Resoultions: Chapter 2
By Tokimaru
tokimaru@excite.com
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Harbor/6466/rk.html



Sano contemplated the door.

It was heavy oak, dark and solid, as closed and mysterious as the 
man supposed to be inside.  The determination that had powered 
him here suddenly deserted him at this, the most vital moment, 
and left Sano just standing there irresolute.  The unfortunate 
rookie who had "escorted" him to Fujita's doorway took the 
opportunity of the wild young man's sudden abstraction to make 
his silent escape back down the hall, nervously re-straightening 
his regulation cap and jacket-front.

Sano sighed and leaned back against the doorway.  What the hell 
was he doing here?  Why'd he even think Saitou would help him 
anyway?  He couldn't see Saitou helping to search for a map or 
anything and he'd probably wonder why Sano came to see him 
especially, instead of just speaking to the police on duty. Would 
he even deal with the matter himself, or would it be handed over 
to the normal police?  Sano didn't think the normal police would 
be good enough, but Saitou was probably busy with other 
matters... No, damnit!  He'd bloody well make sure Saitou looked 
into this personally! He didn't know quite how he'd manage it, 
but with kawaii Tsubame and the others at stake, he had to.  
Yeah... he'd -

"Aaaauugh!"

The supporting door behind his back was suddenly not there. 
With a flailing of limbs a startled Sano stumble-fell backwards, 
landing flat on his back.

"Itee~~"

He lay there stunned for a second, then glared up at the pair of 
narrow amber eyes that were staring calmly down at him.  "You 
bastard!" he accused, annoyed.  "What the hell did you do that 
for?!"

Saitou Hajime, former captain of the Shinsengumi third division 
troops and currently aligned with the government police under the 
name of Fujida Gorou stared down at him. His tall, lean wolf's 
form was clad as ever in the navy blue uniform, his nihontou 
attached to his hip, and his face was as familiar to the young 
brawler as if he'd seen him only yesterday, instead of months. 
Sano was again conscious of a peculiar unsettling of his guts as 
he lay at the man's feet.

Saitou took a drag of a recently lighted cigarette and closed the 
door behind him.

"Ahou.  You were crowding the hallway standing there day-
dreaming."

Sano wished heartily that for once he could come up with a clever 
retort, but since as usual his imagination didn't oblige him, he 
settled for muttering, "I wasn't crowding the hallway.  Anyway," 
he added in his more normal voice, "You coulda warned me."

"Could have, but didn't want to."  Now there was a smirk on the 
policeman's lips for the young man's predicament.  Sanosuke 
snarled and started to raise himself up onto his elbows, only to 
have Saitou's booted foot plant itself firmly in the middle of 
his chest and push him back down again. "So what brings a 
rooster-head here so early?"

"Aarrrrgh! Get the hell off me you bastard!" Sano pushed as hard 
as he could at the leg restraining him, but it was just in a 
place where he couldn't get good leverage from his arms so his 
attempts were largely unsuccessful. "How can I say anything like 
this?"

The booted foot was casually removed, more in disinterest than 
concern, Sanosuke felt, allowing him to struggle painfully to his 
feet.  Sano tugged down his jacket and stared around the room.  
Papers were scattered over an austere desk, some in tidy piles 
and others in disarray.  There was also an ashtray, and the 
remains of a meal.  The only other furniture in the room was a 
filing cabinet and a rather comfy-looking couch.  Sano couldn't 
imagine Saitou ever sleeping in it.

He glanced over his shoulder and found Saitou gazing at him 
steadily. It was unnerving, not to be able to tell what the man 
was thinking behind that inscrutable stare.  One eyebrow cocked.

"Doushita, tori-atama.  It's not like you to be so loath to spit 
words out."

Sano grit his teeth against that ironic smile, but after coming 
this far, it would be pointless not to continue.  After 
stuttering a word or two, he began to haltingly relate the things 
that had happened the past week.

"... and so he just sort of escaped quickly, like he was a bird 
or something, through the window and..." his voice faded in 
puzzlement as he noticed Saitou was slowly tugging a glove off 
his fingers and beginning to move.

"...O ...oi ..."

He froze, uncertain of the best course of action as the Wolf 
paced closer. The memory of their first meeting flashed through 
his mind, warning him to escape, but an innocent part of him that 
wanted to trust was stronger, compelling him to stay.

The next instant it was too late to run anyway, for the tall 
presence was at his side, close enough to feel the warmth of his 
breath against his cheek.  Then his de-gloved hand was gently 
pushing his jacket to one side, allowing warm, callused fingers 
to trace sensitively over the cuts at his neck, then his belly.

