Book III

Llanura

Plains

Chapter XXVIIII

Information

"May your journey overflow with new realizations and old fears."

Let justice be done through humanity's fall from grace.

Kaoru could only liken it to be seated before the devil himself, Tomoe's dark eyes void of any empathy for the younger woman as she folded an elegant sleeve of fabric into a much more comfortable position.

The young and timid girl, Tsubame, had quietly set some earthly pungent tea on the floor before the women before retreating away behind a ratty sliding door whose paper inserts were far from their elegant days. The clumsy girl had guided Kaoru through what looked to be a dingy back alleyway behind the grand buildings, dipping in and out of the shadows as they pattered over a rickety foot bridge that arched over a canal that was seemingly lacking the proper care they required to be maintained. Kaoru had not had time to contact Misao or even call out for help in the hopes of attracting the attention of the Southerner, her heart sinking heavily as she realized that she could easily be walking into a trap from which an escape would be difficult. Tsubame herded her hesitantly down an even narrower alleyway that had no natural light filtering down, guiding her to what looked to be a horribly decrepit shack in a poorer district of Central.

As Tsubame struggled to open the door, the blasted thing caught on its run-down runner, Kaoru felt her anxiety spike at knowing that she did not have to hunt down Tomoe as she and the others had previously calculated. The woman who had been outside the Long House all those months ago had taken the liberty of tracking down Kaoru, surely guided by and spurred on by whatever unseen hands and forces she was obviously connected with, and had cut the effort to null. Kaoru felt her gut tighten in reaction to the door finally giving way and opening, the warm sunlight filtering into the musky room that was lined with woven mats and discarded or broken tools.

Tomoe was sitting with her back planted firmly against the filthy and humidity stained far wall, she herself positioned in a corner so that nothing could sneak up on her from behind, and her gaze was distant as she did not bother to acknowledge Kaoru. She was dressed in what Kaoru could only be described as a stark contrast to the surroundings: Tomoe was wearing an elegant and refined blouse that was patterned with beautiful flowers and what looked to be song birds, the long fabric of the sleeves draping on the floor and pooling around her hands. Her skirt was also long and made of fabric and materials that only Northerners could dream of ever caressing, also long and flowing, and she was sitting upon a filthy floor in such impressive garments. The woman seemed to care very little to if she was sullying the fabric, something that Kaoru could imagine Megumi howling over in agony.

"Tsubame, please fetch the tea," Tomoe spoke, her eyes still looking at everything except Kaoru. Tsubame stuttered her response, bumbling about as she bumped into Kaoru nervously. She soon vanished from the entryway of the crumbling building, forcing Kaoru to cross the threshold as she took a wary step forward as the mats sank under her weight.

"Kamiya Kaoru," Tomoe said quietly, Kaoru freezing in her footsteps as she felt a warning signal crawl up her back in reaction to the coolness of Tomoe's voice. The first time that Kaoru had set eyes on the woman, in the company of Ro, she had known that there was something very other-worldly about her that did not quite sit properly with Kaoru. There was a lack of compassion behind the dark eyes, her pale skin doll-like and cold, and it had made the younger women nervous. Ro had also been fairly skittish around her, a rarity for the outgoing blonde, which was a signal to Kaoru that this seemingly feeble looking woman was much more dangerous than she let herself on to be.

"I see that you have made it to Central unscathed," Tomoe remarked. "It was foreseen that you would come out victorious but even then you seemed to be on the verge of proving fate wrong upon that train." Kaoru's brow furrowed as she immediately caught onto Tomoe's backhanded and subtle insult, nearly tempted to bite back with her own retort but deciding it was best to not lose the last threads of control.

"Tell me, was the vizinho something that proved to be a challenge?" Kaoru's frown deepened as Tomoe slowly gouged away at the younger woman's front of courage. She knew that Tomoe had more than likely been able to piece together whatever she had seen in her so-called visions and had probably heard snippets of what had occurred when the train pulled into Central's lavish station. There was a certain psychological fear that Tomoe seemed to enjoying playing upon as she reached for her tea and took a pensive sip, eyeing Kaoru over the rim of the cup with a look that could only be described as one of abject boredom and light disgust.

