Chapter Seventy-Six

Despite the imminent threat of danger, Yuna had enjoyed her trip outside of the palace. So much so, that the closer they drew to the building she was meant to return from, the heavier the rock that had settled into her stomach felt. Walking next to her, his longer stride naturally shortening to accommodate her smaller gait, the man she now knew as Enishi escorted her. A serious frown marred the lines between his eyebrows, and his beautiful emerald-green eyes suspiciously kept track of their surroundings to ensure they were not being followed. Again, he walked on the roadside of the sidewalk, and the unconsciously protective move tickled her heart. He had been properly taught how to be a gentleman, but the actions were not emphasized or put on display, which made them feel much more genuine.

"You're sure this is the building?"

Honey-brown eyes glanced up and then followed his gaze to the building in question. A soft intake of air lifted her chest, and she nodded.

"Yes. That's it."

"Alright. Let's head in. Hopefully we'll be able to get back to the roof, like you said."

Getting to the top floor was surprisingly easier than either thought it would be, but once they rounded the corner into the stairwell to the roof, they ran into the same security guard she had put to sleep upon her initial arrival. His eyes widened upon seeing her, and his mouth opened in shocked indignation.

"You!"

Startled, this time because she had someone accompanying her, Yuna waved her hand and the security guard once more slumped forward into unconsciousness.

"What the…?" Enishi lunged forward to catch the man before he could fall face-first down the stairs. Hefting his weight, he glanced at her, and she smiled slightly sheepishly. A soft chuckle pulled at his lungs, and he leaned the guard carefully against the wall on the landing. "You're full of surprises, Princess."

"Not really." Following him the remaining way up the staircase, Yuna stared at his strong back. Her voice was soft and reasonable. "Compared to my sisters, I am rather boring."

"Your sisters must be quite impressive if they make you seem boring."

He glanced over his shoulder at her, and she smiled politely at his quip. On the roof, sunlight flooded the open space, and they both squinted against the weak winter rays. The chill in the air was stronger now that they were higher up, but Yuna barely felt the cold.

"There's an updraft over here." She led him to one corner, and then turned to face him. Looking him slowly up and down, she resolved to commit him to memory. After all, it was likely they would never meet again. Bowing gracefully, she clasped her hands together formally and smiled in her quiet, ladylike way. "Thank you for escorting me, Enishi-san. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah, same." His arms crossed, and he cocked his head to one side with a laugh. "If you're ever back in town, you should give me a call. I'll show you around until you're a little more familiar with the layout."

Ever-so-gently, her features brightened. "You would do that?"

"Sure."

A frown tarnished her rising delight. "Thank you, but… that probably won't be possible."

"Why not?" The deep rumble of his voice was slightly angry. "If you think you're going to be locked up, then don't go back."

Small shoulders lifted, and she unexpectedly laughed. "Oh no, I only meant… I don't have a phone. We're not allowed to have one." His anger on her behalf was pleasing, and she smiled happily. "But I could remember your number, if you wanted to give it to me."

Since it would be dangerous to write it down, just in case her father found it, Yuna vowed to memorize the number he gave to her. Repeating it multiple times, and then chanting it over and over in her mind, she finally stepped back into the updraft to leave. Pausing for one last look, her smile softened with an audible sigh.

"You really are just my type."

Startled by the declaration, Enishi maintained his frowning expression but shifted his weight.

"What type?" Due to the cold in the air, he couldn't tell that his ears had darkened along with the back of his neck. The cavernous drawl of his voice was slightly higher than normal.

Giggling, and modestly covering her mouth, Yuna drifted into her true form.

"Forgive me, for saying that aloud!"

Her intangible form feathered his stone-colored hair before disappearing with the updraft, and he stared for longer than necessary up at the floating Sky Palace hanging high above the city. Despite her strength in hiding her anxiety and the playful words meant to distract from their situation, Enishi felt ill at ease. Though he did not know her well, he worried that letting her go back had been the wrong thing to do.

X

Downcast eyes of purest coal black stayed fixed upon the sidewalk approximately three feet in front of her as she walked in unhurried composure. Her pupils, hardly noticeable within the density of her irises, never moved, but she observed everything around her. The ebb and flow of those walking with or towards her, the cars rolling down the street to her left, the doors of each shop that opened to allow a patron in or back out into the wild world of demons. No one took notice of her, but she was not the type of demon that demanded or attracted attention. She was only a coal demon with barely enough power of her own to assume a human form.

