Ha! And another chapter out! Unfortunately this is going to be the last chapter for the next few months. Luckily all I have to worry about is the Epilogue. The reason I won't be able to update this summer is because of the job I took. A summer camp that is going to dominate all my time, and I will have limited computer access and no time for writing. Suck, but if I want my new laptop for school next fall, I need funds.
And when you live out in the sticks like I do…jobs are limited.
I will be updating end of August, first part of September. Both Blood Dawn and Amber Linings will hopefully get updates in this time period. I apologize and beg for forgiveness, but I am sick and tired of my crack producing computer.
Plus Mom and Dad said get job if I want to have money, period.
So I hope all of you enjoy this chapter. Once again, my apologies for the lack of updating this summer; I might be able to have time for a short story or two but that is all.
Ravyn
Remember, I don't own Kenshin or any of his adorable friends. See the part were I don't have money?
Rain also has note! (Big thanks to both Rain and Pia! Love you two! Best Beta-readers in the world!)
Beta Note:
My apologies for the slow update. points accusing finger at her computer "It" was suffering from constipation. . Neways...I wanna throw a lil thank you for the two people who gave me a thumbs up in the reviews. Thank you animeprincezz and Malik Fan 03 !!! Your notes did not go unnoticed, and I am so very grateful for your...er...gratitude (I know...how repetitive) ;;; But yes. Thank you so much!
Kaoru moved fluidly, briefly wondering if the pounding of her heart was in time with the movements of her watch. The near silent ticking was thundering through her sensitive ears, leaving her to wish she had left it at home.
Tick.
Thump.
Tick.
Thump.
Tick.
Panting, she sought Misao's erratic Ki by moving her own through the thickened air. Both sweat and blood filled her senses. Misao's was fluctuating, fighting both her hate and need of the blood Ki rampaging through the air, Kaoru desperately wondered how much longer they had before it sank into everything and nothing.
'Daddy, when you grow old will you have gray hair?' Kaoru questioned her ice cream melting as she paused from licking the cone. Bright, youthful eyes surveyed her father's movements, as if sensing his amusement and wondering at it.
Kaoru was only seven, but she was an observant seven.
"And what, Kaoru-chan, brings you to ask such a question?"
Kaoru hurriedly swiped at the dripping cone with her pink tongue, attempting to keep the ice cream in place. "Mommy didn't have gray hair. The teacher said that all old people have gray hair and then someone, I don't remember who, said that only old people die. If you're going to die then I don't want you to grow old and have gray hair!"
Her father -her big, wonderful father- scooped her up. Kaoru laughed, she loved flying and her daddy was so close to the sky. "My Kaoru-chan, everyone dies. It is the way of things. Our lives are marked with the passage of time."
Kaoru wrinkled her nose. "You mean like a clock?"
She ducked when her father playfully tapped her nose. "That is one way of putting it."
Frowning, the little girl watched a large clock tick on the side of the building they passed. "I hate clocks."
Kaoru ducked under the Katana that had been heading for her neck and twisted, using the opportunity to slash through the defenses before her. Kaoru paused as she realized that the group of crazed creatures circled her and Misao. They had managed to cut through a good two-thirds of those who they had first fought but Kaoru was just waiting for them to start putting themselves back together.
It was utterly disgusting the way their dismembered limbs would inch back towards each other and then knit back into the proper place.
Hearing what sounded like labored breathing; it took a moment for Kaoru to realize that the panting was coming from her.
"You fight well Himura. But that will not aid you in a moment." Kamatari whispered, his beautiful eyes glinting with rage.
"Totally-" Misao panted, her voice muffled by the great gulps of air she was taking, "Unfair that he calls you Himura. When are the bad guys going to refer to me as Shinomori?"
Kaoru allowed herself a faint grin. The mental image of Misao with a trench coat and two Kodachi as long as she was tall being waved around would have sent her into a fit of giggles had she any air left to laugh with.
Kamatari crowed with cruel amusement. "You are a disgrace to Shinomori. I am more beautiful and lady-like than you could ever hope to be!"
