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Rosa Canina in Autumn	By : hajimenokizu Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 1509 -:- 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
- 6
- 7
Disclaimer:
Nothing is mine. This is just fanfiction. No money involved just plain hard
work and sleepless nights. Also this is not a Saitou x Tokio fic. Alternate
pairings involved! Rating will be changed for later chapters.
Chapter 7:
Golden Afternoons
There was no
choice. The light blinding the guilty, his accomplice and I the damned� Rushing
like muck, half blind and grabbing the detestable Todou while Fukukago was as
blind as bat from the outburst of light. Todou scrapes my arm and I turn. The
Kyoto Chief is squinting and I consider burying my katana at the pit of his
stomach. Instead I hurl the flare gun, hitting his face. He�ll be disposed off
later. I need him alive as well.
Having no
escape by land, I dragged us into the cold waters of the river, quickly
maneuvering under the docks. Old and slimy wood bring out their own stench
while seaweed and water splash against my face. Of course Todou�s weight slows
down our escape and from behind I can hear Fukukago barking orders left and
right. A manhunt it seems will be conducted tonight, so instead of going back
to Todou�s house or my lodgings, I head to a small shack deep in the woods that
not even Kawaji knows I found for myself.
Looking behind
as I drag Todou like a rice sack, I see he�s not that badly hurt. So I continue
and pull him. A little dirt and some dead twigs shouldn�t hurt �too-bad. Really
he should be thankful he�s still alive.
Once inside I
deposit him to a corner and he rolls to his side.
�Tch�� I scowl
at the weakling. Even Souji at his weakest point would not show such despicable
display. Deciding to examine him, I forcefully pull his body against the wall
and look to where he�s clutching. Pulling his hand away, I see he�s been cut
and was bleeding. But as any expert swordsman would know the cut looks worse
than it really is and did not hit any vital organs.
�You�ll be
fine Todou.� I say and rummage through a small box looking for bandages and my
cigarettes. Life-savers I call them, the cigarettes. Lighting one up I throw a
piece of cloth and the bandages to him. �Put pressure on that wound. Then wrap
yourself up with the gauze when the bleeding stops.�
Todou looks up
to me and I frown. �What?�
�I�ve not� had
to do this. Hide always�� He looks down as my glare became harder. Well his
wife is not here and I am certainly not doing him anymore favors tonight. Not
that I call this a favor. I need him.
I turn and
puff on my cigarette and I can hear him groaning behind me. The one bad thing
about blade cuts that do not leave you dead, is that they sting enough so that
you wish you were dead. Throwing him the pack of cigarettes and my matches, I
say no more and consider our next plan. Who is next and how powerful is
Fukukago? And the most important question is why�
�Do you have
any close relatives?� I pace the floor.
�My uncle and
his family lives here in Kyoto. My sister is in Fukushima.�
�Does Fukukago
know of them? Of any others?�
�No. Just my
wife�� He tries to breathe more evenly as I watch, �We keep pretty much to
ourselves.�
I throw him a
piece of paper, �Write down your uncle and your sister�s address. If you want
them to be kept alive.�
Standing up, I
give the idiot another scowl. He �deserved- it. After he handed the list to me,
I pulled him up by the collar and pushed him roughly towards the side. His head
hits the corner of the table making him grunt. �Fujita-san.. What are you?�
But he never
got to finish as I gagged his mouth tightly with the same bandages from
earlier. Taking out a rope, I bind his hands and his feet. He almost looked
like a suckling pig. A grin dances on my lips.
�I need to get
your wife. Don�t even try to escape; I�ll follow you to Shanghai if I have to.� My hand
shakes in anger, how easy it is to just take my katana and gut him right here.
Reluctantly I pull away and head straight for the door. If they find them here
then it�s his fate to die tonight. If not then he�s one lucky bastard.
It�s good that
Hide allowed me to accompany her the other night. Finding my way was easy
enough, I surveyed the area and there were no signs yet of disturbance although
I�m sure there will be. Deciding not to go knock on the front door, I scaled
the walls and let myself in. The place is dark, so the attendants were probably
sleeping already. Picking the lock was easy enough� The hard part would be
finding where Hide was. Sliding the shoji doors one by one, I found more
unoccupied rooms than I�d care for� And found another where three people were
fast asleep. I move pass that since I know, Hide should be by herself alone. I
scoff a bit knowing that had it been any other time, Todou would be in the same
room with her� Like I was at one point.
