CHAPTER 1
Defending His Honor
The early autumn sun beat the rest of its warm rays down upon the back of a young ronin as it sank behind the horizon. The dust gently rose and fell with each step he gingerly took as he made his way home. His long hair was tied up high and swished back and forth on the back of his neck. A small chorus of birds filled the evening air with melodic chords of delight. He carried a very small barrel of salt under his arm and laughed to himself when he noticed how awkward it made his shadow looked.
"Judging by your laughter, I guess you finally figured out that you are fool." Satori stopped dead in his tracks and stared forward in silence. He listened unwillingly as the voice behind him rang out again. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I insult you?"
Satori turned around to see a scruffy looking boy, roughly the same age as himself, smirking cruelly. Satori narrowed his eyes as the setting sun reflected in them. "I don't have time for your little games today, Maru," he said in a deep voice. "I'm living at the Kamiya Dojo now and I'm working hard to earn my stay there. So if you don't mind, I have to get going."
That said, Satori began to walk away. It was obvious he was trying to avoid a confrontation with the other young rival. Maru wondered how long it would take to break him.
"Oh, that must be the place where they rehabilitate losers like you with psychotic older brothers."
Satori spun around. "Akuji is not crazy!" he screamed. Not as long as Maru thought…
"Is?" replied Maru coolly. "Don't you mean was?" Maru had found the pressure point he had been looking for and he wasn't backing down now. " I thought he was executed? I sure as hell wouldn't defend my brother if tried to kill me."
"Shut up!" Satori clenched his fists with rage and a flame of hate flickered in his eyes. "You don't know who my brother is! You don't even know what happened!"
"He's a frickin' nutcase!" Maru snapped taking a fighting stance. Satori latched onto the hilt of his shinai and also took a stance. He could feel a wick of hate sparking closer to his gun powdered soul.
"Face it," Maru continued, "your brother's just an insane bastard child who succeeded in killing everyone in his family but YOU!"
"NEVER!" Satori cried, and hurled the barrel he was carting at Maru. Anticipating this, Maru smashed the barrel to pieces with a lightning punch spraying a storm of salt everywhere. But before he could gloat about his keen martial arts skills, Satori rushed Maru and pinned him to the ground. The two of them struggled momentarily, each trying to oppose the other's strength. Suddenly, Maru was able to free one of his arms. "Get offa me!" he demanded and threw a punch to Satori's left eye. Overwhelmed, the young ronin, holding his face, stumbled backward and fell. Then picking up the dropped shinai, Maru scrambled to his feet. Raising it over his head, a very angered Maru dashed towards the grounded Satori.
Though the pain in his face would not allow him to open his eyes, Satori could sense exactly where Maru was. He waited a split second... Then with the reflexes of a cat, he thrusted his feet upward, catching Maru severely in the stomach. Snatching the shinai from Maru's grasp, Satori then propelled the young martial artist a short distance with a springboard effect from his legs. Maru, having the wind knocked out of him a second time, landed on his back with a rough thud.
Satori was driven beyond furious. He and Maru had picked fights in the past before, but never, never has he dared mention Akuji!
Maru held his stomach tightly. He felt like throwing up. He attempted to stand but was knocked back down with a clip to the face from the shinai. Satori's held a look for contempt. He raised the sword with one hand and brought it down hard. But Maru rolled out of the way just in the nick of time. Then taking a short leap in the air, he came down on the sword snapping it in two. Satori began to reach for the broken piece when Maru stomped down on his wrist. Satori let out a coarse cry of pain and desperately pulled to free himself. His tendons swelled and stretched with each effort-put strain against Maru's grinding hold. Finally, he released Satori. The young ronin held his hand close to his chest and breathed heavily through clenched teeth. Maru threw his head back and laughed triumphantly.
"You pathetic whelp! You're unfit to call yourself a ronin, much less a samurai. I now know why your brother didn't kill you. He wanted you to live on with the guilt of knowing that you are a failure. You're so disgraceful that you don't even deserve death!"
Outraged, Satori lunged at Maru with balled up fists and a siren of profanities.
