Love Beyond The Sword
Chapter 3:Hearts Connected
Kaoru was running. She was running as fast as her legs could carry her. She was running through a darkened forest. In her hand she had Kenshin's sword, as she was cutting through Kenshin's old enemies. Ji-ne, Saito when he was a member of the Shinsengumi, Kanryu, The old Oniwaban group, Aoshi when he still wanted to destroy Kenshin, Gohei, Shura's pirates, Reisui Mizu, (The enemy Feng Shui master), Urisuei,(Mr. Blind turtle shell ;;),Enishi, Sojiro, and all of the other crazed members behind Shishio. As Kaoru cut, she had tears coming from her eyes as she yelled her battle cry, trying to destroy the ones who had caused Kenshin his pain. And then, emerging out of the forest, extremely wounded, Kaoru dripped from head to toe of blood, looking like she had just gotten out of the Meiji Revolution herself. She smiled as she saw Shishio's mansion. She had finally made it. As she ran up the steps of the mansion she then smiled but gasped as she then saw Shishio, holding Kenshin up by the throat, then cutting it, blood spewing everywhere, dropping him. Kaoru cried out and dove forward, trying to catch Kenshin as he fell to the ground, trying to save the one last chance she had of him. But she was then slashed in the back by Shishio, her eyes widening as blood spewed from her own body. In her last bit of vision, she saw Tomoe cradling Kenshin's broken body, Kenshin smiling as his throat bled. Kaoru yelled out but nothing came, as she fell to the ground, right into the massive puddle of her and Kenshin's blood, while her grip on the reversed-blade sword was gone. The sword, in slow motion, bounced in the pool of blood, splattering it on the outskirts of the puddle. She then fell, her eyes falling shut with the vision of Tomoe holding Kenshin, the very job that Kaoru wanted to uphold, always.
Kaoru shot up out of bed, as tears poured down her face. "KEEEEEENNNNNNSHIIIIIIIINNNNN!!!!!!!!". She then was breathing heavily, and sweat was drenching off of her. She gulped and looked around. The room was empty until she heard lots of pairs of footsteps rushing down the hall toward her room. The door was ripped in half by Hiko and Sano, and the rest of the gang rushing in, in the danger they thought Kaoru was in. Hiko landed on his knee, the whole dojo shaking as he had his sword drawn looking around. When they all saw nothing but a frightened Kaoru, in anime style they all sighed falling backwards. Kaoru then smiled and looked to them, Misao scratching her head. "Kaoru...before you yell Kenshin's name, make sure we're not in the same building." Megumi and Yahiko sighed in relief that Kaoru was alright. "I'm really sorry everyone..I didn't mean to have the dream I had." Kaoru said apologetically. Sano then smiled all goofy and looked to Kaoru. "It's no problem, Missy. It's not your fault. They're dreams." Sano said all heart warming. Saito then stepped forward, his arms crossed. " You are but a child. You need to rid your thoughts of the things that might happen to the Battosai, and focus on the things that will happen, and what to do to prevent them." Saito said, his eyes closed. Kaoru then looked to him sternly, then nodded. "Kaoru, it's four thirty in the morning...I think to get a head start everyone, we need to leave as soon as possible." Yahiko said seriously. They all nodded in agreement to the time idea. Kaoru then looked in melancholy to the ground, then crawled out of her bed on the floor, and walked over, kneeling to Yahiko's level, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. " Yahiko...I want to ask you to stay out of this one. You don't know how serious this battle is going to be, and a lot of us may not make it back. I can't let you risk your life when you haven't even lived it yet. Kenshin would never forgive me if I let you." Kaoru said soothingly. Yahiko shook his head firmly, throwing Kaoru's hand off, and stepped back staring firmly at her. " No way! There is no way I am going to back out of this! Kenshin needs every bit of help he can and I want to lend him my strength! I know you think I am just a kid..but I can help! I really can!" Yahiko yelled in protest. "Yahiko...what about Tsubame and Ms. Tae? They need you. They are suffering with Kenshin's ordeal, and Tsubame needs you the most right now." Kaoru explained. Yahiko then looked down, in remorse. "Wow...I didn't know Tsubame was sad...Okay Kaoru! I'll make you proud and protect Tsubame and Ms. Tae if you promise to bring Kenshin home!" Yahiko said in heroics. "Deal." Kaoru then smiled closing her eyes, as Sano layed his hand on top of Yahiko's head, ruffing his hair up, Yahiko growling. "Besides. Whose gonna clean the dojo?" Sano said. Then Yahiko jumped Sano, both of them getting into a dust cloud fight. "WHY YOU LITTLE- YOU'RE THE ONE WHOSE GONNA CLEAN THIS PLACE! ..." They all blinked and Misao growled as she stormed over, and grabbed Yahiko off of Sano, and put her foot in Sano's face, separating the two of them. As Aoshi turned his head from Misao to Kaoru, he spoke sternly. " We leave in 30 minutes. Get dressed Kaoru. We have to travel the shortest route unseen, and we must leave at 5:00 a.m." Kaoru then nodded as Jinpu Kaze spoke. " I have supplied us all with horses so we can make better time to make sure the survival of Mr. Himura goes up." "Thank you Jinpu. In this way, part of my arrogant student's survival and recovery effort surely goes to you." Hiko said gently for once. Misao's friend, one of the members of the new Oniwaban group, the one who has the hots for Hiko, drooled in the background over Hiko's first ever spoken words of kindness.
