From now on, there will be a shortened version of authors notes. The topics will be in bold if they're important, and if you like, read on.

All of this chapter is in English because of my good friend, the translator. ^.^

Part II


Although Kenshin had not reached some major revelations about his non-relationship with Kaoru, he had decided what he was going to do just in time. He stood in front of the large silver object that plagued his happiness. Without pausing he continued to walk towards the lifting machine that would allow him to enter the ship. Having reached the area below the belly of the ship, he stood there, realizing that he had no way of letting them know he was down there. :sweatdrop: This was spoiling his seriously determined attitude. "Ano…" he yelled at the sheet of metal above him.
Immediately the circular landing disengaged and with the sound of compressed air being released the plate unscrewed and lowered. Kenshin cried out in shock and took a few steps back; he then regained his manly composure and waited calmly for the plate to lower.
Having already once done this he felt more confident and stepped onto the metal landing. He grabbed the rail on the edge and waited to rise into the ship. When the plate stopped rotating he saw an awaiting Sawyer, smiling familiarly.
"I should have known to expect you back," Sawyer said slowly, then, "Welcome." Uncertainly he bowed. Kenshin returned his bow and stepped off the device.
"I need to ask you certain questions."
After a pause Sawyer seemed to get what he said. He smiled, "Please, I would be happy to answer them, only, would you mind using the *translator*?"
"No," Kenshin said simply. Sawyer led them into the room where the translator sat, in the lounging area connected to what Kenshin guessed was the bridge. They sat on opposite sides of the circle-shaped couch. When Kenshin put the translator in his ear he felt a sharp pain and instinctively almost pulled it out. Steadily his hand came down to rest on his lap and he stared at Sawyer evenly. The pain faded pretty quickly before the machine was tuned.
The translator consisted of a set of two clip-on earpieces that received signals from the large machine via antennas. "Testing," Sawyer said. In Kenshin's ear he heard a feminine voice with a strange accent that was anything but Japanese. It was very awkward.
"It's working," Kenshin said anyway, he was eager to have his questions answered so he could talk to Kaoru about her not leaving.
Sawyer folded his hands on the table, "Good, now, what would you like to ask me?" At once Kenshin reevaluated Sawyer. When he spoke in English he sounded much more competent, calculating and confident. He didn't act as young as he was and he seemed to be attentive and relaxed instead of attentive and confused.
Kenshin was feeling a bit of a rush and he had the desire to express all his opinions on the matter at once but searched his mind for one of the questions he wanted to ask. One of the most obvious ones came to mind, "Will she have to kill? How much, why was it never mentioned?"
Sawyer smiled gravely, "Yes, if you consider it that. Only directly when we are breeched and attacked by land forces, and it was never mentioned because the conversation didn't go that way. It's a rather complicated subject involving how the Enders live and whether or not they live." Kenshin noticed his informed and educated manner of speech, unlike any that he had heard before from Sawyer or his companion. "The Enders, we believe, are already dead and only live off of the life energy they are made up of, therefore it might not really be considered 'killing' per say."
"Oro? Living off life energy but dead anyway? What makes you say they're dead?" Kenshin asked. He had tried to look confused but his mind sent him warning signals at the loop holes presented.
"Classified information I'm afraid." Warning signs went of in Kenshin's head. Classified de gozaru ka?
"In that case," he continued, filing away all the scratches in Sawyer's story, "What attempts for peace have there been?"
There was a long silence and Sawyer shifted in his chair uneasily. "So far attacks have only been made by the Ender's, we are too busy defending to make attempts for peace. There are records of surrenders made by human colonies that went unheeded."
This information was absorbed but Kenshin realized his question had not been answered, "There was the span of years that Ender's didn't attack when the concept of adep'su was formed but instead of using that time to try for peace you found a way to counter attack. This only fuels the war, and there was no attempt for peace made?"
Sawyer felt slightly uncomfortable because he had not thought of it before in that respect and so instead of trying to get around the accusation he just answered straightly, "No, or at least it is undocumented." Why wasn't I trained for this?! he yelled at himself. Surely if there had been an attempt for peace he would have been told. His job was to convince people to come, so why weren't these things explained to him in case they came up, why was even he kept in the dark about it?
