Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Evil Within ❯ Angel of the Night - Revelation (9b) ( Chapter 13 )

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

Angel of the Night - Revelation - TEW 9B




The Evil Within
Chapter
9B - Revelation


Author's
Note: I'm going to be trying with a semi-new writing style. Very little
difference, really…I only tried it with one line. Tell me if it's okay-I
mean, if you can find that one line. Heh. ^_^ Thanks.



Her hands were stained with blood. Thick, fresh blood that she
did not notice for the pain that sliced through her ravaged body in succeeding
ripples was so great that it blocked all else out.


After seconds that seemed to last
an eternity, the agony subsided-though only slightly-but it was enough to let
her mind begin to absorb everything that was going on around her. Misao looked
down, and she saw the kodachi that sliced through the skin on her midsection,
felt its tip cut into her until it came out of her back, felt the blood rapidly
pour out of her fatal wound onto her trembling hands. She raised her eyes, her
vision already clouded by a hazy fog of gray, and saw the crimson-eyed man
standing before her, a merciless smile upon his face as he kept his firm grip
around the hilt of his kodachi, blood-her blood-staining his lips, face,
and torso.


Misao's legs gave away beneath
her, but she did not fall. The katana kept her standing… she felt it slowly
slide upwards as her full weight fell upon it…she would have cried out in
pain, but when she opened her mouth, only a blood-tinged froth came out.


Then she heard his mirthless
chuckle, only seconds before she felt him savagely pull his katana out of her.


She fell forward, azure eyes
fluttering shut, pale hands still upon her bleeding gash. One word formed upon
her now blue-tinged lips.


Akuma…


In the years to come, the scarlet
mark of the blood that would stain the earth would remain there, like an undying
reminder of the horrifying events that were occurring…


And also, of the hope that would
soon resurface.





"Shit," Sagara Sanosuke
muttered under his breath as he tightened his grip around Megumi, who stood
still, watching in horror at the event that was unfolding before her.


He watched as well, with eyes that
were narrowed in vigilant rage as Kenshin stepped closer to the murderer, the
rurouni's hand resting upon his sakabatou's hilt.


Aoshi turned and swept his eyes
over Kenshin, a cold smile upon his thin, bloodstained lips as he glanced at
everyone else as well…before they came to rest upon Kourinno Tenkage.


"You're not supposed to be
here," the man muttered, shaking his head in what seemed to be extreme
frustration. "You don't belong here any longer…I made sure of that."


Kaoru winced at the sound of the
man's voice - it was like a cacophony of tortured cries, pitiful screams,
and pained sobs escaping his throat all at once. It was as if - whoever he was
- had lived a life full of anguish, torment, and hate - that, or he was
still living it.


Surprisingly, Tenkage held the
crimson gaze with icy golden-blue eyes that gleamed with quiet dignity. There
was no evidence of fear in her - be it in the pools of azure-gold, or in her
slack face, or her rigid position. Long moments of silent communication
stretched between the two, each one neither speaking nor moving.


"Who are you?" Myoujin Yahiko
demanded, his strident, brash voice echoing throughout the otherwise hushed
yard. His question seemed to snap the anxiety that was stretched taut around
them, and at the same time somehow bringing them all to their senses. "What
are you?" The young boy threw Misao, who was writhing upon the ground in
apparent agony as she clutched at her lethal wound, a concerned look.


"You aren't Aoshi-san,"
Megumi murmured softly, the tone of her voice making it more of a surprised,
disbelieving question than the statement that she had intended it to be.


The man's eyes seemed to glow
even brighter in the harsh sunlight, keeping his bitter, knowing gaze upon
Tenkage the whole time - as if there were a secret known only to the two of
them - as his sardonic laughter echoed across the dojo.



"Not
quite, Megumi," he answered in what bore a semblance to cold amusement, his
eyes glittering blue for a heartbeat-no one was able to see if it were just the
sun's beams playing a trick on them. With that same derisive smile upon his
features, he strode past Kenshin-who seemed to be frozen in place-and stopped
less than a foot away from Tenkage, eyes steady and chillingly unblinking.
"Perhaps they should ask you, ne?"
Tenkage arched her eyebrows
angrily. "Release Aoshi now," she hissed threateningly, desperately
hiding the fact that her heart was pounding fearfully within her.