Sano felt his mouth drop open as he sat there astonished into 
immobility, as though afraid any movement would break the 
enchantment.

Each muscle was responding involuntarily under Saitou's 
fingertips at his belly, causing a shiver to run from the small 
of his back to the nape of his neck, and he found it took all the 
self-control he possessed not to arch under the sensation. The 
next breath he took caught in his throat.

"O..Oi!  Nani shiyagatte'n'da yo!"

"Not deep, but liable to infection regardless."  The voice was 
cool and dispassionate, the hand fell away and it's owner turned 
his back.  "Wait here."  Saitou opened the door and disappeared.

Sano stared after the closed door like a stunned mullet. If there 
was one thing he'd never expected, it was an intimate and gentle 
gesture coming from this man. When he closed his eyes he could 
almost imagine those soft touches as caresses... he caught that 
thought in it's tracks and ruffled his hair distractedly. What 
the hell was he thinking? All Saitou had been doing was examining 
the wounds, with all the detached interest of a doctor. His tone 
had communicated that clearly enough and here he was reading more 
into it... like a... like a lovesick puppy. How humiliating.

As if he was lovesick over Saitou.

He was just putting his hands to his face hoping his cheeks 
didn't look as warm as they felt when the door opened again and 
the man himself returned. In his hands were a small bucket filled 
with water, and a small medicine
box.

Without ceremony the police officer placed both these items on 
his desk and pushed Sano into a sitting position next to them.

"Sit here and don't fidget."  He flipped the lid and brought out 
various materials, which he put to good use cleaning up the blood 
that had dripped down Sano's chest and belly, staining his jacket 
and the waist of his trousers. "You just love making a spectacle 
of yourself, don't you rooster-head."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" was the irritated 
reply.  The steadying hand on the back of his shoulder and the 
nearness of the lean body were as almost as distracting as his 
ministrations.  The soap and water stung a little, but the 
experience of being half-embraced and tended by this man was 
disturbingly potent.  "I don't have time to take a bath and 
change!  So what are we gonna do about that guy?"

Saitou calmly dipped some ointment onto a clean bit of cloth and 
started dabbing it onto the wounds.

"The police will investigate the matter.  /You/ will stay here 
and stay out of trouble."

"What?!" exclaimed Sano, horrified.  "I can't do that!  Weren't 
you
listening? That bastard is threatening my friends and I only have 
until tonight!  I can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"You're the one not listening," the former Shinsengumi corrected 
with infuriating cool. "I said the police will investigate. The 
matter is not unknown to us." He closed the lid of the medicine 
box and reached for a fresh cigarette. "Your unwelcome visitor 
would most likely be Ritsumaki Yotsuda, who works for Kamoritada 
Hashikei -one of the treasurers for the minister of foreign 
affairs."  Saitou paused to light the cigarette, the flame of the 
match reflecting in his sharp eyes. "According to report he's 
looking for a certain map that formerly graced a temple in Iwaki 
which supposedly leads to a certain amount of wealth harbored by 
said temple."

"Greedy yarou," Sano muttered.  "Typical politician."

Saitou did not contradict this assessment, but tapped ash from 
his cigarette end and took another drag.  "He has been under the 
eye of the police since the murders at Iwaki, but some... 
carelessness... on the part of certain police members allowed the 
incident here to occur." Saitou's lips were pressed firmly 
together, his eyes icy. Sano spared a moment to feel glad it 
wasn't him.

"So are you the one investigating this politician guy?"

Saitou breathed out a slow cloud of smoke and watched him from 
the corner of his narrow eyes.  "No, rooster-head, I am not. 
Kamoritada has been under the jurisdiction of the Iwaki police. 
I've been busy dealing with other matters entirely."

Sano didn't like the note of indifferent finality that ended 
with. But "I've /been/ dealing with"  was better than "I /am/ 
dealing with" wasn't it...? He considered the lean, 
uncompromising face, the knowing gleam in his eyes. It was just 
like Saitou to be so difficult. Sano knew Saitou was aware he 
wanted him to help, but the cop wasn't going to make it easy for 
him. Bastard. Sano folded his arms and tilted his chin.

"So?" he demanded in a rough voice, "Are you gonna help me catch 
that Ritsu-whatever guy?  It wouldn't look good for the police if 
they let innocent women and children get hurt, would it."

Saitou's voice was as composed as his expression.  "I'll say it 
once again.  The police will investigate."

