Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Sway of Smoke ❯ Rebuilding That Which Was Never There ( Chapter 4 )

Title: The Sway of Smoke

Author: Hoshiko

Chapter 4: Rebuilding That Which Was Never There

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Shishio listened to Yumi chat on about things, not disinterested but generally fading in and out due to the unimportance of the things she spoke of. Chou did this. Kamatari, that whore, said this. Usui sucks this much. The normal things. However, when the conversation shifted to Shinomori Aoshi, his attentions was more placed in her words.

"Soujirou-kun got more sound out of him in that room than I've heard out of him since he got here," she laughed, shifting closer to him. "I'm beginning to think he saves it to be vocal in bed!"

Shisiho laughed at this as well. "Yes, well Soujirou is very talented."

"Shishio-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Why was Shinomori running down the halls with Soujirou in his arms?" she asked, turning her face up to him. "I was leaving Chou's room when he rushed past me like he was running for his life."

"It's a business arrangement. Shinomori works for me; he gets Soujirou," he explained nonchalently.

"But we need him," Yumi argued, shocked that he would give up their prime fighter so easily.

"He'll still fight for us," Shishio stated, calming her down. "It seems Shinomori's sexually frustrated or something along those lines. He wants Soujirou with him constantly."

Suddenly Yumi's body slouched, her eyes cast down to the floor. A bandaged hand grabbed her chin, making her look up and face him again. "What's wrong, Yumi?"

Her bottom lip tremlbled as she spoke, fear showing plainly in her voice.

"Y-you wouldn't sell me like that, would you Shishio-sama?"

He gave no answer; he only kissed her.

***

Blood. It was everywhere. The Oniwabanshuu. I kept seeing them.

I swallowed hard before entering the room. When I reached Soujirou I knelt beside him, removing my coat and placing it over him. Within moments it was soaking up the blood, but his pain concerned me far more than the state of my jacket.

The chains that bound his wrists above his head were easily shattered by my shorter Kodachi, allowing him to slide limply to the floor. Hesitantly I gathered him up in my arms, placing my cheek against his mouth.

Yes, he was still breathing.

Without wasting a second I started through the hallways yet again, bumping into someone but not knowing or caring who.

It wasn't until hours later that he finally woke up, still wrapped in my coat but now on my futon. I'd been sitting in my small, wooden chair, waiting patiently for when he'd wake up. During that time my mind played with a thousand different ways to approach this situation I'd so blindly thrown myself into. None of them seemed right. As I cleaned and bandaged his wounds a need to appologize for not saving him sooner kept wanting to surface.

He moaned the first time he tried to move, his eyes not open yet. I watched him closely, deciding he needed time to deal with things one at a time. He'd notice me eventually.

However, to my suprise, I was the first thing he turned to, followed by the coat, his bandages, and then his nudity. He slid his arms into the sleeves, demonstrating just how different we were in size. It hung very loosely on him, his curled-in legs hidden well beneath it. Again I chastised myself. What had I gotten into?

He stared at me for a while, blue-eyes full of questions I probably couldn't answer even if I were given a lifetime to think. Finally, he did speak.

"Why...?"

So many fitting questions could end that beginning. "Why what?"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

My eyes went wide. THAT was not one of them.

"I don't understand."

He didn't answer, only repeated himself, this time while shaking violently. "Why did you do this to me?"

Finally I got off the chair and took a step toward him. "Soujirou..."

"No!" he screamed pushing himself away from me. I froze. This what not what I expected. "Stay away from me!"

Now it was my turn to wonder. "Why?"

He reached a hand out and fisted it in his hair, shaking his head back and forth. "You don't make sense. The way I lived my life was fine until you came and shattered it all. I can never be the same again! Why did you do this to me? Why?!"

The eyes he looked up at me with were different somehow. He was truly angry and extremely conflicted. I understood now

*"S-since I was 13. So about 5 years now. Nowadays, it's either Kamatari-san or Usui-san."*

I took another step and this time he pushed himself back until he was in the far corner of my room, clutching my coat to himself and shifting so that he had his arms wrapped around his knees.

"You irritate me," he stated, his voice so eerily low I think I would have preferred if he screamed it at me instead. "I don't like feeling confused."

I decided not to respond by explaining my actions to him. Instead, I took a more indirect approach. After sitting myself down the futon to show I would stay a good distance away, I began explained the situation itself. "I've agreed to work for Shishio." I waited to make sure he was listening. "We made a deal. In return, I get information on the Battousai and you; I wouldn't accept anything less."

He clutched the coat even more, making his knuckles turn white from the pressure. "What do you want from me?" he finally asked, gaze fixed on the floor between us.

Soujirou didn't trust me at all, I realized then. Why should he? No one had ever showed him compassion before, so I understood why he'd be confused and skeptical at a time like this.

"I want you to tell me what you want." Though he wasn't facing me his face scrunched into a confused look. "Do you want me to leave?" As much as I hated having to say the next few words I knew I had to. "I can send you back to Usui if you'd like."

His eyes finally turned from that look of intense anger and morphed into the blank look he'd assumed the first time I'd touched him. He whispered something and brought a hand out from inside my coat to brush across his swollen, bloody bottom lip. I stood up again and took a step toward him, waiting for a reaction. He didn't move, only repeated the same words over and over. I moved over to him, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him onto my lap. I finally heard what he kept saying to himself.

"Filthy...whore. No one kisses a filthy whore."

I wound my arms around him tighter, reaching up to twine my fingers in his soft hair again. He stiffened and whimpered slightly, but relaxed when he realized I wasn't Usui and I wasn't going to hurt him. "Don't listen to him," I told him, resting his head against my shoulder. "No one will ever do that to you again. I promise."

****

Beta-Reader's Corner: Okay, I Beta-Read the last chapter, but I didn't get to comment. I feel so bad for poor lil Soujirou, however I feel worse for Aoshi. Hoshiko made him all soft and mushy! GAH! Ah well. I still like it though! ^_^ Really, I think that the story is developing well, and I'm can't wait for more! Though for the record...Soujirou IS a filthy little whore. Sooo.....ummmmm...aahhhhhh.....okay guess that's it! See ya later, Faithful Reader!

Delta's Column of Dementia: Bwahahahahaha! Ahahahaha....ha.......hm. ::runs to a corner and hides with a blankie over her head:: Mommy!

And so... the relationship development continues... dun dun dun.

Actual Author's Statements: ::looks at Delta's comments:: Dude, that's it. Sigh. Oh well, better than nothing. Yesterday was a good day. I got lost in Boston and accidentally had lunch with Mike Dukakis and a bunch of European ambassedors. Oh and Beta's sis took us to this place with all this Japanese food. I went nuts. Spent $10 on candy.