Chapter 10: Akuma Ryoshi
Meiyomi watches as Taiyoryu exits the cave, quickly and barely seen. Kenshin and the others were still meeting with the man who seems to be in charge. This left only the Seishin around. She walks up to one, Shudoshi, intent on starting a conversation.
"Ano.." she start cautiously. "Where's he going?"
Shudoshi looks up from the book he seems to be studying intently. "Eh? Oh, Akumu... He's probably doing one last scout before the storm arrives."
That caught Meiyomi by surprise. "Storm? But it's clear out."
"It will be here before midday tomorrow." Yoake's pleasant voice floats over from where she sit, sharpening her sword. Seeing the look on Meiyomi's face, she continues. "Seishin are...." she pauses, looking for the right word, "more strongly connected to nature than are most humans. As a result, we feel the changes in nature, such as storms, before others do. Why do you ask?"
"I'm just trying to figure out what's going on. I mean, I'm just a driver. I'm not a fighter like Kenshin's group. I'm not used to any of this."
Yoake smiles. "I doubt they are used to this, either."
"Hai. Ano.. What are you?"
"Besides Seishin Minzoku?" Yoake asks. "As a group, we are called Akuma Ryoshi."
Demon hunters. The name traps itself in her mind, leaving all kinds of questions. If you're not demons, she wonders, then what are?
"Are all Seishin this attractive?" she asks suddenly.
The question catches the young seishin off balance. She just stares at Meiyomi for a few seconds, then smiles sheepishly.
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"Shishio Makata is dead." Kenshin says firmly.
"Aa." Sanosuke adds. "I watched him die."
Tengoku sits listening, unimpressed. "There are ways around death."
"That's not possible." Kaoru insists. "Once you're dead, there's no coming back."
"Is that so?" Tengoku looks at Kenshin. "During your last battle with Shishio, you fell." Tengoku's eyes bore into Kenshin. "You died and forced yourself to return to protect your friends."
Kaoru, Yahiko, and Megumi all turn to stare at Kenshin as he lowers his head.
Tengoku lowers his voice before continuing. "And that was pure force of will. Imagine what one can do when one can reach straight into the spirit world and pull a spirit out."
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Yoake giggles like a little girl, Meiyomi can do little more than join in. The two had been sharing gossip for a while now and Meiyomi couldn't help but feel a budding friendship with the seishin. Finally, she couldn't avoid the question any farther.
"What's the story with you and Taiyoryu?"
"Taiyoryu? Well.." she gets a pensive look on her face and her voice takes a distant tone to it. "When I was much younger, my village was raided and destroyed. I survived only because I had chased a rabbit into the woods, thinking to make a pet of it. When I returned to the village..."
She leans back against the stone wall. Her sword and sharpening tools had long since been put away. "When I returned to the village, all I found were burned husks of what was my home. That's when I saw Taiyoryu."
"He destroyed your village?" Meiyomi says it with-out meaning to. The surprise in her voice is evident.
"That's what I thought, too." Yoake answers, her voice barely audible. "He took me from there and raised me as his own." A faint smile crosses her face. "It took many years for me to understand it, but he never raided the village. He was looking for survivors. Over the next several years, I saw him do the same over and over again."
Pride starts to fill her voice. "Over and over again, he would risk his life for people who spit on him and hate him for being what he is, instead of knowing who he is."
"He's your father?" Meiyomi couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You sound relieved." Yoake teases. "Could it be you have plans for Taiyoryu?"
Meiyomi blushes. "Well, he is rather handsome, like all of you.." she struggles to explain. Desperate for a way to change the subject, she asks about something that Yoake said. "What is he, that people hate him?"
"He is Akumu. There's simply no better way to put it." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "His people are among the most evil in all of existence." Yoake can see the next question on Meiyomi's face. "He turned against their ways. Tengoku was the first in a long time to take the time to learn who he was, rather than hating him for what he was."
"And now, you fight by Tengoku's side." Meiyomi finishes, finally understanding why Taiyoryu, and Yoake, to a lesser extent, were kept at arms length by the others.
"Aa. When he asked father for help against Atarashiikami, he couldn't say no if he wanted too."
Seeing it was time to change the subject, Meiyomi looks to Tejina-shi. "What about him?"
"He was disfigured by a maho gone bad."
