A/N: I enjoyed this chapter immensely, but to everyone out there who may be expecting Lemon/Lime activity between my young lovers... remember, these two are just kids for crying out loud. He he he he he. Maybe just a little limey... but that's coming later. Read and enjoy and please review... I am enjoying the feed back... it gives me ideas for future chapters as well as future fictions. And as my webpage says... MY FANS ARE THE GREATEST IN THE WORLD! YOU GUYS TOTALLY ROCK!
Glossary: Kodora=Small Tiger, Oodora=Large Tiger, Mesu Tora=Female Tiger, Otousan=Father, Okaasan=Mother, Hai=Yes, Saiai=Beloved, Meito=Mate
Chapter Thirteen
Follow Your Heart
The crumpled form of a young girl lay rolled into a fetal ball on her left side, the cold breezy wind gently passed over her stillness lifting the loose edges of her once rose colored yukata now turned a pale gray by the incandescence of the moonlight shining down upon her and sent them fluttering like tiny ship sails lost out at open sea. The long length of her dark hair lay strewn about her head and shoulders in wild disarray covering her face as well as most of her upper body. Her small, bare white feet which poked out from the folds of the yukata began twitching as the cold and damp started to seep into their highly sensitive nerve endings, and the girl shivered in unconscious response. Small puddles of rainwater dotted the ground around her, and the ground shone wetly in the pale moonlight giving further testament to the dreariness of the cold rainy night. The tall brick and mortar buildings surrounding her on both sides rose tall and straight into the dark midnight sky enclosing her in a tight 12 feet wide alley way that twisted and turned with each new added on structure until it resembled more of a maze than a path through the city. Few stairways linked the cold wet ground with the doorways above, and there were even fewer windows to be seen. It was a lonely and desolate seeming place with little available contact with the residents residing inside the buildings, if, indeed, they were living complexes.
The time seemed well past the midnight hour, and this was not the time nor the place for a young girl to be caught barefoot wearing only her yukata and nothing else to protect her from the drizzling rain and damp cold. She would surely catch her death if she did not find something to keep her warm soon.
A low moan of pain floated up from the slight form and she stirred slightly trying to raise herself onto her elbow. It was difficult and she groaned with the effort as pain laced through her back and hips. A trembling hand reached up to brush the mop of dark hair out of her face revealing large, round topaz colored eyes filled with equal amounts of bewilderment and shock as they slowly looked around, surveying her location.
"Where the hell..." Her confusion doubled as a gust of cold wind knifed though her bringing with it a violent shudder and a gasp of surprise. The girl waited for the shivering to stop, and then painfully struggled to her feet gasping once again at the amazing amount of discomfort she felt when her feet settled firmly on the damp icy ground beneath them. She hugged her arms around her body and began rubbing herself trying to get some blood flowing back through her veins so as to produce more of her own body heat all the while walking around and investigating her strange surroundings. As she reached out a tentative hand to touch the building closest to her, she set her mind into motion trying to figure just exactly where she was.
"Hmmmm," She murmured to herself and no one else in particular. "The last thing I remember is being in Kenji's room with Uncle Kenshin and Auntie Kaoru..." The touch of her hand on the cold brick seemed firm enough, so she turned away and walked back out into the center of the alley. "Otousan was there, and Okaa, and Sou-san... and Yahiko-san... and Hiko-san too." It was a little difficult trying to remember everything, especially with the headache she had, but she continued to push her mind through the process of pulling one fact after another out of its memories as she tried to establish what had happened to her, and how she had come to be in this strange place.
"We were talking about Kenji needing me to help him wherever he was... that I was going to have to help him get 'out' of the 'place' he was caught in... Auntie Kaoru said I had to use my love to find him and help him gather the strength to get out of here... but where is here?" Wide topaz eyes looked up into the wide expanse of the deep blue-purple of the midnight sky and watched the twinkling of the tiny stars as they danced their merry dance of white light and glittering silver sparkles, and then found her gaze drawn to the huge round ball of the full Moon as it hung staring down over the city... and her. "What do I do?" She asked the great sphere. "I don't even know where I am?" As the words left her mouth, a vision appeared before her minds eye, and Quii remembered what had happened to her in Kenji's room.
She could see him now, struggling with to do battle with whatever demon plagued him and the tremendous energy he was expending trying to find release from the dream that held him so tightly within it's embrace. She remembered how he had suddenly set straight up, looked her squarely in the face, cried out for her to help him, grabbed her hand, and then...
"Oh Kami..." A horrified whisper slipped from her mouth as she realized where she was. Somehow, someway, when Kenji had reached out to her and grasped her by the hand, he had transported her with him back into the realm of his mind and right into the middle of his dream.
Saitou Quii was standing in the middle of Himura Kenji's living nightmare.
~
The air, the smells, the sounds, the buildings. Everything around her felt completely real, but somehow Quii knew it could not be. She knew within her own mind that she had somehow been sucked into the terrifying world of Kenji's nightmare, and that everything around her was part of the ethereal plane of dreams. But the strange thing about it was how real it all felt to her. Her hands could touch, her body could feel, she could see, hear, and smell everything. She felt more like she had stepped through a portal into an alternate reality than into the supposed flimsy fabrications of a dream. Even the breeze blowing in her face felt cold and damp as it pulled at the thin fabric of her rose yukata, and her teeth began to chatter as she shivered in unbidden response. 'I wish I had thought to put my robe on before I ran into his room.' She thought morosely as she looked around the dark alley she had found herself standing in. 'But how was I supposed to know he was going to suck me into the middle of a freezing back ally in the middle of the night?' She stamped her cold bare feet in an effort to start the blood circulating in them again, and then began to wonder what she was supposed to do. The Moon had done its job. It had helped jogged her memory so she finally knew 'how' and 'where' she was... more or less. But that still left one large question unanswered.
Where was Himura Kenji?
"You are the one who brought me here, Kenji..." She whispered under her breath and watched as a tiny puff of steam formed in front of her face showing her just exactly how cold it really was. "Now I'm standing here freezing my butt of, and you are nowhere to be seen... where the hell are you and what is going on?"
As she wandered a little aimlessly around her small space of the alley, Quii started to become aware of something else besides the cold and the damp and the absence of her Kodora. A creeping finger of awareness that something was watching her suddenly began to crawl up her spine, and her well-honed defenses instinctively kicked into action as she crouched down and dashed swiftly toward the shadows next to one of the buildings. Pressing the smallness her slender form tightly against the cold bricks, she cast her sharp topaz gaze around the limited area of the alleyway that she could see and tried to determine if there were someone else there with her. It was hard to tell because of the poor lighting available to her. Only the full roundness of the moon hanging in the dark blue-purple of the velvet midnight sky offered any illumination within the alley, and it offered little assistance as it tried to play tricks on her eyes with the shifting shadows and the bending light fragments that filtered through the narrow spaces. Quii was finding it difficult to tell which shadows were real and which were illusions made by the moonlight, and fear was finally coming to stand beside her as a companion, though she did not welcome him. No, she did not.
Her bare feet turned quietly and began to walk up the alley and the sensation of a 'presence' moving to follow was unmistakable, and as the feeling of being watched and followed continued, and even seemed to increase with each step she took, Quii knew it was time to find Kenji. She was just not exactly quite sure how to go about doing that. The simplest way seemed to be to just start looking. If she were being watched and followed, then whatever was out there already knew she was here and her voice was not going to be a big surprise to it. At least she did not think so.
"Kenji??" She called out in a shaky voice as she maneuvered her way along the cold wet bricks that made up the alley wall. "Kenji? Can you hear me? It's Quii, where are you?" When no answer came to her furtive call, Quii drew in a frightened but fairly steady breath and continued to move farther up the alley. She was not quite certain how she knew she was going in the right direction, but she did. Kenji was this way... she could 'feel' him, and that was very strange to her.
