Disclaimer: I do not own RK.

Dome of Heaven

"Talking"
¨Talking¨
*Thinking*


Chapter 5. Back at home


Taking a step to the world unbound
Spinning my fantasies all around
Freed from the gravital leash
I swear the heaven's in my reach

Nightwish - Know Why the Nightingale Sings?
From album Angels fall first


Misao wanted nothing but to sit down and think, remember and understand. She knew so much more and now she wanted to understand it all, but every single one of her people wanted to see her, talk to her, listen to her... make sure she was real. And she could not deny that from them. Many also wanted to speak to Kaori-san, but it was impossible since she was now growing new wings to herself. She was Bathing like Misao had been not so long ago.

She was still a bit uncomfortable with her situation. She left because of a promise she later regretted and now she found herself in a whole new world, as the Queen of thousands of people.

When the evening came and she was allowed to go to rest, she couldn't help but smile in relief. At last she had some time for herself. Now she would have time to remember her mother. And find out who was her father. She knew now that as the Queen she had the possibility to remember the lives of all Queens before her, every single memory.

She sat down to her large bed in her large room in her large palace. Everything had been made so that there was room to fly. She had never yet flown but that could wait, right now she wanted to know who was her father. From other people she had already learned that her mother was Hiko Sora and she herself had been named Hiko Yuuki. But no one had spoken a word of her father. Some information from the bath was still fresh in her mind, but they were mostly her kinds habits, rules etc. Things like why there were so few men there.

Her kind mostly gave birth to girls alone and a boy being born was a rare event. Thus they had to find men and husbands from the earth. No men had been born in a long, long time from their kind. Distantly Misao remembered that some of her ancestors had indeed got a boy. A boy whose name was.... Hiko Seijuro?

Misao frowned. Hiko Seijuro...? Her mind started to scan the memories of the mother of the boy.

Joy, tremendous joy. A boy had been born!

Oh, he has white wings! White wings!

Sadness...

His wings were ripped off...

The boy left...

...to protect the innocent and helpless on the ground, modifying their fighting style to fit people without wings he started his guest to help the very same people who had once killed almost all of his kind...

The very first Hiko Seijuro.

The master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, heaven style.

The creator of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, ground style.

The same style Himura and his master Hiko Seijuro used. *So that's the origin of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu! I wonder, do they know? Himura probably doesn't but his master just might.* Misao started to search for memories of Hiko Seijuro she knew. And was surprised. *Mother knew him? But how...?*

*Oh my...*


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Omasu walked around nervously searching for something to do. She felt anxious, she just knew that something had happened to Misao. She was so scared for her that it began to affect others as well. The only one who didn't show any signs of being bothered was Aoshi. Omasu wanted to scream at him, she wanted to hit the information to his head, and she wanted... him to be worried about her. To care for her, since that would make Misao happy and somehow it would make her come back, soon.

Everyone repeated constantly how strong Misao was and how she would make out of it just fine. There was nothing to worry about, but Omasu could not help worrying. Misao was still a girl and even though she used kunais and kenpo well, there was not that much strength in her body. It was as if her body was that of a child.

Omasu sighed. Okina had refused to sent a message to other member to ask if she had been seen. He didn't want to anger Misao with such a show of mistrust. Omasu sighed again. Misao had been gone for only few days after all. There wasn't much time for anything to happen. She was fine, she was fine. She repeated that over and over in her head as she washed clothes and hung them to dry, as she made food and as she swept the ground in their pigeon room. So she was there when a pigeon arrived. It was from Tokyo.

Omasu ripped the message off the pigeon hurriedly, hoping it would be from Misao, and opened it. The pigeon was surprised at such behaviour and once Omasu released it, it flew high up.


~~

Saitou came here to inform of sudden murders and theft happening in Tokyo. People claimed to have seen multiple men with black wings. The victims were killed with Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu or with a style similar to it.
Contact Hiko Seijurou and try to find out what you can.

Himura Kenshin

~~


Omasu's heart almost stopped. This was awful. She ran out of the room her first though to tell someone. But who? Misao was not here (thank God she wouldn't be involved), so should she go to Okina or Aoshi? Then she remembered that Okon had taken tea to Aoshi to the temple and that left Okina.

