Last modified: 09/02/98 [kenshinfanfics] That Which Lingers - Part 4 (draft) This is a rough draft of Part 4 my new story. This story is set in my own ALTERNATE REALITY universe which I've called "The Nightwitch Tales" -- think of it as Rurouni Kenshin mixed with various supernatural and paranormal elements. Other stories in this alternate reality are: "Night Visitor" "All in the Family" "Romancing the Wolf" WARNING: This story is "semi-dark" -- it has dark elements (violence, profanity, etc.) but it's not a darkfic! Actually, there's quite a bit of romance in it.... ^_- This story takes place after the end of the Kyoto story arc. After that, it takes a sharp left turn into its own world. Elements of the Revenge story arc may or may not show up later on in the story. The Kenshin Gumi already know that Saitoh survived the destruction of Shishio's stronghold. As always, C&C is greatly appreciated! ^_^ ====================================================================== THAT WHICH LINGERS: A Rurouni Kenshin Fanfic by MadamHydra ====================================================================== Part 4: Stained Hands and Hearts ====================================================================== --------------- Disclaimer All rights and privileges to Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shuiesha, Sony Music Entertainment, and associated parties. The characters of these series are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author. --------------- Text Conventions ( ) are character thoughts * ----- * ----- * marks the start and end of flashbacks [ ] denote visual or time notes ********************************************************************** [the present, 11th year of the Meiji period, late summer] Misao shook herself out of her brief daze. She instinctively reached to remove the kunai in Aoshi's side, then stopped. (No, I can't! That blade might be the only thing stopping him from bleeding to death!) She bent down and gently brushed her right hand against Aoshi's cheek. It already felt frighteningly cool. She pulled herself to her feet and quickly looked for something she could use to splint her broken arm. As her eyes fell on the black sword, lying in a patch of shadow, Misao shuddered in revulsion. The blade that had appeared so interesting... almost enticing... a few hours ago now made her feel sickened and unspeakably dirty. Giving the weapon a wide berth, she continued her search. Once she finished splinting her arm, Misao took one last look at Aoshi and the four graves in the clearing, before setting off on the fastest run of her life. It didn't matter that every step jolted her broken arm. It didn't matter that every muscle and joint in her body throbbed and ached. The only thought on her mind was the frantic hope that there wouldn't be a fifth grave in that clearing. ----------------------------------- Kenshin skidded to a stop in the middle of the trail so suddenly that Sano barely managed to avoid running over him. "Kenshin! What are you doing?" Sano's voice trailed off at the look of shock and despair on his friend's face. "We're... too late...." "HUH!?" Sano spun around just in time to see Misao appear over the top of the small ridge in front of them. She was covered in fresh bloodstains. Misao staggered to a halt as soon as she saw Kenshin and Sano standing in front of her. Relief and exhaustion nearly drove her to her knees, but she managed to keep running toward them. Kenshin noticed that she appeared to be unarmed but he watched her warily as the totally distraught girl grabbed at his kimono with her good hand. "HIMURA!!! AOSHI-.... AOSHI-SAMA!!! I... I..." Misao erupted into tears and sagged to her knees. Kenshin grabbed a hold of her shoulders and shook her hard. "Misao! What happened? Why did you do it!?" She stared up at him, then her eyes widened. "I... attacked.... K-K-Kaoru! Is... is she all right!? No... not her, too!" Kenshin gave Sano a swift glance. His grip on her shoulders gentled as he softly said, "She's going to be fine, Misao. You didn't injure her seriously." A heaving sob was her only response. "Misao, you have to tell me. What happened to Aoshi?" She took a few gulping breaths, then blurted out, "I... I... I might have killed him! He's bleeding so badly! If he doesn't get to a doctor soon, he'll DIE!" Sano wondered, (Is that possible? Except for that broken arm, she doesn't look like she's got any other injuries. Could she have taken out Aoshi and gotten off so lightly?) Misao jumped to her feet and started dragging Kenshin in the direction from which she came. ----------------------------------- Barely a quarter hour later, they were standing in the clearing where Aoshi lay, pale and unmoving. As Misao sank down beside him, Sano took a look and muttered, "Hell, he's a mess! I