Chapter 1: Non so piu

And if there's nobody to hear me,
I speak of love to myself!


It was dusk when the two samurai made it to their nightly meeting place. The rice had been served a little later tonight than normally. Neither of the samurai, especially the mechanic, could function well without some food in their stomachs. Sure, they had been in dire straits before, fighting for days without sleeping and eating, it was their samurai duty when it was called for. Now, however, just to enjoy each other's company, they needed a full stomach to be congenial. Working all day around stuffy samurai who didn't talk much - or, in Kikuchiyo's case, talked far too much - even grated on the nerves of the most light-hearted samurai in their company.

"Moko-chan is cooking today," Heihachi said glumly. He bit into one of his rice balls with considerably less ferver than he normally did. He made a face while he chewed and quickly swallowed, not wanting the taste to dwell in his mouth longer than it had to.

"You're unlucky, my friend. Kasuhara-san was still cooking when I went. She must of let her daughter take over right after I had recieved my own food," Gorobei said. Heihachi looked at the older man expectantly until Gorobei finally traded him for one of his own rice balls.

This rice Heihachi did chew slowly and with relish, grinning widely as he picked a few pieces from his lips and cheeks and put those in his mouth as well. "Poor girl needs to get better soon if she's going to make a decent wife."

"I believe that a good wife can have many good traits and still not be a good cook," Gorobei said, almost chiding his younger friend.

"Not the way I see it," Heihachi retorted, his grin spreading. "Then again, I'm never going to really have a chance at marriage either."

Gorobei shook his head; he was pretty sure he knew what his friend was implying, but decided to ignore that more unfortunate thought. "Oh, come on now. You have a better chance than I do! I'm so old, and what woman would want some crazed older samurai following her around?"

Heihachi stopped chewing his next bite of rice as he lifted his chin up, the tell-tale sign of the mechanic in deep thought, as Gorobei had come to realize. "Yeah, you probably wouldn't leave her alone. You'd latch onto her and annoy the hell out of her, right?"

Gorobei snorted. He didn't mean for the conversation to turn against him. Knowing where Heihachi was going with this, though, he decided to join in a bit and poke fun right back at the other man. "And you, with your wood-chopping. I would think a woman would get sick of all the ruckus after a few hours."

"Wood-chopping? That the best you can do?" Heihachi's eyes opened and shined with mischief as they summed up the older samurai. "What about all your weird body contortions? I would think a woman would feel inadequate if her husband could out-perform her in the marriage bed."

"How do you know I contort my body during sex?"

"Why wouldn't you? I think it'd make the experience all the more pleasurable."

"How would you know?"

Heihachi was thinking again. Apparently, he was looking for an exact statement from Gorobei that the older samurai wasn't quite hitting. He planned his attack further. "I guess I wouldn't know. I've never had a partner that was, uh, gifted like that." His chin tilted up again. Gorobei was unsure if he was supposed to join in with another jab or if it was still Heihachi's turn. "But, how can I know for sure that you do or don't-"

Gorobei got it. He almost groaned at the boy's forwardness. Instead, though, he put a big, teasing smile on his face and interupted Heihachi's sentence, wherever it had been going. "Then, I guess you'll just have to experience it first-hand, hmm?"

There was a small, thick silence between the two (Gorobei had no idea why. That had been what Heihachi was hinting at, right?) before Heihachi laughed loudly out into the darkening night. His voice echoed off the hills and through the rice patties, filling the entire valley with Heihachi's own distinct brand of happiness.

"You read me way too well. How did you beat me to the punch line?" Heihachi asked once his laughter had finally settled down. So that had been it. He wasn't hinting for Gorobei's next line but building to his own. Gorobei wasn't surprised he'd finally confused the two.

