Author's Note: I've had too much of Sanosuke/Sayo and the movie Be Dazzled, so that's why this fic came to existence. This is my first story-type fic, so please bear with any shortcomings on my part. Oh, and if ever you like the couple, you're always welcome to join the mailing list I established at Yahoo – – in honor of them. Arigatou gozaimasu, minna!

Don't Play With Fire
-+Chapter One+-

"... unless God grants me a miracle, I'll soon be with Him in His kingdom..."

Fury swept Sanosuke Sagara's body like a tidal wave as he remembered her words at that heart-stopping moment when she admitted that she was gravely ill. As he stared at the stone-cold grave of Sayo Amakusa, the woman he had grown to love even if they had only been together for a short time, he felt the fangs of anger and pain dig themselves deeper into his already wounded heart.

He did not understand why... he could not understand why. If some divine entity was truly helping them survive on Earth, as Sayo and her Christian "brothers and sisters" believed in, then why did that god of theirs allow her to die?! It was not fair, not fair at all, and if he was only capable of killing a god, he would have already done so.

His chestnut orbs were filled with sorrow that could not be fathomed. "Sayo... I wasn't strong enough. These arms of mine... these arms of mine were just not strong enough to protect you from death, or from your god who wanted to take you away from me. And because of that... he succeeded," he whispered, his voice audible. He felt tears springing into his eyes, but he wiped them off before they could be released into the open. Instead, he forced a laugh. "I'm such an idiot, ain't I? I know you can't hear me now, whatever I have to say, but --- damn it, I love you!"

He fell on his knees, very weak all of a sudden. The emotional agony was too much for him to bear, just too much. His eyes, however, never left the tombstone of the loved one he had lost, for he continued to stare at it as if he was expecting her to simply sit up, stretch her arms and comment about how nice her sleep was. He knew it was impossible, but he could not wrench away the notion of hoping for the better. After all, the Christians he had known believed in miracles and the fulfillment of things known to be impossible...

"I wish she didn't have that disease so she didn't have to die!" Sanosuke yelled angrily, pounding his fists on the ground with the force he had left. There was nobody who could ease the anguish he was feeling at the tragic end the love of his life attained. "Why?! What have I done to deserve this?! What had she done to deserve a death like that?! If only I can bring her back I'd do anything to bring her back! I'll sell my soul to the devil if I have to!"

Will you, really?

His eyes shot towards the direction of the voice, but he did not find the person to whom it belonged to. However, a strange feeling of dread began to creep up to him, and when the warning bell at the back of his mind started to ring, he got to his feet and prepared himself. "Who are you? Stop hiding and show yourself!"

As if in reply, flame erupted around the young man in a circle, and out of the blazing ring of fire, a figure stepped out, forcing him to back off slightly. The stranger was, to Sanosuke's surprise, a woman, and she was wearing a sleek red dress that glared brightly with the flames. "Sanosuke Sagara," she began, before her beautiful ruby lips parted into a smirk. "I've come to give you your heart's desire."

"My heart's desire?" he asked, confused, but stunned.

The newcomer's smile grew even more playful. "Didn't you just wish that your beloved --- what's her name ah, yes, Sayo Amakusa --- didn't contract tuberculosis so she didn't have to die? Well, I'm here to grant that wish of yours. After all, you asked."

"Who are you?" the young warrior asked. He was happy with the news that his wish was going to be granted, yes, but he was still skeptical. After all, the one who offered to make his desire come true was someone he practically didn't know, and she appeared to have something else in mind --- something else in mind for him. The flames added to his apprehension, too.

He blinked, and the next thing he knew, she was behind him, her arms wrapped around him seductively. She daintily ran her fingers through his cheeks, and apparently overpowering him, she hissed in a teasing tone, "Who am I, Sanosuke Sagara?"

The flames erupted violently like a blazing supernova, and before the flaring wisps of heat completely engulfed them, Sanosuke heard the words in a voice barely above a whisper, "I'm the Devil."