"Okina! Okina!" Omasu ran waving the message in her hand. She found Okina from his room after scaring Okon, Shiro and Kuro so that they followed her.

Omasu didn't bother to knock but entered Okina's room as soon as she could. Okina looked up from his book annoyed. He was at a good part. But once he saw the overly anxious look on Omasu's face as she gave him the message, he understood that something had happened.

He took the message and read it through quickly. He understood the urgency immediately. At the mean time, Omasu told others about the message. Then they all turned to Okina to see what to do.

Okina looked at them with a unusually serious expression on his face. "Shiro, take this to Aoshi. He is at the temple." The man nodded, took the message and run.

Okina continued. "Okon, Omasu. You contact other members for information. Also say that if they see Misao, they should send her here. I don't want her to be involved in this without our knowledge." The women nodded and left the room.

"Kuro, you take care of things here while I go and visit Hiko Seijurou." Kuro nodded and left Okina following soon after. It seemed that there was still use for Oniwabanshu and the thought brought some comfort to him.

He walked outside of Aoiya and headed to the mountain where the famous Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu master lived.



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The air felt wonderful, it gently brushed her face as she flew hidden in the clouds. This was what she was meant to do. She had know it immediately as she had rose to her wings. She was born to fly, to soar the sky like a bird. To be free forever, never caged, never held back.

Before leaving Misao had changed her clothes to her kinds. She now wore a pair of blue pants and a blue shirt, which left her back bare. Over them she had same kind of robe as Senritsu and Kei had wore when they had came to Aoiya. She had a scarf around her face to protect her face from the cold air.

She somehow knew all the time where she was. Even though she could see nothing with her eyes, she somehow saw with her mind. Not long anymore and she would reach the place where her father lived. Not for long...



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Hiko Seijurou walked on the road that lead to his home with a ready pot under his other arm and a bottle of sake hanging from the another. Something bothered him, had bothered since he had woken up in the morning. He had failed to grasp what it was, what was the feeling that lingered in the air. Something was going to happen and soon. Maybe that baka deshi was back again... No, it didn't really feel like that. There was something else.

He broke from the forest and stepped closer to his home, with every step the feeling grew stronger. He was already at the door when his heightened senses alerted him. He heard something he had not heard in years. He heard the sound of wings flapping and sensed someone behind him. Someone with wings...

Very slowly he turned to look behind him. His eyes widened at what he saw. *Sora...? But she is-* Then he looked closer. Sora had not been quite that tall. Also the face of this woman was not that of Sora even though they looked very much alike. And he knew that there was only one person that could look this much like Sora. And that was her daughter. He had been told that she had died, but the woman before him didn't look dead.

"So you are alive. I thought that you had been killed in the war, like your mother."

The woman smiled. And suddenly Hiko Seijurou was sure that he had seen that smile before, but where? *It couldn't be... Makimachi Misao?*

The woman shook her head. "No, I was not killed. The men that followed my guardians and me reached us after we had reached the ground. My guardians hid us in a house, not knowing what would happen. The ones following us found us there and killed my guardians. Then they ripped off my wings and where just about to kill me when the owners of the house arrived, alerted by the sound of fighting. I was lucky that my guardians had chosen a house that belonged to ninjas. The son of Oniwabanshu's okashira and his wife lived there. And of course there just happened to be a meeting between other members. They weren't really happy about what they saw. A man ready to kill a baby. The wife of the okashira's son took me in and raised me as her own. She named me--"

"Makimachi Misao." Hiko Seijurou nodded. "You always looked familiar. I am amazed that I did not recognize you for who you are."

Yuuki tilted her head and smiled. "The great Hiko Seijurou didn't recognize his own daughter, I am amazed as well. But the again--" she shook her head. "--I didn't know who I was myself. Not before yesterday. Everything is still a little blurry. These strange memories and information keeps popping out and away. I have to concentrate to keep my head together. If you had suddenly started saying that I am your daughter, I would have thought that you were crazy."

She smiled and unable to resist any longer, she run to her father and hugged him. All of her life she had been alone, thinking that her parents were both dead. But now she had a father. A father. Real father, her blood.

