Mending Deep Wounds Part 1: Eiji By: Shutani Houkiku Eiji Kamiya Kaoru was surprised to open her gates to an unconcious man slumped through the slit of a doorway she opened. "Nan..." Her question was quickly broken off as the double panels of the gate opened to reveal Takani Megumi on the left, the man's arm slung across her shoulders. Shutani Houkiku supporting his other side pushed a long wrapped katana scabbard into her hands, but held on to the other bundle of cloth in her free hand. "We found him outside the clinic, wound fever. There isn't any room in either of our places, jou-chan, would you mind putting him up in your dojo for a while?" She spoke as she and Megumi carried the man in. "But where are we going to practise, then?" Kaoru protested in a loud whisper. "Practise elsewhere. Outside. Fresh air's good for you." Snapped Megumi. It was clear that they were leaving him there whether she liked it or not. As soon as she set the man down, Megumi started to leave. She had on that tight-lipped look that Kaoru dared not challenge and looked as though she would have liked to run, but had too much pride to do so in front of Kaoru. "There is a little girl with Scarlet fever in the clinic," Houkiku explained after she was gone. "Megumi-chan is worried about her." She took her time settling the man and Kaoru's nerves. "Demo..." "Houkiku smiled through Kaoru's reservations. Once bitten, twice shy. The girl has known enough from her time with the ronin Himura Kenshin to be apprehensive about strangers in the dojo; especially strangers with swords. "Don't worry, jou-chan, I'll stay with you. Sano's gone to see about restocking, there's nothing to do at the shop." Unspoken was that if this man should wake and turn out hostile while none of the men were around, between Kaoru, a master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu Kendo, and Houkiku, once known as the hitokiri Arashi-yasha, they could easily take him down. * * * Eiji slowly begins to wake up with a headache and blurred vision. He takes his hand and waves it in front of his face then holds up two fingers and think to himself "Double vision, somewhat blurry, and not to detailed. But I should be able to make do, if I have to. Now to get myself out of here." He slowly tries to stand up but his legs collapse from under him and he hits the ground with a loud thud. Eiji looks up and notices Kaoru and Houkiku. Under his breath he says "Two opponents, probably armed, not enough energy to stand, and my vision is distorted. Oh yeah, this is definitely not a good thing." Then he looks up at the two and says "Go on, do my brother`s dirty work, why should he have to get his hands dirty when he can pay people off." * * * Kaoru and Houkiku exchanged looks. Kaoru's slightly irked and confused. The ingratitude! Houkiku placed a cool hand on her arm, all that restrained the teenager. "Whatever." The woman smiled calmly at Eiji. "Yet, pray, why should I bloody my hands if I have not been payed?" She settled him back in the futon against his weak protests. "You are welcomed to share Kamiya Dojo's hospitality, this is Kamiya Kaoru, Acting Master." Houkiku continued. "But be warned that if you turn any hand in harm to the school, terrible spirits guard she and hers." She smiled a little, almost teasingly. Eiji looks up at her and says. "Don`t worry I didn`t come to the area to cause trouble in local dojos, I just want to finish some business from about 12 years ago. By the way I owe you and Master Kamiya my thanks." He paused and looked like he was in deep thought then continued. "Listen if your not an employ of my brother`s I need you to put me in touch of a doctor, I think I`ve been poisoned by a dart that was thrown into my arm." "Megumi has already taken a look at you. That's why you've been dumped here." Kaoru answered that not too pleasantly at the memory of the intrusion. "If I may," Houkiku started again, quietly, "Could you explain how you came to end up at Megumi's doorstep in such a state? It might help explain the man who's been spying on us for the past 10 minutes." Eiji was silent for a moment then said. "It`s very personal but since you helped me I`ll tell you anything that you want to know. My brother killed some people that I was very close to 12 years ago, and after I heard that my brother was in the area I came to finish this. But on my way here I saw a merchant being attacked by some men, one of the men threw a dart into my arm and ran off. As a way of thanks for my help the merchant offered to take me here. Shortly after that I began to feel odd, but I didn`t think much of it until I got out of the man`s wagon and I began feeling much worse and then passed out. Will that be enough information or do you want to know more?" Outside the dojo the spy thinks to himself. "So the boss was right not only is this guy stupid enough to enter our territory, but he wants to take on the boss." He pauses then under his breath he says. "I better see if he knows anything about the business before I go. It`s kind of funny though he`s been able to kill too many of the bosses men to count with his sword skills, and abilities in hand-to-hand combat and now he can`t even stand on his own." "Blood feud? I see..." Houkiku edged closer to the double paper doors such that her shadow betrayed no change in her position and with a sudden move, pulled the doors open. In tumble the spy with the beginnings of a violent curse cut short by three inches of blue-and-gold tinged metal barely a hair's breadth