Author's Note: This is the edited version of chapter 18, the only real difference is that the uncut chapter has a small lemon with Kenshin and Mina, the lemon takes place in the beginning if you're wondering, other than that, the edited and uncut chapters are exactly the same. I also decided to put a little bit of comedy in this chapter, to kind of lighten up the dark mood. Well, that's enough talk, let's get on with the show!



Chapter 18: Bloody Summer



Not much happened after the Kodomo-no-Hi incident, Kenshin and I simply followed orders as we usually did, going into battle nearly everyday. I guess the only real important things were that Tetsu was transferred to the Satsuma Clan about a month ago to make up for their losing numbers. Also, Shion had returned to the Satsuma Clan after about two months of absence, I was glad when she finally left, I didn't even say good-bye to her. I cringe when I think about what she might have done if I said good-bye, it just wasn't right, even if I considered her a friend and all.

My theory about the ribbon worked on each occasion I tried it, I would have to simply remove it to have Kensai take control and have her put the ribbon back on to have me revert back to normal. Although I did take off my ribbon when I took a bath or slept, but she never took over when I did those things.

Anyway, let me get back to the story. This day that I speak of now was a very special day for Kenshin and I. The date of my story is now June 28, 1866, the day Kenshin and I were born. It must be fate that the two of us were born on the same day, although two years apart. We had no assignments that evening, we were free to stay at the inn as the others went out. I was in my room most of the time, I'm not sure where Kenshin went. It was about the middle of the night when he called for me, I was reading a book called 'The Forty Seven Ronin'. I went out to the balcony of our room to find Kenshin outside in the yard.

"Kenshin, what is it?" I called to him. "If you wanted to speak with me, you could've just come into our room."

"Mina, I need to speak with you about something," Kenshin told me, "please come down, it's very important."

"Come down?" I asked. "Why don't you just..."

"I don't want anyone to hear what I have to say to you," Kenshin interrupted, "please..."

"All right, Kenshin," I called, "I'm coming down."

"What could he want to tell me?" I thought to myself as I hurried down the steps to the yard.

I went to the yard, yet there was no one to be found. All that stood there were the flowers the maids had arranged and the laundry hanging on the clothes line. My head turned in all directions of the yard, still no sign of my brother anywhere.

"Mina...," my name suddenly flew into my ears.

"Kenshin!" I jumped, surprised by his sudden entrance. "Wha...what is it you wanted to tell me?" I stuttered.

"I love you," he suddenly blurted.

"Kenshin, are you serious?" I asked as my heart tried to escape my chest.

"Do you not love me?" he asked, his body beginning to inch toward mine.

"It's not that," I answered as he took another step forward, his body touching mine now, "it's just that..."

"Sh," he placed his finger on my lips.

"Oh Kenshin...," I wrapped my arms around him, burying my head on his chest.

Suddenly I felt something pressing against my head, making it's way downward. It was his lips, plucking at my forehead, making it's way down to the bridge of my nose. My chin slowly rose up with each kiss, the kisses now above my lips as my chin pointed directly at the ground. And within a second later, his lips were now pressed against my own. I could feel his tongue mingling with mine, our lips wrestling with one another, trying to get on top of the other, and my arms moving from his back to his shoulders. I suddenly felt myself falling backward, pulling Kenshin with me, our lips continuing their bickering as I pressed my back against the grass. His lips began to pull away, and despite how hard mine fought, I could not bring them back.

I looked forward to see the stars illuminating the smile on Kenshin's face. It was different from the way he usually smiled, I don't know how to explain it, but it just felt different as I stared into his visage. The visage began to inch closer again, this time being pulled toward my ear. His body was now pressed against mine, his face was on the same level as my own, a few centimeters to the left.

"You're very beautiful," he whispered into my ear, gently tugging at the lobe after.

"Kenshin...," his name barely escaped my lips.

"Mina," Kenshin called, "Mina," the level of his voice rose, "Mina!"

