Ciao!!!

New Year's Eve is over- and my parents took my news actually better than I thought they would. My father is okay with my choice of career, after my twin helped me out by pointing out that, even though it were a teenage tic that I wanted to study law, that tic would surely survive the six months that separate me from university. My mother was the harder part… somehow, she always expected me to follow in her footsteps as a top female scientist- she's a bit of an emancipist on that front. Ry thought it was so funny that they almost choked on their sparkling wine when I announced my good intentions for the year: I want to get into a good law school… *grins* Perhaps the added shock of me having cut fifty centimeters off my hair helped- the first thing my mother said when I got back from the hairdresser's with my hair stopping at the nape of my neck was: "Where's your hair?" And I showed her the plastic bag I had it in. She almost fainted! But with all the sports I do long hair was getting on my nerves as it's between wavy and curly and takes an insanely long time to dry. *grins* Ry hates my new look, so it actually looks good!

Unfortunately, I caught a bad case of the flu (the real influenza), so I could not update sooner as my fever was bordering on 104.7°F for three days. I'm better now, so here's the new chapter. Enjoy!!!

"…." Denotes talking

….. denotes thinking

*~* means a change of scenery (either temporal or local, I think which one of those will be clear) has taken place

Disclaimer: I do in no way own any rights, moral or others, to Rurouni Kenshin, its characters or plot. Characters other than the characters from Rurouni Kenshin bearing any resemblance to persons living or dead are purely coincidental. I do not intend to make any profits out of this story, it's written for entertainment purposes only and any attempt by persons natural or legal to make money from it in any way is not in accordance with this author's express wishes.

Chapter 12

Truthful lies

There were certain inalienable truths in the life of Saito Hajime, chief investigator for Dunkelland royalty. Criminals would be found, justice would be dealt swiftly and fairly, and that little Amazon girl who called herself a princess was going to regret that she had ever crossed paths with him. She was efficiently detaining him from doing his duty by shooting question after question at his less-than-responsive back. He could not simply blow her off since she was an important guest and he had to be diplomatic, but he certainly showed his anger and disgust at being tied down with a hyperactive teenage girl.

Misao seemed oblivious to the glares that were directed at her back as she chattered happily about growing up in the Amazon castle, a beautiful, low building that resembled a traditional Japanese house more than the stern, high walls of the European-style Dunkelland Castle, and the woods surrounding it. Even though Saito didn't show the slightest interest in her exploits or her martial arts and ninja training she wasn't to be deterred.

"Oh, and I think you have heard about Crown Princess Tomoe? She's my older sister," here she smiled, "and she's legendary. You know, Mother always said she was so quiet and behaved, but then I found out that she had run away when I was thirteen…" Saito tuned her out again. Apart from the occasional grunt or affirmative nod nothing else was expected from him, so he didn't actually have to listen to that annoying brat's drivel.

He almost missed her saying the name, but his trained senses were able to pick it up even semi-conscious. "What did you say?" he asked sharply, not caring that he had revealed his lack of interest in conversation with the young princess just now.

"I said," Misao repeated, looking slightly put off that Saito hadn't bothered to listen, "that Tomoe told me she had met this guy you all are hunting for- Battousai was what she called him."

"The heiress of the Amazons met Battousai?" Saito was more than a little intrigued. Perhaps the visit of these rather barbaric women with their annoyingly superior attitude did have something good.

"She says so. But then Mother claims that my father is also a man of your country…" Misao sighed dreamily, "ah, if only I would meet him… she said I would recognize him from his hair- mine resembles his, you know." She pointed at the glistening, black strands that shone with a green sheen where they had sprung from her tight braid.

Saito waited. She had yet to come forward with useful information. Or perhaps she already has. You should remember a man with greenish black hair- if he's her father then he might be connected to the Amazons, and if Battousai is connected to the Amazons as well…

"Anyways, Tomoe is always talking about Battousai, and a small house at the edge of Dunkelwald that's closest to our border, and a man who poses as a potter but is a swordsmaster. He has taught her some tricks, she says."

"A small house at the Amazon border?" Now Saito's interest was more than piqued.

"Yes, that's what she said, and she smiled when she said that." Misao grinned cheekily up to Saito's impressive height. The wolfish chief investigator had a sharp glint springing to life in the corners of his eyes.

