Genre

Rating

Spoiler Level

Yin and Yang: Chapter 3 - Greetings

by Author-chan ::: 23.Dec.2004

Cho was as furious as a hellcat. He. Was. In. JAIL! Of all the irony! He had thought that he had spent his last moment in jail after that whole thing with Shishio. Nowadays he was supposed to be guarding prisons, not in them!

"Chikuso," Cho growled, glaring at the bars that kept him trapped, "When I get my hands on that idiot who put me here…"

Cho continued to glower at the bars and began to think back on how he got in his "predicament". He had been pissed and confused and had wandered off into town. Then he had yelled out –for the whole street to hear –how he needed to kill something. Of course a group of cops had to come in at that exact moment and arrest him. They gave their reasons to him as some crap about "disturbing the peace", "threatening innocents", and –oh yeah –"carrying illegal swords".

And of course at that exact moment, Cho was carrying four (very rare and precious) swords on him. Although it wasn't as much as he usually carried around, let alone his entire collection, they were enough to convict him.

Of course, Cho had permission to carry the blades. He knew he had permission. That bastard wolf Saito made him fill out all that paperwork so that he would get a license to carry each bloody (no pun intended) blade! So all things considering, Cho shouldn't have been arrested on the weapon's charge.

Unfortunately, Cho's papers were back in the office, along with any identification that proclaimed him an officer. To the cops that arrested him, he was a regular citizen, and a criminal to boot!

Damn it, he was an undercover cop! If he carried all that official crap with him each time he went out his cover could be blown in an instant!

So in reality, it wasn't his fault, AT ALL!

But that didn't help him one bit, so he was stuck in jail.

Without his swords as well. Of all the humanity! Every single weapon Cho had been carry had been stripped from him. Even his constant companion, the Hakujin no Tachi had been taken away, even though it had been in its usual hiding place wrapped around his waist and hidden by his ever present raggedy flame-colored coat.

"Idiots," Cho muttered under his breath, thinking back on the men who arrested him, "Did they really need to do a strip search? Is this how they treat all prisoners? I probably outrank all of them too. Ha! Disrespecting a commanding officer! I could probably get them in trouble with the police chief… and stuff."

So Cho sat in his cell grumbling to himself about incompetent cops.

Then, he suddenly got a brilliant idea!

"I'll break out of jail!"

qpqpqpqp

Fujita Goro took a deep drag from his cigarette. It was his lunch break and he was currently at a small soba stall eating a bowl of his favorite noodles as well as partaking in one of the few bad habits that he shared with Saito: smoking. Yes he knew that the little white cylinders were probably bad for him (the first few times he tried them he ended up coughing like a cat with a hairball), but they were just so addictive! The things helped numb his mind a bit and there was an unspoken agreement between Fujita and Saito that when one of them was smoking, the other would be silent. Either that or the cigarettes numbed the man's mind so well that only one personality could be strong enough to exert a presence.

In other words, smoking for Fujita Goro/Saito Hajime, had taken on a meditate quality.

No other substance in the world gave the former Shinsengumi the peace of mind that his cigarettes did. Even back in the Bakumastu when Saito drank sake did his mind relax like they did with cigarettes. Sake tended to increase the wildness within the wolf making him more prone to violence. It was no wonder that Fujita never touched a drop of it: he was too worried that it would cause Saito to come out more frequently. Saito simply didn't drink it anymore because he liked being in control of himself, and by loosing control he would reveal himself as a violent relic from the Bakumastu to the peaceful Meiji world that frowned upon such things.

So there was Fujita smoking with a half eaten bowl of soba in front of him. Fujita (and on occasion Saito) frequented the stall so often that the owner already knew his schedule and habits. The other customers knew his habits as well, so everyone there had already gotten used to his smoking addiction. They also knew about how he would mutter under his breath now and then inaudibly. No one ever inquired about his odd little habit. They just assumed that there was a lot on his mind often. That plus, one look at his uniform and everyone just thought it best to keep away from the cop, despite his usual good cheer.

