Standard Disclaimers=I do not own and of the characters in Ruroni Kenshin.

Glossary: zenrei=my whole soul, sotsu=son, ka=good, sho-ji=outside door, Arigatou=thank-you, Otou-san=father Otou=father, Nani=what?, engowa=veranda, deshi=apprentice, ( ''=thoughts)



Chapter Eleven

Mother Earth's Flaming Heart

Three days. It had been three days since Yahiko had been taken from the Market place, and Kenshin was becoming more and more irritable and nervous with each passing moment.

After Soujirou's disclosure of the terrible news, he had accompanied Kenshin and Kaoru to the Police Station where they frantically informed Hajime Saitoh about Yahiko's disappearance. Saitoh had been uncustomary alarmed and had immediately sent his assistant Izukia to fetch Seijurou Hiko at once. Within only an hour, the five adults were in a deep and very worried conversation about the missing boy.

Saitoh, Hiko, and Kenshin were in agreement with Aoshi's deductions that the kidnapping was not a coincidence but a staged maneuver by the man in black. They were also in agreement that the sunrise was definitely a bad omen and heralded the coming of great evil to the city. Upon hearing Kenshin's explanation about the Autumn Moon Festival, Hiko felt that everything was somehow connected, but when Soujirou told them Aoshi's theory about Yahiko being the catalyst used to open a potentially permanent door between Earth and Hell, the three older men had all turned pale as mothers milk, and Kenshin looked as if he might faint dead away right there. Kaoru had been shocked into speechless silence and was unable to make even the slightest sound for several long moments.

In the time that had passed since then, most of the contents of Kenshin's experiences in the Taki Mountains had become known to Soujirou, Misao, and, to his deepest sorrow, Kaoru. Since that time, she had been in a state of almost constant tears, and Kenshin was pacing like a caged wolf trying to find a way out. The Onniwabanshu had been unable to come up with any information as of yet, but everyone felt with the same certainty that Yahiko was still within the city limits. If he was going to be used as a sacrifice to open a permanent door to Hell on Autumn Moon night during the festival, then the ceremony must be taking place somewhere inside the city. They had one week to find out where. One week before full moon. One week before Yahiko's life force would be used to bring the King of Hell thundering into the world of men and an apocalypse of mediaeval proportions swept across the land.

"Why haven't we heard anything yet?" Kenshin's voice was like the deep-throated growl of a rabid dog as he slammed his left fist into his right palm angrily. "There has to be someone somewhere in the bloody city that knows something. There just has to be. Why can't we find anything?" Kuso!! His fury was boiling and heated waves of anger flowed through the air of the room. "I cannot stand much more of this useless waiting."

"You yourself said we could do nothing but wait until we hear something." Koaru had been watching him wear a pathway of dullness in the smooth wooden floor for the last two hours. "You need to calm yourself, Kenshin, or you aren't going to be useful to anyone including Yahiko." He stopped pacing long enough to glare at her. "You have gotten yourself all worked up into this state and you're about to explode with the stress it's putting on you. You have got to calm down and focus."

"I am focused!" He roared. "Those animals have my son, Kaoru. I have seen what they do to the children they take, and now they have my son." Dark golden eyes alight with tortured grief and an angry determination locked with her agonized blue ones. "I cannot let that happen to him. I cannot. May my zenrei burn in the depths of Hell if I fail to save him." His voice trailed off in despair, and Kaoru moved to put her arms around his drooping shoulders.

"Do not do this, Kenshin. We will find him. We will. Someone will hear something soon I know they will." Her tears fell into the thickness of his hair where she rubbed her cheek against his. "He is my little boy too." When she said that in her tiny sad voice, Kenshin wrapped his arms around her and they stood together in their grief.

"I know, Koishii. I am sorry." He held her as she cried softly into his shoulder. "He is our sotsu. We will find him together." Her tear filled eyes looked into his questioningly. "But remember this, my love. When we find him, you will not be going with me to get him. Saitoh, Hiko, Soujirou, and I will be going, and we will bring him home, but you must stay behind." Gentle hands cupped her face. "I will not risk losing you inside of this nightmare that has become our reality. The only way I can face this is if I know you are safe and in no danger. Do you understand, Kaoru?"

She chocked back a sob and nodded. He tenderly kissed her trembling lips, and then put his arms around her and pulled her against his heart again. "I have to know you are all right, Kaoru. Then I can do this. That is the only way I can do this."

A frantic knock on the fusuma pulled them apart, and Kenshin moved quickly and opened it. On the other side stood Sergeant Izukia. He was flushed and breathing quite labouredly. It was apparent he had been running.

"Sergeant? Come in. Please come in." Kenshin stood to the side and politely waved the officer into the room. "What has brought you here to my room... and in such a rush?"

"Forgive me, Himura-san, Kamiya-san." He bowed respectfully to Kenshin and Kaoru. "But Captain Fugita has sent me to bring you both to the Police Station at once. "

"Why? What has happened?" Kenshin's voice was sharp and the younger man flinched beneath it pointed force.

"There is some news, Sir. Some news about the young man's whereabouts. It just came in this morning."

"News..??"

"News??" Kaoru's voice was anxious.

"Yes. There has been a rumor heard down around the wharves of some very strange activities going on at night, and the Captain wants the two of you to come down to the station to discuss it." Kenshin grabbed up his sakobatou and he and Kaoru left with the young Sergeant.

When they reached the Police Station, Kenshin burst into Saitoh's office without any preambles demanding to know what information he had about Yahiko.

"Calm yourself, Battousai. Your bad manners are showing." Was Saitoh's stuffy response. "I will get to that in a moment, but first I would like you to meet some very interesting people."

"People? Meet... interesting...? Siatoh, what the...?" Kenshin's voice trailed off in embarrassment as he took notice of the two men in police uniforms standing off to one side of the Captains desk. "Oh, please excuse me. I did not mean to be so rude or informal." Bowing and blushing Kenshin did his best to apologize to the officers. "Please forgive me. My good manners are suffering badly due to the stress I and mine are under these past few days. However, that does not excuse my bad manners. I am truly sorry."

"It is quite all right, Himura-san. We understand better than you know."

Kenshin's confused look centered on the men then became more confused. It was like looking at side-by-side mirrors. "You are... brothers?"

"Yes," One of them smiled and stepped forward. "Twins to be more precise. I am Miko Thian, and this is my older brother, Miko Ishida. We are from Aizu."

"Aizu?" Kenshin's brow furrowed in thought. "Why are you so far south from your home? And what do you have to do with the disappearance of my young... friend?"

"WE do not have anything to do with his disappearance, but we think we can help you in finding him and possibly getting him back before..." His handsome face grew serious.

"You know?" Kenshin looked from one brother to the other.

"Yes. Well, I do not myself personally, but my brother," he indicated the man called Ishida who had yet to speak a single word. "He has seen... many terrible things." Thian looked back at Kenshin with sad eyes. "Many believe he has lost his mind; that he has gone mad, but I believe everything he has told me. Ishida was never a weak minded man. He had the strongest will of anyone I ever knew, and whatever did this to him was indeed a terrible thing. I can do little else but believe him. I am afraid our journey here has greatly worsened his condition. His mental and emotional strengths are beginning to fail him now."

