Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Dream Weaver ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

AN:  Big thanks to Shrouded View and Possessed1 for giving this the once-over for me.

Fog, dense and impenetrable, surrounded Kaoru, pressing against her sight.  It was an odd mist, bordering on the ethereal, comprised of swirls of light and color…violet, indigo, amethyst, gold…a liquid vapor.  Rather than the chilling fogs that sometimes descended on the valley where she lived, this one caressed her skin with warmth and comfort.  Looking down, Kaoru saw she wore only the thin, cotton gown she used for sleeping, her feet bare.  Her thick hair fell in loose, ebony waves over her shoulders.

Narrowing her eyes, Kaoru peered through the haze as she tried to determine where she was, to locate something familiar, but there was nothing, just the mist.  Reaching out slowly into the murkiness, she watched as her hand disappeared into its depths, unnatural silence filling the air.

‘I’ve been here before,’ she thought.  ‘So many times…’

Despite the warmth caressing her skin, Kaoru felt the icy tendrils of dread slowly begin to wrap around her heart.  Tentatively, she stepped forward, fearful of what she knew she would find on the other side of the mist.  When nothing happened to break the spell, she took another cautious step, and then another.  The longer she wandered, the greater her panic became until she found herself running, stumbling over a field of dry grass barely visible under her feet.  Desperate in her search, Kaoru heard her thoughts echo through the vapor that surrounded her.  

‘… find them before he does… save them… this time will be different… I have to…’

Suddenly, an agonizing scream pierced through the silent shroud.  Kaoru spun on her heel as the foggy veil was ripped in two to reveal her worst nightmare.  Cobalt eyes widened as the scene unfold in front of her.  The farmhouse that had been her home was engulfed in flame.  Silhouetted against the blazing backdrop, Kaoru watched as her father was cut to the ground, his body falling into the pool of blood flowing from his already dead wife.  Tears of anguish poured down Kaoru’s cheeks.  Distantly, she heard an unholy wail echo through the night, only to realize the sound was coming from her own throat.

And then she saw him, his hair flaming, blending with the inferno that claimed her home.  His cloak of midnight billowed out like a storm cloud as he strode purposely toward her.  Kaoru stepped backward as he drew near and found herself falling as one unprotected foot caught on a sharp stone.  

Kaoru felt strong arms catch her around the waist before she could hit the ground.  Hissing at the pain that shot through her heel, Kaoru looked up into the face of the man responsible for her parents’ deaths.  Clenching her fists, she prepared to strike out at him, but found that she could not move.  She was pinned beneath his gaze, entranced by the unworldly mix of violet and amber, reminiscent of the mist she had been lost in.  

Heart thundering in her ears, Kaoru once again heard him speak the words she would never forget…

Midnight blue eyes flew open as Kaoru awoke in the pre-dawn hours, her skin covered in cold sweat.  Since the murder of her parents, the same vision had often plagued her dreams.  The village’s doctor had assured her that it was natural for her to experience nightmares, and that they would begin to fade with time.

‘But it’s been almost a year!’ Kaoru thought angrily.  

The dreams were no less intense, no less real, each a variation on the same theme, though never quite a true memory of what had happened.  Now they were occurring with greater frequency than before, to the point where she no longer felt fear when she awoke, but annoyance at having to repeat the same episode over and over again.  She didn’t need to be constantly reminded of what had taken place.  Her parents were still gone.  She still ached for their love and compassion, still ached to feel the arms of her mother embracing her.  

No matter what her dream-self thought, nothing would change that.  

What irritated Kaoru the most about her dreams was her reaction to the man who haunted them.  
Her mind told her that she should hate him.  How could she not?  He had that led the attack that had destroyed her home and taken away two of the only people who had accepted her without question.

And yet…

…and yet she felt inexplicably drawn to him.  Each time she saw him, she was fascinated by him.  His being seemed to radiate with a power that chilled her very soul.  It was his eyes, however, that haunted her the most.  In her dreams, Kaoru thought she saw flicker through that golden-violet gaze remorse for the pain he had caused her, as if he would have taken everything back were he able.

Despite herself, Kaoru found she wanted to see – needed to see – him again.  He had vanished into the night, leaving in his wake confusion and countless unanswered questions.  Only he could provide the answers she so desperately sought.

Kaoru allowed the words of the violet-eyed man to float through her mind.  “I will leave you here a little while longer.  I will return for you…”

Though the words had not been spoken in malice, they contained within them the promise to rip her from the home she had worked so hard to rebuild.

In the weeks following her parents’ deaths, Kaoru had tried to distance herself from everyone, including Yahiko, preparing her heart for inevitable separation.  Each day was lived through a fog of anxiety.  As time passed, though, and in spite of her best efforts, Kaoru felt herself slipping into the easy rhythm of a new life and the terror of promised abduction began to fade.  She found comfort and solace in new friends who put aside past suspicions in the wake of tragedy.  

More time had passed than she expected since that night and she began to question if he really would come for her.  Nearly a year did not fit into Kaoru’s definition of “a little while.”  Had it not been for her incessant dreams, her worry would have dissipated long ago.

In the darkness, Kaoru rubbed her hands over her face and sighed loudly in frustration. “Enough of this,” she muttered.  It was time to push these thoughts aside and begin another day.  Wrapping herself in a thick blanket to ward off the early morning chill of autumn, Kaoru rose from her bed.  

