Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Keep the Shadows At Bay ❯ To Repair What Was Lost ( Chapter 3 )

The Dawn Is About To Break


Part 3: To Repair What Was Lost



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Author's note: I've changed the POV from here on out. It's been pretty hard to do it the previous way, so I'm giving you a heads up before any of you possibly get confused as to what is going on.


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"He hasn't moved in two days….." Megumi sighed softly, hands folded on her lap as she sat at the table with Gensai and his two granddaughters, her tea and food having grown cold from lack of appetite. Her stomach formed tight knots at the image of Sanosuke's bloody and battered form. What had been the worst was how little Sanosuke reacted to his injuries. The Sanosuke she knew would curse or complain about people wasting their time over mere scrapes and cuts.

But the Sanosuke she saw two days ago seemed like a ghost. When a damp Saitou in police uniform had carted the injured man into the hospital, her heart had nearly skipped a beat at the flat dead brown gaze staring back at her no recollection. The only clothing covering the former fighter-for-hirer had been the last few patches of clothing obviously not his own and a large jacket that hung loose around his wrists and down to his waist.

He hadn't spoken a word, not even when the two doctors had cleaned and dressed the painful wounds across his face or when they applied topical cream to the fierce black and purple bruises over his shoulders and chest. They feared a possible concussion from the head trauma, but the young man seemed to be fighting it fairly well.

The only spark of life Megumi had seen within Sanosuke had been yesterday when she had brought him a small lunch.

Sanosuke's eyes had been brimming with a deep-rooted suffering and shame…..

But mingled with that self-suffering had been an immense furious rage that hung around the man in a heavy cloud. Megumi was fearful for whomever so much anger was directed towards, at Sanosuke's attacker, or Sanosuke himself.

"Grandpa, why won't Sano talk to us?…." Suzume begged petulantly, tugging at her grandfather's sleeve, the youngest granddaughter confused at the lack of response she had gotten from the bandaged fighter when she had asked if he could play with her.

Doctor Gensai tried to smile encouraging to the small girl, "Sanosuke has a lot on his mind, Suzume. It would probably be best to leave him alone. He is going through a lot right now. He needs time to heal."

"Will he get better? Will he be more happy when his cuts and bruises are all better?" Ayame asked, tugging at her grandfather's other sleeve.

"In time, Ayame, in time." Gensai answered.

'Although I am more worried about the wounds inside' He thought privately.


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"Sanosuke! Please sit down! You're forcing yourself too soon!" Megumi pleaded, loosing her brief moment of anger, trying to soothe the young man to sit back down onto the futon. Sanosuke hissed from the contact of where her hands fell onto his bruised shoulder, the man pulling away to continue tearing away the bandages that were wrapped around his shoulders and chest.

"Sanosuke, please! You're only causing yourself more pain!" Gensai begged, "You had a severe concussion. You're lucky that none of your ribs were bruised or fractured from your fall and the attack. But that doesn't mean that you can keep pushing yourself like this!" The old doctor argued.

"Leave me alone." The man ordered gruffly, ripping away the last of the bandages, lurching to his feet, "I'm not going to stay here any longer. Either you give me back my clothes or I'll walk out of here with just a blanket on."

"Sanosuke, please-" Doctor Gensai began, reaching out and clasping Sanosuke's shoulder.

It all happened so fast that Megumi was suddenly staring at the place where Gensai had originally sat. The Doctor gasped as he slammed back into the wall from the impact of a hand against his chest, the old doctor crumbling to the tatami floor from the bruising impact.

"Don't….touch…me…" Sanosuke hissed, once dim eyes now burning with a feral light like an enraged animal cornered, teeth bared in a eerie similar parody.

"Doctor Gensai!" Megumi rushed to the old man's side, glad to see that the worst damage was merely light bruises along the elder doctor's back. She looked up, preparing to reprimand Sanosuke for his foolish action but found an empty futon and the screen door wide open, Sanosuke's old clothes missing as well.