"Do you hear that?" A red haired samurai cocked an ear to listen. The large sleeves of his fuchsia colored shirt and the folds of his white pants fluttered in the wind momentarily and then went still. He was a short, gentle looking person with a distinctive "X" shaped scar on his cheek. His companion, whom he inquired, was a very tall and well-built man. He was dressed in white with the Japanese character for "evil" printed on the back of his jacket. A long, red headband held his dark, spiky hair back. Strangely enough, he held a slight resemblance to a chicken.
"Sounds like Satori," the tall man said none too surprised and rested his hands behind his head. "Better go see what's going on." The two hastened down the rest of the alley they had been patrolling and rounded the corner. As they did so, they were taken aback to see Satori sitting atop Maru dispatching repeated punches as well as death threats.
"Common Sano!" said the samurai as they both ran towards the quarreling boys. "I'll see to Satori; you take the other boy."
"It's your call, Kenshin," Sano replied.
Kenshin threw himself on Satori and wrenched him away from Maru's bloody face. The enraged ronin shouted defiantly and strived to free himself from Kenshin's restrain.
"No!" he demanded. "No, let me go! I'll kill him! I'll kill the bastard! Let me go, dammit!"
Satori flailed his legs around kicking Kenshin a few times in the shins. He let out a series of short, painful "oro's" and began to think that maybe he should have let Sano handle Satori instead.
Maru was taking the same actions as Satori but was nowhere near as successful. Sano held both of Maru's arms behind his back with one hand. It was more than enough to keep him from moving, but his mouth was another matter.
"Come and get me, you freakin' psycho! I'll fold you five ways and leave you as a floor rag! You're nothin' but a loser! L-O-S-E-R!"
Satori howled and cried like some unknown, rabid beast. His anger possessed his body now, not his mind. Acknowledging his friends' presence was starting to become difficult. Kenshin wasted no time in trying to calm him down.
"Satori! Satori, we're getting nowhere with this. Common, settle down now!"
"He insulted me!" Satori cried. "He insulted my brother! He insulted my family name! He doesn't deserve to live!"
Maru was about to top Satori's threat but sensibly decided not to when he noticed Sano giving him his famous "you know I can throw you through that wall" look. Maru was discouraged and tired. Sano let him go and allowed him to sit on the ground. He decided he should go and assist Kenshin with Satori. "Don't go anywhere," Sano warned Maru, who shook his head assuringly.
As he strolled over with his hands in his pockets, Sano could see that Satori was losing energy. His shouting had turned to talking to himself and anyone else within earshot about what he'd do to Maru once he got his hands on him. He tossed his body left and right, still trying to break hold of Kenshin's grasp, which was more than enough to keep Kenshin looking for his balance. Satori was becoming more and more exhausted, both mentally and physically. But as Sano reached out towards the young ronin, Satori filled with rage once again. He attempted to kick at Sano's hand but it was well out of reach.
"Poor kid," Sano thought to himself as he effortlessly lifted Satori by the back of the shirt. Satori stopped his struggling and dangled helplessly in Sano's fist. He knew resisting was useless when Sano laid a hand on you, but that didn't stop his plotting.
"Then I'll grab his throat and ring his frickin' neck till his head pops!" Maru leaned forward. He thought this was all very amusing.
Kenshin brushed the dust from his pants and thanked Sano with a half smile. Then he turned to speak to Satori but was suddenly cut off.
"You…" Satori growled. "This is all your fault…"
"Oro?" Kenshin was dumbfounded. Satori went on in a rising voice.
"You know the way of the samurai. It's all about honor and justice and defending those virtues. He insulted my pride. He insulted my honor. The one thing that I hold dear to me, he dragged down. I was merely defending my honor… and you deprived me of that! You striped it away from me! Why? Why did you stop me?!"
"Satori…" Kenshin began. "I do know the way of the samurai and I do understand what you must be going through but…"
"LIAR!" Satori hollered. "You don't know anything about me or what I've been through! You don't know what it's like to lose a loved one!"
Kenshin's eye twitched at this remark as Satori continued.
