Chapter Three: The Coming Storm
A tall figure watched, as the city below him segued into its' morning persona. All around him, he could feel the pulse of the Spirit Shields; each one interlocking with another to form a complex protective barrier around and within the city.
"The builders of this Tokyo did well, to preserve the existing shields...Some have even been strengthened. Yet...I can only wonder how long they will stand, when the battle truly gets under way?" he wondered, a stiff wind blowing past him as someone arrived and stood alongside him.
"Greetings, Seijuro Hiko-san. What brings you here?" a cheery male voice asked, as the owner of it smiled at him.
"Disturbing dreams, and a call no Ten no Ryu or Chi no Ryu can resist." Hiko replied, coolly, then added, "What brought you here?"
"The same thing...except without the dreams, of course. It seems a few others have been called here as well, aside from myself and Saito-san." the man replied, getting a nod from the Thirteenth master for that.
"So it seems. I guess it doesn't matter what generation you are from, the call to stand at 'Kamui's' side can't be ignored." Hiko mused, as they both watched the sunrise; the red-hued sky seeming to foretell the bloody future that waited for them, and the present-day Dragons as well.
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By the time the morning was well-advanced, a heavy rain was falling from the heavens above. Kenshin and Saito both stood on the fringe of a group of mourners, as they came and went; having heard the news about the death of Togakushi Shrine's head priest.
"Sessha still can't believe it...A few short days ago, Monou-san was still alive and well...how could this have happened? And why didn't sessha sense anything was wrong?" Kenshin murmured, angry with himself that he hadn't been there to prevent the senseless murder.
"It could be that the one that had killed the priest was one of the Chi no Ryu, since the Shinken is missing, as well." Saito muttered, watching with narrowed eyes as the weary son of the dead priest approached them.
"Thanks for coming." Fuma murmured, as he bowed politely to them.
"Think nothing of it, Fuma-kun. Sessha should be apologizing for not being here sooner." Kenshin replied, as the teenager gave him a somber look.
"You'd best sit back down, kid, before you fall over." Saito muttered, with a semblance of concern on his lupine features.
"Yeah. Do you want to come in?" Fuma asked. Kenshin replied with only a nod, and followed the teen inside; concerned for him and his sister, first and foremost. Saito remained where he was, and gazed up at the dark clouds above him.
"It has begun...All of the battles that had been fought before, Battousai, have only been precursors for this one. It seems we'll be fighting side-by-side one last time." Saito mused, as what appeared to be a ghostly wolf appeared beside him, and looked up at him.
"Go find Sojiro; lead him here. Then seek out the Dreamseer who is gathering this generation's Ten no Ryu." Saito quietly ordered, getting a lick on the hand from the inugami, before it flew off in the direction it knew the younger man would be.
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"Kamui...Where are you?" Hinoto wondered, as she traveled through her dreams. As she floated through the semi-darkness, she noticed what appeared to be a giant egg hovering there.
"There is a sword...in the egg..." Hinoto thought, when she'd gotten close enough to see what was within it. Yet, when she turned around, there was another egg behind her, with yet another sword within it!
"Two! There are two Shinken!" Hinoto silently yelped, freezing and then turning when she heard two sets of footsteps heading towards her. Shock and confusion reigned within her when she saw that not one, but two Kamuis stood before her.
"Two of them?.!" Hinoto thought, as she watched them reach for the swords, and as the eggs holding them crumbled from before their hands. With mirrored gestures, the twin Kamuis summoned the blades into their outstretched hands...no sooner receiving them, then sprouting wings (one had demonic wings, the other, angelic) and launching into a fantastic battle. Hinoto watched in horror as the two fought; eventually disappearing into a dazzling bolt of lightning. She uttered a scream of fright when the backlash washed over her, and then looked up when light returned to the dreamscape.
"Kamui...th-they are gone..." Hinoto stammered, flinching when blood dripped down her right arm, a hideous momento of the battle she had just witnessed.
"Why? There were two swords! Two Kamuis! I can't see why!" Hinoto mused, distressed by what she had seen, and her inability to decipher what it had meant. Little did she realize that it would also tie into what the two Hiten masters had seen, and how affected their futures would soon be by it.