"Oro?" I soon myself staring into the ceiling.

"Good morning," Kenshin greeted me, his usual smile on his face, "it's a fine day, that it is."

"Oh, good morning, Kenshin," I yawned.

"Dammit, just a dream!" I mentally kicked myself after. "Of all the times he had to wake me, he chose now!"

"Come on," Kenshin tugged my blanket away from my futon, "get up."

"All right," I began to push myself off the floor.

"I was almost there too," I continued to groan inside, "dammit! Don't worry, Mina, today's his and your birthday, you might have a chance."

The dining room was as busy as it always was when I came down, and our usual meal too, nothing special. I was really tired of having pork and rice, that was what all our meals pretty much were, with the occasional miso soup, but even that tasted like crap now. My thoughts couldn't help but linger back to my dream the entire time I ate, wasn't a good idea that I did that though, because the next thing I knew, I'm being yelled at by the guys at the other side of the hall.

"Hey, pass the rice already, Kensai!" one of the soldier's yelling interrupted my fantasy.

"Oh, gomen," I quickly snapped back into reality, passing the bowl of rice to Kenshin after.

"Good day, everyone," Katsura entered the dining hall after, "I hope you have all slept well."

"I sure did, but someone just had to wake me up!" I grumbled.

"Did you say something, Mina-kun?" Katsura asked after my grumbling.

"No, nothing, Katsura-dono," I quickly answered.

"All right then, let's get to the point," Katsura took his usual seat in the hall. "Tonight's assignment is a rather simple one. Our spies have gotten word that the Shinsengumi's leader, Kondou Isami, will be patrolling Kyoto tonight along with the usual first, second, and third squads. Our objective for tonight is to kill Kondou at any cost, this is an extremely rare event and this could be the key to the Shinsengumi's fall."

"You call that simple?" I thought sarcastically. "You know that guy's going to have a million bodyguards or something if he's that important."

"He will patrol Kyoto around ten this evening, I wish you all luck," Katsura ended his speech, leaving the hall soon after.

"Can't he give us a break for once?" I sighed after Katsura had left.

"I understand how you feel, Mina, that I do," Kenshin tried to console me, "but this could very well change the tide for the Ishin Shishi, that it can."

"You're probably right," I took my empty plate up and began to leave the room.

"Oh, and Mina," Kenshin suddenly stopped me. "Happy Birthday, Sister."

"Arigatou," I bowed, "and happy birthday to you."

Well, at least he remembered my birthday, that kind of made up for him ruining my dream earlier. Actually, not really, my birthday shouldn't be hard for him to remember, it's on the same day as his. Still, it was rather nice that he told me.

I returned to my room shortly, getting back to my book, 'The Forty Seven Ronin', sitting against the wall as I engulfed myself into the fictitious world. The world slowly began to pull me in, or was it that I was falling asleep again, I'm not sure, but then Kenshin's voice interrupted me.

"Mina!" Kenshin called from the yard.

I turned to the balcony for a second, and then returned to my book. He called my name once more, this time his voice pulling me towards him. I set the pages flat against the ground as I made my way to the balcony.

"What is it, Kenshin?" I asked.

"Come down, Mina," Kenshin called, "there's something I have to discuss with you."

"Is this a dream?" I asked myself, pinching the skin on my side after. "Nope, not a dream, could it be that..."

"I'm coming down!" I called back, wasting little time to the yard.

Now I would normally almost trip over each step on the stairs when I was excited about something, but this time I actually tripped. As soon as my toes touched the air before the first step, I knew I was in trouble. There I went, tumbling on each step, my back or my chest would hit the step before I the rest of my body followed. It wasn't very long when I found my face lying against the ground on the first floor.

"Ororororororo...," I saw the stars suddenly dancing around me.

Ignoring the stars and the pain now passing through my entire body, I continued toward the yard, putting on the best smile I could. There he was, standing there in the middle of the yard, his arms folded behind his back, and smiling at me the exact same way he was during my dream.

