A/n Hi guys, this chapter is a little late but not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I want to thank all my reviewers for their comments for the last chapter, they really keep me going. Many of you guessed what Tokio's problem was; Though I was pretty sure I set it up too well and really gave it away...still, they were good guesses. My chicks are starting to look like chickens now. We spent forever building a huge coop and run for them. So now they are outside and happy to strech their little wings. Note:a baby bird flew into the coop yesterday when I had the door open to feed my chicks. It was half grown and learning to fly. I had to catch it before the rooster went after it. It was pretty cool LOL.
Okay, enough of me, and on to the story. It's a bit longer than the past chapters, I hope you enjoy it.
I don't own Kenshin or the work of Feehan.
A sob ripped from Tokio's throat as she curled up on Saitou's bed. The impact of his words seemed only trivial compared to the pain she was feeling. It was as if her chest was caving in and as if her back had just exploded outward. "Why?" Was all she could cough out, speaking only seemed to intensify the pain. Whispers of doubt and despair tickled the back of her mind. This was something very bad and nothing could be done to help it. Everything was hopeless, may as well give up. She was a useless girl.
Saitou was instantly by her side again. He scooped her up from the bed and held her like a small child. "I'm not sure. Females never get rips in their soul unless something horribly traumatic happened. How long have you felt this pain?"
Did he think she had been hiding it away this whole time? The dolt. "Just now!" She hissed. It felt as if someone had scraped a hunk of flesh from the inside out. A rip in her soul? Was this what it felt like to be a male? Having their soul rip and shredded a little at a time? These voices? No wonder they called it torment.
Saitou was at a loss for what to do other than try and take the pain from her. But the pain was not physical so it was difficult. Why would a female have a rip in her soul? She hadn't killed anyone, had she? "Tokio, have you been attacked? Did you kill something?" The male all but trembled in shame. How could he not have known his woman was in danger? Such danger that she had to take care of it himself.
"Don't be an idiot. I never killed anything in my life!" The girl growled between the ripples of pain. She dove deep within herself, becoming still in Saitou's arms. Oh yes, there was a rip alright. It was as if there was a tear in her aura. A raw wound in her life-force that threw the rest off-balance. But why? How? She mentally touched the wound and winced as a new wave of pain rolled through her. She deserved it, the whispers started. Such a burden to her family.
What of Kenji? Was he in trouble too? They were twins so perhaps the same thing was happening with him. She returned to her body to find Saitou softly chanting in his native Carpathian. "Do you think Kenji might be experiencing this as well?" Her voice wavered at the thought.
Saitou paused. "I'm not sure. Could it be that Kenji had made his first real kill and somehow your soul became damaged as well?" he muttered more to himself than to her.
"Or maybe in place of his?" She whispered and witnessed stark terror wash over Saitou's face. Tokio felt his fear like a splash of ice water on her back. Look, even he knows it's hopeless.
"That is unacceptable!" he suddenly blurted, it was the first sign of panic. "Don't listen to the voices, Sweetheart. They only seek to turn you into the darkness." The same darkness that turns males into vampires once they give into the voices.
'Kenji. Are you alright?' Tokio dove deep within herself again. She knew her brother had pulled far away from her to give her privacy, but she knew she could find him if she dug far enough. 'Something is wrong, are you alright? Saitou says there's a rip in my soul….Kenji?' Even in sleep her brother should have answered her. 'Kenji' it was second nature to connect with him. Almost as if she was talking to herself. But this was different. The harder she tried the more agitated to rip in her soul became. Was he alright? No, he was far from alright. He must be dead, stupid girl. Tokio shook her head, trying to rid the strange whispered flooding in from the rip in her soul.
'Tokio.' Saitou's voice soothed her as it wrapped around her mind. 'I think I understand. There is nothing wrong with Kenji.'
'Then why won't he answer me?' She whimpered in return. Because the boy hates you for pushing him away. It's all your fault.
'Because, I believe he has removed his connection from you. Permanently.'
