Chapter Seven
Long, anxious hours had passed since the battle between Hiko and 'Raijuta', as those within the Shirobeko waited outside of the room where Hiko had been carried. Kaoru had to tearfully hold Kenshin back as Megumi, and a few other doctors the strange girl Aoshi had called 'Sumeragi-san' had summoned for the crisis at hand, entered the room, then closed the door behind them.
"Shishou……" Kenshin had whispered, as soft sobs escaped from him, and as Kaoru held him in a gentle embrace.
"Sessha has never seen him so badly hurt, Kaoru-dono…..Sessha doesn't know if he has the strength to overcome this…." Kenshin murmured, letting Kaoru hold him close enough to hear her heartbeat.
"Have faith in him, Kenshin. He'll pull through….if you believe in his strength." Kaoru said, softly, as she stroked his fiery red hair; trying to soothe his grief in the only way she knew how.
"She's right, Kenshin. He didn't survive the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki for nothin' ya know. If anybody can survive this, it's Hiko." Sanosuke muttered, yet not without a slight look of worry and doubt in his own eyes, as he glanced at them from where he leaned, then looked at the still-closed door.
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Within the room, Megumi sighed and brushed strands of sweaty dark hair from her eyes. The surgery was finally complete, but the patient in question looked no better than he had before. Bandages covered almost all of his abdomen and chest, both arms, and even his neck. His leg wounds had reopened, and had had to be stitched closed again. A crimson patch stained through the linen strips carefully wrapped above his brow, and smaller bandages dotted the corners of his mouth.
"It's a miracle he's even still breathing, considering how bad these injuries are……He's in even worse shape now than Ken-san was a few days ago." Megumi thought, jumping slightly when one of the other doctors placed a weary hand on her shoulder and gave her a grave smile.
"You did the best you could, Takani-san. We all did. All we can do now is hope that this man has the strength to live through what he has endured." The man said, softly. Megumi nodded.
"Hai. That's about all we can do now. I just wish I knew what to tell Ken-san that would be of any comfort to him." Megumi admitted, dejectedly.
"I'm afraid we can't help you there, Takani-san. All I can suggest is that you take it one step at a time." The man murmured, as he bowed, stood, and signaled the other doctors to do the same. Within moments, they were gone, and several anxious faces peered in; their questioning eyes searing into Megumi.
"He still lives…..but barely. He's lost so much blood, and is so badly hurt, that even I don't know if he'll make it. Gomenasai, Ken-san, minna." Megumi sobbed, as tears flowed freely down her face. To her shock and consternation, she felt a bandaged hand brush away the tears, and looked up to see Sanosuke looking down at her.
"You look tired, Kitsune-onna. Go get some sleep. I'll bet you haven't gotten much in the past couple of days." Sanosuke said, with surprising gentleness on his part.
"Sanosuke……." Megumi muttered, stunned by this change in the ruffian's behavior.
"He's right, Megumi-dono. Go get some rest. We'll watch over Shishou from here." Kenshin said, bravely; his amethyst eyes shimmering with stubbornly held back tears of his own. Megumi nodded slightly.
"But you must rest as well, Ken-san. I won't be able to rest if you become ill again." Megumi stated, as she allowed the former street fighter to guide her out of the room. Kenshin in turn nodded.
"Sessha will try, de gozaru……But it won't be easy." Kenshin murmured, as he gazed at the seriously wounded swordmaster, and silently wondered if the proud man would ever open his eyes again.
………………………..
Hours later, Kenshin found himself by his master's side, watching and waiting for any signs that the older man was going to live.
"Shishou…." Kenshin silently pleaded, trying everything he knew to get the man to wake up. But nothing was working. If anything, Hiko was sinking even further; drifting even farther away from life.
"His consciousness is submerged. He can sense in some small way that you're here, and thinks that he, as the Thirteenth master, should move on. I hate to say this, Himura-san, but he will not wake up while you are here. Your presence will only make him want to die." Suzuno said, softly as she quietly walked into the room and took a seat on Hiko's right hand side. Kenshin gave her a look that was a cross between hurt and angered.
