Chapter Eighty-Eight

"Was that Tomoe-san?" Kenshin came out onto the veranda as Kaoru ended the call, and she glanced up to nod with a happy smile.

"Yep. She said she's fine and so is Nishi-nii. I guess they're all at the Tengu Clan village."

"That's good. They'll be safe there." Putting his arm around her waist, Kenshin pulled her closer into his side to share warmth. It was dark outside now, and the temperature had dropped considerably. "I spoke with Megumi-san earlier about your episodes."

"Okay. What did she say?"

"Unfortunately, she can't say for certain without running some more tests."

"Right."

"But she did have some… ideas." Tapping his free hand against his thigh, he decided there was no point in bringing up the pregnancy idea when they all knew she couldn't be pregnant. Since it wasn't a subject they had discussed or even touched on before, he wasn't certain how she felt about not being able to have children. If it was something that would cause her pain, he saw no need to do so unnecessarily. "She wants to try treating you for nausea and heartburn. I added some different foods to the meal. Do you feel any better or worse?"

"I feel fine, but I suppose I'm not really going to notice a difference after just one meal."

Chagrined, Kenshin sighed.

"Right. Sorry."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you earlier, but I did have a moment today." His features frowned, and she rushed to reassure him. "It was briefly, like two seconds, but my chest was warm and then it went away. I haven't felt anything else today. I promise."

Gently, his free hand pressed flat between her breasts.

"Are you sure? Not even right now?"

"I'm sure."

He could feel nothing from her chest, no flicker or heat from fire like before. Cautiously relieved, Kenshin let his hand drop back to his side. At the same time, Kaoru moved the hand still clutching her phone and her lock screen lit up to reveal the picture she had chosen to immortalize on her background. Latching his fingers around her wrist instantly, he choked and flattened it to his chest before looking around.

"What are you doing with that on your lock screen?! What if someone sees it?!"

Rather sadistic giggles lightened the air, and she leaned into his side to smack a kiss on his cheek.

"What do you mean? It's the cutest picture we have together. Of course I want to be able to see it all the time."

Scowling, Kenshin mock glared at her, but he was only half-joking with his next threat.

"If anyone sees that, I will burn those pajamas."

"Yeah, yeah. As long as I get to keep the picture." Grinning, she stuffed the phone into her pocket and wrapped both arms around his ribs. Since he looked so upset, though, her smile softened. "Don't worry. I won't show it to anyone." Tucking her nose against his jaw, she sighed and closed her eyes when his arms enclosed around her completely. "Why would I want to share you, anyway? You're mine, and so is that moment. I just… didn't want to forget how wonderful it felt while we were in it."

Kenshin had never built a blanket fort before, and Kaoru had made it her goal to teach him what he had missed as a child. He was so serious at times, and it made her want to be goofy to remind him that it was okay to have fun. While the little fort they had built had leaned too hard to one side, their laughter had made it better than anything. Cuddled together in their matching pajamas, sprawled on their stomachs as they had watched a movie and ate snacks, Kaoru had snapped the picture, much to Kenshin's protest. Later, he had decided it was time to find out how smoothly he could remove their matching clothes.

"Hmm… how possessive of you, Miss Kaoru." The low rumble of his chest against her sounded amused, but she pouted a little.

"Well, it's not like I want to rule every aspect of your life. I just…" She trailed off and he leaned his head into hers.

"I know. I also want you to be mine and only mine."

"Who says I'm not?" The offense in her voice made him chuckle, and she grinned. "I'm yours forever." There was a touch of smug pride in her voice as she playfully announced how far she was willing to commit, but Kenshin went quiet after her declaration.

"Forever is a long time."

Frown lines formed across her face, and Kaoru pushed back far enough to look him in the eye. Feeling uneasy, though she didn't understand why, she tried to maintain the playfulness they had shared up to that point.

"Uh, yeah. That's what forever means." Her arms let go to spread out in visual representation. "For infinity."

His eyes, so beautiful and intensely violet, stared at her seriously, and her arms lowered slowly to clutch a little fearfully at the sides of his hoodie.

