Silver Cross Chapter 24: Limbo, a rurouni kenshin fanfic

Disclaimer – I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

Silver Cross

Chapter 24 – Limbo

For some reason drinking water is more fun from a bottle.
…You're right.

"I'm only doing this out of respect for the Juppongatana."

Ordinarily, Ken wouldn't have purposely started an argument, especially with Makoto Shishio. He would have preferred to kill the hunter on sight. But he was beginning to feel the stress. He was tired from his fights with Tsukayama and Anji, scared he wouldn't find Kaoru in time, pissed he had to protect Shishio, and nervous at the prospect of finally confronting the dark one. Plus, he had to walk up twenty flights of stairs. Ken was feeling a little high-strung.

Just a little.

Shishio snorted, following the vampire up the first flight of stairs. "You'd rather kill me, I suppose? On the beach you didn't want to attack me in front of the Kamiya girl. Now, it's the hunter-Juppongatana alliance preventing you. Nine years ago you let my own people punish me, no doubt hoping that would be worse."

"A misjudgment on my part," Ken said. From what he'd heard about the hunter, Shishio would choose this moment to try to get under his skin, just when emotional error on Ken's part could cost them all. "I should have handed you over to the Inshinshishi."

"The Inshinshishi are the most barbaric vampire group," Shishio remarked. He paused for a moment. Ken supposed he was thinking, or whatever passed for thinking in his twisted brain. "I can see you doing that."

Shishio was bringing back memories. He didn't need to remember right now. "You shouldn't have killed them," he couldn't help saying. He sounded like a resentful child, but he'd spoken the truth.

Second flight.

"Who?"

So Shishio wanted to get a rise out of him. He hated giving Shishio what he wanted. But Ken was already stressed, tired, scared, pissed, nervous, and high-strung. He couldn't help rising to meet the hunter's verbal challenge. But he couldn't lose control. He refused to lose control and start bickering with a hunter in a stairwell during the one of the most important power struggles of the twenty-first century.

Ken froze mid-stair and spun around to face Shishio. "I don't have time for mind games. Your nephew doesn't have time for mind games. Do not," he paused. Control. He was close to losing it. "Don't fuck with me, Shishio."

Three sentences. He'd already slipped up. Shishio was almost as good at bugging him as Saitou. Where the hell was Saitou? Ken didn't wait for Shishio's reaction, just turned around and continued up the stairs.

"Nine years ago," Shishio said as Ken had known he would, "I wouldn't have been able to see myself cooperating with vampires."

Ken didn't see much difference between Shishio-now and the Shishio-then.

Third flight.

"Nine years ago, I would have killed those girls again for helping you escape at the moment when I would have destroyed you, had you'd been alone. I would have killed them again and again and again." He paused. "Now I see I can't blame them. You helped them out, protected them. They'd only been turned a couple days when you found them, right? The smallest one told me before I killed her."

Ken didn't know their names. Three women had saved his live, sacrificed themselves for him, but he'd never known their names. It had been back when Ken was still on the run from the dark one's botched attempt at killing off the vampire leaders. There'd been many hunters, including Shishio, after him. He'd been more reckless during that period then he'd ever been when he was alive. He hadn't had one slow night since he'd gone on the run from the vampires who thought he'd betrayed them, and from the dark one's assassins. He'd been internally mourning for Sano, the one vampire whose death he had known would hit him hard if it ever occurred. He'd never expected it to. He'd known it was more than likely, as long as Sano worked for the Sekihoutai, but Ken had never expected Sano to die. Here one night, gone the next, and Ken hadn't felt anything when he'd passed. He hadn't known Sano wasn't alive anymore. He'd expected, after all he and Sano had been through, to at least feel something when Sano passed. Ken blamed himself for not feeling anything.

He'd been running from the hunters and the dark one's assassins, but three new vampires had found him first. They were three sisters, three young women, who'd just been turned. They'd sensed him, just as Sano had, sought him out, entreated him to stay and teach them how to survive. Ken had been on the verge of agreeing when a hunter had barged into that clearing in the forest, moonlight glazed across his silver sword. The four of them found themselves sudden allies. None of them were armed. The three girls had jumped in front of Ken, told the hunter he couldn't kill Ken because he was going to teach them how to survive and take them around the world.

