Chapter Thirteen: Broken/Sanosuke vs. Kenshin!
"But then, can you understand... knowing he left without even bothering to say goodbye to me?" Takani Megumi, Rurouni Kenshin Volume 8
Good, thought Saitou, as he peered into the window of the inn. It seemed as though the swordsman was simply peering interestedly inside the building, perhaps thinking about staying there; when really he was simply plotting a murder. The Rooster-Head and the little swordsman have left... that only leaves me to deal with the giant, and the bartender. The giant will be easy enough, but the bartender... he might take a few minutes to take care of.
Saitou narrowed his eyes. They've all gone upstairs. I'd best wait until the Kamiya girl is alone...that wolf kid is still flirting with that kitchen girl.
Indeed, Yahiko was talking shyly to a quiet brunette. From listening into their conversation, Saitou learned some information about the Kamiya girl and her comrades.
"Um... my onee-san..." Yahiko was saying, as the girl listened diligently, "She's upstairs. Kaoru's she's really smart, and she's the best with a sword! And her aim with a bow and arrow is unbeatable! And she can use it, too, without killing anyone. In fact... when you smile... you kinda remind me of my sister." The boy flushed a little, and added, "Not in a weird way, or anything..."
The little girl, named Tsubame, smiled. "You think I have...a... pretty smile, Yahiko-chan?"
"CHAN?" Yahiko yelled, causing Tsubame to cower in fright. "I'M NOT A LITTLE--er... oh, wow, um... sorry, Tsubame... I didn't mean to yell... er...sorry... um, you're smile is... yeah."
Yahiko blushed, looking at his feet. Why do I suddenly feel like Sanosuke?
Tsubame came out from hiding, looking nervous but relieved that Yahiko had calmed down, and even complimented her. "Thank you, Yahiko...kun?"
"That's good," Yahiko said, scratching the back of his head like a certain Bird Head.
Tsubame smiled; a sweet, shy, innocent--
This is disgusting, Saitou thought, rolling his eyes. I guess I'll have to just wait and watch... my opportunity could come sooner than I realize.
He then stepped away from the window, and entered the inn in a casual fashion.
-
Sanosuke looked down at Kenshin, looking slightly surprised.
Kenshin looked up at Sano, looking very surprised.
Then Kenshin's eyes narrowed. There was something different about Sanosuke... his eyes were a dark color, and bandages wrapped over bleeding fingers. His eyes were red, as though he had been crying; grief renewed shone back at Kenshin, like the shocking coldness of bare feet in the snow.
"Sanosuke...?" Kenshin stammered, wide-eyed. A regretful feeling welled up in his belly as he looked at the broken man before him, and Kenshin's thoughts of killing the teenager quickly vanished. "Sano, what happened?"
"Get away from me," Sanosuke growled in a voice very much unlike his, and brushed past Kenshin without another word.
Sanosuke slunk across the road, refusing to look back at the wanderer he knew was following him. Even the way Sano walked was changed; normally, he walked with a cheerful bounce in his step, his shoulders slumped but his head held high.
But now, his back was stiff, and the noise from his feet tapping the ground played a melody of angry pain. Sanosuke's chin was pointed to the ground, though his eyes followed his destination in an almost weary fashion. His bangs fell into his eyes moments later, casting shadows over the darkened irises.
"Sanosuke," Kenshin tried again. "I must apologize for what..."
Sano stopped in his tracks, nearly causing Kenshin to run into his broad back. Turning his bowed head, Sanosuke looked at Kenshin with ashy, red eyes. "Whatever." Sano blinked slowly, in time to the word he spoke, and then said softly, "I'm leaving, Kenshin. What I'm seeking for is not with you and the others."
"Then what are you seeking, Sanosuke?" Kenshin asked determinedly.
Sanosuke looked Kenshin over with his slate eyes, and whispered at last, "A place to belong."