No one but her father now knew that the form she had chosen mimicked that of her mother's human form, almost perfectly. At first, she had done so to make her father happy during a time when he had nearly allowed his grief to swallow him. Seeing her, even now, made him smile. It was a gentle, pained smile, but his old leathery hands would hold warmly onto her own and his eyes would shine with pride as he told her, for the millionth time, that she looked so much like her mother. Later, she had maintained the look of her human form so that her brother might know their mother, in some small way. After practically raising him, however, she had never found the heart to tell him that she had done so on purpose.

Tomoe wasn't special. She wasn't strong or powerful. Her beauty wasn't even her own. That didn't matter to her. What mattered to her were those that she loved. What mattered was keeping them safe. Tomoe loved caring for those around her. It was what she wanted to do, and she was not one to let others sway her from her chosen path. Not her loved ones… and certainly not by the threat of some cocky shadow demon.

Ever so slightly, her chin tipped upward and her eyes lifted to glance at the man that had appeared next to her. He walked with her as if he had always been there, and his lips smiled in that same fake way as before. There was no derision in his smile nor genuine pleasure. It was an empty expression made by someone that knew little of true emotions.

"Hello, my little informant. Are you ready to earn your keep?"

"Have I not already?"

Though it had only been a short time since Tomoe had become ensnared by him, it had taken little for Sojiro to obtain all the information that he had wanted from her. As she had only recently learned, trading messages or meeting in person were not necessary actions as his mole. Instead, it was the curse he had placed upon her that allowed him direct contact with her. Already she had withstood his intense and thorough questioning, and it still made her nauseous to think about it. There was something sickening and intimate about having his voice in her head, but worst of all, something inescapable. She was trapped now, but her goal wasn't necessarily escape.

It had worried her, however, when he had contacted her to 'request' they meet. Already, she had been forced to tell him that Kaoru was no longer at the lab, and that she more than likely would not be coming back. That meant Tomoe was no longer useful to him. It also meant that meeting him in person wasn't safe. If she was not useful, then his next logical move was to dispose of her right away.

I know nothing of his plans. I have no leverage or card to play against him. I don't even know where his hideout is yet.

In an attempt to buy some more time to figure out a plan, she had tried to argue that the others might find it suspicious if she were gone. His eerily accurate response to her had been unsettling.

"Do not worry, Tomoe-san. You're still useful to me."

Lowering her eyes back to the sidewalk, Tomoe hid behind her well-honed composure.

I need to play along with him for as long as I can. The longer he believes I am useful to him, the more I can learn about what he has planned for Kaoru. Knowledge will be my power in this.

"You've been very helpful, Tomoe-san. But now that Kaoru-chan is no longer at the lab, I have something special that you can do for me."

Folding her hands in front of her, she blinked unhurriedly.

"And what can I do for you?"

Sojiro's smile never changed, but his closed eyes were slightly sinister as he appeared to stare at her through his lowered lids.

"You know now how Kaoru died, yes?" His elbow lifted out towards her in offering. "Would you like to see where she died? You will find it most fascinating."

Hesitantly, Tomoe hooked her fingers around the sharp angle of his elbow, half-expecting to be spirited away into the darkness of his power. Instead, she gasped when he turned sharply off the sidewalk they had been traversing and led her into a nearby alleyway. As if he had planned everything down to the very last second.

The moment they entered that alleyway, her reluctant admiration of his carefully designed route vanished in an instant. There was something wrong about the aura they had stepped into, and it crawled over her skin like thousands of tiny legs. The cold air of winter became chill in a foreign way. It was not cold, but merely absent of warmth. More accurately, it was empty of life. After a glance around, she realized the alleyway was much larger than what would be normal, as if even the buildings were reluctant to be any closer to what had stained the space between them. Deep inside of her, her heart began to race and her mind urged her to run, to flee, to escape. She was not meant to be there, no one living was meant to be there, and she should not stay.

