:DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kenshin or any of the characters created by the amazing Nobuhiro Watsuki. I am only a crazy fan of the series and am borrowing them for the sake of my story.

Chapter 3: Captain Wolf

Wisps of smoke floated up into the air, disappearing into the fluorescent light. Kaoru stifled a cough. The whole room stank of tobacco. A look of disgust crossed her face.

"Anything wrong Ms. Kamiya?" a cool voice interjected.

"No. I'm fine," she responded back to the harsh looking man, forcing a smile.

"Good," retorted Saitou. "Then let us proceed to the matters at hand. The murder of Captain Seijurou is a devastating blow to the entire division-- "

"Skip the generalities already. Get onto the details. Do we have any leads?" demanded a now rather irate Kenshin. It was only beginning to hit him that Seijuro Hiko would no longer be alive. No more long lectures. No more nights filled with chugging down sake. He hadn't even been able to say goodbye! All else was forgotten, even the young woman standing near him. And Saitou Hajime was one of the last people he wanted to deal with at the moment.

Saitou slowly exhaled releasing more of the foggy gray substance into the air and right into the face of the red-head. He wasn't particularly fond of the shorter man.

"There aren't any definite leads at the moment. A few fingerprints here and there, but those could belong to one of the many women Seijuro seduced on a nightly basis, his servants, or even himself. It's all still under investigation at the moment," Saitou stated, smugly taking note of the frustration on Kenshin's face.

"Then why the hell did you make us come here when we could be out there looking for more clues?" yelled Kenshin. He didn't like the way Saitou was treating his former sensei and superior.

Kaoru inhaled sharply, taken off guard by the sudden outburst by the man standing only a few feet from her. He appeared completely different from the cocky and slightly out-of-it man she had bumped into only a few hours before. He looked darker, more menacing somehow. But the man regarded as the "Wolf" amongst those in the force seemed unfazed.

"I don't like the tone you have taken with me Agent Himura," Saitou coldly stated to Kenshin. "I understand that the late Cpt. Seijuro's death hit you especially hard--"

"YOU UNDERSTAND?" Kenshin shook his head and laughed out loud. It came out empty and hollow.

"I do," Saitou confirmed stiffly. He paused, waiting for the rude interruption to cease. Once the room became quiet again, his middle finger tapped his cigarette over the ashtray, causing the glowing embers to quickly die and disintegrate into the thick glass. He cleared his throat.

"DESPITE the loss, you are still on duty, and I am now your reigning superior. And as such, you will show me the same respect that I, as Captain, deserve," demanded Saitou. "I will give you a couple days off… to sort things out… if you wish. But after that, I expect your full attention and focus. Do you understand me?"

Saitou stared down at his new subordinate harshly. It was obvious Hiko had coddled him for too long.

Kenshin met his gaze with an equally frosty glare.

"Fine with me."

And with that Kenshin stalked out of the office, slamming the door behind him in defiance.

Saitou closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Cigarettes these days just didn't seem to have as much nicotine as they used to. When he opened his eyes, he was met with two fiery, sapphire eyes glaring right up at him. He simply blinked back at them, and exhaled.

Unfortunately, for Kaoru, it was at that very moment when she decided to 'breathe deep' in order to calm her nerves.

Saitou raised his eyebrow in amusement as he watched the petite girl go into a coughing fit, wheezing something about that 'damn nicotine freak.'

"Excuse me?" asked Saitou, a bit too politely for Kaoru's liking. After she had fully recovered, Kaoru glared daggers back at the man. This was turning out to be far more frustrating that she had bargained for. To begin with, she was wet and muddy and her new partner really wasn't a pleasant guy. Ok. She could deal with that. But then being dragged to an office that reeked of tobacco, then being completely IGNORED, then having her partner storm off, and now being tormented by this monster of a human being was just too much.

"I SAID THAT YOU ARE A DAMN NICOTINE FREAK!" bellowed the extremely upset and frustrated girl.

"Is there anything else of relevance Ms. Kamiya, or are you only full of childish remarks?" Saitou coolly questioned the tanuki like girl. Kaoru almost growled. She should bite his ear off for his arrogance and cockiness! But she bit her tongue instead.

"Seeing as my … partner… is temporarily … indisposed," Kaoru gritted through her teeth, "I would like to know just what exactly my orders are until he is … not."

Saitou eyed the girl. He wasn't sure if she would last longer than a few weeks working under him, but why not give her the opportunity to at least show that she was worth something?

"Figure out all the people who may have held any reason to target the man: Hiko Seijuro. You just came to this precinct, so obviously, you don't know anything about the man," Saitou nonchalantly stated to her. "In order to find our murderer, we must get to know our man of the hour first. Look into his history, dish up some dirt, talk to his contacts, find some relatives, something that will be of use." He paused and stared hard at Kaoru. She defiantly stared back.

"It won't be easy," Saitou grimly warned. "Hiko Seijuro was a man of mystery. Though I've worked with him for a good amount of years, I still never really knew him. I'm certain he had … and still has many enemies. Get too close and you will bleed." Saitou crushed his now butt of a cigarette into the glass ashtray and whipped out a new one. Kaouru watched him warily as he lit his new best friend. When it seemed as if Saitou had nothing more to say, Kaouru broke the silence.

"Is that all?" she asked incredulously. Who was this man kidding? She was a veteran detective of 5 years now, having handled multiple murder cases much bloodier than the one of Hiko Seijuro. And all he wanted her to do was look into the man's history? Granted, Kaoru already knew that links were important, but this couldn't possibly the ONLY thing he had for her to do. What about hunting for the clues like any traces of DNA, talking to possible witnesses, anything! This bookwork was supposed to be for younger, newly recruited agents! She didn't like being talked down to.

Saitou stared hard at the woman in front of him and sighed. As experienced as she was, she still had a lot to learn.

"Listen closely, Tanuki! Those are your direct orders from your superior! Are you questioning my judgment?" Saitou demanded, his eyes turning into a dangerous pair of slits.

Kaoru was reeling. He had just addressed her as TANUKI! The nerve of this monster! But before she could even spit out a rebuke, he continued.

"I already told you that it won't be easy, but obviously you're of the 'has to see it to believe it' kind so I'll let you experience it firsthand. But I will give you a shove in the right direction. Start with that partner of yours," Saitou stared coolly at Kaoru and then turned to look out the window. "Now get out of my office. You received your assignment. There will be no changes made."

Kaoru bit her tongue harder. Stiffly she bowed.

"Hai!"

And with that she steered herself toward the door, letting the Wolf know she had finally made her exit with a sharp click of the doorknob. Saitou looked out at the bustling city below him. Those two would be a handful to deal with. He shook his head. Sparks would fly, he was sure of it.

"Damn you, Hiko! Why did you have to go and get murdered like that? Look at the mess you've let me with!" Saitou muttered to himself as he exhaled more smoke. He only hoped that Kaoru would be smart enough to follow his directions and get through that hard headed red-head. He inhaled deeply.

Damn cigarettes needed more nicotine in them.

Author's notes: I hope you all enjoyed it! I really like Saitou. He is such kick-ass character. But Kenshin is still my number one man!

me: tries to hug Saitou but gets a face full of cigarette smoke instead

-.- yeah. not exactly the most huggable is he.

: hugs kenshin :

me: KENSHIN! I looooooooooooooooove you!

kenshin: oro?

:sweat drop:

forgive me for my weirdness haha

Tell me what you think of the story so far! I know it's going a little slow, but I'll be updating as soon as I can. I want to establish certain relationships first.

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease read and review!