Breaking the thin layer of ice in the wash basin, she splashed the frigid water across her face, pulled her hair into its customary ponytail and began to list all of the things she would need to accomplish.   

‘Perhaps the mare will birth her foal today,’ Kaoru wondered to herself.  ‘It would be a little early, but she’s showing all the signs that she’s ready.’  Kaoru smiled at the thought of the impending birth.  She loved it when new life came to the farm, but she had a particular fondness for horses, and this foal would be the first born since she’d rebuilt her home.

Shuffling in stocking feet to the kitchen fire, Kaoru unbanked the embers and added more wood.  As the fire slowly came back to life and flames began the lick the logs, Kaoru’s thoughts turned once again to the man who plagued her dreams and she wondered she would do if she ever came face to face with him again.

Kaoru stepped out onto the porch of her house, fingers wrapped around a mug of hot tea to warm her icy hands.  This had always been her favorite time of the day, the time just before sunrise, when the world was still and she felt a measure of peace.  Slowly, the stars faded as the time of their vigil drew to a close.  Looking toward the east, Kaoru sipped her tea and watched as pinks and lavenders gradually lightened to the pale yellow that heralded the coming dawn.   

During moments like this, Kaoru felt close to her father, felt his spirit reach out to comfort her from the next world.  Kaoru had spent countless mornings like this with him before his death.  Now, as the sun’s rays slowly broke over the horizon, they flooded the valley with a golden light and Kaoru felt the familiar ache of her father’s absence.

“I miss you so much, Papa,” she whispered, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.  Blinking rapidly, she scolded herself, willing the tears away.  Long ago, she had vowed not to let fond memories of her parents become overshadowed and tainted by sadness.  She would honor them with smiles, not with tears.

Kaoru looked south toward the forest that, in the past, had brought her so much comfort and then so much fear.  The deciduous trees of the forest set the hills on fire with the hues of autumn.  Mixed with the dusty green of conifers were deep reds, vibrant oranges, and tawny yellows.  There were some in the community that had questioned Kaoru’s decision to rebuild her home in the shadow of these trees.  Why would anyone want to live in a place with so many reminders of personal tragedy?

Immediately following her parents’ deaths, Kaoru had, in fact, wanted to take her brother and run so that the red-haired swordsman could not find them.  She was even presented with the perfect opportunity when the owner of an adjoining farm offered to buy the land from her.  Karou had been prepared to accept his proposal, but when the time came to sign the deed over, she found she could not do it.  She would not let the past dictate the present.  Despite everything that had happened, it was her home.  This was where her heart resided and she would stay for as long as she was able.  

In the end, she had negotiated not the sale of the farm, but the renting of its fields, knowing that she and Yahiko would never be able to manage all of the acreage on their own.  It was an arrangement that both parties found beneficial.  Their neighbor was able to increase his production while Kaoru and her brother could benefit from a modest, but steady income.  Additionally, they were allowed to keep a portion of the grain in exchange for Yahiko’s labor in the fields during the harvest.

Kaoru’s brow wrinkled with a small frown as she realized she had not yet heard Yahiko stirring.  ‘He’ll be late again,’ she thought grumpily.  Turning, Kaoru reentered the house and called loudly for her brother.  When she didn’t get a response, she walked into his room and stifled a giggle at the sight that greeted her.

Yahiko was sound asleep in his bed, positioned in a most undignified manner.  Dark hair stuck out in every direction.  The right side of his face plastered against the middle of the mattress, mouth hanging open, his left arm dangled off the edge of the bed.  Kaoru was fairly sure that if there had been enough light in the semi-dark room she probably would have found drool on the sheets.  At some point in the night, he had tucked his legs up underneath him, probably trying to stay warm, but the end result left his backside sticking up in the air.  

‘A perfect target,” Kaoru thought with a grin.

Rather than whack her brother to wake him up as was her habit, Kaoru opted for a different tactic this morning.  Walking over to the curtains that kept the morning light at bay, she yanked them back, sending a stream of blinding sun straight into the unsuspecting boy’s face.  Startled awake by the sudden intrusion on his dreams, Yahiko tumbled out of the bed in a tangle of gangly limbs and blankets.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Yahiko cried in indignation.

“Get up, lazy!” she commanded.  “You’re late!”  

Kaoru turned on her heel and stalked out of the room so her brother could get dressed.   

Yahiko came into the kitchen a few minutes later and plopped himself down at the table.  When Kaoru placed a bowl of porridge in front of him, she heard him mutter something about “stupid, ugly sisters” and “gruel for breakfast.”  

Choosing for now to ignore the comments, she filed the image of her sleeping brother away in her mind for later.  The gracefulness, or lack thereof, of the adolescent male provided excellent ammunition for a moment when Kaoru needed to exact revenge.

Shortly after midday, Kaoru found herself saddling her father’s black stallion.  He was a magnificent animal – thick, muscular, and colored a deep, endless black with a pure white star emblazoned on his forehead.  This animal had been a source of great pride for Kaoru’s father, and she had wept tears of joy when she discovered he had somehow miraculously survived the destruction of the farm.    She could only assume he had been left out to graze and had not been in the barn when it had burned to the ground.  Whatever the reason, Kaoru was thankful for this tangible reminder of her father.

