By: Hitokiri
Gentatsu
Rating: PG
Author's
Note/Disclaimer: Here is the second chapter. Enjoy. I don't own Rurouni Kenshin
or any familiar characters. I only own the ones I created. There is no money
being made in the writing of this story.
Chapter 2: The Path
of the Sword
"The Sword of
Mitsurugi should be wielded for the people of the world, for the protection of
the weak."
First Principle of
Hiten Mitsurugi
OVA 1
(Subbed)
Images flashed painfully
across his mind but he could make no sense of them. They were full of darkened alleyways;
smoke covered battlefields, screams and, over all of it, the smell of blood. He
tossed and turned on the threadbare futon, mumbling incoherently and crying out
in his delirium.
"Please forgive,
please forgive," he cried out to the faceless men that he had slain.
They laughed and
told him he would never be forgiven. He cried in despair asking for forgiveness
again. He moaned in agony and through off the blankets that had been put over
his shivering form. The woman who tended him reached over to cover him again
and whispered that everything would be all right soon. Voices wove in and out
of his dreams and his body seemed to be at once on fire and frozen. His head
throbbed in time with his heart and he heard himself groan. He could also hear soft
feminine voices and the higher pitched voices of children. He awoke slightly
trying to find out where he was.
"Will he be alright,
Shihobu-san? You can make him better can't you? He did come to our rescue and
he protected me," said a young boy of about eight as he watched Kenshin tossing
and turning on the futon.
"I am doing my best,
Masahiro-chan but it would help me greatly if you would go to the river and
fetch some water."
Kenshin heard small
feet running across the floor and the sound of a door being slid open. He felt
to tired to open his eyes and his head hurt horribly. He moved his hand to
gingerly explore the wound. It appeared to be a shallow cut on the left side of
his head. It appeared to no longer be bleeding but it really hurt. He hissed in
pain and heard someone turn around.
"You shouldn't touch
the wound."
His eyes flew open
at the order and he saw a hazy image of a woman in nun's clothing but he could
tell nothing else about her. His eyes remained unfocused and he tried to see
where he was but could make out nothing about the room.
"Drink this, now. It
will help you rest more comfortably. You will not be going anywhere anytime
soon. You have a fever on top of everything else."
Kenshin mutely took
the chipped cup and drank down the bitter medicine. Then he laid back and
stared up at the ceiling, listening to every sound around him since his eyes
were not working properly, hoping this would tell him something about where he
was. He could hear other voices outside the room he was in, mostly children's
voices and he could smell food cooking somewhere nearby. Wherever he was, there
was no doubt he was safe for the moment.
"But for how long?"
the hitokiri part of his mind wondered. "How long before someone figures out
who you are?"
He ignored that part
for once and let himself feel safe even if it was only for a few days. He
closed his eyes again, too tired and in too much pain to really care what
happened to him as long as he could rest for a few days first. Soon sleep
claimed him.
*
Several days passed
for Kenshin in somewhat peaceful rest, although nightmares full of blood and
death still plagued his sleep. He became used to the sound of the voices of
many people around him again and took his medicine without complaint. On a
morning about two weeks later, Kenshin awoke to find himself, for once, alone
in the room. He stared at the ceiling and took stock of himself. His head still
ached but it was a dull ache and not the throbbing pain it had been before.
Carefully, he sat up and found that he was no longer dizzy and the room was not
spinning around him. He smiled and slowly got to his feet, feeling a little
weak from too much time spent in bed. He looked around the room and found his
clothing folded neatly on the floor near the futon. His sakabatou was leaning
against the wall next to them.
He got dressed
carefully and then took his sword from were it rested and carefully unsheathed
it to look at the blade for any sign of damage. The blade looked shiny and unblemished
as if he had never used it. He smiled at the reflection of himself in the
blade, remembering how he had gotten the blade.
He had been trying
to leave the Ishinishi camp without anyone noticing right after the Battle of
Tobu Fushimi. He had gotten all the way out to the edge of camp and was making
his way along a path that would carry him away from the life of blood and
terror he had known when he had paused, sensing someone nearby.
He scanned the area
and found that Arai Shakuu was watching him as he walked out of camp. Shakuu
was the wordsmith who had made the sword he had once carried and had since left
behind on his last battlefield having no use for the blade on the path he
intended to take. He stopped several feet and waited to see what Shakuu would
say to him. They had talked of Kenshin's intended path and how he could never
exist without a sword at his side. That was when Shakuu had given him the
sakabatou and left him, telling him to return to him in Kyoto when it was
broken and if he still believed in his idealistic nonsense. He smiled at the
memory.
"With this sword I
can begin a new life and I can atone for the evils I have committed with my
hands. I will find the path to peace."
He took a few
practice swings with it and found that it was a bit heavier than his former
sword had been and that the balance was different do to the fact that the blade
was reversed.
