Chapter Seven
When Aisu next woke she the night was not quiet over. Her arms and shoulder were stiff and ached horribly. It took a moment for her to realize where she was. She jerked her head to one side so fast it hurt and saw Saitou there, his hand over his wound. His breathing was harsh and shallow. Ignoring another wave of dizziness, Aisu sat up. Her sword lay broken beside her. She looked at it dully, not believing she had broken it. Running water reached her ears. There was a stream nearby. She crawled over to Saitou and started to half carry and half drag him and her sword towards the sound.
When she arrived at the stream, her strength failed her again and she sank down. /There's no time. If I don't clean his wound it might get infected not to mention I might lose my arm to infection as well.// Aisu stumbled over to Saitou looking at his side for the first time. She gently removed his hand. Blood was oozing in some places but a scab had started to form around most of the wound. She cupped her hands into the river and poured the water over the wound. The dirt was mostly on the surface so it came off easily. Once the wound was clean she looked around for something to bandage it with. The only thing large enough was her cloak and that was covered in dirt. Reluctantly she started washing it out and after wringing it out so that it was hardly damp, ripped it into strips. Aisu sighed as she finished bandaging Saitou's side wound. The slash on his chest was not nearly as bad. It was shallow as he had been able to partially block the attack. After washing and bandaging it as well she turned to her own wounds.
/Compared to Saitou, I got off easy// she thought guiltily as she washed her arms and legs. There was nothing too serious. The danger came not from the depth of the cuts, rather the fact that there were so many of them. The exception was the cut on her shoulder, which was quiet deep and had never had a chance to close because of the constant movement. The last of her cloak went to bandaging her shoulder.
Aisu gingerly leaned herself against a tree, concentrating her energy, pouring it into the wounds, willing them to heal. Looking over at Saitou, she felt sorry she could not do the same for him. /Could I// she wondered. She got up and walked over to him. Leaning next to him she put her hand carefully over the wound on his side. She could feel the blood rushing past there, feel his energy, so feeble, attempting to heal the wound. She called more of it to the injury and willed some of her own energy into him. Aisu felt her energy draining. /Not so much// she wanted to scream. She pulled her hand away from the bandages nearly collapsing from dizziness. Crawling back over to the tree she fell into darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was high so that the trees could no longer filter out the sunlight now playing on his face. Saitou opened his eyes. /That fight last night, Aisu made the tunnel collapse and dragged me out.// Pieces of memory were floating into his mind until he finally had a clear idea of what had happened. He tried to more but his body would not respond. His wound was no longer the overwhelming pain he remembered it to be. It was a major effort to list his hands to his side. He found both of his wounds bandaged neatly. He propped himself up and looked around to see Aisu sleeping, her back against a tree. With great difficulty he got up and let himself down a short way away from her.
"Aisu, wake up. Aisu" he called to her.
She opened her eyes. Her head felt heavy and her shoulder still ached. Saitou was sitting somewhat next to her. That meant his wound must be healed for the most part.
"What exactly did you do?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" Aisu asked, confused and dizzy.
"Last time I checked, sword wounds like this don't heal overnight," he pointed as his bandaging. "And," he continued, "I have barely energy left to walk. Did you do that?" His voice was much like always. Cold and slightly angered at the fact that she had obviously done something he had no clue about.
"I made you heal yourself," she said simply. He fixed her with a piercing gaze, expecting her to say more.
"It's all energy, once you know how to control it you can send it anywhere. I concentrated your energy on healing your wound so there's none left for you to do other things." Even as she explained this, Aisu felt herself drifting off to sleep again.
~~~~~~~~~~
Aisu remembered waking up several times over the next few days. She never really felt conscious though. /I wish I knew how much time has passed.// Her shoulder did not really hurt anymore. She took of the bandage and was surprised to see it almost completely gone and a little startled at how cold it was. Always when she redirected her energy no matter what source there was an aura of cold afterwards. She had never been able to explain that. Saitou was nowhere to be seen. /He could have at least thanked me.// She noted that her sword, broken as it had been, was gone as well.
The bandits were gone. There was nothing to do here anymore. /Where am I going to go? Just keep wandering I guess. Being beaten by those bandits like that proves I'm not ready to learn more of the Hiten Mitsurugi style. You just wait, Seijuro.// Aisu got up, cupped her hands to get one last drink from the river before heading to the path she knew ran from the village to some other place. It felt odd to walk along the wide trodden path without her sword at her side and yet It was also refreshing to once again hear the sound of wind rushing through the trees.
Quick footsteps behind her were the only disturbance. She turned around and saw Saitou catching up with her. He fell in step beside her and they walked in silence for a while.
"So you're leaving," he said stating the obvious. Aisu nodded.
"If what you say about this whole energy thing is true then shouldn't I have been out longer than you?" He asked after a while.
"I transferred some of my energy into your wound. I had never done anything like that before and I could not stop, so I ended up giving you more than I originally intended." She answered hesitantly. There was another extended silence.
"Why?" Saitou said under his breath so that Aisu would not supposed to be able to hear.
