Chapter 44
An Uncertain Future
The next morning as Kaito wakes up, he thinks
“What am I going to do?” Kaito leaves his office and as he gets outside he stares at the sky as he walks and he thinks
“Everything is going to hell in this terrible world, how could you! You're supposed to be my brother, but you'd do this to me. I've wanted nothing but to protect you, after everything you've done I still wouldn't have killed you. You we're suffering and I wished to help you, but you would not listen. You did not care about my words unless they were what you wanted to hear, but now I can protect you no more. You killed my heart and shattered my soul, you have robbed me of a loving peaceful life for what!? To uphold a dead legacy of our bastard father!” As Kaito stops he's standing at the bottom of the hill but he hesitates before he takes a step and thinks
"How am I supposed to tell them I'm the reason they've lost both parents?" Kaito *sighs* and starts walking up the hill and thinks
"None deserve to die the way they did, all of them deserved long and prosperous lives. But because of my blood line an ancient war that should have been long dead is on the verge of resparking, Akita was an amazing woman. She was not just the mother of his children, but the one who tamed a man long thought lost to the world. She helped Kingsman with more than anyone could ever imagine, with the things we struggle through we all need someone like the both of you beside us. Even when I was stressing and on the verge of breaking down she always kept her composure and helped me relax, she always knew just how to make me forget about everything. The world could have been torn apart, but if I was with her I would never notice a thing" Kaito makes it into Kingsman's back yard and he walks up but as he grabs the doorknob he hesitates and he lets go as he starts crying and thinks
"They will be torn apart when they find out what happened, I'm sorry! I do not wish to push this pain on you so soon after losing your brother, If I could fix my mistakes I would but sadly I cannot! Please, after you find this out trying and find some place in your hearts to forgive me" Kaito wipes his eyes and grabs the doorknob as he forces a *smile* on his face and as he opens the door he sees Hana sitting at the table as Kenji is at the stove cooking and Kenji looks over and notices Kaito and says
“Uncle, have you seen my dad? I haven't been able to find him or my mom all morning, it's normal for him to begone during strange hours but mom would never just leave without telling us” Kaito says
“I-I...Kenji you are going to go on a special training mission with Kenzo, and at this time Hana you will be going with my sisters” Kenji is *shocked* and says
“What!? Really?” Kaito says
“Yes, you and Kenzo are leaving on a trip but it will be for a couple years” Kenji says
“Is my mom ok with that?” Kaito says
“...If you don’t want to go I can understand, but wouldn't you like the opportunity to be close to the man who beat...Someone very strong'' Kenji says
“No, I’ll go I just wanted to make sure my mom was ok with it since Itsuki and Dai just left” Kaito says
“Kenzo is going to be leaving for the mountain in a little while” Hana gets up and walks over to Kaito and Kaito looks down but as he does, he sees the tears in her eyes as she says
“Have you seen kitty?” Kaito crouches down and wipes her tears as he says
“No, I haven’t seen him but I promise we’ll find him. Ok?” Hana says
“Ok” Kaito picks her up and says
“Would you like some ice cream?” Hana still with tears in her eyes, says
“Yes'' Kaito says
“I can’t take someone with tears in their eyes'' Hana quickly wipes the tears from her face and says
“I’m not crying” Kaito says
“Alright, Kenji come we’re leaving” Kenji turns off the stove and throws his food away and Kenji says
“Ok” Kenji walks out of the door behind Kaito and Hana but as he gets outside Kaito looks at Kenji and says
“You ready?” Kenji is *confused* and says
“Ready for what?” Kaito says
“A race” But before Kenji can react, Kaito runs down the hill and Kenji runs down the hill as he says
"You cheated!" Kenji tries to catch up with him but he is to far gone and Kenji can't see him as he makes it to the bottom of the hill and thinks
"He must have went to his office, I can still catch him before he gets there" Kenji runs towards Kaito's office but as he gets close he stops in his tracks as he sees Kaito and Hana eating ice cream on the roof of his office and Kaito puts Hana on his shoulder and jumps down as he walks up to Kenji and says
“You lost” Kenji says
“That wasn't fair you cheated!” Kaito says
“You were just too slow to react” Kenji says
“Let’s go again” But before Kaito can say anything Kenzo walks up to them and looks at Kaito and says
“Is he ready?” Kaito turns to Kenji and says
“Looks like we don’t have time for a second one” Kenzo says
“I think it’s best if we start our training early, Kenji I want you to understand how serious this training will be. Your father always took his time because he thought he had it, but as of currently it seems like we don’t so we will be training everyday, working on new styles,abilities, even your elemental control, once we start there is no going back. Would you like to do this?” Kenji says
“Does my father have anything to say about this?” Kenzo says