Misao froze and gaped at him in flabbergasted disbelief. "You're a GUY! You can't be more lady-like than I am! You… have JUNK!"
Kamatari laughed and shifted his stance. "Come little girl, you are no match for me. First I will destroy you and then I shall take on my real opponent."
Kaoru watched the particular glint that spoke of trouble entire her friend's eyes. Kamatari, it seemed, had pushed one button too many, in her small friend's opinion. You just didn't mess with her Aoshi-sama or contradict how she saw herself.
Kaoru had been watching Kamatari closely, and noted the half crazed gleam in the man's eyes. Kaoru vaguely wondered what Kenshin had done to this man in the past life for him to stoop to childishly insulting his opponents when trying to kill them.
Especially the insults he and Misao seemed to delight in hurling at each other when in a verbal spar.
"Kaoru," Misao murmured, her green-blue gaze snapping. "The target?"
"This," Kamatari snapped, "is utterly ridiculous. I shall kill you both and rid myself of this problem. Prepare to die! Nothing shall stand in the path of Shishio-sama!"
"The target." Kaoru agreed, ignoring Kamatari's attempt to look threatening -and ridiculously pose- and tilted her head at her friend in question.
Distracting Kamatari was important if they where going to pull this off.
Misao' clearly blatant wink was the only response she got.
Shifting, Kaoru hacked into the bodies of the walking dead in an attempt to put as much room between her and Misao's carefully planted explosives as possible.
'Now', Misao whispered into Kaoru's mind. Concentrating on the trigger points she could feel, Kaoru, in a move she had not quite perfected with Kenshin, pulled.
Moreover, before she felt the world shift, her last thought was she -hoped- Kenshin didn't get angry with her.
The world went awash in white hot light and howling bodies.
Kenshin skidded to stop as he faced off against Shishio. The man's form had lost none of its speed nor any of its fire. His eyes, though, they were different.
They were eyes of a man who had lost his freedom and once he had tasted it, had no desire to give it back. However, Kenshin had no desire to lose everything he had just spent the last hundred or so years fighting to regain.
Kaoru was in his arms, in his home, his mate, and it would take more than one displaced demon to tear her from him again.
Shaking his bangs in front of his eyes, he slide back into his favored Battoujitsu stance and waited.
Shishio did not disappoint.
As their blades tangled, Kenshin closed everything out of his mind except the twisting of steel and the faint, careful heartbeat of his mate.
Kenshin rolled into his attack, his hand grasping the hilt of his Katana as he prepared to pull it out in lightening fast draw that had -partially- earned him his nickname.
However, that was before the world shook under foot and he felt Kaoru's sharp stab of pain. Quickly he pulled himself out of the attack and managed to dodge Shishio's blade.
Growling, he kept a careful eye on Shishio as he felt for Kaoru.
There.
Re-sheathing his blade, he settled back into his attack position, readjusting his weight to come at Shishio in a different attack.
Kaoru and him where going to have a long talk on this was over, that they would.
Soujiro wasn't sure what was worse. The fact that he was facing Kenshin's ex-brother in law who was officially nutters, or the fact that he was a fast and unhealthily insane, reminding him of a younger version of himself many years ago.
And -honestly- who was that flexible?
Soujiro grunted as he felt the air around him twist in the manner that warned him when Enishi planned to use that -one- particular move of his and he danced out of the way.
He was dragging this out and he knew it.
"Enishi, is this really necessary?" Soujiro questioned tightly as he eyed the younger man's crazed blue eyes.
Enishi laughed. "Far too long have I lived without my sister and I shall finally be able to bring her home."
And with a sick and startling clarity did Soujiro realize exactly what this entire fight was about.
A person was only reborn when they wanted to be, their souls deciding if there was something worth brining back to this world. Kaoru had needed Kenshin, Kenshin had called for her in a way Soujiro could not imagine feeling, and she reappeared - Misao hanging on her coattails.
However, Tomoe, in all the years that Kenshin and the others had lived, was never once reborn. Soujiro could not imagine living in the world waiting for his sister, knowing he could change her and bring her back into his life for eternity.
