[ Watashi ]

[ Tomodachi ]

[ Saint Seiya ]

[ Clamp ]

[ Fanfiction ]

Night was falling when we entered the Muromachi quarter. The streets were quiet; people were going home after a long day of hard work, accelerating their walk as the shadows lengthened and as the last remnants of daylight slowly faded. At first I had wondered how we could come upon our target without being spotted as soon as we'd reach the first of the lines of watchers which were bound to have been set around the would-be terrorist group's meeting place. It was Shinomori Aoshi who had found the best solution.

If you can't hope to hide, then stand in plain view where everyone can see you. Be so obvious that people's eyes will slip over you as if you weren't there. And so here we were walking, I clad in the richest of my ceremonial robes with at my side two private bodyguards and a high-ranking policeman.

Unbidden, a smile came to my lips as the evening's too warm, humidity-filled breeze carried some of the passers-by's whispered comments our way.

"Look, the Sumeragi is going to the Hana-no-Gosho."

"What does he intend to do there?"

"I thought that the Sumeragi had closed his door on all those who were involved with the Meiji Restoration...."

"Who could have made him change his mind?"

"Who is powerful enough to make the Sumeragi come to him at this hour?"

"Well, it seems to be working perfectly, down to the smallest details." Hajime flashed a grin in my direction, adding, "I have to admit that you make a very convincing man." That won him an elbow in the ribs, which didn't manage anything other than to make him laugh. Beside us, Himura Kenshin heaved out a faint sigh, bowing his head, while the Oniwabanshu leader ignored the exchange, either completely indifferent or oblivious to what was happening around him.

As we were nearing our destination, I saw Hajime give an imperceptible nod; and, when I focused on what was on the left side of the street, I thought I saw a furtive shadow disappear into a narrow alleyway. "The path is clear for another two hundreds steps," The Wolf whispered quietly. The red-haired samurai and Shinomori Aoshi both nodded in silence, then we walked on.

The quarter of Muromachi had been the political heart of Japan during the era it had given its name to, centuries ago, when the Ashikaga Shoguns had set their Bakufu in it. It had been a long time since the political center had moved, but still there remained something special to the feeling of the place, a touch of nobility and the distinct sensation of treading an ancient path. I was used to experiencing this, but nevertheless it managed to impress me, even more so now that the sun had set. It was like walking along the lingering ghost of a time irremediably lost in the past.

All of a sudden, the crickets' song started around us. I smiled, listening to them. They didn't care that today men would likely die, they didn't care that an assassin was reaping lives as if they had been a harvest. In the waning light of dusk, they had started their song, which would last throughout the night, until the coming of a new dawn.

Oblivious to the frenzy and madness of human life.

Almost, I envied them their simple, well-ordered existence. Oh, you'd make such a wonderful cricket, A distant part of me argued, mocking. Focus on what you've decided to do, instead of allowing your mind to scatter along all the roads that you cross. With an inward sigh, I nodded to myself and reluctantly discarded my brainless reflections. At this very moment, a group of people walked by us, coming from a street on our right, and one of them almost bumped into Shinomori Aoshi. The Oniwabanshu leader blinked and bobbed his head down, as if it was all he could do to resist the sweet temptation of sleep; but he didn't otherwise show any indication that he was aware of what was going on around him.

"So, what's up?" I started when I heard Hajime's almost inaudible whisper, which had been directed at Shinomori Aoshi.

The Oniwabanshu leader allowed himself a faint smile. "The meeting has just started. There are two lines of watchers. We just passed through the first, who were content to report the passage of an important personality through their area towards the Hana-no-Gosho. We weren't perceived as a threat, but the second line won't be so easy to pass."

Inwardly, I laughed as I realized that I had just been completely fooled. The man who had brushed past Shinomori Aoshi must have been Oniwabanshu, and he must have made his report to his leader. A leader who was far from being indifferent to what was happening around him. That'll teach me to take people for granted. I grinned in silence, thinking that I was a fool.

