Standard Disclaimers…blah blah blah
Glossary: baka-deshi=stupid apprentice, koishii=dear or darling, shin-yuu=friend, sotsu=son, engowa=veranda, kun=Master, Bakumatsu=Revolution,
sho-ji=outside door, ''=thoughts
Chapter Twelve
Prayers
Air, tuned cold and crisp by an early Autumn breeze, blew gently across the heated grounds of the Aoiya courtyard and the huddled people inside of it. The silence overhanging the strangely empty battlefield had a quality of freshness about it. The entire area felt as if it had been swept clean by the hand of God because not one shred of evil ki remained in the aftermath of the horrible battle with the Zombie Horde.
Within the reality of dreams and visions Hiko and Aoshi warily uncovered their heads and looked around at the strange scene. There was not a single creature left crawling, lurking, or stalking around the Aoiya. They both rose to their knees and surveyed the damage to the alternate world. The ground was charred black from the flames, and it was still smoking and burning in many places. The trees, grass, and gardens were untouched as was the Aoiya itself, but each creature of the Horde was completely obliterated from existence.
"It would seem that Himura's ki Fire only touches that which is truly evil. Only the Horde has been destroyed. The rest of this world is untouched." Aoshi looked around at the strange patterned of destruction.
"The Horde and the ground they stood upon." Hiko's booted foot stomped out a glowing ember that was smoking near them. "If it had not been that discriminating, you and I would be part of the burnt ash being blown away by the breeze."
"Indeed. Did you ever imagine he was capable of such a thing?"
Narrow emerald eyes met inquisitive jade for a moment. "No. I never did." His answer was short and his tone told Aoshi not to pursue the subject further. Aoshi nodded in acquiescence, and the two men climbed shakily to their feet. "Where is he? Where is Kenshin?" Hiko sounded slightly worried as he scanned the scorched battle grounds for his deshi. "I do not see him anywhere. Aoshi... "
"You must not despair, Hiko-san. We will find him." They swiftly started to walk across the scorched and burning ground towards the last place they had seen the red-haired man before the fiery explosion.
Within the reality of the conscious world everyone was still reeling from the blast of heated wind. Beneath their knees and bodies the grassy ground still felt hot to the touch but it no longer felt like it would burn their skin off.
Thian pulled his unconscious brother into his arms and lifted him over his shoulders. Ishida had been thrown several meters by the ferocity of the burning winds and had struck his head on a large stone. A fair amount of blood stained the stone and his face, but he was alive. Standing up with some difficulty, Thian carried Ishida towards the small group of people and laid him down in the grass close by then looked around. He could account for everyone... except the Battousai. Where was Himura-san?
Kaoru pulled back from Soujirou and scanned his face worriedly. He was still unconscious, but now his skin was cold beneath her trembling hand. Pale eyelids looked faintly bruised against the frightening whiteness of the rest of his face. It was hard to tell if he was breathing or not.
"No. Oh please no. Do not let this happen. Not to Soujirou. Not now. Please not now." She slid her hand beneath his neck and lifted his head into her lap then started to stroke his fine hair. "Wake up Soujirou... please wake up." Sad blue eyes looked across the courtyard and saw Hiko and Aoshi stand up. She could not hear what they were saying, but they both looked concerned. Her brows knitted in puzzlement and then she saw them purposefully start walking across the yard. "Kenshin... " Her gaze flew to her far left to the last place she had seen him.
Her mind raced back to that memory. She could see him standing in the middle of the courtyard holding his arms out in front of him with his palms up. He had cried out that he was death and vengeance, and then something she could not see happened, but it was what happened afterwards that had created the blistering wind. He had thrown his head back and cried out a battle cry that was like nothing she remembered hearing before. It made the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand on end, and it had shaken the branches of all the trees and rattled all of the fusuma. She shuddered remembering the tremendous force of his powerful ki as it swept across the Aoiya and everyone in it. Her anxious blue eyes searched across the grassy yard looking for him, but the colors of his faded pink gi and blazing red hair could not be seen anywhere. Kaoru began to worry.
His mind felt frozen, and his body was heavy as stone. 'I must be dead.' He thought. 'I cannot move and it does not feel like I am breathing anymore. I must be dead.' Sadness came to him as he considered everything that was left unfinished. 'I am sorry Yahiko. I meant to come for you, my beloved son. Forgive me. Forgive me.' He moaned with the loss. 'Soujirou, my beautiful son. I failed you. I was not there to help you. Oh God, I failed you my son. Forgive me. Forgive me, my radiant son.' Tears fell from his closed eyes as his heart was seized by a grief he had never experienced. "Kaoru... " Silent sobs shook his body. 'My beautiful koishii. How will you survive now that I am gone? How much pain can you bare?' Hot tears slid over the curves of his face and dripped into his hair. 'How can I bare being separated from you? Even in death the pain is too great to endure.' "Kaoruuuu....." It was the wailing cry of a lost and desolate soul. It was the sound of ultimate grief and loss. It was the sound of hope dying.
"Kenshin?" Kaoru's keenly attuned senses picked up a faint cry clinging to the cool breeze. "Misao, did you hear that?" Her voice was anxious as she grabbed her friend's arm.
"Hear what?" Misao strained her ears listening for anything that Kaoru might have heard, but shook her head. "I am sorry, Kaoru, but I did not.... Wait!" Her pale blue eyes closed and cocked her head. The slim lithe body became completely still as she concentrated. Maybe she had heard something, but it was so quiet it was hard to tell so she put her mind into it and listened with her ninja ears. "There.... " She pointed to a far corner of the yard with a small straight finger. "I can hear something over there, but it is really faint."
Kaoru looked in the direction Misao pointed. It was to their far left and behind them in a dense grassy and weeded area of the yard that was seldom used. "There?" She pointed to the unkempt corner. "Are you sure?" Misao nodded and Kaoru carefully changed places with her so she could stand up and investigate. "Take care of him, Misao." Sad blue eyes looked at the still body of Soujirou. "Keep him warm. His skin is so cold." Then she walked away to check out the overgrown corner.
Hiko and Aoshi continued to search the courtyard in vain. There seemed to be no sign of Kenshin anywhere. No body or body parts were found anywhere near or around the burnt area. The anxiety factor of the two men was rising quickly. The fear neither of them was prepared to face yet hung in the air between them.
Kenshin had burnt up inside his own flames.
As Kaoru approached the corner of the yard Misao had pointed out to her, she began hearing strange whimpering and shuffling noises. There was also a great feeling of despair and grief that hung like a death shroud over the corner and the terrible sadness of it tore at her heart. She began to run.
She saw the flaming red of his hair first, and then the faded pink of his old gi as they peeked through the spaces in the tall grass. "Kenshin!" She was at his side in a moment kneeling next to his huddled body. He was laying on his side in a fetal position with his knees drawn up to his chest and his chin tucked down. Both of his arms were wrapped around his head as if they were trying to protect it from some danger, and he was crying. Small childlike piteous sobs that caused his body to tremble like a leaf caught in a freezing winter rain. With an agonizeing cry, she gently lifted his top arm off and smoothed some of the wet tangled hair from his cheek. "Kenshin?" She spoke his name gently like a mother to her terrified child. "Kenshin, koishii can you hear me?" Kaoru leaned over his trembling body and, rolling him over, pulled him into her arms. She cradled him against the softness of her breasts like a small child, and gently stroking his hair, she pressed his face into the comforting curve of her neck. This was worse than that first day she found him having nightmares. Much, much worse. "Kenshin, koishii I am here. Can you feel me? Do you feel me holding you, my love? I am here with you. Please feel me holding you." Her soft lips pressed tender kisses against his hair and forehead while her arms pulled him closer against her. "Please feel me."
Kenshin's mind was spinning. He could hear Kaoru's voice telling him she was here with him, and he could feel her strong arms holding him and pulling him close to her, but he could not understand how it could be true. He was dead, wasn't he? How can a dead man feel anything? He could smell the faint odors of Jasmine and the unique musky scent that was hers alone. If he was dead, how could he smell her, feel her, or hear her? Then he wondered....
The free hand laying limp in Kenshin's lap twitched and stopped. A moment later it twitched again and again. Then it rose in jerky clumsy movements until it came to rest against the side of Kaoru's neck. "Koishii....?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but Kaoru heard him, and she felt the pressure of his hand against her throat. "Koishii, are you real?" He asked in a voice that was both broken and hopeful. "Are you real or am I really dead as I fear?"
"Oh Kenshin." Kaoru lowered her arms enough that she could see his face and found it filled with grief, uncertainty, and hope. "You are not dead, my love." A tender loving hand wiped the moisture from his cheeks and smoothed the last of the stray strands of red from his beautiful violet eyes. "You are alive, Beloved, and I am here with you. I am here and so are you. We are still together." She gently kissed his forehead then rested hers against it. "You are not dead." A deep groan of relief was wrenched from him, and he sat up burying his face in her neck and cried her name. Pulling her tightly against his chest, he enfolded her in a fierce embrace.
"I love you, Kaoru." It was all he could choke past the huge lump lodged in his throat.
"I love you too, Kenshin." Kaoru wrapped her strong arms around his trembling body and held him gently rocking him back and forth trying to comfort him. Kenshin held on to her like she was his life line and he was never letting go.
Thus they sat entwined for several long moments until Kenshin drew back and rubbed his nose against hers. He put a roughly calloused but very tender hand against her smooth cheek and stroked its outline with his thumb. Her skin was soft and fragile as the petals of the freshest rose to his touch. More than once she had proved to be his savior, and his rock. She was always there for him when he needed her the most, and his love for her grew deeper even though he had not thought it possible to love her more than he already did. Kaoru was his light, his angel, and his reason for living. Kenshin tilted his head slightly and leaned down to take her mouth into his. All of the fear and grief he had felt when he thought he had died and left her alone went into that kiss as well as all of the love in his heart. Kaoru moaned softly and returned his kiss with equal emotion, and Kenshin knew that somehow he had to find a way to survive the coming battles he knew waited for him. He could not leave her here alone, and he did not want to wait until she died to be with her again. They were supposed to be together, and he was going to do everything he could to make sure it happened that way.
"He is alive, Hiko-san. Do you see, over there?" Aoshi was pointing toward the corner of the yard where he had spied Kenshin and Kaoru entwined in one another's arms. "The explosion of his own Fire must have thrown him that far." Incredible.
"Baka-deshi." Hiko muttered under his breath with barely suppressed anger. "He never could handle his own strength." However; inside of his heart Hiko was silently weeping in relief. 'He is alive. My shining boy is still alive. Thank-you Kami-sama. Thank-you for my sons life.'
Aoshi cocked an elegant black eyebrow as he sensed the conflicting emotions within the older man at his side. Hiko was obviously furious with Kenshin's overt use of his powerful ki in destroying the Horde, but there was a faint but definite string of emotional relief and gratitude that he was found safe. Was it... Fatherly releif?? Aoshi felt somewhat surprised, but kept his comments to himself. Instead he offered another observation.
"It appears the effects of the opium are wearing off. I am becoming more aware of the conscious world. Everything is starting to clear up and take on solid shape and form. What about you, Hiko-san?"
"I feel it as well. We should see about young Seta-san." The voice sounded as grave as the face looked.
"Yes, indeed you are quite right. Kamiya-san seems to have things under control with Himura."
"Indeed." Was all Hiko said before he and Aoshi moved towards the small crowd of people encircling two fallen bodies on the ground. "I do hope he is all right. I am not sure that Kenshin would be able to deal with the loss should he die because of this particular battle. They have grown quite close of late."
"Very close, Hiko-san. It would be a great tragedy for Himura to lose either one of his sons, but to lose Seta-san so soon into their new relationship just as the bonding between them had taken root could cost him his new found resolve and confidence." Both men became thoughtful over this sad idea. "It could cost him the life of his other son as well."
"Other son? You mean the boy."
"Yes. If Himura were to fall into a deep grief at this critical time, he may not have the strength he would need to complete this terrible task ahead of him and save the boy."
