The Intricacies of Fate
Chapter 13- The Greatest Pain
Disclaimers: Standard RK and Flame of Recca disclaimers apply. I do not own any of the characters that would appear in this fic. I am merely borrowing them, if I owned them, I would have animated the Jinchuu Arc series long ago and the second part of FOR. Please don't sue, I'm a good kid.
//- indicates thoughts
// kokoro // - indicates telepathic communication (between Kaoru, Misao)
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Their dreams were plagued by darkness, the memory of an abiding pain...
With a loud gasp, Kaoru jerked awake, the semi-comatose state she was in earlier falling away as abruptly as fog in the bright sunlight.
She was in a bed, the sterile cold floors of the laboratory testing room replaced by the comfort of a soft mattress. But the opulence throbbed with Cimmerian undercurrents and Kaoru realized that even though the room was submerged in darkness, everything inside the room was so black... as black as the infinite night, as the gloom that resided forever in Kurei's soul.
"So... you're awake," drawled Kurei from the darkest corner of the room. He inched closer to the bed where Kaoru sat up, shivering from the coldness of the room but maybe it was from her state of undress or even from the bleakness of his presence. Kurei saw the shiver and felt grimly satisfied, it would make his task easier if he intimidated them. A whole lot easier.
Beside her, Kaoru felt Misao stir restlessly. Laying a shaking hand on her sister's shoulder, she soothed the restlessness softly. Misao need more rest, Kaoru would be damned before she let Kurei disrupt the healing sleep Misao's battered body so desperately needed.
Drawing a blanket to envelop her half-healed body, Kaoru faced Kurei defiantly. "Why are we here? Your sadistic scientists done with their fun?" she sneered, all the hatred and fury sparking from her azure eyes. She was shaking so much but Kaoru couldn't help it. There was so much pain in the last few hours... and now there was such overwhelming hate.
Unperturbed, Kurei walked closer, stopping at the foot of the bed. He gazed at Kaoru's contemptuous face before his eyes turned to Misao's slumbering form. Quickly, Kaoru threw a blanket over Misao's bare form and challenged Kurei. "Hentai!" she hissed. She tried to call forth a spell, anything that would bring down so much pain on Kurei that the pain she and her sister had suffered would seem like a tickle compared to his. But nothing flowed into her mind, all that was present was an overwhelming animosity. She made a mistake then, when she looked up boldly into his eyes.
Kurei was surprised at the audacity of Kaoru's move. She just sneered at him, challenged him openly, insulted him and looked into his eyes, insignificant things really; but they were things only a few managed to survive. He watched the play of emotions in Kaoru's eyes, she was so pathetically transparent. But her eyes changed, the animosity fading in the light of comprehension.
"Your eyes are so sad beneath the coldness," whispered Kaoru as she broke off the stare. She felt her heart beating rapidly and her fists clenched on the sheet. The discovery was so stunning and unwanted, how can she overcome an adversary whom she felt compassion for? Without knowing anything else and trusting her instincts, she knew that what Kurei suffered long ago was indeed greater than her pain.
Kurei flinched slightly her words. "You are mistaken," he stated flatly before he looked towards Misao's form as she slowly woke up. "Your sister is awake," he said, looking away before Misao sat up and realized her nudity. He heard Misao's cry of dismay and the soft sounds of cloth being wrapped around someone's body. The sisters whispered quietly with each other, embracing in relief and holding their hands together. Kurei suddenly felt an increase of power within his chambers. It fascinated him.
"It's you," said Misao woodenly as she turned to face their captor. His very silence was unnerving but in so many ways, it reminded her so much of her Aoshi. His eyes seemed even darker in the gloom of his chambers but there was something so unbearably sad in his emotionless countenance.
Kurei inclined his head at Misao's greeting. He suddenly felt as if the sisters were stripping him of his emotionless layers. He felt vulnerable and exposed in the piercing shades of blue that were their eyes. He jerked away abruptly. Obviously, the sisters were empaths as well. He dropped the pretense and whirled to face them.
"I want you to bind my soul with Kurenai," he stated before he called out his flame Scarlet, the essence of the woman who died in his arms.
"Nani?" gasped Kaoru and Misao in surprise. The flame angel figure that hovered above them was a gray flame but it didn't make her fire cold. It burned even hotter than most, radiating with anguish, anger, hatred and deep inside... fear. The flame screamed piercingly, the way a mermaid would scream at being deprived of her sea.
