Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Keep the Shadows At Bay ❯ The Wolf's Conquest ( Chapter 2 )

Keep The Shadows At Bay

Part 2:

Red Moon, The Wolf's Conquest

By Chaosdreamer

Disclaimer: Same as always.

Warning: Same as always.

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"Um…hey…" I muttered, prodding Saitou in his side. He shifted slightly but his arms remained tightly wound around me. I huffed softly, inadvertently drawing in Saitou's musky warm scent, not sure if it had been my imagination, the heady smell of smoke tinged with blood and fire.

'If he fell asleep on top of me…' I threatened silently, not even wanting to imagine Kenshin or Kaoru's faces if they decided to come venturing to see how we were doing, opening the sliding door and suddenly finding themselves faced with Saitou resting on top of me in such a compromising position. After a moment of considering the price of my actions I reached up and tugged lightly at Saitou's hair, earning a small growl of annoyance, amber eyes shifting to meet mine. I glared back at the intense stare directed at me. "What? I'm not a futon, old man. Get off."

Saitou grumbled to himself, rising to his feet without even stumbling while I was forced to rise to my knees and then onto my feet in order to avoid falling flat on my ass. I took several precious seconds of time to try to form some sort of order into my clothing, my white jacket decisively wrinkled and my pants hanging dangerously low on my hips. I glared at the amber-eyed man as he practically leered at me, turning my back to him while I readjusted the ties on my pants, muttering 'Sadistic cricket-man' beneath my breath.

Warm air brushed along my nape and I felt the solid form pressed up along my back. I watched with still wonder and ill fascination as Saitou's arms wrapped around me from behind, those long slim hands coming completely around to lay crossed over my chest almost directly over my heart. With a moment of hesitation I raised my hands to rest them on top of his, feeling my heartbeat rise slightly against the firm weight of Saitou's hands against my chest, remembering just how deadly those hands were with or without a sword in grip.

"Why?" I asked hollowly, "Why do you wish to get so close to me?"

Saitou sighed in reluctance, his lips tracing along my nape, "I don't know." He admitted, never seeing any use in lying towards such an honest question.

Such a simple and honest answer. My shoulders felt as if they were suddenly bearing a heavy burden, and I found myself feeling more weary than I could remember. Please, I begged silently, don't try to get too close. You'll only end up hurting me.

Please don't leave me alone…Another voice in my head pleaded, trying to overpower the original plea. The two conflicting desires caused my throat to tighten, my eyes blurring from the liquid brimming along the surface.

I'm such a fool…Why did I even tell him about what had happened? I took a step forward to try to move away, but as expected only finding Saitou's grip tightened around me. "Don't hurt me." I shuddered bitterly, the plea having so many meanings on both a physical and a mental level.

Saitou's hand cupped my chin and turned it at an angle, and I didn't fight it when his lips sealed over mine, the touch firm and solid. I closed my eyes against the physical contact, unable to meet his stare from such a close distance, irrationally finding myself feeling ashamed of myself because of my silly desire to shed tears. Foolish, really. I had barely held back shedding tears when Captain Sagara's head had been on display in the town-square ten years ago, and I didn't cry when that man raped me. I was just…empty.

"You can never truly be empty." Saitou whispered, his breath a small sigh against my face. I realized I had spoken that last word out loud, although there was no way to fix what had just been said.

Stop it….

Why can't you just let me pretend that none of this is real?

That's all I have…is this mask of false pride…

The ability to pretend that I'm not dying inside…

"Hey, Saitou!!! Where the hell are ya?! We're done here, how about you and the roosterhead?!" Cho called, thankfully interrupting any words of denial that I wished to choke out, the blonde's footsteps falling lightly outside as he slowly drew close to where we were. Saitou and I separated, the taller man's hands trailing off of me in a smooth lasting touch before he reattached his katana back to his hip and fixed his police cap securely upon his head. Cho pushed the sliding door open with a fluid movement, quickly scanning the room, his raised eyebrow indicating his acknowledgement towards the way I was on my feel yet huddled away from Saitou and the deep stare penetrating into my back.

Cho stepped into the room, his shoulders rigid, sensing the unusual atmosphere in the room, his senses beyond what I had originally anticipated. "What's going on?" He asked/demanded, both eyes open and focused on both of us, knowing without asking that something had occurred that went beyond his own expectations.

