A/N: One day on turn around time, not bad at all. I don't think I've done that since I first started this story. Anyway, since I did this so quickly, I don't have anything to say of any substance in little note. So, I'll be quick.
To Giman: Thanks for the review! I hope that "wow" was in the good sense, rather than the bad.
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and reviewed up to this point, and if there are new readers here, welcome and thanks for taking the time to check this story out.
That's all! Hope you enjoy the story everyone!
Love Hina: Healing Hearts
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters. Love Hina is Ken Akamatsu's.
Chapter Eighteen: Rescue and Betrayal, Part Two
The man smiled up at his captors as they pushed his bound form into the mud. If not for the fact that his eyes glowed black, I would have thought him the same as us. But he was not, he was Ashura, something I had been taught was not of this Earth.
"You think that you have won?"
That is what he asked as Lady Aoyama as she stepped forward to deliver his sentence. This man was the leader of the Ashura Clan, he was the one who had lead us on this terrible chase that has brought us here to Kyoto, and left such carnage in his wake. But at last, we have caught this demon who holds such little regard for the rest of Japan's welfare.
"We will return, stronger than ever before, and destroy you all."
That was his promise as Lady Aoyama raised her blade high into the air. I watched, in a mixture of fear and anticipation, for this was my first time to be accounted as a participating member of my own clan. Lady Aoyama was calm and controlled, but I could feel her ki was troubled. Even a man such as this, she had reservations about putting to death. As fate would have it, she would not get the chance.
"Aoyama-dono. Do not sully your blade with this man's blood."
My father stepped forward. It would seem that he too felt Lady Aoyama's hesitation.
"This man has caused unspeakable hardships on your house, I would rather not see him haunt your most treasured of swords. Please allow me to carry out this task on your behalf."
Lady Aoyama lowered her blade and nodded for my father to step forward, though not without great thought. The Ashura leader's smile disappeared as my father stepped up to him. My father drew out his sword, and there was a hushed murmur in the gathered crowd as the meter of black steel became visible.
"You will not, nor will any of the other clans, ever end our line. We will come back for you all."
The Ashura promised this again as the black sword fell upon his neck, and followed in an explosion of ki unlike any I had ever seen. As the dust settled I could see neither my father nor the Ashura, but watched as my father's sword fell to the ground and the blade planted itself into the earth. Dark and unnatural ki raced down the steel and into the earth. I first thought that the Ashura's spirit had been sealed away into the earth, but then the city of Kyoto began to burn.
It was only with the help of Lady Aoyama's son that I was able to seal that destructive energy into my father's sword. I have taken the sword for my own now, though it is mostly for decoration. To even take the sword from its sheath is to risk being overtaken by the spirit of the Ashura leader my father executed. My clansmen have even renamed the sword in my honor, though in my heart I still believe it to belong to my father.
The other clans want the sword melted down and destroyed entirely, but I cannot do that. Not only for the sentimental value and the value as a spirit prison, but because I cannot shake the feeling that this sword will have a crucial role when the Ashura return. I can only hope that the histories can guide my kinsmen if I am no longer amongst the living when that time comes.
An accounting of The Gathering in Kyoto, Urashima Hina, 1562---
"Are you sure that this is not to much strain on your abilities my son?" Asked Kyouaku as he watched the ending of the procedure.
The second man stood away and nodded. "I will be fine, this connection is not meant to last long." He draped a black trench coat over the sleeping body next to him. "We should begin to make our final arrangements."
The leader of the Ashura nodded, and they left the room together.
---
Ken parked his motorcycle and headed up the mountain on foot. The foliage was too dense for him to continue on in any other manner. Even if he could have driven the rest of the way, he wouldn't have. He couldn't risk the chance that any guards in the area would have heard the engine and raised the alarm. After nearly a half hour of walking, he reached the summit of the cliff.
He sat down and stared into the valley. He sighed as he spotted his target, a small cave entrance. "It would have to be at the far side of the valley. And heavily guarded no less." He let his mind go over the plan from not long ago again, and told himself to remain calm.
