Ciao!!!

Well, what do you say- it's been just a week since I posted the last chapter, in spite of having been at a fencing camp from Friday 'till Tuesday… I guess I'm too addicted to this story to stay away from it too long! Well, another cause for my writing frenzy is that RtK has been nominated in the Rurouni Kenshin elimination contest. I mean- WHOA! I would have never had the audacity to enter in this myself, so when I got the e-mail stating my fic had been entered into that contest I just… flipped, so to speak. Ry thought I had gone catatonic because I just sat there staring at the computer screen absolutely unable to comment. Ummm… I don't know anything about that contest since I'm strictly writing for fun, but I would still appreciate if you would go and vote for me… the address is posted here and all the way down underneath the fic. But before I ask you to go to biki's homepage, here is the new chapter. Enjoy!!!

Vote for RtK at: www. geocities.com /bikifriend (without spaces)

"…." 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.

For Néli, whose red basecap will be mine once she is all better!

Chapter 16

Force and impulse

When Saito Hajime had been handed a spectacular defeat at the hands of one of the most brilliant- no, the most brilliant- fighters he had ever seen he had been rather infuriated despite his calm exterior. He took no small measure of pride in his abilities as a fighter, and in his senses, and yet that mysterious man had thwarted them both without any effort. He was not above admitting to his mistakes- he had, perhaps, not tried to look deep enough, he had taken what he saw at face value, and he had allowed that man, Hiko, to surprise him, not once but twice.

Saito hated surprises of the Hiko kind. He was not above admitting to that, either. Yet, when he thought it all through calmly and from the distance- physical and temporal- he was not surprised that he had been had.

Hiko Seijurou was a man of strange abilities, abilities he had so far associated with only one enemy: Battousai. He had never had the honor of fighting the red demon while he was at full strength- he was not stupid enough to believe that Akai the donzel had amounted to all that Battousai could muster, and when he was captured the wounds he had slowed him down.

No, Saito had yet to fight against this elusive menace, but the suspicion he had harbored directly after his fight against Hiko, the suspicion that it would be somewhat similar to fight Battousai to what it had been to fight Hiko, had hardened into almost certain conviction.

For one there was the maneuverability, the seemingly effortless dance on the air that Hiko called a jump. Battousai was rumored to prowl the rooftops, mounting and dismounting with one leap respectively. Then there was the speed, the one factor Saito knew was not myth or legend but fact. Even injured Battousai had been far quicker than anyone he had ever seen fight- except for Shinomori Aoshi perhaps, but even the captain of the Palace Guard relied more on harmonious, flowing moves than the pure velocity of Battousai's strikes.

Third, there was the power, something Saito had witnessed firsthand as well. For one so small Battousai certainly was strong, and there was no denying that this huge mountain of muscle, Hiko Seijurou, was stronger even than his size heralded as well.

Consequently, Saito only had one conclusion: Hiko Seijurou was Battousai's aide, and as he was older he was most likely the assassin's trainer, retainer, or master. The chief investigator shifted his concentrated gaze from the piece of blank paper that should contain at least part of his report to Kamiya by now. How to word this? He had no proof for any of his suspicions, not that that would be a problem once Kamiya issued a decree that enabled him to take Hiko Seijurou in for questioning. The baby fine hairs at the back of his neck tightened their grip on his skin in protest responding to his thoughts. He was a hunter of criminals, but not one who would resort to unfair and criminal methods to reach his goal. Saito firmly believed that evil had to be pulled out with the root, but if the root of evil lay with himself he could not, in good conscience, do his work.

He would not word his suspicions. He would simply report his findings, which were none, and that he had failed to recapture Battousai. He would rather suffer Kamiya's wrath than betray his principles. He was not like most of the government, he didn't care for personal gains or advancement. He did not want a higher paid position. He did not crave more influence. He simply wanted to protect the citizens of Dunkelland and fulfill his own vows.

His feather quill scratched loudly on the uneven surface of the paper as he signed his report. Kamiya would not be pleased, but the King knew better than to antagonize his chief investigator with questions Saito would refuse to answer. He would fume, he would shout, he would demand a fight, and he would eventually calm down enough to see Saito's reasoning behind his decision. Kamiya was not a strong leader, despite all his ambitions in that directions. He was easily influenced and acquiesced perhaps too quickly. In this case, Saito would simply be grateful for that.

