Chapter Four: Signs of Kamui
All was thoughtful silence, as they waited for the strange woman to return with hot drinks and towels. From his place near the door, Hiko watched the teen known as 'Kamui' closely. Even from where he stood, he could feel the boy's innate power...a power that had yet to properly awaken.
"He is neither Ten no Ryu, nor Chi no Ryu yet. I just wonder how long it will be before that awakening comes to pass? And what else will happen, when it does?" Hiko mused, nodding to the woman in thanks when she handed him a towel and mug of hot tea, then moved on to the others.
"You guys look as though you have mountains of questions...especially you, Kamui." the woman said, finally, as she sat down and gazed at the six who now either stood or sat before her. Kamui nodded.
"Well...to start...Who are you?" Kamui asked; his manner direct and to the point. The woman smiled slightly, then proceeded to tell him.
"My name is Magami Tokiko. As you and your friend know, I am the nurse at the school you attend. And...my older sister's name was Toru." the woman stated, as a look of shock appeared on Kamui's features.
"Then you're Kamui's..." Sorata started, before Tokiko nodded and finished his thought.
"I'd be his aunt." Tokiko confirmed.
"I never heard that...from Kaa-san." Kamui said, hesitantly; his confidence slightly shaken, as he looked at Tokiko, and then at the silent, white-mantled warrior that stood behind her.
"But what made him say what he did, when he met us? Why did he say that Tokiko-san isn't my only relative?" Kamui wondered, as he turned confused lavender-blue eyes onto Hiko, then returned his attention to his aunt.
"I suspected as much...and didn't think she'd have told you. After all, the last I saw of her, I was still in Junior High. You hadn't even been born yet." Tokiko said.
"Kaa-san never even said she had a younger sister..." Kamui stated, softly.
"No, I guess not. She disappeared from the Magami House...right after she graduated from high school." Tokiko murmured, as a hint of recognition appeared in Kamui's eyes.
"'Magami'?" Kamui asked.
"Hai. That's right...Your mother's maiden name is 'Magami'." Tokiko stated, as some looks of shock adorned the faces of Sorata and at least two of the older Dragons as well.
"Wait a minute! Did you just say 'Magami'?.! 'Ma' the character for 'Truth' and 'Kami' the character for 'God'. Is that how you write it?.!" Sorata yelped.
"And by 'Magami' you mean 'Truth of God'." Saito stated, his amber eyes narrowed, as he thought of it.
"If you two know the name of Magami, then you're certainly no laymen." Tokiko responded, smiling enigmatically over her shoulder at the eldest Dragon for a moment, and then returning her gaze to the five seated before her.
"Then Kamui-kun's mother belonged to the Magami clan." Sojiro murmured, speaking up for the first time since they had arrived at Tokiko's house.
"Toru didn't even tell you about the Magami family? Kamui...did you even hear anything about your father? No details from Toru? No mention of him at all?" Tokiko questioned; getting a shake of the head from the youth as an answer.
"No." Kamui replied, quietly.
"I thought not. So she left without saying a word...not even to her own son. Kamui, the night before she disappeared, my sister came to me and told me her secret. She said she would bear the child of a man...Her gift to the future...the child she bore for this earth..." Tokiko said, as she remembered the final words from her sister with clarity.
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"Kamui's Shinken has been stolen. The one who had taken it is almost certain to be one of the Seven Harbingers!" Hinoto had said, as a teenaged girl, and a former okashira silently assess the situation at the shrine where the sword had been held.
"There is a visitor from Koya with Kamui now...as well as four Ten no Ryu from Japan's past." Hinoto said, calmly.
"And the one from Koya...he is..." the girl started to say, as the blind dreamseer nodded to confirm her thoughts.
"I know. One of the modern Seven Seals. The same as you, Arashi-san." Hinoto stated, matter-of-factly.