"Miss Megumi would gladly share her loneliness with you someday," Kenshin said, averting his eyes from Sanosuke's; the redhead wanted to finish before he saw the look on Sano's face. "She's a very broken person, Sanosuke...whether you realize it or not, she cares very deeply for you. You're her best friend."
Kenshin was shocked to see fiery anger lighting Sanosuke's eyes, when he turned his plum orbs to meet them.
"Don't talk to me about Megumi," Sano said in a soft hiss, reminding Kenshin very much of smoldering metal dunked in lake water. "You should get back to Kaoru and Anji. Aoshi and Misao, too... Hell, even Megumi'll be pining like a dog for your return. Go back, I'm sick of thinking about it."
Turning on his heel, Sanosuke proceeded to walk at a quick pace towards a docked ship.
Kenshin stood frozen in his tracks, unable to move himself. "Sanosuke..." Kenshin whispered, shocked at the jealousy he had heard in the boy's voice. He's just as envious and upset as I am... and as much a fool.
"Sanosuke, wait!"
Kenshin started to run after Sano again, but Sanosuke turned around just in time, taking a violent step forward. Kenshin, surprised by the sudden advancement, ran smack-dab into Sano's iron chest, flinging him backwards.
"I told you t'leave me the Hell alone!" Sanosuke shouted at him. "This is my choice as a man, and you can't do anything about it! Now get away from me, and go back to your little band of miscreants, you dense pansy! I'm sick of you and your trash! You've got everything I don't--so what? Shit, Kenshin! You're so damned blind that you can't even see that Kaoru's crushing on you like a waterfall, and Anji treats you like the king already! Aoshi's got your back, and Misao thinks of you as a friend! And Megumi--"
Sanosuke fell silent, glowering at the shocked redhead lying on the ground. "Megumi's more loyal to you than she could ever be to me." Stooping, Sano seized Kenshin's collar and brought his scarred face very close to his own.
"Listen here, mister swordsman," Sanosuke snarled in a low voice, "I may be leaving, but if I hear from anyone that you let something happen to Megumi, I will hunt you down. When I find you, I'll tear out that pretty red hair of yours and make you eat it like soba with the tip of your reversed-blade sword, until you choke and die like a rabid dog... you'll foam at the mouth, and scream until your lungs explode, and you throw up your own blood and hair until your miserable little life dies out like a candle in a hurricane."
Kenshin wasn't exactly intimidated. He knew Sano was incapable of forcing him into such torture, but the sheer seriousness in Sanosuke's eyes impressed Kenshin.
Clasping Sano's fingers gently, and taking his hand from his neck, Kenshin looked at Sanosuke with a solemn stare. "Sagara Sanosuke," Kenshin said at last, "if you think that running away like this is an answer to your aching heart, then you are not enough a man to make that choice."
Kenshin continued, "You're right, however, about my ungratefulness. I have kept Kaoru-dono in the dark for a bit longer than I would want, but I'm not ready to commit myself... especially to a girl I have only known for a week. I treat my relationships with all of you far too light, though, and I rudely disvalue your feelings."
"But you have no right to destroy our alliegience completely!" Kenshin said to Sanosuke, his voice rising. "You have no right to run away from us! You have no right to abandon your loyal friends andfamily, Sagara Sanosuke!"
"SHUT UP! YOU'RE NOT MY FAMILY!"
Dropping the bag that Sanosuke had been carrying, Sano threw an angry punch at Kenshin's face. The wanderer dodged easily, leaping at Sanosuke and elbowing him forcefully in the chest, followed by a punch beneath the chin.
Roaring, Sanosuke lashed out with a kick, striking Kenshin the lower stomach. In the midst of the attack, Sanosuke seized Kenshin's wrist and attempted to slam him over his head and onto the solid ground.
Kenshin twisted like a viper in Sanosuke's grasp, turning to land a slamming kick in Sanosuke's face. The fighter stumbled, but did not let go of Kenshin's arm.
Whirling around in a circular motion, Sanosuke slammed Kenshin into a nearby pile of trashcans, breaking his hold on the wanderer. Kenshin rolled over before Sanosuke could lunge again, dodging him and slamming Sanosuke on the side of the head with the back of his hand.
