Disclaimer: I do not own RK.



Dome of Heaven -Hideki-





"Talking"

¨Talking¨

*Thinking*





Chapter 8. Farewell





Sing me a song

Of your beauty

Of your kingdom

Let the melodies of your harps

Caress those whom we still need

Nightwish - Angels fall first

From album Angels fall first







"Yuuki!" Hiko Seijurou cried out as he crouched beside her and pulled her body into his arms. Her eyes were open and she stared at the ceiling. She breathed heavily and blade pulsed with her heartbeat.

After only a second of pause when all stopped in the room, life stirred again in Yuuki's people. One woman flew down with a small bottle. As she ripped her scarf lower they saw her to be Senritsu, the same woman Yuuki had introduced to them and they had talked to. She opened the bottle hastily and then laid it onto the floor.

"We need to get her to a doctor." Kenshin said with a wavering voice. Once again a woman had suffered because of him and she would most likely die. It was his fault. To his surprise no one reacted to his words.

"We need someone skilled to look at her!" He continued with a louder voice, almost shouting, trying to catch their attention. He had seen enough death to know that she would most probably die, but he would not give in so easily. Not while she was still alive and there was some hope.

To his horror he saw Senritsu rip the sword from Yuuki's body. He gasped and attempted to leap to stop her when other woman came to block his path. "She is one of us, so leave her to us." The woman said firmly. She laid her hand on his chest. "We have cures your doctor's can only dream of. Just look." She took her hand back and gave him way.

Kenshin stepped to look at what was happening. Senritsu had ripped Yuuki's clothes open and was now pouring whatever was in the bottle at her wound. Yuuki gasped and her back arched. Hiko was holding her gently and yet firmly in his arms.

"Turn her." Senritsu said and Kenshin could hear her fear mixed with multiple other emotions in her voice. Hiko turned her over and she whimpered her voice pained. Senritsu poured the reddish black liquid on her back as well. Yuuki cried out and then went absolutely still and quiet.

For some time the warehouse was completely silent, nothing was heard from inside or from outside. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

"That hurt!" The yell caused Kenshin to start. To his surprise Yuuki stirred in Hiko's arms and attempted to rise to her feet. "Now when I get my hands on that goddamn Himura..." She complained under her breath and stood up. She swayed a little and Hiko immediately rose to support her.

"How can this be?" Kenshin heard Sanosuke whisper from behind him. The same thought plagued him as well. How?

Hiko steadied Yuuki as she almost fell. "Easy now." He said gently.

The same woman that had stopped Kenshin from approaching her spoke now. "Your wounds have healed, but the power to do so came from you. You are weak now." She said bluntly. "It will take some time before you will be completely well again Yuuki-sama."

"Damn that Himura!" She complained. "Had he not messed things up, I would have left this room with minor cuts!" Her complaints were rather loud as were her curses. "There would have been no need to spill the blood of our people! My people!" She yelled, her breathing still uneven.

"The blood was spilled a long time ago, Yuuki-sama. And each and everyone in this room would have been ready to bleed for you had there been a need for us. We are yours but at the same time you are ours. Never forget that." Senritsu smiled and laid a hand on Yuuki's shoulder. She smiled at her weakly.

"I guess so." She whispered reluctantly and sighed.

Yuuki lifted her hand and placed it upon the place her wound had been in. There was so sign of it, not even a scar. "I can feel them, you know. Even know after so many years... Their spirits..." She whispered and Kenshin was certain he had heard wrong.

Whatever had been in that bottle, it had completely healed her. Every cut and wound seemed to have entirely disappeared. "How is this possible?" Kenshin asked. If there was a miracle cure that could cure anything, then many dying could be saved.

Yuuki looked at him tiredly. "With pain, blood and death." She merely said and with Hiko standing by her ready to support her, she walked towards the bound men. Kenshin was certain that for a moment he could see pain and regret in her eyes before they became stern and hard.

"You have broken our laws. You have committed crimes, which would easily gain you a death sentence. Yet, all I am going to do is take back what is ours." She held out her hand and Senritsu gave her own bloodied katana. "This is the end."

Then she swung her blade and the first wing was cut. The man, whose it was, screamed and tried to pull free, but the women kept him still.

