Origin

Chapter XXXII

My People, They Move

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

The insistent shaking of Kaoru's shoulder was enough to stir her from her dreamless sleep as she heard Yahiko hissing her name, his hands roughly gripping her tired shoulders.

Azure eyes opened and came face-to-face with the young boy, his face wrought with concern, anger, and a sense of urgency she had not expected to see from him. She reached up and shook his hands from her shoulders, sitting up fully as she glowered at him for waking him before the bells of Central were due to toll.

"What?"

"She's gone." Kaoru's eyes narrowed at his words, the realisation hitting her square in the gut.

"What?" She whispered, the words slipping between her teeth. "Misao? How?"

"She must have left when we were asleep, I swear I didn't hear anything," Yahiko explained roughly, his voice taking on a dangerously neutral tone as he tried to collect his own feelings. He was grappling with what he considered betrayal from his fellow Southerner, a girl he had grown up knowing but always shrouded in a clock of secrecy that he had never questioned her about out of ensuring peace was maintained.

He felt a deep sense of guilt lurching within him knowing that their own tangible piece of information had just waltzed out of Megumi's apartment.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kaoru grumbled as she rose from the bed and stumbled over the tangle of blankets in the attempt to make her way to the living room where Misao had been sleeping on a pile of pillows and blankets. She was met with a neat stack of blankets that had been folded and pushed to the side, leaving little indication that they had been only recently used.

"She's gone," Yahiko repeated as he ran a hand through his hair. Kaoru felt her knees give out as she slowly sank to the ground, her hands splaying before her on the floor as she drew in controlled breaths in the attempt to calm herself. The heated discussion from last night and the accusations of loyalties and withholding information replayed in her mind. She knew that Misao either panicked or wanted out of the mission in Central, now knowing that the very thing she was trying to protect was the same thing being sought out by everyone under the sun.

"Yeah, yeah… she's gone," Kaoru muttered as she sighed. She questioned if her own accusations against Misao's withholding of information may have driven the girl to flee and if she herself had acted too hastily. Emotions were a powerful tool, something that she had thought had been trained out of her in her years of a patroller, but the need to ensure Kenshin's safety and wellbeing as well as tracking him down had taken a protagonist role over years of careful suppression of emotions.

"Now what?"

Good question, Kaoru mused internally, too afraid to voice her real thoughts aloud. Too many things had been thrown into question with Misao prancing out the door and she herself was left reeling trying to understand what was the path to take.

Return to Tereré?

Keep scouring Central for clues?

Track down Misao?

Leave Central and press South?

Kaoru bit her lip as she tried desperately to calm herself, her heart racing from a toxic cocktail of emotions that warred within her. She understood that Misao's loyalties to whoever she was working for or working with were much stronger than those to Kaoru and everyone. In a way, Kaoru reckoned, she could not blame Misao for her exit strategy in order to protect her own interests and motives. However, she could also barely comprehend after the train incident and their initial search of Central and the conversations where they opened up a bit more…"—Damnit," Kaoru cursed as she balled her hands into fists and grit her teeth.

"We messed up involving her in this," Yahiko muttered as he gave a grunt of annoyance. "She shouldn't have known anything." He himself felt a pang of guilt because he had vouched for Misao's loyalty, even going as far as saying she would never turn on them under such dire circumstances. He was unsure to consider this act of upping-and-leaving a betrayal or not or merely Misao removing herself from the equation. At the end of the day, it had been to his promise that she was a valuable asset to their team that had contributed greatly to the present situation.

"Maybe," Kaoru muttered, too unsure if she wanted to agree or disagree. She could understand Misao was not inherently a bad person but had been put into a difficult spot. Even the most hardened of individuals could always crack under pressure and she was aware enough that this was probably the case in terms of the younger woman.

"We've got a few days," Yahiko said quietly as he glanced out the window, the first tendrils of daylight peeking through the curtains as they graced their sunbeams upon chilled bodies. "Should we go back earlier?"

