Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Snow ❯ Last Goodbyes ( Chapter 28 )

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

Midori slid the shoji closed behind her with barely a sound as she crept out of her room in the town's tiny inn. Sano and Katsu were sound asleep in their own room, exhausted by stress. T-chan was sleeping curled up beside Sano's pillow. Fighting back tears, Midori walked out into the snowy, starry night.

'I don't believe this,' she thought numbly. 'How could they?'

Slowly, she approached the guard house, her heart pounding in her throat. A young man of about twenty-five stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. She froze, hoping he would at least let her see her husband.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but, what are you doing?" the young soldier asked quietly.

Midori looked up and saw that he had a kind face. She stopped bothering to keep her tears hidden. In this case, playing the role of an innocent, despairing woman to its fullest could work to her advantage.

"Is this where Captain Souzou Sagara is being held?" she asked in a soft voice, her violet eyes wide and brimming with tears. "If it is, I must see him!"

The soldier looked down at her sadly.

"I'm afraid not, ma'am," he said gently, but firmly. "He's allowed no visitors."

Midori burst into tears, falling on her knees and staring up at the guard with beseeching eyes. Shaking his head, he pulled her to her feet. He tried to remain in control and unshakeable.

"What reason would you have for visiting this criminal?" he asked quietly.

Midori gripped his hand, her body shaking with the force of her heart-wrenching sobs.

"Please sir, let me see him one last time," she begged, falling to her knees again and doubling over with her hands over her eyes. "Criminal or not, he's still my husband and I still love him!"

The young man's heart clenched. His resolve crumbled and fell away as the woman in front of him pushed herself to her feet and turned away, her head hung in defeat. Knowing full well what the consequences to him would be, he took hold of her shoulder. She stopped and looked up at him with tears in her eyes and on her face. Against his better judgment, he smiled at her and took her hand.

"This way," he said softly, leading her to her beloved. "I'll give you some peace and quiet."

They stopped in front of the barred iron door. Midori looked up at the kind young man and gave him a sad smile. He smiled back, his heart aching for her.

'Father always said I was too soft-hearted to be a soldier,' he thought.

"Thank you so much sir," whispered Midori. "You don't know how much this means to me..."

The tender-hearted young man smiled sadly, tipped his hat and disappeared into the night.

Tentatively, Midori approached the barred door, afraid of the condition Souzou might be in. She saw him sitting there, cold and battered, staring into the darkness. She leaned against the icy metal, tears filling her eyes again.

"Souzou," she called softly. "Souzou, are you alright?"

Souzou looked up slowly, shaking his head in disbelief. Dazedly looking around the eight-by-ten room, his gaze fell on the door. His dark brown eyes lit up in pure joy as they met Midori's tear-filled ones. He staggered to his feet, one hand on his wounded shoulder, and limped to the door as fast as he could.

"Midori!" he exclaimed, his voice hoarse. "I'm either dreaming or already dead..."

Midori took hold of her husband's hand and brought it close to her face. She kissed his hand over and over, her warm tears falling on his near-frozen skin. The skin of his hand was icy cold against her lips.

"No Souzou," she said quietly. "This is real. I'm right here. I don't believe this! What are they saying you did?"

Souzou smiled gently, taking his hand from Midori's grasp and reaching out to stroke her cheek. Tenderly, he brushed warm tears away from her smooth skin. The slight warmth of her tears on his skin made his nearly frozen hand tingle.

"It doesn't matter now," he whispered. "Tomorrow morning is the end for me no matter what anyone says."

"They can't condemn an innocent man!" sobbed Midori, holding his hand against her cheek with hers.

"It's been done before and it'll happen again," Souzou replied grimly. "At least I get to see you one last time before I go."

He pulled his hand away from his wounded shoulder. Though his hand was covered in blood and his shoulder throbbed, he reached through the bars and pulled Midori close. He wished he could feel her body pressed against his own one more time. He needed her warmth to soothe the terror in his mind and the pain in his heart.

"I love you, Midori," he whispered in her ear. "I love you so much..."

Midori reached back to return his embrace. It was then that she found that her beloved was shaking - not violently, just fine tremors that made his lips quiver. She looked at his face, pale in fear, cut and bruised, and saw that he was crying silently. Tears streamed down his blood-streaked cheeks as he held her tight.

"I love you too, Souzou," she whispered back, leaning forward to kiss the tip of his nose. "So much more than I can put in words..."

Souzou smiled through his tears, but only for a moment.

"I'm scared, Midori," he said softly, his voice shaking as much as his body. "I'm so scared... Absolutely terrified... I don't want to die... I want to go home with my family... I want to be with you again... To make love to you so sweetly that you purr like a kitten... I wish none of this had ever happened..."

Midori kissed away her husband's tears, her lips touching him all over his face. With each soft, quick kiss, she not only tasted the salt of his tears but the coppery bitterness of his blood. Souzou leaned into her tender caresses and his wounded shoulder hit one of the bars. He jerked back with a soft cry of pain, his hand at his shoulder once more.

"What is it, Souzou?" asked Midori, worry in her voice, though there was nothing she could do to ease his pain.

