The floor clanged shut again, leaving a panting young sword student and a grim hitokiri behind.
They weren't surprised.
Han'nya was less than amazed himself. Hitokiri Battousai had been legendary for his ability to penetrate the most highly guarded chambers, even with little to no advance warning. Ki alone couldn't explain it.
You know the value of intelligence. And you know where to find it, when anyone else would think it impossible.
It was good to know twenty years hadn't dulled the assassin's blade.
"Such struggle is unnecessary." The blue blade was low, casual; almost not a guard at all. "Won't you let us pass?"
And then again... "Commands of the okashira-" Han'nya scraped the knuckles of his gauntlets against each other, relishing the keening, "-are absolute."
Yes. Not a flinch of eye or body; but that darker glint in Battousai's ki spoke of pain.
So. He is of Sunrider blood, as we suspected. Their hearing is excellent... and vulnerable.
"A fight seems inevitable." The lightsaber rose; a deceptively relaxed guard, continuing the line of a bent knee. "Yet against such skill, one cannot hold back."
"The same to you." He settled into stance, grinning behind his mask. "Let's go."
Reverse-strike!
Himura was a narrow-eyed blur, moving aside-
All the force of durasteel impacted against the unscarred cheek, drawing blood.
Surprised you, have I, Battousai? It won't be the last time.
A whirl, and his backhand blasted the redhead to the floor.
He's down!
Exulting, Han'nya drew back a fist, flung it forward with all his anger to crush-
Found himself knuckle-deep in marble dust, as the hitokiri rose to his feet yards away.
Fast little human.
"You idiot!" The youth's feet almost impacted with Himura's head. "What are you getting all beat up for? You're faster than that!"
"Speed is not all of the Hiten, Yahiko-kun." Violet studied the onmitsu, beginning to glint blue. "Timing. That is the key. Punches, strikes, dodged by a paper's width. But at the last moment-" steel-blue narrowed, "-his arms stretched!"
So it would seem, yes. "What's wrong, Battousai?" Han'nya stalked forward, closing the distance once more. "Surely your powers are more than this!" The redhead did not flinch, but the boy behind him was sweating. Only a little more, and he would break... Yes. Fear me, little Jedi-to-be. Your kind cannot survive our world. You should not even try. "If you can't even break my spell, you won't last a minute against the okashira!"
Fear crested, delicious boost to shadow's power-
Vanished, in a casual shift of Battousai's hands on his lightsaber grip. "A spell, is it?" His stance settled, firm and triangular; his arm extended higher than the familiar sword-form of seigan, blade parallel to the ground and pointing at his enemy's forehead. "Annoying... yet easily broken."
"Kenshin? What the heck-?"
Of course, the boy wouldn't know. He should. He should know what he sees destroyed. "The form of shinken," Han'nya growled. "An ancient defensive stance, that allows its user to react instantly to any change in his opponent's strikes. But defensive! Don't tell me you shrink from this!"
Silence.
"Answer me!"
The swordsman only stared at him. Steady. Unflinching. Peaceful.
Is this the true face of the legendary hitokiri?
"I was a fool to offer you respect!" The onmitsu gathered rage and calculation; let it flow like lava through his veins, driving him forward. "A being like you... you've no right to face the okashira!"
You die where you stand!
His left fist shattered air past the length of glowing blue, darkness extending the force of his punch beyond the reach of flesh and bone-
Brushed through only a fringe of scarlet bangs.
Impact.
The onmitsu reeled back, mask cracked and splitting, head ringing in the wake of a 'saber-strike that should have cleft him from crown to navel.
The rumors are true... he uses the gentle blow. But why...?
Yahiko's delight was a searing light in ki. "You figured it out!"
"Uh-huh." A smile tickled Battousai's aura. "Kaoru-dono has told you, the eyes can deceive. The sideways stripes are the outer layer, tricking the senses; within - the strength of ki, to stretch the force of muscle and bone beyond what one can physically touch, and land a direct blow at the very moment of dodging. The shadow strike." The hitokiri's voice rose slightly. "One regrets to tell you, Han'nya-san, one has seen that spell before. The Yaminobu, within the Forest of Barriers, knew it well."
He survived the Yaminobu onmitsu. "So... your shinken was not only defense! Your blade held parallel, to measure the true distance-"
"-And as the lightsaber is the weapon strongest within ki, one could sense its length against the force of your blow." The red head dipped slightly. "Again, one will say this fight is unnecessary."
"Never more necessary." Han'nya clenched his fists, releasing vibroblade claws from the black of each gauntlet. "Beyond me is my okashira - my reason to live! You go no farther!"
Claws out, he charged.
---------------
"Yahhh!"
Fumbling his blaster out in the fluxing artificial gravity of the chute, Sanosuke tried not to tangle himself up in a pair of samurai. Good thing Jou-chan likes ponytails; loose hair in this would strangle us all...
His stomach yelped and objected, as the up-and-sideways rattle of powered repulsors gave way to the drop of true gravity. The fall wasn't much, just ten misty feet into what seemed like an ordinary, if slightly spiky, cluster of vines-
Sano fired.
The twisted plant squealed and writhed, tumbling away before they landed.
Obi-Wan touched down on spongy moss with a samurai's uncanny grace, staring about the damp, and sometimes slavering, greenery with a look of pure shock. "What is this place?"
"Kiya!" Kaoru came down in a slashing crouch, the touch of her 'saber searing back a filmy web in a wisp of purplish smoke. The shoumi no tsuta shuddered, sinking back against its host tree's trunk.
"Private greenhouse," Sano stated. "Carnivorous plants. Slightly dangerous. Where Kanryuu does a lot of entertaining." Weren't you listening when Kenshin told you?
"Sagara, where I come from, slightly dangerous does not include eats people!"
"Oh. Yeah."
"Heh. Like a samurai's got anything to worry about." The voice was deep. Amused.
And came with an electric crackle, as something ruby and bright lashed towards Sano's face.
Move!
The smuggler trusted the impulse, flinging up his blaster even as he rolled aside. Lightwhip! Oh, man...
Smoking, the two halves of Sano's weapon fell aside.
The red lash recoiled, hovering near wild dark hair, a scar-laced smirk. "Keeper of the castle gate, Edo... Shikijou."
Big, Sano admitted, taking in the scars that netted bare chest and face, the muscles that defied the scars. Not as massive as that flame-thrower, but big.
And where the flame-breathing onmitsu's eyes had still been human... Shikijou's were pure, angry yellow.
"My way to say hello." Ruby writhed. "Hello!"
Sano dodged the snap of energy; saw Kaoru slap the whip sideways and duck, before the lash could tangle her 'saber. "I don't suppose we could possibly talk about this?" Obi-Wan sighed.
"Nothing to talk about. Best guys go to the best guys. Han'nya gets your little friend." Scarred lips curled, twisting the word. "And I get the third-rate leftovers."