"Bind my soul to hers," said Kurei bluntly, allowing the flame to lay a hand against his shoulder. The material of his clothes hissed and smoked, but the pain seemed insignificant to him as he faced the sisters, bold and commanding and at the same time, needy.
"Do you know what you're asking us to do?" asked Misao quietly, as she stared at the odd tears that gleamed from the flame angel. She was shaken by Kurei's demand but Kaoru was aghast that they'd even consider giving Kurei his demand. They were captives for goodness sakes! They were tortured just to show their power but their hearts being connected, they both realized the flow of power that quivered in anticipation of accepting Kurei's wish.
Kurei looked at Scarlet for a long time before he responded gruffly, "Aa."
"Are you even aware that your souls would be inextricably bound together, not allowing the other to love any one else, a choice long made by powers even beyond death? You'd feel the agony the other would feel, an exposure of souls to each other forever?" asked Kaoru as she trembled. She could feel the power growing, glowing, pulsing and reached out voluntarily.
"Yes," agreed Kurei without hesitation. "I just want to be with her... I want to be able to live my life without restraint and to feel just knowing there's someone in the world for me," added Kurei haltingly. He shook his head grimly as soon as those words came out of his mouth. "I can't believe I just said that," he said harshly.
" I can't believe it either," agreed Misao a little amused. The wounds were half-healed and didn't hurt like the devil any more. She saw her hold out for her hand and it was a gesture Misao recognized. They were going to grant Kurei's wish for unfathomable reasons that had nothing to do with logic nor hatred. It was an aid given by their power to someone who needed it as badly as he needed to exist.
"Kurenai is dead and there's a chance you may not survive binding your soul with someone whose soul hasn't even been reborn in this world," said Kaoru as she pressed the center of her right hand against Misa's left palm. Kurei nodded but he suddenly reached out and placed a hand over theirs.
"If you do this for me, I promise you that you'll be free from Mori," he said gruffly.
Smiling sadly at him, Kaoru looked up from the power that was quickly consuming them. "We're not doing for ourselves Kurei," said Kaoru whose voice was fading. Misao turned to look at him and said, "We're doing this for YOU."
Their eyes began to glow, as if lit by a blue fire from within. Along with the blue light, a strange golden aura began to cloak the sisters. A wind that was felt only by Kaoru and Misao lifted their hair, sending it flowing over the charged air. As they spoke, their voices carried a perpetual tone of power and magic, a voice that has seen centuries of love and loss and understood the consequences of it.
"This is a soul-bind Kurei, whatever you pledge now would be pledged for all eternity. Is this bind of your free will?" asked Kaoru, her voice lost behind the echo of an afterlife.
"Aa," answered Kurei simply before Misao raised a hand imperiously. "Then let this be a final warning, this is the last time your soul would be yours alone," said Misao before Kurei nodded solemnly once more, thoroughly committed to his cause. "And then now I call on Kurenai's soul to bind with yours," called Kaoru before she and Misao took a deep breath and began to start the chant.
The room vibrated with power. A slight opening on the floor and the flame Scarlet hovering above the crack suddenly smiled. A light passed through the crack, an image of a frail girl who looked so innocent merged with the flame. Scarlet shrieked in pain at the merging while Kurei watched with all the hope in his eyes.
"Not so fast Kurei," boomed out Mori who threw the doors open in one swift motion.
Startled by the intrusion, Kaoru and Misao lost their concentration and the radiance of their magic disappeared in a flash. "IIE!" shouted Kurei, his mask falling off.
His flame began to riot, shrieking mindlessly, incinerating everything it touched. "Stop your foolishness Kurei, love isn't worth a pile of shit," scoffed Mori as his son Kurei fell on his knees, staring blankly at the mask which he had long worn to conceal his emotions.
"You foolish selfish man!" cried out Misao as she watched Kurei with pity. Kurei was still silent, his palms on the floor as he bent down. The curtains in Kurei's room caught fire, and Misao and Kaoru quickly got up from the bed as the fire drew dangerously closer to them.
With glittering eyes, Mori grabbed Kaoru's wrist, jerking her away from her sister. Misao cried out and lashed out with a high kick that sent Koran Mori sprawling on his back. Kaoru immediately attacked the rest of Mori's guards with the Kamiya Kasshin style of judo, Misao dispatching the guards who came in efficiently.
// Damn, I wish I had my kunais!// thought Misao furiously as she grabbed her sister and tore away from the room in haste. Both of them had nothing more on their backs than the bed sheet they had wrapped around themselves. With her hair stinging her eyes, Misao barely noticed the column of soldiers that were waiting on the opposite corner of the hall.