"An apprentice's place is by his master's side, Suzuno-dono. Why are you saying differently?" Kenshin asked, his anger easily heard in his voice.
"Because Seijuro-san knows this as well. Deep in his mind, he knows that with your knowledge of the ougi, only one master should exist at a time. He has become convinced that it is his time to go, leaving you as the Fourteenth heir of the sword style he has handed down to you. Himura-san, I did not say what I did to hurt you; please believe me when I say that." Suzuno said, as she grasped one of Kenshin's hands in hers' and gave him a pleading look.
"Sure sounded that way to the rest of us, jou-chan." Sanosuke growled, from the doorway, as he and Kaoru glared at her, with Yahiko and the rest glaring into the room at Suzuno from behind them. Suzuno in turn gave them a sad look, then bowed deeply to them.
"Then please accept my humblest apologies for sounding so cruel. Gomenasai, minna-san." Suzuno whispered, then looked up at them again.
"I know of something that could be of some use in contacting Seijuro-san's consciousness, but it will be risky. Do you want me to try it?" Suzuno asked.
"What do you intend to do, Sumeragi-san?" Aoshi asked, ice-blue eyes narrowed in skepticism at the idea that Kenshin's very presence in the room was what was sending Hiko even deeper into his coma.
"A special, secrettechnique developed by the Sumeragi Clan for just such emergencies……It's extremely risky in the sense that I have to separate my consciousness from my body in order to go into Seijuro-san's heart and see why he refuses to wake up. While I am in there, he could refuse to let me in, and that wouldn't be good for me….." Suzuno said, then looked to Kenshin for approval.
"Do what you know is right, Suzuno-dono." Kenshin murmured, with some hope in his eyes as he said that.
"Do your best, Suzuno-chan! We'll be rootin' for ya right here!" Misao said, eagerly, as she and Yahiko gave the female onmyoji a 'thumb's up' to voice their approval.
"Good luck, and be careful." Kaoru added, as Suzuno smiled, nodded, then got right to work.
"Here goes….." Suzuno thought, then put her forehead to Hiko's and started chanting. Kenshin and the rest watched in tense silence as the onmyoji did what she was trained to do, and jumped when she let out a yelp of pain and shock and abruptly jerked away from the man.
"Suzuno-dono? Daijobu?" Kenshin asked, tensely. The girl nodded, then stubbornly placed her forehead to the older man's brow again; this time chanting something different under her breath.
"Please, let this work. Please………" Suzuno thought, as she called on some outside, otherworldly help; hoping against hope that this desperate ploy would work………
………………………..
"Hiko-sama! Hiko-sama!" a woman's voice shouted, echoing strangely in Hiko's mind before he became fully aware of whose voice it was.
"Natsu?" Hiko asked, uncertainty coming into his voice as he 'spoke' the name out loud. His wife had been dead and buried for almost two hundred years now! Why was he hearing her voice now?
"Am I dead? Did that final blow kill me?" Hiko wondered, then sighed and shook his head. He'd been alive for so long, that he no longer really cared about his own life…..A fact that was proving to be irksome for him, since he'd had to teach Kenshin to value his life in order to learn the Hiten Mitserugi Ryu ougi.
"I'm what the Westerners must call a 'hypocrite'. I don't practice what I teach, since I have forgotten how." Hiko thought, growling softly as the words of his own master came back to haunt him.
"Don't take life for granted, deshi. Live it to the fullest, day by day, since you aren't really guaranteed tomorrow…..Especially in this day and age." The stern, yet strangely carefree, voice of Hiko Seijuro the Twelfth murmured, flowing past the Thirteenth master like a stream of water.
"In some ways, Kenshin succeeded where I had failed. Using a sakabatou instead of a katana, he spared my life…….Sure, it still hurt like hell, but I survived the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki. I only had broken bones to show for that, whereas you, Shishou, were cut in half by it." Hiko mused 'aloud', the guilt of so many years weighing heavily in his voice.
