The light and dark
Disclaimer: I do not own either Rurouni Kenshin or Peacemaker Kuragune, so please don't be made.
Note: I only read so much of the manga and this is just what I thought would happen if Kenshin and Suzu met.
"Himura-san is sleeping, don't wake him," said one of the young serving girls in the inn, Suzu had only seen a glimpse of a figure going into his room that morning and shutting the door. He glanced around the inn bored as usual, he noticed for a second that Izuka had come back in from market holding some bundles, he went into Himura's room, again shutting the door.
"Don't bother him," Yoshida's warnings about the residents in the inn. "I don't need you a bloody mess, just stay out of the way."
Stay out of the way? That's it? He walked around the halls, Suzu knew that walking around the city was out, he did that yesterday and nearly was plowed into by a little red haired kid. He was also not really sure how to respond when late at night, he heard the sound of someone coming into the inn breathing hard. He looked into the hall only to see a red haired boy sitting down in one of the rooms and the door suddenly being slid shut.
It was a strange set of circumstances when it came to night, Suzu was instructed to remain in Yoshida's room, not to come out regardless of what heard. It didn't help that he was looking at this like it was some kind of freaking punishment. Suzu wanted to see what was the big secret, he looked out one morning just as he was about to get annoyed again at once again being ignored by the rest of the Choshu clan's men.
"Stay out of the way, stay out of the way, what am I ten?" the boy groaned walking into his room, only to bump head long into the boy from the day or two ago who was sitting inside one of the other rooms.
Yoshida rushed forward and grabbed Suzu. "My apologies Himura-san," he rushed the boy into his room. He looked out and gave a nervous glance and smiled a little. "You're lucky one of us came when we did."
"What is so wrong with bumping into..." that was when Suzu was suddenly silenced and quietly there was a slight noise from Himura-san's room again.
For another week Suzu went in and out of the inn, he ran errands and then he would heard the sound of someone talking to a boy who was again the same red hair. "Suzu! Get over here!" someone from the staff yelled at him and he rushed over.
He noticed Izuka was walking with a slightly smaller person, though Suzu had only seen the flicker of the red hair, his eyes were purple and he looked gaunt, it was the boy! He must be the same age as myself, so what's so special about him?
One night, Suzu got his answer, he looked out from the bath to see the boy, he was washing his hands and was turning to head to his room. "So who are you page to?" Suzu asked finally when he realized it was safer to ask with no one around.
"I'm no one's page," the boy answered quietly looking at him. The purple eyes were strange now, at least in the low light, they looked almost yellow. "If you don't mind, I'm tired." He walked up the stairs and Suzu blinked, it was not what he thought their first conversation would go.
So he's not a page? What is he then? Suzu could not decide what was stranger, the boy who only stared silently from the window. Someone who came in only at night, he walked the hall to his room and suddenly without warning, he saw Yoshida's pale face, he was looking out the door beckoning Suzu to come in. "Do not speak to him again," he whispered quietly. "Do not say anything that could cause him to draw his katana on you."
"Why?" Suzu finally had enough of secrets, he had it.
"Take him tomorrow night with you?" Yoshida turned his head and looked at Izuka.
"He got the orders last night, I'll take Suzu, though it won't be until two nights from now."
For two days, Suzu was on pins and needles, didn't help that Tetsunosuke was being a pest, but it was helpful to know that something was going to happen. He walked into hall after he returned from humoring the boy, only to see the red haired boy standing in the hall. "Don't go with Izuka tonight," the boy whispered and walked off.
"Why?" Suzu finally wanted to have an answer that wasn't so cryptic. "I've had it, people walk around like they are walking on pins and needles around you. I am just asking for a simple..."
"Don't ask questions that shouldn't be asked," the boy walked off.
Standing in the hall, Suzu glared, he was not sure why, but suddenly he realized something, the boy with red hair was trying to say something else. He stood in the hall, then heard the sound of someone speaking in soft whispers.