FLASHBACK
I tuck the
small package of tea under the sleeve of the kimono. I knew from watching that
she loves tea. As I walk down the street feeling a bit light, I remember how
each dinner we�ve had accompanied tea in all its flavors. Hell! Who would�ve
known there�s so much variety of tea? Since I�ve never been a tea connoisseur�
Not once did I care for it until now. She�ll be delighted I�m certain; this
green tea came straight from Ito Shizuoka. Land of tea� At one point the home
of one of the greatest Shogun, Ieyasu.
As I enter the
compound, I caught sight of Souji going once again into Serizawa�s room. I just
chuckle at that. He doesn�t know what he let go of. Women like Oume, should be
avoided no matter how beguiling they are nor how attractive� I stop for a
moment wondering what it was that Souji was doing in there and if Kondou-san
knows. Most probably not, for the Kyokuchou was very protective of Souji and he
would�ve taken measures against it� But that�s not my business. My only
business is� I turn and walk further down the engawa passing the dog rose and
into the back end area where the whole Yagi family were pushed to live in. The
Shinsengumi practically invaded the whole place, except for this.
I see her
there sitting, sewing a small shawl.
�It is getting
cooler.� I say and leaned at the wooden column.
�Yes it is.�
She gets up with a smile on her face and I�m tempted to ask who the shawl is
for.
�Did you like
the play the other night? I know the Tale of the Genji must be boring�� I
chuckle and look away. No one knows we�ve been going out secretly. Everyone
else thinks I�m just being my dutiful self and surveying the area� No one
really asks questions of me. Even Hijikata-san doesn�t. I am his trusted spy
after all. It was convenient for in truth the afternoons were spent with her,
drinking tea that turns my stomach. Ah but it�s tolerable� The past weeks have
been precious to me. I�ve never felt more alive in those golden afternoons,
even if they were spent hiding. I never did know how she managed to meet me
outside� But that doesn�t matter as long as she did. Were we doing something
wrong? Certainly not! She and I were free and all the clandestine meetings were
spent talking.. And was more for Souji�s benefit, although I wonder if he�d
still care. Wasn�t he too busy with Oume?
She laughs
slightly and I watch her from the corner of my eye. How many months has it
been? And now able to finally talk�
�It was�
wonderful�� she looks down for a moment and I thought a frown escaped her face,
�Hajime.�
Suddenly I�m
confused. A frown and yet she calls me for the first time by my name. No� I am
mistaken. She called me as someone familiar; -surely- she did not frown. I just
grin knowing how wrong I am. They�re over. It�s �us- now. Her and I.
�Don�t ever
call me Saitou-san again.� I say under my breath. �That name is good.�
She looks back
at me with a puzzled look on her face. �Why?�
�I like it
when you call me that.�
It�s who I
am� My real name was after all� Yamaguchi Hajime. A long forgotten one.
She smiles and
starts to laugh. A hearty one that makes me believe that perhaps� I could make
this young woman happy. That I �do- deserve her.
Taking out the
tea from Shizuoka, I slide it towards
her. I can�t quite take her into my arms. Who knows who might be watching?
�Oh tea!� She
almost squeals and I raise my eyebrow. �Thank you Sai.. Hajime.�
I contain
myself from bursting out to laughter as she puts it against her nose. If tea
can be digested through the nasal area� Well she was making good work at it. My
eyes settle across the garden, the dog roses where actually starting to bloom.
She was right they do better in colder months� It�s autumn already and it was
time for a change. I never wanted to be her friend after all. I needed her. I
wanted her�. And when I looked back, her little round face radiant� I decided
she will be �mine-.
�Hide��
�Yes Sai.. Err
Hajime.� She laughs again. �It might be a while before I get used to that.�
�It�s
alright.� It�s a habit and �bad- habits are hard to break. �I�ll be on patrol
tonight and tomorrow late� But meet me for lunch? There�s this soba place
around the corner that serves an excellent serving of Kake soba��
�Oh but I can
cook!�
I chuckle,
�You are an excellent cook.�
�Will you
bring some to my room then, before I go out tomorrow? I�ll be free early in the
evening.�
She pauses and
I can see her cheeks turn to a crimson color. It wasn�t �exactly- what I had in
mind but� Perhaps with this I�ll know. I wait keeping my face straight, but my
heart sinks at each passing second. My stomach is starting to twist and turn
sending myself to spurts of agony. I close my eyes� Resigning myself. I
should�ve known it was too early. That she wasn�t ready.
