A/N: I am sorry this has taken so long in coming, but there has been a great many things going on in the homelife that have kept me tied up and away from the keyboard. Many of you know that my Father-in-law was in the Hospital. Thank you for your kind words. He is doing much better and is back home with us.
I am going to apologize in advance for the 'quality' of this chapter and the following one. I cannot say that they are up to my usual standards because of extenuating circumstance, but I had to give you guys something to chew on for a while. I felt like I was leaving you all out in the cold. So try to bear with, and hopefully the next offering will be much better.
God Bless. Kanzen Ne Tsuki
Spanish Glossary: Hermano=Brother,
Glossary: Oni=Demon, Konpaku=Ghost/spirit, Desu=Are/Is, Ja nai=Is not/Are not,
Mattei=Youngest brother, Hakashuku=Brothers, Kyuu shun=Bitter Enemy, Raion=Lion,
Kodora=Small Tiger, Sofu=Grandfather,
Chapter Ten
Child of The Damned
Silence reigned in the room as the brothers Himura faced off against one another. Each of them were experiencing one of the greatest conflicts that he had ever known within his heart, and neither
knew what could possibly happen next. A living nightmare of grand proportions was unfolding between the two young men, and it was already beginning to lead them down a path neither wanted to face nor take. As the two perfectly opposite elemental Ki's clashed and battled one another inside the Saitou home, the slow rings of spiritual energy widened and spread outward across the land in an ever growing circle of altering effect.
Destiny's Hand was reaching out across the stillness of Japan, and the deep germinating seeds of Wrath and Revenge, that had long lain dormant and unrealized for so many years, were suddenly gripped within the furious grasp of those long seeking fingers and ripped viciously from their resting place only to be flung to the Four winds.
A great screaming cry, not unlike that of a diving bird of prey as it swoops in upon its defenseless meal screeched through the teaming streets of Tokyo causing a sweeping panic and confusion to race through the frightened people. A cold wind of ill-will sent a shiver of foreboding up each spine and caused wary looks to be cast over many shoulders as the primitive instinct of survival was cued. Something terrible had awoken within the heart of Tokyo. Something terrible and unspeakable that should have been left buried was now free and would soon be stalking the living. The fear of death had descended upon the city.
The deadly eyes of Vengeance and Wrath opened their swirling ponds of liquid silver and gazed about the shadowy world of living men once more, and as pain and memory clashed together at the same time within the frozen mind of the Beast, it once again raised its hideous maw of jagged teeth to the sky and howled it's agony in one great ear shattering cry of grief that shook even the bravest man's soul. Sadly, this horrible sound was swiftly followed by the terrified screams and
gurgling shouts of the dying as the Beast sprang upon the unsuspecting who had come to investigate the unexplained noises and howling cries.
Arms, legs, and intestines were soon strewn about in a bloody carnage as the Horror that cried human tears hunched over the chest of the third, and last man snarling and sobbing in maddened glee as it bathed itself with his fresh steaming blood. The sound of breaking ribs and tearing flesh was almost muted out by the harsh muttering of the Beast at it poured over the mangled and bloodied body intent upon its grisly work. At last, with a ferocious growl of joyful success, the blood soaked, claw-tipped hand tore the man's heart free from his ravaged chest and held it high above the shaggy head in triumph. Then, in one swift almost blinding movement, the heart was devoured with a wet slurping sound and a single snapping of the horrible jaw.
Hoarse raspy laughter rose to fill the blood-misted air as the Beast lurched to its back feet and stood waiting. Long stringy ropes of hair hung nearly to the floor, and a fine covering of chestnut fur covered the obvious female body as the fullness of her small breasts began to take form and fill outward until the tender pink nipples hardened into nubby pebbles. Long elegantly shaped legs with heavily muscled haunches also filled out revealing the strength and power the Beast was capable of in each rippling sinew that appeared. She would be a powerful runner, jumper, and vicious fighting opponent with those legs as well as her arms which were also showing the same signs of enhanced musculature and grace. However, this is where the grace and elegance ended. Whatever else remained of the Beast-Woman was of an unspeakable horror. Part bat, part cat, part wolf, and part woman . . . She was A Horror. A Monster. A Demon.
From the conflicting energies of The Gemini, Vengeance and Wrath had been given purpose and form.
The Beast, which had been the other side of Elsbeth de'Angeles, had been reborn into flesh and spirit though she, herself, was long dead.
The Bane of Tokyo had risen from the blood of the living and the ashes of the dead, and it hungered for revenge. It hungered for retribution. It hungered for blood. . . . The blood of Himura Kenshin.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Christian gingerly began to circle to his left all the while keeping a carefully trained eye on his younger brother and the two swords' he was holding in his steady hands. The speed with which
the boy had maneuvered himself into a ready battle stance was still a staggering blur of bleeding colors inside of Christian's mind as he tried to figure out Kenji had managed to both acquire their Father's sakobatou and draw his own katana before Christian had even had a chance to gather his wits after being knocked to the floor by his one-armed blow. It was humanly impossible for him to have been able to accomplish what he had done, and then be so solemnly ready for whatever move his opponent might possibly make in retaliation. No one could move that fast. No one.
"What are you?" He hissed in his broken Japanese as his vicious swirling indigo eyes glared murderously into the brilliant pale green-gold crystals of the red-haired Samurai statue facing him. "Desu Oni? Desu konpaku?"
"Ne," Kenji's voice was a soft fluttering of birds feathers as it slipped wistfully from his pale lips. "I was your mattei. . . . Your . . ."
"Hermano," Soujiro supplied for Christian's confused benefit.
"Nani?"
"We were hakashuku, but now we are kyuushuu, Chri-stan. May Kami-sama have mercy on both of our souls'." Christian's eyes narrowed into silver-blue slits as his brothers words finally began to make sense in his furious brain. He was being completely rejected by his entire new
family. First by a Father who knew nothing of his past or his personal honors or the battles he had fought with others and within himself to obtain it, and now, he was being rejected by his only brother because of that same Father. A surge of rage surged through Christian's blood and he felt his grip on reality slipping beneath the power of the de'Angeles curse. The Other side of himself was beginning to rise high within his bloodstream and it was also trying to cloud his thoughts.
"Where is My Mother?!"
"Look for her bones in the ashes of the Imperial Palace, my Brother." Soujiro's sad voice drifted across the space between Kenshin and his battle prepared sons'. "That is where you will find what
remains of her in the Throne room where she met her end at the hand of the One destiny sent to stop her blasphemous deeds and murdering rampage."
"The White Warrior?" Christian's voice was a hideous sneer as he leveled his sabre at his younger brothers' chest. "I know this story already, Sou-san. All I want to know from the likes of you here now is this. WHO is the White Warrior and where may I find him?"
"Why do you wish to find him, Chri-stan?" Kuumi's trembling voice reached the ears of the swiftly changing young Spaniard as tears began to spill down her pale cheeks leaving wet trails of sadness in their wake. "What will you do if you find him?"
