Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Desire ❯ Caos Struttura ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter V: Structured Chaos

"And I dedicate this massacre to you, hailed Creator," Enishi whispered reverently. He anointed his blade with spring water, which he had collected from the mountains. His head was deeply bowed as if in prayer to a deity. Fitting then, that he was in a shrine and around him were the mangled bodies of monks that were stationed there. He had wiped his blade off of their blood with the altar cloth but the sacrifice was already presented before his god: pure souls of innocent humans.

His prayer was not left unheeded. In front of him was the object of his worship. Clad in glowing white robes was his sister. Her ectoplasmic form was the only thing he could salvage from the roaring fires of Inferno. She appeared the same as the day she took her own life. There was a stab wound at her throat and the blood ran freely from her veins and stained her kimono. Her cheeks were tear-drenched and her eyes were somber slits. A soulful song emanated from her. Only a comforting scent of plum blossoms told that she was human once: flesh, blood and affection.

She did not speak, and her silence itself belied her existence. Perhaps she was just an illusion, a hallucination concocted by his lonely and maddening incarceration. Her cheeks were so pale, her hair so limp, her apparition too easy. But he knew and he was certain that she was here. She had created him through her own power just as she was about to commit suicide.

He smirked at his sister's cleverness. What that bastard demi-god didn't know was that his sister was from a generation of Druids, only their craft was banned for worshipping the enemy of the gods. But from their decision came great power at a great price. His sister knew, that she was made for far better stakes and wanted to be saved from the damnation of their clan. They both went out to find a savior or even a small glimpse of love before the inevitable corruption of their souls. In the end, it all spiraled back to the occurrence they wanted to escape in the first place. And so in his sister's anguish, she had taken him down to Inferno and awakened the darkness that had been lying dormant since their birth. She gave up her soul in exchange for revenge. And here he is now, Enishi: the product of Tomoe's anguish.

But now, now that the power had embedded itself in his veins, he wouldn't take it any other way. He had only wanted take his sister's hatred to a whole new level. He would take down the new God and bring his sister back to life by erasing the delineation between heaven and hell. That is the only way that he could see his sister's smile once again.

He looked up at her and smiled. He stood and sheathed his sword. With his back turned to the corpses, a wave of black fire consumed the whole place along with him and his sister. His arms were spread out on his sides, as if he welcomed such abomination. Perhaps he did, but the real destruction would come sooner rather than later.

"I know, isn't it great? Kenshin and I are going to have a baby!"

"I'm terribly elated! I'm sure Kenshin's being overly protective, doesn't he? Between you and me, you now have a very powerful tool to wield over your husband," Misao, their newly arrived guest, giggled mischievously.

Kaoru flushed but with a malicious glint in her eyes, she replied, "Oh, even then I've always had something over him." Both girls laughed conspiratorially.

On the other side, Sanosuke mused. "Wonder what's so giddy about getting pregnant." He looked straight at Kenshin. "Oh. Right. My bad."

Megumi smacked him on the cranium for his tactless referral to Kenshin and Kaoru's...activities and then turned to Misao's travel companion. "I would assume that you have heard because you are here. Sanosuke and I would be leaving the two of you to talk." She moved to stand when Aoshi moved his hand to halt her.

"There's no need, Comfort. On the pretense that I am here to accompany Misao, I also have my own agenda. As you all know, Hell is melting. I don't know when, I don't know how, but soon its fires would contaminate the city walls and eventually corrode the Gates of Heaven. There would be no way of stopping damned souls from entering then, or even crossing to this plane."

"No soul or entity could enter the Gates without my permission," Sanosuke said cockily. He fingered his pendant, as if drawing some reassurance from the stone.

"But then, there would no longer be any Gates to hold power over. The Gates, no, the Equilibrium would be gone and so will any Laws dividing the planes apart," Aoshi replied. He looked at Kenshin, who was looking at Kaoru and Misao's chattering. He sighed and continued,

"My duty is to keep the underground cold and the insides of the damned scalding. But with the escape of the Ember and worse, the Shadow, my powers over that plane has been rendered null and void. I wouldn't be surprised if past ghosts would come back and haunt us." He opened his palm and gazed at his glittering sapphire pendant, the sign of the Ice.

