Rurouni Kenshin © Nobuhiro Watsuki

Beta: Kokoronagomu

The Voice

14

Found

xxoOoxx

I was so blinded, stupid.

You were there.

Afraid.

Persevering.

xxoOoxx

There was no rest to his tumbling mind. One thought led to another, one crashed into another and then they left him like a ragged mess.

Kaoru.

Was it merely coincidence? Could Yukishiro really be responsible for her disappearance? It made sense since he probably wanted to find a way to get his revenge after he was defeated by him so many years ago. Yet, this? How?

He should have killed him then. What had stopped his hand back then was still something he couldn't understand. He just knew he couldn't kill him. A force, bigger than himself, had prevented him from finally sinking his blade into the criminal's heart.

What good did leaving him alive do? Had he really let the bastard live so he could kidnap Kaoru and only Kami knows what the bastard did to her? He had been a fool!

He sighed and his shoulders slumped an inch. It felt strange to be back into the assassin's skin, back to the hunt but he had no qualms with it if this meant getting Kaoru back. For so long he thought her dead; that ache corroding at him non-stop. Finding her alive and only a death's away from him was a welcome relief. He would gladly kill Yukishiro.

How was Kaoru? Was she safe? Was she sane? Did she remember him or had her memory been erased again? There was no way she would willingly stay with Enishi… could the criminal have her under some kind of threat? She knew he was the best assassin there was, she worked for him back then… though she didn't remember that… the Aku Soku San's chip had erased her memory when Sanosuke had dug it out of her head. Back then he thought it was for the best. She had forgotten he was an assassin, she forgot her time as Yukishiro's captive… she was happy. He hadn't known her for long, but her smile was radiant, her eyes shone with glee and mirth. She was a picture to behold… he tried to keep that joy inside her, to protect her peace and dreams… but he had failed.

Why didn't she recognize him when he entered the room she slept in? Did she not recognize Kenji? Why? Did she keep silent because she had to? What was her life like now? Why was she with Enishi?

How could she survive Enishi this last year when she was innocence incarnate again? How could she defend herself when she once again upheld her father's ideals with the outmost care? There was no trace of the growth she had as a martial artist now. When he met her, while she honored her father's ideals, she also knew that sometime those had to be ignored. She had killed people in order to save herself and her brother… but after her memories had been erased she wouldn't even kill a rat.

She was a lamb, pushed to fight against a merciless tiger.

He should have trained her, perhaps opened up her mind against to the idea of killing. But, he didn't do that… he selfishly kept her innocent and bright. Why would he disrupt her well-earned peace? He hadn't tried to spark even some of her memories for fear she may be broken again and without repair. What a selfish bastard he had been! What a fool!

The assassin finally stopped when he reached the summit of a hill. He hid amidst the shadows of the trees that were bathed in the soft light of the fading moonlight. The sun was only two hours away and he had to use the remaining time carefully. He had to find Kaoru and if possible get her out without much fuss. How he was going to do that, he did not know. If she indeed remembered nothing, how could he make her see she had to go with him? How could he get her to understand Enishi was dangerous? Perhaps… he would be obliged to kidnap her as well. The irony!

Stealthily he walked down the hill, his eyes glowing keen amber as he watched the rustic cottage he had found Kenji hours prior.

The scent of blood ruined his inner peace and the red haired ex-assassin ran down to the familiar hut. He spread his ki rapidly, searching for any signs of Yukishiro but the house was empty, or almost. A small tickle made him hurry inside and in the main room a pair of bloodied bodies lay in the floor. Golden eyes glanced onto the first body but he doubted a headless corpse could project any ki so he moved to the remaining one. As he suspected, it was in no better shape, but the man was still alive if barely. There was a sword wound on his stomach, a pool of blood and stomach fluids under his body stating this fate easily. He was a goner.

Kenshin knelt at the man's side and waited until the man's eyes fell on him. The man's dark eyes widened and he took a strangled breath, "Red… hair…" the man whispered in a mix of confusion and wonder, "…like the boy…you, you… are him."

Kenshin nodded, "I am the assassin, the father of the boy you kidnapped," he stated and pressed his lips, "What happened here?"

The man took another breath and coughed from the pressure, "The… the woman… she left…Yuki-shi-ro… was… not pleased."

Kenshin frowned, "Kaoru escaped?" he asked in a clear voice and the man nodded his head. Kenshin nodded and came to his feet. He gave the man a last golden look, "Do you wish me to end your life?" the once assassin asked cautiously.

