Madam Hydra's That Which Lingers

Part Nine: Regression [A]

   Q: What's worse than a hitokiri losing his mind?
(see end of Part 9 for answers)

   This story is set in my own ALTERNATE REALITY universe which I've called "The Nightwitch Tales" -- think of it as Rurouni Kenshin mixed with various supernatural and paranormal elements. Other stories in this alternate reality are:
"Night Visitor"
"All in the Family"
"Romancing the Wolf"

WARNING: This story is "semi-dark" -- it has dark elements (violence, profanity, etc.) but it's not a darkfic! Actually, there's quite a bit of romance in it.... ^_-

   This story takes place after the end of the Kyoto story arc. After that, it takes a sharp left turn into its own world. Elements of the Revenge story arc show up later on in the story. The Kenshingumi already know that Saitoh survived the destruction of Shishio's stronghold.

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Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shuiesha, Sony Music Entertainment, and associated parties. The characters of these series are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author.

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Text Conventions:
( ) are character thoughts
/ / and // // represent various sorts of mental dialogue
* ----- * ----- * marks the start/end of dreams or flashbacks
[ ] denote visual or time notes

[the present, Meiji 11, Tokyo, late summer]

   Sano gaped at Yahiko. "Your... father!?"
   The boy nodded silently as he continued to stare at the corpse that was no longer there... or perhaps it had never really been there to begin with.
   "But... I mean... how can you possibly know what your father looked like? You were just a baby when Kenshin was... in Kyoto."
   In a dull voice, Yahiko said, "My mother used to draw pictures of my father for me. She had a gift for that sort of thing... but being an artist didn't pay enough to fed both herself and a child... so she took up work as a... pleasure woman."
   After a long silence, Sano said very quietly, "So... what are you going to do about it?"
   Yahiko laughed bitterly. "What can I do? Tell Kenshin?"
   "I suppose you could...."
   His shoulders shook as he said angrily, "My father's been dead for over 10 years! Nothing's going to bring him back. And... he died honorably, fighting for what he thought was right... just like Kenshin did. Besides... we don't even know if any of this is real! Who the hell knows what's going on!? And I can't go up to Kenshin and just ask him if he really killed my father!"
   "Why not?"
   Yahiko glared at him. '"Come on, Sano! How did you think the Battousai got his reputation? How many people do you think he killed in Kyoto? A hundred? Two hundred? More than that!? How could he possibly know all their names? Do you think he'd remember all those faces!?"
   Sano thought, (I don't know. Maybe HE would....)
   The boy stared at the shinai dangling loosely in his hands and whispered, "I was just a baby when my father died. Kenshin... Kenshin's been more of a father to me than a man I know only from my mother's stories and pictures. I don't want... I don't want to lose that over something that might be just some big fat lie!"
   "You think someone might be jerking us around?" Sano's thought drifted back to last night's dream. If it WAS a trick, it seemed pretty pointless. He hated Saitoh's guts already. That dream didn't change things for him... well, not much.
   (I know that Saitoh's one hell of a cold-blooded killer - he probably enjoys it! -- but mercilessly tracking down and slaughtering a helpless woman... that was entirely different from killing a man who can fight back.) Sano gave Yahiko a speculative look. (Do you really think it's a trick... or are you desperate to believe it didn't happen?)
   Yahiko slowly got to his feet. He mumbled, "I guess we should get back."
   Sano reached out and patted the boy on the shoulder. "Are you going to tell Kenshin and the others anything?"
   "....I guess so. It could be important. But Sano...."
   "Yeah?"
   "Don't tell Kenshin about... the stuff about my father, okay?"
   "....Sure."
   As they trudged back to the clinic, Yahiko thought about one of the very few personal items he had managed to keep over the last several years as an orphan. It was lying back in his room at the Kamiya dojo and wasn't much... just a single sheet of paper....
   ....his mother's last and best picture of his father.