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Sanosuke sighed and watched from his tree-branch perch as the crowd in the shrine dissipated; heading their own separate ways into the gloom.
"Had the feeling somethin' like this would happen...Wish I could've been here to try to prevent it." Sanosuke muttered, his eyes softening slightly when he saw how grief-stricken and aimless the two teenagers inside the house looked.
"Hey! You up there!" a boy's voice shouted, startling Sanosuke out of his musings, for a moment.
"What'cha want, kid?" Sanosuke replied, as he looked down at what appeared to be two high-school age boys.
"Just wantin' to know why you're hangin' around here for, that's all." the boy that had spoken said, getting a grim smile from Sano as a response.
"Just had the feelin' that I needed to be here, that's all. What're you two doin' around here? Do ya know the kids that had just lost their dad?" Sanosuke asked, as he descended from the tree and stood before the pair.
"Kamui does, since they're old friends of his. I just met them about a day ago." the teen said, as he gave the shrine a sympathetic look.
"I see. The name's Sagara Sanosuke, by the way; Ten no Ryu of the Meiji Era." Sanosuke said, introducing himself to the pair.
"Whoa...No way! How could you be...?.!" the teen asked, shocked by this turn of events. Sanosuke shrugged.
"Beats me. All I know is that I've survived about a hundred and thirty years just to meet the one called 'Kamui'." Sanosuke said, as he gave the silent boy beside the talkative teen a knowing glance.
"Well, you're in the right place to meet 'im, this time. This is Kamui." the talkative teen stated, as he motioned to the other boy with a grin.
"So I see..." Sanosuke muttered, thoughtfully, as he gazed at the teenager. In his mind's eye, he could almost see two other people mixed into his youthful features...Two people he'd known very well.
"Wonder if he's related to them?" Sanosuke wondered, starting a little when the teenager abruptly turned and started to walk away in sullen silence.
"Kamui...Ne, Kamui!" the talkative teen shouted after the retreating youth's back. For a brief moment, Kamui paused and looked back at them with a questioning look in his deep lavender-blue eyes.
"It's finally started, hasn't it? The time is now! The last battle...to decide the fate of this earth." the talkative teen stated. Kamui didn't answer, but instead made to continue walking away. Before he could get very far, however, a hand firmly gripped his shoulder, and gently turned him back around. To his surprise (and that of the other teen, for that matter) Sanosuke was the one who now gazed seriously at him.
"Listen, kid. We both need to hear this, since this thing involves more people than just yourself. Hear your buddy out." Sanosuke murmured, then nodded to the other teen; prompting him to continue.
"The stargazer in Koya...he foretold all of this! He knew that the sword in that shrine would be stolen! I am Arisugawa Sorata, one of the Ten no Ryu." the teen said, introducing himself as he did so, before adding, "Believe me, I understand the sadness of losing a parent. I do. But you...can't escape the weight of your destiny."
"Whether you like it or not, kid, this battle's already begun. The shrine priest was murdered, just so they could take the sword!" another voice stated, as the owner of it approached.
"Well, well. Never expected to see you again, Saito. What brings you here?" Sanosuke asked, hiding his surprise behind a well-honed mask of nonchalance. The Wolf of Mibu only smirked slightly, then glanced at Kamui.
"Apparently the same reason that brought you back here some nights back, Tori-atama." Saito replied; ignoring the stunned looks he was getting from both Sorata and Kamui.
"Who was it...that killed Monou-san?" Kamui finally asked, his voice so quiet that it was almost lost amidst the sound of the rainfall.
"Well, Stargazer told me that Kamui's sword will be taken by one of the Chi no Ryu, and that the next time it appears before him it will have changed it's form." Sorata said.
"That narrows it down, somewhat...Unless some Chi no Ryu from the Meiji Era crop up as well..." Sanosuke muttered, thoughtfully; watching as sorrow entered Kamui's young eyes.
"I only came back here to get that sword! I was going to leave...right after searching for it in Togakushi Shrine." Kamui whispered, as guilt joined the sadness on his young face; a look Sanosuke knew only too well.
"How were you to know what would happen? It wasn't your fault. Believe me, if regret could bring back the dead, then a lot more people wouldn't have had to have met their ends like this." Sanosuke murmured, his eyes taking on an almost wise look as he said that.