"And if Kenshin lost both of his sons...."
"I do not know if even Kamiya-san would be enough to console him."
"Then we just better make sure that none of that happens, Shinomori. Because I am in no mood to lose my son.... again." Hiko stomped off leaving a somewhat stunned Aoshi to follow in his wake. A ghost of a smile tugged at the ninja's usually stern mouth. So he had been right. The emotions he sensed in Hiko a few moments earlier had indeed been Fatherly. He could also tell by the angry tone those feelings were expressed in meant it was not a subject meant to be discussed or shared.... with anyone. Aoshi understood about secrets of the Heart. He had one himself, so keeping Hiko's secret quiet would be a simple enough duty. The ninja had gotten used to keeping secrets a long time ago. Especially those of his own.
"Gramps?" One of Misao's hands rose to shade her eyes against the glare of the setting afternoon Sun. "I think the Opium is wearing off. Here comes Aoshi-sama and Hiko-san, and it looks like they can see us pretty well."
Okina's old grey eyes turned and watched as the two dark haired warriors walked towards them. "Hmmm. It would seem you are right. They appear to be quite focused, and neither seems to have sustained any wounds." Turning his attention back to Soujirou, and he frowned. "I wish I could say the same for Seta-san." Misao's worried eyes slid over the pale ghostly features of one of the strongest men she had ever met. He looked so fragile and frail to her, and that did not fit with the man she knew he was.
"What can we do, Gramps? He is so cold already I do not think pouring cold water on him is going to be helpful." Okina shook his head in agreement.
"All we can do is wait, Misao. We have to wait and see if Seta-san can find his way back. We do not know how many or what sort of wounds he sustained in the battle which means we do not know what his mind believes has happened to his body." A wrinkled old hand gently touched the cold pale flesh of Soujirou's cheeks. "He does not have the coldness of death upon him yet, and we must cling to that hope and pray. As long as he still breaths and remains partially warm, there is still a chance for him to come back."
"Okina," the old man and Misao both turned to aknowledge that rough voice. "Tell me, Okina, how is Seta-san? Will he live?" The hard planes of Hiko's face were creased with genuine concern as he knelt beside the Tenken.
"I see the Opium has indeed worn off. Good. I need one of you to tell me what happened out there. I need to know what happened to Seta-san. What kind of a wound did he receive? How badly was he damaged?" An old hand thoughtfully patted Soujirou's chest.
"I think I saw him best." Aoshi knelt next to Misao accidentally brushing his thigh against hers. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her blush and look away. Confusion filled his mind. 'Why would Misao blush just because I accidentally touched her leg?' He also noticed that she was becoming nervous as she started to fidget with her hands. Aoshi was even more confused, but chose to push the matter to the back of his mind. He would think on it later when he was alone, but now he needed to explain what happened when he and his three comrades entered the alternate reality.
"First, you must understand what we faced in there. It was an enemy none of us expected to find, except perhaps Miko-san." He looked sadly at the unconscious form of Ishida. "He knew, but he did not know how to explain what he had seen. I am not certain I can either, but I will try." His face became even more serious than usual, but his eyes were not their usual stern flat jade. They glittered with a mixture of fear, astonishment, and fierce courage as he met the multitude of gazes around him. "We met in battle with a massive Horde of the undying. An army of decaying zombie corpses bent on one purpose." His voice dropped. "Reaching Miko-san."
A collective gasp was heard around the group including Thian. "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely. Even though the battle raged in all directions, each creature's ultimate pathway was leading it towards your brother, but we got in the way. We impeded their progress so they were forced to stop and fight."
"How many?" Misao's quiet but strong voice made Aoshi pull his head back up.
"Hundreds. Thousands maybe. It was hard to tell. They were everywhere, and coming from nowhere. Some of them seemed to rise out of the ground itself while others just appeared behind the failing edge of the others. They never seemed to stop, and it did not matter how many we killed. There were always hundreds of them left. It was a no-win battle. I believe we would have all been doomed if not for Himura."
"I understand, Aoshi, but tell me how Seta-san was wounded." Okina's steadying hand on the young ninja's arm seemed to give him the energy he needed to continue his description of the battle.
"Seta-san was magnificent. He was like a blazing comet the way he leapt and dodged a pathway of destruction through the Horde. Hundreds fell beneath his torch. Hundreds and hundreds of them were left screaming in flames in the wake of his speed and precision. He was the Tenken again, but his fighting ki was full of the bright gold and blue lights of the Heavens. He looked like a destroying angel." Hiko was nodding in agreement as Aoshi continued with his explaination. "I did not see how Seta-san was actually wounded. All I can tell you is about the injury I saw. When Seta-san was thrown onto the engowa, it looked as if his chest had been split open from here to here." He indicated a spot just above his heart and curving at an angle to end near his left hip. "He was covered with a great amount of blood, but I could not tell if he was still bleeding or not. If he is still unconscious, he mind must believe he is dying."
"NO!" They all jumped at that fiercely shouted word. "I will not accept that! That I will not!" Kenshin pushed his way past Okina to look into the still pale face of the Tenken. "I will not allow it." He whispered as he touched the cool flesh of Soujirou's face. "Soujirou..." Kenshin's trembling arms lifted the limp body out of Misao's lap, and brought it to his chest where he cradled Soujirou's head against his shoulder. "I will not allow you to die, my son. I refuse to lose you like this not after... Not after we finally came to an understanding within our hearts. Not after that, but how do I reach you? How do I get to where you are? Where are you, Soujirou? Where?"
Mournful violet eyes looked skyward and watched the changing shape of several fluffy white clouds as the wind passed through them. "You spoke about 'The way of the Wind'?" Arched brown eyebrows furrowed as Kenshin considered what Soujirou could have meant by that. "What is 'The way of the Wind'?" He searched his mind for any sort of a clue to this riddle that was Soujirou. "Kami-sama, please tell me, what is 'The way of the Wind'? Help me understand so I can save my son." Kenshin shut his eyes and concentrated allowing all of the anxiety and emotional upheaval to drain away from him. He reached down inside of himself and touched the sacred energy orbs that were his spirit-ki gifts from Hiko and Aoshi. Then he touched his own spirit-ki and felt the vitality of its flame burning bright and new. Earth. Water. Fire. "Wind?" His mind raced. 'Wind and air? Is that the answer?' Soujirou had been called 'The Sword of Heaven', the Tenken. His shicuchi was a speed faster that God-like speed, and it made him all but invisible when he used it. Was Soujirou's spirit-ki made up from the very essence of the Air? Was Soujirou the Wind??
Kenshin's eyes flew open in pure amazement as the answer to nearly every question and problem about this whole horrible situation came to him. Earth. Water. Fire. Wind. The four elements of Mother Earth. Each element held a specific quality of power over the other three, but certain combinations of them could also be used to compliment and enhance one another to make a greater power.
Water and Wind caused the terrible destructive force of the mighty Typhoons. Earth and Water mixed could bring about mud slides and floods of enormously devastating proportions. Fire coupled with Wind would sweep across an open field or through a community in a matter of minutes leaving behind only charred ground and death. Water and Fire created steam. Steam was being used to power the engines of Locomotives and great Ships, but it could also scorch and burn the flesh of anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. Earth and Wind created funnel storms. Like the water based Typhoons, these storms raged across dry land eating and crushing anything within reach. They picked up great amounts of earth and other pieces debris flinging it all at such a
catastrophic speed, pieces of wood had been found imbedded deep inside solid rock.
Suddenly Kenshin knew how to save Yahiko, he knew how to stop Elsbeth and her unnatural plans for Japan and her people, and he knew how to reach Soujirou within his tortured Mind. He understood. He understood everything, but he knew in order to save Soujirou he would have to give him part of his ki to light the life spark. Just like Aoshi and Hiko had given him a part of theirs to heal him, but he was also wondering about something else. When it was finished, and he brought Soujirou back, was it possible that part of that powerful Wind ki would come with him? There was only one sure way to find out.
"Aoshi, I need to know something from you, shin-yuu." The two met locked gazes. "When you and I joined minds and souls, and you gave me part of your ki to heal mine did a piece of my ki go back with you as we seperated?"
"Yes, but not as much as I gave you. Your ki was far too damaged to offer me anything very substantial. Why do you ask?"
"It took both you and my Master giving my part of your ki's to heal mine, but Soujirou's ki is not as badly damaged as that. I believe I can reach him where he is and bring him back without expending as great an effort as you did with me."
"Are you certain?" Okina leaned over and looked directly into Kenshin's face. "If you are wrong, it could be disastrous for both of you."
"I am certain. Soujirou will believe me. I am the only man alive he trusts without question. He will come back with me." Kenshin pulled the limp body of his adopted son closer to his chest and closed his eyes. Everyone around them became very quiet. Kaoru knelt next to him allowing her shoulder and hip to touch his so he would know she was there, then she closed her eyes and concentrated with him. This was their last hope of getting Soujirou back, and all their hopes and prayers rested on the strength of Kenshin's ability to reach inside the mind and soul of his adopted son. Would he be able to convince a mind frozen in death that its body was still very much alive?
Kenshin whispered a passionate and fervent prayer as he let his mind begin to clear itself of all outside thought. "Kami-sama, help me help my son. Help me have the strength and conviction to show him his body lives and breathes still. Give me the courage to battle whatever demon's lie within the memories of his mind, and grant me the power to give a living spark to his dormant soul."
******************
The journey into Seta Soujirou's mind was a glittering kaleidoscope of swirling colors and flashing images of long past memories. As Kenshin drew closer to the core of this miraculous mind, he began to understand much more about his adopted son than he had known before.
He saw Soujirou's mother die coughing and choking from a lung ailment that took her life in only a matter of days, while the man who was his father had been long dead already. He relived years and years of physical and emotional abuse by the family who were forced to take the orphaned child in. His own Uncle. He watched as a child of eight finally broke beneath the stress of the years of abuse, and slaughtered that same family on a night consumed by a violent storm. Years of education at the hands of Shisho Makoto were laid out before him in finite detail, and he understood how carefully the Tenken had been molded. He understood what it had taken to create one of the most skilled swordsmen in Japan, and then turn him into an untouchable and deadly assassin who felt neither fear nor remorse. Soujirou had been exploited. His natural abilities had been shaped and reshaped until they were the definition of perfection. Shishio's perfection. Soujirou's own life and needs had never really mattered.
Soujirou's whole life passed before Kenshin as his conscious ki molded itself around the frozen and static mind of the other man. He could feel the fear, the anger, and... grief? Soujirou did not want to die. He wanted to live. He had a reason to live and the strength of that need was what had kept him holding on to whatever tiny sliver of life he had left. Kenshin pushed gently against the cold outer wall that surrounded Soujirou's carefully protected mind. It was solid as stone, but he was determined to get through so he warmed the fire of his ki slowly and continued to push against the barrier until he felt it start to give. Then he made a small opening just big enough for him to get through.
Gently he eased himself inside the frozen cocoon of Soujiou's mind and slowly looked around with the flaming eyes of his soul. The place where in he stood appeared to be perfectly round like a sphere, and it was colored totally white. No corners, no walls, no floor. In the very center, laying on his side, rolled into a tight ball was Seta Soujirou. His body was bathed in pale blue light, and his skin looked almost translucent. He appeared dead with his hands folded over his heart, and Kenshin felt a shiver of unease crawl along his spine. "Please, do not let this be."
His feet made no sound as he slid down the curve of the sphere and approached the pale body. Kenshin knelt carefully in front of Soujirou and tenderly wiped some of the soft brown hair off the cold forehead. "So cold. So pale." Leaning down close to his adopted son's face, he began to speak softly but clearly.
