Disclaimer: I don't own any of the RK characters.
WARNING: A lot of violence in this chapter.
Author's Notes: I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Kenshin and Kaoru will FINALLY meet up in the chapter after this one! =D Yay! I know it's been long awaited. Hehehe .. On another note, I was reading through the beginning chapters to this story and I found them on the bland side. I'll probably revamp the entire fic once I'm finished with it. ^_^ Though I probably won't have time to go through and edit all the chapters until the summer. Sigh.
Special Thanks to Goddess Akiko and Battousai's gal for adding me to your favorite authors' list ! Thanks so much!! *author brims over with happiness ..
~ A Memory Forgotten ~
Chapter 26
"They know . .." the man said in a voice barely above a whisper.
Miroku's eyes widened in shock and he quickly tried to return to his normal demeanor before approaching home. His pace quickened and his hair sloshed from side to side. Tiny beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead. "Kami-sama, please don't let it be too late", he prayed silently in his head.
His heart stopped as he arrived at the foot of the door to his home. Something was wrong. It was too quiet. He collected his senses as he calmly walked through the door.
"Tadaima," he called out casually.
No reply.
"Tadaima," he repeated, this time in a louder voice.
Still no reply.
He sucked in his breath as he advanced further into the confines of his home. He took precautioned steps as he neared the bedroom. "Anata?" he asked in a soft voice as he slid open the shoji door.
His breath caught in his throat as he saw what lay before him and the fragile images that he was daydreaming earlier that evening shattered into broken pieces.
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Continuing Flashback
The walls were splattered with red blood. The liquid was stuck on the wall and had begun to drip on the floor. Miroku's eyes widened in fear. He looked in the corner and found four bodies piled on top one another. He quickly rushed over there with fear and trepidation in his heart. He slowly turned the body over and his stomach lurched. It was one of his servants that he had under his wing ever since he was a child. Large sword gashes were made across the chest and the back. The warm, thick blood still continued to pour from the open wounds. Tears began to sting his eyes as he turned the other bodies over only to discover that he had brutally slaughtered all of them. COUGH COUGH
Miroku's ears perked up at the sound of someone coughing. 'Someone was still alive?' Miroku thought. He quickly scanned the bodies strewn on the floor and found that one person's chest was rising up and down laboriously. He went over to him and squatted next to his side.
"H - - - Higurashi-san . . " the man started with great difficulty. A thin river of blood started to drip from the corner of his lips as he began to talk.
Miroku's heart strained at the sight and carefully propped the half-dead man's head on his leg. The man's eyes fluttered as he did so.
"Y-your wife," he started. Higurashi felt his heart and breathing stop all at once. What happened to his wife? Was she okay? All those questions raced through his mind, all those questions he wanted to ask, but . .but his throat was too dry and he found himself rendered speechless. It was fear. Fear that something had happened to his wife and his children. And that was why Miroku said nothing as he listened to what the man had to say next.
"S-she took your children. They - - they are hiding in t - - the abandoned Uchiha restau - -"
Before the man was able to finish his sentence he spurted up some more thick blood. Miroku felt the man's body convulse and saw the man's brown eyes roll over. He shook his body when he felt the convulsions stop. "Minwoo-san? Minwoo-san?" It was too late, he was already dead. His heart clenched in sadness at the sight. Miroku took a deep breath as he placed a hand over the man's eyes and closed it for him.
He then took pains to lay the recently deceased bodies out on the floor, one by one, side by side. He took a breath as his mind cleared. Miroku was able to decipher what he said last, "the abandoned Uchiha restaurant." 'My wife and children are in hiding. There's still the possibility of Fujimoto finding them. I have to go to them right now!', he thought in urgency. Miroku began to get up from the floor.
WHIZ
A kunai flew across the room and lodged itself deep within the middle of Miroku's back. The man's stunned blue eyes widened as he staggered forward. Blood erupted from his mouth as he coughed violently. Another was thrown that was aimed at his leg. Before the other dagger could make contact with his skin, he quickly unsheathed the sword at his side and deflected it. He got up and pulled the kunai from out of his back and blood rushed out. Miroku didn't even flinch. His blue eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he faced his opponent.
