Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sorachi Hideaki.
Genre: Cops and robbers. The "robber" has YAOI intentions.
Timeline: Set 2 weeks after the Shinsengumi Discord Arc.
Beta: xquisittexabie!
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A LATE SEASON FOR FIREFLIES
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At 10 pm on a late summer evening, Yamazaki pressed his back flat against the wooden walls of the deserted dojo and began inching his way deeper and deeper into the dark corridor. His footfalls were as light as a creeping spider and did not emit so much as a single creak upon the dry, weathered floorboards. The loud humming of summer insects wafted through the building on the warm breeze, further obscuring his presence. Having been abandoned for a year, the inky black tree boughs encroached into the veranda space. Every night, fireflies would cluster thickly on the leaves and flood the rooms with an eerie pulsing light. Fed by a stream flowing through the garden, they propagated wildly, spreading their glowing green orbs from the treetops into the dark sky.
Only 2 hours earlier, Yamazaki had been chasing fireflies around the garden with the owner, "Kamehameha Bonsai". The young man claimed to have been living in Hawaii since he was 5 years old and only returned to Japan to sell their family dojo. However, the Shinsengumi had received a tip-off that he was really a Kiheitai operative and Yamazaki had been ordered to spy on him. Pretending to be a buyer, Yamazaki schmoozed with the owner and discovered a suspicious meeting scheduled at 10 pm. But as he was about to leave, the owner had pressed him into staying for drinking and games and they spent the past 2 hours in the funniest, most mindless childhood games. Too bad, Yamazaki thought as he peered into the gloomy depths of the main hall. Now he liked the young man and would hate to arrest him.
It struck him as odd that the room looked exactly the same as half an hour ago, when he had pretended to leave it. At the centre of the room stood a golden folding screen reflecting a circle of subtle green light. The mysterious glow came from the fireflies they had caught and put into 3 wicker baskets. The low table in the room was still occupied by their empty sake cups. The room was completely deserted.
Something felt amiss. A chill ran up Yamazaki's spine and he took a few steps backwards. Instinct told him to dive into the crawl space underneath the floorboards. But as he turned, a bear-like form viciously rammed his face into the wall. A strong arm wrapped around his neck and squeezed the breath out of him. His left arm went numb. His right arm tugged at his neck with all his might, but it was no use, his attacker was nestled as tightly to him as a demon in the night. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, the grip loosened, allowing him to spin about and whip out his ninja sword.
Blinking away the black lights dancing in front of his eyes, Yamazaki saw the silhouette of a tall, well-built young man with spiky hair, long leather jacket and slim neck of a three-handled shamisen strapped to his back. Slowly, he extracted the gleaming blade of a naked katana from within the shamisen. Yamazaki wanted to lunge at him, but found his body frozen stiff, as if he owed his attacker a debt.
Kawakami Bansai, cold-blooded assassin from the Kiheitai, had once spared his life.
In a blur of speed, Yamazaki found Bansai's katana stabbing towards his chest, throat and solar plexus. He parried four or five times with his ninjato, but the blows were heavy and tore open the stitches from his half-healed injuries. He was forced to retreat deeper and deeper into the dojo. Just as they reached the golden screen, Bansai attacked. Yamazaki felt a sharp pain on his right thigh and warmth snake down his leg. His right arm was stabbed and his ninjato kicked out of his grip. Bansai pushed him to the ground, pounced upon his stomach and pressed the blade to his throat.
Yamazaki saw his terrified brown eyes reflected in the sunglasses of the fearsome Kiheitai assassin, just the way it did that fateful afternoon 2 weeks ago. And the exact same thought flashed through his mind again. Hijikata Vice-Captain had his shirtfront in a death grip, roaring YA-MA-ZA-KI with a bloodcurdling expression and right fist raised. How could he fail in his duties a second time, in exactly the same way? Yamazaki let out an anguished and frustrated groan. An uncharacteristic grin appeared on his assailant's face.
"Yamazaki." He stated with cold amusement, ripping away the black scarf hiding his face. Yamazaki gasped in recognition. "You're…Kamehameha!"
Yamazaki began writhing and flailing in rage. Only now did he realize how he had been duped all along. The tip-off must have been faked. There was no way he would get out of this alive. He might as well die trying. If he was captured alive, there were fates worse than death. Somehow, his fingers tore off the buttons on Bansai's jacket, ripping it open and revealing his tanned, muscular chest. Bansai pouted. He grabbed the nylon from his Shamisen and looped them around Yamazaki's wrists. But Yamazaki continued to struggle desperately, making them cut through his flesh and blood ooze. Frowning, Bansai pinned Yamazaki's wrists above his head and stabbed his katana at 45 degree angle into the wood. Picking up the ninjato, he forced it into the floor at another 45 degrees, forming a deadly "x" shaped fence. The space snugly fit the diameter of Yamazaki's wrists, and no more.
"Yamazaki. Don't move, or you'll cut your hands off. Now what kind of Jimi would you be without hands? If you truly want to serve the Shinsengumi, then I suggest you surrender now."