"Is there no other way of keeping the situation quarantined?" Megumi asked and her brows knitted in apprehension.

He looked at Kenshin. "If all of the Pillars are present then the God would be able to once again seal the underground gates and defeat the two malevolent entities with their combined power. Shishio and Enishi would be difficult to put back in their cages so we would have to deal with them personally."

"Are you saying that we have to kill the two beings once and for all? Well that's the most sensible thing you've suggested in decades," Sanosuke whooped.

"They are already dead, Sanosuke. But in a manner of speaking, yes, their souls are still living energy. That energy could be quelled with the combined power of the twelve Pillars and Kenshin's," he paused. "You're being awfully quiet about this, Himura. Are you meditating on your forthcoming meeting with the Judge?" Aoshi commented.

"I need you to watch over Kaoru while I am away. She doesn't know where I'm going and it has to stay that way. She is unprotected and any malevolent spirits could come and possess her soul. The Wolf and the Reverse would be here soon, as well as the others," he answered instead.

Megumi gasped. "This is really serious now, Kenshin, isn't it?"

Kenshin smirked. "It has always been serious."

"What is?" Kaoru interjected, her banter with Misao had already dissipated. They walked closer inside the room where guests are received. Misao immediately moved beside Aoshi.

"There would be a serious handful of guests that would be arriving and they would be seriously hungry. So why don't the three of us go to the kitchen and prepare a nice dinner for them?" Megumi saved. She threw a careful glance at the men and they nodded in understanding. Kaoru was the only one who seemed suspicious of the whole matter, but since she had a guest, Misao, her protests died in her throat.

"Misao doesn't know yet," Aoshi confessed when the three ladies were out of sight.

Sanosuke clucked his tongue. "That's not good. The Reverse would have to put her into a trance so she wouldn't witness any of the meeting."

"Or I could just brew a mild sleeping potion for her, if you like," a calm tenor said. They all looked up to see Anji, otherwise known as the --

"Mountain. Early as always," Sanosuke exclaimed as he rose and greeted his old friend by patting him on the back. The stoic man grinned fractionally, which is a lot for his cocky friend.

"It is not only I whom you should be welcoming. Soujiro-san is also here," he motioned to the small figure that stood behind him.

"Please, take a seat," Kenshin offered. The two obliged and sat down next to Aoshi. The group stayed silent but the news that was about to be disseminated buzzed between them.

The walk home was brisk and eerily silent. They reached the dojo in record time, all of them heaving from the exhaustion of the day. Kenshin still bled, and Megumi busied herself with healing him. Kaoru was in the kitchen trying to boil some water, as instructed by Megumi. Sanosuke and Genzai-sensei were with Yahiko at the time.

"I will ask her to drink this tea so she won't go through Yahiko-kun's announcement of the coming portents," Megumi said as she dressed Kenshin's wounds and ran the edge of her pendant around them. She continued,

"Don't worry, she will wake up fairly early tomorrow morning. She'll be relaxed by then." She finished bandaging the last of Kenshin's injuries when Kaoru walked in.

"Here's the water you requested, Megumi," she laid down the kettle and three cups. Megumi then reached inside her robe and took out a packet of herbs. She transferred the contents into the kettle to steep.

"This is my family's special blend. These herbs are not from Japan originally, but my ancestors were able to cultivate some in our lands before they were... eliminated. I managed to keep some. I'd think this is the best time for us to taste it," she explained and poured the brown liquid into the cups. She offered one to Kenshin first and then to Kaoru. She took one for her own.

The three of them quietly sipped their tea. "It has a potent brew to it. Very aromatic. What's in it?" Kaoru asked.

"It's a belladonna and marjoram infusion, and a trace of something else I can't divulge. More for your sake than ours," Megumi explained. Kenshin placed his cup down just in time to catch an already asleep Kaoru. Even with his injuries, he managed to carry her to their futon. Megumi was already clearing away the cups when he returned.

"That tea was very good. I've never been so awake in such a long time," he commented.

Megumi smiled. "That's because of the sting of your wounds, Ken-san, why you are still awake. You didn't drink that much either. As for me, I have been taking that stuff since I was two and made me immune. The women in our family kept that brew a secret and used that against our enemies. Add a few more pinches to what I steeped and Kaoru would have had a coma."

