Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Heaven In Your Arms ❯ Another Time ( Chapter 9 )

AN: Sorry for the long wait on this chapter, but I currently do not have a computer at home. It exploded with 16 viruses and 21 spywares and has died. I'm waiting for it to either be fixed or get a new one, so I only have one hour a day to write my fics (my lunch hour) so until I get my computer back at home, it may be quite a while before any updates. Sorry! Blame the site that lured me in saying there was Kenshin AMV's when it turned out to be a porn site! Luckily for me I had this chapter at work, or it would have wiped this too!

ANN: Warning for fluff...lots...and lots...of fluff :D

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Chapter 9: Another Time

Saito didn't like to show weakness, the little he had, but after spending a fun packed night of stalking, burning down buildings and then heading over to your Bosses place for….top secret stuff, Saito was tired.

And pissed off.

He had wanted to get home as quickly as possible after drenching that apartment with petrol, and…opps! Dropping a lit cigarette to the ground as the building was immediately engulfed in flames. It was a crude method, but he had been feeling particularly evil that night, and wanted to make a damn good…or should that be bad…impression.

Getting a call from his Boss though he hadn't expected, and so had to go all the way over to Kyoto in the middle of the night. He understood though, mobile phones can easily be tapped; it was always best to meet in person. Still, he had wanted to get back to be able to see the look on Kenshin's face when he found out that his precious Sanosuke had been killed. Although he guessed it wouldn't matter too much, his video cameras recorded everything, he could just review his tapes to see that look of shock and pain across that pretty face.

Closing his apartment door behind him, Saito headed as usual to his little back room, walking into darkness as he had switched the monitors off while he wasn't there. Turning his desk light on and sitting down, he switched on one screen in front of him, typing into the keyboard. The system whirred for a moment, before displaying `Replay' in the top left hand corner of the screen.

“Lets see what you've been up to since you got home…found out yet?” Saito smirked to himself, sitting back in his chair and relaxing, just to see how distraught Kenshin was, and then go get some sleep.

As the screen flickered on however, what he saw made that smirk immediately disappear.

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He didn't know what time it was, but with the bright light coming from the windows where the curtains hadn't been drawn, it was obviously morning. Kenshin had awoken to find himself lying on his back, Sano lying half across him cocooning him in his arms. His lips were lightly pressed to the top of Kenshin's head as he slept, letting Kenshin rest his head just under Sano's chin, snuggling against his warm skin. Eyes blinking lazily, not wanting to wake up, Kenshin slowly moved to kiss Sano's neck lightly, before closing his eyes again, ever so gently holding him a little bit tighter.

Sano had been true to his word, he'd made love to him all night long, slowly and passionately, covering every inch of him with a love Kenshin had wanted to feel again for so long. They must have been awake for hours together, holding and touching, getting lost in each other's passions and desires.

Sano had turned out to be a very sensual lover. Maybe it was just with him, but it was like he couldn't get enough of him, wanting to touch and kiss everything that was laid out before him. Kenshin felt his own heartbeat racing the whole time, Sano's exploring hands and talented tongue driving him wild with a hunger for more, more of anything and everything that Sano could give him.

Kenshin had never felt so loved as he did that night, he'd lost count on how many times Sano had said he loved him, whether it was a gentle whisper on his lips as they kissed, or heavy breathing as he panted it in his ear, Kenshin's body and mind lost to this overwhelming feeling of never wanting to let go of this person his heart felt like it belonged too. Even when their bodies couldn't move anymore, they just lay there together, Sano's protecting arms either side of him as they kissed slowly, run out of energy, but not out of love, just relaxing into the gentle sensations as they finally drifted off to sleep together.

He'd fallen in love with him so quickly, so fast, but it felt like he had loved him forever, holding him so closely, just relishing in the fact that they were lying here together like this without a care in the world.

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The glass flew across the sideboard and smashed on the floor below, the water is was holding spraying across the tiled floor. Saito leant with arms out stretched on the wooden panelling, teeth clenched as a fury like no other rushed through his veins.

Sanosuke was alive…but not only was he alive he was…

Smashing another glass onto the floor, Saito stormed out of his kitchen when his front door suddenly opened. Stopping in surprise, he watched as a woman walked through, placing her keys back in her handbag. She paused as she saw Saito staring at her, and looked through the kitchen to the smashed glasses on the floor.

“I take it your plan didn't work then.” She said bluntly, closing the front door behind her.

“I am in no mood for your lectures this evening Tokio,” he glared at his wife, as she ignored him and put the shopping bags she was carrying down in the kitchen, before walking down the hallway to the Lounge.

“Why is it you try to kill everyone you don't like?” she asked, still not looking at him as he followed her.

“It's not like you should worry Tokio, I would never kill you, you're too precious to me.” He said, although there was a slight smirk to his tone of voice.

