A/N: The story has gotten a little dark (figuratively and literally). I thought this might be a good time to reassure anyone still reading, and who might be concerned, that it will not remain this way. I, too, am ready for the return of light, love, and happy endings.
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-One
Standing completely still within the black void surrounding him, Kenshin experimentally turned his head to confirm that he indeed could see nothing. It was admittedly eerie, but the abyss had not robbed him of his other senses. Sharply, he could hear the confusion of the tengu, how the feathers of their wings rustled and their voices relayed alarm. He could even distantly hear the screams and fighting of others drawing nearer. Hostility vibrated the very air, and he could feel his own emotions wishing to react to the threatening aura. Himura Kenshin, however, was no longer that uncontrolled, easily provoked creature that had fallen prey to Sōjirō's curse two summers ago.
"What do you think of my realm of shadow, fire demon? For someone born to the light, the darkness must be distressing."
Even without being able to see, Kenshin remained calm and composed. With the flick of his wrist, he smoothly parried Sōjirō's stealth attack. Slowly, his neck turned in the opposite direction and he smiled in relief.
"It is surprisingly underwhelming." In a twist that was undoubtedly unintentional, Sōjirō's world of darkness had made it easier for Kenshin to pinpoint the exact location of his wife through their marriage seal. Several blocks away to his right, nestled back into the same alleyway she had originally been held hostage in, the blue glow of her soul burned bright as a beacon. Brushing off a second attack with the tip of the Kagu-tsuchi's blade, he experimentally followed up the attack with a brief aftershock of fire. Despite feeling the heat, no light was created by its presence. Suspicions confirmed, Kenshin closed his eyes to better center his concentration.
"There is no need to pretend bravery, Himura-san. Not being able to see the fire you might create is bound to be unnerving for a demon made of flame."
"I have outgrown that label this world has given me. I think it time you know my true identity, shadow demon." In deliberate motions of deep reverence, Kenshin angled the katana in his hands around and up until he was holding it perpendicular over his head. "I am not a 'fire demon' nor am I a mere 'fire elemental.' My family lineage is far older than both."
"Whatever it is you mean to do, I would advise against the wasted effort. No light on earth can exist within this realm I have created."
Ignoring his claim, Kenshin pulled a deep breathe in through his nose, his voice projecting outward with authority. "Tengu. Do not move." The rustling of wings stopped immediately. Under the grip of his fingers, the hilt of the Kagu-tsuchi grew hot. Turning suddenly to his left, Kenshin swung the katana in one graceful downstroke. Pure light burst forth from the blade in hues of white and gold. It was warm, not hot, and the abrupt shock of visible light revealed the open surprise on Sōjirō's face moments before the strike grazed his arm and he vanished. Once more, the darkness crowded back in as the light faded, dispelling all sight. The hostility in the air became tainted with confusion, and Kenshin finished his clarification.
"My origin is celestial, my ancestor descended from our star. No darkness will ever cover its light."
"…A minor miscalculation on my part, but I do still have the upper hand." The words cut off, and then spoke over his shoulder. "This entire city is now my domain." An upstroke of the Kagu-tsuchi brightened his surroundings to reveal Sōjirō already gone. "I can move freely within it to anywhere I wish." Now he was above, but before Kenshin could ready an attack, he spoke again directly to his left. "You will never catch me." Shifting his weight to face that direction, Kenshin remained poised with the Kagu-tsuchi steady at his side, but recognized any action would be too slow at that time. "And you will never be free of me."
"A battle of speed then."
From deep within, the Kagu-tsuchi spoke so that only he could hear. "THE HOUR IS NEARLY UP."
Tightening his grip around the golden hilt, Kenshin nodded. "I accept."
Since the beginning, Kenshin had recognized a tell in Sōjirō's movements. The flicker of his outline would buzz frantically just before he melted into the shadows. After trading blows, he had finally noticed that buzz transferred to wherever he intended to reappear from. Now, without being able to see that tell, Kenshin had discovered something new. Ever so lightly, a low tone accompanied the vibration, and with his attention so focused, Kenshin's instincts automatically locked onto it as a threat.
I cannot afford to use more energy than necessary going forward. I must conserve as much as I can for Kenji's birth.
Using the Kagu-tsuchi's power was draining, hence why he was only using his flames for light and not a full strike, like the one that had split Hiko's mountain. There were also too many bystanders for him to feel safe enough to use such an attack without proper aiming. On the other hand, Kenshin had no time to spare on a drawn-out battle. He needed to proceed carefully for his plan to succeed.
Before Sōjirō had fully sunk into the dark for what was undoubtedly another sneak attack, Kenshin turned and cut a harsh line through the void. Light burst forth along the edge of the blade, and he opened his eyes long enough to lock his focused gaze upon the necromancer. His head had just peeked up out of the spot he had chosen to transport to, but was now frozen under his intense stare. The look was meaningful and openly challenging. He could run, but he could not hide.
