Well, here is chapter four, finally. It has taken me a while to get it transfer over to my other computer. Don't ask, its a long story. Anyway, all things being equal, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter because manipulating men's personalities is a grand pass time. I love Hajime Saitoh and Seijrurou Hiko. They are both such arrogant ass's that I had to get them together in the same room just to see what would happen. Now there's an interesting relationship (winks).
I hope you like it. Enjoy it, I did when I wrote it.
Standard disclaimers apply. Blah Blah Blah, big word, little word, Blah Blah Blah.
Chapter Four
A Heart's Determination
Frost was clinging to the trees and bushes like elegant strings of fragile glass as it glinted and sparkled in the early morning sunshine. The delicate beauty of it was a rare wonder, but it would only last a short time as the Earth began to warm beneath the glowing ball of fire in the sky. Saitoh shivered as a chill ran up his rod-straight spine and ended up making his teeth chatter in a most undignified manner. Swearing under his breath, he sat down stiffly behind his desk and pulled a stack of paperwork towards him.
"Too bloody cold for August. Too bloody cold." He muttered as he scanned the most recent crime reports Izukia had put on his desk before leaving yesterday evening. To his sharp yellow eyes it appeared that the number of street muggings and rape were still on the rise, but burglary and murder were on the decline. Ever since the dissolution of the last government's hooker's, and the introduction of the countrywide ban on carrying swords (unless the individual were a law enforcer or a bodyguard), the rate of murders had been drastically reduced.
The smell of sulfur drifted around the room as Saitoh struck a match to light one of his customary cigarettes. He was lost in deep concentration within a very detailed report concerning the vicious rape and beating mutilation of a young woman, and he was smoking out of pure habit. It seemed that the young woman had been found underneath one of the more remote river bridges naked and nearly dead three days ago. She had sustained a broken arm, collarbone, multiple cuts, bruises, and severe abrasions. However, the most disturbing thing was that she had been found tied both hand and foot with her bottom lip carefully cut away, and the blade used to do it was inserted hilt first inside of her torn and ravaged womanhood.
Saitoh took a deep drag from the spent cigarette and dropped the stub on the floor while he poured over the rest of the odd details of the report.
The girl was the youngest daughter of a local jewelry shop owner who had been in business since before the Meiji had begun over ten years ago. He was well known for his unique work with precious stones and crystals, as well as metals, but what was not commonly know about, was he had hidden affiliations with several European trade companies. Each of these companies specialized in all kinds of foreign religious artifacts from different countries including Ireland, England, and Spain where devil worship and demon possession were known to occur. People said to be nonstsu, or bewitched had been burned at the stake and put to death by other means of torture for performing evil rituals and ceremonies designed to summon the Devil himself. Saitoh thought he had heard those people referred to as 'witches and warlocks' in those countries.
The report was completely incredible to Saitoh. It was almost unbelievable. The cold air of coincidence it had in connection to the stories Battousai had told him was almost too frightening to consider. He found himself wondering if there could somehow be a connection between the two. Could the old jeweler have something to do with the goings on in the Taki Mountains? If so, why would his daughter be targeted for something so terrible? Maybe the old man had screwed up and this was his retribution for whatever offense he had committed. Saitoh frowned and lit another cigarette absently and began to smoke it almost immediately. If it was not a coincidence, then it was all awfully damned strange. He sat the report off to the side and pulled a bland piece of paper out of his desk drawer along with ink and a slim brush, and started to make notes of facts he felt were significant in the report. These were the things he would discuss with Battousai when they met later that week.
Battousai had wanted to leave for the mountains right away after he and Saitoh had decided what had to be done, but Saitoh had refused saying that the other man desperately needed time to recuperate and regain his strength. He had forcefully reasoned that Battousai's weakened state would render him almost useless and put them both in unnecessary danger. In the end, Kenshin had reluctantly agreed with Saitoh's logic. It was foolish to go back and face what he knew was waiting for them without his full strength. He would never survive a full confrontation as he was now. The horror of it would surely kill him, and that would leave Saitoh to face the depths of Hell alone, and he could not allow that. So he had agreed to a minimum of two to three weeks to heal his body by gaining back the weight and strength he has lost, renewing the reviving the power of his ki, and shoring up his personal resolve and confidence. He had to find his faith now. He had to find his way to Kami-sama and Buddha because he could not face these kage alone even with Saitoh at his side.
"I can't believe it is so cold." Yahiko's teeth chattered loudly as he and his two silent companions disembarked the ship and entered the docks of Kyoto. "Is it always like this in August, Hiko-san? This feels more like the middle of autumn that the end of summer." He shivered and rubbed his arms trying to warm them up with a little personal friction to the blood moving.
"No, Myojin-san. It is not usually like this." Hiko glanced around the semi-deserted pier noticing the melting frost of the eves of the buildings and the stacks of boxes and barrels scattered about. "It is usually still very warm about now, and I have never seen frost this early in the year before. Never." His big fingers touched one of the fragile ice webs and it disintegrated immediately. "This is all very, very strange." Then he motioned for Kaoru and Yahiko to follow him. "Come with me, the weather is the least of our concerns at the moment. We need to find and speak to Hajimi Saitoh as soon as possible. He WILL tell us where Kenshin is even if I have to… encourage him." The implied threat hung in the air as cold as the breeze that bit through their too thin clothing. "I am finished chasing my own ass. I want some answers, and I want them TODAY!" There was a hard fury about him that caused both Kaoru and Yahiko to keep a fair distance behind him as they marched along the dock and then upon to the main road.
"Geez, what's with him?" Yahiko asked very quietly when he was sure Hiko would not hear him.
"I'm not totally sure." Kaoru began then stopped herself. "Hmmm…"
"Nani?" Yahiko looked at her expectantly when he noticed the thoughtful expression on her face.
"Well, I said some things to him the first day we were on the ship about why he was so set on finding Kenshin when it never seemed to matter much to him before. You know, I told him how confused I was that he was so determined to find him because I was under the impression, he didn't even like him."
"Ok, but Kaoru, I am not following you. What are you getting at?"
"Hiko-san," Her blue gaze looked gently at the young man walking beside her. "He loves Kenshin, Yahiko."
"Wh-what? Are you kidding me?! That guy couldn't love anything but himself. In fact, I don't think he even has a heart to love anything with." Yahiko snorted in disbelief and disgust. "That's just plain bullshit, Kaoru, and you know it. Besides, he treats Kenshin like shit most of the time."
"I know, but you're wrong. Hiko-san has a heart; it is just buried really deep inside of him. I think he has a great heart, but he does not know how to share what is inside of it with anyone. He is a great man, and a great Samurai Warrior who has lived his life by the sword, not by his heart. It is very difficult for him to admit any emotion especially love."
The younger man frowned. "I guess… maybe, but he treats Kenshin like dirt under his feet. If he loves him, why does he do that?"
"Perhaps to unconsciously protect himself."
"Protect himself? From what?"
"I don't know. Only Hiko-san knows that, and then again, maybe he does not even know the answer to that question. However, I do know one thing for sure about him."
"What's that?"
"Inside his heart…inside his deepest heart, Kenshin is his satsu."
"His satsu?? Kaoru, do you know what you're saying? You're saying that Hiko-san loves Kenshin like his… his…"
"Like his very own son, Yahiko. He loves Kenshin like his only and most beloved son. His satsu. That is why it is so important and so critical for him to find Kenshin. Do you understand now? Think about it."
Yahiko digested this information and considered it for a few more minutes as they walked through the streets of Kyoto behind the very subject they were discussing. He let his gaze shift to the large frame of the man walking in from of them, and noticed how determined and unrelenting his stride was as his long legs ate up the distance making them walk-run to keep up. The man was on a mission there was no denying that, and it was a mission of tremendous import because it drove him forward with such a single minded purpose. To find Kenshin. Kaoru was right. These were the actions of a Father determined to find his only son. "A Father who 'loves' his son." Yahiko admitted to himself. He allowed a deep sigh to escape him, and then he met Kaoru's eyes.
"Yes, I do think I understand, but Kaoru?"
"Yes, Yahiko?"
"It really is creepy thinking of Hiko-san being able to do anything but be an asshole. You know?" A devilish half smile crossed his face causing Kaoru to burst into laughter punching him playfully in the shoulder.
"Yahiko!" She admonished him in mock severity. "That is really very unkind." But she still could not help but laugh.
Ahead of them Hiko could only wonder what was so funny that it would make the usually reserved Kaoru laugh so uncharacteristically. Shrugging to himself, he knew it could be anything considering she was still an impressionable jou-chan. He smiled despite himself. She really was quite a woman. A handful to tell the truth, and in a way, he envied Kenshin her love for him, but in another way, he was glad she was Kenshin's problem and not his.
Women. They were an unnecessary frivolity of life. He enjoyed them when he wanted to, but he had never wanted one of his own. Being tied to one woman had always seemed to represent a life sentence worse than prison to him. He had enjoyed his freedom too much, and he enjoyed the fact that no one woman could lay claim to his time or his life. However, he had begun to realize as of late that perhaps he had missed out on something important. Something that may have been able to add a sense of deeper completeness to his life, and might have provided that sense of peace and harmony he had never been able to find other wise because somewhere along the pathways of his life, he had missed the answer to the deep loneliness he had always suffered from but had hidden behind a face of arrogant self-importance.
To think that a woman could have been that 'something' he had missed upset and angered him at the some time, but he could not deny the fact that spending even this short amount of time with Kamiya-san and Myojin-san had been a strange and rare experience for him. It had almost been pleasurable if he admitted it to himself. It made him miss the days when Kenshin had been a small boy, and it had made him long for the feeling of a warm body sleeping next to him at night. But not just any warm body, Hiko found he had wished for a special body. A special someone who was his and his alone to hold in the dark of the night when the cold of winter came to nibble at his flesh, who would snuggle next to him sharing her bodies warmth. Like… like a wife.
