Aishuu Offers:
Symbiosis
~ A Rurouni Kenshin Fanfiction ~
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Watsuki Nobuhiro created the RK manga.
This is my first attempt at playing in his world. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The rain pounded down on the two wanderers
mercilessly, drenching Shishio�s healing skin, making
the older man irritable. Still, they moved onward
without seeking shelter, knowing that they had to
leave the scene of the crime. Seta Soujiro had just
killed his only family, cruel to him though they might
have been. Shishio was already a wanted murderer, and
now they would both be hunted by the police, if what
happened on that rainy night ever became known. 

Shishio Makoto stole a glance at the boy who walked
beside him, wondering how broken the child really was.
He hadn�t really been thinking too far ahead when he�d
invited Soujiro to come along; it had been one of his
spur of the moment decisions. Still, Soujiro had
automatically accepted, not knowing if there were any
other options. Still, something seemed right about
having the boy with him, like having a wakizashi and
katana working in perfect unison. Even now the boy
held onto the wakizashi, and Shishio watched with a
satisfied eye at the firm grip he had on the sword.

They were quite a ways away from the Seta warehouses
before Shishio finally decided that it was time to
call a halt to their march. He stopped abruptly,
holding up a hand. �We should rest,� he said in a
gruff voice. �Running hard for too long has proven to
be the downfall of many.�

The boy blinked, then brushed damp tendrils of hair
out of incredibly blue eyes. �Hai, Shishio-san.� He
moved to the dubious shelter of some low-hanging
branches, then turned back to look at the older man.
�I�m not tired, though,� he said as an afterthought. 

�You spent a long day at work, then there was the...
incident... before we departed. We�ve been walking for
several hours since,� Shishio told him. �You�re
running on adrenaline now.�

�Really?� the boy asked curiously. He held out his
hands, still dotted with the blood of his relatives
and studied them curiously. �Does killing people
always give you extra adrenaline?� he asked with an
inquisitive smile.
	
That smile fascinated Shishio. Shishio wasn�t a kind
man, but something about this boy who had just killed
his own family - a crime that most people would
instantly condemn him to hell for - drew the former
Ishin hitokiri to him. There was an innocence in it, a
naivety in which Shishio was beginning to see the
possibilities. The fact that the boy had brought down
three swordsman with only a wakizaki spoke of
potential with a sword, and having a servant around to
do errands wouldn�t be a bad idea. The boy could go
into towns and get supplies and news if taught for
Shishio�s own appearance was now so marred by his
burns and bandages that he couldn�t blend into a crowd
and who would suspect a child of being the agent of
the infamous Hitokiri?

�Yes,� he said. �When you kill someone, there�s a
thrill of knowing that you have lived another day. You
have proven yourself stronger than the one you have
defeated, and you have fed upon his flesh. You become
stronger with each kill you make.�

The boy�s sweet smile was incongruous with his nex
question. �Then Shishio-san has killed a lot of
people?�

�Yes.� Shishio spoke it without pride or hesitation,
merely stating fact. �I�ve killed, and I will kill
again. And so will you.�

Soujirou blinked a bit, but seemed untroubled as he
settled down underneath the leaves, shutting his eyes
and falling into a peaceful slumber. In his hand he
clutched the sword as many children would have
clutched a toy, something Shishio noted with pleasure.

That first night Soujirou spent with Shishio should
have been filled with nightmares and uncertainties,
but no nightmares troubled his sleep. There had been
too much to do after Shishio had invited him to come
along. Neither of them seemed to have expected it, but
there seemed to be a bond growing between the two, an
instinctive understanding. Soujiro had seen the older
man kill the police officers, but for some reason,
Shishio had spared him. He was convinced it wasn't out
of anything resembling compassion... no, Shishio had
none. Shishio had plans for him, and Soujiro knew that
these plans would be great things.

Shishio was destined for great things, and Soujiro
wanted to see what they were.

Besides, Shishio was the strongest person he had ever
seen and even had help him drag the bodies into the
house to delay their discovery for a bit. While there,
they had ransacked the place, taking what ready cash
there was. Soujiro had remembered where his uncle had
hidden his funds, which Shishio had appropriated
easily. Shishio had explained to Soujiro that this was
how the strong fed off the weak, which Soujiro
listened to, smiling his agreement.

Shishio seemed to know everything. 

When Shishio had asked if he was crying, Soujiro had
hesitated for a long moment, holding onto the
wakizashi tightly as the rain continued to beat
relentlessly against him, as though it could wash away
all his sins. Then he turned and smiled, the same
sweet smile that had made Shishio hesitate when he had
been about to kill him a week before. When he had
smiled, Soujiro didn�t know that he was denying his
humanity; that would take years and a battle with a
man who would have protected him, had he only been
there. His sweet smile mingled with the last tears he
would shed for a decade as his level voice assured
Shishio it was only the rain.

So Soujiro slept, unaware that a demon was watching
him, making silent plans to drag him into hell. The
dark time of the Bakumatsu may have passed, but that
didn�t mean that the dark people who lived in it were
destroyed. Shishio knew better than anyone that the
world they were living in was only a temporary place,
but he intended to be the one who ruled it.

He intended to show them all that hell really existed,
and it existed on this earth - and this boy was going
to help him. If he sculpted him right, Shishio knew he
could keep his promise to make Soujiro strong. He
would foster the boy�s emptiness until there was
nothing but a devil behind that empty smile.	
			

END

Just a drabble, may become something if I ever get to
it. I was curious about Shishio and Soujiro�s
relationship. And... well, this fic was originally
suppose to follow the founding of the of Shishio�s Ten
Swords, but I decided to let this stand alone. Because
I doubt I�ll ever find TIME for it.

Feedback is, of course, appreciated.

=====
"Why do people make mistakes at times...
Can't feel guilty enough...
Why do people always try to go beyond others?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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