Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ A Slice of the Wind ❯ One-Shot

~*~A Slice of the Wind~*~

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Japanese Glossary at the end

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I had a rather bad habit of looking around at everything and anything when I walked through busy streets. There were so many sights to see, so many people doing so many things. Before I never noticed or even cared about what
people did but now city life intrigued me. I loved to look at all the various stalls selling so many interesting and exciting wares, to watch all the different people wrapped up in their own lives scurry here and there, doing this and that.

My travelings had lead me to Kanazawa, a city that I'd never frequented before and I was taking in as much of the bustling streets as I could. Currently I'd been engrossed in watching a potter make a vase as I walked along and so it wasn't any real surprise when I bumped into something hard and unyielding.

"Ah, sumimasen," I apologized, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly. I beamed up at the man I'd so carelessly collided into only to see a pair of cool blue eyes gazing down at me.

I blinked, startled. "Shinomori Aoshi-san."

Indigo eyes narrowed. "Tenken no Soujirou."

I laughed uneasily at his slightly dire tone. "Maa maa, I'm a rurouni. You don't have to address me like that anymore!"

"Aa."

"Anou, what brings you to Kanazawa, Shinomori-san?"

His eyes pierced into mine, his tone curt. "That isn't any of your business."

"Ah gomen, gomen," I answered quickly, bowing. "I didn't mean to pry!"

"Hn."

I sweat-dropped. Trying to get a rock to talk would be easier than having a conversation with Shinomori Aoshi. Of course he was mistrustful of me, which made sense. But I was no longer that same Soujirou just as he was no longer that same Aoshi. I could see that the past year had wrought changes within him. There was a serenity in his bearing that hadn't been there before. His aura was peaceful. I wondered briefly if Himura-san had helped him like he'd helped me.

Aoshi, being so much taller than me, was walking in long strides and I had to run to keep up with him. He appeared to be going in the same direction that I was but I was uncertain whether I should continue walking with him or not. Obviously he didn't trust me and didn't want to talk to me.

I was about to announce my departure when he slowed down a bit to match my pace.

"So where are you headed Seta-san?" he asked me, his tone startlingly civil.

"I was on my way to find a place to eat," I told him, hiding my surprise behind a sunny smile. "It's been a while since I've eaten."

He spared me a brief, sideways glance. "I'm going to the Eastern nomiya, if perhaps you wished to join me."

Once again he shocked me. He wanted me to come with him? How strange. "Nomiya?" I repeated. Aoshi didn't really seem like the type to drink sake. I for one hated the taste of sake. "Demo..."

"I don't drink sake either," he stated, reconfirming my suspicion.

"Sou ka," I finally said when he made no move of saying anything else. He must have some alternative reason for going to a nomiya if he didn't drink sake. Perhaps it was Oniwa Banshuu business. In any case it wasn't my place to ask question so I said nothing. Why he wanted me to come with him was beyond me but I was rather happy about it. It had been so long since I'd had anyone to talk to. Even Shinomori Aoshi was better than nobody.

The chilly breeze that swept through the dusk swirled scores of sakura petals past us. The sun was slowly dipping down into the far off hills, leaving behind skies streaked with vivid hues.

"It's a beautiful sunset, ne Shinomori-san?" I remarked, gazing up at the pink and orange sky.

"Aa." His voice grew soft and reflective. "It deserves to be painted."

"Why, do you paint?" I asked, looking up at him. Frigid eyes were gentle, his inky hair rustling in the cool breeze.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

I laughed delightedly. "The Okashira of the Oniwa Banshuu likes to paint?"

His lips quirked upwards into the slightest of smiles. "Ex-Okashira. I practice ikebana and the tea ceremony also. It's very soothing."

"Kakkoi!" I scratched at my head and stared up at the darkening sky. "Shikashi, I haven't learned to do anything interesting like that. It must be hard."

"Practice makes everything easy Seta-san."

A sudden image of me using my Shuku-chi power to arrange flowers made me giggle.

"You've still kept your smile," he observed quietly.

I looked up at him, blinking. "Anou...well, I guess I have." I tugged at my bangs thoughtfully. I still smiled a lot when I was around people but my smiles stopped when I was alone. It wasn't a conscious gesture; I remember doing my laundry one day in a river and when I'd looked down, my reflection had been unsmiling. Bit by bit, I was gradually starting to feel things that I hadn't ever felt before. It was a slow process but maybe one day I wouldn't need to hide behind a smile anymore.

He said nothing but I could feel his gaze lingering on me. As we made our way through the crowds, his hand brushed against mine. It was the barest of touches, like a faint whisper in the black of the night. An icy shiver flew up my spine and I quickly pulled my hand into the sleeve of my gi. My breathing quickened just enough to make me question why an accidental, little touch would have such an effect on me.

Furtively, I studied him beneath the fringe of my lashes. His profile was strong, with high cheekbones, a slender nose and striking eyes. Stern authority was stamped all over his face and yet, his eyes glimmered with something...different. The icy callousness that had been present a year ago was gone. I could almost believe him to be...compassionate.

He was such a strange man. His words and his actions astonished me. I wondered if he had an ulterior motive. But how could he? He couldn't have known that I'd be in Kanazawa. I didn't even know I was going to Kanazawa until early this afternoon. But in any case, I'd be on my guard. Despite the fact that he *seemed* genuine.

The rest of the walk to the nomiya was silent save for the gentle clopping of my sandals upon the dirt streets. Aoshi's strides had lengthened and so once again I was forced to run to catch up to him. He was even taller than ShiShiO-san.

The nomiya was dark and loud, filled with drunken men laughing and joking and gambling noisily. The stench of stale alcohol and smoky bodies wafted around us. We were led to a tatami mat in the corner. Kneeling down on one side of the low table, I noticed that Aoshi was keeping a sharp eye on a couple of shady-looking men that were seated a little distance away. So he was here on some sort of business.

I laughed at the stunned expression on the hostess's face when we both ordered green tea.

"Neither of you want sake? Honto ni?"