"You needn't feel guilty about something you had no control over, deshi. After all, it is the way of masters and apprentices in the Mitserugi Ryu. You know this as well as I did." The familiar, airy voice said, as the owner of it appeared before him. Hiko took a step back in disbelief; there stood his own master, just as he remembered him. Long, dark, windblown black hair, tied back in a topknot, blew silently in the non-existent breeze, and long bangs framed a youthful face and almost mischievous sea-green eyes. His dark green gi, matching pants, knee-length boots and the armor over all that, showed clearly from under the familiar white mantle, as did Winter Moon. Even his tall, lithe frame was the same; no sign of the death-wound to be seen. Then Hiko's expression sobered.
"Then why did you take me on as your apprentice, if you knew it would cost you your life?" Hiko asked. His predecessor only shook his head and shrugged.
"I guess I had what the people across the sea call a 'death-wish'. In any event, I am proud to say that you did an exceptional job training your deshi. Even better than I had done with you. He'll make a truly great Fourteenth master." The other man said, his aqua-tinted eyes clearly showing the pride he felt for both his own apprentice, and the apprentice ofhis apprentice.
"He didn't take on the name or the mantle of the Mitserugi Ryu, though." Hiko muttered, giving his teacher a somewhat irritated glance when the latter chuckled.
"That is what sets him apart from us, and other previous masters, deshi. Young Kenshin's mantle isn't in the form we're familiar with, and he prefers the name you gave him over the title you still bear." The previous master explained, patiently. Hiko appeared to mull over this for a moment, then nodded and turned his attention again to his master.
"Shishou, why are you here like this? Are you here to take me from life? Is that your reason for being here?" Hiko asked. The Twelfth master shook his head.
"No, deshi, I have not come to collect you. I came at the behest of someone from your life now, and the ones you had loved so long ago. Even though they themselves do not have the strength to contact you like this, I do. Natsu-hime had strength enough to call out to you; to get your attention and nothing more. I offered to bring her along with me, but she refused. She knew that your desire to see her again would prove to be too strong, and that it would take you away from life, and those who still need you." The Twelfth master said, softly.
"But who still needs me, Shishou? Kenshin's training is complete, the threat to everyone's lives is gone, and Japan is safe. What is there to remain for?" Hiko asked, discouraged and dismayed by this.
"Your deshi still needs you. As do his friends. They all look to you for strength. Especially in this time, after so great a battle as the one that took place eleven short days ago. Believe me, deshi, there is no shortage of the lives you have directly or indirectly touched in the past ten years that would be irreparably changed if you died." The Twelfth master said, as he placed a hand on his former apprentice's shoulder and looked him in the eye.
"I will consider it. But I don't know if even I have the strength to live on." Hiko murmured, getting a slight nod from the ghost of his master as a response.
"I suppose I have done all I could to try and convince you to keep fighting for life. It's up to you now, deshi. Don't disappoint me." The Twelfth master said, as he turned and walked away, vanishing into the mists of Hiko's subconscious almost instantly.
"I'll try not to, Shishou." Hiko thought, as he continued to stand where he'd found himself, his dark eyes contemplative as his thoughts now turned to the decision at hand; should he live, or die?
…..…..…….……………………….
Kaoru sighed as she replaced a damp rag onto the swordsman's brow. It was just barely after midnight, and nothing had changed with Hiko's condition. If anything, things had gotten worse; fever and chill were now settled firmly on him, making everyone within the restaurant's upper half worry themselves into sleeplessness.
"Kamiya, has his condition changed?" Aoshi asked, as he entered the room and sat down on the far side. Kaoru shook her head.
"Nothing has changed. He's still unconscious and his fever has risen slightly since a few hours ago. It almost feels like he's lost the will to live…." Kaoru trailed off, thinking of Kenshin's near-emotional breakdown after Suzuno had done all she could, and feeling a lump in her own throat as she thought of what Hiko's death would do to the gentle rurouni she'd come to love. She started when Aoshi silently closed the distance between them and ruffled her hair in an almost brotherly way.
