Upon Your Dreams

Upon Your Dreams: Part Two: The Stuffs of Life
By Kawaii Dragoness

Warnings: KENSHIN SEME!!!!!!!! (cuz it's more interesting than Sano-seme, which is a bit too default for its own good--though I did Sano-seme last time, just for fun,) Yaoi lemon (just like Part 1,) OC chara (hopefully not Mary Sue), bad Japanese (no thanks to you, Raz-kun...)

Notes:
Thanks so much for suriviving Part 1. More shouts to Eve and the Yahoo! boards...and Raz-kun too. There is no UtaroxYahiko in this part.

Recommended manga of the moment: Marmalade Boy!!!! Sappy, romantic, wonderful stuff, Satoshi's wonderful. Though odd. ^^ A must read for a true shoan. an. Those who prefer kicking ass to sappy kisses will not like this at all, and would be much better off with Akira. So yeah. Though, if those who prefer kicking ass (who are mainly male) have sappy girlfriends, get it and learn from it to reenact a scene or two. That'd be nice...real nice.... *cough*

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A while back....

Kenshin-gumi ate as usual at the Akebeko, on their first jug of sake.

"Aaaah, the stuffs of life!" Sano said, toasting upwards. Soft footsteps came towards them.

"To the growing of love and the destruction of evil," a female voice said, holding up a sake cup. "Would that be you, Sano-kun?"

"Huh?!" He looked up. "Mei--Meitsuko-chan--!"

"Do you know her?" Kenshin asked, looking up at the girl for the first time. She had very long black hair in two perfect braids on each shoulder, tied with red ribbons--the exact red of Sanosuke's headband. She was wearing a modified hachimaki tied with a simple red cord, in light pink, with a loose pair of pants to match.

"I used to," Sano said, simply. "It's good to see you again, Meitsuko-chan."

"Same, same," she said. "Introduce me to your friends..." She sipped the cup.

"The redhead is Himura Kenshin...the girl next to him is Kamiya Kaoru...and the little brat-kid is Myojin Yahiko. We call him Yahiko-chan, though," Sano said, picking up a fishbone anickiicking it in his mouth. Meitsuko looked at Kenshin, and for an instant, a flash of hatred and distrust showed in her eyes. She quickly composed herself though.

"Don't call me -chan!" Yahiko shouted. "Sanooooo!"

Meitsuko laughed. "Ah, Sano... Akuichimonji, hm? [AN: Aku--the character on Sano's back, meaning 'wicked' or 'evil' in a dark sense. Fun fact of the day: it's made of of 'sharp' (like a sword) above a 'heart'. Aku-ichi-monji: one bad character. ^^] You were always so predictable. Look!" She turned around. On the back, in brown, in the same calligraphy style as Sano's 'aku' symbol...

"Ai-ichi-monji," Sano said. [Ai=love. has the same 'heart' as Sanosuke's, but protected under a 'shelter,' by two people holding hands] "Fitting."

"The stuffs of life--growing of love, destruction of evil. We were always thinking alike, na?"

"Hai..." Sano said distantly. "Why are you here?"

"I heard you lived nearby. Is it so bad to want to see my dear friend again, one of the first I've had?"

"Never," Sano said. "Come back to the dojo with us. We have a lot to catch up on. And Katsu's around here too."

"Indeed that we do,, and hai, it'd be good to see Katsu again," she said. "And I must find out more about your friends, too."

************

"So how did you meet your friends though? Particularly--"

"Kenshin? I was a fighter-for-hire, attempting to kill him...I'm only with him to see if those god-damned Imperialists have anything to their case. He's not like the rest of them, gh. gh. He's sworn never to kill again...he's really very noble, for the former battousai."

"And the rest?"

"He lives with them. To help them, to protect them. Joo-chan loves him dearly...though I don't know about him...."

"I see. And you?"

"And me what?"

"I do have the ai'ichimonji for a reason. It's been ten years since--"

"Don't remind me, Meitsuko-chan...and yes, there is someone."

