Disclaimer:.....you know that I don't own anyone right? RIGHT?! good..well except for a few people that I will make up in the beginning!
Chapter 11: Show Me Your Moves
Dark clouds shifted overhead, making the atmosphere seem empty and sorrowful. It seemed to be foreshadowing some catastrophic event; something Aoshi wanted to know and prevent. The cold air whispered dangers that only the dead and soulless heard.
Aoshi shuddered for a moment, spreading out his ki to sense any danger around Misao and him. Flashes from his past rolled into his mind, as the eerie darkness of the clouds swarmed around the couple. But, it wasn't from his own past, rather, it was from someone else's. From a whole different time.
He frowned deeply as his mind continued to flash visions of mountains of bloodied bodies covering vast acres of land. The air was filled with blood as it continued being sprayed by his foes. His vision flashed to Misao's lifeless form amidst the decaying bodies; slowly draining of blood.
His body stopped working, as he looked on in horror at what his mind displayed before him. His cold frigid eyes widened and he felt his whole being become once again, lifeless. It felt empty; as if there was a hole in his torn heart, a hole that could never be patched. He couldn't feel anymore, his heart hurt to beat in his hard chest.
He fell to his knees, but he hardly even noticed it. Tears stained his once stoic face; but he didn't notice them either, as his entire being was focused on the dying girl in his mind.
"Misao..," he choked out pathetically as more tears seemed to fall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Misao turned around abruptly upon hearing her name, and saw to her horror, Aoshi kneeling and crying publicly on the mud. Her emerald eyes widened and ran to his side, trying to understand his pain.
'Aoshi! Oh no, what happened to you?' she thought as she heard him cry and shake under her touch.
"Aoshi! Aoshi please! Please tell me, what's the matter!?" Misao yelled, tears brimming around her eyes.
Aoshi's mind snapped back into reality as he heard his name called by a very familiar young woman. What he saw in his mind...it didn't happen here, rather it was a flashback of some earlier time. A time in which Misao died fighting, or at least a woman who looked like her.
Aoshi gasped for breath, the stench of the decaying bodies filled his nose to the point of suffocation. His eyes had damned up the river of tears and took in Misao's living form before him. The hole in his heart became filled with happiness as he took her in a bone crushing hug.
"Misao..I saw..I," he began.
"Shhhh.. It's alright, I'm alive and you're alive Aoshi. Right now, that's all that matters," Misao said as she cradled his head with her tiny arms.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Urako closed her eyes and meditated, focusing on other life forms outside the dojo. Her deep breathing eased her into a peaceful state of mind. She felt free here, like no one could tell her what to do or how to live her life. Where her life wasn't controlled by fate, by greedy businessmen, or by her emotions.
She leaned her back against the erect rooftop of the Kamiya Dojo, taking deep, cold breaths of air to steady herself. She thought about what she was to do later on, her future battles, and the eventual downfall of the Tikara Ryu and the infamous Kyoto Organization.
Her dyed red hair was teased by the light breezes of the dying day, brushing across her face. She touched her scarred face for a moment, feeling a light pain run across there. Her eyes opened slightly feeling a slight disturbance in her ki netting that she placed around the dojo.
'Who the hell is it now? I really don't feel like listening to ugly fat losers with pointy objects,' she thought with a sigh.
The sky was giving birth to the stars early on this night, some barely even visible to the human eye.
With a set frown of discomfort, Urako jumped lightly to the ground and waited for the 'visitors'.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~
Kenshin was cleaning the dishes when he felt Kaoru enter the room. She had gone to her own private room to think. So much had happened to them in this one day; his happiness found, a new problem found, and a fated destiny.
He smiled despite of it all, knowing that he finally found his reason to live, knowing his love was returned, and knowing his life would not end with depression and old age, but with joy and endless love.
"Hello Kaoru, you feeling any better?" he asked with a smile on his face.
Kaoru smiled and stretched as she made her way over to where Kenshin stood, doing the dishes. She snaked her arm through his and lay her head gently on his firm shoulder.
"I'm doing better, but this isn't just about me. It's about all of us," she replied as she focused on the bubbles in the sink.
