Disclaimer: RRK is not mine. It belongs to Sony and Nobuhiro Watsuki who got the idea from Hotaru…errr…joking of course… ^_^
Warning: Just a little WAFF, the regular OOC stuff, and bloody torture for Kaoru. If that upsets you though, do not proceed—especially those K&K fans out there who are a little protective of Kaoru (Please put down your flame throwers… Heck, can I settle for tomatoes?) Anyway, all comments are welcome, good or bad—so long as you tell me what's wrong, okay? And be a little nice. I do have feelings.
Oh, there's also a bit of K/T here, but please don't mistake Kaoru's role as similar to Tomoe's because their roles here are NOT even remotely related. Flame me but I don't appreciate the Kaoru-as- Battousai's-Tomoe kind of casting. I mean, I don't even buy the lame "I'll be your sheath stuff" which, I think, is totally UNCOOL!!! In fact, I kinda like the opposite… "I'll be your sakaba stuff" he he he ^_^
Also: To my reviewers, you will find my thanks and comments on your reviews at the end of this chapter. Again, special mention to my good friend Sandy who's out there. Hope you enjoy reading this one!!! ^_^
Just in case some of you lost track of the preceding chapters, here's a little summary. Again, happy reading!!! Chapter 7 follows the summary so you can skip the stuff below if you don't need a reminder.
^_^
Prologue: A short phone conversation between Saitou and Himura, which reveals the latter's mixed feelings about a lot of things—his work, Tomoe, and the complications that his potential assignment might bring…
Chapter 1: Information Specialist Saitou tries to convince Kenshin Himura, an ex-assassin now Special Tactical Operations Officer working for the Japanese Bureau of Intelligence (JBI), that he needed to go undercover to rescue a special intel agent who had been kidnapped by an underground network of terrorists—or so he was led to presume… Kenshin talks to Katsura to know more about the case, and to be convinced, while somewhere in the midst of his confusion, he also proposes to Tomoe Yukishiro to be his wife.
Chapter 2: Alone in his apartment, Kenshin receives a "mental line" from someone whose voice had been calling out to him ever since he began to think about the assignment. In the end, Kenshin agrees to Katsura and Saitou's proposal but on the condition that he be granted an early retirement. Leaving Tomoe with nothing but a promise to be back, he storms into a facility where the intel agent was supposed to be held captive by a certain Dr. Enishi Yukishiro. Meanwhile, somewhere in the darkness, Saitou meets an 'old rival' who is after Kenshin Himura—another ex-assassin by the name of Aoshi Shinomori…
Chapter 3: Tomoe confronts Katsura to get the truth about Kenshin's abrupt disappearance. Meanwhile, Kenshin and Dr. Yukishiro finally meet face to face…
Chapter 4: Tomoe asks the help of her cousin, Megumi Takani, a medical specialist and investigation officer also working for the JBI, to track down Kenshin Himura, whom she believes might have been blackmailed by the government to get him to work on an underground mission. Meanwhile, Kenshin fights Enishi and escapes with the intel agent, a girl he knew only by her last name, which is Kamiya…
Chapter 5: To help Tomoe, Megumi seeks Sanosuke Sagara's expertise to track down Kenshin Himura. Meanwhile, in the course of their escape, Kamiya, distraught and confused from the effect of Dr. Yukishiro's drugs, violently attacks a man who sexually assaults her. Kenshin saves the man from the effects of her psychic attack only to lose her again when she escapes from him and falls into the hands of unknown captors… Frantic, Kenshin searches for her and arrives at an underground joint where he meets a familiar face, Makimachi Misao, daughter of a general with whom he had dealings before as an assassin…
Chapter 6: Kenshin finally succeeds in tracing the Kamiya girl's presence only to find himself fighting a group of goons and cutthroats armed to the teeth with heavy guns and firepower equipment. In the middle of the fight, Saitou suddenly appears only to tell Kenshin that the mission is over. Kenshin's suspicions, however, gets the better of him, forcing Saitou to confirm even darker secrets behind Kamiya's involvement with the JIB… Meanwhile, Sano introduces Megumi to the "Labyrinth" where Soujiro explains why they need her cooperation in return for crucial information about Kenshin Himura…As for Himura and Kamiya, there seems to be no alternative but to escape both sides, their shadows finally vanishing into the darkness and into oblivion…
Chapter 7: End Roll
In the stillness of trees
Shadows dance
Like restless thoughts of you
They stumble over each other
Teasing words out.