"Name, may I ask?"

He looked around, lowering his v. "H. "Himura Kenshin."

To his surprise, she laughed out loud. "I knew it! I knew you weren't like eveyone else! You and Katsu were too close for your own good, too!"

"I did not--not Katsu, at least!" *Or not yet...* Yes, Katsu was mightily attractive, but there was something about Kenshin--

"When was your first?"

"I--I've been..." His voice lowered again. "I've been with other women before. You...Lei, who I met five years ago, got killed by some idiot European who bombed her restaurant...and Megumi, a local doctor, not too long ago. But it's faded...faded very fast. She's too busy to love. And my heart has turned--"

"I see...you're a brave, good, handsome man, Sano-kun. Have you told him?"

"No. I am brave on the battlefields, but not as this."

"I see." She sighed. "Well, Sano-kun, I fight for love, just as you fight against evil. I want to help you and Himura. He seems to be a very understanding person... If what you say about him is true, and he's not like the rest of those Imperialist scum, well then..."

"So he is, very kind and understanding, willing to admit the faults of his past."

"And if he does not seem to love Kamiya...."

Sanosuke nodded. "Meitsuko-chan...Mei-chan...one question."

"Hai?"

"Did you really love me when I was so young?"

"I thought I did. There's no other explaination for it."

"I see...ah, Mei-chan...one last kiss for luck, Mei-chan? You said that one before the final battle would not be your last with me."

"So I did. But this will be. All your kisses afterwards will be with Himura, for sure. Or maybe Katsu-kun, if you're so inclined. Don't go with Megumi again, unless you have to, say I."

"So I hope...and yes."

"So I know." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips, lingering for just a bit. "You're still as kissable as ever, Sano-kun. I know Himura cannot resist your smile. I sure could not."

************

"They did not know I was hearing their conversation," Kenshin said to Utaro. "I knew, but I wanted to play along, to see what this Meitsuko-dono would do."

"I see... Go on. So what did they do?"

"Well according to Sano-kun and Meitsuko-dono..."

************

Sano, Meitsuko, and Katsu sat in a tight circle around a jug of sake, each holding a cup and (in Sano's case) a fishbone.

"It's been so long since we've had times like these..." Meitsuko said, sighing. Under normal circumstances her head would be on one of their shoulders, but this was not the time for such. "A few toasts, if you please."

They each raised up their glass. "To the stuffs of life," Katsu began...

"...to the growth of love..." Meitsuko replied....

"...and the destruction of evil." Sano finished. "To Sagara's memory..."

"...the darkness of the past..." Katsu murmured.

"...and the light of the future." Meitsuko said, smiling faintly in the candlelight.

"Hai!" the others replied, toasting up.

"It's been a while," Katsu said. "You're looking more beautiful than ever, Mei-chan..."

She blushed a little. Katsu had always liked her in their youth. They had all been happy, romping together, nothing ever going wrong...until Sagara's death, of course. "Thank you, Katsu-kun. You're looking well yourself."

Sano smiled. "Katsu and I tried a revenge mission once, ne, Katsu-kun?"

"Hai, hai. But that God-cur--"

"He's not like that!" Sano said, suddenly shouting, eyes ablaze. "He's not like the rest of them! Don't curse him, he's a wonderful person merely associated with evil--!"

"Are you telling me to forgive the Imperialists?"

"No, just to...just to forgive Kenshin. It's not his fault. He's my friend..." His voice lingered on the word "friend," sighing. Mei did not respond, merely pouring more sake into all of their cups.

"Sano-kun..." she whispered, holding his hand. She looked over at Katsu, whose eyes were in the middle of shock and tears. *Katsu?! Sano--Kenshin--what the?! Does Katsu like Sano the way that Sano likes Kenshin?! It couldn't--but--*

"I'll leave you two to your own devices..." Meitsuko said, bowing and getting up. "It seems as if you have a score to settle over Himura. I'll just go back to the dojo...Oyasumi."

