A/N: This was originally a one-shot, but someone asked me for a sequel a long time ago so I decided to turn it into a series. XD Way to go, me! Lol. Anyway, for those who care, a few things first:
As you may or may not know, Saito and Tokio are real historical people. In order to do this story justice, I felt like a little research was in order. I wrote the first, raw draft without doing any research whatsoever. (I almost had a heart attack when I saw all the stuff that was accurate without realizing it... but there was also a good deal of crap I totally made up)
Thus, after a rather ridiculous amount of research, here we are. And even after numbing my brain with an overload of names, dates, and Japanese history, I still didn't totally stick to the facts. If you're a total Japanese history buff and the places where the plot and history don't fit piss you off, I know, and I apologize. But what was more important to me than getting every fact correct was writing a decent story that hopefully fans will enjoy.
WARNINGS: Violence. Lots of blood. Some coarse language. Inexplicit sexual content/dialogue.
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin © Nobuhiro Watsuki. Heart of the Wolf © KaibaKitty.
Night was falling fast. The streets of Kyoto were illuminated by the bloody sky; the sun was slowly sinking, elongating the shadows of buildings and the shady figures who still prowled the streets. Not many dared to wander at this late hour.
Of the few still outside was a young girl of about sixteen with wild mane of nut brown hair caught loosely in a ribbon. Her dark eyes scanned the blackening alleyways for a sign of movement.
"Tami-chan?" she called, "Where are you?"
The girl was frantic as she looked for any signs of movement. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard. The girl stopped when she heard the noise. She was dead if she was found by the wrong sort of people right now. What if it was an assassin, a hitokiri heading her way? What if it was the sort that didn't care about killing women and children?
No, she shouldn't think such things. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face whomever was approaching. When she saw the small, familiar figure, she sighed in relief.
A younger girl with bobbed hair came closer to the older one, smiling. "Nee-san!"
"Tami, you know better than to be out this late! You were supposed to be home half an hour ago!" she scolded.
Tami smiled, "I was just playing. Sorry!"
The girl shook her head in disbelief. Tami was so naïve. She was too young to completely understand the concept of war, but even as a child she should know that the dark streets were dangerous to a vulnerable little girl.
"You'd better not be late again. Let's go home."
Tami took her sister's hand as they headed back to their house. By then, the moon and stars were their only light. Often, the girl had nightmares about the violence that took place on the streets of Kyoto. She dreamed she could see warriors dying on each other's blades and innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of the heated battles. She woke up in cold sweats from these nightmares and couldn't sleep afterwards. They are only nightmares, she tried to reason with herself, they aren't real.
Something shook the girl from her thoughtful reverie. She and Tami were approaching an alleyway. At first, she'd thought the sound of cursing and blades clashing and was all a part of the terrible dream she was remembering. But then a man staggered out of the dark alley, and another man wielding a sword attacked him. Blood spurted from the first man's back and with a groan of agony, he fell to the ground.
The girl froze. Tami shrieked. Time seemed to stand still. She'd just seen a man die. She'd just witnessed murder. Horrified, she yanked Tami's arm hard and hissed, "Run!"
The little girl was bawling as she ran. Her sister urged her onward, making her run faster, willing her not to cry -- but to no avail. Sobbing, Tami tripped and skidded on the ground. Cursing inwardly, the girl stopped as well and crouched next to Tami. "Get on my back, hurry."
But there was no time. They had just arrived at the scene of a skirmish. There were six men standing. Four were in normal clothes, but two were garbed in blue and white mountain striped haori. Undoubtedly, the uniformed men were the dreaded police force from Mibu. And though she couldn't be certain, she would guess that the remaining four were the Ishin Shishi Patriots.
Distracted as she was by the six men fighting, she didn't notice the three other men sneaking up behind her until they were barely a foot away.
"What do you think you're doing out at this hour, girl?"
Startled, she turned and found herself staring into the faces of three surly men, all of whom were armed. Tami wasn't crying out loud now, but she was trembling violently. The men crept closer.
One of them snickered, "C'mere, sweetie, we won't hurt you..."
Another grinned as he reached for her. "Not much, anyway."
She started to scramble away, but the man had firmly grasped the front of her kimono. There was no way she was getting out of this easily. Acting on instinct, she kneed him in the groin when he'd pulled her close enough. Groaning, he released her and she fell to the ground. Tami went unnoticed by them. The girl turned to her little sister and demanded, "Go, Tami! NOW!"
