There was a tinge of smoke in the air, as if the little fire burning merrily by the corner had been there for days. Rukawa opened his eyes groggily - it was difficult to judge exactly what the time was. But he could ascertain that it was night-time.

I haven’t died?

He was in some sort of stone cave, which was overgrown with healthy, thick green plants. They snaked up and down the whole place, making it look alive and breathing.

There isn’t a cave in the whole of the Forest Kiel ...

No, this isn’t a cave -

There was a place near where they fought that was renown for its trees which were unusually huge and wide. Sometimes, the roots grew such that they formed ‘caves’ which became homes for certain animals. The caves were further enlarged by creeping plants and roots that grew all over the forest, and this one was no exception.

Rukawa tried to sit up, and only managed a half muttered curse as the whole world spun.

Damn it - how bloody strong was that last blow?!

"You were lucky, you know." The voice brought along with it painful memories of defeat.

Sendoh walked in, one hand carrying some firewood and the other grasping some wild animal.

"... ..."

"You slept for 2 days. Not bad - considering .. " Sendoh dropped to his knees in front of the small fire and started constructing something to hold and cook the rabbit. Yes, it was a rabbit - Rukawa ‘s eyes were finally adjusting to the dim light.

"Considering?"

"Considering you were hit - twice consecutively." Sendoh said calmly, his eyes staring into the fire.

Rukawa didn’t deign to reply to that remark concerning his defeat. Instead, he just closed his eyes and opened them again.

What an insult ... ... to be picked up and saved by the winner of the game ...

The smell of the cooked rabbit rose and swirled warmly throughout the whole cave. Rukawa’s stomach was growling, and feeling embarrassed , he turned and glared into the other side of the cave.

"Are you hungry? Want some food?" Sendoh grinned, as Rukawa’s growling stomach responded eagerly to the offered food.

"And don’t tell me that you don’t eat with strangers." Sendoh smirked even as he got up and sat next to the sleeping Rukawa.

Rukawa pretended to ignore him, but his stomach wouldn’t. Frowning, he attempted to get up, but to his mortification, he only managed a half grunt before he gave up entirely.

Sendoh glanced at Rukawa, and for a split second - their eyes met. Understanding the situation, Sendoh wordlessly got behind Rukawa and grasped his waist - helping him to sit up.

The closeness irked Rukawa, but it seemed that for the time being - he had no choice but to accept the help.

They ate in silence, and Sendoh couldn’t help but steal glances at Rukawa when he thought he wasn’t looking.

It was your wings that saved your life .. they somehow protected you from the full extent of the second blast..

He still remembered the sight of Rukawa as his wings instinctively folded and covered him partially from the threat of Sendoh’s attack.

A dark bleeding angel ...

"Stop staring at me."

"... heh .. " Embarrassed at being caught, Sendoh looked away, his hand going through his hair.

"What is your purpose for doing - all this?" Rukawa asked in a low voice as he stared into the fire.

I - I don’t understand ... ...

"No purpose." Sendoh smiled, easily evading the question.

Rukawa glared at him then, an icy cold glare that would put a glacier to shame.

"What exactly are you, Rukawa Kaede?" Sendoh asked with no change in his expression. He could have been asking about the weather.

No answer.

"Why do you have wings?" The question that had been biting at him finally came out as his curiosity won the battle.

Rukawa shrugged.

Sendoh sighed.

"Forget it."

The crackling of the fire was the only sound in the cave as Sendoh broke the firewood he had collected into little twigs. Watching slowly as the fire ate up his wood, his mind turned to Rukawa - again.

"Why did you challenge me?"

"Because I want to be the best."

It wasn’t the answer that was surprising, it was the very fact that he actually answered.

A little smile played on his lips as Sendoh answered. "Then you would have to train a lot harder."

"All they talk about was you. Your skills, your intelligence, your leadership ... " Rukawa wrapped his arms around his knees. It was getting cold, even with the fire - the Forest Kiel could be freezing sometimes at night.

They both knew what they were talking about. It didn’t need an open confirmation.

"All they do is hold on to the past." Sendoh threw a twig into the fire. It was getting kind of cold.

"How are you related to the Old Order?" Came the direct question.

Raising an eyebrow, Sendoh retaliated: "I thought you knew?"

