I still don't own the series!

Chapter notes/new terms:

Yes, that character that appears is Hatake. His first/given name is Atsushi, and going in tradition of using the first name for characters (though, samurai might have been granted their family name), that's what he's called. I couldn't dig up a first/given name for Yoshi (one of the other Mihoshi players that had bullied Mihashi).

Seppuku: Ritual suicide where the person doing it slits their own abdomen, and there is usually a "second" that chops off their head afterwards

Chapter 3

Takaya had been busy in the month that he had come to stay at the Mihashi mansion, but he wasn't too busy to notice the way Ren behaved around him. The boy would watch him train, and would always trot over to him with a word of "nice work" or "good job" at the end.

Even during mealtime, Ren had insisted that Takaya ate with them, which was something only the top and elite guards got to do. Not only with them, however, but just about next to Ren, himself.

Takaya didn't know what to make of it at first; perhaps Ren was just being overly friendly, or still had a case of hero worship?

Reiichi obviously knew of his son's attachment to Takaya, but like Takaya, figured it was hero-worship.

However, as the month dragged on, other events started to happen. Takaya once woke in the early hours to use the toilet, and swore that Ren was watching him leave. Thank goodness the fair-haired teen didn't watch him use the bathroom, at least…

…that would have just been plain creepy.

It annoyed Takaya at first, with how much Ren seemed to cling to him. At the same time, it made him feel good. At home, he was valued a little more than Shun since he was older and could learn the trade earlier, but none of his commoner friends had really put much stock into him. In that case, it was nice to be valued.

After yet another month, Takaya began to notice that these weren't just coincidences, and it couldn't still be hero-worship. Ren was the same age as him, not Shun's age. Hero worship at a teen level didn't last long, as far as Takaya figured, since the older someone was, the more realistic of a view they had of the world.

What was even more confusing was that the annoyance towards Ren's behavior had all but vanished to be replaced with something akin to fondness.

Did that mean they were friends?

Takaya tried to think about it whenever he got time alone, which wasn't often. He was either following a strict schedule for training to be Ren's bodyguard, or with the teen in question. It was usually at night when Takaya would lay on his futon and try to piece together what had become of his life and just what Ren was to him.

Of course, that never lasted too long since he would drift off to sleep mid-thought more often than not.

Thus, as the third month passed and they started to head into the colder season, Takaya couldn't help but wonder just what exactly he was to Ren; a bodyguard? A hero? A friend?

Or was it something more, since Takaya always felt a strange pull whenever he was around Ren, which had started a month ago.

As if things weren't complicated enough…

It was completely accidental when Takaya discovered some of the cause of Ren's stammering. He had to admit that, as confusing as Ren was, he liked the other guy, and could certainly get the idea into his head of being the teen's bodyguard.

Today, Ren was watching the training that Takaya went through, just like usual when the teen didn't have other activities to attend to.

Practice had ended, and after complimenting Takaya on his improvement and how easily he picked up the techniques, the teacher walked off.

That left Takaya (and Ren, who hovered in the background a bit) with a couple of the other students.

Takaya didn't really want anything to do with the other guards. They were older than him, though only by a couple years, and he was always wary of other people in general.

As he toweled off, however, he heard their conversation.

"Hey…Mihashi-dono's kid came to watch again," a large, slightly overweight guard with an almost shaved head said to one of his companions. Atsushi was his name, if Takaya remembered right.

"He watches a lot these days." Another with short brown hair agreed. Yoshi, Takaya believed.

"I don't mind guarding Mihashi-dono, but if they put me under his kid, I'd rather cut my own stomach." Atsushi grunted. "His stammering drives me crazy!"

"Same. I think one of the older guards once took an interest in him at some time, or picked on him or whatever. That's the rumor I heard." Yoshi drew his finger across his neck to let them know what the fate of that guard had been.

"Bit much for a wimp." Atsushi sneered. "That guard was an idiot to have gotten caught."

Takaya nearly gaped, as Ren was close enough to hear every word that these guys were saying.

Ren had his head bowed, so his expression wasn't visible, but his shoulders were hunched slightly and obviously tense.

Yoshi laughed. "I'll say! Though, maybe he just offed himself when he heard he had to be the guy's guard. How degrading is that? To be a guard for someone probably half your age that stammers all the time? Wouldn't be able to tell he's a noble if it weren't for his family!"

Atsushi snickered. "Yea. More like a peasant or Hinin."

Takaya slammed his towel down on the nearby bench hard enough that it drew the attention of the two guys. "You guys make me sick. Not to mention that I think it's considered treason to talk about the one you serve like that."

Atsushi raised an eyebrow. "I don't serve that loser. I serve Mihashi-dono."

Takaya grinned coldly. "Not sure if there's enough activity going on in that brain of yours to realize it, but Ren is the son of Mihashi-dono. That means you serve him, too."

Atsushi stood to his full height, which was admittingly more than Takaya had to offer.

Yoshi, too, got to his feet. Though he was shorter than Atsushi, he was still taller than Takaya.

