War for an Era
DBAF Book 3
By Grey Wolf Himura
Bakumatsu Saga
Chapter 1 - Backlash
"The headquarters of Team Rocket activity, the former Silph Co., was found in ruins today. Teams Magma and Aqua are attempting to restore power here in Kanto, but do not seem to be having much success. On other news, the executed Grey Wolf Himura was found to be alive and in medical care."
"Oh wonderful, I'm alive, ABOUT TIME someone noticed." Grey Wolf said, annoyed at the sheer stupidity of the broadcast. The TV in the hospital gave news coverage on the new era. The Bakumatsu had returned, after Team Rocket's long but futile efforts to stop it. Now, she was stuck in the hospital for helping a pokémon who she'd thought would be grateful, disobeying orders which she thought were unjust, and frying a brother who she thought(at that moment) was stupid. Man, why did she have to be the one who always thought wrong? And because of it, Megumi and Saito working together on her could not heal her injuries, thus explaining her hospitalization. Stupid ungrateful pokémon with unreal strength. Taku(Damnit).
"Well well well. How's my least favorite sister?" Ghost walked in, joking.
"I'm your only sister, Ahou(dumbass)."
"Pfft..." After Ghost said this, Saito and Kenshin walked in.
"Idiot! I gave you a direct order! See what your disobedience does?!" Saito yelled.
"I handled things. That damn pokémon was no pokémon to toy with..."
"Really. Doesn't matter. As punishment, you will have three extra hours a day training for a month."
"WHAT?! Father, don't be unreasonable!"
"Unreasonable? You nearly got yourself killed. I think you'd rather have this than death, correct?"
"...correct..."
"Thank you. Now... now what?"
"This one does not know, that he does not." Kenshin interjected.
"I think I should go train. After all, the greatest battle is something I refuse to miss." Ghost said.
"Obviously on the side of the Tokugawa, are we?" Battousai emerged, whispering.
"I sure in hell am." Grey Wolf said.
"As am I..." Saito quickly added.
"Damnit, Grey Wolf! You call Vejiita a dreamer when he wishes for the Saiyan planet's revival, yet you dream more radically than him! You do things for revenge more than for your own self! You, in your heart, know that the Meiji is just, right and fair!"
"Yes, freedom to all! What a pile of shit! The Meiji era is simply an excuse for rich, dishonorable bastards to climb to the top of Japan without any work, while those who try their hardest are left in the dust! The Meiji is an era of backstabbing, dishonor and weakness! Only the truly strong are supposed to survive, this is the nature of life itself!"
Everyone froze. Finally, after much time and thinking, Saito said what all else were thinking. "So the strong live, and the weak die... said like a true Jupongatana. Like a true Shishio. You have more in common with him than you will ever know." Grey Wolf jumped out of bed and slammed Saito against a wall, holding him there so he could not breathe.
"TAKE... IT... BACK..." Grey Wolf breathed.
Chapter 2 - High Temperature Anger, Low Temperature Disease
"TAKE... IT... BACK..." Grey Wolf whispered again. Her eyes were gold, but somehow…
Different. Strange. Abnormal.
Wrong.
Kenshin drew his sword, running at Grey Wolf and swinging the katana with Ryu Kansen, but she parried with one hand. It was then he noticed that the dog tag which she wore around her neck was glowing an angry red.
"What the... What the hell?”
She ignored his response, whispering, "Come, blood traitor. Face your defeat."
The demonic eyes almost inspired fear into Battousai’s heart, but he shook himself from it. He looked upon her, his former daughter, and slowly, but surely, reached his decision.
"I will not..." He sheathed his sword. Grey Wolf glared back at him, before slowly fall to her knees, letting a now unconscious Saito fall to the ground.
“The parrying move she’d done with one hand... it shouldn't have worked. The sword should have been sliced, it’s done so countless times… unless… Grey Wolf has somehow… learned Hiten Mitsurugi... No… impossible. And, the ability to pin someone like Saito against the wall… what the… what the hell is she? I could hardly do that, even if my life depended on it!” His mind buzzed, before he mused, “Actually, each time I’ve tried, it HAS depended on it. Huh.” He chuckled a soft laugh, before walking over to Grey Wolf, picking her up and placing her into her bed.
"Damnit, Grey Wolf... What the hell… was that?"
He made sure Saito was breathing. He was, though lightly. He pulled Saito up over his back and carried him to the nurse.

"Keep up!" Saito yelled at Grey Wolf. She had been making many mistakes, the now seventh hour of training taking its toll. However, she had gotten, in the week which she had trained this way, much better than she had been the week before. Her hands were bloody and bruised, but she was making extreme progress. She and Saito continued until they’d been practicing 8 hours, before he stopped. "Alright Grey Wolf, that's enough." She collapsed, and Saito laughed softly. He picked her up, like everyday, and walked to his house where she, Vejiita, Ghost, and Tokio, his wife(who was ill, but the doctors said she had a high chance of survival), lived now.
LATER THAT NIGHT...
"Damnit... I can't sleep..." Vejiita slowly got up out of bed and walked towards Grey Wolf's room.
"Couldn't sleep either?" Saito asked, sitting against Grey Wolf’s cabinet.
"Yeah... With all the crap that‘s happened, I‘ve been having nightmares… I mean, it‘s not my planet, but…" He sat down beside Grey Wolf's bed, leaning against it. "Saito?"
"Hai?"
"I... I love your daughter. Even if she hates me now, even if she hates me for all time, nothing will change that fact."
"I know that, Vejiita. And she doesn't hate you... she just needed someone to blame... and blame, like apples, never falls far from the tree."
Vejiita pondered that for a few moments, before saying, "Thanks, Saito..." Saito looked at him for a moment, before smiling.
"Anytime, kid. Sides, out of all the guys she's liked, you're the one I like the most."
"Whoa! How many guys has she liked?!"
"... 3?" Saito had had to think for a moment.
"Really? Who were the other guys?"
"Who are the other guys. That's the question you need to be asking. And I'll tell you, they're quite a two. One, Grey hasn’t seen for a year, but the other… He may very well take Grey Wolf's heart out of your reach."
"Got it... Thanks, again, Saito."
"No problem. So... I was wondering..."
"What?"
"Well... have you ever liked anyone else?"
"SAITO!?" Vejiita whispered rather loudly. "NO I HAVEN'T!"
"Ok, ok." Saito joked. "If you don't want to tell me..."
"SAITO!!!"

Grey Wolf woke up rather groggy the next morning. She looked beside her to see Saito sleeping next to the desk on the floor. Vejiita was not far from him, drooling all over the carpet. "Men..." Grey Wolf laughed, smiling.
Chapter 3 - The Heart Tells No Lies
Zac bashed the door with his fist as hard as he could. Grey Wolf abruptly got up and ran to the door. "Yes- Zac??"
"You won't believe this... Shishio is to set Kyoto aflame! We have to stop him!"
"Wha-what, now?!"
"Yes, now!" At Zac's words, Grey Wolf ran into her room.
"Saito, wake up!" Grey Wolf kept tapping Saito, but he wouldn't wake. "Saito! Saito!" Zac walked in.
"What's wrong with him??" Zac asked, running into the room.
"I don't know! He won't wake! Go get my mom, hurry!" Zac ran out of the room, as Grey Wolf tried to wake Vejiita up. Nothing.
"Tokio won't wake!"
"What?! No! Damn, I don't know what to do!" Grey Wolf yelled. Zac ran in again.
"Grey Wolf, we've got to do something!"
"But... I can't..." Zac lifted her chin up.
"Yes. You can. I believe in you."
"You...-"
"Now figure something out!" Zac yelled. Grey Wolf nodded, and started to check for any signs of poison, or any airborne contagions.
"I will..." Grey Wolf's emotions of pride swelled inside her. Finally, her greatest rival had given her recognition.
"Hahahahaha..." A strange laughter with an insane touch make Grey Wolf spin around. She could recognize the laughter instantaneously, but she didn't believe it. Shishio was standing behind Zac, who, due to having been watching her, hadn't noticed Shishio slip in and draw his sword.
"Zac!!!" Grey Wolf screamed before Shishio impaled Zac with his sword, through the heart. He then pulled the sword out by ripping Zac's shoulder open. With a thud, Zac fell to the floor.
Grey Wolf sat straight up.
Everything, from the point where Zac had been knocking on the door, had been a dream. Cold sweat poured down her backside. Vejiita and Saito were safe, asleep where she had seen them, the drool, Grey Wolf feared, making a permanent stain on her carpet. Grey Wolf sighed in relief, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. From the moment Grey Wolf stepped in the kitchen, Saito was wide awake. He burst into the kitchen before Grey Wolf had the chance to burn the house down, with her complete incompetence at cooking. There was a knock at the door, and Grey Wolf nearly slammed into it, in her rush to open it. It was Zac.
"Hey, Grey Wolf! Can I come in?" Grey Wolf stepped aside to let him in. Saito walked to the doorway of the kitchen, holding the frying pan.
"So, if it isn't little midget boy, the only person I know shorter than Grey Wolf and Vejiita." Zac's eye twitched at the comment, but being the good-natured person he was, laughed it off.
"Well, are you training today, or can you play outside, Grey Wolf?"
"I have to-"
"You have to go outside and have some fun, Grey Wolf. You can't train everyday, can you?" Saito cut Grey Wolf off.
"ORO???" Grey Wolf looked at Saito with the most extreme confusion. Saito actually was letting her cut training? "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Ehh... Are you ill?? Feeling ok, dad?"
" -_- " (Saito)
"I'll be going outside then..." She slowly walked out the door, but slowly, taking every second to stop and look at her dad to make sure he wasn't sick. Saito smirked.
"That kid..."
"...knows you like the back of her hand. And I for one, was confused too. So unlike you, Saito..." Vejiita muttered.
"Ohhhh..." Ghost walked in. He'd slept in.
"You slept in? YOU slept in????" Vejiita asked, amazed. "Sheesh, when you think you know a guy..."

"Slash, Flamethrower!" Grey Wolf yelled. Zac's Feraligatr put its hands up to defend as the flamethrower soared at it, hitting dead on. When the smoke cleared, the Feraligatr had burns on its arms but was still standing. "Now, ExtremeSpeed!!!" The Arcanine ran, full speed, to the Feraligatr and smashed into it before it had a chance to dodge or defend. Zac's Feraligatr flew through the air, before landing out cold on the ground.
"That's game..." Zac said. He had one more pokémon, but he didn't use it against Grey Wolf since it would give him an unfair advantage having it 6 to 5. He hadn't used his Blastoise against her since... Speedy's death, as far as he could remember. She'd been so saddened by Speedy's death... If there were a time where he didn't like Grey Wolf around, it would've been then. If she had been open with her feelings of pain... it would've been better than trying to act like everything was ok. He hated to see her like that. She tried to be strong... but he could see right through the mask, the act… Through her.
"Zac, wake up!" Grey Wolf's voice brought him sharply back to his senses. "What's up? Why so silent?"
"Oh... nothing... just tired." Zac forced a smile, but Grey Wolf didn't buy it. Like he could see through her, she could do the same by a single look in his eyes.
"Really... what is it?"
"I..." He faltered.
"What?" Grey Wolf asked softly.
"Why... why didn't you go to someone? When Speedy died... You shut people out for a while, until you were ready to come out...But even then... you stayed away from people when you could... hid your emotions from people... and it worked... you fooled everyone... Megumi... Ghost... Kenshin... everyone, even Saito thought you were ok... but not me. I know you too well for that..." His voice slowly grew quieter with the last sentence, until he was whispering, just loud enough for Grey Wolf to hear. Though he was barely audible, she hung on to his every word, as she always did.
"Why... why was it that you were afraid?"
It floored her. How could she explain it to him that it wasn't fear that drove her? The pain she had felt, he had never felt before... it could drive anyone insane. She herself had barely hung on to her life, a life which she'd been prepared to give, had Vejiita not stopped her. She looked down, not having an answer. However, Zac didn't stop there with his questions.
"Murderer..."
"And... why... why did you do such a thing to Vejiita?"
Grey Wolf looked up. Her greatest rival had just acknowledged the thing she knew in her heart. She had been wrong to turn Vejiita away.
Very wrong.
Chapter 4 - A Drink or Two
"... 3?"
"... three..." Saito took another swig of sake, remembering the man who had been Grey Wolf's first love.
"Save... Saito..." He kissed Grey Wolf, then, fell silent.
"... he... that..." Saito took another swig, shaking his head. He drank down the rest of the sake. "More."
"Sir, that's your tenth drink... I think you've had enough." The bartender spoke, eyeing Saito fearfully. Saito drew his sword, holding it to the man's throat.
"I'll tell you... when I've had enough. Now, MORE."
"Yes... sir..." The man whispered, shaking. He ran to refill Saito’s jug, and Saito took the next round in one swig. He quickly ordered another, drinking the problems and memories away. After an uncounted number of drinks, Saito finally got up and left.