"Once we turn right at the next crossroads, we'll have left the normal route to rejoin the palace. We'll become suspect at that moment." Himura Kenshin's soft comment echoed in my mind, while the others nodded in agreement.

It's still possible to turn back now, but soon it will be too late. Bowing my head, I clenched my teeth and cursed the half of myself which was arguing against what I was about to do.

It was far too late for a change of heart.

It was far too late for doubts.

Far too late for regrets.

Standing down wasn't a solution. There was no other way out than an open confrontation, no other way. No matter how a half of me wished there was an alternative, I knew that there was none. Closing my hands into tight fists, I chased the useless thoughts away with an effort of will. In this matter, I no longer was the Head of the Sumeragi clan, I no longer was a Sumeragi.

I was a warrior out to demand the price for spilled blood.

"Fifty steps away, do you see him?"

I blinked, surprised, when I heard Hajime's barely audible hiss. He made to move out towards the shadows on our left, but Himura Kenshin laid a restraining hand on the Wolf's right arm. "I'll take out the sentry." The violet eyes were calm and determined. "There will be no killing if I can help it."

"Do as you wish." Hajime's contemptuous snort was lost on the young man, who disappeared in the night without raising the slightest sound. When we reached the entrance gate of the house which had served as a watching post, the red-haired samurai came back towards us with a small nod. From the corner of an eye, I caught a glimpse of a shadow propped up against the wall, as if a drunkard was resting for a while to steady his balance before continuing on his way. Nothing had disturbed the night's peace while Himura Kenshin had dispatched the man.

A hitokiri, indeed.

Even if he had apparently decided not to take lives anymore, he still remained a formidable enemy.

I grimaced when I moved to relieve an ache in my neck. My shoulders were cramped with tension. Slowly, I tilted my head backwards, but I couldn't catch sight of the stars. The sky was laden with clouds which were allowing through only a fraction of the moon crescent's wan light. There was an eerie feeling in the atmosphere, the air was heavy with the menace of a storm. I took a deep, steadying breath and then released a simple spell.

The great raven which was my shikigami perched on my right shoulder, and I reached out to it, petting the unreal bird. Go, my friend, I bade it with a nod, and it unfolded its utterly black wings before leaving me and fading into the night. I focused my awareness on it, and watched through its eyes as it circled around the area. The strangeness in silence of the night was growing as time passed, as if a hush had come over the place while it was waiting for the storm to break.

Hidden. I nodded as the image of five men waiting in the shadows of a wall two streets away formed into my mind. Turning towards my companions, I told them softly, "There are five watchers posted along a wall, two blocks away from here. There's no way we can pass through unnoticed."

A wolfish grin came to Hajime's face, and he replied, "That shouldn't be a problem." He shot a glance at Shinomori Aoshi and Himura Kenshin, who nodded back at him in silence. Then the amber eyes met my gaze and held it and he said, in deadly earnest, "You'll stay behind, as we agreed. You won't take part in this, unless you must defend yourself."

I gave him a feral smile while the warrior's mask descended upon my face. "As we agreed. You have your enemy, and I have mine. Good hunting to you."

Something unreadable flickered in Hajime's eyes and he gave me a slow, strangely reluctant nod. Then, at a signal from Shinomori Aoshi, the three men scattered and vanished into the night.

Without a sound.

Like wolves.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and I felt a nervous smile coming to my lips. In front of me, the night was dark and engulfed everything. The houses were reduced to looming presences, barely glimpsed in an ocean of darkness. Once in a while, the sudden flash of a blade's steel would cut through the thick veil of blackness, but that was all. Try though I might, I couldn't hear anything.

There was no sound to be heard, and the air around me was still heavy with threat.

Nothing came my way, no watcher tried to attack me, and so I remained where I was, immobile. Waiting.

