Disclaimer: All of the characters from Fushigi Yuugi, and Rurouni Kenshin do not belong to me. They belong to whoever created and produced them. So, whatever you do, please don't sue me! I'm a poor high school student and don't have any money! Besides, I'm just writing this for the sake of fanfiction, not money.
*thoughts*
/what had happened in the past/
(time setting)
Ayame-chan says: Warning, I am high on lack of sleep, so you have been warned. Oh, and people been asking me if I can make this story with some A&M in here as well. I'll try my best, but I'll have to combine everything with everything else. Besides, I absolutely love that couple so I'll try my best into fitting them into the story. Soo....I made up this explaination below to be able to attach to what's coming up:
A love together forever, but eternally apart...Sanosuke and Ukiyou
A love devoted to one another even if it meant the death of one or both...Masaki and Aiko
A love struggling to survive...Kenshin and Kaoru
And a love newly found...Aoshi and Misao
The struggle between life and death becomes even greater everyday...When will that cease to end?
To forgive and forget, two neverending human emotions that seem to collide.
Chapter Three ~ Reunion Between Two Legendary Hitokiris (long title, no da...)
"Nuriko?"
Tomo was beyond baffled. "Wha-what...how did you get here?!?"
The knives were crushed to pieces underneath his hands.
"That's what I want to know," Nuriko retaliated.
Before Tomo could answer, Sanosuke and Kenshin were onto him. But at the last second, he disappeared. Kenshin had to jump over Sanosuke to avoid a collision.
"W-where the hell did that painted freak go?!?" Sanosuke yelled.
"Gone," Ukiyou replied. Then she turned to Nuriko with a frown. "And how did you get here? I thought you decided to stay in China!"
Nuriko tried to think up an excuse. "Um...well, you see, U-chan..."
Kenshin and Sanosuke jumped off the roof as he tried to explain.
"Ukiyou-dono, you you know this man?"
"Oi, U-chan, who's he?"
The questions came simultaneously and all muffled that she paused for a moment to decipher them. After figuring out what the hell they were asking, she laid a hand on Nuriko's shoulder.
"This is my friend, Nuriko, a Suzaku seishi."
Yahiko went into the "wow-I-wanna-be-strong-like-him" mode. "Eh? A Suzaku seishi? That's so cool!"
Nuriko had to grin. "Geez, well, um, thanks."
"Met him on my trip in China," Ukiyou continued, winking. "He may be a bit strange, but you'll get used to him."
"Now, U-chan, I don't think that I'm strange. Chichiri's worse, you know."
"Oh, yeah, huh..."
A raven squawked loudly above them. It was circling around, trying to get everyone's attention. Ukiyou looked up and held out her hand. The raven dropped something out of its claws and it landed in softly in her hands in a tight bundle. She looked at the bundle, confused.
"Why is oneechan answering me so soon?" she muttered.
The others peered over, wondering what the rolled bundle was.
"Why did Aiko send you another note, Ukiyou-dono?" Kenshin asked.
Kaoru winced at the familiarity that his used. No, there was no "dono" or "san" in it. She was sure that he had known Ukiyou's sister for years, otherwise he wouldn't have just called Ukiyou's sister by her first name only. Ukiyou didn't answer, she just opened up the rolled bundle of paper while everybody peered over to see what it said.
Ukiyou,
Take everybody with you and come back home immediately. Something is up.
~Aiko
"Leave? What for?" Yahiko asked.
"Nuriko..." Ukiyou asked in a soft voice, "was this why you came back?"
"Hai," Nurkio replied. "Aiko-san found out something. And she wanted you to take everybody with you at the Kamiya Dojo and leave at once."
"Aiko found something out?" Kenshin asked.
"U-chan, what's all this about?" Sanosuke asked.
"..." Ukiyou closed her eyes. "Oneechan...I guess I better do what she says. She probably wants to talk to you, Kenshin-san."
"Chotto matte, we can't just leave! Not when that Enishi guy's coming in seven days!" Yahiko protested.
"It's best that we do what Ukiyou-dono says, de gozaru," Kenshin added quietly.
Kaoru could've sworn that there was a slight flicker of amber in his eyes, but remained silent. Nobody else seemed to notice but her.
"Well, I guess we should start packing up," Sanosuke said, scratching the back of his head.
The others agreed, despite some protestment from Yahiko. Kenshin looked up into the sky, thinking back....
*Aiko....*
(1865, Genji 2nd)
/ "Nani? I have a partner?" Kenshin monotonously asked, staring at the back of Kogorou Katsura.
"Eh," Katsura answered, opening the window so that the morning light shined through the room.
It had only been a couple of months after Tomoe's death, but Kenshin managed to cope well. He was mainly quiet, always alone, and Katsura feared that deathly quiet would harm the young Kenshin's soul even more than it already had been. So, he asked the help of a group that he knew, one that had helped him through many times and now he was returning those many favors.
"But why? I'm perfectly fine protecting the others on my own."
Katsura sighed and turned back to face him. "Himura, it is not because I don't trust you on your own. It's just that this particular group asked for a job because they were running out of funds, so I accepted."
"You mean the Riskbreakers," Kenshin answered flatly.
"Not only are they running out of fund, but they are also interested in you as well. I don't blame them, you are a skilled with the sword," Katsura continued.
