Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters. This is for entertainment purposes only. I am not making a profit off of this work of fiction.
Rating: PG-13 Woo-woo!
Reminder: Parts of the story within <>*<>*<> have taken place in the past.
I luvs my kick-@$$ beta reader Jin Jin Jelly Bean!
Excerpt below from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~The little prince went away, to look again at the roses.~
The Little Prince:
You are not at all like my rose...
As yet you are nothing.
No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one.
You are like my fox when I first knew him.
He was a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.
But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world.
~And the roses were very much embarrassed.~
The Little Prince:
You are beautiful, but you are empty...
One could not die for you.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Four
A Promise of the Heart
<>*<>*<>
Tokio and Saitou often found themselves in battles of wits after the rainy day in which the wolf had identified the normally mild mannered girl's greatest weakness--him. He never said names, though he teased Tokio mercilessly about her crush on a "certain someone." It seemed to please Saitou to no end that he could so easily ruffle her feathers; that he could change such a gentle person into a hot-tempered opponent. Tokio knew putting up with the wolf was the price she paid for his protection, although she wasn't quite sure what she had done to deserve such special attention. As far as Tokio knew, she was the only woman Saitou willingly conversed with, and although he seemed to ridicule many people, he never had such a wicked sparkle in his eye as when he was mocking her.
Thus the girl's time in Kyoto began to move quickly again. Her days were full of flowers and freedom, and never without a heated argument with her bodyguard. One particularly lazy, late summer afternoon seemed to begin like all the others...but the girl would soon learn that in less than a day, the course of one's life could change forever...
~*~*~
"You have a steady hand," the deep voice rumbled very close to her ear as Tokio completed the final strokes of the character she was working on. She smiled to herself as her bodyguard's breath tickled her neck and she set down her brush, leaning back to admire her calligraphy.
"You do like to sneak up on me, don't you?" she said, knowing Saitou was still standing very close behind her.
"I'm impressed, though, you didn't jump like you usually do," he commented in his mocking tone. "Which would have been a shame, if you'd ruined your calligraphy."
"I believe in our time together, you'll find my listening skills have improved," Tokio said confidently, turning around to face him. "I heard you the moment you stepped into this room."
He gazed at her skeptically, but did not refute her statement, and motioned for her to lead the way out to their day's wanderings.
When she finally stood, however, he noticed she was quite dressed up, wearing the same elegant rose kimono she had for the biggest social event Katamori had hosted upon her arrival in Kyoto, and the sharp eyed wolf couldn't bite his tongue to wonder about the occasion.
"Aren't we looking fancy today?" Saitou observed, a hint of jest in his usually serious tone.
"Not for you, I can assure you," Tokio bit back quickly, giving him a gorgeous smile.
"So you're really not out to impress a certain someone?"
"If you must know everything about me, I'm due to appear with my parents at another official's house this evening for a banquet."
"I know everything about you, and yet you need not speak a word," Saitou said cryptically, gaining a puzzling look on Tokio's face, which was also stained with a rising blush that the white makeup on her perfect skin could do nothing to contain.
~*~*~
"You know, I'd never hear the end of it if my squadron knew I had been to this many gardens," Saitou commented.
"Look, you're the one who brought me here," Tokio countered. "Who would've thought a Shinsengumi leader would be afraid of a few love struck girls?" Tokio spoke of his following in town.
"I'm not afraid of you," Saitou returned, gaining a dark glare from the girl walking beside him.
"You really should get a hold of that ego of yours, this path isn't big enough for the three of us," Tokio said, her voice growing a little too sugary.
"Tsk, tsk," the wolf chided her. "Perhaps you should be the one afraid. There are not many people who would dare say such things to me and expect to live."
"There are not many honorable men who would continually mock a lady," Tokio huffed, not at all phased by his warning.
Saitou did not look pleased by this last remark. He would allow the girl certain liberties with him, as he was very much impressed with the sharpness of her wit, which was almost able to match his own...almost. However, when she insulted his honor, his patience was quickly tested.
"Run along, now, little girl," Saitou said, coming upon a bench that provided a good view of the garden. "I'm staying here."
"You mean you're sulking here," Tokio said, her voice once again soft and understanding, and she shook her head. "What if someone tries to kidnap me?" she asked lightly.
"Then you better hope my mood changes before then," he said, reaching in his gi for a much needed cigarette. "Right now I wouldn't mind if an Inshin Shishi takes you off my hands." Saitou mumbled through the cigarette between his lips, as he found a match and lit the foul smelling stress reliever. "Let's see if he can last even a day with you, having to wander around senselessly in gardens with the most verbally abusive girl in Japan."
