Chapter 4.C: The Truth About the Past
"The Truth About the Past"
An Oh My God? Story/Runoni Kenshin Cross-Over

By: Brett Handy, based on the series by icezer230 (icezer230@yahoo.com, http://icezer.itgo.com/fanfic.html)

E-mail: darkwnd@sv.net.au

Webpage: http://www.ozanime.com/

*****

Chia-Yao didn't bother to look up as the door to his study opened, "What do you want this time?", he asked, he knew his brother meant well, but he wasn't in the mood for talking.

Brett walked over and sat down in the chair opposite him, "You and Skuld had another fight huh?", he asked quietly.

"Something like that", Chia-Yao said dismissively, "And I still don't want to talk about it", he continued staring out the window. The shifting colours of his pocket dimension were quite lovely, random and unpredictable. "Much like Skuld", he thought to himself.

Brett snapped his fingers in front of Chia-Yao's nose. He blinked, "What?", he asked.

"You didn't listen to a thing I just said, did you?", Brett asked. Chia-Yao shook himself out of his daze and concentrated on what Brett was trying to tell him. Brett nodded, "Ok", he said, "I'll go over it again.. Someone is playing with the timeline.. very subtly.. I almost didn't realise that things were changing".

Tampering with the timeline was very serious, indeed the entire fabric of their universe could fall down around them. "Who's doing it?", Chia-Yao demanded, "I thought you were the only one who could travel in time?".

Brett shook his head, "Not quite true", he admitted, "This time it's more serious however, because the way the changes are progressing.. it looks like Keiichi and Belldandy will never meet..".

"WHAT?!?!?", Chia-Yao demanded, sitting bolt-upright in his chair.

Brett sighed, "Which also means I'll probably never meet Urd.. and possibly never become the God of Destiny", he continued.

"But.. But.. ", Chia-Yao's head was spinning, he'd never really paid much attention in his temporal mechanics classes, "Can't you do anything about it?".

"I can", he admitted, "but it isn't going to be at all easy.. ". He stood up and walked over to the window, "The problem is that I wasn't alive back when this time-altering is going on, and quite simply I do not have enough power to send myself back as myself". This part Chia-Yao did understand, tampering with the past is something that required a huge amount of power - to go back in time and inhabit your own body was hard enough, but to go back when you needed to take your own body with you was about a billion times harder.

"As I understand it", he went on, "I can send other people back, if they had some form of existence at that time..".

Chia-Yao nodded in understanding, "And since I've been around since the beginning of recorded history.. ", he said.

"Exactly", Brett agreed.

The young god thought hard for a moment, "But you realise that I've only had this physical form for about the last 20 years.. before that, I was just.. whatever it is that gods are before they're born..", he said.

"Your consciousness is there though", Brett said, "I'm almost positive this will work".

"Almost positive?", Chia-Yao asked dubiously.

Brett waved off the question, "Look", he said, "This will work.. and it won't even disturb history at all.. except for the changes you make..".

******

Chia-Yao laid down carefully, the stone table wasn't at all comfortable. He shifted a little uneasily. Brett had explained to him that he would probably be gone for a few months at least, depending on how long it takes him to track down whoever it was tampering with the timeline.

He didn't know a lot about the time he was being sent to, other than reading quickly through some Japanese history books in the intervening hours before the ceremony. He'd tried to talk to Skuld, but in the end he had to just leave a message and hope she got it. It felt wrong to just leave without saying goodbye, but Brett promised that as soon as he saw Skuld he'd explain it to her.

Brett and Urd walked into the small chamber and Chia-Yao frowned at the Goddess, "What are you doing here?", he asked curiously.

Urd smirked, "I am the Goddess of the Past", she reminded him, "And I'm the one who's going to make sure you get to the right place, person and time".

Chia-Yao refrained from pointing out that Urd had a tendency for getting lost and took a deep breath, "Ok", he said, "I'm ready".

Brett nodded and Chia-Yao could feel him beginning to pull in his power. Urd walked up to him and placed a hand on his forehead, "Remember", she said, "Until you summon us to call you back, you are Sir Charles Yarrow, youngest son of Lord Yarrow of England.. also remember you will not have access to any of your powers, only your memories will remain - you will be on your own".

He nodded, "Let's get this over with", he said with a sharp nod.

The power level in the room continued to rise, Chia-Yao reminded himself to congratulate his brother on his ability to summon this much energy. At that point Urd also began gathering power, raw energy crackled around the chamber. Urd and Brett began chanting, their voices working in unison. Urd's voice seemed to dance around Brett's heavier tones. Brett looked at Chia-Yao, "Good luck brother", he said with a nod. The room then dissolved into blue light.

******

Meiji Era Year 14 - 1883AD

"Sir Charles! how good to meet you", a voice said. A young man in his early twenties turned from where he was staring out across the harbour. His clothing was more casual than the minister had expected for a young nobleman, in fact unlike the other stuffed shirts he'd met that morning, the young man didn't stand out in any way.

Sir Charles nodded his head in greeting, "Minister Walters", he said in a quiet voice.

"Please", the Minister said, "Call me George". He sat down behind his desk, "I'll admit that I'm surprised that you are here, I would have thought that the celebrations in Germany would have held you longer?".

"Bismarck is such an old bore", Sir Charles replied, "You'd think that he'd be thrilled at an Alliance with Austria? but no, he continues his old talk of the 'Russian menace'".

"It still must have been an honour to attend the signing ceremony", the Minister said with a wistful sigh.

Sir Charles shrugged, "I suppose so", he said dismissively.

"So what brings you to Japan?", he asked curiously, "And more specifically, my office?".

"Well", Sir Charles said with a smile, "I was intrigued by the reports of Commodore Perry and more recently those of traders with these lands.. the culture intrigues me.. more specifically the warriors.. I believe they were called 'Samurai'?".

Minister Walters nodded, "That's right", he said, "However the 'Samurai' as such don't official have any right to carry swords or..".

Sir Charles waved off the explanation, "I know", he said with a shrug, "It's a pity actually.. I was looking forward to testing my steel against some real Samurai..". Minister Walters frowned, he'd heard about the young nobleman's fondness for duelling, but to come half-way around the world for a duel was unheard of. They talked for a few more minutes, obviously Sir Charles wanted to know if the Minister had heard of any renegade Samurai that might pose a challenge to him. The Minister of course denied knowing anything about any Samurai, and suggested that he might ask around some of the various martial arts schools over in Tokyo.

He watched the young man walk from his office with a sinking feeling in his stomach, having an English nobleman killed in a duel wouldn't bide well for relations. He sighed, Sir Charles was free to do whatever he liked however and it wasn't the Minister of Trade's responsibility to keep an eye on him.

******

Sir Charles walked along through the busy streets of downtown Kyoto, he elicited some strange looks from the citizens, not so much because of his nationality, but because of the sword he wore openly at his hip. It was a fencing sabre and Charles knew well how to use it, in fact that had gotten him into a reasonable amount of trouble back in Europe.

He'd trained with some of the best instructors and occasionally even duelled to first-blood with one or two ruffians. He'd received special permission through the government to wear the sword, it had taken quite a bit of convincing, but since he was suppose to be a foreign trader scouting out new opportunities (one that just happened to be from one of the better British families), they'd made an exception for him.