Hiko shook himself hard. 'Stop it, you big Baka! Remember why you're here and where you're going. Stop thinking about your own foolish dreams, and think about your… son. Women are the least of your worries and are usually the cause of most of the worlds problems anyway.' A fresh angry spurt of energy pushed him forward and he was soon making the other two run just to stay close to him at all. He ignored their panting please for him to slow down, and just kept moving. The Police Station was not that much farther away. They could reach it in another hour or so if they continued at this pace.
Hiko kept walking.
Kaoru and Yahiko kept running, but fell farther and farther behind as his long legs carried him away from them faster than they could keep up.
*************
The quiet of the Kyoto Police Station was shattered by the thunderous slamming of the front door being thrown open with extreme force, the high pitched squealing screech of Sergeant Izukia as he was hauled out from behind his desk by the front of his blue uniform, and the growling sound of a deep threatening voice that grated along the stone walls of the old building like flint on granite.
Saitoh was out of his chair and through the door with sword drawn in a flash of an instant. "Aaayyiii!" He screamed as he lunged in a practiced lightening attack upon the huge assailant who was holding his hysterical sergeant by the front of his uniform, but in the split instant before his blade could make contact with the white cloaked villain, he had disappeared completely and Izukia was setting on the floor in stunned silence. Then just as suddenly Saitoh felt the light but distinct pressure of a razor sharp katana pressed against the vulnerable spot between his neck and shoulder. He stopped and stood very still.
"Hmmmm…." His voice was steady and without fear. "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. Very interesting." Saitoh stood up straight and sheathed his own blade without turning around thus leaving his opponent behind him still in attack position. "Since I am certain you are NOT the Battousai, that means you can be only one other person."
"Really?" The deep voice behind him was deep baritone, cultured and educated with just a hind of conceited sarcasm. "And who would that be, Captain Hajime Saitoh?"
"Ah, you know me by my REAL name. I am impressed or perhaps I should be flattered. Least of all I am amused." He allowed a low sardonic chuckle to slide from his throat as he lit a cigarette. "I hope you will not be offended if I smoke. It is a bad habit of mine."
"Of course not, just as I hope you will not be offended if I do not sheath my sword right away. It is also a bad habit of mine to keep it drawn in unknown situations, and I rarely put it away until I am ready to do so."
"Of course, of course. Call it professional courtesy. Now where was I? Oh yes, your identity. As I said, I know you are not the Battousai, but your are definitely of the Mitsurugi." He took a long thoughtful drag off his cigarette. "Tell me, is this true at least?"
"Yes, your deduction skills are astounding, Captain. You have intrigued me. Please continue." Sarcasm dripped from the smoothly spoken words.
Saitoh smiled appreciatively. He loved a good sparing opponent in words almost as much as he did with a blade, and this man seemed to be just as self-assured and conceited as him in both areas. "Very good." He continued to speak in his most derisive voice. "Then as I believed, that would undoubtedly make you Battousai's 'senshi', but I am afraid I do not know your REAL name. I do believe; however, that it is customary that each Master inherits the name of Seijurou Hiko when they fully complete the training, do they not?"
"Yes, they do. My, my but you are quite the detective, Captain Hajime. I can only assume that my baka-deshi told you about my existence; otherwise, there is no other way you could possibly know anything about me."
"You deduction skills are almost as good as mine Seijurou-san. Yes, Battousai spoke to me of you once. He holds you in quite high esteem. He seems to think you skills are superior to any other swordsman alive. Including mine. Presumptuous of him don't you think?" Saitoh chuckled again blowing a great cloud of gray smoke into the air around his head.
"I cannot even begin to tell what is in that baka-deshi's mind. I have never seen you fight, Captain, but he has. Perhaps he knows something you do not." This statement seemed to unsettle the arrogant Captain of Police, and he threw the rest of his unfinished cigarette on the floor in irritation.
"Are you quite finished, Seijurou-san?" Saitoh's voice hardened perceptively. "Are you satisfied with whatever it is you wanted to know, or are we going to stand here all morning with your batou at my neck? I am a very busy man after all."
Hiko allowed a low chuckle of victory to bubble up out of his throat as he sheathed his sword. "I am finished, Hajime-san, and I am quite satisfied. Please turn and face me as a friend. God knows I do not wish to have you as my enemy."
Saitoh's thin silver eyebrows were knitted into a fierce scowl when he turned to face Hiko, but the aura of his angry irritation was melting away as he considered the much larger man standing before him. Indeed, he had to agree. It was much more advantageous to have this living, breathing mountain of muscle and bone as a friend and ally than an enemy. An enemy, he would be most formidable even on his own. The man was simply a magnificent tribute to the memory and image of the Samurai Warrior's from the old years. A tremendous respect began to grow within the Wolf for this odd but incredible man.
He shook his head in derisive self-mockery, and then extended his hand to Hiko. "Okaeri, Hiko-san. Please come into my office and sit for a while. Forgive the stupidity of my Sergeant, but he is young and has poor manners." Saitoh formally escorted the Mitsurugi Master into the other room and shut the door. "It appears there is something of profound significance you wish to discuss with me."
A few moments later Kaoru and Yahiko ran panting and puffing into the station only to see a stunned Izukia still setting on the floor in front of his desk trembling like a leaf in the wind.
"Oh dear," Kaoru exclaimed in alarm. "Hiko-san has already been here. Rats! Come one, Yahiko, help me get him up. He looks like he might start crying or screaming or something once the shock wears off." Kaoru and Yahiko each grabbed one of the young Sergeant's arms and lifted him up off the floor half helping, half dragging him to his chair.
"Hey, hey Mister. You OK? You in there? Hey?" Yahiko waved his hand back and forth in front of Izukia's frozen face, but the man's eyes hardly blinked. "He is really out of it, Kaoru. What do you think we should do?"
"Hmmmm, I don't know. Hiko-san must have scared the poor man half to death." She scowled darkly at the thought of the big Mitsurugi Master's well-known bad manners. "That man," She huffed. "Why can't he try to be considerate for just once in his life when it comes to Kenshin or anything else for that matter?" Long ebony lock swung back and forth as she shook her head in exasperation. "I guess we will just have to keep trying to get through to this guy, Yahiko. He has to come around sometime."
Yahiko looked at the dazed blank stare of the man doubtfully. "Yeah, right. Sure he does."
************
Inside of Saitoh's office, he and Hiko sat down on opposite of the old wood desk. Hiko felt cramped in the small room that had only one window. Saitoh savored a personal smile of satisfaction as he watched the large man shift uncomfortably in the confines of the chair he was trying to sit in.
"You do not have chairs available to you in the country?" He asked innocently.
Hiko glared at him murderously. "No, we are civilized. We kneel and set on the floor like normal people. We do not try to perch ourselves up on top of wobbly sticks of wood like bloody parrots and fucking monkeys…. Baka!"
A cascade of rich masculine laughter from his uniformed companion followed his furiously muttered statement. "Touché', my friend." Saitoh shuffled the papers on his desk into a neat pile then faced the big dark haired man. "Tell me, why you are here wrecking havoc inside my orderly Police Station this crisp morning, Seijurou-san?" Thin brows arched questioningly. "I do not think you came to duel with swords or words, did you?"
Hiko met Saitoh's yellow gaze with hard emerald gemstones that glittered with fierce intensity. "No, I did not come to duel." Large brown hands clasped across the front of his chest as he straightened his big frame up in the uncomfortable chair and locked gazes with Saitoh. "I came for information."
Saitoh reared back in surprise. "Information? What kind of information? What do you think you want to know from me?"
"I want to know exactly where my baka-deshi is, Hajime-san. I want to know where in the name of the seven hells of Shinigumi you sent him, and how I can find him. And I want to know NOW!" Those glittering emerald eyes narrowed into dangerous slits of yellow-green as Hiko favored Saitoh with a pointed glare. "And I want to know WHAT you sent him to investigate. What kind of demon's hell did you send him into and WHY?"
Despite himself and all of his years of training with the Shinsengumi and his time with the Police force, Saitoh felt a sliver of icy apprehension tickle up his spine and twine its fingers through his scalp. He could feel the burning threat emanating from the man in front of him, and it bothered him in a way he could not remember feeling before. Hajime Saitoh was seriously uncomfortable.
"How do you know I have sent Battousai anywhere?"
"Do not treat me like a baka, Hajime-san. Suffice it to say that I know. Now answer my questions before I lose my temper again and finish with you what I started with your pitiful Sergeants."
"Why is the whereabouts of you 'baka-deshi' so important to you, Seijurou-san. From your description of him, you have little respect for the Battousai, not that I blame you. After all, he did dishonor you when he become a hitokiri during the Bakumatsu, and used the Mitsurugi Ryu to murder."
"Do not tell me about my deshi, Hajime-san. I know only too well who he was and what he has done. My personal feelings for him are my own, and they are none of your fucking business, but his whereabouts ARE MINE simply because I am his senshi, and I know he is in trouble. NOW, tell me where he is!" Hiko leaned farther forward adding force to his words.
"All right. He is about one mile from here in a boarding house recuperating from the mission I sent him on." Saitoh tried to sound matter-of-fact, but there was a slight tremor to his voice as he spoke.
"His is here? In Kyoto? Now?" Hiko's voice was filled with disbelief and hope.
"Yes. He is here. He came back about a week ago. He looked like he had been through Hell itself, and I insisted he take the necessary time needed to regain his health and strength."
"What do you mean? How did he look?" Emerald eyes pinned Saitoh to his chair.
"He had lost a considerable amount of weight, and he was pale as a ghost. There was almost no strength left in him at all. He was more a shadow of himself than himself." Yellow eyes turned to look thoughtfully out the window. "Truly in all the years I have known him, and even wanted him dead, I have never seen him look like that nor did I ever believe I would. I thought he was a walking corpse." Silence followed Saitoh's words for a time, and then he spoke again. "But the most unusual thing about him, the one thing that bothered me the most was his spirit-ki."
