WARNING: Spoilers! If you don't know who Kenji is, please read at your own risk!
WITH DUE CREDIT: This fic was loosely spun off from two fics - "Over the Sting" by sasori and "Chronicles of a Rurouni", one of my earlier fics.
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Yesterday's Shadow is Tomorrow's Twilight
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Chapter 7: Escapade
The woman's scream came to a forced stop when Soujirou appeared behind her to
knock her unconscious. However, the damage had been done, and distant shouting
and footsteps could be heard from along the corridor.
"Dammit," Enishi pressed his ear against the door, "they're coming." His eyes instantly darted around the room, eventually landing on the small table beside the bed.
"Barricade the door or something," Kenji, on the other hand, remained amazingly calm. Behind him, Soujirou had settled the unconscious lady on the bed after clearing it. His bright eyes turned to look at his two companions.
"It won't be of much help, Himura-san," the man explained, "they're probably armed to the teeth. No barricade would be able to stop them from coming in here."
"Then what should we do?" The boy raised an eyebrow in query.
"No time to think about that now," Enishi gestured for the both of them from his position by the tapestry. When exactly he had gotten there Kenji could not begin to comprehend. "We'd better go back the same way we came."
No sooner had Enishi finished his words when a heavy thud was heard from the door. Enishi had previously moved several things to block the entrance, lodging them as deeply into the dry ground as his sword could muster. It didn't, however, take a genius to know that the light furniture would not be able to stand for long against the might of two late-night watchmen trying to find intruders. Quickly and quietly, the trio slipped under the tapestry. And not a moment too soon, for the second the last of them vanished into the wall, the door was violently shot and then kicked open by a tremendous force.
"What happened?" It was the younger man, dressed in a dirty gray gi, glancing around quickly at the room. His glance stopped at the bed, where the lady laid. "That's..."
"That's her!" The older man quickly interceded. He strode up to the immobile figure and briefly looked at her situation. "She's out cold. What happened just now?!" He demanded, looking at his younger companion.
"How in the world would I know, dumb-ass!" The person in question retorted. "I was with you all this while, in case you didn't notice!"
Silence.
"Well they couldn't have gone far," the older man frowned, checking his weapon to ensure that it was loaded with the right amount of ammunition, "let's go get 'em!"
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When the trio emerged back at the store they had come from, Soujirou immediately
lurked within the shadows and listened to see if anybody had pursued via the
same tunnel. Kenji stood nearby and fidgeted uncomfortably, while Enishi was
scouting out at the main door of the room. He put an ear against the door and
listened intently. As he concentrated, Soujirou joined his companions gathered
near the door, having apparently come to a conclusion that they were not being
followed via the secret route. He waited for a while more.
"Well?" Soujirou's eyes were glazed over with a solemn kind of inquisitivity as he invited his companion to voice his opinion.
"They're coming," Enishi removed his ear from the door and stepped backwards. "But it'll probably take them a while to get to this door. They seem to be checking each room out thoroughly."
"The only other exit leading us back to square one, we can only go out from this door if we ever want to leave this place..." Kenji mused.
There was a pause, before Soujirou spoke up again, "Can't we... try to leave and hope that they don't run very fast?"
"/You/ can," Enishi morosely pointed out, making Kenji wonder what he could possibly mean. "They have guns."
Soujirou's head distinctly jerked upwards before he could make a reply. The footsteps were getting progressively louder. "A distraction should do the trick," the young redhead offered.
Both Soujirou and Enishi stared at Kenji after he made the suggestion.
"Himura-san," Soujirou said, tone laced with such sombre graveness, Kenji would have been much less afraid if Enishi had giggled, "has anybody ever told you you have lovely red tresses?"
Normally, Kenji would have given anyone who dared make such an outrageous remark a good, well-aimed kick in the shins to make sure the idea never, ever crossed their minds again. But there was nothing normal in an unsmiling Soujirou. And there was something about the way he had said it which very happily made a shiver creep up Kenji's spine. He took an unknowing step backwards.
"Himura-san." Soujirou had his hand on Kenji's shoulder before he could protest or shrink back further. In his other hand, he brandished a thin and short looking metal stick with a sharp tip of sorts.
"Have you ever heard of the Hitokiri Battousai?"
The air stilled.
