Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Oiran no Gaijin - "The Foreign Courtesan" ❯ Elite Warriors ( Chapter 10 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"Hajime, we're about two hours from Edo, you know," said a young man with wide brown eyes and a short brown ponytail.

"Aa. We'll stop there for a few nights," replied the amber-eyed man. "But get the men to halt. It won't do to barge into the city in broad daylight."

Okita Soushi nodded and turned around, coughing slightly, to address the group of men behind him and the other captain of the Shinsengumi.

"We'll be stopping here until sunset," he informed them, recieving grunts and other sounds of disagreement from the men in the distinctive blue and white gi.

----

----

Nicole had been shut in her room since three in the morning, when she got out of the bath. It was now a little while before sunset and Yumi and Saki were starting to get worried. What was she doing in there? they wondered. Yumi raised a fist and banged on the door, but it had been jammed shut somehow. Saki screeched at the closed door, as if that would make it open by itself. Toriko was about to kick the door down, but Saru was restraining her. Arisu, the mega-bitch, was adding her snide commentary, saying that she wouldn't be surprised if a gaijin couldn't live in a place like this. She kept implying that she thought Nicole may have killed herself.

"Fuck off, Inu-Yasha," snapped Toriko, cracking her knuckles menacingly.

Saru rolled her bright green eyes and used a full nelson to continue restraining Toriko. However, she couldn't do anything to stop the Tomo look-alike swearing violently at the top of her lungs. Everyone was starting to get a headache from listening to Toriko's screeching curses and Saki really needed to change for work. Yumi, wisely, kept quiet - she wasn't going to break her promise to Nicole to keep her secret. She had a good idea of what the girl might have done, but she kept her thoughts to herself and put her effort into acting like she was seriously annoyed.

"I'm really getting worried," fretted Saki, fiddling with her fingers nervously. "What if Inu--- I mean, Arisu's right?"

"That's it! I'm breaking it down!" bellowed Toriko.

Saru tightened her grip, but Toriko pushed off the floor and did a sort of jump kick that sent the door crashing every which way in splinters.

"Brilliant..." said Arisu, rolling her eyes.

"Inu-Yasha, you can shut it!" snapped Saki, her voice taking on a dangerous edge - it wasn't a good idea to get Nakajo Saki angry.

"Why you little brat!" spluttered Arisu, rising to her feet and looming over the younger girl.

"Bitch fight!" cried Toriko, trying to squirm her way out of Saru's grip.

"Shit!" cried Yumi.

Everyone quieted down at once. Komagata Yumi didn't swear - she just didn't!

"What is it?" Saru asked timidly, unable to see into the room over Toriko's head.

"Nikooru's gone!" yelped Saki. "Look!"

The paper had been torn out of one of the shoji panels and a futon had been messily pulled over the hole - it hadn't stayed up too well, obviously. Nicole, her kimono, her cape, and her shoes (which she had saved secretly) were all gone - if the wall panel hadn't been broken, the girls would have all thought she had just disappeared without a trace. Shit, as Yumi had put it, was right - when Himejima-sama found Nicole gone, not to mention the damage to her wall... None of them could stand to think of what might happen to Nicole, but they were more afraid for themselves, Yumi, Saru and Arisu most of all. They had each made Himejima-sama angry at one point and they knew what it was like. Nicole would be luckier to be caught by another trader rather than be caught by Himejima-sama's bounty hunters.

Saru especially knew what it was like for Nicole. She had run away when she was about fifteen and had almost managed to get to a decent area of town before two of them caught up with her. Even to get that far, she had been extremely lucky - she had escaped just like Nicole, on the spur of the moment and without a plan. She swallowed hard as she remembered those rough men and how they had treated her - and she hadn't even fought back. A sick feeling clenched in her stomach as she thought about what they might do to Nicole. Given the events of the previous night, it was almost guaranteed that the plucky American girl wouldn't hesitate to put up a fight.

The girls all looked around at each other, none of them knowing what to say or how to say it - to break the silence would be like all of them betraying Nicole. She had done what very few of them had dared even think about - she had taken her freedom and even if it didn't even last the night, she would have the spirit to do it again. The lines on Saru's back from that night so long ago had faded physically, but tonight her mind could feel them throbbing. Toriko shivered as she remembered one night when she had almost worked up the nerve to make a break for it. Even Arisu was shifting uncomfortably, not wanting to say anything.