"I am sorry, Princess, but I'll have to leave your company now. I beg your pardon and hope that you'll find Shinomori Aoshi, captain of the Palace Guard, a suitable substitute for me. There are urgent matters to attend to, I'm afraid."

"You mean…" Misao looked horrified. What had she just said that made that man flee her company? Was it something that males thought unacceptable? She was already trying her best to fit in, as she had promised her mother, but it was just so hard to gat along with all these males! They were so confusing, and behaving so… superior instead of being the cowed and muted beings they were in Hippolytien. "You mean I have offended you?" she finally choked out.

"No, Princess, you haven't offended me. I have to leave nonetheless." Saito gave her a curt nod before striding off, his long legs easily carrying him through the castle at a fast pace. He had to issue orders for all the men that were still hunting Battousai out in the woods to return to the castle.

"Wait! You… Saito! What have I done?" Misao was really distressed now. He had simply blown her off coldly, and not a single word he had said had contained any reassurance that she had not caused a diplomatic disaster. He didn't answer her, and the young Amazon was left to kicking the stones of the walls in frustration and muttering under her breath about 'stupid males and their damn failure to communicate'. Cultural differences were not that easy to overcome… she kicked the wall again for good measure.

"Princess Misao, what has you so angered?" Now that was a voice she could get used to. Cool and refined it reminded her of her sister, but with a certain humility and warmth to it that Tomoe, being the Crown Princess of the Amazons, lacked.

"Who are you?" She asked, squinting to find the woman's features behind her black veil. She was taller than Misao by half a head- the young princess scowled at that- but as slender as her, judging from the easy way her wide, billowing robes fell around her frame.

"I am the medicine woman of this castle and the village at the foot of the hill," she answered, bowing to show her respect for a foreign dignitary. Judging from her manners Misao would have mistaken her for a very high-ranking lady or a diplomat, but never for a doctor.

"What do you want from me?" She asked curiously. The medicine woman chuckled, her hand- slender and white like a lady's again- flying up to the place where the veil concealed her mouth. Her laughter rang with a seductive "Ohohohoho!" before she composed herself again.

"I merely wanted to greet the princess of the Amazons- I saw you and your envoy arrive and was curious," she explained. Misao smiled. She didn't expect the people of Dunkelland to have the courage to go and search for her out of mere curiosity.

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, medicine woman," she said in her finest 'court voice', one she normally hated to use. In front of that woman, however… she didn't want to behave like a stupid little teenaged girl.

"It was an honor to make your acquaintance, Princess," the medicine woman replied, her voice and bow smooth as honey. "I have to be on my way now, unfortunately. Chief investigator Saito needs to talk with me."

"About what?" Misao asked. Her inbred curiosity, as usual, got the better of her, as much as she was scowling inwardly at herself because of that.

"Matters of the state- and an escaped criminal," the medicine woman added after seeing the Amazon's doubtful face.

"Escaped criminal? How exciting! At home, Mother would allow my sister and me to join the hunt if there was a dangerous criminal on the loose- do you think I might accompany you? I still have to apologize to the chief investigator, too- something I said must have set him off and-"

"Princess Misao, I'm afraid the customs of our country do not allow you to join in hunting dangerous individuals- you are an important guest. Please follow me, I'll take you to the castle gardens where the King is awaiting you for a light afternoon tea." Silently, but dominantly, the imposing figure of the captain of the Palace Guard loomed behind the little princess's back.

"Dangerous individuals? Criminals? I am the second best fighter in all of Hippolytien- what makes you think I cannot take on a common criminal?"

"I never doubted your ability to take on a common criminal. The man we are dealing with is far from common. He escaped from the deepest of our dungeons while severely injured. He is…" Aoshi fell silent, knowing from the look on Misao's face that he had just piqued her interest even more. "He is none of your concern. Chief investigator Saito and the Palace Guard will handle this man. You, on the other hand, will now meet the King."

Had Misao been the princess of any other country than his native one, Aoshi would have never treated her this way. Being as it was, however, he still remembered the oh-so-innocent tortures the spoiled little princess had inflicted upon a little boy barely six years her senior. And a four-year-old could be cruel if she desired to be so.