Tokio gazed at him before a smile crept up on her face and she scrunched down to widen her grin before his deadpan expression. "I learn from the best," she told him before wiggling her nose at his exhale of smoke.
"Ugh, how can you stand those things?" Tokio asked, as she fanned her hands in the air. "I really don't think they're good for your health."
"My job isn't good for my health," Saitou responded dryly, not clarifying whether he meant defending Kyoto or guarding her. He leaned back on the bench, extending his legs, and closed his eyes. Maybe the girl would just disappear if he couldn't see her.
"Saitou," he heard Tokio's voice.
He grunted, eyes still tightly shut.
"Saitou," she said again.
"Woman, you are starting to irritate me."
"Saitou!" Tokio's tone was exaggerated.
"What do you want!" he glared at her angrily, finally opening his eyes.
"You're stepping on my sash."
His hard gaze still held hers, as he considered her words. After a moment, the wolf looked down and indeed noted his foot was trapping the said garment.
He lifted his leg, effectively letting Tokio and her sash go free, while the girl began to giggle. Saitou hardly ever made mistakes, and the look on his face was priceless.
"Idiot," Tokio whispered to him sweetly, finally aware at the affection it could hold when addressed to the right person in the right way. From then on, she was never upset by the term. The girl smiled to herself as she skipped away, catching the faint grumblings of Saitou wondering what real purpose a stupid sash served anyway.
~*~*~
"No more frolicking," Saitou said in his casual tone, approaching his charge after having wasted away the rest of afternoon brooding on the bench. He had stubbornly refused to join the girl meandering in the garden after she had bested him. However, gazing at her childlike wonder of the natural paradise around them proved to be just the calming influence he needed to cool down.
Tokio pouted at Saitou's command, primly adjusting the daisy chain crown atop her head, and gave her best fawn eyes to the man standing before her, but received no sympathy from the steely gaze.
"Don't you have a banquet to attend?"
"Oh! Yes! We should probably get going," Tokio agreed, and reluctantly moved towards the vine-covered exit of the garden. She had enjoyed her stay in this particular haven, for it had be allowed to run wild and displayed an unassuming, natural beauty. Flittering about the overgrown meadow of wildflowers, Tokio delighted in chasing a few playful butterflies. The sprite had seen Saitou watching her from time to time, but felt too carefree and happy to wonder at the reasons for his study.
He was walking in front of her now, but stopped suddenly just under the vines, causing Tokio to ungracefully bump into him.
"This flower," he mused, reaching up to one of the blooms covering the unruly vines, "looks different from the rest."
Tokio, curious at his comment, ducked under his outstretched arms to gaze at the flower in question, quite unaware at how close she now stood, her back pressing gently into the crook of Saitou's arm. She lifted up her hand as well and touched the bloom, studying the delicate petals before she noticed the back of her hand was now brushing into warm center of Saitou's palm.
"Oh!" she breathed, "a wild rose!" and she moved her hand away, though the girl was still quite frozen in her spot in front of Saitou, and so close to him she could hear the sound of his soft breathing. Tokio swallowed hard. The girl had grown so comfortable with her bodyguard that she had only realized her compromising position a little too late. Propriety, it seemed, was often tossed aside or forgotten when the wolf was on the prowl.
Saitou bent his head down, craning around the girl's neck to speak lowly in her ear. "I've heard you are called Sprite from time to time, but I think of you more as a wild rose." With that, he plucked the bloom in his grasp and, finding her palm, carefully pressed the blossom in her hand.
Then, as if nothing had happened, Saitou straightened himself and continued on, leaving a stunned girl under a canopy of the wild roses, grasping the very flower to which he had compared her.
Tokio wondered at his forwardness the rest of the journey back to town, equally amazed by the fact that they had touched and he hadn't gone tense. She was too uncertain to look at Saitou again herself, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from the flower. What did such a bold move mean? Could the wolf possibly want her...after all the times he teased her for wanting him?
<>*<>*<>
"I don't believe it!" exclaimed Kaoru, eyes having gone wide since the time Tokio related Saitou's romantic move towards her.
Tokio laughed openly. "You know, I don't think my husband himself could explain what possessed him to do such a thing. I suppose my beauty and charms just got the best of him," Tokio said in jest. "But I know for a fact he was just as confused about his feelings towards me as I was about him," the woman explained.
"You had sources on the inside, didn't you, you sly thing?" Kaoru caught on.
Tokio smiled. "As you heard before, I was actually great companions with Okita before the Ikedaya Affair. I made sure to visit with him before I returned to Aizu at the end of the summer, and he related some of Saitou's struggles during the times I did not see him. My husband was a very heavy drinker in the days of the revolution, and he often shared bottles of sake with Okita. Apparently, neither one of the men found the brothels as appealing as the rest of the Shinsengumi, and so found another way to escape their bloody deeds by drowning themselves in the rice wine. Although, Okita mostly watched as Saitou emptied bottle after bottle; thus, his ability to inform me of some of their rather interesting conversions that my wolf would hardly remember," Tokio explained cunningly.
