Haunted Destiny

by Mana-chan

Part 2

Kenshin had sensed it- the smell of white plums served as proof. Tomoe... He could not understand, however, what Tomoe would want with Kaoru. As soon as he felt his former lover's essence, he'd rushed to the scene only to see Kaoru, the most important p erson in his life to date, engulfed in a whirlwind of cherry blossoms characterized by Tomoe's scent. He stood staring at the spot from which she'd disappeared only seconds before, confusion and anger mounting in his heart. What does Tomoe have to do with all this...where did Kaoru go? What happened? Kenshin shook his head, overcome by shock. He walked a few steps forward then fell to his knees, furious, yet sorrowful. Twice... twice this has happened to me. Twi ce have the most important people in my life been taken from me. One by death..the other by something I don't understand.. What's happening...haven't we all been through enough pain already?!

Yahiko and Sanosuke could be heard running out from the dojo. They called him.

"Kenshin! Kenshin! We saw the light..where's Kaoru?"

Kenshin looked up at his friends, his eyes grave. "I don't know.... She..disappeared in a sort of tornado..made of cherry blossom leaves."

Sanosuke frowned. "What do you mean cherry blossom leaves? How in the world could Jo-chan just disappear like that?"

Yahiko nodded in agreement. "Yeah...that only happens in stories and books...and...dreams."

Kenshin's head shot up, and he looked at Yahiko in surprise. "Dreams....Kaoru's dream..."

Sanosuke raised an eyebrow. "You mean this has something to do with Kaoru's nightmare?"

Kenshin nodded. "Possibly. The dream she had was terrible enough, and probably realistic enough so that she didn't want to tell us about it.... It seems unlikely, but maybe that dream was a sort of prophecy...or a warning of sorts."

Yahiko blinked and stared at Kenshin, his face serious. "And we thought it was just some nightmare.... We should have made her tell us about it.."

Sanosuke shook h is head. "No. If she didn't want to talk about it, there would've been nothing we could have done to make her tell us that wouldn't bring her too much pain. You saw how upset she was... Now all we can do is hope for the best- that she's all right. We d on't even have any leads as to what could have happened to her."

"Yes we do."

Both Yahiko and Sanosuke looked at Kenshin in surprise. "We do?"

"Kaoru's disappearance had something to do with Tomoe...."

"But Tomoe's dead!"

Kenshin looked up, his violet eyes dark with emotion. "Tomoe's body is dead, but is her spirit? She wanted Kaoru for a reason, and it couldn't have anything to do with the course of events happening here at the dojo now. Because Tomoe's dead, she will have no connection wi th the here and now...except through dreams. She wanted Kaoru for something else...in another place, or maybe even in another time, and called upon Kaoru with a dream...."

Yahiko stared at Kenshin, bewildered. "Er...How do you know all this, Kenshin?"

"During the Bakumatsu, I met a woman who called herself a Dream Gazer. She was in the household of one of the families I was assigned to assassinate. Before she died, she told me a little about dreams and how they were the only contact in time and space between the dead and the living, and that whether the outcome of the dreams was good, bad, or irrelevant, depended on the person they were given to, the spirit producing them, and the dreamer's destiny....It also has something to do with the past..I think."

Sanosuke nodded thoughtfully. "Do you have any idea what Tomoe could have done with Kaoru?"

Kenshin shook his head sadly. "No. I don't. I don't know what Tomoe, as a spirit, thinks of Kaoru, but I doubt it would be hateful....we can hope for the best...for now."

The other two nodded worriedly in agreement.

************

The soft trill of birds singing roused Kaoru from her sleep, and she forced her eyes open. The sun blinded her temporarily, and Kaoru instinctively raised an arm to block its rays.

"You're awake...finally."

Kaoru started and looked up at her speaker, still shielding her eyes. Sudden shock streaked through her body as she stared into two clear, violet eyes smiling warmly down at her.

"Ke...Ke..."

The figure frowned. "Do I know you?"

Kaoru pushed herself up into a sitting position and stared- the same red hair, the same beautiful eyes, yet filled with so much more sadness, not at all like the rurouni she knew, and the features were more delicate- feminine, almost.

"Kenshin?"

The figure shook its head, smiling. "Here I thought you knew me or something and I had forgotten you.. You must have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Himura Keiseki, daughter of the late samurai, Himura Tomashi."

DAUGHTER??!! Kaoru stared at the girl in disbelief, and then her gaze strayed to the girl's clothing, which indeed happened to be the familiar design of a kimono.

"..but....oh...sumimasen."

Keiseki smiled slightly. "It's okay...so who are you? Where are you from?"

"I'm..Kamiya Kaoru, from the Kamiya Kasshin School in Tokyo." Keiseki looked at Kaoru strangely.

"The Kamiya Kasshin School? but that place was torn down a month ago....and it's in Edo. I've never heard of a Tokyo before...but if we had defeated the Shisengumi, and we had our way, I believe Tokyo would make a great name for Edo. Edo sounds so......Shisengumi-like."

Kaoru shook her head, confused. "What...are you talking about? The Ishin Shishi did defeat the Shisengumi...ten years ago, and Edo is now Tokyo....and how can the Kamiya Kasshin school be torn down...I was only there a few minutes ago...or hours...I even received a letter..."

Keiseki frowned at Kaoru and stood up. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, Kaoru-dono, but the Shisengumi defeated us long ago, and now we Ishin Shishi are slaves. You can keep your fantasies to yourself. I know what is happening all too well, and nothing you say will make me forget. Perhaps 3 hours of unconsciousness has confused your brain. I don't know, but I'm telling you now to go back to whatever slave division you came from and get back to work. If the Gaizu clan finds out you're missing from your post, not only will I be punished for aiding you, but you will likely be killed."

Kaoru stared dumbfoundedly at Keiseki's retreating back. "Wait! I'm sorry if I had the wrong idea...I don't know what's going on, okay? One minute I'm standing safely in front of my dojo, and the next minute I'm lying on the ground here with you telling me the Shisengumi defeated the Ishin Shishi.. Please.. I don't know what's happened to me, and I need help. I don't even know where I am...."

Keiseki stopped and turned around. "You really don't know what's been going on around here, do you?"

Kaoru shook her head.

Keiseki looked over her shoulder toward a large building in the clearing nearby, then returned her gaze to Kaoru.

"I don't have much time because the Gaizu will be after me soon..they don't have much tolerance for those from the Hiten Mitsurugi School, but I'll tell you what I know...."

End of Part 2