Grasping Kenshin's ponytail, Sanosuke flung Kenshin around and then let him loose, blocking Kenshin from flying with his opposite arm, and slamming the wanderer onto the ground. Punching Kenshin in the face, Sanosuke pinned the redhead to the turf, continuing to pummel him.
"You think you're so--"
Thokk.
"--damned righteous, you--"
Wack.
"--sniveling hypocrite--"
Bassh.
"--how dare you try to--"
Kksh.
"--replace my family--"
Wokk.
"--WHY ARE YOU CRYING, YOU WEAK TWIT! IS THAT ALL YOU CAN DO?"
Indeed, tears were streaming down Kenshin's cheeks, wiping clear rivers through the smudges of blood on Kenshin's face. Pausing in his onslaught, Sanosuke stared at Kenshin, shocked to find that a wetness was present in his own eyes.
"Does it...fix it?" Kenshin said, his voice raspy with blood. "Hurting your best friend... does it... fix your pain?"
Sanosuke paused, his right fist raised in midair. "K-Kenshin..." he stammered, trying to think up a reason to continue to beat the bleeding man beneath him. His fist wavered, and hesitated.
Kenshin was sure Sanosuke had given up. Sano's eyes were light brown again, flickering with tears of shame. The eyes of a confused, orphaned boy replaced the darkness of an angry, rejected man.
It's my job as Sano's best friend, Kenshin thought, as the war inside Sanosuke continued, to support him through this. His anger at the government, even if it means Sano takes it out on me, must be slain. If it is not, Sanosuke will bring down the rest of us with his hatred and rashness, in eagerness to avenge his loss. It's a danger not only to him, but to every one of us.
I'm sorry, Sanosuke, Kenshin thought. I should have realized that I was being a fool... your trauma has only caused you to value my loyalty all the more, and now I've lost you. To what sense does it make that you'd try to steal Kaoru-dono from me, when she doesn't belong to me yet? I've been a poor friend lately...
Slowly, Sanosuke lowered his fist. He'd given up.
"Ughn--!"
Blood spattered. Kenshin's mouth opened wide in shock, as a blade sprouted from beneath Sanosuke's ribs, tearing his flesh all the way out through the other side.
As Sanosuke tumbled forwards, Kenshin sat up to catch his best friend before Sanosuke landed face-first into the dirt.
Looking to see the attacker, Kenshin was surprised to find a young man, dressed in a black gi and gray hakama, holding a bloody sword abroad. His sleek black hair was pinned up in the back of his head, giving him the traditional appearance of a samurai. His black eyes flickered with disdain at the injured Sanosuke, and with a flick of the wrist, the young man freed his katana from blood.
"Sanosuke!" Kenshin cried to his bleeding friend, when the fighter let out a low groan of agony. Blood spilt from the lean figure, in a terrifying pace that frightened the redhead. "Sano..."
Coughing up an amount of his own blood, Sanosuke leaned over Kenshin's shoulder like a limp doll. Blood streamed in rivers from Sanosuke's gi and onto Kenshin, like red ink split from its container.
"Hey..." Sanosuke stammered. "Look's like I'll be leavin' anyways, ne...Kenshin?"
He then fell unconcious.
Kenshin looked up to find that the young samurai had disappeared. "No..." Turning his gaze back to the dying fistfighter, Kenshin thought, I must get him to Miss Megumi! Someone! Anyone who can...
"KENSHIN!"
He turned to see Kaoru, Aoshi, Megumi, Anji, Misao, and Yahiko racing towards them, appalled at the evident place of battle. Megumi screamed at the sight of the blood-saturated kenkaya, falling to her knees and taking him from Kenshin.
"Oh Kami-sama!" Megumi sobbed, clutching at Sanosuke helplessly. "What happened to him... Sanosuke..." Resting her forehead on his, Megumi felt as though her life was also draining, right out of her like Sanosuke's blood. Her wide, magenta eyes flickered with anguish; filled with an emotional ache to save her best friend, her quarreling partner, and maybe even her heartfelt crush.
