Suenagaku na Aki
Kenshin stood at the balcony of the Kyoto's military headquarters, looking at the rising sun. His sakabatou hung by his side. He hasn't said much since he returned from the fight, letting Aoshi report about the status of their mission. Since he didn't have anything to do, he brought out something from the fold of his gi. It was the ribbon given to him by Kaoru. Kenshin brought the ribbon close to his face. The lingering scent of Kaoru's hair was still there, despite the metallic smell from his dried up blood staining it. It was a reminder to him how he had shed his blood to protect the owner of that ribbon.
How he has changed. Or did he?
He held the ribbon close to his heart and closed his eyes. Did he do the right thing leaving her? Is it true that he didn't want to have anything to do with her? He opened his eyes and looked at it again. Despite telling Kaoru that he hated her, deep inside him, he still has feelings for the high spirited and beautiful kendoist. High spirited. He chuckled mirthlessly. He wondered whether she was affected by him leaving her. It couldn't be helped. In a way, he did it to protect her. His enemies were less likely to attack her if he didn't stay at the dojo.
Or was it to protect himself? To protect his sanity? Perhaps his motive was not as altruistic as it seemed. Maybe the real reason he wanted to leave her was because he didn't want to feel vulnerable, with her by his side. Maybe he was scared that he, not her, that would get hurt if anything happens. After all, it hurt him deep to the core when he accidentally killed Tomoe. If something happened to Kaoru because of him, he wouldn't forgive himself.
It has been a while since he has heard voices in his head, but the ex-hitokiri realized that he has somehow changed. The rurouni and the battousai persona were slowly merging together with his other persona, the darker and one who harbored wanton desire for Kaoru. It was the same one who nearly caused him to defile her when she was unconscious and the one demanded revenge for those who injured her. And because of the persona, he had become more selfish. He wanted Kaoru to feel the pain of them being separated because he felt it too.
He really wanted her to miss him.
"Here you are"
Sanosuke's words jolted him from his train of thought. He put the ribbon away. "Yes?"
Sanosuke pretended not to see the ribbon and brought out a tin of medicine instead. "Here, put Megumi's ointment on your injuries"
"Why don't you just give the tin to me and I will apply the ointment it later"
'Sigh. Still no "sessha". But that makes him more like a man though' "Nothing doing. I promised to her that I will make sure that your injuries are treated. And there's nothing going to stop me from trying to fulfill my promise to her. Not even the famous Hitokiri Battousai. Now, either you apply it by yourself now or let me do it"
Kenshin gave him a hard stare but Sanosuke wasn't backing down. After a while, his gaze softened. "I'll do it" He took the ointment and applied it on his injuries. The Takani family was well known for its medicines and the ointment's effect on the injuries stopped short of being miraculous. All the while Kenshin applied the ointment, his friend watched on, reminding him whenever he missed a spot. At last Kenshin was finished and handed back the tin to Sanosuke, thanking him.
Sano shook his head. "It was nothing. Just remember that I'm your friend, Kenshin" He put his hands on the balcony, taking in the view. All of us are. And we're not here to hinder you" He smiled at Kenshin and walked away.
When he was far from Kenshin, Sano broke into a grin. 'Yosha. I get to keep the two tins to myself. Now I can add them to my collection' His eyes widened. What was he thinking? Since when collecting things from Megumi became his hobby? An image of her laughing foxily appeared unbidden in his mind. "WAAAHHHHHHH!" he shouted as he run along the corridor. "I'M NOT FALLING FOR HER"
Inside his room, Aoshi was writing a letter to Misao, informing her to resume control of Tokyo's while he would remain in Kyoto in wake of the new development. He was about to finish writing his letter, when he heard Sanosuke running and shouting outside of his room. He didn't react to it and instead, continued to write.
"Misao-chan, as the situation is becoming more dangerous, please make sure that none of our agents indulge in sake drinking. We cannot afford them being drunk and losing their heads in the middle of a battle.
Take care,
Aoshi
Yahiko was deep asleep, so he didn't notice when a bokken lifted his futon cover. He didn't even notice when Kaoru's hand lift him by his gi's collar. Even the swaying caused by her walking while carrying him didn't give any effect, except causing his drool to fall on the floor. He only woke up when he was tossed into the cold bath.
"AIIEEEEE! SOOOOO COOOLLLLDDDD!"
"Good to have you awake, Yahiko"
"Why did you do that for, you old hag!" Yahiko demanded, briefly forgetting about Kaoru's weird behavior for the past few days.
"Waking you up"
"Waking me up? Why?"
"Training"
"Training?" Yahiko asked, dumbfounded.
"You're already late for your training"
"Aaah" He eyed her suspiciously. It was the first time he has heard her telling him to train since Kenshin left.
Kaoru grabbed him out of the bath and shook him up to loosen the water. "Go and change into your uniform" Upon seeing that he was still there, she continued, "We have to go there before it's too hot to practice"
"Huh? There?"
"GO!"
Yahiko looked at the woman in front of her with disappointment. When Kaoru mentioned training, he expected hours of exhilarating practice session, with a new attack or two thrown in. The young samurai always wondered about the aerial attack she had performed that day. But when she didn't stop at any of the dojos they passed through, he began to feel some misgiving. Yet, he didn't say anything. And not even a pip came out when Kaoru stopped near a rocky hill. But when she spread out a cloth and began taking out food from the bag she was carrying, Yahiko couldn't keep quiet anymore. "When are we going to train? I don't follow you to go on a picnic"
"OK, go get some pebbles with different sizes and weight"
Muttering, Yahiko did as he was told.
