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The Courtship of Lady Tokio

by Misaki Toyodome

Chapter 6 - Autumn Days and Philosophies

Late October 1863 –

As he reached the crest of the hill, Saitou could see the whole of Kyoto with its tall pagodas and many temples nestled in the syncline of the mountains. He was back, after being away for three weeks. A long three weeks. His trip to Osaka had been demanding, but it had been fruitful. And he had had, relatively, a good time. Recruiting new members was a task that he derived a slightly iniquitous pleasure from – he enjoyed unnerving them with his snide remarks and then beating them in sparring matches. Also, he had been able to gather some very interesting information about recent Choushuu movements. 'Yamazaki Susumu, is quite a useful man.' He approved of Hijikata's choice of the Shinsengumi kansatsu-gata. Yamazaki Susumu had only joined their ranks that summer, but had already managed to create an impressive network of informers to work on behalf of the Shinsengumi. Saitou's mission, besides recruiting, was to check on Choushuu's movements between Kyoto and Osaka with Yamazaki, who was originally from that busy coastal city. All major traffic to Kyoto, both land and sea, passed through Osaka, and it was therefore a main point for exchanging information and news. Which is why it was of vital importance to establish Shinsengumi influence there. It had also been a break from Shinsengumi headquarters where until recently, political tensions had been stifling. However, now that Kondou was undisputedly in charge, things were starting to run smoother within the group. He preferred Kyoto to Osaka. He allowed himself to acknowledge that it felt good to be back. (He steadfastly ignored the other reason, one that he had nearly successfully pushed to the back of his mind, why he had come back to Kyoto with as few breaks and as quickly as was nonchalantly possible.)

Tokio delicately lifted the edge of her kimono as she made her way down the steps of Kiyomizu temple. The steep slope was not somewhere she wanted to trip. She stopped halfway down, and waited for her maid to catch up. The sky was burnished gold and scarlet as the shadows grew long while the days became shorter. The evening temperatures were starting to cool too, and the trees were beginning their annual ritual of oiro naoshi. The maples of Kiyomizu were famous, and would never fail to impress.

"My lady walks too fast. She forgets that she has longer legs than I."

"I'm sorry, O-Kiku." Tokio smiled apologetically. She knew that O-Kiku did not really mean to scold. O-Kiku had been with her for many years now, and O-Kiku knew that she was fortunate to be Tokio's attendant. She knew many maids whose mistresses were not as reasonable or as patient as Tokio, for all the girl's quirks.

Tokio looked around, before starting to descend the steps again. It was so peaceful here, despite the numbers of devotees who worshipped at the temple. People did not shout, people did not push, people did not fight, even though the place was crowded with people who came to draw clean water here and burn incense for prayers, and to admire the view. The view from Kiyomizu was as famous as its maples.

'Kyoto is so beautiful,' she reflected, 'it is hard to imagine that people are dying in the streets every day...' She sighed. She thought back to the incident with the Choushuu men – while it did not haunt or terrify her, it was not a memory that she was comfortable with. 'Men are dying for their ideals every day...' Aizu too, was not without its casualties. There had been more assassinations among imperial officials sympathetic to Matsudaira-kou's position. 'And we know very little about the perpetrator.' And then, there was the Shinsengumi. 'As much wolves as men,' she remembered how she had first described them in her letter to her father. She made her way downhill through the throngs of people, O-Kiku close behind. She looked down the slope, and there she saw two amber eyes...

Saitou knew she had seen him, her gaze had lingered far too long before she turned to her maid and murmured something. The maid's face brightened, although he couldn't make out what she had said – she was some thirty yards away, and he couldn't read her lips as her face was turned to the side. As they approached, he had a slight nagging feeling that he shouldn't have stopped for tea at this teahouse, no matter that he had wanted to observe the people coming to and fro (he had been watchful for large groups of swordsmen since he had arrived back in the city, and Kiyomizu temple was a popular meeting place). For the most part, he felt resigned.

'Things happen as they should happen,' he recalled with an ironic smirk. They halted at the teahouse, as he knew they would, and the maid hurried inside. Tokio bowed to him and smiled, and sat down on the bench next to him in front of the building.

"Welcome back from Osaka," she murmured in a gentle but clear tone, "I hope that the trip went well."

"Hmph." It didn't surprise him that she knew of his movements: she had a network of contacts, of that he was sure. "It's unfortunate for me that I seem to run into you whenever I don't have the excuse of being on duty to ignore you."

