Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Birth of the Wolf ❯ Chapter 6

Part 6

(4 years later. saitos 27)

"Mama! Lookit what I founded!" the little boy called.

"What? Seijiro, put that toad down and come get cleaned up for dinner."

"Aw ma! I'm clean enough, an' no one else is gonna be eatin' my food!"

"Do you want to end up looking like the toad?"

"Why?" the boy asked suspiciously.

"Because if you touch a toad, then eat without cleaning up, you'll turn into a toad!"

"Aw, stop lyin'."

"I'm not lying. Come on, son, would I lie to you?"

"Well, noooo..."

"Besides, it's not just toads that have the curse. It's any animal. How do you think your father got those pointed teeth and yellow eyes?"

"I dunno, how?"

"By wrestling with a wolf when he was younger."

"Hehehe, you're funny."

"Yes, well, go get cleaned up."

"Can I wrestle with a wolf so I can be just like dad?"

Tokio chuckled. "Maybe. We'll see what your father says."

"Tokio! Seijiro!" Saito called as he strode into the yard.

"Yay! Mama! Daddy's home!" cried Seijiro, running up to his father and attaching himself to Saito's leg. Saito kept walking, one leg stiff with the weight of his son. He went into the house and nearly tripped on his one year old daughter, Takami. Before she could start crying at being walked over, Saito scooped her up and stuck a finger in her mouth. She started sucking on it as if it was her own thumb. Saito winced.

"She's got more teeth than the last time I checked."

Tokio chuckled. "All right, Seijiro, let your father sit so we can eat," she said, and started to serve her family.

"Hey, daddy didn't wash up! Is he gonna turn into a bad guy?"

"What have you been telling him?"

Tokio waved her hand. "I said he'd turn into whatever he touched if he didn't wash up. But it works on animals, Seijiro."

"Yeah, but daddy calls the people he works with animals!"

Saito snorted. "Seijiro, they're just bad people. I lock them away so they can't be bad anymore. I'm not going to turn into one of them."

"Oh. Ok. Mama said I could wrestle a wolf so I could be like you."

Saito choked on his tea. "A wolf? Mama sure can come up with some stuff, can't she?"

"Weeeell, she said that you wrestled with a wolf, that's why you gots yellow eyes and sharp teeth. Hey! When did you let Takami play with a wolf?" Seijiro shouted, pointing at his sister.

Saito glared at his wife over Seijiro's head. Tokio was trying not to laugh. "Why would you think that?"

"Cuz she bit your finger!"

Tokio sighed. "Seijiro, Takami is too little to be playing with wolves."

"Yes, and besides, there aren't any wolves around here anyways."

A sudden knock on the door made them all jump, except for Saito. Takami looked around, but with Saito's hand still plugging her mouth, she seemed content. Saito got up and went to the door, carrying the baby.

"Saito-san!" a young male voice cried when he opened the door.

"Okita? What are you doing here?" Saito asked, looking startled.

"Aw, c'mon, Saito! You act like you're not happy to see me!"

Saito laughed. "No, of course I'm happy to see you! It's been what? Four years now? Come in, come in! We were just about to eat supper. Care to join us?"

"Eh, I would, but, ah, I already ate. If you don't mind, I'd like to sit with you though..."

"No, I don't mind at all. Tokio! Look who's here!"

"And I thought you said there weren't any wolves around," Tokio whispered privately to Saito. "Okita-san," she said, bowing.

"Ah, Tokio, you're still as beautiful as the day Saito first saw you. Well, hello there," Okita said, crouching to look at Seijiro, who was trying to hide behind Tokio.

"That's my son Seijiro, and this is my daughter Takami. Who is making my arm fall asleep."

Okita chuckled as Saito passed the baby to Tokio. "I never pictured you with kids, Saito."

"Huh. Neither did I."

After dinner, and after Tokio put the children to bed, the three of them sat by the fire.

"So what brings you here, Okita-san?" Tokio asked, bringing everyone some tea.

Okita's usually smiling face turned serious. "You know that the Meiji government didn't approve of our 'aku soku zan' philosophy during the Revolution, right?" Saito and Tokio nodded. "Well, and this is just an assumption on my part, I think the government has been killing off former Shinsen-gumi members."

"Why on earth for?" Tokio asked.

"Because we made them look bad. Even their all mighty Hitokiri Battousai couldn't kill all of us," Saito said.

Okita nodded. "They got Master Oni not long after the Revolution ended; you knew that. They got Toshizo last year, and Uiichiro was killed two months ago. And that's just the important people. The last seven captains either gave up, or were killed, along with their divisions. Our pack of wolves is disappearing, Saito," Okita said.

"You think they're coming for you?"

"I'm not sure. It wouldn't really matter anyways, since I'm already dying."

"What?!" Tokio gasped.

