Battles of the Heart

Chapter 8: Death of a Samurai-To-Be

Tsubame stepped out into the open air, and breathed in the smell of the night breeze. Yahiko quietly tiptoed out behind her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. Her body stiffened, before she realized who it was. "Yahiko-chan, what are you doing up so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Tsubame-chan."

"I just couldn't sleep, so I came outside to count the stars."

"Count the stars?"

"Hai," she blushed, "It gives me a sense of peace. When I was little, and I couldn't sleep at night, I would sneak out to count the stars. It took my mind off of the nightmares I would have, and it was just such a simple task, I would feel at ease, and eventually fall asleep."

Yahiko stared at her. "Did you have a nightmare, then?"

She blushed harder, and looked down. "Well, I…"

Yahiko grinned, "It's ok. I have nightmares sometimes, too. Actually, that's kinda why I came outside." He blushed.

Tsubame smiled, "What was it about?"

"Well, someone I like very much was getting hurt, and I tried to save her. But I was too late." He looked down sadly.

"Who was this special person?" Tsubame asked, curiously.

"Oh, it was um…Kaoru?" he stuttered.

"Oh," Tsubame looked down quietly for a moment to hide her disappointment. Disappointment? Why am I disappointed? But in her heart, she knew exactly why. But he faltered. He wasn't dreaming about Kaoru. Maybe…maybe he was dreaming about…me? The thought gave her renewed hope.

"What about you? What was your dream about?"

The question caught Tsubame off guard. "I, uh, it was about…somebody I like very much. And he didn't like me back. He liked someone else. And in the end, I got hurt and he didn't care."

Yahiko was silent. It hurt him to think that maybe, just maybe, she was dreaming about him. But I would never do that to her. Never.

Tsubame paused for a second before speaking, "Ano, Yahiko-chan, were you really dreaming about Kaoru-san?"

Yahiko looked down, "I-iie. I wasn't."

"Who were you dreaming of, Yahiko-chan?" Her heart began to beat faster as she waited hopefully for his answer.

Yahiko looked her straight in the eye, "You, Tsubame-chan."

Tsubame stared at Yahiko for a moment, "R-really?" He nodded and she smiled, pecking him on the cheek. "Arigatou."

Yahiko looked at her strangely, "For what?"

Tsubame shook her head and smiled, "Nothing. Oyasumi nasai, Yahiko-chan."

"Oyasumi nasai, Tsubame-chan."

The next day, Yahiko set out to the marketplace to buy some tofu. As he finished paying the man at the tofu stand, he heard shouts behind him. He trotted over to where all the commotion was taking place, and there, in the center of the crowd, were two men locked fiercely in a battle of fists. The taller man's nose was bleeding, and the shorter man's jaw was bruised, a trickle of blood dripped down his chin from the edge of his mouth. Yahiko pushed his way through the crowd, preparing to stop the fight. "Break it up, break it up! I don't know why you're fighting, but stop!" The shorter man stared at Yahiko for a moment.

Suddenly, he broke out in laughter, "Little children shouldn't be here. Get lost, kid." The crowd sniggered.

Yahiko growled, "Don't make fun of me, or I'll beat you to a pulp."

The shorter man laughed again. It sounded more like a bark than a laugh, "I thought I told you to get lost, kid."

That was it. Yahiko charged the man, bokken in hand, and jabbed it into his gut. This was not what the man had been expecting and he stumbled back, clutching his stomach. "You're gonna pay for that, you little brat!" He ran at Yahiko, preparing to punch him in the face, but Yahiko ducked under the man's arm. He stopped and turned around, charging at Yahiko again. Yahiko was ready, but all of a sudden, the man pulled a dagger out from his kimono shirt and tried to plunge it into Yahiko's chest. Yahiko, however, dodged the dagger just in time so that it struck his shoulder, rather than his chest. The crowd gasped and dissipated as the man turned about, threatening anyone and everyone with his brandished weapon. The taller man had fled as soon as the dagger had come into view. Yahiko lay upon the ground, where the crowd had left him. A few people recognized him as a guest of the Aoiya and went to go tell Okina.

"Okina-san!" called Omasu, "Hiro is here! He wishes to speak with you!" She waited for Okina with Hiro, the tofu seller. Finally, Okina arrived.

"Okina-san," bowed Hiro respectfully, "There was a boy in a yellow kimono shirt who came to buy tofu from me. He got caught up in a fight and is…"

"Hai?" probed Okina.

"…Dead. The man brought out a dagger," the man finished.

"What color hair did he have?" inquired Omasu frantically.

Hiro bowed his head, "It was black and spiky. I believe he was a guest of yours, Okina-san. I'm sorry, Okina-san, Omasu-dono."

