Thanks to: Rinfantasy (So happy you enjoyed the chapter and that I can still manage to surprise you.), DebyMU (You are correct, there is so much more for me to write and I'm really grateful that you continue to read and enjoy this story. If you have a question, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer as long as it won't require me to spoil the story.), Azure (Glad you liked the humor and you are correct about there being plenty of drama coming up but hopefully it will be of the fun variety. ^_^), magicalnana (Thanks!), general zargon (I'm happy you enjoyed reading the chapter. I'm trying to get the story to progress a bit faster but I have to balance it out with character development. Shinrei and Aiko will show up again soon enough since I really enjoy writing them but, for now, I need to close the gaps between them and Kyo's group.), Animallover (I'll admit that I was always fond of parts in the manga where they showed Kyo as a boy because he was so cute but scary at the same time. Hence, I couldn't resist making his son a near carbon copy of him just so I could put the two of them in the same room and have a good laugh/squeal. Also, Yuya deserves to get her licks in on Kyo as well since he teases her so badly. ;-) Tokito has a long way to go but she does deserve some answers and Fubuki deserves to be knocked off balance. And yes, I was making a reference to how Fubuki killed Taihaku in the manga. It was such a low and cheap blow for a man as cool as Taihaku.), lmamc (Thank you), kyoandyuya (Teasing Kyo is always a fun, if rare, treat. The part where Yukimura faked Akari out is hilarious and I've been trying to figure out how to recreate it since I'm changing some things around in the Mibu lands. I may or may not include it depending on how I things work out but I'm definitely going to try and get Shihoudou to hand over the Julian-Summoning panties because teasing Sasuke is fun too. ;-D), Toreh (Thanks again for taking the time to review Midori No Me and for reviewing this fic. I'm glad you are enjoying it as well. I truly love Samurai Deeper Kyo and always felt a little sad that it doesn't get much love. It's one of the few shounen series with decent romance and a heroine that I don't want to strangle. Don't worry too much about Aiko, she'll go back to normal eventually and reclaim her childhood.), J Luc Pitard (I'm really glad you liked the part with Tokito, writing the what-if scenarios about what things might change if Muramasa had survived in the manga is a blast. Having a four year gap is also fun for changing things around and letting the characters get stronger without having to cover every single battle that leveled them up. It a fun challenge and I'm super happy you are enjoying the ride. ^_^)

Kurenai Kioku

Chapter Thirty-Two

Similarities and Impossibilities

"So how did Shinrei manage to survive an attack by Hishigi anyways? That old fart would give even me a hard time," Kyo said to his son when they were entering the cave that led to the next gate. The path carved its way through the side of the mountain as it ascended and he kept his senses tuned for outside interference.

The two of them were bringing up the rear of the group and he noted with mild annoyance that his friends and wife were giving them space, probably to provide him with an opportunity to "bond' with his brat. They were all of them medling idiots, but he figured that it couldn't hurt to find out a bit more about what had been going on while he was playing the fool for the clan, looking for his dream woman, and making his way back to wreak vengeance.

The boy glanced up at him before replying, "After Ai-Chan left to meet Hishigi, I ran into Saisei-Sama while she was coming to let Shinrei-Sama know that you and Kaa-Chan where here. She made sure he would be safe for a while and healed him."

"Hm, that's kind of surprising. Last time I saw her, she and that other chick were making fun of your mom about being pregnant and laughing about it because they expected her to die. I owe both of them a sword through the throat."

To his credit, the boy didn't wince at his clear statement of bloody intent. The child only replied simply, "They are both strange. They say mean things but, with Saisei-Sama, it's only when she's around Saishi-Sama. I don't know everything, but I think she can only do what she is ordered to by Saishi-Sama. When I asked if she wanted to know who had hurt Shinrei-Sama, she refused because she said that she can't keep secrets. She healed me too after the last time I went to Hishigi's lab," Kyo didn't miss the slight hitch in his voice.

"I don't think she is a bad person," the boy concluded.