Despite the unwelcoming feeling, nothing appeared visually out of the ordinary about the alleyway itself, besides its unnatural size. With increasing reluctance, Tomoe followed her shadow demon escort deeper into the alley's embrace, and her fingers unwillingly tightened like a vice into his skin. He showed no pain, however, and appeared fascinated by her reaction.

"Wonderful, isn't it?"

Dark irises darted a look at his still closed eyes, and her expression spoke of horror in the face of his excitement. His flickering form appeared almost solid in the shade of the alleyway. Stilling her chattering teeth, she pulled a long slow breath in through her nose. Centuries of working with Megumi had drilled into her that understanding came before emotional responses. Sojiro had claimed that this was where Kaoru had died, but statistically it was likely that many others throughout history had died near that very same spot. Why was her death different from anyone else's?

"…Why," a thick swallow fought against bile and the anxious tremble of her stomach, "is it like this?"

Sojiro's elbow pulled from her fingers, and his hands instead grasped her by both shoulders to force her into facing him. He was truly excited now. It was not a fake excitement, either. It was, however, a disturbing, twisted sort of eagerness that frightened her. Before she could react, one of his hands drew back, level with his chest, and then thrust towards her so violently that she jumped. Luckily it was only an empty fist that struck her sternum and briefly froze her diaphragm.

"Because Kaoru-chan was killed by the Kagu-tsuchi; a blade with power over both life and death."

Tomoe's jaw clenched. This was not a detail she had passed along to him in her report. Her brief explanation of Kaoru's death to him through the link had included only that Kenshin had been responsible and that it had clearly been an accident. Kenshin's reaction to Megumi's reference of the Kagu-tsuchi had been enough to inform Tomoe that it was not a thing to be lightly discussed. Tomoe knew nothing of the Kagu-tsuchi or its importance, but Sojiro's knowledge of it implied that it meant something to him.

"P-power how?"

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"No one knows. Except perhaps Himura. He is its vessel, after all." With his hand still pressed into her chest, he tilted his head to one side to look around her shoulder at something only he could see. "Did you know, the little human prince Himura-san meant to kill that day only died because he was consumed by the resultant flames? Kaoru-chan took the full brunt of the sword. The blade never touched its intended target." He leaned back so that he was standing straight before her once again. His smile showed teeth in the wrong imitation of emotion for his chosen topic. "Not for lack of trying, though. You see…" His hands returned to grasp her shoulders, and he twisted her so that she was facing away from him this time. "The Kagu-tsuchi did not exit Kaoru's body. At least, not into the living plane."

The unnatural stillness of the alley stretched before her, and she saw nothing with her eyes. Her mind, however, conjured the imagine of that young human boy she had seen through Kaoru's memories and the scream of agony she had heard as he had died. Fighting back the horrifying image, she realized that Sojiro's words were too descriptive of a scene no one else should have had knowledge of.

"How… do you know that?" Her careful question was soft, because she already expected his answer.

"Because I was there, of course." The shadow demon stepped around her to walk deeper into the bone-chilling alleyway, and she watched him warily. His voice was falsetto and unconvincingly pleasant.

So that's how he got Kaoru's DNA, and why her parents never found out she had died. He took whatever part of her was left.

"I followed him here that day. I thought I might kill the son of the man who had killed my master." Slowly his head tilted almost all the way into his shoulder, like the muscles in his neck had snapped. "That is the thing you're supposed to do for revenge, correct? I felt no great need, of course, and was more than willing to wait for him to exact his own, admittedly misguided, revenge. But then the unexpected happened." At a specific distance into the alleyway, Sojiro seemed to walk around something that wasn't there. His face remained turned towards whatever that something was, at some point slightly lower than his chin. Though his eyes were still closed, he again appeared to see without needing to look. "A perfect storm of happenstance… and the creation of this."

Both of his hands lifted to cup around that invisible point in the air, and Tomoe couldn't be sure if her vision wavered or the world did. The harder she focused, the more she thought she saw something shimmering above his bowled fingers. It was nothing more than a thin line, barely three inches long, and devoid of color.

"The sword never exited Kaoru's body. It cut its way through her soul and exited into Death's Veil. It tore a hole in reality, right here. Right in this very spot. I knew then that I had to revive her. I had to have the soul of the human that had acted as a doorway to Death's domain."