Lightning.

For a fraction of a second, my surroundings were splashed with blinding light, and strangely still pictures registered in my mind, as if Time had frozen for a short moment.

Hajime's sword piercing through a man's shoulder.

Shinomori Aoshi flinging himself at an enemy, his twin kodachi blades held crossed upwards behind his back.

A man sent flying as the dull edge of Himura Kenshin's sakaba-tou struck him squarely under the chin.

Then thunder roared, still distant, and darkness once again drowned everything. Unmoving, I kept on waiting. Alone.

Teardrop hitting the still surface of a pond.

On and on, its single-note song echoed, reaching out to me, the ripples tickling my feet. In the same time, a faint croak resounded silently in my mind. A smile came to my lips as a strange, ethereal wind rose and took in my ceremonial robes. I closed my eyes, and focused.

There, fragile tendrils of power reaching out to embrace this place as a beautiful, delicate spell was being cast.

Oh no, dear. Not this time. I grinned as I sent a part of my awareness *up* to where my shikigami was flying, high in the sky. Through its eyes I saw the shadow elegantly sat atop a garden's wall, less than three blocks away in the East. Thanks to the raven's sharp senses, I heard the echoes of the assassin's soft chant rising into the night, and I smelled the distant perfume of the sakura blossoms. Satisfied, I refocused on my body and in the same time a shrill whistling sound abruptly disrupted the deceptive peace of the night, warning of enemies' presence. I heard it, but it never registered in my mind.

With a slow nod, I stepped away from the battle of men and swords, and went towards my own.

When I came into the shadow's view, I snapped my fingers and tore through the vulnerable web of its unfinished spell. The soft chant came to a sudden ending, and silence fell back over the place, while I unhurriedly kept stepping towards the assassin.

"That was rather rude of you, Tokio-san." The woman's perfectly pitched voice reached my ears, and I felt a shiver coming up my spine.

Anger.

Ice.

And something that had no name.

Pleasantly, I replied, "I'm sorry you didn't like my welcome, Sakurazukamori. As for being rude, I don't remember you and I being on a first name basis."

"Are we not?" With a soft chuckle, she jumped down her wall in a fluid movement, as if her kimono didn't impair her freedom in the slightest. Her voice reduced to a gentle whisper as she added, "I thought we were, though. You and I are so close...look: here I waited for you to come, and here you came."

Lightning suddenly revealed our surroundings, and I distantly noticed that she was still wearing the same black kimono, streaked with crimson red lines. She was smiling, a beautiful and luminous smile which would have seduced anyone who didn't know what she was. An eerie light was shining in her eyes.

Madness.

Thunder roared again, closer this time. Once silence had reclaimed dominion over the place, she said in a confiding tone, "Your adopted son's blood was the brightest I ever touched, it makes a fine addition on my garments now that I've painted it on my kimono." Musing, she went on, "It was a fine Shinto ceremony you organized for him. I stood the deathwatch as well, from a distance. I owed the boy that much."

Reaching out to the ice of the warrior's mask, I stared at the shadow that she was, and told her in a deadly quiet voice, "What do you hope to gain by telling me all that crap? You won't goad me into making a mistake. I'm not the weak-minded fool you think I am."

She laughed at that. "Oh, have no fear, Tokio-san, I know that. I know the truth of your heart, remember? And besides, I know how strongly you marked Keisuke-ojisan" In a soft, intimate whisper, she went on, "You and I have much in common, we're almost kin, now that we're tied through your adopted son's blood."

Mentally, I staggered while those words echoed in my brain.

Echoed.

Danced a merry, mocking waltz of sounds.

Hurting.

And brutally, the warrior's mask shattered, broken as if it had been a fragile paper fan when something unnamed and unknown rose within me and engulfed my being.

A Shadow.

A Shadow who had always been there, half-asleep.

A Shadow who had always been a part of me.

Dark.

Frightening.