"Girls, what happened?" asked an elegant, musical voice. "I heard a crash."

"Nice going, Toriko-baka," drawled Arisu, rolling her eyes heavenward.

Himejima-sama's brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she looked at the Tomo look-alike.

"Toriko-chan, what have you done?" she asked sternly.

Toriko shook her head, not willing to answer - she would buy Nicole some time.

"The door was stuck," Saki said quickly - a little too quickly.

"So I gathered," the madam said dryly. "But don't try to tell me that at least one of you didn't have the good sense to... What's that!?"

She gestured angrily over the wrecked door at the futon piled against the wall and the white rice paper flapping uselessly in the night wind.

"It's the gaijin girl, isn't it?" she asked in a silky voice, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Open up. Where did she go?"

Five defiant faces stared up at the elegantly-dressed madam, each one of them saying the same thing without words - "Make us." Himejima-sama's jaw clenched almost unnoticeably, then she relaxed, reminding the girls of the man who had hurt Nicole last night. The girls refused to give in - they hadn't known Nicole very long, but she was one of their own and they would protect her however they could. Nicole represented hope to them - if she could make it, with their help, then maybe, one day, each of them could steal away to freedom as well. The madam was getting angrier - her expression was unchanging, but they could feel the emotion radiating from her. Himejima-sama swallowed hard and forced her face into a patronizing smile.

"Which one of you will tell me?" she asked in a sugar-coated voice. "The first one to open up gets a week off. If you all tell me together, I'll let you all have the week off! Toriko-chan?"

Toriko's face didn't change, but she drew herself up a little higher and stared at her mistress in continued defiance.

"Saki-chan?"

"No," growled Saki, threatening to go off the deep end.

Himejima-sama slapped the seventeen-year-old across her face before she could even blink, but the girl just glared at her.

"Yumi-chan?" the madam asked sweetly, appealing to the oldest of the group.

"Sorry," replied Yumi in a hard voice, her green-lipsticked mouth a thin line.

Yumi was backhanded across her face, but refused to reel with the blow - she just sat there, straight and still as a picture, with a red hand print throbbing on her cheek.

"Saru?" asked the madam, not even bothering with an honorific for the girl who had no name.

"Beat me again and see what happens!" snapped the girl with the short purple hair and fierce green eyes.

"Easily arranged," Himejima-sama said darkly.

Saru pushed herself to her feet and drew herself up to her full height - by the standards of the day, she was an Amazon at five foot six.

"I'm not fifteen years old anymore, Himejima-SAMA," she said threateningly.

"Ah... It appears the only one left is my dear Arisu-chan," said the madam in a falsely sweet voice - she was playing her trump card, Arisu's sycophantic nature.

Arisu was starting to crack - she had a low threshold for pain and she wasn't looking forward to being slapped, backhanded, or in any other way beaten.

"Ano... Eeto... Um... Erm..." she stumbled over the sounds, trying to steal some time both for Nicole and herself.

"Come on, out with it!" exclaimed Himejima-sama.

"Everybody, I'm sorry, I just can't hold on like you!" Arisu burst out, falling at the madam's feet on her knees. "I don't know where she went, but it was the gaijin girl, just like you said!"

She fell on her side, crying pathetically.

"Nice going, Inu-Yasha," growled Toriko. "Don't think you're coming back in our room."

She marched into the room she shared with Saru and came back with Arisu's futon, which she dumped on the floor - Saru nodded approvingly.

"You're really low," snarled Saki, two seconds away from snapping entirely and trying to kill someone.

"Now now, girls," interrupted Himejima-sama in that same sugary voice. "Arisu-chan has done the right thing in telling me. At least she'll be eating for the next three days."

That was it for Saki - the seventeen-year-old girl screamed like a banshee and launched herself at the madam, stepping on Arisu in the process. Toriko, who had been seconds away from doing something like that TO Arisu, for once kept her head on straight and started trying to restrain the younger girl. Saki just scratched the hell out of her arm and shot out for Himejima-sama again, teeth and nails bared. Anger lent the young girl speed and power - she scratched wildly at the sleeves of the madam's elegant kimono and eventually managed to bite one of her hands until she drew blood.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, DO SOMETHING ABOUT HER!" shrieked the madam, trying to shield her face with her arms.

"Saki, I'm sorry about this!" cried Saru, hooking her arm around the younger girl's neck in a choke hold.

