Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Heavenly Lost ❯ The Retribution Zone ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter VIII

The Retribution Zone

Kenshin was walking with Kaoru by his side. He knew the city was dangerous, not only for the surprises it may hide but also for the souls that were waiting to have vengeance on him. The woman walking by his side was the thing he loved the most. Everybody knew that by hurting her they could hurt him more than any physical wound they could give him. She was already hurt, Jine hurt her badly but she said it was nothing and put a smile on her face as she walked by his side. All those years together had thought him how to read her and there wasn't any emotion she could hide from him. He knew very well she was in pain and that the wound wouldn't heal but he could also read the happiness in the deeps of her heart, a happiness that existed just because of him, because she could be with him again.

As promised to Yumi, when the got to the end of the street they turned right and just kept walking ready to face whatever was about t come.

The street was like all the others, there was no sing that they were on a different place that before, they just had the feeling and walked by instinct without knowing exactly were they were headed. They just walked.

Kaoru was cold, she was shivering at his side and she was rubbing her hands together trying to get warmer.

"Kaoru you are cold" Said the read headed man with a soft and caring voice.

The young woman only smiled as she always did but he understood what that meant. He put his arms around her and tried to give her some warm. She let her body be wrapped in his arms and they just kept walking close to one another.

As usual their momentary peace was interrupted by the arrival of three armed men.

"So we are lucky enough to find Battousai and his woman"

"Now we'll have fun"

Kenshin looked at the men in front of him. He didn't recognize any of them. Off course he had killed so many people in the Bakumatsu that he didn't remember them all. He protectively put Kaoru behind him and faced the men without even drawing his sword.

"I don't know who you are but I don't want to hurt you"

The men just laughed without realizing what the man in front of them was capable of.

"We are the ones that are going to hurt you and we'll start by having fun with the little woman standing behind you."

"If you even get close to her I'll give you such eternal pain that you'll wish you could die again" Said Kenshin in a cold voice he only used when something precious to him was being threaten.

"When we defeat you we'll be the kings of hell, there would be no one to stop us"

Kenshin just exhaled deeply as he faced a situation he hadn't face in a long time.

"You mean you are not here because I killed you in the pass or something?"

"No"

"So you are just here because you want to have the title of the strongest?"

"Yes" Said the men with determined faces.

When Kaoru heard this she could only laugh. She couldn't believe that there were still people stupid enough to face Kenshin just to get a stupid title that he didn't even cared for.

"Don't laugh at us little girl" Said one of the men as the three of them had their faces red of anger. "We are talking seriously and we'll defeat Battousai"

"Yeah right you will" said Kaoru in an ironic tone as she walked to the side of Kenshin again. "We are wasting time" She continued looking at him and ignoring the men "We should get going".

He nodded at her and they started walking straight for the men. They stood in a fighting position when they saw them.

"I'll really recommend getting out of the way" Said Kaoru.

"Some people never listen" She concluded when they left the three motionless bodies behind them.

* * *

Kaoru and Kenshin stopped abruptly when they faced three doors at the end of the street. They were closed just like the first one they both encountered.

"This can't be good" Said Kaoru as she stared at him.

"Well if we want to continue we should choose one of them" Said Kenshin.

"Nothing good will be behind any of them."

"I know but we have to remember what Yumi-dono said, if we choose correctly we could get faster to the end of the city"

"There is only one way to choose" Said Kaoru "We have to listen to our heart, that's how I found you"

They held hands and closed their eyes, they tried to vanish any thoughts from their minds and just listen to what their heart had to say. They opened their eyes at the same time and the violet and the blue got lost in each other. They understood each other and with their hands still together they pushed the middle door.

They exhaled a breath of relief because they weren't burnt by the touch of the door. The door opened easily and they stood at the threshold trying to have a look inside.

They couldn't see a thing, everything was black, and they couldn't hear any sound or sense anything. The choice was already taken so they walked inside together.

As soon as they did the door closed behind them and the streets were illuminated by the torches. They were exactly like the ones in every part of the city. Kaoru stood still looking at the streets in front of her. She couldn't sense anything different and she wondered what was the city hiding from them.

She didn't have to wander for long. She felt how Kenshin collapsed in the floor right beside her. Their hands were still held together and she felt him pressing it as he tried to control the pain he was in.

She knelled beside him with a worried look on her face. She didn't know what was happening but she could sense that her loved one was in deep pain. She put her free hand in his face and touched it gently trying to calm him.

"Kenshin what's wrong?"

But he didn't answer her. He couldn't even hear her; he was down in the floor feeling more pain that he ever had in his whole life.

