The Illusion of Normal

Part 11: Lost Destination

Kenshin dug around the house, everything was flooding back to him, he made it back to the Kamiya dojo, he was shaking in fury, he was lied to. He knew he was lied to, that Nagi's existence was something that he could not explain. He walked into the dojo, he turned to find that the gates closed behind him, he was being drawn into the house, that was when he saw a boy sitting in the dojo, his eyes closed, then he smiled a little. "Hello, To-san," the boy's eyes opened to a sliver of yellow. "Hmm…your memories are returning, how nice."

"NAGI!" Kenshin yelled, he was turning around, this was something else, he turned to see that the boy shared his face, his eyes, everything about him, but Naoe Nagi was not normal. He was shaking his head. "You were stolen from your mother and I, you were taken from…"

"Oh I know that," Nagi glared, his eyes were dark, he got up and smiled. "I have a game to play with Omi, but you are going to have to realize this game we play is just a game. I took care of Malik," pushing the vampire staked down in front of his father's feet. "I didn't quite get it all the way through his chest, but I'm not a perfectionist. I suppose I'm not truly the son of the Hitokiri Battosai."

"How could you do this?" Kenshin knelt down, his eyes closing. "Please stop all this, you'll go insane."

"Insane? I've been insane all my life, crying for my father who never could come because he was afraid of being what he was born to be," the boy glared. "I had to live with this monster, I had to learn to drink blood and learned all the things that he taught me. I'm just as much a monster as he is…you lost me, To-san, you lost me along time ago, only hope for me is death."

"If death is what you wish, this one will not bring it, you are still my child," Kenshin was glaring at him. Let it out, something pulled at his mind, he felt it, he felt the claws in his mind digging. Time to teach that child a lesson, let me out, you damn Rurouni! He held his head, he turned his head and saw the vampire who was staked, he was looking up shocked.

"Kenshin…what…" he was mumbling painfully.

Let me OUT! In minutes, Kenshin felt something push aside his control, it was dark, it had red eyes, it was growling. "Himura Nagi!" he saw Nagi turn to look at him, that was he fell back, his powers building up a shield, then suddenly without warning Kenshin grabbed him.

"To-san…no…Hitokiri…I," within minutes the boy was shaking and crying out, "To-san, wake up, wake up!"

Nagi saw someone rush in, he didn't feel anything for a moment, he felt someone holding him. "Kenshin come out of it," he heard a rough voice. "Listen to me!"

In minutes Kenshin was lying on the floor, his eyes closed, his head under his right sleeve, he was breathing. "Get blood, we have to get him to drink before that comes back," the voice of the man was rougher still, running away, a boy was rushing.

"Ni-san…oni-san," Nagi gazed up in shock, he was shaking his head, as if every lie he was ever told about his father and brother were not true.

"Now he calls me what he should," Kenji walked in, he was holding two bottles, one was brought to his father's lips and the other was brought to Nagi's. He held his brother in his lap trying to force the blood into his mouth and shook his head. "You really are stupid!"

Malik? Nagi looked around the dojo practice room, he was shaking. "Where is he?"

"Gone," the older vampire glared down at him. "For a grandson, you truly are not what I expected, you resemble your father at such a young age."

Nagi wanted the illusion back, he stared away, his eyes were glassy. "I…"

The vampire, Hiko pulled him up and glared at him. "Now why don't you tell us what you attempted to do to your father before I decide to rip all that hair out of your head?"

A moment of hestitation and then Kenshin rushed forward and pulled Nagi behind him, almost like his father was hiding him from the world. "Don't touch him, he's scared enough, after all the things Maliku-san did," Kenshin's voice was shaking, he was shivering and more out of anger.

Nagi suddenly went cold, his eyes were wide, this was all a plan, he turned and looked up and around. "No…no…get away from me!" He pushed with his power pushing Kenshin into a wall and then he was running, he could feel his legs. "He's going to kill them like he killed Tot-san, he's going to punish me," he was shaking, he went against the gate, he felt someone touching his shoulder, he was aware that Kenshin was not going to leave simply because he told him to not do something.

"No one will punish you anymore, otouto-san," he heard Kenji's voice, he touched his brother's face rubbing away the tears. "No one will ever do that again, you're finally back where…"

"Back? I am not supposed to exist!" Nagi yelled, his eyes a dark red, he was trembling. "I only did what I was told because all I want is to die without hurting anymore people. Malik will….oh…I have to get back to the gallery, the show will…" He fainted, he felt nothing after that.

