Scars of the Past
Chapter Fourteen
"How much farther?" Misao asked, her voice tight.
"Can't be much longer," Sano said, doing his best not to gasp for air like a fish out of water. He needed to be the strong one right now, and if they saw just how exhausted he was it'd only make them worry more. "You all right back there, Yahiko?"
"Mmm," came the reply, barely audible over the sound of crunching leaves that Sano's feet ran over.
"Hey, stay with me kid."
"'m trying," he mumbled, resting his head on Sano's shoulder. "'m so tired."
Sano wasn't surprised. The poor kid was suffering blood loss, was in dire pain, and had just gone through a nightmare. If he could run any faster to get him to a safe place, he would have.
"Almost there," he panted, trying to reassure himself almost as much as them. "Megumi will fix you all right up."
"She better help Sou first," Misao murmured, copying Yahiko and letting her head rest. "We'll… be okay."
They continued on in silence, before Sano noticed that the trees were starting to thin, marking the end of the forest. The dojo was almost in sight.
And so besides fighting and being a freeloader, Sano did what he was next best at: yelling.
"MEGUMI!" he screamed, barreling now through the remainder of the trees. "MEGUMI! OVER HERE!"
He could now make out the shingled roofs of the dojo and the low gate that ran around it. And coming through that gate was the fox, the person he wanted to see most.
"Oh, Kami-sama," she said, clapping a hand to her mouth in horror. But she was nothing if not quick-witted and she promptly forced the expression away.
"Who needs-?"
"Soujiro," Misao interrupted from her seat. "He's been poisoned, Megumi. He needs help."
"Sano, hurry and bring them to the kitchen. Hyaku!" she scolded as the street fighter took now staggering steps forward.
"I'm going, Fox," he muttered, forcing himself forward the next few yards into the kitchen.
Yutaro jumped up from where he was kneeling by Kaoru's side at the new arrivals. A bandage had been wrapped around his head, but otherwise he had no injuries to speak of.
Kenshin was lying completely still on a futon they had dragged from the bedroom, swathed in bandages. His hair had been pulled up in a topknot and cascaded on the floor behind him which allowed Megumi easier access. Kaoru was on a blanket, also done up in bandages and awake, although not entirely conscious.
"What can I-?" Yutaro began to ask.
"Sit Yahiko and Misao-chan down… get them something to drink; they're dehydrated," she said as Sano gently lowered Soujiro to an open space on the floor and Misao and Yahiko awkwardly dropped from his back. "I'll be with them in a few minutes. Is there anything life threatening?"
"I… don't think so," Yahiko said after a pause, all but collapsing on the floor.
Satisfied no one was going to die on her, Megumi turned to Soujiro, expertly taking a knife and cutting down the length of his blood-soaked gi before ripping it off. The more serious injuries she noticed right away were two deep stab wounds on his side, and another deep wound on his chest.
"One of those on his side is poisoned," Yutaro said, trying to be helpful, but feeling his stomach churn at the sight. When had Soujiro gotten the second side wound?
"Arigato," Megumi said. "Hand me that jar by Ken-san's head."
Yutaro did so, knowing the jar contained the antidote that Megumi had whipped up for Kenshin. It seemed to be working, as Kenshin wasn't dead and his breathing had evened out.
However, looking at the young man before her, his chest barely moving, she wasn't sure it would work. Too much time had passed.
"You can help him, right?" Misao asked weakly, leaning up against the wall and holding a cup of water between shaking hands.
"I make no promises," Megumi said, lifting the Tenken's head up and pressing a cup now filled with the antidote to his lips. "But I'll do my best."
She managed to get some of the liquid down, massaging his throat to help him swallow. She noticed the blood flecking his teeth and gums and closed her eyes, knowing that the internal injuries plus the poison would probably be too much.
She was going to lose him.
"C'mon, Fox," Sano said softly, noticing her hesitation. "He's managed this long… it has to mean something."