Kenshin looked carefully at Ishida and saw what had once been a very powerful man, now diminished into less than a wraith of his former self. 'This is what could have happened to me.' He thought sadly to himself as he noted the hollow frightened eyes that darted about the room forever watching, and the constant shivering of the sallow skin. 'This could have been my fate.' Slowly and with utmost care, Kenshin approached Ishida until he was close enough to touch him, then he gently laid a comforting hand on the mans twitching shoulder. Wild eyes, that should have belonged to a rabid beast and not a man, met his and held his gaze with an intensity born of primitive instinct.

"Miko-san," Kenshin let his voice take on the soothing quality of a parent with a frightened child. "Miko-san, do not be afraid. Do you know who I am?" Ishida nodded and kept contact with Kenshin's eyes. "Ka, then listen to be, my brave friend. I know what you have seen, for I have seen things like it as well." Wild brown eyes began searching Kenshin's for the truth of his words. "I have seen horrors that my soul cannot believe, but my mind must accept because my eyes have seen them. My sanity has screamed on the edge of madness, and I have stood on the cliff of despair unable to bear what I know is the truth. So believe me when I tell you that I believe you without ever hearing one word of your experience."

"You... you would believe?" The voice was a choked whisper of disbelief. "The great Battousai would believe?"

"Yes, I would believe." Kenshin gripped Ishida's other shoulder and, squeezing his eyes tightly shut, pressed his forehead against the other man's. "I have seen the depths of Hell itself, and I have looked into the face of pure Evil and I have lived. I can only imagine what you have seen, but I do know this." He forced Ishida to look him in the eye again. "You are alive, Miko Ishida. Whatever else may have happened. YOU ARE ALIVE!"

"Himura-san... " His voice remained a choked whisper. "I am a walking dead man. My time on this Earth is growing shorter every day I live. I am hunted by those who leave no footprints and cannot be seen by living men. They search for me like hounds on a blood scent, and when they find me, I will die." His voice changed to a tone of desperation. "There is something we must do. Something terrible and unthinkable, but it must be done. To save Japan and her people. To save the children it must be done." A violent shudder passed though his body. "Do you know of what I speak?"

"Yes. I do."

"You do?" His face was a caricature of despair and hope. "You know we must strike at the core of the power base. We must destroy that which manipulates all the rest. Do you see? Do you see what we have to do? Do you understand?" His eyes bore painfully into Kenshin's. "Do you know what the core of the power base is? Do you know what we have to destroy?"

"Yes, I know. I have seen that which manipulates all the rest." Kenshin's voice lowered to a sad note. " And I know we must kill her. We must kill her and stop these ceremonies before she can complete the final ritual on Autumn Moon night."

"Yes." The face visibly relaxed. "You know her then."

"Yes. I know her."

"Kami be praised. There is hope. There is hope after all." And he broke down into shuddering sobs. "Listen to me, Himura-san. There is so much more about her that you do not know. It is not just the children and the ceremonies. That is just one small part of a much more terrible and intricate plan."

"What do you mean, Miko-san? One part of the plan? What plan?"

"She is going to take over the whole country with the powers her lover is giving her."

"Her lover??" It was Kaoru's shocked voice. "What do you mean by 'her lover'? Who is her lover? And who is 'she'?"

This was the only part of Kenshin's experience that had not been relayed to Kaoru, and before anyone could stop him, Ishida blurted the information out in all its blasphemous glory.

"The Devil, dear girl. Lady Elsbeth Katsura is the Devil's whore and he is her lover, and together they are going to take over the country through that stupid idiot of a husband of hers. General Katsura Anaki, and unless we find a way to kill her before she can open that final doorway into Hell, we are all dead men. We are all dead. Dead. Dead."

**********************

Delicate nostrils twitched at the putrid smell of must and old decay that filled the air. It was dank and heavy to breath, and it made his lungs hurt. Short barky coughs erupted intermittently through out the day and night as he struggled for a full clear breath of air in a place where air was in short supply.

His muscles were weak from lack of activity, but his mind was as sharp as it had ever been, and it was in constant motion trying to figure out what was going on. He knew he was being held prisoner by some foreign man wearing strange clothes and speaking with an accent he had never heard before, but he did not know why. He could also tell from his musty dank surroundings that he was being held somewhere underground beneath an old building or something, but he did not know where. Come to think of it, he really did not know a great deal about his predicament, but he was determined to stay alert and keep his ears open. One never knew when a good piece of information was going to be dropped within earshot. So, he waited patiently. As patiently as a 12 year old can wait in the dark listening to the scurrying of rats and wondering if anyone on the outside was looking for him.

"Do you think they're worried about me?" He asked the scurrying sounds to his left. "Huummph. Of course they're worried about you, you stupid baka. They are probably all out scouring the streets looking for you right now. Why would you even ask that? It was a stupid question." A dirty hand rubbed a dirty nose.

"I guess so, but I am kind of a pain sometimes, you know. I mean, I really do give Kaoru a lot of shit when I shouldn't, and I'm always picking fights with Misao." A loud snuffing noise filled the room. "They might be glad to get rid of me." This was the thought that had kept coming to his mind over and over ever since he'd woken up and found himself in this musty black prison. Yahiko mentally punched himself in the face. "Stop it you big baby. They don't think that! Kenshin and Kaoru are looking for you, and you know it, and they're gonna find you too. So stop being such a boob and have some faith. Kenshin's never let you down and he won't now. He's gonna find you and when he does, he's gonna kick ass on that foreign piece of trash. You wait and see. He's gonna come for you. He really is." Yahiko wiped a few stray tears from his dirty face, and straightened his shoulders with determination.

A few hours later as fatigue started to take its toll on the young man, and his eyes began to droop sleepily he mumbled softly into the crook of his elbow, "Please come for me, Kenshin. Please come. I am so afraid."

****************

"You have him? You have my precious boy? Oh Raul, Raul..." Elsbeth was laughing and twirling and dancing like a little girl as joy suffused through out her body. Her wide outstretched arms made her look like a fragile windmill as she spun across the floor of the drawing. "Oh wonderful, marvelous, exquisite.... oh I'm so happy, happy, happy." And she was singing. Raul was more than pleased with himself. He had never seen the Lady this happy before. Why she was positively glowing with the emotion. "I want to see him, Raul. I want to see him now. Take me there. Take me there right now. I can't wait. Take me. Take me. Take me." She was like a little girl who could not wait to open a beautifully wrapped gift as she pleaded and coaxed him to take her to where he was keeping the boy.

"Of course, My Lady. I'll get the carriage." He swept quickly from the room and raced to harness the horses. It would not due if he were slow bringing the carriage to her after he had just made her so happy. Her wrath could be doubled when she was disappointed.

The rapid clip-clop of the matching black horses hooves on the dusty streets held a monotonous sort of comfort for Elsbeth. It always had ever since she was a child. She could set in a carriage and listen to the sound and the miles would pass in a matter of moments for her, and she always arrived at her destination feeling clean and refreshed no matter how long she had been traveling. But today she was filled with energy and high vitality. Raul assured her he had found the perfect boy for her, and she was on her way to have a look at him. The anticipation was excruciating and arousing at the same time. She could hardly wait, and found she could not set still on the seat. So, uncustomary to her usual habits of keeping the curtains and shutters closed, she was setting on the edge of the seat looking avidly out of the window at everything they drove past as if she had never seen it before.

