A/N: This chapter has been re-uploaded to correct section breaks. No other changes have been made.

Chapter Nine: Youth Gone Wild

The meeting had gone as expected.

Saito had listened as Shinomori relayed the information they had received, and agreed that it matched information his other squads had gathered. They discussed positioning their forces, and decided that Rampive and the Jedi would be placed as they had already planned, with Shinomori joining the guards in protecting the Governor. He would coordinate the others from there.

Obi-Wan remained silent throughout most of it, only speaking to agree or point out a flaw when he saw them. He had to admit that there weren't many, and the few that he caught were easily remedied.

Now, as he sat astride Armanth, he asked the leader why he had even been brought.

"So that you know what is going on," was the somewhat icy reply. "Hold on. We've got one more stop to make."

The numbing cold of between bit through his skin before they emerged high over a large cluster of islands. Armanth took them into a steep dive that had the Jedi Knight clutching the riding straps in a white knuckled grip. *This is nearly as bad as flying with Anakin* he thought before they leveled out over the forest covering the smallest of the islands.

They came to a clearing where another ryuu lay sunning itself. This one looked older than Armanth, its hide a duller, grayish blue with more grey gathering around the muzzle and along the spinal ridge. It lifted its head to greet them with a loud bugling that reverberated through his body.

"We are on the smallest of the Leco Dacne Islands. That's Claudiath, Okina's ryuu." Aoshi told him, adding that they were meeting with the Oniwaban's leader.

They landed next to the older ryuu, and Obi-Wan noticed that Claudiath was also larger than the younger one, by at least several handspans. As he was studying the two, an unfamiliar voice spoke behind him, gravelly without being overly deep, but obviously old.

"They never really stop growing. The process does slow considerably with age though."

He turned to face the new arrival and was greeted by the sight of a smiling older man, probably in his sixties to look at him, with a weather-aged mid-toned face. His hair was completely white under his pointed hat, fanning out from the sides of his face and looking a bit like wings. He also had a longish goatee, making his pointed face look even longer. He was somewhere between the two younger men in height with a slightly stocky build.

"Let me introduce you," Aoshi said as he came to stand beside the two men. "Sensei Okina, this is Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. Jedi Kenobi, my sensei, Sehh Okina."

The two men shook hands and the Jedi wasn't even surprised at the current that flowed from the older man. "Come, let's sit," Okina said, gesturing the other two to follow him as he sat on one of two benches off to the side of the clearing. "You have news, Aoshi?"

"Indeed." He then proceeded to relate what they had learned, and the steps they were taking. For his part, Okina sat silently listening as Shinomori spoke, only asking questions when the report was finished.

It was quickly apparent to Kenobi that the older man had an intensely shrewd mind under the frazzled appearance. It was evident in the questions he asked and the intent way that he listened.

Again, he wondered why he had been brought along. Shinomori's answer didn't seem complete, though he knew that it was true to a point. After his initial distrust yesterday, the younger man seemed intent on letting him know what they were doing. Still, he wasn't sure he trusted his padawan alone with the unstable young woman, even if she had more or less apologized for what he had witnessed the day of their arrival. He was even less sure about having Anakin pairing up with her for the Gathering, but he had been forced to admit earlier that it was the most logical way to split the group. Anakin couldn't stand guard duty with Shinomori, and he didn't feel that he could keep the necessary cover to pair with Shinju. Still, he had a bad feeling when it came to the young woman. Something wasn't right with her, and he was determined to find out what it was.

"Are you asking us to provide extra coverage at the Gathering?" Okina's pointed question brought him back to the conversation.

Shinomori closed his eyes briefly before answering. "I am asking if you can keep your awareness open for signs of trouble, and provide backup if necessary."

"Are you planning on informing Kadru on this? I know that you have kept in contact with him, despite our misgivings."

Obi-Wan sensed Okina's disapproval, and a flicker of annoyance at the name, but Shinomori's reply was calm. "He will be contacted if I feel the situation warrants it. As of now, I have no plans to do so."

Okina nodded, and then something passed between the two in the blink of an eye, but had disappeared before Kenobi could figure out what it could possibly be.

"You feel that something isn't right?"

