WRITER'S NOTE:  Still struggling to get words onto the paper…it's been slow going, what with me falling asleep every six words.  I've been working on a lot of my other stuff lately, so I'm sorry if this didn't come out as quickly as it could have.  But I hope you enjoy!!

----------------------------

The Wolf's Mission

"A Look Goes a Long Way"

By Leila Winters

            In the brilliance of the full moon over the snow-covered ground, a lone wolf sat watching over the city. It's amber eyes shone with a longing uncharacteristic of such a simple creature.

---------------------------------

Walking toward the empty market, the silence between the couple seemed stifling.  Saitou's gloved hand clenched dangerously, his anger barely restrained.  "Tokio…" he began, his voice a warning.

            They stopped in the brilliance of the moonlight.  The policeman waited expectantly and when no answers were forthcoming, he grabbed Tokio's forearms and shook her slightly.  "What happened?  Why didn't you tell me?  Tokio, look at me!"  He gave a final shake, fury already evident in his amber eyes.  "Who did this?"

            The woman looked up, her eyes a silent prayer.  "Hajime, please…it's nothing."  Her voice still gentle, despite her growing dismay.

            Immediately, something flashed in Saitou's eyes as he lifted her right hand into the light, showing her the small cut.  She tried to resist, but his hold on her wrist was too strong.  Saitou grabbed for her collar, uncovering the bruises so his eyes could feast upon them, feeding his growing anger.  His aura was almost tangible.

            Biting back a defiant remark, Tokio looked away.  "I'll show you."

            Each step took them deeper into the deserted market, and Saitou's mood became more murderous by the second.  The couple slowed to a halt.  The man looked to his wife.  "Here?"

            At her nod, he took slow, calculated steps through the deserted streets.  His eyes were alert and his senses were heightened.  His prey was nearby.

            Emerging from the shadows, Saitou spotted four figures making their way toward him.

            "Which one?"  The policeman asked his wife in a dangerous tone, never turning to glance at the woman.

            As if knowing instinctively what her husband was referring to, the woman replied, "Second right.  Black amulet necklace."

            The four figures had unsheathed several weapons that gleamed from the moon's rays bouncing off the snowy surface.

            Saitou nodded imperceptibly before unsheathing his own weapon and skewering the three men around his intended target.  The man looked around at his fallen companions in astonishment.

            "Wh-what ARE you?"

            Saitou's eyes glinted in the darkness.  "Your reaper."  And with that, he charged at the man, his katana shimmering ominously in the shadows.

            Tokio watched impassively at the slaughter from her position in the moonlight.  Her feet crunched lightly over the snow when the last man had fallen.  He was not dead.

            His head came shakily up as he felt a shadow over him.  "Excuse me, sir."  His eyes widened at the sight of the woman.

            "It's you…I—"

            "Excuse me, sir."  Tokio's voice must have held a magical tone, for her gentle words visibly calmed the man.  "That package you took from me.  I'm afraid I will need that back.  Where is it?"

            His hand went shakily into his garments, but Saitou's blade went swiftly to the man's neck, drawing a thin trail of blood.  He nodded for the man to continue.

            A small package with splotches of blood was placed in the smaller woman's hands, her smile reaching her eyes as she took a firm hold on her precious cargo.

            Tokio's face was the last thing the man saw before Saitou's blade dealt him justice with a graceful downward slash.

            "Come," Making sure that they were alone, Saitou reached for his wife's hand and led her way from the stench of death.

--------------------------------

            "Wait up, you idiot!  I can't keep up if you walk like that!"  Yahiko hollered at Sano, who was walking briskly back to the dojo.

            "Shut up, kid.  Just hurry up."

            The boy laughed and ran alongside the fighter.  "You're just mad because Megumi slammed the door in your face!"  Yahiko stuck his tongue out before Sano knocked him on the head once. 

"What do you know?  Stupid brat."

---------------------------------

            Kenshin sat outside the dojo, his back against its wall and his sword cradled against his shoulder.

