From: Miss_Led Wow! Things have been kinda crazy round here! I only have one more day to close this thing up!!! -Miss prays that she has enough inspiration and hours in a day- So, as promised, here is part 3c. It's a bit different then the rest cause I enlisted some outside help in the form of Hiko-san. We kind of co-wrote this section. He did most of the planning and I wove my own style into it. I just didn't know how to work the scene at the end, he was a great help and an even better writer!! Thank you Hiko-san!! Part 4 tomm. hopefully Kami-sama will let me have the miracle of actually being able to finish this one! Misc. thanks: Saitou Hajime for being predictable, Shinomori Aoshi for never changing faces, Takahashi Ryu for being a great focal point and the Ageya, just for being so good a setting for the next part!!! Hee, hee. No, really- True thanks to Serizawa Kamo, once again for the great info, Nicky, for not reading this fic but listening to me blabber on about it anyways, Hiko, for agreeing to lend me his mind and muse for a day! Looks good, ne? Miss ~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~ 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: 3c By Miss_Led Misao lay in her bed in the midst of a deep sleep. She had worked hard that night and her body and emotions were strained. Takahashi’s kiss had bothered her for the rest of the evening. She had come home and welcomingly crawled in to the arms of fitful sleep, hoping to get away from the memory of his eyes, his oh so subtle touch. Outside on the street a cigarette burned brightly in the dark night air. It was dropped to the ground and snuffed out within a few seconds. Saitou walked across the road and scaled the wall of the Aioya. He quickly found his way to Misao’s room, making sure he made no sounds. Pulling the door open, he walked into the dark interior and closed it behind him. He picked up a small lamp he had seen in the corner of the room and struck a match, placing it to the wick. Within a matter of moments the room was bathed in an eerie half-light. He leaned down to take a closer look at Misao while she slept, noting the dark circles under her eyes. Quietly he reached out to wake her, hoping to himself that she would not make a scene. The girl moaned softly in her sleep, ignoring his light shake of her shoulder. “Misao-san, wake up. We have much to talk about.” Saitou’s voice was low and firm. Misao’s eyes blinked open and she looked up to see Saitou’s face not a foot from her own. She opened her mouth ready to scream. Saitou saw her expression and clapped his hand over her mouth to stop the action. “Stop! I’m only here for your report, weasel girl!” His voice was harsh and firm. “I’m going to take my hand off of your mouth but you have to promise to be quiet, or I’m not going to give you that book!” He heard a muffled reply come from her and felt her head nod under his hand. Slowly her released her and leaned back. “Saitou, you really are a bastard you know that? What gives you the right to sneak into my room in the middle of the night? It takes real gall to do that, in fact, I’d call it plain stupid considering who you are dealing with!” Misao moved to the edge of her futon and gathered her covers up to her chin. Saitou shook his head, “Look, Misao-san. I’m a married man. I have no need to be playing around with little weasel girls who are hopelessly in love with their mentors. Just give me a report and the files so I can go, it’s late already.” With that he moved back to sit against the wall, waiting for her to begin. Misao fumed a few moments for being called a little weasel girl, but regained her composure quickly as she realized he might not have much time before anyone found him there. She began in a hushed whisper, “I found their leader tonight by a stroke of chance. His name is Takahashi Ryu. He took to me very well, asking that I join him at a party tomorrow night.” Misao sighed deeply refusing to meet Saitou’s eyes, he watched as a deep flushed creeped over her face. Saitou’s eyes narrowed as he saw this, ‘So, Sae-san was right. There was more going on. What is she hiding?’ He adjusted the ever-present katana at his side. Misao shifted uncomfortably. “So, did he happen to tell you where this party was being held? No directions? Nothing?” Saitou leaned forward the slightest bit, looking not unlike his nickname, Mibu’s Wolf. His calculating eyes caught everything. Misao flushed again, looking down. “Hai, he said they would have a carriage pick me up at the restaurant at 9 o’clock, but he would not give me directions. He said the party would be in an Ageya on the other side of town from the Shirobeko. That’s all I know.” She still refused to meet his gaze. She had no reason to protect this man, she had only just met him after all, but none the less, she was still hiding something. “Good, I’ll see if I can’t have a man follow the carriage tomorrow night. Be careful of the Ageya, while you are in there you will be vulnerable to the patrons. We cannot be there to protect you. At the first sign of trouble, I want you to call it off and find a way out of there; it wouldn’t look good for me if they were to rape you before you made it to the door.” Saitou looked at her now shocked expression, “Do not think for one moment that they would not try, Misao-san. Takahashi, from what I know of him, is not what you would term a lovable guy. In fact the term lady killer suits him quite well, literally.” Misao shook