Hiko Seijurou hugged the woman close to him. When he had been told that the reason why Sora had not came to meet him as she had promised had been because she had been murdered along with their daughter, he had broken inside. Both dead. His drinking had started that day. After that for a long time he had moved from one drunken day to another. Kenshin he had left almost on his own for a year. Even these days he always started drinking when he was reminded of them. But now, now he held his own daughter in his arms. She was there alive and well. The result of his undying love towards Sora.

Yuuki pulled away from him and smiled. *Just like Sora. She also smiled like the sun.* Hiko couldn't resist smiling a real smile. It had been so long since he had been this happy or happy at all. When Kenshin had came to ask for succession technique, he had been prepared to die. He had wanted to see Sora again, to see his daughter again. When he had stayed alive, he had felt a little bit sad. Now all was good again. His daughter was here.

He guided her inside and they started talking. Yuuki was still just as talkative as before maturing. It was a gift of nature. She told practically everything that had happened to her. About Senritsu and Kei, about their journey, about the bath... She showed him her wings and gave him one of her feathers. The place from where she ripped it bled a little.

"If you ever need to contact me urgently, rip this feather apart. Then I'll know where you are and I'll come. Please, don't use it unless you have to. It will be rather painful for me." Yuuki smiled.

Hiko took the feather and tugged it inside his shirt. He smiled to Yuuki and noticed that he seemed to do that awfully lot. For the first time in almost 17 years he had a reason to be happy. They returned to their conversations and Hiko told Yuuki all kinds of embarrassing things from when Kenshin was young and she giggled and laughed. There was no need to tell about his time with Sora since Yuuki knew all about it already from her mother's point of view. He also avoided the subject of time when he had lost Sora and her. The pain was too much even though she was before him now.

Suddenly something broke the peace in the room. Someone was approaching the small hut where Hiko lived. Both Hiko's looked at each other and jumped up from the floor. Hiko looked out from the window and could see a person walking towards them. He had a vague memory of having seen this person somewhere before. Yuuki joined him and gasped. "Jiya?!"

Now Hiko also remembered the man. During the Shishio incident when he had went and defended Aoiya, he had seen this man there. It had been a brief meeting. Why was he here now? He glanced at Yuuki and raised his eyebrow as a question. She shook her head.

"Stay here. I'll talk to him." Hiko said and stepped outside. Yuuki didn't follow him, but he was sure that she would want to listen to their conversation and so he didn't move too far from the door.

The man came closer and smiled to Hiko briefly before bowing. "Hiko Seijurou. I am sorry to interrupt you. I am Kashiwazaki Nenji, Okina."

"What is done is done. Now what does the stupid pupil of mine want this time?" Hiko waved his hand. He had known this. That boy just couldn't leave him alone now that he knew his whereabouts.

Okina sweatdropped. "Umm, he sent a message about murders-"

"He should be able to handle them himself." Hiko wanted to get rid of this man and back inside to talk with his daughter. He had no time for his stupid pupils constant shows of weakness. Couldn't he handle any situation without his help these days?

"The people were murdered with Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu." Okina said hastily when Hiko was turning away.

Now that caught Hikos' attention. Hiko indicated Okina to continue. The only masters were he and Kenshin. Unless...

"We received a message from him saying-" Okina started, but Hiko interrupted him.

"Do you have it with you?"

Okina shook his head. "I sent it to Aoshi and came to see you. Himura-san said that Saitou-san had informed him that the murderer used Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu or some other technique very much like it."

*Very much like it? It couldn't be...*

When Hiko remained silent, Okina continued. "The message also mentioned men with black wings. I don't know what he meant by it. Probably a tattoo or something." Okina said. That particular part made no sense to him, but when he looked at Hiko, he saw that it meant something to him.

Hiko froze, Yuuki froze. The same thought entered their heads. *That bastard!* Hiko's eyes hardened. He saw that Okina was surprised by his reaction, but it didn't matter.

"Tell him to stay the hell away from these people." Hiko stared at Okina. "If he fights them, he'll most probably die. I'll leave for Tokyo myself." Then Hiko turned and walked back to the cottage to find Yuuki staring at the air before her blood dripping from her fists to the floor. The look in her eyes promised death.



End of chapter 5.
Continued in chapter 6.

Writing this is so much fun! And it is fast! That's why I like writing this more than others, a chapter to this takes probably less than half the time as to any other of my fics.

Tiian