[kenshinfanfics] That Which Lingers - Part 6 (draft)

This is a rough draft of Part 6 my new story.

Hmmm... I'm not too happy about this part.  It just doesn't seem to
have the 'oomph' of the other parts.  Any suggestions, guys?  Pretty
please?

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 6:  A Few Intimate Moments
======================================================================

---------------
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]

    There was a long silence, broken only by the sound of various
people panting or gasping.

    A weak voice said very clearly, "GET... THAT... SWORD... AWAY...
FROM... HER...."

    "Aoshi-sama!"  Misao ran to his side as he struggled to sit up.
"Don't move!  You'll start bleeding again!"

    He shook his head violently as he tried to stay conscious.
"Misao!  Do it NOW, while she's stunned!"  But before she left his
side, he grabbed her wrist.  "Whatever you do, DON'T TOUCH IT."

    The ninja girl turned pale and nodded slowly.  With less than her
usual agility, Misao staggered over to Megumi who was at the very
bottom of the pile of bodies, with Tokio, Saitoh, and Kenshin all
lying on top of her.  The doctor was obviously dazed from the impact
of two grown slamming her into the wall, but she was still struggling
to move.  Before she could free her sword, Misao hastily kicked the
blade out of Megumi's weakened grasp.  The weapon skidded across the
floor, coming to a stop against the far wall.

    Once he saw that the sword was safely out of Megumi's hands,
Shinomori Aoshi quietly passed out again.

    Saitoh ruthlessly heaved Kenshin off of him and slowly rose to his
feet.  He stared down at his wife where she lay quietly panting... and
bleeding.

    Kenshin's desperate move had worked... just barely.  Blood seeped
from a long, wicked gash that ran just above Tokio's breasts across
her entire chest.  But she was appeared otherwise unhurt.  Kenshin had
managed to deflect Saitoh's sword a few vital inches... inches that
made the difference between a relatively minor cut and a fatal
impalement on her husband's blade.  Fortunately, his sword had also
missed Megumi by the smallest of fractions.

    Saitoh knelt down beside his wife.  He didn't say anything or make
any move to touch her.  He merely watched as she gingerly examined the
long slash on her chest.

    As for Kenshin, he sat numbly on the floor where Saitoh had dumped
him.  Still clutching his sakabatou, he bowed his head and covered his
face with his free hand as he took deep, gasping breaths.

    Alarmed by his reaction, Kaoru walked toward him and quietly said,
"Kenshin?"

    By this time, Sano had staggered back to his feet.  Rubbing his
throbbing jaw, he glared at Saitoh and shouted, "You bastard!  You
nearly killed Megumi!"
 
    Saitoh slowly rose to his feet and turned to face the enraged
Sano.  As he calmly flicked Tokio's blood off his sword, Saitoh spoke
with exquisite care in a frighteningly even voice.

    "She tried to kill my WIFE."

    "Look who's talking!  YOU'RE the maniac who was about to cut down
his own wife...."

    Nearly everyone jumped as Kenshin's hand hit the floor with a
tremendous bang.

    "SANO."  Kenshin's voice was low and freezing cold....

    Kaoru's eyes widened.  (Just like... the Battousai....)

    As Sano flinched and took an involuntary step backward, Kaoru
whispered, "Kenshin...?"

    He took a few deep breaths, shook his head, then slowly got to his
feet.  In a much more normal voice, Kenshin quietly said, "Saitoh."
 
    There was a long pause as the two men stared at each other, then
Saitoh abruptly shrugged.

    "Hmph."  He sheathed his sword and turned his attention to his
wife.  Tokio was taking the opportunity to check on Megumi, who was
now uttering an occasional moan.

    After such a close encounter with death, one might have expected a
husband to pick his wife up or at least put his arms around her.
Saitoh did none of these things.  He merely extended his hand to her.
It was a typical Saitoh-type gesture -- arrogant and demanding -- and
yet there was something both courtly and possessive about his actions.
 

    The apparent coldness of his peremptory gesture didn't seem to
bother his wife at all.  Without hesitation, Tokio took her husband's
hand and he effortlessly pulled her to her feet.

    Releasing his grip, he pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to
her.  As she carefully dabbed at the still bleeding cut on her chest,
Saitoh silently walked over to one of the clinic's smaller side rooms
and flung open the door.  Without the slightest expression on his
face, he stood by the doorway, clearly waiting for his wife to join
him.