"Why what?" Aisu asked.
"Why did you come after me," He asked out loud. "The crack was caving in. Had it collapsed but a moment sooner we would have both been killed. You should have left me."
"This is new. Why would you play the self-sacrificing hero?" She said after a while. "If you live by a philosophy of self-sacrifice you could never find any peace. You only have one life but so many people to die for." Aisu kept going, not wanting to be interrupted "Hajime. That means beginning, doesn't it?" He inclined his head in agreement. She raised her eyes to his. "Someone whose name literally means beginning. You shouldn't choose to do the exact opposite and end your life." She looked back at the ground kicking a stray rock.
"I have your sword. That is, I had it repaired." Saitou grinned down at her. "I told the smith to melt the metal down and make one exactly like the original, with the hilt and everything."
He took the sword out of his belt and handed it to her. She took it from him, expecting it to be heavier or lighter in some way, but it wasn't. Aisu tucked the sheath under her belt and drew the sword, examining it. It was no longer rusted or dented. The blade was smooth and sharp. It glinted in the sunlight. She put it back in its sheath.
"Thank you," she smiled. "That sword means a lot to me."
//I figured that. No one would use a beat up sword like that without good reason// Saitou chuckled to himself.
"What style of swordsmanship do you use?" Saitou asked after a while.
"Why do you ask?"
"I think I know someone who uses a style like yours"
Aisu started. /Kenshin.//
"Oh," was the only reply.
Saitou was watching her, having noticed her reaction. He decided not to press the subject for now.
"Well, this is where I leave you," Saitou stopped and Aisu with him. "I want to give you one last thing."
He fished something out of his pocket, took her hand and closed it around the object. Aisu opened her hand to examine what he had given her. It was a delicate silver chain with an elongated glass cube at the end of it, hanging by a corner. The cube was half filled with some kind of liquid that reflected brilliant colors in her had when the sun chanced upon it.
"I'm not some lady to be pampered with jewelry," Aisu said, more than a little hurt that he would think of her this way half thinking she would chuck it back at him.
"I did not mean it like that." Saitou said immediately. "The liquid in that cube is actually a stone. It only becomes solid at very cold temperatures. I simply found it curious that," he took her hand along with the pendant and put it to her shoulder. "You could make it turn into a stone."
It was true. The place where her shoulder had been wounded was still cold and when the liquid came near it, it turned into crystals much like quartz but far more brilliant. He smiled as she wondered at the spectacle.
"Good bye, then," Saitou said, turned around and left.
"Farewell," She called after him as she fastened the chain around her neck and walked on.
When Aisu next woke she the night was not quiet over. Her arms and shoulder were stiff and ached horribly. It took a moment for her to realize where she was. She jerked her head to one side so fast it hurt and saw Saitou there, his hand over his wound. His breathing was harsh and shallow. Ignoring another wave of dizziness, Aisu sat up. Her sword lay broken beside her. She looked at it dully, not believing she had broken it. Running water reached her ears. There was a stream nearby. She crawled over to Saitou and started to half carry and half drag him and her sword towards the sound.
When she arrived at the stream, her strength failed her again and she sank down. /There's no time. If I don't clean his wound it might get infected not to mention I might lose my arm to infection as well.// Aisu stumbled over to Saitou looking at his side for the first time. She gently removed his hand. Blood was oozing in some places but a scab had started to form around most of the wound. She cupped her hands into the river and poured the water over the wound. The dirt was mostly on the surface so it came off easily. Once the wound was clean she looked around for something to bandage it with. The only thing large enough was her cloak and that was covered in dirt. Reluctantly she started washing it out and after wringing it out so that it was hardly damp, ripped it into strips. Aisu sighed as she finished bandaging Saitou's side wound. The slash on his chest was not nearly as bad. It was shallow as he had been able to partially block the attack. After washing and bandaging it as well she turned to her own wounds.
/Compared to Saitou, I got off easy// she thought guiltily as she washed her arms and legs. There was nothing too serious. The danger came not from the depth of the cuts, rather the fact that there were so many of them. The exception was the cut on her shoulder, which was quiet deep and had never had a chance to close because of the constant movement. The last of her cloak went to bandaging her shoulder.
Aisu gingerly leaned herself against a tree, concentrating her energy, pouring it into the wounds, willing them to heal. Looking over at Saitou, she felt sorry she could not do the same for him. /Could I// she wondered. She got up and walked over to him. Leaning next to him she put her hand carefully over the wound on his side. She could feel the blood rushing past there, feel his energy, so feeble, attempting to heal the wound. She called more of it to the injury and willed some of her own energy into him. Aisu felt her energy draining. /Not so much// she wanted to scream. She pulled her hand away from the bandages nearly collapsing from dizziness. Crawling back over to the tree she fell into darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was high so that the trees could no longer filter out the sunlight now playing on his face. Saitou opened his eyes. /That fight last night, Aisu made the tunnel collapse and dragged me out.// Pieces of memory were floating into his mind until he finally had a clear idea of what had happened. He tried to more but his body would not respond. His wound was no longer the overwhelming pain he remembered it to be. It was a major effort to list his hands to his side. He found both of his wounds bandaged neatly. He propped himself up and looked around to see Aisu sleeping, her back against a tree. With great difficulty he got up and let himself down a short way away from her.
