CHAPTER EIGHT: COMRADES
Misao awoke gently. She was in a room. Kaoru's room. The sun was shining through, illuminating the floor and apparently, illuminating her. "Well you look radiant." Kaoru seemed like she had just woken up too. Tsubame still lay sleeping. Tae was wide awake. From what Misao could tell, she had been talking with Kaoru right up until now. Megumi, didn't sleep all night. The four girls all took glances at each other. Misao looked and realized that she had slept in her clothes. Which meant...then she remembered. She had fallen asleep in Aoshi's arms. She cried to sleep peacefully. But to be sure..."Kaoru. How did I get here?"
Kaoru's face lit up a bit, not too much but enough to spark Misao's curiosity a little bit more. Tae let out a giggle, while Megumi gave a sly smile from where she was. No one was answering Misao. "Hey! What's so funny?" Tsubame began to stir. So before Misao could fully awaken her, Kaoru answered.
"Misao. Aoshi carried you here."
Aoshi stood in a forest of bamboo. Kenshin stood across from him. Both were searching. They searched each other's eyes, looking for anything. Aoshi's sheathed kodachis were held firmly in his left hand, the sheath extending over his head. Kenshin's thumb was ready to push the sakabatou from it's sheath. The only one truly capable of defeating Aoshi was Kenshin, and now they would both see, just how far apart their skills were. This would be good for them. Aoshi drew his kodachis and let the sheath drop to the ground. They had finished searching each other's eyes, and found what the other was looking for. And in an instant, the forest was nothing more than green streaks to them. As they darted towards each other, their thoughts only became more certain. Aoshi readied his swords. Kenshin began to draw his sword. Blurs, streaks, then silence, as around them, portions of the forest fell to the leaf covered ground. There were no sounds of clashng metal. There were no grunts of a battle of strength. Kenshin and Aoshi in that instant determined form the looks in each others' eyes that they were allies, and this forest was the enemy. That just as this forest surrounded them, so had their enemies. No ultimatum. No compromise. They were comrades. Kenshin turned to face the back of Aoshi. As if in response, Aoshi turned to face Kenshin. "Aoshi," Kenshin began, "When we fought back during the Kyoto incident, did you feel that you had reached your limit or did you feel that there was more to learn?"
"There is always more Battousai. And unlike many, I chose to pursue it."
"I can see that. You're faster than before, but I still feel vengeance in you."
Aoshi remained silent at that. They both knew it to be true. Aoshi could not be blinded by vengeance if he wanted to make it through this and come out as who he truly was. The leader of the Oniwaban group. Kenshin continued. "Tell me the truth Aoshi. With the fierce precision that you cut this forest down, you would wish that on Kanryu, would you not?"
"Battousai. If I hold back even an ounce of my strength, would I not fall to the whims of my enemy?"
"Kanryu is expecting you to fight harshly, Aoshi. He expects you to try to kill him."
Aoshi's eyes narrowed, "I will not be so easily swayed by the whims of a merchant."
"Aoshi. If these are your ideals, then why didn't you fight side by side with Enishi?!"
For the second time since their battle in Kyoto, Kenshin has stopped Aoshi's thought process in its tracks. What he said was true. Aoshi was turning into the revenge driven machine that Enishi openly showed himself to be at his fortress island. And even back then, mercy had triumphed. The reverse bladed sword of Battousai the Manslayer had proven to Enishi that mercy did indeed have the upper hand. But Aoshi had shed so much blood in his days, that it still blurred his vision. And he needed to take the initiative to wipe it off. He could see more clearly when he saw how powerful Kenshin's mercy was, but he would not see through it all until he himself adopted this mercy. That reality hit him hard. The cold silent killer beneath the exterior of his skin was itching, but his face was more than capable of hiding it. And Kenhin was more than capable of seeing through Aoshi's eyes. He could see that killer. He had fought that killer. And he had won.
Kenshin sheathed his sword and approached Aoshi, the dead leaves crunching underneath his sandals with every step. He stopped in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Aoshi Shinomori. More than ever before, I need to ask you. Kanryu has attacked all of us in one way or another. Will you be my comrade?"
Sanosuke was pacing. Back and forth through the dojo. Red rays of the setting sun were shining through, filling the room as if to not only to display its beauty but to also remind him how full of bad blood this battle was. Brimming. What would Captain Sagara have done? On an abnormal mental whim, that though was quickly dismissed. He was not Captain Sagara. He was Sanosuke Sagara. The dojo door slip open. Katsu walked in, carrying Sanosuke's "plan". Yes, the zanbatou was once again part of his plan, but when he brought it to Katsu, it wasn't a simple patch like before. It was a reforge. Speeedily done, but done well. Sanosuke took it and unwrapped it. Broad as ever, this is exactly what he needed. Not sharpness, but thickness. This was what he wanted. "Than you Katsu. I owe you."
"Sano, you owe me for a lot, but this one's on me. For what this man did, these personal attacks, I will fight by your side."
"Katsu, there's something I need to know. The drawing. The one of me, you didn't do that one did you?"
"That was by Kanryu's own hand. I would die before I drew such an abomination!"
"And if you do this out of a sheer sense of vengeance Tsunan Tsukioka, you just might. This is beyond revenge. This is bad blood, through and through. Make sure you're in the right to fight with us."
Meanwhile, on the hills overlooking Tokyo, a single wanderer who had witnessed some of the attrocities that Kanryu had imparted on Kenshin and his allies departed to seek the aid of one who could change everything.