** Here's the disclaimer saying Pechan DOES NOT own Rurouni Kenshin at all.
Please don't try to sue, you're pissing her OFF.
~ Pensive Dawn ~
Hajime Saito woke early the next day. It was a habit for him to wake early. But this time he awoke, he got up and left the futon. He glanced down at his wife, sleeping so peacefully under the darkness of early morning. But her calm face was slightly marred by a faint frown. Obviously, her worries of the vengeful brothers from Chou's words yesterday were etched even into her dreams. He hoped her nightmares wouldn't cause her to wake screaming.
He effortlessly slipped out of the room to the porch. There, he lit up a cigarette. Taking a long drag, he contemplated on the situation at hand.
So the man they killed had family after all. And now they were going to come for his head. Hnh, it was laughable how many men tried to kill Saito. Whether revenge for something the Shinsengumi did, or for some bone to pick with the police, they always thought it was best to challenge him. He didn't mind; he was never in any real danger. He was capable of taking care of himself; preferably cutting off the threat before they executed their plan.
However, his family would be dragged along in this if they had caught sight of him on his way home. That left Tokio in slight danger. Slight danger, because Tokio was pretty good at defending herself. Most of the time. But he didn't know what these men had - swords? Daggers? Arrows?
He puffed again, thinking. It could be poison arrows for all he knew. Chou wasn't much help, making Tokio worry like that unintentionally. Then again, the moron only wished to warn them, in hopes that nothing may happen to Tokio and her children.
Why did that idiot want to help his family -
**"Chou comes over more than you do. Mina almost thought Chou was her daddy."**
He smirked. Could that Kansai idiot be somewhat attached to his family? No doubt though, if the men knew Saito killed their brother, then they would have to know Chou was in it too. He was the one that commenced the wounding blow. Chou had sneezed, and missed. Idiot. That sent the thin ribbon-like blade to quiver, and skid off the floor, sheering off his right foot.
The man in a feeble attempt to run off galloped on his left foot and bloody stump. That made it real easy to trace him through the staccato trail of blood.
Begging for mercy didn't stop Saito from remembering this is the same man that had slaughtered a whole family a day before. The man's tears and blood flowing freely together didn't help Saito in any way ignore the man massacred the family of eight, just to break into their safe. Saito didn't care the money was for the man's health. All he knew was eight were dead, and only one life would be in exchange for them. An unfair trade, but close enough justice to Aku Soku Zan.
He didn't care about the prey.
He stubbed his cigarette, and deftly stepped into his zori sandals, and walked through the garden.
Aku Soku Zan. He used to use those words everyday to justify his hunting. In the days of the Meiji, he only killed every other week or so, and had to use it less. Somewhat more boring than the Revolution. Of course, he was never one to fight for fun. And he did so in order to maintain stability in the country.
Nothing silences anarchy better than a dead man left out for the public eye.
He watched a firefly faintly glow, and buzz by his face. Of course, they only had to do that once; leaving the corpse as an example and fair warning. Soon after that, the commoners no longer tried to do anything stupid and challenge the Shinsengumi. They began to pay assassins to take care of them.
Another thing that became annoying. If you needed to pay some dog to do your bidding, you were even less a dog.
The Shinsengumi. Not many.......no, most didn't like them at all. Nearly every citizen wanted them eliminated; none of them standing for their essence of truth. Sense of truth? No, THE truth.
He remembered the days in the Shinsengumi. He was very good at killing; hunting. And what better way than to put those talents to use than by killing people whom deserved it? Many people have tried to reason it wasn't the only way, that there was a better way.
Like the Battousai continuously preaches every single day of his hypocritical life.
Well, there were certainly other ways. You could lock them up for life. You could give them a boring lecture, in hopes of changing their lives for the better, like that Battousai always does......
You could believe a single man channels all the connections of opium throughout all of Osaka deserves to a chance to live and repent for his mistakes. How?