"We're just going back empty handed," Kaoru replied slowly, looking up at Yahiko with a haggard look to her dark blue eyes that spoke of shadows of not knowing how to handle the situation at hand. It was a rarity for someone who was as skilled and clever as Kaoru and even Yahiko was privy to how Misao's actions were translating into disaster for their plans. Rendered into a position of vulnerability and being thrown backwards in terms of information, it seemed that there was no viable path independent of the one that they took.

"Yeah, but Enishi may know we're here because you managed to speak to Tomoe," Yahiko contested. "If we're one person down, we're just asking for it."

"We've been asking for it," Kaoru corrected. "This entire time we've been exposing ourselves here in Central. I'm not surprised if they know where we are and are just letting us roam until they want to strike."

"Yeah, Ugly, but we're just as good as sitting ducks at this point," Yahiko pointed out again, hinting at his preference of jumping ship and returning to Tereré to regroup with Ro, Sanosuke, and Megumi and reformulating their plan if not outright abandoning their current one. "We can't have Roosterhead and Ro come down for nothing and we're lacking on clues. They literally just walked out the door with Misao."

"Where would she have gone?" Kaoru asked suddenly, prompting Yahiko's eyebrow to furrow in response. "Would she have gone back down South? Back to your village?"

"Nah, too obvious," Yahiko answered as he felt his brain kick into action, writing to fathom where the younger weasel woman would have snaked off to. "If I had to make a guess, I'm fairly sure she's gone back to wherever the hell Kenshin is."

"You think so?"

"Ain't any other idea of where she could have gone," He replied with a shrug, his dark eyes serious as he glanced out the window once more. "If anything, probably is trying to make sure Kenshin ain't in any immediate danger. Maybe they'll change locations at this rate."

"That would make sense," Kaoru agreed although she felt her heart sink, realising that if Yahiko was correct in his theory, Kenshin would be slipping even further from her fingers. She understood it was probably for his own good, especially given the fragile state of his existence and memory, but it frustrated her alongside with Tomoe's words that her fate was much more intertwined with Kenshin than she had ever contemplated possible. Everything had just been snatched away in the cruelest of ways with the best of intentions.

It was difficult for both of them to admit, but they had been stonewalled and had hit a fairly solid dead-end in their search. Yahiko knew that if he were to cross paths with Misao again, it would be a heated confrontation on his part: the sting of betrayal was heavier than anything he felt in terms of physical blows. He knew Ro would be equally as furious as he was, if not more and a pit of dread filled his stomach at the thought of the blonde woman's reaction.

"We can't go back to Tereré empty-handed," Kaoru said quietly as though she was reading his mind. "We put so much on the line for this and if we go back with nothing to show for all this…"

"Yeah… yeah," Yahiko said in agreement as he, too, sank to the ground and curled his legs up. The younger boy was at a loss as to what to do and what the appropriate path was to take. In times such as these he would always charge forward in the hopes that the issues would sort themselves out or that he'd be able to suss out a solution whilst in movement. This time, with everything piling up and the potential dangers lingering around every corner, he knew he had to be much firmer in his actions and decisions, moving forward with Kaoru.

"I think we need to be careful with our options, Ugly," He spoke again, an odd and unusual streak of rational behaviour coursing through his mind. Kaoru nodded at him in a tired fashion, her blue eyes dull in the rays of morning light. Yahiko's own dark eyes were guarded as he mulled over the last minutes of conversation before he sighed and ran another hand through his hair.

The pair were quiet as they let their minds consume them, both unsure as to what the correct stroke of action was to take.

The only sound that accompanied them was the distant bobbing of boats in the canals of Central; eerie as they were ominous, the mirror-like surface rippling and shuddering in warning.


A harsh rapping at the door of Aoshi's office made him furrow his brown in annoyance, but he set down his pen as he looked up, not bothering to wait to see if the unwanted guests would wait for him to extend the invitation to enter or not.

He immediately recognised the cloaks and their patterns of being those of the military police from Central and he felt his guard tighten even further as three men stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their hoods pulled securely over their faces to obscure their identities from the knowing eyes of Aoshi. The Commander knew that he was being dragged into whatever mess had been provoked by the younger Kamiya that had vanished from the face of the earth and the clock had struck the hour in which it came for him to be questioned by higher authority.

"Commander," One of the men said in curt greeting.

