Chapter Eleven
Aisu had been following Kenshin at quiet a distance. In fact she hadn't seen him at all since morning. He had left Kyoto a few days after Tomoe's death and Aisu had followed him, wanting to apologize or say something to him. She had never actually gotten to speak with him since he had ignored her so she had dropped back.
/I can't keep trailing him like this, but I feel like I can't just let him go on with his life thinking that I meant what I said and did in full.// She hadn't meant to yell at him the way she did when he had come to talk to her. Although she still did not understand what had driven him to act the way he did she had not meant to judge him so harshly. /I have to catch up to him.//
It was already dark when she approached Kenshin's makeshift camp. It was nothing but a fire and a blanket, but then again, Aisu reasoned, she had hardly had more on her travels, except that Kenshin seemed to have overlooked his need for food. Aisu approached from the side, purposely making noise so as not to startle Kenshin. She stopped a few steps away from him. Kenshin was up in a blur. His sword whipped out. She could see it coming and was about to block it but stopped herself. /I don't want this to turn into a fight.// Kenshin's sword whipped past her, ripping part of her sleeve. He re-sheathed it calmly.
"Why didn't you block it," Kenshin asked sitting back down, nothing in his manner acknowledging that she was there.
"I don't want this to turn into a fight," Aisu replied simply, sitting down next to him.
When he did not object she retrieved some cooked rice out of her pack and gave it to him.
"Go away, I don't need another lecture," was the only reply he gave.
"I'm not here to lecture." Aisu replied starting to eat her rice. "I was rather expecting you to give me one."
Kenshin did not reply, eating his own share of rice.
"What I said when we met outside of Kyoto, I didn't really mean it quiet that harsh." Aisu conceded.
Kenshin did not reply, or in fact show any signs that he had heard her.
"Kenshin?"
"But you did mean it," Kenshin finally said. "You meant it to a certain extent, right."
"Well, yes I suppose," Aisu answered carefully.
"And I think you are at least partially right," Kenshin said quietly. "But still, you cannot deny that Hiten Mitsurugi is a style designed to kill instantly." Kenshin paused, eating some more rice.
"Hiten Mitsurugi does not focus on defense. So if you wished to use it to defend someone, you would have to attack." Kenshin paused again, looking into the fire. "A little paradox."
Aisu nodded. /I never thought of it that way but I can't deny that he is correct. All the Hiten Mitsurugi's techniques slay instantly.// Kenshin set down his empty rice bowl next to him and met Aisu's eyes for the first time. She was surprised how the hard violet eyes she remembered form a few days ago had turned sorrowful.
"You were there when Tomoe died weren't you?" Aisu's eyes widened a little in surprise and stared back into the fire. /I suppose I should have expected him to know.//
"I never thought of the people I killed as completely human. I was told about all the evil things they had done, all evils they had committed, but I was never told about their families or about the good things they had done. It took Tomoe's death for me to completely realize that the men I had killed had people to care about them just like I cared for Tomoe."
"Seijuro will scorn me for that." Kenshin added as an afterthought.
"I could have saved her. I could have saved you." Aisu admitted, shame cloaking her voice. "I knew someone was coming for you but I was blinded and made excuses for why I should not go. When I got there. I'm sorry."
/This sounds even stupider now that I'm admitting it.// Kenshin acted as if he had not heard her. His expression had not changed at all, but then again, what did she expect him to do. Aisu got up quietly. /There is nothing else to do now. I guess I should go.//
"You shouldn't travel at night," Kenshin said, realizing her intention.
"I know," Aisu replied feeling for her pack in the darkness.
"Then don't leave," Kenshin reasoned. /I might as well have killed Tomoe. I can't stay after that// Aisu thought desperately.
"I assumed you probably wouldn't want me around any more, now that you know I could have done something about." Aisu trailed off, guiltily.
"Tomoe's death is something I must come to accept either way. Both of us have been trekking all day and if you are as tired as I am then you would not get very far anyway." Kenshin's reasoning was impeccable. "You might as well stay near the fire where it's warm."
He was right. She really had considered dropping down just out of sight. Instead she rolled out her blanket and crawled into it, glad for the warm fire. She looked up at the sky contemplating what Kenshin had said.
"I wonder if Seijuro Hiko has come across this paradox?" Aisu said to herself.
"I'm sure he has." Aisu started at Kenshin's reply, not knowing he was still awake.
"I'll have to visit him sometime. I'm a lot stronger now then I was when I left. Maybe he's changed his mind about teaching me." Aisu said wistfully, knowing nothing would change Hiko's mind. "Will you go back to continue your training?"