Ken stood and tightened the leather strap that kept his katanas press firmly at his hip. The slightest clanking of metal would give him away for sure. He looked up into the sky, and a faint smile crossed his lips. "A hunter's moon…" He began to tap his foot as he studied the mountain for the safest path down. "Let the music take control…put your body in motion and let it all flow…"
He dashed down the mountain. All the while making sure to remain out of the moonlight. There were a few hairline traps at the very perimeter of the valley, but they were easy enough to avoid once you could see the trip wire. The pit falls traps were a little harder to spot, but not so much that he couldn't spot them while still meters away. After a few shot minutes of navigating around the defense systems he rested at the out skirts of the cave perimeter.
Ken pulled on the release string in his assassin gloves and flexed his hands. Ten blades at the end of each of his fingers were revealed from the protective fabric. He made sure to keep his fingers far enough apart to prevent any scraping and reveal himself. Waiting until the first guard came close enough to his current position, Ken raced out and drew a line across the man's jugular with one of the blades. He caught the unsuspecting guard as he began to fall and hauled him back to the underbrush. The man struggled to breath now, and Ken could not watch. He was tired of hurting people, but there was one person who meant more to him that anything, and he would do what he must to keep her safe. He quickly set about performing the same stealth strikes on the remaining eleven guards.
Once the men lay still, Ken removed his gloves. Now that the blades were exposed it was to great a risk to keep them on. He had treated the blades with the same sleeping agent that was used in the smoke bomb he had used his friends back at the dorm, though a much stronger dose. He couldn't risk accidentally infecting himself with it as well. The men would live, but they wouldn't be up and about for a good while. He offered a small prayer for them to forgive him what he had done, but quickly moved on. He entered the cave and his footsteps echoed loudly off the stone floor. He removed his shoes and was pleased that the ground was not too cold against his bare feet as he padded silently into the cave. He stretched out his senses as far as he dared, without risking giving away his own position.
Since there was no light of any kind, he couldn't actually see where he was going, but his abilities as the Avatar of Spirit allowed him to hear the voice of all living things. He heard those voices most commonly in song, and this cavern was alive with music. Some of the voices guided him along the dark path, but it was the other songs that caught his attention. They were the songs of the ancient power that flowed through this mountain, and the songs of one who was stealing that power away. But that would be an adventure for another time, for he was moving slowly higher, into a second valley.
Being so close to the other Avatars, be pulled back his senses to avoid detection. He concealed himself to the shadows and took in the surroundings in a mixture of awe and displeasure. "He recreated everything…" The Incident, as it had come to be known, had left the training facility in the Choshu Mountains completely destroyed. Yet here it was, in all its dark glory.
It looked very much like something you'd see at a museum. Since the Ashura lived in secret for the most part, they couldn't rely on out side help. The complex was built out of natural materials and one could easily get the feeling of being in a rural town from the feudal era of Japan. The complex spanned the entire enormous valley.
"Still," Ken thought silently. "This layout will make moving around easier since I more or less 'grew up' here." He looked around further and saw that the large campus style training theater was crammed with people of every age. Ken frowned and thought silently again. "There are too many here. Even after my years away, the clan should not have grown this big so quickly…" He narrowed his eyes and focused on some of the younger trainees. "Unless they've been recruiting runaways off the street to bolster their numbers." He reached under his coat and double-checked his supplies. Only five sleep bombs remained.
Ken's frown deepened. Striking to disable was more difficult to do than striking to kill, he'd have to try and save his bombs for the innocents that had nothing to do with the clan war but had nowhere else to go. The safest alternative was to avoid confrontation entirely. Just get in, get Shinobu, and get out. Ken slipped deeper into the shadows and moved into the camp. He moved quickly from sector to sector until he came to the final house. The place, or recreation of the place, he once called home.
"You there!"
Ken turned as the voice came from the side of the house. A young man that Ken didn't recognize stood wielding a long dagger. "Kuso…" Ken muttered.
"Intruder!" The boy yelled as he charged wildly. "Intrud…"
Ken sidestepped the attack and wrapped his hand around the boy's face before slamming him into the nearby wall. It was too late however as the alarm was already raised. He drew back into the shadows again and ran for cover. That was when he realized that the complex wasn't the exact recreation he had thought it to be as he ran into a dead end. He looked around for a secondary escape, and found nothing but the shear walls. He flicked his wrists a few times and a number of throwing stars dropped into his hands. He then threw those stars into the shadowed portion of the wall until he had created a makeshift ladder. The first of his would be attackers rounded the corner as he flipped himself up onto the roof of the building and laid flat on his back.