            If I do not go, Saitou will most likely try to hurt myself or someone close to me in order to get my cooperation.  I cannot allow that to happen.  But then Miss Tokio was sure that he was under the influence of alcohol when it happened.  Still…

            Words flashed through Kenshin's mind.

            "My husband has no allies."

            How very sad for Saitou-san.  Being alone so much—even away from his wife.

-----------------------------------

            "I got something for you at the market today."  Tokio reached into her cloak and pulled out the blood-splattered package.

            They had arrived at the top of a tall hill on the outskirts of the city.  A shimmering pond lay before them as the moon cast an eerie glow over the sparsely covered grass.  Saitou stood under the shadows of a large cherry tree; the glow of his narrow eyes and the smoldering cigarette was all that was visible.

            Tokio stood at the water's edge, unwrapping her parcel.  Her husband strode out from the shadows to watch her unravel a marvelous cloth from the bloodied paper.  With a flourish, Tokio snapped the fabric and revealed beautiful, black-silk sleeping garments.

            The policeman ran his fingers through the fine threads and nodded to his wife, expressing his approval of such exquisite craftsmanship.

            Tokio couldn't quite look her husband in the eyes.  He was uncomfortable with sentimentality, this she knew, and so she kept her eyes steadily on the earth, overlooking the water that seemed to sparkle every time someone moved.

            She felt fingers under her chin, turning her head and tilting it up until their lips touched—lightly at first, and then turning more fervent as Saitou clasped his hands around Tokio's waist, her hands resting on the inside of her husband's elbows.

-----------------------------------

            Kenshin watched as the two figures silhouetted against the moon and came together in a warm kiss.  The wolf had found his mate.

-----------------------------------

            Meanwhile, Yahiko was clinging onto Sano's back, his teeth digging into the wild hair.  Suddenly, the fighter stopped, his eyes gaping and jaw slack.

            "You big dummy!  Why are you stopping?"  Yahiko looked around until his eyes went to the couple whose figures were haloed in the moon's surreal light.  The boy stared at the two unmistakable figures in shock.  "Is that…"

            "Saitou."

            "NO WAY!"  The two of them stared stupidly for several moments before Yahiko finally snapped out of it.  "Hey, dummy!  Stop staring like some crazed pervert!  You want everyone to think you've got a problem??  What the hell is wrong with you??"

            Sanosuke was silent for some time.  Yahiko waited expectantly and became agitated when the fighter chose to ignore him.  Just as the boy opened his mouth to yell some more, Sano butted in.

            "We didn't see anything."

            Yahiko nearly fell off of the older man's shoulders.  "WHAT??  WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??"

            "Listen.  Just forget about this.  Saitou may seem all sweet and lovey-dovey now, but he wasn't sweet earlier this night when he fought Kenshin, or when he slammed Tokio against the wall."

            The boy stayed quiet, listening to the fighter sound logical for once.

            "When you get right down to it, he's still the same bastard he always was.  This changes nothing.  Besides, I don't think he'll appreciate being spied on while he tries to patch up that marriage of his.  Let's get out of here."

            Sanosuke turned to continue walking towards the dojo.

------------------------------------------

            A dark grey wolf sat watching over the city.  It tensed, sensing something behind it.  It's amber eyes flashed and a dangerous growl escaped its throat, as it turned to approach what lay beyond the shadows.

            Cautiously emerging from behind a large tree came a light gray wolf with gentle eyes.

            The growling immediately ceased and the larger creature plodded over to inspect this new presence.

            The light gray wolf merely stood there and tolerated the beast's instinctive nature when it suddenly felt the other wolf nuzzle against its neck.  The two continued to nuzzle each other before disappearing into the woods once again.

---------------------------------------------

            "Perhaps you'd like to tell me what happened to you at the market," Saitou lit up another cigarette as he and his wife made their way back to the Kamiya dojo.

