**********
Chapter Ten; Between Heat beats
**********
Now let no charitable hope
Confuse my mind with images
Of eagle and antelope:
I am in nature none of these.
I was, being human, born alone;
I am, being woman, hard beset;
I live by squeezing from a stone
The little nourishment I get.
In masks outrageous and austere
The years go by in single file;
But none has merited my fear,
and none have escaped my smile.
Elinor Wylie 'Let no charitable hope'
**********
*author's note* I've received a review that mentioned that Kaoru was using a lot of ki and that it would take her a bit longer to 'power up' than I was giving her. This is not a DBZ fic, I won't spend X-odd chapters with the characters doing nothing but standing still and yelling while they create an aura. I realize it's a great stalling tactic for when you've run out of pre-conceived plot but I refuse to insult you guys that way. In this fic, for the sake of argument, ki can be manifested and used quickly. The point of the whole Ki thing is to provide Kaoru with a different base of power than Kenshin and in sword fights it needs to be available -fast- or she's dead.
Please don't take offense at this rant but I absolutely detest DBZ because of their 'powering up' scenes and five-minute fights that take over half a season. I want to be absolutely clear that I will -never- do something similar in one of my fics.
**********
Kaoru registered the arm around her waist with only the barest of attentions, in her dream world it was only natural that it should be there and it could only be attached to one person.
'Kenshin, I missed you.'
Soft, infinitely gentle eyes that perfect shade of violet crinkled at the corners.
'I missed you too, Kaoru-dono. Don't go away again, promise me you'll stay with me forever.'
Kaoru sighed her utter contentment. 'I promise, I'll be by your side forever.'
'I'm glad to hear that, Kao-san.'
The dream world shuddered and suddenly the red haired rurouni was no longer by her side, but was replaced by a sumptuously naked Megumi.
"AEIIIIIIIIII!"
Kaoru burst up off the futon, bodken in hand, knocking Megumi back and off the bed.
"Oh, Kao-san! You didn't say you woke up so violently!" she pouted, rolling over onto her side so as to display herself in her sleeping kimono to the utmost advantage.
"Megumi-san!" Kaoru cried, scandalized. "How could you sneak into my futon while I was sleeping? Have you no shame?!"
Megumi laughed and got her her feet. "I was cold." she said flippantly. the kitsune doctor flipped her hair back out of her face and fixed Kaoru with an amused look. "By the way, who's 'Kenshin'?"
When Kaoru turned a hot red and started stammering, Megumi got a lot less amused. "Hmph, I see." she huffed. "Well, if that's how it is I'm going back to my room!"
Feet pounded on the veranda outside Kaoru's door. "Kamiya-sensei! Are you all right!"
Megumi pushed the shoji opened and strolled out of the bedroom. Enishi turned hot red as he took in her dishevelled appearance.
"You...you!" he started, gripping the bodken clenched in his hands.
Megumi yawned. "Well, I'm back to bed." she winked at Kaoru. "It was fun, Kao-san."
"For you maybe." Kaoru levered herself to her feet with her bodken and would have pushed the shoji screen back into place had Enishi not stopped her.
"What happened?" he asked her in a curiously calm tone of voice.
Kaoru made a face. "Megumi crawled in my futon while I was asleep." she explained and was immediately rewarded by Enishi turning purple.
"That... that..." Enishi began to tremble with the force of his anger and a lime green aura began to manifest around him.
"Mou, I think you need some tea." Kaoru decided out loud and before Enishi could go after the shameless doctor she grabbed him by the back of the collar and drug him into the kitchen.
***
Tea did calm Enishi down, or maybe it was just having Kaoru to himself. Either way he was no longer experiencing homicidal urges by the time Kaoru excused herself to go change into her day-time clothes.
He was still in the kitchen when Kaoru returned, trying and apron around her waist.
"Going to start breakfast early?" he asked.
"I won't be able to get back to sleep now if that's what you mean." Kaoru went over to the small cool cellar cabinet where she'd put aside the bentos she'd made the night before out of the leftover rice. If she started now she could put a nice namasu in each one along with the onigiri.
A mouse scurried out as she lifted the door of the small cabinet.