Swinging herself up into the saddle, Kaoru started down the road toward the village.  She realized that in the rush of the morning, she had neglected to tell her brother that she wanted to go into town to visit her friend, Tae.  

‘Oh well,’ she thought to herself.  ‘I should be back before the brat knows I’m gone.’  

Kaoru slowed her mount to a stop as they approached the main road that would take them to village.  Reaching down, she patted the neck of her mount.  “I feel like flying today, Raiden,” she said. “What about you?”  The stallion bobbed his head and voiced his enthusiasm for the idea.  Gripping the reins tightly in her hand, she leaned low in the saddle, bringing her face as close to the horse’s ear as she could.  Kaoru gave the slightest of taps to the horse’s flanks as she whispered only one word.

“Go…”

Raiden needed no other encouragement, rearing back on his hind legs before racing forward like lightning.  Horse and mistress shot across the land, Raiden’s hooves thundering across the packed earth of the road.  Kaoru could feel the muscles of the stallion ripple with strength as they flexed rhythmically under the grip of her thighs.  There was nothing like unleashing the power of this animal.  

Kaoru laughed with delight at the feel of the wind on her face.  At some point in the flight, Kaoru’s hair had come loose from its binding, its inky blackness flowing freely.  Her dark cloak billowed out behind her like a storm cloud.

Unfortunately, the pair’s journey was short-lived.  Kaoru sighed in disappointment when the first houses appeared on the horizon.  The trip into town was never long even when one walked leisurely and enjoyed the scenery.  Sprinting at top speed on a horse like Raiden, well, it was over in the blink of an eye. With some difficulty, she managed to rein in her mount and slow him to an agitated trot.  It was clear the horse wanted to continue at the faster pace.

Kaoru reached out to rub Raiden’s neck soothingly. “I wish we could keep going, too,” she told him.  “That was wonderful, but not nearly long enough.  I’m sorry for teasing you, but that is all we have time for today.   One day soon, my friend, I will find time to take you out for the run you deserve.”

Kaoru dismounted from the horse and guided him through the streets toward the center of town.  The pair stopped in front of a bustling tavern and inn.  Kaoru tied Raiden to the porch railing and pumped water into the waiting trough.   She made a desperate attempt to straighten her disheveled hair before stepping through the front door in search of her friend, Tae.

A few years older than Kaoru, Tae had been one of the first to befriend Kaoru after the younger girl’s parents had died.  Tae’s family owned the village’s only inn and when Kaoru and Yahiko had suddenly found themselves without a home, Tae’s mother allowed the siblings to live in two of the rooms in exchange for help in the tavern.  

Living and working side by side, Tae and Kaoru quickly became friends.  Tae had been there when Kaoru would wake screaming from her nightmares, had lain awake with her when sleep had refused to come.  Now Kaoru considered the older girl not only a friend, but the sister she’d never had.  How she could have lived this long without knowing the blessing of this kind of female companionship, Kaoru did not know.

Kaoru entered the homey tavern and was temporarily blinded by the dimmer light inside.  Allowing a moment for her eyes to adjust, she scanned the room in search of her friend.  When she didn’t immediately see Tae, Kaoru approached one of the girls waiting on tables.

“Hi, Suki.  Do you know where Tae is?”

“Oh hi, Kaoru,” Suki said.  “Tae’s in the storage room.  She’ll be glad you’re here.  Her mother’s had her trapped in there since early this morning doing inventory.”

“Ooooo…sounds like fun,” Kaoru said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I think it’s time for a rescue mission.”  Winking conspiratorially at the other girl, Kaoru waved her thanks and hurried toward the back of the tavern.  

It didn’t take long for Kaoru to find Tae in the large pantry off of the kitchen.  The older girl looked entirely frazzled and in desperate need of fresh air.  Sitting on a large crate, Tae’s pretty face was drawn with lines of weariness as she sat hunched over a ledger.  Wisps of brown hair escaped the scarf she had tied around it to keep it out of the way.  

Kaoru stepped through the doorway of the storage room, clearing her throat quietly in an attempt not to startle her friend who looked deep in thought.  Tae’s head shot up in surprise at the noise.  A smile was quick to her lips as she realized who had come in.

“You look like you could use a break.  How long have you been in here?”  Kaoru asked.

Tae stood and stretched her arms high over her head and Kaoru heard the aching crack of her spine.  “Since just after breakfast.  I miss having you here to help.  It made the job so much more enjoyable.”  

“We did manage to make the tedium more entertaining, didn’t we?” Kaoru grinned.

“So what brings you here?” asked Tae.

“Oh, I just thought I would stop in and say hello to my friend who I feel like I haven’t seen in ages.  I also wanted to go to the market and thought you would like to join me.  But since you seem to be enjoying yourself so much here, I guess I’ll have to endure shopping on my own.”  Heaving a dramatic sigh of disappointment, Kaoru turned to go.

Tae reached out and grabbed Kaoru’s arm in a vice-like grip.  “Don’t you dare go without me!  Give me five minutes to get cleaned up and tell Mother I’m taking a break.”

Arm in arm, Kaoru and Tae walked leisurely through the village market admiring the trinkets that were being sold by the village craftsman.  As the pair strolled through the square, Tae caught Kaoru up on the latest gossip in town.  With a community this small, few secrets were kept.  Unfortunately, most of the new gossip this day had to do with which boy had asked which girl to the harvest festival, a topic that did not hold Kaoru’s interest too well.  With no special love interest of her own, she found the subject of other people’s love lives somewhat depressing.