"Was that another of your strange concoctions? I can smell the thing blocks away," Sanosuke said, with Yahiko slumped on his back. Genzai-sensei followed behind him.

"Right. No more of that now. Place him right here in the middle and Kenshin will ask him to talk," the Sage instructed.

As soon as he was placed near Kenshin, Yahiko opened his eyes and began to rise inches from the ground. Similarly, his pendant also floated about him. He began to speak, though not in words:

"The truth is my tongue and certainty my words. I have the message written by the god before we all came to be. Who dares answer my call?"

Kenshin stepped forward with his sword in hand and said, "It is I, your master."

Yahiko peered into his eyes for several moments as if perusing into his very soul. He seemed to have found what he was looking for because he began the announcement.

"The red would be separated from the black. An entity can never share its place with another," he looked straight at Kenshin.

"Once the passing of the sword is complete, darkness will prevail. There is a traitor in your midst - no, there was a traitor in your midst. Her betrayal, nevertheless, would prove essential to your victory."

The Sage stepped forward. "This separation, does this have something to do with the child Kaoru is carrying?"

Yahiko looked outside, as if in thought then answered, "No, it shall not have anything to do with the child."

"Then Kenshin would be separated from Kaoru because he is immortal and she isn't?"

"What is not bound in the first place cannot be separated. Everything shall come to pass with the passing of the sword."

"What about this traitor that you speak of?" the Tower asked.

"She has already planted the seed of deception from the very start. But every action is already accounted for."

"Is she Tomoe?" Kenshin asked and surprised looks from his comrades were sent his way.

"She is the murderess. The message has been sent, that is all there is." Yahiko slowly began to descend.

"Wait! Who is the Light? The Neutral?" Megumi hastily added.

"There is no more," Yahiko finished and once again, he fell into his deep sleep. Sanosuke fortunately caught him before he bumped his head.

"Che. Just when we're getting into the real information. Don't you know anything about this, Sage?" he asked.

The Sage shook his head. "We are not complete immortals. Like the god, we replace the old Pillars, only, we reincarnate into these bodies as the circumstances see fit. As reincarnations of the ancestral Pillars, we can only recognize the stones but unfortunately, not each other. It is safer that way, just in case any of the Pillars in this lifetime decide to be a renegade, like Shishio, the Ember. And be patient with the boy, he only received his stone a few days ago. A minute of issuing the portents is already an achievement."

Megumi turned to Kenshin. "Is everything going to be all right, Ken-san?"

"I hope so."

"So that is it, then? It seems like a cosmic plan. I can't help but feel like this was already preordained. As if we are puppets being ruled by a puppeteer," Sanosuke commented to a stoic crowd. Kaoru and Misao had once again been placed into an induced slumber by the Mountain's rhythmic chanting. Before receiving the emerald as his sign of power, Anji had been a reclusive monk. He had learned his techniques from far and wide, traveling around Japan to even as far as India. The tribesmen he had met imparted their knowledge of herbalism and ecology to him, rivaling that of the Comfort's ability to heal. But there is no love lost between them, since the former can only do so by making medicines from around him while the latter's ability just comes naturally. Being the guardian of the earth complimented this occupation very well.

"But you must recognize that if so, it was the supreme powers that planned this," the Mountain replied. "I happen to have complete faith in those plans and complete trust in our master."

"That is admirable of you, my friend, but as you can see, nothing's been decided yet," Soujirou said. Instead of hanging by his neck, he had his chrysoprase pendant around the hilt of his sword.

"Hey, which side are you on, buddy? A little more faith won't hurt," Sanosuke complained. This brewing rift was silenced by Kenshin himself.

"He is right. And he is just acting according to his nature. He wouldn't be much of a protector if he wasn't." He referred to the nature of the Neutral, the bodyguard per se of the master of the pillars. His name came about from the fact that his chrysoprase stone would bear the power of the god for the time being. The Neutral is the protector and the eventual buffer of the master and has the deadly Heaven's Sword as his weapon.