And as she went, the 'watcher' followed.
For several moments the young chestnut-haired girl felt her way along the damp brick wall in the semi darkness stopping every few feet to listen for even the slightest sound that might indicate from which direction 'the watcher' came, or where she needed to go find her Kodora. Then she would resume along her path in the same low crouched position she had initially taken thus keeping herself prepared to leap high, or dodge out of the way of an impending attack. Always on the alert, the Mesu Tora crept ever so stealth fully through the shadows searching as well as evading just as her Father had taught her to do.
"Be ever mindful of your surroundings, Quii." Saitou had berated her one-day when she had allowed herself to be beaten by a simple, uncharacteristic surprise attack that he had launched at her without warning or provocation. "An attack can appear from any direction, and death can find your weaknesses between the space of two breaths and you are finished. There are no second chances when you are fighting for your life, or the lives of those you protect. There is only now, and how well you are prepared for what will be. Let you ears hear what they have never listened for before... the sounds that are made by the stalking predator are quiet as death. Do not be fooled by them.They can still be heard if you learn what to listen for."
From that day forward, Quii had listened more intently to her Father's lessons on the laws of concentration and discipline and how learning to hone each one of the bodies senses as a single entity could make a warrior stronger a hundred-fold with each one that was mastered. She had learned quickly, as Saitou had known she would, and now those hard earned lessons were coming home to her in a way she had never imagined they would as she used her 'ears' to listen for the tell-tale whisper of the silent foot-fall, and her 'eyes' for the subtle shifting in shadow's which might indicate an anomalous presence within its depths. With her sense of smell she searched for any odor that was foreign to this place, and her touch kept her steady and prepared for whatever may come. While her 'ki-awareness' spread around her like a protective shield searching, hunting, feeling, and keeping her alert to even the most subtle shift in the energies flowing around her. Saitou had prepared her well for this night, and Quii was more grateful than he would ever know. 'Thank-you, Otousan.' She whispered deep inside her soul of souls. 'Thank-you, Great Sensei.'
"I can 'feel' you out there you slimy baka." She hissed at the unseen 'watcher' as it continued to stalk her path through the twists and turns of the alley. "What do you think you want from me?" Quii's voice dropped to a low menacing whisper as she felt a ripple of malevolence touch her ki. "My blood? My soul? What? What do you think you are going to get out of this little game we are playing?" Suddenly she felt her skin begin to tingle just beneath the surface, and then it was suffused with spreading warmth that covered her body in only a matter of seconds. Then, as her young heart was frantically pumping her life's blood throughout her body in an effort to provide it with oxygen and energy, Quii felt the blood turn strangely hot inside her veins, and it proceeded to fill her with an almost powerful sense of being as it happened.
'What is happening to me?' Quii's mind was racing blindly as she perceived the sudden confusing sensations coursing through her system, but then she felt a massive surge of energy seem to explode from her spirit-ki blossoming inside her belly outwards filling her entire body. Her hands and feet burned with the powerful energy flowing through her, and she watched as a pale golden glow began to flicker through the dimness of the alley. Her eyes had begun to shimmer and shine a rich yellow gold... Just like her Father's.
Fear and confusion of the unknown surged through Quii, and she found herself reaching out to the only sense of stability she could think of. 'What is... Kenji?' The thought barely had time to register inside her mind when suddenly there was a low, rumbling vicious, growl from somewhere close behind her that seemed to vibrate through the air and shake the ground beneath her feet. The icy fingers of cold dread scrambled through Quii's fragile untried vitals as she turned to face what she could not see.
"Who are you?" She screamed as she assumed a tight attack/offense position and wildly looked around the narrow alley with glowing golden torches. "What do you want? My soul? Virgin's blood? What? Answer Me!" As her screams echoed off the damp brick walls and silence fell across the cold wet ground, the only response she was offered to her questions was a second vicious growl whose fierce ki-power nearly rattled the teeth loose inside of her skull, and made the small shimmering puddles of water on the ground tremble with the vibrations of its immense energy.
"Kami-sama," The hair on the back of Quii's neck stood up as all of her warning systems began to shout at her at the same time telling her to leave and to do it quickly. "What are you?" The unmistakable 'snap' of a very large jaw followed by the 'smacking' noises of what could only be called a huge 'lapping tongue' drifted through the darkness of the alley and instinct took over as the primitive 'fight or flight' mechanism clicked into action inside of Saitou Quii's brain. It was time to 'fly'.
As a rush of adrenaline boosted fear burst inside of Quii's super-charged brain, she turned and, on bare feet, flew up the dark alley with an unnatural speed that sent her gray ghostly form into nothing more than a blurred shadow. Behind her, the deafening roar of a huge beast sliced through the icy cold of the dark blue night, and the loud ' thud-thud, thud-thud' of great massive paws could be heard as the beast made swift chase after the tasty virginal morsel that was trying to get away.
As she ran, Quii could hear the heavy panting and loud thundering foot-falls of the beast behind her, but the clarity of her fighters mind prevented her from panicking and reassured her that it did not appear the beast was gaining. Rather, it seemed to be waning in the chase, but she did not try and fool herself into thinking that this meant she was safe. No, this merely meant that for the moment she had gained a small bit of an advantage over the monstrous predator chasing her and nothing more.
'I have to find Kenji.' That singular thought was at the center of the whirlwind in her mind as she searched for more options to keep her 'predator' at bay a little while longer. 'Where are you, Kodora? Where are you?' "Kenji!?" She screamed at the top of her voice as she raced along what seemed to be a never-ending corridor of alley and tall brick buildings. 'It's like the perfect trap,' She realized in shock as her mind suddenly began to understand more and more about this nightmare world she was caught in. 'There is no way out because it never ends. It just keeps on going and going forever. Oh Kami!' And as she finally understood that horrifying concept, Quii at last understood why Kenji had been so afraid. 'This is not HIS nightmare. This place has been CONTRIVED... it a place that has been MADE to bring him into and kill him... kill him before he could become what he was supposed to be and do whatever he was destined to do, and whatever is chasing me, that is was what was put in here to do the deed.' "Dear Kami... Help me.... KENJI?!" A new burst of resolve and willpower flooded through her system, and Quii sprinted forward at an even greater speed. 'I have to find Kenji. I have to find him before it is too late.'
***************
He was staring at the dark moonlit sky wondering how he had ended up like this when the dull ache in his head and between his shoulder blades reminded him about what had just happened. The tremendous blow that had been delivered upon him by that 'thing' he had found lurking in the shadows had dropped him where he stood, and he was still laying where he had fallen, moaning in pain. He had not even had the chance to quite get a good look at it before it had started tearing at him with teeth as long as his brothers Wakizashi, and claws that looked like eagle talons. He was still trying to figure out what had drawn it away from him, but just as suddenly as it had appeared, it had gone. Kenji struggled into a sitting position and tried to remember exactly what happened.
He had been asleep...
"Am I asleep now?" His finely arched dark brown eyebrows knitted in confusion for a moment as he tried to understand what was happening around him. "If I am asleep... then where is this place, and why am I here?" Stumbling painfully to his feet, he noticed his katana on the ground and leaned down to pick it up. "Strange..." he murmured in a confused voice. "If this is a dream... why does my sword feel so real? What is this?" Aqua-gold eyes narrowed dangerously as he lifted his sword into a ready position in front of him and started to walk down the narrow alley he found himself in. As he did so, the frail ghosts of recent memories began to filter back to him.
The great gapping maw of teeth, the taloned... hands? Silver eyes... a woman's voice? Kenji pulled up short and stopped as the last memory settled in his bewildered mind.
"A-a woman..." He distinctly remembered hearing a woman's voice just as that 'thing' had leapt out of the shadows and pounced on him like a wild animal moving in for the kill.
