Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Beautiful Stranger ❯ Beautiful Stranger ( One-Shot )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Flamika V 
*yaoi, lime* Sanosuke vents his frustration on his journey to find Kenshin in Kyoto.
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Hentai / Romance | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 09.26.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
*yaoi, lime* Sanosuke vents his frustration on his journey to find Kenshin in Kyoto.
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Hentai / Romance | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 09.26.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
Beautiful Stranger
by Flamika
Haven't we met
You're some kind of beautiful stranger
You could be good for me
I've had the taste for danger
If I'm smart then I'll run away
But I'm not so I guess I'll stay
Heaven forbid
I'll take my chance on a beautiful stranger…
To know you is to love you
You're everywhere I go
And everybody knows
To love you is to be part of you
I've paid for you with tears
And swallowed all my pride
"Beautiful Stranger"
Madonna
His fist lashed through the air of the forest, and the wind lashed with him, tearing a guttural cry from his throat as his knuckles made contact with the bark of the tree. A widening crack appeared on the trunk's formerly unmarred surface like a lopsided grimace of pain. Another loud cry, another relentless punch, and the trunk of the once proud tree snapped in half; the clean-smelling wood crackled pitifully and fell backwards to the ground of the forest with a resounding crash that seemed to shake the very earth.
The leaves whispered and wept over the demise of their lifeline, and Sagara Sanosuke angrily kicked at the greenery, hating the noise it made even though he had been the direct cause of the leaves' mournful symphony. The bandages wrapped around his ankles snagged on a twig, clinging so stubbornly that he nearly lost his balance and went tumbling to the ground. He cursed as he regained his footing, stomping the leaves furiously before reeling back from the fallen tree, breathing hard.
He listened to the sound of the night air whooshing in and out of his lungs. His breathing was ragged, as if something were obstructing its passage. Well, no big surprise there; he had had a mysterious lump in his throat ever since he'd left Toyko, or more accurately, when he found out Kenshin had gone on to Kyoto and left him behind like unwanted trash.
~In the eyes of the Battousai, your existence is nothing more than a burden that he's been forced to bear.~
"Damn you!" Sano spat, cursing the ever-infuriating Saitou Hajime, cursing the sweat rolling down his face, cursing his aching knuckles that were covered in blood and tree sap.
But above all things, Sano cursed Kenshin and the painful, burning feeling of betrayal his departure had left behind.
//A liar// Sano thought furiously. //He made himself out to be nothing more than another damn liar who breaks promises, or even worse…forgets he ever made them. But I KNOW he didn't forget, that bastard! He never forgets anything. How DARE he?! How dare he do this to us, to me?! The Missie crying. Yahiko crestfallen but hiding it well. And me here in the fucking forest, destroying everything in my path. It's all HIS goddamn fault! He never should have left us!//
Sano didn't know how long those same words had been running their relentless course through his head. Over and over again, he had to listen to them whether he wanted to or not. They didn't care what he felt, or the pain they caused him. Like a certain SOMEBODY he knew. Sano was sure that if the words could walk and talk, they would have left his ass back in Tokyo, just like Kenshin had.
Sano's every waking moment was hopelessly inundated with thoughts of the redheaded rurouni. Memories came in a thick, painful flood of internal agony that made him wild with rage and heartbreak.
It was Sanosuke who had come sauntering down the road from the train station to find a brokenhearted Kaoru sobbing wildly on the ground, hunched over as if someone had driven a sword through her stomach.
//Yeah, reverse-blade sword…never puts you out of your misery…just leaves you in a world of hurt//
He knew instantly that Kenshin had left them, abandoned them. The realization broke something in him, but he managed to keep it together long enough to gather Kaoru in his arms and carry her weeping form back to the dojo, where he carefully placed her on her futon. He had roused Yahiko and told him to take care of his assistant master.
Then it was just Sano and the cruel darkness of the night mocking him as he raced all over Tokyo, searching all the places he thought Kenshin might have gone before departing for Kyoto.
