Taming Lessons - Part I - Ch 3/4

[Silent Moon Sphinx]

Taming Lessons - Part I - Saitou and Tokio

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: G/PG

Reminder: Events within <>*<>*<> have taken place in the past.

Go, beta, go beta...yeah, cheers to my kickin beta, Jin!

Excerpt below from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Little Prince:
The men where you live...
Raise five thousand roses in the same garden--
and they do not find in it what they are looking for...
And yet what they are looking for
could be found in one single rose...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



Chapter Three
The Wiles of a Wolf


Kaoru awoke to the wonderful smells of breakfast cooking, and rolled around on her futon to note Tokio's beddings were already neatly folded in a corner of the room. It felt rather late in the morning, and Kaoru was a bit embarrassed for oversleeping when she was supposed to be entertaining a guest. She quickly dressed and made her way to the kitchen, where she was pleasantly surprised with a spread of food already laid out on the table.

"Oh, Miss Tokio, you shouldn't have!" Kaoru exclaimed to the woman who was just finishing setting the last of the dishes out on the table.

"Nonsense! I told you I was an early riser, and I just thought I should do something productive until you woke. You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you," Tokio said, beckoning the girl to sit down with her for breakfast.

"It's just some leftovers from yesterday with a few other things I found lying around. I knew you would scold me if I went to the market unsupervised," Tokio teased, and Kaoru nodded in agreement.

"Well, we seem to have made it through the night without any trouble, and Kenshin and Saitou should be back any time now, so hopefully this whole threat nonsense should be over soon," Kaoru said, munching happily on her rice.

"Yes, and I will be very much relieved," said Tokio. "You and Mr. Himura have been so good to Hajime and me with all your help. I don't know how we'll ever repay you."

"Weeeell," Kaoru began, "you could start with continuing the rest of your story."

Tokio laughed. "Ah, of course! I've left you quite in suspense. Alright then, where was I?"

"The last I remember, Saitou was assigned to be your bodyguard!" Kaoru said, totally amused with the thought.

"That's right!" Tokio said, smiling at the remembrance. "Both he and I were none too pleased with arrangement. It was very nerve-wracking for me to have my wanderings accompanied by a very unpleasant wolf. I think we both enjoyed our times of freedom and felt the other to blame for the invasion of privacy. But as it was Mr. Matsudaria's decision, it couldn't be helped. At first, I must admit, neither of us knew how to act, and I wondered how I was ever going to survive the rest of the summer..."


<>*<>*<>

It had been decided Saitou Hajime, Captain of the Third Unit of the Shinsengumi, would take Takagi Tokio out every afternoon after he was done teaching lessons in swordsmanship to the newest recruits of the Mibu Wolves.

If Tokio had known how little they would actually interact during their outings in the beginning, she might not have been such a wreck before the first session the very day after Katamori suggested the arrangement.

As expected, Saitou was moody and cold, speaking mostly in nods and grunts as they did the girl's typical rounds about town. Being followed by a man in bright Shinsengumi blue, Tokio found the usually talkative and friendly vendors would barely make eye contact with her out of fear.

Tokio was disgusted, and to Saitou's pleasant surprise, what he thought could have taken hours barely lasted one.

The girl was almost tempted to give up her wanderings entirely, but her new house arrest was so confining that even a scowling Saitou proved much better than practically dying of boredom and claustrophobia indoors.

On the third day, Tokio had realized the best plan was to probably avoid the crowded town entirely, and focus on the true purpose of her wandering, which was to surround herself with nature. Therefore, she lead her glaring guard on journeys through the countryside, and found they could easily ignore each other in the open spaces on the less used lanes.

Now, Tokio glanced at her calendar as she folded her beddings from the previous evening, and offered only a sigh to welcome the new day. June fifth. It was only June fifth. Her time spent in Kyoto now felt long and oppressive. How she wished for her beloved Aizu, where she could roam where she pleased and her smiles would be returned. Tokio recalled her home with fondness as she absent-mindedly undid the band securing her braided hair and let the waist length locks fall loosely around her.

She rummaged through her selection of lightweight summer yukatas, knowing it hardly mattered which one she chose. She barely went out now, and even in those few hours she did, Tokio was fairly sure her bodyguard wouldn't appreciate any beauty efforts made on her part.

The girl shrugged, selecting a light blue one with a delicate flower pattern and a pale yellow obi, which she tied into a butterfly bow at her back to complete her look. She only now had to pin up her still wildly flowing mane when her sliding door flew open and her little sister emerged, fully dressed and bright-eyed, and holding what looked to be a ball of fur.