The dead cannot come back. Evil CANNOT be undone. Once it is carried out, that sin will be etched into their souls forever. Therefore branding them 'Evil' and targets for those that follow Aku Soku Zan. Despite all the blood and violence in the Revolution, life was so much SIMPLER then. Evil can be abolished in the easiest, simplest way. But now there were peaceful laws. Which Saito didn't mind, they were for the better of Japan. Now there was considerably less mayhem and massacre, if you don't count certain instances like Shishio.
Back in the Revolution, the Shinsengumi descended upon their prey like a flock of ravenous wolves hunting a deer. And while most of their enemies couldn't even hide their pitiful expressions of pure fear, the wolves never even batted an eyelid as blood sprayed.
They all wore masks, whether it be smiling or solemn, and no man could figure out what storm raged in the mind of the Miburo.......
His comrade Okita had preferred to hide behind a smile. He didn't approve of it that much, in hopes the boy would grow out of the little boy routine and become a man. The boy would even giggle sometimes after a job was done, covered in blood, saying, "Whoops!! I kinda missed him the first time sir, and I had to cut him again."
Saito smirked, remembering that stupid boy. A gifted swordsman, with a soul that he found was nearly identical to Soujiro. Minus the whole step-family nearly beating him half to death. Okita always hid behind a carefree smile, just as Soujiro had. Not many knew the boy well as Saito did.
They didn't see that constant struggle the boy faced. Okita was a perfect killer, with every reason to slay... but Okita in his part, was dying.
Saito lifted his face, remembering. Okita would purposely make a messy, bloody kill, in hopes to cover up the blood stains from his coughing fit earlier. He tried, but he couldn't pull the wool over Saito's eyes.
Okita was born with tuberculosis.
Saito turned back for the house. Such a shame that was. Thought it did seem just in an ironic way. The boy had sworn his life to that red flag of Truth, so it was only fitting he should die when the flag was burned to the ground. Still, what a waste of talent.
He smirked, as he stepped out of his sandals onto the porch.
The boy tried so hard not to reveal his weakness, to become stronger. Indeed he did. Quite formidable as Saito recalled. But that didn't change the fact that his death was marked.
Bleeding lungs. The same as his own son.
Saito stopped, his fingers on the door to his room, preparing to slide it open. But that thought crossed his mind. Okita had tuberculosis, which sentences anyone to death sooner or later as soon as the blood first bubbles to your lips. From what he knew, Ryu did not have tuberculosis. The coughing wasn't as drastic as Okita's. But he had not seen this for his own self, only from descriptions from his wife. How bad was his son's condition? He would have to see for himself. He slid open the door silently to his room thinking 'Of course, that would have to wait until after I finish my next mission'.
He looked down, and found his wife was gone. Where did that woman go now...?
He heard loud breathing, and small gasps. He did not hear them before when he was outside. He made his way through the door to the hall, and found the sound coming from Ryu and Mina's room. The door was also slightly opened.
He opened it wider, and looked inside.
Tokio was trying to soothe Ryu by rubbing his chest, as he struggled to breathe. His face wretched in constrained pain, trying to over come it. Muffled gurgling trying to escape was scratching through his throat. And his mother was holding him so tightly, her hair curtaining her face and son......
Tokio had her eyes closed, whispering, "Shh shh, it's okay honey. Come on now, breathe for me.......... come on, do it for Mommy...."
Ryu's face screwed up in pain and finally he went into a coughing fit. Some blood spat from his lips, and onto his mother's neck. She sighed, a tear escaping, and held him close, one hand behind his head, the other patting his back, "There there, breathe deep, hon. See? It's alright, it's okay....."
Ryu had his fingers clenched onto her yukata, and he coughed again, another straggled breath came from him, "M-Mom....."
She shushed him, "Shhh, it's okay. We're going to the doctor's today, alright?"
He sniffed, and coughed once more, and buried his face into her bosom, "I'm scared..."
Tokio hugged him tight, so that not even the clutches of the Red Death could pull him away, "Me too, hon......"
Saito saw this whole scene from the doorway. In just a mater of seconds, he saw his son struggle for dear life, while Tokio could do nothing but watch. And try to console him. It appeared his son was strong enough to break through this attack. But what of the next one? How far could his son go?