"Seta Soujirou, can you hear my voice?" He traced the contours of the cold face with a warm hand. "Do you know my voice? Do you know who I am, my son?" Kenshin placed his other hand on top of the stiff folded hands on Soujirou's chest and pushed warmth slowly into his heart. "I am your Father. You are my son. My sotsu." Then with strong but gentle arms, Kenshin pulled Soujirou against the warmth of his chest and cradled the drooping head on his shoulder. "Listen to me, my beautiful son. Do you remember the day I welcomed you into my heart and made you my sotsu? Do you remember the things that I told you?" He began a slow rocking motion, and tenderly stroked the thick brownish-gold hair. "I told you I would always be there for you. I told you I would be your rock to lean upon when you were to weary to go any farther, and I am here. Lean on me. I told you I would be the shade that protects you from the heat of the Sun, and that I would help restore your strength. Here I am. Let me cover you. I told you I would be the water to quench your thirst when you felt all was lost and you could not go on, and here I am. Let me prove to you all is not lost." He lowered Soujirou's head so he could look into the pale still features.
"Hear me, Seta Soujirou, adopted son of Himura Kenshin. You are not dead. Your body lives still as does your mind and soul. Feel the heart beating inside of your chest, and the air inside of your lungs." Kenshin cupped the cold pale cheek. "Open your eyes and see me and know you have not died. You are not wounded any longer. The Horde has been utterly destroyed and the earth cleansed of their foul existence. You are safe, beloved sotsu. I swear it is true. I swear it on my honor, my life, and my love for you." He pressed a soft kiss on Soujirou's forehead. "So, please open your eyes and come back with me. The living reality of the real world waits for us. It waits for you. Trust me, Soujirou. Trust me and let me lead you home." With that Kenshin lifted Soujirou's face up to his and he placed his mouth over his sons. Closing his eyes, he concentrated with all his heart and soul and pushed the great warmth of his ki into the cold body he held in his arms. "Breath Soujirou," his mind cried. "Breath. Breath. Live. Breath. Live. Breath. Live..."
The silence inside the Aoiya courtyard had stretched into nearly an hour. Everyone was getting worried. Neither Kenshin nor Soujirou had moved a muscle in that time. Their friends only comfort was the continued even rise and fall of Kenshin's chest which indicated he was still alive and trying to help the unconscious man.
Ishida moaned and rolled onto his side. "Where... What... I..." He was completely disoriented as he tried to set up. Thian helped him regain his balance, and Ishida covered his aching eyes with his hand. "I... I.. I feel strange. Thian?" He raised his head and looked around anxiously.
"I am here, brother. Everything is all right now. Do you remember what happened?"
"I..." His face creased with confused thought. "I... The fire." Brown eyes flew open wide with memory and terror. "Dear God! All that fire. What happened, Thian? Where in the hell did all that fire come from, and why aren't any of us burnt?"
"Himura-san." Thian pointed at the intensely concentrating Kenshin. "The fire came from him. From his battle ki. I am not sure why none of us were not burned, but the fire destroyed the entire Horde. Their gone Ishida. They are completely annihilated from existence."
"Truly?" The desperate hope in his voice was unmistakable.
"Yes, they are truly gone. They can hunt you in your dreams no more. You are safe now, Ishida. You are safe." Thian hugged his brother close, and they shared a quiet prayer of thanks to God for Ishida's release from the Witches curse. Life could return to normal for him, or whatever sort of normal he could manage to rebuild after this damaging trauma to his mind and soul.
Then all at once the quiet was shattered by the horrible sound of someone trying to breath through a throat that was too dry and too constricted. Cascading raspy coughing and choking noises rose high on a shrill note sounding more like the whistle of crane than a human being. Soujirou was convulsing violently in Kenshin's arms as he struggled for air. His throat was dry and his lungs were partially collapsed from the terrible fall he had taken onto the engowa. Kaoru grabbed him by the upper arms and yanked him into a sitting position as she called for some water.
A small cup filled with water was miraculously produced from somewhere and Kaoru carefully tilted Soujirou's head back and opened his mouth enough to dribble a little of the water into it. He coughed and choked again, but managed to swallow so she dribbled a little more in. Another swallow then another. It was getting easier for him, and he was becoming more coherent. Pale white hands, that were trembling badly, rose to cover Kaoru's hands around the cup as he finished the last of the cool liquid it held. His whole body was trembling and shaking violently, and he leaned out over his knees wrapping his arms around himself. His head was dropped low.
No one spoke. No one moved. No one touched him. Many moments passed before Soujirou pulled back far enough to look at his own chest. His blue-grey eyes were wide with uncertainty as his hand touched the solid wall of muscle and bone. "No blood?" A whispered thought from a stunned and terrified brain. "No wound?" The hand pulled his light blue gi open and felt the smooth intact flesh. "How.... I..." His hand rose to cover his forehead in exhaustion. "I do not understand. How... "
"The wound was made in the world of the other reality, Soujirou. Do you remember going there using the Opium?" He nodded his head, and Kenshin continued. "You did not die. The wound is not real in this world, and you are not going to die. I would not allow it then.... My son, and I will not allow it now."
Soujirou turned swiftly around and looked at the man behind him, and he found himself captured in the emotional intensity of dark violet eyes. "You..... you came for me didn't you?" Astonishment colored his small voice. "I remember a burning heat invading my chest. It made my heart start beating again, and then it lifted my body upwards as if I were no more than a small child and forced me to leave the place I was in. I could feel it pulling me along a path of blazing golden light and flaming heat, but I was not afraid. I was not burned by the heat, and then I opened my eyes and I was here. It was you, wasn't it? You came into my mind and brought me back." His eyes were huge shining blue oceans in his face.
"Yes Soujirou. I brought you back, but I could not have if you did not already trust me with your life. You realize this don't you?" Kenshin's violet eyes were gentle and understanding in the face of the other mans bewilderment.
"Yes. I understand that. What I do not understand is why?"
"Why? Why what?"
"Why did you come? Why risk so much of yourself to come after me? It was not a sensible thing for you to do. It was too soon after your own recovery. You put yourself at great risk by giving me such a large part of your ki." Soujirou hung his head. "I do not feel worthy of such a gift. If it had damaged you in any way, I could not have been able to live with that burden."
Kenshin's gentle hands turned Soujirou around to face him. His face was stern but filled with love and protectiveness. "Listen to me, Seta Soujirou. I made you my son, and that is not a responsibility I take lightly. On the contrary, you have become a part of me. A part of my heart, a part of my soul, a part of the very fabric of my life. Look at me." Kenshin shook Soujirou's shoulders sharply until their eyes met. "You asked me why I came for you? Why I risked myself to save you? Do you truly not know, or are you simply too afraid to believe what you know is the truth?"
"I... it seems... It is difficult... I do not know..." The timidly spoken words stuttered and tumbled from Soujirou's mouth as he tried to explain his reasons. "I cannot... "
"Soujirou, my beloved and beautiful son, I love you. That is why I came for you. That is why I risked myself for you, and I would do it again and again if need be because I will forfeit my life long before I will allow you to lose yours. I will always come for you." His strong arms wrapped around the now tearful Soujirou and held him against his heart. "I will always come for you."
"I have a Father." Soujirou's tremulous voice whispered into Kenshin's shoulder as his tears wet the faded material of the old pink gi. "I truly have a Father. Thank-you blessed Kami-sama. Thank-you for answering my prayers after so long." He relaxed against the red-haired man who held him so tightly, and burrowed his face into the strong neck as he put his arms around the well muscled body. "I love you too... Father." He whispered close to Kenshin's ear. Kenshin squeezed his eyes shut as tears threatened to fall, and buried his face in his son's hair.
Kaoru listened to the emotional exchange between her lover and his adopted son, and a lump formed in her throat and tears burned her eyes. She leaned foward and wrapped her arms around both of them. "How I love both of you. I love you so much." But there was still a sadness in her heart. There was an empty place in their circle of love. There was someone missing from their family, and there was only one person that could fill that place and make the family Himura complete.
Myojin Yahiko.
***********
Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Aoshi was still awake. He was dwelling on some of the more strange events of this very odd day. His mind traveled over and touched each of the people who slept within the walls of the Aoiya that night and their significance to his life.
The members of the Onniwabanshuu and Okina. His friends and comrades for life. They were his family.
Himura and Kamiya-san It was strange to him how deeply involved in their lives he had become in the last few weeks, but it was even more strange to him that he was pleased about it. Ever since his fusion with Himura Aoshi had looked at the man with different eyes. He had gained a knowledge about the soul and spirit of the Battousai that had stunned and even pained him. They were not so different, the two of them. When he had called Himura 'brother', he had not an idea how true that really was.
Then came Kamiya-san. She was fast becoming Misao's irreplaceable companion and dearest friend. The two of them were constantly together at every opportunity that presented itself. They talked and laughed and cried about everything. Aoshi had finally been forced to see Kamiya-san as 'Kaoru', and it had been startling to him when he realized she was actually quite a beautiful woman.
Then there was Misao. Sweet, lovely, innocent Misao. Aoshi closed his eyes against the memory of watching her walk away in the ninja clothes she continued to insist on wearing. The shorts bared her long pale legs to a mid thigh, and it was becoming increasingly hard for him not to touch the smooth skin that was always so close at hand.
She was driving him insane with the confusing emotions and warring morals raging inside his heart and mind. Aoshi let himself drift back to the moment when his thigh lightly brushed hers, and she had blushed so profusely, looked away, and then started to fidget with her fingers unable to meet his glance. The scene replayed over and over in his head as he tried to figure out what had embarrassed her so badly she blushed, and got nervous sitting next to him. After all, she had known him her whole life. He was about ready to claim he had been mistaken about what he had seen when an interesting and completely destructive idea occurred to him.
'Did she act that way because she is attracted to me?' The very idea of Misao being attracted to him was tantalizing enough that Aoshi knew he would never get a wink of sleep that night, and if he did, the dreams he had would not be anything he could or would share with anyone.
' Kuso! Misao... Dammit!'
******************
Hiko had left the Aoiya after Soujirou had recovered enough to be considered out of danger. He had offered his compliments on an outstanding brilliant plan to Aoshi, then proceeded to chew Kenshin's ass for over extending his power and nearly burning up the whole fucking world. Then he said his usual grandiose 'Good-Bye's' and left without another word. Everyone assumed he was going back to his room or to the Police Station to talk to Saitoh, but he did neither. He had very recently come into possession of some very interesting information, and he needed to check it out quickly. There was almost no time left, and if he did not hurry, there would be no time left at all.
Hiko pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and checked the address written on it. His sharp gaze located his current position, and he turned north and started walking. A cold brusk breeze caught at his white cloak and whipped it wildly about him. He grabbed it cursing to himself as he wrapped it tightly around him. "Too damn cold... Just too damn cold." Checking a street sign, after nearly seven blocks, he saw he was very close to his destination. His started to look for the building. By looking at the numbers it had to be within his immediate vicinity and he should find it within minutes. He squinted into the glare of the waning afternoon Sun, and hoped it was not too late to make a social call.
It was a small cottage setting back from the road behind a larger apartment complex. It was painted white with yellow and red on the winged trim along the roof. The rice paper fusuma had been intricately designed with beautiful calligraphy images, painted roses and geisha's. Hiko felt a little bit of nervousness descend over his usually unflinching confidence. He wondered again for the five thousandth time if he should do this, or if he should just mind his own business. Straightening his broad shoulders, he gave the sho-ji a light knock and waited. Within only a second or two he heard a soft feminine voice ask who was there.
"I am looking for someone." He answered.
"Who?" The voice was close to the door now. It was a very pretty voice.
"A woman. A woman who used to live near Mibu."
"Mibu?" The door slid open a few inches and revealed a beautiful face surrounded by heavy chestnut colored hair that was hanging loose. Huge woeful brown eyes gazed at him suspiciously. "Why would you want to talk to her? That is if I know her. What is her name?"
"Well, she may not be using it anymore because of certain ties she had during the Bakumatsa, but she was known then as Takagi Tokio. She was the wife of an officer in the Shinsengumi. His name was Hijame Saitoh. He was the leader of the fourth squad of the Shinsengumi, and was known as the Mibu Wolf because of his speed and precision with a katana."