But the instant he began his hunt, a dark epiphany struck him. He didn't know which places to look because he didn't know the areas that Kenshin frequented, if the rurouni even did so at all. Was there an exclusive part of the river he liked to gaze upon at high noon? A certain hill from where he liked to watch the sunset? A hidden, dark street that he haunted during the night?
Sano didn't know. Was the man he had dared to call his lover really just some stranger?
But he had still run aimlessly through the dark streets, his heart burning with cold fire at the sudden realization that he may not know the real Himura Kenshin. Sure, he understood Kenshin's ideals enough to explain most of his actions, and Sano realized that a great number of the things Kenshin said and did stemmed from his gentle sense of justice and firm belief never to kill again. An ideal given a lithe body, flowing red hair, and soft lilac eyes.
Kenshin was so damn unobtrusive, so kind. If he didn't like something, he never complained. He never yelled over petty things like when Yahiko accidentally overturned a whole basket of clean laundry. Always gentle - that was Kenshin.
//But surely there were some things…//
Didn't the rurouni ever get angry? Weren't there some people that he couldn't stand simply because they were mean or ugly or because they looked at him the wrong way? Didn't he sometimes want to go drinking and get totally plastered, even if it was for just one night? Did Kenshin have dreams? Did Kenshin ever want to cry when no one else was watching? Did he ever want to be cruel to everyone and say he was just in a bad mood?
//Why did he have to be so damn inhuman? So perfect, like a god, and just as beautiful//
Sano still remembered the first time he had made love to Kenshin.
He had been fantasizing about it for a while, never really expecting it to come true. There were some people he couldn't imagine naked, flat on their backs, and spreading their legs for anyone. Kenshin was one of those people. Sano liked to call them untouchables because, well, that's what they were. You didn't desecrate gods just like you didn't sit in roaring bonfires.
That day seemed so far in the past, as if it were from some half-remembered life in which only a few occurrences stood out in remarkable clarity. Sano remembered how bright the sun had been; he was sweating profusely as he and Kenshin milled about pointlessly in the market, looking for a certain kind of vegetable that probably didn't exist. But Kenshin had been damn insistent that they find what Kaoru had asked him to, and Sano had nothing better to do than tag along and mop the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket.
Finally, after a few half-hearted threats and a lot of whole-hearted begging, Kenshin relented and agreed to Sano's suggestion that they take a rest in a cool, shady alleyway.
//I wasn't really expecting anything to HAPPEN, honestly. I was just sweaty and smelly and wanted to take a goddamn break before I collapsed//
Their "break", of course, ended up being a lot longer than either of them had anticipated. Sano could feel the wonderful darkness surrounding the two of them as the sweat cooled on his skin. He leaned his back on the wall, hands casually shoved in his pockets. Kenshin stood in front of him, acting annoyingly unaffected by the heat even though the sweat on his pale skin glittered like small jewels in the shadows. The rurouni was looking absently towards the street, face blank and serene, and Sano seized the opportunity to study his ever-watchful companion.
Of course, he always loved looking at Kenshin. Rain, mud, sunshine, night, blood - it all looked good on him. But that particular day Sano suddenly became fascinated by how the sweat gleaming on Kenshin's forehead had dyed the nearby strands of hair a deep burgundy color, like Western wine. It gave the impression that the shadows had soaked into the strands, lending them darkness and beauty all at once.
//I just wanted to touch his hair…//
How was Sano to know that he would end up touching a lot more than just Kenshin's hair?
The ex-samurai smiled gratefully when Sano reached out and gently pushed his sweaty bangs off his forehead, fingertips grazing the curve of his brow and venturing upwards to sink into the warm strands of shadow-darkened hair. He trailed his hands into Kenshin's ponytail, caressing the thick, blood red locks. The hair was naturally soft but tangled, which was to be expected when one had as much hair as Kenshin. The sunlight had warmed the strands, and Sano relished the feeling of them sliding across his palm.