I sigh.
There's nothing here
Only the pale flicker
Of a moon
Letting dreams part us
For just one moment.
A pair of ravens descended into the darkness, one caught beneath the other's wings, confused eyes giving way to courage as amber meets darkness. In the silence of the trees, the shadows fleeted invisibly in and out of the spaces of light and dark under the moonlight, hounded by the silenced crash of bullets against wind.
One stopped, looking both ways, then at the other shadow beside him. "You alright Kamiya?"
Sapphire orbs turned to him, pale whiteness scarred by faint traces of blood. "My name's Kaoru."
He studied her features, somehow awed by the sharp contrast of red and blue on her face. Something in the blue depths of her eyes urged him to smile faintly. "Well then, Miss Kaoru…are you alright?"
A flicker of amusement lit up the smile that met his. "Hai, Kenshin."
He smiled grimly, touching her cheek again with his fingertip to erase the blood. Something about her eyes gave his body that natural compulsion, as if the sight and smell of his blood on her face was much more intolerable than the blood that oozed from his shoulder, staining the rest of his clothing.
She felt him wince when he moved his hand to touch her face, eyes hovering over the color on her cheeks.
Purple depths surfaced like ripples on a pool when firm hands grabbed his own, almost surprising Kenshin with the abruptness of the touch.
"The blood…" she told him softly, shaking her head slightly when he gave her a questioning gaze. "It doesn't really matter all that much, Kenshin… Demo…we need to dress that wound before you practically faint all over me…"
Faint? His mind half-chuckled at the thought. He put down his hand and nodded. "I agree…demo…it's not really THAT bad…and besides…"
He trailed, his eyes becoming keen as they darted to the shadows stealthily, trying to sense something beyond the invisible barrier of darkness cloaking them.
She frowned, suddenly distraught. Is he contradicting her? Not that Battousai wasn't known for being stubborn…"Besides what, Kenshin?"
He looked at her, noting the curiosity and impatience etched on her childish face. "Worrying…I'm not used to anyone doing that sort of thing for me…"
"Not even Tomoe-san?"
That doesn't seem to be a good retort. He looked away, purple depths receding into hollow flickers of amethyst.
Kaoru froze, looking at her feet as if the ground had suddenly become interesting.
"Ummm…Gomen, Himura-san."
She even threw in a honorific for sincerity.
Silence.
She looked up and frowned. He wasn't even paying attention.
"Hey, don't tell me you're THAT mad at me, Kenshin!!!"
His response to that however was even more peculiar. She watched him with glazed blue eyes as he parted the black coat they shared and stepped forward into the shadows. His eyes and ears seemed to be tracing something in the air, so it was hard to tell whether he was simply trying to avoid her gaze, or was in fact, too distracted with more important things to consider her outburst seriously.
Either way, he made it clear to her that he didn't want to talk about his personal issues…
Not that it's even my business…demo…I shouldn't have made those assumptions about him…
After all…whatever was and is between him and Tomoe-san is just that. Private.
But does he have to be sooo defensive???
A shadow moved across her, blocking the ray of moonlight on her face. She looked up to find him staring at her, his steady gaze almost soft. "Are you rested?"
She looked away, somehow finding his presence both soothing and disturbing. She could only thank his shadow for hiding whatever shade of red her face had taken at that particular moment.
It was not like the question was something to blush about, even.
Stupid, baka Kaoru!!!
He was still looking at her, observing her flushed face with just a tinge of worry and curiosity. Is she not feeling well???
"Uhhh, naze Kenshin?"
"Naze?"
"Why did you ask about my being rested? Is there something wrong?"
Kenshin had to flinch at that, wondering how he lost track of the conversation so quickly.
His instincts were quick to respond. Rule number one: Teach your hostage to give a straight answer.
He frowned mentally, familiar with the Battousai part of him which was quick to take over when matters get out of hand. Heck, it's not even like she's my hostage or something.
