::Waves:: Hello again readers. Thank you so much for your encouragement. It really helped me out.
I don't really have much to say preceding this chapter, except for one thing: A reader's response. ::claps hands together, shakes head:: I get to chapter 8 and I'm finally giving one. Actually, come to think of it, I don't recall ever doing a reader response before. Wow. Three years and not a one. Well, anyway…
WhiteRabbit5- ::slaps forehead:: ah…I guess I didn't explain that part well enough. Gomen ne!
See, she actually never did see the mark on the back of Sano's shirt. In fact, she had never seen him nor the back of his shirt until she met him at the dojo.
The day that her brother and father were found dead, it was already morning and Zanza was long gone. Kazue and her mother asked the man who owned bar what had happened. He told them that the two men had bought a fight from Zanza. Considering Zanza's fame, and the fact that the "evil" mark on his back was his trademark, Kazue learned of the mark pretty quickly. That's why she doesn't recognize the shirt right away: because she's never seen it before. She's just been told about it. I threw that in during this chapter just to clear things up within the context of the story.
And now, with out further ado, Chapter 8.
Disclaimer: ::taps fingers together:: For those of you have been reading this whole story, you'll know I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. However, those pesky copyright laws insist I do this every chapter. ::grumbles::
Kenshin held the bullet in his open palm, analyzing it with narrowed eyes. The lanterns in the dojo had been lit, giving the now awake residents enough light to see by. Kaoru looked over Kenshin's shoulder, also examining the bullet.
"You're sure she dropped this Yahiko?" Kenshin asked, turning toward the boy.
"I'm positive!" said Yahiko. "And she had more of them too!"
"Do you know how many more?" Kenshin asked, his voice remaining level and calm in contrast to Yahiko's.
The boy looked at the floor for a moment, trying to recall the memory. "I'm not sure. Four or five maybe." He replied.
Again, Kenshin glared at the bullet in his own palm.
"Kenshin…" said Kaoru, obviously afraid. "Do you think she's going after…?"
"This one's afraid so Kaoru-dono." Said Kenshin, already knowing what she was thinking. He pocketed the bullet and quickly headed for the door. "This one just hopes she hasn't gotten to him yet."
Yahiko watched, rather confused, as Kenshin rushed out of the dojo. When he was gone, the boy quickly turned to Kaoru for an explanation.
"Who is she going after?" questioned Yahiko. However, he wasn't completely oblivious. Even a child like himself could recognize links in a chain. "Is it Sanosuke?"
Kaoru's face twisted with worry. She walked up to the door and looked out into the blackness of the night. By now, Kenshin was long gone. Even in the almost complete silence, all she could hear was a light wind. Not even the faintest sound of footsteps reached her ears.
"I hope not Yahiko." She replied, wringing her sleeve tightly.
"Sanosuke!" Kenshin said loudly, knocking on the man's door, ignoring the splinters digging into his knuckles. When Kenshin had first arrived at the row houses, there were no signs of a struggle. Sano's door was shut tight, and there was no blood anywhere that the rurouni could see. However, this was the third time he had to knock, and he was beginning to get nervous. Maybe Kazue made a clean job of it. It wouldn't be hard if Sano's had been sleeping…
Kenshin shook his head rapidly. He couldn't think like that. Sanosuke had survived plenty of fierce beatings before. He reached out and grabbed the door handle, deciding to let himself in. However, just as he did so, the door opened, sending him face first into the wooden floor with a shocked, "Oro?"
"Kenshin?" asked a drowsy voice. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Kenshin looked up from his place on the floor and let out a breath of relief. There was Sano, looking as healthy as ever, rubbing his eyes in a tired manner. Apparently, he'd been sleeping before Kenshin had come knocking.
"Sanosuke," started Kenshin, getting to his feet. "Has Kazue-chan been here tonight?"
Sano raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. "The kid?" he said incredulously. "No, she hasn't been around. Besides, the shape she's in right now, I'd be surprised if she came anywhere near me for a while yet."
Kenshin blinked a few times, and then looked down, thinking. He hadn't seen Kazue on the way there, which didn't make any sense. She'd lived in the underground before, so she was bound to know her way around better than Kenshin. If he had taken the fastest route, then he should have seen her on the way. If there were a different, faster route, she would already be here. Something wasn't right.
"Why did you think to look here anyway?" asked Sano, leaning lazily against the doorframe. "You know what's going on just as well as I do. You got amnesia or something?"
"No." replied Kenshin, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the bullet. He held it up for Sano to see. "Yahiko found her carrying this." He said, "A few minutes ago, she tried to sneak out of the dojo, but Yahiko stopped her. She dropped this before she ran off." He placed the bullet in Sano's hand, letting the man examine it more closely.
"This one had a suspicion," continued Kenshin, "that Kazue-chan was coming after you. However, this one didn't see Kazue-chan on the way here."
Sano paused, still staring at the bullet. This dragged on for a while, neither of the two men saying anything. Kenshin looked down again, continuing to ponder what might have been going on. Then, Sano finally broke the silence.
"Kenshin," he started. "The kid was pretty upset wasn't she?"
Kenshin nodded, not speaking. From the sound of it, Sano was on to something, and the rurouni wanted to hear him out.