"Where'd he go?" One of the mob members asked.
"How the hell should I know?!" Voiced a second.
"Well he can't have just vanished!" Yelled a third voice.
"Look! He made a ladder!" Yelled another.
Ken frowned as the voices below him began arguing and fighting one another to reach the ladder to come after him. He sighed and pulled one of is sleep bombs from his jacket before casually tossing it into the alley below. "Fire in the hole." He whispered with a hint of amusement. He looked over the side and saw a pile of bodies resting uncomfortably on the street and each other, before smiling. "Now, where were we?"
Ken raced across the rooftop and leapt down to the next small alleyway. Without the use of his ki and chi senses, he had to relay on his normal senses. But if he had learned anything in his training, the senses were easy to fool. He barely managed to dodge as the salvo of bladed instruments raced towards him. He returned the favor with a volley of his own throwing stars and heard a number of people scream as his weapons found their mark. He looked and saw that none of his attacks would lead to a fatality and raced out of the enclosed area.
"Out of the frying pan…" He rounded the corner and saw the entire complex personnel waiting for him in the center grounds. "And into the god-damned fire…" For a moment there was a tense stand off. The camp was so quiet that you could hear the dew fall from the blades of grass. And as the first bead of water fell, Ken made his move. He quickly tossed three of his remaining sleep bombs into the crowd and in seconds the bodies were on the floor. Still, the odds were one to at least five or six hundred. Ken gripped his swords and thumbed an inch of each blade from its sheath. But rather than the expected retaliation, the crowd fell back and parted as a single person in a black trench coat came forward.
Ken didn't release his grip on his swords but studied this new opponent intently. The lightness of the gait marked her as a woman. For a moment he thought Sora, but this woman was too short, and her aura was wrong as well. But one thing was clear, she was strong, nearly Avatar quality. He drew his swords and slowly released his energies; he couldn't take a chance with this one.
The woman pulled a sword as well, and charged forward to lock blades with Ken.
They exchanged blows for a few minutes and Ken realized that the others were beginning to move in on him as well. Ken pushed his first opponent back to block the attacks of the other clansmen. He looked around and saw so many faces, many he knew, but so be it. His blades glowed white and black and chi fired out into the crowd. All but the woman backed off as Ken turned.
He could only guess the thoughts going through their heads at the sight he must make. Concealed beneath his hood the couldn't see his face, not that they would have recognized him anyway, but those who had been around before the Incident would clearly remember Kedou and Akkanka, and his mismatched glowing eyes. He smiled, his teeth illuminated by his white glowing eye. "I'm baaaack…" He sing-songed.
The woman raised her hand and signaled for all to attack.
Ken blocked the attacks with ease at first, but eventually shear numbers made even moving difficult. Suddenly, a path was cut open as a second black sword entered the scene. Ken stared at the Hina Blade. "Motoko! What in the hell…" He trailed off as he saw not Motoko, but Keitaro, standing at the ready.
Keitaro grinned. "Thought you might need a hand."
Another ki blast rocked the grounds as Motoko and Kanako entered into the mix.
Motoko pointed her sword, the newly re-forged Shisui, at Ken. "If you ever do that again, I'll kill you myself!"
"Agreed." Added Kanako.
Ken smiled at their words, but then frowned. "You all should not be here."
Kanako sighed. "Please don't start with the whole 'it's too dangerous' speech."
Ken nodded. "It is, but that is not what I meant. You should be asleep for at least another five hours."
Keitaro smiled. "You forgot to take Naru's pregnancy into account with the sleeping potion."
Ken blinked, than sighed. "Of course, extra mass and blood for the toxin to circulate through, resulting in a faster recovery time for Naru." Ken turned. "And she in turn woke all of you."
The others nodded.
The four friends turned to where the lone black-jacketed figure seemed to be staring at them.
Ken spoke first. "The others?"
