Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rurouni Kenshin (even though my Japanese name is Sanosuke), all of everything belongs Nobuhiro Watsuki.
Chapter 1: Weary warriors.
The events of the day still buzzing in her head, Kamiya Kaoru took what was her sixteenth nervous look in twenty minutes out the window of the Shirobeko, searching for any sign of her friends returning from battle
Throughout the day, she and her friends holding the fort at the now-destroyed Aoi-ya had fought the private army of Shishio Makoto: The Juppongatana. They had suffered many wounds; her only pupil, Myojin Yahiko, was critically wounded and nearly killed…twice. Her new friend Makimachi Misao had had her ribs crushed by a heavy weight, yet she still managed to fight onward. The four Oniwabanshu onmitsu had been brutally beaten by what seemed like an indestructible ogre. Okina of the oniwabanshu, besides having previously been critically wounded, was tossed from his home when a gigantic sword came hurtling at it. Kaoru had suffered quite a bit herself. Several scratches, bruises, and other ailments covered her body. But she cared not. She would bear all the pain and more for one man: Himura Kenshin.
Ah, Kenshin. The man she would gladly die for. Not that he would let her. He would protect her, as always, even if it meant placing his life in great danger. Over the months she had lived with her rurouni, she had seen what a kind heart he had. He was gentle, yet strong. He was calm, yet fierce. He was everything Kaoru could dream of…and of course she had fallen in love with him.
But it wasn't out of lack of trying. She had wanted to resist becoming enamored with the swordsman. After all, he was eleven years her senior. Certainly she couldn't be with him…but now, after all they had been through, Kaoru didn't care. She loved this man with all her heart and soul.
And so, with a lingering sigh, she returned from her watch out the window and began to walk back to the living room, when suddenly she heard Misao's distinct, excited voice yell, "Aoshi-Sama! He's returned!"
Kaoru bolted to the door and nearly broke it down getting it open. Upon reaching the threshold, in the distance she saw them, the three men walking toward the building. She recognized them from right to left as Shinomori Aoshi, her good friend Sagara Sanosuke, and with them Himura Kenshin. "Only three…? What happened to Saito?" Kaoru thought, though not out of worry so much out as curiosity. Her thoughts quickly returned to the three returning. They had neared the door, all three looking at least one hundred times worse than the rest of them.
"Kenshin! Sanosuke!" Kaoru yelled, taking a look at Kenshin's limp form leaning on Sanosuke. "What's happened to him?" she asked, knowing it was a ridiculous question. "Kenshin, please, wake up, talk to me, say something, anything!" she commanded the unconscious redhead. Tears began streaming down her cheeks, as she pleaded for Kenshin to give a sign of living other than the slight breath slowly escaping his mouth.
"Please…"
Sanosuke told Kaoru, "Listen, we've gotta hurry! The two of us can go without treatment, but if Kenshin doesn't get some help soon, he…he might…"He struggled, not wanting to say the dreadful word. Kaoru helped Sanosuke lift the wounded samurai up the stairs into the room prepared for him. Having thought ahead of time and placed a medical kit in that room, she opened it and began grabbing bandages and medicines rapidly, wanting to get everything as quickly as possible. Immediately spotting the large cuts, bruises and burns, she applied what care she could, but her knowledge of first aid was lacking. Reaching an idea, she called to Sanosuke, "Sano, Okina's downstairs. Ask him to use the Oniwabanshu information system to contact Takani Megumi in Tokyo." Sano appeared puzzled for a second, then a small, yet sorrowful grin appeared on his face. "You're right." he agreed, "If anyone can save Kenshin, it's definitely the vixen," he added, and almost flew down the stairs, calling, "Old man! Hey, old man!"
Having done all that she could now, which unfortunately wasn't nearly enough, she stayed in the room, watching Kenshin. He appeared to be in a deep sleep, one Kaoru hoped he would wake from, having troubling dreams. Every now and then, his body would spasm from the pain, filling Kaoru with great sorrow. She only wished that she could ease what was plaguing his subconscious.
In his mindscape, Kenshin stared his opponent down from the opposite side of the dark void he seemed to be in. For on the other side, lay the most hideous human being alive: Shishio Makoto. Surrounding him were his demons, prancing about, cackling. Shishio pointed his finger at Kenshin, and an imp began blazing and threw itself at him. Kenshin felt the burns singe his skin until it was completely charred. Shishio laughed maliciously for a moment, then raised a second finger at Kenshin. This time, the creature did not catch fire, but run at Kenshin and burst, damaging him severely. Having fallen, Kenshin lay on the floor, hearing the triumphant laugh of Shishio. As the laugher reached its finish, Kenshin felt a new energy grow within him, He wanted to stay alive. Shishio did not seem at all fazed by this, and instead sent another blast-creature towards the ex-hitokiri. This time, however, he was prepared, and sent the explosion straight back at Shishio with the power of his will.
