I hold no claim to the characters from this kick-ass Anime. Only Ryu, Liza, and Reiko are mine!

Chapter Fifteen

Evanescent Encounter, Part One

"They ditched us. They actually ditched us!"

"Those bastards!"

Reiko gave a sigh as Mugen and Liza continued to curse Fuu and Ryu out. "You really didn't expect it from how weird Fuu has been acting the last few days?"

Liza glanced at her friend. "Should we have?"

Jin mimicked Reiko's sigh as she crossed her arms. Fuu had been acting very strange the last couple of days. Jin really wasn't surprised to find that Fuu and Ryu had left them behind and gone to Ikitsuki island by themselves. They finally reached the end of their journey. With the revelation that the Sunflower Samurai was Fuu's father, there was no doubt in his mind that she was going to want to confront him herself. Ryu would be going with her, even if she didn't want him to.

Fuu had left them a note but Reiko didn't bother reading it. The four of them stood there, staring at the island as they ate the castella cakes that Fuu had given them money for.

"What do we do now?" Mugen asked around a mouthful of cake.

"I don't know about you, but I don't take kindly to being ditched like some side chick," Liza sat down on the ground beside Mugen, arms and legs crossed after dropping her naginata beside her. After the baseball game, Mugen announced that he had 'borrowed' some money from their American friends and bought her a replacement for the weapon that had been broken against Sara. "I'm gonna wait right here until they come back and give them a piece of my mind!"

"I'm down with that," Mugen grinned. "Until then we can go find an inn and relax, right?"

"Nothing you do can be considered relaxing," Reiko answered before Liza could reply. "So if that's what you really want, Elizabeth and I will be sharing a room tonight while you and Jin can do the same."

"Stingy bitch." Mugen grumbled.

"Spoiled bastard."

"Cockblocker."

"As much as possible."

Liza gave a laugh as Jin just shook his head.

After what had happened at the Hot Springs a few days ago, Jin and Mugen had held a talk. The duel that the duo had planned on having had been brought to an end; for now. They had come to an agreement that, as long as the two of them planned on staying with Liza and Reiko after this journey for the Sunflower Samurai was over, their duel would no longer be allowed. Though Mugen had happily told the samurai that he still pissed him off to no ends, he also admitted that he had…grown on him. Jin could say the same thing about the Vagabond.

The Pirate had gotten a little possessive when Liza had hugged Jin that morning though after a…conversation that had ended before Mugen had joined them. He had wanted to sut up the Samurai right then and there before the two women had put an end to it all.

"I suppose waiting from them is the best option for now," Reiko gave in. "Let's not invade upon their reunion."

The four of them fell into silence for a bit afterwards, finishing off the cakes. Liza had to stifle a yawn and was about tog et up to start searching for a place to rest when a voice decided to join them at the docks.

"Only hope can give rise to the emotion we call despair. But it is nearly impossible for a man to try to live without hope, so I guess that leaves man no choice but to walk around with despair as his companion."

"Huh?" Mugen glanced up at him, licking his fingers clean. "What the hell do you want?'

"If you're looking for Kasumi's daughter, she's crossed over to the island."

Jin glanced over at the other man. He was dressed like a normal samurai, a straw hat on his head. "You know Seizo Kasumi?"

"I know he's a felon who abandoned his country and had his soul stolen by that foreign religion." Mugen stood up at that, glaring at the new man as Liza followed suit, keeping her eyes locked on the water before her. "I heard that he fled here to Kyushu and that he was involved in the Shimabara Rebellion. I also know he's the man who the Shogunate wants eliminated more than anyone else. Almost as much as they want the infamous Terror Sisters to be taken down."

No one moved a muscle until Reiko released a breath. "How long have you been following her?"

"The Shogunate had known all along that his daughter was trying to find him. She led us right to him. To think that she would find comfort in the presence of monsters such as yourselves…it's almost…fitting."

"Hey, watch who you call a monster, pal," Liza gave him a cold smile. "I might like it."

Mugen placed himself in front of Liza. "There's four of us and one of you, pal. You really think you can take us on by yourself? You sure got a big pair on ya, pal."

"So much for relaxing today," Liza sighed, gripping her naginata as the rest of them prepared to fight. "Let's end this quickly, shall we? Fuu and Ryu might need out help if there's people after them."

"Agreed," Jin nodded, a hand on his sword.

The man before them gave a small smile. "Despite this being where you end, I'm pleased to see that you've grown into a beautiful woman, Elizabeth Rush. Both of you have."

Mugen glanced at the shocked woman beside him. "You know this asshole?"

Liza shook her head. "I've never seen him before in my life."

Reiko narrowed her eyes, taking in his features. It hit her like a brick. "Kariya Kagetoki."

The said man grinned. "I've been waiting on this for ten years."