Tokio snapped her eyes open as she rushed into her body for a second time. Kenji…no longer connected? As if they were no longer twins? "No! no, no. Kenji wouldn't do that."
But Saitou only nodded solemnly, his face back to his normal stoic mask.
Tokio's eyes started to shimmer. "No, something has to be wrong. Kenji promised he would never leave me." He lies, stupid girl.
"I can find out for you." Saitou said, he clutched the female ever closer to his body. He could feel her pain and the torment of the Darkness that called to them all. It was something females shouldn't have to endure. With a gentle touch he removed her sweaty hair from her face.
"Please?" Tokio's impossibly large eyes grew larger. Saitou bowed his head. He had no choice; he'd do anything for her. To help ease her pain and worries.
Saitou closed his eyes and awkwardly groped for the connection between him and the Dark One. Saitou made it a point to keep a bit of distance from everyone, especially Aoshi. With females and children all over the place now, Saitou had not trusted himself much in the last twenty years. The connections were neglected, but still strong.
'Aoshi?' It was getting late in the morning. Perhaps the Dark One would have gone to ground already. But his fears were put at ease, for instantly he felt massive power flow though the connection and into his mind.
'Yes Saitou.' Aoshi's deep, very hypnotizing voice filled every cell of his body.
'Tokio is in much discomfort, I've discovered a rip in her soul. She worried for her brother for he is not answering her calls.' He had hardly finished the sentence when he felt Aoshi's power pull in another direction.
'Connect us.' Aoshi demanded. The Dark One was obviously a bit thrown by the idea of a female having a damaged soul. Saitou quickly merged his mind with the tormented one that was his lifemate. Her pain that was a twinge in the back of his mind roared to the front once again. He felt her fear, tasted it like some bitter drink in the back of his throat. He could hear the whispers of evil trying to pull her deeper into despair.
'Hey Aoshi.' Tokio's greeting was a whisper, and the bitterness in the back of Saitou's throat grew. He turned to lie on the bed with his lifemate in his arms and clutched her even tighter to him as Aoshi scanned her every cell. This shouldn't be happening, females shouldn't have damaged souls. He just found his lifemate, he refused to give her up now.
'Tokio, when have you felt not yourself.' Aoshi asked.
From the moment Saitou said the bonding words. 'Just at dawn.' Tokio stated. 'I thought it was just because the sun was rising and I was still awake and above ground. So I didn't think much of it.' She sounded lost, vulnerable. Both Saitou and Aoshi instinctively reached out to comfort her.
'And the pain?' Aoshi pulled back before Saitou had any opportunity to reestablish that Tokio was his and that he would comfort her.
'Not long ago, only a few minutes ago. The discomfort seemed to build a little at a time. I just thought it was because of the sun. Aoshi I think something may be wrong with Kenji!'
'Calm down, Tokio.' Aoshi demanded and in an instant Saitou felt her body go limp in his arms. Her heart rate slowed and her breathing became even. A few simple words, a single demand had Tokio bending to his will. Anger bubbled up but Saitou stomped it down the best he could. Tokio trusts Aoshi and besides, he was the Dark One. There wasn't a single person who couldn't do as Aoshi demanded.
The connection pulled further in the other direction, reaching out to a fourth party, then a fifth. But Aoshi always had firm hold on Saitou and Tokio, even as a sixth party was sought after. Saitou and Tokio couldn't hear anything these others were saying, they could only feel that some sort of link was being formed. Suddenly Aoshi rushed his full attention back to them.
"Kenji has a similar tear in his soul. He's confessed that he had removed himself completely from you Tokio, so that there is no connection whatsoever.' Aoshi stated with calmness.
'How is that possible?' She clutched Saitou tighter, as if he would suddenly float away.
'Your brother confessed that he felt it was not fair to him or to you to keep this intimate connection; one that you can't ever really close. I find this fascinating.' Aoshi confessed yet his voice or tone hardly changed from the stoic, hypnotic manor. 'He believes that if the two of you share blood, the connection will be reestablished, one that can be blocked or closed.'
