[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 Hanya 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)

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Next part:   Next, the Dinner Show!   ^_^

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