Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ 'Do You Want to Live Forever?' ❯ The Pains of Reality ( Chapter 7 )

A/N: Vampire Explanations: REACH: The ability of one Pure Blood to psychically find another in space and time. It is a much stronger link between blood relations, but the strongest bond is with Mates and the 'blood bond'.

MADE VAMPIRE ALLERGIES: Author's creation. Except for the Garlic cloves... though the reaction to the cloves is purely my creation. Pure Blood's are immune simply because they are living organisms.

CARDIAC ANATOMY: The human heart is made up of 4 chambers. 2 atria (the top), and 2 ventricle (the bottom). The left ventricle is the power pump that sends the blood out through the aorta and into the main bloodstream body. The right atria receives the blood from the superior and inferior vena cava (the venous collection system for the body)... drops it into the right atria which, in turn lets it down into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve. Then the ventricle sends it to the lungs for oxygenation via the semi-lunar valve. It comes back to the heart via the pulmonary vein (the only time a vein ever carries oxygenated blood) and is emptied into the left atria. Then its down into the power pump via the bicuspid or mitral valve and off to the body with a mighty shove... Very efficient system... God was a master architect.. But when something goes wrong with one or more of these chambers... it is very hard to fix or compensate, and death is usually eminent.


Chapter Seven

The Pains of Reality

Ellis Island/Underground Complex

The Black Lands

April 2004

Monday morning...

05:22 a.m.: Before Sunrise...

Characters:

Kaoru Kamiya

Soujro Seta Kamiya

Hijo Seijuro

Aoshi Shinomori

Magdelana Kamiya Seijuro

Even though it was spring there was still dew collecting on the fragile green shrubbery that lay scattered and unattended across the small deserted island that had once been the gateway to the Land of The Free and the Home of Hope and Fortune. The old derelict brick building that had been the processing center had begun to wither away beneath the battery of time and the elements as the world moved past it and life continued on without looking back. Weeds and grasses sprouted up through cracks in the weakened floors, and piles of dust that had once been the mortar between the faded red bricks dotted the grounds and hallways. It was no longer safe to walk about the upper levels as so much of the wooden flooring had been eaten by termites and rotted away by the rain. The once white paint on the walls had long since chipped away and lay curled up in little pieces of decay along the floors, and rat droppings and urine stains seemed more prevalent than any remaining varnish or lacquer.

It was a tomb of long forgotten ghosts and as the wind off Manhattan Bay swept through the broken windows, the mutters and cries of emigrants long past could almost be heard as they struggled to find their way through the maze of doctors, nurses, registration desks, and interpreters. How many had given up their names in favor of something that could be more easily pronounced or accepted instead of that which they had brought with them from a country so much older than this one that promised so much but seemed to offer so little. Tears were shed as grief replaced hope, and many sat for long weeks staring across the waters at the coast of a land that was denied them until they were 'deemed' acceptable to sail to Her shores.

Names... names of the forgotten... names of those who would never hear them uttered again were carved deeply into the wooden posts and pillars of the old tomb. Russian... Jewish... Polish... Hungarian... Scandinavian... German... Austrian... Bulgarian... so many names. So many lives that were sent into New York forever changed... forever marked... forever crushed.

To some it was a place to begin life again after the Holocaust. To others, it was just another place to be punished for being a race and a religion different from those who had already passed before. It remained a place for persecution not hope. Many died there and never did live to see the shores of the land of freedom. It was their last prison.

It was in this place that Hiko Seijiro and Prince Crede had brought their group of Pure Bloods 10 years ago after their last compound in New Jersey had been destroyed by a vicious garrison of 'Made'. The compound had been a perfect cover, the basement already in existence when they arrived. All they had had to do at that point was expand and renovate to ensure strength and privacy.

The electrical system was revitalized by tapping into the main cities power grid. This was achieved through a major connection into the underwater mains that stretched across the bay toward The Statue of Liberty. No one ever bothered to check the underwater lines unless something went wrong with them... and it was so much easier just to make sure that never happened than it was to deal with a human electrical diving crew. So, the Pure Bloods learned how to become electrical engineers as well as deep water divers... at least a crew of them did, and that was their sole purpose. To keep the electricity working and the cities core of engineers out of Hiko and the Prince's hair.