    Tokio obediently headed for her husband.  At the door, she turned
toward the others and said, "I'm afraid Megumi-san hit her head
against the wall quite hard, but I don't think she has any other
serious injuries, aside from a lot of bruises.  And Kaoru, you lost
quite a bit of blood this morning.  You really shouldn't be out of bed
at all."

    Finally, Tokio turned toward Kenshin and gave him a profoundly
deep bow.  "Thank you, Himura-san, for my life and for my husband's
sake."

    Kenshin returned the bow in full measure.  "Thank you for taking
such care of Kaoru-dono this morning," he replied simply.

    Saitoh watched the entire scene impassively, without so much as a
single smirk or a mocking twitch of an eyebrow.

    Tokio made a graceful nod of acknowledgment, then stepped into the
room.  Saitoh followed his wife and silently shut the door behind him.

-----------------------------------

    Saitoh leaned back on the closed door and let out a long,
drawn-out sigh.  Tokio stood placidly by, still holding his bloody
handkerchief.

    He stared at his wife for a long moment, then a wry smile appeared
on his face.  "That's not an experience that I would like to repeat,
Tokio."
 
    "I'm sorry for being so clumsy," she murmured.
 
    Saitoh reached out and gently ran his fingers just above the slash
on Tokio's chest.  "This will be the second scar I've given you," he
said thoughtfully.

    Tokio uttered a soft chuckle.  "Now I have a matching set, Hajime.
 One in the front.  One in the back."

    He cradled his wife's face between his hands.  His thumbs --
callused from years of wielding a sword -- gently stroked her
cheekbones.

    "Don't remind me.  And now I owe the Battousai for saving your
life," he muttered irritably.

    Saitoh rested his forehead against her soft, silky hair and
quietly inhaled her delicate scent.  Tokio lifted her hands and
delicately intertwined her fingers with his.

    He looked at her hands, then at her.  Demure... dainty...
fragile-looking... yet this woman was strong enough to save his life
on more than one occasion... strong enough to let him go his own way
and still welcome him home without reservation.

    His wife....

-----------------------------------

    After they moved the unconscious Megumi onto a bed, Kaoru shooed
an anxious Sano away.  He paced back and forth at the other end of the
room for a few moments.  Suddenly, he stopped and scowled at the
closed door behind which Saitoh and his wife had gone.

    He muttered, "I still can't believe it.  How can a cold-blooded
bastard like Saitoh possibly marry a sweet-tempered, helpless little
lady like Tokio...?"

      "Sweet-tempered, maybe.  But helpless?  No.  And she's
definitely not harmless," Kenshin quietly said from behind Sano's
back.
 
    Sano jumped in surprise, then turned around.  "Oh... it's you."

    "I wanted to apologize for yelling at you."

    He grinned at Kenshin and waved his hand.  "Hey, it's no big deal.
 You just startled me.  But why did you...."
 
    "I know you're very upset about Saitoh's attack on Megumi, but I
needed to stop you before you said anything else about... THAT...
particular topic."  Kenshin looked away for an instant.

    "Oh... you mean about him nearly killing his wife?"
 
    Kenshin nodded.  (Sano, you can't imagine how it feels....)

    "Do you think he really cares about her?  Tokio, I mean."  Sano
looked a bit skeptical about the idea.
 
    "Yes.  Probably more than you can imagine."
 
    Sano scowled.  "Well, Saitoh has a hell of a way of showing it.  I
mean, she nearly got killed right before his eyes and he barely said a
word to her!"
 
    "Saitoh would hardly display his innermost feelings to US.  And he
has no need to show Tokio that he cares.  She already knows."
 
    "You sound almost... envious."
 
    Kenshin sounded a bit wistful.  "Maybe I am.  I think she
understands him better than anyone else in this world.  More
importantly, she knows and accepts him for what he is.  It's a rare
gift and Saitoh knows it."

    Sano thought for a minute, then said, "But what do you mean about
her not being helpless or harmless?"

    Kenshin smiled faintly.  "Sano, do you really think that someone
like Saitoh would ever consider marrying an ordinary woman?  Tokio may
not be trained in physical combat, but she has intelligence and a will
that matches his in every way.  Saitoh Tokio is a kind, sweet-tempered
lady... but in matters regarding her husband, never underestimate
her."

    Staring at some distant point, Kenshin quietly said, "If Saitoh is
the Mibu's Wolf, then Tokio is the she-wolf...."  He glanced at Sano.
"And she has teeth, even if she doesn't choose to show them."

