***

Chapter Nineteen; 'Tis a Ghostly North Wind That Blows

Theme Music: Linger - Jonatha Brooke

***

"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle."
-Edmund Burke, Thoughts on the Cause of Present Discontents, 1770

***

AU- *Dramatic sigh* Thanx for the prompt and positive feedback for chappie 18, yes I am alive if plagued by school and parents (they don't approve of my 'time wasting hobby') well, poo on them I say. Still, updates will be few and far between for a while until my English 4 teacher gets over her 'essays for homework' phase… no end in sight.

Um, some of you mentioned a certain… decline, shall we say, in the quality of the last chapter. I agree, it is utter crap but I need it to lead into Yahiko's personal segment which I have kept putting off until now as well as get Enishi's skills polished up so he can start helping out in the fights. I guess every story has a slow chapter or two, well enough of me on with the show!

***

Yahiko whistled a jaunty tune as he strolled down the road that overlooked the canal. All his life it seemed that only good things could happen to him near the canal; he'd met Tsubame by the canal for example, and Enishi had first found him there in his private 'thinking spot'. Well, he'd been being beaten up at the time but that didn't count, sometimes those good things weren't always readily apparent as such.

He made for an odd sight; he was sure, with a shinai balanced against one shoulder and a wooden bucket holding cool water and bright red carnations in his other hand.

There were a few other people taking the same route to the cemetery as he and he recognized a few of them from the years before. One of them, an old homeless woman who wore bits of a western business suit, hung back and came to walk beside him.

Yahiko didn't know her name for they had never actually spoken to one another, but every year on this date they walked to the cemetery together and watched over each other as they prayed at the graves of their lost loved one's.

This year she'd changed her old brown jacket with the worn elbows for a new (to her) black one. Her silver streaked black hair was freshly washed and pulled back into a tight bun coiled on the nape of her neck. Actually, for a woman who begged for her daily bread she took better care of herself than some of the well-off people Yahiko knew. She smiled down at him as she fell into step beside him and Yahiko noticed that she had a happy white and yellow daisy perched behind her left ear.

The smile broadened as she saw the shinai and carnations. He might have been mistaken, but perhaps a flicker of pride had flashed through her worn gray eyes. Whatever the emotion, it was there and gone too soon for him to positively identify it before she looked away.

They walked like that for a while in silence, looking neither left or right until they reached the cemetery. First they approached her stops; a plain, worn stone marker in a sunken pauper's grave and a second elaborate one on the other side of the yard.

Before both of the graves the old woman dropped to her creaky knees and bowed her head with her hands folded beneath her chin. As always, she remained that way for a few minutes and then stood, brushed off her knees, and followed Yahiko to his mother's grave, which was just as worn and shabby as the first plot that the old woman visited.

The old woman held his shinai and bucket of carnations as he got to his knees and began to clear the weeds from around his mother's grave. With the small tanto he kept tucked into the back of hakama he trimmed down the stiff wiry grass until it was a uniform length. Then and only then he dashed the water onto the stone marker to rinse away the year's worth of dust and dirt that had accumulated over the year and set the carnations at the base of it.

This year, instead of kneeling and praying in the normal manner, he sat down cross-legged before his mother with his shinai balanced across his thighs.

"Ohayo, Kaa-chan. It's been a year already, ne? I'm a whole two inches taller than last year; I guess regular meals are paying off. Things are a lot better than last year; sometimes I have trouble believing its all real. I'm apprenticed to a Kenjutsu dojo, the resident Master treats me almost like an adopted son and my sensei is like the evil older brother I never had."

Yahiko closed his eyes as a cool wind sprang up and coiled around his body in an imitation of a mother's embrace.

"I knew you'd be glad, Kaa-chan." he whispered when the ghost wind died down. "I'm really happy there, for the first time in a while I can see a good future ahead of me."

He stood up and brushed off his pants. The cool wind surrounded him once more and he smiled. "You don't have to worry about me, Kaa-chan, I'm all-right now."

He turned away reluctantly, odd since he'd never been one for drawn out occasions. The old woman was watching him with an odd expression; it was half smiling, half worried and for the first time in their acquaintance, she spoke.

"This is a perilous path you've undertaken for yourself, young man," she said in a rusty contralto. "Both of my men were Kenshi and both died because of it; one in the Bakumatsu and the other in a bordello because he couldn't pay and wasn't as good as the yojimbo."