The little girl didn't need telling twice. She high-tailed it down the road just in time. The man she'd kneed grumbled, "You little bitch!"
She tried to stand, but one of the men had drawn a dagger while the other cracked his knuckles. All three were closing in on her again. She willed her body to move, to get off the ground and run for her life, but she couldn't. Her entire body was frozen stiff. They were going to rape her and kill her and leave her mangled body in the streets with the other corpses. Her only source of solace was that Tami, at least, would not suffer the same fate.
There was a silver flash, a crimson spray, and a pale blue streak. For one dazzling second, these colors were all she could see. When the man closest to her fell to the ground with a slit throat, she realized what was happening.
Someone killed her attacker. Someone saved her.
Looking up for the source of the blue, her eyes quickly fell upon it. It was the haori of one of the Shinsengumi. She stared as the other two men, too stunned by the sudden death of their friend to react, were killed in a matter of seconds as well. As the last of the three fell, the Shinsengumi officer muttered, "Aku Soku Zan."
Evil unto evil.
She tried to swallow but her throat was too dry. Slowly, her eyes traveled up to look at her savior. Splatters of crimson covered his face, his jacket, his kimono... He had high, sharp cheekbones and black hair in a high pony tail. His long black bangs fell over his eyes. Those orbs burned like liquid gold with hunger. He reminded her of a wolf. He fed upon his prey without mercy nor remorse. To him, these men were mere rabbits. What would stop the lone, hungry wolf from now turning upon the petrified field mouse?
He opened his mouth to speak; she half-expected a howl, or at least fangs. He asked, "Are you hurt?"
The question surprised her. She honestly wasn't sure at first. Did they hurt her? She looked down at herself. She felt sickened as she saw that her kimono was also stained with blood. She wasn't sure who it belonged to, either. Was it hers, or was it from one of the men? Or was it from all of the men? But she couldn't see or feel any injuries, so she shook her head.
Her savior nodded curtly and started to walk away. Confused, she struggled to find her voice and asked, "Why did you save me?"
From what she could see of his face, he was scowling slightly. He paused to wipe his bloody weapon with a cloth before he replied. "It's my job to purge the world of evil. The more men like that there are, the more corrupt and rotten it becomes. Besides, no decent man should turn his back when a defenseless girl is about to be taken advantage of."
Pulling herself to her feet, she felt her face flush. Defenseless. It was true, but she so badly wished it wasn't. She bit her lip, wondering what to do. She wanted to thank him, but how could she put her gratitude in words? And then, she thought of Tami. Had she made it home unscathed? She was torn between trying to find the right thing to say to the man, and running off to find her sister.
Before she could make a decision, however, a voice cut through her thoughts.
"Hey, there's still one of those bastards left!"
"Another one of the Shinsengumi?" called another man.
"He's alone -- get him!"
Startled, she swung her head around. Five more men appeared drawing their swords. She looked back to the scene of the earlier fight and saw that all four Ishin Shishi, as well as the other member of the Shinsengumi, lay dead. Her savior was the only one left. Despite being alone and faced five to one, he smirked. He stepped slightly to the side so he was directly in front of her.
"Well, well. A few more dogs who don't know their place. Run along home if you know what's good for you, girl."
This statement floored her. Was he serious? Did he really intend to stand and fight them all? "Hey, you!" she snapped, "You don't seriously mean to take them all on yourself, do you?"
"Unless you'd rather kill them for me," he said sarcastically.
"But you're outnumbered!"
Rather than respond, he plunged himself into battle with the first man. He fell easily. Then came the second two. As her savior fluidly exchanged blows, he never once lost his smirk. A second body fell. One of the men watching scowled. He inched past the dueling samurai and silently extracted a pistol from his sleeve.
The girl's mind flooded with one solid fact: he was going to die. The gunman was going to shoot him, and he was going to die. She could obey him and run away now and save herself in case they turned on her... or she could help him.
It was incredibly reckless and without a doubt the stupidest thing she'd ever done in her life, but without giving it more than a moment of thought, she shouted, "Look out!" She ran with arms outstretched. She grabbed the gunman's arm and threw her full weight against him. He was so surprised to have been attacked – by the girl, nonetheless – that his grip slackened and the pistol went flying into the darkness. The two fell in a heap.
