Chapter One Hundred

"Mama! I missed you!"

Grinning like an impish boy, his little fists firm in her sleeves, Kenji jumped in place to celebrate their reunion. Biting her trembling lip, Kaoru picked him up and hugged him tight to her chest, her eyebrows trembling as she attempted to steady her emotions.

"Oh baby. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Standing, she rocked him from side to side. "I didn't mean to forget, and I left you all alone."

Quick jerks of his head disagreed. "You didn't leave me, Mama. I've been right here the whole time."

"But…"

"You held onto me so tight, you pulled me out of the Veil with you."

Sitting down on the tongue of the slide, Kaoru rested him on her lap so she could see his face. His features were a strange mixture of childish and intelligent. As if an entity much older had been reborn into an innocent soul. His voice as well was very articulate, but bore the high, sweet tone of childhood. Brushing back his unruly red bangs, Kaoru fussed over him as her heart swelled inside her chest.

"I'm so glad I didn't leave you there." Glancing up briefly, she gently frowned. "But… where exactly is here."

"Do you like it, Mama?"

"It's… very peaceful and warm." Smiling, she tweaked his nose. Much the same way Kenshin did to her. "I love it." Kenji's grin widened and his heavenly blue eyes squeezed shut.

"This is my core. When we passed through the Veil, I wrapped myself inside of it and hid at the center of your soul so that we could stay together, but…" Slowly, his excited features turned downcast. "I was too rash, Mama. I haven't learned control of my power yet, and…"

One little hand pointed towards her chest, and she automatically glanced downward. At the center of her sternum was a gaping hole clear through to her spine. Nothing filled it and nothing seeped out of it. There was simply an empty space. One that was slowly growing.

"I'm hurting you."

"Oh." Was this what was causing her episodes? Had he been the cause the entire time? Touching a hand to the edge of the cavity, Kaoru inhaled shakily and found it surreal how the air trembled without a visible place to fill inside of her. Kenji's body slumped in her lap.

"Do you… think Papa will be angry?"

There was fear in his little voice, a fear of rejection. His question, however, also brought about an acknowledgement for who his father was, and her stomach fluttered with emotion. Emotion she would have to process later. Petting his hair, Kaoru shook her head softly.

"You just need to learn how to control your strength. Papa is the best teacher." Speaking the intimate title felt awkward at first, and her throat strangled the word. "He's patient and easy to understand, and he won't let you give up." As she continued to talk, the words became natural and the notion that she was talking to their child about his father filled her with pride and joy. "Everyone can be angry sometimes, even papas, but papas will always help you learn from your mistakes. That's what's great about papas."

Innocent blue eyes stared up at her as she spoke, and his smile became bashful as she convinced him not to be afraid.

"I can't wait to meet Papa!"

Laughing, Kaoru grasped his tiny hands in hers and shook them gently.

"Me, too! He's going to be so surprised." Caught up in his excitement easily, Kaoru tumbled off the other side of the peak of joy as the dilemma of reality tripped her. "Of course, I don't exactly know how to explain how we made you."

There were some obvious and glaring issues with his conception. One being she had no uterus. It was something that had not bothered her up to that point, what with everything else that had happened to her since being brought back to life. In fact, not having a menstrual cycle had been a blessing. After entering in to a more physical relationship with Kenshin, however, the notion that they could not have children had slowly started to dig at the back of her heart. The second glaring issue was that Kenji's conception had happened quite a long time prior to their first intimate encounter. How, then, had he been conceived at all? In what way could she be his mother and Kenshin be his father if there had been no exchange and blend of their genetics. Last, but certainly not least, was how had a child come to life in a place devoid of it? She had found Kenji in Death's Veil. The Veil was meant for passing souls only, not new ones being born.

"That's easy, Mama. A piece of Papa's core came in to contact with your soul. The two melded together, and then there was me!" Kenji's hands formed the tiniest bowl, and she watched as a spark of violet flames burned above his palms. "Papa's core is really strong. It's what's helped me grow." Deep blue eyes lifted to look into the mirror of her own. "Mama's soul is really protective. You've allowed me to grow safely and without fear. Soon, I'll be developed enough to be born."

