Title: Hanafubuki
Part 9: Descent
AN: Sorry for the not-so-short hiatus. Life's been busy, and
I've been working on "Divergence" and redesigning TFME.
Hope you all had a great holiday season. As usual, it was way
too sort for my tastes. Anyway, here's the eighth part...
--
Side by side we sit
Our rapid heartbeats mingle
Waiting in darkness
--
Part 8
Sumire stood with the rushing river waters behind him, heavy drops of rain dripping from his hair and clothes, a sword at his left side. His hands were clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms, and his cheeks were flushed with anger, eyes blood-shot from lack of sleep. "You'd better enjoy yourself, Battousai… Your days are numbered."
"Stay back. Don't come any closer!" The stern voice in my ear was Kaoru's. I pulled my gaze up from the sodden ground as cold rain suddenly pelted down upon us. She had folded the umbrella and extended it before her bokken-style, the blunted top pointed steadily at Sumire's throat.
"What do you want, Sumire-kun?"
At my question, surprise flickered briefly across his features, but he shook his head as if to clear the water from his eyes and calculating hatred pushed aside that brief flash of innocence . "Revenge, Battousai. I want to avenge my father's death." His voice, low and flat, was steady, and the eyes that met mine were mature beyond his years.
"You have no right to come out here and-- "
"Kaoru-dono." My hand closed around the middle of the umbrella as I pressed to my feet, fingers gently prying it from her grip. "You have no need to fear Sumire-kun. No one will fight today." My eyes never left his as we faced each other in the mud, the wind blowing hair into our eyes and driving the rain into our skin.
"You may be perceptive, Battousai, but understanding alone won't save you from Hell. The hunting bird strikes from above, plummeting from the sky with unmatched speed, and when the moment comes you won't have time to blink."
He held my gaze a second longer before turning sharply and retreating back the way he'd come. Shoulders squared firmly in defiance of the wind and rain, he disappeared into the gray haze, nothing more than a fading shadow beneath the passing clouds.
Beside me Kaoru sighed. "Kenshin... we need to talk."
- - - - - - - - - -
"We," as it turned out, expanded to include Yahiko as well as Megumi and Sanosuke, for they were waiting for us at the dojo, arguing (as usual) over warm cups of tea. The rain had beaten heavily on the cherry blossoms, and we left a trail of trodden pedals behind us as we crossed the yard -- bleeding casualties of the storm.
Later, once again in dry clothing, we stared across at each other as the steam rose from our cups, no one wanting to be the first to speak. The rain had picked up again, beating rhythmically on the roof over head and sliding down the ceramic tiles to join the puddles below.
"We can't just sit here! We need to decide what to do." I could tell he was tired of waiting, tired of doing nothing but avoiding each others' eyes, and silently I thanked Yahiko for his youthful impatience, for he had given me the perfect opening.
"There's no need for everyone to become involved." Four pairs of eyes narrowed, four jaws tightened in determination, and four friends unsuccessfully tried to suppress sighs of exasperation. I knew I was fighting a losing battle, one I could never hope to win, but nonetheless I had to try, if only because it was expected. "I can--"
"-- Don't even think about doing this alone--"
"-- We're your friends, and we won't let you--"
"-- C'mon, you can't just brush us off like we're--"
"-- Ken-san, please, just use your thick head for once-- "
They hadn't even let me finish my sentence. Of course I knew it was going to be like this. I had somehow allowed myself to form attachments, allowed those around me to inch closer and closer until, whether I liked it or now, we stood side by side together.
After the last battles of the revolution I'd traveled across the countryside, only resting at each location long enough to catch my breath, quickly continuing on whenever anyone came too close. But now, I no longer walked alone. And to my surprise, I realized that I didn't mind the company.
"All right then, I see we're in this together." I smiled, somewhat hesitantly, meeting each set of eyes in turn. "But there's nothing to be gained from staying up all night. I suggest we go to bed and reconvene tomorrow morning."
