Disclaimer:: I didn't do it! Actually most of this IS mine—just not the original cast of the Anime show . Have fun reading my story ya'll!
Chapter 19: Cruelty of FateWhen Fate is posted on your door
When there's nothing to do anymore
How you looked that night
How different in that light
The harder you try to take control fast
The more Destiny comes to pass
Understanding will reflect in your eyes
Becoming brighter like the skies
You'd know that there'd be no escaping
You'd see that Fate would be shaping
The World as you see it
But not as you perceive it
You'd know why decisions were made
You'd know why your memory fades
You'd know why you wouldn't understand then
When you were young, playing in the den
All the Experiences you've encountered thus far
Were saved in a priceless mind jar
Coming into use as the foretold path appears before you
Now you know why you'd choose this path of Truth
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Thy Fate cannot be controlled by mortal handsOnly the belief that there isn't Fate brings Fate around to come true
-------------------- ((Made by me, too! ))
Widened violet eyes stared into the former resting place of Urako Himura, along with her murderer Hajime Saitoh. Disbelief echoed through Kenshin's depths, his mind slowly beginning to understand what went on here.
"Gha!" Sano shouted, his fist punching the ground. Kenshin immediately looked at his old friend, sadness now threatening to overwhelm his being. So much sorrow befell him, as it would his descendents.
Kenshin sighed; his shoulders slumped towards the ground. He felt the weakness enter him, the weakness that he couldn't protect that one person; he couldn't protect his offspring. He had gone through much turmoil to end up with what he had now; so much hatred and grief.
"Will it ever stop?" he murmured to himself. He half-heartedly felt his katana fall from his loosened grip to the bloodied mud. It splashed, leaving Kenshin's face and clothes dirtied with blood and mud. He could feel himself sink somewhat in the mud; feel himself sink in his own emotions.
He could see Sano from the corner of his eye. He could see that Sano was in his own hell, too. But most of all, he understood what had happened. Fate had carved it's way into his life; everybody's life. It was showing itself for those who could see it so that they could learn and grow from it.
But why at such a high price? Kenshin wondered as he closed his eyes.
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Kaoru kept her hard gaze on the forest where Yahiko had told her Kenshin and Sano ran off to. She had a bad feeling that something had happened; something terrible.
Fisting her hands, Kaoru huffed irritably and stomped off the porch quickly. She didn't want to be the last one to know of bad news; she didn't want something to happen that she could have prevented had she been there sooner.
These morose thoughts struck pain and doubt through her heart. She could feel it eating away at her; she could feel a part of herself die.
"No..." she hoarsely whispered, feeling her throat close up. Her eyes widened with fear but she pushed herself past the Dojo gate, willing herself to go on.
She couldn't loose him now, not now! Not when they had barely exposed one another's feelings! She couldn't bear the thought of him gone forever, she didn't want to. She had so many plans for them both. She still wanted to be married. She still wanted to have children. She still wanted to be in love with Kenshin.
Tears were streaming down her cheeks, blurring her vision so that she only saw green and brown blobs in front of her.
She lost track of how far she had been running, she just followed his call. The call his soul cried out each time he was in danger of being lost in himself.
Kenshin! Don't leave me! Hold on, please! Kaoru desperately thought to herself as she climbed over fallen trees and deadened logs.
"Kenshin!" she shouted loudly, "Kenshin.." she added lightly, her sobs choking her voice. She leaned against a tree, too tired to go on; her sorrow weighing her down. She slowly slid to the ground, her tears falling to the reddish brown ground.
"Get up, Kaoru," a feminine voice ordered sternly.
Kaoru gasped slightly, her eyes widening with recognition.
"Urako!" Kaoru exclaimed excitedly, turning her head up to look at her.
Clad in her black leather shorts, her roughly cut-off tank top, and her knee-high black boots, Urako smirked somewhat. Urako's hair was from fading red to black, her black roots giving her an ethereal look.
Placing her hand on her hip, Urako replied, "I'm glad you know who I am, but I want you to get up quickly."
Frowning, Kaoru gingerly got up from her knees, saying, "But Kenshin and Sano...they were-"
"Yea-Yea, they were looking for me. I know. Don't worry, they found me," Urako replied hastily, anxiety making her voice seem a little irritated.
Standing erect with confusion swirling around her eyes, Kaoru asked, "Urako...what's going on here?"
Smiling gently, Urako stood to the side, revealing Kenshin's hunched form. "Kaoru, you need to go to him," she said, gesturing to Kenshin.
"Ke-KENSHIN!" Kaoru screamed, her fear, sorrow and love running with her voice. She scrambled feebly over to his sagging form, clutching dreadfully at his gi in her tiny hands.
