A Truth In the Darkness

A Tale of Rurouni Kenshin

Chapter Two: Deep Breaths

The lantern Sanosuke held cast enough light for him to see the damage this cave-in had caused-- and to see why the mine had been abandoned with cave-ins in the past. This one seemed to have reaped heaviest damage near the entrance. Thankfully. If the little boy was in the back of the available mine area when it happened, hopefully he'd be safe. Sano called out the child's name. As he did, he could hear the ceiling of the mine emit the slightest rumble.

Sano looked up cautiously at this. Woah, maybe it wasn't his best idea to be so loud right now. As he approached the furthest depth of the available mine, he could hear tiny, little sobs. He made his way toward the sound.

"Kyou?" Sano questioned in a quiet voice. "Kyou, hey kid. I'm here to get you out. Don't be afraid. Where are you?"

A little, messy brunette head peaked at him from behind a rock, looking absolutely terrified. He stood up slowly.

"Aha, there you are," said Sano with a grin for the boy. The child put a finger to his lips.

"Shhhhh. The noises make the rocks fall down," whispered the boy, eying the roof of the mine.

"Right, okay, Kyou, then we'll whisper, ne?" he said to the small boy. "Are you hurt?"

The child shook his head from side to side, little pieces of dust drifting from his hair.

"That's good," Sano mumbled as much to himself as to the child. "My name is Sanosuke-- you just call me Sano though. Let's get you out of here, kiddo," he told the boy while walking toward him. "Here, let me carry you."

The little boy raised his arms willing toward the lanky teen that was his would-be hero. Setting the lantern down, Sano picked the child up and rested him on one hip. "Let's go," he said to him as he retrieved the lantern and hurriedly headed back the way he came.

He pointed to the entrance of the cave as he walked toward it, carefully stepping over debris that had fallen. "See that light over there?" Sano asked him. Kyou looked to where he directed, and nodded. "We are gonna climb up and slip right through where that light is coming in."

Kyou smiled at him, a little less afraid now. His bandanna seemed to have caught the boy's eye though. Kyou reached for one of the loose ends of it, looking up at him as though checking to see if it were all right. The boy didn't wait or permission though, he grabbed it in his tiny little hands.

Sano looked down at the boy and grinned. "You want to wear it?" he asked the child. The boy nodded. "Can you hold this?" he asked, indicating to the lantern, not wanting to stop. "Right here by the handle at the top, that's it, Got it?" Kyou took the lantern. "Okay, hold it tight. Sano untied and took off his bandanna with his freed right hand. Having learned while young how to manage this one handed, Sano pulled it tight about the youth's head and tied it one handed. The tails hung comically long down the kid's back. He then took the lantern back from the child. The boy touched the bandanna about his forehead, mesmerized.

Something appeared in the hole, blocking the light, then disappeared again. Sano realized it must have been one of the locals, checking on his progress. Sanosuke wanted to yell that he had found the boy, safe and sound, but didn't really have the urge to risk the rest of the mine coming down on them.

"Look there, kid," Sano whispered as he pointed. "That's how we're getting out."

They were more than halfway to the entrance when the ceiling gave a horrendous moan and immediately rocks and dirt began to fall. Oh crap, Sano mentally hissed, this was so not good. Kyou put his hands over his face . Sanosuke could see that the rocks were practically raining between them and the entrance. It'd be no use to run for it.

Sanosuke backtracked to the rear of the mine as quickly as he could , the debris hindering every step. He ran hunched over with Kyou clutched protectively to his chest so as to keep the falling rocks from touching the boy. To his dismay, even the back held no sanctuary. Sano had the abrupt worry that the entire thing may collapse at anytime.

Sanosuke, even with his renowned strength, determination and his inhuman toughness, knew that a mountain falling on him was likely more than he could survive let alone the child he sought to protect. He looked desperately around the until he spotted it, a crevasse between two giant boulders on the floor, likely there from a much older cave-in. One boulder overlapped the other at the top and no rocks could fall between them. He put young Kyou down and ordered him to crawl between the two large masses. It was big enough for the four year old, but would not accommodate his far larger, lankier frame.