Enishi leapt up, grabbed a broom and pushed it outside. "Oh gross! We'll have to get a cat now!" he complained and slammed the door shut.
Kaoru hurriedly pulled apart the bentos so find the extent of the damage-- it had only gotten to the green one lablled 'Kitsune' and even then it had only nibbled on one of the onigiri.
Enishi checked over her shoulder. "I call that evidence of karma."
Kaoru made a face. "I could have sworn I sealed that cabinet up tight before I went to bed last night." she checked the bottom and back of the cabinet, there were no holes chewed into the wood.
'I would have noticed a mouse in there last night. How did it get in?' she wondered to herself.
"Well, I'll make another onigiri with the breakfast rice." Kaoru picked out the bad onigiri and flicked off the spot the mouse had chewed on. "No sense in letting it go to waste." she reasoned.
Enishi shook his head as Kaoru ate the rice ball in two bites. "I'll start the rice for you, how about that?" he offered.
"Thank you!" Kaoru retrieved a wok from one of the over head cabinets and began looking around for the oil and white miso...
'That's right, it stayed outside last night!' Kaoru thumped her fist into her palm as she remembered. she pushed the screen back open and stepped outside 'Well, no harm done. It's not like it...'
Kaoru stopped cold. The mouse was lying on one of the stepping stones, stone cold dead. She went down on her knees beside it... there wasn't a mark on the poor little beast.
"That's odd, then how did it..." Kaoru's hand flew to her mouth-- the onigiri! "ENISHI! GET MEGUMI!!!"
***
Megumi looked up from her mirror when she heard Kao-san bellow her name. She hurriedly finished tying her obi on and left her make up on the tiny vanity table even though she'd already started applying it.
Enishi was at her door as soon as she opened it. "What's going on?" she asked the boy, but he looked clueless.
"I don't know, we were making breakfast and then she starts yelling at me to go get you. Come on!"
Megumi allowed herself to be hauled into the courtyard, where Kao-san was doubled up under a tree puking her guts out.
She wrenched herself free of Enishi. "Get my medicine chest!" she ordered him and hurried to Kaoru's side. "Kao-san! What's wrong?"
"P-poison!" Kaoru panted between hurls. "A mouse got into your bento and ruined an onigiri, I ate it instead of throwing it away... the mouse is dead; not a scratch on it."
"Kao-san, show the me the mouse!" Megumi pled. Kaoru pointed a shaking hand to the walkway behind her. "All right, keep inducing vomiting until you have nothing left in your stomach!"
Kaoru was already doing so.
Megumi went over to the mouse and picked the tiny little body up. She examined it ruthlessly, there was pink foam at it's mouth and it's little eyes were weeping. It's little heart had stopped.
Enishi reappeared with the medicine chest.
"Water now, we need to flush out Kaoru's system." she snapped and went to the nauseated woman.
When she checked, Megumi saw that Kaoru was down to the juices in her stomach. That was good, the acid in her digestive system would help kill any remaining traces of poison in her throat and mouth... but still. The mouse had died so quickly, some of the poison might be irrevocably in Kaoru's blood.
When Enishi returned with the water Kaoru drank it down obediently and then forced herself to bring it back up, this process was repeated nearly four times before Megumi was happy.
Enishi held her up when she was finally allowed to rest. Kaoru's strength was momentarily wiped out so he cradled her against his chest.
"If it's not out now then there's nothing to be done." Megumi said quietly.
"K-kaori.... where is she?" Kaoru asked hoarsely.
"She spent the night at the Akabeko with Tsubame, remember?" Megumi said gently. She nodded towards the bedrooms. "Take her to her room, I'll clean out the kitchen."
"Clean it out?"
Megumi sighed. "The poison was probably meant just for me, since it was the bento Kaoru made for me that poisoned her, but we can't take the chance. All the food in the dojo is now suspect."
"No, if they wanted everyone dead then they'd poison the well." Kaoru coughed. "They wouldn't have searched out the bentos."
Of course, she couldn't tell them that while she was alone and puking that Raven had thoroughly checked the kitchen for anymore poison. The onigiri in Megumi's bento was the only thing.
"That's no reason to take chances." Megumi pointed out. "Sano should be by in a little while, I'll get him to help me burn everything."