"Kill him." Was the flat emotionless answer that he gave her as his alien tinged eyes shifted briefly to find her distraught face, and then abruptly returned to the statue of his younger brother. "He owes me his life for murdering my Mother." With immense grief in his heart, Soujiro translated this hateful statement for the benefit of the others in the room, and as he did, Kuumi burst into heart wrenching sobs and fled the room. For the briefest of moments, there was a subtle shift in the malevolence on Christian's face that was noticed by Kenji and their Father during Kuumi's emotional departure, but it was over looked by everyone else because he returned to his previous maliciousness so quickly.
'He is not completely aware of what he is doing,' Kenshin realized as he desperately tried to reach out to his emotionally charged son with his stunned Ki, but found he could not even so much
as summon a spark of his inner spirit. 'Christian . . .' His soul cried out in pain as he watched the vicious hatreds twist the fine handsome features of the now beloved face. 'Do not do this . . . Come
back to us. Please, Aisoku. Please come back to me.' A tear of despair slid down over the cross scar covering his left cheek and Kenshin felt his Father's heart tearing in two as he watched his two
blood-born sons' becoming mortal enemies.
"You cannot have the White Warrior's life, Chri-stan." Soujiro rose to his feet proudly and walked with a cool determination, that gave the young Spaniard chills, until he stood beside the motionless Kenji. Once there, he drew his own katana and gracefully assumed the same elegant battle stance as the younger Samurai. "You will have to kill both of us in order to reach him . . . if that is your wish."
Though neither of them understood Spanish, both could easily understand what Soujiro's meaning had been as he took his place beside the youngest son of Himura Kenshin, and Saitou Hiajime and Seijuro Hiko had only to look at one another to make the decision. In the space of two heart beats, they stood flanking the two younger men their faces stern and coldly prepared to do whatever had to be done. Assuming battou jutsu with long blades drawn defensively, they completed a solid barrier between Christian and . . . his Father?
"Otousan . . .?" The incredulity and pure horror that were written on the young man's face were almost more than Kaoru could bear. She had desperately been trying to contain her fear, her worry, and her growing anxieties about Christian ever since Kenshin's Ki had summoned her to this terrible stand-off, but now her ability to control the mountain of emotions boiling within her soul was quickly coming to an end as she watched the horror of realization sink into the young man's shocked mind. She could see the rising conflict within him, and her fear for her husbands safety escalted.
His own Father was the much sought after White Warrior. His own Father was the man responsible for the death of his Mother, and it was his own Father he had searched for his entire life to kill in order to avenge that death. The hideous irony of that unfair twist of fate was slowly worming its way into Christian's subconscious and as it did, both sides of his gifted soul rebelled violently.
"NOOOOO!" He screamed, and a monstrous blast of malevolently aimed energy exploded outward from his confused soul as he surged forward holding his sabre out stretched toward Kenji's chest. As the furious lightening bolt of negative energy comprised of both inherited ki and natural witch's power passed through the four men, they were blown aside as if they were no more than small children being shoved over by a great blast of wind, and then the flashing form of Christian
de'Angeles swooped past them like a great bird of prey bearing down upon the defenseless figure of his supine Father. Even the much stronger Yahiko could not seem to lift a hand to protect the limp
form of the beloved man he cradled in his lap, and his huge frightened eyes could do nothing but watch as the curved Spanish sabre began its deadly arching fall that would end the life of Himura Kenshin.
"STOP! CHRI-STAN!" Kaoru threw herself across her husbands exposed chest just as Christian's sabre fell to slash him through the heart. "HE IS YOUR FATHER!"
"OKAASAN!!" Kenji's agonized screams of terror sliced across the space between them and suddenly Christian was being thrown through the air and smashed with a sickening 'THUD' against one of the larger support beams at the front of the house. The loud cracking of breaking bones could be heard, and then he slid silently to the floor into a crumpled heap where he lay still and unmoving. The only evidence that the blow had not killed him was the shallow rise and fall of his
abdomen as he lay on his side. He was otherwise completely unconscious though his sabre was still clutched tightly in his hand.
Kaoru stared in blank shock at the fallen body of Kenshin's eldest son where he lay in a motionless heap on the floor several feet away them completely unable to move herself, until she was suddenly seized and engulfed in the strong but totally terrified arms of her youngest son as he crushed her against his heaving chest. The wetness of his tears soaked through her kimono in only a moment as he buried his face in her shoulder and began to cry, and Kaoru wrapped arms filled with
a mother's fierce comfort and security around him and held him as tightly as she could. She did not understand how either he or his brother had done what they had, not completely.
She could remembered something like it from years ago when Kenshin and Aoshi had joined Ki's, and the resulting energy blast from that union had thrown she and Yahiko across the room. She also remembered Yahiko's wildling Ki from his younger days, but it had taken Yahiko years to learn to control his powerful energy so that he could use it in such a specific manner. Well, all except that night in the Palace when he had faced Acuma, and no one knew exactly how he had done what he had done that night. Not even Yahiko. But Kenji and Christian . . . both of them had manifested astonishing powers and incredible control in the same day. Was that coincidence? Or was it fate? Was Christian Kenji's reason for being here? 'Oh Kami . . .' She pulled the young boy even closer as the possible consequences of that thought weighed upon her mind.
"Kenji . . . my Aisoku," Kenshin's voice was weak as he tried to reach out to his valiant and emotionally consumed son. "My beau-ti-ful son." The effort was so great that the man was exhausted by the time he had finished speaking even those few words, but they succeeded in gaining the attention of his whimpering frightened child.
"Otousan?" Kenji leaned over his Father's motionless body and earnestly searched the pale drawn features as worry and anxiety filled his young heart. "Are you all right, Otousan? Are you hurt? What has happened to you? Otou?" Trembling fingers reached out to touch Kenshin's pale face and came away wet as Kenji tenderly traced the outline of his father's cross scar. "What can I do, Otou? Onegai? What can I do to make you better? How do I help you?" Kenji anxiously
reached down and grasped his father's cold hands and locked gazes with the soft reassuring violet eyes.
"I-I will be fine, Kenji-san." Kenshin whispered with a gentle smile for his distraught son's sake. "I must . . . rest, now. Help . . . me." Kenshin tried to lift his hand toward his son, but found he
could only move his fingers a little bit. "Help your bro-ther . . . help . . . me . . . rest . . . Kenji." Kenji nodded and looked into Yahiko's worried brown eyes and a silent message passed between the
two.
"It will take both of us to lift him, can you move, Raion?" Kaoru's eyes widened in shock at the maturity and tone of command she heard in her younger son's voice as he addressed his much older
brother, and looking at Yahiko nervously, she was relieved to see that the older man was not taking offense. Instead, he seemed to be nodding in agreement as well as respect of his younger brothers assumed position of authority.
"Yes, I think I can move, Kodora. I was not quite in the direct line of Chri-stan's Ki when he let it go. I was only partially affected. I am in pain, but I think I can move." Then he locked his
reddish-brown eyes with his brothers pale green-gold gaze. "How is it you can move, Kodora?" He asked quietly. "You were hit dead on by the full blast. You should be flat on your back like Sofu, Uncle Saitou, and Sou-san. Why aren't you?" Kaoru's shock and awe in her son increased as she realized the significance of Yahiko's statements. Why was not Kenji hurt worse that he was by his brother's Ki attack? He had been hit straight on by the full force. Perhaps even more so than the others because Christian knew Kenji was the true power source he would have to beat in order to reach his goal. Their Father.