It was a big surprise then when they saw the dark-haired cop suddenly stand up and look into the crowd milling past the establishment, craning his neck as if to get a better look at something. All the regulars at the stall, as well as the owner himself, knew that the cop (whether in his good or bad mood) never did something out of the blue. Everything that the lanky officer did was planned and orchestrated to perfection, from inhaling his cigarette to carefully slurping his noodles. For the man to get startled, the other soba dinners thought, something very strange must have happened.

The owner and the other customers were in for another surprise as the tall cop tossed some coins on the counter to pay for his meal and then walk quickly away. The other customers and the owner instantly began gossiping. For the officer to break his routine like that, something must be very wrong! The man even left half of his soba uneaten!

qpqpqpqp

Tokio had decided that for lunch she would go out to eat, which was a change for her. Normally Tokio stayed at home, cooking a meal for her toddler son, Tsutomu and the young ward Hajime had brought home to live with them, Eiji. However, today was different. There had been some odd happenings going on earlier that Tokio couldn't shake off.

First, she had nodded off to sleep while doing chores. Tokio never went to sleep while doing chores! Such a thing happened as rarely as the times her husband stopped smoking for an entire day. Yes, something was very unusual was happening to Saito/Fujita Tokio.

Then there was that dream she had! In it there was a young man. Tokio felt sorry for the lad. If Hajime ever found out he had invaded her mind…well let's just say the poor man would find out the meaning of "Aku Soku Zan" very, very quickly. But the odd thing was, Tokio didn't know who the stranger in her dream was. Tokio had an excellent memory, and she knew that she had never met the man before. However, it seemed that he knew her.

"Tokio-san," the young man had greeted her with a dazzling smile, one that would have made Goro almost jealous, "I've heard you are in need of assistance."

"'Assistance'?" Tokio had repeated, confused.

"Yes," the man had nodded, "With Saito-san and Fujita-san. I'm here to help with their problem with disagreeing with each other."

"Why?" had questioned Tokio, "And how?"

"Well," them man had said still smiling, "It's partially my fault that your husband is the way he is. And he and I are, um, were friends. I owe him quite a bit. And as for how I'm going to help, well I'm here to give you a gift as well as some advice on how to use it."

"Oh," Tokio had nothing much to say to that. The man simply gave her another radiant smile.

"A little advice, Tokio-san," the man told her, "Today, go outside, don't stay in the house. You'll meet someone very…uh, interesting. But don't worry! He's a frien –I mean acquaintance –of your husband's. You'll know him when you see him. The poor man stands out like a sore thumb! And he will be your first test subject."

"Test subject for what?" Tokio had asked. The dream just seemed to become more confusing by every passing moment. For goodness sakes, the man hadn't even introduced himself yet!

"You'll test out the gift I'm going to give you," the man had explained, "It might be a good idea to try it out on someone else first before trying it out on your husband. That's why I'm pointing you out to your test subject. Um, you probably would want both of you to sit down when you use it. It's very simple to work with. Just hold his hand and concentrate. Everything else should be self-explanatory. Understand?"

"H-hai," Tokio had nodded, her voice just a bit uncertain, "But what exactly are you giving me?"

"A way into people's hearts," the smiling man replied, giving her a wink, "Oh, and don't tell Saito-san that I did this. He would be very angry and try to kill me…again."

With that being said, the man gave Tokio a chaste kiss on the forehead, like a father would kiss his daughter goodnight.

And then Tokio woke up.

When Tokio awoke, she had quickly brushed off her dream as just that, a dream. However, she couldn't brush off the feeling that something strange was going on. So, being too rattled to prepare a meal, Tokio decided to take the boys out for lunch and thus ("unintentionally") following the dream man's instructions.

"What's this place called again, Tokio-san?" Eiji's voice asked, bringing Tokio back to the present. Tokio started slightly then read the sign proclaiming the name of the restaurant she had chosen to go to.

"We're at the Akabeko, Eiji-kun," Tokio said, answering the boy's question, "I heard they served excellent sukiyaki beef-pots here."

qpqpqpqp

Fujita was only mildly conscious that his cigarette was still sticking out of his mouth and that he didn't bother to put it out before he started pushing his way through the crowd. He was too intent with following his quarry that he simply did not care.

When he had been sitting eating his lunch, Fujita had caught a flash of something out of the corner of his eye. It was a flash of red hair.

