Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am merely a blip on the radar screen.
(giggle) Blip! Blip Blip Blip! It really is such a funny word, I've been obsessed with it all week. Um...not that I'm strange or anything. o0
A Son's Guilt: Chapter Seven
Kenshin gazed numbly through the window, watching the rain patter against the glass. He observed the water slowly trickle into the window pane. Everything was still, and almost deathly quiet, except for the persistent ticking of an old grandfather clock in the corner of the room. Saitou didn't take his eyes off the clock as he leaned against his desk and smoked a cigarette.
In exactly ten minutes, Yamanato would send one of his lackeys to the police station. A disposable man, with a note for Kenshin.
Yamanato was keen on playing with the Himuras, that much was clear. He enjoyed toying with his victims, playing the cat and mouse game, stretching it out for as long as he could. Saitou planned on using this to his advantage. For now, he had ten men stationed in the front of the building, lest the lackey have a bomb strapped to him, intending to blow up the place. You could never trust a criminal's words.
"I apologise for striking your son," Saitou began finally, the heavy silence beginning to bother him. "If I hadn't, he would have ran straight into a trap." He exhaled smoke, his amber gaze settling on his former enemy. "You know, I can't believe you didn't tell that boy about your past. It's much easier for children to take it, then it is a youth of fifteen."
"I want to see my wife."
Saitou sighed as he straightened, crushing his cigarette into the ashtray on his desk. "I understand. But we can't have you leave the station right now. Police officers have already been dispatched to the hospital, and your other friends are already there with her."
"But I should be there with her..." Kenshin murmured, putting his head in his hands.
He felt so weary, so tired. Even if the police would allow him to see Kaoru, would he really be able to go into that room and face her? He had failed to protect her. He had broken his promise to never let anything happen to her. Something painful lodged itself in his throat. Was he failing as a husband? It already seemed he was failing as a father...Their lives up until now had been so peaceful, so uneventful. Was everything they had now gone? Would anything ever seem normal again?
Kaoru...I'm sorry.
"You should be thankful she was not that badly hurt. A bullet in the leg is nothing compared to what could have transpired. This was just a warning of things to come."
"Just a warning," Kenshin repeated. He lifted his head and fixated Saitou with a look of disbelief.
"My wife was shot, and that's just a warning?" His voice was cold. "But then, I wouldn't expect you to know how it feels."
Saitou stared at him coollly. "Is that so? And if I told you that my own son is in the hospital, in critical condition, and I can't be at his side because I have a duty to help your son, what would you say?"
Kenshin stared at him.
o-o-o-o
Tick Tock Tick Tock
"I ran away from Master Hiko. I ran away and joined the Choshu in their fight against the Bakufu. I became their shadow assassin. I was only fourteen, and a fool. I believed that it was right for me to kill the people I did, because in doing so, I was saving the lives of others. But I was blind to the truth."
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
"I believed I didn't have a choice. But I did."
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
"I killed Tomoe with my own hands. I killed my own wife."
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
"She showed me what it meant to be a man, to live. And I swore to her, that once the war was over, I would never use a sword to kill again. I would honour her memory by living the way she would have wanted. And if I had a child...I would teach them the importance of all life. I would make sure they understood, because when I was young, I never did. Only through pain and loss, did I understand. And I didn't want...for you to learn it the hard way."
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick---
"Kenji-kun?"
The boy's gaze was abruptly ripped away from the clock, and settled on the young police officer. The man had a narrow face, and his light brown eyes seemed too close together, but there was a softness to them. He looked kinder than most of the cops Kenji had encountered in his life.
"I am Benjiro Sakaki, in charge of looking after you."
He wondered when the man had come into the room, he hadn't heard anything. They had left him there alone. To think about things. To come to his senses, as Saitou had harshly said to him. It wasn't as though he'd had any choice. They had locked him in there after all.
"Do you want a cup of water, or tea? You must be thirsty."
Kenji cleared his throat. "No thank you," he said quietly.
Benjiro was very relieved to see the boy was not as hysterical as before. Perhaps spending some time by himself had done him good after all. Fujita-san had been right, locking him in there. But then again, he thought wryly, when had Fujita-san ever been wrong?
"Can I ask you a question sir?"
"Certainly."
"How long are we going to be under the protection of the police?"
Benjiro looked surprised. "For as long as it takes. Until Yamanato is found and arrested. He will stop at nothing to destroy your family, now that he has given himself an excuse. It's unfortunate that you caught his attention, the man is crazy."
"I'm going to have to disagree, sir."
"Disagree? You believe Yamanato is not going to try and destroy your family?"
"Not that, sir. I disagree with the police placing us under their protection."
The officer raised his eyebrows. "Why ? Do you believe you are able to defend yourself without our help?"
Kenji looked up and stared straight into the man's eyes. The intensity of his blue gaze unnerved the officer for a moment.
"Do you know, sir, that my father is the Battousai of legend?"
Benjiro was silent. Then finally, he replied, "Yes."
Kenji shook his head. "I was so stupid. I've been stupid all along." His voice was bitter. "All those times, kids told me my father was Battousai the man slayer. I would tell my Okaa-san, and she would just laugh and say it was nonsense. It was only because Kenshin resembles him, she would say. Not many people have red hair, and that's why they think Battousai's your father..."
"Perhaps if he still had his cross shaped scar, you would have known."
"No. I think I knew all along. I just..." Kenji swallowed, shaking his head again. "I just couldn't believe it. My father didn't seem...the manslayer type." He laughed bitterly. "I mean, it's crazy! He's a guy who likes doing laundry. Whose favourite gi is coloured pink for crying out loud. Who couldn't even kill a bug for me."