The structure itself was left alone save the underground level which became eleven levels. Working by night, the Pure Bloods excavated ten more full sized levels beneath the basement of the original building and built themselves a sturdy complex of steel and concrete which housed their population of some 3,023, a full medical facility, a school and library, living quarters, a training center, and the Holy Archive's complete with one full level of the written word in scrolls and old leather bound books, and one level of computers and software programs to study them with.

The entrance to the underground complex was well hidden and more than a little difficult to find, and although the 'Made' knew the Pure Bloods was located on the old island, they had yet to discover the key to getting inside. The perimeter around the old building was a vampires nightmare, and no 'Made' had ever survived to even tell the tale of his experience in trying to find the entrance to the compound. It had been over six years since a 'Made' had been found on the premises. So, it would seem they had finally wised up and realized they were not going to make it inside... no matter how hard they tried or how careful they were.

It was not going to happen.

'Made' vampires were severely allergic to three things all of which were a naturally occurring organic life form. One was rose's. The sweet aromatic scent of roses of any sort would render a 'Made' vampire helpless within only moments of coming in contact with it. Acting like a deadly nerve gas, it would quickly degrade the vampire's central nervous system, and the being would either suffocate from the inability to functionally process the blood inside of the body, or they would die a horribly painful death as his or her brain exploded inside of the nearly indestructible skull causing massive amounts of blood and tissue matter to ooze from the ears and nose. Either way, their demise was certain.

Two, sea salt. The Pure Bloods would gather buckets and buckets of sea water and leave them out for the sun to evaporate, and the powdery residue left over would be carefully collected and rubbed into black cotton sheets which would in turn be hung in strategic intervals all over the grounds every night... especially during the winter. Many a 'Made' had their demise wrapped inside one of these soft death-traps as the salt powder burned their flesh away and then dissolved their inner organs. Also, a few of these sheets soaked in a highly concentrated solution of sea-salt water would do the same thing, only much faster, but they could not be used in winter, they froze and became useless. However, buckets of the solution could be propped in high places and tied to trip-wires that would cause them to douse the unsuspecting with the deadly liquid when stumbled upon. Indeed, sea salt had proved itself to be most useful as well as versatile.

Third was garlic. Pure garden grown garlic cloves pealed and hung in garlands from the trees, bushes, and the building itself had proved to be most useful as a long-term deterrent. Since it was quite simple to grow and store the smelly cloves for long periods of time, it was not difficult for the Pure Bloods to keep a large of stock of them on had at all times, and since a 'Made's' olfactory senses were among the keenest (only out matched by a Pure Blood's) it was and easy reach for them to detect the presence of the deadly cloves even from a distance.

Where the scent of the roses would do deadly damage to their nervous systems, the garlic directly attacked their blood causing it to become first a thickened substance within their veins, and then something close to cement. It was a very painful if not hasty way to die as one's body turned to stone and the breath froze inside of lungs turned to lead.

It did make them sink to the bottom of the bay much faster though. Otherwise, the bodies had to be disintegrated with the heavy salt substance in order to hide it from any visitors to the island. Just as all the garlands had to be removed before dawn...just before dawn, and that was probably the only time the Pure Bloods were vulnerable. Fortunately for them, the 'Made' had not appeared to have figured that very important detail out yet. And it was at just that precise moment in time that Kaoru appeared out of the early morning mist materializing like a ghost from no where and nearly scaring the life from the members of the Clan who were gathering up the garlands.

"Hey!" Aoshi Shinomori exclaimed in a low growl as he swung around with his short kodachi raised defensively over his head. "You need to be more careful the way you sneak up on people, Slayer. It's a good thing I recognized you despite the mist or I might have relieved you of your head."

"Not hardly...Major." She haughtily tossed back as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and offered his a hard look. "You would have to get up a lot earlier in the morning than this before you'd get one over on me."

"You think too much of yourself, Slayer." His glare became disapproving as he sheathed his weapon and relaxed his stance. "Your arrogance is misplaced... and unappreciated."

"It is not misplaced, Major Shinomori." She replied in a cold tone and she walked up closer to him. "And for once... it's not arrogance." Aoshi opened his mouth to give her a sharp retort but found himself stopping as the whiff of a strange scent shifted through the air off of her and drifted over to him.

"What the... who...?" Rearing back in surprise and half in alarm, Aoshi let his icy green eyes flare open and afford her a look of complete shock. "Where the fuck have you been?" He demanded in a gruff voice. "And who the hell have you been with?"

