Little Sister: I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed this. Your reviews have given me some confidence in myself. I know it's been two years since I wrote the last one, and I had always intended it to be a long one-shot, only I sort of got distracted by school and work. Here is the second chapter. If it seems different, I'm sorry. It's been two years after all, and I don't remember where I was going when I wrote the last part, so bear with me.

Disclaimer: See the first chapter please.

Hidden Feelings Part Two

Saitou Hajime sat up and a small frown crept onto his face.

At first, he had thought that the small red-haired man had been the residue of his dream. The Kenshin in his dream had certainly not run away with a stricken look in his eyes. Quite the contrary in fact…

Back to the point though. What exactly had the younger man been doing in his apartment? And in his bedroom no less? The look in his eyes…he had been afraid of being caught.

Automatically, Saitou took stock of his surroundings, checking to see if anything was out of place. Everything was exactly where he had left it, except the door through which the rurouni had fled.

Deciding that he would get nothing done by brooding about the matter in his bedroll, he got up and dressed himself. Recalling thankfully that he was not on duty today, he opted to dress casually. A long-sleeved black shirt was donned, along with black pants which was held up by a belt, also black.

Really, he mused, he liked wearing black. Something about the color soothed him. Not like the hideous magenta that a certain rurouni insisted on wearing. Which reminded him…why exactly had the Battousai snuck into his rooms?

Determined to find out, he exited his apartment and strode briskly toward the Kamiya Dojo, sword hanging from his belt. Granted, it had taken some time to become used to the way he had to carry his sword, but he had adapted, and was now quite comfortable with where it was. Still, it was hard not to miss the old days, when he could carry it in the traditional way.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he went back to pondering the Battousai's strange actions. Had the red-head been acting strange lately? Come to think of it, he had noticed that something wasn't quite right ever since he had made his presence known in Tokyo.

Was there something wrong with the Battousai?

A startled noise made him look up.

The Kitsune woman was glaring at him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Good Morning," he said calmly.

"Humph. What are you up to, you good-for-nothing fake cop!" Megumi demanded in a suspicious voice. She obviously still didn't trust him. The doctor was holding several packages and looked to be rather tired.

"Now, now. Is that anyway to greet someone?" He started to walk away. "Better get to bed. You look terrible," he called back over his shoulder. He could hear her fuming, and he smiled. It was always fun to tease the Battousai's friends. They made it so easy.

Upon reaching the dojo, he paused. Battousai would certainly be up, but he didn't want to deal with the rest of them at the moment. He knew that the rurouni would only try to hide and his friends would not want to leave the two of them alone out of a misguided fear for the Battousai's safety. It was laughable. What could they do if he decided to attack?

With a sigh, he sent his senses out and searched the dojo. He could feel the Battousai moving around, but apparently the others were still sleeping.

This was perfect.

Sliding the front door open, he walked up to the building and around to the back. He wasn't trying to sneak up on him, but it seemed the Battousai was too preoccupied to notice anyway. Saitou took the moment to appraise him.

The diminutive red-head could not be called a threatening presence. His stature combined with his feminine looks more often than not caused others to underestimate him. He was very beautiful. Flaming red locks were bound at the nape of his neck. A few strands that had escaped swirled around his face, bringing out the color of his amethyst eyes and almost full red lips. His skin, too, looked to be ivory and smooth. Amazing really, how one so tiny and beautiful could be so deadly. But that was what the Battousai was: deadly.

Saitou walked closer, this time deliberately masking his ki and quieting his footsteps. The Battousai still hadn't noticed him, hanging laundry absently without paying attention to anything else. His amethyst eyes were dimmed, full of pain, and he was biting his lower lip.

He sighed and turned to pick up another piece of laundry, when he froze. Ah, so he had noticed at last.

"Battousai."

"S-Saitou!" He looked rather startled. Did the rurouni actually believe that he wouldn't come?

Saitou narrowed his eyes. "We have things to discuss, Battousai."

"D-demo, Sessha has to do the chores, and make breakfast, and…oh! What about the firewood? Sessha has so many things to take care of…" he rambled on, gulping when Saitou narrowed his eyes further. "Ah, ano, Sessha is sorry to have disturbed you this morning. It was very wrong of Sessha. Gomennasai." He bowed deeply.

"Why were you there? And stop speaking that way. It's just the two of us and I'm not going to be fooled by the rurouni act that you put on for the rest of the world."

He watched as the red-head gave a small start. Apparently, being caught this morning had seriously ruffled his feathers and the masks that he usually wore hadn't had time to fit back into place. Well, that was okay. Saitou wanted to see what he was hiding anyway, so this made it easier.

The Battousai quickly turned around again, busying himself with hanging the laundry. "Wh-what did we need to speak about, de goza-…" he broke off with an embarrassed flush. He continued in a softer voice, "What did we need to speak about?"

Saitou casually moved closer, raising an eyebrow when the younger man stiffened slightly. "For one thing, why were you in my apartment?" He had many questions, but it wouldn't do to scare the Battousai away by bombarding him all at once.

Unfortunately, the Battousai froze and involuntarily turned to stare up at Saitou, eyes widening with fright. This caused Saitou a great deal of anxiety, though he fought to show it, because he had never seen the younger man display such fear before. This man had faced down armies of men, opponents twice his size, and situations a normal man would have fainted at. So what, then, had caused this alarming reaction in him?

The Battousai trembled slightly and fought to control his breathing. "S-sessha will…I will talk to you….but later. I…later. Please." This last was said in a whisper, as if he hadn't meant to say it.

Ordinarily, Saitou would have pressed his advantage, sensing a break in his rival's defenses. But the rurouni looked at him with such pain, that Saitou automatically nodded his agreement before he had realized it.

"Very well," he said more harshly than he intended, more annoyed at himself than the rurouni. "I will come for you tonight. Don't attempt to hide either, because I will find you no matter where you run."

"I know," answered the soft voice along with a small sigh. The rurouni looked resigned, which, Saitou reflected, was a good thing. A defiant Battousai always made him antsy, because who knew what kind of crazy things the younger man would try to pull off. Still, he would remain nearby and ensure that the rurouni didn't change his mind and try to sneak away.

"Until tonight then." The sentence hung on the air between them like a threat, before Saitou turned around and left.

Vocab

Demo - but

Sessha - humble way of saying "I"

ano - um

gomennasai - I'm sorry

Little Sister: Well, that was different. I'll try to post the next part up soon. Somehow, I can do Kenshin's POV but I can't do Saitou's. I tried and failed, and that's why this part is in a sort-of third person POV. --' Please review. Comments and criticism are welcomed, but please don't flame me. I have enough flammable material and I really don't need anymore. Actually, I must thank sueb262 for his/her review. I was just checking my e-mail, and there was this review! It inspired me so much I sat down and typed out this chapter. So thank you! And thank you again to all the people who reviewed this story. It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling inside when I read them.