"I demand vengeance! Do you hear me?! I…"
Kenshin, gently but firmly, clamped onto the sides of Satori's head. He had heard enough.
"Satori…" His voice carried a soothing, athorative tone. "What will you gain by taking his life? Yes, your honor will be avenged, but just this one time. There are many unkind people in this world, some of which may insult your brother as well. What will you do then? Attack them as you did this boy? What do you think would have happened if you had a real sword… or a gun?"
Kenshin let go of Satori's face as Sano placed him on the ground. He slumped to his knees and hung his head, deep in thought. Kenshin kneeled down to his level.
"You're still young and have much to learn. Self control and discipline are also virtues a samurai must know."
Satori looked up hesitantly and gazed into Kenshin's eyes. "My brother is alive, Kenshin. I can feel it in my heart."
"I believe you, and we will find him. We'll find him together."
Sano patted Satori's shoulder. "Don't sweat it, kid. We'll definitely find your big bro. That's a blood promise."
"Thank you," Satori softly replied in a melancholy tone.
Suddenly, disaster sprung from Maru's mouth. "That's right, Satori. You'll find him… in a grave." Maru turned away laughing heartlessly; unaware of the danger he had just summoned.
Kenshin quickly glanced back at Satori. His body quaked with fury. "Sa… Satori…" Kenshin stammered. Satori looked into Kenshin's eyes once more and Kenshin was suddenly breathless. The ronin's deep brown eyes now glowed crimson red with fatal emotion. He panted hard and short and an intense heat poured from his face. He was ready to explode! Kenshin's mind raced.
"Now… they're only words, Satori," was all he could manage to say, but Satori had already lost it.
"I… DON'T… CARE!!!"
Before anyone could realize what happened, Satori tore Kenshin's sakaba from its sheath, pushing the samurai over at the same time. He then charged towards the unsuspecting Maru.
"Sano!" Kenshin yelled but he was already on top of it. Sano snagged Satori by the sleeve and began to pull him back. But Satori, as he said, didn't care, and he wasn't going to take anything he couldn't handle. He swung the sword backwards, slicing Sano in the thigh with the reversed blade. He lost hold of Satori and dropped to one knee, loudly muttering a wave of profound words.
As Satori drew closer to Maru, only one thing ran through his unstable mind, "Get him! Get him! Get him! Just Maru… NOW!" Satori shot through the air like a bolt of lightning and came down twice as swift. "Now Maru, you will pay!" The sword hissed through the air. This was it!
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAA…… SHNK!
The street was a dead zone. No sound could be heard. Nothing stirred. Sano was speechless and completely oblivious to the throbbing pain in his leg. Maru lay on his stomach, peering over his shoulder in terror. His forehead beaded in cold sweat. Satori was still as stone. He could barely breathe. All he could do was stare. He stared at the one who stood before him. He stared at… Kenshin! He had blocked Satori's blow.
Satori couldn't believe what just happened. He remained vigil in awe. The sakaba lay across Kenshin's forearm, slightly sunken in. The fuchsia colored sleeve was now stained purple where the sword had struck. The pain was horrible, but Kenshin continued to stare with a straight face at Satori who just stared right back. The samurai's face was a swirl of emotion. Anger, grief, disappointment… Satori couldn't tell which Kenshin felt making it all the more harder for him to act. He could feel Kenshin's bizarre gaze pierce right through his soul. Satori was so afraid that he couldn't even tremble with fear.
Kenshin decided to break the tension. He pulled his arm from the sakaba, wincing a bit as he did so. Satori remained with the sword in the air for the moment. Kenshin pulled up his sleeve to survey the wound. It was a mess of blood, but nothing too serious. After all, it was the blunt side of the sword. Kenshin twisted his sleeve around the cut and tucked it under to stop the bleeding.
The weight if the sakaba began to play on Satori's arms and gradually began sinking them to the ground. Unexpectedly, Kenshin reached out and tore the sword from Satori's grip, causing the young ronin to stumble forward a bit. Kenshin, holding the sakaba delicately by the blade, flung it into the air. It flashed like a star as it spun catching the last light of day, and landed neatly in its sheath. Kenshin pinned Satori with another glance. The ronin just stared at the samurai, drop jawed. Kenshin then turned and knelt down to assist the terrified Maru.