Stopping at a stall to admire fabric, Tae continued to chatter away happily about her escort to the festival, Tsunan.  Tae had pined away for the handsome artist for years and now Tsunan had finally asked her to the festival.  She was ecstatic.  Kaoru was only half listened to her friend’s ramblings as she fingered a length of deep blue cloth, fascinated by the windfall of silvery leaves woven into it.  With each shift of the cloth, the leaves seemed to dance across its surface.  Dimly, Kaoru wondered what it would be like to have a dress made from fabric as lovely as this.  

Kaoru glanced down at her stained, brown work dress with a frown.  Before her parents had died, she had owned a few pretty dresses which she would wear on special occasions.  Now such things were impractical.  All she had were work clothes, made of tough, course fabric that could withstand the abuse she subjected her clothing to daily as she worked on the farm.  Her dresses were certainly not flattering by any means.  It was no wonder Yahiko always called her ugly.  What would it be like to feel pretty and feminine?  

“Kaoru, are you listening?”  The slightly annoyed tone of Tae’s voice pulled Kaoru from her musings.

“Huh?  Oh…sorry, Tae,” Kaoru said distractedly, shaking her head to refocus her thoughts.  “What were you saying?”

“I was just asking if you were coming to the festival this year.”

“I haven’t decided yet.  I guess it depends on whether our mare foals before then.  Besides, I don’t have anything to wear and I would feel awkward going alone.”

“You won’t be alone.  I’m sure you can get Sano to ask you,” Tae said slyly, winking at her friend.  Kaoru rolled her eyes in exasperation, ignoring Tae’s insinuation that Sanosuke Sagara and Kaoru made a great couple.  

‘The girl really won’t let that go,’ Kaoru thought to herself.

Undeterred by Kaoru’s silence, Tae forged ahead.   “Why don’t you buy that blue fabric?  It matches your eyes perfectly.  The festival is still a few days away and we still have time to make the dress if I help you.  And if you don’t go with Sano, you can come with Tsunan and me.  What do you think?”  Tae grasped Kaoru’s hand, excitement gleaming in her large, brown eyes.  She longed for her friend to come to the celebration.  Kaoru had yet to attend any of the village’s festivals and fairs during the past year.   Tae knew that she struggled with the idea that many people in the community now accepted her.  There were still some who whispered about the Moriko, who were not so easily swayed from their beliefs.

“I don’t know, Tae.  I couldn’t intrude on your special night with Tsunan,” Kaoru argued.

“Nonsense.  If you’re with us, my mother won’t have any excuse for telling me I can’t go with him.  Please say you’ll come.”

“But the fabric is so expensive.”  Kaoru ran her fingers lightly over the cloth again.  “It is beautiful, though,” she murmured.

Tae, sensing her friend’s resolve faltering, went in for the kill.  “Kaoru, you are one of the most selfless people I have ever known.  When was the last time you did anything for yourself?  You are going to buy that fabric.  We are going to make the dress.  And you are coming to the festival.”  With each command, Tae drew closer to Kaoru until she was glaring down at the petite girl, the look in her eye daring Kaoru to argue.

“But, I-I…” Kaoru stammered, but before she could come up with another excuse, Tae turned to the old woman tending the stall, ordered and paid for the fabric before yanking Kaoru by the hand back toward the inn.

“Let’s get to work on your new dress.”

Several hours later, Kaoru emerged from Tae’s home, her arms full of brown paper parcels containing the fabric and trimmings for the blue dress.  Tae had even managed to convince Kaoru to purchase a silver hair ornament to complete the outfit.

The girls had spent the afternoon designing Kaoru’s new dress and cutting the fabric.  All Kaoru had to do was stitch the pieces together.  Kaoru’s problem now was she had no idea how she was going to get everything home.  Her trip to the market was supposed to be merely an excuse to spend time with Tae.  Since she hadn’t really anticipated making any purchases, she did not think to put any saddle bags on Raiden.

Kaoru knew she had no choice but to walk home, juggling her parcels and leading the horse by the reins.  With some difficulty, Kaoru freed Raiden from the porch rail and began to lead him through town toward home.  She hadn’t taken more than a dozen steps when the first package slipped from her arms.  Kaoru stooped to pick it up and as she did, a second parcel fell.  Huffing in frustration, she rearranged the bundles until they felt secure under her arm.

Kaoru made it another twenty feet down the road before another one slipped out of the middle.  Looking up, she frowned at the late afternoon sky.  It would be growing dark soon.  “At this rate, I will never make it home,” she growled in aggravation as she bent to retrieve the packet.  “Stupid Tae, making me buy all of this.”  Kaoru did have to grudgingly admit she was touched by what her friend had done.  Kaoru loved the fabric, but would never have willingly spent the money on it.

Straightening up, Kaoru looked from her overfilled arms to her horse and wondered what she was going to do.  She needed to get home.  Yahiko would worry when he found she wasn’t there and she needed to get the evening meal prepared.  As mediocre as her cooking was, she knew her brother would be very hungry after working all day in the fields and would eat just about anything she put in front of him, no matter what it tasted like.