from his nose. "Have you learnt enough now, Mr. spy?" He lifted his chin to save his nose, only that put his throat in danger and by then he had caught sight of her eyes and dared not move any more. They held him paralysed for a second, cold, dark, disquieting in that dangerous peace, calling up some long- forgotten element in his blood to scream and tremble. "Ha... hai..." "Good. Then go. I don't savour scrubbing out these floors." She grimaced with a lightness characteristic of well-bred Japanese ladies; one that jarred terribly with the wildness that had, for one moment leered from the depths of the two enchanting black opals she had for eyes. The spy nods then runs off. Eiji smiles and says. "Good, that's going to work to my advantage. When the spy tells my brother why I'm here, he`ll start bringing more people here, and that will expose his exact location to me. Then all I'm going to have to do is wait in the shadows for the right moment. The only problems are that I'm in the open now, I don`t know when I`m going to regain enough strength to defend myself, and he has more control of the area." He pauses, looks down, then continues. "I'm pretty much...dead where I stand." Kaoru looked uneasy, the woman shrugged. "That, my friend, is not for you to decide." She put her cresent-shaped sword down on the wooden floor, before him, hand never leaving the scabbard. She didn't speak, but searched deep into his eyes, as if looking for some prove of something. "Justice comes to those whose heart desire so be." She finally said. "And when Heaven's Justice fails, we'll have to make do with our own." A curious expersion forms on Eiji`s face then he replies. "That makes sense, but how will I make this justice when I can't even stand? And if you don't mind me asking what were you looking for? personally I`ve never seen anything there worth while." The woman dipped her head. "Kekkou yo -- It is enough." She looked up and smiled that strange predatious smile of hers again. "You will rest and we will see." Eiji still with the curious expression on his face says "Ok, I'll try to get some rest." He weakly moves around on the futon a bit to find a comfortable position then settles down, and thinks to himself " We will see? I wonder if that means what I think it does." * * * Inside the Akabeko, the spy that was in the dojo earlier approaches a man that looks like Eiji but a few inches shorter, and tells him "Sir, I`ve located Eiji. He`s in the Kamiya Dojo, and has two people there with him. Are there any orders?" The other man looks at the spy then replies "He's getting too close. First gather forces, second double the price on his head, third order supplies." All this was caught by a curious Tsubame serving tables and she knew at once that trouble was brewing for the Dojo. This was why Shutani-san was cornered the moment she appeared at the door and told of these plans. This was why when the thugs stormed Kamiya Dojo, there wasn't a soul in sight. * * * Eiji mumbles to himself "My brother is starting to push his luck. But it seems he`s getting a little smarter." He pauses and continues loud enough for Houkiku to hear him. "Mind if I ask you a few questions that I think are important?" He raises his head looks at her eagerly while waiting for a response. "Ask what you will. I promise nothing." She answered peacefully from where she was rearranging things in the back room of a general store to make space for him. "Ok let me start by thanking you for helping me again. The questions I need answered are, about how many businesses are in this town? Did you remember to bring my sword when you pulled me out of the Kamiya Dojo? Where are we? And is there any water or something like that around here?" Eiji asked curiously. "Feel to your right." She instructed before disappearing for a moment and coming back with a cup of water. "Keep very quiet, you're in my shop and there isn't much cover. This is Tokyo, at least 30 official businesses and as many peddlers as there are who have chose to stay." Kaoru peeked in from the front, pausing a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark of the storage. "Ne, Houkiku-san..." The shopkeeper looked at the shadow of nearby buildings through a boarded window, gauging the time. "It is time for your class, is it not, Kaoru-chan? Run along, then. And please tell Megumi that we're next door before you go." She smiled and pushed the young woman out. After feeling to his right to make sure his sword is there, Eiji takes the cup of water and quietly says. "Thanks, and don`t worry when I get enough of my strength back I`ll go, so you won`t be pulled any further into this than you have, or want to be." The woman only smiled that small strange smile of hers. "Whatever." And ducked out of the doorway, leaving Eiji alone in the semi-darkness. * * * Dusk fell through the door, casting all in a deep wine red, almost like watered down blood. The shadow in the door was Shutani returning after closing. This time she wasn't alone. Megumi wasn't pleased about keeping Eiji in such a small dark place, but seeing as there was no other choice, she kept quiet about it. Houkiku sat guard at the door, polishing the intricate sword she always carried in a bundle of cloth. The reflected light served well enough for Megumi when coupled with the oil lamp Eiji held up for her. In that moment, his hostess looked hauntingly familiar, like himself. After noticing the familiarity between himself, and Houkiku, Eiji found himself in shock. He couldn't