"You wanted to speak with me, Kenshin?" my cheeks suddenly began to burn.

"Ta da!" Kenshin's arms suddenly sprang forward, along with an odd shaped piece of glass.

"What is this?" I asked taking the glass into my hands, disappointed at the outcome of the events.

"It's a gift from Katsura-dono," Kenshin answered, "it's some kind of foreign drink called 'red wine'."

"That's all you wanted to discuss with me?" I asked, the inside of me just wanting to tear Kenshin's limbs out.

"Well I would've gone upstairs to our room if you wanted me to but you suddenly darted out of the room after I called you," Kenshin explained.

"Dammit, I knew it was too good to be true!" I mentally kicked myself for the second time that day.

"Well, shall we try it out?" Kenshin asked as he tore the cork away from the bottle.

"I guess," I shrugged.

Kenshin handed me a glass and began to pour the liquid in. There was something about this drink, was it the color, or was it the smell? I don't know, either way, I knew I wasn't going to like the drink.

"Aren't you going to drink it?" Kenshin asked as he poured himself a glass.

"Huh?" I snapped back into reality, "yeah." I took the contents into my mouth.

As soon as it touched my lips, I quickly spat out the liquid. It was horrible, so bitter and... ugh, I can't really describe the taste. I turned toward the alcoholic fluid as it began to seep into the ground. It's image reminded me of something, something that was now common to me on the battlefield; blood.

"You don't like it?" Kenshin asked after my reaction.

"No!" I wiped away the remaining contents from my lips.

"Me neither," Kenshin poured the rest of his glass to the ground.

I poured the remaining contents to the ground, I could still taste the foul liquid as it splattered into the grass. Red wine, I would never like to drink that stuff again, however, I knew I would see it's ravishing color again very soon.

The rest of the day nothing else really went on, it sure as heck didn't feel like my birthday, maybe due to the fact that no one was celebrating the occasion. It didn't matter anyway, soldiers have more important things to worry about than days in which people were born.

When night fell, it was time to strike. Kenshin and I were to lead our own squads again, meaning we were to split up into different parts of the city. My men and I scouted the east side of the city, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary, just the usual Wolf patrolling here and there, nothing we couldn't handle. We patrolled for hours, there didn't seem to be any sign of Kondou Isami anywhere. It was about two in the morning when we were about to give up, but then my men and I turned one particular corner. Peaking from it's side, there was a pack of dogs we had never seen before, none of the faces were familiar to any of my men or I. They all seemed to be looking toward one particular wolf. He had a rather wide face and build, it was obvious this man had worked out a lot, his coat was also a bit different from the others, it was still sky blue, but the contents that were inside the coat were different. It was some form of metal, jet black, it seemed to cover his entire body. I counted thirteen men, nothing my squad and I couldn't handle, I was sure I could take out all those men by myself. I didn't want to devise a plan, I felt like I didn't need to, so I blindly rushed in, my men trying so desperately to catch up with my god-like speed.

The first Wolf that turned his skull was the first to fall before the rest of his pack. With my sheath pointed outward, I freed it's contents with a swing to the east. The Wolf fell quickly, his fall softened by a pool of his own blood. The rest of my men followed after, striking at whatever Wolf came their way. I turned to my side to find another one of the sky blue coats flying in my direction, his arms above his head so that his blade can reflect the moon's glow. I knew the drill for attacks like this, a simple plunge to the mid-section did the trick. Of course, that still didn't kill him, I wanted to make short work of him so pulled my blade toward his skull, splitting it and his neck as I extracted the blade. I ignored the splash of crimson that came after, instead turning to my next opponent who had already taken the initiative in this fight by using the pack's favorite attack, a parallel stab. I dodged the attack with a simple step to the side, planting my blade across the back of the Wolf's neck, pushing it forward with all my strength until his head rolled of his neck. I allowed my self to bathe in the scarlet spring for moment, watching the Alpha Dog fight several of my men. The Dog struck first, plunging his sword into one of my men, but what followed after was a shock. Wind had somehow burst through my soldier's wound, striking another one of my men down as if he were struck with the same attack. The remaining soldier went for an overhead attack as the Dog readied his blade once more. The Dog missed his swing, my soldier jumping to the side at the last moment, but again, wind flew from the blade's direction, a fountain of blood spraying from my soldier's chest suddenly. What the hell was all of this?!