"Why not?" Kenshin pressed. This was a very serious matter to him; lives were not to be trifled with even though governments had the power to do it anyway. Still, why wasn't there even an attempt to end the war bloodlessly, especially when not much was known about Enders, or, if there was, Kenshin considered, then there was a large gap around that classified information and the continuation of the war.
On the opposite side Sawyer was coming to the same conclusions but also panicking because Kenshin was requesting further information. "Um, well, I don't actually know but the logical reason would be of fear," yeah right, "any amount of humans that have confronted Enders without an adept have all died, and it would be a stupid risk to send adepts in for unpredictable negotiations-"
"A stupid risk?" Kenshin asked calmly, but inside he was getting frustrated. "Stopping the war and ending the death of all these people is a stupid risk?"
"It's improbable. What if it didn't work?" Sawyer defended with as much truth as he could muster.
"What if it did?" Well, Sawyer thought, that was to be expected. Kenshin had said the last icily. "You speak like saving lives is the most important thing to you but can only see that the way to save lives is by taking them." I'm such a hypocrite, thought Kenshin with bitter humour. "Don't you stop to think of the best way in which this could be solved? You gave several long speeches on what happened and how it should be stopped, but do you never consider what you're reciting?"
"Hey!" said Sawyer with annoyance, but he had no grounds to back his outburst and therefore fell into silence. He suddenly felt very depressed. He had spent the last four years of his life thinking of almost nothing but the war. He gave up everything to do what he thought was right and felt that if he stopped for even a second; all he gave up would be nothing but dust. But now, when giving up even more to come here and do what he thought was worth it, suddenly all he believed in and depended on seemed much less than perfect. Wars were never perfect in his mind, killing was never perfect, but the reasoning… there was something he had never seen so flawless as the reasoning he had to fight the war.
He looked in masked amazement at the man before him and knew not whether he should admire him for his insight, or hate him for revealing the imperfections of that which he placed his life upon. He could not, however, do either, for the latter prevented the former and the fact that it was all truth prevented the latter. Sawyer was not one to hate the bringer of truth but could not let go that this man had thrown him into darkness from the clear light of his resolve.
So he sat, rather awed and dumb, and only wondered what this man had been through to make him have that kind of power and insight. Why does Kenshin know these things when I have been living them for four years and he has been alive only in a time of relative peace. I checked the history books, he must have been too young to really remember the last war and yet he seems to be learned in the subject.
Kenshin searched his brain for the other questions he wanted to ask as Sawyer stared, waiting for him with an unchanged face and glazed eyes. He remembered his question about the death count of both humans and Enders but refrained from asking because he realized Sawyer wouldn't know anyway. This war is another bloody pawns game, he growled in frustration, No one knows anything, and those who do are so high up, pulling the strings, that it doesn't matter to them how many live and die as long as they win. That triggered something in his memory, and he was thankful Sawyer was being quietly patient, though a little spacey. Weapons of mass destruction were commonly used in wars like these, and all wars. I would know, I was one of them, Kenshin thought bitterly and then felt disturbed that his thoughts became so bitter and darkly focused at times like these because that was parallel to the way the hitokiri thought. No, he corrected himself, we're the same people, no wonder… Urg! I can't deal with this right now. With that he could finally ask his question, "You mentioned large weapons, like a cannon running of life energy. What kind of damage does that do?"
Sawyer hadn't noticed he was being talked to and only heard, "cannon running on life energy. What kind of damage does that do?" Luckily, it was enough, "When fully charged, the cannon could use a fourth of its energy to completely destroy something about the same size as my ship. In one blast the beam could render a battleship useless, and with about 12 adepts it could be recharged for another blast in three minutes." Sawyer started, I do do it. I rattle off things like statistics and technical information as well as other things without thinking. That's horrible! And I, who pride myself so much on my devotion to-
"How many people does a battleship hold?" Kenshin asked distractedly.