"We both know the answer to that," Kaoru replied slowly as she eased her way towards Tomoe but did not sit down on the floor. Her back was tensed, her shoulders haunched as she tried to assess the situation unfolding before her.

"I suppose that would have been the first time you've seen such a creature," Tomoe drawled as she cradled the tea between her two pale hands. Kaoru was silent as she felt her back touch the wall, the wood an unwelcoming texture against her shoulder blades. Her guard was raised and she was painfully aware of whatever would come from her lips in terms of responses, knowing that Tomoe had, had years to perfect the skilled art of manipulation and using words as a means of achieving her own private objectives.

"I can assure you that, that vizinho was of a rare variety that I'm sure your Doctor Genzai would have loved to examine for the biological knowledge that seems to keep the patrollers alive another day," Tomoe continued in her low tone as her fingers drummed lightly against the chipped ceramic of the teacup. "Serums, anti-venoms, antidotes, potions, balms, creams, medicine, weapons—each vizinho slaughtered by your people is thought to at least expand the knowledge of how to better protect humanity. How to penetrate the soft belly of a land dweller or how to pierce the muscles of a sky dwelling vizinho: these are all questions that are answered in part due to your labours on behalf of Central and the Delegations in Tereré.

"That vizinho that attacked the train and ultimately forced your hand is a unique creature in itself," Tomoe said, her tone sharpening enough for Kaoru to raise her chin in defiance and stare the older woman straight, awaiting what she was going to say.

"Yes, yes it was," Kaoru agreed slowly.

"Do you know what that beast was?" Tomoe enquired, her fingers ceasing their movements against the cup. Kaoru shook her head grimly, unwilling to volunteer her theories or what she and Hiko had discussed between them in privacy. "Please allow me to enlighten you: it was not a singular creature but rather a marriage of the many souls that had been returned to the Earth and other side. Born from those who had been slain in the attempts to protect their lands and the forests, mountains, and rivers—that creature was seeking vengeance against humanity because all it knows is pain and suffering by our hands. The creature you brought down was the joining of hundreds or even thousands of vizinhos that had been unjustly executed by Central and its ever beloved patrollers."

"Revenge," Kaoru echoed in a deep voice as she found the word highly unpalatable upon her tongue.

"Of course," Tomoe probed as she gave Kaoru an impatient look that hinted at her displeasure at having her explanation simplified. "Fate, a cruel mistress as she is, was determined to test you, Kamiya Kaoru, as you are becoming a very active protagonist in this situation."

"To test me?" Kaoru's voice was controlled but her heart thumped heavily against her chest at Tomoe's words.

"You have been being tested since you were born," Tomoe said gravely as her dark eyes narrowed at the younger woman who was still leaning against her wall. "It has only come to my attention recently when the fates decided to let me know your name and took me North in search of you. It seems as though you have been cursed to serve a dire role in trying to curb humanity's greedy desire to overtake the other side."

"I… what?" Kaoru's voice rose an octave as she blinked at the sudden flood of information that Tomoe was providing her out of the blue. She felt her knees go weak for a moment as she digested the mere thought that she was doomed to participate in this campaign that seemed to be gripping the nation between iron talons and slowly bleeding the life from the lands. "Excuse me?"

"Does the contact with the Vestige not seem odd to you? Why you were fated to cross paths with something that has only existed in legend and lore until recently?" Tomoe's gaze was stony and cold as she considered the woman before her with a critical eye that seemed to see much more than anyone would ever wish to know or be condemned to suffering. Kaoru could comprehend as to why Tomoe was sullen and withdrawn: her mind was a flurry of information, horrors, visions of the future, and a glimpse into the world that they occupied on a much more complex level. The woman had been resigned to peering into the hellish world and its cruel mechanics as humanity slugged forward and rose against the beasts that they had once cohabited the Earth with in relative peace.