"Okita--" Kaoru said thoughtfully, "He must have been one of Saitou's closest companions."
"Yes," Tokio agreed. "He was. He was a good man, the kind of man who would have continued to do great things if given the time. That summer was the last time I saw him. It was also the summer that sealed his fate. The Ikedaya Affair took a lot out of him, and afterwards, he was never the same. His illness eventually overtook him. Saitou does not speak of it often, for it was as if he lost a brother the day Okita passed away," Tokio said sadly.
The older woman looked pensive for a moment, but soon continued. "However, Okita of all people would not have wanted us to dwell on the past with sorrow! He was a special man and had given gifts to both Saitou and myself in his own, secret way. He gave us his waning strength wholeheartedly, whether it was in advice to my husband or the stories he shared with me, a knowing smile always on his face." Tokio said, her eyes full of the warmth of remembrance. "So it is with Okita in my heart, that I tell the rest of my tale. On the very night of the banquet, still holding my wild rose blossom and quite shaken with the events of the afternoon, Okita told me later that he had been with Saitou that evening, and the wolf looked downright disastrous..."
<>*<>*<>
"Something bothering you?" the boy asked a little too cheerfully to his companion, who was leaning with his elbows on the table in front of him. Saitou's head had been directed down toward the flat wooden surface for a little over half an hour, and finally rose at the comment to give Okita a look that spoke, "What do you think, you idiot?" loud and clear.
Saitou then grunted and inched himself up towards a somewhat sitting position, leaning back groggily against the booth.
"I haven't seen you this bad since the night after the Ikedaya Affair," Okita said, his voice now half serious.
"A walk in the park...compared to this woman. Wait...I've been walking through a lot of parks with her, though..." Saitou's comments were slow, but still thoughtful. Okita was always amazed at how he could still be conscious after all of the sake he had consumed. An alcoholic at the age of twenty-one, Okita thought, shaking his head. But in their line of work, one could certainly understand the need to get away.
"How is Takagi Tokio?" the boy inquired, gaining a groan from his drinking partner.
"As difficult as ever," Saitou said sourly after a while and reached out to take a swig of sake.
"Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on her during your free time?" Okita asked the man, who was doing his best to hide his drunkenness, yet did still not look ready to go off on a spy mission.
"Supposedly." Saitou wiped a hand to his mouth laggardly. "Not like she doesn't take up enough of my time already."
"But you only see her a couple of hours in the afternoon after training, right?"
Saitou looked at Okita with a frustrated expression while poking his head with his index finger rather roughly. "All the time," was all he said, and Okita broke into a laugh. Though Saitou was rather drunk, it was the first time he had ever admitted he had a girl on his mind, and Okita, liking Tokio as well as he did, couldn't help but try to move things along.
"Oooook, loverboy, I think you've had quite enough," Okita said as he grasped the bottles surrounding Saitou and put all alcohol out of his reach.
"You did...not...just do that," Saitou said, as his hand tried to swipe at one of the bottles, only to have Okita swat it away.
"Look, I'm doing you a favor. You cannot check on Miss Tokio in this condition. Let's get you sobered up a little, shall we? She won't know the difference. Even when you're half drunk, you still act like the same--" Okita stopped short.
"What? Jerk?" Saitou narrowed his eyes.
"Well, hey, you said it," Okita smiled at him.
"I just need to...hurt someone," Saitou looked around dangerously, fingering the scabbard of one of his swords.
Alcohol often had this affect on him, so Okita knew how to handle the situation. "Whoa, Tiger, hands off," the boy said, reaching across the table. The third squad leader would have probably used Gatotsu on anyone other than Okita.
"Then...I need...a cigarette," Saitou said finally.
"Done!" the boy agreed cheerfully.
Then, after a while, Okita decided to really push his luck with the human chimney glaring across from him. "So, you make a move on her yet?" he asked Saitou, raising his eyes suggestively.
"What the hell did you just say?"
"I'm saying that you've been affected by green eyes and the scent of rose ever since you came back from your trip to Aizu in May," Okita smiled slyly. "They often come up in conversation during our times here. You may not remember half the things you mumble when you're drunk. I've gotta admit sometimes they're pretty cryptic. However, I've managed to put some pieces together. Takagi Tokio has the most beautiful green eyes I have ever seen. That color is quite rare, is it not, Mr. Saitou?" Okita winked at him.