Meiyomi studies the winged seishin. "You could have fooled me." she murmurs.
Yoake giggles again. "The wings." she says between giggles. "They're not normal, even by our standard."
"Oh. A magic spell caused that?" The tone in Meiyomi's voice shows that she isn't quite sure about believing in magic spells.
"Aa. Tejina-shi is actually quite accomplished at it. The accident must have been when he was younger."
"Oh." Meiyomi pauses. "What about him?" she points to Shudoshi. "He seems kind of jaded, compared to the rest of you."
"Shudoshi isn't really jaded, he just doesn't trust most humans." She drops it at that.
It's then that Meiyomi notices that the storm hit earlier than Yoake predicted. The cold wind from the sea brought heavy snow with it. It's a good thing they brought us in here. the carriage driver thinks. I would hate to be caught in that.
"Oi!" she thinks suddenly. "Taiyoryu is still out in that!"
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"You are certain that Shishio has been brought back?"
Tengoku sighs heavily. "I'm not even completely sure who Shishio is. All I know is that Atarashiikami had plans to bring this warrior back to lead his armies."
"And how do you know that?" Sanosuke demands.
"Taiyoryu found a grave that had been dug up by the followers of Atarashiikami. According to the local officials, the grave was a fresh one that contained the remains of Shishio Makata. It fits his pattern perfectly. If he cannot find an appropriate general among the living, he pulls one from the dead."
"You have been chasing this Atarashiikami for a long time." Kenshin says quietly.
"Aa." Tengoku sits quietly for a moment. "I am part of a larger force that battled Atarashiikami in another land. Countless thousands died in that war, on both sides. It was a long, costly fight. It took years to get to the point where we could fight him directly. In that last battle, one hundred thousand stood against us. The battle raged on for three days before the baka-yarou fled the world. The Akuma Ryoshi, our group, was the only group to follow him through."
He pauses for a moment, his voice dropping. "We were over a hundred strong when we chased him through that portal. Now, we are only five. We have chased him from world to world. Each time, we stop him from conquering, but fail to keep him from fleeing. Each time, I lose more officers."
The weight of the war is obvious in the large mans voice. "Each time, I pray that we stop that bastard permanently. For all I know, the war still rages on our world."
Meiyomi watches as Taiyoryu exits the cave, quickly and barely seen. Kenshin and the others were still meeting with the man who seems to be in charge. This left only the Seishin around. She walks up to one, Shudoshi, intent on starting a conversation.
"Ano.." she start cautiously. "Where's he going?"
Shudoshi looks up from the book he seems to be studying intently. "Eh? Oh, Akumu... He's probably doing one last scout before the storm arrives."
That caught Meiyomi by surprise. "Storm? But it's clear out."
"It will be here before midday tomorrow." Yoake's pleasant voice floats over from where she sit, sharpening her sword. Seeing the look on Meiyomi's face, she continues. "Seishin are...." she pauses, looking for the right word, "more strongly connected to nature than are most humans. As a result, we feel the changes in nature, such as storms, before others do. Why do you ask?"
"I'm just trying to figure out what's going on. I mean, I'm just a driver. I'm not a fighter like Kenshin's group. I'm not used to any of this."
Yoake smiles. "I doubt they are used to this, either."
"Hai. Ano.. What are you?"
"Besides Seishin Minzoku?" Yoake asks. "As a group, we are called Akuma Ryoshi."
Demon hunters. The name traps itself in her mind, leaving all kinds of questions. If you're not demons, she wonders, then what are?
"Are all Seishin this attractive?" she asks suddenly.
The question catches the young seishin off balance. She just stares at Meiyomi for a few seconds, then smiles sheepishly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Shishio Makata is dead." Kenshin says firmly.
"Aa." Sanosuke adds. "I watched him die."
Tengoku sits listening, unimpressed. "There are ways around death."
"That's not possible." Kaoru insists. "Once you're dead, there's no coming back."
"Is that so?" Tengoku looks at Kenshin. "During your last battle with Shishio, you fell." Tengoku's eyes bore into Kenshin. "You died and forced yourself to return to protect your friends."
Kaoru, Yahiko, and Megumi all turn to stare at Kenshin as he lowers his head.
