Chapter Ninety-Two

Gein's multi-faceted irises stared in open euphoria at the pristine and glistening length of the Kagu-tsuchi. It was even more beautiful than he had imagined, and its power was palpable as it lashed out at Master Shishio in controlled and perfectly executed strikes. White flames left an after-image of the blade when swung, and its song of steel was clean, unlike the violent and angry scream of Master Shishio's sword. Gein needed to have that weapon. He couldn't wait to be in control of it, and to unlock all of its secrets.

The only snag seemed to be its vessel. While the appearance of the Kagu-tsuchi had made his heart race, the revelation of dragon markers on the fire elemental had been a slap in the face. It didn't matter that the markers seemed to be incomplete. Their presence was still a warning of what was to come and what had already occurred. Immediately, his stomach had dropped into the floor of his pelvis, and he had rethought his entire plan. Was this what Sōjirō had meant when he had teased him about being capable of defeating Himura Kenshin? Had he known about his strength and his imminent transition? Of course, he had. Scowling, Gein's spider legs contracted against his giant web, and he cursed that shadow demon for outsmarting him. The only element he could now bank on was that Gein had perfectly planned for this encounter to happen while the fire demon was exhausted.

He's still preoccupied with Master Shishio for now. All I can do is hope Shishio wears him down enough for me to defeat him myself afterwards. I'll have to be careful how I use my dolls.

Shishio, however, was becoming aggravated with the fight. No longer did his mouth split into a repulsive grin of delight, and no longer did his laugh echo in the rotting expanse of trees. He wasn't getting what he wanted out of the fight. Kenshin's demeanor had changed, and he wasn't as desperate as before. It was apparent that the fire demon was now the one in control of the encounter, and he was not proceeding with the battle in the way that Shishio wanted.

In the end, Shishio did something unexpected. He abandoned the fight altogether. With a redirected leap, he landed in the webbing directly to Gein's right, and melted the wire threads with his rot power in order to rip the hanging Kaoru from Gein's grasp. Reacting just in time, Gein pulled at the nearly invisible spider silk attached to the doll's limbs and attempted to jerk her out of Shishio's hold. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw the fire dragon fledgling coming at them.

"Let go! She's mine! You said I could have her!" Shishio began screaming in his tantrum, and Gein spoke quickly in an attempt to calm him down.

"Of course, Master Shishio, but you need to beat the fire demon first. Remember?"

"Give her back!"

Instead of joining them, Gein caught the moment Kenshin clasped both hands at the hilt of the Kagu-tsuchi, and then raised it over his head as a warning of his imminent attack; not on Shishio, but Gein. Struggling to break Shishio's hold, Gein tugged and pulled at the spider silk while also writhing backwards with his eight huge spider legs. All the while, Shishio continued to scream, and his broken, childish desire was fast turning into untamed rage at being denied what he wanted. In the midst of the panic and chaos, harsh coughing erupted from inside Iwanbo's belly.

Everything paused as all eyes swung to the forgotten mechanical puppet, and Kenshin's eyes widened to see smoke rising from out of its ears, nose and mouth. The coughing became more violent, to the point that it sounded like gagging, and then the sickening sound of someone retching barely preceded the appearance of liquid-like fire eating through the tough skin of Iwanbo's torso. Recognizing what was happening, Kenshin dropped his attack stance and turned towards the puppet, but Gein, with his spider silk threads, reacted quicker.

Iwanbo's head popped off, leaving a hole directly into its body, and from out of that hole Gein yanked Kaoru's blindfolded body into the hook of one of his spider legs. The remnants of a gag fell away from her mouth, its edges singed and burnt, and red marks around her arms and legs hinted that she had been tied up. However, those too had disintegrated, leaving her limbs now free. The brief expression of agitation in Gein's eyes gave away that this was the real Kaoru, and it was clear he was not pleased by the way his bluff had just fallen apart.