"Grey Wolf! Wait! Where are you going??" Zac yelled, running to catch up.
"I'm going to say sorry..."
"Sorry?"
"I... I've known for a long time, that I was wrong, but… my pride always held me back. Those words, however… the words that you said to me... They’ve freed me. I must face him, and reconcile our… differences."
"It's... the right thing, Grey." He nodded to her, smiling. “Give it your best shot.”

Grey Wolf slowly opened the door to her home. Silence was the only sound. "Zac... stay here."
"Why?"
"I... I have to do this... alone."
He slowly nodded. "I... I understand."
"... Thank you... Zac..." Grey Wolf slowly walked in. There was an eerie feeling in the air as she walked through the hallway, familiar but somehow different. "What's going on here..." Grey Wolf whispered to herself. She walked past her room. Empty. A feeling of urgency overtook her. She began to walk more briskly. She passed Tokio's room, where her stepmother lay sleeping. Grey Wolf continued walking, past Ghost's room. He was out on a date with his girlfriend, a gym leader from Saffron named ‘Sabrina‘. Past the gravity room; there were no sounds of training that there normally would be, had someone been using it. Finally, she reached the end of the hall, and Vejiita's room.
She knocked on the door. No answer. "Vejiita?" She whispered repeatedly. Still, no answer. Could it be possible that he'd left, wasn't there? She doubted it. He had no friends other than Zac and herself. So then... why would he not answer? She carefully turned the handle, though slowly. It felt as if it were stuck. Then, the door nearly refused to move, as if she had no right to be in Vejiita's room, as if she were trespassing on sacred ground. At long last, she forced the door open.
Tears streamed down Vejiita's face as he held a 45 automatic to his head. The timing was unforeseen. Had she opened the door even a second later, she would have witnessed the suicide of the one person she had come to not only save, but to beg for forgiveness.

"I'll be at Kenshin's. I need to think, and it has to be away from here. I'll be in the gravity room if you need me..."
"Alright." Vejiita teleported away. Grey Wolf walked out the door of Vejiita's room. She quickly walked through the hallway, outside, to where Zac was standing.
"So?"
"He'll be at Kenshin's house for a while. How long, I don't know... I remember that he once trained for 5 days straight, not once eating or resting. Saito would check on him each day, and encourage him to leave, but... finally, on the sixth day, Saito found him unconscious on the floor of the grav room. It took him weeks to fully recover..." Grey Wolf whispered.
"And you?"
"I'll... be training in the wilderness."
"Ok... I'll be taking a nap then..."
"It'll be a long nap."
"Don't care." Zac spoke softly. He thought, "I'll wait as long as it takes... just... come back." He made sure not to say those thoughts out loud, choosing to smile softly instead.
"Fine... use- well, actually, my brother'd kill you... Vejiita's room's not going to work... ehh. Crap. Don't mind the sofa until I leave, right? I just have to get my sword, rations, that stuff."
"Sure..." He got comfortable on the couch and drifted off to sleep. He didn't notice a man slowly creep in barely moments later. He walked past Zac, not awakening the young boy, and walking into Grey Wolf's room. She spun around at the pungent smell of alcohol. As soon as she did this, a powerful fist met her face.
"Saito??" She thought while flying backward. "Oh no..." Grey Wolf knew very well her stepfather's alcohol tolerance level… 0.
"You should've saved him..." Saito spoke. He walked forward. Grey Wolf backed away as far as she could, until she bumped into the wall.
"Wh-who??"
"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DON'T REMEMBER!!!" Saito screamed as he barreled at Grey Wolf, landing a left hook into her jaw. Her head slammed against the wall and she slid down the wall, Saito taking this opportunity to kick her in the ribs, knocking her breathless. She slid to the side, clutching her stomach and writhing on the floor as Saito pulled her by the shirt and threw her into the wall opposite them, before walking over and repeatedly kicking her in the stomach. When he stopped, she was barely a mess of blood on the floor. Saito picked her up by the throat and slammed her against the wall, Grey Wolf screaming in pain.
He whispered to Grey Wolf harsh words which, while he was drunk, he believed were true.
"You always were my weapon. Nothing more. Striking where I pointed, killing on my words. Always... you were nothing more than that reversed blade the Battousai carries around with him. Perhaps... We’ll test how the Sakabato faces up against the katana of a true Miburo." Using his free right hand, he drew his sword and pointed it at Grey Wolf, holding her against the wall, try as she might to break free.
"SAITO." A boy said behind him in an angry tone. Saito turned to see Zac, holding Grey Wolf's bloodstained katana, poised to strike. Zac was ready enough that Saito, in his drunkenness, didn't have time to react before Zac ripped his right arm open. Saito dodged last second, causing less damage, but it was still a powerful hit. Grey Wolf got to her feet. She conjured what she could of a spirit sword, but it turned to be only a dagger, Zac seeing this. "Grey Wolf... stay back."
“Fuckin-!“ Saito ran at him, rage overtaking him. Zac knew he had no chance, but if it meant Grey Wolf would survive, he would give his life.
“N-… NO!!!” Grey Wolf's spirit sword suddenly grew to the size of a Katana. She jumped at Saito and sent the spirit sword through his side before he could react, causing it to go through him. His own Katana had been a mere inch from Zac's face.
Chapter 5 - Wolf Blood
Vejiita bashed the door open after sensing Grey Wolf's ki all but disappear. He beelined for her room. "Grey Wolf!!" He yelled, bashing that door open as well. Grey Wolf was tending to Saito. Her sword and assassination skills were at the level that she had instinctively dodged all of Saito's internal organs. "Jesus..." Vejiita whispered, noticing Grey Wolf's state as well.
"Vejiita... go get Tokio. I need her help." He ran to the master bedroom, then to where Tokio was still asleep.
"Tokio... wake up..."
"What is it, Vejiita?"
"There's... been an accident. Grey Wolf and Saito are both badly injured. Grey Wolf will be fine, but she needs help to stop Saito's bleeding." Tokio immediately got up and rushed to the bathroom, getting supplies. She then backtracked to the other side of the house, where Grey Wolf, Zac and Saito were.
"He... he's been drinking." Tokio said in surprise when she smelt the alcohol.
"Yeah..." Grey Wolf whispered. "I had to send a spirit sword through his side to stop him..."
"Jesus." She sat down next to Saito.
"Mom, hold this to the wound-" -She held out a rag to Tokio- "-and apply pressure."
"I will. Tend to your wounds."
"Hai." Grey Wolf walked into the bathroom in her room.
---
Grey Wolf walked to where Tokio had moved Saito, their bedroom.
"He'll be fine, Grey Wolf, don't worry."
"I know. I just wanted to check up on him..."
"He's ok. He'll flinch from pain every once in a while, as if he's really hurting, but it goes away..."
"Ok..." She walked to her room. Zac was in it, waiting for her.
"Hey..."
"Hey."
"Saito ok?"
"He'll be fine. My dad's had much worse."
"Ok..."
"So what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing..."
"Zac, I know you. I can sense when something's wrong. Now, please... tell me what it is."
"It's nothing, really... I just..." His voice trailed off, as if he were still thinking whether or not to tell Grey Wolf.
"Tell me. It'll stay between us."
"... I... I love you."
Chapter 6 - A Heart With No Time
"So? How is she?"
"SAITO. THAT ISN'T FUNNY YOU SON OF A-"
"Watch yourself. Or you might be answering to my sword, midget."
"Zac. Not midget, Zac."
"Sure thing, midget. I'll call you Zac when the idea that you haven't slept with Grey Wolf becomes true."
"Jesus Saito, I really hope you're kidding. I'm only 13, you know."
"My god. 13, and you're still a virgin-"
"SAITO!!! QUIT IT!!! THAT'S WRONG!!!"
"My god. He did this with Vejiita too." Grey Wolf said as she walked in. "So. Where's breakfast?"
"What?"
"Breakfast? Normally you cook it at 7:00..."
"Oh. Well, Tokio isn't feeling too well, so I'm going to take her to the doctor."
"Ok, father. Wait..."
"What, now?"
"Who did you sleep with by the age of thirteen? Don't tell me Eiji was conceived earlier than I thought..."
"Ahondara." Saito said angrily.

Saito sat alone in the waiting room. Grey Wolf had wanted to come, but Saito told her to convince Zac to make breakfast, knowing, as we all do, that Grey Wolf, in any attempt to cook, would burn the house down. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into the feeling of worry. Soon, Saito was pacing the room, cursing the doctors for taking so long. Finally, he charged up to the registration desk, muttering, "Would've been faster if I'd just brought her to that dojo doctor... Megumi..." He said to the desk clerk, "I'd like to know how my wife is this year, if you would."
"Sir, we're doing all we can to be as quick as possible-" The door to the doctor's offices burst open.
"Saito Hajime? Is there a-"
"I'm right here." He said gruffly, annoyance showing in voice. He followed the doctor to the room where Tokio had been checked. She was sitting in a chair, head bent toward the ground. The air was thick with tension. "What? What's going on?"
"The cancer... came back, worse than before. I don't think we can stop it this time, Saito."
"But... You swore this wouldn't happen. You swore it to me and Tokio."
"At the time, I really thought it wouldn't happen! The odds were astronomical against it happening!"
"Does it matter? There still was a chance, one we were unwary of." In silence, he walked to sit next to Tokio. "What are the chances that she'll live?" Saito whispered.
"Saito... I'm totally sure... there are no chances..." Saito ran at the man and slammed him against the wall.
"You son of a bitch! This is your fault!"
"I know, I know. But I cannot take this back now..."
Saito stared angrily at this man, all the hatred forming in his head faster than anything else. "How long..."
"At the most... two months."
"Two- You said it couldn't progress that quickly!"
"I was mistaken! These things change!"
Saito looked at this man, the hatred surfacing, fighting back everything else. He drew his sword, holding it up to the man's neck. "If she dies... you die."
"She can't live-"
"Then you can't-"
"Saito." Tokio spoke for the first time since Saito had entered the room. He looked at her, and sheaved his sword, walking to her.
"This... this can't happen. Not now. You can't-"
"Saito... Don't worry. I can beat this thing." Tokio spoke, knowing she wouldn't be able to keep that hopeless promise.

Tokio and Saito quietly walked into the house. They almost had reached the bedroom unnoticed until Grey Wolf asked Saito, "So?" He froze.
"Tokio... is dying." Grey Wolf's sword fell to the floor with a clatter, her eyes wide.
"But didn't the doctor, didn't he say she would be alright?"
"Yes. He hadn't been totally sure at the time however."
"And so, because of his idiocy, she's going to..."
"Yeah." Saito spoke, sobriety in his voice.
"Father, there must be something we can do! She can't just die like this!"
"I'm sorry, Grey Wolf... but fear I won't be able to stop the inevitable..."
"Mother, you can't just give up! You've got to fight this thing!"
"I'm not... like you. I can't fight as well as you and your father."
"But mother, just because you're not physically powerful doesn't mean you're not willfully powerful! You just have to put everything you can into fighting this thing!"
"I am, Grey Wolf. But it's not working."

Grey Wolf's fist bashed against the door of the Kamiya-Kasshin Dojo. Saito and Tokio stood behind her. "Battousai! Open up!"
"What is it?" He said as he opened the door.
"We need to speak with the resident doctor, and Miss Megumi."
"What-" He hadn't noticed Tokio until that point. His eyes went wide. "Dear god, Saito, don't tell me-"
"Yes."
"I'll get them both at once." He rushed away. "Go into the dojo area. I'll send them both there." He yelled back to them. Megumi and the resident doctor both walked in.
"What's her condition? How long do we have?" Megumi questioned.
"Two months at most. You must work quickly... please." Saito whispered. Never before had anyone seen the Miburo no Ookami this way, not even Grey Wolf. It was rather unnerving.
"We'll do our best to find a cure, I promise that."
"Alright... Listen, I'm going to take a quick breather outside."
"Good idea, you haven't had a chance to rest all morning, father."
"I'll be back soon."

