Chapter Sixty-Three

The chill in the air was crisp despite the clear blue skies and bright sunshine. Temperature affected Sojiro very little, though. It was the sunlight he avoided, but even that was only an expected discomfort. There was always a shadow to hide within. For him, there was always shelter. After all, light created darkness, not vice-versa, and without light, there was only darkness. Being a shadow demon provided him more advantages than any other lifeform on the planet. In Sojiro's humble opinion, there was no other being stronger than someone allied with darkness.

Hidden and relaxed, Sojiro watched and patiently waited outside of Takani Laboratories. For weeks he had done the same, biding his time, observing the patterns of those coming and going from the lab, and building plans upon plans. He could no longer enter the building himself, even while attached to another. Fox barriers were tricky, and much different than other demon barriers. Even if he could work his way around it, the caster would be alerted to his presence one way or another. Since that defeated the purpose of sneaking in, Sojiro had easily given up on the idea.

Being inside wasn't strictly necessary, after all. Just by sitting outside, Sojiro had already confirmed that no one had been killed when Kaoru's seal had fully released. It was a bit disappointing, but not fully unexpected. The fire demon was strong enough to save himself from Kaoru's power, but Sojiro had counted on at least one or two deaths during the initial confusion. Kaoru was a stubborn and willful soul, however. Which was why he needed to break her before his plans could come to fruition.

Dark lashes parted over normally closed eyes, and Sojiro's steel grey irises briefly studied a high window across the medical plaza. The laboratory was part of a larger medical complex consisting of a hospital, several specialized doctor's offices, and multiple college facilities for medical students. With the college nearby, the plaza also had a single set of apartments that many of the older students and full-time workers used. It was nearly impossible to gain access to the apartment complex as there was a long waiting list. Which made any suspicious activity all the more suspicious. Dark lashes fell, and Sojiro's smile remained firm across his features. With a flicker and jerk of his hazy form, the shadow demon seemed to disappear.

X

High up in an empty apartment, Tatsumi sat with his feet up and the chair almost fully reclined back under his massive weight. Clawed toes twitched and scratched at his opposite foot, and he grunted as his beady eyes sharply watched the four monitors that he had set up on the plastic folding table. All of the windows had been blacked out by curtains, and small, wireless cameras had instead been positioned at discreet locations so that he could watch the entrance of the lab. This allowed the large, bipedal bear to keep an eye out for his target without seeming suspicious by staring out the windows all day and night. After all, the fox barrier protecting the lab hinted that the building and administrators were on high alert. Not to mention, the fire demon had fought during the war, and had no doubt honed a certain level of awareness for ill intent.

While not physically designed for clandestine work, Tatsumi was disciplined enough not to complain. His skills leaned less towards gathering information, and more towards acting on it. Luckily for him, once the girl finally showed herself outside of the lab, he had been given complete discretion to take her out however he saw fit. The only stipulation he had been given was to not confront the fire demon directly. Not that he had any plan to. Fire demons were dangerous, especially when faced head on. Though massively large in size and intimidating to look upon, Tatsumi preferred to employ tactics that guaranteed success. Even if those tactics were considered less than honorable.

Munching on a fish cake, and dropping the wrapper carelessly on the floor to join a pile of other snack wrappers, Tatsumi sat up abruptly as the large glass doors of the lab slid aside. Three people had stepped out into the weak winter sunlight, and one of them was his target. Finally, she had left the safety of the fox barrier and was exposed. How lucky for him.

Surging to his feet, Tatsumi marched across the apartment to peek around the heavy curtains covering one of the windows facing the plaza. From there, he watched as a woman with long dark hair bowed to the fire demon and the human. The human waved her hand enthusiastically, and then clasped the fire demon by the arm to follow him away from the lab. The other woman walked off in a different direction.

Good. I can deal with evading the fire demon, but a third person might make it difficult.

"Oh look!"

The happy voice jerked the bipedal bear from his focus, and he turned sharply to his right. The presence of someone else within the apartment was not just unexpected, but completely impossible, for Tatsumi had not noticed the invasion at all. Standing at the only other window that faced the plaza, was a small man he did not recognize. His form flickered in the strand of sunlight filtering through the crack in the curtain, like a hazy mirage. Despite his hand parting the curtain to allow him to peer outside as well, his dark lashes were closed and concealed his gaze. The smile on his face was not as convincing as the tone of his voice.

"Kaoru-chan finally came outside. How lucky."

Displaying his massive claws in a quick and threatening demonstration, Tatsumi braced his feet appropriately for defense or attack.