Enishi bore Kaoru to her room and lay her down on the futon. "Now I bet you're really not going to get any sleep." he joked half heartedly.
Kaoru made a face. "Bad joke, Yukishiro."
"Is there anything you need?"
"Yes, go help Megumi." Kaoru pulled the quilt up around her neck. "I don't need watching."
"But if..."
"But if I'm poisoned then there's nothing to be done. Git!"
***
Raven appeared the second Kaoru was alone and yanked back the covers.
Kaoru rubbed at her eyes and sighed when the latina woman pushed her back on the futon and began ruthlessly examining her.
"It won't kill you." was the pronouncement. "but unless I do something now, you won't be in any shape for your fight with the Oniwabanshuu."
"Do?" Kaoru asked, un perturbed by Raven's announcement of her upcoming fight. "What are you going to do?"
"Purge your system of course." Raven said as if that were the obvious answer. "Of course, you can't be in your body while I work on it, I might accidentally kill you."
Kaoru's stress twitch made a grand reappearance. "And just where will I be if not in my body?"
"In limbo." was all the warning Kaoru got before suddenly she was floating -up-.
Kaoru was now -over- her body, which was lying on the ground with blank eyes like so much meat. Raven, who apparently could see her wiggled her fingers and a silver cord sprang to being connecting Kaoru to the Kaoru-meat.
"Don't you wander too far now, I don't want to have to go looking for you." Raven cautioned her.
'Wander?' Kaoru asked, but she might as well not have... she was being drawn elsewhere. She followed the call with curiosity, slowly her worry about the 'real world' faded and there was only the need to heed that call.
There was someone who was waiting for her.
She drifted beyond breath and between the air until she came to a place that seemed to be one inky void. A man sat there, in the very center.
'I knew you'd come here eventually.' he said gruffly. 'Too bad you can't stay long.'
'Where is this?' she asked.
'It's where I said I would be waiting for you.' he heaved himself to him feet and approached her. 'Welcome to the very edge of hell.'
Kaoru gasped, this man was Jin'eh!
Death had changed him, his eyes were no long that inhuman white on black and his mouth was relaxed from that insane grin. He wore a white prison yukata and carried a katana against his shoulder with a ebony sheath.
'You didn't recognize me.' he sounded pleased at the concept. 'I almost didn't recognize you. You must be nearly a decade younger in your temporal body.'
'Temporal body?'
He pointed at her with the sheathed sword and a reflective surface came into being in front of her. She choked.
In the metallic surface she could see that she was indeed a teenager again. She was dressed in the yellow gi and blue hakama that she used to wear for kendo practice. Her clothes were badly damaged and bloodstained from where the fresh wound in her cheek bled freely.
'So this is what you really look lie...' Jin'eh murmured and the mirror vanished. He turned aside and leaned the katana back against his shoulder. 'This place has a great view, you can see everything from here. Whatever you want; past, present, future. I've been amusing myself with yours.'
Kaoru flinched. 'What have you seen?'
'Many things, one in particular being a red-haired man with a scar like yours.' he pointed to the bleeding mark in question. 'Which I have seen you receive. I've also watched that man lock himself inside his mind and wrap chains around his sword when he failed you. Do you want to see this man?'
'Kenshin!' Kaoru felt a peculiar pain where her heart should have been. 'Show him to me!'
'Your time's running short.' Jin'eh observed.
'I don't care, show him to me!'
Jin'eh made a sweeping motion with his sword and the space before them was painted with colors and light. Kaoru gradually recognized what she was looking at. 'That's Rakuminmura, the place where homeless in Tokyo have to live.'
'Ye-e-ssss.' Jin'eh hissed. 'That's where he is. Another one of me is there, watching him. He was here with me for a while, but he's gone to watch the man who defeated him leave this world.'
Kaoru shuddered. 'I'm glad he isn't here.'
'He's the reason you are immune to my shin-no-ipo.' Jin'eh agreed. 'At the time you were pathetic, but you still beat it. You aren't pathetic now, I'm not surprised it has no effect on you.'
'Where's Kenshin?' Kaoru pressed.