Anji, seeing the grave injured Sano had taken, immediately bent down on one knee. He put his hand gently on Sanosuke's wrist, and closed his eyes. It was obvious to Kenshin that Anji was praying over Sanosuke, begging for him to be spared.
"She's hysterical," Aoshi murmured to the traumatized Kenshin, as everyone watched Megumi mutter inanely to herself. "If we don't get Sanosuke to the inn, he'll die. If you, Kenshin, can use your speed to get to my house and grab a green bag on my bed, I have a pretty fair chance of saving him. The pouch contains medical ware, but if you don't arrive as soon as I please, I can make do with what Megumi-san has until you get there. I have previous experience in the medical field while in my years inside the castle."
"No!" Megumi shouted at him, turning to look at Aoshi with venom. "I will treat Sanosuke, and no one else! He's my patient, and mine alone! I won't let any other doctor put their slimy gloved hands on him! I won't trust anyone with his life!"
"Megumi," Kaoru said, putting her hands on Megumi's shoulders. "I understand. But if you truly care about him, then you will allow him to go with Aoshi, who has more equipment and a better working area."
"NO!" Megumi screamed.
Aoshi took Kaoru's hands off of Megumi, and gripped the lady doctor's shoulder firmly. "There's no time to talk about it. It's your choice: will you deny him the chance of continuing his life, and will you let him die without avenging his father and finding his family?"
Megumi looked up at Aoshi, her lower lip trembling. After a moment, she whispered, "If anything happens... I'll blame you for it... I will never forgive you..."
Taking this as assent, Aoshi bent down, and scooped up the limp fighter. "I'll run ahead. So hurry, Kenshin," Aoshi said. "Megumi-san, take care of Kenshin once he has delivered me the supplies. I will come for you when news arrives of Sanosuke's health. Misao, accompany me."
A flicker of happiness entered Misao's blue-green eyes, but it lasted only for a second. She followed Aoshi as he broke into a graceful running walk, with movements so swift but sleek they didn't worsen Sanosuke's condition.
As they watched the three disappear from sight, Kaoru slowly turned to look at the sitting Kenshin. His eyes were shadowed by his bangs, and there seemed to be no indication that Kenshin even knew she was there.
Kneeling down in front of Kenshin, Kaoru awoke him by leaning over and enveloping his torso in her arms. Holding the redhead right, Kaoru pressed her ear to Kenshin's cheek, giving the rurouni a feeling of closeness he had never experienced.
Kenshin melted in Kaoru's hold, allowing his head to fall forwards onto her shoulder, burying her nose in her neck. He was shaking, unsure of what to feel at this point--worry, relief, anger, safety, shame, forgiveness... and too many more to name. He wanted to weep, but the tears wouldn't come. He wanted to pray, but the words fled from him. Kenshin wanted to scream at himself, but his throat was as dry as paper.
Kenshin heard Kaoru whisper into his ear: "We need to talk, Kenshin..." She blinked, and added, "But first, you must let Megumi-san treat your wounds. We don't want your wounds to become infected, right?" She smiled, trying to lighten Kenshin's spirits a bit.
Kaoru had surprised even herself by hugging Kenshin; but it was something her spirit called her to do. To see Kenshin so bleak, so miserable... Kaoru felt compelled to fix it.
Kenshin sighed, tears finally rising. His friend was dying, and it was because Kenshin himself hadn't been on guard. Along with Sanosuke's life, Sano's children he was bent on rescuing were in danger as well. If Sano died, Kenshin knew he could not weild the Sakabatou Shinuchi with honor; for in a sense, Kenshin let Sanosuke die... that was what Kenshin saw, anyways.
But Kenshin felt comfort and relief in these two arms of Kaoru's. It was a blessing, surely, from God himself. No--she was. She was the blessing. "You really are an angel, Miss Kaoru...that you most certainly are," said Kenshin softly. My guardian angel...whom no one can replace.