Thinking back to his last view of the woman, Kyo remembered her as alternately cold and taunting. It wasn't that he didn't believe that his son saw good in the woman - he was half Yuya's child at the end of the day - he had a hard time moving past the image of her sticking her hand through his woman's chest so that she could stir up Shinrei's water wyrm and shorten her life even further. Like it was right in front of him, he could practically smell the musty dampness of Aokigahara and observe the way Saisei's eyes widened slightly as she swirled her appendage back and forth beneath his wife's skin.

Now that he thought back to it, he could see the exact moment when she had known that there was a tiny secret nestled within his wife's womb and, even years later, the memory made his heart twist. The revelation of her condition and the mockery that followed had only made things worse. All he could hear was laughing and jeering while Yuya struggled to breathe and understand that she and their unborn child were nothing but pawns to make him suffer.

His private dreams of being the strongest and making sure that she would never regret lowering herself to accept and love him had felt as if it was in reach. And he'd come so close to helping her fulfill her dreams of marrying the man she loved and having children until Saisei and Saishi had taken her hopes and warped them.

So real he could touch the image, he saw her green eyes filling up with tears and fear. And there had been one dark moment where he wished that he had never come into her life so that he would not have to look at her and understand the acute pain of failing the person he loved. From the first moment Shinrei had shown up at Muramasa's house to the bitter end, when Fubuki had Yuya in his clutches and Kyo knew that he would have to give her up to save her, his life had been one failure after another.

His pride had been hurt. The vast strength he had relied on for so long had been made a mockery of. And Yuya, his Yuya, has almost died in agony, taking their children with her. In his head, he knew that his son had had years to see what he couldn't, but those past events back at the Hell Gate with the two women he was going to see next were forever emblazoned in his mind and heart as one of the worst moments in his life.

He could somewhat move past his grudge with Shinrei because his son had turned out alright, although he still felt as if he were obligated to give the man one last butt-kicking for good measure since he hadn't told him about the boy. But, the two witches waiting to see him were another matter. There was no containing the fury that swam up and made his sword hand twitch with the need for vengeance. He owed them nothing but death and the Thousand Killer always repaid his debts.

"I guess I can't ask you to go easy on Saisei-Sama, can I?" Ryu asked quietly and his father stared at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Did I go easy on Shinrei?" he asked with a raised brow.

"I was there and no. Although...I don't understand why you didn't kill Shinrei-Sama."

Kyo grimaced and said gruffly, "He was fun to fight. I still think he's a stuck-up, self-righteous prig with a stick shoved up his...," he glanced at Yuya and altered what he was about to say, "...butt."

"However, it's the right of the victor to determine what happens to the loser and the desire to kill him wasn't there. With the exception of telling me about you, he was finally honest with me."

He left out the part where, now that he had his memories back, he remembered Shinrei's face when things took a turn for the worse during their last foray into the Mibu clan. Even after his lofty talk about the clan and how Kyo was traitor and so on, the water-user had been genuinely appalled by what Fubuki did. The silver-haired man's fear that Yuya would die and take the last Mibu child with her was real.

While Kyo disagreed with his greedy wish to possess that which didn't belong to him, he had spent four years sparring with the man. Even if the two of them never made a venture towards friendship, there was one thing he understood clearly about Shinrei – the man loved the Mibu clan from the bottom of his heart. It was why he had tried to relieve Yuya of his curse at the last minute when Fubuki showed his true colors and, Kyo admitted to himself begrudgingly, it was probably why the man had slipped his leash and taken a stand against his masters on behalf of his children.

All Shinrei had was the clan. He had no wife, no lover, and no children. The Mibu was his one true love and, for him, even the offspring of a man he hated represented hope because his people were slowly dying off. Kyo couldn't decide if it that made the other man pathetic or elevated him to scary levels of nobility.

Still, he kept his counsel and said, "So you watched us fight. What did you think of it?"

Ryu looked at him and licked his lips before saying softly, "It was...exciting."

No matter how quiet his voice was, the boy couldn't hide the hint of longing and Kyo smirked as he said, "You wanted to join in, didn't you?"

"I...yes," his son nodded and continued, "Shinrei promised me that he would show me my father. And then I saw you. I felt you. And I thought that I did not want you to see me as weak when we finally met because...," his voice trailed off and he looked away.

"Because you wanted to earn the right to fight me someday and test your strength against mine," Kyo finished for him and that small head snapped up as Ryu stared at him in shock, obviously having expected him to be annoyed or upset at his son for wanting to battle his own sire.

