CHAPTER 9: WHEN GRUDGES ARE LAID TO REST

Debris lay in a massive heap. The match that would reduce it to ash in the wind flew through the air, and ignited it from its core. The man who threw the match smiled. For all the things he had done, rebuilding this place was perhaps a good way to atone for some of it. Forgiving himself would be an entirely different matter. He would never truly move on until he did, whether he accepted that reality or not. His battles were fierce. His scars were deep. Deeper than skin. For the scars that may have shown on any other warrior's body, he had them in his mind. But they were fading. The idea of living without them was never something that registered in his mind as an option. He had them for years.

But now, here in this fallen village, Enishi Yukishiro was striving to become the man that his sister would have wanted him to be. He believed that she indeed would smile upon him now if she were still alive. The thought of her smile made him smile. The fire caught, and spread. The buildings here were falling apart, like those who resided in this refuge. But Enishi couldn't live that way. So in his own illustration of rebuilding a life, he began rebuilding the village. Soon, everyone joined him in the effort.

"Ho ho! Well done my son!" the old man exclaimed as he approached Enishi. Enishi's reunion with his father instantly changed everything for him. Enishi told his father all that had transpired. Jinchuu. He did what any true loving father would. He forgave his son for the things he had done against the family, and prompted him to stand back up. Shortly afterward, the village was seeing the origins of its reconstruction.

"Father!" Enishi ran to his father in a few short strides. "Father. You came out? You came for the fire, didn't you?"

"I would most like likely be able to see it from anywhere in this village mah boy!" He gave a hearty laugh. Truly, he was happy to have his son by his side. And Enishi was happy to be by his father's side too. They were a family on their own now. Enishi's recovery from a broken man had inspired the repair of several broken families in this village. He now saw for himself what one person with the will to live could do to all that surrounded him. And for him, considering how very wrong he was about everything before, this was nothing short of a life changing revelation.

"Mah boy, what shall be rebuilt next?"

"Perhaps a rest area for travelers."

"Travelers?"

"Yes. They need a refuge place too. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I would agree, since it seems we have one approaching."

Enishi looked over to the village's entrance. A single wanderer in the distance. Enishi could see his face. Knew that face. No one else could see it at this distance, but Enishi's heightened senses let him do a lot of things most would consider "abnormal". The realization sunk in.

"Father! Get back!" Enishi, as gently as possible at the time, pushed his father to the side.

"SWORD!" A guard watching over the village from their newly built watch-tower quickly threw one of the village's few weapons to him. Nothing special. Not like the sword he used for jinchuu. But it was sturdy. The village's blacksmith could only do so much with what he had.

Enishi's shouts had caused the other men to gather the village's weapons. They ran; a flurry of quick footsteps to meet whoever was approaching their village. Their home.

"NO!" Enishi shouted, "STAND BACK!" And as quickly as Enishi looked away to ward the men off, the wanderer disappeared. Then he heard it.

Fast.

Ludicrously fast.

Enishi sensed nothing indicating any aggression when he saw the wanderer from afar, but he knew that face and that alone was something to bring about a strong defense for this village. And Enishi was ready to pose it.

Steps, moving faster than anything that Enishi had ever seen before. In a matter of seconds, the steps were right in front of him; he placed the sword in front, and swiftly kicked its blunt edge to fend off the attack. Using an offense as a defense. The sound of clashing metal echoed through the village. The opponent was tossed, now perfectly visible to all. The village gasped. He was young, almost child-like in appearance. He back flipped swiftly through the air and landed on his feet, one sword in hand and one wrapped strapped to his back. With a smile that showed nothing but satisfaction, Enishi's eyes met those of Sojiro Seta.

"The servant boy of Makoto Shishio. I remember you from when he purchased the iron-clad ship used in his planned attacks on Tokyo. What do you want here?"

"First, I was sent to see what you could do. You were more capable than you let on when I first met you. And I see that you made a rather minimal effort to stop me. Impressive Mister Yukishiro. I had sensed that you had skills when we met, but to think that they were as good as this was not expected, especially after your encounter with Mister Himura."

"Flattered but not enticed. What business do you have here boy?"

To subside Enishi's caution, Sojiro sheathed his sword. "He needs your help."

No explanation was required for Enishi to understand what this boy meant. Only one person had impacted them both as profoundly enough to not be named. Sojiro continued. "I have been in Tokyo recently. I didn't want to make my presence immediately known, so I went in unknown to everyone. But things began to happen, so I did some research. Mister Himura is currently in another battle. One that has implicated everyone around him. This man has made a personal attack on everyone that Himura cares for. Those people are breaking, Mister Yukishiro, and I think that you and I, can help them."

"Who is waging this war?"

"Kanryu Takeda."

"Takeda. I have had dealings with him."

Enishi remembered the man well. He didn't like him. He was a weasel only out for money.

But revenge like this....truly Enishi's revenge was meant for everyone Kenshin knew, but he did it in one fell swoop. One crucial blow. Sojiro's explanation of all that was happening showed the difference. Kanryu was breaking them all one by one, with information he should have had no way of obtaining. What truly shocked Enishi was his act of sending Kenshin the drawing depicting Tomoe's death, and manipulating one of his coMisterades to do it. Though indirectly done, Kanryu truly was affecting all those that Kenshin had ever interacted with. His hand had reached to this village, and prompted Enishi Yukishiro. He was well aware that Kenshin was capable of defeating Kanryu, but he most likely didn't count on the idea that Kenshin had gained a grip on Enishi's attention. Unless he knew about jinchuu too.