"Third-rate?" Kaoru fumed, rising into stance.
"Calm. Use the Force. Think," Obi-Wan murmured. "With someone so enmeshed in the Dark Side, this will not be an easy battle..."
"Easy fight's not what he wants." Brushing vine-bits off his jacket, Sano stepped into plain view. "What say we make this a little more interesting, muscle-head?"
The whip coiled, but didn't strike, wary of a trap. "You got a death-wish, little smuggler?"
"Nah... just like to play the odds." Sano smirked right back, covering the knot in his gut. Greenhouse is going to eat me alive anyway. Don't care how good Kaoru and Kenobi are, they can't cover me and fight an onmitsu at the same time. "One on one. No blasters. No lightwhips. No blood-sucking leaf-molds; those two'll keep 'em off both of us. Just you, me - and we'll see who's third-rate."
"Hah!" Shikijou snorted, a wave of hand flinging aside a hollow-thorned branch that had crept too close. "And you expect me to believe that?"
"We're samurai," Kaoru said firmly, 'saber casting blue shadows over her hair. "If that's what Sano wants, you have our word." She glanced at Kenobi.
"Fight with honor," the off-worlder said thoughtfully, lifting his wooden blade to guard. "And do try to stay alive, would you?"
Kind of the plan, yeah... where's his mind blasted off to? Looks like he's systems away.
Shaking his head, Shikijou grinned toothily, and let the lightwhip fall.
Fist smashed against fist.
---------------
"Best guys go to the best guys."
Obi-Wan guarded the perimeter of the brawl, leaning on Kaoru's strength in the Living Force to determine what of the savage greenery was and was not a danger. Trained hands parried, thrust, and slashed, while the rest of his mind was distinctly elsewhere.
Kaoru may not have full training, but she's far from weak. And this man thinks her third-rate?
Meaning the one Han'nya had apparently won the privilege of facing... well, it certainly wasn't Yahiko.
Qui-Gon is laughing at me, I'm sure of it.
Obi-Wan had grown up surrounded by skilled Jedi. Lived and fought surrounded by those with even more skill; Anakin was one of the best, and when they'd worked with other Jedi in the Clone Wars, only the strongest were usually by the Negotiator's side. Even twenty years on Tatooine, surrounded by ordinary people, hadn't shaken that ingrained impression: anyone skilled in the Force near him would be near Master level in strength. Always.
He made it look so utterly simple. Infiltrating the hospital. Rescuing me. Planning this assault.
An innocent, wide-eyed young man - almost four decades young - who had known Katsura. And Yamagata. And Saigo. Whose rare scars had sparked Master Densetsu's respect... and a flash of concealed fear.
The same fear I raised in Yamagata. He knew who I was. He could see it.
Saigo's torturer had needed a name and a gene-scan to know - but Saigo had been of Satsuma. Not Choushuu.
A red-haired wanderer, desperately trying to remain unnoticed by the law, with healing skills even a Jedi Master might be hard-pressed to match.
"I'm not hiding anyone."
A wry smile touched Obi-Wan's face. After all, if his suspicions were correct, Gensai-isha had been telling the exact truth.
Yet they can't be. Whatever his reasons, Owen's son was a killer. An assassin. And Kenshin is-
"One is not a Jedi. One never could be."
But Yamagata recognized me. Which implies some sort of physical resemblance-
Reddish hair. A pale complexion. The hands and build of a swordsman, even writ small. That rare, dancing light in violet eyes, when the younger man knew he'd won - his opponent just didn't know it yet.
Kaoru's smaller than Hana. Many of these folk are small, lanky souls like Sano notwithstanding. Partly Miasma, Gensai says, too many episodes without medication can stunt growth permanently...
You're avoiding the question. Stop. Face the truth.
See Hana and Kaoru in your mind. See the changes, mother to daughter. Give those changes to your images of Owen...
Oh. Dear. Stars.
"Orah!"
Skull crashed against skull hard enough to make Obi-Wan shudder.
"Oh. Sorry. Didn't mean the head-butt." Teeth glistened in Shikijou's smile as he stepped back from the reeling smuggler. "My whole life's been a battle. Body kind of moves on its own."
Too true, Obi-Wan knew, even as Kaoru bit back a mutter of disbelief. In the midst of the Clone Wars, he'd found out the hard way that even a Jedi could fall into... unsavory habits.
The clonetrooper he'd Force-thrown against a bulkhead hadn't suffered worse than a fractured shoulder. Fortunately. And from then on, the rest of the Third Army had been quite a bit more careful in waking him up.
"Impressive your skull wasn't crushed. But you'd better count on being woozy a while yet." Large fingers flexed, reddened from Sano's grip. "Hard head. I think I like you, kid. Why not cut ties with these jokers and join up with us?"
"Sano, no-!"
"Mind on the present," Obi-Wan called to her, blowing back a cloud of vile-looking pollen with a wave of one hand. "This fight is Sanosuke's choice, not ours." And if he Falls...
That, too, is his choice. Not ours.
Though what we must do if he does - is not a choice. We are Jedi.
"If it's your past, don't worry. You're strong. That's all that counts." Shikijou jerked a thumb toward himself. "Me, I worked as onmitsu in Satsuma, for the Ishin Shishi. And then the government. Then... well, I infiltrated Edo Castle, to get dirt on Yoshinobu. Shinomori Aoshi took me down. Thirteen, and already okashira!" The thumb moved on, absently indicating a network of scars. "Join me, he said. Learn the ways of the Oniwabanshuu, and become unstoppable. And he was true to his word!"
Driven to one knee, Sano breathed hard, focus scattered. "This Aoshi... sounds like quite a guy."
No. Despair was of the Dark Side; Obi-Wan would not yield to it. But it hurt.
Yet... Kaoru is not afraid. Why?
"You said it!" Shikijou exulted. "If it'd been him in Kyoto, hunting patriots - he'd be the legend!"
The legend. Obi-Wan's denial melted like snow in Tatooine's suns, fact meeting that pulse of Dark fear and exultation to fuse into truth. It was a trap.
Just not for us.
What little he knew of Sith philosophy - dangerous subject that it was - revolved around power. Victory was not victory unless your enemy knew you had crushed him. Utterly.
Which was how Sano had been able to lure Shikijou into this fight. The onmitsu obviously prided himself on his strength. Yet by Sith standards, if one enemy could stand against it, even in a draw, all that strength meant nothing.
And Aoshi is not the legend. Kenshin is.
No. Battousai is.
"A hitokiri - assassin - during the Bakumatsu. Long dead by this time, one hopes..."
Amazing, how much the younger man hadn't lied to him. It was... oddly warming.
Like the growing Light beside him, as Kaoru's hope jumped from spark to full flame.