"Um…" Sawyer's train of thought faltered, "5,000-8,000." Wait! I should have thought more about that. 5-8 thousand people. Yup, that's a lot of people… what is he getting at, it's not like we attack our own ships with the beam. Um… oh- wait a second… if each of our battleships has that many people then chances are so do ender ships meaning that we kill that many enders every time we fire that cannon.Sawyer paused in his thoughts. He was unsure of whether that was good or whether the growing remorse and uneasiness he felt was just. So in part, he thought slowly, I've killed thousands of people- no! Enders! They're just enders!! They're not even alive! O, but I don't know that! The only sign Sawyer gave of his thoughts outside his body was the nervous hand he ran through his hair, and if one looked closely, his blank eyes. Bitterly he laughed at himself, I should have taken to heart, 'With great power comes great responsibility'. Two adepts can save four thousand, it's history, a miracle, famous forever more and both adepts are dead. Ah, but twelve adepts can kill eight thousand people every three minutes. Life is so very ironic and I am so very stupid for not thinking of these things before! He wished he could laugh at it all, but his eyes only became more downcast and there was an implacable heaviness in his chest. He wished he had some one there to reassure him he hadn't done wrong the past four years, anyone, like Roxanne, or even Tackets. Roxanne, that's who he really wanted to see, God! and he had given her up too!
He cursed himself several times over, there he was doubting himself to the ends of the earth when he had left even Roxanne behind to accomplish something, and he would not come back empty handed! He had to find answers to these questions, and quickly, reasons for these gaps and misconceptions and then he would consider it all later. He had no time right now to think about every little detail before saying something and giving this novice a chance to screw him over. In this war this family and he were but a part and the whole was much more important to dwell on. So, he quickly reasoned, I need to think of why this is justified… why adepts should hold so much power but little control and why the ability to kill easily was the right thing. No, that last I won't do, because it's bullshit even to me.
"Without the ability of these cannons the human race would probably be stooped to a population in the triple digits by now. Enders never seem to run out and although we have allies on the IGTF border, other races aren't at stake so it doesn't mean so much to them." There.
"You seem absolutely convinced that the whole human race would die out, but from what I hear Earth is still safe and well beyond the borders or the frontier," Kenshin put in.
This was too much, suddenly, without his consent, Sawyer's fist slammed down on the table and he stood up to tower over the red headed man. "How can you say that?! There are over two billion humans living in space!! Two!" He signified two with his fingers, "B-I-L-L-I-O-N! That's how many are at risk. Don't chide me for not considering the deaths of others. Earth is extremely overcrowded with people and run over with disease, we've used up almost all industrial natural resources and we need to mine on other planets. Of the population of 30 billion still living in our solar system, 25 billion are lower class, as in moneyless, homeless, familyless, starving, diseased, uneducated, dying people!" Sawyer was surprised to find that tears had stung his eyes but not dropped. He calmed though his voice trembled, "Space is our only hope for a better future. You think we tried pushing back the frontier just for kicks? It's a law of history that you only push the frontier when you're either desperate, or safe and bored. We were desperate, we are desperate. So we scraped together a great deal of money and risked everything for the chance to save ourselves. By some miracle of fate, or heaven, or whatever you want to call it, we found what could save us all, save those in space and save our planet: an unlimited energy source. Can you fathom what that would mean to Earth?" His voice cracked. Slowly his hand went to his forehead and he sat, breathing with slight heaviness.
"But then," he cleared his throat, "then we get kicked in the face, our hope torn away from us, our scientists, soldiers and frontiersmen killed, our last reserves of money that were spent on ships destroyed and depleted to nothing. It's as if we never set out at all, except we are worse off for it. If only you could see what I saw when I came back to Earth, my home, after a thousand years. Sallow faces, eyes hollow, sockets sunken, limbs weak and useless, lethargic diseases, lack of food and so many beggars… When I came from my time of fruitful pleasures, tall buildings and the occasional homeless person being shooed away by the MTA to see such things I cried. Then, to give up my happiness and ignorant security and fight for a better life and watch it as it fails- to return, and see that just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. It plays with my mind to return to a time before my own and see nature so rich and plentiful, without all the pollution and death, and no fear of where the worlds natural resources will be coming from next- for the first time in my whole life, to look up at the sky from Earth in a world that doesn't know what the Earth looks like from the sky, and see millions of little stars on a cloudless night twinkling in endless patterns," as he envisioned that night he had looked at the stars, and all the clear nights afterwards a flashing image of Roxanne came to his mind's eye and he felt a wave of guilt so strong that he lost his train of thought.