"Why do you ask?" Kaoru let her face lapse into a look of total blankness as she took in his reaction to the subtle scent that still clung to her clothes, and wondered what would happen when he finally smelled the even lessor one that marked her as bonded... and mated?

"You... the smell of you... where have you been, Kaoru?"

"In the city, Major... patrolling. Where else would I be." The voice that slipped from her mouth was smooth as silk and Kaoru felt a swell of pride within her as she watched the look of surprise and hesitation that crossed the other Slayer's face. He was her superior... even if she was the better warrior. Still, Aoshi was not one to be trifled with and she knew she had pushed him just about as far as she dared. "We need to be getting inside, Sir. The sun will be rising..."

"I know that..." He eyed her suspiciously before he turned back to his gapping crew and made the signal for them to make haste with their task. "Come on everyone... we need to get this done and get inside before we are all ash spots in the sun." A round of 'yes sir's' was heard collectively and the twenty or so people doubled their efforts to retrieve the hanging garlands while the two slayers watched them in silence.

"Your Father is not going to be any more satisfied with your explanation than I am, Slayer." Aoshi's quiet words fell on Kaoru's sensitive ears as he turned and made his way to the hidden entrance of the compound. "He will require much more detail... you know that? Don't you?"

"Of course... but explanations can wait until then, Major. Now is not the time..." Aoshi shot her an angry yet respectful glance over his shoulder as he reached out and grasped the back of one of the iron backed benches and tipped it backward on its back legs. A low whirring noise could be heard beneath the ground and a rough vibration rumbled under their feet. Approximately fifteen feet away a six foot square section of the grassy covered ground lifted perhaps eighteen inches above the level and then slid sideways on some kind of an intricate hydrolics system made of pulleys and heavy cog-wheels. It revealed a downward sloping ramp that disappeared into the darkness of the earth some twenty feet before it could no longer be discernable.

"As you will then." Aoshi replied as they walked into the darkness waiting at the unseen bottom of the ramp. "I only hope your explanation is worth the hearing."

"Why do you say that, Major?" Kaoru cast a hooded anxious glance at her companion as they entered the large room at the bottom of the ramp.

"Because when you did not come back last night, he sent four others out looking for you... none of them have returned." A small gasp of surprise greeted his statement and caused him to look at her in confusion. This was very out of character for this usually cold hearted and emotionless girl, and the flash of guilt and contrition he caught on her face did nothing to alleviate the ambivalent feelings he was experiencing with her this strangest of mornings.

"What is it, Kaoru?" He asked in a quiet almost hushed voice. "Why are you so... shocked?"

"Who... who did he send, Major? Who went... who hasn't come back?" Now Aoshi was certain something was amiss. Kaoru didn't give a damn about any of the other slayers... unless they stepped on her toes... or into her domain. Something was wrong.

"Stephan, Jules, Angel, and Cody... why do you ask?" He watched her very close for her reaction and was further astounded when he saw tears gathering in her deep blue eyes.

"Stephan... Jules... Angel... Cody... Angel just barely finished her training. She wasn't ready for patrolling yet... she wasn't ready to go outside the safety zone... why? Why did he send her?"'No... God, no... too late... too late...I'm not the best... I'm not... not... I'm an arrogant screw up... not worth your sacrifices... nonononononono!' The voice was no longer smooth and silky, instead it was tight and filled with pain. Pain and perhaps even anger, and the face that turned and looked into Aoshi's was no longer placid and emotionless. It was filled with anguish and guilt... regret and... remorse?

"She volunteered when the call came... they all did."

"Volunteered...? Why?" 'Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease... noooooo... don't let it be true... not this... not now... not before I could tell everyone... not before I could make up to everyone for what I've been... noooo!'

"Because, you're the finest Slayer we have... you're the best, Kaoru." Aoshi reached out and put his hand on her shoulder as it drooped beneath the load of her despair. "No one... not even those you have scorned, want to see you lost to us. We need you too damn much to lose you."

"Oh God... nooooo.... please... no. I don't want them to have died for me... not for me." 'Not for me... not me... not me... noot meeee!' And as she began to cry, Aoshi finally came to the realization that Kaoru was no longer the 'Kaoru' he had known for the last 600 years... not even the last 200 years... or even the last 3 days. She was... changed. Putting his arms around her trembling body, he pulled her unresisting against his chest... this too assured him of the magnitude of the change that had occurred within her. It also brought another fact into his perspective... though it was barely perceptible.