   Although Aoshi spoke with a perfectly straight face, Kenshin thought he caught a definite undercurrent of... wry humor?... in his voice.
   (I don't know what happened to him, but somehow... it's like something's come to life inside him.)
   Misao gave Aoshi a wide-eyed stare. He looked rather pale and she could see faint but definite signs of pain around the eyes and the mouth. However, he seemed to be fairly good shape, all things considered. She reached out and put her hand on his forehead.
   (He's not feverish, thank goodness!)
   Aoshi's eyes widened slightly as he caught of glimpse of Kenshin's hair, but all he said was, "What's going on?"
   Kenshin replied as he gazed worriedly at Kaoru. "Saitoh brought up the possibility that the black sword was poisoned."
   Kaoru added in tired voice, "She got... a little scared."
   Slowly turning red with acute embarrassment, Misao slid off of Aoshi and sat on the edge of his bed. "Okay... I admit it. I overreacted a bit."
   Tokio murmured, "I really don't think the sword's poisoned. As you can see for yourself, Shinomori-san is recovering quite nicely."
   Misao glared at Saitoh and yelled, "You... you bastard! You DELIBERATELY said that just to make me panic, didn't you!?"
   He looked bored. "Don't flatter yourself, girl. It was a perfectly valid possibility."
   "You... YOU...!!!" She tensed as if ready to pounce on the policeman.
   Kenshin quickly stepped in front of Misao and said, "Maa maa! Take it easy." He knew that Saitoh would not hesitate to hit and possibly hurt Misao if she tried to attack him. And if that happened, Aoshi would most likely get involved....
   (Poor girl. Misao's always been excitable, but with all the things happening since yesterday -- especially her nearly fatal attack on Aoshi -- it's no wonder her emotions are running a bit wild. And Saitoh certainly isn't helping matters.)
   The faintly malicious smile on Saitoh's face told Kenshin that the policeman was enjoying the little sideshow immensely.
   A low groan from the neighboring bed broke the tension. They all turned to see Megumi sitting up and rubbing the back of her head.
   "Owwww...."
   Kenshin quickly walked over and said, "Megumi-dono, how are you feeling?"
   "What... what happened? I've got such a headache.... Oh, no. Don't tell me I drank too much sake!"
   As Kaoru chuckled, Saitoh approached Megumi's bed and gave her a cold, malevolent stare. "I suppose you don't remember a thing about trying to skewer my wife, hm?"
   "Eh!?"
   "How convenient," Saitoh drawled.
   "Megumi-dono, what's the last thing you remember?"
   "Hmmm. I went to check on Shinomori.... That's about it. What happened?"
   Kenshin sighed quietly. "Do you remember that black katana that Misao used to attack Aoshi?" When she nodded slowly, he said, "Well, you tried your best to use it to kill Tokio-dono."
   "I WHAT!? That's... that's impossible! I may know how to handle a scalpel and a kitchen knife, but what do I know about swords!?" But even as she said this, Megumi eyed Saitoh nervously. Something told her that he was not about the matter slide so quite so easily.
   Saitoh murmured in venomous tones, "At the most basic level, there's not that much to know. A sword has a sharp edge and a sharp tip, just like a knife or scalpel. I'm sure it wasn't hard for an intelligent woman like yourself to figure out the rest."
   Kenshin said sharply, "But this situation was very much different, as you well know, Saitoh." Turning back to Megumi, he quietly said, "It seems what happened to Misao also happened to you. When you picked up that sword, your behavior changed radically and you tried to kill the first person you saw."
   Tokio murmured, "That's not entirely correct, Kenshin-san. I don't think I was her true intended victim. You see, just before she attacked me, Megumi said that she couldn't decide who should be first... Sano or you."
   "Then... then Misao was... right? That sword's cursed?" the doctor whispered.
   Kenshin nodded slowly. "Superstitious as it may sound, there appears to be something about that blade which drives people to murder."
   "The preferred target appears to be people with close emotional relationships to the sword's user. But it seems that anyone nearby will do." The policeman eyed the securely wrapped bundle slung over Kenshin's shoulder. "Call it a curse if you like, but whatever it is, it seems to be the only explanation why Mr. Honami murdered his entire family for no apparent reason. And it probably explains this whole series of murders that have occurred in Tokyo recently."
