Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Birth of the Wolf ❯ Chapter 4

Part 4

~~A few days later~~

Saito leaned heavily against the wall of the bathhouse, letting the steam and hot water soothe his aching muscles. Tonight was his "night off", and he intended to use his time wisely. There was a certain woman he wanted to see...Saito shook his head, sending little droplets of water flying off his bangs. He caught a glimpse of himself reflected in the water, and was surprised to see an almost idiotic grin on his normally serious face. Tokio did that to him. Saito shook his head again, and stretched languidly under the water about to get out. Not that he really wanted to. He sat for a few minutes, and then got out of the bath. He let himself drip-dry before pulling on his clothes. He had only seen Tokio three times, but he already knew she was perfect for him.

Ten minutes later, Saito and Tokio were eating dinner together at a restaurant. Tokio, unlike most women of the time, was neither meek nor quiet.

"So, Hajime-san, what did you plan on doing on your night off?" she asked, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

Saito appeared to think for a second. "Hmmm. I'm not sure. Why don't we take a walk while I think?"

The two of them left the restaurant and walked out into the rapidly fading light.

"Hajime-san! You wouldn't be planning to propose under the stars would you?" Tokio asked mock angrily.

Saito chuckled. Ah, it felt good to laugh! "Of course not! I am too honorable and too much of a man to propose like that."

Tokio nodded. "Good, because if you ever tried to do something so sappy, I might have to slap you."

Had it come from any woman other than Tokio, Saito might have been the one to do the slapping. "Would you rather I proposed in a pig-pen?" he asked.

Tokio laughed, a twinkling bell sound to Saito's ears, which were used to hearing screams.

Just then, Okita came running up. "Saito-san! The Battousai's been spotted at the old warehouse! Master Oni wants us to take care of him!"

Saito turned to look at Tokio, who was frowning.

"Don't worry little bird. I'm good at my job. I'll meet you here tomorrow, same time, so we can continue our walk. All right?"

"No, but it will have to do. Be careful, Hajime," she said and stood on tiptoe to reach his cheek, where she planted a light kiss.

Okita made a gagging sound before shouting "Come on already! You can do that on your own time! Right now it's the Battousai's time!"

Saito and Okita tore through the warehouse, killing anyone foolish enough to be there.

As the last man fell under Okita's blade, the young man started to cough violently onto the sleeve of his shirt. He shook it off after a few moments, wary that someone might find his weakness, namely the Battousai. Saito appeared then and the two left the warehouse. There were two men, obviously Ishin-Shishi, trying to get away. One was supporting the other, but before Okita and Saito could take advantage of the situation, a voice called out to the Imperials.

"Get away from here while you can. Leave them to me."

The uninjured man turned. "Thank you Himura-san!" he said, then he and his companion ducked into an alley.

"Well, Battousai, we meet again," Okita said, crushing a flower in his hand and tossing the petals into the air.

Just as he was about to engage the Battousai, Saito held up a hand.

"Let me handle him, Okita-san. Besides, you are not feeling well today, am I right?" he asked, but instead of waiting for a reply, he charged the Battousai.

The Battousai kicked away from Saito, who slid back about ten feet. Saito charged again, and this time their blades met and slid against each other. The two men were now nose to nose. Saito was the first to move. He backed away from the Battousai, only to start another gatotsu on him.

The two men fought furiously for about twenty minutes. Both were breathing hard, and both had numerous cuts and bruises.

After the last flurry of swords, the two men split apart, each eyeing the other warily. Okita stood by and watched the proceedings.

"Are you worn out yet, Battousai?" Saito asked, his lips pulled back in a feral grin.

"Huh. You--" but before he finished what he was about to say, the Battousai took advantage of the momentary lapse in the action and flew forwards. Only Saito's lightening quickness saved him from being completely skewered. As it was, the Battousai's blade had slid between the last two ribs on Saito's left side. Saito coughed, choking on the blood that suddenly filled his throat and mouth. He roared in fury, and kicked away from the Battousai, ignoring the burning in his side.

The enraged wolf gatotsu-ed the hell out of the Battousai, and managed to score a deep laceration across his chest.

Both men sank to one knee, gasping for air; Saito's breath coming in rattled, almost sob-like gulps. The Battousai was not much better, but he managed to get to his feet and make a half-hearted charge at the still kneeling Saito.

At the last possible moment, Saito blocked the Battousai's descending blade with his own. With the Battousai's sword effectively out of the way for a second, Saito struck out with his unoccupied left hand and hit the Battousai square in the jaw, knocking him back. He lay there, stunned, but Saito was in no condition to do much about it. Okita started tugging on Saito's sleeve.

"Come on, Saito-san. You need to get to a doctor. Leave the Battousai for another time."

Saito growled, about to come up with an angry retort, but instead started to cough. He sank to his hands and knees, a steady stream of blood flowing from his nose and mouth. He grudgingly let Okita lead him away.

*****

Tokio stripped the still protesting Saito to the waist, and proceeded to clean his most severe wound.

"Hajime, I thought you said you'd be careful," she said, roughly wiping the area clean.

Saito inhaled sharply through his teeth. "I was careful. If I hadn't been, I wouldn't be alive."

"Hmph. And you!" Tokio said, turning her wrath on the nearby Okita, "You should have helped him!"

"Ah, Tokio-san, I didn't want to interfere in his fight. If the Battousai was really about to kill him, I would have stepped in."

"'Really going to kill him'? What do you call this?" she asked, poking Saito's wound.

"I wish you would stop that, Tokio," Saito said through clenched teeth. He was shaking, pale, and sweating from pain.

"Oh! Hajime, I'm so sorry, lie down."

"I don't want to get your bed bloody," Saito whispered weakly.

"Ohhhhh, Hajime, you're such a dear," Tokio cooed, and kissed him on the forehead. Saito lost consciousness with a smile on his face.

*****

When Saito awoke sometime the next day, he was startled to find himself in a strange house. He groped blindly for his sword, and upon finding it, levered himself to his feet. He wobbled for a moment, but quickly regained his balance as he started moving, not noticing or caring that he was wearing nothing but a pair of loose fitting pants that were already riding low on his narrow hips. He snuck around the corner towards where he thought he heard something. He jumped out, scaring the hell out of Tokio, who had been doing laundry, and embarrassing himself.

"Sorry, Tokio-san. I forgot where I was for a moment," he apologized.

"Oh, it's all right..." she trailed off, looking down.

Saito followed her glance, and saw, much to his further embarrassment, his pants around his ankles.

~They must've slid off when I attacked.~ he thought.

Saito hastily pulled his pants back up.

"Too late for that, Hajime. You know what they say about a woman who sees a man naked?"

Saito quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"The woman has to marry the man."

Saito waved a hand. "Oh. I thought it was going to be something I didn't want to do. Besides, I think you made that up."

Tokio laughed and tossed him his Shinsen-gumi outfit, cleaned and repaired.

"Thank you, Tokio," Saito said sincerely, gazing into her dark eyes. She smiled up at him.

"Hajime," she said, sidling over to his side and slipping an arm around his waist, "When *are* we going to get married?"

Saito's answer came quickly to his lips. "When the Revolution is over. I promise you, Tokio."