"I do not know, Raion. It felt like getting hit in the chest by 50 of your back-kicks or more, but all it did was knock the breath out of me for a minute. It did not really hurt that much. It just
threw me quite far. I-I can't really explain it . . . I do not understand what has happened."
Yahiko and Kaoru exchanged concerned and confused looks and then returned their collective gazes back to and even more confused Kenji. "We will talk about it later, Kodora." Yahiko spoke softly into the wide pale eyes searching his face. "It will be all right, mattei. We will discover the answer to this Mystery."
Kenji nodded and returned his worried gaze to his father's pale face. "Hai." He spoke in a gruff emotional voice. "Then help me, Raion. Help me get Father to a bed. He is badly injured I fear."
"So do I, Kodora, so do I." And the two of them gently, tenderly lifted the limp body of their beloved Father between them and carried him down the hallway behind a frantically motioning Tokio until they were able to carefully lay him down upon the softness of a quickly prepared futon.
"Otousan?" Yahiko gazed with worried reddish-brown eyes into Kenshin's now unconscious face. "Otousan?" He asked again, but there was no response and he exchanged a very worried look with Kenji before he stood up and returned to the main room where everyone else was finally struggling to their feet.
"Sofu? Are you all right?" Yahiko stepped over to Hiko and offered the older man a hand and assisted him to his feet.
"I am. But I'll be damned if that is not the last time I stand in front of your Father and one of his Son's again. Dammit!" He rubbed his left hip painfully before he skillfully sheathed his long blade.
"You would have thought I had learned my lesson when you were a wildling brat, Raion."
"Yes, you would have." Yahiko agreed with a sarcastic smirk on his semi-serious face.
"Hey, watch it, Raion. You are not so big that I still cannot kick your smart ass if I wanted to."
"Of course, Sofu." Yahiko patted his steaming grandfather on the back and then turned away to check on Saitou before he did actually break out in laughter and upset the old man any more than he already was.
"Are you all right, Uncle? Or are you upset about standing in front of Otousan the same as Sofu?"
"Arrogant little bastard," Saitou mumbled under his breath as he locked his sword into its sheath. "You used to have respect for your betters."
"Ahhhh," Yahiko scratched his chin and pasted a long faraway look onto his face. "I remember those days . . . You were what, 35or so then?" Suddenly Yahiko found himself ducking and dodging his Uncle's furious flying fist as Saitou lost his temper.
"You disrespectful little asshole, I will teach you what it means to know your place in the hierarchy around here. Now, hold still . . . stop moving around so much, Raion. I cannot get a good bead on you when you move around so much." Yahiko just chuckled and leapt out of Saitou's range. It was only slightly humorous to see that the great Wolf of Mibu had slowed down since he passed the age of 50, but Yahiko knew better than to underestimate him too much. He might be slower than he used to be, but that had not made his claws any less sharp . . . nor his bite less painful, for that matter.
"He is gone." Soujiro's surprised voice reached out to grasp everyone's attention as he stood over the place where Christian's body had lain only a few moments before.
"What did you say?" Hiko asked as he flexed his shoulder trying to relieve a cramp that had announced its presence just since he had gotten up off the floor."Shimatta!" He cursed as the muscle in his neck started to curl up painfully as well. 'This getting older is for the birds.' He thought, as he rolled he head stretching out he cramp. 'I should have died long ago while I still had my dignity.'
"Chri-stan," Soujiro looked over his shoulder at the grumbling old man, and raised an eyebrow in concern. "He has gone, Sofu."
"GONE?" Hiko and Saitou exclaimed in unison as they rushed to the side of the younger man, and, sure enough, the body of the unconscious Spaniard was missing. A small puddle of blood had remained behind as undeniable evidence that he had, in fact, been there. But, strangely enough, there was no trail leading away from the spot where he had lain.
It appeared that Christian had disappeared without a sound and without anyone noticing his departure. They all looked at each other with confused worried faces. Even the sho-ji had not been moved. The young man seemed to have simply vanished into thin air.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He was warm and relaxed, and he felt safe and loved for the first time in his life. Arms and legs too heavy to move were lying outstretched at his sides, and he felt as if he were floating on a
light fluffy cloud somewhere high in the sky near the Sun. He was at peace and the guilt's, despairs, and agonies of his young soul seemed to have vanished. Christian was home.
But . . . where was home? Where was this place he floated in so peacefully and with such tranquillity? Suddenly he was confused and slightly afraid. Memories of faces that looked like his began washing sluggishly through his mind as he tried to piece together what was happening to him. Visions of swords, pale crystalline green eyes, red hair, and . . .
"Kenji!" He screamed as his indigo eyes flew open and he sat straight up in horrified realization. "My Brother," Christian covered his face with violently trembling hands as everything returned to
him in the rush of a raging river of images and emotions. "Father . . . noooo . . ." Pain knifed through his left side as several broken ribs finally made their presence known, and he numbly clutched at them with his right hand as he recalled how he had received them.
The blow from Kenji's Ki had been tremendous. It was at least as powerful as the one he had used to throw the four men out of his way when he had lunged forward to . . . to . . . to do what? What was it he was going to do when Kenji's Ki had struck him and thrown him across the room? What? As it came back to him, Christian felt the edges of his known world blurring into oblivion, and a shroud of despair settled over his shoulders bringing hopelessness and grief.
"Father . . . no," He began to cry. "The White Warrior . . . Father? Oh Mon Dios, it cannot be. It cannot be."
"But it is, my darling." Christian's head shot up and his wide startled eyes flew open as he searched the gray shadowy darkness around him for the source of that feathery, wispy voice. As he did, he realized he was no longer in the Saitou cottage, though he had not any idea how he came to leave there or be here, and where 'here' was he could not say because it was a place completely unknown to him.
It was a massive room filled with tall strategically placed white stone pillars carved into the images of ancient Japanese Samurai, and the floor was completely comprising perfectly matched blocks of snow-white marble. The walls and ceiling were covered with intricate mural paintings, and he could make out the edges of a massive sky-light in the center of the ceiling itself. There were pieces of construction scaffolding scattered about the room along with buckets of tools, piles of canvas drapes, cleaning rags and equipment, and all sorts of debris. The tight hand of fear closed around Christian's heart as his bewildered gaze took in his confusing surroundings.
"Wh-what is this place?" He whispered into the cool dusty air and coughing several times, he held his broken ribs in a pained grip as he winced with the new meaning of agony. "Where am I?"
"Your in Heaven, Dear One." The disembodied voice readily replied to his wary question. "Welcome to The Royal Imperial Palace. The resting place of the greatest souls in the universe."
"The Palace?" He was becoming more confused by the moment as he struggled painfully to his feet while holding his throbbing ribs. "But how did I get here?" He wiped a hand over his dusty face trying to clear his blurry vision. "And who are you?" He looked around the shadowy room peering into the places he could not quite make out. "Where are you? Why are you hiding from me?"
Rich feminine laughter filled the large room and seemed to ricochet off the rounded walls as it raced through the cool dank air. "I am not hiding from you, Beloved." The voice seemed to be everywhere at once, and Christian could feel gooseflesh rising along the nape of his neck and his forearms as he tried to remain in control of himself.