    "Uh... aren't you exaggerating a bit, Kenshin?"
 
    "I don't think so."

    Kenshin's gaze drifted over to Kaoru as she kept an eye on Megumi.
 He thought of the many things he hadn't told her... memories and
secrets of a bloody past.  Would she be able to truly accept him for
what he was and who he had been?  But even as his thoughts turned to
Kaoru, something nagged at him.  He had forgotten something
important... but what?

-----------------------------------
 
    After Saitoh helped Tokio bandage her injuries, he leaned against
the wall and watched her make a few repairs to her torn kimono.  As
she stitched, Tokio murmured, "Do you think that sword is really
cursed?"

    "If you had asked me that during the Bakumatsu no Doran, I would
have laughed in your face.  But after what happened to the two of us
at the Wolf Shrine...."  Saitoh gave his wife a sour look.  "I think
I'll defer judgment for the moment."

    As he absently rubbed the scarred patch on his left shoulder, his
thoughts drifted back to a certain night over seven years ago and the
inexplicable events that occurred in a lonely mountain shrine.  He
knew from painful first-hand experience that such things as curses
indeed existed.

    (But is a curse involved in all these murders and today's events?
That remains to be seen....  Is there a more mundane explanation for
all these bizarre occurrences?)

    But he couldn't forget the eerie flash of recognition in Megumi's
eyes when she had caught a glimpse of both him and Himura.  And then
there were those last few ominous words....

    'Both of you... I've found you, at last!'

-----------------------------------

    As Kaoru attended to Megumi, Misao kept a careful eye on the still
unconscious Aoshi.  She hoped that he would wake up again, but she
also dreaded that moment.

    (What could I say?  I nearly killed him.  I accused him of
unforgivable things.  He should hate me... but... but he said he cared
about me....)

    "Aoshi-... Aoshi-sama...," she whispered.

    He slowly opened his eyes.  There was a faint twitch at the corner
of his mouth that seemed to hint at a smile.  "Misao."

    "I... I... so... sorry....  The things... the things I said...."
Tears blurred her vision as she struggled to find the right words to
express herself.

    "Misao...." Aoshi quietly repeated.  He too was searching for the
right words to comfort the girl sitting beside him.  There were things
that both of them desperately wanted to say, but with five other
people in the room, the situation could hardly be considered private.
As Aoshi groped for something to say, he glanced away from Misao...
then stiffened in alarm.

    Without warning, he pulled himself upright, ignoring the tearing
pain in his side.  Shoving Misao aside, he grabbed the pitcher from
the bedside table and hurtled it.

    The pitcher hit Yahiko on the shoulder and sent the boy sprawling
on the floor... away from the black sword lying so innocently on the
floor.

    The sound of smashing pottery grabbed everyone's attention.  In an
instant, Kenshin was kneeling beside a stunned Yahiko.  He gave Aoshi
a hard look and said, "What's going on?"

    "DON'T TOUCH THAT SWORD!" panted Aoshi as he collapsed back onto
the bed, clutching at his side.  Misao was horrified to see fresh
blood start to seep through the bandages on Aoshi's side.

    "Aoshi-sama!  Kaoru, help me!"

    In the meantime, Yahiko was rubbing his aching shoulder and
muttering, "What the hell's going on?  Ouch!"

    Kenshin worriedly asked, "Are you all right?" as he helped Yahiko
sit up.
 
    The boy grimaced and muttered, "Yeah... but what did he do that
for?"

    "He was trying to stop you from picking that sword up."  Kenshin
glanced back at the weapon only to see Kaoru reaching down to pick it
up.

    "No!  Kaoru-dono!  STOP!"

    She seemed oblivious to Kenshin's frantic warning and continued
reaching for the sword's hilt.  He did the only thing he could.
Kenshin threw himself across the floor and snatched the blade out
right out from under her grasping fingers.

    Kaoru suddenly blinked as her hand closed on empty air.

    Everyone froze as Kenshin rolled gracefully to his feet, black
sword in hand.

    He looked down at the dark weapon he was now holding and gave it a
superficial examination.  Kenshin then glanced up to see everyone
staring at him with anxious and slightly horrified expressions on
their faces.

    "You picked up that... that THING!" Misao exclaimed, shuddering
slightly.

    Kenshin quietly said, "I had to.  Kaoru-dono was about to touch
it...."