her head trying not to hear. She moved to reach under her futon, glad for the chance to look away from Saitou’s probing eyes. Coming back up she handed Saitou the stack of files he had given her earlier. She smiled at him blankly, “Arigatou, Saitou-san. I will be fine. I’m Okashira of the Oniwabanshu, after all. I can take care of myself. Tomorrow is a long day and I need my sleep. So, if you would please..” Misao settled herself into her covers and pointed Saitou to the door, he looked at her menacingly before snuffing out the light and walking to the chamber door. He stopped just inside of it, looking back over his shoulder in her general direction. “Misao-san, do not forget what I told you. The man is a monster. Don’t get caught up in any childish fancies with this one or you’re sure to end up dead. I’ll be in touch again tomorrow before you leave the Shirobeko.” With that he walked out of the room, blending into the murky shadows as he closed her door behind him. ~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~ Aoshi looked up as he heard a noise across the garden. He had been sitting under a tree listening to the night, glad for some peace. The shuffling sound, though faint, seemed to be getting closer. Aoshi was sure that, had it been anyone but him under that tree, the sound would have gone otherwise unnoticed. The sound was not close enough in-between to be a cat or other animal; there were only two footfalls in perfect rhythm with one another. Someone was in the Aoiya, and they hadn’t been invited. Aoshi unfolded slowly from his meditation position on the ground. In the shadow of the tree, he was almost invisible in his dark Ninja gear. The shadowed figure moved towards the main building, like they had a keen knowledge of their destination. Aoshi knew that only someone who had been on the grounds before would be that certain of where they were going. They kept the Aoiya very closed off from public eyes. He followed at a slow pace, knowing instinctively, if he hurried, the shadow would be aware of his presence. The shadow walked along the wooden hallways without so much as a sound. Aoshi could guess from looking at his size that he was a large man. He had to be good if he remained that quiet. The shadow turned a corner on the pivot of a shiny black shoe. Aoshi followed a few paces behind; he leaned forward to look around the corner only to find the man gone. He heard the click of a door closing and moved around the corner to get a better idea of what was going on. He reached the door and looked up and down the hallway, making sure he was alone. ‘This is Misao’s room.’ A light went on inside, Aoshi could see Misao’s form silhouetted against the rice paper walls. He eased the door open. His eyes widened as he saw Saitou Hajime leaning over Misao, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. He watched in silent horror as Saitou leaned in close to her. The girl moaned in her sleep, as Saitou talked to her in a hushed tone. Aoshi could take no more. He closed the door and stalked to his room, his footsteps soft as those of a panther. He stopped in front of a chest of drawers where his matched set of kodachi lay. He had sworn never to use them again for his own gain. They beckoned him now as a feeling unknown to him began to take hold of his heart. His tired to get reign on his emotions, but his body began to shake of it’s own volition. ‘What is going on? Why would Saitou be in Misao’s room? What’s worse, why would she want him there?’ Aoshi’s rational mind began to fall to pieces as visions of Saitou holding Misao in a sensual grip clouded his mind. He shook his head forceful trying to dislodge them from his mind, failing miserably. ‘He would not dare to lay a hand on her. He knows she is still a child. There would be no reason for him to be there for THAT sort of thing, Misao told me he was married. But Misao has been acting strange and has been very tired as of late. Could he possibly be the cause?’ With that thought Aoshi’s hand whipped out to grab his swords, his grip around them lethal. He made his way out of the building and out onto the street. ‘If he went in, then he has to come out sometime. I’d rather beat the truth out of him then have to deal with Misao. I can’t believe that he would do such a thing knowing that she is min…..’ Aoshi’s sentence died in midthought, his grip on the swords tightened again almost imperceptibly. His eyes were burning with a cold, glacial fire. ‘Saitou, what are you up to this time?’ ~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~ Saitou walked out of the building, his senses on edge. He had felt an outside presence while in Misao’s room. He knew the feeling well, and was now accustomed to it. He had been observed, the presence that had been nearby during his talk with Misao had been quite unsettling. Shinomori had seen him in there. He had been afraid that this little problem would come up during his business with the weasel girl. ‘Can't change the past, in any case. If he has a problem with it, he won’t waste any time coming see me face to face about it. I'm not about to go and look for him.’ He blended in with the shadows perfectly in his dark-blue police uniform. Saitou's experience as a Shinsen Gumi division captain during the Bakumatsu, coupled with his long experience in the Meiji period as a spy for the new government, made him nigh untraceable. He left the shelter of darkness to cross the moonlit expanse, double-checking the area before he made his way out into the yard to see if anyone had heard his departure. He then leapt atop the fence, dropping himself down on the other side. He straightened at once, his danger sense telling him that he was no longer alone. Aoshi heard the man climb the wall he was leaning against. A couple of seconds later Saitou was standing a few feet in front of him, his back vulnerably unguarded. Aoshi stepped away from his position against the wall into the half-light of night. ‘Finally the rat decides to crawl out of the woodwork.’ Aoshi’s eyes glinted in the dark. His mouth quirked cruelly as he slung his kodachi over his shoulders. ‘I’m going to get to the bottom of this.’ His mind registered nothing but a fierce, cold, blaze of feeling within. Saitou turned halfway around to get a better view. Leaning alongside the fence, dressed in his dark gi, was Shinomori Aoshi. He regarded Saitou with a great deal of intrigue as he pushed his body off of the fence. Saitou mentally groaned. ‘Not NOW.’ He reached down to place his hand around the saya of his katana, preparing for the inevitable. He felt Aoshi pause, then caught a flash of the pure rage the man radiated. "If you needed something from the Aoiya, Saitou Hajime, you should have asked. It isn't polite to not do so." Aoshi said flatly, his voice cool and soft, his usual emotionlessness prominent. Aoshi’s voice was belying none of the intense emotion Saitou felt from him. He turned fully to look Aoshi in the face. He wasn’t surprised to see that his face was the same emotionless plane his voice was. Aoshi’s eyes were what gave him pause though; they were blank, no more then blue glaciers reflected in the moonlight. Saitou frowned. The two men regarded each other in silence, probing each other’s defenses for a weak point. They found none. Saitou broke the quiet, "I needed nothing from the Aoiya, Shinomori. I needed something that you are unable to provide, and moreover, it is none of your business." Aoshi’s eyes narrowed dangerously as Saitou began to walk past him. A kodachi held in Aoshi's left hand, however, barred the way, as it was pressed along Saitou's belly. Saitou sighed inwardly. ‘I knew this was going to be a long night, why I let myself get into these things I’ll never know, I should just do what Tokio says and come home. Sometimes I’m not quite sure whom I’m married to, the job or her. Damn, this’s gonna get ugly…’ Saitou's expression didn't waver as he turned to look at Aoshi. Aoshi didn't bother to meet his gaze. “Anything happening in the Aoiya is my business. What were you doing in Misao's room?” Aoshi said coolly. “I don’t appreciate unannounced visitors, most of all you.” Saitou sighed, Aoshi’s eyes had only gotten colder if possible, his voice taking on a razor edge. "I was speaking to her about a private matter that we are dealing with. Nothing more. I was simply gathering a report of what she had learned. If you have half a brain, Shinomori, you'll withdraw your toy of a sword from me this instant." Saitou said, extreme emphasis on the word 'instant,' yet his voice didn't waver. "I’d really rather not have to draw my own tonight.” With this said Saitou flicked his thumb against his katana raising it about an inch from the saya. Aoshi reviewed the information he had. ‘Saitou could be telling the truth, and nothing was happening. Or he could by lying, and using Misao to meet his own ends. But why is Misao cooperating with him? She made it no secret in Kyoto how much she disliked the man. And now, she’s meeting with him late at night, having Saitou sneak into the Aoiya, and her room? It makes no sense.’ He made his decision, turning to glare at Saitou. "Know this. Should I discover that you have wronged Misao in any way, or contributed to harming her, you will answer to these two companions of mine." Aoshi unsheathed the other blade and twisted it so the light flashed off the edge to prove his point. "You will not come to the Aoiya this late again." The last came out as a deadly sneer, as Aoshi’s anger flashed through the mask of his aloofness. Saitou took note that this was a definite sign of the depth of Aoshi’s feeling. Saitou chose his words carefully, the man before him was beyond anger and he really wasn’t in the mood for a temper tantrum on Shinomori’s part. "It is unfortunate, but this time is the only time that I can meet with the weasel girl, as police duties take up a great deal of my time. I have no intention of doing anything to your precious Misao. I am married, after all." Saitou said, smirking at the other man as he uttered the last sentence. "You don't get much sleep when you're paranoid, Shinomori. Remember that. I will do nothing to her, simply get the information from her which she is acquiring for me. What we are doing will not be discussed by me, and that is final.” Saitou stated harshly. “If you want to know more, you can ask her yourself. I can almost assure you, however, that you’re going to get even less from her. If you try to force any information from Misao you will only make her upset. So, I would suggest you just learn to deal with not knowing." And with that, he brushed past Aoshi's kodachi, and made his way down the street, Aoshi watching his every move. ~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~<=>~ End Part 3c ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Campaign 2000 is here! http://www.onelist.com Discuss your thoughts; get informed at ONElist. See our homepage.