The Memory of Trees
The Brother

Justice is an illusion

That man projects

So that we can protect

The last shred of differentiation

From the animals that we share the Earth with

Soujiro smiled mildly at the dour-faced man who was perched precariously on the high-security fence.

"Good morning, Shinomori-san!" Soujiro's unmistakable chirping floated up to the man, who looked down.

"Move faster Soujiro. We're late." He jumped off the fence and landed catlike next to the boy.

"You could have gone in first, Shinomori-san." Soujiro frowned slightly.

"It's Aoshi, Soujiro. Aoshi. And you know I always wait for you." Aoshi stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trench coat.

"Anything you say, Shinomori-san." Soujiro remained unfazed by the icy glare that Aoshi shot him.

"Sagara took a day off, so we're doing double shifts."

Soujiro carried on smiling. "Where did he go?"

"He went to visit his girlfriend at the Asylum." Aoshi grimaced at the word.

"Oh. My sister is starting work there today. Father and Mother aren't very happy about it."

Aoshi raised an eyebrow; it was obvious that Soujiro's parents had made a big fuss when his sister Kaoru had began her job at the Asylum- they had done the same when Soujiro had started at the Detention Centre. "That was the understatement of the year, Soujiro."

"Whatever, Shinomori-san," Soujiro retorted, his smile never wavering.

Aoshi removed his hands from his pockets as they entered the building. It was a large, grey western-style building, and it seemed intimidating to any passer-by, but to Aoshi it was just part of his dreary routine. He had been posted to this Detention Centre three years ago, and he counted himself lucky that he had not been posted to the high-security block. Saitou Hajime was in charge there, and everybody knew that he did his job well, even though he was very harsh.

One bad thing about the place was the regulation against carrying swords in the open. Aoshi had always felt uncomfortable with a lightweight assassin's sword stuffed down the back of his coat, but rules were rules.

"Shinomori-san? Shinomori-san?" Soujiro's voice interrupted Aoshi's musings, bringing him back to earth with a suitable bump.

"Yes, Soujiro?"

"Sign in."

"Oh. Oh, yes. Sign in." Aoshi was feeling a bit embarrassed now. Hurriedly, he took the brush from Soujiro and inked his name in.

"We're all ready for work now, Shinomori-" Soujiro began, but was cut off by the loud shouting of another prison warden running down the corridor.

"Aoshi! Convict 461b is trying to get out! Saitou sent me to get you."

Aoshi and Soujiro turned around at the sound of the man's shouts. The warden stumbled, and collapsed to the ground. Aoshi could see that he was badly wounded in the shoulder, because blood was oozing out very quickly, and was pooling around the poor man.

"Yukishiro Enishi." Aoshi's voice was so soft, and so dangerous, that only Soujiro's sharp ears picked it up.

"Shinomori-san? I'll stay behind and tend to Kato-san while you go ahead. I'll catch up with you soon."

Without a backward glance, Aoshi turned and walked briskly off to the high-security block.

...

Kaoru peeked at Kenshin from behind of the pile of laundry she cradled in her arms as he meticulously scrubbed at somebody's stained kimono, smiling to himself for some strange reason. As she approached him, her ears picked up the sound of his soft humming.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked experimentally.

Kenshin looked up, surprised. Nobody in the Asylum ever called him Kenshin, except for Megumi, and even then, it was always Ken-san. He smiled when he saw it was Kaoru. "Yes?" he asked softly.

"There's more laundry," Kaoru said, immediately blushing after that.

"Yes, there is," Kenshin agreed, taking the bundle from her.

They stood there in awkward silence for a while. Kenshin watched her blush some more as he turned his gaze at her, and Kaoru hesitated, not knowing what to say.

Finally, Kaoru broke it. "Thank- Thank you, Kenshin."

As she turned to go, Kenshin reached out to touch the sleeve of her kimono, dropping all the laundry.

"What is your name?" he asked tentatively.

"Kaoru. Kamiya Kaoru."

Kenshin's eyes lit up. "Kaoru-dono," he said hesitantly.

Kaoru laughed. "Goodbye, Kenshin." She turned and walked away.

...

"Could you pass me those bandages, Kaoru-san?" Megumi called from the other side of the storeroom. Kaoru obligingly threw them across to the doctor. Just then, Sanosuke arrived, pushing the large crate containing some medicine in front of him.