"OooooooOooooooOooooo........ It is The Unborn 'Himself'.... What a great honor this is, we have 'tasted' each other before, my precious boy... I have been waiting for you... I have been waiting for a long, long time... may your Father's soul rot in everlasting hell."
"Kuso! Could it be?" Kenji recoiled from the thought his mind was barely stroking to life. "No." He would not believe anything like that. He could not. It could not be possible. Father and the others had killed her all those years ago before he was born. Elsbeth de'Angles was dead and long since turned to dust inside of the old Imperial Palace where they had left her. Besides, whatever this apparition was, it was NOT a woman. That it was not.
Grasping the hilt of his katana more tightly, Kenji began to walk down the ally-way again all the while keeping his senses sharply attuned for any sign of danger. Something was very wrong about all of this. He could not understand how he came to be in this place, or what this place was. He remembered fighting some 'beast-thing', but how could that be if he were dreaming, and if this was a dream, why did it feel so real? And if it was not a dream, where in the world was he?
As the feelings of confusion and logic battled inside of his mind, Kenji gradually began to realize something else very important. There was something or someone else 'in here' with him, and whatever it was it was further down the alley away from him. He could feel it pulling on his ki in a strange way that he had never felt before. He was fairly certain it was not the 'beast-thing' because it was a pure energy that was tugging at him, and because it felt completely different from any other energy he had ever touched. The urgency that was laced throughout the 'touch' of this energy signature pulling on his spirit-ki was so powerful that it was swiftly becoming almost more important to him to find the source of the energy than finding the 'beast-thing', and even though he was not sure why, Kenji knew he had to find whatever it was that was doing this pulling.
As he made his way farther down the alleyway, he began to notice the strength of the energy pulling on him was becoming much stronger. The logical conclusion was that he was coming closer to the source, and his steps became more urgent until he found himself running. Getting there before it was too late was becoming his primary goal... but where was 'there' and what would he be 'too late' for? He did not know, but even though he did not know, Himura Kenji quickened his stride and lengthened his step until he became a whispering mist that flowed through air on silent feet. Then with each successive step he took toward his goal, the shadow of another memory began to form and replay in his mind. It was foggy at first, but the closer to the source he got, the clearer the memory washed, until suddenly, as he reached out with his spirit-ki and grasped onto his god-given power, Kenji disappeared into the thinness of the breezy air, and as the pure white energy surged though the purity of his system, it sent him racing on the swift, sure feet of 'The Sword of Lightning and Fire' through the coldness of the night, and as he flew, there was only one thought on his mind.
"Quii." It was Quii who was pulling on him. It was her energy dragging him down the alley as her urgency reached out and grasped onto his ki and pulled him toward her. She was here, she was afraid, and she was calling him. 'Kenji?!' He could hear her in his head now, and he raced at beyond god-like speed trying to reach her in time because she was not alone. 'It' was with her... He knew 'It' was.
He could remember now. He could remember everything. The beginning, the middle, the end. He remembered reaching out begging her to come and help him as the 'beast-thing' had slashed at his throat and chest. He remembered reaching through the shimmering hole of light that had appeared over the beast's shoulders where he could see her leaning over his still sleeping body with that worried and frightened look on her face, and he remembered grasping her hand and pulling her back through that hole with him. But why hadn't she ended up in the exact same spot as he was? 'Kami-sama... please let her be all right... Quii... be all right, Mesu Tora. Please be all right.' Even now he could hear his Father's amused yet serious words from that day so long ago.
"Even the Kodora needs a Mesu Tora, Kenji-san."
"Help Me Otousan..." He prayed as he ran. "Give me the strength... Help me be strong, like you are... Help me, Oodora, help me."
~
Lungs burning with from supreme exertion continued to gasp valiantly on the freezing damp air as the Mesu Tora flew on winged feet through the maze of twists and turns that made up the narrow alley. The long trails of her dark hair streamed out behind her in a blur of dark blacks and muted grays as the power of her newly enhanced spirit-ki pushed her beyond her human limitations and into the world spiritual speed.
It seemed almost impossible to her, but even at the tremendous speed with which her feet were carrying her body, Quii could still make out every detail of the world around her and thus, easily navigated any obstacle that appeared in her path. Behind her, she could still hear the heavy pounding of the large beast as it maintained its pursuit of her despite the widening gap she was creating between them. She could still hear the moist deep chest panting of the four legged nightmare that she had not waited around to get a look at, and in her imagination she thought she could feel the damp heat of that foul breath oozing down the back of her neck even though she knew the beast was too far behind to do anything of the sort. Despite that knowledge Quii felt the fear in her soul quicken the frantic beating of her heart, and double the resolve of her spirit to find the Kodora.
"KENJI?" She cried out again hoping against all hope that he would finally hear her and come before she ran out of strength and energy. The enemy of fatigue was already beginning to claim the aching muscles in her legs and back as she pushed herself ever forward. "KENJI…" The scream rose high into the cold night air, and as she rounded another twisting turn in the maze, Quii felt her feet slipping in a muddy puddle that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The slip sent her careening across the alley-way and slammed her face first into the opposite side knocking the breath out of her lungs in one great 'whoosh', and then she was slowly sliding to the ground momentarily stunned by the impact as stars and snow blossoms burst in front of her eyes threatening to obscure her vision and suck her into the world of unconsciousness. "Nooooo….." It was the smallest whisper of despair and desperation as it slipped from her pale lips, and then her frightened eyes rose to behold that which had so steadfastly pursued her to this point of defeat. Tears of regret began to slide down her smooth white cheeks as Quii looked into the swirling silver eyes of her own death.
~
He heard the scream of his name and the tremendous rise of Quii's fear as he began to round a sharp turn, and Kenji felt a sudden surge of bile flood the back of his throat as the blanket of her over whelming despair descended upon him. He felt her desperation, her fear, and her regret? She was giving up… she was cornered… there was not way out… she was going to die.
"NOOOOOOOO!" He screamed and flew around the turn only to come upon the most terrible scene he had ever encountered in his life. Quii lay defenseless on the ground, pinned tightly up against the side of the building with nowhere to move or run, and in front of her, not 6 feet away standing in a half crouch was a creature that he could have only imagined in his worst nightmares.
~
The Bane had finally outwitted the tasty morsel that was destined to be 'The Unborn's' Salvation, and now it would end. He would never get here in time to stop the inevitable. The girl was going to die with her virgin's blood gushing all over this carefully prepared sacrificial ground, and her strength and purity would be absorbed into the power of the Bane's evil energy core making it stronger. Then, It would hunt down 'The Unborn' and finish him, and then It's revenge would be full and complete. Both of Himura's son's would belong to It… in one form or another, and his power and strength would diminish and he would become nothing.
A gleeful chuckle of almost human merriment bubbled out of the hideous jagged toothed maw as the large lolling pink tongue lapped out to wipe the excess saliva dripping from the drawn back black lips. "Tasty, tasty…" A feminine sounding voice rasped free from the massive jaws as the malformed Bane circled the frightened girl grinning obscenely and clicking together the long talon-like claw on the end of its fingers like a sea crab flexing its pinchers. "Ho ho, he he… let's have some fun, you and I… shall we?" And the powerful back legs bent and then sprang forward and upward as the Bane leapt in a graceful arc toward its intended prey a feral growl rumbling from deep within its throat preceding its coming. Quii screamed helplessly as she withered against the cold bricks behind her and raised her arms into a defensive position in front of her. 'I'm going to die.' She thought in terror. 'I'm going to die in here…. Oh God!'
"KKEENNJJIIII!" The scream of abject terror split the night like a lightening rod, and suddenly a blinding white light brighter than anything Quii could ever remember seeing flashed in front of her and sent the pouncing Bane careening back down and across the alleyway nearly 20feet away. The loud crashing thud of the massive body striking into the brick wall sent a jarring vibration of immense proportions through the entire fabric of the contrived world, shaking it to its very core, and as the creature slid limply to the ground into a heap of gangling tangled limps and long dark wiry hair, Quii watched in stunned awe as a significant amount of crushed brick and mortar disintegrated off the building and buried the body beneath a pile of debris.