Sawyer felt very weak now, but relieved that he still knew what he fought for, what he sacrificed for. "I don't know everything, but I know that it's important we win and survive." Sawyer looked defiantly at Kenshin to see if he would challenge.
Well, it's been a while since I've heard a youth's romanticized version of war and reasons for fighting it de gozaru. Too bad it blinds one from seeing ulterior motives until too late de gozaru yo. He has the general gist of why everyone thinks the war should be fought without the knowledge of what else there is to be gained, but I think I'll spare him the torment of knowing ahead of time how prominent corruption is de gozaru. Even if he's trying to do everything at once and be all knowing and all seeing, he's still just a kid de gozaru yo. Kenshin smiled warmly.
"I* understand better now what you're trying to accomplish," after Kenshin said this, Sawyer seemed to deflate and relax back into his old masked form, "but you might understand my motives for wanting to know every detail anyway. You are asking one of the most important people in my life to leave her family and dojo and everything she holds dear (except, perhaps, her morality) and fight in a war that is very difficult to understand. There is one thing I must know," his voice changed to a more serious tone, "several times it was alluded to that adepts die frequently, but never elaborated upon. How frequently?"
Sawyer paused, besides the fact that he needed to think of a democratic answer, he himself was an adept and being reminded of his own high chances of death was not fun. "Its difficult to calculate. The rate of which adepts arrive, and that of which they die varies." Kenshin stared at him with such intensity that he felt pressured and gulped. "Well, there are 28 adepts in the future now and last year, total, we recieved" he counted to himself, "six adepts, and at our peak we had… oh, I don't know, it fluctuated so then… well, we lost three adepts within the last 8 months, and I guess if you leave out specifics you could say in the year, but that's only that year. It was a good year."
"So, in a good year, you loose about half the adepts you take in? And what about a bad year?"
"First of all, we don't loose the same adepts we take in usually. Mostly… the seasoned adepts that have been around a while and go on missions… ya' know." He took a deep breath and tried not to think of himself and Roxanne. "Three years ago we lost a colony, that was a bad year. We gained, I think, five or so and lost eight or nine. Back then I think we only had 16 or 17 total at peak."
There was a long dark pause. "Are you a 'seasoned adept' Sawyer-dono?"
"Um, yea."
"How old are you?" Kenshin's voice had gotten deeper and his stare even more pungent.
"Twenty-two," Sawyer tried not to use filler words like 'um' or show the nervousness he felt in his voice. After all, every time Kenshin spoke he seemed to realize something more depressing.
"How long-"
"Four years. Out of six, adepts have been around for six years."
"What's the longest some one living's been an adept?"
"'Bout five and a half years." Damn, why is my voice trembling?!
"So all the adepts from the first year are dead?"
"Um, yea."
"What's the shortest time an adept's lived?" Kenshin's voice was flat as he considered Kaoru in each situation.
"Hard to say… Um, two months?" I wish I would stop doing that…
Kenshin narrowed his eyes, "Average life expectancy?"
Sawyer swallowed, This is so unlike me…, he calculated in his head and the number frankly scared him, "Three years, around. Two and a half to three."
"This is a long war."
"Space is a big place." They stared evenly at each other and all of a sudden Sawyer felt much less afraid and nervous. He let out a breath.
He looks kind of pale, thought Kenshin, Maybe I shouldn't of projected my ki de gozaru…
"When do you think it will end?"
Sawyer tried to flash his usual smile but it came out dark and toothy, "When the enders stop coming."
Kenshin considered this carefully, You mean when you take over their planet and their energy source? At this rate that will take years more, and many more adep'su lives as well as Kaoru-dono de gozaru. No, the boy believes in the war, and even Kaoru-dono might, but I'm not going to let her go and waste her life.
