(A/N) Hmmm.. just my luck that I try to post the first part of my story right before I have a total break down . Anyway, this is a pretty long chapter and I hope you like it. I also hope no one kills me, but hey, what's an author to do? I also changed the name from "Bittersweet" to "A Bittersweet Elegy". So read, enjoy, and REVIEW!! Reviews are what makes the world go round... in fanfics anyway. I'm not very good at author's notes as you can tell.
Disclaimer: Are these really necessary? I doubt anyone actually thinks I own RK, but I don't all the same.
A Bittersweet Elegy
Chapter 1: Never Say Never
"I was a fool to believe--
It all ends today... for today's the day that dreaming ends..."
-Moulin Rouge
Kaoru was sick with a fever. Megumi's orders had been to give her a few days rest before allowing her to roam about as she usually did in her puerile yet assertive demeanor edged with a proud sense of duty. Authority, she reasoned, only caused people to kill themselves faster and added to the strain of one's physical abilities. Kenshin ran through the list of things the female doctor had instructed him upon doing to ensure Kaoru's swift recovery while carefully noting to himself which tasks he had and hadn't accomplished. He sighed to himself. The poor girl had looked so distraught at Megumi's orders, her already fevered cheeks puffing in an indignant scowl as she tried to protest by standing only to find herself succumb to a wave of nausea and collapse back upon her pallet.
He shook his head remembering how Megumi had taunted her about the mishap only making Kaoru more determined to prove she was of a fully functioning status. That had ended rather badly too. Once the fox had left, all returned to how life at the Kamiya dojo usually progressed... except that the namesake was ill and unable to accomplish her chores thus leaving her only willing guest to do them in her stead. Sano had left the moment breakfast was finished before any tasks could be given to him reasoning that he had a few friends he needed to check up on. Then Yahiko...
Well Yahiko had downright laughed when Kenshin asked if he would help with the laundry.
"Like I would touch busu's underwear," Yahiko taunted before heading to the dojo.
Kenshin stared inquiringly at the boy's retreating figure before turning to his basin and staring at the contents mildly. "Kaoru never lets me touch her underwear," he said softly to himself in surprise, a slow blush reaching his ears deftly before glancing back toward the dojo as the sound of Yahiko's practice swings met his waiting ears.
He shrugged lightly to himself before setting to his task, kneeling carefully by the tub and tugging at his sleeves. About midway through, he heard Yahiko cease his swings, the light swish of the sword being replaced by the dull thudding of quick, heavy footsteps as the young man jogged back and forth inside the dojo. A quiet smile graced the rurouni's features as he listened to the patter of the other's steps slow and then race before slowing again as he changed directions. So the youth was cleaning without being instructed to do so? Good for him. His hard earned discipline was showing.
A few more minutes passed before the footfalls stopped all together and moments later the door to the dojo slid open with a click. Kenshin turned from his scrubbing and met the young man's eyes before slowly nodding his consent and gratitude and turned back to his work.
Yahiko trotted down the steps and into the courtyard swiftly turning and waving a goodbye to Kenshin before he could be intercepted for another chore.
"Tsubame asked me to help bus tables again today at the Akebeko so I'm going over there!" he yelled over his shoulder as he pushed through the property gates and rounded the corner. "I'll be back after dinner!" And with that he was gone.
Kenshin watched him leave waiting until the suds at his arms sputtered a bit to release a deep, gutteral sigh. Life.
With the last of the washings hung to dry and the basin's water emptied, the red haired rurouni made his way toward the house entering the corridor that lead to the residents' rooms. He stopped for a quiet moment outside Kaoru's room listening to her soft exhales cautiously before confirming to himself that she was indeed asleep and safe before continuing in toward the kitchen. Looking about momentarily, he grabbed a pan and set it over the stove adding different spices and oils he would need to cook the meal. He looked about himself again trying to remember what it was that slipped from his memory. He stopped and thought a moment before nearly crashing to the ground in clear reverance.
Tofu.
He needed to go get the tofu.