"Why do you dare call me such things? I am not your Beloved. Nor am I your Dear One. My name is Christian de'Angeles and I do not know you."
"No, my darling . . . you do not. But it has been the wish of your heart all of your life to know me, and so I have brought you here to me." A shudder of uncontrolled fear shook the young man's body as he listened to those terrifying words. "After all, it was the strength of your powers and gifts that brought me back. I owe you my life . . . and my love."
"Who are you?" He shouted in terrified fury as he twirled around desperately searching the shadows for movement or crouched half-hidden forms. "Show yourself to me, I demand it!"
"As you wish." There was a cold whispering of the air behind Christian and he suddenly felt the undeniable presence of another being standing very close to him. "Look at me, My son . . . I am here."
Christian whirled around in horrified shock and terror and found himself looking into twin swirling pools of liquid silver. The rest of the face was monstrous beyond description, and he felt the world closing in around him as he lifted a hand trying to ward off the hellacious vision before him.
"Me Madre?" He groaned in denial as the gapping maw filled with razor sharp teeth grinned hideously at him. "Noooooooo . . ." And Christian de'Angles fainted dead away slumping to the snow covered field at his Mother's feet.
"Welcome Home, my little lost Son." The Bane knelt down and lovingly ran deadly curved talons through his dark chestnut hair. "Welcome Home, my darling Christian. We are together at last. Your Father has failed, and I have won the last battle." The bat-like snout leaned over and kissed the cold stillness of his throat. "You are mine now, and I will never give you up again
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Kenshin?" Kaoru lay next to her sleeping husband worriedly watching his pale face as he continued to remain unresponsive to her voice and touch. "Where are you, Koishii?" She whispered as she tenderly brushed a few stray strands of red out of his closed eyes. "Have you gone from me . . . or are you on your way back from your journey?" Snuggling up close to his side, she breathed a deep sigh of resignation and lay her head on his gently rising and falling chest. The soft 'thud-thump, thud-thump,' of his heart beating was somewhat soothing to her as it steadily pumped his life's blood through the living tissues of his body keeping him alive. As long as she could hear his heart, Kaoru knew he was alive and as long as he was alive, there was always hope. He had come back to her so many times before she had to keep her hopes alive. She could not give up, not on Kenshin. She could never give up on Kenshin. She loved him too much.
As the dark of night fell and covered the two of them, she pulled the blankets up and tucked them around his shoulders. Her arm lay across his waist and her nose pressed against his cool cheek. It had been hours now since he had been struck by his son's beam of Ki energy. She was really beginning to worry about the fact that he had not woken up, but Soujiro had continued to try and reassure her by reminding her how long Yahiko had been unconscious after being knocked out by his own Ki blast while trapped in the prison tunnels.
"I must be patient, Saiai." She spoke softly and brushed her lips against the faded cross scar on his cheek. "But please do not make me wait too long, Kenshin. Onegai . . . you are starting to frighten me, Koishii."
"Kaoru . . ." His voice was just barely above the whisper of a dragonfly's wing. "I have told you before, do not be afraid for me. I will never leave you."
"Kenshin!?" She raised up in excited shock and stared into his still face as she lifted a trembling hand to caress his cheek. "You are awake?"
"Hai. At last . . . I am sure." His violet eyes fluttered and then slowly opened and struggled to focus on her worried face. "Konnichiwa, my Aijou." He smiled wearily at her and turned his lips
into her palm. "Gomen-nasi, Saiai. I did not mean to frighten you."
"I know." She smiled back and tried to sniff back the tears of relief that were threatening to spill over her lashes as she leaned down to press a loving kiss against his lips. "I am just happy you
are finally awake. I was beginning to fear you never would . . ."
"Shhhhh, do not think about that, Kaoru. I am all right, Aisai. Truly I am."
"Are you? Can you move at all, Kenshin? You could not even move earlier. It was as if you were frozen as well as robbed of all your strength and energy." The worry in her voice made him wince with unwanted guilt. He had always hated causing her worry or anxiety of any kind. She had suffered enough of that in their early years together, and he had made a solemn promise to himself long ago that he would protect her from further pain like that. Somehow, it had not turned out the way he had planned. 'Chri-stan . . .' He thought painfully, 'Where are you, my son? Where are you and what have you done?'
"I will be fine, Aisai. I promise you. I will be fine."
"Kenshin . . ."
"Kaoru, stop. I am fine."
"I . . ." She buried her face against his throat and Kenshin felt her begin to tremble.
"Don't . . ." He struggled against the heavy fatigue that clung to his limbs but he was finally able to wrap his arms around his quietly crying Wife. "Onegai, Kaoru. Please do not cry, Saiai.
Onegai." He began to press tender kisses against her forehead, her damp eyelids, the wetness of her cheeks, and finally the quivering softness of her lips. "Please do not cry, Kaoru. Aishiteru, my
Koishii. Aishiteru."
"Ken-shin," She choked and opened her mouth beneath his and let his tongue slid wetly inside of hers. "Aishiteru . . ." Her hands rose to cup his beloved face as she feverishly kissed him back. All
of her fears and anxieties were infused into that kiss and Kaoru intimately pressed her body against the hardness of his hip. It was not an intentional sexual contact between them, but was instead, a
reassuring embrace that said everything was going to be all right; however, as the kiss deepened Kenshin felt the need rise within himself to claim the woman in his arms.
"Saiai," He whispered huskily as he maneuvered her onto her back and rubbed his nose across the softness of her breasts. "I need you, Kaoru."
"I need you too, Kenshin" The trembling length of her long fingers found their way into the thickness of his dark red hair and she urged him gently closer to her flesh. "You frightened me today . . . all of you frightened me, Kenshin."
"Never be afraid, my fierce Aisai. I have seen you face many things more fearsome than what happened today." Tenderly he nuzzled inside the edge of her yukata and began caressing her pink tipped breast with his lips. "You are the rock that keeps me strong, Kaoru. It would take a mountain to break your will." She gasped and arched her back as his open mouth closed over the hardening nipple and gently pulled. "You are stronger than all of us, Saiai, and it is your heart that holds this family together."
"Kenshinnn . . ." Kaoru could feel his hands moving between them slowly and a bit clumsily for his usual gracefulness, but she really did not care. He was here and he was alive and touching her. Soon she could feel the coolness of the night air against the nakedness of her flesh as he parted the front of her yukata, and then his the warmth of his naked flesh was pressing down onto her ending any further rational thoughts. His hands slid beneath her buttocks and lifted her upwards
into him as he urged his swollen desire against the moistness of her increasing need.
Once their bodies were joined, Kenshin began a steady cadence that had Kaoru burying her face against his neck to quiet the sounds of her moaning pleasures as she gripped his hips and met his thrusting body. Their need for mutual reassurance and gratification was quickly taking them higher through the emotional and spiritual planes of reality to that golden world of love and passion that they found only when they were together.
A soft cry like the sound of a small bird echoed through the small house as the peak of the mountain was reached, and then the stars in the heavens twinkled brightly as the lovers slowly floated back to the earthen plane and fell asleep in each others arm's.