   "You think that this sword is the common link?" whispered Misao. "I can see how someone who's been... possessed... might slaughter his whole family... but you said yourself that the different murdered families weren't connected to each other in any way."
   "Moron, what does that have to do with it?" Saitoh gave the girl a contemptuous stare.
   Kaoru coughed and said, "Misao, there's something about the sword that... that seems to attract people. All you have to do is see it and you...."
   "....you get this crazy impulse to pick it up," the ninja girl whispered softly. "So that's it.... After a cluster of murders, the sword somehow gets dropped or lost, then the next passerby...."
   "The next person who sees it can't resist picking it up. And the cycle repeats itself," said the red-haired swordsman.
   "That's... that's HIDEOUS! It's like some sort of a plague!"
   Kenshin murmured, "A plague of madness...."
   Aoshi quietly added, "That's not the worst of it. Not only does it drive its victim into a homicidal rage, it also gives the user both the skill and physical ability to kill with deadly efficiency." He glanced at Misao. "When you attacked me, you were fast... nearly as fast at Himura-san and perhaps even stronger. You're hurting, aren't you?"
   Misao blinked. "Yes. I'm really, really sore all over."
   Kenshin nodded in agreement and said, "Probably because you... or rather, the sword was forcing your body well beyond its normal physical limits. Thankfully, you're young and in superb physical shape, Misao. Otherwise, you could have torn your own body apart or burst your heart from all that exertion."
   Megumi whispered, "Is that why I feel so exhausted?"
   "Yes, Megumi-dono. Unlike Misao, who's been training continuously since she was quite young, you aren't in such good physical condition. Fortunately, you weren't fighting nearly as long as she was."
   "Himura, what are we going to do!?" the ninja girl said anxiously.
   Saitoh calmly said, "The preferred option is to destroy the sword. If that's not feasible, it may be necessary to find a secure place to hide it."
   Misao gave the policeman an intensely suspicious stare. "I don't get this. I'd think that you, of all people, wouldn't believe in superstitious stuff like curses and possession!"
   "That's basically irrelevant. I deal with facts and the fact is that the sword Himura's carting around has already driven you, the fox-lady, and most likely Mr. Homani to mass murder or attempted murder. You may be incredibly stupid, temperamental, and scatterbrained, but you're not a raving killer."
   "I'm WHAT!?" she shrieked. Fortunately, Aoshi managed to grab a hold of Misao before she managed to jump off the bed in an attempt to attack Saitoh.
   The front door to the clinic slid open as Sano and Yahiko stumbled in. They both looked very grim and very upset.
   Kenshin worriedly said, "What happened to you?" He cocked his head slightly as he noticed Yahiko giving him an intense, searching stare. "Yahiko? Are you all right?"
&nbps;  He reached out to touch the boy's shoulder. Yahiko flinched slightly, then relaxed.
   Misao said, "You guys look like you've seen a ghost!"
   "Maybe we did...," mumbled Sano.
   "Huh?"
   Sano glanced at Yahiko. After the boy slowly nodded, Sano told them exactly what happened on the way back from the dojo. As he promised, the only thing the fighter left out was the identity of the dead squad leader. He finished up by saying, "One minute, there's all these bodies lying in the street. The next second... poof! Not a trace."
   Kenshin was looking very somber himself. "You... saw me?"
   Yahiko felt Kenshin begin to withdraw within himself as he started to lift his hand off the boy's shoulder. Yahiko suddenly reached up with his own hand to keep Kenshin's hand where it was. The swordsman stared at him in confusion, but the boy refused to meet those haunted violet eyes.
   Kaoru protested, "It can't be Kenshin! He never left the clinic for a moment!"
   Sano looked his friend straight in the eye. "Listen, Jo-chan. I'm not saying that Kenshin was actually there. But I know what I saw. You couldn't mistake the hair or the scars. It was you, Kenshin... or to be precise, it was the Hitokiri Battousai." He caught Misao and Aoshi exchanging looks.
   Misao quietly said, "Himura... you asked me earlier how I knew you wore your hair up in Kyoto, right?"
   There was a long pause, then Kenshin very quietly said, "Yes?"
   The ninja girl fiddled nervously with the end of her braid. "Last night... I dreamed I was in Kyoto back then... during the Bakamatsu no Douran. I saw the Battousai fighting a squad of Shinsengumi."
