Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Five

Bending to retrieve both pieces of the now severed hair charm, Tomoe watched as Himura Takibi scooped Kaoru's unconscious body into his arms. From her point of view, the action appeared to be strangely smooth, nearly delicate, but Tomoe could not be certain if she was merely seeing what she wanted to or not. Nothing about his features had changed, his eyes remained fixed on something at a distance, and his facial muscles were still relaxed in vacancy. On command, he followed Sōjirō who was heading for a nearby alley, and he passed Tomoe without so much as a pause. Tucking the dismantled hair charm into her jacket sadly, Tomoe obediently trailed after.

The coal demon paused at the entrance to the alley, her entire body trembling in fear. Three deep breaths gathered the courage necessary for her to move forward, but her hands still cinched desperately into the cuffs of her sleeves as she fought her own desire to flee. Sōjirō's powers magnified dark emotions such as hatred and fear, but this was not a curse. Fear of Death was unadulterated and pure. It needed no amplification or assistance. The small opening to Death's Veil that had been left behind by the Kagu-tsuchi piercing Kaoru's soul those three hundred years before was more proof of that than Tomoe had ever needed.

"Did she pass out?" Sōjirō peeked his head around Takibi's shoulder. "Perfect. Hold her here." Continuing to obey, the dragon doll held Kaoru upright, directly before the breach between the living plane and Death's Veil. Wicked shadow tendrils unfurled from the dark reaches of the alleyway and latched onto Kaoru's arms and legs. They suspended her in place, with her pointed toes just brushing the concrete ground. It just so happened that her body now hid the hand's width passageway to Death's Veil, it positioning directly behind her spine. Tomoe could easily guess what his intentions were.

"Strange. I still can't gain control back over her."

With Sōjirō's back to her, Tomoe wondered if this was her moment. Should she kill him now? Calmly coming closer, his preoccupation gave her confidence. She could not allow him to harm Kaoru, or use her to harm Kenshin. Was this her best chance? Would there be another? Almost upon him, her eyes twitched to the fire dragon standing adjacent to them, and her resolve faltered where logic returned. She would be killed before she could follow through, and that would accomplish nothing. Grinding her teeth, Tomoe dropped her chin and fostered her rage in silence.

A cough announced Kaoru's return to consciousness, and her bowed head jerked upright while her arms tugged against her new restraints.

"Ah. Welcome back."

"Where are we?" Though blindfolded once more, her head moved as if she could still see. The alleyway she found herself in was unrecognizable. Pointing her nose at Himura Takibi, she paused and her mouth turned downward. Then her chin lifted towards Tomoe standing behind the men. "Are you okay, nee-san?" Sōjirō she ignored completely.

"Tell me how you did it." The shadow demon was smiling up at her, his eyes once more closed. "How did you break my hold, and why can't I get it back?"

Kaoru swallowed as Tomoe did not respond to her question, but as she appeared to be uninjured, Kaoru took that as an affirmative. Swallowing, she took one slow breath in through her nose before she turned her chin away. Dangled by her stretched arms, Kaoru felt herself begin to tremble uncontrollably. For some reason she did not understand, she was terrified. On a deep, instinctive level that she had not felt since her time in Death's Veil, she was afraid.

"Kaoru-chan. Answer me please, or I will have to take drastic measures."

Her head barely twitched, but she understood what he meant. Again, she glanced at Tomoe through her blindfold, and sighed in frustration.

"How should I know? I was unconscious, until I wasn't. That's all I remember. Why did you take Tomoe-san?"

"Take? She's here of her own freewill." Kaoru frowned as Sōjirō pressed on. "Of course, that doesn't mean I'll let her go now. Even if you don't know how you broke my control, you're fighting me, Kaoru-chan. How?"

Staying quiet as she chewed on this new piece of information, Kaoru studied the light twitch of Sōjirō's eyebrow. He was annoyed. Somehow, she had ruined his plan, even minutely. I'm not consciously doing anything. The only thing she was aware of happening between the train ride and waking up on that rooftop under the fallen Sky Palace was the awakening of her reaper power. A power she had obtained due to the immense energy Kenshin had shared with her through their marriage seal. The realization of why Sōjirō could not now control her dawned in slow, but partially amused, surprise.

