Author's note:
First and foremost...err....welcome to my sorry excuse for a Gatekeepers
Fanfiction. It's kind of twisted, but you won't find any out-of-this-world
character warping or anything. I'm keeping the characters here as
IC as they possibly can. (Yeah, right...) This story was fabricated
solely by white-knuckle frustration of not finding one single piece
of alternate fanfiction made for the anime Gatekeepers, tons of
espresso, drinking large amounts of a local specialty named 'PomeloGin'(You
heard me) and, of course, utter boredom(the catalyst for all twisted
activities...but what do I know?). New character warning, though;
I've added a character that by no means should not be in here, and
another one that I made up. But so far, nobody's flamed me yet,
since I think at least all Gatekeeper Fans had already seen the
ending, and they want something new....well...at least I do...:)

Anyway, standard disclaimers apply...I own this text file right
here and all the letters you see on it...Rurouni Kenshin belongs
to Watsuki Nobuhiro...Gatekeepers belong to GONZO...The Angel Slayer
and The Countess Reina Chiharu are the fabrication of my mind and
my mind alone....Cooking Master Boy can go STRAIGHT to Hell....quotes
belong to their respective owners....Love Hina rocks, I tell you....By
the way, some parts might be a little lemony...okay, maybe a lot......and
violent...but this is not a lemon....or you'll be just downloading
this not to read but to....uhm....whatever.

Keep off drugs, read with an open mind, forget about the glaring
chronological and spelling errors and you'll finish this fic wih
your computer and mind intact.....

I'm a beginner at this. I'm not afraid to admit it. I say it loud and proud.

This story was created on April 9, Year 2000, 1:29:12 am, Pacific
Standard Time....completion date is still unknown.....
Updates semiregularly....depending on the webmaster...

Contrary to public opinion my name is not always Angel Slayer Battousai.

If you see AkABANGbang or $n0w_M@n in any CounterStrike Server,
do the whole gaming community a favor by switching to the team opposite
theirs and kill them. PLEASE. Camp if necessary - just kill them.

Never drink Pepsi. No valid reason, but I hate their commercials...

You *CAN* post this in your website...just email me first..I'd be
glad to oblige...and never take off anything, including this disclaimer.

Comments, suggestions, send 'em all to the email address above. The one way up top.

Espresso kicks the hardest when injected straight to your femoral artery. Really.

There are MORE Fanfiction about Gatekeepers around, but not much
on the corny alternate kind. You could probably find them all on
fanfiction.net but I will be a big rat bastard and say that mine is the best. (j/k)

But that's the caffeine and my ego talking. Really. Don't take my word for it.

"What do you want, Clarisse? Something to hang on your wall, to
remind you of your courage, your incorruptibility? You don't need
a plaque for that, Clarisse...all you need is a mirror."
-Hannibal Lecter

-=[Unit Two-One][Angel Slayer]=-
2001
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The snow falls softly, covering everything in white. This
way, no one can see the sadness or tears, the loneliness or fears,
no one can see how love is truly beautiful."

**PROLOGUE**

There are the Keepers, and then there are the Masters.

There are those who control the Gate. There are those who are controlled by their gates.
There are those who are the gates themselves.

One man -- only one has achieved that level. To be so connected
to his Gate that both his soul and the Gate itself are fused together,
giving him unlimited access to it--

--Giving him the power of a god--

--And that man - feared in life as well as in death --

For he never dies, nor stays dead--

--armed with the sword of the gods--

--None other than Kenshin Himura.

The Angel Slayer himself.

=Extracted from AEGIS Data Library,
Entry no. 38974,
command line: Kenshin Himura, Gatemaster Unit=

Czechoslovakia, Cherypovka Power Plant District. December 14, 1964. 4:00 a.m.

Snow. Snow all around. Everything is snow. Everything is white,
so damn white it's almost blinding. And it's cold.

Ukiya held the flimsy coat, tattered with bullet holes, tighter around his body.

Too damn cold.

Ukiya checked his gun again, making sure the frost didn't make any
moving parts stick to each other.

I hate this job.

One of the soldiers passing by gave him a paper cup full of coffee.
He muttered thanks, and held the paper cup close. Thankfully, it was warm. It helped a little.

Taking a sip from the cup, he stood up and surveyed the horizon.
Ukiya clicked the safety off his rifle and looked through its sniper
scope, searching for anything....especially the sunglassed-and-trenchcoated variety.

Nothing. Nothing but snow.

They had been stationed in Czech for quite some time now; Ukiya
could barely remember the last time he had a decent meal or slept
in a decent bed. Reports had said that the current invader stronghold
was in a plant to the northeast, just a mile from their current position.

Drawing back his rifle he sat again, taking hold of the coffee cup and sipping again.

"Snow. God forsake this miserable snow....." A voice said behind
him. He turned around to see Shirei, stone-faced as always, wearing
a coat almost as thin as Ukiya's. The frost had begun to freeze one of his glasses' lenses.

"Oh. Shirei." Ukiya nodded at him in acknowledgement. "Yep. I didn't
know I could hate snow this much until we were stationed to Czechoslovakia."

"Cheer up." Shirei said with no trace of emotion on his face. "We're going home soon."

"Masaka...." Ukiya's eyes widened. "..you mean...?"

Shirei nodded. "Draconian measures for Draconian times."

"About time." Ukiya looked back at the horizon. "I kind of feel
sorry for them, you know. They won't stand a chance."

"Them?" There was a trace of humor in Shirei's voice.

"No. The invaders." Ukiya smiled. "With those two on the job, it
makes me thank God that they're on our side..."

**Outside Invader Stronghold, fifteen minutes later**

Two cloaked figures stood in front of the large, imposing, seemingly
indestructible door that blocked off the invader base from view.
Their cloaks flapping in the blizzard's wind like the wings of an
owl trying desperately to escape the updrift, they silently stared
at the massive barrier contemplatively, as if making up some complicated strategem to get inside...

"I HATE CZECHOSLOVAKIA!!" Reina screamed, eyes blazing. "It's cold,
it's wet, it's uncomfortable, it's snow, snow, snow twenty four
hours a day, seven days a week...and the food..." Reina turned into
an interesting shade of green. "I want to go home..."

If you and Kenshin could wrap this all up today, you might.

Screw Shirei. Gatemaster unit my ass. He's using Kenshin..I just
know it...like he was used during the Bakumatsu no Doran...doing the dirty work...alone...

She lowered the hood of her cloak and ran her hand through her long,
yellow hair. Well, that kind of explains why you're here, right? Protecting him.

Baka. Reina laughed slightly. Protect Battousai, the Angel Slayer?
Riiiight. As if he needs protecting--

--but he does. You promised him.

Reina looked down on the snow wistfully, shivering quietly, feeling alone.

As if he cares about it. All he does is get himself into trouble.
Always the first to get into any battle. He doesn't care--

--he does care. All those times, when he went first, before you,
did you happen to think that he was trying to shoulder everything?
That he didn't want you to get hurt?

Nonsense. I'm almost a gatemaster; and I'm a master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu as well....surely...

Surely what? Look; last time you hugged him he almost yelled. He
was trying to hide a rib broken after that last sortie. If that
invader could injure the Angel Slayer, or Battousai for that matter...think
of what he could have done to you.

Reina looked down again as she reached a conclusion.

He's protecting me...actually risking his neck for me...what I should be doing for him....

She risked a glance at Kenshin, who was sitting in the snow, humming
merrily, looking at the invader hideout through a pair of binoculars.
Either on cue, a fluke, or Kenshin was too damn intuitive, he turned
to face her. When their eyes met briefly, green eyes on dark violet
ones, Reina felt the cold disappear. Kenshin, oblivious to her thoughts,
gave her a small smile, small but heartfelt nonetheless.

Baka....Kenshin..no baka...

She closed her eyes.

Doesn't he know?

You never told him.

But he still loves-

But she's gone. All of them. Kenshin visited their graves last week-

You sound so cruel, you know that? As if you're happy she's gone.