Yahiko blinked, a little stunned at the sudden advise. "It's better than eking out a life stealing old men's rice money for crooks, and the Kamiya Kasshin is about helping others."

"It doesn't matter what principles your school teaches you, boy." the old woman corrected him. "When it comes to the action it'll be you behind the blade with a life on the sharp side. It is you who decides whether or not to snuff that life out, spare it, or die yourself. Don't rely on your school's ideology to vindicate your actions."

"I don't want to go around slaughtering people at random, that's not why I decided to take up the sword." Yahiko said evenly. "If I didn't trust myself then I'd get a job at the Akabeko or something."

The old woman cocked her head. "Wise answer boy, I thought I'd noticed something different about you. You've been doing some growing up in the past year. Perhaps the sword will do you good, Kami knows it didn't improve either of my men a single lick."

He nodded, even if he had no idea what she meant by the reference to her 'men'.

She chuckled and nodded towards the gate. "Let's go, boy. The sun'll start going down soon. It's going to get colder then and I doubt your sensei will appreciate it if you catch a chill and slow down lessons and chores."

Yahiko obediently fell into stride by the old woman. "Why did you start speaking now, Obaa-sama? I don't think we've said a word to one another since we started this."

"Well, that first year I'd lost my voice to a sore throat and after that we seemed to get along well enough without words." she shrugged and the wind stirred the few loose strands of hair framing her face. "My first husband used to say, 'if it ain't broken, don't waste your time and effort trying to fix it.'"

It made sense.

Yahiko drug a hand through his hair and glanced up at the sky where the sun was already beginning its descending arc towards the horizon. A smile tugged his lips as he contemplated what awaited him at home.

Supper would be ready by then and he'd probably be met Kaoru by the gate as she lit their street lantern. No doubt Kaori would be tagging along in her mother's footsteps and that would be the perfect opportunity to tease her; she always turned the most spectacular shade of red when she was pissed. When Kaori got through with him then Enishi would materialize with after-supper chores/training as punishment for picking on her.

He grinned, it had been a while since he'd looked forward to going home, but now with the memory of his bondage to the yakuza fresh in his mind he remembered how good he had it.

The old woman suddenly stopped in her tracks and Yahiko stopped beside her, he didn't need to ask why. He had eyes to see with.

Before the cemetery gate there lounged two common street toughs who flanked one lean figure garbed in a purple yukata: Monnosuke, the 'hitokiri' of the Yakuza.

"Figured you'd be here, runt," he said in that slippery voice of his.

The old woman turned and walked off to one side. Yahiko didn't mind he appreciated the moving space.

"Wow, Monnosuke." Yahiko grunted. "I'm impressed, after five years you finally picked up on the fact that I visit my mother on the anniversary of her death. Bravo!"

Monnosuke cocked an eyebrow. "You've gotten cocky, punk. You've only been training a few months and you think you can mouth off to your betters?"

"Nope, I never mouth off to my betters," Yahiko lied. "But you guys are a safe bet." he lowered his shinai from its resting place on his shoulder.

The yakuza hit man had never been one to let an insult slide, so Yahiko could easily predict his initial rush. After his years under the man's thumb, Yahiko knew what attacks he used in which situations and now with even a small amount of training he could see how he could turn Monnosuke's entire style against him.

Monnosuke had been a kendo student with a taste for blood who had left his dojo in search of easy money and easy victims. His fighting style was also largely influenced by his business like approach to life; it was highly practical with no excess movements and all flash and style discarded… which made him absurdly easy to second-guess.

Yahiko stepped casually to one side and caught Monnosuke in the ribs with the hilt of his shinai. That was another tip he'd picked up from Kaoru, his weapon wasn't an actual sword and in a real fight he had a distinct advantage in that his opponent expected him to use it as a real sword. Still, Yahiko pushed Monnosuke off balance and smashed the bamboo sword into the back of his skull.

Unfortunately his strike wasn't hard enough to knock his opponent out and Monnosuke got out of Yahiko's reach. On the flip side, he was now slightly off balance and had a pain in the back of his head to fight past.

Yahiko pulled his defense back in close to himself; here Monnosuke would let his temper get the best of him and rush in again. His defense would be weakest in mid-attack and Yahiko, being a smaller and faster target, could get in another shot.

However it didn't happen that way. Unbeknownst to both of the combatants, a tall man had spied the goings-on from outside the cemetery. When Monnosuke had escaped Yahiko's range he'd not only entered the newcomer's, but also presented him with his back.