"Megumi, could you fetch some water?"
"Yes, I'll get it." She stepped outside, walking to the well. She stopped. What was that? She turned, searching for the source of the sound. The sound was almost as unnerving as Saito's demeanor beforehand. She turned the corner and her eyes went wide at the sight.
Saito was sitting against the wall, face in his hands, crying. Could that even be possible? The Saito Hajime, the one rumored to be the strongest of all Shinsengumi captains, the only match for the Battousai, the cold blooded Ishinshishi patriot killer, the master of the soul reaper...
Was crying?
Megumi slowly walked towards him. "Saito..." She used her hand to lift his head, his face tear-stained. "It's ok. We'll do the best we can to save Tokio."
They stood there for a long moment, before... "I trust you will." He got up, wiping his face, and walked to the door, before a scream pierced the silence. He spun around. Megumi was out cold, a teenaged warrior in a trenchcoat with a kodachi carrying her.
No way. No fucking way.
Not him.
"B… bastard! Let her go!" Saito drew steel, running at the teen. He countered the strike easily, slashing Saito's shoulder. Then, he sent the sword through Saito's still recovering stomach, but Saito parried it well enough to force his opponent's sword not to strike any vital organs. The trench coated warrior pulled out his sword, letting Saito fall to the ground and walking away, the kidnapping a success.
Chapter 7 - The One that Knits the Web
Megumi slowly woke. The last thing she could remember was the feeling of something hard hitting her over the back of the head. She'd cried out, but fallen unconscious immediately after. "Where the hell-"
She froze, noticing where she was. The mansion of Takeda Kanryu, the same person who burst in a few moments later.
"How are you, my dear?"
"Kanryu??!" Megumi yelled in surprise and fear.
"Did you really think you had escaped me by hiding at the Kamiya Kasshin Dojo? You should have known the Oniwabanshu wouldn't fail to find you, not with what I'm paying them."
"… Yaro..."
"You shouldn't speak that of me, with the predicament you're in. I could treat you much better... or much worse. It's your choice. Will you-"
"I never will work blindly again. Especially not for scum like you."
"Perhaps... but after a few days without anything to eat, we'll see how you feel then."
He walked to the door. "Be glad that I'm going soft on you, my hen that lays the golden egg... the opium that is the Spider's Web."

"We surround Kanryu's mansion, we go in, extract Megumi, get out, avoiding battle when possible. Six of us will spread out, each attacking separate parts of the mansion. One of us will fly to the highest level and search for Megumi from there. Using the radios, when one finds Megumi and has a clear escape route, they do three beeps, then gets to the dojo as fast as possible. When those three beeps are heard, you keep fighting for up to 10 minutes if possible, then, retreat." A day after Megumi had been kidnapped, Saito presented his battle plan to the other six in the room: Grey Wolf, Vejiita, Ghost, Sanosuke, Kenshin and Kakarot(Goku).
“Now… I’m only going to say this once, so listen to me. The people that will be watching over Megumi-san are far more dangerous than any of you think. I underestimated him, and… paid for it.”
“Underestimated who, Saito?” Grey asked.
“… You don’t wanna know, Grey.”
“Oh, but I do.”
“I’m still not telling you.”
"Saito, what if we get into trouble?"
"Five beeps. If you can't even do that due to the danger it would cause, being open that long... god help you."
Grey Wolf gulped as Saito continued. "Who will be the one who enters from the rooftop?"
Sano raised his hand rather quickly. "I'll do it."
"Good. Sanosuke, you will wait for one beep from the radio, then go in. If you get into trouble, 2 beeps instead of 5. Any other questions?" A mass of 'no's came from the group, so Saito continued. "Ready yourselves quickly. Meet outside in 15." Kenshin, Ghost and Goku stood, quickly leaving to ready themselves. Grey Wolf and Vejiita left to warm up in the gravity room. Sano, however, stayed behind.
"This guy, this… bodyguard asshole… he's pretty damn strong... right?"
Saito smacked his hand against his face, an act known as the face palm. " We just… we went over that, Sano. That's obvious. If he could do this to me, he could easily slaughter you a thousand times."
"Bullshit. If I had been there, I would have died before giving up Megumi."
"Exactly. You wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing. That man... would have killed you instantly, without batting an eye. He would have killed me, the emotional state I was in, had he deemed it necessary."
Sano's gaze peered at the newly patched wound, then back to Saito's face. "Saito... don't you dare screw up. I won't EVER forgive you if Megumi is harmed in any way."
Saito's fists clenched, his head now veered to the ground. He looked up at Sanosuke, saying, "How do you think I'll ever forgive myself?"
He walked away, Sanosuke frozen at Saito's determination to save Megumi, which matched his own.

In 15 minutes, everyone had prepared and went outside. Vejiita and Grey Wolf were the last to come, but still came 4 minutes early. "Let's just go now..." Saito said. They flew rather quickly to the mansion, taking their positions. Sano flew to the rooftop, waiting for the signal. Everyone moved out, starting the attack. Very quickly, all the weak guards had been dispatched. Everyone walked into the mansion at different points, searching for Megumi. Saito gave the signal, and Sano moved in, and, what do you know, call me a lazy writer, but Megumi was in the very room he'd entered. "Megumi, are you alright?"
"Sano?? I'm fine. What are you-"
"We came to save you."
"Sano, the Okashira-"
"I know, now let's go. I'd rather not have to fight that guy..." He grabbed Megumi's hand, but she was frozen to the spot. He pulled her, but then turned around, seeing what she was so scared of.
The man from before, who's name was 'Shinomori Aoshi', was standing in the window Sanosuke had entered through, blocking their escape.

Sano's scream of mortal pain echoed through the mansion, filling everyone with terror, terror for their friend's fate, and terror for their own lives.
"Kono yaro(that bastard)... you'd better not die..." He said as he left Han'nya on the floor, a bloody mess. He ran up the stairs to the source of the scream, but he was met with Vejiita fighting three men all at once- a rather large man spewing fire, another rather large man with a ball and chain, with rather large muscles, and a younger one, throwing darts. Nonetheless, Vejiita wasn't losing. Saito quickly ran past him, and when the youngest man tried to stop Saito, Vejiita took that opportunity to slam him with a ki beam. Saito reached the third floor. Kenshin found him there.
"Saito, we must-"
"Save Sano from that man... I know." They both ran up the final stairs in silence.
Sano was limp, hanging by his jacket, the seventeen year-old okashira lifting him by it. It was too late, the man raising his kodachi to Sano's throat. Kenshin reached for his sword, but Saito was already there, running to save Sanosuke and Megumi. "I will not fail them AGAIN!!! This time, I'm not going to lose!" Saito said, sword out in front of him. Aoshi dropped Sanosuke, and he and Saito clashed.
Chapter 8 - Proud Failures
The titanium swords clashed. Each man struggled to overcome the other, each fueled by his own reasons and passions. Finally, they jumped back, looking at each other, before Aoshi finally spoke.
"Saito Hajime...
A year, no? Thought I was dead, didn’t you? I’ll warn you now… I will not lose. You and Battousai, the strongest of all warriors of the Bakumatsu… will fall. Then... the Oniwabanshu will be known as the strongest. Of course… nothing personal to Battosai… but I’ve been desperate to kill you for a long time.”
"I know you have… but, I... would kill myself before I’d allow you to keep me from saving Megumi. I... and Sanosuke both."
Sano laughed, barely conscious. "You're one fucked up son of a bitch, Saito..." Sano whispered to himself, amazed at Saito's acknowledgement of him, as he struggled to stand, in vain.
"Sano, stay down!" Saito and Kenshin both yelled at the same time. Grey Wolf and Vejiita reached the room, Goku and Ghost following them.
"Jesus, Sano!" Grey Wolf yelled, gazing upon Sano's wounds, then looking towards Aoshi angrily.
Until he saw him.
One, Grey hasn’t seen for a year
He veered his cold blue eyes towards her for a moment, but didn’t look long enough to meet them with hers, too focused on the fight with Saito.
“Twenty minutes. Give me that, and he’ll never hurt you again, Grey.”
“Fuck off.”
He looked back at her for a moment, but sighed. “As was expected. Whatever.”
She ran to Sanosuke, surprised at the swordsmanship skills that would be required to do something to this to anyone, much more so with Sano... the speed alone would be something to accomplish. The only samurai she knew that could do this were Kenshin, Saito... and Shishio...
... Had Aoshi... no.. Shinomori-san... gotten that good?
"Goku! Hurry and get a Senzu bean!" He tossed her one, know she only used his human name when things were urgent. Grey Wolf quickly fed it to Sano, and he opened his eyes, healed.
Saito and Aoshi, who still hadn't revealed his name, jumped back. They ran at each other again, Saito taking the offense. He practically slammed his katana into Aoshi's kodachi, not even taking proper aim, causing Aoshi to actually lose his balance, not expecting someone with such skill to use such a beginner's move. Saito used this opening and attempted to slash Aoshi's stomach open, left to right, but Aoshi ducked backward, causing Saito only to graze him. Then, Aoshi used Saito's opening to try to send his kodachi into Saito's ribcage, but Saito ducked, Aoshi's blade barely missing his hair, and, in one fluid movement, swung the sword upward. Aoshi again moved back, and Saito missed entirely this time. Aoshi used his left leg to kick Saito, and Saito fell to the floor. Aoshi waited for him to get up. He did so quickly.
"Damn... Fuck face’s gotten good..." Saito wiped the blood which was dripping from his mouth to the floor, then rubbed his eyes, which were damaged by the blow. He stood.
"Saito, you know you can't win. I won't allow it." Aoshi spoke coldly, though he was winning.
"Bullshit. I won't let you win. I cannot. I refuse.”
"... Why do you refuse the truth?"
Arrogant, as always. Grey Wolf rolled her eyes at the blatant confidence.
"I... will not fail the ones I care about. I... will-not-lose!! aaaaaaaAAAAHHH!!!" Saito's kiai slowly became louder, filled with his determination, which filled Aoshi's ears as Saito ran at him. Saito struck his Kodachi with a horizontal strike, but Aoshi parried it and tried to slash Saito. Saito spun the sword while shifting his shoulder to dodge, and sent his Katana into Aoshi's lower back, but it was slightly off, Saito's accuracy lowered due to the injury from before. Saito, hindered by his eyes, didn't finish the attack, sparing Aoshi. However, Aoshi still screamed out in pain, flying into the wall.
"Jeez... Can't see..." Saito said, trying to stop the pain. He stood, still unable to see well. He had a feeling blood had somehow seeped into his eyes. He looked at Aoshi, who was slowly getting up. "He doesn't quit. Even when he knows he's too weak to win..."
"Too weak to win? I doubt that..."
"You know you're in the losing position. You must be honest with yourself about that."
"I, in the losing position? Never insult me like that again. Never insult the Oniwabanshu like that again." Aoshi slowly began to spin around Saito, moving so quickly, Saito could not see where he really was.
"What the hell? What is this?"
"This is the Water Flow technique. The instrument of your destruction.
... After all, I don't need to draw the second kodachi to finish a bastard like you."
A sickening thud was heard as Saito fell to the ground.
"Saito!!!" Sanosuke and Grey Wolf yelled, almost in unison. His hand was clutching the sword hilt tightly, due to the great pain he was feeling, his chest cut open three times, all at once and with great speed and accuracy. Saito writhed slightly in pain, turning to his side, then crawling to his knees, clutching his sword. He was stronger than Battosai and could take more, true.. But…
"Hurry and stand. I refuse to kill someone who is defenseless and kneeling on the floor, even if they're in a condition such as yours, where standing and crawling makes no difference in the outcome."
"No difference, ehh? Don't count me out yet..." He slowly stood, lifting his sword and placing it in his left hand. He was going to use the Gatotsu.
"Grey Wolf, Vejiita, get Sanosuke and Megumi to safety. Kenshin..." Kenshin nodded. He knew they would definitely need cover as well as Saito did. Grey Wolf and Sano ran down the steps. Megumi stood, walking past Aoshi carefully.
"I'm not going to stop you. I have no care for Kanryu, or his desires to force innocents to make liquefied death."
"What??!!" Saito yelled in confusion, surprise, and anger.
"I only wish for battle."
"So you... you just use innocents as bait? How dare you think you have any right... any whatsoever... to force your will upon her! You cannot be allowed to continue! Your crime will not go unpunished!" Saito's anger levels skyrocketed. He put his sword into the Gatotsu position, ready to strike and kill Aoshi, even if it cost him his own life.
Aoshi smirked at the pathetic attempt. "The Gatotsu? Insulting me again... by thinking your foolish attempts to stab me could kill me." He then began his infamous Water Flow technique once again, circling around Saito. Saito and him roared out their battle cries, then, Aoshi and Saito's swords met.