“Really?” she said dismissively, “I'm a marriage of convenience. The only reason you don't get rid of me is because I'm your Bosses daughter.”

Saito watched her for a moment, switching on the side lights and untying her hair, letting it fall down her back, taking no interest in her husbands presences. “Tell me,” Saito began, “What is it that has brought this on this evening Tokio?”

There was a pause in her answer, her back still turned to him, “That young man…Kenshin Himura…what have you done to him?”

“What exactly are you implying?” Saito asked cautiously.

“He's all you ever talk about,” she said sadly, “How much you enjoy giving him trouble by always keeping him just inside his debt but…I've checked the bank statements…we haven't had any money from him this month. I know what you're like, you wouldn't let anyone off easy…so I want to know what you did to him?”

Saito stared at her back for a moment, before smiling, “What I did to him you ask?” his smile faded as he put his hand on her shoulder, his mouth by her ear, “I did to him what I haven't done with you for many years.” With that he turned around without another word, heading to the bedroom to finally get that sleep he needed.

As he walked out of the room, Tokio sighed softly. She remembered, 16 years ago, that little redheaded boy…so cold…so cruel, but all the time thinking it was the right thing to do, what her father ordered him to carry out. She had tried many times to be with him, to have a motherly figure in his life, despite her father's protests, but all the time, everyday, it was nothing but training with Saito and the rest of the boys. He grew up thinking it was right…what they made him do. Saito spent everyday with him when he was growing up, surely at some point he must have felt friends with him? What happened? Why did he now feel such pleasure in tormenting someone he practically raised?

Saito had been 17 when Kenshin left for good, making her swear not to tell her father what had really happened, or he'd loose out on his new `bonus' every month. As far as `he' was concerned, the Boss, Kenshin was dead, and Saito was going to keep it that way so he wouldn't go looking for him. Kenshin would have to pay Saito for his silence if he wanted to live, to not tell the police what he had done, or his Boss that he was still alive. He was only 11 at the time, so Saito expected that payments at first would be small, but the older he got, the more amount of money Saito demanded. He'd turned bitter, sadistic, and it made him smile that creepy smile that somewhere along the line Tokio had grown used to.

Saito was a cleaver man, a little too cleaver, he had a way of playing with people's minds. What he had done to Kenshin, and whatever he had planned in the future, she hoped that Kenshin wasn't alone in his fight for freedom from the chain's Saito kept around him.

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“Morning beautiful.” Came an adoring voice, and Kenshin opened his eyes, looking up to the loving ones staring down at him.

Smiling sweetly, Kenshin moved forward a little and kissed him, the start of what he hoped with every cell in his body would be the first of many morning kisses. It was only going to be a short, sweet kiss, but somewhere along the line they began to get lost in each other again, the kiss deepening, Sano holding him more closely.

It was a small giggle from Kenshin that broke the kiss though, “Looks like something else has woken up as well, that it has.” He said, a faint blush on his cheeks as he stared up at him.

“Can you blame me?” Sano grinned, before leaning down again for another kiss, moving further on top of him as that certain `something else' dug into Kenshin's hip.

Kenshin laughed again, breaking the kiss, but Sano continuing to kiss his cheeks, and even the tip of his nose. “You know…” he said, kissing him again quickly, “You have the cutest laugh.”

Kenshin, now aware of his laugh, simply smiled back trying and failing not to laugh as Sano stared at him intently waiting for him to do it again. He looked away embarrassed, the smile unable to leave his lips.

“So, you gonna tell me what happened to your arm?”

Kenshin blinked and looked back at him, “My arm?” He looked down at his right arm, still bandaged (although how it was still bandaged after last night he wasn't sure) and having completely forgot about it.

“What did you do?” Sano asked worried, leaning up on one elbow as Kenshin held his arm, feeling the heat underneath it.

“Did you… only just notice this?” Kenshin asked, because surely he hadn't…again, not after last night.

Sano smiled back, “Of course not, but you seemed to out of it last night after the fire it just…didn't seem appropriate to ask.” He said gently, Kenshin seeing the slight concern in his eyes, “Anyway, I could see it was all wrapped up ok, so I figured I could wait until now to ask you about it.”

Kenshin blushed slightly at the memory of how he was acting when he had brought Sano home, spying his shirt still on the floor by the door where he'd ripped it off so quickly.

“Yeah umm…I am sorry about that.” He said, looking away.

Surprisingly, Sano grinned back, “Are you kidding? That was totally hot, just…not at the right time.” He added softly, Kenshin looking back at him to still see that grin still on his face, “So if you wanna do that again, an-y time, that's fine with me!” he grinned, Kenshin resisting the urge to roll his eyes and instead just smiled.

“So yeah, how did you do that?” Sano asked again, nodding at his arm.

