Saga Six: The Longest Night: Wake Up Kiya!
Note: Anything in italics is a Japanese word or item. Questions may be sent to my e-mail address.
Sano's POV
It had been hours since Megumi and Doctor Gensai had started operating on Kiya. What was going on in there? I blinked rheumy eyes; the rise of volume in the operating room was putting me on edge. I could hear Megumi's voice sound more and more frantic everytime she spoke. I itching with the desire to rush in there and see what's happening in there, but what if I surprised the two doctors and something goes wrong? I would never be able to forgive myself then if Kiya died on the result of the jolt I'd given Doctor Gensai and Megumi.
But Kito had opened the door and stepped inside before I had a chance to decide if I was going in. I ran after him and grabbed his shoulder, just as Megumi landed her gaze upon me.
"Sanosuke let him go," Her voice was hoarse, as if she'd been crying. I almost flinched as her tired eyes bored into mine. "There's nothing that he's going to disturb in here…" She seated herself upon a footstool with a thump, tugging the white handkerchief from her hair and bowing her head.
I took a step toward her. "Megumi?" I asked hesitantly. She sniffed a little as she lifted her head to put that dead tired gaze upon me once more.
"Sano," She said softly. "We can't do much else …but wait…" I could see tears well up in her eyes as she said this. If was she had said was true, then Kiya could be the first patient she would loose. But then the shock hit me, the realization of how this affected me too. I could loose a little sister and regardless of no blood relation, I'd always considered Kiya my younger sibling even when we'd been separated for such a long time. Then Kito spoke up.
"Are you sure there is nothing else you can do for her?" He said quietly, but his voice was edging on anger. Anyone in the room could hear that clearly.
"Nothing, we can only wait…" Megumi gave a respectful nod toward an also seated Doctor Gensai as she spoke. He nodded back, his eyes looking just as exhausted as his assistant's. Kito's temper snapped before I or anyone had time to react. Crossing the room in only a few quick strides he gripped Megumi harshly by the shoulders.
"What d'you mean by 'nothing'?!" He shouted his nose only a few inches from her own. Megumi sat frozen in shock; her head bobbing everytime Kito shook her. "You can't just give up!!"
"Kito, let go of her!" I shouted as I gripped both of his shoulders and yanked him back from the startled Lady Doctor. I began to shake him myself, shouting.
"There is nothing more they can do Kito!! You hear me?! Nothing!!" Kito still retained his glare long after I'd released him, shoving me away with disdain.
"Listen to yourself Sanosuke; you're giving up on your sister. How pathetic, she'd hate you for doing such a thing," He said quietly. I could feel myself bristle with rage. How dare he!
"How would you know?! How do you know she would be like that?! You don't know her! You don't know her at all!!" I roared. "You-"
"Sano please!"
It was Megumi. She glared at me through her tears, her fists clenched at her sides as she opened that mouth to speak, no, to scold.
"This is no time to be brawling and inside the clinic on top of that! Kiya may die, and she may not, I do not know which. But I do know one thing, Sanosuke," She paused, her voice lowering in volume. "I know that we must not give up hope in her, we must not give up hope in her will to survive! I've seen many a strong man fall, and not because of their strength, but their lack of the will to live!"
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Kenshin tilted his head back, violets gazing entranced up at the starry night sky. He was seated out on the porch at the Kamiya dojo, where he usually sat to think or mull things over. The cool night air was soothing upon his skin; he liked it that way, calm and peaceful; quite a contrast to the earlier years as a hitokiri. The red headed ronin sighed, closing his eyes as an unusually strong breeze pulled at his clothing as if yanking him toward somewhere he should be. But his mind told him that Miss Kaoru's dojo was where he should be, there was no reason for him to be rushing out, especially at this time of night.