The hunter had charged forward, somehow missing Ken, but hitting all three girls, while Ken stood there, knowing the contaminated skin that had touched the silver would poison the rest of their bodies. They were weak. They hadn't yet fed once since they'd been turned. If they had fed, they probably would have survived. The smallest girl had known. The other two had recovered enough to charge the hunter, some of the feral quality they'd inherited when they'd been turned coming out in their eyes for the first time. The smallest girl had begged him to leave with one look, hypnotized him. Ken still didn't know if she'd been better at it than Misao, or if his guard had been down. His body had moved away from the clearing, into the woods. He tried to return, but her influence over him remained, even as she turned towards the hunter to charge along with her sisters. Ken had found out later that the hunter was Makoto Shishio.

Ken left, sprinting through the forest. Their screams had followed him until her influence abruptly cut off, leaving him mid-stride.

Fourth flight.

It was ridiculous, a vampire as old as him, being controlled by an amateur.

"They only lasted a few days as vampires," Shishio continued, as if Ken hadn't known. "Their family was still looking for them. Their bodies were human enough for you to pin the blame on me. The police called it triple homicide. But you know that. I bet you didn't count on me pleading insanity."

He hadn't. But he'd hoped being sentenced to life in a mental hospital would be worse. He'd seen the pain on their parents faces the night they'd been told by the local police that their daughters were dead. There'd been a younger brother too.

"I had a lot of time to think," Shishio continued. "My mother visited me. She's the only one who does. My siblings know about vampires, but they were content to let me rot, some crap about not all vampires being menaces to society. The crazy thing is, at some point I began to see their point. I don't agree, but I can see why they don't hate all vampires. Those three girls wouldn't have turned out half-bad if they hadn't met you."

Fifth flight.

Ken stopped.

Shishio froze.

Stories above them, the door to the stairwell opened.

So what are you going to name it?
I don't know. You know any good bird names?
I don't feel like thinking right now.
I think I'll name it Batman.

A glimpse. A blur. Soujiro was down.

He wasn't what Sou was expecting. Sou had only seen him for a split second. Sou's eyes hadn't had time to focus before he and Myojin had been forced to their knees, heads held down by hostile vampires. The dark one didn't look any different from the other vampires. Then again, Sou couldn't often tell the difference between a vampire and a human until it was too late. If Shishio had ever planned on training him to be a hunter, Soujiro knew he was going to be a huge disappointment. He may have skill with a sword, but he'd hated killing those vampires, even though it had been in self-defense. Fear was the only thing that had motivated him in the library. He'd found out he wasn't quite ready to die yet, not by a long shot. If Myojin had initiated some crappy plan of self-sacrifice by instructing him to surrender, Sou was not going to be dragged down with him.

"Sir," Tsukayama said from directly in front of Soujiro, "we've captured Myojin and the nephew of the head hunter."

"Any sign of the Battousai?" the dark one asked. It must have been the dark one's voice, but hell, he sounded young. Sou had had a vision of a dark brooding crafty old man who liked to stand in shadowy corners and control everyone with blackmail. The ordinary looking young man Sou glimpsed was disappointing. Still, there was something unsettling about the dark one's voice. Sou was hyper-aware of the hairs on the back of his neck. God, was his life a cheesy horror flick?

"Security cameras caught him fighting Anji in the parking garage twenty minutes ago," Tsukayama reported, "before the cameras were destroyed by enemy vampires. One of our men thought he recognized a vampire Battousai came with. It may be Aoshi Shinomori."

"Our answer to that is right here," the dark one said, "in Myojin. I'm sure he knows. I wish we had more time to torture it out of him."

"Lady Myojin is somewhere in the building," Tsukayama continued, "as well as Saitou. Sir, I request permission to fight Myojin."

Sou felt his breath catch. If they fought now, thing didn't look good for Myojin. What did it matter if he beat Tsukayama? Myojin was no match for the dark one, and that bout would come next.

"Now is not the time. I know this is about your petty feud with him. I don't care to indulge anyone until the Battousai is dead." He paused. "Then, you may do what you will."

Sou let out an inaudible breath. Myojin would live a little longer then. But what about the Battousai's life? For Kaoru's sake, Soujiro hoped he was south of the border by now.

"I'll fight him," Myojin said loudly from his place beside Sou, his head bowed low. "It's better than waiting."

Silence.

"Let him stand," the dark one said.

Sou saw Myojin rise from the corner of his eye.