"He is not of my concern? A dangerous man? You're not talking about Battousai, are you, kitchen-boy?" The thrill of the hunt started to light up Misao's eyes and fire her muscles into tight, ready coils. She wanted to be on the trail of that… criminal right now. She loved hunting down criminals, and she was good at it. And if the escapee was dangerous, then that was even better. She had long since longed for someone to pit her skills against.

"If I were it would make no difference. The King is awaiting you here, Princess," Aoshi motioned into the beautifully landscaped, open courtyard that was the King's private garden.

"Oh, I will simply ask my fiancé for permission to join the hunt," she said haughtily in an answer to Aoshi's unspoken challenge, wincing inwardly at how harsh she treated him. As a small girl, he had been her hero- he had been there to save her if she had climbed too far up a tree and could not get down, he had brought her food whenever she craved for it, and he had played every single game she had proposed with her.

"King Kamiya will undoubtedly share my views on this situation, Princess," he replied evenly, his mask not showing a single crack. He had gotten better and better at hiding his emotions as this girl that now stood so… enticingly excited in front of her put him through more and more of her embarrassing 'games'.

"We will see," she hissed, clearly angered at his superior attitude and miffed that, to improve relations between their respective countries, she could not physically lash out against him.

"We will," he confirmed, not knowing why he even bothered to answer. But something about that girl he had practically known from the day she was born touched an almost forgotten part of his mind. A part he had wanted to bury beneath the thickest layer of ice he could conjure…

She was gone, bouncing cheerfully along the flowerbeds that shone in all their radiant glory. Even better, now he wouldn't have to think about her at all and could instead concentrate on trying to make sense of the information Saito had provided him with. A house at the edge of Dunkelwald… a soldier with green-black hair… and Battousai.

*~*

Hiko Seijurou had just finished to tell his brother the story of King Kamiya- the tragedy of the life of one girl who had been turned into something she was not, yet could not escape. Like a flower forced to become a poisonous weed, he said. Shimajirou had listened silently, watching the play of Seijurou's fire in the lines on his face. His brother had aged, though not by much. The men and women of the Hiko line had always been granted a long and healthy life and youthful appearance…

"And what have you been up to these past… twenty-five years, Shimajirou?" The forty-three year-old swordsmaster asked. Yes, what had he been up to… Shimajirou intently studied the intricate pattern of the Same on his sword's hilt, the black cord that made up the wrapping- all traditional in the crossover-style- slightly frayed where it had been touched by his hands so often. This sword was what had held his life together all this time, it was the one he had received when he first entered into Dunkelland's armed services…

He had kept in touch with his family, loosely, until Seijurou had turned eighteen, then had completely shifted his alliances over to the Royals his father had despised so much. He had tried to forget about his family, had put his brother out of his mind, ambitious, cunning, sarcastic, genius Seijurou… and had found his completion in serving with the Palace Guard once his talent with a sword had been realized. Even though he had never been able to hold his own against his brother who was ten years his junior his skill level was well above average and he had found peace when wielding a sword for his King.

He had met the little boy Shinta, and had sent him to safety. He had harbored doubts and fears and had redoubled his efforts and his shows of loyalty. He had been made the captain of the Palace Guard in reward, and he had decided that his single transgression against his vow was not that bad. He had become a weapon in the hands of the King, a passive servant happy to answer to every beck and call.

And then he had met her. He had met the one woman who had startled him out of his peaceful meditative servicing, who had seduced him and had him come to her like a dog that had been called by its master. She had loved him, used him, left him- all of that in the span of a single year, almost eighteen years ago. And still, Shimajirou had continued to serve, had pushed his pain and suffering and lost love behind him, not even attempting to try and see her again despite her closeness.

He had tried to forget about her, had tried to put the image of blue eyes and a brilliant smile more beautiful than a sunrise out of his mind and had failed. And still he had served, a silent shadow in the hallways of Dunkelland Castle.

When the tales about Battousai became wilder and wilder, he had remembered his transgression, and it had come back to haunt him, like her eyes did. Shimajirou had not slept well this past year. It had continued to erode his need for safety, his desire for something steady in his life, until he had helped the injured young man that was recovering on Seijurou's bed to reach his former master, Shimajirou's former, and now again, brother, Seijurou.

"I have been a soldier for the King," Shimajirou said, having thought enough about his life and what he had failed to do or had done.

