Madam Hydra's That Which Lingers
Part Twenty-One: Hidden Aspects [B]
This story is set in my own ALTERNATE REALITY Rurouni Kenshin universe, which I've called "The Nightwitch Tales" -- think of it as Rurouni Kenshin mixed with various supernatural and paranormal elements. It takes place after the end of the Kyoto story arc. After that, all bets are off. Other stories in this alternate reality are: "Night Visitor;" "All in the Family;" and "Romancing the Wolf."
WARNING: This story is "semi-dark" -- it has dark elements (violence, profanity, etc.) but it's not a darkfic! Actually, there's quite a bit of romance in it.... ^_-
As always, C&C is greatly appreciated! ^_^
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Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shuiesha, Sony Music Entertainment, and associated parties. The characters of these series are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author.
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Text Conventions:
( ) are character thoughts
/ / and // // represent various sorts of mental dialogue
* ----- * ----- * marks the start/end of dreams or flashbacks
[ ] denote visual or time notes
Omasu bustled cheerfully into Misao's room, carrying a tea tray, and said, "Misao...." She glanced around in confusion. The room was empty.
"Misao-chan?" she called again. Omasu peered around, but the girl was nowhere to be found.
"Hmmmm. That's very strange. Why on earth would he say...?"
At that moment, there was a tremendous crash from the other end of the Aoiya. Omasu dashed across Misao's room and flung open the window, which overlooked the inner courtyard of the Aoiya and a small garden. Across the courtyard, Omasu was shocked to see a woman throw herself out an upstairs window. The woman rolled down the short roof covering the courtyard porch, then landed on her hands and knees in the garden. She immediately jumped to her feet and started to back away from the room she had so hastily vacated.
For a bewildered second, Omasu thought that it was Okon who plunged out of the window.
(NO! That's Tokio!)
Before the befuddled Omasu could say or do anything, there was a flash of steel and the wall of the upstairs sitting room literally disintegrated. The lean figure of Shinomori Aoshi stood briefly in the newly created opening with bared steel in his hands, his trenchcoat
fluttering, before he jumped.
Aoshi landed in the courtyard with predatory grace and immediately tried to sever Tokio's head from her shoulders. However, Saitoh's wife proved to be unexpectedly elusive as she managed to dodge first one kodachi, then the other.
"AOSHI-SAMA!?!?" screeched Omasu. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?"
Totally focused on killing Tokio, Aoshi didn't seem to notice Omasu's frantic cries. The female Oniwabanshuu dashed downstairs and emerged in the courtyard just as he managed to back Tokio into a corner, leaving her with apparently nowhere to go. The only thing that stood between Saitoh's wife and certain death was one of Okina's floor cushions, clutched in Tokio's hands. It seemed like a pathetically inadequate shield to the horrified Omasu.
Aoshi used the kodachi in his right hand to slice the pillow to shreds, filling the air with a blinding cloud of stuffing and fabric. Omasu braced herself for the sickening sound of sword slicing flesh. But as the stuffing settled out of the air, both Omasu and Aoshi realized that Tokio was nowhere to be seen. Their only clue was the front door of the Aoiya, which now stood wide open. A stunned Omasu then realized what she had just seen -- a traditional, but brilliantly executed ninja vanishing trick.
(I don't believe it! But there's no other explanation!)
Omasu found it incredible but it seemed that Saitoh's demure, mild-mannered lady of a wife is a kunoichi -- a female ninja - just like herself or Okon. Moreover, Tokio's ability to elude Aoshi's attacks even momentarily meant that she was an extremely skillful ninja at that. But even the best trained kunoichi couldn't hope to defeat the finest fighter of the Oniwabanshuu in hand-to-hand combat. In running for her life, Tokio had done the only sensible thing.
When Aoshi whirled around to pursue his quarry, Omasu gasped as she caught a glimpse at his face.
(His eyes! It's the same horrible, blank stare he gave us when he was hunting down Himura-san, only a hundred times worse! What's wrong with him!? What madness could have possessed him to....)
Then it all fell into place with a sickening thud as she watched Aoshi charge after Tokio. She ran after him, out into the deserted street, only to see him vanish down an alleyway.
In a choked voice, Omasu whispered, "Possessed... he's probably possessed just like poor Kaoru! Now what do I do? There's no one else here except for Okon...!" She abruptly stiffened. Okon had been upstairs with Tokio. The fact that Okon had not showed up to help her told Omasu that her friend was probably out of action... or dead.
"Oh no!"
As Omasu dashed back into the Aoiya and ran up the stairs, one frightening question kept nagging at her mind.