Now that is disgusting.
I can't believe she used her foot for a toilet plunger.

Tsubame was holding back. To evade all the vampires she must have in order to make it down to the basement level she had to be quicker than this. But she knew Kaoru couldn't keep up if she went all out, so she was holding back. Kaoru hated it when people held back for her. She hated it even more when she knew it was necessary.

Their sprint across the basement level had a strange, neurotic quality. Kaoru had never seen so many bodies in her life. She was used to seeing them one at a time, decked out in their Sunday best, still as the death they embodied, in a casket with plenty of nice flowers in the background and no smell hovering at all.

Here, there was definitely a smell. And the bodies were in her way. Sprawled across the hallway or slumped against the wall, they were in her way. Mostly the decomposing shells of vampires. The poison on Tsubame's blade must have been slow and powerful. It still ate the body long after its victim's death. Kaoru wondered what it did when it ran out of body.

Tsubame stopped after peering around the corner ahead of them and made her way silently back to Kaoru, pulling her slightly down a convenient side hallway. Kaoru's foot rested against the body of a dead male vampire. Thankfully, his face was masked. She was going to have serious issues once she got enough time to actually think about this.

"Kaoru, two male vampires are guarding the freight elevator," Tsubame informed her softly. "They'll sense your aura soon, if they haven't already. They'll be hard for me to dispatch alone. Can I count on you to survive against one while I kill the other?"

"I have martial arts training," Kaoru said. "How are they armed?"

"Silver swords, explicitly for killing vampires. You got your weapon off a guard for the prisoners. It won't do much but wound a vampire. So don't overly endanger yourself by trying to kill one of them. After they're dead, you can have one of the swords."

Kaoru nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just follow me and attack the second man. Keep him off my back." Tsubame turned to peer around the side of the hallway. "I sense their ki increasing a bit. They know we're here. Come before they pinpoint our location and we lose the element of surprise."

"Okay," Kaoru said softly, following the female vampire away from the side hallway, taking care not to trip over the body. She jogged after her, catching sight of the shuriken in Tsubame's hand. Kaoru raised her puny dagger and wished she was armed with a pouch of poison-coated shuriken. Not that it would help much since she'd never thrown one in her life.

The first three shuriken Tsubame threw had missed, Kaoru saw as she rounded the corner. But she looked more than capable of handling her man anyway. Kaoru met the second vampire's eyes. They widened in recognition. It was the man from Ayame's restaurant, the man who'd been in New York at Club Shinta. The one whose contact she would have been if things had turned out differently. The man who'd known she was a spy. He was just as he'd been when she'd served him in the restaurant, attractive, dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Kaoru now recognized the man Tsubame was fighting. He was the one with the insolent smirk who had physically met with and hired her, the one who'd called her a bitch before he'd left the restaurant. She couldn't decide if he deserved what was coming to him or if she was happy that Tsubame was going to kill him, but she wasn't overly opposed to his demise.

Knowing her prey made it a lot harder to attack. He seemed to be having the same problem. He stood frozen with a death grip on his silver sword. Abruptly and without word or warning, he melted, rushing toward her, sword ready to strike, as fluid as water.

I need to be warm. So I'm thinking Hawaii again.
But you hate tropical animals.
True, maybe a nice rainforest somewhere in South America
They have the giant spiders and the snakes.
I'm tired of the desert! Why aren't there any warm places with no disgusting creatures from hell?
Why are you looking at me as if I'm supposed to do something about it?

"We can't make it all the way up without a disguise," Shishio stated the obvious as they stood in a convenient side hallway. Ken could hear the footsteps of the vampires he'd heard above them in the stairwell. They were descending warily. Five separate treads.

Shishio thrust the hilt of his katana into Ken's hand. "Hold this while I take care of them. Don't touch the blade. It has a high silver content."

Ken was not pleased to be ordered around by scum like Shishio. "What are you doing?" Did the hunter really expect to take down five vampires without his katana? Not that Ken had a problem with that. Let him fight. Come to think of it, things would be much easier if Shishio were defeated.

Shishio pulled three marble sized packets from one of the pockets of his pants. "These are an enhanced form of firecrackers. When I throw them down on the ground they'll give off enough artificial light to kill all the vampires in the immediate area." Shishio pulled out a pair of sunglasses. "They're also bright enough to temporarily blind any normal human. Even with the sunglasses and me covering my eyes, I might be blind for a few minutes. That's why hunters don't use these in combat, but we're working on developing a better way to protect the eyes."

