Disclaimer: Read previous ones please. I can assure you that nothing has changed.
Scars of the Past
Chapter Ten
Dark shadows crept across the yard, tainting the area with their vile intentions. The pale moon glow made the silver of their blades shine out of the darkness, the only glimmer of light in the blackness.
Wind whispered softly through the trees, branches creaking ominously, as ninjas perched on the larger limbs. Each and every figure but one was dressed in solid black, a bandana wrapped around their mouths to leave only their eyes and up open to the night.
The one other figure was clothed in only a pair of black pants, his bronze chest gleaming from the feeble light, his dark eyes glittering in anticipation. The ever-present copper necklace shaped in a ring hung on a cord of fine leather was around his neck, resting lightly on his broad chest.
"Shall I give the order?" asked the ninja next to Anohorea softly, a gold circlet atop his head identifying him as the leader of the Tozuma Ninja clan. "Now would be the opportune moment."
"In a minute," the larger man whispered back, his attention completely focused on the still peaceful dojo whose occupants would soon all lie dead, the Myojin boy in his hands for whatever he wished to do to him. "Remember," he said after a pause, turning to face Hijino, "you may kill whomever you wish but the Myojin brat is mine."
"Perfectly understood," the ninja uttered before dropping soundlessly to the ground, his clan following with a silent signal behind. Swift as a cheetah and smoothly as a raven they spread out around the porch, the wooden floorboards not even betraying their presence.
Hijino entered the front door first, a tanto in each hand, each tip dipped into a poison the Tozuma Ninjas prided themselves on. It would work itself into the victim's bloodstream and eventually kill them if they didn't die from blood loss first.
"And what do you think you're doing here?" asked a voice from the shadows in the hall, eerily calm and quiet. "I don't believe you knocked or were invited."
A single figure stepped into the beam of moonlight that fell on the ground, a vacant smile on his face, blue eyes holding no emotion at all. Brown hair framed his face, the light blue gi and hakama standing out amongst the dark uniforms of the ninjas.
"Tenken," gasped Hijino, obviously startled. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm currently a resident at Kaoru-San's home," the young man replied evenly, the bokken being removed from his sash on his pants and raised in his left hand. "And I do believe you are trespassing."
"You were supposed to be on our side," the lead ninja ground out angrily, also preparing his weapon. "What made you leave us?"
"I was never with you to begin with," the Tenken hissed, taking a single step forward. "Those who wish to hurt my friends will have to go through me. You shall not harm a single person in this dojo."
"What Soujiro speaks is the truth." A pair of bright purple eyes peered from the gloom, small flecks of amber sparkling in the bright orbs. Crimson hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck, the infamous sakabatou grasped firmly in his hands. "No one but you shall be harmed tonight."
Both former manslayers turned to look at each other, the Tenken working with the Battousai for a single cause. Blue eyes met purple, a sense of respecting radiating to each other as well as understanding. There was no need to involve the rest of the dojo; they could both take the ninjas.
"We'll see about that," snarled Hijino, nodding his head slightly. In a flood of movement the black clothed figures rushed at Soujiro and Kenshin, all holding a poison tipped weapon of the sort.
"Ryu Do Ryu San!" cried Kenshin, slamming his sword downwards, a massive airwave crashing into the oncoming ninjas, sending them flying off of their feet and out the front door.
Kenshin and Soujiro walked calmly to the front door and alighted down the steps, now facing the ninjas outside of the dojo. "You must remember," said Soujiro, voice cold as ice, "unlike Himura-San killing the likes of you shall not weigh guilty on my conscience."
"Kenshin? What's going on?" asked the fearful voice of Kamiya Kaoru, standing in the doorway behind the two fighters, Misao next to her with Yutaro and Yahiko exiting their bedrooms to join the two women.
The young kendo instructor was clothed in a simple blue yukata, her midnight black hair loose around her shoulders with a blanket thrown over her shoulders. Misao was in an overlarge gi with her shorts on beneath it, cyan eyes wide and alert as each hand held several kunai.
Yutaro and Yahiko both wore an emerald green yukata, Yahiko's shinai grasped tightly in his white knuckled hands where as Yutaro was unarmed, his and Kaoru's weapons in the training hall.
"Please do not interfere Kaoru-San," said Soujiro pleasantly, turning to give the frightened group a smile, "everything will be taken care of shortly. But please keep an eye on Yahiko-Kun, Anohorea-San is out there somewhere."
Misao gasped and pulled Yahiko behind her, placing him between the doorframe and herself while Kaoru did the same to Yutaro, both getting the younger boys out of the way.
"You will regret not joining us Tenken," growled Hijino, eyes flashing madly. "Prepare to die."
