Way of the Sword

Chapter 8

The sound of light laughter and the dim noise of several conversations mixing with each other hung in the air at the Kamiya dojo. Around the table supporting plates of onigiri, tempura, and udon sat the members of Kenshin-gumi, Megumi, Yuki, and Hiro. The lamps in the room threw their beams of light across the smiling faces. On one side of the table, Kaoru and Yahiko could be seen arguing over who got to eat the last piece of tempura. Across from the arguing duo, a sly Sano attempted to steal the piece of tempura for himself. Meanwhile, Hiro leaned in to whisper into Sano\'s ear, making the latter drop the tempura piece he had almost managed to claim successfully. The piece of tempura was swiped by Yuki, who was either unaware or refused to care that the morsel was highly sought out by others at the table. Kenshin had give up eating, playing the mediator once more between Kaoru and Yahiko. Faint murmurs of \"Maa maa\" and \"oro\" could be heard through the stream of insults being thrown between the kendo instructor and pupil. Megumi smiled at the scene before her eyes, thinking that she was the only one with maturity at the table.

Dinner was finished without any injuries, much to relief of Kenshin, who had been convinced that Yuki would have been attacked for his victory over grabbing that tempura piece. Everyone was in high spirits as the load from events of the past few days that had weighed so heavily on their shoulder lightened significantly. After Megumi had shared what she had heard about Mizuki, everyone had agreed that it was he who must have attacked Hiro and Shindou Shuichi. The solved mystery relieved everyone and the progressing recovery of Shindou had put Kaoru in such a good mood that she had invited everyone for a feast. Of course, Kenshin did all the cooking, much to relief of all the guests.

However, there was one lone figure who could not fully join in on the festivities of the evening. Yuki Eiri could not help but feel a small knot forming in the pit of his stomach, creating the kind of feeling that one gets when one gets really nervous and have to run for the bathroom. The knot kept pulling at him, preventing him from enjoying the dinner party. He could not prevent the feeling of uneasiness from settling in. His assassin mind knew that the mystery could not have been solved so easily, that Mizuki just happened to be both Shuichi and Hiro’s attacker and the murder of Shuichi’s parents. The fact that he had been found conveniently dead did little to ease Yuki’s mind. Taking a glance at his red haired friend, Yuki knew that Kenshin was probably thinking the same thoughts.

The noise at the table rose several volumes as Sano produced a large jug of sake.

Kaoru, with her dark eyes wide with surprise, asked, \"Ne, Sano, where did you get that?\"

\"Not important Jo-chan! What’s important is that the jug is here and not somewhere else!\" Sano enthusiastically poured a generous amount of sake into Hiro’s empty tea cup. \"Drink up everyone! Even you can have some Yahiko!\"

\"No way!\" shouted Kaoru, shaking her head, causing her long tresses to fly out. Kenshin swiftly leaned away to get avoid getting with Kaoru’s hair and took the offered sake in his hand. Kaoru narrowed her eyes and glared at Sano. \"I remember the last time he drank because of you! He’s too young!\"

Her remark resulted in another tongue slashing from the young boy and another argument rose from the two. Yuki glanced around the room, watching Sano and Hiro drinking with huge grins on their faces, Megumi taking dainty sips behind her raised hand, Yahiko stealing a cup as Kaoru closed her eyes from the strength the of the alcohol, and Kenshin taking his first shot. Knowing that he would not be missed, Yuki silently slipped away from the boisterous crowd.

***

The huge crowd in Shindou Haruki\'s dining room thinned out to only three solitary figures surrounding a table laden with dishes that have gone cold and numerous bottles that used to hold sake. Servants bustled around these three figures to clean the messy room, slowly disguising the fact that not more than an hour ago, a huge feast was held.

Haruki turned weary eyes between the two men he sat with, Kimura and Kei. Even though the rest of the guests had left for the homes due to the late hour, Kimura and Kei were still here. For about thirty minutes now, Haruki had found himself entertaining the two businessmen. The situation made Haruki feel rather nervous, almost as if he was thrown in front of two hungry tigers. Yet, Haruki did not know how to escape from this unpleasant situation and therefore continued to play the host to these infamous businessmen. It was widely known among the elite business circle that both Kimura and Kei practice unconventional business practices, some which were downright cruel. It was these two men’s firm belief that the world was a man-eat-man world and more than once did a bloody occasion help enlarge their business. It was also widely known that these two had some kind of silent alliance between them, one always watching out for the other. It was a nightmarish task to go against one of these men, but to go against both of them almost made hell seem like a nice bath resort.

