Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Written in The Stars ❯ Revelations ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is owned by its creator N. Watsuki-sensei, Soni and other major companies. I only own Jihan, Jabesh and some others OC.

Thanks to my wonderful beta-readers/editors, Fujifunmum, Midori and Michaela. Without their help, I'd be lost…

For Michaela, hoping she is feeling well.

Now to the story…

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Somewhere inside Lyrian deep space, year 378 since the Alliance's Foundation

Colonel Masshwov stopped in her tracks.

A highly suspicious shimmering object had just appeared amid the bushes.

The human by her side made a silent gesture of acknowledgement. He also had sensed that something was not right in the scene.

Trying to avoid alerting the hunters, hidden and waiting for them ahead, they sprang into the lush foliage, and the ambushers were trapped and swiftly exterminated in a minutely coordinated movement. To the casual eye it might appear like they had carefully practiced it a thousand times, however they had been together only for a few weeks, a fact that didn't diminish their flawless efficiency.

They looted the hunters' location comprehensively, taking all they could carry and found useful, providing them a greater advantage, leaving behind those items that could be replaced.

"Good…"- grinned her human companion, a wicked gleam dancing inside his weird bluish-green eyes- "more food, clothes… this… works?"- he asked, still sounding awkward in his command of the Alliance tongue, while he handed her a box.

"Yeah, we could use it"- she opened the container, and found several items that could be valuable. She would look at them and inspect them later, she thought, stowing the box in her backpack.

Though there was still some clumsiness in his speech, he had progressed incredibly quickly with his 'lessons' in Trasklenian[1], since they had been abandoned on the surface of the planet. She was still stunned at his abilities, including his skill to learn things so fast. It was really astonishing for someone who came from such a low species, barely sentient. The human had been paying close attention to her teachings, going beyond them and asking relentlessly for more, almost in a way that bordered on an annoying obsession to learn fast, and that had kept her wondering about him a lot.

Now they could have longer conversations, but they were still on a very basic level, related to common things they faced each day. Well, as common as devising strategies to survive a hunt was, she thought.

"We were lucky this time…"- she muttered.

The hunters had underestimated them, making the mistake of keeping their detection equipment off. Had they kept it functioning, they would have noticed their maneuvering… and now they'd be the ones lying stiff and cold.

Given time, she was sure she'd be able to assemble a makeshift device allowing both of them to avoid electronic detection, using spare parts of the equipment taken from their pursuers. The actual dilemma they were facing was that they didn't have any time to spend on anything but escaping the chase.

She sighed at the sight of the weapons scattered around, useless to them thanks to genetic encoding. Only the hunters who owned them could manage the things without being exposed to any hazard.

"Go on now… we danger…"- he said in his broken Trasklenian

"Yes, you're right, we must keep moving. It's dangerous otherwise…"

"There… safer"- he pointed to what she assumed was the west in that planet.

Jihan Masshwov didn't know how the human did it, but he could actually sense danger and the presence of other creatures around them with the incredible accuracy of a trueborn empath. She knew it was impossible, but the man seemed to have a sort of sixth sense. It allowed him to feel potential dangerous adversaries, avoiding unnecessary confrontations as much as possible, except when they were necessary to take provisions, medicine, or a better shelter from other parties.

Therefore, as on many other occasions since they were 'freed' in that planet, he was right. She could also sense another party moving towards their present position from the south, and then marching to west was an excellent choice to evade them.

She looked at him amazed, knowing that humans lacked any psychic skills.

Jihan was a natural empath and things like detecting even the faintest traces of sentient thoughts had to be expected from her, even with the annoying collar preventing her from using her full telepathic abilities.

"All right. To the west then…"

"East…"- he corrected.

She glared at him. He could sense dangerous presences accurately, but his sense of orientation was not the best… yet he dared to correct her… The nerve of that guy!

Everyone knew that Sun rose in the west, like on this planet and on Trasklen, the Alliance capital homeworld.

Jihan sighed, still grumbling at her maddeningly gruff companion. However, the human was very useful and she did not want to lose him, even if he was annoying as hell sometimes.

They reached the edge of the forest almost at sunset. Despite the fact that he never complained or asked to stop and take a rest, she knew that the human was hungry and too tired to go on with their trip. That meant that they should look for a secure place to spend the night.

There were several rocky hills ahead and if they quickened their pace, they would reach them before full night befell them. The forest wasn't a safe haven any more, and they couldn't afford to spend the night in the open with a hunting party so close to them.

The possibility of finding a cave or shelter in the hills was their best chance, and after a while, they found a convenient rocky crevice with space for both of them. It was small, not a real cave, but there was no need for both of them to lie down at once. As always, they kept the shifts routine: while one of them slept, the other was on watch.

Fortunately, they also discovered that the place seemed to house a magnetite[2] surge, the metallic gleam was easily visible on the rocks, it would render the detection devices useless if any hunting party came near them.

While they made a quick check of their new booty, she noticed that he separated several pieces from what she discarded, after a meticulous inspection. He had been doing this almost since the beginning, taking mechanical parts while she kept gathering pieces of electronic devices here and there. Jihan hadn't exactly a clue of what he was planning to do with the pipes and smaller pieces he was collecting, though she suspected that he was assembling some sort of primitive weapon. She wasn't sure why he was grinding some minerals and crystals [3] with the help of a couple of rocks that he had collected from the caves where [1]they had been, and mixing it with the charcoal collected from their bonfires also ground into fine dust. She couldn't quite connect both things, but given time she would learn what he was planning.

He, giving hints with his action that he probably had lived in a semi industrial or even industrial society in the first steps of development until his capture, chose no sophisticated electronic parts. It was obvious that he didn't know what to do with high technology.

Jihan confirmed that through his reaction to the energy weapons and the freighter disappearing in the skies. It was evident to her that sophisticated weaponry and stellar flights didn't belong to this human's time period.