"This will mean that
all my attacks will be slowed somewhat." He sheathed the sword and walked out
of the room following the sound of voices, think about ways to adapt his Hiten
Mitsurugi Ryu to his new sword. "The first thing would be to practice with it."
He walked down a
small hallway until he came to an open doorway through which he could see
children playing and some nuns gathered watching over them. He stood in the
doorway watching them play, a small smile on his face.
"Welcome back to the
world of the living, Young Swordsman."
Kenshin turned his
head and looked at the woman he had felt come up behind him. She was dressed in
nun's clothing and had a very pretty face, with shining eyes he saw for but a
moment. Kenshin recognized her as the one the bandits were about to rape when
he arrived. She was about his own age and her dark eyes were downcast, showing
respect to someone of a higher rank then her own.
"What happened?
Where am I?" he asked quietly.
"You took a blow to
your head and became delirious with a high fever. You are in small shrine,
which was our intended destination when you came to our rescue. In gratitude
for saving us you may stay here until you are completely well. My sisters and I
are grateful for you help."
Kenshin smiled then
his face grew serious.
"Arigato…Miss?
"Shihobu."
"Shihobu-san, I
can't stay long. There may be people after me. I will not put you or the
children in any more danger."
"No one visits this
shrine, which is no longer on the main road. You should be safe enough here.
Who are you?"
Kenshin paused and
watched the children playing nearby before answering, fully expecting to be
thrown out as soon as he uttered the next words.
"Himura Kenshin," he
said and inwardly he cringed, knowing what the reaction was likely to be from
his host.
"Welcome,
Himura-san. Stay here as long as it takes to fully recover." She smiled at him
and then began to watch the children too.
He stood in the
doorway in shock. There had been no outburst from her. No words telling him to
leave the shrine. Nothing. He lifted a hand to the bandage that still covered
his cross-shaped scar.
"Maybe she truly
does not know who I am." He smiled at the thought. "And yet I will not put them
in more danger."
He walked a little
farther outside and the children stopped their play to look at him intently for
several moments before returning to it. He continued to watch them for a few
minutes then he turned to Shihobu.
"Who are these
children?" he asked quietly, guessing from her sad eyes what her answer would
be.
"They are the
orphans of this war. They parents died either in the fighting or because of
disease. My sisters and I are taking them to a temple in a town several days
journey from Kyoto."
Kenshin felt
saddened at this and he briefly wondered how many widows and orphans he had
made with his sword. He leaned against the doorframe, unmoving, his head bowed
and his eyes closed, for several minutes. Then he walked completely outside and
sat against the wall, watching the children, with his sword propped against his
shoulder, a sad smile on his face. After a few moments, the children stopped
their play and gathered around him. The all smiled up at him and he couldn't
help but smile back, remembering the children he had played with and gotten to
know while living with Tomoe in Otsu.
"How are all of
you?" he asked them gently.
There was a chorus
of "goods" and some muted giggling.
"Do you know any new
games?" one girl asked.
"What's your name?"
another asked.
"How are you feeling
today?"
"What kind of sword
is that?"
Kenshin's mind
reeled from so many questions but he answered all of them as if each one was
the most important question he had ever answered because in the mind of a child
all questions, no matter how trivial they sounded were important. He smiled
down at them and looked into each smiling face, suddenly realizing that this
was what his master had been trying to teach him. This was what the Hiten
Mitsurugi Ryu was to be used for.
"Shisho, if I had
only listened to you then. You tried to tell me that the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu
was to be used to protect the weak but only as a sword that was under the
control of no one but the one who wields it. I would not listen to you then
because I was too stubborn. I was too caught up in my own sense of justice and
my own idealistic notions of changing the world by the edge of my sword. Now, I
understand what you meant at last. I hope it is not too late for me."
He shook his head to
clear it of past memories and then he rose and walked out into the woods were
the children had been playing motioning them to follow.
"Come, I will show
you a new game."
*
They played until it
was too dark to see and Kenshin returned to the shrine carrying two of the
smallest children in his arms, others trailing behind him. They were all moving
as silently as they could. Kenshin had invented a new game on the spot for them
to play and they had enjoyed it immensely. Kenshin first showed them how he
could move so silently that they could not hear him. Then he began to sneak up
on them and poking or tickling them. The object of the game was to catch him
before he could reach his intended 'target'. Soon they were all laughing and
shouting and Kenshin enjoyed himself, while getting in some practicing at the
same time.
"This has been the
first peaceful time I have known since Tomoe died…" The thought surprised him
and he smiled as he returned the children to their "parents".
After the evening
meal had been served and the children had been sent to sleep, Kenshin sat
outside the shrine, watching the stars come out in a patch of sky that could be
seen through a break in the trees. He sat with his sword once more propped
against his shoulder and thought about the day.
"I enjoyed today
greatly, there is no use in denying that fact but the longer I stay, the more
danger they will be in. I cannot allow that and yet…" He looked through the
open door and saw the sleeping forms of the children and the seated forms of
the nuns at prayer. He knew that he couldn't just abandon them here. "They have
no one else to protect them and there are probably more bandits or worse things
along this road. It is my duty to escort them to the next village."
