Draconis: Kenshin still passed out?
Yukari: Yup.
Draconis: I see. After I type up the beginning of this chapter. I'll probably be right behind him.
Sona: You mean you've figured out how to predict your anxiety attacks?
Draconis: Wha? No! I'm just really sleepy. (Yawns)
Sona: Oh.
Dragon of the Elements.
Chapter 92
Dragon in Misery.
Draconis: Begin.
(start)
Everyone was gathered in Rossweisse's room after they laid Kenshin down in his own room. "So, what did you want to tell us?" Rias asked.
"..." Rossweisse looked out the window. "Please don't tell Kenshin I told you this...he doesn't know that I know."
"What do you mean?" Sona said.
"You eavesdropped on him?" Yukari asked.
"Accidentally, but yes. I was coming to check on him on Arashi-San's Dreadnaught when I found him having a conversation with the Water Spirit." Rossweisse said.
"Alright, we won't tell him, but what is it?" Rias said.
"Seriously. We used to be enemies in the past, but seeing such a strong guy look like that was a little unnerving." Raynare said.
"No kidding...if Yukari's never seen Kenshin like that...then no one has." Sextum said.
"..." Yukari closed her eyes, saying nothing.
"..." Rossweisse took a breath. "When I spotted them Kenshin said...That he always thought he was going to leave the world in a better place than he found it, but...at the same time...he'd began to notice that it was getting more and more difficult to shelve his own personal desires...and do what needed to be done."
"..." Akeno, Rias, Koneko, Ravel, Sona, Xenovia, Yukari, Miyuki, and Evangeline all went quiet.
"He also said that...he grew up around soldiers, people dedicated to the mission at hand...and that he'd learned how to die a long time ago from them." Rossweisse said.
"...Before any of you say anything...it means that if his time has come, he won't argue against it." Yukari said.
"Yes." Kiba said with a solemn nod. "I'd...thought I'd learned the same when I was going after the Excaliburs." Kiba said.
"..." Tsubaki reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder giving it a squeeze. Kiba looked over at her for a moment, before reaching up and grabbing her hand with a small smile.
"So it means that he doesn't care when his time comes, not that he actively seeks it out." Seekvaira said.
"Yes...throwing himself in front of that Holy Cross user's flames, protecting Auros Academy and Sona...if his life were to end in such a manner, in the protection of others..." Sairaorg said.
"He'd be satisfied, no doubt about that." Issei said.
"..." Sona closed her eyes, remembering the moment. It was one of the first moments she'd been scared for her life, but...not just her own. The civilians who had come to see her academy, for Saji...and Kenshin as well. She remembered being terrified at the prospect of him dying for her when he threw himself in front of the blaze.
With this...came a thought. "Wait...I...I was worried...gravely so because of that..." Sona thought. "Have I...fallen in love with Kenshin?" She thought, before shaking her head. "No, what am I thinking? Doing the things we've done with each other...that'd be the only reason."
"What else was there?" Hikari asked.
"..." Rossweisse took a breath. "He mentioned to Undine, that whenever he sleeps alone, his mind flashes back to his Rikudou days."
"Rikudou?" Sairaorg said.
"What's that? Six Paths?" Seekvaira asked.
"Oh, right you all never knew that about us." Yukari said seeing some of Sona's peerage tilting their heads in confusion as well as Raynare and Ravel.
"What is it Yukari?" Saji said.
"Rikudou was an underground intelligence organization that also acted as an organization of terrorists." Yukari said. "I was a member while Kenshin was one of the leaders. He joined as a leader when he was ten years old."
"Wha? !" Seekvaira said. "But...that's so young! Even now I couldn't see him doing that!"
"Kenshin was like a member of the Khaos Brigade?" Sairaorg said. "..." He shook his head. "No, I can't believe that."
"Believe what you want, what I'm saying is the truth." Yukari said. "I was his partner on just over half his assigned jobs and joined at the same time he did. If you still don't believe it I'm more than happy to go over some of our missions with you."
"Well what did they do?" Reya asked.
"They were each assigned a task that they excelled in, much like the Nine Divisions of Hellas, makes sense, because outside of Kenshin, the other five leaders held rank in the Nine Divisions with Rantou Ensa and Vesper Kutan being former Generals of their divisions. The rank and files of the organization were from all over the world though. Rantou ran Assault missions, in which things like enemy bases and shipment between said bases needed to be destroyed. Kenshin would typically help him with these along with Sin, Daniel or Scott who would slip him aboard ships and let him get to work. Sin would run covert operations and steal important shipments, items and intelligence." Yukari said.
"So he was basically a ninja?" Yura asked.
"I guess you could say that." Yukari nodded. "Daniel would head up missions that would take us to the skies, while Scott would lead us in navel pursuits. Vesper was the organization's head strategist and assigned jobs to everyone else."
"Wait, then what did Kenshin do?" Tsubaki asked.
"..." Raynare's eyes widened slightly in realization, remembering what Kenshin had said to her in her fight before she died. "...Assassination." She said.
"? !" Sairaorg, Seekvaira and Sona's peerage all turned to her with wide eyes.
"Yes." Yukari said. "The Rikudou Organization needed someone with them...that would strike fear into our enemies, to make them think twice about fucking with us...and just over six months prior...Kenshin had wiped out the Megalomesembrian Senate except for the Praetor, Kurt Godel who is now Governor General of Ostia and Ricardo, a former general of their armed forces who was in line to become Praetor himself."
"You can't be serious!" Sairaorg said.
"Why can't I be?" Yukari asked.
"Someone like Kenshin, someone as good hearted as Kenshin couldn't be a man who lived such a bloody life." Sairaorg said.
"That's the cruel irony isn't it?" Evangeline said to him. "Someone so good was forced to do such things...because he didn't have a choice in the matter any longer."
"So...that's what Sphinx meant." Saji said.
"Yes." Alice said with a short nod.
"..." Gabriel said nothing, only bowing her head.
"Kenshin said he still remembers their screams as he did his work...as he killed them..." Rossweisse swallowed a lump in her throat. "He said there were some no older than he was at the time as well. He also mentioned that the organizations they struck were private and made up of people with no families, but he also asked himself if that really made it better."
"What the hell goes on in this world? !" Seekvaira asked.
"Well, slavery is legal here if that answers your question." Yukari said. "But then again it's legal in the Underworld as well to some degree. Nonetheless after the Schismatic War between Hellas and Megalomesembria, there was no shortage of orphans, both young and old. The shadow organizations had no problems gathering them up and indoctrinating them. The total population of this world did equate to over one billion at one point."
"..." Rias closed her eyes letting out a morose sigh. "There was something he said last time we were here, to a slave trader we'd imprisoned...after freeing all his slaves, just before he killed him. He said...'What's one more nightmare to me'?"
"That lines up with what he said next. He said he took no pleasure in doing it except for one time...that he was mainly in Rikudou to hide...nothing more." Rossweisse said.
"Hide?" Bennia asked.
"Kenshin doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd hide from anything." Rugal said.
"..." Yukari closed her eyes, unable to retort this.
"And lastly...he said he can't stay here...that as soon as he gets his body back he's leaving...before the confederacy finds out he's here. That he already knew what the outcome would be if they found out he was here...and that it was even worse if they found out where he'd been." Rossweisse said before sighing. "Rias and Alma were there to hear this, but I'll say it to you all, what Kenshin and Euclid said to each other before they fought."
"You're wrong to assume someone like me is a hero."
"Yes, I've seen the files on you. Kenshin, the merciless assassin of the Six Paths Organization. We all have our own ledgers in life, but yours is so dyed in red it's illegible. The young boy who was made out to be a monster by the world...so that's what he became, or so he'd like everyone there to believe. I wonder what would happen if people here and in Makai found out about the side of you no one knows about?"
"..." Rossweisse bowed her head after saying those two lines. "One other thing he said to Undine as well is that he knows how he's received there, he said it won't change, no matter how much he wants it to, it's not his choice.
"So...you're saying...that everything he did is getting to him?" Seekvaira asked.
"Yes..." Rossweisse said. "What Euclid said to him was clearly getting to him. "
"Let's...let's ask Kenshin himself." Momo said.
A figure burst through the door. "Sona-Sama! Kenshin isn't in his room!" Ruruko shouts.
"!" Everyone rounded on her in surprise.
"I see...alright...I think only the ones carrying the King piece should go looking for him." Sona said.