"That it is, Kaoru. Was it hard for you to comprehend something so outlandish as the story you told us?" he asked gently, wanting to hug her in his arms.
"Not as much as you would think Kenshin. I was brought up with the story, or history of that time. My ancestors had kept a journal and had passed it down through the generations until it had came to me," she said, shifting her head on his shoulder.
"I see, that I do. But, something bugs me Kaoru, that it does," he said with a slight frown as he put the last dish away.
Kaoru pulled away as he turned to face her and asked, "What's that Kenshin?"
"Ms. Urako told us that the prophecy failed and that a large gap of time had passed since the person last wrote in it. I was just wondering, what could we have lost that would put the whole world in some sort of depression?" he asked, though feared he knew the answer.
"In the prophecy to the person I was reincarnated after, the seer told her, or the leader rather, that I would meet you and between us a babe of power would be born. If the whole prophecy had failed, it must have been because of that. Someone stole our baby," she replied, her eyes widening as she realized her words.
"We.....a baby? Orororororoo!!" Kenshin exclaimed as he fell.
"Kenshin no baka!! This is no time to 'oro'! We have to protect the baby!" she screeched, her eyes twitching.
"Oro! But Kaoru you're not....we didn't...ororororororo!!" he exclaimed again as he thought about Kaoru pregnant.
"Oop...my mistake. But, when the baby does arrive, we have to protect it!" Kaoru yelled, blushing at her mistake.
"Yes ma'am!" he said quickly, fearing for his life.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Misao and Aoshi approached the gates of the Kamiya dojo, well the lack thereof. Misao frowned and instinctively quickened her pace, Aoshi following close behind.
Just in those few precious moments in the train, they had overcome years of cold barriers and aloofness. Just because in those few moments, his heart and love was realized. In those few moments, Misao became more daring and took a chance. Aoshi realized that if she hadn't done what she did, then he wouldn't have opened up as much or at all to her. His thick ice walls would still stand tall if it wasn't for her, and because of that Aoshi would love her to end of his days.
"Something is wrong..Aoshi..I feel it," Misao said, her heart fluttering in her chest. Misao ran to the entrance of the dojo and saw Kenshin standing in the yard, katana drawn.
"Himura? What's wrong?" Misao asked, fear clutching at her heart like a vice.
Aoshi narrowed his eyes at the figure standing absolutely still in the yard. Aoshi felt the man's ki signature covering the whole dojo. But, it felt like the signature he had felt that morning. Thinking of the worst scenarios, Aoshi whispered to Misao, "Step back Misao, I don't think that is Kenshin Himura."
"Well that is silly! He's standing right there!" Misao said aloud, an incentive to smack Aoshi upside the head crossing her mind.
"Feel him with your ki, and you will know that it isn't Himura," Aoshi spoke again, standing in front of Misao and facing the man in the yard.
Misao was about to counter but realized what he meant and did as she was told. She reached out with her ki and felt Kenshin's ki, Kaoru's, Yahiko's and the stranger's ki. Except that the stranger's ki was an awful lot like Kenshin's. The pulsing sensation of a great fighter and swordsman emitted from the small yet sturdy form of the man before them.
Aoshi narrowed his eyes and unsheathed his kodachies saying, "Where is Himura?"
The fighter only stood, a smirk appearing on his face, and sheathed his sword as he got into his battoujittsu stance.
"Maybe it's Battousai, Aoshi. Maybe something happened and Kenshin fell victim to his darker half!" she gasped, her eyes getting bigger. If that happened, then the only cause of it would be that Kaoru was mortally injured.
'Ms. Kaoru!! I hope you're alright! Just hang in there!' she thought as she got into a battle stance.
"It could be, Misao....although the ki isn't as dark as Battousai's is," Aoshi responded, glaring at the smirking fighter's form.
The figure stood erect then, spacing his feet apart.
Aoshi was confused at this action but stood strong, gripping tighter the handles of his kodachies. 'What is going on here? Where is Himura? And who is this?' Aoshi thought, completely confounded.
The fighter then snapped forward his arms and produced kunais between his fingers, then placing his hands in front of his face. One arm above his head and the other below it, both ready to snap out and release the deadly blades.