The current situation clearly set the host at unease, as he kept glancing between the two red faced men, as both them continue to consume sake. Alcohol had turned these two fearsome business leaders into loud business leader, which was not much better than the previous. Indeed, their laughing had gotten so loud that Haruki had to stop himself countless times from covering his ears with his hands.

While his two guest burst into another fit of laughter, Haruki beckoned for his head servant. The woman came, her dainty steps almost gliding across the wooden floor. Bowing, she replied, \"Hai Shindou-sama.\"

Tearing his eyes from his drunken guests, Haruki focused his attention towards the servant. \"Please pack a couple of Shuichi\'s clothing and send someone to deliver it to Kammiya dojo at the next town. I want the messenger to be there by tomorrow morning.\"

\"Hai.\" Bowing once more, the servant retreated, off to find the delivery boy.
Haruki once again turned towards his guests, only to find both of them not laughing. Instead, their gaze settled on Haruki, their eyes quite clear despite the number of sake bottles at crowded the table that not even an elbow room was left.

\"Shindou-san?\" asked Kimura.

\"Hai?\"

\"Why are you sending Shuichi clothing? Did your nephew forget to pack his own belongings when he left to visit his friends?\"

Ever so slightly, Haruki shifted his weight in his seat. He did not want to reveal too much about what had happened to Shuichi, especially when he himself felt that he did not know one hundred percent what had happened to his nephew. \"Oh, he is staying longer than he anticipated and I figured that it would not hurt to send him a few things.\"

\"Oh.\" Kimura poured another shot sake, doing the same for Kei. \"I see.\"

In his relief from being further questioned, Haruki failed to notice Kimura and Kei exchanging knowing glances with one another.

***

The noise from the sake drinking crowd grew to a muffle as Yuki made his way towards Shuichi\'s room. As Shuichi\'s condition was clearly improving, Yuki knew that he no longer had an excuse to keep a vigil on the boy. However, the blond still wanted to check in on Shuichi before going to bed. The tall man finally reached his destination. He stood in front of the closed door and cleared his throat. Not able to make himself call out the boy’s name, Yuki rather opted to say, \"Are you sleeping?\"

\"No, please come in,\" answered a sweet voice. Yuki silently shuddered at hearing Shuichi\'s tone, wondering how it would sound to hear Shuichi moan Yuki\'s name. Shaking his head, the assassin turned slightly pink, looking as though he had been caught taking the last piece of mochi by his mother. Trying to forget that such a thought ever came into his mind, Yuki slid open the door and entered.

Shuichi sat up on his futon to greet the person entering the room. He could not help but feel delighted as Yuki walked into the room. Everyone had treated Shuichi kindly and their hospitality was something Shuichi was not going to forget easily. However, this silent man that now entered the room gave Shuichi the most comfort. In the back of his mind, Shuichi knew that he felt a certain attraction towards the man. How could he not after looking at the gold spun hair, the smoky hazel eyes, the slim nose, the smooth moving hips.... The tightening feeling of his groin stopped Shuichi from his train of thoughts. A mixture of panic and embarrassment swirled inside of Shuichi as he realized he was getting hard in front of Yuki. Trying to ignore the heated feeling between his legs, Shuichi smiled up at Yuki. \"Hi! Thank you for visiting me! I was getting slightly lonely without having anyone to talk to for the past couple hours.\"

The taller man seated himself next to the futon. A slightly bewildered look ran across his face and his mind had trouble registering the fact that the talkative boy in front of him had been in danger of losing his life only a couple days ago. The energy radiating from the pink haired boy was almost...sexy. Yuki took a deep breath, wanting to prevent his hormones from acting out as though if he was a teenager. Looking into the wide violet orbs, Yuki could not help but returning what he considered a smile. \"I was just checking to see how you were doing before I went to bed.\"

Shuichi thought Yuki\'s lips moved slightly, but the boy was not so sure. Maybe he\'s feeling a slight tickle, thought Shuichi, maybe from the bangs of his hair. Shuichi stared hard at a particular strand of hair, the longest one that was dancing across Yuki\'s face. The boy wondered how Yuki\'s hair would feel against Shuichi’s own face. Maybe soft, maybe ticklish... The heat that was raging inside of Shuichi seemed to rise a few degrees. The boy shifted his legs, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit in and to ignore the need down there. \"I would like to apologize for my drool this morning. I hope it didn\'t leave a stain...\" Shuichi mentally kicked himself, as he failed to think of something more intelligent to utter out.