Different from what it had been.

Alien, it claimed me, and its inhuman fury filled my soul, coming over me in the blink of an eye...crushing me.

And I....

I....

I Fell.

Fire...I was nothing but fire. All of a sudden, the revolting stench of iron assaulted my senses and I felt its cold bite in my left side. On instinct, my fingers undid the obi belt which had been added to the ceremonial robes to allow me to wear a weapon, and there was a loud clang as the kodachi blade hit the ground. Free from the disgusting iron's taint, I looked up at my enemy and snarled, "I am nothing like you!" Then, I flung myself forward.

I didn't need lightning to tell me where she was. I knew, I could feel her as if she had been a bright candle flame. It may be she tried to cast spells to defend herself, but I never felt them. Laughable human spells, An impossibly cold voice contemptuously said inside my mind.

In the time of a heartbeat, I came upon her and my left hand shot out, grabbing her at the throat; then I shoved her back against the garden wall she had used as a watching post.

Under my fingers, the pulse of her life suddenly quickened.

Lightning tore through the night's shroud, and I smiled at her. In an eerily quiet voice, I told her, "Sakurazuka Keiko, I curse your name for all eternity. There shall be no rest for your wretched human soul. I sentence you to wander into the dark, forever lost and alone."

Then I reached inside my ceremonial robes with my right hand and took out the ancient silver blade that my father had always used for ritual ceremonies. Something flickered in the assassin's utterly black eyes, surprise or fear, it didn't matter to me.

In a single, impossibly fast movement, I struck.

And I lost my balance, barely catching myself against the wall as her shape dissolved into a myriad of sakura blossom petals. I turned around and faced the night, my fingers tightly closed on the silver dagger's hilt, my knuckles white.

Trembling with fury.

"Green..." the wondering whisper reached my ears, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once as she mused, "green darker than that of the high mountain lakes, darker than the ocean after an early spring storm.... I had never seen that color, not even in Westerners' eyes."

I didn't listen, I couldn't even hear her voice.

I was burning.

Burning with an inhuman rage that was devouring my heart.

Burning with the pain of a grief which had never been far away from my soul and was now overwhelming it with the savagery of a tidal wave, undeniable.

"Tokio? Tokio?!" The sounds reached my ears, but I didn't recognize the words. Thunder roared, even closer, and something touched me. Ever so slowly, I turned towards the fool who had dared lay a hand on me, bringing the dagger high to strike.

Wolf.

I blinked as his scent filled my nostrils.

Mine.

I froze, a heartbeat away from plunging the silver dagger into his heart. Lightning illuminated the street, and I saw what might have been awe flashing in the amber eyes. He knew that death had just brushed past him. Snorting, I stepped away from him and he wisely let me go. With difficulty, I focused on words, on speech which felt alien and coarse, and said in a voice devoid of emotion, "Stay away from me."

I turned aside, discarding him as thunder roared again, very close. Once its echoes had faded into the night, laughter filled the silence, crystalline and pure.

"Are you so blinded by fury that you won't feel the simplest of illusions, Tokio-san? Is your rage so overwhelming that you'll strike at your own mate? I thought that you couldn't be goaded into making mistakes." The assassin's voice, mocking, filled my mind. "Fury is a powerful emotion, but if you allow it to control you, it'll lead you to destruction and defeat." Gently, she added, "It burns, doesn't it? It colors your aura with the darkest shades of purple. Hatred is so much more reliable, it's cold and sharpens your mind instead of dulling it."

I bowed my head, eyes closed tightly shut while her words sank into my being, and then lifted it again, slowly tilting it backwards. Soundlessly, I laughed into the night.

I laughed at the assassin who dared mock me.

I laughed at the fool who unwittingly gave me the keys to her own downfall.

Reaching deep within myself, I found the cold, dark seed of hatred which had been sowed on the day of Eiji's death, and I opened my heart to it.

