The Faerie Chronicles of Kenshin & Kaoru: The Useless Sword and the Enchanted Rose, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl
Chapter 7 - Remembrance & Loss
The sun was sinking in the west, flooding the sky with its last burst of brilliance before departing. Kaoru watched from her window, cradling the rose in her hands and pointedly ignoring the heap of wedding clothes she had cast off earlier.
"Don't die," she found herself whispering, and was not at all sure whom she addressed. Was it her heart, shriveling at the thought of her bleak future? Was it Battousai, with his eyes that sought death? Or was it the flower in her hand, falling steadily to pieces?
Even as Kaoru looked, the very last petal clung to her fingers rather than to its stem, and she raised the bare, thorny stick with a look of disbelief. "It's gone." Her eyes filled with tears. The promises of the fae, her happiness, whatever it was supposed to mean...gone. The stem fell silently to the floor, and Kaoru gathered up its fallen petals in her hands, pressing them to her face in desperation.
Their scent washed through her, and with the fragrance came a flood of memory:
The little girl crept into the garden on a warm, clear night. She knew that her papa and Kasshin would be angry when they found out, but she had not been able to sleep. The beauty of the moon shining outside her window had captivated her, inviting her, so she had slipped out of bed and come out here to feel the cool grass under her bare feet.
She looked around at the tightly-curled flowers, laughing at the realization that they went to sleep at night, too. Then her attention was caught by a little ring of mushrooms. Crouching down, she reached out to touch them, and then-
'Where am I, where am I?! Papa I'm sorry, please take me home, I didn't mean to sneak out! Papa, please take me away!'
A host of fantastic creatures had been reveling, so that the night air was filled with the fluttering of their wings and the glitter of their eyes. They were delighted to find a small female human suddenly in their midst, and crowded eagerly around her. Some were gorgeous and others hideous, but both kinds frightened her with their unearthly looks. Laughing, they poked at her and played curiously with her hair and made silly faces.
"Smile, little girl!"
"Oh, isn't she a cute one!"
"Hey, let's cut her up and cook her for a party snack!"
"No, then you'll damage her beautiful little eyes!"
"At least let me have a dance with her before you try to eat her!"
Most of them were only teasing, but she had no way of knowing that. Shrieking, she lashed out with her tiny arms and fought to get away.
"Enough!" Someone was pushing his way through, a young man. Despite his beauty, his physical form was reassuringly human in the midst of this fey crowd. Yet she put her hands over her eyes in terror, because she saw that his face was bloody and that he carried sharp weapons at his waist.
Seeing her distress, he turned such a fierce glare on the fae that they backed away nervously, most of them dispersing to resume their dancing. Then the young man sighed and knelt beside the girl. "Please don't cry, little one," he murmured as gently as he could. She peeked out at him through her fingers, and he looked at her compassionately. "Poor thing...you're a mortal child, aren't you." Then he smiled, and her hands dropped in surprise, for it was a nicer smile than even Sôjirô-kun's.
Tearfully, she ventured to say, "Your face hurts."
His eyes widened in surprise. "It does?" She pointed firmly to the red slashes, and he laughed when he suddenly understood. "It doesn't hurt, little one. I was born this way."
Curiously, she reached up to touch his face. Relief surged through her when she realized that it was not blood after all, but smooth skin under her fingers. Her courage returning, she asked shyly, "Can you...give me wings like them?" She pointed to the dancers, merry and beautiful, who were whirling through the sparkling fairy-forest.
"Hm...let's see." He placed gentle hands around her - then in one swift movement, he had lifted her and was twirling her high in the air. Delighted laughter gurgled from her throat as she spread her arms to fly, and he was surprised to find himself laughing as well, responding to her joy.
The fae laughed, too, as they gathered again to watch. "The prince has a sweetheart! All hail the prince and his sweetheart!" Cheering and clapping rang out, partially mocking, but much of it from genuine pleasure at the sight. Someone's cup flew into the air, perhaps by accident, or perhaps deliberately; fairy wine arced towards the human girl and splashed over her. The red-haired swordsman spun to a halt, staring in amazement, for suddenly he held not a little girl, but a young woman.
She smiled, liking the feel of his arms around her. Her hands patted over her own face and body, wondering at the change. 'I'm big like a grown-up now,' she thought happily.
