Sajin followed the sound of her crying to find her. Morphing into his canine form, he had used his acute senses to pick up on any sounds in the forest. He guessed she had been trying to find her way back to his home when she gave up to sit down and cry. Finding her beneath a tree with her red cloak wrapped around her body for warmth, he padded up to her without changing to a human to see how she would react. This would be the most telling event in their relationship and would determine if there would be any reason to continue it. Poking his nose under the hood, he heard her gasp and waited.

Chiaki buried her fingers in the abundant fur of his winter coat around his neck and leaned forward. She giggled lightly as he licked the tears from her face with his warm wet tongue. When he came closer, nearly pushing her over with his big body, she pressed her face into the fur of his neck.

"I love you, Sajin. I don't want anything to ever happen to you," she murmured, hugging him around his neck.

"Come home," he growled, chuffing in her ear.

"I don't want to go back!" she wailed, holding onto him tighter with fistfuls of his fur in her hands.

"No. Not your home. Come home with me," he clarified, switching to his human form.

Chiaki encompassed his naked body with her cloak, holding him close to her. "Are crazy? You'll freeze! Turn back and take me home," she said, kissing him briefly on the lips.

"That's all I needed to hear."

/0\

Six months later...

Chiaki was happily humming as she knitted a delicate tiny bootie. She patted her belly and sighed with contentment. Although there were no outward signs of her pregnancy yet, she was well aware of her altered physical state. Every time she visited her mother or grandmother, she would stop by the general store to buy a new skein of yarn to knit something else for the baby. So far she had made a sweater and a long gown along with two other pairs of booties. She would always wait until Sajin was out of the house hunting or gathering food to make the small clothes that she kept hidden in a chest with her clothes. Soon he would be returning from cutting wood. Today she planned to tell him of the impending arrival that would complete their family. Hearing him coming, she stood up from the rocking chair he had made for her.

"Chiaki!" he yelled, bursting through the door.

"What's wrong?" she asked when he lunged for her with a wild look in his eyes.

"They're coming," he muttered, grabbing her and running back out of the door.

"Who? Why? What's going?" she demanded, pulling out of his grip to run back to their quaint little home in the woods.

Sajin was about to yell for her when he saw that she had gone back to get her cloak. There was still a definite chill in the air despite the nearness of spring. He took her by the hand after she tied the cloak securely.

"The woodsmen. They're coming," he told her, pulling her along behind him. "I don't know how they found us, but we have to leave."

"What? Leave?" she nearly shrieked, jerking her hand from his firm grip. "Where will we go?"

"I don't know. Possibly we can return in a few months when the danger is gone, but right now we have to leave." Sajin turned back to look at her when she suddenly refused to move. "What's wrong? Are you afraid? Do I need to carry you?"

"There's something I need to tell you," she murmured breathlessly.

"Here they are!" a male voice bellowed, scaring birds from a nearby tree.

"Not now, let's go," Sajin muttered, grabbing her hand.

A hatchet flew past her shoulder with a whirring sound and hit a pine tree ahead of them. Chiaki screamed, and she was pulled along faster by the large man in front of her. She had no idea where they were running to and was not sure he did either. With no choice but to run, she did her best to keep up. Her lungs began to burn from lack of air and her leg muscles started to cramp in her desperation to match his long legged strides that covered nearly three times the distance her short legs did. Although the threat was close, her body was ready to give out from sheer exhaustion. The muscles in her legs seized, and she fell with a scream, her hand dropping from his.

Sajin whirled around to go to her but was pushed back and sent to the ground by the axe that embedded itself in his shoulder.

"NO!" she screamed, crawling over to him. "No, oh, god, no, Sajin."

Chiaki stretched out her hand, her fingers shaking uncontrollably as she grabbed the long handle of the axe. Forcing her body to stand, she wrapped her fingers tightly around the wooden handle. If she was going to do this, she was going to have to be fully determined before she started to prevent causing him further pain. Meeting his golden eyes and holding his gaze momentarily, she gritted her teeth and held her breath.

"Do it," he commanded her.

Chiaki was sure she would faint when he issued the howl of excruciating pain as she freed the axe blade from not only muscle but bone as well. Dropping to her knees, she cried as he panted, his tanned face turning sickly pale.

"Transform and leave," she told him, tossing the axe away from her.

"I won't leave you," he breathed, coughing as he sat up to touch her face.

"You have to. They'll kill you," she said, pressing her cheek into his palm.