"If I had not been here, then you might have actually gotten away," The man told her, his calming demeanor doing nothing but flare up her panic. The blade shook in Reiko's right hand as her left was curled into a fist to keep it from trembling.

They had come so far, they had gotten away, just to be found by this…this bastard. They were so close…so close to being free as the castle burnt against the night sky behind them. Was this…was this really going to be the end for them? After all that she done to try and free them from all of this? Was this really how it all ended?

Little fingers clung to her fist and Reiko glanced down. The eight year old child that she had taken from the castle with her stared back up. Her eyes widened. The child, she wasn't crying or shaking in fear. She showed no signs of terror, instead giving the older girl a bright smile. A smile that told Reiko that the child trusted her enough to get them both out of this; a smile that told her she was trusted to keep them both alive.

She moved without a second thought, catching the Samurai off guard just enough to wound his left hand. The man gave her praise before placing his blade in his right hand. Reiko swallowed, her nerves at their breaking point. This was it; the end.

But as the man attacked, she realized that it wasn't her that he was aiming for. His blade was headed for Liza. All time seemed to slow down to the older girl, panic and fear setting in. She placed herself before the child, taking the sword to her thigh as she brought her own blade up, leaving a gash on the man's shoulder.

Time returned to normal, the pain from being stabbed was left behind due to the adrenaline pumping through her body. Leaving the blade there, she grabbed Liza again and into the woods they ran, praying that this sword in her leg didn't do as much damage as she feared.

"An old friend of yours, Rei?" Liza asked, her gaze passing over to her friend.

"I thought you had retired," Reiko growled, her grip on her hilt tense.

"I had, but the thought of facing you again, to see how far you've come, and of course your friends here, have peaked my interest." He smiled. "Come. I hope that you don't disappoint me."

Mugen wasted no time in running forward to attack first. Reiko called out to him, telling him to stop, but her words fell on deaf ears. All she could do was watch as Kariya danced circles around the young man, clearly toying with him.

"Interesting," Kariya smiled after dodging Mugen's attack through the coffee beans. "You utilize erratic movements that prevent anyone from predicting them. But you must learn to make use of your intellect in the martial arts. By relying solely upon instinct and reflex, you involuntarily reveal your limitations to your enemy."

Mugen stomped a foot. "Quit talkin' to me like you're all hot shit!" He ran in for another attack, just for Kariya to knock him into the water.

"All right old man," Liza twirled her naginata. "Let's see you do that to me."

Again, Kariya dodged more than anything, using his sword to parry the larger weapon once, holding the duo at a stand-still.

"You use the reach of your weapon to cunningly knock your opponent off guard and overpower them. Most men would not expect such power behind a woman, let alone brains like that. You pick fights you only know you can win, resulting in your teases."

"Come now, you flatter me," She growled from behind gritted teeth. "Now quit with the talking and-" She was cut off by the hilt of his sword placing itself into her stomach. Pain erupted through her and she fell to her knees.

"Elizabeth!" Reiko went to run to the other woman but Jin stood in her way, blocking her from Kariya as he now faced them.

"I would very much like to see your Muju Shin Kenjutsu style," The man told Jin. "Show me the student able to take down Enshiro Mariya."

Jin stared at him in shock. "How is it that you know about that?"

Reiko was the one to answer him. "Kariya is with the Shogunate. He, most likely, knows everything about us; Fuu and Ryu included."

Kariya gave a grin. "It is said that you're the smarter of the two sisters," He glanced to the side as Liza stood up, an angry look upon her face. "It seems that the rumors were true."

"Bastard!" Mugen's roar was heard as the man popped back up out of the water, rushing to attack Kariya again. Liza wasted no time and join in, the duo taking the man together but still…this fighting style of his was insane. It seemed that no matter what they did, he was just always one step ahead of them, reading their movements like a damn book. It infuriated them to no ends.

Mugen was tossed away again and Jin ran in to help, but Reiko found her feet frozen to the ground as she stared at the man before her. She had barely escaped this man ten years ago but while she had gotten better with her blade, this man, undoubtedly had as well. She found herself afraid, and this time not just for herself. For Liza and Mugen and Jin, even for Ryu and Fuu. This man…he could kill them all; he planned on it. What…what could she do against him? How-

"Mu-gen." A new voice brought all the fighting to a stop as Mugen sat up I anger, looking around.

"Who the hell wants me now?"

"Mugen." The laughter came from a blond man that sat above them all, chewing on his right arm.

"What the fuck is that?" Liza growled, glaring at him.

The man ignored her, staring at the pirate below him. "Guess what, Mugen? We got the girl. The girl and her little friend." He slurped his spit up. "Come to the church, the one on the island. Bye bye." He turned to leave.

"Say what? Can't ya see we're kinda busy here?"

"Ryu was bested?" Liza sounded shocked. "Can't be true. The bastards must have jumped him."