Shakily she crawled to her feet still unable to believe or understand what she had just seen. What had happened? What was that brilliant white light she had seen, and where had it come from, and better yet, where did it go? Looking around cautiously, Quii warily surveyed her surrounds trying to see if she could determine for herself the cause for what had just happened, but she could see nothing out of the ordinary. Then, off to her side, buried deep in the shadows, she heard a muffled groan and the scraping of metal on brick. 'Kenji??' Her mind wildly assessed the possibility and she carefully approached the source of the noises. It only took her a moment to find what she had been looking for.
"Kenji!" It was a cry of relief mixed with anxiety and deep concern as she rushed to him and dropped down on her knees next to him. "You're hurt, aren't you?" She whispered as she reached out and put a tentative hand on his trembling shoulder. The muscles beneath her touch flinched ever so slightly and she started to pull back, but he stopped her by reaching up to grasp her hand.
"Don't…" He whispered in a tight voice. "Don't pulled away… please."
"All right… I won't." She carefully moved in closer to him and cupped his chin in her other hand so she could turn his face toward her. His eyes were wide and bright Aqua-gold as they looked deeply into her worried topaz gaze. "You… you saved me." She whispered softly as her eyes caressed his beautiful face and her hand tenderly brushed the wild red hair out of his eyes. Catching her hand inside of his, Kenji gently pressed his lips into her palm and feeling her tremble at the touch, finally knew the truth to the last question his mind had been asking him.
"I had to." He looked at her lovely thin shaped face that looked so much like her Father's and reached out his hand to caress her pale cheek gently. "Quii?"
"Nan-ni?"
"I think I finally understand a few things that I did not before."
"You do?"
"Hai."
"Like what?" She let her hand move to cover his as it continued to stroke the soft curve of her cheek and jaw.
"I know what my purpose is… I have to save my brother from that… 'thing' over there."
"But… but, how are you going to do that?" She asked in a half frightened half incredulous voice.
"That is one of the things I do not know yet… but there is something else that I do."
"What is that?" Her huge topaz eyes searched his face as she watched his eyes soften to their usual aqua-green color and fill with an emotion that made the muscles in her stomach start to knot up.
"I…" Tentatively he moved a fraction closer to her, and then tried to start again. "I… I love you, Quii… I really love you, and we are supposed to be together… you and I, together." She was staring at him in stunned wonderment and her hand reached out for his face again as the reality of his words began to sink into her heart and mind.
"You love me?" She asked in a small awe filled whisper.
"Hai… That I do." He replied in a calm steady voice that held confidence and reassurance.
"I… I think I love you too." Her voice was tremulous as her gaze innocently dropped to his lips and then returned to his eyes which she found had turned to a smoldering greenish-gray in the moonlight. "Ken-ji?" She stammered in the face of such a strong emotion coming from someone she had only seen as a friend and cousin up until now, and a shiver of awareness passed through her as she watched his gaze deliberately dip down to her lips.
"I want to kiss you, Quii… can I?" It was a soft request spoken in a husky voice she had never heard him use before and it raised gooseflesh along her skin as she responded to both the emotional and sexual pull she felt coming from him.
"Hai…" The breathless consent slipped from her before she really even had the chance to think about the consequences or ramifications of such an action, but at the moment neither of those things seemed to be very important. What mattered was the need to feel closer to him than just a friend or a cousin. Besides, her mind began to remind her, Himura Kenji is not really your true cousin. There is no blood tie between you, only the closeness of the ties between your parents have made you 'family'. There is nothing else to bind you in that way, and there is nothing to prevent you from bonding in another way. And with that thought burning in her heart, Quii leaned into Kenji as he cupped the back of her head in his hand and cocked his head to one side.
The softness of her tender lips were slightly parted as he pressed his against them and applied the gentlest of pressure. A low moan of wonder filled her as she leaned even more into him and slid her hands around the back of his neck pulling him closer to her. It was the most astonishing feeling Quii had ever known and she wanted to feel more of it, so as her feminine instincts began to rise to the surface of her fiery personality, her jaw slackened parting her lips more giving Kenji an invitation to taste the sweetness of her that no man had ever dipped into before. A shudder of desire quaked through his hardened muscles as he accepted that innocent invitation and tentatively slid the tip of his tongue into the virgin moistness of her mouth. A responding shiver shook her slender frame and he gently pulled her into the strength of his arms and held her tenderly against the powerful beating of his young heart while her hands moved down over his tense chest and then slid up along his back until they were gripping his shoulders tightly.
As the kiss deepened and lengthened, the love that had always existed between the Kodora and his Mesu Tora burst forth from them in an explosion of white light, and in the next blinking instant of time, they were gone from the dark, damp world of the alley maze.
*****************
Within the quiet of the Saitou house two exhausted young souls returned to the reality of living men. Slowly opening their tired eyes, each immediately began a desperate search for the other, and to their relief, found the sought for beloved mate lying right next to them on the same futon.
Tenderly Kenji brushed the wild disarray of chest-nut locks out of Quii's face so that he could look into the beauty and warmth of her glowing topaz eyes as they gazed lovingly on his smiling face.
"We made it out." He whispered to her as he began stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "And we made it out together."
"Hai, Kenji... that we did." His smile spread into a grin as he caught her purposeful use of one of his Father's euphemisms, and her eyes began to twinkle mischievously as she tucked a stray strand of his flaming red hair behind his ear. "And are 'we' together, oh Mighty Kodora?" She asked in a teasing voice as she leaned down and rubbed the tip of her nose against his chin, and Kenji reached up swiftly and wrapped his arms around her body trapping her against his chest grinning wickedly when she squealed in surprise.
"Hai, Saiai Mesu Tora... 'WE' are together... that we are." And as she started giggling at his purposeful use of his Father's catch phrase as well, Kenji lifted his head and captured her smiling mouth within the loving trap of his own and effectively silenced any further laughter or teasing from his chosen Meito.
After all, even a Kodora's Mesu Tora needed to be reminded of her proper placed every so often... and Quii's was going to be here... in Himura Kenji's arms as well as at his side, and he was going to make sure she knew that.
~
Faraway, in the dusty dark of the Imperial Palace The Bane lifted it's snout to full moon shining though the massive skylight and howled the cry of a soul long damned to suffer the eternal pain of endless hunger and need. Hunger for flesh and blood, need for the purity of soul-fire, both necessary for It's peace of mind and relief from the neverending hollow ache where It's own soul once had been. Tonight The Bane had failed two-fold. It had failed to trap and kill 'The Unborn', and It had failed to rid the earth of 'The Unborn's' mate. A girl whose blossoming power could be the key to The Bane's undoing.
Again and again the hideous snout rose into the cold night air and sent It's howling cry of anguish and fury up to the Mother Moon as if waiting for some sort of comfort or solace from the once close friend. But there was no comfort in the weak pale light that had once brought great gifts of power and strength. Now there was only the light… nothing but the light and the cold. And The Bane howled in despair.
~
The young dark-haired man lay in a dusty corner curled into a fetal ball, forgotten for the moment by his crazed captor. His huge Indigo eyes shone brilliantly in the dark like flickering blue lanterns beckoning to those who would save his soul even as he felt his mind slipping away into the world of madness.
"Otousan… Kenji… Kenji… Kenji… my hermano… help me…
****************
Sayonara, for now my dearest friends. I am off to update 'The Bad Kid', as well as 'The Master of High Tower'. I have neglected it just a little. Arigato to all of you who faithfully read my fanfictions, and Arigato to those who are just starting. You are all important to me, and my humble heart grows warm with affection and gratitude that you have chosen to read my modest offerings.