"That's it." He was silent for a moment, his gaze unfocused on the distance. Glancing at Okina, he saw the expression was mimicked on the elder's face. Wondering what was happening, he was about to speak when the faces again became animated.

"I could send along Misao to scout for you. Her training has progressed greatly since your last visit."

Shinomori raised an eyebrow. "Has she passed in mission readiness?"

Okina chuckled. "Admirably, though she still has a ways to go of course. And she misses you," he finished with a wink that caused the other man to groan and slump forward with his head in his hands as Okina gave a high pitched chuckle.

Obi-Wan gave a puzzled look, which Okina answered with great merriment at his apprentice's discomfort. "Our young Misao has quite the crush on Aoshi, doesn't she my boy?" Slapping the man hard on the back drew nothing but a piercing scowl from him as the old man dissolved again in fits of laughter.

Obi-Wan hid his own amusement at Shinomori's discomfort, deciding to bring the topic back around before the old man grew any crazier. "How old is Misao and what is her training?"

The laughter took only seconds to die down before Okina answered him. "She has passed her 12th year, and is learning weapons as well as espionage. Being so young, she has proven useful in getting information that the adults cannot." He must have caught Obi-Wan's thoughts, because he added, "She is also a Sensitive, trained to harness the Energies. I believe the Jedi refer to it as the Force, am I correct?"

The Jedi nodded as he filed that information. "How many sensitives do you train here?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible.

Okina narrowed his eyes slightly, causing Obi-Wan to wonder if he may have overstepped his bounds. "Not enough to worry about," was his sharp reply.

Nodding in acceptance, he sat back and broadened his perceptions, but found no other presence on the island. The two men had gone back to their conversation, discussing what role Misao would play. "I think it would be best to have her report to either Kenshin or Leika for this," the younger man was saying. "I'll be standing guard with the rest of security, and it would look suspicious to have her coming up to me too often."

"You have a point, though it'll break her heart." Okina laughed again and Shinomori rolled his eyes. "I'll let her know."

They worked out the last of the details before they stood and walked to the ryuus. Obi-Wan mounted Armanth and watched as the two men faced each other, grasping each other's left forearms with their right hands. "Fly safe, stay true" they each said before mounting their ryuus. Then the powerful hind legs propelled them skyward before they disappeared between.

~shards~

"Like I said earlier, Gaiscioch Dorcha means Dark Warrior or Dark Hero in the ancient language. The legend itself has kinda mutated over the course of time, as legends tend to do. Still, I became enthralled with it when I was younger, and spent my free time looking it up." She looked up at him to find he was absorbing all of it. "Which would you rather have first? The legend as it is generally known, or the truth behind it?"

"Sounds better to tell the legend first, then the truth."

"Good, cause that's how I was going to do it anyway." She tapped her lips with her knuckle as she thought. "Where to begin…" she muttered.

He sat with his hands folded on his lap, leaning forward slightly. He wasn't able to pinpoint why he was so interested in the legend, but a niggling sense in the back of his mind told him to pay attention.

"The Gaiscioch Dorcha was said to haunt these mountains and the surrounding forest, killing any who dared to trespass on his grounds. Well, most stories refer to the creature as male, but there are some that tell of it being female. Depends on when the stories were told." She chuckled softly before continuing. "For all points and purposes, I'll refer to it as male.

"According to the more popular legends, he is a creature of the night that must make ritual sacrifices in order to retain his eternal youth. It is also said that he prowls this range and the surrounding forest looking for his prey. Even though there have been almost no 'sightings' for several generations, many are still reluctant to wander here. They believe it may be haunted by the souls of those taken by the Gaiscioch Dorcha's bloodlust." She rolled her eyes, apparently not sharing that belief. "Parents have been known to use the story to scare wayward children, and some studio made a series of holodramas based on the legend, though I haven't seen them. What I heard is that they only took parts of the legend and butchered it totally."

The scowl on her face made him hope that she never met the beings that did that.

