Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ A Certain Clarity ❯ 16 ( Chapter 16 )

Title: A Certain Clarity (16/30)

Author: Franzi Dickson

E-mail: fdickson@ix.netcom.com

Archive: The SxSAS Archive, fanfiction.net and others (eventually). If you want it on your site, just ask.

Rating: NC-17 for wet dreams, sex, drugs, violence and other badness.

Warnings: m/m sex, lemon, assorted bad things in this part and future ones

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me. I'm just doing bad things with them. Don't sue me.

Sano stared at the cloaked backs. They'd been walking for longer than he'd expected. Maybe Katsu had been right... It was getting awfully dark too. No! He'd do this. Even if they were leading him into some sort of trap. His eyes narrowed. Just let them try to fuck with me!

"In here." The tallest of the figures motioned to a nondescript doorway.

Huh? Oh, the meeting. He stepped through. The room was small and dark, lit with a few candles in the front. The air was close with incense. He coughed.

They crowded in among the other twenty or so cloaked figures. He was almost glad for the borrowed jacket of Katsu's. It attracted less attention. He was still pissed that that jerk had cut it up though. Should have given him a good pounding... Baka! Thinking about his stupid jacket at a time like this. Besides, if Saitou hadn't come when he did, you wouldn't be worrying about anything anymore. Saitou...

Sano wrenched his attention back to the room. A man stepped forward into the open space. He turned to face them.

"Friends." He raised his arms. "Tonight we celebrate."

Whoo hoo. Don't try to sound excited or anything. Sano regarded the man skeptically. That echoing whisper was hardly accidental, and the way his hood fell forward to shadow his face...

"Tonight our new brothers and sisters become truly followers of the way."

There was a hurried whispering.

"Yes, it is true. Finally we are ready to send you to visit *him*."

More whispering.

"He who reunites, who heals that we who are broken and cut off may be made whole again."

Sano thought the pamphlet had been about 'love' and crap like that. What was this? Broken?

"You who deem yourselves worthy, come to me now, that I may know your pain."

A few of the figures crept forward.

He pointed to a hunched one. "Tell me."

"My son... he was all that was left."

An old man's voice, he thought to himself.

"The others all went before. I am all that is left."

"Alone? No. You are not alone when we are here to guide you. *He* does not want you to be alone! Join me here, brother; you are worthy." He motioned the man to one side.

Sano fidgeted restlessly while the man approved another sheep. Honestly! Were they really buying that crap? He thought he'd be sick if he had to listen to any more of it. Still, he wanted to stay at least until he could find out who *he* was. And the man had said something about visiting... did that mean the real leader wasn't here? His eyes were drawn back to the figure in the front of the room who was greeting the last of the new cultists.

"You..." He pushed the woman's hood back, finger on her chin, tilting her face upward. "Tell us of your trials." He looked into her eyes for a long moment. "Share of yourself and become one with us."

Oh yeah, real slick.

She shuddered under his touch and began to speak. "We were meant to be together. I know it! I told him he couldn't go away from me, that I'd find him."

Aw hell! She was crying. That creep! He really hated it when women cried.

"But the water was so strong..."

He shouldn't have come. He really didn't want to see this.

"I understand, my child. It was no fault of yours." He motioned her aside, but she clung to his hand.

"He was so cold! I called him and called him, but he wouldn't answer me! They told me I had to let him go, but how could I? He was so cold. I only wanted to warm him a little..."

The man finally succeeded in freeing his hand. "And now I will tell you of the way." The other new converts supported the weeping woman. "It heals us and makes us whole and..."

He couldn't listen to it. He wouldn't hear it.

'Ahou'

No! The dim warmth of the cigarette as he stubbed it out. The smoke rising... Cold. So cold through the thin shirt. Smoke rising. Out. Extinguished. Cold. The voice mocked him.

'Ahou'

The feel of him growing colder, weaker. The breathing slowing. No! Slowing. Cold. He was barely aware of being pushed forward until he came to the front of the crowd.

"And you, my child?"

"Wha...?" He had to get away from here. He didn't want to see it anymore.

"I do not know you. What do you know of the way?"

Don't touch me! Cold! And the incense was making him cough again. Outside. If he just went outside for a minute...

There was a comforting presence at his elbow. "We found him at our post, brother. We felt his sadness. It drew him to us."

Like ice in his arms! He was shivering. Where was Megumi's blanket? If he could only warm them just a little. Who...? Why was this man talking to him? Go where? The blackness was creeping around the edges of his sight, and the cold was everywhere. Cold. Cold and darkness...