There was no answer. /Kenshin must have fallen asleep.// Rolling over under her blanket, Aisu soon fell prey to sleep as well.
~~~~~~~~~~
Heavy fog covered the area so that Aisu could not be sure whether the sun was already up. It was so thick she could hardly see the hand in front of her face, much less Kenshin sleeping a little way away from her. The sound of a shifting blanket and his regular breathing told her he was still asleep. Aisu poked the fire, finding not one coal remaining, nor was any of the wood truly dry. Aisu sighed. Dew covered everything, making her clothing stick to her. /No point in trying to make a fire. Everything is moist.// She heard Kenshin wake up and was able to make out his form through the fog.
"Sleep well?" She asked cheerfully.
"I could have done a little less fog, that I could." Kenshin answered squinting in her direction.
"Indeed."
"You would not happen to have anymore of that rice left, would you?" Kenshin inquired, realizing his stomach was pleading with him.
"A little," Aisu admitted.
The little rice that remained was gone quickly. And soon the two were back on the road. The sun had started to burn away the fog, leaving a beautiful landscape in its wake.
"May I ask what you will do now that the revolution has come to an end?" Aisu queried after a while.
"I honestly don't know. I think I will wander for a while. I have done so much that is immoral and wrong that there is no possible way to repay for it all." Kenshin said, his voice growing quiet towards the end.
"You will not go back and train with Seijuro?" Aisu asked, a little disappointed.
"No, I think I will not." Realizing her disappointment he went on, "Why do you ask?"
"If you were to go back then I could continue learning Hiten Mitsurugi. I suppose I will go again and ask him to train me directly."
"You yourself said that killing is vile. Why do you now seek instruction in it?"
"Perhaps Hiten Mitsurugi does teach ways to end life, however, does the user not have a choice in whether to kill or not?" Aisu paused, remembering her train of thought from the night before. "Hiten Mitsurugi also teaches precision and restraint. You could attack someone without killing your opponent, could you not? The tiniest movement of a blade can make any lethal attack less so. I suppose what I am trying to say is that even though swordsmanship can be described as the art of killing, whether it is truly so depends on how the user chooses to exercise it."
Kenshin walked in silence for a while, Aisu beside him, wondering whether her logic was true. She absentmindedly gazed at the meadows and clearings as they passed. /This place wasn't affected at all by the revolution// Aisu realized. /Destruction in Kyoto and the other cities is great but out here the revolution might as well not have happened at all. Everything will die down now. Even if it does not, western civilization is coming into the forefront. They'll hardly want swordsmen anymore. I suppose there's really nothing to do but wander.//
Aisu dropped down in the shade of a tree. The afternoon was cool and pleasant. Only a few white clouds obscured the brilliant blue sky. Kenshin was filling water into a jug from nearby stream, which reflected the sunlight brilliantly.
"I don't think we will wander together much longer." Aisu said regrettably, walking over to Kenshin and filling up her own jug. "If I'm going to visit Seijuro Hiko, I have already gone far off course."
"We already knew we had different intentions," Kenshin said, hoping to lighten her mood.
"I suppose."
"When do you plan to go your way?"
"Ahead there is a road leading west. I saw it earlier when we were cresting that hill."
"I see," Kenshin shielded his regret.
When she had stood atop the hill, the fork in the road had seemed so far away. Now that she was standing in the middle of it, she wished she had not seen it.
"I have enjoyed your company Kenshin." Aisu said, her voice heavy.
"And I yours." Kenshin replied. "However, remember, if we are both wanderers I am sure there will come a time when we can walk together for a time, that I am."
/He's changed so much in just a few weeks.// Aisu looked at Kenshin seeing a smile on his face. His eyes were not narrowed; they were clear and kind.
"I am sure we will meet again."
Aisu started to leave but before she could Kenshin stepped forward and embraced her. Aisu froze, quiet surprised.
"Kenshin, why-"
"Because you are like a sister to me," Kenshin paused. " Neither of us has blood-relatives but I still think of you as if you were my sister. You have helped me open my eyes and put past behind me. I thank you for that." /Please don't take it as anything more than that. /
Aisu blushed a little but put her arms around Kenshin.
"I'm glad I was able to actually talk to you after all this time."
Aisu moved away from Kenshin.
"Goodbye to you, then," Aisu said.
"Farewell Aisu"
Aisu walked down the stretch of road towards the already setting sun, her ki awareness stretching to feel Kenshin for as long as she could. When the tiny flicker finally disappeared from her awareness Aisu smiled. /We will meet again.//
~~~~~~~~~~
I don't know if this is the end or not, but it will be for a few weeks because I have decided that my midterms are more important
Aisu had been following Kenshin at quiet a distance. In fact she hadn't seen him at all since morning. He had left Kyoto a few days after Tomoe's death and Aisu had followed him, wanting to apologize or say something to him. She had never actually gotten to speak with him since he had ignored her so she had dropped back.
