"Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken…" - Evanescence ("Hello")
Jasmine: Nargh. I know this is late and I apologize. Homework completely and utterly sucks. In better news, I did well on my Honors English test! (Does a little happy-dance) THANK YOU, HECTOR OF TROY! (Ahem) Right then…here's the last chappie, folks! The responses to your reviews shall be in my bio in about two days, 'kay?
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Her Guardian Wolf - Chapter Three: Nevermore
Normal POVSaito raised an eyebrow at the itachi across from him, his smirk automatically widening at her explosive exclamation. Ah, she was so expressive! He could see every emotion running through those beautiful blue-green eyes of hers: shock, indignation, rage…and sorrow. Shinomori's fault, of course. I should kill that bastard… Cursing inaudibly under his breath, the wolf took another step towards her and stated calmly (but not without a slight note of teasing), "Rough night, itachi? Little girls shouldn't be up past their bedtimes."
The ninja instantly bristled at the mocking tone of his voice and tensely crossed her arms to obliterate her desire to hit him over the head with a kecho giri. Saito Hajime was the last person she would have expected to meet up with at this time of night, and for good reason, too! The man was an absolute asshole! As if her problems weren't bad enough! "…What the hell do you want, Saito? I don't have any time to deal with you right now!" She purposely left off the "-san", hoping he'd catch her rudeness as a sign that she wanted to be alone.
"Hn. A bit testy tonight, are we?" No matter, she was cute when she was angry. "And here I merely wanted to know what was wrong with you. I suppose I'll just be going now, if you don't want my help. Sayonara, weasel." Saito casually dropped his cigarette to the ground and crushed it into the dirt, turned away from Misao, and languidly started back down the road, inwardly grinning smugly. One…two…three…
Well, she couldn't just let him go like that! Not when the jerk had made her feel so…guilty! Grr…he's not worth it! "…Ano…Saito, hold on," she muttered, not daring to look up at him. She was embarrassed a sufficient amount already, thank you very much. "Gomen, I…didn't mean that. You don't have to leave." Even if I want you to, you jerk!
Heh. So predictable. "Hn. Fine…I'll stay." The wolf slowly turned around, a smirk once more gracing his lips. Now, the real question: would staying with the weasel be a wise thing to do? True, she seemed to hate his guts and wished him bodily harm and true, he enjoyed teasing her to the point of no return, but…things could still happen, couldn't they? After all, Shinomori was nowhere in sight…
Misao's heart sank at that knowing look of his and she angrily wiped at her eyes to dissolve the remaining wetness from them. No good would come from Saito seeing her cry, no good at all. Makimachi Misao was not so weak as to allow herself to show tears in front of someone as strong as the wolf, nor would she let Aoshi-sama witness her anguish. Not any longer, never again, absolutely not! She was not a child anymore and crying was a -
Her eyes started to burn and she swore furiously, not caring if Saito heard her or not. No! She couldn't…c-couldn't -
With a small, agonized outcry, the weasel sank to her knees and shamefully buried her face into her palms, the tears returning with a vengeance. The sharp stones of the road dug into her fragile skin, scraping and bleeding, burning and stinging. Mud caked her legs and ninja outfit, staining them a deep, nasty brown. Rain began to fall again in cascading torrents, thoroughly drenching the unfortunates who happened to be outside at that particularly horrendous moment. To Misao, though, the suddenly harsh downpour fit her mood perfectly and she was glad for it. Maybe Saito would leave now? She despised him seeing her act so pitifully…
The wolf, however, had absolutely zero intention of leaving. The normally chipper weasel didn't deserve such torment and he couldn't help but feel pity (yes, only pity, nothing more) towards the poor thing, sobbing her heart out as she was. And the stupid rain wasn't helping any, either. Misao's choice of skimpy clothing didn't offer her much cover from the elements and the thin material was quickly becoming soaked through.
With a soft, resigned sigh, the wolf finished unbuttoning his uniform jacket, fluidly slipped it off, and then stopped to contemplate his next course of action. Well, whatever…it wasn't as though things could get any worse than they already were, no matter what he did. Careful not to disturb the quivering weasel, he lithely crept over to her and gently placed his jacket over her shaking shoulders, hoping that the material would offer her more protection from the rain. Then, kneeling down to her level (and successfully covering his pants with mud), he boldly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close, whispering quietly into her ear, "…Just let it all out, weasel…don't hold back…"
Misao froze at the contact, unsure of what was going on. Saito wasn't…couldn't be…no way…
But he was. And she was…allowing it? Embracing it, even? Embracing him and not Aoshi-sama?
For, indeed, the itachi's small, slender arms had wound their way around the wolf's midsection and held him fast, not daring to let go for fear of him leaving her there by herself. She needed to be held, craved the feelings that she desired so much from her Aoshi-sama. She could pretend, couldn't she? Just for this one moment…just imagine that it was Aoshi who was grasping her close, holding her so lovingly…
Lovingly…
Lovingly?
…From Saito?
With a shrill shriek and a flurry of limbs, Misao ferociously shoved the wolf from her and shuffled backwards to get some room between them, slightly afraid of the unfathomable gleam in his amber eyes. His hair had long since come free of its normally perfectly slicked-back appearance and instead fell forward all over his forehead in an abnormal rumple, causing him to look even more animalistic than usual. The black shirt he wore was dripping wet, sodden, and was starting to become cold, but he ignored it and eyed the weasel with barely controlled emotion, for once unsure of whether he should keep quiet and leave or try to explain himself.
Misao could only stare with a deer-in-the-headlights look, however, for she felt completely vulnerable under the scrutiny of such a heated gaze. She clutched his jacket tighter around her shoulders and staggered to her feet, grimacing down at the mud encrusting her legs and obi to avoid meeting his stare, fearful of what she might find deep within his tawny orbs. "…A-ah…I need…I-I need to go…" And with that, the itachi turned and abruptly fled into the pitch-black night, heart pounding wildly in her chest and face flushed with embarrassment, thoughts no longer on her "precious" Aoshi-sama but instead fixed upon a certain wolfish man…
Saito watched her go with slight sadness, but couldn't bring himself to regret his actions, strange and out of character as they were. He idly ran his hand back through his hair and shook his head, chuckling coldly. The weasel had taken his uniform jacket with her, the little moron.
He had to follow her, though…there was no way that he would shirk his self-imposed guardianship of his itachi just because she had pushed him away. It was dangerous for a woman to be outside so late at night and he silently swore to himself that no harm would come to Misao as long as he was still breathing. With a low growl rumbling in his throat, the wolf stood from his kneeling position and effortlessly melted back into the shadows, two glowing amber pinpoints the only indication that he was even there. The weasel would be easy to keep up with, for he knew a shortcut…
Saito Hajime: Makimachi Misao's guardian wolf…and nothing more.
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Jasmine: (Yawn) Ugh…I don't feel very good…(Sigh) I know Saito is completely out of character, but I don't care at this point in time. The world could end around me and I don't think I'd notice a thing… (Blargh) ANYways…it's over, guys. I can't focus on this ficcie anymore 'cause I need to finish my other Saito/Misao fic, The Difference Between Love And Loathing. …Which…I have yet to update… (Sighs again) I'll start it right now. Ja ne, my lovely reviewers!
"People only have hope…because they cannot see Death standing behind them…"