Comments | soul_logs: Fall to Madness [Closed to those responding to SOS]

willing_sheath in soul_logs

Fall to Madness [Closed to those responding to SOS]

Oct 08, 2011 17:53

Characters: Himura Tomoe, Himura Kenshin, Kamiya Kaoru, potentially other people???

Location: Northeast edge of the city on the outskirts of the park

Rating: PG-13

Time: Dec 21st, early evening

Description: Tomoe encounters a section of the city where the madness wavelength has filtered in, as well as a kishin egg. After making an SOS post, Kenshin ( Read more... )

kamiya kaoru, himura tomoe, naoto shirogane, kenshin himura, kujaku

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I'm assuming Kaoru will follow him? maashiro October 10 2011, 00:59:45 UTC

Being on alert for S.O.S. calls was a standard requirement of an off-patrol Watch member-or for a rurouni who'd made it his life goal to protect people wherever he could. Many calls over the network were mistakes (like his own had been) or bumps and stumbles; however, the recent situation with Gamzee had put him on edge, and Kenshin was quick to take up his device the moment it received the alert.

...And then he was quick to throw it away from him, snatch up his sakabatou from the floor next to him, and rush for the door.

His face was white, he probably wasn't breathing, and his heart was hammering against his ribcage. Perhaps he'd been horrible in his dealings with Tomoe since she'd arrived with as lost as he'd felt; Sano and Kaoru had helped in their own ways, but he still had things with which he needed to come to terms. That he knew. But those problems didn't matter when he could see her in danger and had promised to protect her and this time keep that promise. She in that moment was the most important as he slammed his door ( ... )

willing_sheath October 18 2011, 03:38:41 UTC

There was a brief, fleeting moment when she'd thought he'd snapped out of it--in those days it had been her harsh bluntness that had cleared the fog away--but this wasn't the same. The Kenshin back then had been on the brink of losing himself, with this poisoned air it wasn't a matter of clearing his vision, it was a matter of pulling him back. She had no chance of doing that when she was the cause of him going over the edge in the first place.

Tomoe turned toward Kaoru more directly and she could see the other girl struggling with what to her still only felt like a lingering hiss on the fringe of her mind even here in what seemed the center of it. Her heart hammered in her chest like a gong, Kaoru's words echoing through her mind. And her eyes widened again, eyes looking past Kaoru, unfocused. "It does mean something..." her answer was soft, her blood-soaked hands going limp for the moment in Kaoru's.

Think of the one thing most important to you and focus on the feelings that thing represents.What was most important to her had been ( ... )

givingsword October 18 2011, 04:26:33 UTC

Kaoru stared at her with tears slipping down her cheeks. "Tomoe-san..." As she gripped her hands, she could feel the wind around them begin to stir, whipping her hair back, as she held the tessen in her hands. "I won't let you down, Tomoe-san. I..we'll do this together!" She could feel her heart race in overdrive, as her breath came back. A sense of strength filled her heart, no, that was it. It was her heart. That had always been Kaoru's strength, and now, with Tomoe as a fan in her hand, Kaoru could feel herself slowly rise to her legs.

The madness, that weight on her lungs, it was dissipating. She held the fan out, with both hands, as if it were a blade, no longer was she a girl in a kimono. She was the Shihandai, the proud heir to Koushijirou Kamiya, a swordsman. And she was going to do what her teachings said.

Revitalize.Still, that air was surrounding Kenshin. She had to trust Tomoe to support her as she walked back into it. "Kenshin. " Kaoru said simply, her smile a little tired, but assuring. "Wait for me. " She repeated ( ... )

maashiro October 19 2011, 02:47:02 UTC

Kenshin's face and body grew tenser when Kaoru rose and spoke to him, his maddened eyes not recognising that his wife had just turned into a tessen or that anything had changed about the meister. But the madness itself within him recognised resonance, and in turn it only turned around to double in strength as though to try to ward it off in advance-to spread it to the weapon and meister pair.