"What will you do if I don't,
Tenkage?" he retorted calmly, mockingly as he licked the blood off his lips.
"Watashi-" the man's harsh words were cut off by a soft choking sound that
escaped his throat. He doubled over, his slender fingers clawing at the pale
skin upon his neck. Tenkage narrowed her eyes angrily-almost in shock-and
stepped back, placing a semi-safe distance between them. She watched as he cried
weak curses at a creature invisible to all of them.


For a brief moment, Tenkage looked
up and met Kenshin's questioning gaze. She slowly shook her head to tell him
she wasn't sure what was going on either.


The man continued his war with
himself, furiously scraping his nails against his throat, as if a noose unseen
to everyone else's vision were coiled tightly around it.


Then, without warning, he
immediately straightened up, azure eyes flying open, back arching, hands thrown
on either side of him. His lips were pulled open in a silent howl as the
sunlight shone upon is features.


He seemed frozen in that position
for several seconds before he crumpled forward, shivering uncontrollably.


Tenkage took a careful step towards
him. "Aoshi?" she murmured quietly.


Aoshi looked up, still shivering.
His eyes gleamed with torment that seemed endless. "Tenkage-san?" he
whispered back, shakily getting up, breath coming out in shallow gasps.
"What's going on?"


"Eh?" Kaoru couldn't help but
let a quiet sound of confusion escape her. Was Aoshi playing tricks again?


"Aoshi-san…you…it wasn't
you that did this, ne?" Tenkage regarded him with azure-gold eyes that shone
with faith and hope.


"Nani?" Aoshi's calm,
somewhat lost voice told Kenshin he had no idea at all what had just happened.
"What did I…"


Kenshin cleared his throat, finally
letting go of his sakabatou as he walked over to Misao, who, by now, was
piteously weakened - the only way he could even see that she was still alive
was the slight rising of her chest as she breathed in shallow gasps-but he also
saw that the intervals between each movement was growing longer and longer.


Aoshi turned around to face
Kenshin, and his eyes widened as they strayed unto the fallen onmitsu. Kenshin
wasn't sure, but he thought he saw the surface of Aoshi's cold, mirror like
eyes crack, and, for the length of a heartbeat, the rurouni saw what lay in
them-torture, guilt, agony, and…


Inner hatred.


In a few strides, the ex-okashira
covered the ground that separated them, and had already knelt on the
bloodstained earth beside her.


"You don't remember what you
did, Shinomori?" Sanosuke's voice was cold, hard, and accusatory. "Then
look at her."


Aoshi threw Sano a disbelieving
look over his shoulder. He couldn't have possibly done this…he would have
never even thought about doing something like this to Misao…


Just like I would have never
thought of corrupting Misao…but look what happened.


Aoshi turned to look up at Kenshin
with now pleading eyes, begging the rurouni to tell him that it really wasn't
him that did this crime as he gently cradled Misao in his arms.


All he got was a resentful shake of
a head.


"Kami," Aoshi murmured, slowly
shaking his head in what Kenshin thought was denial, "I couldn't have
possibly done this."


Kaoru, with only some hesitation,
stepped closer to him, gesturing for the rest of her companions to follow as
well.


Trepidation welling up within all
of them, they gathered around Aoshi, Kenshin and Misao, identical expressions of
pity mixed with fury upon their features.


"Misao," the ex-okashira's
soft voice shook slightly as he tore part of his already blood-stained sleeve
and fumbled to press it against her wound in hopes of repressing the blood flow,
"come on…you can't possibly…onegai…"He turned around and looked up
at Megumi with pleading eyes, his fingers still pressed into her fatal cut.
"Help me. We might still have time."


Tenkage apprehensively watched
Megumi as she knelt down beside Aoshi. Was it already too late?


Megumi, with trembling hands,
reached out and placed two fingers on the side of Misao's neck, closing her
eyes as she felt for a pulse. She could feel everyone watching her.