Sōjirō's return grin was menacing.
Twice more, Kenshin followed Sōjirō's movements by feel and sound, and twice more showed he knew where the shadow demon would appear from without attacking. Fully comfortable with his deductions by the third such maneuver, Kenshin shot forward and swung directly upon where Sōjirō emerged. The strike was blocked by the dark steel of Sōjirō's own katana, and their fight proceeded from there in earnest.
Unsurprisingly, Sōjirō did not fight fairly, and frequently used the tengu as a shield. The battle unnerved those of the tengu clan, the speed at which the two combatants moved within the darkness too fast for them to follow. Light from Kenshin's attacks brightened then receded with each clash, creating the afterglow of faux stars in the heavy abyss. The more experienced warriors held their ground, despite their fears, but one of the younger tengu was overwhelmed by the fight and fell into Kenshin's way, forcing him to redirect to a lower balcony.
Sōjirō laughed, but the distraction had helped, not hindered, Kenshin's plan. With the flow of the battle disrupted, Kenshin did not hesitate. Every precise manipulation he had made to direct Sōjirō's movements had paid off, leaving Kenshin at a lower elevation and in his blind spot. Do not rush. Rushing led to mistakes. Breathe slowly. Fire needed oxygen. In the same calm veneration he had experienced on the mountain, Kenshin lowered the Kagu-tsuchi more like a brush stroke than a sword-strike. Fire burst forth from the blade in a wall of white flames, cutting through the darkness like a streaking comet. They sliced the corner of the opposite building clean off, and cleaved open the clouds to reveal the clear heavens above.
Screams of pain rent the air, echoing and screeching in the kind of agony only a burn could cause. All at once, the pillar of abyss caused by Sōjirō's domain fell from above them like the slosh of water thrown from a bucket. It splashed against the streets of the city, and gave one final backlash of tidal darkness before it receded into the shaded corners and alleyways of the metropolis. One by one, the lampstands popped back on with a buzz of electricity, and thousands of windows were illuminated by bulbs blinking back into existence.
Quivering and seared from his left neck to hip, Sōjirō stood just at the edge of the severed building. Blood oozed from his burns and congealed from the leftover heat, and his form appeared to start crumbling along his profile. Their eyes met for two seconds, and then the necromancer fell backwards into his own shadow.
"NOW GO."
Even before the Kagu-tsuchi could finish his order, Kenshin had sprung off the broken balcony and straight for Kaoru. Through the still night air, her screams could be heard calling out for him. The time was nigh, and nothing would stall Kenji's entrance into the world any longer.
An opalescent glow caught his attention from high in the sky, and his violet gaze jerked his chin upwards. Fatalistically, the glow grew into an oval, then began to expand, and a pit of despair dropped into his stomach.
"No."
Wider and wider it spread. Layer upon layer it stacked.
"No!"
Faster and faster it dropped towards the ground below.
"No, no, no, no, NO!"
Slamming into the bubble with his bloodied shoulder, the multilayered, iridescent barrier shimmered at him, almost prettily despite the smear of his blood, and completely denied him passage.
"MEGUMI!"
X
Cowering in the corner of the room, Tsubame peeked over the cross of her arms atop her knees and blinked to find the darkness abated. A shaky breath pulled deep into her lungs, and she slowly stood to her feet in disbelief. Nothing bad had happened, except losing the ability to see for a time, and the relief that flooded her nearly took her out. Pressing a hand to her chest, she closed her eyes briefly to calm her agitated heart, and then jumped when Yahiko's voice yelled for her outside the window.
"Tsubame!"
"I-I'm here! I'm coming!" Smiling softly, she quick-stepped back to the open window and peered down upon the group still waiting for her in the street. When it appeared Yahiko would again use his power to come to her, she held up a hand. He was already exhausted.
"No, I'll come down. The stairs are just here."
He frowned, but nodded. "Alright. Be quick! I want to get out of here."
I as well.
It was at the bottom of the stairs that the screams became clear. They were similar to the screams they had heard before. Only this time there was no grief in the sound, only extreme pain. Rushing for the door, Tsubame discovered that the cries were coming from the opposite direction as her party of evacuees. They were, in fact, coming from the same dark alleyway her and the little girl had noticed earlier. A compassionate part of her wished to help the owner of those screams, but a frightened part of her wished to escape as far away as possible. Swallowing down that fear, Tsubame took a step forward. No matter what, she could not leave someone in that much pain.
No. I need to let Yahiko know first.
Just as she turned on her heel, she felt the barrier come into being. The feel of it was oppressive, and it crawled all over her skin despite being incomplete. Dark pupils launched skyward, and her heart skipped a beat as she realized she would end up inside of it. Adrenaline spiked in her limbs and she tripped, struggled to regain her feet, and then took off running.
