Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Secrets and Lies ❯ SL-Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

JC: We're back!!!

Kathrine: Too much to go through to try and give you a full explanation, let's just say we had a little Writer's Block. Anyway, this chapter puts a lot into perspective.

JC: Including a little humor at Yami Masho's expense.

Kathrine: And the ending is due to how angry we were after watching the Animated 'The Hobbit' all over again. ELVES ARE NOT SHORT, GREEN, AND UGLY!!!!

JC: Seiji angst, included! Plus a cliffhanger!

Kathrine: Enjoy. This came form a specific request by a reviewer.

Disclaimer: We do not own anything accept certain characters. NO ANIME!!!! HAPPY?!!!

Warnings: Dark at times, Abuse, Yaoi/Shounen Ai, Odd Humor.

Secrets and Lies

By Kathrine and JC

Chapter 3

/ Callused hands rubbed across his back, soothing the aches from a long night at work. It had been a trying day and he was glad that his lover was willing to show him such affection. He let out a deep moan of appreciation as a particular knotted muscle was relieved. Times like these were the most precious to him, times when he could simply be there with his lover and none of their arguments or disagreements were coming between them.

" Mmmm…" he purred under the careful ministrations. " Thank you for this…"

His lover merely chuckled, " You know I love seeing you so unwound. So beautiful…so precious…" A hand stroked through his hair, gently caressing his scalp. The body lifted itself from his back, but the hand remained. " So beautiful…"

He could feel himself blush at that. The blonde never ceased to do so whenever his lover said such things to him. It allowed him to forget, to push past transgressions to the back and focus on the present. Right then it was just them, him, his lover, and the love they shared for each other. He turned over, staring into brown eyes that seemed to hold little specks of green, a tint that made them almost hazel in hue, but not enough to make it concrete.

" Who was that guy you were speaking to when I came to pick you up?" The question came suddenly, an unbidden intrusion to their peaceful moment.

" Nio?" he questioned. " His cat pulled a muscle in its left hind leg. The poor thing hated having to stay still and Kikyo almost had to put it in a cast to keep it from injuring itself further. Why?"

Broad shoulder shrugged, hand still petting him reverently. " He just seemed to be staring at you a little too much before we left," he spoke.

The blonde didn't like where this was going. He heard the tone in his lover's voice and wanted to steer clear of it. " Nio's one of our regulars," he explained. " He and his wife love pets. They have birds, dogs, cats, fish, and even a small iguana. I doubt he would even think about me that way. Don't worry."

" I still think he was staring at you funny," the other frowned.

" Believe me, he's in a very happy relationship," he reassured him. " There's nothing to worry about. He doesn't even look at guys that way."

The hand stopped petting. " Tell me you haven't slept with him," the other all but demanded.

His eyes widened in disbelief. " Nani?!" he sat up immediately. "How can you ask me something like that?! I don't even leave the apartment unless to work! Gods, he's like twenty years older than me and looks thirty!"

" Tell me you haven't slept with him," the voice was getting angry, frustrated. The fingers in his hair tightened.

" Please calm down," the blonde told him, trying to avoid the confrontation he knew was coming. " Of course I haven't slept with him. Why would I? I love you, remember?"

" Good," the fingers pulled his head forward roughly. Lips pressing against his with bruising force. He didn't object to it, allowing the other to dominate him in their intimate embrace. The other hand gasped at his shirt, pulling on it in a silent command to have it removed. The blonde began to unbutton it, but his lover obviously believed him not fast enough and simply pulled on it hard enough to pop most of the small clasps from their threads.

This caused the blonde to pull forcefully away and frown. " This was my favorite shirt," he stated. " You bought it for me last year for our…" His protests were halted by the demanding lips and tongue that covered his mouth, silencing his words. But he wasn't about to let this go. He was truly upset about his shirt. He didn't have many nice shirts that he could where to work and still feel like he was comfortable because he'd gotten taller and somewhat skinny for the size of his clothes he'd brought with him from home.

He put up a hand and pushed the other man back, scooting out from beneath him slightly. " Stop," he said. " I'm too tired for this and you just ruined my favorite shirt. That pretty much killed the mood for me."