Kaoru silenced Yahiko's protests with a stern glare, and Sanosuke, with a shrug, turned to Megumi and murmured, "Sure, whatever you say, Kenshin. C'mon Fox, it's dark; I'll walk you home." I watched as his jaunty smirk began to fade and his brow crease in annoyance when Megumi just stared back at him. "Hey, the least you can do is respond when someone speaks to you!" It seemed as though, on the surface at least, things were back to normal at the Kamiya Dojo.
- - - - - - - - - -
It's odd how sensitive we become to the weather, how our thoughts are influenced by the ever-changing cycles of nature. The following morning was simply beautiful. I crept outside onto the porch dusted pink and white in the post-dawn light. I'd memorized the route long ago to avoid the particularly noise floorboards. The birds chirped their random harmony, and I inhaled the deeply again and again.
Mornings, for as long as I could remember, had represented the innocence lost all those many years ago. In Kyoto, when I'd return to the inn, stained with blood and jumping nervously at each drifting shadow, it was the gentle wash of sunlight that delivered me from each hellish nightmare. I lived each night relying on the assurance that morning would eventually come.
And it had. At end of the Boshin War and the dawning of the Meiji Era I'd left Katsura and the others and set off alone to atone for the horrors of the preceding night. But the darkness clung stubbornly -- Innocence lost can never truly be regained.
I stretched, reaching high above my head, pressing my hands upward -- and received only a moderate twinge from my shoulder, a marked improvement from a few days ago. The stiffness would fade, of course, and I silently thanked Megumi for her expert care. In Kyoto, mostly, I'd ended up fending for myself.
"You're up early, aren't you?" Sanosuke stood at the gate, one hand resting against the weathered wood, tattered ribbon fluttering behind him in the breeze. Amusement played in his eyes as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and made his way to the porch, carefully avoiding the thick patches of viscous mud.
"I could say the same for you." I didn't need to ask why he'd come; although he smiled and teased, the stiffness in his gait betrayed his anxiety. He threw me a classic smirk in response to my retort, and, standing on the ground before the porch, he was almost as tall as I was.
"Euh, Kenshin, grew a bit last night, didn't ya?" He teased, seeing the humor in the moment.
"It would seem so, wouldn't it...?" I ran a hand through my hair, smiling at the absurdity of the conversation. I could always count on Sano for comic relief when it was needed most. "...Spring is the season of growth, you know."
And he laughed as he leaned back against the wooden post. "Kenshin, you're going to make one hell of a silly old man, I tell you. I'll have to warn all the kids not to believe a word you say." Although his tone was mocking, I easily read his implied message as a warning, a warning that I'd better not do anything stupid, and I sighed.
"Better a silly old man than a bitter, grumpy one like you'll be." The sun had risen above the dojo walls, casting its light through the new spring leaves of the cherry trees and burning away the morning dew. We could both clearly hear the phrase left unsaid between us: 'better a silly old man than a young dead one'.
"Is Jou-chan up yet?" He laughed as I remained silent, shaking his head in realization. "Oh right, silly question..." There was a slight pause, a brief moment of expectant silence. "Euh, so Kenshin, how about breakfast?" Classic Sanosuke.
- - - - - - - - - - -
As often happens , the morning progressed into midday, and with the steady movement of the sun overhead, we all began to sink into the ritual pattern of tense moping that had, over the past few days, become habitual. The dew had long since evaporated and with it the somewhat-magical serenity of early morning had vanished.
Out in the yard with my sleeves tied out the way behind me, I could feel her eyes following my every move as I hung the clean laundry up to dry. She sat on the porch beside Gensai-sensei, her fingers tracing the floral patterns of her kimono as she chewed absently on her lower lip.