"Shikashi, Katsura-san--"
"Your partner is a young girl named Kanazaki Aiko," he cut off. "She's the same age as you are and very simliar to you."
*Kanazaki Aiko? Why does that name sound familiar?* Kenshin thought to himself.
"Yes, she is the same Kanazaki Aiko who had helped you during the Ikedya Affair," Katsura said, as if to answer Kenshin's unspoken question. "A very skilled fighter she is. Both in the sword and the arts."
"You seem to trust her, Katsura-san."
"I do, Himura. She's been able to volunteer for many of the Ishin's jobs when nobody would do it. I'm sure you two would get along very well."
(1866, late Genji 2nd)
"Kenshin!"
He was staring at the river when Aiko's voice interrupted him. Kenshin knew it was Aiko because she was the only one who knew his real name and called him by it.
"Aiko..."
Aiko smiled, her violet eyes seemingly happy, and sat down next to Kenshin on the riverbank. He never understood why she was so happy all of a sudden these past few days, especially during a time like this when evil still lurked around in Kyoto. The past few days she had been gone, on other missions as usual, for a Riskbreaker takes on any job offered, no matter how many they already have. The sky was sparkling with the stars beautifully, and the moon illuminated a mysterious glow.
Aiko looked at Kenshin, who was staring back at the riverbank. Her hair slid to one side. "Kenshin, doushta no?"
"I-ie, just thinking," Kenshin stammered. For only one year they were partners, they got along as if like brother and sister twins.
"About what?"
"About...stuff."
Her violet eyes dimmed with concern. "You heard, didn't you?"
Kenshin blew out a breath that he was holding for what seemed like forever, his unruly bangs flew up then back down to his eyes again. "Hai...do you have to leave, Aiko?"
Kenshin wouldn't look at her, no matter how hard she tried. He just kept staring at the water.
She smiled sadly. "Hai, I do. I'm a Riskbreaker, Kenshin. You know that once a contract is over, it's over."
"But why did you have to be a Riskbreaker in the first place?"
"....It runs in the family," Aiko hastily replied, obvious that she didn't want to talk about it.
Kenshin nodded in understanding. "So, when do you leave?"
"The day after tomorrow."
"Are you going to come back?"
Aiko smiled. "Maybe, maybe not. But I do live in Musashi, if you ever pass by."
Kenshin now at his hands. "Sou ka na..."
Aiko sighed, shaking her head. This time, Kenshin looked up, distantly annoyed. "What? What is it?"
"Kenshin, you can be such like a little boy, sometimes," she answered, smiling teasingly. Then she took out a tanto hidden underneath her coat and drew it. Kenshin looked at her cautiously. "Kenshin, give me your hand."
He blinked a few times in bewilderment. "Nani?"
"Just give me your hand."
Obidiently, he did. She lightly pressed the tanto on his palm, making it bleed. She then raised her hand and pressed the tanto in the same manner. All Kenshin did was watch; he didn't even feel the pain of the tanto cutting through his skin. Aiko then pressed both bleeding hands together, mixing them.
"Your blood, my blood, our blood," she said, looking at him straight in the eye. "We're brother and sister, remember? So, I'll always be there when you need me and you when I need you. Promise?"
Kenshin was a bit flustered, but then getting the point, nodded and smiled for the first time in a long time.
"Hai, brother and sister forever." /
(1878, Meiji 1st, Musashi)
"Kenshin!"
Kenshin snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look at Kaoru. "Oro? Hai, Kaoru-dono?"
She stared at him with concerned ocean eyes. "Kenshin, daijoubu? You've been lost in your own world ever since we came here."
He coughed. "Aa....sumanu, Kaoru-dono. Sessha wa just remembering what happened during the Bakumatsu."
The ocean eyes got even more concerned, but Kaoru didn't say anything because they stopped in front of a small home. Sanosuke was unusally quiet the entire road trip, mainly it was because he was jealous that Ukiyou was talking to Nuriko most of the time. Those two seemed too...close in his mind. *Ahou, you're U-chan's best friend. Not her lover, nevertheless her fiancee. Then why the hell are you making such a big fuss about U-chan giving most of her attention to Mr. Superhuman here?*
It's because you want her to be yours, not just a friend, rooster head, a voice answered in his head.
"Okay! We're here!" Ukiyou said happily as she opened the gate.
A whole bunch of children were running around, all mainly still young, the eldest looking only twelve. But as soon as Ukiyou opened the door, they all froze in amazement. Then they ran to the group.
"ONEECHAN!!!!"
Ukiyou was soon toppled over by three little munchkins, all ranging from five to eight. She had to laugh. "Tadaima! How's everybody doing?"
"Fine! Genki! Sugoi!" came all the replies.
"Where's your okaasan?"
Another voice laughed. A feminine voice. "Right here, U-chan. Okairei."
In the doorway of the home stood a much older looking Aiko, but she still looked pretty young. Her black hair was tied up in a bun, held up by a daggerlike hairpin. She was carrying a toddler boy of about two. Her eyes were now the same shade as Kenshin's and very happy. The eldest of the children stood next to her. She still looked the same, but Kenshin was still astonished.
"Oro?!? Aiko?!?"
Everyone besides Ukiyou and Nuriko were surprised. "EH?!?"
Her teasing violety eyes gleamed in delight and she smiled.
"Kenshin, istashiburi."