But something at the edge of his subconscious told him that he shouldn't stay seated there upon the porch any longer. But what it was, Kenshin couldn't tell. His senses begged him to leave, find out what was disturbing the calm ridden night, and put things to right. The ronin's hand tightened around the sheath of his sakabato, the leather and hard wood creaking very slightly at the pressure. What was it? Kenshin's body was exhausted from the chores and daily things he did around the dojo; he didn't wish to fight whatever was bothering him. He listened for any sounds within the living area of Kaoru's home for a moment, none. The assistant master and her student were asleep and they would stay that way if the ronin had anything to say on the matter, he didn't.
Kenshin stood, slipping on his pair of zori as he stepped off the porch with a low sigh. His step was brisk and business like; tucking his sword into his belt as he left the Kamiya Dojo. He'd find out what was bothering him so, he'd fix it to preserve the peace he'd found. Kenshin slid the door behind him and ran down the street, heading left.
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Kiya suddenly started to cough harshly, her now open eyes growing wide as the sounds tore themselves out of her throat. Blood speckled saliva spattered the white cloth covering her chest. Kito finally snapped out of his daze to run over beside me, ambers wide in fear.
"Kiya!" He shouted, reaching over to grip her uninjured shoulder and shaking gently. "Kiya, hold on!" Sano felt numb and unable to do anything. It was true, he couldn't do anything more to try to keep his sister alive and this frustrated him. But he was no doctor that was Gensai and Megumi and even they were at a lost at what to do now.
Not a second later Kenshin rushed in, breathing lightly as his eyes swept over the small room.
"Doctor Gensai, what's happening?" He asked urgently, taking his gaze off Kiya and back to the Doctor. Gensai's eyes focused tiredly entirely upon the rurouni.
"Kiya Sagara was brought in a few hours ago with serious wounds. We've treated them as thoroughly as we could and now… now…" He broke off his words, eyes averting from Kenshin's form.
"Now what? Doctor Gensai, please, what do you mean?" Kenshin asked urgently.
"We cannot do anything further for her and now we must wait for her to regain consciousness… If she does not, she most surely will pass on in the next day or so…" Gensai's voice was soft and mournful, and with his shoulders hunched like they were now; the doctor looked older than his age actually was. Kenshin fell deathly silent for a moment, his eyes flicking over to Kiya's comatose form, violets calming from the bright angry color of before. His grip upon the sakabato at his side loosened as he walked over to Kiya's bedside, raising a pale hand to rest the palm upon Kiya's own hand with a low sigh.
"Is waiting all we can do for her?" Kenshin asked quietly, eyes flicking up at Kito's taller form for a moment before sliding back down to Kiya's face.
"I'm afraid so Kenshin… waiting and hoping…" Gensai whispered.
"I'm afraid if we wait any longer, we'll lose her," Kenshin hissed, his voice viscous although soft. Gensai did not answer and the room became deathly silent, devoid of all sounds save those of the occupants' breathing, inhaling, exhaling, inhaling and slowly exhaling… A slight daze held the group tightly, rendering them unaware to the rurouni's actions upon the comatose girl before him until he'd placed his hands upon her chest.
"Kenshin!" Sano yelped. Megumi frowned and Doctor Gensai's eyebrows were raised.
"What in hell do you think you're doing?!" Kito shouted, striding toward Kenshin, reaching the bedside in three long strides. But at that exact moment the rurouni screamed, his eyes widening considerably into pinpoints as an odd clear aura surrounded his lithe body accompanied by howling winds and searing warm air peppered with leaves. Kenshin's chi, his pure energy, clung to his form like a second skin as his hands slowly started to glow, the aura brightening as it grew and spread over Kiya's form. The room's window snapped open, shoving more of the element of Kenshin's chi into the room with inhuman screams. Screams that forced Megumi to fall to her knees in utter amazement, her hands clamping tightly over her mouth as she stared at Kenshin's back, the rurouni's screaming still filling the air.
