In the Shadow of the Vampire

By: Psychotic Tanuki

Chapter Eight: A Hidden Loophole in Heavenly Decree

            Saitoh Hajime carefully unfolded the creased letter in his hands. Like many times before, he ran a long spidery finger over the faded characters which were written in a hurry, the strokes short and impatient. He could almost imagine Tomoe writing this letter with great care. He almost felt guilty.

            He sighed deeply. The letter went into great detail about a loophole she had discovered in researching the myth of the Maid of Lorraine; A loophole whose definition Tomoe failed to mention. Loophole this, loophole that—There was no clear indication as who or WHAT this loophole was; just that Saitou would know when the time came. The only clue he had was that it involved death, limbo, life and resurrection or something to that effect.

            Saitoh cursed vehemently. He was no Jesus Christ. He was not a miracle worker who could bring people back from the dead. In fact, he was so inept with magical skill that he'd left it up to Enishi. Tomoe's letter also went on and on about the 'grand scheme of time' and the disturbing revelation that she would not be the one to bring peace. Most importantly, she had included the picture of a sickly young woman who supposedly would.

            Pulling out a dull, faded picture he scrutinized it. Tomoe gave him too much credit. He was smart, yes. He was resourceful, yes—intuitive, deductive, cunning, a deadly swordsman, excellent Vampire slayer—he was all of those. However, he was never good at understanding obscure magical concepts. He'd mainly shrugged it off, leaving it to Aoshi and Tomoe to sort out by themselves.

            Which led him to question WHY he had been sent the letter? Aoshi would be a better choice; the man would most likely understand this 'loophole' nonsense with the greatest of ease. Glancing over, he glanced quietly at Enishi. The sulking boy had begun drinking some of Saitoh's best sake and never stopped. Quite understandable, a meeting with Shishio Makoto was not something many people could stomach quite easily.

            "Boy, see what you can make of your sister's ramblings. Perhaps you can understand this lunacy." Enishi's bloodshot eyes stared at him. He was a pitiful sight to behold, with unkempt whitish blonde hair, pasty skin and a red disposition. He smelt of sake and with deference, he carefully plucked the letter from Saitoh.

            "Why didn't you show me this before?" His voice was warbled and cracked.

            "Just be glad I'm showing it to you now." Enishi's watery eyes roved over the letter—careful deliberation evident on his face. His nose had scrunched up giving him a piggish look and his nostrils flared unflatteringly, teeth bared in frustration.

            "She's talking about a loophole in Heavenly Decree."

           "Really? I hadn't figured that out." Saitoh drawled, sarcasm dripping from every word as he snarled impatiently.

            "Do you even know what Heavenly Decree is?"

            "Is Heavenly Decree an actual decree?" Enishi stared at him; utter disbelief adorned his watery face.

            "You're a Japanese vampire slayer, and you don't even know Heavenly Decree? Every one in this profession, in this country knows Heavenly Decree!" Enishi was livid—only a fool jumped into this job without knowing the laws of life, death, limbo and resurrection. Didn't mean they understood it, but they knew them better than any prayer, creed or oath.

            "My heavenly decree is Aku. Soku. Zan. Battousai is evil, therefore I must kill him."

            "There is a loophole in Heavenly Decree—which means either God was wrong about something or she put it there intentionally." Enishi rolled his eyes in a drunken stupor, the alcohol fueling his livid explanation.

            "God is a she?" Saitoh cringed as images of a feminist God plagued his mind. He also ignored the feelings of inadequacy of overlooking the fact that Heavenly Decree was actually something other than ramblings. He had seen it recited at Tomoe's funeral, and at the funeral of many other slayers. He even knew some of it—it left him feeling stupid.

            "Yes, but forget about that! My sister talks about the loophole and about Kaoru-san which must mean Kaoru-san knows something about the loophole…" Saitoh watched disgusted as Enishi conked out. Not only had his best sake been polished off, his information had been cut off halfway.

            It would appear as if Saitoh would have to pay a friendly visit to this…Kamiya Kaoru.

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            Kaoru panicked. Was it normal for dead people to pass out? Did this have anything to do with the vengeful thoughts that had run through her head? Unsure as what to do with her hands, she crouched down next to Shinta.

            "O-kay, don't freak out. He's just dead. He was never alive to begin with, so it's not your fault if he suddenly decides he wants to stay dead…" She pushed out her hands forcefully and flipped the comatose red head onto his back.  With a careful finger, she poked his sides. Feeling less queasy and a bit more daring, she leaned over to examine his face.

