Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Blood and Amber ❯ Murder ( Chapter 8 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Dinner was served silently. No one spoke during dinner, as was the norm nowadays.
Surprisingly, Megumi was eating over at the dojo today. She had to check over Kaoru's stitches and had to redo some- Kaoru had strained her back a bit much and the stitches were a bit loose. By the time Megumi was done, it had been too late for her to walk home by herself. She had accepted the offer of an escort and had stayed for dinner, mostly because her escort was Sanosuke, and Sano wouldn't leave without eating.
The five people sat around the table, sipping soup and eating rice quietly. Yahiko, Sano, and Megumi were trying to figure out how to get Kenshin and Kaoru to talk about what had happened during the Incident, and Kenshin and Kaoru were reflecting on it.
'Sake makes people talkitive.... maybe Kaoru has some around here? But then again, Kenshin doesn't drink often.. damn.' Sano thought, his mind coming up with serveral ways to get them to talk, and then vetoing them because they wouldn't work.
'I'm a member of Team Kenshin, I have a right to know what happened. Nobody ever tells me anything!' Yahiko fumed, but then reflected on teh sight Kenshin had made when he stormed into the clinic. 'Then again, maybe I don't want to know.' The normally half-starved boy put down his rice cake, deciding not to touch it again. 'I'm so happy I was drugged.... I wouldn't have wanted to embarrass myself...' (Throwing up is embarrassing..... A/N)
'There's a lot they're not telling us. This could turn into a mental problem soon if they don't speak... the clinic may not be equipped to help them..' Megumi thought, sipping her tea.
'I hope he realizes what I meant.. or that he hasn't. I wish I would make up my mind!' Kaoru thought, unsure if she wanted Kenhsin to know that she loved him. 'He's smart enough to figure it out.... what if he does?'
'Kaoru.... she shouldn't see any blood. It's my fault. She has to hate me for what I did....' Kenshin reflected sadly. 'But still.... she did hold my hand back then, on the porch. Maybe she didn't realize? Maybe it was only a friendly gesture... but still, she did say that I helped her meet the man she loves the most. Could it be me? Maybe it is just wishful thinking- I don't deserve her. It's not me- can't be. I've killed so many it's not even worth wishing that I could be loved again.' Kenshin looked out of the corner of his eye at Kaoru.
'She'll always be Miss Kaoru to me- I just wish that she could be my Mrs. Kaoru.'

Soon, dinner was over. Kenshin took the dishes and went to the wash basein. Kaoru went to her room, and Yahiko went to the dojo to practice. Megumi and Sano said their goodbyes and left.
"Ken-san seems so quiet." Megumi commented, once they were on the road. Sano just snorted.
"He's been like that for ages. Won't talk about the Incident either."
"He should. It's not healthy to keep something as obviously distressing like that inside."
"Spare him the lecture- won't work. Come to think, spare me the lecture too."
"But you do agree that he should talk about it." Sano nodded.
"Of course! No one normally comes into a clinic, holding the girl he loves the most, covered in blood, and demands medical service for the girl only, without making me curious."
"It would make anyone curious." Megumi said, then fell silent. Sano did as well. What could be said after that? there wasn't much more to talk about. Shortly after that, they arrived in town. A buzz flitted through the air. Everyone was uneasy about something. Sano and Megumi spotted some policemen near an alley, and they seemed to be holding people off. The chief wasn't around though, so they didn't have much of a hope of getting information. They also noted that the Akabeko was closed, which was surprising- it shouldn't have closed until much later.
Sano went up to the crowd that had formed around the police, pushing and shoving to the front, which was where the people who knew the most normally were. He spotted one of his friends and asked him what was going on.
"The police found a body in the alley..... dead from sword wounds..." Sano's friend swallowed. "...and they found a building full of bodies, near the Akabeko, just inside the forested area. It smells so bad near there the Akabeko had to close down. We have a murderer on the loose."
"What? Do you know anything else?" Sano asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach, as though this were connected to something. Namely, the Incident. He knew that his friend was a part-time policeman, due to the call for more of the boys in blue since the Bakumatsu had ended. "Just between you and me of course." His friend glanced around, then leaned in to whisper.
"This isn't known by any but the police, but there were at least twenty bodies in the building in the woods. All of them were ex-hitokiri, and they all died of wounds to the heart, excpet for this one guy. He, we found with a partially severed neck. We don't recognize the weapon used, and no weapon was found on the scene."

Kenshin scrubbed the dishes. Scrub, scrub, scrub. The food would come off of one dish, leaving it clean, and he'd put it aside to dry, grabbing the next. This allowed his mind to wander.
'Kaoru should marry someone who has money, who can provide for her. I have nothing, not even my sakabato anymore.' Kenshin paused to feel the strange emptiness that accompanied the thought of his lost blade. It was said that a swordsman's blade was his soul.... strange how right that seemed. The blade that had accompanied him for ten years, physical proof of his vow, was gone.
He wasn't even worthy of a reverse blade anymore. He had to be the lowest form of life there was, living off the kindness of Kaoru. He didn't even really do anything for her in return.
The dish was clean. He set it aside, grabbing a new one, not even aware that his thoughts were as repetitive as his motions.

Kaoru was sitting in her room. She couldn't sleep just yet.
'I have to tell him, or at least tell the others about the Incident. If I keep every one of my secrets, they'll turn around and bite me.' She closed her eyes and sighed, looking down.
'I'm a fool. Kenshin too mature and nice for me. I'm just an idiot that he has to clean up after and does the cooking for.' Kaoru scowled. 'I am not! Besides, Kenshin's too polite to ever think such things....'
"But Sano, Yahiko, and Megumi aren't." she said quietly. She thought a bit, now resting her chin on her knee.
'He might not have had time to reflect on what I meant, or he may have forgotten about it..... I can learn to cook, and give him more time to think!' She congratulated herself on the plan, seeing the fact that it would be Kenshin teaching her as an added bonus.

Sano and Megumi were walking to her house, reflecting on the info they had learned from his cop friend. Just before she entered her house, she came up with a plan.
"Maybe we could get Ken-san to talk by telling him about the murderer?" At Sano's skeptical look, she continued, frowning slightly.
"Think about it. Remember when he was in Rakuninmura? He didn't come out of there when we asked him about revenge, but when Yahiko was in danger. Perhaps if he sees that the town is in danger, he'll snap out of this and eventually talk about what happened?"
"Or maybe that's just a crazy idea, fox." When she opened her mouth to object, he smiled. "It could work, as long as he doesn't get himself killed protecting the town. He doesn't have his sakabato anymore, remember?" Megumi sighed.
"It is worth a try."
"I'll tell him after breakfast tomorrow."

And there you have it! It gets better soon, I hope.... Who here spotted the plot twist? One fact mentioned here tells you everything you need to know about the murderer. Well, at least what weapon he uses.....
So, question for those of you who think they know the answer! What is the murderer's weapon, and how can you tell?
Tell me in your REVIEWS!
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