*~*

"Who is that?" His own question resounded in the King's ears as he tucked loose strands of hair behind his ears, buried safely in the folds of the huge cloak the man who had taken him in had given him. Next to him, on a small, flat cot, lay the man who had just called him by his name. Curiously, Kamiya peered more closely at the unresponsive figure. Even though shadows were prevalent in the house, they could not drown out the sheer luster of the silky red strands that floated around a pinched, tired and pained face that showed the strain its owner was under even in the throes of sleep- or unconsciousness.

"Well, Miss, that is… the son of my brother." Shimajirou didn't know what else to say. First, that girl thought she was the King, then Kenshin even called her by the King's name, then she inquired about Kenshin…

"I am your King. I demand you desist from calling me 'Miss'," the girl said sharply, the command tone back into her voice. Shimajirou's flabbergasted look only intensified. Sure, her features bore some similarities to the King's, mainly the high cheekbones and deep, midnight blue eyes that were currently flaring with anger, but then there was the soft, wavy hair that curled around her shoulder blades alluringly, and the high voice that, even when it sounded as sharp as it just had, was unmistakably female.

"Miss, listen, I don't know what happened to you out there at the battle, and I won't deny that you could pass for the King's twin sister, but there is just no way that our King would have these… attributes of yours."

She waved him away with a careless flick of the wrist. "You say this is your brother's son?" she inquired, her head held high and a debonair flair to her voice. Shimajirou felt cornered.

"I said that, yes," he answered, carefully avoiding the definite answer. She drew the cloak around her small frame like a regal ceremonial mantle. Carefully testing her balance she put her full weight on her slightly shaking, prettily formed legs and strode- not without a wince, her soles were still raw and blistered- across the few feet separating her resting place from Kenshin's. The young man shivered in his sleep, more likely than not feeling the approach of a foreign ki even in his state. Shimajirou wanted to intervene, Kenshin needed rest more than anything else on his road to recovery, but was too late- tired lavender eyes tinted with a hint of gold had snapped open already, a gasp tearing itself from his throat as he returned to full consciousness.

Shimajirou grimaced- he had been wounded more than once and knew how unpleasant it was to come to in a body that was more a wreck than a functioning arrangement of bones, muscles and sinew. And to imagine coming to to the close scrutiny of a decidedly beautiful if not especially amiable female… he could feel with Kenshin.

"Kamiya," he rasped, his dry throat refusing to let his voice through unscathed. The girl studied his slim features intently, taking in the flush of fever coloring his pale cheeks a rosy pink and the wide, hardly focused eyes. Lavender… so reminiscent of a certain traitorous donzel…

He turned his face, trying to get a clearer picture of the young girl in front of him. His right eye was, after all, still swollen half shut. However, turning his head exposed his left cheek to the girl's eyes, and the reaction he got wiped any shadow of doubt he had had about her identity from his mind.

"Battousai! You! Arrest that murderer immediately! I, Kamiya, command you to!" Her flailing hands struck resoundingly against his cheek, but Kenshin held his gaze trained onto her unwaveringly.

"Did I… ever tell you our King is a girl?" he asked Shimajirou without letting Kamiya out of his sight. The frantic girl was by now yelling for the army, Saito and Shinomori to come to her aid immediately and restrain the dangerous criminal- who, incidentally, could hardly lift a finger to his defense.

"Seijurou did. I couldn't believe it… so this really is King Kamiya of Dunkelland? I thought that… she was a battle victim of some kind," Shimajirou replied, keeping an eye on the girl, but also on the eerily still form of Kenshin.

"Murderer!" Kamiya shrieked and finally attacked Kenshin herself and physically.

"Now, Miss King, Kenshin is gravely injured," Shimajirou grabbed her from behind and fight as she might there was just no way she could escape a man roughly twice her size and weight.

"He is a murderer, he killed my father- hell, he killed more people than I can count!" she was livid with rage. There he was, the one she had wanted to get her hands on, and she was powerless to make him suffer at least a little.

"He has suffered more than a little, Miss King," Shimajirou said gently, and Kamiya realized he had blurted his thoughts out loud in his fury.

"He has suffered nothing, nothing, do you hear me? He has not had his loved ones killed like the families of those he murdered! He is nothing but a crazed animal that should be put down on sight! Murderer" Her spittle flew with unerring accuracy and hit the young assassin directly under his left eye that had, over the past minutes of being frantically accused, lost all of its gentleness and had turned into a blazing, fiery promise of death.