Watching the boy move his hips, Yuki almost let out a moan. Stop, Stop, STOP, Yuki told himself. Unfortunately, it seemed as if the muscle between his legs grew a mind of its own as Yuki felt himself go hard. \"Uhm, don\'t worry about it.\" Hazel eyes roamed over Shuichi\'s face and his gut contracted painfully as he took note of the paleness of Shuichi’s face and the dark bags underneath the boy\'s eyes. While Shuichi had recovered remarkably, his body was still going through some strain. Yuki\'s fingers ached to reach out and to stroke the pink hair away from the face, to caress the soft skin, to help take some part of the pain away. Instead, Yuki opted ask, \"Would you like some company if you are not going to sleep?\"

Trying to ignore the heat that was rapidly spreading across his face, Shuichi replied shyly, \"I would like that very much.\"

\"So tell me about yourself Shindou Shuichi,” And tell me how I have come to fall for you, Yuki added silently.

As the night crept by, the boy talked non-stop about his childhood, how he had grown up with his uncle after his parents\' death, and his love for music and dancing. Yuki soon knew that Shuichi\'s favorite food was strawberries, that his pet bird had flown away because he forgot to close the cage door, that he almost broke his leg after trying to climb a tree to save a kitten.

In return, Shuichi learned little about the man sitting before him. The man did not talk much so Shuichi just kept on talking, leaving little opportunity for Yuki to talk about himself. However, despite the fact that Yuki was not a talker, Shuichi learned that Yuki\'s favorite drink was plum sake, that he loved books, and he loved the feel of speed when riding a horse.

The two continued to talk as the flame on the white candle steadily lowered. Shuichi yawned, unable to disguise his sleepiness. Seeing the boy so tired out, Yuki felt guilty for keeping the boy up. However, in his mind, Yuki knew that it would have been impossible to stop the boy from talking. It turned out that the boy was somewhat of a chatterbox, telling his stories with much gusto and energy.

While another yawn escaped from Shuichi’s mouth, Yuki took opportunity that Shuichi’s tongue was stilled. \"You should go to sleep. I’m sorry for keeping you up,\" Yuki said.

\"No, please don’t feel that way.\" Shuichi could not help himself as he slid down in his futon to lie down, resting his head on his pillow. He turned his head to look at Yuki. \"Uhm, before I fall asleep, there is something I would like to say.\"

\"Nani?\" Yuki unconsciously tucked the boy in, smoothing out the edges of the blanket.

\"Thank you so much for everything you have done for me. You truly are the angel that I saw.\" Shuichi glanced up at Yuki’s face with a smile on his lips. \"Thank you so much.\"

With a grunt, Yuki nodded in appreciation. Gathering up his courage, he quickly placed a kiss on the boy\'s forehead and left in a frantic rush, his years of sword training saving him from falling from his quick retreat.

With a big smile that was impossible to get rid of, Shuichi drifted into a peaceful sleep, once again drooling.

***

Throwing an arm around Sano\'s shoulders, Hiro continued to sing along with Sano\'s off pitch notes. Sano\'s own right arm imitated Hiro’s movements, as the two loudly made their way towards Sano\'s room. The short distance had morphed into a long journey as they kept walking side to side, swaying, taking more steps than necessary to travel the relatively short distance. Their goal was further hindered by the fact that having their arms thrown across each others shoulders limited their already alcohol inhibited balance. Ironically, their off tune singing, giggling, and occasional thuds of their footsteps disturbed no one, as the rest of the Kenshin-gumi was blissfully captured in the power of the sake‘s aftermath.

The giggling brown heads finally made it to the bedroom. Sliding the door loudly, the duo tumbled in, no longer able to control their coordination. Legs and arms flew everywhere, as each tried to land comfortably, only failing to do so. The fall did little to ruin the mood of the two as their giggling and singing grew louder. The two men were in a great mood after having drunk enough sake to fill Kenshin’s laundry basin during their drinking challenge. The result of the challenge ended with Hiro winning by half a shot, the other man not caring about his loss, too happy from the warmth the alcohol had given him.

Showing a great deal of control, Hiro moved to shut the door, continuing to sing in key, making Sano’s off key notes more obvious. Whether it was the alcohol or from the memories of the night before, Hiro had to admit that he was feeling quite horny. His back still turned to Sano, who still lying on the ground from the fall, Hiro’s sneaky grin was hidden. He realized that he had not received any prize from winning the drinking challenge and lo and behold, he realized that he found his desired prize. Turning his face over his shoulder, Hiro looked at Sano with what he hoped was his most innocent expression. \"Ne, Sano,\" he whispered huskily.