He groaned. Damned sunlight! He must really have overdone it last night to feel like this. He sat up holding his head. What the hell?! He winced at the sudden movement. Fuck. What the hell had he done to deserve such a headache? More cautiously this time, he glanced around the room. He seemed to be in a dormitory of some kind. His was the only futon visible, but he couldn't imagine what else the room was used for. He was still wearing his clothes from before... They must have just dumped him on the bed. But who the hell were *they* anyway? He tried to think... He'd been with Katsu and then...

"Brother? You're awake!"

The cheery voice startled him. Brother? The cult... right; he must have been taken somewhere with them after he fainted... Oh man, he'd actually fainted. Was there anything more...

"I'm Hiromi. I'm supposed to show you around. Well... Actually... I asked to be able to. Normally we'd be working now, but since you're here, I get to goof off." She grinned at him.

His head was still pounding. "I thought those weirdoes at the meeting said that 'The Way' had to with pain and suffering." That might not have been the most tactful thing to say, but damn it, it was too early in the morning for him to have to deal with someone that cheerful.

She giggled. "Well, lots of followers are very sad at first, but then *he* makes them feel better." She bounced enthusiastically over to the doorway. "Come on! I'll show you around!"

Still holding his head, he followed her.

"And that's where we eat and that's where there are some office-y things and that's the road where people come in sometimes, but we almost never have any visitors and you've seen the building where we make things." She made an unpleasant face. "And the bathhouse is over there through those trees, which is stupid because if you're worried about people peeking, then you should have it where you can't hide and if you're not worried then it's just a pain to have it all the way over there. Are you sure you're all right? They said you were sick."

"I'm fine." Or would have been if she hadn't been speaking in quite such a *high* and *loud* voice, or leading him around in the particularly *bright* parts of the compound. He shaded his eyes. Off behind the buildings she had mentioned, he could see a wall. Hmm... To keep people out or in? Not that most of these people were going anywhere. Hiromi had shown him where they were working... Happy, perhaps, but he shuddered at the glazed expressions in their eyes.

"And that's where I live!"

"You don't stay in the women's part of the dormitory?"

She laughed. "No way! I live with my brother. He's sort of in charge of normal business type stuff. He works *all the time*, so he doesn't want to be far from his office; that's in there too, plus some other 'important administrative' stuff."

Interesting. Well that would explain Hiromi's unusual demeanor. Despite her claim that *he* made the followers happy again, none of them had looked quite that... He wondered if her brother had lost someone too. Who was he anyway? If he really was in charge of things here... Sano might just have to have a look at that office some time.

"And over there is where *he* lives, but that makes more sense than the bath house because if we don't ever see him in makes him more mysterious and..."

That was an odd thing to say. "You don't sound too..."

"Reverent? Awed? Groveling?"

He chuckled.

"Horny?"

He choked. "What?!"

"Oh, you'll see what I mean tonight. There's a gathering in the *hall of lost sorrows*." Her voice took on the same whispery tone that the recruiter had had. "Just don't sit too near the front. The incense is totally killer."

Incense? Shit! He thought he'd felt worse than he should have. His face darkened. No wonder he felt hung over.

"Is something wrong, brother?"

"You can just call me Sano."

"But you are my brother in The Way." She started giggling again.

"Yeah. Sure."

"I haveta go do stuff. See you at The Meeting!"

He stared after her. What the hell? He shook his head. He'd just have to go to the meeting and see what happened.

The wall wouldn't have stopped someone like, say, Aoshi, but it was plenty high all the same. He examined the gate. The bar of wood looked heavy, but he could probably manage it by himself. Kinda fishy that they left in shut all the time like that, but it didn't have a lock or anything. He supposed that they relied on the isolation of the compound to keep people from leaving. When he'd climbed onto the roof of the dormitory earlier, all he'd been able to see were trees and the mountain at the back of the compound. Well... not much of a mountain, actually: more of an overgrown boulder. Still, he wouldn't fancy trying to escape from here as a normal cultist. Hell, he wouldn't want to escape from here if he were a normal cultist. They were all so out of it. Could they be putting something in the food? He'd snooped around the kitchen area earlier, but it had all seemed ok, and he hadn't feel strange after lunch. (Damn, but the food was boring!) He wondered if they ate rice porridge for every meal. That kind of food was perfect for hiding illicit additions... He could have missed something... Maybe he should search the kitchens again. Of course, he might just be getting paranoid... Nah. He'd definitely felt the effects of the incense. True, no one else had reacted quite as much as he had, but maybe people got used to it after a while, and he had been the only new one... Come to think of it, it was odd that they'd brought him along. Now why...

