Author's note: I've wanted to write this chapter for long, the chapter in which Sachi and the Kenshin-gumi are reunited, but will this bring about happiness or sorrow? I hope you can get the far off feeling of this chapter, the numb feelings of a bloodstained stranger, a stranger to not only those around her, but to herself as well. More chapters to follow this one.
-The wandering KatDrama
-Riding off into the painted sunset
'Divided Waters'
Chapter Nine:
Bloodstained Stranger
By KatDrama
The evening meal was noticeably silent. Akio's sons cast inquisitive looks at the stranger they had come to know as an adoptive sister. The girl whose name meant "girl child of bliss," who had been so full of positive energy despite her circumstance now had a determined manner about her that sent shivers of intimidation even down Sakura's back. True, Toshi's death had cut deeply into them all, and Sakura regretted the life she had taken. But this foreign girl with blood stained hair, her eyes the color of icy steel, with her vow of bloodstained vengeance unsettled them all. Silently gulping down another mouthful of rice Sakura cast a worried sidelong glance at the girl she thought she had known, but was now once more a stranger to her.
In the diminishing light of the day thick clouds began to brew overhead, signaling another storm. As the first heavy drops of rain broke upon the ground the family slowly disengaged from the meal and eventually accepting the black storm that imprisoned them within the quarters of the shack relinquished themselves to sleep. All that remained in the main family room was Sakura mending one of her brother's garment and the stranger within their midst.
Sachi sat against the wall, the sakabato in its makeshift case resting on her shoulder. Her dull eyes stared as though hypnotized into Sakura's lamp as the rain pounded away the night. "I'm going to bed now." Suddenly called out of her dazed state Sachi gasped with surprise at Sakura's announcement. Her hand unconsciously tightened its grip on the sakabato. Easing her body back into a relaxed state she spoke in a low and hauntingly cold voice.
"Alright." The room became dark as Sakura left the room with her lamp. A flash of lighting threw shadows across the room, its shadow of thunder soon followed. For the first time since Toshi's death Sachi's thoughts briefly wandered back up the madly swirling river to Tokyo. She vaguely remembered a night similar to the one at hand. Then the thunder had recalled her nightmarish past. She could still feel Kenshin's strong arms comforting her. A small sigh escaped her lips. Though the past no longer haunted her it was now more than ever that she needed the battosai's counsel. But there was no rurouni for her. Unsheathing the sakabato she stared into its blade. This was a task she had to do herself now. A bolt of lightning illuminated the room again, casting shadows across the near woman's face, revealing a stone cold expression.
There was no light of dawn, only gray skies greeted the village as they drew themselves out of slumber and dredged out into the fields. Sachi stood near the edge of the village, her arms folded inside of the large sleeves of Akio's worn blue jacket to keep warm. Her bloodstained hair blew madly in the wind, forcing her to tie it back in a messy ponytail. The sakabato nestled in its haphazard bamboo sheath felt like a heavy burden compared to the light staff she held in her hand to help her walk whenever she felt pain in her leg. Today her leg was throbbing like crazy from the low air pressure. Sachi's ice blue eyes scanned the horizon as though expecting something. There was energy in the air that she could somehow sense. The air was full of bad things to come.
Her persistence paid off. After several hours serving as a statue like sentry to the village she spotted something in the distance. Slowly the dark blot on the pathway turned into one man, then another, then another, until in all there were nearly forty distinct bodies in the force that moved towards the village, and all armed to the tooth and nail. Sachi's body went rigid at first, but soon began to tremble with excitement, a cruel, sardonic smile twisting her face. The renegade samurai had finally come, in full force, for revenge.
"Sakura…" a girl slightly younger than Sakura tugged on her kimono sleeve.
"Yes?" The elder girl looked down and saw the terrified expression on her face.
"They're here." Radishes and other vegetables tumbled to the ground and were abandoned in the mud. The bare feet of the farmer girl could be heard splashing through puddles left by the rain in her hurried frenzy to reach the scene. She stopped and gasped to catch her breath. She was unsure whether to regard the scene as a majestic symbol of power or gaze awesome fear at the terrifying force now facing her village. She stood petrified. Before her was the tense, broad back of the stranger she once knew. A gleaming sword was drawn in her hand. Her very stance spoke of hidden power. Her hands trembling slightly Sakura clasped them in front of her chest as her eyes slowly traveled to the band of mangy samurai, some in armor but all with swords. All that stood between her village and sheer destruction was the lone girl with a reverse blade sword. Time seemed to stand still as the first rain of morning slowly broke overhead.