If Shishio wasn't lying, then this was not good news. Useful, but definitely not good. What was stopping Shishio from 'accidentally' dropping one of those fake firecrackers while Ken was around? The fact that Shishio had a better chance of saving his nephew with Ken along. Could a man like Shishio really care about his nephew? Ken had his doubts.

"And you're telling me this secret because?" Ken asked.

Shishio placed the sunglasses over his eyes and turned away. "I honestly don't expect you to live, especially with the Kamiya girl captured." He moved away. "You'd better find a closet or something. Hiding around this corner won't save you. Light travels at 186,282 miles per second." Shishio started walking towards the stairwell door.

If Shishio hadn't had a valid point, Ken would have gone after him, but since the hunter did have a valid point, he was forced to find the closest and conveniently unlocked door. He got lucky on his first try, a dark empty office. Sensing no threat within the room, Ken entered and shut the door firmly. He pressed his ear to the door and heard the five vampires enter the fifth floor from the stairwell, sensing their energy force as well as the hunter's. He was forced to admit that killing the vampires with light would be more effective than a katana, and less messy. The bodies would disintegrate, leaving no blood behind to alert any of the dark one's patrols on the floor. All they'd have to do would be hide the clothes, assuming the fake firecrackers actually worked.

Ken was still wearing the suit he'd worn to the symphony and Shishio was decked out in stereotypical hunter garb. They were both too easily recognizable as enemies. Shishio's plan was to steal a couple uniforms from the enemy vampires so they could move easier within the building. He hadn't wanted to use katanas to acquire the uniforms because of the inevitable slash marks that would raise suspicion. Ken hoped one of the vampires was about his size. Fighting in clothing too big or two small could impair his technique.

He sensed their deaths, a swift passing, and then the warmth of the light flashing down the hallway. Even as far from the light's source as he was, the room still lightened to shades of gray and his skin tingled.

He made his way back to Shishio, treading firmly across the tile hallways so the man knew he was coming and didn't set off another of his fake firecrackers.

"That one was about your size," Shishio said, pointing to an empty set of clothes as Ken handed the hunter his katana.

They both changed quickly into the dark clothing, Shishio storing more of the firecrackers in the pockets of his new pair of pants.

Shishio broke the silence. "None of these shoes fit me."

Ken had the same problem. "Me either."

"Since I don't care about slashed clothing this time," Shishio started. "Are you fine using the katana?"

"I'd prefer to," Ken answered.

The military is working on a stealth plane you can't see. It uses mirrors to blend into its surroundings.
Oh, like one of those bugs that changes colors and blends into leaves and keeps changing colors when you put it in new places and always moves around real quiet until you notice it and then it's like whoa because you didn't know it was there because it's so quick at changing-
Yes.
They should call it the Leafy Bug.

He reminded her of one of her cousins, one of her favorite cousins even though he wasn't around much. Things were always so much more exciting when he was around. When was the last time she'd seen that cousin? Not since before she'd gone to college. He was busy and six years older than her and he had a job and a girlfriend and a whole other side to the family that he hung around more, that she wasn't part of. But she still loved her cousin, and that made it so much harder to strike at him, because he reminded her so much of her cousin. So much all of a sudden that she felt homesick, even though her cousin had been to her house one time in the past six years so she didn't associate him with home. But she still felt homesick, so homesick she could cry, so homesick she had to fight to control the tears as hard as she fought to stop him from killing her.

When this was over she was going to get Ken to take her home, and then she wouldn't leave Pennsylvania until she had to, not until she had to go back to college again in the fall. Because she didn't really need to go anywhere. She didn't really need this much excitement in her life to be happy, and the next time she saw someone different in the Akabeko she wasn't going try and be their friend. She wasn't going to go and meet strangers in the dark in abandoned apartment complexes. She wasn't going to do anything to put her in this much danger again. And she certainly wasn't going to drag innocents into it if she did, like she had with Soujiro. Right now she just wanted to go home. She hadn't felt like this since her first year of college, when she hadn't been home for her birthday and she hadn't had people who loved her around to celebrate it with her. She just wanted to go home, damnit, go home and just live and not have to worry about dying.