Kaoru, for her part, felt very tempted to pry his thoughts open, but thought otherwise. With Kenshin's ki and senses being almost as highly sensitive, a mental line of this proximity would just give him migraine. Besides, if he was indeed busy thinking about something crucial, a direct mental interference might simply confuse and disorient…something even Kenshin won't appreciate.
She looked at him, waving her hand over his face to get his attention. "Kenshin? Is there something you're not telling me?"
He looked past her, into the darkness and beyond. "I don't think it's safe here anymore…"
She nodded quietly, eyes hardening into his as she looked away. "Well then…I guess you're the expert…Himura-san…"
The expert? He noted the slight edge in her voice and followed her gaze, a frustrated sigh escaping him.
How could I be even mad at this girl? he asked himself, observing how her eyes shifted from the deepest blue to a silvery, aquamarine hue that betrayed her sullen moods. He would admit though, that apart from THAT there was hardly anything else that was childish about her…well…except maybe the way she had just turned her small head away, so he could not see the questions wanting to be asked in her curious blue eyes. Her courage, her pose, her voice…everything spoke of a quiet sort of authority that was a strange combination of both impudent stubbornness and adolescent responsibility. Talk about adolescence, he found her curiosity just a little unnerving, if not downright shocking. He wouldn't even dare inquire how she could have known about Tomoe. If Kaoru was indeed the girl Saitou and Katsura described she was, she would know anything and everything about him…
That almost made him blush. Everything?
Intimate moments came to him unbidden, forcing him to blush an even deeper red. Thank the gods the shadows did much to hide his flushed face.
I think it would be best if Miss Kaoru and I have a talk about how FAR she can really know about anything …
She stopped, breath catching in her throat when he moved towards her, grabbing her by the waist.
He could not help but suppress a mental smile when she turned to him with a flushed face, obviously taken by the gesture.
He didn't mean to surprise her like that, even if it DOES seem amusing—with this jumpiness of hers, these emotional reflexes that bordered into extremes…
He felt he needed to explain just before she could push him away—not that his arm on her waist meant anything even remotely intimate. All he wanted to do, after all, was to get away from Saitou and Enishi as fast and as far as they can both manage.
Running would, of course, be more efficient. But the girl can't even walk properly after being strapped on that bed since god knows when.
And carrying all 120 pounds of her weight around isn't also something to look forward to, with that wound of his throbbing like hell in that other arm. But…
"Gomen Miss Kaoru, demo, we need to move. Now."
"I thought you said we can walk…"
"That was five minutes ago…"
She raised her eyebrows at him. "And?"
Kenshin looked around, his muscles tensing. "Gomen…I don't want you to worry but this place gives me a bad feeling… I'd really feel much better if we leave right now."
She moved her head sideways, trying to see through the darkness the way he did when he tried avoiding her question.
"I don't sense anything, Kenshin…"
He frowned slightly at that. He remembered suddenly that he was not the ONLY one who had that keen sense. Hers might even be more accurate, considering that she was especially gifted…
He strained his hearing, closing his eyes.
"Besides…" she went on, smiling wryly as she pointedly looked at the hand that was still latched to her waist. "I don't think you can handle the weight of a heavy 120-pound woman in your condition, can you?"
Oro!!! She heard me say that???
He opened his eyes, amazed to find a mischievous pair of blue silently challenging him to confirm her suspicions. It was his turn to look away to hide his thoughts. "Uhhh, demo…"
"Weeelll, Kenshin???" she urged, frowning at his obvious evasion. She couldn't understand why she felt this comfortable in his presence, like they've always talked and embarrassed each other like this. Is it because in their not so distant past—the past that got them entangled in the most deadly game of their lives—they had formed an unconscious bond repressed as it seems, by a consciousness programmed to forget?
She looked at him, watching the slight hesitation in his serious features. But as I've been warned before, such bonds can only be one-sided…
She saw the glimmer of amethyst and amber weaving in and out of his eyes, his thoughts shifting and sifting through countless possibilities.
Not that I should even be concerned…But still…
His eyes…they held so much…so many emotions suppressed by unwanted memories, scarred by so much trauma and regret that it was a miracle he managed to keep his sanity for so long…
He might look older, sound older, but to me, I guess he'd always be a child… Just a child really…someone who lost his innocence a little too soon…because…
She closed her eyes, remembering the first time she took control of his mind.