With that, Hiro the tofu vendor left, and Okina was left to comfort Omasu. Kaoru walked in to find Omasu crying and a very grave look upon Okina's face.

"What happened, Omasu-san, Okina-san?" she inquired anxiously.

"Hiro the tofu vendor just came to inform us that Yahiko is…" began Okina.

But he was cut off by Omasu's loud wail of, "…D-deeeaaaaad!"

Kaoru couldn't believe her ears, "H-how?" she stuttered.

Okina answered, "He apparently got caught up in a fight, and the man pulled out a hidden dagger." He looked down.

Kaoru's eyes filled with tears. "Iie!" she cried, "He can't be dead! He just can't! He isn't dead!"

Okina placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry, Kaoru, but it is true."

"Iie!"

"Kaoru…" he soothed, trying to reason with the hysterical woman. "Would I tell you he was dead if he wasn't? Please, Kaoru, you must set an example for Tsubame-chan."

"Iie!" she screamed, "He's alive! He can't be dead! It's all a joke! It's all a big joke…" She knelt to the floor and put her head in her hands. "It's a joke, ne?" She looked up into Okina's grave eyes and finally accepted the truth. "Iie…" she whispered. A loud cry of anguish tore from her throat.

Kenshin's ears perked. Someone was crying, It sounded like something was terribly wrong. That scream sounds like… "Kaoru-dono!" He dropped everything and ran as fast as he could, hand on sakabatou, to where the cries were coming from.
Tsubame heard Kaoru cry, too. Kaoru-san never cries, I wonder what's wrong. Oh no! I hope she isn't hurt! She, too, ran to Kaoru.
Kenshin and Tsubame found Kaoru crying into Sano's shoulder. "What happened, Kaoru-dono?" Kaoru looked up. Sano pushed her to Kenshin, and she stumbled into his arms, crying, "H-he's d-d-dead!"

Kenshin caught her and pulled her close, "Who, Kaoru-dono?"

"Yahikooooooooooooooo!"

Kenshin stared. The boy was like a son to him. He and Kaoru were as close as brother and sister, or even mother and son. Poor Kaoru. He hugged her closer still.

Tsubame said nothing. Her world seemed to stop. Yahiko was dead? Her Yahiko was dead? No, couldn't be. He just couldn't be dead. Yahiko couldn't die. He just couldn't. She shook her head, It's just a dream. You'll wake up and Yahiko will be annoying Kaoru-san in the kitchen. She pinched herself hard, but it hurt like hell. She was awake. This was real.
"Unh," Yahiko groaned. His head felt like it was splitting in half and his shoulder was hurting as if it had been cut off. He picked himself up and, clutching his paining shoulder, dragged himself off to the Aoiya. The pain was intense; he couldn't feel his arm. With each step he took, his energy drained from him like water from a sieve. He gasped for air, but it just never seemed to be enough, no matter how much he gulped in. His vision began to blur, than focus, then blur again, then focus, then blur, then focus, as if he were bouncing back and forth. Everything began to darken. The Aoiya was just in sight, just ahead of him. Yahiko pushed himself. Finally, he reached the doorstep of the inn. He banged his fist against the door, and as its weak sound echoed quietly through the hall within, he collapsed upon the doorstep, and the swimming darkness drowned the outside world at last.
Tsubame sat down in a corner of her room. The shoji was open, and anyone passing by pitifully looked in on her crouched and sobbing form. Kaoru had come in frequently, bringing her food, water, and dry towels. She comforted her, but Tsubame just couldn't stop the tears. Poor Tsubame-chan, thought Kaoru, fighting back her own tears, those two were so close. She silently left Tsubame to get a blanket, for the poor girl had finally fallen asleep. But inside, Kaoru was crying herself. Yahiko was like her little brother, and life just seemed so empty without him.
Megumi was walking down the hall when she heard a soft knock on the door. "I wonder who it is," she thought aloud. Opening the door, she looked about. There was no one there. Megumi looked down, and there, on the doorstep, lay a quivering form. Nani? What's that? She bent down to inspect the…thing. It had a head of spiky black hair, and it was yellow… A wooden…stick…thing was tucked beneath its arm-y thing. The more she looked, the more it began to assume a shape. And the more it began to assume a shape, the more familiar it became. Spiky hair, yellow clothing, stick under arm, spiky hair, yellow clothing, stick under arm, spiky hair, yellow clothing, stick under arm. She bent down and turned the body over. It was a young boy with spiky hair and a yellow kimono shirt on. He was holding a bokken in his hand. That's what it was… "…Yahiko!" Megumi exclaimed the last word in her surprise. It was indeed Yahiko's beaten body at her feet.