"The air seems tense." Kenshin observed as he turned his head once more to the sky. Traveling had been slow the final day because of the mud left from the heavy ran the night before.
"We'll probably see some more rain soon." Akio stated. He chuckled slightly and slapped the reigns across the oxen's back, urging them to go faster. "But the village is just beyond this final hill."
Yahiko craned his neck to try to see over the hill. After all his pent up anticipation the moment he'd been waiting for nearly four months for was at hand. Jumping off the oxen cart he jumped to the ground. His feet nearly sliding out from under him as he set off to running towards the village. "C'mon guys!" He shouted over his shoulder at Kenshin and Sano as the first drops of rain fell upon them. "That means Sachi's just over this hill!" Catching unto his excitement Kenshin and Sano sprinted after him as lightning crackled overhead.
Rain dripped down the blade as Sachi slowly shifted her grip on the sakabato. Suddenly a bolt of lightning broke the sky overhead, and the standoff disintegrated. Shouting a warrior's call Sachi jumped right into the overwhelming force that seethed foreword. Sakura all but lost sight of her warrior. As though in slow motion she saw samurai fall to the mud. Through breaks in the mob she saw the twirl of a bloodstained ponytail, a flash of a reversed blade, or the determined face of the girl child of revenge. Sakura was too stunned to move as some of the samurai skipped Sachi's confrontation all together and rushed into the village. It was though in a dream that she saw the blunt end of the sword crash into her head and send her collapsing to the ground with a swirl of pain. She felt the mud mix with the blood on her face, the rain slowly dappling her kimono with wet spots. She saw feet rushing by, she heard screams of terror, screams of victory, the clash of blades, but her mind could not comprehend. Then suddenly in focus there was a figure she had thought was a stranger with a scar across the right half of her face. Through the rain, the mud and confusion she saw the reverse blade plunged through a man's stomach. She saw the icy glare of unsettling victory on Sachi's face as she withdrew her blade and made for her next victim. Then another voice, unfamiliar reached her ear.
"Sachi!" A young man with spiky brown, almost black hair lunged into the fray, his bamboo sword cracking across a man's head. Then there were others. A tall, muscular man with the symbol of evil on his back was punching out the renegades, and a small red headed man with a disapproving glare upon his face as he dodged blades and hit a man with his sword's sheathe. And suddenly Sakura understood that true warriors were protecting her village.
"Sakura!" Akio slid to his daughter's side, alarmed by the blood on her face.
"Father…" She weakly replied in a daze. A grim smile passed over her face, one that shook Akio with worry and fear. "Sachi's fulfilling her promise. She's killing them, she's going to kill them all." She laughed slightly.
Akio grabbed his daughter by the shoulders and pulled her upright, oblivious to all the fighting and chaos going on around him. "Don't' say that! One death leads to another! She must not kill them!" He nearly shouted into her face.
Sakura's head rolled back and she let loose a loud, maniacal laugh which caused her father's face to turn white. "But she has." She continued to laugh as Akio, upset, laid her back down. He stood up to survey the fight around them. It appeared that the warriors he had brought from Tokyo were doing their job to disable the fighters, but true to his daughter's word, several lifeless corpses dotted the ground beneath Sachi's feet, and blood ran down the sakabato's blade. Akio's fists trembled with rage as he picked up a nearby shovel and joined in the fight.
The majority of the gang, badly beaten by Kenshin and the others made a hasty retreat, leaving behind those who were dead or could not flee by themselves. The rain evened out into a gray drizzle. A breathless figure, her clothes torn and stained with blood, her wet hair clinging to her face stood over her eighth victim and slowly removed her sword from his body. Numb, though not sure why, she stood, her head downcast, the rain clinging to her body. She did not look up, but felt the red hair man, the true owner of the once peaceful sword step towards her. She felt the gazes of all others set upon her, their eyes full of fear or anger. Without resistance she felt the sword jerked from her cold fingers and felt the hot sting of the slap dealt to her face. She could not bring herself to meet his eyes but she guessed that they were full of anger, full of resentment, and the disappointment of broken trust. The thoughts racing through Kenshin's mind might've been greater than any words he could speak at the moment, but his actions spoke all as he let the tainted sakabato drop into the mud, the blood from its blade mixing with the murky soil. He turned his back on her and slowly walked away.
As though the blade had been the only thing giving her energy Sachi collapsed to her knees, her numb eyes, dull like the gray sky, stared blankly at the sword before her. Overhead a roll of thunder rumbled, reflecting the sky's anger as the rain continued to pour unto the bloodstained stranger in the midst of the abandoned battlefield.