   As Kenshin's violet eyes widened in shock, Kaoru struggled to sit up. She said, "Misao, are you SURE? I mean... you were dreaming, right?"
   Aoshi quietly said, "Quite sure. I had nearly the exact same dream." He glanced at Megumi. "And Dr. Takani was in my dream too, if only for a moment."
   Megumi gasped as she abruptly recalled her semi-nightmares of the previous night. "You saw me? I remember now.... I ran into you."
   "And you ran away."
   Misao stared at Aoshi. "You... you mean you had the same dream as I did? The EXACT same dream? Then... then the things I told you... and you told me...."
   Aoshi calmly cut her off by saying, "I remember everything we discussed, Misao... everything."
   The ninja girl inexplicably began to blush all over. "Aoshi-sama...."
   Saitoh drawled, "This is all very interesting. But there's more important matters to deal with...."
   Sano suddenly said, "Saitoh, have you ever killed a woman?"
   "Why would you ask such a stupid question like that?"
   "Just give me a straight answer, damn it!"
   With his hand still on Yahiko's shoulder, Kenshin said softly, "Sano...."
   The policemen stared down at the fighter. In a cynical voice, he said, "You're a naive fool if you think that greed, corruption, and evil are the sole providence of men. And it is the unexpected or unsuspected persons who often do the most damage."
   As Sano gave him a blatantly skeptical stare, Saitoh gave him an evil little smile and said, "Just ask Himura Battousai. He knows that from first-hand experience."
   All eyes turned to Kenshin who slowly removed his hand from Yahiko's shoulder. He stared at Saitoh with no particular expression as his other hand casually came to rest on the hilt of his sakabatou.
   Sano sharply said, "I'm not asking Kenshin. I'm asking YOU."
   "And I gave you an answer, you fool."
   Kenshin thought, (Yes, Sano. He answered your question. Can you understand? Back then, it didn't matter who it was... man or woman... adult or child... if anyone interfered with what we perceived to be our duty... they died. For Saitoh, that duty was 'Aku Soku Zan'... 'Kill Evil Instantly.' For myself, it was defending the lives of the members of the Ishin Shishi by whatever means necessary.)
 &nbps; Sano stared at the two men standing in front of him. Saitoh, the relentless hunter with the cold, amber eyes... Kenshin, the resolute protector with warm, violet eyes still haunted by past darkness....
   (There will never be men like that again....)
   Tokio said, "I hope you won't mind waiting a little bit longer for your food. Megumi and I are going to check on Shinomori-san's and Kaoru's injuries. As soon as that's done, I'll cook lunch for everyone."
   Megumi managed to get out of bed without too much trouble and said, "I'm sure you've done an excellent job of taking care of them, Tokio-san, while I was... was...."
   Tokio gave the doctor's shoulder a reassuring pat. "Whatever happened had nothing to do with you. It wasn't your fault."
   The others left the wardroom, leaving Tokio and Megumi to quietly confer over Kaoru. As they waited in the main room of the clinic, Yahiko and Misao wrestled with their own private thoughts. Saitoh lurked in the background, but said nothing as Kenshin took the opportunity to tell Sano about Megumi's recovery, the various dreams about Kyoto, and finally their theories about the black sword.
   "What's the big deal? How hard can it be to get rid of that damned sword? Or hide it so no one will find it again?" complained Sano.
   Saitoh glanced at Kenshin. "Do you want to tell the chicken-brain or shall I?"
   "Saitoh...." growled Sano.
   Kenshin said, "It may be too late for such an easy solution."
 &nbps; "What?"
 &nbps; "We were recognized."
   The fighter growled, "I still don't get it!" Saitoh snorted audibly.
   "Sano, when we were confronting Megumi last night, do you remember what she said?"
   "Uh... I wasn't really paying that much attention...."
   "She said, 'Battousai... and Saitoh.... Both of you... I've found you, at last!'"
   "You mean... somehow you think this curse has somehow latched itself onto you. You and Saitoh?"
   "It's a possibility. All these dreams of Kyoto -- during both night and day, sleeping and awake -- they only started after that fight with Megumi... after we were recognized and named."
   "Oh shit...." Sano groaned. "But... how about you guys? Did either you have strange dreams last night?"
   Kenshin said, "I didn't... at least, none that I remember."
   Saitoh made a careless negative gesture.
   "Man, this gets weirder and weirder."
Go to Subpart B