Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Evil Within ❯ Tempest (5) ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Tempest - TEW5




The Evil Within
Chapter 5 - Tempest


Kamiya
Kaoru's breath caught as she watched Shinomori Aoshi's weapons fall to the
ground with a loud clatter, one landing tip-first, embedding itself onto the
earth.


The
battle was over.


Himura
Kenshin slowly let go of Makimachi Misao, eyes never leaving Aoshi's face as
he limped towards a fallen Sagara Sanosuke.


"Kenshin!"
Kaoru gasped, pulling him against her in relief, tears pooling in her
incandescent blue eyes.


Kenshin
winced slightly as his wounds scraped agonizingly against the coarse material of
her outfit. "How's Sano?" he asked softly, his voice rough and scratchy,
pain throbbing in his throat at the effort it took for him to speak.


Kaoru
withdrew her arms from around his neck and glanced at Sano, shaking her head.
"I-I don't know." She answered kneeling down beside his prone body.


"He's
going to need a doctor. Fast." Kourinno Tenkage announced as she pressed a
scrap of cloth that she had torn from her own kimono against Sanosuke's
stomach wound in hopes of suppressing the blood flow. "If he doesn't get one
soon, he isn't going to make it."


"Yahiko,"
Kenshin turned to the boy, supporting part of his weight upon Kaoru's
shoulders, eyes filled with worry, "call Genzai-sensei and Megumi-dono. Run.
As fast as you can."


Myoujin
Yahiko nodded, and sped out the dojo without a word.


"Sano
won't stop bleeding…he needs real medical attention now." Tenkage
pressed her crimson-covered fingers harder against Sano's wound, another weak,
tormented yell escaping Sano's throat as she did so.


"Daijobue?"
Makimachi Misao asked quietly, suddenly appearing beside them, pearly tears
still trailing down her face.


Kaoru
turned to her and pulled the younger girl into her arms before answering.
"Both Kenshin and Sano are in terrible shape." She choked on her words as
tears slowly began streaming down her cheeks.


"Aoshi."
Kenshin whispered suddenly, looking away from Sano and in their enemy's
direction.


Misao
and Kaoru both looked at Aoshi, slight confusion setting in at his unusual
stillness.


"Aoshi-sama,"
Misao asked softly, wiping her tears away, "Aoshi-sama?" she repeated his
name, slightly louder this time, for he did not answer.


"Gomen
nasai." Aoshi's voice was soft; almost pleading, his head was bowed and he
was on his hands and knees.


"Nani?"
Kaoru asked, the amazement that flooded her pushing the word out of her lips.


"Gomen
nasai." Aoshi repeated, looking up and staring at them with guilt-ridden blue
eyes. "I'm sorry for causing you all so much pain." His words were short,
simple and direct; and yet they held such depth that they couldn't even begin
to comprehend. He got up and strode towards them…and strangely, none of them
felt any fear at all.


"Is
Sano all right?" he asked quietly.


Kenshin,
Kaoru and Misao all locked gazes as they realized the oddity of the question.
Aoshi was the one that had injured Sano, but now he was asking how his condition
was?


Tenkage,
who didn't seem to find anything at all strange with his inquiry, looked up at
him with gentle golden-blue eyes. "We don't know yet; we're waiting for
Megumi or Genzai-sensei to arrive."


Aoshi
nodded and looked away.


Right
at that moment, Yahiko returned, Megumi and Dr. Genzai hurrying behind them.


"There
they are!" Yahiko cried, gesturing in Sano's direction.


"Kami,"
Takani Megumi cried, running towards them, her eyes widening,
"Sanosuke…Genzai-sensei, please tend to Kenshin, I'll look at Sano."


Dr.
Genzai nodded, gently pulling Kenshin down to a seated position on the
wood-paneled floors of the dojo and began tending to him in silence.


"What
happened to him?" Megumi asked as she knelt down beside Sano, eyes narrowed in
concern as Tenkage moved aside, wiping her bloodstained hands on the skirt of
her kimono.


"I
broke his arm and wounded his right abdomen." Aoshi answered quietly, his
voice soft and, almost indiscernibly, ashamed as he spoke.


A look
of confusion crossed Megumi's face briefly before she looked back down to Sano
and began cleaning his wound. "This is bad. We need to stitch this up. The cut
is terribly deep." Her voice broke as she slowly, carefully cleaned it,
wincing as Sano groaned, his eyes squeezing even more tightly shut.


"Ssh,"
Megumi murmured, reaching and tenderly stroking his forehead, tears slowly
gathering in her eyes as she noticed the look of agony twisting his features,
"you're going to be fine as soon as we get you to the clinic."


Misao
threw another discreet glance at Aoshi, who stood, unmoving, eyes trained on
Sano. He appeared to be in deep thought.





Do
you see what you've done? Aoshi
thought furiously, struggling to keep his omnipresent mask of placidity on, do
you see how much havoc you caused?