Kenshin stood and bowed, "Arigatou de gozaru." I need to talk to Kaoru-dono. He looked around and realized he didn't know how to get out. "Oro? Would you let me out now de gozaru ka? I don't know how-"
"Wait," Sawyer said, "You're leaving?"
"…Yes."
Sawyer got up and stood in front of Kenshin, "Well?" He paused like he expected an answer but remembered himself, "Well… aren't you going to tell me what you've decided?"
Kenshin sighed, "I don'twant to, but it looks like you're not going to let me out until I do," he mumbled under his breath and too fast for Sawyer to comprehend, "I do not wish for Kaoru-dono to go with you and I will try to talk her out of it. I also encourage you not to go back, but I know you won't listen to me de gozaru."
Sawyer stared at him in shock, feeling a little betrayed, he had thought he had been pretty convincing. However, just because Kenshin didn't always comment on his words, didn't mean he agreed with them. "What?"
"Do you push this button?" Kenshin pointed at a red button on the railing.
Quickly Sawyer grabbed a control off the wall and locked down the transport, "After all's said and done, you're going to try to talk her out of it?"
Kenshin smiled, "It's funny how no one listens to me when I tell them not to do things… but, I don't think I'll only try, I'll prevent her from coming." Kenshin tried pushing the button but it did nothing.
Sawyer stalked over and whipped Kenshin around to face him, "It's not you're choice! You can't stop her, what right do you have?"
"Your right," he said truthfully, and with a second thought, "has anyone ever refused?"
Sawyer looked left and right before answering, "-No."
Sawyer was usually masked, calm and composed, but twice that day with Kenshin had he lost those things and Kenshin saw and understood his blind passion that would make him do the stupidest things he could without doubt. All too familiar. It was because of this understanding that he had an underlying suspicion he thought he would test out. "Perhaps, but I think she might be the first to refuse anyway, and definitely with my encouragement- in that case there's nothing you can do."
Sawyer's head jerked back and he hesitated before realizing the expression he was showing and composing himself, "True."
That was all Kenshin needed, he had been acting truthfully with that hesitation and shifting in his eyes. Kenshin gave him a sideways glance, "Sou, de gozaru ka?" He took a step back from his opponent. "You aren't going to let her refuse, are you?"
Sawyer answered with an unmoving, even stare and silence.
"I didn't think so."
Sawyer's eyes had narrowed slightly and he shifted his hand so it could easily move into his gi. Kenshin put his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I would fight you before I let you take her against her will."
"And I can see you would fight with her before you let her go with her consent. It all depends on whether or not you think you can unsheath before I shoot you," he spoke slowly and thoughtfully, "I'm an extremely fast shot, and this gun is not like that you're used to. I doubt you've ever encountered a real fast shot before, hand-held guns haven't been around that long and there's no such thing as rapid fire. In addition, my gun is a new weapon created for adepts, it could melt your sword.
"You act like you're good, but you've never fought some one with my ability before. Unless you either killed me, cut my arm off, which is the same thing, or knocked me out with your first try I'd shoot you because let me tell you, I don't just carry one gun."
They stared.
Kenshin could tell he was bluffing nothing and was trying to figure out a way to knock him out without getting shot, but it was true, he didn't know how the gun worked. Normally he'd risk it, but this gun, apparently, didn't use bullets. Soon he was running through a list of alternatives. This ended here. Whether or not Kaoru went was decided now. If Kenshin won, she wasn't going, if Sawyer won, she was, so what alternatives could there be?
