by linay
chapter 7: Saitoh's visit
From the edge of the murmuring crowd, Saitoh watched the Kamiya girl coolly. He watched her eyes go wide with shock and her lids flutter nervously. He watched as she slowly sank to her knees in front the sobbing wife of the murdered man. He calmly looked on as her delicate hand rose to cover her open mouth, her crystal blue eyes filling with tears. His cool mind compared her to a bruised flower, her innocence slowly being crushed.
Saitoh's eyes moved to the boy and the rooster head. He cocked an eyebrow in amusement. The boy was rushing around wildly, demanding explanations from the dumbfounded onlookers. Sano, the rooster head, was simply standing still, his mouth hanging open. What an idiot. Saitoh turned to look at the Battousai. He smirked. The Battousai was struggling between standing still and kneeling beside his troubled woman. Saitoh watched as the Battousai quietly placed a gentle hand on the Kamiya girl's shoulder. Then the Battousai stared ahead at the gruesome scene before them, his eyes hardening. A compromise between his two natures. Saitoh mused on this. Tenderness mixed with coldness. He could see the gentleness in the Battousai's touch and yet there was a cold fury brewing in his eyes at the same time. Who knew that such extremes could exist within the same man?
Saitoh's slitted eyes wandered to another person standing in the crowd. This man was obviously aquainted with the group since he was restraining yahiko by the shoulders. Saitoh stared hard at this new man. He had never seen him before. He seemed harmless enough even though he carried a sword.
With a flick of his cigarette, Saitoh decided that it was time to make his presence known. He stepped through the crowd, his hand lightly resting on his katana. His blue policeman's uniform caused the onlookers to step back.
"Get off the ground," he spoke with a cold authoritativeness.
Kenshin didn't bother to look at him.
"What do you want, Saitoh?" His voice was a low growl but the gentleness did not leave the hand that was still on Kaoru's shoulder.
"Information of course."
"Ask the crowd," Kenshin returned calmly, "We know nothing."
Saitoh smiled his sardonic smile. "I want to talk to the girl."
Kenshin's grip tightened on Kaoru's shoulder.
"No."
"She's the only one with clues," Saitoh said, "And I want to know everything she knows."
"I said no."
"You're not her guardian," Saitoh said, the edge in his voice blatant.
Kenshin turned to look up at him, a yellow rage brewing in his eyes.
"No need for that," Saitoh grinned coldly.
Without even knowing why, Kenshin's hand wandered to the hilt of his sakaba sword. But as his fingers closed around the hilt, he felt a small tugging at the edge of his hakama. He looked down, his eyes returning to their affectionate tenderness.
"Kaoru-dono?"
"It's okay, Kenshin," Kaoru whispered softly, "I don't mind answering his questions."
"But -"
Kaoru smiled softly.
Kenshin pressed his lips together but his hand slid away from his sword. Saitoh's lips twisted into an approving smile.
"A wise choice, Kamiya-san. I will come by the dojo shortly"
Kamiya rose slowly, brushing the dust off her kimono. Her clear blue eyes rose defiantly to meet Saitoh's.
"But," she said, her voice ringing with determination, "If I cooperate, I want to know everything that happens with respect to this case. I want to find out who is behind all of this."
Saitoh shrugged, turning away. "Whatever."
Kaoru wasn't satisfied. "I want your word, Saitoh-san."
Saitoh cast an incredulous look over his shoulder. The girl was staring back at him, her eyes lifted confidently and her head thrown high. He regarded her, bemused by her confidence. A slight smirk passed over his impassive features.
"You have my word, Kamiya-san."
Without a second glance back, Saitoh turned and walked away.
Sano let out a low whistle. "Jo-chan!"
Kaoru turned to Sano slowly, "I want to know who's behind this. I've had enough!" Her eyes looked back at the crying woman, who was reluctantly being led away from the body. "And innocent people are suffering."
"It isn't your fault, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin's gentle voice soothed her.
Kaoru lowered her eyes. "As long as people believe that my technique is behind this, I am still responsible. And I will stop whoever is behind this," she added.
Koji watched the scene unfold before him. He had expected her to be brave. But he had never thought she would be so confident. A smile played upon his lips despite the seriousness of the situation.