Keitaro brought the Hina Blade around. "Coming from the other caves and planning to distract the Avatars and rescue Shinobu."
"They can't face the Avatars." Ken replied in a mater of fact tone.
"Don't underestimate them." Keitaro warned with a smile. "We were of guard before, now we're ready."
Kanako nodded. "That's why we're here."
Ken blinked and turned his cowled head toward her.
"We knew you'd get yourself into trouble." Motoko replied. "Anything concerning Shinobu makes you let your guard down. We'll deal with these fighters. You go find Shinobu so we can all leave this place."
Ken nodded. "As the head commands." He ran off into the complex in search of the young woman he cared for so.
Keitaro, Kanako, and Motoko, looked around and saw nothing but those who wished to see them dead.
"Onii-chan, you take the woman in black." Kanako suggested. "Motoko and I will handle the rest."
"You sure?" Keitaro asked uncertain. He knew that the two women together were a hard duo to beat, but the odds were still bad.
"We'll be fine Urashima." Motoko seconded.
The three fighters stood in a triangle back to back.
The woman in black raised her hand.
The mob rushed forward, and the fight began anew.
---
Sarah and Moriko darted around and around Saburo, hitting him at every opportunity. The youngest of the Avatars lashed out in an attempt to retaliate, but his attacks hit only air.
Sarah laughed. "Gotta do better than that slow-poke!"
Saburo grunted as his sister slammed the butt of her dagger into his stomach. "Clearly you don't remember our last encounter child!" His ki crackled to life as he released an enormous blast of electricity in all directions. Sarah and Moriko continued to circle around him completely unscathed. "Nani!?"
"Did you really think we'd fall for that same trick twice?" Sarah taunted as she round house kicked Saburo in the back.
Saburo grunted as he fell to the floor. "I don't understand."
Moriko placed Genseiri's tip at the nape of Saburo's neck. Ki and chi flowed down the blade and long roots began to creep up through the floor and entwine about the boy's body. Moriko stood and looked down as her brother fought against his wooden shackles that held him to the ground. "Electricity requires a conduit to be useful." She pulled back her jacket sleeve revealing what looked like one of Su's therm-optic camouflage suits. "But if you can find the right insulation to stop it, it becomes useless." She hit her brother again, this time in the face, and knocked him cold.
Sarah looked around. "Where's Hotaru?"
Moriko looked around. "Probably looking for Shinobu…" She shook her head. "We don't have time for that now, we need to go help the others with Amaya."
Sarah nodded. "Let's go."
---
Hotaru was indeed looking for someone, but it wasn't Shinobu. She was looking for Sora. She knew that she shouldn't, that this could send everything to hell in a hand basket, but she couldn't stop herself. This was because she knew that even if the other two Avatars were defeated and they managed to find Shinobu and escape, Sora would be waiting for them at the exit fresh and ready while they were beaten and exhausted. It would be better to take the fight to her.
At the end of the hall she traveled, a shadow moved into the light. "I see that you too want a rematch."
"Sora." Hotaru dropped into an offensive middle stance and drew her swords. "This time, no interruptions."
Sora brought Kunpuu forward and also took and offensive stance. "Yes, just you and I."
The tension in the narrow hallway was palpable as the auras of each fighter rose steadily. Outside their arena, something exploded, and they charged one another.
---
Haruka, Seta, Su, Kitsune, Naru, Sarah, Moriko and, off to the side, Nyamo, looked down at the fallen Avatar of Water.
"Guess he was right." Seta admitted as he tied the restraints to Amaya's wrists. "Divide her attention in too many directions and she can't maintain her power."
Haruka nodded, and pulled her cigarettes from her pocket. She threw them away as she realized they were too water logged to light up. "Seems that way." She turned to Naru. "You ok?"
Naru nodded. "Nyamo seems to have incredible reflexes, and she helped me stay out of the worst of it."
"And what did I do?" Kitsune asked in a hurt, but playful tone. "I seem to remember getting you out of the way a few times."
Su pulled out what looked like her old Tama-chan radar, except this one was labeled as the Shinobu-chan radar. "This way!" She called as she scampered down the hall. "Shinobu is at the far side of this place!"
The others sweat dropped as Su lead them into a dead end.