Just like everyone else. Tokio knew that the link between her and her brother was as solid as if they were lifemates. Already Saitou's link with her was just as solid as Kenji's had been. But this was the way it was from before they were even born. Now to suddenly be missing this link, it was like suddenly having her limb removed.
'I understand there must be some trauma to your mind.' Aoshi confirmed her thoughts. And Saitou's grip on her became crushing as he held her against his chest. 'Saitou, I want you to put your mate to ground. The earth may soothe her somewhat and send her straight to Megumi when she wakes.'
Saitou nodded, knowing Aoshi would feel his agreement.
'Kenji is alive and well, Tokio, you don't have to worry about him. He is feeling the same pain, but it is something he will have to deal with over and over until he finds his lifemate. He was made to endure this torment and pain, you are not.'
Saitou gazed down at his lifemate as she appeared to be asleep in his arms. He felt her anguish for her brother. She didn't want him in such pain for so long.
'I will leave you now Saitou, the both of you need your rest.'
And with that Aoshi was gone. Saitou exhaled as if he had been holding his breath for that entire conversation… perhaps he did. He stood, with Tokio in his arms and commanded the stone floor and the earth underneath to heave upward. She kept her eyes closed, but their connection was as strong as it could be. She was tormented, as the rip in her soul allowed such pain and negativity to flow unchecked. It was like a hot poker stabbing her in the heart and sitting there to sear in the pain deeper before turning into cold numbness before starting all over again with each heartbeat. Saitou felt helpless, and he hated that. He would rather fix what was causing his mate this pain, rather than put her to ground and hope mother nature could soothe what he could not.
"It's alright Saitou. I know you're doing all you can." Tokio whispered from his arms.
"Hmph, now who's reading who's thoughts?" Saitou said not unkindly, but with a hint of ironic humor. He stepped into the hole, dropping eight feet down and landed softly on his feet. 'You scared me to death Tokio. But it's not your fault.' He stated as he gently set his lifemate on the dark earth.
'It's not Kenji's fault either. He was only doing as everyone was telling him. Giving me my privacy. I guess our souls were so close he had no choice but to rip them apart. I don't think he would have if he knew it was going to put a rip in my soul.'
'Shh, sweetheart, it is alright. I'm not mad at Kenji.'
Tokio's eyes popped open in surprise. "You're not?"
Saitou shook his head, letting his long bangs hang by his face. "No, more at myself. I didn't stop to think about how closely you two might be connected. I wouldn't have dared demand Kenji leave your mind if I knew what it was going to do to you. I'm a fool for not analyzing the situation properly. If I had, I might have noticed how impossible it was for you two to separate minds."
"It's alright Saitou, I'm not upset at you." Tokio said as she closed her eyes. Who could be upset? It was a mistake. Sure she could be mad at Saitou out of spite and she was sure she would have been pissed at him if this had happened a few hours ago, but after the talk with her father, Tokio knew she had a job to do. She had to heal Saitou. Now that she had this rip in her soul, she knew just what it felt like. Poor Saitou had so many rips, no wonder males were driven to end the pain and become a vampire. She didn't wait Saitou to be in anymore pain. To hear the nagging voices in the back of their minds. And it was no use making him feel worse than he already was by blaming it all on him.
Saitou bowed his head over his lifemate. How could she be so forgiving? He had caused something unthinkable to happen to her. The pain she was in was something females were never supposed to feel. He had failed as a protector, what's worse; he was the cause of all this mess. He curled his long body against Tokio's and wrapped his arms protectively around her, as if to keep anymore harm from coming to her. He would do what he could to set things right. Somehow. Ever so carefully, he went into her mind and commanded her breathing to slow and then stop, her heartbeat slowed before becoming silent. Then the wave of earth crashed back down upon them, incasing them in healing, nurturing soil. Saitou scanned his house for the safeguards before he commanded his own body to fall into the death-like sleep.