The sky configuration also seemed disconcerting to him, a fact that had kept her wondering whether he already suspected that he was no longer on his home planet. It was clear that the male was not a fool, being quite capable of figuring things out for himself on many occasions. Jihan was almost sure that he had realized his situation, though probably not entirely.

Her musings stopped abruptly after realizing that the latest item on their list of trophies taken from their most recent prey, the box that 'Nishi had found, had a fake bottom. As far as she knew, it might be a kind of trap, but she doubted it. The hunters had never expected to suddenly become the prey.

With great care, she finally opened the hidden slot…

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They had found an appropriate shelter for the night. It complied with the principles of chapter nine of Sun Tzu's Art of War, which he always had in mind as a manual not only for fighting but also for conducting his life.[4]

< Camp in high places, facing the sun… When you come to a hill or a bank, occupy the sunny side, with the slope on your right rear. Thus you will at once act for the benefit of your soldiers and utilize the natural advantages of the ground.>

The weather there was colder than in the forest they had traveled in for the last few days, but the shelter they found would cover them from the night chill.

They made a small fire with a very useful timber, which was virtually smokeless. With the clothes they had gained from plunders of hunters and prey, they didn't need to have great bonfires.

He peeked discreetly at his companion, while they made an account of their loot. She seemed to be lost in her own world of precise organization, dividing and restructuring their new possessions like every night, with almost military efficiency.

The girl, no, the woman's last name was exactly that: efficiency.

Enishi wondered who the young female truly was. An onmitsu of some sort was the first thing that came to his mind.

She knew what to choose with particular accuracy. Her choices for their clothing and traveling gear were proof of that.

She had quickly traded his gi and the makeshift dress made with a blanket for some clothes they had taken from their first attackers, exchanging them for better items as opportunity arose. She was also collecting items he did not recognize and attempting to construct something with them, adding new pieces after each plunder.

As a matter of fact, he had been doing the same thing at her suggestion. That had proved to be wise advice.

The clothes they had gotten from their incursions against the two parties of hunters they had attacked, provided them with excellent protection from the cold as much as from heat, and also protected them from most environmental dampness.

Enishi was still amazed at deceptive fragility and softness of the garments. They were smoother than silk and even lighter, which at first made him to misjudge the clothing as inadequate for such a location. However, his guessing was proven wrong when he discovered through use that the fabric employed in the garments was unpredictably strong and resistant.

As strong and resistant as she was, by the way, as he had discovered a few days after their release from the red-skinned bastards' dungeon.

Oddly, his musings on his companion and in their clothes made him reflect about a very uncomfortable matter: everything in this strange place wasn't what it appeared at first glance.

Once he recovered from the initial shock, he did what he had always done since his early childhood: get up and go ahead. He had done it after Tomoe had left their house, after her death, after his landing in Shanghai, during his life as a killer and a weapons dealer, and he had even managed to get up from the miserable shacks of the deprived in Kyoto, after his failed Jinchuu. He was used to falling and getting up on his feet time and again, and this time was not an exception, in spite of his confusion and the mysteries surrounding the situation he was stuck in. It had taken him only a short time since they were released to cope with the reality that demanded him to go on.

Nevertheless, one thing he had never doubted was the control he had over his own affairs, even when he was an assassin for hire for the Shanghai Triads, before converting to a Dragon head[5] himself. He took his assignments on the condition he could conduct the affair at his own discretion, and he found a way to make his own choices with his former bosses' acquiescence.

But now, the situation was completely different.

After the first steps in this strange place, he had come quickly to his senses again, realizing that he had to wake up and take the appropriate steps to ensure his own survival, as much as his companion's. He had spent the following hours trying to understand what was happening around them and planning their next steps until they reached the cave, with that damn strange sky over their heads. While he studied the place and the reactions of his companion, tiredness overtook him, but not too much to be taken by surprise for their first attackers. At that point, he realized that he had to establish his leadership, to keep them out of trouble.

However, this time he had found an unexpected obstacle to his plans: the girl was not exactly eager to follow his commands at all. The short tempered silver-eyed woman cut his attempts at leadership by dangerously dangling him from one of his ankles over the wrong side of a cliff. At this point, he discovered that his partner was not only a first level fighter, but really an over-sensitive creature too… as well as stronger than he was.

Usually, he would have had no problems with fighting back, even a much stronger opponent. But she was a woman, and his aversion to attack females rendered him defenseless before such a powerful lady, a thing that had almost proven fatal this time.

Once she had had him pinned and incapable of offering any kind of resistance, she had lifted him by his ankle as if he was a feather. And she had only used one hand to do it.

He had felt utterly humiliated, and resentful, but Enishi knew that he had no choice at the moment except to abide by her directions, since survival without her useful knowledge of the territory would have been impossible for him if he had chosen to go on his own. Once he got used to the cold hard facts, things ran relatively smoothly between the two of them.

Besides, it wasn't that bad: she listened to his suggestions, accepting them most of the time, so he knew he could manipulate her once he had won her trust.

It would be not the first time he had to resort to pure cunning instead of relying only on his strength. That was one of the main characteristics that distinguished him among his peers in Sin City[6].

She was a woman, after all, stronger that any other he had met before, crafty, a perfect killing machine, granted, but a woman above all.

In addition, he had to rescue her twice, which proved his point: women needed a man's protection.

In the end, he'd get his rightful place and things would be as he always had intended. Meanwhile, he'd benefit from her field experience and abilities.

He left his unpleasant train of thought only to be greeted by the frightening sight of two of the three 'moons' that could be spotted from his location. A shudder coursed through him at the view. Though several weeks had elapsed since he had first seen it, his hair still stood on its ends every time he looked at the sky.

Enishi found it very hard to get used at the idea that he was no longer on Earth, but that was clearly the reality. He didn't know where he was for sure, as he had been growing frustrated at the slow rate they were learning each other's language to get answers about their location, why they were thrown here and who the guys were that had kidnapped them.

