Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin; not even the original plot of the movie this fanfiction is based on.
Chapter 1
Kenshin sat at the highest tier of the amphitheater and, with wary eyes, surveyed his surroundings. The ground was almost lonesome. The night was chilly with the breath of early winter, but moments ago, the air seemed tight; blazing with thousands of people taking utmost delight from a live, powerful concert. Several bands performed with songs that, for Kenshin, sounded awfully alike and hackneyed: songs of love lost, found, unreciprocated, or left behind.
The concert lasted for about three and a half hours, all the while Kenshin was busy constantly turning and controlling switches for the lighting of the enormous stage. In the most severe cases, he would have to run backstage and other locations to adjust the floodlights' lens or to repair the gel films that had been blown off or wrecked.
After the concert, the amphitheater was as dead as the night. The stage that had been adorned in every corner with balloons and illumination of various colors now resembled a junk of steel and planks. The staff was nearly finished remounting several equipment and gears. And at the center of the platform was a high pile of collected paper cups, posters, and other litter left by the crowd.
Kenshin sat back and closed his eyes. He felt tired. It was funny now, remembering how they had planned for four months. The four months of endless spatial calculations, heated brainstorming, directorial consultations, and rushed constructions had ended in an imperceptible instance. He remembered the songs during the concert and how they made him feel old. When did he last sing a tune, or play a musical instrument? He did not know. All he knew was that his life was getting more and more dull- repetitiously dull. He woke up everyday almost at the same hour of the morning, went to his workplace, considered a design for the stage exterior, surveyed a possible theatre, met with his wife, and then made his way home. His life was merely a cycle, a routine of systematic occurrences, never changing.
Kenshin's musings were then interrupted when his cell phone chirped, its sound reverberating through the stillness of the night. He immediately retrieved it from his pocket and flipped it open.
"Hello?" Kenshin said rather uninterestedly, his weariness too apparent.
The voice that seeped from the other line was an unfamiliar one, hurried yet comprehensible. He delivered a message that seemed so rushed and vital. The next few words the person voiced succeeded to slip Kenshin in a state of mental numbness.
"Your wife has been in a traffic accident. I'm afraid she's in very grave condition."
Kenshin had to process the message twice before the implications wholly dawned on him. The police officer then proceeded to make arrangements and gave him directions as to where and how he could get to the place of the occurrence and the hospital where his wife had been admitted. He gave minor details about the accident and how the police authorities were conducting preliminary investigations. With one concluding message, the other line went busy with a click.
Kenshin frantically ran towards his auto, ignoring the horde of surprised and probing questions his acquaintances threw at him. He turned the key in the ignition and the machine stirred to life. He clenched the wheel and with one swift movement, pulled off from the side lane and onto the highway.
Twenty minutes later, it had begun to rain. Kenshin's jeep secluded him from all unwanted agitation and noise except for the soft swooshes the windshield wipers were creating in clearing the specks of the rain away. Silence was something Kenshin needed so much, and it was what the chances willingly gave him.
With furrowed brows and clenched jaw, Kenshin tried hard to estimate the amount of time it would take to get to the reported place and the least he figured was four hours. Kenshin gripped the wheel almost painfully. He had to get there fast; no, he had to get there in an instant. The roads were slippery, his vision was blurred by the strong surge of rain, and his body was starting to feel initial effects of fatigue. In spite of all this, Kenshin sped off- unfazed.
Kaoru rocked back and forth, as she tried to stop the tears that were slowly gathering in her eyes. She had been waiting outside the operating room for almost an hour now and any prospect of a doctor declaring her husband's safety seemed vaguely minimal.
Kaoru sighed heavily, tonight would be a very long night.
Earlier that day, she had been enjoying the comforts of their home, reading a recipe book so that she could prepare a dinner her husband would eat without mumbling a word of complaint or mockery. The report of Sanosuke's appalling car accident reached her through a phone call. Kaoru blanched. Instantly, she bolted out of her seat and hastily made crucial arrangements. She called several authorities involved and gathered as much information she knew she would need. Running into their room, she threw open a bag, grabbed whatever that was within reach, and scampered out.
There were enough available rides en route the location reported to her and Kaoru boarded the first train. She watched listlessly as the scenery flew by while her mind wandered restlessly. Her worry increased with every station that the train stopped by. Kaoru spent the majority of the ride over trying to optimistically convince herself that her husband would be just fine.
The electronic bell chimed and an automated voice broadcasted their arrival. Startled, Kaoru gathered her belongings and waited as the train pulled to a stop.