Because they let me took his childhood that day I gave him the reason to kill…
First, with Jineh…
But the first was just the beginning of the end because it was the day Battousai, the demon, was born…
Of course, nobody…not even the world's toughest criminals and assassins had been a match for him…
Dakara, Battousai became the most efficient tool the government ever had…because I allowed them to use me… For principles I hardly understood, I allowed myself to turn his rage into instincts that kill…
She remembered how he looked in one of those nights, holding his sword under a hard rain, amber eyes parting the sea of darkness like lightning…
He was so afraid…afraid of the darkness…
And the compulsions that came with it.
She looked at him, and wondered. Wondered at Saitou's words, at snatches of thoughts spoken behind shielded walls, defense barriers, invisible silences meant to block her mind from overhearing.
But she knew long before what the JBI had planned to do with him.
Which is why she vowed to set him free.
But it was not very easy. And for a while, the "Labyrinth" was useful…The exposure of the Battousai's identity, his dealings with politicians, bureaucrats, and the underground military police network…
They were all connected.
Even his meeting with Tomoe Yukishiro. She had arranged that, didn't she?
But for what? To play Fate? Isn't that what went wrong in the first place? When they used her to decide his destiny, as they did with so many others?
How can I? Did I give him the strength to go on…
Only to let them pull him back to the grave?
She remembered Katsura's words then: Minds know no barriers…He needs you to survive…and unless he goes on the way he is…an assassin, a murderer that dares to stand the ground between sanity and madness so that this generation can have a second chance at life, there is no use for him in THIS life… Which is why you will help him tread this tightrope…this thin line between good and evil, this border between redemption and damnation, because for one who has already sunk himself so deeply into the river of blood, there is no other choice but to swim across or drown…He had gone so far… Sin is a hard thing, but a soul once tainted can only have faith in the logic of suffering… He will suffer…but without you, he won't even live long enough to see the end of it…
She closed her eyes. I wanted him to live…but…will he ever see the end of that suffering life???
She stared at the gaping wound on his shoulder…and saw the wounds he had suffered so many times before…like that scar on his left cheek.
A body as scarred as its soul…
She shook her head mentally, Katsura's words attaching itself to her own words…
…can have nothing but faith in the logic of suffering…
She thought deeply about that…about those battles fought to save strangers such as herself…
Was it worth our lives, Kenshin? Your peace of mind, your happiness, was our security worth all that loss???
Sometimes weakness isn't so bad…
She looked at him, unshed tears washing over the pain of those scarred memories.
Sometimes I wish you never had to be strong for anyone…
Sometimes I wish Kenshin Himura is all that you are, and ever will be…
Sometimes I wish I had never met you… Battousai…
His head went up, acting on hidden impulses. There was something out there…He felt it for a second, but it was gone as quickly as it came…a ribbon of energy lacing the air like waves rippling out of a center…
"Kaoru…"
His voice was urgent, the honorific forgotten as his heart prodded him with unspoken warnings…
Her name uttered thickly, broke into her thoughts harshly. "Nani Kenshin???"
"I think we really should—"
His words came too slow, and the gunshots too soon.
His body could only be so quick, but the impulse was hampered by pain throbbing against flesh.
Against his breast he felt her sink bonelessly, her head falling on the cake of blood that drenched and stained his body with a stench that was all too frighteningly familiar.
"Kaoru?" gentle hands took her into the darkness, enveloping her in darkness as he let his instincts take over, sweeping her small body away from the line of fire, away from the sound of death and its shadows.
There was no answer.
"Kaoru!"
He had felt the danger, but he could not have known the precise aim of those bullets, the target of that split second attack so thinly disguised under the veil of darkness that betrayed a tracker's scent…
Trackers…
Saitou had told him, but he wasn't paying attention. No wonder he felt them, his guts acting on natural compulsions which trackers could not have effectively countered, bent as they are on tracing ONLY the pre-cog's mind, which they had been equipped to intercept and confuse with deliberate precision.