Sano clenched his hands in frustration. "But that isn't the same 
as /you/ investigating!" At Saitou's sardonically raised eyebrow 
Sano could feel himself begin to blush, but he plowed on 
regardless.  "The guy- he was really sneaky and good. I reckon he 
could easily get past the normal police. He would know if they 
were at the temple tonight, but I bet he wouldn't know if you 
were there.  Then we could... -- Oi! What the hell are you 
doing!?"

Saitou had casually reached forward and twitched out the corner 
of a cloth peeking out of Sano's trouser pocket.

"What's this, rooster-head?"

Sano blinked.  "Oh that.  Just something I used to try stop the 
blood from that monk's wounds.  Must have stuffed it into my 
pocket without thinking. I just forgot."

Saitou shook out the cloth, eyes intent. It was an intricately 
embroidered affair about the size of a small tablecloth. Large 
patches were stained in blood, but the unspoiled portions were 
delicately beautiful.

"Ahou ga."

Sano twitched.  "What the hell is up with 'Ahou' this time?" he 
fumed.  "I wasn't trying to steal it or anything."

Saitou awarded him an exasperated glance before returning his 
attention to the material in his hands. "I don't suppose you ever 
gave this a proper look, did you ahou? Only you would take a map 
leading to a treasure-hoard and use it as a bandage."

"NANI!?"  Sano ran over and stared at the thing himself over 
Saitou's shoulder.  "That's it?"

Once seen from it's proper perspective, Sano could see that the 
embroidery was not a typical picture, nor any sort of pretty 
pattern.  It looked rather haphazard to him, even the parts not 
obstructed by blood.

"That's a map?" he queried uncertainly.  "Doesn't look like any 
I've seen. How can you tell?"

"Ahou.  It's a topographical map.  These borders represent 
changes in the land elevation, and the different colours reflect 
the different heights. That ensignia there, one would presume, 
represents the location Kamoritada is searching for."

Sanosuke just shrugged, uninterested.  "When that Ritsu-guy said 
about a map, I kinda figured it would be on paper or something. 
Heh.  Turned out pretty lucky I happened to grab that, didn't 
it?"

"Hn."

Sano scowled.  "Well at least now I have it, then he won't have 
any reason to kill anyone.  So do we just pretend to give it to 
him or what?"

"Ahou ga."

"Arrrgh, NOW WHAT!?"

Saitou put the map down and turned to face the hackling puppy, 
brows snapping together.  His hand grabbed Sano's chin and lifted 
until their gazes met.  "Do you really think that Ritsumaki would 
let you live once he knows you've seen the map?  Ahou.  The 
minute he gets the map off you, he'll kill you."

Sano shrugged again.  "Well, that's why you're gonna be there, 
right?  You can catch him before he tries anything or gets away."

Saitou surprised him by sighing faintly, an uncommunicative half-
smile twisting his thin lips.  "By now he undoubtably knows that 
you're here, and will expect police interference.   That doesn't 
matter, he will consider himself able to deal with the police.  
He will not be expecting /me/."

Sano squelched down the ridiculous surge of warmth that 
threatened to envelope his heart and strived for an air of casual 
unconcern.  "So you are going to help?"

The former Shinsengumi captain looked away with a sigh that 
expelled a mouthful of smoke  "Of course. Left to your own 
devices, you'll only get yourself killed. You're valuable to the 
police as a witness, so we need to keep you alive."

Valuable as a police witness? Sano jumped to his feet, masking 
the sudden plunging of his heart with assumed unconcern. 
"Whatever," he replied dully as he headed towards the door. 
"Then, I'll see you later this afternoon or someth-- Aa?"

His wrists were grabbed in a grip as inexorable as a mountain. 
"Where do you think you're going, Ahou? You leave this place and 
you'll be dead before your next meal. "

"What!?"

"Ritsumaki suspects you have the map. He will naturally assume 
that you have gotten a good look at the map, then entrusted it to 
the police. That being so, you are now no longer useful to them, 
moreover, you're a potential rival for the treasure. You need to 
stay safely here."

Sano let blast with noisy indignation.  "Oi, teme~, I don't need 
to be looked after!  I can take care of myself!"

Saitou let him know exactly what he thought of this self-
assessment with one all-encompasing  "Hn."

"I can!" Sano insisted, by now in a fine rage.  "I ain't staying 
here!"

Saitou stepped even closer with a smile, the same smile Sano had 
seen when they'd first met, and it alarmed him like nothing else 
could.

"Oh yes you are."


~*~~*~~*~

Sano stared at the ceiling of his cell, sulking.

He was so bored he could have climbed the walls, and it seemed 
like sunset was never going to come. A healthy anger had kept him 
going for the first couple of hours, but even the most passionate 
of rages must fade in time, and now he was willing to forgive 
Saitou everything if only he'd come down.