"I'm sorry Miroku, but I have to do this," the man said. Miroku's eyes widened in surprise as he noticed that it was the same man who had warned him that the Shinsengumi knew about his deceit.
Miroku looked sadly upon the man he had called his friend as he loosened his grip on his katana. "You don't have to do this. You can escape Japan with my family and me."
The man looked at him with hopelessness in his eyes. "It's not that easy. It'll only be a matter of time before Fujimoto finds your family. I can't take that chance with mine. I'm sorry. I really wish that things didn't have to come down to this." As he finished his last sentence, the man brought his katana up parallel to his arms and charged forward, aiming at Miroku's heart.
Miroku's eyes narrowed as he hardened his resolve. 'I'm sorry friend, but I have to do this in order to save my family,' he thought as he got into a defensive stance. The tip of the pursuing man's blade clashed against Miroku's own blade.
"Don't make this harder on me, Miroku."
Miroku spun around as the katanas hit. The other man lost his balance as the momentum kept him moving forward.
"I'm sorry," Miroku said.
Miroku hardened his grip on his katana as he had a full view of the man's back.
"I can't"
He lunged the sword forward through the man's back.
"die"
He pulled the blade back out
"now."
and the man's body slumped to the floor.
Miroku flicked the fresh blood off of his katana as he placed it back into its sheath. He looked upon the new corpse of his friend. 'I'm sorry I had to do this. Please understand.' He said a small prayer as he closed the man's eyes. After doing so, he quickly left his home and ran through the shadows at a furious pace to reach the place where his family was hiding. The wound on his back continued to bleed and he could feel himself getting a little lightheaded from the loss of blood.
UCHIHA RESTAURANT
The sign came into view and Miroku breathed a faint sigh of relief. He quickly rushed inside the dilapidated building via one of the broken windows. He tiptoed once he was inside. He heard a wooden floorboard creak from somewhere farther inside. He followed the sound. As he opened the door, he found a blade pointed straight at him.
'No ..'
"Anata !!!" a familiar voice exclaimed loudly. Miroku's eyes instantly shot open. There next to the man holding the blade was his beloved wife. Her gray eyes were shining with happiness and her ebony black hair was thrown messily into a bun. In her arms was their beloved baby daughter whose eyes were a sapphire blue similar to her father's. Miroku's heart leapt with joy.
"'Tousan!" a voice called out.
Miroku spun behind him and found his son running towards him and hugging his leg. The boy had finally grown to the length above his knee. He remembered how proud he was when his boy had started to walk. "Aa . . Ryo-chan."
"I missed you, tou-san. Where you go?" the boy asked.
Miroku squatted down in front of his son and a smile brightened up his face. "Tou-san had some business to attend . . ." Before he was able to finish his sentence, he heard his wife gasp and her footsteps that quickly drew near him.
"Miroku! What . . what happened to you? You . . your back . .it's bleeding!" she said. Tears threatened to come out of her eyes as she placed a warm hand over his wound, she tried to apply pressure on it so that it would stop bleeding. The man turned around and smiled. He missed his family so much. For a second, he had thought .. had thought .. that they had been taken away from him. Miroku pulled his wife into a deep embrace.
"Anata . .anata .. I thought I had lost you."
The woman allowed a small smile to grace her features at her husband's heartfelt words. A small tear dripped down onto her cheek. Miroku wiped it away gently with his finger.
"Sshh .. everything will be alright," he said comfortingly into his wife's ear.
"Higurashi-san," Another voice came from within the room. Miroku looked up and saw his bodyguard and good friend, Kamiya Koshijirou.
"Kamiya-san! I'm so glad you are here," he said with a bright smile.
Kamiya smiled and nodded. "Kamiya-san was the one that brought me to this hideout. He protected the three of us from harm along the way," his wife said.
Miroku smiled once more as he looked upon his friend gratefully. "I . . I don't know how to thank you," he began. He looked over at his family members: his wife, son, and baby daughter with watery eyes. "You saved the people most dear to me . . for that . . for that I don't know how I can repay you."
Koshijirou smiled and replied lightheartedly, "What are friends for?"