"His ki?" Hiko's voice was now filled with definite concern. "Explain."
"I fought the Battousai during the Revolution, Seijurou-san. Blade to Blade. I have seen him fight others with his sakobatou, and I have watched him face insurmountable odds without fear or despair, and I have seen him overcome. I have sworn to kill him myself yet found myself allies with him more than once, and grudgingly I have given him my respect. Although I would never allow myself to speak these words to him, I cannot deny the truth of them either. His is a magnificent warrior and a swordsman who has few if any equals." Then Saitoh's voice dropped to a mere whisper. "However, in all of these years I have known him, I have never once seen the Battousai… afraid. Truly afraid." His voice trailed off into silence again.
"Yes," Hiko whispered sadly. "I have felt his fear too."
"His ki has been shattered by a terror neither of us can fathom, Seijruou-san." Saitoh's face became grace and pale.
"Did he tell you what happened to him?" Hiko locked eyes with the wolfish policeman setting across from him. "Did he tell you anything?"
"Yes, he told me. He told me everything that happened to him out there."
"What DID happen to him, Hajime-san? What happened to him out there? What frightened him so badly that his ki came running to me in terror all the way to the waterfalls? Tell me what happened to him?" Hiko's eyes bore into Saitoh trying to force the information out of him by shear will.
"Are you certain you are ready to know, Seijurou-san? Is your mind prepared for a horror that cannot be, but is?" Saitoh's eyes narrowed into slits of yellow-gold. "Can I trust you?"
"Trust me?" The wooden legs of the chair creaked in protest as the big man leaned too far backwards. "What the hell do you mean 'can you trust me?'? What kind of nightmare bullshit are we talking about here?"
"Nightmares?" Shrugging shoulders and raised eyebrows caused crawling sensations to run up and down Hiko's arms as he watched Saitoh contemplate his next words. "I suppose you could link it with nightmares. It certainly is the stuff which nightmares are made of." His head was nodding absently.
"OK, what are we talking about here? Things that go bump in the night? Hack and slash murders? What?" Hiko could not quite keep the amusement out of his voice as he readjusted his weight in the chair.
Saitoh caught Hiko's emerald gaze from beneath his brow. "This was going to be between Battousai and myself only because of its frightening and… unique nature. We felt the less individuals involved the less chance for information leaks and mishaps." He paused to watch Hiko's expression. "Do you understand? This is not a joke or a jest. It is not a game. This is possibly the most dangerous thing either of us will ever face or do."
All of the humor drained from Hiko as he watched the look of cold and deadly seriousness descend over the former Shinsengumi Wolf. A shiver of apprehension wiggled through him as he recalled the screaming terror of Kenshin's spirit-ki the night he had come to him at the waterfalls. "Are you telling me that whatever this is, it is not over yet?"
"Yes, that is what I am telling you. Now," The voice was cold and hard as stone. "I repeat can I trust you, Seijurou Hiko? Or do I usher out of my office with nothing but the whereabouts of your baka-deshi?" A long nearly endless silence stretched out between the two men as each thoughtfully pondered Saitoh's unanswered questions.
Hiko's voice was low and raspy when he finally spoke. "You believe him then?"
"Yes."
"All right, are we talking about mass torture and murder, or something similar?"
"No. It is much worse than that."
"Worse?" His horrified face met Saitoh's expressionless one. "What is worse than torture?"
Saitoh gave Hiko one long cold look then said one word. One single word that hung in the air like a long dead secret that should have never been spoken, and the effect it had on Hiko was confounding.
"Hyoukyo."
"Hyoukyo! That is insane! That is impossible!" The deep voice rose high on an outraged note of disbelief and filled the small room quickly with his discomfort. "That is the type of thing old hags and monk use to frighten bad boys into behaving and minding their manners. It is what ghost stories and nightmares are made of." He looked angry and confused at the same time as he tried to wrestle with the ides of demon possession being a reality in this day and age. "Stories like that are just old dusty legends and fairy tales. They are not really true… it cannot be…" He whispered into the cold room. "It simply cannot be." Suddenly his eyes grew wide with alarm as he heard himself speak the very words Saitoh had said to him only moments before. 'Devil possession?' He whispered to his shocked soul. 'Can it be?' Hiko's mind rebelled viciously at the thought, but…
His uneasy yellow-green gaze searched out the Policeman's thin face. "How is it possible, Hajime-san? How can you believe it is true?"
"I only have Battousai's word, and the strange reports I have been receiving from the north countries over the last seven or eight months." He met Hiko's horrified eyes. "I could not fault Battousai's tale. Not after seeing him the way he looked when he returned. Even after hearing the absolute insanity of what he claimed to have seen, I could not deny it must be true. I had to believe him."
Hiko's eyes closed in despair as he tried to accept the significance of what Saitoh was saying to him. "Tell me everything he told you. I want to hear all of it."
"Are you truly certain? It is terrible beyond anything you have ever heard or thought of before. "
"Yes, I want to hear ever single word, ever detail. All of it, Hajime-san. All of it."
"As you wish, but remember one thing. You asked."
*************
"Hey, Kaoru! I think this guys starting to finally come around. He blinked one eye." Yahiko peered closely at the uniformed Sareant slouching in the chair. His brown eyes were only partically glazed and he was starting to look like he may actually be alive.
Kaoru leaned over and looked at the man then tried to speak to him. "Gomennasi?" She patted his face experimentally, but recieved no response. "Hello? Sargeant whatever your name is, are you Ok?" She pursed her lips in frustation when all he did was blink at her with his one eye. "Kuso!" Yahiko stared at her in total amazement.
"Kaoru, you cursed." He said accusingly.
"I did not." She retorted in offense.
"You did too." He insisted.
"No I didn't!" She said more firmly.
"Did so!"
"Yahiko!"
"Ok, ok, so maybe you didn't." He waved his hands in the air to fend her off when she went to hit him. "But you did." He mumbled under his breath as she turned her attention back to the eye-gawking Sargeant.
"All right, Mister. I have had it with this crap. Wake up already!!" Kaoru grabbed the poor man by both shoulders and began to shake him violently. "I know Hiko-san is scarey, but he's not THAT scarey so get ahold of yourself you big whimp and SNAP OUT OF IT!!"
"Wh-w-wha-what in th-the hh-he-hell...?" Izukia could feel himself being thrown from side to side by some wild malevolent force that seemed intent on snapping his neck in half. His hands started to rise from their hanging position at his sides in an attempt to stop the vicious shaking while his brain struggled sluggishly to find any form of defense it could. "St-stop it!" He yelled loudly as he finally found a realy voice to use. "Stop it, damn you whoever you are! Stop it or I will cut you hands off!" Suddenly he was dropped by whomever had a hold of him, and his world started to settle back into a more peaceful sense of motion.
"What the hell is going on?" He muttered as his hand covered his confused pale face, and then was furiously raked through his short black hair.
"Well, it looks like you whimped out when Hiko-san came in here, blue-boy because you've been a blind staring zombie for about fifteen minutes I'd say." This amused statement was followed by a cascade of youthful laughter and sniggering snorts. "Some big brave policeman you are, and a Sargeant at that. Geez, I feel so much safer already."
"Shut-up!" Izukia looked up to find his tormentor and met a pair of light brown eyes dancing with mirth beneath a shock of unruley black hair. "Hey, you're nothing but a stupid brat. Get out of my face, brat." He yelled and shoved Yahiko out of his way as he lurched to his feet.
"Hey, don't call me stupid, Baka. You're the one who practically pissed his pants like a baby not me." Yahiko sniffed haughtily.
Izukia turned around and grabbed the younger man by the sleeve of his pale green gi and roughly yanked him bach. "Hey, you stupid brat." He sneered into Yahiko's bland and deceptively expressionless face. "You better stop showing me so much disrespect, or I will throw you in a cell and forget where I put the key. You get me? Huh, brat? Do you get ME?"
"Get your hands off of him you big jerk, or else I'm going to poung you into the ground!" Izukia heard a decidedly feminine voice threatening him from behind, and suddenly wondered just how much worse this day could possibly get.
"Look Lady," He started to say as he turned to face the unknown woman, but before he could focus on her face, he found himself soundly whacked, smacked, and swept off his feet by none other than the brat he was sure he had subdued. "KUSO!" He looked up at the two people who were now standing over him in a very threatening manner. "Just what the hell is going on here? And just who in the hell are you two anyway?"
"Well," Kaoru humphed with her hands on her hips. "If you weren't so rude and stupid, and if you did not jump to conclusions so easily, we would have told you by now." She shook her head in angry disapproval at the young policeman. "Those are not very good attributes for a commissioned Police Officer you know. Now give me your hand and I will help you up."
Izukia stared suspiciously at the offered hand then reached out and grasped it only to find out to his surprise that the young woman was quite strong. She pulled his weight up off the floor without any difficulty at all.
"Thank-you," He said as he brushed dust and dirt off his blue uniform. "I am not usually rude or impulsive, and I rarely lose my patience. I suppose the circumstance caught me by surprise."
"I am sorry, Sargeant, but that is not an acceptable excuse. An Officer representing the Kyoto Police should be prepared at all times no matter the circumstances. Lives could depend on his actions or reactions."
"Of course," He grudgingly agreed suddenly feeling as if he were being lectured by one of his Academy insturcters instead of a beautiful young woman. "I realize you are right, but it has been a difficult morning."
"I will accede you that, Sargeant. Haveing Serijurou Hiko explode into your face without warning can be quite a startling experience to say the least. Especially if you have never had the privledge of meeting him before." Kaoru smiled with knowing sympathy, but gave the police officer no further outs for his poor behavior.
Izukia smiled wanly as embarrassment settled in. "Thank-you for that, I suppose. He is quite the formidable presance isn't he."
She laughed merrily. "That is an understatement if I ever heard one." Sapphire blue eyes were filled with mischief and acceptance for the young man. "By the way, I am Kamiya Kaoru, and this is my deshi, Myojin Yahiko."