Malik grabbed the body and laughed a little. "You think I would give back my prize so easily, that little idiot couldn't hold his tongue anymore now could he?"

"NAGI!" Kenshin wanted to rush after, but he was being held, Hiko glared at him. "Hiko-sensei…To-san?"

"Give back what you stole!" Hiko jumped up, his eyes just as golden. "I know you Malik! You challenged me before."

"Oh yes, I did what was it 1940, I remember fires all around us, it was thrilling, I was just a…." the vampire laughed and started to give Kenshin a smile. "I remember, I almost stole you again, then I could have just killed this brat."

Hiko drew his katana, but Malik was laughing running off. "Coward, always was, he always relied too much on his powers. Kenshin…" he caught Kenshin before he fell forward. "Too much excitement for him."

"Is To-san so fragile?" Kenji asked in shock.

"Kenshin is an Empath, he can sense everyone's emotions around him, when it starts to affect his mind, he cannot focus. The Hitokiri Battosai was always a coping mechanism so to speak, he could handle it for so long then the shield cracked and would start to crumble. Kaoru-san was the only one who could keep him from totally losing himself. Now it is Callesto-san who holds that power, and she's a living Empath. We desperately need her because each moment that Kenshin uses his powers, the closer he is to going insane."

Malik threw Nagi into his room, he let the boy land on his back and there was faint coughing. "Little traitor!" he kicked the boy hard and then walked off, he slammed the door, unaware that someone else was in the room, he didn't realize that Schuldich had hid himself pretty much in the closet.

Coming out, the German assassin reached down to pick up Nagi, he knew that illusion pretty well, he had broken it at times, he reached up to touch Kenshin's look alike and gave a sigh. "You really lost it out there didn't you?" He let his hand go to the hair and then felt Nagi's hand on his. "Nagi, I can't give you blood this time, you know that."

"Yes, but you came why?" Nagi shook his head knowing none of the reasons why Schuldich ever gave so much of a care.

"Because you have to have someone to care for you," the German sighed and looked angry. "You have no idea what is feels like to have someone who truly cares for you, do you?"

The boy's eyes darkened a little. "Why? I'm not supposed to…"

"You exist because you are made to exist," Schuldich glared at him. "You are made to exist because someone loved your father enough to bring you into this world, whether human or vampire, doesn't matter, now does it?"

It was that fact that caused Nagi to tremble. "It's a fact you're going to have to get used to!" The German assassin glared at him. "I saw you in Berlin when I was a boy, remember, I followed you could tell I was a telepath, you quieted my mind, Nagi, come on. Don't you think it's time I returned the favor, and do the fighting that Malik makes you do. I hate what the guy does to you!"

"We have a show to put on tonight, is Aya awakening yet?" whispered Nagi.

"Yeah, she's almost aware, but is sleeping, we kept her hidden enough. Her stunt double is doing her part too, I had to make sure she didn't know what was going on," Schuldich sighed. "Truthfully I will be glad that Malik and those fools will be gone, the Nazis are things of the past we cannot allow to exist anymore."

"Don't say that right now," Nagi whispered.

It was truly a dangerous game that he and Schuldich were playing, at first it was just the idea of escape that the German would play at, he would be fifteen and smiling at the very notion that Eszette and Rozen Kreuz wouldn't dare go against a vampire like Nagi, but he had no idea who Malik was. He knew that it was simply a vampire who was the reason for all the misery that his friend endured over the years.

Walking to the door, Nagi looked out, his eyes narrowing a little. "It's almost time," he put on a suit and tie, he let his illusion return, the dark hair and eyes, he looked nothing like his original version, he leaned on the door. "Nagi, when it all over, let's escape from this, let's go to Paris, Berlin, Rome, let's go to all the places we talked about," Schuldich smiled at him, always being the optimist. "Let's take Farfarello, he would love Berlin or better the heart of art itself!"

Yes, let's escape, let's do that together, you aren't going to live forever like myself, Schuldich and I will never turn you into a vampire, Nagi thought this and smiled, he knew his thoughts were shielded and the German assassin would not know what he was thinking. He let his eyes brighten, all the times Schuldich spoke of a bright and happy future, where pain was something of the past.

I wonder if I was raised by To-san, that he would speak to me, treat me like a child, or even love me, Nagi walked ahead and turned as Malik appeared. "And you have your plans."

Malik laughed a little and slapped the boy. "You defied me for the last time. Remember the plan!" He was leaving as the boy was shaking a little. "My goal is to have your father."