Meanwhile, her savior's smirk had been wiped clean off of his face as he saw what she had just done. He was still fighting with the third man, and had no way of stopping the gunman as he hauled himself to his feet, grabbed the girl, and threw her against the wall of a house. The blow forced the air from her lungs. She couldn't breathe, let alone move. Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she willed the pain and stars swimming in front of her eyes away.
"You'll pay for that, wench," the gunman grunted. He had drawn his sword and closed the distance between them.
She thought there would be time for her life to flash before her eyes, time to think, but there wasn't. No, everything was fast. Much too fast. The sword raised, bathed in moonlight. Then, the silver blur swung down to end her life. She didn't have a chance to scream. She didn't even have time to close her eyes...
But something happened. The blade had not pierced her flesh. Instead, her vision was obscured by pale blue and her ears were ringing in response to a deafening metallic crash.
Confused by the turn of events, she looked up. She was staring at the back of the Shinsengumi officer, who was not even an inch in front of her. "You moron!" he snapped. She knew he was talking to her even though he wasn't looking at her.
From what she could see, he was defending her, his sword raised and blocking the gunman's. He shoved backwards so he could give the girl enough room to be safe. But he didn't get that far. The last man, who had gone entirely unnoticed in the confusion, made his move. He stabbed forward. Her savior had no choice. He was blocking the gunman with one sword and didn't have time to grab his second one. There was no way he could move without letting the girl get stabbed. He twisted in place while still shielding the girl with his body, but it wasn't enough for himself.
The last man stabbed her savior. The bloody sword tip touched the girl's kimono. The image did not make sense... until she realized that the sword had not stabbed him as much as it had skewered him. Her mouth fell open in a silent scream. The sword was pulled out, but the fresh scarlet splotches soaked through her savior's clothes. He grunted, gagged, and coughed. The girl felt sick when he spat a mouthful of blood on the ground.
The last attacker laughed, "Impressive dodge. But you won't be so lucky this time!"
The girl did not doubt this. There was no way he'd live this time. With a wound like that so close to his liver, there was no way he was going to be able to dodge this time, even if he did choose to protect himself rather than her.
She did not expect to hear him snarl, "That's what you think."
With one hand, he grabbed the gunman's blade and jerked it out of his hands. Before the gunman could react, her savior plunged his sword into the man's skull, right between his eyes. The shower of crimson distracted the last man, who was killed in the same fashion.
Both of them fell, and for a wild moment, the girl wanted to congratulate him on winning, and also to finally thank him for saving her not once, but twice, even taking a severe hit for her. But there was no time for that. He struggled to sheath his sword. When he did, he tried to stand up straight, but couldn't. Groaning, he fell backwards into her arms. Her jelly-like legs could barely support herself. Their combined weight made her fall to her knees.
Cradling his head on her lap, she looked down at him sadly. His breathing was shallow and ragged. The wound he'd received, even if it did not hit a vital organ, had completely pierced his body and was bleeding profusely. She reached down and touched the entry point of the wound with a tender hand. The hot, thick, sticky liquid seeped through her sleeve, under her palm, through her fingers... If it went on like this for any longer, he was going to die.
"Get yourself the hell away from here," he rasped, "before more of them come..."
Even now, even in the end, he was thinking of her. He was not asking her to save him. He was not even asking her to move him somewhere he could die comfortably. He was just telling her to go and keep herself safe. Even if there were no men around who wished to take advantage of her, no Patriot would spare her if she was found with one of the Shinsengumi in her arms. But as she watched him losing consciousness, as his blood spilled from his wound, she knew she couldn't just leave him there to die.
Her decision bolstered her strength. She grabbed him by the arms and hauled him to his feet. He staggered and swayed, unable to stand unsupported. She quickly wrapped one of his arms around her narrow shoulders. Only when he slumped against her did she notice how much larger and heavier he was compared to her. Nevertheless, she gritted her teeth and endured his weight.
"What do you think you're doing...?" he muttered.
Refusing to answer him, she steeled herself and pulled him along. He slipped out of consciousness. It took strength she never knew she had to drag the dying man with her. She didn't know how long it took to reach her destination. She would never quite know how she had mustered up the courage and strength to keep him away from the edge. What she did know was that there was not a single force on earth that would stop her from saving this nameless stranger's life.