I shook my head, beaming up at her. "Iie. Just sencha please."

She nodded, her eyes wide. "If that's what you want."

I watched her hasten away, her pink and green kimono vibrant in a sea of browns and blacks. "We sure surprised her!"

Aoshi nodded, surreptitiously keeping an eye on those two men. "Aa."

"Anou, who are those men, Shinomori-san?" I wondered innocently, curiosity driving me to ask.

Instantly chilly indigo eyes stabbed into me. "Naze?" he demanded icily.

"Maa maa, I was just curious," I quickly replied, chuckling nervously. "I'm not...I mean I wasn't going to...etto..." I scrubbed at my cheek, fumbling to find the right words to assure him that I wasn't in some secret plot to destroy him.

His face softened faintly. "Sumimasen. I didn't mean to snap at you."

I stared at him wide-eyed. Shinomori Aoshi was apologizing to me? Wow, he really must have changed!

"What would you like to eat?" he asked me, changing the subject.

"Whatever you're having is fine with me," I replied quickly, hoping that he wouldn't order too much. I had very little money on me.

He arched an eyebrow, as he studied me. I laughed to hide my uneasiness. His strong gaze unnerved me. I was used to being looked at with contempt or fear as the right-hand man of ShiShiO-san. As a rurouni, people often looked at me with pity but no one had looked at me like Aoshi was right now. It was as though he was trying to see inside of me, to read what I was thinking.

I remember Himura-san had tried to read me in a similar manner, after he had defeated Senkaku. But that had been in battle, which was acceptable. However Aoshi and I weren't fighting so why was he looking at me so intently? I couldn't understand it. And I certainly didn't understand why I started to feel warm, my cheeks flushing. I tugged at the collar of my gi, wishing that we'd been seated beside a window. Or that Aoshi would stop staring at me.

The hostess arrived with our tea thus taking Aoshi's attention away from me. Immensely relieved, I smiled brightly at her. Aoshi gave her our order and I was comforted by the fact that I would have enough money to pay for it.

Silence stretched between us as we drank our tea. Aoshi alternated between studying me and keeping tabs on the two thugs. I busied myself with watching a bunch of men gamble at a table near us and smiling in what I hoped was a calm manner at Aoshi. I was anything but calm. Under the table, my hands were clutching my hakama and my stomach was twisting gently. The tea made me even warmer and I knew my cheeks were pink.

A few minutes passed when I noticed that the men Aoshi had been scrutinizing
so carefully had gotten up and left.

Aoshi also noticed. "If you'll excuse me for a few minutes," he said graciously, rising to his feet.

"Hai."

He left, a tall, intimidating figure in the drunken crowd. I sipped my tea slowly, savoring the taste of the slightly bitter green liquid. It had been so long since I'd last had a cup of tea and who knew when I'd have another. Idly I wondered if Aoshi was going to kill those two men.

Aoshi. I tried to figure him out. Why did he ask me to accompany him? Why did he keep staring at me? It was different from a mere watchful gaze. There was something else in it, as if...as if what?

I had understood the man of a year ago who had betrayed his own people for a chance to fight the legendary Hitokiri Battousai. But this new man, this Aoshi who made me warm and my stomach jittery, I couldn't understand him at all. What his motives were and what he wanted was unclear. If it came down to strength, I could surely defeat him. But if it was something else...

My thoughts flowed into circles and when he returned just about ten minutes later, I still had no answers.

"Daijoubu desu ka?" I queried, looking pointedly at the blood that stained
the sleeve of his trench coat as well as his fingerless gloves.

Gracefully he knelt down on the tatami mat, folding long limbs beneath him. He watched me stare at his hands. "Hai."

I caught his gaze and thrust a smile at him. He was an Oniwa Banshuu member after all. It really wasn't my business who he killed and for what reasons. "Yokatta."

The hostess arrived with our food then and we ate mostly in silence. I broke it every now and then to comment on something I'd just eaten and Aoshi would offer polite responses. He continued to study my every move with concentrated ocean eyes but I managed to ignore it. I was too happy eating since it had been about a week since I'd had a real, proper meal.

After we finished eating, Aoshi shocked me once more. He paid for my food along with his own.

"Demo-"

"I insist." His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

I rubbed at the back of my head, smiling embarrassedly. "Domo arigato gozaimasu," I replied, bowing a few times.

He nodded in response and together we left the nomiya.

"Where are you spending the night?" he questioned after a few moments of silence.

I shrugged, staring up at the inky sky. It was a full moon tonight. Thick grey clouds were gathering, heralding that a storm would soon be on its way. I turned and smiled at my expectant companion. "I didn't think that far ahead."

"And if I asked you to come with me?"

His serious tone and solemn question immediately flung my stomach into knots. I chuckled nervously. "Ah, Shinomori-san, you're really surprising me tonight. I didn't even think you even like me!"

"Circumstances are different now, ne, Seta-san?"

Well I couldn't argue with that logic. I bobbed my head in agreement. "Hai!"

His voice was like a bolt of silk and it sent a wave of dizziness passing over me. "Then come with me."

So I went with him. The inn was only a short distance away and during the walk I tried once more to read the tall man beside me but with no avail. Why he was being so nice to me, to the point of paying for my food and asking me to stay with him, I simply had no idea. I knew that Aoshi had changed during the past year but surely he wasn't the type to exchange such kindness with past enemies. It was all too confusing to me.

As it turned out, Aoshi knew the owners of the inn and so they'd been expecting him. But because the entire inn was booked up, I would have to stay in Aoshi's room. It unnerved me, sharing a room with him but I wasn't about to complain. A real room was preferable to all the nights I'd spent sleeping on the ground and in barns.

The room itself was cozy with a writing table in one corner and a balcony that overlooked the gardens below. A young servant girl placed another futon beside the one already laid out while the owners conversed politely with Aoshi. After making certain that everything was satisfactory, they left and we were alone together once more.

"This room is very nice," I commented, still looking around. I bowed slightly, smiling. "Arigato, Shinomori-san. It was very kind of you to invite me to stay with you."