"True enough...But Kamui, how did you know about the sword? Did your mother tell you?" Sorata asked, flinching when the other teen gave him a look that could have boiled water.
"I know! How can you ever trust anyone again? How, when murder is all around? When even your only parent can fall? But this...as hard as it is to say, is reality, Kamui...And you have to accept it. The fate of the world rests on those frail shoulders of yours'...whether you like it or not..." Sorata stated, bravely.
"He speaks true..." a woman's voice agreed, from behind the quartet, startling them into turning and facing the newcomer.
"Who's there?.!" Sorata shouted, as he jumped in front of Kamui, and as Sanosuke and Saito watched the just-arriving woman with narrowed eyes; ready for anything.
"You're a rather valiant young man, aren't you?" the woman asked, as recognition appeared in Kamui's eyes.
"I saw you at school..." Kamui said, remembering her as being the nurse he'd met when he'd taken Kotori to the nurse's office. The woman smiled and nodded.
"Hai, that's right. I'm the nurse to whom you brought Monou-san." the woman stated, confirming Kamui's statement.
"The nurse?" Sorata asked, confusedly; just what was she doing there, to begin with?
"What are you doing here, onna?" Saito questioned, seeming a bit frustrated when she only smiled enigmatically, and started to remove her glasses.
"You still don't remember me, Kamui? Don't you recognize my face?" the woman asked, as she looked directly at the teen. For a moment, Kamui stood stock still, shock adorning his young features for just a moment, before one phrase slipped from between his lips.
"Kaa...san?" Kamui whispered, completely thunderstruck by this turn of events. The woman again smiled, and started to approach.
"You've finally remembered." the woman said, ignoring Sorata when he started to spaz out.
"Pardon me, lady, but you don't look old enough to have a fifteen-year-old kid...But, then again, I can't exactly point fingers." Sanosuke murmured, his smile taking on a sadness as he remembered another woman who had shared some characteristics with this stranger.
"You're right about that, sir. But, if what the other boy had said were true, I would have had Kamui when I was but fourteen." the woman said, with a carefree smile; only adding to Kamui's confusion by saying that.
"Then...who are you?" Kamui finally asked, more than a little spooked, by now, by the woman's eerie resemblance to his dead mother.
"Your only blood relation, Kamui." the woman replied, quietly.
"Well, I wouldn't say that that is entirely true...But let's assume otherwise, for now." another voice muttered, as the owner of it jumped down from the treetops above them in a swirl of white.
"I see you have answered the call as well." Saito murmured, as the white-mantled warrior regarded all of those who stood in the clearing.
"I couldn't very well ignore it...It is a call no one involved can deny." the warrior replied, as he turned his gaze to Kamui for the briefest of moments, then the woman.
"Indeed. But this is hardly the place for a discussion. Why don't you all come with me? My house is just down the street from here." the woman offered.
"Sounds great. Will there be tea?" another, more boyish voice asked, as he arrived behind them, with an inugami in tow. The woman chuckled.
"Sure. I'm sure you all would like something to warm you up, after having stood in the rain for so long." the woman stated, her smile not having faded in the slightest.
"Took you long enough to get here, Sojiro." Saito grumbled, irritably, as the inugami returned to his side, and they all started following the woman to her home.
"Gomene, Saito-san. I didn't mean to take so long in returning...But, as you can see, I had run into Hiko-san on my way back...and the weather hasn't been helping matters much." Sojiro replied, apologetically. Saito only sighed. Then his attention turned to the eldest Ten no Ryu; he could sense that something deeper than the battle ahead was bothering him, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out just what it was. Tension was showing itself even more prominently in those ebon eyes than when they'd had to deal with Yukishiro Enishi, all those years ago.
"It isn't often that I see a warrior as experienced as him come into a fight with a soul as rattled to the core as his seems to be, right now. I wonder what else he has seen about the battle to come?" Saito wondered, as they followed the strange woman back to her home; an uneasy silence settling onto them as the unease within the eldest Dragon spread...
Author's Note!
Finally! An update for this story! I hope it has lived up to expectations!
Gemini14