Kyoto was probably the most modern city in Japan, mainly due to the influx of traders. It had advanced steadily since the borders were opened nearly fifty years ago by Commodore Perry. There was even a steam locomotive that connected Kyoto with the Japanese Capital Tokyo. He had booked tickets on it for tomorrow, looking forward to seeing the countryside. Feeling a little hungry, Sir Charles decided to stop at a small eating establishment. He managed to get across his order to the hostess (in rather broken Japanese) and settled down to relax.

A rough hand suddenly shoved him from behind and he turn around to face the person responsible, a hot-retort on his lips. Unfortunately it wasn't a single individual who was standing there. Three rather imposing-looking Japanese men, they were dressed in only little more than rags, one of them shouted something at him. He didn't pick up too many of the words, but it wasn't hard to understand. The three ruffians were telling him to pay up or they would hurt him. Sir Charles sneered and went for his sword.

Unfortunately the lead ruffian pulled a knife, menacingly and shouted something. In less than a heartbeat the other two had grabbed Charles' arms and dragged him out the back of the restaurant. The leader pulled out the sword and laughed, throwing it off down the alley. The other two suddenly released him as the leader lowered down into a crouch, the knife still held out in front of him. Charles realised with a sinking feeling that they meant to kill him.

******

Akahito laughed at the Gaijin, he hadn't put up much resistance at all and his sword was a joke. He and his gang had followed him around for most of the morning and only jumped him when it was safe. Gaijin had lots of money in Kyoto and it was possible this one had enough to feed him and his men for several months. "Come on!", he insisted.

The foreigner moved forward a little and Akahito slashed at him with the knife, not close enough to cut, only to tease him a little. The man flinched back and Akahito laughed again. Suddenly the Gaijin fell to the ground, letting out a groan of pain. Akahito looked at his companions, "What did you guys do?", he asked in confusion.

"Nothing boss", Azuma replied, "He just fell down".

The Gaijin groaned and climbed up to his knees, "Man what a headache", he muttered in perfect (if a little accented) Japanese.

Akahito gestured with the knife again, "Come on Gaijin", he insisted, "Let's see who gets your money!".

The Gaijin looked up and Akahito noticed something different, gone was the fear that was there just moments ago. The man stood and gave him a contemptuous look, "I think not", he said, "I don't give money to scum like you".

Azuma lashed out with a fist, intending to knock some sense into their target. Unfortunately the foreigner grabbed his arm in mid swing and threw him across the alley into the hard stone wall, there was the sound of breaking bones. Akahito thrust forward with the knife, only to have the stranger spin around and kick the knife from his hand, the man continued to spin and the neck moment Akahito found himself kicked across the alley, loosening more than a few of his teeth.

He used the wall to pull him to a standing position, obviously the Gaijin knew some form of martial arts. This time he moved forward more carefully feinting with a few kicks. The Gaijin easily avoided any serious punches and a few heartbeats later Akahito was once again picking himself up off the ground. Azuma and Kenji had already fled and Akahito let out a string of curses as he too fled the alley, vowing revenge on the Gaijin who'd humiliated him.

******

Chia-Yao shook his head, those punks were pathetic. His new body was more than a little stiff after the fight though and he reminded himself to put in a little training to toughen it up.

*What exactly are you getting at?*, Sir Charles asked, *And don't forget my sabre!*.

"Exactly what I was thinking", Chia-Yao answered out loud, walking over and picking up the sword, "You need some more conditioning if we're going to be taking on the bad guys..".

*Well just remember that's my body you're using>, Sir Charles replied, *I'd like to have it back in one piece if that's at all possible!*. Although it had only taken a moment of real-time, Chia-Yao and Charles had talked the topic of the use of Charles' body almost to death (if you'll pardon the expression). Sir Charles had no problem with letting his body be used in a noble and good cause, the only conditions he had were firstly that his body be returned to him in good condition (no missing arms, legs, fingers, eyes, etc) and that he be allowed to observe everything. The first condition was something that Chia-Yao had no problems with, after all he'd feel the pain if the body was hurt while he was using it, the second however was more of a problem - Sir Charles tended to be rather vocal with his commentary and questions.

*I'm sure you would be too if you were suddenly possessed by someone claiming to be a god from the future*, Sir Charles observed.

"I was just thinking", Chia-Yao replied, "Nothing personal".

*Oh no offence taken my good man.. err.. god*, Sir Charles said, *I understand how difficult it is to control your own thoughts...*

Chia-Yao straightened out his clothing and belted the sword back on before stepping out of the alley. He'd been to Kyoto a few times, but the Kyoto he knew was more than a hundred years in the future. He returned to the hotel that Sir Charles had been staying at, rather than risk another confrontation with thugs. Early the next morning he boarded a train for Tokyo.

Brett had determined that the focal point of the change would occur there, a change leading to several rather big differences in their own time. Apparently the civil war which started the Meiji era had left a number of loose strings, several of which were plotting to overthrow the government.

The principal person who could prevent this change was a man who went by the name Kenshin. However someone killed this Kenshin before he could intervene in the overthrow of the government. When the government fell, Japan returned to the way of the sword, once again cutting itself off from the outside world. Unfortunately this led to more than a few problems when a combine Korean/Chinese assault on Japan led to the annexing of the country in the early 1930's. This of course prevented the war in the pacific and allowed the war in Europe to end 2 years earlier. Now while this might be by some considered a good thing, it totally changed the balance of power in the more modern world.

In the present that would exist if this was allowed to happen the USSR still existed and in fact it had expanded across all of Europe and North Africa. It controlled most of the world's oil supplies and the most votes in the United Nations. There were also the other, less earth-shattering events, like the fact that Keiichi's ancestors would be wiped out during the invasion. This would mean several different things, one of which was the possibility that Brett would never become the God of Destiny. Temporal paradoxes always gave Chia-Yao headaches, so he forced himself to stop thinking off all the possible problems and looked at the countryside going past.

Japan was a more beautiful place in this time, no concrete and steel, just nature. They passed rice fields and other crops, before Tokyo appeared in the distance. The trip was quite nice and Chia-Yao found himself relaxing and almost dozing. The train halted with a jerk and he blinked himself awake, everyone was disembarking. He stood, shouldering his kit-bag and feeling it's light weight with approval. Sir Charles had travelled rather widely in Europe and knew to bring only the necessities.

Tokyo looked more like a quaint village than the bustling metropolis that Chia-Yao knew. He walked along slowly, carefully looking at the buildings. *What are you looking for?*, Sir Charles asked.

"A Dojo", Chia-Yao replied quietly (he just couldn't get used to that 'talking in the head thing'), "According to the information Brett gave me, he'll be there.. ". Chia-Yao cris- crossed Tokyo and it wasn't until very late in the afternoon that he located the Kamiya Kasshin Dojo. He tapped on the door gently and it swung open slowly, creaking ominously. Without making a sound Chia-Yao put his bag down and slowly slid the thin sabre out of it's sheath. He noticed a small tree nearby and quickly scaled it and in a few moments it was on top of the wall surrounding the Dojo.

*Why not just use the door?*, Sir Charles asked sarcastically.