Kenshin's body burned with the energy he was calling upon, surging through his veins like living fire, twisting and turning until he felt it from his ears to all the way to the ends of his toes. He wiggled the digits, they itched a little from the chi filling them, but he quickly pushed the thought away and concentrated upon the girl lying before him. He needed to give her enough of his energy so she'd be able to pull through her injuries; her own chi was low, dangerously so, but not enough to help her body heal itself. He could see it in his mind's eye, a tiny blue light immersed in clearing darkness, flickering weakly. Without some outside help what was left of her energy would eventually go out and Kiya Sagara would die…
Please let this work, the former hitokiri thought quickly before closing his eyes, his scream dying upon his lips. Kenshin mentally nudged a bit at his chi, the bright white flame resisting his movements for a moment before giving in to his firm silent order, sending out a thin tendril of energy sliding down through his arm, hand, fingers and then into Kiya's breast. The strand of energy slipped and stumbled through the dark within Kiya's center, Kenshin urging it on to the right direction until it found the flickering blue light. It inched closer and closer forward, slowly enough that it tested its master's thinning patience before surging forward into Kiya's blue chi connecting solidly.
And this time another scream joined Kenshin's own…
Kiya's eyes had opened at the contact with her chi, thin lips parting to let her own scream fill the room. It hurt, this fusion of Kenshin's chi and her own, it hurt worse than all the injuries she'd received in her short lifetime put together. Before long tears began streaming down the girl's cheeks, running watery trails down the pale skin.
Kenshin mentally tugged the energy strand out of Kiya's chi with a gasp, his screaming ending abruptly as the tendril retreated back into the rurouni's own chi. He pulled his hands off Kiya's chest and took a small step backward, staggering unsteadily upon his feet, his breathing heavy. Kiya's eyes were wide open, her breast heaving as she drew in deep breaths of air. Sano ran forward, staring down at his sister in shock as she looked back up at him, fists clenching weakly at her sides.
"Sano… why'd he do that? He...he doesn't even know-" A large hand placing itself over her mouth cut off further speaking. Sano sighed.
"He hates seeing someone die…." Said the former fighter-for-hire, taking his hand off his sister's mouth and shoving it into his pocket. "So Kenshin will do anything he can to prevent it from happening…" A soft thump diverted Sano's attention, brown eyes catching a glimpse of Kenshin collapsing heavily to the floor.
"Ken-san!" Megumi gasped and rushed forward to help only to be halted by Doctor Gensai.
"Go and get a futon ready Megumi," He said firmly, getting up off the stool. Sano gently picked Kenshin up in his arms and followed a running Megumi down the hall, Gensai wearily ambling out of the room not far after them. Kito and Kiya were quickly the only ones left within the room, the tall black-haired youth taking careful glances at the sweeper laying so near him.
"Kito," Kiya said softly, the young man turning his head sharply at her voice.
"What is it?"
"Before… when Berserker took over… I…I am deeply sorry for not being strong enough to keep her in…." Kiya whispered this, as if she was embarrassed to speak of such a thing. Kito shook his head at her and walked over to stand at the bedside once more.
"Y'know… I don't think I would have been able to keep such a thing inside like you could… I think I, myself, would cease to exist…. Well," Kito paused. "Eventually anyways…" He leaned his weight upon the edge of the bed, and winced, emitting a soft sound of pain. Kito quickly covered it up with a weak laugh, but Kiya's eyes narrowed up at him.
"You stupid idiotic man…" She hissed, frowning. "She broke through your ribcage and you haven't gotten it treated yet!" Kito smiled weakly, placing a hand over the wound over his heart. He leaned forward a bit towards her face…
"I'll be fine; you're the one who's the worse off…." He said quietly. Kiya's frown remained etched upon her face and deep within her azure eyes.
"Yes, but I've been treated… You…" Her eyes flashed with confusion as Kito bent a bit closer to her face. "You're still bleeding Kito…." Her hand lifted slowly to touch his cheek, fingertips sticking slightly to the drying blood of the long scratches there. Kito pressed her palm onto his skin, his hand dwarfing hers as his fingertips closed over her own.
"Didn't I say I'd be fine?" He whispered, his face inching closer to Kiya's; he felt the back of his neck grow warm as her eyes widened at his movement, causing her lips to part slightly.
"But…but… what if-" Kito placed a few slightly shaking fingers to those red lips, cutting off the female sweeper's protests.