The madam beat a hasty retreat, looking back at the three girls trying to restrain Saki and at Arisu, still crying on the floor.

That Saki brat is going to regret the day she was born, she thought savagely.

----

----

Nicole was running as fast as she could through the back alleys of the red-light district of Edo. She had pulled her kimono up over her shoulders like a lady would and had her cape over that for added protection in the dark. Her memories of the street were vague, but she could remember the stalls she had stopped at with Miku. Maybe if she just got that far, she could take the main road and... No... She couldn't go back to Miku's village - she would just be returned and probably in worse condition all over for it. In her mind she was cursing as she forced her feet to keep running. Why... OH WHY hadn't she spent more time trying to teach herself kanji? She could read hiragana well enough, though she didn't know what most of the words meant - she could still sound them out. But not a one of the signs around here seemed to be in hiragana!

She had gotten away from the establishment what felt like hours ago. It was well after sunset and she had the constellation Orion to guide her - even across time, he was her guardian. Finally, she came to what looked like a fairly decent inn and restraunt and ducked in through the noren curtain. She skidded to a halt in the entrance way and fell to her knees as she tried to keep her shoes from making contact with the tatami. The occupants of the building didn't stop what they were doing to look at her, but a friendly-looking boy near the front desk waved her over. He looked sort of like Heero Yuy, only much less threatening - the cobalt eyes glittered merrily in the the lamp light instead of staring like stones.

"Irrashaimase!" he called jovially. "What brings you here, Jou-chan?"

Nicole scrambled to get her shoes off and tripped on her way over to the boy - he caught her easily and both of them blushed.

"I'm sort of in trouble here," she explained, trying to word things carefully - she couldn't let him know what she was.

"Anything I can help with?" the boy asked in concern.

"I just need a place to stay tonight," Nicole said softly. "But I don't have any way to pay for it."

"Ah, that's alright!" he assured her. "If you can help out in the restraunt, you'll have earned yourself a place for the night."

"Oh thank you!" exclaimed Nicole, throwing her arms around the boy and hugging him hard.

"Ow! Hey, easy!" he yelped. "I don't even know your name, missy."

"Er... I'm sorry. It's Nicole," she introduced herself, bowing politely.

"Boku wa Nakajo Izumi," he said, his speech informal and masculine.

"Nakajo?" asked Nicole, wondering if she should pursue the matter.

"Hai. Is there something strange about my name?" Izumi asked politely.

"Do you have a sister?" Nicole blurted out in a rush.

Izumi looked like he had swallowed a lemon, or bitten into a clove of garlic, or done something equally distasteful.

"No," he said in hard voice. "Not anymore."

So it was true - Saki's family really was nearby. Oh shit! This was bad! Her father was the one who had sold her off - if he thought he could get a good enough price, Nicole knew she would be right back where she started. And if that happened, she would definitely come off it worse for the wear. Izumi looked at her curiously as her expression changed from disbelief to shock to horror to sadness and back again. He looked closely at her strange clothes - sure she was wearing a kimono, but what the hell was that thing she had over it?

"Oh, I always wear this thing," Nicole said rather nervously, having noticed him looking at her cape. "It's warm."

"Ah, I see," said Izumi, wanting very much to change the subject. "Should we just get to the kitchen? More important, can you cook?"

"Not very well," admitted Nicole. "But I can wait tables or be a hostess if you like!"

"I think we can work with that," Izumi said agreeably. "Don't you want to take that... whatever it is... off?"

Nicole froze, but it would look really weird to walk around with the thing on in the restraunt - graciously, she let him help her out of it.

"There we go... Wait..." the boy said suspiciously. "I recognize that kimono! You're a---"

"Please! Don't say anything!" begged Nicole. "I can't go back there... She'll kill me... And I have to get home! I don't want to die here!"

"I'm afraid I can't be the one to decide this," Izumi said sadly, laying a supportive hand on Nicole's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to get my father."

"Please Izumi---" Nicole continued, her voice rising in volume.

"Shh!" he hissed. "There are dangerous people here. Saitoh Hajime and Okita Soushi, the third and first captains of the Shinsensgumi..."

"SAITOH HAJI---" screeched Nicole.

"Baka!" snapped Izumi, clapping a hand over Nicole's mouth. But it was too late - the damage had been done.

"Let the girl speak," said a teasing voice. "If she has that big a mouth on her, maybe what she has to say is worth hearing!"

