Chapter One Hundred Twelve

During the process of sneaking everyone who would be traveling to Neo-Tokyo onto the train, Yahiko had regaled them with his tale of escape from the palace. It was an admittedly adventurous tale with plenty of danger and chivalry, and Kenshin was more than impressed by his ability to utilize spatial manipulation. Learning that the Emperor was willing to use his dragon claws on his own children only seemed to solidify the sky dragon's true nature. Despite everything they had heard, however, the most surprising aspect of the story had been learning Tsubame could heal the internal wounds inflicted by the most dangerous weapon a dragon had.

"I-I only stopped the immediate bleeding. The doctor did the rest." Tsubame's shy voice had denied their admiration for what she had done, but she blushed to see Yahiko beam with pride.

Now that they were on the train, they were able to speak a little more freely. There were very few other passengers, leaving many of the train cars feeling empty. With the extent of the riots currently ravaging the city streets of the sprawling metropolis, it was little wonder no one wanted to travel to the capital.

"That's not a small feat, Tsubame-san."

"Yeah. You saved my ass." Jumping in, Yahiko eagerly praised her. "Pretty sure I would have bled out if you hadn't."

"I… was so very scared." Looking down, Tsubame twisted her fingers together. "But I had to try. I had to do whatever I could." When she looked up again, she smiled, and her expression was full of more confidence. "I learned a lot from the doctor since then. I plan to do whatever I can to help whoever needs it."

Seated next to Kenshin, Kaoru questioned curiously. "Is there something different about the wounds from dragon claws?" She was doing her best to act normally, but while her fearful trembling had finally stopped, her attention strayed often and was hard to maintain. It made keeping up with their conversation even harder than normal.

Gravely, Kenshin nodded. "They inflict damage directly onto the core. For a human, it would be the same as damaging your soul."

"They also don't really heal, so I heard." Kenshin silently agreed with Yahiko's input. "Most of the time, you just die a painful, agonizing death from them."

"This wound is similar." Pointing to his cheek for reference, Kenshin watched sapphire eyes swing to the crossed scar on his face. "It wasn't caused by dragon claws, but it was made by a blade soaked in dragon's blood. My damaged core has been leaking ever since."

"How long have you had that?" Yahiko sounded almost impressed, but Kaoru's brows had drawn together.

"Over two and a half centuries."

"How are you not dead?!"

Kenshin chuckled. "I have very good friends."

Leaning forward to take the floral spirit by the hand, Kaoru seemed suddenly excited. "Do you think you could heal Kenshin, too? Just enough to stop the bleeding, the way you did for Yahiko-chan?"

"Hey! Stop calling me little!"

"Kaoru…" Kenshin's voice was low.

"I could try." Willingly, Tsubame nodded, but immediately looked around the interior of the passenger car they were in. While mostly empty, there were three other passengers nearby to them. "Let's see if there's a private car we can use."

Kenshin continued to protest, knowing that there was nothing to be done about his damaged core when he was literally missing a piece of it. In the end, he reluctantly gave in when all three kept badgering him to at least let Tsubame take a look. A few cars up they found an empty private room. It was a little cramped with all four of them inside, and to give Tsubame the room that she needed, Yahiko and Kaoru were forced to sit closer than either liked. With a huff, Yahiko ultimately decided to wait outside.

Before she began, Tsubame gave Kaoru an apologetic look, and her smile was hesitant when she spoke up softly.

"I promise I won't touch him."

Kaoru blinked, and it seemed to take her a moment to understand why Tsubame was worried. A hand came up to cover the seal on her chest, and she echoed the floral demon's shy expression.

"Oh… I guess others really can tell on instinct."

Tsubame raised both of her hands, palms flat towards Kenshin's chest, but made certain there was a fair distance between them. A soft green glow emanated from her fingers. "Of course, Kaoru-san. A marriage seal is special. Unlike other seals, marriage seals are proud with nothing to hide. Yours practically sings." A light giggle tinkled Tsubame's voice, like small bells tolling softly in the distance. "It's delightful."

A blush dusted across Kaoru's nose, and Kenshin's shoulders unconsciously straightened in quiet pride. Of course, it was not strictly necessary for Tsubame to refrain from any contact with Kenshin, as that was not how a marriage seal operated. It was, however, polite for her to maintain a distance. Only unwanted contact, or contact that appeared threatening, was repelled by a marriage seal.