"You there," the Dog turned to my attention after, "are you in charge of these men?"

"I am," I took a step toward the Dog, "my name is Himura Mina, that it is, also known as the Hitokiri Kensai."

"Hitokiri Kensai," the Dog grinned for a second, "the sister of the infamous Battousai. Then you must know who I am then."

"Kondou Isami," I tightened the grip on my sword, "in the name of the Ishin Shishi, I will..."

"Reinforcements!" one of my men suddenly called.

"Shit!" I bit my lip as I turned to the east.

"This battle will be postponed for now," Kondou slid his blade back into it's case.

"Kondou, are you running away?!" I yelled at the man as he turned his back toward me.

Before I could get a response, I suddenly found myself and the remainder of my soldiers surrounded by this new pack. I could see him between the gap of two Wolves, Kondou turning his back on me, walking away as if nothing had happened. I wanted to jump over these dogs that surrounded us and chase after the man, but I couldn't risk losing the rest of my soldiers.

"Himura-san, what do we do?" one of men asked.

"Himura," one Wolf suddenly caught my eye as he said my name, "I remember you," each member of the pack took a step back, making way for the narrow-eyed Wolf.

"Saito Hajime," I immediately recognized the man.

"How long has it been?" he asked, slipping his steel fang from it's sheath, "Three months, half a year?"

"Why does it matter?" my eyes narrowed, my pupils tracing each step he made.

"Stand down men," Saito suddenly ordered his men.

"What are you up to?" I asked the Wolf.

"A rematch," he answered, taking his sword into his left hand, his right trapping the tip between his thumb and index finger.

"You stand down as well," I ordered my men.

This wasn't good, the first time I had fought Saito I would've lost if the Ishin Shishi soldiers hadn't shown up in time. Just by looking into his narrow eyes, I knew Saito had improved since the last time I fought him. I had improved too, but I wasn't sure if my skills were now on the same level as his. No one was going to save me this time, I had to fight this one on my own, and I knew it.

He struck first, the blade piercing the wind as it continued to lay in his hand. His right hand quickly let go a step after, the blade pushing toward me as he twisted his back to the left. I struck in the opposite direction, catching the blade and locking us both in place. His next move wasn't anticipated though, a simple push with his shoulder using all of his weight had me pushed against the nearest wall. My back arched into the new crater formed in the building, my legs sinking to the floor, but there was no way I was going to go down that easy. My head quickly sprang up, another Gatoutsu before me, I had to counter this one. At the last moment, I pushed all my weight into the ground with my feet, springing myself up into the heavens.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu-Tsui-Sen!" I plummeted back to the ground, my sword leading the path of my fall.

"Is that all you got?!" Saito spat, switching the path of his sword in an instant, the bottom end of the hilt now parallel to the ground. "Gatoutsu Third Style!" he screamed as he suddenly darted toward me.

"An airborne Gatoutsu?!" I was shocked by his sudden change in attack.

I felt the cold steel etch itself just below my belly, it's point bursting through my back a second later. Fluid began to jump out of my throat, escaping the crack of my lips. The river ran down my chin as my teeth tried to seal the remaining substance, only to have it leak through the gaps between each tooth. Another piece of steel was now stretched across my belly, this one supporting my weight instead of slitting my flesh.

"Amazing, you avoided being stabbed," Saito said as my sword hovered my body as it rested on the guard of Saito's sword. "However," the blade suddenly twisted, his arm moving in the same direction, tossing me against another wall.