"He was also very good at killing people, or did you not discover that among his many talents when you read about him?" Her eyes were sad and she turned to walk away. "Come in if you wish. I am Takaagi Tokio. Or at least I was once a very long time ago when I still believed it was possible to be happy in this world." She indicated a place on the clean floor for him to sit. "I no longer believe that, Sir... "
"Forgive me. I am Seijorou Hiko." He bowed respectfully to her and then seated himself on the smooth floor.
"I see Seijorou-san, and tell me, are you a Samurai? I see you carry a sword. Of course, these days only the Police are allowed to carry swords unless you are a stubborn Samurai unwilling to relinquish yours." She favored him with an attractive and intelligent smile. He smiled in return. It was easy to see why Saitoh had married her. She was intelligent, sharp witted, and most likely sharp tongued as well. He also noted with an uncomfortable shift of his position, she was very beautiful in an exotic sort of way.
"I am a very stubborn Samurai, Takagi-san. I am also a Master of the Sword."
"Really," her delicate eyebrows rose mocking him gently. "And whose sword are you a Master of, Seijorou-kun?" Emerald eyes laughed as he noticed her subtle change in honorifics.
"I am the thirteenth Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu." He bowed again, and listened to a throaty laugh.
"I am sorry, Seijorou-kun, but I have never had much patience with the pride and conceit of Samurai. I do not mean to sound disrespectful of your accomplishments or your skills, but I have never been able to abide all the bowing and insensible honorifics and trying to keep track of who is more important in the hierarchy of things. It is simply all so confusing and ridiculous for me." She waved her delicate hands in the air to emphasize her issue. "I just cannot understand why all of these Samurai can not just agree they are all great swordsmen, and leave it at that and forget all the other worthless hem-haying and posturing they do? It gets so tedious, you know. Truly it does."
Hiko could no longer contain himself in the face of her blatant sarcasm and disdain, and he burst into laughter. "I gather you spent one to many evenings in boring political meetings with the Shinsengumi?"
"Endless boredom and endless bowing before pompous fat Samurai who still believed that they were the masters of the world instead of the meaningless little pawns they really were."
"I gather they did not impress you very much, Takagi-san." His eyes sparkled with suppressed humor. "I suppose I can see your point"
"No, I have never been impressed by arrogance and conceit. I never thought it was becoming to a man who was supposed to represent the Honor of our country."
Hiko was taken aback by her straight forward statement. He was also pointedly humbled in a way he had never been, to his utter disbelief, a blush of shame colored his tanned cheeks. Hiko freely admitted he was arrogant and conceited, but he had never had his Honor placed into question because of it. Did those two attributes prove to make him less the Warrior he had always believed himself to be?
"I am sorry. I seem to have upset you. If I have, that was not my intention, Seijorou-san." She tactfully changed honorifics to a lesser but still respectful title.
"It is all right I am not offended. It is just perhaps you have made me take a look at myself in a way, and I am not sure I like what I see."
"You mustn't mind me, Seijorou-san. I have gotten callous and cynical over these last 12 years since the Bakumatsu and Meigi Fires. Everything bad in the country seemed to come together that night in one
great explosion of flame, death, and destruction." Her lovely features melted into a mask of grief. "My life ended that night. I lost everything I had in this world that was worth living for."
A great hand appeared out of nowhere and grasp Hiko about the chest and squeezed all the air from his lungs. What was she talking about? What had happened the night of the Fires? Had her family died? No, according to the information he had, her family still lived in the same village she grew up in. If not her family, then what? "What did you lose, Takagi-san?" He asked in a gentle tone.
A small broken sob tumbled over her lips and she raised a hand to cover her suddenly quavering mouth. Her large brown eyes squeezed shut, but several unbidden tears escaped and slid down her pale cheeks only to drip off her chin and fall into her lap.
Hiko was shocked as he watched Tokio crumble before his eyes. He was at a complete loss as to what to do. She was in obvious pain, but he did not know how to help her. "I am sorry, Takagi-san. I did not mean to stir up such painful memories. Please forgive me." The usually smooth conceited voice sounded truly contrite as his eyes took on a lost and bewildered look.
"Oh, it is all right. You could not know how your innocently spoken words would affect me. I must not cry like this." She looked at him and tried to force a shaky smile as she wiped the wetness from her face. "Saitoh hated women's tears. He said they were a weapon women used to gain an unfair advantage over men."
Hiko chuckled gently. He could understand that statement quite well especially in light of his response to Tokio's tears just now.
"He said they were a weakness in women."
"A weakness?" Now Hiko was confused. "If he called them a weapon, how could he also call them a weakness?"
"Tears show a woman's frailties and inabilities to cope with the demands of a hard life."
Black eyebrows narrowed thoughtfully. "Like the life of a wife to a high ranking officer of the Shinsengumi, who also happened to be one of the deadliest swordsmen in Japan?"
"Yes. I had great difficulties coping with the dangers the duties of his position placed upon his life." A wistful look crossed her face. "I loved him very much, you know. I truly did. When I lost him to the Kyoto Fires, I wanted to die too, but I knew I had to keep going. Even if it was just to show him I was strong enough to cope with the hardest thing life had ever given me to bare."
Shock and astonishment registered on Hiko's sharp features. "Saitoh died in the Kyoto Fires? Is that what you think happened to him?" His voice was incredulous.
"It must be." More tears fell from her sad eyes, and she absently folded her hands in her lap. "He never came back home after that, and I never heard any news of his whereabouts from the Shinsengumi so I did not have much choice but to believe he was gone." The pale hands began to wring each other in despair. "He always came home, you see. Not very often, but he always came home. After the fires I never saw or heard of him again, and no one ever seemed to know anything about him. He was just.... gone."
"I am so sorry, Takagi-san. You could not have been married very long before this happened."
"Saitoh and I were married three years before the Bakumattsu." She sniffed and wiped her face. "Those were the happiest years of my life. Those are the memories I cling to now. The memories of Saitoh and I when we were young and in love, before he became the Mibu Wolf, before I lost him to the lure of the glory that was the Bakumatsu."
Hiko's mind was racing and stumbling over the information Tokio had just given him. She had believed for 12 years that Saitoh was dead, and had no idea that the Captain of the Kyoto Police, one Fugita Gorou was in fact her husband. Hiko was not at all sure how to proceed now. This twist of the tale was completely unexpected, and left him at a standstill wondering what to do next.
"Seijorou-san may I ask what brought you here today? Why were you looking for me?" Wide questioning brown eyes searched his face. "Is there something specific you wanted to know about my late-husband? If there is, I am afraid I will not be of much help to you. Unfortunately, I did not know very much about his life." The depth of her sadness was becoming more and more apparent with every word she spoke. She had suffered with this loss for a very long time.
"Takagi-san," Hiko began tentatively. "It was something I came to ask you about, but now it appears I am in the position to provide some answers for you. However, I find myself unsure if it is right or even a good idea to tell you what I know. I do not want to be the one to cause you more pain."
"What do you mean you have answers? Answers to what?" Her eyes narrowed. "Do you know what happened to my husband? Do you know what happened to Saitoh?!" One of her hands darted out and grabbed his wrist. "If you know anything, please tell me. I do not care what it is. Just tell me." Her gaze was urgent and pleading. "Please."
A great sigh of apprehension escaped him. "You are such a beautiful woman, Takagi-san, and you have such a strong heart and spirit. I do not want to cause you pain. You have suffered enough in the last 12 years." He squeezed her small hand. "I think we should leave this matter where it is."
"NO!" Tokio was on her knees staring Hiko right in the face. "I want to know whatever it is you know. I demand you tell me."
"Even if it is more painful than what you already believe is the truth?"
"Yes. I do not care. I just want to know what happened to him. Please tell me."
"All right, but I do not think this is a good idea." Concerned emerald eyes took in the picture of her anxious expectant face, and he prayed to Kami-sama to help him do this the right way. "Takagi-san, Saitoh did not die in the Kyoto Fires." Her eyes grew wider and more confused.
"Then where did he die?"
"He.... he is not dead." Hiko watched her closely as the knowledge of what he had just told her sunk in. Her face turned grey, her eyes lost their focus, and Tokio fainted dead away falling into Hiko's arms. "I knew it was not a good idea." He said gently as he held the limp body of his friends'Wife.
Tokio woke up a few moments later and found herself laying on her futon. Hiko had brought it out into the room where they had been talking and placed her on it. She felt a heavy fog clouding her mind and closed her eyes willing it to dissipate. One singular thought kept rolling around in her mind despite the fog. Saitoh was alive.
Hiko knelt down in front of her with a glass of water in his hands. "Are you feeling better?" Concern colored his voice. "You fainted Takagi-san."
"I did?" She could not remember fainting. "Strange. I have never fainted before." She gingerly raised up and leaned on an elbow so she could take the glass from him. The water felt good as it slid down her throat.
"I heard you say my husband is alive. Is that true?" The voice was low but firm.
"Yes. I told you that."
"Where is he?"
"Here, in Kyoto."
"Here?" Her eyes were filled with shock as well as her face. "Impossible. If the Wolf were here in Kyoto, everyone would know."
"He is no longer associated with that name. In a way, I suppose you were right when you said Hijame Saitoh died in the Kyoto Fires." Hiko helped Tokio to a sitting position. "After the end of the Bakumatsa, he became a spy for the Meiji Government's Internal Affairs Division. His cover name is Fujita Gorou."
"Gorou Fujita?". Gasping in amazement, Tokio rose shakily to her feet and walked to the sho-ji and slid it open letting in a burst of fresh air. "He is the Captain of the Police isn't he?"
"Yes. He is the same man."
"You know him, don't you?"
"Yes. We are.... friends." Hiko hovered over the word as he tried to find a way to explain he and Saitoh's relationship.
Tokio chuckled softly. "Friends.... Saitoh had few friends. No one could abide his foul temper and sarcastic personality, however; I think I can see how the two of you might get along." She favored Hiko with a mocking glance. "You are both insufferably conceited and full of yourselves, but you would also brave a raging inferno to save a child from being burnt alive. Even if it were not your child." Her eyes had a deep bottomless look about them when she locked gazes with Hiko. "Two angry snapping wolves determined to be the Leader of the pack, yet willing to hunt together for the greater good when necessary. More like brothers than either are willing to admit because the admission would indicate a level of equality, and neither will accept that. However, a deep abiding respect will always exist between them, and they would fight to the death for the safety of each others life."
Seigorou Hiko, the 13th Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu felt a deep respect forming within his heart for this unique and intelligent woman. How well she knew Saitoh, and how well she knew Him. Every thing she had said about the two of them was completely true, and he admired her for seeing them so clearly and for accepting them for what they were. Deep within a place Hiko rarely went inside of himself, he realized that this could have been a woman he would have gladly shared his life with. The sadness he felt when he was near Kenshin and Kaoru surfaced, but in a much harsher feeling. This woman or someone like her was what he had missed having in his life. It was the absence of a relationship like this that left the gapping space in his heart and soul that he could never define. Now the answer stood in front of him as a flesh and blood woman. A beautiful woman. A woman who was married to a man he called friend, and could have called brother in different circumstance. Hiko felt a heavy sadness settle within him.
"Take me to him, Seigorou-san. Take me to where he is."
"What will you do if he is no longer the Hijame Saitoh you married? What if he does not want to see you? Have you thought of that, Takagi-san?"
"Yes, I have thought of that. It does not matter. All I want is to look into his face one more time. I just want to see him for myself and know he lives. Then I can be at peace for the rest of my life." She looked at him entreatingly. "That is all I want, Seijorou-san. I do not expect anything more than that."
His long legs carried him close to her side. "Then if that is what you wish, Takagi-san, I will take you there, but not until tomarrow. We will go tomorrow."
"Tomorrow Seijorou-san." Her voice was soft but firm. "I will be ready when you come."
"I will be here by the Noon hour.... My Lady Hijame." Hiko gently squeezed her shoulders then left the small white cottage. "Tomorrow. I hope it is a good day."