She nodded; blinking back the tears she had felt pricking her eyes. She helped the boy drain the rest of the cup before grabbing a clean bowl of water and a towel, ready to start trying to disinfect the injuries as best as she could.
"I… I'm going to have to perform surgery," she said quietly after a minute of wiping the areas around the injuries. "I think the chest wound may have pierced a lung, and his stomach is bleeding internally. It's not going to be pretty. Sano, could you help me move the others to Karou-chan's room? It's the least damaged and I have the best lighting here."
"S-sure," Sano said, his own stomach reeling. Dishing out injuries was one thing, but the healing process was a whole different story.
"I'll help too," Yutaro volunteered.
"Good. After that, Sanosuke, I'm assuming you know the basic injury treatment? Yutaro, you help him. Try to patch Yahiko and Misao-chan up a little bit; at least clean them up."
"Hai," Sano said, not in the mood for debate. "C'mon, Jou-chan, up you go."
He bent down to help her, wincing as his now destroyed right hand slid under her frame.
"You baka!" Megumi exclaimed, catching sight of it. "What did you do?"
He gave a weak grin. "Heh… uh… you'll patch it up, right?"
She sighed and pointed to the next room. "Just go."
Between Sano and Yutaro, they managed to move Kaoru and Kenshin and aid Misao and Yahiko into the next room. Yutaro came back for a large pitcher of water, a clean bowl and some of the rags, and Sano grabbed a roll of bandages.
"Both of you stay in there till I call you," Megumi ordered, tying her hair back and rolling her sleeves up, a surgical knife and scalpel on a towel next to her.
Sano was only too glad to comply. He and Yutaro retired to the room, gazing at their patients.
"All right, you've both gotten the tar beat outta you," Sano said, kneeling down next to Misao. "What hurts the most?"
"My leg," she whimpered. "But don't you dare go try to set my bones! I'm fine for right now… go help Yahiko. He's much worse off."
"Am not," the boy denied, but it was all too clear that he was starting to fade slightly.
Leaving Misao with some rags and her own bandages, the ninja saying she knew how to treat the basics as well, they headed towards Yahiko armed with medical supplies.
"Lie down on your stomach," Sano instructed, gazing at the whip lashes covering the already scarred back. "I'll clean these up. Yutaro, you bandage up his hands. They'll probably need stitches but this will hold for right now."
"You sound like quite the doctor," Misao said, carefully wrapping a bandage around a gash on her leg.
He shrugged. "Before I had the Fox I used to patch myself up."
They melted into silence, save Yahiko's slight whimpers and Misao's hisses of pain when she shifted her leg.
"I know a tea that would really help," Yutaro said, carefully bandaging Yahiko's hands. "It helps with pain and it has a calming effect."
"Don't happen to have any here, do you?" Sano asked, gently cradling his hand as he took a slight break from cleaning up Yahiko's wounds.
"There's some in the kitchen," he said, "but…"
They all exchanged looks. "Perhaps we'll get some later," Sano said.
"Do you think he's all right?" Misao asked, staring at the closed shoji door that separated them from the hallway to the kitchen. "I mean…"
"He's got you believing in him, Misao," Sano said comfortingly. "If anyone can help him, it's Megumi."
"Is Kenshin all right?" Yahiko asked, eyes nearly closed as fatigue started to overtake him, but needing to know that his father in all respects was not as injured as Anohorea had pieced out.
"He'll be okay," Yutaro said. "Megumi-san managed to get him the antidote in time and only one of the injuries was really severe."
"It's sort of my fault he's hurt," Misao said quietly. "He was already having enough trouble fighting ninjas because we aren't as honorable as samurai and don't necessarily engage face to face. He saw some of the Tozuma trying to take me away and I think he was distracted."
"Hey, Weasel, don't blame yourself," Sano said. "Kenshin's been through worse and he wouldn't place any blame on you at all. Don't worry about it."