God Bless you all, and take care. Remember to hug the ones you love. WE never do that enough anymore.
Please read and review. You guys are my biggest inspiration.
Tsuki-san
Glossary: Kodora=Small Tiger, Oodora=Large Tiger, Mesu Tora=Female Tiger, Otousan=Father, Okaasan=Mother, Hai=Yes, Saiai=Beloved, Meito=Mate
Chapter Thirteen
Follow Your Heart
The crumpled form of a young girl lay rolled into a fetal ball on her left side, the cold breezy wind gently passed over her stillness lifting the loose edges of her once rose colored yukata now turned a pale gray by the incandescence of the moonlight shining down upon her and sent them fluttering like tiny ship sails lost out at open sea. The long length of her dark hair lay strewn about her head and shoulders in wild disarray covering her face as well as most of her upper body. Her small, bare white feet which poked out from the folds of the yukata began twitching as the cold and damp started to seep into their highly sensitive nerve endings, and the girl shivered in unconscious response. Small puddles of rainwater dotted the ground around her, and the ground shone wetly in the pale moonlight giving further testament to the dreariness of the cold rainy night. The tall brick and mortar buildings surrounding her on both sides rose tall and straight into the dark midnight sky enclosing her in a tight 12 feet wide alley way that twisted and turned with each new added on structure until it resembled more of a maze than a path through the city. Few stairways linked the cold wet ground with the doorways above, and there were even fewer windows to be seen. It was a lonely and desolate seeming place with little available contact with the residents residing inside the buildings, if, indeed, they were living complexes.
The time seemed well past the midnight hour, and this was not the time nor the place for a young girl to be caught barefoot wearing only her yukata and nothing else to protect her from the drizzling rain and damp cold. She would surely catch her death if she did not find something to keep her warm soon.
A low moan of pain floated up from the slight form and she stirred slightly trying to raise herself onto her elbow. It was difficult and she groaned with the effort as pain laced through her back and hips. A trembling hand reached up to brush the mop of dark hair out of her face revealing large, round topaz colored eyes filled with equal amounts of bewilderment and shock as they slowly looked around, surveying her location.
"Where the hell..." Her confusion doubled as a gust of cold wind knifed though her bringing with it a violent shudder and a gasp of surprise. The girl waited for the shivering to stop, and then painfully struggled to her feet gasping once again at the amazing amount of discomfort she felt when her feet settled firmly on the damp icy ground beneath them. She hugged her arms around her body and began rubbing herself trying to get some blood flowing back through her veins so as to produce more of her own body heat all the while walking around and investigating her strange surroundings. As she reached out a tentative hand to touch the building closest to her, she set her mind into motion trying to figure just exactly where she was.
"Hmmmm," She murmured to herself and no one else in particular. "The last thing I remember is being in Kenji's room with Uncle Kenshin and Auntie Kaoru..." The touch of her hand on the cold brick seemed firm enough, so she turned away and walked back out into the center of the alley. "Otousan was there, and Okaa, and Sou-san... and Yahiko-san... and Hiko-san too." It was a little difficult trying to remember everything, especially with the headache she had, but she continued to push her mind through the process of pulling one fact after another out of its memories as she tried to establish what had happened to her, and how she had come to be in this strange place.
"We were talking about Kenji needing me to help him wherever he was... that I was going to have to help him get 'out' of the 'place' he was caught in... Auntie Kaoru said I had to use my love to find him and help him gather the strength to get out of here... but where is here?" Wide topaz eyes looked up into the wide expanse of the deep blue-purple of the midnight sky and watched the twinkling of the tiny stars as they danced their merry dance of white light and glittering silver sparkles, and then found her gaze drawn to the huge round ball of the full Moon as it hung staring down over the city... and her. "What do I do?" She asked the great sphere. "I don't even know where I am?" As the words left her mouth, a vision appeared before her minds eye, and Quii remembered what had happened to her in Kenji's room.
She could see him now, struggling with to do battle with whatever demon plagued him and the tremendous energy he was expending trying to find release from the dream that held him so tightly within it's embrace. She remembered how he had suddenly set straight up, looked her squarely in the face, cried out for her to help him, grabbed her hand, and then...
"Oh Kami..." A horrified whisper slipped from her mouth as she realized where she was. Somehow, someway, when Kenji had reached out to her and grasped her by the hand, he had transported her with him back into the realm of his mind and right into the middle of his dream.
Saitou Quii was standing in the middle of Himura Kenji's living nightmare.
~
The air, the smells, the sounds, the buildings. Everything around her felt completely real, but somehow Quii knew it could not be. She knew within her own mind that she had somehow been sucked into the terrifying world of Kenji's nightmare, and that everything around her was part of the ethereal plane of dreams. But the strange thing about it was how real it all felt to her. Her hands could touch, her body could feel, she could see, hear, and smell everything. She felt more like she had stepped through a portal into an alternate reality than into the supposed flimsy fabrications of a dream. Even the breeze blowing in her face felt cold and damp as it pulled at the thin fabric of her rose yukata, and her teeth began to chatter as she shivered in unbidden response. 'I wish I had thought to put my robe on before I ran into his room.' She thought morosely as she looked around the dark alley she had found herself standing in. 'But how was I supposed to know he was going to suck me into the middle of a freezing back ally in the middle of the night?' She stamped her cold bare feet in an effort to start the blood circulating in them again, and then began to wonder what she was supposed to do. The Moon had done its job. It had helped jogged her memory so she finally knew 'how' and 'where' she was... more or less. But that still left one large question unanswered.
Where was Himura Kenji?
"You are the one who brought me here, Kenji..." She whispered under her breath and watched as a tiny puff of steam formed in front of her face showing her just exactly how cold it really was. "Now I'm standing here freezing my butt of, and you are nowhere to be seen... where the hell are you and what is going on?"
As she wandered a little aimlessly around her small space of the alley, Quii started to become aware of something else besides the cold and the damp and the absence of her Kodora. A creeping finger of awareness that something was watching her suddenly began to crawl up her spine, and her well-honed defenses instinctively kicked into action as she crouched down and dashed swiftly toward the shadows next to one of the buildings. Pressing the smallness her slender form tightly against the cold bricks, she cast her sharp topaz gaze around the limited area of the alleyway that she could see and tried to determine if there were someone else there with her. It was hard to tell because of the poor lighting available to her. Only the full roundness of the moon hanging in the dark blue-purple of the velvet midnight sky offered any illumination within the alley, and it offered little assistance as it tried to play tricks on her eyes with the shifting shadows and the bending light fragments that filtered through the narrow spaces. Quii was finding it difficult to tell which shadows were real and which were illusions made by the moonlight, and fear was finally coming to stand beside her as a companion, though she did not welcome him. No, she did not.
Her bare feet turned quietly and began to walk up the alley and the sensation of a 'presence' moving to follow was unmistakable, and as the feeling of being watched and followed continued, and even seemed to increase with each step she took, Quii knew it was time to find Kenji. She was just not exactly quite sure how to go about doing that. The simplest way seemed to be to just start looking. If she were being watched and followed, then whatever was out there already knew she was here and her voice was not going to be a big surprise to it. At least she did not think so.
"Kenji??" She called out in a shaky voice as she maneuvered her way along the cold wet bricks that made up the alley wall. "Kenji? Can you hear me? It's Quii, where are you?" When no answer came to her furtive call, Quii drew in a frightened but fairly steady breath and continued to move farther up the alley. She was not quite certain how she knew she was going in the right direction, but she did. Kenji was this way... she could 'feel' him, and that was very strange to her.
And as she went, the 'watcher' followed.