"Right...I'd probably be too conflicted right now." Yukari said.
"You Yukari-San?" Momo asked.
"I've been trying to help him for five years now...if you don't count when we were shot back in time...all this has shown me is how far I am from actually doing so." Yukari said.
"I agree...partially, everyone else get to looking where Kenshin's seal is." Rias said.
"Right!"
Rias, Sona, Sairaorg and Seekvaira exited the room. "Hm?" Rias said feeling a pulse of energy close by. "He didn't wander far." Rias said.
"There are a bunch of low mana signatures around him." Sona said.
"Alright, let's start making headway toward it." Rias said.
Sairaorg and Seekvaira looked around. "Why is everyone looking at us?" Seekvaira said.
"We look like humans and this is the Hellas, Yukari and Theodora-Sama told me we might be getting stared at." Sona said. "It's a nation of varying tribes of beast men."
"I see." Sairaorg said.
The group of four tracked Kenshin's mana signature to a small building, a sign of a western dragon coiled around the word Dragon's Roost. They entered and found that it was a pub. "Another!" They heard and saw Kenshin still sealed, but in his true form holding up a mug.
"Yeah Yeah." Surprisingly, the man behind the bar Rias and Sona recognized as Draco Tsuki. "Here you go." He turned to the group of four. "Can I get you anything or are you just going to stand there."
"Hm?" Kenshin looked over at them, coincidentally the other people at the bar got up to move back to their booths or to dance to the music playing. Kenshin turned around and took a puff off his smoke as they sat around him. "I was wondering how long it'd be until someone realized I was missing. Have to say that was quick. I'm not even on my third ale yet."
"You were quick getting up." Sona said.
"I fainted, it's not like I was struck or knocked out or anything." Kenshin said before lifting his mug up and proceeding to drink down the contents. "Haa.." Kenshin sighed out.
"Kenshin...is it true?" Sairaorg asked.
"What? Having trouble accepting that one of your favorite opponents is really a murderer?" Kenshin asked.
"..." Sairaorg didn't respond.
"It's true, every last word of it." Kenshin said. "I did what I had to do to survive, to protect what little happiness I had left...and now even that's gone up in smoke."
"What do you mean?" Seekvaira asked.
"It means I'm taking time to lament the fact that my time with you all is now over, and proceeding to drown those lamentations in booze and smoke" Kenshin said as he knocked back the remaining amount of his ale before holding the mug up again.
"? !" Rias and Sona turned toward him. "Over...wh-why would it be over?" Rias said.
"Because I have to find a way to shutter myself away from this world before the Confederacy finds me. Hellas may see me as a hero, even though I'd rather they didn't, but if the Confederacy finds me, they'll demand my head." Kenshin said.
"You really think we'd le-" Rias was cut off as Kenshin glanced at her.
"Don't say it." Kenshin said. "You'd have to let it happen. I wouldn't let myself be caught, but if and when that does happen, I can't have anything to do with Hellas or the Alliance."
"But..."
"I know what you're going to say Sona, why? Because if the Confederacy finds me...and when Hellas refuses to give me up...Megalomesembria will go to war and if the Alliance gets involved, Megalomesembria will have no problems going to war with them too." Kenshin said.
"Don't you think you're being a little irrational?" Seekvaira asked, seeing Rias and Sona unable to retort.
"Why don't you just fight?" Sairaorg asked.
"Because this isn't a fight I can win Sairaorg." Kenshin said. "And no Seekvaira I'm not being irrational at all. I lived here...I know what goes on here...and I know my enemies here all too well." He said knocking back his ale, chugging it down before getting up. "I have to face facts. What I want doesn't matter anymore and I have to keep to the mission I accepted all those years ago. I'm not allowed to be selfish anymore." He turned and started walking away. As he exited the pub he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder. "Let go Sairaorg."
"No." Sairaorg said. "You obviously don't want to do this, so why are you?"
"I just told you, my personal, selfish desires don't matter anymore." Kenshin said. "To prevent war, I have to do this."
"I think you're full of it." Sairaorg said. "You just don't want to face the people that wronged you in the past, so you're running away like a coward."
"..." Kenshin turned to him with an emotionless smirk. "Namecalling Sairaorg? Really? Just because the people who screwed you over in the past made amends..and I use that sentence lightly...doesn't mean mine will, besides it's not like my hands are clean in this either."
"What do you mean?" Sairaorg said.
"The current Consul of Megalomesembria, the number two in the Senate is the previous Consul's son." Kenshin said. "The Consul I killed when I made my break from the Megalomesembrian capitol with the assistance of an old family friend named Jack Rakan." Kenshin said. "He's reduced the Praetor of Megalomesembria who wants peace to a near figurehead by gathering support from the other Senators. He also heads up the shadow organizations that Rikudou would regularly attack, at least on the Confederate end."
"So he desires vengeance against you." Sairaorg said with narrowed eyes.
"Exactly." Kenshin said. "I'm not doing this because I WANT to Sairaorg. I'm doing it because I HAVE to, if I don't do it now, it'll be done to me later when the war begins and the bodies start piling up."
"..." Sairaorg released his grip on Kenshin's shoulder.
"Once I deal with Negi Ialda...I'm leaving both DxD and the Underworld in the rearview. I don't know where I'll go yet." Kenshin said before taking off his photo album necklace. "..." He looked at it for a moment before handing it to Sairaorg. "Please give that to Rias."
"...Kenshin." Sairaorg said looking at Kenshin's back.
"It's not my choice anymore, it never has been." Kenshin said as he walked away. "I'm perceived as a monster down there, nothing's ever going to change that. I don't care about that per se, but I do care about what it could do to those I care about, the only course available to me now is seclusion."
"!" Sairaorg watched as Kenshin vanished.
Rias, Sona and Seekvaira came out of the pub a few moments later. "..." Rias stared at the space he occupied sorrowfully.
"That poor guy." Everyone turned to find Draco exhaling smoke as he leaned against his pub.
"Do you know something about all this?" Sona asked.
"I was the Rikudou Assassin before Kenshin joined." Draco said. "Living an ageless life doesn't give you much in way of things to do."
"Ageless life?" Seekvaira asked.
Draco opened his shirt, revealing a clock lacking hands with a keyhole marking in the center on his chest. "Back when Ragnarok was still alive, I had relationship going with maiden of the River of Time, the Time Goddess Taimu. She went by many names, that's just the one she preferred around me." Draco said buttoning his shirt back up. "Before we were ripped apart by Yama and Ilias, the latter of whom was warring with Alipheese whom I was fighting alongside...she gave me this seal. It locked my body's internal clock, halting the aging process entirely. I can still get sick, but most terminal illnesses won't affect me, and the passage of time means nothing to me. Those who know this about me have taken to calling me the Timeless Archer."
"Then what do you know about what Kenshin's going through?" Rias said.
"I know he never should have joined Rikudou." Draco said crossing his arms. "If he'd just managed to lay low for awhile, five, ten years. Everyone probably would have forgotten about him. Even that jackass Ferdinand II probably would have thought he'd died, he'd taken trips to Makai before with his father, why couldn't he'd have stayed with the White Tiger Queen or Tamamo. Surely Forbesii wouldn't have noticed or even cared about one or a handful of Kuroshis and Tsukis. Though I think him meeting that Negi girl is to blame there."
"You know he won't like hearing that." Sona said.
"Then don't say it to him." Draco said with a snort.
"You're not really stating your point." Sairaorg said.
"Part of his problem is that he's holding a grudge." Draco said. "Guess I can't blame him though, if I spent my childhood years from six to ten getting beaten to near death on a daily basis, I'd be a spiteful prick too." Draco said with a shrug. "But still...I wonder how many of those humans really wanted to do such a thing to a child?"
"C-Come again?" Sairaorg and Seekvaira said.
"You heard me." Draco said.
"...Why didn't you help them?" Rias said as Draco turned to walk back into his pub.
"..." Draco glanced at Rias, who was now glaring at him. "I assume you mean the Tsuki clan, and by extension the Kuroshi. I led them for the first century after Alipheese and her daughters sealed themselves away. Then I handed down my position and title and left them to their own devices."
"You could...just callously decide that?" Rias said.
"My descendants must be allowed to live and learn on their own, for that is the only way to truly live ones life." Draco said. "I instilled in them what I wanted and taught them, but from there, they had to live, learn and err on their own, otherwise they'd never have grown. I told this to Kenshin already in Makai."