"They are here," the Ice said, his eyes closed as if meditating. Right on cue, three figures appeared in the midst of a hazy gray smoke. The two taller figures were instantly recognized as the Wolf and the Reverse while the last one can be instantly deduced as --

"The Judge. As we have promised, we bring him to you," the Wolf, Saitou drawled. The two of them stepped into the circle where the other Pillars were situated and waited for the smoke to clear. They did not have to wait long for the small figure ran towards Kenshin's standing form.

"I am so glad you've finally decided to accept who you are, onii-sama," the Judge said. He is no taller than Yahiko, his face no older than a pre-pubescent boy yet his visage belied such perceptions.

"Yutaro-san, I thought I said I would meet you at Nowhere," Kenshin said blandly, suspiciously.

"Yumi-dono and her infernal Amazons are residing there at the moment. I did not want to be disturbed," he explained. He stepped back a little and regarded the taller man in front of him critically.

"The last time we have spoken you have been so curt and rude. Was it because of that mortal why you dismissed us without even an offer of tea?" he asked in a roundabout way.

"Just get it over with."

He chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh no, I still want to get some things straight before we proceed. I am sure the Sage was also offended when you spoke back at him in such a manner." He looked at the silent old man and paced the room leisurely. "Surely something as important as this would merit at least a third of your attention. Yumi-san was also disappointed at your tepid welcoming."

"What is he doing?" Sanosuke whispered to the group who was patiently sitting at the far end of the dojo. Megumi hushed him.

"Don't you see, Rooster Head? He's baiting him to release his true self," Saitou replied. Instead of replying with a nasty retort or an invitation for a fight, Sanosuke sat transfixed at the Judgment. He knew it would be tedious and mind-boggling, but he never expected it to be like this -- deceiving and manipulative.

"I said before that you've already found the Light. Have you told the others that you did?" a hushed gasp can be heard at the other end of the room, "I didn't think so." A pause. "Have you told her?"

Still, Kenshin remained silent.

"How can you be sure that it is her? I mean, the Amethyst would have shown itself by now, wouldn't it? Ah, of course, `And from his tears would spring the twelfth,' how silly of me to forget."

The Judge continued, "Perhaps if we placed her in an obstacle of some sort we could see if your tears really would give rise to the Amethyst. It would not matter anyway if she were placed near the brink of death. Or rather, it wouldn't matter if she really were the Light. But what if she's like Tomoe?" he drawled. Kenshin flinched.

"Does she have suicidal tendencies?" he crooned, "or perhaps... brothers?"

When Kenshin did not move from his spot, Yutaro strode around the grounds once more. He stopped at the doorway with his back to him and breathed in deeply.

"Hmm. Sleeping. Second door to the right."

With those simple words, Kenshin went over himself. In a flash of steel, he was about to decapitate the young man. However, his move was blocked by another sword, another reversed-edged sword. He leapt back.

"I bet you didn't expect this, didn't you? I would have to apologize for that, onii-sama. There is nothing I could do that would permit me to tell you about the carnelian's properties," he held out the hilt of the identical sword and revealed the glittering hexagonal gem, "so you could say we are of equal talents and skills. How can you beat yourself, then?"

Kenshin, as well as the others, was at a complete disarray of thoughts. He knew that the Judgment of the new master was going to be a true test of strength and of character, but he didn't realize that it would also be a battle of wills. His mind raced with all the tactical moves no one could possibly replicate and tried to outwit the opponent. He looked at the lad in front of him, the one who had just called him 'older brother' seconds ago and came into the realization that his companionship was probably a mere scam so that he could use it against him in tidings such as these. He remembered when Hiko introduced a kid to him and commanded that he take care of that boy while he is away. Don't let that boy stray out of your sight. I shan't be long, there is some business to attend to.

And a week passed, too long for the young Kenshin and his guest, and soon they became brothers. Kenshin didn't want it that way. However, the boy's desperate look of longing and need for attention clawed at his insides. Casually, he would invite the young boy to the river where they could fish. The young Yutaro would babble incessantly about anything even under the strictest implication that any noise could scare the fishes away. Kenshin would let out a sigh and would simply proceed to skewering the herring with a stick. Eventually, he would let the boy experience the things he never got to experience under Hiko's tutelage like playing out in the rain or rolling around in the mud. He let Yutaro call him onii-sama.