"Then there's the stories that he is some supernatural being that collects the souls of the dead and lords over them. Or that he can kill you by absorbing your soul." She paused for a moment as though a thought had struck her, but continued as though it were nothing. "Most of these stories say that only those with evil in their hearts or those who have willingly hurt others for their own gain end up with him, and he tortures them for eternity. In that capacity, it is used to try to scare people into behaving. Hmp!" He jumped at her derisive snort, and seeing his startled reaction, she added, "These stories have always irritated me. Of all parts of the legend, this variation is the least likely to have any basis in fact."

She spoke with an undeniable authority, likely gained from her years of research, he mused. The irritation quickly melted from her face to be replaced by amusement as she continued.

"Some stories even go so far as to say that he is some kind of wizard, able to call storms and ill-fortune on his enemies." She chuckled at this, and he joined her. "As if such things were possible!"

Their laughter died off, and Anakin waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he asked, "So what's the truth behind it?"

"The truth?" she repeated, raising her eyebrows. "The truth is that no one knows. The legend is too old to accurately trace back, and though some who dared cross this terrain have been found dead, there is no evidence that it was this being that did it. They were all criminals of the worst sort, and could have been killed by enemies, or the weather. The weather does get tricky here during the cold season, and if you aren't familiar with it, it will get you. But as for there being some undying being roaming this area, I've never seen evidence of it." She grew thoughtful for a moment before adding, "Though there are tales of beings who have tried to use the name and legend for their own gain, but they were all discovered to be frauds."

He found her pauses to be as significant as her words, but he wasn't able to say exactly why. It was just that sense that had told him to pay attention that kept picking up on these things. "I understand where the dark warrior name comes from, but why does it also mean dark hero? Something like you described would hardly be thought of as heroic."

"Point." She leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms over her head before she continued. "There are also stories of the same creature saving groups of people, or performing other such heroic acts, though these are fewer and less believed. Some have thought that the creature was a mix of both stories, but that takes some of the fun out the legends." She gave a quick grin before saying, "Still, they range through our history next to the other stories and influenced the name at some point. Or so I'm guessing. Then again, the Dark Hero moniker could have come from those who worshipped such behavior, and strived to follow in his footsteps. Such people do unfortunately exist."

He outwardly accepted her answer, though something felt incomplete about it. It wasn't anything with the explanation itself that he held in doubt. He was sure that what she had said would be found in the files that Aoshi had mentioned last night. The longer they talked the more convinced he became that there was much more than she was saying. But then the thought occurred that perhaps she was telling him some things that she wouldn't tell just anyone. He decided that he could always try to look up the legend later and see if anything was different between the two accounts. For now, he decided to ask about the painting, information he was sure he wouldn't find in the databanks.

"I had the urge to do it anyway, but then I came across a music group that had decided to use the legend as their name and stage act. The picture reflected the part of the legend they had decided to embrace, the undead sacrificer. I can show you a holo I have of one of their shows." At his wary look, she added, "It really is something to see."

"I'll have to think about it," he replied half teasingly, and half serious. "Sounds like something that would bring on one of Master Obi-Wan's lectures if he found out about it. But what gave you the urge to do it in the first place?"

Looking down, she muttered, "I'm not sure." She frowned, and then shrugged before returning her eyes to his. "I told you I've been interested in the legend since my youth. It's almost like I have a connection to it or something. I'm not really sure how to explain it."

Strange how she appeared uncomfortable with her answer. As she had spoken, she pulled her legs up under her and seemed to curl up in the chair. Now more than ever, he sensed that she was being evasive. She felt a connection to the legend? The back of his neck had prickled at that statement. He wanted to ask her more about it, but a sudden wariness settled over him. Did he really want to know?

There was something else that he felt that he could ask about, so he did.

"You never mentioned a ryuu, but there's one in the picture. Why?"

"Thought it would be fun to add it," she replied, almost a note of question in her voice. "Occasionally, a story will pop up with a ryuu, but it's more rare. And because I know you'll ask eventually, I used my father and his ryuu as the models." Scratching the back of her neck in an almost nervous gesture, she added, "he fits the look well enough, and he didn't mind."

It was almost like pieces of a giant puzzle were slowly becoming clear, but were at the same time too indistinct to put together. He felt like she was hiding little nuggets of a truth that she dare not speak in this conversation and was waiting to see if he could connect the pieces. This thought surprised him when it first entered his mind, triggered by the mention of her father. Then there was the question he wanted to ask about her other training, though why that question and the mystery of her painting seemed linked, he still did not know. Since she had mentioned her father, he felt that now was a good time to ask about him.