A shrine, a clothing store, a fish market, a jewelry store, another shrine, a dojo, a rice vendor, some policemen, too many peasants, another shrine.... usually the typical scenes would bore her to madness, but she was finding humor and enjoyment in them today. Raul turned the horses and the carriage easily rounded a corner in the street. Elsbeth was admiring yet another shrine when her eyes were caught by an unmistakable shade of red that flashed off to her right. Quickly she lunged to the other side of the carriage and tore the curtains open. There her eyes beheld something she had never thought to see again. Those same eyes slowly filled with tears as the image grew smaller and smaller the farther away the carriage drove.

"Himura.... "

**************

They were all standing in front of the Police Station talking about the rumors of strange noises going on around the wharves when the carriage sped past. No one took notice of the woman who stared transfixed out of the glass window, but as the carriage disappeared down the street, Kenshin felt a strange sliver of something touch him for a moment then it was gone. He turned and let his narrowed eyes follow the carriage until he could no longer see it. He had a very strange feeling that was not the last time he would be seeing that carriage.

Thian and Ishida were taken back to the Aoiya and given a room to share. No matter how much he was reassured, Ishida would not give up his mind set that he was being hunted and there was no where he would be safe. It was difficult for the Onniwabanshu members to understand his fear of the unseen, but they did their best to accept it.

"How do we help him, Aoshi-sama?" Misao looked at Ishida with sad pitying eyes.

"I am not certain, Misao. We have no way of understanding what he fears because we cannot see it. Only he has seen it, and only when he was ill and in an altered state of mind. But he believes what he saw is real beyond all doubt; therefore, it is."

"He saw it in an altered state of mind you say?" Her forehead creased in thought. "I wonder..."

"What are you thinking, Misao?"

"Well, if what he is afraid of can only be seen when in an altered state of mind, wouldn't that mean it could exist on a different plane of consciousness from this one?"

Aoshi considered that idea for a moment. "That is a very good question. Are you asking me if it is possible for more than one living presence can exist in the same place at the same time, but at different levels of awareness?"

"I guess so. Sort of like nightmares. When you have a really bad nightmare, you swear its real until you wake up, and even then sometimes you aren't sure."

"Misao, what are you getting at?"

"Well, what if it were possible to send something really bad into somebody's dreams to kill them? You heard Sergeant Miko tell Okina that he had to share a room with his brother 'cause he could not sleep alone, and when Okina asked why, he just said he couldn't."

Aoshi looked at Miko Ishida's worn and hollowed face and saw the deep exhaustion that he wore like a heavy cloak. "He does not sleep." Aoshi's voice was stunned. "He cannot sleep." He looked at Misao in shock. "He cannot sleep alone."

"If he does, he thinks he'll die." Misao was flatly matter of fact. "Kami. Can you imagine that? Not being able to go to sleep because there is something inside your dreams waiting to kill you, and its real." She shuddered as gooseflesh raced to cover her arms and legs.

"As long as he is not alone, he is safe, but the fear never leaves him for a moment. A fate almost worse than death itself."

"What could be after him? What would scare a man like him so much that it would turn him into what he has become?"

"I do not know, Misao, but if we are right and this nemesis of his exists, then there has to be a way to stop it. There has to be a way to set him free." Both ninja sat and studied the other man where he sat huddled against one of the many trees in the courtyard. He was losing his battle. Aoshi motioned for Misao to follow him as he stood and walked over to Ishida.

"May we join you, Miko-san?" He asked very politely. Ishida jumped at the unexpected noise, but graciously waved a hand for them to join him. "Thank-you." Aoshi and Misao sat opposite the policeman.

"You wish to speak to me?" Ishida's voice was tremulous and very tired.

"Yes." Aoshi put a comforting hand on the other mans forearm. "Please do not be afraid of us. We are here as your friends. We want to help you, Miko-san."

"Help me?" An insane sounding little giggle bubbled over his lips and his hand rose to wipe a little bit of saliva off his chin that had run out of the corner of his mouth. "You cannot help me. No one can. I am damned, can you not understand that."

"I can understand that is your perspective, and I do not blame you. The things you have been through must have left very deep wounds on your soul as well as your mind. However, that does not in anyway indicate that you are damned. On the contrary, I believe I may know a way to free you from the predator that hunts you, but you must trust me."

Ishida was staring at Aoshi with wide round eyes filled with amazement. "You want me to trust you? You think you can help me? Are you insane?"

"No, I do not think so. Actually, I am usually accused of being too logical, but never insane." A faint smile curved Aoshi's lips and Misao nearly fell over in shock. "I am being very sincere, Miko-san. I truly think I can help you. Will you tell me what it is that hunts you?"

"Will you believe me, Shinomori-san, or will you scoff at me as so many others have?" Ishida's voice was filled with scorn and pain.

"There are many things in this world that man is meant to know, but there are many more he was never meant to know. What each man believes depends upon that which his soul is willing to accept as the truth. When he is confronted with a truth his soul cannot accept, yet his mind must acknowledge because it has been seen, a man becomes damaged deep within the core of himself. Himura saw a horror that stripped him of his ki and nearly stole his mind, but he had the strength to survive. You have seen something that has stripped you of your dignity and strength of mind, but just like the Battousai you have survived. Both of you have seen things no man was ever meant to see or know, and both of you have survived which is a testament to the strength of your wills." Aoshi leaned forward and locked gazes with Ishida. "You are still alive, Miko-san. Whatever hunts you has not made a meal of you yet. The blood still flows in your veins it does not stain the ground, so why do you give up? Let me help you while there is still strength and power in your body to do so. I know I can help you. Let me."

Ishida's head bent forward and he began to cry like a child. "I saw them. Do you understand, Shinomori-san. I saw them. I know what hunts me. I saw them."

"I know. Tell me what you saw."

"You cannot see them now. I cannot even see them now. The only time I saw them is when I got lost in the forests outside of Tomo and became ill with exposure. Only when I was ill could I see them. Do you see?"

"Yes. Go on."

"There are dozens of them. Perhaps hundreds. I do not know. It seemed they were everywhere I looked. In front of me, behind me, to the sides. There was nowhere to run. All I could do was stay awake and keep moving. I knew they could not touch me as long as I was awake. I do not know how I knew that but I did."

"I understand. Go on. Tell me the rest."

"They are supposed to be dead, you know, but they are not. They are not dead, but they are not alive either. A Zombie Horde of slaves they are. They march through the mountain forests and devour anyone unfortunate enough to fall asleep by their campfire, but they also obey their Mistress's bidding."

"Explain."

"She sent them after me. I spurned her when she tried to seduce me, the bitch. I opposed her husbands' unification plan for the northlands and she tried to seduce me to get control over me, but I resisted her. So in return, she cursed me with her Zombie Horde, and they will hunt me until I finally drop from exhaustion. Then they will devour me and deliver my pitiful soul up to her." He was shaking and crying as he tried to explain the source of his fears to the two ninja. "I am damned. There is no way to stop something you cannot see or touch except in your dreams."

Aoshi traded looks with a stunned but not surprised Misao. "Yes, there is a way, my friend. There is a way."

"You are insane, Shinomori-san. Nothing stops them. They are relentless. They do not fear anything. They are already dead!"

"You are wrong, Miko-san. The undead do fear one thing."

"What?" Ishida's face was full of anxious almost hysterical hope. "What? Tell me please. For I have never heard of such a thing."

"Fire." Misao spoke the single word in a calm quiet voice. "They are afraid of Fire."

"Fire?" Ishida looked painfully confused. "I don't understand."