Clasping a hand to his temples, he attempted to releave a bit of the stress he felt accumulating upon him before running the palm over his face and down his neck to rest calmly above his heart. A slight crinkle alerted him as his hand's weight ruffled something in his haori. He acknowledged it silently without taking it out making a mental note to pick up the item before he purchased tofu.
Today hadn't turned out as he'd planned.
He would pick up the item, but he would still wait until she was healthier to give it to her. However, he sighed, waiting sucked.
Absently, he fetched his money from the counter and glanced at the stove debating on whether to light it so the the fire would be hot by the time he returned, or wait so that the spices already left in the pan didn't over cook. He opted for the latter turning with a shrug to close the kitchen door behind him as he left the Kamiya house in search of tofu. Kaoru would be alright alone for an hour.
Kenshin sighed to himself for the up-tenth time that day. Food. Was. Expensive... especially when you helped provide for two fully grown men and a quickly maturing preteen with an appetite to rival the men's. At least one of the men anyway. Kaoru had indeed put herself in a financial blunder by accepting them into her household and placing them under her care. He wouldn't complain, even when she cooked, but the strain was unfair for the young woman and it came as no surprise to him that she had become ill as of late. Perhaps he should undergo a search for a reasonable job around the area. One with hours that would allow him to bring in an income while also contributing to the housework at the Kamiya residency. It would alleviate some of the stress placed on Kaoru-dono and he wouldn't feel nearly as much like a freeloader if he were helping to provide. Besides, if his plans succeeded as he hoped they would, he should by all means earn some sort of income.
But, then again, what kind of job could he do? All his real skills laid in the speed and agility of his feet and hands, characteristics that made him into the master swordsman people considered him today. Sooo... what could he do with that? Most men his age already had a profitable profession as a carpenter, farmer, blacksmith, or in another trade. He wasn't a terrible farmer, but there wasn't anything to farm in Tokyo and he would not be able to manage travelling long distances each day to work for a few hours.
His long fingers fiddled with the latch of the small, velvet box he clutched in his hand absently as he walked, the clamour of the crowd brushing around him in the street hardly affecting his state of mind as he continued on slowly.
Maybe he could get a job at the Akebeko like Yahiko occassionally did. He could bus tables or help in the kitchen. Tae's business was extremely fruitful and he was sure she wouldn't mind the extra help. However, Yahiko might think he was moving in on his financial stockade since the kid already asserted an inarticulated claim on the restraurant because of Tsubame.
Saitoh could probably get him a job with the police. He chuckled softly to himself as he tossed the tofu a bit in its pail. Oh yeah, Saitoh could get him a job alright, preferably one where the older man would have authoritative power over the former hitokiri. He would just love that now wouldn't he? Actually, he could probably get a job with the police just by going to the station and asking politely. Saitoh would still have ranking power over him though, and the more he thought about it the more he realized how much he would resent a profession in law.
A short woman ran forcefully into his shoulder knocking him successfully from his reverie as she scuttled quickly through the crowd glancing back behind her several times despite her hurry. Kenshin raised a curious eyebrow at the woman watching her slight form become hidden among the masses. Then he was struck again as he stood unmoving on the shoulder of the street, this time the offender taking the shape of a mess of brown hair and a boy's disshevelled robes.
Strange. He moved himself farther into the awning of local stores as he watched the crowd with inquiring, crystal eyes full of interest. Sure enough, soon another straggler pushed themselves up through the crowd only moments later. Another woman, younger than the first. A terrified expression haunted her midlife features as she drove past the clutters of people only stopping to take momentary glances behind her. He turned expectant eyes in the direction from which they came surveying the area only to find nothing out of place. The sky smoked itself lightly in greying hues slowly darkening as shallower clouds passed lightly over the top of the buildings. Rain?
Kenshin shook his head lightly, his thick bangs slapping harmlessly against the side of his face. Rain did not cause people to act as hastily as they were, and if a thunderstorm were approaching he was sure the masses would have thinned considerably by now. Glancing back to the street he found the crowd's turmoil had grown considerably during his time spent pondering. A thin stream of people began to trickle by against the natural current of the populace pushing fiercely to get by. An approaching thunderstorm became a more plausible explanation to the rurouni as he adjusted his hand on the tofu and clutched the box in this left hand possesively. Then with a deep breath he forged his way back amongst the slowly thinning crowd mindful to avoid those who came pushing their way through frantically.
