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sesshatetsuko · 24 days ago

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Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction :

See you in life Beyond (chapter 8)

Summary :

~ For as long as Kenshin remembers, life had never been easy for him. So when carefully-buried memories are brutally awakened, the former assassin finds himself in the grip of his inner demons... ~ A post-Jinchuu story, depicting Kenshin's struggle with his past and future, and how he and Kaoru finally became a family... (canon characters, pls mind the M-rating)

To find previous chapters, just search for #fanfiction on this blog, or on Archive Of Our Own / Fanfiction.net !

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16461530/chapters/38550812

Chapter 8: Of flesh and bones

Notified early in the night, Megumi had arrived as fast as she could. An inrô filled with unholy medical instruments in one hand and a bag of various medicinal herbs in the other. Himura had stubbornly preferred to stop at the dojo instead of walking straight to the Oguni clinic, claiming that he didn't want to disturb the old Dr Gensai who was sleeping there. Kaoru, as for her, had found out that the swordsman couldn't be argued with while he was still upset about her risky decision to run errands alone at sunset against his advice, rather than worried about his own serious injury. He was sitting on the futon, his face closed and his right arm resting on a small isho dansu that had been moved from the wall to his side for the occasion. Thanks to the fuss all the residents of the dojo were now gathered in his room.

"It's in a bad shape ..." the doctor commented as she examined his damaged limb, raising her eyebrows. She had meticulously removed the bloodstained gi and she did not like the extent of bleeding the red shirt had misleadingly covered.

"...An' that's all ya have to say 'bout it ? Doesn't sound very professional for a doc, kitsune!"

"Nobody asked you to be here, Sanosuke…" she went on cautiously, certainly not allowing herself to be disturbed by his usual banter"…But if you really want to hear the clinical babble, the humerus is openly fractured, the tissue is torn from the epidermis to the epicondyle and the shoulder is dislocated on its left-axis..."

The rooster instantly regretted having opened that big mouth of his.

"…I wonder how you were able to make it home in this state, Ken-san."

With that, she gave him a look loaded with reprimands, before carefully putting his arm down.

" I won't ask you either, how you got that wound..."

"I-it was an accident!" quickly added Kaoru, who felt indirectly targeted by her disapproving glare, "A cart lost control and was about to run me over!"

"... and Kenshin came to your rescue, that's it, Jou-chan?"

There was an annoying feeling of déjà-vu in this story.

What on earth did that stupid tanuki to put him in such condition once again? So soon after his fights with Shishio or Enishi, his body will never fully heal if he keeps on treating it so harshly...

"...Hai."

The young kendoka still could not explain herself the presence of the wanderer at the market when she had explicitly warned him no to follow her that night. But that now wasn't the time for such subjects... Not yet.

"This one would like you to check her up before taking care of oneself," cut Kenshin quite shortly. He was still grinding his teeth from the pain."Kaoru-dono was thrown violently to the side and may have been hurt too, that she could."

His beloved was about to protest loudly but the doctor took the lead, of course not without first making sure with an expert glance that the young woman was indeed unharmed.

"Don't be ridiculous Ken-san, as I said, your arm is in a sorry state. You did a good job of stopping the bleeding before I arrived, but the loss of fluid could have been much worse."

Megumi lifted the fabric that was still stuck inside the wound in order to reach the damaged joint, causing the wanderer to flinch.

"Anyway, we'll have to stitch it right now."

"Wait, just like that…?!"Kaoru couldn't help but express her worry. As far as she had heard, such procedures should better be performed in a dedicated medical center, and at least not while the victim was fully awake. If nothing else spending the last two years fighting insane enemies of the wanderer had taught her so. She knew Megumi was gifted, but...

"If we delay it any longer, the extremity will lack proper blood supply and he might lose part of his mobility permanently on the right side. I'm quite sure this is something no one here wants to see happen... so our choices in this case are poor."