Kaoru was despaired and she tried to look around to find a way to help him or at least what was causing him that pain. That's when she noticed the other people in the streets. She could see a few persons all in the floor and in deep agony. Something invisible was hurting them, but none of them looked as bad as Kenshin.

"What's happening?" She asked out loud as she tried to understand. Everyone there seemed to be in deep pain, everyone but her. "Why I'm not in pain?"

"Welcome to the retribution zone" Said a very week voice.

"Who are you? What is this place?" Asked Kaoru trying to find the owner of the voice.

"I'm just another doom soul that'll never leave this part of the city. No one ever has and no one ever will"

"Why? What is hurting you so bad?"

"Not what, who"

"Then who is hurting you?" Asked Kaoru as she grabbed her boken with her free hand ready to face what ever was torturing Kenshin.

"Ourselves"

"What? What does that mean?" She said in a despaired tone.

"When you are in the retribution zone you are doomed to forever feel the pain you inflicted when you lived on earth, it all comes back to you."

Kaoru felt like she was being stabbed.

"That's why I'm not hurting, but Kenshin… He caused so much pain and grief when he was known as Battousai. He is now felling the pain of all the people he killed or hurt, of their loved ones that cried for them and also the pain he caused himself when he decided to wound his soul to clear the path for a new era."

She let her boken go and put his hand back in Kenshin's face.

"What can I do to help you?" She said with the softest and saddest voice but he couldn't hear her.

He was lost in his own mind and in his own memories. He could only feel the constant and piercing pain and with his eyes closed the only images that flashed though his head were the bloody faces of those he killed. He could feel every slash he did, every cut he cause every wound he inflicted and all the pain of those he never knew but that had to live without their loved ones all because of him.

Kaoru's tears were falling from her face. She couldn't witness that any longer, she felt so useless, so incapable of helping the one she loved the most.

"This isn't fair! Yes I know he caused a lot of pain but he also protected so many people and caused so much happiness. Doesn't that count for anything? Is he doomed to suffer forever?"

Kenshin was lost in a nightmare and he couldn't feel her soft touch or her warm tears falling down at his face.

"Protect… happiness…"

Then he was again in the white landscape. He felt her pain as she died and his pain as he realized what he did. He saw the snow turned red and he felt the sharp knife at his face.

"Tomoe…"

Kaoru brushed the tears from her eyes. She looked down at Kenshin and her eyes widened at what she saw.

He was bleeding, his cross scar was bleeding.

She slowly moved her hand towards his cheek. She gently placed it on top on his scar and she felt the warm liquid in her fingers.

"This isn't fair! I have to help him somehow, if I don't then he'll be here forever and I'll never get him back"

With one of her hands still holding his and the other on his cheek she leaned to him. She closed her eyes and put her lips on top of his. As she deepened the kiss Kenshin began to be aware of something outside his tormented thoughts, something that wasn't filled with sorrow or pain, something clean and pure.

"I won't let him suffer alone! I chose this fate for myself; I chose his path as mine. Now let me share his destiny!"

Kenshin opened his violet eyes when he felt like a terrible burden was lifted of him. He was still in deep pain, he could still fell his whole body and soul hurting but he was somehow relieved of some of it.

He saw her deep blue eyes staring at him and read them as he usually did. He had never seen those eyes that way before. He could see the piercing pain in them but also a joy beyond description. She smiled at him before she collapsed in the floor as he did before.

He took deep breaths trying to think straight. He saw the street and saw the other people and then started back at the raven haired girl that was silently enduring his pain by his side. Then he comprehended it all.

She was holding his hand and her face was covered in tears. Her eyes were open and she stared at him silently, she couldn't move, she had never felt more pain in her entire life but she didn't care just as she could stare at those violet eyes.

"I don't know how she did it but she is sharing my pain with me.If we stay here she'll have to suffer for me eternally."

He gathered all the strength he had and he stood up with Kaoru in his arms. Every step he took caused him new waves of pain but he only needed to look at her to have the power to keep walking. He was determined to cross that part of the city and get out of it. He wasn't going to go back, he knew she didn't want that, so he kept walking forward.

The man that talked to Kaoru stared at the couple in disbelief but Kenshin didn't notice him. He just kept walking until he reached the end of the street ant two doors appeared in front of him.

He looked at Kaoru. They didn't need words to communicate. They both closed their eyes and when they opened them they had made another choice.

As the figures disappeared through the door, the man that had spent so much time watching souls suffer in the retribution zone without ever seeing any of them leave, closed his eyes as he whispered.

"Impossible"

* * *

A/N: So we are back to angst but at least they are together again ne? I hope you liked this chapter so please write and tell me what you think.