Scenes
"Will she be alright?" Sanosuke's voice drifted over her. Kaoru's eyes fluttered open, Megumi was there on her left, holding her wrist and looking at her carefully. Sano knelt to her right, he was holding her hand.
"S-Sano?" Why did her voice sound so faint?
"Shush, Jou-chan. I'm right here. You'll be okay." He placed a gentle hand on her forehead, and squeezed the hand he held.
"She'll live…" Megumi spoke. "And I think her leg will heal fine. She'll be okay, physically. I don't think it would be wise to leave her alone anymore though, Sano." With that, she stood and left the room.
"Sano…" Kaoru whispered to him, "you're still here."
"Of course I'm still here, Jou-chan. Why would I leave?" Sanosuke's eyes were filled with concern. He knew the answer. Kenshin hadn't had any reason to leave either, but it hadn't stopped him. It was true, Sano had considered leaving after Kenshin did. But when Kaoru had begun to crack, he found he couldn't. She was wearing herself out everyday, and wearing Yahiko out too. Eating very little, sleeping even less. He didn't know what had happened to her in the dojo three days ago, when he'd walked in to find her unconscious and bleeding. But he had a feeling it had to do with Kenshin. He silently cursed his friend, for walking away and leaving everyone else to deal with the mess that was Little Missy.
"I found it, Sano…" She whispered. "I found the place where I stopped hurting… but I don't think I can find it again."
"Shh, Jou-chan, stop thinking about that. Be quiet, and get well." Sano brushed the hair off her forehead, feeling fiercely protective of the girl that had become one of his best friends.
"I need to be stronger…" Kaoru's voice faded into even breathing, as she lost her hold on consciousness.
Kaoru walked out to the porch, looking at the sky for the first time since the attack. It was just after sunset, twilight blooming in purple, silver, and blue through the sky. Sano, Yahiko, and Megumi stood behind her, watching her carefully. It had been a rough recovery for her, mostly because she refused all of Megumi's pain medicines, and most of the food they tried to give her. She wasn't about to let Megumi rob her of that beautiful blinding pain. But it had passed eventually on it's own. As much as she'd tried to fight it, her body had healed, leaving her all too capable of feeling those emotions the pain had blocked away.
She had done some thinking during her recovery. The Kamiya Kashin style had failed her every single time she had come against a real sword. The style her father had passed to her was flawed, but she was sure she could fix it.
"Yahiko, Sano, I'll need your help." She spoke quietly. And they both agreed quickly. Kaoru explained to them her goal, to supplement the bokken with something more… aggressive. She believed she could stay true to the ideals her father had founded the Kamiya Kashin on, even if she were adding new weapons.
"Are you ready?" Sano asked, holding his sword in an attacking stance.
"Sano!" Kaoru exclaimed, "You're not supposed to ask! You're supposed to attack! No real enemy would ever ask if I were ready!"
Sanosuke chuckled, before putting on a very firm face. Kaoru took her sparring sessions very seriously, and he didn't like to risk her temper by teasing her about them. It had been six months since Kenshin's departure, and Kaoru seemed to be coping better and better every day. It had been by immersing herself in her swordsmanship that she got by, and she had greatly improved in both strength and skills.
Kaoru watched him carefully. She insisted on sparring as if she were really being attacked, or were actually protecting something. Sometimes she even called in the girls to stand behind her, making the practice that much more realistic. Sano held a real sword, while Kaoru held her wooden one ready. He had been a great help to her, not only in these practice sessions, and in her simple strength training, but also in selecting the proper weapon to use after her wooden sword was broken. Those weapons were currently tucked into the belt of her practice gi.
He charged, a driving attack that Kaoru dodged before delivering a sharp rap to the back of his head with her bokken.
"Stop making this easy, Rooster-head!" She reprimanded him. He made no reply but to spin, striking her thigh with the flat of his sword. Kaoru leapt backwards, ignoring the stinging in her leg. He attacked again, more complex. He almost always managed to fool her with this attack; because she had such a hard time seeing something so complicated spring from the mind of her Sano. He managed to slice through her bokken, close to the handle, making the whole thing nothing more than firewood.
Kaoru was forced to retreat again, this time pulling the pair of knife like weapons from her belt. She struck a pose that looked defensive, left arm across her chest with her hand holding the sai by her hip, pointing slightly upward. Her right arm bent in front of her, the foot long sai ready to block. When Sanosuke attacked, she trapped his sword between two prongs of the odd weapon, twisting it away and out of his grasp. She simultaneously thrust with her left, stopping just short of skewering him in the stomach.
They both froze for a few long seconds, eyes locked, before backing away from each other. Sano attributed the flush in Kaoru's cheeks to the workout they'd just had. He had gotten very close to her these past six months, but not that close. Even so…
"I don't think…" he panted, "We should be training together anymore."