For several moments the young chestnut-haired girl felt her way along the damp brick wall in the semi darkness stopping every few feet to listen for even the slightest sound that might indicate from which direction 'the watcher' came, or where she needed to go find her Kodora. Then she would resume along her path in the same low crouched position she had initially taken thus keeping herself prepared to leap high, or dodge out of the way of an impending attack. Always on the alert, the Mesu Tora crept ever so stealth fully through the shadows searching as well as evading just as her Father had taught her to do.
"Be ever mindful of your surroundings, Quii." Saitou had berated her one-day when she had allowed herself to be beaten by a simple, uncharacteristic surprise attack that he had launched at her without warning or provocation. "An attack can appear from any direction, and death can find your weaknesses between the space of two breaths and you are finished. There are no second chances when you are fighting for your life, or the lives of those you protect. There is only now, and how well you are prepared for what will be. Let you ears hear what they have never listened for before... the sounds that are made by the stalking predator are quiet as death. Do not be fooled by them.They can still be heard if you learn what to listen for."
From that day forward, Quii had listened more intently to her Father's lessons on the laws of concentration and discipline and how learning to hone each one of the bodies senses as a single entity could make a warrior stronger a hundred-fold with each one that was mastered. She had learned quickly, as Saitou had known she would, and now those hard earned lessons were coming home to her in a way she had never imagined they would as she used her 'ears' to listen for the tell-tale whisper of the silent foot-fall, and her 'eyes' for the subtle shifting in shadow's which might indicate an anomalous presence within its depths. With her sense of smell she searched for any odor that was foreign to this place, and her touch kept her steady and prepared for whatever may come. While her 'ki-awareness' spread around her like a protective shield searching, hunting, feeling, and keeping her alert to even the most subtle shift in the energies flowing around her. Saitou had prepared her well for this night, and Quii was more grateful than he would ever know. 'Thank-you, Otousan.' She whispered deep inside her soul of souls. 'Thank-you, Great Sensei.'
"I can 'feel' you out there you slimy baka." She hissed at the unseen 'watcher' as it continued to stalk her path through the twists and turns of the alley. "What do you think you want from me?" Quii's voice dropped to a low menacing whisper as she felt a ripple of malevolence touch her ki. "My blood? My soul? What? What do you think you are going to get out of this little game we are playing?" Suddenly she felt her skin begin to tingle just beneath the surface, and then it was suffused with spreading warmth that covered her body in only a matter of seconds. Then, as her young heart was frantically pumping her life's blood throughout her body in an effort to provide it with oxygen and energy, Quii felt the blood turn strangely hot inside her veins, and it proceeded to fill her with an almost powerful sense of being as it happened.
'What is happening to me?' Quii's mind was racing blindly as she perceived the sudden confusing sensations coursing through her system, but then she felt a massive surge of energy seem to explode from her spirit-ki blossoming inside her belly outwards filling her entire body. Her hands and feet burned with the powerful energy flowing through her, and she watched as a pale golden glow began to flicker through the dimness of the alley. Her eyes had begun to shimmer and shine a rich yellow gold... Just like her Father's.
Fear and confusion of the unknown surged through Quii, and she found herself reaching out to the only sense of stability she could think of. 'What is... Kenji?' The thought barely had time to register inside her mind when suddenly there was a low, rumbling vicious, growl from somewhere close behind her that seemed to vibrate through the air and shake the ground beneath her feet. The icy fingers of cold dread scrambled through Quii's fragile untried vitals as she turned to face what she could not see.
"Who are you?" She screamed as she assumed a tight attack/offense position and wildly looked around the narrow alley with glowing golden torches. "What do you want? My soul? Virgin's blood? What? Answer Me!" As her screams echoed off the damp brick walls and silence fell across the cold wet ground, the only response she was offered to her questions was a second vicious growl whose fierce ki-power nearly rattled the teeth loose inside of her skull, and made the small shimmering puddles of water on the ground tremble with the vibrations of its immense energy.
"Kami-sama," The hair on the back of Quii's neck stood up as all of her warning systems began to shout at her at the same time telling her to leave and to do it quickly. "What are you?" The unmistakable 'snap' of a very large jaw followed by the 'smacking' noises of what could only be called a huge 'lapping tongue' drifted through the darkness of the alley and instinct took over as the primitive 'fight or flight' mechanism clicked into action inside of Saitou Quii's brain. It was time to 'fly'.
As a rush of adrenaline boosted fear burst inside of Quii's super-charged brain, she turned and, on bare feet, flew up the dark alley with an unnatural speed that sent her gray ghostly form into nothing more than a blurred shadow. Behind her, the deafening roar of a huge beast sliced through the icy cold of the dark blue night, and the loud ' thud-thud, thud-thud' of great massive paws could be heard as the beast made swift chase after the tasty virginal morsel that was trying to get away.
As she ran, Quii could hear the heavy panting and loud thundering foot-falls of the beast behind her, but the clarity of her fighters mind prevented her from panicking and reassured her that it did not appear the beast was gaining. Rather, it seemed to be waning in the chase, but she did not try and fool herself into thinking that this meant she was safe. No, this merely meant that for the moment she had gained a small bit of an advantage over the monstrous predator chasing her and nothing more.
'I have to find Kenji.' That singular thought was at the center of the whirlwind in her mind as she searched for more options to keep her 'predator' at bay a little while longer. 'Where are you, Kodora? Where are you?' "Kenji!?" She screamed at the top of her voice as she raced along what seemed to be a never-ending corridor of alley and tall brick buildings. 'It's like the perfect trap,' She realized in shock as her mind suddenly began to understand more and more about this nightmare world she was caught in. 'There is no way out because it never ends. It just keeps on going and going forever. Oh Kami!' And as she finally understood that horrifying concept, Quii at last understood why Kenji had been so afraid. 'This is not HIS nightmare. This place has been CONTRIVED... it a place that has been MADE to bring him into and kill him... kill him before he could become what he was supposed to be and do whatever he was destined to do, and whatever is chasing me, that is was what was put in here to do the deed.' "Dear Kami... Help me.... KENJI?!" A new burst of resolve and willpower flooded through her system, and Quii sprinted forward at an even greater speed. 'I have to find Kenji. I have to find him before it is too late.'
***************
He was staring at the dark moonlit sky wondering how he had ended up like this when the dull ache in his head and between his shoulder blades reminded him about what had just happened. The tremendous blow that had been delivered upon him by that 'thing' he had found lurking in the shadows had dropped him where he stood, and he was still laying where he had fallen, moaning in pain. He had not even had the chance to quite get a good look at it before it had started tearing at him with teeth as long as his brothers Wakizashi, and claws that looked like eagle talons. He was still trying to figure out what had drawn it away from him, but just as suddenly as it had appeared, it had gone. Kenji struggled into a sitting position and tried to remember exactly what happened.
He had been asleep...
"Am I asleep now?" His finely arched dark brown eyebrows knitted in confusion for a moment as he tried to understand what was happening around him. "If I am asleep... then where is this place, and why am I here?" Stumbling painfully to his feet, he noticed his katana on the ground and leaned down to pick it up. "Strange..." he murmured in a confused voice. "If this is a dream... why does my sword feel so real? What is this?" Aqua-gold eyes narrowed dangerously as he lifted his sword into a ready position in front of him and started to walk down the narrow alley he found himself in. As he did so, the frail ghosts of recent memories began to filter back to him.
The great gapping maw of teeth, the taloned... hands? Silver eyes... a woman's voice? Kenji pulled up short and stopped as the last memory settled in his bewildered mind.
"A-a woman..." He distinctly remembered hearing a woman's voice just as that 'thing' had leapt out of the shadows and pounced on him like a wild animal moving in for the kill.
"OooooooOooooooOooooo........ It is The Unborn 'Himself'.... What a great honor this is, we have 'tasted' each other before, my precious boy... I have been waiting for you... I have been waiting for a long, long time... may your Father's soul rot in everlasting hell."