He had tried to communicate with her during their captivity in the dungeon in almost every language he knew, but to no avail.

Finally, as he had started to learn her tongue, she had seemed interested in learning his, so he had started teaching her the basics of Japanese. Chinese was too damn complicated with its tonalities and its changes in pitches to explain it to someone with whom he barely could establish any kind of verbal communication at all.

While her progress with Japanese wasn't encouraging, he had at least learnt how to keep up a rather decent level of conversation in her language. He had always had a gift for languages, and this time it was exceptionally useful. However, his grade of mastery of such a language wasn't complex enough for the explanations he required.

Suddenly, her shouts startled him, and he reacted instinctively by grabbing his sword. However, no threat was in sight, and contrary to what he had expected at first, she seemed really pleased.

Looking carefully, he found that the reason for her outburst probably was with the fake bottom inside the box they had taken that day from the hunters. The box was completely open now and several items had fallen from it, lying scattered around her.

It was the very first time he had seen her actually smiling, while an excited gleam danced within her eyes.

He was wondering what was it all about, when the blue haired girl awkwardly asked him to help her with her collar.

< Not again.> - an annoyed groan escaped his lips.

The woman had tried to take off the collar on several different occasions. He tried to help her of his own accord in the beginning, but after being slightly but painfully burnt on his hands by the fucking device, his willingness was reduced to zero.

However, the young woman tried time and again to get rid of the thing on her neck, almost desperately, always suffering different kinds of 'retaliation' from the gadget, retaliation that sometimes left her writhing in pain for hours.

At that point, it was obvious to him that the collar had been placed on her for some specific purpose other than branding her as he had thought in the beginning: she had been the only prisoner who wore such a device, though he had no clue about the logic behind it.

He was still wondering if he really wanted to find out, when he observed that he was already helping her.

She urged him to place a fine and short metallic cylinder inside a kind of keyhole in the little box at the side of her neck. Then she pushed him gently away, signaling him to keep some distance from her.

After the violent previous reactions from the device, she didn't want to get him injured again or involved in a potentially dangerous situation.

It was a wise decision, after all. Someone should be here to help her in case she got badly hurt.

Finally, she made some moves with her fingers on the metallic tube until a soft 'click' sound could be heard emanating from the little box attached to the collar.

Almost immediately, a wide grin appeared on her face, while she ran to their belongings, looking frantically until she found her knife. Surely, she would try to remove the band from her neck, but doing it by herself was dangerous with such a sharp blade. He took it from her hand, and as it seemed safe to work on the device now, he cut off and gave the remnants of the band to her.

She smashed it against the rocks, converting the thing into tiny splinters of what it once was with the aid of her ax. Whatever the thing was, she was not fond of it.

Enishi looked at her. There was no noticeable change, not at first sight, except the dark marks on the skin of her neck, left by the rough borders of the band. He supposed they would disappear in due time. It would be a real pity to taint such perfect smoothness with permanent scars, he thought.

However, it seemed as if the world had been lift from her shoulders, so much relief could be read on her features. And for an instant, he reflected that in spite of her exotic features, she was strangely beautiful when she smiled.

Suddenly, she turned to face him directly, blinking and looking at him quizzically with her cat eyes.

"Let's go by the fire and eat something"- she told him gravely

"What was it all about?"- he didn't know if he had said it correctly, but she would surely understand what he wanted to know.

"You want to know about the collar, don't you?"

"Yes… Why you… ? Why not all of us?"

She sighed deeply motioning him by the small fire. Enishi could read plainly written on her face her reluctance to explain, as if she was struggling fiercely with her conscience.

"It's… difficult… The words… You wouldn't understand right now… Please be patient… I know all this is hard and confusing for you, and you need answers. I promise I'll try my best to help you comprehend soon. Did you understand what I've told you?"

"Yeah… I believe it so…"-

But that didn't mean he was pleased at the course of the events. Enishi knew that she was eluding his questioning, that much was clear to him. Why? He simply didn't know but he would find out. He snarled, snapping at last. That was the last straw.

"Patience… easy say it… you not me… not my place… everything… it's too confusing… not my home… you…the others… not like me… strange… where am I? Where? Why me here?"

"You speak better Trasklenian when you are relaxed…"- she said calmly

"Would you be… relaxed if you…you were in my place? "- Enishi shook his head, frustrated, fighting with the words.

"I understand you… believe me. We will find a solution soon. I promise."

Enishi got on his feet, cursing under his breath in all the tongues he could remember. Out of pure annoyance, he approached to the entrance of their shelter, facing the disturbing sight of the three moons illuminating the skies. The girl stood by his side in a blink, putting one of her hands on his shoulder, as if trying to comfort him. Enishi looked at her intently.

She spoke softly, her soft voice full of concern and some level of his same frustration.

"You are not the only one feeling like this. I also have questions of my own. Like in your case, this is not my home, and I don't know exactly why or where I am, though I might have a general idea. I only know some things, and I'll share them with you soon. Be patient, only for a few days. Concerning the rest of your answers and mine, we will find them together. Do we have a deal? Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do. Good."- he made a pause- "Deal. Will wait."

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'I will wait…' he had said.

Of course, he had no other options, Jihan thought, giving a sign of relief at his momentary surrender. Her little discourse had appeased him, so it seemed.

She had not lied, however, not at all.

Nevertheless, now she was free and had full use of her capabilities.

She decided to probe his mind before going ahead and communicating freely with him.

Old habits die hard…

As a member of Alliance Fleet Intelligence, her training took the lead, telling her that it was wiser to collect some information from him before speaking her mind, so to speak.

She was running out of time, though, and she desperately needed to devise a way to fulfill her promise without causing him another shock. Anyway, at this point, she was sure he was expecting some revelation of the kind he would actually face.