"And I have been a swordsmaster- now tell me what has happened." Seijurou's sharp, intelligent eyes bore into his brother's soul. And Shimajirou answered by telling his tale- while his brother listened with a patient attentiveness he would have never thought Seijurou capable of.

"So you have had a lover and I never knew anything about her?" Seijurou smirked. "She is the queen of the Amazons now? You certainly have moved up in rank, brother."

"I think she is the Queen- I don't know anything about her anymore." Shimajirou hung his head in something that was almost shame.

"Why don't you know?" Seijurou didn't know a lot about customs of foreign countries, or politics, but something as the name of the woman who was the Queen of his neighboring country he would be able to get to know rather easily.

"When a princess of the Amazons is made queen she takes on the name of Hippolyte. I have no way of knowing whether Hippolyte XIX. is the woman I loved or not, she is the mother of all Amazons, and as such will never ever want anything to do with a simple soldier."

"Who knows?" His brother clapped him friendly onto the shoulder. "Perhaps you have a son somewhere that you have never seen…"

"I don't hope so!" Shimajirou exclaimed, looking truly horrified at the… yes, was it at the prospect of having continued the Hiko line or having a son that shocked him?

"Why?" Seijurou nagged, a small grain of his sarcasm etching into his voice, "afraid he'll turn out to be as… dense as you are?"

"No. But the Amazons don't treat male children very well." Shimajirou didn't want to elaborate on that, and Seijurou was sensitive enough to his brother's emotions- via his ki, of course- that he knew better than to pry.

"And how was your life with the little redhead?" Shimajirou's kin jerked into the direction of a very still and pale figure under a thin, but soft and warm blanket.

"You have certainly sent me a very stupid little apprentice!" Seijurou laughed, launching into childhood tales that the slumbering man, had he been able to hear his master telling them, would have found most embarrassing.

*~*

Megumi was neither uneasy nor overly confident facing Saito. She was just herself- calm, composed, pale and a little fragile. The chief investigator had asked her to discard her veil, and the medicine woman had done his bidding as a show of good faith, obscuring her face behind a thin line of shadows from her hood only. She had had to take the risk, knowing that Saito might remember the young maid that had been with his soldier the day Battousai fled. Not doing what was asked of her would have aroused certain suspicion, however, so she simply hoped for the best while pulling her cloak's wide hood farther over her face than usual.

"You are aware of the fact that you were the last person to speak to Battousai before he fled?" The chief investigator did not believe in putting things off. His reputation preceded him, and suspects knew better than to try and lie to him. He could taste lies in the air, they were tangible in the crooked and blackened ki of the liar and the wolf hated nothing more than the bad taste of untrue words.

"Before he fled, yes." She was not about to walk into the trap of lying. She had felt what Battousai was capable of, and that man radiated the same kind of a dangerously strong aura.

"What did you tell him?" Saito would ask the easy questions first, of course. He would get her later by twisting and turning her own words around until she slipped. It was fortunate that the last searching party would return this afternoon, having been out all night and half of the day.

"I told him where he was. He was feverish and not in a good condition. He could hardly speak, but I could see that he was unsettled by his surroundings. So I told him where he was." She had not lied once. Good. Now she would have to keep her careful dance up, in the same graceful manner telling and not telling Saito the things he demanded to know.

"How could he get out of the chains? I was told that he was strung up by his crossed wrists- it is very nearly impossible to slip out of manacles when the wrists are crossed." Now came the risky part. She would have to take some of the blame for Battousai's escape, not enough that it would actually warrant punishment, but enough not to be suspicious.

"I asked him to be lowered to the floor and unchained, Chief Investigator. I was to treat him and keep him alive, and if I could not really work on him that would have been impossible."

"Who did your bidding?" She breathed easier now. She had avoided taking all the blame.

"My escort, Sir. Unfortunately, neither of us had the keys to the prisoner's chains, and as I didn't know where the Chain Master had gone to I asked him to use a wayward piece of metal as a lever and simply break the lock."

"Ah." Seemingly, that explained some unclear point in the chief investigator's reconstruction of the events.

"Who was your escort?" Megumi's breath hitched. What should she say? She pressed a hand to her heart and tried to calm the frantically fluttering bird that seemed to have forgotten its duty of pumping blood through her body.