Rofocale
laughed, though there was a steely edge to it. You haven't an ounce of
gratitude in you, ne, Aoshi? You got what you wanted. Who cares about anything
else?


Aoshi,
too incensed and apprehensive to even think of an answer, returned his attention
to Sano, studiously ignoring Misao's eyes burning into his neck.





Kaoru
slowly turned away from them and made her way to Kenshin, whose eyes were
beginning to close as his strength slowly drained.


"How
are you?" Kaoru asked quietly and at the same time handing Dr. Genzai more
bandages.


"Don't
worry about me," Kenshin answered, voice unnaturally raspy and weak. "I'll
be fine." He glanced again at Sano, eyes narrowing with concern.


"Oh,
Kenshin." Kaoru felt her eyes start to water again as she watched Dr. Genzai
silently removed the tie from Kenshin's hair in a spill of crimson around his
shoulders so he could bandage his neck. "I was so scared."


Kenshin
looked up at her, a frown tugging on his features as he noticed the tears
collecting in her eyes. "I'm
sorry if I worried you, de gozaru yo." He muttered, forcing his eyes to stay
open as his strength deteriorated further.


Kaoru
shook her head in amazement at Kenshin's astonishing selflessness, reaching
out and gently running her fingers over his arm as her tears began to fall.
"Kenshin, you-"


"Kenshin,"
Dr. Genzai suddenly looked up, "I'm going to have to bring both you and Sano
to the clinic. I can't tend to you properly while we're here, and I know
just by looking at Sano he isn't doing good."


"Oh."
Kenshin nodded as he prepared to get up. "I think I can still walk-"


"Dame.
You're not walking to the clinic, not on those legs." Dr. Genzai shook his
head. "You're still very weak. I'll call a carriage, or anything that can
bring you and Sano to the clinic as soon as possible…Kaoru, please make sure
he stays still." Without another word, he got up and walked to the street and
began talking to the people there.


"I'm
so glad you're going to be all right." Kaoru whispered as she sat down
beside him, unable to stop the tears from flowing. "I was so scared."


Kenshin
smiled weakly at her and slowly wiped her tears away. "Don't cry,
Kaoru-dono. There's nothing to cry about. Daijoubou." He breathed, ignoring
the pain that speaking brought upon him. "Aoshi's come to his senses now,
and Sano will be fine. Trust me."


Kaoru
attempted to smile back at him, but only managed to pull up one corner of her
mouth, unwilling to admit that she had been most worried about him, not
Aoshi or Sano or anyone else. She reached out to trace the skin around the wound
on his right cheek, briefly wandering over the x-shaped scar there.
"Genzai-sensei didn't notice this one," she murmured, her breath tickling
his neck as she leaned closer.


"It's
only a shallow cut; it's nothing you should worry about." He answered,
involuntarily running his fingers over his bandaged, aching throat as he turned
to face Kaoru.


"Kenshin…"
Kaoru began, her fingers lightly threading through the scarlet silk of his hair,
"arigatou." She smiled softly as she tilted her head to the side, angling
her face as she leaned closer to him, her eyes fluttering shut.


"I…"
Kenshin faltered as her breath grazed his lips, their mouths scant inches away
from each other's. He slowly edged closer, his hand resting on her arm.


"Minna!"
Dr. Genzai's voice invaded his ears, bringing him back to reality. "I found
a carriage!"


He
moved away from Kaoru, his fingers leaving her warm skin as he turned to Dr.
Genzai. "Hai." He replied faintly, struggling to stand up again on his weak
legs.


Kaoru
coughed, a pale pink tinge coloring her cheeks. "Let me help you." She
slowly folded her arm around his waist, allowing him to brace some of his weight
upon her as they walked towards the gate.


They
both watched, as Megumi, Yahiko, Tenkage, Misao and-strangely-Aoshi carefully
loaded Sano into the carriage.


Kenshin
allowed Kaoru to help him up into the carriage. He smiled weakly at her, all his
remaining strength finally leaving him as he sank down on the soft seat.


"Megumi
and I will ride with Kenshin and Sanosuke. Minna, you'll all have to walk to
the clinic-the carriage can only fit the four of us." Dr. Genzai said, his
voice urgent and pressing at the same time. "Don't worry," he added
reassuringly, smiling, though Kaoru thought it looked somewhat forced,
"they'll be fine." Nodding his goodbye, he climbed up into the coach as it
rode away.


Kaoru
wrapped her arms around herself as she watched them leave quickly. Taking a
deep, calming breath, she turned to the rest of them. "Well," she began,
looking uneasily at Aoshi, who was standing quietly beside the wall of the dojo,
"should we go follow them?"


Tenkage
shook her head no, following Kaoru's gaze with narrowed eyes. "Not yet.
There's some explaining to do."


Misao
bit her lip, anxiety gnawing at her as she waited with bated breath for Aoshi to
speak.