As if reacting on instinct, or even perhaps through the will of someone else, Kaoru's hand snatched hold of the spider leg the moment it wrapped around her body. In an instant, that limb crystalized and froze, and the momentum and force of her arm's motion broke it clean off from Gein's body. The spider demon cried out in pain as he jerked away from her, and she fell through the air with the frozen spider leg stuck to the palm of her hand. The blindfold covering her eyes was still in place, and she looked as if she were not aware of her circumstances in the slightest. Unfortunately, she landed directly into the arms of Shishio, who ripped the spider leg from her hand and took off with her into the night.

Kenshin and Gein jumped into action at nearly the same time to intercept him, but both were a second too late. The complete dome of spider webbing that Gein constructed around them had only just missed Shishio, but effectively trapped Kenshin in with him.

"What a pain."

Both Kaoru dolls dropped to either side of Kenshin, and when he turned, Iwanbo stood behind him with his head reattached.

"My plan may have fallen apart, but I will finish what I started, Himura Kenshin. You will be my new puppet, and the Kagu-tsuchi will be mine to control."

Releasing the pent-up, hot air from his lungs, Kenshin closed his eyes and lifted the Kagu-tsuchi over his head. Though his legs were shaky, his hands and arms were steady.

"It's unfortunate for you. Now that I know Miss Kaoru is out of the way, I don't have to hold back any more."

X

Kaoru was not aware of being conscious until the shoulder digging into her gut started to bruise and feel tender. Even then, the blindfold covering her eyes and keeping her in darkness made her question if she was dreaming or not. There was something frantic and surreal about the gait of the person carrying her, and she wondered uncertainly if Kenshin had found her or someone else.

She didn't know for how long they had been running, but when her mind finally battled through the sedation of Gein's venom and she began to squirm, she was abruptly dropped flat on her back. Gasping for air as the sudden flop briefly paralyzed her lungs, she fought to remove her blindfold to see what kind of predicament she had found herself in. She knew, at least, that it was not Kenshin who had been carrying her, as he would have never done something so rough, even by accident. Who she found, however, caused her mind to race.

Pacing not far away and scratching violently at his skull, was Shishio. Words muttered unstably past his lips, and the sword in his hand flashed threateningly at her each time he turned. He appeared to be visibly upset, and a part of her knew that he would not be easy to deal with in his current state. No amount of talking would calm him, and the slightest wrong move would set him off. Carefully pushing herself upright, she watched him cautiously as he mumbled curses and frustrated words.

Casting sapphire eyes slowly upon their surroundings, she found nothing to help pinpoint her location or direction from the mountain. The trees were too thick, and the sky too dark. She could try running back down the path his footprints had made, but that risked becoming lost if he made chase. And he would undoubtedly make chase. She had limited options, but she would use all of what was at her disposal.

He wanted me to sing for him. So, I will.

Unlike with her friends, Kaoru did not fight or negate the song she knew would appeal to him the most. Instead of trying to soothe the intense negative emotions in his soul, she fed into them outright, the way he wanted. If she could calm him or lure him into letting his guard down, then perhaps she would be able to use her other power to make him lead her back to the mountain.

The melody was dark and gloomy in nature, but the words slowed his angry footsteps and pulled his full attention onto her. His sunken eyes stared as if captivated, and he drew closer to kneel on the ground in front of her like a man begging for scraps. Each word was absorbed hungrily, each note soaked in like a sponge, and his hands began to scratch incessantly at each opposite arm. The tune was centered upon death, just like every other song she had ever sang for him, and knowing his obsession with it churned her stomach unpleasantly. She continued, however, because her life depended on it. The last time she had disappointed him, he had thrown her from a window. With the sword lying on the ground between them, she worried what his temper might make him do this time.

It was as she tried to shakily return his twisted smile, that her eyes glanced away and focused upon his arms. The bandages had come loose from his scratching, and multiple cuts could be seen marring his already degraded flesh like a ladder up his forearm. A warble dipped the song into the wrong register, and she jerked her eyes back up to his before fixing the mistake immediately. Thankfully, he did not seem to notice, but her fake smile melted off her face as she recognized what it was that she had seen.

Those are self-inflicted!

Intuitively, the puzzle pieces clicked smoothly together in her mind, and the song tapered off into silence. He was not a good person. She knew he wasn't. His obsession with death was unhealthy and unsettling, but as a result, she had missed what that obsession fully encompassed. Slowly, his expression morphed into annoyed fury, but he paused when her lashes descended to escalate the release of two smoky blue tears down her cheeks.