This time my entire body fell through the splintered wall, my legs dangling at it's entrance and my head resting on top of a piece of broken lumber.

"It's the end for me," I coughed, "but...," my fingers began to inch toward my ribbon.

Slowly they took hold of the silky material, pulling one end ever so gently. The material began to slide away from my hair, making it's way into my hand. I placed it inside the pocket of kimono's sleeve as a I pushed my blade into the ground outside, pulling at it after to regain my balance. I shut my eyes for a mere second, and before I could do anything, they opened once more without my input.

"That was pretty clever," Kensai spoke, "I never expected a stab to be so versatile, but now," Kensai slid my katana back into it's scabbard, "it's useless against me."

"You boast," Saito spat, "if you can recall, you haven't even deflected a single Gatoutsu. And now," his blade took it's place once more, "this will be the end!"

Again, the sword lead his path, the tip aimed toward my skull. Kensai pulled by blade outward at the last moment, holding the steel slab in place for one second. That was all the time she needed to strike, swinging my sheath outward and striking at Saito's ribs, it was his turn to fall through the whole in the wall.

"The Gatoutsu is a very predictable attack," Kensai spoke as she returned my sword into it's sheath again, "a simple lunge that can easily change direction or into a ram attack. Saito, I've seen this attack three times already, and I can easily find one or two ways around it! Now get up," Kensai spat, "this fight has only gotten started."

"That was only a test," Saito spoke as he pressed his hand against the breaking lumber, returning to his feet, "now I'll attack with the true Gatoutsu!" Saito said as he rose his sword above his head, the inner curve pointed toward his skull, right hand still supporting the tip.

"Pathetic," Kensai said.

Again, Saito had taken the initiative, his sword again leading the path of his attack. Kensai sprang forward in the next instant, swinging my blade at the very moment Saito pushed all his weight into his sword. Nothing but a simple clang when the two metals struck, Saito and Kensai remained in place for a few seconds, probably waiting for the other to attack. They turned back to each other a second later, returning their blades to their previous positions. They sprang forward again, Saito again striking first, Kensai striking a second later. Saito sprang his blade forward in the same manner, but Kensai had anticipated this. She swung with her left instead of her right, the oak case striking against his ribs just as his body turned in that very direction. Kensai smiled as she glided passed the Wolf, his jaw being dragged to the ground as they passed each other by. Kensai flew to the other end of the arena, her sword ready to be drawn once more.

"Well played," Saito coughed, "but...," he readied his blade once more.

The two of them stood there again for another unaccounted seconds. The two of them narrowing their eyes as their fingers began to twitch on the wrappings of their swords. Their feet began to arch forward once more, ready to spring at each other once more.

"Saito-san," one of the other Wolves suddenly interrupted the duel, "it's time."

"We'll finish this some other day then, Kensai," Saito said as he returned his sword to it's case.

"Your life's been spared for now," Kensai glared as she tied the ribbon back into my hair.

The Wolves returned to the shadows soon after, my men and I just stood there as we watched them return to the wilderness of this forest called Kyoto. We returned to the inn soon after, the day was still not over, it was eleven o'clock when we had returned, there was still one hour left for my birthday. I reported the events that had transpired to Katsura, it seems that no one has killed Kondou that night, the bastard got lucky. I was rather tired after the beating I had received from Saito, I was practically crawling to my room. My stab was already wrapped in bandages luckily, my men had treated it after my fight. I swung the door open, and there was Kenshin sitting by the balcony.

"Hello, Mina," Kenshin greeted me with his usual smile.

"Hi, Kenshin," I took my seat at the table.

"Tough night, huh?" he asked.

"Hai," I answered, my head collapsing on the table.

"There's still one hour left before our birthday's over," Kenshin reminded me.

"I know," I grumbled, my face still planted on the oak surface.

"Mina, come over here, please," Kenshin suddenly ordered.