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Sanosuke wasn't particularly concerned about the state of his clothes given that the front of his shirt was torn down the middle. He had been unable to salvage the pants, although Megumi and Gensai had been kind enough to dress him in a loose pair of white pants while he had been unconscious. His only concern was the fact that he had shoes and pants, which were just fine, thank you very much.

Although his clothing was good and well, there was still the problem of facing certain individuals. One of them was the person in standard police uniform heading right for him, the tall stalk of blonde hair an obvious marker that the Sword Hunter Cho was moving through the crowd towards the former fighter-for-hire.

"Sano! What the hell do you think you're doin'?" The blonde demanded, finally managing to shove his way through the mass of people. He stopped a few feet away from the brunette, surprised and a little suspicious that the man was moving around through the streets of Tokyo. The Sword Hunter knew for a fact that Saitou had left exact orders that Sanosuke was to remain at the hospital, so why the hell was the man in question wandering about?

Unless….. "You didn't cause too much damage, did ya?" Cho asked, easily concluding that Sanosuke had found other means to 'persuade' his doctor to let him go freely.

Sanosuke just stared back at the blonde blankly, not deigning to reply as he brushed past the taller man in uniform.

"H-Hey! Where you goin'?" Cho demanded.

"That's not really any of your concern." Sano replied, striding away from the Sword Hunter.

"Now wait just a freakin' minute! Ya can't just go stumbling around the whole place! Think of what Saitou would say if-" Cho nearly swallowed his words as the brunette's head snapped back, narrowed eyes pinning him in place.

"Don't ever speak of that man again. I don't want anything to do with him!" Sanosuke ordered heatedly, nearly storming away as he moved through the sea of bodies within the main streets of Tokyo.

"Sano! Rooster!! Sanosuke, wait a minute! Hey! Are you listening to me?!" Cho yelled after him, losing the tall man within the crowd of people.

"Damn it!" Cho growled, giving up and taking a hard right down a nearby alley. "Just how in the hell am I goin' to explain this to Saitou?!"


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Katsu shifted in his spot across from Sanosuke, unsure as to what to say or do. He had been happy and surprised to see his friend at his doorstep a few minutes ago, but seated across from him the artist could easily sense something powerful brimming beneath the surface of the brunette's relatively relaxed gaze.

"So tell me, Katsu, what's the word on the streets?" Sanosuke asked, voice startling the artist whom had been deep in thought, nearly causing the artist dropping his small cup of slowly cooling tea.

"…Well…people are happy that the rapist was found out and executed on the spot." Katsu began carefully.

"….I see….." Sanosuke offered dryly.

Katsu bit his bottom lip, shifting once more in his seat from the heavy uncomfortable air.

"You're stalling." Sanosuke pointed out.

'Damn Sano for his uncanny observations' Katsu thought mutely, for the first time is cursing his friend's ability to read through uneasy silence.

"They also found out that you were his last victim, Sano." Katsu continued haltingly.

Sanosuke sighed, raising a hand to cover his face. "Fuck." He said simply, finding no other words to better fit the situation. He released a suffering sigh, "Well, not much I can do about that, now can I?"

Katsu reached a sympathetic hand towards his friend but stopped at the obvious ripple of unease along his friend's suddenly tense shoulders. The artist pulled his hand back to lay it in his lap, "I'm sorry. I didn't know that you don't want to-"

"It's nothing, Katsu. I just don't think I can handle being touched, you know?" Sanosuke offered half-heartedly to try to soothe the pain in his friend's face though the mask of confidence was flat and fake.

"Alright Sano." Katsu said with a trace of sadness in his voice. He turned slightly to set his cup of tea down on his desk, losing his appetite for a calming cup of warm green tea.


'Sorry Katsu' Sano thought privately, although he wasn't completely sure if he was apologizing for worrying his friend or apologizing for not being able to find the will to feel bad for doing so.


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Sanosuke left his friend's apartment about a half an hour later, aware that his silence was making his longhaired buddy nervous, the artist's constant fidgeting and cautious words a sure sign if anything.

