Subject: [KFFDISC] Along the Stream (part 3)
    Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 01:13:56 EDT
    From: Ranma1517730129@aol.com
Reply-To: kffdisc@nabiki.com
      To: kffdisc@nabiki.com


The last part :)

_________________________________

The Present Day: Yahiko and Sanosuke:

    "Hey! You mean Asuka and Reika don't you? They are really bad girls..."
Sanosuke was slightly blushing as if remembering something lewd.

    "DON'T TELL ME!" Yahiko fairly yelled before Sano could continue.
"Whatever it is I just don't want to know...Anyway..."

The Streets: two weeks before the Kamiya Dojo:

Suki and Yuki were talking about some scandalous girl running a dojo...Oh who
cares. Women should be able to run their own dojo if they wanted to, though
it was beyond Yahiko why anyone would ever take kenjutsu from a woman. When
they saw him approach Suki smiled warmly at him staying as silent as the
grave. Yuki on the other hand had other ideas. "I heard...That the Yakuza
geisha is going to meet someone special tonight. How I came by this
information I can't tell you...But I was also told that he was in a deal to
purchase her off of the Boss. Of course you know this stuff can be
so...Exaggerated...But I hear that she is being sold for almost 800 Mon. I can
only imagine what one could buy with 800 Mon. Whyever would they waste it on
a geisha?" She was smiling a sick plastered smile and Yahiko almost felt the
need to beat it off of her. Not now though...Later...He had to get home. He had
to stop Yuka from going out. To be sold now would set them apart for life.
She would never be aloud to leave...He would never see her again. She was his
mother, his only parent in this horrible world. She couldn't be sold like
that. NEVER!

Each step brought him closer and closer to the place they called home, but it
felt as if he were running in waist high mud. Each step was far too slow. The
sun had sunk below the horizon at least ten minutes before and the landscape
was darkening. If he could just get there in time she would hear what he had
to say. They would sneak out together. Family honor was one thing, but
protecting others was always honorable. Maybe one day he could just pay off
the Yakuza anonymously. "YUKA!!!" He screamed as he ran into the building
and Kentsu stopped him.

"She left hours ago. From what I hear, she won't be back for at least the
rest of the night. Give your tribute to the boss and be off to bed
Yahiko-chan."

"Don't call me chan you bastard!" He dropped the wallets to the ground.
"Here give em' to him yourself ya' scum!"

"GO AHEAD! Run Yahiko-chan! Makes my life easier..."

 He ran back out toward the city. Where could she be? Tokyo was huge...If she
had gone by carriage she could be anywhere by now. His feet felt like lead
and he felt his hope sliding from his fingertips. "It isn't fair...She
wouldn't let them. Yuka wouldn't let them sell her, not when she finally had
enough to set herself free." He wandered the streets and the back alleys. So
many horrible things happened in the streets at night. He wished that he
could say he was shocked but he wasn't. A ramshackle opium den operated three
streets down from where the open-air market had been just a few hours ago.
Women solicited themselves on the streets like his mother had done once so
long ago. They beckoned to the men, and sometimes the women. Two streets down
from that a brawl was starting in a drinking establishment. A street down
from that a man sat in a ball whimpering and vomiting in turns. Hallucinating
from kami-knew-what. It was then that he noticed the teahouse. It had been
four hours since he started his journey, but for whatever reason he felt some
small bit of confidence. Didn't she go to teahouses? He would slip inside and
see for himself.

The teahouse was not a large open room, but a small receiving area and a
bunch of larger rooms. Yahiko peeked into two rooms before he found the
desired room. There, in the corner, his Yuka was smiling and laughing. One of
the men suggested a song and two other women got up with Yuka. A shorter
woman picked up a shamisen and began to play a tune, while Yuka sang a duet
with the other girl. At first they stood still, but then they began to do a
simple elegant dance. Yahiko wanted to burst in and tell Yuka what was really
going on. Obviously she had no idea what lay in store for her. She would
never dance and sing if she new the man who had been making her laugh only a
few minutes before had bought her like a farm animal.