Saitou snorted at the first squad leader. "So, Detective Okita, think you have me all figured out, do you?"
"Not in the least!" the boy admitted wholeheartedly. For one thing, I don't know how you can escape our notice every afternoon, the Shinsengumi do patrol the streets of Kyoto. You must take Miss Tokio to some pretty secluded places," Okita inferred. "Did you say parks? That must make for some rather romantic atmosphere."
"Gardens," Saitou said sarcastically, "Flower infested things."
"But she likes them, I bet." Okita didn't miss a trick.
"What do you know about her?" the other wolf spat.
"I know that half the Shinsengumi is in love with her. And yet you, the man who gets to be with the girl every day, can't appreciate her," Okita said with the hint of a challenge in his voice.
"You know nothing," Saitou said angrily, crushing the butt of his fourth cigarette onto the table.
"Prove me wrong," Okita countered, and the night wore on in a similar fashion.
~*~*~
Takagi Tokio stepped out of the party for a breath of fresh air. It had been going on for hours now, and the girl was now at the point where she would hurt someone if she had to give one more false smile to an important government official. Finally finding an opportunity to escape amongst the now quite drunken lot of guests, Tokio leaned against the cool wall of the city home and looked to the empty streets of Kyoto. Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she let the slight chill of the summer breeze ease her heated skin, a result of the overly crowded party.
Hearing a few slight scuffles, Tokio opened her eyes again only to be grabbed by a passing shadow, her mouth covered by a calloused hand!
She was handled roughly and pushed into a secluded alleyway not too far from the party, but still...far enough. The rose the girl had clutched so tightly throughout the entire evening had fallen during her shock and now lay alone in the middle of the empty street, illuminated by pale moonlight and surrounded by some of its own frail petals.
Trying to focus her mind, Tokio realized there were three men in total, all of whom had swords tucked to their sides. She could only assume they were some of the scattered members of the Ishin Shisi. It was a frightening thought, not only for her, but for the entire shogunate, that they could steal her away right under the noses of the Shinsengumi and other important members of the existing regime.
Tokio refused to look frightened, and thus stood stiffly against the alleyway as her attackers studied her silently.
Finally, one of them spoke. "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
Tokio did not speak. It was useless to answer, since she was going to be killed anyway. Perhaps she might be able to fend off one with her limited martial arts skills...but three? And what if one was the famous Battousai? Death was inevitable, but she would not go without a fight. Tokio waited patiently until the right moment, as another one of the men answered his comrade's question.
"Aye, she's with the wolves, though it looks as if she's lost her pack."
"She's a pretty thing, isn't she?" the first man spoke again. "Let's have a taste before we do her in."
His fingers reached out to stroke her neck, and Tokio stood still. Knowing this would probably be her best chance at an escape, she waited until he came a bit closer, preparing to lash out, but a quick flash of silver in the dark made her stay frozen in place. It almost looked as if it was the moon's light reflecting off a raised sword...
Suddenly, the man standing slightly behind the other two Inshin Shisi fell to the ground.
"Do not touch what belongs to me," Saitou's growling voice warned through the darkness.
Tokio recognized the lean figure of her hero, and saw a glimpse of him preparing for his famous Gatotsu as he moved into a stream of light before the shadows consumed him once again. At that point, Tokio was grateful for the darkness, as she was only subjected to battle cries and the horrid sounds of bones slicing. Her stomach felt sick at the pungent smell of blood, and she gasped as something moved towards her.
The last standing Inshin Shishi member had grabbed her once again and now held her throat tightly. He moved her into the stream of faded lantern light coming from one of the nearby houses to present Saitou with a clear view of a sword at her throat.
Tokio held her breath at the pinching of metal against the delicate skin of her neck and trained her ears to find Saitou in the dark.
Wearily, the lone wolf spoke, "I am your opponent. Leave the girl alone."
"No, no, no," her captor hissed. "I can see she holds some value to you, and it is unfortunate. She will pay for being yours, Wolf."
"It is unfortunate for you that I have tasted sake tonight, for I cannot resist the urge to kill," Saitou said, but remained still, deciding if he could be fast enough in his current half drunken state to slay his opponent before the Inshin Shishi member had a chance to harm Tokio.
However, the girl decided she would take matters into her own hands. Tokio swiftly delivered a defensive maneuver, knocking the wind out of her thoroughly surprised attacker, allowing Saitou to deliver a finishing blow. Blood splattered as the Inshin Shishi member crumpled to the ground, some of the hot red liquid landing on Tokio's cheek.
She stared at the figure of Saitou through the darkness. He was only a few feet away from her and seemed to be hunched over a bit, holding his side. Gaining her wits after witnessing the man slaying, Tokio rushed to Saitou's side.
