The Lessons

"Please come in, Seta-kun." Aoshi motioned the smiling boy to enter his private study as he opened the door leading to it. "It's more comfortable in here." He explained when Soujiro paused as if to ask why they were in the private part of the house instead of a more public one.

"Hai." Soujiro bowed before following Aoshi into the room.

The study was simply furnished. Unlike the study that Aoshi normally used to work, this one had a less formal atmosphere. Unlike Shishio's residence, Shinomori's residence had very few western touches, only some items given by the most important clients were kept around the house. But otherwise traditional atmosphere dominated the beautiful house. There were ikebana neatly placed on either sides of a beautiful calligraphy. There were also several shelves that probably contained books and art tools. On one side of the room, was shobi leading to a beautiful Japanese garden outside.

"Kirei." Soujiro said before he could stop himself.

"I'm glad you think that way." Aoshi said politely.

Soujiro beamed a smile at Aoshi, stopping the man's breath for a while. Soujiro was wearing the same pale blue hakama and kimono with a shirt beneath that Aoshi saw him in the other day. Pale blue matched him best, Aoshi thought, it complimented the boy's innocent blue eyes.

Just as Aoshi mused how beautiful Soujiro might look out in the garden, with the sun shone on him and all the color of summer around him, a voice screamed his name from a few rooms away. The loud padding on the wooden floor signaled the coming of the person. Aoshi would've sighed in annoyance if not for the adorable confused look on Soujiro's face.

"Aoshi-sama!" Misao greeted her beloved cousin as she opened the door. As usual she wore the too-small clothes Aoshi gave her when she was a child. Aoshi had of course intended for her to stop wearing it when she grew up, but Misao had other ideas. It was the first gift Aoshi gave her, she reasoned, so she refused to change it for something else.

"Misao." Aoshi acknowledged the girl's presence calmly.

"I heard you have a special guest. Who is it?" Misao asked excitedly, though with a slight undertone f suspicion and jealousy. No doubt that it was Ogina's doing, spreading questionable news like that to the girl. "Is it you?" Misao asked to the boy beside Aoshi. Her obvious relieve confirmed Aoshi's suspicion that Ogina had made it to her as if yet another woman of Ogina's choice visited him.

"Hai." Soujiro bowed politely to her. "Boku wa Seta Soujiro desu. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Makimachi Misao. The pleasure's all mine." Misao said cheerfully. Then the young girl turned to Aoshi again questioningly.

"Misao, from now on Seta-kun will take lessons from me every other day." Aoshi announced, seeing the look on his cousin's face.

"Really? Can I join you guys?" Misao asked hopefully.

Of course she wouldn't pass the chance to stay around her crush, Aoshi realized with slight exasperation. He glanced at Soujiro who waited for his response patiently. He wouldn't mind, Aoshi knew. But he wanted to be alone with the young man without the disturbance from anyone.

Aoshi thought hard of a way to reject the girl without sounding too eager to be with Soujiro. Trying to frighten away Misao wouldn't be a wise option since it'd probably made her suspicious.

Thankfully Aoshi was saved from having to answer, by the one person that he expected the least to come to his rescue. Okina's voice came from the hall outside, calling Misao.

"Misao! Are you here?" The old man said as he opened the shobi leading to the room they're in. "Ah, you're here also, Aoshi."

Aoshi nodded slightly to the old man. Realizing that Ogina was looking to his side where Soujiro stood, Aoshi introduced him to the old man. "Seta-kun, this is Okina. Okina, this is Seta Soujiro, Shishio-san's pageboy. He is to take lessons from me from now on." He looked straight to Okina's eyes while saying that, quietly stating what he could not to Misao.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Seta-kun! Aoshi is an excellent teacher. I'm sure you'll learn things easily from him." Okina said, seemingly oblivious to Aoshi's silent message. "Well, we should leave them alone, then. Seta-kun needs to study!"

"But, Okina! I want to study with them, too!" Misao whined.

"Now, now, Misao-chan, we can't disturb them. Besides, I'm sure you've learnt all there is to know for a girl."

"Demo…"

"Oh, right, I forget to tell you. A letter from Himura just arrived this morning!" Though Okina's gaze was directed to Aoshi, he knew that it was intended to Misao.

"Himura? When did it arrive? Why didn't you tell me?" Misao asked excitedly.

"It just arrived this morning. I forgot since I was so busy with the inn."

"Show me! I want to read it!" Misao pleaded excitedly, her earlier concern forgotten. Aoshi almost breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped Ogina was able to keep Misao off this room for the better part of the day, or at least until Soujiro returned to Shishio.

