AN: Wow…I'm on a writing spree! Oh, and usually I don't tend to ask, but I would like some reviews at the end of this chapter. ^^ I'm workin' hard on this, despite the fact that I have no real clue as to where it's going. But oh well.

Warning: None really. I'm warning for the lack of there being a warning.

Still the Same to Me
Chapter Four

Sanosuke could sense something was wrong the second Kenshin smiled at him at the market. It was missing something—that normal shine that Kenshin's eyes held was gone, replaced with a more piercing, frightening look. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but decided against it. He knew better than to ask. But he couldn't help but to glance over at Kenshin every once in a while to see what his friend might be thinking.

Kenshin's eyes flickered between amethyst and blue. It might have been the trick of the light, which Sanosuke was hoping it was, but when Kenshin's eyes were blue, didn't that mean he was between the transition from wanderer to manslayer? Was Battousai fighting for control again already?

No, something told Sanosuke it was something other than that. If Battousai was trying to gain control he would have won it by now, Sanosuke understood that much. Something had to have been bothering Kenshin. The older man's shoulders were stiff, no where near as relaxed as they were when they left the Dojo not even fifteen minutes ago. Kenshin was on alert for something, and for what Sanosuke didn't really want to know. He wanted to tell Kenshin that everything was fine, but his mouth wouldn't open.

And then there was always that smile…Kenshin tried to hide his unease with it, even though Sanosuke could see through it as if it were clearer than glass. Seeing Kenshin uneasy made him uneasy, though the ex-gangster would never admit the fact out loud to Kenshin. There were so many things he would never admit out loud to Kenshin, now that he thought about it.

"Sanosuke."

Sanosuke looked up from the ground upon hearing Kenshin's voice, wary of the tone. "Yes?"

"Someone is watching us."

Blinking, Sanosuke looked towards Kenshin, noticing that the blue of Kenshin's eyes was fading into a lighter, golden shade. "…Battousai? I thought you said you weren't going to take control?" Sanosuke growled, trying to hide how badly he was shaken.

"I only wanted to warn you. Kenshin didn't want to worry you, but I felt you had to know," was all that Battousai said, turning towards Sanosuke, his eyes amber and then flashing back to amethyst. Slowly, Kenshin blinked, raising an eyebrow at Sanosuke. "What is it?"

Sanosuke shook his head. "It's nothing, Kenshin," he whispered, smiling. Now it was his turn to get rid of the unease that settled between them.

"Don't, 'it's nothing,' me, Sano," Kenshin muttered. "Did Battousai take over? I've never seen you look at me like that before…"

Sanosuke sighed. He should have known he'd never be able to hide anything from Kenshin. "He told me that…we were being watched."

"That we are," Kenshin said, sighing himself. "Sano…have you noticed how Battousai…isn't just a murderer?"

"Can we talk about that later, Kenshin?" Sanosuke sighed, carrying the tofu carefully. "I mean, I have noticed, but…now isn't the time to be talking about him, right?" Kenshin looked away when Sanosuke glanced over at him. "Why?"

"Because he may be able to leave the life of a manslayer if led in the right direction, Sano," Kenshin whispered. "I think he may have grown attached to you."

Sanosuke shook his head, then glanced at Kenshin. "Say that again?"

"I think he—well, he appears to have taken a liking towards you, Sano," Kenshin responded, a faint blush creeping its way along his cheeks. "He may deny it every time he talks about you to me, but I know him well, that I do."

Smirking, Sanosuke looked away. "Well, he knows who I'm interested in…"

Kenshin nodded, although Sanosuke could see a flash of disappointment in his eyes. "He's been lonely."

"Why are you telling me this, Kenshin?" Sanosuke asked finally. "If we're being watched shouldn't you be more careful about what you say about your—your other half?"

"You're right, Sanosuke, I should remain quiet," Kenshin sighed. "Though, the feeling of being watched isn't as threatening as it could be, considering who I think is following us."

"Is it someone strong?"