No wonder she didn't sense their presence…
But the bullets were an entirely different matter…
Controlled by machines, their presence would have been easy to foresee…
Wasn't foresight one of her strongest abilities, as Katsura had told him?
He struggled to keep his voice from trembling, fingertips reaching out to touch her face and wipe away the blood.
Kaoru…There's just so much blood…so much of it on her face, now mixed with his own as he held her close, feeling her warmth leaving his.
Foresight…
It must have been the only logical explanation how she took them all…
All seven of them…
Seven bullets entered her body, seven wounds bled on his breast, as she fell into his arms.
"Kaoru!!!!"He watched the blue fade into gray…like the color of death approaching the twilight of eternal darkness…
. . . . . . . . . .
"Look Soujiro," Megumi began, her lips puckering slightly to emphasize her point. "This Labyrinth's illegal, as far as I'm concerned. Dragging me into it is like putting a loaded gun into my hand so I can just go and shoot myself. My bosses will NOT tolerate this kind of crap, and you of all people Sanosuke Sagara, know WHAT the JIB can do when they find out!!!"
Sano rubbed his cheek a little tiredly, looking at her through narrowed sleepy eyes. "Yeah well, so what??? You wouldn't even cry for me at my funeral would you, Takani??? Besides, I'm not gonna die until we're married and have at least ten kids…"
She turned away, hiding the blush as Soujiro laughed into her face. "You're full of stupid bullshit, you know that Sanosuke? I came to you for help and you give me a lot of crap about this organization and what you've been trying to do to save the world. Well, let me tell you, you stupid moron that I'm sick and tired of saving the world!!! I've been doing that as a doctor, and might as well be asked to do that as a JIB investigator!!! All these principles you've both been yammering about are nothing but crappy ideologies that sustain the same economics and politics that got us where we are—selfish, self-centered assholes pretending to be modern day heroes. Hell, you might as well wear a costume and practice martial arts so you can live out your comic book fantasies and leave the real world alone!!!"
Sanosuke got up from his chair and walked up to her, his face cold, expressionless, almost livid. "Will you say that again Megumi?"
He didn't use her last name this time.
She stood up on her full height, but he was still a head taller than she is. "I said, Mr. Sanosuke Sagara—"
Whatever it was she was about to say was lost in the deafening silence that followed.
He was kissing her.
Right there, in front of Soujiro, he bent down and brought his lips savagely to hers, dipping her head as he forcefully pushed her lips open to let his tongue in.
She pushed against his chest, trying to struggle out of his grasp, but Sanosuke was just too strong for her, his evenly muscled body and tall, lean frame, enough to keep her body where he wanted it—trapped in the crook of his arm and between his thighs.
Soujiro gave a low whistle, grinning as he pulled down a lever.
The lights went out and darkness pulsed around them, like two hearts beating.
. . . . . . . . . .
Makimachi Misao sat in front of the window, eyes in deep thought—so deep in thought that she didn't notice the figure that flopped next to her by the window, her expressionless gaze penetrating the glass to settle on the starless, moonlit sky.
"So…are we still thinking about the dork Murasaki?"
That was her code. Misao squinted, throwing a pillow at the intruder who dodged it barely, catching the pillow as she laughed. "Just WHO are you calling dork, Akai?"
The tall woman faced her, cold emerald eyes lighting up. "I think his name is Shinomori, isn't it?"
Misao snorted, giving the slender, willow-like figure beside her a dark glare. Thinking about it now, she couldn't help but realize how they seemed so different to be even friends. First of all, the woman was a classic beauty with a touch of quiet mystique about her which was a far cry from her sunny, adolescent–like disposition and tomboyish looks. Not only that. The woman had bearing, her height of 5 feet and 9 inches contrasting sharply to her barely 5 feet and two. But it is really in style that she, Misao, would have to admit total, absolute defeat. For Akai carried herself with model-like grace, her uniform consisting of thigh-length black boots, with thick straps for hiding bullets and darts, and a skin-tight, body-hugging ankle length red dress with two long slits reaching further into her upper thighs, to show off the tight-fitting boots and the white skin that made it so sexually alluring. Even her arm guards seemed less intimidating, clear strips of white veil-like material hanging from her shoulders down to her elbows and looped around her arms like a scarf, to accentuate rather than emphasize their presence.