    "Yeah, but now YOU'RE touching it!" Sano shouted.

    "And you... you don't sense anything... wrong with it?" said Aoshi
in a very weak voice.

    They all twitched nervously as Kenshin shook his head and propped
the weapon against his shoulder.  "No.  As far as I can tell, it's a
superbly made sword with a unusual matte black finish on the blade.
And that's about it."

    "And you're not feeling any urge to start attacking people?" Misao
asked suspiciously.

    Kenshin said very empathically, "No!  Of course not!"

    Kaoru stared at her hand in bewilderment.  (I don't understand.
For a moment there... that sword seemed to be the most beautiful thing
in the world... I just couldn't stop myself from picking it up....)
Her vision started to go dark and she started to sway.

    "Kaoru-dono!"  Kenshin dropped the black sword and grabbed her
before she could topple to the floor.

    With Misao fully occupied with getting Aoshi's bleeding under
control and with Kenshin tending to a semi-conscious Kaoru, no one
noticed that Yahiko and Sano seemed irresistibly drawn to the weapon
lying in the floor.

    They both grabbed for the sword, just as the door to the side room
abruptly slid open.  In their haste to get a hold of the blade,
neither Sano nor Yahiko was paying attention to what the other guy was
doing.  They collided abruptly with a loud thud.  As Sano and Yahiko
landed on the floor clutching their skulls, Saitoh whisked the weapon
away from right under their noses.
 
    "Saitoh!" protested Kenshin and several other people.

    "I'm out of sight for a few minutes and look what happens.
Breaking pottery... hysterical females... bleeding bodies.... I'm
feeling left out of all the fun."

    Kenshin noted that Saitoh sounded quite like his normal sarcastic,
irritating self again.

    While everyone nervously watched him for any suspicious or unusual
behavior, Saitoh held up the weapon and took a careful look at it.
"So this is the evil sword that's supposedly causing all the problems.
 Hmph."

    Tokio quietly moved over to Aoshi's side, freeing Misao to
confront Saitoh.

    "Don't tell me that you can't sense anything strange about that
sword either!" the ninja girl shouted.

    Saitoh murmured, "Either?"
 
    Still holding a barely conscious Kaoru in his arms, Kenshin gave
Saitoh a harried look and said, "Whatever's wrong with that blade, it
doesn't seem to be affecting me."

    "Ow, my head!" groaned Sano.
 
    "Why don't you watch where you're going, you jerk!" yelled Yahiko.

    "Me!?  You're the one who got in my way!"
 
    "I was going to pick it up first."
 
    "Oh yeah?"
 
    "Yeah!"

    With a casual sweep of his free hand, Saitoh smacked both Sano and
Yahiko in the head and said, "Shut up."

    Sano jumped to his feet.  "You can't tell me to shut up!"
 
    United by a common enemy, Yahiko said, "Yeah, give it to him,
Sano!"

    The ninja girl glared at Kenshin and Saitoh.  "I can't believe
that both of you can't detect anything weird about that damn blade!"
Misao then turned angrily toward Sano and Yahiko.  "And I can't
believe that both you idiots are arguing about who's getting first
dibs on a cursed sword!"

    Sano blinked and muttered, "Now that you mention it...."
 
    "....why was I trying so hard to pick that stupid sword up?"
Yahiko mumbled in bewilderment.

    As Kenshin carried Kaoru to the last unoccupied bed in the room,
he said apologetically, "Sorry, Misao, but I really can't sense
anything strange about that sword."

    Saitoh snorted and said, "If it wasn't for the Fox-woman's recent
bout of homicidal behavior, I'd say that you were imagining things,
girl."

    Misao snapped, "Well, if you're so sure about that sword being
harmless, why don't you just hand it over to your wife and let her
play with it?"

    Kenshin winced and muttered, "Misao...."

    Saitoh turned and gave the ninja girl a long, silent stare.  She
clapped her hands over her mouth and instinctively retreated toward
Aoshi's comforting presence.

    (Oops.  I think that was the wrong thing to say....)
 
    At that moment, there was a brilliant flash of lightning, followed
almost immediately by a tremendous crack of thunder.  A cold wind
howled through the clinic, sending papers and loose items flying.  A
few seconds later, the storm began.

-----------------------------------
(end of part 6)

**********************************************************************

Next part:   Things start to get creepy.   ^_^

--------------------------------------------
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