Sano untied his headband and wrapped it around his bloody thigh and lightly limped over to Satori. He grabbed the young ronin by the arm and turned him around. Sano tried to compose himself but the best he could do was, "What the hell were you thinking?!" But Satori was too dazed to even hear him. Sano tossed his arm away and joined Kenshin.
Satori stared blankly at the three figures in front of him. His knees felt as though they would buckle. His mouth was so dry. Satori racked his brain in an attempt to figure out what happened.
"I… I can't believe this!" Satori thought to himself. "How could I have done this? I… hurt Kenshin… But he did nothing to deserve… How could I have done this? …Why… why did he… stop me? I wouldn't have hurt him if he didn't…"
Satori stretched out a shaky hand and tried to call Kenshin's name, but a lump had formed in his throat and caused him to go mute.
"It's useless…" Satori thought once again. "He'll never forgive me. Never in a million years. Never…never…Kenshin will… never…"
Satori's eyes rolled back and closed and his limp body fell gently to the ground. Everyone looked in the young ronin's direction. "Satori!" Kenshin shouted in concern. Sano paced over to Satori and lifted his head.
"It's alright," Sano reassured. "He's just fainted. But we should get going soon. I think he has a fever."
Kenshin nodded his head and helped Maru to his feet. But before he could say anything, Maru blurted out, "You're all crazy!" And ran off. Kenshin scratched his head and sighed.
"Let's go, Sano," he said. Sano removed his jacket and wrapped it around Satori to protect him from the night, autumn chill. He then picked up the exhausted ronin and held him close to his chest.
"I hope Megumi's still at the Dojo," Sano said to Kenshin.
"Me too…" Kenshin replied driftedly. Something was on his mind.
As the moonlight lit the three homeward, Kenshin looked lovingly at Satori and spoke to himself what he had been thinking. "You're wrong, my friend. I do know what it's like to lose a loved one. But, at least… you can bring yours back."
Defending His Honor
The early autumn sun beat the rest of its warm rays down upon the back of a young ronin as it sank behind the horizon. The dust gently rose and fell with each step he gingerly took as he made his way home. His long hair was tied up high and swished back and forth on the back of his neck. A small chorus of birds filled the evening air with melodic chords of delight. He carried a very small barrel of salt under his arm and laughed to himself when he noticed how awkward it made his shadow looked.
"Judging by your laughter, I guess you finally figured out that you are fool." Satori stopped dead in his tracks and stared forward in silence. He listened unwillingly as the voice behind him rang out again. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I insult you?"
Satori turned around to see a scruffy looking boy, roughly the same age as himself, smirking cruelly. Satori narrowed his eyes as the setting sun reflected in them. "I don't have time for your little games today, Maru," he said in a deep voice. "I'm living at the Kamiya Dojo now and I'm working hard to earn my stay there. So if you don't mind, I have to get going."
That said, Satori began to walk away. It was obvious he was trying to avoid a confrontation with the other young rival. Maru wondered how long it would take to break him.
"Oh, that must be the place where they rehabilitate losers like you with psychotic older brothers."
Satori spun around. "Akuji is not crazy!" he screamed. Not as long as Maru thought…
"Is?" replied Maru coolly. "Don't you mean was?" Maru had found the pressure point he had been looking for and he wasn't backing down now. " I thought he was executed? I sure as hell wouldn't defend my brother if tried to kill me."
"Shut up!" Satori clenched his fists with rage and a flame of hate flickered in his eyes. "You don't know who my brother is! You don't even know what happened!"
"He's a frickin' nutcase!" Maru snapped taking a fighting stance. Satori latched onto the hilt of his shinai and also took a stance. He could feel a wick of hate sparking closer to his gun powdered soul.
"Face it," Maru continued, "your brother's just an insane bastard child who succeeded in killing everyone in his family but YOU!"