Sanosuke leaned down to to talk to the child. "Kyou, you stay in there and don't come out. You'll be safe from the rocks if..." his sentence was cut short by a rock that glanced the side of his head. It was enough to knock him to his hands and knees. Little Kyou gasped.

"It's all right, Kyou. Just stay where you are. No matter what happens to me, stay right where you are. You understand?" he was nearly pleading with the boy on this.

Before Sano could even form his next thought, a sudden weight fell across his back and left shoulder, pinning him on his stomach to the mine floor. A boulder dislodged from the ceiling, some back corner of his mind supplied for teen grunted as the wind was forced from his lungs . Sano put his free hand, his bandaged right hand, over his head protectively. He drew in a painful breath. Then another. Each one was a jabbing knife stab. He didn't hear the bone in his left arm snap, because of the crashing noise around him, but he certainly felt it.

There was a part of him that wanted to scream, loudly as an animal would. To release the anguish of his pain. His pride and the horrified face of the tiny boy before him prevented it. He didn't know how long he would be able to stand it. The dust stirred to a frenzy in the air made him cough and that meant an entirely new dimension of agony for his body. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the pain. Kyou was crying.

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Kenshin hastened his step as a mental picture formed. He could just picture Sano. He would be leaning against a tree by the river, sitting comfortably. He'd open a lazy eye and say something like, "Did you have fun babysitting?" or, "I ate the rest your soba and had to nap it off, so no fishing done here." He'd be amused, anyway. Kenshin nearly looked forward to 'facing the music' from his unmanageable, lazy friend.

As he passed through the side suburb they had planned to eat at, Kenshin glanced into the soba stand. It caught him that there was no attendant. A second look found his fishing supplies still resting on the bench where he had left them. Kenshin frowned. This was, uncharacteristic. Sano could be lazy, but he would have brought the fishing supplies with him when he left. He went to the soba counter and leaned to call to the kitchen behind. "Hello? Sir? Is there anyone here?"

He was met by silence. A nagging buzz started at the back of his skull and the rurouni began looking more prevalently about the small side town. Sano could take care of himself, certainly, but something of this entire thing was striking a sour chord with in him. Kenshin headed along the edge of the area, slowly toward the river fishing spot in hopes of finding someone who knew what was going on...

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"Kyou, it's okay... don't cry kid," Sano told the child between breaths.

"But that rock fell on you," he sobbed, "and you got hurt."

"I know, but there are a lot. . . of people outside digging. They'll be here real soon . . . to get us out," panted Sano, trying to keep the boy calm while wishing that this frightened little child had never had to witness any of this. His voice was just a whisper, not only because he was aware of the possibility of another cave-in, but also because he really couldn't manage anything more at the moment.

The lantern had landed nearby, somehow up right and it was till burning, thankfully. Good, Sano thought, that'll make it easy for them to find us.

This whole keeping the kid calm business would have been so much easier if only he could breathe though. If only the pain would ease. Then the blackness called to him. He was far too familiar with the comfort it offered. It had saved him many times, from the conscious torment of pain. By violence and the kiss of a sake bottle both. But passing out would be no good, not yet. Got to fight it. Can't leave this little one here alone.

Kyou was quietly sobbing. He could see the little tear streaked face in the lantern light.

Sano had to get the boy to think of something pleasant. Get his mind off of what was going on around him. Keep him talking. And me too, he thought.

"Kyou, can I ask . . . you something?" Sano whispered.

"Uh huh," the child nodded, wiping tears from his eyes.

"What is your . . . favorite thing in . . . the world to do?" he asked the boy.

Kyou sniffled and thought for a second, then said, "I like to run."

"Oh," Sano smiled at him, " Running is. . . alota' fun." He caught his breath as another wave of pain shot through him. He turned his face away from the child trying to keep Kyou from seeing how much he was hurting.

"I can almost run as fast as our dog," Kyou said with pride.

Sano turned to face the child again. "I'll bet you . . . run just . . . like a stallion," Sano told the boy with a grin.