"Tsubame!"
His voice spoke of urgency, and she knew he had seen it as well. An ache in her chest knew she was not going to make it. Yahiko rounded the corner of the building as the barrier neared the ground, and she watched as he realized the same. The flicker of his outline suggested he meant to use his spatial manipulation to retrieve her, and the ache lifted with hope. A second later, however, and he ricocheted off the barrier that fell between them.
"Yahiko!" Pressing her hands flat against the pearlescent obstruction, her soft voice shouted in concern. "Are you okay!"
Having landed on his side, he scrambled upwards and jumped at the barrier in earnest. "What the hell is this?!" Banging his fist against it, he rammed it a few times with his shoulder before backing up. A second attempt to use his spatial manipulation resulted in a much harsher backlash, and Tsubame slapped the flat of her hands against the barrier with a cry.
"Stop! You're hurting yourself!"
"I can't just leave you in there!" Cursing, Yahiko kicked the barrier again, but refrained from trying his spatial manipulation a third time.
"I…" The screams returned in earnest, and Tsubame looked over her shoulder.
"There's gotta be somebody behind this." Pressing his hand against the barrier in the same spot as one of hers, Yahiko was clearly angry while he also tried to be reassuring. "I'll find them and get you out, ok? Wait for me here."
"Ya…" Yahiko was gone before she could protest or agree, and she released a long breath to find herself not only alone but now isolated. Behind her, the screams were getting worse. Clutching her hands together, she turned and made her way slowly back to the source of the cries.
The feeling of dread she had experienced before increased the closer she drew to the entrance of the alley, until her entire body was trembling in innate terror. There was something emanating from that alley that was not of their world. Something not of the living. But the screams were very much real and alive, and they begged for release from the pain tormenting whoever they belonged to. At the opening, Tsubame found herself staring at the back of a woman suspended by her outstretched hands. A scarf was tied around her head. Her neck was bent backwards as her spine contorted with the pain, and on the ground below her was a puddle of molten lava cooling in the chilly air.
"H-hello?" Though her entire body disagreed, she stepped into the alley. "Are you hurt somewhere? I… I can help."
The woman's head twitched to one side weakly. "Who's there?" Her voice was hoarse and unrecognizable. The scarf covered her eyes and much of her face from view.
"I have healing abilities." There was a shimmering line at the woman's back. It was black but glittery, and Tsubame recognized instinctively that whatever she feared came from within it. Skirting the outer wall of the alleyway to stay as far from that small line as possible, Tsubame came up under the woman's outstretched arm and to her front.
"Tsubame-chan?" The hoarse voice was surprised and slightly upset. "What are you doing here?" Her identity came to Tsubame in an instant.
"Kaoru-san!" Fear forgotten, Tsubame reached for Kaoru. "What happened? Why are you here?" Deep poppy eyes scanned her up and down, searching for injuries and how to free her from her bondage. "Where's…?" The question died on her lips when a hint of red flashed in the corner of her vision. Flitting her gaze further up the alley, her eyes landed on an unmoving body surrounded by crimson hair. "Himura-san!"
"No." Denying the assumption she had made, Kaoru stopped her before she could move. "That's not Kenshin."
"Oh. O-okay." Deciding she would rather not find out if it was true or not, Tsubame focused fully on Kaoru and her situation.
"Please. You have to… get out of here." A scream was muffled by her clenched teeth.
Biting her lip, Tsubame wrapped a hand around the dark tendril suspending Kaoru by the left hand and began to pull without any luck. "I can't." Tugging harder, she was forced to give up when it refused to budge. "There's a barrier." Switching her attention to Kaoru's health as a more pressing matter than finding a way to free her, Tsubame hovered her hands over her torso.
"A barrier?" Weakly, Kaoru lifted her chin to study the soft glimmer overhead. "I guess I still can't feel those."
"There's something in your chest…"
"Don't touch that." The sharp demand caused Tsubame to jerk her hands away in surprise. Struggling to breathe, Kaoru swallowed and softened her tone. "You can't touch that. Only Kenshin can. He'll… he'll be here soon."
Glancing at the barrier again, Tsubame chewed her lip and nodded without arguing. "Okay… let me heal your throat."
X
The barrier was perfect. Between Genzai's thousand years of experience and Megumi's genius, they had created a barrier so strong that nothing could penetrate it. Not a dragon. Not even a higher being. The barrier was multilayered to the tenth power, and was fully spherical, meaning it wrapped underground as well as in the air. They had created it that way on purpose so that while no one could get in, nothing inside could get out, either. Genzai had theorized the barrier long ago as a countermeasure to weapons of mass destruction, but with Megumi's help, they had completed it with the sole purpose of containing Kaoru and whatever lay dormant in her chest. It took the both of them to activate it, one to either end of the diameter, and only they could deactivate it.