"It's because I'm stronger than you now."

A light smile attempted to form on her mouth, but it disappeared quickly. One of the reasons she had lost their fight was because she had entered the battleground severely handicapped by Kenji's impending birth. The other being she was still new to her upgraded powers and had pushed her limit with them too quickly. Tomoe's right. I should have gone to Kenshin first. These new powers consumed me with such arrogance. Now I've put Kenji in danger, and I've done nothing to save Tomoe. Frustrated, she scowled instead, and worried Kenshin would not accept her apology later.

And my beautiful salamander. Tears threatened the backs of her eyes as she recalled his demise, and she had to bite her lip to keep them down. Blood from her tear ducts tasted like iron on her tongue. I'm so sorry.

"That means nothing. He's stronger than me." The fire dragon was indicated as Sōjirō denied her claim.

Feeding her anger to cover her despair, Kaoru spit heated words at him, the quaver in her voice leftover from her grief. "But he has no freewill. You said so yourself. Unfortunately for you, you left me with mine, and my will is stronger than your desire."

It was silent for several long moments, and she wondered if she had finally angered him.

"Very well. If I cannot force control, then you will let me have it." A hand grabbed Tomoe by the hair and shoved her forward. "You will surrender your will to me, or I will behead this woman." A black sword of pure darkness appeared from his shadow and pressed into Tomoe's neck.

"Wait!"

"I'll give you three seconds."

"I-" Her eyes shot to Takibi, but he had not moved. He was a statue that appeared oblivious to the situation.

"Two."

"I don't know how!"

"I won't wait, Kaoru-chan." A line of blood appeared along Tomoe's porcelain skin.

"Ok, ok! Stop!"

"Good." Tomoe was released to fall onto her hands and knees, and the sword disappeared. "Don't worry. I'll leave you conscious this time. I want you to be aware of everything that happens after this."

It took some trial and error, but Sōjirō finally regained what he had wanted. Kaoru felt like she was going to be sick again. Being aware of his control was different while being conscious of it. It was like a violation; like the hands of a child contorting the arms and legs of a doll while playing. Once control had been reestablished over her, he strangely left her hanging like a stored puppet waiting for the marionette show. Instead, he continued to smile up at her as if gazing upon a bought piece of artwork.

"Ah yes. You asked where you are, Kaoru-chan. Would you like for me to tell you?" She had no desire to answer him, but he, it seemed, had no desire to wait on an answer, either. "This is the exact spot where you died. Do you think Himura-san will like it?" Kaoru's mouth opened, but he had already turned to the fire dragon doll. "Return to your post. Your next fight will be much harder on you, I think."

With an intense recoil of his legs, Himura Takibi jumped straight into the air where he vanished over the ledge of one of the buildings.

"I have some other business to attend to." Sōjirō's false smile was aimed at Tomoe. "You stay here. No running, or my pet dragon will take your arm this time."

Stranger than leaving them alone together, he had left Kaoru without a gag.

"Tomoe-nee." The words whispered from Kaoru's mouth as soon as they were alone, and the coal demon cupped the girl's face in her hands.

"Kaoru. Are you in pain?" Her voice was low and rushed. One hand dropped to touch her chest. "Here? Does it hurt here?"

Beneath her blindfold, Kaoru's brow line twitched. "Yes, but…"

"Your chest. There's something in there. Something we missed. I… I tried, but I can't figure out how to remove it. Sōjirō said you brought it back with you from Death's Veil. It… it's killing you, and he wants to use that."

In the back of Kaoru's mind, she heard Kenshin's warning her to keep Kenji secret. She hated to keep anything from Tomoe, especially when she was so distressed, but in their current situation, it was likely for the best. If Sōjirō overheard, he would only use the knowledge against them.

"I… see."

"We have to get you out of here. We have to get you back to the lab so we can study it. Find a way to remove it. Something." Though neither said so, both knew there was no time left for study. "Is… is Himura-san really on his way for you."

Without hesitating, Kaoru nodded. "He will be. I know he will."

Tomoe's tense form relaxed, as if brought back to herself, and she smiled with a nod. "You're right. He would do anything for you."

"W-what about Akira-san? Does he know where you are? Is he coming?"