"You want to die." The atmosphere stretched thin and dangerous between them as her announcement exposed his true desire. She wasn't crying for him. He didn't deserve tears. It was the knowledge that she had uncovered that squeezed her soft heart with pity. Slowly, her glowing sapphire irises lifted, and she met his wide-stretched gaze as he stared her down.

"Yes."

Her forehead creased, because she didn't understand such a desire. Life was precious to her. Her father had made certain she understood that life was to be treasured, and that it was to never be wished gone.

"But… you ran away. You took me and ran away. Doesn't that mean you want to live?" She didn't know why she was arguing with him. It was not because she cared for his safety or wellbeing. Still, she had never wished or wanted anyone to die. Not even this broken and distorted man.

A look of pure disgust contorted Shishio's features, and he pulled away from her.

"I thought that little dragon would be able to do it, but he changed his mind. I don't understand why he changed his mind!" The sword between them was snatched from the ground, and Kaoru leaned back fearfully. Without hesitation, Shishio stabbed the entire length of the katana into his chest, directly through his heart, and she fought to keep her inhale from shaking too terrible much through her nose. "I need someone else to do it! And it has to be someone strong! This body won't even let me kill myself! I needed him to do it!"

Biting her lip, Kaoru stared without blinking at the hilt of the sword blooming from Shishio's chest. He appeared unfazed by it being there, and she feared what that would have meant for Kenshin had Shishio not run away. Buried at the back of her mind, she also feared what that meant for her.

A splatter of rotten and congealed blood plopped onto the ground, and sapphire eyes flickered down to look at it before jerking back up to stare into his frenzied gaze. He was scratching again; at his arms, at his neck. He was uncomfortable in his body. Just like I was uncomfortable… before Kenshin found me. It was then that she realized, that this was not just a simple desire for death. It was not suicidal ideation that drove his thoughts and actions. It was something much more powerful for a revived soul like the both of them. Something they could not recover from or deny.

His final living desire… was to die.

He's been trying to fulfil that desire, but he can't. He can't because Sōjirō gave him a body that can't be destroyed by regular means. He's broken… but it wasn't because of my singing. It was because… he didn't want to be here in the first place.

A little voice in her head wondered how bad he had suffered at the end of his life for him to wish for death.

You could help him.

Her entire body recoiled from the intrusive thought, as if to escape the mere idea that she could take another life.

No. Wouldn't that be the same as killing him?

The torment and agony of being unable to fulfil her final desire flooded her mind, and she remembered how torturous that had felt. Even the few times she had wavered and thought Kenshin might never look at her again had resurfaced enough of those frightening emotions to unsettle her. She never wanted to go back to how that felt.

Technically… he's already dead.

Fisting a hand into her bangs, she looked down.

…So am I. We're the same. I…

What, she wondered, would she have been like if she had never found Kenshin? Would she have been mad and broken, too? Would she have been just like Shishio? Or would she have been worse?

He doesn't need you to kill him. He needs you to guide him.

Guide?

Akira's excited voice came to the forefront of her memory, and she recalled a day not so very long after she had finally been released from the sub-basement of the lab. She knew what onibi were. She had learned about them from a book she had read in middle school. The thought of where and from what her powers had originated from had dampened her spirit. The daitengu, however, had enthusiastically explained about a Western fae creature that was similar to the onibi.

"They're called will-o-the-wisps. They're also known to be mischievous and they like to lead travelers astray, but they're said to have another, little known duty. They guide lost souls to the afterlife. Essentially, they take care of the souls of the dead to make sure they do not linger where they should not, and then guide then like a shepherd guides sheep to their destination. You have a very kind and playful spirit, Kamiya-san. I think this version fits you much better than the onibi of our homeland."

Lifting her chin slowly, Kaoru locked eyes on the sword hilt still sprouting from Shishio's chest like a sick flower. He wasn't supposed to be there. Truthfully, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, she knew she wasn't supposed to be there, either. Life was precious, but Death, too, deserved respect. All life ended eventually, and the end of a life carried just as much validity as the beginning. Her father had taught her to protect life, but perhaps protecting death was also important. Parting chapped lips, Kaoru had to swallow before the words trembled from her mouth.