tenchuu tenchuu tenchuu tenchuu

It was forcing him to remember the days when he killed in the shadows. He didn't even see where he stood any more, only saw the rain of blood and the fall of bodies around him, the numbers that he could take out singlehandedly with the godspeed of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. He'd been lost in his blind belief in what he was doing was for the greater good, in a lack of purpose, in the scent of blood always on his tongue and staining his hands. But this time he didn't just teeter between sanity and madness. This time he accepted it, who he was as a hitokiri-that he would always taste death by his own hands, and he should ( ... )

willing_sheath October 20 2011, 02:12:41 UTC

It was odd how Tomoe could not see herself and yet she now intrinsically knew what her form was and had a general idea of what she could do. How was it that this concept seemed so horrifically foreign and alien a week ago and now, even though she still recognized it as being strange it seemed perfectly natural. It seemed right. Her vision in the form was strange-she could see even though she was aware that she had no body, no neck to turn her head, and yet she saw and could look up at Kaoru and over to Kenshin ( ... )

givingsword October 20 2011, 02:36:00 UTC

The meister in question felt the power surge inside of her, holding out the fan to stave off another approaching wave. Her face was worn, a drop of sweat trickling from her brow as she stood to lift her arm again.

And stopped.

It was only when she did so, that Tomoe's form began to actually burn the tips of her fingers. Her blue eyes were whisked away to a distant Japan, where fires and blood replaced the sunlight and warmth of the hometown she knew, with that of Kyoto. She stood riveted in Tomoe's memories, watching with blank eyes as the images assaulted her. A colder Kenshin, his passions dark, young, so implicitly young..

Beautiful Tomoe, giving him sake, helping him outside their house, their house. Husband and wife...

That look on his face as he looked at her..it made her throat close up, a tender smile playing across her face at his happiness, yet at the same time it was a clench in her gut. They looked perfect--. What was she doing here? What place could she possibly..(her fingers burned a little more).

What am...I doing ( ... )

maashiro October 20 2011, 03:38:12 UTC

By then Kenshin was gone, totally lost to his own madness and trapped inside his own mind. In the real world, at least, time was frozen, stopped in that instant where he had collapsed on the ground and stilled.

It was dark, but Kaoru probably would find herself cold as well. If she kept looking, the faint outline of trees might become clear, dark against a slightly lighter background-snow that crunched beneath the feet. She wouldn't know it, but Kenshin's mind had created for him an endless winter in the forest of barriers, a place where he could sit without sensing, without feeling.

But while the place was created in detail from the memory of a fifteen-year-old, the man who sat with his back to a tree was thirteen years older, even if his eyes were sharp and his face as harsh as the Battousai Kaoru had seen twice before. He tilted his head back, unmoving, unaware.

In this place he wouldn't have to feel any pain.

givingsword October 20 2011, 04:00:46 UTC

Kaoru shivered, her breath coming out in short puffs. I-It's freezing! And dark.. As she trudged ahead, she felt something crunch beneath her sandals, her blue eyes taking in the spidery shape of ..trees? Spiraling into an eerie sort of sky. Was that..snow?

She rubbed her hands together, about to call out his name again when her footfalls stopped. There was a man against a tree. Kaoru's face lit with relief as she began to run towards the tree.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru cried,running towards him as she slowed to a stop. A hitched breath escaped at the sight of his expression, the same expression she'd seen with Jin-e, with Saitou.

"Hey--..Kenshin. It's me. " She added gently, staring down at him with confused, concerned blue eyes. "I've come to take you back..okay? " Her voice was hopeful, as she managed an encouraging smile. "..I think you've been here enough."

maashiro October 24 2011, 00:57:42 UTC

He didn't move at first, didn't acknowledge her presence. He only looked up after a moment, and when he locked eyes with her, in one fluid motion he had his sword drawn and the edge at her throat.

But he didn't press. There was no pressure of steel to her skin, not even enough to draw a single drop of blood. But nor was there recognition in his strangely-coloured eyes beyond a distant flicker before he pushed her away, lowering his sword and turning his back.

"Don't come here."

givingsword October 24 2011, 01:42:50 UTC

Kaoru went completely still as the blade went to her throat. She wasn't afraid, that wasn't it--if anything, it only made her sad, as she stared into his face, trying to find any trace of the man she was looking for. She hadn't seen those eerie, amber eyes in a long time. She didn't think she'd have to. But as he pushed her back she stumbled, taking a step back.

