I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage and ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Broken line means scene change.
"So why are you helping us anyway?" Ohkami asked Haruko as we headed toward Lord Maplewood's lair.
"It's a long story." Haru sighed, leaning against the back of the carriage.
"We have time." I said, "Lord Maplewood's lair is a few miles away, at least that's what Honda said."
"I hate that little imp." Ohkami growled.
"An imp?" Haru looked at me questioningly.
"Lord Maplewood sent him. Ohkami and he didn't get along particularly well."
"Little bugger tried to bite me."
"I don't blame him, I'd try to bite you too if you patted my head."
"Anyway," Ohkami turned back to Haruko. "Why are you helping us?"
"Izumi convinced me." He smiled. "Besides, I'm not really a fighter. I was a samurai during the revolution, back before the Ikeda-ya affair. At the time, I was in love with a young woman by the name of Oki. We planned to get married once the war was over, but a member of the Shinsengumi killed her during the raid of the Ikeda-ya Affair."
"I'm sorry." Ohkami whispered.
"That's alright." Haruko smiled a bit. "The irony is, she was killed by Okita Soji. When I finally went after him, I found out that he's died of tuberculosis not long afterwards."
"Okita was only doing his job." I whispered. "That was the night we all found out he was sick."
Suddenly, the carriage came to a halt. We all looked out to see a warehouse. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I didn't have a good feeling about this. As we entered the dark place, a voice echoed off the walls.
"Welcome."
"Who the hell are you?" Ohkami yelled. "Are you the one who tried to kill me? Because if you are, I'm going to kick your ass!"
"Why would I spend my valuable time trying to kill a stupid wolf demon?"
"Oh yeah? Why don't you come say that to my face and see if I don't bite yours off..."
"Ohkami," I growled, trying to pull her behind me. "Not now."
"Listen to your friend, you stupid wolf. Anyway, I don't want to fight you, I want to fight the Kitsune Majin."
"Show yourself!" I yelled, "leader of the 2nd troop of the Shinsengumi, Nagakura."
"I see you remember me," Nagakura stepped out of the shadows.
"Why wouldn't I? You always suspected me of being the Kitsune Majin."
"Yes, the only woman in the Shinsengumi. Tell me, where your fights with the Battousai planned, or did you two just wing it."
"Where are they Nagakura?" I growled.
"They are here."
"Let us see them."
"Only if you defeat me Kitsune Majin."
"Don't play games Nagakura, show them to us."
"Defeat me first."
Suddenly, the ground underneath us started to shake. The lights came up and an arena came out of the floor. Nagakura stood in the center smiling.
"Come, let us finish this." He motioned for me to come at him.
"Izumi don't." Haruko grabbed my sleeve. "It's a trap."
"What?" I looked at him.
"It's a-"
"Shut-up." Nagakura cut him off. "You're running out of time Kitsune Majin, if you delay any longer I just might order one of my henchmen to kill them."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me. Let's see if I can defeat the traitor that even the great Saitou couldn't."
I stepped into the arena, ready for battle. Nagakura smiled, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. Then, he vanished. My eyes scoured the arena before I felt him behind me.
"You really don't think that'll work on me." I smiled, turning and blocking his strike.
All of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my side. Glancing down, I saw blood soaking my shirt.
"It seems that you are out of practice." Nagakura laughed, appearing in front of me. "You have yet to scratch me."
"Shut up." I growled, lunging.
He dodged easily, and I found myself staring at the wall. There was a rush of wind behind me and I felt another sharp pain in my shoulder. I could feel the blood flowing freely down my back.
Staggering, I barely stayed on my feet. My eyes scanned the arena, and he stood opposite me. There was the most evil smirk on his face. He walked slowly up to me, as if trying to insult me. Leaning in, he was inches from my face.
The next second, my fist collided with the side of the face. That sent him to the ground. I didn't give him the chance to recover; I put my foot on his chest, digging my heel into his stomach.
"Where are they Nagakura?" I growled, putting some more weight on him.
"Six feet under." He spat.
"Really?" I asked, venom dripping from my voice as I pulled a knife from my pocket and put it to his throat.
"Okay," He gasped, trying to push me off. "They're in the back room."
"Thank you." I kicked him in the ribs and left him gasping for air.
"Izumi." I heard Haru running up behind me.
"Yes brother?" I made my way over to the back room.
"You need to have your injuries treated."
"He's right Izumi." Ohkami piped in. "You don't know where that weirdo's sword has been."
"Not now." I whispered, pulling open a door.
"But Izumi-"
"Not now!" I yelled, glaring at them.
I walked into the back room without waiting for them to follow. Sano and Jime were tied to chairs in the back. In a quick slash of my sword, both were free.
"Are you alright Izumi?" Jime asked me, hugging me.
"I'm fine." I said, not really paying any attention.
Suddenly, everything around me went black.
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Everything around me started getting fuzzy, before becoming clearer. I blinked, trying to get my bearings. Slowly, I realized that I was in my bedroom. Jime was leaning against the far wall, sleeping.
A small smile crossed my face as I sat up. Slowly, I crept out of the room, trying not to wake him up. As I headed to my study, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. The last few days have brought something out of me that I buried long ago.