"Nothing to concern yourself about, broomhead." Saitou answered briskly, nodding his head in farewell before walking past the blonde, Cho sputtering his frustration at the lack of answers, the man throwing me one last long stare before hurrying up to catch up with Saitou's long strides.

"Sano..?" Kenshin asked softly from his spot near the entrance, one hand resting lightly on the framed panel of the sliding door. I was disgusted with how easy it was for my mask to slide into place, grinning sheepishly at the redhead. "Sorry, Kenshin, just had a little discussion with the cricket-man. No worries."

Kenshin didn't answer, his eyes watching me with a deep sadness, as if he could read the lie floating beneath the surface of my façade. Hmm, knowing Kenshin and how he read his opponent's emotions when in combat, it didn't surprise me too much that maybe, indeed, he could see the lie.

With a great deal of effort I squared my shoulders back and grinned playfully at the older man, walking up to him and slapping him lightly on the shoulder with quiet fondness as I moved past his shorter form. "I need to get outta here and rest a bit. Can't seem to fit in my sixteen hours of naptime with this place being so hectic."

Gods, I felt like kicking myself for that lame statement. I did find the will not to look back over my shoulder as I slowly fled from the comfortable sanctuary where Kenshin, Yahiko, and Kaoru lived, the world seeming so much larger and crowded as I moved further away towards the Ruffian Row.

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An hour later it was surprisingly quiet and lonely as I moved down the small walkway between the houses in Ruffian Row, the usual sight of women washing laundry or watching over their children replaced with an empty patch of land where no laughter or the cracking of laundry was heard.

The lack of people was probably influenced by all of the rapes taking place. People were afraid to leave their homes, if doing so they wandered in groups of three or more, afraid to be caught alone.

To my right a door suddenly slid open, nearly startling straight out of my skin. I turned slightly, immediately recognizing the long-haired man standing in the entrance. It was the same man that I had mentioned to Saitou in the interview and possibly the same man committing all of the rapes!

The man smiled, his grin undeniably feral as if he could somehow smell my uncertainty, sharp black eyes watching me as I stood stock-still. "Hello, Sano-kun." He purred in greeting.

My heart nearly jumped into my throat. Okay, to a normal passerby, it may seem unusual to act with such fear towards a reasonably casual greeting…

…Except I'm damn sure I had never spoken a word to this man, let alone know him well enough for him to either know my name nor have the right to speak to me with such sick familiarity.

"Do I know you?" I asked, proud that my voice sounded calm and bored. Yet the man's smile became even more predatory as he leaned his forearm above his head and along the sliding door's frame, his eyes slowly roaming up and down my body in a blatant survey of interest. I felt sick to my stomach from the man's keen interest, but there was something in the back of my mind screaming 'Danger!' that kept me from saying anything about his sudden appraisal of me.

"Toya Seiichiro." He greeted, seeming to take some sort of pleasure in being asked his name.

I nodded, "Nice to see ya, Toya," I said, purposely using his last name as a show of the lack of familiarity between us. Toya's gaze immediately darkened from my lack of 'excitement' in meeting him. I was suddenly thankful for the distance separating us.

"You seem lonely." He said casually, his words causing me to stiffen from the shadowed offer for some 'company'.

"No thanks. I've been hanging out with friends. Don't have time now. Sorry." I said, casually dismissing him while continuing on my way towards my shack.

An intense pain wrapped around my right arm, the limb forced behind my back until I stiffened with a small surprised cry of pain. I bit my lip from the painful angle in which my arm was forced behind my back, long strands of black hair surrounding me as Toya suddenly came up from behind. I realized sickly just how much bigger he was than me, the man just as tall as Saitou and his shoulders and arms just as thick, somehow easily overpowering me. A hand twisted within the back of my head, tugging my hair and skull back so that I was forced to meet his coal-black gaze, my left hand desperately trying to find some sort of purchase on his long-sleeved arm in order to tug either of his hands free.

"You're pretty rude, bishounen." He hissed menacingly, shifting his grip on my right arm enough to cause me to make a small sound of discomfort. "You think you're so big and bad, but you're just a little puppy."