Now all he had was the desire to just be left alone, opting to wander the streets to avoid returning to his apartment to face the stares and whispers of his neighbors.

'Well fuck 'em. They have no right to criticize me!' Sano growled soundlessly. Losing himself among the various twists and weaves of the streets Sanosuke found himself walking along the edge of the woods, feet kicking up small clouds of dirt as he glided across the loose soft road.

'I suppose if anything I should go and apologize to Megumi and old Gensai. Wasn't really fair to shove the old guy, could have really hurt him if I wasn't too careful.'

"Saaaannnnooooo!!!!" A familiar voice interrupted his inner revelry, the brunette looking up ahead to see a familiar head of crimson hair and white and pink hakama and haori running towards him, the former hitokiri almost tripping over his own feet in his run towards the former kenkaya.

"Kenshin?" That was all Sano managed to get out before a blur of red slammed into his stomach, nearly sending the taller man onto his ass. The shorter swordsman wobbled dazedly, swirls appearing in place of his eyes from his impromptu use of Sanosuke as a means to stop his full run, a small pained 'oro' slipping from the dazed swordsman.

Kenshin shook his head comically similar to that of a scruffy dog, forcing the dizziness and swirls from his eyes. He maintained a death-grip of the open front of Sanosuke's shirt, relieved amethyst looking up into a concerned chocolate gaze, "Here you are, Sano. I've been looking for you for hours, that I have."

"Why?" Sanosuke didn't see any real purpose for the redhead to waste his time searching for him, the swordsman risking Kaoru's wrath if the chores hadn't been completed by the time she got home from training students.

Kenshin seemed to have trouble coming up with a solid reason, "Well….I wanted…Kaoru and Yahiko also wanted….We'd thought it'd be….We wanted to ask if you wanted to stay over at the dojo." Kenshin finally managed to finish.

Even as Sanosuke fought as hard as he could a bright flash of anger curled cruelly within him, "Think I'm afraid of being along, Kenshin?" He demanded with fierce heat, trying to stifle the small twinge of hurt, ashamed that his companion would think so little of him.

Kenshin resisted taking a cautionary step backwards, the swordsman sensing the change in his younger friend's voice and posture. "I did not say such a thing, Sano, that I did not." Kenshin offered gently.

"You implied it." Sano countered.

"Sano…" Sensing yet not a hundred percent aware of the danger he was facing Kenshin reached forward, wanting to sooth his friend's raised ire.

Sano's anger rose a slight notch, a small twitch of panic threading its way through the oppressing emotions weighing him down. "I wouldn't touch me if I were you, Kenshin. I don't want to be touched!" The last was a low hiss like that of a furious cornered animal.

"Sanosuke, I'm not going to hurt you." Kenshin pleaded, making the mistake of resting his right hand on Sanosuke's shoulder.

To the former kenkaya's surprise his anger didn't reach new heights. Rather something seemed to click loudly in the back of his mind, all sound filtering out into static-filled silence. The swordsman's mouth in front of him was moving yet Sano couldn't make out any of the words. His vision sharpened and then just as quickly hazed over, a loud roar filling his ears, the man's body feeling weightless.

The world came back into sharp focus as if no time had passed. Sano's limbs were shaking, arms heavy, breathing heavy and erratic. His pulse beat like a wild drum, skin damp with cold sweat.

'What--What just happened?' Sanosuke thought in confusion.

A low pained moan interrupted his musing and Sanosuke looked down to see his friend sprawled out on his back, the redhead's mouth pinched in pain, clutching at his ribs with his right arm while he touched the bright red mark on his cheek with his left hand.

"Kenshin--" Sano whispered in dismay, not understanding what had just happened, the tremors increasing as he tried to sort out the broken images in his head to determine what the hell had just happened.

"ROOSTER!!!" The shout from behind startled the fighter not nearly as much as the arms wrapping around him to trap him from behind, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Cho demanded, furious and surprised at having witnessed the rooster attack his friend, unable to define the speed and power the fighter possessed when he drove the redhead into the ground.