End of Chapter Thirteen
MadiSano: Aww...how sad. And what will become of Sano? And who was his assaulter? Does he have anything to do with Tomoe? Where IS Tomoe? And what will Megumi do now? And when will Saitou strike? Hey. I'm working on it. Sorry about the shorter update...don't expect too many answers too soon. Drama, ya know.
MACKENSHIN: You baka yarou! (glares) I know where you live! Lol...just kidding, Mackenzie. But I do. Lol. Okay I'll stop now, otherwise you might beat me up tomorrow at school...uheh... and as for Kaoru fighting Saitou... it's more like Kaoru commiting seppuku! Yare yare, it would be cool, but...Kaoru would eventually lose... besides, if I did that so quickly, I wouldn't be able to introduce you-know-who! Mehehe...I'm torturing the other readers...lol. And as to why I used Junjou Na Kanjou for that part of chapter 11, it was for these reasons: 1, to torture you. 2, because the song was playing while I was typing and it wormed itself in. 3, because I felt like it. Mehehe. See ya, Broom Head!
MISSTEAK: Hello again! I missed you! Lol...I'm glad you think I did Kenshin well, I was kind of worried about it and all... and I think this betrayal of "trust" will scar Megumi and Sano's relationship a bit, since this definately disproves Megumi's opinion on Sano. Ah well, fluffy and funny, mischeviousplot bunniesahead, beware! (If you can believe such a thing after reading this chap...hey, "fluffy and funny, mischeviousplot bunnies" rhymes! Kinda catchy! Lol...sorry about that. Hehe.)
CREWEL: Yes, well...Sano's a bit injured at the moment, so I think this'll really affect Megumi a LOT, but also it will help her to value Sano's presence all the more. They're both so cute, and so sad...hmm, I'd better get working on chapter fourteen! I don't want to leave you with this awful cliffhanger for too long...
ANONYMOUS-CHAN: Hmmm, I wonder if you can figure out who Sanosuke's attacker is? Mehehe... anyways, Lol about my grandma smelling like jasmine. Poor Kaoru, ne? Now, a flower for Tomoe...I have no idea what a plum blossom even looks like, or smells like, so I can't say much there. But an iris is pretty, I suppose...but I would think a more sad type of flower would suit Tomoe. Like a...white rose. A white rose seems to remind me of Tomoe somehow, but I've just looked up some pictures of irises, and I have to say, just by looking at them you can see Tomoe. So sad, a light blueish purple...it reflects Tomoe's stolen happiness, masked by pale beauty. As to a flower that represents me...I'd say a narcissus: a bright yellow flower with a splash of bright red in the middle. I'm mostly happy and gentle on the outside, and I make a loyal, funny friend; but when I am angered or something dear to me is being threatened, I step up and I don't hide my emotion at all. A narcissus looks like a bright burning star (even though it's yellow and red, lol), and that reminds me that I my dreams are far but not unreachable, and the red mixes in with that to show that I am determined enough to reach those goals. Okay, enough about me...lol, I hope I didn't bore you...heh. Thanks so much! See ya!
SHAUNTELL: I totally did not intend the Tomoe/Kenshin/Kaoru triangle. Lol. It happened on it's own, but now it kind of deepens the story! Hmm, the greatest artist is indeed accident. But I think I'll enjoy doing this, and it's my first time even writing Tomoe. I hope I did okay? The whole fire magic thing will be revealed in time, like everything else. Lol, the review buttons suck! As an author, I urge you to push them, even if they refuse to activate, but...MAN! When those things don't want you to push them, it irritates me so bad I start pounding on my mouse. I hit it so hard once the ball fell out! Oro! Lol, thanks for reviewing anyways!
Well, that's it, nakama. Hope you enjoy the update, and please review! I'VE MADE IT! OVER A HUNDRED REVIEWS! YATTA! (walks off to party) MOUNTAIN DEW AND SAKE ALL AROUND! YAAAY!