… . . …
Tokio curled tightly in the backseat of her little car. She felt terrible. Was this what humans felt like when they were "Under the weather?" her death-like sleep wasn't very death-like. She was haunted by nightmares. It was the first time in a long while that her death-like sleep was visited by any sort of dreams, much less nightmares. She hardly had any appetite when Saitou woke her when the sun set. Even though her body begged for blood and Saitou's body, all she could manage was a few swallows of his blood before she felt the pain of the rip again; and the voices, stupid voices always there to comment everything she did, said and thought.
Transportation had been another issue. Saitou wanted to fly straight to Megumi's but for some reason being off the ground caused the pain in Tokio to escalate into something terrible. So Saitou retrieved her car, wrapped her in a blanket and she gladly crashed in the back seat and let Saitou drive her the fifteen minutes to Sano's and Megumi's place. It felt like the drive lasted hours.
The car slowed and Saitou threw the car into park and turned around to his lifemate. "We're here, Sweetheart. How are you feeling?" He reached out and petted her sweat-damp hair from her face.
"Life sucks." Tokio muttered and was surprised to see Saitou smile at her candid comment.
"A lot of times, yes, it does." He said softly before climbing out of the car and holding the door open so she could crawl out from under the blanket and get out as well. She still had her strength; she just ached all over so her movements were slow and less graceful. Megumi stood at the doorway, looking anxious. Tokio grabbed Saitou by the cuff of his blue coat.
"Do you have to leave?" Tokio should have died from shock. She half expected Armageddon to start. She actually wanted Saitou to stick around. Though he had been nothing but gentle and kind now that she was ill, he was still…Saitou whom she despised hardly a day ago.
Saitou felt his heart break. His lifemate wanted him, needed him. But he knew that other than Aoshi, Megumi was the next safest hands he could deliver her to. He was a warrior not a healer and as such couldn't do much for her in this desperate situation. Slowly they walked up the stone pathway to Sano's home. "I am to go with your father and brother to hunt for what we believe is a new vampire. But if you wish, I'll stay with you."
The voices in her head snickered as Tokio fell silent at his side; Megumi waited not so patient looking. As much as Tokio wanted him there, he had a duty to perform to help protect them all, plus she was sure that whatever Megumi had in store with her this time was going to be as embarrassing as all the other visits. "No," she finally said. "I'll be okay. Don't kill Kenji alright; he hasn't gone on many hunting trips. And I'm sure he isn't feeling as peachy-keen right now as well."
"I'm sure." Was all he said, his face had long been set in the cold, narrow-eyed mask of his.
"Are you two going to stand there all night?" Megumi snapped. "Saitou if I'm not mistaken you have an appointment with Kenshin. And Tokio, you have an appointment with me." The woman reached out and all but snatched Tokio away from Saitou. "She'll be fine." Megumi called over her shoulder to Saitou as she marched Tokio through the front door and slamming it shut tight behind her.
Saitou stood there, glaring at the door in the darkness. Every fiber of his being shouted at him to keep his mate by his side. He couldn't be sure of her safety; he didn't want to trust her to anyone but himself. Yet he knew she would be fine with Megumi and Sano. The Carpathian growled low in his throat as he leveled his gaze at the door. All this wouldn't be as difficult if he could bed Tokio. That would seal their bonding, keeping all other males from forcing their own bonding upon her. Even though the idea was ridiculous, it was an instinctive nagging in the front of his mind. It would be one less thing to worry about when it came to his young mate. It wouldn't be as difficult to leave her alone.
Sighing, Saitou walked back to Tokio's car and made sure the keys were still in the ignition. He was sure she would stay with Sanosuke and Megumi until he came back for her. But if Megumi finished early and Tokio wished to go see her mother or go back to her new home, she could. Satisfied, Saitou vanished into a cloud of mist and flew off into the forest.