"Born." Placing a hand over the whole in her chest, Kaoru frowned. "How?"

"Papa will know how. You just need to tell him my true name."

Kaoru's lips parted in soft surprise. Once upon a time, Kenshin had explained the significance of a true name for his family line. It was not a name that just anyone was allowed to know. In her lap, Kenji struggled to sit forward, and he whispered his true name into her ear. Kaoru had never heard the name before, but somehow, it felt right.

X

"They showed no interest in you, boy, the entire time you were here last winter. They've showed no interest in anyone for a long time. I haven't even seen them in over a hundred years." Kenshin sat unmoving by the closed door to the living space where Kaoru now slept. His head was bowed, creating a menacing shadow of his stone features. Seated at the table with both komainu passed out in his lap, Hiko leaned his chin into one fist and grunted. "No doubt cutting the damn mountain in half is what got their attention." Kenshin remained unresponsive, and Hiko finally growled. "Dammit boy, she wasn't in danger. Onibi cannot kill other onibi, and no one's ever even heard of multiple onibi joining together the way they did with her. How was I supposed to predict something like that?"

When Hiko had first met Kamiya Kaoru, he had thought her to be an onibi that had forgotten it had died and had somehow taken the form of its human body. Offering to let her stay had been a kindness, so that she could be with others of the same nature. The other onibi he safeguarded would have accepted her, and she would have been with her own kind in the only way he knew how to grant her. In the back of his mind, he had also feared that she might one day remember what she was and then be a danger to those around her. Specifically, a danger to the young fire demon that had killed thousands of her brethren in the war.

The fact that she could freely leave his barrier, however, had fully convinced him that she was more than just an onibi. Kamiya Kaoru was something much stronger than a simple onibi; something much stronger than a simple revived soul. In fact, Hiko was beginning to wonder if her 'Death Powers' had been obtained from the Veil at all. Most revived souls came back with one. Kaoru had three. Four, if her ice flames and death flames were counted as separate powers.

That aside, now that she had taken the other onibi into her care, there was no need to keep the barrier around his mountain in place. When creating it, he had been forced to make it strong enough to keep all of the onibi he had collected within it. As a result, he had trapped himself on the mountain, as his departure would have broken the barrier. Since there was no longer a need for him to remain there to protect them, he was finally free to leave. In a way, he was grateful for the little human girl, and now deeply in her debt. Looking away from Kenshin's prickly form, Hiko leaned his cheek into his knuckles.

"If you want to be mad at me, that's fine. But you're always welcome… if you ever decide to come back."

Silence descended on the small mountain cottage, and it stretched for so long that the light scrape of wood on wood sounded like a knife tearing through burlap. Standing instantly, Kenshin watched as Kaoru stepped into the room, her eyes wide and searching his own.

"Kaoru. How do you feel?"

Instead of answering, she stepped closer to him, her mouth twitching on a smile. Irises of perfect blue combustion wandered over his face, and her hands lifted to touch his cheekbones, as if seeing him for the first time.

"That's not fair that I only get the eyes." The bizarre statement was given with as much resignation as giddy delight. Lightly, her fingers stopped with the tips of her nails on his jawline. "Kenshin… we need to talk."

Violet eyes glanced at the table, and his features hardened.

"Can it wait? I want to get a head start for the trains before morning."

Kaoru shook her head.

"No. It has to be right now." She too glanced at the table, and though she offered a bashful smile to the water dragon, she tugged at Kenshin's hands. "Outside."

It was still night on the mountain, but it was more than halfway to morning. The chill air was not as harsh with no wind, and Kaoru's hand was warm inside of his own as they walked away from the cottage. Once in the tree line, she turned to look at him.

"Kenshin…" She struggled for a moment, and then took a deep breath. "How… did your father learn your name? Your true name. Did you tell him after you were born?"

Caught off guard, Kenshin frowned.