He didn't know who kissed who first, but he remembered that he had to stoop slightly to ease his mouth over Kenshin's. The rurouni's lips were full and soft, his tongue as hot and wet as Sano had always imagined it would be. They shared a kiss so long and lengthy that Sano completely forgot about the fact that right down the alleyway, there were people hustling and bustling about the market. If one of those oblivious shoppers so much as glanced the wrong way…
But that didn't stop either of them. In the end, it was only a mutual need for air that forced them to pull back from each other, panting slightly in the sweltering heat and the passion of the moment. Kenshin's pale violet eyes were hazy, lustful, and he didn't protest the least bit when Sano placed a careful hand on his back and led him down the alleyway, away from the market, away from the world.
//He had a long time to try and get away, but he didn't…//
They had sex in the warm, close darkness of Sano's flat at the Ruffian's Rowhouse. Kenshin's body was strong and pale, a little too thin, maybe, but still a sight for sore eyes. The baggy garments he wore hid lean, well-muscled limbs that Sano stroked and caressed upon unveiling. The whole experience seemed so ethereal, like a forbidden dream. Kenshin's body writhed beneath his. Kenshin's arms were around his neck, holding him close. Kenshin's pulse throbbed underneath his tongue. Kenshin's legs wrapped around his hips in sweet supplication.
Kenshin. Kenshin. Kenshin.
He was holding Kenshin, running his hands all over his body. He was making love to Kenshin.
//All the while, I expected to suddenly wake up and realize it was just me in my cramped, stuffy room, all alone//
Even now, Sano could clearly recall the look on Kenshin's face as he entered him. His lilac eyes widened, then closed as he gasped and flung his head backwards, red hair framing his shoulders like a cloud of fire. Sweet, so very sweet. Sano took him in slow, torturous thrusts that made the other man moan loudly, fingers clawing at whatever they could reach - Sano's discarded jacket, the abandoned reverse-blade sword, anything. A blush rode high in Kenshin's cheeks, coloring the pale flesh a deep pink shade. His gasps and moans were the most beautiful, arousing sounds Sano had ever heard.
//I was his lover, and he was mine…right? I mean, he was handsome enough to get a woman and pretty enough to get a man, but he chose me instead. That meant he was attracted to me; he wanted my body. And when we kept on with our little escapades…//
During the course of their relationship, Sano sometimes stopped to wonder whether or not Kenshin was in it just for sex. But the moment the idea sprouted in his mind, he severed it at the roots. He knew Kenshin wasn't the kind to only be interested in the physical aspect of a relationship; Sano was sure it went against some mysterious samurai code of honor or something.
Besides, their affair wasn't merely physical. Sure, the sex was some of the best Sano had ever had, and Kenshin never appeared to be left unsatisfied by their secret lovemaking sessions. At the same time, however, they didn't JUST have sex. With Kenshin, Sano discovered what it was like to hold and be held by a lover.
Sano loved it when Kenshin would rub his back with those small, slender hands of his, fingers kneading the well-formed muscles until Sano felt as relaxed and content as a lazy cat. Similarly, when Sano would sink his callused fingers into that wealth of crimson strands and massage the rurouni's scalp gently, he found that Kenshin would practically purr.
//Then there were those strange times…//
Kenshin would come in the middle of the night, quiet as the shadows, only throwing off the cloak of darkness when he arrived in the safety of Sano's flat, sliding the panel shut behind him. There were no words, no sex. Kenshin just climbed underneath the covers and lay there, staring at Sano's sleeping face with those wide, lilac eyes until the street fighter felt the weight of his gaze and stirred from his sleep. Then he would reach out and gather Kenshin in his arms, holding the smaller man tightly as they both stared wide-eyed into the darkness until the dawn came. At the first hint of light, Kenshin kissed his lover, and was gone. Sano slept for a while longer and then sauntered down to the Kamiya dojo to bug Kaoru for breakfast. And Kenshin would smile when he saw Sanosuke, just as casual as when he would laugh at the energetic antics of Ayame and Suzume. Kenshin would do laundry and thwap Yahiko on the back when the boy would eat too fast.
Things were normal, perfectly normal.