She tried to dodge, but couldn't, and was forced to stand there, his katana wedged against the hilt of her dagger. He was too strong, and in a moment he would overpower her and she would die looking into a face that looked so much like her cousin's they could be twins, they really could. She loved her cousin still. She loved her parents. She loved her grandparents. She loved all her relatives. She could feel herself breaking. She loved her friends. She loved Soujiro. Right now she loved Ayame, and Suzume, and Myojin. He really wasn't that bad, Myojin. Her arms started to tremble. She loved Kenshin.

She loved Kenshin. She loved Kenshin. She loved Kenshin. She wanted to see him. What kind of good-bye had that been? It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right!

"Unacceptable," she heard herself mutter.

He froze. He froze and fell back and she was falling with him because she'd been pushing so hard and in those moments when they were falling she watched his eyes and it wasn't his face. It was her cousin's face staring into hers, and she saw he was dying and it was almost too much. She'd come this far and it was almost too much when his face started to decay at the left ear and the wave of decay swept across his face in an instant because they were still falling, but it took minutes in their world. Minutes.

Minutes until the light left his eyes and they shriveled to nothing and then, dear God, she could see his skull and it was crumbling and he was all the way dead now, and she was glad because she knew he'd been alive when the decay had started at his ear. And she was still falling with him and when she did his katana was going to slip between her ribs because it was falling too and the dagger was useless because it wasn't big enough to push the katana away, even with him dead, it wasn't enough leverage.

Then she wasn't falling anymore, she was pulled back, but so slowly. He was falling away from her, the man with the ruined face that reminded her of her cousin. They were an inch apart, and widening now and his bone was crumbling fast, but not fast enough because everything was still in slow motion and she could see it happening and she hadn't even blinked yet, hadn't had time to blink because it was all too fast, but so slow. And she couldn't bare it any longer so she closed her eyes and was seeing him even as her lids were shutting, even as the distance between them widened and the 'k' sound of her name escaped Tsubame's lips. But she couldn't shut them fast enough because his whole skull was gone before she didn't have to see anymore. But she could live with that because as soon as she shut her eyes time was right again and she heard the 'aoru' that was the rest of her name in a sharp, split second and felt Tsubame turn her so she wasn't facing the decomposing body even as she pulled her up to a standing position.

"No major wounds, right?" Tsubame asked as Kaoru opened her eyes.

Kaoru shook her head.

"Good. Ditch the dagger. You're a katana girl now." Tsubame offered a shiny katana, hilt first.

She was still clutching the dagger. Time slipped past because Kaoru didn't feel her hand release the dagger. Her hand was just empty, so she took the katana.

"Come on, let's get to the service elevator." Tsubame walked away.

Kaoru followed. If that was what she had to go through to see Kenshin one more time, she welcomed it.

Giant piles of laundry depress me. How high is mine now?
Four feet.
Just shoot me.

"This one had my size," the hunter informed him. Shishio kicked off his shoes and replaced them with those of the decomposing vampire at his feet. They were on the sixth floor. They wouldn't make to the top floor, where Ken sensed the presence of the dark one, unless plan B worked.

Shishio held the right shoe upside down to get rid of the dust that used to be the vampire's foot. Satisfied, he slid his own in.

Shoe shopping with the hunter he hated most. Great.

You know, when you want something real bad and you aren't getting it, I've come to realize it all depends on one question. How stubborn are you? I wonder how stubborn I am.

"I appreciate the fact that you'd like to entertain me, Myojin, but I'd rather wait. What's a half an hour when I've been waiting this long?"

Soujiro heard one of the double doors open behind him. "Sir," a new voice spoke, "two women are attempting to make their way up via the service elevator. One human, one vampire."

"The human is Kaoru Kamiya. The vampire is most likely Tsubame Myojin or Misao Shinomori." The dark one sounded pleased. "Give them just enough trouble so the lady vampire isn't suspicious, but let them make their way here eventually. Kamiya's a valuable tool. She stays alive. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

The door whispered shut across the carpet. Soujiro had thought Kaoru was back safe at the apartment where he and Tsubame had dropped her off. He'd hoped. But somehow he'd known. If Kaoru was coming, that meant she probably thought the Battousai was up here. Or maybe, if it was Tsubame with her, Tsubame had told her about his and Myojin's capture. She'd come then too. Either way, the Battousai was in the building. This was it, Sou knew. Something was about to blow up in his face.