His dodging soon became a greater chore as he attempted to balance the tofu and keep himself from becoming tackled all at once. Even though he managed for awhile, his efforts slowly ceased to make progress and he was pushed roughly into the side of a building causing him to nearly drop his tofu. He stood pressed against the wall behind him watching as the filed line of frantic people nearly doubled in front of his eyes. People he had previously been walking behind came back into view following the others in an escape route from some mysterious antagonist. Then he heard it.
"Fire!"
His head snapped towards the voice of a young boy no older than Yahiko as his violet eyes examined his horrified visage and gaping mouth as the child continued to holler the single word for all to hear. Then the masses who had been ignorant to the distress of the situation caught on just as more people raced back through the crowd in the opposite direction. Mayhem soon ensued.
A new wave of panic filled the street as a cry of "Fire!" was screamed by men and women alike. Children cried and mothers swept them into their arms in frantic alarm, their husbands quickly aiding them and leading them away. The sky had grown warily dark, Kenshin noticed as questionably low, black clouds flitted above the city. Smoke.
Without another thought, he dashed against the new current of people heading in the direction the above smoke lifted from. His feet pounded against the dirt below as he jogged mindfully still attempting to preserve the tofu he carried. There was a chance he could help if someone's home had caught aflame and by all means he would give his services to anyone in need.
The faint drum of a distant scream reached his ear as his pace quickened instinctually. The back of his mind began to nag painfully at him as he slowly realized that he was following an indirect route back toward the Kamiya dojo. Then he abruptly stopped, the pounding of his feet being replaced immediately by the pounding in his head. He had reached the edge of the sakura grove leading to Kaoru's home, a place once bristling with life and beauty now fallen dead in an array of drifting blackness and stillness.
The tofu splashed loudly as it was dropped, but he was gone before he could hear it as he lunged forward at his utmost speed leaving his feet to rarely hit the ground in his monumental stride. His head screamed and his chest tightened painfully as the gates came into view. He had left Kaoru in the house. He had left a highly ill and feverish Kaoru alone in her room when she was hardly capable of standing. He cursed himself for his carelessness.
Hearing his approach, two armed officers quickly blocked his way as he neared the gates, swords drawn as they heeded him a fair warning. Other policemen were currently racing about as well, some carrying buckets of water and some trying other methods to squelch the fire. He heard a small crowd beginning to assemble behind him as the fire grew rapidly despite the officers' attemtps to extinguish it. The red haired rurouni's mouth gaped as he slowly watched the inferno taking small steps towards the officers until the point of one of their swords rested against the flesh above his jugular.
"Move back sir," the policeman demanded authoritatively. "We have a situation to deal with and we don't need civilians to involve themselves."
"But..." Kenshin began frantically moving to the side in order to advance and avoid the sword pointed menacingly at his throat.
"We said move back sir," the other officer angrily repeated thrusting his shoulder into the shorter man's chest and sprawling him haphazardly unto the ground.
Quickly, and to the amazement of the ever growing crowd, Kenshin quickly regained his feet shooting forward instantly only to be held back by the officers who immobilized his arms.
"Sir!" the first growled threateningly.
"Where's Kaoru-dono!" he burst frantically pushing heavily against his restraints.
"Sir!" the men shouted again pushing him back simultaneously. "Stay back!"
When the afformentioned made a move to once again rush forward, the first officer quickly swung his fist holding the hilt of his sword. The hard metal contacted strongly against the side of his target's mouth splitting the sensitive skindown to the chin. In his daze, Kenshin hardly even felt the blow.
"Now stay back!" the man bellowed angrily.
"But Kaoru-dono..."
"We have the situation under control," the second retorted flippantly as his partner sheathed his sword.
