Author's Note: Well, there's no action in this chapter, just some character development between Kenshin, Mina, and Shion. You want action, wait until the next update. Well, let's get on with the show then.



Chapter 9: A Brother's Love



The futons in the Satsuma camp weren't as comfortable as they were at the inn nor were they as clean. Patches of old kimonos filled the holes of the blanket and mattress itself, although it didn't soften the rocky feeling that etched into my back when I lay on it. With the wounds I sustained from my fight with Shion, the experience was even more aggravating. No matter how I was turned, or how I lay, I just couldn't find a comfortable position. The noise coming from the dining hall didn't help either. The words 'Hitokiri Shion is unstoppable' continued to flood through my ears as I tried to sleep. Even when the noise stopped, I still couldn't get to sleep, the futon was that uncomfortable. I peered to my brother who slept in the other side of the room, he was sound asleep, a smile stretched across his face as he slept. By the time I was able to get a wink of sleep, the sun had already rose, and a man barged into our room telling everyone to get up.

"Oh man...," I grumbled as soon as the man left, burying my face into the kimono quilt.

"Come on, Mina," Kenshin shook me, tossing the ragged blanket aside as he did so, "it's time for today's training."

"Son of a...!" I groaned as Kenshin pulled me to my feet.

It's not that I was sleepy, I was used to lack of sleep thanks to living on the farm, it's just that my body was sore all over, all thanks to the wounds I received from Kenshin and Shion the day before. I just wanted to lie in one spot for an entire day so my body can rest, but that wasn't very likely going to happen, especially if you're a soldier. The only reason you'd get taken off the field was if you were badly hurt, my injuries weren't good enough for that. Everything just seemed to weigh me down, my skin, my hair, my skeleton, even my clothes. I swear, my kimono felt like I was wearing a five-hundred pound weight. I would've removed it, but being in a camp filled with hundreds of men and only one other female, that idea was out. It got even worse when Kenshin and I made it to the fields, I now had to also carry a wooden stick that felt I was carrying another five hundred pounds.

"Ready, Mina?" Kenshin asked and he disappeared before my eyes.

I didn't even bother to lift up my sword, I just let my brother's bokken strike me in the shoulder so I can plop down to the ground faster. The ground was so soft, at least when compared to that patch futon. I welcomed the darkness as I shut my eyes, engulfing myself into a world of pitch black. My sprit may have been consumed into the black, yet my body and consciousness remained in the realm of reality. I heard my brother as he tried to wake me with his voice, his hands as they gripped my shoulders, swaying my body as he did so.

"I'm still tired...," three words escaped my lips and fled into reality, "Kenshin, let me rest."

"All right," Kenshin sighed, lifting me back to my feet and supporting me with his shoulder, "let's walk you back to the room."

Leaning against his broad shoulders never seemed to tire me, I actually enjoyed it more each time I did so. Back then, I always thought I was a hassle for Kenshin, always getting in his way. I wasn't very strong back then, nor do I think I am now. I was weak, still weak in the present, despite the encouragement I received from my allies. I'm sure Kenshin thought I was strong, just because he though of me as his sister. By looking at the expression on his face when he carried me, I know he didn't mind taking care of me, I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it.

By the time I shut my eyes again after looking into my brother's face, I a sudden screech passed through my ears, that screech being the laugh of Azumi Shion.

"Che, it's you again!" I sneered as Kenshin and I stopped before the hitokiri of the spear.

"Still in those colors I see," Shion mocked my bruises once more, the back of her hand pressed against her lips as she laughed, "although I personally think a darker shade of black would fit your face better."

"Shion-dono, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tease my sister, that I do," Kenshin began to defend me, although he didn't have any hint of anger in his voice when he said his words, just that calm persona behind it.

"I'm only joking with her, Battousai," Shion waved the back of her hand outward, that smile never leaving her face while doing this. "Himura-san," Shion turned to me, the smile wiped away from her face, replaced with a straight look, "I must apologize for my behavior the other day."

"Nani?!" her words surprised me, I had not been expecting her to apologize.

Her voice wore that serious tone it had during our battle last night, and her eyes peered directly into mine, it was obvious she wasn't lying. She really was a true traditional woman, hiding behind a mask of cockiness, but that didn't change the fact that I hated her.

"My actions were uncalled for," Shion continued, "you have proven yourself to me that you are indeed a true warrior, though this does not change the fact that I dislike you."

"Same here," I spat, "then why even bother to apologize?"

"You'd make a worthy opponent one day," Shion said, turning her back to my face, "the next time we fight, I hope you have improved," Shion turned her head to face me again, "although you'll never be as good as me, aha ha ha ha," Shion broke her serious monologue with her trademark laugh.

"Oro?" Kenshin's face was left puzzled as the female hitokiri walked away.

"I'll show her!" I thought as I clenched a fist.

"Mina, you're hurting my shoulder!" Kenshin cried as I suddenly felt a ball of flesh collecting in my closing hand.

"Oh, gomen," I apologized, letting go of the skin of his shoulder.

Kenshin had brought me back to our room, and he just happened to set me down on that uncomfortable futon I used last night. I wanted to whine about this, but then I figured that I'll probably be sleeping on stuff like this from now on. Kenshin covered me with the patched blanket as soon as set me down, petting my hair as if I were a child after he did so. His touch was so soft and gentle, my heart just raced as he did so, but then I reminded myself that this is the touch of a brother, not a lover, and then the beat of my heart just slowed down.