Then, the strangest and loudest noise Aoshi and Misao had ever heard, came blaring from somewhere in the dojo yard.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Urako smirked when she heard her music start. She'd have to thank Yahiko for that later, because now she had to test her recruits.
She bobbed her head forward in sync with the beat, the rhythm slowly making it's way down her body. Her shoulders dipped in sync with the beat of the guitar, waving her body with the thrumming beat of the music. She heard the male voice of the singer, and started moving her hips. The beat got to her legs as she parted them for a bit, stepping on the balls of her feet. She drew her arms away from her face, bouncing in sync with the beat, until they were at her sides. Her eyes now amber, hiding her true identity, she watched them loftily.
The beat of the guitar quickened its pace and became louder, and with it Urako nodded her head a few times before stepping to the right on the balls of her feet. Grape-vining her feet quickly in the named direction and moving her shoulders to the music, she warmed her muscles up for the fight. She stopped abruptly, her right foot planted in the ground. She used that as leverage to spring herself forward into an aerial flip, landing a few feet away from the astonished Okishira. Smirking, Urako spun to the left, flinging her kunais at Misao. Her kunais caught Misao's uniform, pinning her to the walls. Urako flipped backwards, sheathing her kunais back in her gloves.
Urako tapped the hilt of her katana, her head, shoulders, hips and legs still moving to the intoxicating beat of the song. He was going to strike, she could tell, from the look of anger in his eyes.
Aoshi narrowed his eyes in determination, trying to focus his being on this fight and not on the infernal noise clouding his brain. It was just that the fighter's moves were so unpredictable, or were they? Aoshi's brow creased in thought as he followed the graceful moves of the fighter. The fighter was moving according to the noise, keeping himself in sync with the beat. Aoshi watched the fighter unsheathe his katana as he spun in the air and land gracefully on the earth.
Aoshi brought his kodachies to his chest and charged at the fighter. Aoshi's eyes were glued to the fighter's deadly waving hands. He needed to find this fighter's weak point, but his mind kept on getting sucked into the song. His movements were sloppy and off course as he got attacked from the fighter. Aoshi got hit in the side, by the fighter's flat side of the blade.
Aoshi narrowed his eyes and turned to face the fighter.
'Why would the fighter purposefully not kill me? He could have easily sliced me in two...,' thought Aoshi as he prepared for the next onslaught of attacks.
The red-headed warrior stopped abruptly from his crash course with Misao, jumping backwards and landing gracefully behind Aoshi. Aoshi ran at the fighter full speed, his kodachies out in front of him.
"Oro....what is going on here, Aoshi?" a masculine voice asked from the kitchen.
The two fighters stopped abruptly in their haste to attack the other and turned their heads to meet another red-head.
"Himura? So you're ok? But who the hell is this guy??" Misao screeched, pulling the kunais from her uniform.
"Yes, I would like an explanation as well, Battousai," Aoshi chimed in, glancing warily at the fighter.
'So much strength....he was toying with me from the beginning...,' Aoshi thought as he sheathed his kodachies.
"A man...?" Kenshin queried, obviously confused. Kenshin glanced at Urako, who was sheathing her sword at her hip, then realization dawned on him.
The music then died down and stopped altogether, everyone's attention now on the fighter who looked like Kenshin.
"Hey, do I really look like a man? I mean honestly?" the fighter asked, as she smirked and lifted her head to look at he newcomers.
"Himura! You have a sister??? She looks exactly like you!! She even has the crossed-shape scar on her left cheek!" Misao yelled excitedly, bouncing behind Aoshi.
Aoshi narrowed his eyes, thinking on what Misao had said as a possible explanation.
"His sister? Hardly Misao! I am Urako Himura and I come from the Future," she said as she glanced at Aoshi and then to Misao.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Misao pulled the covers around her, reminders of what happened only hours before replaying in her mind. The secret behind the mysterious fighter had been revealed, overwhelming her to say the least. Urako Himura, Kenshin's descendent from the future, unknowingly sent by a rogue time machine. A time machine.....what the hell was a time machine anyway? Misao's mind couldn't really comprehend something as complex and so fantastic as a time machine. She had to have Urako pull it out and show her. Even when she saw the device with her own eyes, she couldn't see how something so small like that box could transport someone through time, or whatever it did.