Chia-Yao smiled and stealthy walked along the wall he jumped down, landing with an audible *thump*, Chia-Yao mentally cursed his new body. Sir Charles managed to 'bite his tongue' and not distract him. Chia-Yao moved quickly away from the wall, slipping into the sprawling Dojo.

"NOW!", a loud voice shouted angrily, "Now I'm going too kill you Batousai! But first I think I'll have a little fun with your woman!". Moving quickly and quietly Chia-Yao moved through the Dojo until he was standing outside the main practice room. He carefully made a hole in the rice-paper wall and looked in. There was a young man with long red hair tied to one of the main support columns by some nasty-looking chains, the other had another young man tied to it, this one had short dark hair. Both of them were straining against the bonds. A young boy was laying on the floor, unconscious and in a pool of blood.

In the middle of the room there was a huge man standing over a woman with long black hair who wore a tattered gi. She was also bound at the wrists and ankles. Standing at various points around the room there were four thugs and each held something that made Chia-Yao whistle in disbelief. Each was holding an MP5 submachine gun. The largest man was holding a largish automatic pistol. "Brett would freak if he could see this", he whispered to himself.

Chia-Yao took a deep breath, five against one, when four of the five had automatic weapons, those were not good odds. He positioned himself and waited. There was a scream from the woman and he used that as his cue. He shoulder-charged his way into the Dojo, smashing easily through the paper wall, leading with his sabre. He caught one of the thugs around the throat and threw his sword at the one directly opposite him. There was a moment stunned silence from the thugs, only broken by the gurgling sound that the one with the sabre through his throat was making. Chia-Yao pulled the MP-5 from the hand of the thug he was sheltering behind just as the other three began firing. He moved backwards, using the man he had a hold of as a human- shield.

Chia-Yao was actually surprised when he managed to get outside, for some reason the thugs were only using the single- shot settings on their guns. He jumped down from the veranda and carefully change the selector switch on the gun to full-auto. He made a run for a large rock that was sitting the courtyard, bullets whizzed by him and he dove for cover.

Cautiously looking over the rock he saw two of the thugs advancing towards him. He held down the trigger and burned off half the clip, both of them dropped like stones.

"Hold it!", the leader of the gang snarled, he was holding the dark-haired woman by the throat, the business-end of his pistol against the side of her head, "Drop it or she dies!".

Using his thumb he flicked the selector back to single- shot and dropped the gun a few feet in front of him, Chia-Yao raised his hands, "Kill her and you won't get three steps", Chia- Yao promised.

"I don't know who you are Gaijin", he snarled angrily, "But you'll pay for killing my men!". He began to move the gun. Everything seemed to slow down for Chia-Yao as he dove towards the gun he'd discarded. The thug took aim and at the same moment the dark haired woman elbowed him.

The large pistol fired a split-second before Chia-Yao did. The gunshots were so close together that they sounded like a single shot. Chia-Yao felt himself flung back as the bullet grazed his shoulder, taking out a fair chunk of his skin. The thug clutched his head and fell back, blood pouring from a long gash on the side of his head. The woman kicked the gun from the thug's hand and then with three swift punches she reduced him to unconsciousness.

Chia-Yao took a deep breath, clasping one hand on his shoulder to stop the bleeding. The woman immediately moved to help the young boy up to a sitting position and then went and unlocked the chains around the two men. At that point she fell into the red-haired man's arms, sobbing quietly.

******

*That was a close call*, Sir Charles observed dryly as Chia- Yao held a bandage on his shoulder to stop the bleeding. It had just nicked the top of his shoulder on the way past. The police had arrived within a few minutes (gunfire tends to attract attention) and the red-haired man had explained what had happened. He watched as the police hauled away the thugs and the bodies. He shuddered slightly, this wasn't the first time he'd had to kill - but it still effected him when there were mortals involved.

*So you can destroy Demons, but killing a human makes you squeamish?*, Sir Charles asked.

"Yeah.. I guess that must seem strange", Chia-Yao agreed, "But Demons are different from humans.. we're taught that humans are neither good nor evil.. it's the choices they make that dictate their actions.. and anyone can choose to change.. when you kill a mortal.. you end their chance for choosing".

*Those fellows made their choices*, Sir Charles argued, *It wasn't just you or them.. it was you and those hostages or them*.

"I know", Chia-Yao sighed, standing up and testing his shoulder, it was painful, but no worse than other things he'd endured. He walked over to the police officers as he noticed them examining the guns.

"They're very light", one officer commented, hefting an MP5.

Chia-Yao frowned thoughtfully as he went over things, "Those weapons are the property of the german government", he said tapping on the butt of the gun, there was a small manufacturer's mark there which read 'Made in Germany'. He looked around at each of the officers, "I'm afraid you have a real incident on your hands here, the german government isn't going to be happy to find out that some of their more secret technology was stolen by Japanese thieves".

The sergeant looked rather nervous, "Stolen?", he asked.

"Well", Chia-Yao whispered, leaning closer, "I had heard that Bismarck was intended a state visit here next year, I doubt this is going to go over very well at all..".

The four police officers were sweating a little and Chia-Yao sighed, "It's a pity you'll have to take those in for evidence.. and you couldn't just dump them in a furnace somewhere", he mused.

The Sergeant's eyes lit up a little, "Yes.. it's a real *pity*", he said. He picked up the bag of 20th Century guns, "I'll take this *evidence* in myself", he said, nodding to his men. Chia-Yao noted that the sergeant headed in the direct opposite direction to the rest of his men.

Chia-Yao walked back inside, "Thank you stranger", the dark- haired girl said with a weak smile, "I'm Kaoru Kamiya".

Chia-Yao bowed slightly, "My name is Sir Charles Yarrow", he said, with a smile. A largish guy with short black hair and wearing a gi-top with the Kanji character for 'Bad' on it was helping the young boy who Chia-Yao had noted earlier. The young boy was in pretty bad shape.

"I think You'd better get him to see a doctor", Chia-Yao said, stating the obvious.

"A doctor will be here shortly", the red-haired man said with a nod, he bowed slightly, "My name is Kenshin".

"Nice to meet you", Chia-Yao replied politely.

A moment later a woman with long dark hair rushed into the room, she held in her hand a bag and she moved immediately to the young boy, spilling out various implements, bandages, ointments and the like. Chia-Yao frowned and the tall man shook his head, "She is a doctor", he said bluntly, as if daring Chia-Yao to doubt his word.

******

Chia-Yao found himself sitting watching Kenshin cooking dinner, the doctor had made the young boy (who's name was Yahiko) comfortable and then announced that she'd be staying until he was out of danger. At that point Miss Kaoru decided that Kenshin should start dinner and Chia-Yao was invited to eat with them.

"You look like you know what you're doing", Chia-Yao observed, "Are you a chef?"

Kenshin laughed, "Me? no - I'm just a dabbler!", he disagreed.

"On a less pleasant topic.. do you often have men with guns attack you?", Chia-Yao asked casually.

"Unfortunately.. yes", Kenshin sighed.

"Because of your history?", Chia-Yao asked quietly.

Kenshin's eyes narrowed, "What do you know of my history?", he asked, looking Chia-Yao up and down slowly.