Tengoku lowers his voice before continuing. "And that was pure force of will. Imagine what one can do when one can reach straight into the spirit world and pull a spirit out."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yoake giggles like a little girl, Meiyomi can do little more than join in. The two had been sharing gossip for a while now and Meiyomi couldn't help but feel a budding friendship with the seishin. Finally, she couldn't avoid the question any farther.
"What's the story with you and Taiyoryu?"
"Taiyoryu? Well.." she gets a pensive look on her face and her voice takes a distant tone to it. "When I was much younger, my village was raided and destroyed. I survived only because I had chased a rabbit into the woods, thinking to make a pet of it. When I returned to the village..."
She leans back against the stone wall. Her sword and sharpening tools had long since been put away. "When I returned to the village, all I found were burned husks of what was my home. That's when I saw Taiyoryu."
"He destroyed your village?" Meiyomi says it with-out meaning to. The surprise in her voice is evident.
"That's what I thought, too." Yoake answers, her voice barely audible. "He took me from there and raised me as his own." A faint smile crosses her face. "It took many years for me to understand it, but he never raided the village. He was looking for survivors. Over the next several years, I saw him do the same over and over again."
Pride starts to fill her voice. "Over and over again, he would risk his life for people who spit on him and hate him for being what he is, instead of knowing who he is."
"He's your father?" Meiyomi couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You sound relieved." Yoake teases. "Could it be you have plans for Taiyoryu?"
Meiyomi blushes. "Well, he is rather handsome, like all of you.." she struggles to explain. Desperate for a way to change the subject, she asks about something that Yoake said. "What is he, that people hate him?"
"He is Akumu. There's simply no better way to put it." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "His people are among the most evil in all of existence." Yoake can see the next question on Meiyomi's face. "He turned against their ways. Tengoku was the first in a long time to take the time to learn who he was, rather than hating him for what he was."
"And now, you fight by Tengoku's side." Meiyomi finishes, finally understanding why Taiyoryu, and Yoake, to a lesser extent, were kept at arms length by the others.
"Aa. When he asked father for help against Atarashiikami, he couldn't say no if he wanted too."
Seeing it was time to change the subject, Meiyomi looks to Tejina-shi. "What about him?"
"He was disfigured by a maho gone bad."
Meiyomi studies the winged seishin. "You could have fooled me." she murmurs.
Yoake giggles again. "The wings." she says between giggles. "They're not normal, even by our standard."
"Oh. A magic spell caused that?" The tone in Meiyomi's voice shows that she isn't quite sure about believing in magic spells.
"Aa. Tejina-shi is actually quite accomplished at it. The accident must have been when he was younger."
"Oh." Meiyomi pauses. "What about him?" she points to Shudoshi. "He seems kind of jaded, compared to the rest of you."
"Shudoshi isn't really jaded, he just doesn't trust most humans." She drops it at that.
It's then that Meiyomi notices that the storm hit earlier than Yoake predicted. The cold wind from the sea brought heavy snow with it. It's a good thing they brought us in here. the carriage driver thinks. I would hate to be caught in that.
"Oi!" she thinks suddenly. "Taiyoryu is still out in that!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You are certain that Shishio has been brought back?"
Tengoku sighs heavily. "I'm not even completely sure who Shishio is. All I know is that Atarashiikami had plans to bring this warrior back to lead his armies."
"And how do you know that?" Sanosuke demands.
"Taiyoryu found a grave that had been dug up by the followers of Atarashiikami. According to the local officials, the grave was a fresh one that contained the remains of Shishio Makata. It fits his pattern perfectly. If he cannot find an appropriate general among the living, he pulls one from the dead."
"You have been chasing this Atarashiikami for a long time." Kenshin says quietly.
"Aa." Tengoku sits quietly for a moment. "I am part of a larger force that battled Atarashiikami in another land. Countless thousands died in that war, on both sides. It was a long, costly fight. It took years to get to the point where we could fight him directly. In that last battle, one hundred thousand stood against us. The battle raged on for three days before the baka-yarou fled the world. The Akuma Ryoshi, our group, was the only group to follow him through."
He pauses for a moment, his voice dropping. "We were over a hundred strong when we chased him through that portal. Now, we are only five. We have chased him from world to world. Each time, we stop him from conquering, but fail to keep him from fleeing. Each time, I lose more officers."
The weight of the war is obvious in the large mans voice. "Each time, I pray that we stop that bastard permanently. For all I know, the war still rages on our world."