Battousai's narrow face was bathed in shadows, the sharp lines of exhaustion and pain burrowing deeply into the soft skin around his eyes and mouth. His amber eyes flashed frightfully. Kamiya, still in Shimajirou's iron grip, recoiled from them, feeling as though he had burned her very soul with his glare.

"You call me a murderer, a killer? Look at you! It's you who kills indiscriminately, without a twinge of your conscience! It's you who kills just out of spite, because you can kill! I… I have a motive, a motive most people would understand- hatred. Deep, burning hatred and the desire for revenge. Your father killed my grandmother just because she had helped you live. She… I don't remember her, but people told me that she was kind and gentle. She didn't ever injure anybody, hurt anybody, yet your father took her life without a moment's thought. He was a killer, King, and so are you. I may have killed- but I can't sleep at night because of their voices and their bloody arms reaching out to grab me and pull me down to them. You have killed and suffer nothing from it."

Kamiya bristled. He called him- her- him a killer? Battousai had the gall to call somebody else a killer? Her face reddening with her rising anger she stared him down, faced those eyes and forced their heated glare back at the person emitting it.

"I have killed? I have never even touched a person with a real sword outside the battle at the castle!" she spat.

"And yet you have condemned hundreds of people to death by starvation, have convicted dozens of men to death or life in prison without a trial at which they could defend themselves. By order of the King, Kamiya, do you recall these words?" Shimajirou had entered into the argument without being asked. His brother's baka deshi could have said these words himself, but he somehow doubted they would have had the same effect.

"Battle… at the castle?" Kenshin was fading again, and fading fast, but his mind was, at the moment, clear enough to catch what Shimajirou had missed.

"The battle in which that cretin Shishio, that white-haired freak and a third leader whom I didn't see rallied the masses," Kamiya recounted acerbically, "needless to say that there is no King when his people decide they don't want him anymore."

"White-haired… freak?" Kenshin struggled to hold on. His body demanded he give it the rest it needed to recover, but the young fighter wasn't ready yet. He had the feeling that he was missing an important piece of the puzzle- and he enjoyed watching the King all flustered. "Did he… give you his name?" His voice had decreased to a hoarse whisper.

"His name?" Kamiya had a frightening vision of herself, all exhausted and ready to give up, coming face to face with that leader in front of the medicine woman's hut. How he had mocked her. How his level if swordsmanship was too much for the King who had fought for what seemed like hours already. How he had taken his sword without any effort at all.

"He never introduced himself to me. All he could do was laugh mockingly and glare with that silver eyes of his…" Somehow, the words spilled from the King's mouth before he could hold them back and lock them in his throat.

"Silver eyes? No, not true…" Kenshin moaned, his eyes clouding over.

"What is it with the silver eyes, Kenshin?" Shimajirou asked, rather worried about the state the young man had brought himself into again. His fever seemed to be rising, and if he didn't rest soon he would not heal.

"Silver… eyes… death," the redhead murmured, eyelids dropping.

"Battousai… is afraid?" Kamiya gasped at the realization. The way he had said 'death'- it was clear that he had thought of something that frightened him more than the mere prospect of dying. Silver was death? What would he mean? Kamiya looked puzzled, even forgetting his feud against the 'demon' for a moment.

"Do you think I can let you go now?" Shimajirou relaxed his grip around her, and only now the King became aware of the fact that the old soldier had gripped him tight around the middle all this time to prevent him from attacking Kenshin.

Seconds later, Shimajirou looked considerably more disgruntled and the King considerably redder. "Now you certainly won't deny that you're a girl anymore, will you?" he grumbled, nursing an injured cheek where she had slapped him. "Kenshin says your real name is Kaoru, by the way."

"I? A girl? My dear man, you are delusional!" the King laughed, with the certainty of someone who has no doubt in the world that he is right. Shimajirou sighed. This was going to be a long talk.

"Look, Miss King, whatever had you convinced you are a man?" Kamiya blushed furiously and shook her head, trying to rid herself of the images her father had presented her with. She was special, she repeated in her head, special, special, special… Her father's stern voice echoing in her mind she looked up to meet Shimajirou's concerned gaze. The man who had once been a Palace Guard captain for her father held nothing but warmth in his gaze, patience and the desire to see something righted for once, to return to normalcy after the crazy events that had shaken his life upside down in the last three days. Kamiya blinked once, twice, but couldn't get over the thundering of his father telling him to be patient, that soon he would be like everybody else, that… her eyes lost focus again.

Shimajirou sighed even deeper, got up from where he had sat down on Kamiya's bed and went over to the still form of the sleeping Kenshin.

