From: Miss_Led Hey everyone, I'm really dissapointed in this section. I blame only myself for the lack of quality. Sleep deprivation, I guess. I really had more planned for this chapter but I guess the words wanted something else and went their own way.....-sigh- I hope I didn't lose the thread of the story too much. I felt extremely wordy the whole time I was writing this. I will welcome flames this time. I think I deserve them for this mockery. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Miss PS- Thank you Hiko-kun! And where's that story! -winks- Unlike the previous fics this was pre-read for fluency. I was told it was fine so here goes.... ~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~ This fanfic is based on the story and characters created by Watsuki Nobuhiro. I’m just borrowing his characters for a spell, no copyright infringements were intended. I’m not getting paid for this Kiddies! This is my own private obsession! ~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~ True Gifts: 3a By Miss_Led Misao wiped her tears away and washed her face with some water. She straightened her clothing as she climbed the hill to the street. Slowly, she trudged over the bridge on the river, back into the city. Her steps were forlorn and mechanical, like she was on the way to her death. ‘How can I face Aoshi-sama knowing that I will have nothing for him come his birthday! And here he entrusts me with something so important! I feel like I’ve betrayed him!’ Misao winced and continued to walk knowing she had little choice in the matter. There was nothing she wouldn’t do if Aoshi asked her. ~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~ And so the girl finally came to the restaurant to meet him. She looked up to the painted sign above the door and sighed. She took a deep breath of the fresh, food scented air outside and plastered a smile on her face. Mentally bracing herself, she walked inside. Sae greeted her at the door. “Misao-chan! How are you today? You’re here right on time if you follow me, I’ll lead you to your table!” Sae smiled again and turned away. Sae flinched inside, knowing that she was a conspirator in deceiving the young girl. ‘Hajime-san said this would be the only way to get the girl to meet with him. He has good reasons but the man has little to no scruples!’ Sae thought angrily of the man whom she had known half her life. She had been aquainted with him since the time of the wars. She had just begun to work at the Shribeko then; it had been a favorite meeting place for the higher-ranking members of the Shinsen-gumi. He had been a quiet man with his own plans; he hadn’t changed much over the years. She led Misao to the booth in which Saitou resided. Pulling back to curtain she ushered the girl inside and pulled the curtain closed behind her as she followed. Misao’s face seemed to distort; like the colors of a rainbow, the faces she made ranged a spectrum of emotions. Shock, questions, realization, incredilousness and, finally, anger colored her features in under a minute. Misao sputtered, unable to mouth a full sentence due to the force of her anger, “Saitou!!!!! You fucking bastard! You had this all…..And Aoshi! How did you?!? Mou!!!!!! You’re going to die for this!’ She reached into her gi and pulled out her knives. Saitou sat silently with a smug smirk on his face, just daring her to try. This look incited Misao’s anger so much she began to shake. “Misao-chan calm down please! There are other customers here and I would appreciate if you would not try to wreck my restaurant!” Sae looked at the girl sternly. Misao remembered where she was and let out a deep sigh. She relaxed her stance but looked pointedly at Saitou. “Just so you know, for future reference, if there is a correlation between, time, place and circumstance in which I find myself around you again, you’re not going to walk away alive.” At that, Sae tapped her on the shoulder. Misao looked back to see Sae looking at the knives, her hands held out to receive them. Misao obediently dropped the weapons into the woman’s outstretched palms. Sae let out a deep breath, smiled at Misao and left. Misao turned back to her adversary, snarling at him, “Saitou, I’m in no mood for jokes. I’ve had a very bad day today, say what you came to and leave.” She indignantly crossed her arms over her chest waiting for him to explain himself. Saitou, amused by the girls display of anger, smiled instead saying nothing. He reached into the briefcase on his left and pulled out a brown wrapped package. He reached across the table and set it down on the corner closest to her. Misao looked down at the object reproachfully; she sneered at Saitou, “What is this? You bring me gifts now?” Saitou’s mouth quirked as he suppressed a laugh. “I think it’s something you might like, even desperately want. And it’s not a gift, it’s