“What are we going to do, Raiden?” she questioned the stallion.  He only stared back at her with those unblinking black eyes.  Suddenly, Kaoru heard a deep chuckle come from behind her.  She felt her face grow red with anger.  Kaoru knew of only one person who would have the audacity to laugh at her current predicament and think they could get away with it.  

She turned slowly on her heel toward the person who dared to mock her.  She spied him leaning casually up against a tree chewing on a long piece of dried grass.  “What’s up, Missy?”

“Sano,” Kaoru hissed.  “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough,” he smirked.

“Get over here and help me, you jerk.”

“Why should I when watching you is so much more fun?”  Sano was enjoying way too much amusement at her expense.

“Because,” Kaoru stated hotly, “you are supposed be my friend.  At least, that is what you claim.”

“And what do I get in return for helping you?” Sano asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Ah yes, always the freeloader aren’t you, Sano?  Well how about the pleasure of my company, my undying gratitude, and…” Kaoru batted her eyelashes, “if you’re lucky, some dinner?”

“Hmmmm…I don’t know, Kaoru.  I’ve tasted your cooking.  Can’t you come up with something better?” he teased.

Kaoru smacked his arm in reprimand.  “I haven’t killed you with it yet, have I?”

Wincing slightly and rubbing his arm, Sano reached out to take two of Kaoru’s parcels and grabbed the horse’s reins.  “C’mon,” he said, sighing in defeat.  “I’ll walk you home.”

Sano and Kaoru traveled the familiar path toward her farm in silence.  As they did, Sano looked down at the girl walking next to him.  She had her arms crossed over her chest, hugging close the brown paper package she still carried.  Her head was bowed low, causing her loose hair to fall over her shoulder in a curtain of dark silk, obscuring her face.  

She was unusually quiet and though this was not the first time he had seen her this way, it never ceased to trouble him.  He laid a hesitant hand on her shoulder, pulling from her from her thoughts.  Startled, Kaoru turned to find Sano staring down at her with concerned eyes.

“You alright?” he asked.

“I dreamt about them again last night, Sano, about the whole thing.  I keep feeling like I’m supposed to know something, to have some sort of understanding about why that night happened.  But no matter how hard I try, I just can’t figure it out.”  Kaoru signed in frustration, voicing thoughts that had plagued her since she had awoken that morning, thoughts she had been trying desperately to ignore.

“How could there be meaning in it?  Raids have happened before, even in our little town.  I don’t need to remind you that you weren’t the only ones who had their home burned.”

“That may be true, Sano, but Momma and Papa were the only people killed that night.  Why is that?  The other villagers said the bandits never even drew their swords as they rode through town.  Why?  It just doesn’t make any sense!”

“Missy, I know…” Sano began gently.  

Whatever comfort he was about offer was cut off by Kaoru’s suddenly bitter words.

“I should have stayed to protect them!  Instead I ran, like a coward!”  Her words were riddled with guilt and shame.  Tears of anger pricked at her eyes.

“Protect them?  You would have ended up like them!”  Sano sighed in exasperation.  

‘How many times do we have to go through this?’ he wondered to himself as he ran his hand through spiky, brown hair.  This conversation was just one of many similar ones the two friends had shared over the past year.

“The thing is, Sano, I don’t think I would have,” Kaoru said.  “You weren’t there.  You don’t know all that happened.”  Kaoru stopped short, realizing what she had let slip.  As far as Sano knew, Kaoru had hidden in the forest and watched her parents die.  He knew nothing of the mysterious swordsman or his promise to return for her.  

“What do you mean I don’t know all that happened?  What haven’t you told me, Missy?”  Sano’s tone revealed his surprise and more than a little ire as he stared down at her.

Kaoru couldn’t meet his eyes.  Finding a stone in the road suddenly intriguing, she poked at it with the toe of her boot as she worried her lower lip between her teeth.  Should she tell him everything?  The only person who knew the whole truth was her brother.  

Kaoru hated keeping secrets from Sano.  He’d been her only friend for so long, the only one who hadn’t held unfounded prejudices against her, but all these months, something inside Kaoru warned her not to tell him about the flamed-haired man.  Kaoru knew what made her hesitate to tell Sano the real story, even after all that they had been through.  It was her fear of his reaction to the truth.  

Sano had always been extremely protective of Kaoru, even when they were children and he first defended her from the bullies that had her cowering in a corner like a frightened mouse.  Kaoru had been six, Sano nine.  A group of children had followed the little girl as she walked home from school, calling her names just because she looked different.  When she’d tried to run away, they chased her into a dead-end alley and continued their taunts, enhancing the jeers by throwing rocks at her.  Sano, having witnessed the bullies’ pursuit of little girl, confronted them and left more than one of the boys bloody and maimed.  

From that day forth, Sano had appointed himself Kaoru’s protector and the two became the best of friends.  Even now as an adult, despite all of his best intentions, Sano tended to solve problems with his fists and that was precisely what troubled Kaoru.  She feared that if Sano knew the whole truth and ever came face-to-face with the swordsman, he would get seriously hurt, probably even killed.  She couldn’t bear to see that happen, but she knew she shouldn’t lie to him, either.

“Well, Kaoru?”  She was startled out of her inner debate by Sano’s rare use of her given name.  Looking up into his steady gaze, Kaoru realized she had not put enough faith in him.

“I’m sorry, Sano,” she said, sighing heavily.  “I haven’t been totally honest with you.”