The private room fell quiet for several long minutes as Tsubame focused her powers, and Kenshin stayed as still as he could. In the seat across from them, Kaoru's focus had once more turned dazed, and her eyes were lowered to the floor. Something unnaturally cold shivered briefly across Kenshin's skin, and he frowned at the frozen figure of his wife. His previous concern once more returned to tighten around his heart, and he remembered how terrified she had been in the car. They had failed to finish their conversation then. As soon as they had some time alone, he would make sure to hear what she had been trying to tell him.

Slowly, Tsubame's hands lowered, and he turned his violet eyes on the young woman. A pinched frown puckered her features, and she did not appear to be happy by what she had found.

"I'm sorry, Himura-san. I can't heal your core or stop the bleeding."

Already smiling in reassurance, Kenshin nodded. "It's alright, Tsubame-san. My core isn't just damaged. It's not whole. You cannot heal what is not there."

"It's not just that. There's something really powerful shielding your core, and it's interfering with my ability to even attempt healing it."

Red eyebrows lifted into his hairline. Could Tsubame sense Sano's presence around his core? Even though he was currently only ash?

"I see."

A soft, determined inhale lifted her chest. "I believe I can heal some of your other injuries, though."

His brows dropped to pull together. "You can? But they were caused by my own failed transition. I had assumed they were permanent."

"I can only heal your physical injuries. Anything permanently caused by your transition would be too much for my power to affect. For example, I can heal your damaged hands, but I cannot help with your dragon claws." She pressed on, as if trying to assure him that she meant no offense. "They're there, though. I can feel them beneath the surface, but I can't help them grow like a normal nail. Obviously, I'm not nearly strong enough for something like that." Briefly her eyes closed as if embarrassed she had to explain such a thing aloud. "I can also heal the wound in your side. At least somewhat."

"Whatever you can do, I would be eternally grateful."

"Of course!"

The healing session lasted for far longer than Kenshin had anticipated, but he tried not to express his impatience outwardly. Yahiko poked his head in a few times to check on them, and Kaoru continued to stare at the floor, lost in her own thoughts. She had barely reacted to Tsubame's declaration or intent to heal his other injuries, and the longer Kenshin watched her, the more he knew something was wrong. Outwardly, she appeared fine, and when he checked, the golden glow of Kenji's soul was calm and steady inside of her own. He could also feel the constant use of her onibi flame as it burned just below the surface of her skin. Blinking, he wondered if that was the cause for her distraction, and if he was merely overreacting. No doubt it would take a lot of concentration to maintain a flame as dangerous as the onibi at all times.

An hour later, Tsubame finally lowered her hands back to her lap and leaned away from him into her seat with a sigh. Sweat beaded along her forehead, and she looked exhausted.

"I did what I could. I hope it helps a little."

To Kenshin's surprise, Tsubame had helped more than just a little. The relentless pain that had wracked his body had lessened, and he felt more comfortable in his own skin. While the wound in his side had not healed completely, it was no longer tight or brittle. The external damage to his hands and feet had completely healed, and they no longer looked like old slices of pizza with the toppings peeled off. As Tsubame had already warned, he still was missing his nails, but they continued to announce their presence through a relentless throb from deep within his bones.

"You helped a lot. Thank you, Tsubame-san." Bowing to her in gratitude and respect, he ignored her flustered denial. Turning to Kaoru, he reached out to touch her knee. "Kaoru. Is everything alright?"

Remembering that she was there as well, Tsubame jumped straight into contrition. "You must have been so bored! I'm sorry, Kaoru-san."

Slowly, Kaoru's eyes lifted, but the daze did not lift with them. Strangely, an instinctual feeling of forewarning tickled Kenshin's scalp, and he could not help but shift uncomfortably. There was something a bit eerie about the usual beautiful blue of her irises. They did not burn in the perfect combustion that he loved, nor did they glow like guiding lights in the darkness. Instead, they were shiny, like glass or gemstones, and he could nearly see straight through them. They did not beckon him, but instead drew him in. They were cold, instead of warm. Even more alarming, however, was the dark tendrils of black smoke that appeared to be swirling inward along the whites of her eyes.

"Kaoru…"

One single blink and the illusion was gone. Seeing that Kenshin was looking at her directly, Kaoru immediately smiled and flushed red. The more normal reaction eased his tense muscles, and her still slightly innocent blush warmed the chill from his chest.