---
The morning was peaceful. Birds sang merrily in the clear blue sky. Sunlight streamed through the windows of a small house, bathing it in soft light. People bustled through the streets to shop and chatter. To an outsider, there was nothing to suggest that men battled to the death there.
Light fell across a room of the small house. It illuminated the face of an amber-eyed man. He squinted against the light and turned his head to the side so he was not looking directly into the sun. As he did, he noticed how groggy and numb he felt. Had he been drugged? What was going on? He felt too heavy and weak to sit up, but he quickly observed his surroundings. It looked like there were vials of medicine, needles, bandages, numerous medical instruments... Was he in a hospital? No, he couldn't have been; what sort of a hospital in central Kyoto would house a wolf of Mibu?
Suddenly he became very aware of the fact that he was not alone in the room. Just on the edge of his peripheral vision was the other person. He looked up and saw a young woman. Her brown hair was in an untidy knot and the sleeves of her kimono were pulled up to her elbows. She had his haori on her lap. She was sitting, but leaning against the wall and fast asleep.
The longer he stared, the more he remembered about that night. She'd been unfortunate enough to stumble across his battles with the Ishin Shishi and a few thugs. He wondered vaguely how such a young girl could sleep so soundly after witnessing numerous deaths.
Then, he sighed. He nearly died, hadn't he? Yes, he'd been stupid enough to disregard that one man who ended up stabbing him. And of course, the idiot girl didn't run when he said so. He couldn't let a civilian take the hit instead, so he had no choice but to take it himself. Although, he thought bitterly, it would have taught her a lesson about listening to people if she'd been stabbed herself. But it just wasn't in him to save his own life and let the girl be hit. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did such a thing. He would have become a hypocrite.
Stirring at last, the girl's eyes fluttered open. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, her gaze falling on the man before her. A faint smile touched her lips when she saw that he was awake.
"Well, look who's finally decided to come back from the brink," she mused.
With a stifled yawn, she continued what she'd been doing before she nodded off: sewing the man's clean kimono and haori. She felt his gaze on her still and he asked, "Where am I?"
"My house," she replied without looking up from her work, "There wasn't time to bring you to a doctor. My aunt taught me a few things about medicine, so I managed to cauterize that injury myself."
He sighed and turned his head away from her. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, then closed his eyes. "So I survived."
This time, she shot him a glare. "Don't sound so depressed about being alive. You almost didn't make it. You lost so much blood I thought you really were going to die."
The man did not reply, but shifted his gaze from the ceiling back to the girl. She either did not notice his gaze, or did not care that he was staring at her. Either way, he didn't care. There was another question he had for her.
"How long have I been unconscious?"
She paused. "Three days."
Three whole days? Wonderful. He didn't have time to be sitting around here; he had to report back. Everyone was bound to think he was dead by now. But he was too weak to even sit, let alone leave. He was frustrated, but there was nothing he could do.
The door opened and a small figure appeared. The short-haired girl smiled at the older girl, bearing a tray of food. "Morning, nee-san. Is he -- EEK!"
The tray clattered to the floor and the small girl dove behind her sister. She said in a carrying whisper, "He's even scarier when he's awake!"
Unable to resist, she laughed. "Tami, show some respect. He's the only reason why I'm alive right now. And he's our guest."
As the girl named Tami scampered from the room, the older girl rolled her eyes and smiled apologetically at the man. "I must apologize for her. She's--"
"It's fine," he muttered nonchalantly, "I get that a lot."
She smiled a bit wider before returning to her sewing. A thought tugged at the back of her mind and began to nag her. She glanced down at the man, who was still watching her avidly, and ventured with a touch of sarcasm, "May I ask what the name of my valiant savior is?"
Mustering up his strength, he sat half-way up. He supported his weight with his arms, since the rest of his body was too numb to do so. "That's need-to-know information."
She frowned, but returned to her work without complaint. "Then I suppose I'll just call you 'wolf-guy' or something when I need to get your attention." He smirked a little and continued as if she hadn't spoken. "But... you are the reason I am still alive, so I suppose I can make an exception."
Surprised by this change, she stopped again and looked over at him. Normally she would have scolded him and forced him to lay down again, but he spoke before she got the chance.
"Saito Hajime, captain of the third squad of the Shinsengumi."