"I know of you role in establishing the new government and your reputation - were I interested in making the current government fall, I would either seek your support or seek to kill you", Chia-Yao said with a sigh, "It's the way of politics I'm afraid".

"Are you a politician then?", Kenshin asked, turning back to the food he was cooking.

"Nope, just an interested observer", Chia-Yao said with a sigh. They were both silent for a long while.

"Isn't it finished *yet*?", Sanosuke grumbled as he walked over.

"In a little while", Kenshin replied softly. Chia-Yao realised he was talking about something very different from the meal he was cooking.

******

It was pitch black, the only light from a few pitiful stars in the overcast sky - even the moon was obscured. Chia-Yao sat quietly on the top of the wall overlooking the Dojo. *You really think he'll come this way?*, Sir Charles asked, almost yawning.

"Of course", Chia-Yao said softly, "It's the only way out of the place without waking anyone, and it's the way I'd go - I doubt he'd want to get caught while sneaking out".

Sure enough, a half hour later a figure with long red hair jumped onto the wall beside him, *You're gonna be wrong one day, and I just hope I'm there to see it*, Sir Charles grumbled.

"What are you doing here?", Kenshin asked, keeping his voice low.

"I'm going with you", Chia-Yao replied easily, "At least I am unless you want Miss Kaoru to know you're leaving".

Kenshin grimaced, "Thank you, no.. I think I'd prefer to leave her sleeping", he said, "Why did you come here? why save us like you did?".

"Someone got around to asking huh?", Chia-Yao chuckled, "Ok, well - to be honest I'm here to watch your back Kenshin, someone is trying to kill you".

"Someone is *always* trying to kill me", Kenshin replied dryly, "Who has assigned you as my bodyguard?".

"I've just gotta see you survive the next two months", Chia- Yao said, "After that you can go do whatever you like, but until then - I'm gonna be following you everywhere".

Kenshin looked like he'd swallowed a lemon, "I don't suppose I could talk you out of this?", he asked in a despairing voice.

"I'm afraid not", Chia-Yao replied with a smile. The two jumped down from the wall and began to jog silently through the streets of Tokyo. It was nearing dawn when Kenshin called a halt to their extended jog, Chia-Yao gratefully collapsed to the ground under a tree. *You need to get in better shape*, he silently chided Sir Charles.

*Don't these people ride horses?*, Charles said pointedly.

*Not unless you're a ex-lord*, Chia-Yao replied.

*But I *am* a lord*, Charles complained.

*Not here*, Chia-Yao said pointedly.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, "You realise that this is dangerous", Kenshin said firmly, "I can't protect you..".

"I'm here to protect you", Chia-Yao pointed out.

"I don't need protection", Kenshin replied firmly.

"You said that last night", Chia-Yao said, "My answer is the same, until I'm ordered differently that's what I'm going to do".

Kenshin sighed, "You are very dedicated", he observed.

Chia-Yao smiled, "No less than you", he said, "This is what? the second time this has happened to you?".

Kenshin nodded, "I barely survived the last attempted overthrow", he said quietly.

"That was the one initiated by your replacement Battosai?", Chia-Yao asked.

"Yes", Kenshin said flatly, his eyes hard. He stood suddenly, "We can talk on the way".

"I meant to ask last night", Chia-Yao said, "Where are we going anyway?".

"Kyoto", Kenshin said, "That's where everyone tries to overthrow the government.. besides I have some friends there who might know what's going on".

The two took the early morning train to Kyoto, Chia-Yao paid for a ticket at Sir Charles' insistence that he couldn't walk all the way. They arrived around midday and within a few minutes of their arrival they encountered nearly a dozen scruffy-looking thugs. It took only a few moments for Chia-Yao to identify the three thugs that he'd been unfortunate enough to encounter on his previous visit to the city.

"Now Gaijin, let's see you beat all of us", Akihito said with a sneer as his men pulled various weapons out.

Kenshin was look at Chia-Yao curiously, "It appears I'm not the only one with enemies", he observed.

"And they appear to multiply", Chia-Yao noted, his hand resting lightly on his sabre.

"Get out of here old man", one of the younger punks suggested to Kenshin, "We only want the Gaijin".

"Now, now", Kenshin said, walking forward, his arms extended non-threateningly, "Why can't we all just get along..".

Chia-Yao was about to move and pull him back when one of the thugs slashed at Kenshin with a rusty-looking sword. There was a ring of metal as Kenshin caught the swing on the hilt of his sword. Chia-Yao blinked in surprise, Kenshin had moved so fast it had been almost invisible. In fact to most observers it was indeed like the sword had appeared in his had by magic.

The thugs backed off a little at this, looking at Kenshin a little more cautiously. Chia-Yao noticed out of the corner of his eye a movement from a window and his sword flashed through the air beside Kenshin catching an arrow and smashing it from the air. He took two steps and flung the sword at the running bowman, it caught him in the legs and he fell heavily. At that point the thugs attacked. The first to attack Chia-Yao was carrying another rusty katana and was more than a little surprised when he suddenly found himself face-down in the dust, divested of his sword.

"Now this is more like it", Chia-Yao said, testing the weight of the Katana with practised ease. Kenshin meanwhile had put four of their attackers down without even drawing his sword. Chia-Yao smiled and waded into the fight, being careful not to kill any of the thugs (since he wasn't sure how that'd effect the timeline). Confronted by a Gaijin wielding a katana like a samurai and a Rurouni who didn't even need to draw his sword to take out their compatriots the remaining thugs fled a few moments later.

When Kenshin turned to face Chia-Yao he was nodded appreciatively at the rusted sword in his hand, "A good weapon", he said, "even if it is rusty". He retrieved the sheath from the unconscious thug and the two walked down the street to where the bowman was shaking his head and trying to stand.

Chia-Yao retrieved the sabre and lifted the bowman up to eye level, "So how did such a scruffy band get an expert bowman like yourself?", he asked, "And why did you try and kill my friend here?".

The terrified bowman opened his mouth to answer, but before he could his throat suddenly was crushed. Chia-Yao cursed and dropped the body, "Damn", he muttered.

Kenshin blinked, "That was unusual", he observed dryly.

Chia-Yao nodded, "Let's get out of here", he said firmly, "There are some dark things out this evening".

******

Kenshin was warmly welcomed by his friends the Oniwa Banshu and Chia-Yao recieved a polite (if reserved) welcome. He was escorted to a room by an attractive young lady that informed him that dinner would be served shortly and could he please remain in his room.

*So what now?*, Sir Charles asked, *You realise that Kenshin is going to try and skip out on you?*.

*Of course*, Chia-Yao replied. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye, *We're being watched*, he observed, *Spy hole in the floor over beside the futon*.

He walked around a little and laid down quietly, he could just hear someone's quiet and controlled breathing from the small spyhole. A few moments later dinner arrived and he smiled gratefully at the young lady, "Thank you very much", he said politely. She smiled and bowed slightly as she shut the door.

With a wicked smile Chia-Yao stirred his hot tea, until it was only mildly warm. In a sharp motion he flung it at the spyhole. Most of the lukewarm tea went on course and there was a muffled scream of dismay from downstairs. There was a moment of silence then he heard someone stamping their way towards his door, "Please Misao.. you can't..", were the only words that Chia-Yao picked up before the door to his room was almost ripped off it's hinges by a young girl, he blinked in surprise.