The female doctor inhaled deeply. The next part was going to be hard on the wanderer's body, but she was certainly not allowed to voice her concern in front of a patient.

"Thus I won't have time to perform a suitable anesthesia with mandrake root... Are you ready for an operation, Ken-san?"

"-Hai"

Himura lost no time in answering.

"Are you sure? You must tell me if you don't feel like doing it, because you'll have to both bear the pain and stay as motionless as possible for me to perform it properly. The peripheral nervous system is compromised which makes it a delicate surgery."

And considering he's come all the way here by foot he must already be quite tired...

As he heard her gasp in apprehension, the swordsman gave Kaoru a deliberately reassuring smile, although somewhat forced because of the obvious discomfort the doctor's aching manipulations were already sparking in his body at the same time.

"Do not worry, Megumi-dono, this one will be fine."

"You two," Megumi ordered immediately, pointing a finger at the kendoka and her disciple, "Bring me some boiled water to sterilize the tools and prepare clean bandages. A dozen of them!"

Then she turned to the brawler, who had come to the dojo tonight hoping to find another free hot meal - he had had premonition about some kind of octopus - and who was accidentally involved in the dirty situation. Sagara had a sixth sense when it came to trouble.

For once, the rooster's gonna be of use...

"Sanosuke," she gestured next "place yourself behind Ken-san and hold him."

"Huh?"

"This one does not think it is necessary ..."

"Hurry, we've lost enough time as it is ! I'll start by putting the shoulder back."

Knowing better than to discuss a doctor's orders, the former Sekihotai promptly complied and leaned against his friend's back. Megumi took a shallow breath, secretly praying that her first attempt would be the right one. Without giving them enough space to dwell on what was about to happen -replacing a joint was a notoriously painful act-, the doctor jerked the arm out, taking care not to aggravate the severe lesion underneath while doing so. The shoulder was put back into place with a distinct "thud", which barely made the swordsman wince. After the harsh martial arts training he had received since childhood, followed by many years of even rougher warfare, he had been through a lot more than this.

"Good. This was by far the easiest."She warned."Fixing this mess will be another matter entirely..."

With that, Megumi rolled up her sleeves, and began thoroughly arranging her suture material on a sheet. Soon, Kaoru and Yahiko returned to the chamber with all the apparatus she had requested.

"Thank you," the young doctor said as she removed the latter from their hands, "you can go out now Yahiko."

"What -why? Don't treat me like a child!"

"It has nothing to do with age, even some adults cannot stand the sight of a surgery. You might feel like throwing up at some point... " She was counting her instruments one by one in her head."…And I can't deal with two sick people at the same time. So don't complain about not being warned before."

"Hmpf"

The apprentice kendoka crossed his arms and leaned against the wall in a corner of the room, dead set on being close to the action in case someone ever needed him.

If busu and Sanosuke can do it, there's no way I can't do it too ! The son of a samurai must be strong !

Without wasting time, Megumi began pouring an Inula's decoction into the wound in order to cleanse it.A secondary infection could become even more serious than the loss of a limb. The muscles of the swordsman tensed reflexively under the effect of the cold contact on their exposed surface, but his face showed nothing of it. She then grabbed one of the too many needles of her inrô, some catgut thread, and began the extensive suture work awaiting her. She had to plunge the instrument directly into the muscular tissue to be able to bring the flesh closer together before having a chance to close the epidermis over it. Having suffered many katana injuries himself during his life of combat, the wanderer knew this was the safest way to repair a gash, and was therefore giving his best to be remain unwavering. Yet he was getting light headed because of the previous loss of blood, and still somewhat angry at Kaoru and above all at himself for what had happened tonight... but making a fuss about it wouldn't improve the situation for anyone. So he chose -as he often did- to stick with it rather than complaining. Megumi would only interrupt her sewing every now and then to apply the compresses stretched by Yahiko at regular intervals in order to absorb the bleeding.

