Remember Me
By: Hitokiri Musei
Rated: T
Summary: Kenshin manages to save Kaoru from a bridge collapsing, but he isn't lucky enough to escape it himself. He gets a hard knock to the head, and it results in his loss of memory after he spends four years in a coma. Can Kaoru, forgotten, restore his trust in her?
Warnings and Disclaimer: I don't own RK, sadly. This is bound to be slightly OC, so please don't chew me out too much about that. Enjoy!
Part 1
Kenshin walked quietly through the sunny day, deep in his own thoughts. His violet eyes were pensive, though they were still bright in awareness. He was, as always, wearing the old worn magenta gi and white hakama, his sakabatou tucked through the belt. His sandals made faint slapping noises as they hit the hard packed dirt that the rurouni walked over, the only sound the redhead made at all. He had been walking through the market, thinking over what to get for Kaoru.
'Today. Today is the first day that I met Miss Kaoru. What should I buy for her?' was the only thought on his mind. He had ended up buying a simple flower, a jasmine. It wasn't much, but he knew in his heart that she would love it anyway, as long as it came from him.
Now, on his way back to the dojo, he was thinking again. Thoughts ran through his head at a high frequency as he relived some of the events from his first meeting with the young woman. He was suddenly startled from his thoughts when he sensed the bright star of ki heading his way, Kaoru herself.
The raven-haired woman ran up to him, her breath slightly heavy and her cheeks flushed from her run. "Kenshin, I'm glad I found you!" she said happily.
Kenshin seemed puzzled. "Why is that Miss Kaoru? Sessha just went to the market."
She smiled and shook her head. "Just silly old me being worrisome. You just left right after breakfast, and I, of course, assumed something was wrong." She grinned. "Nothing to worry about."
He flashed a rurouni smile back at her and Kaoru felt her knees liquefy. 'Stay standing Kamiya,' she thought doggedly.
"Well, since you are here, I will walk you home Miss Kaoru, that I will." Kenshin extended one arm, bending it at the elbow.
Kaoru slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, a light blush dusting her high cheekbones. 'He's being unusually gentlemanly today. I wonder if he remembered?' The two walked in silence, Kenshin smiling to simply be in the presence of Kaoru. They came up to a bridge over a ravine, and started to walk over it.
When they had reached about three quarters of the way across the old wood Kenshin jerked violently, then flung Kaoru forward. She gave a cry, landing on her hands and knees on the dirt.
But before she even hit the dirt there was a tremendous cracking and splintering. As she touched the dirt she spun in time to see Kenshin's startled violet eyes before the bridge collapsed beneath his feet. One hand reached up and grabbed at the edge of the ravine, but his hands began to slip. Even his god-like speed was not enough when he had only just managed to get Kaoru off before the rotted wood gave away.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru screamed, diving for his hand. She managed to catch his fingers in a slight grip, but even then Kenshin continued to slip. She tugged at his arm with all her might, trying to pull him up so he could get a grip. His skin suddenly slipped from her hold and Kenshin fell into space, a look of shock on his face.
"KENSHIN NO!" Kaoru screamed, her hands still reaching for him. Time seemed to slow as the rurouni struggled to grab a hold of something, anything to halt his freefall. A scream of pain rent the air as Kenshin slammed into a branch, a crack resounding in Kaoru's ears. Kaoru watched through wide sapphire eyes as Kenshin hit a ledge with a sickening thud, and lay still.
"KENSHIN!" the woman screamed. "KENSHIN GET UP!"
The man about 30 feet below her did not answer, nor did he move. She watched with horrified eyes as a puddle of blood began to spread on the ledge, the thick liquid slicking a large rock resting on the stone jutting out from the side of the ravine.
Tears began to roll down Kaoru's cheeks as she stood, looking frantically towards the dojo only a few moments away. She turned and ran for the building, hoping that she could get to the dojo in time, and that Sano would be there to retrieve Kenshin.
Sano was startled to hear Kaoru's voice screaming for him. He leapt to his feet and rushed to the gate to see her run forward, tears soaking her cheeks and dirt staining her pretty yellow kimono.
