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A child\'s game	By : aleia Category: Rurouni Kenshin > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 4942 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: The usual ones, I don�t own them, I�m not making any
profit�.

WARNINGS: First one, this is yaoi, meaning it features a relationship
between two males� If this is not your thing please leave. I won�t take flames because
you didn�t read the warning. Second one, this is set between the revolution
years, with this I want to say that Kenshin is 14 years old, and that means
underage. The same thing as above apply.

Third one, characters are a bit OOC, they didn�t want to behave� the
rest, drama, angst, non-con mentioned� I you don�t like the way this is
heading, you know, there are a lot of fics out there you�ll like more.

A Child�s game

Saitou Hajime walked slowly through the streets of Tokyo, thinking about
the past and steeling himself for the encounter that was about to take place.
More than ten years after he had seen the last of the other man, more than ten
years since the last night they met, amidst the fire of battle and hatred
filled glares. So little time, so many years.

Ten years might seem like a long time for something, and for some other
it was just like a whisper in the breeze, gone before you have the chance to
acknowledge it.

As his steps dragged his reluctant feet to his destination, his mind
wandered for paths not used in a long time, the paths of memory.

It was night in Kyoto when Saitou
arrived, thinking that maybe he should go to a inn and sleep, he dragged his
tired body for streets less and less inhabited, almost lost in his own
thoughtspanspan>

What was the reason he the there now? He
wondered again. Just a rumour about a strong man, about an invincible samurai
that roamed the streets of that accursed city. He should have never left his
unit, he shouldn�t have moved from the place they were, but his curiosity got
the best of him; and he went to investigate alone about that man everyone
talked about.

The Battousai, a shadow assassin
that had the whole Shinshengumi talking about him. Who could that man be? And
was it possible that he was as skilled as everyone seemed to think he was? He
wanted to know, he wanted to fight the man and discover first hand if the
rumours were true.

Saitou was curious whether that
particular rumour was true or not, not many skilled men were around before the
war, and in the middle of the fight, some of them met their death. There were
less and less great swordsmen, and he wanted to know if there was someone in
the other side worth fighting.

He was startled out of this
thoughts by a sudden presence by his side, he must have been more tired than he
thought as he didn�t hear footsteps approaching. Or maybe he had found the man
he was looking for.

As his eyes scanned the dark alley
surrounding him, he tensed, It was most unwise not to be on his guard in that
place.

He saw her then, sitting against a
wall was a young girl. Relaxing his grip on his sword, but not entirely
releasing it, he approached the girl.

�This is not the place for a
little girl to be resting.� he said in a tone slightly less cold than his usual
one. She seemed to be crying, and he didn�t want to scare her. Maybe she was
lost, or had been attacked.

�I�m not a girl.� A swet voice
answered him, and Saitou took another look at the figure.

That was no woman for what he
could see, long red hair falling freely over her shoulders, pale soft skin and
big amber eyes. He thought that she could be pretty, but still far from being a
woman. And then she stood, and Saitou could see that she was dressed like a
man. A dark haori over a blue gi and a hakama. Between the folds of the cloth
he could hint a bare plain chest. No girl there.

�Is not a place for a little boy
either.� He said moving closer.

�I needed to think,� the boy
answered, sliding to the ground again �and here no one will disturb me.�

�Why do you need a place like this
to think?� he asked the boy, not sure why he didn�t leave him there and
continued his way. �Don�t you know that this city is dangerous? That we are in
the middle of a war?�

�I know that too well, but nothing
will happen to me.� He answered confidently.

�Do you live here?� the boy
nodded, and Saitou took a sit by his side, still wondering his reasons to do
so. �Haven�t you heard about that assassin that roams the streets of this
city?�

A wry laught was all the answer he
got from the boy, and he dared another look at him.

He was young, not older than
fourteen years, but his eyes held an intensity strange for such an age, and the
grim expression of his face spoke about experience beyond his years.

�Battousai,� the boy whispered, laughing
again �there�s nothing he can do to me, nothing worse than what he had already
done.�

A sudden fury took hold of Saitou,
thinking about what that mysterious man could have done to the little boy; and
what that little boy could have done to deserve it. They were in the middle of
a war, that was true. But kids shouldn�t fight wars, and that was a kid.

�Who are you, and what are you
doing here?� the boy asked, turning to look at Saitou for the first time.

Before he could answer, Saitou saw
for the first time the boy�s whole face. On his left cheek was a scar, it was
still bleeding, blood trickling down his pale flesh. Saitou saw red for a
moment, so that was what he had done to the boy, scar his beautiful face for
life. He could understand why he wanted to think, if he had just survived an
encounter with Battousai he might be pretty shaken. Though he was lucky to have
kept his life.