A fist swung out, catching him in the face with the back of the hand. Brown eyes darkened as they stared at him, the green becoming more apparent. His head cracked to the side, pulling the muscles and nerves in his neck to the point of strain and discomfort. His hand flew to his face, but was grabbed in a harsh grip before it could reach its destination. He couldn't help but stare with one wide eye as the dull pain from his cheek and chin began to throb.

" Y-You hit me…" he spoke, his voice holding the disbelief that he was unable to hide. They had argued often, but never had it gotten to the point of violence, unless you count a few broken glasses and ripped books.

A tug on his arm brought him closer. He looked down at the callused fingers that wrapped around his wrist and felt them began to loosen their grip before completely letting go. " You're mine," his lover whispered, in his deep voice, his mouth near the blonde's ear. " You made me hit you. You know how much it hurts me to even think about you leaving me. I just wouldn't be able to stand it. I love you so much." A hand caressed his cheek in a weak form of apology.

He gave a nod, giving like he always did. It was his fault anyway, he shouldn't have gotten so upset. His lover was just worried about losing him. He should feel happy that someone cared so much about him. To show his forgiveness he kissed the other sensually before falling backwards onto the bed once more, bringing the other man on top of him. He saw the smile of appreciation on the others face before he began kissing the side of his face.

Teeth then attacked his neck, kissing and biting, though the latter seemed far harsher and more aggressive than usual. But he ignored it, he had to do this, had to show his love that everything was all right. If the other thought things were too complicated, he might just leave him to put an end to it and he couldn't let that happen. He was all he had left. The only one who cared…/

He didn't even realize that he was wandering off until he felt the knife he held cutting into his skin. Seiji jumped in surprise, the steak knife clattering to the pale blue-tiled floor of his kitchenette. He stared at the thin yet deep looking cut across the palm beneath his thumb. He had been working on his dinner for the night, wanting to eat before leaving for work when he had been taken back through time in his memories.

I had actually believed he had left me alone, he thought. After seven weeks of nothing…why can't he just let go? Ever since the phone call to his job two days ago he had been extremely distracted by the thought that his former lover was once again trying to 'convince' him to return to his side. Their relationship had not ended well…to put it in the nicest terms. But things had steadily gotten worse to the point where he couldn't take anymore. It was just too much for him.

He cleaned the wound in the sink before going into the bathroom and put anti-septic spray on it. It stung, but it was nothing he wasn't accustomed to. He then put antibiotic ointment on the cut before wrapping his hand in a bandage to stop the bleeding. Afterwards, he returned to the kitchen and put the food an airtight container and cleaned up. I'll eat when I get home from work, he thought. With my nerves so up tight, I don't think I could keep it down anyway.

*****

" Where do you want us to go?" Naaza thought that he had heard wrong.

" To a bar on Geni Street, the Shuriken," Anubis explained.

" And why should we go again?" the green-haired man inquired. " I don't really see the point."

Rajura gave a small smirk before draping his arms over his lover's shoulders from where he stood behind the couch in their living room. " Because we don't go out as all three of us anymore," he replied. " It will be a good way to do something and not go extravagant or outlandish. Not to mention the fact that 'Nubie's 'crush' works there."

" But we're already going to the museum like you wan-" Doku halted when he realized all of what the white-haired man had said. " Crush?!" His scrutinizing gaze fell on the younger man. " Since when?! You actually found someone you're interested in? What did the guy have to do? Bring someone he killed on accident back to life before taking himself to jail for it?"

Anubis gave him a harsh yet confused glare. " What is that supposed to mean?"

" Gods," Naaza sighed. " You have only had three interests the entire time we've known you. One was the warrior you heard of before coming to the Youjakai that had ruined his own life after he failed to save a farm from being burned down and an old woman ended up being left homeless. Remember? You even said that he'd left his own home to the woman, leaving himself poor and homeless. You hadn't even met the guy!"

" I merely said that it was honorable and generous of his to do something like that when no one else ever would have!" the blue-haired man defended.

" And went on about it until even after we'd joined Arago!" Naaza snorted. " Another was for that Anime character, 'Ruroushin Kenni', or something like that. You liked him because he had killed so many people and yet spent ten years trying to make up for it by being a wandering samurai. He was a fake TV character and yet you watched the show everyday it came on! Gods, we had to buy you the show on DVD and ALL the mangas!" He wanted to smack the man beside him! " Let's not even get into that fatal obsession you had with Korin no Seiji during the War!"