"..." Rias didn't say anything, but still continued to glare at him.
"Oh, and one more thing. A couple of days ago according to some passing thrill seekers, the highest peak in Mundus Magicus has started exuding a powerful, yet suppressed mana." Draco said. "Might want to look into that."
Draco walked back into his pub leaving the group of four alone. "Why'd it sound like he was saying Kenshin was painting himself as a victim?" Sairaorg said.
"Because it did." Seekvaira said.
"I don't think that's the case, at least not intentionally, but we need to figure this out, otherwise..." Sona said glancing away.
"Yes, otherwise we're going to lose him." Rias said.
Meanwhile Kenshin had walked back into the Imperial Castle, waiting at the foot of the stairs was Theodora. "..." Kenshin stared at her. "What is it?" He asked.
"Come with me." Theodora said walking up the stairs.
"..." Kenshin followed her up the stairs. She was the Empress now, it wasn't like he could refuse her even if he wanted to.
"It's been a couple of years since you last set foot in this castle, how are you adjusting?" Theodora said, slowing down so she could walk beside Kenshin.
"Alright I suppose. Place hasn't changed much." Kenshin said.
"Well yeah, I only just succeeded Dad this year." Theodora said. "Not that I'd change too much anyway."
"I guess." Kenshin said. "?" He felt his hand being grabbed and glanced over to see Theodora looking ahead with a smile on her face.
"...~" Theodora closed her eyes, her smile widening giving his hand a squeeze as they arrived at a door, which they proceeded to walk into, it was the throne room of the castle. She noticed a few guards and cleared her throat. "Could you all give us a few minutes alone?"
"But Theodora-Sama..."
"Do I have to repeat myself?" Theodora asked, the smile never leaving her face.
"!" The guards started to sweat and they all quickly filed out of the room.
"Abuse of power much?" Kenshin snorted as Theodora walked toward the throne and sat down.
"Oh I'm just playing, they'll realize that soon enough and just let me be alone when I ask." Theodora said waving him off. "So, how are you doing?" She asked.
"Oh I'm fine, just freakin' peachy." Kenshin said turning toward the window.
"..." Theodora went silent for a moment. "You're going to leave huh?"
"That easy to read am I?" Kenshin asked.
"To me you are. You forget Kenshin I knew you before all the bad shit happened." Theodora said crossing her legs, leaning back in the throne.
"I didn't forget, but if you know that, then you know I have to do it. The Bright Flash Incident was an interdimensional warping spell that brought Mundus Magicus to the dimension I went to, to get away from here." Kenshin said. "It wasn't that hard to figure out when I saw everyone here before a full week had passed."
"And that's why you spazzed out." Theodora said with a concerned look.
"Krh...Yeah." Kenshin said with a bitter tone.
"You know that those people that came looking for you won't let you do it." Theodora said.
"They have to." Kenshin said. "This is bigger than them, than me or even you."
"You never seemed like a person who'd run from what he wants, even as a kid." Theodora said.
"Ferdinand II won't quit, you know that as well as I do Theo." Kenshin said. "If he gets any more support in the Senate, he'd basically be the Praetor in all but title."
"I don't get it, does that moron not know what a colossal piece of garbage his father was?" Theodora said.
"Well, what if someone killed old man Daiken? Wouldn't you want to see their head on a pike?" Kenshin asked.
"Are you..." Theodora said with narrowed eyes.
"Not at all, I'm just looking at it from both sides." Kenshin said.
"That doesn't excuse the shit he's done though." Theodora said.
"Nor does it excuse what I've done." Kenshin said. "Now, I have to ask. Why haven't you tried to so much as make peace with the Confederacy?"
"I have tried, but they kept asking about your whereabouts and I kept telling them we weren't tracking you." Theodora said. "Which was true until recently."
"I see." Kenshin closed his eyes. "That's fair."
"But now that we're in the same dimension, would we be able to enter into this Alliance you're apart of?" Theodora said.
"I don't see why not, the devil with the bob cut black hair, wearing glasses with violet eyes, named Sona is the little sister of the Underworld's head diplomat. Talk to her about setting up a meeting." Kenshin said.
"Why can't you do it? She and Tertium mentioned you were currently studying under her sister." Theodora said.
"I believe I've made my reasons clear." Kenshin said. At her look he sighed gruffly. "Theodora, I can't have any part in this."
"Why not? It's just a treaty brokering." Theodora said. "One last thing before you crawl under some rock to die, despite mine and others misgivings."
"..." Kenshin turned to her with an annoyed look. "What I do with my life is my business."
"No, it's not. Not anymore." Theodora said getting up from her throne. "Kenshin, you really think you can just walk into someone's life, be a part of it for so long then just walk out when it suits you?" She said.
"I do when I know that if I don't, I'm putting them in danger." Kenshin said.
"Oh so that's your excuse?" Theodora asked.
"..." Kenshin's eyes narrowed into a glare. "I'm sorry, but I don't think it was you out there with the other Rikudou members protecting the peace of the world, whom might I add got booted out of here, unjustly."
"Oh, are you blaming me for that?" Theodora scoffed.
"No, I'm blaming a world that would rather go to war with the mana dwindling to nothing, than to even so much as try to make peace on their own, that they needed an organization like Rikudou or like the Ala Rubra or like the Ala Alba to smack them around and make them get their fucking shit together." Kenshin said. "That's what the fuck I'm blaming!"
"..." Theodora stared at him silently, caught off guard by what he'd said.
"..." Kenshin took a breath, letting out as he realized he might have gone too far. "...God damn it now I'm starting to sound like them."
"..." Theodora came over to him. "Kenshin..." She said making him look back over at her. "I'm trying OK? I am, but...I...I couldn't live with myself if I continued to allow you to suffer with this burden again, especially now that there's a real chance they could find you."
"..." Kenshin closed his eyes. "I know Theodora...I know...and it's not that I don't appreciate it, I just think the risk is too much. You push this too far and the best case scenario is that they just walk away from the table, the worst case being that they declare war."
"You really think they would, just to find you? For one action?" Theodora asked.
"It's not just because I killed the Senate. After going over what was done to me for four years because of them, the new Senate would probably just throw me into the Noctis Labyrinth for a long while, no matter what Ferdinand II said. It's the stuff I did after. Using it to hide though I was. I gave him the fuel he needed to persecute me." Kenshin said. "And persecute me he did."
"Yes, I've seen." Theodora said. "Yet if he wasn't such a cunt, those things never would have happened."
"Still it's my word against his, and he's the Consul." Kenshin said. "I'm just facing facts. I'm fucked with a capital F."
Theodora didn't say anything else as Kenshin turned to walk out.
"I'll miss you." Kenshin said.
"!" Theodora's head snapped over to him as he started walking away. After he left her guards came back in. "Not now, I need a few more minutes." She said walking back to her throne.
At the same time Issei was looking for Kenshin. He had an incensed look on his face. He'd just been told what Kenshin had said to Rias and the others, and needless to say, he was pissed. "Partner, calm down."
"I can't Ddraig! What the fuck is his deal? !" Issei thought.
"You're just going to talk to him, if you keep thinking like this the first thing you're going to want to do when you see him is punch him." Ddraig said.
"Maybe I should, it'd knock some sense into his stupid ass!" Issei thought.
"Whatever, still though I'm surprised you got out of the room without his sister stopping you." Ddraig said.
"Probably because she feels the same as everyone else who cares about that idiot." Issei thought. "Even if she went with him, which I'm doubting Kenshin will let her do, she's gotten used to life back at Kuoh."
"Huh?" Issei paused as he saw pure white figure standing in front of him looking out the window. "Who are...? !" Issei's eyes widened as the figure lurched forward and grabbed his head. "Aagh...!"
Issei was pulled into a pure white space and looked around. "Where am I?"
"No idea. It feels like a Phantasmagoria." Ddraig said.
"And you'd be right." Issei turned to find a man with short red hair blue eyes, wearing a black trenchcoat and matching pants with a white shirt underneath the coat. He sat at a table.
"Wait...you're...Kenshin's Dad?" Issei said. "I mean Yukari's and Miyuki's dad too."
"Correct." Ryuushin said. "Have a seat."
Issei sat down. "So what? You saw my partner about to belt your son over the head and came from the Pure World to stop him?" Ddraig asked. "Seems an awfully trivial thing to do given the exhaustion you're going to be feeling when you get back."