The scene scrolled along the homeless, helpless, and hopeless people in Rakuminmura until it came to rest on one rurouni leaning against a wall. His gi and hakama were even more worn and shabby looking than ever, his sword had been wrapped in chains, and his mouth was slack. The worst part however was his eyes... even the feral, golden eyes of Battousai hadn't frightened her as much as the blank, dead eyes of this empty husk of a man.
'This was all so he wouldn't experience this.' Kaoru sobbed, she fell to her knees. 'Thirteen years, for nothing!'
'No, not nothing.' Jin'eh said quietly and the scene changed. Kaori was sitting in front of a mirror, looking very put-upon as Tsubame fussed over her and attempted to tie her hair up in interesting and adult fashions.
'Kaori...' Kaoru pressed a hand to her chest, the phantom pain had returned.
'You can see the future from here, but you can also change it.' Jin'eh said cryptically. 'Just remember; if you go haring off to save him, then your little girl might never exist.'
The pain became more intense and Kaoru cried out involuntarily.
'Hmm, it's time to go back.' her companion sighed and picked her up. 'I'm tossing you back in this time, next time however...'
...Kaoru couldn't...
...stop...
...falling...
***
Raven breathed a sigh of relief as Kaoru began choking on her own laboured breath. She sat back and wiped the sweat from her forehead as Kaoru started breathing normally, albeit with some effort.
"You'll be fine now, although you'll have a short stint in bed with perhaps a mild fever but you be up and about again by tomorrow."
"...yay..." she groaned. "...go...way..."
Raven smiled perkily and soothed Kaoru's hair back. "You just rest now, nothing will happen while you're out."
... but the Kenshi was already out cold.
Raven glanced over her shoulder as she heard Megumi Takani approaching Kaoru's room.
"... that stupid sword slinger, how could her just leave her alone? Serves him right to clear out the kitchen all on his own, leaving my darling Kao-chan to suffer..."
The latina woman shook her head disparagingly and phased out of frequency with the dimensions of this time line that Megumi Takani would interact with. From here she could watch without being seen and protect her friend without being detected.
She didn't, however, expect to be joined by another of her kind.
A man with long, purple, bishonen hair and zesty green eyes appeared beside Raven and slipped an arm around her shoulder. "Is your Pet Project safe and sound?"
Raven leaned into his embrace. "Ci, Gracias al Cielo." she sighed. "Have you found anything out about the Shy-side?"
He shook his head. "Nothing so far, I have a few leads but I shouldn't mention them to you until I have concrete proof."
Raven nodded. "I understand, Aiden."
Aiden grinned at her and squeezed her shoulders. "It's not over yet, Ravvy!"
"Call me Ravvy one more time and you will never have to worry about illegitimate children." Raven growled at the overly-familiar man.
***
It was nearly midnight by the time Kaoru woke up. She felt six shades of godawful.
"You're awake,then."
Kaoru glanced at Sanosuke, who was sitting on the veranda outside her open door, watching the stars. She rolled to her feet and went out to join him. "How long have you been there?" she asked.
"Not long." he replied. "I only woke up a few hours ago, I had a late night at the Kogane."
Kaoru pointedly did not ask. Instead she leaned back against the wall behind her and let out a slow sigh.
"How are you feeling?" Sanosuke asked.
"Good, a lot better than this morning."
"Megitsune said that might be the case, but you're still supposed to take it easy. I think she's still feeling cagey about that sword fight with Ugly-hat." Sanosuke told her. "Kaori came home and found you sick, I only just got her to leave your side and go to bed."
Kaoru smiled. "I'll go see her then." she stood up and went quietly to her daughter's room where a light was still burning.
Kaoru rapped quietly on the wooden frame of the shoji screen enclosing Kaori. "Musume? Are you up?"
An explosion of sound from the inside, the screen flew back from Kaoru's fingers and Kaori launched herself at her mother. "You're okaaaaaayyyy!!!!" she sobbed into Kaoru's waist. "I thought you were going to die!"
Kaoru wrapped her hands around her daughter's shoulders. "Not this time." she promised. "Not this time."
*********
End chapter Ten
*********
Seiyuu; (Kaoru voice over) Next time on Ronin Kaoru, the shadow Elite! Battle the Oniwabanshuu!
^.^¿ I'm pathetic.