"I see that your inventions are as reliable as always." Sarah remarked dryly.
Su laughed nervously. "At least it didn't explode this time."
Seta sniffed the air. "Does anyone else smell smoke?"
Su quickly hid her radar behind her back. "Nope not me!"
The others sweat dropped again.
Haruka sighed. "Seems that we'll be looking for Shinobu the old fashioned way."
Nyamo turned and pointed down the hall before making a remark in English.
Seta nodded. "Nyamo says we should head this way."
Kitsune headed down the hall. "Well, I don't have a better idea, so why not?"
The group head in the direction of the complex center grounds.
---
Ken rounded the corner and again found no one. Seemed that all the guards were in the complex center grounds. He moved on quickly. He stretched out his senses again, his cover was blown anyway, so now it didn't mater to try and hide it. He could sense Saburo's aura being held in check by Moriko's aura. He could sense Amaya's aura, similarly restrained. He could sense Hotaru and Sora deadlocked in a contest of strength. But he could not sense Shinobu, nor could he sense his father. But it didn't matter, there was only one place that both of them could be.
He stood before the doors to his father's study, and felt his body break out in a cold sweat. He could remember this scene from six years ago. "Round and round we go…" He shook his head. "No, it will be different this time." He kicked open the door and walked into the room. "Where is she?!"
The empty room gave no answer.
Ken looked around. No dust was on the tables, so someone had been here recently. In fact everything was in immaculate condition, just as he remembered, except for the door at the rear of the room. He opened the door slowly and made his way inside. He brought up Kedou to block a long katana as it fell towards him. "Getting slow old man." He spun and kicked his attacker in the gut. "Let's make this quick, ya?" He grabbed the man's wrists and forced him to drop the sword. He punctuated each word of his next question with a stronger grip on his father's wrist. "Where…is…Shinobu?"
The second man began to laugh. "So my son, you've returned at last. But you're as stupid as when you left."
Ken didn't have the chance to respond as he was struck from behind and tumbled across the floor. He rolled and stood quickly before taking a defensive stance. "Got a new lackey I see."
The third man laughed. "New? Don't you recognize me?" He pulled his hood back. "Little brother."
Ken recoiled as the hood fell. "This can't be…you're dead. Ken'ichi died! I saw him die!"
Ken'ichi smiled, a cold and unnatural sight. "You saw them take my body away. All carefully scripted to make you unleash your rei and destroy the other clan heads in one fell swoop." His smile faded. "But you didn't care enough to get angry and loose control to avenge me."
Ken couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then he remembered Shinobu. He could deal with his family later. "Where's the girl?!"
Ken'ichi laughed. "Right about now," He grinned sadistically. "She should be on the Hina Blade."
Ken eyes widened in terror as he realized the implications of his brother's words. "You bastards!" He seethed. He spun and blasted open the wall of the room. He turned and pointed Akkanka at his brother and then to his father. His white eye dimmed, nearly matching his black one. "If she's hurt, you'll beg me to die." He ran out the newly created door and leapt up to the roof, heading toward the complex grounds.
The two men watched as Ken left.
"We will have to kill him after all." The father said.
Ken'ichi shook his head, as he picked up the long katana his father had dropped. "No, we won't."
Kyouaku's voice rose in anger at his son contradiction his order. "What do you mean 'no'!?"
Ken'ichi smiled. "You've outgrown your usefulness to me old man." He buried his katana into his father's heart.
Kyouaku's hood fell back, revealing an older man with a large scar across his face. "How could you?" He demanded as he coughed up blood.
Ken'ichi smiled. "Oh but I haven't father, Kenji did." His smile widened. "At least that is what the clan will be told once I become the new leader. I just needed you until we drew Kenji-chan out. Now it's time for you to die." He twisted his sword in his father's chest, and held it there until the eyes glazed over in death. He pulled the blade out and wiped it clean on his father's coat. He turned toward the center grounds. "And so begins the new age of Japan, the start of the Ashura Dynasty."
Good? Bad? Other? Drop a note and let me know what you think. 'Till the next, live well all!
Name Meanings:
Kyouaku – fiendish, brutal, villainous
Ken'ichi – strong first son