"What about you?" His amber eyes studied her face that was streaked with tears through the smudges of dirt.

"They won't kill me," she assured him, kissing his palm and pushing his hand away. "You have to leave. I'll find you someday. Go...please. If you die, I won't be able to live."

Sajin pulled her toward him for one last kiss before shape shifting into the enormous fox. He galloped away from her before turning back one last time to see her stand to her feet to face the group of four burly men that had been chasing them. Snorting in disgust, he watched as they rushed forward to her, asking her a myriad of questions. He was not sure if she fainted from exhaustion or simply to stop their incessant questioning. After seeing one of the men gingerly pick her up to carry her away, he was satisfied they would not hurt her and turned to leave. I'll find you someday. Those words would have to sustain him until that day came.

~/0\~

Sajin entered the little village that was bustling with visitors. He liked being in a new village on busy market days when they were full of strangers and no one lifted an eyebrow of suspicion at his presence. He was only interested in a hot meal and a glass of beer before finding a place to rest for the night. Tomorrow he would be moving on. For ten years he had searched relentlessly, refusing to give up on her. He was searching for her as zealously as he was sure she was looking for him. Deciding to take a path that led him through the heart of the crowded market, he thought he would indulge in surveying some of the merchants wares. His eyes was treated to an array of colors and visually appealing fruits and vegetables along with hand crafted items made by artisans. The delightful smell of flowers and food filled his nostrils. Standing in one spot, he lifted his nose to sniff the heavily scented air. Picking up something familiar, he inhaled a few more times in an attempt to place the smell, to stir up a memory to help him discover what or who it could belong to. Gazing ahead, he thought he saw a red cloaked figure moving through the crowd. He shook his head because it was probably just another illusion or a stranger in a crimson cape. Many times through the years he was sure he had spotted her only to find a stranger staring back at him in terror underneath the hood. He had no idea that many people in the world would wear red hooded cloaks. His eyes caught sight of the flash of red again and he moved toward it. He had to know for sure.

"Sajin!" a female voice yelled suddenly above the noise of the crowd.

Sajin froze in his tracks wondering who could be calling him. Glancing around, he searched for the source of the sound as she called again.

"Sajin!"

Then he saw her. She pushed back the hood covering her head to reveal the stunning auburn hair that almost matched the color of her cloak. Twisting her head around like she was searching for him, she cried out once more. Moving toward her, he stopped when a little boy of about nine years of age appeared next to him and bumped him in his haste to pass by.

"Sorry, mister," the youngster apologized, glancing up at the big man. "I'm looking for my mama."

Sajin found himself looking into gold eyes that were just like his. He took hold of the boy's shoulders before he could run away.

"Her," he said, lifting the child up and pointing toward the familiar redhead. "Is that your mother?"

"Yes, sir and is she going to be mad!" the boy exclaimed, his eyes widening. "I was supposed to meet her here an hour ago but I got distracted playing with some other kids."

"Come on, I'll take you to her," he offered, placing the child on one wide shoulder to edge his way through the crowd to the frantic mother.

"Sajin! Sa -" Chiaki turned to see both males who were the love of her life and shared that name coming her way. "Oh, god...is this a dream?" she asked herself, tears welling in her eyes and spilling over.

"Mama! Mama!" her son yelled, rushing into her arms when the helpful 'stranger' put him down on the ground.

"Oh, Sajin, where have you been?" she queried, looking up at the tall man behind him.

"Looking for you," both of them answered in unison.

"Mama, are you mad at me? Why are you so sad?" he asked, wiping the tears from her face with his small hand.

"Honey, I'm not mad or sad. I'm happy," she replied, gathering him into her arms as she moved toward his father.

"Is he...is he mine?" Sajin reached out to touch the little boy, staring into the eyes like his and brushing his fingers through the hair the color of hers. He already knew the answer. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because if I had you wouldn't have left. I told you I would find you," she said, smiling up at him.

"Mama, who's this man?"

"Baby, this is your father. Say hello."

"Hello," the child gamely proclaimed, smiling at the man she had been telling him stories about all his life. Needless to say, they were quite different than the ones she had been told.

"Hello...son," he returned, pulling them both into his arms. "Now what do we do?"

"I suppose we should get busy making a happy ending for the rest of our story."

~The End~

We'll that's it for the first story. I hope you liked it. The next story will be Alice in Wonderland with Sosuke Aizen as the main Bleach character.