Drabbling - The Refuge
So I had intended to have these posted a little more often than once a month, but life has a tendency to go barreling past me. Anywho, here's another drabble for you, a next installation in the universe from my previous drabble post (found here). Hope you like it. As always, feedback is appreciated ^_^.
Oh, and a warning I should have given on the last one, this is completely AU.
Malevolence
Sano let loose a string of expletives even as he lifted Kaoru into his arms, alarmed at how weightless she seemed. The girl had always been petite, but Sano really didn’t want to think about the sharp angle of bone he felt against his hands. And he really didn't want to think about the icy cold that seeped through her wet clothes.
“Meg!” He pushed through the back door, calling for the healer even as he took the stairs to the upper levels two at a time.
Megumi popped her head from around a corner just in time to see him disappearing up another flight of stairs. She was about to yell at him, a snide comeback on the tip of her tongue, when her brain caught up with what she was seeing and it registered two very important things at once - Sano was carrying someone upstairs and leaving a trail of splattered crimson in his wake.
Megumi cursed under her breath as she dashed back into her rooms to snatch her medical bag before racing up the stairs after Sanosuke. By the time she arrived, Sano had already laid the woman out on the rug in front of the hearth and was coaxing dormant embers back to life. She was lying on her side facing the fire, but even though Megumi couldn't see her face, the waist-length raven hair left little doubt in her mind as to who it was.
"Kaoru?" She hurried over, careful not to slip in the blood and rainwater puddled on the hardwood floor. Coming around so she faced the girl, Megumi's suspicions were confirmed.
“What happened to her?” she asked, brushing back the other woman’s bangs, fingers recoiling from the frozen skin that should have been burning hot.
“I don’t know,” Sano answered, feeding wood to the growing fire, the tightness in his voice betraying his worry.
“Get that fire going as high and as hot as you can,” Megumi ordered, as she quickly inspected Kaoru’s body looking for the source of all the blood. “Dehydrated… malnourished…” she murmured, tone analytical. “What have you done to yourself, Kaoru?”
Gently, Megumi turned her over. Lifting the hem of Kaoru’s ruined leather jacket, she gasped at the sight of the blood-soaked shirt clinging to Kaoru’s skin. As quickly but as gently as she could, the healer pulled Kaoru’s arms from the wet leather. The girl groaned in pain despite her unconsciousness as her bloodied t-shirt was revealed. Afraid to move the girl any more lest she aggravate the wounds further, Megumi grabbed the shears from her bag and carefully cut the back of the thin, cotton shirt from hem to neck. Slowly pealing fabric from where it stuck to the oozing blood, she exposed Kaoru’s back.
“Oh… oh gods…” she breathed, her voice catching on the tears that burned her throat. Sano turned away from the now-blazing fire to see what had caused Megumi’s cool exterior to crack. Sano's words colored the air blue at what he saw.
Deep, wicked slashes crisscrossed Kaoru’s pale skin. The flow of blood had slowed and Megumi could see the skin attempting to knit back together, but the lacerations glowed with an angry purple-black haze that seemed to be preventing the flesh from regenerating as quickly as should have. Fingers of the malevolent color reached out from the edges of the wounds, snaking their way across the undamaged flesh of Kaoru’s neck and arms even as Megumi and Sanosuke watched.
“What the hell is that?”
Megumi didn’t answer, but quickly went to work weaving the spell that she hoped would slow the poisonous magic eating its way through the unconscious woman. When her hands began to glow with healing purity, she reached out toward Kaoru. The moment the light touched shadow, sparks flashed and Megumi was thrown backward. Her head cracked against the exposed brick, staining them an even deeper red with her blood as she slumped sideways
“Shit! Meg!” Sano was at her side in an instant.
“Sano, find Kenshin. I can’t break it,” she whispered staring up at him with eyes that didn’t want to focus.
Exploring carefully, he found the quickly-growing knot at the base of the healer’s skull. “Meg, what is going on?”
Blinking to clear her vision, Megumi watched as a misty shape formed over Kaoru’s wounded flesh - a translucent black rose, thorny and weeping blood - the sign of the one who’d attacked her.