"Kitty!" the younger girl squealed, and held the poor little feline out towards her older sibling, gaining a muffled yelp from the creature, and a sigh from Tokio.

"Oh, Tami, you're going to suffocate the poor thing!" Tokio scolded her sister gently and walked over to try and rescue the cat from Tami's death grip. Her little sister seemed to enjoy animals and nature as much as Tokio, but hadn't quite the gentleness of her older sister, as she was only six years old and hardly knew better.

But it seemed the animal had its own agenda and managed to scratch the little girl before leaping to the ground. And so what had started out as a typical, droll morning quickly turned into an exciting escapade. Takagi Tami was bawling, even though the scratch had been minor, and Tokio quickly scooped up the tiny girl before chasing after the cat. It was a well-known fact her father was not only allergic to cats, but despised them, though that never stopped her adventurous younger sister from bringing in strays.

Tokio had to find the animal before her father did, or she knew the whole house was bound to erupt into greater hysterics than one now screaming little girl. Running along the wooden floor, Tokio slid into the kitchen and deposited her sister on the counter before taking off again.

The cat was surprisingly easy to find with a little coaxing from Tokio's gentle voice and she rushed back with the feline in tow to calm her sister before anyone realized there had been a small crisis.

She entered the kitchen again to find her sniffling sister, and Tokio smiled as she shook her head. "Whatever will I do with you?"

"Mr. Kitty should say he's sorry!" the girl said, pouting as she raised her arm to show her sister the fresh scratch.

"I'm sorry!" Tokio said in her best kitty voice as she waved one of the paws to the little girl, and gained a laugh. "Mr. Kitty says he has to go home now, so I'll go take him outside and hopefully he'll run off to where ever he came from."

"But it huuurts!" Tami protested of her arm.

Tokio cradled the cat in one arm and took her sister's forearm in the other. She leaned and gently blew on the wound, before giving Tami's small hand a squeeze. "We'll get that fixed up in a minute. How very brave you are!"

Tokio then turned out of the kitchen, kitty still in tow, when she looked up to see Saitou Hajime leaning against the opposite wall of the hall.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" she breathed, and unconsciously hugged the cat a little tighter.

"There's been a change of plans for today and this is the only time I can baby-sit."

"Now?" the girl asked, still surprised, letting the baby-sit comment slide. It was still quite early in the morning.

"As you see," Saitou responded, although in the tone that suggested the addition of "you idiot".

The girl took a moment to register the change in schedule and looked as though she had a lot on her mind. Saitou studied her intensely, and found he enjoyed this opportunity to catch her off guard. She looked as though she had been in the middle of getting ready when something disturbed her, probably the incident with the cat and her little sister, which he learned about while watching the scene in the kitchen before Tokio came in his direction. He had been intrigued by the calming affect of the older girl. Her gentle ways with her sister were probably just as good with all children, and ever since she had offered the light exhale of air on the scratch to ease the girl's pain, he had found himself quite unable to look away.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Saitou inquired, stifling the jest in his voice. He knew the answer, but wanted to see her reaction anyway. The comment seemed to snap her out of her reverie, as Tokio looked at him suddenly.

"Oh! Oh...no--well, there was the cat," she said in a jumble of words before holding up the furry creature.

Saitou examined the fur ball, not looking amused, before Tokio cuddled it close to her again. The kitten looked harmless now, as it was happily purring away in the gentle woman's arms, though the animal at the mercy of her little sister was probably a different story.

Tokio walked past him through the hall to the front door where she let the cat go free before making her way back to him, running a hand through her hair before she caught him staring at her again.

Saitou watched her push back some of the wavy strands behind her ears, still obviously studying her. The girl was quite intimidated by his open scrutiny, not accustomed to being under such constant examination, which seemed very intense as she nervously played with her hair.

"Right, well," she began, not really knowing what to say. "As you can see I'm not quite ready yet, but let me make sure my sister is okay and then we can go."

"As you wish," Saitou said nonchalantly, and followed her into the kitchen, where her sister now gawked at the Shinsengumi squad leader.

"Is this your boyfriend!?" Tami said excitedly. Tokio's cheeks blazed red and she tried to eye Saitou for a reaction, but saw little more than an eyebrow twitch slip past his defenses.

"He looks scary," the little girl told her sister in a not-so-quiet whisper, which caused Tokio to giggle, washing away a little of her embarrassment.

After tending to her sister and finishing the last of her morning preparations, Tokio began her day with the wolf.

She emerged from her room this time looking more like her composed self, hair pinned back, face pale, without a hint of flush as the two started off to town, where she suggested they stop for a bite to eat before going on their usual walking tours.