/'sides the fact that he's a sad excuse for a father if anybody's ever seen one? Well yes, I've heard of the Hitokiri Battousai. I even know who he is, surprise surprise./ Kenji almost scoffed his thoughts out loud. No matter how hard people, and his family in particular, tried to hide it from him - he knew and could discern that the red-haired assassin from the shadows of the era of turmoil was none other than the father he had tried but failed to respect. Penance for his sins, nothing. What was a man if he could save the world but couldn't even take care of his family?
Noticing the other two in the room staring at him and his abrupt silence, Kenji mouthed, "I don't know what you're talking about," to the slight disappointment of the man who had his shoulder in a hand-lock. Almost instantly, however, the insipid smile snapped back into Soujirou's face.
"Well, no matter!" His voice was cheerful. Too cheerful. "See, here's the plan. We're going to need a distraction to get out from this place, and I know just the thing. Remember our two night-guard friends talking about ghosts from the Bakumatsu?" He paused, watching Kenji's expression carefully. The boy's stoic face remained, as did Soujirou's happy smile, as the latter continued, "You, Himura-san, are the ghost."
It took all but three seconds for the fiery-haired youngling to choke on his thoughts and blubber, "I'm what?!"
"You see this pointy thing over here?" Soujirou continued seamlessly after Kenji's outburst. "It's what the foreigners call a 'pen'. It's very interesting! You can draw funny patterns on your skin and the marks will stay for a while! Perfect for a disguise, isn't it?" Then, in a more subdued voice, he whispered, "I stole a few from Saitou-san's office a few weeks ago."
Somehow, the logic behind Soujirou's reasoning about a good disguise flew over Kenji's head - as did his wonderful feat of managing to get anything out of Saitou's office without the latter noticing. "Your point being?" The boy icily demanded.
"My point being," Soujirou held his words back just as he gently grabbed hold of Kenji's hair with his left hand to restrain him and started to scribble something on the boy's left cheek, "that you'll make a great Hitokiri Battousai lookalike! You don't even have to do anything! Just stand there and be your own scary self! You already have the hair and the... um... height. Now all you need is the scar! Which!" The blue-clad wanderer rose to full height from having bent down to grafitti on Kenji's face. "You now have."
In the background, Kenji heard a rather loud crashing sound - an indication, he presumed, that Enishi had fallen over some crates. The boy himself was still rather dumbfounded at what had just happened. He stood gaping like a goldfish. Until Soujirou pressed a cold hilt into his right hand.
He glanced downwards, still reeling, although the facts were slowly but surely closing in on him. "You can borrow Yukishiro-san's sword!" The nonchalantly happy wanderer grinned. Scarily. Very scarily. In the next instance his hands were on Kenji's back, pushing him towards the exit. "Now go on, Himura-san! We're counting on you to scare them out of their skins!"
"WAIT!!" Kenji finally snapped out of his reverie. He started to struggle. "There's no way in hell I'm doing this!"
"Too bad, Himura-san, we aren't in hell," Soujirou shook his head. He continued pushing the unwilling boy nearer the exit. "Come on, Himura-san. It's either this or you dress up as a scary lady ghost. And I know that you know which is the wisest course of action!" In a softer voice, he whispered, "Just distract them enough until we can sneak out to throw something to disable them without having to fatally injure them. I'm counting on you, Himura-san!"
Those were the last words the young Kenji heard before the musty darkness of the corridor greeted him. He distinctly heard the door close beside him.
The first thing he was conscious of was the howling of the dirt-packed corridor. Then he could hear the cackling of the dim fire torches as they struggled to shed light on the musty pathway. He blinked at the looming darkness, still in a state of shock, vaguely aware of only one other thing.
He wasn't angry.
It didn't take him long to realize that he had just been compelled to, once again, take on the identity of his father without personally agreeing to it. At the same time he noticed that no bitter anger or malicious resentment arose from within his heart, as it usually would when he found himself unhappy at any sort of mention of his father or any one of his alter-egos. He took another quick look into the darkness, his senses coming to him this time.
Soujirou was right about the distraction. If this was what they truly needed to get away from this basement frothing with more trouble than they could handle, then he would just do what was asked of him.
They needed him to do this.
The boy slowly strode further into the tunnel, suddenly fully aware of the dangers he had been pushed into. The men he was facing were armed. He had himself experienced how deadly those guns could be and how quickly they could be triggered without him even knowing. As the facts assembled Kenji found himself obliged to curse Soujirou in his head. What was that smiley-face thinking, sending an inexperienced boy out to distract men with weapons of much higher calibre than his? Of course, he hadn't meant that Kenji had to fight the men, but still!