Aoshi closed his eyes and allowed himself a deep cleansing breath. "They fear Fire because it is the only thing that can destroy that which is undestroyable. It will burn their rotted decayed flesh to ashes in but a flash of a moment."

"But how do you burn what you cannot see?" Ishida's voice filled with despair.

"Simple, my friend." Aoshi and Misao shared a rare meeting of gazes. "We go to where they are."

"You what? How in the name of the seven hells do you plan on doing that?"

"You went there in an altered state of mind when you were ill. You can also go there in the altered state of dreams, but in dreams you have little to no control. We want control. We want to go into their world on our terms not theirs."

"How are you going to do that?" Ishida was becoming more curious and less afraid.

"A very controlled dose of Opium that will alter the mind but not completely dull the senses. I think that should be quite sufficient to cross the barrier between here and there."

"That is an incredible notion. Absolutely incredible." Ishida was flabbergasted. He had never heard of anything so outrageous or ingenious. "It just might work, but there is still one question that remains unanswered." Aoshi inclined his head. "Where are you going to get the fire?" Aoshi just gave him conspiratorial glance.

"Leave the fire to me, my friend. I know where to get it from, and there will be more than enough to do the job. However, there is something I need from you, and it is going to be very difficult but necessary."

"What?"

"I need you to get some sleep. I need you to be rested before we do this. Otherwise... I do not want to lose you in there just as I am trying to help you break free. Do you understand?"

"Yes." The fear was still in Ishida's eyes, but there was something else in there with it. There was hope. "I do understand. I will try. I surely will." He stood up and turned to go find his brother but stopped. "Thank you, Shinomori-san."

"You are most welcome, Miko-san. Please rest."

They watched his retreating form until he disappeared inside his room with Thian. "Can you go and tell Himura about my idea, Misao, and see if he will come."

"Himura? Why do you need Himura?" She was perplexed by his request.

"He is the strongest source of Fire I know of. Unless you have a better idea." Aoshi's eyes twinkled at her for a moment before going back to their customary sternness. Misao was not sure she had seen that flash of gentle teasing or not, but she smiled at him anyway.

"Ok, and no, I do not have a better idea. Himura has got the hottest ki of anybody I know. If anyone can burn ass on those creeps, it would have to be him." She stood up and waved airily at Aoshi. "Be back as soon as I can," Then she ran off.

Aoshi watched her leave and noticed that she was really starting to grow up. She did not look very much like an isshi anymore. Her legs were getting longer, and the baby fat was all but gone leaving them lithe and well muscled. The once skinny boyish hips had started to broaden giving a gentle dip to her tiny waist. He was certain he could span the smallness of her tiny form with his hands. Small pert breasts were growing beneath her clothes and starting to push their way forward asking to be noticed, and he was doing just that much to his own personal consternation.

'She is still a child.' He would chide himself roughly whenever he caught himself watching her. 'You can never... You should never even think... Misao… Meditate… Misao… Solitude… Misao …. Meditate… Misao…. Concentrate… Misao… Dammit!'

***************

So few sounds reached inside the dark musty space. So few sounds accept the rustling and scratching of the rats, as they tirelessly searched for food and a nook to huddle in for warmth. The sound of raspy shallow breathing was another sound that disturbed the silence of the heavy darkness. It was steadily becoming harder and harder for the boy to breath as his supply of oxygen dwindled more each day. The man in black came only in the very early mornings and brought him food and water. Then he saw nothing until the man came back the next day, and those short visits were not enough to allow much fresh air into the small stuffy room. The boy's strength was beginning to show signs of failing, but his tremendous will could not be broken.

"Careful My Lady. Watch you step, the stairway gets very tight the closer to the bottom we get." Raul offered an arm to Elsbeth as she delicately negotiated the steep stone stairwell. They were descending into an underground maze of tunnels that was located beneath the city. Inside the tunnels there was an access to one of the old prison complexes that had been used during the early days of the Bakumatsu, but no one bothered with it anymore. Raul had found the tiny compact cells useful on many occasions, and this one was no exception. The prison had proved to be the perfect place to hide the brat where no one would ever think of looking for him.

"Is it much farther, Raul? You know how much I hate long drawn out things."

"No My Lady. It is just there around the last turn. There is a door, and then we are there."

"All right." Her eyes continued to gleam with liquid silver lights. "I can hardly wait."

Raul produced a large iron skeleton key and worked the equally large lock. The door needed a hefty shove before it opened. The old rusty hinges groaned in protest, and the heavy wood scraped and grated across the hard dirt floor. Elsbeth walked through to the inside and waited while Raul lit a torch. Then she took his offered arm and followed him down a larger tunnel for a short way until they made a sharp right. There was another door, but it did not have a lock. It opened easily with only a push. Once past, Raul led her past several small wrought iron doors that stood no taller than her shoulders, and then he stopped before one in the middle.

"We are here My Lady." A huge broken tooth smile split his swarthy face.

"Oh splendid, splendid." She danced and hopped like a little girl as she waited for him to open the lock on this very special door. "Do hurry Raul. Please, I feel as if I may faint from the anticipation."

The sound of the lock tumbling open was greeted with an excited squeal of delight. As the door opened, Elsbeth grabbed the torch from Raul and dashed inside the stuffy cramped cell.

"Where are you my darling boy?" She sang in her gayest voice. "Where are you? I am here. Come out and let me see you. Let me see you my dear shining child of promise." She swept the torch light in a wide arch around the cell until its flaming light found the crouched form of the prize she was so eagerly searching for. "There you are... " Brilliant green eyes glittered lethally as she crouched and approached the boy setting in the farthest corner.

She surveyed him closely as she closed in on him. Hair black as the blackest night, a robust and strong looking body, and, as he raised his head and met her eyes, she saw a fierce and untamed spirit reflected in his light brown ones.

Yahiko looked at the incredibly beautiful woman approaching him. She was crouched low like a cat stalking a bird, and he had the uneasiest feeling that HE was the bird she was stalking. Her hair was a dark color and it was pulled up on her head. He could see it must be very long by the way it wrapped around and around. When he met her eyes, the breath froze in his chest. They were the most terrible things he had ever seen.

Their color kept shifting from a bright glittering green to a flowing liquid silver. The colors seemed to be changing from one to the other of their own will, and they were glowing as well despite the darkness.

Fear slithered up his spine. He could feel the breath stalling inside his lungs as they refused to function. "What in the hell...." His voice was a mere croak and it was lost before it ever left his

throat. Light brown eyes filled with fear of the unknown turned a brilliant blood red, and a natural born ki shook itself to life. Protect, survive, protect, survive. The rush of adrenaline that surged through Yahiko jolted him into a state of ferocious readiness and his fear disappeared.

Bloody eyes narrowed in a vicious primitive glare. A body that had only moments before had been tired and weak was now pulsating with strength, and sliding into a protective fighting stance he raised fists gone white with rage. The young innocent face shifted and became contorted in a snarl as the sound of a warning growl oozed from the boy's throat.

Elsbeth stopped short leaving a meter of space between her and the boy. What was happening? She could feel something pushing against her. Something foreign and disturbing to her spirit. She watched warily as the boy's eyes changed from a frightened brown to an ungodly blood red. Her heart was racing as those bloody eyes narrowed dangerously and started to glow with power. Then to her further amazement, the boy rose to his feet with the gracefulness of a dancer, and assumed a practiced battle stance of an educated fighter.