"NEVER!" Satori cried, and hurled the barrel he was carting at Maru. Anticipating this, Maru smashed the barrel to pieces with a lightning punch spraying a storm of salt everywhere. But before he could gloat about his keen martial arts skills, Satori rushed Maru and pinned him to the ground. The two of them struggled momentarily, each trying to oppose the other's strength. Suddenly, Maru was able to free one of his arms. "Get offa me!" he demanded and threw a punch to Satori's left eye. Overwhelmed, the young ronin, holding his face, stumbled backward and fell. Then picking up the dropped shinai, Maru scrambled to his feet. Raising it over his head, a very angered Maru dashed towards the grounded Satori.
Though the pain in his face would not allow him to open his eyes, Satori could sense exactly where Maru was. He waited a split second... Then with the reflexes of a cat, he thrusted his feet upward, catching Maru severely in the stomach. Snatching the shinai from Maru's grasp, Satori then propelled the young martial artist a short distance with a springboard effect from his legs. Maru, having the wind knocked out of him a second time, landed on his back with a rough thud.
Satori was driven beyond furious. He and Maru had picked fights in the past before, but never, never has he dared mention Akuji!
Maru held his stomach tightly. He felt like throwing up. He attempted to stand but was knocked back down with a clip to the face from the shinai. Satori's held a look for contempt. He raised the sword with one hand and brought it down hard. But Maru rolled out of the way just in the nick of time. Then taking a short leap in the air, he came down on the sword snapping it in two. Satori began to reach for the broken piece when Maru stomped down on his wrist. Satori let out a coarse cry of pain and desperately pulled to free himself. His tendons swelled and stretched with each effort-put strain against Maru's grinding hold. Finally, he released Satori. The young ronin held his hand close to his chest and breathed heavily through clenched teeth. Maru threw his head back and laughed triumphantly.
"You pathetic whelp! You're unfit to call yourself a ronin, much less a samurai. I now know why your brother didn't kill you. He wanted you to live on with the guilt of knowing that you are a failure. You're so disgraceful that you don't even deserve death!"
Outraged, Satori lunged at Maru with balled up fists and a siren of profanities.
"Do you hear that?" A red haired samurai cocked an ear to listen. The large sleeves of his fuchsia colored shirt and the folds of his white pants fluttered in the wind momentarily and then went still. He was a short, gentle looking person with a distinctive "X" shaped scar on his cheek. His companion, whom he inquired, was a very tall and well-built man. He was dressed in white with the Japanese character for "evil" printed on the back of his jacket. A long, red headband held his dark, spiky hair back. Strangely enough, he held a slight resemblance to a chicken.
"Sounds like Satori," the tall man said none too surprised and rested his hands behind his head. "Better go see what's going on." The two hastened down the rest of the alley they had been patrolling and rounded the corner. As they did so, they were taken aback to see Satori sitting atop Maru dispatching repeated punches as well as death threats.
"Common Sano!" said the samurai as they both ran towards the quarreling boys. "I'll see to Satori; you take the other boy."
"It's your call, Kenshin," Sano replied.
Kenshin threw himself on Satori and wrenched him away from Maru's bloody face. The enraged ronin shouted defiantly and strived to free himself from Kenshin's restrain.
"No!" he demanded. "No, let me go! I'll kill him! I'll kill the bastard! Let me go, dammit!"
Satori flailed his legs around kicking Kenshin a few times in the shins. He let out a series of short, painful "oro's" and began to think that maybe he should have let Sano handle Satori instead.
Maru was taking the same actions as Satori but was nowhere near as successful. Sano held both of Maru's arms behind his back with one hand. It was more than enough to keep him from moving, but his mouth was another matter.
"Come and get me, you freakin' psycho! I'll fold you five ways and leave you as a floor rag! You're nothin' but a loser! L-O-S-E-R!"
Satori howled and cried like some unknown, rabid beast. His anger possessed his body now, not his mind. Acknowledging his friends' presence was starting to become difficult. Kenshin wasted no time in trying to calm him down.
"Satori! Satori, we're getting nowhere with this. Common, settle down now!"
"He insulted me!" Satori cried. "He insulted my brother! He insulted my family name! He doesn't deserve to live!"