"No. I have never spoken my true name out loud. Even my father had only spoken it to me once, when he passed on to me a great burden." His head tilted and he touched her hair. "We are born knowing our true name, Miss Kaoru, and then our fathers give us a name for the world to know us by. This may seem unbelievable to you, but I told my father my true name before I was born."

"Oh. I see." She did not seem disbelieving, but rather confused. "Does it only happen with the fathers in your family line? What about the mothers?"

Kenshin smiled kindly. "I know it is typical for humans to have a mother and a father, but that is not typical for fire demons. We are raised by our fathers. I never met my mother. My father never met his, either. Even female fire demons have no bond with their mothers." His brows creased inward to contort his smile. "Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"It's… relevant." She kind of shrugged, but appeared stuck on the familial duties of fire demons. "Is there a reason no bond was created with the mothers? That seems a little sad."

Very confused now, Kenshin shifted. "I suppose…" Remembering a passage from Arai Shakku's journal about the Kagu-tsuchi, Kenshin provided her with the blacksmith's theory. "It may be that way because fire demons were directly created by a higher being. That higher being would have been like the first fire demon's father, and so he would have been raised without a mother. Our kind have a special bond with that higher being, and we feel a strong connection with it as the father of our bloodline. It simply is the way we are and always have been." Because she looked downcast, Kenshin took her face in his. "That is only with pure fire demons, Kaoru. You met Arai Seiku. His father was a fire demon, but his mother was not. He grew up with and loved both of his parents."

This brightened her features considerably, and she looked as excited as she previously did upon waking.

"You're right. I don't know why I was so worried. I guess I'm a lot more nervous than I expected." She giggled, and her anxiety tinged the sound just enough to be concerning.

"Nervous? About what? I thought…" He glanced down at her stomach briefly, and then locked eyes with her. For one world-upending moment, he recalled Megumi talking about morning sickness and what it looked like for someone carrying the child of a fire demon. "Kaoru…"

Her grin was getting wider, and she grabbed his wrists before he could say anything else.

"I'm not carrying the missing piece of your core like we thought." The statement shot from her mouth and was followed promptly by a laugh. "Well, it's not just the missing piece of your core." A hand pulled back to rest on her sternum. "My fireform is a part of both of us. I've been calling him Kenji. I hope it's okay that I gave him a name and not you."

Blindsided in the purest sense of the word, Kenshin froze, his violet eyes staring blankly at Kaoru's joyful expression.

"We're going to have a baby, Kenshin." Her arms wrapped around his neck to hug him rather enthusiastically, but his hands remained poised in the air to either side of her. "Gah, it sounds so weird to say it out loud!" She laughed some more, mostly at the absurdity of the situation. "And it's not even because we've been having unprotected sex!" Sputtered hilarity mixed with mania began to shake her entire body, and his fingers finally rested at her shoulders. "Though I suppose you'd probably just melt a c…"

"How?" Strained and still shocked, Kenshin choked out the word for his own sanity. When she stepped back, his eyes were still wide. "Kaoru. How?" He refrained from speaking the obvious out loud. They both knew she did not have the working reproductive organs to create or carry a baby. A hard swallow worked her throat, and her nervousness returned.

"He said it was because a piece of your core melded with a piece of my soul. I guess it happened when," again, she touched her sternum, "when you stabbed me. Three hundred years ago." There was tense pause, and her smile was slightly pained. "That flame I found when I woke up in Death's Veil, it wasn't just the missing piece of your core. It was what we created together, and I've been carrying him right here, in my chest, ever since. Well…" Her mouth bowed with more affection. "I suppose I've been carrying him in my soul, not this body."

More details were provided as she explained what she knew. All the while, violet irises, deep and saturated, darted back and forth between hers, and his expression was still shell-shocked by what she was saying.

"You're serious."

She gave him a strange look, and her voice turned slightly snappish.

"Of course, I am. I wouldn't joke about this." Finally, a crease formed between her brows. "Are you upset?"