Elsbeth had never felt nervous before, but this boy had a quality she had never felt in anyone before. As a growl of challenge slid out from behind a primitive wolfish snarl, she could almost feel the rage and fury washing over her in wave after wave of spiritual energy. This was wild and uncontrolled rage. This was a warrior's ki.

She had heard of such things before when she and Himura had been together. He had one of the most powerful ki's of any warrior, but she found herself wondering if it would stand up against this monstrosity that was the boy's ki. Could anyone?

"Well." She let her voice take on a purring quality. " Aren't you the energy cache of the Century, and you are all mine. Is it not splendid?" As a wicked smile curved across her beautiful red lips, she straightened to her full height.

Yahiko saw she was a very small woman, but he did not let his guard down. There was something wrong about her. Something very wrong and very dangerous. "I don't know what you're talking about, Lady, but I don't find anything about this place or you 'splendid'. In fact, I think the whole thing is bullshit."

"Really?" She watched him carefully and noticed he did not waver in gaze or stance. "Do you have any idea where you are or what is going on, Dear Boy?"

"No, not really, but that doesn't really matter. It's only a matter of time until my family finds me, and then your stupid desert boy over here is gonna get his ass kicked and you're gonna end up in jail for keeping me in here."

Elsbeth threw her head back and let her laughter fill the cell. "Oh my but you are the brazen one aren't you." Glittering green eyes reached out and held his bloody gaze. "I do not think any of that will happen my precious. You show far too much faith in a family that can never hope to find you, and a police force that are far too stupid to ever catch me."

Yahiko felt a small tremor of doubt pinch his heart, but he shoved it away roughly. "I don't care what you say, Old Hag. My family will come. I KNOW THEY WILL." His profound conviction forced her into taking an unconscious step backwards.

"You cannot know that. No one can know anything like that. There is no way anyone can find you down here, in this old prison, Precious Boy. No one knows it exists any longer."

"I don't care what you say, Lady. They will find me." Bloody eyes bore into her faltering face. "I win bitch. You lose."

"NO! No one can find you in here, you senseless Brat. No one." She whirled away from his smug face, and stomped to the door. "Oh, I almost forgot." Her face wore a look of triumph when she turned back to face him. "I never told you what was going on, did I."

Yahiko watched her approach him again feeling very uncertain. "No, you didn't."

"Well, it seems that I need you for a very special, ahh party I am planning for the night of the Moon Festival. It is very important for everyone that you are in attendance."

"What are you talking about, Lady? What do you need me there for? I don't get it?" He could feel something bad was about to happen.

"Goodness, do not be so modest. You are the guest of honor."

"ME?"

"Of course. The party would be a complete disaster without you." Her eyes were gleaming like liquid silver again, and she was beginning to resemble something very evil.

"Why?" He could feel a little of his resolve slipping.

"Because young one, I need your blood, your heart, and your soul to summon the King of Hell into this world, and you have just proven to me that you have the strength and the power to open the door between these two worlds... Forever."

"You're crazy. You can't do that."

"No…? Are you so sure?"

"I still don't care!" He yelled into her surprised face. "It will never happen. You'll never get the chance to do it. My father and brother won't let you do it. They won't let it happen. NOT EVER!"

"Your father and brother?" Tinkling laughter fell from her lips. "Do you really think two stupid human men can stop me from doing what I want to do when an entire country has been at my mercy for over seven years? You're a fool Child if you think your pitiful family will save you."

"Yeah, well they aren't just any family. We all sort of adopted each other because we didn't have our own Families. So this is no ordinary family you are fucking with bitch."

"Are you telling me these men are not even your real family?" Elsbeth was incredulous.

"So what if they aren't. What are families anyway? People caring about each other and making a life worth living together. Well, that's what we all did, and that makes them my family." He battled to remain confident in the face of her continued humor and disbelief.

"You must tell me who these outstanding figures of supreme manhood are, Precious. I would know whom I face should they happen to stumble onto my little gathering." She was mocking him and he knew it.

"You ever hear of the 'Sword of Heaven', Lady, or the ' Hitokiri Battousai?"

Elsbeth's face froze and she remained still as an icy statue for several seconds. "Whom did you say?" Her eyes had grown distant.

"You heard me. The Sword of Heaven. Seta Soujirou, and the Hitokiri Battousai. Himura Kenshin." Yahiko saw the woman's lower lip start to tremble, and her eyes were filling with tears. "Kenshin came to stay at Kamiya Kaoru's dojo two years ago. The two of them took me in off the streets. She is my sensei and started teaching me Kassin Ryuu, and he looks out for me like a Father. Seta Soujirou was once the Tenken and he was an assassin for Shishio Makoto, but he's not like that anymore. He's more like Kenshin now, and Kenshin pretty much adopted him as his son a while ago. So that makes him my brother, and you had better be sure they are looking for me, and you can be certain THEY WON'T GIVE UP UNTIL THEY FIND ME. Not ever."

A single tear slid down Elsbeth's face and dripped off her chin. She sent one tragic look at Yahiko, and then she left.

"Himura.... " Yahiko heard the pitifully whispered word and found himself in a state of confusion and worry.

"She knows Kenshin... She knows him. How can she know him?"

***************

"Did you bring the Opium with you?" Aoshi's forever-stern jade eyes bore into Saitoh.

"Of course. Do you think I would come all this way to such a... lovely abode as this, Aoshi, and not bring the required item with me?" His black boot deftly stomped on the smoking cigarette butt dropped on the ground. "Kami forbid I would have to come here twice." He offered Aoshi the small Urn he carried with a sour smile.

"Thank-you, Saitoh-san. You have been most helpful. Are you certain you will not stay and participate in the activity? We really could use all the help we can get."

"If I could, but I am afraid not. There are several urgent matters that have come up that require my attention; however, I am very concerned to know the outcome and the status of Captain Miko when you are finished. I want to know if it works." Aoshi noticed a true sense of concern radiating from the usually sarcastic and egotistical policeman.

"I will inform you right away as soon as possible."

"Thank-you. Oh, and good luck."

"Arigatou, Saitoh-san." The men exchanged bland looks, and Saitoh left the Aoiya. "One day someone may actually find out that man has a heart." Aoshi's voice was filled with derision.

"Maybe sooner than you think, Shinimoiri." Aoshi was startled to hear the sardonic voice of Kenshin's Master, Seijurou Hiko. Hiko dropped to the ground abruptly taking a seat close to Aoshi's left. "So, you guys are really planning on going through with this harebrained idea of yours."

"Yes, and actually the idea is quite sound in its theory." Aoshi's replied mattered of face.

"You really think so? You really think getting stoned is going to help you and Kenshin see these... things that are supposedly hunting that crazy cop?" Hiko had been skeptical from the first moment he heard Aoshi's plan.

"Yes, I do. If you think it is such a parody of intelligence, Hiko-san, why don't you come with us and see for yourself." Thin black brows lifted a fraction over challenging jade eyes.

"Why do you think I am here, because I suddenly became lonely for your stimulating company? I do not think so. Of course I am going to go with you and that baka-deshi of mine." Narrowed emerald eyes bore fiercely into Aoshi's jade ones. "Someone has got to make sure the two of you do not get yourselves killed."

"Then you believe Miko-san's story."

"Yes. I never said I did not believe him. I said this was a harebrained idea."