I'm not...

Reina gasped involuntarily when Kenshin, quiet as a mouse, grasped
her hand, just below the wrist.

"Reina-dono...tell me what's wrong." Kenshin said softly, his eyes
on hers, gently but firmly, trying to find out exactly what was
on her mind. Reina lowered her head, unwanted tears painfully trying
to squeeze out of her tightly closed eyes..

Oh God...please..please don't let him see... She tried to force
them back, but they still came...

Stop it. This is no time to start.

Reina made a small noise, a sniffling one, quickly dragged her sleeve
across her eyes and smiled brightly at Kenshin. "I-Iie...daijobu."

"Are you sure de gozaru ka?"

Reina nodded quickly. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just some snow that fell into my eyes, that's all."

Kenshin stared at her for a few more moments, then, apparently convinced,
resumed his lookout on the hideout for any visual confirmation of invaders.

Did I actually expect him to believe that? Reina looked uncertainly
at Kenshin, who continued humming.

Baka. Kenshin's being POLITE...too damn polite. He trusts you so
much he'll believe anything you say.

Poor Kenshin. If he only knew...

"Reina-chan, daijobu..?"

Reina jumped at least three feet sideways, no mean feat as she was
loaded down with so much ammunition; when her feet reconnected themselves
firmly to the ground, she spun around and shouted, "Kenshin! Don't DO that to me!"

Kenshin smiled sheepishly, scratching his neck. "Sumanai de gozaru.
Sessha has a habit of doing that...but there's something..." he
held out a pair of binoculars to her.

"Nan da yo?" She said, trying to sound gruff, but failing miserably.
She brushed some accumulating snow off her shoulders. Not replying,
Kenshin handed her the binoculars and pointed. "Look there."

Reina peered through the binocular's lenses, at the direction Kenshin
pointed at. All she saw was a portion of the building's perimeter spiked-fence.

"So what am I supposed to be seeing here?"

Silence. Then-- "Magnify three times, then seven or eight degrees north."

Shrugging, Reina slowly turned the large knob on the binoculars
until she felt it click three times, and peered through them again,
slightly raising it. Spikes filled her vision, along with falling snow.

"Well?" said Reina, a bit annoyed. "I still don't see any-"

"Magnify once, and then move to the left. Slowly."

Looking back at her own brother curiously, Reina peered again, carefully
turning her gaze as spikes against flung snow filled her sight again.
Then she saw, not clearly, but she was sure about it all the same....a
head, pierced on one of the spikes, the latter making a grotesque
makeshift neck, its point poking out.

It was Yuri Mikhail, one of the AEGIS captains who went missing
after a previous skirmish with the invaders. Intelligence thought
he was buried under the snow. But this....

"Hostages." said Reina softly. "They've taken hostages."

Kenshin nodded, eyes staring at their objective. "I found some footprints
heading toward the plant a few minutes before they were completely covered by the blizzard."

"How many?"

"Four, five. Can't really tell..."

"Damn." Reina said under her breath, sitting down in the snow, not feeling the cold.

Hypothermia be damned, her legs were already tired from standing too long--

--and it could get longer, from the looks of things.

Damn.

Hugging her knees, trying to conserve warmth, Reina listened as
Kenshin yelled at Shirei conveniently from a two-way radio, informing
him about the hostages over the blizzard's noise.

***

"Yeah, Shirei, HOSTAGES.... Hello? Hello? Shirei, can you hear me
de g- YES! HOSTAGES! They've got hostages....how MANY? I think four,
maybe five..what?...Gomen na sai de gozaru, but sessha can't..hear...Shirei? Shirei? SHIREI!"

Kenshin sighed, turned off the radio and let it drop to the ground.
The battery was almost dead anyway.

"Kenshin!" He heard Reina call. He looked up to see Reina patting the snow beside her.

"Come on. Don't keep standing there like an idiot, freezing your
hair off. Sit next to me." She said, smiling.

"Arigato de gozaru na." Kenshin said, returning the smile. He walked
over and sat beside Reina, who pulled him close. It was getting colder.

Damn it. Shirei should have told me.

He didn't know. Nobody knew.

Kenshin smiled a thin smile as Reina huddled closer to him, resting
her head on his shoulder. He felt her shiver.

Poor Reina. She's freezing...not probably used to this kind of temperature...

"Of course not. Baka." Reina muttered. Kenshin stared back at her, blinking.

"Did I say that de gozaru ka?" He squeaked.

"You're not the only one who studied under Hiko, mind you." Reina
reached up with the hand holding Kenshin to her and whacked him
softly on the head. "I can read chi too..."

"A-Aa."

Reina whacked him again, harder this time. "I'm shivering because
I'm not used to this kind of weather, dumbass! And I'm not used
to this kind of weather because I'm not like you, Battousai-SAN,
who fought all winter long during the Bakumatsu...."

"Look!" Kenshin threw up his hands in indignation. "It's not Battousai,
ne?! It's *KENSHIN*. Himura. Ken-san. Whatever. Foxtail even. I
don't care. Not Battousai, not Hitokiri, not Angel Slayer. Just
don't..." He shook his head briefly. "..call me that."

"Touchy, touchy."

Kenshin lowered his head. "Try being named like some kind of monster
from children's nightmares and you'd probably feel much like I did."

"Okay, okay. No more name-calling." Reina slung one arm around Kenshin's
shoulders and pecked him on the cheek. "No more digging up of the
past.....God knows it's not good to dwell on such things...but then again..."

Reina held Kenshin tighter. "..the past is all we have."

Silence. Then--

Kenshin looked at her curiously. "Where in the world, can I ask,
did you get that from de gozaru ka?"

"From you, where else?" Reina brushed more snow from her hair. "I
don't have somebody else spouting 'zen' type garbage at me, now do I?"

"All those years...I never knew..." Kenshin said, his voice trailing
off, his eyes looking at the horizon, pensive, as if in sudden discovery of something...

"What? You never knew what?"

"That my annoying onee-sama actually listens to me..." Kenshin finished,
and hastily dodged Reina's fist. "Eh...sumimasen...Ow."

"Of course I listen to you! Dummy!" Reina chuckled as Kenshin tried
to scrape the worst of the snowball she had squashed on his skull
out of his hair. "I always do!"

"Are you sure about that de gozaru ka?"

Reina crossed her arms over her chest, taking a pose. She laughed
confidently, much like a model. "Of course! Name one time I didn't."

Kenshin scratched his messy head, eyes in deep thought. "Well...let's
see... First off, there was that Superweapon you broke..."

Reina was prepared. "They didn't say it was malfunctional."

"But I told you not to, right? One point for me then...let's see..that's
right...." Kenshin looked up to the sky completatively. "...giving
Ayame and Suzume candy before going to bed, thus giving them cavities.."

"How was I supposed to know they didn't brush that night?!"

"Reina-dono..you know I always ask them if they did...if my memory
serves me right, I think I reminded you to....another point for
me...another one..hmm..ah!..spending grocery money on a MP5..."

"Hey! It was a bargain!" Reina huffed indignantly.

"You could've just asked me, you know....I knew an arms dealer then,
and he'd be more the happy to give me a 50% discount.....sessha
maintains his lead at three-zero....and, of course, who could forget,
shooting Shirei with a paintgun...."

"I apologized, didn't I?! Besides, Mulberry Pink went very well with that black suit he wore!"

"...gave Ukiya's girlfriend a trick exploding present.."

"Hey, HE asked me to give that to her! Wait! Alright! Alright! I
concede! I give up!" Reina stood up, arms akimbo. "Okay, there might
have been a teensy number times when I didn't listen to you, but that's not the point!"

Kenshin looked up at her. "And the point is?"

"I want you to listen to me!" Reina said, faintly pink.

Some more silence.

Kenshin scratched his head again, confused.

Reina looked down at her own brother, brow knitting.

"Don't I listen to you?"