"I… I could… guide you back… to Death."

The flicker of ecstasy that lightened his sunken eyes was startling, but it was overpowered by fierce and angry distrust.

"How?"

Wiping the palms of her hands off onto her pants, she lifted them into an open bowl over her thighs. Centering her focus and steadying her breath, she formed a ball of blue flame within the upward curve of her fingers. She stared at it for nearly a minute, as if mesmerized by her own power, but it had taken very little of that time for her to recognize the difference in her flames.

I see. The onibi flame really is darker.

Deep, like the coming night sky at dusk, the very center of her onibi flame felt more like a void than a true fire. Whereas her ice flames were lighter, in color and in texture. Only the outer edges were similar where they lightened to a soft, shimmering cold blue.

Finally looking up, she held out her hands in offering.

"My flame will pull your soul from that body and into its embrace. I will then send you back to Death, where you belong." Another swallow worked her throat, but she was no longer hesitant about what she was doing. Somehow, her actions felt right. "All you have to do is touch it. It's your choice."

A slow, twisted grin pulled at Shishio's rotten lips.

"When I fight Death this time, I won't lose."

Without hesitating, he plunged both hands into the onibi fire, like a child reaching for candy. Instantly, his body went limp and fell sideways into the snow, now only a doll; an empty vessel. Kaoru's glowing sapphire eyes remained fixed upon the onibi flame without blinking, and she watched the void at the center fill with Shishio's soul. It was not a pretty soul, but the gravity of what she held made her lungs tighten. Her words, when she spoke, were strained and soft.

"Death… my old friend, I am sending this lost soul back into your care."

Raising her hands over her head, she urged the ball of flame into the air. Slowly, it drifted away from her ice-crusted fingers, and rose like a floating lantern into the cloudy sky. Near the top of the trees, the flame disappeared. Not in a puff of smoke or flicker of fire, but as if something had snatched it from existence.

Staring with her chin tilted all the way up, a hint of red out of the corner of her eye finally snagged her attention, and she jerked her head to her left to find Kenshin. He stood without moving, his violet eyes steady and serious upon her, and she wondered for how long he had been there. As they stared at one another, the flame blue of her irises gleamed a pearlescent silver, and then she climbed to her feet to step around Shishio's body.

Stopping before him, she lifted both hands for his face, her brows puckering inward the longer her gaze studied his haggard appearance. Blood covered his left cheek and ran down his neck where it covered the shoulder of his clothes. Molten lava had dried and cracked on his skin from where it had spilled from his now cooling horns and down his temples. White mist puffed into the air from his heavy breaths, a sure sign that he had been running to catch up. He looked rough and exhausted, and all thoughts of anything else melted from her mind. With the Kagu-tsuchi still clasped in his right hand, he stalled her reaching fingers with his left hand for fear of her being burned by his blood.

Briefly, his eyes lowered to study the palm of her captured hand. The top layer of skin from the palm and fingers had been peeled away. It left behind an exposed red and raw underlayer as leftover evidence of her use of ice flames on Gein when she had frozen and removed his leg. Tiny ice crystals also still clung to her nails from her recently used onibi flames. Letting her wrist go without commenting, he turned his attention to the trail of blue tears still caught on her cheeks. As her fingers lowered to curl into his sweater, he brushed the tears carefully away with a ghosting of clear fire. In another fleeting motion, his violet eyes flitted to and then away from the unmoving body behind her, but still he said nothing. Finally, her mouth opened to break the silence.

"Are you okay?"

A quiet sigh pushed from his mouth as he stared into her eyes, and then he leaned his forehead against hers.

"I am now."

Crimson tinged her cheeks, but he allowed himself only a few seconds to bathe in the relief of her presence. Pushing them minimally apart, his eyes frowned at the burgeoning bruises around her neck.

"Are you okay, Miss Kaoru?"

Smiling as his gaze continued to rove over her in search of any other obvious signs of injury, her heart warmed and then squeezed as she remembered what Shishio had said to her about Kenshin changing his mind. After facing the man responsible for his father's death, he had ultimately decided not to kill him. He had decided on his own not to choose revenge. By doing so, he had chosen himself over his anger.