/I can't keep trailing him like this, but I feel like I can't just let him go on with his life thinking that I meant what I said and did in full.// She hadn't meant to yell at him the way she did when he had come to talk to her. Although she still did not understand what had driven him to act the way he did she had not meant to judge him so harshly. /I have to catch up to him.//
It was already dark when she approached Kenshin's makeshift camp. It was nothing but a fire and a blanket, but then again, Aisu reasoned, she had hardly had more on her travels, except that Kenshin seemed to have overlooked his need for food. Aisu approached from the side, purposely making noise so as not to startle Kenshin. She stopped a few steps away from him. Kenshin was up in a blur. His sword whipped out. She could see it coming and was about to block it but stopped herself. /I don't want this to turn into a fight.// Kenshin's sword whipped past her, ripping part of her sleeve. He re-sheathed it calmly.
"Why didn't you block it," Kenshin asked sitting back down, nothing in his manner acknowledging that she was there.
"I don't want this to turn into a fight," Aisu replied simply, sitting down next to him.
When he did not object she retrieved some cooked rice out of her pack and gave it to him.
"Go away, I don't need another lecture," was the only reply he gave.
"I'm not here to lecture." Aisu replied starting to eat her rice. "I was rather expecting you to give me one."
Kenshin did not reply, eating his own share of rice.
"What I said when we met outside of Kyoto, I didn't really mean it quiet that harsh." Aisu conceded.
Kenshin did not reply, or in fact show any signs that he had heard her.
"Kenshin?"
"But you did mean it," Kenshin finally said. "You meant it to a certain extent, right."
"Well, yes I suppose," Aisu answered carefully.
"And I think you are at least partially right," Kenshin said quietly. "But still, you cannot deny that Hiten Mitsurugi is a style designed to kill instantly." Kenshin paused, eating some more rice.
"Hiten Mitsurugi does not focus on defense. So if you wished to use it to defend someone, you would have to attack." Kenshin paused again, looking into the fire. "A little paradox."
Aisu nodded. /I never thought of it that way but I can't deny that he is correct. All the Hiten Mitsurugi's techniques slay instantly.// Kenshin set down his empty rice bowl next to him and met Aisu's eyes for the first time. She was surprised how the hard violet eyes she remembered form a few days ago had turned sorrowful.
"You were there when Tomoe died weren't you?" Aisu's eyes widened a little in surprise and stared back into the fire. /I suppose I should have expected him to know.//
"I never thought of the people I killed as completely human. I was told about all the evil things they had done, all evils they had committed, but I was never told about their families or about the good things they had done. It took Tomoe's death for me to completely realize that the men I had killed had people to care about them just like I cared for Tomoe."
"Seijuro will scorn me for that." Kenshin added as an afterthought.
"I could have saved her. I could have saved you." Aisu admitted, shame cloaking her voice. "I knew someone was coming for you but I was blinded and made excuses for why I should not go. When I got there. I'm sorry."
/This sounds even stupider now that I'm admitting it.// Kenshin acted as if he had not heard her. His expression had not changed at all, but then again, what did she expect him to do. Aisu got up quietly. /There is nothing else to do now. I guess I should go.//
"You shouldn't travel at night," Kenshin said, realizing her intention.
"I know," Aisu replied feeling for her pack in the darkness.
"Then don't leave," Kenshin reasoned. /I might as well have killed Tomoe. I can't stay after that// Aisu thought desperately.
"I assumed you probably wouldn't want me around any more, now that you know I could have done something about." Aisu trailed off, guiltily.
"Tomoe's death is something I must come to accept either way. Both of us have been trekking all day and if you are as tired as I am then you would not get very far anyway." Kenshin's reasoning was impeccable. "You might as well stay near the fire where it's warm."
He was right. She really had considered dropping down just out of sight. Instead she rolled out her blanket and crawled into it, glad for the warm fire. She looked up at the sky contemplating what Kenshin had said.
"I wonder if Seijuro Hiko has come across this paradox?" Aisu said to herself.
"I'm sure he has." Aisu started at Kenshin's reply, not knowing he was still awake.
"I'll have to visit him sometime. I'm a lot stronger now then I was when I left. Maybe he's changed his mind about teaching me." Aisu said wistfully, knowing nothing would change Hiko's mind. "Will you go back to continue your training?"