She was dripping with his lukewarm tea, "Oh my", he observed calmly, "It appears that I spilled my tea..".

The young girl (who was wearing a ninja outfit) glared at him, "Who are you and what are you doing here?", she asked bluntly, "And why are you travelling with Kenshin?".

Chia-Yao smiled slightly, something about this girl reminded him of Skuld and he couldn't resist baiting her a little, "I'm trying to have a quiet dinner at the moment", he said, "Could I trouble you for some more tea?".

Her face went red and she muttered something incomprehensible and turned on her heel, stalking away. Chia-Yao smiled slightly and continued to eat in silence, not long after he'd finished his meal Kenshin found him. The red-haired samurai looked more than a little pale.

"What's wrong?", Chia-Yao asked quickly.

Kenshin sat down and leaned against the wall, "Okina.. he.. his information says that the trouble recently is related to someone who's calling himself Shi-Shi-O..", he said quietly.

"The same Shi-Shi-O who you defeated before?", Chia-Yao asked, "I thought he was dead".

"He was", Kenshin said, "I watched him die".

"Perhaps it's someone calling himself 'Shi-Shi-O' then", Chia-Yao mused, "using the name to instil fear..".

Kenshin shook his head, "Okina's sources described several attacks that he used.. I doubt anyone but the real Shi-Shi-O would be able to use them..", he said.

Chia-Yao frowned thoughtfully, "This could be a problem", he observed.

"Obviously", a sarcastic voice from the door said pointedly, "Shi-Shi-O almost destroyed the government last time, and it appears this time he's ignoring the smaller provinces and bringing his army directly towards Kyoto".

"I assume the government is doing something about this?", Chia-Yao asked, glancing at Misao curiously.

She nodded, "The army has been mobilised", she said, "But there are some strange rumours about Shi-Shi-O's army.. it's said to contain Demons and ghouls..". There was a long silence at this, Kenshin stood, "I have agreed to go with the army", he said, "Shi-Shi-O was my responsibility".

"Kenshin!", Misao said, "You already fought him once, let the government deal with it! he almost killed you last time..".

Kenshin smiled slightly and shook his head, "Then at least I know I can defeat him", he said simply.

******

Chia-Yao sat quietly looking up at the stars and the moon, he shook himself when he realised what he was doing. "I've been hanging around Brett too much", he said glumly. He'd always been critical of his brother's stargazing habit and Brett had always given him the same answer when he'd asked, "When I look at the stars", Brett said, "I'm taking a trip in time.. the light from those stars is years old.. you're looking back, but at the same time you're looking forward. The stars are mankind's future and the promise of tomorrow". Chia-Yao had never really thought about those words until he'd been immersed in the past as he was now.

He heard a faint noise and didn't bother looking, "Close", he said, "But you still made enough noise for me to hear you".

Misao appeared out of the darkness and sat down beside him, they'd been playing this game for the last week, while Kenshin and Okina continued to gather information. She was immensely frustrated that she couldn't sneak up on him. "What are you looking at?", she asked.

"The stars", he replied with a smile.

"Oh.. they must be different from where you live", she said.

Chia-Yao smiled, remembering that she thought he was from Europe, "A little different", he said, "They are in different positions.. ". He smiled at her thoughtfully, "I was surprised to see Shinomori at our little meeting this morning", he said.

Misao's face lit up, "Aoshi-sama is quite the tactician", she said, "Even if he won't pick up his blades anymore, he is still a formidable member of the Oniwabanshu..".

She broke off when she noticed his expression, "What?", she asked, blushing obviously (even in the moonlight).

"He seems rather.. cold to me", Chia-Yao observed.

"Oh, he doesn't smile very often", Misao said with a knowing nod, "But he cares a great deal about what happens to the country..".

"And what about you?", Chia-Yao asked evenly.

Misao was silent for a long moment, "I know he cares for me", she replied softly, "I know that I lov... ". She shook her head and her hair obscured her face for a moment, "He raised me", she said, "I think he feels that I'm his sister or something".

"That must make things awkward", Chia-Yao said quietly, thinking of his own recent problems with his feelings for Skuld, "If he sees you that way..".

Misao nodded and then smiled brilliantly, "But then even if he doesn't feel for me the same way I feel for him, at least I can be with him", she said firmly, "I don't care what else happens, so long as the two of us can be together somehow".

Chia-Yao blinked at the statement, "But.. if you feel that way about him..", he began.

She shook her head, "It's not important what I feel", she said, almost angrily, "I know he cares for me, so long as he feels something for me, that's all I want - I want to know that he cares!". They were both silent for a long time before Misao spoke up, "So who is it you care for that doesn't return your feelings?", she asked suddenly.

"Uhhh..", Chia-Yao said dubiously, she'd picked his thoughts as easily as if she'd used a spell, "no one.. I was just curious..".

"Sure you were", Misao said, standing, "You can't fool a ninja so easily". She disappeared into the darkness, leaving Chia-Yao with a lot of things to think about.

******

The next day Kenshin and Chia-Yao set out from Kyoto, heading for a remote village in the mountains. They were to meet the first two divisions of the army there and forge ahead into the deep mountains where Shishio's army was building. Kenshin was silent throughout the day and Chia-Yao kept himself busy by remembering some of the more mundane demon-fighting techniques.

Each evening of the trip he performed a ceremony that dated back into the reaches of time, he would expose the blade of the Katana he had taken from the thugs to the moonlight - while reciting some incantations. Each night the blade shone brighter and brighter in the moonlight and he worked until nearly midnight on the blade's edge and returning it to top condition.

Kenshin was more and more withdrawn as the days passed, obviously deep in his own thoughts of strategy - in his final battle with Shishio, the only reason he had won was that Shishio's own body had given out, if the madman had truly returned from the grave - then it would be unlikely for it to give out again. They met the army and set out at it's head. Inside Chia-Yao's head, Sir Charles let out a mental whistle at the firepower arrayed in front of them, *Those are twelve pound guns*, he murmured, *Along with Gatling guns and the newer repeating rifles*. There were nearly three thousand men arrayed with the very latest equipment. *Obviously they're taking this threat very, very seriously*, Sir Charles said.

Chia-Yao was more than a little dismayed, three thousand men - if many of them were killed or wounded - it would represent a staggering shift in the timeline. There would be hell to pay over this, Brett would not be happy at all.

He caught up with Kenshin that evening, "We need to talk", he said bluntly. Kenshin nodded and followed him out of the camp.

"This can't happen", Chia-Yao said firmly, "These men can't be allowed to engage in hand to hand combat with Shishio's army..".

"What are you talking about?", Kenshin asked in confusion, "I admit that it's not a nice thought.. all the destruction..".

"No, it's not that", Chia-Yao said, "This isn't suppose to be happening..".

"What do you mean?", he asked.

Chia-Yao opened his mouth, but before he could say anything there was a flash of light, Kenshin was frozen like a statue and a deafening silence filled the night. Chia-Yao recognised it immediately, someone had used a timestop - a spell limited to only a few of the Gods. "Who are you?", a familiar voice rang out.