Altogether she was the most elegantly—yet practically—dressed spy Misao had ever met. She smiled wryly at that realization, wrinkling her nose at her own worn-out and over-used uniform consisting of the barest necessities—a black vest over a purple arm-fitting, knee-length dress with a wide, obi-looking white belt where she kept her own bullets and darts, and knee-length purple boots to match. Not that the dressing was purely arbitrary or a matter of taste. There was, after all, little sense tolerating such codes and pseudo-names as "Akai" or "Red" for Shougo Sayo, and "Murasaki" or "Purple" for herself, if the stupid uniform had nothing to do with it.
Not that Shougo Sayo's name should even be known to her. As far as real names go, identities can be dangerous when one has a little too many secrets to keep.
And Misao had her share of those, for reasons known only to her.
And perhaps, to the ex-assassin that now goes by the name of Kenshin Himura…
"So it IS the dork, as I've suspected it is, Murasaki-san" she laughed, hitting Misao on the head with an even bigger pillow.
Misao rubbed her head, yanking the pillow from Sayo's grasp before she can hit her for the second time. "Yare, yare, I can forgive THAT but make fun of Shinomori again and I swear Akai-san, I'd set you up with Okita if it's the last thing I'd do!!!"
She laughed at that, more amused than angry. "Okita-san is actually quite cute if you want my honest opinion Murasaki-san…and he smiles too, not like some block of ice I've met…"
Misao snorted in disgust. "Yeah right, Akai-san. For all we know, he smiles even when he's in the toilet doing you-know-what. That kid is just disgusting. I mean, not even I could be happy ALL the time."
"Is that right? So you've just admitted now that Shinomori's indeed a dorky block of ice?"
"Hey, I'm admitting nothing, Akai-san, and you know it!!!"
The woman laughed at her infuriated red face. "Honto ni…demo…seriously Murasaki-san…what are you planning if you DO meet Shinomori face to face? He's been in Shishio's list for the longest time…and with his trial taking its turn for the worse, we don't know how long this organization's gonna last…"
"Hai…demo…there's Hoji still…he's loyal if ever there is one…and Anji's sane…He can keep the organization from collapsing or being run over by Yukishiro's goons and syndicates if there's anything he can really do so well…"
"I agree…but still…"
Misao saw Sayo's face cloud over, her eyes reverting back to its opaque shade of dark green. "Look, don't worry…we'll get your brother back, believe me…The sooner Shishio's in jail the better for all of us if we can find your brother before the whole system leaks out to the police…But since Shishio still has a few tricks up his sleeve, I'm sure we're gonna be okay. I can't believe I'm actually wishing he'd be able to save his ass, but if he EVER does, well…it's up to us to take it from there…"
Sayo smiled. "Amakusa's drug deals will get him killed I know it…Demo…I know there's a way to clear his name…some piece of evidence that might tell us where he is, who Shishio's contacts are outside the country, and why my brother had just disappeared last year when Shishio asked him to meet his contacts in China…"
"I know. Now that you mention China though…would you know if your brother EVER planned to work for Yukishiro? I mean, uhhh, sort of as a double agent?"
Sayo shook her head. "I don't think he'd take THAT risk…no…but that might just be a possibility as what you seem to be implying Murasaki-san…"
Misao's eyes glimmered with new hope as she slammed one fist on the palm of the other hand. "Yeah, and that'll give me an even BIGGER excuse for making Yukishiro's ass so damn sorry for ever messing up with us!!!"
Her companion smiled, eyes softening. "I hope so, Murasaki-san…I just really hope so…"
. . . . . . . . . . .
Atonement…Her mind screamed. It was the last thing she had heard when the bullets came, piercing her mind with a soundless scream only her hidden senses could have detected so quickly.
And with a precision that was short of a miracle.
But there was no miracle in death. Only the promise of sleep.
Endless sleep. Wasn't that what she wanted?
For pre-cogs, sleep was a luxury, nightmares, a waking reality that goes on endlessly, like advertisements on T.V.
Darkness and light. They are all the same to pro-cogs who had never been acquainted with the difference.
After all, what is the difference to those who had never seen with their eyes?
People often say stupid things like mind controls matter, or if there's a will there's a way.
