Part Two: Morning Has Broken

Chapter Two

June 1879 - 11th year of the Meiji Era (the next day)

Sanosuke was shivering, covered in dew, when he woke with his legs numb and a twig poking him in the back. Curled against the tree he'd ambushed the afternoon before, the bark had rubbed his cheek raw. But it didn't matter, because his elation was uncontainable.

"Yes! Fuck you, dreams!" he yelled to the birds, as they flew away in fright.

Sano had slept well for the first time in over a year. Any dreams he'd had were normal: fragmented and nonsensical. There was no burning emptiness, no great questioning, and no intolerable and maddening loss. No dried ejaculate itching his legs, he realized with a blush.

His body felt good, if slightly cramped, and he stretched out his arms and legs before flopping down like a dead fish. He lay on the ground, basking in sunbeams, yawns, and all that good morning stuff, until other thoughts drifted into his mind.

"So, all along it's been that damned bastard cop keepin' me up at night. Fuckin' Saitou."

He frowned; both at his revelation, and because he had yet to get out of the habit of talking to himself--something he'd picked up during his bouts of isolation. He reminded himself there was no longer a reason so break the monotony of silence with his own voice; with the dreams revealed, he could work through their meaning and be done with them forever.

Turning his thought back to the dreams, Sano now could remember clearly the black hair, bright eyes, and gloved hands of Saitou Hajime--psycho copper and dream-stalker extraordinaire.

Bafflement was his choice reaction to situation. He detested the man, had always felt that way, with never once a stirring of affection, much less attraction. Certainly, Sanosuke was pleased his bizarre lust wasn't aimed at Kaoru or Yahiko, but he couldn't decide if Saitou was any better. However, he did hesitantly admit that the man could be considered attractive in a strange, insect-like kind of way.

At this thought, Sano rolled onto his side and laughed into his hands. He wondered if he wasn't still a little crazy.

Overall, it was better than it could have been. He wasn't insane anymore, and his life was about to start again. He didn't care if he had the hots for a murderous, sadistic, dead--

"Oh fuck."

Sano stopped laughing and groaned; he suddenly realized his subconscious was obsessed with a dead guy. A charred corpse lying under a smoldering ruin because he'd been too damned stubborn to jump a gorge.

"Bastard probably just didn't want to mess up his hair or drop his goddamned cigarette."

Conscious!Sanosuke was okay with that; he really couldn't fathom his attraction to the man anyway. But subconscious!Sano was going to throw a hissy fit when he learned he couldn't have the object of his desire because said object was passed on, no more, had ceased to be, expired, was bereft of life, etc.

"Dammit, who falls for a ghost? It ain't like there's any hope the asshole is still alive." He was ready to rip up a tree in his frustration, but suddenly a small bit of doubt formed. "Except-- Shishio's fortress was stuffed with secret passages and confusin' hallways. Mighta even been more than one exit. If Chou told it straight when he said Anji, smilin' boy, and Shishio's lapdog made it out, maybe Saitou escaped too. . ."

Sanosuke remembered the way Saitou had cut down the doors during their escape; despite his injuries, he'd been the strongest among them. Also, he'd made comments, just before disappearing into the hazy smoke of certain death, about how he'd seen worse situations, which he'd obviously lived through. It almost seemed possible that the man could have survived the burning collapse of the mountain.

Sanosuke snorted. He wondered if perhaps Saitou had simply ordered the flames to let him pass, deeming them unworthy to kill one such as him. It would have been typical of his arrogance.

But aside from that, there was no rational reason for why Sano would dream about the man, especially in the particular way he had been. He'd hated the man, respected his abilities, maybe admired parts of his personality, but nothing that would ever inspire the odd combined feeling of trust/love/perfection like had been found in the dream. Sanosuke could barely even recall how the emotion had felt, only remembered remembering how nice it was.

"Damn it!" Sano took his anger out on his tree.

"Do I still like chicks?" Picturing the most beautiful woman he could think of, he concluded he was still enchanted with the feminine gender. "Other guys?"

Even though he'd considered the possibility before, he hadn't thought about it much. He'd always thought some guys looked hot, but in the past he'd assumed it was just a natural assessment of the competition, now it seemed like something more.

"Dammit, I'm just really fuckin' horny is what you're tellin' me!" Sano growled. "Fine, I like the sneaky bastard. And if I don't make a decision on this soon, my dick is gonna to make it for me, and that ain't good. I'll bet he really is alive, just to fuckin' spite me."