He sighed but knew
this was the only thing he could do. This was, after all, the reason he had
left the field of battle now a month ago and it was the purpose of those who
wielded the sword of Mitsurugi. He continued to watch the stars and to think.
Soon all was silent except for the quiet murmur of the nuns as they began to
talk among themselves. There were four of them from what Kenshin could tell and
they were of varying ages, although he only knew the name of the one who had
cared for him. He touched the bandaged wound on his head, which was now itching
in addition to the small amount of pain that still lingered about it. The bandage
would be taken off tomorrow, according to Shihobu. She had not, however, even
asked him about the bandage, which hid his scar, and for that he was thankful.
"Strange that a
complete stranger would want to help me of all people or that they would even
care about what happened to me at all." He put his hand on his left cheek and
thought about this new sensation. "No one has really ever cared for me before
except my parents and Tomoe. All anyone had wanted from me was my talent with a
sword."
He had sat for
several moments, lost in thought, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He shook
his head and looked up to see Shihobu looking down at him.
"What has you
troubled, Himura-san?" she asked quietly. "There seems to be a great sorrow
around you and your sleep is never untroubled. And there is the unhealed wound
on your left cheek that I can tell is not recent but is instead years old. Why
would one who is so young carry more sorrow then any man twice his age?"
He looked up at her
with the piercing gaze of the hitokiri and a cold voice in his mind said: "She
knows…she knows. She must die."
He shook his head to
clear it of the hitokiri's voice and coldness. "You don't know that. She's only
seen the scar…that does not mean that she knows who I am. Besides, I am not you
anymore. I don't need you."
"That's what you
think now but you will need me again. I will be waiting when the time comes.
How long can you keep this up? How long before you must kill again? And how
long before that woman connects the scar and hair with the Hitokiri Battousai?"
The cold voice continued.
"What is so
troubling to you, Himura-san?"
"Nothing…nothing I
can talk about right now." He looked up at the stars again, trying to steady
his emotions, which were surely visible on his face and to push the hitokiri
from the surface of his thoughts.
Shihobu bowed to her
head for a moment and then looked at him.
"You have lost
someone dear to you?" she said with quiet certainty and Kenshin's head whipped
around to look at her.
"Yes…but…how did?"
"Something in your
eyes told me so." She paused a moment before speaking again. "I am sure she
would not want you to be so sad. I am sure she would want you to let go of this
pain and move on with your life."
She watched his face
as Kenshin continued to watch the stars as they blurred before him.
"How can I let her
go? I deserve this pain as punishment for what I did to her…to us," he thought,
remembering the brief moment of peace he had found in the midst of war and how
he had eventually destroyed it.
Tears rolled down
his cheeks and the stars above grew blurrier. Once again he felt the pain and
emptiness in his heart that he had been left there the night he had destroyed
his own happiness as he had done to so many others. The night Tomoe had been
taken from him by his own hand.
"The pain is still
there. The feeling is the same as when you lay dying in my arms from the wound
I gave you. You told me it was 'better this way' but even now I fail to see how
it is better. If it were not for me, you and your love would still be alive.
You would have been happy. Why can I not get over you? Why do I still see you
in dreams and feel you nearby? Why must I continue to live with this broken
heart?" He hung his head and tears continued to trace a path down his cheeks.
"I'm sure she
forgives you."
"Forgiveness? Can
there really be such a thing? There can never be for one such as I. There is
too much blood on my hands. Nothing can erase it. Nothing," he thought to
himself.
He turned a
tearstained face to Shihobu and tried to smile. "I hope there can be
forgiveness for me someday but right now the only thing I can do is to try to
atone for what I have done. I will take you and the others to the temple you
spoke of. I will make sure you get there safely."
Shihobu saw the
tears and the pain in his eyes, knowing she had guessed rightly. This young man
was suffering and in as much need as the orphan children she cared for. His
soul was a tormented one and she could almost guess why.
"Arigato,
Himura-san. I was about to ask if you would be willing to journey with us for a
little while." She turned back to the shrine and walked back inside before
looking over her shoulder at him again. "You should really get some rest."
"I will." Kenshin
said, his voice laced with sadness.
Shihobu checked on
the sleeping children before heading to her own bed. She lay down and idly
watched Himura as he continued to sit just outside the door. There was
something almost familiar about him, something she had heard about a swordsman
with red hair and a cross-shaped scar. It was something important; she knew it
was but the harder she tried to concentrate on what it was the harder it was to
bring that thought to the fore. She lay awake several moments trying to
remember what it was but eventually fell into an uneasy sleep.
Kenshin continued to
watch the stars, thinking about what Shihobu had said to him, the ache still in
his heart where his love for Tomoe had once lived. Only the stars and moon saw
his tears and he did not sleep that night.