"All right, all right. I think I put it in my study…"

Misao soon pushed the old man out of the room, telling him to show her the letter. Ogina obliged smilingly and left with the girl. Before he closed the door he threw Aoshi a smile that wasn't only meant to be an apology.

The look upon Soujiro's smiling face was a mixture confusion and amusement when Aoshi turned to look at him. Cute, he mused, cuter than even Misao on any day.

"Shall we begin?" Aoshi finally said, folding his long legs underneath him. The lesson and his quest to win the boy had begun.

"Tadaima!" Soujiro called out when he opened the gate that led to the servants' compound. Despite his exhaustion, his smile was still present on his face. His first lesson with Aoshi that day was tiring, he must admit, but truly interesting!

Seeing that no one was around, Soujiro tried to practice his first lesson. Walking.

He squared his shoulder, lifting his head proudly and walked forward. It did feel different from the usual way, relaxing his shoulder, dropping his gaze to avoid people's eyes and humbling his steps. It was rather difficult at first. He felt like an idiot practicing in front of Aoshi. The man was as composed and charismatic as ever, making Soujiro want to bow his head.

Aoshi was so kind and patient with him, Soujiro thought fondly. He was not at all like the predatory man he met during the festival. He was so gentle, too. Every time Soujiro felt intimidated by his natural grace and pride and bowed his head, Aoshi would lift his face with kind fingers tipping his chin up. The look on Aoshi's eyes was exceptionally soft and gentle at times like this and it made Soujiro's heart almost burst in his chest.

So lost in memory, Soujiro didn't realize his surrounding. He tripped on a stone that somehow had managed to get onto the small pathway. Soujiro gasped in surprise, preparing himself for pain. But suddenly his elbow was caught and he was pulled to strong unyielding chest.

Soujiro lifted his open eyes up to meet his captor's. Blue met cold yellow and with a gasp Soujiro realized just who this man was.

"Gomen." Soujiro spluttered, unable to hide his embarrassment and discomfort. Did the man saw him earlier? Soujiro saw no one when he entered the house. How did he get here to catch him so fast?

"Be careful, bouya."

"Hai. Gomen." The smile was instantly in place and Soujiro closed his eyes to hide his emotions.

"Where did you go to?" The man's amber eyes were sharp and intimidating. He reminded Soujiro of Aoshi, somewhat. Maybe it's their height and intimidating presence.

"Ah, I went to one of Shishio-san's client's house. He ordered me to go every other day." Soujiro said cheerfully.

The man looked at him closely for a few more seconds, let him go and stepped away. Soujiro almost sighed in relief. But that man was still too close for his comfort. Soujiro decided to ignore that for the moment. He tilted his head slightly to one side, trying to recall the man's name. Though he hadn't been properly introduced to him, Shishio-san had mentioned it to him in their first meeting yesterday.

"Anou… Saito-san?" He began questioningly. When Saito didn't correct him, Soujiro continued. "Saito-san, what are you doing here?"

Saito's eyebrow rose slightly in amusement. "I was quite sure Shishio-san has informed you that from today onward police will guard this house. If he hasn't I expect you to at least grasp that from the conversation we had yesterday."

"Yes, I know that." Soujiro said in embarrassment. He should've said something more intelligent than that. He really should learn to think before speaking. "I mean… well, it's getting late, isn't it?"

The sky had indeed turned a beautiful shade of orange. The lesson hadn't been that long, but Soujiro had to go to Yumi-san's house then run some errands afterwards. So when he returned the sun was setting in the horizon. The city would soon be engulfed in brilliant artificial lights. It was time for most workers to return home.

The corner of Saito's lips twisted into a smirk. "It's not that late." To him Soujiro sounded like a young girl telling her first lover to leave after walking her home after their first date. "But you're right, I was going home. I wanted to make a final check before I go."

"I'm sorry for bothering you, then."

"Not at all. My men will guard this gate and this area as soon as I leave. Good evening, Seta-kun." Yellow orbs lingered on the boy a fraction of second longer than necessary before Saito nodded and put his police cap on his head.

Soujiro watched as Saito disappeared behind the gate. He had a sudden vision of a wolf entering into a darkened forest to hunt. That animal suited Saito's image well, Soujiro thought; a sleek and dangerous creature in hunt of unsuspecting prey.

The last ray of sun left the earth and Soujiro was left in the dark. Suddenly he wanted the company of the old wolf again.

To practice mannerism was embarrassing, Soujiro decided. After the tripping accident that brought him to meet Saito, Soujiro must endure being laughed at during dinner by the other maids for trying to perform what he had learned that day. The art of eating was no easy task. It had seemed so simple when Aoshi showed him and guided him. But without the presence of his mentor, Soujiro's newly acquired knowledge disappeared and he simply stopped trying after a few embarrassing attempts.

