Part 10: New Beginnings
The clash of steel stalled at the sound of a huge boom in the distance.
Matsumoto jumped back a safe distance from the tattered and wet Kenshin
to gloat.
"Hah, it seems that my men already have taken your Dojo," he said,
flicking away the accumulating rain and blood on the sharp edge of his
blade. "You're too late, Battousai."
Kenshin's mind felt cloudy with doubt and despair. Was everyone safe?
Had he failed them yet again in being an ample protector? His sword
lowered, slipping back into his saya one more time.
"Matsumoto, I am living my life now to atone for all the wrong that
I've done as a Hitokiri. This sword I carry is to protect those I love,"
he declared. "We have all done wrong things in our lives, but we can't
go back and change the past. We can only change future. You can't keep
living for revenge like this."
"Save me your philosophy, Battousai," he snorted, spreading his stance
for another attack. "Just show me your steel."
"For what it's worth, Matsumoto. . ." Kenshin paused a moment before
saying the words, "I'm sorry."
The two raced toward each other at unbelievable speeds. Kenshin's sword
flew from the saya, all his emotion flowing directly into his succession
technique: Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki. Matsumoto gave his all into his
ground level attack, but it was no match for the flood of emotion that
surged from Kenshin to Matsumoto in the moment the Sakaba touched his
skin. It was a momentous moment, despite the power and the forces gravity
placed on him, it was a wake-up call for him. Never had he felt such
power.
He defeated me, Matsumoto thought. I can't believe it. What was that
move? He had to know, but not a muscle in his body would move. The pain
was just too much to bear.
"I hope someday you'll find the right path again," Kenshin said softly,
nodding in his direction, then disappearing off into the thicket of
trees. There was no way he would go down like this. Somehow, Matsumoto
knew he had to make it back to Tokyo, if for no other reason than to
get the woman he deserved back.
"My home. . ." Kaoru fell to her knees at the sight of the Dojo on
fire. A light sprinkle was beginning to fall on the area, but hardly
enough to put out the fire that was blazing its way through the house.
"One more time!" Heinemann, heady with power, reached for the lever
again, but this time, Hiroe stopped him by pushing the one-way button
beneath the his left foot. "What the hell did you do?"
In a flash, the assembly began to shake. Hiroe rushed off toward the
back of the burning Dojo, urging everyone to follow suit. Heinemann
ran in the opposite direction, gun in hand, just barely breaking away
before the gun assembly blew up. Shrapnel scattered for meters and meters,
but the damage from that destructive machine was done. Everyone's dust-covered
faces were in shock as they watched sections of the Dojo disappear before
their eyes. First the main hall caved in, then the kitchen, then finally,
the individual rooms. Kaoru's tears blended in with the now steadily
falling rain flawlessly, her frustration evident in every sob.
"Everything is gone. . ." her boken slipping from her grasp. Yahiko
and Hiroe each took one of Kaoru's hands, wanting to give her some kind
of hope, but they both knew how much the Dojo meant to her. It was everything,
her whole existence.
To further antagonize everyone, Heinemann turned the corner, a smoky
mist covering the immediate area. "There's one thing left to finish,"
he said, pointing the gun at Hiroe. "Last reminders, says the boss."
Hiroe's mother Kaoru pushed her behind, holding out her arms to protect
her daughter.
"You will NOT hurt my daughter. I won't allow it," she said defiantly.
Sanosuke stepped up next to her, his fist held in front of him.
"So, you're back for more, man? Give it up! You've already lost."
"Is that so?" he asked rhetorically, waving the gun toward the blazing
flames next to him. "Do you call THIS failure? I don't think so. The
girl has to go, no more reminders."
"Reminder, is she?" Hiroe's mother asked, her voice raspy from the
smoke. "Is that so? It would be in your best interest to leave her alone."
"And why is that?" Heinemann asked curiously, his gun returning to
its outstretched position."
"Because your boss won't like his daughter being terrorized."
Everyone's eyes turned to Kaoru and Hiroe at the unforeseen turn of
events. Hiroe's eyes silently pleaded for the news not to be true, but
her mother's eyes told her a different story.
"It's true, isn't it? HE'S my father, not Kenichi Takano. Ryutaro Matsumoto.
Matsumoto. ." she muttered over and over again, the stench of the name
making her shudder.
"Yes, Hiroe. It's true."
"Well, in that case, I guess I'll be taking BOTH of you with me-"
Heinemann noted, but Sanosuke's speedy movement was completely unexpected
by him. His fist curled underneath his chin, sending his body flying
into the air.
