Note: Takes place in a modern AU, unspecified locale.

It was dusk, the trees dark silhouettes against the twilight sky. Out of the corner of her eye, Chizuru saw a flicker of movement—an off-leash dog roaming around the empty playground at Mibu Park. It wore a collar and wasn't emaciated or unkempt, so it was unlikely to be a stray. A wave of anger washed over her at the idea of yet another irresponsible owner just letting their dog wander around off leash and unattended. Did they not care for its safety? Whatever the case, she only hoped Sen's dog would behave if it came closer.

As though summoned by that fleeting thought, the dog's head lifted, and it started a zigzagging slow trot toward her and Princess.

Chizuru looked around. Where was the owner? She peered closer at the dog as it neared them. Was that…a Shiba Inu? Wow! I never see them! They're as unusual as Sen's Basenji!

It dawned on Chizuru then that perhaps said Shiba did not have an irresponsible owner, but rather had gotten separated from them somehow. Either way, the dog was getting far too close to the road for her comfort, and she wasn't about to let him get hit by a car.

She clicked her tongue and held her hand out. The Shiba Inu ran up quickly, panting, and Chizuru snagged his collar. Attached was a tag with his name—Wolf—and two phone numbers, one local, one not. Of course this would be the one time I left my phone at the apartment.

Sighing in resignation, she unclipped Princess's leash and picked the squirming Basenji up, snapping the leash onto Wolf's collar. She had an extra leash back at the apartment, and she wasn't brave—or foolish—enough to pick up a strange dog, no matter how friendly he seemed.

No one looking for a lost dog approached them on the short walk home, so after giving Wolf some water and settling Princess, she grabbed her phone and took another look at the tag. The first number was long distance, the second local. Chizuru shrugged and dialed the first, figuring she'd proceed in order.

The call connected, and she heard a muffled "I've got it, Kondo," followed by a terse, "Yes?"

"Um, hi, yes, do…do you have a Shiba Inu named Wolf? I found—"

"Yes, thank God you found him," the man cut in, though to Chizuru, his tone sounded more exasperated than relieved. "Where did you find him?"

"At Mibu Park near the Oni Apartment Complex. It's in—"

Again he interrupted. "Yes, yes, I know where that is. My little brother is at the park looking for him. I'll have him call you, and he can meet you somewhere." A pause and some background noise. "If that's convenient for you, I mean."

Though he couldn't see her, Chizuru smiled at the brusque man's attempt to be more polite. She wondered if perhaps someone had told him to be friendlier to the person who'd rescued his—assuming it was his—dog.

"Of course! I live at Oni Apartments, so it's very close," she said cheerfully as she knelt down to pet Wolf.

"Thank you," he said and then hung up, without offering his name or asking hers.

Well, I suppose that's not all that unexpected. We are strangers—I just happened to find a lost dog, she thought. "Still," she said out loud to Wolf and Princess, "it's not like I'm some sort of blood sucking demon."

Wolf's tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth as he angled his head up at her, giving her a doggy grin as he still panted slightly. To her left, Sen's dog pranced excitedly and play bowed, clearly hoping Chizuru had brought her a playmate. She giggled. "Sorry, sweet girl, he's not for keeps."

Her phone rang, and an unfamiliar number popped up. "Hello?"

"Hey, uh, I'm calling about Wolf?"

"Oh, yes, I'm the one who found him."

She heard a loud, and relieved, exhale. "Oh thank God! Seriously, you saved my life!"

Chizuru laughed. "Sure, no problem. Are you still at Mibu Park?"

"No, but we're close by. We left to drive around that neighborhood across the street to see if he ran over there."

She knew the neighborhood he referred to and said as much. "If you know Oni Apartments, I can meet you at the apartment office, or I can walk back over to the park."

"Nah, we can come there! Thanks!"

When he hung up, Chizuru threw on a light jacket and said to Princess, "Be right back, okay? Be good!"

She'd been sitting outside on the curb for about ten minutes when her phone rang again. "Hello?"

It was the young man from before, sounding sheepish. "Uh…so…we don't actually know how to get to the apartments from here. So…can we just meet you at the park?"

