Sanosuke found himself standing at the center of a clearing in the middle of a darkened wood. He was no longer holding the heart, but the blood still oozed off of his hands, down his arms, and dripped onto the forest floor. Sanosuke shook his hands in front of him, trying to be rid of the blood, but it wouldn't come off. He held his hands far out in front of him; he wouldn't dare get his hands anywhere near his body.
He felt all the little hairs on his body stand on end. He could tell there was something watching him. Tension grew in the air around him. Sanosuke didn't move, didn't breathe, didn't make a sound. But neither did whatever was watching him.
Something triggered him - he wouldn't remember if it were a sound, a vision or perhaps just a feeling - and he began running. He could feel something chasing after him as he passed tree after tree with blurring speed. He maneuvered the forest through the dark night as though he had memorized every tree and flower. Yet Sanosuke knew he had never been to this place.
Soon, he felt the presence of his pursuer nipping close at his heels. Literally. Sanosuke caught his foot on a fallen branch and fell onto his face. Quickly, he turned over in hopes of at least fighting whatever it was off.
He found himself face-to-face with a black wolf. The wolf had bright amber eyes and fangs that glistened in the faint light of the stars and the moon. In a blur of speed, fur, and fangs, the wolf clamped its jaws onto Sanosuke's face, shaking his head violently and swallowing him up.
Sanosuke screamed and sat up in the bed, his hands clawing at the air in front of him. It took him a while to control his breathing and vision, but after a few panicked moments he sighed and clutched his heart, lying back down onto the soft pillow. He closed his eyes again, feeling too tired to be awake just yet. Then he noticed something strange. He didn't know where he was.
Sanosuke scooted up on the bed, looking around the room. He was lying on a rather large western bed with a canopy. The canopy was lined with sheer white curtains tied to the four tall mahogany bedposts. There was a dresser in one corner and a screen in another, and also an oak chest at the end of the bed. He wondered what kind of high-collar lived there. And why the hell was he there?
The screen to the room opened. Sanosuke could only stare when he saw who was in the doorway. He examined Sanosuke for a moment with something like curiousity.
"I guess I won't be needing these," Saitou said, deadpanned, as he threw a bamboo box into a bin next to the bed.
Without a word to Sanosuke, Saitou sat on the bed next to him. Saitou reached out to touch him around the waist, but Sanosuke quickly squirmed away.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sanosuke cried out.
Saitou's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Checking for wounds, what did you think I was doing?"
Sanosuke pulled the sheets closer to himself. "How the hell am I supposed to know what kind of man you are? I can't open up a newspaper these days without reading about some poor guy getting raped, so excuse me for being a little on the cautionary side."
Saitou snorted. "I would think a man like you would be too proud to admit vulnerability."
Sanosuke glared back, not saying another word to the other man.
"Really, I need to check you for wounds," Saitou said, reaching out to Sanosuke again.
"I can check myself," Sanosuke growled, jerking away from Saitou.
"Suit yourself," Saitou said nonchalantly, backing away respectfully.
Sanosuke was mumbling quite disgruntled for a moment, but then he got a look of his body. He was completely covered in dried blood. For a moment, Sanosuke couldn't move or breathe. He didn't know quite how to react.
"Whose blood is this?" Sanosuke asked, his voice panicky.
"Yours, of course," Saitou said, as though it should be quite obvious.
Sanosuke looked up at Saitou, his face panic-stricken. It couldn't possibly be true. There was so much blood, and yet Sanosuke felt fine.
Sanosuke could only laugh to relieve the tension. "You're kidding me right? With all this blood, I should be dead. And where are my wounds? Give me a break. You've become a terrible liar, Saitou."
"Actually, I've become quite good at it over the past year. But that's beside the point. Yes, that blood is yours. However, your wounds seemed to have healed ... quite nicely." He said this last part with some tone of regret.
Sanosuke gave him a sideways look. "What's the matter, upset I'm not dead?"
Saitou stood up. "Yes, actually."
Sanosuke gritted his teeth and glared at him.
"So, if this is all my blood, I must have been unconscious for a long time, right?" he asked.
"A day," Saitou replied, slipping his hands into his pockets.
Sanosuke laughed. "Now I know you're lying. This blood can't be mine." Sanosuke fell silent and went pale as he noticed the morbid thing he had just said. If not his blood, whose was it?