"I figured that there was something tied to Kenshin, yes," Kaoru admitted warily as she wove her fingers together nervously. "It is hardly fair to write all of this off as mere coincidence."

"Of course," Tomoe agreed breezily. "He was woken from his slumber because of you. The very fundamental nexus that unites both plains had been stirred from the comforts of a much needed rest by a mere mortal."

"What slumber?"

"I suppose that you are unable to truly grasp the context of your role in this without the appropriate context," Tomoe sighed as she let the annoyance creep into her voice unabashedly, her sleeves dragging against the ratty floors. "Perhaps you should seat yourself and I can explain to you what the Vestige is and why he is the one force that drives my brother to insanity?"

"Your brother?" Kaoru repeated as she felt the world come to an abrupt halt as Tomoe lifted her head a bit more to stare Kaoru in the eye.

"Yes, my brother," She repeated sullenly.

"You're Enishi's sister?" Kaoru breathed as she felt as though the air was being pushed out of her body. She had known that Tomoe had, had some sorts of ties to the government and had assumed that it was a loose relationship perhaps from a past professional life within the layers of complex government bureaucracy. Kaoru would have never staked money on the fact that Tomoe was directly related to the very root of evil that was driving the country into the ground and stirring up the other side in his search for Kenshin.

Kaoru glanced down at the unoccupied space before her, her tea forgotten and abandoned, and she relented slowly as she pushed away from the wall and kneeled down before Tomoe. Bowing her head slightly as she felt the short ends of her hair brush against her cheeks in a gentle caress, she felt the lump in her chest expand and seize at the realization that she was going to perhaps get the answers she and the others had journeyed so far to obtain and even beyond that. Tomoe's summoning of her, as Kaoru realized, was more than likely knitted into the fabric that was woven by the hand of fate herself.

Yahiko was lingering near the edge of a canal, his loose linen garments billowing around his limbs as the warm breeze licked at him lazily, warming his skin as he felt the gentle warmth of the sun embrace him in the early hours of the afternoon.

He himself had become frustrated as he walked in seemingly never ending circles, his eyes scanning the crowds for anyone who may have taken notice to his wandering, but the citizens of Central seemed to be too preoccupied with their own private bubbles to cast even a sparing glance in his direction. He had been walking along the outer perimeter of the city, a mostly residential area with a few merchants scattered about, for a significant amount of time as he tried to hone in on anything that would have served as a clue or given some sort of lead.

Bookstores, libraries… maybe? I'm not sure if they exist here, Kaoru had suggested as her face scrunched up. I'm not sure where to begin… to be honest. I guess we have to start somewhere, but…

Are you trying to find information about… what was her name again? Tomo? Misao's enthused voice was too much for Yahiko in the morning and he had sent her a blistering look as he willed for her to calm her spirits at least until the sun was high in the sky.

Tomoe, Kaoru corrected as she tucked on her shoes, holding up her foot to inspect them with a careful eye. Anything about her or the Vestige. If there's going to be information, it's going to be here in Central—at least Tomoe is. If we can even get some sort of idea as to where she may be, that would be a good start.

Yahiko had raised his eyebrow as he had watched how Kaoru had carefully danced around not using Kenshin's real name, always referring to him as 'The Vestige' or 'her friend' in Misao's presence. Kaoru and he had discussed at length in privacy away from the prying ears of an over zealous Misao that it would be best to keep from mentioning the name in front of Misao in order to protect at least some of the finer workings of their search for information pertaining to the man in Central. While they both knew that Misao was trustworthy and had proven to be so, Kaoru's reasonable argument had been that it was probably better to keep that thin veil of ignorance cast over the girl for her own safety so that she could at least deny knowing the Vestige's name if she were to become too deeply tangled and caught in Enishi's invisible web.

Yahiko's wanderings had proven a few facts that had disturbed him on a fundamental level: bookstores did indeed exist within Central and he saw small children dodging in and around their mothers legs as they eyed the offer of books on display. He himself knew that the schools had been shuttered in the vast majority of the country, he himself only having a basic reading level compared to someone of Kaoru's age, but it seemed that the children in Central had not been denied the privilege of knowledge and the skill to parse a book and enjoys its contents.