"Oh well… he's asleep after all."

*~*

Sano tried his best to keep up with Hiko Seijurou- but there was just no way anyone would ever match that man. He looked as though he was on a casual stroll through the woods, but the young soldier actually had to jog in order not to fall too far behind. He only hoped that the man he was accompanying didn't realize he had those problems- from what he had gleaned through the little barbs and jabs Hiko had thrown at Saito and the two soldiers standing guard the man had an acerbic tongue that was as unmatchable as his mastery of the sword.

"What are you? Slow?" Hiko punctuated each word with a sharp glare from his intense eyes. Sano sighed and resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. So much for wishful thinking!

"Or perhaps I am just too fast for you? Oh, that must be it." Hiko sighed as though the weight of the world lay on his shoulders, but did not break the rhythm of his strides. Sano was rather annoyed with the taller man, clenching his fists as his head turned an attractive red loud enough to alert every creature in the forest to their passing. Muttering angrily under his breath, he held his eyes glued firmly to the ground, trying to take advantage of the terrain as Seijurou did and not realizing that his guide had stopped until he crashed full force into the thick, billowing white mantle and steel-cord muscle underneath.

"Wha-" he snapped, unable to hold back his anger anymore, but Hiko Seijurou holding up a hand and shooting him a serious look was enough to shut him up for the time being.

"There is someone out there," Seijurou said, his voice soft enough to hide between the whispering of the pleasantly light breeze rustling the leaves overhead.

"There is?" Sano tried to get past the swordsmaster to stare into the suddenly ominous seeming woods. Seijurou, however, simply stuck out is arm and held him back, and almost simultaneously the young soldier heard the telltale crunching of dried leaves and snapping of brittle twigs under stumbling feet.

A sly grin spread across Seijurou's face, seeing as they weren't in any danger from the approaching human. He was determined and rather strong- but the wild fire burning in him wasn't tamed, and thus useless. A child, he guessed, an unformed child with a lot of potential, headstrong and volatile. He would have fun confronting that one…

"What are you laughing at?" two voices asked almost synchronously, the slight difference in their starting point and speed creating a most amusing echo effect. Seijurou erased the grin from his face and looked down… and down, until his eyes came to rest on the stocky figure of a boy, no more than thirteen and no less than ten years of age, dirty, disheveled, looking as though a good strong gust of wind would be enough to permanently knock him off his feet but with bright and alert brown eyes that held only a slight hint of the exhaustion the rest of his body so clearly depicted.

"You," Seijurou said, watching as the boy clenched his fists, a vein in temple throbbing ever so slightly.

"You… big, ugly git!" he cried indignantly, trying to impress the two men he had happened upon by standing up tall, showing off his full height. Seijurou's grin widened. The boy was terrified of the two men he had just met, terrified and relieved that he had found anyone at all. He must have come a long way if the state of his clothes was an indication- in fact, he was wearing a Dunkelland Castle servant's uniform. And… Seijurou's eyes narrowed in anger- the boy was wounded.

"I am considered handsome by most ladies," he said, watching as the boy tried to keep from swaying and falling.

"I am looking for chief investigator Saito and the army of Dunkelland Castle," the boy spat, his dark eyes growing more and more unfocused by the minute as he fought off tiredness, pain and the overwhelming sense of loss that the fall of the only home he had ever known had brought.

"They are on their way back to the castle- you will never catch them, little boy," Sano said gently, kneeling down next to the child. He felt strangely connected to the boy, as though the stubbornness and sense of determination he exhibited by sticking to his self-imposed- for it was clear to the soldier that no responsible commanding officer would have ever sent a young boy like this one off to find Saito and give an important message to him- mission gave them something that linked them on a deeper level.

"I am not a little boy! My name is Myojin Yahiko, I'll have you know that, and I'm twelve!" Somehow, his knees chose that very second to give in to the pull of gravity, and the boy landed sprawled rather unceremoniously across Hiko Seijurou's feet, staring up into Sano's concerned chocolate eyes furiously.

"I guess we'll have to take that idiotic brat with us, then," Seijurou sighed, seeing at once that there was no way Sano would do the easy, perhaps more prudent thing and leave the boy behind.

"Take me with you? Where to?" Yahiko demanded. Both men shook their heads.

"You'll see, and now be quiet, brat," Hiko Seijurou said evenly. Yahiko bristled with fury.