"Close your mouth, boy, you look like a fish," he said with a smirk.

"It's not that surprising. You're my child through and through. Muramasa would be having a good laugh right now if he could see the two of us. It's like going back in time. You have my blood flowing through your veins which means you have a legacy of power and violence. I'm sure you've felt it by now, haven't you? The desire to destroy things. The dislike for people who want to control you."

Ryu's expression was laden with fascination as he whispered, "Yes."

"And when you get to the point where you can truly use your power, it'll be thrilling, addictive...like the hardest drug or the best sex of your life," he grinned down at his son, who sported a somewhat confused look and continued, "But your mother is right, you are a bit young for that talk. Still," he directed his gaze towards his wife, "It's why people like us need people like her."

His son followed suit and stared at his mother while his father said, "The two of us don't think the same way as other people do. Our sense of right and wrong is different. I won't call it a flaw because it lets us get things done no matter what people tell us is impossible. But...people like her let us pretend to be better than we are."

"She's really nice," Ryu said with a small smile.

Kyo sucked his teeth and said, "She's a loud, obnoxious, bossy, pain. Although I'll admit that she's grown out of a few of those over the years. At the same time, she gives me more chances than I deserve and she'll lay down her life for the people she loves no matter how much stronger an opponent is than her. It makes her reckless and foolish but I've already decided that I can tolerate it. Besides, I like her touch and she's incredibly responsive."

His son gave him another blank look and the Thousand Killer grimaced. His wife would get on him again about saying perverted things around their children if he wasn't careful. Filtering his speech didn't come naturally but if he wanted to raise kids who wouldn't have their innocence stripped away as early as he had, he was grudgingly willing to season his speech…a bit. Tact just wasn't a part of his make-up.

Thankfully, Ryu didn't ask him to elaborate. Instead, the boy took it to another level entirely by saying directly, "You really love Kaa-Chan a lot."

Kyo almost stumbled and he scowled at his son who, true to his blood, didn't even flinch beneath the intensity of his stare. Mentally grumbling about brats who were too similar to himself to keep their mouths shut, he replied stiffly, "She's alright."

A tiny snort sounded but Ryu wisely controlled most of his laughter and they continued on in comfortable silence.

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"It's the end for me, Tomoe. The battle is lost and I do not have to heart to see you die with me, beloved."

Her lord's hands and eyes were warm upon her and her vision blurred with tears because she knew he was right. They were overwhelmed and the enemy was closing in. She nodded and grabbed up her weapon, turning to flee and hesitating for a moment before looking back at her master and lover once more.

As with all relationships, theirs was a complicated one and yet, she appreciated him for giving her a place and allowing her the honor to fight for him, acknowledging her strength and skill. To him, she wasn't only a pretty face, she was a warrior and his trust in her was a gift that she would take to her grave. After all, what woman would not do her best to support the man she loved?

*End Flashback*

Brown eyes opened and took in the cave she was in and their owner sighed ever so slightly. Breathing, like eating and sleeping, was unnecessary for Saisei but she indulged herself anyways because such a simple thing made her feel alive and there were so few things that gave her that pleasure.

In the background, Saishi droned on and on about how she hated being in such a dank cave and how it was more suited for someone like Chinmei and how she would have preferred to at least get a gate where she could grow trees along the path to slow Kyo down. The other woman lamented about how there was barely any room for her summon her minions to fight and what a drag it was to have to show up in the first place when her servants were strong enough to do the work for her.

Years of practice allowed her to shut her mistress out. Saishi was selfish, conniving, and lazy - the sort of female that made other women groan and hide their faces in shame because she made the rest of them look bad. Day in and day out, she did nothing but complain or plot of ways to play cruel jokes on the people around her and usually Saisei was her unwilling instrument of torture.

A few times, years ago and shortly after she had first opened her eyes and wondered why she was alive and well, she had tried to offer her thoughts on the things her mistress did. She had been certain that those vain and cruel tendencies were only a fraction of her persona, that there was some hidden good inside of her just waiting to be tapped. Unfortunately, she had learned the hard way that her belief that there was good in everyone was foolish and that her feelings and opinions were unwanted.