“Umm...Your Father said he was tired of you kids as him and your mother are going to be gone for a little bit and he told me to do this as he was away” Hana starts tearing up and says
“Daddy, is tired of me?” Kaito says
“No, just your brother” Hana says
“So why couldn't I go with them?” Kaito says
“Because, I asked to spend more time with you. Do you not want to spend time with your Uncle?” Hana says
“I do...But I miss my mommy and daddy” Kenzo says
“Don’t worry they’ll be back, but until then have fun with your uncle” Kenji says
“I’ll make my Father proud, and I’ll come back even stronger than him and beat him to a pulp. Let’s go Kenzo'' Kenzo says
“I will be at the gate, say your goodbye's to who you need to” Kenzo walks off as Kaito takes Hana off of his shoulders and sits her on the ground as Kenji kneels down to Hana and says
“Hana, I’m leaving and I’m going to be gone for a while” Hana says
“Can I come with you?” Kenji says
“Not this time" Hana is *sad* as she says
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"But why does everybody keep leaving me out?" Kenji says
"What I'm going to do is very dangerous and you can't come with me, but how about this. When I get back we’ll play with your dolls as long as you want, ok?” Hana starts to tear up as she says
“Ok...But I'm going to miss you" Kenji hugs her as he says
"I'm going to miss you too, and because I'll be gone for so long when I get back we'll go get some candy. Alright?" Hana says
"Ok, but can you please not be gone for that long?" Kenji says
"Alright, I'll go as fast as I possibly can" Kenji stands up as he walks up to Kaito and tries to hugs him but Kaito hugs him from the side and Kenji says
“Thank you Uncle, but I just want you to be ready when I come back. Because you and my Father will have a bounty on your head” Kaito says
“Fine, if your so confident then the day you get back we’ll fight'' Kenji says
“Alright” Kenji notices there's some blood on Kaito’s shirt by his stomach and Kenji touches it and says
“Is that blo–” But Kaito falls to the ground *holding his stomach in pain* and Kenji is *shocked* as he says
“Are you ok?” Kaito says
“Yeah…Just, a little hurt” Kenji helps him Kaito to his feet as he says
“You're holding your ribs, are they broken?” Kaito *chuckles* as he says
“Just a few” Kenji says
“What happened?” Kaito says
“I…Nothing, training just got a bit rough and Gyomei and Saigo hit me a bit to hard” Kenji *smiles* as he says
“Don’t use this as an excuse to get out of our fight” Kaito *laughs* and says
“I would never make such an excuse, by the time both of you get back I’ll be one hundred percent healed” Kenji *laughs* as he says
“Sure, take care of yourself and Hana” Kenji runs towards the gate and as he makes it to the gate he walks up to Kenzo and says
“I’m ready Kenzo” But Kenzo punches him in the stomach dropping Kenji to the floor and Kenzo crouches down and says
“Call me…Sensei!” Kenji *coughs* as he says
“Yes…Sensei'' Kenzo says
“Let’s go”
At the same time Kono is carrying Kei on his back but as he’s walking through the bamboo he sees a old run down house on the edge of the bamboo forest and Kono runs up and kicks the door down but he’s *shocked* as the house is extremely clean and Kono walks over and lays Kei across the couch and he’s looking at Kei but then he starts to hear walking coming from above him and Kono watches the ceiling as the footsteps gets closer to the stairs but then the footsteps start coming down the stairs and Kono is *shocked* as he sees Goto walking down the stairs and Kono says
“Goto!?” Goto says
“What happened?” Kono says
“I don’t know, I found him like this outside of Kingsman's village'' Goto says
“Why did you bring him here?” Kono is *shocked* and says
“What do you mean why did I bring him here? We needed to find shelter, why do you act like you don’t see his condition?” Goto says
“He looks fine” Kono says
“He’s unconscious, there has to be a reason for that” Goto says
“I don’t care, pick him up and get out” Kono gets *mad* and says
“What the hell do you mean you don't care!? He is our lord! When a warrior makes an oath to a lord he honor’s that, no matter what!” But before Goto can respond Kei sits up on the couch and is *confused* and says
“Where am I?” Kono rushes over to Kei and says
“My lord, are you ok?” Kei says
“Kono? Aren’t you supposed to be in the Tohoku Region?” Kono says
“You are in the Tohoku Region my lord” Kei *holds his head in confusion* and says
“What? When did I come here?” Kei looks over and sees Goto standing there but he notices the look in his eyes and says
“Who are you?” Goto doesn’t say anything as Kei says
“I know you're not Goto, he’s never had that look in his eyes. Goto never cared about anything not even himself, but you’re hiding pain and your eyes tell me all I need to know'' Kono is *shocked* and looks at Goto but Goto's face hasn't changed as he says
“Hmph” Kei says
“Regardless of who you are, If you give me your loyalty I’ll give you whatever you want” Goto closes his eyes and Kono is *shocked* as he sees Tahara and Tahara says
“Kingsman killed Hironaka and I want him dead for it!” Kei says
“Consider it done, but I must ask you this. Who put you up to this?” Tahara says
“Kingsman did, I told him in exchange for me working for him he wouldn’t hurt Hironaka. But that bastard lied to me!” Kei says