'Himura-san!' Fujita had gasped mentally as his legs pushed him up into a standing position all on their own accord. Fujita hardly remembered tossing a handful of coins to pay for his meal before he headed off to chase the former hitokiri.

Fujita didn't understand why he was following the red-haired swordsman. Usually it was only Saito who dealt with the man that was once known as Hitokiri Battousai. In fact, Fujita had never really met Himura Kenshin, only his other darker half had.

As he thought about it, Fujita realized that it was curiosity driving him. Himura was the only man living that had known Saito back during the Bakumastu. Well, Nagakura was still living, but he was holed up in Hokkaido somewhere. Also Himura was one of the few people to cross swords with Saito and still walk away...maybe even the only one.And what was it about Himura that made Saito forbid Fujita in meeting with the redhead?

Fujita went through all the information that he had collected about the ex-hitokiri in his head, his curiosity building. Unfortunately, it wasn't much. Saito had always suppressed his gentler half whenever he dealt with the redhead, sometimes using cigarettes to do so. After any confrontation with Himura, Fujita had ended up with only a few snippets of what had occurred. So in all reality, all Fujita knew about Battousai were from the rumors he had heard from the street and the occasional mutter from Saito about his rival.

From Saito as well as the rumors, Fujita knew that Himura had been active in the Bakumastu for five years, before disappearing. What Himura did after he disappeared, Fujita didn't know. Saito never thought it fit to give him that information. All Fujita knew was that Himura had suddenly appeared at the Kamiya dojo in Tokyo after ten years of invisibility. Himura specialized in battoujutsu, the attack that had earned the nickname Battousai. It was the god-like speed of his school that made Himura so formidable. Fujita knew that Himura had been hired as an assassin by the Choshu clan, meaning that Himura's commander was most likely Katsura Kogoro. And judging from his calculations by subtracting the number of years since Battousai's first kill was reported from Himura's current age, Himura had been about fourteen when he first committed his first murder.

'And I thought I was young,' Fujita thought sadly remembering the incident when he was nineteen that caused him to leave his home in Edo.

Shying away from his darker memories, Fujita continued to list all the things he knew about a certain redhead, as he quietly noted that the other man had turned a corner. There was that ridiculous bright magenta gi Himura wore nowadays that was the near opposite of the dark blue that he had worn as the hitokiri. And Saito used to gripe about that one habit Himura had about seemingly never going out in public unless on assignment during the Bakumastu. It was harder to track the hitokiri when he only came out during the night. Saito would also go on tirades on that other habit where Battousai would melt into the shadows and disappear with absolute ease before finishing a fight. And then there was that really odd ability that Himura had regarding ki sensing. Himura had better senses than Fujita/Saito could ever hope to have. The man was able to sense every single time when someone was tracking him without fail!

'Wait a second,' Fujita thought as he turned the corner Himura had just moments before, 'What was that last one?'

Suddenly, a clear voice spoke out, interrupting Fujita's thoughts.

"Why are you following sessha?"

qpqpqpqp

A young messy-haired waiter seated Tokio and her charges at a booth before handing them menus. Tokio smiled at the boy, who had to be either Eiji's age or younger, before sitting down gracefully. After looking over the menu, she ordered hot tea and sukiyaki for everyone. The boy nodded and wrote down the order. But instead of walking away, the boy paused and stared hard at Tsutomu.

"Mister?" Tsutomu asked in his still babyish voice. The young waiter blinked his cinnamon eyes then grinned at the child.

"Cute kid," the waiter commented to Tokio, "He looks like you, except the eye color."

"H-Hai," Tokio nodded, blushing slightly at the indirect complement. Tsutomu had inherited his father's golden-colored eyes, rather than Tokio's jade green. However, Tsutomu's eyes were much wider on his face.

"You know," their waiter began, tapping his chin in thought, "I've only seen two other people with eyes that color."

"Really, only two?" Tokio asked, trying to suppress the nervousness she felt. Did this young man know Hajime somehow? If he had met when Goro, then he wouldn't have commented on the eye color. Goro never opened his eyes wide enough to see the color of them. Tokio found herself hoping this young waiter had not met Hajime. Hajime, for all of his wonderfulness, was not the best person to put in charge of children.