I gave my life to it.

I willed it to grow and thrive.

As ice froze my soul, I welcomed it and allowed it to enshroud my whole self. Then I faced the night, and said quietly, "You're a fool, woman. You think you're a painter who holds the key to my heart, but you can't even understand what I am." A smile came to my lips as I told the assassin, "I cannot be bound by a human spell, unless I choose to be..." slowly, I reached out to the shining pattern of the Sakurazukamori's web, adding, "and here and now, I choose not to be."

My hands described two perfect arcs, unraveling her carefully wrought illusion as easily as if it had been a young child's first attempt at spell-casting. Lightning again illuminated the scene, almost immediately followed by thunder. I saw her, then.

I saw her stepping back despite herself, the smile gone from her face.

"Tokio-dono, don't!"

On my left, the Wolf laid a restraining hand on the red-haired samurai who had made to run towards me, while I walked up to the assassin called the Sakurazukamori.

Smiling.

I heard her chant softly as I came closer, I felt the raw power of a spell directed at me, and my smile became a feral grin. You, are dead. Ignoring the attack, I focused my mind and gathered all the strength that I had.

Carefully, I wove the essence of my life into a sparkling chain.

"Who are you?" She asked in a hiss as I came within five steps of her. I didn't reply, no words could have explained the inhuman hatred which had engulfed me.

I *was* hatred.

I looked at the ethereal shape of the looming Sakura behind her, and reached out to it in spirit.

"No!" She cried, horror plain in her voice as she flung herself towards me.

I saw the dagger coming to her hand as she reached my level but avoided it, seizing her arm in a flowing movement, too fast for the eye to see. I was Wind, and she was but Earth, slow and heavy. I saw the wildness in her charcoal eyes when she twisted to free herself from my grasp, and I let her go, laughing at her.

It's too late for fear, fool.

Far too late.

"Tokio-dono, please, stop!"

The meaningless words glided past me, unheard, as I willed hatred to coil up around the chain-spell I had carefully wrought. It did so hungrily, its darkness devouring the sparkling light of the rings. Then, gathering it around me, I flung myself at the giant Sakura.

Mother, no! The faint, distant cry was filled with pain and horror. Pain and horror which were the price to pay for stepping beyond my wards and daring to touch the darkness that I had become.

Mother! The desperate cry echoed within, so faint that its source must be walking on the edge, one step away from death. I willed it to disappear, but it didn't. It lingered, reaching out to me even though that must hurt, hurt so bad that no human being would be willing to endure such a torture.

Somewhere very far away, a shiver ran through my body.

Shunsuke. Something deep within me recoiled as it recognized that name, as it realized what I had almost done.

What I....

No, not this way. The black ice of hatred cracked when the heart of its strength shed it as if it had been a mere cloak.

It shattered, as the Shadow denied it, and it tore at my soul.

It shattered, as I laid eyes on the ancient Sakura and as the unnamed Shadow which slept at the core of my being knew it.

Remembered it.

No! The Shadow cried, desperately, but it was too late. I had gathered the spell, and its strength was burning, scorching my spirit, demanding to be released. I could no longer undo it and will it to go back to the nothingness whence it had come.

For good or for ill, it had to be cast now that it had been shaped.

I did so, altering its nature in a desperate attempt to avoid a terrible mistake which would have damned me as well as all of my line. I was going to die, once couldn't dabble in Onmyoujutsu with impunity like I had just done, but it didn't matter. At least, Shunsuke would be safe.

The sparkling chain caught around the giant ethereal tree, coiled up to its branches, the blackness of hatred gone from it; and it wove my life and the Sakura's very essence together.

A little girl laughs happily as she runs on the porch, hurrying to meet her uncle who has come to visit.

No....

A little girl watches, uncomprehending, the lifeless bodies of her parents lying on the pure white snow.

No....

Blood is spreading around them, forming little pools of warmth in the heart of winter.