Izukia bowed respectfull and introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Kamiya-san, and you, Myojin-san. I am Sargeant Makida Izukia. I am Captain Fugita's personal assistant."
"You work for Fugita? On purpose?" Yahiko's voice was thick with sarcastic incredulity.
Izukia looked at the younger man in astonishment. "Yes, I am." He said proudly. "The Captain is a great man and highly respected within the Police Force here in Kyoto." Then he looked at Kaoru in deep confusion. "Do you know him?"
She nodded with a dour look on her face. "Yes, but I am afraid we do not share quite the same opinion of him that you have. I am sorry, Sargeant Makida, but we have dealth with Fugita-san in different circumstances than you have here in the Police Department. We meant no offense."
Izukia felt a protective anger building up in his chest. "How could anyone not respect the Captain?" He muttered under his breath as he looked at the dusty floor around his boots. "He is one of the bravest and greatest men in all of Kyoto." He looked up at his two guests and shrugged. "I have taken no offense," He said quietly to them. "But I would be curious to hear the tales one day of why you carry so little respect for such an honorable man. They would be of tremendous interest to me. I would also like to know why you speak his name with such a disrespectful and debasing tone. The Captain is a very brave and highly respected man here in Kyoto. Everyone knows his name."
A small frown creased Kaoru's otherwise smooth brow as she considered the young Sargeant's words. 'He really idolizes Saitoh.' She thought. 'We weill have to be more careful what we say around him when we talk about that damn Wolf.' To Izukia she said, "Perhaps one day, Sargeant Makida, but not now. Justify it to say that we know your Captain from a world of drastically different circumstances than these surrounding you." She tried to smile in as friendly a manner as she could in order to reassure the wounded young man. "Right now I am more interesting in the whereabouts of another man. That is why we are all here in Kyoto. To find him."
"Oh," Izukia's eyes brightened. "Tell me his name and perhaps I can help you. I am quite good at finding people in this city. It is my job, you know." A genuine smile curved his thin lips and he winked at her as he sat down behind his desk. A clean piece of white paper was pulled from one of the drawers along with ink and a quill-tipped pen. "So, tell him your friends name, and we can get started." Clear brown eyes looked directly into Kaoru's face expectantly as he waited patiently for her to speak.
Kaoru smiled indulgently in the face of his eagerness to be of help to her, but waved him off with a brush of her hand on his arm. "That is not necessary, Sargeant Makida. You see, that is what Hiko-san is doing inside of that office right now."
Izukia glanced over his shoulder at the closed door leading to Saitoh's office where Kaoru was pointing. "Is it someone the Captain knows?"
"Yes." Her voice took on a sad note reflect some of the despair she was carrying inside. "He works for your Captain occassionally. He takes on private missions of some sort or another that usually keep him away from home a few weeks, but this time he has been gone for months. I... I mean, we have all gotten very worried about him because we have not even had a letter from him since he left. He is very important to all three of us, and we are afraid he might be in some kind of trouble, and we have come all the way from Tokyo to try and find him."
"Trouble?" Izukia looked thoughful for a moment then spoke in a low gentle voice. "Tell me his name, Kamiya-san, and I just might be able to help you find him." The expression on his face turned earnest and entreating. "That is, if you are who I think you are, then he really needs you."
Kaoru's eyes grew into large rounded orbs of deep blue as she stared at the policeman in shock. "If I am who you think I am? What do you mean?" She staggered slightly and Yahiko guided her to a chair in front of the old desk. Once she was solidly seated, she turned and stared at Izukia again. "Are... are you talking about Himura Kenshin?"
"Yes, I am." A gentle smile crossed his features as he let himself really look at the woman in front of him. "I am very fond of him actually, and I am proud to call him my friend. He is a great man just like Captain Fugita. I admire him very much."
"Oh please," She whispered suddenly very close to breaking down into tears. "Do you know where we can find him? Do you know if he is all right?" Her words were anxious and filled with a multitude of emotions, and Izukia could see the great love and worry reflected in her beautiful eyes. Himura-san had told him about the girl he loved back in Tokyo once a few months ago. He had said how brave and beautiful she was, and how stubborn and argumentative she could be. It had been painfully clear to Izukia how much the man loved her and wanted to be with her, and how much it was tearing him up by being away from her.
Izukia had asked Himura-san why he had not married her after the Enishii incident had been resolved, but the older swordsman had just gotten very quiet and said something about bloody hands and refused to talk about her again.
Now here she sat right in front of him, and he could see clearly what Himura-san found so appealing about her. The incredibly beautiful girl-woman possessed the fighting spirit and demeanor of a warrior, and the knowledge to back it up. On top of all that, she was honest, straight forward, and wore her integrity like a suit of armor. The fact that she loved Himura-san with all her heart and soul was none too obvious, and the depth of emotion he could see in her dark blue eyes nearly broke his heart.
"Shhhh, calm down Kamiya-san." Izukia stood up and walked around his desk to kneel in front of Kaoru so he could gently take her cold trembling hands into his. "You must not be afraid anymore. Not now, so dry your tears and listen to me."
"What do you mean I must not be afraid now? Kenshin is out there somewhere in terrible trouble. Hiko-san is his senshi and he can 'feel' him, and we 'know' something horrible happened to him. Something unspeakable that terrifed him beyond his own sense of mental resolve. Now you tell me why I should not be afraid?"
"Because, jou-can, he is not lost out on the countryside huddled under some tree or bush, he is right here in Kyoto, and he is staying in a boarding house only a few blocks away from this very station." Izukia smiled softly and squeezed Kaoru's hands with encouragement and reassurement. "He is safe and sound, Kamiya-san."
Huge bottemless pools of astonished cobalt were filling with hope as they searched his face for proof of the truth, and Izukia thought he was going to be swallowed whole within their swirling depths.
"He... is here?" Her small voice cracked on a sob as she tried to absorb what she had just heard. "He is really here... in Kyoto?" The tears that had been threatened to fall, spilled over and slid down her smooth pale cheeks in twin rivers of disbelief and hope. "And he is alive? He is all right? He is not hurt? Makida-san? Is he all right?"
The smile on Izukia's face faltered and his eyes broke contact with Kaoru's. "Well, not completely." A sob broke through what was left of her composure, and he locked gazes with her once again and gripped her hands tighter. "He is very weak and very thin, but he is not ill. Whatever he went through out there took away more of him than it left behind."
"What are you trying to say... that Kenshin is.."
"Diminished. He is a shadow of himself, Kamiya-san. Captain Fugita describled it as having lost most of his spirit-ki. He needs much time to heal and recuperate both his body and his soul."
"Oh noooo..." Kaoru cried into her cupped hands. "Oh Kenshin... 'Oh my koishii.' "What has happened to you?" Slim narrow shoulders shook with the force of her emotions as she wept quietly lost in her own world of sorrow. "How can I help you? Kami-sama, tell me what to do to help him."
Izukia patted her shoulder carefully and gently spoke to her. "Go to him, Kamiya-san. That is what you can do, and that is what he needs most. I think he needs someone to be with him right now so he is not all alone with just himself and whatever it is that haunts him, but truthfull, I think he just needs 'you'."
Teary eyes looked wonderingly into his gentle face. "He needs me?"
"Yes, I think he loves you, and if anyone can help him regain what he has lost, it will be you." Izukia locked his brown gaze with her blue one again. "Do you love him?"
"Yes, more than anything." Her young voice was earnest.
"Then go to him. Help him by being with him. This is a time in Himura-san's life when he should not be left alone."
It seemed so simple.
"He is right Kaoru." Yahiko's soft voice sounded in her right ear and she felt his strong familiar hands on her shoulders. "If what this guy is saying is true, then Kenshin really does need you."
"Yahiko?" She was asking a question that she was not really sure of the answer, but just as he always did, the young swordsman surprised her.
"He loves you, Kaoru. Everybody knows it but you, and you love him, and everybody knows THAT except him. So go on. You gotta go. It sounds like he is in real bad shape." Kaoru turned her tear stained face to look into his younger one and found it wrinkled with concern and... love?
"Yahiko..." Reaching out with a trembling white hand, she gently touched his tanned face. "You are such a good boy. Tell Hiko-san where I have gone. Will you?"
"Sure I will." He was blushing furiously beneath her soft touch, but he did not pull away like he usually would. "I'll take care of everything. You just go, Ok. You and Kenshin belong together anyways. You always did." After saying that, he walked away from her and picked up her bag. "Here's your stuff. Sargeant, are you gonna take her to where Kenshin is? It really isn't safe for her to go alone in a strange city, you know."
Izukia's brows rose in increduality at the younger mans audacity and pitiful attempt at maturity. "Why, yes. I had thought to escort Kamiya-san to where Himura-san was staying. Is THAT to your satisfaction, Myojin-san?" His tone was laced heavily with sarcasm as he mocked the boy.
"Hey!" Yahiko whirled fiercly on the startled policeman. "Don't fuck with me where Kaoru is concerned, asshole. She's my responsibility and part of my family, so you are either taking her or you aren't. Which is it? And no more bullshit answers either or I'll split your stupid skull. Got ME?"
"He means it." Izukia heard Kaoru's barely whispered warning. "And do not doubt that he can do it too. Do not underestimate him."
"Ahhh... all right, Myojin-san. Yes, I will be taking Kamiya-san to the boarding house where Himura-san is staying."
"And you WILL make certain she reaches it safely?" The boys voice was a low growl which made Izukia take a closer look at him. A shiver ran up his spine as he noticed an eerie reddish glow burning in the young swordsman's eyes. Just like Himura-san's eyes turned that demonish amber, this boys were turning an unearthy red. Perhaps he should not take this young man so lightly after all.
"Yes, I will be certain she is safe."