            It didn't seem as pale as it did an ugly shade of reddish green. Mostly red and Kaoru guessed the greenish tint came from the green carpeting all around them.

            "Perhaps the floor isn't the best place to keep a dead/sleeping man…" She hovered directly over his seemingly sleeping face. It looked rather peaceful, and dead-like. Calm, compared the snarling, jeering face that she had become accustomed to arguing with. He seemed friendlier in death than he did when he was…alive/dead.

            Dark cobalt blue eyes flew open.

            "HOLY SHIT--!"

            "Ororororororororo…" Kaoru jerked across the room, banging her head against the door and an equally shocked Shinta had flown into the nightstand. Once he had recovered, he stared in a horrified wonder at his hands and Kaoru arched a curious eyebrow. He had not taken notice of her at all, nor did he seem aware of his environment. Rather, his face held a rounded softness and a childish glee.

However, Kenshin was greatly perturbed. He no longer felt cold and the persistent nagging of the Rurouni was no longer heard in his head. Rather, it was felt and he felt the blood rush to his face.

            The blood rush to his face? Oro? Since when did he start oro-ing? Tyrants who wished to keep their tyrant reputation did not make cute noises when distressed. They murdered people. The thought of killing people made Kenshin queasy, which surprised him a great deal. He hadn't felt queasy about murder since the days he was mortal…

            He froze. He was not cold, and he was flushed. He glared sharply at the girl who was peering at him curiously. She had done this. She could UN-do this. His hands itched to strangle her, but he was dismayed to find a sinking feeling in his stomach and a plunging of his heart.

            You shouldn't kill people for pissing you off.

            Dear Enma, he had a conscience. The woman had made him a mortal and then for kicks—gave him a conscience. She had turned him into a wishy washy pansy with feelings and he was mortified, disgusted and aghast with the burning need to vomit.

            "Are you okay?" She was next to him with a cooling hand on his forehead, and a worried look in her eyes. She was very close to him, much too close for comfort. Kenshin had the urge to slap her hands away and keep them there at the same time, the former being the stronger of the two feelings.

            "This unworthy one is fine that he is."

            WHAT? He tried desperately to slap her hand away and glare, but found himself utterly powerless to do so. His body was moving without him and in a dire moment of panic he realized just exactly what this feeling of suspended animation was.

            "Are you sure? You just conked out in the middle of our argument."

            "Oro? This unworthy one must be getting old that he is." Kaoru just smiled quizzically and helped him to his feet. Kenshin could feel his heart beating rather erratically—he had forgotten those drawbacks to being mortal.

            He hated being the one being pushed to the back of the proverbial brain. He was not about to sit back and take this sitting down. HE was a feared tyrant, and he was a powerful immortal.

            You WERE all those things, however, we are mortal now and being mortal is this unworthy one's job.

            Kenshin was furious and fearful at the same time.

            If he was human, most likely Sanosuke, Tae, Soujiro, Misao and Katsu were also human, or would become human within the next day or so. This meant they were at a high danger risk and most likely would seek him out. It was a good chance that some of them would try to kill him once they regained their mortal memories—namely Soujiro, Misao and possibly Katsu.

            It didn't seem as if the Rurouni cared as he shamelessly made friendly conversation with the very woman he wanted to kill. He was fraternizing with the enemy.

            Your enemy, not mine.

            Kaoru felt odd, if not a bit strange. She had wished for him to be sociable and friendly and it had come true. It was frighteningly scary. She had wondered briefly if she asked for anything, would it come true? In the minutes of their budding conversation she found herself wishing for a lot of things.

            I wish that he'd stop talking so politely.

            He continued to speak in his strange manner and lilt; he had even taken to calling her Kaoru-dono.

            I wish he'd stop calling me Kaoru-dono.

            Alas, he still called her Kaoru-dono. It would appear it was mere coincidence that he had conked out. Maybe some sort of mental illness? Would he conk out again, turn back into that nasty, foul mouthed bastard? She didn't want him to conk out again; she could be friends with the man she saw in front of her.

            It was strange.

           Curiously enough, in the ruckus, his bandage had fallen off of his face and in its place was a cross shaped scar. It was an angry wound that marred his skin with an untold tale of violence. She didn't know whether she would truly care to know. Still…Kaoru wasn't quite sure about Himura Shinta. There was something that she wasn't seeing…there was something…off about him…

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            Megumi stared blankly at the large book in front of her. This large, boring and incredibly verbose book was devoted to the Heavenly Decree. The Heavenly Decree, a small set of laws set forth about life and death—but needed a huge book to explain them.