No!

A painting. It's a beautiful painting, so beautiful that the sight of it burns itself into the little girl's soul.

And shatters her mind into a myriad of shining fragments.

Like a broken mirror.

Let me go!

The little girl stars at the scattered pieces of her broken self, thoughtful, then eventually looks up at the man smiling at her and takes his hand.

Please! Let me go!

She thinks she's leaving everything behind as she walks away with Keisuke-ojisan. She thinks she's leaving memories and emotions behind, but it's not so.

Please!

She carries them everywhere she goes. She carries them as she reaps lives and paints death. She carries them, or rather the great Sakura tree carries them for her, along with all the fragments of her shattered self. It holds everything in its heart for her, because it would hurt her too much to keep them within her own human heart.

PLEASE!

But now, the ancient Sakura's heart has been bared, touched by the essence of something older than even it is.

Something impossibly powerful and wise.

Something lonely.

Lonelier than even the Sakura is.

A Shadow cast away in a world no longer its own.

A Shadow condemned to wander in what has become alien to it.

Hostile to it.

For as long as those descending from a branch in the O'Donnell clan will continue to walk the earth.

Most of the time, it sleeps, because waking is too painful.

Because waking is too dangerous.

But....

A gentle wind rustles the great Sakura's branches, and wipes everything away.

I staggered backwards, until my back hit a wall. There was a distant clang as the silver dagger my numb fingers had released hit the ground. In front of me, a young woman was lying on the street, unmoving. I stared at her, uncomprehending. I stared at the faint aura emanating from her, numb.

We're alive. The absurd thought formed inside my brain, and I looked at it with curiosity. Both of us, alive.

Lightning illuminated the street, and I blinked reflexively as the blinding light hurt my eyes. Thunder roared, deafening, and drew me out of the eerie trance which had taken hold of me.

I was alive. I hadn't expected that when I had cast my last spell at the Sakura. I had been certain that I'd die, and I had given all of my strength to alter its core. The simple, obvious consequence of that was that I didn't have anything left to protect me from the sakanagi. I smiled as I looked up at the night sky, waiting for it to strike. This sounded almost like an absurd joke.

I blinked again when lightning came down from the heavens, right towards me, but I didn't move.

A body came before me, interposing itself.

Arms wrapped around me and held me tight.

Hajime! I thought as I frantically tried to shove the human shield away.

The backlash struck, a spear of light which pierced through his left shoulder and my right. Pain exploded within as I fell on the left, in a slow motion.

"Tokio...." The pain-filled whisper reached me despite the heavy veil of unconsciousness which was clinging to me and dragging me down into an abyss of darkness, and I willed my eyes to open. Hajime had rolled to the side so as not to crush me under his weight. There was blood soaking his left sleeve, an awful lot of it.

"Tokio-dono, can you hear me?" I gave a weak nod, and a part of the anguish shining in Himura Kenshin's violet eyes faded. I grimaced when he gently made me sit up, and bit back a moan of pain. I looked down to see crimson red blood staining my ceremonial robes, and absurdly thought that it was a pity to see such fine garments ruined.

"Sumeragi."

The low hiss resounded in the night, and I looked up with difficulty to see the Sakurazukamori slowly standing up.

The little girl who had watched her parents' blood lazily spread in the pure whiteness of snow.

Before me, Shinomori Aoshi turned to face her, and purposefully stepped towards the assassin, the twin kodachi blades drawn. In a flash, I understood his intent and called out to him, "No! No, let her be, please!"

He froze as my words reached him, and I saw his shoulders shaking, almost imperceptibly so. Softly, I added, "Killing her won't free you, the taint on your soul is yours to cast aside. Spare her, and you'll have made her pay for what she did to Makimachi-san. Spare her, and she'll forever cease to be a shadow over your heart."

