Chapter Twenty-Eight

"You're meeting me at the front door now? What did I do to deserve the royal treatment?"

Sagara Sōzō loped up the remaining concrete steps and smiled at the five-tailed fox standing in the sunshine. Though her arms were crossed, and her foot tapped impatiently, she clearly rolled her eyes in mock annoyance, as if he had kept her waiting.

"Don't flatter yourself. I merely needed some fresh air." One of her hands extended. "Do you have the documents?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Handing over the thick manilla envelope under his arm, Sōzō stood at attention next to her after she accepted it. The envelope, however, was braced against her hip without even a glance to suggest its full importance. Her other hand directed him to follow.

"How is Genzai-sensei? I haven't been able to catch him on the phone lately." Allowing Sōzō to open one of the large glass doors to the lobby, Megumi waltzed inside and across the marble entrance without waiting.

"He appears to be well, but you know how he is. Even if something was wrong, he'd never let it show." Quick-stepping to catch up, Sōzō next hit the button to call the elevator.

"Hmm." A soft hum from Megumi's throat agreed. "And you?"

A quiet chuckle spoke of fond amusement. "Well enough. Yourself?"

Gleaming white teeth winked at him from under her sly grin. The sharply pointed tip of one canine was all predator. "What a silly question. I'm absolutely fantastic."

This time his laugh was unrestrained. "You're frightening sometimes, Megumi-san. Others would not generally find this situation agreeable."

"Yes, but others are boring."

Sōzō shrugged. "I tend to like boring."

"Of course, you do."

The elevator doors opened to the floor of her office. "How's Himura-san doing? Is he still up that mountain with Hiko-sama?"

"No. He's here, so you can ask him yourself." Megumi's reply was offhand, but completely outlandish to Sōzō's ears.

"Here?!" Disbelief stopped him in his tracks.

"That's what I said."

"Willingly?"

Red-tinged irises graced him with a droll look. "Yes, willingly." The envelope was dropped on top of her desk, and she leaned against it to cock her hip. "What are you trying to insinuate? I never kept him here against his will." Her gaze looked up and to the side coyly. "I just never told him he could leave."

"And after he learned he could, I believe he was very clear about never returning."

"I believe he did say something like that." A clawed finger tapped her lip, and her grin returned slowly. "Luckily for me, he ended up getting himself ensnared by that scrawny blue-eyed wonder downstairs."

Sōzō frowned. "I understood he asked for your help with her, because of the awful state she was in when he found her. Is he really so invested that he's physically entering the building just to visit? He's always refused to come near here, even for Tomoe-san."

A disgusted sigh escaped Megumi, and she sat herself primly into her desk chair. "You're not still riding that ship, are you, Sagara-san? Not only is it boring, it was a bad idea from the start."

"I don't know. Tomoe-san has a gentle, calming disposition that I think is good for Himura-san."

Now Megumi was frowning. "What a minute." Sitting back in her chair, she crossed her arms again and almost glared at him. "You didn't encourage Tomoe-san with your madness, did you? Ken-sama relied on her too much to help him control his flame. Do you really think that'd get better if they were in a relationship? No. It'd get worse, and she'd encourage it like the idiot she is. He'd end up consuming her, and leave nothing but ash behind."

Standing rigid and tall next to the desk, Sōzō shook his head. "This isn't an experiment, Megumi-san. Love isn't deterred by logic."

"It certainly should be." Her tone was matter-of-fact, but lowered with the aversion of her gaze. "Then I would have given up a long time ago."

"Megumi-san…"

"Not that it matters in this case." Rising to her feet, Megumi's tails flicked self-importantly. "Ken-sama is completely illogical, and of course I'll exploit it, because that's what I do best."

"Megumi-san." Grabbing her by the arm, he stopped her from walking past him. "I thought you had given up on that. It's a myth."

"Myths are grounded in truth, and truth is what I'm best at discovering."

"The chance that Himura-san even has it is one in a million. Don't grasp at straws simply because he's the only remaining fire demon."

"That's exactly why I think he has it." The words hissed from her mouth and she jerked her arm out of his reach. "It's the most logical explanation."

"We've been over this…"

"And yet you can't seem to understand." Raised words cut over his resigned and tired voice. "Legends say it's indestructible, and that it's passed down the purest bloodline. If its host is killed, it would cause devastating destruction around the corpse. It's widely known that plenty of fire demons died violently in the war, and their deaths scarred the planet. In some places irreparably. But none of their deaths even came close to what happened in the far eastern provinces of Russia.

"The world governments tried hard to cover it up, but I have my suspicions. The humans tore into Ken-sama in that Arctic Lab just North of there. They found a way to wound his core. I've seen the scar he bears because of it. If they extracted anything from his core, logically, they would have needed to test it somewhere. Tell me I'm wrong."