"Aw, never mind what I said," the waiter said, shrugging, "Anyway, I'll be back with your food in a bit." With that the boy walked away.

Sighing, Tokio thought back on her dream. Was it really a vision? Who was that young man in it? How did he know her husband? What was the mysterious gift he gave her? And who was it that she was supposed to meet?

So many questions and no answers.

"Tokio-san," Eiji said, clearing his throat a bit to get her attention, "Is Fujita-san going to be eating with us?"

Tokio shook her head before replying with, "He's at the station."

"Oh," Eiji blinked.

"Kaa-chan," Tsutomu's reedy voice implored, "Where's Tou-chan?"

"He's at the station, dear."

"Can we get him?" Tsutomu asked, his eyes huge and puppy-like, "Tou-chanhas toeat with us. I likes playing with Tou-chan. Tou-chan's funny."

"Funny in the head," Eiji muttered under his breath. Tokio frowned at him, before giving him a discreet warning pinch from under the table.

"Itai!" Eiji bit back a yelp, so not to draw attention.

"Eiji, you shouldn't talk about such things," Tokio scolded, "Goro can't help how he is."

"What about Saito-san?" Eiji asked, rubbing the place she had pinched. Eiji had only learned a few weeks ago about his guardian's mental condition. Frankly, he was a bit hurt that no one had told him sooner. Even little Tsutomu knew about the "family secret" and never told him.

"Eiji-kun," Tokio sighed.

"I know," Eiji murmured, "It just kinda hurts that you didn't trust me."

"It's a sensitive subject for him," Tokio explained, "He doesn't like talking about it. I don't think he's even told any of his co-workers. The only people who know about Hajime and Goro are you, Tsutomu-chan, the police-chief, and myself. I don't think he's even told Cho-san, his personal assistant."

"If you ask me, I think he's paranoid," Eiji shrugged, "It's not that bad of a problem. It's more like there are times when he's really mellow and there are times when he's really strict. He just happens to have different names for each side of himself."

"Perhaps," Tokio said, smiling a bit, "If only we could convince him of that fact as well."

"Not likely," Eiji snorted.

qpqpqpqp

Cho grinned to himself. He was brilliant! If he couldn't convince anyone to let him out of jail, he'd just break out all by himself!

And Saito though he was too dumb to think up his own brilliant plans. Shows him!

But then the problem presented itself. How does Cho break out of jail?

Cho had been in jail before. That was one of the drawbacks of becoming a lackey of madman trying to take over Japan and then getting caught by the opposing side. However that time Cho didn't break out of jail. Saito had let him out when Cho agreed to be the wolf's lackey instead of Shishio's. So in all honesty, Cho had no idea how to break out of jail any more than Kaoru knew how to cook like a professional chef.

But he would try! Using his newly found brilliant mind (cough-lie-cough) Cho proceeded in finding an answer to his predicament.

"Oi, new guy!" a voice from outside his cell called, "Here's your meal!" Cho turned his head to see a young officer push a plate of food into his cell. Suddenly a rumbling in his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten lunch yet. Diving at the meal, Cho grabbed the eating utensils he had been given and tore into his meal, swallowing with gusto.

Hey, even broom-headed geniuses needed to eat.

Suddenly, Cho paused in his gulping. He looked at the eating tools in his hands. Instead of the chopsticks he was expecting, there was a Western fork and spoon. Cho hadn't even realized the difference. He had been trained in both Western and Eastern cutlery, so it wasn't that hard for him to switch between the two. Not bothering to wonder why he had been given a fork and a spoon (the officers had thought Cho was a foreigner with his blond hair and Kansai accent, hence the fork and spoon), but instead Cho started devising brilliant plan involving fork, spoon, and a free houki-atama.

qpqpqpqp

Fujita Goro had been in plenty of tough situations before. After all, they came with the job as a cop and as the alternate personality of one of the Wolves of Mibu. Fujita had faced crazy swordsmen, petty thugs, raging fires, and the occasional nut-bag trying to take over the country. But he had never faced Hitokiri Battousai alone.

Oh sure, Saito did it all the time. But that didn't count.