"I must confess that I have another reason for inviting you here Seta-san," he told me, his eyes looking almost black in the flickering light of the oil lamp.

The pounding in my heart quickened. "Yare yare, I guess that can't be helped." I tilted my head to study him while chewing on my bottom lip. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Iie."

I brightened. "I knew that, but I just had to make sure!"

I thought I saw his face shift into a smile but perhaps it was just the wavering light. "I need you to look after this." From his trench coat he pulled out a thick, battered-looking book that was tied up with pieces of reed.

"Sore nani?"

"Confidential government documents." He tossed the book to me. "I'll be leaving for a couple of hours and I need you to make certain that no one comes and steals these papers. It's imperative that they remain with me."

I nodded, clutching the book to my chest. "Wakarimashita. I'll keep it safe."

His eyes were startlingly gentle. "I trust you."

"Anou..." For some odd reason that I couldn't understand, his soft words wrung a blush out of me. I cleared my throat and quickly smiled up at him. "Arigato."

He pulled open the screen door, pausing to glance at me over his shoulder. "Be on your guard. These men are dangerous."

I bobbed my head a couple of times. "Hai!"

The screen door snapped shut and his shadow strode away.

Sighing deeply, I collapsed down on the futon. I shoved the book under my pillow and stared up at the ceiling. What a strange evening it had been. Never in my craziest dreams had I ever thought that I'd eat supper and then spend the night with Shinomori Aoshi. And that he'd actually be civil, no *nice*, to me...it was puzzling. I couldn't help but wonder what ShiShiO-san would have thought about Aoshi's behavior, had he been alive. Yumi-san probably would have laughed. Houji-san would have been outraged, of course.

I smiled whimsically as I pulled my katana out from my obi and set it down beside my futon. I did miss them a lot. ShiShiO-san had been wrong but he'd cared enough for me to teach me and make me strong. Without him, I'd be dead. And Yumi-san had taken care of me like a mother. They had been eccentric, but they were all that I'd had back then.

My eyes fluttered shut as I thought about my surrogate family. Perhaps sometimes in the future I should see if I could find Kamatari-san and Chou-san and the others. That would be nice...

~*~

I awoke to the sound of voices speaking out on the balcony.

"Che, that Oniwa Banshuu guy must be some kinda idiot," one voice exclaimed wryly. "Leaving the papers behind with a kid. Whadda fool."

I tensed, my hand reaching for my katana. I was *not* a kid.

"This is going to be too easy," a second voice boasted.

I silently agreed. They entered the room and I sprang. In an instant I rendered them all weaponless, three katanas falling with a clatter to the floor.

"What the fuck?" the third voice demanded.

I shook my head, smiling sweetly at the three men. "It isn't wise to underestimate your opponents."

"That brat moved so fast!"

"Naruhodo. This isn't an ordinary boy."

"I really must ask you to leave," I announced, smiling politely. "I don't want to hurt you."

The first man snorted. "You got lucky, brat. We came for the papers and we ain't leaving without 'em."

I sighed. "Well, if you really want to fight, then." I gestured to the fallen swords. "Pick them up and let's begin."

Outside a clap of thunder shrieked, lightening flashing across the night. The sky burst into a violent squall.

I honestly didn't mean to kill those three men. I had only wanted to wound them, to protect the papers Aoshi had entrusted to me. But as the lightening blazed, illuminating the room, I was wrenched back to that rainy night eleven years ago. Three men slurred into broken memories and I was losing myself. All I could see was the rain, cold and bitter. Empty faces screaming and in retaliation I reacted.

Their dead bodies lay limply upon the balcony. I had slain them as they'd attempted to flee.

My katana struck the wooden ground of the balcony, standing up proudly, crimson ribbons streaking down the gleaming metal. I fell to my knees, my hakama instantly soaking up red rain.

Thick brooks of viscous blood twisted over the wooden planks, diluting with the icy rain. Eyes stunned open, blood so bright. Water gushed down my face, pooling into the worn material of my gi. My hand shook as I clutched my katana.

What have you done, Soujirou?

I knew I was smiling and it felt so wrong.

~*~

A voice. I could hear it, softly thudding through the rain. Someone calling my name.

"Soujirou?"

I raised my head off of the drenched balcony, my forehead pounding slightly from the impact of burying my face onto the ground.

Aoshi loomed over me, his voice quiet. "Daijobu desu ka?"

The smile I offered him was automatic. "Aa." I looked away quickly, my lips crumpling. The balcony was empty, splattered only with rain.

"I got rid of them," he told me, following my gaze.

I hadn't even noticed, so lost I was. "I didn't mean to kill them," I whispered, my voice trembling. I couldn't stop it.

Aoshi knelt down beside me. "Soujirou... "

"I promised myself I wouldn't kill anymore. Himura-san showed me that I was wrong. I knew it and still I...but the rain...and I-I..." I gasped, unable to complete the words I'd started. Images before me blurred, distorted by liquid eyes. Not from the rain. This time I knew it.

His hand came to rest on my shoulder. "Those men were evil. You haven't done anything wrong."

I could feel my face cracking into a smile. Blood had erupted so fast, staining my thirsty katana, splashing onto my face.

"Don't," he whispered, his hand curving against my back. He pulled me into his arms.

My eyes surely must have been saucer-sized. Words were lost in the wake of pure astonishment.

Long fingers slid into my hair, gently forcing my head to rest upon his wet, hard shoulder. "Don't smile."

"N-nani?"

"You don't have to hide behind a mask." His hand stroked my back soothingly. "Being strong means nothing. I learned that the hard way."

I clung to him, thunder screeching above us. "Shinomori-san..."

"No one has the right to judge you, Soujirou. Whatever happens, happens. Don't let it break you."

The rain pounded down upon us. We were saturated but still his embrace felt warm. His words were so different than anything anyone had ever spoken to me. I was drowning, so many conflicting thoughts and emotions jumbling inside of me. I couldn't distinguish right from wrong, didn't know what to do. Had I found any answers this past year? What was the truth, if I was only to come and kill again?