"His name was… Sanosuke or something. I don't know much about him, as soon as he wasn't needed anymore he went off with a castle maid." No lies there- she had been the castle maid, but there were no lies.

"Typical," Saito snorted shortly, taking in the exhausted look on the white face of the polite and refined woman in front of him. The medicine woman was pretty young for someone so good at her craft, but the lines of pain, sorrow and worry around her mouth- apart from her eyes the only feature of her that he could clearly see- gave her a wisdom and maturity beyond her years. She was ill, he remembered, having been told by the King that he was not to stress her out too much. She was needed, and she was weak. He would have to analyze her words now, there was not much more information she could give him. She could not have helped Battousai run- he had already inquired as to what she had done to treat his read-haired menace, and she was in no condition to do both this and organize and pull off a flight. She had not done anything against the King's wishes. And she had not said anything untrue, even though some of her answers had been carefully crafted not to reveal too much information. No, the medicine woman was beyond reproach, as much as it galled him.

"Do you wish assistance in leaving?" he asked, forcefully polite. She shook her head, one slim hand reaching for her veil.

"I will have to go to the kitchens first, give them the King's medicine for tonight." Her voice was melodious and clear, and he could not help but think that he had heard it somewhere else before- somewhere where there was no medicine woman in sight. She was a mystery… and Saito's job was to unravel them. Perhaps she was not beyond reproach just yet- only out of his immediate suspicion.

"Farewell, chief investigator Saito," she said, walking away from him. She was too controlled- that was what had struck him as suspicious. Her story was too tight- nobody had such a minute-to-minute recollection of everything that happened almost a day before. He would order that she was watched and followed.

*~*

"Do you remember me?" Innocuous blue eyes peered at him out of the darkness. Frowning, he tried to find out where he was by swiveling his head around, but had to give it up after finding that the pair of eyes was the only thing he could see at all.

"You don't remember me?" A face accompanied the eyes now, a face he felt he should know. But then, he did not know very much these days.

"I didn't think you wouldn't remember me." The hurt look on the eerie, disembodied face made him swallow heavily. Had he just betrayed someone? What else would cause this deeply wounded expression? If only he could find his memories! But they were lost, buried somewhere in the darkness, along the way he had come.

"If you don't remember me, then why are you here?" A valid question. Why was he wherever it was that he was? He didn't even know how he had gotten here, he had lost his memories, a little, light traveling bag he had studiously clung to until he had had to give it up to go on. He remembered losing the bag, but nothing before.

"Who are you?" If I could answer that question, he thought, it would mean that I have already lived my life and have reached its end, finding answers that even the greatest of philosophers couldn't provide. I don't think that's the case yet, so I forgo answering to that question. A sarcastic smile played around his upper lip, curling it from the middle outwards.

"A very wise and good answer. You are not a fool, and I am happy that this is so. So let me rephrase: what is your name?" A name? He had a name? Names were smoke on the wind, changed so easily- they held no sway over whoever was addressed by them, and he had not given them a thought ever since losing his little bag of memories.

"That is not so wise. A name has great power- when it calls, the Named will answer while the Unnamed will remain behind. I ask again: what is your name? Ponder this question! I will be back."

He sat down in the darkness, strangely finding a comfortable ground he couldn't see to rest on. Wherever or whatever this place was, it seemed to adjust to his needs. A name- he just needed a name and he would perhaps get a chance to ask the blue eyes a few questions of his own. But then- without his memories, how would he know his name? He didn't have his real name, but that wouldn't prevent him from being called what he was.

"My name is Lost One," he answered, the darkness lifting a little from his eyes as he called out to it. Attached to the suddenly reappearing face was a body now, a slight and small body; the body of a child.

"Lost One you are, and will be for some time. Lost One will be found, but only after finding the finder. What are you doing now, Lost One?" He realized for the first time that the sweet, high voice had a few difficulties pronouncing words, like a child whose body could not keep up with the demands of its brain. He grew tired of the questioning, as he never seemed to get answers. How could he be found if he himself had to actively go and find who was supposed to be finding him? It was the time to get some answers himself.

"I am listening. Who are you, where am I, how did I get here and how do I go back?" He narrowed his eyes at the child in the shadows.