After more than half an hour of ligature, the doctor was barely starting to work on the nerve tissue surrounding the joint. Kenshin held silent, but was now perspiring heavily, teeth and fists clenched. Eager to support him in her own way, Kaoru slipped her fingers into his on the side of his valid arm. The unexpected touch took him by surprise, but he didn't withdraw his hand.

"Kaoru-dono ... daijobu-dess."

He tried to put up a smile for her, but the pain that distorted his features was turning it into a wince. The doctor was still progressing slowly, using her needle from the inside to the outside of the large gash. Kenshin would unknowingly squeeze Kaoru's hand more and more as the instrument moved toward the breaking site -certainly a bit too tightly for her young comfort. The kendoka said nothing, worried instead about the sustained ache she knew he was experiencing.

"The fracture is incomplete and out of place," Megumi sighed shakily."I will need to finish the section of the humerus to be able to reposition it correctly afterwards."

This is going to be a tricky procedure .

At the implication of her words a scent of horror briefly floated inside the otherwise silent began to cut the bone itself, leaning heavily on the injured underlying tissues to increase her strength. Kenshin shrugged back abruptly, moaning against his will. He had solid experience in acute pain and recovery, but this was taking long... too long. And his organism was starting to tire. Sanosuke recoiled reflexively, but the former assassin collapsed on him in reaction to the pain.

"Sano, can you ..."

His forehead was soggy.

"Hai Kenshin, ya can count on me."

The former Sekihotai moved back behind the wanderer, offering his torso in unspoken support. He didn't need to exchange more words to understand what his friend needed.

"Forgive me, Ken-san, I haven't done that often ..." Megumi completed."This scalpel must not be sharp enough ..."

She silently cursed herself for having borrowed in her haste the equipment from the old doctor Gensai, who happened not to be very meticulous because of his advanced age. Megumi was sawing, splitting, pressing, but could not slice the fractured humerus despite all her efforts. And the sensation was getting unbearable. Kenshin finally grasped the poor woman's hand.

"Let..." he released a heavy breath"…Let this one do it."

"Are you sure?"

Without a word Kenshin grabbed the scalpel with his left hand and replaced it exactly where it was beforehand, all the while discreetly trembling. Getting ready to slice his own femur. This vision was on the verge of sustainable for Yahiko, who darted out of the room at full speed. Finally, he was going to fulfill the doctor's prediction and vomit an unlucky meal.

The former assassin cut the bone in a supple gesture, with too much ease for not coming from a long-term habit, then suddenly released the utensil while his head tilted back. His eyes were closed and he was breathing loudly.

Sanosuke realized that he was not far from losing consciousness, and supported his skull at the base, his hand firmly planted at the root of red hair. He wrapped his other arm around his chest to prevent him from slipping further down.

Kaoru gripped the hand that was now hanging by his side and felt immediately that he had lost some strength. Tested by the scene she had just witnessed, she glared at her friend.

"Megumi, wait ..."

"I know. I'm sorry, but we shouldn't lose time."

Undeniably professional, Megumi patiented a few moments just for him to regain his senses, then quickly began the suture again in tight points, so as to wedge the humerus in the desired sooner position. The she was finished, the better the member's functional prognosis would be.

Keep focusing on the gesture, simply treat Ken-san like any other patient .

The remaining work went without complications, but lasted several hours because of the amount of tissue damage. The swordsman stayed fairly calm the rest of the time except for a few involuntary moans, but his face spoke volumes about the harassment that this operation had caused on his relatively puny body.

"Your arm will be unusable for several weeks, if not a few months concerning the practice of kenjutsu -at least at your level of skill."the doctor concluded, massaging her temples, also exhausted by the amount of focusing all this intervention had required of her. "I advise you not to be too agitated as long as the bone isn't soldered yet. This means moving as less as possible, so no chores and certainly no fights."

"Arigato, Megumi-dono... This one does not know what he would do without your help, that he does not."