In the bleak rain, their blood had been so stark. Screams painted upon frozen lips, lifeless eyes strewn wide open. Had it all come to this again?

"I didn't want to kill again," I choked out, my voice hitching painfully. I squeezed my stinging eyes shut, tears steeping. But I didn't want...I couldn't have...not anymore...

"Shhh," I heard him whisper against my hair. "I know how much it hurts. Just let it go."

And for the second time in my life, I cried beneath the rain. Only this time I didn't have to hide it.

~*~

"Gomen nasai, Shinomori-san," I apologized, quietly. "I shouldn't have-"

"Don't apologize."

I stared down into my teacup, the green liquid shifting faintly. Aoshi had brought me the tea. We were inside now. I was sitting cross-legged on the middle of my futon, dressed in a warm, dry yukata. Aoshi was spreading his trench coat out to dry, removing from its pockets various papers and weapons. The silence stretched between us and I found it uncomfortable.
Aoshi had said nothing but I was still mortified. I had *cried* in his *arms*. He had comforted me. Why, I had no idea. Why did he ask me to protect papers that he could have kept with him? Why did he bother to hold me and calm me? Why did he care?

I set the teacup down beside me. "Anou, Shinomori-san?" My voice seemed unnaturally loud alongside the splatter of the rain.

"Hai?"

I fidgeted with the black sleeves of my yukata. "Outside, why did you..." I trailed off uncertain of how to pose my question. The way he was looking at me made me incredibly nervous. I don't know what it was about him. I never got nervous when anyone else looked at me. ShiShiO-san never made me uneasy, Houji-san never made me uneasy, so why Aoshi? There was something about his gaze that I just couldn't place my finger on. Something that I didn't know.

The yukata he was wearing was dark blue, drawing attention to his striking eyes. Eyes that were consuming the way I was fidgeting restlessly. I forced my hands to be still and with a smile firmly in place, I gestured towards the balcony. "Why did you bother to...etto..."

"To what?"

He was going to make me say it. "Why did you hug me like that?" I mumbled quickly, turning my eyes downward. I felt heat puddling into my cheeks.

"Your own self-loathing was tearing you apart."

I looked up, startled. "Nani?"

He came and sat down on my futon beside me. "You aren't the same person now, Soujirou. That's what this past year has been about, hasn't it? Finding the truth about yourself, atoning for your sins, doing things differently."

"Aa."

His voice was soft, like a slice of the wind. "What is written will happen no matter what you wish and what you say. Are you in such a hurry to ruin what you've built for yourself this past year?"

"But I *killed* them, Shinomori san! That one action already wrecked this past year!"

Slender fingers slid under my chin, tilting my face to meet his steady gaze. "Is it wrong to kill one who's evil? You cannot blame yourself for something that I've forced you to do, Soujirou. I never should have asked you to accompany me."

I trembled, unable to think clearly with him so close to me. My smile faltered badly. "Then why did you?"

"I couldn't stop myself." Ocean-depth eyes roamed over my face as the fingers of his other hand came up to sweep aside jagged locks from my eyes. "It was a weakness."

"A w-weakness?" I echoed, utterly terrified. I wanted to pull away from him, to make him stop touching me and staring at me and yet something was drawing me to him. I don't think I could have pulled away from him even if my life depended upon it.

"I wanted you to come with me." Fingers fisted, his knuckles grazing the slope of my cheek. "I wanted to see what was behind that smile."

My breathing hitched, my heart crashing furiously into my chest. "Shinomori-san..."

He kissed me. Honest to goodness, he curved his hands around my face and kissed me.

I remember seeing ShiShiO-san kiss Yumi-san for the first time. I had been utterly perplexed, wondering what on earth ShiShiO-san had been doing to Yumi-san. I had thought that he was going to eat her. Chou-san had laughed hysterically when I'd voiced my concerns to him and then he'd proceeded to tell me about men and women and sex. He had been utterly crass about it but after that I never wondered what those odd sounds coming from ShiShiO-san's room were.

However I had never been kissed before and Chou-san's teachings hadn't included anything about men kissing other men. Especially men that were Shinomori Aoshi.

He tasted like rain and green tea. Like something different and unexpected. His lips were hard and cool, brushing upon my mouth gently. My eyes had been wide open but as his mouth clung to mine, searching and exploring, they fluttered shut. Strange things were happening to me; I felt hot and cold at the same time. Funny little shivers were spiraling inside my stomach, twisting and roping. My face was flaming between two elegant hands, heat growing upon our lips. I clutched his yukata with icy fingers, no longer maintaining any semblance of reason. I was lost, falling down into an endless chasm of something so different and it was terrifying.

His mouth left my own and I struggled for air. He had left me breathless. "Naze?" I wheezed, staring at him, stunned.

He didn't seem to hear my strained question. His hands were still cupped around my cheeks, his finger reaching down to stroke my bottom lip. "Kirei."

That quietly-uttered word wrenched me from the strange feelings that were sweeping over me. I pulled away from him. "I'm not a girl."

Blue eyes widened faintly. "I'm aware of that."

I frowned, puzzled. "Then why did you kiss me like I was a girl? Why do you call me beautiful?"

"Because you are beautiful. Men can be beautiful also, Soujirou."

"Demo..."

He sighed softly. "I'm attracted to you."

"Attracted...to me?" I don't think my eyes could have gotten any wider.

"It is possible for men to be attracted to other men."

I mulled over that. Well, that certainly was true. Kamatari-san had been in love with ShiShiO-san. But Kamatari-san had wanted to be a woman, dressing and acting like one. So it was only logical that he'd fall in love with a man. Aoshi, on the other hand, didn't seem very feminine to me. I couldn't imagine him dressing up like a woman.

Well, I couldn't ask him if he liked to dress up so I found another question to ask. "Did you...anou...were you...to me...before?"

His lips quirked faintly. "Was I attracted to you before?"

I nodded, my face scarlet.

"At that time I had other issues on my mind."