Hope it was worth the wait… or at least takes the edge off a little.
Thanks for hanging in there.
Tsuki-san. :)
I am going to apologize in advance for the 'quality' of this chapter and the following one. I cannot say that they are up to my usual standards because of extenuating circumstance, but I had to give you guys something to chew on for a while. I felt like I was leaving you all out in the cold. So try to bear with, and hopefully the next offering will be much better.
God Bless. Kanzen Ne Tsuki
Spanish Glossary: Hermano=Brother,
Glossary: Oni=Demon, Konpaku=Ghost/spirit, Desu=Are/Is, Ja nai=Is not/Are not,
Mattei=Youngest brother, Hakashuku=Brothers, Kyuu shun=Bitter Enemy, Raion=Lion,
Kodora=Small Tiger, Sofu=Grandfather,
Chapter Ten
Child of The Damned
Silence reigned in the room as the brothers Himura faced off against one another. Each of them were experiencing one of the greatest conflicts that he had ever known within his heart, and neither
knew what could possibly happen next. A living nightmare of grand proportions was unfolding between the two young men, and it was already beginning to lead them down a path neither wanted to face nor take. As the two perfectly opposite elemental Ki's clashed and battled one another inside the Saitou home, the slow rings of spiritual energy widened and spread outward across the land in an ever growing circle of altering effect.
Destiny's Hand was reaching out across the stillness of Japan, and the deep germinating seeds of Wrath and Revenge, that had long lain dormant and unrealized for so many years, were suddenly gripped within the furious grasp of those long seeking fingers and ripped viciously from their resting place only to be flung to the Four winds.
A great screaming cry, not unlike that of a diving bird of prey as it swoops in upon its defenseless meal screeched through the teaming streets of Tokyo causing a sweeping panic and confusion to race through the frightened people. A cold wind of ill-will sent a shiver of foreboding up each spine and caused wary looks to be cast over many shoulders as the primitive instinct of survival was cued. Something terrible had awoken within the heart of Tokyo. Something terrible and unspeakable that should have been left buried was now free and would soon be stalking the living. The fear of death had descended upon the city.
The deadly eyes of Vengeance and Wrath opened their swirling ponds of liquid silver and gazed about the shadowy world of living men once more, and as pain and memory clashed together at the same time within the frozen mind of the Beast, it once again raised its hideous maw of jagged teeth to the sky and howled it's agony in one great ear shattering cry of grief that shook even the bravest man's soul. Sadly, this horrible sound was swiftly followed by the terrified screams and
gurgling shouts of the dying as the Beast sprang upon the unsuspecting who had come to investigate the unexplained noises and howling cries.
Arms, legs, and intestines were soon strewn about in a bloody carnage as the Horror that cried human tears hunched over the chest of the third, and last man snarling and sobbing in maddened glee as it bathed itself with his fresh steaming blood. The sound of breaking ribs and tearing flesh was almost muted out by the harsh muttering of the Beast at it poured over the mangled and bloodied body intent upon its grisly work. At last, with a ferocious growl of joyful success, the blood soaked, claw-tipped hand tore the man's heart free from his ravaged chest and held it high above the shaggy head in triumph. Then, in one swift almost blinding movement, the heart was devoured with a wet slurping sound and a single snapping of the horrible jaw.
Hoarse raspy laughter rose to fill the blood-misted air as the Beast lurched to its back feet and stood waiting. Long stringy ropes of hair hung nearly to the floor, and a fine covering of chestnut fur covered the obvious female body as the fullness of her small breasts began to take form and fill outward until the tender pink nipples hardened into nubby pebbles. Long elegantly shaped legs with heavily muscled haunches also filled out revealing the strength and power the Beast was capable of in each rippling sinew that appeared. She would be a powerful runner, jumper, and vicious fighting opponent with those legs as well as her arms which were also showing the same signs of enhanced musculature and grace. However, this is where the grace and elegance ended. Whatever else remained of the Beast-Woman was of an unspeakable horror. Part bat, part cat, part wolf, and part woman . . . She was A Horror. A Monster. A Demon.
From the conflicting energies of The Gemini, Vengeance and Wrath had been given purpose and form.
The Beast, which had been the other side of Elsbeth de'Angeles, had been reborn into flesh and spirit though she, herself, was long dead.
The Bane of Tokyo had risen from the blood of the living and the ashes of the dead, and it hungered for revenge. It hungered for retribution. It hungered for blood. . . . The blood of Himura Kenshin.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Christian gingerly began to circle to his left all the while keeping a carefully trained eye on his younger brother and the two swords' he was holding in his steady hands. The speed with which
the boy had maneuvered himself into a ready battle stance was still a staggering blur of bleeding colors inside of Christian's mind as he tried to figure out Kenji had managed to both acquire their Father's sakobatou and draw his own katana before Christian had even had a chance to gather his wits after being knocked to the floor by his one-armed blow. It was humanly impossible for him to have been able to accomplish what he had done, and then be so solemnly ready for whatever move his opponent might possibly make in retaliation. No one could move that fast. No one.
"What are you?" He hissed in his broken Japanese as his vicious swirling indigo eyes glared murderously into the brilliant pale green-gold crystals of the red-haired Samurai statue facing him. "Desu Oni? Desu konpaku?"
"Ne," Kenji's voice was a soft fluttering of birds feathers as it slipped wistfully from his pale lips. "I was your mattei. . . . Your . . ."
"Hermano," Soujiro supplied for Christian's confused benefit.
"Nani?"
"We were hakashuku, but now we are kyuushuu, Chri-stan. May Kami-sama have mercy on both of our souls'." Christian's eyes narrowed into silver-blue slits as his brothers words finally began to make sense in his furious brain. He was being completely rejected by his entire new
family. First by a Father who knew nothing of his past or his personal honors or the battles he had fought with others and within himself to obtain it, and now, he was being rejected by his only brother because of that same Father. A surge of rage surged through Christian's blood and he felt his grip on reality slipping beneath the power of the de'Angeles curse. The Other side of himself was beginning to rise high within his bloodstream and it was also trying to cloud his thoughts.
"Where is My Mother?!"
"Look for her bones in the ashes of the Imperial Palace, my Brother." Soujiro's sad voice drifted across the space between Kenshin and his battle prepared sons'. "That is where you will find what
remains of her in the Throne room where she met her end at the hand of the One destiny sent to stop her blasphemous deeds and murdering rampage."
"The White Warrior?" Christian's voice was a hideous sneer as he leveled his sabre at his younger brothers' chest. "I know this story already, Sou-san. All I want to know from the likes of you here now is this. WHO is the White Warrior and where may I find him?"
"Why do you wish to find him, Chri-stan?" Kuumi's trembling voice reached the ears of the swiftly changing young Spaniard as tears began to spill down her pale cheeks leaving wet trails of sadness in their wake. "What will you do if you find him?"
"Kill him." Was the flat emotionless answer that he gave her as his alien tinged eyes shifted briefly to find her distraught face, and then abruptly returned to the statue of his younger brother. "He owes me his life for murdering my Mother." With immense grief in his heart, Soujiro translated this hateful statement for the benefit of the others in the room, and as he did, Kuumi burst into heart wrenching sobs and fled the room. For the briefest of moments, there was a subtle shift in the malevolence on Christian's face that was noticed by Kenji and their Father during Kuumi's emotional departure, but it was over looked by everyone else because he returned to his previous maliciousness so quickly.