Saitou just smirked. "I suggest we discuss this over dinner. Get changed and washed up. There's a washroom down the hallway, and a spare set of clothes for you to wear. I'll be waiting."
With that, Saitou left. Sansouke had the urge to just get up and leave, but he heard the water boiling in the other room and his stomach responded with a loud grumbling sound.
"I'll steal a meal, then I'll go," Sanosuke decided, getting up from the bed. In the washroom down the hallway, Sanosuke grabbed a clean cloth and wiped himself off as well as he could. There were some stubborn spots that Sanosuke got frustrated with, so he threw the cloth aside and jumped into the clothes Saitou had set aside for him. He was wearing a pair of slacks and a simple black shirt. Sanosuke snorted. It was half of Saitou's police uniform. He turned to go, and noticed something about his body. There was no pain. The complaining knee wasn't complaining anymore. The old bruises around cracked ribs weren't there anymore. He rotated his body to test it out. He was perfectly healthy. For some reason, Sanosuke found this unnerving.
He then looked at himself in the mirror. Something was off about him. He realized what was missing and ran into the room where Saitou was spooning rice into a bowl.
"Saitou? Have you seen my ..."
Saitou dug into his pocket and pulled out Sanosuke's red hairband. It was tattered, but otherwise perfectly fine.
"I had to take it off of you. You were running a fever earlier," Saitou explained.
"Oh," Sanosuke said meekly. He took the headband from Saitou and tied it around his head swiftly. "Thank you."
"Have a seat," Saitou suggested.
Sanosuke eyed Saitou warily as he took a seat at the table. Saitou set down a box of Unagi.
Sanosuke eyed the food. "You're not poisoning me or anything, are you?"
Saitou frowned. "You haven't even tried my cooking."
"I'm sure it's fine," Sanosuke said sarcastically. "But you've been extra polite. You can understand why I'm a little wary."
Saitou smiled, mischief in the curve. "I think you know me better than I thought you did. No, ahou, I did not poison your food. If I wanted to kill you, I would have had you eat my sword." He picked up his chopsticks.
Sanosuke bit his tongue to keep him from saying something else. He picked up his chopsticks as well, and dug into the Unagi. After he finished the first bite, he had a puzzled expression on his face.
"Is there something the matter?" Saitou asked.
"No, nothing. Well, that's what I'm confused about. Honestly, I thought your cooking would taste like shit. This is good though, this is good." Sanosuke dug into the box of eel again, wolfing it down faster than ever.
Saitou only raised his eyebrow and continued eating.
"So, are we going to get around to how all that blood got on me, or are we going to sit in silence like a good 'ol dysfunctional family?" Sanosuke asked.
"I would prefer the latter, but I do owe you an explanation. So, do you remember anything about last night?"
Sanosuke looked away, searching his memory. "It's kind of fuzzy but ... I followed you to this big mansion, and there were a bunch of people in this courtyard place. Then that asshole - Masayo, I think you called him - rushed me. Then ... you were actually protecting me. Then I heard something behind me ... after that it's totally blank. I'll probably remember later," Sanosuke said with a shrug, shoving rice into his mouth.
"Perhaps, perhaps not," Saitou muttered. "This loss of memory may be for the best at this stage."
Sanosuke raised an eyebrow.
"Masayo and I were, unfortunately, engaged in battle right above you. You were unconscious by the time it got really serious, but still, there was much blood. I was certain you were dead for a while." Saitou took a bite of his Unagi. There was a long silence as Saitou ate his food.
Sanosuke became impatient. "... And?"
Saitou took another small bite of rice. "And the Ou-sama took you into the house and had his personal physician look at you. You were bleeding very badly, and running a fever. Then, your bleeding simply ... stopped."
Sanosuke shared another quiet moment with Saitou.
"You really expect me to believe that?" Sanosuke snorted. "People don't just stop bleeding. I should know, 'cause I bleed a lot."
"Yes. People don't just stop bleeding. But we're not really people, are we, Sanosuke?" Saitou looked Sanosuke directly in the eye then, and it made Sanosuke very nervous. Sanosuke felt himself getting goose bumps all over, as though a cold breeze had tickled his skin.