Kenshin nodded. "Soujiro Seta," he answered without hesitation. "I felt his eyes on me while we were in the market. But his presence doesn't pose a threat to us just yet, Sano, so you shouldn't worry, that you shouldn't."

"Battousai's worrying, however, isn't he?" Sanosuke dared to ask.

"Battousai's never been able to trust anyone who's crossed swords with us in the past, Sano," Kenshin sighed. "So of course he's worried."

"…Does that mean he doesn't trust me? I did fight you, remember?" Sanosuke asked softly.

"I believe he trusts you. You've gained his trust, somehow… What did you and Battousai talk about when he tried to take over last week?"

Sanosuke had been wondering when Kenshin would dare to ask him that. Sighing, he just smiled at Kenshin. "He wanted to make sure that you were still the same to me, Kenshin," he whispered.

"Am I?"

"Of course you are. You've never changed, to me," Sanosuke responded, smiling. He knew he should mention that Battousai made him realize how much he cared for Kenshin, but decided against saying anything about it. He felt—maybe even somewhat knew—that Kenshin wouldn't want to know of his feelings just yet.

"He also wanted you to take care of me, didn't he?"

Sanosuke's steps faltered and he nearly tripped over nothing, but he caught himself in time and glanced down at the tofu, sighing in relief when he noticed it didn't break. Kenshin glanced at him, half out of worry and half out of sheer amusement, his eyes clearly saying, "I was right, wasn't I?" Sanosuke just scoffed and turned his head away, blushing. "You can take care of yourself, Kenshin. Even if he wanted me to take care of you I wouldn't be much help."

"You'd be more help than you think, Sano," Kenshin responded, his voice unusually soft. It was soft enough that Sanosuke had to strain to hear it, and hearing it caused him to look over at Kenshin. Kenshin smiled at him, a sad, almost teary smile, his eyes filled with a pain that Sanosuke never noticed was there before. "I'm glad that you came along with me today to the market. I know you were going out of your way."

"It's nothing, Kenshin. You need someone to help out around the Dojo now, anyway," Sanosuke whispered.

"But you were going to visit your friend Tsunan, weren't you?" Kenshin asked.

"Tsunan…? Oh! You mean Katsu." Sanosuke turned and smiled at Kenshin. "That moron can wait for me to visit. If he wants to see me so bad he'll find me. I have to make sure you're okay…"

Kenshin nodded. "I'll be fine, Sano, you said so yourself. As long as I know I have someone to support me…"

Sanosuke blushed slightly at that, turning away from Kenshin. "I'll always be here for you, you know."

"I know…. Battousai didn't make you promise that you would, did he? Because if he did, he's over stepping his boundaries, that he is…" Kenshin muttered, sighing.

"He was only concerned about you, Kenshin. He wanted to make sure I understood what I was getting into," Sanosuke said, smiling at Kenshin. "Don't worry, I would have said that I'd be here for you even if he hadn't made me promise."

"Oro?" Kenshin looked up at Sanosuke, his cheeks a shade of pink Sanosuke wasn't accustomed to seeing there. "What do you mean, Sano?"

Sanosuke just smiled at Kenshin, a bit nervously, before focusing his attention on the street again, being careful not to trip over anything. Kenshin was becoming a distraction—a welcome and adorably cute one, but a distraction all the same. He felt Kenshin move closer to him, close enough that their arms brushed every once in a while and blushed. Did Kenshin know? Did Battousai tell him?

"You don't have to be afraid to tell me, Sano, I won't break into pieces. I've gotten over Kaoru-dono's death, that I have. And Battousai is behaving himself, for the most part. Except…"

"Except what, Kenshin?" Sanosuke kept his eyes trailed in front of him, almost afraid of what he would see in Kenshin's eyes.

"He claims he knows who you're in love with, and is constantly asking me if I know," Kenshin responded without hesitation.

"Do you know?" Sanosuke cursed at how high his voice jumped as he asked that question. So he was nervous, damnit, but if Kenshin knew…then he wouldn't have to say anything, right?

"No."

Relief flashed through him and his grip relaxed a bit on the bucket of tofu. "Do you want to know?"