            Snarling in frustration, Megumi shut the book angrily. She could barely make heads or tails of the archaic calligraphy and the more she stared, the bigger her migraine got. Gingerly, she ran a finger over her split lip. It had complicated things dramatically seeing as she couldn't smile—it hurt too much, she couldn't eat—it hurt too much, and she couldn't talk—it hurt too much. She was quite sure she looked quite haggard.

            In a weird way, she vaguely wished she could meet that tori-atama again, just so she'd be able to return the favor. Grudgingly, she pushed away any thoughts of the rooster head.

            "The first law of Heavenly Decree…Once we are born, we begin to die. Once we die we transcend into one three realms. Those who were divine in life rise into heaven, those who offend sink into hell and those who were neither return to the living. It's the only one worth knowing." Megumi's head shot up nervously. The library was usually empty at—Megumi glanced nervously at the clock—twelve noon.

            "Really, I didn't think you were the cult type." Sanosuke plopped down across from Megumi, ignoring her wary stare. He watched with a vapid sense of amusement as she placed a cautious hand to her cracked lip.

            "I didn't think you were the library type." Megumi slammed the book rashly. She was in no mood to be anywhere near this…rooster.

            "The second law of Heavenly Decree…All human life is evil, and all humans have souls. Thus, to gain entry to heaven the soul must be pure. Without a soul, humans become monsters—and thus 'Vampires' are a human's true form. All soulless humans are condemned to wander for eternity. Although I'd like to think that 'vampire' is a nasty misunderstanding. You see…while vampires require blood—I am far beyond requiring it at all. We are vampires evolved. There is a difference you know." Sano sauntered lazily after the retreating doctor. She was rather amusing as she was rather keen in avoiding him. Sayo had been all too eager to hang around with him.

            "I don't care if you're evolved vampires or not. You're all damned for eternity, what does it matter?" Megumi suddenly wished she hadn't worn her flip flops to the library. They made it impossibly hard to run. No matter how fast she walked to get rid of him, he seemed to keep up with her with a lazy ease.

            "You could say that, although I've been feeling a little…humanly lately, although that would defy the third law—wouldn't it?"

            "All damned souls shall stay damned as their souls are lost in limbo." Megumi's voice was clipped and curt. Sano chuckled briefly; it was so very easy to get on her nerves.

            "If you brutally generalized it, then yes. Although perhaps a loophole could be developed there, no?"

            "Are you insane? A loophole would mean that 'God' was wrong—and THAT will never happen." Megumi scoffed—the bus stop was in sight and she was quite sure the undead didn't carry bus fare.

            "Either that or loopholes were placed there purposely." Sano dropped the goofy manner hastily and a dark look crossed his face. His hands clenched tightly, drawing fresh, warm, blood.

            "That's a vapidly stupid idea." 

            "Really…then perhaps you could tell me where Kamiya Kaoru is." Megumi broke out into a run. This…vampire was looking for tanuki-chan. He wouldn't be able to enter the clinic, but most likely, he'd use her for extortion and then kill the last hope they had.

            Sano snorted. Even if he was turning into a mortal he could still outrun her. Reaching out a hand, he gripped the female doctor by her hair.

            "Let go of me."

            "Not likely. I really hate to do this but it doesn't seem like you're giving me much of a choice."

            "Fuck off. Even if you find her, Himura-san is with her." Sano threw back his head and laughed a rich, throaty laugh.

            "If I'm correct, Himura-san's memory wipe will be wearing off soon and then we'll see how much trust you put into him." An edge of bitterness crept into Sano's voice. His limbs, though extraordinarily strong, were aching with a heavy sense of dread and weakness.

            "I don't know what you're talking about." Sano could no longer smell her fear, he could feel it but he couldn't smell it. The rapid beating of her heart was fading in his ears and he couldn't hear it. Guilt soaked his bones and he pulled her head back so he could stare right into her eyes.

            "I'll bet that your Tomoe friend never knew about the loophole in the third law. If a soulless immortal could regain his soul and be mortalized—it would be possible to undo all of their evil." Megumi tensed. She was in a rather precarious situation, seeing as she was bended backwards in a Matrix type position and his deathly serious face hovering above her.

            "Fourth law of heavenly decree—there is no humanly possible way to reinstate a soul or undo the effects of the living dead."