Nevertheless, neither she nor Akira had wanted that, or so it appeared. Soujiro wondered if, perhaps, Tomoe was waiting on Enishi before she was reborn, so they could all walk the paths of -mortality- together.
In addition, if the faintest touch of white plum on the air meant anything, he was correct.
Tomoe somehow wanted to give Enishi a fresh start.
"Sister -will- smile again." Enishi hissed in delusional laughter.
Soujiro agreed with him. "Yes, but not in this lifetime, I will not let you turn you sister into some half crazed Zombie who needs to feed off death to live."
In order for Tomoe to be brought back to life she had to have a host body and she had to feed of the life force of someone. The only person here who could possible fit the description of Tomoe in a physical sense was Kaoru. Her -frame- was the correct size, although the girls looked nothing alike.
Soujiro would not let that happen.
Enishi went very still. "You can not stop me." His voice was void of any emotion and Soujiro suppressed a shiver. He knew that voice, knew that sound.
So be it.
Allowing the last of his emotions to fold under his will he slipped into his own Battoujitsu stance. "Yes, I will."
Enishi laughed then, the flat sound crazed and incoherent. "Her rebirth had been assured."
Soujiro grinned. "As has your death this night."
Sometimes stealing lines was perhaps the only way to prove a point.
Dodge right. Then left, and now up the middle. Fire gun. Duck.
Some things made life worth living, such as Tsubame's very shy smiles. Some things made life -very- painful. Such as knife buried in his shoulder, the irritating comments coming from his friends and the soft muttering of 'Aku, Zoku, Zan.'
He -really- should have bought stock in that aspirin company a few years ago.
Yahiko fired his gun until he was out of rounds. He had no idea how much time was left, as he had smashed his watch a few minutes ago, the pieces currently digging into his wrist, but to him it felt like there was a lifetime of fighting remained.
He had fought on this same damn street for a million years. It was a never ending nightmare that would continue to whisper across his skin and haunt his mind until he knew it was over.
This, it felt like, was never going to happen.
He absently wondered how Tsubame was doing.
Yahiko felt a Katana race at his neck, and ducked. Saitoh's Japanese sword buried itself in the side of a beast that had been heading towards his throat.
"Ahou, perhaps you should watch your back?" The sarcastic remark hid the tense undercurrents of worry in the wolf's voice and Yahiko stifled a grin.
"Don't give the wolf anything to gloat over later." Sano warned. His voice implied that he would let Kaoru know all the bad things he had been up to in the last lifetime if he did so.
"Rooster brains, perhaps we should offer you to the wolves as a sacrifice so that the brat and I can get some well-earned respite after this fight." Saitoh retorted darkly.
Sano just sighed and slammed a fist into the spine of yet -another- wolf.
The clock continued to tick.
Yumi glared at Aoshi, both desperately searching for that chink in the spiritual armor that would finally fell their opponents.
Mediation had been good for Aoshi. It had taught him how to fight his battles on more than one plane. Ghosts, he saw now, were easily dealt with. Yumi -it seemed- had as much experience as even he had, in one form or another.
Sitting around watching Shishio plan for his retaking of earth seemed to not be all she had done. Aoshi watched her, the inborn gift of fighting not within her. No, it had been her sacrifice when she tossed herself into the Battousai's blade that had opened this path to her.
He, Shinomori Aoshi, would end it.
"You can't win this fight Yumi-san. Your grounding is not nearly as strong as mine."
Yumi shook her head, her wine colored eyes darkening. "I don't have to be. I just have to hold you off for another three minutes and I win this fight."
Aoshi felt the old blood rage fill his senses as the tainted Ki of the environment called for him to use. Forcing it back, he glared at her. "I have Misao within my finger tips and you will not interfere with that."
Yumi shot her chin up. "I will aid Shishio-sama. That foolish Kamatari shall not touch what is mine."
Aoshi snorted. "And tell me Yumi do you really think that Kamatari, if he wins, will allow Enishi to pull you into this world?"
Yumi stiffened. "Shishio-sama…"
"Will have no say," Aoshi broke in, his voice ice as he grew impatient. "You are a fool Yumi."
In that split second, Yumi faltered.
Aoshi attacked.