can't believe that a scrawny little thing like Misao could do so much damage, even if he didn't want to fight back! She doesn't seem strong enough or fast enough...." Kenshin said quietly, "She's not. Misao's good, but she's no match for Aoshi. He should have been able to subdue her without too much trouble. Sano, can you get back to Tokyo?" "Of course I can! What do you mean by that!? Besides, we're practically in view of the city." "If his injuries weren't so severe, you could just carry him, but...." "Leave it to me. I'll find a cart or something. Just stay here and I'll be back as soon as I can!" Kenshin nodded briskly and noted with relief that Sano actually seemed to know where he was going. As he walked toward Misao, he suddenly gasped as he realized exactly what lay in the clearing. Misao whispered, "Yes.... This must be where Hannya and the others are buried. That's why he left the trail.... I was hoping to see their graves someday... but not like this!" Her shoulders quivered as she tried fought back her sobs. Kenshin gently moved her fumbling fingers aside and did his best to stop Aoshi from bleeding to death before help arrived. In a gentle voice, he said, "Misao. Please tell me. What happened? Why did you suddenly attack both Kaoru-dono and Aoshi?" She clutched at her knees and whispered, "I don't know! Kaoru and I were shopping, then we ran into...." "Saitoh Hajime's wife, Tokio... right?" Misao chuckled weakly and tried to wipe away the tears on her face. "Yeah.... You should have seen Kaoru's face...." A fragile smile appeared, then quickly vanished. A stunned look appeared on Kenshin's face as she went on to describe the encounter with the suicidal madman who had pounded his own brains to a pulp. Seeing the sword she mentioned, Kenshin got up and walked over to it as Misao continued her story. "Then... then I went to take a look at his sword... it was weird... all black, with no shine at all!" Kenshin glanced down at the bloody weapon. He had never seen a sword with such a totally non-reflective finish. "I picked it up and then.... I don't know! It all got so hazy after that...." She turned around just in time to see Kenshin picking up the black katana. "NO! HIMURA!!! Don't touch it! It's EVIL!!!" Holding the sword in his hand, he gave Misao a startled look. "What?" He calmly held it up in the afternoon sunlight. It was an exceptional weapon, a masterpiece perfect in both edge and balance. But aside from its unusual appearance, Kenshin couldn't detect anything strange or uncanny about the blade. Misao looked totally bewildered. "You don't... you don't feel it?" Kenshin mutely shook his head. "I... I don't understand. There's something horrible about... about that THING! I'm not imagining it, Himura!" She started to shake. "Or... or maybe I am... maybe I'm going crazy...." Misao began to giggle hysterically. Kenshin plunged the sword into the ground and ran over to her side. "Misao! Got a hold of yourself! I don't know what's going on, but I don't think it's just you! There's must be something else going on and we need to find out what it is. Please, Misao! Aoshi needs you to be strong...." She gasped quietly for several moments, then she whispered, "Himura... you can't imagine the terrible things I said to him. They... they all came spilling out of me... like... like maggots out of a rotten carcass! All this anger... bitterness... it was so UGLY." She rubbed her hands together as if trying to wipe both the dried blood and some unseen dirt away. "He finally... finally SMILED at me... and... and he said... that... that he... cared about me." She suddenly flung her good arm around Kenshin and wailed, "I don't want to lose him NOW!!! After all we've been through... I CAN'T lose him now!!!" As Kenshin gently held a weeping Misao, his gaze drifted back to the black sword as it stood, protruding from the ground. (I don't know why I can sense nothing strange about it, but I can't believe that Misao just went insane for no reason at all. Something caused her to behave this way. A matte black sword... perfect for wielding in the shadows.... It's the key to this mystery... but how?) ----------------------------------- It was nearly evening by the time they managed to transport Aoshi back to Dr. Genzai's clinic. Megumi's lips had thinned when she recognized her patient, but she said nothing and set about working with her usual brisk efficiency. Tokio was still there, patiently tending to matters that the overworked Megumi simply did not have time to handle. As Megumi struggled to save Aoshi's life, Tokio took custody of the distraught Misao, set and resplinted her broken arm, cleaned her up, found her new clothes, and simply held her through the occasional bouts of uncontrolled weeping. Firmly banished from Megumi's work area, Misao said, "Do... do you think I can see... Kaoru?" "I don't see why not," murmured Tokio and led the ninja girl to Kaoru's room. Misao stood, frozen in the doorway, before rushing over to Kaoru's side. She fell to her knees and gasped, "I... I'm so SORRY!!!" Kaoru gently stroked the girl's unbraided hair. