Damaged Soul
a Soujiro-centric fic
by Lucathia
part 10
Megumi smiled at Sanosuke as he gently pushed her away. He's alive! Megumi got up and quickly hid her smile. "Well, now that you're awake, I'll be tending the other patients."
Sanosuke's head snaped up at the words 'other patients.' "What other patients??"
Megumi bit her lips. "I don't know for sure since I just got here, but Kaoru said that Saitou and Tsubame were hurt. Tsubame's only slightly hurt but Saitou...well..."
"Well what?"
"He's barely alive...I should have gone to him, but you were in such a deep coma I couldn't leave you here alone!" Megumi turned towards the walls after saying those words. "I'll be going to see him now."
Sanosuke's eyes opened widely as Megumi swept past him and out the door. "Well, I didn't know that fox-lady cared about my health that much."
After seeing Megumi tend to Saitou's deep wounds, Kaoru headed over to Sanosuke to see how he was faring. Right when she entered the room, Sanosuke immediately showered her with the one question she did not want to answer.
"How did Saitou and Tsubame get hurt?"
Kaoru gazed at Sanosuke and sighed. "I have to tell you, don't I?" At Sanosuke's nod, Kaoru continued on. "Well, I hope you don't get too emotional like Yahiko did...Tsubame and Saitou were hunted down by Seta Soujiro before he attacked you."
Sanosuke's eyes opened wide. "Soujiro attacked a girl??" Kaoru nodded. Sanosuke continued on incredulously. "He actually beat Saitou?"
"I guess you're taking this in better than any of us."
Sanosuke shook his head dumbly. "No, I'm just waiting for the facts to sink in. I just find it too unbelievable."
Misao finished wrapping Soujiro's wrist with a light pat. "There you go...that should do for now."
Soujiro was still looking at nowhere in particular, his eyes blank and out of focus. Misao slowly got up and backed into the doorway. All the while, Kenshin and Aoshi kept their eyes on Soujiro.
"You know we can't help unless he accepts himself." Aoshi said suddenly, as he pulled Misao over.
Kenshin nodded. "He has to come into terms with himself, like what we did."
Misao gazed at the forlorn young man and looked away.
"There you go...that should do for now."
That girl, Makimachi Misao, wrapped my left hand. She and Yahiko both stopped me from slipping to death. Still, my eyes feel glazed and my hands are numb. I'm as good as dead. I can't see very well, but I can still feel that Himura-san has been gazing at me, seeming to want to know what I was going to do. The thing is...I don't know what I want right now. I wanted to die...but I can't die. Yumi-neesan doesn't want me to waste my life...but what do I have to live for? I know I have to live for her...still...there's nothing else and no one else motivating me except for Yumi-neesan. Life has no meaning...and...
Where would I live...would I just keep wandering? I don't want to wander around! It's so lonely. All the people I meet are just faces in a few seconds of my life. I don't want that! I want to get to know someone really well. I want people to accept me. I want to live with people I know. I don't want to live my life as a wanderer, as a stranger!
I blinked suddenly as I was thinking these thoughts. Was that what I wanted all along? Just...not wandering? Was I really that much of a coward that I couldn't even bear the fact of being alone?
I heard the two people next to me leave. Then the door shut and the three people at the door left me there in my own turmoil.
I think I finally know what I want.
I want...no, I need...I need friendship. I need to feel people caring for me. I...I've been deprived of a family all these years...Yumi-neesan was the only person even close to being family and she died. I really wish someone would fill that large gap in my heart I have right now. Someone please stop me from thinking of Yumi-neesan!
Please...I don't want to feel lonely anymore.
Misao watched as Soujiro blinked. She held in her breath waiting to see what he would do. She was so sure he would turn around and look at them and start yelling, but before she could see that happen, Aoshi-sama pulled her away from the door and Himura slid the door close. She struggled against Aoshi-sama's grip, wanting to see what was going to happen, but the stern look in Aoshi-sama's eyes stopped her.
After she was pulled a great distance away from the room, she broke free of Aoshi-sama's grasp and slumped against the wall with her head down, unwilling to look up. She heard Himura's footsteps stop next to her.
"Come on, Misao. Let's go to the dining room. Kaoru told me that Tsubame, Saitoh, and Sanosuke are all recovering. They're all past the danger point." Kenshin's soft voice drifted down the hallway.
Misao looked up slowly and got up. Aoshi glanced at Misao before turning and walking towards the dining room.
