Epilogue: Moving On

Ryu turned the Sword of Two Souls over in his hands; unable to stop the ironic smirk that took over his features as he thought about the role this blunted and dull blade had played in his life.

The weapon was truly dead now, he, Kyosuke and even Satomi had inspected the sword and found no trace that it was anything but a lump of brittle steel now, and Ryu couldn't have been happier. His obsession was gone, along with the hopes for redemption that had accompanied it, yet he felt a strange sense of inner peace, the likes of which he had never experienced.

It was as if all the bitterness, the loneliness and the grief he had been carrying with him for so long, had been taken away.

Ryu let out a small laugh as he basket in this new found state, marvelling at the clear sound as he rested his weight against the wall of his room in the Hinata Sou, laying the sword across his lap and allowing his eyes to drift closed, a slightly lopsided smile still gracing his face.

"Hey, you in here?", came a voice a split second before he heard the door slide aside, soft footsteps following it as they approached where he sat.

"No", he fired back, but it lacked the fragile sarcasm that many were so used to hearing from him.

Something else to smile about, and speaking of which…

"Very funny jerk, at least you're out of bed at last", the voice sounded close to scolding, but there was an undercurrent there that both the speaker and the listener could hear even if neither felt ready to comment on it, "…Would you open your eyes when I'm talking to you".

"Why? Maybe this is just a dream, so why bother?", he fought to stifle a grin as he heard a hiss of frustration.

"It, is, not, a dream. I'm right here"

"How do I know that, I can't see you", he couldn't stop a smile this time. In his mind's eye he could see his guest grinding her teeth and clenching her fist, and the faint popping of knuckles he heard seemed to confirm this image.

"Ryuuuuu, if you don't look at me I'm going to-", there was a whistling noise as she let out a deep breath, "Fine, jerk".

Deciding he had had enough fun for now, Ryu allowed his eyes to open, his sea grey orbs confirming the image he had seen in his mind.

Kanna stood before him, her arms folded beneath her bust, looking at him with something between a glare and a pout that seemed quite adorable.

They both regarded each other in silence for a moment before Kanna squatted down to his level, resting her hand against his forehead.

"Well, your temperature's ok now, if I didn't know you I'd say you were back to normal", she grinned faintly.

"You're too kind as always", he glanced up at where her hand still lingered, brushing aside some of his raven locks before pulling away, the fingertips brushing his face in the process.

Right now, like this, he was reminded of the issue that had kept he and Kanna's conversations to a minimum for the past few days.

At first, when they had come back, it was simply a matter of being swamped by outside attention in both of their cases.

Ayu had latched onto him with surprising fierceness, managing to beat Satomi to the punch, shocking even herself and leaving her a blushing, stammering wreck for hours afterward, and he had to admit, he had needed a little recovery time as well.

Mizuki had cheer them, Natsuki had come close to tears seeing everyone reunited, Ema had near wilted with relief, Yui had thrown an arm around him like he was an old drinking buddy and Chii had simply tugged on his shirt, content with a reassuring pat on the head from the older man while Chiho yapped happily at his mistress' feet.

It was shortly after all of this Ryu had keeled over, the strain on his body finally catching up now that he no longer had Yazuropth inside him to act as a barrier.

For two days he had been lost in a delirious fever that the girls had feared might kill him.

He had dreamed things, dark things, of times, places and events he had no relation to.

Yazuropth's memories…

He couldn't recall much of what he had dreamed, and what little he could was already fading into obscurity and he would be glad to see it go.

That creature had caused enough suffering without him being forced to recall all of its vile acts.

Ayu and Kanna had nursed him through that period, and during his brief moments of lucidity he had come to learn that having caretakers who were unclear as to whether they were friends or rivals was not conducive to convalescence.

Which brought him back to the issue that still lingering in the household…

"Grey eyes…", Kanna shock her head softly, "You know, you're almost cute like this, but I liked the blond better".

"I do apologise", he answered drolly, "But you'll see a lot more of this… though how I'm going to explain this to all the people who will undoubtedly ask…".

Kanna shrugged, sitting down alongside him.

"I think everyone will be ok with it… it'll give your fan club something to talk about for weeks", she smiled as he grimaced, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"So… is this what we're going to do, dance around things like nothing changed?", she asked, feeling her own smile fade as his did.

"Looks that way…", he said quietly, glancing at her sidelong and trying another smile.

"Jerk", she rested her head against his shoulder, ignoring his squirming until he realised she wasn't going to move, "…I meant what I said…"

"I know…"

"So then why-"

"I still don't have an answer for you Kanna"

"… Is it Ayu-chan?", she asked so quietly he almost couldn't hear her.