She brought her hand to her mouth to cover a quiet chuckle.

"I apologise for the inconvenience, Saitou-sama. But if I may say so, I'm sure that people can't tell the difference between when you are on or off duty."

"Feh. If I was on duty, I would waste no time in seeing that you were marched as quick as possible back to Koumyouji, and locked up for the night to prevent you wandering around without permission." She smiled again. "And I know it would be futile of me to ask how you learn about my schedule and plan to torment me during the few moments of peace I'm granted." She inclined her head in amused acknowledgement.

"Saitou-sama, I'm not sure that I thanked you enough for the other night, for teaching me a valuable lesson, and for keeping me safe-"

"You did." He interrupted her brusquely.

"- And my previous outburst about the late Serizawa-sama-"

"You already apologised more than enough." He cut her off again. She studied him carefully.

"Well then, at least let me apologise for all the trouble you have gone to for me."

"Takagi-san, I've had a long trip from Osaka, and it's inadvisable to try my patience." He paused. "Any trouble that I've put myself to is in acknowledgement of your father." He did not like to think that she felt obligated to feel guilty for his company.

She lowered her gaze, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"My father is heartened to hear of the recent successes of the Shinsengumi. He asked specifically for news of you." Seeing that his cup was empty, she picked up his teapot and poured for him. He raised an eyebrow questioningly: most ladies of her rank would have refrained from doing so. She met his gaze, and answered, "it is not becoming for a man to pour his own drink, it means that he will not advance in his endeavours."

They sat in silence for a few moments, though silence was relative as the street in front of them was busy with people packing up for the day and getting ready to rest or to make merry. Saitou felt a slight irritation at the men and women who turned their eyes towards Tokio for longer than was polite to look.

"My lady, the oshiruko is ready." O-Kiku emerged from the shop carrying a tray. She carefully placed it on the bench beside Tokio and bowed, studiously ignoring the angular figure seated beside her mistress.

"Thank you very much. I'd nearly forgotten that I'd promised you a treat if you accompanied me to Kiyomizu today." Tokio smiled."O-Kiku, this is lieutenant vice-commander Saitou-sama of the reknowned Shinsengumi. You might have heard of him, he is acquainted with my father."

O-Kiku bowed low to Saitou. Saitou nodded his head in response.

"I am most honoured, Sir." She hesitated a second before turning back to address Tokio. "My lady, if you will excuse me, I think I will take mine inside, as the evening air is starting to chill a little."

"Of course." O-Kiku picked up her bowl, and went back inside the shop after throwing Saitou a diffident but disdainful look. She did not approve of her mistress being in the company of such men, no matter who they were acquainted with, but she also knew that her lord and Tokio's father relied on Tokio for information about Kyoto. Still, she worried about Tokio becoming too involved in such affairs. Politics, as far as she was concerned, was men's business. And how on earth would Lady Tokio find herself a respectable husband if her father insisted upon her employment as a scribe?

Saitou sipped his tea, and made a mental note to buy some saké later.

"Your maid doesn't approve."

"No, she doesn't. She is old fashioned, and doesn't believe that I should be in the company of anyone not of equal rank." He glared at her. "You mightn't think so, but I assure you Saitou-sama, that my family is quite respected and respectable." A short, impatient 'hah' escaped him.

"But times are changing... This world is changing... People are starting to question old values... And if the Bakufu are not careful, they will be drowned by the tides of change. Just look at Kyoto, and see how it trembles like a leaf in the winds of clashing ideas. In these times, one needs the strong to uphold ideals..."

Saitou lowered his cup.

"So, you think that those who are not strong do not have the right to ideals?" He asked dryly.

"Well, one needs to have the strength of mind to embrace an ideal. But nowadays, that is not enough. One needs power to see them realised also. And those who do not have power do not have the means to uphold ideals. They only have the right to believe in them."

"And you, you have no power, so you can only believe?"

"Saitou-sama," she murmured, "I am only a woman. I may not be weak, but this world was not meant for creating strong women."

"Hmph. So then, what ideal do you believe in?"

"...I believe in peace."

Her soft voice was nearly lost in the gust of wind that blew just then. He watched her, but she was staring off into the distance. Tokio, it seemed, had a lot more on her mind than the average young woman. And for what it was worth, she had grasped the present political situation more clearly than a lot of men. He decided to probe a bit more, that mean streak in him looking for a definite weakness.

"Takagi-san, you say you are not strong enough to uphold your ideals, but you can draw a bow. If you chose to, you could fight for your beliefs."