"I know a story about a stallion," said Kyou, sounding pleased with himself.

"Oh, I enjoy a good . . . story," Sano said, hoping to keep the child talking. "Will you . . . tell it to me?"

Kyou nodded and smiled as he told his story in his little, whispering voice.

"A long time ago there was this strong white stallion. And he lived on the prairie. One day he was running through the grass and he saw a great big dragon." Kyou spread his hands as far as he could, indicating that the dragon was really big.

"A dragon?" Sano said. "That can't . . . be good."

"Yes, and it was really, really big," he confirmed, nodding his messy head and sending the bandanna tails over his shoulders.

Sano couldn't help but chuckle at this. Oh, not good, laughing is defiantly not good, he thought to himself. That definitely hurt.

"And it wanted to eat the stallion. And he didn't like that," Kyou continued.

"Yeah, I'd bet... he didn't like it," Sano agreed.

"So he got all his friends together, the other horses and the birds and the rabbits. And they waited till the dragon went to sleep and then they all snuck up underneath him. And then they pushed him. They pushed him along till the reached the edge of the ocean. Then they pushed really hard and threw him into the sea." The child used his hands to demonstrate the important parts and told this story with excitement. "Then he became a sea monster and didn't bother the stallion ever again. The end," he concluded very quickly.

"That's a . . . great story," Sanosuke said encouragingly. "You're a good . . . story teller," he praised the boy.

The boy beamed with pride. Then his expression turned thoughtful.

"Do you know any stories, Sano-san?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh, I don't . . . tell a good . . . story kid," he told the boy. "I can't tell 'em . . . the way you can." Another wave of pain erupted and the sweet, caressing blackness called more urgently this time. Oh, how it beckoned him. The promise of escape from this torment. It was getting harder to fight it even with his superb ability to do so. He knew eventually it would overtake him, but he was determined not to let that happen until this child was out of the mine and safe.

He heard Kyou ask another question, but he sounded far away. "Is running your favorite thing to do, too?" he was asking.

Sanosuke shook his head a little trying to clear it. "Oh, I like to . . . run," he said. "But I was . . . really looking forward . . . to fishing . . . with my best friend." His breaths were becoming increasingly short and rapid. No!!! his mind was screaming at him, can't lose consciousness. Can't.. Then the coughing began it's attack on him again. He was losing this battle, and quickly. And he knew that he had very little time.

"Kyou, listen . . . to me." now even his own voice was sounding distant. "When someone . . . comes for . . . you, . . . calls out your . . . name or . . . my name . . . you've got . . . got to answer them. Do you . . . understand?" He looked at the boy for a response. Was the lantern going out? He wondered to himself. It was hard to make out his face now, everything had suddenly become so dim.

Kyou nodded and said, "I will."

"Good boy," Sano rewarded the child with the most honest smile he could manage. "Don't be . . . afraid." He reached out for him with his right hand. If the lantern should go out, at least he would still feel that someone was there with him. Not totally alone. "Kyou, you could . . . hold my hand if you . . . like."

The pain was subsiding now and he knew why. "I . . . I have to . . . rest now . . . .Kyou. I have to . . . to go to . . . sleep for a . . . little while . . . Don't be . . . sacred," his voice trailed off into a barely audible whisper before becoming silent. The blissful blackness would no longer be denied. It welcomed him with open arms.

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Author's Free Talk:

Ah, well, this isn't a terribly popular fic, ne? Oh well. It counts for you folk who have enjoyed it, and for me. Again I say, all spelling and/or grammar mistakes are entirely my own. (I don't know if I'm bragging or complaining there.)

As a side note, I'm not killing anyone in this story, in case I've lead anyone to that line of thought. So sorry. I've obviously inflicted some serious injuries... but nothing mortal. I promise!

Please feel free to review and offer comments on what you've read so far, if you have any ideas or suggestions on where it should go, extra. I have it done, in a sketchy sense, but I'm willing to change directions if someone throws out a brilliant idea at me.

Chapter Three: A Friend Very Much In Need