*Disclaimer: Skellig does not belong to me, but to the wonderful author, David Almond. Nor does Rurouni Kenshin; Watsuki-san has dibs on that*

~Skellig~

.....Man, Bird, or Angel? Who or what, is Skellig?

Kaoru Kamiya and her brother, Yahiko, were looking forward to moving into a new house. It was all going to be wonderful. It had to be, perfect for the newest addition to the family.

But then the baby becomes ill, and everyone is frantic. How will Kaoru and Yahiko cope with it? Their whole world is shaken, and even more because of the discovery Kaoru found in their new home's crumbling garage.

What is this thing, beneath the spiderwebs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never seen before? The only person Kaoru is able to confide in is her new friend and neighbor, Tomoe, and soon, Yahiko joins the secret. Together, they carry the creature out into the light, and all three of their lives are changed forever and intertwined, along with Skellig.

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"Kaoru! Hey, Kaoru!"

She didn't answer. Her back was towards him, and her head was craned up to look at the run-down house.

What had made her parents choose to leave their beautiful dojo and trade it for this?

"BUSU!! What are you doing? Kaasan's calling for you! She says needs help with the baby-"

Before he had finished speaking, his sister had broke from her trance and whirled down on him, baring her teeth.

"Don't call me that," she yelled. Before she could punch him, Yahiko scowled and looked at the ground.

"It's the only way to get your attention. What was I supposed to do?"

Kaoru's fist halted, and it went to her side. She stared at him, feeling slightly guilty. She then shook it off; she hated feeling so vulnerable.

"Sorry," said Kaoru, firmly. She sighed, then stood with him, both facing the house now.

"What do you think?"

He gave an indifferent shrug. "It's all right."

She gave the house a glare. "It's hideous."

Yahiko scuffed his shoe against the ground, looking at her with an annoyed expression.

"If looks meant so much to you, why don't you look at yourself?"

"Yahi-"

"KAORU!! Kaoru-chan, where are you?"

Kaoru held her tongue, giving Yahiko a punch to the head as she stalked off to the doorway, where their mother stood. Yahiko spat after her.

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The baby had no name.

When their parents had announced to Yahiko and Kaoru that their Kaasan was pregnant, all Kaoru had felt was shock, excitement, then joy. She did not feel uneasy about the coming of a new sibling; it was simply against her nature. But Yahiko had gone through all the brooding, wondering how much everything would change, if he was going to be replaced. As the younger of the two, he was more babied then Kaoru, and as much as he protested against his mother's fondling, Kaoru knew that he was afraid of the baby stealing all of her affections.

"Don't worry," Kaoru had said one day, finding Yahiko working himself into a sweat in the training hall, venting his frustration. "If it was like you thought, then Kaasan wouldn't pay any attention to me at all."

"She....doesn't!" he grunted angrily, striking down with his shinai. Her eyes had opened wide then.

"You brat!" she hissed angrily, walking over to grab her shinai as well. She spun around on her bare heels, walking back to Yahiko, shinai raised and pointing at him angrily.

"I'm trying to help you-" She struck hard; Yahiko blocked. She withdrew the shinai, getting ready to strike him again. She breathed deeply, her anger flaring. "I'm...trying...to help..."

They glared at each other.

She jumped up and swung down with so much force that Yahiko's legs buckled, causing him to falter, stumbling backwards, shinai still up.

"And you say something like that? How dare you?!"

He has no idea...how much that hurts...

"HYAAH!!" she screamed, swinging the shinai at his side. He moved to block, but it was an awkward position and her stroke was swift.

He wasn't wearing protective gear.

Yahiko cried out and fell over, one hand clutching his side, the other clutching the handle of his shinai. Kaoru stood over him, still angry, but through her fury she knew that what she had just done was seriously harmful. She should apologize, check how much he was going to bruise...

Instead...

"I can't believe you!" she spat, quickly putting her shinai onto the holder, than striding quickly to the exit of the hall.

"Ergh!" she heard Yahiko growl from behind her. She kept walking away, but her ears alert. She heard him get up. "Get back here!" he cried angrily. "Get back here!"

She ignored him and walked away.

~*~

That encounter had shaken her for a few days, though she did not show it at all.

She had noticed that after training with their father and his other students, that Yahiko would lean back against the wall, and clutch his side when he thought nobody was looking. At the few times when he caught her staring at him, he glared back defiantly, showing no pain on his face, though his hand still clutched his side...he hadn't tattled on her, of course. It was like their sibling code of honor and pride. Any frustrations they had, they would keep it to each other, away from anyone else.

Only after a week and a half did Yahiko stop clutching his side.

The rational part of Kaoru was sorry and guilty for the injury she had caused to Yahiko. Her temper said otherwise.

He deserved it, he's so ungrateful, I always look out for him and he still acts like that...

What he had said hurt her. Scarred her. Nights after that fight, she would weep in bed, because she knew it was almost true.

Yahiko had their mother, and Kaoru had their father. During kendo tournaments, both parents would be there, but it would be Kaoru's father who would come to see her especially right after a win or a loss.

It's because he's our sensei, Kaoru argued. So of course he would come out, it's not supposed to set standards against Kaasan-

But why was it, whenever Yahiko had a score or a loss, that their mother would run out to him and congragulate him almost right after he stepped out of the box? And after Kaoru's fights, she would wait by the stands pleasantly, a smile on her face, waiting for Kaoru and her father to come to her?

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~Owari~

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Author's Notes:

What's the easiest way to describe this fic? ...A crossover. -_-' Though I don't like to think of it that way. It is simply the basic plot of the Skellig storyline, mixed with a few select characters of Rurouni Kenshin. In fact, this is turning out pretty different from the book, aside from the much found angst, and the other thing that is about to be found...

Skellig is by David Almond, very talented, if you ask me. If you like this fic at all (but you should read this a little more before deciding that, ne?), then maybe you should try borrowing this book from the library! ^_^