Chapter 18

Kenshin's knees buckled and he fell forward, nearly blacking out. The intense strain of the battoujutsu had torn something again in his right side. He gasped for breath, fighting the urge to curl up around the pain. No time for that now. Shinichiro was hurt.

He propped himself up on his arms, head down, blinking at the spots in front of his eyes. There was a weird noise in his ears, a kind of rumbling, with a rhythmic clop-clop-clop like horses' hooves... He jerked his head up quickly, and nearly blacked out again. Oh yeah, the cart, he thought as he sagged back to the ground. The sound had passed quite close by and was receding now.

Kenshin took a few careful breaths and got up onto his knees again. There, that was a little better. He sheathed his sword and crawled over to where Shinichiro was lying.

Shinichiro had propped himself up on one forearm and was watching him, his long face screwed up with pain. "Himura... You're bleeding..."

"I know. Don't worry about it." Kenshin examined him quickly. Shinichiro had a long gash running at an angle across the upper part of his chest, bleeding sluggishly. He cast around for something to wrap it with. He should have asked Eri for some extra bandages. He glanced down at the ones around his own ribs, but they were soaked through with blood. That wouldn't do. He pulled off his scarf and wrapped it twice around Shinichiro's chest, tying it tightly.

All right, now to get Shinichiro home. There was no way he could carry him back, not five miles, not in this condition. But on horseback....

He squeezed his eyes shut and took a couple of quick deep breaths, then got to his feet and started over toward the horses.

Tomonaga was lying nearby, still out cold. Kenshin paused, crouching down to check his injuries. Shinichiro had given him a cut on the shoulder, but it was shallow and didn't look too serious. It had stopped bleeding already. He'd be all right. Kenshin straightened up again, tucking his hair back over his shoulders.

"Himura."

Kenshin jumped aside from the sound, startled, his right hand drifting towards his sword.

"Himura Battousai. That's who you are, isn't it." It was Sakurai, awake, watching him from where he lay on the ground but making no other move.

Kenshin nodded, relaxing a little.

"Why didn't you kill us?"

"I don't kill people. Not any more."

"Even though we intend to bring down your Meiji government?" It sounded like a challenge, but it wasn't; there was only curiosity in Sakurai's eyes.

"It's not my government. Who am I to tell you not to support a revolution? But please remember that if you plunge this country back into war, it's the people who will suffer, that it is."

Sakurai nodded. That seemed to satisfy him.

"Sakurai," Kenshin went on, a little out of breath, "I'm going to borrow one of your horses. To take Shinichiro back to town. I'll return it to your inn afterwards, that I will."

Sakurai nodded again, and smiled weakly. "Take the brown one with the white stockings. It'll stand still for you."

"Thank you," Kenshin said, a little surprised. He limped over to the horses and untied the one Sakurai had recommended. It whuffled and nudged him a little. He ought to put a saddle on it, but he didn't think he had the strength left to cinch it down properly. He knew a loose saddle was far worse than none at all.

As the adrenaline wore off it was starting to hurt to breathe. Aside from the cut, his ribs were quite badly bruised. He was lucky Tomonaga hadn't broken them. He started back across the clearing, the horse following docilely.

"Himura Battousai." Sakurai spoke again as Kenshin came near. "I hope I have the chance to meet you again, under different circumstances."

Kenshin stopped, touched. "Thank you," he said again, meeting Sakurai's eyes. "And, my real name is Kenshin, that it is."

o-o-o

Later, Kenshin would never be sure exactly how he'd managed to get Shinichiro up onto the horse. Shinichiro had been sitting up and watching when he'd returned and had been able to help a little, but still, it had to have been some combination of desperation and panic that had made it possible.

The first time he'd tried to clamber up onto the horse behind Shinichiro he'd pulled at his cut again and nearly fainted, sliding back down to the ground. He'd had to sit still for a couple of minutes with his head between his knees before he could try again. Fortunately he'd managed to argue Shinichiro out of climbing down to help him. The second time he was more careful, and succeeded, with an awkward arm up from Shinichiro.

The horse was a blessing. It stood still through all of this, tolerant and bored, then when they were ready it picked its way through the cedars and started down the road back towards town. Shinichiro was leaning forward low over the horse's neck, his hands wrapped in its mane. He'd clearly ridden before. Kenshin held on with his legs, clinging to Shinichiro with one hand and holding the reins loosely in the other, and nudged the horse into a smooth canter.

o-o-o

"Eri-dono! Eri-dono!" Kenshin yelled as they approached the house, knowing he sounded hysterical and not caring. Shinichiro had started to go limp and he was holding on to him as best he could, his other hand tangled in reins and mane, steering the horse with his knees. The little gate in front of the Yukawas' garden was closed. No way to stop. If he let go of the mane to pull back on the reins, he'd fall off. The horse took the gate at a canter, sailing smoothly over and landing with a jolt on the path on the other side. Kenshin gasped against the wrenching pain in his side. Shinichiro started to slide sideways. "Eri-dono!!"

There she was, coming out of the doorway at last, the morning sun bright on her glossy black hair, her deep green kimono. Hideki was behind her.

The horse had no more space to run. It tossed its head and danced in a circle, leaving deep hoof-prints in the straw-covered garden soil, the turning motion pulling Shinichiro farther over to the side. Kenshin clung to him desperately, pulling hard on the horse's mane. He was starting to slide sideways as well, starting to lose his grip. In a moment they would both fall off.