Though, that could be because the two of them were somewhere between 18 and 21 years of age. Takaya didn't remember exactly how old they were, and at the moment, that didn't matter.

"Did you just call me stupid, new kid?" Atsushi snarled.

Takaya crossed his arms as if he didn't have a potentially hostile situation leering over him. "What if I did? Do you know what will happen if I tell Mihashi-dono what you two were talking about?"

Atsushi reached out and grabbed Takaya by the front of his dogi. "Do that, and I'll make sure that I kill you."

"Before or after your head rolls?" Takaya shot back.

Ren could only stand there and gawk at the situation that had unfolded. At the moment, they were the only four out there on the training grounds, and if something happened, he wasn't very confident in his own abilities to break it up.

Atsushi's hand tightened. "Friendly reminder…I'm bigger and stronger than you. I suggest, kid, that you watch your mouth."

Takaya rolled his eyes. "Is that supposed to scare me? You're too dense to win a verbal battle, so you have to resort to threatening? Whether you're bigger and stronger doesn't matter, or haven't you been paying attention to sensei? Besides, I hardly call this a 'friendly' reminder, particularly seeing that I wouldn't want to be your friend…"

Ren yelped, and Takaya was cut off when Atsushi struck out and caught the younger teen in the jaw with his free hand.

"Shut that damn mouth of yours or I'll shut it for you! What's your problem, anyway! We're not the only ones that think he's a wimp!" Atsushi gestured to Ren when he said 'he'.

Takaya coughed, then spat out blood from a split lip. It had hurt, and he had to admit that Atsushi packed one hell of a punch, but there were plenty of dangers the way he had previously lived. To him, Atsushi was just a thug with a little samurai training.

If the situation was going to go sour, and Takaya knew it would the second he opened his mouth to oppose them, he would rather they be too angry to remember what they were taught and that their swords still lay out in the open.

"I'm sure you're not. But you're the only one stupid enough to talk about it in front of someone that might care enough to tell you to shut the hell up." Takaya knew he was treading dangerous waters, but he just couldn't stand back and let them keep insulting Ren.

Perhaps he could have changed and cooled down elsewhere, or pulled Ren away from the two, but that would only be running away; Atsushi and Yoshi would continue to run their mouths if he didn't do something.

This time, it was a strike to his eye.

However, Atsushi had made the age old mistake of having one hand occupied and forgetting about everything else.

Takaya didn't let him retract the fist, and just pushed the pain to the corner of his mind as he grabbed Atsushi's arm, spun his body (which effectively broke the hold Atsushi had on his shirt), shoved his back up against the taller guy, then kicked back as he rolled his body forward a bit.

The result was that Atsushi flew head over heels, and over Takaya's head as well, to land on his back in the dirt.

Takaya didn't let go of the hand, however, and instead, held it twisted to the side a bit by the fleshy part in a joint lock.

Atsushi howled in pain as he tried to get Takaya to let go, but he was obviously fighting a losing battle.

"Asshole…!" Yoshi threw himself at Takaya.

Takaya hadn't forgotten about Yoshi, so he was ready when the man lunged. Of course, he hadn't quite calculated the weight difference, since Yoshi was apparently heavier than he looked, and when he came flying at someone, he was even heavier (at least, that's what it felt like).

So, when Takaya had snapped out his foot to catch Yoshi in the chest, it didn't slow the man down enough, and Takaya went sprawling to the ground.

Yoshi was winded, however, and coughed as he attempted to get air back in his lungs.

Takaya grimaced and pushed himself to his feet after the jarring fall.

Atsushi, now freed of the hold, was on his feet and even more livid than ever.

"S-stop it!" Ren called to them, surprised by his own audacity to speak up in the situation. However, he had quickly realized that he was the only one that could do something.

Takaya dropped his guard a bit to glance at Ren, and that was when Atsushi struck.

The heavier man ploughed right into Takaya, which resulted in both of them on the ground, Atsushi on top as he pushed Takaya's head into the dirt.

"Try and say it, now!" Atsushi snarled, eyes wide with adrenaline. "Go ahead and try and use that big mouth of yours now, bastard!"

Takaya gasped for breath between the crushing weight on his back and the side of his face pressed into the ground.

Yoshi hesitated, however, since he had heard Ren's command to stop. He wasn't above gossiping and teasing, but disobeying one of the people you serve was something else entirely.

Atsushi grabbed Takaya's left arm with his free hand and pulled it behind the teen's back as he continued his crushing force. "How do you like it, now? How do you like the taste of dirt, worm? If you beg, maybe I'll consider forgiving you!"

"Atsushi…let's stop." Yoshi pleaded nervously.

"Fuck no!" Atsushi glanced back at the other. "He mouthed off to us, Yoshi!"

"Yea, he has a big mouth, but he was right. Besides…you're disobeying orders."

That was neither Yoshi nor Ren, which caused all the boys to turn and see who had just arrived.

The person that they laid eyes on made Atsushi break into a cold sweat, and Yoshi to tremble.

Ren, however, was relieved. "Otou-sama!"

TO BE CONTINUED…