To Reveal All
Chapter 17: Revealing Hands
By steelphoenix
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, or any of its characters.
Author's Notes: Again, I'm including the end of the last chapter. I think you all know why. I hope you like this chapter, but it's kind of a wrapping-up of the last chapter, and setting up for the next – can anyone say 'filler chapter'? /grins/
Language Notes: None. Again. /shrugs/ Never mind.
Warnings: PG-13 for violence and sexual situations/scenes. No language warnings.
Determination, anger, resolution, impulse, all mixed in Kaoru's mind.
She gathered her legs beneath her, and lunged at the two motionless figures.
Her blade, keen and swift as winter wind, passed neatly between the fifth and sixth rib on his left side, and nicked the muscular tissue of Shishio's heart.
He convulsed, once, briefly.
Horrified at what she had done, Kaoru let go of her blade's hilt, and with an awful rush, he fell backwards.
Even in dying, he refused to let go of his sword, and it was jerked out of Kenshin's side. The redhead fell to his knees, clutching the agonizing wound.
Silence reigned.
---
The first to break the awful hush was Yumi.
"SHISHIOOOOOO!!!!"
From where she had retreated after Shishio threw her dagger, she could see the whole tableau perfectly. Shishio stretched, full-length, on the ground, Battousai kneeling, hunched in pain, and the girl frozen in her stance.
Shishio's dead!
Uncaring that it could get her killed – she would welcome death if it would let her join Shishio – she sprinted forwards to where her lord lay.
Cupping his head in her lap, she looked into his face, seeing that his eyes were still alert.
"Shishio…?" she questioned, ever-so-quietly.
"Yumi…" The bandaged man looked up at her, focussing mistily. Her pretty face was blurred against the sharp background of the night sky.
"Shishio!" At his clear response, Yumi's heart soared, and she exclaimed joyfully, "You're not badly wounded! I thought that the girl had stabbed you through the heart!"
"No, I am badly wounded… Her blade hit my heart… though not fully. The wound rips itself… with every beat. I will die."
"No…! You can't die! You're the invincible Leader of the invincible Kokuryukai! You can't lose! You can't die!"
Shishio lightly coughed out a single chuckle. "The Kokuryukai… won't save me… But I have lost, Yumi… My predecessor… has won… He is the greater…"
Yumi's face twisted in denial. "No! Shishio, you are the greatest! You can't die! I love you!"
"No longer… Yumi…" Shishio coughed, and blood marked the bandages around his mouth. "But, I do… love you…" The woman's gasp produced a smile on his blackened lips.
A brief cough brought a shimmering red glaze to the charcoal smile, and suddenly it twisted into a sick parody of itself. "See you… all… in Hell…"
Yumi saw the crimson eyes cloud over, and with a single sigh, the rise-and-fall of breathing ceased.
"Shishio!" She shook him, sobbing out his name, unwilling to believe that he was gone. The tears streamed down her face, soaking the now-useless bandages.
Then she saw the girl's sword, still in Shishio's chest. Almost involuntarily, her hand twitched, moving towards the blade.
I can follow him…
Before anyone could react, she yanked it out of the corpse, and set it against her chest, at the same point that the sword had entered her lord's body.
Her aim was better than Kaoru's.
---
The plum-haired woman fell, infinitely slowly. She came to rest with a horribly meaty thud, on her back, Shishio's head still in her lap.
The impact on the stones jolted the sword loose from its gruesome sheath, and it tumbled to the pavement, spinning to rest in front of Kaoru.
Her mind dully processed the shape of the blade she saw before her. It's the katana, her mind said after a while.
But then, what else could have killed, even when I didn't truly aim it?
This blade has too much blood on it… three more lives claimed by it tonight…
One by my hands…
The young woman, sapphire eyes dimmed by unconscious tears, reached out, and touched the hilt for a brief moment.
By my hands… Two people, dead, their deaths caused by me…
The unconscious tears were let go, and the bitter regret spilled out in saline streams.
---
Kaoru is weeping… she must not weep…
She weeps from regret. From the fact that she was forced to kill.
Kenshin lifted his head carefully. Red strings of hair, damp with sweat, swished into his eyes. Before him, he saw the outstretched corpse of Shishio, Yumi's crumpled form beside it. Cautiously turning his head to the right slightly, he saw Kaoru.
She was kneeling, hunched over, curled tight into a foetal position. Her glorious raven hair trailed out on the bloodstained stones, and pale hands covered the silken mass, trying to ward off the blows of her conscience.
Kaoru must not cry…
She is not a woman who should haveto cry…
"…Kaoru…" He had to concentrate to generate a sound, and even the final output was weak and wavering.
But she heard. The wrenching sobs abruptly halted, and she spun, brilliant eyes awash and still disbelieving. Kenshin vaguely saw Megumi hurrying up behind her. Sano followed, limping.