The man nodded his head gratefully.

xxoOoxx

Yahiko led the way through the dark forest muttering nonsense for his ears only. He made sure to keep his steps silent and his eyes on their surroundings at all times. Kaoru trailed close behind, her arms hugging her slender frame and lips pressed together to keep them from shivering. The temperature had dropped considerably and neither of them were of a mind to bring extra clothes to keep warm. It had been a big mistake, but stopping to make a fire or rest would be another big mistake. They had no doubt Yukishiro was after them by now… unless he was after the assassin but they doubted it. The criminal had some secret score to settle with the assassin but the man was probably far away now… and against them, who would be considered traitors… they ranked higher in his score of 'to kill' than the red haired man.

Kaoru sighed, wondering if it had really been a good idea to escape now. Nevertheless, she had little option… she had to escape Yukishiro. She could have timed it better, perhaps, but panic had played a big part on her decisions. Perhaps, too big a part. But then, why had Yahiko accepted her foolish plan? Did he know something? Had her panic panicked him as well? "Where are we going?" she finally asked in a whisper.

Yahiko sighed loudly and went on. A few moments later, after thoughtful consideration, he finally replied, "Further into China," he said simply and stopped a moment for a good look at his surroundings before moving on. In moments like this his black clothes became more useful against her half-dark clothes.

Kaoru frowned, "Why?" It made little sense to her to remain in China where Yukishiro's influence ran so strongly.

Yahiko had an easy answer for that, "We are from Japan," he began as if it was a logical train of thought, "So he will expect us to want to go there which means the port will be strongly guarded. We need another port to sail to Japan."

Kaoru nodded her head and sighed her weariness away, the air created a small fog in front of her. "It makes sense… how long do you think Enishi will take to find us?" she asked halfheartedly.

Yahiko made a disbelieving sound, "If he finds us… we may as well surrender. He will either kill us… or do with us a he wishes whether we want it or not."

Kaoru worried her lower lip," "I knew this trip was a bad idea," she finally said regretfully, "The idea of traveling with Yukishiro… then kidnapping a child?" she said somewhat upset, "I was lucky that assassin didn't behead me on the spot."

Yahiko stopped and turned towards her. His dark eyes fell on her and he glared at her, "Sometimes I am left unsure as if getting your memories erased is a curse or a blessing," he said motioning his forehead, "Of course, that's nothing that would ever happen to me… but I do wonder."

Kaoru stopped as well and rubbed her hands on her arms and glared to her younger sibling, "I am not sure either… but it isn't as if I had a say in the matter. What I do regret is not having a connection with someone with an intact mind to tell me of the times before I got my mind wiped," she said with a knowing glare towards her brother.

He shook his head tiredly, "I told you, you worked for a company at Japan," he said and then glared at her again, "You kept as much as you could from me. I guess your work wasn't the most honorable."

At this red anger seeped inside of her, "As if yours was any different," she shot back and pressed her hands to her hips in order to look intimidating, "Besides, weren't you the one who brought me here? Got my memory erased?"

He sobered and straightened, "I did," he said evenly, "but you were insane then… those memories weren't helping you any… we even had to sedate you in order to bring you to China."

Helplessness shone in her face and she turned away from him, feeling terribly bad and afraid, "Even so… memories that strong… they must have meant a lot. Even if they were hurting me… now I know nothing… I feel… I feel so incomplete. As if I was missing, as if I were nothing of who I once was."

Feeling terrible and guilty Yahiko sighed and hugged his sister, who barely reached his neck. "I am sorry, Kaoru," he said softly and squeezed her tighter, a motion she returned, "Forgive me for being selfish and erasing your memory… perhaps…no, I am almost sure it was a mistake but it was too late then to fix anything," he said softly, meaning it. He had known nothing of her life… but when he had knocked her out and placed her on that ship… there had been no turning back. She had become insane in her grief and desperation to return to Japan, to her husband and son, but he couldn't go back. Not only was Katsura hot in his trail but Himura Kenshin would surely be too if he returned. That without mentioning Yukishiro also had opposed the idea of returning completely, after all, the man was very cautious of the manslayer as well. He had hoped that she would heal with him, but she only got worse. There had been no other way… only to erase her memories.

Kaoru stiffened on his embrace and when she pushed to be freed, he let her. She raised blue eyes, now black in the pitch darkness around them, to her brother and she felt her heart clench painfully, an ominous feeling rising on her unconscious, "Yahiko…"

But a noise behind them made Yahiko push her away and unsheathe his katana. Kaoru stumbled and fell on her rear by the abrupt motion but was quick to sit up. Her frightened eyes roamed her surroundings uselessly until they finally reached the vague light reflecting off her sibling's katana. Knowing their lives were at stake she quickly stood and pressed her back against a tree, "Yahiko," her whisper desperate.