Yamazaki's chest was rising and falling in frustration. "How did you know my nickname…"
"I know a lot about you… Jimi." Bansai's tone became seductive. He untied the sash of Yamazaki's thin robe and glided his cool, supple fingertips down his slender chest. Still sitting astride Yamazaki, he tantalized his chest with his right hand while tickling his ribs with his left.
"W-What the hell are you doing?!"
Bansai's hand flashed forward, pressing Yamazaki's wrists firmly to the floorboards. "Whoa! Easy there, Jimi!" He exclaimed, as if worried Yamazaki might cut himself in his shock. Looking down, he saw there was a look of abject horror on the young man's face. Bansai lowered his face so that it was very close to Yamazaki's. His breath smelled fresh. "Didn't you tell me I changed your life?" He asked, almost tenderly. "You told me I made you feel…special."
"I-I…" A pink flush spread across Yamazaki's smooth cheeks. He turned his face to the side and gulped. What happened those few minutes with Bansai had been nothing short of a rite of passage. Believing he was about to die, he let go of everything that was unimportant. When he survived, he felt like a magnet that had been recharged to face true north. Every insignificant little piece of his small, mundane life had grown larger, warmer and sunnier. After that ordeal… It was odd how an even enraged Hijikata wasn't that scary anymore. He confessed all that to "Kamehameha" while they were drinking and amusing themselves with silly games. He thought it did no harm simply to admit that he felt…grateful.
"You told me you thanked me every morning you woke up…" Bansai whispered into Yamazaki's ear. Yamazaki hung his head deeper into his chest. His scrunched up expression was either horrified, bashful or both. "W-what do you want from me?!"
"I already told you that day…I wanted to hear your music once again. And my wish has just come true." Bansai stroked Yamazaki's cheek softly, as if licking him. His whole lower body was sticking so closely to Yamazaki's that their sweat had mingled and the blood bubbling from Yamazaki's wounds felt wet against his skin. He wanted to staunch Yamazaki's bleeding, but he needed to confess first.
"Thanks for staying with me for the past 2 hours. I've never felt so happy in years."
Bansai's face looked as coolly expressionless as ever, while Yamazaki's heart felt like overflowing. How absurd and obnoxious this whole situation was! Yamazaki cursed. Why should he melt for someone who couldn't even show him his true face?
"Take off your sunglasses and look me in the eyes." Yamazaki ordered with uncharacteristic sternness.
Bansai merely smirked and did not obey. "I don't even do that for Shinsuke." Then a bitter expression overcame him and his lips twisted downwards. "Although you are a billion times better than him." He buried his face into Yamazaki's neck.
Without knowing why, Yamazaki also frowned. "And Vice-Captain Hijikata is a billion times better than you." But that wasn't completely fair, Yamazaki admitted. A wry grin tugged at the corner of his lips. "Those games were fun…" His body went limp as he began to lose consciousness. Bansai immediately lifted up his head and gazed at him silently. Then he got up pulled apart the cheesy katana lock. He cut through Yamazaki's bonds, freeing him, before hiding his katana back into his shamisen.
Yamazaki's mind traveled back to 3 hours ago, just before he set off for his new assignment. Hijikata was sitting on the tatami, smoking a cigarette. Yamazaki was about to walk out the door when Hijikata suddenly stated. "Hey." "Yes?" Yamazaki asked. Did he detect a glint of concern in the eyes of the Demonic Vice-Captain? "Nothing." Hijikata growled and look away. "Now get out."
Bansai remembered how Takasugi's preternaturally delicate features directed him with a disdainful leer. He lounged on the window ledge as if it were a sacred dais, one upraised thigh slipping sumptuously out of his robe. Meanwhile, Bansai sat crossed-legged on the floor. Lord and retainer. That was the extent of their relationship. Pride allowed nothing further, although there was always the shamisen. They used it to say the things that they could never say…until today. "You can't seem to keep up with my beat, Bansai. Now get out of my sight and don't come back until you can fit into my groove."
Bansai and Yamazaki sighed at the same time, taking bittersweet comfort in the memory of each other's warmth.
Why was I settling for that, when I could have this?
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Katana wrist lock from Duo-brand's historical yaoi manga "Mumyoutou" published in B-Rash. Want more psychology? Read Lady Serena Sparrow's drabbles, which inspired me to write this! .....And hey! Ban/Yama fanart shared by ringo ame....she did way before she read this but it happens to look exactly the same...Great job!! 333 (Warning: YAOI, Rated "T", http://i508."photobucket"dot"com"/albums/s324/asphodelion/"by001" dot "jpg" ) Coming soon thanks to the encouragement by ringo ame...Part 2 showing what they did the past 2 hours -- chasing fireflies, drinking and spilling secrets. Light-hearted comedy.
UPDATE: "Out of Tune" is a sort of prequel to this fic, told from Bansai's POV. But its not Yaoi.
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Okie...as always I hope to hear your comments. ^^