"The Oniwabanshuu are strong," Sano admitted, brown eyes coming back into focus. "Your fire-breather, your Fireryo poison-thrower... deadly fighters, all of you. Still," the smuggler grinned wryly, blood trickling from his lip, "that's all."
Fingers curling into fists, Shikijou stared at his enemy.
"Shinomori Aoshi surrounds himself with the strongest of all. But," Sano braced a hand against scuffed dirt, getting his feet under him, "that's all you are."
"What...?"
"You're strong. But nothing else. All that keeps you together is strength. The fight is everything." The bloodied head lifted. "But Kenshin is different."
Is he? Obi-Wan read the patterns of Force swirling about his young comrades, searching for truth. Searching for the reasons Kaoru might have - well, she hadn't lied to a fellow Jedi. Not exactly.
"The little samurai-firecracker over there, Yahiko - even Megumi." Sano smiled wryly. "They're together because of him. He may be just a rurouni, but when battle starts to swirl around him..."
Shikijou lunged in, no longer grinning. "You think you can judge us?"
"Kenshin never wields his blade for himself!" Sano caught one fist, fingers crunching inward. "He carries that lightsaber to protect people!" The other fist was caught, muscle and bone straining. "You Oniwabanshuu drown in your own strength. Look at you! Pawns of Takeda Kanryuu. Is that what you think legends are made of?" Arm strained against brawny arm - yet it was scarred muscle that was giving way. "Compared to Himura Kenshin, you're nothing!"
Fixed on the drama, Obi-Wan almost missed the rope of greenery dropping past his eyes. Almost.
Sith-spawned - laser-brained - space, is this native, or did Takeda import these monsters from Kashyyyk's deathtrap of a forest?
Given Kaoru's steady focus as she moved in to sear his would-be devourer, the blasted stuff was native. Wonderful.
And here I'd thought this ecosystem was along the lines of Naboo. He ducked and twisted, one thorn skimming close enough to tingle his cheek. After all, Rim-world or not, Miasma or not, the natives are human. Or close to it. Not Wookies.
If it were like Kashyyyk, though... well, it certainly explained why the Empire kept a very loose grip. Layered deathtrap was one of the kinder descriptions of that world. Outside of blast-cleared bases, no one survived Kashyyyk's ecology who hadn't grown up with it.
Or who dwelled in the will of the Force. As Quinlan Vos did.
The shadow-haunted Kiffar Jedi who had Fallen, once, and only won his way back to the Light by luck, repentance, and sheer will. Who had been Dooku's assassin...
Quin - knew his own demons, he said. Accepted them, where other Jedi could not, to give him an advantage. I didn't believe him then, but... he claimed the shadows in his soul were instinct. Natural, like a Corellian sand-panther's venomous claws. That they could keep him alive, when reason and meditation failed.
If he was right...
Star's End. No wonder the first survivors here made a truce! Jedi or Sith - anyone who could use the Force would have to be trained, just to give their people a chance to survive-
Fingers snapped; Sano drew back, and drove one punch into Shikijou's forehead.
That, had to hurt.
"That's what I'm talking about, numbskull!" Sano stood, wavering. "Your head's hard as mine, but that doesn't mean either of 'em... can't be hurt..."
Glassy-eyed, the onmitsu crumpled.
"You ever get the chance, Shikijou... face Kenshin." Knuckles red and split, Sano took one long step away. "Maybe you can get back something you lost, all those years ago." He gave Kaoru a shaky smile. "So, how many Oniwabanshuu you think are in this joint? One more like that guy, and..."
Obi-Wan caught the unconscious smuggler, trying not to stagger. "Door?"
"That way," Kaoru nodded. A wave of her hand lifted Shikijou's limp form; she caught his glance, and reddened. "Well, I can't just leave him to be chewed on!"
"Of course not." The Jedi grinned. "After all, I've found dropping a body's worth of weight on top of folk armed with blasters tends to distract them."
"You're awful!" Kaoru sputtered, almost knocking the man's already-cracked skull against a solid trunk as she hopped over encroaching greenery toward the glassteel doors. "And you wouldn't do it, either."
"Well... not unless I were in a tearing hurry, no..."
---------------
No time. No time!
Kaoru was Edokko. Born and raised to danger. Trained - carefully - to deal with even the wilder areas near town, in case bad went to worse and she ended up on campaign in the backwoods of the planet. But a piece of Yamato's pure forests breathing down their necks was more than any sane person wanted to handle.
A wave of Obi-Wan's hand blew the doors open, and they were out, in a saner, safer night.
I am Jedi. I will not panic... and I will never, ever let fear stop me from doing what is right.
But I really don't want to go back in there.
Not that I want to go in here, either...
Setting Shikijou down on the stone walk, she drew in a breath, and darted for the mansion's back door. :Yahiko?:
Panic wow scary guy boom Kenshin scarier guy want to help can't-!
:Yahiko, breathe!:
Still lugging Sano, Obi-Wan hit the door by her. Frowned at the lock - which sparked. "Kenshin took Han'nya down, and now he's fighting someone else?"
"Up in the ballroom," Kaoru nodded, fighting the urge to kick the door as the lock grudgingly groaned open. Yahiko needed a lot more practice at sending clear images, but the tumbling cascade had details enough, once you sorted it.
Azure lightsaber snared in vibro-claws.
Two bodies twisting free, to land against the ceiling on opposite sides of the hallway. Bounding down again, red passing stripes-
A splash of blood. Han'nya falling, claws shattered.
Snatch of hand on gi collar, as Kenshin sped up elegant stairs, to dart through an open door...
To stop, facing a tall young man in onmitsu black and gray, covered by a striking white trenchcoat. Long black bangs drifted across green eyes, flickering ever so slightly with amber sparks.
"You who followed us, at the Medical Center..."
"Shinomori Aoshi."
Feet touched floor again, as Kenshin set Yahiko down behind him. "What was said to Han'nya is now said to you. This one would avoid battle when possible. Will you not let us pass, and tell us where Katsuhiro and Megumi-dono are?"
"And did Han'nya let you pass?" A cold shadow of a smile. "He didn't, did he?"
A slow, red nod. "So you have left them in Kanryuu's keeping. A man who would use a healer to murder, and worse than murder."
"It's nothing personal. Himura Kenshin. First of the Ishin Shishi."
"You don't fight for Kanryuu, then. Any of you."
The okashira's face never changed. "Of course not. Who cares what happens to that scum?"
"As Oniwabanshuu of Edo Castle, then. For the Tokugawa Bakufu, crushed by the Revolution."
"A patriot must know of the acts of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, at the battle of Toba Fushimi."
"...Yes." Sadness in violet eyes. "His forces were outnumbered. He fled Osaka Castle with his senior officers on his warship, to Edo... leaving ten thousand men behind to fight and die."
"Many at your hands."
