CHAPTER 4: The River of Blood
Kenshin, Sano, Kaoru and Yahiko walked through the rain toward the Akabeko, hoping for a good meal.
"At least it'll be better than Kaoru's!" Yahiko commented and narrowly dodged a swing of her bokken. They hurried through the sheets of water, but right before reaching the Akabeko, the Kenshingumi stopped.
"The smell of blood," Kenshin muttered.
"What is it?" Sano asked. They ran forward and were shocked by the scene that met their eyes. The street was bathed in blood, many cops cleaning away bodies of other cops, other policemen attempting to clean the blood off of the walls of the buildings and ground.
"No," Kaoru gasped. "What happened here?"
"No idea," Kenshin said. "But I'm sure that we can find out. Saito should be around here somewhere, that he should." He ran forward, gesturing for the others to stay back.
"Yeah, just take 'em to the police station," Chou said. A hand touched his shoulder. He turned and was staring into the lavender eyes of Himura Kenshin.
"Chou-san," Kenshin said, gazing at the bloody scene in front of them. "What has happened?"
"There was an attack on the police force last night," Chou said. Kenshin sighed.
"Oh, I see," Kenshin replied. "Where's Saito?"
"That's the entire problem," Chou informed Kenshin. "This was his route. We think that he fought the attackers, but we haven't found his body yet. However, without him, we're very......... disorganized." Kenshin bowed and mumbled a small "Thank you."
"What's up, Kenshin?" Sano asked anxiously.
"Saito is missing, that he is," Kenshin said, a worried look in his eye. Everyone sent nervous glances at each other.
"So? What does that mean?" Kaoru asked.
"They're not sure yet, but this might mean that he's......... well........." Kenshin couldn't bring himself to voice the four letter word. They all stayed in silence until a yell reached their ears.
"Himura-san!" a child's voice yelled. Kenshin turned.
"Eiji?" Kenshin asked. Eiji ran over.
"How have you been, Himura-san?" Eiji asked.
"Fine, Eiji," Kenshin said. "How has it been with Saito?"
"It's been......... well......... actually........." Eiji started, but Sano butted in.
"Has he been cruel to you?" Sano cried, not even hearing the entire story. He didn't even know that much about the kid, but anything bad about Saito would give him even more reason to pound his face in.
"No, never!" Eiji said. "Actually, Saito-san's been very generous to me. It's just that he's......... not here at the moment and........." Kenshin put up a hand.
"We know. I already talked to Chou about it," Kenshin said. Eiji nodded in silence.
"Then they haven't found him," Eiji said. "Well, nice to see you, Himura- san." And with that, Eiji trudged off.
"Who was that?" Kaoru asked. Kenshin turned and began to tell them about Eiji and Shingetsu.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Saito stumbled down a long, dark corridor, staring at the bedroom doors that lined the walls, which were made of dirt, along with the floor. Obviously, this was an underground tunnel.
"Wait up!" Gimmei yelled. She ran to catch up.
"What?" Saito grunted, pushing himself forward.
"Tell me if you killed my father!" she yelled. He cast her a glare.
"What if I said I did?" Saito asked. Gimmei gave him a look that showed happiness, sadness, anger, and confusion all at once. He let out a small laugh and continued down the corridor. Gimmei grabbed his arm, causing a jolt of pain to sear through his right side.
"Tell me NOW!" Gimmei demanded. Saito pulled his arm gingerly out of her grasp and looked at her.
"I don't know, Neko," Saito said. "I already told you that I don't remember those who I kill. There are......... too many to remember." He turned down a bend in the tunnel and continued walking. Gimmei frowned.
"Look, I need to know," Gimmei said, sincerely. She stuck her hand into her sleeve and pulled out a photograph. It was a picture of her father. She showed it to Saito.
"What?" he asked staring at the man.
"Did you kill that man?" Gimmei asked. Saito studied the face, then tossed the picture back at her.
"Yes, I did," Saito said. She stared at the photo with tears in her eyes.
"You really did kill him," Gimmei mumbled, tucking the photo away. She walked toward him and laid her head on his back, starting to cry. She clenched her fists. "You killed him." They stood that way for a long time. Saito frowned at her. This outburst was not what he had expected from her. He expected anger, even a battle, but not a crying girl resting on his back. She didn't seem to notice him staring at her. Then, a shoji screen opened and Shiki stepped out. He let out a gasp and drew his sword.
"Gimmei!" Shiki yelled. Saito grabbed the sobbing girl and tossed her to the floor, jumping with injured legs to the right to avoid the sword's rage. Shiki stepped out of the room, facing the unarmed wolf.