Miroku's lip twitched into a large smile and gave a hearty laugh. He pulled his son and his wife closer towards him and breathed in the contentment he felt at that moment.
It was a shame that his happiness would be short-lived.
CRASH
Everyone jumped up out of his and her skins at the loud noise. The little boy started shaking as he held on to his father's leg. The woman's eyes began darting back and forth. His daughter had woken up from her peaceful nap and had started to cry. Miroku felt his chest tighten with fear and started to feel desperate. How was he going to protect everyone? How would he protect his two kids? He quickly made his way to the door.
Higurashi and Kamiya quickly looked outside.
Things did not look good for them.
Fujimoto had found out where they were hidden and brought along twenty or so Shinsengumi underlings with him to bring Higurashi and his family back. He looked back at his wife and two children. There was only one thing to do. He could at least try to save them. He put a hand on Kamiya's shoulder. The brown-eyed man looked at him. He already knew what he was going to ask of him.
"Kamiya, take my daughter. Take her and lead my wife and son to safety. If you go now, they won't see you. I'll take care of the rest," Miroku said gravely. His blue eyes narrowed in determination.
He quickly went towards his wife who had started shaking with fear and sadness. Their daughter started crying. "Ssh Kaoru-chan .." Higurashi's wife held their daughter tightly in her arms and kissed her lightly on the forehead. She knew that she had to do this for the good of her daughter. Tears fell from her gray eyes. She handed her baby diligently to Kamiya Koshijirou. "Please take care of her, Kamiya-san. Raise her .. raise her .. as your own," she said brokenly. She knew that was the last time she would be able to hold her daughter. "I love you, Kaoru-chan. Be good . . for your mom and dad." She gave her daughter one last kiss on the cheek. Kaoru stopped crying at that moment and became quiet as if she knew what was going on. The woman then broken-heartedly passed her baby into the awaiting's man's arms.
Kamiya enveloped the baby and bowed towards them. He would not disappoint them. He had always wanted a child to call his own and was heartbroken when he learned that his own wife could not bear children. He took the small bundle and waited for Miroku's wife and son to follow.
Miroku turned towards his wife. "Follow him and take Ryo-chan with you, Kamiya will lead you out safely. Leave the rest to me," he said.
"I . . I can't leave you Miroku!!" the wife said in a voice mixed with sadness and anguish. She grasped onto the collar of his shirt and didn't want to let go.
Miroku gave her one last hug and kissed her fully on the lips. Tears fell down from her eyes as she felt the warmth leave her the next minute. "Please anata . . for the good of our son. I'll find you. I promise we'll meet again," the husband said with determination. His wife nodded her head as she obeyed. She went over to her son and grabbed his small hand. The father embraced his son before the wife pulled him away.
"Let's go," she said.
Kamiya nodded his head. Miroku watched as the three made their way from the area. His wife looked back at him once more and mouthed the words, 'I love you.'
That was the last he saw of her.
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"After that, Fujimoto's men came in and attacked. I was only able to fend off ten or so before I became too exhausted and weakened by their attacks. I barely escaped with my life that time.
I ran out of the building and went into hiding. After hiding for two weeks, I came back out to search for my wife and son. It was then that I found out . . I found out . . ." His forehead wrinkled as he struggled to say the rest of the sentence,
Miroku stopped speaking as his breathing became erratic and a tear fell from his eyes. His sudden silence became deafening in the room. Kaoru unconsciously clutched her fists as she listened. His story .. it made her insides twist and turn in pain.
Soujiro sat there quietly alongside his companion as he listened. He didn't know what was going on inside him. Listening to this man's story made him feel . . it made him feel . . .
Compassion and sadness.
And he didn't know what to make of those feelings. He looked back up at the man in front of him and at that moment, felt some sort of connection to him. Maybe it was because the pain that the man had gone through in his life was similar to his own.
Miroku struggled to finish his sentence. The girl placed a hand on top of his. He looked up at her and her eyes gave him the courage to finish.
"I found out that . . that . . . that my wife and son were killed. I tried to look for them . . and found out that their bodies had become ashes along with the house that they were residing in at the time. I was only able to find this," Miroku dug into sleeve and pulled out a tarnished gold hair ornament with a pearl hanging at the end. "It was the only thing left of my wife."