The man with the narrow amber eyes laughed at his own humor but Izumi held Nicole fast. Nicole's eyes widened for a moment, then she started struggling and trying to pry Izumi's hand away from her mouth. No one could really tell what she was trying to say, but they could figure out it had some pretty strong words in it. Saitoh Hajime was laughing again, but this time he was laughing at Nicole. If there was one thing besides dirty fighting and animal abusers that Nicole Barrington couldn't stand, it was being laughed at. She mumbled a muffled apology and bit Izumi's hand just hard enough to make him let go of her, which he did, swearing.

"I don't really have anything to say to you," Nicole said to Saitoh, trying to keep the edge off her voice. "I was just rather surprised to find out you were here."

"Well, it seems someone needs to be taught manners," replied Saitoh, his voice smooth and still teasing. "But I don't fight women and children - and you seem to qualify as both."

Nicole took that in and got all flustered again.

"Hey! I'm not a kid, you know!" she snapped. "I'm eighteen years old, for crissakes! EVERYBODY seems to think that I'm a KID and I'm NOT!"

Saitoh raised an eyebrow and looked at the girl with a rather bored expression.

"Well you could have fooled me," he said dryly.

"Nikooru-san, please!" begged Izumi. "Don't antagonize him! We don't have the money to fix everything up if you make him angry!"

Saitoh waved off the boy's pleas like flies.

"I find this girl rather amusing, Nakajo-kun," he said, his voice now obviously covering up something. "I'd ask how much but I don't think that's the kind of place your father is running here, ne?"

Izumi bit his lip and turned bright red - Nicole couldn't stand seeing other people get picked on, so of course she blew up.

"That's enough, Saitoh!" she said angrily, her face darkening as well. "That kind of humor is taking it too far - for both of us!"

Izumi's eyes widened - this girl wasn't about to say what he thought she was about to, was she? He knew where she was from - the same place his sister was. He was getting desperate. Oh man, he thought. If my father walks in here and sees all this, he'll either disown me or sell me off too! Neither of these options was he particularly keen on, so he gestured to Nicole, who was standing on a vacant table preparing to shout at Saitoh. She didn't see him waving his hands around, trying to catch her eye - she was just concerned with telling Saitoh where to get off. The other restraunt patrons had quietly stopped eating and talking so that they could watch this girl telling off the third captain of the Shinsengumi. They weren't even sure at whose expense they were getting their entertainment - if asked, they would have said the girl. None of them were drunk enough or stupid enough to piss off Saitoh Hajime.

"And what would you know about this kind of humor, my girl?" asked Saitoh, trying to trip Nicole's brain - however, living by the seat of her pants as she always did had taught her to think on her feet.

"I can't help it if I hear things!" she shot back, trying to look scandalized and put-upon. "I wouldn't know if men weren't always talking about it!"

"Looks like we have a feminist here," Saitoh said to Okita, pointing at Nicole as if she were a dog.

"Damn straight!" countered Nicole, drawing herself up.

"Izumi, what is going on in---" a large, muscular man's voice demanded as he barged out of the kitchen and got one look at Nicole. "Get down from there!"

Izumi, who was almost crying in embarrassment and frustration, bowed wearily to his father and just made a vague gesture at Nicole and Saitoh - he wanted to go and bang his head on the hardwood cutting board. Nicole giggled nervously and hopped down from the table. Her foot caught in the hem of her kimono and she narrowly missed another Janet Jackson moment as she fell flat on her rear. Nakajo-san, Izumi and Saki's father, was not amused and once more he demanded to know what was going on. Nicole looked furiously at Saitoh, who smirked back at her, then looked defeatedly at the floor - she knew she wasn't getting any further tonight. Well, it was one small step forward and soon she would be back at square one.

"Otou-san... This is Nikooru... I don't know her surname," Izumi offered weakly.

"Barrington," Nicole filled in automatically.

"Quiet, you," barked Nakajo-san, pointing a threatening finger at Nicole and turning back to his son. "Izumi, what is that girl doing here? And who is she? I don't like the look of her."

"Don't I get to tell my side of the story?" demanded Nicole, still sitting on the floor.

"Nikooru... Seriously... Be quiet," Izumi said quietly, wishing he could protect Nicole without seriously pissing off his father.

For once in her eighteen years of life, Nicole Barrington did the right thing and kept her trap shut, though she kept one wary eye on Saitoh.