Glossary: baka-deshi=stupid apprentice, koishii=dear or darling, shin-yuu=friend, sotsu=son, engowa=veranda, kun=Master, Bakumatsu=Revolution,
sho-ji=outside door, ''=thoughts
Chapter Twelve
Prayers
Air, tuned cold and crisp by an early Autumn breeze, blew gently across the heated grounds of the Aoiya courtyard and the huddled people inside of it. The silence overhanging the strangely empty battlefield had a quality of freshness about it. The entire area felt as if it had been swept clean by the hand of God because not one shred of evil ki remained in the aftermath of the horrible battle with the Zombie Horde.
Within the reality of dreams and visions Hiko and Aoshi warily uncovered their heads and looked around at the strange scene. There was not a single creature left crawling, lurking, or stalking around the Aoiya. They both rose to their knees and surveyed the damage to the alternate world. The ground was charred black from the flames, and it was still smoking and burning in many places. The trees, grass, and gardens were untouched as was the Aoiya itself, but each creature of the Horde was completely obliterated from existence.
"It would seem that Himura's ki Fire only touches that which is truly evil. Only the Horde has been destroyed. The rest of this world is untouched." Aoshi looked around at the strange patterned of destruction.
"The Horde and the ground they stood upon." Hiko's booted foot stomped out a glowing ember that was smoking near them. "If it had not been that discriminating, you and I would be part of the burnt ash being blown away by the breeze."
"Indeed. Did you ever imagine he was capable of such a thing?"
Narrow emerald eyes met inquisitive jade for a moment. "No. I never did." His answer was short and his tone told Aoshi not to pursue the subject further. Aoshi nodded in acquiescence, and the two men climbed shakily to their feet. "Where is he? Where is Kenshin?" Hiko sounded slightly worried as he scanned the scorched battle grounds for his deshi. "I do not see him anywhere. Aoshi... "
"You must not despair, Hiko-san. We will find him." They swiftly started to walk across the scorched and burning ground towards the last place they had seen the red-haired man before the fiery explosion.
Within the reality of the conscious world everyone was still reeling from the blast of heated wind. Beneath their knees and bodies the grassy ground still felt hot to the touch but it no longer felt like it would burn their skin off.
Thian pulled his unconscious brother into his arms and lifted him over his shoulders. Ishida had been thrown several meters by the ferocity of the burning winds and had struck his head on a large stone. A fair amount of blood stained the stone and his face, but he was alive. Standing up with some difficulty, Thian carried Ishida towards the small group of people and laid him down in the grass close by then looked around. He could account for everyone... except the Battousai. Where was Himura-san?
Kaoru pulled back from Soujirou and scanned his face worriedly. He was still unconscious, but now his skin was cold beneath her trembling hand. Pale eyelids looked faintly bruised against the frightening whiteness of the rest of his face. It was hard to tell if he was breathing or not.
"No. Oh please no. Do not let this happen. Not to Soujirou. Not now. Please not now." She slid her hand beneath his neck and lifted his head into her lap then started to stroke his fine hair. "Wake up Soujirou... please wake up." Sad blue eyes looked across the courtyard and saw Hiko and Aoshi stand up. She could not hear what they were saying, but they both looked concerned. Her brows knitted in puzzlement and then she saw them purposefully start walking across the yard. "Kenshin... " Her gaze flew to her far left to the last place she had seen him.
Her mind raced back to that memory. She could see him standing in the middle of the courtyard holding his arms out in front of him with his palms up. He had cried out that he was death and vengeance, and then something she could not see happened, but it was what happened afterwards that had created the blistering wind. He had thrown his head back and cried out a battle cry that was like nothing she remembered hearing before. It made the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand on end, and it had shaken the branches of all the trees and rattled all of the fusuma. She shuddered remembering the tremendous force of his powerful ki as it swept across the Aoiya and everyone in it. Her anxious blue eyes searched across the grassy yard looking for him, but the colors of his faded pink gi and blazing red hair could not be seen anywhere. Kaoru began to worry.
His mind felt frozen, and his body was heavy as stone. 'I must be dead.' He thought. 'I cannot move and it does not feel like I am breathing anymore. I must be dead.' Sadness came to him as he considered everything that was left unfinished. 'I am sorry Yahiko. I meant to come for you, my beloved son. Forgive me. Forgive me.' He moaned with the loss. 'Soujirou, my beautiful son. I failed you. I was not there to help you. Oh God, I failed you my son. Forgive me. Forgive me, my radiant son.' Tears fell from his closed eyes as his heart was seized by a grief he had never experienced. "Kaoru... " Silent sobs shook his body. 'My beautiful koishii. How will you survive now that I am gone? How much pain can you bare?' Hot tears slid over the curves of his face and dripped into his hair. 'How can I bare being separated from you? Even in death the pain is too great to endure.' "Kaoruuuu....." It was the wailing cry of a lost and desolate soul. It was the sound of ultimate grief and loss. It was the sound of hope dying.
"Kenshin?" Kaoru's keenly attuned senses picked up a faint cry clinging to the cool breeze. "Misao, did you hear that?" Her voice was anxious as she grabbed her friend's arm.
"Hear what?" Misao strained her ears listening for anything that Kaoru might have heard, but shook her head. "I am sorry, Kaoru, but I did not.... Wait!" Her pale blue eyes closed and cocked her head. The slim lithe body became completely still as she concentrated. Maybe she had heard something, but it was so quiet it was hard to tell so she put her mind into it and listened with her ninja ears. "There.... " She pointed to a far corner of the yard with a small straight finger. "I can hear something over there, but it is really faint."
Kaoru looked in the direction Misao pointed. It was to their far left and behind them in a dense grassy and weeded area of the yard that was seldom used. "There?" She pointed to the unkempt corner. "Are you sure?" Misao nodded and Kaoru carefully changed places with her so she could stand up and investigate. "Take care of him, Misao." Sad blue eyes looked at the still body of Soujirou. "Keep him warm. His skin is so cold." Then she walked away to check out the overgrown corner.
Hiko and Aoshi continued to search the courtyard in vain. There seemed to be no sign of Kenshin anywhere. No body or body parts were found anywhere near or around the burnt area. The anxiety factor of the two men was rising quickly. The fear neither of them was prepared to face yet hung in the air between them.
Kenshin had burnt up inside his own flames.
As Kaoru approached the corner of the yard Misao had pointed out to her, she began hearing strange whimpering and shuffling noises. There was also a great feeling of despair and grief that hung like a death shroud over the corner and the terrible sadness of it tore at her heart. She began to run.
She saw the flaming red of his hair first, and then the faded pink of his old gi as they peeked through the spaces in the tall grass. "Kenshin!" She was at his side in a moment kneeling next to his huddled body. He was laying on his side in a fetal position with his knees drawn up to his chest and his chin tucked down. Both of his arms were wrapped around his head as if they were trying to protect it from some danger, and he was crying. Small childlike piteous sobs that caused his body to tremble like a leaf caught in a freezing winter rain. With an agonizeing cry, she gently lifted his top arm off and smoothed some of the wet tangled hair from his cheek. "Kenshin?" She spoke his name gently like a mother to her terrified child. "Kenshin, koishii can you hear me?" Kaoru leaned over his trembling body and, rolling him over, pulled him into her arms. She cradled him against the softness of her breasts like a small child, and gently stroking his hair, she pressed his face into the comforting curve of her neck. This was worse than that first day she found him having nightmares. Much, much worse. "Kenshin, koishii I am here. Can you feel me? Do you feel me holding you, my love? I am here with you. Please feel me holding you." Her soft lips pressed tender kisses against his hair and forehead while her arms pulled him closer against her. "Please feel me."
Kenshin's mind was spinning. He could hear Kaoru's voice telling him she was here with him, and he could feel her strong arms holding him and pulling him close to her, but he could not understand how it could be true. He was dead, wasn't he? How can a dead man feel anything? He could smell the faint odors of Jasmine and the unique musky scent that was hers alone. If he was dead, how could he smell her, feel her, or hear her? Then he wondered....
The free hand laying limp in Kenshin's lap twitched and stopped. A moment later it twitched again and again. Then it rose in jerky clumsy movements until it came to rest against the side of Kaoru's neck. "Koishii....?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but Kaoru heard him, and she felt the pressure of his hand against her throat. "Koishii, are you real?" He asked in a voice that was both broken and hopeful. "Are you real or am I really dead as I fear?"
"Oh Kenshin." Kaoru lowered her arms enough that she could see his face and found it filled with grief, uncertainty, and hope. "You are not dead, my love." A tender loving hand wiped the moisture from his cheeks and smoothed the last of the stray strands of red from his beautiful violet eyes. "You are alive, Beloved, and I am here with you. I am here and so are you. We are still together." She gently kissed his forehead then rested hers against it. "You are not dead." A deep groan of relief was wrenched from him, and he sat up burying his face in her neck and cried her name. Pulling her tightly against his chest, he enfolded her in a fierce embrace.
"I love you, Kaoru." It was all he could choke past the huge lump lodged in his throat.
"I love you too, Kenshin." Kaoru wrapped her strong arms around his trembling body and held him gently rocking him back and forth trying to comfort him. Kenshin held on to her like she was his life line and he was never letting go.
Thus they sat entwined for several long moments until Kenshin drew back and rubbed his nose against hers. He put a roughly calloused but very tender hand against her smooth cheek and stroked its outline with his thumb. Her skin was soft and fragile as the petals of the freshest rose to his touch. More than once she had proved to be his savior, and his rock. She was always there for him when he needed her the most, and his love for her grew deeper even though he had not thought it possible to love her more than he already did. Kaoru was his light, his angel, and his reason for living. Kenshin tilted his head slightly and leaned down to take her mouth into his. All of the fear and grief he had felt when he thought he had died and left her alone went into that kiss as well as all of the love in his heart. Kaoru moaned softly and returned his kiss with equal emotion, and Kenshin knew that somehow he had to find a way to survive the coming battles he knew waited for him. He could not leave her here alone, and he did not want to wait until she died to be with her again. They were supposed to be together, and he was going to do everything he could to make sure it happened that way.
"He is alive, Hiko-san. Do you see, over there?" Aoshi was pointing toward the corner of the yard where he had spied Kenshin and Kaoru entwined in one another's arms. "The explosion of his own Fire must have thrown him that far." Incredible.
"Baka-deshi." Hiko muttered under his breath with barely suppressed anger. "He never could handle his own strength." However; inside of his heart Hiko was silently weeping in relief. 'He is alive. My shining boy is still alive. Thank-you Kami-sama. Thank-you for my sons life.'
Aoshi cocked an elegant black eyebrow as he sensed the conflicting emotions within the older man at his side. Hiko was obviously furious with Kenshin's overt use of his powerful ki in destroying the Horde, but there was a faint but definite string of emotional relief and gratitude that he was found safe. Was it... Fatherly releif?? Aoshi felt somewhat surprised, but kept his comments to himself. Instead he offered another observation.
"It appears the effects of the opium are wearing off. I am becoming more aware of the conscious world. Everything is starting to clear up and take on solid shape and form. What about you, Hiko-san?"
"I feel it as well. We should see about young Seta-san." The voice sounded as grave as the face looked.
"Yes, indeed you are quite right. Kamiya-san seems to have things under control with Himura."
"Indeed." Was all Hiko said before he and Aoshi moved towards the small crowd of people encircling two fallen bodies on the ground. "I do hope he is all right. I am not sure that Kenshin would be able to deal with the loss should he die because of this particular battle. They have grown quite close of late."
"Very close, Hiko-san. It would be a great tragedy for Himura to lose either one of his sons, but to lose Seta-san so soon into their new relationship just as the bonding between them had taken root could cost him his new found resolve and confidence." Both men became thoughtful over this sad idea. "It could cost him the life of his other son as well."
"Other son? You mean the boy."
"Yes. If Himura were to fall into a deep grief at this critical time, he may not have the strength he would need to complete this terrible task ahead of him and save the boy."