Tossing all formalities aside, Tokio was driven purely on her care taking instinct, which was quite good after looking after two accident-prone younger siblings.
The girl immediately slipped herself against the muscled frame of the injured wolf. Saitou growled but allowed Tokio to continue to press against him, urging him to lean on her for support.
She eased his free arm around her shoulders, and, mindful of his wounded side, slipped an arm around Saitou to steady him. When they both seemed comfortable with the position, Tokio took a few, slow steps and began to move out of the alleyway.
Saitou's head was hung low so that it fell right next to her own, and Tokio could hear his slightly labored breaths and smelled the sake he had consumed earlier in the evening in his every exhale, mixed with the ever-lingering scent of cigarettes.
When they had reached the main road, which was luckily quite empty, Tokio looked back toward the house of the party, noting that she had not even been missed. The girl was trying to decide what exactly her next move would be when she heard a slight grumble from the man next to her and stopped to listen to his gasping words.
"There's an inn...Shinsengumi safe house...just up the road..." he said raggedly, and pointed in the direction leading to safety.
Moving slowly through the shadowed streets, Tokio felt the weight of the wolf becoming harder and harder to bear. She vaguely wondered if he was doing it on purpose, thinking Saitou would probably take some odd pleasure in her having to lug him around the streets of Kyoto, for he always seem so amused to make things difficult for her. Moreover, his breathing had regained a pattern of normalcy after a while and she felt his grip on her tighten, pulling her even closer to him in a silent way that signaled he was still aware of what was going on, even though he refused to say anything.
A very tired Tokio was about to drop Saitou when they finally reached the inn.
"Please, do you have a room or two to spare? He needs to rest," she told the woman who appeared to be the owner.
"Saitou seriously injured? And with a pretty lady? This night just keeps getting stranger and stranger," the woman said as she signaled her other workers to set up their quarters.
"I think seriously drunk is more like it," Tokio said. "But his side is wounded, so if you wouldn't mind gathering some fresh water, bandages, and any medicine you might have."
"Certainly, dear. I'm afraid I can only offer you one room for now, but I'll let you know if any space clears."
"That will be fine," Tokio said. "And would it be too much trouble to ask if I can get a message sent to Takagi Kojuurou to inform him his daughter is safe?"
"Not a problem, my young lady. Now come, we have just prepared your room and the supplies you've requested will be there shortly."
~*~*~
With the help of another girl from the inn, Tokio set to wrapping Saitou's wounds.
First things first, the gi had to go. If Saitou was awake, he would have had a field day teasing her about wanting him shirtless, but as it was, the garment was filthy and prevented her from bandaging the injury.
As she untied his belt and slowly slipped the material off of his broad shoulders, the front of the gi fell open and with it, something else.
Tokio stopped her undressing to pick up a rather battered wild rose blossom- the same one Saitou had given her earlier that day! She closed her eyes and cupped her hands around the precious flower, bringing it to heart as she smiled softly.
"Are you alright, miss?" the girl from the inn asked, as Tokio bowed her head and held the rose tightly.
"Yes, fine," Tokio replied. She was safe now thanks to Saitou. Had the rose led him to her?
"I'll just take these to be cleaned, then," the attendant said after she finished removing the clothing from Saitou's upper body. "I trust you can take care of everything from here?"
"Yes, thank you," Tokio nodded and looked down at the man who had saved her life. He had protected both roses until the end, and the girl couldn't help but want to throw her arms around him. Never before did she wish so dearly that he would wake and joke with her as she did now. Never before did she wish she could surprise him with a hug, even though it would tempt him to make more taunts about her crush on a certain someone. She had always denied his teasing on that subject so viciously; yet, when gazing at the wolf, the girl began to realize that perhaps the observant man was directly on the mark.
With his gi and undershirt now gone, Tokio examined the injury he had received during his fight with her captors. The slash on his side was, thankfully, not as bad as she previously thought and looked as though it had almost stopped bleeding. He could wait until tomorrow to have a doctor examine it properly.
Upon washing and applying ointment to the wound, Tokio bandaged it as best she could, and then, placing his head in her lap, went to washing the dirt and sweat on his hands and face, revealing a man who looked quite peaceful for having just had a brush with death.
They sat for a long time, Saitou sleeping soundly. Tokio tried to rest, but her efforts were in vain. Instead she watched the man whose head rested peacefully on her thighs, and finally saw something to busy herself with when the bandage on Saitou's injured side began to soak through with blood.
Reaching to grab a roll of fresh bandage, Tokio carefully leaned over and began unwrapping the soiled cloth strips, gently propping the man's head and shoulders on her kneeling legs for support.
He stirred slightly, rubbing his cheek into her thigh, and Tokio was about to blush, when she realized he wasn't awake to know any better...