"I'm not a brat and I don't want to go with you- hey, put me down this instant! You big rooster-headed idiot! Let me go!" Sano shrugged and adjusted the boy's weight over his shoulder in spite of the vehement protests that were yelled in much too close proximity to his ears for comfort. Resigned to his fate the spiky-haired soldier pulled the red bandanna he was wearing as a reminder of what he had lost down over his irritated hearing organs.

"How much time until we reach that hideout?"

*~*

Saito Hajime was not pleased. He was not even amused. He was a strange blend between furious, livid, embarrassed and miffed. He had been on his way to send off his reports to Kamiya- the army always had their cages with carrier pigeons for just that purpose with them- when the messengers had stumbled up to him. They had been exhausted, panting so hard that the words they forced out were barely understandable, but the message got through nonetheless: Dunkelland Castle had been taken. And it was Saito's fault, or at least the chief investigator held himself at fault for it. He had, after all, taken all of the army away to find the one enemy of the state he had thought most dangerous- even if it had ultimately been Kamiya who had given the order, Kamiya who had given in to his obsession, it was still Saito who had actually carried them out without even trying to dissuade the King from his course of action.

And now he was paying the price- he was high-strung, with no means of releasing pent-up emotions through fighting. His messengers, which were actually soldiers he had sent ahead to alert the castle to their return, had told him the castle was firmly in the hands of the usurpers, locked down and armed to the tooth. Mercenaries and rioting villagers manned the walls, and one of the soldiers had caught himself a glancing blow from a lucky arrow. Saito ground his teeth together, cursing himself for the thirtieth time- he actually kept track of that- for having been so stupid. There were no news of the King, and the messengers had been unable to determine who led the usurping forces, but had found out during a brief foray into Dunkeltown that a crowning ceremony was to be held the next day already.

I have to give them that- they certainly don't waste time, whoever they are, the chief investigator thought to himself, restlessly pacing the entire length of the camp for the umpteenth time since receiving the news. I would not have thought it possible that Dunkelland could fall so quickly- but then, King Kamiya had a reign of a few days after King Koshijirou was murdered, and resentment was high among the populace.

As chief investigator it was Saito's duty to keep an eye on the general feelings of Dunkelland's citizens as well as its enemies, and he would not delude himself into thinking the people had been happy under Koshijirou's and Kamiya's reign. There had been too many taxes, too many unjust punishments, too many constricting rules- honestly, why on Earth had Koshijirou had to make that 'clothing rule'? No woman is to be vested in a man's clothes. Peasants may only wear clothing made of… and merchant women shall dress with dignity, not wearing too much jewelry… women of the court may own one brooch made of gold but with no more than three precious gems… Women are required to wear garments that cover their ankles at all times… and more rubbish of that kind. In fact, there had been clothing rules for everyone, every single occasion and breaking them resulted in ridiculously high punishments. He remembered the feeling of relief thinking he only had to worry about keeping his uniform pristine…

But the clothing rules had only served as a major irritant. It had been the acts of cruelty committed by the King's agents, the executions without trials, the confiscation of entire crops at the mere implication that something derisive had been said about the royals that had pushed the people over the edge and into the role of willing tools for an usurper. Saito had seen the signs- but he had been too wrapped up in his own vendetta against evil to act upon them.

You were too complacent with yourself, a nagging voice sniggered at him from the back of his head, a voice that sounded surprisingly like a childish version of his best interrogator's tone. And now I am stuck talking to myself.

"Chief investigator, what are your orders?" The timid squeak of a subordinate crossing his path roused Saito from both his musings and his wandering. He had not yet thought about the future, too wrapped up in mulling over causes and circumstances, but in the split decision it took him to raise his gaze to meet the flinching subordinate his decision was made.

"We will go to Shelter One, the King and those remaining loyal to him should be there," he ordered, yellow fire spreading over the unfortunate officer. "Go and tell the army to be ready to move in ten minutes."

"Yes, sir!" Why, oh why did people get offered commanding positions when their voices were squeaky? They could never get the right amount of respect, would, in spite of any achievement, always seem weak and…

"Sir, the men are ready!"

… could be extraordinarily efficient organizing things.

It took them less than an hour at a brisk marching pace to reach Shelter One, an accumulation of haphazardly thrown together barn buildings on the land of a nobleman who was an ardent supporter of King Kamiya, and actually just the stewart for Saito himself, for Shelter One was built on the chief investigator's property. He did not officially claim ownership, though, for reasons of secrecy and safety, and in times like this his slight paranoia paid off. Shelter One was overflowing with refugees from the castle and Kamiya supporters from Dunkeltown who had fled from the threat of being lynched upon sight by the rioters.