Yahiko stood in the practice room, looking at the names of his students on the wall. He had been standing there for a good hour or so. Tsubame left to help Kaoru make dinner. He winced at the thought of Kaoru's food. It improved a whole lot over the years, but it still wasn't all that great. Sanosuke, after being tended to by Megumi, seemed to be up and about, ready to eat dinner. Even Saitou seemed like he was feeling okay, even though he was extremely pale. That stab had been way too close to his heart. Misao's skills probably saved his life.
Yahiko looked back at the names and grinned slightly. He was finally a grown-up, and even had his own students to teach the Kamiya technique to. Even though he was still young, his skills were good enough to be considered a worthy teacher. He smiled as he reminisced about the past few years.
And that was when Yahiko heard the door slide open. He didn't even bother to look back. He thought it was probably Sanosuke.
He was wrong.
"I challenge you." It was a soft voice...it wasn't Sanosuke...
Yahiko swirled around at those words and saw Soujiro standing there with a wide smile. His hands were by his waist. Yahiko immediately placed his hands on his own hilt.
He had to be ready...he had to be!
"Dinner's ready!" Kaoru smiled and carried out the food. Tsubame carried the rice over to the the table and placed it down. Kenshin, Kenji, Aoshi, Misao, Sanosuke, Megumi, and Saitoh were already at the table, ready to eat. Misao looked around as she saw the food coming.
"Where's Yahiko?"
Kaoru shrugged. "I don't know. Somewhere."
Tsubame smiled and answered instead. "He's in the practice room, contemplating I guess. I'll bring his dinner over later."
Misao nodded, quietly eating her dinner. Then she asked another question. "Should someone bring some food to Soujiro?"
No one answered, so Misao continued on. "I'll get him some food." She stood up and quickly filled a bowl up.
Aoshi got up with her. "If you're going, I'll come with you."
Misao looked at Aoshi and smiled. "Thanks, Aoshi-sama."
Together, they walked towards the guest room that Soujiro was in. That room was the farthest from the dining room.
When Misao reached the outside of the room, she placed her hands on the door, ready to slide it open yet hesitant to do it. Finally, taking in a deep breath and seeing Aoshi-sama's affirmative nod, she slid the door open...
...only to see the room empty and the blankets folded neatly. Misao's eyes widened immediately.
Aoshi quickly hurried towards the dining room to tell the others about this.
Misao stood there stiffly, looking at the vacant room. She bit her lips, not wanting to believe that Soujiro had left. Walking closer towards the folded blanket, she put the food down and glanced at the blanket again. It was sort of lumpy...Misao pulled the top layer of the blanket away and saw something she never thought she'd see lying there.
Quickly, she grabbed it and ran towards the practice room.
I grinned and kept parrying with the boy. He really is just a boy to me. He's probably, oh, maybe around ten years younger than me? I don't know.
Well, I brought the sword down to stop Yahiko's next swing and jumped back away from his sakabatou as he swung towards me again. We both stood far away from each other, grinning wildly. In a flash, we were at each other again. Seiten no Keishuku! I landed a kick at his face and propelled myself at the wall, bouncing back at the kid again, faster than he could see. I swung the sword at him. He managed to bring his sword down just in time to stop me from hitting him. I disappeared again only to reappear at his back. He turned around quickly and tried to swing at me. I ducked and swung at his legs. He jumped away. Shukuchi! I vanished as dents appeared behind me. I probably ruined their floor.
Still, I think this is quite fun...he's pretty good I guess.
I grinned and continued to parry.
When everyone heard about Soujiro's disappearance, they were all worried. The only person who might be in danger right now...would be Yahiko. Tsubame immediately ran towards the practice room only to see Misao already standing outside of the room, calmly gazing in. She was hugging something to her body.
When Tsubame got closer, she saw that it was a sheathed sword. It wasn't just any sheathed sword either. It was Soujiro's. She stood at the doorway and looked inside, her worry slowly dissolving away.
Kenshin looked at the sword in Misao's arms and then looked inside the room. He smiled and hugged Kaoru close to him and patted his son on his head. "I think he finally decided, and I think he made a good choice."
Everyone looked inside the room, finally understanding what was going on.
Soujiro was using a wooden sword.
the end
A/N: Hope all of you liked the ending. I altered the fic greatly because no one appreciated Evil!Soujiro. (sighs)
Since some of you asked, here's where the fic was headed before. In the first version, Yahiko played an even bigger part. He's the last person Soujiro fights after Soujiro kills most of the older generation. Yahiko is finally able to stop Soujiro when Tsubame wakes up to back him up. Soujiro falters when he hears Tsubame's voice.