help staring at her for the next few minutes, while trying to figure out exactly what could of happened to her, that would have made her remind Eiji that much of himself. Then in an effort to change the subject to something that wouldn`t bring him to think of too many of his painful past experiences, Eiji changed the subject by looking over to Megumi, and asking. "How long do you think it will be untill I can move around on my own?" "Two weeks at least!" She replied sternly. And stealing a look at Houkiku and Eiji's sword, added "And no running around seeking trouble in the meantime. You swordsmen are all alike. Kiku-chan," She straightened. No response. "Kiku!" Megumi hissed sharply. "Peace, Megumi." Came the bland, distant reply finally. "I hear you." "But you are not listening. No fights, he needs rest. And you still have those herbs for wound fever? Good. Three times a day without fail." With that the doctor swept out of the room, her work being never done. Houkiku didn't even move to make way. "Whatever, whatever." Kiku mused quietly. "She should tell that to your brother's troops." Eiji laughs quietly at the comment made by Houkiku, then stops looks at his sword, and remembers what his father once told him about swordsmen: "A true swordsman dosen`t look for trouble, it finds him. Never start fights, just finish them." "Could use her as a secret weapon. Is she always that angry, or does she just have a problem with people that choose to live by their swords?" Eiji asks. "Megumi-san is a good woman, Eiji-san. She is only upset because she cares." The tone told him she wished to leave her neighbour out of the fray. "But she has yet to realise that a sword-wielder's life is not his own." "Only upset because she cares.... that's not something I fully understand, and, to be honest, it`s not really something that I'm used to either. But anyway I think I should probably try to get some rest, that is if it`s ok." Eiji replied with a bit of confusion in his voice. Than he thought to himself. "How can I assure that the people that are not involved in this aren't going to feel any of the effects of the fighting, and still manage to do this as quickly as possible." "Rest well, little brother," She stood up and left the room. "Leave all to the Mountain Spirit and may he guard you well." Eiji, still bugged by the question of how he could keep all innocent people out of his war with his brother, did nothing but lay on the futon, and stare at the ceiling for the next hour. Then he sat up, and quietly asked himself. "How do I keep those that aren`t invovled in this from being harmed? How can I be sure that innocent people won`t be harmed by my actions? And is there any way I`ll be able to move around before the two weeks are up?" Unsure of the answers to his questions Eiji just shrugged, and laid back down to try to fall asleep. Deep in the night, a shadow stirred. One, two, three, a dozen, scuttling under the heavy mantle of darkness. They would have gone unnoticed had their interceptor not been one bred in darker nights. The first, eagerly on his first big job, never knew what hit him. Only his muffled cry warned the rest. they spread out at the door of the foolish merchant who dared defy their boss. Three charged the door, as many as would fit, and with a soft rustle of brocade they were evaded and cut down like reeds. It was not in vain, though, for with their deaths the attackers have managed to draw the defender from the shelter of the door. It was a woman. A shinto priesess from her dressing, and a twisted snarling face pale as the moon, gnashing fangs black as ebony. "What the in the name of the gods is that!?" One of the assasins screamed, as he was surprised by the look of the demonic face. "Who cares, as long as we get paid? Surround her, and then kill her." Another awnsered. The assasins that were still alive looked at each other then began to obey the order, by slowly and carefully forming a circle around her, it... whatever. Once they were all in position, one of the assasins made the attempt to attack from behind. Eiji was woken up by the sound of the assasin that screamed the question, and had some how managed to get to his feet by pulling himself up with his sword. Unfortunatly once he managed to get to his feet due to his weakened state he was having problems moving, every time he took a step his legs were filled with more pain then he had ever felt, and he found that even when using his sword as a crutch keeping from falling over was an extremely large challenge. There was no move to avoid the attacker, indeed, there was little indication of the Yasha even noticing the sneak attack. The poor assasin was just thanking his lucky stars that he didn't have to fight the "demon" face to face when a "TWONK!" and a wet crack filled his world. Kaoru clutching her bokken was revealed as he crumpled soundlessly to the ground. This of course brought the two nearest on her, but before the further could do more then lunge, a bright sliver of the moon cut clean across his midsection. No words were exchanged as the ladies dealt expertly with their black-clad invaders, one in a sembelence of a moonlit dance, another with the ferocity and skill worthy of her master title. But it was no pretty fight. Honour held no meaning in a confrontation of knaves. After what seemed like an eternity, Eiji had finally made it to the doorway. The sight that he beheld when he arrived there, two women and a collection of dead bodies, was somewhat disturbing to