He leaned against the jam. The blood was not continuous like Okita's. Meaning this was not tuberculosis. So, this really WAS an unknown sickness. That was relieving, in a way. He now knew the boy didn't have tuberculosis. He had something else. And the unknown always instills a sense of fear in the hearts of man.
He heard another sniff, and glanced down. Mina was sitting on her heels, watching the whole scene. One of her pigtails became loose, so her left shoulder was cloaked under her hair. "This always happens when Ryu coughs."
Saito looked at his daughter, as she sat patiently, her hands in her lap, "Mommy has a fit like Ryu. They both get sad." She turned her face up, her eyes trembling from containing tears, "Ryu said you did this to us."
Saito's eyes widened a bit. This girl- his daughter, and her choice of words.....
"B-But I think Ryu was mad. See, Mommy says when we're mad, we say things we don't mean." She looked back down to her mother who couldn't hear anything else, focusing on her son's coughing to die down. "But I don't think you wanted to hurt us. You're too nice." She looked back up, a single tear escaping, "Right, Daddy? He's gonna be okay, right? Ryu gonna be alright?"
He slowly knelt, eyes on his wife's face. Such distress and sadness......... nothing he had seen before. He had seen pain in her eyes, but this pain was new to him. Hnh.................... he really WAS gone for a long time.
As he knelt down, his daughter turned, and crawled to him. This time, he didn't just kneel there doing nothing. This time, he opened his arms as she fell into his embrace. He slowly wrapped one arm around his daughter, rubbing his knuckles against her back. She had such a small frame. Mina sniffled, "Daddy........."
He lowered his head slightly, his chin just above her scalp. As his daughter comforted herself in his arms, he fixed his eyes once again on Tokio. She sniffed, and gently pulled away from her son. She wiped her son's face devoid of any tears. "There, there, all better. See?"
Ryu's back was to Saito, so he could not see his face. What was coursing through his mind right now? "................s'okay Mom, I'm kinda tired know, I think it's gone."
Tokio bit her lip, and placed her hand on his forehead, "Are you sure? You're not gonna faint now, are you-"
He shook his head, his fingers holding hers that were on his head just now. "Mm mm. I'm fine now, Mom. You don't have to worry."
Tokio rubbed her eyes, "Oh Ryu, I have every reason to worry!" she sighed, and hugged him, "You scare Mommy like that, you know?"
"I know, I was too." He patted her back, "But I'm fine now. I'm sorry."
Tokio glanced, and caught sight of her husband. He was kneeling, and Mina was crouching in his lap. She was looking at her mother and brother, worried. She whispered, "Is it okay now, Mommy?"
Tokio smiled, "Mina, honey, it's alright."
Mina bit her lip, and toddled over to her mother. Saito watched her join her brother, nervously asking him if he was alright. Ryu nodded, and happened to see his father. His eyes widened, and then he turned away. Mina frowned, "Ryu? What happened?"
Ryu shook his head. He wasn't going to say. With no more need for him to be here Saito rose, and waited for Tokio as she tucked the children back into their futon, kissing them goodnight again. Technically it was morning, but they didn't seem to notice.
She closed their bedroom door, and felt her husband's hands gently go around her waist. He pressed his chest to her back, and kissed the part in her hair, "How are you feeling?"
She sighed, "Kinda sleepy, I guess. I woke up when he started coughing."
"I meant how are you really feeling?"
She sniffed, and turned around, and kissed her husband's cheek, "Tired, Hajime. Just tired. Sick and tired of constantly checking his mouth for blood. But.......... he IS getting better. So let's just say I'm also relieved."
Hajime ran his fingers through her silken hair, until he hit a knot. Tokio lightly lifted her head, "Ow ow, that hurt!!" she whispered.
He withdrew his fingers, "Hnh. You're a mess."
She pouted, "Oh yeah? Look who's talkin'," she reached up, and smoothed his bangs back, "You oughta cut those damn bangs. Don't they ever get annoying, all whippin' around your face like that?"
He smirked, and grabbed her reaching hand, "Come. You must be tired, after all."