"No actually I didn't know what you were doing." Ryuushin said. "Though I have to say it's kind of weak to throw a punch at a weakened man." Issei glowered at Ryuushin. "But I digress. I am glad Kenshin met you all."
"?" Issei arched a brow in confusion.
"You've grown to accept Kenshin no matter what he is, however Kenshin refuses to accept himself." Ryuushin said.
"What? How so?" Issei asked.
"He refuses to accept the part of him that doesn't want to be alone...that wants to be around you all, because he views it as being selfish." Ryuushin said. "He thinks that standing as a monster in this world...is the only way that it will ever be at peace because it will be unified against him. Especially now that the Empire is in support of him. He would rather they didn't."
"He said he joined Rikudou to use their organization to hide." Issei said.
"That's sounds about right." Ryuushin nodded with a sigh.
"Rossweisse, one of our friends said that it's not up to him, whether or not he's seen as a monster." Issei said. "She said he said that."
"Yeah." Ryuushin said. "The truth is neither Kenshin or I are really all that reviled in Confederate lands. I mean yeah we're hated and feared, but not to the extreme Kenshin thinks."
"What do you mean?" Issei asked.
"I don't just watch over my family. I check in on my home world from time to time." Ryuushin said.
"But...it's a Senate right?" Issei asked.
"Yes?" Ryuushin said.
"So couldn't the people vote those assholes out of office?" Issei asked.
"Sure, they could...but will they?" Ryuushin said. "I doubt it. The current Consul, the head of the Senate, is the previous Consul's son. The previous Consul was killed by Kenshin when he escaped Megalomesembria along with ninety six other senators. The previous one had corrupted the Senate almost entirely save for Ricardo and Kurt so I don't think anyone was sad to see them go."
"Not even their families?" Issei asked.
"That Consul handpicked them. So I doubt they had any family." Ryuushin said.
"What was that guy's deal? Kenshin was just a kid back then." Iseei asked.
"It's because he was my son." Ryuushin said.
"You? Why?" Issei said.
"The Consul that made Kenshin's life a living hell for four years wanted me to pay for laying waste to the Dragon Village when I was around Kenshin's age back then." Ryuushin said. "I'm guessing that he had family there or something...or had a lot of stakes in that village. I don't know. He couldn't get me...so he did the next best thing and got my son."
"..." Issei looked at the forlorn look on Ryuushin's face.
"...Though he'll never accept it...Kenshin suffered because of me." Ryuushin said.
"Ryuushin-San?" Issei said.
"I bet you didn't realize it, but when met you all, he was expecting the situation to go sideways at any moment." Ryuushin said.
"What? How would it have gone side ways?" Issei said.
"Because suffering in Megalomesembria gave him an severe sense of paranoia." Ryuushin said.
"But he got close to that Negi person and he fell in love with Chi- er...Rias, and you'd be dumb not to see him getting closer to others like Xenovia, Akeno-San, Koneko-Chan, among others."
"And those feelings probably felt alien to him at the start, sure he had his family, and a few friends, but not much else." Ryuushin said. "He's not completely untrusting, but his faith in the good in people in general was greatly damaged or outright destroyed in Megalomesembria. Either he can find them trustworthy like you all, holds them at arms length like Rikudou, or has no faith or trust in them at all...like the normal people of this world."
"Then how is he able to spend time helping people in our world?" Issei asked.
"He saw it as something akin to hitting the reset button...he'd been given a clean slate...he enjoyed living in a world where he didn't have to worry as much." Ryuushin said. "He was getting over his hangups, finally learning to see the good in people again. In time I think he would have even accepted being called a hero by these people."
"It seems like it's a two way path." Issei said.
"It is." Ryuushin said. "The other side of the coin is that they only know what their government tells them."
"Wait...what if we showed them?" Issei said.
"Hm?" Ryuushin said.
"In the Underworld and Makai, especially Makai. Kenshin is regarded as a hero. What if we showed the people in the Confederacy just how much." Issei said.
"Hrm..." Ryuushin closed his eyes. "I don't know. The hearts of men aren't so easily sway by hearsay."
"Well what if I showed them this too?" Issei said holding something up.
"Hm?" Ryuushin took a look at it. He narrowed his eyes. "Oppai Dragon?"
"Y-Yeah. It's a show inspired by me, but Kenshin co stars in it as the Lust Dragon." Issei said.
"?" Ryuushin arched his brow. "Wha?"
"Here watch." Issei said sliding him the handheld.
"..." Ryuushin looked down at it and hit play. "...Nhh..ppfftt..." Ryuushin's head bowed forward. "Tch...hahahahahahaha! Yukari and Miyuki too huh? What the hell how did you talk Hikari into it too? !"
"It's not just his deeds I want to show. I want to show them how good a person Kenshin really is." Issei said.
Ryuushin watched the video file as it showed Kenshin helping a boy find his parents, getting a cat out of a tree, a girl out of a well, saving several villages in Makai from being destroyed during the Revolution, protecting Grangold from Tiamat when she was under Forbesii's control. Helping with the evacuation effort in Lilith when the Khaos Brigade attacked.
"Ryuushin-San?" Issei said as Ryuushin closed his eyes, before moving his hand over them.
"Why...why couldn't we have lived there?" Ryuushin said to himself.
"..." Issei heard him and stared at the elder dragon youkai sympathetically.
"This could work...but expect a lot of push back." Ryuushin said.
"Well we expect there be people who won't believe us from the jump." Issei said.
"No, not from them...from Kenshin himself." Ryuushin said.
"Eh?" Issei said.
"Such a thing as what you're planning is doomed to fail in Kenshin's mind...and he feels it would be putting you all in unnecessary danger." Ryuushin said. "He will more than likely fight you on it."
"Why?" Issei said.
"Because you will be basically revealing that Kenshin is back. Word will spread, and the hunt for his head by the Consul will resume. Hellas will take up arms for Kenshin, as Theodora is a close friend of his and the fact the he defeated Hottan, setting them free."
"So?" Issei said. "If they want to get to him they have to go through us."
"Kenshin feels it's his responsibility to uphold the peace of this world now that Rikudou is gone. If he is revealed to be back in the fold of Mundus Magicus...he feels that peace will be shattered and it will be his fault." Ryuushin said.
"No it wouldn't!" Issei said. "What he's doing isn't upholding the peace, it's running away!"
"It's the only way he knows how to uphold it anymore. He can't fight these people. He'd only be proving them right if he did...proving them right to think that he is a monster...an unnecessary existence."
"..." Issei closed his eyes. "Well we'll just have to show him that it will work out."
"I wish you luck." Ryuushin turned away. "Oh, and one more thing. Next time you see that Azazel guy, tell him if he puts my sister wife in a harem against her will, he'll never sleep peacefully again."
"Eeh..heheheheh..." Issei chuckled warily. Ryuushin started to disappear when Issei called out to him. "Wait, before you go."
"What is it?" Ryuushin said.
"If you feel you need to come back down here, visit one of your kids next time. Yeah they might get emotional over seeing you, but I think what you'd have to say would go over better with them." Issei said.
"Actually I was looking for Yukari or Miyuki when I found you. My time was running short and I had to attach myself to someone quick." Ryuushin said. "But I understand what you're trying to say."
Issei woke up to find Erubetie hovering over him with a concerned look on her face, as well as Raynare and Sextum. "Issei are you OK?" Erubetie asked.
"Yeah, I just had Ddraig pull me into the Boosted Gear for awhile. Guess my body just clocked out." Issei said with a sheepish grin.
"Good cover." Ddraig said in Issei's mind.
"How long was I out?" Issei said.
"Well you went missing for an hour. Chachamaru tracked your signature to here." Sextum said.
"You sure you're OK? You seemed pretty pissed when you left." Raynare said.
"Yeah I'm fine." Issei said getting up. "Do any of you know where Kenshin is?"
"No, he's hiding his presence." Erubetie said.
"Maybe he just wants to be left alone." Sextum said.
"Well I still need to have a word with him, but I'm much more calm about it this time." Issei said. "Thanks for checking up on me."
"Of course, but is everything alright?" Raynare asked.
"Yeah." Issei said as he walked away. "Oh, hey Raynare." He said, stopping for a moment.
"Yeah?" Raynare said stretching her arm over her head.
"When we get a chance, let's go out." Issei said.