"Misao, matte! I feel something," yelled Kaoru amidst the fracas. She pulled her hand away from Misao's grip and looked around the vicinity. Hardly out of breath but the tumult of their escape and the sirens blaring in every direction and with guards constantly trying to stop them, Misao spoke, "Later!"
Shaking her head, Kaoru put her mind to the task at hand--escaping from the clutches of Koran Mori. "Let's find out later but for now, let's not waste this opportunity to escape," she instructed Misao who was surveying the hallway for the perimeter guards. "Yosh," mumbled Misao as she nodded quickly and took the lead in finding their way out of the mansion.
Evidently, the laboratory was in the inner sanctum of the mountain mansion of the Uruha. They were taken somewhere in the outer wing of the mansion and they can see the trees just outside the high windows. An armed guard intercepted them and swiftly, Misao leapt against the wall evading the bullets as Kaoru rolled on the ground and yanked the carpet from beneath the man's feet. Simultaneously, Misao fell upon the man's prone body and twisted his neck.
Breathing heavily, Misao got up and turned to her sister. Her eyes have changed, turning green in a blaze of fury. Taken aback by the color of her sister's eyes, Kaoru asked, "What happened to your eyes Misao?" Misao shook her long hair down her back as she answered, "I'm not so sure but the moment Koran Mori grabbed you, I think I spelled myself..." Kaoru gasped. "Spelled yourself? What? How?"
Misao shrugged, tugging the blanket higher over her shoulders. "I asked for strength, I guess I have it... even a little," she answered before she looked at the high windows calculatingly. Misao took another look at her sister and their current state and sighed. "To escape, I think we need to get out through the window," she suggested hesitantly.
Shaking away her fear, Kaoru smiled reassuringly at Misao. "Hai... I see what you mean. Let's do it then," said Kaoru as she smoothed her hair back and faced the windows. A sudden idea occurred to her as Misao was already up on the window sill, extending a hand to help Kaoru up. "Chotto matte Misao... I have an idea. Break the window open and be ready for anything," warned Kaoru tensely.
Misao nodded. Her silence indicated that she was still held in the grip of her own spell. Kaoru knotted the blanket firmly over her chest as the sound of breaking glass rang over the room. It was a miracle that they weren't captured and surrounded yet but Kaoru refused to believe that escape would be easy.
Kaoru took a deep breath. Immediately, a glowing light surrounded her. Her hair flew in response to an unfelt wind that lifted her a few inches off the ground. Kaoru pressed her hands together and then faced her palms downward. She began to chant, the light growing even brighter. "Light as feather, soft as a Zephyr, fast as the wind. Flow like fire, my foundation's power, bind to me the ability to fly," chanted Kaoru as the glow abruptly extinguished but she still hovered off the ground.
Panting heavily, Kaoru soared up, landing on the sill easily. Misao watched her with unblinking green eyes and silently gave her hand to Kaoru. Kaoru nodded, not sparing words for the effort it took to maintain the high-level binding spell. Misao eyes suddenly flared golden sparks as she caught sight of a dozen guards rushing towards them.
Thrusting her hand towards the attacker, Misao released a bolt of energy that destroyed five men on the spot. "Go", she whispered to her sister as Kaoru hugged Misao's shoulders and threw herself out of the window, taking Misao with her.
The air whizzed in their ears, their make-shift clothes opening and closing in response to the air-pressure. They were falling through the mountain's ravine and the height was dizzying. Unexpectedly Misao's spell wore off and her ocean-blue eyes widened the moment she realized what was happening.
"OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" screamed Misao as they hurtled downwards, her scream echoing and bouncing off the ravine. She looked at Kaoru whose eyes were closed in concentration and then Misao realized that they were no longer falling. The sensation was more like jumping off the plane with a human parachute but the firm grip of Kaoru on Misao's body told her of the extreme effort it took to levitate themselves to safety. Their descent was no longer as fast and Misao started examining the foreign terrain they were going to land on.
Without warning, with perhaps a distance of three feet or so from the ground, Kaoru groaned and they fell like a rock on the jagged ground. "Itai!" they both exclaimed at the same time but thankfully, they managed to land on their feet before dropping on their posteriors.