"No, wait!!" Kenshin warned, lifting a hand towards the police officer, the swordsman clearly seeing the panic welling up in Sanosuke's eyes, the same type of panic he had seen when he himself had touched the fighter in hopes to comfort him, "Don't startle him! You'll only--"

Kenshin knew he was too late, watching Sanosuke's eyes dim and grow flat, the round brown gaze narrowing with cold intent as the fighter spun on his heel, pushing back, and rammed backwards into a solid tree alongside the road, driving the blond swordsman on his back hard against the solid wood.

Cho couldn't find the will to curse or even properly think, surprised by the sudden move that nearly caused him to lose his hold on the fighter tight within his grasp. He had only a split second to think of how strange it had felt to feel the tight bunched shoulders of the fighter drop into a relaxed pose just before he had been driven back into the tree.

He had just the same amount of time when he felt Sanosuke shift forward before once again smashing backwards, the blonde sure that he felt his ribs groan and his back shriek in pain, uniform ripping and splinters digging into his skin.

"Sano, stop! You're hurting him!" Kenshin begged, nearly collapsing back to the ground as he forced himself to his feet, bruised and possibly cracked ribs creaking and aching as he shifted to stand.

His move to stand drew the blank brown gaze towards him, the redhead startled by the cool assessing gaze, the only time the hitokiri having witnessed a similar gaze had been when he had encountered Seta Soujiro, the young swordsman's eyes lacking any emotion and heat as he carried out his leader Shishio-sama's orders.

'Then that means--he's regressed to such a state that his mind has shut down. I can't read his attacks because he's not fighting with his normal passion and fire.' Kenshin thought in dismay.

In retaliation to the newly assessed threat the brunette fighter wrapped his left hand tightly around one of the arms securely about his shoulders. With the ease of a young child batting away a fly Sano nearly ripped the blonde off of his back, hurling the stunned officer at the redhead, Kenshin barely having time to brace himself as both he and Cho were driven into the ground.

Coughing through the dust and pain Cho cursed colorfully, pushing himself onto his hands and knees above the equally pained redhead, "Fuckin' Hell! What's wrong with him?!"

"He--" Kenshin coughed, "He sees us as a threat."

"A threat? What the hell does he think we'll do ta him?"

"..He thinks we'll hurt him…" Kenshin answered softly.

Cho cursed, somewhat understanding the redhead. Pulling himself to his feet the blonde rested his hand on one of his swords, "Don't make me use one of these, rooster. I don't want to hurt ya, but you're not leavin' me with many options!"

His bravery shrank violently when the brunette bared his teeth in a soundless hiss of aggression, the fighter's shoulders tight, legs bending minutely in preparation to retaliate to the blonde threat in front of him.

'Shit. He answered aggression with even more aggression!' Cho thought in worry, 'Now what the hell am I going to do!!'


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Silence. Beautiful painless silence.

Broken. Ripped away.

A flash of red, a pale face looking into his. A hand resting on his shoulder.

Getawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetaway getawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetawaygetaw aygetawaygetaway----

D..O..N..T…T..O..U..C..H…M..ER 30;

Attacking, driving the possible threat back. The small body slammed into the ground from the fist smashing, one, two, three, five times into his chest and stomach. Pain was evident on the thing's face, that face turning into a grinning pale vision from hell, red hair melting into long scraggly black hair--

**You're going to be the best kill I've had all month!** That face sneered with gleeful malice.

**I'm going to bleed you dry.**

Not if I kill you first.

He lost control for a moment, body shaking from adrenaline and confusion. Sound came back in a rush and he uttered strange sounds that spilled out of his mouth, directing it towards the fallen figure in front of him, the demented face gone to replaced by the beseeching gaze of the figure with red hair.

Kenshin….Such a strange sound. He wanted to roll that sound along his senses, probe to try to understand the meaning behind it. In answer to trying out that sound..name?…he was greeted with images depicting flashes of steel and the calming background of sakura trees in full blossom.