Kaoru's eyes began to water. Miroku noticed this and brushed the tear away with his thumb gently. He left his hands on her cheek and caressed it as he said, "That is why . . Kaoru-chan . . why I must not allow myself to stay with you any longer." He pulled his hand away and Kaoru found that she missed the warmth that his hand had given her. Miroku had a faraway look his face as he explained. " It's too much of a risk for me to stay especially since Fujimoto is on his way to China as of now."
Kaoru gasped when she heard him mention this news. Soujiro's eyes narrowed and instinctively placed a steady hand on Kaoru's shoulder.
Miroku continued, "When the monks informed me about what had happened in Japan, I left the temple I had been residing in and made preparations to wander once again. I didn't want him to find me." He paused and looked at Kaoru with a serious expression on his face.
I can't have him find you"
He nodded at the both of them signaling his readiness for departure and then began to get up. The other two sat there sullenly. He looked wistfully at his daughter one last time before he made his way to the door. As he began to walk, he remembered the last time he had seen her.
The last time he had walked away from her.
Flashback
10 Years Ago
An unshaven man dressed in torn and dirt-laden robes wandered the streets of Tokyo, he stopped abruptly at seeing the sign in front of him.
Kamiya Dojo.
His heart began to beat faster as he instantly recognized the surname.
"Tousan! 'tousan!" a little girl yelled from within the grounds. The calling grew louder as the raven-haired girl started to run towards the gate.
Miroku acted quickly by running behind some crates to hide from the girl. He took a peek from behind the wooden boxes and he saw her. His heart grew elated at seeing how his little baby had grown since he had seen her last. Already her face began to show traces of his wife's beautiful face. He smiled tenderly at the memory.
The man's eyes crinkled into a smile as he noticed that the little girl was holding a small kendo stick. The little girl waved it around as she continued to call out for her father. Miroku heard heavy footsteps approach the gate.
"'Tousan!!" the girl welcomed as her bright blue eyes grew wide with excitement at seeing her father once more.
"Kaoru-chan! What are you doing out here in the front of the gates? Shouldn't you be inside practicing with the other student?" he scolded lightly, while trying his best to hide the smile that began to don his visage.
"Mou! Those boys won't let me practice with them. They say I'm too weak because I'm a girl!" she exclaimed with distress. Kaoru crossed her arms over her chest and stomped her foot on the ground as she gave a 'humph' to emphasize her state of anger. From behind the boxes, Miroku chuckled softly to himself at the scene.
Kamiya Koshijirou smiled broadly at his daughter's statement as he picked her up in his arms in one fell swoop. The little girl laughed harmonically at the sudden embrace.
"Let's go show them who's weak, ne?"
"Hai!" Kaoru replied with her eyebrows furrowed and the most serious tone she could manage. This only made Kamiya laugh more as he began to walk back inside with the little girl propped in his arms. Miroku watched the retreating figures with a kind of heaviness in his heart. 'Kaoru, I'm glad you're happy', he thought. 'In order to protect your happiness, I'll make sure Fujimoto never finds you.' He took one last glance at the little girl as he made his way to the Tokyo docks.
'China', he thought in irony, 'I thought that I would be going there with my family. Now it's just me.'
End Flashback
Miroku thought back to those memories with a sigh. Here he was leaving her once again. To protect her . . for her own good.
Kaoru sat there with her eyes glued to the man's back. The thought of him leaving her once again, she thought. It would be too much to bear especially when it had taken this long to find him. In a quick motion, she got up and grabbed his hands forcefully and held onto them. Miroku jerked to a stop as he turned around with widened blue eyes.
"You . . you BAKA! I don't care about the danger, I only want you to stay with me. Please," she said while focusing on her father's surprised eyes. "That Fujimoto guy is looking for me too right? It won't matter if you're here with me or not." Her determined blue eyes looked at him and challenged him to leave her once again.
"and . . and . . and anyway . . I would like to learn more about my father," Kaoru ended with her head bowed down.
Miroku's eyes began to become watery as he turned around fully and instantly pulled her into a fierce hug.