"There now, Kaoru-dono, there's nothing quite like clean laundry..." I brushed the hair from my eyes as I turned to face her with Ayame and Suzume glued to my hakama like barnacles to the underside of a fishing boat. And she silently returned my gaze, lips pressed together, brow furrowed. She knew me too well, and her sight easily penetrated through my lackluster rurouni act.
"If you're finished... perhaps we could go shopping together -- just to get out for a bit -- we could pick up the tofu on the way back." Her tone was hopeful, and her eyes begged my approval, but she needn't have worried. She wasn't alone in her restlessness. The air was heavy with anticipation, and every second that passed seemed like an eon of tortured waiting. Our thoughts swirled round in nervous circles, focused on the "what if's" and the "could be's." We had to get away.
"Good idea. I'll tidy up inside. Why don't you collect Yahiko and Sanosuke... and Gensai-sensei--"
"--I'd actually better be getting back to the clinic. I'm sure Megumi is doing just fine, but... " He smiled, thoughtfully stroking his beard, and the sunlight, scattered by his white hair, swept across the freshly-polished porch.
And so, five minutes later, we all gathered at the dojo gate to split and travel in two directions. Yahiko, uncharacteristically reserved, adjusted his shinai strapped across his back as he walked, a certain resolution in his step and determination in his eyes. Sanosuke followed behind him, hands still in his pockets and a slight smile of amusement playing at his mouth.
"Feh, Yahiko, we're just going shopping. It's not like we're invading China or anything. Loosen up a bit, will ya?" It was a comment directed at us all, a (surprisingly tactful) reminder not to drown ourselves in worry. So we waved as Gensai-sensei and the girls walked hand in hand down the empty street, disappearing into the distance.
"So Busu, what did you want to buy anyway?" Yahiko had run ahead of us, but he circled back to bug Kaoru who was walking beside me. As our hands had brushed by accident, I'd felt my cheeks redden in memory of our recent time together, of her protectiveness, of the warmth of her embrace as the rain drenched us. She'd glanced up at the light contact, and somehow her fingers had tightened around mine, pulling us closer.
"I... I though..." But she was caught off-guard by Yahiko's inquiry. "... thought that we might need a new pot for the kitchen -- but you really shouldn't pry into other people's business!" She glared at him, a hint of playfulness returning to her eyes, and Yahiko laughed, rising to the challenge.
"A new pot -- yeah right, like I'm really going to let you buy something else to throw at my head. C'mon, try again." The silence had been broken, and as the air once again rang with insults and half-shouted threats, I let myself fall a few paces behind the others so I could watch their ritual antics. Somehow Sano had been roped into the friendly altercation as well, on Kaoru-dono's side this time, it seemed. He grabbed Yahiko by the collar and hoisted him into the air -- then released him with a yelp as the boy's flailing limbs connected with more sensitive anatomy.
Family. It was a word I'd shied away from using, even in my own thoughts. Both of my families had been destroyed, ripped apart by the blind destruction of plague and steel. The universe mirrors itself in good and evil, in fortune and misfortune, in happiness and sadness, in life and death. Nothing stands alone. To have one half, you must accept the other as well. And I stood in the street, which was unusually quiet for midmorning, and closed my eyes for just a moment, inhaling the warm spring air with hands pulled into my gi.
"Don't move." The terse whisper cut through my thoughts, but before I could react, strong arms wrapped around me from behind, one hand pressing the side of a dagger against my left shoulder, the other clamping a moist cloth over my nose and mouth.
Ignoring the knife that cut through fabric and bandages, I reached for my sword, aiming to connect with my attacker behind me with the sheath while I held my breath. But I exhaled sharply as something hard slammed into my side and gasped instinctively for air before I could stop myself. As the sharp scent of chemicals flooded my throat and lungs, my vision blurred, and my legs began to fold beneath me.
Moving with what seemed to be agonizing slowness, my fingers closed around the sakabatou's hilt, and I thrust backward even as I gasped again for air. But the arms didn't loosen their hold, and the blurred scene before me quickly faded into darkness.