//But I wonder why he would come those nights? The look in his eyes, so dark and haunted…was he scared? Did he have nightmares? He always left his sword at home when he came during the night, wanting for me to hold him. I liked that aspect of our relationship; I was flattered that he might seek me out for protection, even if that "protection" only meant me wrapping my arms around him and gently playing with his hair until morning came. I thought he liked me. I thought he liked being with me. I was sure he would never break the promise we made back when we first met.//
But Kenshin did. He broke the promise and shattered something in Sano in the process. Kaoru got a heartfelt goodbye, and all Sano got was a goddamn rock stuck in his shoe from hurrying back to the dojo in the pitch darkness of the night.
Goodbye, beautiful redheaded stranger. Hello, aching loneliness.
//Fuck that!//
Sano let out another infuriated cry and sent his foot lashing in the general direction of the nearest tree. Another shattered trunk, more blood of trees covering his limbs, another memory firmly stamped upon his hardening heart.
"You're gonna regret not taking me with you, Kenshin!" he screamed to the night sky. Something wet rolled down his cheek. Blood, sweat, or tear - he didn't know which it was, and he really didn't care.
All he thought of was the pale, red-haired devil that stole his heart and then ran away with it to Kyoto, forcing Sano to follow, forcing him to become stronger SO he could follow. Maybe it was just fiendish scheme of Kenshin's to make his young, foolish lover strong enough to stand by his side until the bitter end.
Sano decided that he would believe that idea for a while. Anything hurt less than Kenshin thinking he was just a burden.
Sano WASN'T a burden, and he would go to all lengths to prove that fact. Sano would follow Kenshin into hell and back if it meant that he could remain by Kenshin's side to help him, to protect him. For Himura Kenshin, in spit of all his lofty ideals and unbelievable strength, was only a human being, and human beings could bleed and cry.
Human beings could be killed.
And maybe that was the first step Sano needed to take in getting to know the real Himura Kenshin, the beautiful stranger that he had fallen in love with.
Never mind that Sano wasn't sure he would come out of this situation alive. He would worry about death later. For now, he saw the road to Kyoto unfurling in front of him, and at the end of it, he glimpsed a red-haired wanderer smiling at him, beckoning to him, waiting to meet his lover in the city on the outskirts of hell.
Sano could hardly wait.
~fin
If I'm smart then I'll run away
But I'm not so I guess I'll stay
Haven't you heard
I fell in love with a beautiful stranger
"Beautiful Stranger"
Madonnna
by Flamika
Haven't we met
You're some kind of beautiful stranger
You could be good for me
I've had the taste for danger
If I'm smart then I'll run away
But I'm not so I guess I'll stay
Heaven forbid
I'll take my chance on a beautiful stranger…
To know you is to love you
You're everywhere I go
And everybody knows
To love you is to be part of you
I've paid for you with tears
And swallowed all my pride
"Beautiful Stranger"
Madonna
His fist lashed through the air of the forest, and the wind lashed with him, tearing a guttural cry from his throat as his knuckles made contact with the bark of the tree. A widening crack appeared on the trunk's formerly unmarred surface like a lopsided grimace of pain. Another loud cry, another relentless punch, and the trunk of the once proud tree snapped in half; the clean-smelling wood crackled pitifully and fell backwards to the ground of the forest with a resounding crash that seemed to shake the very earth.
The leaves whispered and wept over the demise of their lifeline, and Sagara Sanosuke angrily kicked at the greenery, hating the noise it made even though he had been the direct cause of the leaves' mournful symphony. The bandages wrapped around his ankles snagged on a twig, clinging so stubbornly that he nearly lost his balance and went tumbling to the ground. He cursed as he regained his footing, stomping the leaves furiously before reeling back from the fallen tree, breathing hard.
He listened to the sound of the night air whooshing in and out of his lungs. His breathing was ragged, as if something were obstructing its passage. Well, no big surprise there; he had had a mysterious lump in his throat ever since he'd left Toyko, or more accurately, when he found out Kenshin had gone on to Kyoto and left him behind like unwanted trash.
~In the eyes of the Battousai, your existence is nothing more than a burden that he's been forced to bear.~
"Damn you!" Sano spat, cursing the ever-infuriating Saitou Hajime, cursing the sweat rolling down his face, cursing his aching knuckles that were covered in blood and tree sap.