Tokio wasn't sure of the occasion, but Saitou actually started a conversation over the meal. Perhaps him getting a glimpse of the real life of Tokio, dealing with the little trials of her sister, had actually done some good. Tokio didn't know for sure, but the wolf seemed...a little kinder...if that was possible. Or maybe he was just showing his sympathy for having to put up with a mouth like Tami's day in and day out.

"I wasn't going to come so early," Saitou said after taking a sip of tea. "Actually, I wasn't going to come at all."

Tokio looked at him, bewildered. What a way to win a girl over.

"But then I knew you'd probably go crazy having to spend a whole day in the house. Which, might I had, I can see why," Saitou continued, obviously referring to her handful of a little sister.

"And knowing you, if you were stuck in the house all day, you would probably be tempted to sneak out at night like an idiot and get yourself killed. So here I am. You have until noon," Saitou finished in that deep and nonchalant voice of his.

"Well, thanks...I think," Tokio responded to his well-meaning, but completely tactless reasons for being with her.

"Just--whatever you do--don't go out tonight," he suddenly, and very seriously, mentioned again.

"I promise," Tokio said, recognizing his hard glare as something not to argue with. What did he know that she didn't? Why did he sound so protective?

"Mr. Saitou?" she said after a long moment of silence.

"Just Saitou will suffice," the wolf spoke up as he gazed out the window of the restaurant to the street.

"Saitou, then," Tokio said slowly, trying to understand his reasoning for allowing her to drop the honorific. He made a grunt like sound in response to her pause, which she had learned by now was an acknowledgement for her to continue.

"Thank you...for worrying," the girl eyed him and smiled.

His eyes caught hers quickly before going back to stare at the road and the rest of the meal passed in companionable silence.

Later that day, Tokio discovered the reason for Saitou's warning. That night--on June 5, 1864--the Shinsengumi were successful in their attack on the Inshin Shisi members plotting at the Ikedaya Inn. The plan to set fire to Kyoto and slay important shogunate officials ended as quickly as the lives of the conspirators.

It looked as though the restoration movement had been crushed, but the shogunate still remained ready to fight. Life continued much as it did before, although the streets seemed to swell with pride. Kyoto was safe. Yet Tokio still was not trusted to wander alone.

~*~*~

It had been weeks since the Ikedaya Affair, though there seemed to be no hope of Tokio ever gaining back her previous freedom. Saitou continued to be her bodyguard in case of an unexpected threat, although both youths seemed to breathe a little easier.

If one ignored the sharp looks and dry tones of the wolf next to her, Tokio discovered that traveling with Saitou was not the burden she had one believed. The wolf sparked an interest within her, now more than ever.

The Shinsengumi were overnight heroes, so going to the market was now extremely enjoyable, if not amusing at times. The girls about town were now eager to win the attentions of the famous Wolves, and Tokio often noticed them trying to flirt with Saitou, as his expression usually looked displeased with having to "baby sit" her. Thus, after only a week of the new fame, Tokio was wholeheartedly amused to discover the wolf walking closer at her side. Although the girl did notice she now gained quite a few glares from his potential suitors. Saitou really was quite handsome, certainly one of the best looking Shinsengumi, and could have easily had any women he desired if not for his stormy attitude.

But even more surprising than Saitou's new appreciation of her to ward off fan girls, Tokio found she was now following the wolf's lead, as he would suggest new walking paths seemingly on a whim, but end up leading them to the most delightful gardens the girl had ever seen...and far away from the crowded streets of town.

Kyoto was famous for its temples with beautiful gardens and grounds, and somehow, she and Saitou had ended up visiting quite a few of them. He would allow their outings to take longer now, enabling them to spend almost the whole of the afternoons exploring gardens, barely getting home before dusk.

Tokio now wandered the paths of a lovely mediation garden, and after reflecting on all that had happened in past few weeks, looked around to find her companion. He recently let her roam further and further away on her own, but always lingered just close enough to keep an impeccable watch over her every move.

She located him in a corner of the garden, where he sat on a bench. He appeared to be admiring a small pond in the distance, but Tokio knew his eyes followed her every movement. She approached him with a cheerful smile, but was met with his frequent tight-lipped expression.

Tokio bent down a little in front of him and stared, finally coaxing his eyes to meet with hers. She just couldn't understand him sometimes...well, most of the time. It was a perfectly beautiful day, not too hot, not too cold. They had wandered to this peaceful meditation garden where she had gone off by herself and left him alone. There should be no reason for his dark expression at a time like this.

They studied each other for a while, she with a smile, he with a frown, and finally the girl could not contain herself any longer.