Sitting in his room again, he looked at Yoshida who was walking looking around. "I don't like the idea," he was talking to Izuka. "Suzu shouldn't be..."
It was strange, for a moment or two, walking into the hall, Suzu noticed the red haired boy was standing talking to someone who was holding a black envelope. Assassination orders? Why would he have them? Maybe he's the page of the Battosai and is told not to tell anyone, Suzu was thinking this as he saw Izuka.
For a minute or two, Izuka walked out and sighed. "Sorry kid not tonight."
Sitting waiting inside the inn, Suzu was staring around him, that was when he saw the door slide open to the boy's room open, he looked out. How do I talk to him? He's a page to an assassin, Suzu walked out only to see the door shutting.
The next morning, the boy did not come down for breakfast, he was possibly sleeping in the room, Suzu walked up the steps, then was called away to get some ink and paper for Yoshida. "I need you to stay out of the way today, just do these errands and here some extra money." He was looking down and sighed. "I have a meeting tonight, please remain at the inn and don't bother anyone."
Don't bother anyone? Walking out, Suzu suddenly saw the boy walking out. "You missed breakfast," he told him.
"I wasn't hungry," the other answered and they walked down the stairs.
"Want to come with me on some errands, its boring, but I suppose we..."
The boy blinked and looked at the list. "You don't know where it is?" he pointed straight toward the market. "Don't go near the center of the city," he walked on and then for a second, Suzu sighed. I am not a child, he thought and saw the boy rush away. "Huh?"
The boy's eyes were down and something was wrong with his face, like someone had cut his left cheek. Did the Battosai get mad at him? Walking down the street, he turned his attention toward a group of people talking. Returning with the items, Suzu saw again the boy with red hair, now he learned his name was Kenshin rushing out, he was looking like he was angry.
Drinking was not something Suzu liked, he had hated going to the bar, though he knew for once in his life, that Yoshida was the type who dragged him along. He sat near the door and saw Kenshin sitting toward the back, his eyes down on the drink. I guess being the page of the Battosai isn't easy either, Suzu wanted to walk up only to have Yoshida look up, grow pale and then pay their tab and leave.
I am not sure why, but something isn't right, and when they returned a few hours later, Kenshin had yet to return too. Suzu walked up the stairs, then turned as Kenshin was holding a woman, his eyes were wide. "I see, take her to your room then, I will have an extra futon brought up," the head of the house who was a middle aged woman bowed her head.
Passing him in the hall, Kenshin's eyes traveled to his. It was something strange, Kenshin never had much interest in women, least of all someone as pretty as the one he was holding.
By morning, the word about Kenshin's girlfriend had caused a lot of men to walk up and speak of her to him. That ended with a katana nearly being drawn. "Don't go near him, he's a man in love," whispered one of the men who whispered about how a boy's first love is always the most intense even if the boy doesn't realize it.
How will the Battosai handle it? Suzu thought and soon he saw Kenshin walking by, he was holding the black envelope again. He was talking quietly in the hall, then went back to his room, where the woman, Tomoe attended to him.
Izuka collected him that night, Suzu was waiting and wondering what was going to happen, that was when he saw it, the rush. Two men were just walking, then suddenly, he saw Kenshin, the boy rushed them and they were bleeding on the ground, they were dead. The paper was set down and the warning from the clans who rallied to Choshu.
For a second, Suzu thought was he was going to be sick, he stared in shock as he saw Kenshin walked away from the scene. The whole time I was talking to the Battosai! I was thinking he was the page, and he's the cold blooded assassin that makes Yoshida-sensei tremble, he's the demon in human form!
For a minute, Suzu wanted to run from the very sight of Kenshin.
Yoshida had no comfort for him, Suzu was staring out the window, he made a face and looked out, he was bored, but he didn't want to leave the room. "Want to go out?" Yoshida asked.
"Not really," Suzu turned his head, the boy's eyes were wide, he saw Kenshin in the background, he was being attended to by Tomoe yet again. Yoshida shut the door and made sure he was not bothered at least at first.