He turned to see a towering figure in light blue robes, "Who are you to be here out of time?", it asked again.

"T..Tlesta?", Chia-Yao breathed.

Tlesta, God of Destiny nodded, "I see you know my name.. but who are you?", he demanded.

"I'm Chia-Yao", he said, "God of..".

"Truth", Tlesta finished, "You're not suppose to be around for nearly a hundred years.. what are you doing here now?".

"You know that?", Chia-Yao asked.

"Of course I do.. I'm Destiny", Tlesta said with a grimace, "I must make a note to give you more instruction in temporal mechanics and ethics.. if you've come back here and are playing with things..".

"I'm not playing", Chia-Yao said quickly, "Something is out of whack.. I was send back here by..".

"The God of Destiny from your time", Destiny finished, "Brett I think his name will be..".

"You know about that?", Chia-Yao demanded.

"Of course I do.. I'm..", Tlesta began.

"Destiny", Chia-Yao finished.

Tlesta sat down against a tree, "How about you explain", he said, patting the ground beside him. Chia-Yao sat down, feeling more than a little awkward beside his older brother, he started at the beginning. It didn't take long until Tlesta was nodding, "I understand and I applaud your courage for coming back here", he said.

"But what are we going to do about it?", Chia-Yao asked.

"Well the first thing", Tlesta said, pointing at Kenshin, "Don't tell him anything - you can't change his perceptions of the universe.. it'll screw up too many things". The God of Destiny nodded, "I will guide you tomorrow", he said, "Bring your new-found friend there and I'll organise things so that you will meet up with the head of the snake".

Chia-Yao opened his mouth to thank his brother, but there was a flash of blue light and the God had vanished. Kenshin became active again immediately, "I said: What do you mean?", Kenshin asked again.

"Tomorrow, you and I have a meeting", Chia-Yao said, "We have to cut off the head of the snake..".

Kenshin blinked, "I understand that.. but..", he began.

"No questions, please?", Chia-Yao asked, "I can't answer most of them.. and the ones I can.. I don't think you'd believe".

******

Chia-Yao nodded silently to Kenshin. The two had left the army earlier that morning, Chia-Yao leading the way through the forest. Unknown to Kenshin, Chia-Yao was following an invisible trail that only he could see. They were crouched behind some trees as a large column of enemy troops marched past. The smell was terrible, Shishio was using decomposed corpses of warriors as his main force. Kenshin's face was pale as he watched the undead march past their position, but he kept quiet and waited for Chia- Yao's signal.

Early in the afternoon a carriage approached down the path, Chia-Yao nodded and Kenshin joined him in the middle of the road. "Demon!", Chia-Yao called out loudly, "Your kind is not welcome in this world.. and we are here to remove you from it..".

The carriage stopped, the two very-dead horses leading it snorted, their red eyes glaring. The door opened and a figure clad in bandages stepped out, Kenshin drew in a breath sharply, "Shishio", he murmured.

"Indeed Sempai", Shishio replied, a glint in his burning red eyes, "I have returned.. and this time - you shall not stop me".

Chia-Yao was mentally reviewing his options, this demon was powerful, at least a class-2, "So how did you get here?", Chia- Yao demanded, "Was is one of the devils that sent you back to this time?".

Shishio glanced at Chia-Yao sharply, "You seem to know a lot", he observed, "Far too much in fact".

"I've often been told that", Chia-Yao said evenly, "The Truth will set you free".

"Ahhh", Shishio said, his eyes widening, "You are Truth, Enma thought that Destiny would send you.. since he could not come himself".

"Then you know that you can't defeat me", he said, "You are only a class-2, not nearly a match for me".

Shishio drew his sword, it glowed darkly, "Normally that would be the case, however you are merely a mortal here and I can kill you as easily as I will kill my Sempai here", he said, walking forward.

Kenshin looked confused, but he drew his sword as well. Chia-Yao waited a little longer and drew his blade out slowly. Shishio suddenly stopped moving forward, "So you have enchanted your blade?", he asked, "A good strategy.. but you lack scope..".

There was a whistling sound and Kenshin suddenly deflected an arrow bound for Chia-Yao's back. A ring of undead archers rose up around the two warriors. Chia-Yao dodged and swung his blade wildly, he and Kenshin dodged out of the circle, cutting down three of the archers. The two found themselves caught amongst nearly a hundred of the creatures and Chia-Yao felt a sudden chill as he remembered one of the warnings Brett had given him, "If you die in the past.. you die in the present - don't get yourself dead brother".

He dodged and weaved, keeping Kenshin's back clear, even as Kenshin cut their way through. There was a sharp crack from nearby and an undead warrior was suddenly cut down. What followed was a hail of bullets, followed by a barrage of artillery fire. The ground that Kenshin and Chia-Yao now fought over was covered with bodies, it was blackened and blasted. They moved towards their army's lines.

Chia-Yao suddenly blinked, he saw a familiar figure amongst the carnage, he deflected a blow from one of the enemy, just as the army charged, soldiers swarmed the field in brutal one-on-one combat. He fought his way through the crowd to where he thought he'd seen her, but she wasn't there. He could have sworn he'd seen Skuld in the midst of the melee.

"Chia-Yao, can you hear me?", a voice ghosted in. He turned around sharply, there she was, she looked a little different - but it was her, "Skuld?", he asked.

"I'm here", Skuld replied shakily.

"Skuld.. what are you..", he felt a searing pain in his chest and he looked down to see an arrowpoint sticking out. It was like he was in a dream, he could feel the pain and he knew he'd been badly wounded. He unconsciously clutched at the arrow as he fell to the ground, blood spilling out and the pain matching his heartbeat. He looked up at Skuld's face and saw her shock and dismay. He wanted to say 'don't worry' or 'I'll be ok', but she disappeared a second later. And a moment after that he lost consciousness, idly wondering if he would ever wake up.

******

Consciousness returned slowly, every painful second of it. Chia-Yao wondered for a moment why no one had seen fit to cast a healing spell on him. Then as his eyes focused he remembered where he was, healing spells were about a hundred and twenty years away. His chest hurt more than he could ever remember, it was a struggle just to draw breath.

He managed to look around the room without moving too much and he noticed a dark haired lady sitting not too far away, she was dozing from the looks of things. He didn't recognise the room, there were racks on the walls, containing jars of various shapes and colours. Also there were several drawings of what looked like human anatomy. Obviously they'd brought him to a doctor's office. Although female doctors were rare in this time and place.

The slightest effort to move his head brought a groan to his lips and the woman was instantly alert. She moved to his side and examined his eyes and breathing for a moment, "Don't try to talk or move", she said seriously, "The arrow came within a hair of killing you instantly...".

He nodded a tiny bit (mainly cause of the pain that brought him) and closed his eyes again after she gave him something to drink, "Sleep now", she said softly, her voice seeming to come from a long way off, "That's the best thing for you..". What followed was several uncomfortably real dreams, that left him wondering how Brett managed to tell dreams from reality.

When Chia-Yao next awoke he felt quite a bit better, the pain was still there, but it was more of a dull ache. He could move his head from side to side without pain and he looked around thoughtfully, the door to the room was open and a pleasantly cool breeze flowed inside. Just outside the door there was an older man, who glanced over at him, "Awake now?", he asked, "How are you feeling?".