Kenshin's eyes alighted as he watched the blaze rage above the treetops roaring in ghastly, orange tongues that licked at the sky. His blood boiled in rage as he moved to proceed forward once more not in the least bit surprised when a stray fist sought the side of his face yet never met its mark. He side stepped briskly as the officer lunged for him trying to subdue him once more. Pointedly, he dodged the onslaught of assaults thrown his way with a hurried finesse as the policeman's partner came to help. He shirked quickly beneath an uncalculated strike taking the offered opening to duck behind the officers.
He didn't bother to straighten his form as he tripped closer to the gates just as a new body contacted with his own tackling him to the ground.
"We can't allow you to go any further, sir," a new, frenetic voice called closely into his ear above the racket of hollers made by the other policemen and the roar of the blazing fire.
"But Kaoru-dono," Kenshin hastily replied, his voice sounding ragged and wild in his own ears as he tried to pull himself from the weight on his back. "Where is she?"
Before he could succeed, two new figures pounced upon his struggling person holding him down effectively as he clawed at the ground with broken fingernails. His behavior was mad, but, then again, his sanity was slowly slipping in his haze of panic.
"Sir," the man who had jumped him quickly said as the rurouni fought to stand despite the pressing weight issued atop his back. "Calm down, or we'll have you arrested." His voice quivered despite his attempt to imply authority as his hostage continued to fret beneath him. "We can't allow you to pass or..."
The air shattered cutting the man from his speech instantly as the roar of the fire was deafened by a loud, rattling scream hailing from within the hellish inferno. All four men tensed in unison staring at the quickly dilapitating building engulfed in flames. Kenshin bolted, his shift throwing two men off as the third clung insistently to his haori. She was still inside, he thought to himself as he shoved roughly at the policeman hanging onto his coat.
"SIR!"
The other two quickly realized what was happening and rushed to help the officer just as the man whose hair flamed with the same life as the blazing fire's directed a swift blow to their comrade's neck with his elbow. One latched onto his thin, left arm pulling him back hazardously as the other drew closer at a cautious rate.
But the screams had not stopped as they assaulted the former hitokiri's senses only stopping in short, flagrant intervals to renew themselves. Common sense having been discarded, he settled into instinct as those hysterical shrieks echoed emphatically in his ears. The approaching officer began to draw his sword, but before he could, Kenshin's was unsheathed in an arc slashing the man at his side instantly and rendering him unconscious. Tactically, the other made to accomplish a low lunge as his crystal eyed opponent mirrored his stance only to sidestep at the last moment and continue with his attack.
Steel met flesh in a gruesome match noted with a dull crack as the blade continued on until it met spinal bone killing the man on the spot. Kenshin had miscalculated repulsively. Sakabatou's were not meant to be used for low lunges. He'd fogotten completely until he'd felt the resistance of his blade pillaging through soft flesh as the man's body slumped to the ground in a dead heap.
His hand trembled immensely as it held his sword, his fingers toying with the braids that wove about the hilt as he stared jaded down at the broken body beneath him. The sound of angry shouts and mad footsteps assaulted him as the fallen policeman's comrades took immediate notice of the situation.
The Battousai flashed his glare maliignantly upon the advancing group stopping some in their tracks as the others continued on heedlessly toward him. And the screams repeated by whimped cries... the screams survived in his ears instilling themselves in his mind with a drumming sensation. His crystalline, amethyst eyes watched their approach reflecting the golden light of the fire beyond until the amber hues stained themselves permanently in their burning yet apathetic depths. He waited. They approached...
The sakabatou flipped.
Steel and flesh united once more as the first man met Kenshin head on. A gurgled cry died in the man's throat he fell to the side beside his already disposed associate. And Kenshin trembled. His entire being trembled as a sort of dull agony thudded against his chest constricting his organs and strengthening his limbs. Maddness was ensuing. Or had it already come?
He stood motionless, the tip of his sword held straight in front of himself in a silent warning to the advancing officers. His breath was shallow as he continued to quiver under the weight on his mind mixed with the urgency to reach the owner of those heart-wrenching screams. Just as he slightly crouched to defend against the next approaching policeman, a short sting bore against his collar. His left hand flew to remove the dart out of reflex as the right parried his offender. A loud crash startled both men as the outlook of the front porch collapsed upon itself.