"You are right, Kamiya-san," Koji said proudly, "You should take action against whoever is dirtying your name."
Kaoru smiled at Koji appreciatively. Kenshin also smiled, but weakly.
"Let's go back to the dojo," Kenshin coaxed softly.
They all began to walk away slowly. Kaoru walked on ahead, distancing herself from the others slowly and ignoring the concerned looks they gave her. She was afraid they would hear the woman's cries, echoing through her mind with unbearable volume.
.
Two days passed before Saitoh cast his shadow over the Kamiya dojo's doorstep. Kenshin, who was doing the laundry diligently, sensed his cold aura immediately. He stood and headed for the dojo gate, brushing away some stray suds as he approached.
"Saitoh." It was a statement rather than a question.
"Where is Kamiya-san?"
"I'm here," Kaoru's clear voice interrupted the two men's death stares.
She advanced on them slowly, holding her chin up deliberately.
"Shall we go into the house, Saitoh-san?"
Saitoh stepped forward and grinned.
"Actually," He replied, gesturing towards the dojo building, "I'd prefer to talk with you in the dojo."
Kaoru nodded silently and the three of them turned towards the dojo. As they neared the entrance, Saitoh stopped and looked over his shoulder at Kenshin.
"I'd like to question Kamiya-san alone," Saitoh said icily.
Kenshin growled, his eyes filling with anger. He was about to tell Saitoh that there was no way in hell he would leave Kaoru alone with a cold hearted beast when Kaoru's soft voice cut in.
"It's okay Kenshin," she reassured him softly, "I'll be okay. Why don't you wait here?"
Without another word, Kaoru entered the dojo. Saitoh threw a smug grin at Kenshin before stepping into the dojo after Kaoru. The door slid shut with cool finality. Kenshin frowned and sat down on the steps, grumbling to himself about Saitoh's arrogance.
"Who's that?" Koji's voice interrupted Kenshin's thoughts.
Kenshin looked up briefly. "He's a captain of the police. He's questionning Kaoru."
"Do you know him?"
"You might say that."
Koji sat on the steps a little aways from Kenshin.
"You fought him once, I think," Koji remarked.
Kenshin looked up in surprise.
Koji pressed his lips into a smile. "I can just tell. There's something about your aura - you're....defensive?" koji guessed.
"Saitoh's a dangerous man," Kenshin muttered, looking away.
"I hear that there's been some trouble with Kaoru's dojo lately," Koji began slowly.
Kenshin was silent.
Koji eyed him. "You don't want to say." Another statement. "No matter."
Kenshin remained silent.
"But," Koji began again, "I would like to know what you thought about the killing this afternoon."
"It was strange."
Koji gave off a low chuckle. "Yes, strange. And?"
"And," kenshin replied testily, "I worry about the words the killer said."
"About Kamiya-san's technique?"
"Yes that," Kenshin affirmed, "But more about the other things he said."
"Ah yes," Koji repeated, "Chaos will bring order to this false era of peace."
Kenshin's face darkened. "There is some truth to that," he remarked softly.
Koji raised his eyebrows dubiously. The two samurai sat in uneasy silence.
Koji rose quickly, adjusting the sword in his belt.
"I'm going out for awhile," he said amicably, "Please let Kamiya-san know I'll be back later on tonight."
Kenshin nodded at Koji's back, watching him walk away with his quiet, calm lavendar eyes.
.
Inside the dojo, Kaoru quietly seated herself near the front of the hall, beside her father's shrine. She waited for Saitoh to speak. Saitoh wandered up to where the names of the students were listed on the wall. He looked at them, hands in his pockets.
"Saitoh-san?"
"Not many students these days, Kamiya-san?"
Kaoru stifled the urge to snap back at the nonchalant police captain. "No," she replied calmly, "Not many."
"Was there a time when there were many students, Kamiya-san?"
"Yes, a long time ago."
"How long ago?"
Kaoru shrugged. "It depends."
Saitoh turned to look at her, his eyes, as always, cool. "When did this dojo have the most students?"
"I'd have to say," Kaoru responded proudly, "That there were the most students when my father was the instructor."
Saitoh nodded and walked slowly towards the rack of wooden swords. "And what technique did your father teach?"