"And if Kenshin lost both of his sons...."
"I do not know if even Kamiya-san would be enough to console him."
"Then we just better make sure that none of that happens, Shinomori. Because I am in no mood to lose my son.... again." Hiko stomped off leaving a somewhat stunned Aoshi to follow in his wake. A ghost of a smile tugged at the ninja's usually stern mouth. So he had been right. The emotions he sensed in Hiko a few moments earlier had indeed been Fatherly. He could also tell by the angry tone those feelings were expressed in meant it was not a subject meant to be discussed or shared.... with anyone. Aoshi understood about secrets of the Heart. He had one himself, so keeping Hiko's secret quiet would be a simple enough duty. The ninja had gotten used to keeping secrets a long time ago. Especially those of his own.
"Gramps?" One of Misao's hands rose to shade her eyes against the glare of the setting afternoon Sun. "I think the Opium is wearing off. Here comes Aoshi-sama and Hiko-san, and it looks like they can see us pretty well."
Okina's old grey eyes turned and watched as the two dark haired warriors walked towards them. "Hmmm. It would seem you are right. They appear to be quite focused, and neither seems to have sustained any wounds." Turning his attention back to Soujirou, and he frowned. "I wish I could say the same for Seta-san." Misao's worried eyes slid over the pale ghostly features of one of the strongest men she had ever met. He looked so fragile and frail to her, and that did not fit with the man she knew he was.
"What can we do, Gramps? He is so cold already I do not think pouring cold water on him is going to be helpful." Okina shook his head in agreement.
"All we can do is wait, Misao. We have to wait and see if Seta-san can find his way back. We do not know how many or what sort of wounds he sustained in the battle which means we do not know what his mind believes has happened to his body." A wrinkled old hand gently touched the cold pale flesh of Soujirou's cheeks. "He does not have the coldness of death upon him yet, and we must cling to that hope and pray. As long as he still breaths and remains partially warm, there is still a chance for him to come back."
"Okina," the old man and Misao both turned to aknowledge that rough voice. "Tell me, Okina, how is Seta-san? Will he live?" The hard planes of Hiko's face were creased with genuine concern as he knelt beside the Tenken.
"I see the Opium has indeed worn off. Good. I need one of you to tell me what happened out there. I need to know what happened to Seta-san. What kind of a wound did he receive? How badly was he damaged?" An old hand thoughtfully patted Soujirou's chest.
"I think I saw him best." Aoshi knelt next to Misao accidentally brushing his thigh against hers. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her blush and look away. Confusion filled his mind. 'Why would Misao blush just because I accidentally touched her leg?' He also noticed that she was becoming nervous as she started to fidget with her hands. Aoshi was even more confused, but chose to push the matter to the back of his mind. He would think on it later when he was alone, but now he needed to explain what happened when he and his three comrades entered the alternate reality.
"First, you must understand what we faced in there. It was an enemy none of us expected to find, except perhaps Miko-san." He looked sadly at the unconscious form of Ishida. "He knew, but he did not know how to explain what he had seen. I am not certain I can either, but I will try." His face became even more serious than usual, but his eyes were not their usual stern flat jade. They glittered with a mixture of fear, astonishment, and fierce courage as he met the multitude of gazes around him. "We met in battle with a massive Horde of the undying. An army of decaying zombie corpses bent on one purpose." His voice dropped. "Reaching Miko-san."
A collective gasp was heard around the group including Thian. "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely. Even though the battle raged in all directions, each creature's ultimate pathway was leading it towards your brother, but we got in the way. We impeded their progress so they were forced to stop and fight."
"How many?" Misao's quiet but strong voice made Aoshi pull his head back up.
"Hundreds. Thousands maybe. It was hard to tell. They were everywhere, and coming from nowhere. Some of them seemed to rise out of the ground itself while others just appeared behind the failing edge of the others. They never seemed to stop, and it did not matter how many we killed. There were always hundreds of them left. It was a no-win battle. I believe we would have all been doomed if not for Himura."
"I understand, Aoshi, but tell me how Seta-san was wounded." Okina's steadying hand on the young ninja's arm seemed to give him the energy he needed to continue his description of the battle.
"Seta-san was magnificent. He was like a blazing comet the way he leapt and dodged a pathway of destruction through the Horde. Hundreds fell beneath his torch. Hundreds and hundreds of them were left screaming in flames in the wake of his speed and precision. He was the Tenken again, but his fighting ki was full of the bright gold and blue lights of the Heavens. He looked like a destroying angel." Hiko was nodding in agreement as Aoshi continued with his explaination. "I did not see how Seta-san was actually wounded. All I can tell you is about the injury I saw. When Seta-san was thrown onto the engowa, it looked as if his chest had been split open from here to here." He indicated a spot just above his heart and curving at an angle to end near his left hip. "He was covered with a great amount of blood, but I could not tell if he was still bleeding or not. If he is still unconscious, he mind must believe he is dying."
"NO!" They all jumped at that fiercely shouted word. "I will not accept that! That I will not!" Kenshin pushed his way past Okina to look into the still pale face of the Tenken. "I will not allow it." He whispered as he touched the cool flesh of Soujirou's face. "Soujirou..." Kenshin's trembling arms lifted the limp body out of Misao's lap, and brought it to his chest where he cradled Soujirou's head against his shoulder. "I will not allow you to die, my son. I refuse to lose you like this not after... Not after we finally came to an understanding within our hearts. Not after that, but how do I reach you? How do I get to where you are? Where are you, Soujirou? Where?"
Mournful violet eyes looked skyward and watched the changing shape of several fluffy white clouds as the wind passed through them. "You spoke about 'The way of the Wind'?" Arched brown eyebrows furrowed as Kenshin considered what Soujirou could have meant by that. "What is 'The way of the Wind'?" He searched his mind for any sort of a clue to this riddle that was Soujirou. "Kami-sama, please tell me, what is 'The way of the Wind'? Help me understand so I can save my son." Kenshin shut his eyes and concentrated allowing all of the anxiety and emotional upheaval to drain away from him. He reached down inside of himself and touched the sacred energy orbs that were his spirit-ki gifts from Hiko and Aoshi. Then he touched his own spirit-ki and felt the vitality of its flame burning bright and new. Earth. Water. Fire. "Wind?" His mind raced. 'Wind and air? Is that the answer?' Soujirou had been called 'The Sword of Heaven', the Tenken. His shicuchi was a speed faster that God-like speed, and it made him all but invisible when he used it. Was Soujirou's spirit-ki made up from the very essence of the Air? Was Soujirou the Wind??
Kenshin's eyes flew open in pure amazement as the answer to nearly every question and problem about this whole horrible situation came to him. Earth. Water. Fire. Wind. The four elements of Mother Earth. Each element held a specific quality of power over the other three, but certain combinations of them could also be used to compliment and enhance one another to make a greater power.
Water and Wind caused the terrible destructive force of the mighty Typhoons. Earth and Water mixed could bring about mud slides and floods of enormously devastating proportions. Fire coupled with Wind would sweep across an open field or through a community in a matter of minutes leaving behind only charred ground and death. Water and Fire created steam. Steam was being used to power the engines of Locomotives and great Ships, but it could also scorch and burn the flesh of anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. Earth and Wind created funnel storms. Like the water based Typhoons, these storms raged across dry land eating and crushing anything within reach. They picked up great amounts of earth and other pieces debris flinging it all at such a
catastrophic speed, pieces of wood had been found imbedded deep inside solid rock.
Suddenly Kenshin knew how to save Yahiko, he knew how to stop Elsbeth and her unnatural plans for Japan and her people, and he knew how to reach Soujirou within his tortured Mind. He understood. He understood everything, but he knew in order to save Soujirou he would have to give him part of his ki to light the life spark. Just like Aoshi and Hiko had given him a part of theirs to heal him, but he was also wondering about something else. When it was finished, and he brought Soujirou back, was it possible that part of that powerful Wind ki would come with him? There was only one sure way to find out.
"Aoshi, I need to know something from you, shin-yuu." The two met locked gazes. "When you and I joined minds and souls, and you gave me part of your ki to heal mine did a piece of my ki go back with you as we seperated?"
"Yes, but not as much as I gave you. Your ki was far too damaged to offer me anything very substantial. Why do you ask?"
"It took both you and my Master giving my part of your ki's to heal mine, but Soujirou's ki is not as badly damaged as that. I believe I can reach him where he is and bring him back without expending as great an effort as you did with me."
"Are you certain?" Okina leaned over and looked directly into Kenshin's face. "If you are wrong, it could be disastrous for both of you."
"I am certain. Soujirou will believe me. I am the only man alive he trusts without question. He will come back with me." Kenshin pulled the limp body of his adopted son closer to his chest and closed his eyes. Everyone around them became very quiet. Kaoru knelt next to him allowing her shoulder and hip to touch his so he would know she was there, then she closed her eyes and concentrated with him. This was their last hope of getting Soujirou back, and all their hopes and prayers rested on the strength of Kenshin's ability to reach inside the mind and soul of his adopted son. Would he be able to convince a mind frozen in death that its body was still very much alive?
Kenshin whispered a passionate and fervent prayer as he let his mind begin to clear itself of all outside thought. "Kami-sama, help me help my son. Help me have the strength and conviction to show him his body lives and breathes still. Give me the courage to battle whatever demon's lie within the memories of his mind, and grant me the power to give a living spark to his dormant soul."
******************
The journey into Seta Soujirou's mind was a glittering kaleidoscope of swirling colors and flashing images of long past memories. As Kenshin drew closer to the core of this miraculous mind, he began to understand much more about his adopted son than he had known before.
He saw Soujirou's mother die coughing and choking from a lung ailment that took her life in only a matter of days, while the man who was his father had been long dead already. He relived years and years of physical and emotional abuse by the family who were forced to take the orphaned child in. His own Uncle. He watched as a child of eight finally broke beneath the stress of the years of abuse, and slaughtered that same family on a night consumed by a violent storm. Years of education at the hands of Shisho Makoto were laid out before him in finite detail, and he understood how carefully the Tenken had been molded. He understood what it had taken to create one of the most skilled swordsmen in Japan, and then turn him into an untouchable and deadly assassin who felt neither fear nor remorse. Soujirou had been exploited. His natural abilities had been shaped and reshaped until they were the definition of perfection. Shishio's perfection. Soujirou's own life and needs had never really mattered.
Soujirou's whole life passed before Kenshin as his conscious ki molded itself around the frozen and static mind of the other man. He could feel the fear, the anger, and... grief? Soujirou did not want to die. He wanted to live. He had a reason to live and the strength of that need was what had kept him holding on to whatever tiny sliver of life he had left. Kenshin pushed gently against the cold outer wall that surrounded Soujirou's carefully protected mind. It was solid as stone, but he was determined to get through so he warmed the fire of his ki slowly and continued to push against the barrier until he felt it start to give. Then he made a small opening just big enough for him to get through.
Gently he eased himself inside the frozen cocoon of Soujiou's mind and slowly looked around with the flaming eyes of his soul. The place where in he stood appeared to be perfectly round like a sphere, and it was colored totally white. No corners, no walls, no floor. In the very center, laying on his side, rolled into a tight ball was Seta Soujirou. His body was bathed in pale blue light, and his skin looked almost translucent. He appeared dead with his hands folded over his heart, and Kenshin felt a shiver of unease crawl along his spine. "Please, do not let this be."
His feet made no sound as he slid down the curve of the sphere and approached the pale body. Kenshin knelt carefully in front of Soujirou and tenderly wiped some of the soft brown hair off the cold forehead. "So cold. So pale." Leaning down close to his adopted son's face, he began to speak softly but clearly.