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I know it wasn't really you who tried to hurt me. Shhhh... shhhh." The door opened and Kenshin quietly slipped into the room. He was carrying something hastily wrapped in a sturdy cloth. "Kenshin... how's Aoshi?" Misao froze tensely as she awaited his reply. "Megumi is just finishing up. She can't make any promises, but it looks like he'll recover." The ninja girl went limp with relief. "Kaoru-dono, Tokio-dono... Misao told me what happened this morning. I just wanted to make sure." He partially unwrapped the bundle to expose the black sword. "Is this the same sword the man dropped?" Kaoru gasped when she caught sight of the blade. "It's... it's magnificent!" Misao merely buried her head in the blankets and refused to even look at the weapon. Tokio cocked her head slightly. "Yes. I'm fairly sure it's the same one." "What are you going to do with it, Kenshin?" Kaoru asked. Rewrapping the sword, Kenshin sighed quietly. "I'm not sure. I need to take a better look at it. Maybe it has some clues to what happened." Tokio murmured, "It's getting late and I'm sure Megumi's too tired to do any cooking. If you'll excuse me, I'll prepare some dinner for everyone. We have all that excellent seafood. It would be a pity to waste it." Kenshin gave her a deep bow and said, "Thank you, Tokio-dono, for dinner and for all your help." "I'm glad to be of any assistance I can." When she left the room, Kaoru said, "She's such a kind, sweet-tempered person. I can't imagine what living with someone like Saitoh must be like!" They each tried to picture what life in the Saitoh household must be like, then they all shook their heads and muttered, "Nah...." ----------------------------------- At that moment, Fujita Goro -- better known as Saitoh Hajime, Mibu's Wolf, and many other less complimentary names -- arrived home from his trip to Osaka. He took one last drag at his cigarette, then ground it out. (So much for that.) Even before he stepped in the door, he knew Tokio was not home. When she wasn't around, the house seemed eerily empty, even though there were a few servants and that boy Eiji lurking around. "She left you a note," a sullen voice said. "Here." Saitoh took the message. As he read it, he scowled slightly. Refolding the note, he gave Eiji a cool stare and said, "What happened?" ----------------------------------- Casual passersby could barely keep themselves from drooling as they caught a whiff of the mouth-watering aromas that drifted from Dr. Genzai's clinic. Kaoru insisted that she was well enough join the others at dinner. Misao had to be dragged from Aoshi's side and was fidgeting impatiently for dinner to be over and done with. "But I want to keep an eye on Aoshi-sama!" "Listen to me, Misao! You're even paler than Kaoru at the moment and you can barely move as it is!" Megumi scolded her. "No, I'm fine...." "Misao, you have a broken arm, you probably haven't eaten anything since breakfast, and you're totally exhausted! You need both food and rest! Get something to eat and I'll make you a place to sleep in Aoshi's room. All right?" As the ninja girl reluctantly nodded, Sano took a deep breath and sighed. "Man, that woman has to be a goddess! I've never smelled stuff so good!" Yahiko muttered, "Yeah. If she always cooks like this, how on earth does Saitoh stay so skinny?" His hand sneaked out to grab a dumpling and promptly got smacked by Kaoru. "Ow!" "You should wait, you greedy pig!" Kaoru snapped. Megumi sank down into a tired heap on the floor. "Tokio-san, you're a lifesaver! I don't think I can boil water right now." "It's nothing." Tokio stepped out of the kitchen and brought out the last plate of perfectly grilled fish. As everyone thanked her enthusiastically for her efforts, the door to the clinic abruptly slid open. Tokio smiled happily and executed a graceful bow, food plate still in hand. "Hajime-san! You're back just in time. I've cooked one of your favorites." There were muffled thuds as various people toppled over in shock. The tall, lean figure silhouetted in the doorway uttered a faint, almost rueful sigh. (I don't know how she does it.... I'm almost afraid to ask.) ----------------------------------- (end of part 4) ********************************************************************** Next part: Next, the Dinner Show! ^_^ -------------------------------------------- madamhydra@aol.com /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/:E http://members.aol.com/madamhydra/index.html