"Prepare yourself Hijino-San." With a burst of speed Soujiro shot away from Kenshin as the ninjas charged, acrobatically maneuvering around the two fighters. Head on, Soujiro's sword caught Hijino's, the ninja raising the tanto protectively to guard his face.
With practiced ease, Kenshin slammed his sword against the oncoming figures, blood splattering as the tip of the blade occasionally caught the flesh. But all too soon the red headed man realized the truth...he and Soujiro would not be able to defeat all of them.
Several ninjas were getting past Kenshin and lunging for those on the porch. With a yell, Misao launched a handful of kunai while Kaoru grabbed Yahiko's shinai from his hands and crashed it down on the head of the ninja nearest to her.
"Yahiko! Get back inside the dojo!" Kaoru screamed, her eyes emitting pure fear as she narrowly managed to hit another one of the Tozuma clan before he stabbed her with his kantana.
Yahiko edged around the doorframe and took off into the corridor, Yutaro following quickly behind him. "We need to get something to defend ourselves with," the cat-eyed boy gasped, pounding down the hall next to his friend.
"We have to get to the training hall!" exclaimed Yahiko, dashing around a corner with Yutaro hot on his heels. "Hurry up!"
Seconds later the two students entered the large and still quiet training hall, the sounds of fighting muted within its thick oak walls. Reaching up, Yahiko pulled a shinai off of the wall and Yutaro did the same before they both looked at each other.
"Stay here," ordered Yutaro, body rigid. "I mean it Yahiko, don't go fight."
"We have to help Kenshin!" the young samurai protested stubbornly.
"And you're supposed to stay alive!" Yutaro snapped, shoving Yahiko against the wall. "Please stay here," he repeated softer, his tone worried. "I don't want you to die Yahiko...please."
The spiky haired boy opened his mouth to answer when the wall of room blew, bits of sawdust pouring into the room with two figures. Soujiro was still battling Hijino, somehow having acquired a sword in the fighting.
The Tenken still looked untouched where as the ninja was bleeding heavily in his abdomen and left shoulder, the dark stains barely visible against the blackness of his uniform.
In silence Yahiko and Yutaro watched as the two fighters continued to clash swords, bright red sparks dancing off the blades as the crossed. Hijino's mask had slipped off his face to pool around his neck, his mouth wide open as he panted for air.
It was known that ninjas preferred stealth combat and sneak attacks. Having Soujiro awake had ruined their plans and now they were forced to engage in battle. Soujiro seemed to almost be enjoying himself, the blade slashing mercilessly into the ninja.
Yahiko looked on in awe at the blue clad figure. The fight between Soujiro and Sano now seemed like child's play compared to the grace Soujiro was using now, darting easily to the side to escape his opponent's blows.
A glint of light appeared in the side of Yahiko's vision and he turned to see and arrow speeding out of the darkness straight for the Tenken who seemed oblivious to the arrows descent.
"SOUJIRO! BEHIND YOU!" Yahiko yelled, hoping his warning was in time. Quick as lightning, the young man whirled around and cut down the arrow just as Hijino slammed his blade into Soujiro's side, the former falling to his knees as the ninja pushed him to the floor, cruelly turning the blade inside of Soujiro.
"Don't bother trying to get up Tenken," chuckled Hijino, withdrawing his blade and looking down at Soujiro. "The poison should kick in very shortly...you'll be dead in just a few minutes."
Weakly, Soujiro pushed himself off the ground so he was standing but swaying slightly, sword in hand. "You're wrong...I'm not going to lose to the likes of you."
"You don't have a choice in the matter. As soon as the poison enters your bloodstream it's all over...but I may as well speed up the process." Hijino lunged forward and slammed his blade against Soujiro's, who had just managed to block. "I see you still have a bit of fight left," Hijino said, glancing almost with wonderment at Soujiro. "Then again, I should have expected something like that from the Tenken."
"You should have," the Tenken agreed, taking a shaky step forward, blood blossoming over the stab wound. "Because now you're going to pay the price." A split second later Soujiro was gone from his spot and a blade was protruding through Hijino's sword arm, barely having missed his heart.
With a roar Hijino withdrew another tanto from a sheath on his side and plunged it into Soujiro's chest, the latter staggering away, the blade still embedded in his chest. "How does it feel Tenken?" Hijino asked, shoving Soujiro till he was on his back. "Does it hurt?" he questioned gleefully, twisting the blade before removing it.
"I'm not the only one dying tonight," the Tenken gasped, blue eyes clouding over. "You are too." The sword still in Soujiro's hand shoved upwards, catching the ninja through his forehead. With a soft moan Hijino crumpled over dead next to Soujiro.
"Soujiro!" Yahiko exclaimed, running towards the still figure. The crimson liquid had stained almost all of Soujiro's gi, the light blue now purple. "Soujiro?" he repeated, voice cracking as he knelt next to the dying man.