He delivered a laser-precise nerve tap to the back of his head with the edge of his flattened hand; Monnosuke crumpled to the ground and the old woman began to clap.

"A cemetery is a place of peace," the man said quietly. "Those who enter its demesne must respect its residents lest they join them."

Ignoring Monnosuke's street toughs for the moment, Yahiko took a good look at the man who'd interfered in the fight (not that he wasn't grateful). He was roughly six feet tall with dark olive skin and green eyes. His hair had been shaved completely off and he wore slightly the baggy farm wife's trousers and gi made from a rough, un-dyed linen of a priest. The only color to his ensemble was mahogany staff he carried in one hand and the emerald sash thrown over his right shoulder and tucked into his belt.

He also bore a scar over his blinded left eye.

"You're Aoyama Kaneda, aren't you." Yahiko deadpanned.

The priest blinked his one good eye and indicated himself with a finger as if to say, 'who me?'

"Um… yes?" he smiled uneasily. "Ah, how do you know me?"

"Kaori says to stop skulking around and just come to the Dojo." Yahiko reported faithfully.

The priest blinked again and then laughed. "I should have known she'd be expecting me! That little vixen is too sharp for her own good."

Yahiko sweat dropped. "Yeah, something like that." out of the corner of his eye, he watched Monnosuke's goons slink off… probably to go get help from the Yakuza boss.

"Are you going to go after them?" Kaneda asked curiously.

"Nah." Yahiko said flippantly. They'd be back with a small army; he'd be an idiot to stick around for them. It would be best to skedaddle home and tell Kaoru what happened. Besides, he needed to see that the old woman got out of the area safely and get Kaneda back to the Dojo where he could face the Wrath of Kaori.

The old woman walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Same time next year?" she said quietly and he nodded with a smile.

Kaneda bowed to the old woman as she passed him. "Sayonara, Obaa-sama."

Yahiko didn't watch the old woman leave, that was another part of the 'ritual'. He sighed quietly and gestured to Kaneda. "C'mon, I'll take ya to the dojo."

Kaneda bowed slightly. "I thank you, I've been looking forward to seeing Kaori again. Is Kaoru-sama around?"

"She hasn't wandered off, if that's what you mean." Yahiko said carefully. "She says she plans on staying indefinitely."

"Ah, that's a pity then." Kaneda shouldered his staff and trotted over to where Yahiko was walking. "The Abbot was looking forward to her return this winter, he has a new technique that he wishes to try against another swordsman. Well, I'm sure a kenshi will wander through Iron Mountain again for him to use as a guinea pig."

The younger swordsman sweat dropped. "Okay…"

The monk continued on without pause. "I noticed how you fought that thug." he commented. "You've studied under Kaoru-sama? I recognized her footwork in you, as well as those mind-games she favors."

"Half of a duel is mental." Yahiko quoted somewhat uneasily, something about the monk's chatter set him off balance. He was used to long stretches of peaceful silence since no one who was a permanent resident of the dojo was overly verbose. More action and less talk was what he was accustomed to.

All at once he found himself ducking aside and swinging up his shinai as Kaneda brought his staff down in an arc that would have intersected with his head had he not dodged in time.

"What the hell!" he cursed. "What's wrong with you?!"

Kaneda smiled beatifically. "You've trained your instincts well, your guard is never entirely down. I suspected so when I saw you fight but I wanted to be sure. You're a credit to your sensei; a fit successor to the Kamiya Dojo."

Yahiko made a face at him. "Kaori's right, much as I hate to agree with Tanuki-chan, but you're crazy!" he got to his feet.

He flashed the V-ictory sin at the ten year old. "You betcha. Shall we go?"

***

"Uh oh."

Kaoru glanced up at Raven, who was sitting up on a branch hanging over Kaoru's head as she gutted the fish Sanosuke had donated to supper that night. The Watcher woman had an odd expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Rav-chan? She asked, surreptitiously wiping her hands off on her hakama and reaching for her bokken.

"Nothing urgent, but this will complicate things." the dark haired woman cocked her head. "but it may put some overdue things in motion." she grinned. "It may be a good omen."

"A good omen?" Kaoru cocked an eyebrow. "Dare I ask?"

"You'll see."

***********
End Chapter Nineteen
***********
Seiyuu; Gratze to my new beta, Crystal Menina! All bow to her!