Jihan was still reluctant to probe him deeply now. Even if he wouldn't understand what was happening to him, he would discover it afterwards, and she didn't need him too wary of her. Even when she knew that he would take his presence in an alien world much better that an average person of the past, it still would be very stressful for him to digest her abilities, once he learned about them. While he was already somewhat used to aliens and to a very different kind of environment from his homeworld, she wasn't sure how he would react when she revealed her capacity to read his mind. Even if she kept her complete range of capabilities concealed from him, he wouldn't feel reassured at her side, behaving around her as non-telepaths had always acted towards telepaths, but probably ten times worse. At least, inside the Alliance worlds, telepaths were well known, though not well liked.

"Three… - he pointed the sky- at home… Japan… only one."

"Oh."- so Japan (probably the name given by Earthers to their homeworld) had just one moon…-Oh, yes.. Here there are three moons…

"Yes!"- he beamed an odd smile, in a sort of victorious gesture because she had understood him- "three moons here… One in Japan… also one in China…"

Now Jihan was confused. Was China a colony world of Earth? However, all evidence pointed that the human lived in a non-industrial period, where space travel surely was a concept totally alien to Humans.

She decided to rely in her most trustful sense now that she had been freed of the collar. She could read his superficial thoughts quite easily, and the answer to her question came quickly. So Earth wasn't unified… Strange place: one single prevailing species, and yet they seemed to be divided in many little factions… What a waste of recourses and strength! No wonder the planet was destroyed so easily!

She wondered about his comment, in a mixture of amazement and puzzlement. Was he trying to tell her that he already knew that he wasn't on Earth anymore? Most likely. She shook her head, astounded at the human's keen intellect. Were humans in the past like him? If so, how they became the pathetic worms that every race used as stepping mat? Looking at this proud human by her side, it was difficult for her to establish a link between individuals of the same species…

Well, Jihan thought, there was no point in wondering about a lost world and its people, except to deal later with this human. She would need to know personal things about him as much about his usual environment to smooth the impact of the revelations he would have to face soon.

He finally had tucked himself in the blankets, on the floor of their shelter, near the fire, and was drifting between consciousness and sleep.

Soon her job would begin.

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The week after she had taken her collar off had been odd. There wasn't a visible sign of change or a clear indication of it, yet he knew it was there.

She looked a bit uncomfortable around him (not that she was relaxed before), but her ki revealed that she was wary of him and something was troubling her deeply.

And he was growing increasingly impatient at the lack of the explanations she had promised. She always managed to postpone or avoid the issue, even before he had the opportunity of referring to it. She knew beforehand somehow. The situation was becoming increasingly tense, as if something were about to explode… and it wasn't about the gunpowder he had been preparing lately.

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks.

"You need a break… and some food; you are at the verge of collapsing…"

"No… let's go, I'm OK."

She prevented him for going further. Enishi knew she was right. He had almost reached his limits, after three days running non-stop from the hunters. They had barely stopped at all, just a few minutes each time, eating what they could pick that wasn't poisonous or toxic, and relying on the juice of the plants she knew it was safe to drink from, just to keep them hydrated.

However, he had felt the ki of the hunters advancing towards them until very shortly ago, until she had spread that strange rocks she had picked up in the caves, and that seemed to have an effect on their stalkers, delaying their advance for several hours. They probably were riding horses, or some kind of vehicle that allowed the huntsmen to track them down with higher efficiency, and probably these rocks affected them. But he knew that the relief was only temporary. They'd soon would find both of them again.

This pressing situation called for extreme measures.

Though he had been working on it for several weeks, he hadn't finished the makeshift muzzle-loading rifle in detail. However, he was almost sure that it would work properly, without risking any hazards. The pipes seemed strong enough to endure the expansion of the gases caused by the shot, and he had chosen some interesting things to be used as potential projectiles, as small diameter balls and nail-type objects. He would have preferred to test it and make adjustments before trying it for real, but there was no better time for tests than the present.

However, he only had time to assemble one single rifle, and it would not be enough.

They needed something else…

And he knew exactly what that could be.

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Jihan didn't understand the thing he called ki. She only knew that that it allowed him to know with excruciating precision how she was truly feeling, as if he were a true empath. That fact and his growing impatience, made delaying the dreaded explanation both useless and dangerous at the same time.

As if his present state of perplexity and anger at his own lack of knowledge of his exact situation was wasn't enough to make their condition very sensitive, there was still more. Since they had met, Jihan had found herself trying to calm him down from dreadful nightmares many times, so from the beginning she had been ninety nine percent sure that he had suffered some very traumatic experience shortly before he was kidnapped. She knew it had to be traumatic from her own experience, and the nightmares seemed to confirm it. However, it was only now that she knew some of what had happened to him, something that made him emotionally very unstable. Once she was able to see into his mind, the images seemed disturbing even to her.

Anyway, her present dilemma was how to reveal her talent and explain where and when he actually was to the male without killing him from shock in the process or in self-defense if he attacked her. She knew she eventually had to tell him, but when, and most importantly how, considering his possible violent reaction and how to manage it without resorting to any serious physical harm if he took it badly, that was still unresolved.

Fortunately, she had finally taken the precaution of probing his mind while he was in deep sleep before communicating freely with him. Wise measure indeed…

After all, and as she had suspected he came from Earth itself, a world dead long ago. Jihan also confirmed that he had been caught in some period of the past of his own homeworld, in an age without sophisticated machinery or high technology. They had barely reached to some degree of serious industrial development.

Although she had somewhat suspected it, she felt quite annoyed at the discovery of him being some sort of criminal in his world and age. An assassin of sorts, probably working for a Lyrian-type syndicate.

Well, none of their other stranded 'companions' on the surface of that demon planet could be other than some type of gangster, assassin, drug or weapons dealer, pirate or slave trader. The scum of the galaxy, indeed. Even when the Lyrian captain made sure that the other captives learn who she was, she wondered however, about the reaction of her occasional partner to such news. That was something that also should be evaluated when the hour of truth arrived.

