AN- I'm so sorry that this chapter is as late as it is, and as short as it is. However, my motivation for this story really hasn't been all that high. I will finish it, eventually, but chapters will be coming slowly. Anyone who actually cares about this story, I'm sorry. Some of the reasons why I've been so busy and unmotivated is that I don't have any school, having graduated last June. I don't have a job, but have moved all of my belongings beack to New York state from South Carolina, and am now living in the house I grew up in. Of course, that isn't the biggest event in my life recently.
On October 3rd, 2008, anniversery of Operation Gothic Serpent (which Black Hawk Down was based on) I swore into the United States Army. I will be going to basic training on January 8th, and I will be gone for almost six months before my entire training period will be over with. I will be going into the 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion, which is a reservist unit. The unit's motto is 'To Win Hearts and Minds' and that explains exactly what my mission will be. I will be working hard to ensure not only the survival but the very well-being of people who have been hit hard by war, primarily Iraq and Afghanistan. I wanted to get in at least one more chapter before I went, so here it is.
Read and Enjoy!
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
TEARFUL FAREWELLS
Yukishiro Enishi scowled heavily as he strolled along the pathways of one of his hidden bases. The mists hanged heavily off of the towering mountains, but he paid no attention to the beauty of the countryside around him. He had been hearing rumors that he did not particularly like. A handful of men came down the path, rounding one of the large tents that dominated the camp. Enishi noticed them, and tensed, but then relaxed when he saw that they were clothed in worn but well cared for camouflaged uniforms. Survivors of the long routed Chinese People's Liberation Army.
As they approached him, they noticed him, and they got off the wooden-plank path and stood in the mud, bowing slightly at the waist as he passed. He nodded to each of them as he continued down the path, showing them proper respect as their civilian leader...their only leader. After all, their military leadership had fallen apart when Shishio took over their land. Officers that had enough authority to rally and use troops were either paid off by Shishio or had led their men on suicide missions against the SIF. Indeed, the highest ranking officer working for Enishi was a Shao Xiao, or Major, by the name of Kong Jiao-hui.
When he had first met the Major, he hadn't liked the man. He had been running his mafia for a good while at that point, and he didn't think that he needed anymore help...nor anymore mouths to feed. So when Kong showed up with a depleted company of hungry soldiers asking for aid, Enishi had not been happy, to say the least. But then he discovered that not only were they special forces, they had also been conducting a successful guerrilla campaign against several of Shishio's outposts and supply lines.
Not only that, but the silver-haired mafia leader only had goons and a select few specialists under his order. Useful for crimes and other such petty ordeals, but not any good when it came to military campaigns. As soldiers learned of the mafia's new support, they came trickling in until there were nearly four thousand soldiers in the organization.
Of course, Enishi was well aware of the discord that that created. Oddly enough, the soldiers preferred his leadership over Woo Heishin's, despite the fact that Woo was their countryman. So while Woo was second only to Enishi in the organization, the soldiers followed Enishi first, and Kong second. For them, Kong was the de facto second-in-command, Woo be damned. Of course, Woo did not appreciate this.
Instead of concentrating on stopping Shishio's forces, Woo had begun to restructure the organization behind Enishi's back. What few soldiers had positions of authority were demoted, or died in 'accidents'. Soon the only people in charge were the goons who looked to Woo as their leader. Enishi could smell a coup coming, and he did not appreciate how Woo was orchestrating the entire thing. Yet, it was not surprising whatsoever.
Before the epidemic, Woo had been one of the main suppliers to Shishio, and Enishi had been under the little weasel's command as one of his lieutenants. But then the virus was unleashed, and the violent shift in the organization's structure led Enishi to the top...and in opposition to Shishio. Woo had come down with a mild case of the plague that caused the weak man to spend two months under the supervision of the finest doctors and his personal guard. While Enishi was ill, he was forcing his body to function, filling the void that Woo left, as well as the power vacuums caused by the deaths of some of the other organization leaders. It was only later that Enishi discovered that Woo had been given an antidote that would stave off the worst of the disease's symptoms. It had been a personal gift from Shishio.
