Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Terms of Engagement ❯ Fair Play ( Chapter 7 )

AN: I actually spent hours researching Tokio's part, so take advantage ladies! This also took so long to get to you because I had to get a copy of the Kokinshu.

Terms of Engagement

Chapter Seven:Fair Play

 

Tokio

She'd been practicing all day. Her maid had long ago given up trying to make sense of her behavior and was now quietly fretting to herself as she busily sewed up her wedding clothes, determined that at the least her mistress would look proper for her very un-proper wedding. Toki let her fret and continued with the advice she was given on how to seduce Saitou. The contact had given her explicit advice on how it should be done, and considering this contact, one of her newest and most prized in her quest to deal with Saitou, she was willing to do as the woman recommended.

She set her small mirror down and picked up the letter again.

The most important thing you must remember is never to allow him to drink more than one small cup of sake. Some women try to seduce a man by getting him drunk. Do not do this under any circumstance. He gets violent very quickly when he drinks. Instead, buy the finest tea you can. He prefers earthy teas, such as rice tea, but for a tea ceremony, try high quality gyokuro. He is one of the few men I know that will appreciate the subtleties of that tea.

Seeing that she had little choice, the fine tea seemed an excellent idea. She knew, since she'd `visited' many of the previous couples' tea ceremonies that many women had encouraged their men to drink heavily. Midori had actually set the tea ceremony aside completely and only served sake.

Next, ignore the advice of other women. Saitou needs careful handling in this respect. He is too intelligent, and too private, to allow crude advances.

Toki felt herself safe from that. A few of her other contacts had given her advice that she was sure would get her gutted, quickly, if she didn't die of embarrassment first. Somehow, publicly, or even semi-publicly grabbing any part of Saitou's anatomy seemed more of a suicide attempt then a seduction. She'd been stretching his patience when she'd latched onto his arm as her overweight alter ego. She didn't want to know what he'd do if she latched onto more private parts.

Flirting is pointless with him. Even if he doesn't say anything -he does have excellent manners when he chooses to use them- he will get irritated.

She spent a few moments trying to picture herself giggling at Saitou and the inevitable result. She doubted it would be fatal, at least physically, but it would probably end in her marriage to Kodaijin. She put the letter away with the rest of her gathered intelligence, and got up. It was time for Yaso to go out wolf hunting.

Saitou

He pocketed the small book with a smile. It was nice of the Westerners to come along and introduce such convenient little things such as pocket sized note books. So handy when one needed to take notes of enemy activities and plot against your future wife. He was actually looking forward to this evening's battle, especially since he now knew it was a battle.

He'd been soundly whipped from the field of combat last time and this time he was determined to be the victor. He'd carefully gone over every conversation he'd had with Tokio, whether in her hideous disguise or as Yaso, and he'd patiently researched his scheme. Tonight, it would be Tokio that would cringe in horror of her marriage to be. He'd have to be careful though, he didn't want her to escape, but he'd come up with an excellent plan for ensuring her presence till their wedding.

Saitou took a deep, pleased breath and looked around the garden. Once again it was decorated with white paper lanterns, flowers, and music. The small gazebos were already set with tea services, double checked by servants to make sure that there was one set in each small building -no one wanted a repeat of Tokio's search. Nightingales sang sweetly in the gathering dusk and all that was needed was his bride to be.

Serizawa walked past carefully inspecting the preparations. Saitou glanced around and not noting any perspective brides or their chaperones in the area, went to make sure his darling wouldn't make a sudden dash for freedom.

“Sir.” He came up next to his superior as the man looked over a nearby table with dainty sweets spread on it.

Serizawa glanced over at him, “Any word on Choju?”

“No.” Saitou shook his head, putting on a semi-concerned expression. “I have, however, heard a few rumors from reliable sources.” Actually he'd listened to the drunken ramblings of one of his less intelligent informants. “It might be prudent to take precautions with the women.” He made a small sweep of his hand toward the preparations. “The Ishinshishi seem to be taking an interest in our new brides.”

Serizawa frowned, glancing around. “Hmmm. I see.”

Saitou nodded, bowing away as the voices of women whispered through the dusk. He'd let Serizawa consider that for awhile. He'd corner his superior later to sprinkle some fertilizer on the tiny seed he'd just planted.