Yutaro silently joined Yahiko, his golden eyes glimmering with tears. "You need to get away from here," Soujiro whispered, his eyes closed. "It isn't safe."
"We have to get you to Megumi," Yahiko cried out, tears already streaming down his bronze cheeks. "Or else you'll die!"
"I already am dying Yahiko-Kun," Soujiro said softly, voice growing weaker. "There is no hope left for me but you two can still get away...please...leave..."
"We can't leave you Soujiro! Come on Yutaro! We have to get him out of here!"
"Actually," said a voice gruffly, "I do think you'll be coming with me."
Both boys peered up to see a large man smiling sinisterly down at them. "Anohorea!" breathed Yahiko, terror written all over his face.
"That's right brat, you're coming with me." Before either of the two Kamiya Kasshin students could blink Yutaro lay unmoving on the ground where as Yahiko had been flipped onto Anohorea's shoulder and the larger man was carting him off.
Soujiro continued to lay motionless, fire seeming to spread through his veins as the poison finally kicked in, the pain rendering him immobile. 'I must help Yahiko-Kun,' his brain argued against his body, his senses rapidly fading.
The mind, even though weak, won over Soujiro's body and he pushed himself to his knees, breath hitching in his throat before he began to cough up blood from his many internal injuries. Crawling over to Yutaro, but only using his left hand, the Tenken placed a hand on the boy's wrist and sighed in relief as he felt a faint pulse. Yutaro had merely been knocked out, not killed or infused with poison.
Pushing up against a wall, Soujiro stumbled towards the busted wall and outside, his eyes going in and out of focus. Sounds of battle could still be heard from the front yard but he had no time to waste.
'It's a good thing my body is strong enough to hold the poison off for a little bit longer,' Soujiro thought wryly to himself, thankful once again for his mostly healthy body. It still hurt to move but as long as he pushed the pain to the back of his mind he would be okay for a while. 'I must save Yahiko-Kun...then I can die knowing I did at least one thing to repent.'
Forcing himself to continue moving forward, the injured man sent out a stream of his own ki, looking for Yahiko's or Anohorea's. A large burst to his right signaled that that was the direction Anohorea had taken off in.
'He'll probably be in the forest somewhere,' the Tenken mused, holding his sword that he'd removed from Hijino tightly in his hand. 'They must have a base of some sort...that's where I must look.'
Moonlight filtered through the trees to provide bits of light among the creeping shadows that filled most of the area. Soujiro's footsteps were soft on the leaf-covered ground, although a trail of blood dotted the way behind him, the liquid leaking through his gi and dripping onto the ground.
After a while Soujiro leaned faintly on one of the numerous trees, a feeling of light-headedness washing over him as he continued to lose large amounts of blood, the effect making him weak and dizzy.
Hushed voices cut through the silence of the night and Soujiro straightened up, straining his ears to see whom it was.
"It was a good catch, don't you think? We may have lost Hijino-Sama but now we've got this girl to keep us company." Soujiro could almost see the man smiling and anger boiled within him but he patiently waited his ground to see if anything was else was said.
"That isn't the reason we're bringing her back to the base," another man laughed while Soujiro's heart quickened. So there was a base... "She is part of the Oniwaban...we might be able to get some information out of her. The Oniwaban works with the government at times, so she might know something important. And once we're done with her you can have her Miko."
For the next half an hour Soujiro followed the two ninjas, one carrying an unconscious Misao over his shoulder, deeper into the woods until he began to sense other people. That was when he made his move.
Darting swiftly out under the cover of the trees the two men had been cleanly killed in one stroke, Misao lying unharmed on the ground. "Misao?" asked Soujiro softly, nudging the girl gently.
Her eyes fluttered open, dazed with confusion. "Soujiro?" she murmured, reaching one hand up to touch his cheek, a soft smile on her lips. "Is it morning already?"
"What happened Misao?" he asked urgently, taking her hand in his left, the sword in his sash. "Where are Himura-San and Kaoru-San?"
She blinked several times before she hurriedly sat up, her face filled with fright. "Himura got stabbed in the back," she said speedily, "and I'm not sure what happened. Kaoru got knocked out I think...I haven't a clue what happened to Yahiko and Yutaro though...I was fighting one second and then I woke up here."
"Yutaro-Kun is alive," Soujiro said. "He's knocked out in the training hall. Anohorea-San has Yahiko-Kun...they're in this area somewhere. We should hurry before anything happens to him." Soujiro rose to his feet and almost fell back down, the world turning madly.
"You're hurt!" exclaimed the Oniwaban ninja, darting to her feet and helping to steady the man. "What happened?" she asked in horror, eyes alighting on the bloodstains.