Sojiro continued entrancing the village with his story. They remembered the man who came here, chains draped around his sword, saying and doing nothing. A shell of a man. "Mister Yukishiro, you may want to think on this."

Enishi knew without a shadow of a doubt that helping Battousai is what Tomoe would have wanted. His brother-in law needed his help.

They are family.

"When do we leave?"

A voice cut through the crowd.

"Immediately." Sojiro replied. "As soon as you are able."

Enishi noted that this boy seemed to be in light spirits. Not a common trait for someone who had as much blood on him as Enishi sensed. Someone as skilled as him surly had a body count on his shoulders. "You said you were sent by someone. Who knew where to find me?

"Hajime Saitou. The Wolf of Mibu."

"Why is he sending you here, asking a criminal to help serve justice? The man is a police officer, a living legend from the revelution."

"You escaped police custody after heading up an illegal empire, staging murder, and having implications to grave robbery and destruction of property. Yes, those are serious charges Mister Yukishiro, but Mister Saitou agreed to look the other way if you cooperate."

Sojiro reached to his back removing the sword held there. There underneath was a sword identical to the one that Enishi used in jinchuu. The mere sight of it made him feel like a monster. But he approached, and picked it up. Its familiar weight feeling as normal as a breath. This wasn't identical to his sword. It was his sword. Reforged. Sojiro recited the proposal. "Help Mister Himura take care of Kanryu and he will look the other way on those matters."

Enishi had heard rumors of this boy in the underworld. "What about you? The assassin who killed Toshimichi Okubo. Employing the help of a political assassin, this man must be a threat to Hajime Saitou and the police department."

"Like you, he is a merchant of death. Something like that is always trouble."

"You realize that amnesty is impossible for the crimes we have committed."

"He never said amnesty."

Enishi took a silent moment to soak this in. He knew that some had tried to find him and bring him to justice, but Tomoe's dairy had it been found earlier would have stopped him dead in his tracks. "What does he want me to do?"

"Monitor the weapons activities in Tokyo, and find out what Kanryu has in his arsenal. We need to know what we are dealing with. Join Kanryu in the underground, but the time will come to fight side by side with the Battousai."

Enishi was skeptical. He had done things that no one would ever normally be exempt from, but if it came from Saitou himself, it had credibility. "Sojiro was your name you said."

Enishi stared at Sojiro. Hard. Many men would normally crack at that glare, but Sojiro was once an ally to a monster that threatened all of Japan. These eyes were harsh, but this man was no monster. He was a tiger. The Tiger from the east. He was needed.

Enishi's eyes went to the sword in his hands. Silently he walked over to a dilapidated house. All eyes were on him. No one said a word. Sojiro watched, passively, but with observance. The village had seen that he had skill with a sword, but his sword was a whole other matter. He drew it, and placed the sheath on the ground. He walked to the exposed support beams keeping the house stable. The only sound that could be heard was the flames burning away remnants of the fallen village. Soon, this village would be raised. And as they burned, Enishi saw his old self disappearing. He wanted to help Kenshin. He was family. What a strange thought; to have someone you hated with every fiber of your being, be the one you are obligated to aid in time of need.

He placed the sword in front of him. His eyes ran from the tip of the sword, to the hilt, and then to his own hand, the hand that sent his own brother in law into a world of despair and at that thought, his foot slammed into the blunt edge. The blade shattered the beam with such force, that the villagers had lost their breath at the sight. The sound of the breaking and crunching wood. No one had seen such tenacious force from him before. But before they could exclaim anything, Enishi stepped forward, flipped the blade and smashed his palm into the blunt edge over his head, decimating the second and last support beam. He quickly dashed back, and watched as the house fell to the ground. Silence enveloped the village, even the sound of the flames seemed to pale compared to what the villagers just saw.

His father approached him.

"Son. You should go. Save what is left of our family."

"Look at those flames father. I can feel them from here. But from here, they don't affect me."

His father replied, "But this 'Kanryu' fellow. Son, he is like this flame. From here, he will not affect you. You must go to the flame to put it out."

Enishi turned and approached Sojiro, and extended his hand. "I accept. Sojiro Seta."

Sojiro shook back. "I will send word to Saitou."

"When you speak to him, tell him I will need information."

"Police information. You are to act as the ally to Kanryu. He's already taken care of that." Sojiro reached inside his robe, taking out a large envelope.

"I will obtain his trust. Once he knows Battousai and I were once enemies, hopefully I will gain his trust quickly." Enishi thought it was rather ironic. Where as he was once a revenge crazed machine, he was now to go and obtain the trust of one.

Sojiro's eyes drifted to the fire Enishi had started earlier. Fire.

"Sojiro.", Enishi said, interrupting his train of thought.

"Sorry. Just reflecting."

"Where do we rendezvous for information?"

"I will be at a secret police headquarters in Tokyo. We will communicate there. I will take you there first. Make sure nobody ever follows you there. I will be working with Saitou most of the time.

"My son." Enishi turned to his father, noting the somber look on his face. "What can I do?"

"Stay here father", Enishi quickly said. "Rebuild this village."

"Sir.", Sojiro approached the old man and met him on one knee. "Before we go, is there anything you want me to tell Mr. Himura?"

"Hm? Ah, well....yes. Tell him....that I forgive him for what happened those many years ago."

That night, under a full moon that lit Japan, Enishi and Sojiro departed for Tokyo. Indeed, everything was changing.