'He is not completely aware of what he is doing,' Kenshin realized as he desperately tried to reach out to his emotionally charged son with his stunned Ki, but found he could not even so much
as summon a spark of his inner spirit. 'Christian . . .' His soul cried out in pain as he watched the vicious hatreds twist the fine handsome features of the now beloved face. 'Do not do this . . . Come
back to us. Please, Aisoku. Please come back to me.' A tear of despair slid down over the cross scar covering his left cheek and Kenshin felt his Father's heart tearing in two as he watched his two
blood-born sons' becoming mortal enemies.
"You cannot have the White Warrior's life, Chri-stan." Soujiro rose to his feet proudly and walked with a cool determination, that gave the young Spaniard chills, until he stood beside the motionless Kenji. Once there, he drew his own katana and gracefully assumed the same elegant battle stance as the younger Samurai. "You will have to kill both of us in order to reach him . . . if that is your wish."
Though neither of them understood Spanish, both could easily understand what Soujiro's meaning had been as he took his place beside the youngest son of Himura Kenshin, and Saitou Hiajime and Seijuro Hiko had only to look at one another to make the decision. In the space of two heart beats, they stood flanking the two younger men their faces stern and coldly prepared to do whatever had to be done. Assuming battou jutsu with long blades drawn defensively, they completed a solid barrier between Christian and . . . his Father?
"Otousan . . .?" The incredulity and pure horror that were written on the young man's face were almost more than Kaoru could bear. She had desperately been trying to contain her fear, her worry, and her growing anxieties about Christian ever since Kenshin's Ki had summoned her to this terrible stand-off, but now her ability to control the mountain of emotions boiling within her soul was quickly coming to an end as she watched the horror of realization sink into the young man's shocked mind. She could see the rising conflict within him, and her fear for her husbands safety escalted.
His own Father was the much sought after White Warrior. His own Father was the man responsible for the death of his Mother, and it was his own Father he had searched for his entire life to kill in order to avenge that death. The hideous irony of that unfair twist of fate was slowly worming its way into Christian's subconscious and as it did, both sides of his gifted soul rebelled violently.
"NOOOOO!" He screamed, and a monstrous blast of malevolently aimed energy exploded outward from his confused soul as he surged forward holding his sabre out stretched toward Kenji's chest. As the furious lightening bolt of negative energy comprised of both inherited ki and natural witch's power passed through the four men, they were blown aside as if they were no more than small children being shoved over by a great blast of wind, and then the flashing form of Christian
de'Angeles swooped past them like a great bird of prey bearing down upon the defenseless figure of his supine Father. Even the much stronger Yahiko could not seem to lift a hand to protect the limp
form of the beloved man he cradled in his lap, and his huge frightened eyes could do nothing but watch as the curved Spanish sabre began its deadly arching fall that would end the life of Himura Kenshin.
"STOP! CHRI-STAN!" Kaoru threw herself across her husbands exposed chest just as Christian's sabre fell to slash him through the heart. "HE IS YOUR FATHER!"
"OKAASAN!!" Kenji's agonized screams of terror sliced across the space between them and suddenly Christian was being thrown through the air and smashed with a sickening 'THUD' against one of the larger support beams at the front of the house. The loud cracking of breaking bones could be heard, and then he slid silently to the floor into a crumpled heap where he lay still and unmoving. The only evidence that the blow had not killed him was the shallow rise and fall of his
abdomen as he lay on his side. He was otherwise completely unconscious though his sabre was still clutched tightly in his hand.
Kaoru stared in blank shock at the fallen body of Kenshin's eldest son where he lay in a motionless heap on the floor several feet away them completely unable to move herself, until she was suddenly seized and engulfed in the strong but totally terrified arms of her youngest son as he crushed her against his heaving chest. The wetness of his tears soaked through her kimono in only a moment as he buried his face in her shoulder and began to cry, and Kaoru wrapped arms filled with
a mother's fierce comfort and security around him and held him as tightly as she could. She did not understand how either he or his brother had done what they had, not completely.
She could remembered something like it from years ago when Kenshin and Aoshi had joined Ki's, and the resulting energy blast from that union had thrown she and Yahiko across the room. She also remembered Yahiko's wildling Ki from his younger days, but it had taken Yahiko years to learn to control his powerful energy so that he could use it in such a specific manner. Well, all except that night in the Palace when he had faced Acuma, and no one knew exactly how he had done what he had done that night. Not even Yahiko. But Kenji and Christian . . . both of them had manifested astonishing powers and incredible control in the same day. Was that coincidence? Or was it fate? Was Christian Kenji's reason for being here? 'Oh Kami . . .' She pulled the young boy even closer as the possible consequences of that thought weighed upon her mind.
"Kenji . . . my Aisoku," Kenshin's voice was weak as he tried to reach out to his valiant and emotionally consumed son. "My beau-ti-ful son." The effort was so great that the man was exhausted by the time he had finished speaking even those few words, but they succeeded in gaining the attention of his whimpering frightened child.
"Otousan?" Kenji leaned over his Father's motionless body and earnestly searched the pale drawn features as worry and anxiety filled his young heart. "Are you all right, Otousan? Are you hurt? What has happened to you? Otou?" Trembling fingers reached out to touch Kenshin's pale face and came away wet as Kenji tenderly traced the outline of his father's cross scar. "What can I do, Otou? Onegai? What can I do to make you better? How do I help you?" Kenji anxiously
reached down and grasped his father's cold hands and locked gazes with the soft reassuring violet eyes.
"I-I will be fine, Kenji-san." Kenshin whispered with a gentle smile for his distraught son's sake. "I must . . . rest, now. Help . . . me." Kenshin tried to lift his hand toward his son, but found he
could only move his fingers a little bit. "Help your bro-ther . . . help . . . me . . . rest . . . Kenji." Kenji nodded and looked into Yahiko's worried brown eyes and a silent message passed between the
two.
"It will take both of us to lift him, can you move, Raion?" Kaoru's eyes widened in shock at the maturity and tone of command she heard in her younger son's voice as he addressed his much older
brother, and looking at Yahiko nervously, she was relieved to see that the older man was not taking offense. Instead, he seemed to be nodding in agreement as well as respect of his younger brothers assumed position of authority.
"Yes, I think I can move, Kodora. I was not quite in the direct line of Chri-stan's Ki when he let it go. I was only partially affected. I am in pain, but I think I can move." Then he locked his
reddish-brown eyes with his brothers pale green-gold gaze. "How is it you can move, Kodora?" He asked quietly. "You were hit dead on by the full blast. You should be flat on your back like Sofu, Uncle Saitou, and Sou-san. Why aren't you?" Kaoru's shock and awe in her son increased as she realized the significance of Yahiko's statements. Why was not Kenji hurt worse that he was by his brother's Ki attack? He had been hit straight on by the full force. Perhaps even more so than the others because Christian knew Kenji was the true power source he would have to beat in order to reach his goal. Their Father.