"Who the hell are you? How the hell did you get in here?"

Instead of answering, Sojiro stepped back to let the curtain drop. The interior dimmed once more in the absence of natural light.

"I've been watching you, Tatsumi-san." The beady eyes of the bear narrowed instead of widened in surprise. "It seems you have interest in my little doll. I wasn't certain until now, but I do believe you wish her harm."

"Are you in league with the fire demon?"

Dark brows lifted over still closed eyes, and an almost genuine smile pulled at the shadow demon's mouth.

"I see. You do work for the Sky Emperor. I thought you might." Sojiro turned and walked in a wide circle back towards the entrance to the apartment. "Now why would he want Kaoru-chan dead, I wonder? Is it because he still hates humans? Or is it only because she was brought back with forbidden power? If so, why not make that public and force the lab to hand her over?"

Both hands folded behind Sojiro's back. Tatsumi, however, waited quietly for his intruder to reveal as much as possible. Sojiro's smile lessened. He understood the game, but felt no hesitation.

"Intriguing, but ultimately unimportant. You see, she'll die eventually anyway, once that foreign power inside of her grows too unstable for her body to bear. The devastation will be truly staggering," The steel grey eyes of the shadow demon revealed themselves in a nearly startling fashion, and every muscle in Tatsumi's body tensed as their cold depths stared into his soul. "so you should count yourself lucky that you won't be there to see it."

Despite expecting an attack, Tatsumi was not only unable to follow his opponent's speed, but incapable of predicting the shadow demon's craftiness. From out of Tatsumi's own shadow, a foreign tendril of darkness reared up from behind him and struck with smooth grace.

"You may find yourself there anyway. Who can say?" Sojiro's smile widened. "Death is a tricky fellow, and quite selfish. He may not let you free to join my little party."

Blood gushed from the open gash across Tatsumi's throat, and he fell straight forward with a rattling bang onto the floor. Gurgling and choking on his blood, the bipedal bear thrashed about desperately. Carefully stepping closer, Sojiro knelt down next to him and sighed.

"I don't normally participate in such menial tasks, but you forced my hand this time." Slowly, the tendril of darkness holding Tatsumi's blood-soaked murder weapon melded back into the shadow of Sojiro's clothes. The metal of the weapon was dark and menacing, like Sojiro's true constitution and not the amiability he tried to cloak himself in. "I cannot allow any harm to come to my precious doll while I wait for her to ripen. I still have so much work for her to do before then. So many souls for her to collect for me."

One last sputtering breath pressed from the bear's lungs, like a moaning wail of some distant ghost. Tilting his head and watching the light fade from his dark eyes, Sojiro slowly closed his own. Quickly bored, Sojiro stood to walk back over to the window. Far below, he pinpointed the position of the woman named Tomoe, and again disappeared into the darkness.

X

Tomoe walked with purpose towards the small coffee shop that Akira liked. It was still rather early in the day, and coffee would be welcome for the warmth and caffeine it would provide. Since she was already outside, having come down to see Kaoru and Kenshin off, she had decided to surprise Akira with a cup of his favorite coffee. The way his face reddened when she went out of her way for him was the cutest thing.

Only half-way across the plaza, Tomoe twitched automatically when a hand slipped around her elbow. The contact had come from nowhere. There were others about the plaza, but none near enough to her to touch. While the weak sun barely provided warmth in the early morning hours, its rays had also failed to alert her to anyone coming up from behind. Twisting with a jolt of fear stabbing through her heart, her entire body froze when her black eyes landed on the man standing next to her.

His smile was somehow menacing to her, despite how genial he attempted for it to appear. His eyes, just like Kenshin had described, were closed. The outline of his figure was hazy and not solid, but his hand was firm and very much real.

"Y-you!"

Sojiro's smile widened.

"Then you know who I am. That makes this easier."

The tone of his voice was openly friendly, as if they were well-acquainted. Even so, it was obvious to Tomoe, who was used to Kenshin's own attempts at pretending harmlessness, that this man had no idea what being friendly actually meant. There wasn't even an undertone of intimidation to his voice, either. He was genuinely trying to sound friendly, but at the same time, he was not truly trying to be friendly, like Kenshin.

Gasping softly, Tomoe turned her head to look for Kaoru and Kenshin. They had walked in a different direction, but they too would not have made it fully out of the plaza yet. Searching desperately, her shoulders relaxed minimally when her gaze locked on them both, safe and sound on the other side of a large fountain at the center of the court.