"Very well. Do not make me regret trusting you... Sargeant Makida." The hinted threat clung to the fabric of Izukia's uniform all the way to the boarding house. There was something not quite right about that boy. He was not quite certain what it was, but he intended to keep his distance until he was sure he could turn his back on the kid without worrying about finding his head next to him on the floor.
I hope you like it. Enjoy it, I did when I wrote it.
Standard disclaimers apply. Blah Blah Blah, big word, little word, Blah Blah Blah.
Chapter Four
A Heart's Determination
Frost was clinging to the trees and bushes like elegant strings of fragile glass as it glinted and sparkled in the early morning sunshine. The delicate beauty of it was a rare wonder, but it would only last a short time as the Earth began to warm beneath the glowing ball of fire in the sky. Saitoh shivered as a chill ran up his rod-straight spine and ended up making his teeth chatter in a most undignified manner. Swearing under his breath, he sat down stiffly behind his desk and pulled a stack of paperwork towards him.
"Too bloody cold for August. Too bloody cold." He muttered as he scanned the most recent crime reports Izukia had put on his desk before leaving yesterday evening. To his sharp yellow eyes it appeared that the number of street muggings and rape were still on the rise, but burglary and murder were on the decline. Ever since the dissolution of the last government's hooker's, and the introduction of the countrywide ban on carrying swords (unless the individual were a law enforcer or a bodyguard), the rate of murders had been drastically reduced.
The smell of sulfur drifted around the room as Saitoh struck a match to light one of his customary cigarettes. He was lost in deep concentration within a very detailed report concerning the vicious rape and beating mutilation of a young woman, and he was smoking out of pure habit. It seemed that the young woman had been found underneath one of the more remote river bridges naked and nearly dead three days ago. She had sustained a broken arm, collarbone, multiple cuts, bruises, and severe abrasions. However, the most disturbing thing was that she had been found tied both hand and foot with her bottom lip carefully cut away, and the blade used to do it was inserted hilt first inside of her torn and ravaged womanhood.
Saitoh took a deep drag from the spent cigarette and dropped the stub on the floor while he poured over the rest of the odd details of the report.
The girl was the youngest daughter of a local jewelry shop owner who had been in business since before the Meiji had begun over ten years ago. He was well known for his unique work with precious stones and crystals, as well as metals, but what was not commonly know about, was he had hidden affiliations with several European trade companies. Each of these companies specialized in all kinds of foreign religious artifacts from different countries including Ireland, England, and Spain where devil worship and demon possession were known to occur. People said to be nonstsu, or bewitched had been burned at the stake and put to death by other means of torture for performing evil rituals and ceremonies designed to summon the Devil himself. Saitoh thought he had heard those people referred to as 'witches and warlocks' in those countries.
The report was completely incredible to Saitoh. It was almost unbelievable. The cold air of coincidence it had in connection to the stories Battousai had told him was almost too frightening to consider. He found himself wondering if there could somehow be a connection between the two. Could the old jeweler have something to do with the goings on in the Taki Mountains? If so, why would his daughter be targeted for something so terrible? Maybe the old man had screwed up and this was his retribution for whatever offense he had committed. Saitoh frowned and lit another cigarette absently and began to smoke it almost immediately. If it was not a coincidence, then it was all awfully damned strange. He sat the report off to the side and pulled a bland piece of paper out of his desk drawer along with ink and a slim brush, and started to make notes of facts he felt were significant in the report. These were the things he would discuss with Battousai when they met later that week.
Battousai had wanted to leave for the mountains right away after he and Saitoh had decided what had to be done, but Saitoh had refused saying that the other man desperately needed time to recuperate and regain his strength. He had forcefully reasoned that Battousai's weakened state would render him almost useless and put them both in unnecessary danger. In the end, Kenshin had reluctantly agreed with Saitoh's logic. It was foolish to go back and face what he knew was waiting for them without his full strength. He would never survive a full confrontation as he was now. The horror of it would surely kill him, and that would leave Saitoh to face the depths of Hell alone, and he could not allow that. So he had agreed to a minimum of two to three weeks to heal his body by gaining back the weight and strength he has lost, renewing the reviving the power of his ki, and shoring up his personal resolve and confidence. He had to find his faith now. He had to find his way to Kami-sama and Buddha because he could not face these kage alone even with Saitoh at his side.
"I can't believe it is so cold." Yahiko's teeth chattered loudly as he and his two silent companions disembarked the ship and entered the docks of Kyoto. "Is it always like this in August, Hiko-san? This feels more like the middle of autumn that the end of summer." He shivered and rubbed his arms trying to warm them up with a little personal friction to the blood moving.
"No, Myojin-san. It is not usually like this." Hiko glanced around the semi-deserted pier noticing the melting frost of the eves of the buildings and the stacks of boxes and barrels scattered about. "It is usually still very warm about now, and I have never seen frost this early in the year before. Never." His big fingers touched one of the fragile ice webs and it disintegrated immediately. "This is all very, very strange." Then he motioned for Kaoru and Yahiko to follow him. "Come with me, the weather is the least of our concerns at the moment. We need to find and speak to Hajimi Saitoh as soon as possible. He WILL tell us where Kenshin is even if I have to… encourage him." The implied threat hung in the air as cold as the breeze that bit through their too thin clothing. "I am finished chasing my own ass. I want some answers, and I want them TODAY!" There was a hard fury about him that caused both Kaoru and Yahiko to keep a fair distance behind him as they marched along the dock and then upon to the main road.
"Geez, what's with him?" Yahiko asked very quietly when he was sure Hiko would not hear him.
"I'm not totally sure." Kaoru began then stopped herself. "Hmmm…"
"Nani?" Yahiko looked at her expectantly when he noticed the thoughtful expression on her face.
"Well, I said some things to him the first day we were on the ship about why he was so set on finding Kenshin when it never seemed to matter much to him before. You know, I told him how confused I was that he was so determined to find him because I was under the impression, he didn't even like him."
"Ok, but Kaoru, I am not following you. What are you getting at?"
"Hiko-san," Her blue gaze looked gently at the young man walking beside her. "He loves Kenshin, Yahiko."
"Wh-what? Are you kidding me?! That guy couldn't love anything but himself. In fact, I don't think he even has a heart to love anything with." Yahiko snorted in disbelief and disgust. "That's just plain bullshit, Kaoru, and you know it. Besides, he treats Kenshin like shit most of the time."
"I know, but you're wrong. Hiko-san has a heart; it is just buried really deep inside of him. I think he has a great heart, but he does not know how to share what is inside of it with anyone. He is a great man, and a great Samurai Warrior who has lived his life by the sword, not by his heart. It is very difficult for him to admit any emotion especially love."
The younger man frowned. "I guess… maybe, but he treats Kenshin like dirt under his feet. If he loves him, why does he do that?"
"Perhaps to unconsciously protect himself."
"Protect himself? From what?"
"I don't know. Only Hiko-san knows that, and then again, maybe he does not even know the answer to that question. However, I do know one thing for sure about him."
"What's that?"
"Inside his heart…inside his deepest heart, Kenshin is his satsu."
"His satsu?? Kaoru, do you know what you're saying? You're saying that Hiko-san loves Kenshin like his… his…"
"Like his very own son, Yahiko. He loves Kenshin like his only and most beloved son. His satsu. That is why it is so important and so critical for him to find Kenshin. Do you understand now? Think about it."
Yahiko digested this information and considered it for a few more minutes as they walked through the streets of Kyoto behind the very subject they were discussing. He let his gaze shift to the large frame of the man walking in from of them, and noticed how determined and unrelenting his stride was as his long legs ate up the distance making them walk-run to keep up. The man was on a mission there was no denying that, and it was a mission of tremendous import because it drove him forward with such a single minded purpose. To find Kenshin. Kaoru was right. These were the actions of a Father determined to find his only son. "A Father who 'loves' his son." Yahiko admitted to himself. He allowed a deep sigh to escape him, and then he met Kaoru's eyes.
"Yes, I do think I understand, but Kaoru?"
"Yes, Yahiko?"
"It really is creepy thinking of Hiko-san being able to do anything but be an asshole. You know?" A devilish half smile crossed his face causing Kaoru to burst into laughter punching him playfully in the shoulder.
"Yahiko!" She admonished him in mock severity. "That is really very unkind." But she still could not help but laugh.
Ahead of them Hiko could only wonder what was so funny that it would make the usually reserved Kaoru laugh so uncharacteristically. Shrugging to himself, he knew it could be anything considering she was still an impressionable jou-chan. He smiled despite himself. She really was quite a woman. A handful to tell the truth, and in a way, he envied Kenshin her love for him, but in another way, he was glad she was Kenshin's problem and not his.
Women. They were an unnecessary frivolity of life. He enjoyed them when he wanted to, but he had never wanted one of his own. Being tied to one woman had always seemed to represent a life sentence worse than prison to him. He had enjoyed his freedom too much, and he enjoyed the fact that no one woman could lay claim to his time or his life. However, he had begun to realize as of late that perhaps he had missed out on something important. Something that may have been able to add a sense of deeper completeness to his life, and might have provided that sense of peace and harmony he had never been able to find other wise because somewhere along the pathways of his life, he had missed the answer to the deep loneliness he had always suffered from but had hidden behind a face of arrogant self-importance.
To think that a woman could have been that 'something' he had missed upset and angered him at the some time, but he could not deny the fact that spending even this short amount of time with Kamiya-san and Myojin-san had been a strange and rare experience for him. It had almost been pleasurable if he admitted it to himself. It made him miss the days when Kenshin had been a small boy, and it had made him long for the feeling of a warm body sleeping next to him at night. But not just any warm body, Hiko found he had wished for a special body. A special someone who was his and his alone to hold in the dark of the night when the cold of winter came to nibble at his flesh, who would snuggle next to him sharing her bodies warmth. Like… like a wife.