Kenshin did not flinch. "He sought sanctuary at the Kan-Eiji temple, entrusting all to Katsu Kaishuu, who in conference with Saigo Takamori, agreed to avoid battle at Edo Castle. So the most key castle of all was taken without bloodshed."
"Thus ended the Bakumatsu," the okashira said coldly, "Without the Oniwabanshuu ever seeing combat. That stain on our honor chains us to the past, strangling our future!"
"One regrets those chains. But one did not forge them. Where," Kenshin asked softly, "might we find Kanryuu?"
Kote-shielded hands opened the coat, revealing a long, sheathed blade. "Have the child stand back... and ask for their location with your lightsaber!"
And they're fighting right now Kaoru help-!
"A metal blade?" Obi-Wan jumped across yet another threshold after her; how big was this mansion? "Against a lightsaber?"
"Tenbesukaa!" Kaoru flung over her shoulder; jumping and rolling over a polished black marble kitchen counter, ducking as a wailing chef droid tossed cutlery at them. "It won't short the 'saber out, but... and it's a kodachi! He'll be controlling the range."
"Stars..."
She could hear the battle rooms away; clangs and sears and the dull thuds that spoke of bone and flesh connecting-
"Die."
Leaving Obi-Wan and Sano behind in a burst of frantic speed, she hit the ballroom doors, tumbling into the flux of light and darkness. And froze.
There was a small, still red lump on the floor.
No...
"Kaiten Kenbu. Used to finish all who would intrude on Edo Castle." The onmitsu's gaze sought Yahiko's, then hers. "It's over. He's dead."
No!
"You shut up!" Yahiko's knuckles were white on wood. "You get me next-"
"No, he doesn't," Kaoru said sharply. Close. The Dark Side's so close. "He gets us."
"Spirit." There wasn't even a smile on Shinomori's face. "I'm almost sorry to kill you."
The hells you will. Obi-Wan had caught sight of the scene and blanched, unceremoniously dropping a still-woozy Sano to stand at her side. Three of us, one of you. You're going down!
"Kamiya Kasshin... will not die here." Still bleeding from three slashes across the chest, the rurouni got to unsteady feet. "Nor this one either."
Obi-Wan let out a breath of pure, shaky relief.
Aoshi flinched, sweat starting down one cheek. "Are you immortal...?"
"Afraid not." Torn red cotton gaped open, exposing a shimmer of green and violet, dancing over leather.
Onmitsu calm cracked in a strangled hiss of frustration. "Kote! You - weren't wearing them..."
"One can be forgetful, time to time." Humor faded, into troubled sincerity. "Aoshi. Enough."
"No." Amber flamed in green. "This battle is still between us. And you are wounded, and slowed. My clan's honor will be cleansed. The title of most powerful - will be ours!"
What... is this...?
"Illusion," Obi-Wan breathed beside her, as Aoshi's image seemed to split into a dozen whirling figures, all circling Kenshin with flowing speed. "The strongest mind trick I've ever seen."
"It's what he used before!" Yahiko yelped. "Kenshin, look out-!"
The lightsaber spun away.
"Movement you may hide," Kenshin panted, on one knee, "but the moment you focus to strike..."
"That," Kaoru said numbly, focused on the steel-blue length caught between Kenshin's bleeding palms, "is the blade-catch."
Beside her breathed relief, and an odd twinge of concern. "Indeed."
"If you want the title of most powerful so much, Aoshi - have it," Kenshin said grimly. "It's just one more burden to carry. The only things that matter are one's friends, who are waiting-" muscles tensed, metal vibrating, "-and those who need this one's help!"
Ow.
The kodachi's hilt arrowed into the onmitsu's throat, drawing a spray of blood. Aoshi wavered back, stunned. Tried to draw breath-
"Oh, that's a mistake," Obi-Wan muttered behind her.
-Coughed, and crumpled in a heap of white and black.
"Never take a deep breath after a strike like that." Obi-Wan was rubbing his own throat, as if touched by an old memory. "You'll choke. And in the middle of a fight, well..."
"Um." Kaoru made her way over to the panting redhead. "Not that I'm complaining, exactly..."
Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "As I believe Kaoru's a bit too polite to say, Kenshin, didn't we need to ask him something?"
Kaoru gave Obi-Wan a dirty look. Felt Yahiko joining her. Great. Do I tell him that's unworthy of a Jedi, or appreciate his ability to read the intent of his teacher? Decisions, decisions.
"One doesn't need to ask." Gingerly, Kenshin knelt by the okashira's stunned form. "Forgive this one, Aoshi-san. Megumi-dono's life will not be hostage to your silence." Reaching out, he brushed back black bangs, touched fingertips to the sweating forehead.
"Ughh... what'd I miss?" Leaning on the doorway, Sano blinked at her, then past her. "Whoa. Is Kenshin doing what I think he's doing?"
"What is he doing?" Yahiko asked warily.
"Something rather questionable, at best." Obi-Wan's voice was grim. "To plunder the secrets of another's mind..."
Yahiko gulped. "My 'Kaasan never said samurai could do that."
"Not too many can," Sanosuke muttered. "Captain Sagara said he only heard of one or two who could-" He cut himself off. "Um... does anybody else have a really bad feeling about this place?"
Subtly moving her 'saber to first guard position, feeling the pulse of hatred and fear behind elegant walls, Kaoru gave Sano a wry look. "Didn't you listen when Kenshin told you?"
Which was when the automated heavy blasters opened up.
I could really, really get to hate Obi-Wan's policy on traps...
---------------
It wasn't a mission, not as he'd known them; serving the will of the Council and Senate, the will of the Force sometimes only an afterthought. It wasn't a rescue - not as he'd carried out in the war, with known Jedi or clones beside him. It wasn't even his lightsaber.
It couldn't matter.
The Force brought it to his hand with the slightest tug of will; Obi-Wan ignited it in a blaze of amber-
Amber?
-Ignored his own startled gasp, sinking into the Force with Kaoru to parry and defend without the need of thought.
When we get out of here, I need to do kata. It's been too long since I've used Soresu.
At least these were programmed blaster emplacements, not stormtroopers. And not well programmed, at that. The energy bolts were sloppy, overlapping; easy to parry, even for a man years out of practice.
Which was well and good, given the four defenseless people they had to protect.
Hurry, Kenshin. Sano's too impulsive for us to protect him for long - and I am badly out of practice. If I miss-
A small hand snatched back from Aoshi's forehead as if scalded. Dove into a pocket of the okashira's outfit, drawing out-
A datachip?
Three bolts came almost as one, and Obi-Wan knew, knew, he wouldn't deflect them all-
Eerie steel sang, glancing a bolt into the floor.
Kaoru was right. That alloy is blast-resistant.
A passing thought. Less than a whisper in the wind, as he trusted instinct and the Living Force to guide him. Four defenseless had become three, which meant he could turn some of his parries from mere deflection...