But above all things, Sano cursed Kenshin and the painful, burning feeling of betrayal his departure had left behind.
//A liar// Sano thought furiously. //He made himself out to be nothing more than another damn liar who breaks promises, or even worse…forgets he ever made them. But I KNOW he didn't forget, that bastard! He never forgets anything. How DARE he?! How dare he do this to us, to me?! The Missie crying. Yahiko crestfallen but hiding it well. And me here in the fucking forest, destroying everything in my path. It's all HIS goddamn fault! He never should have left us!//
Sano didn't know how long those same words had been running their relentless course through his head. Over and over again, he had to listen to them whether he wanted to or not. They didn't care what he felt, or the pain they caused him. Like a certain SOMEBODY he knew. Sano was sure that if the words could walk and talk, they would have left his ass back in Tokyo, just like Kenshin had.
Sano's every waking moment was hopelessly inundated with thoughts of the redheaded rurouni. Memories came in a thick, painful flood of internal agony that made him wild with rage and heartbreak.
It was Sanosuke who had come sauntering down the road from the train station to find a brokenhearted Kaoru sobbing wildly on the ground, hunched over as if someone had driven a sword through her stomach.
//Yeah, reverse-blade sword…never puts you out of your misery…just leaves you in a world of hurt//
He knew instantly that Kenshin had left them, abandoned them. The realization broke something in him, but he managed to keep it together long enough to gather Kaoru in his arms and carry her weeping form back to the dojo, where he carefully placed her on her futon. He had roused Yahiko and told him to take care of his assistant master.
Then it was just Sano and the cruel darkness of the night mocking him as he raced all over Tokyo, searching all the places he thought Kenshin might have gone before departing for Kyoto.
But the instant he began his hunt, a dark epiphany struck him. He didn't know which places to look because he didn't know the areas that Kenshin frequented, if the rurouni even did so at all. Was there an exclusive part of the river he liked to gaze upon at high noon? A certain hill from where he liked to watch the sunset? A hidden, dark street that he haunted during the night?
Sano didn't know. Was the man he had dared to call his lover really just some stranger?
But he had still run aimlessly through the dark streets, his heart burning with cold fire at the sudden realization that he may not know the real Himura Kenshin. Sure, he understood Kenshin's ideals enough to explain most of his actions, and Sano realized that a great number of the things Kenshin said and did stemmed from his gentle sense of justice and firm belief never to kill again. An ideal given a lithe body, flowing red hair, and soft lilac eyes.
Kenshin was so damn unobtrusive, so kind. If he didn't like something, he never complained. He never yelled over petty things like when Yahiko accidentally overturned a whole basket of clean laundry. Always gentle - that was Kenshin.
//But surely there were some things…//
Didn't the rurouni ever get angry? Weren't there some people that he couldn't stand simply because they were mean or ugly or because they looked at him the wrong way? Didn't he sometimes want to go drinking and get totally plastered, even if it was for just one night? Did Kenshin have dreams? Did Kenshin ever want to cry when no one else was watching? Did he ever want to be cruel to everyone and say he was just in a bad mood?
//Why did he have to be so damn inhuman? So perfect, like a god, and just as beautiful//
Sano still remembered the first time he had made love to Kenshin.
He had been fantasizing about it for a while, never really expecting it to come true. There were some people he couldn't imagine naked, flat on their backs, and spreading their legs for anyone. Kenshin was one of those people. Sano liked to call them untouchables because, well, that's what they were. You didn't desecrate gods just like you didn't sit in roaring bonfires.
That day seemed so far in the past, as if it were from some half-remembered life in which only a few occurrences stood out in remarkable clarity. Sano remembered how bright the sun had been; he was sweating profusely as he and Kenshin milled about pointlessly in the market, looking for a certain kind of vegetable that probably didn't exist. But Kenshin had been damn insistent that they find what Kaoru had asked him to, and Sano had nothing better to do than tag along and mop the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket.
Finally, after a few half-hearted threats and a lot of whole-hearted begging, Kenshin relented and agreed to Sano's suggestion that they take a rest in a cool, shady alleyway.