She gave a small nod. "Yeah…"
"Why don't you lie down and rest, Misao?" Yutaro suggested, gesturing at Kaoru's futon in the corner. "You've been up all night and you need to regain your strength."
"But my wounds," she murmured, looking down at the blood and forming bruises all over her.
"If you don't mind, I can wrap most of them up for you," he said. "I'm training to be a doctor when I go back to Germany so I know a lot of the basics. Just… um…"
She raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"From the way you're holding yourself it looks like you might have broken ribs," the boy said carefully. "And to treat those it'd be best if I could see the wound."
Misao stared at him before a candle was lit up over her head. "Oh! Well, that's no problem. Just don't try anything funny," she warned.
Waving his hands in a gesture of innocence, Yutaro replied, "Of course not."
Since she'd already lost her obi sash, removing the top of her outfit wasn't all that difficult. It just hurt like no other as she tried to maneuver her arms out of the sleeves.
"Gah, Kami-sama," she said, swearing under her breath. "Can you just cut the shirt off me? I can't move my arms that high."
"S-sure," Yutaro said, retrieving a fine pair of medical scissors and carefully snipping away at the seams. The garment fell away a moment later, leaving Misao with only her breast band and bandages wrapped around her chest to spare her modesty.
Due to all of the accidents she was always getting in though, it wasn't anything unusual. It was just normally it was only her grandfather and her family that treated her.
"Would it help if I sit up?" she asked, wincing at the thought. Her body was aching just to fall backwards and let the floor support it rather than her own will.
"You can lie down," Yutaro said, noticing her expression. "Sano can help me move you if I need to. For now though, I just want to take a look."
"Mkay," she said, awkwardly maneuvering herself to lie on the floor, her injured leg ramrod straight in front of her. "Wake me up if anything… happens," she said, eyes already drifting closed.
"Of course, Weasel," Sano said, feeling an odd swell of protectiveness grip him as the young ninja finally succumbed to sleep.
"Maybe you should rest too," Yutaro said softly, gesturing at the last futon stacked in the corner. "You must be exhausted."
"Nah," Sano said, leaning back against a wall in his best act of nonchalance. "I don't think I could sleep right now. I'll just stay up and keep watch. All those Tozuma bastards are taken care of, right?"
Yutaro nodded. "I went out earlier and tied up the ones that were still alive. They're all bound hand and foot next to the big sakura tree in the front yard. I figured we could alert the authorities after everyone is in the clear."
Sano's face blanched. "Kuso, that's right. And Saitoh-teme is the damn chief of police. How the hell are we going to explain all this to him?"
"I… don't follow," Yutaro said. "Why does this Saitoh person matter?"
"He's a mibu wolf," Sano said darkly. "He's always got it out for Kenshin and he's a bastard in general. And he knows about Kenshin's no kill policy."
"I still don't get it."
"We have dead ninjas littering the dojo. They're all dead by a sword. And to top it off we have a wanted swordsman for countless murders including Okubo inside the dojo. Either way, Saitoh is going to figure out that the Tenken is here."
"Can't we just hide him?" Yutaro asked, face white.
"And the bodies? Kenshin didn't kill them, Jou-chan didn't, you and Yahiko didn't, and even if Misao killed someone it'd be with shuriken or kunai." Sano leaned forward and rested his head on his knees to hide the frustrated tears picking at his eyes.
A day ago he had still loathed the Tenken. A day ago everyone had been healthy and happy. A day ago nothing was wrong.
And now?
Now everything was crashing down around them. He cared what happened to Soujiro and didn't want to hand him over to the police, who no doubt wouldn't hesitate to kill or torture the kid for information regarding Shishio. His friends, the closest thing he had to family, were all hurt, some closer to death's door than others.
And he couldn't fight his way out of this. His fists wouldn't solve this problem. Neither would sake where normally he could drown away his sorrows.