She leaned into him as he led her back to their room. He sat on the futon, and she plopped next to him. He lay back, as she rolled over and placed her head on his shoulder, her other hand stretched across his body, fingers tapering to his shoulder. Through the part in his yukata, she kissed his bare chest.
"Hajime, I love you..... know that?" she whispered.
"Hnh." He once again found his hand lingering to the small of her back, "I suppose I do too."
She yawned, "If I wasn't so tired, I'd kick your butt right now............"
He smirked.
"What time is it, anyways?" she asked drowsily.
He glanced at the clock hanging above their door. ".... 5:43 am."
".................................. son of a b!tch........."
He smirked again. She's going to be quite scary without her beauty sleep. He pulled her a bit closer.
Not that she really needed it.
^^ Author's Note ^^
----Okay, shout outs!! I never really did them before, so I always wondered what it was like. First off, if anybody noticed, the story ended at chapter THREE. And then Celena Schezar said it might be nice if I kept writing until Saito left. So I was thinking "Okay, I'll just add a whole mess of chapters about Saito doing weird things with his kids, like making paper cranes." Well, you all could imagine what THAT woulda been like. Life ain't peaches n cream for EVERYBODY, so even though I LOVE AND ADORE Hajime Saito, he's no exception.
He's bound to have family problems somewhere along the line, everyone does. Who HAS a perfect family? So what would have been the best problem to throw the story off? Make his kids hate him. Of course, if I just had two kids hating saito, it'd just be one huge Saito-parental-skills-bashing story. And who wants that? n_n
The first three mainly focused on Saito and Mina. The love of father and daughter was established quickly. Well, if not love, then trust at least. Mina instantly fits with her father, as if she's known him already for her whole life. Orignally, that's what it was. A real feel good fanfic. Chapter FOUR was all, "Day-am, why'd I do that?" Ryu hates him. Gee, that ain't fun at all.
Well, it makes an INTERESTING relationship. this goes in regards to Jade Goddess, when she's asking what's Saito gonna do about his son. Well, I was planning on Saito doing something about his son like, at the END of the story, since that's the whole problem. If I solved the problem NOW, I'd have three chapters of idle chat. Besides, what if I don't have Ryu liking Saito at all forever? What if all I make between the two is just a toleration relationship? what if in the next chapter they hug and kiss and all that jazz? All in all, I don't really know either. Depends on what mood I'm in if I decide to have Ryu love 'em or hate 'em.
This goes for loyanini. Tokio's too whiny, huh? I was afraid of that. But I don't think I made her sound too much like Kaoru. For instance, Kaoru's too shy to make a damn move on Kenshin. Whereas my Tokio's a bit too........... ummm, hungry. This fanfic mostly portrays her mothering side, so that could also be it. Besides, she's whining because her son hates her husband. Who's side do you take? What's more frustrating, Saito does CARE about his children as most fathers, but what can ya do about it? He's a busy guy, all slaying evil instantly and whatnot. And besides, a relationship can't click like that. tokio's just stressed about raising two children primarily by herself, her son has some unknown sickness chipping away at his life, her husband isn't home most of the time because of his missions, and he's doing what she hates most: killing people. And of course, Saito loves her. but like I said, he's a busy guy. He tries to make time, but from what I've read Aku Soku Zan comes first. Either that or he was saying that to intimidate Usui......
But, yeah, I suppose I made Tokio too whiny. But unfortunately, it's the only way I know how to make her right now. Calm and obeying is too dull for me. I just try to veer from that.......
And I really oughta THANK Imalefty. Such a nice girl, all commenting on all the cr@p I write......... n_n
*btw, the Author's notes weren't run through a spell check. Sorry if I spelled anything wrong, I type fast. I THANK ANYONE WHO WASTES THEIR TIME READING MY STUFF, AND THEN COMMENTING ON IT TO MAKE MY DAY. Seriously, I'm, so surprised this got more than ten reviews at all. Oh, and A BIG THANKS to Silly Koneko. What would I ever do without ya!? n_n
Oh, and for the record................... SAITO IS MINE AND MINE ALONE. NYAAAAHHAHA AHAAHA Hahah ahah ahaah ahh aaaaa....................... **sigh** God I'm lonely.