“I…” Kenshin paused suddenly, frowning at the memory, “…you'll probably yell at me for this but…” Kenshin looked at him sheepishly, “I ran into your apartment building when it was on fire.” Sano's eyes went wide, “I thought you were still in there…” Kenshin said sadly, looking down at the bedcovers, “I didn't know what to do, so I just ran in, hoping that…somehow…you'd just be in the doorway so I could get you out.”

Kenshin avoided his eyes, he knew Sano would be angry with him, but suddenly he found himself engulfed in Sano's arms as he held him close, one hand at the back of his head “You're right, I would yell at you, if you hadn't been through enough already.” He said gently, letting his fingers flow through his hair, before suddenly getting to a knot and pausing, both of them beginning to laugh again as they pulled away from each other.

“You're even cute with your hair in a mess.” Sano smiled, causing Kenshin to blush yet again at the hidden message within that, “And thanks.”

Kenshin looked back up at him, “For what?”

“For caring so much.” He said quietly.

There was another pause full of shy smiles, Kenshin finding it embarrassing to look him in the eyes. It was funny, he felt like a school kid with his first crush, innocent and shy to everything. As the silent moment passed, Kenshin realised Sano was staring at him rather lovingly.

“W-what?” Kenshin asked smiling.

“I was just thinking. There's been no weird `awkward silences' or anything, we've just continued talking and kissing like we'd been doing this for years.”

It was true. Kenshin had woken up and had had no feelings of awkwardness, what he would say to Sano when he woke up, how to act around each other after last night, nothing. That made Kenshin smile, and he leant over and kissed Sano again, his smaller hands cupping his cheeks.

“Like that?” Kenshin whispered as he finally pulled away, leaving this time a blush on Sano's cheeks.

“…Yeah.” Sano smiled back.

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Saito sat at the end of his bed, staring out the window to the bright sun outside. Tokio should learn when to keep her mouth shut, or daughter of his Boss or not, if she said that again…

Running his hand through his hair, Saito thought back to the matter at hand. Sanosuke. The stupid college student who wouldn't leave Kenshin alone. How the hell did he get past him when setting that building a light? He must have sneaked out beforehand, which made Saito even angrier at himself for not spotting him.

Well, there was more than one way to skin a cat, as the saying goes. If Sanosuke wouldn't leave, even after burning his home to the ground, then he had forced Saito to take the more painful route. If Sano had left when he had told him before, then sure, Kenshin would be a little upset, as would Sanosuke, but they hadn't known each other for that long, so it wouldn't have been so bad. Now he'll play with him. He'll make him doubt, make him worry, send him hints of Kenshin's past and find out exactly how far this love goes. Because just at the right time, he'll make him ask…ask Kenshin about his past, and when Sano does exactly the same thing that Soujirou had done, Kenshin will loose all hope…

…and fall right into his arms.

A thought flashed through his mind so quickly it barely had a chance to register; but when did he stop caring about the money, and simply start to want that body instead? 

“We should get up.” Kenshin said, but with no movement from either of them as they lay in bed together, the sentence didn't seem quite so serious.

“Why?” Sano asked, cuddling him a little closer.

Kenshin looked up at him and smiled, “Why don't you go and have a shower while I make some breakfast hm?”

“Can't I have a shower with you?” Sano asked cheekily, nose to nose.

Kenshin smiled back, eyes closing happily “Maybe another time, I'm hungry now.” He said cutely, trying to wriggle out from underneath Sano. Sano however wasn't going to let him go easily, and latched onto his waist, a silly smile on his face as Kenshin laughed, trying to crawl off the bed with Sano attached to him.

“S-Sano…get off…” Kenshin chuckled, trying to manoeuvre to the edge of the bed.

“Aw come on…it's your birthday isn't it? I wanna make love to you all day.” He said cutely, completely love struck over his little angel.

”You've already done that all night.” Kenshin smiled, managing to slip his legs over the side of the bed,

“Yeah and?” Sano tried to protest, but as Kenshin finally managed to stand up, Sano was still hugging him around the waist and so found himself falling off the bed and onto the floor, bed sheets and all.

As he lay there face down on the floor, Kenshin smiling and almost sniggering as he tried to untangle himself from the bed sheets, Kenshin grabbing his dressing gown hanging at the back of the door, slipping it over him.

“The bathroom is the door on the right.” He said as he opened the bedroom door, Sano finally managing to grab the sheets and standing up, lunging for Kenshin with a predatorily glint in his eye…

And smashing straight into a closed door, Kenshin's cute and happy laugh floating away behind it.

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As the gentle hum of the shower drifted through the apartment, Kenshin stood by his open fridge, grabbing a cartoon of orange juice from inside and a glass from one of the top cupboards. The thought crossed his mind he should really move those glasses to a lower cupboard as he nearly always dropped something when trying to reach up to get one, either that or re-do his kitchen so everything was lower and in his reach. Filling the glass with juice, Kenshin took a sip idly glancing over to the clock on the wall.