The scream stopped for only a moment before it was replaced by an ear-shattering shriek.
Kaoru.
The man made to lunge once more, but Kenshin was faster as the point of his sword met the man's throat before he even had a chance to step forward. His swing was slow, the hitokiri noticed off-handedly as dread chewed at the joints in his fingers and made his body begin to grow numb. It had been a poison dart, yet he still had time.
With a staggered step, he moved forward as two more men ran towards him swords drawn and ready to kill. Despite his developing lethargy, the shorter man managed to discard them with little effort pushing himself forward as a hand caught his sword arm and held it immobile as another reached for his left hand rendering him useless. Still he fought to push forward despite his restraints and festering inertness, his body lagging against the arms of those holding him as his legs struggled to support his weight. His sword suddenly fell heavily from his grasp clattering to the ground with a metallic thud raising the dirt around it in mild, ashen clouds.
All was silent. All was still. And the house burned in ragged flames that smoldered the posts and incaved the walls upon themselves in golden and auburn tones that made the scene glow in ethereal visages almost as bright and rancorous as the spiteful eyes of the watching hitokiri.
All was silent.
All was still.
Not even the rushing policemen made another movement as all eyes fastened to the house, the roar of the fire overshadowing any sounds that could have been made from within the establishment. Their ears sought sonance, any sort of disshevelled noise besides the eerie crackle of the fire, but found themselves wanton. The pitched scream they sought was dead within the blaze not bothering to surface for even a second's fallacy.
All was silent
All was still.
And life did not pursue until a new cry replaced the stillness wrenching the others from their reflections immediately.
With a new power sought from grief or vengance, Kenshin pushed forward nearly breaking himself free of his captors. His eyes were wide staring with animalistic panic at the house as the outside wall of the kitchen collapsed upon itself sending an assortment of cinders and glowing embers out to its audience who gasped in its wake. The fiery haired man lunged forward again desperately at what was suddenly brought to his sight crying out indecipherably to the room shown him beyond the kitchen. Her room, now smoking in billowing clouds that rose above the splintered and flaming roof crumbled hazardly across her floor. The room he'd left her sleeping in.
He lashed about despite his restraints, despite the overwhelming dizziness that threatened to claim his senses. Even when a tall, built figure advanced to loom menacingly over his staggered body, a raised sword wielded in his hand, he fought to free himself, fought to move towards the house, fought for her. His frenzy consumed his mind as all else was blocked out, even his own sporadic screams that broke that stillness waning in the air.
Then the blow came swiftly. He made no move to block it as it struck him heavily upon the head and thus ceased his frenetic movement. He teetered on the edge of consciousness as he felt his arms being pulled in the opposite direction of the house and back through the cherry blossom grove. His fingers grew weaker finally relinquishing his hold on a small velvet box that fell unnoticed to the ground below his dragging body while his unfocused eyes watched what life he had tried to make dissolve and burn in the flame of a small house rising beyond the horizon just before the dart's effect matched with the strike to his skull brought him into a fitful unconsciousness.
From the shadows of an angled sakura tree, two amber eyes watched the struggle before him with dimming curiosity. Like the rest of the police force, he had been called out to attend to the fire at the Kamiya dojo, but unlike the rest, he felt no need to lend a hand when the entire assignment was sure to fail. He'd heard the Kamiya girl's screams just as clearly as the rest and seen the frantic reaction they had elicitted from Himura.
Damn fool.
He'd already scoured the entire vicinity for a way into the house with no luck. The whole proximity was completely engulfed in flames that sprang from the paper walls and wooden supports to the open windows and doorways. That had been the analysis far before Himura had even shown himself back at the residence.