"You hold out your forefinger and middle finger like this"
Following her, he made a V sign using his hand.
Kaoru looked at the pebbles he had brought and settled on one that was twice as big as his thumb. "Now lift that one"
He tried, and managed to lift it as high as his knees before it slipped from his two fingers. He cursed. "How come this stone is heavy?"
"The stone contain iron, the stuff they used to make a sword" Kaoru gestured around the place. "This place was popular among sword makers during the war. Try again, and no cursing this time"
Yahiko tried again, this time barely managing to hold it. He grinned to her only to scowl when she flicked it away. "Do you KNOW how hard it is to do that?"
"I know. You should practice so that you can hold it securely between your two fingers" Kaoru looked at Yahiko's incredulous look and sighed. Yahiko was an eager and quick learner when it came to kendo, but only when he was shown why it was necessary to do certain practice. "All right, try to hit me with your bokken as hard as you can, and if you can hit me, I'll treat you to Akabeko for a week"
He eyed her suspiciously, "Get your bokken then"
"No need" She gestured for him to attack. "If you fail, you will do this training for a week with questioning me again"
Yahiko run toward her and attacked, slashing horizontally as fast and hard as he could. Then he remembered that he was attacking her injured part and tried to stop the attack but it was too late to do so. He closed his eyes, expecting to hear the sound of his bokken making contact with the spot. The young student was surprised to hear none. He opened his eyes to Kaoru has stopped his bokken by gripping it using her forefinger and middle finger, like pair of chopsticks. He stared at it and then looked at her. It became evident to him why he must do the training. "I understand now. Thank you, Kaoru"
Kaoru didn't answer him as she was in a state of shock.
A young Kaoru smiled at her father.
"Father, I have managed to hold the weight between my two fingers"
"Good. Now try holding another one using your other fingers"
"You promised me to teach a new technique"
"Patience, hime. In order to learn it, you must have a very strong grip on the bokken"
"I wanna learn!"
"If you can hold the weights between your fingers securely, I'll teach you"
"KAORU!"
Kaoru blinked and looked at Yahiko. "What is it?"
"The purpose of the training is to allow me to catch a sword between my fingers, right?"
"Yes, but you must be very skillful before trying that" After saying that, she immediately feel guilty as that wasn't the real reason for the training. It was supposed to strengthen his fingers so that his grip would be strong. She wanted to correct it, but upon seeing Yahiko has already started training she stopped. It was better to just leave things as they were. She will have the chance to tell him later.
Kaoru watched as Yahiko keep practicing for more than an hour. She had promised Megumi that she would stop practicing for at least two days so that her injuries would heal properly. The foxy doctor earlier threatened to follow her wherever she goes unless she promised her. Kaoru would have ignored her, but knew that the doctor was needed in Tokyo clinic.
Yahiko shouted proudly, "Look. I have held the stone for more than three minutes"
She shook her head as the stone fell from his grip. "Why don't you rest and eat?"
The boy thought about it and took a place beside her. He proceeded to take an onigiri slowly. He then looked at her.
Kaoru hung her head and said in a slow voice, "Don't worry. Megumi prepared it before she left this morning. I can't have you suffer from food poisoning"
Yahiko felt very guilty. He wanted to change the topic fast. "How long did you practice to master the sword grabbing technique?"
"Mastering the basics took me two months; I think that maybe you can master it in two weeks"
"Really!"
"Really?" 'After all, you are more talented that I am' She smiled wanly.
"It's a very useful technique" Yahiko was thoughtful. "But I see it can be useless against slashing wind attack like Tobi Izuna that freak whathisname used"
'Slashing wind!' The onigiri from Kaoru's hand fell to the ground.
Kaoru ran as fast her legs would take her, wanting to catch up to her father. She has been unconscious for more than an hour because of his punch, but she was fortunate that one of his father's friends saw where he was headed. Kaoru took off in that direction, armed with a bokken slung to her back.
She entered the forest, with slight hesitation at first. But she pressed on, trusting her instinct. After more than half an hour making her way through the thick undergrowth, she finally felt his ki. She quickened her pace. After a few minutes more, she finally reached an outskirt of a clearing. From the distant, she could make out a man being surrounded by more than 30 armed samurais. Then it happened.
"Shishiki: Fuyu zora no kiseki (Fourth ceremony: Empty steps in the winter)"
She was stunned by the immense ki the user released. But despite her paralysis, she could see the attack very clearly. There were so many slashing wind attacks that everyone on the field couldn't evade the attack. But as sudden as they came, the winds stopped. Then one by one the attackers fell to the ground, their bodies bloodied. To her shock, Kaoru saw a person she knew among them.
"FATHER!"
"HEY! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT!"
Kaoru gasped, trying to force air into her lungs. She put her hands on the ground to support herself.
"Kaoru? Are you okay?" Yahiko asked worriedly.
She nodded tiredly.
1
Author's note (10 June 2006)
1. Well, at least I managed to upload a chapter. To tell you honestly, I've already pictured this kind of scene when I started the story. Heck, some of the scenes are easy to do. But the others... shudder. Everything, from Kaoru's past, the person Shingo saw killing Orochi's man, Kenshin's dark persona, all of them are converging.