"You think?!" Kenshin hastily dodged a snowball that would have
decapitated him. "Always the first to go! Not bothering to wait
for me sometimes! And may I remind you," Reina said, eyes slitted
as she packed some snow together in her hands, "...of the time that
a particularly stupid 'someone' was so raring to go that he forgot
to bring spare clips for his AK-47?!"

Kenshin winced as a well-aimed snowball impacted squarely on his
forehead, knocking him back into the snow.

Gomen na sai de gozaru...I...Ouch. Whoever knew a snowball could hit so hard?

"Hai, hai...suminai de gozaru yo...you've made your point...Ow."

"Apology accepted." Reina held out her hand. Kenshin took it, and
Reina helped him back up to a sitting position. She sat next to him, cuddling for warmth.

"So you'll listen to me from now on?" she said, muffled.

"Hai de gozaru."

"No more secrets?"

"Hai de gozaru."

Some more silence. Then--

"Kenshin?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we stay like this for a while? I want to sleep a bit.."

It's not that cold.

Not when she's around.

"Hai." I'll try.

So warm....

Kenshin shook his head lightly, drawing a half-irritated protest
from Reina, who was snoozing softly.

You're not worthy. You never were. And never will be.

Too tainted....too stained...

Details, details, Kenshin almost heard Katsura-san say. Don't let
them get in the way. A woman in love wouldn't. She would only see
you. You. Not your past, not your scar, not your sword, not your sins. Only you.

His hand went up, slowly, to cup his left cheek, pressing the ridges of his scar into his hand.

Too tainted. That's what I am. But Tomoe...Kaoru...Reina...they saw beyond Battousai...

He tried to rub life back into his legs, they were getting numb,
and painfully so....Reina's grip around his waist did not help in any way.

"Kenshin. Stop moving, dammit."

Oops. Kenshin smiled his rurouni smile. Dammit, Reina, I don't know
what I would do without you...and I would give half my life expectancy...not
that it's so long, mind you....that you stay with me. "Gomen nasai. Did I wake you de gozaru ka?"

"Yeah, you idiot, you did." Reina gave him a soft elbow to the ribs.
"But thanks anyway." Yawning, she stood up and stretched, glancing
at her almost-frozen watch. "We've wasted enough time.....I want
to get back in time for dinner....here, catch...oops."

Kenshin rubbed the spot where the Angel Slayer had connected painfully
with his head. "Arigato de gozaru yo...ow.."

"Clumsy jackass." Reina chuckled, helping Kenshin up. "Really. If
I didn't know any better...Kenshin? Kenshin?" Reina asked, alarmed,
when Kenshin suddenly went tense under her touch.

"Kenshin? KenSHIN!" Reina shook her brother lightly. Was something wrong?

He's here. I know he is.

Kenshin's eyes quickly darted to the left, following shadows.

Why now?

He tensed all the more as he sensed another being, hidden, near
them...watching them, motionless...too powerful for an invader..stained with pure malice...

Of course -- oldest trick in the book -- attacking the enemy when
his weakness is out in the fucking open....

One hand immediately went to the Angel Slayer's handle, feeling
the metal instantly go warm under his touch, as if welcoming. Slowly, he unsheathed it.

There! Where...?

He glanced sharply to the right.

Where are you? What are you?

Kenshin's hand tightened on the Angel Slayer, knuckles white.

Who are you?

There....

"REMAIN NAMELESS!" Kenshin screamed, the Angel Slayer's tip gathering
dark energy as he lifted it over his head...and then brought it
crashing down on the ground, the energy flung out of the sword in
a straight, black beam of death with enough force to obliterate
a mountain....the beam streaked above the snow, blasting through
anything in its path...and then exploded, sending ice flying everywhere.

You are no god.

I am.

Reina looked at her own brother, mortified. This was the first time
in months that he had actually used the Angel Slayer....much less
attack with its dark energy. Whatever startled Kenshin into projecting
a beam that powerful...she saw it detonate ten miles away....must have been strong.

"Kenshin-" She started, and then stopped. Now she felt it too....something
large, powerful...with the same dark energy as Kenshin's...

Her hand immediately went to her rifle, her fingers wrapping around
the bolt without looking, racking a bullet into the firing chamber.
No sense standing around like an idiot..

Then, as suddenly as it had appeared....it vanished....

Kenshin silently slid the Angel Slayer back into its sheath, letting
out the breath he had unwarely been holding.

"Kenshin..." Reina tried again, putting back her sniper rifle in
its sling, absently flicking the safety on and off. "What was that?"

He slowly shook his head. "It's nothing." He said in a voice that
sounded extremely like his other half. "Forgive me." Kenshin walked off.

Bastard. You lie like a fool. Not even a deaf person would fall for that.

Shut up. You know what I saw.

And you're afraid?

Yes.

Afraid?

Yes....

Kenshin felt a hand clamp firmly on his shoulder and roughly turn him around.

"Tell me." Reina said firmly, her voice not unlike Kenshin's, something hard set in her emerald eyes.

"No."

Kenshin walked off, leaving a stunned Reina behind.

Reina. You don't need- you must not know. I'm scared...

"Tell me." Reina said again, slightly breathless, catching up with
him. "You said you'd listen....so listen already."

No more secrets.

"....."

"Kenshin." Reina tried again. "Please...dammit, we already talked about this..."

"This is another matter entirely."

Reina grabbed her hair in frustration. God, Kenshin can be so stubborn
sometimes....If only Shirei could see us now.... "Look, Kenshin...you
used the Angel Slayer....doesn't that mean anything? I mean, come
on! You hardly use it even when we're fighting invaders, much less
if we're fighting enemy gatekeepers...."

"...."

"....and you use it only in emergencies..Kenshin? Kenshin?"

Kenshin merely walked on, blatantly ignoring her.

"Was it an enemy gatekeeper?" Reina guessed.

"..."

"Core invader?"

"..."

"Slayer?"

"I said it was nothing." Kenshin said, his words clipped.

"Demo-"

"This conversation is over. De. Gozaru."

Too close.

Fuming, Reina hmmphed, shoved her hands into her pockets and stomped off.

Idiot--- well, I'm not going to give up that easily --

--there are OTHER ways--

One hand immediately went to her katana.

Just you wait, Himura....

Reina barely suppressed a giggle when she heard Kenshin sneeze.

***
Fifteen Minutes Later
***
"Ready, Kenshin?"

"A-Aa."

Reina scrutinized the massive metal barricade before them, raising
an eyebrow. "Well, I think one blast should be enough....right....stand
back, Kenshin." Reina unslung her rifle and stripped its magazine away.

"Ano....what are you going to do now de gozaru ka?" Kenshin asked
Reina, curious as Reina loaded the rifle with ammunition he had
never seen before. Well, at least not in the armory....well, Reina
had ways of getting illegal calibers that would have had her arrested
if not for her Earth Defender License.

Wonder if it's napalm-encased rounds again....Kenshin thought, sweating
as Reina racked the bolt of her rifle. The last time Reina used
that particular kind of ammo, Reina had almost set the whole place on fire.

"Ano de gozaru na..." Kenshin asked again, eyes widening as Reina took aim.

"Nan da yo?" Reina slid her view from the scope to Kenshin, peering over the side of her rifle.

"Um....sessha was wondering...."

Who's asking questions now?

Reina sighed, exasperated. She lowered the rifle. "No, Kenshin,
these are NOT incendiary napalm rounds; no, these are NOT Acid encased
rounds; no, these are not hydrogen rounds and NO, I am not going
to do anything that would blow us all up to kingdom come." Reina
brushed back her bangs, casting an annoyed look on her brother. "Well? Satisfied?"

"Ha-hai..but...what-?"

Reina smiled. "Gate rounds - .457 Wilde Magnum with a micro energy
amplifier in each bullet cap. Armor Piercing, full metal jacket.
Clocks about a millisecond faster than the average, ten thousand
tons and a half on impact, range of ten miles....assuming it goes
through a gate, of course. I'm field-testing it." Reina raised the
rifle back up, and took aim again. Her gate opened, swirling white,
almost indiscernible from the white snow.