"I told Battousai the same thing I'm going to tell you. If you want me to know who you love, you will tell me, that you will. So whether I want to know or not, what matters is if you want to tell me. Now, Sano, do you want to tell me?"

Did he want to tell Kenshin yet? Sanosuke shook his head before he even thought about it. He didn't want to trouble Kenshin with his feelings just yet. He could wait to tell Kenshin, and he somewhat knew that Battousai wouldn't tell Kenshin without Sanosuke's permission, so he was comfortable with Kenshin's other half knowing about his feelings.

"I figured you didn't want to tell me," Kenshin responded. Was that…remorse he heard in Kenshin's tone? He must have imagined it. "…Is it Tsunan?"

"No! There's no way in hell I'd be in love with that moron, Kenshin!" Sanosuke shrieked, glaring at Kenshin. Kenshin chuckled softly to himself, smiling at Sanosuke. Flushing in embarrassment, Sanosuke looked away from his shorter companion, sighing. "I thought you said you didn't want to know?"

"I never said that I didn't want to know, that I most certainly did not," Kenshin responded, walking ahead of Sanosuke, turning around so he could smile at him. "That and I wanted to see what kind of reaction I'd get from you if I asked."

Sanosuke muttered curses quietly to himself, looking away from Kenshin, praying that the warmth would leave his cheeks sometime soon. "That wasn't fair of you, Kenshin," Sanosuke muttered. Then he got an idea. Slowly, he grinned at Kenshin.

"Oro? Why are you smiling at me like that, Sano?"

"Do you love anyone, Kenshin?"

"Oro!" Kenshin turned around, crossing his arms over his chest as best as he could as he continued to carry the vegetables he had purchased. "What kind of question is that, Sano?"

"You wanted to know who I loved—it just seemed like you wanted to know a little too much," Sanosuke responded, shrugging his shoulders even though Kenshin couldn't see it. He easily caught up with Kenshin and began walking next to him again. "How much longer to the Dojo? Carrying this is starting to get on my nerves."

"We're at the Dojo," Kenshin responded, smirking at Sanosuke. He opened the gate and walked inside, Sanosuke following as they headed towards the back. Sanosuke noticed that Kenshin's shoulders lost their stiffness when he saw Yahiko relaxing on the porch, his practice over for that day.

"I was wondering when the two of you would get back. And oi, Sanosuke, I thought I'd never see you carrying a bucket of tofu! It's about time you started doing something around here. You lazy cheapskate," Yahiko muttered. Sanosuke just rolled his eyes at him, hiding his smirk. "Guess Kenshin has you whipped, doesn't he, Sanosuke?"

Sanosuke resisted the urge to throw the bucket at Yahiko's head, setting it down inside the kitchen where Kenshin could reach it. As Kenshin walked by Yahiko, Sanosuke noted with a small amount of satisfaction, he hit Yahiko over the head with the sheath of his sakabato, and didn't mutter any apologies. Well, Kenshin just took care of his revenge for him.

"Oi! Kenshin, when's dinner going to be done? I'm starving!" Yahiko called out to him, rubbing his head.

"Kenshin, should we let Yahiko eat tonight?"

"Sano! Don't play with him like that. He's a growing boy, he needs his energy, that he does," Kenshin called back, poking his head outside, smiling at Sanosuke. The smile faded, instantly, at the knock towards the front of the Dojo.

Sanosuke noticed the look in Kenshin's eyes before he turned away to answer. Yahiko just looked at Sanosuke as he sighed and sat down next to Yahiko. "What's wrong with Kenshin? He looked scared for some reason."

"I don't know, Yahiko," Sanosuke answered, smiling at Yahiko in order to reassure the boy. Yahiko just looked out over the yard. The truth was Sanosuke was pretty sure he knew what was wrong. The one who knocked on the door must have been Soujiro Seta; he was sure of it. And as much as he wanted to go see if Kenshin was alright, he had a feeling that Kenshin would be able to handle it.

He hoped, anyway.