She was mated. The scent was unmistakable... yet... the power within its aroma made his head swim and Aoshi felt a wave of dizziness wash over him turning his stomach over in a lurch. 'Who... or what...?' He couldn't even begin to fathom what kind of 'man' or 'beast' could have touched her and effected her heart and soul in such a tremendously altering manner, nor could he imagine anything powerful enough to leave behind such a marking scent as this one. 'What happened to you, Kaoru? What have you done?'

"Come," He said quietly to her as he began leading her towards the elevator. "We must get you to your Father..."

"Papa?" 'Papa... what can I tell you... what do I say... how do I apologize for a life of arrogance and selfishness to the greatest man I ever knew... how? How, Papa? How do I tell you that I finally know what a terrible, horrible person I was? How do I admit that to YOU? How?' She sounded like a little girl, and for some reason it made him wince.

"Yes... to your Papa... come on. Everything will be all right." The great steel doors closed and the sounds of the motor lowering them into the rest of the compound could be heard outside of the metal box they stood inside of. "Almost there..." He said as he hugged her tightly to his side forcing her to stand up straight. "Have courage."

"I always have courage, Major... I just... I... I have never had anyone risk their life for me... I do not like the feeling." 'I have always had courage... until now. It has deserted me today... in the face of my greatest need... it has deserted me...' She stepped out of the elevator without his assistance and pulled her shoulders back as what looked like a thousand-thousand eyes turned to look at her. A low murmuring sound began within the living quarters level as she and Aoshi passed through, and Kaoru had never known a more uncomfortable moment in her life. She felt like a goldfish in a bowl and it was not a pleasant feeling.

It took several long moments before they reached her parents living quarters, and Kaoru hesitated before knocking twice in her usual sharp manner and then walked inside. She was greeted by the wide eyed gapping faces of her Mother, Brother, and Step-father.

"You... you're alive?" Soujiro was the first to be able to speak and move and he was up off the plush cushioned couch to crush her in his powerful arms before she could answer. "Kao... Kao... praise God... you're alive... Oh lubit... we thought we had lost you when you didn't come home... and I... I couldn't reach you anywhere..." Kaoru could feel the wetness of her brother's tears as they cascaded down her neck and as she began to tremble within his crushing embrace, she lifted her arms and wrapped them tightly around his body.

"I... I'm sorry, Sou... so sorry..." She choked out. "I didn't mean to worry..." 'God... if you can hear me.... HELP ME!'

"You what?" He reared back in shock as her heart felt apology sank into his stunned brain. "You're... sorry?" Kaoru 'sorry' just didn't happen. Something was wrong, but before he could say more their mother had pulled her away and enfolded her trembling body into the warmth of yet another embrace.

"Oh my baby... my little girl... you're all right... you're all right..." Maggie crooned and cried all at once as she stroked her hand down Kaoru's long ebony hair and hugged her close to her thundering heart. "I thought you were gone from me, precious one... None of us could reach you... it was as if your blood had drawn its last breath... and you were gone. I swore I felt you die... Oh Kaoru... my Kaoru..."

"Mama... I'm alive... feel me, Mama... I'm alive." Kaoru hugged her Mother with all her might and let her own tears fall and become lost in the darkness of her mother's long hair as she buried her face in it's warmth. 'Home... I made it home... I can make up for the past... for what I used to be... I promise I will never be arrogant or selfish again... I promise... promise... I learned my lesson... I promise... never forget what's important again... never... never... nev..' "I... love you..." And the entire room became deathly quiet.

As Maggie pulled away, her eyes, which were the same deep sapphire blue as her daughters, widened into huge pools of stunned disbelief as they locked gazes with their tear filled twins. Both women's faces were pale beyond the usual white of their normal skin tones, and Maggie looked as if she may yet faint dead away as she stared at her daughters forlorn expression.

"Wh...what did you say?" She stuttered in a ragged voice as her hands bit painfully into Kaoru's upper arms. "Did you just say you 'loved' me? Kaoru?" The tears that had been swimming in the usually fierce Slayer's eyes now surged forward and spilled over her porcelain cheeks running in rivulets down her face.