Saitou groaned.
...Or was he?
Tokio shook the distracting thoughts from her head and began to return to the task at hand. Her touch was gentle, almost a caress, as her fingers whisked along the firm muscles of his torso, taking the cloth wrapping with them.
The girl looked down to admire her work with satisfaction, and absent-mindedly smoothed her hand over the last layer of cloth, when she felt muscles flex underneath her palm.
Tokio gasped, and shifted her gaze toward the wolf's face, still cradled in her lap, and found two golden eyes staring up at her.
Saitou reached out a hand, which caught her own and ran along her forearm when she pulled away from his stomach.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked.
"Because I want...to take care of you." Tokio said in a quiet tone. She was a bit surprised at herself for the confession, but it seemed the words just slipped out, her heart knowing what it wanted before her mind even had the chance to consider.
"Idiot," he whispered, though it sounded affectionate as he cozily closed his eyes.
Tokio only smiled. "That word has no affect on me anymore, remember?" said, stroking his brow. The adoring touch was a surprising reflex for the girl, but it seemed to break the spell between them, as Saitou could go from hot to cold faster than anyone she knew.
The wolf abruptly sat up when he realized his head was still cradled in her lap, propping an arm to lay his good side on the floor in front of the still kneeling girl.
"I do not deserve this," he said after a while of studying her face. "I do not deserve your attentions or your smiles or...you."
"You may think that," Tokio said to him, "But I will be the one to decide what I give you."
"Hrumph," Saitou responded. "You are a very difficult woman." His eyes held a glint, as he took on the tone he used during their battle of wits. "But who says I am even asking for anything?"
"Oh, the sake says so," Tokio said with a mischievous smile, knowing she had him.
Saitou glared at her for show, but there was no harshness in his expression.
Tokio inched her face down towards the man half-lying in front of her. "Do I recall correctly..." she said slowly, accentuating every syllable as she brazenly brought her face closer to his, "a certain someone in a rather drunken state saying I belonged to them?" She cocked her head to the side for affect, unknowingly falling into a very easy and tempting position to be kissed if the wolf so chose.
Passion now openly burned in Saitou's eyes as he stared at her intensely, half thinking of how reckless she was to move so close to him, and half loving her for her fearlessness. Gods, what an unbelievable woman she was, who could take out an Inshin, haul his own ass to the safe house, and still manage to look beautiful while doing it, forever intoxicating him with her heady rose scent and smoldering jade eyes.
"This will be the only time," Saitou said throatily, "that I will admit you are right." And with that, he kissed her fiercely.
After a long, heated moment, the wolf pulled away, and glowing golden eyes crashed into the glistening depths of green, darkened with desire. Tokio was breathing heavily, but refused to give Saitou the surprised reaction she knew he was waiting for. Besides, she had rather enjoyed the feeling of hot, demanding lips pressed against her own, and would be damned if she let the wolf be the leader of this little session.
"Who says I decided to give you my kiss?" Tokio said hotly, referring to their conversation moments before. "Perhaps I didn't think you deserving." The girl knew she was pushing her luck, but quite frankly, she wanted to drive the usually collected wolf over the edge, to win their battle of breaking one's composure once and for all.
"I think you enjoyed it in any case," he said, rising to her verbal challenge. He now flipped himself up, though paused and remained on all fours to test the pain of his wound. She took the opportunity to study him in the crouched position. Never before had he looked so strikingly like a wolf than he did at that very moment. He felt her gaze on him, and brought his head up to look at her, enjoying the way she was so obviously looking at his chiseled physique.
Tokio couldn't help but stare at his muscular shoulders as they flexed to support him. Her eyes roamed over to his chest and then further to the perfect muscles of his abdomen. It was no doubt that even in his injured condition, Saitou was a physical masterpiece. His muscles demonstrated an impressive strength, and with every flex, seemed to display that he could ravish her at any moment he wished. Why she was tempting him, the girl barely knew herself, but she had never desired him more than when she watched him watch her predatorily, his exposed upper body bathed in candle-glow.
"Why do you look as if you're going to eat me?" Tokio asked of his wild gaze, beginning one of their rapid-fire banter sessions.
"Why do you insist on battling with me?" Saitou countered.
"Do battles turn you on?" Tokio inquired imprudently.
"Depends on who I'm fighting with." Saitou didn't miss a beat.
"You tease and yet I am completely serious."
"It's not every day my opponent is a beautiful woman. How the hell am I supposed to act when you look so sexy when you're angry?"
"So you are attracted to me!" Tokio exclaimed, about to smile in victory and delight when the wolf decided to pounce.