"No, Miss Kaoru." Warmly, his fingers cupped her face, and his gaze continued to devour her own. "That's only a pretty way of thinking of it. No one lives forever. The unspoken implication remains that forever only means until death." He swallowed, almost nervously. "I know how long a human lifespan is. Do you know how long the lifespan is for my kind?"

"Um, I think Megumi-san said, but I… don't remember the exact number."

"Fifteen hundred years. That is more than fifteen human lifetimes. But I will live longer than that, if I am able to fully transition. You, Miss Kaoru, could possibly live twice as long, if Megumi-san is correct."

"Ok, but… what are you trying to tell me, Kenshin? That you don't think you could love me for that long?"

A frown convulsed the muscles between his eyes. She was still trying to make light of the conversation. She still didn't understand. Not yet.

"No. I want you to fully understand what I mean when I say I want you to be mine and only mine… forever. Not just for seventy or eighty years. For thousands of years."

The timeframe seemed to finally sink in as her features relaxed.

"Oh."

It was a long time, almost more time than she could fathom. She had shied away from what Megumi had said before, about her lifespan, mainly because she had not believed she would actually live that long. Now, however, she wondered if her mind had refused to think on it for another reason. Kaoru was human. No matter what had been done to her and what changes had been forced upon her through this fake body and foreign powers, her mind and thoughts were still only human. Which included how she thought of time. Thousands of years translated in her mind as history. Long ago history that she couldn't even imagine living through. Even now, the timeframe of her life, if she thought about it, only stretched to what she had grown up seeing and understanding. A human life. A human understanding of time. That timeframe no longer applied to her, though. The milestones she would have expected as a human were no longer there.

Do I… do I even age in this body?

"I see…"

Unwillingly, her hands were shaking, but she didn't notice the moment his fingers curled around them in concern. It was clear to her now. He had no doubt about how long he would love her. That's not what he was trying to get across. What he wanted was to make sure she was certain that she would love him for the same length of time.

This is what he meant by forever. Closing her eyes, she remembered how earnestly he had spoken that promise to her, in his bed, still warm from their love making. I would love him for all of my life. I will love him for all of it. I have no doubt that I will love no one else but him, but… perhaps I do need to put some thought into how long my life is going to be now.

"Have you… been thinking that far ahead all this time?" When she opened her eyes, she caught the tail end of his concern before it disappeared under steady resolve.

"Yes."

"Since when?"

His responses were not rushed, but there was no hesitation in them, either.

"Since I realized that I love you."

The simple confession squeezed her heart, and she burrowed herself warmly into his chest. He was so good to her. He deserved for her to be good to him in return.

"Kenshin. I may not fully understand how long my life is going to feel this time around, but… I do understand that forever isn't just about time. My father told me that forever also means you're not willing to give up." Tilting her head up to smile at him from the crook of his shoulder, she flattened her palms against his back and hugged him tight. "He told me that you can't just give up because things are hard for a while, or because you're not always having fun. I'm going to think about what forever means related to time, because I want to understand what it means in that context, too. But I want you to know that when I say forever right now, I'm promising that I'm not going to leave or give up on us. Even if we fight, or if we're homeless, or wanted terrorists." She grinned when he finally half-smiled. "I'm not giving up on us. Whatever happens, we'll work it out. That's what forever also means."

"I see…" It was his turn to think over her words. When one of his hands slid up her spine to brace firmly against the back of her head, her insides nearly melted. "Forgive me, Miss Kaoru. I still have a lot to learn about humans. I underestimated your understanding of forever, and took your commitment too lightly as a result. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Kenshin. I still don't know much about fire demons. We're learning together." Stretching her chin to rest it on the line of his shoulder, Kaoru smiled happily as she parted dreamy lashes.

Caught in the drugging warmth of their love, it took a second for her glazed eyes to focus. Directly in front of her, merely inches from her nose, hung a small spider from a thread.

Everything happened involuntarily. Every muscle in her body kicked and fought to be free as if her life depended on it. In fact, she reacted so violently, she shoved Kenshin from the veranda and threw herself backwards through the rice paper doors. The doors broke easily under her weight, and she crashed into the living room on top of the destroyed wood and rice paper. Both landed across the tea-occupied table where chaos erupted as Hiko and the komainu jumped backwards to avoid the disaster she had caused. Terrified, and not in her right mind, Kaoru scrambled, slid, and tripped her way off the shattered doors to crawl under the table and hide in a trembling ball of pitiful limbs.

