Chapter 18
The sky began to fill with dark clouds and the wind started to pick up speed. The air itself was quiet, the entire town silently tucked away in their homes waiting for the pending bloodbath to be over. All of the town except for the old doctor's two young granddaughters, of course. The mischievous girls had found a hiding spot only a few yards away from the ominous group in the town square. An older lady and her daughter peered through a window on the upper level of their house, watching the events unfold.
"Ever since that man died, those girls have been roaming free like little ants. Today they will get squished," the woman said, her tone full of disgust. The little girl shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes.
"No, Kaa-san, nothing can happen to Suzume and her sister. I love them! Who will I play with? Why won't daddy shoot that bad man holding the baby with his American gun and end this?,"the girl asked, looking back to her father, who was reading a book in a corner, not paying any mind to the events unfolding outside.
"Child, it is not my place to intervene. This sort of thing happens everyday. People die everyday. I won't put my neck or family on the line for some strangers," he said without looking up at his daughter.
"But what about my friends!" she exclaimed, tears rolling down her face.
"May their god save them."
Ayame tried to listen attentively to what Kaoru had said to the tall man. She said she would kill him. Kaoru? Kill? There had to be some sort of mistake. Kaoru would never kill anyone. And her child? That girl the taller man was holding was her child? What had happened in the past few years to make these events occur? Ayame tried to move in a little closer, her curiosity getting the best of her. Suzume just stayed still and silent, now scared of the situation they had found themselves in. She felt her face getting hot as she slumped down and began to rock herself, trying to calm down. She couldn't understand how thing could have turned out so badly, so quickly. She was just celebrating finding her lost family, now they were about to witness a dangerous fight.
"Ayame, let's go home. I'm scared," Suzume whimpered. Ayame put her fingers to her lips, a motion meaning for her to stay quiet. The younger sister bit her lip and continued to try to calm herself.
The mood was becoming more and more tense by the second. The two groups were at a standoff, neither backing down. Kaoru could see that the first move would have to be either her's or Kenshin's. She was certain Saitou was indeed armed, though she could not spot his weapon. The skill of the weasel-girl was vastly improved and Yahiko was probably the same. It was three against two, nothing either side was not used to.
But, neither was akin to losing.
The second clash of titans was to begin.
Kaoru eyed her prey carefully and skillfully. It had been a long while since she had done this, but her skills were at peak. It seemed her motherly instincts had only heightened her sensory skills. Though she carried extra weight, she felt stronger and faster. She did question how long she would be able to keep this pace up in her condition. She also knew she abdomen would be another target, so she had to tread carefully. She gazed at the trio, then at Yahiko once more. She noticed how Kiri was being held...and it finally came all in perspective. Kenshin grunted, as he noticed the same thing. His lip upturned a bit as his wife moved forward.
"You will put my child down and fight me like a man, Yahiko," Kaoru said as she became a blur. Her movements were almost too fast to be seem by the normal, untrained eye. Yahiko tossed Kiri to Misao and drew his sword, crossing Kaoru's. She had found his weak spot. He left his groin wide open and he strained to keep control of his weapon. Kaoru smirked and she released some of the pressure and kicked him in the shin, making him yell out in pain. Without hesitation or question, she drove her katana into his chest. Blood splattered onto the ground as he slumped over.
"Yahiko!" Misao screamed, watching her lover fall to the ground, defeated and dying. She dropped Kiri, who was too frightened to cry anymore. She sat on the ground, not too far from all the bloodshed, tears falling down her plump, rosey cheeks. She watch as Yahiko rolled over to his back, pushing the sobbing Misao away. He rose up slowly, grasping his chest wound. Kaoru was not at all surprised. Adrenaline often makes you push your body further than it can go normally. Plus, his skill was tremendous, though it obviously still was no match for hers.
"Is this all you could do for him, Saitou? You take my student, turn him evil and he still can't defeat me. I will kill you for producing such a poor pupil," Kaoru taunted. Yahiko growled as he grabbed his sword and closed in on Karou, but a firm hand stopped him and pushed him down.
"Tend to his wounds, Misao," Saitou grumbled. He had never had a woman get on his nerves so much before, aside from Misao. This woman's arrogance was immeasurable. She would have to be put in her place. Saitou calmly walked over to the statue behind him and grabbed a sword. She knew he would not come unarmed.