Where on earth is Misao?
As Aoshi dashed down the nearly empty city streets in pursuit of his unexpectedly elusive quarry, he failed to notice a large raven silently soaring overhead, its amber eyes observing his every movement.
Painfully aware of the passing time, Misao worked quickly but as carefully as she could. The script carved into the stone tablets was archaic and barely legible to her eyes, although Hiko didn't seem to have any problem with the characters. Most of the tablets seemed to involve legends of the wolf-spirit of the shrine, also known as the Hunter. They were fierce and bloody tales about the relentless, merciless pursuit and destruction of evil in all its many forms. Some of the stories talked about demons -- Misao noted down the names -- but none of the descriptions she'd uncovered so far really matched the demon involved with the Minobe family and Kinslayer.
In her search, she came across an older, perhaps more fitting name for the wolf-spirit. Inscribed on the stones nearest the cave were the words 'Aku Tsui Satsu Roh Jin,' which apparently meant something like 'Prince of the God Wolf of Hunting and Killing the Evil.'
(Well, that's certainly a more romantic name than 'The Hunter,' but what a mouthful!)
In her haste, Misao nearly missed what she was looking for. But the mention of 'love' grabbed her attention. As she ran her fingers over the characters, she slowly worked out the name.
"'Aijoh... wo... hametsu... shi... tsukusu... gaki....' The hungry devil that consumes... love? The Love-eater?"
Staring at the stone tablet, Misao somehow knew that she had found the one name she had been looking for. Squinting at the stone, she muttered, "But how does the story end? What happened? If the Hunter destroyed this demon like it did all the others, how could it possible be the one...."
Hiko said quietly, "But it wasn't destroyed."
She turned to look at him. "What?"
He squatted down beside her and pointed out the last few lines on the tablet.
"In their last great battle, many centuries ago, neither the demon or the Hunter could score a decisive victory," said Hiko as he scanned the text on the stone.
"Then what happened?"
"The story goes on to say that the demon, weakened from its long fight with the wolf-spirit, was sealed away by a great warrior called Minobe Fuumi." He glanced at Misao. "Didn't you say that Junichi was a Minobe?"
She nodded, then her eyes widened. "When that stupid woman tried to summon a demon 400 years ago to win the love of Minobe Koji, I bet she partially broken the seal or something. The demon certainly didn't waste the opportunity to take revenge on the Minobe family! By creating Kinslayer, it nearly managed to wipe out the entire family. I remember reading somewhere that the Minobe clan was once a great and influential family. Their fortunes took a real turn for the worse after Kinslayer showed up. Now the family's penniless and nearly extinct. The only living member is some old crazy woman called Emi."
Misao gave Hiko a frightened look. "But if the Hunter -- a powerful spirit who managed to destroy all these other evil monsters -- couldn't defeat this demon...." She gulped nervously.
Hiko got to his feet. "Yes. Well, that fool Kenshin certainly knows how to pick his enemies," he grumbled. "Naturally, he couldn't get tangled up with your normal run of demon. Instead he has to...."
"Excuse me!? A 'normal run of demon?' How can ANYTHING about demons be considered normal!?" Misao shouted.
"There's a lot more going on in this world than you know about. Get used to it, Weasel Girl," a familiar mocking voice suddenly said behind them.
Misao yelped in fright as she spun around. Even Hiko looked startled as he turned, his hand on his sword.
Saitoh Hajime was casually leaning against one of the stone tablets, a cigarette in hand and his mouth curled in an unmistakable smirk.
"Saitoh!" she exclaimed. Looking into his narrow amber eyes and the lean, fierce bones of his face, Misao finally made the mental connection to another amber-eyed entity she had seen just recently. In a strangled voice, she pointed at him with a shaky finger and stuttered, "The eyes... the same... the wolf ghost... you... it's you!"
She stumbled back, tripped on nothing in particular, and sat down hard with a stupefied expression on her face.
Saitoh raised an eyebrow, then nudged the stunned girl with his boot as he muttered, "What the hell are you babbling about now?"
Although he didn't let it show, Saitoh Hajime had actually woken up just a few minutes ago. He wasn't precisely sure just how he managed to get from his last clearly remembered location -- the clearing where he had been ambushed by those ugly dog monsters -- to this place. The painful lump on the back of his head and a vague recollection of getting slammed into a tree might have something to do with the blank spot in his memory.
However, he had instantly recognized his surroundings and the Wolf Shrine that he and Tokio had visited eight years ago. After that, it was simply a matter of following the sound of the Weasel Girl's voice.