"Your father is a man to admire. Most of the revolution's man slayers went mad. Others were...unable to control the killers within them, and had to be locked away."
Benjiro's gaze was distant. "Many killed themselves. Your father always believed that to be the coward's way out. He said it was harder to live in this world and to face what you have done. He has helped so many people. He has never stopped atoning. You should be so proud of him."
Kenji stared at him, feeling the weight of the man's words penetrate the fog of hurt and betrayal still wrapped around his brain.
"How... how do you know all this?"
Benjiro smiled. "Because he saved my father."
o-o-o-o
The room smelt of medicine and paint, and the whiteness of it all was making Megumi's eyes hurt. It was one of the new wards, the nurse had told her, and so Kaoru was able to have the room all to herself. The doctor didn't see how this would make her friend feel better, the largeness of the room just made it more depressing in her view. She would have preferred to keep Kaoru with her, in her own clinic, but the police had informed her that it was not a good idea. That it would be better for Kaoru to stay in Tokyo Hospital, where two police officers could keep an eye on her just in case.
Megumi's gaze turned from the sleeping Kaoru to the shadows behind the closed door. That was them alright. She wondered how they were able to just stand there, and not say anything.
"Megumi-san?"
The doctor looked at the woman sitting across from her. Her brown hair was cut short, and she looked worried. "Megumi-san, do you want me to get you a drink.."
Megumi shook her head, sweeping her silvery black hair across one shoulder. "No thank you Tsubame, I'm in no mood to drink anything." She smiled slightly. "Besides, I should be the one fetching you a drink, and not the other way around."
Tsubame fondly patted her large stomach. "No, I'm still capable. I don't think he'll be coming out any time soon."
Her friend raised an eyebrow. "On the contrary, I believe she might."
"Megumi-san. You might be the doctor, but I'm the mother." Tsubame laughed as she folded her hands in her lap. "And speaking of which, I am in a hospital so I'm not worried..."
Her eyes travelled to Kaoru's still form. The last thing she cared about at a time like this was her own self. Thankfully though, Kaoru's condition had improved over the last hour, there was some colour in her cheeks now, and her breathing was even. Thank goodness, Tsubame thought as she squeezed her hand gently. Thank goodness she's alright...
Megumi's face tightened. "I should have accompanied her back home," she murmured.
"But you wouldn't have been able to do anything. You would have been hurt as well."
The older woman sighed. "I guess you're right. Who would have been able to predict that bandits would attack the dojo?"
Tsubame shivered. "Nothing's as safe as it used to be...and now, with these men after Kenji..."
"I hope the two of them are alright..." said Megumi slowly, looking towards the tiny window in the room. Kaoru certainly wouldn't like it, there was no view at all. She watched the rain patter gently against the glass, the weather had so abruptly turned dreary.
"They're at the police station, being protected by no other than Hajime Saitou himself. I think they'll be safe."
Megumi shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. I was talking about their relationship. After what happened..."
"Oh," said Tsubame. The worry in her eyes deepened. "I hope so too."
"Speaking of Saitou..."
The two women looked up as the door gently opened, and a tall man with unruly hair stepped in. He was carrying a tray of tea and rice cakes, his eyes twinkling.
Megumi raised her eyebrows while Tsubame shook her head. "Yahiko..." his wife chided softly. "Don't tell me you're thinking of your stomach at a time like this..."
The broad kenjutsu teacher put on an expression of mock hurt. "Honestly, koishii, did you really believe I wouldn't bring back some food? You've got to have something to eat. And when Kaoru wakes up, I'm sure she'll be angry if we don't have anything for her to eat."
Well, I managed to make them smile, thought Yahiko as he handed out the tea and cakes, before settling down in one of the hard hospital chairs. He glanced at Kaoru and his heart wrenched painfully. He remembered finding her unconscious in the dojo, blood staining her kimono, and thinking she had been killed. He was still shaken, though he was trying very hard not to show it.
"You mentioned Saitou," said Megumi, looking puzzled as she bit into a rice cake.
"Right," remembered Yahiko, running a hand through his spiky hair. "It's his son. He's hospitalised in the ward downstairs."
"That's the critical ward..." Megumi's brow furrowed. ''Why were you..?"
"The boy's brother was buying food as well," explained Yahiko. "I thought he might be related to Saitou, he looks so much like him. So we started talking. And surprise, surprise, he's a really nice guy."
"What's his name?" asked Tsubame curiously.
"Tsutomu," answered Yahiko, taking a sip of tea. "He told me how his mother couldn't come to be with his brother today. Apparently she's a dorm mother at that women's school. So he's here in her place."
"That's so sad," murmured Tsubame. "Will the boy be alright?"
Her husband's face looked grim. "He hasn't woken up. He's been in a coma for five days, apparently."
Megumi shook her head. "Saitou must be worried sick," she murmured. "He appears to have a heart of stone, but he's still a father. He must be hurting..."
"Do you know what happened to him?" asked Tsubame, still curious.
"He was stabbed multiple times," Yahiko said curtly. "Apparently, he was eavesdropping on his father's conversations, and went after a criminal by himself, before Saitou could arrive on the scene. He's only about Kenji's age. A very foolish boy."
Tsubame gasped. "I'd say!"
Yahiko rubbed his jaw. "Tsutomu told me the boy was trying to prove himself to Saitou."
He looked towards the window, the rain had finally stopped. His gaze settled on Kaoru once more, he hoped she'd wake up soon, though he knew the thought was a little selfish of him. The doctors said she was going to be fine, that the drugs they gave her were necessary, so that while she slept, her body would focus all it's energy on knitting the wound.
Megumi shook her head. "Fathers and sons," she said softly. "They can be so complicated."