"Didn't I tell you to...?" Reina said simply to Kenshin, not taking
her eyes off the sight. He took the hint, and backed away hastily.

"Gate Assault..." her right hand automatically came up and disengaged
the safety without the need to look. Forefinger tightening on the trigger, she concentrated.

"Ether Flare!"

Reina felt the monstrous kick of the rifle push her back as she
fired; a loud, thunder-like explosion jarred the nearly-defeaning
silence as the large round streaked toward the white gate. As it
entered, the gate seemed to glow brighter as it absorbed the round....and
then, abruptly, the oversized bullet blasted out of the gate, now
encased in a massive white aura, like a comet....it streaked towards
the barricade so fast that Reina barely had time to blink.

Then, unexpectedly, a blinding light exploded as the Ether Flare
hit an invisible wall a few feet from the barricade, repelling...the
comet's energy crackled much like electricity as it struggled to push through.

"They're using a shield!" Reina shouted over the din. For some reason
the wind blew much stronger now, howling loudly, threatening to
blow them off their feet. "My Ether Flare can't get through----"

She was cut off when the comet suddenly exploded in white sparks,
extinguished. The round, smoking and half-melted, fell to the ground
with a defeated clunk. Kenshin shielded his face from the blizzard,
hand automatically going to the Angel Slayer's handle, seeking its
welcoming warmth, but after an afterthought, drew the sakaba instead.

Never again. Never.

"Reina! Flares at my signal!" Kenshin shouted to Reina, who was
struggling to stay upright. She gave him a thumbs up, chambered a round and aimed.

Ready...

The wind, if possible, grew even stronger as both Gatekeepers opened
their gates in unison, one white, one black; Kenshin with his katana
poised over the gate; Reina, with the barrel of her gun pointed
at hers. Both seemed to be immune to the wind as they stood unnaturally still.

"NOW!!"

In perfect harmony, both Gatekeepers unleashed a massive beam of
white and black, the colors striking, clashing as they sped onward.
Once again, the beams were blocked by an invisible wall; it seemed to hold....

....and then was broken. The barricade, now without a shield, was
destroyed utterly as the beams struck it, now unimpeded, making
it explode into a thousand pieces, which then vanished into nothing.

Instantly, under the cover of the resulting smoke, wasting no time,
both Gatekeepers rushed into the compound, Kenshin with the sakaba
in battou-jutsu position, Reina holding two fully loaded with armor
piercing capability Uzi's in both hands.

As they burst through the fog, Reina saw the inevitable; a mass
of invaders rising from the ground, their glasses glinting in the
sunlight, suits contrasting with the bright snow.

Showtime.

At this point, Reina's thoughts raced to the pace equal to her footsteps,
a technique Kenshin had taught her upon her insistance; to calculate
as quickly as possible, to organize your thoughts during the lapse
of two running steps or less. It enabled you to look at an enemy,
and while rushing, getting your katana strike blocked or hit, make
split-second strategies or decisions that could very well save your life.

So far Reina could devise a dozen strategies against her opponent
in one second, and twice after that. Kenshin, obviously, had mastered
it, capable of thinking up an unlimited number of attack plans just
by looking at his enemy in the space of a millisecond or so -- a
trait essential for survival, he had said--

--or a trait of a Slayer.

Reina effortlessly kept up with Kenshin's sprint, calculating. The
invaders had already started firing -- the frequency rings exploded beside them, incinerating.

Let's see now..Reina thought as another violet ring missed her by
mere inches. Three hundred, give or take fifty.....five cores....no
Enemy Gates....no civilians in sight -- probably inside the compound itself.

Reina grinned, levelling the Uzis at the invaders, aiming.

This was going to be easy.

Without warning, she opened fire.

****

It's not here.

Kenshin violently lashed out with the sakabatou, tearing apart an
invader, reducing it into mere crystal.

I can't find it...it must be gone.

Pivoting sideways, Kenshin dodged a barrage of purple missiles,
and, muttering a particularly vile curse he had learned from Reina,
sent a massive black beam towards the direction where the missiles had come from.

It better be....because if he's here I'll tear this place apart to find him...

Kenshin gritted his teeth as he stabbed his sword into another invader
and, taking hold of its neck, ripped it apart into two, which exploded
weakly, again littering the snow with green shards.

...and when I do find him...

Kenshin opened his gate, deep black, before him, sword and body
in battou-jutsu position, muscles stretching with tension, preparing...

...I'll tear HIM apart.

Without warning, Kenshin struck, the sword whipped out from its
saya in a motion so fast it was a blur...wind screamed around him,
torn by the force of the sudden blow....

Tenshi Ansatsuken Ryuu. Aku-Fujin-Ryu-Sen.

In an instant, the Gate of Death crackling with energy, countless
huge air blades as dark as the gate itself flew in all directions,
mercilessly cutting through anything...and exploding in impact..

The sound of crystals exploding filled the air.

***

Nine. Eight. Seven.

Reina dodged an oncoming invader, sidestepped and tilted at the
same time, pivoted and sent three bullets at its direction, not
bothering to look. Aiming, for Reina, was a quick art; one only
needed a split second or less to confirm one's target, and shoot. Nothing more.

Six.

Reina jumped, and shoving one of her Uzi's directly in front of
an invader's face, fired a point-blank shot that shattered the alien's skull.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Landing on one foot Reina shifted her weight to her heel, falling
backwards, avoiding the frequency rings that flew above her and
unleashed a barrage of bullets from both Uzis as she fell into the snow.

Reload. Now.

Reina pressed both Uzi's magazine release buttons with both thumbs
and with one quick jerk, shook the empty, smoking magazines out
of the guns and into the snow. Breathing hard, she fumbled for the
magazines--it was so cold it was making her fingers numb--

Too slow. Too slow--

Reina slammed a clip into one of the Uzis, and not bothering to
reload the other one, and without looking up, fired in front of her.

Clink. Clink. Clink. The sound of crystals hitting each other told her all she needed to know.

Die.

Sliding a full magazine into the other Uzi, Reina opened her gate in front of her.

"Gate Assault...Ether Missiles."

Bracing herself, Reina leveled her guns at her gate and fired into
it, the Uzis bucking crazily in her hands, smoking cartridges raining down her feet....

Instantly, a massive rain of small white comets blasted out of the
white gate, streaking and tearing through anything. Like a swarm
of bees they flew in a tight formation, intent on killing. Invaders
exploded in a brilliant shower of white and green as the homing
projectiles struck with the power of a small bomb.

*Click*

Not missing a beat, Reina threw down the now-empty(and now half-melted)
Uzis, drew her pistols and started firing, picking off invaders
one by one. Left, right, left, right.

They're not supposed to be this easy, Reina thought, firing alternately,
right hand, then left, not counting her ammunition.

Something's wrong....

Alarm bells rang through her head as the last invader disappeared in a mist of green shards.

Kenshin? Where --

Reina turned to see Kenshin, a little ways off, sheathing his sakabatou....and
one hand creeping up to the Angel Slayer...

He's felt it too...

Then, without warning, the ground below shook..... Reina whirled
to see Kenshin, fear in his eyes, about to open his mouth to say something...

***

This is easy...too easy...

Kenshin sheathed the sakabatou, not taking his eyes off the field,
one hand resting on the Angel Slayer.

Masaka....

Kenshin's eyes widened at the sudden realization...

Nothing but a trap. We were lured....Reina....

No...

"REINA!!!"

****

Kenshin...

Reina stared in horror as a large, dragon-symbiote invader burst
forth from the ground behind her, eyes flashing red, staring deep
into her as it towered over her by a good twenty feet --

Kenshin...

Target Acquired.

Proceed. Destroy. Destroy. Destroy.

One of the dragon's claws cocked back, preparing to strike.

Destroy--

The claw plummeted towards Reina, a black blur amongst the white....

Kenshin-

Reina closed her eyes.