Anubis became somewhat still at that. " 'Fatal Obsession'?" he repeated.

" Obsessive crush + warped state of mind = trying to kill off said crush," Doku replied seriously. " I was sure you were going to kill him and preserve the body on your wall. Even after we weren't under Arago's control you had infatuation of him. Face it, you have this thing for people who try to repent after doing dark deeds, or are so honorable they would rather kill themselves than see another in a bad situation."

" Am I that bad?" the younger man asked, giving a questioning glance to Rajura.

The white-haired man shrugged. " Well…you're really hard to please so the change has to be really drastic to interest you and the guy had to either be a saint or getting there. Trust me, it's only because of you're little 'the dark goes with the light' belief."

" I don't even know why I speak with you two," he sighed. " Rajura, you know he's worth it and I don't plan on missing such an opportunity."

" So we're going to a bar?" Naaza repeated what had been the start of their entire conversation. " Good, after analyzing your love life patterns, I NEED a drink." He was then followed with a smack in the forehead by a round, rubber ball that was often found in Anubis' pocket for just such an occasion.

*****

The night at the bar had been going rather well, seeing as they had only been open for a little over an hour, but Mondays were always this calm. Everyone who usually caused trouble over the weekend was still at work for another hour or so. That was why he enjoyed Mondays the most, they were his days to relieve the stress of the weekend. Especially with all that had occurred this late weekend, working late at the bar, having extra duty at the pet shop, and then the incident that led him to the pleasant reunion with a few of the former Masho, which led to quite a bit of built up tension. Strangely though… this was a calm Tuesday.

" Order of three bottles sake and a Jack Daniel's for Table Two," Haimu relayed. "The four guys look really beat too, so try to hurry. I think they really need it." Then they heard the sound of the bell that hung on the hook above the door ring, alerting them to the either the exit or entrance of more customers. " I think we have some more on-comers, I better take them to Table Six."

" I understand," he gave her a nod. He pulled out three bottles of sake, setting them on the tray with four glasses before going under the counter to pick up one of the house favorite's, dear old Jack. He set the bottle on the tray and put filled the glasses with three pieces of ice each in less than five seconds. In his past five years of working at the Shuriken he's gotten fast at handling the beverages. Sara enjoyed watching him sometimes, joking that he should attempt to put himself in the Guinness Book of World Records.

" You're very quick at that," he heard a voice, one he'd recently been reacquainted with, compliment.

Seiji turned, a look of surprise on his face, " Anubis?" Seiji then smiled at the blue-haired man. " I didn't think you'd come back after the day before yesterday."

" Well, I like the service they have here, and I had to find away to get those two out of the house together," Yami pointed to the Naaza and Rajura sitting at a table not too far away. " Naaza wanted to go to get a drink before going with Rajura to the new museum exhibition that opened today. I think it's so that he will be more agreeable with Rajura's tastes."

" Well I hope they don't get offended too easily," Seiji warned him quietly.

" Rajura can keep Naaza in check," he assured him. The blonde waved to Haimu, who then came and picked up the tray, giving a happy wink to both he and Yami before going off to deliver the order to Table Two.

That's when a voice yelled happily from behind him. " Hey it's you!" Anubis turned around and gave a welcoming smile to the small, orange-haired woman.

" Hello again," he greeted her.

" I see that Blondie's new 'friend' decided to show up," Sara smirked, and Seiji blushed slightly at her tone. " I guess I'll be seeing you more often?"

" I like to come visit interesting places once in a while," Anubis replied mysteriously.

" Is that a 'yes'?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow. " I don't do well with riddles or the like."

" Sara, he's just come up to order for him and his friends," Seiji tried to end their conversation. " I think they'll be irritated if he takes too long."

" Well, I'll deal with him," she waved her hand absently. " Why don't you go check the stock of sake and Jack Daniel's? They usually are the first two we run out on, especially with how they're going tonight."

The blonde didn't seem too happy with this decision, but he knew it wasn't a request. Nodding to her and then Anubis, he back away from the counter as the woman took his place and walked into the back room.

" Well now that he's gone we can talk," Sara gave him a seemingly innocent smile that had mischievous undertones.

" About what?" Yami questioned.