"Killing Himura-san," I clarified, twisting my sleeves.

His head tilted in a nod. "Aa. But this evening, when I first saw you, I wanted you."

"W-wanted me-me?" I stuttered. "For what?"

"I won't do anything to hurt you, Soujirou," he assured me in soothing tones. "And if you truly want me to stop, then I will. But if you want me to show you..."

"Show me what?" I asked tentatively, my voice flighty and nearly inaudible.

"What did you feel when I kissed you?"

"Na-nani?" I sputtered. What did that have to do with anything? Why was he being so evasive? I couldn't understand what was going on!

His tone was calm, patient. "Did it feel good? Were you disgusted? Did you want me to continue?"

"I've never felt anything like it before," I murmured honestly, staring down at my lap. "It felt different and...and new."

"And...?" he prodded gently. "Do you want me to kiss you again?"

"I-I don't know," I answered helplessly.

There was a silence and I was too uneasy to look up. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. No one had ever wanted me...in that way. I didn't know how to deal with it.

And then, before I could think anything more, Aoshi pulled me onto his lap.

I gasped, completely and utterly taken off guard as long fingers enfolded around my waist, lifting me onto hard thighs. The disparity between our sizes became blazingly clear at that moment. He surrounded me, all firmness and muscle. Everything that I wasn't. A poignant awareness engulfed me then, my senses drowning in his sheer size and strength and scent.

His voice was throaty as he spoke my name, his breath warm and fluttery upon my cheek.

I shuddered, all too conscious of his hands and where they touched me. "Shinomori-san..."

"Aoshi," he corrected, his lips hovering near my ear. He blew lightly, his cool breath tickling my neck. "Just Aoshi."

I swallowed thickly, feeling unbearably hot. "Ao...shi...I don't...hah!"

Wet lips closed around my earlobe. One hand moved from my waist up to my torso with slow, deliberate strokes. "Just feel," I heard him murmur.

I squeezed my eyes shut, gasping. What was he doing to me?

The hand that was resting lightly upon the small of my back tightened around me, his other hand tugging open my yukata. His tongue snaked out to trace the curve of my ear, trailing around to mark the skin behind it.

I clutched desperately at his yukata. My body felt hypersensitive, every place he touched me scorched like the sharpest of blades. Deep within me, something was happening. An indescribable feeling was building, making me feel like...

His hand brushed over my nipple, squeezing it. I screamed, the sharp sensation of being touched in such a sensitive overpowering me.

He rubbed my nipple between long fingers, the tiny bud of flesh hardening instantly. Aoshi bent his head, his tongue coming out to trace the curve of my lips. I gasped into his mouth as he caught my lower lip between his teeth, tugging on it gently. I felt the cool night air sweep over my chest as he undid my obi. I wanted to protest, as his ministrations moved to my other nipple, but he kissed me.

This kiss was entirely different from the kiss he'd given me before. That first kiss had been tender and exploratory, had been meant to show me what a kiss was. There was nothing tender about this second kiss. His mouth slanting over mine with a carnal ferocity, his tongue shoving itself into my mouth. He didn't just kiss me, he ate me, sucking and licking at the inside of my mouth. He was in me so deeply, as his deft fingers caressing my chest and I was lost.

I broke the kiss, his lips instead falling onto the slope of my flushed cheek. "Aoshi," I panted, breathing heavily. I could taste him on my lips, etched in the folds of my mouth. I squirmed on his lap, feeling unbearably hot and...hard. "Something is...is happening to me. I feel so...so..."

"Shhh," he hushed softly, his hand coming up to cup my cheek. "It's okay."

He carefully lifted me off of his lap and laid me down upon the futon. I blushed hotly as he opened my yukata and gazed down at my body.

"Yamero," I whispered, shivering in the cool night air. I was so thin, so pale. Nothing like Aoshi.

"Kirei," he murmured once more, blue eyes incessantly wandering over my naked form. Knuckles grazed over my trembling mouth. "I promise I won't hurt you, Soujirou. Look at me."

I obeyed, gazing up into deep ocean eyes. He was kneeling between my legs, watching me with a gentleness that I would not have thought possible from the Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu. For a moment I was simply caught up in his identity. Was this really the same man who had been so insistent on killing the Battousai and gaining the title of the strongest? Even to the point that he'd betray his own people? How changed the man before me was from the man I'd hunted down for ShiShiO-san.

"Daijoubu desu ka?" he asked me quietly, brushing aside my bangs from my eyes.

I nodded wordlessly, struck in the unwavering intensity of those cool blue eyes. It was he who was beautiful, I realized at that moment. Not I. He was elegant and lofty and poised. Everything that I wasn't. Why he desired me, I had no clue.

"Good." He voice was gruff, his eyes taking on a sudden predatory gleam. I shivered as he once more captured my lips.

He lowered his body down upon mine. My mouth parted in surprise at the solid weight of his hard chest upon my own. His legs pushed mine apart, so that he rested between them, on top of me. His tongue was once again in my mouth, plundering mercilessly as his hands stroked and teased my chest.

And then, just when I thought that it was not possible to feel anymore than what I was feeling, he moved so that his pelvis was pressed firmly against mine. He rocked his hips and I know I would have screamed, had my mouth not been full with him.

Instead, a muffled cry was swallowed into his mouth, my tongue arching out and inadvertently touching his own. I clutched at his shoulders as he shifted his pelvis once more, my legs bending of their own will to flank his hips. He was unyieldingly hard, that hardness rubbing against me erotically.

I recalled Chou-san explaining sex to me so long ago. What it meant when a man became hard. An erection, he'd called it. That was what I felt Aoshi thrusting on me, what I had. I'd never had an erection before. It was something new and frightening.

This time it was Aoshi who broke the kiss, his mouth coming to wisp across my jaw. He licked at the column of my neck, nibbling at the line of my collarbone.

I clutched at the futon beneath me with sweaty fingers, burying my mouth into my collarbone to keep from crying out. His mouth was hot on my frenzied skin, scorching me wherever he touched. And it was more than that, more than just hot skin in the cool night air. I felt tight and hard, my stomach clenching and twisting into itself. I wanted something, needed something, desired it so badly but I had no idea what it was.