Chapter Ten; Between Heat beats
**********
Now let no charitable hope
Confuse my mind with images
Of eagle and antelope:
I am in nature none of these.
I was, being human, born alone;
I am, being woman, hard beset;
I live by squeezing from a stone
The little nourishment I get.
In masks outrageous and austere
The years go by in single file;
But none has merited my fear,
and none have escaped my smile.
Elinor Wylie 'Let no charitable hope'
**********
*author's note* I've received a review that mentioned that Kaoru was using a lot of ki and that it would take her a bit longer to 'power up' than I was giving her. This is not a DBZ fic, I won't spend X-odd chapters with the characters doing nothing but standing still and yelling while they create an aura. I realize it's a great stalling tactic for when you've run out of pre-conceived plot but I refuse to insult you guys that way. In this fic, for the sake of argument, ki can be manifested and used quickly. The point of the whole Ki thing is to provide Kaoru with a different base of power than Kenshin and in sword fights it needs to be available -fast- or she's dead.
Please don't take offense at this rant but I absolutely detest DBZ because of their 'powering up' scenes and five-minute fights that take over half a season. I want to be absolutely clear that I will -never- do something similar in one of my fics.
**********
Kaoru registered the arm around her waist with only the barest of attentions, in her dream world it was only natural that it should be there and it could only be attached to one person.
'Kenshin, I missed you.'
Soft, infinitely gentle eyes that perfect shade of violet crinkled at the corners.
'I missed you too, Kaoru-dono. Don't go away again, promise me you'll stay with me forever.'
Kaoru sighed her utter contentment. 'I promise, I'll be by your side forever.'
'I'm glad to hear that, Kao-san.'
The dream world shuddered and suddenly the red haired rurouni was no longer by her side, but was replaced by a sumptuously naked Megumi.
"AEIIIIIIIIII!"
Kaoru burst up off the futon, bodken in hand, knocking Megumi back and off the bed.
"Oh, Kao-san! You didn't say you woke up so violently!" she pouted, rolling over onto her side so as to display herself in her sleeping kimono to the utmost advantage.
"Megumi-san!" Kaoru cried, scandalized. "How could you sneak into my futon while I was sleeping? Have you no shame?!"
Megumi laughed and got her her feet. "I was cold." she said flippantly. the kitsune doctor flipped her hair back out of her face and fixed Kaoru with an amused look. "By the way, who's 'Kenshin'?"
When Kaoru turned a hot red and started stammering, Megumi got a lot less amused. "Hmph, I see." she huffed. "Well, if that's how it is I'm going back to my room!"
Feet pounded on the veranda outside Kaoru's door. "Kamiya-sensei! Are you all right!"
Megumi pushed the shoji opened and strolled out of the bedroom. Enishi turned hot red as he took in her dishevelled appearance.
"You...you!" he started, gripping the bodken clenched in his hands.
Megumi yawned. "Well, I'm back to bed." she winked at Kaoru. "It was fun, Kao-san."
"For you maybe." Kaoru levered herself to her feet with her bodken and would have pushed the shoji screen back into place had Enishi not stopped her.
"What happened?" he asked her in a curiously calm tone of voice.
Kaoru made a face. "Megumi crawled in my futon while I was asleep." she explained and was immediately rewarded by Enishi turning purple.
"That... that..." Enishi began to tremble with the force of his anger and a lime green aura began to manifest around him.
"Mou, I think you need some tea." Kaoru decided out loud and before Enishi could go after the shameless doctor she grabbed him by the back of the collar and drug him into the kitchen.
***
Tea did calm Enishi down, or maybe it was just having Kaoru to himself. Either way he was no longer experiencing homicidal urges by the time Kaoru excused herself to go change into her day-time clothes.
He was still in the kitchen when Kaoru returned, trying and apron around her waist.
"Going to start breakfast early?" he asked.
"I won't be able to get back to sleep now if that's what you mean." Kaoru went over to the small cool cellar cabinet where she'd put aside the bentos she'd made the night before out of the leftover rice. If she started now she could put a nice namasu in each one along with the onigiri.
A mouse scurried out as she lifted the door of the small cabinet.