At this point of time Kenji's thoughts came to a standstill, for the dark forms of the guards were visible through the thick atmosphere of the underground. One appeared to be investigating a room and the other was standing outside, peeping in. Doubt quickly crept over Kenji when he noted the expressions of raw displeasure visible on the man's face.
Surely a dead assassin from the Bakumatsu couldn't do much to distract these men of modern times?
As if on cue, the man turned slightly and caught sight of little Kenji, barely in view through the bad lighting in the tunnel. Kenji was nonplussed to see recognition flash quickly over his opponent's face - emphasized when the gun he held in his hand slipped through his fingers and landed on the floor with a silent thud.
"Oh God!" The man managed to mouth. "It can't be!!"
A long, winding wind swept through the tunnel all of a sudden - picking Kenji's hair up in a wild toss and considerably chilling the chambers. The boy knew instantly this wind indicated that someone had opened one of the doors which led outside, and hoped very hard it was either Soujirou or Enishi who had done that, and not any more of these gun-dealers. When his thoughts returned to the scene, however, he saw that the man had sunk to his knees and was trembling like a leaf in autumn - no thanks to the sudden influx of cold, harsh wind. He could hear the other man approaching quickly from within the chamber.
"What's wrong?!" The other younger man came quickly into view as he stooped and tapped his companion on his shoulder. The older man tried hard to speak his case, pointing a shaky finger in Kenji's general direction.
"Th... The ghost of Ba... Bakumatsu..."
His friend quickly turned his head to look at where the other man had pointed. And then even he turned pale in the face at the sight of Kenji - his fiery mane of red locks, freshly marked cross scar and gleaming silver blade reflecting the light of the torches impeccably onto their faces.
*Never knew my old guy's secret identity could still inspire so much fear in people even after so long,* Kenji brooded morosely, holding the sword closer to himself, *well... might as well play along...* "You disturb the peace of those who rest here." The boy said aloud, hoping to make the two men before him draw their own conclusions. He still wasn't exactly sure how he was going to continue this farce, but as long as it kept them distracted, he would have to put up with it. He had not yet said another word when the younger man began laughing nervously.
"This is an apparition!" The man was saying between chokes. "You can't be real!" He began waving his gun around in wide circles. "I... I'll show you!!"
He made a mad dash for Kenji, thus not noticing Soujirou emerging from behind in the darkness to knock his trembling companion out until he felt a sharp pain nick at his right hand, forcing him to drop the gun in his hand while he swerved instinctively to one side, hitting the wall and breaking off a few pieces of caked mud.
Kenji tensed slightly when the man collapsed into a half kneel barely inches away from him. When he noticed that his gun was not with him, however, he relaxed. Glancing over at the blue-clad wanderer, who had just finished checking on the other man, Kenji almost grinned. "How'd you knock his weapon out like that?"
The older person smiled and waved his hand in front of his face, "Pens have a lot more use than just drawing cross-scars on your face, Himura-san. Especially since they're pointy and-" Soujirou paused suddenly, eyes widened in absolute horror. "Himura-san!!"
It didn't take Kenji long to find out why he was shouting like that. The man previously crouched before him now glared up disdainfully with murder in his eyes. In his right hand, in place of his gun, was a carefully concealed but equally deadly wakizashi short sword - waiting to taste blood.
Kenji cursed himself internally for being careless, even as he futilely willed his hands into bringing the sword into a defensive style. The large metallic blade was far too bulky for someone who was used to wooden swords, and Enishi's modified Chinese hilt only made the thing more difficult to wield. As mundane questions like 'who in the right frame of mind modifies a katana hilt like that?!' briefly passed through his mind, Kenji squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the blow.
That never came.
A loud cough caught Kenji's attention upon him opening his eyes, even as his lowered vision caught sight of gathering pools of blood - not his - spattered carelessly on the ground before him. Slowly he lifted his head, taking in the blue before him. Blue tainted with red - a single silvery blade trembling slightly from being buried in soft flesh - again, not his - aglow in soft, orange light.
Kenji could feel his mouth becoming dry.
Did Soujirou just take the sword blow for him?
... for someone like him...
With what must have been the last of his strength, Soujirou grasped onto the hilt of the wakizashi embedded into his side, using the element of surprise to quickly claim the blade from its original owner and pulling it out before it dealt further damage to his constitution. He then used it to swipe carelessly at the man before him, succeeding in getting him to retreat a few steps back unwillingly, before flinging the sword to a side where it then lodged itself firmly into the wall, disconnecting the torch there from its holder. That was followed by two well-aimed sharp-tipped pens in the man's direction. With a cry of pain which indicated that the pens found their targets, Kenji could make out the limping and retreating form of the previously murderous man.
