It was suppose to be simple and routine.  What he had not counted on were the men who had been posted at the flank of the camp.  The information he had been given had under-estimated the number of men who had accompanied Kondo.  At a glance, he guessed at least three full squads and two captains. 

   Although his instincts had warned him to leave.  It was not only dangerous for him to be alone, but the camp was set in middle of a clearing.  There were no shadows he could easily fade into to disappear if he needed to.  For him to gather the information he had come for, it would mean he must great risks to be seen by the guards. 

   His sense of pride interfered with his better judgment and he remained; determined to accomplish the duty he was sent for.  He ignored the unsettling sensation in the pit of his stomach as he crept nearer and nearer toward the heart of the camp. 

   His trained ears heard it first, and his body reacted even before he was fully aware of the situation.  He heard a distinct whisper of an arrow in flight, and moved aside in time to feel it fly past his shoulder and struck into the earth not far from him.  He swiftly rolled to the side, relying on his keen hearing completely as he evaded three arrows which followed the first.  Then he heard cries of men, alerting others of intruders.  

    He scanned the terrain and decided it would be best for him to return to the woods where the arrows had come.  Although it was night and the camp was only lit with a small scattering of torches, he was outnumbered and out-sourced.  Aoshi drew his dagger and ran toward the darkness of the woods.  His eyes and ears were his sole guide through the thin rain of arrows which came toward him. 

    Then the arrows ceased to come.  Aoshi turned his head to look at the men who had come from camp and pursued him.  Most of them were a distance away, their speed no match for Aoshi's lighter and quicker pace.  The archers had held their arrows for their men to close the gap between the spy and themselves.

    "Do not let him get into the forest," someone called out.  "Cut him off!"

    Aoshi picked up his pace.  He knew the command was for the archers.  In seconds, another rain of arrows came toward him.  This time, it was considerably more difficult for him to move through them.  He was closer to the archers and the nearness took valuable time from him.  As he entered the first line of darkness of the woods, an arrow pierced through his right thigh.  He hesitated only for a moment, a little stunned by the fact that he was struck than anything else.  Then he took refuge in the shadows of the trees.

    Aoshi controlled his breathing first, so he can assess the sounds around him.  Except for the gentle sway of the leaves and the branches, moved by the night breeze, he heard nothing.  He carefully drew out the arrow that was driven half into his leg.  A quick smell of the arrow head told him it was drugged.  Although he was immune from most poison, he was not safe from its side affects.  He tore a piece of his clothing and wrapped it around his leg.  The pain and the poison's symptoms would come later.  His body was still drawn taut from the tension.  

    He heard the pursuing men drawing closer but their footsteps seemed to be more measured and careful.  They understood the darkness was a weapon of the dark-cloaked spy. Aoshi turned the row of spikes he had fitted onto the palm of his glove so they would line along his knuckles.  With the weakened state of his leg, he would not be able to climb. Instead, he had resolved to kill as many of the ronin as he could and if he could not escape, he would take his own life.  A small price to pay for his erred judgment. 

     

    "He is wounded," Saitoh said as he touched the slightly damped soil on the ground.  "Fan out and hunt in pairs.  If he can't be caught alive, I want his head."

    His squad spread out and entered the dark depth, and left him by the edge of the forest alone.

    "Stay vigilant," Saitoh said to the hidden archers.  "He might be a diversion."  He drew his sword and held it at ready before him, then walked into the darkness.               

    Saitoh had rarely felt this kind of excitement coursing through him.  It the kind of anticipation that reminded him of a grand night in Yoshiwara with the most beautiful courtesan in Edo.  No, this was more.  Saitoh had been deeply impressed by the way the ninja had moved through the barrage of arrows--how fluidly he had moved through the slight spaces between them and still hold his pace.  Saitoh sensed this spy to be from an elite clan.  Someone who might have ties directly to the Emperor's service, perhaps.  Catching this dangerous game would be a monumental political gain for their cause, and perhaps earn the Shinsengumi favors from their Kyoto sponsor.