He'd had plenty of time to think about the morning's interview. 
Too much time. He'd handled the whole thing badly. Before going 
in he'd been determined to be calm and adult, a competent partner 
rather than bothersome child. But the moment he'd walked... no, 
fallen through the door, all those good intentions had been 
forgotten the moment he'd set eyes on the man. Nobody riled him 
as much as Saitou Hajime.

Sano reflected bitterly on the impression he must have given the 
Wolf of Mibu. Failing to catch one man, ambushed by another in 
his own home, letting both get away from him, and then being 
forced into here practically kicking and screaming with 
embarrassing ease by Saitou himself. No wonder he had been locked 
away in here for safekeeping. No wonder Saitou had been so aloof 
and cutting. He'd been so damned ineffectual. When Saitou came 
back, he vowed to make it different. He'd show him that he could 
be calm and sensible, intelligent and able to hold his own.


He was just in the middle of wistfully fantasising scenarios in 
which his quick wits and fighting skills impressed Saitou into 
speechlessness when that familiar voice of dark velvet 
interrupted his reverie.

"Asleep already?"

Sano's eyes jerked open and he turned his head towards the 
hallway.
Through the metal bars Saitou was watching him in a relaxed pose, 
arms folded.

"About time!" Sano responded with feeling. "Can we go now?" He 
jumped off the bed and walked to the cell's door, hopping with 
impatience as Saitou fished out a ring-full of keys and inserted 
one into the lock. The moment it clicked open, Sano pushed open 
the door and bounded through.

Saitou watched him vault past with a malicious smile.  "Your stay 
appears to have refreshed you considerably, rooster-head."

Sano was just gathering himself up to snarl back when he recalled 
his vow of moments before.  Calm.  Sensible.  With some 
difficulty he channelled that energy into giving him the sweetest 
smile he possessed instead. "I had plenty of time to catch up on 
sleep, thanks."

He was rather gratified to see the expectant smirk on Saitou's 
face fade into a strangely shuttered expression which lasted only 
the briefest of instants before changing into an appreciative, 
ironic half-smile. "Hn. Come on, then."  Without further ado, he 
turned and walked away.

Sano trotted at his heels.  "So what do I do?"

Both eyebrows lifted, Saitou glanced down at him as they climbed 
the stairs to the main hallway.  "Nothing.  Just give him the map 
on cue, then stay out of the way."

Sano could barely hold his tongue, but chose not to argue for 
now.  Truth was, he didn't see much else he /could/ do, but 
cowardly backing out of a fight was /not/ Sagara Sanosuke.

When they reached the outside of the police headquarters, Saitou 
turned to face him. "You go on ahead.  Ritsumaki will know, of 
course, that you've been here, but for now we'll keep up 
appearances and pretend you're going alone. I'll be following 
behind."

Sano nodded unenthusiastically. He wasn't scared, but he was 
conscious of a reluctance to leave. Once Ritsumaki was dealt 
with, he would go home, Saitou would go back to the police 
headquarters, and that was where their brief association would 
end. And good riddance, he added fiercely to himself. So why did 
he feel so depressed? Here he was walking down a pleasant road 
with a beautiful sunset of orange and pink to marvel at, 
delicious autmney smells to indulge in all he wished for was a 
tall, lean, sarcastic presence by his side to share it with. 
Absurd.

The walk to the shrine was uneventful enough, and though Sano 
kept his eyes firmly open as he walked the tree-lined path into 
the temple, nobody jumped out of the darkness to attack him, no 
sound was made. But when he stepped inside, he saw at once that 
Ritsumaki was waiting for him. Kneeling in an attitude of mock 
piety before the shrine, the villain didn't even bother to
turn his head as he spoke.

"How good of you to come so obediently. I trust your little stay 
at the police station was productive? Rather foolish of you to be 
so obvious, boy, but no harm done so I'll forgive you. No matter 
if you brought ten or twenty policemen with you, none could stop 
me. However, we'll not waste time with idle talk. The map, if you 
please."

Sano fished it out of his pocket, neatly folded. "Here." When 
Ritsumaki stood, he tossed it towards him with all the negligence 
in the world. "So you have the map.  There's no need to bother my 
friends now, right?"

Ritsumaki caught the bundle neatly and shook it out for 
inspection. "Yes, this is it..." He was silent for a few moments 
longer, then turned sneering eyes on him.  The map he tucked away 
in his clothes, then his hand closed around a sword propped 
against a table. "You're friends aren't worth my time, but I'm 
afraid you must now be disposed of."