For a while, Saishi ignored her when she asked why she liked to play so many mean jokes. She rolled her eyes when her subordinate asked her for updates about the outside world. But things finally came to a head when she told the other woman that the outfit she had selected for her to fight in provided nothing in the way of protection and would likely have her breasts falling out of the bottom of it if she moved the wrong way.

As far as she was concerned, she was only being practical the way a warrior should be and it was not intended to be a criticism but her owner didn't see it that way. Instead, retribution came swiftly and mercilessly. She would never forget the feel of steel-like fingers digging into her shoulder, the pain of bones grinding together, and the realization that sloppy, slovenly Saishi was strong, scarily so. It also showed her the sort of person her mistress was.

By that time, she had realized that, while the need for any and all normal bodily functions were gone, the other woman had taken the time out to make sure she could feel pain. It spoke more loudly than anything else as to what drove the person who had brought her back to life.

"I don't think you understand how things work yet, Saisei," her owner had said in that eternally cheerful voice, though there was a slight chiding tone at that moment.

"You are a doll and your job is to do as I say. I picked you because you are one of the prettiest warriors who have ever lived and I only like to surround myself with beautiful things. You exist because I will it and if I want you to fight naked, you'll do it because I told you so. If I want you to get on the ground and lick the feet of every soldier in the clan, you'll do it and thank me for the privilege."

With every word out of her mouth, Saishi's grip had tightened until, with a sickening crack, she felt her shoulder give way and had to use every ounce of her willpower not to make a sound even though it was excruciating.

"Oh, now look what you've made me do. I hate it when my toys get damaged. Really, you ought to be ashamed of yourself for getting me so upset, Saisei. Still, my taste in dolls is impeccable. You didn't cry out once. No wonder you ensnared a powerful lord when you were still alive."

It was such a callous statement to make about someone she once loved but she had grit her teeth, endured the pain, and waited for the other woman to finish patting herself on the back before allowing her to fix her arm.

From that time on, she had understood that her resurrection was not a blessing, not a second chance at life. Rather it meant slavery to a woman who was evil to her very core and an empty existence among a people who viewed her as no more important than a piece of furniture.

Tomoe Gozen, famed warrior and concubine to Minamoto no Yoshinaka, had been reduced to nothing more than a puppet made of cold flesh. No one spoke to her, no one looked at her. She was almost always by her mistress' side and yet, even when the clan members spoke about her to Saishi, it was if she wasn't standing right there. Ignored, humiliated, alone...she wished she were back in the ground where she belonged.

The ability to cry and release her pain did not exist in her reanimated body, and so she slowly began to withdraw from the world around her. Her facial expressions were the first to go - she learned quickly that Saishi would take them and use them against her. Next her voice dried up to the point that she would only speak when spoken to or when made to talk by her owner. And finally, she began to retreat mentally, soothing herself with thoughts of the day when Saishi would grow tired of her and leave her to rest in peace.

By the time he had first spoken to her, she had already resigned herself to "life" as the plaything of a horrible woman who spoke of finding her prince someday. As someone who had once loved and been loved, she knew it would never happen for someone like her superior. No man in his right mind would find the other woman attractive. She silently consoled herself with the knowledge that, if she could not have the death she so longed for, at least Saishi would forever remain single because she was a miserable person who had earned her own demise many times over.

Still, as she stared down the dimly lit path and her ears picked up on the first signs of life in the darkness, she took a moment to fantasize about the one bright spot in her existence. Like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds that constantly overshadowed her, she could recall and take solace in the one moment that had made her situation tolerable.

If she closed her eyes she could just hear his voice - calm, firm, and speaking, not just to anyone but...to her. He was admiring her emblem, marveling at how it resembled both a cherry blossom and a water current - his element - and she could only stare at him, wondering if she were imagining the whole conversation.

For years, the Mibu had looked through her and yet one of the most highly-placed ones was acknowledging her, looking at her, and conversing with her. When she asked him why he spoke to someone like her, his voice was laden with wonder at the fact that the two of them were able to talk to each other when her life had been over five hundred years prior. It was surreal as he spoke to her about the ability to express their feelings even if the body rotted and faded away and then, he said and did something that would have made her heart flutter if it were still beating.