He had always been privy to the fact that those who lived in Central lived in another world that was unlike the humble existence that he was born into in the South: the buildings, the clothes, the stores, and the lack of scarcity were enough to convince him that Central was an artificially maintained oasis that existed within a country whose once proud existence was wilting away with every generation. It bothered Yahiko to know that the corn or the wheat he saw in the display cases were more than likely from the fields he had worked, he himself unable to legally savour the rich and buttery texture of an ear of corn.

After having scouted two promising bookstores and committing them to his memory, despite his initial frustrations with navigating the complex city, he had decided to take a quick break and had tucked himself away on one of the side canals that snaked its way through the buildings. Yahiko had sat on the edge of waterway, his legs dangling over the edge, as he took in the scene around him. In comparison to his tiny village in the South, Central was a mighty force to be reckoned with and he found the tall buildings to be unwelcoming and overwhelming as they loomed above his head. He was used to the low slung huts that his people inhabited, modest yet functional, and he found it horribly claustrophobic to be encased in what seemed to be a gilded cage. He was also deterred by the presence of the police in the street: as he wove his way though the maze-like streets and canals, he had kept a mental tally and was horrified to have racked up a count of thirty officers, their black uniforms stark contrasts against the soft colours of Central, and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he tried to slip by undetected.

This place sucks, He thought surly as he crossed his arms over his chest and cast his head upwards, eyes squinting as the sunlight blinded him.

He longed for the South once again—the North, despite being in the kind and hospitable hands of Megumi, Sanosuke, Ro, and even Kaoru, he found to be desolate and lonely. The lack of sunlight and the constant cloud cover had been enough to make him consider making his way back to the Southern warmth before Ro could convince him to be of help to Kaoru. The buildings, both the charred remains and those that had survived Enishi's onslaught, were in a generally poor state of being and the market was pitiful. His stomach had suffered from the starch heavy diet and he was horrified when Megumi had commented that green vegetables were hard to come by and were only available to those who had the means to pay for them. The people, as hardy and resilient as they were, had sullen and withdrawn faces that were a complete contrast to the much more amicable Southern personalities that were less intimidating to outsiders.

Despite having been orphaned at a fairly young age, he had been maintained by the village: Ro and her late husband had been his biggest supporters and it was often the blonde banging on his door and reminding him to wake up and get his behind out to the fields. She had also been the one to feed him, bring him that extra blanket or mend a mangled shirt, and the one to welcome him into her tiny family. Ro's parents, just as his, had been killed in the raids during Enishi's campaigns and he had always been left wondering how Ro could still wake up and face the day despite knowing that their village and their region had been absolutely destroyed by the government troops. He knew that Ro had enjoyed the presence of the vizinhos, he himself also partial to their benign presence, and was uttered confused when her third letter from the North revealed that she had joined the patroller brigades and decided to settle in the North.

Yahiko had always been more blunt than Ro, often lashing out or voicing his less than appetizing opinions in a harsh tone, but he had never been talked down to by the blonde woman. He had a fairly prickly personality when it came down to it, the circumstances of being labeled an orphan and having to make ends meet by whatever means necessary, but he had garnered enough skills to become autonomous and to survive. Misao, when she was around, was his only 'friend', and seemed to have that mysterious cheer that plagued Ro. He found himself often lazing behind Misao as they trampled through fields, allowing her to lead the conversation as she seemed contented to be in the presence of another human.

He was troubled by many things, he reasoned as he watched a sleek boat glide by him as it ferried passengers through the canals, but even he was unsure as to why he had answered Ro's call to action. His life, as miserable as it could be to have an empty stomach from time to time or to toll away in the fields, was much easier than what he was doing right now. In the South he felt secure and understood how things functioned: he learned to defend himself and others from vizinhos, often aiding the Southern patrollers unofficially and flying low on the Delegation's radar, and would stand guard when the patrollers were unable to make it to the hamlet where he resided. He knew he could wrangle a few extra rations from the old lady at the store by doing menial tasks, he knew he could wander the plains and fields of wheat and not be disturbed by another human, and he knew he could count his blessings that he had survived the campaigns despite his parents being Sympathizers.