"HEY! WHO ARE YOU!?!" Yahiko stared up at an angry looking woman and felt
his stomach drop out of his body. He didn't even notice her walk up to him.
She held him up at arms length and then promptly threw him out of the
building. "Grow up...Maybe I'll see you again sometime."

"Not likely BUSU!" He ran from the building. When he knew she definitely
hadn't pursued him he turned back around. It was almost two o'clock before
Yahiko got back to the teahouse and he went to the windows that looked into
the rooms to the right. She would be in there. He could wait for the evening
to end and he would tell her all about the sale. They would run away
together. Everything would be fine. His face was set and determined when he
hoisted himself up. He felt his nervous heart beating wildly in his breast,
and then the world came crashing down. The room was empty! How could it
possibly be empty? They had just been there. If they were gone though...That
meant that she would be on her way home. She would be furious if Yahiko was
out all night.

    "Yep...She'll be furious." Yahiko had run most of the way home. At the
end of his run though he felt each step get slower and slower. He was
exhausted. It was nearly three in the morning. Yuka would have his head for
breakfast.  Myojin, Yahiko walked past the gate guard. He frowned at Yahiko
noticeably.

"Did you see Kentsu tonight?" The guard was regarding him like a piece of
bad meat.

"Yeah...Why?"

" Oh...Nothing."

Yahiko slightly shook. Somehow he had the feeling he should avoid the main
entrance. Yuka would beat him senseless if the boss were angry. Yuka...For some
odd reason he felt urgency now. He was so close, so close to seeing her
again. A shriek escaped his lips at what he found. The tall flower stand was
pulled to the center of the room and a perfect porcelain doll hung limply
from the ceiling inches away. Her feet swinging too far from the ground. It
was horrific. Every nightmare...Every demon clawed for his soul as he fought to
breathe over the urge to vomit or cry. Another scream tore from his throat as
he tried to hold the body up. She felt so heavy. Like the world was on his
shoulders. He felt hot tears streaming down his face. "YUKA! YUKA! Please
don't die. I can't...I Can't hold you...You have to untie it...You have to..." In
the meantime every light had gone on in the den. Men ran toward the shared
room. Yahiko was thrown away by some nameless face into a corner as three
other men helped to get the body down. The Boss was up and cursing. He paced
the floor now lit by candles and lanterns. The room glowed as brightly as if
it were day. Yahiko saw only the darkness.

    The boss found the note first. It was scrawled quickly. It was short and
to the point. It held none of Yuka's love for life. She was a broken woman
when she wrote the note. It read like this:

"All things return to the earth,

    I think that I shall go there too. When Kentsu told me that Yahiko was
dead...I knew that it was my fate, as his parent to follow. You see? You
couldn't separate us! You should have just sold me...Left Yahiko alive and
well. You thought you would break me by killing him, I am not so weak. Honor
bids me to his side."

They had tried to trick her, to break her spirit, as they had broken so many
before. Yuka had taken that from them. Yahiko knew now that he would leave
them soon. He would escape...He would wait for the right time, and everything
would be perfect. They would have their dream. Even if she would never live
to see it Yahiko would be free and in doing so he would set her spirit free.
Each day he became more and more willful. They couldn't control his anger.
Two weeks later, he finally found his chance in a man with long red hair and
a scar on his cheek.


The present: Yahiko and Sanosuke:

    He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Sano." He didn't cry. He missed Yuka,
but he had promised himself that in her memory he wouldn't cry. She wouldn't
have wanted his sorrow. She would be his last failure. He couldn't save his
mother from the sickness she had gotten whilst whoring herself out for his
protection. He hadn't arrived home in time to save Yuka from herself. "I
promised myself that night that I would never get too close again. I wouldn't
have to bury another soul...because I would make myself unreachable. I guess it
sounds...Childish...But I don't have anything else. If I get too close to Kaoru,
or Kenshin, Megumi, or you. If any of you were to die, I don't know how I
could take it. Then...When Kenshin came back like that it was like I felt the
pain all over again."

