Part Twenty-One

 The blow to Kawasaka's head from Kaoru's sword left him unconcious for only a few minutes.  When he finally came to, he saw that the Battousai had his eyes shut and that Kaoru was approaching him.  Kawasaka's lips firmed in anger as he looked at them.  The girl radiated love, passion and compassion.  Battou-sai  had a cloud of pain, anger, and restraint about him.  Kawasaka focused on the long, curling hair that flowed down Kaoru's slender back.  A wistful thought entered his head.  If only she'd felt that way about him.  For a woman like Kaoru, he'd be willing to give up anything...maybe even...Kawasaka's lips twisted into a mirthless smile.  Well, we'll never know, will we?  Slamming down a brick wall built with years of bitterness and pain, he ignored the peculiar twinge of warmth in his chest and began to use the one part of himself that had never failed him, his head.
    In their own little world, they wouldn't notice me, Kawasaka thought, and he was right.  He used slow, deliberate movements, on hands and knees, till he reached the door.  It had luckily been left opened from the Battou-sai's impressive entrance.  Chuckling under his breath at reaching his goal, he quickly and soundlessly exited the room.
 The half-moon was barely visible through the trees, creating a large set of shadows on the outside of the building.  Kawasaka stood in one of the rare pockets of moonlight and looked around to get his bearings and to adjust his eyes to the lack of light.  He took one step forward towards freedom when a twig to his left snapped.
 A couple of dark clouds moved over what was left of the moon, taking the rays of light with it.  A fierce wind blew the trees to the side momentarily before dying down.  An owl could be heard hundreds of feet away.  Kawasaka ignored all of this as he jumped away from the sound of the twig.  "Who's there?" he whispered, fear constricting his throat.
 There was a moment of silence, then the deep voice answered, "Death."
 Kawasaka peered into the darkness until he could finally see the faint outline of the person approaching him slowly.  Though it remained too dark to see, he was able to place the voice he heard regardless.  He relaxed.  A friend! An ally! One who wanted Battou-sai as much as he did!  Kawasaka took a step forward and smiled in relief.
 "I thought you'd never get here!  Now's the perfect time to act! Battou-sai and his little whore are totally distracted!  You could kill them both before you finish a cigarette!"
 Kawasaka took another step forward, then halted abruptly.
 The clouds covering the moon moved away, allowing the moon to shine between the trees again...and lightened the back of the figure approaching Kawasaka. The dark figure, outlined by moonlight, continued to move forward which allowed his sword blade to be illuminated.  The wicked edge shone cruelly as it came closer and closer to Kawasaka, dancing with the light as it moved from side to side in time with the figure's steps.
 Kawasaka took another step back and whispered in confusion, "Why? What did I do wrong?"
 The figure halted, "Idiot. You wanted a chance to help me catch the Battou-sai in exchange for a government position.  Yet instead of doing as I asked, you grew selfish and greedy.  You decided to steal government documents while at the same time you murdered innocent people.  With these documents, you had hoped to blackmail and cheat your way into better positions in the government. That is a dangerous combination of ambition and greed.  Yet a man who has such things is not truely evil.  Your true evil is the willingness to leave slain children and their families in your wake.  And for that reason alone, you shall die tonight the lowly, pathetic, dog that you are."  The blade caught the light as it moved to a verticle position."Sin. Swift. Slay." The mantra was chanted and the night stood silent around them.
 The blade moved again, this time parallel to the ground.  The figure crouched on slightly bended knees, the blade threw an eerie, thin line of reflection on the eyes of the man wielding it.  Cold, dark eyes that reflected neither pity or mercy for their intended victim.  A gust of wind moved the trees to the side enough for the rest of Saitoh Hajime's face to be seen before it was obscured again by shadow.
 Kawasaka never had time to scream.  His life seemed to flash before his eyes, yet the images of the past week seemed the most vivid.  Maku on stage, singing for the crowd...Maku standing nervously, yet with no fear as she asked for a job...The thing he saw in his mind's eye was the shocked expression in those beautiful eyes, close up, as his lips were pressed to hers. She had tasted so sweet...The last thought in Kawasaka Ikeda's mind as he felt his body give and meet with the ground was this: She will never sing for me, now.

   *  *  *  *

 Kenshin, Kaoru, and Megumi joined Sanosuke at the door of the tavern to see the slain body of Kawasaka.  Kenshin's eyes narrowed as the faint, but pungent smell of tobacco met his nose before being lost by the fresh scent he knew to be Kaoru-dono's.  The dead body before him reminded him of a time when finding such lifeless bodies such as this one was a common appearance.  The wind blew towards the door, bringing with it the coppery smell of the life's blood which had once been Kawasaka's.  Kenshin's jaw clenched reflexively, but he was surprised to feel no inner turmoil at all.  His slight sigh was lost on everyone but Kaoru-dono, who looked at Kenshin in concern for a moment before moving aside for Megumi.
 Megumi calmly walked out the door, Sano closely following her every step.  She halted at the body and grabbed it's wrist.  After seconds of silence, she sighed and reached out a hand to gently lower the still open eyes of the fallen villian.  Sighing, Megumi stood and looked down at the body before looking up at the doorway where Kenshin and Kaoru stood, together.
 Kaoru's emotions changed from shock to confusion as she looked at Kawasaka's body.  Who had killed him?  And why?  Her eyebrows arched and she gasped as the answer came to her, could it have been the government?  For stealing those papers?  Without another word, Kaoru turned and began to run to the door leading to the rest of the house when a large, warm, callous-ridden hand caught her hand, "Kaoru-dono, where are you going?"
 She turned to look at Kenshin with annoyed eyes, "I'm going to see if the papers are still here!  In Kawasaka's office! Come on, Kenshin!"  He was surprised as she grabbed his hand in a forceful grip and pulled him to Kawasaka's office.  He heard Kaoru cry in dismay and searched the office for what might have troubled her.  There was nothing on the desk.  Kaoru-dono's hand left his as she began to remove drawers from the desk.  After the second drawer came up empty, she began to frantically remove the drawers, impatience and desperation rising on her lovely face.  Kenshin's brows furrowed and his hands trapped Kaoru's from motion. "Kaoru-dono, look at me."
 Her eyes focused on the ground and blinked rapidly a few times before she rose them to his.  He hadn't seen such dejection and misery in her eyes since the day she cried in his arms.  "Kaoru-dono, what's wrong?"
 Kaoru blinked back the tears rising, "I was going to take the government papers I'd found here and return them.  I was hoping I could gain some money to pay back my taxes. I was hoping that I could save the dojo."  Her hands braced themselves on the surface of the wooden desk, she swallowed thickly before continuing, "I thought I could save the dojo, and then you and Yahiko could stay with me...and I wouldn't be alone anymore.  Kenshin, I don't want to be alone, anymore."  Her knees started to bend beneath the weight of her misery, her teeth began to chatter as a coldness entered her soul, " I have dishonoured and betrayed my father.  I have allowed my over blown pride of  not accepting any help ruin any chance I have at keeping my father's land. And my mother probably wouldn't appreciate having her favorite kimono worn in a brothel by a daughter who took the job, not only for money, but for the odd chance that you might..."  Tears landed soundlessly on the smooth finish of the wood.   Kaoru's voice was low and thick as she whispered roughly, "But now, not only have I let my father and mother down, I have let you down too. Please forgive me, Kenshin."
 There was silence.
 Then Kenshin's voice cut into the silence.
 "I'm afraid I cannot forgive you for this, Kaoru-dono."  The anger in his words caused Kaoru's gaze to rise from the floor and to meet his, in shock.