Disclaimer: Of course I don't own this crap. If I did, I wouldn't be spending time writing about it. I'd be writing it.
Well, it's been so long since I wrote the first chapter of this song, and it was even longer since I had posted before that chapter. I am going to get back into writing these things, simply because I had lost my passion for writing before now, and I really need to get back into it. But yeah, story time kiddies. )
Chapter 2
Friendship, Love, and Children
By:
Paige M.
Yahiko sat by himself, at his own table in a small corner of the Akabeko. Not yet old enough to drink, a half empty glass of green tea sitting in front of him on the smooth wooden surface. It was the first time he'd sat alone in the restaurant; he had always come before with friends from the dojo, or Tsubame, to sit, and talk, and catch up. Today he sat there to think. Alone, to think of his predicament.
His hands began shaking with rage, as his thoughts wandered to the blank face of the man who had raped his fiancée. He had never been caught; he had never since been seen since the night that Tsubame was found unconscious under a blooming sakura tree. He had beaten her, he had had his way with her, and he got away trouble free. This man had almost ruined the young girl's life, and he had not paid a cent of his money, or a minute of his time paying for what he had done.
But what upset Yahiko the most about the whole situation, was the fact that he could do nothing to avenge Tsubame. He couldn't do a thing to the man who had done that to her, and he felt so powerless and weak against him. The night that he had seen her brought into the dojo, beaten and weak, a helpless rage filled his heart that he had not since quenched. His hand balled into a fist, shaking almost uncontrollably as he thought of her, and of himself.
Confirming his realization, he threw his trembling fist into the ground beside him, before standing and kicking the table, and his tea, clear across the room. He gave a great yell of frustration, before charging out of the Akabeko, and sprinting his way to the creek.
He had realized, at that moment, that he was not worth Tsubame's love.
"He did what?" Kaoru let out a gasp of surprise as a woman from the Akabeko explained to her all of the damage that her young student had caused earlier that day. The young woman looked at Kaoru with the most serious expression, shaking her head.
"Unless the damage that he did is paid off in full, or he works to fix it, he will no longer be allowed into the restaurant, and you will be responsible for fees that will be charged for the cancellation of his tab, as well as the money that has built up upon it." With that the young woman bowed curtly, before turning on her heel and marching briskly out of the dojo's front yard. Kaoru stared after her, dumbstruck.
"Damnit Yahiko. Do you know how much trouble you actually caused at the Akabeko today? Not only did you cause a bunch of trouble, but you damaged many things there, that will cost so much to replace. You should have seen how furious that woman was, who came by here just to tell us of the stuff you did. We have to pay for the broken furniture, door, and decorations, and unless you go to help clean up the mess tomorrow you will not be allowed back inside. And with that come more fines. We don't have this kind of money Yahiko…" Sighed Kaoru, her voice shifting so suddenly from her fiery rage, to a sorrowful realization sort of tone. Yahiko didn't lift his head, his eyes planted still to the ground, as they had been as Kaoru berated him.
"We don't have that kind of money… Especially with Tsubame living here now…" Kaoru trailed off, her words having a much more profound impact on the young man than she had known. Yahiko winced just slightly hearing Tsubame's name, then shuddered thinking about how much more trouble he had caused the young woman.
He turned, his eyes still fixed to the floor, as he ran from the room he was in, to his own room. He reached down, almost instinctively, pulling his sakabatou, his gift from Kenshin, from its stand. Sliding it into his belt he promptly walked out of the room, being careful to quiet his steps as he passed Tsubame's room. He walked to the door that him and Kenshin had stood at the previous night, sliding it open to reveal the garden of the Kamiya dojo once again. He stared out at the serene scene before him, as he had done with Kenshin.
"I would do anything for Tsubame, just like Kenshin would have done anything for his Tomoe… He ended up killing her; he ended up ruining his beautiful relationship with one fatal accident. What if I'm making the same mistake, what if I'm making a fatal decision that isn't quite as obvious as Kenshin's was? I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her again…" Yahiko whispered to himself, beginning to think about his helpless situation, and about how useless he was to the love of his life.
" I won't let it happen again!" He vowed, voicing his furious thoughts to the silent, snow covered garden. The snow gleamed under the starry sky, as if to say that it understood. Yahiko stepped from the room, onto the wooden porch of the garden. Calmer now, he stepped onto the stone step between him and the slow powdered path, bypassing his zori completely he stepped into the snow, with only his socks between it and his feet. His eyes fluttered shut, his body fully embracing the cold of the ground beneath him. He could feel it run through his body, cool the fiery flames of his anger and hate slightly. His left hand resting on the sheath of his sword, his right on its handle. He took a deep breath once again, shifting his feet almost instinctively into the correct position, drawing fat lines in the snow as he did so. His muscles relaxed, he felt calm at that moment, for the first time in months. Then he snapped.
With one swift motion the sakabatou was parted from its sheath, in a fraction of a second it rested comfortably in Yahiko's hand, his body in the position it would have been at the completion of the Battou Justu. From that position, Yahiko maneuvered his way through his usual training exercises, his parries, his attacks, his evasions. With each move he let out a small 'hyah' just as he had been taught. His eyes still closed, his body moved fluidly from one position to the next, each movement releasing all of the pent up frustration he had carried on his shoulders.
"It won't happen again!" A swift cut to the right side of his body.
"I won't let it happen again!" A perfect parry to an overhead attack.
"Tsubame will be happy!" A deadly slice from left to right.
"I will not fail!" Yahiko's movements became much more rigid, much more planned and practiced. His cuts were swift, his movements were no longer fluid, his eyes squeezed tight shut, he moved over and over through the moves he had been taught.
"I will not make the same mistake as Kenshin did!" His final cut landed abruptly halfway through its performance, startling Yahiko, making him release the katana immediately, falling to the ground in surprise. He blinked a few times, before searching for his fallen weapon. He searched the ground a moment before he finally found it. Its blade was embedded several inches deep into the largest tree of the garden. He had hit the tree blade side forward.
"What's happened to you Yahiko?" A familiar voice echoed through the garden, but the voice was filled with an unfamiliar tone. "I didn't know you had it in you..."
Yahiko turned to see Kenshin standing in the doorway. His face betrayed his emotions, sorrow and disappointment shining in his beautiful lavender eyes.
"What is it, Kenshin?" Yahiko asked, curious to know what the carrot haired man was thinking about. Kenshin's eyes followed Yahiko's path through the snow, his learned eyes being able to tell which movements matched with each set of footprints. He found what he was looking for. The moment where Yahiko had turned the blade around. He realized now, realized what Yahiko had become.
"You will be like me Yahiko. Betray her fast, or you will never learn the truth." Kenshin said curtly, turning on his heel and walking back into the house.
Kenshin had realized that Yahiko had finally cracked, he had finally turned into the man that Kenshin had hoped to stomp out of him years and years ago. With this grim reality he knew that many would fall beneath Yahiko's blade. He'd finally gained the mindset it took to become a murderer. A cold, calculated murderer. Kenshin understood the moment he found when Yahiko had turned the blade around. He realized this, when he saw that Yahiko's sword was blade side forward, even before he began his movements.
When I began writing this I didn't know where I wanted this story to go. While I was writing this, I figured everything out. I know where it's going to go, and I know how long it's going to take to get there. Trust me, you all will love it. Well, please give good reviews so that I may continue my story in confidence. Love from Paige.