"Yasumi," they both mumbled, watching the red ribbons swing back and forth, the ai'ichimonji very visible on her back.

************

"Kenshin!" Sano's voice said, entering the little courtyard. "Utaro! How are you two!"

"We're good. I'm telling Utaro a story, that I am," Kenshin said.

"He's too old for--" He looked at Kenshin's eyes, and his lips mouthed 'Meitsuko.' "Ah. Where are you? I can help."

"When Meitsuko-dono left you and Katsu, drunk on sake and arguing about me."

"Ah, hai, hai. I remember."

************

The two of them were standing up, in fighting stances, going back and forth from drunken fistfighting to curses...a few intelligible shouts came out too.

"He's a damn Imperialist, you shouldn't trust him, or any of the others either! It's them whe ree responsible for Sagura's death, you know it!"

"But he himself is not responsible! He will never kill again, and he is trying to repay for his sins! He's not like them..."

"But he fights like them, he's the best of them, he represents the rest of them. And he's the god-damn Hitokiri Battousai, Sanosuke, don't you see?!"

"I see, and I know, and--Katsu--you would never understand me...unless you..." Sano grabbed Katsu and thhim him against the wall, pinning him, and roughly kissing him. Helpless, Katsu resisted responding, and Sano pulled away.

"Katsu, Katsu, Katsu..." Sano said. "Meitsuko was right on one thing about me. It's very simple. I--love--him!"

"And Meitsuko was right about one thing on me too, just as simple. I never stopped being in love with you, Sano-kun...but I'll never have you...those damn Imperialists took everything. My family...Sagara...you...who else? Meitsuko?!"

"I--I don't know..." He pulled the green-haired one to his chest, rocking back and forth. "If you truly love me, Katsu, you will help me love another. Kenshin makes me happier than life itself, and I need as much help and support as I can get. I--" He kissed the top of Katsu's head. "I need your support as best as I can get it."

"I know. I may never have you, but if it makes you happy..."

"It would make me happier than anything else in the universe. Thank you."

************

"So now all the right people know, except for Yahiko-chan, who finds out later. And Meitsuko--that devious woman--she knew just how to trap us into formally admitting it to each other, with Katsu's help." Sano said, grinning at Kenshin. "That's when things got truly interesting."

************

Meitsuko grinned at Katsu, looking over the room they had set up. The well-placed ikebana, to allow for loving flow.... The candles and oils, with a mythical light.... the pot of warm scented oil, "just in case you need the lubrication," the futon perfectly made.

Sanosuke stepped into the room. "My God, it looks like a courtesan's room!" he said in wonder. "I can't believe--how'd you--"

Meitsuko merely grinned. "You never found out what I'd been doing those past ten years..."

"But you wouldn't--"

"Or would I? How well do you know me, how much have I changed, Sano-kun?"

"Point taken...but how's Kenshin going to--"

"I've arranged that, Sano-kun," Katsu replied simply. "So don't worry, and do enjoy this night. We made it special for you..." And they left.

Sanosuke took off the hachimaki, hanging it on a nearby peg, and began undoing his bandages, unraveling slowly. Then to his feet, undoing the bandages there, flexing his toes in relief as they were released. Now he was just in his pants, ready and willing for the former Battousai.

Minutes later, Kenshin walked into the room. His hair was down this time, in graceful arcs across his shoulders. He had also removed his kimono earlier, and his sword was nowhere in sight.

"Kenshin-kun...I..."

"Sanosuke."

"I--Kenshin, I--"

"Don't take me for a fool, Sanosuke. I know exactly why I'm here."

"But Kenshin--"

"Fear nothing, believe nothing, love--love me as I do you." He smiled softly, closing the distance between them. "Koshii..."

"You--you--I mean, of course you--oh, Kenshin..." Sano wrapped his arms around the smaller one, noting the warmth of their bodies against each other. "I will..." He lifted up the smaller one's chin, bending down slightly for a kiss.