Long, thin fingers abruptly plunged into the thin line that Tomoe could just see and then fought to spread it apart, like a beast tearing at flesh. The sudden transition into violence by the shadow demon startled her, and she stepped away as the abnormal sensations within the alleyway tripled in intensity. Roaring noise filled her ears and a burst of pressure slammed into hard enough to throw her to the ground. The noise was intangible, more the absence of sound, but it was so loud that she could barely hear anything else.

"Isn't it wonderful?!" His shout sounded like that of a madman, and his laughter echoed off the high walls of the buildings surrounding them. Unable to withstand the instincts screaming inside of her, Tomoe scrambled to her feet to run away. She shouldn't be there. No one living should be there.

Four steps from freedom, a second presence dropped from above and cut off her desperate escape. Slamming into his chest, Tomoe yelped in surprise of this new demon's abrupt appearance, and at first saw nothing but a face-full of dark clothing. In direct contrast to the dead chill behind her, what now stood before her was nearly blistering with heat. Instantly, her body soaked in that heat and the old wound across her chest twinged with pain. No hands had caught her to help her up, or even grabbed her to keep her from running, and she was left to push herself away with a hasty and frightened jerk of her muscles.

Black eyes immediately darted to the man barricading her within the alley, but her already stressed mind melted into anguish as the demon came into focus. She had never met Kenshin's father, but she recognized him instantly from Kaoru's memories.

"No. What has he done?" The grieved words whispered from her mouth, involuntarily. The vermillion eyes of Himura Takibi continued to stare blankly over her head, however, as if he was not even aware she was there at all.

The tense moment was broken by the awareness that Sojiro was next to her, like a shadow hovering at the edges of sight. He was composed again, with his pleasantly fake smile and shuttered eyelids.

"Impressive, isn't he? I have such plans for this one. Although, he's still a little too overprotective." The last sentence was said offhand and more under Sojiro's breath. "He must have thought I needed you to stay put. No matter. Return to your post now."

Smoothly, Sojiro's arm lifted to offer her his elbow, and he proceeded to ignore the dragon doll to instead escort her around him so that they might leave the same way that they had come.

"I have a theory I need your help with."

The fact that he could so easily dismiss the revived soul of what was supposed to have been the strongest fire demon in history was telling. Sojiro obviously had full control over Himura Takibi in a way that he did not over Kaoru. The significance of such knowledge spelled more than just disaster. The effect on Kenshin alone would be devastating.

Still breathing heavily, Tomoe carefully studied Takibi's features, with a mixture of misery and morbid fascination, while following the lead of the shadow demon pulling her around him. A second before she was forced to look away, vermillion eyes lowered to meet her gaze.

Unsettled by everything that had happened, Tomoe fought the despair hanging from her limbs like chains while Sojiro continued to speak.

"You see, I believe she brought something back with her. Something from the Veil."

Touching a hand to the cold sweat on her face, she glanced at those now passing by them on the sideway. No one else seemed to have noticed the episode at all. A darted look behind her, however, revealed that everyone gave the alleyway a wide berth. Himura Takibi could no longer be seen.

"Is… isn't that normal, though?" Collecting her thoughts, she struggled to remain with the flow of his conversation. Keep him talking. "Those revived from the dead are tainted by the Veil and bring a death power back with them."

"Her powers don't interest me all that much, Tomoe-san. Please do try to keep up."

A light twitch between her brows hinted at a frown, but she smoothed it away to instead nod.

"Of course. Anything normal would not interest you." Although, what was normal to him was outrageous and forbidden to the rest of the world.

"Now you understand." The lack of emotion in his tone made the placation sound that much more derisive. "My theory is that the Kagu-tsuchi either cut open her soul, thereby allowing something to make its home within her, or it implanted something of its own inside of her. Either way, that something is unbelievably powerful. I tried to study it when I first brought Kaoru back to life, but I discovered only that it is killing her."

Black eyes widened and jerked over to him in uncontrolled shock.

"No. I suppose it can't kill her, since she's already dead." Minutely, his head tilted in thought. "Technically, it appears to be disintegrating her soul. From what I can tell, the power is just too much for a fragile human soul to handle. I tried to seal it away for as long as I could, but even the seal wasn't enough to stop it completely."

Clenching her fingers around the strap of her purse, Tomoe followed his line of thinking.

"Such a power hints that it would not stop with her death alone."