While Shishio was stunned, Kenshin called forth two dragons. They twisted and turned until they struck Shishio, one going up, the other going the opposite direction. Still fazed from that attack, the commander of the flames was unable to avoid or block either of them. Exploiting this opportunity further, the rurouni summoned three more identical dragons, which swarmed Shishio, damaging him even more. The bandaged man's energy was not lessened by that much, so this time, the swordsman of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu summoned a different dragon. This particular beast had nine heads. Each of the nine heads thrashed the burned man, knocking him to the ground. Kenshin needed to recover, as did Shishio. When they both arose, Shishio called forth his largest, most powerful fire-imp. I response, Kenshin brought into the battle the most fierce dragon of all…the dragon of heaven. The heaven dragon flew at a great speed towards the imp and it's master, yet they dodged the glistening fangs of the dragon. Pleased with their victory, Shishio commanded the imp to attack…yet it could not. The sheer wind speed of the dragon created a vortex around the imp and Shishio, The dragon lunged once more at Shishio and shredded him with his massive, sharp claws. Roaring triumphantly, it promptly disappeared.
Shishio fell to the ground, broken, bleeding, and steaming. Kenshin was near death as well, calling forth the heaven's dragon had drained him of all his strength. The ground around them was falling away, eventually crumbling so much that both warriors were hanging for dear life to avoid falling to their deaths. Kenshin looked down… below them laid a pile of bones as wide as the eye could see. He struggled to hang on, but simply could not find the strength to grasp the land. Shishio seemed to be regaining his energy, and slowly began climbing up.
"Even if he reaches the top, he shall surely die of exhaustion…I have no need to continue…"Kenshin thought to himself and slowly let his grip slip away…and he fell, bracing himself for the impact.
But it never came. Someone was holding his hand firmly, yet gently. He looked up to find the warm smile of Kaoru beaming down at him. The woman he loved dearly was not willing to let him die. With renewed strength and Kaoru's help, he hoisted himself back on to the land. As he reached the top, he was able to catch a glimpse of Shishio falling into the massive bone yard, a flaming lump of flesh. Satisfied with his victory, all went dark for Kenshin…
In the room where the rurouni was being held, Kaoru had not moved one inch from her seat, watching Kenshin for any sign of movement. At times, his body convulsed violently, and he let out screams of pain. But each and every time, Kaoru held his hand, which seemed to calm him. She thought she even might have seen a smile on his face.
Sano had entered the room to watch his wounded friend as well. It wasn't as if they had much else to do while they waited for Megumi to arrive with her wide array of medical knowledge and medicine. The bird-headed fighter's right hand throbbed in pain. He honestly could not tell whether any of the bones in his hand were connected. He knew one thing: it sure as hell felt like the bones were in little pieces. Over and over in his mind he went over the battle they had just won. His brain still couldn't fathom such a powerful enemy as Shishio Makoto, who had defeated him, Aoshi, Saito and even Kenshin, for a little while. He had taken Saito's gatotsu and not even flinched. He had been even faster than Aoshi's kaiten kenbu rokuren. Even his own futae no kiwami "dual layers", which had toppled the giant Anji, had not even cause Shishio to blink. Even the Amakakeru Ryuno Hirameki had failed to kill him, and in the end it was his own flames that destroyed him. He had given kenshin so many wounds… wounds that may result in…no, he didn't want to consider that as a possibility. Once Megumi arrived and helped him, everything would be okay, they would go back to Tokyo and they would live happily ever after… at least that's what he liked to think, instead of facing the grim reality at their hands.
Again his thoughts wandered to the battle. What had happened to Saito? He couldn't be dead…No, Saito was too tough to be defeated by flames… wasn't he? Their duel…what would come of it? They never got to test their skills against each other in a true fight. If he had gained the upper hand and would be able to finish him, could he? Would he allow himself to murder him? He spared no more thought because he didn't want to know the outcome.
Sekihara Sae stepped into the room, carrying a tray of soup. "Kaoru-chan…I've brought you and Sanosuke-san some food. You should eat… It's not good for you to be without food, you know," she said, offering them the tray.
Kaoru snapped out of her daze and turned to face Sae. "Oh, thank you Sae-san," she said wistfully, and took a bowl off of the tray with a spoon. Sano did the same, taking a few gulps of the soup. He realized how hungry he had been, not having eaten since the morning of the previous day.
Kaoru on the other hand took a spoonful of soup, opened Kenshin's mouth carefully, poured the soup into it, and lifted his mouth to swallow. Afterwards, she had a spoonful herself, and proceeded in this pattern, alternating between herself and the wounded man.
"She really cares about him," thought Sano. Looking down at his empty bowl, he felt a bit selfish, having eaten the whole thing in less than two minutes.
After walking down the hall, Sae turned a corner to find the man known as Hiko Seijuro looking at her. "How is he?" he asked, showing only slight care in his voice.
"He's still a mess, and his breathing isn't too steady…" Sae told him, a worried tone in her voice. Kenshin's master only uttered a "hmph" as Sae walked by him. However, in his mind, he was thinking, "Kenshin…will you really die? Was your will not strong enough? Was Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu not strong enough? They were…they were stronger than they should be, in fact. Please…live, Kenshin, Live a happier life than mine and the one you used to have, Be happy with that girl."
Though she would have wished to stay and watch him, Kaoru felt the exhaustion within her take its grasp. Soon, still holding Kenshin's hand, her tiredness overcame her and she drifted peacefully to sleep.
The next day, she was awoken by the sound of wheels clattering on the street. A carriage stopped outside Shirobeko. From it stepped a beautiful woman who swiftly ambled into the building. Kaoru stepped down the stairs and went to greet her. Takani Megumi demanded from her, "Take me to Ken-san right away!"
Okay, first chapter done, now to do the others! Don't worry; the whole fic isn't going to center around the Kyoto battle aftermath. There'll be much more, if I'm not too lazy to write it. If you will, leave a review please!