Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

A/N: First off, I have no excuses for taking so long in getting this chapter out. I truly am sorry, but there's not exactly anything I can do to get the chapter out earlier. I can't go back in time. So, I'll just have to apologize and get on with the typing.

Winter Moon

Chapter Four

Aoshi's POV

Lowering my head and pricking my ears, I listened as the last notes of what some call 'wolf song' faded away. I strained to hear any sort of answer, hoping that the young she-wolf would come to her senses and return. I was met with silence. Not a sound was carried to me on the crisp winter air.

I turned to Misao's two littermates. Perhaps one of them would have better luck. She wasn't mad at them, after all.

"One of you try," I barked, frustration leaking into my voice. I watched as Kamiya rose gracefully, padding softly into the center of the clearing. You may wonder why I call her Kamiya, when her littermate is Makimachi. It's tradition. The parents pick the pup's personal name. The pup will carry their parent's family name until he or she is old enough to choose his or her own. It will be the pup's choice whether or not to carry on a family name.

The sound of young Kaoru's howl broke me out of my musings, its notes clear and strong as she called for her sister. She looked almost proud of herself. I rather enjoyed the view.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I tried to stamp it down. I was not interested in the sapphire-eyed she-wolf. She was almost like a sister to me. Albeit a very beautiful, non-related sister…

If only I could make myself believe it, too.

Kenshin's POV

It had been barely a minute later before we heard another call. Thankfully, no prey was in sight. If there had been, I'm pretty sure Misao would have had smoke coming out of her ears. This time, though, she seemed to brighten.

"It's my sister!" she exclaimed happily. Ah, so she did miss her pack. Tail wagging, she raised her muzzle and sang out her reply. Or, rather, she tried to.

Only the first few words escaped her mouth before I bowled her over, much to her dismay. She had wanted to talk to her sister.

"Whaddaya do that for!?" she snapped, eyes flashing.

"Misao! Do you really forget things that fast? What did I just say?"

"That howling would….oh. Oops."

"Yeah, oops. There's been no snowfall today. Our tracks are everywhere!"

She looked ashamed of herself, she really did, but it didn't last long. "Don't worry about it. If they find us, they find us. Besides, by the time they get here, we'll be long gone. Come on!"

I stared at her. Her optimism was astounding. Unfortunately for me, I stared for too long. She growled low in her throat, and I quickly lowered my gaze, only just realizing what it was that I was doing. It was another mistake, on my part.

"What are you doing, you idiot? I thought you didn't want us to be found," she said, clamping her jaws in my scruff and starting to drag me to who-knows-where. It would have been funny, if it weren't me she was toting along.

"Alright…Misao…stop it I'm coming!"

Aoshi's POV

There! I spun around to face our western border. We had all heard it; her partial reply. It worried me. She wouldn't have cut herself off. Was she in trouble?

I quickly barked out orders to my pack. Kaoru, Megumi, Sano, Sojiro, and Chou would be coming with me while Genzai, Yahiko, Okina, Omasu, Okon, Shiro, and Kuro would stay behind with Ayame and Suzume, the pack's pups.

We were going to find Misao, and bring her back.

Misao's POV

This wasn't fair. I found freedom from my pack for the first time. I had tasted it, and I liked it. So of course I had to do something stupid enough to lose that freedom. Yes, even after I was told it was a stupid thing to do. Kami-sama! I can totally hate myself right now.

I had switched positions with Kenshin. He was now in the lead. It was probably another stupid thing on my part… Trying to lead, I mean. He knows the territory way better than I do. This just might be because he owns it, but whatever. I hadn't been here for very long either.

My thoughts switched to my sisters. Megumi was strong-headed, a healer, and apprenticed to Genzai. Kaoru was the stubborn, irritating, and above all else, a fighter. They were kind of like my best friends… sure I missed them, but my new-found freedom… I wasn't willing to give it up, yet. I was too mad at Aoshi. As far as I was concerned, I didn't ever want to see his face again. And Kenshin… Kenshin was something new for me, too. Something I also didn't want to give up. I liked him far too much for that. (Although if anyone asked, I would deny it to my death.)

The sound of water made itself known, breaking me out of my thoughts. I looked at the red wolf questioningly. Feeling my gaze, he glanced back. He didn't answer. I guess he figured I already knew why we were headed toward the river. (It stretched into Aoshi's territory too.) After all, to an older, wiser wolf than I, it would have been common sense.

"Kenny!" I called, using a rather condensed version of his name, "where are we headed?"

He looked at me as though it were obvious. (Which, to him, it probably was.)

"Across the river…"

"Why?"

Now I could tell he was trying not to look condescending. He really did, but it must have been hard.

"Misao… you realize they won't be able to smell us in water? The river will erase our scent."

"Yeah, but if we just cross it, they'll pick up the trail again, no problem."

"I know. That's why we're going upstream."

That part made me pause. "Upstream?" I asked.

"Yes. It's easier to travel downstream, remember? They won't expect it."

It was made plain that he was used to covering his tracks. (So to speak.) But then it hit me. I gasped. "But Kenshin! The river will have to be overflowing right now! And freezing too! We'll drown!"

"Misao, this part of the river stays pretty shallow all year round, melted snow or no. And as for it being so cold, we won't be staying in the water for too long. Just long enough for it to throw them of our trail. If we are careful enough, they'll miss our scent if they decide to look for us in that direction."

I wasn't completely satisfied with the answers, but I left it at that.

During our conversation, we had not kept idle. The sound of rushing water was much closer now. In fact, the river itself was barely fifty yards away. As we neared the bank, my eyes widened, and I could feel my heart-rate increase. I did not want to travel in that water.

The river was indeed smaller here. Not even three feet deep, nor any more than thirteen feet wide. But it was fast enough that it would, indeed, be difficult to travel upstream, and I wasn't even thinking about my size. There was something else bothering me about the river, though. I watched it for a second when it clicked.

"Kenny, upstream is further away from my pack's territory… won't they be expecting that?"

"No. If your leader was anything like mine, he will think in terms of combat. He will probably be thinking about your size, experience, river flow, and what your thoughts would probably be. Any alpha needs to learn how to think ahead and predict the opponent's movements in situations like this."

"So what is he supposed to think we are doing?"

"That we are conserving energy and lengthening the distance. He knows we are trying to get away (at least I hope so) and will know that you will probably try the unexpected. Like going straight towards your own territory. So us doing the obvious will probably throw him off more than doing the unexpected. At least in this case."

I was barely managing to follow line of thinking. It made some sense, but, then again, he was more experienced in these things than I was. So, I did the next thing I could think of to stall jumping into freezing water. I questioned his choice again.

"That's a lot of probably's."

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a 'no', then," was all he said before plunging into the frigid water.

A/N: This was going to be longer, but I decided that (what with my not writing anything in forever and all) you would like something more than nothing. So… voila!