"I do not know, Raion. It felt like getting hit in the chest by 50 of your back-kicks or more, but all it did was knock the breath out of me for a minute. It did not really hurt that much. It just
threw me quite far. I-I can't really explain it . . . I do not understand what has happened."
Yahiko and Kaoru exchanged concerned and confused looks and then returned their collective gazes back to and even more confused Kenji. "We will talk about it later, Kodora." Yahiko spoke softly into the wide pale eyes searching his face. "It will be all right, mattei. We will discover the answer to this Mystery."
Kenji nodded and returned his worried gaze to his father's pale face. "Hai." He spoke in a gruff emotional voice. "Then help me, Raion. Help me get Father to a bed. He is badly injured I fear."
"So do I, Kodora, so do I." And the two of them gently, tenderly lifted the limp body of their beloved Father between them and carried him down the hallway behind a frantically motioning Tokio until they were able to carefully lay him down upon the softness of a quickly prepared futon.
"Otousan?" Yahiko gazed with worried reddish-brown eyes into Kenshin's now unconscious face. "Otousan?" He asked again, but there was no response and he exchanged a very worried look with Kenji before he stood up and returned to the main room where everyone else was finally struggling to their feet.
"Sofu? Are you all right?" Yahiko stepped over to Hiko and offered the older man a hand and assisted him to his feet.
"I am. But I'll be damned if that is not the last time I stand in front of your Father and one of his Son's again. Dammit!" He rubbed his left hip painfully before he skillfully sheathed his long blade.
"You would have thought I had learned my lesson when you were a wildling brat, Raion."
"Yes, you would have." Yahiko agreed with a sarcastic smirk on his semi-serious face.
"Hey, watch it, Raion. You are not so big that I still cannot kick your smart ass if I wanted to."
"Of course, Sofu." Yahiko patted his steaming grandfather on the back and then turned away to check on Saitou before he did actually break out in laughter and upset the old man any more than he already was.
"Are you all right, Uncle? Or are you upset about standing in front of Otousan the same as Sofu?"
"Arrogant little bastard," Saitou mumbled under his breath as he locked his sword into its sheath. "You used to have respect for your betters."
"Ahhhh," Yahiko scratched his chin and pasted a long faraway look onto his face. "I remember those days . . . You were what, 35or so then?" Suddenly Yahiko found himself ducking and dodging his Uncle's furious flying fist as Saitou lost his temper.
"You disrespectful little asshole, I will teach you what it means to know your place in the hierarchy around here. Now, hold still . . . stop moving around so much, Raion. I cannot get a good bead on you when you move around so much." Yahiko just chuckled and leapt out of Saitou's range. It was only slightly humorous to see that the great Wolf of Mibu had slowed down since he passed the age of 50, but Yahiko knew better than to underestimate him too much. He might be slower than he used to be, but that had not made his claws any less sharp . . . nor his bite less painful, for that matter.
"He is gone." Soujiro's surprised voice reached out to grasp everyone's attention as he stood over the place where Christian's body had lain only a few moments before.
"What did you say?" Hiko asked as he flexed his shoulder trying to relieve a cramp that had announced its presence just since he had gotten up off the floor."Shimatta!" He cursed as the muscle in his neck started to curl up painfully as well. 'This getting older is for the birds.' He thought, as he rolled he head stretching out he cramp. 'I should have died long ago while I still had my dignity.'
"Chri-stan," Soujiro looked over his shoulder at the grumbling old man, and raised an eyebrow in concern. "He has gone, Sofu."
"GONE?" Hiko and Saitou exclaimed in unison as they rushed to the side of the younger man, and, sure enough, the body of the unconscious Spaniard was missing. A small puddle of blood had remained behind as undeniable evidence that he had, in fact, been there. But, strangely enough, there was no trail leading away from the spot where he had lain.
It appeared that Christian had disappeared without a sound and without anyone noticing his departure. They all looked at each other with confused worried faces. Even the sho-ji had not been moved. The young man seemed to have simply vanished into thin air.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He was warm and relaxed, and he felt safe and loved for the first time in his life. Arms and legs too heavy to move were lying outstretched at his sides, and he felt as if he were floating on a
light fluffy cloud somewhere high in the sky near the Sun. He was at peace and the guilt's, despairs, and agonies of his young soul seemed to have vanished. Christian was home.
But . . . where was home? Where was this place he floated in so peacefully and with such tranquillity? Suddenly he was confused and slightly afraid. Memories of faces that looked like his began washing sluggishly through his mind as he tried to piece together what was happening to him. Visions of swords, pale crystalline green eyes, red hair, and . . .
"Kenji!" He screamed as his indigo eyes flew open and he sat straight up in horrified realization. "My Brother," Christian covered his face with violently trembling hands as everything returned to
him in the rush of a raging river of images and emotions. "Father . . . noooo . . ." Pain knifed through his left side as several broken ribs finally made their presence known, and he numbly clutched at them with his right hand as he recalled how he had received them.
The blow from Kenji's Ki had been tremendous. It was at least as powerful as the one he had used to throw the four men out of his way when he had lunged forward to . . . to . . . to do what? What was it he was going to do when Kenji's Ki had struck him and thrown him across the room? What? As it came back to him, Christian felt the edges of his known world blurring into oblivion, and a shroud of despair settled over his shoulders bringing hopelessness and grief.
"Father . . . no," He began to cry. "The White Warrior . . . Father? Oh Mon Dios, it cannot be. It cannot be."
"But it is, my darling." Christian's head shot up and his wide startled eyes flew open as he searched the gray shadowy darkness around him for the source of that feathery, wispy voice. As he did, he realized he was no longer in the Saitou cottage, though he had not any idea how he came to leave there or be here, and where 'here' was he could not say because it was a place completely unknown to him.
It was a massive room filled with tall strategically placed white stone pillars carved into the images of ancient Japanese Samurai, and the floor was completely comprising perfectly matched blocks of snow-white marble. The walls and ceiling were covered with intricate mural paintings, and he could make out the edges of a massive sky-light in the center of the ceiling itself. There were pieces of construction scaffolding scattered about the room along with buckets of tools, piles of canvas drapes, cleaning rags and equipment, and all sorts of debris. The tight hand of fear closed around Christian's heart as his bewildered gaze took in his confusing surroundings.
"Wh-what is this place?" He whispered into the cool dusty air and coughing several times, he held his broken ribs in a pained grip as he winced with the new meaning of agony. "Where am I?"
"Your in Heaven, Dear One." The disembodied voice readily replied to his wary question. "Welcome to The Royal Imperial Palace. The resting place of the greatest souls in the universe."
"The Palace?" He was becoming more confused by the moment as he struggled painfully to his feet while holding his throbbing ribs. "But how did I get here?" He wiped a hand over his dusty face trying to clear his blurry vision. "And who are you?" He looked around the shadowy room peering into the places he could not quite make out. "Where are you? Why are you hiding from me?"
Rich feminine laughter filled the large room and seemed to ricochet off the rounded walls as it raced through the cool dank air. "I am not hiding from you, Beloved." The voice seemed to be everywhere at once, and Christian could feel gooseflesh rising along the nape of his neck and his forearms as he tried to remain in control of himself.