"Ah, my mistake." Aoshi would never understand this man. Arrogant and egotistical beyond belief, yet within his heart he was a deeply compassionate caring man. The combination made the man infuriatingly hard to read, even for Aoshi.

"You think every idea is harebrained if it is not yours, Master." Kenshin gracefully lowered himself into a sitting position next to Hiko. "That is one of the reasons you always think you are right." He let a mocking smile cross his face as humor danced in his violet eyes. "Besides, I think you want to go with us just so you can tell us 'I told you so' because you think it will not work."

"Perhaps, but I am also curious. What if it does work, I would hate to be the only one who was not there to see it." He smiled conceitedly. "After all, someone exceptional needs to be able to take credit for the success." All Kenshin and Aoshi could do was shake their head in mock defeat. Hiko would never change.

Before anymore-sarcastic pleasantries could be exchanged, Misao, Soujirou, and Kaoru arrived with Ishida and Thian in tow.

"It looks as if everyone who is has to be here is accounted for." Aoshi waved his hand and indicated the three men to sit down. "Misao, Kaoru, I need the two of you to remain alert and prepared to bring any one of us out of trance at once if it looks like there is trouble." The two young women nodded in understanding of his order and took seats directly to his left. "Do you know what to do?" He asked.

"I think so." Kaoru replied. "If there is trouble, we have to slap whoever it is really hard."

"Yes. Very hard. Hard enough to get his attention to focus on you and bring him back to this reality. Can you do it?" he looked hard at Misao.

"Yes." Her eyes shone bright with her determination. "I can Aoshi-sama."

"Very well." A great feeling of pride filled his heart as he looked at her brave face. She had a true fighting spirit, and the strength of will to match it. "You must be ever watchful, Misao. All of our lives could be in your hands and Kaoru-san's."

"I understand. I will not let you down. I will not let any of you down. I promise."

"We will both be here for you. All of you." Kaoru's eyes search out Kenshin's and held his gaze bravely. "We will not let any of you perish."

"Then let us begin." Aoshi opened his right hand and revealed the urn Saitoh had given him. Upon removing the lid he withdrew 10 small wooden pipes each filled with a very small amount of black opium. He handed one to each of the five men setting around him keeping one for himself. Four remained unused. "There is barely enough opium in each of these pipes to cause a shift in our conscious perception, but I hope that slight shift will be enough for all of us to reach the altered state we need to in order to do battle with Miko-san's adversaries." Misao produced matches, and each man took one. "All right my friends. May Kami-sama and the spirit of Buddha be with us in our hour of peril." The odor of sulfur filled the air as six matches were struck. Each pipe smoked to life with a bright red glowing ember as the opium caught the heat and melted. Three long draws of the sense altering smoke, and the men put their pipes down. "The time will come soon." Aoshi's voice was a drifting whisper on the afternoon breeze.

Ishida was floating through a light blue hazy world where time seemed to be slowing down, and all of his cares were drifting away. He was calm and at peace in a way he had not been since the night of General Katsura's meeting. Dark brown eyes opened and he could see that he still sat next to his brother and the young Seta-san. Their surroundings had taken on a strange water-like shifting quality, as one color seemed to bleed into another. Looking around the circle of men, he could see each of them opening their eyes to take in the altered sphere of perception they were caught up in.

"Very interesting." Hiko's voice held an odd disembodied slurred sound as he spoke. It almost felt as if he were moving and thinking in slow motion. The hand he raised in front of his face bled in and out of the surrounding scenery yet somehow remained cohesive in and of itself.

"Be mindful, My Friends. It feels like we are being watched." Aoshi's voice held the same disembodied slurring sound as Hiko's.

"I feel it as well." Kenshin rose to kneel on one knee. His sharp amber gaze burning into the shifting scenery. "We are being hunted."

"I feel them, but I cannot see them." Soujirou was kneeling next to his adopted father in a moment. "Where are they?" Blue-gray eyes scanned across the courtyard searching.

"I do not know, but they are there."

"There are many. More than I thought there would be." Aoshi sounded surprised. "How many can you perceive, Himura?"

"At least one hundred. Maybe more."

"There are more." Hiko was now kneeling at Kenshin's left his greenish-yellow eyes staring hard into the melting colors. "There are many more. Listen." The four men become exceptionally quiet while they listened intently for even the merest of whispers hanging on the breeze. Behind them Ishida was huddled close to his brother. Large brown eyes turned white with fear, frantically searched for any signs of the horrors he had seen only once before.

"Can you feel them, Thian? Can you feel their hunger?"

"I feel something, Ishida. God help me. I feel something."

Misao and Kaoru watched in shocked silence as each of the men left their place in the circle. Kenshin was the first, and then Soujirou, Aoshi, and finally Hiko followed him. The four of them were now kneeling side by side in the grass facing the shoji. The puzzled women looked at the closed doors, and then back at the four men crouched in readiness.

"What are they doing, Kaoru?" Misao was more confused now than she had been before the men smoked the pipes. "What are they waiting for?"

"I do not know. This is all very strange. Come on." Kaoru motioned for Misao to follow her, and she moved closer to where the men kneeled. She and Misao could hear some of the conversation now, and it was very disturbing. Kenshin and the others were talking about 'something being out there', and Hiko was saying there were more than one hundred of 'them'. Someone even mentioned a feeling of being hunted. Gooseflesh spread across the arms of both women as a sense of ill will descended over the courtyard. "What in the hell is going on?"

"Kaoru...?"

"Keep your eyes open, Misao. I have a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling."

Kenshin spoke directly over his shoulder without turning his head. "Thian, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Himura-san." The voice was filled with fear and despair.

"Thian, above all you must protect your brother. He is the bait that brings these beasts to us. You must keep him away from what we are doing, and you must remember something else that could be the difference between his life and his death."

"What is that?"

"YOU MUST NOT BE AFRAID. They will feed off your fear and you will be useless to him. Do you understand, Thian?" Kenshin spoke with a fierce strength trying to bolster the courage of the frightened man. "Leave the fighting to us. You take care of your brother, and no matter what you see, do not be afraid."

Then the four men rose in a single motion and stood in a solid line in front of the shoji. From beneath his flowing white cape Hiko produced three wooden torches. He handed one to Soujirou, one to Aoshi, and the last he kept for himself. Kenshin did not hold a torch. No one had seemed to think he would need one.

"Himura-otan?"

"Nani?

"I do not think they are outside the shoji." Soujirou sounded cautious.

"Are you certain? I cannot tell." His golden gaze shifted to the younger man, and saw that a change had come over him. His hair was shimmering with golden light, and his eyes were gleaming with the brilliance of a thousand stars awash in deep blue midnight sky. Kenshin caught his breath at the amazing sight. "Soujirou..." he whispered.

"They are already inside. They are with us now, but they shift with the world." He turned sharply and called for Misao. "Bring us the pipes again and relight them."

Misao ran and scooped up four of the pipes and matches. Soujirou redistributed them to his 3 comrades and instructed them to take two or three more drags of the opium smoke, and then they knelt and waited for the perception altering drug to push them further inside the alternate reality.

"Kesnhin..." Kaoru could feel the tension building inside of her lover. His eyes were becoming a deeper color of amber with each passing moment, and nervous fear was starting to tighten the muscles in her stomach as she watched the man she loved fade and the soul of the Battousai appear.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea if we stood back to back." Aoshi suggested. The other men agreed and they formed a small circle, backs to each other. "I think this might be safer. We can watch all directions at once."

