[KFFDisc] That Which Lingers - Part 8 (draft)

This is a rough draft of Part 8 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 8:  The Past Revisited
======================================================================

---------------
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
    / / and // // represent various sorts of mental dialogue
    * ----- * ----- *  marks the start/end of dreams or flashbacks
    [ ] denote visual or time notes

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[the present, 11th year of the Meiji period, late summer]

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

    Kaoru smiled slightly and said, "I've never seen you with your
hair up in a ponytail like that....  You know, it really suits you,
Kenshin."
 
    The pale, tense look that came over his face made her wonder,
(What's wrong?  Why does he look so unhappy?)
 
    Kaoru took a step in Kenshin's direction, but her knees abruptly
buckled.  In a flash, Kenshin scooped her up and put her back in bed.
As Tokio felt Kaoru's forehead and checked her pulse, Kenshin said,
"Tokio-dono.  What's wrong?"

    "I'm not sure.  She seems to be getting a bit feverish.  I need to
check her wound and make sure it hasn't gotten infected."
 
    Sano said, "By the way, how's Megumi doing?  Shouldn't she be
awake by now?"

    "She did regain consciousness sometime during the night, but she
was badly confused.  I've been waking her up at regular intervals to
make she hasn't lapsed into a coma.  Yahiko?"

    The boy stumbled in and sleepily muttered, "What?"
 
    "I think Kaoru should stay here at the clinic for a little while
longer.  Could you go back to her house and get her a change of
clothes?"

    "Oh... sure thing."
 
    Tokio smiled and said, "Thank you.  And I'll have breakfast ready
when you get back."
 
    Sano got up and drawled, "Come on."
 
    "Just where do you think you're going?" complained Yahiko.
 
    "It was a pretty nasty storm last night.  I want to see how the
dojo's doing.  And I can't stand being around HIM," Sano jabbed his
thumb in Saitoh's direction, "any more."

    Slinging his shinai over his shoulder, Yahiko muttered, "Fine."
Turning to Tokio, he said, "We'll be right back!"

    After Sano and Yahiko left, Kenshin turned his attention back to
Kaoru.

    "She's feverish?  How bad is it?"
 
    "It's just a mild fever at the moment.  Hopefully it won't get any
worse...."
 
    At that moment, Misao burst into the room.
 
    "Aoshi-sama... eek!"  Her throat suddenly went very, very dry as
both Saitoh and Kenshin whirled around toward her and went for their
swords.  For an instant, the two men stared at her with narrowed, wary
eyes,... then they both suddenly relaxed.

    Saitoh snorted quietly as he slid his half-drawn sword back into
its sheath.  Kenshin hadn't drawn his sakabatou, but his hand had been
firmly gripping the hilt.

    (Why did I...?)
 
    "Kenshin?  What's wrong?" whispered a badly worried Kaoru.

    Misao could barely keep her knees from shaking.  Facing an
apparently hostile Saitoh Hajime was bad enough, but facing him AND
Kenshin was almost more than she could take at the moment.

    When Kenshin turned to respond to Kaoru's question, Misao got the
first good at his hair.  With a squeak, she blurted out, "Your hair!
Why are you wearing it up like that!?"

    "Like what?" Kenshin said in a distracted voice as he fretted over
Kaoru's pale, drawn appearance.
 
    "Like the way you wore it when you were the Hitokiri Battousai...
eep!"  Misao suddenly clamped her mouth shut.

    As Kenshin stiffened, Kaoru's eyes widened.  (Is that it?  Is that
why he was so unhappy when I said that wearing his hair this way
suited him?  Oh, Kenshin... I'm sorry!)

    He glanced curiously at Misao.  "How did you know that?  How did
you know how I wore my hair in Kyoto all those years ago?"

    "I... I...," stuttered Misao.  (I can't tell him that I saw it in
a dream!)

    "Hmph.  It really brings back memories.  Doesn't it,...
Battousai?"  Saitoh gave Kenshin a distinctly malicious grin.

    "Saitoh...."  Kenshin glared back at his old enemy.
 
    The ninja girl hastily said, "Uh, guys.  What's wrong with Kaoru?
She's not looking too good."

    "Well, thank YOU, Misao," snapped a peeved Kaoru.
 
    Tokio said, "It's possible that her wound's gotten slightly
infected....  That black sword could have been contaminated by
dirt...."
 