He was a very useful companion, and she didn't want to lose him. She was amazed at his speed, ferocity, and efficiency, which ended invariably with the death of his adversaries if needed, because they realized the fatal mistake of underestimating the human when it was already too late to stop him. Wild as a storm, insanely bold, troubled as a rushing torrent of a flooded river, with the destructive rage of an earthquake, yet cunning and clever in his tactics, he was the epitome of everything that was not human in her vast dealings with that species.

All that made her wonder if it wouldn't be wiser to consider the option of keeping her identity as a member of the Military Intelligence hidden from him, at least for a while.

Jihan sighed, coming back to the more pressing and urgent realities surrounding them.

The human was unconsciously reclaiming her attention: he was hungry and tired again, that meant that they should look for a secure place to take a break. She had forgotten how weak humans could be...

She had sensed some raiders coming for them almost three days earlier, but before she could alert her companion, 'Nishi seemed to feel them too. They had changed their course several times since then, they hadn't stopped but for a few minutes to satisfy the basic necessities, but to no avail. Nothing seemed to work. The hunters were still on their tail. And they were shortening the distance. They had gotten to fool them several times; leaving behind some magnetite rocks, that Jihan had taken the precaution to gather when they had been in those caves. The rocks had made their scanners go offline enough to give them a few hours head start, but they had finally found their tracks each time.

Jihan had spread the last remnants of magnetite half an hour ago, so that would give them a breathing space of at least four hours. It would be better to get ready.

Confrontation was inevitable at this point, so now her main priority was to find a place where they could hide, but that they could also defend in case they were finally caught by the hunters, as she suspected that would happen very soon. He was physically exhausted, and though she was stronger, the harshness of the journey plus the tension between them she had been enduring also was taking its toll on her, so the place should be easy to defend and provide them with a relatively easy way to escape. The terrain was difficult, dense foliage covering scraggy ground, a sharp slope ahead, leading to a less welcoming, more cold and barren mountainous topography

Finally, they agreed on a narrow passageway in the mountain, surrounded by vegetation and connected to a group of tunnels running deep inside the hillside, through which, on one hand, they could reach the base of the slope, and a raging stream on the other side, on the other. That was the best escape route, though it was extremely dangerous and risky. They hid carefully the entrance to these passages, from the hunters' view, leaving only some marks to find them easily when they had to run, as well as their equipment, to be recovered easily during their flee.

However, she believed their chances were slim, or worse.

She was sure they were tracking them with their scanners, and the hunters would probably be using all their sophisticated devices to trap and kill them. In fact, it was likely that they already had set an ambush for them. She and 'Nishi in their present condition were no match for them. They were like trapped animals, nowhere to run or hide, the caves with magnetite to fool the scanners too far away from them, and they were only equipped with handheld, simple weapons, against energy rifles. She will be able to take down many of them with her special abilities, but she was worn out due to their long flight. And her debt of honor compelled to protect 'Nishi, over her own safety, which meant that her efforts would be divided, and therefore, she would be less effective in her attacks.

The odds were against them.

She looked at her companion. He seemed engrossed with his pipes and mixing the powder that he had been preparing lately, he didn't realize their fate yet. They had run out of luck. This would be probably their last fight.

Well, she thought ironically, her problem with explanations would end right here.

"'Nishi…"

"Mmmm?"

"I want you promise me something…"

"Tell me…- he said, looking absentminded, working on the pipes."

"This is important!"

"I'm listening… Listening to you doesn't require that I stop what I'm doing… The hunters are close. Time is short…"

"If they catch us, you must never allow them to take me alive."

Obviously against his will, he stopped at her words, looking at her intently with his piercing, disturbing eyes.

"Are you asking me what I think you are asking?"

"Listen, you know what will they do to me before killing me if I fall in their hands. Don't let them. It's very important to me. Promise me, please."

"Women are always so damn… damn…"- he struggled with words

"No, I'm not being melodramatic."- that was the word he was fighting to find, the concept so clear in his mind that she had no problems in identifying the word accompanying it - "They are using advanced weapons, we have nothing. They are moving fast, that means they have vehicles, they have been tracking us for three days and we could not to lose them, meaning they are truly behind us as their target, it's not a casual encounter. They can track us, they have the means to know exactly where we are, and we can do nothing to avoid it. It's very likely that we will be captured and killed. So I ask you again, if there is a chance to be taken as prisoners, don't let them capture me alive."

"I know we are in a tight spot. But our chances aren't so low. We aren't completely defenseless. And even if we were, I would not kill you. Under any circumstances."

"What's the matter with you? Can't you see the reality? And will you allow them to…"

"Shut up and help me with this, woman, they are coming. I am not planning to die any time soon, and a little help from you would be appreciated."

For the first time, she paid serious attention to what he was doing. He was cautiously filling some of the pipes with the powder he had been preparing for the past few weeks, now carefully ground into a black fine dust. He added some pieces of what he had been meticulously collecting, and after some final additions, he closed up the remaining end of the pipe [7].

Searching quickly and superficially in his mind, she found that he had been making some primitive explosive devices, and her mouth hung open at his resourcefulness. The last thing she would have considered was what he was doing. But it was logical. He came from a time where they were familiar with simpler forms of mechanical arms. She was so used to high technology, energy weapons, and such, that the idea of simpler devices was completely out of her mind. Not that she had any idea of how to make them. Nobody relied on these primitive things anymore. But just for that motive, they were very likely to turn the tables in their favor.

She sat dawn by his side and paid close attention to the procedure, and started to replicate it, step by step.

"Well, that's right… Keep doing this, while I'll prepare a little surprise for our guests…"

A grin crossed her features when she read his mind…

"Wait… I could offer some additional ideas to you…"- she said.

"It seems you've become more confident in our fate lately…"-

He responded to her grin with one of his own, an odd, creepy gesture, while his whole stance screamed of confidence and arrogance. She had the weird feeling at that moment that luck would turn in their favor.