"I presume you are not here for the formality of a visit," Aoshi grunted as he bridged his fingers together and narrowed his eyes.

"We have been dispatched to address an issue with one of your patrollers who has been spotted causing disruptions en route to Central," A second man said as he reached into his cloak and procured a scroll on which was printed a warrant. "As you're next in her chain of command, we are asking for your cooperation in this open investigation."

"Disruption, huh?" Aoshi muttered as he closed his eyes. He had heard rumbles from unverified sources as to what may have occurred on a certain train but he had not pursued further under the scheme to remain as ignorant as possible to avoid incriminating one of his best patrollers. Still, snatches of conversation were inevitable and he had become quite aware that Kaoru had been one of the driving forces behind defeating an unclassified vizinho and he knew she would more than likely face some disciplinary action.

"Are you aware about the whereabouts of your patroller?" The first man asked as his cloaks rustled.

"As far as I am aware, she has been homebound with illness," Aoshi replied simply. "Due to the sheer amount of work and activity from aggressive vizinhos, we cannot keep tabs on each patroller."

"Even one of your more revered ones?"

"I make no such distinctions," Aoshi said shortly.

"So you are unaware that Miss. Kamiya has been spotted in Central by our police forces?" The third man finally spoke. Aoshi inclined his head in response, declining knowing anything about the hypothetical whereabouts of Kaoru as he simply had no physical confirmation from her as to any plans she had to venture to Central given she had very little apparent motive to do so.

"And you mean to tell us that her illness has gone unchecked by the medical brigades and there has been no update on her condition?"

"Our medical brigade is understaffed and resources are stretched too thin for them to possibly inform me of every ailment of my patrollers," Aoshi answered. "We're not in the position of having an entire backlog of patrollers eager to go out and fight—our squadrons are tired and are trying to cover as much as they can as they can. If one is ill, they cannot slow down the slow progress of others.

"If you are claiming that Miss. Kamiya is in Central, I have nothing to report on the issue," Aoshi continued, a rare cascade of words spilling from his mouth. He was much more stoic and silent in better times, often keeping his thoughts to himself as he absorbed a situation before acting. He would refuse to bend to the knee to these military police officers who had come to do nothing but bother him in the attempts to extract information.

"And the accusations of her using an unauthorised weapon?" The second officer chimed up as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"All of our weaponry is clean and registered at our Long House and the controls are tight and in line with Central's guidance," Aoshi retorted, making a mental note to file away this tidbit of information to investigate on his own later, once the military police had abandoned Tereré. On that point he knew that his hands were clean as it was true: the control of patrollers' access to weapons was highly regulated and severe disciplinary actions were taken if they were caught with unregistered weapons in their possession. Many times, depending on the individual, the punishments would vary in just how grave they were: a telling off and an official warning. A flogging. Aoshi was keenly aware that Kaoru had no blemishes on her record and had conformed to regulation use.

"Then how would Miss. Kamiya have her gotten her hands on a pistol?"

Oh? Aoshi thought as he tilted his head, intrigued by this nugget of information that the military police officer was attempting to bait him with. He knew that Kaoru had no training with a weapon, she herself having been a fierce advocate for swordsmanship, and she was definitely more suited for close-range combat where she was able to strike and lash out and deliver deadly blows. The mere thought of her slugging a pistol around was confusing to Aoshi and he himself had much more questions surface.

"We do not have pistols or firearms delegated to our patrollers," Aoshi replied. "Miss. Kamiya would not have been able to acquire one from us."

"Then where would she have gotten her hands on one?"

"That is best a question for Kamiya, isn't it?" Aoshi challenged as he felt his tone fall flat. "You are free to inspect the Long House if you wish to disprove the theory she received internal support."

"Are you acknowledging that Miss. Kamiya is not present in Tereré?" The second one asked as he shuffled his feet.

"I am not acknowledging anything that I am not privy to," Aoshi answered sternly. "You come to me with allegations and no concrete proof that Kamiya is in Central. I cannot fulfil my obligation to Central on such poor offerings of information and baseless accusations about my subordinate."