Sōzō's only eye looked away.

"He was a fucking child, Sōzō. Barely able to control his powers. Hell, he could barely control them after the war. Anything they got from him should have been weak in comparison to a fully realized fire demon. But that's not even my best reason. Fire demons may be naturally dangerous, but our government fears Ken-sama. So much so that they'd rather let him be trained by some legendary hermit in the mountains than just have him killed. Can you imagine? They monitor his every step. They watch him like some time bomb, and yet they think letting him get stronger is the better option? It's not strange to you? Even a little?"

Megumi's monologue was followed by a silence so thick it was nearly suffocating. A deep breath into Sōzō's lungs broke the quiet like dry, dead grass rattling in a forsaken wind.

"Let's say it's real, and that Himura does have it. What are you going to do with it?" Finally, his gaze challenged hers, and it was fixed and unyielding. "They say it's a blade born of pure fire, forged at the dawn of time in the core of the birthing sun. You could kill yourself, and millions of others, trying to use it. And for what? A fairytale?"

Megumi laughed. A short, cheerless laugh full or disgust. "Once upon a time, we were just fairytales to the humans."

"And look what happened to them as a result." Sōzō's voice was breaching the realm of anger. There was a long pause, and then Megumi's chin lifted.

"I know you're not really his brother by blood, that you took him in because he was just some pitiful orphan you found on the road, but I guess I thought you cared more than this." Tossing her hair, Megumi marched for the door. "Do what you want, Sagara-san. Just don't get in my way, or I will have you evicted from the building."

X

The small lab was full, and noisy like a home instead of a place for research and observation. Laughter and shouting filled the interior, and everyone's face was animated and lively. Sitting on the couch with Kaoru beside him and Tomoe on the other end, Kenshin watched as it was Enishi's turn to participate in their game of charades. Chuckling, as it was not a game anyone could play without making a fool out of their self, Kenshin called out guesses with Tomoe. Though normally a quiet and calm person, it seemed the coal demon had no intention of losing when it was her little brother providing the clues. Next to him, Kaoru's hands and arms moved dramatically as she offered her own input. Being overly caught up in the competition of it, sometimes she would lean over the rest of them, as if trying to cut them off with her silent sign language.

"Building a sandcastle!" Tomoe actually stood up as she said it.

"That's it." The siblings high-fived, Kenshin muffled an amused laugh, and Kaoru hugged Tomoe around the waist. Now it was Kaoru's turn, and she nearly jumped off the couch to dig into the box full of papers.

"This will have to be my last one. I've got to get to work soon." Instead of sitting in the vacant space left by Kaoru on the couch, Enishi stood behind it and leaned against the back.

"That's too bad, little brother. Being an adult really has its disadvantages, doesn't it?"

Emerald eyes rolled, and Tomoe giggled. Kenshin smiled as he witnessed their sibling banter. Somehow, being around Tomoe was less awkward lately, and even Enishi wasn't nearly as hostile. He wasn't exactly friendly, either, but there seemed to be mutual trust now when there never was before. Leaning his forearms onto his knees, Kenshin watched carefully as Kaoru started the arduous process of acting out her string of words. Since it was something she was unfortunately used to doing on a daily basis, she was practically a master. Which meant he needed to pay close attention if he was going to beat the others.

"Painting."

A grin lit her face as he guessed the first part correctly, and he was filled with warmth. Then she held up both of her hands and spread her fingers wide. While everyone immediately started shouting hands or actions done with hands, Kenshin was distracted by someone entering the room. A sly grin was pulling at the fox's mouth, and her red-tinged eyes were staring directly at him. Instantly uncomfortable, Kenshin froze, and his instincts demanded that he not look away. She waltzed over to him, and sat herself too close to him on the couch.

"There you are, Ken-sama. I was looking for you." Her weight leaned against his shoulder, along with the disconcerting swell of one breast. Behind him, Enishi was yelling out his guesses without stopping.

"Fingers! Finger painting!"

Slanted nearly halfway over the arm of the couch, Kenshin tried as hard as he could to get away from Megumi's sudden and unusual proximity.

"W-what did you want exactly?"

"I just wanted to see if you were doing okay. I was thinking about you, you see, about how fragile you are, and I got so worried. I thought, 'I can't let anything happen to my favorite subject.' Well, ex-subject." One, heavily painted eyelid winked, and his skin crawled. Not only was the slanted grin on her face frightening, it was also disturbing to someone that had been subject to her whims for over a century.

The unexpected force of someone's foot digging down his side and lodging itself between his hip and Megumi's body made him jump. Tearing his petrified gaze away from the fox, his wide violet eyes instead looked up to find Kaoru crawling over the back of the couch to reclaim her spot. And she was not happy about it. With both feet now successfully in place, she slumped herself fully between them, and half sat on him in the process. Megumi was laughing, which was also strange, and she didn't even get mad when Kaoru started pushing and kicking to get her to move.