It was rather hard to pry myself off the table, I must've used up all my energy during my fight. He wore his usual smile as I approached him, his lavender eyes gazing directly into mine as I stood before him.

"Sit down," he patted the space next to him.

I lowered my knees and let the rest of my body following, turning my back to him so he couldn't see the fatigue on my face. I was still sweating when I sat, I had to use my entire palm to seal away the perspiration. The next thing I knew, I felt another body pressed against mine from the back, arms wrapping me to it's owner's chest, and his forehead resting against the back of mine.

"Kenshin...," I placed my hand on his as it rested under my belly, but above my wound.

"My little sister," Kenshin whispered into my ear, "it's been so long since I've actually had anyone really care about my birthday. When I still lived with my master, he would never give me a gift, not even a simple 'happy birthday'. Katsura-dono gave me a gift, but there's nothing behind it, not a real sign of care. You, however, you care... You're always there for me, Mina, you care about how my day was, if I got injured, you care about what happens to me. I want to thank you for that."

"I can say the same about you," I said as I slid my neck to the side, allowing his cheek to touch mine, "you're the only one who truly cares for me, who cares about my problems, the lives I've torn apart, you care for everything I do. I'm glad I met you, Kenshin, if fate had not interfered in my life, I might have never met you."

"Don't say that," Kenshin continued, "even if we had never met, I would search the entire world just to find you."

"Arigatou, Kenshin," I nuzzled my cheek against his, "arigatou."

The two of us sat there for the rest of the day, I was cradled in his arms the entire time. We rocked back and forth as our eyes began to shut, little by little. The last thing I knew, I was still in his arms, still being rocked, even after he had fallen asleep. He needed me, just as I needed him, but... does he...still need me to this day?

Chapter 18 Liner Notes



The Forty-Seven Ronin- One of the most popular legends in Japan, the Forty-Seven Ronin is a tale about forty-seven samurai who are left masterless when the master is killed by a corrupt member of the Shogunate. The samurai left their families and village to train themselves for their revenge. When they were finally prepared, they attacked and killed their master's murderer, but turned themselves in to the Shogunate after. In front of their master's grave, all forty-seven samurai committed sepuku (honorable suicide). This story is said to be the embodiment of the true samurai spirit and has been a favorite tale in Japan for many generations.



A little bit about Kondou Isami- Kondou was the leader of the Shinsengumi during the Revolution. He, Okita Soushi, and one other person (I'm sorry, I forgot their name) created the Shinsengumi in order to suppress rebel factions in Kyoto by acting as the police. Anyone they suspected of being a rebel, they would ask for their ID. If their ID wasn't good enough, the person was to be executed on the spot. Before Kondou left for Kyoto, his wife had bore his daughter, Tamako (those who've read the 'Twin Dragon Arc' remember who Tamako is, right?). On 1868, Kondou was captured and executed by the newly formed Meiji Government, no one really knows what happened to his family. In my fics, Kondou wields the legendary Masamune (I'll get into details about that in a much later chapter) and his fighting style is unique. It uses regular sword attacks followed by sword spirit strikes after the initial swing (I'll get much more into detail about this technique later when the time is right).



(Next time: "Day after day she gets pulled even further into her brother's world, her hands are as tainted as his, no, they're tainted even more. The aroma of blood no longer haunts her, the crashing of steel and bone are mere lullabies to her now. I worry for her, I worry about the creature that chases after her, slowly catching up with her with each step she takes. The barrier that keeps the beast has been broken, and now I must fend off the thing that chases my love..." -Azumi Shion)



Author's Note: Well, how was it? Why not leave me a review, but not a flame please. If you want the lemon, read the uncut version, and no, it's not really explicit. Anyway, I'd like to thank two people as I usually do, Emiri-chan, thanks for returning to reading this, and Crystal, thanks for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy this fic as much as how I enjoy your's. Well, anyway, I guess that's it then, later people!