They all left, with Sano bickering at Megumi as usual, and Misao slid back the paper door, to let Kaoru get prepared. As soon as they were gone, Kaoru got up and began to prepare. Underneath her training clothes, the ones she trained her students in Kamiya Kasshin Ryu in, she put some of her father's samurai armor underneath her shoulders and one on her stomach, but since her clothes were so loose from not eating and worrying about Kenshin lately, it did not show through. Instead of putting her hair up in her ponytail, she used her blue ribbon to tie it up into a bun, to where she could see her enemy better. She then bent over and began to reach for her wooden sword against the wall, but then saw Kenshin's sword leaning against the wall. She stared at the wooden sword, then picked it up and then picked up Kenshin's sheathed sword, leaning the bokken(wooden sword ) against the wall in place of Kenshin's sakaboto ( reversed-blade sword). Kaoru then held the sword in her hands, and she pulled it quickly out of it's sheath, and jumped forward for an attack, and was a bit amazed how easy it was to move with it. She felt like she could feel Kenshin sealed within the sword. And she felt it reacted the strongest with her. She then sheathed it, and placed it in the cloth belt around her waist at her side. She was going to fight in his honor, with his sword. She then slipped on her zori sandals and opened the dojo door, and walked out. Surprisingly, it was warm, and the stars were still out. She then gazed up in their beauty, so many of them filling the celestial realm. "This is it Kenshin...I am coming for you , and I promise I will bring you home. I promise you can be here, and be with us all again. And be fully healed." Misao broke her train of thought, as she nudged her in the side. "Kaoru, it's time to go." Kaoru then nodded, and put her hand on the hilt of Kenshin's sword, squeezing it tightly as she went around following Misao, to the sound of neighing. Around 8 horses were in Kaoru's front yard, as Megumi was on a massive black steed with her hands around Sano's waist praying for her life because she feared horses, and worst of all, Sanosuke was driving. Aoshi was on a chestnut horse as he then heaved Misao up in front of him, as he grabbed the reigns, checking Misao and the ground, making sure the little weasel wouldn't fall off and be trampled underneath the horse. Misao waved her arms in surprise when he picked her up onto the horse, blushing as she looked down sitting in front of Aoshi as his kadachii's rested across from one another on his sides, poking her in the leg. But she didn't protest. Saito took a horse to himself as usual, and Hiko and the girl who liked him were on one horse, mostly by threatening Hiko if he did not ride with her. Hiko, surprisingly didn't protest. The other members of the Oniwaban group and Jinpu shared two horses, while one was left for Kaoru. Kaoru admired it's beauty. It was a massive white steed, as Kaoru petted it's nose, and then heaved herself up on it. "TO KYOTO!" Aoshi said, kneeing the horse in the sides, it rearing up and neighing while Misao waved her arms and yelled. As they all set off, Kaoru looked back and then felt this would be the last time she saw the dojo. She smiled as Yahiko was waving from the steps of the dojo. Kaoru then waved back