For what seemed to be the hundredth time today, Fujita cursed his other half. Why did that ancient wolf just have to suppress Fujita whenever he faced Battousai in battle?! Fujita was going up against Battousai alone and with all but no knowledge. Fujita didn't even know what Himura had been doing for the past ten years! The only information he had gleaned from Saito was all from the Bakumastu.

Well, the good thing was that Himura had led Fujita into a secluded alley, so at least no innocents would get involved. Idly Fujita wondered whether he should draw his sword, or wait for Himura to make the first move.

'I must be suicidal,' Fujita thought morbidly, puffing a bit on his cigarette. Suddenly a soft voice cut though his musings, causing Fujita to wince.

"Sessha asked you a question, de gozaru. Please be so kind as to answer it."

'Oh, right,' Fujita thought, 'I have to explain why I'm following him. But how do I do that without getting chopped in half? I can't exactly say "I was curious if you were really Battousai. You're much shorter and womanly looking than I thought. And so polite too!" If I say that, he'll kill me! He's a hitokiri! Saito! I need your help. How am I supposed to answer?'

Yes, Saito may be a bastard, but he knew more about Himura than Fujita did. And Saito was the better swordsman, though Fujita loathed admitting it. Fujita waited for a moment for Saito to answer with his usual cold humor.

When silence greeted him, Fujita realized to his horror that he was still smoking. There was no way that Saito could mentally communicate with him if he was smoking! And even if he stopped smoking at that exact moment, it would take a good ten minutes until Saito would be responsive. Seeing that he was alone on his case, Fujita all but spit the white cylinder out of his mouth and to the side, coughing a bit before answering the former Choshu hitokiri.

"Um, I wanted to ask you a favor?" Fujita said lamely, making his statement sound more like a question all while smiling a bit foolishly. He knew (or at least he thought he knew) that Saito sometimes only met with Battousai to talk instead of fight. Hopefully Himura wouldn't attack if he thought "Saito" was going to be "friendly-ish" today.

Himura looked Fujita over with narrowed steel blue eyes, his left hand resting casually on his sword hilt. Fujita smiled a bit wider, completely forgetting how un-Saito-like he must be looking at the time. Himura tilted his head a bit, trying to figure out the new puzzle before him, before grinning in return. The redhead allowed his arms to hang loosely to his sides, his entire posture become more relaxed. His eyes widened and darkened to a softer violet.

"Of course you may," Himura said politely, his rurouni mask firmly in place, "Although, sessha would like to know who is asking the question."

"Isn't it obvious?" Fujita asked, his smile slipping slightly as he grew more confused. Was Battousai blind? He should know who Fujita was, or rather who his other self was! And why was Battousai acting so polite? Wasn't he a bloodthirsty hitokiri? And from what he heard from Saito, weren't Battousai's eyes supposed to be amber, not blue-violet?

"You look confused," Himura chuckled, "You can't fool sessha. You might have Saito's face, but not his ki. Who are you, de gozaru ka?"

For a moment, Fujita was glad he spat out his cigarette. If he were still smoking, he would have coughed up a lung by accident from surprise.

"Lieutenant Fujita Goro, of the Tokyo Police," Fujita replied with a polite bow, slightly unnerved that Himura was able to sense the difference. Yet, at the same time he felt somewhat comforted. There weren't many people who knew about his "condition" and it felt good that there was someone else out there who did, and wasn't trying to lock him up in a madhouse.

"Sessha wa Himura Kenshin," the redhead replied, bowing as well, "What can sessha do for you, officer?"

'Cut out the part of my mind dedicated to a certain mad Wolf of Mibu perhaps?' thought Fujita morbidly. Suddenly in the back of his mind, Fujita felt something stir.

'Fujita!' Saito's mental voice snarled, 'What the hell is going on?!'

"Shimatta!" Fujita gasped out, his face going pale. Had it already been ten minutes?! Impossible!

Fujita bowed quickly to the red-haired man, saying in a rush, "I'll tell you later, Himura-san! It was nice to meet you!"

Then Fujita hightailed it out of there before Saito could exert his will over the body.

Meanwhile, back in the alley, Himura stood there alone with a blank expression on his face. Sighing a bit, the red-haired wanderer ran a hand through his hair before a voice called out to him.