Gulping for breath, Kaoru turned to smile at Misao. "That was intense," she managed to say as Misao gave her a pained look. "Aa, I'll say," Misao muttered as she dusted off the bed sheet that served as her clothes. "I'm constantly surprising myself with the depths of our power," added Kaoru as she shakily stood up and mimicked Misao's earlier gestures. Grumbling, Misao said, "Scaring the hell out of me is more likely."
Still concentrating on staying on her feet and not collapsing, Kaoru said, "No wonder Koran Mori wanted us so much, he even risked losing the loyalty of his son."
"I guess you're right about that," said a quiet voice from the shadows of the trees.
Misao and Kaoru tensed, unable to summon a worthy attack or defense after their physical and mental exertion. It was then when Raiha stepped away from the shadows. In silence, they watched each other, trying to gauge each other's actions. Slowly, Raiha nodded and held his hands out.
"I'm unarmed," he said simply before the battle kenki he could perceive from the two faded slowly. He threw them a pair of clothes from the Uruha trousseau. "Why don't you dress up and escape? Mori is a raving madman hungry for power," stated Raiha as he turned his back while Misao and Kaoru hurriedly donned their clothes.
"This is so much better," sighed Kaoru as she stretched her arm. The ninja clothes were a little too tight, hugging their figures intimately but at least they were clothed. "How about weapons?" asked Misao neutrally as she bent down and secured her boots.
"Here," said a new voice as a packet of kunais and a katana were thrown on the ground at their feet. Swiftly, Kaoru and Misao looked up.
Kurei emerged from the darkness, the mask firmly in place once more. "Mori has your friends," he said tonelessly before he once again disappeared into the darkness.
The impact of Kurei's words still hung in the air. Misao's bloodless face and the pale tension in Kaoru's bespoke of their fear and worry. "Aoshi-sama's been captured?" asked Misao softly. In answer, Kaoru slowly picked up the sheathed katana. In a quick motion, she drew the sword and made the cutting edge glimmer in the moonlight.
Drawing a sword meant violating the principles of Kamiya Kasshin, the sword that does not kill. Nevertheless, Kaoru drew a sword with determination grim in her eyes. Misao immediately understood her sister's meaning.
"Yes, this means war," whispered Misao as she bent down and gathered the packet of kunais.
Blood will surely spill tonight in their attempt to rescue Aoshi, Kenshin and the others.
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"I can't believe you just let them escape!" yelled Mori as he faced his guards.
Terrified by the bloodthirsty look in Mori's eyes, no one dared answer.
One officer volunteered an answer. "Gomen nasai Mori-sama, we were distracted by an attack on the west wing of the mansion," he stammered.
"What? Who?" he snapped as the other guards quailed in fear.
"Hanabishi Recca, Shirofuji Aoshi, Hikoshichiro Kenshin, Kirisawa Fuuko, Tokiya Mikagami, and the rest of the Hokage ninja group," the sentry reported.
A calculating look replaced the rage in Koran Mori's eyes. He stroked his chin absently as he muttered, "Yes that's perfect... just perfect..." His eyes snapped back to the present as he asked harshly, "Where is my insubordinate son Kurei?"
"I'm right here," answered Kurei as he stepped inside the inner sanctum of Mori's office. Raiha followed closely on his heels wearing a poker face that revealed none of his emotions. Kurei shared a long antagonistic look with his father before callously Mori spoke.
"What you did was beyond foolish Kurei, I thought I raised you better than that," said Mori as he looked away to glance at some papers on his desk.
Kurei's eyes flashed dangerously before the same mask flew over his eyes, concealing whatever feeling echoed in his heart. He said nothing more and waited for his father's orders. He wanted to say that Mori has never raised him like a son, he was subjugated and repressed to his father's satisfaction. But instead he said nothing, knowing that his silence was keeping more people alive than dead.
"Set a trap for the sisters. I'm sure they'll do anything to save those friends of theirs," ordered Mori, his disgust at the word friends apparent.
"As you wish," replied Kurei and Raiha bowed slightly before they left the room. The guards followed closely, eager to be free from Mori's evil presence.
Koran Mori lifted his brandy snifter and drank deeply. He gazed in silence at the closed door from where his son has just exited. The amber liquid seared down his throat but even then, he gave a low hoarse laugh.
"I would be three times a fool to trust you at this point Kurei, my son..."
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Author's Note:
With lines drawn and crossed, there is no loyalty assured in this game of power. In the next chapter, blood would spill and lines forever changed. What was before will be undone in desperation and time will lose its ultimate meaning. Please R&R minna, comments are definitely appreciated.
~* Jo-chan
