Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ I Will Always Return ❯ I Will Always Return ( Chapter 1 )

I Will Always Return

~~~

"I hear the wind call your name,

it calls me back home again.

It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns…

Oh it's to you I'll always return."

Red bandana whipping in the wind, Sanosuke Sagara stood on a hill above Tokyo and looked down on his home city, affection and remembrance gleaming in his chocolate brown eyes. It had been a little over two years since he had seen the city, and he was glad to be home.

His long legs carried him quickly down the road, and he shifted the pack slung over his back so it rested more comfortably on his strong back. His eyes swept over the golden buildings, colored so by the late afternoon sun, and his mind was filled with memories that had been long-forgotten until now.

Two years was a long time, all things considered. He had left Tokyo after being stricken with a lust for wandering and a longing for adventure. Things had calmed down considerably in the large urban area, especially since Kenshin was around. In fact, things had calmed down so much that the former Fighter-for-Hire had found himself bored beyond belief. But then again, he had never been one with much patience for ordinary life.

There was only one thing he regretted and as he stopped before a plan house with a plain door, his hand hesitated before opening it.

Katsu.

"I still feel your breath on my skin,

I hear your voice deep within.

The sound of my lover - a feeling so strong…

Oh, It's to you - I'll always belong."

He had left his lover and gone away to satisfy his own craving for freedom. He had left the painter on his own and he wondered now if the man would even remember their ties.

Sano's heart felt heavy and he lost some of his good mood as he continued to hesitate outside his best friend's door. Should he be doing this? Did he even have the right to be doing this? Maybe Katsu had gotten another lover in the time he had been gone.

Memories swamped his brain and a fire swept through his body at the thought of all the time he had spent with the other man. If he closed his eyes and thought hard enough, he could almost feel those smooth, uncalloused fingers, so unlike his own, skating across his chest and caressing his face.

Cheeks burning, Sano dropped his bag and sat down outside Katsu's door, resting his back against the side of the house. He had dug deep inside his heart many a time while he had been away, and he knew he still loved the man, and always would, no matter what separated them.

"Now I know it's true,

my every road leads to you,

And in the hour of darkness darlin',

your light gets me through."

The only thing that had ended his wandering and brought him back to Tokyo was the young painter outside whose house he now waited. After losing Katsu for many long years and then rediscovering him again, he had found it harder and harder to stay away from him. He couldn't bear the thought of losing both his lover and his best friend, so he had returned, hoping that all would be forgiven.

But even so . . . would he be forgiven? He didn't even know if Katsu even still cared for him. Sano put his head in his hands and dug his fingers deep into silky brown locks. What should he do?

"Wanna swim in your river - be warmed by your sun,

bathe in your waters - cuz you are the one!

I can't stand the distance - I can't dream alone.

I can't wait to see you - Yes I'm on my way home... I'm on my way…"

His mind chased itself into circles, until the man broke the circuit with one decisive slash. He stood up, resolve strengthening his figure and lifting him up. He didn't even bother to knock, just slipped into the familiar house as quietly as he could and shut the door softly behind him.

Quiet humming and the soft sounds of a paintbrush on canvas came from the other small room of the house, and Sano slipped off his shoes, a smile playing about his lips. How did he know Katsu would be painting.

Stealing stealthily into the other room, he crept up quietly behind the other man and froze when his eyes alighted upon the canvas. His own face stared back at him with sultry brown eyes and Sano suppressed the sound of surprise that rose in his throat.

The painting was beyond lifelike, and he began to wonder if it wasn't really a mirror he was looking into. The hands that painted the picture moved with the utmost of care, and Sano saw in the slow brushstrokes the same loving manner he had felt in the gentle caresses those same hands had given.

His heart felt ready to explode; Katsu still loved him! Even after all he had done, even after he had left the older man, he still remained true.

"Oh I hear the wind call your name,

the sound that leads me home again.

It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns…

Oh it's to you I will always return."

Little did he know that the other man had thought only of him while he had been gone. Katsu knew of Sano's unfailing loyalty and he had repaid it with his own undying faithfulness. He had taken no other lovers and remained true to his spiky-haired friend. It was the least he could do.

Neither one could live without the other.

Setting his bag down against the wall, Sano quickly kneeled down and put his arms around his lover, crossing them at the wrist and pressing his back against Katsu's.

The man before him jumped and dropped the paintbrush he was holding, turning around swiftly and coming face-to-face with his roving lover. A smile lit up his face as Sano kissed his forehead, all his apologies conveyed in that one small gesture.

Wanna swim in your river - be warmed by your sun,

bathe in your waters - cuz you are the one!

I can't stand the distance - I can't dream alone.

I can't wait to see you - Cuz I'm on my way home…

Sano's long fingers stroked his chest through the material of his clothes and he leaned back into the warm embrace, staring up at face he hadn't seen in two years. "Sano . . ."

The younger man dropped his head and looked at his lover, eyes saddened. "Katsu, I-"

But a painted-stained finger stopped his excuse from leaving his mouth. The painter shook his head, sending long brown locks flying and traced Sano's lips with the finger that had stilled them.

Closing his eyes, Sano kissed the finger, and took it between his lips, sucking on it lightly. Katsu closed his eyes also and rested his head against the ex-fighter's shoulder, reveling in the sensations he had only dreamt of for so many months.

The painting stood forgotten before them.

"Oh I hear the wind call your name,

the sound that leads me home again.

It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns…

I'm on my way... I will always return."

Sano tugged Katsu away from the painting and he shifted so the two were now facing one another. Their lips met in a hungry kiss and their arms embraced the other's form, sliding clothes down off of shoulders and burying fingers in locks of hair.

Tongues danced and a spark grew between their longing bodies as they pressed closer together, chests meeting chest and lips meeting lips. Hands skimmed over smooth skin, discovering all the secret places that had remained long buried until this moment.

Katsu abandoned Sano's lips and trailed a moist tongue up the returned man's jaw line. Sano tipped his head to one side and allowed his lover better access to his ear. He was rewarded by gentle sucking and a whispered phrase.

Grinning like the Cheshire Cat, he pulled away and pressed his lips to the other's ear, returning his words with glee.

"I love you too Katsu."

"Yes I will, always return.

I've seen every sunset and with all that I've learned…

Oh, it's to you - I will always, always... return…"

Their bodies reclined and clothing was lost, and as the moon rose the two rejoiced in each other as they had not for many a day.

Their twin cries floated up to the silent guardian moon, and she shone down with benevolence upon the two intertwined lovers, outshined only by the love in their eyes.

~~~

A/N: I wanted to write this because there is a sad lack of Sano/Katsu fics out there. I think they make the best couple (next to Sano/Saitou) and it's a shame that there aren't many stories to be found.

This is just my humble addition to that small selection, and I hope you enjoyed it.

~SanoGirl