Sighing, I grabbed one of my folders and a pencil before heading outside. I made my way towards a tree overlooking the back part of my property. Plopping down underneath it, I opened my folder and pulled out a piece of paper.
Lately, I've been really stressed out and my way of coping is to write, mainly poetry. Another reason I write is because it makes me feel like I have some control over my life.
I looked down at the paper; it was a poem I'd been working on for a while, titled "Demons of the Revolution." Now I felt as if I could finish it, I always thought it was lacking something, but now I know what and I began to write furiously.
"What are you doing out here Izumi?" I heard behind me.
"Nothing much Jime." I sighed, looking up as he sat down next to me.
"You should be in bed." He chided gently. "Your brother said it was a miracle that you survived. You lost a lot of blood."
"I'm not surprised. Nagakura was a good fighter."
"What's gotten into you Izumi?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Ohkami and your brother said that you snapped at them, and nearly killed Nagakura. I thought you didn't kill anyone."
"A lot of things."
"Why don't you tell me?"
"It's a long story."
"We have plenty of time, the sun won't rise for quite a few hours."
"Well then," I sighed. "I'm not as much of a saint as everyone thinks. Ohkami, Haru, Sano, they all think that I would rather die than take a life. The thing is, Kitsune Majin doesn't just mean that I was a sneaky fox who infiltrated the Shinsengumi; I was a demon. I killed rebel and Shinsengumi alike it didn't matter to me.
Hell, I was worse than the entire Shinsengumi combined. So many times, I almost went crazy from being alone. You must remember from my early days at the Shinsengumi, I didn't care what happened, as long as I got to kill someone. That…addiction…nearly killed me. The only reason I didn't become a true battousai, a real demon, was because I met Souzou."
"He saved your life." Jime whispered.
"Yes. He did. Well, over the past ten years, I've been able to suppress the urge, but now… Now I can't help it. When I drew that knife on Nagakura and snapped at Ohkami and Haru…" I sighed. "I don't think I can control this anymore. The scary thing is, part of me doesn't want to push it away."
"Izumi." Jime pulled me into an embrace, holding me tight against his chest. "I'll always be here for you."
"I know." I smiled, looking up into his eyes.
"So," He loosened his grip. "What is all of this you have here, stories?"
"Poems. I usually write them when I feel stressed, it's sort of my way to cope."
"It seems there are a lot here, you must be really stressed."
"That would be Ohkami's doing. She's always getting into more trouble."
"I suppose she would drive anyone to drink." He grinned.
Just then, the sun peaked over the trees of the forest. We sat there, just watching it. Eventually, sun was high in the sky, and I heard someone running behind us.
When I turned, I saw Ohkami barreling towards us in her dog form. I laughed as she pounced on me and started licking my face. It took me a few minutes to push her off. She barked before turning back into her usual form.
"You're alive Izumi!" She yelled, gripping me tightly.
"It's good to see you too." I winced.
"Your brother said that you would probably be out for a few days." Ohkami pulled back, smiling.
"You mean that all happened last night?" I asked, startled.
"Yeah, don't you remember?"
"I do, but it seems as if it's been at least a week."
"I hate to break this up." Jime stood up and brushed himself off. "But we should probably get back in the house. Your brother told me that he would kill me if I let you stress yourself."
"Alright." I smiled, turning toward the house.
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I stood over my desk, the folder that contained my poems open. Ohkami and Jime were in the other room, probably discussing something, Ohkami most likely begging for some alcohol. Sighing, I looked through the poems; there was one I just had to find.
It was near the bottom, worn from being looked over so many times. I wrote it not long after the war, when my heart was shattered. The title was "Savior of a Demon." After reading it so many times, I'd memorized it word-for-word. Now, however, I didn't need it. That part of my life was over. Looking at it, I read it one last time.
I swear,
You must have been heaven sent.
You were my savior.
How else could
A demon
Like me
Find love?
I am a demon,
A traitor.
I was all alone,
Until you came.
You saved my life,
My sanity.
You were
Always there for me.
And when you needed me,
I wasn't there.
You died,
Because of those damn politicians.
We gave up everything;
Our families,
Our homes,
Our lives,
Everything for them.
Then,
They turned around,
And killed you.
Just because
They couldn't make good
On their promises.
I'm so sorry,
My love.
You did so much
For me,
And I couldn't do anything
For you.
Then again,
Everything happens for a reason.
Maybe,
You were sent
To save me,
From the demon
I almost became.
Thank you,
My angel
My savior
My love.
Sighing, I put the paper on the top shelf of my closet, next to my old Shinsengumi robes and my old sword. Now it was a distant memory, a part of my life that was over. I love Hajime now, not Souzou.
"Are you coming Izumi?" Ohkami yelled.
"I'll be there in a second kid." I smiled, closing my closet.
A/N: Just to let everyone know, this is not the end, I have a ton of more ideas, plus there are still a couple things from the rp I haven't done yet. Anyway, now that I'm done with that, I hope everyone likes that poem, I wrote it a couple months ago thinking of Souzou and Izumi's relationship. Well, bye for now.