Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Crooked Path Series ❯ II. Howl ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

I desperately need C&C -- especially on Saitou's characterization. This series is so far removed from the official RK timeline that I feel justified in taking a few liberties, but still... *sigh* Also, English is not my native language and bits of the prose may sound awkward.

Rating: R (or mild NC-17) for sexual situations. This story contains material which may challenge some readers.

Generic Yasmin-fic warning: I am not a nice romantic. Consider yourself warned.

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A single tea leaf lay at the bottom of the canister, curling forlornly to the side. Saitou's lips thinned. The blue-and-white porcelain jar clinked in protest as he shoved it back into a cupboard with some force, nearly scraping his hand against rough wood.

That same hand curled tightly around the handle of the kettle moments later, pouring out hot water into a cup. It was stupid of him to be angry at a dried piece of plant, he told himself. After all, it was his fault for neglecting to replenish the tea. He would just have to make do with water.

Three months ago, he had a full canister of tea.

Barely suppressing a sigh, Saitou flipped open a file, methodically running his eyes over its contents. He was getting back into the habit of bringing his work home with him, on the rare occasion when he managed to step foot into his apartment without being called away to stamp out bushfires for the Meiji government.

He read the papers without enthusiasm. Here was another bushfire, though calling it more than a smouldering twig would probably be an insult to the many rebellions he had quelled.

Koga Shigeki, student, aged twenty. Suspected of writing and publishing anti-government propaganda. The young man was like many others he had met, full of idealism but woefully short in practicalities. Amber eyes studied Kage's photograph, noting the elfin delicacy of his features and long black hair.

Abruptly, Saitou was struck by a feeling of deja vu. Frowning slightly, he skimmed through the rest of the file, trying to make sense of that unexpected impression. Nothing. There was nothing in Koga's file that suggested any link between them. Annoyed, he set the file aside. No, he decided, Koga was harmless. His "friends", on the other hand...

Saitou removed his jacket, hanging it carefully in the closet. The pants and shirt were folded and out away neatly. He took his time with his nightly ablutions -- there was no one calling him to bed, not in this empty apartment with its quiet chill.

He slipped under the freshly-laundered blanket, still smelling faintly of soap. He'd sent the futon and sheets to be washed weeks ago, removing the last lingering traces of Sanosuke's presence.

Around him, the walls exhaled. Saitou dreamed, and remembered.

Warm breath gusted against his chest, inflaming every nerve ending until he thought he would scream from need. The tanned fingers skimming on the inside of his arms were light and teasing, matching the mischief he saw in his lover's dark eyes.

Saitou growled, bucking against the body on top of his.

"I thought a tough guy like you would be more patient," Sano laughed, lips little more than a hair's breadth from his mouth.

"In a moment, ahou, you'll find out how much patience I have..." he twisted the brown nub of Sano's nipple, making his lover gasp "... in torturing you."

Sano's legs gripped his hips tighter, rubbing their cocks against each other. "I'm scared," he panted, sweat beading on his forehead. "Really."

"Get off me," Saitou commanded arrogantly. He could easily throw the younger man off him, but the prospect of Sano's capitulation was so much sweeter. "Or would you prefer that I make you?"

The dark-eyed man looked down at him for a moment. "Nah," he grinned. "Got other plans."

Before Saitou could make sense of his words, Sano was already moving, grasping the older man's cock in one hand. His other hand fumbled for the bottle of oil, accidentally spilling its contents onto the tatami mat. Saitou could see the dark circle of the stain, spreading like an eclipse.

Sano's slick fingers on his arousal jolted him back into what they were doing, gasping with pleasure. His lover's eyes were bright, capturing his own as Sano slowly lowered his body.

"Aah!" The involuntary cry was wrung from his throat, amber eyes wide and staring. Sano rocked against him, impossibly tight and hot and his lover's scent was overpowering, musk and sandalwood assaulting his senses. "AH!"

"Saitou... Saitou," the younger moaned, grinding his hips before rising, then slamming down with enough force to send them reeling. Pulling Saitou up, he leaned down to capture the former Shinsengumi's lips in a brutal kiss.

"Hn!"

Sano's motions were frantic now, eyes closed and mouth working silently. "Let go, Saitou," he groaned, one hand slipping down to stroke his own erection. "Oh god, please let go. I can't--"

Under his lover's pleas, Saitou felt his control slipping, his mind breaking free from its restraints. Deep inside, the part of him that was Fujita Gorou stared at him angrily. "This is wrong," said the emotionless voice, each word sharp and cold like chips of ice. "Where is your control, Saitou Hajime?"

"Let go!" Sano cried, hands braced on Saitou's muscular chest.

He pushed up hard against the lithe body, driving himself deeper into Sano's welcoming heat. Sano whimpered, half in pain and half in pleasure, clenching around Saitou's cock.

Saitou howled as he came, the feral cry of a wolf. Panting, he watched in half-lidded pleasure as Sano reached his own climax, covering their bodies in warm stickiness.

It was the first time, and the beginning of the end.

Amber eyes flew open, glaring at the ceiling. Saitou deliberately unclenched his hands from his blanket, noting with disgust that he'd ejaculated all over the sheets like a raw teenager.

He lay back against the futon, waiting for his heartbeat to return to normal. His sweat cooled and dried in the chill night air, making him shiver.

This was idiotic. He had eliminated every trace of his former lover from his life. He even resisted the temptation to keep tabs on Sano -- the file that was intended to contain the results of a surveillance on the younger man remained empty. So why did the dreams remain?

After all, he thought bitterly, Sanosuke seemed determined to move on. He could do the same, even better than that loud-mouthed brat who couldn't even survive without leeching on his friends.

Saitou rose from his bed, pulling on a robe. There would be no more sleep tonight, not after the dreams. Moving stealthily towards the table, he pulled out the file he had studied earlier in the evening.

The skies had just begun to gray when he finally recognized that uneasy feeling of familiarity plaguing him. Saitou held up the picture of the dissenter closer to the lamplight, gaze intense and focused. Koga's expressive eyes challenged him steadily, the passion of the young burning in each dark pupil.

He set down the photograph with a snarl, desire and longing swirling into a turbulent storm. Saitou knew now what troubled him, and the very fact that it disturbed his hard-earned control was kindling to his anger.

Koga had Sanosuke's eyes.

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