The sound of a sword cutting into flesh, then one fell. The other remained standing for a few moments. Kenshin stared on in sheer amazement. The power in that single technique, enough to kill if properly executed. Enough of an opening to be suicidal if improperly executed.
"Gatotsu... Zero Stance." Saito whispered, looking at Aoshi. He had no care for sparing Aoshi’s life, despite the feelings of the girl who had just walked up the stairs. She hardly could refrain from crying it out at that moment as she looked upon what could very well be his dead body.
She had walked back up the stairs at the right moment, and had seen the technique. The power, the risk... what a technique... That was the succession technique of Gatotsu Ryu? The technique Saito would never teach her? Now she understood why... That technique, to use it in battle... if someone who didn't know what the hell they were doing tried to use it, or someone not skilled enough to have sure accuracy... It would be not just certain death. It would be suicide. Hell, even with Saito, due to his injuries, it had almost been just that: suicide. But it hadn't... How... had that been the form of a wolf? A wolf of shadow had surrounded Saito and slashed through Aoshi... when Saito had struck Aoshi... and somehow... the wolf's shadow had badly screwed up Aoshi's ki... and badly... If Aoshi even survived for a few moments, she'd be amazed...
A twitch.
She resisted the urge to run forward and either help... or put Aoshi out of his misery. "No, not possible. I know what the human body is and isn't capable of, and that movement, the fact that Aoshi could still be alive... definitely is on the impossible side."
Another twitch.
"This is fucking bullshit, my eyes are playing tricks on me... There's no way in hell that Aoshi is still alive." ... Or was that simply what her heart wanted to believe, in her vain attempt to under complicate things?
A movement, an attempt to stand.
Grey Wolf's eyes were as wide as they could go. "FUCK no. That is simply... NOT possible."
"Grey Wolf, it is possible."
"What?"
"You though that last sentence out loud. And it is possible."
"No, it simply-"
"Grey Wolf... have you ever heard of the limit break?" Grey Wolf's eyes went wide at Saito’s last sentence. The limit break? Purely theoretical, but still... Aoshi wanted to win that much?
"I..." Aoshi's ability to get to his knees to speak even astounded Saito. "I... will not... let the... Oniwabanshu... Or Grey… down..."
"Aoshi... you, as well as anyone, know that you can't win..." Saito said, holding his hand out to Aoshi.
"No... I won‘t lose to you… I‘ll never forgive you…"
"Aoshi, you-"
"NO!!!" Aoshi jumped at Saito, barreling into him, the fight now lowered to the finesse of a drunken brawl. Saito slammed into the wall, then Aoshi let go.
"Oww..."
"Saito, are you-" Grey Wolf froze, looking at Aoshi. She turned back to Saito, panic in her eyes, as she whispered, "Is he dead?"
"No... but he most definitely will not be up and about for a while. His strength was revived, when he thought he was failing those he cared about..."

"Mother! NO!!!"

"TOMOE!!!"

"How do you think I'll ever forgive myself?"

"You... You didn't fail..." Saito whispered, voicing his, Grey Wolf's, and Kenshin's thoughts. He and the other two proud 'failures' leaned Aoshi against the wall, trying to heal his wounds. He awoke as Megumi, who Saito had called over, was patching Aoshi up.
"What-" He noticed Han'nya, Beshimi, Shikijo and Hyottoko standing behind Megumi, watching carefully. Aoshi bent his head in defeat and shame.
"The Leader I know... would never bend his head in shame. Especially not when he has nothing to be shamed about." Aoshi lifted his head in surprise at Hen'nya's compassion. He looked towards the ground again, but this time, to hide the smile which was quickly forming. Megumi moved back, the wounds patched, and the four Oniwabanshu came in for what could only be determined as a group hug. Kenshin, Saito and Grey Wolf smiled at this simple yet amazing show of friendship. Saito walked to Aoshi when the Oniwabanshu parted.
"… I understand… that there are things that I’ve done to you and yours, that I will never be able to take back. However… we have… more important issues at hand.” He slowly toned down his voice to a whisper, so only he and Aoshi could hear. “Grey’s strong, but she’s only a child. I need your help to protect her. Will you aide us?”
“… I’ll help you, on one condition.”
“And what was that?”
“Swear to me that… you’ll never hurt Grey again.”
“… I swear it, Aoshi,” he whispered, extending his hand. “… Ally.”

((Author's Note: I know some of Grey's thoughts may have been confusing, but they'll be explain at a later date.))