"Your spirit lives on, right?" he said with a soft smile and she had melted inside.

Saisei had already retreated from the world, rolled over, and resigned herself to being nothing more than a flesh puppet but, at that moment, she had felt warm, alive. The image of Shinrei standing there was one that she had saved and locked away deep inside of her heart. Tall and strong as the sun gilded his outline and highlighted his beautiful silver hair, while those penetrating golden eyes stared at her and that shapely mouth smiled one of his rare smiles just for her – she could nourish herself on that image forever. She knew and recognized love for what it was when it struck a second time.

Alas, it was impossible. She knew that well because she was a slave and her "life" was forever linked to a woman who got off on the suffering of others. At the end of the day, she was an aberration, a living corpse who wasn't supposed to exist and could offer him nothing. A part of her still longed for oblivion if she could not do anything about her feelings towards the man who had become the sole focus for her ever-shrinking humanity. However, with the time she had been given, she allowed herself to dream of what could have been if he had been born in her time or her in his.

It was a testament to how self-absorbed and out of sync Saishi was with the feelings of others that she never once asked Saisei about Shinrei or picked up on her crush. Though she was adept at hiding her emotions, the two of them were still practically joined at the hip and she knew that little cracks showed in her façade whenever the object of her desire did things that made her worry about him. Still, the other woman never once noticed - otherwise she would have mocked her mercilessly for her feelings - and she did not volunteer the information.

The sound of voices reached her and she saw the outline of Kyo's group as they approached their position at the gate. Her enhanced hearing picked up a young voice and she smiled slightly, realizing that Kyo's boy was with them. She hadn't been sure that he would find his way to his father but it was a relief just the same. Though she knew that they were destined to be enemies, she also knew that sending him away had been the safest thing to do for both the child and Shinrei.

Saisei knew well how much the silver-haired warrior loved the child. She had seen the longing in his golden gaze whenever he looked at the boy and knew the pain of holding onto a dream that could never be. It was a cruel twist of fate that the thing he valued and wanted most, a family of his own, was something she could not grant him even though she adored him so. She could only take comfort in the fact that she had been able to save his life at least once and that she had done the best she could for the son that would never be his.

If she could not have what she wanted with Shinrei, then she could at least cover for him as best she could because she knew that, when he woke up, his life would be permanently altered. Even though she had refused details from Ryu, she knew that one of the Taishirou had sentenced him to death because he would not have lost so badly to anyone less and not even Kyo had put him so close to death when they fought. She did not know the reasons, nor did she care because her loyalty was not with the Mibu or Saishi, it was for one person and one person only.

Whatever had happened and whatever was about to happen, she was content with the knowledge that she had finally been able to touch him. Even if it was only to heal and pull him back from the brink of death, she would carry the warmth of his skin with her to her second grave and thank the gods for the privilege.

However, time was short and Kyo's group had caught sight of the two of them standing there. Her moment to daydream was over and she took her position next to Saishi who giggled and said, "I think I have a little room to raise a few minions, what say we slow them down a bit, Saisei?"

Saisei's lips opened of their own accord and she heard her voice reply, "Why that's an excellent idea Saishi! Who wants to get dirty fighting such riffraff anyways?"

"I know, right?" Saishi answered herself, "And look, Kyo's brat is with them. He's cute but orders are orders and no one is allowed to get through the gate."

"No, of course not. Such a pity then, he'll have to go into the pit below," Saisei's voice replied, referring to the yawning darkness on either side of the narrow path.

"Ah well, that's life," her mistress "replied" perkily and then she raised her hands and the ground in front of them rippled and heaved at first one then two and more heads pushed their way through and her beautiful, female flesh dolls emerged, yawning and giggling cutely as they expressed their hunger.

"There's all kinds of yummy male flesh for you to eat, my pretties," their mistress said, gesturing towards the group heading their way.

There was a chorus of delighted exclamations and then the scantily clad monsters were off and Kyo and his friends were fighting them.

"I don't think they'll last," Saisei said, this time of her own accord.

"Oh, I know, but I have my other two minions and you've never been defeated. I doubt I'll have to fight at all."