    Saitoh paused in his step.  Something was wrong.  No, something was different.  He held his sword a little further from his body, as if he had expected his adversary then.  He suddenly remembered to be grateful for his unusual eye sight.  They could not see well in bright day light, yet they can see with an animal's clarity in the dark.  And another thing he recalled about his sharpened senses.  Smell.  His sense of smell becomes keen at night.  It took him a few seconds to realize he had smelled fresh blood.  The iron-sweet scent wafted through the still night air like a marked trail to him.  His smile broadened on his face and he followed the scent.  He would have his prize at any cost.

 

    The pain from his wound came to him in small doses.  He had lost so much blood from his leg that it had numbed, but then, a fire-like pain would lance through him.  He nearly lost consciousness during one of the stronger waves.  Aoshi had determined he would remain alive, long enough to take at least one life with him.  Then he heard it--light and cautious footsteps coming toward him.  Aoshi grasped his dagger tighter and laid down flat on the ground.  He can vaguely make out an outline of a man with his sword draw at a ready-stance.  He walked with a purpose, as if he could clearly see where his opponent was.   Aoshi rose to his knees, ignoring the protesting pain from his wounded thigh, and sprang forward on the man as soon as he came within three steps.

    

    Saitoh lowered his sword in time to block the spy's dagger from being driven into his belly.  The ninja sprang away quickly and by the way he had landed on his feet, Saitoh knew his leg was wounded.  At that moment, Saitoh wished he could see the grimace his opponent must have had beneath the dark mask that sealed his nose and mouth.  To see the shock that he must have had when Saitoh anticipated his attack.  Saitoh straightened his sword and thrust himself and the blade forward.  

    A small spark lit the dark just for a moment as their metals met.  Saitoh pressed hard on his sword down down at the dagger Aoshi had raised to block the blade from being driven through his throat.  Saitoh smiled, sensing the strength leaving his opponent as he pushed his katana harder.  The blades whined.  Any moment now, the dagger would shatter.

   Saitoh leaned in closer--close enough to hear his opponent's rasped breathing through the dark clothe wound around his mouth and nose.  Then he took notice of the spy's eyes.  They were small and delicate.  It was then Saitoh noticed the slim, nearly fragile build of the ninja's body.   Saitoh pushed the spy away from him while he took a few steps back.  He cursed.

   "A woman?!" 

   The spy's eyes narrowed.

   "Or a little boy trying to become a man?"

   Saitoh looked at the dagger in the ninja's hand and nodded at it.  The center of the blade where the katana had pressed down had cracked the thin metal. 

   "Your weapon has broken and you are wounded," Saitoh said.  "I win."

    The ninja remain knelt where he was.  A small pool of blood had begun to collect near his feet.  He would have little chance of escaping from the ronin, he knew.  He had lost most of his strength through his wound.  Soon, the other Shinsengumi would join their captain.  He had underestimated his assignment and now, he must face his consequences.  With a flick of his wrist, he turned the damaged dagger toward himself.  As he said his apologies to his master in his mind, he drove the blade toward his chest.  However, his dagger was roughly knocked from his grasp by Saitoh's sword.  When he looked up, he saw the tip of Saitoh's katana inches from his eyes.

   "No, you do not even have the right to take your own life," the ronin growled.  His yellow eyes seemed to burn as he spoke.

   He felt a slight breeze and a soft whistle that trailed the katana as Saitoh swept the blade across his chest.  A thin line of pain followed.  Saitoh had cut open his shirt, and the tip of the blade only grazed the skin on his chest enough to draw blood. 

   "Well," Saitoh said, half of his mouth curved up in a smile.  "At least I know you are not a woman."

    The remark gave Aoshi the anger he needed.  Aoshi leapt to his feet and dove at Saitoh, not caring where the sword was.  Saitoh was startled, and the temporary  lapse earned him two blows.  The first one, the ninja's spiked fist had stabbed through the fabric and gouged his skin.  Saitoh nearly lost his footing, but he remained standing.  The second blow had cost his sword.  It fell away from him, but it had fallen far enough to be of no use  to the spy.  

    Aoshi pounced back and away from Saitoh.  His vision had begun to blur and he was having trouble breathing.  