            Whenever they walked together, it was with them nearly side by side.  Tokio always allowed Saitou to be a half step ahead of her, so that she could stand partially behind him in order to be in a position easy to defend.  When they walked this way, they would constantly brush up against each other and Tokio always thought with longing how easy it would be to simply reach out and take his hand.  But she never did.

            The woman broke her thoughts and continued to steadily plod over the snow.  "Hajime, I thought we had discussed this."

            "No, I simply dispatched those worthless, petty criminals.  You did not tell me anything besides which one of them put you in a stranglehold."

            "It was nothing, Hajime."

            Saitou's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.  "Do not anger me, Tokio.  I am still in a foul mood."

            Tokio paused, not wanting to say.  "I do not think I should tell you.  It would only further agitate you and would be meaningless, because the men are already dead.  Do not trouble yourself any longer."

            In frustration, Saitou flicked his cigarette away, no longer enjoying the taste.  "At least tell me how you got away.  I need something, Tokio."

            The woman sighed in resignation.  "When I was knocked down on the ground, two of the men pinned me by my arms while the one took my package and proceeded to undo my kimono.  It was then that he straddled me and began to choke me."

            Seeing her husband's tense back and clenched fist, she mentally chastised herself for going into more details than were necessary.  "Being that my kimono was loose, I had free movement of my legs and brought my knee into the side of the man's ribcage."

            "You didn't maim the bastard?"

            Tokio hesitated before going on.  "It would have been harder to reach.  Regardless, I managed to tear myself away from the other two and dodge the fourth man's attempts to recapture me.  That is how I made it back to the dojo."

            "The cut, Tokio!  What about the cut?"  Saitou ground out, angered that she would leave out something so important.

            "A dagger from one of the men that pinned me."

            The policeman turned this information over and over again in his mind.  Someone had dared lay unfriendly hands upon his wife.

            "Hajime," Tokio's voice interrupted the policeman's thoughts.  "They knew who I was."

---------------------------------------------

            Kenshin had retreated into the warmth of the dojo when Sano and Yahiko arrived.

            "Say, Kenshin, are you really going to go through with this?"  Sano asked.

            "NO WAY!"  Yahiko protested.

            Kaoru spoke up.  "Kenshin, you're not really thinking of doing this, are you?"

            The swordsman looked up at the two figures that had just arrived in the doorway.  "Yes, I am."

---------------------------------------------

            "Tokio…"

            The woman looked at her husband.  "We cannot refuse their hospitality.  It is only for a week."

            "One week too long," Saitou muttered under his breath.  Undressing quickly, and putting on his new silk garments, the policeman turned to his wife who had borrowed another of Kaoru's outfits.

            They had declined Kaoru's offer to allow Tokio to share her room.  Or rather, Saitou had blatantly refused the notion.

            "This isn't very proper, Hajime."

            The policeman shrugged and got under the covers, motioning for his wife to do the same.  The truth was, he didn't think he could bear being so close to her, but not allowed to touch her.  Not after he had been away from home all those times.

            Cuddling the only way a couple who'd been together for a while can, the two fell easily asleep.

            They hadn't even the time to blow out the candle.

-----------------------------------------------

            The dojo was quiet when Kenshin got up to wander the halls.  He was feeling restless this night and sought the harsh face of Hajime Saitou.

            The ex-Shinsengumi captain had come to the dojo later that night reeking of blood.  The policeman had been in a foul mood and shrugged off any attempt at questions.

            Kenshin wanted answers.

            He crept slowly toward the guest room and seeing that the light was still on, slowly slid the screen open.  He was not prepared for what met his eyes.

            Kenshin had never seen the former captain so at ease.  The man's head was cradled on his wife's chest, one of her arms around his broad shoulders, while her other hand threaded through her husband's silken bangs.  Even in sleep, Kenshin could see how the woman's fingers gently caressed her husband's skin.

            It was such a heartwarming scene, that Kenshin was officially rendered speechless.  The soft glow from the candle gave even Hajime Saitou a gentle look.