payment. I want you to do a job for me. You will get this when the assignment is complete.” Misao looked down at the package in curiosity, wondering what he had that she could want so much. Stepping further into the room, she gave him a guarded look. Her curiosity got the better of her, “So what is it? What could you offer me that would actually make you think I would work for you to get it? You either have a block of pure gold in there or you’ve finally gone totally insane.” Saitou’s mouth twitched again. He gave the girl a level look at picked up the package. He drew the cord binding it at the slowest speed he could. He knew he had her attention and he wanted to make her wait, he could almost see her anticipation hanging in the air about them. The cord finally fell open. He could here a small growl of aggravation come from the girl as she leaned forward the slightest bit. He smiled and started to unwrap the book one flap at a time, slowly uncovering the brown leather. He knew the exact second that she recognized the book. She gasped and moved to grab it from his hands. Saitou held it aloft, away from her to his far side. “Sit down weasel girl, you’re not going to touch this book til you’re done with the job. Like I said, it’s payment.” Misao scowled at him, her eyes bright, almost clear, with rage. Saitou was taken aback by the force of her emotion. He shook his head speaking to her once again, “Misao-san, sit down. We have business to talk about. I don’t have all day.” Misao indignantly clenched her fists. “Saitou, I don’t know how you got your hands on that book….but what makes you think I would work for you to get it!!!” She screamed at him and he flinched at the sound. Outside a pair of shoes clicked on the floor. Sae’s head appeared around a corner of the curtain. She surveyed the small area’s occupants quickly to make sure they were still alive. After assessing the situation she spoke, her voice an angry, low whisper, “Hajime, I told you to keep the noise down, did I not? If you are not quiet I will have to ask you to leave.” She looked at Misao who was smirking at Saitou for being chewed out by the woman. “And that goes for you too Misao! And I will tell Okina how badly you behaved the next time I see him!” Misao face faulted and her shoulders lumped, “Hai, Sae-san. Gomen nasai! Please don’t tell Okina I was here!” She pleaded to the older woman with her eyes. Sae smiled and nodded, giving Saitou a warning look before she closed the curtain again. Saitou gave the girl a level look. “I know you want this book. It was going to be a gift for Shinomori, I heard you say that in the market.” His voice was quiet and firm, “I also know you did not have enough money to buy it. It was expensive for me and the government gives me a couple ryou every year to do their dirtywork for them. If you don’t do what I ask I’ll take this book to the kitchen and burn it right now.” Misao looked at him in horror as he said the words. “That is my gift for Aoshi! How dare you threaten to destroy it!!!” She ran forward to grab it from Saitou’s hands. Just then a match was struck. Saitou opened the book and held the match above the crisp pages. They began to brown at the edges. Misao wavered only for a second, “Iie! Yamate! I’ll do it. Whatever it is I’ll do it, just promise me you won’t destroy that book!” She held her hands out in supplication. Saitou dropped the match into a glass of water, as he did Misao heaved a great breath of relief. ‘Oh thank you Kamisama! I thought that book was done for! But now I have to do this job for Saitou in order for Aoshi-sama to have his present!!!’ Misao sulked as she sat down across from the man, her bottom lip slightly pouting. Saitou smiled and closed the book, placing it on the table in front of him he began. “This restaurant is host to many different patrons. Among them are politicians, artists, gangsters and normal people. Right now all I want you to be interested in are the politicians and gangsters. There is a very influential group of Liberals that call Kyoto their home. They have made it very difficult for the government to pass regulatory shipping and trade laws for our country. We have received some information that has led us to believe their votes are being bought by the Northern Yakuza, who depend upon trade with other Asiatic countries.” Saitou took out a cigarette and lit it taking a long drag before he continued. “What we need now is proof, this restaurant is host to meetings of their respective leaders. Our intelligence has discerned this for us. What we need is not a witness, but some form of written agreement that would incriminate both parties. This is your job, to find out the Yakuza hiding place and get to that information or find a way for us.” He paused to take another drag off his cigarette. “I have assessed the situation thoroughly and the