"Yes, Mama." She whispered heavily. "I said... I love you." Kaoru bowed her head and let the sobs come. "I know I h-have never said those words... at l-least not for m-many years, but it is t-true... I love you all... everyone... all of y-you." A wordless cry escaped Maggie's tight throat and then she was once more enfolding the daughter she thought she had lost into the haven of her strong arms pulling her close to the softness of her mother's bosom and the wild racing of her joyous heart.

"So long..." She breathed through her own tears. "So long have I waited to hear those words come out of your beautiful mouth again.... so very very long."

"Too long." Hiko stepped over to his beloved wife and daughter and wrapped his arms around them both pulling them close to the great expanse of his hard muscular chest. "Too long have we waited, Daughter... too long."

"Papa..." Kaoru's voice was tiny... tiny as the sounds of a mouse scurrying across a marble floor. "Forgive me... Papa... forgive me..."

"Forgive you?" Hiko looked down into the imploring blue eyes of his adopted daughter in confusion. "We have forgiven you, Daughter... love allows forgiveness of all things... forgive yourself, Kaoru... put your heart to rest."

"I... I cannot." She pulled away from her parents embrace and sat herself upon the couch. "What of Stephan... Jules... Cody... and Angel? How do I forgive myself for what has happened to them?" As a sob broke on her last word, Kaoru buried her face in her hands. "How can I ever... forgive myself... for that?"

"For what? For them doing what they thought was right? For them doing what they thoughtyouwould have done if it were one of them? For doing what you have done so many times in the past? For doing what it is within each Slayer to do for those that they fight with whether it is side by side in the night or not?" Kaoru raised her teary eyes and looked into Hiko's stern yet gentle face. "There is nothing to forgive... and, they may yet return tonight... and you, above all others being the Slayer that you are, should know that."

"Desigur, Papa... I should, but no one has ever had to come looking for ME before... ever!"

"Nu... this is a true fact... but you have NEVER disappeared from our reach before either." His dark emerald gaze narrowed suddenly as if that was the first time he had considered that fact since she had appeared unannounced through their door. "Where did you go?"

"I... ahhh..." Suddenly Kaoru looked extremely uncomfortable and even more unsure of herself than anyone had ever seen her. Hiko and Maggie exchanged worried looks.

"What is wrong, Kaoru? Why does that question bother you?" Hiko advanced on her and watched in astonishment as she scooted away from him somewhat. "Where have you been... What is going on here? Why are you so nervous..." And then, as her anxiety mounted, Hiko detected the change in her usual scent... the shift in the resonance of her heart-beat... the undertone of power that emanated off of her was... astonishing. "What the hell...?" His eyes grew into massive green spheres of amazement as he raked her flushed face with knowing eyes.

"You're mated..." The statement was all but shouted out of his mouth as he stepped over to tower over her rigid form. "You've been blood bonded to a Male." Maggie gasped and covered her mouth in shock as her huge blue eyes darted to the stiff backed frame of her daughter, and Soujiro could do nothing but stand and stare at her with wounded blue-gray eyes.

"Mated?" He whispered in disbelief. "Bonded? To whom? How... without us knowing... how... how could you?"

"If I may..." Aoshi's calm voice interjected itself into the stunned circle of the family unit as he noticed how Kaoru seemed to be becoming the target of an all out assault of negative accusations. "I also noticed the scent before I brought her home, General Seijuro."

"You did?" Hiko's dark eyes flew to his young subordinate as if he were just now noticing that the younger vampire was in the room with his family. "And you did nothing? You asked her nothing?"

"I asked... the same questions. Where? Who? But she was adamant that she would tell no one until she was here with you, Sir, and I respected that." Aoshi walked slowly over to his angry superior who was acting more the Father than the Leader at the moment, and carefully laid his hand on the heavily muscled arm. "There have been many... alterations in Kaoru since we last... saw her. Alterations that have both confused me and... relieved me. Perhaps you should allow her to explain before you condemn her, Sir. I would."

"YOU WOULD?" Hiko roared as he shook off the hand that touched him. "She is not your child, Major."

"No, she is not, General Seijuro." The admonishment was given in a cool controlled tone that pulled the older man's anger in check with an icy whiplash. "But, she is one of MY Slayers... and by your own laws, I have the right to question her BEFORE you do... I respected her request and brought her home... I expect you, AS HER FATHER, to respect that position or I shall be forced to remand her back to the barracks for debriefing. Is that understood... Sir?" Hiko was speechless. It was true. His own laws gave the Leader of the Slayers the right to debrief Kaoru before ever giving her leave to go home whether her father was the Commander and Chief or not... he was still just her father, and he was abusing a very delicate privilege at the moment. A privilege he had designed by law himself.