�I�ll be
there.�
Sharply I
intake a breath. What a relief� She did not reject me. I turn and I�m sure
there�s a damnable smile on my face� A smile from ear to ear, that seems to
hurt as much as it was embarrassing. I nod at her� Something to look forward
to. Just like the past weeks, when I stubbornly refused to succumb to any enemy
because of those short but golden afternoons. Before she can change her mind, I
turn abruptly leaving her. I should go out� Take care of a few rowdy men in
Mibu. Make sure the streets are safe. Or I�ll be pissed if something happens
between now and tomorrow. It�s not just Harada who needs someone� And no, in
these troubled times even when I wield a sword, I still need someone. It was
her choice now. Not just my lecherous self�
END
FLASHBACK
I stand in her
room just watching her sleep. Her face has some lines now, betraying the
passage of time. I never did get the luxury of watching her sleep. She sleeps
like a child. My hand unwittingly starts to touch her face and I wince pulling
it back.
What am I
doing?
But old times
are hard to suppress, old wants and flames are hard to deny. I swallow trying
to think of Tokio and my son instead. There are things that can no longer be
changed. Cross purposes� It was never meant to be. I blink a few times, trying
to get myself back to the present. But so many memories of those golden
afternoons, they slice and dice just like� No a bit worse I would imagine than
committing seppuku� Steeling myself, I shake her slowly.
�Hide� Wake
up. We need to leave this place.�
�Saitou-san?�
She looks up and I tear my gaze away. She shouldn�t see me. If she sees me�
She�ll know nothing�s really changed. How I want to shout at her� Never to call
me by that name� Doesn�t she remember?
�I need to..�
I clear my throat, �You need to get out of here. Your life is in danger.�
�Wait for a
moment. Let me get dressed and let the others know��
�No Hide!� I
glare at her, �We don�t have time. And the less they know, the safer they are.�
Ignoring her
protest I bring a hand to clamp her mouth. She�s surprised� But I do not want
anyone to wake in this household. There�s enough trouble for one night.
We steal
through the alleys, quickly. Running and occasionally stopping to check no one
was in sight. And also so I can take a breath, I�ve been losing energy albeit
slowly it seems.
�What are you
doing Saitou-san?�
�Shh�� I
motion for her not to speak as a group of men in uniform passes the main road.
I look, waiting for them to disappear and then bolted to cross with her in tow.
�Saitou-san?�
We finally
reach the forested area and I let go of her.
�You�re wet��
�Don�t state
the obvious Hide.�
�I can�t ask
you questions and yet you do not allow me to talk. Typical��
A growl
escapes me and I spin around. �Typical? Weren�t you the one who�� Clamping my
mouth shut, I decide to answer her question instead of going back to what�s
dead already.
�Your husband
was almost killed. The idiot was inv..�
�Where is he?�
She grabs my arm and an almost pleading look crosses her face. �Is he safe?�
That look� I narrow my eyes and
then spat to the ground, �He�ll be fine.� The sissy that he is�
She sighs in
relief and I turn to walk again.
�The idiot was
involved in firearms smuggling. Apparently your import business was��
�No that can�t
be. Todou is a good businessman� A hard worker.� I can hear her footsteps stop
and I turn around.
�What Hide?�
�You lie.�
�Still can�t
trust me?�
In the dim
light under the moon, I can see her fidget. �He�s not like that.�
�People will
do anything for money. Haven�t you noticed he�s quite an idiot in that regard?�
�No! I know he
values money. He was raised that way and we went through hard times� But he�s
my husband and I know him best.�
I spat on the
ground. �Still that na�ve? Even the noblest of people have their faults�� And
he�s a schmuck�
�No. I�m going
back. You�re a liar.� She turns and I grab her.
�See for
yourself Hide� When did I �ever- lie to you?� I never did and you know that!
My grip on her tightened that she was wincing by the time I let her arm go.
�Fine��
We walk in
silence� Hard times? I wonder what kind� And how such an idiot took her
loyalty.
Reaching our
destination, I throw the door wide open. Todou�s still on the ground gagged and
bound of course. She throws me a vehement look and runs towards him.
Immediately taking the cloth from his mouth and she looks at me and I sigh.
Walking over, I drew my katana cutting the rope.
�Anata� Are
you alright?� She asks� The �wrong- question. Why is she not asking him what
the hell he was doing?
Moving out of
the way, not wanting to hear any pointless drabble, I sit by the door. Sitting
up straight just in case we get any unwanted visitors. I watch her as she tends
to his wounds. How wonderful� She didn�t even notice the now caked blood to my
side. Well� Who cares? I�m not dead yet.
Typical huh?
Yes typical of you as well Hide�
Notes:
Nothing is mine� All copyright owned by their respective owners� Inspired by
RK/NHK and a little bit of history.
Serizawa
Kamo � Co-commander of the Shinsengumi
Oume �
Serizawa�s woman
Ieyasu �
First shogun
Shizuoka
prefecture � famous for green tea
Dog rose �
rosa canina
- 6
- 7
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Rosa Canina in Autumn