    "I remember looking at Sagara Taicho's head. It was on display for the
whole world to see. The Meiji government was daring anyone to defy them. I
drew into myself that day. I lost myself in the pain. For years I knew
nothing but anger, pain, and frustration. I became someone else. I was
Zanza...This untouchable thing, that only wanted to fight. I lashed out with my
pain. It didn't help Yahiko...Of course it took me a long time to figure it
out. I had help. The people we've met. Yahiko, they're so special. Each one
because they were lonely, like me, like you. The past is just that. It's the
past."

    "You don't understand. I can't do it again! I JUST CAN'T!" He felt a
tear rolling slowly down his cheek and he scrubbed at it furiously.

"Then don't!" He looked over at Yahiko and stood up. He extended his arm out
to Yahiko. "Start over." He was holding his hand out and Yahiko remembered
Yuka. Her warm smile reached him from across the void of time; she stood next
to Sagara Sanosuke her hand wrapped delicately around the fingers of the
bandaged street fighter. He reached out with his own hand and his fingers
wrapped around his wrist. He felt himself hauled to his feet. "Each one of
us. We promised the others that we wouldn't die in some way or another. Me,
Kaoru, Kenshin, and even you. We all promised we would make it back to Tokyo.
If we live up to the little goals, each day, we will go a little farther. I
certainly have no reason to die just yet. Kenshin...Well Kenshin will heal
eventually. Jo-chan won't let him die. That girl has enough spirit for
everyone. As for Kaoru, I think that Kenshin loves her too much to let go. I
don't think he'd ever admit it...But it's there." "Megumi, well she's
lonely, but I think she's been coming out of her shell lately. She was so
different when we first met. It's like...A flower...Which reminds me, I better
get back soon."

    "Hey chicken-head...You got a crush on Megumi?" Yahiko was smiling again.
The first smile since the joke at the Shirobeko. "I told you that you were
two of a kind..."

    Sano quickly grabbed his gi and hauled him forward into the water. Yahiko
sputtered angrily and he cursed at Sanosuke whilst the laughing form of Yuka
faded away. The laughing form of Sanosuke however stayed solid. "That's not
fair!" He launched himself out of the water and toward the shore. He chased
the longer legged man up the bank and over the bridge in the direction of the
Aoiya. He always stayed only one step ahead, although Yahiko knew Sanosuke
could have left him behind at any time.

"That's right Yahiko! Never give up!" Sano yelled over his shoulder

That day Yahiko made a new pledge. He would love each person that came into
and out of his life, and no matter what...He would never give up again.





Ok, I guess this is it huh? I had to write a fic for Yahiko. I felt bad for
the kid. I hope this isn't too morose. I didn't know exactly when or how
Yuka was going to die till it flowed from my fingertips. My husband says I'm
evil. : ) Oh well. Just in case you were wondering, yes this is called
foreshadowing with a sledgehammer. I figured that Yahiko was a little too
relaxed about his surrogate sister dying, even though he never really saw
anything. Poor kid. Like he hasn't been through enough without my help. I
thought, ya' know, what if Yahiko had a story that ended in a pledge to keep
going no matter what. It would really explain why his feelings toward Sano
were so angry when he ran away from his problems again. I believe he said
something like. "Come back and you'll see that I could keep it together..."
Or some such comment close to that. Looks like Sano didn't keep up his side
of the bargain at first huh? Poor Sano, some people just fall apart so fast
people get hit by the shrapnel huh? Hope you enjoyed this. It's my second try
at a RK fic of my own...If only I could get on with my Ryoga Chapter...Hmmmm.
Calger and I will have another Omakae coming out this week : ) I'll see what
I can do about keeping the old spelling errors to a minimum. I am not exactly
the best at this. If you pick up anything at all...E-MAIL. Thanks for reading
and reviewing everyone!