Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Sharpest Lives ❯ Chapter 4

The Sharpest Lives 4 / ??
Written by Jezz-Ra
Warnings - Not all warnings apply to all chapters. Yaoi, Lemon, Violence, Language, Angst
Disclaimer - I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, don't make money off it. Wish I did.

Archived at - anime.adultfanfiction.net, fanfiction.net, and mediaminer.org ::: Anywhere else, ask!
Questions or Comments? - Email me at megami_no_remon@hotmail.com

// blah // indicates thoughts.

A/N - Love y'all that reviewed...I'll leave a more detailed author's note at the end of this chapter rather than the beginning, because it's better to read this one and then have a detail explained instead of reading the detail then reading the scenario.
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Sano had been riding hard for an hour before the clouds began to roll in, and by the end of his second hour the rain was pouring down. Sano was forced to slow his mad dash - the mud was making the road rather treacherous for a horse moving at such speeds. The poor beast was tired from being pushed so hard anyway, so it was probably for the best, even if everything inside Sano screamed that he had to hurry.

It was a bit over another hour when he saw trees just off the road ahead. Sano's heart lurched into his throat as he caught sight of a large and toppled wooden cart. He was off the horse and dashing madly towards it in an instant, eyes casting about wildly.

He froze in his tracks when he rounded the cart, eyes going wide. It was nothing more than he had expected, but that didn't lessen the impact the sight had on him.

Kenshin was pinned under the cart, the heavy thing having fallen squarely in the middle of his back. Not only was the cart itself large and solidly constructed, if old and partially rotted from ill care, but the bandits had used rocks and logs to fill the lower half to give the illusion that the cart held more actual cargo than it did. The samurai's skin was ashen, his long red hair broken free of its band and full of mud. Even the rain hadn't washed away all traces of the blood that had streaked from his ears and down his face.

Sano stared for a long moment, simply unable to act. // Kenshin... // He had never anticipated that his first time seeing the little redhead in four years would be like this, and his heart twisted painfully. With a lurch he stumbled forward, breaking free of his paralysis. "Kenshin...!"

Sanosuke panicked for a moment, unsure of what he should do first when he finally reached the samurai. // Gotta get the cart off.... // Before he could bring himself to do that, however, he kneeled down, swallowing thickly. Reaching out trembling fingers to press against Kenshin's throat was the hardest thing he had ever done.

Sano almost sobbed in relief when he felt the flutter of a pulse, stronger than he had expected. // I should have known...no damn bandit or stupid cart would be enough to take down Himura Kenshin. Now how to get this damn thing off?! //

The fighter jumped to his feet and grabbed the edge of the cart. Gritting his teeth, he gave a tremendous heave, putting all of his considerable strength into it. Veins popped and his muscles strained, but the thing didn't budge.

"Fuck!" The fighter cast about desperately, his eyes locking on one of the harnesses still attached to the front of the cart.

Soon he had rearranged things and had the horse tethered on the opposite side of the cart. He had removed the wheel from the other side, so that if he did manage to lift the thing enough, gravity would take over and lever it off Kenshin. Praying it would be enough, he let out a sharp yell. The startled animal jerked forward and Sano hauled at the heavy cart for all he was worth.

For a long and horrible moment he was afraid it wouldn't be enough...or worse, that he would drop the thing and damage Kenshin further...but his luck held. He didn't lose his footing, and with a tortured groan of damaged wood, the cart lifted. Sano felt his muscles burn and he forced his body to push just a little more. The cart finally reached its pivot point. Without a wheel to support its other side, it toppled over.

Sano dropped to his knees, afraid for a long moment at what he might see when he looked over at Kenshin to reassess the damage. He blinked and let out a short laugh of relieved surprise. // Never thought I'd be glad for the rainy season... // The ground had been soft from all the recent showers, and rather than be crushed and broken, Kenshin had instead been bruised and smushed deeply into the mud. He hadn't escaped damage - he had some nasty looking bruises and Sano figured his ribs were probably bruised too, but a few tentative prods of his fingers didn't reveal any breaks.

Sano frowned as he brushed his fingers over Kenshin's forehead. The redhead's skin was painfully hot to the touch.