She pursed her lips, swallowing. "I can't do that. I'm here, and I'm staying until we both leave together.I'm not going anywhere without you." Kaoru stated firmly, blue eyes narrowing with determination, as she planted her feet firmly in the snow.

maashiro October 24 2011, 16:27:16 UTC

The response was loud and rough as he whirled to bite out, "I said, 'Don't come here.'"

He didn't know who she was or why she was there, unless she was just to be used as Tomoe had been. And in that case he wanted her gone, wanted her to just leave him alone to dwell on his own memories however he wanted. She was breaching the circle of silence that the forest had created for him, that muffled quiet that let him be as blank as he could be.

"You have no business being here."

givingsword October 24 2011, 17:33:13 UTC

"You're wrong. If it has to do with you, it is my business." She snapped back heatedly, hands in tight fists. "Whether you want me here or not, Kenshin, I have come to take you back!" The wind whipped her body, and somewhere she could feel a dropping sound in her ears, that sensation that somewhere, she was sinking the longer she stayed.

Her voice softened, a gentle plead. "Kenshin..please. You've got to stop this. Giving up like this? That isn't you. " A lump formed in her throat. "Right now, your heart is in a lot of pain, isn't it? I know. I know that--...you said that the only way to protect others was to kill them. But I also know..that above all else, your heart Kenshin, wants to protect others--and doesn't want to truly destroy anything."

She bent down, her arms on her knees, staring at him with sad blue eyes. "A kind man, someone very important to me, told me that my belief in swords that couldn't kill was a naive lie. But he also told me..that he didn't want it to be just an idea. He wanted that to be a truth for himself ( ... )

maashiro October 30 2011, 18:14:59 UTC

Kenshin might have been able to ignore her, but the whipping wind caught him up, hard against him-the calming wind that was an effect of Kaoru's resonation with Tomoe. While it wasn't an immediate response, his tensed body relaxed and his eyes widened to stare at her, listening as she spoke.

And her words woke something in him. Recognition in his eyes went from flickering to flashing, vague highlights of his time in the Kamiya dojo flashing through his mind. Remembering.

"Kenshin... Kenshin..."Who was that man? Not Himura, not Battousai, only Kenshin. She'd said that to him once: that she didn't think of Kenshin as Battousai. That they were two different men and that he could live a new, different life with her. It wasn't about forgetting, or living in his guilt; it was a second chance. But a life not meant for atonement ( ... )

givingsword October 30 2011, 19:11:19 UTC

Kaoru breath hitched as he punched himself, her hand reaching out to grasp his arm, her eyes wide, pleading. She didn't realize her hand was shaking as she held his sleeve. I won't cower. I won't be like I was in Tokyo that day..or on that night--I won't!

What could she say? She wanted him to live with her, by her side. She wanted to see him smile a true smile, without any pain...She wanted his life to be filled with happiness, and warm people that loved him for who he was not who he had been.

And even though Kaoru had seen Battousai, she didn't deny it was a part of Kenshin, past or not. But she saw the man he wanted to be, and that was who she counted! Her heart was aching inside of her, as she thought of all the things she wanted to say. So much emotion in her heart it was fit to burst.

She tugged on his sleeve back and forth, lowering her head. "Idiot..you idiot. " Kaoru whispered, lifting eyes filled with tears. "How could you say that? 'No good'? A lost path? I never want to hear those words from you again!" Her voice rose ( ... )

maashiro October 31 2011, 02:28:30 UTC

"Oh, but I do run from my sins."

Kenshin's voice was quiet, and he looked away from Kaoru when he spoke. He couldn't face her like this, not when she was baring her soul to him and he could hardly bear to show her his. But he had to. He knew he had to, when she was reaching out like that, and there was a desperate desire deep within in him for someone to hear everything he kept in, to know it and accept all of him. And if there was one person he knew could do that, it was Kaoru.

"I've been running from them for ten years, trying to find a way to put them behind me. And I hardly expected to see the worst sin of all face me once more in this city."

His hand turned under hers, returning that pressure just barely-so lightly.

"But it's not about running from it any more, is it. I need to face that past and accept it ( ... )

givingsword October 31 2011, 03:30:42 UTC

She stared at him, as he avoided her gaze, and her heart went in her throat. No...no don't---don't push me away anymore. Please. She wanted to say it but she could only stare in a slight stupor as her eyes went to his hand in hers, as he spoke ( ... )

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