Her servant didn't reply to that. Instead she calmed herself as best she could because she had a feeling that the other woman was dead wrong. Shinrei was one of the strongest members of the Goyosei, better than Saishi by far who got by on brute strength and her inability to die, and he had been defeated by Kyo. She had a feeling that things were going to go very wrong very shortly and, with the intuition of seasoned warrior, she started preparing herself mentally for her upcoming fight while observing the moves of her opponents.

The skill that was on display would have been terrifying to a normal person and the skin at the back of her neck prickled with foreboding. In very short order, all of Saishi's dolls were bisected and dumped into the pit and then the air grew heavy as her mistress summoned her next strongest warriors.

She watched as if in a dream as the massive forms of warriors from long ago moved towards their enemies and Kyo stepped forward only to be stopped by the blind young man who had come the last time.

"As much as I would prefer to observe your fight, Kyo, please allow me the opportunity to show you my progress of these last four years," the young man said and the Thousand Killer, after giving him a long stare, smirked and gestured towards the two reanimated fighters.

"Don't disappoint me, Akira," he said.

The blind man's smile was confident as he replied, "When have I ever, Kyo?"

Next to her Saishi laughed, drawing the attention of the fighters, and asked, "Are you seriously sending Akira to fight two of my strongest servants? According to the data I got on him last time, he's the absolute weakest of the Four Generals. A peasant without a speck of noble blood to make up for his weakness. Really, how stupid can you be to send such a weakling to fight my perfect dolls?"

Saisei stared at her and silently wondered how she could have been stuck with such a clueless woman for a mistress. While it was true that Akira was the weakest out of the Shiseiten, her senses did not lie. Having been through enough battles in her time, she was adept at taking a man's measure and could tell that Akira was no one to play with. She had also seen enough of Kyo to know that he would never accept a pushover as a companion.

Her fingers twitched at her side, clenching and unclenching as if she were already holding her naginata because she knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that she was going to have to fight. Benkei and Ushiwakamaru were strong and Saishi's tinkering had enhanced the skills they already possessed to incredible levels but she was still the strongest, the masterwork of a woman who treated the dead as nothing more than toys and weapons and used the regrets they had in life to manipulate them.

As she watched Akira handling the two men with ease, she realizedthat her turn was coming up and a feeling that she might not survive the fight rose strongly within her. Kyo's group was driven, determined, and it would come down to her resolve to protect Shinrei and the clan he loved against that united will to destroy the Mibu. She did not know if Kyo would be merciful to Shinrei a second time and she was unwilling to risk his life on the faint hope that the Thousand Killer would take her love's kindness towards his children into account. After all, she'd been there when they stole his son away in the first place.

No, she would have to fight her hardest to protect the man she loved, neither he nor she would accept anything less. As Akira dispatched Saishi's duo in minutes, she took a step forward and began to reach inwards, searching for the key to her transformation and finding it with ease.

"You have done well, Akira of the Shiseiten," she said, "but I cannot allow any of you to go further."

So saying, she triggered her metamorphosis and closed her eyes as the wind started to swirl around her, bringing with it the scent of cherry blossoms and she knew that, to her opponents, she would be enveloped in a storm of petals. If there was one thing she could say in Saishi's favor, it was that she did have a sense of style. If she had to fight and, perhaps die, it would at least happen beautifully.

As the wind caressed her bare midriff and her hand found the shaft of her massive naginata, she pampered herself once more by breathing in deeply and letting the air out slowly as she opened her eyes again and said, "Prepare to die."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There you go, my nod to one of the most tragic people in SDK. I had a long back and forth discussion about Saisei with both myself and a reviewer and I still feel bad since she is well and truly trapped by her circumstances. Even though I know Kamijyo-Sensei set her up to die from the get-go, I felt bad that her situation was so crappy and out of her control. Still, I'm glad she found peace at the end and I think her fight with Akira really helped him to grow emotionally.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, I know the second gate had trees leading up to it but I always thought it was a bit odd that the Goyosei had supposedly determined the order in which they would fight randomly and yet, both Saishi's and Chinmei's gates were perfectly suited to the elements they controlled. Hence, why Saishi made a little comment about growing trees. ;-) Ah well, more action coming up. Thanks for reading and please let me know your thoughts.