Breaking Point
by Kimura
Chapter 2 - The Past and the Trap

There was a knock on Genrou's door.

"Hello? Who is it? It's Kouji, the fucking great co-leader of the Mt. Reikaku bandits. Please, come in. Arigatou."

Genrou was smiling by the time Kouji's performance was over and he came in. "You seem like you're in a good mood," he commented.

Kouji shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"How's your arm?"

"It's fine." He smirked. "Guess I was just careless."

"Good thing ya got me lookin' out for ya." He sighed, the smile quickly fading. "That was a trap, damn it. We fell for it."

"We'll just have to be more careful," Kouji said. "We won't fall for somethin' like that again. No point in dwellin' on it."

Genrou nodded.

Kouji took a deep breath, suddenly serious.

Genrou tensed, sensing what was coming.

"Genrou . . . why did you jump in front of me?"

Genrou tried to shrug it off. "You were injured. I didn't want you to get hurt any worse."

Kouji wasn't having any of it. "You know I could've handled him."

Genrou became agitated. "I wasn't sure! I'm not a fucking mind reader!"

Kouji's patience was quickly wearing thin. "Look, you know me. You knew I could've handled it. You're not that much of a moron. There's something else; there's something eating you. Why won't you talk to me?"

Genrou jumped to his feet. "What makes you think I need help or somethin'?!"

Kouji stood up to face him. "What makes you think I need help? I certainly didn't need it while you were gone!"

Shock spread across Genrou's features.

"Shit, Genrou, I didn't mean that," Kouji said quickly. "I . . . you . . . had to leave. I didn't mean to drag that into this."

Genrou turned away.

Kouji knew he was pushing his luck, but he slowly approached his friend. "Genrou, talk to me, please." There was a tense silence. "Look, you were right. I have changed. I guess . . . things were kinda hard after you left. After all that . . . I just became more serious. And . . . I'm worried about you, Genrou."

Genrou shut his eyes tightly. He felt Kouji's hand on his shoulder, warm and reassuring.

Kouji could feel Genrou shaking slightly. After another minute of silence, he added, "I won't push you if you're not ready, Gen-chan."

"Everyone," Tasuki spat out suddenly. His voice was choked with barely checked emotion, his eyes still closed. "I . . . I lost everyone." It took him a minute to pull himself together before he could speak again. "We thought we were invincible. We . . . and then Nuriko died. And I just . . ." He stopped again, struggling to keep himself in control.

Kouji almost started to feel guilty about forcing him to talk about it. But he's got to, he thought. He can't keep all this inside.

"I . . . I don't know how we all got so close in such a short amount of time, but . . . it just kinda happened. And it hurt so fucking much . . . then Chir --" He broke off, putting a hand to his mouth. I can't do this, he thought. I'm gonna fucking lose it . . . He felt Kouji gently rubbing his shoulder.

"It's okay, Gen-chan," Kouji whispered. "You don't have to do this."

No, Tasuki thought. I've come this far already. He pulled his hand away from his mouth and opened his eyes, staring at the floor. "Chiriko . . . he was only fucking thirteen years old, Kouji. And he was braver than the rest of us put together."

Kouji said nothing, just quietly waited for him to continue.

"Hotohori and Mitsukake . . . they died at just about the same time. That whole thing . . . it's just kind of a blur now. And then Miaka and Tamahome went back to Miaka's world. And Chichiri . . . God knows where the hell he is. He's off wandering somewhere. He . . . he said he'd come if I ever needed him. But . . ." Tasuki managed to meet Kouji's eyes. "You're all I've got left, Kouji. I . . . I wouldn't be able to take it if you left, too." He looked back at the floor.

"I'm not goin' anywhere, Genrou," Kouji said softly. "You're not gonna lose me." He stopped, unsure of what else to say. I have no way of making him any guarantees, he thought. "Listen, I'll be careful, all right? But we're both leaders and that means that we're gonna have to put ourselves in danger. I promise that we'll be as careful as we can, okay?"

Tasuki nodded, though he looked anything but satisfied. He pulled away, trying to stuff the painful memories back where they belonged. He felt a little better after getting all of that off his chest.

Thank God he was at least able to talk about it, Kouji thought. Keeping that kind of shit inside can kill you.

"You okay?" Kouji asked softly.

Tasuki nodded, still not speaking.

Kouji turned to the door, then stopped. "You comin' to dinner?"

"I'm not really hungry," Tasuki replied shakily.

"You sure?"

"Yeah . . . I . . . I just wanna be alone for a while."

Kouji winced, but didn't let his friend see. No, he's not okay. But I'm not gonna get any more out of him, he thought. "I'll bring you something back, okay?" He looked over his shoulder, but Tasuki seemed to be lost in thought, staring out the window. He sighed and silently left the room. He shut the door after himself, then waited.

After a minute, he heard the sound of soft sobs coming from beyond the door. He winced again, and wanted badly to go back inside. He'll just yell at me, he told himself, clenching his fists. He doesn't want me to see him like that.