"Do not worry. Seijuro is much tougher than that. He won't lose this fight." Aoshi said, with a certainty he most certainly did not feel in his voice. Kaoru sensed this, and only turned and gave Hiko a somber look. Yet, when she did, she almost cried out; Hiko's eyelids were moving!
"Hiko-san…….I think Hiko-san's trying to wake up….." Kaoru muttered, as she rushed to his side and looked down at him. Ever so slowly, the man's eyes opened; and yet, when his gaze met hers', Kaoru knew that he was not fully aware of where he was.
"Natsu……..is that you?" Hiko asked, his voice soft and weak. For a moment, Kaoru did not know what to say or think, then she shook herself out of her shock, and smiled gently at the wounded warrior.
"Hai." Kaoru said, sorry that she had to lie to Hiko like this.
"It is good to see you again. I didn't think you would come." Hiko said, quietly, as he gently brushed strands of hair out of her eyes; this act alone startling Kaoru, even though she did well not to show it.
"Well, I'm here now. And I'll be here through the night to watch over you." Kaoru stated, noticing when a familiar smile graced the swordmaster's face; a smile she'd only seen on Kenshin's face a few times before.
"That alone is enough for me. Arigato." Hiko whispered, as he drifted back into sleep, his hand drifting away from her face andsettling on his chest as he did so.
"That was odd……He didn't even detect my presence….." Aoshi murmured, careful not to raise his voice, lest he disturb Hiko's rest.
"And he didn't even recognize me…..Still, at least now he seems a bit stronger than he was before." Kaoru said, with some encouragement in her voice.
"True. Yet it remains to be seen how much strength he has gained from this. I will tell Himura that he woke up briefly, but I won't tell him what was said." Aoshi stated, as he slipped out of the room as quietly as he'd entered.
"Arigato Aoshi-san." Kaoru thought, as she settled in for the night; determined to keep her promise to the ill swordsman, in the very least.
…………………….
The sound of birdsong was the first thing Hiko became aware of when he next awoke. He could sense that the rain had stopped sometime earlier, and that the sun was finally out. Amidst the heavy aroma of food coming from downstairs and the herbs and medicines in the room, he could smell the scent of the fresh spring breeze outside. The smell of a world washed clean.
"I see you have decided to remain with us, Seijuro-san." A woman's voice chirped, as its owner moved into Hiko's line of sight.
"Who…are you?" Hiko asked, wincing slightly when his own voice scratched his throat.
"Sumeragi Suzuno is my name. I am the twelfth head of the Sumeragi Clan. Pleased to make your acquaintance." The woman said, politely; her emerald eyes sparkling with life and good-humor.
"It is good to meet you as well…….I believe I owe you my life." Hiko softlysaid, almost reluctantly. Suzuno laughed softly, and placed a soft hand on his face, brushing his bangs back away from his eyes as she did so.
"Think nothing of it. The only one who owes me anything is Shinomori-san…..Well, I'd better run. I'm expected at another assignment shortly, and I can't miss it. Get well soon, Seijuro-san!" Suzuno said, before dashing out the door and escaping the wrath of a very miffed Misao. Hiko smirked, then turned his head to look at the still sound-asleep Kaoru that now leaned against the wall beside him.
"Amazing how she managed to sleep through that racket." Hiko mused, grimacing as he slowly sat up, and bracing himself as he unfurled one of the unused blankets in the room and draped it over the girl. He held his breath when she stirred slightly, and relaxed when she settled back into slumber; sighing as she snuggled into the warmth of the blanket.
"All of the people here have been worried about something or other during this rough time. AndI have been more than a burden to them. And yet………." Hiko thought, then shook his head. Thinking about it only made his head hurt, he decided; as he settled back onto his futon with a sigh and drifted back into deep sleep almost immediately. Unbeknownst to either Hiko or Kaoru, Kenshin stood just outside the doorway, a relieved and knowing smile on his young face. His master had chosen to live after all.
Author's Note!
Almost there! This story is almost complete! Sorry about the long wait, minna, but writer's block was very, VERY merciless with this story. But it's almost complete! Yatta! Stay tuned for the epilogue! Ja ne!
Gemini14