    "The poison we use with our arrow is quite potent," Saitoh said.  "You still being alive must mean you have some tolerance to it, but with your wound--I don't think you can remain conscious for long."

    A growl came from the pit of Aoshi's throat and he sprang forward again.  This time, Saitoh caught him by his throat and threw him down on the ground.  Aoshi was stunned for a few moments and it took what remained of his energy to stay conscious.  When Aoshi regained some measure of his senses, Saitoh had straddle him--both of his wrists securely locked in one of Saitoh's hands.  With his free hand, Saitoh tore away Aoshi's mask.

   "Well, it is a little boy," Saitoh said with a velvet voice.  "And a pretty one, too.  It would be tragic to kill you outright.   I had never had a boy.  Many of my friends often spoke of the love of boys with the tone that would make you think they were to be married.  They tell me the sex's quite splendid."

   Saitoh leaned in closer and cupped Aoshi's chin. 

   "They tell me the boys' mouths....burned hotter than a virgin girl's."

   Aoshi's eyes narrowed--a wounded animal who could do nothing but steep in his own anger. 

   "How dare you speak to me like this..." Aoshi whispered finally.  It took him every fiber of his being to control his voice and speak with some coherency.

   "So close to death and in so much pain, but still so full of spite.   It made you beautiful, do you know?"

   Saitoh drew the short sword from his side and held the blade up to Aoshi's eyes. 

   "Your eyes...are unusual.  They are quite bewitching.  Would you let me take them instead of your life?"

   Saitoh traced the delicate shape of the boy's eyebrows with the tip of his sword.  Aoshi remained unmoved and silent.

   "Perhaps when I am finished," Saitoh said.  "I would take them with me."

   Aoshi bit down a scream when Saitoh sudden drove his sword through both palms of his hands--the blade anchored them to the ground. 

   "Not even a slightest sound," Saitoh laughed.  "I am not certain if I should be pleased or displeased."

   Saitoh splayed open the shirt he had cut open and ran his calloused fingers along the surface.  Something that resembled panic came across Aoshi's eyes.  It was the first sign of fear he had seen from the defiant boy and it aroused him. 

   "What kind of man are you?" Aoshi hissed.  "Have you no honor as a swordsman?"

   Saitoh bent forward and took in the soft scent of Aoshi's skin, then took a small nipple into his mouth and bit them until he heard Aoshi gasp and tasted the slightest trace of blood.

   "This has nothing to do with honor, dear boy," Saitoh said and worked to unfasten Aoshi's pants.  Aoshi writhed instinctively and struggled to tear his hands through the sword.  Saitoh struck Aoshi hard across his face with the back of his hand, instantly quieted his struggle.  Aoshi stared up at him, dazed. 

   "Think of this as a way to pay for your mistake and being caught," Saitoh said and pulled the pants from Aoshi's left leg.

   "Don't do this to me..." Aoshi whispered.  He said it again, as Saitoh spread open his knees, and pressed his still clothed erection against his left thigh.

   "Now that I have ruined your hands and you might not ever hold a sword again," Saitoh said.  "Perhaps you should learn how to give pleasure to a man while you still have the beauty.  Assuming I would let you live."

   Aoshi turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut.  He could not bear to look at Saitoh.  He was afraid and he didn't want to be afraid.  He was horrified when he realized he was crying.  And as did Saitoh, as he ordered Aoshi to look at him.   The fear inside him grew.  It was an unusual sensation and he didn't know what to do with it.

   Saitoh laced his fingers through Aoshi's hair, and the fingers tightened as they pulled his head back, the columns of his throat drawn taunt.  

   "I want to you to look at me when I take you," Saitoh said in a low growl.

   "Please..." Aoshi whispered.  "Kill me..."

   "I will grant your request only if you would give me the name of your master," Saitoh said.  He bent forward and kissed the slim throat--his tongue traced the slight slopes of the neck down to the collar bone.  "Would his name worth what is left of your honor or pride?"

   A rage washed over him and Aoshi screamed.  Saitoh laughed, and sealed his hand over Aoshi's mouth.

    "I am not too certain if you want to draw attention to yourself, boy.  There are many men who had not been in the company of a woman in months and would gladly accept yours."