"I
can't explain." Aoshi muttered, turning to look at them with pale cerulean
eyes-the gold that was there only minutes ago was gone. "All I can say is that
I regret what happened."


Aoshi's
come to his senses now. Kenshin's words echoed in Kaoru's mind. Trust
me. I can tell.


Okay,
Kenshin. I have faith in your judgment of Aoshi. I'll give him the benefit of
the doubt. Kaoru looked away from him. "Kenshin says we can trust you."
She said, her voice cracking slightly as she said his name. "I don't know
why, I don't know how he can tell…but I'm going to follow what he says."


Yahiko
shook his head, interrupting Kaoru in his typical brash manner. "I don't
care about him right now," he gestured at Aoshi, his dark eyes clouded
with anger, "I just want to know if Kenshin and Sano are going to be okay."


"I
really think we should go to the clinic." Misao murmured in her now-quiet
manner, crossing her arms as she turned away from Aoshi.


Kaoru
nodded, and began striding briskly alongside Yahiko down the road that the
carriage had traveled minutes ago.


Tenkage
squeezed Misao's arm as they both began following them, but suddenly she
stopped in her tracks and looked back at Aoshi. "Are you coming?"


Aoshi
looked up and met her calm gaze before nodding.


Tenkage
looked at him for a few more seconds, and then she resumed walking, her arm
around Misao in a protective manner.


Aoshi
watched them all briskly stride off, shock at their evident kindness and
willingness to forgive flooding him.



This is much more than I
deserve. I've been so hell-bent on revenge and alleged 'justice' for my
fallen comrades that it has clouded my sense of perception.
I
think you become more and more retarded each time you contemplate things. Rofocale
answered, scoffing. It's them that should be thankful that you didn't
kill each and every one of them.


Damare!
Aoshi thought back furiously, a strange sense of protection and indignation
coursing through him. It's you that wanted to kill them, not I.


And,
blocking out Rofocale's smug answer, strode purposefully after the four.





Megumi
sighed tiredly and leaned back upon the wooden wall of the operating room,
allowing the moon's pale beams to wash over her.


Sano's
going to be all right. She thought as she looked over the unconscious figure
before her. And so is everyone else, thankfully.


With a
sigh, she leaned forward and slowly, gently ran her fingers along the threads
that wove in and out of the skin across his stomach, tears unwittingly streaming
down her cheeks.


"Sano
no baka," Megumi whispered dotingly, albeit tenderly, "how could you put
your life at risk like this? How could you put all of us through all this
anxiety?"


Of
course she knew he couldn't hear her, but just saying the words made her feel
better, although only slightly.


Megumi
slowly wiped the tears off of her cheeks with the back of her hand, a small
smile stretching across her lips as she watched him breathe slowly, evenly,
calmly.


"You're
going to be all right." She murmured, stroking his cheek, bending closer to
him, "everything's going to be fine."


She leaned closer
still, until she felt the warm touch of his lips against hers. She remained
still for a moment, closing her eyes, daring not to breathe as a torrent of
emotions she had never felt before assailing her.
And in a moment it was
over. She pulled back, hands resting beside him, fingers clenching in the soft
material of the futon he lay down on.
And
not a moment too soon, for Dr. Genzai walked in swiftly less than a second after
her withdrawal.


"You
may go home if you want to, Megumi." Dr. Genzai smiled gently at her.
"You've done more than your share of the work. I can take it from here."


Megumi
shook her head. "It's okay, Genzai-sensei. I can stay. How is Ken-san
doing?"


"He's
going to be fine." Dr. Genzai smiled. "The worst of his blows was his
throat. It was very badly cut." He sighed. "I don't even know how Kaoru
can allow that man in the clinic after what he had done."


Megumi
knew exactly who he was talking about: Aoshi. And frankly, she agreed with him.
How could Kaoru trust Aoshi after all the pain he had inflicted upon them?


It's
kind of a stupid choice, really. Megumi instantly reprimanded herself for
her heartless thoughts. Stop it, just because it isn't something you'd do
yourself doesn't mean it's a stupid mistake…


And
for everyone's sake, I hope it isn't.






Author's notes: Eeew. This
was supposed to be a WAFF chapter, did you know that? No? yeah, thought so. I
have no ability to write WAFFs…baka buba-chan! Heh, sorry, a little inside
joke on that Buba thing. ^_^ I've hit the ¼ done mark! Whee!!! Hopefully, as
things begin to get more exciting, I'll come out with the chapters faster.
Thank you for reading this, I'm sorry if you expected anything (which I doubt,
considering how the other chapters were) and was disappointed. >_< I
pretty much hate this chapter, I think it could be improved in a big way, though
I just can't figure out how.

I'm sorry, I was ranting.
I'll still wait for feedback; I'm open to anything from flames to insults to
criticism to compliments to stalking. ^_^

<<<Chapter
4
Chapter 6>>>
The
Evil Within
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