"What the hell did you do, boy?!"

Standing, and quite cross with the damage brought on to his home within the last twenty-four hours, Hiko's thunderous voice demanded an explanation. Ready and expecting a fight, as the only explanation he could rationalize for Kaoru's actions, Kenshin jumped up from out of the snow and swung his eyes over the destruction, over Kaoru hiding under the table, and then directed his gaze outward to find what had frightened her so brutally. Still swinging from its thread, the spider hung on for dear life before attempting to scurry up its lifeline to safety.

"Kill it! Kill it! Please!"

Kaoru's desperate cries jerked all eyes to her for a single moment of stunned silence. The tear-soaked pleas were shockingly uncharacteristic, and they would have unsettled Kenshin at any other time. However, his eyes had just landed on the spider, and he frowned as he climbed back up onto the veranda.

"The spider?"

Her response was an immediate and decisive, "Kill it!"

"I didn't know you were scared of spiders."

A bit bemused, Kenshin snapped his fingers and watched as the spider disappeared in a candle-sized puff of fire and smoke. At least her demand for its demise was a lot less outrageous than the way it had first sounded.

"It's done. Everything's alright now."

Inside the house, the komainu were trying to coax Kaoru out from under the table while Hiko picked up the broken doors. The water dragon's scowling features were not as amused by the spectacle as Kenshin was starting to feel. Kaoru, however, refused to move until Kenshin knelt down and pulled her out. Suddenly, it was imperative that she latch herself to him, and her eyes stared up at him franticly as she clutched at his sweater. She, as well, did not seem to find the situation humorous.

"L-look at me?"

Frowning, Kenshin brushed back her bangs and grasped her by both shoulders. Her expression was anguished, and her body still shivered. What he was witnessing wasn't simple fear. It was terror. Raw and unadulterated terror. Whatever teasing he had readied to ease her out of her assumed discomfort for creepy-crawlies vanished, and he fell into a more genuine form of support.

"I'm looking."

Trembling and unstable, she struggled on a deep breath before her eyes clenched shut, and she shoved her face into his sternum. Confused, Kenshin wrapped his arms around her shoulders and glanced up to share a look with the others. Kaoru continued to quiver uncontrollably and remained quiet. Hiko frowned while he inspected the veranda awning for any more spiders.

"We don't usually see any spiders this time of year." His deep voice was suspicious. "Especially in these temperatures. Where did that one even come from?"

Rubbing Kaoru's back, Kenshin continued to frown as he dropped his attention back on her.

"It's okay now, Miss Kaoru. It won't hurt you."

Helpfully, Suzume tried to offer her own form of comfort.

"Don't worry, Kaoru-san. It was only a web spider. They're not poisonous, and they keep to themselves."

Nodding and ready to chip in, Ayame picked up where her sister had left off.

"It's the non-web spiders you need to worry about, but even the biggest one around here only comes into the house at night to eat cockroaches."

Kaoru's body began to tremble harder, and Kenshin forced a smile and shook his head.

"I don't think you're helping."

"No." The contradiction threaded through the air, and though muffed by his sweater, Kaoru's voice was higher than normal and thin with tension. "The web spiders are worse. They're much worse."

"Kaoru?"

Sapphire eyes peeked up at him and were full of tears.

"They bite and then you can't move. You can't do anything."

The somewhat cryptic explanation worried Kenshin about what kind of experience Kaoru had with spiders, and why she was now so deathly frightened of them. Sōjirō was a shadow demon, though. Did Sōjirō ever conjure shadow spiders just to torment her? Or was this someone else? Was it that other demon that Kaoru had mentioned? The one she had said hurt her on Sōjirō's command?

"Why don't you take her to the bath, boy?" Hiko broke the tension like a hammer, and Kenshin looked up quickly to find him jerking his head. "The room's getting colder by the second with this hole in the wall. We need to fix the doors before that storm hits, but you two are only in the way here."