Three. Two. One.

Gate Assault-

"ETHER FLARE!!"

Without warning, Reina dropped on one knee and thrusted her hand
up, towards the incoming claw, her gate open, and unleashed a beam
so powerful it almost blinded her -- the beam streaked up to meet the invader entity --

and was blocked by an invisible barrier....the beam crackled in
protest...Reina, gritting her teeth, opened her gate wider, trying
to penetrate the shield....the beam progressed inch by painful inch
into the invisible wall...and then exploded.

Reina watched in disbelief as her Ether Flare fizzle out and vanish.
Obviously the invader was shielded as well, like the barricade....the
claw, now unimpeded, sped downward again, and this time, struck
Reina hard, blowing her off her feet, tossing her into the snow, skidding.

"REINA!!!!"

****

Curse you -- curse you all--

"REINA!!!!"

Kenshin yelled as Reina was struck by the dragon in a fierce backhand....every
muscle in his body taut...the fear that had held him earlier now
gave way to hatred...pure, blinding hatred....a feeling that he
was so accustomed to...one he had tried so many years to supress....to force back...

to hold....

Reina....

No more secrets...I'll always protect you, Kenshin..

"SHI-NE!!!!"

Kenshin, now enraged, jumped, soaring high over the dragon whose
head followed his ascent, sword hand closing over the Angel Slayer,
feeling it instantly become warm....

You are no protector.

"Tenshi Ansatsuken Ryuu-"

You are only an avenger. A Slayer.

Changing trajectory in midair, Kenshin dived toward the Dragon,
whose mouth was already open, as if to swallow him whole....

So avenge.

So slay.

"AKU-RYU-SEN!!!"

The whole world darkened in a single second, drowned in shadow as
the greatest weapon on earth was used to its fullest extent.

It has begun.

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

This is the story of one man with the power of a god....a group
of teenagers presented with the task to save the world....where
even a loved one could be an enemy....and the impending invasion
that would become the greatest battle in the history of Mankind...

This is the story of The Gate Master.

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

******
September 9, 1969. Tategami High, second floor, Room Class 2-A.
******

"Ikusawa, Ruriko!"

Ruriko Ikusawa, 17, of class 2-A of Second Year of Tategami High,
straightened in her seat and raised her hand. "Present," she said,
looking dejectedly at Ukiya, who was snoring along with Bancho.

*Oh, Shun....you shouldn't have stayed up all night just to give
me this...* Ruriko raised her right wrist and eyed the bracelet
Ukiya gave her for no apparent reason at all.
*It's months before my birthday, it's weeks before ANY obvious holiday....*
The final bell rang, end of the day, and the signal to meet at AEGIS HQ.

As the students poured out of the classroom, Ruriko picked up her bag and walked over to Ukiya.

"Ukiya-kun," Ruriko shook his shoulder gently. "Ukiya-kun!"

No response.

"Ukiya-kun....come on, wake up....the Commander's probably waiting
for us..." Ruriko needled, one hand shaking Ukiya's shoulder while
the other tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear.

Still no response.

"Okay, fine," Ruriko huffed, crossing her arms. "I'm leaving, and
don't say I didn't try to wake you up when the Commander reprimands
you again," She turned to leave.

"Gomen na sai, Ruripe," Ukiya's muffled voice filtered through his
arms so unexpectedly that Ruriko almost jumped. He stood up and
raked his hand across his unruly hair, grinning. His gaze dropped
to her hand. "Oh. You wore it..."

"Yes, I..." Uncertainty flickered in her voice, but then she smiled.
"I forgot to thank you yesterday night. Sumimasen, Ukiya-kun."

"It's alright, Rurippe, just don't do it again," The keeper of the
gate of life narrowed her eyes at Ukiya. "Er.... why don't we go
out after the meeting? If you're not doing anything..."

Ruriko stopped. Ukiya was...asking her out on a date?

"Not some fancy stuff, mind you, just some good food and a walk in the park afterwards..."
She silenced him by grasping his hand and looking into his eyes.

"Ukiya-kun, I'd love to."

As they walked to the hidden door to AEGIS, Ruriko pinched Ukiya's wrist.

"Just don't order any more kid's meals, alright?"

Ukiya gave a groan of pain and assent as they went down the tunnel.

***
Ruriko straightened her ribbon, which somehow got tangled into her
hair. She looked at Reiko, who was talking animatedly to Feye. Megumi
was as usual buried into her notebook. Bancho was dozing. Kaoru
was reading something from a piece of paper, probably the poem the
teacher assigned to be memorized for a quiz. Yukino was nowhere.
Ukiya was studying a sheathed katana that was placed in front of
the space where the Commander would pop up.

"Ano....Ochiai-san, what's the sword for?" Ukiya asked the Commander's personal secretary.

Oichia brushed her hair. "I'm not quite sure....all I know is it's
been here longer than I have, and the one who owned it died four years ago."

"Well, can I...?" Ukiya reached for the sword.

"I'd rather you didn't," Ochiai said with a frown. "Commander asked
me to extract that from the Weapons Cache vault personally. It might
be important. Besides," Ochiai leafed through her file. "The sword
is programmed to emit nine gigavolts of electricity if touched by anyone but the owner."

Ukiya jerked his hand back, as if it had caught fire.

Ochiai looked at Ukiya strangely, and then laughed into the back
of her hand. "Just kidding, Ukiya. I had Megane-kun turn that function off."

"Oh." Ukiya reddened, then glared at Ruriko and Kaoru, who were giggling girlishly.

"It's a Gatekeeper's weapon, if you must know." Ochiai put down
her file, unsheathed the weapon and pointed it at Ukiya with the
ease and expertise of an experienced swordsman. "A reversed edge
sword, with two micro energy amplifiers."

She put it back into its sheath and locked the catch in one smooth
motion. "Commander was supposed to give you this during training,
but I guess he saw it fit to give you a unit two bokken instead.
The gatekeeper who used this took all his life to master it."

"Where'd you learn how to-"

"Just a few kenjutsu lessons, Ukiya. With all the invaders around,
a girl can't be too careful, ne?"

Suddenly, Ochiai's mobile phone rang.

"Excuse me." Ochiai hunted for her phone in her pockets as she half-mindedly
tossed the sword to Ukiya, who caught it warily, looking at it as if it were a snake.

"Here we are," Ochiai breathed as she pressed the 'accept call'
button on her phone. She raised it to her ear. "Hello? Commander?
Yes.....you're going to visit him?...say hello to him for me, will
you?....um...yes...I'll see to it right away."

She snapped her phone shut and began to open her file. "It seems
that Commander can't attend today's meeting. Now I know all of us
need to go home early, I for one *need* to clean my apartment, so I'll be brief."

She pressed a key on the Commander's keyboard. A map of Japan appeared
on the screen with several red dots on it. "We've been receiving
large electric wave signals across the country but that's it. No
influxes or hostile activity of any kind. Also no sightings. It
seems the invaders are keeping low profile."

She pressed another key. "As for the Dark Gate, we haven't found
anybody fitting his description. If you see him, confront him with
caution if you have another Gatekeeper with you. If not, call for
help. Preferably try to always be in pairs..." Ochiai glanced pointedly
at Ukiya and Ruriko. "..just in case." She closed her file and deactivated the screen. "Any questions?"

Ruriko raised her hand. "The school will be holding a play next
week, and...we're all in it. We..."

"...are concerned about security?" Ochiai shrugged. "If the invaders
attack that time, I'm sure you can take care of them. After all,
you'll be in the stage, right? We'll just place heavy surveillance
and if any invaders show up, we'll make an emergency intermission.
Something vague, like, the lights have gone off and we have to replace
them, or something. Megane'll have the Gate Machine prepped up and
ready." She looked at the Gatekeepers. "Anything else?"

Silence, except for Bancho snoring.

"Well, if there's nothing else, meeting adjourned." Ochiai tapped
the table with an air of finality, and looked at her watch. "Maybe
I can catch that last bus..." she walked off.