"Let go of me." I demanded bitterly, my reward a cruel tug against my scalp. "Ahh!"

"Shut up." Toya snarled, practically jerking me off of my feet when his grip tightened so much that I thought my arm was going to be wrenched out of its socket, my eyes tearing from the burning pain in my scalp.

"Is there a problem here?" A cold voice asked in a deadly growl. I gasped slightly in recognition, seeing Saitou standing several feet in front of us, his katana partially out of its sheath and the hilt resting tightly within his left hand. "Saitou," I murmured softly, an amazing amount of joy filling me when seeing the amber-eyed man so soon as he arrived at the most opportune moment.

Toya stood as still as a rock against me, his grip neither tightening nor loosening. I could feel the weight of his anger and concealed fear as he watched the lean man standing in front of us with an intense amount of fury hovering around his lanky form like a menacing wolf that paced restlessly.

"No problem, officer." Toya seemed to spit that last word with as much venom as he could muster, but all the good it did was wasted, Saitou's appearance never changing. Toya released me with a last stinging tug of my hair, shoving me towards Saitou, the taller man catching me against his chest so that I didn't crash down upon the ground. Toya backed through the open doorway of his shack, hands held up in a motion of surrender, though his eyes portrayed an entirely different message as the door slid shut with a solid slam.

"My hero." I muttered in sullen gratitude, my words muffled against Saitou's chest, his strong arms keeping me from collapsing on my face from the awkward angle I was pressed against him.

"Ahou ga. You attract more trouble than you need." Saitou uttered impassively, seeming to have composed himself enough to where he didn't look as if he wished to rip Toya's throat out with his bare teeth.

"Yeah yeah…" I mumbled placidly, resisting the temptation to roll my eyes at his tone. The man acted as if I had a logo painted on the back of jacket stating 'Come on, torture me, I enjoy it!'. I pushed against the strong hold around me, grunting since I might as well been pushing against a large stone statue. "Leggo!" I demanded, considering kicking him in the shin if he didn't comply soon.

I nearly howled in complaint when Saitou merely spun me around, drawing my arms behind my back and snapping a pair of handcuffs over my wrists. "What are you doing now?!" I asked, nearly biting my tongue to keep back from shouting in agitation, not wanting my neighbors to glance out in curiosity to see what all the noise was about.

I could practically feel that bastard smirking behind my back. "It looked to me like the both of you were in a fight. It is my duty to make sure that does not happen again, so I will be taking you into my custody to insure that it does not happen at all."

"You pompous-" I sputtered, but Saitou blissfully ignored my outraged muttering, marching my stiff form away from Ruffian Row.

"h-Hey, where are we going?" I asked, unsettled but pretty confident that the police station was in the complete other direction from where we were going. I dug my feet into the ground but Saitou kept moving forward, ignoring my stubborn attempts to resist him.

"My place is closer than the police station." Saitou offered, as if his statement would placate me somewhat.

NOT!

His place? Not the police station? With probably no one around except for the two of us?

Screw that!

With saddening ease Saitou held me in place as I tried to fight against him in order to flee for my life, finding myself moving steadily further into a part of Tokyo that I hadn't ever ventured into before.

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"Damn it!!! You can't just keep me here!" I yelled furiously, throwing a cup at Saitou's head, the policeman narrowly avoiding the small missile before it smashed into the wall behind him.

Made me thankful that Saitou lived in an area where the neighbors didn't live practically in each other's laps. It'd be hard to explain the loud curses and shouts coming from Saitou's house in the middle of the night.

"Keep this up and I'll tie you down, ahou. I can slap 'attacking a police officer' alongside with the 'public nuisance' charges." Saitou warned in a low dangerous tone, although there was a small smirk painted across his face as if he was amused at how furious I was at him.

"Don't you dare threaten me, you narrow-eyed cricket! While you're at that, gimme back my clothes!" I cursed heatedly, keeping the large red towel wrapped around my legs and torso, the only other items left on my body was the red wraps around my left wrist and the red bandana around my forehead. That damn cricket had stolen my clothes after offering me the chance to clean up in the bathhouse just down the hall, which I quickly agreed to. Imagine my surprise when I came back to find that my clothes had miraculously 'disappeared', leaving me with nothing other than my towel on. I guess the only bright side was that I was dripping water onto the ex-Shinsengumi's floor, so he'd have to clean it up later.