"Why do you dare call me such things? I am not your Beloved. Nor am I your Dear One. My name is Christian de'Angeles and I do not know you."
"No, my darling . . . you do not. But it has been the wish of your heart all of your life to know me, and so I have brought you here to me." A shudder of uncontrolled fear shook the young man's body as he listened to those terrifying words. "After all, it was the strength of your powers and gifts that brought me back. I owe you my life . . . and my love."
"Who are you?" He shouted in terrified fury as he twirled around desperately searching the shadows for movement or crouched half-hidden forms. "Show yourself to me, I demand it!"
"As you wish." There was a cold whispering of the air behind Christian and he suddenly felt the undeniable presence of another being standing very close to him. "Look at me, My son . . . I am here."
Christian whirled around in horrified shock and terror and found himself looking into twin swirling pools of liquid silver. The rest of the face was monstrous beyond description, and he felt the world closing in around him as he lifted a hand trying to ward off the hellacious vision before him.
"Me Madre?" He groaned in denial as the gapping maw filled with razor sharp teeth grinned hideously at him. "Noooooooo . . ." And Christian de'Angles fainted dead away slumping to the snow covered field at his Mother's feet.
"Welcome Home, my little lost Son." The Bane knelt down and lovingly ran deadly curved talons through his dark chestnut hair. "Welcome Home, my darling Christian. We are together at last. Your Father has failed, and I have won the last battle." The bat-like snout leaned over and kissed the cold stillness of his throat. "You are mine now, and I will never give you up again
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Kenshin?" Kaoru lay next to her sleeping husband worriedly watching his pale face as he continued to remain unresponsive to her voice and touch. "Where are you, Koishii?" She whispered as she tenderly brushed a few stray strands of red out of his closed eyes. "Have you gone from me . . . or are you on your way back from your journey?" Snuggling up close to his side, she breathed a deep sigh of resignation and lay her head on his gently rising and falling chest. The soft 'thud-thump, thud-thump,' of his heart beating was somewhat soothing to her as it steadily pumped his life's blood through the living tissues of his body keeping him alive. As long as she could hear his heart, Kaoru knew he was alive and as long as he was alive, there was always hope. He had come back to her so many times before she had to keep her hopes alive. She could not give up, not on Kenshin. She could never give up on Kenshin. She loved him too much.
As the dark of night fell and covered the two of them, she pulled the blankets up and tucked them around his shoulders. Her arm lay across his waist and her nose pressed against his cool cheek. It had been hours now since he had been struck by his son's beam of Ki energy. She was really beginning to worry about the fact that he had not woken up, but Soujiro had continued to try and reassure her by reminding her how long Yahiko had been unconscious after being knocked out by his own Ki blast while trapped in the prison tunnels.
"I must be patient, Saiai." She spoke softly and brushed her lips against the faded cross scar on his cheek. "But please do not make me wait too long, Kenshin. Onegai . . . you are starting to frighten me, Koishii."
"Kaoru . . ." His voice was just barely above the whisper of a dragonfly's wing. "I have told you before, do not be afraid for me. I will never leave you."
"Kenshin!?" She raised up in excited shock and stared into his still face as she lifted a trembling hand to caress his cheek. "You are awake?"
"Hai. At last . . . I am sure." His violet eyes fluttered and then slowly opened and struggled to focus on her worried face. "Konnichiwa, my Aijou." He smiled wearily at her and turned his lips
into her palm. "Gomen-nasi, Saiai. I did not mean to frighten you."
"I know." She smiled back and tried to sniff back the tears of relief that were threatening to spill over her lashes as she leaned down to press a loving kiss against his lips. "I am just happy you
are finally awake. I was beginning to fear you never would . . ."
"Shhhhh, do not think about that, Kaoru. I am all right, Aisai. Truly I am."
"Are you? Can you move at all, Kenshin? You could not even move earlier. It was as if you were frozen as well as robbed of all your strength and energy." The worry in her voice made him wince with unwanted guilt. He had always hated causing her worry or anxiety of any kind. She had suffered enough of that in their early years together, and he had made a solemn promise to himself long ago that he would protect her from further pain like that. Somehow, it had not turned out the way he had planned. 'Chri-stan . . .' He thought painfully, 'Where are you, my son? Where are you and what have you done?'
"I will be fine, Aisai. I promise you. I will be fine."
"Kenshin . . ."
"Kaoru, stop. I am fine."
"I . . ." She buried her face against his throat and Kenshin felt her begin to tremble.
"Don't . . ." He struggled against the heavy fatigue that clung to his limbs but he was finally able to wrap his arms around his quietly crying Wife. "Onegai, Kaoru. Please do not cry, Saiai.
Onegai." He began to press tender kisses against her forehead, her damp eyelids, the wetness of her cheeks, and finally the quivering softness of her lips. "Please do not cry, Kaoru. Aishiteru, my
Koishii. Aishiteru."
"Ken-shin," She choked and opened her mouth beneath his and let his tongue slid wetly inside of hers. "Aishiteru . . ." Her hands rose to cup his beloved face as she feverishly kissed him back. All
of her fears and anxieties were infused into that kiss and Kaoru intimately pressed her body against the hardness of his hip. It was not an intentional sexual contact between them, but was instead, a
reassuring embrace that said everything was going to be all right; however, as the kiss deepened Kenshin felt the need rise within himself to claim the woman in his arms.
"Saiai," He whispered huskily as he maneuvered her onto her back and rubbed his nose across the softness of her breasts. "I need you, Kaoru."
"I need you too, Kenshin" The trembling length of her long fingers found their way into the thickness of his dark red hair and she urged him gently closer to her flesh. "You frightened me today . . . all of you frightened me, Kenshin."
"Never be afraid, my fierce Aisai. I have seen you face many things more fearsome than what happened today." Tenderly he nuzzled inside the edge of her yukata and began caressing her pink tipped breast with his lips. "You are the rock that keeps me strong, Kaoru. It would take a mountain to break your will." She gasped and arched her back as his open mouth closed over the hardening nipple and gently pulled. "You are stronger than all of us, Saiai, and it is your heart that holds this family together."
"Kenshinnn . . ." Kaoru could feel his hands moving between them slowly and a bit clumsily for his usual gracefulness, but she really did not care. He was here and he was alive and touching her. Soon she could feel the coolness of the night air against the nakedness of her flesh as he parted the front of her yukata, and then his the warmth of his naked flesh was pressing down onto her ending any further rational thoughts. His hands slid beneath her buttocks and lifted her upwards
into him as he urged his swollen desire against the moistness of her increasing need.
Once their bodies were joined, Kenshin began a steady cadence that had Kaoru burying her face against his neck to quiet the sounds of her moaning pleasures as she gripped his hips and met his thrusting body. Their need for mutual reassurance and gratification was quickly taking them higher through the emotional and spiritual planes of reality to that golden world of love and passion that they found only when they were together.
A soft cry like the sound of a small bird echoed through the small house as the peak of the mountain was reached, and then the stars in the heavens twinkled brightly as the lovers slowly floated back to the earthen plane and fell asleep in each others arm's.
Hope it was worth the wait… or at least takes the edge off a little.
Thanks for hanging in there.
Tsuki-san. :)