"Men, make camp and then make yourselves useful," he ordered, already looking around for the persons he hoped to see. His senses were tingling with the overload of emotions, and even his haragei was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people cramped together- in short, he was unable to sense whether Kamiya or Shinomori were around. Much to his annoyance, he had to resort to more conventional means of looking for them.

"You," he stopped a young girl carrying two large jugs full of water, startling her into a slight gasp, "where is the King and Shinomori?"

She was frightened- whether it was because an imposing stranger asked something of her or because he was the chief investigator asking for information he did not know. "I… I think Shinomori is in the medic ward, but our King… I don't think anybody knows where he is," she stuttered out and hurried to take off after curtseying politely. Saito scowled and sent her retreating back a dark look. She had not been particularly helpful… he grabbed hold of a young man next.

"Where is the medic ward?" Again, the frightened reaction. The man just pointed a shaky finger at one of the smaller barns, quivering so much he could not even keep his hand steady. Saito let go of his arm, watching as he scurried off gratefully. Hell, he almost wished for Battousai to come back as Akai the donzel to give him some respite from that! He wasn't going to skin and cook them alive after all!

"Why are you looking for the medic ward?" The cool and cultured voice was one he would recognize in his sleep. And she, thankfully, wasn't too much afraid of him either.

"I want to talk to Shinomori," he said, curtly but politely. She nodded.

"I thought so. He is in the company of the Amazon princess Misao at the moment, however, and recuperating from injuries received while fighting to let Kamiya escape. Our King has yet to be found, as I'm sure you have been informed already, and apart from Shinomori the Palace Guard is no more. There are about two hundred wounded in here, half of which are walking, the others… varying." She could not get herself to say that a quarter of the wounded might not live to see the next day. She had always been clairvoyant when it came to the outcome of injuries, and it was a curse she found hard to bear at times.

"Thank you. That was the most enlightening report I've heard since my arrival. Would you perhaps tell me how the castle was taken if I accompany you? I understand you wouldn't want to neglect your duties." Saito could be civil if he was met with a certain competence and dignity.

"I will tell you all I know, but maybe you should speak to princess Misao? She knows more about the fate of Kamiya, albeit less about how the villagers gained entrance to the castle." The medicine woman flipped her dark veil back from her face with these words, carefully washing her hands in a bowl she had poured scalding hot water into. A slight grimace was the only sign of the discomfort she had to be suffering from.

"Lead the way," Saito said.

… to be continued …

Well… I'm sorry that this is rather short, but my piano professor (yup, since the beginning of the year Ry and I are being instructed by an actual professor!) wanted to get me started on Rachmaninov's second piano concerto (one of the easiest to play piano concertos around, but taxing nonetheless), meaning I have to go through strengthening and endurance exercises all over again… and then one of my best friends came from France for a surprise visit. Soazig is great and has been my friend ever since I cracked my skull for her (it's a long story, but it basically boils down to a few bullies, Soazig not wanting to hand over her money, a baseball bat, eleven-year-old Chi not being able to speak Verlin, the natural Chi stubbornness and me telling Soazig to run while I would deal with them. I couldn't, and ended up in hospital for three weeks with a cracked skull and a fractured tibia. Soazig has stuck with me ever since then), but her obsession with dresses and shopping is a bit disturbing. It means she wants me to go to that blasted ball so she will be able to go as well. It's all fine when you're French and have a body to die for, but… well, I won't go there. ARGH! Stupid, stupid ball complicates everything for me! Life was so easy with only school and a few hobbies to deal with! Now I've got a nagging best-friend and twin brother on my case as well as questions of whom with or whether at all I will go to a stupid school ball! And on top of it, she even wrote the last six lines of the Kaoru/Shimajirou scene! I would have never thought of that and don't really know how to deal with it, but Ry and Néli think it's a blast and won't let me change it! Help!!! I WANT OUT!!!

Next chapter: If I saw the world in an hourglass: Kamiya is trying to come to terms with what (s)he has been… *ahem- thanks again for that, Saz!* shown, Kenshin's long road to recuperation, Saito and Megumi meet up with Aoshi and Misao, Yahiko, Sano and Seijurou… hope you're up for a turbulent chapter!