"Jou-chan, what's the matter!" the tall man asked hurriedly, catching her when she nearly fell.
"Kenshin……he……he fell……Sano…." This was all Kaoru managed to get out around her tears. Sano didn't really understand, but the general message was passed to him. He held Kaoru's shoulders in a gentle, yet firm grip, staring intensely at her.
"Where? Where is he?" he asked with authority.
Kaoru's eyes opened wide to look at him, tears making them appear soaked. "The ravine…….." With that her eyes rolled back, and she passed out. The shock had gotten to her, and she couldn't handle the stress any longer.
"Kuso…." Sano swore and rushed inside, setting Kaoru's limp body on the futon he had used last night, which was in the training room at the moment, then rushed to find some rope. "What have you gotten yourself into this time Kenshin?"
The ex-street-fighter ran from the dojo as quickly as his long legs would take him, sprinting to the ravine. Upon arriving he had to keep from gasping. The old bridge was gone, completely wiped out. There was a single log left, splintered and sticking from the ground opposite him. He rushed to the edge, and then he did gasp. Kenshin lay in a limp heap on a ledge about 30 feet below him, a puddle of his own blood surrounding him. It was everywhere on the stone, soaking the dirt and a rock that Kenshin must have hit on the way down.
"Shimatta!" Sano tied the rope around a tree securely, and then heaved it over the side of the ravine. It barely reached the ledge, but it was enough. He climbed down the rock face as quickly as he could without injuring himself. On the way down he discovered a bloody branch, which Kenshin must have hit during the fall.
When he reached the ledge Sano struggled to stay upright in the slick blood coating the stone surface. Though he knew little about medical things, the fighter did know that you shouldn't move an injured person. However, Sano had little choice. With an inward wince he gently picked up Kenshin and slung him over a shoulder. Blood immediately began to soak through the white jacket he wore, sliding over his skin. Repressing a shudder he began to haul himself and the rurouni back up the ravine. He reached the top, and left the rope there.
Shifting Kenshin forward into his arms, trying to make it a little easier on himself, he took off at a run for the dojo. Once there he quickly located Yahiko looking over Kaoru with a curious face. When a bloody Sano rushed in with a bloodier rurouni in his arms Yahiko turned as white a sheet.
"GO GET THE DAMNED FOX!" Sano bellowed, startling the younger boy out of his stupor and sending him sprinting from the room.
While Yahiko ran for Megumi Sano laid Kenshin on the dojo floor, silently looking him over. Blood soaked the redhead's clothes and hair, the normally white hakama was nearly red with the liquid. Blood covered his face, seeping from a sizable gash above the rurouni's right eye. A long slash went up his left arm, and the limb was lying at a wrong angle, awkward and quite obviously broken. Various cuts covered Kenshin's body, most gotten either on the fall or when the bridge's wooden supports had shattered, sending wooden splinters everywhere.
Sano didn't know what to do. Seeing the normally quiet, peaceful, cheerful rurouni unconscious and covered from head to toe in his own blood was mind blowing for the man, and he simply sat there in shock.
Yahiko ran as fast as he could through the streets, heading straight for Megumi's clinic. He knew that the older woman would be there, but the boy was still shocked by the image of Kenshin unconscious in Sano's arms.
He burst into the clinic, surprising Megumi from her state while she quietly read a book. The day had been subdued, but that was all about to change.
The woman instantly knew something was wrong. Yahiko was paler than a ghost, breathing heavily as well as sweating. "Yahiko, what's wrong? What's happened?"
Yahiko stared at her, his brown eyes wide. "Kenshin, he was covered in blood Megumi! Come help him!"
Megumi gasped. "Ken-san!" Quickly she gathered up her bag, grabbing extra bandages on the way out of the door. She and Yahiko ran back through the streets towards the dojo, Megumi crying inside. 'Ken-san, whatever have you done now!'
HM: I don't know. Quick idea that randomly popped into my head. Review; let me know if you want me to continue.
Translations:
Sessha – this unworthy one
Jou-chan – little missy
Kuso – all purpose swear word really, 'shit'
Shimatta – damn it