"Yes, Major Shinomori... I understand, Thank you for reminding me."

"You are welcome, Sir." Once more Aoshi stepped back and removed himself from the family unit although he remained inside the living quarters. Kaoru was still his Slayer.

Hiko drew in a slow deep breath and tried to calm his nerves and his temper, and at the same time he allowed his senses to reach out and touch that essence of 'Male' that now surrounded his daughter. As an ancient, his concentration was at a level of such keenness that Hiko was ill prepared for the jolt of power that slammed into him as he touched Kaoru.

It was common for 'Male' vampires to create a shield of their scent and personal essence around their chosen 'Female' in order to prevent another 'Male' from trying to claim her as his 'Mate', and it was a common result for any 'Male' who tried to break through that 'shield' to suffer some mental and physical discomfort as his foreign essence was immediately repelled by the 'Female's' existing shield. Usually there would be some nausea, some burning in the hands and chest, and perhaps even a headache, but what occurred when Hiko touched Kaoru's 'shield' had never happened before in recorded Pure Blood history.

A mighty roar of excruciating pain split the air in the room just as the large man was lifted from the floor, cross-style, and forcibly thrown across the room slamming hard into the wall nearly twenty feet away with a sickening thud that resonated through several of the other living quarters both above and below them. He hung in silence for several seconds, as if suspended in time and space, before sliding to the floor and crumpling into an undignified heap of arms and legs.

"HIKO!" Maggie screamed his name in fright and sprinted across the room with Soujiro and Aoshi on her heels. Loud groans and muttered curses filtered through the jumbled of limbs as they reached the fallen giant, and when they turned him over, his eyes were glazed and out of focus.

"What... what the hell ha-happened?" He tried to raise a hand to his head but all of his limbs felt like they were made out of lead. "I feel like I got hit by a bus... or maybe ten buses... dammit!" Trying to shake his head was like trying to shake a balloon full of water... it just couldn't be done, and the harder he tried the more the world spun around him. "Shit... I think the moon came down and bitch slapped my ass... I swear I saw it in my head... the whole fucking moon... just swooped down and hit me head on like an ocean... the biggest wave I ever saw... thought I was going to die... shit shit... I'm not dead am I? Maggie?" Dazed green eyes began searching for the beautiful features of his beloved, and a relieved smile curved his thin lips when he found it at last.

"Nu... Hiko. You aren't dead... If you were, I'd never forgive you." She smiled wanly and stroked the thick white hair back off his forehead. "But what do you mean... The moon hit you?" She traded confused looks with the two men kneeling with her, and then they all turned and looked at the young vampire female who was standing ever so calmly looking at them from the side of the couch. "Kaoru... what... What is going on? What did your Father see the Moon... and why did it almost kill him for touching you?"

"Just exactly whom did you mate with, sister-dear? The Devil?' Soujiro's eyes narrowed angrily as he stood up and faced his sibling. "What man on this earth has the kind of power to bring down the moon itself to protect his mate?" He approached her menacingly his fists clenched at his sides as he considered her calm demeanor. "Are we all danger now, Kaoru? Are we? What the fuck have you done? What have you brought among us? What?" His screamed at her and lunged reaching for her upper arm intent upon shaking her until she answered, but he never got close enough.

Once more the great hand of Cel's protection reached out from around Kaoru's body and stuck against that which it perceived as a threat, only this time it was not the threat of another 'Male', it was a threat to her safety... that was much worse.

A second scream filled the room that morning as the unseen hand of The Fang reached out and slammed into the chest of the advancing Soujiro sending him careening back into the waiting arms of a suddenly aware Aoshi. "STOP!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as he lowered an unconscious Sou to the floor. "STOP, FOR THE LOVE OF 'THE ONE'... STOP!" And as swiftly as the assaulting presence had come... it was gone.

Looking down at the younger man whose head he held pillowed in his lap, Aoshi saw the shadow of death passing over the fine boned features. "KAORU!" He shouted in terror and entreaty... "HELP HIM... HE'S DYING... HE'S YOUR BROTHER AND HE'S DYING BECAUSE HE THREATENED YOU... HELP HIM... HELP HIM!"