"I can assure you, Commander, our sources are credible as they are reliable," The third police officer spoke up, his tone unimpressed with Aoshi's tactics. "We find it to be of little benefit to travel this far on baseless rumours." Aoshi's face was unmoving as he took in those words, hearing the underlying threat that was woven together into the superficial meaning of what he was hearing.

"We have reason to believe that Miss. Kamiya is caught up in something much larger and she is a person of interest to Central," The first officer said quietly. "Eye witnesses have come forth with startling claims as to the occurrences upon the train that was attacked by an unclassified vizinho. The description of the individual who was able to take it down match Miss. Kamiya's description as we have on official records. She is wanted for questioning."

"What do you mean something much larger?" Aoshi asked.

"Classified information, we cannot share details," The third officer retorted. "That comes from the top, so don't try to go above our heads either." Aoshi scoffed at the man but relented as he himself tried to piece together some of the scattered fragments of information he had been discreetly collecting far away from the eyes of Central or anyone who could be considered a sympathiser. Years of intelligence training had served him well as he knew how to weave through the shadows with a careful ear.

"You do not just get the leisure of barging into my office and not informing me of something 'much larger', especially if the matter pertains to the security of Tereré," Aoshi said calmly as his eyes studied the faces of the three officers.

"It's above your grade," They retorted.

"Local security—"

"—Can be handled by the council," The first one said with a sharp tone. "It's above you, Aoshi." Aoshi's eyes narrowed momentarily as they dropped his title but he said nothing, opting to fight a bigger battle than that of silly and purposeful omissions of tilts.

"I see," He replied dryly. "Fine."

"If we are to find out you have been aiding Kamiya and not disclosing her movements to Central, you can expect a less amicable visit and a summoning to Central," The third officer spoke, his shoulders squaring up. "Are you certain you have nothing else you wish to share?"

Aoshi was silent for a moment, knowing that if the men were to go to Kamiya's residence, they would most likely just find Sanosuke if he were to be in. The commander was unsure as to how good of a liar Sanosuke could be to the military police or what measures the trio would fall back on to force information from the massive patroller. Aoshi was acutely aware of Sanosuke's disdain for authority and even bigger disdain for authority originating from Central and knew that he would not rat out Kamiya.

"Are you sure you want to be complicit to this?" The second one asked as he tilted his head, a very tired expression highlighting his already dark-ringed eyes. "Things are getting tough, as I am sure you are aware."

"I am." Aoshi's voice was flat.

"Your leadership is going to be more essential now than ever," He continued as he glanced over at his two accompanying officers. "Do not get caught up in these messes caused by your subordinates in such trying times." Aoshi was silent, knowing that the threats from the West were creeping ever-closer to Tereré and their surrounding area. The patrollers that were still scouring the routes were coming back more and more battered, the conflicts and confrontations escalating as time staggered on.

"If my leadership is so essential, why is it impossible to disclose the reason as to why my subordinate is being investigated?" Aoshi probed.

"It comes from Enishi."

So that's what he meant from above, Aoshi mused as he gave a slight incline of his head in acknowledgement. That was already a dangerous position to be in because it was indicative that Enishi had his finger on the pulse on whatever was about to plague their lands. He was slightly bothered that this information was being withheld or would be mostly censured, but he knew not to push when it came to Enishi. Tereré had already suffered enough due to his cruel punishments and Aoshi was in no hurry to provoke Central and thrust the village back into a precarious position.

"I see," He settled more. "I am afraid I cannot assist you with more information pertaining to Kamiya. If I were to have any further details, I'll be sure to communicate to Central." The three officers gave him disgruntled looks, knowing very well that Aoshi was tight lipped and would keep information tightly guarded under proverbial lock and key. He had always been controversial in his methods from Central's point of view but he produced results and high caliber patrollers that executed their work with excellence.

"Would there be any harm in verifying that Kamiya is indeed at her residence?" The first officer asked, his cloak rustling.

"Go ahead," Aoshi said grimly as he grimaced inwardly, his facial expressions unmoving. His two pronged solution that he hoped to avoid using was about to be put to the test: he hoped that his easy admission to them visiting Kamiya's abode would be a deterrence and enough to dissuade them from visiting her house. The willingness to offer her up on a plate had, had light potential to show a sliver of faux loyalty to Central but he knew it was highly unlikely for top officers to fall into such a ploy.