~ Pensive Dawn ~
Hajime Saito woke early the next day. It was a habit for him to wake early. But this time he awoke, he got up and left the futon. He glanced down at his wife, sleeping so peacefully under the darkness of early morning. But her calm face was slightly marred by a faint frown. Obviously, her worries of the vengeful brothers from Chou's words yesterday were etched even into her dreams. He hoped her nightmares wouldn't cause her to wake screaming.
He effortlessly slipped out of the room to the porch. There, he lit up a cigarette. Taking a long drag, he contemplated on the situation at hand.
So the man they killed had family after all. And now they were going to come for his head. Hnh, it was laughable how many men tried to kill Saito. Whether revenge for something the Shinsengumi did, or for some bone to pick with the police, they always thought it was best to challenge him. He didn't mind; he was never in any real danger. He was capable of taking care of himself; preferably cutting off the threat before they executed their plan.
However, his family would be dragged along in this if they had caught sight of him on his way home. That left Tokio in slight danger. Slight danger, because Tokio was pretty good at defending herself. Most of the time. But he didn't know what these men had - swords? Daggers? Arrows?
He puffed again, thinking. It could be poison arrows for all he knew. Chou wasn't much help, making Tokio worry like that unintentionally. Then again, the moron only wished to warn them, in hopes that nothing may happen to Tokio and her children.
Why did that idiot want to help his family -
**"Chou comes over more than you do. Mina almost thought Chou was her daddy."**
He smirked. Could that Kansai idiot be somewhat attached to his family? No doubt though, if the men knew Saito killed their brother, then they would have to know Chou was in it too. He was the one that commenced the wounding blow. Chou had sneezed, and missed. Idiot. That sent the thin ribbon-like blade to quiver, and skid off the floor, sheering off his right foot.
The man in a feeble attempt to run off galloped on his left foot and bloody stump. That made it real easy to trace him through the staccato trail of blood.
Begging for mercy didn't stop Saito from remembering this is the same man that had slaughtered a whole family a day before. The man's tears and blood flowing freely together didn't help Saito in any way ignore the man massacred the family of eight, just to break into their safe. Saito didn't care the money was for the man's health. All he knew was eight were dead, and only one life would be in exchange for them. An unfair trade, but close enough justice to Aku Soku Zan.
He didn't care about the prey.
He stubbed his cigarette, and deftly stepped into his zori sandals, and walked through the garden.
Aku Soku Zan. He used to use those words everyday to justify his hunting. In the days of the Meiji, he only killed every other week or so, and had to use it less. Somewhat more boring than the Revolution. Of course, he was never one to fight for fun. And he did so in order to maintain stability in the country.
Nothing silences anarchy better than a dead man left out for the public eye.
He watched a firefly faintly glow, and buzz by his face. Of course, they only had to do that once; leaving the corpse as an example and fair warning. Soon after that, the commoners no longer tried to do anything stupid and challenge the Shinsengumi. They began to pay assassins to take care of them.
Another thing that became annoying. If you needed to pay some dog to do your bidding, you were even less a dog.
The Shinsengumi. Not many.......no, most didn't like them at all. Nearly every citizen wanted them eliminated; none of them standing for their essence of truth. Sense of truth? No, THE truth.
He remembered the days in the Shinsengumi. He was very good at killing; hunting. And what better way than to put those talents to use than by killing people whom deserved it? Many people have tried to reason it wasn't the only way, that there was a better way.
Like the Battousai continuously preaches every single day of his hypocritical life.
Well, there were certainly other ways. You could lock them up for life. You could give them a boring lecture, in hopes of changing their lives for the better, like that Battousai always does......
You could believe a single man channels all the connections of opium throughout all of Osaka deserves to a chance to live and repent for his mistakes. How?
The dead cannot come back. Evil CANNOT be undone. Once it is carried out, that sin will be etched into their souls forever. Therefore branding them 'Evil' and targets for those that follow Aku Soku Zan. Despite all the blood and violence in the Revolution, life was so much SIMPLER then. Evil can be abolished in the easiest, simplest way. But now there were peaceful laws. Which Saito didn't mind, they were for the better of Japan. Now there was considerably less mayhem and massacre, if you don't count certain instances like Shishio.