"Hey." A quick glance was shot at Tsubame. "Are you done already? How do you feel? Any better?"

"I feel much better." Brushing his fingers across her cheekbone, Kenshin frowned. "Kaoru, is something…"

"Yo," the door jerked open to reveal Yahiko, "we're almost to the station. Fish boy wants us all in the rear car."

Kaoru stood, effectively withdrawing from his touch, and smiled as she helped Tsubame stand. "We'd better hurry up and grab our luggage."

Frowning, Kenshin reluctantly decided their conversation could wait.

X

Unobserved scenery flashed by the window Misao had pressed her forehead to, her irises of aquamarine staring instead at her own reflection. A multitude of thoughts occupied her brain, swirling around between her ears as she idly studied her own hair and distinct facial features. Her mother had told her once that she looked nothing like her father. At the time, she had not understood the relief in her mother's voice. Even as a child, Misao had known that her father had not loved her, but she had assumed that looking more like her father would have been the most advantageous way to earn his favor and keep them safe. After her mother's death, she had instead lamented how little she looked like her mother as well.

She hated her father. A part of her could not imagine anyone hating someone more than she hated her father. She would kill him. Misao had made up her mind a long time ago, and for her that fact was set in stone. Nothing would deter her. Nothing would persuade her otherwise. Not even falling in love with Aoshi had made her falter from her path. Perhaps because she knew he did not love her back, or perhaps it was because he wanted to kill her father, too. Whatever the case, Misao had assumed her will to be unshakable, if not even love could dissuade her. How, then, was she unsettled by one little human?

Sighing, Misao sat back into her seat and closed her eyes. You're just curious about Grandma, not the human. Pursing her lips, dark lashes flickered back open to stare up at the roof of the train car. I wonder if we could have been friends the same way she was with Grandma. I've never been to karaoke, but it sounds kinda fun. And… her hug was… nice. Almost familial…

Aoshi filled her field of vision, and Misoa's features relaxed.

"Princess, we'll be there shortly."

A deep, slightly annoyed sigh exhaled from her mouth.

"Stop calling me that. Once we kill my father, I won't be a princess anymore." Thoughtfully, her head tilted and her eyebrow lifted. "Well, technically I won't be alive anymore, either, but until then…" She shrugged and missed the way Aoshi's lips firmed. "I think I want to just be me. Not a princess. Just Misao."

"Misao." The immediate and sudden way he addressed her stiffened the muscles in her shoulders and neck, and she blinked up at his still standing figure. He held her gaze for several long seconds, and the pounding rhythm of her heart fluttered behind her ribs in distress. Suddenly, his head bowed, and he dropped to one knee in the private room Misao had been given on the train. One hand covered his heart. "No matter what you are to the rest of the world, you will always be my princess."

His subservient position would have normally called for something mischievous or spoiled on her part, just to tease him. This time, her features remained unreadable as she studied his bowed head. Without an ounce of hesitation, as only someone who was both used to and expectant of other's obedience, her fingers reached for either side of his face.

"What an impertinent thing for a mere bodyguard to say to your princess."

The lightest smile twitched his lips, anticipating her playful, childish pranks. When he lifted his chin, however, his own expression furrowed instantly. Lingeringly, her fingertips studied the sharp angle of his jaw and cheekbones.

"Aoshi-sama… will you stay with me until the very end?"

The hand over his heart remained fisted to convey his unwavering fealty, but the other wrapped gently around her wrist. Those blue eyes of hardened ice were different than usual as he gazed up at her from his position on the floor. There was a sadness to them, or perhaps a longing.

"As long as I am alive, I swear you shall not be alone."

From outside the private room, Okina folded his arms to refrain from interrupting. Instead, he elected to leave them be.

X

Far from central Neo-Tokyo, an announcement sounded over the train's speaker system. Due to the unrest, several of the stations had already shut down within the city. As a result, the train they were on would be stopping at the first station in one of the middle wards before returning to Neo-Kyoto. Passengers were urged to remain on the train if they did not feel safe departing. It appeared, however, that the regular passengers had long since disembarked at stations in the outer wards. All those who were left, with the exception of the staff, were either part of Yutaro's merchant group, Okina's Oniwabanshu, or Aoshi's kijin warriors.