"Enough talk!" Saitou growled, and stared heatedly at the girl, who was now pinned below him on the futon, her jade eyes wild and wide. He was still on his hands and knees, but now hovered above her and, pleased to be back in control of the situation, smiled wickedly before claiming the lips of his prey once again.
The crushing of lips soon transformed into nibblings of neck and the desire to feel more silky skin. As the hungry wolf now attempted to tug at Tokio's obi, the girl decided it was high time for her to again take control, despite her body's protests to Saitou's skillful hands.
The girl spoke breathlessly as Saitou trailed kisses from her throat to collarbone to shoulder as he nudged down the fabric of her kimono to expose her pale flesh before tasting it.
"I hear every fight a Shinsengumi enters is to the death. I think one of us isn't going to make it."
He kissed her bare shoulder before stopping his worship of her skin. The wolf looked more serious now, the smoldering passion that had once consumed the whole of his eyes was barely a flicker amongst the liquid gold of a different, deeper expression. He brought a hand behind her back, and effortlessly lifted her up so they were in a sitting position with her in his lap.
Tokio held her breath as he studied her, his eyes grazing over her face, lingering on her swollen lips, following the curves of wild raven locks that had escaped her up-do and now framed her face and neck.
He reached out to remove the pins from her hair, letting it spill down around her back and shoulders. Tokio knew he had liked her hair ever since he had seen her the morning of the Ikedaya Affair before she was fully dressed. Her locks had always been uncommonly thick, and after being pinned up and braided, held a constant waviness, which looked all the more romantic. The long, silky tendrils were just begging to be touched, and Saitou reached out to push one of the more unruly locks behind her ear.
The wolf gazed at her again, and finally responding to her comment, said very seriously, "I would die for you."
It was the most tender he had ever been, though his words were haunting.
Tokio smiled and shook her head, asking instead, "Would you live for me?"
As he pondered her statement, Tokio took this opportunity to really look at him. The beast he was before now seemed to be replaced with the Saitou she had come to know, who was more subdued, but who she liked just the same: the man waiting for a challenge so that he could unleash his inner wolf.
"I am, and may always be, under the code of the Shinsengumi," he said finally. "With each battle, I must welcome death. It is the way of a warrior. I cannot promise you my life." But he looked at her then with a softness that he had never shown before.
"But I can give you my heart. Would that be enough?" His words sounded so serious, so matter of fact, and he appeared so seemingly oblivious to the art of romance as he said them that they could barely be considered a proposal.
However, Tokio, now fully acquainted with all sides of Saitou, the good and the bad, the wolf and the man, accepted his simple offering with all her heart and all her love. She nodded. "And I give you mine as well..." she whispered in his ear, "...Hajime." Tokio then threw her arms around him, reveling in the feel of his embrace and enjoying the taste of the previously forbidden name.
It was the first time she had called him by his first name, and when he found he liked the sound, Saitou held her even tighter.
That night the girl discovered that there was a softer side to Saitou, and that sometimes words weren't needed to tell a person how one felt. Tokio had finally solved the mystery of the most intriguing Shinsengumi member, who turned out to be perfectly readable with every action, and never spoke more clearly than he did with his touch. It took a woman just as wild as he to be the one to tame him, presenting a challenge that when finally mastered, unlocked the softness within his heart.
<>*<>*<>
"To tame a wild wolf, you need only a single, wild rose," Fujita Tokio said wisely to her young friend. "Remember this well, Kaoru, for it is the greatest taming lesson."
And after the piece of wisdom, Tokio finished up her story. "That night, Hajime and I promised ourselves to one another, although we knew our engagement would be difficult and long, if not impossible. The times were still too troubled for us to settle down, and Hajime refused to put me in danger by openly claiming me, although we knew that Mr. Matsudaria could tell. He kindly ended his quest to marry me off, and said some things to my father, which allowed me to stay single as long as I wished. I left Kyoto at the end of the summer, though I was still able to see Hajime when he was sent to contact my father in Aizu. We had many a heated rendezvous thanks to Mr. Matsudaria's rather frequent business dealings that took my fianc? to our home more than ever before," Tokio explained with a little laugh.
"But soon the Inshin Shisi grew more powerful, and Hajime was often called away to fight on many battlefields. Those were the longest years of my life. But I believed in my betrothed with all my heart, and I knew he would survive. Finally, after the shogunate was defeated in the Boshin Wars, I did what every lover of a soldier did...I waited. I remember hearing many tales of the crushing defeat and the end of the Shinsengumi. But still, I waited. And, one day, he came."
At this point, Kaoru looked exceedingly pensive. Tokio knew the girl was thinking of Kenshin, who was very much like Saitou, although Tokio was sure both men would ardently disagree. If Kaoru and Kenshin did eventually get together, Tokio was sure the younger girl would have to put up with the restlessness of one who would always be a warrior.