//I wasn't really expecting anything to HAPPEN, honestly. I was just sweaty and smelly and wanted to take a goddamn break before I collapsed//
Their "break", of course, ended up being a lot longer than either of them had anticipated. Sano could feel the wonderful darkness surrounding the two of them as the sweat cooled on his skin. He leaned his back on the wall, hands casually shoved in his pockets. Kenshin stood in front of him, acting annoyingly unaffected by the heat even though the sweat on his pale skin glittered like small jewels in the shadows. The rurouni was looking absently towards the street, face blank and serene, and Sano seized the opportunity to study his ever-watchful companion.
Of course, he always loved looking at Kenshin. Rain, mud, sunshine, night, blood - it all looked good on him. But that particular day Sano suddenly became fascinated by how the sweat gleaming on Kenshin's forehead had dyed the nearby strands of hair a deep burgundy color, like Western wine. It gave the impression that the shadows had soaked into the strands, lending them darkness and beauty all at once.
//I just wanted to touch his hair…//
How was Sano to know that he would end up touching a lot more than just Kenshin's hair?
The ex-samurai smiled gratefully when Sano reached out and gently pushed his sweaty bangs off his forehead, fingertips grazing the curve of his brow and venturing upwards to sink into the warm strands of shadow-darkened hair. He trailed his hands into Kenshin's ponytail, caressing the thick, blood red locks. The hair was naturally soft but tangled, which was to be expected when one had as much hair as Kenshin. The sunlight had warmed the strands, and Sano relished the feeling of them sliding across his palm.
He didn't know who kissed who first, but he remembered that he had to stoop slightly to ease his mouth over Kenshin's. The rurouni's lips were full and soft, his tongue as hot and wet as Sano had always imagined it would be. They shared a kiss so long and lengthy that Sano completely forgot about the fact that right down the alleyway, there were people hustling and bustling about the market. If one of those oblivious shoppers so much as glanced the wrong way…
But that didn't stop either of them. In the end, it was only a mutual need for air that forced them to pull back from each other, panting slightly in the sweltering heat and the passion of the moment. Kenshin's pale violet eyes were hazy, lustful, and he didn't protest the least bit when Sano placed a careful hand on his back and led him down the alleyway, away from the market, away from the world.
//He had a long time to try and get away, but he didn't…//
They had sex in the warm, close darkness of Sano's flat at the Ruffian's Rowhouse. Kenshin's body was strong and pale, a little too thin, maybe, but still a sight for sore eyes. The baggy garments he wore hid lean, well-muscled limbs that Sano stroked and caressed upon unveiling. The whole experience seemed so ethereal, like a forbidden dream. Kenshin's body writhed beneath his. Kenshin's arms were around his neck, holding him close. Kenshin's pulse throbbed underneath his tongue. Kenshin's legs wrapped around his hips in sweet supplication.
Kenshin. Kenshin. Kenshin.
He was holding Kenshin, running his hands all over his body. He was making love to Kenshin.
//All the while, I expected to suddenly wake up and realize it was just me in my cramped, stuffy room, all alone//
Even now, Sano could clearly recall the look on Kenshin's face as he entered him. His lilac eyes widened, then closed as he gasped and flung his head backwards, red hair framing his shoulders like a cloud of fire. Sweet, so very sweet. Sano took him in slow, torturous thrusts that made the other man moan loudly, fingers clawing at whatever they could reach - Sano's discarded jacket, the abandoned reverse-blade sword, anything. A blush rode high in Kenshin's cheeks, coloring the pale flesh a deep pink shade. His gasps and moans were the most beautiful, arousing sounds Sano had ever heard.
//I was his lover, and he was mine…right? I mean, he was handsome enough to get a woman and pretty enough to get a man, but he chose me instead. That meant he was attracted to me; he wanted my body. And when we kept on with our little escapades…//
During the course of their relationship, Sano sometimes stopped to wonder whether or not Kenshin was in it just for sex. But the moment the idea sprouted in his mind, he severed it at the roots. He knew Kenshin wasn't the kind to only be interested in the physical aspect of a relationship; Sano was sure it went against some mysterious samurai code of honor or something.