"Don't you get tired of the same clothes every day?" Saitou sure knew how to turn a discussion in an entirely different direction.

"They're my clothes, so it shouldn't matter to you since they aren't any of your business!" I said in retaliation.

Saitou smirked as I nearly hissed and spat my indignation, "You're such a child." He said, ignoring the choice words I used to curse at him. With lean grace the taller man moved to a large chest near the dresser, pushing it open and digging for whatever goal he had in mind. I yelped as two handfuls of clothing smothered me as they were thrown into my face, "These will fit you just fine." Saitou said, probably enjoying the spectacle as I tried to pry off the seemingly possessed pieces of clothing that appeared permanently fixated upon my face.

I sighed as I managed to pull the clothes off of my face, glaring at the man ogling me, "Don't think I'm going to strip in front of you, you pervert." I growled.

"You torture me so," The Mibu no Ookami sighed dramatically, wiping away an invisible tear.

'You know, I'm sorely tempted to hurt the man…' I thought privately.

A solid resounding knock from the front door interrupted our small game of 'Who can insult the other in under four seconds!'. "Ah, that must be Cho. I wanted to discuss some information with him. Stay here. I won't be gone for long." Not leaving me with any other options the man slid open the screened door, slipping through and closing it before my brain finished translating his words and before my mouth could argue.

"Want me to roll over and beg too?" I asked sarcastically, figuring it was safe enough now to lose the towel and get dressed. I was surprised by the softness of the black pants as I slid them on, although I was forced to roll up the ends since they trailed past my feet. The shirt was a deep blue and when I pulled it on I discovered that not only did the long sleeves completely cover my wrists and most of my hand. It was loose enough around the shoulders to where I had to tug occasionally to keep the material from falling off of one shoulder.

I blew a long bang out away from my face in frustration, hair wet and long damp strands of hair hanging down to my shoulders since it wasn't in its usually spiked style.

Hey, come on. My hairstyle was unique. Just had to rub my hair briskly just when it was dry enough so that my hair stuck up like it did. I liked it, thank you very much. Don't get me wrong, having hair down to your shoulders was fine and all, but not when it persisted in getting in your face at the worst times and places.

I reached up, feeling along my forward, surprised to not feel the cool material of my red headband. Now that I remembered, Saitou probably took it with the rest of my clothes.

"At least he left me with my red wrist wrap." I muttered sullenly, glancing down at the wrap that covered my wrist and most of my forearm. Yeah, it would have been hard to explain the mark that was underneath the wrap if the man had actually removed it.

"Get your mind off it. It's in the past. Worry about finding your headband." I ordered, following Saitou's exit, scanning left and right down the hallway. Taking a guess I wandered down the left hallway, glorifying in my choice as I saw the small sliver of light beneath a wooden door, hearing the hush of voices within.

I bit my lip in thought. //I don't want to just barge in there…// I thought silently, not wishing to face Saitou's possible wrath from interrupting his police business. With slow careful steps I moved close to the shut door, listening to see if I could seize a moment of lulled silence in order to knock. I caught brief tidbits of the conversation within. I wished I hadn't, a block of ice forming in my gut from the words that trickled out from the nearly soundless room.

……"..So that's what happened to the roosterhead. Makes sense now. Damn, what a bother." Cho's voice was low and thoughtful, a tone that made me nervous since the blonde had never shown any sort of concern or acknowledgement towards anything outside of his interest of swords.

"You see the problem, then?" Saitou said coolly from within the sealed room.

"Yeah. You gotta get rid of him. Sooner rather than later. I don't know how you could have possibly handled being around him for so long up until now." Cho replied with an equal coolness.

"Hn. Not a chance. He might prove useful in the future. If there are others like him then I'll deal with them in the same manner." Saitou answered back with the casualness of a man discussing the weather.

Somehow neither of the men heard me as my legs gave out and I slid down against the wall to collapse upon the floor, wrapping my arms around my knees. //I see….So everything Saitou did was just to gather information for his case….I'm just a nuisance and a whining child interfering with his assignment. He wants me out of the way as soon as possible. Who would want to deal with a stupid little boy crying rape? Men don't get raped. That's just stupid//

My words didn't help no matter how many times I repeated them, no matter how coldly I stated them. I berated myself for my stupidity even as I fought back the bitter sting of tears. Some former fighter-for-hirer I was. Here I was ready to cry like a lost child.