Unfortunately for Hiro, Sano was still singing, proving himself to be quite tone deaf. The singing made it impossible for the older man to hear anything than himself.

A look of irritation passed over Hiro as he furrowed his eyebrows. He stomped with one foot and yelled loudly, \"Stop singing baka!\"

\"Eh? What?\" Sano sat up from the ground, looking around as if he just woke up. His met with Hiro\'s standing form. The younger man once again had on an innocent expression, his face still looking over his shoulder. The sight made Sano twitch between his leg. There was something awfully tempting about that look....

Satisfied that he got Sano\'s attention, Hiro smiled inwardly to himself. \"Ne, Sano,\" he whispered again.

Sano swallowed, unable to find his voice. \"What?\"

Continuing to look over his shoulder, Hiro gave a half-tortured look to Sano. \"Does it feel hot in this room?\"

Trying to find his voice, Sano stammered, \"A little.\"

\"Hmm.\" Hiro took delight in the little tent that had formed on Sano\'s pants. \"I feel so hot,\" he drawled out. As he spoke these words, Hiro proceeded to untie his top and to let the clothing slowly slide off his shoulders. \"So hot...\" His hands moved to touch himself across neck, shoulders, and arms, still only allowing Sano a view of his back.

Unable to find his voice this time, Sano merely grunted, his eyes unwavering from the smooth plane of Hiro\'s back. Watching the man\'s hands move only reminded Sano the way those same hands felt on his own body just the night before.

\"Ahh...that feels better.\" Hiro threw his head back, shaking his long hair. \"Need to feel less hot.\" Fingers worked fast to untie the pants, fooling any observer that the owner of those fingers had quite a bit of sake to drink. The pants fell into a white pool at Hiro\'s ankles. Leaning against doors with his hands, his naked behind exposed to Sano, Hiro muttered, \"Feels so good.\"

Looking at Hiro in his bent position, Sano felt hot himself. Feeling an overwhelming need to strip, he hastily unclothed himself, throwing his discarded clothes across the room. He moaned lightly as the cool air touched his flushed skin.

Through his gray eyes, Hiro saw Sano strip. Grinning visibly now, Hiro began to pleasure himself, moaning lightly at his own touch. His hips pumped lightly into his hand, slowly gaining speed.

The view of Hiro pleasuring himself was maddening for Sano, especially when his lover still had his back turned. Sano could only imagine what his lover’s front view looked like. To add to Sano\'s increasing frustration were the tiny noises of pleasure spewing from Hiro’s mouth.

One hand still against the door, Hiro continued to pump himself with his free hand. Not too hard, since he did not want to relieve himself just yet. \"Sano,\" he said, \"are you hot too?\" His hand continued to stroke himself lightly, barely touching, just giving the illusion that he was jerking himself hard. \"By the way Sano, I never gave you your second place prize for the contest earlier.\"

Hiro\'s words finally shook some sense into Sano’s brain and he realized what Hiro was saying. The little sneak trying to get me all worked up, thought Sano. The taller man walked towards the bent figure quickly, touching Hiro\'s bare bottom with his cock. Gasping at the sudden contact, Hiro released his own shaft and bent down a little lower, pumping his butt into Sano\'s groin, panting at the effort.

The eroticism of Hiro\'s actions almost sent Sano over the edge. \"Ahh...\" gasped Sano, as Hiro continued to bump against himself. Knowing that he would orgasm if this continued, Sano put his hand on Hiro’s lower back to stop the man.

Feeling his actions being hindered, Hiro turned around, only to have a pair warm lips closer over his own. Grinning against the kiss, Hiro grabbed Sano’s round globes and started to massage them, squeezing tightly. Sano\'s lips broke the contact as he gasped from the contact.

\"Do you like that?\" breathed Hiro as he continued to squeeze unmercifully.

\"You little brat,\" moaned Sano. \"I\'ll get back at you.\"

\"Don\'t you want to collect your prize?\" teased Hiro. He moved one of his hands to close over Sano\'s aching shaft. As his hand pumped, his mouth closed over Sano’s right nipple, abusing the poor little nub.

Sano screamed lightly, clutching Hiro tighter to him. The taller man\'s hips moved to thrust in Hiro\'s warm hand, faster each time Hiro\'s other hand continued to knead Sano\'s soft ass, the fingers brushing against the crevice now and then. Hiro shifted slightly to position Sano\'s thigh between his own legs. With a hard thrust of his hand on Sano’s shaft, Hiro rocked his hips against Sano\'s leg. The final contact caused Sano to spill, the sticky fluid running over Hiro’s hand. \"And there\'s your prize,\" whispered Hiro.