"Then one of today's Ten no Ryu was in Koya." Aoshi murmured, as he again melted from the shadows; startling Arashi somewhat with his sudden arrival (but, by now, Hinoto, Sohi and Hien were used to his comings and goings).
"Indeed...No one can stop it, now. The final battle that will decide the fate of this earth...It has begun. Arashi-san, Shinomori-sama...Please, look after Kamui...and the earth. Protect them." Hinoto had pleaded, before they had left on their task to find Kamui.
"'To' the character for 'Sword' and 'Gakushi' the character for 'hide'...Hidden Sword...the answer was right in front of us, and we never even gave it a second glance." Aoshi murmured, as he thoughtfully touched the pillar beside him, and sighed.
"True enough. Yet, there is no time for regrets. The battle that is coming won't allow any time for it." Arashi said, coolly.
"That much has already been determined..." Aoshi agreed, turning when he sensed someone coming. Trusting in the older warrior's instincts, Arashi followed his ice-blue gaze; feeling some surprise when she saw a rather normal-looking man standing there with what appeared to be a folder tucked under his arm.
"This man...who is he? I sense no animosity or malice...and yet...there's something" Arashi mused, jerking to attention when the sounds of running feet came their way, and what appeared to be men in black suits surrounded them.
"Can't sense any ki...So they aren't alive..." Aoshi silently noted, as he effortlessly slid his twin kodachi from their sheaths, and stood ready for a fight.
"Curse zombies. Someone able to send these must be quite the spell-caster." Arashi unknowingly added, as she and Aoshi stood back to back; eying the undead creatures warily.
"There would be great panic if we fought here...and, even though we don't know who the man is, we can't let him become involved..." Aoshi thought, as he and Arashi exchanged glances, and nodded. The kekkai were their only choice, now. Before the creatures (or the befuddled-looking man) could react, two kekkai had been erected around them. Arashi could barely contain her surprise when she saw that her kekkai was surrounded by Aoshi's, and also that the man she'd taken to be an innocent bystander was still there!
"I thought I'd only brought the zombies into it! How did this happen?.!" Arashi's mind yelped, before she was forced into action. With lightning-fast moves, both she and Aoshi took the fight to the summoned creatures; their blades slicing through them like the paper they truly were. Upon chancing a glance at the man, Arashi was amazed that he was just calmly standing there and watching.
"He's still calm! Even after seeing the curse zombies and being drawn into our kekkai...and that isn't all! There's that something I sensed...when we first met..." Arashi thought, feeling alarm when she noticed a couple of the zombies get past both her and Aoshi, and charge at the bystander.
"Damn! Can't reach him in time!" Aoshi silently cursed, before what appeared to be wind blades sliced through the zombies...and that they'd come from none other than the 'innocent bystander' himself! They could only watch as the man effortlessly cut his way through the remaining zombies; his talents as a wind-master coming to light very quickly. Soon, only dissolving 'bodies' could be seen littering the ground, as the air calmed around them, once again.
"As I suspected! They were curse zombies!" the man murmured, quietly, as he picked up one of the spell scrolls and crushed it in his hand; allowing the shattered spell to fly free afterwards, before continuing, "You both erected some splendid kekkai! I don't have anywhere near your capabilities!"
"Don't sell yourself too short. No ordinary man could have held his own so well against those creatures." Aoshi said, getting an abashed smile from the man as a response to the praise.
"Then this makes you..." Arashi started to say, before getting a nod which confirmed her suspicions.
"I'm in the same situation as you two." he stated; his smile not fading in the slightest.
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Hiko flinched when he felt a kekkai go up close by; coming close to dropping the cup he held in his hands by doing so. When he chanced a look around, he saw that his fellow Dragons had reacted as well. Sanosuke was rubbing his temples and wincing slightly, as were Sojiro and Sorata. Saito, on the other hand, actually looked spooked.
"My ears...ringing? No...It's something else..." Kamui muttered, having sensed the disturbance as well, and had a hand over one ear.