Back in the Revolution, the Shinsengumi descended upon their prey like a flock of ravenous wolves hunting a deer. And while most of their enemies couldn't even hide their pitiful expressions of pure fear, the wolves never even batted an eyelid as blood sprayed.
They all wore masks, whether it be smiling or solemn, and no man could figure out what storm raged in the mind of the Miburo.......
His comrade Okita had preferred to hide behind a smile. He didn't approve of it that much, in hopes the boy would grow out of the little boy routine and become a man. The boy would even giggle sometimes after a job was done, covered in blood, saying, "Whoops!! I kinda missed him the first time sir, and I had to cut him again."
Saito smirked, remembering that stupid boy. A gifted swordsman, with a soul that he found was nearly identical to Soujiro. Minus the whole step-family nearly beating him half to death. Okita always hid behind a carefree smile, just as Soujiro had. Not many knew the boy well as Saito did.
They didn't see that constant struggle the boy faced. Okita was a perfect killer, with every reason to slay... but Okita in his part, was dying.
Saito lifted his face, remembering. Okita would purposely make a messy, bloody kill, in hopes to cover up the blood stains from his coughing fit earlier. He tried, but he couldn't pull the wool over Saito's eyes.
Okita was born with tuberculosis.
Saito turned back for the house. Such a shame that was. Thought it did seem just in an ironic way. The boy had sworn his life to that red flag of Truth, so it was only fitting he should die when the flag was burned to the ground. Still, what a waste of talent.
He smirked, as he stepped out of his sandals onto the porch.
The boy tried so hard not to reveal his weakness, to become stronger. Indeed he did. Quite formidable as Saito recalled. But that didn't change the fact that his death was marked.
Bleeding lungs. The same as his own son.
Saito stopped, his fingers on the door to his room, preparing to slide it open. But that thought crossed his mind. Okita had tuberculosis, which sentences anyone to death sooner or later as soon as the blood first bubbles to your lips. From what he knew, Ryu did not have tuberculosis. The coughing wasn't as drastic as Okita's. But he had not seen this for his own self, only from descriptions from his wife. How bad was his son's condition? He would have to see for himself. He slid open the door silently to his room thinking 'Of course, that would have to wait until after I finish my next mission'.
He looked down, and found his wife was gone. Where did that woman go now...?
He heard loud breathing, and small gasps. He did not hear them before when he was outside. He made his way through the door to the hall, and found the sound coming from Ryu and Mina's room. The door was also slightly opened.
He opened it wider, and looked inside.
Tokio was trying to soothe Ryu by rubbing his chest, as he struggled to breathe. His face wretched in constrained pain, trying to over come it. Muffled gurgling trying to escape was scratching through his throat. And his mother was holding him so tightly, her hair curtaining her face and son......
Tokio had her eyes closed, whispering, "Shh shh, it's okay honey. Come on now, breathe for me.......... come on, do it for Mommy...."
Ryu's face screwed up in pain and finally he went into a coughing fit. Some blood spat from his lips, and onto his mother's neck. She sighed, a tear escaping, and held him close, one hand behind his head, the other patting his back, "There there, breathe deep, hon. See? It's alright, it's okay....."
Ryu had his fingers clenched onto her yukata, and he coughed again, another straggled breath came from him, "M-Mom....."
She shushed him, "Shhh, it's okay. We're going to the doctor's today, alright?"
He sniffed, and coughed once more, and buried his face into her bosom, "I'm scared..."
Tokio hugged him tight, so that not even the clutches of the Red Death could pull him away, "Me too, hon......"
Saito saw this whole scene from the doorway. In just a mater of seconds, he saw his son struggle for dear life, while Tokio could do nothing but watch. And try to console him. It appeared his son was strong enough to break through this attack. But what of the next one? How far could his son go?