In the rear-most car of the train, Kenshin softly squeezed the hand firmly wrapped around his own. Through the glass of the windows, the passing cityscape flashed past, but despite it being the height of day, the closer they drew to the center of the city, the darker the sky became. There was a strange pressure in the air, and it seemed to be affecting Kaoru negatively. The muscles around her eyes twitched as she stared out the window, and though she was trying to maintain her breathing, it hitched and fought in her chest as she forced it to ease out from her nose.

As soon as her distress became noticeable, Kenshin had meant to intervene, but a startling scene of violence abruptly coated the normally pristine monotone of the city buildings in destruction. Muffled screaming rose to slam against the side of the train, and Kaoru's entire frame tensed. Due to the speed of the train, the screaming faded quickly, but not before shouting was heard, accompanied by the rhythmic stomp of boots pounding pavement. The clash of power slamming into power shook the ground, and the train rocked to one side before settling roughly.

Forcing her to look at him, Kenshin studied the wide sapphire irises that stared into his own. The glassiness was back, and the hands she instantly fisted into the sleeves of his sweater were nearly desperate for his stability. It felt strange to him that she would react this way when she had not in Neo-Kyoto while in the midst of multiple assassination attempts. Truthfully, though, he did not believe her distress was for the chaos outside.

Cupping her face in his hands, he spoke to her calmly. "Slow, deep breaths." Demonstrating for her, he watched as she unconsciously copied him as he breathed in, held it, and then breathed out. "Good." Softly caressing her jawline, he kept breathing with her until those clear blue eyes closed. Leaning forward and lowering his voice, he touched their foreheads together. "Kaoru, tell me what's going on."

Alarmed, her blue eyes snapped back open. Now that they were this close, he realized that her irises still possessed an element of flames, despite his earlier impression of them. They were merely so slow moving that they appeared to be exist outside of time. The longer he stared into those eyes, though, a surreal notion washed over his brain, that it was not her eyes but the both of them that existed outside of time in that moment. By the time he realized she had not answered him, he found he was unable to gauge how long she had stalled for.

"…I don't know." Kaoru's confession was tinged with the terror he had felt from her in the car that morning. "I feel… strange. I thought it was my onibi powers. That I had lost control over them, but… the longer I fight this feeling, the less I'm convinced it's the same as before." The trembling she had battled to contain suddenly seized her body, but her eyes remained wide open. "Kenshin. I don't… feel… human anymore."

The train slammed to an unexpected stop, and Kenshin braced them both by reflexively slapping a hand into the back of the seats in front of them. Shouts of indignation and grunts of pain filled the train car, and then the speaker system crackled back into life. A building had been dropped across the tracks ahead of them, and with nowhere to go, the train would be returning immediately to Neo-Kyoto. If anyone wanted off, they would have to get off now.

As one, everyone in the rear car stood to gather their belongings before filing out the doors at the back and front of the car. Speaking a soft word of comfort to Kaoru, and silently annoyed that his chance to speak with her had been interrupted again, he urged her up and handed off her luggage before slinging his own over his shoulder. Outside, the train was abuzz with energy and discussions of where they needed to head. Everyone was in agreement that they needed to vacate the street as quickly as possible. The moment Kaoru's feet touched down on the pavement, she froze, almost like a small prey animal noticing they had entered the territory of a dangerous predator. Ahead of her and still walking, Kenshin failed to notice her pause until her hand tugged free of his. When he turned to check on her, however, she marched past him without a glance in his direction, and he fumbled slightly to find she had abandoned her luggage. Grabbing up her bag distracted him long enough for her to slip through the throng of people, and he frowned as his he could feel her presence but could not see her.

"We should split up so that we're not so suspicious, but stay in groups large enough to combat any fighting. Remember, no harming civilians unless strictly necessary. You are allowed to defend yourself, but no unprovoked attacks." Aoshi's role as leader of the kijin echoed in the authoritative tone of his voice, and everyone nodded their agreement of his plan. Caught next to Yutaro, Kenshin's frown softened slightly when he finally found Kaoru standing next to Tsubame directly across from him within the crowd. There was a dazed quality back in her vacant stare, and one of the floral demon's arms had twined around her elbow.

"My father has a friend with an old warehouse in the ward East of here. It's one that the Emperor didn't attack before, so it's safe to say he doesn't know of its existence. We should meet up there."