"Get some rest now, Mina," Kenshin said as he made his way for the door, "I'll be back at lunch to check up on you."

"Arigatou," I said as he slid the door open. "Hey, Brother," I called to him before he left, stopping him in his tracks, "am I just getting in your way?"

"What do you mean?" Kenshin asked as he looked back.

"Ever since you saved me, I've been getting into a lot of trouble," I answered, looking into the sky through the holes in the ceiling, "from the time you saved me from those Mibu Wolves, to helping me just now, you've always been there. I was just wondering if you tire of coming to my aid, that's all."

"I don't mind," Kenshin answered, a smile stretching across his face as he talked, "after all, you are my little sister, that you are. Before I met you, I had brothers," the smile suddenly left Kenshin's face, replacing it with a blank look, "all of them were older than me. I always used to think they were teasing me whenever they would stop me from going to the river by our house, or when they pulled me down from a tree I had just climbed. I hated them for that, I hated being the baby. When they died, I thought it would be a godsend of sorts, no one would stop me from doing whatever I wanted, but...that's not how it was. I had my freedom, but I lacked restriction; a restriction that was needed when playing a game. Games need rules, and with no rules, there is chaos and no fun. My brothers always made the rules when we played games like tag or hide-and-seek, but when they were gone, so were the games. I had no one to play with, no games to play. I was alone, and soon, my parents died too. Restricting you from joining the Cho Shu Clan reminded me of my brothers, and then I finally understood why they restricted me from many things. They wanted to protect me, that they did. They wanted me to live a prosperous life. They did this because they loved me, Mina, that's how I feel about you. I want to protect you, I want you to live a prosperous life, that's why I stop you in times in which you are angry. Do I tire of this, no, of course not. An older sibling's job is to always look out for the younger ones out of the kindness from their heart, that was...what my brothers had told me once," Kenshin sniffed, his hand shielding his eyes from mine. "I think I should go back," Kenshin said as slid the tears away from his eyes with the swipe of his finger, "try to get some rest, Mina," Kenshin smiled as he shut the door.

Even with that speech he made, it made it sound like his taking care of me was his duty, even if it was coming from the heart. But what really hit me the most was how he felt about me. He loved me, though it was sibling love. It still hurt me that he only loved me as his sister, but as I said before, relationships such as this can sometimes lead to true love, fate has already wrapped us with it's Red String, it's only natural that our relationship would evolve, if not now, later. I still love him as much even now, I still wait for that day when our relationship will evolve.

The next thing I knew, in the blink of an eye, the sun was already setting. I had somehow fallen asleep on that stone-for-a-futon. I sat up with a yawn, and to my amazement, the pain from my bruises were gone. I jumped up in joy after finding this, but I hit the ceiling as I did so. As I rubbed my head, I suddenly heard a voice coming from outside.

"Saito Hajime," I heard Shion's voice from outside, taking a glance at her from a crack in the wall.

She was reading a black piece of paper in her hands. I'm pretty sure that was who she had to assassinate for the day. Saito Hajime, leader of the third Shinsengumi squad, that was her target. I don't know what was racing through my head at the time, but something just told me I had to go for this job instead of her. It was the last remains of my brash attitude at work, I'm pretty sure I was thinking that I could break the whole 'older sibling watching out for their younger sibling' rule if I could take out Saito Hajime.

"Will patrol east part of Kyoto tonight," I overheard Shion's loud reading, "patrol ends within the hour of twelve. Saigo-sama sure has an odd way of writing these things," Shion sighed as she crumpled the paper.

After hearing her saying this, I quickly ran to the east wall and got my katana and wakezashi, fastening them to my belt as quick as possible. As I dashed for the door, it suddenly opened.

"Oh, Mina, you're up," Kenshin smiled as he stood in my way.

"Uh...yeah," I faked a smile, waiting for him to get of the doorway.

"Are you going somewhere?" Kenshin asked as he looked at the swords on my belt.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, that fake smile still perched on my face.

"Why else would you have your swords on your belt?" Kenshin answered.

"Just a walk," I answered, faking a laugh at the same time, my hand scratching this itch that just appeared behind my neck, "I'll be back in a few."

Kenshin didn't say another word as I left the door. I knew he remained in the same spot as I left, making my way into the bamboo thicket and heading back toward the city. With my recent training, I thought I would be invincible, that I could take on a whole army, but again, I would later be proven wrong.



Chapter 9 Liner Notes



(Got nothing to explain here.)



(Next time: "As I dash through the veins of the creature called Kyoto, I find something moving within the darkness. Eyes with the glitter of gold and hair burning with the fuel of life, the creature bites down upon the elite of the Mibu, their fangs bared and their claws digging into each other, it's obvious which of these noble creatures will fall..." -Azumi Shion)





Author's Note: Well, how was it? Shion isn't that bad of a person as you thought she was, now is she? Next time, Mina and Shion will battle the elite of the Shinsengumi, Saito Hajime, watch out for it! So why don't you drop me a review, not a flame, it'll make my day. Oh, and to answer your question Emiri-chan, if you want to see the results of Kenshin and Mina's relationship, read my old fic, 'The Twin Dragon Arc', it's needed to understand later events in the story, though it kinda gives some spoilers to what happens later, but I'd appreciate it if you checked it out, it hasn't gotten many reviews (maybe because it was written about three years old and my writing style back then sucked.) So other than that, leave me a review, but remember, no flames!