The Memory of Trees
The Truth
The only thing that
Separates the humans
From the animals is
The presence of our souls
Kenshin watched smilingly as he watched the uncle hug his niece, sounds of their laughter reaching his ears. Slowly, he got off the stool he was sitting on and made his way towards the two of them.
¡°Good morning, Takashi-dono!¡± Kenshin said to the man.
¡°Good morning, Himura-san!¡± Takashi said, smiling. ¡°Say hello to Himura-san, Yukiko!¡± he told the girl.
¡°Hello to Himura-san, Yukiko!¡±
¡°Hello, Yukiko-chan!¡± Kenshin patted her head, laughing.
¡°So, Himura-san, has anyone come to see you yet?¡± Takashi asked.
¡°No. Not one in ten years,¡± Kenshin replied, grinning. ¡°Your cousin came?¡±
¡°Yes, and brought one of his girls too.¡±
¡°The other daughter?¡±
¡°Misao is working at the Detention Centre- too busy. Perhaps another day.¡±
¡°Of course, Takashi-dono. Perhaps another day.¡±
Kenshin waved goodbye to the little girl and started making his way into the building.
¡°Kenshin?¡± A voice from behind made him stop short.
¡°Yes, Kaoru-dono?¡± Kenshin asked.
¡°Could we talk?¡± Kenshin could sense the quiver in Kaoru¡¯s voice.
¡°Of course, Kaoru-dono.¡±
¡°Maybe we could go somewhere a bit more... private?¡± Kaoru asked tentatively.
¡°If you wish, Kaoru-dono.¡±
They walked for a while, until they reached an empty spot in the garden with a western bench placed there.
¡°Maybe here, Kaoru-dono?¡± Kenshin asked experimentally.
Kaoru nodded slowly.
¡°Have a seat, Kaoru-dono.¡±
¡°You too.¡±
They sat down, and an awkward silence prevailed.
¡°So... what do you want to talk about, Kaoru-dono?¡± Kenshin finally asked.
¡°Kenshin, I¡¯m sorry I asked such an insensitive question yesterday,¡± Kaoru suddenly blurted.
Kenshin turned slightly red. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t mind.¡±
¡°But could I ask you... Who is Tomoe?¡±
Kenshin closed his eyes for a few moments, and then opened them. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, Kaoru-dono.¡±
¡°Try me.¡±
Kenshin took a deep breath. ¡°Do you know who I really am? Do you want to know?¡±
...
It was black. It was a dark, smothering, inky blackness that seemed to engulf the world around him. He felt strangely helpless. He could hear voices, sobbing, worried discussions, but he could not see.
¡°Aoshi- Aoshi-sama?¡± Misao¡¯s voice was strangely soft, as if she was on the verge of tears.
¡°Misao?¡± Aoshi asked.
¡°Aoshi-sama, it¡¯s good to see you¡¯re awake again,¡± Misao whispered. He felt her hand rest on his, squeezing gently.
¡°Where¡¯s Soujiro?¡± Aoshi asked.
¡°Sou-chan¡¯s with Saitou-san, documenting leads to where Yukishiro-san is. Get some rest, Aoshi-sama,¡± Misao said softly. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting outside.¡±
¡°Misao?¡± Aoshi asked.
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Have you been crying?¡± Aoshi swallowed painfully. That was a stupid question.
¡°N- no, Aoshi-sama.¡± It was obvious that she was lying.
Hurriedly, Misao pushed the sliding door open.
She ran down the corridor, tears blinding her. She was weak, just too weak. How could she let Aoshi-sama become like this?
¡°I¡¯m free. I¡¯m leaving this place. Want to come, Misao-chan? No? Bye, then,¡± Enishi said, as if he was commenting on the weather.
Enishi had asked her to come.
Want to come, Misao-chan?
It was he who had caused Aoshi-sama to become like this. It was Yukishiro Enishi. He had caused Aoshi-sama¡¯s eyes to become so lifeless, so dead... so grey. He knew she loved Aoshi-sama. And yet he had blinded him. And then asked her if she wanted to come.
Want to come, Misao-chan?
Misao¡¯s jaw was firm with determination as she whispered fiercely to herself.
¡°I¡¯ll hunt you down and make you pay, if it¡¯s the last thing I ever do!¡±
...
Kenshin¡¯s knuckles were white as he clenched and unclenched his fists in trepidation and frustration. But Kaoru¡¯s eyes seemed to encourage him, to urge him on.
¡°I haunted the streets of Kyoto, killing the people I was assigned to kill. I will not lie to you- I revelled in their pain, their suffering. I was like a vampire, taking their lives, enjoying the way their blood dripped from my sword when I killed. I felt no remorse. I was the Hitokiri Battousai- I felt no fear.
¡°Then one day, I killed a man named Kyosato, an envoy for the shogunate at that time. We fought before he died, and that was how I got one of my scars.
¡°Tomoe was his fianc¨¦e at that time, and his childhood friend. When she heard that I had killed her husband-to-be, she grew angry. She journeyed to Kyoto, so she could hunt me out, so she could kill me to avenge Kyosato¡¯s death.