The women arrived like a flock of silken birds. Their chaperones twittering excitedly as they darted around their charges flicking their slender fingers to arrange already exquisitely arranged obis, smoothing perfectly smooth sleeves, and patting flawlessly silken hair into place. Saitou spotted Tokio being fussed at toward the back of the gaggle.

Serizawa came forward and soon had the chaperones sitting contentedly in a small gazebo with comic dancers and trays of treats. Saitou with the rest of his fellow grooms were paired up with their partners and sent off to drink tea, and, at least in Saitou's case, wage covert warfare with and on their intendeds.

Saitou smirked to himself as Tokio bowed modestly before him in greeting. It was going to be a beautiful night.

Tokio

Saitou was, if anything, even more appealing than he was the first time they'd had tea in this park. His dark hair was only loosely tied at the nape of his neck, and soft strands had escaped to brush enticingly around his jaw. He was dressed in a soft amber kimono with an almost invisible pattern of autumn leaves, and a rust colored hakima.

Tokio followed him along the gently lit path to their teahouse, watching how, as he passed under each swaying lantern, his hair would tangle in the gentle twilight wind. Watch it now! You're the one who's supposed to seduce him, not the other way around.

She took a deep breath and concentrated on making her movements as graceful and flowing as possible. Even if his back was towards her, she needed to be at her best all night. Her source said smooth, fluid movements were one of the keys to attracting Saitou.

…The trick to seducing him is to make that quick mind of his do your work for you. He is very observant and you can use that to make him observe you. Flow like water and let him imagine what it would be like to immerse himself in you.

So she flowed, each step placed delicately on the path, each movement as she settled down on the cushions in the small teahouse delicately graceful, each turn of her head, each curve of her lip, each movement of her hands an elegant dance. As she went through the opening moves of the tea ceremony, she started the second part of her recommended plan.

Saitou

The plan wasn't working well. He'd been looking for an opening, watching her carefully to choose the perfect moment to begin, and what he encountered was…beauty. He'd met other beautiful women, and he'd bedded his fair share of them, but this was entirely unfair. And what was worse is that he didn't even want to complain about the low blow she was undoubtedly aiming at him. To his chagrin, he wanted to just keep watching her, to enjoy the serene, calm movements, to preen at the thought of her being his.

He watched as she bent her head, her eyes cast demurely down as her hands wove beautiful patterns as they moved through the ceremony of lighting the fire. Ah, the moment… He wrenched his gaze away. For half a second, he was free from her wiles so took a breath to begin his attack. He fixed a pleasant smile on his face and looked back up at her.

Then she went for the kill.

She was looking at him under her eyelashes. As he opened his mouth, she dropped her eyes with a mysterious smile and went back to her chore.

He closed his mouth before any winged creatures could fly into it. Whaaa…? Oh, by all the spirits, I think I underestimated her…

Tokio

It wasn't working and she felt like a fool. Saitou was sitting on the tatami looking just as cool and composed as if she were no more than a servant who was fumbling through making his dinner. She eyed the tray of food and bottle of sake that were to be the next step. Should I just do as Midori did? She did seduce Momiji. Should I…

She finally got the fire lit, feeling like the most inept moron in the world. Take a deep breath. It isn't a complete loss. Just regroup and try again. Perhaps during the walk afterwards…

As her hands swept through the ceremony, she went back to the advice she'd been given. Fondling Saitou. No. I want to survive the evening. Directly, and crudely proposition him. She looked over at him as he calmly sipped from the sake bowl. Eeeerrr. Probably not the best idea. Getting Saitou drunk and throwing herself at him. It only took a few seconds to remember that Saitou was a violent drunk and getting gatotsued wasn't part of a viable seduction. I need more information!

“Though these branches/ spring from a single trunk bright/ hues adorn only/ one side surely it is true/ that autumn rises in the west.” (1) Saitou murmured softly as he looked out over the lantern lit trees.

“Oh!” She looked up at him slightly surprised. She looked down again as he continued to look away. “How beautiful.”

“Hmmm.” He nodded slightly.

She nodded and pulled herself together. She thought a second. “The weaver's maiden/ longs for autumn's coming is/ it because a bridge/ of many-colored leaves will/ span the river of heaven.” (2) It wasn't as bitter-sweetly appropriate as his, but still good.

Saitou looked back at her with a slight smile curving his lips. “Ah, you know poetry.”

She nodded, “Yes.” She looked shyly at him then glanced away with a slight smile. Best keep up with what I started.