"Go out. Don't you have that girl to visit at the Geisha house?" he heard someone outside the door, he was aware it was Kenshin.
Suzu walked up to the door and slid it open, he saw Kenshin standing at the door, for a moment, Suzu thought he saw someone the same age as himself, fifteen. What he saw was someone who did not seem like himself anymore. "Why would you...?"
"I told you not to go with Izuka," Kenshin's eyes were moving around a little. "Just go out."
It was not as if Suzu wanted to say anything more to Kenshin, he walked down to the landing, then saw that the other boy followed after. "So you're really what Yoshida-sensei calls a demon."
He saw Kenshin's eyes darken a little, then show the same yellow he saw at the assassination, nodding slowly he whispered. "I don't like being called that."
"But I always thought you were the page to the Hitokiri Battosai, not him," Suzu was standing staring.
"Don't be silly, I never said anything of the sort and I'm not a page," Kenshin did not sound offended. He walked up. "If you assumed all that, why?"
"It was easier to think you were just like myself, some kid who joined this because of an ideal," Suzu finally said what he wanted to say. "I'm fifteen and when I found out you're the same age, I was...how can you?"
"It isn't easy to answer to that," Kenshin walked away. "I don't plan to live a long life, and I am aware that what I'm doing might save lives."
How can he believe that? Suzu wanted nothing to do with this conversation, that was when he realized for the first time in his life, that his master had deluded him a little bit. Yes, Kenshin is saving lives, he's doing what could be considered wrong, but he's doing it for our cause. Does he even know what Yoshida is...doing?
For a second, it made little sense, Suzu didn't know if he was going to be able to tell Kenshin the truth. He looked away and then went out, he had to get away from him. Walking down the street, Suzu stopped in front of the candy store, that was when he saw Kenshin again, this time he was aware that he had walked in, came out with a small bag, he held it up to Suzu. "Take it," Kenshin walked away.
"I'm not a little kid," Suzu said it.
"Didn't say you were, but considering your master didn't give you anything to buy and knowing you, you should take this to the girl," Kenshin turned his head to the side and looked around. "If you don't, you might regret it."
Yes, coming from a person who kills, walking away, Suzu was soon stopped, he saw Tetsunosuke talking to the girl Saya, Suzu sighed and walked up to them. He saw Kenshin watching from a distance, almost like a shadow in the alley not willing to come out.
When he returned to the inn, he saw that again, Kenshin was in the hall waiting as if wanting to speak, he didn't smile, but gave a sad look. "That boy..."
"Tetsu-kun is annoying," Suzu walked away. "He has a huge crush on Saya-chan, I'm not jealous."
"Then why do you go to see her?"
"Because...I feel bad for her, it isn't her fault she has to do all that, it isn't her fault she can't speak, besides she's a good friend too."
For a second he saw the confusion on Kenshin's face. "You don't get it?" he realized for the first time that something was different about the boy that was the Hitokiri Battosai, he had no concept of friendship. "Have you ever had a friend, someone you relate to?"
"I don't have time to..." that was when Kenshin realized one thing that Suzu was looking for while at the Choshu and all the time he and the boy passed in the halls. The small bits of conversation, friend, he was wanting to be his friend. "It is safe to keep you at a distance from all this."
"One problem with that, Yoshida-sensei has me involved, he's involved and so am I, I came to Kyoto because he came," Suzu answered him and looked at him. "The only reason I thought you were a page because you're the same age as me, we didn't have at all in common, but being here."
Kenshin sat in his room, he finally realized the one person he could talk to was Tomoe. "You are scared that Suzu will get hurt?" Her voice was soft as she finished repairing one of the gi that had a tear in it from Suzu's fall that morning. "This is entirely too big for him, I should have him fitted for one his size."