"? !" Raynare froze, her face going scarlet as Issei left. "Wha...but you...I...you..want...me...even...uuhhhh..." Raynare's eyes rolled backward and she fainted.
"Tchehehehe..." Sextum started giggling into her palm.
"Hrm..." Erubetie donned a slightly vexed look.
"You know maybe you should try your hand at before we end up leaving." Sextum said.
"Hm?" Erubetie said. "What do you mean?"
"Spending some time alone with him. You've obviously been wanting to" Sextum said.
"Hrmn...I suppose." Erubetie said. "I don't like having to bother Yukari for an illusion every time I want to go outside."
"Funny, Alice-Sama can assume a human form if she wants. Why can't you?" Sextum asked.
"I never bothered to learn how." Erubetie said. "Tamamo only taught her how because of the off chances she'd have to go to the human world which she's had to."
"I see." Sextum said. "Well, maybe it's time that a certain shy Slime Queen learned how be around the guy she likes more often." Sextum said before leaving.
"Shy?" Erubetie said narrowing her eyes before grabbing Raynare with her slime and leaving the area herself.
Issei was walking through the halls, looking for anyone who'd seen Kenshin. He bumped into Miyuki. "Miyuki-San?" He said seeing the depressed look on the younger Tsuki's face.
"Oh, Hey Issei." Miyuki said. "Still looking for Onii-Chan?"
"Yeah, but I'm not looking to belt him one...unless he makes me." Issei said.
"Hahah..." Miyuki laughed hollowly.
"Have you seen him?" Issei asked.
"He's sitting on the edge of one of the terraces, drinking." Miyuki said. "I believe it was the north one."
"Ok thanks." Issei said with a smile before turning away. "?" He paused as Miyuki grabbed his wrist. "Miyuki-San?"
"Issei...whatever it is you're planning to do...please make sure Onii-Chan doesn't leave..." Miyuki said bowing her head.
"..." Issei turned to see Miyuki quivering.
"I...I don't want to lose Onii-Chan again." Miyuki said. "But I know there's not a damn thing I can do to help him."
"..." Issei smiled and placed his hand on Miyuki's head.
"!" Miyuki looked up at him.
"I promise you that Kenshin's not going anywhere if I have anything to say about it." Issei said. "As for helping him." He grinned. "Just keep doing what you've been doing. It's a help whether you realize it or not."
"Issei...?" Miyuki said.
"You know, I've never had siblings...so I'm often times left wondering...is this what it's like to have a sister?" Issei said.
"..." Miyuki bowed her head before letting out a giggle. "Thanks." She said with a smile. "You maybe a massive pervert, but...you're alright." She said jabbing him on the left arm.
"Thanks...and for what it's worth...I'm sorry it didn't work out with Vali." Issei said.
"Eh, I'm over it." Miyuki shrugged. "Now go. Whatever idea you've got...I hope it works." She smiled.
"Well got to get it past the hardheaded fucker first." Issei said waving as he walked away.
Not long after he left Miyuki, he literally bumped into the Tsuki Matriarch. "Agh..." Issei pushed himself off the wall. "Where's the fire Hikari-San?" He said.
"Oh...I-I'm sorry Issei, it's just...I...I felt something I haven't felt in months." Hikari said.
"..." Issei's eyes softened. "She must have felt Ryuushin-San's presence." He thought.
"That look...did you find what it was?" Hikari asked.
"Yeah...and before you get mad...he wasn't exactly seeking me out." Issei said. "It was Ryuushin-San."
"..." Hikari stared at him before letting out a sigh. "I see...that man..." She smiled looking out the window. "Even from beyond the grave he continues to watch over his family."
"You're not mad?" Issei asked.
"We said everything we had to say to each other shortly after he died the second time." Hikari said with a fond smile. "I was just greatly surprised I was sensing him."
"I see." Issei said.
"So who was he looking for?" Hikari asked.
"Yukari or Miyuki." Issei answered.
"Ah I see. Well he must have had some thoughts on the situation, so I'll let you get on your way." Hikari said as she walked away.
"Wait." Issei said.
"Hm?" Hikari said.
"He isn't here so I figured I'll tell you." Issei said. "He said and I quote. 'Next time you see that Azazel guy, tell him if he puts my sister wife in a harem against her will, he'll never sleep peacefully again.'"
"..." Hikari stared at Issei for a moment or two before covering her mouth. "Hmhmhmhmhmhm..." She let out hushed giggles. "Yeah, that sounds like him. Alright, now get going." She said as she left.
Issei made his way to the north of the castle, where he ran into Yukari who was leaned into the wall, absorbed in her own thoughts. "Yukari-San?"
"..." Yukari didn't respond.
He reached over and grabbed her shoulder, shaking her slightly. "Yukari-San."
"?" Yukari blinked and turned to him. "Issei? Uh, how long have you been there?" She asked.
"I just got here." Issei said.
"Huh...I'm surprised." Yukari said.
"Why?" Issei asked.
"That you didn't try to cop a feel while I was deep in thought." Yukari drawled.
"Meh, not as fun if you don't react." Issei said. "Besides I like my face the way it is." He cleared his throat. "You're thinking about Kenshin aren't you?"
"..." Yukari let out a sigh. "He got out. He...fucking got out."
"Huh?" Issei said.
"He walked away from the life. The life that joining Rikudou put him on." Yukari said. "And I was so...fucking grateful for that!"
"But what did it mean for him?" Ddraig asked.
"It meant a happy life, being surrounded by people who cared for him, and not getting his guts ripped out before he physically turned thirty." Yukari said.
"Is he past here?" Issei asked look past her.
"Yeah, but Tertium just went to go talk to him." Yukari said.
"Hyoudou." The two looked over to see Saji approaching them. "Are you going to talk to Kenshin?"
"Yeah." Issei said.
"Let me come with." Saji said. "I want to have a word with him too."
"Alright." Issei said as they walked past Yukari. "Yukari-San."
"?" Yukari turned to him.
"Just keep doing what you've been doing. If he feels everything's changing again, he could use a constant, don't you think?" Issei asked.
"..." Yukari didn't respond as Issei and Saji left.
They came up onto the northern terrace where they saw Kenshin and Tertium. "I see, so that's Ayaka's artifact then." Kenshin said.
"Yes, it's quite a rare one at that." Tertium said.
"Well then, changing subjects...When Ialda bombed me back to this world. She said she'd been alive in Negi's body for awhile...like a month in this world since I left."
"..." Tertium didn't respond.
"You knew?" Kenshin asked.
"Yes." Tertium said.
"How long?" Kenshin asked, his eyes beginning to narrow.
"Listen Kenshin-"
"How long?" Kenshin repeated, cutting him off.
"...Almost the entire time." Tertium said.
"..." Kenshin turned away from him, trying to process this information. "...You gotta be fuckin' kidding me."
"And I do it again." Tertium said.
"Why? !" Kenshin shouts turning to him.
"Because you'd have just come back." Tertium said.
Kenshin scoffed. "Just a awhile ago you were asking me to participate in your damn immortality project. Where was the concern then?"
"I was asking for DNA samples, not for your physical presence in this world." Tertium said.
"When I went back to them, I was half out of my head with grief that I luckily managed to keep hidden." Kenshin said. "I drank constantly, I had nightmares unless someone was laying with me, which thankfully was quite often and still yet I kept worrying about what little friends and people who were like family to me here in this world."
"You said you were going to leave it alone." Tertium said.
"Of course I didn't leave it alone! Sue me!" Kenshin snapped. "The entire time? You couldn't put me out of my misery? That whole time? Yeah she was possessed by that bitch Ialda, but having her appear before me suddenly in Makai hurt far worse."
"Look." Tertium said. "I get that it wasn't easy for you to leave things behind here, especially when you felt Negi's blood was on your hands, but that's life, and it's as close to happiness as I've ever seen someone like you get!" Tertium closed his eyes. "It's not like I wanted to hide it from you...but you were out of this world and it's problems."
"Do I look out to you?" Kenshin asked. "Looks to me like I'm pretty damn in...and this time I can't escape." He turned away and unsealed a bottle of alcohol. "Leave."
"..." Tertium sighed and left Kenshin alone.
Issei and Saji approached Kenshin who proceeded to groan. "One night, one night is all I'm asking." He said.
"Kenshin, we need to talk." Issei said.
"Really? What do WE need to talk about?" Kenshin asked turning toward him.
