Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Checkmate: Royal Aquisition ❯ All fun and games ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: All fun and games

Tokio was all too happy to pull herself out of the fancy gown and pull her breeches back on. New vests and pants had been made for her. Tokio never questioned where they'd come from. She was a princess. Things always came from somewhere, but no one ever told her from where. Asking did not tend to get many answers. Replies were not always answers.

There was a knock on the door. Tokio quickly pulled on her shirt.

“Come in,” she said. If it was one of her cousins or another of those diplomats they better be ready to be kicked out.

A small page opened the door and audibly gulped when he saw her face. She immediately relaxed and softened.

“H-his m-m-majesty s-s-sent for y-y-you,” the poor boy stuttered.

“I'll be ready in a minute. What's your name?” she asked.

“374,” the boy replied.

“374? You're kidding me. Your name is a number?” He gestured to the back of his uniform which had a number.

“Where you born with that name?” The boy giggled.

“No, my lady. All pages are given a number. That's what we are called.”

“So what's your real name?”

“Tanaka, Juniro Tanaka.”

“Pleased to meet you,” she said with a smile. “Can you take me to the King please?”

“You bet!” the kid said with a hop. Gone was the fear. He now liked the pretty lady, no matter how scary she'd been when he'd first come in the room.

 

King Saitou was still half in regal attire when she opened the door. He motioned for her to come in and sit down by the fire. A board was laying out by the fire, pieces scattered each and every way. Her eyes widened.

“Senryaku!” she said, immediately recognizing the game. (A/N Senryaku = strategy; In this story it is a war strategy game from Kyoto.)

“You know it?” he asked casually, flipping through some book on his table.

“It's Kenshin's favorite game.”

“Good, then you can teach me how to play,” he said. “Why don't you set it up while I finish this?”

“Set it up? You don't know anything about this game do you?” He looked up, hearing the smugness in her voice.

“Not a clue. Why?”

“You're supposed to set up your own side. If I set up your side I could easily sabotage you. See the pieces? I can only see the back which shows nothing. I can't tell if it's a knight, an archer or a mage.”

“So don't look at them, just stick them in random places.”

“All right, but you aren't going to win….” she said, flipping over his pieces.

“For now knowledge, not victory, is the key,” came his reply.

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Tokio finished setting up his army, all the while keeping a calm and innocent face. `You think you are so smart. Ha! Trying to figure out war strategies from a board game? Let's see how long you are willing to play this little game, my King. In the meantime I'll stay as far away from my bloody father as possible. I may be selfish, arrogant, conceited and a spoiled brat, but I'll be damned if I'm just going to let go of this freedom.'

Saitou sat across from her, a deep from upon his face as he looked at the game before him. Tokio was smug about something. Well, if winning a few silly games made her happy it was better than having a whiney princess on his hands. Bad enough he had to figure out things for her to do that would keep her away from her meddling cousins for the duration of their stay. Prince Kenshin thought to negotiate the terms for Tokio's release and a treaty for the two countries, but Saitou was not about to give in that easily. If Prince Kenshin thought the threat of his army was that great he had another thing coming.

Tokio moved her pieces in silence. The king had been in meetings all day and then that horrid dinner banquet. It was easy to see he was not in a talkative mood. Maybe it was from her experience with her father or maybe she was just good at reading people's moods. Whatever it was, the king was an open book. Nonsense chatter would probably only piss him off more. Although he didn't look it, he was less than pleased about her cousins being here. Especially the Duke. Aizu always did have an impulsive streak.

Tokio yawned around 3am, looking up at the clock.

“Can we finish this another day?” she asked.

“Aa,” came his reply. Then he gave a small smirk. “But how will you know I didn't peak?”

“That's why there's a thin blanket to wrap it in. You just lay it over the board.”

“I could still peak.”

“Yes, but I trust you won't,” she said with another yawn.

“Get to bed,” he said, all mirth gone. The man had mood swings like a pregnant woman.

“Yes, your majesty,” she said and let herself out. King Saitou was a difficult man to figure out. Were that Okita were still here. Okita had known him since they were children and made the most complex of Saitou's behaviors seem so simple.

A gloved hand appeared from a dark corner and wrapped itself around her mouth, yanking her into the shadows. Tokio had been totally unaware. Adrenaline pumped into her veins as fear caused her senses to become acute. Oh shit!

 

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Shall I end it here? Nah…not long enough.

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Tokio wanted to scream, but the person holding her had a thick leather glove on to prevent noise and biting. Intuitive little bastard.

“Relax, cousin,” a familiar voice whispered in her ear. It was Aizu. Tokio let out a sigh of relief and he released his hand, checking the corridor for guards. No one was there.

“You scared the shit out of me!” she whispered through clenched teeth. “I thought someone was going to assassinate me for sure!”

“You women and your imaginations,” he said, pulling her down another corridor.

“Where are we going?”

“We're cutting the negotiations short. We're leaving as soon as the horses can be snuck out of the stable.”

“Well that's rude,” Tokio said as they came to an unfamiliar door. They were in another wing of the castle, she realized. Probably the guest wing. Where were all the guards?

“Stealing another country's princess is rude too.”

“He didn't actually steal me, you know. I kind of wandered in on my own stupidity. Besides, living here is better than Kyoto.” Her cousin reached for the door and opened it, his face hard and stern with a deep frown.

“I cannot believe you just said that. You sound like a traitor.”

“If stating the fact that I am treated like something more than shit is being a traitor, then I guess I am one,” Tokio snapped, following him inside the room.

Then she saw the guards. More than thirty guards were leaned against the walls or in various chairs, fast asleep. Megumi was checking vital signs.

“So easy, so gullible. Hey cousin, so nice of you to join us.”

“What are you two doing??” Tokio asked, appalled.

“Well, we didn't hurt them. They're just asleep,” Aizu said. He handed a bundle to Megumi. Tokio began to back away from them.

“I don't know what you think you are doing, but this is breaking some serious treaty laws. King Saitou is not going to be hap-” she was cut off as a pressure point in her neck was pushed, sending her crumbling to the floor.

“Honestly,” Sanosuke said, looking down at her. “You'd think she'd wanted to stay here.” Aizu laughed but Megumi frowned.

“We'll have to keep her drugged,” she said. “Tokio will run the first chance we give her.”

“What is she? Masochistic?” Sano asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“No. Honorable,” Megumi said, her face suddenly sad. “We are forcing her to break her word. I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to harm one of us in the meantime. Keep sharp objects away from her.”

“You have got to be joking,” Sano said. The look on Megumi's face said otherwise. “Oh boy, dad is not going to be happy if he finds out I'm a part of this.”

“Then make sure he doesn't find out,” Aizu hissed.

 

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Saitou rolled over in the large bed, something nagging him. Something didn't feel right. As the clock passed 4am he knew something was up. The guards at his door always changed at that time. He always heard the rustle of cloth and light footsteps. The two guards outside the door were shifting from foot to foot, obviously slightly worried as well.

He closed his eyes and felt the castle. Many people were sleeping. Too many it seemed. He frowned. He searched for the diplomats, finding nothing. That was the first clue. Then he searched Tokio's room. Again, nothing.

Now Saitou was no fool. When he had taken Tokio on as a prisoner he took extra precautions, especially when he knew of the diplomats' arrival. She had a marker on her, a magical homing device of sorts. It took extra energy and quite a bit of concentration but he managed to locate her.

She was on horseback, riding hard to the west. Several powerful people were around her, the Kyoto nobles he assumed. So she had finally tried to flee. No, he thought, concentrating harder. She's unconscious!

 

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