He considered stopping the lessons. He was just a servant, after all. A servant didn't need to learn such painstaking mannerism. But Shishio had said that he mustn't decline. Aoshi was so kind and generous and patient to him and Soujiro knew he couldn't just suddenly ask to stop the lessons. He would disappoint his master, Aoshi and himself. He had hoped for this, Soujiro reminded himself, so he must finish what he started.

Determination always helped to lift his spirit and his enthusiasm. It didn't matter now that Soujiro was currently assigned to clean the house and gardens, a task that he knew from experience could take more than a few hours. He had some people to help him, of course. But Kamatari was only willing to clean the rooms closest to Shishio. Soujiro knew that Kamatari was attracted to their master ever since Shishio took him from the slump area of the city. Soujiro didn't understand what made Shishio do that back then. Perhaps it was the determination in the young man's eyes that amused Shishio enough to make him pity him.

So now every time he was to clean the large manor with Kamatari, Soujiro always got to clean the outer part of the house, which was considerably dirtier. And now the task was made more difficult with the presence of the cops. They did nothing of course, and they mostly just ignored his presence completely. But Soujiro still felt uneasy when he was around one of the cops guarding the house.

He had by now at least made friend with one of these cops, Sawagejo Chou. He was a fun guy and not at all serious like most of the police. He spent most of his time teasing and making fun of people around him and wandering around the house. Soujiro wondered if what made him attracted to the man in the first place was the thin length of steel that wrapped his torso. Chou had said that it was a sword, a very unique sword that only he, Sawagejo Chou, own. Soujiro was going to ask if Chou had killed anyone with the sword only to be interrupted by an officer saying that Chou's shift was over and that he was allowed to go.

"Sorry, bouya. But I'd like to catch some winks first and I better go fast before that ol' bastard catch me first and give some god-awful assignment." Chou ruffled Soujiro's hair affectionately. Apparently he too had taken a liking to the boy he just met to the extent of ruffling his hair like he had known him forever.

Soujiro didn't mind the affectionate gesture; after all he didn't get them often. He smiled at the older man as he left, then he returned to his neglected duty, cleaning the hall. The cloth he used to wipe the floor had gotten dry so Soujiro wet it again with water in the bucket he put just outside the hall. As he twisted the cloth to get the water out, Soujiro's mind wandered to Chou's sword once again. He couldn't seem to imagine how to use the sword at all let alone to imagine how to kill with it.

As he was daydreaming, Soujiro jumped when he heard a sudden clinking sound nearby. He dropped the cloth to the ground and winced slightly. He must get a new cloth from the maid's quarter now. The he looked up to see the source of the noise to see a lanky officer standing on the gravel just a few feet away from him. Had he been so lost in thought he didn't even hear the man's steps?

"Hmm. You were daydreaming." Saito stated with an amused smirk on his face.

Soujiro flushed in embarrassment. Saito came even closer to him, examining him closely with his amber eyes. Soujiro looked down and focused his gaze on the sword on Saito's hip instead.

"Where is Chou?" Saito suddenly asked.

"He just left. He said he wanted to rest before… before you found him." Soujiro paused when he remembered how Chou spoke about Saito.

"That's not what he said." Saito said again. "What were you doing here?"

"Mopping the floor." Soujiro answered matter-of-factly with a fake smile.

"No. You were talking to Chou and then daydreamed about something."

Souijro couldn't argue with that and continued to bow his head low. He felt Saito's amber eyes on him and must fought back a shudder. Why did this man look at him so intently? Surely, Saito didn't suspect that he was the villain in this whole plot, did he? Soujiro's gaze locked onto the sword on Saito's hip again. His eyes widened slightly when a horrible thought struck him. Saito couldn't possibly suspicious of him enough to want to kill him, could he?

Somehow, the lanky swordsman managed to read his mind correctly. "I am not going to kill you." He said, amusement lacing his voice.

"I know." Soujiro lied. His heartbeat slowed down to its regular rhythm now and he even managed to add smile to his voice.

Saito didn't need to speak his disbelieve loudly; Soujiro could feel it in his gaze on the back of his head. After a long silence, Saito spoke again. "You seem very interested in swords."

The sudden change of topic startled Soujiro but he didn't look up to acknowledge Saito's statement however true it was. If anything, Soujiro bowed his head even lower, as if in embarrassment. But his action didn't please Saito who then commanded him rather harshly, "Lift your face, Soujiro."

The authority in that voice made Soujiro look up. He forced himself to smile and meet Saito's eyes. This didn't please Saito either but this time he didn't say anything else. Saito scrutinized Souiro's face wordlessly. His stoic face never showed any emotion as if it was a mask. And it probably was. They were both wearing a mask to hide their emotion and feeling. The only difference was the form of their masks. Soujiro's mask was a pleasant smile and Saito's was cold indifference. And now they were both gazing at each other's mask to find cracks that show their true selves.