"Yes…no…maybe, I don't know Kanna", he sounded angry but with himself rather than her.

"Are you in love with her?"

"If I could answer that we'd all be a lot less confused about things now wouldn't we", he smirked sardonically, half turning his head to rest his chin on to of her hair.

"Moron", he smiled as he felt her fist graze his ribs.

"Yeah…"

Another silence followed.

"So what are you going to do with that?", Kanna asked, pointing down at the sword resting on his lap.

"I'm sending it back to Mother. It's useless to me now, or anyone else for that matter, but it should mean something to her… perhaps it will help her, and the others, forgive me", his fist tightened around the pommel involuntarily.

"Ryu…", Kanna's hand found his, giving it a light squeeze until it relaxed.

"Sempai?", the door slide open, "Are you awake? I brought you some tea…if…".

She had made it most of the way into the room when she had spotted them.

No one moved, no one spoke, no one even seemed to breath.

"Kanna-chan…and sempai?", Kanna moved as she saw the unshed tears building in her friend's eyes.

"Ayu-chan, wait, this isn't- Nothing was going on I swear!", Kanna rushed to reassure her small friend.

"I have to go", as Ayu turned to flee both Kanna and Ryu made to stop her.

The probability of what happened next occurring is quite low, but that is hardly relevant to our story.

As Kanna and Ryu tried to stand simultaneously, there was a tangling of limbs, and with a shriek, the laws of inertia took hold, barrelling down on the unsuspecting blue haired girl who had made the mistake of stopping to see what all the noise was about.

"Hey, what's all the racket about in here?", Yui demanded, coming up short as she tried to enter the room, only to find it blocked by a rather interesting obstacle.

Her hand still clasped around Ayu's skirt, which was now around her ankles, Kanna lay pinned beneath Ryu, her face displaying shades of red not found on earth as was her blue haired friend's as the dazed Ryu looked up at Yui, catching an eyeful of Ayu's panties in the process.

"I'm impressed", Yui complimented him, leaning against the doorframe, "Way to go stud, but you all could have invited me if you were having a party".

"No!", Kanna pushed Ryu off her with such force that he was deposited squarely on his backside nearly a metre away, almost crashing through his table in the process, "You pervert, you planned that, look how you've embarrassed poor Ayu-chan!".

"How the hell could I have planned something like that!", he shouted, raising his voice to match hers while the mortified Ayu hiked her skirt back up and tried to make herself disappear through the cracks in the mats.

"I don't know! I'm not a pervert like you!", she fired back, almost visible sparks being struck between them.

Yui felt a tugging on her skirt, and glanced down to find Chii regarding the whole situation curiously as Ayu tried to get between Kanna and Ryu to calm them down.

She just shrugged when her young cousin looked up at her questioningly and replied to the unvoiced question with a single word.

"Love".

Chii regarded both the shouting and her elder cousin dubiously for a moment before pulling on Yui's hand, guiding her away from the madness.

Taking one last look at the trio as she closed the door, Yui couldn't help but notice the changes in them.

Kanna was being more honest with herself now, Ayu was finally learning that sometimes you had to fight for what you wanted, no matter how hard it was, and was becoming a little more assertive each day, and Ryu…

Even now she could see the faint traces of a smile on his face, a new spark of life clear in his grey eyes where once there had been nothing but ice.

They were all changing, all growing and maturing.

They were all, moving on.

---Author Notes---

And there it is my friends, the end of Blademasters, I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Here are some things to look out for in the future:

Black and Blue: Lovers in Turmoil: Shinobu and Kyoko were happy together, but nothing stays perfect for long, after so long under the ever medalling gaze of the Sagura family, one night would change everything…

Love Hina: All Our Sons: A collection of oneshots dealing with the men of the Blademasters and Love Hina universes

Love Hina: What You Wish For: Kanna had only one demand, surely the big jerk couldn't object to something so simple, but will she get more than she bargained for?

Love Hina: What Dreams May Come: Ryu has been having trouble sleeping of late. Haunted by visions of a beautiful girl he has never met before, he must risk everything, even his budding relationships with Ayu and Kanna, to find her before it's to late…

Other Projects:

Burst Angel: Someone to Protect: Hired to investigate a new street drug called Blaze by a mysterious benefactor, Meg will discover more than she ever bargained for. Can she stay alive long enough to keep her promise to Jo and find someone to protect?

Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Ladder: The scariest thing about Ryoko Habiki's nightmares, is that she's not dreaming… (set in the Universe continuity, post series)

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Till Next Time, Betweenheavenandhell