Yahiko grunted as he brushed his hands together before rising to his feet, pivoting around as he shook his head in defeat as he tried to even fathom the brewing circumstances that he had volunteered to participate in—he himself unsure as to if those blessings for being alive had the potential to be shifted into a curse.

Megumi sighed as she folded the last bits of bandage and tucked them away into a discarded wicker basket that she had plucked from the rubbish and scrubbed to use in her make-shift space in the clinic. She had been working intensely through the last few weeks, dark rings under her eyes apparent, and she felt herself being stretched thin between running from the clinic to her family home to Ro's for impromptu meetings or any updates or leads. Her patience was wearing thinner and thinner as she turned to the sink and yanked on the faucet, opening the stream of water as she wetted her pale hands and let the water slip through her fingers.

Ro and Sanosuke had failed to track down the light box that Kaoru had touched all those months ago, not something surprising to the medical student, and they had looked fairly worn down themselves. Ro had thrown open her front door a bit more aggressively than normal as she gave Megumi a tired look before ushering her into her home and it was only then that they told her that they had been running back to back shifts with only a scant four or six hours to sleep. Ro's legs were sore and smarting, Sanosuke had a formidable scratch that ran up the length of his forearm, and both were sleep deprived and running on fumes it seemed. Megumi had offered to give them some medicinal powders to add to their teas to attempt to boost their energy, but Ro had waved it off tiredly as she sank down onto her sofa.

Megumi herself had been probing around lightly, the other medics a fairly decent source of gossip, and had been drawing just as many blanks as others. She had been trying to usher some of the older patients into her allocated space, hoping that dropping a few subtle hints might spark any sort of lead, but the head medic had delegated her to work with patrollers and workers from the forge who sported burns, blisters, and pulled muscles. She still engaged them in light conversation, her table side manners always professional, but only was able to draw the conclusion that Tereré was being forced to produce at higher quotas and with less people working the iron into weapons.

Of course, Sanosuke had retorted when she had provided that tidbit of information to the other two, Enishi probably wants to fucking run us into the ground—but get something out of it. Fucking bastard.

Ro had given Sanosuke a weary look, her blue eyes distant, but had nodded in agreement with his words as she knew he was correct. Tereré blacksmiths were the best in the country and they were often given outrageous quotas to fill as they scrambled to produce the weaponry that was shipped to Central and the military. Megumi found it ridiculous to pressure the supposed best in the country to work at such a rate but she kept silent as she nodded in sympathy to the blacksmiths whose pains and woes seemed to make her mundane day a bit more interesting.

When Megumi had dared to enquire as to what they were being forced to produce at such speed, the blacksmith gave her an odd look before saying that he wasn't sure, as he was only handling a certain part of production. That had caught Megumi's attention, as they were experts in all stages of production, but she gave him a tight smile as she finished cleaning the skin around a nasty burn on his palm. The blacksmiths that had once fuelled the basic economy in Tereré had been many in numbers, nearly one hundred, but after the siege on the village, that number had dangerously dropped to around sixty two. It would take years for them to recover those numbers and she could tell that even the blacksmiths were becoming even more suspicious of Central and much more prone to spiteful comments amongst their kind.

God, this country had really gone to hell, Ro muttered as Megumi had been tasked with sorting through documents that Sanosuke had unearthed from Kaoru's possessions. They were sitting around in Ro's house, the two women lounging on the sofa amongst papers of handwritten notes and Sanosuke on the floor watching them intently, and they were pouring over the notes to see if there was anything significant written on the subject of the Vestige. It was a long shot for them, as Sanosuke explained that they had been Kaoru's field notes, and they seemed to be more oriented towards the flora and fauna of the forests as well as anatomical notes on the vizinhos. Kaoru had told them that they were free to look over them to see if there was anything useful, she herself unconvinced as she had previously scoured over her own notes to see if there was anything that stood out to her or not.