"No. He doesn't know." Coal black eyes ducked. Then her hand reached into her jacket to withdraw the severed hair charm. Parting Kaoru's coat, she tucked the two pieces into her inner pocket. "Here. You should hold on to these."

"Don't cry, Tomoe-san"

Wiping at the single tear that had dripped from her lash unnoticed, Tomoe gazed up into the half-covered face of her adopted blue-eyed little human. "Kaoru. Can you see through that blindfold?" An absent nod affirmed what Tomoe had just discovered, and the coal demon glanced over her shoulder before continuing. "What else can you do?"

X

"YOU MUST HURRY. MY MOTHER IS IN PAIN."

Kenshin had tried nearly everything he could think of to kill the Amaterasu, but while the Emperor had claimed it was not undead, it certainly was not living, either. Severing limbs had no affect on a creature that could regrow them. Removing its head had also been ineffective. Most likely because its head was merely another appendage without any type of brain. Kenshin was not even certain the thing had a core. Nevertheless, something had to be keeping it animated, and if he could not find it with fire, he would have to use something else. Something no fire liked.

Fuck you, Hiko-sama, for even allowing this to be an option.

Heavy fire slammed into the abominable creature at a downward angle, setting up the perfect momentum. Kenshin already knew, however, that it alone would not be enough. Throwing himself after, he latched himself to its back with an arm around its neck, and increased the speed at which they were falling. They hit the surface of the ocean together, and it felt more like smashing into solid concrete than liquid. Once under its crushing weight, they proceeded to submerge at a rapid pace, that while slowed by the water's weight, was still quicker than the Amaterasu could apparently react to. It flailed wildly, but was unable to produce any fire capable of surviving under the sea water in retaliation. It was not long before it stopped moving altogether.

When Kenshin was satisfied with their depth, he released the constructed monster post haste to return to the surface. The air he had tried to hold was burning up quickly, and it would not be long before he could no longer maintain his own physical form. The freedom of the sky was welcome when he finally escaped the wicked clutches of the water, but his entire body shivered in disgust and cold. Moments later, his body was flushed with white-hot flames, and the Kagu-tsuchi's impatient voice once again filled his ears.

"YOU MUST HURRY."

Like a shot from a cannon, the explosion of water reached twenty feet in the air, and Kenshin felt relief that he was finally on his way to Kaoru. Whatever else came between them, he would eliminate swiftly and without mercy.

X

A/N: I must ask for forgiveness. My job has been trying to kill me (not literally, lol). I didn't realize how much it was taking out of me until just a couple of weeks ago, when it finally hit me that I had way more work than one person could handle. (I realize how slow that makes me sound, but I am just a little.) I have a bad habit of just taking on everything that's put in front of me, and I don't always recognize when it becomes unmanageable. It's not easy for me to ask for help, either. When I finally got to thinking about it, this has been going on since January, and I am just exhausted. There have been way too many days where I just wake up, clock in, work, clock out, work out (a forced routine that I'm glad I stuck with, otherwise who knows how much worse it could have been, lol), eat, and then go to bed, only to do it all over again the next day. I've hardly had the energy to daydream, let alone write. Anyway, I'm hoping this gets resolved sometime in the near future. In the meantime, I will work on this story as I am able.

On to a much more serious topic, many of you may or may not have heard about the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene and now Hurricane Milton. (If you live in the US, it would be unlikely that you haven't heart of it.) I know there were many places that were hit hard. I lived in the Asheville, NC area for over ten years, and the destruction in Western NC feels a lot more personal for me. (We moved back to our home state two years ago.) My husband has family there, I made many friends there, and while we missed the family that we left behind in our home state, we grew to love it in NC. If you are able, and only if you are able, (I know how awful the cost of living is right now, so please do not put yourself in a bad place) I would encourage you to offer any help that you can to those trying to rebuild their lives. I am not very familiar with all of the organizations accepting donations, so please do not use any you are uncomfortable with. I do believe the American Red Cross has been offering aid across the board. There have been so many without water and food, and all of the pictures and videos I've seen from family and friends has been heartbreaking. With or without a donation, your prayers and warm thoughts are very much appreciated. I love you all, and please stay safe!