"He won't take it, that's his brother's," Kenshin whispered and sat down, he realized that from all the times that Suzu spoke, he only brought up his brother once. He realized that maybe the only friend that Suzu had was his brother, a spy for the Choshu who was unlucky enough to die.
Izuka came in that night. "I just talked to Katsura, other than the bad meeting, I am here to tell you to get Suzu away from Yoshida..."
"Why?" Kenshin whispered.
"Look, Yoshida isn't to be trusted, he's terrified of you, at least you could scare him enough to release Suzu. If you take him as a page, maybe..."
"That's out of the question," Kenshin walked away.
"Do you want the kid to die?" Izuka asked.
No, I don't want Suzu to die, I don't want him here! For a moment, that was when Kenshin could see that even though the devotion for Yoshida was in Suzu's eyes. It was evident that no matter what the words were, he could not tear the boy from his master so easily. "Why is Katsura wanting to take Suzu away from Yoshida?"
"Yoshida was part of that botched assassination in Edo a year back, the spy who was to report to Katsura was Suzu's brother. What was supposed to be an easy assassination, it went bad, the boy's brother caught up in all the problems, got mistaken for the assassin and killed in Yoshida's place. The reason we call it botched was no one was supposed to know it happened. Someone found out, leaked it was the spy," Izuka sounded more angry than anything else. "Yoshida seemed to plan it all out, and then Suzu was put on the bargain as a page. Just get the boy away from him!"
It was complicated, it always was, Kenshin went back into his room, he looked across the hall and saw that Yoshida was away. Sitting in the room reading a book, Suzu was staring down, his eyes moving through the pages. "Kenshin?"
"I have to talk to you," Kenshin shut the door behind him.
Was he leaving? Kenshin's eyes were down, he was thinking this as he fled with Tomoe to Otsu, he waited a little to hear word, but nothing. Suzu vanished utterly, he was hoping he would not see the boy again.
After the death of Tomoe, Suzu and Katsura did come, at least that was the fact that soon, Suzu had changed in a year, he was a little taller, but not by much, he was looking on. "I have nothing to say on the matter, though Yoshida is dead," he walked on, that was when he turned. "Finishing what we started is the only reason I remain."
Laughing a little on the inside, Kenshin nodded, he smiled, the first time Suzu ever saw the smile. "I'm sorry about Tomoe-sama, Kenshin," Suzu turned his head. "Izuka will pay for his..."
"I already knew he was behind your brother's death, Yoshida confided that much to me when I spoke to him about the botched assassination." Kenshin took a step forward.
11th Year of Meiji
Kenshin woke suddenly at a knock, he turned his head to see a new boarder coming in, at least Kaoru had said he was new. Walking into the house was one person he had not seen in awhile, Suzu was very different, at least grown. "I'm only here for a short time," Suzu told him sitting down. "I'm here to see my god children, at least that's what Testu-kun wants me to see. He's such an idiot."
"Oh, so the wolf pup is a father?" Kenshin was laughing looking at the letter. "Oh? Saitou is going to be there I'm sure."
They were laughing. "Kenshin, I was hoping to say thank you, you were trying to save me back then weren't you?"
They were walking toward the center of market, Suzu turned his head and looked away. "I think I mixed myself up in something terrible, Kenshin...and I can't get out. I'm sorry, but this is my last time visiting you or anyone else."
"Suzu?"
There was something strange going around him. "I can't tell you really what is going on, but this is my last visit to anyone," there was a flash as two black cat like creatures appeared beside Suzu. "I only came to tell you goodbye."
Kenshin stared for a moment, he saw something in his hand, a small note.
Kenshin,
If you think I have forgotten what you did, I haven't. Please tell that idiot Tetsu that I couldn't make it to his son's birthday. At least give him that much. Tell Saya-chan she's still pretty and I'm sorry.
Suzu
I think I just saw a ghost! Standing smiling again. "You really tried to make it didn't you?" He looked around and laughed. "Suzu, I am still laughing at the fact you thought I was a page, I'm not going to forget you."
End