… . . …
Megumi's special exam room wasn't like most exam rooms. It was underground, so any healing Carpathian would be safe from the sun's forces. The lighting was not cold and harsh, it was warm and comforting. Candles burned, sending the scent of healing and calming herbs in the air and fresh flowers graced every corner. Tokio sat on the exam table, her legs swinging off the edge. Megumi stood next to her, her hand rested on Tokio's head and her eyes were closed. She could feel the healer flowing inside her body, looking at every cell in every corner of her body. With Megumi roaming around inside her body, the discomfort Tokio was feeling from the rip in her soul was soothed.
All too soon though, Megumi pulled out of Tokio's body and returned to her own. Her large educated eyes fluttered open.
"Well?" Tokio whispered.
"Something is definitely different about you Tokio. Different from when I looked at you last week." Megumi walked to an adjacent room and sat on a tall stool with wheels and rolled over to a desk that took up much of one side of the long room. No less than three computers sat on this desk. Tokio slid off the table and followed the healer into her lab. The young woman glanced at all the strange equipment that was in organized chaos in the long but narrow room.
"Like what?" she asked, one arm snaking around to hug herself just below her breasts. The ach was slowly returning along with the voices..
"Well, I'm not sure." Megumi said as her finger flew across the keys. The computer could hardly keep up as it flashed window after window, loading up information as fast as it could. "Much has happened to you in the last few days. You went from child, to an adult. You bonded with your lifemate and shared his blood." Megumi paused as a window on the computer started loading up a large amount of information, including images. "You have a rip in your soul due to a permanent separation from your twin." She took a small glass vial from her lab pocket. It was filled with the blood she had taken from Tokio the moment she sat in the exam room.
"All these things could be the reason why your body has so many tiny changes." She used a syringe to drop a few drops of blood on a glass slide and set the slide on a microscope. "I would be nice to know what was causing what changes, but with so much happening at once, it's difficult."
Tokio ducked her head slightly. She knew Megumi had been counting on her to try and solve the problem with Females not being able to get pregnant and why babies refused to thrive. She suddenly felt as if she let the healer down. "Sorry Megumi." So inconsiderate, years of work down the drain, useless girl. A voice snapped suddenly in the silence of her mind.
Megumi looked up from the delicate machinery. "It's not your fault Tokio." The woman smiled and Tokio was graced with her full beauty. "I know the men, as soon as they know you're their lifemate, nothing stops them." She turned back to the image on the computer that the microscope was projecting. "You and Saitou have yet to have sex right?"
"Uh,…No." Tokio felt heat rush to her face.
Megumi nodded. "Sorry, I know that's kinda personal. A lot personal actually."
"It's okay." Tokio muttered.
"Must be strange." Megumi continued. "You've known Saitou all your life and he ends up your lifemate. What are the odds?"
Tokio glanced away. The woman had no idea how strange it was. To suddenly be married to the man whose guts you've hated from the time you were a child. "No kidding." Tokio answered.
"You're ovaries seem to be normal, the same they were last week." Megumi suddenly dove back to the computer, pulling up Tokio's records and typing notes. "I want to examine you this time next week. And I want to see you as soon and you and Saitou complete your bond."
"Are you looking for some sort of pattern?" The young female perched herself on a second stool. Trying to ignore the idea of visiting Megumi directly after having Saitou bed her.
"I am. You see I've noticed something strange with our reproductive organs. They seem to slow down the older a female becomes. Tomoe had her fist miscarriage after being bonded with the Prince for twenty-five years. Her second came fifty-six years after the first. And her third came ninety-eight years after that. I've heard of similar patterns with other females around the world. There is more and more time between pregnancies. They seem to peak at three hundred and fifty years."
A pregnancy every three hundred and fifty years? No wonder their race is dying. More males are turning vampire then there are births every year. Tokio sighed softly to herself. "Does this mean no little brothers or sisters for me for a very long time?" She knew her mother and father had been trying desperately for more children right after she and her brother were born.
Megumi shook her head. "Hardly. Look at this." Megumi clicked on a new window. "The sixteen years I've been here, Tomoe has not ovulated once. Her ovaries never made an egg. But…Kaoru has ovulated every other month." Megumi used the mouse to point to the information on the computer. "I've ovulated every month for the first two years as a Carpathian, now it's every other month. You are ovulating every month and so is Itsuko. Now we are unsure if it's because of our age or the fact that your mother and I use to be human. But I am noticing as time goes on, our ovaries are slowing down. You and Itsuko's are showing no signs at all from the moment you hit puberty. You are as normal as any other healthy Human."