It always has been, Megumi said gravely.

I always wondered what it might be like outside of this place, Ro said grimly as she peered up from one of Kaoru's drawings of a vizinho's paw. If other humans have to live this way, you know? Do they have better lives than us? Is there something worse?

It's hard to say, Megumi settled for. I imagine a bit of both.

There were folks that crossed the border in Capozano, Sanosuke said gruffly as his dark eyes were illuminated by the embers of the fire. Never got to talk to them really, but they didn't look like us. They stopped coming when the campaigns started—don't blame them for that—but they were real different. The trio fell silent as the fire crackled behind Sanosuke, the gravity of his statement enough to remind them that their country under Enishi had effectively cut the cord with the rest of the world as they looked inward and prided the nation on self reliance and a general mistrust of the outside world. Diplomacy was not something that had heard about or much less seen and they were all let dubious to if their country maintained at least some semblance of relations with other states.

Well, there's no point to think on it now, Megumi said with a stiff note of finality to her voice. Or ever, really.

She sighed as she cut the water to the faucet, the memory still fresh in her head as she dried her hands on a ragged towel that was slung over the rusted metal bar that ran below the sink. Her white smock was just as tired as she was, noting the hems were fraying, and she rested her hands on the edge of the sink. Peering into the mirror that was crookedly hung above the pathetic sink, she stared into her own reflection and caught sight of someone just as wore as those who prowled the mountain and forest everyday. Her dark eyes were harsh in the dim light and her lips were pursed into a fine line, the hollows of her cheeks more apparent than before. Megumi had seen too much, a reminder of her origins as a Northerner privileged enough to be whisked away to the Capital because of her promise as a budding medical doctor, but even she needed a reminder that life here seemed to be much crueler than the plush life she was awarded in Central.

"Terrible," She muttered as she drew away from the sink and retreated from her space, flicking the light off as she closed the door behind her.

Kaoru sat back on her haunches as she felt the colour slip from her cheeks, pooling into a knot of dread in her gut as she swallowed deeply, her eyes wide at what Tomoe had just told her in terms of the lore and legend behind Kenshin and his existence. Her hands clutched at the fabric of her skirt, tightening on the material as she felt nothing but a massive vacuum of information sucking her into its clutches as the realization hit her hard.

"You seem… troubled," Tomoe remarked dryly as she inspected a piece of dust on her skirts and flicked it away carelessly. "Reality is a very cruel existence, Kamiya Kaoru, and you must be brought up to speed to understand your role in this era. Fate has deemed you worthy of such a cause and you must obey." Her dark eyes were emotionless and still as she observed Kaoru with passing disinterest as she seemed unaffected by the younger woman's reaction.

"What you've just told me… how much of it is true?" Kaoru managed to ask as she felt the words empty from her mouth, she unsure as to how much she wanted to acknowledge as the raw truth. "How can I believe you?"

"The truth is relative to that who wishes to validate it for themselves," Tomoe said solemnly. "I understand that Kenshin has suffered from memory loss and is unaware of his own existence within the great chain of this world. You are tasked with assisting him and humanity to restore balance—making decisions that perhaps test your loyalties to what you cherish. You must be prepared to act when summoned to the line of duty." Tomoe's words were far from unkind but they were flat and factual, leading Kaoru to contemplate if this was something clinical to the woman gifted with foresight.

"How much can I tell him?"

"That is your decision to make," Tomoe replied surly. "You will know when the time is right and will realize that this country and perhaps the world will be forced to collide with the other side because of my brother's foolish actions setting off a chain of events that has long since been prophesied since before we were born. You are responsible to ensure there is little deviation from what Fate has assigned us to succumb to as a race." Kaoru felt her head begin to spin at such cryptic language yet it did maintain some sense to her, she herself slowly seeing how the threads were connecting and leading her down a path that was slowly revealing itself to her piece by piece. Hindsight made it glaringly obvious but Kaoru saw little comfort in such insight, her teeth gnawing at her lip as she tried to muster the words to formulate the one question she wanted to ask Tomoe since the beginning.