"Escort us there." It was not a request, it was an order. Aoshi sighed inwardly but relented as he moved from behind his desk towards the door of his office. He was silent as he heard the three fall into step behind him, as though they were lining up to be ready to act if there was any suspicion of foul play against Central. Aoshi was not one to be intimidated but even he felt weary at the trio behind him, watching his every move with the intensity of a nighthawk.

He dreaded what they would find at Kaoru's home and he hoped that his second prong of a two headed solution would work out of sheer dumb luck.


"You seem bothered," Pops said with a grunt as he plopped down next to Kenshin who was sitting on the edge of one of the hot spring pools and staring down into the water. His reflection was peering back at him and he had spent the better part of an hour studying his face, trying to make a connection or spark some memory as to who he was or what he was doing in such a sacred place hidden from the ugly world.

"Ah," Kenshin uttered quietly, not even bothering to look over at the elderly man.

"What's on your mind?"

Kenshin was silent as he contemplated Pops' question, unsure as how to respond or what would be the response the man sought from him. He knew that the elderly man was a silent guardian and watched over the intermediary world, his rounds in the mornings to ensure that peace continued and neither side of the world bled through the other. He was in a unique position of privilege; a purgatory of subtle perfection that did not carry the fear of being marred by further tragedy. Kenshin struggled to come to terms with this world and its near perfect existence while something in the back of his mind was nagging at him, spurring a heavy concern that was weighing down on his conscious without any context.

He feared for Miss. Kamiya's well being and the nagging in the back of his head was growing louder as he tried to close his eyes and summon her to the front of his mind. He was normally able to conjure an image of the blue eyed woman whose gentle smiles soothed his pains but he was struggling to do so. He was mustering all his mental willpower but the failure to do so was extremely frustrating as the last few tendrils of a connection to her seemed to be interrupted or severed completely.

Something within him whispered that danger was able to creep up on her and he was powerless to do anything.

Pops' warning to not interference and throw a hammer into the glasshouse that was Miss. Kamiya's ambigious objective had been lingering in the back of his mind, but even Kenshin knew that he could not ignore his base instincts any further when it came to the young woman. He had many questions he wanted to ask her; questions that could answer and piece together the fragmented images of who he was—an existence caught between humanity and not, stuck in an intermediary world.

"You're thinking of Miss. Kamiya," Pops said solemnly.

"Yes," Kenshin replied.

"Surely she is alright?" Pops ventured to say, glancing over at the quiet red-head who was still staring at his reflection in the water.

"This one is not so sure," Kenshin countered in a low voice, closing his eyes and only seeing darkness. An empty void of blackness that was lacking warmth and only reminded him of what he did not have.

"What would make you say that?"

"Instinct tells this one that she may be in danger," Kenshin replied slowly. "There is something that is in the back of this one's head, that there is." Pops gave him a startled look, troubled by the frankness of the normally quiet redhead. Kenshin did not feel the need to disclose the struggle he was facing trying to reach out and feel for Miss. Kamiya through all the chaos; that all he was hearing was radio silence from the vast abyss.

"Instinct. A powerful thing." Pops' comment did not stir a reaction from the stoic man. "It's quite the force to reckon with. Many times your instinct trumps the more logical side of your brain." He gave a hearty chuckle, he himself having followed his gut all this time and laughing at the irony of where he had ended up. His gut feeling had caused more damage and his instincts had led him down an unwanted path to a desired result.

"What does your instinct tell you?" Pops asked as he reached into his pocket and fished out a package of herbs that he had just freshly picked, his gnarled hands slowly starting to sort them piece by piece. "What do you think is the right thing to do?" The previous conversation where he had encouraged the redhead to stay put, to wait to be called forth seemed to be long forgotten as he realised that the redhead's desperation to get the much needed answers and confirmation that Miss. Kamiya was alright and well seemed to dominate his more rational side of sitting back.

Pops had been keenly aware that this moment would come, knowing that the other side on both sides was slowly whipping itself up into a frenzy.