"Oh, Kaoru-chan . .." He closed his eyes as he felt his daughter's body loosen up within his hug and smiled.
He had found his happiness once again.
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- To be continued
Author's Notes:
Please read and review! Thanks so much for your comments and feedback so far!! =D They're great. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Anyway, here is some information that could clear up some parts of this chapter.
1.) Ryo is Higurashi Miroku's son's name.
2.) Kamiya Koshijirou had gone out of the dojo to get some water from the well nearby. That was why Kaoru was calling for him.
3.) The reason Higurashi didn't say anything to his daughter was because he was afraid that if Fujimoto Akane were to find out that his daughter was also alive, he would kill her. Miroku didn't want to endanger his daughter or his friend anymore so he left the country in hopes that he would protect the future of Kaoru.
Reader Responses:
MissBehavin – Hehe . .I'm glad you liked the Aoshi/Sano scene. I love those two guys. Total opposites in their behavior and how they express themselves.
Blazes purple fire – I tried to get the fic out before Thanksgiving, but sigh .. no such luck. I still had some creative juices flowing inside of me after writing that last chapter and didn't get a writer's block. ^_^ But I found that I wanted to have a lot more stuff happen in this chapter so I could better explain Miroku's past. =)
Ryoga – Hi! Thanks for the comments and such. I'm glad you enjoy it so far. Arigato gozaimasu!
Devotd-inu-fan – Thanks for the review ^_^ Yay! I'm happy I was able to update this chapter sooner for you guys. ^_^ You like Indian restaurants also? =D =D I love Indian food .. yum yum .. especially palak paneer. Yum yum… *drools
Boomerang-chan – Hello! Thanks for the feedback! You like Naruto also? You can actually download eps of Naruto off BitTorrent at www.animesuki.com .. ^_^ Hopefully that will help. Anyway, you can also get the DVDs off of ebay. =) Take care!
^_^ - Oh cool.. You're Chinese also? ^_^ Me, too .. Yeah, they haven't found much information about Kaoru .. but rest assured Kaoru and Kenshin will FINALLY meet up in the next chapter.. or the chapter after that. ^_^
anabell – Hello! I'm glad you like the story so far! Thanks for leaving me feedback.
Chibi sasuke – Thanks for leaving me comments on the chapters! I really appreciate it!
Xxxtripletroublexxx – Hello. Gomen this is not a sou/kao fic, but as I have said before .. Soujiro will have a happy ending also. ^_^
Iminyourmind – Hello! Thanks for leaving me the comments at the end. Anyway, I updated more quickly this time. ^_^. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was EXTRA long .. hehe ^_^
OniTokage – Thanks so much for the message that you left me! It was very sweet. Anyway, of course people are waiting for you to update your fic!!! It's great! Hehe .. so hope you update soon!
Shermaine – I hope you liked the chapter!
Saotome – thnx for the comment.
Chibilee – Aww. . thanks so much for your feedback. I'm so glad that you like the story so far! =D =D =D x) *brimming over with happiness. Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait. It's the longest one I've written so far. Hehe .. ur comments always get me laughing..Chibi Fyrefly – Hi! Sorry about all the flashbacks .. but as you see .. they are necessary. ^_^ hehe .. not to worry though .. Kenshin and Kaoru will finally meet up soon!
Catrina3 – Hello! Thanks again for reviewing. =D =D =D Yep after the next chapter. .things will really start happening. I mean .. after this chapter. .so look forward to it. ^_^
Aimi-chan – I totally agree . .Sou/Kao do make a very cute couple ^_^ I'm not sure when I'll start on my Sou/Kao fic .. I was thinking of doing this Aoshi/Kao fic first or maybe Kenshin/Kaoru/Tomoe fic. ^_^ I guess I'll wait and see..
Kitty12perfecto – thanks for the comments ^_^ hehe .. I didn't leave a cliffhanger for this one. =x
Kenshinfan – Yay! I'm glad all three of you like the fic so far! =D =D *author smiles brightly
Laurika – Hello! Thanks for reviewing. I hope this update didn't take as long . .but the chapter is really long. ^_^
