Shadow of the Wolf
Chapter One: Out of the Flames
Something made him stop. For a moment, Sojiro paused, looking back at the path behind him. It hadn't been thirty minutes since he'd last seen Anji and Houji when something, he wasn't sure what, called him.
"But there's nothing back there………….or is there?" Sojiro mused, as he started walking back to the spot where the other two Juppongatana members had been. When he got there, he was stunned by who he saw lying there face down in the clearing. He knew this person from another encounter………..in Shingetsu Village.
"It's Saito Hajime! But how did he get here?! Where are Himura-san and the other guys?" Sojiro wondered, as he rushed over and turned the ex-Shinsengumi over. His stomach turned when he saw the wounds; burns and damage from the Gurenkaina, an X-shaped wound on the chest, a deep gash in his right shoulder, and two equally deep wounds in both of his legs.
"Shishio-san caused most of these wounds. I can tell. The pain and the smoke must have overwhelmed him. Yet it's amazing that he had made it this far at all." Sojiro thought, as he felt for a pulse. His eyes widened when he found one; it was weak, but it was there nonetheless.
"Amazing. Absolutely amazing. He got out of that inferno alive………..His will to live is incredible." Sojiro again thought, narrowing his eyes in concern when he felt an unusual amount of heat rising from the older man's prone form.
"A fever…………..I must see about getting him someplace where his wounds can be tended to." Sojiro murmured, as he carefully picked up and shouldered the wounded Wolf's lithe frame. He flinched when Saito uttered a slight groan of pain, but eased when the wounded swordsman didn't awaken. Then he heard the Wolf utter some words that aroused some curiosity in Sojiro.
"Okita-kun………..leave the Battousai to me." Saito muttered, almost too softly for Sojiro to hear.
"Okita? Did he mean Soshi Okita, Captain of the First Unit of the Shinsengumi?" Sojiro wondered, not really knowing why this had awakened such interest in him. This was something he would have to look into later………
When Saito came to, countless hours later, he found himself in unfamiliar surroundings.
"I see you're awake, Saito-san." A male voice stated, as the owner smiled calmly at him from beside a roaring fire. They were now inside of an old, yet fairly well kept, hut. Saito could hear rain falling on the thatched roof above him from where he lay.
"Aa. Where am I?" Saito asked, wincing when his throat protested against talking.
"Just outside of the Kyoto city limits. I couldn't quite carry you all the way back, though." The young man said, as he offered to help Saito sit up a little bit so he could drink some water from a stoneware mug. Saito reluctantly accepted the help, despite his pride, much to the younger man's relief.
"I must have passed out after escaping from the Inferno Room…………hmph. Guess I'd better be glad that the Battousai, Rooster, and Icicle didn't see me like that." Saito muttered, coolly, his throat soothed by the water somewhat. The young man nodded in understanding. For a brief moment, Saito was taken back to the days of his time in the Shinsengumi. The young man across from him reminded him, in more ways than just his physical appearance, of an old friend.
"You called yourself the 'Tenken', correct?" Saito asked. The younger man jumped, managed an alarmed look, then calmed down and gave him a tired smile.
"Hai. Tenken no Sojiro was my name. Now it's just Seta Sojiro." The young man replied, quietly.
"I take it that the Battousai spared your life?" Saito added. Sojiro nodded, yet gave him a confused look when a slight, ironic smile crossed Saito's features.
"I should have known…………Count on my nemesis to make things that much more difficult." Saito thought, bitterly. He'd had enough reminders of the Bakumatsu for the last couple of hours without Sojiro adding to it.
"Saito-san?" Sojiro asked, startling Saito from his thoughts, somewhat.
"Keep watch. There may be more Juppongatana wandering around that still claim loyalty to your deceased master." Saito said, coldly, before relaxing again into slumber, leaving a confused Sojiro sitting there.
Sojiro watched as Saito slept, still trying to sort out just what had happened just then. During the short exchange, Sojiro could have sworn that a look of……………of what? Regret? Sorrow? Grief? Had crossed Saito's face.
"What was he thinking of just now? Was he thinking of Okita? If so, then why? What does Okita Soshi have to do with me?" Sojiro wondered. There would be no answers forthcoming from Saito, since the Wolf of Mibu was unconscious again, and was incredibly stubborn about letting go of information…………not that Sojiro knew that personally, or anything.