But now, with an unfathomable expression in his eyes, Yutaro was a completely different person. His copy of the sakabatou in battle position, he seemed the perfect replica of the man he is testing. With a sudden gust of wind, the two met in a clash of steel. Sparks emanated from the kissing swords and both didn't seem at all fazed by the oddity of the situation. Don't worry about the mountain lion. I have already taken care of him. Now promise me you won't go off alone, okay? Here is another person, willing to challenge and defeat him in all means possible. He felt that everything is being taken away from him. Whatever did he do to be this damned?

"Do not think of yourself as damned," Yutaro said. Upon seeing Kenshin's expression he explained, "Amazing properties this carnelian has, isn't it? It allows me to feel and understand exactly what my opponent's thinking aside from copying his every power. His very being. You can almost say that we are one." He leapt at Kenshin and executed a perfect diagonal thrust.

Kenshin was able to move scant millimeters away. The force of the air slashed through his gi and epidermis. He saw Yutaro land gracefully on his feet. Kenshin seized the moment and lunged towards him. He threw an oblique forward backslash and managed to block the defense from his side. The speed the two were going allowed several mars to appear on the walls and floor of the dojo; deep gashes on the polished wood that suggested wear and tear when it had only been seconds that they were in contact.

The screech of the blades was the dominating sound in the dojo. The spectators had different expressions in their faces: worry from Kenshin's closest friends and stoicism from his followers.

"If Jou-chan were here, she would be adamant at making them stop," Sanosuke joked weakly, a bead of sweat trickled down his temple.

"I am sure this is how he had wanted it to be," the Sage said suddenly to the small crowd. Several pairs of eyes were on him. "When we heard of the former master's ascension, young Yutaro had mixed emotions about his duties. He knows what he must do and it pained him because of his extent. Because of his love for his brother though, he became hesitant. But when he had learned of Kenshin's love or Kaoru, his conviction fell right into place. I have faith in both of them."

The crowd once again fell silent save for the gasps that came from Megumi and the drawling of the cigarette smoke from Saitou. The two battling figures had been at it nonstop, attacking and blocking, defending and assailing. Flashes of Kenshin's magenta gi could be seen through the haze of the figures while Yutaro's carnelian blended perfectly with it.

"We could go through this all night, onii-sama. You must be getting tired," Yutaro said with a swivel of his sword.

Kenshin blocked it. "Aren't you sick of your fate? Having to go through this over and over again?"

He remembered when Hiko-sama came back. His master seemed paler and weaker than usual yet the look in his eyes held that of triumph...and a hint of sadness. He had in his hand a glittering stone cut perfectly in six sides. Not a word was spoken when he returned to them, no explanation for his current disheveled state, he just went straight to Yutaro and asked him to stand straight. Kenshin resumed hanging the washed clothes when he heard a child's scream. He ran back inside the house and saw his master watching Yutaro writhe on the floor as, to Kenshin's horror, the gem embedded itself into the lad's right palm. A stream of blood covered Yutaro's palm as well as the stone. He stood there in horror.

"Do not worry, bakadeshi, he will be all right after this. The young boy I brought home with you was an empty shell of a human being. Listen to me," he grabbed Kenshin's retreating arm, "I was gone for a week because I had to retrieve the carnelian from the previous Judge. That is to be so because the carnelian can only judge one in his lifetime, after that he must..."

"What is death to me, anyway? And what makes you so sure that you will succeed this time? Just because every master before you had done so doesn't mean you will win too," Yutaro said.

"But your soul remembers every death. Even though you reside a different shell in each reincarnation, you still remember the pain," Kenshin replied.

Yutaro smiled. "Guilt tripping. The first time a potential god has employed that tactic to defeat me. How very original, not to mention desperate." He lunged.

Kenshin leapt back. "I never thought it would have to end this way."

"Do it..."

Kenshin ceased from blocking any further attacks. He poised his sword in front of his torso and stabbed himself. His sword was planted deep between his ribs.

Cries erupted from the other side. Yutaro stopped in his tracks, shocked. "Hara-kiri, I would never have thought..." In a flash, he appeared in front of Kenshin's prone form. He raised his sword over his head and made to strike Kenshin. Megumi and Sanosuke hurried to stop him though they knew it would be too late. Soujiro halted their tracks.