“Good, since he’s the one who put you up to this that means he doesn’t know that we are truly together. We can use that to our advantage, but we just need to make it back to the Fujiwara region so Lord Haruto can take us somewhere to become stronger” Tahara says
“Fine” Kono says
“Understood, can you make us a portal back to the Fujiwara region?” Kei says
“Yes, I should be able to” Kei slowly stands up and puts his hand up and opens a portal but he falls to the ground and Kono runs over and helps him up but Tahara steps through the portal and says
“Who the hell is the man on the floor?” Kei looks up as Kono drags him to the portal and he is able to see Haruto on the floor and as Kono helps him through the portal, Kei says
“My lord, MY LORD!” Kei drops to the floor and shakes him awake and as Haruto wakes up and sees Kei he *grabs his head in confusion* as he stands up and says
“What the hell happened?” Kei stands up and says
“I don’t know my lord, when we got back you were like this” Haruto gets a flashback of Kingsman’s eyes turning red before he punches Kaito as his *head convulses in pain* and Haruto says
“We must go now!” Tahara says
“Where?” Haruto says
“We’re going somewhere outside of space and time that allows you all to get stronger in a shorter time” Tahara says
“Why?” Haruto says
“So all of you can get stronger” Tahara says
“For what? Why don't we just all slap three universes in our chest and storm the village" Haruto says
"Because...You all cannot handle that amount of power and we will need to train your bodies to be able to handle it" Tahara says
"Or is it because you don't have any more? Because you're not the one who's allowed to hand them out, because it sounds like you're making us stronger to deal with a problem that you're afraid of” Haruto stands up straight as he says
“I’m not afraid of anything!” Tahara punches the wall making dusk go over the room and everyone *coughs* but as Haruto looks up he sees through the dust a pair of red eyes and he backs away but Tahara walks out of the dust as she says
“Thought so, let’s hurry up and get this over with” Haruto opens a portal and all of them go through it and Haruto goes through it and it closes behind him.
At the same time Kaito is watching from his office window as the sun sets and someone knocks on the door but Kaito says nothing as Gyomei and Saigo come into the room and Kaito looks behind him and sees Gyomei and Saigo, and Gyomei says
“Lord Kaito? Have you seen Kingsman, he’d usually be bothering me and Saigo by now” But Kaito says nothing as he sips his sake and slowly turns around as he throws Kingsman's sword on the table and turns back to the window and Gyomei is *shocked* and says
“What happened?” Saigo is *surprised* and says
“D-Did you kill Kingsman?” Kaito says
“I allowed my anger to consume me after seeing Akemi and Emi dead” Gyomei and Saigo are both *shocked* but Kaito says
“At that time Kei took over my mind and forced me to fight Kingsman, but the entire time Kingsman was trying to stop me until he heard something. He hit me harder than I had ever seen him hit someone before, I was lucky he wasn’t using his full strength. After he punched me I was stuck in a mountain, but right before I lost concussions I heard and felt the most pained scream from him” Gyomei says
“I also heard something, but I thought it was just an after effect of the earthquake” Kaito says
“That was no earthquake, that was the sound of Kingsman losing the most important person in his life. The one that kept him sane even in his darkest of times'' Saigo is *shocked* and says
“Are you saying–” Kaito says
“Yes…Akita is dead, and I think Kingsman has sealed himself inside a separate dimension” Saigo gets *angry* and says
“This world is so distorted! Everyone just continues to die for nothing!” Gyomei says
“So what's going to happen now?” Kaito says
“I don’t know, Kenji is off training with Kenzo as Itsuki and Dai are both gone and Hana is with Uyeno'' Saigo says
“I can only imagine the pain he’s going through, first Riku and then shortly after Akita'' Gyomei says
“What are we going to do if he comes back and he’s not himself?” Kaito says
“I do not know” Gyomei says
“I don’t think he’s going to be the same, he’s going to be even more dangerous than before. Now he has no reason to stop” Saigo says
“We’ll handle it, me and Gyomei will train until we can’t move and we’ll beat Kingsman if he comes back trying to kill anyone. But enough about Kingsman, are you alright my lord? I truly am sorry for your loss” Kaito says
“I’m fine” Saigo says
“No, not this. You're not him, don’t be like Kingsman!” Kaito says
“I said I’m fine, both of you go train” Gyomei says
“Yes my lord” Gyomei turns to leave but Saigo tries to walks towards Kaito and Gyomei grabs Saigo’s arm but Saigo snatches his arm away and walks up to Kaito as he turns Kaito around and hugs him as he says
“I know it hurts to lose someone close to you, but I also know I could never understand the pain of losing a child. But if you would like to talk I’m here for, as you we're for us when we lost Kenshin” Kaito sheds a tear and says
“Thank you…Saigo” Saigo let’s go of him and Gyomei and him walk out of the room as Kaito turns back to the window and says
“I hope when I see you, you’re all grown up. And I hope you can forgive me Akemi, I failed at my job as your protector”
(Two Years Later...)