Since he wasn't getting any response from Misao, Saitoh glanced at Hiko and repeated his question.
Hiko Seijuro had a tremendous amount of self-confidence, but he also had a well-developed sense of self-preservation. His cousin Tokio was usually the most placid and easygoing of his female relatives, but if someone crossed her in matters involving her chosen mate....
'Hell on earth' would be a massive understatement.
So when Saitoh asked him about Misao's rather incoherent statements, Hiko Seijuro, the thirteenth master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, shrugged and calmly lied.
"I haven't got a clue."
Saitoh glanced at the white-caped man and said, "Hiko Seijuro, the man who schooled the Battousai in Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu."
"Saitoh Hajime." In response to the inquiring quirk of Saitoh's eyebrow, Hiko added, "I recognize you from various descriptions."
"Hmph. Unflattering ones, I'm sure."
"You have quite a reputation, Miburo."
The mention of his infamous nickname reminded Saitoh about Misao, who was slowly coming out of her daze. He glowered down at her and impatiently asked, "Are you going to start making sense or did you lose your wits along with your hair braid?"
"Ughhh...."
"What are you doing out here? And where the hell's Shinomori run off to?"
Her eyes abruptly focused and she jerked her head around to stare at the policeman.
Saitoh observed this instant recovery and commented slyly, "I was sure that would grab your attention, Weasel Girl."
Hiko murmured, "Weasel girl? Hmmm, that name suits her rather well...."
Clutching at her aching head, Misao mumbled something about Asuko and the demon, followed by some more mumblings about her confrontation with Junichi, the possessed Kaoru, and Kinslayer.
When she was finished, Saitoh scowled and said, "So the old hag sent you off to dig up some information on the demon, eh? Well, did you find anything?"
Misao silently pointed to the stone tablet she and Hiko had been reading. Saitoh's frown deepened as he began to read the legend of the Hunter and the great demon known as the Love-eater.
As she nervously observed Saitoh, Misao became steadily more convinced that there was something... different... about the man. He had always had a sinister aura about him, but now the feeling of danger was even more noticeable. And she could have sworn that there was an almost feral gleam in his amber eyes that hadn't been there before.
At that moment, Misao couldn't quite make up her mind whether Saitoh actually WAS the ghostly wolf she had seen earlier... although figuring out how a human being could transform into a spirit creature was totally beyond her understanding.
(Or maybe Kaoru's not the only one who's possessed by something supernatural,) she thought uneasily.
She couldn't decide which possibility frightened her more. Misao glanced quickly at Hiko.
(Don't tell me that HE can't sense that there's something really weird going on here!)
Hiko was treating Saitoh with a sort of wary respect, which seemed almost inconceivable for a man of his tremendous ego. But one look at Hiko's cool, impassive expression told her that if Kenshin's master did know something about Saitoh, he certainly wasn't going to say anything to her.
He hadn't been feeling quite like himself to begin with, but by the time he finished reading the story inscribed on the tablet, Saitoh knew that something was definitely wrong. An odd sense of eagerness and anticipation seemed to dance along his nerves. It was almost as if he was somehow more... alive. The sensation could not be conveniently explained by a simple concussion or the painful lump on the back of his head.
He glanced up at the cave entrance and thought, (There's just something about this place that makes me feel.... The same thing happened last time I was here with Tokio. Damn it, I need to get away from here....)
Showing no outward sign of his uneasiness, the policeman coolly asked Misao, "Well, now that you've found what you were looking for, are you ready to leave?"
She stared at Saitoh for a long moment, then asked, "Did you see any traces of Aoshi on your way here?"
"No. And I don't have time to go trampling all over the forest looking for him."
Misao clenched her fists and whispered, "Neither... neither do I. This information can't wait. I have to get back to Kyoto right away."
A part of her wailed at the thought of abandoning Aoshi any more than she had already done, but another part of her knew all too well that he would want her to complete her task, regardless of the cost to himself.
She glanced around. "But I'm not sure which direction I should be...."
Saitoh took an impatient drag on his cigarette. "Then don't sit there like a limp rag. I'm not going to wait for you." With those words, he stalked off down the walkway.
Misao scrambled to her feet and asked Hiko. "Are you coming to Kyoto with us?"
"No."
"But... but I told you what's happening to Himura... to the whole city! We need you!"
Hiko gave her an arrogant stare.
"You need me to do what? It's perfectly clear from your own words that all these events are centered around Kenshin and Saitoh. Nothing short of a final confrontation between those two and Junichi will resolve the present situation in Kyoto. It would be totally pointless for me to trudge all that way to merely sit on the sidelines. I have much better things to do with my time."