¡°We met in a rain of blood. I do not know how, but we fell in love, by some twisted game of fate. She was my sheath. She was my weakness.
¡°And I killed her. I killed her to kill my enemy, and she completed my scar with her dagger. She told me not to cry, but I did. How could I not, when I had killed my only happiness?
¡°I put down my sword and picked up a sakabatou- the reversed edge sword. Tomoe wanted me to stop killing- she believed it was not my nature. I think it was her last wish.¡± Kenshin sighed and closed his eyes again, reliving the memories. But the tears did not come.
Kaoru placed a slender hand on his shoulder, and he looked into her eyes. They offered comfort.
¡°Kenshin?¡± Kaoru asked worriedly. Had she probed to deeply?
¡°I never told a single person about this for ten years. Now that I¡¯ve let it all out, I feel as if an eternal poison has been extracted from my soul,¡± Kenshin said flatly. ¡°But Battousai is still there, and he¡¯s waiting to come out of me. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t belong here, do you? You¡¯re not mad.¡± Kaoru asked hesitantly.
¡°Do I?¡± Kenshin asked, dry mirth tingeing his voice. For a moment his eyes flashed golden.
Kaoru placed her hand on his heart, feeling its pulse run up her arm.
¡°You don¡¯t. I believe you don¡¯t. Battousai has no right to your life, Kenshin.¡±
Kenshin drew away, letting Kaoru¡¯s hand fall. ¡°You think it¡¯s easy? You think it¡¯s easy to keep him inside, keeping him from getting out and killing again? It¡¯s not. It¡¯s not easy at all.¡± Kenshin stood up, turning his back to Kaoru.
¡°I know, Kenshin. But you have to try.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve tried for ten years. I built the walls that shielded others from me. I did all that I could. But he¡¯s still here. And the last thing you should do is to start tearing the walls down,¡± Kenshin said, too harshly for his own liking.
¡°But the thing is, Kenshin, you¡¯ve been building the wrong walls,¡± Kaoru said, smiling beseechingly as she stood up and gripped his sleeve.
¡°The wrong walls,¡± Kenshin said bitterly. ¡°Then tell me, which ones are the right ones?¡±
¡°Kenshin, you already know. You know, deep in your heart, what you are to do, but you just have to do it,¡± Kaoru murmured into his ear as she pulled him around and drew him into a warm hug. ¡°I¡¯ll be there to help you, and you know that,¡± she told him comfortingly.
¡°I am afraid... I am afraid that I will hurt you, Kaoru-dono,¡± Kenshin whispered tentatively.
Kaoru pulled away and stood facing him. She raised her hand to his cheek and gently traced the ugly scars on Kenshin¡¯s cheek.
¡°You forgot, Kenshin, that I am invincible,¡± Kaoru said with mock seriousness.
Slowly, a mischievous smile crept onto Kenshin¡¯s face. ¡°Is that so, Kaoru-dono?¡±
Kaoru did not have time to answer as Kenshin suddenly reached out to tickle her.
Megumi and Sanosuke watched the redheaded man chase the nurse across the garden, all the while laughing. Sanosuke cocked his head to look at Megumi.
¡°How long since we did that, Kitsune?¡± he asked, a wicked glint in his eyes.
A/N:
Hah. I decided to end this chapter on a light-hearted tone, what with Aoshi¡¯s blindness and Misao¡¯s revenge... I¡¯ve been listening to too much Ice Blue Eyes (Misao¡¯s image theme) already... must get off it!!
REVIEW THANKS:
KAKARLENA TSUGOI: Your fics are quite good too! Anyway, thanks!
I-WILL-NOT-BE-NAMED: I don¡¯t know... Formatting has been killing me. I do this nice, normal-looking formatting job and then I turn around and there are all these wonky signs that look like they came out of the Matrix. Heck. And then I can¡¯t upload anything for like, one week? Bummer the Internet.
CHIRUKEN: Heh- it¡¯s definitely temporary, because I¡¯m writing another fic where a character is ¡°sentenced to eternal darkness¡± permanently!! Bwahahahar... And I like Misao, any way she is, but especially when she¡¯s dumb, because in my opinion that¡¯s the only way she can balance off with dear old Aoshi-sama...
XP-DARKANGEL: Yup. He¡¯s blind, but TEMPORARILY only, because I have another fic in mind... **Laughs Maniacally** YOU ARE ADDING ME? YAY!! YAY!! YAY!! THANK YOU!!
JENNI HIMURA (or is it HIMURA JENNI in Japanese?): Do I like to torture dear old Kenshin? Simply no, but it is part of the story. After all that torturing, I am never going to be the same person again. Special thanks to all my reviewers and Linkin Park for helping me live through the dream sequence and everything else... And thanks to you too, Jenni!
C-CHAN: Thanks, C-Chan!
FUUKO-SAN: I think Misao is going to do just that... **wink** Anyway, thanks!