So many things had been happening to her and her friends this past week that she didn't know what to do. Her meeting with Soujiro plagued her mind as well, she really wanted to tell someone. She felt so bad when she looked into Aoshi's eyes and refused in her mind to tell him what she saw. She didn't want anything bad to happen to this 'babe of power' as Kaoru had mentioned. She wished that life for her friends had been easier for them. Kenshin's descendent was proof enough that the world would still be against the Himura line. She wondered if peace was too much to ask for them.
"Are you cold, Misao?" a deep rich voice asked gently beside her.
Misao flushed but shook her head, "No, I'm ok Aoshi, thank you."
The tall man draped his arm over her small body protectively and closed his tired blue eyes. Misao sighed wearily, her heart slowing down from the initial shock of Aoshi's closeness.
'Why would Soujiro tell me that the babe of power would be here in a few days...when Kaoru and Kenshin haven't even been married yet?' Misao thought as she stared at the ceiling of her room.
'Surely, Kenshin wouldn't do anything premarital with Kaoru.....so what did Soujiro mean?' Misao frowned deeply though eventually gave in to sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kaoru walked in her room quietly, stepping out of her shoes as she closed the shoji door. Her tired worn blue eyes scanned the room for her journal, intent on making an entry. She lit a candle near her little desk on the ground and flipped through the pages of the family heirloom, until it was blank. She then took up the brush and dipped it in the black ink.
Kaoru proceeded to write in her journal, reiterating all that had happened that day. The events of the day replaying in her mind; from the early morning to now at this time. She wrote all important information that could be used to help her descendants later, if the prophecy should still fail.
She stopped, pondering on the events passed, wondering if there was any underlying meaning or hidden clue to help them and their future. The Tikara Ryu was a thorn in the Government's side, as well as the Kyoto Organization. Urako had a bone to pick with them, Kaoru was sure. Now that Aoshi and Misao were here, they could get some extra eyes on the case and dig up any information they could on both factions. According to Saitoh, they only had a few days until Kenshin, or Urako rather, went to aid Arimoto Deguchi as a bodyguard as he escaped from the clutches of his former affiliates.
They needed a plan, and Kaoru had a feeling that Urako had one in her brain already. Taking on two of the underground's most infamous, deadly, and most productive Organizations was no walk in the park. Unfortunately, the group had little time to plan for their attack. For Kenshin and her, this was only a matter of business, but for Urako, it was entirely personal. Although violence in itself was bad enough, her family was destined to destroy evil through violence.
'Through every good deed there is always an evil supporting it,' Kaoru thought to herself.
Kaoru stopped and sighed as she thought what had happened between Kenshin and herself. She smiled despite all the hardships that seemed to loom over her and her friends. She had finally found love, true love. A love that would last, it seemed, through time. She giggled to herself at the once fairly-tale dream all girls have of their knight in shining armor. She was one of the lucky girls to have found it, saved it, and love it dearly. She pressed her lips together, blushing and giggling as she remembered the impassioned kiss she had shared with Kenshin. She wanted so much more, but now, since Urako was here, they needed to help her get back to her own time.
"Kaoru?" a light voice whispered.
Kaoru gasped in mild shock and turned her head to face the red-headed Rurouni, standing in her room.
"I'm sorry to disrupt your writing, but I must ask you a question, that I must," Kenshin said meekly before walking to Kaoru's sitting form.
The candle light made his face turn a soft golden color as well as making his eyes so intense with purpose.
"Yes of course, Kenshin," Kaoru responded with a smile as she turned as sat in front of him.
"Do you really love me? I mean, it was prophetized, I know, but do you love me just because you want this prophecy to come true? Or do you really truly love me?" he asked quickly, searching for the answer in her eyes.
Kaoru was taken aback at his seemingly obvious question, not answering him for a few seconds. Her mind was racing for an explanation for why he would bring that up. She obviously loved him!
"Kenshin no baka!!"Kaoru fumed, punching his shoulder. "Of course I love you! Truly I do! Even if there was no prophecy. To this day I thank Kami-sama that I attacked you in the street!"