"Cut the abstract crap, Saitou," Sanosuke growled. "I just want to know how I managed to get all that blood on me ... and why the hell I woke up in your bed."
Saitou nodded. "I already told you whose blood it was. And as for how you got there, the Ou-sama asked if I could take care of you, until you turn. He thought it would be better if you adjusted to your change around somebody you knew, rather than a complete stranger."
Sanosuke furrowed his brow. "Change? What change? Saitou, have you gone completely insane?"
"No, I am being truthful, although insanity may seem from time to time what truth is. I should know. These changes you will go through are the same changes I went through, one year ago."
Sanosuke rolled his eyes. "I already went through puberty, okay man?"
Saitou 'humph'ed a short laugh. "These changes are a bit more painful than puberty."
Sanosuke snorted, drumming his fingers on the table. "I hate going around in circles. Are you going to tell me what happened, or should I just leave?"
Saitou paused for another moment. He took his time and ate some more of his meal, then said to Sanosuke: "You won't like it."
"Well, I really don't care at this point," rebutted Sanosuke.
"Very well." Saitou placed his chopsticks down. He folded his hands over his legs.
"One year ago, I was on a case. There was a new opium ring, though they weren't only trafficking opium. They had many new drugs that were ready for the streets. My assignment was this: get inside this ring, disguised as a dirty cop, and assassinate the ringleader."
"So, what? I'm dealing with drug lords?" Sanosuke asked.
Saitou gave Sanosuke a very disconcerted look.
"Okay, okay, I'll shut up," Sanosuke said, his hands up defensively.
"When I arrived at their headquarters," Saitou continued, "I recognized the house immediately. It had formerly been the home of a quite powerful shogun lord, one whom I served under once as a Shinsengumi. Now that lord lays dead, killed in the Boshin Wars, and his house is in quite the state of disrepair. The people in the village seemed convinced that the spirits of the shogun's family still live there, as they hear eerie noises coming from the home constantly. I let them have their little superstitions; I didn't want anybody interfering with my investigation.
"I met with the leader of the ring, and gave him a line that criminals usually bite right into: I told him of my history as a Shinsengumi, and that assassination was the only job fit for a man like me in this day and age. Unfortunately for me, I had no idea what they were at the time and they smelled the lie on me."
"So, the Miburo was sniffed out, huh?" Sanosuke said, and smiled. He couldn't help but find it amusing, however Saitou didn't look like he was about to crack a smile.
"The irony doesn't escape me," he said, straight-faced. Sanosuke stifled his laugh and Saitou continued.
"Do you remember seeing us move?" Saitou asked. "You saw the speed and strength when we were running by the riverbanks. I'm sure you saw it in that fool, Masayo."
Sanosuke nodded, wondering where he was going with this.
"They pounced on me like animals before my hand was even on my sword. I remember the leader of the ring telling me that they 'don't deal with humans' before somebody hit me hard enough that I blacked out."
Sanosuke's shifted in his seat. He had experienced the speed and strength of Saitou, and he had a scar on his right shoulder as evidence. Being pounced by a bunch of thugs was uncharacteristic at best, frightening at worst. Saitou wasn't the type to be caught off-guard, especially when he knew there would be danger.
"I woke up later chained to a wall someplace dark and damp. I had heard rumors when I was working under the shogun that he had a holding cell below the house, hidden deep underground. I knew that must be where I was. The place smelled like old death and rot. They had taken my shirt and used my own sword to open a deep wound in my chest. A few feet from me hung my sword, dangling like a morbid ornament. They thought it would be funny to tie a note to it that said: 'Wolves use claws, not swords'. I paid no attention to the sign and began to look around me. Much to my amusement, the chains were ancient and weak. It was easy enough to pull the bolts out of the wall, letting one hand shackled, but free. I began to work on the other one, but I became distracted ..."
Saitou looked aside and his eyes glassed over, as though he were picturing the events in his mind. Sanosuke leaned over the table, becoming more and more interested in Saitou's story every moment.
"Something came out of the darkness then. Something that looked like a man, but he was moving like an animal, on all fours, and it looked completely familiar and natural to him. His eyes glowed blue in the darkness like two moons and they stayed locked on the spot where they had cut me. I saw a hunger in his eyes, a need that was so much like an animal I wondered it he'd lived in the cave for his entire life. Then ... he began to change."