His eyes were fixed on her, his expression torn between longing and distaste. The girl in his arms was so beautiful, but he knew that, for now at least, it was only glamour - she was still an innocent child within. He swallowed hard, then turned to the fae and demanded, "Change her back." They only laughed.
The girl was staring at her red-haired partner, thinking admiringly, 'He's pretty and nice, I want to kiss him.' She leaned forward, but he turned his face away so that her lips touched the red cross on his cheek instead. "I like you," she told him. The strange, deepened sound of her own voice startled her, and she was afraid to say more.
He looked at her again, his face sad. "I must lead you back."
The fae protested angrily, their yells frightening her, but he calmly took her hand and led her away. As they walked, the music and twinkling lights faded into the distance, then disappeared altogether. Oblivious to their passage between worlds, the girl yawned and realized that she had become small again.
She was so, so tired... Finally, she plopped down and told him with sleepy firmness, "No more." He smiled and picked her up, carrying her as he continued walking, and marveled at how light and delicate she was. It had been too long since he had last held a child like this.
She was glad to drape her arms over his shoulders and rest her head and close her eyes, feeling as safe and secure as if it was Kasshin or her own father who held her. When she woke, she was in her bed as usual, and the morning sun was shining through her windows. She leaped up in excitement, but within moments, her memories of Faerie and the young swordsman had faded away.
o.o.o.o.o
"Princess!"
Kaoru groaned and tried to push away whoever was shaking her so urgently.
"Princess, wake up! Oh, great, now she's under a spell or something, and if they find me like this I'm gonna be in trouble...WAKE UP, you fat slug!"
Kaoru shot upright, glaring ferociously. "What did you say, you little maggot?" she snarled.
The kitchen-boy's face broke into a relieved grin. "About time, busu-hime. OW!"
Kaoru ducked his retaliation and whacked him a second time, just for good measure. "Do you want to get fired?" she growled threateningly. She had always thought that Yahiko was too bold and hot-headed for a servant, especially ever since he had caught Sôjirô's eye. That personality trait was often annoying, but Yahiko also put it to good use during his training. Kaoru suspected that his youth was the only reason he had not yet been promoted to a castle guard.
Suddenly realizing that she had been lying on the floor, Kaoru looked around wildly as she remembered her dream. No, not a dream... "Battousai! The rose- where's Shishio?!"
Yahiko eyed her warily. "That's what I came to tell you, Princess. Hey, um...you didn't notice that your supper was late?"
She gave him a confused look. "Huh? Supper?"
"Yeah," Yahiko said with unusual solemnity. "You didn't hear anything? When I came to bring your meal, Sôjirô was gone and I found Sanosuke...um, lying in front of your door."
"What?" Kaoru shook her head in disgust. "That idiot. If my father finds out he was drinking on the job-"
"He was bleeding."
Kaoru stared at him.
"What I mean is, someone, uh, stabbed him."
"What?!" Kaoru grabbed the boy by the collar. "Sanosuke's hurt?!"
"Let go, will you? The doctors say he'll be all right, since the blade missed important organs and stuff, but he hasn't woken up yet. I came as soon's I had a chance, because..." He grinned a little, his head coming up proudly. "I'm the one in charge of your safety now, Princess."
"Sanosuke!" Kaoru exclaimed, still distraught. "I've got to see him! But no, wait, Battousai, I've got to talk to him- but I'm supposed to be getting married to Shishio today, argh!"
"Cool it," Yahiko said, ducking away from her frustrated gesturing. "Shishio went after the fairy sword and hasn't come back. And that red-haired guy, I saw him leave last night, him and that creepy chick who's always hanging around Shishio."
A hot surge of emotion flooded Kaoru's face. "Battousai...went with that Yumi woman?"
Yahiko nervously backed away from her expression. "Yeah. He was carrying her like she was unconscious. Wouldn'ta pegged Red-hair for that kind of guy, but whatever."
Kaoru did not know what to make of this, but one thing she was certain of. She rose to her feet and said with determination, "Yahiko, let's go. Fetch me a traveling cloak and one of the spare servants' uniforms while I check on Sanosuke, then meet me at the west gate of my garden."
Shrouded in the cloak and dressed as a servant, Kaoru was not recognized when they rode out. They had gone several miles, meaning to check the nearest village first, when they spotted a rider in the distance, heading slowly in their direction. They adjusted their course to meet him, hoping he had news.