"Who is he? Aoshi said that he didn't belong to a group."

"His name is Kadru Teren. He prefers solidarity to being in a group. Says he does better that way."

She seemed distracted by something, but before he could ask what was wrong, she spoke again. "Kenshin's back."

"How do you know? I don't sense him yet."

"I'm much closer to him than you are. He's practically my brother."

This was interesting. "You grew up together?"

"Aye, that we did. He was found by Hiko when he was young, and my mother and I joined them shortly after. I was, oh, about 6. That was before the war started."

At the last sentence her eyes grew sad though it wasn't reflected in her features. He decided to ask a less painful question than the one that he first came up with.

"How long ago was that?"

"What, when we met?" she frowned in concentration. "About thirteen years ago. Why?"

He gave an impish grin. "Just trying to figure out your ages. On one hand you all look young, but then you also seem older." Shrugging, he added, "Just curious."

She studied him with a haughty look before laugher intruded. "How old did you think I was?"

"I wasn't sure," he replied honestly. "Maybe a few years older than I am, but I can be a lousy judge of that sometimes."

Smiling, she nodded. "Close enough. So you can figure it out, Kenshin's two years older than I am, and Aoshi's older than him by another year." Seeing him doing the mental math, she added, "Sorry. It's not in my nature to make things easy for anyone."

"Not that the math was hard, but I know what you mean." He looked towards the opening. "I thought you said Kenshin was near?"

"He'll be down in a minute." She turned back to the computer and suddenly a voice that was half yelling and half singing started up. With a wink, Leika turned back to him. "Until he gets here, why don't I acquaint you with some of the songs that we'll likely hear at the Gather?"

The music was different from what she had been playing earlier, not as dark as what had been playing in the training room, but with an edge that had been missing from most of the other music they had been listening to. "Which one is this?"

"This band goes by 'Warped Sibling'. Remember the defiant party music I mentioned earlier? This is it."

As he listened to the words, he had to agree on that description. They certainly didn't sound like they were 'gonna take it', as they kept repeating. By the time they were on the third chorus, Anakin found himself starting to sing with them.

Leika just grinned at him. "Contagious, ain't it?"

"Yeah," he chuckled, "just a little."

Just then Kenshin entered. "Good, just what I need after that meeting." He looked at the two sitting by the terminal before he asked, "giving Skywalker a music lesson?" At her nod, he asked, "Can I pick the next one?"

Waving at the board, she said, "Go ahead."

He walked over and began going through her massive playlist before settling on something. After the first song ended he keyed in the one he had chosen before stepping back. Two short bursts of percussion shot out before the rest of the instruments kicked in, launching into another rowdy number. As soon as the singer began, it was obvious that it was a different group. "Who's this?" he asked.

"Thugger's Alley," Kenshin replied, a huge grin on his face. "One of my favorites."

"You listen to this too?" Somehow the man didn't seem the type.

The only response he got was for Kenshin to pull the tie from his hair and lean forward, whipping his head around in circles, letting his unbound hair fly around him. He jerked his body to the beat for another minute while his hair continued to swing around him before stopping with an almost embarrassed grin.

Shaking his head, the redhead faced the stunned Jedi. "It's good for letting stress go, that it is." He gave a chuckle that matched the grin before adding, "Don't worry, it doesn't happen often."

"Don't let him fool you. Kenshin can be quite the hell raiser when he lets himself. Just ask him about the Gunsmoke incident sometime."

For his part, Kenshin groaned before replying. "That was only because you had me drinking all those Fuzzy Sunsets with you and Vash. I don't know how the two of you managed to walk out of there straight!"

"Stronger constitutions," she smirked.

Anakin was utterly confused. "What's Gunsmoke?"

Leika answered him while Kenshin continued to glare at her. "One of the planets that we trade with, a few systems away. Vash is a friend of ours that we were helping out at the time. Kenshin's name day just happened to be a few days after we cleared up our business, and we decided to take him out to celebrate."