She fully intended to reply with her own name, but the words died in her throat. Her eyes widened in horror. When what he said had really sank in, she couldn't bring herself to so much as look at him. Her hands trembled in her lap.
Saito looked over at her and frowned slightly. "Come on, even if you support the Imperialists you should know by that uniform that I'm--"
"My father... was Takagi Kojuro."
Recognition lit up Saito's face at once. She thought it probably would. Her father, Kojuro, was a member of the Shinsengumi's third squad. Less than a year previously, he died in battle. His loss crushed the Takagi family. She didn't know what to do with herself when the news of his death came; she was a wreck. How could he have died? How could he just leave his children alone? It wasn't fair. And here was her father's captain who was, at least up until three or four days ago, perfectly fine.
"Takagi-san was a decent man. He died for what he believed in, which is more than most men can say. It's how he wished to go," Saito said.
Anger flared inside of her. She glared at Saito and snapped, "Who wants to die early in life like that? And how would you know what my father wanted?!"
When Saito did not respond, she stood up and said in a constricted voice, "You may have been his superior, but don't assume you knew my father better than me!"
And with that, she turned on her heel sharply and left the room. It was only with the greatest effort that she quelled the tears threatening to overflow. She couldn't cry like this. Crying wasn't going to make her father come back. It would only make him think she was weak. But, just because she stopped her tears didn't mean the pain was fading as easily.
She wasn't sure what made her so upset to find herself with her father's superior. She had no reason to hold a grudge against this man whom she did not even know. Part of her wanted to blame Saito for her father's death. If only Saito had been a better leader, if only Saito helped defend her father... But Tokio could never be sure of the exact circumstances of Kojuro's death, nor of Saito's involvement in it. She had no reason to hate him or blame him. It would take her a little while to calm down enough to be in the same room as him, but she promised herself she would not lash out childishly like that again.
Meanwhile, Saito laid back on the futon, staring up at the ceiling. Whatever the girl used as an anesthetic made him groggy clouded his mind. The best thing he could do was probably rest until the side effects wore off. He let himself fall asleep again for a few more hours.
When he awoke next, it was to the smell of hot soup. The girl had just entered the room with little Tami. Both were carrying bowls of what seemed to be miso soup. Saito couldn't even remember the last time he'd eaten. His gut lurched at the sight of the food. The girl gave him a knowing look and passed him a bowl. "Ah, so you are awake. I figured you might appreciate something to eat."
"Arigatou," Saito replied, eager to get something nourishing in his system. Painful though it was, he turned and sat up straight to eat.
Tami grabbed her chopsticks and chirped, "Itadakimasu!"
The girl and Saito ate in silence, but Tami kept up a steady stream of one-sided conversation. She talked about everything under the sun, from fireflies to market day. Strangely enough, Saito did not find the little girl's chatter irritating; on the contrary, it relaxed him for some reason. It had been so long that he'd last been around children that he almost forgot what they were like.
When Tami paused to slurp at the remains of her soup, the girl looked pointedly at Saito. "Your kimono is behind the curtain over there. It's clean and sewn up good as new." Upon seeing his bowl empty, she offered him seconds, which he declined. Satisfied, she took the used bowls and said to Tami, "Let's go clean up."
"Okay!" the little girl replied.
Saito clenched his jaw and brought himself slowly and unsteadily to his feet. He still had not completely recovered from the anesthesia; the pain in his abdomen was not as bad as it had been the previous night because of it, but he had a feeling that the cauterization would lead to more pain later on. But, Saito was not a man easily broken by physical pain. If he was, he would never have made it in with the Shinsengumi. He unwrapped the area slowly and looked down at where the entry point of his wound was. He could no longer see it due to the burn. Surprisingly, the burn was not as large as he'd expected. It was precise and as small as possible while still being effective. His overall tissue damage was not as bad as he expected after hearing the girl speak so casually about her knowledge of medicine. The fact that he was still alive was quite a feat after the perforating injury. Saito told himself that he would have been only that much of a man if he allowed himself to die so easily, but he also knew the girl deserved some credit.
He found his kimono neatly folded behind the curtain the girl indicated. The girl's hand with the human body seemed to be more keen than with fabric, however; she had indeed sewn up his kimono, but not with the expert hand she'd shown with the stab wound. However, there was no trace of blood upon the white fabric. If one overlooked the sloppy stitches, it might have looked as if it had never even been worn. Satisfied, he changed.