After a few seconds, she slowly
opened them again and withdrew her hand. Tears slowly began to spill down her
pale cheeks. "It's too late," she whispered, shaking her head, "it's
too late. Her lifepulse is almost gone…we should just let her rest in
peace."


Aoshi narrowed his eyes, the
fingers of his other hand clenching around her braid. "It can't be too late,
damn it!" He shook his head vehemently and looked back down upon Misao. "It
isn't too late…I can still save her…"


"Kisama," Yahiko muttered,
watching on with wide, angered eyes as Kenshin placed a complacent hand upon
Aoshi's shoulder.


Tenkage's drew in a deep breath
and slowly fingered the pendant that hung around her neck. The warmth that
pulsated from it comforted her slightly, and the symbol that was etched upon it
made her decision for her.


She stepped forward and lightly
nudged Megumi aside. "No," she murmured quietly, "there's still time."


Megumi regarded her with
disbelieving eyes that glittered with tears, but she moved aside anyway. She
felt Sano wind his arms around her in a comforting embrace.


Aoshi regarded Tenkage with
narrowed azure eyes that gleamed with agony-the mirrors has now shattered.
"Tenkage-san? What are you-"


"Move aside, Aoshi," Tenkage
gently reached out and took Misao from his weakened arms. "You can't be near
me when I do this. None of you can be."


"Nani?" Kaoru's voice was
both skeptical and hopeful, "Tenkage-san, what are you going to-"


"Quiet," Tenkage muttered, her
voice now so commanding and-strangely, pleading-that Kenshin tenderly pulled
Kaoru and Yahiko away, and Sanosuke did the same to Megumi.


Aoshi didn't move. He sat frozen
in place, his fingers spasmodically clenching and unclenching as he tried to
make sense of things.


"Shinomori-san," Tenkage
regarded him with cold indigo eyes that glittered a faint gold, "I don't
have the time for this. You can't be close to me when…" she faltered and
averted her gaze.


"What are you going to do?"
Aoshi asked quietly, his tone almost suspecting.


"Just trust me!" she snapped,
the anxiety and self-doubt that welled up within her tinting her voice with a
fury that she didn't truly feel. "Onegai," she added in a softer, gentler
tone. "It's her only hope."


With slight hesitation, Aoshi
nodded and moved away, his azure eyes never leaving Misao's face in a vigilant
watch as he did so.


Tenkage took a deep, shuddering
breath as she slowly laid Misao down upon the ground.


She closed her eyes and placed her
hands inches above the ninja's gash.


She tilted her face back, as if to
look at the endless heavens that stretched up before her, the sun's radiant
light bathing her in a pale yellow.


Her lips moved, and arcane words,
words no mortal had ever heard, escaped her.


Then a soft white light the gleamed
a faint silver radiated from her fingertips, slowly spreading until it filled
both Misao and Tenkage herself.


Aoshi narrowed his eyes. The light
was blinding, but her couldn't bring himself to close his eyes against the
radiance. He had to see what Tenkage was doing.


Finally, he saw through the hazy
white fog that was draped over the two.


Misao lay on the ground,
unmoving…none of them could even see if she was breathing, for her chest had
now stopped its irregular movement.


But, for the first time that day,
the attention wasn't upon Misao. All their eyes had fallen upon Tenkage.


Her long dark hair was gently
floating behind her, as if carried by a gentle zephyr. Her golden-blue eyes
shone with a certain power and yet at the same time with comforting warmth as
well. She was biting her lip in intense concentration. Beautiful white wings
that were tipped with black spread from her shoulder blades, tearing the
delicate kimono she wore. Their span strongly reminded Aoshi of Rofocale
himself.


She was an angel of the night.





Author's Notes: Yes, yes, I know…far-fetched
and that shtuff. What can I say? When
I started the fic, I was originally supposed to let Misao die in this chapter,
but when I finished the prologue (long ago in a time and place unbeknownst to
us), I realized I couldn't let my favorite character die. ^_^ So here we have
Tenkage. :Þ

<<<Chapter
9A
Chapter 10>>>
The
Evil Within
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