During a long moment, he didn't move, as if a half of him was warring with the other. Then at last his shoulders sagged, and he heaved a weary sigh. With a slow nod, he told the assassin in a frighteningly quiet voice, "Go away, woman. Leave Kyoto and never come back. Never threaten me or mine again."

While he turned towards us, Sakurazuka Keiko managed to stand and her eyes set on me, afire with a terrible mixture of rage, grief and fear. She said in a low whisper, "You may go your own ways, all of you. All of you, but the Sumeragi." I stared back at her, sustaining her dark gaze as she said, "The Sakura knows you, Sumeragi Tokio, it has touched your soul. You're marked, I'll know you, wherever you go, wherever you flee. I'll hunt you down and make you pay for what you did to me."

For the pain of knowledge and memories.

For having destroyed the shield of madness which had protected her from grief.

For refusing to take her life, and for having prevented Shinomori Aoshi to do so and free her.

I nodded, smiling sadly. "I know. I'm sorry about the pain you're feeling but it's no more than what you inflicted on me when you killed Eiji." With a helpless wave of my left hand, I added, "You can hunt me if you wish, but neither you nor I can kill each other. You may choose to ignore my words, but if you look into the Sakura's heart, you'll know I told you the truth."

She looked away at that, then abruptly turned her back on us as lightning again illuminated the place. As its blinding light faded, she disappeared into the night. I bowed my head, trying to fight back the urge to let go and take shelter into the unconsciousness which was pulling at me, and I felt something warm and wet hit my left hand.

Above us, the storm had broken at last, it had started raining.

"Why don't you stay and tell Kaoru-san to come over? We could have so much fun." Makimachi Misao pouted, disappointed.

Himura Kenshin shook his head, and replied with a gentle smile, "I'm sorry, Misao-dono, but that's not possible. I've been away from Tokyo for too long as it is, and you know she must take care of the dojo."

"Still," the young woman argued, "you owe me for setting me aside when you went to confront the assassin."

"Misao...." Shinomori Aoshi shook his head at the stubborn girl, a faint smile on his lips. I chuckled softly when I saw the blush which inflamed her cheeks in reaction to the Oniwabanshu leader's gently chiding voice. In the meantime, the taciturn man told Himura Kenshin in a quiet voice, "It should be safe for you to return now. Even though we couldn't find the two leaders when we stormed the rendez-vous house, the chaos that we caused seems to have put a heavy spoke in their wheel. At the very least, those who were willing to fund that terrorist group will have been frightened away, and its creation will be delayed by years."

I grinned at him, adding, "The press is a wonderful tool when you know how to use it, don't you think?"

Shinomori Aoshi gave me a small shrug and countered, "It's a powerful weapon. Whether it's wonderful or not depends on who wields it and on how it lets itself be used."

Himura Kenshin nodded in agreement, and then bowed. "Dewa, I'll leave you now. Trains don't wait."

I bowed back, a bit stiffly, impaired by the bandages enveloping my right shoulder, and told him softly, "Take care, Himura-san, and thank you for standing by me and trying to make me see reason, even if I didn't listen."

A beautiful smile lit his face as he replied, "Iie. Heal quickly, Tokio-dono. I hope we'll meet again, in more peaceful circumstances." That said, he walked away and swiftly disappeared in the busy street next to the Aoiya, with Makimachi Misao on his heels.

For a long time, I stared in the direction into which he had gone, and eventually said in a quiet whisper, "I wish we could meet again as well, Himura-san. But I don't think I'll ever see you again." Then I stepped back into the Aoiya and went up to the room which had been assigned to both Hajime and myself.

There was a slight noise as the room's door was pulled open, and then closed. Without lifting my head from my work, I said quietly, "We missed you when it was time to wish Himura-san a good journey."

A derisive snort was the Wolf's only comment, then I heard him stepping towards me. He stopped right behind me and asked, "What are you doing?"