            "Then how do you explain this." He crushed her head to his chest and in a heavy silence Megumi held her breath. She wasn't quite sure if it was the blood rushing through her head, or something else, but she was quite sure she heard his heartbeat.

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            "So…you're telling me there is a viable loophole to the fifth law of Heavenly Decree?" Saitoh glared at a hung over Enishi. He had been planning to visit the Kamiya girl until Enishi decided to wake up again.

            "Yeah…it came to me in my dreams…I saw Sayo-san…she was crying."

            "I don't care whether or not she was crying. What the hell is the loophole?"

            "The fifth law basically states that death can be prolonged as long as there is something keeping a soul from departing for judgment. Most of the time, it's a person's prayers or something…but if a person is stupid enough to give their own essence to another that person will live off of that essence until it runs out."

            "That's not a loophole dumbass." Saitoh flicked the ash from his cigarette in Enishi's direction. Enishi was babbling like an idiot and it was driving Saitoh insane. What the hell was taking that other boy so long to respond to a letter?

            "I'm getting to that…If a person gives their essence to another person they die, but the other person lives because their soul is either trapped into the body and blocked by the essence or the essence takes the place of the soul." Enishi rambled on irritably with a sparkle of something insane in his turquoise eyes. He was beginning to see his nee-san's plan.

            "AND?" Saitoh was growing tired of Enishi's morbid explanations and of Enishi himself period.

            "If you could find a way to reinstate that stolen essence into the original body, you could bring back the dead. Kaoru is stealing nee-san's essence…if we kill Kaoru we can bring back nee-san and nee-san will destroy Battousai! This is nee-san's grand plan!"

            "You're sick and insane." Saitoh spat out his cigarette and gave a disgusted look at Enishi. The boy was of no mental strength to have entered this profession and he wondered why he was blind to it before.

            "You'd abandon the only chance to kill Battousai?"

            "There are numerous holes in your logic. Tomoe's loophole must be something else."

            "I don't need your help—you'll see I'll do it myself!" Enishi spat in Saitoh's face, grabbed his watou, and slammed the door behind him. Methodically, Saitoh wiped the dripping spit from his scowling face.

            "Ahou."

            Enishi was being rash and stupid again. Pissed, Saitoh sighed miserably. Enishi was bound to do something irresponsible and he feared that the Maid of Lorraine would be killed in a futile attempt to revive a dead woman—which was blatantly impossible.

            "Tomoe-chan, forgive me. Your brother is evil and beyond redemption." Saitoh stared at his cabinet which was the hiding place of his .357 magnum. It would most likely be the easiest way to snuff out the troublesome boy but pride forbade him from using it.

            He'd settle it the old fashioned way—Enishi's watoujutsu versus his own Gatotsu.

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            Kenshin—the Rurouni Kenshin that is—was rather fond of Kaoru-dono. Of course, as fond as he was, he had absolutely no intention of staying. Yahiko—who was sulking in the couch—was now bouncing around in that cheerful kid manner and Kenshin found himself fond of him too. Although, the two people he had become fond of were rather hateful to each other.

            He was cooking dinner—since Megumi had not come back yet and Enishi was most likely never coming back. With great amusement, he had watched Yahiko rush into his temporary room at the clinic with an urgent look on his face. Kaoru-dono had also excused herself into her room with a troubled look and Kenshin determined that he could probably guess her thoughts.

            She, most likely, was rather confused as to his intentions. While in this current state, he had nothing but the most honorable intentions but…his other half was not so dignified. The dark thoughts of a Battousai were not something he'd like to share. Two halves of one whole, that's all they were. It had been a long time since Himura Kenshin was actually a part of the world as one man. Even now, he wasn't a whole person. He was beginning to wonder if it would ever be that way.

            Battousai—the essence of all that was carnal, secular and dark in Himura Kenshin—yet he was still endowed with a sliver of conscience. Rurouni—the essence of a soul, all that Himura Kenshin had ever hoped for—yet burdened with a sense of undying guilt. Neither was the rightful owner of this body. Its rightful owner was sleeping deep inside and it seemed almost impossible to wake him up.

            He guessed it was very much the same with Kaoru. It was strange to be alive yet dead and dead yet alive. Tomoe had done a very risky thing; messing around with the natural states of body, mind and soul.

            Then again, it was a very complicated matter, one that he did not truly understand himself. What did he know? In a very short amount of time, Kaoru would fall ill again. In a very short amount of time, he'd revert to his darker side and never return. The magic keeping him and Kaoru 'alive' was wearing off and he guessed he had a year at most. Kaoru would probably last longer.