Jolted out of his consuming reverie, Kenshin sharply turned his head to Kaoru's face. Recognition quickly swarmed over his features, softening his former hard façade.
"Kaoru," he said warmly, a smile of relief easing onto his lips.
Laughing nervously, Kaoru buried her head into his shoulder, shuddering violently.
"Tell me what's going on Kenshin. I mean, Urako just told me-"
"Urako's dead, Missy," Sano said, limply raising himself from his crouched position.
"Urako's...what?" Kaoru asked, pulling herself away from Kenshin's arms.
Kenshin looked down though turned his face up to see Kaoru, lightly saying, "She's gone, Kaoru."
Frowning and shaking her head, Kaoru fiercely replied, "No, no that's not possible, because I just," she paused to look behind her, seeing only a glade, "talked to her.."
"You talked to her, Kaoru? What did she say?" Kenshin asked, turning her head with his hand.
"That you needed me," Kaoru said simply, her big eyes boring into his own.
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"Megumi! Megumi!" Yahiko screamed, as he burst in through the shoji door of the small clinic. Many of the patients shot their heads up in attention at his sudden appearance, but he ignored them. The only thing that mattered at this moment was getting Megumi to Urako.
Urako... Yahiko thought somberly. How could that madman Saitoh kill her? Didn't she love him? Wasn't he the fiancée she kept talking about? What kind of world was the future, where loved ones killed one another? Not one he'd support at all.
Yahiko ran through the many of the operating rooms, screaming the doctor's name at the top of his lungs. Finally, a door to his right burst open, Megumi's face lit up in anxiety and fear.
"Megumi!" Yahiko shouted, relieved. He immediately ran to her form.
"What is it Yahiko-kun?" Megumi asked, her voice slightly quivering.
"You have to come quick! Urako's been hurt really bad!" Yahiko explained, his small arms pulling at her sleeves.
Nodding curtly, she picked up her dress and ran quickly behind Yahiko, following his lead.
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When Megumi and Yahiko had finally reached Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sano, they were met with the opposite of what they had expected. Confused, Yahiko ran towards the snuggling couple.
"She disappeared with Saitoh in a flash of light, kid," Sano said before Yahiko could complain.
"What?" Yahiko asked, dumbfounded.
"Wait a second, she disappeared, Sano?" Megumi asked, disbelief in her voice. She placed a hand on her hip and tried to think on how that could possibly work.
"You remember how she told us that she came here through a time machine thing?" Sano asked, looking at her.
Megumi nodded, "Yes, I do."
"Then, Miss Megumi, we believe that Saitoh had one of those time machines with him that caused the bright flash of light," Kenshin explained softly, looking up from Kaoru's head.
"Oh, so what's going to happen to her?" Megumi asked, realization flooding through her.
"There's nothing that can happen, Fox. Urako is dead," Sano stated firmly and flatly.
"What?!" Megumi gasped, feeling all the memories she had shortly shared with Urako become more precious to her. Especially the moment that Urako had shared with her about her sister. It seemed like the pain had caught up with her and ultimately destroyed her. Though what disgusted her the most was the man who killed her. Saitoh, her fiancée. Urako had talked so highly of him; she was so in love with him. She wouldn't see him as any kind of traitor; she'd have trusted him with everything.
"That...bastard," she heard herself curse.
There was a cadaverous silence that hung in the air like a thick pungent scent. The dreary atmosphere cast everyone in their own emptiness. Vengeance for Urako's death was burning wildly in each of their throbbing hearts; vengeance that couldn't be controlled or converted. The fighters didn't know how to get rid of the fire that raged on in their souls. The only thing that they could do now was to rely on each other for comfort.
"Now what do we do?" Yahiko weakly asked, sniffling.
"We keep to what Urako had planned. We protect Deguchi-san from Tikara Ryu and destroy the young Kyoto Organization," Kaoru responded.
Grunts and firm, albeit a little slow, nods agreed with Kaoru, though no one dared to move from their spots. Everyone was lost in their own grief. In their own world away from this one. They could each still hear Urako's strange music gliding on the winds like ghosts.
Frowning somewhat, Megumi pricked her ears to listen carefully to the ghostly music. "Does anyone else hear that?" she asked tentatively.
Slowly, everyone else listened carefully to what Megumi had heard. One by one they each looked at each other, confusion and anxiety surrounding them.
"It's coming from over there!" Yahiko exclaimed, clambering over to where the noise buzzed from the bushes. Yahiko shuffled around the bush curiously, poking and prodding the noisemaker with a stick. Deeming it safe, he gingerly picked it up, showing everyone what it was.
"It's her ster-i-o box thing," Sano said, peering at it cautiously.
"And it's still humming or whatever it's doing," Kaoru said, pointing at it.