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All warfare is based on deception.

Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Feign disorder, and crush him. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.[8]

The woman called Jihan had told him that the guys behind them knew exactly where they were. So hiding was out of the question.

Therefore, they'd have to resort to cunning and strategy.

Hold out baits to entice the enemy. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.[9]

Jihan and he should give the impression of hiding, to lure their stalkers into a trap, as if they were acting like live bait. They should look like they were easy prey, which wasn't that difficult considering the situation they were in… and then use their small surprises on the hunters, whose arrogance and certainty in their superiority would make them fatally careless. As soon as the hunters discovered that they were caught in a trap themselves, their fury would act against them, turning them into easier targets, since anger and arrogance could lead even the most powerful warrior to defeat. He knew it firsthand, he thought, smirking. As long as Jihan and he could keep focused, to distract and take them down immediately, should be easy. Risking their lives could work wonders on keeping them focused, he thought dryly.

If his forces are united, separate them

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.[10]

Jihan seemed well versed in strategy. They had agreed on a plan to split their opponent's forces, striking them separately, to join forces again right afterwards, using the hidden tunnels at the base of the slope to attack them on two fronts with the home-made grenades and the rifle, forcing them to divide, while they'd rejoin forces at their main line of defense.

These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.[11]

The grenades were their only advantage now, and the key to their survival. He only hoped that the damned things worked. He was a little out of practice at making them, since his employees made only sophisticated weapons an these devices were like New Year's firecrackers when compared to the weaponry he was used handling. Besides, he was using up all of the gunpowder he had been preparing. So there was no margin for error or second chances. And they had to be used only at the right moment, maximizing the damage and using the surprise factor to their advantage.

The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.[12]

Finally, he placed the last (and probably decisive) piece of their scheme in place. It was perfect. The terrain appeared to be 'secure', while in fact it was, upon a more careful inspection, truly dangerous at this point

Once the hunters were confused, he thought, to divide them wouldn't be difficult. They'd surely be so blinded by wrath that it would be a child's game to lure them into his ultimate trap.

He was confident in their plan. It was highly improbable that they could finish their pursuers, but they surely would leave them badly battered, in a way that would take them days to reorganize for a new chase. He was convinced that by that time, Jihan and him would be out of their range.

Their position was perfect to ambush and resist the hunters, at least for the brief period they'd need to develop their strategy. Enishi could see that Jihan was busy preparing the pipes and arranging her part of the groundwork.

She was unusually skilled, fast and tough, thus she would survive the battle, and probably in better shape than he would. He knew that he was acting only by pure instinct and on the last rush of adrenaline that his body was capable of producing before his complete collapse. But he had been there so many times, that he knew he would make it once again. He had done it during his long walk from Edo to Kyoto, after the unknown hours he had wandered lost in the snow, after Tomoe's death, or during the war, or in Shanghai's streets or when he had almost drowned in the sea, after his escape from Japanese police. He had pushed his own limits time and again, and survived. He had to, he had a goal then, and now, he had another one, even if he was lost in a totally alien location. He had to go back for his father, to let the old man live his last days in peace with him, after resolving their differences with each other.

But for now, his most immediate goal was to find the bastards that had done this to him, and to make them pay.

He came back to their home base, and helped her with the last of the preparations, then they went into hiding, as planned.

They didn't have long to wait. Time had passed way too quickly with their preparations, and in a way, it helped to relieve the tension.

The sight of the party coming upon them would had been terrifying had it not been that he had no time to waste in frightened thoughts.

They indeed came in vehicles, scary machines with no horses or steam engines to power them[13], without noises and no rails to by guided by. They just move in thin air, as mechanical birds without wings, with shining, metallic feathers covering their surfaces. Scary sight indeed. Scary and beautiful.

How many strange things would he have to face in this place? The ironic thought that if he didn't move his ass soon he would not have to face many more surprises crossed his mind when a blinding shot from the hunters broke his mesmerized stare at the stalker's transports.

As they had agreed, they coordinated their moves, luring the stalkers into their game, and when it seemed that was it all over, they hit them back.

The first two grenades impacted against the three attackers in the first row, sending shrapnel, body parts and the vehicles themselves (now without their riders to guide them)on a direct collision course with the attackers right behind them, creating chaos, confusion and more casualties among their pursuers.

That just created the perfect feedback Enishi was waiting for. The attackers grew furious and went on a disorganized rampage. He and Jihan exchanged positions with precision, as they had planned , dividing the hunters' forces and crushing them until only but a few remained untouched. Regrettably, they seemed to be the most experienced and cunning. But he and Jihan were not defeated yet. They still had something up their sleeves.

One of the attackers crossed their defenses and he had to fight him hand to hand. When he finished his opponent, he turned around just in time to realize that Jihan was under heavy attack. It was strange but he had the impression that the attackers seemed to concentrate their attacks on her, much more than on himself. Actually, he was free at that moment.

She was managing wonderfully and many of the attackers seemed to fall without even touching her. However, suddenly things turned grim. Jihan was too concentrated on fighting an enormous winged thing to notice that someone was trying to shoot her down. He was too damn far away to attack the guy, which left him with only one choice: to use the rifle, praying that it resisted the force of the explosion without blowing off his face in the process.

It was fortunate that the attacker seemed consumed by nervousness, trying to put her right in the sight of his weapon. He took his own rifle and aimed at the guy. The unexpected sound of the explosion produced by the shot and the sniper falling down from his vehicle caught Jihan and her attacker by surprise for a second, but it was enough to give her the advantage to finish her opponent.

"Stupid human shit!"

The growling voice of an unexpected adversary coming over him took him by surprise. He didn't see him coming, nor he felt any Satsu Ki[14] (or any kind of ki, for that matter) emanating from the creature attacking him, and that fact sent shivers down his spine. Though the guy didn't seem a serious threat (he was a good head shorter than Enishi), he knew that in this place appearances were deceiving. And unfortunately, he wasn't wrong.