Maru was about to top Satori's threat but sensibly decided not to when he noticed Sano giving him his famous "you know I can throw you through that wall" look. Maru was discouraged and tired. Sano let him go and allowed him to sit on the ground. He decided he should go and assist Kenshin with Satori. "Don't go anywhere," Sano warned Maru, who shook his head assuringly.
As he strolled over with his hands in his pockets, Sano could see that Satori was losing energy. His shouting had turned to talking to himself and anyone else within earshot about what he'd do to Maru once he got his hands on him. He tossed his body left and right, still trying to break hold of Kenshin's grasp, which was more than enough to keep Kenshin looking for his balance. Satori was becoming more and more exhausted, both mentally and physically. But as Sano reached out towards the young ronin, Satori filled with rage once again. He attempted to kick at Sano's hand but it was well out of reach.
"Poor kid," Sano thought to himself as he effortlessly lifted Satori by the back of the shirt. Satori stopped his struggling and dangled helplessly in Sano's fist. He knew resisting was useless when Sano laid a hand on you, but that didn't stop his plotting.
"Then I'll grab his throat and ring his frickin' neck till his head pops!" Maru leaned forward. He thought this was all very amusing.
Kenshin brushed the dust from his pants and thanked Sano with a half smile. Then he turned to speak to Satori but was suddenly cut off.
"You…" Satori growled. "This is all your fault…"
"Oro?" Kenshin was dumbfounded. Satori went on in a rising voice.
"You know the way of the samurai. It's all about honor and justice and defending those virtues. He insulted my pride. He insulted my honor. The one thing that I hold dear to me, he dragged down. I was merely defending my honor… and you deprived me of that! You striped it away from me! Why? Why did you stop me?!"
"Satori…" Kenshin began. "I do know the way of the samurai and I do understand what you must be going through but…"
"LIAR!" Satori hollered. "You don't know anything about me or what I've been through! You don't know what it's like to lose a loved one!"
Kenshin's eye twitched at this remark as Satori continued.
"I demand vengeance! Do you hear me?! I…"
Kenshin, gently but firmly, clamped onto the sides of Satori's head. He had heard enough.
"Satori…" His voice carried a soothing, athorative tone. "What will you gain by taking his life? Yes, your honor will be avenged, but just this one time. There are many unkind people in this world, some of which may insult your brother as well. What will you do then? Attack them as you did this boy? What do you think would have happened if you had a real sword… or a gun?"
Kenshin let go of Satori's face as Sano placed him on the ground. He slumped to his knees and hung his head, deep in thought. Kenshin kneeled down to his level.
"You're still young and have much to learn. Self control and discipline are also virtues a samurai must know."
Satori looked up hesitantly and gazed into Kenshin's eyes. "My brother is alive, Kenshin. I can feel it in my heart."
"I believe you, and we will find him. We'll find him together."
Sano patted Satori's shoulder. "Don't sweat it, kid. We'll definitely find your big bro. That's a blood promise."
"Thank you," Satori softly replied in a melancholy tone.
Suddenly, disaster sprung from Maru's mouth. "That's right, Satori. You'll find him… in a grave." Maru turned away laughing heartlessly; unaware of the danger he had just summoned.
Kenshin quickly glanced back at Satori. His body quaked with fury. "Sa… Satori…" Kenshin stammered. Satori looked into Kenshin's eyes once more and Kenshin was suddenly breathless. The ronin's deep brown eyes now glowed crimson red with fatal emotion. He panted hard and short and an intense heat poured from his face. He was ready to explode! Kenshin's mind raced.
"Now… they're only words, Satori," was all he could manage to say, but Satori had already lost it.
"I… DON'T… CARE!!!"
Before anyone could realize what happened, Satori tore Kenshin's sakaba from its sheath, pushing the samurai over at the same time. He then charged towards the unsuspecting Maru.
"Sano!" Kenshin yelled but he was already on top of it. Sano snagged Satori by the sleeve and began to pull him back. But Satori, as he said, didn't care, and he wasn't going to take anything he couldn't handle. He swung the sword backwards, slicing Sano in the thigh with the reversed blade. He lost hold of Satori and dropped to one knee, loudly muttering a wave of profound words.