He scratched his ass and shifted his legs in discomfort. "This sucks. I wish I was fuckin' drunk already. Or poundin' the shit outta somethin'."

He realized he'd begun talking to himself again, and petulantly slammed his mouth shut. Despite the good beginning, things were going rapidly downhill. He decided it was time to get out of the woods.

It wasn't until Sano picked himself up off the ground and started walking home that he realized he was lost.

"Fuck. Fuck. Shit. Goddammit. Fuck!" His litany continued as he picked a random direction.

He concentrated on not going in circles until he made his way out of the woods and asked a genial-looking farmer for directions. After the man guided him to a road that led straight back into Tokyo, Sanosuke returned his thoughts to more important things.

It seemed that the best thing do to would be verify Saitou's well being-- though moment by moment, Sano became more convinced that his rival was definitely alive. He also concluded that if his dreams were pointing in that direction, he might as well try to find Saitou, if only to satisfy his curiosity. Possibly, after finding the man, the lunacy of the situation would merely be confirmed, and Sanosuke could walk away laughing at his subconscious's ineptitude.

He smirked and scooped a handful of pebbles off the road. To relieve his boredom he began chucking them, one by one, down the road. His mind drifted back to the previous day, to the warm feelings he'd found in a totally unexpected place. Part of him, small but growing, was wondering what it would be like to see if the dreams hadn't been wrong, if he could get those feelings back for a little bit. But practicality interrupted again. "How am I gonna find the prick anyway? Did he play dead from everyone? Maybe if I ask the melon-head police chief-- Wait a minute, I know another cop who definitely has the inside information!"

Sano crushed one of the pebbles between his fingers as he imagined it was Chou's bristled head.

"Dammit, he knew everythin' that went on with the whole deal. I'll bet that one-eyed jerk already knew Saitou was alive when he visited us at the Shirobeko."

But he was sure Chou wouldn't tell him anything, the guy liked tormenting him too much. He tried to think of someone else who would know about Saitou's current health and location.

"Katsu knows his government shit, and with a lead like this he'd probably find something, but it would be dangerous for him to get involved, and kinda embarrassin' if I hadda tell him why. Misao and Aoshi keep track of almost everythin' in Kyoto, only it takes to fuckin' long to walk there. Now Kenshin, that's a possibility. . ."

His friend certainly knew enough about Saitou, especially things most people wouldn't. Using that inside info, Sano could track the cop down and prove himself at the same time.

Kenshin was so dazed most of the time, and so trusting, that a little slick maneuvering meant he wouldn't even think to question Sano's motives. A perfect plan. Sanosuke chucked the rest of his stones down the road to celebrate.

"OW!" The cry came from the approximate landing place of the rocks, behind a rise in the road.

"Aw shit, who would just stand about on a road waitin' to get hit by somethin'? Dumbass."

Sano jogged down the road to determine the damage. To the side was a tiny old woman, covered in dirt, rubbing a hand against her head. A large wagon with a broken wheel tilted on the road beside her.

"Hey grandmother, you okay?"

She didn't respond, just looked dismally at the wagon.

"Old woman, what's wrong already?"

She finally looked up.

"I'm not old. Or a woman."

Sano scratched his head. "Oh. Whoops, from behind you looked. . . Why are you dirty?"

The little man glared at him. "Could have asked."

"Hey, I said I was sorry. But about the dirt, did you fall off the wagon?"

"Haven't touched a bottle in years. Mind helping me? Wagon threw a wheel and tossed me to the ground."

"Course! Watch this." Sano hoisted up the wagon, grabbed the wheel, and jammed it back on. "Hah! Good as ever! Wait. . . How are you pullin' this thing? Horse?"

The man climbed onto the wagon. "A little, was shouting at the kids this morning. Hey, after such a quick job with that, want to help me get this into Tokyo? Let the horse loose to get water and the dang thing bolted."

Sano obliged, grabbing the back of the wagon and setting off down the road. "Huh, this is kinda heavy. What do you have?"

"Had the flu a little while ago, but I got better. Hurry up now, fruit's going to start to go bad if it has to wait another day to be sold."

Sanosuke smothered a laugh at the strange fellow. He'd take this guy into town, then track down Kenshin. After that, he'd be on his way to find that cop. What happened after that was his choice, and he was beginning to think that he had a couple of really good options.

*~*~*