"Why?" She looked at him, her eyes full of confusion and hurt. "Sano?" When she spoke his name like that, Sanosuke couldn't take it. She was so… lovely like this, so adorable and vulnerable. Kaoru needed him, and he couldn't bear to let her down. He forced himself to look away.
"You've beaten me every time we've trained for the past month." And he had actually been fighting for real, not just letting her win. "I think you're done, you're the best there is. I don't think anyone could beat you."
"That's not true. Kenshin…" Her voice faded away. She couldn't stop until she was stronger than the Battousai himself. "Sano…" She touched his arm, looking earnestly into his face.
"Oh, all right. I'll beat you black and blue tomorrow then." Sano couldn't help but grin at her. He would do anything to bring a smile back to her face. And she did smile at his challenge, slipping her fingers into his.
"You're a good friend, Sanosuke Sagara. I couldn't have done this without you." Kaoru's hand seemed so small in his, but he could feel the calluses that constant practice had given her.
"Hey, Jou-chan, that's what I'm here for." He squeezed her little hand affectionately.
Kaoru was wearing a very pretty kimono as she stepped neatly down the darkened street. She kept her head down, seemingly focused on picking her way along the muddy road. But her eyes were moving quickly from side to side, and she was fully aware of her surroundings. There had been a series of murders in this area of town, and she had been asked for help. All the victims were women, killed either in the late evening or early morning. So here she was, playing bait, hoping to draw out the killer and capture him.
She knew she was playing this dangerously. She hadn't told either Yahiko or Sanosuke what she was doing, because she knew neither would approve. But Kaoru found that she had no fear. She simply kept walking, stopping to glance up at an odd sound, pretending to be frightened as she looked into the shadows surrounding her. Her sais were tucked behind her obi, nearly invisible in this bad light. She had left her bokken behind, knowing it would be suspicious. She was trying to coax him into attacking her, and the more helpless he thought her the better.
When his foot splashed in a puddle to her right she spun around, but he managed to catch her arm as she did. Kaoru instinctively punched him in the face, startling him into letting her go, if only for an instant. An instant was all she needed to draw the pair of sais, and attack him. But he was fast, and had drawn his own pair of knives. They were long, and Kaoru was certain that he had used them to murder those women. She caught the look of murderous rage in his eyes as their weapons locked between them.
"What do you think you're doing, bitch?" He sneered, his breath hot and smelling of sake on her face. "No bitch will fucking defy me!" He moved quickly, slicing her cheek before she could dodge the blow. Kaoru flinched away from him, but her hands moved as if on their own will. Her sais spun in his face forcing him to step back clumsily. As he did, he slipped in a puddle, nearly falling on his ass. Which only served to fan his rage, and he lunged at her again.
Kaoru saw him coming, saw the flash of his blades, saw the opening she knew she had to take. She stepped into his lunge, thrusting her sais forward without even thinking about it. Blood spilled from his throat, pouring over her hands and painting them dark red. Both blades were embedded in his throat; it was a wonder his head was still attached. Kaoru pulled the bloody blades out of his neck, shaking off some of the blood as she did so. Her hands and arms were covered with it, drenched clear up to her elbows.
She stared at her hands, dripping darkly, and at the three-pronged weapons which no longer flashed in the moonlight. Kaoru had never drawn blood from an opponent before, much less killed him. As that fact dawned on her she took the time to look at her would-be killer. He now lay in the mud of the street. Dead. I killed him. Killed him dead. Kaoru was a little surprised at how easy it had been. She stepped over him, hanging her head.
"Murderer…" She whispered to herself. Then snorted ironically. "Kaoru-dono becomes the Hitokiri. What would Kenshin think of that?"
Kenshin lay back, looking up at the stars. His small fire sparked fitfully until he banked it for the night. It had been some nine months since he'd left Tokyo, and he often found himself thinking about his friends at times like this. He wondered what they were all up too, what they'd been doing since he'd disappeared. Is Yahiko still calling her 'busu?' I wonder if Kaoru still chases him around the dojo. Sano has probably moved on by now… Megumi must still be studying with Dr. Genzai. Kaoru-dono… I'm sorry… I just couldn't stay any longer. I was just putting you in constant danger. If not from those who would use you against me, then from… from myself. You alone brought out the best, and the worst in me.
His eyes closed, and he drifted into sleep, quite sure that everyone was much better off now that he was wandering again. Kaoru would be safe from all his enemies, and from the Battousai hiding within himself.
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Greetings loves! Well… I hope you liked this chapter. The weapons Kaoru takes up are those things used by Elektra, from Daredevil. Someone told me they were called sais, so that's what I called them. If I'm wrong, please correct me. I thought for a long time about what kind of weapons she should add to the Kamiya Kashin. I considered kodachis, like Aoshi uses, but the image of Kaoru with the three-pronged sais just kept coming back to me, so I gave in.
As for me… well, let's just say that vengeance is a wonderful thing. I called his mom… she was pretty surprised to hear my story. I think she's very eager to have a talk with her son. *evil evil grin*
*blowin' kisses*