Enishi leapt up, grabbed a broom and pushed it outside. "Oh gross! We'll have to get a cat now!" he complained and slammed the door shut.
Kaoru hurriedly pulled apart the bentos so find the extent of the damage-- it had only gotten to the green one lablled 'Kitsune' and even then it had only nibbled on one of the onigiri.
Enishi checked over her shoulder. "I call that evidence of karma."
Kaoru made a face. "I could have sworn I sealed that cabinet up tight before I went to bed last night." she checked the bottom and back of the cabinet, there were no holes chewed into the wood.
'I would have noticed a mouse in there last night. How did it get in?' she wondered to herself.
"Well, I'll make another onigiri with the breakfast rice." Kaoru picked out the bad onigiri and flicked off the spot the mouse had chewed on. "No sense in letting it go to waste." she reasoned.
Enishi shook his head as Kaoru ate the rice ball in two bites. "I'll start the rice for you, how about that?" he offered.
"Thank you!" Kaoru retrieved a wok from one of the over head cabinets and began looking around for the oil and white miso...
'That's right, it stayed outside last night!' Kaoru thumped her fist into her palm as she remembered. she pushed the screen back open and stepped outside 'Well, no harm done. It's not like it...'
Kaoru stopped cold. The mouse was lying on one of the stepping stones, stone cold dead. She went down on her knees beside it... there wasn't a mark on the poor little beast.
"That's odd, then how did it..." Kaoru's hand flew to her mouth-- the onigiri! "ENISHI! GET MEGUMI!!!"
***
Megumi looked up from her mirror when she heard Kao-san bellow her name. She hurriedly finished tying her obi on and left her make up on the tiny vanity table even though she'd already started applying it.
Enishi was at her door as soon as she opened it. "What's going on?" she asked the boy, but he looked clueless.
"I don't know, we were making breakfast and then she starts yelling at me to go get you. Come on!"
Megumi allowed herself to be hauled into the courtyard, where Kao-san was doubled up under a tree puking her guts out.
She wrenched herself free of Enishi. "Get my medicine chest!" she ordered him and hurried to Kaoru's side. "Kao-san! What's wrong?"
"P-poison!" Kaoru panted between hurls. "A mouse got into your bento and ruined an onigiri, I ate it instead of throwing it away... the mouse is dead; not a scratch on it."
"Kao-san, show the me the mouse!" Megumi pled. Kaoru pointed a shaking hand to the walkway behind her. "All right, keep inducing vomiting until you have nothing left in your stomach!"
Kaoru was already doing so.
Megumi went over to the mouse and picked the tiny little body up. She examined it ruthlessly, there was pink foam at it's mouth and it's little eyes were weeping. It's little heart had stopped.
Enishi reappeared with the medicine chest.
"Water now, we need to flush out Kaoru's system." she snapped and went to the nauseated woman.
When she checked, Megumi saw that Kaoru was down to the juices in her stomach. That was good, the acid in her digestive system would help kill any remaining traces of poison in her throat and mouth... but still. The mouse had died so quickly, some of the poison might be irrevocably in Kaoru's blood.
When Enishi returned with the water Kaoru drank it down obediently and then forced herself to bring it back up, this process was repeated nearly four times before Megumi was happy.
Enishi held her up when she was finally allowed to rest. Kaoru's strength was momentarily wiped out so he cradled her against his chest.
"If it's not out now then there's nothing to be done." Megumi said quietly.
"K-kaori.... where is she?" Kaoru asked hoarsely.
"She spent the night at the Akabeko with Tsubame, remember?" Megumi said gently. She nodded towards the bedrooms. "Take her to her room, I'll clean out the kitchen."
"Clean it out?"
Megumi sighed. "The poison was probably meant just for me, since it was the bento Kaoru made for me that poisoned her, but we can't take the chance. All the food in the dojo is now suspect."
"No, if they wanted everyone dead then they'd poison the well." Kaoru coughed. "They wouldn't have searched out the bentos."
Of course, she couldn't tell them that while she was alone and puking that Raven had thoroughly checked the kitchen for anymore poison. The onigiri in Megumi's bento was the only thing.
"That's no reason to take chances." Megumi pointed out. "Sano should be by in a little while, I'll get him to help me burn everything."