He leaned against the jam. The blood was not continuous like Okita's. Meaning this was not tuberculosis. So, this really WAS an unknown sickness. That was relieving, in a way. He now knew the boy didn't have tuberculosis. He had something else. And the unknown always instills a sense of fear in the hearts of man.
He heard another sniff, and glanced down. Mina was sitting on her heels, watching the whole scene. One of her pigtails became loose, so her left shoulder was cloaked under her hair. "This always happens when Ryu coughs."
Saito looked at his daughter, as she sat patiently, her hands in her lap, "Mommy has a fit like Ryu. They both get sad." She turned her face up, her eyes trembling from containing tears, "Ryu said you did this to us."
Saito's eyes widened a bit. This girl- his daughter, and her choice of words.....
"B-But I think Ryu was mad. See, Mommy says when we're mad, we say things we don't mean." She looked back down to her mother who couldn't hear anything else, focusing on her son's coughing to die down. "But I don't think you wanted to hurt us. You're too nice." She looked back up, a single tear escaping, "Right, Daddy? He's gonna be okay, right? Ryu gonna be alright?"
He slowly knelt, eyes on his wife's face. Such distress and sadness......... nothing he had seen before. He had seen pain in her eyes, but this pain was new to him. Hnh.................... he really WAS gone for a long time.
As he knelt down, his daughter turned, and crawled to him. This time, he didn't just kneel there doing nothing. This time, he opened his arms as she fell into his embrace. He slowly wrapped one arm around his daughter, rubbing his knuckles against her back. She had such a small frame. Mina sniffled, "Daddy........."
He lowered his head slightly, his chin just above her scalp. As his daughter comforted herself in his arms, he fixed his eyes once again on Tokio. She sniffed, and gently pulled away from her son. She wiped her son's face devoid of any tears. "There, there, all better. See?"
Ryu's back was to Saito, so he could not see his face. What was coursing through his mind right now? "................s'okay Mom, I'm kinda tired know, I think it's gone."
Tokio bit her lip, and placed her hand on his forehead, "Are you sure? You're not gonna faint now, are you-"
He shook his head, his fingers holding hers that were on his head just now. "Mm mm. I'm fine now, Mom. You don't have to worry."
Tokio rubbed her eyes, "Oh Ryu, I have every reason to worry!" she sighed, and hugged him, "You scare Mommy like that, you know?"
"I know, I was too." He patted her back, "But I'm fine now. I'm sorry."
Tokio glanced, and caught sight of her husband. He was kneeling, and Mina was crouching in his lap. She was looking at her mother and brother, worried. She whispered, "Is it okay now, Mommy?"
Tokio smiled, "Mina, honey, it's alright."
Mina bit her lip, and toddled over to her mother. Saito watched her join her brother, nervously asking him if he was alright. Ryu nodded, and happened to see his father. His eyes widened, and then he turned away. Mina frowned, "Ryu? What happened?"
Ryu shook his head. He wasn't going to say. With no more need for him to be here Saito rose, and waited for Tokio as she tucked the children back into their futon, kissing them goodnight again. Technically it was morning, but they didn't seem to notice.
She closed their bedroom door, and felt her husband's hands gently go around her waist. He pressed his chest to her back, and kissed the part in her hair, "How are you feeling?"
She sighed, "Kinda sleepy, I guess. I woke up when he started coughing."
"I meant how are you really feeling?"
She sniffed, and turned around, and kissed her husband's cheek, "Tired, Hajime. Just tired. Sick and tired of constantly checking his mouth for blood. But.......... he IS getting better. So let's just say I'm also relieved."
Hajime ran his fingers through her silken hair, until he hit a knot. Tokio lightly lifted her head, "Ow ow, that hurt!!" she whispered.
He withdrew his fingers, "Hnh. You're a mess."
She pouted, "Oh yeah? Look who's talkin'," she reached up, and smoothed his bangs back, "You oughta cut those damn bangs. Don't they ever get annoying, all whippin' around your face like that?"
He smirked, and grabbed her reaching hand, "Come. You must be tired, after all."
She leaned into him as he led her back to their room. He sat on the futon, and she plopped next to him. He lay back, as she rolled over and placed her head on his shoulder, her other hand stretched across his body, fingers tapering to his shoulder. Through the part in his yukata, she kissed his bare chest.