"Izumi, look at that kimono!" blustered the father, pointing at Nicole with a butcher knife and making her queasy. "You know good and well what she is! What in the hell is she doing mucking up our fine service establishment!?"

"Hey, I don't like this kimono either!" added Nicole, trying to stand up for herself. "But at least I'm decent!"

"I thought we told you to shut up," growled Nakajo-san, brandishing the butcher knife threateningly.

Everyone's attention shifted away from the angry father and unfortunate son as Saitoh Hajime rose to his feet and crossed the room in a few smooth strides - he stopped to pat Nicole on the head, then turned to Nakajo-san.

"Pardon me, Nakajo-san," he said politely, bowing a little. "But if you're meaning what I think you are, I think I may be able to help you out. You see, I am heading for a certain area of town just as soon as I finish eating."

"How much do you want for your trouble?" Nakajo-san asked gruffly.

"Consider it a personal favor, my good friend," insisted Saitoh, looking back at Nicole with a different gleam in those narrow amber eyes. "You could say I've taken a liking to her."

Nakajo-san understood what Saitoh was saying, Izumi looked as though he might faint, Nicole was frozen in fear, and Saitoh just seemed to think the whole business was rather amusing. He caught Nicole's eye and gave her a naughty wink, making her gulp as if she were about to be sick. Satisfied at getting a rise out of the girl, Saitoh turned back to Nakajo-san with what, coming from him, was a pleasant smile on his face. So the restraunt owner bowed and gave Saitoh the information on where he figured Nicole had come from. Saitoh's pleasant smile turned into a predatory grin as his mind started to get ahead of him and he bowed in thanks for the information.

"Then consider your dinner on us," pressed Nakajo-san, refusing to hear a word of argument.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Nakajo-san," replied Saitoh. "Very generous of you."

He turned to Nicole and said "Come along", not offering a hand to help her up - not that she had expected that much in the way of courtesy from Saitoh Hajime. The amber-eyed man took hold of the collar of Nicole's kimono and pulled her along like a dog as he strode over to Okita. Okita Soushi coughed a little harshly and helped himself to more green tea as he listened to his friend and comrade, preoccupied with other things. Oh, was that something about meeting somewhere later? he thought vaguely. Himejima? I suppose I can find it later. He nodded politely in Saitoh's general direction and absentmindedly agreed to meet him a little later.

"Soushi... Soushi?" asked Saitoh, thumping his friend on the head. "You got that, right?"

Okita nodded again, this time with a little more commitment, and Saitoh nodded back, satisfied.

"Come on," he said gruffly to Nicole, pulling her along by her collar again.

"Hey, hey!" protested Nicole, clawing at his hand. "I can walk on my own, you know."

"Be quiet," ordered Saitoh and before Nicole could say another word, he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, heading out the door.

"YOU LET ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" screeched Nicole, making everyone in the building cringe for the sake of their poor, abused ear drums as she tried to kick Saitoh or hit a pressure point in his back with her elbow, whichever came first. "I MEAN IT!"

"Hai, hai, I know," Saitoh replied in a silky voice. "But I also mean it when I say be quiet, and it's my word that counts in this case."

Nicole screeched even louder, swearing in Saitoh's ear and flailing her arms around. He just drew his arm tighter around her legs and patted her rear. Now that time, she did manage to catch him a good blow to the back of his head with her elbow - and she had bony elbows. Saitoh rolled his eyes and gave her rear a pinch, just to get on her nerves, drawing a sound from her that almost resembled an alley cat's howl. Nicole was very unhappy by that point - and when Nicole Barrington was unhappy, she let everybody know it, loud and clear. Well, at least it was loud and clear until they went deaf. She kept screaming, yelling "fire", "rape", "help", and everything else she could think of.

You'd think she'd get it by now and give up, Saitoh's irritated mind groused.

It turned out Nicole had not managed to get very far away from the red-light district at all, because before she knew what hit her, she was smelling strong sake and hearing the noise of the crowded street again. Saitoh was scanning the signs and banners lining the street, trying to find the one that just said "Lady Himejima" on it. This process was made slightly more difficult by Nicole, who had figured out how to elbow the back of his head repeatedly. He wondered vaguely if she would knock him cross-eyed before he found the place. Finally, he found a place that looked likely - the rice paper on one of the far wall panels had been kicked out and the shreds flapped in the wind. All he'd had to do was look for the place that looked like it had recently weathered a disaster. It didn't take someone very smart to figure out that a girl like Nicole left destruction in her wake.

