Summery; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.
Fluff! Action, revelations, and lots of Sano/Aiko fluff! WOO!...Sorry, just happy to post another chapter.
Please review if you read. Comments, ideas, suggestions, and helpful criticism welcome.
"Bastards…" Kayo muttered, his blood-stained blade hidden away in his sheath as he rode the horse to the train station. "I only wish my dear sister had returned home in time to see the look on Mother's face as I sliced her throat open with this blade of mine. And dear Father…trying to defend her, just like that old fool Jenta. Neither of them could stand up against my sword – the apprentice surpasses the teacher in the end after all."
Glancing out at the hills, his grin was marred briefly by a frown. "Now all that's left is that damn woman who calls herself my sister…When I find her, she'll wish she had suffered the quick end of our parents."
"How are you feeling now?" Souzou asked quietly that evening. Aiko had collapsed in his arms after crying herself sick, and he had moved her away from the house to an inn in the town. Her eyelids fluttered, and she groaned. Her hand moved to her abdomen, and he leaned back. "This stress isn't good for the child," he commented, and she nodded.
"I know."
"So, you intend to bear it."
"Of course. I have nothing left to live for but the child," she said sadly. "Sano won't ever find out where I've gone, and I don't intend to burden him with this. It's my sin to bear."
"You consider the child a punishment?" he asked curiously.
"I consider the circumstances a punishment for sins committed," she replied calmly. "The child will be a blessing, and a chance for redemption."
"It could be…that Sanosuke is just as in need of redemption as you are," Souzou said gently, and her eyes widened momentarily before closing again.
"I shared my bed with many men," she said, so low Souzou could barely hear her. "Just because Sano happens to be the father of my child means nothing. It could have easily been any of the others."
"But fate chose Sano."
"I'm so very tired…" she whispered, her hand clenching into a fist. "So very tired…I just want to sleep forever and not wake up to this thing they call reality. An ugly, cruel, and unredeemable thing it is…"
"And something we all must face," he told her. "Perhaps this life is a way to cleanse ourselves in order to become worthy of an afterlife."
"It's worth nothing."
"How is the young woman doing?" the elderly woman asked. She and her husband ran the inn, and had gladly taken in Souzou and Aiko, assuming she was his wife. "I noticed she was pregnant."
"How did you…"
"It's obvious to another woman," she replied cheerfully. "How far along?"
"About two months, now," he said, and she nodded.
"I'll make something to settle her stomach. Is she awake?"
"Yes, thank you," he nodded, and his gaze followed the woman as she strolled off.
"It's been almost a month since we arrived," Aiko mentioned one morning, sitting by the window. "When can we go back to Japan?"
"I thought you didn't want to return."
"I can't stay here," she shook her head. "There are many places in Japan where I can live in solitude, and he'll never know I've returned."
"If Sanosuke is remotely as headstrong as he was as a child, he won't give up."
"And I won't either," she said stubbornly. "I want to leave before I'm unable to travel, Souzou. Please, help me get back. Once we return, I'll keep my promise and give you directions to the Kamiya-Kasshin dojo where he stays. I haven't forgotten."
"All right, then," Souzou nodded, and stood up behind her. "We'll leave on the next available train. But we'll take it slowly."
"Whatever you say, then," she agreed, and he frowned at her back as he strode from the room.
"She hasn't stepped out of this room since we came here," he thought, heading out of the inn and into the street. "And neither has she shown any emotion – other than determination not to see Sanosuke again. Aiko seems to have lost all connection to this world…and it may be too late to save her from despair." Souzou realized with a start that he regarded the young woman no longer as a traveling companion or a means to find Sano, but as someone close to him – almost like family.
"We're just crossing the border into Boykit," Souzou informed her, as she gazed out the window of the carriage. Instead of traveling mainly by sea, as they had done before, they had decided on a slower and slightly-easier land trip, traveling through the Ukraine and Russia to a sea port, where they would take a ship to Japan.
"That's good. Not much longer, right?" she asked, recognizing the name of the town near the middle of the great country.
"No," he nodded, helping her out of the carriage. They had arrived at the train station, which would take them from Boykit all the way to Magadan, where they could find a ship to go to Japan. "We're halfway there, now. And only in a few weeks, too."
"I don't want to slow us down," she shrugged, looking towards the train station. "We don't have to hurry – we arrived in plenty of time. Could we please go walk through the forests nearby? It may be winter, but they're supposed to be beautiful in snow."