"That was my deduction as well. It might even cause massive destruction." Sojiro sighed in fake despondency. "It's a troublesome prospect, but keeping people alive is not really my area of expertise."

"You want my help… to stop it?"

They paused near a bus stop, and Sojiro reached up to touch her hair.

"Why would I want to stop it?" Horror dropped like a rock into her gut, and she felt foolish for thinking he cared to save Kaoru at all. "Watching the destruction sounds fun." His hand pulled away and he bowed to her formally. "I only need you to tell me how long we have until it destroys her, and any other details you might learn about it. Then again… if you do find a way to save her, I might find it interesting enough to let you try." A light kiss was placed on her knuckles. "I have all the research ready for you to study. I'm guessing you were never able to find it at that silly little fox's lab. Otherwise, you would not be so surprised. You know what that means, though. You'll have to come with me."

Slowly, his dark lashes lifted, but she clenched her eyes shut before he could raise his gaze to her own. Tomoe knew better than to allow his eyes to meet hers a second time. In the darkness, she heard him laugh.

"I'll give you some time to think on it." The fingers lightly grasping her hand released, and she peeked cautiously at him to find his eyes were closed once more. Strangely, he looked almost appropriately concerned. "Ah, but maybe don't wait too long. I hear the Emperor is sending someone to kill Kaoru today. He really doesn't like humans, for some reason."

Sojiro disappeared into the shadows as seamlessly as the wind rustling the trees, and Tomoe was left with the gut-wrenching knowledge of Kaoru's impending doom. Panicked, as the immediate threat of the Emperor came first, she thrust her hand into her purse to grab her phone. Calls needed to be made. Kenshin needed to be warned. She had almost pressed the button when she realized… she would have to explain how she had come about such information. There wasn't even any proof that what Sojiro had told her was the truth. Then again, could she risk that he possibly wasn't lying?

The screen of her phone flashed to announce a missed call, and she switched to her recent contact history to find Akira had called her thirty-seven times. Swallowing, she touched the callback button and listened as he picked up before the first ring ended.

"H-hello, Tomoe-san? Are you alright?" His rushed and breathless voice was drenched in concern, and her already thundering heart squeezed with fear.

"I'm fine, Akira-kun. I'm… sorry. My phone was off."

A sigh of relief rushed past the microphone, and his voice lightened.

"That's okay. Where are you? I'll come get you and bring you back to the lab."

Tomoe shifted her weight and looked around.

"I'm on my way back. Has something happened?"

"Yes." The quiet confirmation froze the breath in her lungs. "The Emperor just declared Himura-san and Kamiya-san terrorists. It's all over the news."

X

Gein's eight legs carried him easily up to the higher levels of the abandoned building. He rarely left the basement, especially now that it was wintertime. Spiders were not fond of the cold, but they did favor the dark. Across his chest, a bag rustled softly with the collection of his most prized instruments as well as a few secret specimens. He had finished all the work Sojiro had requested of him, and it was finally time for them to part ways. Before he left, though, there was one last specimen he planned to take.

Gently, his foremost leg rapped against the only remaining door down the long hallway, and the deadly silence within was broken by the rustling of fabric.

"Master Shishio, would you like to come out to play?" There was no response, and Gein leaned closer to the door to whisper. "I know where Kaoru is."

A bang so loud it reverberated the building struck the opposing side of the door, and Gein grinned.

"TELL ME!"

"Be calm, Master Shishio." Unlocking the door, Gein stepped back and beckoned the broken demon to come out. "I'll show you."

X

A/N: Hello… sorry it's been over two months since I last posted. Moving ended up being a lot… We were in a temporary living space for a couple of months, and it was… not conducive to writing, to say the least. It did give me some space and time to think about what I wanted to happen going forward with this story, though, so I am grateful in a sense. I had some rather wonderful visions of things to come, but I'm not sure I can write them as well as I envisioned them. They're probably a little too ambitious for me, but I'm certainly going to try, lol. Anyway, now that we're back in a house of our own and unpacked, my schedule has returned, mostly, to normal. I want to get back to my weekly posting going forward, now that things are once more stable. It would please me very much if you were to look forward to more of this story. Up next, Yahiko makes a bold move, and Tomoe stands behind her convictions. See you next week!