"Maybe they'll let him go?" Yutaro said, almost as if speaking to himself. "We took out Anohorea and the Tozuma ninjas, right? That's got to count for something."
"Yeah," Sano snorted, blinking back the tears. "They just might let Kenshin and Jou-chan off the hook of harboring a fugitive. Other than that… Saitoh's got it out for the Tenken, you know. His stupid Aku Soku Zan philosophy is going to get Seta killed. And there's not a damn thing I can do about it!"
"We could… not tell the police? Or maybe dump the bodies?"
"Kenshin would never approve," Sano said miserably. "He can be almost stupid that way, but he believes we all have to follow a straight path. That wouldn't involve lying to the authorties. He might agree to hiding Soujiro, but he would never approve of us dumping bodies somewhere. It goes against his code."
"Then… can't we say a ninja turned against his fellow ninjas and then was killed? Or a mysterious swordsman came by?"
"I don't know," Sano said, leaning dejectedly back against the wall. "I just don't know."
The two lapsed into silence, Yutaro working on bandaging Misao and Sano staring blankly at the far wall, hoping that some brilliant idea would spring to mind.
Movement in the corner caught his attention and he whipped around, brown eye widening as Kenshin stirred slightly, his eyes flickering open.
"Kenshin?" he whispered, carefully maneuvering himself towards the rurouni. "Hey, buddy… can you hear me?"
"Sanosuke?" Kenshin said, just as quietly. Violet eyes fully opened seconds later, blinking up at the street fighter. "What has-?" he started to ask, before he broke off as realization flooded him.
"Everyone's all right," Sano said, speaking before Kenshin could get another word out. "You just need to rest."
"Yahiko?"
"I rescue him and Misao from the ninjas," Sano said. "I got this weird feeling that you guys were in trouble, and I'm glad I actually listened to it. The Fox is here too."
"And Kaoru-dono?"
"She was hurt but she'll be just fine. She's right across the room, actually. Yutaro's good too. Just a bump to his head."
Kenshin wasn't an idiot and noticed the lack of status report on Soujiro, as well as the almost haunted look in his friend's eyes. "There is something you aren't telling me," he said, locking gazes with Sano. "What of Soujiro?"
Sano paused and Kenshin felt his stomach drop.
Sano never hesitated.
"…he's… not good, Kenshin."
Kenshin gave a slight nod of encouragement and waited.
"He got poisoned at the start of the fight, according to Yutaro," Sano said. "He saw Yahiko get taken and he went after the ninjas. Somehow in all this he met up with Misao and the two of them stormed the ninjas' hideout, which I might add is a scarily close distance to the dojo.
"The affects of the poison as well as his injuries were slowing him down and both he and Misao got captured by the ninja. From there, to my understanding Anohorea basically tortured him and actually believed he killed him. I got him back to the dojo and Megumi is doing her best but…"
"Soujiro is strong," Kenshin said, violet eyes steely with determination. "He'll pull through." After a second he asked, "And what of Anohorea?"
"Dead." Then Sano added, "…There's one more problem, Kenshin."
"Oro?"
"The police are going to find Seta. We have dead bodies outside and it won't be long until some passerby freaks out and reports it. With Seta as injured as he is there's little we can do to move or hide him… and you know Saitoh."
"I will handle Saitoh," Kenshin said, closing his eyes in rest. "There must be a solution we can all agree on."
"Damn it, Kenshin! You think Saitoh is just going to sit back and let the Tenken go free?"
"I will handle Saitoh," Kenshin repeated, leveling a stare with Sano. "Please, Sanosuke. Do not provoke him in anyway. I will find a way to fix this."
"You shouldn't have to! None of us should have to deal with this!"
Kenshin reached a bandaged hand out and placed it gently on the fighter's knee. "That is life, Sanosuke. You may either choose to walk the well-worn trail, which is safe but does not lead to life's true joys. Or you may climb the mountain, which is difficult and at times seems impossible, but your life will be better for it. We have all chosen to climb the mountain and this is just one of its obstacles. But we do not give up, Sano. Not even when it seems hopeless."