"Kenshin!" a dark-haired woman waved at the man from the main street, gesturing for him to hurry up and catch up to her, "We're going to be late for lunch if you keep standing there!"

"Gomen, gomen, Kaoru-dono!" Kenshin laughed in apology, walking over to join her, "Sessha was busy, de gozaru."

"Whatever Kenshin. Let's just hurry up and get some food," the tall, spiky-haired man next to Kaoru snorted. Kenshin shook his head. Sagara Sanosuke could be called many things, but he could never be called late for lunch.

And so the group of three headed towards their original destination before Kenshin had gotten sidetracked because he had "heard a strange noise in the alley".

"Akabeko, here we come!"

qpqpqpqp

Cho was digging. He was digging frantically. He was digging like an insane Californian gold-rush miner. (Not that he knew what those were.) He was digging with a vigor that would have surprised anyone who knew him.

He was digging with a fork and a spoon. He was digging through the concrete walls of his cell. The meter thick concrete wall…

Obviously, he was nowhere near being a free houki-atama…not that he realized it though.

Grinning to himself, he felt a rush of pride as a hole large enough to stick the tip of his index finger in appeared in wall. Poor man had no idea he was nowhere close…

Then suddenly something terrible happened…

The fork and spoon snapped.

Cho looked at the small hole.

Then he looked at his broken tools.

Look at hole. Look at tools.

"DAMN IT ALL!!!!!!!!!"

Well then, it was time for plan B…

Cho grabbed the blankets off his small cot, chucking madly…

qpqpqpqp

"Here's your order!"

Tokio thanked the young waiter (the same one who had taken her order), as she accepted the food and set up her two young charges to prepare for the meal.

"Is there anything else you want to order, ma'am?" the cinnamon-eyed boy asked. Tokio opened her mouth to decline when suddenly…

"Oi, Yahiko-chan!" a very loud male voice called out, interrupting Tokio.

"No one calls me 'chan'!" the young boy yelped out automatically, whirling to glare at the man who had just entered. The man who had hailed their waiter, Yahiko, was tall with brown, and very spiky, hair and a scruffy white outfit. Behind him was a pretty dark-haired woman with blue eyes. And next to her –

"Oh Kami-sama," Tokio gasped, standing too get a better look at the third newcomer, her eyes wide in disbelief. It couldn't be him! All the rumors said he was dead!

But there he was, standing in a restaurant, as if nothing had ever happened to him.

"It can't be," Tokio murmured, "There must be some mistake."

But there couldn't be a mistake. No one else had hair like that. True, his eyes were different (they were a rich violet, a different color than what she had been told), but it was him. With that red hair and cruciform scar on his cheek, Tokio knew there could be no mistake.

"Anou, ma'am, is there something sessha can do for you, de gozaru?" a polite voice asked. Tokio suddenly realized that she had walked over to the man that she had been staring at. The man she had been so sure was dead.

Tokio looked up into his eyes, her own jade-green wide in surprise and a bit of fear. This man…This man…

…Knew Hajime. This man probably knew Hajime better than anyone now living other than herself.

Was it possible that he was the man that her dream had told her to meet up with? The one who was an "acquaintance" of her husband? Was he the one who could help her make her husband see the truth that he was one man, a whole, and not pieces? Should she ask this man for help?

Did this mean her dream was more than a dream?

For a fleeting moment, she swore she heard the voice of the mysterious man in her dream whisper, "Yes."

"Yes," Tokio whispered quietly to the redhead in front of her, "Yes, you can help me, Himura Battousai."

"Oro?" Kenshin blinked, his eyes going wide at hearing his old nickname on the lips of a woman he had never met.

Tokio took one look at that clueless face, and finally she understood how Battousai of all people could help her with her husband. He had the same kind of eyes, the same kind of spirit… Everything was so clear…

She laughed at the simplicity of it all.

This man, yes, he was the one who could help her. She knew it. She could feel it…

…After all, who better to help a Bakumastu veteran than another one with a similar problem?

Smiling at the former assassin, Tokio suddenly hugged him, tears of joy running down her face, smearing her makeup slightly.