Silence again.

Sendoh sighed. "You must have guessed - you aren’t stupid. I was once a disciple of the Old Order."

Rukawa seemed to have no reaction to that particular statement.

"Why did you leave?"

This time, Sendoh was the one who avoided the question. An irritated Rukawa turned towards him, and grasped him by the collar.

"Why?" He was burning with the need to know.

Why am I so obsessed with it?

Surprised, Sendoh looked straight into Rukawa’s burning eyes and felt his heart leap strangely.

Does that matter so much to you, Rukawa?

He shook off Rukawa’s weak grasp calmly and said:" I will tell you if you answer my questions as well."

Shame on you - bullying the weak .. Sendoh thought as he chided himself cheerfully. There isn’t any harm exchanging information though..

It was almost imperceptible, the slight nod as the other turned his face away.

"I will go first then .. " I doubt Rukawa would want to speak first anyway..

"I studied there for at least 5 years. Probably left a long time before you came." Memories of the training flooded him, as they always did.

He stopped, and then picked up the story again as Rukawa quietly waited.

"They made me learn the katana too. It suited you, but it wasn’t for me." The pain of the past rebellion still hurt him, it probably made his old teachers feel worse but he was too young - and he had his own ways of thinking. He needed the freedom to explore, not the path that was carefully set out for him already.

Rukawa just listened wordlessly.

"I left, one summer night. I couldn’t take their narrow minds anymore."

The high expectations they had, the future they painstakingly designed for him, the bright career he would have had as their pawn --- it all came crashing down at him, even as he bore the burden of the old memories with dignity.

They had such high hopes ... Sendoh lowered his eyes even as the fire dimmed a little as the night grew stronger.

"Your turn." Strange that I would actually tell Rukawa, of all people about my past ...

There was only a short pause before Rukawa said bitterly:" You were a dream, a legend - a myth that no one could beat. They would never cease comparing us with you."

"Did they never mention that I was once a student there?" Sendoh asked, slightly taken aback at Rukawa’s bitter tone.

No matter how hard I trained, how fast I improved - I was never up to the legend of Sendoh ...

Rukawa didn’t reply.

"Ah, they were torn between tearing me apart and acknowledging me as one of their disciples ... " His smile was half-mocking now.

To be the best, first you must reach at least the level of Sendoh’s skill ... He was hearing his old teacher’s voice.

The fire crackled merrily, its flames dancing to its own silent tune and sending elusive shadows that seemed alive on the walls of the cave. The night had asserted its full strength.

The silence didn’t bother Sendoh. It was too long since the last time he had really talked to someone anyway.

Even if it was someone like Rukawa ... ...

"Why are you so obsessed with me?" It was meant to tease, but it somehow came out plaintive.

"I only want to be the best." The answer didn’t fail Sendoh. It only made him feel strangely disappointed.

Oh well, I should be glad I have at least his attention ....

Sendoh mentally smacked his own head. What the hell am I talking about?!

Keep the conversation going man ...

"Your turn."

As usual, the other just ignored him.

"Why is it that I have to drill even for little bits of information about you? It’s only fair that you answer my questions now." Sendoh said, a little smile playing on his lips.

He wasn’t really expecting answers but he still had to know.

"The wings - who are you? What are you? " There were a thousand questions he wanted to ask but Sendoh knew it would be difficult to get even an answer to any of them.

I am a monster.

"I cannot control the wings. They appear whenever I am in danger."

Sendoh looked curiously at Rukawa’s expressionless face. He wanted to say something but it seemed the words got stuck in his throat.

So the legends were half buried in truth, Sendoh recalled the old rumours - that it was rumoured that Rukawa's mother had fallen in love with the ki no bakemono (an air demon) and Rukawa was the result.

What about the rumours about the High Queen wanting to kill her own son? Truth or lies?

"When I was born - I was meant to be thrown into the fires of heresy. But my mother managed to save my life and sent me to a far away foster home 3 days after I was born. Later when I was older, she sent me to the Old Order. She thought it would be good for me."

Even then, Rukawa vaguely remembered being shoved into arms that felt strange to him. His own hands feeling the unfamiliar feathery wings behind him when he was still a babe.

