By: Stealiana
He returned at a reasonable hour, soaked to the skin. The incessant rain did not hide the sound of the opening door, and I went to greet him.
"Welcome back." I said, as I offered to take his wet coat from him. A surge of joy met my heart when I realized there was no red to be seen - no washing needed to be done! He, on the other hand, seemed to be extremely interested in a brand new pack of cigarettes he was holding. How odd, I thought, that it has been four days and he has not yet made eye contact with me. Almost as if he was deliberately trying to avoid meeting my gaze…
"Would you like something to eat? Really, you have not had much at all today…" I said casually, anticipating his silence. All our conversations focused around food, I noted sadly, and it was usually I who did most of the talking. Pitiful, that I really had nothing else to say to him.
I had turned to bring his wet clothes to another room, planning to lay them out to dry. But after I had begun to leave, his hand landed softly my shoulder.
"There is something else I want, Tokio." He moved silently behind me and I instinctively stiffened. He must have noticed this, for he sighed, sounding bored, before he gave me a small shove forward. "But food will suffice."
As soon as he let me go, I started to turn around, but realized I was too late. Already he had slipped out a cigarette, and was walking outside to smoke. With my own small sigh, I went to do as he wished.
Throughout our dinner, I chanced nervous glances upward at him, but not once did I catch him looking at me. I could not tell what he was thinking without looking at his face - although, in truth, his expression would not have divulged much information anyway. Thinking he would want to smoke after eating, I made a move to clear the table and leave him to his solitude that he loved so dearly. But his hand caught my wrist as I had bent to take away his empty bowls.
"Where are you running to?"
"I'm not running…" I kept my eyes on his hand, clasped about my small forearm. His palm and fingers were warm on my skin, and I felt my face burn when I realized he must be watching me with those golden eyes. A low laugh broke my concentration.
"You turn pink so easily, Tokio." I cringed with embarrassment, no doubt making my face even brighter than it already was. He rose to his feet and I straightened as well, my mind finally grasping what it was he was after. This time, I will not fail, I thought, feeling hope rise within my heart. Maybe then he would show a little more tenderness towards me, like the husband in my imagination. Like his teasing just seconds before…
Now was my chance; I could change the tension that existed between us, and maybe learn to love this man.
No, he was not just a man. I was his wife.
His hands gently coaxed me to face him, but I could not bring myself to look at him. I dared not know if his eyes showed compassion or a greed for power - I desperately wanted to see the former! But my own fear kept my eyes trained on his chest, knowing his were watching me. His forefinger and thumb cupped my chin, and I closed my eyes, feeling a tiny prick of anxiety, letting his lips graze over mine. His breath was on my face, gentle and warm, as I felt him lean forward again. I opened my own lips in silent compliance, the perfect image of obedience. But my façade shattered when I felt myself choke.
He tasted of his revolting cigarettes.
In hindsight, it was rather stupid of me not to expect it, but the idea simply had not occurred to me and I could not control my reflex. I pulled away, clamping my hand over my mouth in an attempt to quell my insides. Tears rose as I realized that surely I could not have found a deeper way to offend him, and that despite my best efforts, I had failed again.
He released me instantly, and I watched his hands tremble as he searched for his brand new pack. Was it from anger? Immediately, I knelt, bowing my head in shame.
"I'm sorry…" I began. "Please…"
"I am a patient man, Tokio." He walked past without looking at me. "I will get what I want eventually." His words held no malice, which heartened me greatly.
"Next time, I won't…" I tried to assure him, but he waved it away as he interrupted. "Do not disturb me tonight. And do not wait up." I stood, wiping the tears from my eyes before they could fall.
"Good night." I ventured to say, putting as much strength as I could into my words.
"Go." He commanded, as if one more apology would snap his patience. So I went.
A/N: Okay, this is a warning about the upcoming chapters. Another character is going to enter the picture, and all historical accuracy in that regard is going to be thrown out the window. Simply because I came up with a better way to make things more dramatic and throw a little action in here... however, I'm going to be remodeling history. I'm going to ignore any reviews telling me how wrong I am about it, because I ALREADY KNOW! ^_^
Deathblade: I'm adding as quickly as I can, lol! I'm still coming up with plot as I go along, so it does take some time... but never fear, I'll keep going.
Calencoireiel: Ahh I'm glad to see someone else didn't see her as the undercover agent she is in the manga! But don't worry about Tokio, she's a tough lil cookie, despite her confusion. And yea, things seem to be worked out - at least on her side of things. But I'm gonna be really nasty and throw a wrench into the works! >)
Mibu No Ookami (Signed Review): Eh.. too much to respond to here. I'll send you an e-mail!
Midnight Scribbler: When you watch the movie, watch it in Japanese with English subtitles. The Japanese Saito is SOO way cooler. ^^; In my humble opinion.
kamorgana: Glad I was able to answer some of those questions - I owe you one, as you helped steer me in the right direction in explaining some of the stuff I left hanging. I'm gonna make a complete break with history when I bring in another character (one that we all know and love), but I'm trying to keep it *realistic* for the time period.
Wolf of Mibu: Hey now, Saito has to become nice at some point, right? LoL. This is after all, supposed to end up as a romance fic! *points to the category* I'm glad you're with me on the fear of the Shinsengumi issue. A few members did give the whole group a bad rep... but we know enough to fully appreciate them now!
Keito-chan: If you were looking for the 007 Tokio, she won't be found here! ^^; Sorry you think her character is boring, but I'm trying to make her as normal as possible, unlike some of the other fics who make her the undercover agent - which she IS in the manga. I'm glad you still enjoyed my story despite her character... she's going to get a little more feisty as time goes on, fear not.
Rachel Wes: I'm trying to pick the story up, it's just that there's a lot of internal explanation that needed to take place before the action starts. I find once the so-called "action" (drama is more appropriate, I guess) takes place, characters don't have as great an opportunity to explain themselves. But believe me... things are gonna start happenin around here...