************

"Oh, Sanosuke, does he really need to know what happened afterwards?" Kenshin asked.

"I assume you could guess..." Sano admitted to Utaro. "Well. Now it's all happened, but how to hide it from joo-chan? And what to do about Yahiko-chan?"

*************

The first few times Kenshin and Sano met after that incident were at Sanosuke's place, so there wasn't much of a problem there. But Kaoru was becoming slightly suspicious of Kenshin's roamings at night...

"Kenshin, what's going on? You don't have to leave so often..."

"I do...I can't explain why, Kaoru-dono, that I most certainly cannot."

"Yes you can...is it another battle, Kenshin?"

"Yes and no. Against who, I cannot say..." *It's against you, Kaoru-dono, I cannot tell you such...*

"But Kenshin, let me help you--"

"No, I can't let you. I'm sorry, I have to do this on my own... you'll just get hurt...." *Your heart will be hurt, Kaoru-dono...*

"Kenshin...what are you hiding...?"

"Everyone hides something about themselves at least once in their lives, Kaoru-dono. I have something to hide, so let me free."

"Kenshin...I don't understand."

"You will someday. I just can't have you understand now...okay?" *It breaks my heart to break yours, but it would hurt us all more if I chose you above Sanosuke....*

*************

"Aww, Kenshin-kuuuuun..." Sano said, mocking poetic.

"Sano...keep in mind who's here..." Kenshin replied, gesturing at Utaro. "And speaking of which, we still haven't said anything about Yahiko."

*************

Sometimes Sanosuke wondered how the Kamiya Kasshin students managed to not get bored of the same stroke over and oveain.ain. Nevertheless, he sat, watching Yahiko practice while chewing on a fishbone.

"Sano..." Yahiko started, while practicing. "Kenshin's been acting weird lately."

"Has he? Che, don't worry about it. He can handle himself."

"He's avoiding Kaoru...not showing up at meals...not staying at night. I thought you might know something."

"Oh. I see... I know, but I can't tell you. Don't worry about him. I'm sure he's fine."

"But Sanooooo...." Yahiko sighed. "I'm not Kaoru. I understand things better than you think, Sano. Don't treat me like such a child."

"You wouldn't believe me if you knew."

"What, are you two gay lovers or something?" He let out a short laugh.

"Right on the money, actually. How'd ya guess?"

"I didn't--Sano..." His voice trailed off. "You're not serious."

"I am. He doesn't want to tell Kaoru, and I'm not going to tell Megumi; at least not yet. You have to promise not to tell anyone. Understand, Yahiko-chan?"

"Don't call me -chaaaaaaaaaan!"

"Sorry. Che, Yahiko, calm down." Sano sighed. "Kenshin will know you know, but nobody else...we meet in the night, in the place of sakura petals. Don't go, for your own good and virtue.... He--he becomes Battousai in the throes of passion, and only I can tame him. It would be lethal for anyone else to be there. And make sure 'joo-chan and Megumi don't go there...for their own good...."

"I understand. And I'll help you anyway I on on one condition."

"What, Yahiko?"

"Don't call me me Yahiko-chan, okay?" Yahiko sighed. "I'm serious. It reminds me of someone."

"'Someone', Yahiko?"

"I'll tell you another time...."

***************

"He never told me," Sano admitted. "Kinda odd, really."

"I know what it is...but... Sore wa himitsu desu, de gozaru yo." [That's a secret, that it most certainly is.]

"I see." Sano said. "Well, maybe Utaro-kun here can find out, ne?"

Utaro blushed. "Sanoooooooo!"

"Well, who knows, Utaro-kun? No one really, ne?" Sano asked. "Che, don't be so defensive."

"And you'll learn everything about him soon enough," Kenshin started, "if you ever ad--" He cut off, looking up at Yahiko in the doorway.

"Utaro-kun! I'm ready for our fight!"

"Gotcha!"