Sano looked away, unable to continue to meet the amethyst gaze. "I know," he said softly. "It's just…"
"I wish I was stronger," he added, voice barely audible. "If I had been here this wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have let you and Jou-chan down. Yahiko wouldn't have had to go through all that. And Seta… he wouldn't be dying." Angry tears cascaded down his cheeks, and he brushed them away with his uninjured hand. "I'm just so useless."
Kenshin eased himself to a sitting position, wincing at the pull on his bandages. "You are not useless, Sanosuke," he said, setting a hand on the white clad shoulder. "You are a great man and you have a great heart. You did the best you could and that's all anyone can ask for. You brought them all home."
Carefully, Kenshin reached out and gently embraced the young man, eyes widening as Sano returned the hug, clinging to Kenshin like he was his lifeline.
Kenshin could understand very well. Guilt overran him at all hours of the day. Guilt for the lives he had taken. The lives he hadn't saved. The families he had torn apart. The times he hadn't been there.
Sano felt guilt for things out of his control. He blamed himself for the attack, arguing that he should have stayed at the dojo since they knew Yahiko was being targeted.
Gradually, Sano released the grip he had on Kenshin, before he slumped against the rurouni, his eyes closed in sleep.
"Yutaro-kun, would you please lie Sanosuke down?" Kenshin asked, starting to stagger under the much bigger man's weight. "It looks like his exhaustion has finally caught up to him."
"Running and fighting all night might do that," Yutaro said, forcing a smile to his face after the heartbreaking scene. He had never seen the fighter so vulnerable. "You should go back to bed as well, Kenshin-san. I'll wake you if the police come or anything else happens."
"Arigato, Yutaro-kun. Sessha will take you up on that," the redhead said, lying back down on his futon once Sano had been stretched out on the floor next to him.
Within minutes, everyone in the room was asleep save the German boy. He sighed and wrapped one last bandage around Misao's arms, and did a onceover on the bandages he'd wrapped around her ribs. He had been right; two of the ribs had been broken. Fortunately, ribs weren't all that hard to fix if they were properly aligned. With just a little push he had put them back together and the bandages would hold them in place while they healed.
However, he was not going to attempt to fix her leg; that one was out of his territory. He would wait for Megumi. And now that he'd taken care of the worst of Misao's injuries, he made his way to his best friend and began to clean the smaller cuts that dotted him like spots on a ladybug.
And despite the soft breathing and peacefulness of the breeze through the open shoji door, Yutaro couldn't help but feel that the quiet was wrong. Like it bore ill intent.
A storm was approaching. A vicious, wrenching gale that would place them on yet another trial.
And they were right in its path with no escape in sight.
Author's Notes:
Wow… so, yeah. Long story short, college is crazy, work is crazy, newspaper and yearbook are crazy, and in general my life ran out of room for fanfiction. I decided this summer I'd try and get some fics done (this and Black is Our World are on my list) so here's this new chapter and expect another chapter hopefully soon.
The review count was a bit depressing last chapter, which I guess is partly my fault for taking so long to update. Hopefully though, I'll get to see some new and familiar faces for this chapter and hopefully some reviews to keep me motivated to finish this. We've got some more Soujiro angst coming up, brewing love, possibly a fight, and some other odds and ends. Should be quite the ride.
Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Thanks guys!
Also, if I can ask for something (other than reviews) it's prayers for my dad. I'm not supposed to say, but since no one I know personally reads this it should be fine. My dad might be getting fired from his job tomorrow because his main boss is an absolute bitch and doesn't know the first thing about hardwork, compassion, or human ethics. I know, I work for her too. But if you can, just say a short little prayer that everything will work out and my family and my dad will be okay. Thank you.