As Yutaro quickly relayed his input, Kenshin waved a hand low to catch Kaoru's attention. Slowly, her eyes swung to him, and he formed the hands signs necessary to ask her not get too far away from his side. Now that they were back in Neo-Tokyo and closer to where the Emperor was, her life was in even more danger than before. Since Kenshin did not plan to stick with the others, but to instead return to the lab as the safest place to remove Kenji from Kaoru's soul, he had no intention of letting Kaoru out of his sight. For his own peace of mind as well as her safety.

Dark lashes blinked at him, and he frowned when she did not reply in kind or move to work her way back over to him. Thinking that perhaps he had made a mistake, he again formed the hand signs, this time slowly and with precision. She smiled at him, an empty, fake smile, but still did not move. Next to her, Tsubame had caught his request, and she cast a quick look at Kaoru, as if she too were surprised by her lack of a response. With a darkening frown, Kenshin watched Tsubame lean closer to Kaoru and whisper something to her. Kaoru blinked again, then nodded, before walking away from Tsubame without a word. As Kenshin watched her come closer, he realized there was something off about her smile. It was not the smile of someone trying to hide or mask their inner thoughts. Strangely, it felt like the smile of someone who did not know how a real smile was meant to look.

X

A/N: It took such a long time to get here. I do apologize, but so much stuff happened on top of me still grieving for my little old lady cat. To keep my explanation short, let's go through them rapid-fire style: we went on vacation; I got sick for a week; we adopted three kittens; spent weeks in and out of the vet for check-ups and a UTI; I was in and out of the doctor's office for an ongoing health issue; my mom and dad were in and out of the hospital with their health issues; I've been without a car since June; struggled to maintain a balance in my life; and then hyper-focused for an entire month on three pages of this story.

Now… most importantly, I tend to overthink, and I have recently realized that this causes me or results in me focusing too hard on one thing. Especially, if that one thing bothers me. To the point that I have a hard time widening my focus to include a broader range of solutions. This time, it was three pages I had originally typed out for chapter 110, but then couldn't figure out why I hated them so much. No matter how I tried to imagine it, the story would not progress properly from the path I had put it down in that chapter. And I tried so hard. Which meant that it took me too damn long to realize that I needed to just delete those three stupid pages and start at it from a different angle. And here we finally are.

Of less importance, and in case you didn't catch it, we adopted not one, not two, but three kittens. What the hell was I thinking? Well, I'll tell you. I was thinking, one cat would be perfect. One cat would keep me company while my husband travels for work. One cat wouldn't break the bank on food, litter, and vet visits. One cat I could spoil rotten, and might help me cope with the final stages of my grieving process. Insert the cutest, sweetest, most lovey little male tabby I've ever met, and I didn't choose him, either. He chose me. Perfect. MY HUSBAND thought the little male I picked out needed a companion, and he was just so sweet on this little Siamese female. Okay, two cats. We'd have to get the male neutered quickly, but no biggy. I've had two cats. I know how to deal with two cats, and we're both making enough now to properly handle two cats. Oh but, what about the little Siamese's sister? We can't just leave her behind. That's too cruel, says the man who did everything to avoid having to help give them a bath! Sigh. So, I guess I'm the proud new mama of three kittens. To be fair, they're about 7-8 months old, so not baby kittens. (They were 5-6 months old when we picked them up.) With all that said, introductions are now in order. Let me introduce you to: Westley, a male tabby with huge paws, green-gold eyes, who loves kisses and has a foot fetish; Buttercup, a female with full Siamese markings, dainty paws, who curtsies and loves to nip at your feet for attention; and Valentine, a skittish female with partial Siamese markings, white back feet, a wiggly butt, who chirps and trills like a songbird. Buttercup is Westley's lady, and you will hardly ever find them not curled up together. Valentine loves both of them, and cares not who she cuddles. They are a bunch of terrors, but completely adorable. (Do three cats count as a clowder? It's so funny to say I have a clowder.) I've struggled with guilt, as sometimes it feels like I'm cheating on my little old ladies, and I still miss my old cats terribly, but it has gotten easier. They are a big comfort, and I look forward to (and also fear!) the stories I'll have of them in the future, lol.

I hope there are still a few people enjoying this story, and who look forward to the posts. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding. Thank you so much for the condolences. I know my beautiful little old lady is resting in peace. Kaoru was really struggling in these last three chapters, and will soon learn why. See you soon!