"Welcome home," he said sarcastically as he ducked in the door and dropped Nicole on the floor.

"Yeah yeah, thanks a lot," Nicole replied grimly, muttering 'jerk' under her breath. "What are you hangin' around for? Have you not annoyed me enough?"

"Charming girl," drawled Saitoh, rolling his eyes again. "Why did you run away anyway? All you would have had to do would be keep on with that mouth of yours and you'd have been thrown out in a few days."

"You know, Saitoh, I really don't need this now," snapped Nicole. "And why are you still here?"

"This is a gentlemen's establishment," answered Saitoh, his voice snide. "Certainly you didn't expect me to show up here and leave with nothing?"

Nicole gulped audibly - now she knew why he had insisted on bringing her back here... She swallowed hard and tried hard not to let Saitoh see her shaking. Why was she bothering? She knew Saitoh could read people like books - it was useless to try and hide anything from him. He knew how frightened she was - that was probably why he wasn't trying to get her into an argument again. Why was it so quiet around here? It was like somebody had died or something. The strangest things occurred to people who were convinced they were about to die - Nicole was sure Himejima-sama would kill her. She sniffled, tried not to cry, and tried to think of heaven. But would she still go to heaven after she had been in a place like this? Well, she had tried her hardest not to let herself be touched... Her conscience was poking her, telling her she should have tried just a little harder to resist Aoshi, that she could have held out until he stopped.

"Irrashaimase, sir," said a musical voice, making Nicole jump about two feet in the air. "Watashi wa Himejima Kiyoko. And you are?"

Nicole kept her head down but tried to get a look at the madam through her eyelashes - Himejima-sama was wearing a different kimono and were those bandages on her arms?

"Saitoh," said the amber-eyed man, not wanting to bother exchanging formalities with the madam.

"And what type of girl do you favor, Saitoh-san?" Himejima-sama asked in a solicitous voice. "Old hats or new arrivals? Do you prefer an experienced girl?"

"Spirited," said Saitoh, grinning again - Nicole could practically hear the expression in his voice. "I like a girl who fights."

"Well you've got the worst of them right there," the madam said sourly, gesturing at Nicole.

"How much?" demanded Saitoh.

Nicole curled up and wished she could melt into the floor - she felt it when the madam's face lit up in a savage smile.

"For her? Tonight? No charge," said Himejima-sama. "Do what you like with her. It saves me the trouble of punishing her."

"Himejima-sama, no!" cried Nicole, jumping to her feet. "There is no way in heaven or hell that I am having any kind of intimate contact with this sarcastic, mean-spirited, spiteful, annoying, ARROGANT JERK - Saitoh Hajime!"

"No charge?" Saitoh asked conversationally, acting as if the girl's outburst had been on the opposite side of a pane of soundproof glass.

"Hai," the madam assured him. "Pick any room that isn't occupied."

"With..." Saitoh paused, licking his lips and leering at Nicole. "... pleasure..."

Nicole felt like being violently ill as Saitoh picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder again, ambling down the hall in search of a room. Ironically, he stopped at the large private room where Nicole had spent her night with Souzou - oh, how she wished she was with him again! After the way he kissed her, she wasn't sure if she would mind as much if, next time, he decided not to stop... But that was foolishness - she was letting the loose morals in this place get to her and there wasn't going to be a "next time" with Souzou.

Reality intruded upon her as she was slung off Saitoh's shoulder and dropped unceremoniously on the futon in the middle of the room. Before he could do anything else, she was up on her feet, ready to either fight him or bluff until he actually knocked her unconscious. She heard a deep, threatening growl rumble up in his throat, but she held her ground, clenching her teeth as she prepared to do whatever she had to do to keep him off her as long as possible. Saitoh grinned at her, his amber eyes gleaming in the low light of the lamp. He really was just like a wolf. No... wolves were kinder - they didn't leer at their prey as they were killing it. She knew what he was trying to do, trying to get her in a no-win situation.

Unfortunately, he was succeeding. She couldn't back up without backing herself into a corner. If she took her eyes off him for a second, he would have her. Taking one step sideways either way was a bad idea - Saitoh wasn't the kind to bother with circling around an opponent. But if she just stood where she was and stared at him, he would just step forward and just like that he would have her. No matter what she did, she was trapped in that room with the Wolf of Mibu. Then she noticed that he still had his sword on him - her eyes widened and she almost fainted. While she was wavering, Saitoh took two long strides forward and took hold of her, turning her around so that her back was pressed against his chest.