"Yeah, well, I'm still holding the two of you responsible for all that. And I'll get you back for it as soon as I find a drink that you're not immune to, that I will!"

"Good luck with that!"

The young Jedi had to concentrate hard to stifle his laughter at their banter as they traded several mock threats between them for another minute or so. Despite the fact that they continued to try to one-up each other, he could both see and feel the genuine bond of friendship between them. Seeing them like this gave him not only a different perspective on them, but also understanding on why Kenshin had insisted on giving her a chance. Under different circumstances, he could see them being a lot of fun to be around.

Finally, Leika couldn't hold in her own laughter anymore, and it burst out of her mid-sentence. Kenshin joined her and Anakin figured that it was safe to let his loose as well. After the merriment became more contained, Kenshin spoke.

"Thanks for the stress buster. I really needed it after that meeting. It was a killer."

Leika looked at him, amusement melting away as concern took over. "That bad?"

For his part Kenshin simply rolled his eyes. "Fools think that nothing could possibly happen, and didn't want to hear about any trouble. The only good thing is that I don't believe that any of them are in on it. The bad thing is that we're on our own."

"Are you sure that's not a good thing?" Leika asked half teasingly. "If they're being that stupid, I don't think I want to rely on them."

"Can't deny it. You've got a point." He was tying his hair back once again, all traces of the wildness that had appeared so suddenly now gone. "Any idea when the others will be back?"

"None. On a definite positive note, Anakin and I have made a lot of progress while you were gone. I think he's going to fit into this role quite well."

"That's good to hear." He turned to the young man who had been following their conversation. "What do you think about it so far?"

Anakin grinned. "The music is something else. I've never had the chance to listen to much of it before. And the subculture certainly sounds interesting enough. I just hope that I can remember everything!" Having seen a glimpse of Kenshin's wild side, he was curious. "Does Aoshi do all this as well?" As much as he couldn't have pictured Kenshin being the type, he didn't think he could believe that the other man was as well.

This caused a burst of laughter from the others. "No, definitely not," Leika managed to gasp after a few seconds. "He's much too serious to have this kind of fun!"

Though the words were said in jest, there was an undercurrent in her voice that he couldn't quite place. Sarcasm? Maybe it was bitterness, or pain, or some combination. Before he could ask, Leika rose, expression again serious.

"Kenshin, I need to talk to you for a moment, preferably before the others get back. Anakin, you can look through the list until we get back. See what else you can find."

She walked back to the tunnel, Kenshin following her. "Back in a minute," he called before they disappeared around the corner.

Anakin remained in his seat for a long moment, absorbing what the morning had shown him of their hosts. There certainly wasn't any shortage of surprises with these three, that was for sure. Just in the few minutes since Kenshin had returned there had been plenty, not to mention the twists that had taken place beforehand. He had the definite feeling that he'd have to keep all senses open at all times if he didn't want to miss anything.

Then he realized at how deftly Leika had changed subjects throughout their conversation whenever he was ready to press a point. Once or twice and he would have been able to chalk it up to coincidence, but it happened nearly every time. The thought confirmed what he already knew. She was hiding more than he had previously thought.

He gave a small sigh before turning to the screen displaying the music information. At first he just scrolled through the list, looking at the group names. If nothing else, the names were amusing enough. 'Blasters 'n Sorres', 'Def Nexxu', 'Kuroskant Park', 'Madness is the Gift', 'Pranxter', and 'Toxik' all caught his eye, and he wondered why everything seemed so misspelled. Must be the 'I don't give a kriff' mentality, he figured.

Suddenly he stopped, blinked, and looked again. Under the band name 'Atmosmith' was a song simply titled 'Angel'. The title took him back eight years to the day that changed his life, when they had walked into Watto's junk shop and he had first met her.

*'Are you an Angel?' the young boy had asked.*

Padme.

Throughout the years since then, he had tried hard to convince himself that he would likely never even see her again, let alone marry her as he had so innocently declared all that time ago. Still, he knew he had a place in his heart that would always belong to her. He kept it buried, but it would show itself when he would least expect it. Like now. Just that one word was enough to bring a flood of memories and secret dreams to the surface of his consciousness.

Before he realized he was doing so, he had started up the song, then leaned back to listen.