He felt totally paralyzed, even his lungs didn't respond anymore, though he didn't register any darts or a poisoned knife piercing his flesh. But of course, nothing was certain in the heat of the battle.

So that was it, he was going to die by poison.

Everything started to fade, when suddenly and unexpectedly, he regained movement and his ability to breathe. Amid choking attempts to get air, he registered that the thing sat on his chest had gone flying against a wall, with no apparent reason, since Jihan was too far away from them. A horrified, earsplitting scream escaped from the fallen creature, while he grabbed his head with both hands.

"Are you alright?"-Jihan was now crouched by his side, looking at him with a worried stare.

"As good as possible… But something strange happened… I thought that…"

"… you were poisoned. No, it was just a telepathic attack."

"A what?"

"He was attacking the neural centers in your brain that commands your lungs to breath, and he paralyzed the rest of your body, all though his mind's manipulation of yours. Don't try to understand it right know, you won't be able to. It's something that simply does not exist from where you come from. I'll explain it to you while we leave this place."

"Wh-what? I can't understand what are you talking about… That bastard… what is happening to him? I can't understand…"

"Now, it is me who is telepathically attacking him. "- she said nonchalantly- "I'm taking all the useful information I can from him. Don't worry, it will be over in a couple of minutes. You were lucky I am also a telepath. If I wasn't, you would be dead by now."

"What? What the hell is a tele… a tele… fucking shit? I don't understand what you are talking about… How is possible that you are taking information from him while…"

"Later."- she cut him off

Jihan helped Enishi get on his feet , and they moved towards the fallen creature. He was panting, a thin trail of blood escaping through his eyes and nose.

"What… who are you? I'm a grade 12 telepath… I never… was broken before…"

"I'm a Prakeshi…

"No… It's impossible…"

"No, it is not, but it's something you won't need to worry anymore. Because as for now, bastard, your time is finished."- She shrugged, dismissing the other's disbelieving words. Jihan crouched by the now trembling creature, tilting her head to look at the hunter's eyes directly while she grabbed him by his hair

"No…"

After a horrific yell, the creature ceased to squirm under the strong hold of the woman, and with a final quivering, he died.

"How…?"

"I suggest we move on… Some very bad people are coming this way…"

He was about to protest, when a shot barely dodged by both of them, exploded against the body of the last dead hunter. A new group, the last of the party, reached them.

"Too late, it seems…"- she said

"We must give them to our last surprise…"

They moved, jumping around the crevices hidden by the vegetation, provoking the hunters, as they had planned beforehand, but something unexpected happened: the fuse cord connected to the last device failed.

"Shit!"- he exclaimed.

There was still one way, if he used the rifle to set off the explosion. But Jihan was too near the place and the explosion would be immediate if he shot it .

<Do it. Don't worry about me. I'll get my ass out of here in time, I promise>

"What the bloody hell…?!"

Her voice echoed in his mind, as if she where inside his head, and he jumped high, wondering if madness wasn't striking him again.

< No, you are not mad at all. This is me. This is what telepathy means. I can hear your thoughts. And I can talk to your mind, directly, not using my mouth at all. Only my mind touching yours. I'll explain it to you later. But if you don't act quickly, we'll be fried in a few seconds. Don't worry. Everything will be OK. Don't be scared, I won't hurt you. If I wanted to, I would have done it long ago. Now act.>

For a brief moment after the revelation, he pondered if it wasn't safer to let her be caught by the hunters, the idea of his head being explored in that way by her or anyone else making him feel physically sick. But he remembered the guy who attacked him earlier, and how she had saved him using that capacity. Maybe, having her by his side, even with those uncanny abilities, might serve him well in the future. He would need more time to make a decision. After all, she had saved him before indeed. He decided that at the moment, she was one to be trusted. And he acted.

As soon as he took aim, she started to run towards the tunnels. Before the hunters started to chase her, he shot. And the last bomb they had armed, the most powerful, blew the base of a large rock which rolled, provoking a massive falling of debris and heavy rocks over their pursuers, and a huge cloud of dust that prevented him to look for the girl, but allowed him to see the ending of the last wave of the hunters' party.

But he had no time for celebrations. Suddenly, the terrain where he was standing trembled, as if shaken by an earthquake. He tried to run, knowing that the explosion had also affected the stability of his position, but finally, his body failed him, collapsing to the floor.

Without any rest, he had reached to his very limits, for the very first time in his life, and no matter how fast he ordered his legs to run, he could barely move.

It was not fair, that his body rebelled against him just at the last moment.

Amid falling rocks, a hand grabbed him, pulling off the way of danger. It was her, putting him over her shoulders, and sorting through the ruined entrance to the tunnels. They were now at the river bed. The more secure path was taking it, since great rock slides were coming down the hillside towards their place.

"Hold on, 'Nishi, we are almost there."

It was the last thing he heard before finally losing consciousness.

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The tall woman threw the lengthy hooded cape to the floor. The long gloves and the rest of her clothes followed it soon, revealing a beautiful female, probably in her late twenties. Short tresses of bright golden hair, in tune with her eyes and her pale skin, all in the shades of gold, fell to her shoulders. The clothes had concealed a well built body, strong, and muscled, carefully developed as a lethal weapon always ready to crush anything laid in her path.

A human male moved quickly, trembling, taking all the discarded items .

"Destroy all these things."

"Yes, master."

"Is the bath ready?"

"I'm examining it personally." - a new voice, deep, and rich answered her from the shadows of the room.

"Mart'n, leave us alone."- as soon as the servant left the place, the woman turned to the male, glaring at him- "What are you doing here? I've told you a million times that you should not come to my place. It's too dangerous."

"She is not here anymore, darlin'."- the man had stepped out from the shadows, revealing a huge, well built Lyrian male behind the deep silky voice- "Masshwov was the only one who could give us any trouble, and now she is gone, paying for all that she has done to us."