Slowly, his mind absorbed and eventually accepted the information. What she said made a certain kind of sense. Just as gradually, elation spread across his face and echoed back onto hers. Hugging her suddenly into his chest, his first instinct was a peculiar sense of triumph and contentment simply knowing that she was carrying his child. It had nothing to do with the mechanism of conception or the complication of their past, but only with the knowledge that he was going to be a father. They were going to have a family. It was possible his genetics were wired towards the continuation of his bloodline, more so than other fire demon, if only because of the burden of being a vessel for the Kagu-tsuchi. Whatever the case, he had failed to realize how much it would mean to him to be a father until that very moment.

There was only one problem. The same problem they had run in to when they had assumed the flame in her chest was only the missing piece of his core.

"Kaoru… how is this baby meant to be born?" Cutting it out of her no longer seemed like a viable option.

Kaoru pulled away from him, and he loosened his hold enough so that she could look into his eyes.

"He said I was to tell you his true name, and you would know how."

Uncertain how his true name would help, Kenshin was also a bit surprised to learn Kaoru had heard the child's name before he had.

"His true name? He told you?"

Nodding and looking so pleased, she leaned back into him, just like Kenji had to her, and whispered the name in his ear.

"Kagu-tsuchi."

"W-what?!" Though flabbergasted, the exclamation came out more breathless than loud. "Are you sure you heard correctly?!" His reaction put Kaoru on edge.

"Is something wrong with his name? I've never heard it before. Is it bad?"

"Kaoru." Struggling to put a little space between them, Kenshin held his hands palm up, and the golden-wrapped katana he kept safe inside his core appeared in his grasp in all its glory. "This is the Kagu-tsuchi."

Blinking, Kaoru stared at the beautiful katana, still in awe even though she knew it was the weapon that had caused her death.

"Really? I didn't know it had a name." A small frown puckered her forehead. "Didn't Hiko-sama say it was a god or something? What does that have to do with Kenji?"

Kenshin opened his mouth to answer, but the next blink of his lashes found him no longer in the dark, quiet woods of the mountain. Instead, he knelt before the suspended katana he safe-guarded at the very center of his core. Around him, the dense pressure of his burgeoning dragon power pushed against him from all sides, but the incessant snoring from the phoenix was strangely muffled. The vision had never happened to him while awake before, and a premonition of dread tightened the muscles around his spine.

"IT IS NEARLY TIME."

"Time?" Sitting back on his shins, Kenshin fought to maintain control over the breath in his lungs. Despite the calming effect of the Kagu-tsuchi's strong voice, the trepidation in his body was coiling around him like a snake. "For what?"

"FOR THE BIRTH OF MY VESSEL. YOU HAVE DONE WELL."

"Kenji?" The confirmation flooded Kenshin's chest like an overfilled balloon. Briefly the foreboding disappeared, and relief slowly deflated his lungs. He would not be responsible for the end of the world. His death, no matter when it happened, would not scorch the planet with ruin and fire. Somehow, he had not spoiled the appearance of the Kagu-tsuchi's permanent vessel.

There was an extended pause.

"IS THAT THE NAME YOU HAVE CHOSEN FOR MY VESSEL?"

"…No. Kaoru chose that name." Affection filled his tone now.

An even longer pause.

Deciding to push for answers, Kenshin filled the silence.

"Do you know how he will be born?"

"THE SAME WAY HE WAS CONCEIVED."

Deep pupils of harsh black contracted to pinpricks within the depths of Kenshin's violet irises, and the stretch of red lashes pulled so wide it was painful. The return of dread choked him like the violent strike of a venomous snake.

"YOU MUST PIERCE THE SOUL CARRYING HIM WITH MY BLADE AND FORCEFULLY BRING HIM INTO THE LIVING PLANE."

X

A/N: Small victory dance for chapter 100. Yay! What a crazy ride it has been to get this far! I know my writing style has changed some since the start of this story, but I'm really just trying to keep myself together with all these details, lol. I actually don't think I did as good of a job building up to the other onibi as I wanted. In fact, it was a little rushed because I was starting to feel like the story was dragging. Oh well. It is what it is now. They're not a huge component of the story, but they do play a part later. On to the next chapter!

Bonus Song #4

Kenji: Beyond the Sun – Shinedown