When the girl reentered the room not long after, she frowned. "I didn't mean you should change right away. I have to change your bandages."
He obeyed wordlessly, sitting back on his futon and slipping out of the top half of his kimono. The girl pulled her sleeves back and rinsed her hands. She knelt beside him and slowly removed the wrap. She observed the entry point with a satisfied nod, and surveyed the exit point in the back in a similar fashion. She then grabbed a fresh roll of bandages and wrapped him up once again. She felt so small compared to Saito from the way her arms had to reach to get the roll around his back. The faintest of blushes touched her cheeks.
She finished up and placed the remainder of the roll beside her on the floor. Having finished with that, she brushed her hair from her eyes hopelessly and looked up at him. "So, Saito-san... I'm going to move your room. You can take my brother's room since he won't be back for a few more days. It will be more comfortable for you while you recover."
She glanced up at him to see how he would react to this small change of arrangements. By his response, however, she was unsure whether or not he was actually listening to her.
"What's your name?"
She hesitated. "Takagi Tokio."
He nodded at her respectfully and said, "Takagi-kun, thank you, but that won't be necessary."
Tokio furrowed her brow, wondering what he meant by that. Suddenly, she was distracted.
"Nee-saaan!" Tami cried from down the hall. "Nee-saaaaaan!"
Panicking, Tokio sprang to her feet and ran off to the source of the noise. She expected to see that Tami had badly injured herself, but she was surprised to see her little sister running towards her unscathed. Tami tugged Tokio's sleeve to pull her closer. "Kachi-kun is here. He looks angry."
Tokio was instantly worried. Her cousin Kachiro was a typically laid back person. It took a great deal to get him riled up. In fact, she could not ever remember seeing him look angry. Why was he here now, and what had gotten him upset? She quickly ran to the front porch to greet him.
At twenty-two, Kachiro was both taller and broader than his late father. He was an imposing figure; at first glance, one would never think he was such a kind-hearted young man.
However, whatever had happened to him certainly agitated him. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw her.
"Tokio-chan, thank gods!" He embraced her tightly, and released her only to look her up and down carefully. "You're alright, aren't you? You're not hurt?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. "No... Why would I be hurt?"
He bit his lower lip and admitted, "I ran into your friend Saya in town today. She asked if I'd seen you around lately, because no one's heard from you in days. Then the neighbors told me that there was a nasty fight nearby a few nights ago... I was worried... I thought maybe you'd gotten stuck in the middle, and..."
Leave it to Kachiro to worry about her; he acted more like a big brother than Tokio's real brother did. She decided not to let him know how close to the truth he'd gotten. She chose not to tell him, not because she didn't want him to worry, but because Kachiro was an incredibly outspoken pro-Imperialist. If he knew what had happened, and whom she had been keeping in that very house, he would have been furious. The last thing Kachiro needed was more anxiety.
With her heart pounding, she said, "Don't worry about me. I'm perfectly fine."
Kachiro looked skeptical. "You look like you haven't slept in days. Please make sure you're taking care of yourself."
Tokio smiled, "I will. Tell oba-san I said hello."
With that, they parted ways. Tokio waited until he disappeared into the darkening night before she allowed herself a sigh of relief. Tami cocked her head to the side and asked, "Why didn't you tell Kachi-kun?"
She looked down at her younger sister with a twinge of sadness. "I couldn't. Kachiro would be very angry."
She remembered then that she was in the middle of helping Saito settle into her brother's room. She hurried back towards the room, calling, "Sorry, my cousin was just at the--"
Tokio stopped herself when she arrived at the room. She stared inside, wondering if her eyes had tricked her. But when she blinked and rubbed her eyes, the scene remained the same. The room was exactly the same... except for Saito.
Tami came to Tokio's side, her eyes scanning the room as well. She asked softly, "Nee-san? Where's ookami aniki?"
Ookami aniki. At first, Tokio did not understand. She was about to ask Tami whom she was referring to when it hit her. Big brother wolf. She meant Saito. And Tokio was wondering the exact same thing. The back door was slightly ajar. She knew then that he'd left. Tokio also knew with unwavering certainty that he was not planning to return. But where he'd gone or why he'd left so suddenly was a mystery to her. She surveyed the room, trying to see if there were any last traces of him there...
"I... don't know..."
He was gone.