Saitou gave a soft contented sigh, “Somehow I knew you'd appreciate the finer things of life.” He gave her a gentle smile. “While it doesn't look like it right now, I have always planned on becoming a poet.”

A poet? Saitou Hajime, who scares the bejessus out of his own men, a poet? Tokio floundered.

“Once this war is over…” He sighed again, a soft dreamy sigh. “We will move to a mountain where the cranes will fly over our heads…”

Cranes…mountain…?She looked for signs of head trauma. Or was it the sake… She looked suspiciously at the now empty bowl of sake. There hadn't been much in it to begin with, and she'd shared it with him…but… How much do I really know about him? I know his schedule. I know his habits, but him…

Saitou

The opening salvo looked like it hit the target. His sweetheart was looking just a little lost. She did it well, damn her. The widening of dark blue eyes, the soft flutter of lashes, the tiny sweet press of her lips made him want to lean forward and taste those lips and feel those lashes flutter against the skin of his face. He forced his eyes away again. Time for the next round.

“Finally it is/ our long-awaited meeting night-/ may the autumn mists/ spread across the river of/ heaven that dawn may never come.” (3) He glanced over at her. He guessed, when he chose that poem that she'd be young enough to fall for its overblown romanticism, and by the startled “O” of her lips and the blush staining her cheeks, he figured he'd guessed right. Unfortunately, the little “O” was also giving him ideas, dirty ones. Have to go see Mei after this, or my game will be over before it even begins.

Flustered as she was, her hands and movements were still smooth and flowing as she set the tiny trays their food had been on aside. He watched their movements, idly wondering, since his mind had dropped into the gutter at the little “O”, what those little hands would feel like stroking his body. Since it was time for her to straighten the mats and ready for the tea, he stood with a bow and left.

Score: two. But how many had she scored? He twitched his hakima slightly, and grudgingly acknowledged she'd make a few well placed hits.

He glanced behind him, noting her absorption in her tasks and walked a few paces away to the shelter of a tree's dark shadow to study her. If he'd had any doubts about his plan, they were now gone. He wanted her and, after a suitable period of getting a bit of harmless vengeance, he intended on having her. He watched the sway of her body as she went about her tasks, imagining what it would finally be like to have that body beneath him, to have those hands slide down his skin, to have that sweet mouth and little pink tongue taste him. That her lovely body was paired with a sharp, devious mind, only made her more desirable. Still, payback first…

Tokio

As she settled back into place, she looked around hurriedly, the first ungraceful move she'd made that night, but since she was now hidden behind the low walls of the teahouse, she felt safe enough.

Finally it is/ our long-awaited meeting night-/ may the autumn mists/ spread across the river of/ heaven that dawn may never come. How many nights as a young girl had she dreamed over those lines, imagining some great lord to come striding into her life in a flow of silk and court her with those sweet words as autumn leaves swayed slowly on the breeze? And where did those words come from? Saitou, who, if she was successful, would be her husband. She bowed her head, stealing herself from her dreams. Girlish dreams. I'm a woman now, and I have responsibilities. If uncle's tantrum the other night didn't drive that point home deep enough, perhaps I should visit the ones who didn't survive his temper.

The soft sound of Saitou's feet on the steps caught her attention, and she took a deep breath and prepared to finish what she started. As the next phase of the ceremony began, she again slipped a few looks and mysterious smiles in, she doubted they worked, at least until she noticed that the nearly unflappable Wolf of Mibu was shifting his weight slightly, his long fingers tugging, nearly unnoticeably on his hakima. She poured the tea and offered him the bowl, taking the opportunity, as she lowered her eyes modestly, to take a better look at why he was twitching.

It took effort not to simultaneously grin in triumph and blush bright red. So it does work! But now what… She settled back into her place with a gulp of apprehension. I don't know what to do! I only asked how to seduce him, not drag him to the bushes and…uhmmm… consummate our relationship.

“Have you ever lived on a mountain?” Saitou passed the bowl back to her.

“No.” She struggled to keep her hands steady, peering up at him through her eyelashes. “I've only lived in Aizu and Kyoto. I've never even been to a mountain.”

“Neither have I.” He smoothed his fingers along the grain of the tatami mat. “I've always wanted to live on one, to be able to see the clouds spread beneath me, to watch the sun play across the peaks.”

