Author's Note: Hi, everyone! That's right, Fascination is BACK! I'm very sorry it took so long, but I promise to update much more regularly from now on!
And guess what: Fascination got nominated for the Alternate Pairing category of the RKRC awards (www . tfme . net / RKRC)! Thank you so much to whoever nominated it!
Now, enjoy the story!
Fascination (Chapter Three)
by Inner Voice
"Himura, you are to watch the inn from dusk to dawn each night. Report back to us if you see the Shinsengumi making any troop movements, or any activity that seems significant. At dawn, Nishigaki and Kikuta will take over.""Hai, Katsura-san," Kenshin murmured, bowing and disappearing into the darkness outside.
---
Kenshin stationed himself in the shadows of a narrow alley near the inn. He carefully studied the building that had been the Ishinshishi's until last night. The Shinsengumi had obviously settled in already. Most seemed to be sleeping already—Kenshin thought it somewhat foolish to feel so secure in a place so recently taken—but there were lights in a few of the windows. One from the largest room downstairs...a late-night meeting, perhaps? And one from—Kenshin blinked in surprise. His old room?
As he watched, Okita Souji came into view through the open window. He was talking to someone out of sight, but the words were too faint for Kenshin to make out.
Leaving the alley, Kenshin slipped silently closer, keeping to the shadows. Now he was able to hear the conversation inside.
"Why were you so set on getting this room for your own, Okita-kun?" The unseen man had a deep voice that hinted of a sardonically raised eyebrow. "There's something behind this, I can tell."
"Eh...it was just a whim, Saitou-san!" Okita replied with a smile.
Kenshin cocked his head in interest. 'Saitou-san'...So the famed Third Captain was staying at the inn as well, it seemed.
"But actually, I guess this room is interesting to me because Hitokiri Battousai used to stay here."
'What!?' Kenshin's eyes widened in shock. Okita Souji had taken that room...because he knew it had been his?
"Okita-kun, this obsession with Battousai is getting unhealthy. Trying incessantly to find and defeat him, that's fine. But this...?"
"Saitou-san!" Okita protested, laughing. "It's nothing, really! Don't read anything into it!"
Kenshin, who was still staring wide-eyed up at Okita in incomprehension, couldn't help thinking how different the man looked when he laughed. The only expression he had ever seen on the First Captain's face was the fierce smile he wore while fighting—never the cheerful sweetness that Okita was famous for. Now he understood why everyone remarked on it. When Okita laughed, it was hard to remember that he was one of the deadliest men alive; he looked so innocent and young.
---
In the room above, Souji's laughter died down, and he turned slightly to look out the window. As he gazed out into the night, a faint frown suddenly appeared on his face.
"Okita-kun? What's wrong?" Saitou asked.
"I think...I think there's someone out there," Souji answered his friend. "Watching us."
In one stride, Saitou had joined Souji at the window, and they both scanned the street below with practiced eyes.
After a few moments, Souji turned away, and Saitou did the same. Although neither of them had seen anything, Souji couldn't shake the strange feeling that someone was watching him.
---
Kenshin breathed a silent sigh of relief as the two Shinsengumi captains left the window. As soon as he heard what Okita said, he had pressed himself as deep as he could into the shadows, but he had been afraid that they would see him anyway.
He waited a few moments to make sure that they really weren't looking anymore, then slipped away to take a look at the other side of the inn.
--- --- ---
Kenshin fell into a routine over the next few days—watching the inn all night, slipping away at dawn to report to Katsura-san, then sleeping all day before getting up at dusk to begin the cycle again. It was predictable, almost comfortable...at least until one evening...
---
Souji frowned slightly as he peered out through the tiny crack he had left between the paper window-screen and the window-frame. He was certain that there was someone watching the inn, but so far he had never managed to catch a glimpse of the elusive spy. He had decided to try to watch the streets in the evening, while there was still some light and the man couldn't vanish entirely in the shadows, but it didn't seem to be—wait! There!
There was a flash of movement in an alleyway, and Souji leaned forward, eyes intently searching. There it was again! Heading down the street and towards the shelter of an awning—a quick blur of white hakama, dark gi and...red hair? Battousai?
Souji stayed in his position at the window for nearly an hour, staring into the shadows of the awning, until the watcher finally decided to move. As he slipped closer to Souji's window, finally settling in the darkness beside a stall selling bowls of yakisoba, Souji was able to get a better look at him. Yes, that was definitely Hitokiri Battousai—or "Himura Battousai", as the assassin's real name was said to be.