Soundtrack for chapter 16: Van Geles: Chariots of Fire

L. van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 'Pastorale'

Sergei Rachmaninov: piano concerto No. 2

Ottorino Respighi: Suite 'Dances and Songs of Old'

Sting: Moon over Bourbon Street (I was listening to that while reading the sacred night's wonderful story 'The Sacred Night'- it fits like a glove as a theme song, a fact which inspired me to grab my Gerry and write some more RtK…!)

Reviewer's corner

Curls of Serenity: Néli feels so honored that you all wish her better and does her best to recover from the latest chemos- she even promised me her favorite red basecap when she has won over that cancer! *grins* Not much of a meeting- yet. That will all come next chapter… including that 'you're a girl'-talk inspired by Soazig aka Saz, my best friend from France… I have seen only an episode or two of Naruto, but I've read the manga up to the fight against that mirror guy (don't remember the name off the top of my head- that really weird one who's prettier than Sakura). Sasuke definitely is funny! *grins again*

missaw: Leeches are scary *shies away from those Ryan has insisted on growing in his tank*! Can't imagine who would send them to you *hides alternate personality*- have some more chocolate as payment! Thanks for reviewing!

Lily of the Shadow: Will do- in fact, once this is posted I'll have an hour of free time which I'm not going to devote to studying! I'll write! Néli sends her thanks!!! About the multiple storylines: it's fun to write them- I joined a writing club back at my last school in France, and learned a bit about the technique of writing multi-POV stories (not that I was particularly good at it since I had to write in French… and I definitely am not up to par in French!). I feel happy you realized it!!!

Dove of Night: Eeek! Collapsed lungs? I'd have died of fright! Nope, I stick to the more conventional cuts, broken bones and bruises- cracked my skull once, though *g*! Teeheee… I can't wait for more Silence. Write!!! Néli wants to read, too- I send the chapters to her brother by e-mail and he prints them for her. She's still in hospital but feeling a bit better now that the treatment's over again… I hope she makes it, too!

Jessikitty: Love the hyper you!!! *huggles* Stress makes for a wonderful companion late at night… especially in the form of a chronically insomniac twin brother! Errr… my nationality, yes… I guess that needs a little more explaining… Genetically, I'm one-eighth Japanese (Mom's grandma is Japanese and an Aikido master- unfortunately, she refused to teach anyone after Mom, and since she couldn't become a master Ry and I don't have the skill, we've taken to fencing instead, like our dad), one-eighth French-Canadian (Mom's grandpa), one-quarter British-Irish (Mom's other grandparents), one-quarter German (Dad) and one-quarter Italian-American (Dad again). Factually, Ryan and I have an American, a Canadian and a German passport (our parents have got two each). Spiritually, I'm a cosmopolitan since I've never lived in one place long enough to develop any roots or connections to it- Ry likes to call our family the 'globalization experiment' ^_^

Kairi7: Thank you, will do and she sends her love and thanks!

The-Lone-Lemon: Ummm… to be honest, I had a looong Shimajirou/Kaoru talk where Saz's six lines are now… it took her, Ry and Néli a lot of talking to convince me to leave it this way. Hope you're not too disappointed at the rather… straightforward method! Next chapter will see the talking, though (I love writing dialogue!)

^_^: I had Seijurou tell Shimajirou about Kaoru's little identity problem, so he knows already and will help Kenshin with her 'conversion'. Hope you liked it nonetheless!

Firiel11: Thanks for your offer! I'll definitely take you up on it someday… I promised Néli to stick to her as long as she can manage, though, and I'm not going back on my promises… she sends her love, thanks for the well-wishes and says she should probably take lessons from you!

Natsuko: Néli is a little overwhelmed by all the people rooting for her- she says if she doesn't get better now then she never will (and got up for the first time since her chemos immediately thereafter so it DOES help! Thanks from me!!!). Hope you're not too swamped with schoolwork- I have had a break since there was fencing camp this weekend (until Tuesday) and I got to use the foil left-handed (my trainer usually refuses to let me fence with a foil left-handed because I'm supposed to train my weaker hand and use the left hand as a surprise in tournaments- it always throws opponents off when I switch in the middle of a match!)! Prophetic dreams are cool! I only know when Ry is in trouble, and that's hardly prophetic since it happens about every other day…

Shimajirou WILL be driven insane- Kaoru will see to that *smiles angelically*. Oibore seems to want the best for his kids, I think… and somehow, that twisted into my weird Oibore. But you're right, of course- he's a rather friendly, happy guy (after all, the birds come to him AND to Kenshin…). *grins* I was glad I got rid of Yano- he got written into the story because I lost a bet with Ry, and had to include a character with the name of that weird animated puppet that looks like it was made to scare small children and is supposed to tell stories (TV commercial in Germany… really, really scary- I'd run if I was a kid and got such a thing!). Well, out came Yano… and now he's thankfully gone (he was rather difficult to write!). Hope I won't lose any bets anytime soon! Néli sends her love, and says she'll have me writing more! Thanks for everything!!!