�Did he do this to you?� he asked
lifting his hand to touch the scar, the boy flinched at the contact, but didn�t
try to stop him.

�In a way of speaking.�

�I�m going to kill him.� Saitou
surprised himself with those words, getting another humourless laugh for them.

�Because of this?� the boy asked
smiling to him for the first time, �only because of a boy you just met?�

�No, I was going to kill him
anyway� Saitou said truthfully, that was his intention since the moment he
heard about him �But now I have another reason.�

The boy lifted his own hand to his
cheek, covering Saitou�s hand, still resting against his face.

�Who are you?� he whispered,
locking his amber gaze with Saitou�s.

�Saitou Hajime.� Something
flickered in the boy�s eyes for a second, to be replaced by nothingness in the
second after, as if nothing had passed. Such control over his emotions, such
ability to hide his thoughts. Saitou was amazed. �And you?�

�Himura Kenshin.� the boy replied.

�Himura�� Saitou repeated, the
name suited the boy, soft but with an eerie strength behind those words.

He was surprised of the force of
his reaction to this boy, he had met lots of boys in his life, some of them
even fought by his side; but nothing like that delicate boy. He was no man who
fooled himself, the boy was beautiful, and his tastes ran in that exact
direction, even though he had a wife to return to after the war. So the reason
he was still here, his hand covering the bleeding cut in the boy�s cheek, was
that the boy�s beauty and innocence attracted him.

�Why are you here, Saitou-san?�
the boy asked.

�I came here to know about that
man,� he said simply �I wanted to know if he really exists, and if he is as
ruthless and skilled as they say.�

�He exists� was the answer �and
yes, he�s skilled. Ruthless� we are in the middle of a war, Saitou-san, it�s
necessary to be ruthless to survive.�

�Why are you defending him now?�
he was annoyed at the boy�s words, and a thought crept into his mind. �Are you
part of this war?�

�Yes, everyone is part of this
war, even the one�s who are not fighting.�

The boy lowered his eyes, and
Saitou knew he was not finished, there was more he wanted to say.

�But if you are asking me in which
side am I� he continued �I�ll tell you that I�m your enemy, Captain of the
Shinshengumi third unit, Saitou Hajime.�

�You don�t look like an enemy,
Himura Kenshin� he was still a boy after all, and he had no weapons with him.
So it was hard to see him as an enemy.

�Appearances can be deceiving.�

They stayed like that, in silence
for a while, looking at each other in the eyes. Until Saitou finally let his
hand drop and stood to go, there was nothing he wanted to do more than stay
with the boy, with Kenshin, but he had to go.

�I hope we see each other again�
Saitou said turning to leave.

�I hope not,� Kenshin replied,
startling him �I don�t want to meet you at the end of a sword.�

And with those words they parted
ways.

Saitou
could see the run down dojo from the shadows where he was hiding, there was no
sign of life there, his inhabitants out of the place for a while. And that
suited him, suited him well enough, he needed still a bit more of time to get a
hold of his thoughts and emotions.

Footsteps
approaching alerted him of the presence of someone nearby, and he saw a dark
haired young man stepping inside the dojo and calling for the people there.

�Jou-chan!
Kenshin!�

Kenshin!
That name, all over again his memories threatened to engulf him, to swallow him
whole and never let him face his destiny.

Saitou never knew why he was in the same
place the night after, what made him think that he would senshinshin again. In
his mind he started to call the boy by his given name, not even the formality
of using his family name there. He couldn�t call him boy anymore, as the
thoughts that plagued him were of a mature nature. Nothing he would admit he
wanted to do with a boy. But Kenshin was no kid, his eyes showed wisdom beyond
his age, and his words spoke of maturity. That was his excuse for wanting the
young red head. No more than that, and he was aware about that. He stopped
wondering about his desires a long time ago, he had enough self control to be
able not to follow his impulses. So, even if he wanted Kenshin, the had enough
control over his impulses not act about them. That was a little consolation for
him.

He walked around the area where he
encountered him the first time, knowing that the odds of meeting him there
again were against him, but doing it nonetheless.

After an hour of aimless wandering he
snorted softly to himself, regaining his momentarily lost calmness, and turned
to go back to the inn. He had another business in town than pursuing a young
man.

�Saitou-san?� the soft voice startled
him, and he turned again to face the pretty face of the same young man that
plagued his thoughts since the night before. Kenshin stepped out of the
shadows, where he must have been watching him for some time. Again Saitou
wondered what kind of boy he was, how was it possible that he didn�t sense him
at all? �I thought it was you.�

He nodded, speechless again at the sight
of Kenshin�s beauty. He could observe him fully now, the long crimson hair, now
tied on a high ponytail; the same he wore too. So he was a samurai after all,
too young to have mastered any style of fighting, but probably training. The
expressive amber eyes, guarded and cautious. The pale skin, marred by the dried
blood of the scar on his cheek. The lithe body, lean and firm. Definitely
strong under the deceiving impression of frailness.