Cold. That's going to be cold. Tokio worried. She didn't have to live on a mountain to recognize that the higher the mountain the longer the snow stayed on the mountain. To live so far up that you could look down on the clouds… Very cold.

“After this,” Saitou gestured around them with a sweep of his fingers, “I never wish to step foot in a city again.”

Tokio nodded. “Yes, I can understand.”

A happy smile broke over Saitou's face. “I knew you would.” He leaned slightly forward, as if sharing a secret. “I feel I can be my true self with you, without need to pretend to be what the others expect of me… I am so tired of all this…” He gestured back towards where the other teahouses and the other members of the Shinsengumi were.

She just nodded. That's fine. All is still going well. Staying with him was never in the plans, so he can freeze on a mountain and write poetry all he wants.

“We'll be very happy.” He accepted the tea bowl back and took a sip. He looked sadly around them then shook his head. “When this war is over, I never want to see another unbeautiful thing in my life.” He looked up at her with a heartfelt smile. “We'll leave all this behind. We can fish in the streams, plant rice on the mountainside, pick berries on the bushes, and live in harmony with nature.”

Tokio wondered if she should keep giving him mysterious looks and shy smiles. He obviously was insane. She secretly looked at him as he passed the tea bowl back to her. Was an insane spouse better than an old one? She refilled the bowl and passed it back. At least he's harmlessly insane. If dreaming about raising rice on a mountain makes his life more bearable, then who am I to judge?

Saitou

His darling was looking a bit panicked. He wondered if it was the rice, the fishing, or the living in harmony with nature that got her nervous. He could guess that she'd spend a few glorious days considering what it would be like living in a freezing shack on the side of a mountain with a husband determined to write poetry and live off berries then he'd really get to work.

He sipped his tea with a warm feeling of contentment as she fumbled for the small tray of sweet cake that had sat untouched. Payback…sweet, sweet payback.

 

Review please!

theblackthorn: Thanks for the perfect marks! I hope you continue to enjoy this. I'm working hard to keep those little nuances going.

calculatooo: Wow! Thank you! Perfect marks and lots of praise. You know how to make an author feel great.

 

Story Notes: (I spent so much time researching this that I thought I'd share so you'd understand what is going on.) Much of my research is from online, from The Daughter of the Samurai, The Pillowbook of Sei Shonagon, and The Tale of Gengi.

1 - 3: Kokinshu - Autumn 1

The Kokinshu- This was originally a multi-book set of poetry and has been around for more than a thousand years. It was considered to be one of the marks of achievement in a lord or lady to be able to quote quickly and accurately from this set of poetry. It would have been common for a samurai to know at least some of this book (if not all of it), and very likely that Tokio, the daughter of a noble's retainer, to be familiar with it. It can now be picked up in one happy volume from any bookseller. I had to special order mine, but it was worth it!

Grabing Saitou- It was highly not recommended to touch a samurai. It wasn't completely unheard of for a samurai to kill someone for daring to touching him. Women would not willingly touch a samurai, much less grab private parts of a samurai.

Tea Ceremony- Information from teamuse dot com slash article_001001 dot html.

Saitou's smiles- Yes, some authors say Saitou's smiles look creepy. However, after looking carefully at the manga, Saitou can do an amazing job of making himself look pleasant. His first appearance as Fujita Goro in book seven (pg. 19) is completely charming. He even looks happy and friendly in his first appearance as himself on page 7-10 when he is smiling as he says he's going to kill the Batousai. He can smile, and wow! he's beautiful when he does. His smile isn't so much creepy as it is eerie, since there is no trace of the wolf until he chooses to show his fangs.

Saitou's twitching while seated- Even small movements when seated were considered suspect. Small children during this time period were expected to sit completely still when seated. It would be a huge embarrassment to be caught shifting around, even slightly. For Saitou, a trained samurai, to shift his weight even a tiny bit, it would mean he was in a lot of discomfort and even then it would be humiliating if Tokio pointed it out that she caught him twitching around, and not because of the sexual overtones.

Saitou's “Dreams”- Rice is not usually grown on mountains. It needs temperate climates, large quantities of water, and fertile soil to grow, so it is usually grown close to lowland rivers. Yes, there are some places that use terracing for rice patties, but that is a very labor intensive farming method and it's not practical for a man and his wife to tend all the levies and drainage systems. Saitou knows this, so does Tokio.