"Right." Picking Kaoru up, his stomach sank when she didn't even protest. "Come on, Miss Kaoru. You'll feel better after a warm bath."

X

Settled nicely deep in the woods, the shelter of spider silk layered thickly between five trees and provided insulation from the cold of winter. Inside, a fire crackled and heated the air, and Gein stood huddled close to that fire for comfort. His eight legs bunched together on either side of him like large, hairy claws. Around him, thousands of spiders piled atop one another in corners and across the ceiling. They, too, had found his shelter to be hospitable. Along one wall, sitting upright next to one another, was his favorite puppet and a wrapped up spare he had taken for fun. Somewhere out in the night, Shishio had gone out alone.

Grinning, Gein's closed eyes creased upwards as Kaoru's screams echoed through the link in his mind. He enjoyed her screams. The last year had felt so empty without them. It was such a comfort to know that she was still afraid. That she still remembered who she needed to be afraid of. Not Sōjirō, but him. He was the one she feared. Now he could look forward to hearing her screams again in person. Of course, it would also make trapping the fire demon so much easier. Soon, the Kagu-tsuchi would be under his control, and he could make all the dolls he wanted. Perhaps even an army, or a new nation of his own.

X

The underground base Tsubame found herself a guest of was only one of many owned by the merchant faction. According to Yūtarō, his father owned many warehouses, all of which also had underground accesses to aide in their more clandestine dealings. This mainly included harboring or assisting anyone who had vocally opposed the Emperor. Although, Tsubame suspected there was also some type of black market that Yūtarō had shied away from mentioning. All that Tsubame cared and was grateful for was the fully equipped medical wing that Yahiko now resided in.

He had not woken up since her apartment, but his vitals had stabilized. The color had come back to his face, as well, now that he was being supplemented with a blood bag after his extensive blood loss. Unfortunately, the wounds across his back refused to heal all the way even though they had stopped bleeding. According to the doctor, the slashes might never heal completely.

Because of those gashes on his back, Yahiko had been laid flat on his stomach. The tube that looped under his nose pressed firmly into his cheek, and he had been carefully restrained to keep him from pulling out his IV on accident. He looked vulnerable and weak laying on his hospital bed. It seemed so very wrong to see him in such a state. Not when Tsubame knew how much he would hate it, and how much she hated it as well.

"Hey."

Gasping shakily, Tsubame sniffed and wiped at her right eye before turning to smile at Yūtarō's head poked through the curtain. There were no private rooms, but the curtains could be drawn all the way around each of the twelve beds to allow for some semblance of discretion.

"Good morning."

Yūtarō frowned and pushed his way through the break in the curtain.

"You weren't here all night again, were you?" When Tsubame looked away and didn't answer, he pursed his mouth but didn't comment. "I've got some good news and some bad news."

When her dark eyes glanced at him fearfully, he rushed ahead.

"Since the good news is more important, I'll tell you that first." Pulling up a stool to sit on, he jerked his head at Yahiko's unconscious form. "The doc says you completely healed the wounds internally."

"Really?" The soft reply was soaked in relief, and Tsubame covered her face with both hands before she could openly cry. "I'm so glad."

"Yeah. You did good. There won't be any permanent damage to his core. Lucky bastard." The curse was said rather ruefully, and he was smiling when Tsubame peeked at him through her fingers. "I knew you could do it."

A tremulous smile was offered to him in return, and she accepted the box of tissues he stood up to grab from the bedside table.

"It's going to take some time for his external wounds. I guess we have to let those heal naturally, so he's going to have some pretty hardcore scars. They'll be repulsive to look at, you know." Yūtarō preened a little. "I'd understand if you couldn't handle them and want to come to me. My body's still untouched and beautifully smooth."

"Oh, stop it." Smacking him lightly on the shoulder, Tsubame giggled while wiping her face. "Was that the bad news?"

"Ah… no." Suddenly, he seemed rather serious, and he even sat up straighter on his stool. "We received word that the Emperor has attacked three of our other bases."

"W-what?! Are we safe here?"

"Father agrees that we need to move. Our current location is too close to the warehouses under attack, and we expect this base to be hit any day now."

"Is he looking for Yahiko?" Anxiously, her hand reached out to grasp Yahiko's upward curled fingers.