To attack.
A bolt zipped in at just the angle he wanted; the Jedi batted it back, searing out one blaster in a blast of sparks. One down meant less bolts coming in, meaning more room to parry, deflect, reflect-
A linked chain of crackling blasts, and all but one blaster was silent.
And that would be our problem. "Takeda Kanryuu, I presume." Obi-Wan inclined his head toward the frothing man behind the blast shield, never missing a stroke. "I believe this is where we discuss the terms for your surrender?"
The yell that came back wasn't exactly coherent - something about buying power, and obsolete samurai, and becoming someone of true power in the Empire-
A shadow wafted overhead.
Smash.
Kenshin stood over the semi-conscious drug dealer, shoulders drooping with weariness, Aoshi's kodachi a cold glimmer in his hands.
He turned the blade, Obi-Wan realized, shutting down Kenshin's lightsaber as the blaster went silent. Hit him with the spine, so it wouldn't cut. Kanryuu is alive.
Most warriors wouldn't have bothered. Many Jedi wouldn't have bothered.
He truly doesn't want to kill...
Kenshin cast away steel as if it burned, lifting his head by pure will. "Those stairs. The second flight. There's an observatory. Katsu and Megumi-dono are there. Go!"
"But what about-" Sano started, looking at the rousing okashira.
"He left her a knife. The belief we would not come. And the truth - if she tried to escape, Katsu would take his own life. Hurry!"
Kaoru was half a step behind him.
The observatory was locked. Silent.
"Arghh! Stupid door!"
Hands still raised to trigger the 'saber on, Obi-Wan traded a glance with Kaoru, then followed the fuming smuggler through wrecked wood.
Megumi's not the only one with a knife.
"Whoa," Yahiko breathed, skidding to the left side. "Oh, man - and I thought we got lucky when there weren't more guys in here!"
"Katsu!" Sano stopped just inside the threshold, paling. "C'mon, buddy, put the pig-sticker down..."
Edge poised by his carotid artery, Katsu didn't twitch. Only breathed, and blinked, eyes lost in a dreamy haze.
"He can't hear you." Megumi stood by one of the far windows, long knife in hand, sweat trickling down the side of her face. "He doesn't have the training to break the spell. Or the strength. It took me years to break mine..." A wry, hopeless smile washed over her face, like an ebbing tide. "And in the end, it didn't matter anyway, did it?"
"It matters!" Kaoru slid past Sano, keeping half an eye on Katsu as she reached out to the older woman. "Megumi, it matters."
"Silly little girl. You don't even know what I've done." Megumi's eyes closed. "So many deaths, just to stay alive a little longer."
"You were lost," Kaoru said firmly, edging forward one careful step at a time. "You were alone. People do horrible things when they're alone."
Like Anakin, Obi-Wan realized, troubled. He was never alone - but Palpatine made him feel that he was. Alone, and trapped...
"But you stopped," Kaoru went on, blue eyes searching hopeless brown. "You stopped, Megumi. You fought back."
"Fought?" A ghastly smile. "I'm a healer of Takani, little swordswoman. I could have killed Kanryuu with a touch. If I'd only had the courage."
"Touching the Dark Side to kill isn't courage," Obi-Wan said flatly. "It's cowardice. And you, Takani Megumi, healer who defied Kanryuu and the Oniwabanshuu - you are not a coward."
"Am I not?" A slow shake of long black hair. "I felt Ken-san die down there. And too many people have died for me-"
"But not," a quiet, familiar voice broke in, "this one."
Megumi stared.
He does look a mess, Obi-Wan thought, glancing over his shoulder. Bruised, bloodied, all but wavering on his feet - the rurouni had obviously seen better nights.
But the bruises and the blood and the slow, ragged breaths, all told even the most hopeless eyes one tale: the man was alive.
"One had to convince Aoshi one was down, and finished," Kenshin said apologetically. "One's truly sorry you were deceived as well." A sunny smile. "But you are not hurt. That's what's important."
"Oh." Megumi blinked, eyes wet. "That's good." Her arm lifted. "I'm so glad to have met you. At least now... I know it'll be clean."
I was afraid of that! Obi-Wan reached out with hand and will, feeling Kaoru reach with him, even as Megumi's own desperation fought them both-
Blood flew.
"The hell you think you're doing?"
Dripping red, Sano yanked the knife from Megumi's hand. "These idiots risked their lives for you. We all damn near got killed for you. And you want to throw that all away?"
"But..." Megumi dropped into a window-seat, near voiceless. "Katsu will die if I escape. One more death, after all I've done, and your friend... I can't. Don't you understand? I can't."
"Sometimes, what seems a choice is only another trap," Obi-Wan said evenly. "Have you considered that your death might be counted as an escape?"
Megumi turned white.
Good. She's thinking. The Jedi turned to Kaoru. "I'm unfamiliar with this level of suggestion. How would you proceed?"
Kaoru shook her head, eyes wide. "I can reach out to people, but to twist things like that..." Her gaze sought Kenshin's.
Of course.
"He's gonna hate you after this," Sano said conversationally. "Samurai moving stuff never bothered him. But messing with minds? Freaks Katsu out big time."
"He should hate this one." Kenshin's shoulders lifted, dropped wearily. "To tamper with another's mind, even with the best of intent... it is the darkest of shadows. Sometimes, beyond shadows." He sighed. "A moment. One only needs..."
You need a lot more than that. Obi-Wan moved close enough to touch the younger man's shoulder. "Let us help."
"No!"
Fear pain denial-
"No," Kenshin said again, glancing at Kaoru, then Yahiko's eager face. "You do not know the danger. The risk! One will not allow it!"
"Then let me help."
"You?" Violet looked up to meet his gaze, disbelieving.
Obi-Wan smiled wryly. "I'm not entirely innocent, Himura. I lived through a war. I lost many friends." So many. And I'm still alive. Sometimes I'm not sure how I can bear it. "I assure you I've... crossed the line. Once or twice."
"It is dangerous," Kenshin said deliberately. "The spells of onmitsu are woven with anger, and fear."
The Dark Side. "I understand."
"No, you don't," Kenshin said softly, taking his right hand. Reaching out with his own free hand, to lay fingers on Katsu's pulse above steel. "But you will."
---------------
Storm.
It raged about him. Howled within him. Blew the fierce thrusts of his will aside, like so many gossamer threads.
Don't fight the wind, baka deshi. Walk with it.
Eyes closed, Kenshin drew ruthlessly on the light behind him. Strength was there and strength he needed; Katsu's life would depend on how swiftly he could slash the chains of onmitsu compulsion.
There.
Dark. Heavy. Twisting a soul already inclined to shadow deeper still, so that what a whole mind would consider suicidal only seemed right, and sane.
Wake.
Chains clanked. Strained.