Stop at the gas station so I can pick up some gum, will you?
But we don't need gas. The tanks almost full.
I told you, gum.
But I don't like going to the gas station if it's not for gas.
What?
There's too much activity and everyone's backing out of their parking spaces at the same time and all the people getting gas are crossing the street to pay.
You have a gas station phobia?
I don't, per se. I just don't like it.

Seventh floor.

"Do you sense a patrol yet?"

"Shut up," Ken warned the hunter. "You're breaking my concentration and you're supposed to be my prisoner."

"I'm getting my katana back after this is over," Shishio mumbled darkly. They'd had to stash it in a closet so Shishio would appear to be unarmed. He had his fake firecrackers and whatever weapons weren't metal stashed somewhere on his person. Ken finally sensed a patrol coming their way.

"Eight of them," Ken told Shishio. "The scout will run into us first. The rest are twenty seconds behind."

Shishio nodded and wiped his bleeding lip. Ken had enjoyed punching him a few times to make the hunter look as if he'd lost a fight.

Ken held his sword against Shishio's throat as he stood beside the hunter in the middle of the hallway and waited.

The scout slid around the corner of the hallway, freezing when he spotted them. He let out a low whistle of warning.

"Damn, it's about time a patrol came by," Ken said to the scout, annoyed.

"Who are you?"

"A soldier," Ken answered. "I captured this hunter trying to infiltrate the ranks of my patrol. Because he's wearing the standard uniform, my patrol was caught off guard long enough for him to kill three men before we had time to react."

"You know the rules. No prisoners."

"He'd be dead, but I found out he's Makoto Shishio. I thought the dark one would want the chance to meet him before that happens."

The scout stared harder, as if he could know whether Ken was telling the truth if he stared hard enough. Ken watched. He'd learned long before how to lie convincingly. From the scout's aura, Ken knew the vampire was at least forty years younger than him, and in the vampire world, age was a definite advantage. He wouldn't be able to see through Ken's lie.

The scout let out another low whistle and the other seven members of the patrol arrived. Ken pretended to focus on keeping control of his prisoner, while the vampires discussed his credibility.

"I knew all vampires were idiots," Shishio suddenly yelled in the direction of the patrol. "The hunters will eradicate your entire species."

Ken jabbed him in the stomach with the hilt of his katana, knocking the wind out of the hunter. "Shut up," he told him mildly.

"We'll take you to the dark one," the scout finally spoke for the patrol. "Are you sure the human is Shishio?"

"Yes," Ken affirmed, steering Shishio towards the patrol. "I've run into him before and barely escaped with my life. Revenge is sweet."

Shishio remained silent as they joined the patrol. Two vampires took Shishio away from Ken and they all proceeded down the hallway towards the central elevators. Ken knew the only reason they hadn't killed him and taken the credit for capturing Shishio themselves was that they weren't absolutely sure he was on their side. He hadn't offered to show them the dark one's mark on his wrist, which had probably made them suspicious. But they couldn't asked to see it because them they'd risk offending Ken if his prisoner really was Shishio. Then he might wait for another patrol to come along and someone else would get the credit.

Ken was about make a comment when he felt Kaoru's aura close by. She was somewhere in the building. If she was free, she'd be making her way to the dark one. If she wasn't, she was probably being taken to the dark one. Either way, he had to get there before her, kill the dark one before she got to him. What did she plan to do once she found the dark one anyway? There wasn't even the slightest chance that she could kill it, hurt it, or stop it in any way, assuming she wasn't captured. Ken was a realist. He had to go on the assumption that she was captured, that she was being used by the dark one, even if she didn't know it herself.

What did you put in this?
What? Do you have a problem with it? You were the one that wanted to eat food. You didn't have to ask me to cook.
I thought you'd make something good, not hamburger casserole.
It tastes good.
It's alright. But did you have to put this crunchy thing in?
It's a water chestnut.
I don't like water things.
It doesn't even taste like anything.
But it's crunchy. If it crunches, it should taste like something, but it doesn't. That's creepy. I'm not eating it.

He'd never thought being in the presence of the dark one could be so boring. Nothing happened. No one was doing anything. He was getting tired of sitting against the wall with his head down. He and Myojin had been moved to a side wall, cast aside until they were useful again probably. After the dark one refused to let Tsukayama and Myojin fight, he'd lost interest in them. The big room was silent except when the double doors opened and a soldier reported on the status of the building. Sou had listened, but none of the reports had anything to do with Kaoru and Tsubame, or the dark one. There was hope in the reports though; all three of the basement levels and the parking garage were under Juppongatana control.