Turning toward home, Kaoru slowly began to tell him the true story of what happened the night she lost her parents and the strange events that lead up to their deaths.

To say that Sano was upset when he finally knew the truth would have been an understatement.  First, he’d yelled at Kaoru and then Yahiko for lying to him.  Then he threatened to kill the red-haired man as he cracked his knuckles and balled his hands into fists with the need to hit something.  It was all Kaoru could do to keep him from destroying the furniture in the common area of the house.  She’d finally managed to get him to go outside and take his aggressions out on a pile of firewood that needed to be chopped.  As she prepared the evening meal, she could hear him yelling curses that, were she not used to hearing them spew from his mouth, would have made her blush.  

When Sano finally come back inside the house, he was breathing heavily from his exertions, but seemed to have more control over his temper.   The three ate in silence, the mood heavy with unspoken thoughts.  For once, Yahiko didn’t even complain about the food.

Now, Kaoru sat alone in main room of the house in a rocking chair before the nearly dead fire.  Unable to fall asleep, she had started piecing together her new dress which now lay abandoned in her lap, her thoughts drifting over the events that had taken place earlier.  Sano’s reaction had been exactly what she had expected… violent, emotional, and irrational.  

The conversation following shortly after dinner flitted through Kaoru’s thoughts.

“So, you two, what are we going to do about this?”  Sano inquired as they finished their supper. “You can’t stay here, Missy. If you are being threatened, you need to leave.”

“What are you talking about, Sano?”  Kaoru asked incredulously.  “Yahiko and I have lived here nearly a year and nothing has happened.  I’m beginning to think he’s not coming back.  If he really wanted me, don’t you think he would have shown up before now?”

Sano saw the logic in Kaoru’s simple reasoning, but there were things that still bothered him.  “Maybe…but the whole thing just doesn’t sit right with me.  Why would he kill your parents, and then try to make you go with him only to leave you behind?”

“Sano, you’re not asking anything that I haven’t wrestled with myself over and over again since that day.  I don’t have an answer,” Kaoru sighed quietly.  “The man said it was all because I was ‘different,’ but didn’t say how.  All of my life I’ve been told that, and ignored what people said.  It wasn’t until those two days last year that I actually felt it.”

Sano turned toward Yahiko.  “Hey, kid, you’re awfully quiet.  What do you make of all of this?”

Yahiko shot a glare in Sano’s direction.  He hated being called “kid” but knew this was not the time to pick a fight with his friend.  “I think Kaoru’s right.  He’s probably not coming.  I’ll tell you this, though,” Yahiko said, turning to his sister.  “If that man does show up here again, I’ll kill him if he tries to lay a hand on you.”

Kaoru rolled her eyes at him, but secretly smiled in her heart at the rare show of affection from her brother.  “Look, it’s getting late.  Sano, why don’t you stay in the barn loft tonight instead of walking all the way back to the village?”

“All right.  We’ll talk about this more in the morning, Missy.”

“No, Sano, we won’t,” Kaoru said forcefully.  “I’m not going to argue with you about this.  I made up my mind a long time ago to not run from this.  I will take each day as it comes.  If that red-haired swordsman shows up here again, I will deal with it.  Until then, I want you drop it.”

“I’m very sorry, Missy, if all of this is new to me.  I haven’t had a year to get used to the idea that someone might be coming here to kidnap you!” Sano bit out scathingly as he stormed from the room.

Kaoru’s eyes welled with tears at anger directed toward her, but she knew she had no one to blame but herself.

It had been an emotionally exhausting evening trying to convince Sano that there was nothing he could do about the situation because she wasn’t even sure what the situation was.  There was a part of Kaoru that wished she hadn’t said anything to him, even though her conscience told her it was wrong to lie to her friend.  She may have gotten him to drop the subject tonight, but she knew he was not going to let it go.  

Staring absently into the embers of the dying fire, Kaoru’s eyelids began to droop as she felt the need for slumber pulling at her, muddying her thoughts.  ‘I really should go crawl into bed now,’ she thought to herself fleetingly just before sleep overtook her and she was plunged once again into a world of mist.

“Kaoru...”

She heard her name echoing through the fog, spoken by an achingly familiar voice.  Slowly, she took in her surroundings, realizing that for the first time she could identify her location through the haze of her dream.  She stood in the middle of her yard, between the main house and the barn.  The farm was not burning as it usually did in her nightmares, but was the home that she had rebuilt.  

“Kaoru…”

“What do you want with me?”  Kaoru yelled into the void.  “Why won’t you just leave me alone?”

“Kaoru…”

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, gentle but strong.  Turning slowly, she came face to face with the violet-gold eyes of the phantom who haunted her dreams.  Trapped in his gaze, she voiced the question she’d longed to ask.

“Who are you?”

“Kaoru…!”

“Wake up, little one,” the man said gently, reaching up to graze her cheek with calloused fingers.  “You are needed.”  Slowly, he turned to go.

“Wait, please…” Kaoru said in pleading desperation.  Stretching out her hand, she grasped the back of his cloak.  Pausing, he looked back over his shoulder.  A knowing smirk appeared on his lips.

“C’mon, Kaoru, wake up!”  Kaoru felt hands shaking her.  

Kaoru watched the ebony mantle slip from her fingers as he walked away.

“Come. ON!!!”