Wake.
Within the compulsion, Katsu's self peeked out. Shuddered, and shrank away.
But the storm was his, was Battousai's; he was part of it, and no chains or fear would deny his will. Wake up, you selfish bastard, before Kenobi Falls and I kill you myself-!
Lightning struck.
---------------
"Obi-Wan?" Kaoru's hand was on his shoulder, shaking him. "Obi-Wan!"
The Jedi sucked in a breath, shuddering. "What happened?"
Sano snorted. "Before or after you two decided to redecorate the room?"
"We what?" Obi-Wan said blankly. Blinked, and looked at-
Shattered glass. Splintered wood. Scorch marks scattered like a handful of popped grain, smoke still rising from four of them.
Force lightning? But who- how-?
Yet from the odd, tingling itch in his hands, he knew very well who.
I couldn't have, I- The Jedi shivered, feeling an unaccustomed urge to panic. Plo Koon. Remember Master Koon. Just because I've cast lightning, doesn't mean I've touched the Darkness. I'd know if I had.
Wouldn't I?
"One told you." Kenshin's voice was unsteady, as the rurouni backed away from a very much awake and horrified Katsuhiro. "We unmade the chains. The energy had to go somewhere."
That does make sense. In a way. Obi-Wan felt... well, rather as he imagined the barrel of a blaster would, after the charge had passed through. Not hurt, precisely. But not exactly comfortable, and all but twitching with worry that another finger would stray toward the trigger-
"Demon!"
Kenshin barely dodged the punch. "Katsuhiro-san, now is not the time-"
"Get away from me! I'll kill you!" Hands clawed, Katsu lunged.
"Hey. Hey!" Sano snared his copilot from behind, holding tight as the man struggled, wild-eyed. "Katsu! Chill, okay?"
"Oni no ko! Nogitsune!" Katsu bucked and swore; fell back against stronger arms, panting. "He's a demon, Sano! Shoot him already!"
"Nobody's shooting anybody," Kaoru said flatly, stepping between them with an angry light in her eyes. "You hear me? Kenshin was trying to help you, Katsu-"
"I don't need a demon's help," Katsu spat. "You invited that in, Kamiya? What makes you think it's even human?"
"Now, that's quite enough," Obi-Wan said firmly. "Really. Tsukioka, you know as well as I no one picks up a Kyotoko accent simply hanging around Tokyo, so there's no way in the galaxy he could be any kind of shape-shifting alien..." His voice trailed off, as he noted every pair of eyes gazing at him with various degrees of disbelief. "Have I missed something?"
"You don't know about kitsune?" Yahiko said warily.
"There is no reason he would," Kenshin observed. "One doesn't think they care for spaceships."
"Oh, and you know this," Katsu grated out.
Obi-Wan felt a shift in the Force, and headed for the window overlooking the courtyard. "Whether he knows or not, we currently have bigger problems."
Armor clattered. Stun-bolts rang out. Bodies were flung to the ground, manacles clamped on every whole wrist.
"The Guard!" Kaoru gasped.
"This, is bad," Sano pointed out, slowly releasing his partner. "Guess your slice ran out. Come on," he grabbed for Megumi's hand, "we gotta get out of here-"
Twisting free of his grip, she stepped away.
"Are you nuts?"
"Ken-san." Megumi's hand opened, holding a small ointment box. "From my family. It stops bleeding. Use some until you can see a doctor." Her eyes lifted to one of the ornamental ceiling panels. "Kanryuu built a secret passage up there. You can leave through that, and escape." A wistful smile on her face, she stepped into the doorway.
"Megumi-dono." Kenshin's voice was level. Somber. "A ki-user caught in illegal activities will be executed. Is this what you want?"
Shoulders straight, she paused. "People have died from the drugs I created. There's no running from that. I am a Takani. The lives I've taken will be paid for... with my own life."
Head high, she walked out of sight.
We can't let her do this. Obi-Wan sought Kaoru's bright gaze. We can't!
"The ie... the ariitu... it's all we have," Kaoru said thickly. "All that protects us on this world. If she doesn't... cleanse her family's honor... then if any of them are alive, it could-" her knuckles whitened, "-hurt them."
An honor culture, the Jedi realized. Your reputation is everything. If Megumi escaped, and her crimes were known - all of her family would pay the price.
Stars. I didn't realize. The risk Kaoru has put herself in, claiming me as kin... we must leave here. For her sake-
Where is he going?
The rurouni was a white-and-red ghost down the hall, shadowing Megumi's deliberate tread.
"Oh, bother," Obi-Wan breathed.
"Oh no," Kaoru said faintly.
"A fair amount of those down there are stormtroopers," Obi-Wan observed, heading after him. "As long as not too many of the officers see us, a mind trick should do it." Admit the truth, the Jedi told himself wryly. You're too curious for your own good, and you can't bear to walk away safely without seeing what he's up to.
"Inspector, we've found it!" a young man in uniform called out, hurrying across the ballroom toward an older man in Imperial gray. "Hidden chambers in the basement... and the greenhouses!"
"Seize it!" His superior looked grimly satisfied, shoving up his glasses as he glanced over the growing band of manacled prisoners. "They're all part of the ring. Hold every last one!"
An efficient Imperial. Blast.
"Always hoped we'd have a chance to get in here," the Inspector muttered, looking over the seared and shattered ballroom. "Glad it came sooner rather than later. Though I'd never have expected this..."
Megumi stepped into clear view.
"That's her! The maker of the drugs you're looking for! My partner in crime!" Battered and trickling blood from a fractured jaw, Kanryuu struggled against the stormtroopers holding him. "No escape for you, Megumi! Whatever you say, you're still the one who made it. I'm taking you with me to hell!"
The Inspector spared one dark glare for his captive, then turned a stern look on Megumi. "Is this true?"
I don't think a mind trick is going to work on this man...
Megumi swallowed. "It... is..."
Battered hands covered her mouth. "Not true, Uramura-san."
"Himura-san?" the Inspector gasped.
They know each other? Obi-Wan blinked, feeling the patterns of the Force settle. It's going to be all right. I don't know how, but...
Wait. The voice is right - this is that Uramura. Who told Yamagata that-
Oh. My. This is interesting.
Megumi mumbled a protest against Kenshin's fingers. The rurouni ignored her efforts. "This young lady was the protege of a great doctor, which is why she was coerced into shaping the herbs that hold raw Spider's Web," Kenshin said cheerfully.
"What?" Kanryuu sputtered. "Liar! She's-"
"You be quiet."
Shivering, Kanryuu shrank back against the stormtroopers.
"Right, Yahiko? Kaoru-dono?"
"Absolutely true," Kaoru nodded, fighting not to grin.
"Yes sir!" Yahiko gave the Inspector a jaunty half-salute. "Tokyo samurai Myojin Yahiko, here! Would I defend a drug smuggler? No sir, I would not!"