"Shit...going to have to get you to a doctor and fast. Just hang on, Kenshin..." The fighter moved to lift the samurai out of the mud.

He couldn't have been more surprised when Kenshin's fist came up and smashed into the side of his face with surprising force. Sano toppled backwards from the unexpected blow with a startled curse, dropping Kenshin in the process. The samurai landed on his hands and knees, panting hard.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

What was going on?...

Dim awareness slowly filtered into Kenshin's mind around the throbbing pain in his head and the horrible, burning ache in his chest. He didn't know the extent of the damage his torso had taken, but the simple weight of the cart was making breathing an almost impossible, torturous effort. Kenshin struggled to claw his way to coherency, to figure out what it was that had roused him.

He didn't have the energy to open his eyes - and figured that was probably a good thing. He could only imagine the pain he would be in if he had been able. His eyes felt like gritty rocks grinding against their sockets. It was with some surprise that Kenshin noted his hearing had more or less returned on his right side, although everything was a pointless, dead hum on his left. // Not good...can't see...and with only partial hearing, my equilibrium will be entirely shot and I won't be able to compensate for the loss of my eyes like I've done before. I won't be able to judge distance...let alone stand and walk without falling over and losing my balance. //

Kenshin's mind drifted and he almost lost consciousness for a moment. Something tickled at the back of his mind and he thought he heard something, although his senses were far too muddled to place what it could be. // Am I delusional?...I feel so hot...I probably have a fever. //

It was some surprise that the samurai felt the horrible pressure ease off his body. // What?... // He paused in the torturous effort of battling the fog in his mind to give in to simple gratitude at the air suddenly filling his lungs. His chest still burned after being compressed for as long as it had, but the damp air felt wonderful. It made some of the dizzy ache in his mind fade enough to allow his thought process to resume.

// Oh no...the bandits must have come back for me! Damn... //

He heard someone speak, but his coherency was not up to par. He couldn't quite fathom what the words were, although there was something soothing and familiar about the timbre of that voice. Kenshin couldn't place it, however.

Alarm surged through him as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. // No...I won't let them take me...not easily. Not without a fight... I'll die before I suffer whatever they have in mind...! // With a defiant burst of adrenaline-fueled energy, he lashed out at the person holding him. He felt a dim sense of satisfaction as he connected and was dropped.

Kenshin managed to land on his hands and knees, wobbling slightly. He didn't have the energy to so much as lift his head now, his attack costing him more energy than he had been able to afford to spend.

"Shit...fucking high-strung samurai....! Kenshin! You're alright, just relax. Don't strain yourself. I'll get you to a doctor so we can get you patched up...are you listening to me? Kenshin!"

The sound of his name being spoken filtered into Kenshin's beleagured brain and he struggled to make proper significance of the fact. // He knows my name?... And... and.... that voice... Impossible. I know that voice...but how can it be? // It took the last of the strength Kenshin had, but he forced the word out anyways. "Sano...?"

Sano sighed in relief. "Yeah, buddy, it's me...Kenshin?...Kenshin!" Sano watched as his friend slumped face-first into a puddle, unconsciousness overwhelming him. He quickly hauled the redhead out of the mud, taking care to jar him as little as possible. "Yep, doctor it is...and as soon as possible."

Sano was surprised at how easily he could lift Kenshin, how small the samurai's frame actually was under the muddy and tattered baggy clothes he wore. // Shit. There's nothin' to him, and he can still pack a mean punch, not to mention what he can do with a sword. Still...much as he wouldn't appreciate hearin' it, I've known a lot of girls with more to 'em. //

Sanosuke pushed those thoughts aside, however, and quickly untethered his horse from the cart. It was something of a feat to mount the horse with Kenshin's slight but dead weight, but he managed. It wasn't easy to ride while making the effort to cradle the injured samurai and keep him from being jarred too much without losing his own grip.

// Heh. Poor horse. I'll make sure you get a long rest for putting up with all this when we get back to town. //

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The wait outside of the doctor's was brutally difficult on Sano. The doctor had curtly informed him he would only be in the way if he remained in the room, and Sano had reluctantly agreed to wait outside. Minutes turned into hours, and the fighter was fidgeting nervously as he stalked back and forth in front of the building.