"Seta Soujirou, can you hear my voice?" He traced the contours of the cold face with a warm hand. "Do you know my voice? Do you know who I am, my son?" Kenshin placed his other hand on top of the stiff folded hands on Soujirou's chest and pushed warmth slowly into his heart. "I am your Father. You are my son. My sotsu." Then with strong but gentle arms, Kenshin pulled Soujirou against the warmth of his chest and cradled the drooping head on his shoulder. "Listen to me, my beautiful son. Do you remember the day I welcomed you into my heart and made you my sotsu? Do you remember the things that I told you?" He began a slow rocking motion, and tenderly stroked the thick brownish-gold hair. "I told you I would always be there for you. I told you I would be your rock to lean upon when you were to weary to go any farther, and I am here. Lean on me. I told you I would be the shade that protects you from the heat of the Sun, and that I would help restore your strength. Here I am. Let me cover you. I told you I would be the water to quench your thirst when you felt all was lost and you could not go on, and here I am. Let me prove to you all is not lost." He lowered Soujirou's head so he could look into the pale still features.
"Hear me, Seta Soujirou, adopted son of Himura Kenshin. You are not dead. Your body lives still as does your mind and soul. Feel the heart beating inside of your chest, and the air inside of your lungs." Kenshin cupped the cold pale cheek. "Open your eyes and see me and know you have not died. You are not wounded any longer. The Horde has been utterly destroyed and the earth cleansed of their foul existence. You are safe, beloved sotsu. I swear it is true. I swear it on my honor, my life, and my love for you." He pressed a soft kiss on Soujirou's forehead. "So, please open your eyes and come back with me. The living reality of the real world waits for us. It waits for you. Trust me, Soujirou. Trust me and let me lead you home." With that Kenshin lifted Soujirou's face up to his and he placed his mouth over his sons. Closing his eyes, he concentrated with all his heart and soul and pushed the great warmth of his ki into the cold body he held in his arms. "Breath Soujirou," his mind cried. "Breath. Breath. Live. Breath. Live. Breath. Live..."
The silence inside the Aoiya courtyard had stretched into nearly an hour. Everyone was getting worried. Neither Kenshin nor Soujirou had moved a muscle in that time. Their friends only comfort was the continued even rise and fall of Kenshin's chest which indicated he was still alive and trying to help the unconscious man.
Ishida moaned and rolled onto his side. "Where... What... I..." He was completely disoriented as he tried to set up. Thian helped him regain his balance, and Ishida covered his aching eyes with his hand. "I... I.. I feel strange. Thian?" He raised his head and looked around anxiously.
"I am here, brother. Everything is all right now. Do you remember what happened?"
"I..." His face creased with confused thought. "I... The fire." Brown eyes flew open wide with memory and terror. "Dear God! All that fire. What happened, Thian? Where in the hell did all that fire come from, and why aren't any of us burnt?"
"Himura-san." Thian pointed at the intensely concentrating Kenshin. "The fire came from him. From his battle ki. I am not sure why none of us were not burned, but the fire destroyed the entire Horde. Their gone Ishida. They are completely annihilated from existence."
"Truly?" The desperate hope in his voice was unmistakable.
"Yes, they are truly gone. They can hunt you in your dreams no more. You are safe now, Ishida. You are safe." Thian hugged his brother close, and they shared a quiet prayer of thanks to God for Ishida's release from the Witches curse. Life could return to normal for him, or whatever sort of normal he could manage to rebuild after this damaging trauma to his mind and soul.
Then all at once the quiet was shattered by the horrible sound of someone trying to breath through a throat that was too dry and too constricted. Cascading raspy coughing and choking noises rose high on a shrill note sounding more like the whistle of crane than a human being. Soujirou was convulsing violently in Kenshin's arms as he struggled for air. His throat was dry and his lungs were partially collapsed from the terrible fall he had taken onto the engowa. Kaoru grabbed him by the upper arms and yanked him into a sitting position as she called for some water.
A small cup filled with water was miraculously produced from somewhere and Kaoru carefully tilted Soujirou's head back and opened his mouth enough to dribble a little of the water into it. He coughed and choked again, but managed to swallow so she dribbled a little more in. Another swallow then another. It was getting easier for him, and he was becoming more coherent. Pale white hands, that were trembling badly, rose to cover Kaoru's hands around the cup as he finished the last of the cool liquid it held. His whole body was trembling and shaking violently, and he leaned out over his knees wrapping his arms around himself. His head was dropped low.
No one spoke. No one moved. No one touched him. Many moments passed before Soujirou pulled back far enough to look at his own chest. His blue-grey eyes were wide with uncertainty as his hand touched the solid wall of muscle and bone. "No blood?" A whispered thought from a stunned and terrified brain. "No wound?" The hand pulled his light blue gi open and felt the smooth intact flesh. "How.... I..." His hand rose to cover his forehead in exhaustion. "I do not understand. How... "
"The wound was made in the world of the other reality, Soujirou. Do you remember going there using the Opium?" He nodded his head, and Kenshin continued. "You did not die. The wound is not real in this world, and you are not going to die. I would not allow it then.... My son, and I will not allow it now."
Soujirou turned swiftly around and looked at the man behind him, and he found himself captured in the emotional intensity of dark violet eyes. "You..... you came for me didn't you?" Astonishment colored his small voice. "I remember a burning heat invading my chest. It made my heart start beating again, and then it lifted my body upwards as if I were no more than a small child and forced me to leave the place I was in. I could feel it pulling me along a path of blazing golden light and flaming heat, but I was not afraid. I was not burned by the heat, and then I opened my eyes and I was here. It was you, wasn't it? You came into my mind and brought me back." His eyes were huge shining blue oceans in his face.
"Yes Soujirou. I brought you back, but I could not have if you did not already trust me with your life. You realize this don't you?" Kenshin's violet eyes were gentle and understanding in the face of the other mans bewilderment.
"Yes. I understand that. What I do not understand is why?"
"Why? Why what?"
"Why did you come? Why risk so much of yourself to come after me? It was not a sensible thing for you to do. It was too soon after your own recovery. You put yourself at great risk by giving me such a large part of your ki." Soujirou hung his head. "I do not feel worthy of such a gift. If it had damaged you in any way, I could not have been able to live with that burden."
Kenshin's gentle hands turned Soujirou around to face him. His face was stern but filled with love and protectiveness. "Listen to me, Seta Soujirou. I made you my son, and that is not a responsibility I take lightly. On the contrary, you have become a part of me. A part of my heart, a part of my soul, a part of the very fabric of my life. Look at me." Kenshin shook Soujirou's shoulders sharply until their eyes met. "You asked me why I came for you? Why I risked myself to save you? Do you truly not know, or are you simply too afraid to believe what you know is the truth?"
"I... it seems... It is difficult... I do not know..." The timidly spoken words stuttered and tumbled from Soujirou's mouth as he tried to explain his reasons. "I cannot... "
"Soujirou, my beloved and beautiful son, I love you. That is why I came for you. That is why I risked myself for you, and I would do it again and again if need be because I will forfeit my life long before I will allow you to lose yours. I will always come for you." His strong arms wrapped around the now tearful Soujirou and held him against his heart. "I will always come for you."
"I have a Father." Soujirou's tremulous voice whispered into Kenshin's shoulder as his tears wet the faded material of the old pink gi. "I truly have a Father. Thank-you blessed Kami-sama. Thank-you for answering my prayers after so long." He relaxed against the red-haired man who held him so tightly, and burrowed his face into the strong neck as he put his arms around the well muscled body. "I love you too... Father." He whispered close to Kenshin's ear. Kenshin squeezed his eyes shut as tears threatened to fall, and buried his face in his son's hair.
Kaoru listened to the emotional exchange between her lover and his adopted son, and a lump formed in her throat and tears burned her eyes. She leaned foward and wrapped her arms around both of them. "How I love both of you. I love you so much." But there was still a sadness in her heart. There was an empty place in their circle of love. There was someone missing from their family, and there was only one person that could fill that place and make the family Himura complete.
Myojin Yahiko.
***********
Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Aoshi was still awake. He was dwelling on some of the more strange events of this very odd day. His mind traveled over and touched each of the people who slept within the walls of the Aoiya that night and their significance to his life.
The members of the Onniwabanshuu and Okina. His friends and comrades for life. They were his family.
Himura and Kamiya-san It was strange to him how deeply involved in their lives he had become in the last few weeks, but it was even more strange to him that he was pleased about it. Ever since his fusion with Himura Aoshi had looked at the man with different eyes. He had gained a knowledge about the soul and spirit of the Battousai that had stunned and even pained him. They were not so different, the two of them. When he had called Himura 'brother', he had not an idea how true that really was.
Then came Kamiya-san. She was fast becoming Misao's irreplaceable companion and dearest friend. The two of them were constantly together at every opportunity that presented itself. They talked and laughed and cried about everything. Aoshi had finally been forced to see Kamiya-san as 'Kaoru', and it had been startling to him when he realized she was actually quite a beautiful woman.
Then there was Misao. Sweet, lovely, innocent Misao. Aoshi closed his eyes against the memory of watching her walk away in the ninja clothes she continued to insist on wearing. The shorts bared her long pale legs to a mid thigh, and it was becoming increasingly hard for him not to touch the smooth skin that was always so close at hand.
She was driving him insane with the confusing emotions and warring morals raging inside his heart and mind. Aoshi let himself drift back to the moment when his thigh lightly brushed hers, and she had blushed so profusely, looked away, and then started to fidget with her fingers unable to meet his glance. The scene replayed over and over in his head as he tried to figure out what had embarrassed her so badly she blushed, and got nervous sitting next to him. After all, she had known him her whole life. He was about ready to claim he had been mistaken about what he had seen when an interesting and completely destructive idea occurred to him.
'Did she act that way because she is attracted to me?' The very idea of Misao being attracted to him was tantalizing enough that Aoshi knew he would never get a wink of sleep that night, and if he did, the dreams he had would not be anything he could or would share with anyone.
' Kuso! Misao... Dammit!'
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Hiko had left the Aoiya after Soujirou had recovered enough to be considered out of danger. He had offered his compliments on an outstanding brilliant plan to Aoshi, then proceeded to chew Kenshin's ass for over extending his power and nearly burning up the whole fucking world. Then he said his usual grandiose 'Good-Bye's' and left without another word. Everyone assumed he was going back to his room or to the Police Station to talk to Saitoh, but he did neither. He had very recently come into possession of some very interesting information, and he needed to check it out quickly. There was almost no time left, and if he did not hurry, there would be no time left at all.
Hiko pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and checked the address written on it. His sharp gaze located his current position, and he turned north and started walking. A cold brusk breeze caught at his white cloak and whipped it wildly about him. He grabbed it cursing to himself as he wrapped it tightly around him. "Too damn cold... Just too damn cold." Checking a street sign, after nearly seven blocks, he saw he was very close to his destination. His started to look for the building. By looking at the numbers it had to be within his immediate vicinity and he should find it within minutes. He squinted into the glare of the waning afternoon Sun, and hoped it was not too late to make a social call.
It was a small cottage setting back from the road behind a larger apartment complex. It was painted white with yellow and red on the winged trim along the roof. The rice paper fusuma had been intricately designed with beautiful calligraphy images, painted roses and geisha's. Hiko felt a little bit of nervousness descend over his usually unflinching confidence. He wondered again for the five thousandth time if he should do this, or if he should just mind his own business. Straightening his broad shoulders, he gave the sho-ji a light knock and waited. Within only a second or two he heard a soft feminine voice ask who was there.
"I am looking for someone." He answered.
"Who?" The voice was close to the door now. It was a very pretty voice.
"A woman. A woman who used to live near Mibu."
"Mibu?" The door slid open a few inches and revealed a beautiful face surrounded by heavy chestnut colored hair that was hanging loose. Huge woeful brown eyes gazed at him suspiciously. "Why would you want to talk to her? That is if I know her. What is her name?"
"Well, she may not be using it anymore because of certain ties she had during the Bakumatsa, but she was known then as Takagi Tokio. She was the wife of an officer in the Shinsengumi. His name was Hijame Saitoh. He was the leader of the fourth squad of the Shinsengumi, and was known as the Mibu Wolf because of his speed and precision with a katana."