"Don't overact," Obi-Wan murmured. Put on his best diplomatic smile as Uramura's gaze found him. "Ah... I was simply assisting my dojo master, of course."
Kaoru's smile warmed him to the bone.
"Don't look at me," Sano grumbled as the Inspector turned that skeptical look his way. "I came for my idiot partner, here."
"Hey!" Katsu hissed.
"And the fight," Sano went on, not missing a beat. "But if you guys insist on arresting her," he cracked his knuckles, "I could get back my second wind."
"So that's how it is, Inspector," Kenshin said firmly.
Uramura raised an eyebrow.
Kenshin blinked, innocently.
Reputation, Obi-Wan knew, fighting not to laugh. Or sweat. You're using yours to defend hers. But a crime of this magnitude, that can't possibly-
"Fair enough," Uramura smiled. "If Himura-san says it, then it's the truth."
"What?" Kanryuu sputtered. "What the... what?!? That woman is my accomplice! You-"
"What are you waiting for?" Uramura said dryly, eyeing the troopers. "Arrest this man."
"Yes, sir!"
And if I needed any more proof. Obi-Wan didn't try to hide his smile as white armor dragged the screaming drug dealer away. Bravely done. But dangerous. Uramura will have to report this...
So I'll have to know what he reports, won't I?
"Ken-san?" Megumi whispered, as the officers moved away to start recording prisoners. "Why did you...?"
"'The lives I've taken will be paid for with my own life.' That's one way to look at it. But they don't come back when you die." Kenshin's hand brushed the saber hanging from his belt. "Lives can also be paid for by the sword, redeeming other lives. That is why, despite the danger, one is still a rurouni, even in the time of Meiji." The ointment box danced between his fingers. "And medicine like this can save even more than one lone sword." He tossed the box back to her. "Become a doctor, Megumi-dono. Help. Heal." Again, that brilliant smile. "Come home."
"Right!" Kaoru thrust a fist into the air. "Let's go get a bath started - er, Inspector?"
"I'd just like a moment with your student," Uramura stated, approaching. "If that's all right?"
"Of - course," Kaoru stammered. "Um..."
Yahiko rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine, busu."
"Hey!"
"Ah, to be young again, and certain you know more than all about you," Obi-Wan sighed, watching Uramura stalk off out of earshot with the boy. "A fate I wouldn't wish on anyone."
"He will be okay, right?" Kaoru said under her breath.
"He's a street kid, he'll be fine," Sano shrugged. "Uramura, though..."
"Yeah. How did you get him to back off?" Katsu gave Kenshin a very wary look.
"Oro?"
Obi-Wan let Kenshin's efforts to deflect attention fade into the background, stretching out his senses to catch Uramura's frustrated lecture to a child far too young to be risking his life on damn-fool idealistic crusades. A well-meaning Imperial. Unusual.
"-So which one did you think you were, Kenobi or Skywalker?"
He didn't just say...
Yahiko gave the officer a sideways look. "Kenobi's over there. And who's Skywalker?"
Uramura's jaw dropped.
Oh dear. "Excuse me a moment, Kamiya-sensei," Obi-Wan sighed. "I believe I need to go pry Yahiko's toes from his teeth."
---------------
He can't be. He just... can't be.
Can or not, he's coming this way...
Distracted, Uramura shoved Myojin back toward his teacher, issued the necessary orders to turn everything in Takeda's mansion upside down and shake it. Physical, data, everything. The more that was seized, the less Kanryuu would have to bargain with. And the itachi-niku would try to bargain, he was sure of it.
Gods, let him not know who just caught him.
"Inspector Uramura." The man himself stood before him; calm, wooden bokken over his shoulder, a hint of wry humor in the glint of sea-blue eyes.
"Kenobi," Uramura said shakily, voice low. The face was... not quite the same as the holos of a young boy's memories. Clean-shaven, and more sober than it had been even at the height of the Clone Wars. "General Kenobi."
"Perhaps we should discuss this outside."
Yes. Very wise. Away from his men, away from the Rebel-allied Kamiya dojo, certainly away from Himura...
Did he say, my dojo master?
His boots clicked on the cobbled path of the courtyard, drowning out the softer slap of Kenobi's sandals. "I only have one favor to ask of you, sir." Uramura drew in a deep breath of Tokyo's night, grounding himself. "If you and Himura-san decide you need to do something... drastic... I'd appreciate a little advance warning. So I can order my men out of the way."
"You seem like a loyal man."
"I am," Uramura said flatly. "To my governor. To our laws. To my world. " He met the Jedi's gaze. "But if my men were in your way, they would die. And they wouldn't stop you. I owe them better than that."
One auburn brow lifted slightly, considering that. Nodded, as if it had confirmed some silent conclusion. "I must admit I'm rather curious, Uramura-san. No one else I've met on this planet has come anywhere near recognizing me."
"Half the people you're with are too young to remember the Clone Wars," Uramura pointed out. "As for the rest - holo-news wasn't allowed on Yamato. The corporations wouldn't have it. Except for themselves, of course."
"And?"
Uramura felt himself redden. "I... um... well, when I was younger, I was a bit of a tech nut..."
"And it's always amazing how many pieces of perfectly good hologram technology end up in dumpsters." Obi-Wan smiled, as if at a bittersweet memory. Sighed, face sobering. "We're both well aware there's a price on my head, Inspector."
Uramura swallowed. "And we both know what put it there. Sir."
Obi-Wan stared at him. "Kenshin told me, but... are you saying this entire planet knows what Palpatine is?"
"I wouldn't count on Governor Meiji knowing, sir," Uramura said wryly. "Rumor has it he doesn't really believe in ki. A lot of the nobles don't. But samurai, anyone associated with ki-training... yes, sir. We know he's a sorcerer. And one who's gone far too much over the edge." He spread empty hands, feeling helpless. "But what can we do, General? We're only one world. One very small world. All it would take is a moment of suspicion on his part, and then-" He shook his head. "I've seen the records of orbital bombardments. We wouldn't last an hour."
"Less, I fear," Obi-Wan said quietly. "I'm not a General, Uramura. I haven't been one for a very long time."
"Yes, sir."
The Jedi eyed him with a mock frown. "I'm not going to convince you, am I?"
Uramura ventured a smile. "I don't have much of the talent, sir. But I'm pretty hard-headed against mind tricks. Kamiya-sensei... Kamiya Koshijirou was able to teach me that much, at least."
"You're a Kamiya Kasshin student?"
"I had the basics," Uramura admitted. "I'd probably kill myself if I picked up a vibro-blade, much less a lightsaber. I'm far, far better off with a blaster. But I know the spirit of the style."
"Which leads me to wonder even more why you're protecting Himura from Yamagata."
His heartbeat drummed loud in his ears. "What?"