"And what of me?" Nagi tried to ask.

"Oh…death."

"HE MEANS TO KILL MY SON!" Kenshin woke screaming, he could feel Ran's hands on his shoulders, he was shaking. "My…Nagi! Callesto-dono!"

Ran did not listen to him, there was a look at Omi who nodded. "We can't take him on the mission, but we can't leave him alone. We're at a cross roads."

Ran nodded and let his eyes down, he walked into the darkened room and whispered. "The mission is about to begin."

Ancestor pull yourself together, we need you, Ran was shaking his head and walked away, it was almost a shaking feeling as he help Kenshin to stand. They were walking down the hall, it was only then that the feeling returned, looking up, Yohji was talking again. "We have to enter thought the dark hatch here, but seriously, only Omiitchi and er…Kenshin are big enough to fit. We're too big," he spoke up and pointed out a way to enter.

"Why would we enter here?" Ken glared at Yohji who was holding a map.

"Actually Omitich and Kenshin will enter there, because they are smaller than any of us," Yohji walked ahead of and sighed.

Kenshin blinked, he looked in a mirror and then saw Omi smiling. "Are you sure?"

This trip to the gallery, which was off on the side of a bay, Kenshin hated riding cars, truthfully, he didn't mind buses, but a car, it gave him a headache. He walked out from Yohji's car and looked out at the gallery. "This is where it is?" Kenshin asked.

Something was different about him, he let his eyes narrow a little. This is it, we are going in, he thought and then looked up. I'm not going to let anyone hurt Callesto-dono or myself, or even my son. He let his right hand rest on the hilt of Sakabato, he was not going to stop this fight. I'm not the Hitokiri Battosai, I'm just…he stopped thinking as he saw Ran get out of the car.

"Aya-kun," Omi blinked holding his gear. "We are ready."

"All right, we are ready to start the operation," Ken nodded, and looked at Kenshin as he fixed a small walkie-talkie. He nodded, "Don't worry, you might not need to use this. Omi is good about getting things done."

This is going to be interesting, Kenshin thought about his missions fighting against the enemies of the Choshu clans and back during the Bakumatsu, but this is different to him because of the time. He walked up to Omi who was setting his own walkie-talkie up. "Testing, Kenshin-kun, you hear me, press the button to talk."

Button? Kenshin touched it, "This one hears it."

"Good," Omi nodded. "We're ready!"

Ran and Ken nodded, they were teamed together, while Yohji was going to be acting alone, he walked a few feet away and smiled. "Let's get this operation ready."

Omi and Kenshin made it to the duct that was hidden inside part of the forest, crawling through it, it felt like going through an endless tunnel. They made it to the roof of the gallery, then Omi pried open one of the other ducts and they made it through to what appeared to be an store room. "Be careful, Omi…." Kenshin blinked looking at the boy who suddenly tripped, that was when an alarm went off.

"ORO?" Kenshin jumped onto a box, his eyes wide, using the fact that vampires had natural night vision, he looked around and saw Omi on the floor. "Mamoru!"

"I'm fine, let's get out of this place" the boy nodded, his vampire nature was showing a little, they made it to another hall, using his darts to knock out the guards.

"They're still alive?" Kenshin blinked as the boy nodded.

"Hai! They're not the targets," Omi blinked. "I only use these darts to knock out these people, they're following orders, have no clue what is really going on." He was running down the hall, then suddenly lost sight of Kenshin who was blinking. "Kenshin-kun?"

Kenshin was running down a hall, then stopped, he was smelling something, his eyes were wide, he also could also feel something. He rushed down the hall. "Wait, Kenshin-kun! You have to stay on the…." Omi was gasping but had to be called back to his mission.

"Callesto-dono!" Running down the hall, he stopped, he found he was in a gallery, then realized it was filled with paintings, but also photographs. He was looking at the images of himself, he turned around and looked rather shyly around. "Callesto-dono! Where are you?"

I can't sense her emotions, Kenshin reminded himself, he was walking into a trap, he knew this as he walked into a gallery. What shocked him was the images hanging around him, he saw that he was not alone. "Truly beautiful," he saw Malik laughing and pointing at each painting, his eyes were glowing. "You are truly a beautiful creature, even with a power as rare as you have. I can see your father isn't trying to hide you."

"You will give Callesto-dono back!" Kenshin growled, something though was familiar about this, Malik laughed and suddenly his form changed to someone he knew. "You!"

"Oh, yes….we fought, then again you stabbed me. You were a young pup, but you had fangs," the vampire laughed, he returned to his original form. "That Tomoe knew what you were going to turn into, she seemed so wanting to hide you."