"Eri-dono! Help me! I can't--"

She was finally there, catching the reins under the horse's muzzle and pulling it to a halt, and Hideki too, stopping Shinichiro's downward slide.

Shinichiro stirred and lifted his head, looking down at them. "Eri," he said indistinctly. So he was awake, after all. "I'm back, everything's all right."

Good. Kenshin had been a little worried about how Shinichiro would react once his rescue was complete. This seemed to be fine. Elation started to stir inside him.

Hideki was lowering Shinichiro down off the horse. Kenshin leaned forward after him, slowly letting out the tension in his arm, his cramped muscles reacting unevenly.

Okay, Hideki had him now; Shinichiro slithered his leg over and off the horse and he was down. Hideki slung one of Shinichiro's arms around his neck and Eri took the other. They lifted him and started toward the house.

Kenshin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Now that it was over, he was trembling with exhaustion and felt a little sick. But he'd done it! He'd changed Shinichiro's mind, brought him back home, prevented a bit of banditry. Everything was great. He smiled and patted the horse on the side of its neck. The horse. He should take it back to the inn for Sakurai. But no way was he jumping that gate again. Best to get off and walk.

o-o-o

Akane hesitated at the bottom of the steps, watching through wide eyes. Shinichiro was hurt, pretty badly by the way he was moving. Eri and Hideki had gotten him off the horse and propped him up between them, an arm around each of their shoulders. They hurried towards the house. She made way for them as they stepped up onto the porch.

Shinichiro glanced up at her as they lifted him up the steps. "Akane... Make sure Himura..." Then they were through into the house. Akane looked back sharply at the horse and rider.

The horse was standing still on the path, waiting patiently. Kenshin swung a leg around behind him and slid down off the horse's bare back. His knees gave and he folded smoothly all the way to the ground, bracing his arms in front of him, still holding the reins in one hand. His hair was untied, falling free like a red curtain down his back and forward across his shoulders, hiding his face.

Akane hurried forward. The horse snuffled at Kenshin's hair and nudged him, making him sway a little. As she got closer, Akane could see that his clothes were scuffed and dirty.

And covered with blood.

She faltered. The air had gone very quiet around her.

Big dark splotches on his pink gi, red standing out sharply against the white of his hakama, blood drying on the hilt of his sword...

Hideki rushed past her, saying something about going for the doctor, and she nodded distractedly in reply. Her heart had started to pound in her ears, drowning out the sounds around her. She started forward slowly.

'He cut right through the troop. He could have slaughtered them all...'

'Even if it's reverse-bladed it can still cut; all he has to do is turn it over...'

'I'll need my sword, that I will, Akane-dono.'

She stopped beside him.

"You killed them, didn't you. Those three samurai." There was more emotion in her voice than she'd intended. Why did she feel like he'd betrayed her?

Kenshin looked up at her from the ground, startled. "No!"

Those blue-violet eyes... How could he look at her like that, after this? Akane's throat constricted.

"Don't lie to me!" she wailed. "There's blood all over you!"

Kenshin flinched at her tone, cowering down like a cornered rabbit. "It's-- It's all right--" he stammered, glancing down at his clothes. Then he met her eyes again, and smiled hopefully. "--because it's mine, that it is."

Akane stopped. "Yours...?" Now she noticed the slashes in his clothing, the blood-soaked bandages around his ribs. "Ohh..." She stared at him. So much blood... She was starting to feel a little queasy.

"Um... Akane-dono?" Kenshin was watching her, concerned. "Are you all right? You look a little..."

Akane shook her head briskly, taking a deep breath. What was she thinking! He could be bleeding to death under those bandages... "Kenshin!" Her voice sounded a little hysterical. "You're hurt; we have to get you inside! Here, let me help you..." She reached down to help him up, then paused, looking for a place without any blood to grab hold of.

He started trying to get to his feet, giving her a giddy smile. "No, really, Akane-dono, I'm all right, that I am, I can--"

Right arm looked good. She took hold of it in a strong hand and hauled Kenshin to his feet. He gasped and reeled. Akane grabbed at his other shoulder to steady him, getting a little blood on her hand and pulling back, afraid to hurt him. He threw his left arm out to the side to catch his balance. He still had hold of the reins in that hand.

The horse had finally had enough. It snorted, annoyed, and tossed its head, pulling back hard on the reins, yanking Kenshin out of her grip. He went flying and hit the ground, narrowly missing one of Eri's gray-green juniper bushes, finally losing hold of the reins. The horse tossed its head again, jumped lightly over the gate, and trotted off up the road with a swish of its tail.

"Kenshin!" Akane dove to her knees beside him, her hands hovering, not sure what to do to help.

He was watching the horse go, sideways, his cheek resting on the straw, a small indignant frown on his face. "That was Sakurai's horse," he said indistinctly. "I was supposed to return it to the inn." He still hadn't moved.

"Kenshin? Hello?"

He glanced up at her and smiled cutely. "No need to worry, Akane-dono, I'm all right, that I am." He sat up carefully, then started to climb to his feet again. "Let's go make sure Shinichiro is all right."

Akane helped him up, more gently this time. They started towards the house. Kenshin weaved, leaning on her heavily for support, but they made it inside.