"It won't be any fun if you're giving up already," he whispered in her ear, nuzzling against her hair possessively.

"Get the hell off me..." snarled Nicole, elbowing him hard in the side. "Sick bastard."

"But then... What would it be like if you just went ahead and succumbed to me?" growled Saitoh, ignoring her struggle and stroking her under her chin.

Nicole tried to pull her head back - Saitoh growled again in satisfaction.

"See, you're leaning into me already," he said softly, sliding one hand over her chest as she tried to kick him in the shins.

"I have not yet begun to fight," snarled Nicole, biting Saitoh's hand as he ran one finger over her lips - thankfully, it was enough to make him let go.

"A little animal, ne?" Saitoh said, arching one eyebrow suggestively at her.

"I've had about enough of your bad innuendoes!" yelled Nicole, making a grab for the wakizashi, the short sword, that hung at his waist - to her surprise, he let her take it.

"So now you think you can play with a sword?" the Wolf of Mibu asked sardonically.

"I wouldn't use it against you - I don't want your blood on me," Nicole spat in disgust, turning the blade and pressing it softly against her own throat. "But I know you can't stand seeing a woman's blood."

Saitoh's eyes narrowed and he stepped over to the door, removed the katana from his waist, and set the sheathed sword outside the door.

"Let's play fair," he said in a silky voice. "No blades. I put down mine, now you put down yours."

Nicole lowered the short sword, then she screamed like a madwoman and threw it at Saitoh - his eyes widened slightly and he was actually forced to dive out of the way. As he got up, he yanked the Shinsengumi bandanna off his head and threw it down. His eyes were wild, like a rabid animal's. Oh shit... thought Nicole - she had made him snap and now she was sure he was going to kill her. He wouldn't even bother staining his sword with her blood - it would be so easy for him to strangle her, or, if he was feeling merciful, snap her neck. Her eyes widened and she backed up - it didn't do her any good, because two seconds later, she was pinned by her throat against the wall by a very angry Saitoh Hajime.

"I wish you hadn't done that," he whispered, tightening his grip on her throat.

Nicole clawed at his hand, but he just raised his arm until he had lifted her off the floor - tears slipped out of Nicole's eyes as she fought for her breath.

"Go ahead and kill me already!" she grated out, scratching wildly at his wrist.

"Oh no... That wouldn't do," replied Saitoh. "That would take all the fun out of it for me."

He tightened his grip again, drawing a pained squeak from Nicole, and quickly untied her obi, letting it drop on the floor.

"It's just like how you water-starve a horse to break it," he explained, his voice still carrying that horrendous silky tone.

Nicole was gasping for air, trying to stay conscious just for a few more seconds, but her vision was starting to swim.

"But there are some who say you should make the horse come to you willingly by offering it treats," continued Saitoh, loosening his grip just enough for Nicole to get a tiny breath. "Wouldn't it be so much better if you came to me willingly?"

He released his grip on Nicole's throat and caught her easily before she hit the floor, lifting her up carefully in his arms and holding her close. Nicole was trying to get used to breathing again and lay mostly limp in his grip. She was trying to pull up the energy to fight him off - it would be so easy to use a palm-heel attack and break his nose... If only she could see straight, past those swimming, swirling colors... Her breath caught in her throat and she started to cough, unconsciously gripping his gi as she tried to keep herself steady - the last thing she needed right now was to be dropped again. Saitoh made a pleased purring noise deep in his throat.

"Here's your chance to be with a man who knows how to please a woman," he crooned in her ear, licking the outer shell playfully, then biting down a little. "Men don't realize how much better it is when the woman is made ready. The friction's no good if you're bone dry..."

Nicole could only hear a few words as her heart pounded up in her head - "ready", "friction", and "dry" caught in her mind and she felt sick again, letting a soft moan escape her lips.

"There there," purred Saitoh, kneeling beside the futon and laying Nicole on it. "It's going to happen between us tonight, one way or the other. It works better for me if you're wet, so let's just get on with it."

Growling softly, Nicole crossed one leg over the other, pressing them together as hard as she could - Saitoh just laughed and removed her kimono.

"No... Stop..." whimpered Nicole, still trying to slap him. "Don't touch me... It hurts! Stop! Get off me! Ow... It hurts so bad..."