Stupid things.
How can the mind argue with death? How can one's will find a way around it?
Death is absolute. It would have to be, or we'll all end up immortals.
Immortals.
I'm not an immortal.
If life means living another person's hell, I'd rather have the real thing.
Maybe this is one Fate I will never have to be able to control.
I'm so tired of it.
Control. Fate. Destiny.
Death is so much more comforting…
It makes no demands.
It asks nothing of me.
Only to lie here….
Such warmth…
In this soft warmth, I can die in peace…
Just--just let me stay here…just let me stay here for a little while…
I can stay here in the warmth for just a little longer…
Then I will let go, I promise to let go…
. . . . . . . . . . .
Kaoru!!! Stop it, stop it, you hear me???There was no answer, no voice in his mind to whisper back, only the wind breaking his speed as he crouched in the darkness, her limp form on his breast, cradled against his arm under the coat.
So much blood…
He didn't know why, or how, but her voice struggled through the inner senses of his mind, begging to let her stay in the warmth…
He had to think about that. The wind was actually cold, almost freezing, yet she spoke of a warmth she couldn't leave just yet.
He embraced her even tighter, desperately seeking comfort in her limp presence.
The invisible yet soothing presence that he had always known to be there in those nights when there was nothing but shadows to keep him company…
He looked at her eyes, at her forehead, then at the pale shoulders showing through the coat, which barely covered her.
Just so much blood…
So much blood…
If there are gods out there…
He stopped, staring at her face for two seconds.
She would have to move. To breath. Even just one sign…
He closed his eyes, focusing his ki, his senses on this one goal:
To reach her mind.
Maybe then, there is still hope.
Kaoru!!!He remembered vividly, how, he too, thought of allowing himself to die. But one thing always nagged him to go on… Something in his mind had always whispered to him those strange words that kept his sanity in moments like this when the invitation to darkness and death seemed too much of a temptation to resist.
And that is faith.
Faith in things that are yet to come…things that make suffering seem nothing more than a temporary, yet necessary process towards completion and resolve.
And eventually, atonement.
If he had one single reason—if there was one, single logic that will defy all the madness of his previous life, and the madness of living this life, it would have to be that.
Atonement as the completion of his life.
And Kamiya's life should lead the way…
Because you and I knew what the darkness felt…
And if there is just one more room for absolution…
You will be there to see me through, as you've always done…
He touched her face, this time with fingers that dripped his blood and hers.
You and I are the same…
Which is why you and I must live through this.
Because there are still so many things that we needed to know.
Many things to atone for…
To live for…
At least I have known what it is to love…
And to be loved, no matter how fragile and uncertain that seems to be…
But you haven't had anyone…
Or at least that's my presumption.
So young and already, so much pain.
So much
blood.
So much madness in one single night.
It will not end in this.
If there is one justice I will seek, it will be for ones like you…
I deserve my pain.
But you don't deserve this. Whatever you did can be forgiven because you are innocent.
I'm hardly that.
But I wouldn't stand for this.
You will not die in the arms of a stranger like myself.
I won't let you.
Because that will be too cruel…
. . . . . . . . . .
Katsura folded his hands on his lap as he listened through the muffled noise of the darkness outside his window.
Minutes ago he had received a message that forced cold sweat to break out of his skin in trickles.
The news was unexpected.
Kamiya had been brutally shot.
Kenshin Himura had escaped.
The mission is over.
Only this time, the odds are on his side.
With the death of Kamiya, the link in the chain had been broken: No witnesses. No evidence. No crime.
But in Himura's case, the sword and the sheath work both ways…Kamiya would have made a difference if she had been given a chance…And Himura might have yet been saved…
He thought about the old days, when politics made sense, when history was not just role-playing. He thought about sane politicians who thought about policies that work, and insane politics that applied them and made them impossible.
With Himura gone, there will be no one to tie the loose ends…
With Kamiya gone, there will be no one to keep those loose ends from anyone else's hands…
I should have done better.
But regrets are too much for one lifetime spent in making mistakes…
In the darkness, he could only dream what could have been, and mourn it over many times.