As the senior officer at the inn, it was up to Souji to decide what to do about this situation. After a turning it over in his mind for a few minutes, he came to a decision. He would let Himura know that he'd been discovered, give him a scare...perhaps that would drive him away, or at least make him nervous enough to make a mistake and give the Shinsengumi an opening to attack him.
He pondered how to go about this...the most direct method, of course, would be to gather some of the men, go out into the street and challenge Himura. But that seemed somehow...lacking in elegance.
An idea suddenly occurred to Souji, and a mischievous smile appeared quickly on his face as he fished in his sleeve for some coins.
---
The sound of a window-screen sliding open drew Kenshin's attention to Okita Souji's upstairs room. He saw the young captain lean out the window—and look straight at him!?
Kenshin froze, not daring to breathe.
"Ne, Himura-san!" Okita called cheerfully in his direction. Kenshin tensed further, but didn't respond or make a move.
"Why don't you buy yourself some yakisoba? You're too thin!" Okita persisted with an impish smile, then tossed a few copper mon down towards Kenshin's hiding place.
Kenshin wavered uncertainly for a split second, then reached out and caught the coins before drawing back into the shadows.
---
Okita laughed as he saw Himura's hand reach out of the silent darkness beside the stall and catch his 'gift', then disappear back into the dark.
"Oyasumi nasai, Himura-san!" he called, but there was no further response.
Still laughing quietly to himself, he slid the window shut and went down to the dining hall to eat.
---
Kenshin forced himself to do his duty and watch the inn for the rest of the night, but his nerves were on edge and he almost breathed a sigh of relief at dawn, when he spotted Nishigaki taking up a position nearby.
He nearly ran on the way back to the Ishinshishi safehouse, and hurried up to Katsura-san's room to tell him about the night's events.
"Hmm..." Katsura said after a long, thoughtful silence. "Himura, you will continue to watch the Shinsengumi at the inn."
Kenshin raised his eyebrows in surprise, but made no comment.
"However, we will put someone else on night duty as well. Hamada, perhaps. They'll have one more spy on their hands than they know about, and your job will be to keep them from finding him." Katsura raised his hand as Kenshin began to protest. "You won't be just a decoy. You will continue to spy as well...but make sure to slip a little sometimes. Not badly enough so that it's obviously on purpose...but let them spot you occasionally. Distract them."
"Hai, Katsura-san," replied Kenshin. He got up and bowed to Katsura, then started walking towards his room.
Halfway down the hall, he paused and looked at the coins still clutched in his hand. Why waste them? He would take Okita's advice after all.
Kenshin turned and made his way out of the inn in search of the nearest noodle stall.
--- --- ---
In the weeks that followed, Souji and Himura both toyed with each other in a dangerous game of concealment and deception. Himura would keep hidden most of the time, and then unexpectedly allow Souji a brief glimpse of him. Souji knew that Himura must be using himself as a decoy, and often pretended that he hadn't seen the man, let him think that he'd gone unobserved.
But sometimes—perhaps once a week, or even twice if Souji was feeling self-indulgent—he would allow himself to tease Himura. It was so fun!
Himura never responded, except to reach out and catch if Souji tossed something down to him, but Souji could swear that he could sense an exasperated roll of the eyes from whatever shadow Himura was hiding in. As time went by, he could even seem to imagine that the emotion he sensed was becoming more amusement than annoyance, and this encouraged him to tease the assassin-turned-spy even more. Was Himura actually starting to enjoy the teasing as much as Souji did?
---
Kenshin arrived at the inn at nightfall and took up a position in one of the hiding places he knew thoroughly by now. As soon as he had settled himself, he began planning for the rest of the night. Should he let Okita see him? Perhaps he shouldn't. He wondered whether the Shinsegumi captain would call out to him tonight if he allowed himself to be seen.
Kenshin realized with some surprise that he had started to actually enjoy this game of theirs, and look forward to Okita's teasing when the man saw him.
"Ne, Himura-san, have you tried the new tempura stall down the road? The food there is very good!"
"Gomen ne, Himura-san, but I'm not going to be here tomorrow night! I'm going to the festival to watch the dances!"
"Himura-san, you're still too thin! You should buy another bowl of yakisoba! Here, I'll give you three mon, if you promise to use them to buy food!"