�Himura-kun,� he said �I told you we
would meet again.�

�Hai,� he smiled sadly �you were right,
we are fated to meet again and again.�<
<
The meaning behind those words slipped
past him, he didn�t think that Kenshin was thinking along the same lines he
was.

�Did you find information about your
mysterious man?� Kenshin asked, something strange glinting in the deepness of
his eyes.

�No, no more than what I already knew.�
He said, and then he realized something. Kenshin would be able to give him the
information he needed, if he had met Battousai he would be able to tell him how
the man looked like, what was his style of fighting. �But I wanted to speak
with you about it, you know more than anyone who had fought him, as you are the
only one I know who survived.� That was a good reason for looking for him, he
told himself, that reason was good enough to be worth the time lost seeking
him.

�I never told you I fought him� Kenshin
said, shaking his head. �And I already told you we are enemies, why would I
reveal the identity of Battousai to a Shinshengumi?�

�So, you didn�t fight him?� Saitou asked,
he thought that the scar was the result of a fight, but maybe he was mistaken.

�I fight him everyday, but no, I never
said I fought him.� Was the enigmatic answer.

�But you know who he is.�

�Yes, I know.�

Saitou smirked, thinking that Kenshin
knew certainly how to talk in circles.

�I could make you tell, if I wanted I
could make you.� He said, knowing full well that the threat was empty. He
didn�t want to hurt Kenshin.

�No, you won�t.�

�Sooner or later you�ll tell me.� Saitou
insisted.

�No, I won�t.� the red head was stubborn.
�for both our sakes, I won�t.�

Saitou decided change of topic, the conversation
wasn�t going anywhere, anyway, so it would be safer to speak of other things.

�Tell me Himura-kun, are you a samurai?�
he asked curious, in his mind he already knew the answer to that question.

�N�m t�m the son of a farmer,� he said,
surprising Saitou again, �my parents died long ago, and I was taken by slave
traders.�

Saitou suppressed a shudder at the
mention of that, he knew full well what that would have meant for Kenshin, if
he really was sold as a slave, a beauty like his would have made him stand
among the rest. The experience those amber eyes showed, the years of hardness
had now an explanation.

�What happened? How did you ended here?�

�I was saved by a swordsman who took me
and taught me the way of the sword.�

So he was a swordsman, after all. Not a
samurai, but a fighter. Different code of honour than he held, but honour after
all. He nodded, not knowing what else could he say. Asking questions about that
boy seemed to leave him with more riddles, so he decided just to keep silent.

�Why did you come back, Saitou-san?�
Kenshin asked when he realized that there would be no more questioning for
Saitou�s part. �Just to find information about the Hitokiri?�

There was a slight hint of something in
Kenshin�s voice, it might be hurt, but Saitou wasn�t sure. He couldn�t read
him, and that irked him. It wasn�t the first time he encountered someone
unreadable for him, but he wasn�t used to someone so young with that level of
skill.

�No, not just for that,� he found himself
answering. �but you are far too young and too innocent to understand it�

Kenshin smiled ruefully at him.

�I may be young, but I�m not innocent by
any means.� He dropped his gaze to his hands, as if he were seeing something
there no one else could see.

After just a few seconds in silence,
Kenshin moved. He walked slowly to the same wall he was sitting against the
night before, and gracefully sank besides it. He�s back resting against it.
Saitou followed him, still thinking about the unreality of the whole situation.

�You know, Saitou-san,� Kenshin rose his
head and stared into space, as if he was thinking aloud instead of talking to
the other man. �I thought about you last night, I knew I shouldn�t, but I did it anyway. You are an enemy, if we
were to meet each other in battle I would be forced to kill you, or dieyouryour
hands.�

A dry laugh escaped Saitou�s lips, that
statement was too true, if only wasn�t Kenshin the one uttering it. There was
no way they would meet in battle, not being Kenshin just a boy in the middle of
his training. But he said nothing. If Kenshin was foolish enough to think they
would meet in battle, then he was right about something. He would die at tou�tou�s hands.

He looked up sharply when he felt a hand
on his face, and turned to look at the young man. Kenshin had rested his palm
against Saitou�s cheek, in the same way he did the night before.

�You shouldn�t have come back,� Kenshin
said �and I shouldn�t either. I knew that there was a chance that I meet you
here tonight, that�s the reason I came.�

�Why do you say that?�

�I don�t know what�s so different about
you,� Kenshin continued, as if Saitou hadn�t said a word. �but I felt it last
night, and I feel it now. Here.� He pointed to his chest, �and here.� He took
his hand lower.