She'll be safe. She can protect herself… and our friends will help her.
Relief filled his body, but he knew there was something that had been left unsaid. It took all his effort, but Kenshin knew he had to say it. "Kaoru… don't cry… love you…"
"KENSHIN!" Her cry barely reached him as the darkness he had been fighting took over. He sank into oblivion, his spirit – spirits – striving to the last to remain with her, remain conscious.
---
The final tableau had frozen all the spectators into an unresponsive mass. Shishio's last words had produced gasps and curses, but only Yumi's death had seemed to fully thaw the crowd.
Now, as Kenshin teetered on the edge of consciousness, all hell broke loose. The Kokuryukai broke apart, some running for the gate, others for the House, still others not knowing what they should do, and simply milling, confused.
But none went near the bodies.
For a shocked moment, Sano watched the crowds washing around Kenshin and Kaoru, as the raven-haired woman crawled over to kneel beside Kenshin's limp form. Then thoughts returned to his mind, and he realised that he had to help Kenshin. Glancing down at Megumi, who he was still supporting, he asked, "I'm going to help Kenshin… that okay with you?"
"Of course. He's more in need of help than me," replied Megumi. "But first, help me up." The fox-woman leant forwards, taking her weight on her uninjured left arm and shoulder. With a brief struggle, she stood up, and began to make her way over to the fallen pair. Sano also forced himself up, with considerably more trouble, the doubly-wounded left leg stinging.
Megumi's mind was already concentrating on the wounds Kenshin had received, and was trying desperately to remember what she had been taught, and just how to treat deep wounds.
First you must block the wound… no, lie the patient down, then put pressure on the wound… bandages next – oh no, the medicine chest! She turned to look for it, but as she did, Aoshi materialised out of the confused mass of Kokuryukai, carrying the big wooden box. He nodded towards the now-fallen Kenshin, and Megumi followed his lead, making her way over to kneel near the redhead.
Aoshi knelt beside her, and as she reached for the medicine chest, he halted her hands. "You must be treated before you can treat him. Misao will bind your wound. I shall begin aiding Himura." His voice was matter-of-fact and quiet.
Megumi looked up at him, to protest that Kenshin was more severely wounded, but Aoshi had already moved over to where the small man lay, opposite Kaoru. Quickly pulling off his pale trenchcoat, and rolling up his sleeves, he set to work. A quick check of the redhead's pulse confirmed that he was alive, though its rapidity and weakness emphasised the blood loss the man had suffered. Opening the medicine chest, he pulled out rags, and with the ease of one had done it many times before, began swabbing the recent, deep wound in Kenshin's stomach.
Kaoru made no move to either stop or help the ninja.
As the fox-woman watched, Misao came up beside her. "Don't worry," her quick, cheerful voice reassured. "Aoshi-sama knows how to treat battle wounds well." Small hands eased the kimono off Megumi's wounded shoulder, causing the taller woman to grit her teeth at the new agony of the wound being moved. A small, comforting murmur of reassurance reached Megumi's ears as Misao's capable hands swabbed and then wrapped the wound.
---
Sano eventually made it to the group, and decided that since Kaoru had no company, he may as well check she was all right. He lowered himself to the ground, wincing as he did. Leaning over to Kaoru, he tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey, missy? You all right?" he asked, jokingly. He knew she was alright, he just had to make sure. He waited a little, but there was no response to his question.
Just try again. She must be really distracted! "Hey, missy? You all right?" He grinned. She'd turn around in a second, scared as all hell, and thwack him one for startling her.
Just a second… come on, Missy…
There was no response. Kaoru remained kneeling beside Kenshin, no movements, just glassily staring at Aoshi's hands, as he worked on Kenshin's wounds. Now the rooster-headed fighter was beginning to feel frightened. Kaoru never spaced out like this…
"Missy? Hey! Missy! Kaoru!" Increasingly worried, Sano spun the young woman towards him, and shook her. Hard. Ponderously, her head lifted, and Sano felt the crystal stare on his face.
It was like staring into a looking-glass. There was little more than a reflection, and for the brief moment that she held his eyes, Sano could see no sign of life. Then her head turned, and fixed back on the deep wound in Kenshin's side.
Shocked, Sano let go of her shoulders. What the HELL?!
Then his gaze darted to Megumi. Misao was had fastened the last bandage, and she was slipping her kimono sleeve back over her shoulder. She looked up as his desperate call of her name reached her.
"It's Kaoru… she's… she's… I dunno, she needs help!" Sano struggled to express what was wrong with the young woman, but eventually just gave up. Megumi's confusion quickly gave way to concern for her 'younger sister', and she shuffled around Kenshin's feet, coming to where the stricken woman knelt.