Felina: I abuse Sano a little, I admit to it… but I can't stay serious all the time! Shimajirou did recognize the similarities, but he didn't immediately draw the connection between that strange girl, Seijurou's tale and the King- he doesn't know about the castle, after all!

dinkydaelf: My twin Ry loves character torture, too! He created the Chain Master and helps me with most of the action/torture scenes (he is MUCH better at this than I am. Would be great darkfic writer!). Not much K/K interaction yet, but much more to come!

kitiara_uth_mathar: Yikes, that was a difficult penname for me to spell! Long story? *blinks* Didn't even realize this… ubt I guess it's true. Kaoru has found out her true sex in this chapter. Now she only needs to accept it and learn how to deal with the consequences…

bonessasan: welcome to the psychotic loser's club- can I be VP? I have been labeled that ever since birth, I think- my twin is the cool one and I'm the weird, not-so-cool one… Hope you liked the chapter, and there will be some Romancing coming up next (after all, Kaoru needs to realize that there ARE advantages to being a girl!)!

kimono girl: WOW, I didn't ever think I was going to make such an impact. I just write for fun, after all, and have no ambition whatsoever of becoming anything remotely author-like *hides blush*. Yup, the story isn't even at the halfway mark… serious Romancing to begin next chapter! And I will edit this once I find the time- especially the earlier chapters have some appalling mistakes in them, as I confused myself with that whole pronoun thingy… Hope I'll get it right sometime soon. Thanks for all that praise- and I hope you'll continue to read!!!

Monique: *strokes grammar* I have put my grammar next to the oven for it to get some extra warmth so that it might feel comfortable with me someday… and the climax will begin… a LOT later! But the romance, and Kaoru getting feelings for Kenshin, will begin next chapter- honestly!!!

Naiya-chan: *grins* I can tell you with a clear conscience that I'm not a genius- I don't qualify, as I have no special ability. But, I'm a certified lunatic with a Pirates of the Caribbean poster outside my room on which it says 'Here There Be Monsters- Enter At Your Own Risk!'. Add to that a family of geniuses: a twin brother for whom everything scientific is a plaything, an uncle and a cousin who are both full eidetics, a mother who got her Doctor's title for biology at the age of twenty-two while she was pregnant with twins and a father who knows just about anything he chooses to about electronics, programming, physics and chemistry and you have a bunch of crazy people. Naturally, as the only non-special one I pushed myself a little harder each year to keep up with the dinner conversation, and that's gotten me to where I am now. About the snippets of my life: I have nothing to hide. I have been told that, when you meet me in person, I never give my emotions or intentions away (very useful when fencing), but in writing I can't hide as it is purely me… And besides, I know that I, as a reader, am irritated if an author doesn't update, or updates late, and doesn't give any reasons for it (oops, snoopy Chi…)- so I just tell people. My original languages would be German (from my Dad) and English (from my Mom), but I never really learned them right as, while I was very little, we moved around even more than we do now (a new country every year, so to speak), and Ryan and I had to adapt and try to at least get a basic knowledge of whatever language was spoken where we went next- so I guess learning one or two 'properly' simply fell through the net…

Eeevee: School can be mean- I am glad that there is a lull for me at the moment! Kaoru just doesn't want to think of herself as not being the King anymore- she'll have to deal with it next chapter, though, and I really, really look forward to writing some serious fidgeting and confrontation when Shimajirou and Kenshin refuse to do her bidding! Teehee… you know what? Perhaps that's why I'm not that good at grammar- I love to break the rules!!! Thanks a lot for reviewing!!!

Well, that's it for today, take care and smile a lot- smiling makes for one more sunny day *grins and smiles cheekily*! Of course, that's easily said when you just came back from fencing camp…

PS: I just found an old photo album of my parents from Ryan's and my first years- Mom looks absolutely stunning in a kimono (and Dad unbelievably funny), and who would have thought Ry and I were such big blobs of lards when we were two *shudders at the thought that she could have stayed that way*!

PPS: Please go to www. geocities.com /bikifriend (without the spaces) and vote for RtK in the elimination contest!!! Thanks a lot!!!

Cya!!!

Chi