"You have been listening, and now you are asking. Lost One asking will get answers. I am Lost, too, but I am also Hidden and Eternal. I am Inside and Past. And I am You. I don't know what else I am as my existence has not yet come to an end. You are Here, you Came, and you will Go when the time has come. What do you hope to find here?"

"Quit with the riddles. Show me your face!" The darkness lifted, the dim light blinding enough so that he had to shield his eyes with his arm. The body and face became solid- in front of him, indeed, was a child. A very small, lithe child with huge lavender-blue eyes, red hair and a slash across his cheek that was dripping blood down his slender neck. He looked up at him, at his angry scowl, without fear, without anger. He simply looked.

"You have asked to see me," he said, the words unbefitting his childish face. He blinked, once, twice, then tore his eyes away from the angry blaze that was his visitor's gaze. "You are angry, that is not right."

He stumbled back in shock and anger. The face that greeted him was one he knew too well- if it was only aged a little, if the huge, blue-violet eyes were substituted for narrower, amber slits, he would look into his own face.

"What is your name?" he whispered, swallowing his anger and feeling fear and wonder replace it. How could he talk to his younger self?

"My name? You have forgotten it, so I don't know. But I am Here, I have always been Here ever since you didn't need me any more and discarded me for what you are now. Perhaps if you remember my name I can go away- I hate the dark and I fear it. You have made it light, but when you're gone I'll be all alone in the dark again. I hate the dark- please remember my- oh!" the child's eyes widened in surprise, "you are called! You have to leave now. Remember me, remember my name! Remember!"

He was pulled away by a force greater than anything he could even try to resist, and before he realized it the child, the place and everything were gone and he was traveling again, traveling along a road he knew. It wasn't long before he saw the little bag of memories he had lost, and, steering towards it, he made his way back- home.

*~*

Sano was relieved his interrogation had gone so well- he had come out of it with only a week of double duty for failing to continue guarding Battousai and sneaking off with his love. He had gone through what he would say with Megumi a million times the last night, and had acted according to their plans. He had said 'love', as the medicine woman and Sekihoutai survivor hadn't wanted to give Saito more clues than necessary. Unfortunately, that meant that the creep Yano felt like he had gotten confirmation of Sano's sexual orientation, and to add to it he thought that the young soldier was over the King. He followed him around wherever he could, and Saito, or Aoshi, had thought it funny to pair the two up for their duties. Sano could not hide his disgust at Yano's moves, and that some of the other men had caught on and made offers they seemed to think irresistible had him walk around the castle constantly looking over his shoulder.

"It's not fair- I like Megumi!" he grumbled, carefully checking that nobody had followed him before walking through the door into the kitchen. Nothing could take his mind off unwanted suitors like a nice snack… or meal… or meal with dessert…
"Finally- took you long enough! What did you do all this time?" He came face to face with the irate medicine woman.

… to be continued …

Umm… the end? Yup, I know that not that much happened here- but a little more Saito and Misao and Aoshi and Shimajirou (who will be disappearing again soon, so don't worry about an OC taking up too much space here!).

*nervous laugh* I started a Yahoo! group for update notifications- it's called Travel_Stories, so if you want to get an e-mail when I update just join. I will also upload html, rtf and txt files of my stories some time in the future- no promise there as I want to spend as much time as possible on writing and school started again on Monday, and if it was a nightmare before Christmas now Elms Street looks like a cozy place to spend the night. I have the equivalent of eight AP courses and exams, taking a ninth for extra credit next term (it's music- I said I wanted credit for playing at all their exhibitions and events, and they said the only way I could get it was to join the course. It won't be too much extra work…), and since exams are in May that leaves me with five more hellish months to get through. I'm horribly sorry, but what I have been afraid of ever since starting to post will happen: I can't keep up a constant pace. School comes first, especially if I want to get a scholarship, so I have to do a little extra reading in advance so the exams won't be too difficult. By the way- does anybody know a nice way to program Mandelbrodt sets? I like those little fractals!

THANKS TO ALL WHO REVIEWED! I'm sorry that I once again can't do individual thanks but I have to catch up to a week's worth of schoolwork! SORRY!

Special thanks to: Clymene. You know what for ^.^x! THANK YOU!!!

Cya soon!!! (and I promise sooner than this time!)

Chi