Chizuru pressed her lips together to avoid laughing. She'd wondered if they'd gotten lost—it was a difficult to find entrance if you weren't familiar with the area. "Sure, that's fine."

Heading over to the park for the second time that evening, she chose a bench near the entrance and waited. A moment later, a small SUV pulled up, and a good-looking guy with a long brown ponytail leapt out of the passenger side.

When his turquoise-colored eyes alighted on the Shiba Inu, a broad grin spread across his face. "Wolf!" The man grabbed Chizuru's hands and said emphatically, "My brother—fraternity brother, I mean—was going to killme! Thank you so much!"

Chizuru shook her head, smiling. "It really wasn't a big deal—I was already out walking my friend's dog."

"Still…thank you! Do, uh, you have a Pay pal or something, so I can give you some money?"

"What? Oh, God, no," she said, waving her hands. "You don't need to do that! I just did what anyone would do in that situation."

The driver of the SUV, an attractive redhead, stuck his head out the window. "Heisuke! Hurry up, we gotta go!"

"Oh, shit, sorry! Thanks again!" Heisuke said, scooping up Wolf and hurrying back to the vehicle.

Well, that was interesting…

A week later, Sen was off on another business trip and Chizuru was back at Mibu Park with Princess, this time well after dark. The two of them were the sole park visitors, so she had no trouble hearing the soft jingle of dog tags. Turning to look, she was surprised to see a Shiba Inu making a beeline for them.

"Wolf?"

The dog gave a short happy bark and ran around her feet, snuffling Princess for a moment before bowing and prancing to incite play. Chizuru shook her head. "C'mon, you two."

She lifted Wolf up into her arms, since she now knew he was friendly, and headed for a bench. Dialing the first number on his tag, she waited as it rang. And rang. And rang.

"The person you have called has a voicemail box that has not been setup yet."

Weird. She shrugged and tried the second one, the one with a local area code.

"Shinsengumi House, Saito speaking."

"Um, yes, I'm calling about Wolf?" she said hesitantly. Was this the fraternity house Heisuke had mentioned?

"Wolf?"

Then in the background, she heard an irritated voice snap, "Damnit Shinpachi! Saito, give me the phone."

"One moment please," Saito said politely, and then a less courteous, but more familiar, voice spoke.

"Let me guess. Someone found the damn dog again?"

"Um…yes?"

There was a short silence, and then the man said, "Wait a minute… Is this the same person who found him last week?"

"Um…yes?" she repeated, not entirely sure if that was good or not.

An audible sigh came across the phone line. "Look, uh, Miss…"

"Chizuru," she supplied helpfully.

"Miss Chizuru. I appreciate you finding Wolf. Again. I'll have the idiot who lost him this time call you and figure out where to meet you." And then, as before, he hung up without waiting for her reply.

At least it's a safe area since I'm going to be waiting around after dark…

She looked at Wolf. "Your owner is rather cranky, huh? Is that why you keep running away, or are you just a naughty boy?" The dog cocked his head at her questioningly, and she giggled. "Right. Like you're going to be honest if it's the latter."

Her phone rang, making her jump, and given that it was an unfamiliar number, she presumed it was that aforementioned "idiot" calling.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Is this the person who found Wolf?"

"Yep!"

"Oh, good, thank God. Hijikata was going to kill me!" he said, and Chizuru felt a sense of déjà vu. Just who was this dog's owner?

She laughed lightly. "Yes, um, I've heard that before."

"Huh? Oh, did you find him last time? Dang, now Heisuke and I both owe you!"

"No, really, it's not a big deal—"

"You still at the park?" he asked, interrupting.

"I am. If you're close by, I can meet you here, or I can meet you at Oni Apartment," she said.

"Park's perfect. Yo, Sano! Back to Mibu Park! See ya in a sec, k?"

Before she could agree, he hung up, and Chizuru wondered belatedly if that Saito fellow was the only one in this group of men who had any sort of phone etiquette.

Not too long after that, a familiar SUV turned into the parking lot, and a brown-haired man with a green bandanna jumped out. She could barely make out the driver in the dark, but it appeared to be the same redhead as the week before—"Sano" maybe?