Tokio burst out laughing. Saitou, of course, did not look at all amused, especially since he was the one being laughed at.

"Care to share?" he inquired coldly.

And after a while of softer giggles, Tokio finally exclaimed, "It's just you look so scary all of the time!" The girl was finally at a point where his constant, ridiculous seriousness was no longer foreboding, but instead very funny.

Saitou failed to see the humor in the girl's comment. He stood rather stiffly, and cocked his head to the side, as if to encourage a further explanation.

"Isn't it tiresome to put on such intimidating airs?" she inquired lightly.

However, her face dropped after seeing no change in his serious, frosty expression. Was there no way to touch him...the man inside the wolf?

"Isn't it sad never to laugh? Isn't a wolf's life rather lonely?" Tokio asked very quietly, as they began a slow walk about the garden path.

"I would be lying if I said it wasn't lonely," he finally said after a while. "I could say I had my unit and the rest of the Shinsengumi as my companions, but in truth, I am often alone. It's the lifestyle I chose and do not regret. I do not mind the silence."

"Aye," Tokio said softly, "one is never really alone when Silence is with him."

Saitou looked at her then, eying the girl's pensive expression, realizing there was a greater depth there that he had not noticed before. For the first time, someone seemed to understand him. There may be one more competent person in the world.

The girl's ponderings abruptly ended when she spotted a familiar flower growing in bushes along an aged, stone wall.

"Oh, roses! My favorite!" she exclaimed in delight as she rushed over and leaned in, smelling their wonderful fragrance.

"I do not care for those as much," Saitou commented as the girl swooned over the manicured bushes. "They look...a little too perfect, almost as if they weren't even real."

Tokio was shocked at hearing's the man's opinion of the flowers and paused at a bloom mid-sniff to look over at him.

"You mean, you don't like roses?" she asked, looking almost hurt. They were by far her favorite flower and she even chose their scent as her perfume.

"I didn't say that," Saitou said. "I don't like these roses. They should look a bit...wilder," he tried to explain.

"Interesting," Tokio commented. "I prefer the wilder ones myself." And with that she smiled and they walked back along the path together.

<>*<>*<>


"Wow, Saitou actually seemed to be a bit more talkative to you," Kaoru commented upon Tokio's pause in her story.

"Believe me, it took weeks to get him to feel comfortable enough to speak more than a few words," Tokio said as she shook her head. "However, I did notice that he started warming up to me after my comment about liking the "wilder ones." Only afterwards, I realized I had been addressing the Shinsengumi member known as the "wild wolf" himself!" Tokio admitted, which elicited a giggle from Kaoru. "But really, cracking a man like Saitou certainly doesn't happen overnight."

"I can imagine!" Kaoru sympathized.

"But it's funny. I remember so clearly the day I almost wished I hadn't gotten him to feel so easy around me. Saitou's got one of the meanest teasing streaks in him," Tokio explained. "Many people don't really notice, probably because he can make his appearance quite terrifying and you'd think he wasn't trying to be funny, but really, he's always joking in that dry sense of humor of his. And I am, unfortunately, his favorite victim to tease, just as I was all those years ago."

"I admit I didn't think of Saitou as the teasing type until I was able to see you two in action," Kaoru giggled. "But what about this day you speak of? Do tell."

"Well, I could usually bare his taunting or a wry little comment here and there, although the idiot calling did annoy me," recalled Tokio. "However one day, he hit me where I had no choice but to fight back, though it did little good. I will not deny that Saitou was a very attractive man back in the day. Of course, I still think he is, but I have a feeling a younger person such as yourself might not believe me. Let me try to explain..."


<>*<>*<>

They had not expected the sudden rain shower from the earlier mild looking sky. Luckily, Saitou and Tokio were just walking through town at the time, so it was only a short run to reach the Takagi summer home, yet still long enough to drench both of them thoroughly.

When they reached the house, Tokio refused to let Saitou go back out in the storm and, although he protested, literally pulled the Shinsengumi leader into the foyer by his shirtsleeves.

Now the two stood awkwardly in the darkened entrance of Tokio's home. All was quiet except the sound of the rain upon the rooftop and the heavy breathing of the two from their previous sprint to avoid the downpour.

The fiery girl who had forced Saitou to shelter now seemed to grow shy and softly invited him further into the house as she called out to her family, but apparently no one was home. She knew sometimes her mother took her brother and sister with her when visiting the house of a friend, and her father was most likely off at a meeting.