There was no answer. /Kenshin must have fallen asleep.// Rolling over under her blanket, Aisu soon fell prey to sleep as well.
~~~~~~~~~~
Heavy fog covered the area so that Aisu could not be sure whether the sun was already up. It was so thick she could hardly see the hand in front of her face, much less Kenshin sleeping a little way away from her. The sound of a shifting blanket and his regular breathing told her he was still asleep. Aisu poked the fire, finding not one coal remaining, nor was any of the wood truly dry. Aisu sighed. Dew covered everything, making her clothing stick to her. /No point in trying to make a fire. Everything is moist.// She heard Kenshin wake up and was able to make out his form through the fog.
"Sleep well?" She asked cheerfully.
"I could have done a little less fog, that I could." Kenshin answered squinting in her direction.
"Indeed."
"You would not happen to have anymore of that rice left, would you?" Kenshin inquired, realizing his stomach was pleading with him.
"A little," Aisu admitted.
The little rice that remained was gone quickly. And soon the two were back on the road. The sun had started to burn away the fog, leaving a beautiful landscape in its wake.
"May I ask what you will do now that the revolution has come to an end?" Aisu queried after a while.
"I honestly don't know. I think I will wander for a while. I have done so much that is immoral and wrong that there is no possible way to repay for it all." Kenshin said, his voice growing quiet towards the end.
"You will not go back and train with Seijuro?" Aisu asked, a little disappointed.
"No, I think I will not." Realizing her disappointment he went on, "Why do you ask?"
"If you were to go back then I could continue learning Hiten Mitsurugi. I suppose I will go again and ask him to train me directly."
"You yourself said that killing is vile. Why do you now seek instruction in it?"
"Perhaps Hiten Mitsurugi does teach ways to end life, however, does the user not have a choice in whether to kill or not?" Aisu paused, remembering her train of thought from the night before. "Hiten Mitsurugi also teaches precision and restraint. You could attack someone without killing your opponent, could you not? The tiniest movement of a blade can make any lethal attack less so. I suppose what I am trying to say is that even though swordsmanship can be described as the art of killing, whether it is truly so depends on how the user chooses to exercise it."
Kenshin walked in silence for a while, Aisu beside him, wondering whether her logic was true. She absentmindedly gazed at the meadows and clearings as they passed. /This place wasn't affected at all by the revolution// Aisu realized. /Destruction in Kyoto and the other cities is great but out here the revolution might as well not have happened at all. Everything will die down now. Even if it does not, western civilization is coming into the forefront. They'll hardly want swordsmen anymore. I suppose there's really nothing to do but wander.//
Aisu dropped down in the shade of a tree. The afternoon was cool and pleasant. Only a few white clouds obscured the brilliant blue sky. Kenshin was filling water into a jug from nearby stream, which reflected the sunlight brilliantly.
"I don't think we will wander together much longer." Aisu said regrettably, walking over to Kenshin and filling up her own jug. "If I'm going to visit Seijuro Hiko, I have already gone far off course."
"We already knew we had different intentions," Kenshin said, hoping to lighten her mood.
"I suppose."
"When do you plan to go your way?"
"Ahead there is a road leading west. I saw it earlier when we were cresting that hill."
"I see," Kenshin shielded his regret.
When she had stood atop the hill, the fork in the road had seemed so far away. Now that she was standing in the middle of it, she wished she had not seen it.
"I have enjoyed your company Kenshin." Aisu said, her voice heavy.
"And I yours." Kenshin replied. "However, remember, if we are both wanderers I am sure there will come a time when we can walk together for a time, that I am."
/He's changed so much in just a few weeks.// Aisu looked at Kenshin seeing a smile on his face. His eyes were not narrowed; they were clear and kind.
"I am sure we will meet again."
Aisu started to leave but before she could Kenshin stepped forward and embraced her. Aisu froze, quiet surprised.
"Kenshin, why-"
"Because you are like a sister to me," Kenshin paused. " Neither of us has blood-relatives but I still think of you as if you were my sister. You have helped me open my eyes and put past behind me. I thank you for that." /Please don't take it as anything more than that. /
Aisu blushed a little but put her arms around Kenshin.
"I'm glad I was able to actually talk to you after all this time."
Aisu moved away from Kenshin.
"Goodbye to you, then," Aisu said.
"Farewell Aisu"
Aisu walked down the stretch of road towards the already setting sun, her ki awareness stretching to feel Kenshin for as long as she could. When the tiny flicker finally disappeared from her awareness Aisu smiled. /We will meet again.//
~~~~~~~~~~
I don't know if this is the end or not, but it will be for a few weeks because I have decided that my midterms are more important