Not much hope.

Beside him, Myojin was shaking. Sou knew it was because of the dark one's aura. He could feel it himself, and if he dwelled on the feeling, it threatened to paralyze him. It must be much worse for vampires. Perhaps that was half the reason some vampires joined the dark one, to stop feeling like this, cold and hot at the same time. And afraid. Afraid of dying, with death sitting there calmly, right across the room. Death happens slowly. It won't matter if it happens fast, because you'll feel it slow. And while you're feeling it, you'll see other people dying too, your mom or your sister or your girlfriend or your best friend. Their mouths are open, but they won't be screaming because you can't hear anything when you're dying. You can't taste anything but spit. You can't feel anything but pain. You can't smell anything but sweat. You can only see their face, all their faces, and know that you are the reason they're dying. And you can never die before them because you have to see the moment when their soul leaves them, and then, because death is so horrible, their soul dies too. It's a horrible thing, the death of a soul, and you just killed one. And then, finally, you can die and it's great because you want to die, because it's too much for you to handle. You really want to die. And then you do, and it doesn't help. It really doesn't help since you're soul's still alive. Hell is watching them die over and over.

Soujiro was shaking.

You're turning into a health food nut. I thought that only happened to other people and in books or on tv. I never thought it would happen to someone I know.
Relax. I'm not turning into a health food nut.
Then do you really expect me to eat soynuts?
Yes. So?
What happened to peanuts or sunflower seeds?
These taste good too.
They crunch weird and they taste like popcorn kernels that were cooked but never popped.
No they don't.
And they look like beetle eggs.

"Tsubame," Kaoru said as the elevator doors closed on the tenth floor. "We're going to make it to the top."

The elevator stopped at every floor. Every floor someone died so they could go on. Tsubame killed efficiently. Kaoru stayed alive. They were both breathing hard.

"I know," Tsubame answered. "The number of guards on each floor is going to increase the closer we get to the dark one. I could kill them quickly, but they sense you Kaoru. I'm going to put you under hypnosis to dull your aura. I'll wake you when we get to the top. Sit down in the corner."

Kaoru trusted Tsubame now, so she moved to the corner and sat, the hilt of the katana held in a loose grip. She let the weapon drop against the carpet of the elevator. "Sorry, Tsubame."

The vampire smiled briefly. "You're not a burden, Kaoru. Meet my eyes directly."

Brown eyes. Warm, desperate, cautious, determined, deadly, sad, kind brown eyes. Missing him. Tsubame was missing him, her husband. She wanted to see him again, once more, just so she could be content, so she could let go if she had to. Her life for his if she had to. She didn't want to die first.

That's love, Kaoru thought as she drifted away into herself, following her aura.

That's love.

What are you doing?
Bouncing.
What?
Are you blind? I'm bouncing.
Vampires don't bounce.
They do on trampolines. Live a little, will you?

Kaoru's aura was a like a light. At some point since he'd met her, he'd gotten used to it burning always in the back of his mind. Ken hadn't sensed Sano's aura go out when his friend died. He'd sensed it was gone only when he'd been told Sano was dead.

This time, he felt Kaoru's aura go, like he'd felt the absence of the auras of the three women who'd perished nine years ago. Kaoru's aura died gradually, somewhere near him, but still too far away, until he couldn't sense her any longer.

He wanted to believe she was asleep. But even in her sleep he could feel her, and her aura fluctuated as she dreamt. He didn't feel anything now.

He didn't know what to feel. He didn't know if he could accept her death.

"You sense something wrong?" It was the scout vampire, staring at him intently. He was still suspicious.

"No. I haven't felt the dark one's presence in a while." Ken paused. "I'd forgotten how it affected me."

The scout's posture relaxed a little. "His power is unrivaled," he remarked.

ding

"This is the floor, hunter," one of the patrol vampires said to Shishio. "You'll get what you deserve soon."

The elevator doors opened on the long hallway of a business floor. The dark one's aura washed over them, a dull ache that invaded his whole head. It would only get worse. An empty secretary's desk stood to one side, by a potted palm tree. The patrol of eight, the hunter, and Ken exited the elevator. The doors slid shut behind them.