The town was located near the eastern coast of the country, shrouded by a welcoming atmosphere. It was a relatively undersized town, making it highly navigational, to which Kaoru was thankful for. There were few buildings and establishments here and there and the most recognizable among them was the small hospital with the prominent sign of medical cross on top of the structure. Kaoru found it almost instantly.
With unsure urgency, she approached the reception center and anxiously asked for the direction of the operation room. One of the medical personnel accordingly came out of the room and approached her with somewhat of a grave look on his face.
"Mrs. Sagara. I will be honest. I'm afraid we're having quite a hard time performing immediate operations on your husband."
Kaoru could only listen to the hurtful and apprehensive words the doctor had given her, her heart lurching irrepressibly inside her ribcage. Through a broken and hesitant voice, she spoke of the first thing she wanted to know.
"Is he going to be all right?"
The doctor faltered a bit and looked down. He adjusted the eyeglasses on the bridge of his nose and took a cumbersome sigh.
"That, we are not sure. The injuries he sustained are extremely critical," he said in a tone full of professional bluntness.
Kaoru sank into one of the waiting room chairs. Suddenly, all the unwanted thoughts and worries that had been claiming her lately came crashing down upon her with a profound weight. Thousands of negative possibilities invaded her mind, and before she knew it, tears began crowding her vision.
Through the haze of pessimistic contemplations, she heard running footsteps approaching. Kaoru stifled her sobs and straightened herself though she did not know the exact reason why there was a need to hide her grief. As she slowly perused the hospital hallway, the figure of a redhead materialized and she watched him from the corner of her eye. He stopped exactly a foot away from the double doors of the operating room and panted heavily. He leaned on the wall and through deep breaths attempted to regain his composure. He looked around and his gaze settled fleetingly upon Kaoru, which he at once withdrew.
Kaoru recognized a familiar emotion in his eyes and realized that he was under the same extreme anxiety as she was. The next thing she knew, the man had sat down opposite from her on the bench. His brows furrowed as he took in a heavy, shuddering breath.
It seemed as if the pair was waiting for an eternity. Kaoru, victorious in eluding the urge to cry again, now busied herself impassively staring at the lonely, empty lobby of the hospital, while the redhead was distinctly upset at being unable to reach some of his wife's relatives.
After some time, the man fell asleep. He was sitting rather uncomfortably with his legs crossed. Kaoru observed his heavy breathing and felt envious of the cherished rest and sleep. She checked her watch again and much to her disappointment found the numbers remained unchanged. With a sigh, she, crossed her arms, hung her head, and tried to gain some much-needed sleep. She would try to enjoy every bit of this nap, Kaoru told herself. She was quite sure that when she woke up, she would be greeted by things that were not as good as sleep.
Kenshin was awakened somewhat abruptly when his phone cheeped. The caller was the same officer, Kenshin briefly remembered, with the husky voice that informed him of the accident. This time the tone of his voice seemed calmer yet certainly more serious. He was inviting Kenshin to the police station where certain procedures and results of initial investigations would be explained. Kenshin hesitated for a while. He did not like the idea of leaving without knowing about any recent developments in Megumi's condition. However, the stiffness and authoritative tone in the officer's voice hinted to Kenshin that he should reconsider his attendance. This could also be a very good chance to seek answers to some of issues that had been baffling his mind for a while now.
Pushing the thought aside, Kenshin looked around him, and briefly realized that the woman sitting beside him last night was nowhere to be found.
After eating the bland and hastily prepared breakfast of instant noodles, Kenshin proceeded to the police station, quite nervous. He stepped out of his auto and realized that the noodles had done little to warm his body in the cold weather. Rubbing his hands together, he moved towards the front doors of the small building. There a tall man with a huge physique was leaning; he looked up as Kenshin approached.
"Mr. Himura?" He asked in a dignified, practiced manner and offered his hand.
Kenshin instantly recognized the low voice of the officer, and with a quick, half bow, shook his hand.
"I'm the head officer, the one in-charge of the car accident involving Megumi Himura and Sanosuke Sagara. If you could follow me, please, to our office I'm sure we could begin discussing and clearing things up," he motioned with his hand and with quick steps, Kenshin followed.
As they reached their destination, the officer pushed open a wooden door to reveal an average-sized room full of interconnected desks. Kenshin's attention was easily caught by the recognizable figure of a woman sitting in one of the seats. His eyes narrowed in a vain attempt to remember why her face seemed so familiar when the officer spoke.
"This is Kaoru Sagara," the police said motioning a hand towards the blue-eyed woman's direction. "The wife of Sanosuke Sagara, the other person involved in the accident."