"Agreed." Hiko took position on Aoshi's left. "A good plan, My Friend." Aoshi nodded in acceptance of the agreement from the more experienced man.

"They are coming," Soujirou spoke in a low sharp tone. "Prepare yourselves."

"Where are they?" Kenshin grabbed Soujirou's arm. "From which direction do they come?"

"All directions, Father. They are everywhere!" And with his usual silence, Soujirou sprang from his place, lighting his torch, and disappeared into the clearing scenery. His vanishing was immediately followed by a cacophony of terrible screams and howls of pain and rage.

"Dear God." Hiko's voice was nearly lost in the sounds. "Kami save us." His eyes shone with the colors of the spring daffodils and the blazing poisonous yellow orchid. The world around him was becoming clearer and clearer as the colors oozed back into their rightful places, and the edges of each object became more precisely defined. Suddenly he could see Soujirou, and what he saw brought a gasping cry to his lips.

Soujirou, torch in hand, was in the middle of a countless number of rotting corpses that reached out with talon tipped fingers trying to tear his flesh as he leapt and dodged nimbly out of their reach, touching the orange flame to as many of the foul creatures as he could. Their gapping mouths were filled with tiny, razor sharp daggers, and the haunting moans of unfulfilled hunger and pain became more audible as the vision cleared.

"Soujirou!" Kenshin screamed as he too became able to see through the clearing scenery. "Soujirou!" He screamed again and rushed forward on lightening feet his battle cry ricocheting off the Aoiya walls. Hiko struck his last match and lit both his torch and Aoshi's, and they followed the flaming red hair of the Battousai into the midst of a battle neither had quite expected.



Misao and Kaoru stood rooted to the ground they stood on. Shock and terror had struck them still when Soujirou had flew into the middle of the garden without their having seen him leave his place with the other 3 men. He seemed to have just appeared out of thin air, and started swinging his blazing torch even as he leapt, jumped, duck, and dodged... nothing. Then only a few moments later, Kenshin was screaming his name, and, with his unearthly battle cry, he had disappeared as well only to appear at Soujirou's side. Aoshi and Hiko quickly followed him.

"It's happening... Kaoru. Look at them. They are fighting for their lives, but what are they fighting?"

"I do not know, Misao. Look at Miko-san." She pointed at Ishida. He was huddling in his brothers' arm sobbing like a child. "Do you think he can see it? He did not take the extra opium like the others."

"I do not know. Maybe it would be better if he did not see." Kaoru met Misao's eyes for a moment.

"You could be right." Then she turned her attention back to the battle going on in the center of the Aoiya garden. It was such a strange sight. Four grown men, all accomplished warriors, were deeply engaged in a fierce battle with an enemy only they could see. From the intensity of the conflict, the enemy was formidable.



There were hundreds upon hundreds of the undead rotting corpses. It looked like they were appearing out of thin air or rising up from the ground itself. Soujirou, Hiko, and Aoshi slammed their torches into faces, bellies, backs, and crushed in bony skulls everywhere they could reach, but the Horde did not seem to decrease in number despite their valiant efforts.

Kenshin's weapon against the Horde was very different. All he had to do was touch one of the evil creatures and it exploded into flames and fell writhing and screaming to the ground. He flew through the thronging mass punching, pushing, shoving, and tearing at anything that came within reach of his hands. Flaming rotted bodies fell by the dozens before the fire of his burning wrath.

Behind them Thian held a hysterical screaming Ishida. They could not see everything as clearly as the others, but what they could see was terrifying beyond description. Thian wondered how his brother had

retained any of his sanity at all after being stalked by these rotting wraiths for so many days. He fought his own terrible fear trying to keep it locked away behind a wall of resolve and faith. Those four strong men would win the battle. He had to make himself believe that. He had to control his fear. He must protect Ishida, and the only way he could was by not being afraid. He must keep the faith. He must.

Kenshin watched as another face of rotting flesh melted into flaming ash beneath his hand. He could not understand how there could be so many of them. Where were they all coming from, and why were they not making any progress? They must have killed more than two hundred by now, and yet there were still that many left and more. He grabbed another rotted skull and felt it crush into dust in his hand while the creature itself burst into a pillar of flames. 'There has to be a way to stop them.' His mind was screaming in frustration while his burning hands seized head after rotting head crushing them into dust and leaving the body in flames. 'How do we stop this many? Kami-sama, help me! Help me!' A whirling back kick caught one of the larger creatures in the stomach, and Kenshin discovered his feet also worked as torches. 'What am I?' He mused. 'A living, breathing torch?' At the moment, he really did not care he was just very grateful that he was whatever he was.

Hiko and Aoshi were standing back to back slashing with their torches at whatever came close enough to them to burn. The supply of victims for their fires never seemed to be in short supply. Soujirou continued his leaping; dodging attack and escape technique and dozens of the foul corpses fell beneath the devastating accuracy of his torch. However, the Horde never seemed to show any signs of lessening.

Misao and Kaoru continued to stand their ground vigilantly as they watched the strangest battle either of them had ever seen. The four men before them were slashing, hacking, kicking, and striking out at a multitude of unseen enemies attacking them from all directions. For the women it was difficult to understand because they could not see what it was the men were fighting, but they were fighting for their lives.

"I hate this." Kaoru clenched and unclenched her fists in impotent frustration. "I hate feeling so useless. I should be out there fighting with Kenshin not standing here watching."

"No, you should not. Aoshi told us we needed to stay in this reality in case we had to pull one of them out of that one." Misao grabbed Kaoru's arm in an iron tight grip. "I know your worried about Himura, but you have to focus or else you are not going to be any good to him or anyone else." Her angry gaze locked with Kaoru's furious blue eyes. "So get a grip and focus, dammit. I need your help here and NOW. Got it?"

"All right fine, but you get this girly. Get your fucking hands off me or I will tear your arms off, got it?!" Misao let go of Kaoru but did not waver or flinch under the scathing glare.

"Listen Kaoru. I understand how you feel." Her eyes softened a little. "Aoshi is out there too, and I am just as scared something will happen to him as you are about Himura, but it is not going to do either one of us any good if we are at each others throats if something happens." Kaoru's head dropped and all the anger drained out of her.

"I know Misao. You are right. I do need to focus. I do need to get a grip on myself. It is just.... I... " She sounded miserable.

"I know, Kaoru. I feel the same way, but we have a job to do, so let's do it."

"Yes, let's do it. I am sorry." The two women wrapped their arms around each other for a brief comforting embrace they both needed. As they drew apart, something terrible happened.

A horrible screaming shriek split the breezy air of the Aoiya's courtyard, and Kaoru jerked around swiftly. She cried out in alarm as she watched Soujirou's body fly through the air and land with a sickening thud on the engowa. He did not move and appeared to be unconscious.

"Soujirou!" Kenshin screamed causing both women to jump in frightened surprise. "Soujirou!" He screamed again, and Kaoru watched in terrified fascination, as he seemed to be trying to move through a dense jungle that was too thick to move in, or too many enemies to get by.

"Hiko! Aoshi! Soujirou's been badly wounded." He cried. "You have got to help him. He is bleeding badly. They will be on top of him in seconds. Help him!" He yelled as his hands and feet struck empty air again and again. "Help him please. Run. RUN! RUN!" The voice rose to an urgent scream and he hunched over as if he had been over run by a multitude of the enemy.