Sano mentally rolled his eyes - Saitou was right, as usual. But 
when Ritsumaki drew the sword with deliberate, insulting leisure, 
Sano forgot all that and geared himself up for a fight. "You're 
not catching me by surprise like before you asshole. If you're 
ready to die, then come and fight me!"

Ritsumaki just laughed derisively and sped towards him with 
alarming speed.  Sano was just raising his fist to meet the 
onslaught when he was unceremoniously shoved to the side with 
strength enough to send him crashing to the walls.

"Oooff!"

As he collected himself he was aware of the abrasive clang of 
metal clashing against metal.  He quickly turned and was rewarded 
with the sight of the former Shinsengumi captain throwing his 
opponent's attack off with negligent ease.  While Saitou was 
concentrating on the fight, Sano took the opportunity to admire 
the obvious superiority of Saitou's swordsmanship compared to 
Ritsumaki's. Ritsumaki's kendo was good, and Sano could see why 
he wouldn't have felt concerned by the presence of normal 
policemen, but his opponent was Saitou and so there was no 
comparison.  A vicious attack was thwarted with a cold smile, a 
clinching thrust was deflected and followed up with effortless 
competence.

Kakkoii~~

Ritsumaki panted where he stood for a moment, the arrogance he'd 
been showing until Saitou's arrival melting away like snow. "Who 
the hell are you?" he demanded, eyes wide.

Saitou glanced at his opponent without interest as he fell 
smoothly into his trademark stance. "Someone not interested in 
giving his name to a coward. A dead coward."

Sano's eyes widened.

Gatotsu!

A thrust of those powerful legs sent Saitou bursting forward in 
an explosion of speed - the next thing Sano knew, Ritsumaki was 
thrown backwards through the air, blood spurting like a fountain 
from his chest and through his gaping mouth.  He landed impaled 
into the walls of the temple with steel blade, very dead.

Sano stared in amazement as he walked up to stand beside Saitou. 
"You killed him."

Saitou walked up to the dead man and casually retrieved his 
sword, letting the corpse drop to the ground with a thud.  
"Obviously."

Sano didn't have much sympathy for the man, but he couldn't help 
asking, "But it seems a little extreme. Why go to the bother of 
killing him?"

It was such a fraction of a second that Sano thought he was 
imagining things, but it seemed like there was a tiny pause 
before Saitou replied in his usual unruffled manner, "As always, 
I follow the Shinsengumi code: Aku, Soku, Zan.  For the sake of 
my own justice alone."

Sano was impressed despite himself.  From anyone else it would 
have sounded pompous, but from Saitou's mouth it was simple fact.

Incomprehensibly, Saitou's next words were, "How are your 
injuries?"

Sano gaped at the unexpected question.  It was a strange question 
-they weren't serious enough to warrant inquiry. "Huh?" he replied
stupidly. He touched the cuts at his neck and glanced at the ones 
on his belly. "Oh, they're fine.  They're nothing." He looked up at 
the older man in silent question, but Saitou ignored 
it and turned away.

"The other police will clean up here."  He picked up the map and 
folded it neatly before tucking it away into an inner pocket and 
walking towards the door.  "It's time for us to leave."

Us.  For some reason that simple word sounded like heaven to Sano's 
ears. "We're going back to the police station?"

"No.  We're going to Iwaki."

Saitou glanced over his shoulder, smiling as though he were 
enjoying Sano's astonishment. "You think the whole thing's over 
just like that, ahou? Obviously Ritsumaki isn't Kamoritada's only 
subordinate, and while we both know the location of their 
objective, the matter will not rest so easily. I expect for now 
Kamoritada will be content to let us lead him to it.  And while we 
are leading him to it, /I/ will be leading him /out/."

Sano caught up to him, pounding a fist into his palm with an eager 
chuckle.  "Then we crush the leader and his gang all in one move. 
Great!"

Saitou reached for a cigarette.  "/I/ will be dealing with 
Kamoritada. /You/ will be keeping out of the way."

"Like hell!"

"I could just shut you back up in the cell.  Be grateful I'm 
letting you come along and do as I say."

"!!!!"  Sano was practically inarticulate with rage.  "You ferret-
faced slanty-eyed psycho-cop bastard!!!"

The night outside was cool and dark, the sun having given over his 
reign of the sky to his sister, who barely peeped out over her 
domain.  The trees lining the pathway whispered to each other in 
shock as their quiet majesty was interrupted by two tall men who 
were walking down the path, the sound of their bickering lingering 
even after their forms had disappeared from sight.