"No "buts", Kiya, I'm not going to collapse and die anytime soon…" He said softly, so close now that he could feel Kiya's breathing brushing lightly upon his long nose. It tickled and enticed him at the same time as he drew his fingertips away from her mouth. She was blushing, pale cheeks turning a wine red; he was closer to herself than any other man had been since her own father, but this was different… very different.
"Kito… please…" Kiya whispered softly, but whether she was pleading with him to get away from her or to go get his wounds treated wasn't clear…but neither mattered…
"Shh…" Kito whispered back, just before his lips pressed gently against Kiya's, his eyes closing as did hers. This kiss only lasted a few seconds, but left the both of them breathless as they parted, ambers meeting dazed blues as Kito slowly straightened up, his cheeks a deep pink in embarrassment.
"I… I hope I didn't… m…make you feel too un…uncomfortable…" Kito stuttered, his eyes falling to the floor. Kiyo shook her head at him.
"No…. no, not at all…" She whispered back. He ran a hand through his bangs and sighed, suddenly fidgety standing there at her bedside.
"Well… I should leave you to get some rest… I'll come by to see you…tomorrow…" Kito said quickly and turned, but a tug upon his sleeve stopped him from going any further.
"Thank you…Kito…" He heard Kiya whisper, before letting go of his sleeve with a sigh. He glanced back at her once and then turned back around to leave, sliding the door shut with a soft click.
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The next day awoke in pale dawn, yellow sunshine shining brightly through the windows that opened the clinic to the outside world. Kiya's room was empty, the female sweeper enjoying breakfast with the smiling red-headed rurouni, whose body still ached slightly from the energy transfer. He sighed, Miss Kaoru would definitely not be happy with him for running off so late last night, no indeed. Sano was off with Kito, both heading down toward the Kamiya Dojo to deliver the good news of Kiya and Kenshin's whereabouts. The fighter-for-hire smiled wryly to himself, Kenshin was sure to get some kind of scolding from the Missie, he was just glad it was Kenshin and not him!
Sano had seen Kito gently kiss Kiya the night before, watching silently from the doorway after putting Kenshin down into a futon. And strangely enough, the rooster-headed fighter didn't go rushing in to yank Kito away from her, like he thought he'd do if something such as this arose. No, he'd watched that dumb-head's son press his lips softly against his sister's in such a sweet way that he'd hesitated and settled for watching instead of interfering. Kiya probably wouldn't have enjoyed the experience of him doing so.
Back at the clinic, both sweeper and rurouni were seated outside upon the porch, Kenshin calmly sipping at a cup of cha, likewise, Kiya did the same clutching the clay cup in her pale hands as she stared out and up at the sky.
"What are you thinking about Miss Kiya?" Kenshin asked politely, setting his cup down as the girl turned her head toward him with a smile, one she liked showing as of late.
"Not much Himura, I…" She paused, averting her gaze for a moment before returning it to him. "I feel very content," She added bluntly. Kenshin nodded slightly and picked up his cup to take a sip.
"Himura?"
"Yes?"
"I thank you, for saving my life; I owe you much in return…" Kiya said reverently. Kenshin shook his head slowly at her words.
"You owe me no such debt, Miss Kiya, I'm just happy you are here to see today and without that darkness clouding your chi… that demon of rage is gone from you is it now?" Kiya seemed taken aback at his comment, blinking twice before opening her mouth to speak.
"Himura, how can you tell that she's gone? I haven't told anyone that Berserk is gone!" She burst out. Kenshin sighed slowly.
"I could see the darkness fading when I gave you some of my chi, it was clearing quite rapidly, Miss Kiya." He answered. Kiya sighed, her gaze returning to the clear blue sky above.
"It's a nice feeling, Himura, to know that the evil you've carried for so long is finally gone…" She said softly. Kenshin merely nodded, lifting his cup to his lips once more.