"Kenshin!!" Kaoru could not help the cry of alarm that burst from her mouth as she watched him struggling to fight his way free. With a massive surge of upper body strength Kenshin threw his arms out wide and pushed himself into a standing position his head thrown back. A mighty roar of ki strength vibrated throughout the Aoiya as he let loose his battle cry.

Kenshin felt the power of his elementally mixed ki rise and then burn through his veins giving him a strength he had never known before, and he rose to his feet despite the weight of the creatures on his back. He threw his arms outward and his head backward and the call of the battlefield exploded from his chest. Every creature within five meters of him burst into flames and fell writhing to the ground. "Soujirou!"

Aoshi looked to where Soujirou's body had been thrown. 'I cannot get to him in time.' He thought in despair. There were too many creatures between them. It was impossible. Then an idea occurred to him.

"Misao!" She jumped in shock and whipped around to find him. "Get Seta-san. Go get him. Get him out of the way, Misao." Aoshi's voice rang strong and clear in Misao's ears. "Hurry Misao. There is not much time. He is bleeding. They will devour him in only moments. Run, Misao. RUN! RUN! RUN!" He was yelling at the top of his lungs and motioning her to move with his free hand. Misao turned in the direction Soujirou had landed and saw him laying in a heap half on half off the engowa.

"I am coming, Sou-san." She cried and sprang forward at full speed instantly. When she reached him, she grabbed him by the wrists and pulled him the rest of the way off the veranda, and dragged him across the slick grass to where she and Kaoru stood. She saw Okina suddenly running out of the main room of the Aoiya to join her there. "Gramps, Aoshi-sama says Sou-san is wounded and bleeding, but I cannot find a single wound or drop of blood anywhere. I do not understand." Her perplexed face searched the old man's eyes for an answer.

"That is because his wounds were not made in this world, Misao."

"Huh?"

"Nani?" Kaoru knelt beside Soujirou and placed her hand on his cool forehead.

"Seta-san was wounded in the alternate reality. His wounds exist over there."

"Over there?" Kaoru's voice was puzzled. "Are you saying he is bleeding, but he is bleeding over there?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying, Kamiya-san."

"Tell me something, Okina-san. If he dies while he is still in that reality, will he die here too?"

"Yes. The body cannot live without the mind and soul."

"But I do not understand? Where is the blood coming from?" Misao knelt beside Kaoru.

"His soul."

"They wounded his soul?" Kaoru whispered in amazement. "The souls blood, not the body's?"

"Yes. They are in the world of dreams. They are looking through the eyes of their souls. So if they are wounded or killed it will be the soul that is damaged not the body."

"Then we have got to find a way to wake-up Sou-san."

"Yes. We have to bring him back to this reality so he can understand the truth that he is not wounded at all."

"How do we do that, Gramps?"

"Get some cold water, Misao. Hurry, there is not much time."

Kenshin could barely make out the forms of Misao, Okina, and Kaoru. They were kneeling around the still body of his son. "Kami, please do not let it be." He ran swiftly towards the group and stopped as close as he dared come. He knew in this strange reality that his friends could hear him, but he could not hear them. That would make communication difficult, but he had to know.

"Koaru." He called out anxiously. She stood abruptly and walked toward him. Oh how he wished he could see the features of her face, and touch the smoothness of her cheek. "How is my son?" He asked looking behind her at the still form lying on the ground. "Is he alive?" She nodded her head, and he felt a rush of relief. "Will he live?" She stood still for several seconds and he started to worry. "Kaoru, will Soujirou live? Please tell me?" Fear and grief were rolling around in his stomach while he waited for her to answer. Finally she raised her arms out at her sides in a gesture of uncertainty. The grief and fear hit him equally at the same time as he realized she did not know if Soujirou would live or die. "God no.... " He whispered and he felt his eyes burning with tears. "Not my beautiful son."

In his mind he could still see everything that had happened. Soujirou was fighting just up and to his left. He could see him leaping and dodging using the techniques he had learned in his years as the Tenken. Kenshin had not been worried about Soujirou. He was too fast and too clever to ever allow himself to fall into harms way, but then the unthinkable happened.

Kenshin had seen the monstrous creature first. It had seemed to just rise up out of the ground. Then it was upon Soujirou's position before Kenshin could shout even one warning. One massive rotting hand reached out and grabbed the man by the high upper arm and shoulder while its free hand tore a deep gash into his vulnerable chest. Soujirou had screamed and his blood had spurt in huge gout into the face of the creature. It screamed and threw the limp body with its powerful arm. Kenshin had been to far away to help his son, so he ended up being an impotent observer. Now there was no way of knowing if Soujirou would live or die. "I failed him...," he whispered. "I failed him." Pale amber eyes squeezed shut and scalding hot tears ran down his cheeks. Then something happened to Kenshin. Something neither his Master nor his 'ki-brother' would ever be able to explain. Kenshin exploded.

"NO!" He screamed with a fury that colored his eyes to a deep dark golden amber. The shifting shimmering depths burned with the flames of his deepest most primitive rage, and Kaoru took an involuntary step back. "I will not accept this." His voice was the roar of a great lion. It was the cry of grief. It was the voice of vengeance. Kenshin whirling around and disappeared. He let his God-like speed carry him to the surging pulsing center of the Horde where he stopped.

"Kenshin. Get out of there! Are you insane?" Hiko screamed at his deshi when he saw him appear in the center of hundreds of the creatures. "Do you want to die? Get out of there! Kenshin!!" Then he and Aoshi watched as Kenshin's eyes began to glow. They glowed a deep rich golden color that was quickly replaced with the burning gold's and reds of living flames. "Kami..."

"Himura... What is happening to you, my brother?" Aoshi was enthralled.

Everyone watched as Kenshin raised his arms out in front of him hands with palms up. Hiko and Aoshi saw twin balls of fire form in those palms, and then Kenshin's entire body seemed to become outlined in flame.

"Come to me." He cried and the Horde started to whimper and shriek. "Come and meet your undoing. For I am the Beginning and the End. I am your Death. I am Vengeance!" And a great cry rose from his body. The fire balls shot from his hands and exploded into dozens and hundreds more raining death and destruction down on the Horde. As the roaring battle cry continued, Kenshin balled his hands into fists and pulled them back to his sides. He threw his head back and the cry increased in intensity. The creatures not caught in his fire ball attack screamed and covered their ears in pain. The fiery outline around his body grew and became brighter and the flames rose higher and higher. Then with one word the world burst into flames.

"Die!"

Kaoru, Misao, and Okina felt a rush of scorching hot wind whip past them and force them to the ground. It was like the heat inside of Hiko's pottery oven and they raised their arms to protect their eyes. Kaoru struggled to crawl over to Soujirou and kneeled over his face to protect him.

Hiko and Aoshi were blown six to seven meters away from where they had been standing. Both of them tried to push as close to the ground as they could as the great billowing wall of fire swept over the top of them. The heat was incredible. The sound was like nothing either of them had heard before. It sounded like a great roaring wind and raging sea storm put together to make one tremendous sound, and it was deafening to their ears.

Suddenly it was over. The terrible scorching wind stopped. The inferno ceased. The world became quiet. Quiet as a cemetery. This was the aftermath of the murderous burning fury of a Father's heart.



It was the beginning of the Elemental Warrior. It was the birth of Mother Earth's Flaming Heart.

The war for control of the living world was beginning. The first battle had been won, but there were many more waiting.