Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Language of Silence ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

Note: This chapter may - actually will be confusing - to some, so I suggest you go back and look back at the locations in the summary if you want to. As well, thank you to everyone who reviewed, and a special shout out and thanks to Triste1 for editing this chapter. If it wasn't for her excellent grammar skills then this chapter would have been a whole lot more confusing.

Language of Silence
By: Espiritus
Chapter Two

Kaoru sat facing Hiko who, in turn, faced the setting sun. She could not calm her nerves. She never could around him, especially when the man had something to say and would not say it. At the moment, Kaoru allowed herself to lie on the plains of Onans with a gentle breeze on her face and the soft green brush waving in her ear. It was a time of quiet peace she rarely let herself have—not even in her sleep would her troubles leave her.

Painted in the sky were huge yet seemingly small structures, as lighted and bright as any of the stars; they were the Procreates.

"Kamiya, you're really an idiot you know that?" Hiko said suddenly, but Kaoru knew him well enough not to speak just yet—he wasn't finished. "He thinks you're dead; you must consider what would happen if he found you alive. Kenshin is no person to cross, you know that. After your supposed death there were rumors of him, they say he went crazy...more blood thirsty than before."

Kaoru felt a stab of pain, her heart pounded in agony yet she never took her eyes off the faint outlines of the three moons that rose gently in the sky. Kaoru did not wish to think about Kenshin. He was the cause of too much pain and heartache, too much change.

Kaoru sat up hugging her knees and watched the rolling green and blue brush. In the distance, an animal called to another, but other than that no sound echoed on the solitary plains.

"Maven Hiko, I'm not scared of him."

A lie.

The Zine shook his head. "Kaoru, you idiot. I'm not telling you to be a coward, I'm warning you."

Her head snapped in his direction, her black hair waving around her face. "Don't you think I know that Hiko! I know him. I can feel him in my heart and I know for a fact that he would never hurt me. He still has good in him, I know it!"

"Silence," Hiko roughly said, calming his voice in the next instance. What could he say? He'd grown soft for his nephew's love over the years he had known her.

"Yes, that idiot tyro of mine does have some good somewhere inside him, but the fact of the matter is he thinks you died in the fire six years ago."

"The fire..." Kaoru's eyes widened remembering that day so many years ago.

Yes, she had found Kenshin in the Senate house that day, asked him if he killed all those people including Tomoe. He had accused her mind of being warped against him and then hurt her, unintentionally, and then Akira was there. After that she could remember nothing else except waking up surrounded by fire and seeing Akira with a look on his face which she could never begin to describe.

It was at that point she had known that the Kenshin she knew was gone.

"What do you suppose he would do?" Kaoru asked quietly looking at Hiko. "If he found out that I was alive."

Hiko did not answer.

There was another soft rustle in the brush.

&&&&&&

The Resistance: The Tewian Base
Location: Nation of Fredon

Tokio pulled her hair back in a tight bun. Her atrocious hair had been getting in the way for far too long as she poured over the latest readings sent from the Procreates. Thousands of pieces of information filled the holographic screen and after a while of analyzing enemy movements and positions in the dark room her eyes were tearing up. It seemed that her squad would be leaving shortly, or as Saitou put it, investigating the area of Rodo—another city in the nation of Fredon, just a bigger one than the city of Tewian where they were presently located.

The door slid open.

"Tokio."

The woman turned around to come face to face with her superior officer and friend, Kuro.

"Major?" she acknowledged.

"Orders from Onsas," he identified the disk in his hand as he placed it in a slot. Immediately another image took over the light stage, this time instead of showing information, a picture of a city turned up. It was Rodo.

"The investigation?" Toki questioned coming to stand by his side. He nodded pointing to a blue highlight path that went directly into the heart of the city.

"As Maven Saitou puts it," he said with a little smirk. "This is the way we were ordered to follow." He shrugged his shoulders. "I would have done it differently."

Toki regarded the map. "Yes, I see what you mean. The whole plan is too forward. Straight through the city," she murmured to herself. "They must think that by being straightforward it will throw off the chances of the new government's patrols tracking our movements."

"Must be. It defiantly sounds like a good plan in theory, but I guess we'll just have to put it to the test."

She smiled and laughed a bit. Kuro gave her a wink. "Send a message to gather Katsu and Shiro, they will be coming."

"We'll be dropping off Katsu, then?" Tokio questioned turning off the light stage, and turning back on the main lights, causing her to close her eyes momentarily from the brightness.

"Yes, it seems as if Commander Kamiya needs information for her upcoming mission." Toki smiled at the mention of the woman. She had meet her five years ago while they were both stationed in Alquotria.

"Upcoming mission?"

"Yes, she is planning to repair communications with the north." Tokio's eyes widened. "And Katsu is the best spy we have, not to mention great at sneaking into enemy bases. I think Commander Kamiya rather likes him." Kuro joked.

Tokio was more serious, her thoughts flying back to the past.

"But is that not where the Battousai is?"

The major flexed his arms and nodded. No one ever said the mission would be easy, especially for the Commander. Kuro had held her in the highest respect when she was a Senator, and even more now—she had done so much for the Resistance.