"Itai! Someone must've set up a kekkai..." Sorata murmured, getting a perplexed look from Kamui for his comment.
"Kekkai?" Kamui questioned, confusedly.
"They are shields that only the Seven Seals can create." Hiko said, breaking his silence for the first time since he'd arrived within the house.
"Yeah...It's close...this neighborhood..." Sanosuke muttered, as he tried focusing on the center of the shield.
"The ones destined for involvement...in the end of the world...are beginning to realize that Kamui has returned! And they are all gathering in Tokyo..." Saito mused, hurriedly getting to his feet when Kamui, Sorata, and Sanosuke realized where the kekkai had been erected...and as alarm appeared on Kamui's youthful features.
"Kotori!" Kamui yelped, as he bolted towards the door; worry for the girl's safety clearly seen.
"It's at Togakushi Shrine! Those kids could be in trouble!" Sanosuke added, as he followed the teens, and as Sojiro followed his lead. When the other four had gone, Tokiko gave the eldest two Dragons a soft, sad smile.
"Come back again, any time. And tell Kamui that when he returns, I will tell him about his mother, the Magami Clan, and his destiny." Tokiko said, getting nods from both of the men before they also headed out.
"Thank you for your hospitality." Saito murmured, with an unusual amount of courtesy.
"Don't mention it." Tokiko replied. And then, both men were gone.
"Such a mysterious aura that one man holds! It almost feels like..." Tokiko thought, as she stared out the window at the rain-soaked street below, and the figures that were just now disappearing into the gloom...
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Kenshin jerked to attention when he sensed the same feeling he'd gotten the night before.
"That strange shield has been erected again!...No...The ki is different, this time...but still familiar! Whose is it?" Kenshin wondered, as he dashed outside, and saw that the kekkai in question had been erected in front of the shrine!
"Himura-san! What is it?.! Is something wrong?" Kotori asked, as she rushed to the door and looked out.
"Stay inside, Kotori-dono! Sessha will be back in a moment!" Kenshin said, as he took off towards the shield; his inhuman speed quickly taking him within the barrier itself. He arrived just as the three people within it were speaking of seals.
"It took you long enough to notice the kekkai, Himura." a familiar voice greeted, as Kenshin skidded to a halt in front of them.
"Shinomori Aoshi...So you are also...?" Kenshin asked. Aoshi nodded.
"Yes. The young lady and this man are also Ten no Ryu...but of this generation. Kishu Arashi and...!" Aoshi began, stopping when the man's pager began to go off (and also because he still didn't know the fellow's name).
"Oh great! I've got to get back to the editorial office! I know we all just met and everything, but...well...I've got to get back to work right away!" the man yelped, hurriedly.
"Quite all right. It's understandable." Kenshin amended, with a smile. As with Aoshi and Arashi, he also couldn't sense any ill-will in the other man, but could easily feel the power that resided within him.
"And he knows how to use that power correctly, so I have nothing to fear, from him." Kenshin silently added; watching as he handed the girl a business card with his name and number on it, and then started to run down the street...only to stop, turn abruptly around, and race back over to them.
"Oro?" Kenshin muttered, as the man picke dup his fallen umbrella and handed it to Arashi with an embarrassed smile.
"I know it's a bit late, but here! Please take this! Girls shouldn't stand soaking in the rain. Bye again!" the man said, in a rush, before dashing off again.
"Okay...mind telling me what that was about?" Arashi asked, confusedly.
"No idea..." Aoshi muttered, equally as confused, but not really showing it.
"Orororo." Kenshin added, shaking his head in bewilderment, before looking over Arashi's shoulder at the card she now held in hand.
"Aoki Seiichiro...We will definitely be meeting again!" Arashi said, thoughtfully; as the two elder Dragons silently agreed.
Author's Note!
Things are beginning to move towards more action! (Slowly but surely...) I hope this chapter was all right, and that it wasn't too awkward! Thanks in advance for the reviews!
Gemini14