Those other two had been by also, only evading the sentries when Saitoh himself had allowed them to pass. Both the kid and the rooster had found the entire ploy for rescue useless as well when their attempts to run into the house had left them scorched burns across their body before they could even enter a room. They'd given up, settling themselves to stand outside Kaoru's room instead waiting for a complex that could help them save her from the clutches of her burning room. Until then all they could do was wait for her outside her room and listen to her whimpered cries through the dull roar and crackle of the springing flames.
Himura would not give up so easily though, which is why Saitoh had not given him permission to pass and sent more officers to stall the legendary man hoping against hope that the man's fear would push his mind into a state of deterance that would make him less formidable to his men. He'd been right, Saitoh reasoned as he watched the man whose hair matched the effervescence of the glowing flames as he was dragged away. Still he felt a sort of discomfort in the pit of his stomach as he watched the man's two captors heft him into a low police cart drawn behind a single horse.
The girl should not have had to die. Not like that. Not with such little honor. At least he was sure the town and her friends would offer her a gracious memorial; she deserved as much. The thoughts echoed through his head as he stepped from his spot in the shadows onto the road and watched the small cart carrying Himura pull sullenly into the main street. His hand sought his pocket and drew a cigarette which he quickly lit and inhaled willing the slight tremble in his fingers to dissipate.
He exhaled calmly, lowering his chin to lay against his chest as he felt the accompanying numbness of his drag settle into his nerves before he took another. His eyes opened calmly as the cigarette was perched between his slightly opened mouth, the gray fog it created hardly hiding the sharp glint of a small object from his keen eyes as his gaze fell smoothly to the road.
With languid steps, he perched beside the open object and listlessly lifted it from the ground. He held it with one hand, twirling it about between his long, lean fingers with simple dexterity as he examined its black, velvety case. Then his cold, amber eyes fixed upon the small article within and softened in the least of calibers while scanning the small, golden loop nestled gently within the velvet folds of its hull. He observed the quaint setting of sapphires lining the border of a cleanly cut diamond with building interest before snapping the box closed and watching its case with a heated stare.
Saitoh sighed as he took the cigarette deftly from his mouth not even bothering to exhale and instead allowing the after smoke to billow out of the crevices of his mouth and his nose with a shake of his head.
"Himura..." he said lowly before catching himself on the name and nearly laughing sardonically at the irony of it all. "Or should I say... Battousai..."
He glanced once more at the ring in his hand and then down the street in the direction the Battousai had been taken before stuffing the small box into his uniform pocket and walking silently away from the slowly extinguishing fire behind him. Suddenly, that knotting feeling in his stomach had become much worse.
Next chapter:
Travesty of Justice
(A/N) Heh heh... twiddles thumbs nervously. Don't kill me, it'll work out I promise. I just had.. to.. mess up their lives.. a bit. runs away screaming. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW and maybe something good will happen... maybe. I am motivated only by reviews which means that when you stop reviewing I stop writing. That simple.
Notes to Reviewers:
First off, thanks so much to everybody that reviewed. I appreciate your support more than I could ever convey here in words. I know that it does take time out of your schedules and reading time to review for my little 'ole story, but believe me, I am beyond overwhelmed with gratitude for it.
-Leigh- I agree that it's horrible how the government just won't leave Kenshin alone. He's only one man with the same basic physical limits as the rest of us. And believe me, certain people are DEFINENTLY going to get the full rage of the Battousai later on in this fic. -
-Nicky- Kaoru's journal does in fact play a role later on (I'm glad you caught my incite), but obviously it isn't the same one as mentioned in the prologue. I used that for several reasons including as reference to the tragedy that his reading of Tomoe's journal caused. It basically indirectly killed her. Thanks for reviewing!
-Vanilla Bean- The connection I'm making between my story and Linay's "Broken Pieces" is the off-handed nature of Battousai and the way he handles his situations. A few other things are similar as well, but the plots should prove to be VERY different. I hope you like my story anyway though.
-Psychotic Tanuki- Awww... you said my fiction was good... excuse me while I go cry and squeal and make happy noises. I feel so honored when great authors praise my work. I'm also glad you enjoy the mysterious mood since I'm going to be trying to keep it through the rest of the fic. Thanks so much for reviewing.