"Yes. The Council had a problem with it, you can bet that. Almost everyone knows about her and Battousai."

Tokio shook her head and started for the door. "Let's not talk about that, we have a mission to accomplish, major."

He laughed, "Yes, that we do."

&&&&&&

The Resistance: The Onans Base

"You're out of your mind, Kamiya." Akira stated once Hiko left her in the hanger, now dimly lit, confirming the night patrols slowly walking around the base. Kaoru could make out the sound of their boots and the noise calmed her somewhat.

"Do we have to talk about this here, General Akira?" Kaoru voiced sourly, glaring up at him through her dark bangs.

Instead of answering her, Akira took her arm and led her to the rest room at the rear end of the base. It was quiet all through the halls; nothing was to be heard except the humming sounds of the bright lights, and the swishing panels they walked past. Kaoru regarded Akira and noted how tense he was...the feeling came over her again, that same dread, the sparking in her blood.

Her father always said she had a knack for knowing things, an instinct in a way—her own language made of silence.

Akira was going to die. When she did not now nor how, but she felt the time coming closer and closer. Kaoru could not tell the future. She did not know what would occur, but she could feel it though nothing was ever certain. Her instincts were both a gift and a curse.

Oh Great One, I cannot not lose him as well.

"Kaoru, are you alright?" Akira's voice held concern, the anger had all but vanished. "You're trembling."

Kaoru did not even notice her trembling until he said so. Looking in his deep brown eyes she felt that everything she'd come to know was falling apart. What if her mission was doomed to fail? What if she could not save Misao and the others trapped behind the waterways?

Her rib cage tightened in her chest, and slowly she placed her fingers to her eyes. She would not cry, not over loss. It was natural and meant to happen as the Great One had meant.

Kaoru opened her eyes again and looked at Akira who held her tightly. It would do no good to tell him what she felt; if the Great One called him home then there was nothing she could do. Kaoru did not even have the slightest idea of when or how it would occur. And no, she would not tell him. No one should know when or if their death was coming.

No one.

"I'm scared, Akira." She admitted in a dry laugh.

Her, scared—one of the greatest Commanders of the Resistance. The notion amused Kaoru to say the least, while, at the same, she felt her pride slip away.

Akira nodded in understanding; he was always the one she could talk to, always the one who was there for her after Kenshin had hurt her; Sanosuke was there for her as well, but he was different from Akira. Besides, Sano wasn't here now—he was trapped behind the waterways with Misao.

"I'm scared of Kenshin. What if he has totally forgotten me after I had—after he thought I had died? What if he never returns to be the man I loved? Akira, I don't even know why I'm scared, I don't understand why I'm having these feelings all of a sudden." Kaoru admitted all in one hurried breath. Yes, she was scared, terrified even, but did that make her a coward?

Akira held her closer, his brotherly warmth flowing over her panic.

"No, Kenshin did not forget you; even as Battousai he loved you too much to forget."

Akira tipped her head back, a goofy smile on his face. "Remember Tomoe, Kaoru?"

She nodded, "How could I forget her?" It was the truth.

Kaoru recalled the perfect picture of beauty and elegance and kindness. Kaoru had loved Tomoe as a sister and as a friend, but then she died right before she confronted Kenshin.

Kaoru closed her eyes as Tomoe's limp, white body came to her mind. She had seen the carnage, the brutality of her death, and when Akira came to tell her that Kenshin had killed her, Kaoru hadn't wanted to believe.

"I loved her, Kaoru. She was the only one for me and I would have married her if Kenshin had not killed her." Akira's voice held no bitterness, no anger, only a deep sadness.

That day he had not only lost his fiancée but also his brother. The shock had changed him. Kaoru remembered his once soft face, and as she looked up at the older man hardness was the only way to describe it.

"Kaoru, I have not forgotten her, no matter how much I have changed, or how long she has returned to the Great One. I still remember and love her with all my heart. And it is the same with Kenshin; I can feel it, Kaoru."

Kaoru pulled away from him and managed a smile. No more pain, she chided herself. "Akira, don't do anything rash."

It was the only thing she could leave him with. In a way it was her saying not to be killed. He gave her a bemused smile, as if he understood but at the same time did not. Kaoru only shook her head.

"When I'm gone, Akira, be safe."

He nodded, "Know this, Kaoru, I will never leave you. After all, what are friends for?"

Kaoru could not stop herself; something told her that this might be her last chance to hug him tightly. He embraced back.

What was troubling her? He'd never seen her this emotional. Kaoru was hiding something from him, he knew that, but he was never one to push. Maybe one day he would know. Kaoru, he had come to find, had a certain...gift about her. She could always sense things, occurrences—a trait of the Zine. Yet she was not one. This talent was something completely different. Her gift was extraordinary and he trusted it—her instincts.

He left a moment later. Kaoru felt her blood spark.

Farewell, Akira. Do not forget me as I will never forget you.

&&&&&&

The Resistance: Onans Hanger

Kaoru smiled at Shura, giving her one last salute, nodding to all the others who stood around her air craft.