They'd been meeting here for weeks now, and their conversations usually followed the same ruitine. Heihachi would take some topic, decide what part of it he thought was the raunchiest (He knew sex jokes amused Gorobei while they made most of the other warriors uncomfortable or pissy.) and then ignite a conversation. His lines would set up Gorobei's, and he'd build up both of their lines into a final punchline. Heihachi was very good at planning these things while Gorobei was much better at reading the man's hints.

The punchline had come a bit prematurely - Gorobei almost made his own joke of this, but decided against it - and it was really not very funny. It had ended up being so for Heihachi, but only by accident.

"I think you need to get to sleep a little earlier tonight, my friend. You seem to be losing your touch. I hope it's not from me keeping you awake to talk with me," Gorobei was smiling, but he really was a bit concerned for his friend's health.

Heihachi snorted. "I'm not a kid, Gorobei." He looked genuinely angry and Gorobei was not exactly sure as to why. Gorobei stayed silent, not entirely understanding his friend's mood. Heihachi was side-tracked from his anger when he notice his rice had not been finished and immediately went back to eating. His head looked up again.

Gorobei caught himself staring, which was frighteningly unusual for him - his eyes and mind never wandered. He liked to think he was always quick-witted, but something in Heihachi's demeanor right now had taken him by surprise. What could the boy possibly be thinking?

The smile returned to Heihachi's face. Whatever had been bugging him was gone now. "Also, your voice. I don't think any woman would enjoy to hear your groans. You'd sound like a dying bear, or...a wounded calf."

So they were back to this again, were they? "I've always thought my voice was very melodious. Still, you think a dying bear. Well maybe, but at least I can cook." Not that Heihachi couldn't. "I'm an entertainer, so she will never be bored. I'll gladly dress up in women's clothing to make her smile." Heihachi snorted again, but Gorobei couldn't tell if it was from disgust or if he was trying to hold back laughter. Knowing Heihachi, it was probably the latter. "And, I have the sharpest eye and quickest hand of anyone I've ever met. Those skills can go far in numerous ways." Gorobei sent a sly wink to his companion.

The sky was nearly completely dark. The moon was bright, however, and it illuminated the entire valley, including the two samurai. The shadows on Heihachi's face made it difficult for Gorobei to discern if Heihachi's eyes were opened or closed. He realized he was staring again, and decided to look out at the view around them instead of focusing on his companion. His attention was alerted back to the mechanic, however, when he heard him get up to leave.

"You already heading in?" Gorobei wondered.

"You're the one who said I needed more sleep."

"You're the one who insisted you didn't."

Heihachi shrugged. "Well, either way, I am tired." He stretched a bit and wiped the dust off his pants before turning to go. He stopped when he noticed Gorobei wasn't following.

Gorobei was staring at something again, his eyes dazed and unfocused. He was thinking intently or not thinking at all. Heihachi never could tell. He was never able to rise his friend out of his reveries usually, either. But, tonight, he had ammunition.

"Your offer," Heihachi stated, his back facing Gorobei.

"...offer-?"

"I accept."

Heihachi was gone, leaving Gorobei to shuffle through their conversation. When had he actually offered the man anything?

"Then, I guess you'll just have to experience it first-hand, hmm?"

Well, then. That punch line was a good one. He'd have to catch up to Heihachi and congratulate him on the most thoroughly planned out conversation yet. He was about to get up and do just that when the awe of the nature around him forced him to stay.

He'd be up late anyway. He had a hard time sleeping unless the night was completely dark and it was practically day with how bright the moon shone. The flowers did look lovely in the moonlight. Gorobei always had a special appreciation for flowers. Another one of his psyche's many mysteries. He especially loved the orange lillies covering one of the hillsides.

Orange flowers really did shine the brightest in the moonlight.


I hope you enjoyed this. I may continue it; I may not. I felt I needed to add to the list of fandom for this series if I was going to complain about the lack of attention these two got.

Any reviews would help. I especially would like some criticism if I'm planning on continuing this, if you please. I'm not sure if I have their characters down correctly.

- Mayo