The brunet loped up and crouched down to look Wolf in the face. "Dude, Wolf, what the hell? You tryin' to get me killed?" His tone was playful, though, and the dog clearly knew him, if the happy bark and slurps to the man's face were anything to go by. Then the man glanced up and met her gaze. His bright blue eyes wandered over her leisurely before returning to her face, and his lips curved in a slow, easy smile.

"Hey, thanks for saving the mutt here!" He stuck out his hand. "Nagakura Shinpachi."

"Yukimura Chizuru." She shook his hand. "But you do know he's not a mutt, right? I'm no expert, but he looks like a purebred Shiba Inu to me."

A voice spoke from behind them. "Ignore him, ma'am. Wolf is purebred. Shin's just an idiot."

She twisted around to see the driver, who was indeed the redhead she'd seen last week. When had he gotten out of the car? She hadn't even heard footsteps!

"Oi, Sano! What the fu…" Shinpachi trailed off when his friend smacked him upside the head, and Chizuru couldn't resist giggling.

"I'm Harada Sanosuke. Sorry about these two"—he indicated Shinpachi and the dog—"the little one took advantage of Shin having one too many drinks."

Drinks? A lightbulb went on. "Oh! Were you two at Shimabara?" she asked. A couple blocks over, a new bar had opened up the month prior. She remembered Sen telling her they had a pet-friendly outdoor area.

"Yeah, you know it?" Sanosuke asked, looking faintly surprised.

She nodded. "My friend's cousin Kimigiku works there."

"Ooh, she the one with the…" Shinpachi gestured, and Chizuru felt herself flush. Sanosuke just rolled his eyes.

"Would you shut up? But yes, that's who she's talking about." Sanosuke paused. "I'm sorry—I didn't catch your name."

"Chizuru."

He smiled, one that reached all the way to his unusual golden eyes. "It was lovely to meet you, Chizuru. Thanks for rescuing Wolf and saving our asses." He jerked his head at the SUV. "C'mon, Shin, we better go."

"Yeah, yeah, all right…"

The two jogged off toward the car, Shinpachi hollering his thanks over his shoulder as Sanosuke tossed back a "See you around" with a grin.

When they left, Chizuru looked at Princess. "You know, my life was a lot less exciting before I started petsitting for you."

Two weeks later, on a pretty Sunday afternoon, Chizuru was at Mibu Park out walking her friend Shiranui's cat. Yes, cat. Cookie, the large Bengal, enjoyed the outings. Not to mention Sen's cousin Kazama had learned the hard way that if Cookie didn't get enough attention and activity, she was quite destructive. Kazama had been furious about his inability to get his deposit back, and Shiranui, the ass, had found the whole thing, and the state of Kazama's blinds, hilarious. Hence the reason Chizuru now took care of the cat when Shiranui was out of town.

Suddenly, Cookie arched her back and hissed, tail poofing. At the same time, Chizuru heard the telltale chime of tags on a dog collar and rustling grass.

She looked to her right, the direction the Bengal was hissing, and her eyes widened.

"Wolf?"

The dog popped his head up, giving her a goofy doggy smile, and began running their way. Needless to say, Cookie was less than thrilled, and she bolted, only to be brought up short by the leash.

"Shit, shit, shit, I'm so sorry, Cookie! Hang on…" Chizuru untangled the irate cat as quickly as possible and just in the nick of time snagged the wayward Shiba before he could spook the cat again.

"All right, let's get you back to the apartment," she said to the cat. "And then we'll call your owner. Again," she said to Wolf. Chizuru ignored the odd stares a couple of other park visitors gave her. So she talked to the pets. Who cares?

Once she put the cat in her guest room so Cookie would stop snarling and slapping at Wolf, Chizuru got her phone and dialed the increasingly recognizable number from his tag.

A new voice answered this time. "This is Kondo." The man sounded pleasant and cheerful, and having become accustomed to the crabbier guy—Hijikata, maybe? She didn't know—Chizuru was caught off guard.

"Um…I'm calling about…your Shiba Inu, Wolf? I found him at Mibu Park."

"Wolf? Oh no, did he sneak off again? I'm so sorry!" Kondo sounded genuinely apologetic.

"It's okay. Should I meet you at the park?"

Kondo hummed thoughtfully. "Let me have Souji call you. Wolf was with him and Saito. Thank you, Miss…?"