"I'm fine."

Tenderly, his hand flattened to press gently against her sternum.

"What about here?"

"Oh… uh… no. Why?"

A frown creased his forehead. It appeared she did not remember her rather glorious awakening in the midst of his battle with Shishio and Gein. Did she not remember freeing herself from Gein's grasp, either? Stranger still, he could feel nothing in her chest. Not a single puff or hint of flame. She had most definitely suffered another episode not that long ago, but she truly did seem fine. How had she not been burned by the liquid fire expelled from her mouth when it had clearly burned through the thick hide of the mechanical puppet Iwanbo? How had it burned the gag and restraints but not her?

Between the spread of two fingers, a glimmer of golden light sparkled at him from inside her chest, like light from a faraway tunnel exit. A single blink later, and the light disappeared. Removing his hand, Kenshin stared harder at the same spot, but the vision did not recur.

"Kenshin?" Uncertain, she shook him, and he returned to the reality of their situation reluctantly. His body was starting to feel heavy. They needed to return to the safety of Hiko's barrier before he lost the strength to move.

"Let's get back to the mountain." Instead of responding, his gravely voice explained that it was time to leave.

But first. Slitted pupils, surrounded by iridescent violet irises, averted to Shishio's body, and locked upon the sword sprouting from his chest. A weapon like that should not be left for just anyone to take.

Intent upon retrieving the sword, Kenshin stepped towards the body, and the shadows around them immediately became dense and threatening. Instinctively forming a ring of white flames around them, with the tip of the Kagu-tsuchi pointed outward, Kenshin placed himself in front of Kaoru and glared as Sōjirō materialized from out of the darkness. Between them, Shishio's body began to slowly sink into the murkiness of Sōjirō's power, like a felled tree into a swamp.

"I seem to have arrived a little too late. That's mildly disappointing."

Though he smiled pleasantly, Kenshin could tell his posture was tight, and his facial muscles appeared to be even more forced into place than usual. Battling back the weariness trying to invade the edges of his sight, Kenshin tightened his jaw as he again looked down at Shishio's sword as it disappeared.

"Where did you get that katana?"

"Do you recognize it? How great. Don't worry, you'll get to see it again in the future." Though his eyes remained closed, just the barest tilt of his chin to one side was enough to convey his attention had shifted to Kaoru standing next to him. "It's been a long time, Kaoru-chan. We should catch up soon."

"No thanks."

The change in his expression was almost imperceptive, but he wasn't offended in any way by Kaoru's denial. Instead, he seemed intrigued.

"Oh. That's right. I nearly forget that you think you have free will. It really is quite fascinating." Shishio's body had completely absorbed into Sōjirō's shadow by then, and then the shadow demon stepped back. "I'm afraid I can't stay and enjoy your futile struggle. I have a new pet that I forgot to feed you see. Bye for now." As quickly has he had appeared, he was gone, but the hint of his presence clung to the surrounding black of night as a reminder that he could be anywhere, at any time.

X

A/N: I'm so happy to finally be done with these three chapters. I struggle so much with fight/action sequences, and this was no exception. Honestly, there wasn't that much detailed fighting, but I'll leave those parts to your imagination. What I really wanted to be careful with was the information subtly worked in between those action sequences. On top of my simple struggle with writing this encounter, I also had a rather big disruption in my life. My mom was taken to the ICU twice, and was in the hospital for almost a week, altogether. It was not a fun experience, and I certainly never want to go through it again. She's fine now, and back home. While she was there, though, it was hard to focus on anything else but how awful it was that she was even there.

Thanks for sticking it out with me all they way into the 90s. I realize I've missed the second-year anniversary for this story, but yay for two years! Additionally, I noticed after posting my last three chapters that this story is officially the longest story I've written, by word count. Holy moly. (Next milestone I'm shooting for is chapter one hundred!) Coming up next, Kenshin and Kaoru recover from their ordeal, and Hiko discusses their plans going forward. I'd be very happy if you left a review. See ya!

Love Song #9

Aoshi: Wicked Game – Three Days Grace