He slowly pulled his hand from his wound, exposing the bleeding bullet hole and the slash across it. Midori gasped and reached for his blood-covered hand. He gave a small sob in pain and brought his hand to cover hers. The warmth of his blood made Midori's stomach turn.

"They pulled guns on us," Souzou said grimly. "Touya took a bullet to his temple. Died instantly. Yumihiko was shot too. In his stomach... He was trying to protect me after I got hit."

"Was it... over quickly?" asked Midori.

Souzou shook his head sadly.

"He was in agony," he said quietly. "At least I was able to bring some peace to his last moments. I don't think he died in pain though. He said he could see Reichi again and his face was peaceful..."

Midori blinked a tear out of her eye.

"You did what you could for him," she said gently, caressing his cheek. "I only wish there was something, anything I could do for you."

Souzou held Midori's hand against his cheek, comforting himself with the warmth of her skin.

"There is something you can do for me," he said, his voice shaking a little.

"What is it?" asked Midori, tears still trailing down her face. "I promise, I'll do anything."

A single tear rolled down Souzou's bruised, half-frozen cheek.

"One day, when Toshio is older, I want you to explain this whole thing to her," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. "For right now, just tell her I love her and that I'll always be watching over her."

He paused for a second, forcing himself not to break down. Slowly, he pulled the red bandanna from his hair.

"When she starts to cry, tell her what I always told her, that her face is too pretty for tears," he continued, tears streaming from his dark brown eyes. "And tell her that she'll always be her daddy's girl, even though I'm in heaven."

He held the bandanna out to Midori.

"And put this on that rabbit of hers," he said, smiling sadly. "It looks like it's been through a war. Tell her it's a gift from me..."

Midori gasped for air for a second, her sobs constricting her chest, then nodded her head as she took the red cloth from his hand.

"I'll tell her, Souzou," she said in a soft, shaky voice. "I swear it."

Souzou reached through the bars again, pulling Midori close and pressing himself against the icy cold metal.

"Midori, lean in close to me, sweetheart," he purred, a romantic to the very end. "I just want to kiss your cheek one last time before I die."

She leaned in closer and felt ice against her skin. Her tears had frozen on the iron bars that separated her from the man she loved. Souzou brushed the ice away and pressed closer, leaning down.

"I wish I could do more," he whispered. "I wish I could put my arms around you and kiss you breathless."

With that, he brushed his lips against her cheek. He was half frozen, so his mouth was tinged slightly blue and felt like ice on her skin. But as he continued caressing her face with his lips, they once again became pleasantly warm. Tenderly, he pressed his mouth to her temple, flickering his tongue over her skin. Midori gave a small gasp at her husband's last intimate touch. One more long, hot kiss on her temple and he reluctantly pulled back.

"I love you, Midori," he murmured.

Tears squeezed out of Midori's eyes, streaming down her cheeks.

"I love you too, Souzou," she whispered.

Souzou reached out and pulled Midori's hand to his heart.

"Forever and ever," he said softly.

"Always," sobbed Midori.

Frantically running footsteps were heard coming towards them. That same kind young soldier who had helped Midori was pelting down the narrow way at top speed. His face was white and he looked panicked. He skidded to a stop beside Midori, panting.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said quietly, his breath still short. "But I'm afraid that if you're caught here, you will face deadly consequences."

He swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at the ground.

Souzou and Midori realized that it was dawn. Midori fell against the iron door, sobbing her heart out. Her hand tightened into a fist in the material of Souzou's blood-stained shirt. He held one hand over her clenched fist, pressing it to his heart. Then he reached his other hand out through the bars. Gently, he tilted Midori's face up to his. Tearful violet eyes stared up at him. He smiled peacefully at her.

"I love you," he said softly. "Goodbye Midori..."

"Souzou," whispered Midori. "I love you too..."

She couldn't bring herself to say goodbye. It was just too final. To say it would be to admit it was real and she wasn't ready to do that.

Souzou gently coaxed Midori's grip to loosen and brought her hand from his heart to his lips. Tenderly, he kissed each of her fingertips, her palm and the back of her hand. Slowly he let go and she reluctantly pulled her hand back, their fingertips caressing each other for the last time. He smiled and blew a kiss to his beloved wife. She gave him a ghost of a smile, her hand over her heart. A single crystalline tear fell from her eye then dropped off her cheek.

The young soldier put a gentle hand on Midori's shoulder. She took one last look at her husband. Souzou smiled at her, the kind that he knew could melt her heart in an instant. Or in this case, break it. A shudder ran through her body as the soldier slowly urged her to turn around. With a heavy heart, he escorted her back to the inn.

"I think it would be best if you didn't see this," he said softly.

Still crying, Midori shook her head.

"No," she said tonelessly. "I'll be there for him. I promised a long time ago that he wouldn't die without me there to comfort him. I have never broken a promise to him and I won't now, when he needs me most."

The kind man gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze.

"If you're sure," he whispered. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

Midori nodded.

"I'll go with you if you think you'll need---" he offered, but Midori cut him off.

"No," she said again, still tonelessly. "I'd rather go alone."

Midori turned and walked away, slowly making her way to her loving husband's execution.