"Chizuru. Yukimura Chizuru."

"Thank you, Chizuru. I'll have Souji call you right away."

Moments later, her phone rang, and yet another new number showed on the screen. "Hello?"

"Is this Chizuru?"

"Yes, this is she. Are you calling about Wolf?"

"Good guess. But then, from what I've gathered, this isn't your first time rescuing the stupid dog." The man she supposed was Souji sounded irritated, and Chizuru couldn't quite tell if it was at her or the dog.

"He isn't stupid," she said defensively. From what she'd seen, though that was admittedly limited, the Shiba was rather intelligent.

"Hmm…if you say so. So where are you? We're at Mibu Park, and I don't see Wolf anywhere."

"Oh! Sorry, we're at my apartment—I had to run home because he was scaring the cat."

"You took Kondo's dog to your apartment? Wait…did you say cat?"

Chizuru let out a sigh. "Yes, I was out walking my friend's cat. Don't ask."

Souji snorted. "Fine by me. Weirdo…" Before she could protest, he said, "Look, what complex?"

She gave him the name, and once she'd said she'd meet him at the apartment office, he hung up.

She only had to wait a few minutes before a car drove up and parked, and two men got out. One had short tousled reddish-brown hair, while the other had long indigo hair pulled back in a ponytail.

The short-haired man glared at the dog as he took the leash from her hands. "I hate this damn dog," he muttered. Then he looked at Chizuru, and his green eyes narrowed into slits. "If you tell Kondo I said that, I'll kill you."

Jeeze…what the hell! It was impossible to decipher if he was joking or not.

She raised her hands in submission. "Why would I tell him? I don't even know him…or you."

The indigo-haired man sighed deeply. "Souji."

"What? Saito, you can't deny it's suspicious she's found Wolf three times in the last month."

Saito shook his head, eyes sympathetic as his gaze met Chizuru's momentarily. "Actually, considering that Wolf seems to like her, and given the proximity of her apartment to Mibu Park, it's not at all suspicious. Besides," he said calmly, "if she wanted to steal him, I highly doubt she'd bother calling to return him."

Souji's expression remained skeptical, but then he shrugged. "Whatever. Thanks for saving him, I guess. Kondo would be upset if anything happened to him." He stalked off toward the car with the dog in tow, and Saito bent his head toward Chizuru briefly. "My apologies for Souji's behavior. He's overprotective of Kondo… And he's also more of a cat person."

She smiled. "Me too. But Wolf's a good dog."

"Yes. Well, thank you again, Miss Yukimura," Saito said before leaving.

Chizuru returned to her apartment and let Cookie out of her confinement. Flopping on the sofa, she watched the Bengal slink around, belly low to the ground, investigating where the dog had been, and she let out a short laugh. "And Sen wonders why I don't have any pets of my own…"

A week later, Chizuru was taking an early evening walk at Mibu Park, for once unaccompanied by any animals, when she heard a yip she'd become well acquainted with.

You've got to be kidding me…

She stopped in her tracks, not even bothering to turn around, and a second later, a collarless Wolf ran up to her, hopping up and putting his front paws on her thighs.

She couldn't help it. She laughed. Hard. Borderline hysterically, even.

She dropped into a cross-legged position on the ground, letting Wolf crawl into her lap, him licking her face contentedly as she continued to giggle.

"Wolf!" she heard someone bellow. Then the sound of deliberate footsteps stomped toward them. "Wolf? Goddamnit, dog, where the hell did you go?"

Choking back more giggles, Chizuru called out, "Um, excuse me? Wolf is over here with me."

She looked down at the dog lounging contentedly across her lap and scratched behind his ears.

"There you are," a now-familiar, and annoyed, voice said.

Chizuru glanced up, and her breath caught in her throat. In front of her stood one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen, his frustrated expression notwithstanding. His dark hair, which was pulled into a tidy ponytail, fluttered slightly in the breeze, and his violet gaze held her captive.

Surely this wasn't the same man she'd spoken to on the phone. What were the odds?

At this point, I'll believe anything.

He frowned at her as he took in the sight of the dog snuggled into her. Then he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let me guess. You're Chizuru."