And so the weeks passed, Kiya's face seeming to be constantly covered with a smile unlike the grim frown from before. Sano liked the change, and he suspected Kito did too, because, since Kiya's recovery the two often disappeared together into nearby woodland; both teens coming back covered in bruises and smiles. They'd been sparring, ferociously, judging from the amount of bruises both carried home.
Kaoru had tried to give Kiya an old kimono of hers, commenting on how nice Kiya would look if she'd only try it on. The female sweeper had flatly refused the offer, politely of course and with a deep solemn bow to the older woman.
"I am terribly sorry Miss Kaoru, but I cannot accept your generous gift. A fighter, like me, cannot waste time changing clothing because she is wearing something that restricts movement. Please accept my sincerest apologies." Kaoru had merely smiled, as she set the kimono down upon her futon, turning to the young girl not long after.
"I understand quite well Miss Kiya; you do not have to apologize so well to me… Oh!" Kaoru suddenly gasped, holding a hand up to her mouth. "Miss Kiya you've grown quite a bit taller!" Kiya blinked, looked down at her feet, then at Kaoru, back at her feet and then up at the woman again.
"I did…" The female sweeper said in surprise, suddenly noticing that the usually baggy clothing she wore was a bit tighter than beforehand. She pulled at the shorter sleeves for a moment before speaking again. "You're incredibly short Miss Kaoru- oh, I'm sorry!" Kiya yelped, but Kaoru had just laughed.
"That's perfectly alright, Miss Kiya, Yahiko says that a lot these days. I am used to it."
Then one morning….
"You're leaving? Both of you?!"
Kiya grinned at her brother's surprised yelps, turning slightly from the Kamiya Dojo gate, Kito standing nearby. "Yes, Tokyo is definitely safe from harm with fighters like you and Kenshin around, oh and I cannot forget Yahiko. Tokyo really has no need for a sweeper right now."
Sano sighed wearily, eyes closing and then opening again to look upon his sister. She'd definitely gotten taller as of late, the most noticeable change everyone could see besides the slight change in clothing. The shirt underneath her tunic had disappeared; replaced by a loose black tank top of sorts, like the one Misao wore under her Oniwaban uniform. The headband had disappeared, but strips of the same blue material were wrapped in-between her fingers and around both of her forearms ending a bit before the elbow. The kodachi Kiya had carried was resting in its grave under a tree near the clinic and in its place at her waist was a katana, light and brand new, a generous gift from Saito. Her kodachi had gotten uncomfortable for her to use as she grew taller, and its short length became too short for her liking.
"But so soon Miss Kiya?" Kenshin asked. "You'd be missed." Kiya shook her head at the red headed rurouni.
"Himura, you have other things to be worrying about besides my leaving so soon. Isn't Kaoru carrying your child by the way?" Kiya said slyly. Kenshin blushed a deep red and cleared his throat several times before speaking.
"Um… yes, that's right, but where are you going?"
"Kyoto, Saito said the crime level has been too high for his liking lately. And I want to stop as much of it as I can, so I can't hope to linger any longer here, as much as I'd like to…" Kiya answered, shifting the bag upon her left shoulder a bit and tilting her head a bit to the side. Kenshin smiled warmly and sighed.
"Well, I do hope you have a safe journey Miss Kiya, both of you," He nodded to Kito, who grinned back. Kiya nodded.
"We will, we'll come visit sometime... Well, sayonara!" And with those words the female sweeper slid the gate shut behind her with a soft click....
The End....
End Note: Well, I hope that was satisfactory for you all! Ice Soul is officially over, done, fin, ended, etc, etc... That means no sequels of the sort, centering on Kiya following this story, so please don't ask me to write anymore about her! I'm kinda swamped with a huge fic (*cough* epic *cough*)/project at the moment so yeah... And in case you haven't figured it out yet, Kiya comes along just before Enishi drops in and no, I'm not following the anime series, just the manga. That means no Sayo or German soldiers randomly being placed by stupid and lamely creative producers! *pants* God, I hated those series..... Meh, maybe you'll be nice and check out my other works on Fictionpress.com.... maybe you won't, but what do I know, ne? Ja all!