"Hajime, I love you..... know that?" she whispered.
"Hnh." He once again found his hand lingering to the small of her back, "I suppose I do too."
She yawned, "If I wasn't so tired, I'd kick your butt right now............"
He smirked.
"What time is it, anyways?" she asked drowsily.
He glanced at the clock hanging above their door. ".... 5:43 am."
".................................. son of a b!tch........."
He smirked again. She's going to be quite scary without her beauty sleep. He pulled her a bit closer.
Not that she really needed it.
^^ Author's Note ^^
----Okay, shout outs!! I never really did them before, so I always wondered what it was like. First off, if anybody noticed, the story ended at chapter THREE. And then Celena Schezar said it might be nice if I kept writing until Saito left. So I was thinking "Okay, I'll just add a whole mess of chapters about Saito doing weird things with his kids, like making paper cranes." Well, you all could imagine what THAT woulda been like. Life ain't peaches n cream for EVERYBODY, so even though I LOVE AND ADORE Hajime Saito, he's no exception.
He's bound to have family problems somewhere along the line, everyone does. Who HAS a perfect family? So what would have been the best problem to throw the story off? Make his kids hate him. Of course, if I just had two kids hating saito, it'd just be one huge Saito-parental-skills-bashing story. And who wants that? n_n
The first three mainly focused on Saito and Mina. The love of father and daughter was established quickly. Well, if not love, then trust at least. Mina instantly fits with her father, as if she's known him already for her whole life. Orignally, that's what it was. A real feel good fanfic. Chapter FOUR was all, "Day-am, why'd I do that?" Ryu hates him. Gee, that ain't fun at all.
Well, it makes an INTERESTING relationship. this goes in regards to Jade Goddess, when she's asking what's Saito gonna do about his son. Well, I was planning on Saito doing something about his son like, at the END of the story, since that's the whole problem. If I solved the problem NOW, I'd have three chapters of idle chat. Besides, what if I don't have Ryu liking Saito at all forever? What if all I make between the two is just a toleration relationship? what if in the next chapter they hug and kiss and all that jazz? All in all, I don't really know either. Depends on what mood I'm in if I decide to have Ryu love 'em or hate 'em.
This goes for loyanini. Tokio's too whiny, huh? I was afraid of that. But I don't think I made her sound too much like Kaoru. For instance, Kaoru's too shy to make a damn move on Kenshin. Whereas my Tokio's a bit too........... ummm, hungry. This fanfic mostly portrays her mothering side, so that could also be it. Besides, she's whining because her son hates her husband. Who's side do you take? What's more frustrating, Saito does CARE about his children as most fathers, but what can ya do about it? He's a busy guy, all slaying evil instantly and whatnot. And besides, a relationship can't click like that. tokio's just stressed about raising two children primarily by herself, her son has some unknown sickness chipping away at his life, her husband isn't home most of the time because of his missions, and he's doing what she hates most: killing people. And of course, Saito loves her. but like I said, he's a busy guy. He tries to make time, but from what I've read Aku Soku Zan comes first. Either that or he was saying that to intimidate Usui......
But, yeah, I suppose I made Tokio too whiny. But unfortunately, it's the only way I know how to make her right now. Calm and obeying is too dull for me. I just try to veer from that.......
And I really oughta THANK Imalefty. Such a nice girl, all commenting on all the cr@p I write......... n_n
*btw, the Author's notes weren't run through a spell check. Sorry if I spelled anything wrong, I type fast. I THANK ANYONE WHO WASTES THEIR TIME READING MY STUFF, AND THEN COMMENTING ON IT TO MAKE MY DAY. Seriously, I'm, so surprised this got more than ten reviews at all. Oh, and A BIG THANKS to Silly Koneko. What would I ever do without ya!? n_n
Oh, and for the record................... SAITO IS MINE AND MINE ALONE. NYAAAAHHAHA AHAAHA Hahah ahah ahaah ahh aaaaa....................... **sigh** God I'm lonely.