"Or used Fuu as a weakness," Reiko sighed.

"If you don't hurry up, bad things might happen to them." The blond man turned back to them. "I can't promise that he's not carving her into little pieces right now!" He jumped from their sight.

"Don't piss me off!" Mugen growled.

"The two of you, go," Reiko took a step forward, pulling her blade free. "Save Ryu and Fuu. Jin and I can handle this."

Liza opened her mouth to reply but closed it. "You better hurry after us."

"Bullshit!" Mugen growled. "Why can't the two of you go and we handle this bastard?"

"Mugen, please." Reiko's words made Mugen's eyes widen. He stared at her for a moment before giving a grunt.

"You two better not let him kill ya!" Grabbing Liza's hand, he dragged her to the docks again, jumping on a boat that had just docked and forced him to go back over open water. Liza waited for him to drop her hand, but he kept it, refusing to look at her as he stared out towards the island. "Until we're on solid ground again, I'm not letting you go."

She gave him a soft smile, despite the serious situation before them.

Reiko and Jin both watched them take off before their attention returned to Kariya. Reiko barely let him take another breath before rushing forward, delivering a blow of attacks that he blocked.

"Even with no proper training, your swordsmanship is impressive. It seems that you are a natural when wielding a blade. With training you could have become one of the best, woman or not."

"Flattery will get you nowhere!" Reiko growled, pushing him back. She then ducked as Jin came jumping forward, letting him have a go as she tried to think of a strategy in her head. This man seemed to know what they were going to do before they did it. Perhaps she should just attack wildly like Mugen does or…

Jin's glasses went flying from his face, knocking Reiko from her thoughts and bringing her back into the fight, giving the other man time to regain himself.

"You've come so far," Kariya told her. "It's a shame. If only you hadn't gotten involved with Kasumi' daughter, you might had been able to run forever."

"What makes you think that's what I want?"

He parried her blade again and leaned closer to her face. "The terror I see in your eyes tells me so." He was shoved back but regained his footing. "It's been quite some time since I've enjoyed myself this much. You've made for great entertainment, my dear."

Reiko glared at him. She had to think; and fast. She had to do something to catch this man off guard, leaving Jin to make the final attack and kill him.

"Reiko," Jin's voice was in her ear. "Do you trust me?"

She glanced at him, trying not to let her gaze leave Kariya for too long. "What do you have in mind?"

Jin opened his mouth to reply but before her could, Kariya struck, slithering forward like a snake. The next thing Reiko saw was the color red.

~Think I can fly

I think I can fly when I'm with you.

My arms are wide

Capture fire as the wind blows~

Liza whipped around as a splash happened behind them and she gave a sigh. The shipman was nowhere to be seen.

"You know, we really should have known they wouldn't just let us reach the island safely."

Mugen tightened his grip on her hand. "Whatever you do, don't let go of me, you got it?"

They both watched as the blond man from before crawled onto the boat, mumbling strange things to himself.

"There's something seriously wrong with this one," Liza told the man beside her. "He's all yours."

"He made me promise that I wouldn't do anything to you until I got to the church. Especially not to the girl. He wants her all to himself."

"Eww," Liza took a step back.

"It's so hard! I wanna kill you both so bad! And there you are,, right there under my nose and it's driving me crazy!" He began to pull at his face and Liza's frown deepened.

"Oh yeah, he's definitely yours, babe."

If the circumstances had been different, he would have grinned her calling him that but he kept a firm frown as the man moved forward and he drew his sword, sure to keep his free hand clutching to Liza's.

Unfortunately, the battle made the boat rock and the bastard ended up flipping it. With his sword in one hand and Liza's fist in the other, he found it hard to swim as he blocked and dodged that blond bastard's attacks. He needed to get Liza out of the water fast and-

The air got knocked out of him when something caught him in the side. Fear struck him when Liza's hand was ripped from his and he turned in time to watch their attacked fly past him. If he hadn't been shoved to the side, he would have been stabbed from behind.

Realizing that Liza was the one to shove him out of the way, he found her form moving further and further away from him. He reached out for her, his panic growing, but the other man got in the way. With hands around Mugen's throat, the pirate struggled to get the man off of him as he was forced further and further away from Liza's form. With a roar he knocked the man away from him and swam forward for another attack. He blocked his claws with his now free hand, the blood clouding his view for just a moment before his sword pierced the man's chest.

With panic clear in his veins now, he searched for Liza's body but he couldn't find her. Unable to hold his breath, he broke to the surface and took another breath before diving back down. The barrels in the boat floated around him but the only body he found was the dead bastards.

Something caught his eye though, falling towards the bottom of the ocean, and he swam towards it quick. As he got closer to it though, his hopes faded away again.

All he found was Liza's Naginata.

I hope you guys like it. Review! :)