"You won't be taking anybody anywhere."
"Sanosuke!" Everyone except Kaoru Kamiya exclaimed. Kaoru was still
in too much shock to even move. It was Sanosuke that brought her to
her feet.
"Jou-chan, snap out of it!" he demanded, lightly slapping her on the
cheek. The sting was a little more than she expected with the rain on
her delicate skin. "It's time to put this fire out. C'mon."
Rushing behind the Dojo to where Megumi and Genzai-sensei were safely
tucked away, they all congregated in front of the burning Dojo. Megumi
was now fully conscious, but not quite coherent of all that was going
on around her. They hovered underneath the awning of one of the trees
across the way. Sanosuke and Yahiko managed to find some of the townspeople
to help them gather water together to put the fire in the Dojo out.
It took some time, but by the time Kenshin arrived, his step slowed
considerably at the sight of the charred Dojo. Lined up underneath the
trees were Misao-dono, Kaoru, Yahiko, Hiroe, Sanosuke, Megumi, Genzai-sensei,
and another woman he'd never met before.
"Kenshin . . ." Kaoru breathed, her eyes filling with tears again.
"Ken . ..shin. ."
Words couldn't seem to express the wealth of emotions that flooded
through her. They were all completely tired from the fighting, the continuous
troubles that seemed to plague them finally taking its toll.
"It's all right, Kaoru-dono. Everything will be fine. . ." Kenshin
embraced Kaoru tightly, rubbing her back lightly.
How things would be fine from here, not even HE knew.
"Get up, Matsumoto."
A blond-haired man forced Matsumoto's eyes open, his captor carrying
a flexible sword wrapped around his waist. Above him stood a man dressed
in a policeman's uniform, but he could plainly see his eyes knew a lot
more than what he encountered in the line of duty. He had the eyes of
a killer.
"For causing so much trouble to the country, we've got a special cell
just for you," the blond man chuckled. He had a very strange accent,
like from somewhere in the South. Not that it mattered, but he needed
to know who his captors were.
"Don't even think about it, Matsumoto. If you think you're gonna escape
from him, you've got another thing coming." He was lifted into a sitting
position, the pain from the Battousai's technique still stinging him.
The fierce looking man with the killer eyes knelt before him on one
knee, pressing a finger into the wound crossing his chest diagonally.
"Looks like the Battousai bit into you pretty good. Looks like he's
got a little wolf in him after all," he commented. "No matter. Just
proves that you're no match for him. Good. Take him, Cho."
Cho grabbed Matsumoto's arm, carting him off to be sent to the jail
in Yokohama. It was a long ride, but it was where the majority of the
damage was done. Besides, Tokyo was in a state of shock and shambles
at what had happened. A prisoner of his status could hardly take up
residence there.
"Glad to see you fulfill our promise, Battousai," Saitou thought aloud,
lighting a cigarette and taking a quick drag. "Next time."
Into the darkness, he disappeared, the only thing noting his previous
presence was the scent of tobacco in the air.
The next morning gave the first true glimpse of the damage. Half of
the Dojo was completely destroyed, while the other half suffered minor
damage from water stains and smoke. However extensive, everyone knew
Kaoru had to make a decision on what she wanted to do from now on. But
before that, Hiroe and Kaoru Takano decided to bid their farewells.
"You're leaving so soon?" Yahiko wondered.
"Yeah. We have some unfinished business in Yokohama to take care of,"
Kaoru said softly, her hand lightly trussing Yahiko's already unruly
hair. "Thank you so much for everything, Yahiko."
Hiroe stepped forward to Sanosuke and Kenshin, who were sitting next
to Megumi and Kaoru. She bowed deeply, expressing her gratitude for
everything.
"I wish there were something I could do to repay you for all that you've
done for me. You took me, a complete stranger into your home and treated
me like family when I had lost my own," her voice began to crack at
the wonderful memories she'd made with them all. "I am SO sorry for
all the trouble I've caused you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart
for everything. Everything."
Misao watched the young girl bow before all her friends. She sighed
at the situation. That was probably the price of being the good guys.
Kaoru stood, reaching for Hiroe's hands. "Hiroe, I should thank you.
I may have lost my home, but I haven't lost my friends lives or my own.
I'm glad that we all made it out alive. And I'm glad that I got to tell
a certain someone what I felt inside. That was all because of you,"
Kaoru returned the bow. "Thank you."