Sano backed away carefully, giving Megumi room to move. The fox-woman quickly felt the Kaoru's forehead, then touched the pulse in her neck, and placed a hand on the woman's chest for a while.
Turning back to Sano, she said uncertainly, "I think it's shock… her skin's all cold and clammy, her pulse is fast, and her breathing's shallow and rapid. If it's shock, then I have to get her to lie down. Help me."
Quickly loosening Kaoru's obi, Megumi directed the fighter to hold Kaoru around the shoulders, then lower her down. Sano, slightly bemused, followed her instructions, and he carefully laid the unresponsive woman down by Kenshin.
Then, as if testing, Megumi shook Kaoru with her uninjured hand. When no response was elicited, in a movement quite unexpected she lifted the hand slightly, and with a ringing slap!, brought it down on the unresponsive cheek.
"Kaoru! Wake up, this instant! You're needed here, and we can't have you off dreaming when Kenshin's injured, and needs you! You wake up, NOW!" Megumi's voice was sharp with rebuke and disappointment.
It apparently worked. Kaoru shot up from the ground like a scalded cat, her eyes wide and startled. Then she saw Megumi, and, without an instant's pause, dove into the comfort of her 'older sister's arms.
Megumi gave a brief 'oof!' of pain – Kaoru had jolted her shoulder. But then, as she saw and heard the younger woman's tears begin to fall again, her face took on softer lines, and she hugged her.
---
As Aoshi worked on the Kenshin's wounds, Misao came up beside him, and placed a bundle of brilliant orange strips on the ground beside him. "We'll need more bandages, with his wounds being as bad as they are."
A nod was his only answer, and his eyes were focussed on his hands as they strapped a pad of linen to the deep thrust-wound. Understanding his deep concentration, Misao picked up a rag, poured a little alcohol on it, and began cleaning the mark of the Guren-Kaina.
The two ninja worked in silent harmony, each knowing what to do instinctively. Their hands wove a pattern of healing over the unconscious samurai, and they easily anticipated each other's movements. Aoshi's quiet strength, and Misao's quick and precise work fitted together well, willingly aiding Kenshin as he had aided them.
The messy laceration which was the mark of Shishio's teeth was easily the most complicated of Kenshin's wounds. The ragged edges of the wound would not come together, a problem which was exacerbated by the fact that Shishio had, in fact, chewed off some the flesh. Misao was the first to realise this, and she silently pointed to the gap between two chunks of tissue. Aoshi's eyebrows rose in surprise, but then he recovered, and directed her to hold the lips of the wound together. Thin strips of gummed linen closed the injury, and some of Yumi's orange bandages held it all together.
---
Kaoru knelt beside the unconscious form of Kenshin, holding her 'older sister' like there was no way she was going to let go. Her cheek stung as she pressed it into Megumi's shoulder, but she was infinitely grateful for its smarting reminder. Megumi had startled her out of a dream, a horrible nightmare that was still residing darkly in the back of her mind.
She had been wandering the streets of Tokyo, going nowhere in particular. As she walked, the people who saw her turned away. Fear was evident in their movements, and they covered their faces with their hands, preventing her gaze from touching theirs.
And if someone's eyes met hers, there was an instant where nothing moved. Then, with a swish of metal through air, their head was removed by an invisible blade, or a burst of blood appeared on their chest, stabbed through the heart.
Finally she made it to the dojo, and opened the shoji, to the sight of her friends and her brother, sitting down, eating their dinner.
Her gaze swept the room, and with every pair of eyes she met, a head fell or a chest was skewered. Blood coated the floor and walls.
Then the shoji into the kitchen opened, and Kenshin entered. His expression became disbelieving as he took in the carnage.
His eyes met Kaoru's for a long moment…
Kaoru burrowed her head further into Megumi's support, trying to rid herself of the image of the invisible blade taking Kenshin in the chest.
I am a murderer…
No, it was for Yahiko first, and then Kenshin… I used the blade to protect…
But it's still murder…
I said I'd do it again if I had to…
Kenshin's death, or Shishio's? That was my choice… I chose Kenshin…
I would still make that choice again, despite this awful guilt…
Brokenly, she whispered against Megumi's shoulder, "Kenshin… Battousai… I know how you felt…"
Author's Notes: When Megumi said that Kaoru was in shock she was correct. The symptoms described here are characteristic of shock. While she did the right thing in loosening the obi and lying her down, it's definitely not a good idea to slap someone who's in shock!