"But we're not human, and we were born Carpathian." Tokio was confused.
"Yes, so Aoshi and I believe that perhaps the link is with our mates. Aoshi and I have contacted many Carpathians from around the world and there is a very strong pattern. Most children are born in the first five hundred years of a couple bonding. Be they lifemates or not."
Tokio winced. Unbound females were bonded with males on the edge of turning vampire to save them. Due to the fact that Itsuko had yet to have a lifemate, Tokio secretly worried that they would send her to that fate. Maybe with Aoshi, although, Tokio figured Aoshi would refuse, respectfully.
"It drops dramatically after that. The strange thing is…" Megumi opened yet another window, "…it didn't use to be this way. Aoshi was the youngest of seven children, his siblings are anywhere from three hundred to five hundred years apart. Aoshi is the youngest, being born a thousand years after the Twins."
Ah the other set of male-female twins. The ones that saved their race from being eliminated almost a thousand years ago. Tokio thought about them often, even though Aoshi hardly spoke of them. She got most of her information from her father, who fought along side them…once.
"There seems to be something linked to us and the black plague." Megumi went on.
"The black plague? But we can't get sick." Tokio blinked out of her thoughts.
"Ah." Megumi held up a finger. "But that doesn't mean we don't get infected. It seems that our inability to carry children, and the struggle for our babies to live past the age of one never started until the early thirteen hundreds. The peak of the black plague. I think it may have caused a mutation in our species. I also believe that because Kaoru and I were human, we were not born with this mutation and therefore, should be easier for us to bear living, healthy babies."
"But Mom already had a miscarriage and Kenji was sickly as an infant."
"Yes but remember that your father Kenshin was born a Carpathian, and lived through the plague. He has the mutation. It very well may be why Kaoru's first pregnancy didn't last and why Kenji was a weak baby."
Tokio swallowed. She was a healthy baby. "Do I have this mutation?" Would her children have a chance? If she had any.
"I don't know. I have yet to discover this mutation. I don't know what exactly has mutated or if there is even a mutation to begin with. It's just a theory." Though she seemed sure that she was right. "It may also be why we bear only male children and rarely females."
"I thought the genes in the sperm of the male controlled what gender the child is." Tokio mused aloud.
"Yes!" Megumi was getting excited as Tokio seemed to understand.
"The mutation might very well be the sperm of the male. Those with the genes for females must have a mutation making implantation with the egg difficult, or they are not produced at all." Megumi sighed. "But I have yet to find any sort of mutation; although, I have noticed that the males produce more sperm with male genes than female, though the difference is hardly enough to have this gender issue."
Tokio glanced at the long lab room with its tables of equipment. "Uncle Sano spares no expense for this research huh?"
Megumi winced. "He's spent an obscene amount of money funding my research. I argued at first but he said he had nothing better to spend it on, and it would take hundreds of years of such spending before he started to run out."
"I hope we find an answer. I feel like you're on the right path." The female gut instinct that they possessed told her so.
"Excuse me." Said a dark voice behind them. Megumi and Tokio swiveled on their stools to face the doorway. Standing there, taking up most all the doorway was Aoshi. His beautifully cruel face gazed down at the females. Tokio felt both safe and in danger at the same time. "I've come to examine you personally Tokio." His voice flowed almost tangibly around her.
Tokio stood, almost without thinking about it and Aoshi stepped aside so that she could walk out of the lab. "More tests?" she asked as she climbed back on the exam table.
"Just one, I want to take a look at the rip in your soul." Aoshi said as he placed both hands on her body. One hand rested on her head, the other over her heart.