"Oh... oh, you arrogant bastard!"
With that parting shot, Misao ran off after Saitoh.
As Saitoh and Misao quickly headed back toward Kyoto, he noticed Misao constantly staring at him with a puzzled and anxious look on her face. Finally, he snapped irritably, "What's wrong with you?"
She twitched nervously. "Nothing! It's just that...."
"And if you start babbling about ghostly wolves and all that crap again, I'll hurt you," Saitoh added in a dangerous voice.
Misao clamped her mouth shut. Normally, Saitoh's threat would have done little to keep her quiet, but the unnerving possibility that Saitoh was not exactly... himself made provoking him a very stupid thing to do.
Oddly enough, she wasn't really afraid for her own life. Whatever that wolf-spirit was, it didn't seem interested in hurting her and it actually helped her a bit. And while Saitoh didn't make the most comfortable of travelling companions, she definitely felt safer than she would have walking through these forests alone.
Sano glared at the Takagi house servant and snapped, "What do you mean you don't know where she is?"
The middle-aged woman blinked and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but she left on an errand."
"What the devil is she doing, wandering around the city alone at a time like this?"
"I can't rightly say, sir," was the servant's stolid reply.
"Well, did she say where she was going?" Yahiko impatiently demanded.
"I believe she said something about going to the Aoiya Restaurant to drop off some papers...."
The servant found herself talking to empty air as Sano and Yahiko rushed off down the street. They soon arrived at the Aoiya to find the front door gaping open and no one in sight.
"Where the hell is everyone?" the fighter muttered.
"Sano! Come here!"
He rushed over to Yahiko. They both stared at the interior courtyard. There were bits of fabric scattered all over the floor, a huge hole in one of the upper story walls that faced the courtyard, and slash marks all over the porch.
There was the sound of footsteps running downstairs, then Omasu dashed around the corner and nearly ran into them. She uttered a squeak of surprise, before sagging against the wall in relief.
"Sano! It's only you...."
"What happened here!?"
"Well, Aoshi-sama showed up and he tried to kill Tokio-san but it wasn't his fault because he must have been possessed and she managed to escape then he ran off after her and poor Okon's out cold but I have no idea where poor Misao-chan is and I haven't been able to contact Okina yet and you couldn't imagine the look I saw on his face when he...."
His brain whirling with the onslaught of information, Sano waved his hands in the air and yelled, "HOLD IT!!! Slow down!"
Tokio slipped around the corner of a building and flattened herself against the wall. Surprisingly, for a woman who was supposed to be running from a sword-wielding master ninja who was hell-bent on bloody murder, she looked hardly out of breath.
"Mother."
Tokio gasped and spun around to find Risako's black-clad figure standing right next to her. Pressing her hand against her chest, Tokio murmured, "One of these days, you're going to give me a heart attack."
nbsp;Risako shrugged, then politely asked, "I was just wondering why you were bothering to run away from Shinomori. A quick spell and he'd be a tidy pile of ashes."
As she settled her kimono back into order, Tokio replied, "That would be the easy way, but I don't want to risk the demon becoming aware of any hint of Nightwitch involvement. If it senses any trace of magic, it'll be even harder to lure out the monster out of hiding. So I'm afraid I'm simply going to have to deal with Aoshi by purely physical means."
"Forgive me for saying so, Mother, but hand-to-hand combat is NOT your strong point."
Tokio sighed quietly. "Yes, dear, I know that I'm hardly up to your level. On the other hand, Aoshi's a mortal so that should make us pretty much even."
Risako smoothed the sleeve of her kimono and said, "You could allow me to dispose of Shinomori."
Tokio smiled, but said, "Thank you, dear, but I would prefer that you remain hidden for now. Besides, I rather like the young man. I don't want him dead unless absolutely necessary."
"Very well, Mother. But I hope you won't mind if I keep an eye on things."
"Not at all. It would be rather comforting...."
&nbs;pRisako suddenly stiffened. "Shinomori's coming." She glanced at Tokio and murmured very softly, "He's very good for a human. Do be careful. I'll try to honor your decision to handle him yourself, but please remember that Father would never forgive me if I let anything permanent happen to you."
With those words, Risako melted back into the shadows of the alley. A second later, a raven flew out of the same shadows and perched on a nearby gutter.
Tokio smiled at the amber-eyed bird, then turned and ran, just as Aoshi appeared at the entrance of the alleyway.
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