"It's stupid, worthless and it's one hell of a most idiotic idea I've ever heard, Katsura!" Kaoru leashed out at the elder man, her composure vanished almost instantly. Her mask of emotions fell, while Katsura looked up at the nettled niece with her fists balled up standing in front of him, and he hid a smile behind his lips.
"Hm… What do you mean by that?" Katsura, her uncle, asked. A look of innocence was plastered on his face, as he blinked his eyes slowly.
"You are too old for antics! I knew that there is a traitor in the house, but he or she will never be Tomoe-san…" she replied firmly and curtly, making an end to this worthless conversation. An eyebrow of Katsura's rose gracefully, as he folded his arms and crossed his legs.
"How can you prove it, my dear niece…?" he questioned, an authority of power holding in his hoarse voice.
"Well, Katsura-san," she could not finish her words, as Katsura cut in swiftly.
"Katsura-jisan." He chided gently.
"Well, Katsura-san, it's all… it's all…" she was loss for words, trying to grab hold of the perfect word that suit this situation.
"It's what?" he said in a snappy manner, eyes narrowing impatiently.
"It's my six sense!" she blurted, and covered her mouth when she said it. She let go of the grip on her right hand and placed her left hand on her lap, she could feel the numbness in her legs taking over her, as she sat for a moment longer. She wore her mask and emotions were obscured, as she spoke in a fluent manner. "Yeah, it's my six sense." Katsura seemed to remain silent, and closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"I don't know," he said slowly, almost like dragging the words out of his mouth, "but Ishin was fine when the woman –girl never came, but when she did, information were leaked… It got to be her." He affirmed. Kaoru gave him a piercing glare.
"You have no evidence. If you have said it in this manner, you could as well said that I am a traitor of Ishin." She whispered harshly and painfully, each word colder than the freezing Antarctica. Katsura coughed as a warning as her face came closer and closer to him, shining sapphire blue darkened and hardened. And she stopped for a moment, and stood up, brushing the invisible dust on her kimono.
"I am sorry for my mien today, Katsura-jisan. Even if she was a traitor to Ishin… I feel that she can be the sheathe of Kenshin," she stopped, and gasped sharply for air, "and I want her to try."
"You know you could, Kaoru!" her uncle shouted in anguished at her niece, with her back facing him, he knew that she was in pain, emotionally.
"I couldn't!" she retorted, as her shoulder slumped down. "No matter how hard I try, I couldn't! Fate was toying with me, can't you see?!" her uncle said no more as her pace quickened to the door and left in seconds.
Katsura went silent and said nothing, looking at the cup of tea laid on the tatami.
She walked out in a rush and ran into the kitchen, and dropped onto the polished floor with her knees. The pain was killing her, she was not supposed to yell, or shout, but that idiotic idea had infuriated her.
The air came sharply into her throat, like a source of comfort when she was suffocating. All of a sudden, her breathing stopped.
Completely.
Her face turned a slightly purple as she struggled for oxygen, her right hand was grasping her throat, and her nails clawed the surface of the cupboard, an ugly screech was made.
"Kaoru-neesan?" it's was Kenshin. His voice, which was clearer than crystal called, and the footsteps came, she struggled to shake her head. As the footsteps came nearer and nearer and she was losing her hold, air came in swiftly into her throat. And she felt relieved.
She stood up quickly as Kenshin came in, she face him with her back, and was pretending to be busy. No, she couldn't let Kenshin saw her weakened state, not when her wrist was injured and she just had a war with her will and throat.
"I knew you are here. You knew that you should not be here when your wounds aren't healed yet." He muttered softly, under his breath. She raised a hand and touched her cheeks, feeling that blood was running through, and she turned back and gave a small smile.
"It's alright, Kenshin… I happen to be going to Tomoe-san later. Is she still in her room?" Kenshin nodded slowly, and she clasped her hands in excitement like a schoolgirl.
"Great! Could you please pass a message if she could accompany me to the market today?" Kenshin nodded, obviously irritated that she wasn't replying to his words. Kaoru walked to him.
"Go now!" she shooed him off, closed the door and locked it. She leaned on the door and slumped down, her cheerfulness gone in trice. Her smile faded, and she pulled the ribbon down her hair. Raven was let free to dance with the air. Yes, she thought, she would have something to talk with Tomoe later on.
The matters of the sword and the sheathe…
"Thank you, Tomoe-san, for accompanying me out here today." Kaoru said with a ghostly smile lingering on her lips. Tomoe said nothing but nodded.
"Actually, I do not want to come to the market today, I want to talk. With you." Her voice became firmer while Tomoe looked at the raven-headed woman.
"Talk…?" Kaoru nodded, feeling the energy in her draining drastically while trying to talk with this girl. She gestured to a restaurant, and Tomoe nodded again.
They were settled in a room, and Kaoru was sure that Kenshin was nearby, watching them. She walked to the porch and closed the door hesitatingly, glancing up at the rooftop nearby and saw a flash of red, though unnoticeable by those who do not know him well.
She went back to the seat and took Tomoe's hands in her own warm ones. Her head was tilted low with her fringe covering her eyes. The girl seemed surprise, but she shown no emotion on her face.
"Please be his sheathe, Tomoe-san." Kaoru said quietly, lower than a whisper.
She let go of her hands pulled it back, while tears in her eyes are threatening to fall. "Sheathe?" Tomoe mumbled, questioningly.
Kaoru cooled down, and looked up at Tomoe, her eyes glossy. "A sword needs a sheathe to protect, like a ray of light in the darkness." She knew that her words were wavering, but she did not give a damn about it.
"Why… why me?" she asked.
"Because I felt that you're the perfect one for him, Tomoe-san. Please grant me this wish, please." Kaoru pleaded gently, and Tomoe nodded, though she was in a moment of distress.
A small smile came, as she blinked her tears away.
"But why me? Why not you?" Her smile left her lips. And she bit her lips like a small kid.
"Because… everyone had a dark secrets that keep him or her caged inside. Just like you are the spy for Shisengumi, Tomoe-san." Tomoe's face went a sickly white, while Kaoru hid a smile and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Please don't harm him, or the clan… I believe in you, for revenge could be taken in another manner, not by killing." She whispered soothingly, and all barriers from Tomoe seemed to be crushed down by her. "Even if he killed the fiance that you loved so much."
Author's Note: Sorry for the long awaited chappie! I took three days to finish this chapter because of a writer's block halfway. Even though the ending is fuzzy, I could still see the ending.