"Kaoru, I have been married to Hajime for about eight years now. Sometimes I think I see him less now than when I did those long years of our engagement. But I am happy and content because I know wherever he goes, that his heart is with me. He has given me three precious children, and no matter how long he is gone, he always, always comes back."
"You are an amazing woman, Tokio," Kaoru told her. "There are so many things to be worried about...loss, loneliness, unfaithfulness--"
Tokio gave a little chuckle. "Believe me, when he does come back, I'm pretty sure he's been faithful."
Kaoru looked at her, puzzled.
"You can just tell these things behind closed doors. Abstinence leaves one...very demanding, if you catch my drift," Tokio said, giving her a look.
"Oh!" Kaoru exclaimed, and after blushing from embarrassment, broke into laughter as well.
~*~*~
Kaoru was washing the dishes as Tokio roamed about the yard. It was now late in the afternoon, and the woman could not be contained from admiring the cherry trees blooming outside of the dojo. Kaoru allowed her the freedom, no longer quite so worried of the previous threat, and knew the independent woman probably would be in need of some space and quiet after talking for almost a day straight!
Kaoru took her own time alone to reflect on Tokio's story, especially the last pieces of wisdom the older woman had to offer. Tokio was a wonderful friend in that she was often happy and joking, but always threw in a bit of valuable lessons which applied to Kaoru's current situation with Kenshin extremely well.
"But still, I waited. And, one day, he came."
Could she be as patient as Tokio was, and be content to wait for Kenshin? As it was, Kaoru was not fairing well at all just waiting for him to express any sort of feelings for her. Perhaps he needed a challenge, like how Tokio hooked Saitou? Or maybe just a kick in the head.
"No, no, Kaoru," she thought to herself. "There's that violent streak again." And she scrubbed the plate she was washing to try to calm her nerves.
"But what if some miracle happens and he does love me? I know he can't stay in one place for too long. What will I do when he leaves me again? Jeez, just look what happened after he left for Kyoto," Kaoru thought, shaking her head. "I was a wreck! What will keep me at peace knowing he's somewhere out there, putting his life on the line, leaving me to wonder if he'll ever return?"
Somehow, breaking through her hysterics, the calm voice of Tokio rang in her mind.
"He always, always comes back..."
"Kaoru!" Tokio called to her suddenly, breaking the girl out of her reverie.
"They've come back!"
Kaoru smiled. And perhaps that is enough.
~*End Part I*~
Author's Notes for Ch. 4:
-First of all, thank you to all you wonderful readers who took a chance on this part of the story. I know Saitou and Tokio is not the most popular coupling, but if I have turned you into a Saitou fan, even just a little bit, then this entire work will be well worth the effort. I love Saitou! I could go on and on about how kewl he is, but I digress...
-I apologize if Saitou seems OOC in this chapter. I guess thinking of Saitou in love would automatically make him seem OCC. But this entire story is basically from Tokio's point of view, therefore I should think his wife would view him a little less menacing than normal.
-Again, I could write essays about how the RK Saitou is so much more than the irritable, cold and insulting man a lot of people think he is. (And if you're a Saitou fan already, well then, you know what I mean!) If you look at the Kyoto Arc when Saitou helps Kenshin, you'll find he definitely enjoys teasing people (ahem, Sano) and is a pretty funny guy (what was that line to Usui? "Your outfit's bizarre...it matches your brain!" Or something like that. Anyway, priceless!) I guess my final thought is that now when you think of Saitou, I hope you'll think of this: B.A.S.K., in other words, his Bad Ass Sexy Kewlness. To me, that's what Saitou is all about.
Real facts used:
-Saitou fled to Aizu after the Boshin War
-Saitou and Tokio's marriage was arranged by Matsudaria Katamori
-Okita's health waned after the Ikedaya Affair. He died of tuberculosis when he was only 25.
-The real Saitou was a heavy drinker (although no one is sure if he smoked).
And finally, Part II will explain more about the threat Saitou received, and then move on to feature Kenshin and Kaoru as its main pairing. Maybe those crazy kids will finally get their act together with the advice from Tokio and yet another wise and surprising source of inspiration!
(I have to sadly say here that Part II won't be up for a while since I've gotta finish up some of my other neglected fictions I started before I got the Kenshin bug, but rest assured, it's already in the making! Thanks in advance for your patience. ~Hugs, Sphinx)
stories. Sheesh. Three cheers for Silent Moon Sphinx! 
And when I post it, it will probably be all the chapters together all finished because I like that more than making people wait in suspense for a loooong time. (I posted this first part all together because I basically thought the story could stand on its own.)