Tokio bowed and shook her head.

"No, Saitou-sama, I could not. I would not use Kyudo to fight."

"Isn't that a bit naďve of you? After all, if it were a choice between kill or be killed, you wouldn't consider using your bow? You're no use to anyone dead."

"That's not necessarily true, martyrs are quite useful, if I may say so, in justifying and idealising a cause." She sighed. "Not that I want to be a martyr, and I certainly can't be a saint... If it really came to a situation in which I had to kill or be killed, then perhaps I could, I don't know, perhaps it would be possible for me even to take a life, but I know that I would not use my bow..." She paused, and then added in a barely audible murmur, "Kyudo is not for the taking of life."

Saitou fixed her with a piercing gaze.

"Basically, Takagi-san, you are saying that you want to believe in an ideal that you won't fight for." Saitou stated in a cruel voice. Tokio lowered her gaze, her eyes tinted with sorrow.

"I suppose you are right, unless refusing to fight is a fight in itself. I know, it seems awfully spoiled and dependent of me, to expect others to fight while I refuse to soil my hands. But most people do wish for peace, or so I would like to believe, but most people really are powerless to prevent war. The worst in men, though they might believe it to be the best, brings about war, and war brings out the worst in men..." Her voice trailed off.

"... I wasn't really trying to infer that you should take up arms, Takagi-san." He felt a rare pang of conscience for deliberately trying to upset her.

"I know, I understand. And please do not get me wrong, I understand of course that good men will fight for a good cause. I believe that you are a good man, not that you need my vote of confidence, and I believe you fight for a good cause. The problem nowadays is that it is so unclear whether one is a good cause and the other is not..."

"... We do what we can."

Tokio bowed her head. Then, looking up at the rapidly darkening sky, she exclaimed,

"Oh, I am so sorry for having kept you for so long! Please, you must excuse me, and I must hurry. And you too, I am sure that they are expecting you back at the Yagi estate."

"My colleagues are well aware that I am capable of looking after myself." He stood up, and glanced down at her. "Though they may not be aware that I am what you would call 'a good man' – most of them are intimidated by me, and feel even more threatened when I smile." Tokio's expression couldn't seem to decide between bemused and concerned. "I will escort you back to Koumyouji first."

"Saitou-sama, there really isn't any need, it's not necessary...really..." Her voice petered out. She understood that it would be pointless to argue.

"Just one more thing, Takagi-san," he smirked maliciously. "Although you disguise yourself better as a woman than as a monk, you stand out too much as a woman."

"Disguise myself, as a woman? Why, really, well..." She seemed indignant. "No wonder Okita-sama told me you were incorrigible!"

"Okita? Ahou ga."

Saitou was back in Mibu, with Hijikata, Okita and Nagakura, waiting for Kondou and Yamanami to join them. He had reported straight away to Hijikata, who had called for a meeting after the evening meal. In the meantime, the vice-commander saw to it that Kondou and Yamanami were briefed on the news Saitou had brought back from Osaka. News concerning the mystery assassin. The shouji slid open, and Kondou and Yamanami took their places beside Hijikata. There was silence for a moment, and then Kondou asked,

"So, it's a Himura Battousai that's been carrying out the recent assassinations."

"... Aah."

"Kondou-san, he's a completely unknown factor. Nobody's ever heard of him from before. All that can be said of him with certainty is that he's very, very fast. And his skill is deadly."

"I'd really like to try my sword against him."

"Souji, this is serious. We know very little, too little to act upon at this stage."

"Kondou-san, I agree with Hijikata-kun. It would be dangerous to pursue this man without more information."

"I know, I understand Yamanami-san. And Toshi is right."

"Commander, Vice Commanders, I'm sure that Okita-kun, Saitou-kun or I would be capable of defeating him, although it would be prudent to discover more about him first."

"But Nagakura-kun, the problem is we don't know anything about where he plans to strike next. We have nothing to work with, we have no idea where to start looking. And by Saitou-kun's account, even highly trained bodyguards hired by the victims were no match for this man."

There was silence for a few minutes as each contemplated the implications of the emergence of this new enemy.

"Either way," Saitou remarked sardonically, "we being Shinsengumi, and he being Choushuu, we are bound to meet sooner or later. It's not something that we can prevent or bypass. Things will happen as they should."

It was obvious, but yet to the point. There was no point in rushing after phantoms, when sooner or later, the phantom was sure to come to them.