"She had her reasons, as did Kaoru-dono," Kenshin glared, his eyes turning yellow. "I remember a lot of things you stole from my mind, especially a child."

There was a faint smile on the creatures face, in moments Kenshin wanted to attack, but something was holding him back. He was starting to think something else was happening around the gallery, he saw Callesto was watching him from a distance, she was hiding. "Kenshin, please you have to get out of here!" she was looking almost frightened.

"It's a little late for that," Malik pulled her behind him, he laughed a little, his eyes a dark red. "We are after all, the only two vampires here, well, the others are fighting their little war against Eszette, they have no idea how this will go."

We are dangerous, Kenshin thought, and it isn't right for Callesto-dono to be near me, he pulled his sakabato out and glared. "I do not wish to harm anyone." He had no idea how he was going to keep her safe. He was aware that he was not alone in his thoughts, he could hear thoughts echoing in his mind. If it is a fight he wants, it's a fight he gets, this is family fight, and I don't plan on ever letting you face this alone, turning his head, he saw his teacher walking forward.

"Hiko-sensei, I…" Kenshin heard him, and then stammered a little.

"You will never learn," Hiko walked ahead of him, his eyes turning a dark red. "I loved your mother, Kenshin with all my heart. And I'm not about to let some vampire who has no claim to our heritage have you or hurt you again!"

Malik snarled, and without warning all the illusions melted away, this vampire had dark brown hair, he was very much Japanese. "What is your name, your real name?" Kenshin gasped.

"Oh his name is Sakamoto Reiji," someone else answered, soon enough Nagi walked up, his hair was as red as Kenshin's, his eyes as dark a purple, he looked almost like his father, more so than Kenji or even Rei. "It is his power to be the illusionist. He's from an illusionist vampire family, who was dishonored by the Seijiro clan."

Reiji glared, his hands were shaking, he was found out, he could not hide in the illusion. "Oh yes, and it was I who killed Rei, your daughter, stole your son, Nagi on his way to learn the violin. Your son who proved to be stronger," he mocked, then was pushed against a wall, he didn not move as Hiko drew out his katana. "What do you plan to do? You never show violence to your son, I always wondered why?"

Hiko growled, his eyes burning brightly. "And why do you think that?"

The vampire laughed finally, his eyes still showing such hatred. "I wanted to punish him for existing, you never loved anyone, Hiko, yet you loved a human and this is the result. A red haired child who was born to kill us all, you know what the Himura clan were, didn't you?"

Hiko pushed the vampire again into the wall, there was dark feeling creeping over him. "I loved his mother, and I sought hard to protect him from the truth. Every minute I look at Kenshin, I know very well, what his family was capable of doing. The crimes of his mother's family are not his crimes to carry."

"His mother's family murdered our families, left us orphaned, yet you, you who mastered a vampire slayers killing skills, you who killed our families, for what reason?" Reiji hissed and then smiled. "Of course Himura Kenshin is nothing compared to the murderers of our people."

Kenshin gasped, he fell back, he felt someone picking him up, he looked up to see Callesto who was staring. "Hiko-sensei, I…don't understand."

"You aren't meant to," Hiko took his katana and stabbed Reiji, dropping him to the ground, his eyes closed. "I'm not killing you, Reiji, this is just a wound, you will heal of course, but if you touch Kenshin or much less my grandchildren, I will rip you shreds, and don't think I won't." With a growl, Hiko pushed Kenshin away.

Running, that was the first thing he thought about, Kenshin could feel his feet moving, he was aware of holding onto Callesto's hand, his eyes were wide. "The building, its shaking," he was gasping and then turned to see who was running behind him, Nagi was gone. "Where did…"

"He went to finish his fight with Omi," Callesto told him and they were soon to a tunnel. "Kenshin, please understand that we are…"

"I can't understand everything, it is confusing to me," he let his eyes down. "You knew, you knew I was born a vampire didn't you?"

"Not until Nagi told me the truth, Kenshin, I would have told you if I knew," she whispered and looked nervously around the tunnel. "There is an escape route that Bradley told me about, it leads to some boats."

Sure enough there it was, a dock, pulling himself into a small boat, Kenshin could still feel the emotions of the people fleeing. "Kenshin, focus on me, we have to get out of here," Callesto's voice was pushing him onward, toward the escape.

As they came to the land the entire building was submerging. "RAN!" Kenshin wanted to run back. "Mamoru!"