He smiled at her again despite his drawn features. Megumi blushed slightly.

"Well, try not to hurt yourself any more in the future. As I've said your limb may stay weak for a while even when healed. You need to take some rest, Ken-san."

"Hai ..."

He had dark circles under his eyes and a globally exhausted look but at least his limb was safe and the whole surgical ordeal was over. Once the dirty stuff was cleared of the place, with the help of Yahiko whose skin had since regained some color, everyone left the room except Kaoru. She would remain to watch over the swordsman for rest of the night. Worn down by the intervention, the redhead at her side was quickly carried away by sleep, while their two hands -tied since the beginning of the whole surgery- remained softly coiled into one another.

"Hey kid, go to bed, yar face's still glowin' five different shades of yellow!" Sanosuke sneered as they reached the corridor.

"Don't you make fun of me! Unlike yourself, I am positively not used to breaking people's limbs every passing morning!"the apprentice kendoka retorted before closing the door of his room right under the brawler's nose, already disappointed enough over his own performance. He had been pretty much useless but to puke outside and boil water -not exactly what he had pictured of a samurai's job. A whole night of sleep would be good for everyone.

"What about ya Kistune? I mean it's pretty late..." Sanosuke then turned to the doctor, not bothered the least by the kid's antics but more concerned about the sophisticated woman's safety in the corners of an asleep city. "Y'know, Jou-chan wouldn't mind if ya slept at the dojo ?"

"Correct, but I'd prefer to go back to the Oguni clinic either way. You all seem to forget that I also have a job by day sometime... And sadly, people don't stop getting sick just because I had an emergency the previous night."

Yeap, the kitsune's mood doesn't look any better...

"Wanna me to walk with ya?" offered the former Sekihotai sincerely trying to lighten the atmosphere, which was his clunky way of thanking her for all the hard work

"Do whatever pleases your rooster brain. I don't like the idea but I'm too tired to argue with anyone right now."

"Okay Okay, then it's decided, I'm goin' with ya..."

To solve a case, there's nothing like working on the field by yourself.

The former Shinsengumi's third captain had assembled this day a fine team of volunteers among police agents in Tokyo (more precisely self-appointed by the high-handed officer with the help of loud and flowery commands) and he had left to skim the campaign before sunrise. Lately, many disturbing disappearances had been reported in this area of Kanto.

But after a few hours of searching, several dilapidated houses visited and so many reports from his subordinates in the ear, Saito came to the exasperating conclusion that on the one hand the only close relative they could find - who turned out to be the uncle of a missing victim - had unfortunately died from tuberculosis last week, and therefore it was impossible for him to see the man to get any clue, and that some villagers had also heard about another orphan's disappearance in a neighboring town but without being able to explain anything more consistent. To complete the picture, in such a remote hamlet, residents simply didn't trust the government and it was consequently quite difficult to obtain any steady information. For those who knew how to speak the local slang, it goes without saying.

What else now , grumbled the officer, grinding his teeth, I'd have to question a dead man about the circumstances of an abduction .. . we're far from out of the woods here !

He cast a cold glare at his teammates, who suddenly hastened to find themselves an urgent task -any task. Saito had a real need to pass his frustration on someone, and the presence of such incompetent acolytes was only exacerbating this need. Furthermore, the latter guessing the nauseous mood of their superior would only become more nervous, which of course had the effect of further stoking the said bad mood ... What a beautiful day in perspective for the Kyoto's police forces!

The only thing Saito knew to this day was that the victim was a girl who was barely a dozen years old at the time of her abduction. And she was rather cute, according to the words of an old scrawny villager, penniless and perverse, for what's worth as information. All this walking was enough to annoy the police agents, who were beginning to wonder if this story of disappearances had a beginning or an end.

"Well, at least we have a new track," he sighed. "And nothing indicates that all these victims are dead yet."