"Kuso! Could it be?" Kenji recoiled from the thought his mind was barely stroking to life. "No." He would not believe anything like that. He could not. It could not be possible. Father and the others had killed her all those years ago before he was born. Elsbeth de'Angles was dead and long since turned to dust inside of the old Imperial Palace where they had left her. Besides, whatever this apparition was, it was NOT a woman. That it was not.
Grasping the hilt of his katana more tightly, Kenji began to walk down the ally-way again all the while keeping his senses sharply attuned for any sign of danger. Something was very wrong about all of this. He could not understand how he came to be in this place, or what this place was. He remembered fighting some 'beast-thing', but how could that be if he were dreaming, and if this was a dream, why did it feel so real? And if it was not a dream, where in the world was he?
As the feelings of confusion and logic battled inside of his mind, Kenji gradually began to realize something else very important. There was something or someone else 'in here' with him, and whatever it was it was further down the alley away from him. He could feel it pulling on his ki in a strange way that he had never felt before. He was fairly certain it was not the 'beast-thing' because it was a pure energy that was tugging at him, and because it felt completely different from any other energy he had ever touched. The urgency that was laced throughout the 'touch' of this energy signature pulling on his spirit-ki was so powerful that it was swiftly becoming almost more important to him to find the source of the energy than finding the 'beast-thing', and even though he was not sure why, Kenji knew he had to find whatever it was that was doing this pulling.
As he made his way farther down the alleyway, he began to notice the strength of the energy pulling on him was becoming much stronger. The logical conclusion was that he was coming closer to the source, and his steps became more urgent until he found himself running. Getting there before it was too late was becoming his primary goal... but where was 'there' and what would he be 'too late' for? He did not know, but even though he did not know, Himura Kenji quickened his stride and lengthened his step until he became a whispering mist that flowed through air on silent feet. Then with each successive step he took toward his goal, the shadow of another memory began to form and replay in his mind. It was foggy at first, but the closer to the source he got, the clearer the memory washed, until suddenly, as he reached out with his spirit-ki and grasped onto his god-given power, Kenji disappeared into the thinness of the breezy air, and as the pure white energy surged though the purity of his system, it sent him racing on the swift, sure feet of 'The Sword of Lightning and Fire' through the coldness of the night, and as he flew, there was only one thought on his mind.
"Quii." It was Quii who was pulling on him. It was her energy dragging him down the alley as her urgency reached out and grasped onto his ki and pulled him toward her. She was here, she was afraid, and she was calling him. 'Kenji?!' He could hear her in his head now, and he raced at beyond god-like speed trying to reach her in time because she was not alone. 'It' was with her... He knew 'It' was.
He could remember now. He could remember everything. The beginning, the middle, the end. He remembered reaching out begging her to come and help him as the 'beast-thing' had slashed at his throat and chest. He remembered reaching through the shimmering hole of light that had appeared over the beast's shoulders where he could see her leaning over his still sleeping body with that worried and frightened look on her face, and he remembered grasping her hand and pulling her back through that hole with him. But why hadn't she ended up in the exact same spot as he was? 'Kami-sama... please let her be all right... Quii... be all right, Mesu Tora. Please be all right.' Even now he could hear his Father's amused yet serious words from that day so long ago.
"Even the Kodora needs a Mesu Tora, Kenji-san."
"Help Me Otousan..." He prayed as he ran. "Give me the strength... Help me be strong, like you are... Help me, Oodora, help me."
~
Lungs burning with from supreme exertion continued to gasp valiantly on the freezing damp air as the Mesu Tora flew on winged feet through the maze of twists and turns that made up the narrow alley. The long trails of her dark hair streamed out behind her in a blur of dark blacks and muted grays as the power of her newly enhanced spirit-ki pushed her beyond her human limitations and into the world spiritual speed.
It seemed almost impossible to her, but even at the tremendous speed with which her feet were carrying her body, Quii could still make out every detail of the world around her and thus, easily navigated any obstacle that appeared in her path. Behind her, she could still hear the heavy pounding of the large beast as it maintained its pursuit of her despite the widening gap she was creating between them. She could still hear the moist deep chest panting of the four legged nightmare that she had not waited around to get a look at, and in her imagination she thought she could feel the damp heat of that foul breath oozing down the back of her neck even though she knew the beast was too far behind to do anything of the sort. Despite that knowledge Quii felt the fear in her soul quicken the frantic beating of her heart, and double the resolve of her spirit to find the Kodora.
"KENJI?" She cried out again hoping against all hope that he would finally hear her and come before she ran out of strength and energy. The enemy of fatigue was already beginning to claim the aching muscles in her legs and back as she pushed herself ever forward. "KENJI…" The scream rose high into the cold night air, and as she rounded another twisting turn in the maze, Quii felt her feet slipping in a muddy puddle that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The slip sent her careening across the alley-way and slammed her face first into the opposite side knocking the breath out of her lungs in one great 'whoosh', and then she was slowly sliding to the ground momentarily stunned by the impact as stars and snow blossoms burst in front of her eyes threatening to obscure her vision and suck her into the world of unconsciousness. "Nooooo….." It was the smallest whisper of despair and desperation as it slipped from her pale lips, and then her frightened eyes rose to behold that which had so steadfastly pursued her to this point of defeat. Tears of regret began to slide down her smooth white cheeks as Quii looked into the swirling silver eyes of her own death.
~
He heard the scream of his name and the tremendous rise of Quii's fear as he began to round a sharp turn, and Kenji felt a sudden surge of bile flood the back of his throat as the blanket of her over whelming despair descended upon him. He felt her desperation, her fear, and her regret? She was giving up… she was cornered… there was not way out… she was going to die.
"NOOOOOOOO!" He screamed and flew around the turn only to come upon the most terrible scene he had ever encountered in his life. Quii lay defenseless on the ground, pinned tightly up against the side of the building with nowhere to move or run, and in front of her, not 6 feet away standing in a half crouch was a creature that he could have only imagined in his worst nightmares.
~
The Bane had finally outwitted the tasty morsel that was destined to be 'The Unborn's' Salvation, and now it would end. He would never get here in time to stop the inevitable. The girl was going to die with her virgin's blood gushing all over this carefully prepared sacrificial ground, and her strength and purity would be absorbed into the power of the Bane's evil energy core making it stronger. Then, It would hunt down 'The Unborn' and finish him, and then It's revenge would be full and complete. Both of Himura's son's would belong to It… in one form or another, and his power and strength would diminish and he would become nothing.
A gleeful chuckle of almost human merriment bubbled out of the hideous jagged toothed maw as the large lolling pink tongue lapped out to wipe the excess saliva dripping from the drawn back black lips. "Tasty, tasty…" A feminine sounding voice rasped free from the massive jaws as the malformed Bane circled the frightened girl grinning obscenely and clicking together the long talon-like claw on the end of its fingers like a sea crab flexing its pinchers. "Ho ho, he he… let's have some fun, you and I… shall we?" And the powerful back legs bent and then sprang forward and upward as the Bane leapt in a graceful arc toward its intended prey a feral growl rumbling from deep within its throat preceding its coming. Quii screamed helplessly as she withered against the cold bricks behind her and raised her arms into a defensive position in front of her. 'I'm going to die.' She thought in terror. 'I'm going to die in here…. Oh God!'
"KKEENNJJIIII!" The scream of abject terror split the night like a lightening rod, and suddenly a blinding white light brighter than anything Quii could ever remember seeing flashed in front of her and sent the pouncing Bane careening back down and across the alleyway nearly 20feet away. The loud crashing thud of the massive body striking into the brick wall sent a jarring vibration of immense proportions through the entire fabric of the contrived world, shaking it to its very core, and as the creature slid limply to the ground into a heap of gangling tangled limps and long dark wiry hair, Quii watched in stunned awe as a significant amount of crushed brick and mortar disintegrated off the building and buried the body beneath a pile of debris.