In doing so, Kenshin nearly choked at the time.

Putting his glass back down on the counter, Kenshin ran back into his bedroom and flew open his bathroom door, Sano freezing in shock standing under the shower, the water still running over him.

“Sano! It's 11.30!”

“So?”

“On a Thursday!”

Sano blinked at him “So?”

“We have to get to college!”

Sano looked around the bathroom walls for a moment as if thinking, before turning back to him “So?”

Kenshin stared at him as if he'd suddenly grown horns, “We have to go.” He said quietly, the sudden rush of panic disappearing and now not knowing what to do with Sano's lack of panic.

“No we don't. I think my apartment burning down is a pretty good reason not to go in don'tcha think?” he smiled.

“I don't…really think you should be smiling when saying that.” He said.

Sano stared at him for a moment, nothing but the sound of running water filling the air, before he suddenly reached out and grabbed Kenshin, wrapping his arms around his waist and lifting him into the shower with him.

“S-Sano!” Kenshin stuttered in surprise and embarrassment as Sano was of course completely naked, the water from the shower head beating down on them both, Kenshin's dressing gown getting soaked.

“I think you should stop worrying,” Sano said, “So what if we miss one day?”

“But…” Kenshin began, protest gradually fading from his mind at the situation they were in, “I think it is going to be a little suspicious if we're both off on the same day, especially after those rumours going around, that it will.”

“Oh let them rumour,” Sano dismissed, as he cornered Kenshin against the wall, putting his hand under Kenshin's chin tilting his head back a little, the water running down his face. He stared at him for a moment, a small blush on Kenshin's cheeks wondering exactly what Sano was thinking.

Sano suddenly smiled mischievously, leaning down a little so he was face to face with him. “Is it `another time' yet?”

Kenshin blinked at him, his blush deepening as he realised what he meant from their earlier conversation. “S-Sano I don't think—“

His speech was interrupted as Sano kissed him, pressing him against the wall as the water pounded down on them both. As Sano's hand pushed the dressing gown off Kenshin's shoulders, letting it drop to the ground, any protesting thoughts from the redhead about getting to college melted from his brain, letting Sano kiss him deeply and lovingly as they stood pressed against each other under the shower.

Guess it was that `another time' then.

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“Hey Seta, weren't you working on that case?”

Soujirou Seta looked up from the files he was organising in the cupboard behind his desk and looked over at the two officers he worked with, sitting at the end of his desk.

“What case?”

“You know, about a year ago you got assigned to carry on the investigation over what happened at the Ellisman Mansion when it was dropped about 10 years ago? Where that detective got killed right? Ahh…I forget what his name was.”

“Shinamori?” Soujirou inquired.

“That was it!”

“Yeah,” the other man began, “Rumour has it they've started work in Tokyo again, check this out.” The man slid a photo across the desk, Soujirou walking over and picking it up. “We had a scan run on the guy in the shadows on the right, recognise him?”

The picture was of Sanosuke's apartment building just before it caught fire, and there in shadows of an alleyway at the side, was the definite face of Saito.

“Saito Hajime…” Soujirou said quietly, recognising his face from the filed reports, “Yes but…why are you showing me this?” he smiled.

“Check out the building 2 minutes after that photo was taken.” The other man said, handing him a small bundle of photos. As he looked through each one, low and below, the building was on fire, but as he came to the last one, Soujirou's eyes went wide and he dropped the other photos.

“Hey what's wrong?” one man asked at the shocked look on his younger colleagues face.

“When…when were these photos taken?”

”Early this morning, why?”

“Whose covering this?” he asked, a slight panic in his voice which was strange to hear from him.

“Err…old man Okina's doin' it I think. They've got him on the small cases as the fool refuses to retire an—HEY! Where ya going?”

Soujirou had ran to the back of his office, opening the door, “I'm getting on this case.” He called out as the door swung shut behind him, leaving the two men to stare bewildered at where he had been standing.

“Ah, kids these days.” One of them said, grabbing the photos he'd dropped, picking up the last photo Soujirou was holding that he had dropped when he ran. “I wonder what's so special about this photo that made him panic like that?” he asked, looking at the photo of the burning building, now most of it crumbled to the ground, and a young man on the far left sitting on a small brick wall, his profile staring up at the building, long wet red hair clinging to his back. “Hmm…oh well.” The man dismissed, leaving the photos on his desk for him, and walking with his colleague back to their own desks.

If he had looked closer however, he would have seen a small picture frame on Soujirou's desk, squished between the computer and the screen, that same red head smiling brightly with his arms wrapped around him, the only picture left to remind Soujirou of what a fool he had been to leave.

To Be Continued…

AN: The Ellisman Mansion btw does actually exist, just to let you know. It will play a big part in the later story.