"Kuroshi, you can't leave." Saji said.
"Really? That's odd coming from you, with me out of the picture you could move on Sona if you wanted." Kenshin said casting away his bottle and crossing his arms.
"Please, I'm not that selfish." Saji grunted. "Kaichou wants you, not me and if I have something to say about it, she'll have you."
"How chivalrous." Kenshin commented. "What do you want?"
"Kenshin, I know you feel trapped because of the things you've been worrying about but-" Issei was cut off.
"Oh, you mean the fact that if I'm found by Megalo and that prick Ferdinand II a war could break out?" Kenshin drawled.
"A war? Really?" Saji drawled. "Over you?"
"The guy I just named is the son of the previous Consul whom I killed to escape Megalomesembria after enduring a four year long torture session." Kenshin said. "He'll stop at nothing to see me dead and has the wealth and almost has the power in the Senate to do whatever the hell he feels like." Kenshin said. "Fuck I feel like a broken record with the amount of times I've had to explain this. If and when the next big war breaks out, it will be because of me and I can't have that on my conscience."
"Will you listen to me? !" Issei snapped. "I have an idea that could free you from all that!"
"? !" Kenshin's eyes widened marginally.
"...What is that?" Saji thought.
"It would seem there is a glimmer of hope in his eyes." Vritra said in Saji's mind.
However Kenshin immediately narrowed his eyes. "Really? You have a solution to the problem I've been struggling to figure out for years now?" He asked.
"It's worth a shot at least, anything's better than letting you walk away, even though you clearly don't want to." Issei said.
"..." Kenshin crossed his arms. "Ok Oppai Brain. Let's hear it. What is your grand solution?" He asked.
"Don't interrupt me until I'm done." Issei said before taking a breath. "The plan is for us, not including you to go to the areas occupied by the Confederacy and tell them all about what you've done since you left, and show them as well." Issei said holding up a video recorder. "Show them that they're wrong about you."
"No." Kenshin said.
"No?" Saji said.
"I refuse." Kenshin said crossing his arms. "You'd only be wasting your time."
"Welp, can't say we didn't see that coming." Issei drawled.
"We?" Kenshin narrowed his eyes. "Saji looks like he doesn't know what the hell you're going on about, so who's this we?"
"..." Issei stared hard at him. "You didn't sense it did you?"
"Sense what?" Kenshin asked.
"Your old man's spiritual presence in the castle a little while ago." Issei said.
"? !" Kenshin's eyes widened again. "My...what the fuck are you going on about? !" Kenshin shouts.
"He told me about how you feel it's your responsibility to hold things up around here with Rikudou gone, but Kenshin what you're doing isn't upholding peace...no...it's just running away." Issei said with a hard glare. "The Kenshin I knew...the brother I respected was never so cowardly!"
"K...Krrhh.." Kenshin growled. "So what? You want me to prove them right then? That they're right to think of me as a monster? It won't change Issei! I've fucking grown to accept that now, don't fucking try and give me false hope!"
"All I'm asking for is a chance! If it doesn't work I can ask Raynare to wipe their minds with some Fallen Angel tech!" Issei said.
"..." Kenshin closed his eyes. "...Fine." He said.
"!" Issei's eyes widened. "Then? !"
"On one condition." Kenshin said holding his left index finger up. "You and him beat me in a fight." He said pointing at Saji.
"Don't you think you're being a little overconfident?" Saji asked.
"Even as I am now I can still take you two." Kenshin said. "That said Saji...can you call upon the Malebolge Vritra form at will yet?"
"..." Saji went silent.
"I see. That's unfortunate." Kenshin said as he walked by them. "Out of respect for you two I'm giving you this chance. You win, you can execute this idea of yours and I won't say a damn thing, but if you lose...you and everyone else drops the issue."
"When's the fight?" Issei asked.
"I'll let you know when. Right now I need to train anyway." Kenshin said.
"Kenshin!" The three looked over to see Kazumi panting as she leaned against the wall.
"Catch your breath Kazumi, what is it?" Kenshin asked.
"W...We've found your seal!" Kazumi said.
"!" Kenshin's eyes widened a bit.
"Where is it?" Issei asked.
"It's at the top of the highest point in all of Mundus Magicus." Kazumi said.
(Smack!)
Kenshin faceplamed. "You mean to tell me my body is at the top of goddamn Riot Peak? !"
"Riot Peak?" Issei and Saji both said.
"It's what you two know as Olympus Mons, the highest peak in the solar system." Kenshin said. "On a planet anyway."
"Wha? ! But that's on Mars!" Saji said.
"Indeed, and Mundus Magicus is effectively Mars' Underworld so welcome to Mars." Kenshin said. "It's a giant shield volcano that is so large in diameter, it's grown beyond the horizon. It's so large that people regularly fight to see who can climb the mountain, most rarely do however, whether it's due to lava, exhaustion or running out of supplies. It's a tourist attraction in Megalo to attempt to climb that mountain. Because it's a shield volcano the slopes are pretty forgiving until you get to the crater of the mountain itself. Seeing as the goal is to ascend to the peak...it's earned the name Riot Peak by those who've attempted to ascend it."
"And we have to climb that damn thing to get your body back?" Issei asked.
"Yes, what's more it's in Confederate territory so it looks like we'll be having our fight sooner than we thought." Kenshin said.
(Break)
The next day.
The three peerages, Sairaorg, Seekvaira, Tertium, Ravel, Alice, Gabriel and Sextum were all boarded on the Paru-Sama, making way for Olympus Mons, or rather Riot Peak. Also, against Kenshin's advising, Theodora had also opted to come with and so Somo was her escort. "Come with me." The Empress said.
"Theodora, you do realize that the flyby path we're taking will take us close to Megalo, right?" Kenshin drawled.
"No it won't." Theodora said.
"She had me change the flight plan, we're going the other way." Somo said.
Kenshin took out his map. "Hrn...I see." He said. "So on THIS flight plan we might pass by Phoenix before we land."
"Eh?" Ravel said with a curious look. "There's a place named Phoenix here?"
Kenshin showed her the map."It's right there, in the northeastern edge of Confederate territory."
"Huh, I see." Ravel said before walking away.
"..." Kenshin stared at her back for a bit before turning to Theodora. "What are you wanting to show us?"
They walked into a previously empty room of the Paru-Sama where a spherical bottle with what looked to be a castle stood. "Whoa whoa whoa, where did you get this?" Evangeline said to Theodora who proceeded to hand her a letter.
"Kitty. I pulled this out of time at a point where you weren't using it, I'm loaning it out to you for the time being.-Dana."
"That rift hag..." Evangeline said with a glower. "Loaning my own stuff out to me..."
"What is it?" Issei asked.
"It's my resort, compressed in a Diorama Sphere." Evangeline said. "In there the passage of time is compressed. One hour out here is one day in there."
"Eh? !" Everyone not from Mundus Magicus' original dimension shouted in surprise.
"Yes, we used to use it to train in Mahora." Miyuki said.
"When you descend from Riot Peak I have to send this back, make good use of it." Theodora said.
(break, Again)
"Boya, you know it shouldn't have to be like this right?"
"I know old man, but it is."
Kenshin and Sun Wukong's shikigami were having a conversation in Evangeline's castle about the situation. He had multiple shikigamis out helping the others individually. "So, you're going to fight them, Vritra's host and the Sekiryuutei?"
"They have names." Kenshin snorted.
"Right." Sun Wukong shrugged. "When is the fight?"
"Well it will take us a couple of days to get to Olympus Mons on the ship we're riding." Kenshin said. "I'll give them and myself two weeks to prepare in here."
"This place it's like the compressed reverse of the Ryūgū-jō." Sun Wukong noted. "Where staying inside for a day would result in a century passing outside."
"Was that Watatsumi's idea of a prank or something?" Kenshin said with an eyeroll.
"I have no idea." Sun Wukong said.
"I've noticed you haven't struck me in awhile." Kenshin said.
"Haven't needed to, you're managing quite well. I'd say it's your sealed state, but that wouldn't be correct." Sun Wukong said. "You've just been getting better."
"That's good to know." Kenshin said. "So, Ialda told me when she met me here in this world that I was at quarter strength due to the seal. What do you think?"
"Hrmn..." Sun Wukong gazed at him for a moment. "No. I'd put you at half strength if anything. Your power's been halved, the power you can gain from the spirits, all five of them has been halved. Maybe she thought you were at a quarter because of exhaustion."