Okay, guys, sorry about the short chapter, but I'm doing Summer School, so I have a lot on my plate with that and work as well. Also, the next chapter will be out a little late. I've got to go away to Uni for a test, so I won't be posting the next chapter for a week, most likely. Gomen nasai, but that's the way life is…
If you can't figure why I called this chapter 'Revealing Hands', go back and count the number of times I mentioned 'hands'…
Review Replies: Thanks to all my reviewers.
inuyasha/kenshin gurl - Thanks! And yep, I love a kick-ass Kaoru! She's great like that! But you're going to be all disappointed with me for this chapter...
anime-luney - Yep. /sighs/ I confess. I am far too lazy for my own good, except when it's something important (i.e. Summer School), or something I really like (i.e. TRA). Much goodness? Yay! Like always? YAY! Thanks very much!
thefutureMrs.Kaiba - Arigato gozaimashita. (Thanks very much.)
Estel-Elf-Lover (for TRA1 review) - Thanks!
scythe195 - I'm so glad you like it! Is this posted soon enough for you?
Dakota - This chapter was shorter than you would have liked? Ummm... that wasthe longest chapter of TRA... Oh well. I suppose it's just that you feel that battle sequences go by fast. I do, especially when I'm writing them!
RangerDo'Urden - I'm glad that you picked up that I stole that from the anime... I was trying to go for the 'similar-yet-different' feel to the fight. I had to model it off that fight, because that's the only fight Shishio has... limiting, but interesting to write. The bite to Kenshin's shoulder, and the Guren-Kaina, were also taken from there. As for where I got the idea for Kaoru as a geisha... ummm... it's called reading too many books about Japan in one weekend. And then getting your facts wrong /gulp/. But now that I look at the third manga cover, I see what you mean.
Lydia-Blessing - Cliffhanger? No, that's not a cliffhanger... that's an interesting end to a chapter.
(Battousai: No, that's a cliffhanger.
Nix: It isn't! I wanted to end it dramatically, but not suspend everyone waiting for something...
Battousai: It was still a cliffhanger.)
...whatever... I admit, I like cliffhangers. Both reading and writing them. As for Shishio's death... I think that's answered above /points at appropriate paragraph/.
Videl621 - /looks at clock/ 4:15 a.m? Whoa. I'm only ever up that late/early if I'm working night duty... you're either lucky, or weird - no offense or anything! But as for Kaoru delivering the final blow... I felt that Kaoru needed to be involved in the final fight, which then evolved to Kaoru fighting Shishio, which then became Kenshin sacrificing himself and Kaoru delivering the final blow. It just happened... Battousai writing for me, again.
(Battousai: I am very happy to claim that I inspired that piece of twistedness.
Nix: Hmph. You always give me twisted ideas.
Battousai: I'm your Muse! I'm supposed to do that!
Nix: /glares/ But not fifteen at once!
Battousai: Why not? And it was only seven...)
...whatever... As for Aoshi and Misao jumping in on the fight, no, it just didn't seem right. They're not as important in this story as Kenshin and Kaoru, more supporting roles than anything.
Crewel - /grins/ Yep, interesting SxM story in the works. I hope you enjoy TRA as well. More SxM coming up!
Big-Purple-Lizard - I know I needed a rest after writing it... I'm sure you need a rest after reading it! Yep, definately 'Poor Kaoru'. You can see the effect on her in this chapter. As for getting her own Battousai? Hmmm... interesting idea. I'll see about it.
thechickenlittle2000 - Glad you liked it! As for the 'chi well' idea, I'm sure you will do it justice! It was just something that appeared as I wrote the chapter, so you're welcome to it! Battousai's very flattered with the compliment, BTW.
(Battousai: /self-satisfied grin/)
But don't let him get too big-headed. He's hard enough to deal with already.
(Battousai: What?! BIG-HEADED?! ME?!
Nix: Yep. /runs/)
Peachie-Chan - Better than you expected? I'm flattered. Arigato.
Estel-Elf-Lover (for TRA16 review) - You have no idea what suspense is... hehe. But don't worry, I update quite fast.
Bradybunch4529 -Perfect? Breathtaking? /starts to float off on Cloud Nine/
Battousai: /drags Nixback to Earth, points her in the direction of her computer/
Arigato. Arigato gozimashita. That's all I can really say. I hope you like this chapter.
hIgHoNsUgAr!!! - How high? /grins/ Yep, I've read Memoirs Of A Geisha... great book, pity I didn't read it before starting this fic... /sighs/.
Amanda - Thanks! It's updated. Enjoy!
froggi3 - Glad you like the battle scenes! Kill off Kenshin? /faints/
(Battousai: /catches Nix, hands her to Rurouni/
Rurouni: /cradling Nix's unconscious form/ You can't kill them, Battousai, that you cannot.
Battousai: No, but I can sure as hell try!
Nix: /wakes up/ Battousai, don't kill them! Please!
Battousai: /to froggi3, extremely menacingly/ You even think that, and you're dead. You would be now, but I'd be out of a job if I disobeyed Nix...)
As for ending up with KxK together? Well, that would be giving away the plot! /evil grin/ And no, you don't sound harsh. Don't worry.