She rushed to their side and fell to her knees on the floor and looked with terrified eyes upon the ashen face of her only brother. "I... I don't know... I don't...." She looked up frantically and met Aoshi's anxious eyes. "I...."

"Yes you do... You have too... YOU HAVE TOO..."

"I CAN'T!" She cried in horror and helplessness.

"YOU CAN!" He shouted back grabbing her by the arm and forcing her to look at him.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO..." Tears streamed down her face as she stared into his hard unforgiving icy green eyes.

"YES YOU DO... YOU HAVE THE POWER... USE IT DAMMIT, OR HE'S GOING TO DIE!USE IT!" A great cry of grief rose up from her chest and she threw her head back exposing the two puncture wounds on the right side of her neck which had begun to bleed in small trickles. The blood was slithering down her throat and onto her chest making twin red rivers leading to the deep valley between her breasts where it disappeared into the tight cleavage.

"Soouujirrroo..." Kaoru sobbed in a horrible hollow otherworldly voice that seemed to come from somewhere deep within her, and as she leaned over him and looked down upon his failing visage bloody tears began to escape the anguished pools of her eyes.

"Bloody tears...?" Maggie breathed in a voice of horrified distress as she pulled Hiko's head closer to her breasts in fear. "I've never seen..."

"Nor I... Lubit... nor I."

"What is happening, Hiko?"

"I do not know, lubit. I do not know."

"What did Aoshi mean... 'For the Love of The One'?"

"I do not know the answer to that either, Maggie... but I do know he is trying to save our son... by the light of the Gods... he thinks Kaoru can save her brother's life."

"Do... do you?" A sob choked her words as she considered the implications of losing her only son to such an untimely death.

"I... Gods truth... I do not know what I believe anymore..."

Across the room Kaoru reached out a violently trembling hand and placed it on her brothers all but still chest and closed her eyes. In her mind's eyes she could see his heart. It was fluttering valiantly against the pull of death, but it was losing the battle and would soon stop completely taking his life with it as it did. The damage was clear... the entire right side was crushed leaving the blood no where to go but out into his body, and slowly he was bleeding to death within himself as the left ventricle struggled to continue pumping even as it ran out of fluids to pump. He would die... it was inevitable... it was unavoidable... it was undeniable.

'NO!' Her mind screamed and her hand lunged downward onto her brothers damaged chest ferociously nearly caving it in as she made contact with the ravaged heart. 'LIVE! LIVE SOUJIRO! LIVE!' And Kaoru began to will that which was living to redeem itself... reunite itself... remake itself. She willed the heart to mend that which was destroyed beyond repair... willed it to reform the valves that had been mangled, the septum that was torn asunder, the muscle and arteries that were mutilated...

"Do you see it, Hiko... do you see it, the light... the white light coming from her hand... do you see it?" Maggie was transfixed by the scene unfolding before her as she watched the one who had been her daughter leaning over the body of her grievously wounded son. One hand had been pushed into the center of his chest and it was now glowing an eerie silver white which seemed to pulsate quite possibly with the beat of a heart... but whose? Kaoru's or Soujiro's? "What is she doing? Do you think...."

"Healing him, Maggie... I think she is healing his wounds." Hiko's words were hushed and almost reverent as he watched with childlike awe the spectacle before him. 'What am I seeing?' His mind asked as he allowed his gaze to shift from daughter to son and back again. 'What miracle is this... and how can it be? My own daughter? Who... who is she? Who is this 'Male' she has mated and where did this power come from? All of this astonishing power...' Suddenly his mind froze as if incased in a glacier... Could it be? Now, after all this time? Was it possible? Now? Darting eyes once more searched the pale face of his daughter and his nostrils tentatively tested the air for the scent he had detected before... The Power... so elusive... so subtle... yet so overpowering and... familiar? 'Master Crede? Do I detect a sense of you...? Do I... Is this... has my child become the Mate to... is he here?' "Cel... by all that is Holy in this world... 'Cel'..."

A/N: I know... another cliffy. So sorry. It was getting long, and I know how you guys detest long chapters. Hang tight... updates are in the works.

Please drop me some reviews. I am not getting very many and it is really bumming me out... It sure doesn't make me want to update... I'll tell you that. In fact... it sort of makes me want to trash the fic and start over with something else... *sighs* Knt