"Remember a month ago, back when you first found her? You said she was trying to jump off a bridge," he continued. "She was pretty upset then too, right?"
Again, Kenshin nodded.
Sano wrapped his fingers into a fist, encompassing the bullet before shoving it in his pocket. "I don't think she's coming after me Kenshin." He said blatantly. He started to run down the grimy street, and Kenshin quickly followed.
"That's what this one was afraid of." Said Kenshin.
Just as Sano had expected, she was there. The two men could see her silhouette leaning against the railing, looking over the edge into the water below. One hand was dangling over the edge lazily, while the other was holding something to her head: the gun.
"Kid!" called Sano as he came to a halt on the wooden bridge. The girl gasped, turning sharply towards him. As she did, Kenshin fell back, hiding himself among the shadows. He knew that having both of them there and visible might make Kazue feel too threatened, and if that were the case, she would simply pull the trigger. He was much more useful as a reserve. Since Kazue had an emotional connection to Sano, be it one-sided or not, he was the best bet to stop her.
From what Sano could see of Kazue's face, he could tell she was shocked. However, the shocked look quickly turned to one of hatred and loathing.
"What do you want?" she spat, pressing the barrel of the gun into the side of her head. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit busy here."
"Kid, calm down." Sano began as he started to walk cautiously toward her. He could tell she was desperate, and he knew he couldn't stall her for long. She was just like a wounded animal: alone and frightened, and ready to attack at any moment. He had to get the gun away from her soon.
"DON'T YOU COME NEAR ME!!" she screamed, pulling the gun from her head and turning it in his direction. She pulled the trigger twice, and two resounding boom filled the otherwise silent area. For a moment, Sano was sure he was hit. However, he soon realized that she had missed by quite a bit both times. Still, it was enough to get him to stop.
In the shadows, Kenshin's hand went to the hilt of his sword. He didn't want to hurt Kazue, but if worst came to worst and she tried to injure Sano, he had no choice. He wouldn't let her take the innocent with her.
Kazue's breaths came in short, quick gasps, making her fear all the more obvious. "Don't come near me." She repeated, this time more calmly. "I swear I will shoot you." Quickly, she replaced the gun back against her temple.
"Kid, why are you doing this?" asked Sano, holding completely still. She was still on edge, and he didn't dare move until she'd calmed down some.
"What other choice do I have?" she asked, glaring at him. "I can't exist in a world where you're alive, and I can't exist in a world where you're dead. Where I've killed you. I'd…I'd go insane in the least."
Kazue looked down at the ground, then slowly shook her head. To Sano's surprise, he could even detect a bit of snickering coming from her; mirthless snickering anyway.
"You bastard." She said, continuing to shake her head. "I just had to get to know you as Sano before I found out you were Zanza. I really can't believe I didn't notice it before." She slapped her forehead as if astonished by her own stupidity.
"I've always known about the mark of evil you carry. Ever since the manager of the tea house told us what it looked like, I've been watching for it. But somehow I was at the Kamiya Dojo for weeks and not once did I ever see it! I sort of wish I had now. This would be so much easier…"
Noticing that Kazue was somewhat relaxed, Sano chanced a cautious step forward. When Kazue failed to notice, he took another, then another. However, when one of the wooden boards creaked beneath his foot, it brought Kazue to full attention. Her entire body tensed again and her head shot up, her eyes widened to astounding proportions.
"I said…DON'T COME NEAR ME!" Within a moment, she'd whipped the gun away from her head and pointed it at him. Within another moment, she pulled the trigger. Sano felt the bullet whiz buy his ear, chopping off a piece of his hair. Another shot by on his other side.
His eyes widened in complete shock. She'd almost shot him. She'd really almost shot him. He looked towards her to see that her teeth were gritted angrily, and her eyes held something…insane. Savage almost.
'Shit…' he thought, stopping completely. 'She isn't joking around…'
He heard something in the shadows behind him shift, and he knew that Kenshin was preparing to strike. He threw his arm out to the side, trying to signal the rurouni to stay back. Apparently it worked, for the shadows became still once again.
'She's shot four bullets without reloading,' thought Sano, 'so she has to be using a revolver. The average revolver can only carry six bullets. Eventually, if she keeps shooting like she is, she's going to run out.'
"Stay away from me you fucking murderer!" she shouted, taking a threatening step towards him. "Not only did you kill my brother and father, but you brought Mama's death too! I don't want you anywhere near me with those blood drenched hands of yours!"
A long moment of silence followed, Sano watching her calmly, while Kazue glared at him with abhorrence.
"What happened to you and your mother?" Sano finally asked. He tried to seem as calm and as unthreatening as possible.
"Oh," said Kazue, her voice radiating a kind of hatred even she didn't know she was capable of. "You want to know the rest of the story? Fine. You deserve to know how much you fucked up my life."
::Looks around with shifty eyes:: Eh...heheh. Sorry about the cliffhanger readers.
I really wanted to include the whole of her story in here, but then I looked at the page and word count, and realized this chapter was already pretty long. So, being the evil author that I am, I cut the chapter into two and decided to end this one right there. Don't worry though. Chapter 9 will be coming out very soon. Until then, please R/R!