Somehow, Souijro knew that his mask would be the first to fall down. Saito was much too experienced in this.

"Are you interested in swords?" Saito asked after a long pause.

Soujiro knew lying would be pointless so he told Saito the truth. "Yes, I am." Saito's silence prompted him to continue and Sojiro began again with only the slightest hint of hesitation. "It's beautiful yet very deadly. I have once seen Shishio-san practice with it. The way he moved when handling the sword was very graceful it could rival Yumi-san's dances."

"Do you want to learn how to use a sword?" Saiot asked suddenly.

Soujiro paused then laughed lightly. "Saito-san, I'm merely a servant. Why would I need the skill to wield a sword?"

"You could protect your master with a sword. A servant's duty is to serve his master and protecting your master is a way to serve him." Saito said. His face and voice had no room for hesitation; they only reflected confidence and knowledge. Soujiro wondered if that was the reason why Saito learned how to use a sword in the first place.

"Then… do you want to teach me?" Soujiro asked slowly, Unsure of Saito's questions. Did Saito want to teach him or was it just curiosity that spurred those questions?

"Do you want to learn to wield a sword?"

"Yes."

"What for?"

"To protect myself and my master."

Saito said nothing for a moment. Then suddenly he took one of Soujiro's hands in his. Soujiro's eyes opened slightly in surprise but otherwise he said and did nothing else. Saito inspected his palm for a while. "You are used to hard work."

Soujiro wasn't sure whether he must elaborate this or not so he kept his silence. He allowed Saito to caress his palm for a while because somehow the feeling of the old man's calloused fingers on his skin comfort him. When Saito straightened up and dropped his hand somehow he felt rather disappointed as I something precious was taken away from him.

"When will your work be finished?"

"In the afternoon."

"After you finish work, come to the backyard. At that time of the day normally no one was there."

Soujiro could only nod dumbly and watched as Saito walked away. This was truly a surprising day.

The backyard was deserted during the afternoon. The maids mostly decided to use the free time to take a nap or do some due chores. Shishio was working in his office and there was no police officer around the place. The place was empty and quiet when Soujiro arrived there, as Saito had said.

Soujiro sat on a big rock under a tree. The shade the tree provided made the rock cool even in the afternoon. Soujiro sighed and smiled to the sky.

Who would've guessed that Saito would offer to teach him swordplay? Of course, coming from Saito, it didn't sound like an offer at all. But an offer was an offer still. And Soujiro wasn't going to let this chance go. His master, kind as he was, never offered Soujiro any opportunity to learn sword playing. Perhaps Shishio thought Soujiro didn't have the strength to lift the sword at all. And it's true that he had a scrawny body. But Soujiro had also spent some part of his life doing heavy chores. People often overlooked this fact when they saw his built.

"So you come." A voice startled Soujiro.

Soujiro removed his eyes from the sky and looked at the man he'd been waiting for. Saito was standing a few feet away from him, on the corner of the building. With him, he brought a shinai. Briefly Soujiro wondered how he got it.

"You told me to come here." Soujiro pointed out while standing up.

"You could decline." Saito said calmly as he came closer to Soujiro.

Soujiro had nothing to say against that and remained silent until Saito stood right before him. Saito's amber eyes opened in slits to watch Soujiro but Soujiro's eyes remained closed. His smile never faltered as Saito studied him closely.

"Try to hold this." Saito ordered as he handed Soujiro the shinai.

Soujiro took the sword from Saito. He tested his strength with it and was glad when he found it not as heavy as he thought initially. He told Saito this and earned himself a sneer.

"This isn't a real sword."

Perhaps the heats in his cheeks were light blush. One thing was sure though, when Saito held his hand to show him the correct way of holding the sword he was blushing. When the old wolf held his hand and repositioned them on the handle of the shinai, warmth spread throughout Soujiro's body. Saito's musky scent entered his lungs, making him weak. His hands on the shinai trembled ever so slightly but if Saito noticed this then he decided to say nothing of it.

Saito was no ordinary man and he noticed this of course. He smirked slightly as he leaned even closer to the boy. Sweet, innocent Soujiro was a stranger to lust and Saito didn't hesitate to show him the first glimpses of it.

"Concentrate, Soujiro." He whispered to Soujiro's ear. The boy's trembling grew slightly worse and Saito could feel Soujiro's heart beat madly in his chest. Saito's smirk grew wider when he heard Soujiro's soft exhalation over these simple words. "Pay close attention. The lesson has begun."

A/N: please, please, please review if you like this fic.