"Why are you all up here?" The vampire stood blocking the way down the hallway. Ken could see behind him, to a couple dozen vampires standing at attention along the hallway, enforcement for the dark one.

The scout, their unanimously elected public speaker, spoke, "We've captured an enemy leader, sir. The hunter, Shishio."

The vampire frowned. "Orders were no prisoners. Patrols are not to stop and ask the enemy's name." He surveyed the group. "Why are there nine patrolmen in this unit?"

The scout inclined his head in Ken's direction. "I'm the scout for my patrol. I came across the prisoner and this vampire. The rest of his patrol was killed."

The vampire frowned at Ken. "I haven't received word of the decimation of a patrol."

Ken had hoped the scout would be able to do all the talking. He could barely string two thoughts together worrying about Kaoru. But he wouldn't fall apart now, not when he was so close, the closest he'd ever get.

"It happened in the parking garage. I followed the hunter all the way to the seventh floor before I was able to capture him. I asked who he was, so I would know the name of the human who killed my patrol. When I found out, I knew the dark one would avenge those vampires in a manner more superior than mine. I decided to take the hunter up here. Then the patrol found us."

"How did you both manage to make it all the way to the seventh floor without running into a patrol?"

"He easily avoided all vampires we came across," Ken answered, "and I didn't want a patrol to get in my way, so I stayed silent as well."

"You disobeyed orders. For your sake, I hope the dark one sees the situation in your favor." The vampire decided. "You may take the hunter and proceed ahead." The two vampires that held Shishio's arm let him go and pushed him in front of the group. The vampire giving out the orders kept his sword trained on the silent hunter.

"What about the rest of us?" the scout asked.

"Patrol number?" the vampire asked.

"Twenty-eight."

"I'll see to it you're rewarded. Go back to your positions."

The patrol nodded and one of them pressed the down button on the elevator. It opened immediately and they filed back in.

"Good luck," the scout said to Ken as the doors slid shut.

The other vampire was murmuring into his radio. He gestured to Shishio with his sword and Ken took over control of the hunter. Shishio didn't look so good. The dark one's aura was affecting him as well.

"Didn't I tell you to go down the hallway?" the vampire paused murmuring into the radio long enough to say.

Ken snapped out of whatever daze he'd been in and allowed himself to feel a little anticipation. Even though things didn't look good for Kaoru, he refused to believe she was dead. He'd been looking forward to this moment for ten years. He would perform accordingly.

"Let's go, Shishio," he heard himself order the hunter. Ten years and Sano's memory propelled him down the hallway, past the curious eyes of the dark one's soldiers. Ten years and Kaoru's memory, and he followed Shishio around the corner. The hunter tensed. He was steeling his body against the dark one. There, finally, were the double doors ahead of them. It felt like he'd dreamed this before because he recognized this place, this feeling. He had started to feel again then.

"The dark one is ready to see you now," one of the vampires at the double doors informed them. He opened the door on the right and Ken steered Shishio in ahead of him. The wave of power washed over him, almost drowned him. The force of it almost knocked him over, but he'd felt this before and he knew how to fight it. Shishio was still, as if he'd gone into shock. His pulse increased but beat weakly, and his breath sounded fast and shallow. The door shut behind them.

Ken was aware of Myojin first. In that room full of the dark one's aura and those tainted by it, Myojin was the only vampire with a normal aura. A little normality was an anchor in the face of that presence. But Myojin was shaking and his aura was dull. He was using it to hide inside himself, and it was wearing away.

Ken turned his head to Myojin and saw Soujiro Seta. Shishio's nephew was here then. He was sitting on the floor next to Myojin, back against the wall, head down, arms hugging his legs close, shaking. Ken pushed Shishio towards him and watched as the hunter ran to his nephew. He dropped to his knees in front of the boy and hugged him. Ken had underestimated Shishio's capacity to feel then. He hadn't thought the man cared for his nephew. Soujiro didn't respond to his uncle's presence in any way. His head stayed down.

Ken stared down at his katana. In a second he would look up and he would see the guise the dark one was wearing. He would make him pay for Sano's death.

"I've been waiting, Battousai."

A/N – All this action is making me want to write fluff. Never fear, I shall ensure that the story is equipped with a suitably twisted plot. I can't let the ending of the story be predictable, can I?

Aryanne