only way I can think to find out this information is to spy on them here. One of my representatives would be noticed instantly. This is why I chose you. You are a girl, to them this means harmless. I, on the other hand, know that you are Oniwa Banshu: a spy by way of training. I have spoken with Sae and she has agreed to let you work here for the purposes of this assignment. You start tonight.” With that he leaned out the side of the booth and called to Sae. She appeared in seconds, in her hands she held a folded kimono. It was striped in the colors the serving girls of the Shribeko wore, on top of it lay a frilly white apron and folded obi. “Misao-chan, this will be your uniform for the next few days, it’s on loan from one of the other girls but I think it will fit you quite well.” Sae smiled brightly and held the clothes out to Misao. Misao looked up at the woman in horror. “Sae-san! You don’t actually mean that I’m going to have to wear THAT, do you!!!!” She gave the clothes and incredulous look, drawing away as if they would infect her with some disease. Sae, nodded her head in annoyance, dropping the clothes into Misao’s lap. Misao looked back and forth from Saitou to Sae pleadingly. “Misao-san, you want to give this book to Shinomori, do you not?” Saitou waved the book in front of her and waited for the girl to respond, at her nod he went on, “Well then I suggest you do as you are told. You will wear the uniform like I wear mine everyday and do your job. Sae-san will compensate you for the hours you will work. You will be serving all the customers and watching the ones I tell you to.” With that he picked up a stack of files and dropped them in front of her. “These are descriptions and sketches, where possible, of the politicians for which you will be looking. We do not have much information on the Yakuza leaders. We have spies among them, but none towards the seat of power. The information we have on them is in the last file.” He pointed to it and sat back taking one long, last drag on his cigarette before snuffing it out. “You have two hours to go home and study those. I will be getting them from you later. Do not leave them where Shinomori or anyone else can find them.” All this time Misao has stared at him, wide-eyed in shock at the amount of information. She looks at him now as she takes a deep breath, “Saitou, I do not want to do this but you give me no choice. I will do it for Aoshi-sama, even if it means having to wear this.” She holds up the kimono, a look of disgust twisting her features. Saitou smiles and nods, laughing at her. He then picks up some papers and rises to leave. “You have two hours to report back here. Take those files and study them like I said. I will retrieve them later. It would be in your best interests to act like a lady instead of a tomboy for the next few days. Men don’t like little girls with big attitudes. Do your best to behave well. I will be in contact with you sometime in the near future.” With that Saitou pulled the curtain aside and left. Sae grabbed Misao’s hand and pulled her into the kitchen to show her some of the jobs she would be responsible for. Misao listened in silence taking in what she could. ~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~ At the first available opening she ran home to the Aoiya, the files Saitou had given her safely tucked in her obi. She pulled the door to her room aside, checking quickly to make sure that no one had noted her presence. She began to disrobe, studying the files as she dressed in the cheery Shribeko uniform. The men politicians were all young looking; from the information given, they also looked as if they came into large sums of money just recently. Misao gathered up the files and twisted her hair into a cornet at the crest of her head. She pinned it with the closest thing she could find, a long, thin knife with a tiny black sheath. She smoothed the kimono down her body, slipping on a pair of short socks as she left. She ran out of the building quickly, hoping no one had noted her goings on. But someone had. From his lazy perch in a tree next to the Aoiya Aoshi has seen her come in with the clothes and leave dressed in them. He had recognized the uniform in an instant, but preferred to wait for Misao to come to him before he interfered. ‘What could the girl possible be up to? A part time job? It just doesn’t seem like her at all. There has got to be more to it. I’m not going to snoop. If I know Misao, she will come to me with it sooner or later anyway.’ With that thought Aoshi jumped to the ground and went about his business. ~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~ End Part 3a ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Having difficulty getting "in synch" with list members? http://www.onelist.com Try ONElist's Shared Calendar to organize events, meetings and more!