Disclaimer: I don't own RK sigh.
Don't worry, this is just a side story I did a long time ago. This doesn't mean I'm stopping Journey, Sojiro's Story.

"Katsu, I never thought you to be so stupid."
"Shut up you idiot. I said I would be a reporter and I am being one."
"Foolhardy."

Sano sat against the wall in the corner, face darkened by shadows as the small flickering candle in the center of the room slowly bit the bullet. Katsu turned to him and frowned. The betrayal of the Sekihoutai was still fresh in his mind. That had been his reason for going into the reporting business in the first place. Sano straightened, shoulders hunched as he pushed down on his ankles, sitting cross legged. There was obvious worry on his face, mixed with frustration. Katsu was known to do risky things yet he hadn't expected Katsu to state the harsh facts of the latest scandal, front page, big kanji letterings, for everyone to see and then he signed it. Of all things. Tsunan had become well known for his artistry, then well known for his informative paper.

"When are you going to try and give yourself a chance at life, huh? First it was going to go blow up the government, then to risky reporting. You just can't settle down can you? Life always has to be threatened."

"You speak as though you live differently than that, Sano. Isn't following Kenshin around putting you at the same risk? There's still a scar from Saito's blade." Katsu didn't look up from his hands, sitting balled up on the tatami mat right before the door, candle light dancing on his back. For once, Sano didn't have some snappy comeback to what he said and Katsu closed his eyes tightly and sighed. After all they had gone through, loosing their friends, family, comrades, Sano had found some way to forgive those rotten imperialists who had used them and disposed of them so easily. Katsu was still bitter, bitter to the core about it.

"I do Katsu. I've got lots of friends who will bail me out of trouble, but you've got me and yourself and you swore not to make anymore bombs. You're just a sitting duck and I'm not as great as I thought I was. You're in trouble if these guys are anything like what Kenshin has to deal with."

"Sano, you're just putting yourself down. I know I can depend on you when I need you." Katsu turned his head to watch Sano's reaction, black strands slipping past his shoulder and falling behind his back. Sano frowned, pushing himself up and seating himself beside Katsu so he could glare more efficiently. "Don't look at me like that you idiot, I know who to trust."

Sano frowned deeper, unable to hide his doubt. He wasn't a good fighter. Being able to knock a guys brains out with a punch didn't mean it would always connect. Stupid Saito had gotten his point across. The candle flickered out, a long trail of smoke reaching skyward and fanning out on it's way. Katsu sighed again, shoulders heaving in an effort to shake off the burden he wore. Doubt and fear weren't things that registered to Tsunan, not ever. Only the frustration of hearing from so many people that he should be careful. "San-"

A hand clapped over his mouth, covered in bandages and rough from fighting. With wide eyes, Katsu pinned his eyes on the door, moving with Sano as he pulled him to the wall. "When I tell you to run, run. I'll find you later, understand?" With a small nod, Katsu was inching his way towards the door by Sano's command, shadows drifting by the door quickly. The shoji flung open and two men stepped inside. A calloused hand left Katsu's mouth, rough sand paper skin wisking by his lips and clothes-lining the intruders. With a quick shove Katsu was stumbling out into the street, racing away from the group as Sano stayed behind. A sharp pang of worry cramped up his stomach as three bullets were fired. He stopped and turned to see Sano still putting up a glorious fight and started to turn around again to run, only to hear and feel two more shots ringing out into the night. He resisted the urge to fall to the ground, cradling his arm against his chest and hugging the side of his body that had been hit. The only thing on his mind was his hope for Sanosuke's safety, that the idiot would live through this.

By the time he reached his destination, a small park with a few trees, he was out of breath and exhausted. The only thing he could manage to make his fatigued body do was drag itself behind a thick trunk and lean against it's rough bark. The sounds of a chase soon broke the silence of the night and adrenaline rushed through Katsu's veins again. With his new energy he stood and peeked around the tree, watching as Sano turned the corner and jumped into an alley, scurrying to the roof quickly, hiding on the wood above the men as they crammed into that small space and scratched their heads collectively in confusion. Sano began scanning the area, spotting the dark silhouette of Katsu standing on the hill and waving. Sano waved back slowly and Katsu took his place behind the tree again, watching the group split off in two directions to search for the fugitives.

After they had disappeared into different sections of the neighborhood, Sano descended from the roof and sprinted to Katsu, grabbing his arm gently and shoving the red overcoat off of his shoulders to examine the wounds the flying steel had created in Katsu's arm and side. "You got hit," Sano stated bluntly, as if Katsu feeling and then seeing his wounds didn't confirm it. Katsu just stared at the red on the side of his arm, feeling the pain he had forgotten in his desperate escape slowly tingling back to the surface.