One after another the men lost their wings. Some screamed for mercy and some cursed her name. Still she moved forward until all five men had lost their wings. Their wings turned into the same black liquid that Hideki's had.

"What is ours has now been taken back." Yuuki said with a tired voice and suddenly Kenshin knew that she didn't want to be doing this. She didn't take any pleasure in their suffering even though he had a feeling that she had every right to.

"Yuuki. We had an agreement." Saitou stepped forward and she nodded.

"They are yours." She said and turned her back to the men and faced Saitou. "There isn't anything binding them to us anymore." She stated and Kenshin saw the horrified looks on the faces of the men.

Some of them screamed after Yuuki, but she was already walking away and paid no attention to them. All of them had already hidden their wings and as they walked outside one of them had given Yuuki her cloak, which covered her dirty and bloody clothes.

Saitou remained and stood guarding the prisoners. Kenshin nodded to him as they passed each other and Saitou smirked back.

Sanosuke had remained behind Kenshin and picked something up from the floor.

"Hey, Kenshin." Sanosuke said as he reached him.

"What?" Kenshin asked.

"Look at what I found." Sanosuke held out one big black feather. "It must have belonged to one of them. I'll take this to the dojo and give to Yahiko and Kaoru."

Kenshin nodded and Sanosuke put the feather into his pocket. Then they walked after Yuuki and Hiko. They stopped outside the warehouse and turned to Kenshin.

"I want to thank you Himura." Yuuki said. "The message you sent to Kyoto helped us. We didn't know they were still alive. They were missing, but no one knew anything. No one wanted to know. Now their fate is settled."

"Some of them were crying after you said that the connection was broken. Why?"

"We are more deeply bound to each other than you are. In a way we are superior I guess. We don't think so, but they do." Yuuki hurried to explain at Sanosuke's frown.

"We can fly. We have means to cure the deadliest diseases and wounds. There are many reasons. Yet we don't see ourselves as superior, we have never seen." Yuuki explained calmly. "We are merely... different. For the longest time a long time ago, we helped you all the time. Without anything asked in return. What we were given was death, pain and hate. An exile."

More than anything she sounded sad. There was anger as well as hate, but sadness was the ruling emotion. She broke some distant memory and came to focus again.

"It is time for us to leave." She said and her people started tightening their scarves and cloaks.

"Could I ask one question?" Kenshin said as Yuuki was turning. She looked at him and pursed her lips.

"Sure, but I may not answer it."

"Have we met? I don't mean when you were a baby, but after that. You seem familiar." He asked and carefully studied her expression. First there was amazement, then a studying frown and finally a smile.

"Perhaps." She said with a mysterious smile lightening her face and Kenshin had a feeling that her answer may not have been entirely truthful. Before he had a change to say anything more, she was already walking away. He didn't bother to run after her since he had a strange feeling that they may meet again in the future.

"What were you talking about?" Sano asked as he and Kenshin were walking back to the dojo. Kenshin just shook his head. "Nothing of importance."

They walked in silence except for when they met couple policemen on their way. Kenshin stopped to tell them that Fujita was waiting in a warehouse for backup. The men seemed familiar with the name judging by their suddenly pale faces. They rushed ahead.

Sanosuke snorted and Kenshin smiled.

A warm welcome was waiting for them at the dojo. Kaoru rushed ahead and almost struggled Kenshin with her hug. "Oroo..."

Sanosuke laughed.

"Oh, Aoshi-san came!" Kaoru said with a slightly flushed face after she had finally let go of him. Though she hadn't needed to. Kenshin had already sensed the silent man leaning against the dojo's wall. He stepped forward and nodded to Kenshin.

"Himura."

"Aoshi."

"Okina asked me to come." Aoshi said with his normal curt manner. "But it seems that I was not needed."

Kenshin smiled. "Nor were we. Thank you anyway. Can I offer you something? Tea, perhaps."

Aoshi nodded and followed Kenshin's lead inside.

Kaoru was about to follow him, when Sanosuke stopped her. Yahiko stopped as well to see what was happening. Sanosuke pulled something from his pocket. "I brought you this." And he handed the pitch-black feather to Kaoru. Her eyes widened as she stared at it.

