A Lifetime Forgiven
Chapter Six: Close to Home
Kenshin and his new companion walk the streets of Kyoto going unnoticed by all. No one suspect he is the wanted Himura the Battousai, and no one suspects the girl he travels with is really a half-breed demon disguised as a human. They make it through the streets swiftly, heading straight to where Arami smells fresh human blood.
Finally they reached the place the smell originates from. Arami gasps while Kenshin looks like he's going to be sick. What used to be a man, in his middle age, has been cut to pieces and lay in a heap of crimson blood and flesh.
Arami is the first to recover from her shock; having seen much worse things in the many centuries through she's lived. She bends near, covering her sensitive nose with a spare piece of cloth that's seemed to magically appear. Still the scent of blood is strong, yet how could it not be? With a darkening expression, she inspects the body, the flesh where it's been cut. After a moment she moves on, removing the cloth from her overly sensitive nose, and begins sniffing around. With the absence of her fox ears, this is quite a strange sight, however no one is around to see.
Soon Kenshin also recovers, after he's vomited off to the side. Even during all his years as Battousai he's never seen something this horrifying. He's no stranger to blood, and the sight of flesh bothers no one as long as it's still connected to the body. But this is something totally new, which he prays never to discover again.
"This has been done by a metal blade, not long ago." Arami straightens as she announced the cause. Kenshin can only nod, unable to peel his eyes from the bodily remains. "The scent of the metal meets with the scent of another man. But there's also- what I think is-," now is Arami's turn to look sick. Finally Kenshin peels his eyes from the bodily remains and gazes at Arami with a questioning gaze. Her tan has faded into a greenish tint. "There are two other scents. One is definitely a woman's. The other I can only identify as a child." Kenshin too pales.
For a moment neither speaks.
"Are you positive it is a child?" Arami nods.
"I can follow the scent easily enough. But I'm afraid," She cuts herself off and turns away from him as tears begin to brim. "There's already the scent of more blood ahead."
Kenshin nods with understanding, praying the sight that awaits them furthermore will not be this gruesome.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is going under PG13 from now on, though I don't think it'll make it to R anytime soon. Thanks for reading, special thanks for reviewing!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin™. I do own any of my original characters.