"The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu," Kaoru answered, impatience growing in her voice, "But you know that, Saitoh-san."
Saitoh ignored her impatience, tracing his fingertip over one of the wooden swords. "Did he teach any other technique before the Kasshin Ryu?"
"No!" Kaoru exploded, "And I thought we were here to talk about the murder, not about my father."
Saitoh turned to her suddenly, a deadly gleam in his eyes. "But we are here to talk about your father. The killer came in the name of a Kamiya technique, did he not?"
Saitoh's words cut through her a knife. She dropped her head. "It can't be true."
"Regardless," Saitoh continued mercilessly, "I need to know if your father taught any other technique than this 'sword that protects' nonsense and who the students under this other technique were. Whoever inherited that other technique is behind the killing."
Kaoru tried her best to ignore the insults embedded in Saitoh's comments. "I have never heard of the Kamiya Tenken Ryu. Never."
"I have."
Kaoru's eyes shot up to meet Saitoh's cold ones.
"What?" she stammered.
Saitoh smiled at her confusion. "There was a man who fought for the shinsengumi who identified himself with that particular technique."
Kaoru was struck dumb, her eyes involuntarily wandering to the sword that lay sheathed beside her.
"And that must be your father's sword," Saitoh commented, "A steel sword, I might add."
"That doesn't mean anything."
"Oh but it does," Saitoh continued, "The man I spoke of - who said he used the Kamiya Tenken Ryu to kill his enemies - was a formidable fighter. So good at killing, in fact, that the Shogunate recruited him as a hitokiri. As an assasin."
"What does that have to do with my father?"
Saitoh stood right before her, looking down into her frightened blue eyes. "That man, claimed to have created the Kamiya Tenken Ryu. And since men usually name the techniques they create after themselves, it follows logically that the hitokiri I speak of was your-"
"No!" Kaoru cried vehemently, covering her face, "It's impossible."
Saitoh knelt in front of Kaoru, even then towering over her. With a long arm, he reached out and held up her father's sword horizontally before her. Kaoru cringed, refusing to remove her hands from her face. Saitoh, with one fluid movement, removed the sheath from the long sword.
"Look at the blade," he commanded.
Kaoru remained still. With his free hand, Saitoh pulled Kaoru's hands away from her face. Kaoru was forced to stare down at the shiny blade.
"Does this look like the blade of a peaceful man?" Saitoh asked in a forceful but not unkind voice.
Kaoru stared down at it, noting that she could see her reflection on the blade's shiny surface. But she could not see her face clearly - the blade of her father's sword was covered in knicks and scratches that were obviously made by other swords of steel. She was unable to tear her eyes away.
"But my father wanted to protect us. He wanted peace." she mumbled.
"The same can be said of your Battousai here," Saitoh replied calmly, "And he was one of the most cruel killers of the Edo era."
"But I don't remember any killing technique..." Kaoru's voice was small. Saitoh placed the hilt of the sword in Kaoru's confused hands. He stood and took a few steps back.
"Stand," he commanded.
Kaoru, totally confused, stood with the heavy sword in her hands.
Saitoh drew his sword fluidly. The sound of the sword unsheathing rang in her ears. He held it up and then pointed it straight at Kaoru.
"Be prepared," he said, almost gently.
Kaoru stared at him. What was he going to do? Her eyes held nothing but confusion - until Saitoh rushed at her, his sword upraised. Kaoru froze like a deer in the headlights. He can't be serious, her mind cried to her. But the rushing wind of his sword falling down on her convinced her he wasn't going to stop. Her small cry was lost in the sound of Saitoh's sword whizzing through the air.
Outside, Kenshin jumped up at the sound of steel clashing against steel. He raced into the dojo, almost tearing the door from the wall. His sword was drawn with no hesitation, a burning rage swirling in his narrowed eyes.
There, in the centre of the dojo, Saitoh towered over Kaoru, his sword pressing closer and closer to her neck as she tried to block feebly with her father's sword.
"Saitoh," Kenshin growled, a protective rage smoldering in his eyes.
Saitoh, sensing that his time alone with Kaoru had run out, lifted his sword away from Kaoru's. Kaoru almost gave a sigh of relief - until she saw his sword sailing through the air at her horizontally. Kenshin saw it as well and began to rush forward madly.