Chapter 9 - Appearance of a Demon, Death of a Miburo?
Grey Wolf let out a soft laugh when it took Aoshi's confused stare a few moments to make Saito realize that Aoshi wasn't familiar with the American custom Grey Wolf had shown Saito when she was a child. He briefly explained to Aoshi, and then, slowly, with a still slightly confused look on his face, Aoshi shook Saito's hand.
Kanryu burst in, Saito and Aoshi still shaking hands. "Aww, look at that, the great Saito Hajime and the Okashira of the Oniwabanshu just couldn't bring themselves to kill each other! Perhaps I should AID YOU! HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Silence.
Grey Wolf finally spoke. "No offense or anything, but do you have any clue how stupid that sounded?"
"Does it matter? All who heard it are soon to be dead anyways!"
"Again with the stupi-" Grey Wolf stopped dead, as did everyone, when Kanryu moved into the room a gatling gun.
"200 rounds a minute. Can you dodge them all?"
Kenshin drew his sword, spinning it to deflect the bullets sent at him. The Oniwabanshu created a shield with ki, and Grey Wolf, with Kakarot's help, created a shield for Sano, Ghost and herself. Saito, however, ran at the unprotected Megumi and used his body as a shield for her.
"SAITO!!!" Sano yelled, Grey Wolf unable to do anything but stare at him wide eyed.
"Father..." Her face slowly contorted from shock to anger, her teeth gritting, her eyes dimming and glaring, and her head tilted to the hands balling into fists of rage. "FATHER!!!" Her face veered directly at Kanryu after that one word escaped her mouth, with the same eyes she had had those moments in the infirmary - Eyes that at first glance made her look like the angry form she was as Shadow the manslayer, but upon closer examination could only be determined as one thing - wolf eyes. She ran straight through the shield Kakarot was sustaining, straight at Kanryu. He aimed the gatling gun at her, but the fierce ki aura that she created shielded her. She drew the Wakizachi at precisely the right moment, slicing the barrel of the gatling gun in half. Then, crossed her arms together and slammed them into Kanryu's neck, suffocating him.
"Is death fun?" Her voice was that of another, an older Grey Wolf, yet not her own voice at all. She laughed sadistically, until she felt the sword brush her neck.
"Battousai keeps his oath to live and let live, ehh?" She whispered.
"This one will not allow you to kill Kanryu. No matter what sins he has done, it does not justify his death."
"Battousai... Did the girl's sins justify her abandonment by her own father?"
Yet again, silence, but this time, due to the tender subject matter at hand.
"I was not... in my right mind..."
"I don't want your excuses, neither does she. The pain of being betrayed by someone you love..." In her mind, an image of a man and her, asleep together, the image of tranquility, but it passed before darker memories resurfaced. "No one... no one should ever have to suffer such pain. It's inexcusable."
"And Kanryu has done this... how?"
A pause, before she smirked and let Kanryu drop to the ground. "Wise you are, Battousai..."
His head was veered to the ground, before he spoke once more. "Tell me one thing."
"Hai?" She was listening.
"Who... who are you?"
She laughed darkly, whispering, "The dead have no need for names..." then put her hands against the wall, trying to balance herself, now groggy. "K-Kenshin... what... what's going on?" Grey Wolf asked, confused on how she had reached the wall from the protection of the shield, and what the hell was going on. No one had noticed the dog tag around her neck had glown an angry red while Grey Wolf had attacked Kanryu, or the black kanji which had shown through the red - the kanji for death.
Grey Wolf's eyes went wide as they darted to Saito. Megumi was holding his limp body up, his head lolled to the side in an unnatural way. Grey Wolf wasted no time reaching him, but had no clue as to what next after that.
"Shit... This may be a stupid question, but does anyone have tweezers? Or a scalpel?" Megumi pleaded. Grey Wolf dug into Saito's pockets, finding a scalpel and a penknife.
"Would this..."
"That'll work." Megumi quickly took them. "Grey Wolf, try to apply pressure to the wounds."
"Hai." Grey Wolf searched Saito's pockets again and found gauze pads.
"Does he always-"
"Carry stuff like this?"
"Hai?"
"Hai. It's a dangerous profession..." Grey Wolf quickly applied the pressure needed, while Megumi started carefully taking bullets out.
"Kanryu's aim is horrible..." Megumi said, noticing that most wounds were on Saito's back, and Kanryu hadn't even thought of shooting Saito in the neck. Also rather luckily, Grey Wolf had stopped Kanryu quickly.
A whispered, "Hai..." from Grey Wolf. "And Saito's body is strong... with superficial wounds like this, he might just survive..."
They both worked on in silence from there on, except when Megumi gave Grey Wolf instructions.
Finally, Megumi spoke.
"What... what do you mean by 'dangerous profession?' Is police work really that dangerous?"
Grey Wolf remained silent, but Megumi pressed on. "Well, is it? Or is it something else?"
"Well... Saito made a lot of enemies way back when... and when you're enemies, that's pretty much it, usually. Being an assassin, unless you're amazingly good at not getting seen, you make enemies."
"Bhh..."
"What?" Grey Wolf, Megumi, and Sano, who had been watching, said in near unison as Saito spoke.
"Bhh..."
"Repeat that... slowly."
"Bah."
"What?" Grey Wolf asked.
"Bah. The reason I carry that stuff around isn't because I've got enemies, it's because Grey Wolf's a damn clumsy assed little midget." Grey Wolf's ears and face turned red, her eye twitching.
"Saito!"
"Bah. Quit being an Ahou, ahou."
"SAITO!!! Quit it! GRR!" Grey Wolf growled her deepest growl at Saito, but he merely laughed it off.
"Heh heh-oww..."
"Hah! What you-" Grey Wolf stopped when Saito put his hand out. "What? What is it?"
"Evil ki around. Close. Real close... Grey Wolf, hand me your sword." Saito spoke quickly, his own sword out of reach. She handed it to him, but he immediately dropped it, crying out, "What the hell???" He looked down at his white glove, which was now singed. He pulled it off, and upon checking his hand, had first degree burns. "What the..." He slowly went into a sitting position, still in great pain from the bullet wounds and the burn. "The evil ki... from the sword?" Grey Wolf held her breath. Her own sword?
Chapter 10 - Gatotsu vs. Battojutsu: Duel of the Heirs
---ONE MONTH LATER---
"Grey Wolf, you are never to use this sword again, unless I say otherwise. I don't know what happened, or how you were able to stop Kanryu, but I do not want you to use the second Transdimensional sword until I am certain it has been purified." Saito told Grey Wolf, locking the second Transdimensional sword into a cabinet in his room. He owned the original Transdimensional Sword, otherwise known as the demon slayer for its ability to strike anything, even to the point that if wanted, the owner could create a rift in dimensions and appear anywhere else they chose, even in another dimension. Also, the sword had the ability to go through anything, good for striking down a demon which has harbored itself inside a human host. The second Transdimensional sword had abilities, however, that the original did not, but which were Undenounced to anyone.
"Grey Wolf, you will, from now on, use this Katana/Wakizachi pair." He held out the swords to her, and she took them, taking one last glance at the first real sword she'd ever held before Saito draped a bed sheet over the windowed cabinet.
"Yes, father..." Grey Wolf placed the swords in her belt.
"Good. Now come, let's go. There will be a meeting to decide a course of action upon the defense of Japan from Shishio."
They rushed to the dining room of Saito's home. Sitting at the table there already was Ghost, Gohan, Vejiita, Kenshin, Sano and the Oniwabanshu.
"I see all of you are here. Sorry to have kept you waiting. We must stop Shishio as quickly as possible. I have gotten intel that Shishio plans to set Kyoto aflame."
"Kyoto aflame?!" Kenshin and Sano both yelled at the same time.
"All the people there! How could he plan such a violent act?" Gohan cried out.
"No way! He's insane! How will that help him??" Beshimi, an Oniwabanshu, asked.
Aoshi answered that for Saito. "In the chaos... he plans to take over Japan, does he not?"
"Yes." Saito spoke. Again, many cried out.
"We cannot allow that to happen, that we cannot!" Kenshin yelled.
"That will absolutely not be tolerated!" Sano added.
"Burn Kyoto, then take over what's left?? What madness is this! He's got some freaking issues!" Hyottoko cried out.
"Damn right he does..." Ghost said.
"I don't believe it."
Everyone froze at Vejiita's words.
"He's not smart enough to come up with a plan like that, not from what I've heard about him, anyways. He'd need help. Lots of help. This Jupongatana has ten members, right? Ten people to take down all of us, and then set Kyoto aflame? I doubt that would happen. Your intel is wrong, Saito."
"The intel me and Saito have been receiving has been from the now revived Shinsengumi."
Again, everyone froze, but this time, at Grey Wolf's words.
"And if you don't believe he can fulfill this plan, or even come up with it, chew on the fact that we only just learned that he has a rather large army at his command and one of the Jupongatana is an amazing strategist by the name of Houji Sodojima, who was most likely the one who came up with this plan." Vejiita backed his chair up as Grey wolf continued. "We're on borrowed time. We need to act now. If we wait any longer, it will be to late to prevent Shishio from succeeding. And that is something that Tokugawa and Meiji supporters must stop... together." Over the years, Grey Wolf had gained Saito's amazing ability to silence a room with only a few words.
"Thank you, Grey Wolf. Now, we must form a battle plan."
"Hai." The rest of the room spoke at Saito's words.
"Saito, we cannot be all be in two places at once, but Shishio's army and Shishio's Jupongatana will be." Kenshin spoke.
"Perhaps we should split up, then..." Saito studied the way everyone had sat. Kenshin was sitting nowhere near Ghost, which was the first thing Saito noticed. "They need separate teams, that's for damn sure..." Saito muttered under his breath. He also noticed that all of the Oniwabanshu were sitting together, and that there was one more Oniwabanshu present then there had been at Kanryu's mansion: a girl who very easily fit the ninja description. "They're all on the same team..." He again muttered under his breath. "Hmm... Me, Kenshin, Gohan, Vejiita, Sano, and Grey Wolf will go after Shishio and the Jupongatana. The Oniwabanshu and Ghost will prevent Shishio's army from setting Kyoto aflame."
"Wait, Saito. I need to train with Ghost. Could he be on our team?"
A sweatdrop appeared on Saito. "Ahh... You could be on his team..."
"Sure, but wouldn't that make the teams badly uneven? Why can't Ghost just come on our team?"
The sweatdrop, which had disappeared, reappeared quickly. "Because he doesn't want to..."
"Saito, the teams-"
"I could come." The room spun their heads to see Yahiko, donning his shinai.
"Yahiko, this one would not want you to be harmed-"
"Kenshin, I'm strong enough to help. Please, let me! Give me a chance to prove myself to you... I won't let you down. That's a promise." Grey Wolf smirked after Yahiko said this. "What? I am strong!"
"Strong yes. How strong is the question. This isn't some game, boy. Lives are at stake, and you'll only hinder your team if they have to protect you every second. Stay home. You're too weak."
Yahiko clenched his shinai tightly. "I am not weak..."
"Yes, you are. You've trained, yes. But it's not enough to train. You've never taken a life, have you? Bloodied your hands?"
"... no. But just because I don't use Satsujin ken, doesn't mean I can't help. With Katsujin ken-"
"Katsujin ken is a lie. Kenjutsu is a killing art, it cannot be properly defined in any other way. To protect one, you kill another. You make a choice that no being is justified to choose except God himself. Can you take that? Or will you back down like the child you are..." Grey Wolf drew her sword, then told Saito to take care for it momentarily. She placed her sheath in her hand.
"If you can land a hit on me, you can come. Otherwise... train for a few decades. Then you may stand a chance."
"I will not lose to you! Come at me with everything you've got!" Yahiko yelled, drawing the shinai and getting into a stance.
"Don't mess with a Miburo, boy. There is no way you can hit me. No way you can win."
"I will not lose to YOU!!! AHHH!!!" He screamed out, striking at Grey Wolf's head. She blocked, then swung the sword downwards while still parrying, smashing Yahiko's skull. He fell, then got up slowly. Once he raised his sword, Grey Wolf struck again, slamming the sheath into Yahiko's right side, surely breaking a few ribs. Then, when Yahiko got up, Grey Wolf slammed the end of the sheath into Yahiko's throat. He flew into the table, then slumped to the floor.
"N-no... I will not... lose..." He stood, placing the shinai at his side, his left hand holding it. He also held it with his right hand, as he would when drawing a sword. Grey Wolf had noted the form, when, before Kenshin had abandoned her, he had defended their home.
The Battojutsu stance. Yahiko's Mitori practice, similar to her own, had caught on to battojutsu.
"Strike now, so I can kill you." Yahiko whispered, the same words Battousai had whispered to Jin E before Jin E committed suicide.
"Strong words for a weak being. Time to quell this disturbance." The Gatotsu stance was seen from Grey Wolf.
They flew at each other, in the exact same way Saito and Battousai had done over a decade ago.
They landed. Time froze as the heirs kept form before one slipped.
Grey Wolf fell to her knee, a slash in her shirt. She checked a wound and was surprised to see that the shinai had cut her, though slightly. Grey Wolf took on that look that screams, "I'm going to kill him NOW!" as she looked back at Yahiko. He had fallen, the last of his will power spent. He was out cold. She stood, walking to him, sheath raised. He pushed him self up, attacking as Grey Wolf did the same.
Kenshin's hand caught Yahiko's shinai as Saito's hand caught Grey Wolf's sheath.
"Enough." Both whispered, though Kenshin's voice was kinder and Saito's voice more stern. The very fight that had been fought so many years ago had been retold - and again, it was a draw.
Chapter 11 - Swift Goodbyes
Saito and Kenshin sat. Yahiko and Grey Wolf stayed a bit longer, angrily staring each other down, before moving to their seats. As Grey Wolf passed Saito, he whispered to her, "That's what you get for cockiness." He and Kenshin had noticed that she had been using only one hand the whole time, even when using the gatotsu, something done out of sheer cockiness, especially when going against the battojutsu. Then, to both their surprise, she had ran at Yahiko using both hands in anger. They had exchanged glances, Kenshin's showing something rare to his face: fear.
Grey Wolf sat, holding contempt for Yahiko.
"Yahiko, you may come." At Saito's words, Grey Wolf immediately stood to protest, but a mere glance from Saito caused her to nearly fall back into her chair. Disappointment and anger were in his eyes. Anger, she'd seen before from him... but for him to be disappointed in her was like a bitchslap to the face, when she had failed him but once, when he understood the circumstances were stacked too highly against her. She gripped her hands, the right bearing the scar from that incident.
"Battousai... you'll fall by my hand." She thought, meaning not only Kenshin, but Yahiko as well.
Saito continued the planning. "Those in team A, Me, Grey Wolf, Battousai, Yahiko, Gohan and Sanosuke, will take out Shishio. Those in team B, Aoshi and the Oniwabanshu, Ghost, and Vejiita, will protect Kyoto. You have been given your primary objectives. Fail... and Japan will suffer the consequences. Including some training time, I believe we can reach there within a week, if we split into 2-4 man(Grey Wolf and Misou's eyes twitched at this) cells. At that time, we must meet somewhere..."
Aoshi spoke up, "I believe my home would be fine, if you wish. It is located near the train station."
"Arigato(Thank you), Aoshi. We will meet at his home once we reach there. When everyone has come, we will head out to fulfill the mission objectives. Everyone, prepare yourselves, split into groups, and leave within half an hour. Dismissed." The room filed out. As Aoshi passed Saito, Saito told him, "If Ghost tries to leave after Kyoto is safe... let him. No sooner."
Aoshi nodded, and started heading to the door, before freezing at Saito's words.
"The same goes for you, Shinomori-san."
He remained, rooted to the spot, before saying, "... Why would I want to leave? I trust in Grey Wolf." There was a pause, before Aoshi quickly added, "And you, and in your abilities." And with that, he left, the Oniwabanshu behind him. Already prepared, they left for Kyoto in two groups: Aoshi, Misou, and Shikijo, and Han'nya, Beshimi, and Hyottoko.
"... That Shinomori's strong, but he's a damned horrible liar."

Grey Wolf walked into her room. Zac was waiting for her, surprising her.
"I know you're leaving."
"Zac, I-"
"Don't say anything... just listen for a moment. You know I care about you. And if anything ever happened to you, that I could've prevented... I'd never forgive myself. I don't want you to leave. At least... not without me."
"Zac, you-"
"Please. I'll do anything, just... please, let me come with you."
"Zac... this isn't going to be any normal fight. This is kill or be killed. There won't be any gray area in between. And you... If you're there, it will only greaten my burdens. I know... I know you're as strong as that stupid little-"
"I get the picture." He quickly spoke, knowing she spoke of Yahiko.
"Yeah... you're as strong as him in swords, and he's coming... but... you know what Megumi said. Your body can't handle fights. If you push yourself too far, you could really hurt yourself..."
"Do I care? I'm tired of people underestimating me. I am strong. I can handle this." Zac moved forward to touch her hand, though still aware that she hadn't given him an answer as to where their relationship would be going, if they would have one at all.
He spoke, though barely a whisper, "Do you believe in me?"
"Always. I will always believe in you. You're the best friend I've ever had."
She walked to her bed, where her Poke'mon Master cape was. She hadn't worn it since Speedy's death, but it found it's place around her neck just the same. She walked to the door.
"... Maybe more. Meet with me and Saito outside in 10."

"Sano, where will you be going?" Kenshin asked his friend.
"I don't know. Somewhere. But I have to go alone."
"Are you sure, Sano?"
"Yeah... I'm sure. I've got some soul seeking to do." Sano walked out the door and on the path to Kyoto.
"Soul seeking..." Kenshin thought of his own destination, before he would be able to go to Kyoto. Yahiko would be coming with him. Despite his best efforts, Yahiko's Mitori Practice, an ability to watch techniques and learn them in about 1/3 of the time, had caused Yahiko to pick up on much of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu. Kenshin laughed in his mind. Perhaps Grey Wolf, like Yahiko, also knowing Mitori Practice, hadn't been meant to be the heir of the Miburo no Ookami after all. Hell, she could've been and still could be heir to Hiten Mitsurugi, knowing far more of it than Yahiko ever-
"Kenshin?" Yahiko had been standing there, watching Kenshin's mind slowly shift from one thing to another.
"Sorry, Yahiko. This one was not paying attention."
"I'm ready, you?"
"Not... quite. Wait outside, please?"
"Yes, mother." Yahiko spoke mockingly. He waited outside the dojo. Kenshin, on the other hand, walked to the kitchen area, where Himura Kaoru(whom he had married earlier that year) was waiting.
"Kaoru... This one must leave to-"
"To Kyoto. I understand."
"Then you understand that this one will not leave you behind. This one will return... that is a promise." They came together for an embrace.
"I know. I trust in you, Kenshin. Please, come back soon."
"This one will. Now, however... this one must leave. Goodbye... Kaoru." He left, and him and Yahiko began their own journey. At long last, even though for a short time only, Yahiko would be allowed to train under Kenshin, finally accepted as the true heir of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu.