Saitou exhaled sharply, Kenshin�s words
and actions proved him that what he felt the night before was more than his
imagination.

�And I shouldn�t be doing this now� he
continued leaning closed to Saitou, �you think I�m just a kid, but I�ve lived
more than most people. And I know everything about desires.�

Before he realized what he was doing,
Saitou leaned back, increasing the little distance that separated their faces.
Kenshin stopped, looking at him before sighing and dropping his head.

�Maybe I don�t know as much as I think.�
He whispered.

Saitou was too stunned to react, that
wasn�t his usual reaction. Not that he wasn�t used to the advances of young men
and women, and older too. But it was the first time someone tried to seduce him
so blatantly, and the feeling of not being in control wasn�t something he
liked. He scolded himself for spurning Kenshin�s advances, but part of him was
glad he did; he was still in control of his mind and his body. Something that
might have changed if the young man insisted in seducing him.

�Why are you doing this, Kenshin?� he
said, calling him by his first name for the first time.

He looked up sharply, his gaze narrowing;
and for a brief moment Saitou was able to read something in him. He possessed a
strong ki, his aura was almost overwhelming when he was angry. And it seemed
that that sentence did it.

�I thought it was what you wanted.� He
said proudly. �I seem to be mistaken, it won�t happen again, Saitou-san.�
Kenshin stood to leave, and Saitou just watched him. �The next time we meet, it
will be in battle.�

�Why are you doing this?� Saitou repeated
at the retreating back, loud enough for the young man to hear him. �Why are you
throwing yourself to me? An enemy, a man older than you?�

He sensed something wrong in Kenshin, and
watched with narrowed eyes as he spun violently at his words, his hand reaching
to his sash, where his sword should have been. But he wasn�t wearing swords
with him.

From despair to fury in just two seconds,
Saitou realized that there was something deeper inside that boy than what he
thought at the beginning. Knowing that sometimes it was the only way to get a
reaction, Saitou decided to add more fuel to the fire.

�A little boy like you shouldn�t be
playing with swords, or grown up people.�

�I�m. Not. A. Little. Boy.� Kenshin
grounded through gritted teeth, fire shinning in his eyes in a way Saitou
didn�t think possible before. He smirked. �What do you want from me,
Saitou-san? Information? I won�t give you that.�

�But you will give me your body if I ask
you to?� Saitou added coldly, though the mere thought of what Kenshin offered
made his heart beat faster.

�Is the only think I posses to give.� Was
the answer, and Saitou�s blood froze in his veins. All thoughts of passion and
desire gone at those words.

�Would you give me your soul, if I asked
for it too?� he aimed his coldest glare at the frozen figure in front of him,
measuring him as best as he could.

�My soul I gave to the Ishin, it�s not
mine anymore.� Kenshin said shaking his head. �We seem to have started with the
wrong foot today, Saitou-san. I thought I felt something yesterday, maybe it
was just wistful thinking.�

�Maybe,� Saitou said �but I felt
something too. I�m not proud to say that a little boy could make me feel that,
but I felt it.�

�Why did you came back?�

�I had your blood on my hands, it seemed
the right thing to do.�

Kenshin looked up at him, shocked; and
then he smiled.

�So, you don�t know either why you came
back.� He said, reading easily, too easily the other man�s mind.

�No, I don�t know either.� Saitou
admitted.

They stood like that for a while, both
silently measuring the other, until in the end, Kenshin sat back with a sigh.

�I�m not feeling like myself today,� he
said �I don�t know why, but this is not the way I react with people.�

Saitou dared a look at Kenshin, who was
looking at his hands as if ashamed of having said that out loud.

�This isn�t the way I usually act around
people either, so don�t worry about it.� The silence stretched again around
them, but this time it wasn�t uncomfortable.

After some time, Saitou got up to leave.
It was late, and he needed to return to his unit. His short trip to Kyoto had
been unsuccessful about finding the Battousai, but he couldn�t say he wasn�t glad
he went.

Following a impulse he offered his hand
to Kenshin, and helped him stand. The boy was short, and doubted he would
up
up much more.

�I have to go, but I hope to see you
again.�

�Are you returning to your pack,
Saitou-san?�

�Yes, I have to. We still have to fight
this war.�

�Goodbye then.� Kenshin said, taking his
hand from Saitou�s grasp.

�Goodbye.� And before he could think
twice about what he was doing he bent his head, and kissed Kenshin softly in
the lips. Nothing like he used to do, this was just a way to say goodbye
without starting something he wouldn�t be able to finish. If there was a next
time� there was always time for that the next time.

He left without looking back after
parting lips, leaving behind a stunned Kenshin.
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A child\'s game

A Child�s game