"ORO! Really? Oh thank you Kaoru!! I love you so much! This one is truly a baka. But a baka in love, that he is," Kenshin said as he crushed her form in a hug and covered her face with butterfly kisses.
"Could you guys please tone it down a notch? I'm tryin' to sleep here!" Yahiko bellowed from the doorway as he looked at the couple.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru yelled, blushing madly as she pushed the red faced wanderer off of her.
"Oro! Sorry Kaoru and Yahiko! I will try to contain myself that I will!" Kenshin said quickly, blushing madly as he left the room, tripping over his feet.
"Did....did he just say what I think he did?" Kaoru asked, blushing fiercely as her eyes began to get bigger.
Yahiko snickered at Kaoru's embarrassed form and nodded vigorously while running off to his own room.
Kaoru's eyes began twitching as she felt her face burn in embarrassment as she thought, 'KENSHIN NO BAKA! Why did you have to say THAT out loud?'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Urako smirked as she heard the bickering in the other rooms. Even though her heart ached for her fiancee, she would stay strong and get through this.
She shifted her lying position on the ground and stared at the dark ceiling above her. She needed a plan to take the Tikara Ryu and the Kyoto Organization down for good. She had never heard of the Tikara Ryu before even though the name felt familiar on her tongue.
'Hmmm...I still need to train the others with my technique. Though I hardly think Aoshi will be cooperating with me on that,' she smirked at the thought.
I need scouts to see where we are on fighting the underground's minions, guards, and or allies. That's where Aoshi and Misao come in, they can sneak around and 'sniff' them out. Looking around old hideouts for any clues. I need to know numbers, so that I, the rest of us, will be better equipped to fight. And to pick out the appropriate song for the upcoming fight.
If she had a tail, it would be flicking up and down in frustration. She sighed and turned to her side, her body facing the window.
'Tomorrow will be hell,' she thought as she closed her eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~*~
A/N......i know...kinda sorta...BORING and SHORT...well i thought it was...this chappie was kinda predictable...it's a roadblock...it's more of a filler than anything else...but hey--i ended the first day!! WOOT! ^_^ finally..now i have to end it in the future too ^^
Anyways--to those who answered my question--You're all wrong...hehehhe except for a part of Orion's guess...but i won't tell you what part....^_^ Muhahahha...ok..and a part of KenshinObsession's.....but that's it! I have you guys hanging by the skin of ..well you know ^^
Anyways--^_^
Elendair:.just because we can write the best lemons in the world...doesn't mean we're bad in any way...does it? heheh--ok..not what you wanted ^_^***i added the tail thing in there for ya too ^^***
Urako:Hey Elendair! My lil' lap kitty!! Your Huntress/Mistress misses you a lot...and thank you for saying that you will hurt and destroy Saitoh....though..i think i shall do it ^_^---i'll keep the couch warm for you ^_^*winks* ..which reminds me...where IS Shi-chan?
Orion Kohaishu: Hahahahahahaha---Inuyasha...tsk tsk tsk....heyloo ShipShip ^_^ Hey Kagome ^_^--don't run too far..you guys won't have enough energy...for later ^_^ hehehe---Thanks a bunch you goofy girlie you!!! ^_^*hugs*
Kawaii Lara-chan-Thank you so much!!!! I love long chappies too...in this one--i hope you like it despite the length...or the lack thereof. ^_^
Kenshin:Ororo....this chapter only has one action scene and nothing really happens...
*smacks Kenshin* writer's block is a bitch!...i can't help it!
Kaoru:Kenshin!*runs to him and smothers him in kisses*
Sano:..THat is something the public wants to see...
Kaoru:Shut up Sano...
^_^--have fun Lara-chan!--Update soon!!!!
^^X-Thank you so very much! And no--Kenshin does not have a sister ^_^--and I think we all want out own lil rendition of Kenshin ^_^ hehehehe
Koishii Sweet- Thankies!! I shall update soon--and this is it! ^_^
kenshinobsession-Thankies!!! i shall my cool reviewer! ^_^
LittogrrlStephie-Keep on readin'! heheh you missed an awful lot! ^_^ much love lil' sis!*hugs*