"Ghost, you know the Meiji is indifferent to how strong one is! That's the way it must be!"
"No. The Meiji era is an era of decay. The Tokugawa era was a time of peace. Now, Japan is slowly changing into a place where one cannot even leave their home without risking their lives! Yes, the samurai class should not be limited to lineage. I hand you that. But for one not to be allowed to bring justice where the law cannot... on the behalf of the government, that is sheer villainy."
"Ghost, you know damn well what would happen if the Tokugawa returned. Do you know the chaos it would cause?"
"Vejiita, is this not chaotic enough?"
"It sure in hell wasn't this chaotic until the Meiji was brought down."
"Why was it brought down, Vejiita? I'll answer that: It was an era of weakness."
Vejiita paused for a moment, before answering, "Ghost... Zac is a person of great weakness due to his terminal illness. Do you think he should be brought down?"
Neither spoke for a while after this. They readied themselves and left without another word.

Grey Wolf waited for Saito and Zac, outside the Kamiya-Kasshin dojo. Instead of sunlight, there were overcast skies as Zac and Saito walked out, Zac bolstering a sword.
"You two ready for this?" Saito asked, noticing the sword.
"As I'll ever be." Grey Wolf said, her tone surging with anticipation and fear at the exact same time.
"Well then... let's head out."
Saito's words began the week long journey to Kyoto. As they walked, Grey Wolf turned back and looked at the dojo. It could be the last time she'd ever see it, as the small unit made its way to the place where Grey Wolf's life had fallen apart and been put back together at the age of three. Their silent emotions caused tension thicker than butter, which was thick enough to be sliced by any of the swords at their belts. They all knew that awaiting them there was a man that would kill them in a heartbeat, given the chance. They all knew that awaiting them there would be bloodlust so powerful, that a vampire would be fearful. They all knew that awaiting them there would be the greatest challenge of their lives, the most suicidal fight they would put up, the most powerful enemy to face... and yet... their thoughts weren't focused on survival, but on the things they cared about most. Japan... Their pokémon... Each other.
Chapter 12 - Those Left Behind, and The Warriors They Remember
"Kaoru... This one must leave to-"
"To Kyoto. I understand."
"Then you understand that this one will not leave you behind. This one will return... that is a promise." They came together for an embrace.
"I know. I trust in you, Kenshin. Please, come back soon."
"This one will. Now, however... this one must leave. Goodbye... Kaoru."
Kenshin thought of the last words he had spoken to his wife, two days ago. He would need her for what was ahead, yet she was not there. Ahead would be something that even he did not know of, that could easily take his life. He breathed in deeply, the cold morning air chilling him down to his bones as he remembered Himura Kaoru, and walked into the clearing.

"Soon, I will depart. I will be back soon, however. Then, we'll work together to cure you. I promise that..."
"Saito, please hurry. I cannot stand to be apart from you." Saito took Tokio's hand as she embraced him. He gently kissed her forehead.
"Tokio..." They spoke no more, their hearts saying all they needed to hear.
He awoke early that morning. Saito quickly started a fire and ate the rations he'd packed for that morning's breakfast. Something stirred behind him. The proclaimed midget boy woke up and sat next to the fire Saito had started, also eating his rations.
"Morning, Saito..." Zac said groggily.
"You're obviously not a morning person..." Saito's voice drifted off.
"Yeah..." Grey Wolf began to wake up, surprising Saito and Zac as it always did. It was rare to tell Grey Wolf's awakening from Grey Wolf's nightmares.
"So we continue tra-"she yawned, then continued, "training today..."
"Yeah." Something was nagging at the back of Saito's mind. Something bad was going to happen today.
"Saito." That 'something' was about to reveal itself.
"Yes, Grey Wolf?"
"That... that technique. That thing you used on Aoshi... the special form of gatotsu..."
"Yes... what about it?" Saito knew what was coming.
"I... I want you to teach me it. I couldn’t go anywhere near catching the technique. The way you screwed up Aoshi's ki while at the same time, slicing him open with the sword... please, I must learn it."
Saito and Grey Wolf stared each other down for a moment, before he whispered, "No. You are not yet strong enough. Train for a few years more, and perhaps-"
"Saito, I know the risks. I know what kind of discipline it would take."
"Discipline which you do not have. Think of what you could have done to Yahiko two days ago. Were you disciplined then?"
"No, Saito. But I believe I am now."
"What changed in two days? You still would harm Yahiko today as you did before."
"I've... I've been doing some soul seeking of my own. And, if I cannot learn the technique now... I can never learn it."
"... Grey Wolf... you are not ready. If you cannot even see this... then you are not my true heir."
"S-Saito..." Grey Wolf spoke, head bent toward the ground.
"The decision is made. You cannot ask to learn the Zero Gatotsu. When the time comes, you will know... and you will harness it. I believe in you. We..." He spoke, looking at Zac, who nodded. "We believe in you."

"I thought I told you, you are not my student anymore." Hiko Seijuuro spoke before even looking at who had knocked.
"Master... This one has come to learn the final secrets of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu."
"You did not learn them before, did you? You rushed to the aid of those in need, did you not?"
"Master..."
"You are not my student; I am not your master. Leave."
"Sir, if I may... Kenshin really needs to learn whatever it is he's asking for. This guy, Shishio, is going to try to take over Japan if we don't stop him. Kenshin can't stop him at his current level-"
"So you come to me for help, after you left so long ago? Aren't you going to go help people in suffering? You didn't need my help then."
"Master, please! Put your selfish bitterness behind you! People's lives are at stake! The entirety of Japan will be engulfed in war even greater than the first Bakumatsu if we do not stop him!"
"And you call this better?"
"We cannot stop the war altogether by just taking down Shishio... but we can prevent the entirety of Kyoto going up in flames. You know what this one says is true. Please... help me."
"Kenshin..." Hiko sighed and walked outside. "Boy, move away from Kenshin. He'll need his room. Kenshin... it is custom for a master to teach his pupil their succession technique only when that pupil can land a hit... can you?"
Two swords unsheathed.

Ghost's powerful strike to the gut disabled Vejiita from moving, knocking the wind out of him. Vejiita fell to his knees, clutching his stomach. Ghost tried to strike Vejiita, but he fell over, not even trying to dodge, but out of pain. Ghost picked Vejiita up by the collar, then punched him, hard. Vejiita slammed into a rock formation. Ghost flew above the crater, but dodged to the right after Vejiita fired off a powerful blast, at half-super saiyan, the form he and Grey Wolf had used during their fight with Frieza, until Grey Wolf finally changed into a true super saiyan.
"Hell, that wasn't so bad." Ghost said, nicked on the arm. Vejiita flew out of the crater and tried to kick Ghost, but Ghost ducked and fired off a blast at Vejiita. It hit as Vejiita spun around, landing right in his stomach. Vejiita flew back until he finally deflected it. By this time, Ghost was behind him, and used this opening to kick Vejiita in the head, then hit him back and forth like a volleyball. Ghost finally rammed Vejiita one last time, slamming him back into the earth. Vejiita lay in a crater, trying to move in vain. "Vejiita..." Ghost flew to where Vejiita was and picked him up, moving him to the fire near their sleeping bags. "Tomorrow we start a new training, due to your incompetence at this one."
Vejiita moved closer to the fire... it reminded him of Grey Wolf. Clumsiness and pyromaniacy weren't a good combination, not that anyone knew Grey Wolf was a pyro but him. He missed her. He'd missed her for so long, since the day Speedy had died. She had gone somewhere, far away... and he felt she never would come back.
Chapter 13 - Succession, Pt. 1
The girl in question, Grey Wolf, was sitting by the fire. Saito had felt that she and Zac needed some 'alone' time, so to speak, and hit the sack early.
'Midget boy' was climbing a tree, one of his favorite pastimes.
"Will you get down from there!" Grey Wolf yelled, joking. "Monkey!"
"Bah! All I get around here is names! Midget! Monkey! What next??"
"Maybe Midget Monk!"
"Hah, so funny, I forgot to laugh-" The smirk wiped from his face as he heard a crack in the branch below him. He was already too high to get down without that branch, and going any higher wasn't possible. Staying there, however, wasn't any more appealing. Grey Wolf, who had heard the crack, her ears very sensitive, had stood.
"Zac... Don't move..."
"Grey Wolf, what do I do??"
"I don't know-"
Another crack pierced the silence, and Grey Wolf watched in horror as Zac descended, scratching himself on branches along the way. She flew at the tree, barely catching him. "Jesus... Don't you ever, ever climb another tree in front of me again, is that clear?" Grey Wolf said, looking at the multiple bruises, scrapes and cuts that lined Zac. She set him down on top of his sleeping bag, treating his injuries.
"I... I'm sorry..." He spoke after a while.
"No, don't be... I overreacted." She softly touched his face. "I just... care about you too damn much." She pulled him close and kissed him. It was a soft kiss, but it got the message through. She did love him back. She finished treating his wounds, and they fell asleep together, comfortable in each other's arms.
Saito, Zac and Grey Wolf awoke as the rain began to pour. They ran down the path, looking for some form of shelter. True, they were in a forest, but a forest meant trees, and trees meant lightning. They ran into a clearing. Zac and Saito ran ahead.
Grey Wolf stopped involuntarily as she entered the very graveyard she had created at the age of five. The 2754 victims of the Ryuu(Dragon)-Ryu Shockwave Buddha Giri lay there, victims of circumstance.
"Save... Saito..."
Grey Wolf whispered his name in pain, remembering the first man she had ever loved as she stared upon his grave. A solitary tear fell to the floor.
The tear was lost in memory as Saito and Grey Wolf's swords clashed.
---THE NEXT DAY---
Ghost fired off a few shots at where Vejiita was asleep. Vejiita sensed them coming and jumped away, still in his sleeping bag. "What the hell, Ghost!" Ghost didn't answer back, but simply flew straight at Vejiita. "I guess this is the new training plan...?" Vejiita muttered. He ripped his sleeping bag open and fired a beam at Ghost. Ghost knocked it away and punched Vejiita in the gut.
"What... the...?!" Vejiita fell over in pain, finally knowing what the training really was- a death match. Vejiita stood, flying at Ghost. He tried to punch Ghost, but Ghost blocked the strike and counterattacked Vejiita, punching him in the jaw. Then, Ghost kicked Vejiita into a rock formation. Then, Ghost flew above him and pulled him out, punching him again, sending him flying again. Vejiita stopped himself and flew back at Ghost, connecting this time to Ghost's face. Ghost flew backwards slightly, but then stops himself as Vejiita flies at him, striking Vejiita with a ki beam. Vejiita tries to block, but Ghost overtakes him, causing Vejiita to fly through a rock formation and land on the ground.
Ghost teleported above Vejiita and kicked Vejiita down, hitting him and pressing his foot into Vejiita's stomach, causing a crater to form. Vejiita screamed in pain, crying for Ghost to stop. His cries were unheard by Ghost, as the pressure soon became unbearable. Ghost lifted his foot and stomped on Vejiita's head, pushing his face into the dirt.
"Fight, damnit! Fight me and kill me! That, or die!" Ghost screamed as he raised his foot.
"Die?" The word flashed in Vejiita's head, as thoughts came upon him. He'd leave much behind if his life ended here. His goals... he had sword, alongside Grey Wolf, that one day, they would restore the saiyan people. His dreams... he aspired to, one day, reach the level beyond an elite four, to reach the level that was so close, yet so far... to reach the level of a pokémon master. Then, perhaps Grey Wolf would again give him some form of respect... Which lead to his one, true desire, his desperate, agonizing, star-crossed thought... that perhaps, one day, he could ask Grey Wolf, beg her to marry him. What was most agonizing to him was the chance that had once been, when they had been engaged before... which he had so utterly destroyed in the biggest mistake of his life. And what was more, he had been right. The rage of it all filled Vejiita's soul as Ghost brought down his foot to break Vejiita's neck, and the dam broke.
Golden hair, turquoise eyes and a rageful soul were all Ghost could see as Vejiita stopped the deathblow and tripped him. As Ghost fell backwards, Vejiita delivered what must've been his most powerful kick of his life sharply into Ghost's backside, sending Ghost flying forward, landing on his stomach in pain. Vejiita stood, walking toward Ghost filled with the rage of the thoughts flashing through his head, reminding him of a day so long, yet so short a time ago.
Chapter 14 - Succession, Pt. 2
Vejiita tried to force these thoughts back down, but they tormented him too badly to ignore. He held on just enough to continue walking towards Ghost. He reached him, standing above Ghost. Ghost reached out to trip Vejiita and succeeded, but Vejiita used the power of the fall to kick Ghost in the face, then, after balancing himself, Vejiita sent a beam into Ghost, slamming him up into a tree.
Vejiita walked forward again, to get into position for his Ouki(most powerful technique). An image of Speedy's mangled body flashed in front of him, but he forced it back down, clenching his fists tightly and walking forward with all his strength, until the next image sent him to his knees- the image of Zac softly kissing Grey Wolf. He clutched his head in anger and pain, and slowly got up. Where had that come from? He seeked for another possible explanation, but found none- Grey Wolf had chosen Zac. Vejiita slowly stood, trying to force down the tormenting image, as he walked towards Ghost.
He stopped. Ghost was quickly recovering. If he did not strike now, he never would. Vejiita sent his arms out to his sides and began charging an immense amount of energy. When his hands began to burn from the extreme power, he sent them straight out in front, charging more and more.
"No... it's not enough..." He thought, self-hate seeping upon him. "I have the strength somewhere... I just... can't..." Vejiita tried, desperately, to draw the energy he needed to kill Ghost, but he simply didn't have enough power.
"... I... I love you."
Vegeta froze, remembering the words Zac had spoken to Grey Wolf that fateful day he'd tried to commit suicide.
"I love you."
The pain of it all surged through Vegeta's body once more, filling him with a rage that even he could not defeat. On the contrary, he welcomed it, unable to stop himself any longer from returning to the person he once was, the murderer deep inside emerging as he screamed-
"FINAL FLASH!!!!!!!"