"Aisu, wake up. Aisu" he called to her.
She opened her eyes. Her head felt heavy and her shoulder still ached. Saitou was sitting somewhat next to her. That meant his wound must be healed for the most part.
"What exactly did you do?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" Aisu asked, confused and dizzy.
"Last time I checked, sword wounds like this don't heal overnight," he pointed as his bandaging. "And," he continued, "I have barely energy left to walk. Did you do that?" His voice was much like always. Cold and slightly angered at the fact that she had obviously done something he had no clue about.
"I made you heal yourself," she said simply. He fixed her with a piercing gaze, expecting her to say more.
"It's all energy, once you know how to control it you can send it anywhere. I concentrated your energy on healing your wound so there's none left for you to do other things." Even as she explained this, Aisu felt herself drifting off to sleep again.
~~~~~~~~~~
Aisu remembered waking up several times over the next few days. She never really felt conscious though. /I wish I knew how much time has passed.// Her shoulder did not really hurt anymore. She took of the bandage and was surprised to see it almost completely gone and a little startled at how cold it was. Always when she redirected her energy no matter what source there was an aura of cold afterwards. She had never been able to explain that. Saitou was nowhere to be seen. /He could have at least thanked me.// She noted that her sword, broken as it had been, was gone as well.
The bandits were gone. There was nothing to do here anymore. /Where am I going to go? Just keep wandering I guess. Being beaten by those bandits like that proves I'm not ready to learn more of the Hiten Mitsurugi style. You just wait, Seijuro.// Aisu got up, cupped her hands to get one last drink from the river before heading to the path she knew ran from the village to some other place. It felt odd to walk along the wide trodden path without her sword at her side and yet It was also refreshing to once again hear the sound of wind rushing through the trees.
Quick footsteps behind her were the only disturbance. She turned around and saw Saitou catching up with her. He fell in step beside her and they walked in silence for a while.
"So you're leaving," he said stating the obvious. Aisu nodded.
"If what you say about this whole energy thing is true then shouldn't I have been out longer than you?" He asked after a while.
"I transferred some of my energy into your wound. I had never done anything like that before and I could not stop, so I ended up giving you more than I originally intended." She answered hesitantly. There was another extended silence.
"Why?" Saitou said under his breath so that Aisu would not supposed to be able to hear.
"Why what?" Aisu asked.
"Why did you come after me," He asked out loud. "The crack was caving in. Had it collapsed but a moment sooner we would have both been killed. You should have left me."
"This is new. Why would you play the self-sacrificing hero?" She said after a while. "If you live by a philosophy of self-sacrifice you could never find any peace. You only have one life but so many people to die for." Aisu kept going, not wanting to be interrupted "Hajime. That means beginning, doesn't it?" He inclined his head in agreement. She raised her eyes to his. "Someone whose name literally means beginning. You shouldn't choose to do the exact opposite and end your life." She looked back at the ground kicking a stray rock.
"I have your sword. That is, I had it repaired." Saitou grinned down at her. "I told the smith to melt the metal down and make one exactly like the original, with the hilt and everything."
He took the sword out of his belt and handed it to her. She took it from him, expecting it to be heavier or lighter in some way, but it wasn't. Aisu tucked the sheath under her belt and drew the sword, examining it. It was no longer rusted or dented. The blade was smooth and sharp. It glinted in the sunlight. She put it back in its sheath.
"Thank you," she smiled. "That sword means a lot to me."
//I figured that. No one would use a beat up sword like that without good reason// Saitou chuckled to himself.
"What style of swordsmanship do you use?" Saitou asked after a while.
"Why do you ask?"
"I think I know someone who uses a style like yours"
Aisu started. /Kenshin.//
"Oh," was the only reply.
Saitou was watching her, having noticed her reaction. He decided not to press the subject for now.
"Well, this is where I leave you," Saitou stopped and Aisu with him. "I want to give you one last thing."
He fished something out of his pocket, took her hand and closed it around the object. Aisu opened her hand to examine what he had given her. It was a delicate silver chain with an elongated glass cube at the end of it, hanging by a corner. The cube was half filled with some kind of liquid that reflected brilliant colors in her had when the sun chanced upon it.
"I'm not some lady to be pampered with jewelry," Aisu said, more than a little hurt that he would think of her this way half thinking she would chuck it back at him.
"I did not mean it like that." Saitou said immediately. "The liquid in that cube is actually a stone. It only becomes solid at very cold temperatures. I simply found it curious that," he took her hand along with the pendant and put it to her shoulder. "You could make it turn into a stone."
It was true. The place where her shoulder had been wounded was still cold and when the liquid came near it, it turned into crystals much like quartz but far more brilliant. He smiled as she wondered at the spectacle.
"Good bye, then," Saitou said, turned around and left.
"Farewell," She called after him as she fastened the chain around her neck and walked on.