"Alright, alright, I'm getting up." An amused sigh huffed out her nose. "At least you have a backbone, kid."

Kaoru was still glaring, but a smile at the compliment was now fighting it. Holding her upright with both hands around her shoulders, Kenshin smiled ruefully at the back of her head, unabashedly grateful for her interference as well as relieved.

A very large part of him was also glad that Kaoru wasn't avoiding him, or mad at him that he couldn't figure out what she had tried to tell him the other day. Whatever it was had embarrassed her, and for some reason he couldn't bring himself to make her explain or sign it again. The books Tsubame had recommended would have to do the trick.

A discomforted roll of Kaoru's shoulder sharpened his focus, and he watched one of her hands lift to rub her chest.

"Are you alright?" He whispered the concern over her shoulder, and she offered him a smile with a nod. The rubbing stopped quickly, and then Megumi distracted him.

"Actually, I only came down to escort a visitor. Tomoe-san, please see him out when he's done. Thanks." All five tails twitch and fluffed behind her as she walked back through the rec room door. As she passed by the visitor, Kenshin clearly heard her quip, "See? Completely illogical."

"Sagara-san. It's nice to see you." Tomoe recognized their visitor first, and stood from the couch to bow a friendly greeting. The name and presence unearthed conflicting emotions in Kenshin, however.

"As always, Tomoe-san, the pleasure is all mine."

Enishi offered a greeting as well, followed by a reluctant farewell.

"Sorry sis, I really got to get going."

"Of course. Be careful."

"See ya, Kaoru."

Kaoru waved happily, and Enishi bypassed Sōzō to head for the exit. Slowly, Kenshin stood.

"Sagara-san. It's… been a long time."

"It has. You've been avoiding my calls lately."

"Ah…"

"It's alright. I heard you were stranded in the mountains." Sōzō's one good eye turned to Kaoru, and Kenshin blinked at the friendly grin and wave she offered. "Hello again, Kaoru-san. I hope you've been well." She nodded, and then pushed against Kenshin's side so she had enough room to stand.

"Have you two already met?" Surprised, Kenshin automatically reached out and curled his fingers around Kaoru's nearest hand. A brief flick of Sōzō's eye noticed.

"We have. She was very kind."

Kaoru's frame perked up, as if she just remembered something, and she skipped over to the other side of the room where her mess of papers, pencils, paintings, and scattered brushes were piled. After digging around for a few seconds, she came back with her now old drawing notebook. Balancing its awkward weight in one hand, she flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

"Is that me?" Sōzō bent forward to study the drawings. "You really do add glamour to everyone, don't you?"

"I told you." Tomoe's voice was amused, and Sōzō laughed. Kaoru, however, frowned in confusion. The notebook was flopped onto the couch, and she turned to Kenshin to communicate seriously.

Kenshin chuckled.

"It's alright, Miss Kaoru. Sagara-san has always been self-conscious of his appearance. You drew him perfectly.

"What did she say?"

A hesitant smile was offered to Sōzō. "She said she only drew you the way you look."

"I see. You really are very kind, Kaoru-san." Kaoru blushed and shrugged bashfully. "If you wouldn't mind showing me another kindness, I'd like to borrow Himura-san for a few moments. It's been a long time since we've been able to catch up." An agreeable nod said she was willing to allow it.

"How about we finish up that little project of yours?" Tomoe offered the distraction, and Kenshin was forgotten. Smiling as the two women wandered over to Kaoru's desk, Kenshin tore his gaze away to follow Sōzō back into the main room of the lab. In the corner, Iizuka worked away doggedly at one of the desks.

"How were the mountains?" Nothing about Sōzō's personality had changed, and the familiar sound of his dry, crackled voice was at once nostalgic and painful.

"… 'Intense' is really the only way to put it."

Sōzō laughed. "I bet. Lucky bastard. Hiko-sama notoriously hates visitors. He must have liked you to put up with you for as long as he did."

"Barely. I didn't see him half the time, and the other half nearly killed me."

Hiko-sama said he liked human visitors, though.

The contradiction lingered in Kenshin's thoughts briefly. Shaking his head, he changed the subject. "So, you've been helping out with Miss Kaoru's case, too?"

Sōzō studied him. "Some. I've never really understood runes and seals and the like, so I'm really just a courier. I'm not even any good at charms. Hey, what was that one Sano taught you? Do you remember it?"

The hot air filling his lungs stalled, and it took everything he had just to swallow.

"T-the protective charm?"

"Yeah. I could never get that one right. Sano said it was because I needed a woman first. You think that's true?"

The anxiety in violet eyes softened, and Kenshin glanced back at the rec room. "Maybe."

"I see."