" Why, Blondie, of course," she acted as if it was so obvious. " Now you said that you knew him from a while back, how long ago? How did you meet? What was he like when you met him? Has he always been so quiet and mysterious? Come on, I want answers!" (A/N: All said without taking a breath. Only separated so you can read.)

Anubis merely sated at her in awe, eyes blinking in confusion. How could someone ask so many questions in one breath? Why did she want to know? Were all people so nosy?

" Well?" she gave him a stern look. " Answers?"

" I met him when he was fourteen," he replied. " How we met is none of your concern, I didn't know him well enough back then, and yes he didn't seem to talk too much."

" That doesn't help," she frowned.

" Now you must tell me why you asked those questions,' he told her.

" Seiji doesn't talk about himself and I've been dying to find out more about him since I first hired him," she explained. " So you met him when he was fourteen? So what would that have made you, nineteen or eighteen? Seventeen? You don't seem too much older than him."

" Well…" Anubis couldn't really explain to her that he was over four hundred-fifty years old. " Eighteen," he answered, knowing that was how old he had looked at the time. He, Rajura, and Naaza only aged since he and the other two had left the Youjakai for good.

" Anubis!" an irritated voice yelled at him. The blue-haired man didn't have to turn around to know that Naaza was glaring at his back.

" Those are your friends?" Sara asked. " Great!" She then walked from behind the counter and waved her hand to Jason, who nodded at her and took his place to keep the customers from attempting anything. She grabbed Anubis' arm and pulled him over to the table where Rajura and Naaza sat waiting. Still too confused by her bluntness and dominating attitude, the swordsman let her. He would have thought her rude if she didn't act so friendly the rest of the time.

" Hey!" she beamed at them. " I'm Sara, the co-owner of this establishment. I hope you find it satisfactory."

The green-haired man was about to speak, but Rajura stopped him. " Everything seems fine except that service is a little slow tonight."

" My fault," she told them. " I've been keeping your friend here busy. So do you two know Blondie as well?"

" Blondie?" Naaza didn't understand. Rajura sighed, having not told his lover about Korin being in their home or of Anubis having come to the bar before to see.

" Seiji? Date Seiji? Blonde, pale violet eyes, doesn't seem to talk much?" Sara repeated. Naaza's eyes seemed to widen for a moment before he turned to look at Rajura.

" Korin?" he whispered into the white-haired man's ear. " What would Korin no Seiji be doing around here?"

" Well…" Rajura truly didn't know how to explain, but the green-haired man's attention was taken by the figure that had come from the doorway behind the bar. Seiji carried two boxes in and sat them down under the bar. Naaza seemed to be shocked.

" That is not Korin," he whispered in denial.

" What are you two whispering about?" Sara demanded to know. " I hate being left out of the loop."

" We just hasn't seen him in quite a few years and he looks different," Rajura partially lied. Naaza hadn't seen Korin in years and he DID look different from what they had expected.

" Changed since he first came to work for us," she agreed. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Seiji was putting away the bottles he'd brought from the back room, purposefully trying to ignore the fact that she was talking to Anubis and the others.

" Sara!" Jason called to her. " Get up here!" He was giving her a warning glare that told her she needed to pay more attentions to getting customers their drinks than chitchatting with some of them.

She sighed, but then gave a grin. " Well gotta go," she told them. " Nice meeting ya, though. You'll have to stick around so that we can talk more. Oh…and I'll bring ya a bottle of sake, on the house."

" Arigato," Anubis shrugged. " And about the other…we'll see." She patted him on the arm playfully before practically skipping to the bar counter. He then turned his eyes to Naaza, knowing that a questioning glare would be waiting for him.

" How long have you known that Korin no Seiji worked here?" the green-haired man asked in a feigned calm tone.

" Since two days ago," the blue-haired man replied.

" And you knew about this," Naaza accused Rajura. " Why did you not tell me?"

"Spend less time at an auto shop and you would have found out for yourself," the white-haired man answered spitefully. " He was attacked, Anubis helped him then brought him to our apartment to tend to his injury. You were sleeping then and gone before anyone could tell you. It's your own fault."

Naaza was thinking about just being plain childish and sticking his tongue out at his lover, but thought better of it. He instead turned his eyes back to the blonde that was serving drinks to a man and woman who had just entered the bar a few minutes before. " What happened to him?" he inquired. " I know he did not look so weak when we fought him and the others. Do they even know he is here?"