"Uhhh!"

My resolve to be quiet unraveled as silky lips encased a nipple, his tongue swirling around the hardening nub of flesh. He sucked deeply and rapidly, alternating between both of my nipples. Calloused hands gripped my bent knees, forcing me up to press my hips against the firm muscles of his stomach.

Tears of frustration stung at my eyes. "Onegai," I whimpered around the lump that sprung in my throat. He was teasing me! I was aching, feeling so empty and so hard while he was going so slow. If he didn't do something soon, I would surely explode! "Aoshi, onegai! I can't...I'm so..." I choked on a watery sob, salty tears streaking down my cheeks. I couldn't bear it any longer!

Aoshi lifted his head and he tenderly swept at my tears. He kissed the tip of my nose, knuckles rimming my tear-tinted lips. "Be patient." His lips lingered over mine. "Trust me."

Another kiss, this one whirling me into a vortex of mind-numbing desire and pure pleasure. I kissed him back this time, raising my hips so that my erection would rub on his. It felt so good to grind against him. It eased the throbbing ache of my swollen sex. I didn't care anymore, losing myself in the sensuality that alleviated my emptiness.

"Yamero," Aoshi gasped, wrenching his mouth away, much to my surprise. He shut his eyes and nuzzled my shoulder. "Yamero," he repeated softly.

"Naze?" I asked, bewildered. I squirmed, moving restlessly beneath him. "It feels so good, Aoshi. I just..."

Something sounding suspiciously like laughter came from my shoulder. He raised his head, blue eyes tender, his mouth curved faintly in a smile. Stroking the side of my face he whispered, "I don't want this end quickly itoshii."

I could only stare up in him in shock, the sound of such a sweet endearment falling from his lips rendering me speechless.

His smile grew just a tiny bit more as he lifted himself off of me. I couldn't help but utter a small cry. Already I missed the solid sensation of his hard body on top of mine.

A warm crimson spread over my face as he pushed my bent knees wider apart and gazed down at my nakedness. Blue eyes raised to capture me and with one fluid, deliberate movement, he reached down between my legs and twined his hand around my erection.

My hips thrust upwards violently at that one, small act. I cried out, my voice harsh and choked in the still room. My forehead was sweaty and I panted as Aoshi curved his hand tighter around me, sliding his hand gently up and down my throbbing shaft.

"How does that feel?" he asked me, his voice low and vaguely smug.

"I've...ne-never..." I couldn't complete my thought since it was taking me so much effort to simply breath, let alone talk. I pressed my eyes shut, my chest heaving furiously. I gripped tightly at the futon under me as Aoshi began to move his hand a little bit faster. It felt so good! I wished he would go faster.

And then, because my eyes were clamped shut, I didn't see him change positions. His hand released me, only to be replaced with his mouth.

I shrieked, my eyes bursting open. He was holding my stiff shaft in one hand, his lips sliding effortlessly over the fleshy tip. His tongue was everywhere as he pushed his mouth farther, licking and twining around my rigid flesh.

Tears blurred my vision. His mouth was delicious, I felt as though I'd been submerged in hot, velvety oil. He engulfed my whole length, sucking with a rough passion while his hands stroked my trembling thighs. I was unable to help myself from thrusting into his mouth, needing and craving more. The pleasure he was giving swallowed me and I was drowning. I knew nothing, couldn't form an articulate thought to save my life. There was only this piercingly deep passion and I couldn't find myself.

I was moaning noisily but I couldn't stop it. He was relentless, showing no mercy. His soft lips and warm mouth sheltered me, taking me so far. It was too much, the feel of his tongue snaking around my erection, his fingers caressing me in places that no one had ever seen, let alone touched.

"Haaahhh! Ao...shi...yamero. Onegai..." I panted heavily, my back arching off the futon, into his mouth. "Something...is...I'm going to...onegai!"

He didn't stop. If anything, he began to move faster, his fingers brushing against the heavy weight of my testicles. Even teeth raked roughly over my aching member, my oozing tip jerking into the tight hole in the back of his mouth.

That did it. I shattered into a hundred dying pieces, my eyes clenched tightly. Black vision exploded into a myriad of a dozen flashing colors as pursed lips pitched me towards...that. Something that was dazzling, perfecting me like my Shuku-chi. I was surrounded by flaming heat, erupting into liquid.

I hadn't understood what Chou-san had been talking about when he'd explained a climax to me but now I knew. It was amazing. Beyond anything that I'd ever experienced in my life. I don't know how much I released but it certainly felt like a lot. Aoshi swallowed my seed with ease, his hands marking my trembling, sweaty body with soothing caresses.

It lasted forever and not long enough. When it was over, I fell back into the embrace of the futon, my body still shuddering. Moist legs slid bonelessly straight, my hands falling limply beside me. I stared up at Aoshi with wide eyes, breathing forcefully.

Aoshi was beautiful when he smiled, one hand reaching down to catch my wrist. He pressed my damp palm against quirking lips, the tip of his tongue darting out to lap the salty flesh.

I came to the conclusion then that Shinomori Aoshi really liked to use his tongue.

"Soujirou?" His deep voice vibrated against my palm, sending thick shivers cascading into the pit of my stomach. "Daijoubu?"

I smiled weakly up at him, my heart bouncing frantically. "I feel like Himura-san used his ougi on me again."

He chuckled quietly, turning my hand over to kiss my knuckles. "I'm flattered."

I sighed, fumbling up with my other hand to brush tangled locks from my eyes. "No one has ever done anything to me like that before."

"I know." He gracefully rearranged himself so that he was lying down beside me. Long, lean arms gathered me up, pulling me up to his rigid chest.

I rested in his embrace for a few moments, the room silent as my heart beat
slowed down to normal. And then it registered, the haze of after-desire
fading, what the hardness against my thigh was.