Okita gave her a patient smile. "I've got consumption, my dear. Saito's known about it for a while, I think."

"That's why I was so surprised to see you," Saito said, smiling sadly.

"I came here to warn you. Just be careful, my friend."

(a few months later)

"Hajime!" Tokio yelled. "Saito! Where are you?"

"Over here."

Tokio found him sitting under a tree, reading a letter.

"Hajime? Is something wrong?"

"This letter is from Okita."

"Oh! It's been a while since he stopped by; how is he?"

"He says that if I've gotten this letter, he's already dead."

"What? Oh...oh my. Is--is there a funeral?"

"Hmmm, yes, tomorrow, right here in Kyoto."

(the next day)

There were very few people at Okita's funeral, which really didn't surprise Saito, considering that most of the ex-Shinsen-gumi were dead. Of the people that were there, Saito only recognized one or two. Saito stood in front of the grave, holding onto Seijiro's hand, while Tokio held Takami. They paid their respects silently, and were just turning to leave when they heard shouts and whistles.

"Halt! You are all under arrest by order of the Meiji government!"

"Shit!" Saito swore. "Come on, get to the carriage!" he yelled, picking up Seijiro and running. Tokio wasn't far behind with Takami.

Suddenly, an explosion from ahead of them and to their left sent both Saito and Tokio slamming to the ground. Tokio rolled, cradling Takami. She lay still for a moment before standing up and taking the little girl to the carriage. She then turned back and started looking for her husband and son.

"Saito!?" she shouted, coughing a bit through the smoke and dust that the explosion had kicked up. She cocked her head towards the sound of steel on steel and headed in that direction. She knew that's where Saito would be.

Saito was standing in the midst of three Meiji officials, sword out, gatotsu ready. The blast had been close, so close that it ruptured his left eardrum, which was now bleeding, leaving a trail down his neck. His right arm was also injured from landing on it, but he couldn't tell how bad. He just knew it hurt. The explosion had also knocked Seijiro out of his grasp, and he hoped Tokio would find the boy and get him to safety. He wondered how Takami had fared. Saito heard Tokio call his name, but he couldn't reply. The three officials rushed him.

Tokio got to her husband and saw him in a stand off with some Meiji police. Now that she knew where he was, she could look for Seijiro.

"Seijiro?" she called, looking around. She saw him lying a few feet away. "Seijiro!" Tokio said, kneeling down next to him. "Come on, we have to get..." It was then that she noticed Seijiro's head was at a horrible angle and that blood was oozing out his mouth. His eyes were open and glazed over.

"SEIJIRO!!" Tokio howled in pain, even though she knew her son was already dead.

Saito heard Tokio scream Seijiro's name, and he knew that he hadn't been able to save his son. Saito's eyes iced over as he lost all feeling except an all-consuming rage at the hypocrisy that called itself the Meiji government. These three men before him would die.

Painfully.

The first man that rushed Saito was disemboweled in seconds. The man teetered on his feet for a moment, looking down and watching his own guts spill from his torn abdomen. He then dropped to the ground, still alive.

The second man came, and Saito neatly cut off his sword arm. The man fell next to his conspirators' entrails, writhing in pain.

The third man tried to run away, but Saito wasn't having any of that. He lunged at the man's legs, sending him sprawling on the floor. Saito sat on his chest, sword point at the man's throat.

"Who sent you?" Saito growled.

The man spit in his face.

"Wrong fucking thing to do," Saito said, and pried the man's mouth open. "If you won't speak to me, you won't speak to anyone," Saito hissed, and tore the man's tongue out with his bare hand.

The man roared like a wounded beast. Even though he was bleeding profusely from his mouth, the man surged to his feet, knocking Saito off, and sending the sword clattering away. The man now was sitting on Saito, and had a hand wrapped around Saito's neck. Saito was already getting weak from blood loss, shock, and the constant ringing in his ears, and the man's hand cutting off his air supply didn't help much.

Tokio saw what happening and grabbed up Saito's sword. She stood behind the man, and pricked the back of his neck.

"Stand up," she ordered coldly. Saito was fuzzily aware of what his wife was doing, but he didn't much care.

"Face me," Tokio ordered again as the man stood up. He turned.

"I want to watch you die," she spat, and slid Saito's sword slooooowly through his midsection. By now, Saito was standing behind the man, and as the tip of the sword came though, Saito grasped it, ignoring his hand, and twisted. The man died on the blade.

Tokio and Saito turned to look at the other two men. The first man was very dead, but the second one was standing, his arm gone from the elbow down. As his heart beat, the bloody stump pulsed and spat more of the red liquid out onto the ground. The man held his sword in his left hand, having retrieved it from his severed limb. He tried to charge Saito, who sidestepped easily. Tokio brought her blade around and cut off the man's other arm. He dropped to the ground, convulsed once, and then died.