"Change?" Sanosuke asked, low as a whisper. "What do you mean, change?"
"You know what I mean," Saitou said. "Last night, you saw them begin to change."
An image entered Sanosuke's mind and he immediately chased it out. "I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.
Saitou stared at him, long and hard. Saitou knew Sanosuke was lying, and Sanosuke wasn't uncomfortable lying to him, but lying to himself was something Sanosuke couldn't do. He began to see images of people writhing while milky ooze came out of their skin when it broke and shed like snake-skin to reveal something underneath, something not human.
"His bones began to twist and contort under his skin," Saitou began, aiding Sano's visuals, "the spine bowed and he let out an inhuman scream as his skin tore and split, revealing what I first thought was muscle, but then a substance too organic to mention fell off him like water on bird feathers and I saw that it wasn't muscle, it was fur.
"Fur. I remember feeling fur on top of me last night, pinning me to the ground," Sanosuke remembered.
"So then this thing came towards me, looking like a wolf but standing tall and upright like a man, it's teeth bared, drooling and snarling. I understood what the hunger in its eyes was. He was nothing much more than a starved beast and I was the first piece of meat he'd seen in far too long.
"In what was nothing but a blur of motion, it was suddenly on top of me, it's claws digging into my shoulders. Its head was pulled back, ready to strike and devour me, before I caught the glint of my sword. It only took me a split second before I remembered 'wolves use claws, not swords'. In that split second before it struck, I jammed my thumb into its eye. It howled in pain and tore itself away from me, clutching at its eye. I used that time to free another manacle as quickly as I could. I jumped onto the thing's back and wrapped the chains around its neck and began to squeeze. It reached behind itself and put its claws into me again, but I kept squeezing for a few minutes until the thing eventually passed out. As soon as it was down, I took my sword down and cut its head off."
"You killed it?" Sanosuke laughed and shook his head. "Sounds like you; you didn't even know who or what it was, and you killed it."
"I wasn't about to risk it coming after me again," Saitou said. "I wouldn't have been able to stand another attack. My upper body was so torn that it was as good as stripped meat."
The visual made Sanosuke flinch. "Shit," he swore. "How the hell did you get out of the cave?"
"I didn't," Saitou said. "I'd lost so much blood, all I wanted was to pass out again. But I knew that if I were going to pass out, it had better not be out in the open. I found some old whicker candles lying around and lit them with the matches I keep with me. There was a little crevice big enough for me to hide in. I don't know what I was thinking. I should have at least tried looking for a way out; I could have bled to death there."
"But you didn't," Sanosuke said, pointing to Saitou as if he needed reminding that he was there. "So, how did you survive?"
"The same way you did," he told Sanosuke.
He stopped and tried to speak, but couldn't come up with any words, confused as to what Saitou meant. "What do you mean?" Sano finally said.
"If all that blood wasn't yours, whose was it?"
Sanosuke stared at the floor inquisitively, like the answer would be written somewhere on it. "I ... I don't know."
"It's yours," Saitou told him again.
It may have been the nervousness, but Sanosuke laughed. "I'm telling you, it can't be."
Saitou gave him a look that said he wasn't joking at all. "You were shredded like cloth, worse off than I was in that cave. The Ou-sama and I could barely keep Masayo at bay, there was so much blood."
Sanosuke's body became one big tense muscle. He made his hand into a fist in a way that cracked his knuckles without pressure.
"How did you survive the cave?" he demanded through gritted teeth. Saitou was beating around the bush, teasing him, avoiding the answer to the questions. It was too much torment for Sanosuke, and it was really starting to piss him off.
Saitou just tilted his head to the side and said coolly: "It was easy. Shapeshifters can heal almost any kind of wound."
Sanosuke's eyes went wide. There wasn't belief or disbelief yet, just shock at his answer. It was an answer he didn't know how to react to.
"That thing inside the cave was a man, yes, but he was also a shapeshifter," Saitou continued. "Of the wolf variety particularily, a man that the moon controlled, one who beomces a beast at the call of a full moon. That day when he sunk the claws of his beast into my skin, something entered my body. Before I killed it, that wolf had passed something on to me. I had contracted my own beast.
"Sanosuke, I've been a shapeshifter for over a year, and I know, without a doubt, that you have found yourself in the way of the wolf as well."