With a grin, Sano waved the remark away. \"Yeah? It seems like a shame that you haven\'t received a prize too.\"

Gray eyes flickered with amusement. \"Well, as the winner, my prize is given out last.\" Taking a step back, Hiro smiled up at Sano.

Sano\'s mouth dried up as he saw Hiro\'s movements. The boy turned sideways, giving Sano a better view, as he slowly took his fluid drenched hand and placed it near his entrance. Smiling coyly at Sano, Hiro shoved one of his fingers into his crevice, gasping at the intrusion. The sight of Hiro working himself caused Sano to breathe faster, his cock twitching once again to life. As Hiro added another slick finger, Sano\'s member stood erect, as if it forgot that it had just took part in orgasm a few minutes ago.

Hiro unconsciously moved against his fingers as he added a third digit. Slowly drawing to his knees and placing his free hand against the ground, Hiro continued to widen himself, mewing with satisfaction.

Not able to stand it any longer, Sano grabbed Hiro\'s working hand and guided to enclose over his erect shaft. Hiro pumped, spreading the precum over Sano\'s cock. Sano took Hiro\'s hand away and position himself behind Hiro. Leaning over so that his throbbing need touched Hiro\'s ass, Sano whispered in Hiro\'s ear, \"Here\'s your prize.\"

Shivering from the tickling the whisper produced, Hiro awaited with anticipation. Sano swiftly entered, seating himself up to the hilt into Hiro. Gasping, Hiro rolled his hips around, causing Sano to moan.

\"How do you like your prize, oh champion?\" growled Sano.

“I would like it if was delivered to me fast,” moaned Hiro, his hips continuing their rolling.

\"Your wish is my command.\" Sano gripped Hiro\'s hips and rode the boy hard, angling to find the sweet spot. Hearing Hiro lightly scream, Sano continued at that angle, pumping his hips furiously.

\"Motto! (1)\" gasped Hiro. His hand reached down to grab his own need and he pumped in rhythm to Sano\'s actions. \"Fukaku! (2)\"

Hiro\'s cries turned Sano on even more, causing the man to ram into Hiro without mercy. To get better control, Sano gripped hard onto Hiro\'s hips, sure to leave bruises. As Sano continued to ram in and out, he heard Hiro’s voice yelling, \"Hayaku! (3) Onegai! Hayaku!!\"

Losing all control, Sano thrusted deep in Hiro and spilled for the second time that night. Hiro\'s own orgasm followed and he collapsed on the ground. Sano hit the floor next to his worn out lover. \"Hiro.\"

\"Hmm?\" Hiro lazily turned over so that he could face the object of his desire.

A light grin teased over Sano\'s face as he fingered Hiro\'s jaw line. \"I don\'t mind if I\'m always the loser as long as I get consolation prizes like that and as long as I\'m the one delivering your prizes to you.\"

***
(Flashback:

Two little boys in neat kimonos sat with their legs folded underneath them. The smell of sakura filled the air and the quiet chirpings of the birds outside taunted the boys to come out and play. Instead, the two continued to sit obediently, trying to get rid of the butterflies in their stomach in apprehension of the upcoming task. It was finally the day when each of them would perform the tea ceremony, proving to their sensei that they had finally learned the art.

The first boy, a little taller than the other one, performed the ceremony with ease and grace. His efforts were awarded with an approving nod from the sensei and the child could not help but grin knowing that he had passed.

The second boy, a little shorter than the other one, performed the ceremony with no mistakes but without the beauty the first had. Afterwards, the shorter boy was awarded with small nod from the sensei, indicating that he too had passed.

Sensei motioned for both boys to approach him. As the boys once again sat down, sensei looked up and spoke. \"You both did well today. The performances were performed well. Junichiro, you have surpassed my expectations of you.\" Unable to hide his grin, the taller boy took in the rare compliment. The sensei continued, turning his attention to the smaller boy. \"You also did well, but you have to try a little harder to reach the same skill as Junichiro.\"

The little boy clenched his fist, trying to ignore the bitter taste the formed in his mouth. After being dismissed, the little boy stood up and quickly made his way for the door, unable to stay in the same room as perfect Junichiro. As the little boy left, he could hear his sensei ask, \"Junichiro? So how is Haruki-kun doing....\" The little boy left before he could the end of the sentence, not really caring what the old man wanted to talk about with Junichiro. One day, he will beat Junichiro, he swore.

End flashback)


Notes:
1. motto = more
2. fukaku = deeper
3. hayaku = faster
*Gackt fans: yes, it is from Vanilla.