- Chapter 4 -
Misao's eyes fluttered open and she immediately registered the unpleasant throbbing in her ankle. She groaned rethinking over the evening's events and again fumed over her date.
Her fear vanished and was replaced by a wild, flaming anger. If she ever saw that guy again she would- wait a minute...
She blinked. Why was there some strange guy standing over her?
"You awake yet weasel?"
"Eh?" She mumbled incoherently forcing herself to sit up.
She turned her head up to stare and sat back suddenly as he kneeled, curling one hand around her chin. His fingers were long and sturdy - solid against her face. She stared into luminous gold eyes and trembled slightly. Her gaze dropped to his mouth and stared at the pasty white cigarette tilted out of one corner.
"It's you..."
He grinned.
He smokes? Strange wolf-man in front of her smokes cigarettes? She dropped back into the grass. "I have to be delusional."
A howl of laughter drew her up again. "Are you laughing at me? There's nothing funny about this!" She motioned grandly and he followed her wild arm movements, and then stared back down at her.
"You don't sound happy to see me, weasel."
Misao glowered at the man towering over her. "And just why should I be?"
His grin only seemed to widen. "That's hardly any way to greet your rescuer."
"Oh really? What'd you expect? For me to jump ecstatically into your arms?"
"Well, you wouldn't be the first." He lifted the cigarette from his mouth and a thin graceful sweep of smoke drifted upward.
For some reason this response irked her. Why? She had no connection to this man whatsoever. So why should it bother her if other women leap into his arms? His....nice...muscular...strong arms. She mentally shook herself. What the hell?
"Shut up!" she growled.
He flicked the cigarette away and reached down scooping her up.
"What are you trying to do? Start a fire or something? What kind of weird, wolf man are you? Destroying natural habitats and- wait a second! Where are you taking me?"
"Mouthy little tart, aren't you?"
"Mouthy little...?" Misao began, then broke off as she started to squirm in his strong arms despite the throbbing it caused her ankle. "Jerk! Put me down cause I'm not going I'm not going anywhere with you! I don't even know your name!"
"Will that shut you up?" He asked, and with the sharpness of his tone she wondered if he was really irritated with her.
"No," She retorted, "but it would be a start!"
"A start," he snorted, but then seemed to switch modes of thought. "You may call me Saitou."
He continued to walk, his eyes glancing about their surroundings as though seeking out any hidden dangers.
"Saitou..." Softly she tried the name out, surprised that she actually liked the sound of it on her lips.
The trip was a surprisingly short one. Down a steep hill and through a darkened forest Misao watched, kept silent only by her wonder of her surroundings. Her eyes widened as she saw a sturdy looking structure emerge from the wooded area. A house? Er, was that a cabin? Does it matter?
She frowned as they got closer. Did he live here? All the way out here? Alone? She shuddered. She didn't want to be in there with him. Alone. With no one around for miles. She cast him a skeptical look.
"You're not expecting me to stay in there, are you?"
Her response was nothing more than an arched eyebrow and a smirk. She was really beginning to hate it. It made her want to reach out and smack it off of those thin lips of his. Never putting her down, the man-like creature nudged the rickety door to the cabin opened and walked inside. Hesitating only a moment, he then walked to the futon mat that lay in the 'bedroom' portion of the room.
The place had one open room with a small cooking area to one side, a large basin in one corner, and a bed on the other side. Didn't this guy know anything about the modern world? Namely, more stury living establishments?
"What is this? This is one step up from a cave," she complained. "And why exactly are you out here in the middle of nowhere? What do you do out here? You live alone?"
She opened her mouth ready with more question when she was smacked with a towel. She peeled it off her head and tossed him a glare. "That was totally unnecessary!"
"You talk too much, weasel."
"You should be happy you have anyone to talk to. Especially living out here in the wilderness. Isn't it... you know... boring?"
A small grin perked his lips up. "Not anymore."
Misao's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Not any.... Just what does that supposed to mean?"
His grin seemed to widen but he remained silent as he continued to fish around in the cabinet, searching for something, which only served to agitate Misao more.
"Answer me, damn it! What does that supposed to mean?!"
Saitou gave a growl of annoyance. Whether from not being able to find what he'd been searching for or from her insistance, Misao wasn't sure. She sure as hell wasn't going to let him not answer her question though, no matter how annoyed he got.
"I have zero intentions of staying here. With you, a completely weird stranger, alone, in this cabin, or anywhere else for that matter. So don't be getting any lecherous ideas."