"Shiki," Gimmei sniffed, trying to stop the tears with her hand. "He did kill Father."
"There was no doubt beforehand!" Shiki shouted at her. "He's going to die! His fate was sealed as soon as his sword stopped Father's heart!" Saito stood in a defensive position, one arm across his aching ribs. He watched as Shiki rushed forward, his sword pointing at Saito's head.
"Shiki," Gimmei mumbled. "Let me do it." Shiki stopped in his tracks.
"WHAT?" he cried. Saito stood still. Gimmei stood up.
"I want to kill him," she said. "I want to wash my sorrow in his blood. Maybe it'll stop the pain. You seem to think it will, so if you think it, then I'll think it too, Big Brother." Saito scowled and limped over to Shiki, whom had his back turned. Saito grabbed the blade of the sword and pulled hard, wrenching it out of Shiki's palm. Saito took the weapon in his own hand, pressing the other to his gi to stop the bleeding.
"Neither of you will kill me," Saito said. "You're both not skilled enough. Now let me go, and I will not kill either of you." Shiki scowled and tore the wakizashi from its sheath.
"I'll fight you. I'm not making compromises with a wolf!" Shiki snapped. "You cannot defeat me even with a katana."
"We will see," Saito said, settling into a Gatotsu stance. Shiki held the wakizashi with two hands out in front of him. They both charged.
A/N: YAY! I HAVE MORE THAN TEN REVIEWS! I REACHED MY GOAL! Now I'll just take however many come in. Hopefully that'll be more than... 20? Only one story of mine has made it past twenty. I'm hoping to have this one get past twenty too. Thanks to everyone who helped me meet my goal!!! ^___^
REVIEW RESPONSES:
Joselyn-Greenleaf: Hey, I'll let you have him after this story and any sequels to it are finished! Sequels? Did I just say that? Do I want to rack my brain to try and think up another story? Maybe. Thanks for reading!
Kairi7: Ha! Got the time to update! Woohoo!! Thanks for reading!
Elia: You think it's good? Thank you so much!
MissBehavin: I'll have to have Saito teach me too. I remember when he said that. He's so good! ^_____^ I couldn't log in either for a while, but now I can... well, that's obvious 'cause I'm updating! I hate to make Tokio suffer like this, but... oh, and Eiji will play a kind of big role in the story.
Kenshin, Sano, Kaoru and Yahiko walked through the rain toward the Akabeko, hoping for a good meal.
"At least it'll be better than Kaoru's!" Yahiko commented and narrowly dodged a swing of her bokken. They hurried through the sheets of water, but right before reaching the Akabeko, the Kenshingumi stopped.
"The smell of blood," Kenshin muttered.
"What is it?" Sano asked. They ran forward and were shocked by the scene that met their eyes. The street was bathed in blood, many cops cleaning away bodies of other cops, other policemen attempting to clean the blood off of the walls of the buildings and ground.
"No," Kaoru gasped. "What happened here?"
"No idea," Kenshin said. "But I'm sure that we can find out. Saito should be around here somewhere, that he should." He ran forward, gesturing for the others to stay back.
"Yeah, just take 'em to the police station," Chou said. A hand touched his shoulder. He turned and was staring into the lavender eyes of Himura Kenshin.
"Chou-san," Kenshin said, gazing at the bloody scene in front of them. "What has happened?"
"There was an attack on the police force last night," Chou said. Kenshin sighed.
"Oh, I see," Kenshin replied. "Where's Saito?"
"That's the entire problem," Chou informed Kenshin. "This was his route. We think that he fought the attackers, but we haven't found his body yet. However, without him, we're very......... disorganized." Kenshin bowed and mumbled a small "Thank you."
"What's up, Kenshin?" Sano asked anxiously.
"Saito is missing, that he is," Kenshin said, a worried look in his eye. Everyone sent nervous glances at each other.
"So? What does that mean?" Kaoru asked.
"They're not sure yet, but this might mean that he's......... well........." Kenshin couldn't bring himself to voice the four letter word. They all stayed in silence until a yell reached their ears.
"Himura-san!" a child's voice yelled. Kenshin turned.
"Eiji?" Kenshin asked. Eiji ran over.
"How have you been, Himura-san?" Eiji asked.
"Fine, Eiji," Kenshin said. "How has it been with Saito?"
"It's been......... well......... actually........." Eiji started, but Sano butted in.
"Has he been cruel to you?" Sano cried, not even hearing the entire story. He didn't even know that much about the kid, but anything bad about Saito would give him even more reason to pound his face in.