Sanosuke and Hiroe's eyes met in unsaid understanding, each realizing
how much they meant to each other. Hiroe opened a side of Sanosuke that
he hadn't known existed, while Sanosuke was just the remedy she needed
to overcome her obstacles of fear and doubt. They both left with a mutual
nod.
"Come Hiroe, let's get going," her mother encouraged. Bowing before
all, she expressed her thanks before entering the awaiting carriage
and riding off.
"Goodbye everyone!" Hiroe waved from the carriage, repeating her farewell
words until her voice trailed off into the distance.
There was still the issue of what to do with the Dojo.
"Well, Kaoru-dono, what do you want to do? We could move somewhere
else for a while," Kenshin inquired. They DID need someplace to live
in the foreseeable future.
Misao popped in with a suggestion. "Hey, guys, why don't you stay with
me in Kyoto for a little while and see what happens? Just to get over
the initial shock of this all. Besides, Jiya's been dying to see you
all!"
"That's not a bad idea, Misao," Yahiko commended her suggestion. "What
a better excuse to go to Kyoto than that?"
Sanosuke shrugged. He didn't mind either way, but someone would have
to stay behind and start the rebuilding, if that's what Kaoru wanted
to do.
Kaoru closed her eyes a moment. She felt Megumi's hand on hers, its
warmth encouraging her to make the choice she'd always known.
"I can't leave the Dojo. I don't want to live anywhere else. So much
of my life is here. My Budo, my students, my friends and family. . ."
she shook her head at the thought, "All the good times with each one
of you has happened here. I'd like to have that to share with all my
children . . .right Kenshin?"
"Oro? Ch-chi-Children?" Kenshin stuttered. They weren't even married
yet and she was planning children? Kaoru-dono. . .
"Ken-san! You've waited far too long to do this. So don't be surprised
when she speaks of chil. . ." Megumi's eyes grew dark at her own sense
of emptiness. She didn't realize it until just then. "Children .. ."
"Megumi. . ." Sanosuke lulled, brushing his fingertips across her nose,
then kissing her forehead. "I'm. . .sorry. I thought you realized."
Tears swelled intensively, fat drops falling onto her cheeks. Her bandaged
head fell onto Sanosuke's chest, her eyes closing in sadness. They needed
their time alone to mourn the loss of their unborn child. They needed
each other.
Yahiko, Misao, and Genzai-sensei disappeared to the clinic and the
Akabeko, to inspect the damage to the rest of the town. Kaoru overlooked
her fallen home, Kenshin standing behind her, embracing her.
"Kenshin?"
"Yes, Kaoru-dono?" he asked. "Do you want to stay here. . .with me?"
she asked, hesitating on her last words.
"With you. . .always," he confirmed. "Right here. . .?" His lips pressed
a small kiss to the nape of her neck as he answered, "Yes."
"Is this him?"
"Yes, ma'am."
The door closed firmly behind the two. At the table, sat a handsome
man with long, raven hair. His eyes were closed, head bowed in silence.
The two ladies stood silently before him.
"Open your eyes, Ryutaro," the elder woman commanded.
Lustrous green eyes fell upon the woman he had lusted over for years.
His eyes then fell to the young girl standing next to her. Her eyes.
. .they mirrored his own. Not only in color, but in feeling. The pain,
the disappointment and frustration. . all mirrored completely.
"Hiroe. . ." her mother said only that, urging Hiroe to make the closure
she so desperately wanted.
"You are my father, aren't you?" she asked rhetorically. The moment
she looked him in the eye, she knew the truth before her. "Know this,
Father. You will never, EVER, hurt my mother or me again. Our lives
are destroyed because of you. Now YOU live with that."
Her arms snaked around her, trying to physically hold herself together.
Kaoru held her hands on Hiroe's shoulders to steady her.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Hiroe wondered, her disgust
rising beyond control.
Matsumoto's hands splayed across the table, the chains of bondage clinking
against the wood. He sighed deeply, then said all he could muster.
"I never knew about you, Hiroe," his voice soft and caressing. "For
that, I'm sorry."
Hiroe thought about his words for a minute, then her eyebrows drew
together.
"Yes, Father. You never knew about me. . ." she parroted, then swallowed,
". . .and you never will."
Turning to leave the room, she forced herself to not turn back, repeating
it silently to herself. Kaoru glanced at Ryutaro with a sense of regret.
Her hand nearly reached out to touch his, but she stopped herself, then
walked out of the room. Taking Hiroe's hand in hers, they walked toward
past Cho and Saitou, nodding their thanks. Then, onto the street they
walked, into an uncertain destiny.
[ previous ]
[ content list ]