Ruriko stood up and tucked the loose strands of her hair behind
her ear, thinking of the night ahead. It would be romantic, the
stars in the night sky, the fresh air, the lights of the city above
them...and maybe, she could ask Ukiya why he had given her the bracelet.....
she gave a inquiring look at her bag. Homework could wait.

she closed her eyes, smiling.

"Ukiya-sempai! Sempai!"
"Tage-kun!"

Ruriko's reveries were shattered abruptly by Kaoru and Feye, latching
themselves to Ukiya's two arms. A vein throbbed in her temple. Ukiya sweatdropped. The nerve....!

"Sempai!! Let's go to the European Carnival that just came into
town! All the other students are talking about it. Please?" Kaoru
looked up to Ukiya expectantly. "Well?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I have something t-to do tonight.."

"C'mon!" Fei crossed her arms angrily. "You promised!"

"I...I did?" Ukiya looked blankly at the 12-year-old Gatekeeper,
who was getting redder by the minute. "I..I.."

"OF COURSE YOU DID!!" Fei tugged hard at Ukiya's arm. "I can't believe
you FORGOT!!!" Fei turned her nose up at Ukiya. "Xiao na ni!! If
you don't take us I'll ask Yukino-chan to freeze you again!!"

Kaoru tapped his shoulder. "Look, Sempai, this Carnival is only
held in Japan once every three years. I've already reserved tickets
for all of us, and it wasn't easy. I've got one for you, one for
me, one for Fei-chan, one for Reiko-chan, one for Megumi-chan, one
for Bancho, one for Megane and one for Ruriko-chan." Her eyes made
a pleading look. "Come on. Please...?"

Ukiya looked at Ruriko for help. Ruriko simply smiled and nodded.

"Well....okay...I guess." Ukiya said, a little awkwardly.

Kaoru clasped her hands. "Great! Let's meet near the Carnival ticket
stands, a little bit away from the park fountain. Ja ne!" With that, they ran off, Reiko in tow.

Ukiya glanced apologetically at Ruriko. "I...I.."

Ruriko forced herself to smile. "Baka. Don't look at me as if I'll shoot all my arrows at you."

Ukiya let go of the breath he had been holding. For a moment he
had thought she would do exactly that. He put her arm on her shoulder.
"Ruripe...gomen. I just didn't expect this..."

"It's alright, Ukiya-kun," Ruriko sighed, holding his hand in hers.
She raised her other wrist to look at her watch, making the bracelet tinkle softly.

Ukiya smiled. "I never did get to ask if you liked it."

Ruriko whapped him on the head with her bag. "That's because you
were snoring away in class. You could've passed me a note or something. Ukiya no baka."

Ukiya sweatdropped.

Ruriko smiled at him. "Well, if you want me to tell you..." She
threw her arms around her neck and kissed him deeply.
The effect was electric. Ukiya was surprised, to say the least.
Then he felt Ruriko's tongue caress his, and he kissed her back.

When they seperated, both felt light-headed and warm. Both only
felt each other's arms around each other. Both only saw into each
other's eyes. Both were oblivious to the outside world.

"Uhm." A cold voice coughed.

That snapped them out of it. Ruriko and Ukiya turned to see Megumi,
looking at them over her notebook. Then they realized what they
had been doing, and quickly seperated, Ruriko blushing, covering
her cheeks. There was an awkward silence.

"I would advise you to refrain from your....current activities until
Banba is not in the current vicinity," Megumi raised an eyebrow,
"Because he doesn't call you 'Princess' for nothing."

"Umm...thank you, Megumi-san.." Ruriko said softly, bowing. Her hair lightly swayed.

Megumi hmmph'ed in acknowledgement. She turned to Ukiya. "Meet you in the Carnival."

Ukiya looked at her strangely as she walked away. He shrugged and
shouted, "Oi, Banba! Meeting's over! Wake up!"

Ruriko's cheeks were still burning. It was so EMBARASSING.....being
caught kissing...... but thankfully only Megumi saw them, and she
could trust Kuroganei...she wouldn't....COULDN't tell the others, could she.....?

Ukiya offered his arm to her. She blinked at him.

"Well? Shall we?"

Ruriko smiled brightly in acknowledgement. "Let's, my good sir." She took his arm.

After outside the school grounds, Ukiya asked: "So do you like it or not?"

Ruriko looked at Ukiya unbelievingly, and whapped him on the head again. "Ukiya no baka."
****

The man known to AEGIS Far East only as Commander sat in the quiet night air, waiting.

Waiting for the one man that had left AEGIS, the man that became
the most powerful Gatekeeper in all the four AEGIS Departments.

He looked at the lights of the Carnival reflected on the river with
a sense of irony and sarcasm. He had not expected this would happen
at all. All his life he knew the risks, he calculated them either
by instinct or just by pure luck. But this was beyond them. He had
never known that he would ask this man for help.

It was five years later.

The man came a little bit later, being towed by two little girls.

He had not changed. At all.

His red hair was still long and messy, the reason for not-too-uncommon
reprimands for his part. At least it was still tied loosely back.
He still looked painfully thin, but the Commander had seen this
man in action to know better. And that scar on his left cheek the shape of a cruel cross.

Or an X.

The Commander smiled inwardly when the man's eyes narrowed when he came into view. Kenshin.

"Kenshin? Kenshin? Oniichan?" The little girl with long hair tugged
at Kenshin's right hand, concern in her eyes, wondering why Kenshin
had suddenly lost interest. "Look, we don't have to go to the Ferris Wheel if you don't want to..."

The other girl tugged at his hand as well. "Yeah, Kenshin. We'll just go to the Carrousel..."

Kenshin looked down on his two wards and smiled. He knelt down on
one knee and said, "No, I just have to talk with that man over there.
Besides, I promised you two, ne? I'll take you to the Ferris Wheel after I talk with him."

Ayame smiled. Taking hold of Suzume's hand, she said, "Okay. We'll
try to look for a nice girl for you to draw while we're waiting,
alright Kenshin?" Kenshin opened his mouth to speak but the two had already ran off.

He shook his head sheepishly, and then turned to the matter at hand. Commander.

"Still drawing?" The Commander remarked as Kenshin sat a little
ways beside him. Neither man looked at each other.

"It's a bad habit." Kenshin leaned back and enjoyed the fresh air.
"One that I might not get around to breaking."

The other man chuckled softly. "You always did have a pencil handy,
even on missions. I remember Ochiai-kun putting a pencil in your medpak."

"Well, Ochiai-san was quite generous with the office supplies, so
I helped myself. And a man needs to do more than just gatekeeping."
Kenshin said, looking up to the stars. "Why are you here, anyway? If you don't mind my asking."
He smiled ruefully. "I never knew you liked carnivals, de gozaru yo."

Wordlessly, the Commander reached into the duffel bag that he had
been carrying, took out a long package wrapped in leather and held
it out to Kenshin. Kenshin looked curiously at the Commander but
took the package anyway and opened it.

It was his old Gatekeeper Sakabattou.

He undid the catch and unsheathed it a little. The micro energy
amplifiers were still operational, the blade shiny. The moonlight
reflected off it like light would a mirror.

"Ano...Shirei...I can't accept this." He put it back into its sheath
and locked the catch. He held it out to the other man. "I know what
you're thinking, and frankly, I can't."

"You know as well as I do that you are needed, Himura." The Commander
made no move to take the sakaba.

"And you know as well as I do that I have done enough." Kenshin
looked at the other man with anger. "I had very well given my entire
life to AEGIS. I gave my life to protect the people who might turn
into what I protect them from any minute."

The Commander looked straight at Kenshin, unfazed. "Are you finished?"

"Yeah."

Shirei took a file from his bag and tossed it to Kenshin's lap.
"Those are pictures of all the enemies we've come across these past
few weeks. They're becoming increasingly powerful. Without your
help, AEGIS may very well be in trouble."

