Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I'm just using them.
This chapter is going to be a little different because it's going to be inside Saito's head at first. Enjoy!
…
Saito's mind
Snow crunched beneath the paws of the pitch black wolf; blood dripping down to stain the snow. Torn battle flags, abandoned armor and rotting corpses surrounded him. He had no idea where he was or what had happened to him. A high pitched whine tore itself from the wolf's throat as he heard the keening of the people come to claim their dead. He limped between two bodies, trying to find a way to escape the carnage. The wolf looked around as the people got closer and narrowly avoided the arrow that was aimed at his throat.
"Leave you monster! Get away from here. Find your meal elsewhere you beast." Yelled a woman who threw a rock at him as she fell to her knees next to a young man with a sword slash across his chest. He dodged the rock but fell onto his right side when his front legs collapsed beneath him. He let out another whine as he tried to get his paws beneath him again. The man who had shot at him came forward with another arrow notched. The man loosed the arrow, catching the wolf just beneath his ribs.
He let out a bark of pain and managed to get his paws beneath him. He struggled to stand; churning the bright red snow under his paws. He bared his fangs at the man as the man approached him with a dagger in his hand. The man lunged forward; using his forearm to put pressure on his blood-matted neck. He twisted weakly to bite at the arm, but couldn't get a good grip on the man's arm. He snarled; he wasn't going to go down without a fight.
The man raised his other arm above his head and then looked into the honey gold eyes of the wolf pinned beneath him. The golden eyes were wide with pain and something the man could only describe as fury. The pressure on his neck eased for a moment and he used the rest of his strength to twist his body around and bite the offending limb. His fangs sunk into the man's arm; tearing apart skin, muscle and arteries. The man screamed in agony; dropping the dagger in the bloody snow. He bit down harder before releasing the arm when the man slammed his free fist into the arrow sticking out of his side.
The man scrambled back as the wolf snarled weakly at him. The wolf struggled to stand and stumbled a few steps forward before his legs collapsed beneath him. Another man sat next to the wounded man, trying to stop the bleeding. The man picked up a piece of a banner pole and threw it at the dying wolf. The pole glanced off his left shoulder and fell into the bloody snow. The wolf closed his eyes and let out an unstable breath. He turned his head when he heard the crunch of snow nearby and opened his eyes slightly. The man that stood above him had bright red hair tied up in a warrior's knot. The man knelt down slowly and placed his hand on the wolf's head.
"Rest now Wolf. You've been through a lot. Sleep and come back to me when you are ready." The man said stroking the blood-matted fur. The wolf turned his head, the man's voice sounded so familiar. The man rubbed the wolf's snout and received a small lick in return. The wolf closed his eyes and fell into darkness.
Kenshin's POV
I brushed Saito's hair back and he let out a low groan. He was shifting in his sleep and I could see his eyes moving frantically behind his eyelids. I got up slowly to get more snow and flinched when I heard a high-pitched, agonized whine from Saito. I turned to see him clawing at his wounded side; tearing at the bandages. I limped back over and caught his left hand. He clutched my hand tightly and I winced at his strength. Saito's breathing became fast and erratic; he was panicking.
"Calm down Wolf, nobody is going to hurt you." I said in a quiet voice, extracting my hand to rub his brow and down his nose. Saito let out another whine and he shifted under my hand. I ran my hand over his throat and he snarled at me; turning his head and snapping his bared teeth at me. I yanked my hand back just in time. "Easy Saito, I'm not going to hurt you."
I cautiously put my hand over the wound on his side and checked to make sure that it wasn't bleeding again. Thankfully, it wasn't. When I looked up at Saito's face, his eyes were open but unfocused. I put my hand on his brow again and rubbed down his nose slowly. He pushed up into the touch weakly.
"Rest now Wolf. You've been through a lot. Sleep and come back to me when you are ready." I said watching his eyes close again. I rubbed his brow for a few more minutes before slowly closing my eyes as well.
Well, that was fun. A little odd, but I like it. If you have any ideas or see any errors that I missed please tell me.
Reviews are welcome and wanted. =^_^=