"Oh, are you angry?" she taunted further. She laughed until Kenshin stepped forward and in front of her.
"This fight is mine. We have a score to settle," the Battousai said, his hand hoovering over his hilt. Saitou smiled and threw in cigarette to the ground.
"Believe it or not, I believe I wish to settle the score with the Mercenary first. After all, she accomplished what you could not. She defeated me. Now, she wears it on her sleeve. No, I cannot tolerate that. This is more pressing," Saitou said as he prepared for his signature attack.
The Battousai stood emotionless, his pregnant wife now taking center stage once more. He watched her movements carefully, ensuring she was not risking her health or her child's health. If anything were to happen to his unborn child, hell hath no fury that would contain his wrath. Kaoru did not wait for Kenshin to move before exacting her first attack, a slash to Saitou's mid-section. After he blocked, she kept coming after him with attack of attack, not landed, but all kept him out of stance and on the defensive. Yahiko sat up of his own power and watched his former sensei and his current sensei battle once again. It was as if history was repeating itself.
It was as if history was repeating itself.
History does repeat itself.
Slash. Counter. Parry. Strike.
Kaoru pushed her body, forced to body to keep up with her skilled prey. Likewise, Saitou pushed his old legs to move as the did during the Revolution. Only she and her husband forced him to use so much skill, so much power. He loved the feeling, though he knew it was dance with the devil...a kiss of death. But he continued with the steps and their swords clashed with such force, it pushed both of them back, leaving them gasping for air.
The Battousai saw his wife, her knee down, body leaning forward, free hand slightly over her stomach. Her eyes never left Saitou, whose eyes never left hers. The air was sticky, but even the insects not dare make a sound, the crickets silent. Everything silent.
Everything silent.
Everything fading slowly.
Everything a blur.
Kenshin brought his hands to his eyes, trying to refocus. He could not see anything. He could not hear anything. But he could smell...
Plum blossoms.
His eyes shot open, but all he could see was black. Darkness...an abyss. The smell grew stronger and he followed it, his hands the only thing he could see in front of him. The gentle decent of a snow flake startled him. Then another and another, until they began to collect on the dark ground. The smell grew even stronger until he saw the face of his first love. His former wife. The woman whose blood his stained on his hands.
"Tomoe," he gasped, unable to believe his eyes.
Her face was sad, as it always seemed to be. She blue shawl that cover that covered her shoulders fell towards the ground. She bent down to pick it up and began to speak.
"Have you forgotten me? The reason I lived? The reason I died?" she asked him calmly as she rose, placing the fabric back on her gentle body. Kenshin couldn't move, couldn't speak. His throat lumped up, his eyes burned.
Had he forgotten?
"I did not die for you to kill. I did not die for you to die by the sword. You began seeking atonement for your many sins and you abandoned that mission and the love that wanted to help you reach that it. Now she is more a killer then you ever were. She enjoys it. And now, you are waiting your turn to defile my memory, while the supposed reason you fight is sitting on the hard ground, forgotten. Remember me. Respect my death. Remember me," she whispered as she began to disappear into the darkness, leaving Kenshin alone again.
"Why won't you die!" yelled Saitou and he performed his rarely seen "Zero Stance" attack. Kaoru, who sustained a minor injury to her left arm, parried the attack and swept her leg under Saitou, laying him on his back. He quickly recovered and Kaoru charged after him, first moving to the left, faking her opponent out. She then turned about and withdrew her sword, cutting deep into Saitou's legs. He grimaced, then dropped to his knees. Yahiko and Misao gasped as Kaoru dealt the final blow to her great opponent, this time leaving no chance of a rematch. The blood rained down as Kenshin watch on. He then saw his tiny daughter, the blood splattering on her innocent face. Her eyes grew wide, for she could not understand what she was witnessing.
His heart sank and before he knew it, his daughter was in his arms. He turned to tell his wife to retreat since they had what they came for, what they had become murderers for, when out the corner of his eye, he saw Misao grab her kunai and aim for Kaoru. Even worse, he saw a blur of brown hair move towards Kaoru and stand in front of her as Misao released her tiny weapons.