To prevent any accidental deactivations of the barrier due to damage to their personages, Megumi had suggested a smaller extension of the barrier to surround them. This would provide them protection while they waited for the aftermath of the blast to settle and clear before they deactivated the barrier. Though Megumi had not said, both knew the true reason for the extra precaution; to prevent Kenshin from doing anything rash.
Crossing her arms loosely under her breasts, Megumi swallowed lightly before turning to face Kenshin. Surprisingly, he looked calmer than she had expected, but the tightness around his eyes suggested he was more than angry with her. His clothes were torn and bloody, and it was by far the dirtiest she had ever seen him.
"Ken-sama. You look like shit."
"Let me through the barrier. You can put it back up if you want after."
A soft breath pulled into her lungs and she shifted her weight. "That's not how this works. We can't just turn it off and then turn it back on. The barrier is too complicated. Besides," Her eyes dropped to the sword clutched in his hands, "you forget I know what that is. I doubt even this barrier could withstand your death."
Kenshin's chin lifted. "You know what power I carry, then you know I can save her."
"You can guarantee me, with 100% certainty, that nothing bad will happen."
"I…" Frankly, while Kenshin had formulated a rough plan on how to remove Kenji without harming Kaoru, he was not fully certain he could pull it off without mishap. Megumi's wording reminded him of his doubt, and that sliver of hesitation was enough.
"I'm sorry, Ken-sama, we just can't risk that without a solid guarantee."
"Dammit, Megumi! There's no time left! You have to let me in before she dies!"
"Which is exactly why I can't let you in!"
"TELL ME, FIVE-TAILED VIXEN, DO YOU WISH TO SEE YOUR HUSBAND AGAIN?"
The booming voice of the Kagu-tsuchi silenced them both, and Megumi's cinnamon eyes were wide in her face. "You can talk… wait… Sanosuke. What do you mean? How?" Though she had felt Sano's presence earlier in the day, that presence had disappeared after a while, making her question her own sanity.
"HE IS HERE." There was a pause, and Kenshin closed his eyes before sticking his thumb into his chest. "YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THIS WORLD IF MY CURRENT VESSEL WERE TO DIE. YOUR HUSBAND SACRIFIED HIS FREEDOM TO SAVE THIS WORLD FROM TOTAL DESTRUCTION BY KEEPING HIM ALIVE FOR THE LAST TWO HUNDRED YEARS. HE CANNOT BE FREE AGAIN UNTIL WE HAVE EXTRACTED THE MISSING PIECE OF CORE THAT IS INSIDE OF MY MO… INSIDE OF KAORU. LET US PASS AND HE WILL BE FREE."
It was clear by the expression on her face that Megumi was hanging on every word. The temptation was strong, and Kenshin could see how badly she wanted what she had been told to be true. Megumi, however, was a logical being before all else. Clawed hands fisted where they had dropped to her sides, and she looked away resolutely.
"No. You are trying to bribe me. I must have facts, proven examples how you mean to save her before I can trust your simple word. Everyone in this country, possibly this side of the world, depends on it. You will not sway me with emotion or tempt me with my husband. I've lived without him for two hundred years." Her voice quivered minutely. "You picked the wrong approach."
Annoyed, Kenshin grabbed the edge of his sweater and yanked it up to his chin, baring the full length of his torso. "And this?" On the left side of his chest, his marriage seal was dark and clear. Megumi glanced at it, and was going to scoff at his continued tactic of emotional manipulation. The action froze with her lips parted. "You can read it, can't you?"
"Ken-sama, what have you done?" The question was a hiss of anger. "You stupid sonofabitch!" Satisfied, he let the sweater drop.
"Let me through. You have no choice."
For one long moment, it appeared Megumi wished to throw a fit. It was strangely satisfying to have outwitted her, even unintentionally, but Kenshin had no time to celebrate his triumph over the vixen. As soon as the barrier came down, he was gone. Megumi, however, had no intention of being left behind to wait for such an unsure outcome.
X
A/N: This took me two weeks longer than I expected due to somehow (still now sure how) hurting my wrist. I had to wear a stupid brace the last two weeks, and how I hated it. Of course, it was my dominant hand, too, which makes just about everything twice as difficult. Ugh. Oh well, it's better now, not exactly 100% better, but I'm so happy it doesn't hurt just to type. On a more important note, we're finally here! I'm so excited to be at this moment in the story, finally. I'm so ready for the good stuff to follow. I hope you are just as excited. I also wanted to thank four very special readers for sticking this out and still leaving reviews. It means a lot to me. Special thanks to: skenshingumi; kokoronagomu; Nvelvet1; and Aolun. Wherever you are, I hope you are safe, I hope you are warm, and I hope you are loved.