"Sano, ouch, stop touching it." Katsu tried pulling his arm back away from Sanosuke, but he kept his grip firm and tight, glaring up at Katsu angrily and narrowing his eyes. Suddenly he was in Sano's embrace, bodies pushed close together, faces over the other's back. The world spun in a thousand different directions for Katsu, vision becoming just one swirling dark mass and he felt himself going limp against the strong arms that struggled to keep him up.

"Katsu, this is what you get for being so stupid. This is the third time you've gotten shot you know. What if next time you're not so lucky?" Katsu pulled on Sano's white shirt, grabbing his shoulders and holding himself up so he could stand. Dark brown eyes peered into the shocked green ones and for a moment, both were held in the comfort of the other.

There was a secret rage and constant surprise soaked into those small narrow green eyes of Katsu's. There was an anxiety, a constant awareness that something was to happen. Those eyes would constantly peer over their shoulder to make sure no one was listening before uttering quiet words, words that were confidential, words that only Sano could hear. The trust that had been broken so long ago had never completely healed and only the old comrade was able to receive Katsu's complete truth. Even now, Katsu had been reluctant to say he was in trouble. Even now Katsu couldn't accept the past and live for the future.

Sano released Katsu, taking off his white jacket with the black kanji 'bad' sign on the back and letting it drift to the ground. Katsu wasn't surprised to see him bandaged from his waist down or to see practically his whole arm wound in tight white clothe. Silently, Sano unwound a few lengths of medical wrap and ripped them off, retying it back to place before pushing Katsu's sleeve up.

"Sano, stop. It doesn't hurt that much." The urgent care Sano seemed to be taking to him was out of character. For Sano, a bullet wound to the chest would be 'just a scratch', bleeding profusely from a million different wounds was 'negligible', and getting him to sit down for Megumei was just impossible. The bandage was wrapped tight. If Sano wanted to wrap up the stupid scratches, so be it.

"We should go to Megumei as soon as possible, but I don't think it'd be a good idea with those guys wandering the streets with firearms," Sano whispered quietly, looking back at the dimly lit streets fiercely before looking back at Katsu. "I think we should sleep here for now."

Katsu eased himself down onto the ground, leaning against a tree and closing his eyes. A deep despondency overtook Sano as he watched Katsu falling asleep. His old friend was dying inside. Living in that part of town was dangerous and yet Katsu had stayed there even though he would have been able to afford something much better. Ever since that night when the Imperialists slaughtered the Sekihoutai Katsu had refused any luxury to himself. Anything beautiful was too fair to be in his presence.

His red overcoat lay on the ground where Sano had left it and he picked it up with his damaged hand and walked over to Katsu slowly. With the life he had lived, Katsu deserved much more than he thought he did. He painted beautiful pictures of samurai and landscapes, then brought to them information. He buried the bombs that had been haunting him for so long.

Sano's grip tightened on the jacket. He had stopped just short of Katsu, contemplating if he should do what he wanted to do. Since when did he think twice about his actions? Dropping the red coat, Sano stepped over Katsu and fell before him, a hand slipping against the side of his cheek and as he leaned into him, Katsu's eyes shot open and watched as Sano took the liberty of closing the distance between their lips. The pressure was soft, loving, something Sano had never shown to anyone before. At least not to his knowledge.

The shock didn't wear away until Sano pulled away, the kiss still fresh on their lips that hovered only a few centimeters away from each other. Katsu didn't know how to react, what to do next if anything. The urge to kiss Sano again disturbed him and the hand on his face was rough and yet still pleasant which made him all the more uncomfortable. The only thing he could move was his arms, the rooster head was above everything else and Katsu, much to his surprise, saw them stretch up and wrap around the brunette's head. They kissed again, harder, and they fell onto the ground, hands grabbing at each other in passion as their lips mashed together in need.

Sano smiled and pulled away for a moment, brushing the few strands of smoky gray hair that had crossed Katsu's forehead. "How long have you wanted to do that?" Katsu asked quietly, serious as ever.

"Not very. Just recently actually. Spur the moment kinda thing I guess. But I think the feeling has always been there," Sano said in a hushed voice. Katsu closed his eyes and turned his head, feeling Sano's mouth devour his neck and chin. While it made him happy to be with Sano…

He didn't deserve him. He didn't deserve anything.

Ah yes, very random indeed.