"Oh. Are you worried? There's no need for that. I wouldn't harm Kaoru-chan. Not fatally."

Her gaze darted back to Sojiro, and then down to his right hand when it moved. All five fingers twitched in varying directions in a cross between typing on invisible keys and swirling a pattern in the air. Behind her, a distant and startled peep pulled her attention back to her friends.

"I suppose she doesn't actually need her legs."

Kenshin was holding Kaoru by the arm while she hopped on one foot to regain balance. His features were obviously distressed despite her smiling reassurance. Her other foot dragged behind her uselessly.

Barely a second later, Sojiro's other arm wrapped over Tomoe's shoulder, and his left hand mimicked his right with a new pattern in her peripheral vision. Kaoru instantly stood all the way up, and blinked down at her foot as she stomped it curiously. Some excuse was offered to Kenshin as he tried to turn her back to the lab, and Kaoru obstinately urged him onward.

A soft inhale pulled into Tomoe's lungs, and she forced herself to remain calm despite the out-of-control palpitations of her heart.

"What did you do?"

"I deactivated the rune in her left leg. You've seen the runes, haven't you?" Tomoe studied him silently, and Sojiro's head tilted. "Of course, you have. I didn't hide them. Which means you also know that you can't remove them, or she'll lose full control of her body. Ingenious, no? I wish I could take credit for that idea, but I'm still new to hands-on manipulation. I prefer psychological. It's much more powerful."

Black eyes once more darted to Kaoru and Kenshin, and watched as they finally disappeared from sight. There was a reason he was showing her this, and the threat was thinly veiled. He could and would take away Kaoru's control over her own body, but only if she refused whatever reason he had for talking to her. The open display of power over someone dear to her was not just frightening but heartbreaking. Swallowing as carefully as she could, Tomoe stepped out from under his arm and folded her hands properly at her waist to feign control.

"What do you want?"

The cool way she directed the conversation was more than Sojiro had expected.

"You are very logical, aren't you, Yukishiro Tomoe? I believe I was right to choose you." Lowering his arm to his side, Sojiro allowed her the illusion of some control. "You've seen now what I can do to Kaoru-chan. I could disable her completely. It would certainly keep her out of trouble. Or I could force her to simply walk out while no one is looking. You wouldn't want that, now would you, Yukishiro Tomoe?"

"No." Her quiet voice grew even softer, and Sojiro's chin lifted in fake happiness.

"Very good. You do understand then. I will allow her to stay with you, and allow her to remain in control of her own body, and all I need is a teeny tiny little favor from you. That's fair, right?"

Coal black eyes closed, and her shivering fingers clenched together to hide her emotions.

"W-what… can I do for you?"

"Good girl." Sojiro's voice almost sounded genuine. Almost. "For now, I just need you to keep me up-to-date on what my Kaoru-chan does. All the tests you've been performing on her, and the results. Any plans you have regarding her. Nothing dangerous. I just want to know how my little doll is doing."

"That's it?"

"Well… you'll keep this to yourself, of course. I can't have you telling anyone else. If you do… I'll have to force Kaoru-chan to clean up her mess. She left me for you and that fire demon, after all. It'll be her fault if anything happens, and I believe in firm but fair punishments."

Tomoe's expression finally creased in horror. This man was obviously cruel, but there was no pleasure in his cruelty. Somehow, it made the knowledge even more terrifying. Without batting an eyelash, he had just hinted that he would force Kaoru to use her onibi flames to kill them all. The threat to their lives aside, the massive psychological damage such a scenario would inflict upon her sweet Kaoru-chan was unthinkable.

"T-that won't be necessary. I won't tell a soul." Her voice cracked with an eagerness to keep him appeased, but it was hard to tell if she had succeeded when his fake smile remained unaffected. "H-how should I… keep in touch with you?"

"I'll contact you." The shadow demon took a step back into the shade from one of the high buildings. The space eased the tightness of her lungs, but her relief was short-lived. Steel grey irises abruptly snapped open, and she felt the curse of despair take hold of her. It bound her down to the bone.

"Remember, Yukishiro Tomoe, I'll be watching you. But don't let that bother you. Just act natural."

The shadow flickered and vanished, like furtive movement seen only at the corner of one's vision. Left standing alone in the plaza, Tomoe could still feel his eyes on her well after he was gone, and she knew exactly how it felt to not be in control of her own body.

The coal demon stood shivering for several minutes afterwards, and then returned to the lab without the intended cup of coffee.

X

Kenshin stood on the sidewalk of the unfamiliar street and cursed himself internally.