He could not contain Kenshin and restrict him to the safety of the intermediary world forever; Pops was well aware that his role of being the watchful eye as Kenshin recovered would come to a halt as the man felt the invisible walls grow too small. The instinct laced with magic and centuries old power and destiny was no match for his sage words of advice and he would have to relent and give into Kenshin's request for freedom.

But it would not be without cost.

"How will you find her?" Pops asked innocently, all ears as he waited to see the response.

"As this one has done, wander until our paths cross or there is firm information as to where Miss. Kamiya is," Kenshin replied steadily. The urge to wander, to scour the earth in search of her was enough for him to move forward and press on: the growing sense of feeling the leaves, the meadows, the sand between his feet—listening to the wind guide him and whisper teasing hints into his ear: Kenshin believed that fate would push them together with her hands and will. Their destinies were connected and interlocked and he knew it would be sooner rather than later that they would meet again.

"Fate herself ensures that we will meet," Kenshin continued. "We have not met by accident, that we have not."

"Have you thought as to how Miss. Kamiya would react if you were to suddenly appear?"

"Yes," Kenshin lied, feeling the singe of the fib burn at his conscious. "This one has given it much consideration and the consequences are far less severe than what this one would expect."

"What do you mean?"

"This one believes that Miss. Kamiya is searching for me, that I do," Kenshin replied softly. "Perhaps it becomes a question of lessening her burden and relieving her of the pain of disappointment time and time again."

"Pain of disappointment?"

"No one knows where I am other than you and Misao," Kenshin said as he finally risked giving Pops a saddened look. "This one must find her. For the sake of both of us." The old man sighed audibly as he gave Kenshin a pained look but ceased sorting the plants momentarily to give Kenshin his full attention.

"What good would it do if you were to put her in danger?"

"This one will protect Miss. Kamiya, that I will," Kenshin said. "No matter what the cost may be, she must be found. The time spent here is coming to a close." Pops sighed once again as he gave Kenshin another concerned look, recognising that familiar stubborn streak that rhymed considerably with what his daughter used to demonstrate from time to time. Perhaps the redhead was correct in the sense that they did belong together, ushered closer by fate's meddling hands to unite under a greater cause.

"I have no doubt," Pops managed to say. "When do you want to take your leave?" Every fibre in the elder's body was telling him that this was too soon and that Kenshin's state was still too delicate for him to be out and exposed to the greedy hands of Central. He was aware that Kenshin's slumbering abilities would be brought to the surface—of that he had little doubt—but he questioned who was faster: Kaoru or Enishi. It came down to pure grit and motivation but he knew that Enishi had an entire nation and army behind him and Kaoru was a lone actor.

He dreaded pondering his estranged daughter's plight.

"Tonight, under the cover of darkness," Kenshin replied as his violet eyes softened. He reached out and carefully covered one of Pops' hands with his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze: man-to-man, he was hellbent on not failing neither Pops or Kaoru. The risk was great and abandoning a safe shelter from the storm of Enishi was a risky if not outright stupid strategy. Instinct, however, was stronger and he could no longer push down the feeling that was pulling at his heart strings and pushing him to make a move.

"In that case, my boy, I need to leave something with you," Pops said as he gave a sharp nod of approval. He grunted as he stood up and rested his hands on his knees, inhaling deeply as he took a look around the pools of hot springs and the quiet sanctuary that was the middle world.

"Wait," He instructed, turning his back on Kenshin and moving away from him, towards the small hut he called home. His pace was a bit quicker than normal, his breathing laboured as he vanished within the hut. Kenshin watched the doorway curiously, his senses picking up on what seemed like Pops banging against the wooden floor and muttering to himself before a hearty 'aha' was uttered and something clanged against the wooden floor.

The old man tried to rush his way back to Kenshin, his hands wrapped around an object and a half smile lighting up his features. His footsteps were heavy against the grasses of the meadow, but there seemed to be a sense of determination that Kenshin had never seen in the elderly man. He stared at the object, wrapped it cloth and nestled between Pops' arms, and could only imagine by the shape of it what it would be.

"You'll be needing this."


And we're back: 1,5 years later. Apologies for the delay: I moved country, started a new position, and lost the wind in my sails. However, I'll certainly do my best to keep up the momentum.