" We have not spoken to them since the war, how should we know?" Rajura frowned.

" They don't," Anubis told them confidently. " He's here to hide, they don't know. I'm sure of that."

" His family probably doesn't even know," Rajura sighed.

" Well…what are we going to do?" Naaza asked after a moment of silence.

" Nani?" Anubis raised a curious brow to him.

" You're attracted to him," the green-haired man shrugged. " You were then and you still are. HE'S the 'crush' you spoke of. I know that Rajura pities him for some reason and you both want to help him. I'm not going to stop you, but I would like to know what we shall be doing to aid him in his troubles."

" You're too observant sometimes," Anubis finally sat down in his chair.

" No, you two are just very obvious in this," he replied with a smirk. " Yami, are you sure he doesn't have a boyfriend or something? He could already be taken."

" The first night I came to see him here the woman, Sara, thought I was his new boyfriend," he explained. " I don't believe he is with anyone."

That is when Seiji suddenly appeared, " Here is your sake." He set it down on the table with three glasses.

" Thank you," he smiled.

The blonde gave him a quick nod of acknowledgment. " I do hope that Sara wasn't too much of a bother to you."

" Just very curious," Rajura assured him.

" It has been quite some time since we last seen each other," Naaza told him. " Quite a show from Fate, is it not?"

Seiji merely replied, " Fate is only what she herself wishes to be. She works in ways only few understand. Now I must get back to the counter." The three nodded and he turned to leave their company.

" Wait," Anubis called to him. " What happened to your hand?"

" Oh nothing," he replied somewhat offhandedly. " I simply cut it while cooking today. The knife whet through swifter then I first thought."

" I hope it heals well," the blue-haired man told him.

" Thank you for your concern," he smiled before continuing on his way.

" He remains as courteous as ever," Naaza stated softly after he had gone, " But it seems the light that once dwelled has greatly dimmed within him. He smiled and it never reached his eyes."

" We know," Rajura sighed. " But we do not understand what has transpired to cause such a change." He shook his head before drinking his glass of sake down.

" He is someone who needs others though he does not realize it himself," Anubis said, more to himself than to his companions. " 'Tis why I know he needs our assistance."

Naaza snickered at him, " It's always the tragically honorable." Anubis smacked him on the arm. " Look, we have a museum that closes as eleven and you have an blonde to stalk. We have to get going. You…can pay the bill." He drank that last from his cup, then pushed back his chair and stood, pulling Rajura with him. " We won't wait up if you decide to stay out late." A wink was shared before they headed towards the door.

Anubis watched them leave but was shocked when the door to the pub was shoved open, almost hitting Rajura if he hadn't agilely stepped out of the way. A man had just entered the room, a look on his face that was quite intent on something. Something is about to happen, the former Masho knew. Something ill indeed.

*****

He knew that something was wrong when he heard the harsh opening of the door. The entire room seemed to go on, but to his mind everything had become more tuned out. He heard a gasp from beside him and saw the look of shock on Sara's face.

" You best watch what you're doing," he heard Naaza's voice and it sounded more than a little angry.

" I don't have time for you. I have someone I have to speak to."

Oh Gods, he felt his blood run cold. Everything stopped right then for him. He turned his attention to the side of the room where the door was and to the man that the Doku Masho was staring down. The dark-haired man was staring right back at him, but his brown eyes were filled impatience. Please no…not at my job… Can't he leave me be? He could feel the sense of apprehension and worry rising into his throat. He would know that face, those eyes anywhere. " Gods…Tomi…"

Kathrine: Ooh, this just get more interesting by the second! What will Naaza do to this guy? Fight next chapter? We'll see.

JC: Vote to tell us which RW fic you want us to update next while we work on LotR.

Kathrine: Yeah, we are still pissed off about the way they made the Elves look in the Hobbit.

JC: Review and tell us what ya think. We'll try to get started as quick as possible. School's over in another four weeks. Hopefully we'll have more updates before then.

Kathrine: Oh, and for anyone who likes Lord of the Rings. The ANIMATED movie comes on Cartoon Network, Sunday the 23rd at 7:00 PM. Just in case you don't watch the station regularly.