Kaoru was slowly pulled back toward the surface of consciousness by the intruding voice and forceful hands.  Just before she awoke, Kaoru heard the ghost whisper.

“Soon…”

Sapphire eyes fluttered open drowsily.  Her dream, however brief, had been so very different from all of the others.  She didn’t know how or why, but Kaoru instinctively knew that the man in her dreams was not simply a manifestation of her mind this time.  He had somehow been there with her.

“C’mon, Missy, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon… wake up!”  The voice, belonging to Sano, sounded slightly panicked.  

“What is it, Rooster Head?” Kaoru asked her lids still heavy with sleep, voice scratchy and laced with irritation.  

“Your mare has gone into labor.”

Kaoru was instantly awake.  She bolted to her feet, throwing her sewing to the floor and ran out the door toward the barn with a lantern.  Over her shoulder, she yelled to Sano to bring her buckets of fresh water and a bar of soap.  Entering the barn, she ran to the stall where the mare lay on her side in the straw.  

“Hey, girl.  How are you doing?”  Kaoru spoke calmly to the horse as she entered the stall.  

Kneeling down, she ran her hands over the animal’s heaving side trying to assess the situation.  As far as Kaoru could tell at this point, things were progressing normally.  

She sent up a silent prayer for an easy delivery.  This was the mare’s first foal and it seemed she had decided to deliver it a few weeks ahead of schedule.  The mare groaned as her muscles tightened with the force of another contraction.  The milking cow shuffled nervously in her stall at the sounds of the horse’s distress.

“Shhhh…you’re all right, Mai.  It will be over soon.”  

Kaoru moved slowly around to the back of the animal, mindful to keep her hand in constant contact with Mai’s flesh so that she would know where Kaoru was.  Gathering the coarse hair of the mare’s tail, Kaoru quickly braided it and laid it out of the way.  Mai lifted her head to regard her mistress with watery brown eyes.  Slowly, the mare lowered her head back to the floor of the stall, flanks heaving with the pain of labor.

“How is she doing?”  Sano asked quietly as he set down the soap and water.  Kaoru looked up slightly startled, not having heard him enter the barn.

“She seems to be doing all right.  Do you know how long she’s been having contractions?”

“I’m not really sure.  She was already in labor when her groaning woke me up.  As soon as I realized what was happening, I ran to get you.”

“I think she’s fairly close to delivering.  The contractions are coming close together and her water already broke.  We’ll just have to wait it out.  It’s best not to interfere unless there seems to be a problem.”  Kaoru walked out of the stall to grab a milking stool, setting it down in a corner so that she could closely observe the progress of the delivery.

As yet another contraction gripped poor Mai’s abdomen, Kaoru saw the back hooves of the infant appear.  

“Oh, Kami…” Kaoru’s breath caught in her throat.  “Sano, get my brother, now!”

Without a word, Sano dashed from the barn.  The world seemed to slow as Kaoru watched the mare push a little more of the foal’s legs from her womb. With each contraction, Mai strained, panting heavily with the effort.

‘Breech…’  The mere thought of it was enough to make Kaoru’s heart to race with fear.  

Though rare, breech births were dangerous for the survival of the infant and possibly the mother.  Kaoru knew she was going to have to try and get the foal out herself; help was too far away.  She hurried over to the bucket of clean water Sano had brought in and with trembling fingers, scrubbed her hands and arms.  A moment later, Sano returned with a slightly dazed looking Yahiko.

“Finally!  What the hell took you two so long?” Kaoru snapped.

“What’s your problem, ugly?!”  Yahiko retorted.  Being awoken in the middle of the night didn’t exactly sit well with him.

Kaoru closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.  She slowly inhaled a deep breath in an attempt to calm her quickly fraying nerves.  “The foal is breech, Yahiko,” she said, quietly, the waver in her voice evidence of her mounting anxiety.  Cobalt eyes opened to meet chocolate.  

Yahiko paled and nodded in silent understanding.  “What do we do?” he asked nervously.

“We’re going to have to pull the foal out ourselves,” Kaoru said grimly.  Kaoru tried to organize her panicked thoughts and wracked her brain for something that could help them.  She had little experience with horse births, much less complicated ones.  Desperately, she tried to organize her scrambled thoughts.

“Sano, go grab a clean towel,” she said in as calm a voice as she could muster.

Sano he dashed out the door and returned quickly with the requested item and turned slightly green as he caught sight of the partially born infant.  Noticing the sickly pallor of her friend, Kaoru rolled her eyes.

“Go sit down before you pass out, Sano.  I can’t deal with being nurse to you, too!”  Kaoru bit out in irritably.    “So much for being a big, tough man,” she mumbled to herself.

At the sound of another agonizing groan from Mai, Kaoru turned her attention back to the distressed mare.  Stroking the mare’s hip, she murmured soothingly words of encouragement “You’re doing fine, girl, just fine.  We just need to help you out a little bit.  Everything’s going to be okay,” she crooned.  “Yahiko, please sit by Mai’s head and try to keep her calm.”

With unsteady hands, Kaoru wrapped the blanket around the foal’s hocks and waited for the next contraction to come.  Mai groaned as the muscles of her belly began tighten once again.  “That’s it, Mai…push!”Kaoru coaxed her. As the strength of the contraction grew Kaoru pulled the foal’s legs down, hoping and praying they could get it out in time.  With a great deal of effort, Kaoru was able to maneuver the hips free.  They were past one major hurdle, but Kaoru’s arms and shoulder’s ached with the effort of pulling on the heavy baby.

