Kaoru
exhaled softly and lowered herself to the cold wooden floor. The night was
silent, save for the murmur of the wind as it teased through the bamboo, and
the tiny moans which would arise from Kenshin’s lips every so often, startling
Kaoru.
It
was not that she did not expect them, it was simply that Kaoru had been
unprepared for the pain which laced itself through his voice, making his cries
little more than unbearable sobs. Gently, she placed a slender cool hand on the
rurouni’s forehead, wincing at the feverish heat which radiated from his clammy
skin. Kenshin moaned once again; a guttural sound rising from deep in his
throat, as he shied away from Kaoru’s touch.
Abruptly,
her thoughts turned to that day, almost a week ago, that Kenshin had returned from
his fight with Shishio. Kaoru was certain that she had never seen more blood in
her life, and if not for the feeble smile that the rurouni had offered her just
before he collapsed, Kaoru would have sworn that the man had already departed
from this world.
Frightened,
Kaoru stood up, her long unbound hair swirling around her face in agitation.
“Sleep,
Kenshin,” she whispered, as her long black eyebrows drew down into a
disconcerted frown. It was almost too much, seeing him like this. Kaoru
wondered where Kenshin was right now; perhaps trapped in a hell of his own
making. Quickly, she took a few steps backwards, until she reached the door.
Sliding it open, Kaoru stole one last glance at Kenshin’s sleeping form, taking
in the pale, unsettled face of the rurouni, and the scar which seemed unusually
livid against the white skin.
“Do
not worry about him.”
Kaoru
gasped as a figure seemed to materialise out of the darkness. As she snapped
the door shut behind her, Aoshi stared, his cold blue gaze arresting her
attention.
He
moves as silently as Kenshin! Kaoru tried not to let her shock become obvious;
with great effort she schooled her features to stillness, however the glimmer
in Aoshi’s eyes told her that he was not fooled.
As
Kaoru spoke, her voice quavered slightly. “He’s feverish again,” she intoned
quietly, meeting Aoshi’s hard glare with her own softness.
“Battousai
is far from death,” replied the tall man without any apparent feeling. “His
will to live is far stronger than any fever.”
“Demo...”
Kaoru blinked in surprise. “You don’t...”
Aoshi
silenced her with a harsh glare, and yet his blue eyes had warmed ever so
slightly. Perhaps the faintest embers of emotion glowed in them; Kaoru wasn’t
so sure.
“Do
not lecture me on what I do not know, girl.” Aoshi’s hand had unconsciously
gone to the hilt of his wakizashi. “I’m surprised that despite your feelings
for him, you still fail to understand Himura Battousai.”
At
the words, Kaoru’s heart missed a beat.
Feelings?!
How had he....
As
if in response to her consternation, the corner of Aoshi’s mouth seemed to rise
only slightly, before his features slipped back into the rigid cold mask to
which they had become so accustomed. “I see that being at the centre of the
storm must make you blind to it. Where do you think that the rurouni found the
strength to defeat Shishio?”
“What
are you talking about?!” snapped Kaoru, confused. “Kenshin is a kenjutsu
master; you of all people should know that.” The barb was unintended; she
didn’t realise that she had slipped it in until the words had left her mouth.
“He learnt the succession technique only...”
Aoshi
shook his head once, almost imperceptibly, indicating to Kaoru that she had
given the wrong answer. “In terms of swordsmanship, Shishio was stronger than
Battousai.”
Kaoru’s
eyes grew wide. “But...” She found it hard to believe that Kenshin could be
bettered in the art of kenjutsu. After all, she had seen him fight.
“Battousai
is no longer the hitokiri that he once was,” answered Aoshi, acknowledging the
unspoken question. “In another time, I believe that he could have defeated
Shishio easily, however, the rurouni’s fighting skills have become dulled from
lack of practice.”
Kaoru’s
eyes narrowed. “Are you saying that Kenshin has become weak?!” she demanded,
allowing herself to become angry. As her glare hit Aoshi’s own however, it
seemed to dissipate; a flame being doused in ice-cold water.
“I
did not say that,” he said quietly. “In fact, I think that Battousai has become
stronger than he ever was in any of his past lives.”
“Stronger?
I don’t understand.”
“I
say this, because I can see that his soul is almost whole again, but I suppose
that you should not be expected to understand.” Strangely, Aoshi seemed
resigned. In a cold, fluid motion, he turned his back, indicating that the
conversation was at an end. “Perhaps with time you will see what I am talking
about.”
Kaoru’s
eyes were wide as Aoshi disappeared into the darkness, his footsteps silent in
the cold hall.
“No...”
she mouthed, as something dawned on her. “Aoshi-san!” she dared to call. For a
moment, Kaoru thought that the strange man was going to ignore her, but then he
stopped, and turned to face her.
His
cold blue eyes bored into her, demanding that she speak. Kaoru shivered.
“What
about your soul, Aoshi-san?”
For
a moment, there was silence, punctuated by the soft swish of the bamboo
outside. Kaoru thought that Aoshi’s lips had tightened almost imperceptibly,
although in the darkness, she wasn’t too sure.
“I
believe that to be none of your business.” The words were harsh and brittle,
and they cracked sharply in the cold night air. Kaoru gathered her courage and
stared back at the tall man, putting the entire force of her will behind her
gaze. “Misao told me that you are running from it, Aoshi-san. She said that you
were afraid.”
Aoshi
tensed, and his eyes narrowed. Kaoru held her breath.
“She
is but a girl,” he finally spat, turning once again. Kaoru clenched her fists
in frustration, powerless to stop the words which suddenly sprang to her lips.
“I
think,” she said to his retreating figure, and for once her voice was cold,
“that those who are at the centre of the storm often become blind to it.”
Aoshi
simply ignored her and kept on walking, padding silently down the hall. As
Kaoru stared after him, she heard Kenshin moan softly in his sleep.
“Aoshi,
you idiot,” she murmured into the still night. “What would you know?”
-End