Indicating the paper and ink, I replied, "I just finished two letters. One is for old Sakae, it explains to him the gist of what happened, to justify why I am leaving the clan. It also requests that he takes care of everything until our son comes of age and can take matters into his hands. The other is for Shunsuke, to try and tell him why I'm going away and abandoning him...to tell him I love him, and that it was foolishly brave of him to reach out to me while I was drowning into hatred...and to tell him thank you for doing it despite the risks and the pain, and for saving my stupid, blind soul."

A shocked silence followed my words, and then Hajime protested, "Have you lost your mind, Tokio? You can't abandon your clan, relinquish leadership like that, without even officially naming a heir--"

Coldly, I smiled, cutting him off, "I can't leave the clan's protection against the Sakurazukamori, that's what you mean." With a small shrug, I waved the mocking sarcasm there had been in my words away, and went on, "As for the rest, everyone knows that Shunsuke is my heir. Our son knows it, Yuta knows it, and the elders know it. Not even they can be so blind as to ignore the bright light of Shunsuke's talent or the way both our spirits have joined on numerous occasions. The elders can teach him what he needs to know, there's no need for a ceremony. However, when the time comes I'll come back to relinquish leadership to him, that's all." I looked up at my husband and gave him a sad little sigh. "I don't like what I'm doing anymore than you do, but officially I am still the clan Head, and I must protect the Sumeragi as well as take responsibility for what I have done." My voice reduced to a soft whisper as I said, "I crossed the line, Hajime, and I almost caused the downfall of my line. I cannot go back to the Sumeragi mansion, and I cannot go back to Ise. Even though she cannot kill me, Sakurazuka Keiko will come after me once her wounds are healed. She must, now that I have the keys to her soul. No matter what you or anyone can say, my decision stands."

The Wolf's amber eyes gazed at me during a long time, and I refrained from smiling while I watched him in silence. He looked funny with his arm in a sling to sustain his broken shoulder, and with the light of helpless anger and frustration shining in his eyes. Eventually, I turned back to my letters and folded them with care before sealing them. Then I stood up, mindful of my own wounded shoulder.

"Not alone."

Sharply, I turned towards the Wolf of Mibu, who repeated in a calm voice, "Not alone, you stupid woman." Grinning, he added, "You're not seriously thinking you're the only one who must take responsibility for unsanctioned actions, do you? My hierarchy is officially displeased with my rash and unwise choices in recent events. My presence in Kyoto or Tokyo is no longer desired."

With a shake of my head, I frowned. "Hajime--"

He reached out to me and rested the tip of his forefinger against my lips, silencing me. "Do you truly expect me to stay back and live until a peaceful old age while you get all the fun?" His fingertips traced the lines of my face, featherlight and tender, while he said softly, "I'm done letting you wake alone in the morning, Tokio."

I closed my eyes to fight back sudden tears as I leaned into the sweet caress, whispering tonelessly, "The man I love is a fool. You know that all there will be for me from now on will be the life of a wanderer, condemned to always be one step ahead of the Sakurazukamori."

"Of course I know, baka." I felt the light touch of his lips at the corner of my eye as he kissed away a tear I hadn't been able to hold back. Then his right arm came around my shoulders and carefully he pulled me against him. Resting his cheek against mine, he whispered in my ear, "Tell me, have you ever been to Hokkaido?"

End.

Notes

Obi: wide belt which is used to hold a kimono in place.
Hokkaido: this is of course a shameless reference to what Aoshi says in the famous five color-pages at the end of the Kenshin Kaden artbook.
I apologize if some parts of this chapter felt obscure or just plain weird to people who don't know "Erin's Gift". I think it's in this chapter that I used concepts introduced in that story the most, and it's also in this chapter that I've made the most references to that fic. The only thing I can do is send you back to the notes at the end of chapter 1, which explains a bit of the story depicted in Erin's Gift.
Brownie points to anyone who guesses what inspired me for the spell Tokio casts at the Sakura.

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