"He was also very good at killing people, or did you not discover that among his many talents when you read about him?" Her eyes were sad and she turned to walk away. "Come in if you wish. I am Takaagi Tokio. Or at least I was once a very long time ago when I still believed it was possible to be happy in this world." She indicated a place on the clean floor for him to sit. "I no longer believe that, Sir... "
"Forgive me. I am Seijorou Hiko." He bowed respectfully to her and then seated himself on the smooth floor.
"I see Seijorou-san, and tell me, are you a Samurai? I see you carry a sword. Of course, these days only the Police are allowed to carry swords unless you are a stubborn Samurai unwilling to relinquish yours." She favored him with an attractive and intelligent smile. He smiled in return. It was easy to see why Saitoh had married her. She was intelligent, sharp witted, and most likely sharp tongued as well. He also noted with an uncomfortable shift of his position, she was very beautiful in an exotic sort of way.
"I am a very stubborn Samurai, Takagi-san. I am also a Master of the Sword."
"Really," her delicate eyebrows rose mocking him gently. "And whose sword are you a Master of, Seijorou-kun?" Emerald eyes laughed as he noticed her subtle change in honorifics.
"I am the thirteenth Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu." He bowed again, and listened to a throaty laugh.
"I am sorry, Seijorou-kun, but I have never had much patience with the pride and conceit of Samurai. I do not mean to sound disrespectful of your accomplishments or your skills, but I have never been able to abide all the bowing and insensible honorifics and trying to keep track of who is more important in the hierarchy of things. It is simply all so confusing and ridiculous for me." She waved her delicate hands in the air to emphasize her issue. "I just cannot understand why all of these Samurai can not just agree they are all great swordsmen, and leave it at that and forget all the other worthless hem-haying and posturing they do? It gets so tedious, you know. Truly it does."
Hiko could no longer contain himself in the face of her blatant sarcasm and disdain, and he burst into laughter. "I gather you spent one to many evenings in boring political meetings with the Shinsengumi?"
"Endless boredom and endless bowing before pompous fat Samurai who still believed that they were the masters of the world instead of the meaningless little pawns they really were."
"I gather they did not impress you very much, Takagi-san." His eyes sparkled with suppressed humor. "I suppose I can see your point"
"No, I have never been impressed by arrogance and conceit. I never thought it was becoming to a man who was supposed to represent the Honor of our country."
Hiko was taken aback by her straight forward statement. He was also pointedly humbled in a way he had never been, to his utter disbelief, a blush of shame colored his tanned cheeks. Hiko freely admitted he was arrogant and conceited, but he had never had his Honor placed into question because of it. Did those two attributes prove to make him less the Warrior he had always believed himself to be?
"I am sorry. I seem to have upset you. If I have, that was not my intention, Seijorou-san." She tactfully changed honorifics to a lesser but still respectful title.
"It is all right I am not offended. It is just perhaps you have made me take a look at myself in a way, and I am not sure I like what I see."
"You mustn't mind me, Seijorou-san. I have gotten callous and cynical over these last 12 years since the Bakumatsu and Meigi Fires. Everything bad in the country seemed to come together that night in one
great explosion of flame, death, and destruction." Her lovely features melted into a mask of grief. "My life ended that night. I lost everything I had in this world that was worth living for."
A great hand appeared out of nowhere and grasp Hiko about the chest and squeezed all the air from his lungs. What was she talking about? What had happened the night of the Fires? Had her family died? No, according to the information he had, her family still lived in the same village she grew up in. If not her family, then what? "What did you lose, Takagi-san?" He asked in a gentle tone.
A small broken sob tumbled over her lips and she raised a hand to cover her suddenly quavering mouth. Her large brown eyes squeezed shut, but several unbidden tears escaped and slid down her pale cheeks only to drip off her chin and fall into her lap.
Hiko was shocked as he watched Tokio crumble before his eyes. He was at a complete loss as to what to do. She was in obvious pain, but he did not know how to help her. "I am sorry, Takagi-san. I did not mean to stir up such painful memories. Please forgive me." The usually smooth conceited voice sounded truly contrite as his eyes took on a lost and bewildered look.
"Oh, it is all right. You could not know how your innocently spoken words would affect me. I must not cry like this." She looked at him and tried to force a shaky smile as she wiped the wetness from her face. "Saitoh hated women's tears. He said they were a weapon women used to gain an unfair advantage over men."
Hiko chuckled gently. He could understand that statement quite well especially in light of his response to Tokio's tears just now.
"He said they were a weakness in women."
"A weakness?" Now Hiko was confused. "If he called them a weapon, how could he also call them a weakness?"
"Tears show a woman's frailties and inabilities to cope with the demands of a hard life."
Black eyebrows narrowed thoughtfully. "Like the life of a wife to a high ranking officer of the Shinsengumi, who also happened to be one of the deadliest swordsmen in Japan?"
"Yes. I had great difficulties coping with the dangers the duties of his position placed upon his life." A wistful look crossed her face. "I loved him very much, you know. I truly did. When I lost him to the Kyoto Fires, I wanted to die too, but I knew I had to keep going. Even if it was just to show him I was strong enough to cope with the hardest thing life had ever given me to bare."
Shock and astonishment registered on Hiko's sharp features. "Saitoh died in the Kyoto Fires? Is that what you think happened to him?" His voice was incredulous.
"It must be." More tears fell from her sad eyes, and she absently folded her hands in her lap. "He never came back home after that, and I never heard any news of his whereabouts from the Shinsengumi so I did not have much choice but to believe he was gone." The pale hands began to wring each other in despair. "He always came home, you see. Not very often, but he always came home. After the fires I never saw or heard of him again, and no one ever seemed to know anything about him. He was just.... gone."
"I am so sorry, Takagi-san. You could not have been married very long before this happened."
"Saitoh and I were married three years before the Bakumattsu." She sniffed and wiped her face. "Those were the happiest years of my life. Those are the memories I cling to now. The memories of Saitoh and I when we were young and in love, before he became the Mibu Wolf, before I lost him to the lure of the glory that was the Bakumatsu."
Hiko's mind was racing and stumbling over the information Tokio had just given him. She had believed for 12 years that Saitoh was dead, and had no idea that the Captain of the Kyoto Police, one Fugita Gorou was in fact her husband. Hiko was not at all sure how to proceed now. This twist of the tale was completely unexpected, and left him at a standstill wondering what to do next.
"Seijorou-san may I ask what brought you here today? Why were you looking for me?" Wide questioning brown eyes searched his face. "Is there something specific you wanted to know about my late-husband? If there is, I am afraid I will not be of much help to you. Unfortunately, I did not know very much about his life." The depth of her sadness was becoming more and more apparent with every word she spoke. She had suffered with this loss for a very long time.
"Takagi-san," Hiko began tentatively. "It was something I came to ask you about, but now it appears I am in the position to provide some answers for you. However, I find myself unsure if it is right or even a good idea to tell you what I know. I do not want to be the one to cause you more pain."
"What do you mean you have answers? Answers to what?" Her eyes narrowed. "Do you know what happened to my husband? Do you know what happened to Saitoh?!" One of her hands darted out and grabbed his wrist. "If you know anything, please tell me. I do not care what it is. Just tell me." Her gaze was urgent and pleading. "Please."
A great sigh of apprehension escaped him. "You are such a beautiful woman, Takagi-san, and you have such a strong heart and spirit. I do not want to cause you pain. You have suffered enough in the last 12 years." He squeezed her small hand. "I think we should leave this matter where it is."
"NO!" Tokio was on her knees staring Hiko right in the face. "I want to know whatever it is you know. I demand you tell me."
"Even if it is more painful than what you already believe is the truth?"
"Yes. I do not care. I just want to know what happened to him. Please tell me."
"All right, but I do not think this is a good idea." Concerned emerald eyes took in the picture of her anxious expectant face, and he prayed to Kami-sama to help him do this the right way. "Takagi-san, Saitoh did not die in the Kyoto Fires." Her eyes grew wider and more confused.
"Then where did he die?"
"He.... he is not dead." Hiko watched her closely as the knowledge of what he had just told her sunk in. Her face turned grey, her eyes lost their focus, and Tokio fainted dead away falling into Hiko's arms. "I knew it was not a good idea." He said gently as he held the limp body of his friends'Wife.
Tokio woke up a few moments later and found herself laying on her futon. Hiko had brought it out into the room where they had been talking and placed her on it. She felt a heavy fog clouding her mind and closed her eyes willing it to dissipate. One singular thought kept rolling around in her mind despite the fog. Saitoh was alive.
Hiko knelt down in front of her with a glass of water in his hands. "Are you feeling better?" Concern colored his voice. "You fainted Takagi-san."
"I did?" She could not remember fainting. "Strange. I have never fainted before." She gingerly raised up and leaned on an elbow so she could take the glass from him. The water felt good as it slid down her throat.
"I heard you say my husband is alive. Is that true?" The voice was low but firm.
"Yes. I told you that."
"Where is he?"
"Here, in Kyoto."
"Here?" Her eyes were filled with shock as well as her face. "Impossible. If the Wolf were here in Kyoto, everyone would know."
"He is no longer associated with that name. In a way, I suppose you were right when you said Hijame Saitoh died in the Kyoto Fires." Hiko helped Tokio to a sitting position. "After the end of the Bakumatsa, he became a spy for the Meiji Government's Internal Affairs Division. His cover name is Fujita Gorou."
"Gorou Fujita?". Gasping in amazement, Tokio rose shakily to her feet and walked to the sho-ji and slid it open letting in a burst of fresh air. "He is the Captain of the Police isn't he?"
"Yes. He is the same man."
"You know him, don't you?"
"Yes. We are.... friends." Hiko hovered over the word as he tried to find a way to explain he and Saitoh's relationship.
Tokio chuckled softly. "Friends.... Saitoh had few friends. No one could abide his foul temper and sarcastic personality, however; I think I can see how the two of you might get along." She favored Hiko with a mocking glance. "You are both insufferably conceited and full of yourselves, but you would also brave a raging inferno to save a child from being burnt alive. Even if it were not your child." Her eyes had a deep bottomless look about them when she locked gazes with Hiko. "Two angry snapping wolves determined to be the Leader of the pack, yet willing to hunt together for the greater good when necessary. More like brothers than either are willing to admit because the admission would indicate a level of equality, and neither will accept that. However, a deep abiding respect will always exist between them, and they would fight to the death for the safety of each others life."
Seigorou Hiko, the 13th Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu felt a deep respect forming within his heart for this unique and intelligent woman. How well she knew Saitoh, and how well she knew Him. Every thing she had said about the two of them was completely true, and he admired her for seeing them so clearly and for accepting them for what they were. Deep within a place Hiko rarely went inside of himself, he realized that this could have been a woman he would have gladly shared his life with. The sadness he felt when he was near Kenshin and Kaoru surfaced, but in a much harsher feeling. This woman or someone like her was what he had missed having in his life. It was the absence of a relationship like this that left the gapping space in his heart and soul that he could never define. Now the answer stood in front of him as a flesh and blood woman. A beautiful woman. A woman who was married to a man he called friend, and could have called brother in different circumstance. Hiko felt a heavy sadness settle within him.
"Take me to him, Seigorou-san. Take me to where he is."
"What will you do if he is no longer the Hijame Saitoh you married? What if he does not want to see you? Have you thought of that, Takagi-san?"
"Yes, I have thought of that. It does not matter. All I want is to look into his face one more time. I just want to see him for myself and know he lives. Then I can be at peace for the rest of my life." She looked at him entreatingly. "That is all I want, Seijorou-san. I do not expect anything more than that."
His long legs carried him close to her side. "Then if that is what you wish, Takagi-san, I will take you there, but not until tomarrow. We will go tomorrow."
"Tomorrow Seijorou-san." Her voice was soft but firm. "I will be ready when you come."
"I will be here by the Noon hour.... My Lady Hijame." Hiko gently squeezed her shoulders then left the small white cottage. "Tomorrow. I hope it is a good day."