him. Knowing not only that because of him their lives were in danger, but also that he couldn`t even fight his own battles, were facts that made him feel like had he dishonored himself, his teachers, and his parents as well. Which bothered him almost as much as the pain he felt many years ago when he found the rest of his family slain by his brother. Eiji leaned against the wall by the doorway and allowed himself to slump to the floor. Then he unsheathed his sword, stared at it, and tried to figure out a way to solve his walking problem so nobody else would be forced into his feud. They were gone, every last one. Including the one that tried to get away. The Yasha of the Storm left no survivors. When he had tied to scramble away into darkness, she had somehow appeared in front of him, leered and scalped him. The sight shook Kaoru who had never seen her friend thus. Even Kenshin in his Battousai rage was kind in his use of the sakubatou. Shutani stood cold and silent for a moment, the spreading pool of fresh blood staining the red skirt of her robes. In unnerving serenity, she squatted down and dipped jade-like fingers in the warm, recently spilt life. "Kiku-san..." Kaoru started to touch her shoulder, and hesitanted. "Ki..." "I'm fine." She stood up suddenly, removing the mask and gave Kaoru a small smile. The younger girl couldn't tell the trembling of the hands that held the ancient mask and strange sword in the moonlight, but she guessed the tightness of the smile. It was like Kenshin, only just realising what he had done in his bloodlust. Before she could act on it, though, the woman suddenly swept past her, into the door. "What are you doing out of bed?" She chided gently, struggling to lift Eiji up to his feet. "Have you so little faith in the Gods that so guard this land?" Eiji tried his best to stand to help Houkiku to lift him, while he considered the question she asked. "Yes, I think that might be the case. That`s probably why I came to here in the first place, and it`s probably the only reason I didn`t commit seppiku many years ago when the desire first hit me. I probably knew that they woudn`t get the job done." He told her in a depressed tone. To his surprise, the so-far gentle lady slapped him across the face, hard. The blood ringing in his ears, he looked at her. Startled by the cold light in her eyes, he tried to look away, but could not. "The Gods do not decreed our fates. If you were so daunted by death, it be but by your own hands. Do not dishonour the warrior's ritual thus." Then he was dropped, rather disgustedly, to stumble against the doorframe and slide down against it once again as the stirred Arashi-Yasha faded into the dark shadows of her home. Eiji was silent for a moment, then realized that she was right not only has he literally been drifting through life with no purpose, but also the ideals he did belive in such as fate were completely wrong. Healed or not it was time that he left, after a few minutes of struggle he managed to pull himself up on his sword. With the use of his sword as a make shift crutch, he left her home. "Eiji`s been wrong for a very long time." He said, more angry at himself than anybody else. It took him all night of taking a step with one foot and covering his tracks with the other, but he eventually made his way out of Tokyo, and found a place where he could be certain nobody would find him unless he wanted them to. Which wouldn`t be anybody except his brother, and that wouldn`t be untill he was back to full strength. * * * Of course Kaoru and Megumi got pretty upset at Houkiku, Megumi being the crueler. "How could you, Kiku-chan? He's sick! A patient!" And Houkiku, having gone back to her usual self, could only cringe away in sweatdrops and apologies, then get thrown out of her own shop by Megumi to seek Eiji back. The shelter Eiji had found was a cave, that he had found to go quite deep. However when he got as far into it as he could go he found that because of light coming though a hole at the top, which was a few hundred feet above him, reflecting of the water of an underground stream he could see quite well. Standing there still supported on his sword Eiji decided that the first step to recovery would be to try standing on his own. So he tightly closed his eyes, prepared to fall, and let his sword drop from his hand. Much to his surprise he managed to stay on his feet, so he tested himself more by slowly extending his right leg to the side in the same maner used for a side thrust kick, then pulled it back to himself. After trying that he tried using the same leg but this time in a snap kick form, which was almost at the same height of his head. Then he did the same thing with the left leg. It was hard to stay up when he tried the manuvers, but he somehow did it anyway. "Why didn`t I fall down?" Eiji thought to himself. He spent the next couple hours testing the physical limitations of his body, it probally wouldn`t of taken so long but he did have to keep taking breaks due to his weakened condition, so he`d know exactly what he would have to do to get back into fighting shape. "Lets see I lost only about a few inches of flexiblity, my speed's down alot, and I`m only about a third as strong as I used to be." He quietly said as he hobbled across the area to take a seat on a large rock. A few minutes later he started to feel hot, assuming it was a fever brought on by the phyisical activity that he had just finish, he remembered the herbs that Megumi talked about yesterday. After deciding the best way to get the herbs would be to find someone and hire them to go get them, he went to the front of the cave using his sword as a cane to help him along. He did have to go far before finding a boy that looked around the age of twelve or thirteen. He whistled to get the kid`s attention, then spoke. "I need to ask you for a favor....there`s a woman in town named Shuntani Houkiku, she owns a store. In there she has herbs made for curing fever. I need you to go get those herbs, and leave them here, I`ll gladly pay you for your help." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small wad of money. The boy was going to question Eiji, but once he realized that he looked much like a man on his death bed he decided to take the money and do him the favor. As the boy left Eiji found a place to hide, and wait nearby. The boy didn't actually do as Eiji said. Fortunately, Shutani didn't need a guide to find him, either. After all, the hitokiri are hunters of man. Yet, knowing that he would not appreciate her prescence, she staked herself out in another nearby cover, and waited. After waiting for awhile Eiji decided the boy had taken his money, and left him for dead. He forced himself up and began weakly holbing back towards his shelter. While heading back to the cave a man came up to him and pulled a sword. "Nice to finally meet you Eiji, especially when your to weak to fight. You won`t have a chance to draw your sword, let alone fight with the same animosity that I heard about." The man said while beginning to draw his sword, and expecting an easy win over his sick oppenent. Eiji however quickly drew his sword and sliced across the man`s throat. "Didn`t you know a wounded animal is more dangerous than any of the creatures that inhabit this planet?" Eiji asked as the man dropped to the ground to die from the wound that Eiji just gave him. Unfortuneatly the strike Eiji had dealt had sapped almost all of the strength Eiji had left, and he began to pass out. Houkiku sighed and chose this moment to intervene. He was too heavy for her to carry back to town alone, and certainly too conspictuous. So the next best thing was to bring cover to him. She dropped a dry bush in front of Eiji and gathered more, mumbling a little about men and their general lack of foresight. After a few hours Eiji eventually began to wake up. He was covered in plants and feeling sick. He rubbed his eyes, then sat up with a low groan. He looked around then remembered the man he killed, and feeling weak then nothing else. "Huh?" He asked no one in particular. "If this is how you have been handling yourself on the road, little one, it is a wonder you have managed to stay alive so long." A voice that was beginning to become familiar chuckled wrily by the side of his head. A cool touch brushed his burning forehead and kept him down with surprising strength when he tried to get up. "What..." "Hush, now. I can't move you alone and you can't move in this state, so I suggest you coorperate with me and concentrate on getting better. As soon as you are we will move to somewhere less open." She laid a deliciously cool cloth across his brow. "Megumi will have my skin for bandages if anything happened to you." Eiji sighed. "Fine." Then he was silent for a few minutes. "My father never taught us anything about religion or honor. One of my masters tried to teach me by having me read up on it, but unfortunatly I`m illiterate, so I had to pick up my own opinions on the subjects. That might be the reason for our misunderstanding. This is something that I`ve never done before, but I would like to apologize." "'Tis not to me you must apologise, my friend." She chuckled softly. "I am but an inconsequantial pawn." He started to reply, but she stalled him, more serious now. "It will not do to lie in wait for the ambush. Perhaps you have a greater plan?" It was Eiji's fight, and so it was not her place to present her own before he does. "That's odd I normally pick up on that sort of thing pretty well." He paused. "Probally a side effect of the poison. If I stay to fight the best course of action is for me to draw on what energy I have inside of me. The only way to do that is for me to get extremely mad. If we run instead, we both know I won't be able to go anywhere. So I'm going to have to trust you on this one. You can get me angry, and hope I'll be able to draw enough to take them on. Or you can leave me behind, and hope I make it out alive." She arched a delicate eyebrow. "And either have Megumi on my back. Surely you don't really mean to have me as your bandages?" She smirked ever so slightly, such that he could tell it was a joke. "I was hoping for something a little more... far-sighted. We will be safe here a while, I assure you." And that was but of course, with the police suddenly tightening their patrols on the streets by virtue of an anomynous informant's tale, that arms smugglers were about. Anyone NOT of the similar warrior stock as those of the dynasty would be caught in no time. "Come on, I'm sure you'd make a great bandage." Eiji joked, then he changed his tone back to his normal one. "Well I'm not much of a planner so don't expect too much from me in that area. I normally do some spy work at my target a few nights prior to assualting it, but that's about it." Houkiku considered this, deciding between Eiji's great luck, or his brother's greater lack in integrety and skill about being stalked. it was safer to pick the former. "May I suggest......" * * * [End Part 1/Eiji]