Hiko shook himself hard. 'Stop it, you big Baka! Remember why you're here and where you're going. Stop thinking about your own foolish dreams, and think about your… son. Women are the least of your worries and are usually the cause of most of the worlds problems anyway.' A fresh angry spurt of energy pushed him forward and he was soon making the other two run just to stay close to him at all. He ignored their panting please for him to slow down, and just kept moving. The Police Station was not that much farther away. They could reach it in another hour or so if they continued at this pace.
Hiko kept walking.
Kaoru and Yahiko kept running, but fell farther and farther behind as his long legs carried him away from them faster than they could keep up.
*************
The quiet of the Kyoto Police Station was shattered by the thunderous slamming of the front door being thrown open with extreme force, the high pitched squealing screech of Sergeant Izukia as he was hauled out from behind his desk by the front of his blue uniform, and the growling sound of a deep threatening voice that grated along the stone walls of the old building like flint on granite.
Saitoh was out of his chair and through the door with sword drawn in a flash of an instant. "Aaayyiii!" He screamed as he lunged in a practiced lightening attack upon the huge assailant who was holding his hysterical sergeant by the front of his uniform, but in the split instant before his blade could make contact with the white cloaked villain, he had disappeared completely and Izukia was setting on the floor in stunned silence. Then just as suddenly Saitoh felt the light but distinct pressure of a razor sharp katana pressed against the vulnerable spot between his neck and shoulder. He stopped and stood very still.
"Hmmmm…." His voice was steady and without fear. "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. Very interesting." Saitoh stood up straight and sheathed his own blade without turning around thus leaving his opponent behind him still in attack position. "Since I am certain you are NOT the Battousai, that means you can be only one other person."
"Really?" The deep voice behind him was deep baritone, cultured and educated with just a hind of conceited sarcasm. "And who would that be, Captain Hajime Saitoh?"
"Ah, you know me by my REAL name. I am impressed or perhaps I should be flattered. Least of all I am amused." He allowed a low sardonic chuckle to slide from his throat as he lit a cigarette. "I hope you will not be offended if I smoke. It is a bad habit of mine."
"Of course not, just as I hope you will not be offended if I do not sheath my sword right away. It is also a bad habit of mine to keep it drawn in unknown situations, and I rarely put it away until I am ready to do so."
"Of course, of course. Call it professional courtesy. Now where was I? Oh yes, your identity. As I said, I know you are not the Battousai, but your are definitely of the Mitsurugi." He took a long thoughtful drag off his cigarette. "Tell me, is this true at least?"
"Yes, your deduction skills are astounding, Captain. You have intrigued me. Please continue." Sarcasm dripped from the smoothly spoken words.
Saitoh smiled appreciatively. He loved a good sparing opponent in words almost as much as he did with a blade, and this man seemed to be just as self-assured and conceited as him in both areas. "Very good." He continued to speak in his most derisive voice. "Then as I believed, that would undoubtedly make you Battousai's 'senshi', but I am afraid I do not know your REAL name. I do believe; however, that it is customary that each Master inherits the name of Seijurou Hiko when they fully complete the training, do they not?"
"Yes, they do. My, my but you are quite the detective, Captain Hajime. I can only assume that my baka-deshi told you about my existence; otherwise, there is no other way you could possibly know anything about me."
"You deduction skills are almost as good as mine Seijurou-san. Yes, Battousai spoke to me of you once. He holds you in quite high esteem. He seems to think you skills are superior to any other swordsman alive. Including mine. Presumptuous of him don't you think?" Saitoh chuckled again blowing a great cloud of gray smoke into the air around his head.
"I cannot even begin to tell what is in that baka-deshi's mind. I have never seen you fight, Captain, but he has. Perhaps he knows something you do not." This statement seemed to unsettle the arrogant Captain of Police, and he threw the rest of his unfinished cigarette on the floor in irritation.
"Are you quite finished, Seijurou-san?" Saitoh's voice hardened perceptively. "Are you satisfied with whatever it is you wanted to know, or are we going to stand here all morning with your batou at my neck? I am a very busy man after all."
Hiko allowed a low chuckle of victory to bubble up out of his throat as he sheathed his sword. "I am finished, Hajime-san, and I am quite satisfied. Please turn and face me as a friend. God knows I do not wish to have you as my enemy."
Saitoh's thin silver eyebrows were knitted into a fierce scowl when he turned to face Hiko, but the aura of his angry irritation was melting away as he considered the much larger man standing before him. Indeed, he had to agree. It was much more advantageous to have this living, breathing mountain of muscle and bone as a friend and ally than an enemy. An enemy, he would be most formidable even on his own. The man was simply a magnificent tribute to the memory and image of the Samurai Warrior's from the old years. A tremendous respect began to grow within the Wolf for this odd but incredible man.
He shook his head in derisive self-mockery, and then extended his hand to Hiko. "Okaeri, Hiko-san. Please come into my office and sit for a while. Forgive the stupidity of my Sergeant, but he is young and has poor manners." Saitoh formally escorted the Mitsurugi Master into the other room and shut the door. "It appears there is something of profound significance you wish to discuss with me."
A few moments later Kaoru and Yahiko ran panting and puffing into the station only to see a stunned Izukia still setting on the floor in front of his desk trembling like a leaf in the wind.
"Oh dear," Kaoru exclaimed in alarm. "Hiko-san has already been here. Rats! Come one, Yahiko, help me get him up. He looks like he might start crying or screaming or something once the shock wears off." Kaoru and Yahiko each grabbed one of the young Sergeant's arms and lifted him up off the floor half helping, half dragging him to his chair.
"Hey, hey Mister. You OK? You in there? Hey?" Yahiko waved his hand back and forth in front of Izukia's frozen face, but the man's eyes hardly blinked. "He is really out of it, Kaoru. What do you think we should do?"
"Hmmmm, I don't know. Hiko-san must have scared the poor man half to death." She scowled darkly at the thought of the big Mitsurugi Master's well-known bad manners. "That man," She huffed. "Why can't he try to be considerate for just once in his life when it comes to Kenshin or anything else for that matter?" Long ebony lock swung back and forth as she shook her head in exasperation. "I guess we will just have to keep trying to get through to this guy, Yahiko. He has to come around sometime."
Yahiko looked at the dazed blank stare of the man doubtfully. "Yeah, right. Sure he does."
************
Inside of Saitoh's office, he and Hiko sat down on opposite of the old wood desk. Hiko felt cramped in the small room that had only one window. Saitoh savored a personal smile of satisfaction as he watched the large man shift uncomfortably in the confines of the chair he was trying to sit in.
"You do not have chairs available to you in the country?" He asked innocently.
Hiko glared at him murderously. "No, we are civilized. We kneel and set on the floor like normal people. We do not try to perch ourselves up on top of wobbly sticks of wood like bloody parrots and fucking monkeys…. Baka!"
A cascade of rich masculine laughter from his uniformed companion followed his furiously muttered statement. "Touché', my friend." Saitoh shuffled the papers on his desk into a neat pile then faced the big dark haired man. "Tell me, why you are here wrecking havoc inside my orderly Police Station this crisp morning, Seijurou-san?" Thin brows arched questioningly. "I do not think you came to duel with swords or words, did you?"
Hiko met Saitoh's yellow gaze with hard emerald gemstones that glittered with fierce intensity. "No, I did not come to duel." Large brown hands clasped across the front of his chest as he straightened his big frame up in the uncomfortable chair and locked gazes with Saitoh. "I came for information."
Saitoh reared back in surprise. "Information? What kind of information? What do you think you want to know from me?"
"I want to know exactly where my baka-deshi is, Hajime-san. I want to know where in the name of the seven hells of Shinigumi you sent him, and how I can find him. And I want to know NOW!" Those glittering emerald eyes narrowed into dangerous slits of yellow-green as Hiko favored Saitoh with a pointed glare. "And I want to know WHAT you sent him to investigate. What kind of demon's hell did you send him into and WHY?"
Despite himself and all of his years of training with the Shinsengumi and his time with the Police force, Saitoh felt a sliver of icy apprehension tickle up his spine and twine its fingers through his scalp. He could feel the burning threat emanating from the man in front of him, and it bothered him in a way he could not remember feeling before. Hajime Saitoh was seriously uncomfortable.
"How do you know I have sent Battousai anywhere?"
"Do not treat me like a baka, Hajime-san. Suffice it to say that I know. Now answer my questions before I lose my temper again and finish with you what I started with your pitiful Sergeants."
"Why is the whereabouts of you 'baka-deshi' so important to you, Seijurou-san. From your description of him, you have little respect for the Battousai, not that I blame you. After all, he did dishonor you when he become a hitokiri during the Bakumatsu, and used the Mitsurugi Ryu to murder."
"Do not tell me about my deshi, Hajime-san. I know only too well who he was and what he has done. My personal feelings for him are my own, and they are none of your fucking business, but his whereabouts ARE MINE simply because I am his senshi, and I know he is in trouble. NOW, tell me where he is!" Hiko leaned farther forward adding force to his words.
"All right. He is about one mile from here in a boarding house recuperating from the mission I sent him on." Saitoh tried to sound matter-of-fact, but there was a slight tremor to his voice as he spoke.
"His is here? In Kyoto? Now?" Hiko's voice was filled with disbelief and hope.
"Yes. He is here. He came back about a week ago. He looked like he had been through Hell itself, and I insisted he take the necessary time needed to regain his health and strength."
"What do you mean? How did he look?" Emerald eyes pinned Saitoh to his chair.
"He had lost a considerable amount of weight, and he was pale as a ghost. There was almost no strength left in him at all. He was more a shadow of himself than himself." Yellow eyes turned to look thoughtfully out the window. "Truly in all the years I have known him, and even wanted him dead, I have never seen him look like that nor did I ever believe I would. I thought he was a walking corpse." Silence followed Saitoh's words for a time, and then he spoke again. "But the most unusual thing about him, the one thing that bothered me the most was his spirit-ki."
"His ki?" Hiko's voice was now filled with definite concern. "Explain."