Grey Wolf flew into a tree and fell forward, lying on the ground. She slowly stood, leaning against the tree and screaming a scream of mortal pain. It was a sound far too common to Saito and Grey Wolf's ears, but it had never come from either of them. The sound sunk down deep into Saito's soul as his sword dripped with blood- her blood.
"We must end this. Stop, Grey Wolf... before I am forced to kill you." Saito whispered the harsh words as Grey Wolf's cry ended.
"And... go against the philosophies of my master and I?" Grey Wolf whispered with her head down, causing a soft, grim smile of regret brushed Saito's face only momentarily.
"Grey Wolf... please... don't make me do this..." He whispered as he raised his sword, Zac watching in horror from the sidelines.
"Saito, don't!" Zac yelled, not able to bear watching it any longer.
"I can't stop... Her choices are to strike, and to live... or to fail and to die."
"Fail... and to..." Zac turned to Grey Wolf. "Grey Wolf, if you give up, he'll probably spare you! Please, Grey Wolf, reconsider! Don't throw your life away like this!"
"I can't... give up... I can't be afraid of death anymore... not anymore." Grey Wolf leveled her left hand, her sword now gripped tightly by it. She got into the gatotsu stance as Saito did the same. She raised her head as she lunged at him.

Vejiita kept alert, waiting for someone to come out of the smoke that was billowing from the attack site. He could sense two ki signatures in the immediate area, Ghost's being very weak but still alive, barely, and another, a rather strong one, much more powerful than himself. Whoever that was, they had gotten caught in the blast and taken only minimal damage. The ki signature felt so familiar...
Vejiita gasped in extreme shock. It was Veruco, his undead little brother.
"I guess you're not very happy to see me?"
"I... I... I..." Vejiita quickly regained composure. "You're supposed to be indoors, aren't you?? Vampires in the sun, you know?"
"Stupid brother. I am much, much too powerful for the sun to even be an annoyance anymore."
"Veruco... pardon my bluntness... but what the hell are you doing here?"
"I've come-" Veruco stopped at Vejiita's snickering. "What is it?"
"You... YOU'RE STILL SHORTER THAN ME!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!" Vejiita fell over, laughing his ass off until he felt himself being raised into the air. "What the..." Veruco waved his hand, and as he did so, Vejiita flew into a rock formation.
"You dare... insult the true prince of saiyans? I've always been stronger than you, that title belongs to me."
"Veruco, quit whining. I was born first, you weren't..."
"So the meaning of one's life is determined in birth? Like the way Grey Wolf's a half breed?"
Silence encompassed them, until Vejiita finally whispered, "I'm... I'm sorry, ok?"
"Fair enough..." Veruco whispered. "Now, on to the reason I'm really here..."
"What is it? Did something happen?"
"Not exactly... but something will happen. Thus, I have brought a warning."
"A warning?"
"Yes... tragedy will strike the one you love. All will to live she may have will vanish. Only you will save her then."
"Only I..." Vejiita processed the information, then silently nodded.
"It was good to see you again, brother... but I am afraid I must leave, for now. We will meet again."
"It was good to see you too, Veruco..." The two brothers embraced in a hug.
"I missed you so much, Vejiita... though... I have one last thing to say to you." Veruco whispered as he let go and turned around to teleport away.
"Yes?"
"Vejiita... we were one a family of five... no?"
"Yeah... now we're the only two left..."
"No..."
Vejiita's eyes went wide. "No?!"
"No, Vejiita... our parents are dead... but our third brother is still alive." Veruco turned back at Vejiita with a dark smile. "See ya."
And with that, he vanished, leaving a wide-eyed Vejiita and an unconscious Ghost behind.
Chapter 15 - Succession, Pt. 3
Author’s Note: Notedly, all lyrics are from the Deftones song, Change(In the House of Flies)

"Aaaaaaahh!!!" Kenshin yelled, taking a swing with all his strength. Hiko blocked with his sword, smirking at Kenshin's futile attempts as he kicked the now off guard Kenshin's stomach. Kenshin crumpled to the floor but blocked as Hiko swung his sword at Kenshin from above and Kenshin dove at Hiko, still blocking, and sent the hilt of his sword into Hiko's ribs as Hiko kneed Kenshin's face, left open in the attack. Hiko and Kenshin both stopped, surprised that Kenshin's attack had actually worked.
Hiko sighed in resignation. "Fine, fine..." Hiko walked ten paces away from Kenshin. "Don't move. Fail to listen to these simple instructions, and you will die."
Kenshin gulped involuntarily. He was ready... and he wasn't afraid of death... but his excitement at learning the final technique almost overwhelmed him. He turned his head slightly, looking at Yahiko. Yahiko's eyes were set on Hiko. He definitely didn't want to miss this one.
"Are you ready, Kenshin?" Hiko spoke, bringing Kenshin to slowly look back at him.
Kenshin sheathed his sword, taking a quick glance back at Yahiko, before whispering, "Hai, master... This one... is ready."
Within a second, Kenshin was flat on his back, one thing running through his mind: "What the hell was that?? I couldn't even do anything... Not a thing... it truly is... the final technique of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu!"
"The final technique... the Ouki of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu... is the counter to the Ku Zu Ryusen, that attack."
Kenshin's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe it.
"Coun... counter?! How can anything stop that attack? You struck me nine times at once!!"
"You must, Kenshin... you must, or you will die. Draw strength from inside of you... there, you will find your answer."
"Answer..."
Hiko nodded. He slowly raised his katana as Kenshin sheathed his Sakabato. They screamed out their most powerful kiai no as Hiko ran at Kenshin, using the Ku Zu Ryusen once more as Kenshin drew his sakabato...

The 2754th grave...
The grave of his fallen best friend, Grey Wolf's first love. Grey Wolf had buried everyone that she had killed that fateful day, June 24th, 1875, but his grave was the only one with a katana/wakizachi pair as the grave marker. Grey Wolf had left behind her training swords, taking his katana and wakizachi, using them in his wake. The katana and wakizachi, though imbedded into the ground, were tilted at an angle that made a cross. With a sigh, Saito turned away one last time.

I look at the cross...
Then I look away...

Grey Wolf touched the katana she had been using since the Kanryu incident with her right hand, gently balancing the still mint condition sword.
If you didn't count the bloodstains she had already put on it.
Saito looked at Grey Wolf, doing the same, lining up for the first stance of the gatotsu, which Grey Wolf could only stop with the technique she was about to attempt, the technique that had stopped the extremely powerful Kodachi Nitou user, Shinomori Aoshi.
"Either, she's snapped... or she has achieved that ultimate goal of kenjutsu - the ultimate technique." Saito sighed, reflecting on his thoughts. Either way... he didn't want to say goodbye to his daughter so early in life. The fact was... he loved her. He loved her in a way only a father could.
Within their final moments, with one last attack, their lives together were gone, and parent and child were torn apart once more.

Give you the gun...
Blow me away...

Yahiko's eyes were wide open as he looked upon Kenshin, desperately trying to save Hiko's life.
"Stay alive, master! Live! Live, that you must!" Kenshin yelled over and over. "Yahiko, get water from the well!"
"Hai!" Yahiko broke into a run, his fastest run as he got to the well, filling a bucket full of water and running back, the image of Kenshin's ultimate attack still running through his mind.
He saw it. Holy hell, he saw it.
He knew how to use the ultimate technique. Ame Kakeru Ryu No Hirameki. And to think it relied on something so small, yet so critical. It made Yahiko laugh, the irony of it all.
"The speed of a god..."
The technique of a dragon.

Grey Wolf and Saito stood behind each other for the longest time. Neither wanted to leave this moment to face life - or death - without one another. The proposition was just too painful for either to bear, though neither had any choice. What was done, was done... and they both had to face the consequences. After ten years... they would have to part.
"Grey Wolf... you..." Saito spoke at long last, finally breaking the silence. "You... truly are... my... heir... my... daughter." Saito whispered painfully, falling to the floor after those long, precarious words. Grey Wolf finally broke form, spinning around and running at Saito.
"Father!!" She yelled, skidding to a stop next to him, his blood pouring from his body.
"Father!! Father!!! FATHER!!!"
Chapter 16 - Arrival
Saito's eyes slowly opened, pain seeping in as a headache began to form from the brightness of the room. It took a few moments for him to orient himself, and by this time, a group of people had flocked around him.
"Saito-san! Saito-san!"
Saito's head jerked at the mention of his name. Locating the source of the noise but unable to see it due to the people, he sighed, waiting for him to come into view. Finally, Zac emerged from the crowd.
"Saito-san! Grey Wolf, your dad's up!"
Saito could have been nice. After all, Zac was a good kid, and deserved kind- never mind. Saito couldn't. "Hey, midget boy!" Zac started twitching, so Saito quickly added, "Where am I?"
It was at this point that Aoshi Shinomori walked in, a hooded figure following him.
"I trust you're feeling better than you were when we found you?" Aoshi asked.
Saito looked up at him with curious eyes. "Found? We?"
"Hai, found. we saw Grey... Grey Wolf and Zac trying to revive you, to the point of multiple senzu beans with little effect. Luckily, the nearly mortal sword wound didn't strike any vital organs. Otherwise, you would be well beyond us now. What the hell happened?"
Saito noted Aoshi's near slip with her first name, then continued, "You mean Grey Wolf hasn't told you?" Aoshi quickly shook his head, traces of wonder actually showing in his normally cold eyes. "... Grey Wolf learned the Zero gatotsu." Aoshi's eyes nearly went wide, but he contained himself.
"By using you as a training dummy?"
"No... we had a d-" Saito stopped, then quickly asked, "How the hell did you keep me alive?"
"It wasn't easy, that much is true. Even with Grey Wolf force feeding multiple senzu beans, you were still going to die without immediate aid. Luckily, we found you."
"You didn't answer 'we' the first time. Were the other Oniwabanshu with you?" Saito questioned, looking at the hooded figure.
"Oh, forgive me." the figure spoke, removing the hood. It was a boy who looked about 10(though taller then Grey Wolf despite being the right height for his age), with dirty blonde hair, glasses, and two kodachi at his belt. He lowered his head. "Shinomori Raven."
Saito's head gave an unmistakable jerk. "Brother? Cousin?"
"Son."
At that moment, all hell broke loose.
"YOU HAVE A SON?!" Zac cried out.
"YOU'RE MARRIED?!" Saito also cried out, in shock.
"YOU'RE NOT A VIRGIN?! DAMN!!!" Grey Wolf yelled.
Everyone, including 'Mr. Ice Blue Eyes' Aoshi, turned to look at Grey Wolf and stared, an angry twitch in Zac's eyes.
Aoshi coughed, before speaking, "One. I've watched over Raven since he was a child. Two, no, I'm NOT his biological father, though I consider myself his father nonetheless. And three, I'm not married, and I'm a... I'm a..." He strained to say the last word, which came out a whisper, with an embarrassed feel to the word, "... virgin..."
What was even scarier than Grey Wolf's "Damn" was the fact that Saito burst out laughing at this point.
"VIRGIN?! AT 26?! HOW PATHETIC!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-" Saito stopped when he noticed the strange stares from everyone else. "What?"
There was a knock which caused Saito's head to jerk worse than when he'd heard Raven's last name.
He was here.
Aoshi walked to the door, swiftly opening it, confirming Saito's theory.
"Konnichiwa, Batto-... Himura-san." Aoshi spoke, remembering Kenshin had disliked the name "Battousai."
"Ohayou, Aoshi-san! But I must leave for a moment, a girl needs to be brought to her house-"
"AOSHI-SAMA!!!" yelled what appeared to be a blur that flew into Aoshi, almost knocking him over.
No one noticed the immediate twitch that formed in Grey Wolf’s eye.
"M-Misou?!" Aoshi spoke, a bit surprised at the girl's sudden appearance. She abruptly let go, remembering herself.
"Hai, Aoshi-sama!"
"This is where you live?!" Kenshin spoke. "Dear god, no wonder Aoshi's so quiet, Misou drove him insa-ORO?!" Kenshin cried out as a kunai hit his head.
"DON'T DISRESPECT AOSHI-SAMA, BAKA!!!"
"Misou, please, leave Himura-san alone."
"Hai, Aoshi-sama!"
"._. Who the heck are you? I think I saw you at the meeting… You look sorta like a..." Grey Wolf pondered for a second.
"Weasel girl." Saito finished the sentence for Grey Wolf.
"What?! I do not! At least I don't look like a wolf, SIR, or a crossdresser, BOY!!"
"WHAT?! I AM NOT!!! YOU'D BETTER NOT BE DISSING THE SHINSEN, WEASEL GIRL!!!" Grey Wolf yelled, wearing her Shinsengumi uniform.
"NAME ONE MORE FEMALE SHINSENGUMI!!!"
"NAME ONE MORE FEMALE ONIWABANSHU!!!"
"Oi! Shut up, the both of you! Jeez! What the hell's with weasels and midgets talking?!"
"WEASEL?!"
"MIDGET?!"
They both growled at Raven until there was another knock at the door.
"That ahou actually came? More extra weight to carry around..." Saito said to himself. A sneeze came from outside, before Sanosuke was let in.
"Oi, where the hell is everyone else?" Sano asked.
"You arrived early for once, de gozaru na."
"What's that supposed to mean, Kenshin?"
"Ehh! Nothing, Sano!"
Sano glared. "Better not."
"You always arrive late, ahou." Saito spoke bluntly.
"Ahou?! I am not!"
"As I've said to others, you may think that if it makes you feel better, ahou."

