Departure Scars

Chapter 3:

"A Way Out"

"Let go of me!" Kaoru screamed.

"No!"

"Sanosuke, let go! You're hurting me!"

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Anger vanished from Sanosuke's as quickly as surprise appeared. His grip loosened. Kaoru could barely feel him touching her. She trembled from and shakily opened her eyes. She felt a pang of guilt for the look of shame on his face. She didn't know what to say. "It's my fault. I should have told him…Kenshin meant something to everyone. He was like family. He just wanted to know if he left or not. Sanosuke…you didn't hurt me that bad…I'm sorry." Sanosuke opened his mouth and looked down at Kaoru. He paused as if he was deciding what to say. His eyes scanned the area around him cautiously and they went back to her.

"Gomen…nasai." He spoke. She nodded still feeling guilty. "Will you just answer some of my questions?" Dread soured Kaoru's stomach. She her mind changed again. "Do I really have to tell you? Can't it wait? I just want to be left alone! Something else will just go wrong!" She swallowed nervously. "…Did you get attacked or…or...raped?" He asked. Now it was her turn to be surprised. She looked at him questioningly.

"N-no…" she answered hoarsely.

"And did Kenshin…leave?" Kaoru turned her head and her eye's darted to the floor. "Is that a yes?" he questioned. More silence. "Oi, don't start that bullshit again! I finally got you talking so don't stop." He was quiet for a moment; reasoning to him self that it most likely was a 'yes'. "Did you go after him?" The young lady's damp face twisted.

"…Hai" More tears began to fall and she snapped her head towards him, her emotional dam breaking. "I-I did go after him and I tried! I really tried! He wouldn't come back Sanosuke! He wouldn't come home with me! I wanted him back! I wanted him to come back but he won't! I still want him back too! But he'll never come back b-because he doesn't love me! He never cared about us! He never loved me!" Kaoru cried and yanked herself away from Sanosuke. He watched her as she ran down the hall and disappeared around a corner. "Jou-chan…"

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Kaoru slammed the shoji door shut as hard as she could and crumpled to the wooden floor. She pounded her fist on the wood as her body racked with sobs.

"Why? Why?! Why did it have to be this way? All this pain. Love…damn love! Damn it all! I should of known better! I was so stupid! I should have listened to what Kenshin said a long time ago. 'You should careful of who you let in your home Kaoru-dono.' I shouldn't of let him in my home. I was better off alone."

"Uuggh! Baka!!" She screamed and pounded her fist against the floor again.

Her body shook with sobs until she stood up pointlessly and glared at the innocent objects around her room. Her anger boiled inside of her veins as she walked towards her dresser. She picked up her hand mirror and looked at her red-ringed eyes and tear-streaked face in the little reflection. "Look at me. I'm pathetic! Disgusting! Crying over someone I barely knew!" Suddenly, Kaoru slammed the mirror on the corner of the dresser. Jagged reflecting shards fell in front of her. A growl rose in her throat as she swept her arm across the dresser surface, sending bottles of perfume, a flower filled vase, and hair items clattering to the floor. She stepped aside and kicked the stand holding her practice close angrily. The pieces snapped as the gi and hakama glided to her feet. "What's wrong with me?!" She let out a frustrated yell as she kicked her futon across the room.

But she blinked as her eye caught a wooden sheath flipping out of the blankets and clattering across the room. It hit the wall and slid aside. Kaoru quickly fetched it as her eyes became glazed once again and her earlier thoughts returned. She hugged the dagger to her chest.

"Just a little pain…not any worse than the pain now. Then it will all be over. Gone. I wont have to care anymore. No more crying, no more lonely nights worrying, no more pain..." She pulled off the sheath and tossed it to the floor. A crooked smile formed on her face.

"No problems with money or support. No more Kenshin."

She positioned the blade.

"No more me."

With that reasoning Kaoru thrust the cold metal into her chest. Instant pain shot up her arms and down her legs. She could feel her flesh move apart to make room for the icy edge. Blood instantly began pumping from the self-inflicted womb. The blood poured down the blade and was soaking the front of her yukata. She pushed it in more as her limbs began to feel heavy with pain. Everything seemed to go slower and slower. The front of her body was saturated with the thick red liquid. Dizziness set in. Her limbs were slowly going numb. She could feel it traveling up her fingers until her arms dropped lifelessly to her sides. Kaoru let out a struggled choke. Crimson liquid seeped out of the corner of her mouth. She collapsed on her side, wheezing painfully as her breaths became shorter. Darkness slithered around her dying form like a snake from the shadows. Light become more distant.