Recognition darted across Kenshin's features as Kaoru stood up and met his gaze, rather surprised to reencounter the man she had met outside the operating room. Kaoru felt inexplicably uneasy. She managed a cautious nod though and immediately turned her attention back to the officer.
Kenshin reciprocated the bow, though he was not sure how willingly it was given to him. He took one of the available chairs and sat across the officer and beside Mrs. Sagara.
The two waited as the police officer retrieved several folders and spread out reports pertaining to the accident. He picked a particular collection of pictures gathered during the initial investigation and thumbed through it. It showed several angles and views of the cars involved.
"Sanosuke Sagara and Megumi Himura were driving relatively fast on Highway 7 at around 2:30 in the morning," the police stated in a droning accent. "The road was too slippery due to the copious sheet of snow covering it," he then pointed to a particular photo displaying the highway the way he had described it.
"The car apparently lost control over the slippery road and then crashed into a truck driving in the opposite direction. The container truck was a delivery one carrying products to be distributed in the city."
Kenshin and Kaoru listened carefully while examining photos showing the aforementioned vehicles that had toppled over. The crash was pretty ugly and it caused the premature death of the 20 year-old truck driver.
The officer looked up, his brows furrowed, looking as if he was bothered by a particular fact. "What troubles me is that it seems as if the two were not really in a business trip...maybe something more personal. Let's say, a private vacation," he trailed off quite unsure of how his audience would react to the information.
The pair initially looked at him almost expressionlessly. Their expressions then became curious and irritated.
"What do you mean?" Kaoru shot back with a tinge of bother. She did not like the idea that the officer was hinting with those words. Of course, she knew, no, she was fairly sure that Sanosuke's affairs were purely professional, nothing worthy of prejudicial suspicion.
The police sighed and readjusted the broad spectacles on his nose. "The truth is both Mrs. Himura and Mr. Sagara were under the influence of alcohol."
Kenshin looked up with eyes that were slightly dangerous, an eyebrow tilted to an angle of disbelief and uncertainty. It was now his turn to speak. "But it was never my wife's habit to drink," he said stiffly and seriously, his tone was to a certain extent challenging the officer's claims.
Kaoru didn't speak- she knew of his habits and it could never be a farfetched truth for Sano to be drunk.
"If you want you can check the hospital records, and I'm very sure that they will coincide with ours."
Silence followed, as Kenshin looked down, quite disconcerted at how justified the statements of the officer was.
"Though, it is still unknown who was driving; we found both of them lying outside the vehicle," the officer spoke again, interrupting the brief silence. "We will conduct further investigations. I hope you'll have the patience to bear with us."
After that, the officer motioned for them to follow him to a particular room where certain police items and materials were kept. He handed to them a huge box full of various belongings gathered from the crash site.
"There might be certain personal possessions that may belong to your respective spouses. You are free to take them home," the police said with a commanding tone, "Though you will have to excuse us, as we have retained some that are crucial to the investigation."
The pair sat opposite each other on a table. They had begun inspecting the pile of items and Kaoru became inexplicably nervous when her hand accidentally brushed against Kenshin's. Cautiously and quite hastily, Kaoru took anything that she thought she knew. A thick portfolio containing important papers, a box of Sanosuke's playing cards, an old black watch that he never thought of replacing, and an expensive pen that had been her gift to him this last Christmas.
Kenshin did the same and he rummaged through the belongings. He picked up anything recognizable: a small, brown shoulder bag, Megumi's cell phone, a set of her new make-up, a thick address book, and other various items.
Both Kenshin and Kaoru froze as their gazes focused on a singular item left in the box, either could not believe the reality of what was before them. A protracted and utterly uncomfortable silence shrouded the pair. Neither could understand why it was there and neither made a move to identify or pick it up. It was a condom.
Kaoru looked away and began organizing the things she had collected, a movement that Kenshin interpreted as her way of telling him that it didn't belong to her husband and that Sanosuke was a devoted man who didn't have a reason to own a contraceptive.
Slightly annoyed, Kenshin sighed noisily before finally picking it up and hiding it. Not because he was admitting that it actually belonged to Megumi but because the officer had returned and he wanted no more of the malicious suspicion people made about his wife.
The officer cleared his throat when he saw the pair finished up. He escorted them to where the vehicle used by Sanosuke and Megumi was. Kaoru winced at its appearance- it was a complete wreck. The doors had been crushed into ugly contortions, the windshield glass was entirely torn down, and there were several splotches of blood outlined on the black paint of the car. The police duly granted them access to see the insides of the vehicle.