"Thank you," Tokio whispered, "Thank you, thank you. You're the answer to everything. I can finally make that idiot husband of mine understand."

qpqpqpqp

The Kenshin-gumi was gaping. Kaoru, Sanosuke and Kenshin had all headed to the Akabeko for lunch to say hello to (or in Sano and Kaoru's case, annoy) Yahiko. Then all of a sudden this mysterious woman had come out of nowhere and latched herself to a certain confused rurouni!

Kaoru, of course, instantly felt jealousy bubble up to the surface of her brain. Did that woman just dare to hug her Kenshin?!

Wait. Did she just refer to Kenshin as hers?! Kaoru went red in embarrassment.

'Baka tanuki!' Kaoru chided herself, 'He's not yours…yet. Huh? Where did that come from?!' Kaoru felt her face become redder.

"Ma'am, is there something wrong, de gozaru ka?" Kenshin squeaked. He was confused out of his mind on why this woman would call him Battousai and then hug him as if he was her savior.

"Gomen," the woman apologized, wiping her tears away as she let go of the rurouni, "I did not mean to behave so improperly. It is just, I was told to meet you. As I understand it, you can help me with a little dilemma of my husband's."

"Oh, and what might that be?" Kaoru asked, her earlier ire fading a bit now that she found out the other woman was married.

"I'll explain in detail, over lunch, if you would like," Tokio suggested, "But please, let me introduce myself. I am Fujita Tokio."

"Fujita Tokio?" Kenshin blinked, recognizing the name.

"Hai," Tokio said with a slight smile, "I believe you know my husband."

"Aa," Kenshin nodded, "Though sessha was quite surprised to find out he was married when he told me. Though not as surprised as was when sessha found out about Fujita Goro today. Am I correct in assuming that this dilemma of your husband's has something to do with that, de gozaru ka?"

"Hai," Tokio nodded, "Please, help me straighten him up."

"Lady," Sano suddenly said, jumping into the conversation, "No worries. No matter what's wrong with your husband, or who he is, be sure that the Kenshin-gumi will do all we can help ya."

"Even if her husband happens to be a certain Wolf we all know?" Kenshin asked casually.

"WHA?!" Yahiko yelped, "You mean she's married to him?!"

"No way!" Sano agreed, "How did a bastard like Saito get married to a chick like you?!"

"You must be like the Buddha!" Kaoru gasped, her eyes wide.

Tokio laughed at their reactions, slightly embarrassed by how they were referring to her husband…but then again, Hajime wasn't the most social of people…

"Please, sit down, and I'll explain everything as best I can."

qpqpqp

Fujita slumped against a wall completely winded. He had run as far as he could after leaving Himura. In the end, he wound up right in front of the police station.

'My lunch break was going to end soon anyway,' Fujita thought mournfully, 'At least I won't be late.'

'For once,' Saito drawled from the back of their shared mind.

'I'm not late all the time!' Fujita protested.

'You have some explaining to do, Fujita,' Saito growled, ignoring his other half's bristling, 'Speak. Why were you talking with Battousai?'

'I don't see how that is any of your business,' Fujita retorted.

'It is,' Saito hissed, 'Do you realize what you have done? You have shown Battousai something I have been keeping from him!'

'Your insanity?' the Meiji cop suggested sarcastically, 'Sorry, Saito, I think he already knew about that.'

'My weakness!' Saito all but snarled out loud, 'That is what you are, the rust in my armor that I can never get rid of!' There was a long pause.

'Is that how you view me, Saito?' Fujita asked quietly finally, 'Am I your weakness?'

'Ahou,' the wolf sneered, 'What else do you think you are?'

'…'

'That's what I thought,' Saito said smugly. Suddenly, he began pushing out his will to dominate Fujita's.

'Saito! What do you think you're doing?!' Fujita asked frantically, feeling Saito's mental push.

'Taking over, ahou,' the other half replied almost casually, 'or can't you see that?'

'Saito! I'm still at work!'

'So? You kept me to the side for far too long today. It's my turn. I do a better job than you do anyway.'

'Wait a second, Saito!' Fujita cried out, only to have his concerns tossed aside like refuse.

"I'm done waiting," Saito growled out loud as he effectively pushed Fujita to the corners of his mind. Looking up at the station before him, Saito allowed a slow smirk to grace his features before striding in.

The wolf of Mibu had returned…