"Commander, may the Great One grant you safe passage." Shura said stepping off the ladder and returning towards the tiled ground.

Kaoru sighed, regarding the others who stood; they were all her friends, all the brave men and women under her command. Akira would lead them well when she was gone on her mission—the first stop was Tewian Base in Fredon where she would meet up with Major Kuro and they would discuss the information that Katsu would hopefully send back.

Kaoru prayed for Katsu—his mission was dangerous, but he could be trusted. He was the best at what he did.

"I heard Shigure was going to be with you on your mission." Shura said lightly from below.

Kaoru nodded thinking of the man, smiling. He was yet another emotional victim of Kenshin, Kaoru thought sadly, lost for a moment in memories. Gentatsu, Shigure's best friend and Tokio's brother, was killed by Kenshin in the Zine Temple.

He never had a chance to escape.

Shaking the memory from her mind, Kaoru looked around the hanger seeing numerous faces that she knew and did not know but missing only one. Where was Akira?

"Yes he is," Kaoru paused for a moment. "Where is Akira?"

Shura shrugged asking the man next to her who did the same motion. "Hiko must be having a word with him, did you not already say goodbye?"

Kaoru shook her head. "Tell him goodbye for me please."

"Yes, Commander." Shura stated firmly, her eyes glowing in determination. "And please," the green-haired woman's voice was lighter now, "save the others, especially my brother."

Kaoru laughed a bit, trying to lighten Shura's face. "The brat? Yahiko will probably kill me for thinking he needs saving."

Shura laughed as well. "That's probably true."

"Don't worry, Captain Shura, I will do my best." Kaoru winked, closed her air craft and waited for the upper gate to open.

&&&&&&&

The Resistance: Base under the Tublin Waterways

Misao collided against something hard and cool and wet. Shit! She could not see anything in the blasted ventilation shaft that Megumi had gotten them into. Not only was it wet, smelly, and cold, but also as dark as night. None of them had managed to find a way out of here.

"Okon, don't you have a map or something?" Misao said, looking behind her and seeing nothing but the white of the other's orbs.

"Misao," Omasu said quietly interceding for her sister, "We lost all the files back in the room when the main computer fried. There is nothing we can use."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Omasu." Sanosuke's voice nearly bellowed from the back. He was almost laughing, Misao sweat dropped. Was he finally going crazy? Their base was under attack by the New Government's military, most of them probably other Zine, and he was laughing.

"Sanosuke," Misao yelled back, "are you going crazy? We need you here."

"Nah, weasel-girl, I'm just staying calm and having fun. No point in over reacting, just be patient, it's the Zine way." Both Yahiko and Sanosuke laughed. The other's rolled their eyes.

"Misao maybe I could try to find a way out by going ahead. I'm the smallest of the group, and Maven Tae used to say that I had a head for direction." The soft, feminine voice could only be Tubsume.

Megumi patted Tubsume shoulder and despite Yahiko's protest, fact remained that she was the smallest of the group and so they let her go. And as Misao watched her go, seeing the silhouette of her bent form disappear beyond a nearby corner, she sent a silent prayer to the Great One. Hopefully, Maven Tae was not lying when she said Tubsume was good with directions.

Misao growled. They still had to locate the others.

They would die here if they did not receive outside help, and she knew that wasn't about to happen.

&&&&&&

The New Government: above the underground base on the Waterways of Tublin

Aoshi scanned the sight in front of him, pleased. The Overlord was right as always—those insipid Resistance fighters were stationed here and...hiding. He shook his head slowly, a small smirk on his usually stoic face as he thought that they should just give themselves up, escape was hopeless.

At the present, his men were coming out of and back into the base resembling ants destroying another enemy's hive. The scene was beautiful in a sense of war and battle.

He sensed a strong presence behind him—Himura. "Found anyone yet?"

The man's voice was bored as always, his own was ice. "They're hiding."

"Would you expect anything more—they always hide, Shinomori." Battousai said upon standing next to him, his arms akimbo on his hips, and a black cloak fitting over his form like wings. The red-haired man turned to regard the taller man, his predatory gold eyes missing nothing of what was going on around him. But Aoshi was used to the Battousai, having known him since before the war, and was not afraid of him; in fact, Battousai was his challenge.

"They will come out soon, I sense their feelings." He looked back out to the base, past it onto the flat marsh lands which lay beyond, and his eyes hardened. "And I also sense Sagara."

Aoshi nodded, "The traitor."

Battousai signaled to a soldier nearby, instructing him to bring his aircraft so he could leave. "Capture him and bring him to me to destroy."

"Of course."

Battousai gave him a curt nod and then walked off, leaving Aoshi to handle the situation.

He had better things to do besides hanging around at some now insignificant base. Just a little while longer and the Resistance would crumble under the Overlord's power and all would be well again. A quick flash of raven hair and laughing blue eyes appeared before him, and roughly he pushed her image away.

Kaoru was dead, and nothing could bring her back to him.

A/N: Thanks again for reading. And remember comments, suggestions, and reviews are always welcomed.

Espiritus