            Afraid of disrupting such an intimate moment, Kenshin quietly slid the screen closed and trotted off to think about this whole new side to the Wolf of Mibu.

----------------------------------

WRITER'S NOTE:  Geez, that took forever.  Sorry about that, folks.  I had suddenly fallen ill, which normally wouldn't have been bad, since I would have had all that bed rest to write, but I was nearly delirious, so it didn't quite work out that way.  ^_^

Oh, and another thing:  some of the most important parts were written when I was at work and had to excuse myself from my boss to quickly jot down lines and dialogue.  Believe it or not, I actually get away with pulling stuff like that.  They say I work too hard anyways!  How about that?  ^_^  (Never underestimate the power of honest work.)

FEEDBACK:  Jay:  Stringing two in a row…I'm afraid I cheated on that one.  I had that whole bit written and it just needed to be posted.  I didn't want to be the teasing kind because I know how long it takes myself to write and to post something every six months would really suck.  But I couldn't wait any longer to post SOMETHING up, so I gave in and did my two chapters.  I doubt the others will come as quickly.

Icerain:  Wow.  You're the first one that's figured that one out.  I don't think it was expressed too well, but I didn't want to come out and say it.  It would've sounded really dumb.  "I almost got kidnapped for prostitution today."  "Did you, honey?  That's nice."  *sniff*  I want a distant husband…

Tenshineko:  I was sick of Kenshin being all-knowing, so I had him mistake a small dagger cut for a paper cut.  He had no reason to assume something bad had happened to Tokio, so he was thinking optimistically.

Mara:  Honestly, thought sequences make me nervous.  I'm always paranoid that it'll end up making the story cheesy.  Which a lot of times, it does, but whatever.  Some cheese is good.  ^_^

Mibu no Ookami:  *looks sheepish*  That whole bit with the samurai was written when I kept falling asleep on the bus.  I woke up and there were these people giving me funny looks.  I didn't catch that part before I posted it.  ^_^ And I wouldn't worry about lecturing.  Learning is one of my favorite things to do.  If you've got a message to give to the world, by all means, send it forth.

L. Sith:  *again, looking sheepish*  That whole paper scene was an inside joke to myself.  I write all of my stories longhand before I type them up on the computer.  So, having Saitou beat around the bush and not mention the mission until he was alone with Kenshin would have taken more time and paper than I was willing to use.  So, I wrote around that.  Don't mind me.  A girl who spends her time sleeping on public transport systems is seriously asking for trouble anyways.  ^_^

Takatome Ichido:  Yeah, I've got the Samurai X movie.  Kinda weird.  Thank you so much for saying such positive and detailed things!  I, myself, LOOOVE it when other people give Saitou and Tokio that quiet, intimate relationship that's so appealing.  (I'm not a fan of Kenshin&Kaoru fics, sad to say.  I just can't picture Kaoru being the sentimental type.)  But I'm glad to hear that someone else can actually FEEL the stuff that you're supposed to feel.  Sometimes, I feel like the only one who FEELS anything at all!  ^_^  And thanks for commenting on the IC stuff.  I see this stuff play out in my head like the TV series and when something uncharacteristic happens, I sort of rewind and redo.  (Just between the two of us—and tons of other people reading this—I'm not really sure where Sano's tirades will take him.  I did them because it seemed appropriate because he's always talking about the weak being picked on…it did cross my mind to have him develop a crush on Tokio, but I'm just not sure at this point.  Besides, I'm also a fan of Megumi/Sano stuff, but whatever.  Who says the guy can't look?)  THANKS FOR REVIEWING!!!

JadeGoddess:  Well, I hope things were clear in the last reading, but if not, I've been trying to imply that Tokio's problems at the market were a little more than not being able to find anything to her liking.  I haven't decided if her attack was for the sex slave business, but I'm not sure if that's really relevant anyways.  Saitou was pissed regardless, and I don't blame him since his wife had a near death experience.

Val:  Thank you for the positive support!!!  I hope the next chapter comes a whole lot easier….*sweatdrops*