With a great deal of effort, he moved away from the door and down the hall.

~~~

After dinner, Kouji went back to check on Genrou. He knocked gently. "Genrou?"

"What?" came the muffled reply.

"Are you sure you don't want me to bring you anything?"

"N-no, I'm not hungry."

Kouji sighed. "Gen, you should eat something."

"I'm fine."

Kouji paused, trying to find the right words. "If you need to talk . . . you know where I am, all right?"

There was no response.

Kouji sighed again and left reluctantly. Shit, this is not good, he thought. Damn it, I should've waited to bring this up. We don't need this right now. But he's gotta deal with it sometime. He passed by some of the men.

"Hey, where's Genrou?" one of them asked Kouji.

"He's not feelin' well," Kouji replied.

The bandit frowned. "He gonna be okay?"

Kouji tried to smile. "Yeah, he'll be fine." He turned away and headed for his room. At least I hope he will be.

~~~

Kouji awoke in the middle of the night from a troubling dream. He got out of bed, trying to control his breathing. He slowly walked to the window, brushing the sweat from his forehead. He closed his eyes, the images flashing through his mind.

Kouji shook his head. No, it's just a dream, he told himself. It's just a damn dream. Kouji shivered. He reached out for a shirt, pulling it over his head. He headed for the door and went silently down the hall to Genrou's room. He knocked extremely softly, then opened the door.

Tasuki was lying on the bed, fully clothed, sound asleep. As Kouji approached, he could see the tracks of dried tears on his friend's face. Kouji sighed. Gently, he removed Tasuki's boots and lifted him up, placing him under the covers. He looked down sadly at the younger bandit. He's not happy here, he thought. He doesn't know where he belongs. But he won't be able to admit it for a while. He just . . . doesn't know how to deal with any of this. He hesitated, then reached out and brushed a fiery strand of hair out of Tasuki's face. He sighed again, then turned and left as quietly as he'd come.

~~~

Kouji awoke the next morning, later than he would have liked. He quickly got up and dressed. Before going to breakfast, he decided to check in on Genrou. Hope he got more sleep than I did, he thought as he knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

Kouji frowned, knocking louder. "Genrou? You awake?" Don't tell me he's gonna hide in his room for the rest of his life, he thought. He paused, then opened the door.

The room was empty, the bed made.

"You lookin' for Genrou?" a bandit asked, walking past.

"Yeah. You know where he is?" Kouji asked.

"Sure. He's in the dining hall."

"Oh. Thanks." Kouji was a little surprised and tried not to let the other bandit notice. He walked quickly down to the dining hall, without being sure why he was hurrying. What are you so worried about, aho? he asked himself.

When he arrived, Genrou was sitting in his usual place, talking and laughing with the other men.

Like always.

"Ohayo, Kouji," Genrou said cheerfully. "Sleep a little late?"

What's wrong with this scene? Kouji wondered, making a conscious effort to look cheerful. "Yeah, just a little. Doesn't look like I missed much." He kept stealing anxious glances at Genrou as he got his food. Is he all right? He was so upset yesterday . . . Genrou didn't seem to notice his friend's concern.

After breakfast, Kouji pulled Genrou aside. "Are you all right?"

Genrou frowned. "Whaddya mean?"

"I was just worried about you . . . because of yesterday."

Genrou shrugged. "I'm fine."

Kouji regarded him carefully, trying to find some hidden pain in the fearless amber eyes. He looks okay . . . but how could he just get over it all so quickly?

At a loss of what else to say, Kouji asked, "Are you sure?"

Genrou rolled his eyes. "Yes, mother."

"Just -- just wanted to make sure, that's all," Kouji said, sounding lame.

"C'mon," Genrou said, starting toward the leader's room. "We've gotta figure out what we're doing about that bastard Makara."

Kouji nodded and followed him.

~~~

Just as the two co-leaders were sitting down to discuss their plans, the door burst open.

"Makara and his men have been spotted down the mountain!" the man cried, excitedly. "They're heading for the bridge. If we start out tonight, we could meet them there!"

"What the hell was he doing all the way down there?" Kouji wondered aloud.

Genrou was already shouting out orders for the attack. "This time we'll surprise them." He turned to run out the door to get the men ready, until he noticed Kouji still sitting at the desk. "What're you waiting for?!"

Kouji blinked. "Sorry. I was just thinkin' about something."

Genrou gave him a cocky grin. "There's no time for that now."