"Not for too long," he agreed, pulling his own jacket tighter to protect against the cold. Aiko, obviously having grown larger as time progressed, wore heavy boots to protect her feet from the cold, as well as dark indigo skirts and a heavy black jacket and hood over a thick white sweater. Her hair was in a low bun to avoid the heavy hood, which hung over her eyes. Souzou's cream-colored hat and jacket were just as heavy, over black boots and shoes and a dark-green shirt.
"Thank you," she smiled, and looked up at the gray sky. "Maybe, if we're lucky, it'll snow. You think it will?"
"Maybe," he shrugged, taking her elbow as they headed through town. A young man followed them, going unnoticed for the most part in black boots, pants, a dark-brown jacket, and a white shirt and red headband.
"Oh, it is!" she realized happily, as they made their way through the outskirts of the forest. Flakes of snow fell lightly from the sky, and it seemed that they had been removed totally from any surrounding civilization. "Isn't it amazing?" she asked quietly, and Souzou smiled to hear her sound so happy. "I've always wanted to see snow like this, and now…"
"Who's there?" Souzou demanded, whirling around abruptly. She stopped in surprise as she followed his gaze, and her eyes widened as she saw the young man before them, his hands clenched into fists.
"Aiko…" the tall figure managed, and she gasped, turning deathly pale.
"Sano-Sanosuke? Is that you?" Souzou asked in surprise, shocked at seeing the boy who had grown into a man he didn't even recognize.
"And who the hell are – Captain Sagara?" Sano froze in his stance, his hands falling limply to the side. "You're…dead…" he managed after a long silence, and Souzou took a step forward.
"It's easy enough to fool them," he said calmly. "Sano…I've been looking for you, Sanosuke. I tried to find you after the War, but you seemed to have disappeared."
"So you found Aiko," Sano said slowly, and she took a step forward. "And you got her pregnant, you bastard! What kind of man are you, to do that? I love her, and now I find her with you, a dead man! My hero – I took your name, and this is what happens? You'll pay for what you put me through, Sagara!"
"Sano!" Aiko cried. Souzou moved in front of her as Sano lunged, but the man formerly known as Zanza stumbled to a halt when she moved in front of Souzou.
"So…you love him, do you?" he asked bitterly, and she choked on her own words.
"Sano…this baby…Sano, it's not his," she managed, and he turned away in despair.
"I see…it's another man's child, and he wouldn't have you?"
"Sano, you don't see at all!" she said impatiently, rushing on tearfully. "Sano, this baby is yours! Yours, Sanosuke Sagara! I'm going to bear your child, and no one else's!"
"M-mine…?" Sano whispered, and slowly turned around. Souzou stood behind Aiko calmly, and she glared at the young man in frustration.
"Yes, yours!" she repeated, her emotions carrying her away. "Are you happy now? I couldn't tell you – how could I, when I left? I couldn't…it wouldn't be fair to ask you to bear this burden with me…I wasn't going to return – Sano –!" She was cut off when Sano swept her into his arms in a crushing embrace, which he quickly loosened slightly feeling her newly-acquired girth.
"Motherhood suits you," he mumbled into her hair, and she pressed her face against his chest.
"Sano…"
"How touching – it seems you've forgotten our beloved, dearly-departed parents quickly, Aiko," Kayo sneered, appearing from the trees. Sano clutched her to him as a dying man clung to a piece of wreckage, and Souzou's hand moved to his sword.
"Kayo…how could you?" she demanded quietly, glaring at her brother with hate. Her palm pressed against her womb in an instinctive protective gesture, which didn't go unnoticed by her brother.
"Let's not go there," he smiled calmly. "But you'll wish you had died then after I'm through with you, though. Oh, if you could only have seen their faces when I arrived…"
"I bet," she said bitterly. "Some way to repay them, Kayo."
"Repay them?" he repeated incredulously. "You can't be serious. That man took me in out of pity! You were always the favorite – the blood-child, Aiko. I was merely the whelp fostered by the ever-so-generous Sakajima."
"You fool!" she yelled angrily. "They loved you just as much as…they loved…me…" She stumbled over the last few words, and Kayo smirked at them.
"Father disowned you as well? I made sure he would live a while longer – hopefully until you arrived. So, I suppose we're equal now, my dear, dear sister."
"Don't call me that, you bastard!" Aiko cried, stepping away from Sano angrily. "You have no right to –"
"I didn't come here to chit-chat, Aiko," Kayo said, cutting her off roughly. "I came here to finish the job. Once the Sakajimas are all dead, I can take my place as the head of the power we wield!"
"Aiko!" Souzou shouted, as the swordsman suddenly attacked her. She braced herself for the blade, but was shocked as Sano barreled forward to meet Kayo, his gaze dark with the promise of death.