A tortured scream, a scream in Kenshin's familiar voice, sent a jolt down Sano's spine and he burst into the building. "What the fuck are you doing to him!?"

The doctor gave Sano a dark glare. "I'm doing everything I can! Now get out so I can work!"

Kenshin spoke up, even though it was clearly an effort. "No...S...Sano?"

Sano hurried over. "Yeah...it's me, buddy. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." Kenshin murmured. The answer brought a broad smile to Sano's face, even though he knew better. However, it was exactly the response he expected, the one Kenshin always gave. Sano was fairly sure Kenshin would claim he was fine if he woke up abruptly missing both his arms, should someone have asked it of him.

Sano's gaze snapped back to the doctor, who was busy crushing up some sort of herbs. "Well, what the fuck were you doing to him? I heard a scream."

"I was attempting to check his eyes."

"What's wrong with his eyes?" A cold finger of dread had begun to stroke the length of Sano's spine.

"As far as I can tell, the moisture was burned out of them."

Sano looked at the doctor in alarm, then at Kenshin. "So you mean to say he...he's...."

"Blind? Yes...although there is a possibility that it can heal. I do not want to give you false hope, but I won't deny that it might not be permanent if treated properly. I am preparing a poultice to apply. You must keep a bandage on them at all times until the healing process is further along."

"What makes you think...I mean...I'm glad to hear it might be able to be fixed, but...why do you think so?"

"Because they are sensitive to light. Now. On to other matters. His ribs are bruised, but it's not serious even if it IS painful. Several cuts and scrapes, which I have already bandaged as you can see. He is deaf on the left side...I believe his eardrum is ruptured. The right side is damaged, but not as severely."

"Shit...Kenshin...""Explosion in my face..." Kenshin muttered, his consciousness starting to slip.

Sano frowned and rested his hand on Kenshin's arm gently. "Meh...poor guy..."

The doctor sighed. "He also has a fever, but I gave him some medicine when he first came in and it is already beginning to subside. Provided he is properly treated, there is the possibility of a full recovery, although I make no promises."

Something stirred in Kenshin's slipping coherency. // Medicine....medicine! Oh, no! // The best the redhead could manage was a breathy sigh, however, as the darkness rose up to claim him again.

Sano paid close attention as the doctor detailed what he should do to care for Kenshin properly and what he'd need. Sano thanked him and paid him, even giving the man a generous tip as he lifted Kenshin carefully.

"You really shouldn't be moving him around so much!"

"You said yourself that he didn't have any major injuries besides the eyes and his ear, and there is nothing carrying him around will do to hurt that. No offense, doc, but I'm not comfortable in this sort of place. I'm going to get some lodging at the inn down the street. If I need anything, I'll be back. Thank you for all you've done."

The doctor reluctantly conceded Sano's point, and the fighter left to go get them a room. Soon he had Kenshin tucked in. Only then did he allow himself to collapse in his own bed, exhaustion rearing up to grab him and drag him down into the clutches of a deep sleep.

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A/N - I'm not ENTIRELY making up the circumstances of Kenshin's condition. I know for a fact that this sort of thing can occur to a person's eyes, however, because it happened to my father. He was fixing an electrical box and the guy he was working with stupidly did something with some other wires, connected a circuit that shouldn't have been touched or something. Anyway, my dad had his hand in a whole mess of wires and his wedding ring completed another circuit cause the idiot connected the other wires and the box exploded in his face. He couldn't see for a couple weeks cause it flash-fried all the liquid out of his eyes...but he DID get better. So it ISN'T completely made up....even if I added the hearing problem. It suits my purposes to have Kenshin somewhat incapacitated and simply being blind wouldn't cut it...he seems to function just fine like that, if the series itself is any judge. So I knocked out part of his hearing. Even when you CAN see, losing hearing on one side screws your equilibrium up horribly and messes with you. If relying SOLELY on that hearing...it'd be hard if not impossible to function properly.

So. There. Hah. =D