Kenshin leafed throught the photographs. "Ano...a train? That's
original. A racing car...hmmm...that's new....hey, what's-" Kenshin
held up a picture of a man in silhouette.

"A Gatekeeper." Shirei breathed. "One who went to the other side."

"Any idea who it is?" Kenshin studied the picture with growing curiosity.
The man was strikingly familiar...

"Funny you should mention it. Yes, I have."

"Well, don't keep me hanging. Who is it?"

"Reijin."

Kenshin looked at the picture with sad eyes. "I....knew something
would happen, but not like this..."

"The boy had much promise in him."

"He...he was still a kid when sessha left, ne? He was supposed to succeed me as Gatemaster."

"No one can do that, Himura, not even Reijin. No Gatekeeper can control their gate like-"

"I don't control my gate, Shirei." Kenshin placed the picture back
into the file. "It controls me."

He looked at Shirei. "Reijin has the ability to surpass my level.
In fact, if the invaders already chose him instead of your other
Gatekeepers, I'm afraid AEGIS is outmatched. By only one man."

"That's why we need you, Himura. I know I promised you, but..."

"But the fate of the world is more important. I know, I know. It
was a good four years with nothing to do while it lasted."

"If it's any consolation, I think we can still convince him to go
back to us." The commander tossed a card at Kenshin. It was his
AEGIS Identification Badge, renewed. "The invaders haven't fully influenced him yet."

Kenshin said nothing. He looked at his badge. "My picture sucks," Kenshin said simply.

"It's a bad picture, I know. I tried. I had Ochiai-kun find a picture
of you from the archives, since your last one was deleted."

Another awkward silence.

"I never knew this day would come, to tell you the truth." Kenshin
held up the badge to the light. "I've seen the new ones in action,
and I think you've done a pretty good job of training them..."

"What do I know of Gatekeeping?" The Commander chuckled dryly.

"You led three generations of Gatekeepers, Shirei. Surely you must
get to know something." Kenshin scratched his head. "By the way...you married her yet?"

The other man stiffened. "..married..?"

Kenshin chuckled. "C'mon, you know! Ochiai! You said you were going
to marry her someday, right? You said it the night before I left!"

The Commander was speechless. "I...I.."

Kenshin now laughed. "You...you mean to...tell me...that you haven't
even asked her...out..yet..?" he said between gasps of hilarity.

"A few times..." The Commander coughed. "We went out.."

"On those few times you went out, did you ever go to dinner?"

"...no..."

"This is hilarious. The man with 'twice the strategic genius of
napoleon' or so he says," Kenshin said, fingers miming quotation
marks, "..can't even take out a girl on one decent dinner!"

The Commander looked at his watch. "This conversation isn't going
the way I hoped it to be, so I'm taking the coward's way out by
remarking that it's getting late and I need to go home." He looked at Kenshin. "Tomorrow, then?"

"As if I have a choice." Kenshin did the AEGIS salute halfheartedly. "Affirmative. AEGIS."

"Maybe we can discuss how you're going to fit into the High School, since you're already 29..."

"Yeah, yeah." Kenshin spied his two girls pulling a girl of about
fifteen with short brown hair in his direction. "Go on. Shoo. I have work to do, de gozaru."

Shirei nodded, and started to walk away when he stopped. "Himura, I'm sorry for all of this."

"Sorry and regret always take place in the end, Shirei. You're too late."

The man who is only knew to AEGIS as Commander left.

****
It was perfect.

Ruriko sighed happily, chin propped up with her hands on the table.
Not the most expensive place in the city, but certainly agreeable.

The restaurant was quite exquisite, for one that opened once every
season. The tables were all koa wood, as far as she could tell,
and the whole place smelled of jasmine. Expensive silverware and
china dishes adorned the tabletops, with an occasional bottle of
vintage wine or champagne half-buried in a ice-filled bucket. And
since it was already nightfall, the overhead lights were turned
down and candles were lit, making everything glow with a soft inner
light, and the silverware sparkle.

But what was most surprising of all was instead of the choking,
'sophisticated' atmosphere you would find in such refined restaurants,
it was light-hearted, none of the heavy cramping obligation that
you had to watch every move you make. A jukebox was playing an instrumental
version of a western song titled 'Eyes On Me'. A party was being
held in one corner. It was so perfect, even Yukino-chan seems to be having fun.

*Agreeable? It certainly would be, if you were eating WITH him,
him NEXT to you, instead of way across the table...* a nasty little
voice pointed out. Ruriko risked a glance at Ukiya, who was chatting
animatedly with Kaoru, probably about some sport Ruriko could break her neck playing.

Ruriko massaged her temples, as if to stave off an impending headache.
*Look, as much as I want to sit with him I can't. We can't be seen
together. I know Commander's going to have a fit if he finds out....
a Gatekeeper can't have a relationship which could jeopardize or endanger the team's safety...*

*Look, everbody knows already. The Commander knows. Ochiai knows. Hell, even Reiko knows!*

Ruriko put on a smile and politely declined when Bancho and Megane
invited her to ride the Carnival's rollercoaster, the Widow-Maker.
"Sorry....I just ate. Maybe later." *Were we that obvious...?*

*You're asking yourself...? You were both practically all over each other earlier!*

She blanched as a mental image came unbidden. Yuck. *Come off it.
We've kissed dozens of times....er...wait, why am I talking to myself
anyway? Maybe I really do need to lay off coffee....Ochiai said
it could severely damage one's brain...* Ruriko smiled inwardly.
*Maybe I could talk to Yukino-chan for therapy.....*

"Nee-chan..." a small voice squeaked behind her.

"Hmm?" Ruriko turned to see two girls standing behind her seat;
one was holding a large piece of illustration board.

"Ehem." The other girl coughed, and the one holding the board dutifully
held it up to let Ruriko see it. In big, bold, crayon-scrawled letters
the board said: 'Pay Foxtail a thousand yen and he'll draw you a nice pretty portrait. Please?'

Yukino, who was sitting next to Ruriko noticed the sign. "Foxtail...? I wonder..."

"We also accept group portraits," The girl said, very business-like.
"And we can negotiate the price, if you like."

"Who is this 'Foxtail'?" Ruriko asked, smiling. This must be either
a publicity act or something. But either way, it was very cute.

"He's-" the girl holding the signboard started but the other silenced
her with a finger to her lips. "He's our artist, and we're his managers."
She crossed her arms and looked at Ruriko in a very stern manner,
much like Yukino when someone doesn't quite understand her. "His
job is to draw. Our job is to find victi-..er, customers." She dropped
the stern look and took on a pleading one. "Please...?"

"Hai, hai..." Ruriko stood up and straightened her skirt. "Where is this 'Foxtail' of yours?"

"In the park." The girl said, all business. "We can go if you're ready."

"Just a minute," Ruriko turned to Yukino. "Yukino-chan...sumimasen,
demo.." She blushed faintly. "...can you...? Onegai?"

Yukino looked at her with that icy detached look that she wore so
often, but gave Ruriko a secret little smile and a wink. "I'll watch them for you, Ruri."

"Arigato de gozaima-"

"Iie, doitashimashite." Yukino waved her off. "Say hello to Foxtail for me."

"Do you know him?" Ruriko straightened her bow and chuckled when
the girls fidgeted impatiently.

"I hope so." Yukino answered vaguely.

"Nee-CHAN!" The girl almost shouted. "We're running late. Come ON!"

"Hai." The girl then took Ruriko's hand and with a nod to the other
girl holding the signboard, they ran off, she barely having time to wave at Ukiya.

You better behave till I get back, Shun Ukiya, Ruriko thought behind
a forced, sweet smile. Cause if Ruriko the sniveler catches you
fooling around she's going to beat you up so hard it'd take more
than the Gate of Life to patch you up.

**

"Get her!" One of the Core Invaders roared. "Get-"

His commands were cut short when a streak of blinding white energy
blew him apart; reducing him to red crystal. Black invaders turned
to track where the energy bullet came from.