"People must have thought there was something wrong with me for they never ventured near me."

They talked behind his back and pointed fingers at him for all that went wrong. No one will be able to take away the pain of growing up, alone and friendless.

No wonder that your own legend spread far and wide, Sendoh thought, finally understand a little of how Rukawa came to being.

"Your father ... ?" Was he really a demon sent to seduce the Queen? Do you really take after him - a cold, monstrous demon?

"I have no father." Again, the answer was cold, hard and emotionless.

Rukawa was the one who first looked away from Sendoh's steady gaze. Even though he was sitting just in front of the small bonfire, the chill of the night breeze still bit at him. Shivering slightly, he fingered his chest.

No wounds ...

"Like I’ve said - your wings protected you. Come, let me take a look." Sendoh started forward, only to be stopped by Rukawa’s half-stretched hand.

"No."

"Your hands are so cold, and you are shivering slightly." Sendoh grasped Rukawa’s hands and felt his forehead despite the younger one’s protests.

"You are running a bloody fever!" Sendoh shook his head, exasperated.

Let me guess, to have survived the fight, to have survived my blasts - his body must have been under a lot of stress ... ...

"I must get you back to town where there are doctors ... " Sendoh was already getting ready to go.

"No."

No?

A sudden wild hope rushed through him then. Could it be that Rukawa somehow wanted to stay with him?

"You will go, at the most tomorrow morning." Shit, what the hell am I thinking about?!

Rukawa made to get up, and seeing how pained he looked, Sendoh sighed and placed his arms under Rukawa, lifting him up with ease.

"Stop that!"

"Stop what?" Sendoh grinned, then looked away. This one was so full of pride and ego that it must have hurt every time he was pricked. Who knows how many wounds he already carried in his heart?

Sendoh walked over to the extreme left, where the ground felt at least softer. Kneeling, he laid Rukawa down gently, even as the other struggled feebly.

Remaining in that position, he looked down at Rukawa’s glaring face and smiled.

"Sleep well."

Was it something in Rukawa’s face or was it is his own imagining? A flash of something very like loneliness was there one moment and gone the next. Or was it his own desire to remain close to Rukawa?

They didn’t move. Sendoh’s arms stretched out, trapping Rukawa within his boundary. His eyes looking directly down at Rukawa’s glaring ones.

Right now, he is too weak to push me away - just wait till he is well ...

Hmmm when he is well? Would I even see him again?

Sendoh wasn’t one who believed in doing things the next day. Experience has taught him that people who seized the day gained more than people who procrastinated.

Who cares about the tomorrow?

His gaze softened as he bent lower, until his lips could feel the soft breathing of Rukawa. Rukawa’s face grew puzzled and offended.

"Get off me."

Smiling suddenly, Sendoh fingered Rukawa’s jawline.

Stealing a kiss isn’t honourable ... but oh well, who cares about being honourable?

He surprised the other by diving down on his lips , finally tasting what Rukawa was, feeling the warm, softness of the other. Sendoh took advantage of Rukawa’s momentary shock to slip his tongue into Rukawa’s mouth, fully intending to explore.

Rukawa’s weak struggle was useless. Sendoh overpowered him completely, and as the kiss got warmer and warmer - it felt as if a slow, damp fire was slowly churning in his whole being. It was if there was an inferno slowly building up somewhere. The sweetness of Sendoh’s scent finally drove him wild and he was about to return the kiss when Sendoh pulled away.

"Gomen - I shouldn’t be taking advantage of the wounded." The self-mockery was evident in Sendoh’s tone.

He hasn’t returned my kiss.

Getting up, he strode to the extreme right and sat down abruptly.

"Oyasumi~"

He really doesn’t like me.

Rukawa’s only reply was to turn to face the wall, a slow burning flush building up as he tried to control what Sendoh had started.

What an asshole -

And then, to his own amazement -

Why the hell didn’t he finish what he started?

Note: You knoe, I have always wondered to what extent Rukawa's obsession with Sendoh was in the manga - I mean, he was the one who looked Sendoh up for the 1-on-1 and really; Did you notice that Sendoh seems to notice Hanamichi more than he does Rukawa?? Any Senru fans care to comment? Er ... don't take things so seriously, heh heh ... this is just my humble observation ^_^