"Wow, where's Vali when you need him? He'd probably get a kick out of this." Kenshin said.
Sun Wukong nodded at his poor attempt at a joke. "Alright, keep working. I'm going to see if anyone else needs extra help."
"Huh?" Kenshin said as Sun Wukong left. "He was in a hurry to get out of here."
"Kenshin-kun." Kenshin heard a voice behind him. He turned to find Akeno.
"Akeno?" Kenshin said. "What is it?"
"Um...well, I wanted your help with something." Akeno said.
Kenshin was no fool, he knew this was also just an excuse to spend time with him before he left. "Ok, what is it?" He asked.
"Well...I've been meaning to ask you this for awhile now."
"What is it?" Kenshin repeated.
"Well I was hoping to learn a style that suited my magical capabilities." Akeno said.
"Hm...I see." Kenshin nodded. "Well I could use a break from my own training, so why not?"
Akeno clapped her hands together with a wide smile. "Thank you!" She said.
"Alright, but first." Kenshin said taking a set of folded clothes out of one of his seals. "I used to keep spare sets of clothes for my magic using students in case Negi were to have a sneezing fit." He said. "Change into these."
"A sneezing fit?" Akeno asked with a curious look.
"Eeeh...well wind magic would often infuse into her nose subconsciously...and tear clothes apart." Kenshin sweatdropped. "Sometimes it would tear her own outfit apart."
"I see." Akeno nodded and went behind a tree, as Kenshin was practicing in the jungle around Evangeline's resort.
A few moments later Kenshin heard Akeno call out to him. "What is it?" Kenshin said turning around, only to pause seeing Akeno 'wearing' the outfit. I say 'wearing' because it had slipped his mind that the outfit in question was a Shinmeiryuu training outfit of his childhood friend Sakurazaki Setsuna. The problem with this was that he'd forgotten that Setsuna's body type was vastly different to Akeno's. Where as Akeno was a busty, tall, voluptuous beauty. Setsuna was a petite, shorter, slender girl. He could compare them both to Yamato Nadeshiko, sure, but the outfit was struggling to contain Akeno's generous assets. A noticeable trickle of blood began to roll out of Kenshin's nose. "U...Uhm..." He said, his face starting to go red.
Akeno smiled at the reaction. "Ara ara? Do you like this Kenshin-kun?" She said. "It is very tight, but I wouldn't mind wearing this again around you in the future."
"U-Um...r-right." Kenshin said. "Uh, just go change into something that allows freedom of movement...and that doesn't mean your miko outfit."
"Alright." Akeno said, snapping her fingers, changing into a white gym shirt and dark blue bloomers, holding the clothes he'd given her on her left forearm. "I noticed the top of that didn't have a back and tied on the back of the neck. Any reason why?"
"I don't know, it was a Shinmeiryuu training outfit for women. I guess they liked clothes that were easy to move around in, another point is that they usually also wrapped their breasts in sarashi to bind them back." Kenshin said. "Anyway, with you being a mage type Akeno...I don't quite know what to try to teach you." He said. "I don't quite know if my hand to hand styles would fit you...and I haven't even really completely mastered them either."
"Then what can you help me with?" Akeno asked.
"Hm..." Kenshin stroked his chin in thought. "Ah." He said with a thought coming to mind. "We've got time before my fight with Issei and Saji so why don't I teach you something else while I figure it out."
"OK." Akeno nodded, her expression going slightly morose at mention of the fight.
Kenshin vanished and reappeared behind Akeno. "Boo."
"!" Akeno jumped in fright and turned to him. "Wh-What was that for?" She asked with a slightly annoyed expression.
"What I'm going to teach you." Kenshin said. "It's called Shundou, or Instant Movement. It can be useful for getting out of a hairy situation in a pinch."
"Oh?" Akeno said. "How does it work?"
"By focusing mana or ki into the soles of your feet you can gain an intense burst of speed, but the trick is controlling this speed burst. If you lack control your entry could be too rough or your exit too late." Kenshin said. "Too strong on the entry can give away that you even did the Shundou, defeating the purpose of using it."
"So it's like short range teleportation without use of a formula or circle." Akeno proposed.
"Yes and No. While true it can be looked at as a form of teleportation, the weakness is that it can be predicted and intercepted because it's limited to straight line movements." Kenshin said. "If your exit point can be predicted, you can be tripped up and you will be unable to stop the Shundou until you reach your exit point." Kenshin said.
"That seems...inconvenient." Akeno said.
"It kind of is, but I've learned how to work around it by instead using short consecutive bursts and being unpredictable with my movements." Kenshin said.
"But you have to kick off of something to get it to go, right?" Akeno asked. "That means this technque is useless in the air."
"True, but there's also a Shundou for that called Koku Shundou, or Void Instant Movement. Make a foothold out of your mana in the air and kick off it." Kenshin said.
"I see.." Akeno said. "Using that one could move three dimensionally."
"Yeah there you go, now you're getting it." Kenshin nodded before looking down at her feet. "Lose the footwear. It's easier to learn this technique barefoot."
"Alright." Akeno nodded, leaning down and taking off the shoes she was wearing.
"Hm?" Kenshin said as she donned a focused look. "...Uh oh." He said as she disappeared. Kenshin did so as well and they both reappeared, crashed against a tree.
"Owowowow..." Akeno winced in pain. "What did I do wrong?" She asked.
"Too much mana..." Kenshin grunted. "See, even where you were standing is damaged."
Akeno looked ahead and saw a pair of foot shaped indentions in the earth where she previously stood. "Ara...this is harder than it looks.
"Indeed, but once you get it down it's like riding a bike. Never forget how." Kenshin said as he got up and helped her to her feet. "Uh, here." Kenshin said creating a clone. "Take this and practice."
"OK." Akeno said, the clone walked off, but Akeno remained behind. "Kenshin-kun..."
"Yeah?" Kenshin said, his back turned to her.
"Why do you care so much about what happens here? After all this world put you through." Akeno said.
"Because of the people caught in the middle." Kenshin said. "No matter what, I can't let innocent people get involved with this...this pissing match between Ferdinand II and myself. I have enough lives on my conscience already." Kenshin said.
"Even if it means leaving behind those who love you?" Akeno asked.
"...I have to do it..." Kenshin said bowing his head. "I can't let their deaths have been for nothing."
"..." Akeno looked down to see Kenshin's fists balled up and shaking. "He's not angry...he's...holding himself back." She thought.
"Please go..." Kenshin said raising his head.
"Yes..." Akeno nodded and left the area.
"...Damn it..." Kenshin said after he was sure she was gone, a lone tear rolling down from the right corner of his right eye.
"You know...being a part of this world's underworld myself. I really have no room to talk." Kenshin turned to find Mana leaning against a tree. "But I think you're making a big mistake."
"I'm making a big mistake either way." Kenshin said. "I don't have a choice in this anymore Mana."
"No, you just think you don't have a choice." Mana said pushing off the tree she was leaning on. "The Rikudou Organization has fallen, yet you still cling to their beliefs and their mission."
"My promises are not so easily broken." Kenshin said.
"Really? It seems to me that you'll be breaking a lot more promises by going through with this." Mana said.
"Because it's selfish for me to continue to be around them now! I...I don't deserve to be selfish...I...I can't be..."
"..." Mana stared at him. "...And yet...this decision is tearing you apart...just like Ialda wants."
"!" Kenshin's eyes widened.
"Ialda brought Mundus Magicus to this dimension, because she knew it'd affect you greatly." Mana said.
"..." Kenshin bowed his head, his eyes twitching.
"Kenshin..." Mana said striding up to him. "...It's OK to show weakness. Not everyone can deal with everything alone."
"..." Kenshin didn't respond.
"..." Mana put her hand on his shoulder. "...I lost Serizawa...I lost Negi-Sensei and my friends...please...don't make me lose you too." She said.
"?" Kenshin looked up at her. "? !" His eyes widened as the buxom sniper leaned in, pressing her lips to his.
"..." Mana pulled away and walked past him. "The decision is yours...I can only hope you make the right one."
(break)
Three Nights later in the Resort.
Kenshin was sleeping in the jungle meadow he'd been training in. An assortment of large rocks around him. "Hnnn...?" Kenshin's eyes cracked open. He tried to raise up to look around when he felt himself being weighted down. He raised his head and saw a slender girl with a bob cut hairstyle. It took him a moment to realize it was Sona.