    "Or it could be poisoned," Saitoh murmured with almost ghoulish
relish.

    "WHAT!?" screamed Misao.

    "Oh dear...," Tokio murmured.
 
    "Saitoh!"  Kenshin gritted his teeth and watched the ninja girl
with considerable misgivings.

    "Poisoned!?  Then... then...."  Misao gave Kaoru a horrified
stare.  "That... that...."

    "Misao, we don't KNOW the blade's poisoned...."  Tokio gave her
husband a mildly reproachful look.  He shrugged nonchalantly in
return.

    The ninja girl was too upset to pay any attention whatsoever to
Tokio's reassurances.  She glanced wildly around the room, then her
gaze zeroed in on the still figure of Shinomori Aoshi.

    "That means.... WAHHHH!!!"  Misao burst into tears and flung
herself over Aoshi's bed.

    "No!!!  Please don't die!  After all we've been through, you can't
die now...!  I want to hear your laughter...!"

    Aoshi slowly awoke from a very deep sleep only to find Misao
laying on top of him and weeping hysterically.

    In a soft, but perfectly clear voice, he said, "Misao,... you're
getting my bandages wet."

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

    It was only a short walk from Dr. Genzai's clinic and the Kamiya
Dojo.   On their way back, Sano muttered, "Jo-chan's going to throw a
fit when she sees all the damage that storm last night caused."

    "I hope you realize just who's going to be fixing all those holes
and stuff!" snapped Yahiko.

    "Oh, don't remind me."
 
    There was a brief period of depressed silence as they both thought
about all the work Kaoru was sure to dump on them.

    "Hey, Sano."
 
    "Yeah."
 
    "Tokio-san is some lady, huh?  With both Megumi and Kaoru pretty
much out of commission...."

    "I know.  But when you think about it, it makes sense.  Saitoh
doesn't make allowances for anyone.  There's no way he'd marry a woman
that needs to be coddled.  Heh.  Talk about strong females."
 
    "But she's so sweet and nice about it, you really can't tell her
no when she asks you to do something."
 
    "Kinda scary, isn't it?  But I know what you mean."

    They turned the corner and stopped dead.  Sano looked around him
in bewilderment.
 
    Yahiko muttered, "Uh... where did all these houses come from?"
 
    The scene in front of them was completely unfamiliar.  Instead of
the familiar stone-walled compounds, the street was lined with tall
wooden buildings.  They turned and ran back around the corner, only to
see more wooden houses.

    "What the hell!?"
 
    The street was deserted and gloomy.  The sky was filled with dark
roiling clouds which foretold the coming of another storm.

    "Where are we!?" shouted Yahiko.
 
    "I don't KNOW!  So why are you yelling at me!?" snarled an
increasingly irritated and uneasy Sano.
 
    "Because there's no one else to yell at!  You've managed to get us
lost somehow!"

    "Whoa!  There's no way you can blame this on me!  I...."
 
    Both Sano and Yahiko caught a flicker of movement down the street.
 They both turned just in time to see the briefest glimpse of long red
hair -- a very familiar shade of red hair -- swirling in the breeze
before disappearing into a side alley.

    "Duh?"

    "What is Kenshin doing wandering around here?  I would've thought
he'd be sticking close to Kaoru since she was feeling so bad...,"
muttered Sano.

    "And why is he still wearing his hair up like that?" added Yahiko.
 
    They stared at each other, then charged off after Kenshin.
Considering how fast their friend could move, it wasn't surprising
that they nearly lost him several times amid the narrow streets and
alleys.

    Sano abruptly grabbed Yahiko and pulled the boy to a grinding halt
just as he was about to burst out of the alleyway into a fair-sized
street.

    "Wha...?"
 
    Sano clamped his hand over Yahiko's mouth and uttered a soft, but
emphatic, "Shhhh!"  They stood in the shadows of the alley listening
to the conversation in the street.

    A weak, tired man's voice said, "Himura-san!"  He sounded greatly
relieved.
 
    "I'll take care of it.  Get moving."
 
    Yahiko barely managed to smother a gasp.  It was Kenshin
speaking,...and yet it wasn't.  The voice was familiar, yet
unspeakably different.  There were no old-fashioned formalities... no
polite 'if you please' phrases....  His speech was cold, precise, and
left no room for argument.  He had heard that voice before... during
Saitoh's and Kenshin's battle in the dojo.