Tokio instructed Saitou to sit while she prepared some tea to warm them, but when she came back to the dining room, it was apparent that the arrangement would not do. Both of them were leaving watery trails wherever they went and Saitou's unruly bangs kept dripping droplets onto his cheeks so that it almost looked as if he had been crying.

Tokio further studied his face, which she knew would never produce tears, and followed the cut angles of his jaw line to his pursed lips up to his golden eyes, now slightly hooded and swept with thick lashes as he seemed to be in the middle of contemplating his tea. It was a handsome face, though she thought he could be even more attractive if he allowed his youth to lighten his frown. Although he was only twenty-one, he could have passed for someone older with his constant serious expression. She wondered that he could grow up so quickly, while she was barely able to act her own age.

Tokio's face softened upon her reflections and she smiled at him, and Saitou, feeling her eyes on him looked up from his tea, sending a few water drops flying off his hair and onto the table.

"Come, let's try to dry off a bit, shall we?" Tokio suggested, Saitou nodding silently. It was best not to argue with the woman on matters of this sort, the wolf had decided, and was uncharacteristically complying as he followed the girl to first a linen's closet, where she found some towels. She next offered to try to find some dry clothes for him, but this he finally denied.

"But you're soaked through!" Tokio protested. "Please, I don't want you to catch cold. At least get out of your gi for me."

She had not registered the double meaning of her request until Saitou gave her an odd look, which caused her to flush with embarrassment. She looked down quickly, and tried to redeem herself, "Ah...you know, so I can hang it to dry."

"I'm sure," Saitou said, leaving the girl to wonder if he said the comment in jest or disgust.

Yet the man complied, thankful for the shadowed afternoon to hide the sparkle in his eyes, which would have easily tipped the girl off that he meant to tease her.

To Tokio's astonishment, he stripped not only his uniform gi, but also the shirt he wore underneath, leaving his upper body completely exposed to her feasting eyes.

It was hard not to look away, Tokio not only being stunned at the rather risqu? situation she now found herself in, but the fact that Saitou had the most beautiful body the girl had ever seen.

She stood completely still, watching him roll his shoulders, admiring the way the action rippled the muscles through his toned arms. In fact, he was all muscle, but in no way big and bulky. His body looked so powerful, yet lean, it was no wonder he could be so lethal in a swordfight.

Saitou let out an amused "hm" as he handed her his soaking garments and crossed his arms.

"Like what you see?" he said bluntly, trying to hide his growing smirk, as Tokio's jaw dropped in embarrassment, and she could not utter a word.

"I know you're attracted to me," the wolf said lowly, leaning now to face her. His towering frame was intimidating, but his sparkling eyes on the same level as hers was even more so.

"Excuse me?!" Tokio just about fainted, finding her voice.

"It's obvious," he said matter-of-factly.

"You--you're a real piece of work, you know that?" Tokio muttered, narrowing her eyes and crinkling her nose at him in frustration before spinning away. He had caught her!

"And wipe that smirk off of your face!" she called behind her, with a wave of her hand, not even having to look back to know he was gloating at his ability to fluster her. "I'm going to hang these and then change into something dry myself. I'm sure you can entertain yourself with that wit of yours until I get back," she snapped.

But the fact that she heard what may have been considered a muffled laugh before sauntering out of his range satisfied Tokio enough to keep her spirits up in their on-going battle to crush the other's composure.

It was a little unnerving to sit across from the very shirtless man the rest of the afternoon, but somehow Tokio managed. After the previous incident, the witty attitudes of each kept up a very heated conversation over tea, as Saitou loved to bring up her supposed attraction to "a certain someone", and the girl did her best to refute it.

It was during the steamy, rainy afternoon that Tokio learned a few more things about her wolfish companion. Besides his Adonis-like figure, Saitou was showing more of himself to the girl. He openly teased her now, and talked just as much as anyone else, provided he was in the middle of a verbal challenge. The wiles of the wolf were now Tokio's best weapon to reveal more than Saitou's practiced cool exterior would normally allow.

~*~*~

Author's Notes for Ch. 3:

Facts used:
-Saitou was an instructor of kenjutsu for the Shinsengumi
-Takagi Toki did indeed have a little sister named Tami, as well as a younger brother Seinosuke. I did not know the age of her sister, so I just made her really young, although I do think I read that Tokio's brother was only two years her junior
-The Ikedaya Affair on June 5, 1864 was a real historical event, and afterwards the Shinsengumi were seen more as heroes despite their earlier, somewhat bad reputation
-Kyoto is known for its beautiful gardens and temples! Some worth noting include the Silver Pavilion, the Golden Pavilion and the Walk of Philosophy. Go to www.japan-guide.com for more info!