"Aoshi?" I raised my head to look at him. "You're still...anou...you didn't..." I blushed, desperately hoping that he understood what I was asking.

"Iie."

I blinked at that. Perhaps he wanted...? I reached for his obi. "I don't know how to-"

"Iie," he repeated again, seizing my hand. "We aren't done yet."

The look he gave me at that moment was feral, a smoldering gaze of pure lust. I shivered. "We aren't?"

He answered me with a kiss. I wrapped my arms around him and opened my mouth, welcoming the slippery pleasure his tongue brought me. He ravished me, scraping over my teeth and tattooing the roof of my mouth. Once more he rendered me senseless as he engulfed my mind and body into a sea of molten desire. Working down from my mouth, he marked my neck and shoulders and chest with wet little sucks and bites.

It wasn't long before lust was welling in the bottom of my stomach and I began to feel hard and hot once more. Surely there must be something that I didn't know, if he was making me hard again. I opened my mouth to ask him what he was going to do and instead ended up crying out as his tongue dipped into the tiny valley of my navel.

And then, before I could say or do anything more, he sat up. "Turn over," he instructed, gruffly.

That surprised me. "Naze?" I wondered, even as I slid over onto my stomach, my swollen shaft pressing against the softness of the futon. I writhed under the pretense of getting comfortable. It was shameless, I know but I couldn't stop myself. It felt so good!

I could hear a smile in his voice. "You'll see." He pulled off my yukata, tossing the black garment carelessly aside. Cool night air wafted over my now completely naked body and I could feel myself flush knowing that Aoshi was looking at me. "Be patient."

How could I possibly be patient when I was erect and naked and now *knew* how good sex felt? I tried not to squirm too much. Aoshi stood up and I busied myself with watching him stride to his trench coat and pull out a slender bottle from one of the many pockets. I was about to ask him what he needed with the small bottle of amber liquid, when he untied his obi. His dark blue yukata fell to the floor.

My jaw dropped. I could feel it as my eyes widened. My throat became parched.

Aoshi's body was perfection. There was no other word to describe it. Well, other than beautiful. His entire body was tanned, his arms and legs muscular and hard. He was nothing like me, all pale and skinny. His strong chest was scarred but to me it looked beautiful. I had the sudden urge to trace his chest with my tongue as he'd done mine. And resting between two tight thighs was his erection. It was *huge*, arching away from his body gracefully. Was it even possible for a man to be *that* big?

I swallowed audibly, trying not to ogle and failing miserably. I blushed deeply, especially when he smirked at me.

He knelt down beside me. "Get on your hands and knees," he commanded, running one hand down the slope of my back.

A shudder wracked my body, my skin singeing from his touch. Weakly, I did as he asked. "What are you going to do?"

He didn't respond. Instead, his hand came to stroke the curve of my bare buttocks. "Just relax," he soothed, caressing me.

One finger dipped down into the cleft and inadvertently I stiffened, a jolt of fear enveloping me. What was he doing?

"Soujirou." His other hand rubbed tenderly at my shoulder. "I promise I won't hurt you. Demo..." Lips slid sensually against the side of my neck. "You have to trust me. Do you?"

Wordlessly I nodded. He knew what he was doing, he'd only shown me gentleness and patience thus far.

"Yokatta." There was a tiny popping sound as Aoshi opened the bottle he had retrieved from his coat. Instantly the musky scent of...whatever it was surrounded us. It smelled sweet and fresh.

"Sore nani?" I asked timidly.

"Oil. It will make this easier for you."

Easier? Once more, I wondered what he was going to do to me. If only Chou-san had thought to explain male-male sex to me, not only male-female sex. Then maybe I wouldn't be so nervous and scared. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Aoshi wouldn't hurt me, not after everything he done for me.

Warm hands parted the cheeks of my posterior and then I felt it. One slender, extremely slick finger was pushing carefully into me, the moist fingertip tracing circles at my opening.

"Uhhhh!" He took me completely by surprise, my body automatically tensing. In that moment, as he probed at me with his finger, I grasped what he intended to do, what the oil was for. Now I understood how sex between two males worked.

"Don't tense up, itoshii," he whispered, his movements stilling. "I don't want to hurt you."

I bit my lip and shoved my face into the futon beneath me. I spread my legs apart and with painstaking slowness, he eased that oil-coated finger into me.

Oh dear God. He was bringing alive a place I'd not even known existed!

He slipped in another finger, stretching me carefully. My breath caught in my throat as I panted weakly into the futon. It hurt a little bit, but his fingers were very oily and he was pushing into me gradually. I felt full, his fingers parting delicately to widen me.

"Am I hurting you?"

I shook my head, unable to speak. A third finger probed against my entrance and I gasped in pain as he forced it into me. He pressed moist fingers deeper and farther into me and held them there for a few seconds, letting me get accustomed to the feeling. I clutched desperately at my blanket, trembling. This was so intense! He pulled his fingers back out and then gently slid them back in. He repeated the movement a couple more times, widening me.

The discomfort of having his fingers inside of me faded and was replaced with something else. Pleasure, I realized as I found myself moaning. It was starting to feel good. If he went in a little bit farther...

To my disappointment, he extracted his fingers from me. I writhed, my erection feeling harder than ever. It actually hurt, Aoshi's fingers bringing me to a new pinnacle of pleasure.

The pleasant scent of the oil drifted around me once more and Aoshi's breathing grew ragged. "Aoshi?" I gasped. "Daijoubu desu ka?"

"Aa." The word turned into a groan.

I didn't know what he was doing but I wished he would hurry up. I was growing impatient and I really was hard! "Anou...Aoshi?" My squirming was growing frantic and I tried desperately not to moan. "Will you...haahhh...touch me...a-again?"

He moaned my name and I felt him position himself between my legs, grasping my hips. His rigid shaft touched one of my cheeks and I jerked forward at the contact. He was going so slowly, so thoroughly and it was driving me crazy! I wanted him to touch me now!

A powerful shudder jolted through my body as he parted my cheeks, his fingers sliding more oil around my opening. And then his fingers were replaced by something warm, slick and *very* hard.