"I fought the Battousai during the Revolution, Seijurou-san. Blade to Blade. I have seen him fight others with his sakobatou, and I have watched him face insurmountable odds without fear or despair, and I have seen him overcome. I have sworn to kill him myself yet found myself allies with him more than once, and grudgingly I have given him my respect. Although I would never allow myself to speak these words to him, I cannot deny the truth of them either. His is a magnificent warrior and a swordsman who has few if any equals." Then Saitoh's voice dropped to a mere whisper. "However, in all of these years I have known him, I have never once seen the Battousai… afraid. Truly afraid." His voice trailed off into silence again.
"Yes," Hiko whispered sadly. "I have felt his fear too."
"His ki has been shattered by a terror neither of us can fathom, Seijruou-san." Saitoh's face became grace and pale.
"Did he tell you what happened to him?" Hiko locked eyes with the wolfish policeman setting across from him. "Did he tell you anything?"
"Yes, he told me. He told me everything that happened to him out there."
"What DID happen to him, Hajime-san? What happened to him out there? What frightened him so badly that his ki came running to me in terror all the way to the waterfalls? Tell me what happened to him?" Hiko's eyes bore into Saitoh trying to force the information out of him by shear will.
"Are you certain you are ready to know, Seijurou-san? Is your mind prepared for a horror that cannot be, but is?" Saitoh's eyes narrowed into slits of yellow-gold. "Can I trust you?"
"Trust me?" The wooden legs of the chair creaked in protest as the big man leaned too far backwards. "What the hell do you mean 'can you trust me?'? What kind of nightmare bullshit are we talking about here?"
"Nightmares?" Shrugging shoulders and raised eyebrows caused crawling sensations to run up and down Hiko's arms as he watched Saitoh contemplate his next words. "I suppose you could link it with nightmares. It certainly is the stuff which nightmares are made of." His head was nodding absently.
"OK, what are we talking about here? Things that go bump in the night? Hack and slash murders? What?" Hiko could not quite keep the amusement out of his voice as he readjusted his weight in the chair.
Saitoh caught Hiko's emerald gaze from beneath his brow. "This was going to be between Battousai and myself only because of its frightening and… unique nature. We felt the less individuals involved the less chance for information leaks and mishaps." He paused to watch Hiko's expression. "Do you understand? This is not a joke or a jest. It is not a game. This is possibly the most dangerous thing either of us will ever face or do."
All of the humor drained from Hiko as he watched the look of cold and deadly seriousness descend over the former Shinsengumi Wolf. A shiver of apprehension wiggled through him as he recalled the screaming terror of Kenshin's spirit-ki the night he had come to him at the waterfalls. "Are you telling me that whatever this is, it is not over yet?"
"Yes, that is what I am telling you. Now," The voice was cold and hard as stone. "I repeat can I trust you, Seijurou Hiko? Or do I usher out of my office with nothing but the whereabouts of your baka-deshi?" A long nearly endless silence stretched out between the two men as each thoughtfully pondered Saitoh's unanswered questions.
Hiko's voice was low and raspy when he finally spoke. "You believe him then?"
"Yes."
"All right, are we talking about mass torture and murder, or something similar?"
"No. It is much worse than that."
"Worse?" His horrified face met Saitoh's expressionless one. "What is worse than torture?"
Saitoh gave Hiko one long cold look then said one word. One single word that hung in the air like a long dead secret that should have never been spoken, and the effect it had on Hiko was confounding.
"Hyoukyo."
"Hyoukyo! That is insane! That is impossible!" The deep voice rose high on an outraged note of disbelief and filled the small room quickly with his discomfort. "That is the type of thing old hags and monk use to frighten bad boys into behaving and minding their manners. It is what ghost stories and nightmares are made of." He looked angry and confused at the same time as he tried to wrestle with the ides of demon possession being a reality in this day and age. "Stories like that are just old dusty legends and fairy tales. They are not really true… it cannot be…" He whispered into the cold room. "It simply cannot be." Suddenly his eyes grew wide with alarm as he heard himself speak the very words Saitoh had said to him only moments before. 'Devil possession?' He whispered to his shocked soul. 'Can it be?' Hiko's mind rebelled viciously at the thought, but…
His uneasy yellow-green gaze searched out the Policeman's thin face. "How is it possible, Hajime-san? How can you believe it is true?"
"I only have Battousai's word, and the strange reports I have been receiving from the north countries over the last seven or eight months." He met Hiko's horrified eyes. "I could not fault Battousai's tale. Not after seeing him the way he looked when he returned. Even after hearing the absolute insanity of what he claimed to have seen, I could not deny it must be true. I had to believe him."
Hiko's eyes closed in despair as he tried to accept the significance of what Saitoh was saying to him. "Tell me everything he told you. I want to hear all of it."
"Are you truly certain? It is terrible beyond anything you have ever heard or thought of before. "
"Yes, I want to hear ever single word, ever detail. All of it, Hajime-san. All of it."
"As you wish, but remember one thing. You asked."
*************
"Hey, Kaoru! I think this guys starting to finally come around. He blinked one eye." Yahiko peered closely at the uniformed Sareant slouching in the chair. His brown eyes were only partically glazed and he was starting to look like he may actually be alive.
Kaoru leaned over and looked at the man then tried to speak to him. "Gomennasi?" She patted his face experimentally, but recieved no response. "Hello? Sargeant whatever your name is, are you Ok?" She pursed her lips in frustation when all he did was blink at her with his one eye. "Kuso!" Yahiko stared at her in total amazement.
"Kaoru, you cursed." He said accusingly.
"I did not." She retorted in offense.
"You did too." He insisted.
"No I didn't!" She said more firmly.
"Did so!"
"Yahiko!"
"Ok, ok, so maybe you didn't." He waved his hands in the air to fend her off when she went to hit him. "But you did." He mumbled under his breath as she turned her attention back to the eye-gawking Sargeant.
"All right, Mister. I have had it with this crap. Wake up already!!" Kaoru grabbed the poor man by both shoulders and began to shake him violently. "I know Hiko-san is scarey, but he's not THAT scarey so get ahold of yourself you big whimp and SNAP OUT OF IT!!"
"Wh-w-wha-what in th-the hh-he-hell...?" Izukia could feel himself being thrown from side to side by some wild malevolent force that seemed intent on snapping his neck in half. His hands started to rise from their hanging position at his sides in an attempt to stop the vicious shaking while his brain struggled sluggishly to find any form of defense it could. "St-stop it!" He yelled loudly as he finally found a realy voice to use. "Stop it, damn you whoever you are! Stop it or I will cut you hands off!" Suddenly he was dropped by whomever had a hold of him, and his world started to settle back into a more peaceful sense of motion.
"What the hell is going on?" He muttered as his hand covered his confused pale face, and then was furiously raked through his short black hair.
"Well, it looks like you whimped out when Hiko-san came in here, blue-boy because you've been a blind staring zombie for about fifteen minutes I'd say." This amused statement was followed by a cascade of youthful laughter and sniggering snorts. "Some big brave policeman you are, and a Sargeant at that. Geez, I feel so much safer already."
"Shut-up!" Izukia looked up to find his tormentor and met a pair of light brown eyes dancing with mirth beneath a shock of unruley black hair. "Hey, you're nothing but a stupid brat. Get out of my face, brat." He yelled and shoved Yahiko out of his way as he lurched to his feet.
"Hey, don't call me stupid, Baka. You're the one who practically pissed his pants like a baby not me." Yahiko sniffed haughtily.
Izukia turned around and grabbed the younger man by the sleeve of his pale green gi and roughly yanked him bach. "Hey, you stupid brat." He sneered into Yahiko's bland and deceptively expressionless face. "You better stop showing me so much disrespect, or I will throw you in a cell and forget where I put the key. You get me? Huh, brat? Do you get ME?"
"Get your hands off of him you big jerk, or else I'm going to poung you into the ground!" Izukia heard a decidedly feminine voice threatening him from behind, and suddenly wondered just how much worse this day could possibly get.
"Look Lady," He started to say as he turned to face the unknown woman, but before he could focus on her face, he found himself soundly whacked, smacked, and swept off his feet by none other than the brat he was sure he had subdued. "KUSO!" He looked up at the two people who were now standing over him in a very threatening manner. "Just what the hell is going on here? And just who in the hell are you two anyway?"
"Well," Kaoru humphed with her hands on her hips. "If you weren't so rude and stupid, and if you did not jump to conclusions so easily, we would have told you by now." She shook her head in angry disapproval at the young policeman. "Those are not very good attributes for a commissioned Police Officer you know. Now give me your hand and I will help you up."
Izukia stared suspiciously at the offered hand then reached out and grasped it only to find out to his surprise that the young woman was quite strong. She pulled his weight up off the floor without any difficulty at all.
"Thank-you," He said as he brushed dust and dirt off his blue uniform. "I am not usually rude or impulsive, and I rarely lose my patience. I suppose the circumstance caught me by surprise."
"I am sorry, Sargeant, but that is not an acceptable excuse. An Officer representing the Kyoto Police should be prepared at all times no matter the circumstances. Lives could depend on his actions or reactions."
"Of course," He grudgingly agreed suddenly feeling as if he were being lectured by one of his Academy insturcters instead of a beautiful young woman. "I realize you are right, but it has been a difficult morning."
"I will accede you that, Sargeant. Haveing Serijurou Hiko explode into your face without warning can be quite a startling experience to say the least. Especially if you have never had the privledge of meeting him before." Kaoru smiled with knowing sympathy, but gave the police officer no further outs for his poor behavior.
Izukia smiled wanly as embarrassment settled in. "Thank-you for that, I suppose. He is quite the formidable presance isn't he."
She laughed merrily. "That is an understatement if I ever heard one." Sapphire blue eyes were filled with mischief and acceptance for the young man. "By the way, I am Kamiya Kaoru, and this is my deshi, Myojin Yahiko."
Izukia bowed respectfull and introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Kamiya-san, and you, Myojin-san. I am Sargeant Makida Izukia. I am Captain Fugita's personal assistant."