"I believe that it's called music, that I do," Kenshin observed as he walked closer to the device.
"Do you think she meant to leave it behind?" Yahiko asked innocently, clutching the box protectively.
Kenshin squatted so that he was at eye level with Yahiko and said, "I don't know, Yahiko, but we should take care of it and be thankful for it, that we should."
Yahiko nodded and smiled a little, patting the box comfortingly as the song slowly died out.
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Aoshi and Misao walked back to their temporary hiding place, sweat covering their brows. Information had been collected and plans were set in motion. Though none were thinking about the up coming mission. Strange thoughts clouded both their minds; feelings of terrible loss. They both knew who it was, though chose to ignore the obvious; wanting to live for the next moments in a dream.
"Aoshi," Misao said simply, looking out a nearby window, "They're in pain, aren't they?"
Aoshi merely nodded and walked to stand next to Misao. Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder he said, "But we must not forget what we were taught by her, Misao."
Misao turned to look up into his ice blue eyes, sadness clouding her sea green orbs. She shakily nodded in agreement, fiercely hugging him. How she didn't want Fate to interfere this way, though painfully understood the reasons why.
"We were reincarnated for a reason, Misao. To fight back against the evil that will seek the destruction of all we hold dear. And that is with or without a leader as powerful as Urako. As her followers, we must carry out her will," Aoshi explained carefully, stroking her silky hair.
"I know," Misao said, her voice muffled by his clothes, "and I know what I must do to help."
"And what is that, koishii?"
"Find the Beast inside me and tame its powers," Misao said, looking up to his features.
Smiling, Aoshi nodded lightly, leaning forward to kiss her temple. "A task that shouldn't be taken lightly, but one that must be taken."
"We should tell the others about this, Aoshi,"
"We should, though, to let them learn it by themselves is better. However, time is against us, so we will go to them," Aoshi nodded, still caressing her head.
Is this what Soujiro meant? By my seeing the Prophetic Babe of power? Though she had failed at tipping the scale between Good & Evil; so then it is up to us her followers to carry out her will. There is still much I have yet to understand here.. Misao thought as she looked out the window. Though, if I tell them about Urako, specific events will not occur.
"We should start back, though first I'll check if there is any news from the Oniwaban," Aoshi whispered near Misao's ear. Smiling, Misao only nodded, taking his hand in her own and placing a gentle kiss upon it.
"For luck, Lord Aoshi," she said, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at him.
Aoshi let his eyes glide warmly over her form, finally leaning in to kiss her lips. His hands floated towards her neck, caressing it gently. He reluctantly released her from his passionate lip-lock, his eyes conveying his love for her. Grinning madly, Misao could only watch Aoshi leave the room slowly.
"I love you, too, Aoshi," she whispered to the emptiness.
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Where are you, Urako? Why did you come to me in the woods? There are so many questions left unanswered. This silence will never sate my hunger for the answers I'm searching for. Though I have no clue as to how to convert this pent up energy into something else until it is satisfied. Kaoru thought, sighing into the empty air of the dojo.
They had all walked slowly and silently back to the dojo, a looming cloud still over them. The need to avenge a death still burned brightly in their hearts as they walked on. Each face was hardened; the eyes showing steeled nerves and calculating minds. Though most of all, sorrow for a loved one's death.
Kaoru searched the air around her, desperately wanting to see Urako's form again. Shock still persevered in her soul, her ears expecting to hear Urako training with the noise. Shaking her head, she feebly got up and walked towards her room to find her journal. She barely noticed Yahiko, Sano, and Kenshin all practicing in the yard; their faces unreadable.
Creaking noises preceded her journey to her room as she slid her shoji door open. She walked to her journal, a flashback of what had occurred here before when she was in her room colored her mind. A slight smile and faint blush rushed across her face, feeling her body tingling again.
She flipped open the worn journal, finding her last entry. With a trembling hand, she began to write about a woman who came through time to try to prevent Evil from overtaking the land; though who also failed in her trials.
When Kaoru finished her entry, she skipped a few lines and wrote::
Fiery hair that wasn't her own, a woman barged in our world from her own. Golden eyes with a blue flare, she defeated all who came to dare. Gennosuke's reincarnation from a thousand years past, broke from her former cast. Though failure soon pursued after her, her followers would continue her will.
Satisfied with her work, she let the ink dry and closed the book.
"I hope this helps her family in the future," Kaoru murmured as she got up.
This is my gift to you, Urako. May it bring you peace and your family hope. Kaoru said in her head.
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::::A/N::::: What do you think, eh??? Ain't it good? Of course it is! Because you're reading it and feeling better that you know more about it! Do you know what I have planned next??!! Of course you don't, you can only speculate! Have fun my kiddies! hugs to all loyal reviewers