Tokio instantly went calm, as if she was unplugged from the rest of her body. She went limp and Aoshi slowly guided her to lie against the table without removing his hands from the important contacts. It was strange to have no control over her body, she felt almost detached. Aoshi flowing into her body was like a wave of warm water rushing into every corner of her being. Aoshi's hard eyes became distant but no less intense, his face, as always was set in a flat, emotionless state. She knew the moment he touched the rip in her soul. It stung like an opened wound and she mentally pulled back from his touch.
Time had no meaning anymore. Seconds stretched on like hours, minutes flew by in the blink of an eye. Slowly the discomfort and pain eased and was tucked back into the corner of her mind where she could better ignore it. The voices grew distant, to were she had to strain to hear them. Slowly Aoshi backed out of her body, giving her more and more control of herself as he did so. "How did it go?" She asked when she could finally move her lips again.
Aoshi removed his hands and helped her to sit up again. "The rip in your soul can not be repaired, however I was able to soothe the tear and found a better place in your mind to lock the pain away. I hope it helps."
Tokio nodded softly, her eyes dropping to her hands in her lap. The silence in her mind was both welcomed and disturbing. She could only wonder how her brother could endure it. "What about Kenji, is he alright?"
"Kenji is a male, this is the first of many rips he will have in his soul. His body and mind is better able to cope with the pain and the discomfort. He is doing fine."
Tokio smiled despite the moisture shimmering in her eyes. "I'm glad that he's doing better. But I feel….this dread."
Aoshi blinked, his cold stare disrupted for a nanosecond. "You do not want him to acquire any more rips in his soul?" When Tokio nodded he continued, tucking his hands behind is back and stepping away from the exam table. "In this day and age, with travel being as easy as it is, Kenji may find is lifemate much sooner than ever before possible. If she is alive, it may take only a few decades. Not the hundreds of years as it had been. If she has not yet been born, the young fledgling may have to wait a bit longer. But as long as you have hope for him, he will be fine."
Tokio smiled. "Thank you Aoshi." She stole a glance at his terrifyingly large and dark form. Did anyone hold any hope for Aoshi? He was over a thousand years old. Far older than most every unattached Carpathian Male. Where was his lifemate? Aoshi had traveled the world many times over. He had been to nearly ever corner and nook of this world. Her father had told her that he finally settled back in Japan a few hundred years ago. He believed his male instinct i telling him to stay put. His lifemate must be around somewhere, or soon would be. Tokio as well as the others in their group hoped so. For Aoshi had so many rips in his soul, he hardly possessed a soul at all.
"Tokio I'm done with the tests, Saitou left your car so you can see your family if you wish." Megumi interrupted her thoughts. Tokio glanced around Saitou and found the older woman tucked under Sanosuke's arm. Of course uncle Sanosuke would show up in the exam room if Aoshi was here. He couldn't help his nature to protect the females when there was an unattached and very deadly male with them. She glanced up at Aoshi in silent question.
"I see no reason for you to not leave." Aoshi started, his eyes hardly flickering in her direction. "Perhaps working on your creativity will help soothe you." He spoke to her like she was a precious child, his voice was soft, caring but his face was still that flat mask that disturbed everyone. "You're father's home is not very far from here, make sure you head straight there."
Tokio ducked her head very slightly. "Yes sir." Aoshi seemed satisfied enough, for he bowed his head low to Tokio and then to Megumi before taking his leave of the exam room. Sano followed to give the females privacy.
"You're not going to go straight to your parent's house are you?" Megumi said with a fox like smile that caught the young female off guard.
Tokio shook her head, she needed to think, to get away from the world for a little while. And working on her jewelry, was not going to cut it. "No…I don't think so."
A/n I think Tokio is gonna be in a bit of trouble if she won't do as she's told, eh? And yet, where's the fun in doing what you're told...right?
Note: I'm working on Endure my Love (Aoshi's story) and it's comming along alright. Looks like it's going to be a M rated story. Egads. I'm also working on two more Kenshin stories that I will be posting as soon as I get a good amount typed up. At least a few chapters.
Anyways, thanks for reading...reviews are loved.