"You work for Fugita? On purpose?" Yahiko's voice was thick with sarcastic incredulity.
Izukia looked at the younger man in astonishment. "Yes, I am." He said proudly. "The Captain is a great man and highly respected within the Police Force here in Kyoto." Then he looked at Kaoru in deep confusion. "Do you know him?"
She nodded with a dour look on her face. "Yes, but I am afraid we do not share quite the same opinion of him that you have. I am sorry, Sargeant Makida, but we have dealth with Fugita-san in different circumstances than you have here in the Police Department. We meant no offense."
Izukia felt a protective anger building up in his chest. "How could anyone not respect the Captain?" He muttered under his breath as he looked at the dusty floor around his boots. "He is one of the bravest and greatest men in all of Kyoto." He looked up at his two guests and shrugged. "I have taken no offense," He said quietly to them. "But I would be curious to hear the tales one day of why you carry so little respect for such an honorable man. They would be of tremendous interest to me. I would also like to know why you speak his name with such a disrespectful and debasing tone. The Captain is a very brave and highly respected man here in Kyoto. Everyone knows his name."
A small frown creased Kaoru's otherwise smooth brow as she considered the young Sargeant's words. 'He really idolizes Saitoh.' She thought. 'We weill have to be more careful what we say around him when we talk about that damn Wolf.' To Izukia she said, "Perhaps one day, Sargeant Makida, but not now. Justify it to say that we know your Captain from a world of drastically different circumstances than these surrounding you." She tried to smile in as friendly a manner as she could in order to reassure the wounded young man. "Right now I am more interesting in the whereabouts of another man. That is why we are all here in Kyoto. To find him."
"Oh," Izukia's eyes brightened. "Tell me his name and perhaps I can help you. I am quite good at finding people in this city. It is my job, you know." A genuine smile curved his thin lips and he winked at her as he sat down behind his desk. A clean piece of white paper was pulled from one of the drawers along with ink and a quill-tipped pen. "So, tell him your friends name, and we can get started." Clear brown eyes looked directly into Kaoru's face expectantly as he waited patiently for her to speak.
Kaoru smiled indulgently in the face of his eagerness to be of help to her, but waved him off with a brush of her hand on his arm. "That is not necessary, Sargeant Makida. You see, that is what Hiko-san is doing inside of that office right now."
Izukia glanced over his shoulder at the closed door leading to Saitoh's office where Kaoru was pointing. "Is it someone the Captain knows?"
"Yes." Her voice took on a sad note reflect some of the despair she was carrying inside. "He works for your Captain occassionally. He takes on private missions of some sort or another that usually keep him away from home a few weeks, but this time he has been gone for months. I... I mean, we have all gotten very worried about him because we have not even had a letter from him since he left. He is very important to all three of us, and we are afraid he might be in some kind of trouble, and we have come all the way from Tokyo to try and find him."
"Trouble?" Izukia looked thoughful for a moment then spoke in a low gentle voice. "Tell me his name, Kamiya-san, and I just might be able to help you find him." The expression on his face turned earnest and entreating. "That is, if you are who I think you are, then he really needs you."
Kaoru's eyes grew into large rounded orbs of deep blue as she stared at the policeman in shock. "If I am who you think I am? What do you mean?" She staggered slightly and Yahiko guided her to a chair in front of the old desk. Once she was solidly seated, she turned and stared at Izukia again. "Are... are you talking about Himura Kenshin?"
"Yes, I am." A gentle smile crossed his features as he let himself really look at the woman in front of him. "I am very fond of him actually, and I am proud to call him my friend. He is a great man just like Captain Fugita. I admire him very much."
"Oh please," She whispered suddenly very close to breaking down into tears. "Do you know where we can find him? Do you know if he is all right?" Her words were anxious and filled with a multitude of emotions, and Izukia could see the great love and worry reflected in her beautiful eyes. Himura-san had told him about the girl he loved back in Tokyo once a few months ago. He had said how brave and beautiful she was, and how stubborn and argumentative she could be. It had been painfully clear to Izukia how much the man loved her and wanted to be with her, and how much it was tearing him up by being away from her.
Izukia had asked Himura-san why he had not married her after the Enishii incident had been resolved, but the older swordsman had just gotten very quiet and said something about bloody hands and refused to talk about her again.
Now here she sat right in front of him, and he could see clearly what Himura-san found so appealing about her. The incredibly beautiful girl-woman possessed the fighting spirit and demeanor of a warrior, and the knowledge to back it up. On top of all that, she was honest, straight forward, and wore her integrity like a suit of armor. The fact that she loved Himura-san with all her heart and soul was none too obvious, and the depth of emotion he could see in her dark blue eyes nearly broke his heart.
"Shhhh, calm down Kamiya-san." Izukia stood up and walked around his desk to kneel in front of Kaoru so he could gently take her cold trembling hands into his. "You must not be afraid anymore. Not now, so dry your tears and listen to me."
"What do you mean I must not be afraid now? Kenshin is out there somewhere in terrible trouble. Hiko-san is his senshi and he can 'feel' him, and we 'know' something horrible happened to him. Something unspeakable that terrifed him beyond his own sense of mental resolve. Now you tell me why I should not be afraid?"
"Because, jou-can, he is not lost out on the countryside huddled under some tree or bush, he is right here in Kyoto, and he is staying in a boarding house only a few blocks away from this very station." Izukia smiled softly and squeezed Kaoru's hands with encouragement and reassurement. "He is safe and sound, Kamiya-san."
Huge bottemless pools of astonished cobalt were filling with hope as they searched his face for proof of the truth, and Izukia thought he was going to be swallowed whole within their swirling depths.
"He... is here?" Her small voice cracked on a sob as she tried to absorb what she had just heard. "He is really here... in Kyoto?" The tears that had been threatened to fall, spilled over and slid down her smooth pale cheeks in twin rivers of disbelief and hope. "And he is alive? He is all right? He is not hurt? Makida-san? Is he all right?"
The smile on Izukia's face faltered and his eyes broke contact with Kaoru's. "Well, not completely." A sob broke through what was left of her composure, and he locked gazes with her once again and gripped her hands tighter. "He is very weak and very thin, but he is not ill. Whatever he went through out there took away more of him than it left behind."
"What are you trying to say... that Kenshin is.."
"Diminished. He is a shadow of himself, Kamiya-san. Captain Fugita describled it as having lost most of his spirit-ki. He needs much time to heal and recuperate both his body and his soul."
"Oh noooo..." Kaoru cried into her cupped hands. "Oh Kenshin... 'Oh my koishii.' "What has happened to you?" Slim narrow shoulders shook with the force of her emotions as she wept quietly lost in her own world of sorrow. "How can I help you? Kami-sama, tell me what to do to help him."
Izukia patted her shoulder carefully and gently spoke to her. "Go to him, Kamiya-san. That is what you can do, and that is what he needs most. I think he needs someone to be with him right now so he is not all alone with just himself and whatever it is that haunts him, but truthfull, I think he just needs 'you'."
Teary eyes looked wonderingly into his gentle face. "He needs me?"
"Yes, I think he loves you, and if anyone can help him regain what he has lost, it will be you." Izukia locked his brown gaze with her blue one again. "Do you love him?"
"Yes, more than anything." Her young voice was earnest.
"Then go to him. Help him by being with him. This is a time in Himura-san's life when he should not be left alone."
It seemed so simple.
"He is right Kaoru." Yahiko's soft voice sounded in her right ear and she felt his strong familiar hands on her shoulders. "If what this guy is saying is true, then Kenshin really does need you."
"Yahiko?" She was asking a question that she was not really sure of the answer, but just as he always did, the young swordsman surprised her.
"He loves you, Kaoru. Everybody knows it but you, and you love him, and everybody knows THAT except him. So go on. You gotta go. It sounds like he is in real bad shape." Kaoru turned her tear stained face to look into his younger one and found it wrinkled with concern and... love?
"Yahiko..." Reaching out with a trembling white hand, she gently touched his tanned face. "You are such a good boy. Tell Hiko-san where I have gone. Will you?"
"Sure I will." He was blushing furiously beneath her soft touch, but he did not pull away like he usually would. "I'll take care of everything. You just go, Ok. You and Kenshin belong together anyways. You always did." After saying that, he walked away from her and picked up her bag. "Here's your stuff. Sargeant, are you gonna take her to where Kenshin is? It really isn't safe for her to go alone in a strange city, you know."
Izukia's brows rose in increduality at the younger mans audacity and pitiful attempt at maturity. "Why, yes. I had thought to escort Kamiya-san to where Himura-san was staying. Is THAT to your satisfaction, Myojin-san?" His tone was laced heavily with sarcasm as he mocked the boy.
"Hey!" Yahiko whirled fiercly on the startled policeman. "Don't fuck with me where Kaoru is concerned, asshole. She's my responsibility and part of my family, so you are either taking her or you aren't. Which is it? And no more bullshit answers either or I'll split your stupid skull. Got ME?"
"He means it." Izukia heard Kaoru's barely whispered warning. "And do not doubt that he can do it too. Do not underestimate him."
"Ahhh... all right, Myojin-san. Yes, I will be taking Kamiya-san to the boarding house where Himura-san is staying."
"And you WILL make certain she reaches it safely?" The boys voice was a low growl which made Izukia take a closer look at him. A shiver ran up his spine as he noticed an eerie reddish glow burning in the young swordsman's eyes. Just like Himura-san's eyes turned that demonish amber, this boys were turning an unearthy red. Perhaps he should not take this young man so lightly after all.
"Yes, I will be certain she is safe."
"Very well. Do not make me regret trusting you... Sargeant Makida." The hinted threat clung to the fabric of Izukia's uniform all the way to the boarding house. There was something not quite right about that boy. He was not quite certain what it was, but he intended to keep his distance until he was sure he could turn his back on the kid without worrying about finding his head next to him on the floor.