"A little better", Chia-Yao replied, his voice sounding a little strange to his own ears. The old man helped him sit up slowly, "I'm going to examine you now", he said. What followed was a rather detailed examination, every so often the old doctor would make encouraging noises, so Chia-Yao took that as a good thing.

"So how am I?", Chia-Yao asked.

"You need to rest", the doctor replied firmly, "I don't want you on your feet for another few days at least.. and even then.. I don't want you to go far..".

Chia-Yao nodded, his mind already going over several treatments and potions that he'd learned to make for just such an emergency. The cures might not be up to Belldandy's standards, but they'd do for the moment. "Where's Kenshin?", he asked after a moment, "How'd I get back here? what happened to Shishio's army?".

"All good questions", the doctor said, "I'll ask Megumi to bring Kenshin over this evening". Chia-Yao had a night of restless sleep, his hunger for answers making it even more difficult to rest.

Kenshin arrived early the next morning, "I'm glad to see you're recovered", he said with a smile. Kenshin placed a sword on the ground beside Chia-Yao, it was the same Katana that he'd dropped after being hit by the arrow.

"What happened?", Chia-Yao asked, "How did I get here?".

"After you were hit by the arrow the tide had slowly turned against Shishio's army", Kenshin explained, "I took up the sword that you'd dropped and defeated Shishio in single combat".

"You did?", Chia-Yao was stunned, this mortal had defeated a 2nd Class Demon. Admittedly he had the sword that had been enchanted, but still - that was an amazing feat. Kenshin described the fight briefly and Chia-Yao listened intently.

"Excuse me Ken-san", a female voice interrupted their conversation, "He needs his rest, you can talk all you like when he's healed". Kenshin smiled and inclined his head politely, "I bow to your wisdom Megumi-dono", he said formally, before bidding goodbye to Chia-Yao. Megumi then ordered Chia-Yao back to sleep, providing him with a drink sufficiently dosed that he didn't argue with her.

******

Chia-Yao groaned in pain as he slipped on a shirt. *You nearly killed me remember?*, Sir Charles reminded Chia-Yao, *I should never have agreed to letting you use my body..*

"I already apologised", Chia-Yao said quietly, making sure no one else was around with a quick glance, "You can have your body back any day now.. as soon as I'm strong enough to call my brother and have him take me back".

Sir Charles had been 'unconscious' since Chia-Yao's run in with Tlesta and he was amazed at the change in attitude in the young god since he'd awoken. Chia-Yao was downright depressed, a complete change from his previous 'go get 'em' attitude. *I wish you'd quit your moping*, Sir Charles finally said out loud, *So what if you couldn't be the 'big hero' - at least your mission was completed*.

"Being the 'hero' has nothing to do with it", Chia-Yao snapped angrily.

*Then what the hell is wrong?*, Sir Charles demanded, *You've been moping about, delaying your return to your own time.. don't think I don't know that you're well enough to call your brother*.

Chia-Yao was taken aback, "What are you talking about?", he said, a little less angrily.

*You are almost healthy*, Sir Charles said, *Aside from a few aches and pains.. I know my own body well enough to know that*.

Chia-Yao had no answer for that, he sat silently for a long moment, before taking a deep breath. He walked outside to say his farewells to Kenshin and the others. His goodbye was short and to the point and he went through it like a robot, just spouting the right phrases. He agreed that the next time he was back this way that he'd drop by and then departed the Kamiya Dojo.

*Well that was abrupt*, Sir Charles pointed out, *I think you hurt Kaoru's feelings not staying longer with them*.

"I have things to do in my own time.. I've been gone from there for more than two months in real time", he replied.

*Oh*, Sir Charles was silent for a long time, *You're worried about that dark haired girl in your dreams?*.

Chia-Yao stopped in mid-step, "How do you know about her?", he demanded.

*I can see your dreams*, Sir Charles said, confusion evident in his statement, *I don't know why.. but you're worried about her.. but more than that you see her as a..*.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken", Chia-Yao broke in, "You're been seeing some dreams brought on by the wounds and fever". They'd come to a relatively isolated park and Chia-Yao sat down, mumbling some words that Sir Charles couldn't pick up.

"I'm ready to come home", he said quietly.

*You can't just go..*, Sir Charles began.

"Thank you for the use of your body Sir Charles", Chia-Yao said formally, "It is appreciated and will be remembered".

*Now wait*, Sir Charles began, *You can't just leave*. As he finished he was aware that he was in control of his own body again. He shook his head at the unfamiliar feeling and picked up his bags and swords. He slowly began walking towards the train station to begin his trip back to England, "This whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth", he muttered quietly.

******

There was a flash of blue light and Chia-Yao felt the familiar presence of his brother, he also noticed absently that his powers had returned. He opened his eyes slowly, "Welcome back Bro", Brett said, his voice seemed happy, but more than a little tired.

Brett was leaning against the long stone alter-like table that Chia-Yao was laying on, his face was more than a little pale. Urd was standing not too far away, also a little pale, she was sitting with her back against the wall.

"Glad to be back...", Chia-Yao began, trying to sit up. He managed to get half into a sitting position before a pain in his chest asserted itself. He gasped, clutching his chest, it was burning. Ripping open his shirt he discovered a ragged red scar. It was in the exact same position as the arrow wound he'd recieved in the past.

"Sorry", Brett apologised, "I warned you that if you got hurt it was repeated here - you're just lucky that we were monitoring your body..".

Chia-Yao pulled in some of his power and spread out a healing spell across his chest. The pain disappeared, but the scar remained. "It won't heal?", Chia-Yao asked.

Brett shook his head, "I'm sorry", he repeated, "but you'll have to carry it with you from now on..".

Chia-Yao touched the scar gently, "I see", he said softly.

"Are you ok?", Brett asked, noticing his strange tone and expression.

"I'm fine now", Chia-Yao said, almost jumping off the table, "How're things in the present, have you found anything out about our little traveller?".

Brett shrugged, "About the same", he said, "Skuld still hasn't come back..".

Chia-Yao shrugged, "I mean with regards to this mission, I don't relish the idea of going back into the past again", he said.

"Oh.. well.. no", Brett said, confusion in his tone, "I've managed to put up a spell that will detect and inform me if anyone gathers enough power to effect travel, so hopefully that'll give us enough warning to stop them in the present..".

"Not a good enough solution", Chia-Yao said, "We've gotta stop the Demons themselves.. I'll see if I can work out something to trace whatever cast the original spell". He nodded and walked out of the room, leaving a startled and confused Brett and Urd.

Urd accepted a hand up from Brett, "What's got into him?", she murmured, "He was worried about Skuld two months ago.. I would have thought that he'd be even more worried".

Brett nodded, "I don't know", he admitted, "But at the moment I'm too tired to think straight".

"To bed", Urd agreed, offering him her arm. Brett grinned at her quick agreement and the two disappeared a moment later in a flash of light.

******

Brett glanced up from his computer terminal as the door to his study opened, Urd stormed in and he prepared himself to weather another storm. "What's wrong?", he asked, before she could say anything.

"It's your brother", she snapped, "Since he came back all he's done is sit in his castle and sulk! all we've had from him is that report you're reading again".