He, however, kept silent. His eyes trained in front of him from where the sound had come. He narrowed his eyes, hoping to catch a silhouette but it was too dark. He cursed and gave a step back, but the motion made the newcomer react and soon enough the sound of a katana being drawn made the siblings freeze. "Kaoru… we need light," he whispered but before he could do anything else his attacker moved towards him.

Blind and only following instincts and sound Yahiko ran forward and his katana managed to clash against his opponent's. Kaoru screamed behind him but soon enough turned and began to run to a clearing a few meters away where a little moonlight seemed to permeate through the dense forest's foliage. Yahiko pushed his sword but his opponent was strong… at least it wasn't Yukishiro, if the height was any indication, "Why do you attack us?"

His opponent said nothing, only pushed further but Yahiko used that momentum to bend back and press more strongly against the opposing katana. To his surprise the man was thrown back, once again confirming this was not Yukishiro. This man weighted very little.

Yahiko decided not to lose another second and turned his back on his opponent and pushed his legs to their outmost and sped towards Kaoru. He could hear his attacker following closely, too closely. He cursed and even before he touched the moonlit field he turned with a block, but to his not so surprise his opponent made a perfectly powerful swing with his katana and disarmed him. Yahiko cried out when the katana flew away from his grasp and then another time when another swing cut into his abdomen. He fell back over a group of fallen leaves and groaned when the fall merely served to worsen his injury. Too high on adrenaline had allowed him to sit up and he looked for his katana frantically only to freeze when he saw Kaoru take the sword in her hands and run towards their attacker. "Kaoru! Don't!" he cried but she didn't heed his warning.

Her amateur swing was easily stopped and his attacker shoved against her katana making her fall back due to the force of his push. Which meant… their attacker's weight was between his and Kaoru's.

"Kaoru!" cried Yahiko as he stood and wobbled a few steps towards her with his left arm pressing his wound to stop the flow of blood.

Kaoru once again ignored him and stood. This time there was no amateur posture to her, instead a flawless grace seemed to push her to her feet. At the same time, her eyes seemed focused and more battle experienced.

This made Yahiko stop again. The change was so abrupt that it made him doubt for a moment if she was indeed his sister. He then turned to the attacker and to his surprise he had revealed himself to the light of the moon. "Himura Kenshin," Yahiko whispered in horror and then turned to Kaoru, "Kaoru! Don't fight him! You can't win!"

Kaoru narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips before holding the sword tighter, "Why are you here? The child was unharmed… it was a mistake to kidnap a child… I never agreed… but… "

"Why did you leave, Kaoru?" The question cut like a blade, its sharp edge covered by the velvet of his voice, but nothing could hide the authority and demand behind the question.

Confusion marred Kaoru's face but before she could even think about the question something snapped in her head and her hands began to shake, quickly followed by tears. A gasp escaped her lips, followed by a breathless sob which made her lose the grip on her sword.

Yahiko was horrified and though he never thought his sister could defeat The Battousai, seeing her there with the sword had stopped him from panicking. Now panic took hold and he turned to the assassin, "Don't hurt her!" he pleaded as he threw himself to his knees, "She doesn't remember anything… we kidnapped her from the house in Tokyo…"

Angry golden eyes fell on him and he felt his inside shiver in fear but he hid it as best as he could while he bowed in front of this red haired man, fully intending to save his sister's life, beg or plead if he needed to.

A thud made one of his eyes open and he saw that Kaoru was now lying on the ground, but the assassin was still in the same place, his eyes going from one to the other thoughtfully.

"Yahiko," whispered Kaoru weakly, tears still falling from her eyes, "What is happening to me?" she then asked louder, fear evident in her sobs.

Tears pricked at Yahiko's eyes, "Just… let it flow Kaoru… rest," he tried to help her though he had no idea what was happening to her, or to her delicate mind. Her sobs only increased and each one tore a bigger hole on his chest. What had he done?

Soft scrunches of leaves told him the assassin was coming for him and he couldn't help the shiver that tore through him at the realization. He would die tonight… he deserved no less.

"Is your name Yahiko?" the assassin asked evenly.

"Yes," the tanned young man replied without raising his head.

"Is your real name Yahiko?" the assassin asked again, irritation on his voice.

"Yes," Yahiko repeated.

Then a sharp hit to the back part of his neck made everything blurry… and then black. Still, not before he heard Kaoru scream his name.

xxoOoxx

To be continued…

xxoOoxx

Thanks for reading! I will try my best to solve everything in the next chapter :) I like to have stories with 'nice' numbers. 15 seems like a nice number to end a story ;)