The astray torch suddenly got a life of its own. The wild flames slowly crept across the combustive floor, tainting the chamber with it's laughing blaze.
Soujirou gave a loud groan and promptly rocked off his feet, backwards, into the dumbfounded Kenji's outstretched hands.
"That..." The wanderer was gasping to say, "... That wasn't so hard... was it? Himura-san..."
All Kenji noticed was how the stain on Soujirou's left abdomen was rapidly growing in circumference.
"Soujirou..." The boy raspily whispered, eyes wide with shock. He shook the older person's shoulders gently. "... what the hell was that for?!"
The weak breathing of Soujirou told Kenji the man was still alive. Although for how long, it would be hard to tell. Yet the only answer the boy got for his question was the cackle of the flames as it spread itself in all directions across the tunnel, intent on claiming it whole. Kenji's breathing accelerated. He looked into the pitch-darkness of the dirt-caked hallway before him.
And suddenly, he felt terrified.
He had seen death, heard death, and even come close to what he thought was death once or twice. Never had he been minutely afraid. Never had he been remotely concerned.
But he was so shaken now he could barely move.
"Soujirou..." Kenji gritted his teeth, hair hiding his face from general view, "... get up... Come on... We'll be trapped in the fire..." He continued to shake the unresponsive Soujirou, who lay at his feet unmovingly. He had already tried getting up himself to drag his companion out, but his legs were not listening to him. The fire continued to lick at the fringes of their location - engaging in a dangerous game of hit-and-run with the two immobile swordsmen. "Soujirou!!" Kenji raised his voice, hoping that would catch the older person's attention, emotions in complete disarray.
He didn't usually cared if someone died - it never bothered him as far as he was concerned. But there was something strange welling up from within him as he held the limp form of the smiling wanderer he had gotten to known just that very day. Something inside was screaming at him to drag Soujirou and himself to safety even if it was going to cost him his life. He could not link what he felt to any emotion he was consciously aware of. But he did know, and was very sure, that he'd be damned if he didn't drag their sorry asses out of the chamber before it combusted into a roaring inferno.
He was not going to let Soujirou die.
Something wet glazed over his eyes in his desperation and Kenji quickly wiped at it roughly with his sleeve.
"ENISHI!!" He cried, using the sudden bout of courage he had to attempt to stand up. "ENISHI! WHERE ARE YOU??!" He succeeded to an extent, and moved Soujirou about two steps backwards, away from the slowly raging fire, before collapsing onto the ground again. He gritted his teeth. "ENI-"
A large object shot past Kenji's head and landed in the heart of the emerging fire. When it landed, one of its sides tore and Kenji could see a steady trickle of sand pouring out of the bundle, effectively snuffing out a portion of the ongoing flames. It was a lot of sand packed inside a makeshift paper bag which coincidentally bore the picture of a familiar looking sunset on it.
It took Kenji a few dazed seconds to realize that it was the tapestry they had encountered on their entrance, by which time a hand suddenly reached over his destitue shoulder. Kenji whipped around in anticipation of the worst - relieved when he found that it was just Enishi. The silent white-haired man merely took a cursory glance at the redhead before hauling Soujirou's hand - the one on the uninjured side - over his shoulders, lifting the prostrate wanderer from the ground. He walked, hardly managing to get two steps in before something tugged at him to stop.
Glancing backwards, he saw that Soujirou had stretched his other free hand to grab hold of Kenji.
"Come on, Himura-san," Kenji could hear that Soujirou was struggling to sound normal, "don't just sit there and marvel. Let's get out of here."
Behind them, the chamber continued to burn - relentless flames slowly crawling towards the doors where the massive cargo of weapons were being stored.
The slowly disappearing painting of the sunset became the only thing seemingly seeing the three retreating figures off.
... to be continued
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13/8/03
xd@tougenkyou.net
A/N:
I made the terrible mistake of rewatching the Kyoto arc in the DEAD MIDDLE of
writing this chapter. Now all action seems contrived compared to the sheer intensity
of Kyoto!!! Must... improve...
*glomps all readers and reviewers* Doesn't look like I can say anything other than a big THANK YOU for reading! *bows humbly* Especially Shahrezad1, haku baikou, April-san, CurlsofSerenity, Silver Nightingale, Ayashi1 and Espi!