Kenshin was about to wake her up, so he could resume training when he heard. "Don't...Go..."
"!" Kenshin's eyes turned toward the sleeping Sitri heiress fully, seeing her body begin to shake.
"Please...don't go..." Sona said in her sleep. "...I...don't wish to know life without you in it..."
"..." Kenshin narrowed his eyes at her sympathetically. He threw out a clone and activated it, having it switch places with him. He walked away from his training field.
"..." Kenshin looked up at the night sky. "...Am I really making the right choice here?" He wondered as he walked to clear his head.
At the same time Issei was training himself, before taking a break. "Damn it...why do you have to be so damn difficult about this." He muttered.
"You're coming up face to face with the Kenshin that only his enemies know." He turned to find Evangeline eating an apple.
"Evangeline-San? What are you?" Issei said.
"It's the side of him that will willingly die for his beliefs." Evangeline said.
"But they aren't his beliefs! He was said to kill the indoctrinated of the Megalomesembrian Confederacy, well he was indoctrinated himself!" Issei said.
"..." Evangeline closed her eyes. "He was..."
"Evangeline-San?" Issei said.
"When you accepted this fight...you accepted to challenge all that Kenshin was in this world." Evangeline said. "In that sense, you're lucky he's sealed."
"It feels dirty though. Even if I beat Kenshin...I won't really be beating him." Issei said.
"True, but battle is situational. You have to take what you can get." Evangeline said. "If the situation were reversed I don't think Kenshin would hesitate. Besides if you push him hard enough, he can lift the seal for a limited time."
"I see." Issei said.
"But I think you're missing the point." Evangeline said. "With your idea."
"What do you mean?" Issei asked.
"You said it could work...that was the wrong thing to say." Evangeline said. "If Kenshin were to go along with this, then it must work it must not fail, otherwise you might as well be killing him yourself in his mind."
"!" Issei stared at her in shock.
"What? You didn't think about the reprecussions of your failure...and how it would affect him?" Evangeline asked. "I'm a criminal here too, so maybe I'm a little biased, but what you want to do is a huge risk, even if we were to factor out Kenshin's opinion on the matter. If it goes sideways, Ferdinand II the Consul of Megalomesembria will gain more support in the Senate and the Confederacy by playing on the people's fear of Kenshin and will go to war with the Hellas Empire who openly supports him. Thousands will die if your little idea doesn't work. That's just how consumed by vengeance the current Consul is. He'll willingly make that sacrifice to see Kenshin dead."
"So the core problem is this Ferdinand guy." Issei said. "Well that's what I'm hoping to accomplish. To get people to change their minds about Kenshin and to expose what a rat bastard the guy is. I don't know him, but I heard enough."
"Oh really? Where's your proof?" Evangeline asked. "He headed up the shadow organizations that sought to cause war, like his father in the past, so that'd be enough to get him kicked to the curb, but there's no proof. Sure Kenshin could hand his Rikudou intelligence stores to the Praetor, but then Ferdinand II would argue that the documents are falsified."
"I don't know yet...I'll figure something out." Issei said. "But first I have to smack some sense into Kenshin himself."
"I wish you luck." Evangeline said throwing her apple core to the side and leaving the area.
Meanwhile Kenshin himself was meditating in mid air, the multiple rocks that were littered around his training area now levitating and spiraling around him. Sona, who'd previously been sleeping, watched from a nearby tree. "My word...he's doing all that with just elemental kinesis?" Sona said to herself.
"And Senjutsu." She looked over to see Sun Wukong sitting on the branch next to the one she was sitting on. "What's more he unbound the seal he was under."
"You mean he's unsealed right now?" Sona asked.
"Yes." Sun Wukong said. "He's trying to extend the amount of time he can be unsealed. He only had enough time for one attack before, likely due to exhaustion, he said he had to drive off this Ialda woman as soon as he arrived."
"Is beating Issei and Saji really that important to him?" Sona asked.
"What? No. He said he was expecting some heavy hitters to be at the top of the mountain he's going to climb to fully break the seal." Sun Wukong said. "He's going to be taking a team with him, but one more heavy hitter on his side couldn't hurt."
"I see." Sona said.
(boom!)
"!" Sona turned to where Kenshin was to see a few of the rocks exploding into bits, but to her surprise, the bits of rocks spiraled around and reformed themselves back into the rocks that were destroyed. "What the?"
"He's also working on a technique that could heal the land. He told me Senjutsu's been helping with that." Sun Wukong said.
"Yes, we talked about if he could do it before." Sona said before turning to the Victorious Fighting Buddha. "Why haven't you tried to talk him out of this?"
"I had to pay for my sins before I became a Buddha." Sun Wukong said taking a puff off his pipe. "Who am I to impede someone else from doing the same?"
"But there are better ways to go about it." Sona said.
"And you all are trying to make his decision for him." Sun Wukong said.
"Wha?" Sona said, taken back by this statement.
"He or anyone else can tell you about the things he's done, but you'll never understand it unless you lived it yourself." Sun Wukong said. "If you can change his mind, great, but there's a reason he's trying to go down that road."
Before Sona could retort a third voice cut in. "You know, I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about me like I'm not even here." The two turned to see Kenshin staring at them. "If you have thoughts about what I'm doing, either talk about it away from me or talk about it to me please, having people whisper about you behind your back is annoying."
"Kenshin..." Sona said.
"That said you're wrong about one thing Sun Wukong." Kenshin said. "No one makes my decisions for me. I'm giving them this chance out of respect. If I wanted to I could have just taken off."
"Even taking the risks into account?" Sun Wukong asked.
"If I lose then they can use the excuse that I can be defeated and provide proof." Kenshin said. "People tend to fear a monster much less if they are capable of being vanquished."
"Very well." Sun Wukong said as he disappeared.
"Kenshin." Sona said.
"Yes?" Kenshin said.
"I don't care what anyone says,..someone like you could never be a monster." Sona said.
"Hmn." Kenshin smiled coyly. "For such a smart girl you're strangely naïve."
"And for a guy that is so ready to help everyone with their own problems, you are strangely hesitant to let others help you with yours." Sona said as she turned and walked away.
"She's right you know." Yuurei said.
"They never refused my help, if they did I would have backed off." Kenshin thought.
"That's your excuse?" Yuurei asked.
"I'm not having this conversation." Kenshin thought.
"Guahahahahaha."
"..." Kenshin's eyes narrowed as he heard a familiar, annoying laugh. "What the hell do you want Grendel?"
"Oh nothing, just enjoying watching you squirm." Grendel said.
"How are you even talking to me right now, your ass is supposed to be sealed." Kenshin thought.
"Because the jewel used to seal me is still apart of your armor, it is determined by your willpower that I stay sealed and silent." Grendel said with a smirk. "With your will wavering like it has been. The seal is loosening."
"Remind me why you didn't send this idiot to the Impure World?" Yuurei asked.
"Rizevim would have just reclaimed his soul with the Sephiroth Graal." Kenshin thought.
"Ah right." Yuurei said. "Hey Grendy, hows bout I come in there and beat the fuck out of you, you seem like you get off on it."
"Ha! You really think you can pull that off Spirit? !" Grendel balked.
"Bitch I know I could. I gave Raggy a run for his money and Raggy would have turned your ass inside out." Yuurei scoffed.
"Yuurei that's quite enough." Kenshin thought. "Grendel. You might be able to speak right now, but do not entertain any ideas of breaking free, what will await you there will be death at my hands, depending on my mood, it might worse than what the Original Beowulf did to you."
"Oooh! An Empty Threat from a dragon with only half his power!" Grendel said.
"It's not empty...If you escape. I will rip you limb from limb." Kenshin thought with a scowl.
"Whatever you bitch made motherfucker." Grendel said as he went silent.
Kenshin closed his eyes continuing to meditate and work on his elemental kinesis, preparing himself for the battle to come.
(chapter end)
Draconis: Done.
Issei: Huh, this was gotten out faster than the other ones.
Draconis: A good time for me.
Yukari: Don't you think you over sold the misery a bit?
Draconis: No. I was trying to sell both the misery and conflict Kenshin was going through. And this is going to be a short arc after all.
Yukari: I see.
Anyway, next time Kenshin, Issei and Saji come to blows. See you all then.
Draconis678 out