As Satori drew closer to Maru, only one thing ran through his unstable mind, "Get him! Get him! Get him! Just Maru… NOW!" Satori shot through the air like a bolt of lightning and came down twice as swift. "Now Maru, you will pay!" The sword hissed through the air. This was it!
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAA…… SHNK!
The street was a dead zone. No sound could be heard. Nothing stirred. Sano was speechless and completely oblivious to the throbbing pain in his leg. Maru lay on his stomach, peering over his shoulder in terror. His forehead beaded in cold sweat. Satori was still as stone. He could barely breathe. All he could do was stare. He stared at the one who stood before him. He stared at… Kenshin! He had blocked Satori's blow.
Satori couldn't believe what just happened. He remained vigil in awe. The sakaba lay across Kenshin's forearm, slightly sunken in. The fuchsia colored sleeve was now stained purple where the sword had struck. The pain was horrible, but Kenshin continued to stare with a straight face at Satori who just stared right back. The samurai's face was a swirl of emotion. Anger, grief, disappointment… Satori couldn't tell which Kenshin felt making it all the more harder for him to act. He could feel Kenshin's bizarre gaze pierce right through his soul. Satori was so afraid that he couldn't even tremble with fear.
Kenshin decided to break the tension. He pulled his arm from the sakaba, wincing a bit as he did so. Satori remained with the sword in the air for the moment. Kenshin pulled up his sleeve to survey the wound. It was a mess of blood, but nothing too serious. After all, it was the blunt side of the sword. Kenshin twisted his sleeve around the cut and tucked it under to stop the bleeding.
The weight if the sakaba began to play on Satori's arms and gradually began sinking them to the ground. Unexpectedly, Kenshin reached out and tore the sword from Satori's grip, causing the young ronin to stumble forward a bit. Kenshin, holding the sakaba delicately by the blade, flung it into the air. It flashed like a star as it spun catching the last light of day, and landed neatly in its sheath. Kenshin pinned Satori with another glance. The ronin just stared at the samurai, drop jawed. Kenshin then turned and knelt down to assist the terrified Maru.
Sano untied his headband and wrapped it around his bloody thigh and lightly limped over to Satori. He grabbed the young ronin by the arm and turned him around. Sano tried to compose himself but the best he could do was, "What the hell were you thinking?!" But Satori was too dazed to even hear him. Sano tossed his arm away and joined Kenshin.
Satori stared blankly at the three figures in front of him. His knees felt as though they would buckle. His mouth was so dry. Satori racked his brain in an attempt to figure out what happened.
"I… I can't believe this!" Satori thought to himself. "How could I have done this? I… hurt Kenshin… But he did nothing to deserve… How could I have done this? …Why… why did he… stop me? I wouldn't have hurt him if he didn't…"
Satori stretched out a shaky hand and tried to call Kenshin's name, but a lump had formed in his throat and caused him to go mute.
"It's useless…" Satori thought once again. "He'll never forgive me. Never in a million years. Never…never…Kenshin will… never…"
Satori's eyes rolled back and closed and his limp body fell gently to the ground. Everyone looked in the young ronin's direction. "Satori!" Kenshin shouted in concern. Sano paced over to Satori and lifted his head.
"It's alright," Sano reassured. "He's just fainted. But we should get going soon. I think he has a fever."
Kenshin nodded his head and helped Maru to his feet. But before he could say anything, Maru blurted out, "You're all crazy!" And ran off. Kenshin scratched his head and sighed.
"Let's go, Sano," he said. Sano removed his jacket and wrapped it around Satori to protect him from the night, autumn chill. He then picked up the exhausted ronin and held him close to his chest.
"I hope Megumi's still at the Dojo," Sano said to Kenshin.
"Me too…" Kenshin replied driftedly. Something was on his mind.
As the moonlight lit the three homeward, Kenshin looked lovingly at Satori and spoke to himself what he had been thinking. "You're wrong, my friend. I do know what it's like to lose a loved one. But, at least… you can bring yours back."