“Shadow’s mark… it’s killing her.”
Oh, and a warning I should have given on the last one, this is completely AU.
Malevolence
Sano let loose a string of expletives even as he lifted Kaoru into his arms, alarmed at how weightless she seemed. The girl had always been petite, but Sano really didn’t want to think about the sharp angle of bone he felt against his hands. And he really didn't want to think about the icy cold that seeped through her wet clothes.
“Meg!” He pushed through the back door, calling for the healer even as he took the stairs to the upper levels two at a time.
Megumi popped her head from around a corner just in time to see him disappearing up another flight of stairs. She was about to yell at him, a snide comeback on the tip of her tongue, when her brain caught up with what she was seeing and it registered two very important things at once - Sano was carrying someone upstairs and leaving a trail of splattered crimson in his wake.
Megumi cursed under her breath as she dashed back into her rooms to snatch her medical bag before racing up the stairs after Sanosuke. By the time she arrived, Sano had already laid the woman out on the rug in front of the hearth and was coaxing dormant embers back to life. She was lying on her side facing the fire, but even though Megumi couldn't see her face, the waist-length raven hair left little doubt in her mind as to who it was.
"Kaoru?" She hurried over, careful not to slip in the blood and rainwater puddled on the hardwood floor. Coming around so she faced the girl, Megumi's suspicions were confirmed.
“What happened to her?” she asked, brushing back the other woman’s bangs, fingers recoiling from the frozen skin that should have been burning hot.
“I don’t know,” Sano answered, feeding wood to the growing fire, the tightness in his voice betraying his worry.
“Get that fire going as high and as hot as you can,” Megumi ordered, as she quickly inspected Kaoru’s body looking for the source of all the blood. “Dehydrated… malnourished…” she murmured, tone analytical. “What have you done to yourself, Kaoru?”
Gently, Megumi turned her over. Lifting the hem of Kaoru’s ruined leather jacket, she gasped at the sight of the blood-soaked shirt clinging to Kaoru’s skin. As quickly but as gently as she could, the healer pulled Kaoru’s arms from the wet leather. The girl groaned in pain despite her unconsciousness as her bloodied t-shirt was revealed. Afraid to move the girl any more lest she aggravate the wounds further, Megumi grabbed the shears from her bag and carefully cut the back of the thin, cotton shirt from hem to neck. Slowly pealing fabric from where it stuck to the oozing blood, she exposed Kaoru’s back.
“Oh… oh gods…” she breathed, her voice catching on the tears that burned her throat. Sano turned away from the now-blazing fire to see what had caused Megumi’s cool exterior to crack. Sano's words colored the air blue at what he saw.
Deep, wicked slashes crisscrossed Kaoru’s pale skin. The flow of blood had slowed and Megumi could see the skin attempting to knit back together, but the lacerations glowed with an angry purple-black haze that seemed to be preventing the flesh from regenerating as quickly as should have. Fingers of the malevolent color reached out from the edges of the wounds, snaking their way across the undamaged flesh of Kaoru’s neck and arms even as Megumi and Sanosuke watched.
“What the hell is that?”
Megumi didn’t answer, but quickly went to work weaving the spell that she hoped would slow the poisonous magic eating its way through the unconscious woman. When her hands began to glow with healing purity, she reached out toward Kaoru. The moment the light touched shadow, sparks flashed and Megumi was thrown backward. Her head cracked against the exposed brick, staining them an even deeper red with her blood as she slumped sideways
“Shit! Meg!” Sano was at her side in an instant.
“Sano, find Kenshin. I can’t break it,” she whispered staring up at him with eyes that didn’t want to focus.
Exploring carefully, he found the quickly-growing knot at the base of the healer’s skull. “Meg, what is going on?”
Blinking to clear her vision, Megumi watched as a misty shape formed over Kaoru’s wounded flesh - a translucent black rose, thorny and weeping blood - the sign of the one who’d attacked her.
“Shadow’s mark… it’s killing her.”