"You idiots are stupider than I thought you were," a mocking voice
echoed in the shadows. "Intelligent life? Please." Another flash;
one more Core invader destroyed. This was too easy.

Reina Chiharu quickly withdrew her sniper rifle before the invaders
could see the glint of sunlight that would reflect off the barrel,
and exhaled. She sank down and leaned against the wall.

Intelligent life or not, they don't seem to give up easily. She
took a Budweiser from her backpack that was stashed in the corner,
along with her katana and Kenshin's daikatana...and the pile of
clothes she had been planning to pay for with Kenshin's credit card before this whole farce began.

It had been a quiet day at the mall....she was shopping for some
new clothes when suddenly the mall cleared and almost half of the
people inside transformed into invaders. She hid inside one of the
top-floor shops...and since the invaders were concentrated on the
ground floor, it gave her the perfect angle to pick off a few cores
with her trusty, collapsible sniper rifle.

"Okay, I'm going to fire another shot now, okay? Now, I really want
to be absolutely clear on this.." Reina shouted as she took aim
on one of the remaining Cores. "I'm reloading now..." she racked
the bolt of her rifle, and slid the bolt home. She felt the bullet click.

"Now my right index finger is around the trigger. You got that?"
I'm already shouting, for chrissakes; surely my voice is going to
lead them to me....or maybe invaders DO ignore audio signals....

....or maybe they're just THAT stupid.

She squeezed the trigger; a sound the equivalent of a silenced rocket
launcher explosion rocked the whole mall. Another core invader vaporized into red crystal.

Reina shrank back into the shadows, shaking her head in exasperation.
Just like shooting fish in a barrel.

She popped open the beer, took a drink, and wiped her forehead with
the can. She checked the clip of her sniper rifle, and assessed
the situation. *Well, if I'm not wrong...I think I've shot down
at least four of their cores, and I've got at least three shots
left....so...* she risked another look. *There's one core left...*

Slowly, Reina stuck out her rifle and took aim. "And now the stunning,
dazzling hunter draws a bead on her prey, which is dumb enough to
stray into her sights...now her hand comes up to the rifle to rack
another round into the chamber, careful that the noise might alert
the otherwise unaware prey..." she said as her own hand slid the
bolt home. "...and now..she's preparing to pull the trigger, to
send her hapless prey to oblivion..." she centered her sights on
the red spot amongst the black. "...she fires..." Reina pulled the trigger.

The invader didn't fall. Instead, one of the black invaders crystallized into green shards.

"Minor setback," Reina said under her breath, and took aim once more. "..she fires.."

Another black invader vaporized into crystal.

Reina cursed under her breath. *Maybe the sights are off...* She
racked her final round into the chamber. "...and fires...."

Black invader. Green crystal.

"WHAT?!?" Reina shouted indignantly, unbelieving. Her shriek echoed
loudly She threw down her sniper rifle. "I can't believe it!" She
kicked the stock of aforementioned rifle, stubbing her toe, making
her yelp in pain. "Itai! Hidoi..."

After Reina had stopped jumping around, she sat down, sulking. *I
can't believe it! That stupid Core dodged three of my best shots, and he wasn't even grazed!!*

She reached over and grasped her katana. *Oh, well, there's always
close combat...but first...* she dug her hands into her bag and
took out a can of Budweiser. *Perfect.*

Her gaze drifted to Kenshin's daikatana, or half-katana, half big
ugly creepy sword. It was six feet long, the blade was three and
a half inches wide, and reverse-edged. It was quite a chore lugging
it around, and for the life of her she can't figure out how Kenshin
was going to carry it, let alone fight with it.

The hilt was strangely ornated with red and black dragons, the handle
pure steel yet having the texture of mahogany. The saya was ebony,
the inside coated with steel. Maybe she was just imagining it but
sometimes the sword glowed with a black aura....

"Hiko is a madman," Reina said, thinking aloud. Hiko was their master,
the one who taught them Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, and this was his weapon.
But to give it back to Kenshin and expect him to fight with a sword
taller than he was.....more evil than he was...the sword he used as Battousai....

Kenshin....

Reina looked down at her beer can wistfully. Although the reports
said he was dead....she knew that he was alive....and now she recieved
word that he was living somewhere in this area. Her mission was
to deliver the sword to him no matter what the cost...but then,
she would do anything...anything...just to see Kenshin again...

She wiped her eyes and laughed. At herself, or at Hiko, she didn't know.

"Cheers, Hiko, you crazy s@#%." She raised her beer in the air for
a toast, and then emptied the contents down her throat. Disassembling
her sniper rifle with efficiency that would have impressed a drill
seargent so that the pieces fit into her bag, she took the two swords,
slung her backpack over her shoulder and jumped down from her killspot,
landing in front of the invaders.

"Where is the Angel Slayer?" The remaining core invader asked. Reina
looked sideways to her back. The invaders had already surrounded
her, and forming into something.

"Do you mean Kenshin Himura, or this?" She held out the daikatana, one hand on the handle.
"Because I don't see my Kenshin around....and if he was, he'd die
before he surrendered. But if you mean this, I'd gladly give it to you..."

The Core invader reached for it but she withdrew the Angel Slayer sharply.

"Before you can get it, though," her irises glowed white instead
of their normal brown color. "..you have to kill me first."

Without warning, she jumped up into the air, tucking the Angel Slayer
into her belt and unsheathing her katana in the process. When she
landed, she threw the saya away. A quick glance said that she was
a good twenty feet from the invaders.

"Attack her." The invaders formed a large centipede, and towered
over her with a good thirty feet.

Silently she concentrated. This is for you, Kenshin....give me strength.
Her gate opened, white energy swirling, before her.

She dropped into the killing pose of the Gotatsu; something she
learned after graduating from Hiko. She angled the blade flat, aimed
for the core, and waited for the centipede to charge.

The centipede lunged at her, diving, aiming to crush her with its sheer weight.

..anything to see him again...

She slowly recited her impending attack, more of keeping herself
calm than for protocol. "Aku. Zoku. Zan---"

She closed her eyes to stop the tears. *Stop it. Forget about him.
Forget about everything. Just focus. Focus on the enemy. Focus on
the fraction of the second where you must either strike or get out of the way-

....Kenshin.....

The world suddenly blacked out. Only the invader centipede remained.

"ETHER STRIKE!"

With all her strength, she thrusted her sword and body forward,
spearing the centipede in point-blank range, just as it was about
to crush her. Her sudden move was so quick, air was torn apart,
exploding in all directions, blurring everything, screaming around
her, pushing so strongly that Reina was mightily trying to stay on her feet.

Then, amidst of the chaos, the tip of her katana, which was buried
into the core, gathered energy....

......and then a huge beam of white energy erupted from the katana,
almost blowing Reina off her feet, blasting the centipede high into
the air, where it vaporized into crystals.

Reina dropped her katana and sank to the floor, her knees buckling.
Panting, she struggled to catch her breath.

*Ouch.* Reina winced as she tried to move her arms. They were burning,
and tightening dangerously close to cramping. *I think I just permanently
injured myself with that one, but nothing another can wouldn't cure....*

She looked at the battlefield- green diamond shards, a by-product
of invader death- slowly floated from the air to the ground. The sunlight made them sparkle.

If Kenshin was here, he'd immediately take out his pencil and start....Reina
looked down, tightening her grip on the Angel Slayer as an image
of Kenshin smiling flashed before her eyes.

I will find you, Kenshin.....I will. I promise.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ending notes:
Thanks for Sn0wM@n and AkAbangbang(my Counterstrike buddies) for
pre-reading and encouraging me to continue the fic even when I had
writer's block and it was only eight pages long)

Thanks for Ruriko-sama for prereading the fic as well, and saying
"You know, it's not as bad as you think..." as well as pointing out to me various mistakes.

Aslo a big thank you for Wings and Li Yilin, as well as other webmasters
who had agreed to put up this fanfiction on their sites...

Finally, thank you, the reader. You still with me here?