Part VIII

It was a sunny day in the city, in a park with an ice cream stand. Children were laughing and playing in the grass, pigeons were riding the breeze, and by a stone table underneath a tree, two people sat together and talked.

Between them sat an enormous cardboard box, held together by silver duct tape and prayers. Kaoru held her box cutter uncomfortably, and Battousai leaned against the back of his chair casually. The silence was oddly comfortable; she felt like there was no rush. Still, her curiosity won out, so she sliced open the tape holding the box closed and pulled it open with feigned uncaring.

He saw right through her and smiled slightly, helping her pry it open and examine the contents. Two manila folders, one labeled 'precious' and one labeled, 'me'. Three wrapped packages: two in what looked like squares of unhemmed cotton, tied with twine, and one in maroon velvet. A long, newspaper-wrapped package that she could tell had been the reason the box was so big. The rest of the empty space was filled with Styrofoam pellets.

She reached for the longest package first, ripping off the taped up newspaper (it was all personal ads) and shoving it back in the box. It turned out to be a shinai, with some odd markings on the handle.

"Unbreakable." He explained. She nodded.

"Thanks." Next, she pulled out the three small packages. First, she opened one of the cotton-wrapped ones. It contained the Devil's Eye.

"Most people can't handle it without being either obsessed with it or burned by it. You were fine with it, so I thought it might be safer with you."

In a twisted way, it was flattering, to think he trusted her with this, his first steal. She picked up the second package. It contained a perfectly cut crystal jewel the size of a quarter. It almost looked...like a giant diamond...nah, it was just some crystal.

"The legendary Diamond of Althahar. It has no special properties, but it's pretty. I didn't steal it, so you can probably call it a family inheritance and make jewelry out of it or something."

"Thanks." She managed again faintly. A diamond? What the heck? How was she supposed to interpret that, anyways?

The final, velvet package was full of small round things in assorted colors.

"Jelly beans?"

"No, power enhancers in assorted flavors."

Now she turned to the manila folders. The first one contained a few sheets of rough paper scrawled on with charcoal. A primitive sort of birth certificate, listing the birth of 'Shinta.' No surname was given, and it was too smeared in some places to read. If it weren't in a plastic cover, she was sure it would be illegible. The rest of the sheets were similar, containing a poorly drawn family tree and a sketch of three figures.

"Where I was born, it was too impoverished to afford anything more. My parents," he pointed at the two adults in the sketch, "and me. Before they died."

Words seemed awkward as they jammed in her throat, so she sealed up the folder again and moved to the second. It contained the list of powers form her category test.

"It says I showed potential for telepathy, mind-reading, telekinesis, flashing, and...water manipulation."

"Flashing is making light, water manipulation is making water move."

"Cool."

She repacked the box, feeling more miserable by the minute. The sudden depression was without cause; it simply came upon her, like a summer thunderstorm. She rose heavily, refuse his offer to carry the box, and simply looked at him. He was smiling, still, and he shook her hand. As she turned to leave, chest hurting, he whispered something only she heard.

"By the way, precious...my name is Kenshin. Sayonara."

Walking away, words unsaid burning inside her like fire, she had the feeling she'd missed something. Lost something. Forgotten something.

Something important.

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...wow. That was completely depressing. But at least, this story is over...it was so hard to write...and just in case it wasn't clear, Kenshin fights both Soujiro and Shishio twice. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Flames? You know what to do.

Review! ...still thinking she's missed some loose end somewhere, chickentyrant5.