“Yahiko, I need you to come help me pull.  We have to free the shoulders and head quickly.”  

Yahiko quickly moved to join his sister.  Yahiko grabbed the foal’s hind legs and pulled with Kaoru as the next contraction washed over the mare.  The progress was agonizingly slow.  With each passing minute, Kaoru knew the chances of the foal’s survival were waning.  

Finally, about an hour after the hind hooves first appeared, the infant was free from its mother’s womb and lay unmoving against the straw.  Kaoru worked quickly to remove the mucus from around the foal’s nose and mouth hoping to open the airways for the newborn to breathe.   Yahiko rubbed it down with fresh straw to clean it and encourage a heartbeat.The foal was beautiful mare, colored a deep auburn, darker than the chestnut of her mother, the white star of her sire emblazoned on her brow.  Reaching out, Mai nuzzled the infant, her neighing sounding like a whimper when the foal did not stir.

Kaoru’s breath caught in her chest and she felt tears burn behind her eyes.  “This can’t be happening…” she choked out, burying her face in her hands as tears began to stream from her eyes.  

“I’m so sorry, Kaoru.”  Kneeling in the straw next to her, Sano enfolded her in his strong arms.  Kaoru clung to him like a lifeline, her tiny body wracked by sobs, eyes clenched shut against the scene in front of her.

“Save her, Kaoru.”  

“Wh-what did you say?” Kaoru sniffled and blinked in confusion at Sano.  

“I said I was sorry.”

“Did you say something else?”

Sano’s mouth turned down slightly as he shook his head.  “No.”

A cool breeze ghosted over her cheek, ruffling loose strands of blue-black hair into her face.  Kaoru heard the voice float past her ear again, words softly spoken in that strange yet familiar tongue.  Instinctively, Kaoru closed her eyes and let the melody of it calm her spirit and she strained to understand the words whispered to her.  Gradually, she heard words of her own tongue overlaying the unknown language.

“She is not lost.  You can bring her back.” It was soft, barely a whisper, but rich and sure.

Everything in the barn seemed to still and she felt an unexpected calmness seep through her troubled soul.  Kaoru opened her eyes and focused on the still form of the newborn foal in front of her.  Crawling slowly across the floor of the stall, Kaoru knelt in front of the foal’s head.  Reaching out, she gently stroked the velvet-soft muzzle with her right hand.

“Kaoru?  What are you doing?”  Kaoru heard Yahiko’s voice faintly echoing in her ears, but the sound was muddied, like she was listening to her brother from under water.  She turned toward the sound of his voice and looked at him with unseeing eyes.

“Do not worry, Yahiko.  Everything will be all right,” Kaoru said in a flat, unnatural voice before turning her attentions back to the still animal on the floor before her.

“Kaoru!”  Yahiko’s voice sounded panicked, but she did not acknowledge him again.  “Sano, her eyes…what’s wrong with her?!”

Kaoru could hear the muffled voices of Sano and Yahiko yelling around her, but she could not break free of the force that held her captive.  Trailing slender fingers up the foal’s head, Kaoru rested her hand on the patch of white between the foal’s eyes.  As she stared at the animal laying before her, Kaoru slowly began to see a faint glow surrounding it.  The aura was weak, flickering…dying.

“No, little one, you will not die,” Kaoru whispered, reaching out to lay her other hand against the foal’s breast.

For the second time in her life, Kaoru felt an inexplicable power begin flow through her body.  Closing her eyes, Kaoru felt the energy pool around her heart before it flowed out through her hands and into the tiny mare before her.  Gentle warmth began where Kaoru’s small hand lay on the foal’s head and slowly spread until both the newborn and woman were enveloped by it.  Slowly opening her eyes once again, Kaoru saw that both she and foal were bathed in sparkling, golden light.

“Kaoru!!”  Sano yelled in alarm.  Once again, Kaoru ignored the attempt to capture her attention.  Sano rushed toward her but was repulsed forcefully by the golden barrier

Leaning forward, Kaoru laid her left hand on the foal’s side and breathed a single word into her ear:  

Live…  

With that one word, Kaoru felt the power pour out of her body and into foal.  Beneath her fingertips, Kaoru began to feel the faint thrumming of the foal’s pulse and the slow rise and fall of the animal’s side as she took her first breaths.  The golden glow faded as large ebony eyes opened and the foal lifted her head to look at Kaoru.  Kaoru dropped her hands into her lap and, through a haze of overwhelming exhaustion, watched as the newborn attempted to stand on wobbly legs.

“Kaoru…what…how did you…?” Sano asked in a stunned whisper from behind her.  Kaoru rose unsteadily to her feet and turned to face Sano and Yahiko.

“I… I…don’t…” she began, but before she could say more, she stumbled forward, darkness consuming her.  

Sano caught Kaoru just before she fell.  Shifting her light frame in his arms so that she was cradled against his chest, Sano looked up at Yahiko.  “What the hell just happened?” he whispered.

“Like I know!”  Yahiko said, voice quivering.  “I’ve never seen her like that before.”

Sano looked back down into Kaoru’s pale face.  He brushed a lock of her raven hair from her forehead.  “What is happening to you?” he whispered.

Thanks for reading.  Reviews are appreciated.
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