"The tranquillisers are here! Thank-you, Sano," Megumi panted, gesturing towards the man.

Sano rested for a while, before he straightened up again and walked out to move more crates in. That day just happened to be stocktaking and supplies day, so Megumi, Kaoru and the nurses were in the thick of it. Kaoru grinned tiredly as Sanosuke cursed his luck for taking an off day, but quickly wiped it off as Megumi passed her some more bottles of medicine.

It was fairly warm in the stuffy storeroom, and Kaoru felt as if her head would burst very soon. She excused herself to the washroom and carefully made her way through the piles of stock. Kaoru sighed with fatigue as she stepped out of the door, but her sigh turned into a scream as she crashed headlong into...

"Kenshin!" Kaoru shrieked in surprise.

Kenshin went red with embarrassment as he steadied Kaoru. "I... I am sorry, Kaoru-dono," he said hurriedly before he dashed through the door and past her.

"Doctor Takani."

"Yes, Ken-san? I'm busy," Megumi called from behind yet another stack of crates.

"The western medicine... I'm afraid I need it today."

Megumi's head appeared from above the stack; she had climbed up a ladder. "No, Ken-san," she said firmly. "Too much tranquilliser will do more harm than good to your body."

Kenshin hesitated for a while. "Yes, Doctor Takani," he finally said, reluctantly. "But I can feel him coming back."

Megumi frowned. "Then we'd better... restrain you," she said.

Kenshin nodded. "Do you have the rope?" he asked.

Megumi pulled a length of thick rope from the shelf next to her, wincing as she threw it down to him. "Be careful, Ken-san."

"I will be, Doctor Takani," Kenshin said softly.

Megumi smiled sadly at him for a moment, and then, seeing Sanosuke coming in with another crate, shouted at the poor man.

"SAGARA SANOSUKE! Where were you? Ken-san needs help!"

Sanosuke nodded tiredly. "Yes, yes, Kitsune. I'll be right back after he's done."

"You'd better be, Sano, or I'll skin you alive. Kaoru-san, would you mind accompanying them? Thanks," Megumi said.

...

It was always the same thing. Megumi only administered tranquillisers once a fortnight, so every week he would have to be tied to a pillar, to keep him from becoming violent and attacking someone.

It's a pity, you know, Himura. You being trussed up like a chicken every week to prevent me from coming out and killing every person in this stupid place.

Kenshin chose not to answer. He forced a smile on his face as they stepped into his room.

Unlike other rooms, which were regular-sized and had a futon in the middle, Kenshin's was the smallest one in the building, and the only one with a pillar going through. It was an extension once that had been built around the pillar that had once been outside the building. Originally meant for storage purposes, Kenshin had opted to live there. His futon was neatly pushed to the wall, and there was no sign of mess in the room.

Sighing tiredly, Kenshin walked to the pillar and turned around, passing the rope to Sano, who began to tie him to it. Kenshin tried not to wince when Sano jerked the rope slightly, testing the tightness of the coil.

"Thank-you, Sano," Kenshin said softly. Sano jerked his head quickly as a sign of acknowledgement, and then rushed off back to Megumi in the storeroom, leaving Kaoru behind.

"Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked inquiringly.

Kaoru smiled. "Yes, Kenshin?"

"You don't need to stay here. Normally they leave me by myself."

"Don't worry, Kenshin. I'll be fine here."

They always left him to himself. They left him alone in his room with the ghosts of the past that haunted him forever. They always heard his screams, and he knew that they winced with every cry of anguish, but no one ever dared to stay in the same room as him when Battousai tried to take over. No one, until now. Kaoru-dono dared.

"I... I might hurt you." His voice quivered slightly. He wouldn't just hurt her. He might even take her life if he was not careful. He always hurt those around him- he could never protect them. He couldn't even protect Tomoe from himself.

That's because you're useless, Himura. Totally useless. If you just relaxed and let me take over, things would be much easier. Battousai's voice seemed to echo through his mind.

"I... I can't." His voice was hesitant.

Battousai was setting a trap.

"I... I just... can't."


A/N:

YAY! A cliffhanger! **Dodges a rotten tomato thrown by reviewer** Sorry about that, but I was thinking more of the effect of the reading. Please be nice and review!