The troubling point of the whole affair was that they indeed had found no corpse so far, positively guiding the officer towards the otherwise murky assumption of something akin to human traffic. They had left very early this morning to conduct the inquiry, order of officer Fujita, and he intended to use the whole day if needed. They would turn back the land, the houses, the slobs that inhabited them (again, according to officer Fujita), until his police squadron finds any clue, should they die of hunger or fatigue during the said process. Saito was not a man of compromise, and he had every intention of giving the Tokyo police station the scoop of capturing these child traffickers should they ever exist.

All the inhabitants of the Kamiya Dojo, except for the unfortunate Dr Takani, slept for longer than they usually did, some of them not even surfacing before noon. While the household was slowly waking up from its restless -not to say traumatic- night, Kaoru, who intended to prepare the meal exceptionally, met the wanderer as he was leaving his room.

"Ohayo!"

"Ohayo, Kaoru-dono."

He was still a quite pale because of blood loss, but his features were less tired than the previous day. She watched his wrapped arm with a desolate look.

"You should better stay in bed... How's the pain?"

"It's nothing, that it is."

He gave her a gentle smile. As usual, Kenshin would not accept to take breaks as much as they would like him to. She couldn't force him to stop pushing his body, and he already had been patient enough regarding his treatment after Shishio and Enishi's ordeal... however, Kaoru had a point that remained stubbornly in her mind since the incident. A rather important one at that, which the previous operation didn't give her the opportunity to solve the issue with the wanderer.

"Listen Kenshin, we need to talk about what happened yesterday..."

"This one was right."

"Well... Thank you for saving me, but ..." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't really appreciate you following me without my consent."

He sighed.

"You should have listened to this one."

Kaoru was beginning to be tired of hearing that same protective speech all the time. The wanderer could be pretty obtuse when he got into it.

"Kenshin, I'm not a fragile little thing that must be protected at all costs!"

"The driver was coming right in front of you. If this one had not been there, the force of the impact could have -" The last part of the sentence halted in his throat. "...severely hurt you"

"It was an accident! You cannot lock me in a cage!"

"I..."

The swordsman's smile started to fade, his spirit still drained from last evening.

"I won't faint into the wild just because I'm leaving your field of view!"

"What this one means is..."

Expressing his feelings had never been easy. Deep inside, Himura was a strongly introverted man.

"I've been living alone for a whole year after dad's death; I don't need you to get by myself!"

He took a deep breath, trying to keep his control in place.

"Kaoru-dono. Please. Do not put yourself in danger like that."

"But you're not my father! And then it's because of you that I was lost in my thoughts, I was thinking about this damn argument between us and ..."

"Enough"

He suddenly entwined his valid arm around her, preventing the young woman from formulating her answer.

"Enough..."

He was hugging her a bit harder than was comfortable. His voice became a whisper.

"I was afraid of losing you ..."

I won’t bear it a second time.

"Kenshin ..."

Kaoru, overcome by remorse, quickly lost the urge to counter-argue. She returned his hug, shyly placing her hands on his back. Kenshin's eyes kept solely closed. The two of them were so different.

I must remember that this man had a complicated life ...

"I can't believe my eyes, just pick a room for that!" Yahiko exploded as he reached the front of the corridor where both stood, before turning back abruptly (although half-smiling).

"Yahiko, it's not what ..."

Kaoru reflexively tried to free herself, but the wanderer didn't yet let go of his embrace. On the contrary, he squeezed his uninjured arm a bit more around her shoulder. He was patently not paying attention to the presence of the apprentice kendoka. She knew that the swordsman, usually very withdrawn, had felt his presence long before the kid arrived.

I hadn't imagined how much this could upset him ...

"Kenshin ... I understand what you can feel but ... You must not give in to your fears."

"This one ..."

He put his mouth in the hollow of her ear.

"... This one hears what you are telling him. You need your freedom, even though it may threaten your security, Kaoru-dono. However ..."

"However?"

"... this one doesn't care."