"Maybe. I'm sure finding him would make that bastard happy." A hand pushed roughly through the koi demon's blonde hair, and he looked reluctant. "I didn't want to worry you, since you've been dealing with enough, but the Emperor's put the country on lockdown. Apparently, one of his daughters is missing, and the news is claiming she was kidnapped."

Tsubame's mouth opened on an inhale, but she closed it to bite her lip without saying anything. Yuna had asked her to keep her identity a secret, and so she would.

"Our sources actually say that he's missing two of his daughters. We're not sure why he's only claiming one to be kidnapped."

"Did… did the news claim Yahiko as the culprit?" Yūtarō gave her a strange look, so she rushed on. "Since he escaped from the palace around the same time, it would be easy for them to assume or claim him as the cause, right?"

"That does sound logical, but no. He's putting all the blame on Himura-san for some reason."

Scooting closer on her stool, Tsubame's attention was suddenly rapt with concern.

"Has anyone been able to get in touch with Himura-san? Do we know if he and Kaoru-san are safe?"

Slowly, Yūtarō shook his head.

"I'm worried, too, but if the news says that they're still looking for them, then we can at least assume their safe. Right now, we need to worry about ourselves."

At the foot of the bed, the curtains abruptly parted wide, and a large man Tsubame had not yet seen stood with his hands reaching to fold behind his back. Yūtarō jumped up instantly.

"Father! What are you doing here? They said you were going to meet us at the glass factory."

"We had to move up our timeline."

Standing slowly, Tsubame bowed her head in greeting when Yūtarō's father glanced at her. He was a slightly rotund man, and his whiskers were thicker and dark compared to his son's golden orange. His voice croaked softly when he spoke, but reverberated like rippling water. It was an unsettling sound, but was strangely captivating to listen to.

"Tsubame-chan, this is my father, Namazu."

"Na-Namazu? THE Namazu?!" Shocked, Tsubame hastily bowed again. Namazu was a natural disaster, a calamity that had destroyed the entire city of old Tokyo during the war. One shake of his catfish tail was said to cause earthquakes across the country, and sometimes tsunamis. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Don't be cheeky, son. I left that name behind a long time ago. I go by Tsukuyama now." Gracefully, despite his large size, Yūtarō's catfish father bowed to her. It was very much reminiscent of the way Yūtarō bowed, and it made Tsubame smile. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Tsubame-san. Thank you for looking after my son."

"Oh no. He's been looking out for me." Glancing sideways at the hospital bed, her smile softened. "And Yahiko-kun. I'm… very grateful for all that he's done for us."

Yūtarō puffed up proudly when his father looked pleased by the praise for his son.

"You will have to tell me more about your relationship when we arrive."

"Um…" Relationship? Tsubame blinked as the conversation turned too fast for her to deny the implication of more than friendship. What Yūtarō's father spoke of next, however, removed the worry from her mind to replace it with something more pressing.

"The Emperor is bearing down on our location as we speak. We will have to move immediately to avoid being trapped under this warehouse. Have you explained what the doctor suggested to your friend?" The question was meant for Yūtarō, who shook his head.

"I was about to, Father." Turning away, Yūtarō pushed aside the stools and then opened the curtains all the way. When he began talking, his words directed themselves at her. "The doctor would like your help moving Yahiko. He said your power should be able to keep him stable during transport."

"Okay." Without hesitating, she answered, and smiled when Yūtarō cast her a serious look.

"We're going to be on the road for hours. Are you sure you can handle it? Did you even sleep last night?"

"I'm fine. I slept when I was tired." Her soft voice was silky like flower petals, and the hand she had wrapped around Yahiko's remained in place. "I've recovered much of what power I used to heal Yahiko-kun. Maintaining him should not be as arduous."

For a moment, it appeared Yūtarō would argue with her, least of all due to the dark circles visible below her eyes, but his father placed a hand on his shoulder to stall his protests.

"If she says she can do it, then let her. As much as I would like to host your friends properly, now is not that time. The long era of shaky peace we have taken advantage of has come to its end. We are now at war, where softness has no place."

X

Love Song # 5

Megumi: Don't Blame Me – Taylor Swift