Thank you Shartae for being my first reviewer ;). Thanks to everybody for your reviews. Please comment, however that you feel about my story.

The first chapter is NOT the whole story (hopefully, haha). I wish I could update faster. Here is the second installment, it's a very short one hangs head in shame Enjoy!

Disclaimer : I don't own SDK. (Not even a single DVD) TT.

Precious Child

Author: Jouhaiichi-gou

He was dreaming, he knew it. Yet the knowledge did not enable him to control what was happening. Nor could he force himself to awaken.

He was inside a vast white surrounding. There was nothing and nobody except for his own sole being. Suddenly the white began to change color. In front of him, a swirl of red smoke came out of nowhere, dancing and twisting into a rope-like shape.

The red smoke darkened until it became black. Then the rope-shaped swirl changed into giant vines of poison ivy. The vines were dark green (the color, it's of Aogikahara!) but somehow he could see inside the bulging stems of the vines, the pulsing red color of blood.

He tried to scream but no sound escaped his mouth. He tried to turn. To run, to get away. But his feet wouldn't move. His whole body wouldn't move.

Helpless, he watched as the giant living, breathing vines snaked towards him like hungry phytons. He could actually hear them hissing to him ..

.. come back Little One ..

The space surrounding him had all coloured into swirls of blood red and dark green. He looked up and saw a white opening in the red-green sky. A lone figure was looking down on him from the opening. A figure he recognized immediately.

"Yukimura-sama! Help me!"

The figure didn't budge.

He looked behind him and saw that the giant vines was closing down on him. A green-red tentacle touched his ankle and wrapped itself around a leg. He tried to struggle but his whole body had retired on him.

As his paralyzed body was engulfed by the monster plant, he heard the hissing sound even more clearly, right next to his ears..

.. COME BACK TO WHERE YOU BELONG...

"Nooooo!"

"Sasuke ..? Sasuke..?"

The young boy opened his eyes slowly. His eyelids felt so heavy. He tried to turn his body but found his movement constrained. An arm was around his waist, and another around his shoulders. He had slept on his side and somebody was hugging him from behind.

Weakly he said, "Yukimura-sama ..?"

"Hmm..?" The older man loosened his hold. Knowing very well how the boy loathes such gestures of affection, Yukimura acted as if he was going to get up. "Sorry, I know you don't like me sleeping with you."

A small hand grabbed the older man's arm and wound it back to its former position. Lying back down, Yukimura pulled the young boy closer. He smiled as the boy snuggled his small back comfortably against his body.

In the still calm silence of the night, a small voice asked, "Why did you come in my room?"

Yukimura ran his fingers through the boy's silver-blue hair. "You were thrashing about in your sleep since midnight. I don't know how else to calm you down."

In Yukimura's embrace, the boy did a half-stretch and yawned. Softly, he said, "I thought you were supposed to be in Edo until the end of the week."

"Oh, I managed my affairs faster than I expected."

A short pause. "I don't believe you."

The man buried his face inside Sasuke's hair, breathing in the boy's scent. "Sasuke, please don't get mad."

"Saizo told you didn't he? I made him promise not to tell you. The cheat." The boy spat out in disgust.

Yukimura chuckled. "Now there, Sasuke, curse me, not Saizo. I was the one who made him tell. Besides it was too important to be kept away from me."

It's been nearly 2 years since the day Yukimura brought the boy back to the Sanada household. Like any other growing children, Sasuke too has had his share of falling ill. And whenever he did, Sasuke had to endure Yukimura's endless fussing and coddling.

The boy hated it when he does that, Yukimura knows. Nothing irks Sasuke more than being treated like a child. He didn't want to be perceived as weak.

But when he was alone with Yukimura, and only when the boy was sure that no one else could see them, would he drop his tough guy act.

Like right now. Yukimura thought with a smile.

After a while, the boy said, "I'm not an infant, Yukimura-sama," he stressed in frustration, "I can handle a simple sickness. You worry too much."

"Sasuke .." Yukimura tried but the young boy continued.

"You shouldn't have came back all the way from Edo just because I had the fever." Now the boy sounded disgusted with himself.

"Sasuke, listen-"

"Besides, Saizo likes to exaggerate in his reports sometimes, you know how he -"

Yukimura tightened his arms around the boy's body, but said in a soothing voice. "You were delirious for three whole days, Sasuke. That's not exaggerating."

The boy fell silent. Yukimura ran his thumb down the boy's shoulder, elbow, and reached his wrist. The older man took Sasuke's hand over the boy's head and held it close to his face.

Sasuke felt Yukimura's warm breaths on his palm as he spoke. "Everybody said that your body was so hot it was glowing like a burning coal, you were unconscious at most times, even Kosuke's medicine wasn't helping anymore. I really had needed to come back."

Yukimura pressed Sasuke's palm softly to his lips. The boy shivered slightly."I was not exactly glowing." Sasuke managed a defiant tone. "Besides, I'm better now. You can see that for yourself."

Yukimura paused. "Yes, I can see that. And I'm glad." Then he pressed his lips again, this time on the back of the boy's hand. Yukimura felt the boy's body relax. They remained like that for some time.

Yukimura's mind wandered.

Just 6 months ago Sasuke had caught the measles, a fatal illness to most young children in the era. Fortunately, Kosuke had all the right medicine. But it had lasted for nearly a whole month.

It was the worst illness Sasuke ever had. That was, until now.

Yukimura looked up to his reporting servant. "Are you sure, Saizo?"

The Jyuushi shifted on his feet uncomfortably, "We have tried everything. He has been half-conscious for three days. Even Kosuke doesn't know what is wrong with him."

"Yukimura-sama?" Sasuke's voice pulled him back to reality.

"Nani?"

"Are you going to stay in here until morning?"

Yukimura smiled. "Do you want me to?"

The boy hesitated, then said, "Yes, but .."

"But I have to leave before anybody wakes up, is that it?"

"Well .. yes. Can you?"

Yukimura grinned. A devious chuckle escaped his lips. "Of course, Sasuke. As you wish."

Please review. Sorry so short, will continue with 3rd chapter. :) Love to all.