Of course it's not the same, you idiot! It's been three hundred years and a massive world war!

Chagrined, slightly annoyed at himself, and embarrassed, Kenshin glanced at Kaoru who was curiously standing next to him. The old missing person's flier from three hundred years ago had noted her home address. A detail he had thought nothing of when he had first seen it. Although Kaoru offered little information about her family without being prompted first, it was clear that her father and mother, as well as the house she had grown up in, had meant a lot to her. It was also clear that she missed them dearly. Thinking to do something special for her, he had planned, albeit poorly, to take her back to that place that meant so much to her. A quick search had even revealed the address to be active.

Apparently, his brain had decided to conveniently bypass what kind of change that much time and destruction would bring to the city that was now known as Neo-Tokyo.

"Where are we, Kenshin?"

Clenching his jaw, Kenshin's inhale was a slight growl of irritation.

"I… wanted to bring you home, but…"

Violet eyes lowered to the street in humiliation.

"Home? But your apartment is…" Her voice trailed off, and then her chin jerked to look up and down the street. "M-my home?" The hand held loosely in his tightened desperately, and she took a step forward to squint at the address plate on the house across from them.

"That's right. I… wasn't thinking. Obviously, your home wouldn't still be here." A soft sigh pushed from his chest, and he couldn't look at her. "I'm sorry, Miss Kaoru."

It was silent for a long time, and then her head tilted straight up to stare at the sky. She stayed like that for several minutes, and his curiosity finally forced him to turn towards her. A happy smile was plastered on her lips, and she looked content despite the failed intention for the day. Infected by her mood, he brushed the bangs from her eyes and half-grinned in subdued amusement.

"What are you doing, odd duck?"

Kaoru giggled, and glanced at him from out of the corner of her eye. Her free hand lifted and pointed upwards.

"The sky doesn't really change." Sapphire eyes returned to her skyward admiration. "In fact, it looks just like I remember. It even kinda sounds the same." Dark lashes closed, and her smile widened. "The soft breeze rustling the trees. Children laughing. The distant noise of cars and the train. I bet there are crickets at night, too, and maybe fireflies down by the river. All that's missing is…"

"Is?" Catching a stray tear on his finger, he waited patiently for her to continue. She sniffled, and then chuckled before bringing one hand down into her other palm with a hard chop.

"Thwack!"

The mimicked noise from her mouth was forceful, but somehow happy. He easily recognized what she meant.

"Ah. Your home was a dojo."

"Mmhmm." Her head nodded matter-of-factly, and her chin finally lowered. "Can we… walk around some?"

Kenshin smiled, glad that his idea hadn't been a complete letdown.

"Sure."

Naturally, her hand found its way back into his own, and he allowed her to lead them further down the street they were on.

"Wow." There was a sad but also affectionate note to her voice. "It looks so different now. Everything's so bright and clean looking." A small laugh lightened her aura. "I guess that's because the houses used to be all made from wood, which made the street warm and rural feeling. Now it's kinda high class. You know?"

She glanced at him, and he shrugged because he really didn't know. Kaoru, however, wasn't fazed.

"If you go down that street, that's where my elementary school was, and my high school was way back that way." Twisting and turning as they walked, she oriented their position with the memories in her mind. "The convenience store's still in the same place, but it's way different." She paused briefly to stare into the glass front of the shop. "I used to come here all the time with my best friend for ice cream. Oh!"

She pulled him by the arm as a thought occurred to her, and he laughed at her enthusiasm. Something about the location, despite its transformation, had brought out the Kaoru he had briefly witnessed in her memories. Visions from a long-distant past that Genzai's machine had been able to broadcast those few months before.

"If we go down this way, the park I met your dad at was right… here…"

Their half-jogging steps slowed to a stop, and they both stared at the pristine and untouched playground before them. Nothing about it had change, from the swings and jungle gym, to the green frog slide. The playground of Kaoru's childhood had remained exactly the same.

X

A/N: Yay! I'm getting to some other things I've been waiting to get to. I'm really working not to rush, because I'm trying as hard as I can to write this the exact way I've imagined it in my mind. That may mean some not so exciting chapters, but thank you so much for sticking it out with me. Tomoe's involvement with Sojiro was decided long ago. It made me sad and happy at the same time, as it will have consequences. Sojiro has also bought Kenshin and Kaoru a little time where the Emperor is concerned, though I doubt helping Kenshin was his desire. I wonder why and how the playground survived? Next chapter, Kenshin and Kaoru learn some history about the area, and Kaoru discusses Kenshin's father. See ya!