Enishi bore Kaoru to her room and lay her down on the futon. "Now I bet you're really not going to get any sleep." he joked half heartedly.
Kaoru made a face. "Bad joke, Yukishiro."
"Is there anything you need?"
"Yes, go help Megumi." Kaoru pulled the quilt up around her neck. "I don't need watching."
"But if..."
"But if I'm poisoned then there's nothing to be done. Git!"
***
Raven appeared the second Kaoru was alone and yanked back the covers.
Kaoru rubbed at her eyes and sighed when the latina woman pushed her back on the futon and began ruthlessly examining her.
"It won't kill you." was the pronouncement. "but unless I do something now, you won't be in any shape for your fight with the Oniwabanshuu."
"Do?" Kaoru asked, un perturbed by Raven's announcement of her upcoming fight. "What are you going to do?"
"Purge your system of course." Raven said as if that were the obvious answer. "Of course, you can't be in your body while I work on it, I might accidentally kill you."
Kaoru's stress twitch made a grand reappearance. "And just where will I be if not in my body?"
"In limbo." was all the warning Kaoru got before suddenly she was floating -up-.
Kaoru was now -over- her body, which was lying on the ground with blank eyes like so much meat. Raven, who apparently could see her wiggled her fingers and a silver cord sprang to being connecting Kaoru to the Kaoru-meat.
"Don't you wander too far now, I don't want to have to go looking for you." Raven cautioned her.
'Wander?' Kaoru asked, but she might as well not have... she was being drawn elsewhere. She followed the call with curiosity, slowly her worry about the 'real world' faded and there was only the need to heed that call.
There was someone who was waiting for her.
She drifted beyond breath and between the air until she came to a place that seemed to be one inky void. A man sat there, in the very center.
'I knew you'd come here eventually.' he said gruffly. 'Too bad you can't stay long.'
'Where is this?' she asked.
'It's where I said I would be waiting for you.' he heaved himself to him feet and approached her. 'Welcome to the very edge of hell.'
Kaoru gasped, this man was Jin'eh!
Death had changed him, his eyes were no long that inhuman white on black and his mouth was relaxed from that insane grin. He wore a white prison yukata and carried a katana against his shoulder with a ebony sheath.
'You didn't recognize me.' he sounded pleased at the concept. 'I almost didn't recognize you. You must be nearly a decade younger in your temporal body.'
'Temporal body?'
He pointed at her with the sheathed sword and a reflective surface came into being in front of her. She choked.
In the metallic surface she could see that she was indeed a teenager again. She was dressed in the yellow gi and blue hakama that she used to wear for kendo practice. Her clothes were badly damaged and bloodstained from where the fresh wound in her cheek bled freely.
'So this is what you really look lie...' Jin'eh murmured and the mirror vanished. He turned aside and leaned the katana back against his shoulder. 'This place has a great view, you can see everything from here. Whatever you want; past, present, future. I've been amusing myself with yours.'
Kaoru flinched. 'What have you seen?'
'Many things, one in particular being a red-haired man with a scar like yours.' he pointed to the bleeding mark in question. 'Which I have seen you receive. I've also watched that man lock himself inside his mind and wrap chains around his sword when he failed you. Do you want to see this man?'
'Kenshin!' Kaoru felt a peculiar pain where her heart should have been. 'Show him to me!'
'Your time's running short.' Jin'eh observed.
'I don't care, show him to me!'
Jin'eh made a sweeping motion with his sword and the space before them was painted with colors and light. Kaoru gradually recognized what she was looking at. 'That's Rakuminmura, the place where homeless in Tokyo have to live.'
'Ye-e-ssss.' Jin'eh hissed. 'That's where he is. Another one of me is there, watching him. He was here with me for a while, but he's gone to watch the man who defeated him leave this world.'
Kaoru shuddered. 'I'm glad he isn't here.'
'He's the reason you are immune to my shin-no-ipo.' Jin'eh agreed. 'At the time you were pathetic, but you still beat it. You aren't pathetic now, I'm not surprised it has no effect on you.'
'Where's Kenshin?' Kaoru pressed.