Kouji tried to smile back, but failed. Something's wrong, he thought. I've got a horrible feeling about all of this. Something's gonna happen . . . but what?

~~~

Things were going exactly according to plan. The Reikaku bandits engaged Makara's men on the high bridge above the raging river. The fight was going well. The Reikaku bandits had not suffered many losses. However, neither side appeared to be winning.

They were evenly matched.

Makara looked at the select group of four men he had chose for a special mission. He simply nodded. The men sprung into action, working their way towards the center of the bridge.

Genrou looked over his shoulder at Kouji, who was fighting on the Reikaku side of the bridge. He still wasn't completely comfortable in battle with Kouji in danger.

Concentrate, Genrou, he told himself. You've got yourself to look out for. Kouji can take care of himself.

Having been lost in his thoughts momentarily, Genrou didn't notice that four men had slowly surrounded him. He was quickly broken from his reverie when one them did a roundhouse kick, knocking the tessen out of his hand and into the river below.

"Fuck!" he said, drawing his sword. "You bastards'll pay for that!"

Without warning, all four men attacked him at once, securing his arms behind him and taking the sword from his hands.

Genrou struggled violently to free himself. He hadn't even quite seen what had happened; the men had been too fast. "LEMME GO!" he yelled. "What the hell is this!?" Between the four of them, they forced him over to the side of the bridge.

Tasuki saw what they were about to do.

"KOUJI!" he shouted. "Somebody help me!"

The two men holding his arms held him fast while the other two grabbed his legs.

Kouji looked up, hearing his name. He stared in horror at the scene in the middle of the bridge.

"GENROU!" He desperately pushed his way through the battling men. "Let me THROUGH!" he yelled. "Genrou's in trouble!" The other bandits of Reikaku saw this and did their best to get out of the way.

Tasuki kicked and squirmed as much as he could, but the men were succeeding in hoisting him over the edge. "I can't fucking SWIM!" he cried.

"That was the idea," one of the men answered dryly.

Kouji continued pushing his way through the crowd. Swords slashed at him and some of Makara's men tried to engage him, but nothing would stop him. "Genrou, hang on!"

"NO!" Tasuki shouted. Shit shit shit shit SHIT! There's gotta be a way out of this!

The men dropped him over the edge.

"NOOO!" Kouji screamed, leaping forward, pushing the men out of the way. He reached out, grabbing Tasuki's wrist. "Genrou!"

Tasuki looked up. "Kouji! Pull me up!" The two men locked arms.

The four men that had tried to assassinate Tasuki weren't gone yet. They immediately attacked Kouji.

Kouji cried out in pain as one sword dug into his side, the other into his arm.

"Kouji! You bastards!" Tasuki cried, trying to pull himself up. He stole a glance at the water, at least fifteen feet below him. He gasped and looked back up at the bridge. "Kouji, don't let go!"

The other two of the four men pulled on Kouji's arms. Kouji held on with everything he had. An arrow from an unknown source pierced his shoulder. He cried out, involuntarily letting go of Tasuki.

"KOUJIIIIIII!" Tasuki screamed, falling into the icy waters below.

"NOOOO!" Kouji denied. His four attackers immediately retreated. He picked up his sword in his good hand and turned to face any of Makara's men that dared to come near him.

He blinked in surprise as all of them began to back off, retreating to the other side of the bridge. No, he thought. It couldn't have all been just to get rid of Genrou . . . could it? He turned back to his own men.

"Go downstream! NOW! Find Genrou!" The men hesitated, doubting that Genrou could have survived. "What are you waiting for?! Go!"

"But Kouji --"

"GO!" Kouji screamed. "Genrou's not dead! He can't be! Find him!" A small group of men hurriedly mounted their horses and rode downstream.

Kouji collapsed to his knees, his various wounds bleeding heavily.

"We have to get you back to the hideout," he heard a voice at his side say. "The others can take care of Genrou."

~~~

Tasuki felt someone hitting him hard on the back. He coughed up water, nearly vomiting in the process. He laid on the soft grass, soaked and shivering. He tried to make out his surroundings, but everything was blurry. He closed his eyes, extremely dizzy.

"Whaa . . . what happened?" he managed, opening one eye.

He was answered by a fist in his face.

~~~

"Any sign of him?" Kouji asked the men coming back from the search.

They shook their heads.

Kouji sighed and fidgeted. He hated being bed-ridden while his friend was in trouble. Fifteen minutes later, the last team came back.

"Kouji," one of Kouji's closer friends, Tyoushi, began gently. "We found something." He showed him Genrou's tessen, one of his earrings, and a torn blue and black coat. "I . . . I don't think there's any way he could've survived without being able to swim."

Kouji had paled considerably. "I understand," he said softly. The men quietly left the room.

No, Kouji thought. He . . . he can't be. He can't be dead! Not Genrou! He just got back! Everything was fine! This can't be happening! "This ISN'T happening!" he shouted. He struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain. He slammed his fist into the wall. "No! NOOOO!" He pictured Genrou's face, laughing, full of life. He can't be dead, he can't be dead, he CAN'T be! He sank to the floor, resting his head on the bed. Tears streamed down his face; sobs wracked his body. "Genrou . . . Genrou . . . GENROU! MAKARA, YOU BASTAAAAAAAAARD!

I forgot how much I put Kouji and Tasuki through in this. I'm so mean.