They all saw the sakabatou copy shatter into shards as it came in contact with Kenshin's head. Yutaro didn't appear to be in shock unlike the rest. The remaining ruins of the sakabatou replica faded like fog and the carnelian once again resided in his palm. He used the same palm to cover the river of blood that threatened to flow from his torso. Suddenly, he fell in a heap with his blood pooling around him.

Megumi and Sanosuke rushed to the spot despite Soujiro's prevention. They immediately consulted Kenshin who was still crouched and the tip of the real sakabatou peeking slightly from behind. Megumi cringed at the sight and had no idea what to do aside from saving the two men's lives.

"Hey, Kenshin, hold on okay? We'll get you out of there," Sanosuke said as he avoided steeping into the growing pool of crimson liquid.

Kenshin said nothing and unceremoniously pulled the sword out of his body. Ignoring Megumi's moans of protest, he stood and walked over to Yutaro. Kenshin's eyes were darkly hooded.

"Hey, are you okay, man?" Sanosuke nervously asked.

"Of course he is all right," Soujiro said as he approached them, "he is a god." He pointed at the blood that once stained Kenshin's gi. The stain retreated from the fibers and moved back inside Kenshin's wound. The wound closed visibly as if healed and the tear of the fabric that arose from the sword stab was no more. It was a complete regeneration of injuries.

"But how did it come to be?" Okita asked and broke his silence.

Kenshin explained without moving. "He said before he challenged me that he had assimilated my very being. If he became me, then he would not only have my strengths but also..."

"Your weakness." the Wolf finished. He pushed away from the wall he leaned on earlier and moved closer to the scene.

"If he injured you, he would also injure himself. What gives?" Sanosuke asked. Saitou clucked his tongue in desperation over this guy.

Aoshi turned to enlighten him. "It wouldn't matter to him at that time because Kenshin is still mortal. The fight was between an immortal and a human. Kenshin evened the odds by being a god when he decided to sacrifice his very life instead of the Judge's. It was enough grounds for him to be changed into what he really is."

"He is the only one to pass the judgment in one day," Yutaro's feeble voice called. "Hiko-sama battled with me for five days and four nights." He motioned to Kenshin.

"Onii-sama, forgive me if I said harsh things to you."

Kenshin sat next to him with his head still bowed. Yutaro felt the prodding of Megumi's healing stone and gently moved it away.

"It will not work this time. What the master has destroyed will remain destroyed. This body would be useless," he coughed blood. "It is too bad we have to part in this manner. But I am glad that you succeeded, onii-sama. I wish..." he heaved a great draught of air and coughed some more blood. He continued:

"My only hope now is that she really is the one for you. You have suffered enough. Do not add my death to your list of grievances for I am not worth it," he heaved again and this time, his voice was drifting away. "The Neutral would know what to do with the carnelian when the time comes. Do not worry, it will find another body to reside in."

"It is not fair! How can you be so willing to die?" Sanosuke asked, incredulous.

Yutaro smiled. The Sage spoke up, "Young Yutaro had known that in order to fulfill his duty he must risk his life. That is not only expected of him but from us."

"I am the only Pillar whose mortal body does not remain the same. I also do not get to keep the memories the mortal body had accumulated in his lifetime. The only thing...that it remembers is its death. But now..." he paused, "it remembers friendship."

Yutaro grasped Kenshin's hand and sobbed openly. "Onii-sama I don't want to die!" he gasped. He squeezed his brother's palm and breathed his last. His hand slid softly off Kenshin's fingers.

"How terribly dramatic," a feminine voice purred from the corridor outside the dojo entrance. It was Yumi, clad in a brick red robe and surrounded by women dressed like ninjas. Everyone turned around to see them. Kenshin's head remained bowed and paid no usual attention to the sultry woman.

"I've come to claim the seed which I planted several days ago," she said and a grim smile formed in her rouge lips.

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The first verse is from the poem Bonding. The second and third are from The Sad Art of Making Paper. The poets who wrote the aforementioned works escaped me; no copyright infringement intended. The fourth one is by James Shirley and the last, as you may well know, is by Robert Frost.

Next chapter: The Power of Goodbye

"A few tears upset me? My friend, every sorceress is a pragmatist at heart; nobody sees essence who can't face limitation."

---Louise Gluck