"That does not mean that we have to grow careless."

The woman moved past the male, but he grabbed her from her waist, bringing her naked form against himself.

"We have all the right people under our control, so relax. Now the Alliance is ours, Jabesh[15]."- the male whispered against the skin of her neck

"You are far too optimistic. We must keep up appearances, they are the key to power within our frontiers."

"You are too tense… Let's go to the bath. I've prepared a tub with real water, only for you… and for me if you let me to keep you company…"

"Perhaps you are right. But we must be cautious for a while, that relaxed behavior cost my father his life."

"Okay, we'll abide by your rules for a while. But now enjoy this. We haven't been together for weeks…"

"You are right…"

The couple stepped inside a large, round tub, and they just enjoyed the warm water bubbling softly against their skins. Finally the male talked again.

"What happened during your trip?"

"Nothing relevant. They will continue providing us with what we wanted. I met a new man in their organization. He seems more stable and less troublesome than his associate. It might be convenient to have him close to us."

"The last package they delivered survived the ship. And there's no reports on any human chased since the moment he was freed, so he is still alive, which is quite remarkable. Considering this, these new humans might provide our customers with long term fun."

"Yes, yes. I know, that's why I put up with the company of that disgusting guy… Takeda Kanryuu. If picking the right humans were less difficult, I would already have gotten rid of him."

"Oh, well, bear it for a while. We are making a good deal for now. Not to mention that we got rid of the greatest stumbling stone in our path, and the one who killed our families. Do these humans know who you truly are?"

"What for? It would be useless, humans are so dumb that they'd miss the basics from any explanation. They are so… primitive, with those vehicles without power, no roads, their climate uncontrolled, almost all sunk in a state of wilderness… They are just poor beasts."

"And we'll make sure they are kept that way, won't we?"

"Indeed. For the Alliance's glory…- she chuckled evilly- and our hard earned money."

"Ma-major… "- the human servant had reappeared, still trembling- "You have a communication. From the private channels."

"I'll go in a minute."- the woman sighed.

She got up from the large round tub, and the first servant signaled two maidens to enter the room, who dried her up and helped her to ease inside a bathrobe.

"He seems as eager as you about the progress of our deal."- The woman said

"You've hurt me, Jabesh, you know that I've come just for you."- answered the male, obviously faking a pained tone, to chuckle softly afterwards- "Though business is also a good reason to meet you too. Your friend has good reasons to be impatient to get news from your trip. Masshwov's disappearance has caused quite an uproar… "

"We knew beforehand that it would happen… Anyway, wait here, I'll be back in a minute."

The gold-skinned woman left the room, for a couple of minutes, returning with a dark, grim expression tarnishing her features.

"What happened?"- asked the Lyrian, still soaked in the warm water of the tub.

"We will have to stop the use of the gate for a while… We are asked to be discreet for now because the Agencies are searching for Masshwov… This damn bitch fucks us even when she is already gone!"

"Our patrons will be disappointed…"- the male gritted his teeth, growling audibly his annoyance.

"Don't worry. I'll manage to slip false reports to shift the attention to somewhere else, and in a couple of weeks everything will be back to normal. Our business will soon be operating again."

The male narrowed his eyes, still annoyed by the inconvenience. However, she knew that her attitude was the right one. There was nothing they could do besides waiting. Other courses of action might lead to unwanted attention by the Intelligence Agency, which will be hard to appease after their boss' sudden disappearance.

He sighed, looking at her defeated, and she smirked.

"Oh well, you said that I was the true reason behind your visit, not just for business. Now you have plenty of time to show me your love."

"And I will, dear. I will."- he chuckled at her teasing.

Even when they would be delayed, it was a small price to be paid for putting Masshwov out of the game. The woman smiled. Life tasted good again.

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Yes… the mysterious woman at the end of the chapter is the link between the past and the future… She is the one who met Takeda and Wu in the previous chapter… So, revenge, in both cases (with the men in the past and this woman in the future) is involved.

Special note:

Enishi's endurance is at the same level shown in the manga. Those who have read it, knows that he is resourceful, and had endured hard situations, surviving them in the same fashion Kenshin, Saitou, or Aoshi had. After all, he escaped the police, wounded, after the collapse of his world and the failure of his revenge, before the ship where he was held as prisoner arrived the docks (this is, he managed to escape in that state, swimming to the coast, plus hiding), and afterwards he left Tokyo to go to Tomoe's tomb in Kyoto. Not to mention how he walked a country torn by war when he was a child, to find Tomoe, or how he survived the following years of the Bakumatsu, or how he managed to go to China all alone and survive until he was rescued. So I'm following the essential of the characters as he was developed by Watsuki-sensei himself in the manga.

In this point I want to clarify that Jihan's physical superiority and her abilities aren't meant to create an annoyingly-perfect-character. They are there for a reason, a much deeper reason than simply making an alien character look interesting. These characteristics are essential for the later development in their relationship and how their cultural POV will shift. So I'm not creating a super-character, better than anyone else, because she has flaws, many as we will see later, and she will depend on others as much the others will depend on her. What I'm trying to say is that there is a bigger concept behind all the adventure, our beloved RK characters, and her. They are only means to convey an idea that I have always held about the inner nature of creatures. I hope that in the end, I can express it as it deserves.

Last but not least, a Huge THANK YOU to Kamorgana, Oryo (Thanks for nominating me!!), Michaela, Deborah, Midori (thanks also for your nomination on my fics!), MightyMightyMunson (hey! Don't miss her story!), EK, Blueraingurl, Julie-chan, Angelica and Guadalupe (Jo-Chan. Have a big HUG!).

Don't miss the Nikki Diary Rurouni Kenshin Awards! http:// www. angelfire. com / anime5/ diary15_knk (remove the extra spaces. FF net is not allowing to place URLs, but well, you know, I'm a trueborn rebel, so I'll put them anyway…)