Kenshin wasn't sure what happened, one minute their blades were crossed in a valiant tussle, the next, Shishio was gone.
Left to protect Yumi.
Kenshin frowned at the uncharacteristic move.
Something was wrong.
Kaoru picked herself up and shook her aching head. She heard Misao groan from somewhere behind her. Turning, she froze at what she saw.
Kamatari was -glowing-. Not something was should have been physically possible.
"I shall not lose!"
Then he was gone.
Grabbing Misao, Kaoru hauled her to where she could feel the building Ki.
"Kenshin," Kaoru snarled both mentally and physically as she pulled the half comatose girl along with her.
She would get there in time.
One minute they where all standing there, the next they where gone, leaving the men to wonder where the wolves were. Yahiko had but a moment to consider this as an arm grabbed him by the back of the jacket and yanked him forward.
That was when he felt it.
An aura filled with enough blood Ki and hate to fill several blood moons.
Kamatari.
Turning, he put all his effort, and remaining blood, into running.
He only hoped they could make it.
Soujiro stiffened a fraction before he removed Enishi's head and pulled the attack off. He did knick his throat but both men failed to notice.
It was the glowing figure that stood in front of Yumi with a pulsating sword that caused them to gape.
"You have got to be shitting me." Soujiro moaned. This night couldn't get any worse.
If Yumi was killed, it was going to send some rather nasty waves into this area, possibly fueling Kamatari into a crazed frenzy, making him nearly impossible to stop.
Enishi gave a high pitched laugh and moved towards the prone figure of the girl, that in the fight, they had all forgotten about. Rei's sister was going to die.
Kenshin, seeing where Shishio was headed and sensing the presence of his friends, turned and started to move forward when several things happened at once.
Kaoru and Misao broke free of the line of buildings, not far from where Kamatari stood next to Yumi.
Yahiko almost ran over Soujiro in his attempt to stop Kamatari, with Saitoh and Sano right behind him, and their momentum sending everyone into a pile on the floor.
Enishi plunged the dagger into the girl's chest, causing the world to be tossed into flames and blood.
Kamatari lunged for Yumi, his eyes glowing blood red with hate.
Shishio stood in front of Yumi, -fading- from view even as the pulse from Enishi grew stronger.
That was when she appeared.
'Tomoe' Kenshin thought desperately as he saw the pristine image of his first wife materialize before him. He didn't know who to look at - Kaoru, who was in danger of the backlash from Kamatari, or Tomoe, the one woman who's forgiveness he had never asked.
Could never ask.
'Go Anata, I shall handle this one. Save her. She loves you as I never could.'
It was an order. He had never denied Tomoe anything in the past, and now, he was willing to let her do as she would. Kaoru was his to protect now, not Tomoe.
He started towards Kaoru, never seeing Tomoe touch Enishi, never seeing the Blood Ki suddenly disappear; he never even saw Kamatari reach to stab Yumi as Shishio faded completely.
All he saw was the dark churning of power that was headed straight for Kaoru, a cloud full of enough Blood Ki that it would override her abilities to purify it, and it would kill her.
He felt, rather than saw, Aoshi moving next to him.
Tackling Kaoru, he wrapped his life force as tightly around her as he could. Even then he could feel it eating at his defenses, but their best hope was to stay wrapped around each other in an attempt to defend against it.
He caught the faintest sent of White Plum.
'Be happy Anata. I am.'
Then the world turned white.
Kaoru blinked rapidly as the world righted itself. The first thing she noticed was the blood red hair that covered her face, and the weight that was slowly cutting the air out of her lungs.
"Ken…shin." Kaoru managed in a gasp.
Kenshin rolled into a sitting position and kept his face buried in her neck. "I thought I -told- you to stay away from this fight." Kenshin growled. "Do you realize that you could have died?"
Kaoru grinned. "And when have I ever listened to anything you have ever told me?"
Kenshin pulled back to glare at her, but the glare died when he got a good look at her face. It was littered with fast healing cuts and bruises, her lip slit from the impact with the ground thanks to Misao's explosion.
She was still beautiful.
