Nameless Hitokiri: Chapter Four

Disclaimer: If I owned RK I wouldn't write RK fanfics

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Eiga sat by the fire preparing rice and soup as she had been told to. Tears welled up on her lower eyelashes until they gathered enough weight to glide gracefully down her cheeks and drip off her chin to saturate the ground where they fell. Perhaps he had never truly cared about her, perhaps the Souzou from the river was just a mask worn by the truly cruel Captain who had a hardened, severe face despite his youth. Perhaps the only reason he had pretended to be kind was to take away her sword and leave her defenseless and make her easy to push around. She held back a sob but it constricted her throat and forced its way out in a weak whimper as she went into a fit of shakes and covered her teary eyes despite her solitude. She felt alone and unwanted, as if the whole Sekihoutai troop resented and loathed her.
Sanosuke observed her from the forest's shelter and punched a tree causing his hand to bleed. He only bit his lip, the pain he experienced could hardly compare to what he saw Eiga suffering. He felt guilty, it was him who had spoken out against her to the Captain, and in a way he had betrayed her. He saw now that she loved the Captain indeed, she loved the Captain as much as Sanosuke admired his diplomatic leader. Katsu appeared at Sano's side at that moment and rested his hand on his friend's shoulder. In a barely a whisper Katsu addressed his friend "You think we should put our hands into this matter?" Sano nodded solemnly, he'd see to it that him and Katsu restored Eiga and the Captain's relationship for good.

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Eiga was kept at the center of the camp and was not provided with a tent for shelter, only a blanket, despite the signs of an approaching storm. Captain Sagara reminded her that she was not a guest, but rather a prisoner. "You do not deserve even a blanket, we could very well punish you before we reach Choshu, be thankful." Eiga saw the hatred and anger in his eyes and defiantly turned on her heel to find somewhere with less abundant rocks to spend her night. Just as she settled herself to lay down the first drops of a flood began to fall, kind and gentle as if trying to wash away the aches committed into her heart that were set there in stone. Once more tears filled her eyes and she felt alienated from the entire world as the ground became bloated by rainwater.
Captain Sagara sat in his tent with his head in his hands that rested upon his knees, getting up every minute or so to look out upon Eiga. He saw her just standing still in the rain with the winds rocking her delicate form as if trying to knock her down. His heart cried begging for him to go out to her and just hold her in a warm embrace and steady her against the blasting winds, but his mind slapped him, just as Eiga had the previous day at the river. At this memory he became stiff with resolve to leave her out in the cold, just as he felt she had with that slap as a response to his kiss. He stopped looking outside not wanting his heart to win, not wanting to break before she did.
By midnight the flood had resulted in waters that ran ankle-deep, it was at this time Eiga decided upon her fate. She set off to the river where she remembered a tree that stretched, in her eyes, into the heavens, but before she left the camp she paid a visit to the supply cart.

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Captain Sagara awoke suddenly, and for no apparent reason he looked outside to where he expected to find Eiga standing, but to his surprise she was gone. Sagara, thinking logically despite the time, made his way to where the supplies were kept. He found Sanosuke unconscious with a head wound and carried the child to a slightly sheltered place and shook the boy to consciousness (A/N: yes I believe you can shake someone to consciousness in most cases) "What happened here? Where's that girl headed?"

"Who? Oh, her, she said she needed some rope and hit me with a rock this big." He indicated that the rock was the size of his fist, "As for where she went, I have no clue. Why do you think she took a rope instead of food?"

"Because food isn't what she needs at the moment." Murmured the captain, more to himself than the boy, "Stay here Sanosuke." The captain headed off at a run towards the river, the trees were strongest there and he knew that Eiga was searching for a strong tree.

A/N: Yes I know that a fist sized rock could probably do more than knock Sano unconscious, but hey, I can't kill my sweet little Sano. Why does Eiga need a rope? Find out in chapter five. I need some reviews before I can update so please R&R, maybe I'll update anyway but reviews help.