"S-sorry..." She whispered and closed her eyes. "Every...one a-and..." The last speck of light disappeared and darkness consumed her. Her last words were left unfinished.

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"Geez! Could you two get any louder? What did you do to her? I almost went inside to see if someone was attacking you guys!" Yahiko exclaimed to Sanosuke as he stepped outside.

"I think she's really pissed at me now." Sanosuke said ruefully and paused as Yahiko gave him a 'no-kidding' look. Sanosuke continued, "Well, I didn't get all the information. I just got the basics. Kenshin did leave and she went after him, but he still wouldn't come back. She wasn't attacked or anything. That's all I got from her. She's taking this pretty hard."

"But why did why didn't she come home and why did she look like that!?"

"She ran off to her room before I could ask." He answered shrugging his shoulders.

"Well…at least we know something." Yahiko looked a bit hopeful despite the disappointment that throbbed in his chest. He was going to miss Kenshin dearly. "I guess I'll go see if she's alright." He said before walking into the house. Sanosuke nodded and stared at the washtub that was a few feet away. Kenshin flashed in his mind.

"Damn it! Kenshin, you bastard!" Sanosuke yelled and kicked the bucket across the yard.

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Yahiko heard a thud from down the hall and walked more briskly to Kaoru's room. He wasn't sure, but it just seemed like something wasn't right. He could feel it. Yahiko halted at the door and listened carefully. His senses were all alert and looking for any hint of what Kaoru was doing. He slid the door opened a crack and peaked in. He gasped when he saw he room in shambles. Glass was shattered all over the floor and some of the furniture pieces were completed destroyed. His eyes wandered to Kaoru. She was lying on her side with her back to the door. She was motionless. Yahiko opened the door a bit more.

"A burglar? No...we would of noticed something."

"Kaoru?" He whispered. He slid the door open all the way and took a step inside her room. "Kaoru." He repeated creped towards her until he was about 4 feet away. That's when he noticed it. Yahiko's heart lurched sickly into his throat when he saw a large pool of blood growing in front of her and a dagger protruding from her chest. "Kaoru!" He screamed and kneeled down by her side and shook her. "Kaoru, wake up!" Yahiko shook her harder. She didn't move. Panic stirred deep inside him. He turned her onto her back and gently tapped her cheek. She didn't respond. "Kaoru! KAORU!!!" Yahiko screamed and ran towards to door. "Sanosuke, I need you're help!!"

"What's wrong?" asked Sanosuke as he came jogging down the hall. Tears formed in Yahiko's eyes as he stood in the door way.

"It's Kaoru! She's…she's—"

"She's what!?" yelled Sanosuke before pushing the boy away and looking inside Kaoru's room.

"She's--"

"Oh fuck." Sanosuke cursed, his eyes darting from the blood to Kaoru. He rushed over to her motionless body and rested two fingers on Kaoru's neck. Nothing. His heart skipped a beat. He pressed a little harder. A slight beating. A very weak and slow beating.

"Is she alive?!"

"Yes, but you better run as fast as you can to Megumi because it doesn't look like she'll be for long." He said looking panicky. Yahiko nodded and dash out the door. "I hope they get back here in time!" Sanosuke felt extremely worried. He slipped his arms under Kaoru and lifted her up. Blood dripped to the floor and soaked his sleeves. He carried her into the kitchen and laid her onto the counter. "Should I take the dagger out?" He thought. "No…that's probably keeping a lot of the extra blood in. I need to put pressure on it." Sanosuke thought, remembering some of the medical practices Megumi would use on her severely injured patients. He quickly pulled her yukata open a bit and took off his jacket. He rapped it around the dagger and her chest, pressing hard. Kaoru let out a quiet, painful wheeze but had no other response.

He noticed the trickle of blood begin to drip from her mouth more. He slipped one hand under her head and held her up. He didn't want her to choke on her own blood since she wasn't really able to cough. The trail flowed down her neck and down Sanosuke's arm. "Hurry Yahiko!! Please!"

Translations:

Hai-yes

Shoji-see chapter 2…come on! You people should know this by now! Especially if you read anime!

Gomen nasai-I'm sorry

Author's Notes: Weeeell, I finally got this chapter done! *Yay!* Do you love it? Hate it? Please review! I'll put chapters up more if ya'll like it! Isn't this a good cliff hanger? ^_^ I guess I'll go now. Oh with the next chapter!

(Re-edited.)