The scene scrolled along the homeless, helpless, and hopeless people in Rakuminmura until it came to rest on one rurouni leaning against a wall. His gi and hakama were even more worn and shabby looking than ever, his sword had been wrapped in chains, and his mouth was slack. The worst part however was his eyes... even the feral, golden eyes of Battousai hadn't frightened her as much as the blank, dead eyes of this empty husk of a man.
'This was all so he wouldn't experience this.' Kaoru sobbed, she fell to her knees. 'Thirteen years, for nothing!'
'No, not nothing.' Jin'eh said quietly and the scene changed. Kaori was sitting in front of a mirror, looking very put-upon as Tsubame fussed over her and attempted to tie her hair up in interesting and adult fashions.
'Kaori...' Kaoru pressed a hand to her chest, the phantom pain had returned.
'You can see the future from here, but you can also change it.' Jin'eh said cryptically. 'Just remember; if you go haring off to save him, then your little girl might never exist.'
The pain became more intense and Kaoru cried out involuntarily.
'Hmm, it's time to go back.' her companion sighed and picked her up. 'I'm tossing you back in this time, next time however...'
...Kaoru couldn't...
...stop...
...falling...
***
Raven breathed a sigh of relief as Kaoru began choking on her own laboured breath. She sat back and wiped the sweat from her forehead as Kaoru started breathing normally, albeit with some effort.
"You'll be fine now, although you'll have a short stint in bed with perhaps a mild fever but you be up and about again by tomorrow."
"...yay..." she groaned. "...go...way..."
Raven smiled perkily and soothed Kaoru's hair back. "You just rest now, nothing will happen while you're out."
... but the Kenshi was already out cold.
Raven glanced over her shoulder as she heard Megumi Takani approaching Kaoru's room.
"... that stupid sword slinger, how could her just leave her alone? Serves him right to clear out the kitchen all on his own, leaving my darling Kao-chan to suffer..."
The latina woman shook her head disparagingly and phased out of frequency with the dimensions of this time line that Megumi Takani would interact with. From here she could watch without being seen and protect her friend without being detected.
She didn't, however, expect to be joined by another of her kind.
A man with long, purple, bishonen hair and zesty green eyes appeared beside Raven and slipped an arm around her shoulder. "Is your Pet Project safe and sound?"
Raven leaned into his embrace. "Ci, Gracias al Cielo." she sighed. "Have you found anything out about the Shy-side?"
He shook his head. "Nothing so far, I have a few leads but I shouldn't mention them to you until I have concrete proof."
Raven nodded. "I understand, Aiden."
Aiden grinned at her and squeezed her shoulders. "It's not over yet, Ravvy!"
"Call me Ravvy one more time and you will never have to worry about illegitimate children." Raven growled at the overly-familiar man.
***
It was nearly midnight by the time Kaoru woke up. She felt six shades of godawful.
"You're awake,then."
Kaoru glanced at Sanosuke, who was sitting on the veranda outside her open door, watching the stars. She rolled to her feet and went out to join him. "How long have you been there?" she asked.
"Not long." he replied. "I only woke up a few hours ago, I had a late night at the Kogane."
Kaoru pointedly did not ask. Instead she leaned back against the wall behind her and let out a slow sigh.
"How are you feeling?" Sanosuke asked.
"Good, a lot better than this morning."
"Megitsune said that might be the case, but you're still supposed to take it easy. I think she's still feeling cagey about that sword fight with Ugly-hat." Sanosuke told her. "Kaori came home and found you sick, I only just got her to leave your side and go to bed."
Kaoru smiled. "I'll go see her then." she stood up and went quietly to her daughter's room where a light was still burning.
Kaoru rapped quietly on the wooden frame of the shoji screen enclosing Kaori. "Musume? Are you up?"
An explosion of sound from the inside, the screen flew back from Kaoru's fingers and Kaori launched herself at her mother. "You're okaaaaaayyyy!!!!" she sobbed into Kaoru's waist. "I thought you were going to die!"
Kaoru wrapped her hands around her daughter's shoulders. "Not this time." she promised. "Not this time."
*********
End chapter Ten
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Seiyuu; (Kaoru voice over) Next time on Ronin Kaoru, the shadow Elite! Battle the Oniwabanshuu!
^.^¿ I'm pathetic.