His lips drew back into a grin as he stopped his search to level a stare on her. "Come to think of it... It has been a while since I've had a female around here." He let his eyes rove slowly from her feet up her legs, to her waist and up over her torso and meet her eyes with a mischevious glint in his eyes. "Too bad I don't have one suitable."
Misao's jaw dropped. How dare he! There was nothing wrong with her! Without thinking of the consequences, Misao spat, "What do you mean? I am suitable!"
He, instead of answering, turned his back on her completely and ignored the question. In front of him, the search continued.
"Hey! Don't turn away from me like that!" Misao fumed, not exactly sure why she was pursuing the line of conversation. Did she really want him to notice her that way? But it seemed she couldn't stop herself. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"
"You're talking too much." He only paused to add.
Stopping he snapped closed the sliding cupboards and headed over to another set at the far wall. Finally, after several more seconds of avid searching he seemed to have found the object of his quest and his frame straightened. In a huff, Misao realized that she wasn't going to get anything out of her host at the moment. So instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to make herself as comfortable as possible, though the painful throbbing in her leg was making it a difficult task.
Dammit, why do I have to be so unlucky? she wondered.
He approached and kneeled at her side. In his hands was a roll of white cloth. He pulled off her shoe and sock without a word, never raising his eyes above knee level while he worked. Misao watched warily as--with quick, flawless precision--the man's hands went to work bandaging her ankle. Pulling the cloth snug, but not tight enough to stop the flow of circulation, he sat back and obseved his handiwork before rising back to his feet.
He paused, meeting her gaze evenly. "What? No whining?"
Misao frowned, "Why? Do you want me to?"
His frown dimmed, and he didn't reply as he drew away. He yawned, stretching his long arms over his head. "How do I get involved with these simple-minded humans?"
"Who are you calling simple-minded? Is that all you're going to do is insult me?" He didn't reply. Misao felt the pain in her ankle ebb away in the wake of her growing anger. "If you don't like being involved with humans, then why did you even bother saving me in the first place?"
He turned, leveling a stare on her that could freeze water. "I sensed something while patrolling the area. Something old, something I hadn't felt in ages, but that it might have come from you seems impossible. You just seem to be a whiny human girl." His lips turned up into qurky grin at the comment as though challenging her to prove him wrong.
Misao felt her anger spike, resulting in a sound which eerily resembled a growl to emerge from her throat. "You just wait till my ankle's healed, I'll show you whiny human!" She threatened. How could he be so irritating? She spied a bookshelf against the far wall, its shelves filled with an array of books. Nice, big, heavy books. With sharp edges in which to cause serious harm to said irritating man. Dammit, why do they have to be so far away!? If she could just get her hands on just one....
Her thought was cut short as her jaw became unhinged when one of the books began to work its way from its perch. Within seconds the book had shook its way off the shelf and practically flew across the room, landing very neatly in her lap.
"What the hell- !"
Saitou's amused expression vanished promptly. He blinked. He had just seen that, hadn't he? There couldn't be mistaking it now. She had to be the one he sensed. Proof of her abilities was before his own eyes.
"So... You are the one."
He approached, his long legged strides reaching her in a matter of moments. He quickly plucked the book from her lap and sat down beside her. He stared at the book but his thoughts were far beyond. The thought he wasn't as alone in the universe as he'd previously thought left him feeling rather winded.
Misao was speechless. She stared sightlessly down at the book that now lay in Saitou's hands. Did she just...? Had that been her? She blinked, trying to comprehend what had just happened and what the man beside her had just said....
"I'm the one?" she asked, her voice for once, sounding timid.
"My clan died out a long time ago. We were great in number once, wandering the lands, but some humans discovered us and we became a legend. Werewolves were born and some humans took up the cause as a sport. A dedicated few spawned a secret movement that eradicated entire villages. It's been so long since I've even heard rumor of a survivor and then you just drop into my lap..."
He peered down at her, golden eyes gleaming.
Misao's eyes widened in awe. "Werewolves..." she murmured. "But werewolves aren't real..."
Saitou snorted. "No... but I am..." a calloused hand reached out, caressing Misao's cheek tenderly. "...and so are you." Misao's eyes fluttered closed at his touch, the sight causing Saitou's lips to quirk up even more.
Finally realizing what she was doing, Misao jerked away suddenly. "Are you trying to tell me that I'm... that I'm.... whatever you are?!"
He scoffed. "Did it take you that long to figure it out?" He turned his gaze away.
"You're wrong!" she stated firmly. "I'm not... I can't be...!"
"You are, " he snapped, standing. "So that means... you belong with me."
~*~TBC....
Buffybot76: So.... whatcha think?