Kaoru saw Suzame, and her face lightened her heart for a moment. Then, she saw the kunais rip into her young flesh. Kaour looked down at the young girl, whose eyes grew wide as she felt the sharp pains against her back. One did reach its intended target and struck Kaoru above her breast. The rest were riddled in the back of Suzume, who fell into Kaoru's arms.
"Suzume!" Ayame screamed as she watched her sister's blood being shed. Kaoru fell to the ground as the other girl ran to her, crying.
"Kaoru, why didn't you stop that woman? Kaoru!," Ayame chanted as her sister slipped in and out of consciousness.
Kaoru removed the weapon from her chest, then looked up at the woman who harmed the innocent child and an anger brewed within her. She had not seen or spoken to this girl in years. This girl loved her like a sister, trusted her like a mother at one point in time. What made her want to protect her, she will never know. Her short breaths became more and more labored. There was nothing that could be done for her.
Nothing.
Misao felt her knees grow weak and her chest tight. She only wanted to kill Kaoru. She did not mean to hit the little girl. She didn't even see her coming. She had never killed a child before, she never dared nor ever would. She could feel the eyes of the Hitokiri feasting on her, but she was too numbed to react. She fell to her knees next to Yahiko and began to sob.
"Kaoru, let us leave. I will not allow anymore blood to be shed. We have our daughter. They will not come after us again," Kenshin whispered into his wife's ear. She still held Suzume's body in her arms, silent tears rolling down her cheek. They came for their daughter, they had their daughter. That's all that was important.
Right?
Kaoru tore her gaze from Misao and cupped Ayame's cheek with her bloodstained hand. The child did not know what to do. Her heart was filling with emotions she had never felt before. She didn't know what to make of it all. She didn't understand, she couldn't understand. Why did her sister die? Why didn't Kaoru stop her? Why was she fighting these people? Why?
"I am sorry. We will take Suzume and give her a proper burial," Kaoru said softly to the hurting child. She could say nothing in response. They had no real money to speak of. They were taken in by the doctor now running their grandfather's clinic. He just ensured they were clothed and fed, otherwise, they fended for themselves. He probably wouldn't even have noticed Suzume was gone.
Yahiko could not stand the sight anymore. He picked up his fallen master and put him over his shoulder. Despite his serious injury, he carried him off. Misao stood in front on him and shook her head furiously.
"You can't carry him. You'll die from blood loss and exertion," she protested. Yahiko sighed and moved passed the woman.
"We have to take him to his wife. If I live, I will let this grudge die. If I do not, you will let it die. It is over," he said as he moved at a snail's pace towards the north, away from Kenshin and the others. Kaoru heard Yahiko's declaration and rejoiced on the inside. Indeed, this battle was over, but another scar was left.
"Should we take her to live with us," Kenshin questioned, referring to Ayame. Kaoru stood up and looked in the eyes of her daughter, whom they had shed blood to save. Suzume made it possible for her to look into those eyes again. She sacrificed her life. Why did she? The question would haunt her. Her blood on her hands would haunt her. The presence of her sister would haunt her. But that is the price paid, sometimes.
Kaoru nodded and held out her hand to Ayame, who reluctantly took hold of it. She shook from fear and grief, she would barely hold herself up. She was struggling to understand. She had to understand, she needed to understand. She left her feet move as Kaoru led her away, away to where they came, where she was now going. She looked up at the one she used to call "Brother Ken", his eyes violet once again...but lacking the happiness they once had. They were not cold, but were heavy with grief.
"I will never pick up a sword again," Kenshin declared. Kaoru paused for a moment, then continued following her husband. She fought with herself. How difficult was it really to declare she would never kill again. Was she addicted? Did she have any sort of self control? Was this her vice?
Then, she remembered the little body she was carrying, the little one she was leading and the precious gift that lay sleeping in Kenshin's arms...
"Never again," she finally said as they continued into the depth of the forest.
She had forgiven herself for her past. She had forgiven her love for leaving her. She had forgiven his past sins and accepted them. She took on her own demons, raised her family and protected those most important to her. Yet, she was still incomplete. She still failed. Innocent blood shed. The past haunted her, as would the future. Her mind would never rest, for she has sinned beyond sin. She was still broken.