How did I get in this situation? Kenshin wondered, somehow it might help him get out of it. I needed to have questions answered because there were so many gaps and loopholes and- why, the reason I'm standing right here, right now is because of his deceitful loophole with Kaoru-dono's choice. Loopholes… maybe I can make a deal with him that has a loophole to get us out of this… None came to mind. He wasn't great at all this legal stuff (marriage, carrying weapons publicly, dealing with cops -coughSaitoucough - and what not) Loopholes… in order to find a loophole first I should lay out what I know de gozaru. Kaoru-dono will want to go because just like him she doesn't see everything I see and I'm rather glad for it de gozaru. He wants Kaoru-dono to go and is just as blind as her in the matter. She also doesn't have a choice but to go because he will kidnap her away de gozaru. Kidnap… I will not let that happen. Even if I convinced her not to go and she was taken then that would leave her trapped and above all, alone. It must hurt her enough to think that she has to leave as it is… being alone is what scares and hurts her the most de gozaru yo. After all, why am I doing this? I'm trying to protect her. Surely Sawyer-dono won't hurt her because he needs her help, but she would be lonely and depressed… Kaoru-dono should never need to feel that way when she has me to-
Aha… after all, I don't want her from my side, and she doesn't want me to leave and it is somewhat of a compromise… and I can protect her life if I'm with her or at least with me around she would be more protected de gozaru.
Kenshin, confident he would not be shot without making a move first, let go of the hilt of his sword and relaxed some muscles, but his glare did not lessen. He had made the decision, but only because he had to and he didn't like it at all. Well… he did like it better than being shot and Kaoru being kidnapped, but still…
Sawyer noticed his movement but did not respond in like in case it was some 'super fast samurai move thingy' (sounds kinda like ama kakeru ryu no hirameki, if you say it really fast).
"You said," Kenshin began clearly, "that she has to go with you." It was a question in the form of a statement.
"I won't have it any other way." Sawyer was suddenly thankful he hadn't taken down his hand, to him this sounded like an 'I'm about to kill you' speech.
"You never said," Kenshin continued in a manner that threatened those who would defy what he spoke, "she had to go alone."


*After much debate, I have decided that I will write "I" for Kenshin in the dialogue and his thoughts instead of "sessha" because even after the revenge arc he still uses sessha and so I think he doesn't change it out of habit and doesn't completely mean it in the same sense it is understood as "this unworthy one". I feel he thinks of it more as a use for "I" and not much more unless he's getting really deep and reflective/depressed, like after the Cho battle. That probably didn't make sense to people that haven't seen the whole series (like, 4 times… or not) and meticulously read the end of the revenge arc ^.^ gomen.

Important things are in BOLD!


Should I write a part III to this chapter, or end it here?
This does effect how I write the chapters/parts. Feedback is important.

Let me say something important before I rant. I know my writing style changed, but I have completely become Shakespeare groupie of the year person, so tell me if the fic is not making sense and DEFINITELY tell me if I'm boring, I will become less boring, yay! I enjoy writing this way, but if it's too slow I can speed it up. Or, this fic is just not worth telling me I suck and change it bc you wouldn't read it again anyway but whatever, I don't think it sucks. :P
U know what's a good song? (I think of almost all songs at some point in terms of how good a Kenshin Music Vid they would make) Everything You Know is Wrong - Weird Al. I think it would make an awesome funny MV. By the way, my taste in music will later be important in this fic. (Not particularly, THAT genre)
SUPPORT LEGAL ANIME Not that I don't have fansubs- but in general, when I have money, I'm rebuying Kenshin legally among other things that I want only in legal form. Possibly Eva.
Now to rant on unimportant stuff that random people might read. My Social Studies paper is a big pain in the ass bc im perfectly willing to do it but there's NO information/books in any major library in Manhattan or the Bronx that has information on the involvement of North Carolina in the First Continental Congress except random stuff about it's economy that I will eventually be forced to write my thesis on besides the fact that it will all be coming out of my arse directly onto the paper (ew). However, I shouldn't receive a grade any worse than the rest of that class bc the teacher is a really hard grader with papers and I'm going to get a B in her class anyway. That's school.
I'm trying to think of a Shakespeare play I can adapt for Kenshin, like my GW version of Romeo and Juliet. I'm willing to write a co-fic over the summer if anyone is interested but I am decidedly NOT pro OOC for the sake of a fic, I feel it defeats the purpose, why not just create your own character and write an original story then, u know? With Shakespeare, you can cut and adapt it to the characters. Ack, if anyone's interested I'll explain what I mean.