"Ne, Himura-san, have you been to see the cherry blossoms yet? They're very beautiful! You should go and see them some time!"
"You're looking well, Himura-san! I think you must be taking my advice about eating more!"
"Himura-san, do you want to try some of these sweet dumplings?"
With a start, Kenshin realized that that last comment wasn't a memory! Okita was leaning out of an upstairs window, looking right at him.
'Careless!' Kenshin berated himself. 'I wasn't supposed to let him see me this time!'
"They're my favorite food! Here, I'll throw one down to you!" Okita continued, teasing smile firmly in place. He tossed a sweet dumpling down towards Kenshin's hiding place, and Kenshin caught it easily. Okita waved a cheerful goodbye, then slid the window shut.
Kenshin looked contemplatively at the dumpling for a moment, then shrugged almost imperceptibly and took a bite. Okita would never try to poison him. The Shinsengumi were honorable, almost fanatically so. But still, it was somewhat embarrassing to accept 'gifts' from an enemy...it made him almost indebted to Okita.
As he ate the dumpling—which turned out to be delicious—an idea struck him. Why shouldn't he repay his debt, and at the same time give back as good as he was getting?
---
Slightly past dawn, one of the First Troop's members knocked on the door to Souji's room.
"What is it?" Souji asked, sliding the door open.
"This box was left in front of the inn, Captain. It's addressed to you."
Souji thanked the man with a puzzled smile and took the box from him before shutting the door. He examined the box, and there was indeed a folded piece of paper tied to it, marked with the name "Okita Souji". He pulled off the paper and unfolded it.
Inside was a message, written in a clear but somewhat childish hand, as if the author didn't practice writing often and had to concentrate on each brushstroke.
"These are to pay back my debt to you," Souji read aloud.
'Who on earth...?' He opened the box—and his eyes widened in surprise. It was full of sweet dumplings, the kind that he had been eating earlier. The kind he had given Himura...
'Himura? He sent me these?'
Souji stared at the dumplings, then started to laugh softly. So Himura was enjoying the game as much as he was. For some reason, that thought pleased him very much. As did the thought that Himura had actually sent him a gift...
Souji ran to the window and threw it open. "Arigatou, Himura-san!" he called to the early-morning streets. There was no response, but he hadn't really expected any.
Still smiling to himself, he sat down cross-legged and bit into one of the dumplings.
--- --- ---
Author's Note (again): Now, to ask a big favor of any kind readers out there...if you liked this story and this you please go and second the RKRC nomination? Pleeeease? puppy eyes
I know I have no chance whatsoever of winning anything (look at the other nominees o.O), but I'd like to at least get the nomination seconded.
So if you have a minute to spare and want to make a poor girl's dream come true, just go to www . tfme . net / RKRC and second the nomination!
Anyway, in terms of the story, I know that the Okita/Kenshin relationship is still moving very very slowly, but come on. I'm trying to build a healthy relationship between two people who are supposed to be mortal enemies, so we kind of have to go carefully and build up some trust and affection for now! But look out for the next chapter, I promise you it's going to be a doozy!
koe760: I'm sorry it took so incredibly long to post this chapter, but I hope you like it! You said you like "sweet romances", and I hope this fits that description
Lucrecia LeVrai: I hope you like this chapter, since it's very much longer than the first two!
Psi-Neko: Um...this isn't exactly "soon", is it? ; Sorry...
Devil1: Sorry for making you wait so long! I hope you still think it's interesting!
Koyasha1: Yes, it's really hard to find Okita/Kenshin! I think there are about 4 fics in the entire world for this pairing...
April-san: I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the last one! I'm trying to develop the relationship further, but...it's going very slowly. ; I have a grand plan for the next chapter, though...
Chiruken: Thanks for the review! I hope you like this chapter!
dollmaker: I'm glad you liked the story so far! And I hope you like my characterization of Okita.
Joanna: Originally, I wasn't planning to put any sex in it, even non-lemon. But...well, maybe...
Merit: I'm glad that you approve of the fact that "while there is instant attraction there is no instant romance"...and I'll try not to carry on forever. Look out for the next chapter, I'm planning something!
Espi: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the interaction between Kenshin and Okita.
Silver Kitsune: I'm glad you liked it. And you're lucky, you're the only one of my reviewers who actually got an update soon after they asked for one!