- - - - - - - - - -
I awoke to the sound of voices, too soft to be in the same room as me but nonetheless close by. "...why didn't you just kill him? Why did you have to bring him back here?"
"There's no honor in sneaking up behind people with knives... and no fun in it either." In the slight pause that followed I cautiously opened my eyes -- and found that I could barely see anything as the room was draped with the dark hues of twilight. The first speaker was unmistakably Sumire-kun. It was easy to recognize his boyish cadence and nervous fidgeting. But the second... "You paid me to do a job, and I will -- in due time."
"Yes, of course, I know... but how can you just sit here drinking your tea when he's there in the other room? How can you--"
"Kid, if you're so intent on killing him, why don't you just do it yourself. As you said, he's lying unconscious over there." All was quiet for a moment. Even Sumire was still, and although I couldn't recognize the speaker's voice, I knew from context that it had to be Junzou. "Look kid, I don't know what goes on in that funny head of yours, but let me tell you that there's no satisfaction in killing people while they're sleeping. Just let me handle this, and everything'll be fine."
As my eyes adjusted themselves to the darkness, I began to reach for my sword, only to discover that my arms had been bound tightly behind my back. I was lying on my stomach on a futon in the corner of a second-story room. My ankles, too, were tied together, but I bent my knees into my chest as I rolled onto my side, swallowing hard as the urge to vomit gripped my stomach. I tried to ignore the pain in my shoulder and blood seeping from torn stitches and instead concentrated again on the nearby voices.
"... but why's he still unconscious? He's been here for hours already. What did you give him?" Sumire, ever inquisitive, was pressing Junzou for answers, and although I already had my own suspicions, I too listened closely for his response.
"I'm no chemist, so I can't tell you the proper name, but it's something my friend cooked up for me the other day. I couldn't very well have had Battousai yelling and fighting me as I brought him here, could I? It's effective all right. A couple good breaths will put you right out, but short of testing it myself, there's no way to gauge its strength. Western science is amazing, for sure, but it's damn unpredictable."
Not finding anything interesting to look at, I closed my eyes again and began to test the ropes for looseness and strength. I had to get back to the dojo to protect the others, had to let Kaoru know that I was fine. But the ropes had been tied skillfully so that they wouldn't slide off, and feeling somewhat discouraged, I clenched my teeth together in irritation. If he'd wanted a fight he should have just sought me out and asked for one!
"... but you still haven't told me why you brought him here. Why didn't you just --"
"'Why didn't I just challenge him and finish him off right there in the street, you mean?" There was a brief pause as Junzou, I assume, collected his thought and chose his words. "In Kyoto, everyone killed each other for survival. If you didn't kill, you were killed -- but how monotonous it became! The thrill of battle lasted only moments, and most of the men were already half-ghosts, emotionless shells incapable of seeing beyond the ends of their blades."
His words, although colored by personal interpretation, were to some extent true, and like Sumire, I silently waited for him to continue. "The real satisfaction comes from toying with the opponent, making him believe what you want him to believe. Don't worry kid, in the end, you'll have your revenge."
end of part 8
--
Note 1: sigh It's been too long, hadn't it? I appologize for my slowness.
I finished the second part to "Divergence" then began working on a new
piece -- but realize that what I really need to do was finish my half-completed
8th part to "Hanafubuki." I'm thinking about breaking with the time line and
pulling Saitou into this piece... he's a great character, and he fits with a plot.
Let me know what you think -- Mir (01.02.2002)
Note 2: I'm definitely making headway on writing the next chapter (meaning
the first new chapter that will pick up where I left off in 2002), and I'm still
aiming to finish it about the time I finish revising the existing chapters. I've
actually learned a decent amount about Edo and Japanese history in the past
years, and I'm trying to incorporate some historical accuracy into the new part.
I hope it doesn't turn out too boring in the end. -- Mir (07.09.2008)
.