    The voice of the Hitokiri Battousai....
 
    The boy gave Sano a shocked and frightened look.  It was clear
from Sano's expression that he recognized exactly who was speaking.
The two of them peered out of the alleyway and watched Kenshin,
dressed in a dark blue jacket and hakama, confront a group of
swordsmen.  It was clear from their anxious expressions that they knew
how dangerous their opponent was, even if they didn't know his name.
They drew their swords as their leader shouted, "Stand aside!"

    Yahiko turned white as a sheet, then bolted into the road before
Sano could stop him.  There was an instant of stillness, then the
scene erupted into deadly motion as Kenshin... no, the Battousai
charged.

    The gloomy street was now filled with flashes of red... the red of
the Battousai's hair, the high ponytail lashing through the air like
the tail of a hunting cat... the red of blood flung from steel and
pouring forth from gaping wounds....

    And then there was only two men left standing... the Battousai and
the leader of the obliterated squad of swordsmen.  The squad leader
wavered on his feet even as his sword fell from a nearly severed hand.
 Unarmed, he looked up and stared bravely at the killer in front of
him.

    "NO!!!  NO!!!" screamed Yahiko.  But his cries went unacknowledged
as the Hitokiri Battousai mercilessly decapitated his helpless
opponent with a single efficient stroke.

    Sano rushed to Yahiko just as the boy sagged to his knees.
 
    "No... it can't be... NO!!!"
 
    The Battousai seemed oblivious to the commotion behind him as he
flicked the blood from his sword, then wiped it clean.
 
    "Yahiko, what's wrong!?" Sano was appalled to see tears pouring
down Yahiko's anguished face.

    "No... not him... anyone but him...," sobbed the boy.
 
    The red-haired swordsman sheathed his weapon.  Only then did Sano
realized that the killer in front of him was not carrying the familiar
sakabatou, but rather the traditional daisho -- a pair of swords
comprising of a katana and a wakizashi.

    The Battousai turned and stared in their direction with cold,
golden eyes just as Yahiko rose to his feet, grabbed hold of his
shinai and charged.

    "Yahiko!" cried Sano.
 
    The hitokiri made no apparent move to fend off Yahiko's attack,
but Sano knew just how meaningless that lack of motion was.  The man
in front of them was a master of battou-jutsu... a killer capable of
cutting a trained opponent down in less than a blink of an eye.

    (That's why they call him the Battousai....)
 
    Yahiko didn't seem to care that he was charging into certain
death.  With a final scream, he swung at the red-haired killer in
front of him... and hit absolutely nothing.

    It wasn't that the Battousai evaded Yahiko's attack.  He hadn't
moved at all.  Yahiko's shinai had passed right through him.

    (Like attacking a cloud of smoke... or a ghost....)  Sano felt a
distinct shiver of dread.

    Even as the boy stumbled to a halt and spun around, the Battousai
calmly walked down the street, past a stunned Sano, and disappeared
around a corner.

    "Holy...," whispered Sano.  He turned to see Yahiko stumble over
to the side of the street.  The boy fell to his knees and stared at
the squad leader's head which now rested in the gutter.

    "Yahiko...?"
 
    The boy slowly reached out his hand.  Just before he could touch
the head, it wavered and disappeared... just like all the unfamiliar
wooden buildings surrounding them.  Sano and Yahiko found themselves
standing -- or kneeling -- in the middle of a now familiar street,
barely a block away from the clinic.

    Sano started yanking on his hair and shouted, "What the hell's
going on!?"
 
    Yahiko remained motionless, staring blankly at the exact spot
where the decapitated head had been.
 
    "Yahiko...  Why did you...?  I mean, did you know... that guy?"
 
    The boy's answer absolutely floored Sano.
 
    "He's... he WAS... my father...."
 
-----------------------------------
(end of part 8)

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

I would like to express my greatest thanks and appreciation to Julie
Farel, the author of the terrific RK fanfic called "Friendship", for
providing the inspiration for the encounter between Yahiko's father
and the Hitokiri Battousai!  You can find it in the Hiten Mitsurugi
Ryuu RK fanfic archive at:

    http://www.oocities.org/Tokyo/Pagoda/7767/
 

Next part:  Evil things are lurking....  ^_^

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