"You wish to know where he is lying now?" Tomoe's voice was crisper and Kaoru felt her soul chill as Tomoe peered right through her.

"Yes," She replied slowly, her blue eyes wary.

"He is not within Central and he is closer than you think," Tomoe answered. "Perhaps you should invest and consider your relationship to the young woman who has joined your venture? She has known of his location since before departing the North." Tomoe's words forced Kaoru to jerk her head up at the mention of Misao and she felt her jaw drop in disbelief at Tomoe's alluding that Misao had known where Kenshin was all this time and had not bothered to mention it at all. She felt something tug angrily at her heart and something shifted within her as she rose to her feet.

"Before you leave, I will leave you with two pieces of information," Tomoe said abruptly as she forced Kaoru to fixate her attention on her once more. "You and I, Kamiya Kaoru, are destined to cross paths once more. Keep that in mind and be aware." Her eyes dropped to the floor as she studied her long since empty teacup before she inhaled lightly.

"Secondly, you are reckless as you are clever, but on that you will not get by alone," Tomoe continued as her voice softened slightly for the first time since the two women had been immersed in conversation. "Intuition is a wonderful thing but sometimes you must let yourself be guided by the circumstances and not act irrationally. This will be your obstacle that Fate herself will test you upon time after time. Sometimes you must preside over things you do not want to see or hear to be able to make the decision that best suits the needs of what you have set out to do. You must be selfless in this quest, Kamiya Kaoru, you cannot conserve selfish desires or we will all be castigated to a decision that will crucify humanity to a cruel and unfitting end."

"You support your brother," Kaoru blurted out, reacting to the last words.

"I support whatever Fate has decided is just punishment for humanity and our sins against nature herself," Tomoe replied evenly. "I cannot support my brother's crazed cause to advance humanity the way he desires that we move forward." Her dark eyes narrowed momentarily as she turned her head towards the door, the sound of footsteps approaching a signal that it was time to end their clandestine meeting and to release the now informed Kamiya Kaoru into the world.

"Go forth and find your friend, she will be in the gardens looking for you," Tomoe instructed icily.

"How am I supposed to find my way back?"

"You will find your way, I assure you," Tomoe answered as she, too, rose to her feet to meet Tsubame at the door. She gestured for Kaoru to go before her, the door sliding open noisily as the young girl peered into the room hesitantly, spotting the two women. She stepped to the side, allowing clear passage, as Kaoru emerged into the alleyway and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. Tomoe lingered in the shadows a few paces back from the door, her hands folded within her sleeves as she regarded Kaoru with her dulled stare.

"It was a pleasure to finally speak to you, Kamiya Kaoru, and I look forward to our last meeting when the time arises," Tomoe said cooly as she looked at Tsubame who was standing placidly to the side. "Go forth and attempt to let the world guide you—open your mind to what may contradict your own instinctual behaviour." With that, she retreated back into the shadows as Tsubame gave Kaoru a curt nod before stepping into the ramshackle of a shack and closed the door behind them, leaving Kaoru alone in the alleyway as she found herself speechless and unable to even gather her bearings as she pushed herself away from the shack, desperate to get away from such a troubling place as she let her feet pull her in whatever direction they pleased.

She slunk through the alleyway, her eyes cast downwards as she kept her face hidden from the random residents of the area, her azure orbs stained with tears as she choked back the sobs that were trying to escape from her throat.

How cruel, she thought miserably as she rounded a corner, vanishing from the narrow street where the hut seemed to mock her retreating form.

A/N: Happy belated New Year! An update for you guys! :)

The next chapter will be the back story behind Kenshin and his origins, so look forward to it! We're steaming full speed ahead. Don't forget to leave a review and see you next time! :D