"What happened?" Kaoru question ruefully as Kenshin helped her stand. There where groans coming from everyone around them and Kenshin sighed as he tucked her against his side.
"Yumi-dono was allowed to be a specter of sorts because of her sacrifice for Shishio many years ago. It seems Tomoe was allowed that same honor, because of the manner of her death." He closed his eyes as he cradled her close. "She stopped Enishi."
Kaoru felt her eyes widen.
"Oh."
Aoshi stood holding Misao, who seemed to be arguing with him, and walked over.
Kaoru snickered when she caught the tale end of there argument.
"…and you shall never use explosives again!"
"AOSHI-SAMA," Misao shrieked in disbelief, causing those around her to wince at the volume of her cries.
"Man will you please keep it down Weasel-girl? Some of us are trying to recover from a very trying moment."
"Shut up Rooster-head! Saitoh, why have you not stabbed him yet?"
"Headache, do any of you understand the word headache?"
"Just SHUT UP Chan-boy!"
"Ahou."
"Saitoh-san, be nice."
"Smiley-chan."
"Hey!"
Kenshin watched his friends pull themselves together and he sighed. Placing an arm around Kaoru's waist, he breathed the scent of Jasmine in. "Let's go home."
Thwap
"What was that for Fox?"
Thwap
"Would you stop that?"
"I can't believe you went and broke the bones in your hand again! Do you understand nothing of how your bones break? You hit a solid object, they break."
Thwap
Kenshin settled closer to Kaoru and watched as Megumi and Tsubame fussed over those who had been wounded. Kaoru's cuts, while minor and mostly closed, had been rubbed with cream to keep them clean until they finished healing.
Saitoh had left not long after they had all stumbled into the Aioya and been shoved into chairs and handed hot cups of tea. He had murmured something about checking on his wife.
Kenshin was suddenly very glad that he was only reborn every couple of hundred years.
"So Tomoe saved us?" It was Misao's voice, and it was strangely subdued.
Kaoru settled her head against his shoulder in silent comfort and Kenshin squeezed her hand. Any pain he could have felt for his first wife had long since disappeared thanks to Kaoru, and Tomoe herself had told him she was happy.
Perhaps she had found Akira after all.
"Yes." Kenshin answered.
Misao frowned thoughtfully. "I wonder if she was the Lady that Rei said she saw that first night."
Kaoru sat up straight against Kenshin and looked surprised. "I had forgotten about that!"
Misao grinned at everyone's shocked features. "I guess this means that Tomoe had been keeping an eye on things for a while now then, huh?"
Yahiko shook his head. "And to think, here we all thought that Ghosts didn't exist."
Aoshi calmly kept his smile, as usual, to himself.
Kenshin sighed and looked out the window, and felt what could have been the faintest of touches against the scars on his cheek.
'Heal well, and goodbye Anata.'
Megumi finished wrapping Sano's fingers and looked around. She could have sworn she heard something. Shrugging she sighed. "So what do we do here from now?"
They all blinked comically at each other. The Oniwabanshu was back together and changed, thanks to Aoshi and Shura. Kenshin had Kaoru, Aoshi had Misao, and Sano, Megumi, Yahiko, and Tsubame were all happy and mated.
What did they do from here?
Kenshin grinned. "Live. In the most peaceful way possible, at least until the next Blood Moon."
Aoshi smiled a very small and very secret smile. Things around this group of individuals were never peaceful for long.
A answer to a Question.
How does the Oniwabanshu/Kenshin/Yahiko/Soujiro change from human to vampire without being mated?
If you notice in whatever chapter Misao is changed, Aoshi does not take her as his mate. This is possible because being changed is only a matter of mutating a person's Ki and other things (lets not really go into an explanation of everything!) The mating ritual does not necessarily change a person, but if a Human is changed at that point and mated at the same time, it is easier because the other half can help/ease the process thanks to the binding ceremony. It's just a matter of how you alter or tie the Ki.
So there is no Kenshin/Hiko love effect or Aoshi/Oniwabanshu/Misao harem. Amusing thought however…
I do plan on one day going back and rewriting a few things, so I shall attempt to make that clearer.