Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Prisoner of War ❯ Sacrifice ( Chapter 9 )

There is a line in this chapter that says "violent amber." This isn't a typo. Well, you asked for him so here he is.

Disclaimer: I have nothing.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))

Weeks had passed and every day Kenshin regained more and more movement of his arms and legs. It was Kaoru's constant presence and quiet demands for him to push himself harder that kept him going. She sat with him on his bed doing the arm exercises she had given him. Her hands were gripped loosely around his wrists. They were clammy and cold from just being released from their nightly position in the irons. She pulled lightly, and he stretched his arm out. She pushed and he bent it to his shoulder. Out and back. Out and back. Over and over again, they repeated the movement. It was to build his strength, to make him the great slayer of men he once was. But Kaoru tried not to think about that. To her, he was only her Kenshin, an injured man with whom she shared quiet moments and quick embarrassed glances. She gently pulled his arm.

"Kenshin, it seems that you are getting much stronger." He smiled at her from underneath his mass of red hair. She could barely see his eyes, but she didn't need to. Lately they had always looked the same, deep violet with bits of amber in a star shaped pattern. It represented his newfound happiness and his old pain. Like the scars on his body, they were a testament to the trials of his life.

"That's only because of you, Miss Kaoru." Kaoru grinned at his answer. She pushed on his wrist. Back and out. Back and out. Then, suddenly, Kenshin looked up. For a moment Kaoru saw only focus on his face, in his violent amber eyes. His arm ripped from her light grasp and grabbed the irons from the side of the bed. Before Kaoru could even register his movements, there was a loud clang of metal against metal, and a short sword clattered to the floor in front of them. She gawked at Kenshin who had at some point moved in front of her. All the exercises she had done with him, all the time she had spent nursing him slowly, it all meant nothing. He moved faster than anyone she had ever seen. He never needed her at all. She was so engrossed with this realization that she did not think about the sword until a voice rang out across the hospital.

"That was a good block, Battousai. I will not miss again." Kenshin dropped the irons onto the ground. He stared at the man who had just entered his world and shattered the tiny bit of peace he had finally gained. He was taller than Kenshin by at least a head. He had black hair that hung in his face and shining blue eyes that burned with hate. If it wasn't for that hatred, he would have been very beautiful standing there in his white coat with its oversized collar that made him seem even larger than he was, clutching his drawn short sword. Kenshin glared at him though. His presence did not intimidate him or inspire awe. No, Kenshin was very angry.

"You could have hit Miss Kaoru." The man turned his attention to the cowering woman behind him. She looked at him for a moment from beside Kenshin's arm, then straightened up. She took a step in front of Kenshin and held her arms out, blocking any shots at him. Kenshin stood, dumbfounded.

"Why have you disrupted my hospital this way?" The man lowered his sword for a moment and performed a quick bow.

"My sincerest apologies, Kaoru did that piece of shit say it was? I am Aoshi Shinomori. I have come to kill the Battousai. Please step out of the way or I will have to go through you to get to him." Kaoru did not budge. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What makes you think that I will allow you to kill a patient that I have been doing my best to heal?" Kaoru felt Kenshin's hand on her shoulder. She looked back, and he gentle pushed her aside to step in front of her.

"Leave her out of this, Aoshi. It's me you want. What did I do? Destroy your honor? Evade your capture?"

"You killed my friends." Kenshin put his head down for a moment.

"That was my next guess." Aoshi gripped the sword tighter.

"Don't make light of this! You killed the most important men in the world to me, to my wife. I never want to see her so sad again. She visits their graves everyday. She waters the grasses that grow there with her tears. Now she has to raise not only her own children, but some of theirs as well because their wives died of grief. You destroyed everything that was important to them, and they just wasted away. You are the reason this happened. You! And I will kill you for your sins. For them, for my wife, for all of Edo. Arm yourself, Battousai." Aoshi threw a sword to the ground by Kenshin's feet. He didn't even look at it. Kaoru watched in disbelief as he took a few steps forward and dropped to his knees.

"Aoshi, I am sorry. I am only a slave following the orders that are given to me by my masters. I never realized the pain I was causing until I met Miss Kaoru. She made me see. I have vowed to myself to never kill again, even if they beat me to death. Aoshi, I gladly give you my life if you will stop the killing too. Your wife needs you. It seems she has no one else. Protect her by staying close to her, by not creating more widows and orphans with your own hands. Please, Aoshi, I beg of you, after you take my life, lay down your swords." Kenshin lowered his head and pulled his hair to the side to reveal his soft white neck, the same skin that Kaoru had cleaned countless times was now being offered as a sacrifice. Aoshi raised the sword above his head and Kaoru closed her eyes. She was very strong willed and almost nothing fazed her. She faced the whole world and all of its pain and injustices head on. But the death of Kenshin, her Kenshin, was not something she could watch. She heard him call to her as she held her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry I have to waste all your work, Miss Kaoru. Thank you for everything."

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))

A/N: Ooooo, cliffhanger. Sorry I had to stop this chapter there. If any one has Limewire or Kazaa, download the Kenshin AMV called Particle Man. It's the best and funniest one I've ever seen. Please review!