Besides, their affair wasn't merely physical. Sure, the sex was some of the best Sano had ever had, and Kenshin never appeared to be left unsatisfied by their secret lovemaking sessions. At the same time, however, they didn't JUST have sex. With Kenshin, Sano discovered what it was like to hold and be held by a lover.
Sano loved it when Kenshin would rub his back with those small, slender hands of his, fingers kneading the well-formed muscles until Sano felt as relaxed and content as a lazy cat. Similarly, when Sano would sink his callused fingers into that wealth of crimson strands and massage the rurouni's scalp gently, he found that Kenshin would practically purr.
//Then there were those strange times…//
Kenshin would come in the middle of the night, quiet as the shadows, only throwing off the cloak of darkness when he arrived in the safety of Sano's flat, sliding the panel shut behind him. There were no words, no sex. Kenshin just climbed underneath the covers and lay there, staring at Sano's sleeping face with those wide, lilac eyes until the street fighter felt the weight of his gaze and stirred from his sleep. Then he would reach out and gather Kenshin in his arms, holding the smaller man tightly as they both stared wide-eyed into the darkness until the dawn came. At the first hint of light, Kenshin kissed his lover, and was gone. Sano slept for a while longer and then sauntered down to the Kamiya dojo to bug Kaoru for breakfast. And Kenshin would smile when he saw Sanosuke, just as casual as when he would laugh at the energetic antics of Ayame and Suzume. Kenshin would do laundry and thwap Yahiko on the back when the boy would eat too fast.
Things were normal, perfectly normal.
//But I wonder why he would come those nights? The look in his eyes, so dark and haunted…was he scared? Did he have nightmares? He always left his sword at home when he came during the night, wanting for me to hold him. I liked that aspect of our relationship; I was flattered that he might seek me out for protection, even if that "protection" only meant me wrapping my arms around him and gently playing with his hair until morning came. I thought he liked me. I thought he liked being with me. I was sure he would never break the promise we made back when we first met.//
But Kenshin did. He broke the promise and shattered something in Sano in the process. Kaoru got a heartfelt goodbye, and all Sano got was a goddamn rock stuck in his shoe from hurrying back to the dojo in the pitch darkness of the night.
Goodbye, beautiful redheaded stranger. Hello, aching loneliness.
//Fuck that!//
Sano let out another infuriated cry and sent his foot lashing in the general direction of the nearest tree. Another shattered trunk, more blood of trees covering his limbs, another memory firmly stamped upon his hardening heart.
"You're gonna regret not taking me with you, Kenshin!" he screamed to the night sky. Something wet rolled down his cheek. Blood, sweat, or tear - he didn't know which it was, and he really didn't care.
All he thought of was the pale, red-haired devil that stole his heart and then ran away with it to Kyoto, forcing Sano to follow, forcing him to become stronger SO he could follow. Maybe it was just fiendish scheme of Kenshin's to make his young, foolish lover strong enough to stand by his side until the bitter end.
Sano decided that he would believe that idea for a while. Anything hurt less than Kenshin thinking he was just a burden.
Sano WASN'T a burden, and he would go to all lengths to prove that fact. Sano would follow Kenshin into hell and back if it meant that he could remain by Kenshin's side to help him, to protect him. For Himura Kenshin, in spit of all his lofty ideals and unbelievable strength, was only a human being, and human beings could bleed and cry.
Human beings could be killed.
And maybe that was the first step Sano needed to take in getting to know the real Himura Kenshin, the beautiful stranger that he had fallen in love with.
Never mind that Sano wasn't sure he would come out of this situation alive. He would worry about death later. For now, he saw the road to Kyoto unfurling in front of him, and at the end of it, he glimpsed a red-haired wanderer smiling at him, beckoning to him, waiting to meet his lover in the city on the outskirts of hell.
Sano could hardly wait.
~fin
If I'm smart then I'll run away
But I'm not so I guess I'll stay
Haven't you heard
I fell in love with a beautiful stranger
"Beautiful Stranger"
Madonnna