"Yup, so?", Brett replied with a curious look.

"What do you mean so?", Urd demanded through clenched teeth, "He was gone two months.. and you saw him when we brought him back, he had a wound on his chest! Gods don't get wounds like that!!".

"What do you want me to do?", Brett asked with a sigh, he turned off his terminal and faced her, "All I know about what happened is what he put in his report - he was wounded in the battle with that demon".

"Do?", Urd echoed, "You can bloody well go and talk to him!".

Brett shook his head, "Urd, I can't force him to tell me anything", he said sadly, "He might prefer to be alone..".

Urd leaned very close to Brett, "You go and talk to him", she repeated slowly, "Or *I* will".

A few moments (and one teleport spell) later, Brett was 'knocking' on Chia-Yao's door. The huge iron and wood drawbridge lowered at his approach and he walked inside. The changes that had been made astounded him - Chia-Yao's workroom, once a clutter of unimaginable junk was neat and tidy. There were rows of equipment, all neatly labelled. He stopped in shock, never had he seen the place so clean.

Chia-Yao walked in from the other side of the room, "Brett, I thought I heard you come in", he said with a small smile, "What do you think?".

"Very..uhh..neat", Brett replied, "What happened to the organised chaos that seemed to permeate the place?".

"Oh a bit of 'spring cleaning'", Chia-Yao said with a shrug, "I thought I'd better get things more organised - it doesn't do for the commander of the Security Daemons to show sloppiness".

Brett's mind was spinning, "Oh", he said (for lack of anything better to say).

"I've sorted out a lot of junk", Chia-Yao went on, he pointed to a large cargo container at the back of the room, "All that stuff is Skuld's - I figured she might like it returned".

"Why?", Brett asked with a frown, "Didn't she used to work on that stuff with you?".

Chia-Yao nodded and shrugged, "Yeah, but we're not kids anymore - she'd be better of keeping her projects at her own home - and if we need to pool our resources again we can always use the public labs", he explained.

Brett frowned thoughtfully, "What brought this on?", he asked pointedly.

"I realised that I was neglecting my duties", Chia-Yao said firmly. He walked out of the room, Brett trailing behind him.

Chia-Yao went to his private rooms and sat down in his favourite chair, "I missed this while I was away", he said with a grin, "19th Century Japan really didn't have comfortable chairs..".

Brett sat down opposite him, "All right", he said, "What's wrong?".

"You could say that my near-death experience has given me a new outlook on life", Chia-Yao said, "I realised that I was putting pressure on Skuld.. telling her that I loved her like that really wasn't in either of our best interests..".

"You what?", Brett asked in amazement, "When?".

"Just before she disappeared", Chia-Yao said with a shrug, "I was putting too much pressure on her - so I decided to back off".

Brett raised an eyebrow, "Going to play 'hard to get'?", he asked curiously.

Chia-Yao blinked, "No", he said.

"What do you mean no?", Brett asked, "Why else are you doing this?".

"You know about Skuld's mortal 'boyfriend'?", Chia-Yao asked.

Brett nodded.

"Well I decided that I had too much of an advantage", he went on, "It's hardly fair of me to hoard all of Skuld's toys here is it?".

"That's a pretty weak argument", Brett replied dubiously, "You think Skuld will buy it?".

Chia-Yao blinked, "Uhh.. what do you mean?", he asked.

"That's rather lame Bro", Brett said with a smile, "I guess as the God of Truth you haven't have much practice at lying, have you?".

"W.. What makes you think I'm lying?", Chia-Yao asked.

"You're whole posture", Brett pointed out, "And then there's the old 'all's fair in love and war' which seems to contradict you". He smiled slightly, "Bro, think you can explain things to me?", he asked, "I might be able to help?".

Chia-Yao shook his head, "No Brett", he said, "I need to figure things out for myself.. ".

Brett nodded, "I understand, but don't make the people who care about you worry..", he said, "And learn to lie a bit better?".

Chia-Yao laughed, "I guess I could say that I need the room for a new project", he mused.

"That's the spirit", Brett said, "Welcome to the game of 'Us verses Them' an age old contest".

"So how do we know when we've won?", Chia-Yao asked curiously.

"Ahhh", Brett said with a grin, "Winning or losing isn't important.. it's how you play the game".

Chia-Yao raised an eyebrow at this, "And how is your contest with Urd going?", he asked.

"Very, very well", Brett replied, "I've worked out a fool- proof strategy".

The God of Truth looked interested at that, "What strategy is this?", he asked.

Brett stood, "I realised that the only way to win is not to play", he said, "Urd and I being happy is far more important than any silly game". He nodded to Chia-Yao and disappeared in a flash of blue light, leaving the very confused God of Truth to puzzle over that.

******

Urd looked up as Brett entered their little house by her fountain, "Well?", she asked as he sat down beside her.

Brett shrugged, "I think the trip changed my brother in more ways than one", he said, "Chia-Yao has grown up a bit.. and not all of it good".

Urd frowned, "And did you help him?", she asked.

"Nope", Brett replied, closing his eyes and leaning back on the couch, "He has to grow up himself.. I can't do it for him".

"Oh", Urd was silent for a long moment. She leaned closer to Brett and he put an arm around her, "Do you know he told Skuld that he loved her?", Brett asked.

Urd laughed quietly, "That was obvious", she said.

"To you or me", Brett agreed, "but to Skuld?".

"Perhaps.. that's why she left?", Urd mused.

"Maybe", Brett said, "But it has to be more than that - either way my love, we can't interfere with their relationship". He caught a look in Urd's eye and kissed her on the nose, "No dear", he said sternly, "Not unless we're asked".

"But if they ask?", Urd said.

"Then we'll move heaven and earth to help them", Brett agreed with a smile.

***** END*****

FOOTNOTES

Author's Notes:

This little story that I started more than a year ago turned out very different than I'd originally promised Icezer230 and my apologies if it's a little darker than my other works. I blame that on changes in my own life - which naturally has an effect on my writing. When I think back to when I started writing OMGod a few years ago (1995) I was a very different person with little knowledge of the 'real world'. Now that I've had a taste, I think I prefer fiction :)

Kenshin is one of my favourite anime series, right up along there with OMG, Slayers and a few others that top my list. I've been wanting to write a story based in that universe ever since I saw my first episode. One of the reasons this story took me so long to finish was that I didn't want to screw up the characters from RK too badly - I was waiting for a friend to finally get me the last dozen or so tapes.

OMGod was a self-insert fic when I wrote it, now it's something rather different - that naive kid who just sat down one hot Saturday afternoon and started typing for the fun of it ceased to be me a few years ago. Which is one reason why I've avoided writing anymore OMGod stories - it's hard for me to get 'in character' at this point. To everyone who's been asking me to write more - I'm going to have to disappoint you and say 'no'. At least for the time being. This will be the last OMGod story for the foreseeable future - at least with me as it's primary author that is.

I'm going to sit down tomorrow and work out which stories I want to continue and which I don't - I'll look at putting up some information on my web page about it when I make a decision. To everyone who's enjoyed reading my stories, thank you! the e-mails I've gotten have been very encouraging and maybe one day I might think about writing something that could be published.

-----Brett Handy (12th Feb 2000)