"It is beautiful." She said and showed it to Yahiko. He whistled.

"Who is this from?" He asked and Sanosuke shrugged. "Dunno. It was on the floor. But I think it is from one of the women since the wings of the men turned to liquid when they were cut off."

Kaoru and Yahiko stared at him. And in a moment Sanosuke found himself telling them everything that had happened from the moment they had left the dojo. Kaoru and Yahiko were a good audience and Sanosuke was tempted to exaggerate a little.



Inside Kenshin was doing the same, but without exaggeration. Aoshi listened silently and occasionally sipped his tea. After Kenshin had reached the end, there was a silence in the room.

"There is an old story that tells about such people." Aoshi finally said and Kenshin raised an eyebrow. Aoshi took a sip of the tea and seemed to be thinking about something.

"It is a children's story and I heard it once when I were a child. I don't remember it clearly, but according to it, the winged people help those in trouble. Don't know if it is true. It is an old story, rarely heard these days."

Kenshin nodded. He had just opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted.

"Kenshin! Could you come here?" Kaoru yelled and Kenshin gave Aoshi an apologetic smile.

"I need to go." He said and Aoshi nodded. "I'll come with you. There is a train that will soon depart for Kyoto." Both men stood up and left the building. Kenshin came to a startling stop at what he saw.

Yuuki was standing in the garden. She had only one woman with her and her clothes had obviously been changed. They were similar but clean. Kenshin had had a feeling that they would meet again, but now so soon. As he looked more closely at her, he could see her weariness.

"Himura." She said smiling, then her eyes travelled over to Aoshi and widened. A number of emotions flashed across her face before she settled for a smile. "There is something I forgot to give you." She stepped forward and pulled a small bag from her waist.

"The thoughts of Hideki were far too consuming." Her smile was almost apologizing. She stopped right before him. She opened the bag and pulled out something that shone as sunlight hit it. She dropped the bag and straightened the pendant.

The pendant was made of silver and had small diamonds embedded on it. The chain was thin and simple. The actual pendant was not. It was carefully and obviously skilfully made. A dragon with wings, red rubies as eyes and every single scale carefully made. Some bright diamonds shone from its scales. It was not big, the size of a child's palm.

Kenshin stared at it and then at Yuuki, who smiled brightly at him.

"This is what every master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu gets from us. You should have received it the day you mastered Ama Kakeru Ryuu no Hirameki. We voice our acceptance with this." She took Kenshin's hand and placed it there.

"Never lose this." She held Kenshin's hand for a moment before she pulled away.

"Wait!" Kenshin yelled as he saw that she was leaving. "I can't take this." He said, but unknowingly to him, his fist tightened around it. Yuuki smiled. "That is exactly what Hiko, father, said. Although he had more reason than you. He had just killed his master and saw that as an award."

Kenshin stared at her and remembered the pain filled moments when he had thought that he had killed Hiko. If they had came to him with this then... He would have thrown it back at them as meaningless piece of jewellery.

"It is yours." She said with finality in her voice and after glancing at Aoshi for the last time, she turned and walked away. At the last moment possible, Kenshin yelled his thanks and she turned to give him a smile. While Kenshin simply stared at the pendant, Aoshi moved past him and after Yuuki. As he reached the gate, she and her companion had already disappeared.

Kenshin shook himself back to reality and walked to Aoshi. When everyone else saw empty and cold face, he saw puzzlement.

"What is it Aoshi?" Kenshin asked when Aoshi continued to stare at the empty road.

"She looked like Misao." Aoshi answered after a while.

Kenshin's eyes widened.



















End of chapter 8.

End of Dome of Heaven -Hideki-.



*The End*





Tiian





I am a mean person... Yep, yep, yep! *grin*





Special Thanks to ALL those who reviewed this fic!



Shuro, dynast, Sano, Gochan, icediamond, Sharai Darekin, Argentum Draco (in an arrogant way, yes), Angel of Ruins, nekonomiko, ghjules, MI, Dark Phoenix (Nightwish rules!), mi, chris (yes, there will be a sequel) and to Cat H (a little bit of Aoshi for you! *grin*).





Hugs and kisses to you all!