She nodded, unsure of whether he was going to react suspiciously as Souji had. To her infinite shock, however, he sat on the ground next to her and then extended his hand.

"I suppose, then, proper introductions are in order. Hijikata Toshizo. Obviously you've met Wolf. He's my friend Kondo's dog, and apparently he has a knack for being an escape artist."

Chizuru giggled. "Yes, well, at least this time I don't have Cookie with me."

Hijikata arched an eyebrow in question.

"She's a cat," Chizuru explained.

"A cat? You were walking a cat?" He paused as if remembering. "You know, Souji mentioned that, but I just assumed he was screwing with me."

She shook her head, smiling. "She's a Bengal, and she—"

"—needs lots of stimulation," he finished.

"You're familiar with Bengals?"

Hijikata rolled his eyes. "Yes, Souji has one."

"Is that a bad thing?" Chizuru asked, confused.

"Well…yes and no. No, because he's a great cat. In fact, we get along really well, much to Souji's dismay. And yes, because…" He heaved a long-suffering sigh. "That little shit named him after me."

Chizuru burst out laughing. His tone was so plaintive, she couldn't hold it back, but at the sharp look he gave her, she pressed a hand to her mouth in an attempt to stifle it.

"Sorry…"

A small smile tugged at his lips. "No, it's fine. I'm used to it. Much in the way you're used to that, I guess." He nodded to the sleepy Shiba in her lap.

She shrugged. "I really don't mind. If anything, it's kept the last few weeks interesting."

"Well, either way, we owe you."

Chizuru waved a hand dismissively. "No, no, really. Like I said the first time, it's what anyone would do, what I would want someone to do if I were in your position."

"Be that as it may, we've inconvenienced you now multiple times, and from what Saito said, Souji, that idiot, even threatened you."

"Yes, but—"

"But nothing. Let me take you to dinner," he said firmly.

Her eyes widened, and her mouth went dry. This man wanted to take her to dinner?

Knock it off, Chizuru. It's not like that…it's just because of the dog.

"Really, you're under no obligation to—" she began.

His jaw tightened and his brows drew into a sharp V. "I never said that it was." He stood and brushed himself off, then held out a hand to her. "Truly, taking you to dinner would certainly be no hardship."

Chizuru held Wolf in one arm and took Hijikata's hand with the other, getting to her feet and trying to ignore the warmth in her cheeks. Motioning to the dog she had cradled in her arms, she asked, "What about him?"

"That little devil has had more than his fair share of nights out on the town. He is not going. If it's all right with you, we'll take Wolf home on our way? Unless you already have plans, that is."

"Oh! No, no, that's perfect."

And so began their first date.

Although their first evening out might have been predominantly a thank-you dinner for rescuing Kondo's canine Houdini, Hijikata and Chizuru's many subsequent dates were not due to the dog. And while Hijikata would never admit it, he was more than a little thankful to Wolf for bringing the two of them together.

However, he was not, as Souji had suggested, going to let the dog be the ringbearer at their wedding.

The End

Author's Notes:

1. This story is partially based on a true story. One night my husband and I were out walking our dog in our neighborhood and found a Shiba Inu, a rarity in our neck of the woods, roaming around both leashless and ownerless. Anyway, while his name was not "Wolf," he did have two numbers on his tag, and I did call the first one and got a man who said the dog had been with his brother (they'd been hiking at the nearby nature preserve) and the dog had gotten away from him and he'd have his brother call me. Unlike Hijikata, the man was extremely polite and thankful, though he fail to ask my name or mention his.
The younger brother who called shortly thereafter did in fact say "oh my God, you saved my life" and when he arrived to claim the dog, said "my brother was going to kill me." And he did ask about Pay Pal (I was quite stunned—do people not just return lost pets out of the goodness of their hearts? WTF people.). Anyway, that was the last we saw or heard of the Shiba.

2. I realize that while this has a rather western-setting feel to it, I didn't switch the names to their western order. Apologies if this bothers you, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I came to Hakuouki first through the subbed anime and then the game, in which the audio is Japanese, so I am a bit more used to hearing the names in that order. Personal and authorial preference and whatnot.

3. Thanks for reading! As always, reviews pay the muse bills :-)