    Angry tears flowed from the corners of Aoshi's eyes, and spilled into the dark hair.

    "What I would give to hear your thoughts now," Saitoh leaned in close and whispered into Aoshi's ear.  "And what I would give for you to know mine..."

     Saitoh pressed his bared erection against Aoshi's belly; letting him sense the length of it first, then he began to push himself into the boy.  Aoshi screamed, the sound of it stifled beneath Saitoh's palm.  Saitoh found it difficult to thrust himself inside in one smooth stroke.  The boy was impossibly tight.  But the pleasing sounds of the muted screams which came from the boy's throat urged him to push in even harder.  Saitoh shoved in, little by little, until he felt the mouth of Aoshi's opening tear.  Aoshi's body stiffened, no sound came from him, as Saitoh's thickness continued to rip its way inside. 

    "You looked more beautiful than my first woman," Saitoh said and unclasped his hand from Aoshi's mouth.  Aoshi's small mouth was open, as if it was caught in midst of a scream.  Saitoh slipped his tongue into the opened mouth and sampled the warm sweetness there.  "And you felt even better..."

    The blood trickled from his new wound, and moistened Saitoh's way inside Aoshi--his shaft wrapped in a tight, silky warmth that nearly made him come then.  The sensation was nothing he had ever had with a woman.  He was fitted so tightly inside the boy's passage that he felt he had melted in there.    

    "Much better than I had hoped..." Saitoh said into Aoshi's mouth.  "Your pains can come to an end if you would say the name of your master, dear boy."

    Aoshi's eyes remained unfocused and lifeless, stared straight through the towering trees above, and at the vague shape of the autumn moon.  His mouth moved to speak, but nothing came.  Then the pains came to him at once as Saitoh moved, pushing in and out of him furiously.  Even through the hurt, Aoshi felt the entire length and thickness of the spoke impaled inside of him.  Each stroke, each jolt of pain and each tear it made in him, Aoshi could feel it concisely.  It enveloped him so completely that he could not even feel the pains from his hands or from his leg.  Aoshi took it in and swallowed the sensation as if he was savoring it.  He forced himself to remember the pain, and weaved it into the anger and hatred spreading through him then.  He want to remember that moment as it was, forever.

    Then a burning sensation coursed through him.  It was a different kind of pain.  Aoshi realized then Saitoh had stopped moving and had come--the seed he had left there bit into the wounds Saitoh had torn inside him.  Saitoh slipped out of him and the sensation of the abrupt emptiness hurt just as much as it had been when it was filled.

    "A little messy," Saitoh said.  "But it was exceptional."

    Saitoh swabbed his finger over the mouth of his bloodied and seed-laced entrance and brought it to Aoshi's mouth. 

    "Do you think I should kill you now?" Saitoh said, and smeared the his finger along Aoshi's lower lip.  "Or should I be a considerate lover and let you go?"

    Aoshi turned his face away.  Saitoh laughed and rose to his feet and dressed.

    "I would like to take you with me, but I am afraid my commanders would not let me keep pets," Saitoh said and crouched down by Aoshi's pierced hands.  He stroked Aoshi's hair.   "But I kind of like you."

    Aoshi winced when Saitoh pulled his sword out of the ground and freed Aoshi's hands.  Saitoh picked up one of the limp, bloodied hands and examined the palm of it carefully.  He let it drop back onto the ground when he finished the inspection.

    "It is quite doubtful you will hold a sword again, boy," Saitoh said as he wiped the blade with a paper he had retrieved from the sleeve of his kimono.  "You will live, if you have the will to live."

    Saitoh returned his short sword into its scabbard and walked over to where his fallen katana laid.

    "Either you live or die, I do not care.  If you wish to die, you have your broken dagger, although I am curious to know how you would hold it.  Or you can lay here and continue to bleed to death--although I do not think someone with your raising would want to be found like this."

    Aoshi struggled to sit up and managed to rise to his knees.  A corner of Saitoh's mouth curled up and he broke out into a laugher as he turned and sauntered back toward where he had come.  

 ~End Autumn Moon   03272002