"I won't let you near them, you bastard! I'll keep them safe – my wife and child!"
"Sano…" Aiko whispered, and then winced as Souzou pulled her sharply back. "Sano!" she cried, seeing blood splatter the snow.
"Heh. That's the best you can do?" Sanosuke jeered, his arm hanging by his side. "I only need one arm to defeat someone like you, you coward."
"Come and try!" Kayo challenged, and Sano grinned.
"Gladly, you scum," he agreed, and shot forward.
"So fast!" Souzou breathed, as his former ward landed a blow to Kayo's face, knocking him to the ground.
"He's unconscious," Sano observed, looking down at the man. "Should I kill him now, or what? I mean, I don't feel like dealing with him later, but – Aiko!" He rushed to her as she suddenly sank to her knees, and crouched next to her. "Aiko?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm…fine…"
"Just faint," Souzou agreed, as Sano picked her up. "She's rather delicate right now, obviously. We'll miss our train if we delay much longer, and…Never mind. We can stay overnight, I suppose, and take some time to recover. Leave me with this man for a moment, Sanosuke. Take her into town and find a room."
"Captain Sagara…" Sano murmured, but habits were seeped in his bones and he obeyed after a moment's hesitation. Aiko, hovering between consciousness and sleep and her eyes half-closed, leaned against his chest heavily.
"Sano…"
"Shh…" he quieted her. "This feeling…holding her, her body against mine…it feels right, somehow."
"How is she doing?" Souzou asked quietly, arriving in the room after a rather-long time had passed. Sano looked up from gazing down at Aiko, who lay sleeping in the bed.
"Captain…what did you do to him?" he asked, and Souzou slid the door shut silently.
"He'll never wield a weapon again – if the wolves let him survive," the Captain said shortly, and Sano grinned thinly.
"Aiko's fine, according to that old woman downstairs. Just sleeping. So, you didn't kill him?"
"There's been enough death," Souzou told him calmly, and moved to leave the room. "I'll get my own room, Sanosuke. We'll resume our journey as soon as you like."
"Captain…" Sano watched as the older man left them alone, and glanced down at the woman on the bed. "Aiko…how could you think to bear it alone?" he wondered to himself, stretching out beside her. Curling up against her figure he held her against his body, inhaling her scent deeply. Waking slightly, she shifted around so her arm slinked around his neck, while the other folded against her stomach. Sano grinned, and exhaled a sigh of relief, feeling that things were once again going his way.
"Sanosuke…" Aiko, still groggy from her sleep, rolled over a little at the feel of his arms around her, and pushed him a little to wake him up. "Sano?"
"Mmm…?" he mumbled something in his sleep, and she sighed determinedly.
"Sanosuke Sagara, I'm going to get you up if I have to go into labor to do it!" she said forcefully, and the word 'labor' seemed to have an immediate effect on the young man, who still needed time to become accustomed to the idea of being a father.
"Wha-huh? Labor – it's coming?" he demanded, shooting awake. She grabbed his arm before he could start a ruckus and shook her head in amusement.
"No, Sano, I just wanted you to wake up."
"Well, why couldn't you just poke me or something?" he asked, and she giggled.
"I tried that."
"Oh." Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he crossed his legs and peered at her. "How're you feeling? You doing okay – sleep well? Dya need anything? Are you hungry, or want to go back to sleep, or –"
"Sano!" she interrupted his questions patiently, suppressing another sigh. "No, Sano, I'm fine, really. I just wanted you to wake up, that's all."
"I see – you missed me," he smirked, holding her against him once more. She snorted in protest, but allowed herself to be held by him quietly briefly before laughing.
"How could I? You were right next to me!"
"Yeah, but I was asleep," he pointed out, and she nodded.
"Yeah…I missed you," she admitted, and her arms suddenly wrapped around his waist tightly. She buried her face in his chest and clung to him, and he blinked in surprise at the sudden shift in moods. "I…I've been so lonely, even with Souzou here with me. I missed…I missed you, Sano. I wanted you here with me…"
"Well, all ya had to do was tell me, after all," he informed her quietly. "I would've come running. And I did anyways, once Shinomori told me you went running off with some strange guy."
"He did?" she asked in surprise, looking up at him. He nodded, and she laid her head back on his chest. "Oh…"
"I don't know about you, but I'm starving," he said suddenly, swinging his legs over the edge of the futon. "I could eat a horse!"
I'm not sure whether it's too sappy or what...oh well, it was fun to write it. I hope this was all good! Now...is Kayo dead, or alive?...You'll have to find out for certain another chapter! Please review!