"Excuse me, Brother, it is time for the meeting."

He jumped at the voice.

"I'm afraid I don't know where... " I wasn't just staring at the gate, oh no, not me.

"You may follow me."

He'd expected the meeting to be in one of the buildings, maybe the leader's house or the building where Hiromi lived, but they passed by both without stopping. At least he thought they passed by the leader's house - it was hard to see through the trees back here. Why the hell hadn't they just cleared the whole damn place?

"In here."

He looked up in surprise. They had arrived at the back of the compound. A large metal door stood open in the rock. A cave? Did every damn crazy cult leader hold his services in a cave?

The man noted his surprised expression. "To be with *him* we must enter the womb of our sacred mountain." He turned and entered.

Sacred mountain? He snorted at the man's back. 'How do you do, boulder-san?' he thought as they passed through the doorway.

Rounding a corner, the short tunnel opened up into another dark, smoky room full of cloaked figures, most seated this time. He lurked by the doorway; the air was at least a little breathable here. Or at least it was probably better than up by the altar thing, if that's what it was.

"Psst. Brother Sano, you're late." Hiromi slithered up beside him. "Welcome to the Hall of Lost Sorrows."

Sano thought the title lacked something this time, being uttered in rather a quieter tone than before. "Hi Hiromi. You were right, the air in here is pretty 'killer'." He coughed. "What do they call it that stupid name for, anyway?"

Her answer was cut off by a wail from the congregation. They rose as a mass. Damn, there were a lot more of them than he'd thought. He tried to count, but it was too dark to get a good view.

"Here they come."

A light flickered at the back of the cave. Two men? The cave brightened slightly as they lit the candles around the altar. One stepped forward.

"Brothers. Sisters." They quieted down. "Once again we gather to witness the miracle of rejoining. Once again, *he* will make us whole."

The other stepped forward and Sano saw that he was wearing a white cloak instead of the usual dark blue.

"Who among you has most need of me?" He flung his arms out as if searching.

Sano thought he'd seen better performances.

"You. You were wise to come here. The Gods have given you a heavy burden, but they have also given me the power to lift it. Come to me." He beckoned.

Sano wondered if he was the one who'd trained the recruiter guy in Tokyo. "Where have I heard this before?"

"He gets better. You'll see: you'll believe him too before too long."

"Like hell."

The woman was kneeling before the altar. "Think of him who you have lost. Pray with me, that I may reach him." He stood in silence, waiting. Slowly his head drooped.

What the hell was he doing?

Suddenly, the silence was broken. "Darling?" The voice was hollow sounding, a little deeper than before.

The woman looked up.

"Darling?"

"It cannot be. The water!"

"I... It's very dark... Cold... It's so hard, but I promised you..."

Sano could hear the woman's gasp in the silence of the room.

"Yes, the water... I tried... Forgive me, my darling." He was forcing the words out, struggling desperately to speak.

She half rose.

"Masa? Is that you?"

"Yes... I..." He went to her.

"I cannot stay long. I... If only..."

"Masa!"

"I tried to hang on for you... It's not your fault... I'll be back for you..." The voice was growing weaker.

The second figure stepped forward. "Stop. You're overtiring yourself."

"But I don't want to go. I said I'd... I prom..." He sagged against the other man.

"That is enough for today. *He* is tired. *He* must rest." He motioned to the woman to go. She gazed at the unconscious man in adoration. Her face shone with need in the candlelight. "Masa."

Ugh! Sano grimaced. And she even told him the name! Next to him, Hiromi was making a strangled noise; he thought she might be laughing. The congregation was wailing again as they slipped outside.

"How can you stand to watch that?"

She shrugged. "What else am I going to do here?" Her face took on a mischievous expression. "I'm not a boy, you know."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Bizarre female! He watched her skip away.

The wind howled around him, whipping his hair into his face, and making his eyes water. He was searching for something, but there was nothing to see in the darkness. He put his hands out. Nothing. Nothing in any direction, but he was standing on something, wasn't he? As he thought it, the ground dissolved under him. What was this? Water? It felt more like mud, in his mouth, in his eyes. He clawed at it, but still he sunk.

Something at his wrist... A hand? He reached up.

"Brother? Brother, please wake up."

He sat up. "What...?"

"You cried out. We were worried."

Sano looked around. "Sorry. I'm fine; go back to sleep."

"And you brother."

But he lay awake a long time.