Shakily she crawled to her feet still unable to believe or understand what she had just seen. What had happened? What was that brilliant white light she had seen, and where had it come from, and better yet, where did it go? Looking around cautiously, Quii warily surveyed her surrounds trying to see if she could determine for herself the cause for what had just happened, but she could see nothing out of the ordinary. Then, off to her side, buried deep in the shadows, she heard a muffled groan and the scraping of metal on brick. 'Kenji??' Her mind wildly assessed the possibility and she carefully approached the source of the noises. It only took her a moment to find what she had been looking for.
"Kenji!" It was a cry of relief mixed with anxiety and deep concern as she rushed to him and dropped down on her knees next to him. "You're hurt, aren't you?" She whispered as she reached out and put a tentative hand on his trembling shoulder. The muscles beneath her touch flinched ever so slightly and she started to pull back, but he stopped her by reaching up to grasp her hand.
"Don't…" He whispered in a tight voice. "Don't pulled away… please."
"All right… I won't." She carefully moved in closer to him and cupped his chin in her other hand so she could turn his face toward her. His eyes were wide and bright Aqua-gold as they looked deeply into her worried topaz gaze. "You… you saved me." She whispered softly as her eyes caressed his beautiful face and her hand tenderly brushed the wild red hair out of his eyes. Catching her hand inside of his, Kenji gently pressed his lips into her palm and feeling her tremble at the touch, finally knew the truth to the last question his mind had been asking him.
"I had to." He looked at her lovely thin shaped face that looked so much like her Father's and reached out his hand to caress her pale cheek gently. "Quii?"
"Nan-ni?"
"I think I finally understand a few things that I did not before."
"You do?"
"Hai."
"Like what?" She let her hand move to cover his as it continued to stroke the soft curve of her cheek and jaw.
"I know what my purpose is… I have to save my brother from that… 'thing' over there."
"But… but, how are you going to do that?" She asked in a half frightened half incredulous voice.
"That is one of the things I do not know yet… but there is something else that I do."
"What is that?" Her huge topaz eyes searched his face as she watched his eyes soften to their usual aqua-green color and fill with an emotion that made the muscles in her stomach start to knot up.
"I…" Tentatively he moved a fraction closer to her, and then tried to start again. "I… I love you, Quii… I really love you, and we are supposed to be together… you and I, together." She was staring at him in stunned wonderment and her hand reached out for his face again as the reality of his words began to sink into her heart and mind.
"You love me?" She asked in a small awe filled whisper.
"Hai… That I do." He replied in a calm steady voice that held confidence and reassurance.
"I… I think I love you too." Her voice was tremulous as her gaze innocently dropped to his lips and then returned to his eyes which she found had turned to a smoldering greenish-gray in the moonlight. "Ken-ji?" She stammered in the face of such a strong emotion coming from someone she had only seen as a friend and cousin up until now, and a shiver of awareness passed through her as she watched his gaze deliberately dip down to her lips.
"I want to kiss you, Quii… can I?" It was a soft request spoken in a husky voice she had never heard him use before and it raised gooseflesh along her skin as she responded to both the emotional and sexual pull she felt coming from him.
"Hai…" The breathless consent slipped from her before she really even had the chance to think about the consequences or ramifications of such an action, but at the moment neither of those things seemed to be very important. What mattered was the need to feel closer to him than just a friend or a cousin. Besides, her mind began to remind her, Himura Kenji is not really your true cousin. There is no blood tie between you, only the closeness of the ties between your parents have made you 'family'. There is nothing else to bind you in that way, and there is nothing to prevent you from bonding in another way. And with that thought burning in her heart, Quii leaned into Kenji as he cupped the back of her head in his hand and cocked his head to one side.
The softness of her tender lips were slightly parted as he pressed his against them and applied the gentlest of pressure. A low moan of wonder filled her as she leaned even more into him and slid her hands around the back of his neck pulling him closer to her. It was the most astonishing feeling Quii had ever known and she wanted to feel more of it, so as her feminine instincts began to rise to the surface of her fiery personality, her jaw slackened parting her lips more giving Kenji an invitation to taste the sweetness of her that no man had ever dipped into before. A shudder of desire quaked through his hardened muscles as he accepted that innocent invitation and tentatively slid the tip of his tongue into the virgin moistness of her mouth. A responding shiver shook her slender frame and he gently pulled her into the strength of his arms and held her tenderly against the powerful beating of his young heart while her hands moved down over his tense chest and then slid up along his back until they were gripping his shoulders tightly.
As the kiss deepened and lengthened, the love that had always existed between the Kodora and his Mesu Tora burst forth from them in an explosion of white light, and in the next blinking instant of time, they were gone from the dark, damp world of the alley maze.
*****************
Within the quiet of the Saitou house two exhausted young souls returned to the reality of living men. Slowly opening their tired eyes, each immediately began a desperate search for the other, and to their relief, found the sought for beloved mate lying right next to them on the same futon.
Tenderly Kenji brushed the wild disarray of chest-nut locks out of Quii's face so that he could look into the beauty and warmth of her glowing topaz eyes as they gazed lovingly on his smiling face.
"We made it out." He whispered to her as he began stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "And we made it out together."
"Hai, Kenji... that we did." His smile spread into a grin as he caught her purposeful use of one of his Father's euphemisms, and her eyes began to twinkle mischievously as she tucked a stray strand of his flaming red hair behind his ear. "And are 'we' together, oh Mighty Kodora?" She asked in a teasing voice as she leaned down and rubbed the tip of her nose against his chin, and Kenji reached up swiftly and wrapped his arms around her body trapping her against his chest grinning wickedly when she squealed in surprise.
"Hai, Saiai Mesu Tora... 'WE' are together... that we are." And as she started giggling at his purposeful use of his Father's catch phrase as well, Kenji lifted his head and captured her smiling mouth within the loving trap of his own and effectively silenced any further laughter or teasing from his chosen Meito.
After all, even a Kodora's Mesu Tora needed to be reminded of her proper placed every so often... and Quii's was going to be here... in Himura Kenji's arms as well as at his side, and he was going to make sure she knew that.
~
Faraway, in the dusty dark of the Imperial Palace The Bane lifted it's snout to full moon shining though the massive skylight and howled the cry of a soul long damned to suffer the eternal pain of endless hunger and need. Hunger for flesh and blood, need for the purity of soul-fire, both necessary for It's peace of mind and relief from the neverending hollow ache where It's own soul once had been. Tonight The Bane had failed two-fold. It had failed to trap and kill 'The Unborn', and It had failed to rid the earth of 'The Unborn's' mate. A girl whose blossoming power could be the key to The Bane's undoing.
Again and again the hideous snout rose into the cold night air and sent It's howling cry of anguish and fury up to the Mother Moon as if waiting for some sort of comfort or solace from the once close friend. But there was no comfort in the weak pale light that had once brought great gifts of power and strength. Now there was only the light… nothing but the light and the cold. And The Bane howled in despair.
~
The young dark-haired man lay in a dusty corner curled into a fetal ball, forgotten for the moment by his crazed captor. His huge Indigo eyes shone brilliantly in the dark like flickering blue lanterns beckoning to those who would save his soul even as he felt his mind slipping away into the world of madness.
"Otousan… Kenji… Kenji… Kenji… my hermano… help me…
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Sayonara, for now my dearest friends. I am off to update 'The Bad Kid', as well as 'The Master of High Tower'. I have neglected it just a little. Arigato to all of you who faithfully read my fanfictions, and Arigato to those who are just starting. You are all important to me, and my humble heart grows warm with affection and gratitude that you have chosen to read my modest offerings.
God Bless you all, and take care. Remember to hug the ones you love. WE never do that enough anymore.
Please read and review. You guys are my biggest inspiration.
Tsuki-san