Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Sway of Smoke ❯ Not Even the World ( Prologue )

Title: The Sway of Smoke

Author: Hoshiko

Intro: Not Even The World

Note: This is yaoi. If you do not like it, why he hell are you here? Leave...leave now! I wrote THIS fic to piss off ALL my friends, that's the Aoshi fangirl (Hey Siobhan) the Soujirou fangirl (Eat this Kylie-chan) and the ever-protesting yaoi-hater (Yo, ma dawg Alayna). My Hikou fangirl (Mariam, I apologize if this kills you) doesn't even know I'm writing this. Shhhhh.

Now, on with the fic.

*********

Mokoto Shishio waited patiently in his elaborately decorated room, watching the smoke from his pipe do a swirling dance in the air as he awaited Houji's return. Yumi and Soujirou were playing chess not too far from him, but they were concentrating so hard that the only sound offered was a thoughtful hum or the click of the pieces against the board.

"Shishio-sama!" Houji called, overdramatically throwing open the doors in his usual fasion. "I have gathered the information at your request."

"Proceed," Shishio ordered, waving his pipe through the air and breaking the smoke's dance.

"Well, the results of our surveilance were rather inclusive."

"Excuse me?"

"He doesn't indulge in anything. No sake, no women, nothing."

"I heard rumors once that he preferred men over women. Do you think that they might be true?"

"That would make sense," Houjirou mummbled, sifting through the papers in his hand. "Though I can't find any instances of him with either sex."

"Well if he cannot be bought or bribed then our best bet is to send Soujirou," Shishio decided.

At the mention of his name the boy looked up. "Yes, Shishio-san?"

"When you're done I want you to head out with the Shi Kyokon no Abukuma. Shinomori Aoshi should be able to take care of them easily. Afterward, I want you to try to convince him to join us."

"And if words won't work?" Souirou asked, knowing what it would eventually come to.

"Hm, you're thinking ahead, Soujirou," Shishio realized, smirking a bit. So the boy had finally fallen into his place. "If words fail to reach him then you may exhibit your talents."

Soujirou turned back to the game again, his trademark smile, as always, marking his delicate features.

"Yatta!" Yumi shouted triumphantly as she found her finishing move. "Checkmate!"

Soujirou looked down and rubbed the back of his neck, laughing at his loss. All the talk about Aoshi Shinomori distracted him greatly.

'So it seems the time is now,' Shishio thought to himself, laughing a little inwardly. 'Shinomori Aoshi should feel honored, I've never gone through this much trouble for anyone before.'

Leaving behind his sword, Soujirou quietly rose to his feet without a single word or flicker of emotion. Shishio extinguished his pipe and went to leave himself, Houji and Yumi obediently in tow. However, the smoke still lingered in the air, wafting around in an eratic pattern as it merged and twirled about itself. You see, once smoke begins its lofty dance, the world itself is powerless to stop it.

***

Clapping?

I cursed myself inwardly for not noticing a fifth person, my rage over the desecration of the graves of the Oniwabanshuu blinding my senses for the moment.

"Very impressive, Shinomori-san!" the small boy praised, his applause fading. His eyes and facial expression gave away nothing but his voice told more than I believe he wished to allow. He spoke as if I'd passed some test of his, and whether it was part of Shishio's sick, twisted game of his own personal standard, I did not know. "You didn't even give them time to execute their signature attack."

I stared at him intently, taking in his appearance. What use could this feminine-looking boy be to a man attempting to gain rule over all Japan? Short, thin and pale with large, sparkling blue eyes. Intelligence, maybe?

"Oh, how rude of me; I haven't introduced myself yet," he laughed rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm Seta Soujirou, Shishio-san's right-hand man."

"Tell Shishio I'm still not interested," I answered, not shifting my gaze away from him. If I wanted to be true to myself, I'd have realized I couldn't if I tried. "Especially in working for a man who sends his own subordinates to be used as bait and slaughtered."

"Ah, seems we can't get anything past you," he complimented, clasping his hands behind his back. "But if that's true, then aren't you just as brutal for killing them?"

I could feel my eyebrow twitch in recognition. He was right.

"Oh my!" he exclaimed suddenly, looking at the mess on the graves. "Do you need help cleaning this up? It's the least I can do."

"No," I answered coldly, unsure as to his motives or supposed lack-there-of.

"Are you sure?" he asked again. "It won't be too much trouble at all and-"

"I said no; now leave," I ordered, not moving at all. If Shishio though he could send surveilance in such an unexpected package then he was very mistaken.

Even though I'd snapped harshly at him, Soujirou's smile didn't fade in the least. Instead, it seemed to grow wider in reaction. "If that's what you want," he spoke, tilting his head to the side. "Then I'll-" between this and the remainder of his farewell there lay a short, barely recognizable pause, "-leave you to whatever it was you were doing."

After bowing respectfully to the four graves before him, the boy left. Suddenly the wind picked up, blowing in a flurry around him as if our parting angered nature to some degree. I watch him leave and stared down the path he'd taken even when his figure was no longer there. As I stood there, the wind whipping violently around me, I was thinking but on thing.

That was the most unhappy boy I'd ever met in my entire life.

End Intro

Beta-Reader's Corner: Hello, your friendly Neighborhood Beta-Reader Siobhan here! I am a crazed Aoshi fangirl, and your Authoress likes to kill me slowly with her yaoi. I used to mind. I don't get so upset anymore. ::twitch, twitch:: Gah, and Ach! Oh well. See ya after the next chappie. ::walks off muttering.:: at least there was no dirty porno in this chapter. Don't think that'll last long...

Gamma-Reader's....Thingy-thing: ......Casey!!!! Hyuuuuuuuuuuu~~~~ Attack of the gay porno!!! ::rips a velvet cloth off a large rectangular object, revealing a metal cage with the door open:: As for you, Soujirou, in! NOW! How many times do I have to tell you?! No stalking people in the woods! Especially not that....freaky ninja freak-man... >spaz spaz< Ahem. Well...I know you're going to keep reading no matter what I do, but... ah, forget it!

Delta-Reader's amazing tomato patch: Hi hi! This is Kitai-Chan from Channel Sano, here with the up to date scoop on the "Gay Porn" of the day! Today's newest sh...I mean addition to the literature on the net is "The Sway of Smoke"! *sweat drop* Well, in all truth I have no problem with this...mostly because there is no Sanosuke gayness in this *winks and looks through notes*. Also, it was well written, my favorite part was: "You see, once smoke begins its lofty dance, the world itself is powerless to stop it." I thought that was nifty-kean. *looks through more notes* Good idea using the actual first time that Soujirou met Aoshi. Gives you more of a mental picture of what's going on through..*turns off mic* Have to wonder if she just didn't feel like thinking of something. Just kidding. *turns mic back on*. Lets see...*shoving throgh some paper* I would have to give this story a 7.5 out of 10. Good Job.