But his absence was his undoing. Now Enishi was in charge, and the members looked up to him as the man who stayed with them, leading them even through the worst of his illness. Woo was not as popular, nor as charismatic. He would have to bide his time. So he did, making his moves carefully, so that when he struck, Enishi wouldn't be able to fight back. The one thing that Woo wasn't counting on was the soldiers. Still, Enishi knew he would go along with his plan. It was the way Woo thought. The soldiers were pawns to be used and discarded in favor of other gains. Enishi knew in the depths of his heart that is Woo won the coup, he would wholeheartedly support Shishio, for that was the most...rewarding course to take. The little bastard didn't care if Shishio lived or died. He was only concerned with making a profit.
But if he won, there would be no revenge...Shishio would not be killed for ending Nii-san's life. That. Was. NOT. Acceptable. As the dark thoughts plagued him, Enishi started to round the corner, his face probably fearsome indeed. Yet before he could get out of sight of the soldiers, one of them called out to him. "Enishi-sama! I have eyes and ears, and know what is going on around us. Let me tell you a saying: 'If a man waits for the king cobra to strike first, he will suffer greatly. It is best to destroy it before it has its chance.'"
Enishi blinked, perusing the man, who was only a young Shao Wei, a second lieutenant. "I had hoped to avoid that, but if it has come to that point..." He sighed heavily, but turned on his heel, and headed to his personal quarters. Soon he'd be heading towards the organization's head base. No one would get in the way of his Jinchū of Shishio Makoto!
8 September, CRF Main Base, 04:56hrs, Himura Kenshin's POV:
He hated the fact that she was crying. Yet if he wanted to preserve her happiness, he had to go. He sighed as he finished tying his boots, listening to her sniffles and choked back sobs. "Kaoru-koishii...you know as well as I do that if I could stay I would, but there is no one else capable of dueling Shishio. Aoshi and Saitō might contend against him, but I'm the one who will most likely be able to succeed against him." Tucking away the excess lengths of the bootlaces, he turned, and drew her into an embrace, glad to feel her warmth through his camouflaged uniform and web gear. He kissed her softly and passionately, wishing with all his heart they could do more. They had made love twice the previous night, for both of them knew that he might never return. Banishing this thought, he kissed her gently on the cheek.
"Wh-what happens...if you don't return?" she gasped, trying in vain to hold back her tears.
"I will return, you can be sure of that," he reassured he, despite the misgivings of his own heart. The battlefield was governed solely by luck...what if a stray bullet found his flesh...what if an artillery shell landed too close...what if, what if...?
"But what if you don't?" she persisted. "What will I do if you can never return to me, Kenshin. I've already lost so much! My parents, my home, my sight...what happens if I lose you too, and I'm left with so little?"
He sighed, drawing her into one last tight embrace. Glancing at his watch, he scowled. He had to leave. "You will find a way to survive, for that is who you are. If I do not return, Yahiko will aid you in your recovery, as well as any of my friends." Giving her one last loving squeeze, he stood and strode to the door as he picked up the rest of his gear. "I think the one thing that I will miss the most will be holding you, Kaoru-koishii."
"I will miss that too, Kenshin." As he opened the door, he felt more than heard her tense. "Kenshin..." she murmured, and he paused, wondering what else she had to say. "Try to kill as few people as possible. Remember that most of them are being forced to fight. They have no future other than Shishio's bidding."
"Hai, Kaoru. I will try." He gripped the doorway tightly, tears prickling the corners of his eyes. "Sayonara, koishii," he said, voice wavering as a tear tracked down the side of his face. As he shut the door behind him, he could hear Kaoru's broken sounding sobs, and it took all of his willpower to continue forward. If he wanted to preserve her happiness, he would have to endure this tearful farewell. Hitokiri Battôsai was going to war one last time...