponent?

�Captain!� Someone was pulling at
him, forcing him to turn over. �Fuck. He�s been hit.�

�Shooters! Get under cover!�
someone yelled.

There was more yelling and he was being dragged. He caught a
blurry glimpse of his own feet trailing limply in the wet sand. Odd, he
couldn�t feel them�

He was dropped behind some bushes with his men hovering over
him.

�Did you spot��

�Probably downstream�bridge or a��

��serious?�

��chest�doc��

Odd, their voices were fading.

�he�s not�make it��

Then they were gone.

__________________________________________________________________________

Please Review!

theablackthorn:
What is going to happen to Toki�s dearest uncle? Hmmm�
It�s not looking too good here�

Reysheed: Not
much going on for the comedy and romance team. It seems more doom and gloom
this time. Ah well, plots have to be advanced�

keleos:
Thanks <blushes> you really know how to inspire someone to write more
don�t you? Well, here it is. I hope you like.

Author�s Notes

Bath Houses- These are fun. If
any of you ever go to the Orient, go to a bath house. Yes, you have to be all
naked like in a large room with other people, but they�re all naked too and the
same sex, so it�s all good. I used to love going in the winter. I�d take my
little wash pail, shampoo, and soap and head off to the hot baths for a couple
hours of warmth, comfort, and pure luxury. It was wonderful. I actually treated
myself to going to a hot bath in Ichon for my birthday one year. Ichon�s bath
is huge (the size of a large college gymnasium) with four or five different
kinds of baths inside and three outside, including a hot mineral spring.� It was the best birthday I�ve ever had. Just
remember, if you go, take a shower first! You wouldn�t want to wallow around in
other people�s dirt, so don�t make them wallow around in yours. Read all about
them here. http://www.
japanesebathhouse.
com/history. Html.

Sanitation- Yep, I researched it. They had chamber pots. What
they did with the�stuff� is rather interesting. To know more, I�ll leave it to
you to discover.� I did however trip over
a book for this and other things that might be interesting to know. It�s called
Everyday Things in Premodern Japan: The Hidden
Legacy of Material Culture and was
written by Susan B. Hanley. Here�s a link: http: //www. h-net.
org/reviews/showrev. cgi? path=22077869667600.

Man�en oban (a type of Japanese coin)-
I looked up the best coins for Tokio to squirrel away to help finance her trip
through Japan. The man�en oban was light weight, thin, and had a high
value.� http://www. imes. boj.or .jp/cm/english_htmls/history. htm

Sharpshooters/ snipers- were actually quite popular in
the English Military. It�s actually fun to read this part as they contradict
themselves a bit. They say that sniping wasn�t used until the war in India, but
there was a famous sniper from circa 1700. You figure it out. The rifle that
the sharpshooter uses is a Whitworth .45 Percussion Barreled Rife. It was used
primarily as a marksman�s rifle for competition shooting, but was occasionally
used by army sharpshooters. It could have easily found its way to Japan.� There is an excellent picture of it on http://www.rememuseum.org.uk/arms/early/armplebr.htm.
�I also researched for range and
accuracy.� I found a predecessor of this
gun was able to accurately target and kill at 800 yards (a mile is 1,760 yards, so the range is a bit
less then � mile).� While I�m not
a gun enthusiast, I thought that was quite impressive for that time and more
than enough to get out of Saitou�s sensory range, especially if he�s distracted
with other opponents that are in close range. If you think, most gun users,
even those with rifles, in RK are close range giving our bishies the ability to
see and sense the opponent and to react. I put the sharpshooter at long range
so there wouldn�t be a sensory give away, and gave Saitou a nice, loud, multi-opponent,
disaster fight to keep him and his senses busy. I just noticed I did overkill
on this piece of research. You probably don�t even care about the gun or where
I put the sniper� (sobs)
- 9
- 10
- 11
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Terms of Engagement