"Or should I say," sea-green was level, unflinching, "protecting Hitokiri Battousai."
I won't faint. I'm an Imperial Inspector, I will not faint- "How- how did you-?"
"Know?" The Jedi's smile was triumphant, yet sad. "I didn't. Until now."
Oh, he's going to kill me...
"Yamagata does not strike me as a man to react well to being thwarted," Obi-Wan went on. "You've put yourself at great risk. More, perhaps, than Kenshin has, defending Megumi. Why?"
Why? Uramura blinked. He's not from Yamato, he doesn't know... how can I possibly explain?
Find the beginning, and tell it, Koshijirou's voice murmured out of memory. Everything will fall into place from there.
"When I was much younger, Kamiya Kasshin was a lot more violent," Uramura said, piecing his words together. "Everything was more violent. The galaxy had the Clone Wars; we had the Bakumatsu, and the world was insane. Even my teacher, the young man I looked up to the most in the world, more than my own father, went off to fight in the Revolution." He looked up. "He almost didn't come back."
"Kenshin saved him."
"Not the way you think," Uramura stated. "Not with a sword... at least, not the first time."
"Not with-" Obi-Wan stopped. Let out a slow breath. "He's a healer."
"Koshijirou took a bad hit in his first fight," Uramura nodded. "No one knew until it was almost too late."
Obi-Wan looked thoughtful. "And Kaoru knows this?"
"I'd be surprised if she did," Uramura said, startled. "By the time she was born, he'd almost stopped talking about the war."
"So it's an obligation to the dead you feel."
"No." Uramura swallowed, throat tight. "To the living."
"I don't understand."
Don't you? With an effort, Uramura met that too-knowing gaze. "She's seventeen. I may not be much of a samurai, but I know that's a dangerous age."
"The Darkness can be... compelling, yes," Obi-Wan allowed. "Still-"
"And she's not just samurai," Uramura said flatly. "She's Jedi. And some of you have a bad habit of going right off the rails. And you have the training to handle any three ordinary samurai with your eyes closed. I know. I've seen her practice with Maekawa-sensei. If she got lost-" He looked away, fists clenched. "It'd take every dojo master in Tokyo to take her down."
"Or one hitokiri."
Wordless, Uramura nodded.
"That's a very great fear to have of one young girl."
Uramura gave a mirthless laugh. "Have you seen the body count Ulloriaq left behind?"
"...Yes."
"I hope it never happens," Uramura said tightly. "She's an innocent young woman, her associations beside, and I hope she never crosses the line." He swallowed dryly. "If Yamagata finds out, I'll lose my career. I know that." But to save my city, my people...
I'd lose everything. And it'd be worth it.
"Uramura-san." The Jedi's voice was sober. "I give you my word, I will do everything in my power to ensure Kaoru never crosses that line."
"I believe you," Uramura whispered. "Gods help me, I do." He risked a glance at the other man. "But if you know about Ulloriaq..."
"I know who stopped her. Yes." Obi-Wan looked weary. "He's not the only one ever forced to cut down one of the Fallen."
"You learned under the same teachers. You were of the same school." Uramura shook his head. "How can you sleep under the same sky as her killer?"
"A Jedi does what he must." A shadow of a smile crossed Obi-Wan's face. "And revenge would be poor payment to the man who saved my life."
Saved his- I'm not sure I want to know. "You'd better read some samurai philosophy before you venture down any dark alleys," Uramura said cautiously. "Governor Meiji's tried to modernize ethical teachings in schools these days, but in the classic tradition, if an enemy saves your life, you thank them politely, then kill them."
The Jedi blinked. "I appreciate the warning."
"Not a problem, sir."
"Please, don't," Obi-Wan murmured. "It'd be very hard to explain."
"Yes, sir- they don't know?" He glanced back toward the ballroom with mingled trepidation and an urge to snicker. Oh, to be a kumotsuki on that wall!
"They may never," Obi-Wan said firmly. "I need to analyze my situation." He folded his hands together in his sleeves. "As I suspect you do, as well. Trying to hold five onmitsu prisoner-" the Jedi stopped. Eyed him. "Uramura-san?"
"There are no onmitsu left on the premises, si- Kenobi-san," Uramura said piously. "My men have reported finding four headless bodies, though. And a faint trail of blood up through a hidden passage, as if one survivor took the heads that way."
"Your men have- we didn't kill anyone, I would have sensed a death..." Obi-Wan eyed him again, the faintest hint of suspicion glinting in sea-green. "Illusion?"
"Governor Meiji has declared there isn't any such thing," Uramura shrugged, trying not to smile. "So it certainly can't go into a report."
"I see," Obi-Wan said dryly. "If one might ask, what do you think will go into the report?"
"Why, that we responded to reports of a security breach, and discovered various illegal activities in the process, including the kidnapping of one healer, Takani Megumi, most likely held against her will to deal with species that are illegal to keep within city limits," the inspector said matter-of-factly. "I don't know if I can get that hyutu'uun for murder, but even one of those greenhouses adds up to a good two dozen counts of attempted murder. What if those things bred? Drifted a seedling into some poor civilian's roof gutter? No one would know they were within these walls until it was too late." He shook his head. "Believe me, we're going to be far too busy bringing in flame-throwers and containment squads to worry about a few stray citizens assisting above and beyond the call of their civic duties." He paused. "At least, that's what I would expect, for... say, the next fifteen minutes?"
Silent, Obi-Wan bowed deeply.
"So get going," Uramura grumbled under his breath, scanning the too-dark corners of the courtyard. Five onmitsu, four of whom are pretending to be dead... Himura, you'd better have had a good reason for leaving them alive. He glanced back at his silent companion, itching to ask-
Kenobi was gone.
---------------
Anou - "Um, er, well".
Ariitu - "Aliit"; clan, family, clan name.
Bakayarou - jerk, fool, idiot.
Busu - "ugly".
Fireryo - Firrerreo; a fanged, near-human species.
Furo - bath.
Hyutu'uun - "Hut'uun", coward.
Itachi-niku - "meat-weasel". A repulsive dweller in certain unsavory cave sludge environs on Yamato; seven to thirteen feet long, worm-like, and all appetite.
Kaiten Kenbu - Dance of the Wheeling Sword.
Kitsune - fox, fox-spirit; legendary shape-shifters who cast illusions and sometimes take human form.
Kumotsuki - "moonspider"; ten-legged nocturnal arachnoid with paralyzing venom.
Nogitsune - "field fox"; malevolent fox-spirit.
Oni no ko - demon child.
shebusu - "shebs" - backside.
Shoumi no tsuta - "vine net".
Tenbesukaa - "Heaven's-beskar"; Mandalorian iron alloyed with cortosis. Capable of taking even lightsaber strikes.
Some of these words are of Mando'a origin; this will be explained in time.