There was something both sad and reluctantly accepting about the statement. A moment later, and a hand smacked Kenshin upside the back of his head.

"What the hell?!"

"Sorry. I just thought it was something my little brother would have done." A shrug and grin said he was lying about being sorry, and Kenshin rubbed the back of his head with a frown. "Anyway, why didn't you dodge? I thought you were supposed to be stronger now, or something."

Kenshin shifted his weight uncomfortably, but couldn't bring himself to explain that he would rather Sōzō hit him than not. The single fact that this man still considered him a friend made him feel guilty.

"I never said I was a good student."

Sōzō outright laughed, and Kenshin finally smiled. They spoke for a time, and caught up on current events. After a while, Sōzō glanced at his watch and expressed a need to leave.

"Before you go, do you mind if I ask what you brought with you?"

One dark eyebrow lifted over Sōzō's only eye. "Who said I brought anything?"

The instant confusion and second-guessing showed plainly on Kenshin's face. "Uh, I thought you did."

Sōzō grinned. "I forgot how fun it was to wind you up." The confession pulled Kenshin's mouth into a frown. "Just a packet of documents this time. Genzai-sensei's made a real breakthrough on those seals, from what I gather. You'll have to ask Megumi-san for details, though. I'm just a middle man. Even if I hear anything, I haven't."

"I understand. Thanks, Sagara-san. It was nice to see you again."

"Take my damn calls and we can see each other more often."

"Sure, sure."

Walking over to the rec room door, Sōzō stopped and called into the room. "Pardon the intrusion, ladies. Tomoe-san, I am ready for my escort."

"Of course." Sitting down the pair of scissors in her hands, Tomoe fussed a moment with Kaoru's hair and lowered her voice. "Now would be a perfect time to give it to him. Wait until we leave, okay?"

Kaoru's smile was so wide it looked painful, and she nodded. When Tomoe turned, however, she grimaced and rubbed her hand once again over her sternum.

In the other room, Kenshin watched one of his oldest friends leave with Tomoe next to him. The now quiet lab easily transmitted the hurried shuffling and crinkle of paper drifting through the air, and Kenshin took one step forward to see what Kaoru was doing. It had been, after all, a few days since they had been alone together. Almost at the same time, though, Iizuka stood from his desk and reminded him that they weren't.

"Himura-san." Kenshin turned with a blink. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but was there something in particular you wanted to know about Kaoru's seals? I might be able to answer your questions."

"Really? From what I understood, everything here was at a standstill."

"That's true, but things started picking up recently after we made a breakthrough. Once we took what she is into consideration, the seals really started to make sense."

Light creases formed between Kenshin's brows. "What she is? Are you saying you know her demon type?"

Both of Iizuka's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "No one told you?"

"Told me what?" A sliver of irritation twisted in his stomach for being kept in the dark, but it was trepidation that ran up his spine. Iizuka fumbled for a moment, as if afraid he had said something he shouldn't.

"W-well… she's a human…"

Iizuka's lips continued to move, but Kenshin's brain had already shut down his eardrums to allow for nothing but a constant, high-pitched tone. Uncontrolled trembling started in his extremities, but he could not feel it. The world had frozen, and as a fire demon, it went against every fiber of his being.

Humans.

Such disgust was tied to the mere word. Such hatred and rage.

And fear. So much fear.

In the corner of his narrowed vision, he saw Kaoru race through the door. Saw without truly comprehending the delight on her features, or the carefully wrapped box in her hands.

"Stop."

His chest was so tight the word barely whispered from his lips. His vision was beginning to blur.

"Stop."

She didn't heed him, or perhaps didn't hear him. After all, she trusted him completely, and it didn't even occur to her not to. There were only a few steps left.

"Stop!"

The delight faded slightly from her expression, but it was too late for her feet to halt their wayward dash. Deep inside of him, uncontrolled fire raged, and his voice cut desperately through the air like a thundering volcano.

"I SAID STOP!"

The box was smacked from her hands simply for being too close, and it crashed across the floor violently. Kaoru's entire body flinched, and her beautiful, sapphire eyes stared up at him in shock and hurt. It was, however, the jerk of her hands away from him and into her chest that caused his own body to twitch in reaction. A half-second later, and she was engulfed in flames.

X

A/N: Why do my chapters end up becoming longer than I would like? Sigh. Of course, this chapter isn't long, really, but I wanted to get to a lot more than this. All that to say, it wasn't my intention to leave you here. Heh. But here we are. Stupid Iizuka. There was a couple of scenes I didn't want to give up, and then I realized it was a good time to introduce something else in this chapter. And so, the other things I was hoping to get to will have to wait until next chapter. Sorry! They're really worth it, though. (At least, I think so, lol.) Needless to say, there will be a lot of tension and sorrow in the next chapter. As well as some surprising developments. So blessed to still be working on this! Thanks for the love!