Too late...
Then, unexplicably, Saitoh's sword was hurtling through the air. It spun on the ground and slid into the wall. Kenshin stopped his onward rush abruptly. Saitoh folded his arms and regarded the girl calmly, his sword on the floor at the other end of the dojo. Kaoru straightened from her crouching position and stared down at the sword in her own hands, wondering what had just happened.
"I'll wager that was never a technique of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu," Saitoh stated quietly.
Kaoru's hands trembled and she dropped the sword on the ground with a loud clatter. "I..."
Saitoh continued coldly, "I've seen that technique. I've seen the hitokiri, your father, use it. I see you have learned some of that technique, although you seem to have forgotten it ever existed."
Kaoru looked up at Kenshin, her eyes pleading. "I don't understand..." she pleaded quietly.
"The Kamiya Tenken Ryu," Saitoh announced cooly.
"Saitoh," Kenshin growled again, his anger increasing at the sight of Kaoru's confused eyes, "I could kill you for that."
Saitoh turned to Kenshin, amused. He watched Kenshin lean into an attack position. Saitoh cocked an eyebrow.
"Don't be stupid," he said matter-of-factly, "How is your death going to help that girl now?"
Kenshin growled back. "Be prepared."
With infuriating nonchalance, Saitoh walked away from Kenshin to pick up his sword. He sheathed it and walked towards the door.
"You really are stupid," Saitoh commented, "I wouldn't have killed the girl. I only wanted to see if she retained some knowledge of her father's killing technique - to see if indeed it had been passed down." He threw a glance at the trembling Kaoru. "Now, as I said before, find the man who inherited the Kamiya Tenken Ryu technique and you will find the killer."
"Saitoh..." Kenshin's growl came from deep within.
Saitoh ignored it and continued to leave the dojo. "You'd better forget about me and pay some attention to the girl."
Kenshin turned to Kaoru, anger and worry swirling as one in his eyes. Kaoru was kneeling on the ground, bowing before her father's sword in tears. He watched her body tremble. He fought to contain his anger, his hand shaking with controlled rage as he sheathed his sword. He gnashed his teeth together, unable to approach the fragile girl in front of him and just as unable to exact his revenge on the man walking away from him. With no other options left for him, he turned back towards the departing Saitoh.
"Saitoh!" his voice rang in the courtyard, deadly and fierce.
Saitoh looked over his shoulder, a thin smirk plastered across his lips.
"I will be kept informed of the events in this case."
Saitoh smirked, "So that you can kill the man?"
Kenshin's eyes narrowed even further. Saitoh dismissed the thought with a casual wave of his hand.
"I don't care. Just stay out of my way," Saitoh threw the comment over his shoulder as he left the dojo.
Kenshin closed his eyes, trying to rid his veins of the fury that was coursing through them. He swallowed, urging the rage to calm, to rest. When finally the anger had subsided, he turned back to look at Kaoru. When he saw that she was still prostrated before the sword, his rage threatened to consume him again. He fought it down.
"Kaoru-dono." His voice was cracked with the conflict within him.
But Kaoru didn't hear him. She was lost, drowning in a sudden onslaught of memories. Shadows, there were shadows fighting in the dojo. And the incessant sound of clashing steel that rang through her heart. Angry voices. Two angry voices.
"Won't you even avenge her?"
"It's not the way -"
"What are you talking about?"
"The way is to protect -"
"You taught me to fight! You taught me the art of killing."
"I was mistaken..."
Then came the sound. The sound that threw her into blackness. The sound of a sword cutting through flesh. The sound of her father's last breath as his body hit the wooden floor. Then the sword. The sword that spun across the floor and stopped in front of her kneeling body. Kaoru felt the hot tears coming, remembering that day as a child. Remembering how she had stooped to grasp the hilt, only to have it torn away by other hands. She looked up and saw...
The tears ran unchecked from her eyes as the face of the man who had ripped her father's sword away from her became clearer.
Yamada.
Kaoru turned away from the leering face unhappily and returned to the man who had killed her father. He was standing over the body, chest heaving. Kaoru reached out a hand, begging her father to rise. And then the hilt of her dead father's sword connected with the back of her head.
All went black.
Too late.