Ghost and Vejiita walked towards the Aoiya, still moving at a staggering pace due to their injuries. They both jumped when they heard a cry of pain from the Aoiya.
"Come on, let's go!" Vejiita yelled, as they picked up the pace, running in.
Sano lay on the ground, out cold, Saito patting his hands together as if they were covered in dust.
"What the-" Ghost put his hand on Vejiita's shoulder to stop him.
"You get used to it around Saito." After saying this, Ghost let go of Vejiita quickly. "If Sano arrived before us... then we're sorry we're so late."
"ACHOO!!!" Sano sneezed as he slowly got up. "That's not funny."
"I don't joke. Not much, at least."
The next knock made Grey Wolf jerk the same way Saito had when Kenshin had arrived. First came the master, now the apprentice. Aoshi opened the door, allowing Yahiko to walk in.

Chapter 17 - Revelations
“Seisha sees that you were able to come on your own after all.”
“Of course, Kenshin. I wouldn’t screw up when you were already bogged down, helping Hiko-san. I got in some training on the way, too.”
“Ahh, very good, Ya… hi… ko?”
“What?”
“Explain. Your arm’s strained.”
“I was training, remember?”
“And the shinai’s new position?”
It stood out, no longer on Yahiko’s back, but now in his belt. “Easier drawing, Ken… why the hell are you laughing?” Yahiko said sharply at Grey, who’d begun to chuckle.
“Your lack of ability to hide the fact that you’ve been practicing a rather powerful battojutsu and your stupidity, shown in the fact that you thought Battosai would fall for it.”
“What the hell do you know!? I’d kick your ass if I’d trained as long as you!”
“Excuses, excuses-”
Her eyes narrowed when Yahiko raised the shinai to her. “Do you want to test me, boy… or shall we go at it again?” She whispered, placing a hand on her katana. However, Saito put a hand on hers. Her eyes veered toward him, a momentary fear suppressed as it always was, every time he came near.
Yahiko may not have noticed, but Kenshin and Aoshi couldn’t miss it for the world. But those scars were of a time long past.
“You’ll kill him. Use katana, and you’ll kill him.” He turned. “Shinomori, could she borrow-”
“Shinai?”
“Hai.”
“Of course.” Aoshi quickly said, dashing into the next room for a moment, throwing the shinai to Grey Wolf as he returned.
A soft smile that was, again, part of a memory long past, played on her lips for a hardly noticeable moment before she turned away from him, looking back at Yahiko, getting into gatotsu position.
“I’ll go easy on you. Kami-sama knows I’d kill you otherwise.”
“Have it your way,” Yahiko whispered, getting into a ragged battojutsu position. Grey face palmed, walking to him.
“You’ll be killed if you try bullshit like that, Yahiko,” she muttered, moving him into proper position.
Again, Yahiko and most of the others never noticed, but Saito saw what even Kenshin did not.
Anger, within Aoshi’s eyes. Too close. Fuck the short lesson in battojutsu dynamics, he was too fucking close to his girl. “I think he gets it, Grey. You can let go of him.”
“Oh, right.” She quickly moved away, stepping in front of him again and resuming gatotsu stance.
Wait until he found out about Grey and Zac.
“… You will experience one hell of an amount of pain if you fuck up, which you, undoubtedly, will.” Grey quickly said, smirking. Stupid noob.
But she knew that fire in his eyes, and her smirk dissipated. Noob or not, he had the determination of his father.
“… Iku ze.”
And she ran at him.
Kenshin cursed in surprize.
Aoshi gasped, showing emotion for longer than a moment.
And the cigarette that was once Saito’s hit the floor with a thud that was softer than a pin drop and louder than the heavens themselves.
Grey was jammed into the wall to Yahiko’s right, struggling and shouting in pain, clutching her right side.
It took Aoshi and Zac mere moments to realize what was happening, and run to Grey, but Aoshi got there first.
“Grey, Christ… I’m going to try to pull you free, alright?”
“Y-Yeah…” she whispered, some amount of blood dripping down her chin.
“I think you’re bleeding internally, so you have to try to keep still-”
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Shinomori-san.”
“R-right. Gomen nasai,” he quickly said, putting a hand on her shoulder, the other on her waist. He carefully pulled her free of the wall, her collapsing into his arms. He kept her like this for a moment, before realizing people were staring. “She shouldn’t be moved-”
“Put her the hell down, baka,” Saito said sharply. “You’ll injure her more.”
“Gomen nasai, Saito-san.” Aoshi quickly said, lying Grey down gently. He quickly pulled off her shirt, Grey’s eyes going wide for a moment.
“Sh… Shinomori-san, wait for a second-”
“The wound, Grey. It’ll need cleaning,” he said, starting to pull off her wraps, but stopping for a moment, looking at Saito. “You, leave the room.”
“Why Saito?” Zac suddenly asked. He’d been about to tell Aoshi off, but he’d been thrown off by this latest sentence. “He’s a better doctor than you.”
“Because he’s under probation. Now get the fuck out, Saito.”
“What the hell ever, Shinomori,” Saito muttered, walking into the hallway.
“… Probation?”
“It’s Grey’s business. Don’t pay mind to it, kid.”
If looks could kill. If looks could kill, for Zac’s sake alone. He watched as Aoshi started undoing the wraps, turning away.
“Shinomori, wait a second. I can do it myself-”
“And risk infection, waiting until later? Not a chance, Grey.”
“Aoshi-”
“Grey, just let me-”
“Get the hell away from her. Get the fucking hell away from her and get to the other side of the room. Now.”
Aoshi slowly turned his head, aware of the katana that was cutting very lightly into the back of his neck, and realizing it was Zac that was holding it. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Stopping you. Grey said no.”
“She’ll make herself sick if she doesn’t get the wound cleaned.”
“I’d bet there are things other than that on your mind, though. Now back the hell up.”
“What the fuck do you care? It’s not like she’s your woman or anything. It’s not like she’s replaced me, right, Grey?” He turned back to her, a soft smile on his lips.
At her hesitation, it faded. “Grey?” he whispered, his voice now with a hint of panic.
She couldn’t say it. She couldn’t harm him so. She had to, her relationship with Zac depended on it, but she knew she couldn’t.
“Aoshi, she’s in love with Zac, now. If you care about her so much, you, of all people, should respect her decision.”
Grey didn’t think she could be so grateful and hateful at the same time, but as she looked upon Yahiko, she felt it. No matter what he’d just done to her, she was glad that he’d spoken what she could not.
“… I… I didn’t know.” He slowly let go of Grey, backing away from her before leaving the room.

Chapter 18 - Shirobeko
“Please… come on, guys, listen…” Aoshi spoke, trying to quiet the room.
“Oi, Shinomori-san’s trying to say someth-” Grey Wolf stopped when Saito put his hand on her shoulder so he could speak.
“Hey, everybody… Everybody… EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!”
Everybody shut up at that point.
“Thank you,” Aoshi quickly said. “Now, as we said, Saito, Grey Wolf, Kenshin and Zac will attack the Jupongatana while the Oniwabanshu and I, Ghost, Yahiko and Vejiita will keep Kyoto safe. Does anyone not understand this?
“Aoshi-san, if I may…” Yahiko quickly interjected. “Why is Saito’s team being joined by Zac? No offense, I know I’m at the same level, but he’s not nearly strong enough-”
“It was by his decision.”
“Alright. Just one other, will I be allowed to use katana?” Kenshin quickly made an “oh!” sound, and stood, walking into the next room, then back. He stood in front of Yahiko, holding a katana out in front of him, his sakabato in his belt.
“It’s… mine?”
“Hai, Yahiko!” Kenshin spoke with a smile. Yahiko carefully took the katana into his hands and drew it, a smile dawning on his face. A sakabato.
“Awesome! Thanks, Kenshin!”
“Consider it a gift of acceptance into Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. I’ll show you how to use sakabato properly tonight.
“Ahem.”
“Ahh, gomen, Shinomori-san.”
“No problem. As was asked before, any more questions?”
“Battle plans?” Sano quickly asked.
“Oh, we’re going to form those in the separate groups,” Aoshi said, waving his hand for them to do just that. They quickly shuffled about for a few moments, before settling.
“From what Shinsengumi intelligence tells us…” Saito quickly began, “Shishio’s hideout is based at Mt. Hiei. I’ve been given a rough map out of the complex, but there’s only two routes that can get you to the center, and both cross at this-” he pointed at a room within the base- “location. That’s where the ambush party will be. I’d rather use stealth to end Shishio’s life quietly, but he’s planned his base well. We’ll split in two, Grey Wolf with me, Kenshin, Sanosuke and Zac separate.
“… Hey, where is that idiot…” Grey muttered, Sanosuke not at the meeting, but Saito sent her a silencing glare until Zac spoke up.
“Why can’t Grey and I be toge-”
He fell silent as he realized the reason on his own.
Kenshin and Sanosuke were strict followers of life before death, the gift of mercy, and Katsujin ken.
Saito and Grey, however…
“I will not allow another innocent soul’s hands to be weighted with the blood of another without true, undeniable consent.”
“… Alright, I guess…” he said quietly, hands fidgeting.
“Mm. Now, after we split up….”

Grey Wolf stood outside, Zac practicing a few moves she’d shown him. They’d decided to embark the next morning for Shishio’s lair, the Oniwabanshu and a few others staying behind merely from the memory of the Ikeda ya affair. She turned to look as Raven walked out into the night, looking around tensely.
“Ready?” she asked, tense herself.
“Are you, Himura?”
“Stupid question, of course.” She looked over at Zac. “Alright, enough. You need to rest up for tomorrow, she quickly said, heading in.
She, Raven and Zac jumped at the sudden scream and the explosion, flames turning night to day, Grey spinning and looking-
Shirobeko.
Where Yahiko had entered not five minutes ago.