I rose in one easy motion, gaining my footing and moving with heavy footsteps towards the front door. With the stealth born from living on the streets I bent down and reclaimed my shoes, sliding them on with time to spare as I opened the heavy wooden door, closing it behind me with a soft sound.

I didn't bother to look back as I left the false sanctuary of Saitou's home.

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I didn't bother to go to Kaoru's. I avoided Megumi's home. Katsu's place was a definite must to avoid since the longhaired man would practically sniff out my worry and silent pain. I went to the one place where I knew that no one would look for me.

The old shrine where I had found that dog Notaro was as good enough of a spot as any. Even if Kenshin or the others remembered this place they would hardly suspect me of willingly hanging around a shrine.

I tucked myself away against the prayer stand, listening to the rain that had begun to fall well within five minutes after I had run away from Saitou's home with my tail between my legs. I shivered from the cold, clothes damp and beads of water gathering at the ends of my still lank hair.

I tried to squeeze out some of the water in my sleeve, watching with silent intent as the beads of chilled moisture trickled between my fingers and leaving icy rivulets along my fingertips.

My wrist wrap was completely damp and I idly fingered the strip of fabric, tracing the scar hidden beneath the silent crimson barrier.

Yes, a scar. The mark from when I had slit open my wrist to try to kill myself.

I wasn't stupid when I woke up in that hospital. I put two and two together, figuring out what had happened. The soft whispered of the groups of nurses and the soft pats on the heads from the silent doctors were enough to clarify their pity of the small child who had been raped in some cold dank alley.

They really shouldn't have left that knife near my bed. Sure it was only meant to cut pieces of fruit, but it cut through skin well enough. I remembered staring in fascination as the blood gathered and dripped ceaselessly from my self-inflicted wound, dyeing my crisp white bed sheets crimson.

Fate was against me, though. One of the nurses came early to check up on me, her scream echoing throughout the hospital as she desperately tried to staunch the heavy flow of blood. Doctors and nurses had instantly poured into the room, closing the wound with their bare hands until they managed to get a hold of bandages and sewing thread.

I vaguely remembered cursing and screaming, begging for them just to let me die, fighting uselessly against the strong yet careful hands that had pinned me down so that they could stop the blood flow and save my life.

I don't think I ever forgave any of them for saving me.

'Saved me….they damned me…' I hissed.

I coughed, which only elicited a long string of more deep wracking coughs. I shuddered as the cold seemed to reach deep beneath my skin, pressing my knees tighter to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs in order to conserve body heat.

'Just great….now I'll probably catch pneumonia…' I thought sardonically.

I lifted my head as I heard the distinct sound of footsteps slowly making their way towards me. I didn't bother to move or stand up, nearly frozen stiff, also not wanting to draw attention to myself by making too much noise.

The silhouette of a male figure stopped several feet from where I was seated, a deep chuckle escaping from the dark figure surrounded by the pouring rain, "Well, if it isn't the bishounen."

'Oh gods…' I recognized that voice.

"Toya!" I said in stunned amazement, shocked yet wary of the man's sudden appearance, the tall dark-haired man wearing the same outfit as earlier, but this time carrying a large enough blade that I watched with a wary gaze.

The man moved forward so that he was soon crouched within arm's length of me, escaping the harsh downpour of water just outside of the safety provided from the shrine's roof.

"The only name you are allowed to call me by is 'Master'." Toya said darkly, wet strands of black hair giving him a demonic appearance as he reached forward with one cold hand to trace the edge of my jaw.

Hell no am I calling him 'Master'. I batted his hand away, although my limb lacked even half the strength I usually had, the cold and dampness sapping my strength. "Don't touch me!" I hissed.

The blow was too fast to follow and I choked in surprise as I smashed against the prayer alcove, head spinning from the strength behind the attack. Nothing like Kenshin or Saitou, but deadly enough.