Is this person a…friend?….

His musing was interrupted by strong arms catching him from behind, angry loud barks of sound coming from the individual behind him.

NO!!!

None of them are my friends!!

The person on his back was too slow to stop the collision as he rammed him into the tall tree. The figure with red hair was shouting something, senseless words pleading. The redhead was rising to its feet--

And he ripped off the one on his back, hurling the figure towards the other, striking down the possible threat, the two fallen figures not able to rise after a few moments. The redhead and blonde appeared to argue over something, the blonde yanking himself to his feet, facing him and resting a hand on one of the many weapons on his hips and back.

He hissed silently, shoulders hunching and legs shifting, preparing to act. If the blonde wanted to aggravate him further, than so be it.

Warm bulk slammed into his back, nearly smothering him as he was once again caught with the grip of strong arms, white-gloved hands catching by the wrists and trapping his hands against his chest, blue-clad arms as hard as steel around him. Breath stirred alongside his neck, a blast of hot air that caused him to shiver. There was enough of a height difference between him and his assailant that he could not gain proper traction with his feet, pressed from his calves to his buttocks against lean sturdy legs behind him.

The smell of tobacco and steel was almost suffocatingly strong and he had to resist coughing, his desire to struggle waning at the insensible sensation of security as he was wrapped tight within that strong grip.


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Kenshin had honestly been afraid that he was going to witness the blonde swordsman be killed by the brunette. He was both thankful and yet equally shocked when Saitou materialized behind the unaware brunette, the taller man catching the man within a tight binding grip, forcing the brunette to lean back against him, pressed from calf to shoulders. Large white-gloved hands caught the startled brunette's wrists, trapping them against the center of the man's chest. The brunette's blank gaze had flickered with life for a brief moment, surprise and confusion bringing light back to that once dull gaze.


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Sano would have stumbled if he hadn't been caught tight in a strong grip from behind, the brunette stunned to find himself struggling against steel-tough arms and strong hands. "What is this?!" He hissed suspiciously, not understanding how one minute he had been facing Kenshin, the redhead strangely sprawled out on the ground; and now, he was faced with the redhead standing up, Cho also suddenly having appeared, both men looking equally stunned as they stared at him in open disbelief.

"Calm down!" Saitou ordered, his fingertips feeling the quickened heartbeat along the brunette's chest.

"How can you possibly expect me to calm down?! Bastard!! Let me go!" Sano cursed, struggling against the iron grip around him. "You bastard! You fuckin' bastard!" He spat in rage.

"Calm….down…" Saitou hissed, grip almost unbearably tight around the struggling man.

Sano suddenly fell limp within the officer's grip, the tight arms around his waist the only thing keeping him standing. An irrational bark of laughter escaped him, his shoulders trembling from the sudden urge to howl with laughter, "You idiot. You fuckin' idiot. You're such a damn hypocrite to say such a thing. You didn't do anything to change what happened, only arriving at the last possible moment. And you expect me to be rational!" He snarled the last part, losing the desire to fight any longer, shaking his head with a heavy air of impatience. "I'm so fucking tired, Saitou. Tired of you being such an ass, and now you pretend to care. I don't know what is worse, that guy not making an effort to hide his true self, or someone like you wearing a false personality in order to gain your own objective."

"Saitou." Kenshin said carefully, "We need to get Sano back to Doctor Gensai and Megumi-dono. I think they're probably worried by now."

"Aa." Saitou grunted, keeping his arms around the limp fighter in his grasp, "Broomhead, go get a carriage." When Cho wasted a split second to open his mouth Saitou barked, "MOVE!", causing the blonde to scurry away quickly.

"You're injured." Saitou observed calmly, watching the way Kenshin held a hand to his chest.

"I did not expect him to retaliate in such a way." Kenshin said, wincing at the sharp flash of pain between his ribs.

"Looks as if both of us have underestimated one or more things." Saitou commented, inwardly snarling at how long it was taking for the broomhead to find a carriage.



TBC