"No, never!" Eiji said. "Actually, Saito-san's been very generous to me. It's just that he's......... not here at the moment and........." Kenshin put up a hand.
"We know. I already talked to Chou about it," Kenshin said. Eiji nodded in silence.
"Then they haven't found him," Eiji said. "Well, nice to see you, Himura- san." And with that, Eiji trudged off.
"Who was that?" Kaoru asked. Kenshin turned and began to tell them about Eiji and Shingetsu.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Saito stumbled down a long, dark corridor, staring at the bedroom doors that lined the walls, which were made of dirt, along with the floor. Obviously, this was an underground tunnel.
"Wait up!" Gimmei yelled. She ran to catch up.
"What?" Saito grunted, pushing himself forward.
"Tell me if you killed my father!" she yelled. He cast her a glare.
"What if I said I did?" Saito asked. Gimmei gave him a look that showed happiness, sadness, anger, and confusion all at once. He let out a small laugh and continued down the corridor. Gimmei grabbed his arm, causing a jolt of pain to sear through his right side.
"Tell me NOW!" Gimmei demanded. Saito pulled his arm gingerly out of her grasp and looked at her.
"I don't know, Neko," Saito said. "I already told you that I don't remember those who I kill. There are......... too many to remember." He turned down a bend in the tunnel and continued walking. Gimmei frowned.
"Look, I need to know," Gimmei said, sincerely. She stuck her hand into her sleeve and pulled out a photograph. It was a picture of her father. She showed it to Saito.
"What?" he asked staring at the man.
"Did you kill that man?" Gimmei asked. Saito studied the face, then tossed the picture back at her.
"Yes, I did," Saito said. She stared at the photo with tears in her eyes.
"You really did kill him," Gimmei mumbled, tucking the photo away. She walked toward him and laid her head on his back, starting to cry. She clenched her fists. "You killed him." They stood that way for a long time. Saito frowned at her. This outburst was not what he had expected from her. He expected anger, even a battle, but not a crying girl resting on his back. She didn't seem to notice him staring at her. Then, a shoji screen opened and Shiki stepped out. He let out a gasp and drew his sword.
"Gimmei!" Shiki yelled. Saito grabbed the sobbing girl and tossed her to the floor, jumping with injured legs to the right to avoid the sword's rage. Shiki stepped out of the room, facing the unarmed wolf.
"Shiki," Gimmei sniffed, trying to stop the tears with her hand. "He did kill Father."
"There was no doubt beforehand!" Shiki shouted at her. "He's going to die! His fate was sealed as soon as his sword stopped Father's heart!" Saito stood in a defensive position, one arm across his aching ribs. He watched as Shiki rushed forward, his sword pointing at Saito's head.
"Shiki," Gimmei mumbled. "Let me do it." Shiki stopped in his tracks.
"WHAT?" he cried. Saito stood still. Gimmei stood up.
"I want to kill him," she said. "I want to wash my sorrow in his blood. Maybe it'll stop the pain. You seem to think it will, so if you think it, then I'll think it too, Big Brother." Saito scowled and limped over to Shiki, whom had his back turned. Saito grabbed the blade of the sword and pulled hard, wrenching it out of Shiki's palm. Saito took the weapon in his own hand, pressing the other to his gi to stop the bleeding.
"Neither of you will kill me," Saito said. "You're both not skilled enough. Now let me go, and I will not kill either of you." Shiki scowled and tore the wakizashi from its sheath.
"I'll fight you. I'm not making compromises with a wolf!" Shiki snapped. "You cannot defeat me even with a katana."
"We will see," Saito said, settling into a Gatotsu stance. Shiki held the wakizashi with two hands out in front of him. They both charged.
A/N: YAY! I HAVE MORE THAN TEN REVIEWS! I REACHED MY GOAL! Now I'll just take however many come in. Hopefully that'll be more than... 20? Only one story of mine has made it past twenty. I'm hoping to have this one get past twenty too. Thanks to everyone who helped me meet my goal!!! ^___^
REVIEW RESPONSES:
Joselyn-Greenleaf: Hey, I'll let you have him after this story and any sequels to it are finished! Sequels? Did I just say that? Do I want to rack my brain to try and think up another story? Maybe. Thanks for reading!
Kairi7: Ha! Got the time to update! Woohoo!! Thanks for reading!
Elia: You think it's good? Thank you so much!
MissBehavin: I'll have to have Saito teach me too. I remember when he said that. He's so good! ^_____^ I couldn't log in either for a while, but now I can... well, that's obvious 'cause I'm updating! I hate to make Tokio suffer like this, but... oh, and Eiji will play a kind of big role in the story.