"It's nothing Misao," said Soujiro with a strained smile, not having the heart to tell her he would be dead within a few hours. "Come on...Yahiko-Kun needs us. Do you have a weapon with you?"
"I have a few of my kunai left," Misao said; falling into place behind Soujiro, ready to help him if he should stumble. "And it looks like you have a sword...did you kill those men back there Sou?" she asked, a slight tremble in her voice.
"Yes," he replied evenly, voice not wavering at all. "I couldn't have them wake up and alert others that we were in the area.... we're here," he said a moment later, pausing in the middle of the forest.
"I don't see anything," muttered Misao, glancing warily around.'
"Look above you, Misao," Soujiro said, nodding upwards with his head.
"Oh Kami," she mumbled, eyes taking in the sight. Amongst the tree branches were large buildings built skillfully on the limbs, a whole community living in the treetops. "Do we go up there?"
"What else?" Gripping onto a low branch Soujiro moved to swing himself up when his chest erupted in pain and he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, tears pricking at his eyes from the agony that raced through him.
"Tell me what's wrong!" demanded Misao in a hushed whisper, kneeling next to Soujiro. "Tell me Seta Soujiro!" she hissed when he remained silent, eyes staring vacantly at her.
"Remember how you said the Tozuma Ninjas used poisons?" he asked with a feeble smile. "I'm finding out first hand."
"You are not allowed to die on me Sou," she whimpered softly, shaking his body with her hands. "You have to fight it!"
"I'm...trying," he murmured, "but I'm still going to die Misao."
"You can't!"
"Everyone dies someday," he coughed, blood flecking his hand as he brought it up to his mouth, "seems today is my time. But I will make sure Yahiko-Kun is safe before I go anywhere...but we have to hurry."
"Please Sou," Misao begged as he rose to his feet and vaulted onto the branch, "go find Megumi! She can help you!"
"I won't make it back Misao," he uttered quietly, the smile gone from his face. "The only reason I'm still alive is I'm able to hold the poison off for a little while. But only for a little bit longer. Now come, Yahiko-Kun needs our help."
Resolutely Misao pulled herself up on the branch next to Soujiro, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears as she realized she was going to lose the young man who had started to love as more then just a friend.
Soujiro ran his thumb beneath her eyes, brushing away her tears before offering a smile. "Let's go."
Swiftly and silently the two started for the buildings, rescuing their young friend the goal in mind. They could only hope he wasn't already dead.
Author's Notes:
And wow! I updated! O.o I'm so sorry for the long wait! But with school and homework its been really hard to find time to write. I'm personally very happy with the way this chapter came out. n.n
I have another idea for an awesome RK fic! Unfortunately, it doesn't have our favorite Tokyo samurai. T.T It focuses on Soujiro, Kenshin, Misao, Sano, and Kaoru and I'm hoping to get that up when I get a spare moment.
Please review? Arigatou!
Reviewer's Comments:
LishaChan But of course Mellon-nin! lol Yep, the Leg-Chan bug has bit as has the Wolf's Rain bug! I'm so glad it's on tonight...I wanna see more! lol and no, Yahiko isn't yours. Seriously Lisha...lol
Sailor Kenshin I never used to be big on romance either. But now I like reading it as long as the fic actually has a plot, lol! Like I can't stand HP fics where Draco and Hermione (who are my fave couple for that series) fall in love cuz she turned beautiful and he really handsome, ya know? I also prefer side romances compared to the love part being the center of the fic. What can I say? I'm a dark, angsty writer although this fic isn't as bad as most of mine. lol
tocole It was a tad corny but it was true. lol, I luv the new FOL! n.n I can not wait until we meet Soujiro and Misao! I'm dying to see their meeting! I still laugh when I go back and read mine! Thanx for the encouragement, I've finished chapter two! n.n Novels are a lot harder to write cuz I think it's because you have to create the characters moods and work off of absolutely nothing. Then again, you never have to worry about making the characters OOC cuz they're yours! lol
Live on Wolf I'm not sure... ::sweatdrop:: I haven't made a song up yet but if you want one I'm sure I could probably figure out where to put it in somewhere! n.n
coffeentoffee Ummm...oki? Yep, bad Kaoru. Yahiko was feeling better...although I can't say a thing about next chapter...what has Anohorea done to our little samurai???
BlueBabyAquaGirl Yep, it came through but that is odd. My system kicked me out before too...think it was a site glitch? Anohorea wasn't really battling much but we did see him briefly! n.n Lots more of Anohorea next update though!
warhero35 ::nods:: I agree completly. Poor Misao and now Sou's going to die...but is he? lol I luv making stuff angsty!
EclipseSilverSun Yeah...sorry about the long update time...I have a lot of fics though and now I have school. Yahiko angst will be coming (along with more Sou, I'm a sucker for that kind lol) Hope to see you again!