"He's riding kind of funny," Yahiko remarked. "Most people aren't...lopsided like that when they're on a horse."
Kaoru gasped when she finally recognized who it was coming toward them. The white and pale blue of his clothing was stained with blood, and his head hung so limply that it looked as if it was about to fall off. "Sôjirô-kun!" She spurred her horse to pull up beside him. "Sôjirô-kun! What happened?"
"Shishio," he whispered faintly after a moment. "He's dead. Battousai...probably is too, by now...couldn't bring him..."
A cold horror filled Kaoru's heart, and she reached out to grip Sôjirô hard. "Where is he? Where is he, Sôjirô-kun?!"
He had to gather himself again to answer. "Follow the trail." Kaoru stared at him in confusion. Then she looked around and saw the prints of his horse in the snow, leading away into the distance.
She immediately turned to Yahiko. "Get him home. I'm going to find Battousai."
"No!" Yahiko insisted. "Let me go ahead, you should stay with Sôjirô- Princess! Princess!" It was no use, Kaoru was already too far away to hear him.
o.o.o.o.o
The trail ended in a field, half of which had somehow been burned black. Smoke still rose here and there, and embers glowed hotly underneath the ashes; if not for all the snow, the fire might have spread to the forest. At first, the ground was only spattered here and there with blood, but the red patches grew larger and more frequent the farther Kaoru went.
She suddenly gagged when she saw Yumi's corpse sprawled on the ground, the once-elegant clothes now soaked with gore. Farther on lay a charred body, almost but not quite unrecognizable-
Horror at the sight warred with relief at the realization that she was free from Shishio forever. Turning her eyes away, Kaoru caught sight of Battousai lying in a heap at the foot of a tree, as if he had sat there to rest and had not had the strength to remain upright. She tried to dismount so quickly that she literally fell off her horse. "Battousai! Battousai!" she shouted as she ran to him. There was no response.
She flung herself down beside him, praying to find a pulse. It seemed unlikely that she would - his clothes from the waist up were shredded, revealing wounds that were still slowly leaking blood; his chest was burned black, his face caked with dried blood. Hysterical, frantic laughter choked her when she saw that he had lost his hair-tie again, so that he seemed to be lying in a large puddle of fiery red. The color of his hair blended in much too closely with the blood.
"Oh please, please, Battousai, please!" She caught her breath as she felt a faint pulsing under her fingers, but he did not stir at her touch. "Battousai!" she cried. Then, desperately, "Kenshin! Wake up, please wake up! Kenshin..." Her tears splashed onto his face, and miraculously, his eyelids trembled. They cracked open very slowly, revealing glazed, blank eyes.
"Kao...ru..."
Emotion welled up in her at the sound of her name from those lips. "Kenshin...Kenshin, do you think you can stand if you lean on me? I've got to get you back to the castle; oh, why didn't I think to bring a doctor?!"
"I'm...glad...you're here..." The sightless eyes closed again, and the blood-stained mouth relaxed in a smile.
"Kenshin, no! NO! Don't you go dying on me! Not now, not now when I..." She swallowed. "I love you," she whispered. Then she screamed desperately, "Did you hear me, Kenshin? I want to marry you! I'd marry you even if Shishio was still alive! I want...I..." She broke down sobbing, blinded by tears.
"...Oro?"
Gasping, she dashed the tears away and stared down into his face. His eyes had opened again, but they looked different now; they were warmer, brighter. The eyes of Battousai were cold and hard, as if they sucked in the light, but these new eyes were sweet, reflecting back with a soft sheen. Kaoru stared at him in wonder - it was like his whole face had been transformed.
"This one's...dying-visions...are very...unexpected...that they are."
Frowning at the odd pronoun she had never heard him use before, Kaoru said hotly, "It's not a vision, you idiot. I do want to marry you, so you'd better get well soon! My wedding has been put off too long already."
A faint chuckle escaped his lips, bringing with it a trickle of fresh blood. Then his eyes once again drifted closed, and his head fell limply to the side.
"Kenshin? Kenshin, stop it. Kenshin! Kenshin!"
To be concluded...
Author's Notes: Fairy glamour is a kind of disguising magic.
Busu-hime = Princess Ugly