I cried out his name as his hands slid down to my thighs. "T-this isn't go-going to work," I panted thickly, the sheer pleasure of his flesh rubbing against mine making it nearly impossible for me to speak. "You-you're too...big."

"It'll work." His lips marked a quick kiss upon my shoulder blade and he pushed.

I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming. It hurt. A lot.

His hands rubbed soothingly over my thighs as he eased farther into me. "It'll get better, itoshii," he grated out throatily. "I promise."

Tears clung to my lashes as my chest heaved up and down in vehement huffs. He was so thick, his engorged member throbbing steadily inside of me, my muscles forced to widen to accommodate his huge length. He slid in a little bit more and then stopped, holding still. His hand snaked around and seized my shaft.

"Uhhhh!"

He fondled my hard member with deliberate slowness, his hand cool upon my aching flesh. Teeth raked over my shoulder blade as his other hand caressed my thigh. The pain was gradually fading as his hands pleasured me, my body adjusting to the large member invading me so fully.

With a low grunt, he wrenched out of me until we were barely joined and then he roughly plunged back in, going deeper than before. He repeated the motion again and once more.

The discomfort was ebbing leaving behind a viscous wave of pure delight. He filled me completely, the power behind his thrusting leaving me breathless. And then he hit something deep inside of me.

My entire body stiffened and I could hear myself shrieking in ecstasy. Sheer pleasure washed over me so suddenly and I was melting into a quivering, limp mess. Nothing I had ever done felt this good before. Aoshi was repeatedly shoving against that spot way inside of me, groaning. His hands worked over my erection, fisting and stroking with oil-tinged hands. I was jerked forward with his rough motions, as he rocked into me harder and quicker.

It was building, higher and faster and I was drowning. There was nothing left except for this soaking desire and I was so weak. It was a hundred times more poignant, more erotic than the first climax he'd brought me to. This was raw sexuality. This was pure pleasure. This was beyond good. This was inexpressible.

I was chanting his name, nearly sobbing as I begged him to finish me. It was too much, my body arching as I splashed out thick pre-liquid onto his hand. Hot lips suckled at my neck, licking and lapping as long fingers clenched around my painfully stretched erection, smearing it with the first drops of my seed.

He was so big and firm inside of me, angling his plunging so that he'd stroke that sensual spot way within me every time. I was close, bordering on the edge while my heartbeat grew frantic and my breathing labored. Everything was lost in those endless moments as Aoshi pounded into me, fisting me and pleasuring me.

One last slide down my weeping shaft and one last push and I climaxed, clenching the futon with bone-white fingers. I burst apart, seeing such strange things then, like black and red flaming into shattered bits. A powerful shudder wracked through my body as I cried out, copious amounts of semen pouring from my throbbing member to coat lengthy fingers.

Behind me, Aoshi drove into me with a series of deep, fast thrusts and then he stiffened, his hands coming to grip my thighs roughly. His hot seed spewed deep inside me and he hoarsely grated out my name. We shattered together, dissolving into wet disarray.

I collapsed bonelessly, panting loudly. Aoshi was still inside me, his body warm and heavy upon mine. The room was unnaturally still, passion cooling as we struggled to catch our breath. My heart beat a vibrant trek, my chest still heaving with exertion. I sighed into the softness of the futon and closed my eyes.

"Daijoubu?" Aoshi pulled out of me gently, pressing a kiss against my damp hair.

"Hmm," I mumbled. I lifted my head and peered sleepily over my shoulder at him. "Demo..." I flushed. "I think I made a mess on the blankets."

Smiling faintly, he seized my waist and twisted me until I was in his arms. He kissed me with hard lips, his tongue swirling into my mouth and I tasted liquidy sex. I kissed him back, knowing now what was possible between us.

"You're so sweet," he whispered, more to himself then to me. His hand swept into my hair, brushing my bangs from my eyes. He kissed my temple and then the tip of my nose. "Let's get cleaned up."

I blinked and watched with languid eyes as he wet a cloth and then carefully cleaned both himself and me up. I moaned at the feel of the rough cloth against my warm flesh and then blushed at the look of smoldering desire he gave me. His kiss was hot as he carried me to his dry futon. I twined my arms around his neck, feeling the passion bubble between us once more.

His hands roamed down my back, tugging me closer. "Did I hurt you?" he asked against my mouth, his tongue smoothing over my lower lip.

I gasped, parting my lips. "N-not...too...m-much," I managed, my breathing quickening.

"Hn." To my disappointment, he drew away, blue eyes soft as they gazed down at me. "You need your rest. I don't want to hurt you again."

I smiled up at him and snuggled close. He was so warm. "Oyasumi nasai," I murmured, my eyes falling shut.

"Oyasumi, Soujirou."

Beyond us, the rain slowed and I didn't feel so alone.

~*~Owari~*~

Glossary of Japanese Terms

Aa- yeah
Anou, etto- um, er
Che- damn
Daijoubu desu ka- are you alright
Demo- but
Domo arigato gozaimasu- thank you very much
Gi- kimono that men wear
Gomen nasai- sorry
Hai- yes
Hakama- wide, loose men's pants
Honto ni- really
Iie- no
Ikebana- art of flower arranging
Itoshii- darling
Kakkoi- cool
Katana- sword
Kirei- beautiful
Maa maa- now, now
Nani- what
Naruhodo- I see
Naze- why
Nomiya- sake bar
Obi- sash
Okashira- leader, boss
Onegai- please
Ougi- succession technique
Oyasumi nasai- good night
Rurouni- wandering swordsman
Sencha- domestic type of tea
Shikashi- however
Shuku-Chi- Soujirou's technique of above super speed
Sore nani- what is it
Sou ka- I see
Sumimasen- excuse me
Tatami- reed mat
Tenken- Sword of the Heavens, Soujirou's nickname
Wakarimashita- I understand
Yamero- stop
Yare yare- similar to 'oh well'
Yokatta- good
Yukata- kimono used for sleeping