            He had one year to somehow merge with Battousai and reawaken the 'sleeping' Kenshin within himself and nullify the threat of 'Battousai'.

            Tomoe had died, and in the process, she thrust a part of her soul into his body resulting in the reawakening of Battousai's humanity, otherwise known as Rurouni. Her magic had also kept Kaoru from dying. From what little he knew, Kenshin knew Kaoru was not Tomoe's successor but rather Tomoe was Kaoru's successor. All the Maids of Lorraine were Kaoru's successor—but he doubted she knew that.

            Tomoe had been the last maid. There weren't going to be any more because the original Maid—the one who had first been sent down from heaven had been reborn. Kaoru had been reborn. Kenshin had also been reborn…

            And in that lay the problem.

            He had a feeling that Sanosuke would be seeking him out soon. Tired, Kenshin lay down the knife he was using to chop up the vegetables. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

            He highly doubted anyone knew what the real loophole was except for him.

TBC…

AN: If that confuzzled the heck out of you, then I've done my job correctly. It wasn't supposed to make much sense except to let you know Kenshin's predicament, Kaoru's true status to the story (as well as why she's important), some SxM, and the set up for the next few chapters. Perhaps expose you to the complicated Heavenly Decree too…kudos to anyone who can figure out the obscure, but real loophole.

XD…and in wondering how I would write this is realized one thing…


I have much too much free time.

Jason M. Lee—that will be explained next chapter although it was partly explained this chapter…gah…from now on I will vow to do simplistic plots. XD but I guess we all have to dabble in really complicated stuff every now and then. :) although I was happy you caught onto that little fact…I was worrying nobody would…

M. Kasshoku—XD…I like Shishio in one piece…as for Enishi…eheheheh…I hope he can dodge a Gatotsu…haven't really decided if he can though…^^;

Jezika/Son Lin—Booyah! By the way…is it Jezika or Son Lin??

Bluejeans—I was wondering what happened to you…glad to know your still reading this story XD and I am happy with the 86 reviews…XD now if only my other stories could get this many…

Himura Kamiya Kaoru— A tanuki club? That sounds like fun! But with school/college starting…staying up late is not a good thing… =____=;; I should know…erg…damn AP European History homework…but I'm honored you'd stay up late enough to even read it.

Omochi—LOL zombiewoman…hrm…

Kaoru: *rises from the grave all green and decaying* hear me roar! I AM ZOMBIE WOMAN!

Kenshin: meep *runs away*

Nah…that was explained in this chapter though. She's technically dying, but Tomoe's magic is preventing it.

Neko Oni-chan—Cliffhangers are fun, and usually an easy way for me to *ahem* end. I love their bickering interaction although since of recent events it might turn into a different type of interaction, although I hope still as amusing. To tell the truth…*whisper* I had no clue as to how I'm going to get them together either…but now I do…^^; I almost killed myself in trying to figure out how. I like Kaoru as a defiant bitch too…I think she's a lot like that in the series but toned down…^^;;

Donna8157—nyahahahahaha~!

Innocence8—XD Maid of Lorraine was actually inspired by a version of Joan of Arc that I saw where they called her the fabled Maid of Lorraine who was predicted to save France. Kenshin comatose? To me that's just funny

Johanna Gen and some other creepy person—O.O; your review was very interesting and kept me laughing for a while…glad you liked the story and I updated as requested.

Rogue solus—I kinda didn't know either so I had him wake himself up.

Keito-chan/Kate—XD ahahahahaha~ I know my story is a little sick and depressing, and yes, Megumi will remember what she did although it wasn't really all of her fault.

Ashcandy- *blush* awwwww…that just made me smile… This baby is my first fic actually and this plot bashed me over the head until I had the courage to post it…although when its over I might do some revisions of the first few chappies.

Nicolete—lol…well if you ever do have suggestions, my ears are wide open.

Auriyu—good…it was meant to be amusing

Chiruken—wai wai~~ XD…somebody actually loves this story!!!!! And no, Kaoru is not amazingly perceptive, Its something deep within her gut which would explain why she writhes in pain around evil aka Battousai.

KouUsa—Hrm…I'd say Rurouni has more power…but what of Shinta…*wink*

Inuki—heehee…yes…I agree this is positively weird…but then again…I strive to be non cliché—I hope this isn't cliché…*getting worried look*

Teddy grahms—XD I hurried up and updated…well…since you're the most reviewer I've gotten…yeah…XD