A harsh kick to my gut send me rolling down the sharp wooden stairs, landing in a deep puddle of water at the foot of the row of stairs. I spat out the blood and water that had gathered in my mouth, hissing from the sharp needle-like cold as the rain pelted mercilessly along my body.

"Insolent boy." Toya hissed venomously, taking the steps slowly as he moved towards me, "You're just like all the others. Rude, insufferable little brats. Give you any little bit of attention and you bite the hand that delivers it." Toya stepped off from the last step, sending a spray of more water, "It's no wonder I killed most of those whores who dared to argue with me."

"You…..It was you….You really are the rapist.." I managed to choke out, phlegm gathering deep within my lungs, nearly suffocating me.

Toya clapped his hands in a sarcastic manner, "Bravo. Bravo. Give the little bitch his prize." A harsh kick sent me onto my back. Toya crouched down above me, tracing the metal blade along the front of my shirt, causing long thin rips to appear in the fabric. "I'm going to make it hurt. Ever second of it. And then I'm going to bleed you dry." Harsh fingers grabbed a fistful of hair, yanking my head back as Toya pressed the edge of the blade along my throat, "I can see the fear in your eyes. You've been raped before, haven't you? You had someone shove it in deep. You probably screamed like a little girl. Gods, you're going to be absolutely delicious as I watch your writhe through it all!" A maniacal gleam shined within the insane man's eyes, his pupils dilating from deep-rooted madness.

A rough had grabbed the front of my outfit, ripping and tearing it off. The knife took care of the rest until only sheer portions of my pants were left to cover my hips and groin. My shirt was now strips and ribbons hanging off of me. I only managed to strike at Toya twice before the back of my skull was slammed repeatedly into the stone ground until my vision swam, limbs numb and heavy as I collapsed fully from the pain pounded within my skull.

Toya was enjoying every minute of it, those insane eyes looking down upon me with maniacal glee. "You get to choose. Which blade do you want to have shoved into you? A blade of hot flesh or," Toya nicked the edge of my neck with the metal blade, "Would you rather it be cold steel?"

Even if I could answer all I was able to do was turn my head away, eyelids heavy as I forced myself to stay away as long as possible, the rain nearly blinding me as it mingled with the blood from small cuts elicited from Toya's careless slashes to remove most of my clothing.

"No answer? Fine then. I'll chose for you!" Toya said gleefully, removing his blade from my neck, raising it high above his head. "You're going to be the best kill I've had all month!"

'It's the same…'

The same as all those years ago…

But this time….

I won't live through it….

Hot blood gushed forward and skin split as metal pierced through its prey, cracking bone and tearing through muscle.

I could only lie there as blood soaked my entire front, unable to register to long slim metal blade that was buried through Toya's heart from behind. The man's eyes were wide in disbelief, mouth opening as blood trickled from the wound and his mouth. The blade was pulled out of his body with a cruel yank, impossibly more blood spraying out as Toya collapsed reckless on his side, faint twitches lasting several seconds before he lay still.

I cringed and cried out weakly as strong damp hands caught my shoulders, pulling me against a strong warm body. "Stop struggling." A deep familiar voice ordered, but I could only cough more deeply as my struggles increased.

"Saitou! Here, wrap him up in this! He's half-frozen!" Another voice called out in assistance, something warm and soft enveloping me as steady hands tucked in the edges of the large jacket.

"Get a carriage. He needs a doctor." The warm body I fought ordered, and I found myself wrapped within protective arms, keep tight against the man as he stood up while holding me easily in his arms.

"What about Toya Seiichiro?" The other voice asked.

"Leave him." The man ordered in disgust.

My strength fled and my head rested limply against a firm shoulder, warm wetness flowing from my eyes to mingle with the cold tears that continued to fall from the sky.

For the very first time I had given into tears.

And for the very first time my heart seemed to break.

… You're going to be the best….Toya's voice whispered sadistically through my mind.

… shoved into you….

….Give the little bitch his prize…

…whores…

The words began to warp and morph until only few chosen words rung throughout my mind.

…..Little bitch…..

…Whore…

'….You get what you ask for…' I wondered idly.

"You were wrong…" I whispered hoarsely against Saitou's shoulder as the man waited for the carriage to arrive, "I asked for everything."

Every fucking moment.

To Be Continued in Part 3: To Repair What Was Lost