Sleepless nights are endless.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Author's Comments: Soooo sorry about the late update. Anyway, here are my comments to your reviews. Again, domo arigatou for all the support!!! ^_^
Names not in any order (I must mean, random, heck!!! ^_^)
kyanos: No, you didn't post 2 reviews though I would've gladly read both anyway!! By the way, hope this chappie had enough tensions, and switches. I love you commenting on these details that I tend to ignore. About Tomoe… pushing her off a cliff means I gotta find one real quick…demo…I won't do that I guess. A hot date with Akira may be interesting though. But then again…that's been done so many times before…Maybe I'd think of something more intriguing…but anyway, please send me a review 4 this chappie to let me know your views on the subject. It's wonderful to know you're interested, so thanks again!!! ^_^ You've always been there—at least more often than the others…so until next time!!!
bittersweetKandy: I'll update this one very soon, I hope. I'm writing four fics in a row (stupid imagination, won't let me be, that's why) so it took me quite some time to update this one. Please do read the other ones and give me your thoughts. Thanks!!! ^_^
Moonwind: Love your comments, you make me want to write ten chapters straight!!! Anyway, I promise to update sooner okay? Thanks again!!!!
siLvEr_iris: I know you wanted a little more "warming" bet. K&K but I knocked her dead!!! Gods!!! She can't be dead!!! (Author swoons). Don't worry. Please read more to find out and thanks for reviewing this one!!! ^_^
Akai Kitsune: Yeah I know I didn't treat Tomoe quite well here…I mean, you know, Saitou's words so I thought you might excuse the foul language… (Author kicks Saiotu's butt) I'll be kinder I promise, and make Saitou pay (he he he!!! Author lets Saitou take the blame…wicked author!!!)
Jason M. Lee: Thanks. For some strange reason, I tremble to read your review…Must be your aura or something. I love your comments so it must be your aura…powerful…Do you mind if I ask what's your horoscope? (Author is hit by a flying tomato) Okay, got the message. Thanks again. I'm glad you thought the last chapter was good though…^_^
NightRain: Thanks for the compliment!!! I hope this chappie helped clear a lot of other stuff…I promise more intrigue next time…wish the clearing up won't lessen the suspense though because that happens sometimes…Heck, I'll manage so please read and review some more!!! Thanks!!!^_^
Chiruken: Fantastic? Glad you found it to be so…I do want more suspense in my fics…To be honest though, I think Linay handles it so much better…I wish I have her talent, really. But I love your comments, so please keep sending them in. You make my life a little lighter, honest !!! ^_^
Sandy: Hotaru-sama??? Geez, that's really BIG of you, and I'd be a hypocrite if I say that it doesn't flatter one bit…Thanks for all the support. You've always been such a good friend so I won't ask a lot from you, just maybe to keep in touch once in a while!!! I do love your comments and errr…did you get my e-mail? Are you writing your own fic?? Please try. I'd love to help and thanks a lot really !!! I dedicate this fic to you and your friends (whether they like it or not, he he he) ^_^ so enjoy!!!! Hope to hear from you soon too!!!
JML: You asked how this will turn into a K&K…Hmm…Actually, I kept asking myself the same question (Boulder rolls down a cliff and hits author like a duck pin…) Just kidding!!!! Anyway, the intrigue's not yet over but I'm glad you asked the question. Maybe that's what all the intrigue is all about. K&K would have to wait and be tortured some more. Then Tomoe will come and kill them both. Hah!! Got you… (This time, author is kicked into the gutter and rolls out of view. Owari.)
Yuki: Yes, I love S/M too!!! Thanks!!! More interaction in the next chappie—if I can manage it…Sorry if not a lot in here…ohhh but the kiss…Maybe something more will happen in the future. Watch out for it!!!
Koneko-chan: Thanks, and I love Misao too…She's bright, bubbly, and smart (like powerpuff??? No, even better!!!!) About the names…sorry for that…I do lose track of the pattern, so I promise to stick to the FIRST name first, and LAST name last starting with the NEXT chappie. But I'd have to stick with the 'dono' stuff… I will explain later why Tomoe used it too…Anyway, I really appreciate the reminder so please keep reading!!! I'd try to follow your suggested revisions as closely as I can so don't hesitate to send in your suggestions!!! You guys make my day—errr night!!! ^_^