Kaoru hesitantly went first, the car being her husband's. She looked at the shattered glasses and grimaced at the dried blood marks painted in a disturbing pattern almost everywhere within the car. Kaoru noticed a necklace with a green pendant hanging from the rear view mirror and knew instantly it was Sano's. She gingerly took it and inspected several other compartments. After making sure that she had not left anything, Kaoru uttered a remark to the officer and left at once, her pace was quick and resolute.
Kenshin noted the dull scent of jasmine Kaoru left in her trail before slowly approaching the car and the first thing he identified was Megumi's high-heeled shoe lying on the interior floor. He took it and painfully imagined the crash that had happened; he winced at the thought. Kenshin felt choked and the ugly remnants of the crash made it impossible for him to stay any longer. He hurriedly thanked the officer and left in the same fashion as Kaoru.
Kaoru returned to the hospital and realized the growing need for her to eat had increased exponentially. She went to the nearest cheap restaurant and ordered a meal which she hoped would enliven her senses.
When the food was served with a bowl of noodles and chopsticks in front of her, Kaoru realized that she was not as hungry as she had originally thought. She forcefully took small bites and sips. Immediately, she felt full, or more precisely, she had lost her appetite. She absently picked at her food, while a thousand thoughts ran chaotically in her mind.
What if Sano wasn't really on a business trip? What kind of business would involve a small town near the sea? Why was he alone and drunk with a woman? What if he'd had an affair with…Kaoru trailed off unsure and quite afraid of what the answer might be. She willed herself not to think of hurtful, prejudicial things. She would have to wait for Sanosuke and would trust only his words.
Kaoru then remembered the things that she had gathered from Sanosuke's car. Opening her bag, she first inspected the box of playing cards. She briefly remembered that gambling and drinking were the two things she hated most about Sano. She had always reprimanded him like a child about the uselessness and of gambling but Sano never listened, often drowning her voice by singing a particularly raucous song. Kaoru could only sigh and mumble at her husband's well-developed, and sometimes irksome, obstinacy. But, there was one incident when she threw out his most favorite set of playing cards and Sano almost shed tears of frustration. Kaoru smiled weakly at the memory.
Returning the box back to her bag, she then retrieved the portfolio. She opened it and a small digital camera inside caught her attention. Studying the camera, she pressed several nameless buttons and it suddenly clicked to life. Kaoru was stunned when it abruptly began playing a rather explicit video. It displayed Sanosuke and a woman, she recognized as Megumi Himura, sharing a hot, passionate kiss. They are both half- naked, lying on a bed flirting back and forth with shrill laughter that sent Kaoru into a daze.
She felt something inside her shatter, and she could not breathe. Gingerly, she brought a trembling hand to her mouth as a broken sob threatened to escape her composure and unbidden tears crowded her vision. The video played on, clearly presenting the physical evidences of Sano and Megumi's deceptive romance. Kaoru covered the display screen of the camera and turned it off. She inhaled sharply and faltered, trying so hard to fight off the profound hurt that was rapidly seeping into the deepest crevices of her heart.
In a trance and waveringly, Kaoru stood up and went outside, irresolute of where she would be heading. She wandered aimlessly along the streets, her misty eyes reflecting pure defeat and pain. If not for the appropriate and unsoiled clothes she was wearing, she could have easily resembled a street child: pathetic and heartbroken.
Kaoru now stood on a deserted road, watching as the flaming disk of the sun retreated to the brink of the world, painting the sky with thousand streaks of ethereal color and sparkle. Despite the grand view of beauty and brilliance the natural world had generously offered her, Kaoru felt dead. The constricting pain in her heart seemed much more real and profound than the splendor of the sundown or the sea around her. She looked lost and vulnerable, as if the slightest waft could easily blow her away to an incessant abyss where no one can restrain her from falling down or take her back.
She did not need any verbal affirmations from Sano, the video was evidence enough that he had betrayed her and their sacred tie for another woman.
Inexplicably, Kaoru's feet dragged her to where she least wanted to be: the hospital. She was then informed that Sanosuke, still in coma, had been moved out of the operating room and was now in the ICU. She felt reluctant. Kaoru could have felt excited at seeing Sano after the operations, she could have rushed towards the room to attend to him like the conventional and ideal wife she had always tried to be.
Nevertheless, her feet dragged her to where Sano was and now she stood beside his bed. Kaoru stared blankly at him and felt as if she was being torn in two. Half of her was filled with doubtful and accusing questions. But another half of her felt pity for her life-partner who was combating an unknown battle deep in his sleep.
Kaoru sat down and touched Sano's forehead. "Fight. You have to fight to live. If not for me, at least for the very explanations that I deserve."
A/N: My very first attempt, please tell me what you think about it. :)