D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin…and I never will…(sigh)
WOW!! 34 reviews! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I didn't expect to get that many reviews on my first chappie, and I was really happy to see the reviews I got! Anyway, I'm sorry but I can't give details and answers on any of the questions you asked me, that'll be giving off too much hints! But don't worry, all your questions will be answered in later chapters…
Ok, this is my second chapter, enjoy!!
CHAPTER 2: Can't Shoot
Kaoru continued to stare at the photograph. She really couldn't believe that this guy was one of the most wanted men in the world; he just didn't look the part, in her opinion...and to top matters, she'd actually seen him! She saw him and she spoke to him. Battousai the Manslayer. Kenshin Himura! She swallowed hard. How could it be? He can't be a murderer! He doesn't look like one!...God! He was right beside me! He…he offered me his umbrella! She was vaguely aware of the conversation going in the background.
'When you say Manslayer...' Sano was saying. He sounded really uneasy. 'How many people are we actually talking about?'
'The body count hadn't been made, I'm sorry, Sanosuke...but I could say it's well over a hundred,' the Captain answered. 'Kenshin Himura is a very clever character...very dexterous, very specific, always gets what he wants, never gets caught, a cold-blooded murderer, and has successfully assassinated six ministry officials while in Japan…when not killing people, he's a drug dealer and a bank robber.'
'Nice hobbies,' Sano said, nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck. 'So, what about him? Came and decided to have a little killing spree here in the States?'
The Captain shot him a stern look, and Sano lowered his gaze, looking a bit ashamed. 'No, I don't think he's here to kill anyone,' he said, matter-of-factly. 'He's come here to get his hands on some money. In fact, those five guys we caught today were sent from his side. That's how we came to know about him in the first place...they would tell us anything considering we use a more lenient punishment with them.'
'That's excellent!' Sano exclaimed. 'So, what did they tell you, other than the fact that they're from his troops?'
'Well, they told us they had been robbing the bank under his orders, and when we asked if there was going to be any other robberies in the next few days, they said they had been planning to take on another bank tomorrow at five, but considering we've got them now, I don't think there will be any tomorrow,' he said, sounding satisfied. 'We also were able to extract a very useful piece of information. We wanted them to tell us where Battousai's hideout was, but they didn't know, so they gave us the location of the place where they usually hide their loot, and where they usually discuss plans, so...'
'We're going to bust that place up, aren't we?' Sano said excitedly.
Captain Sagara couldn't help but smile. 'Yes, we are going to...bust that place up, as you kindly put it, and if we're lucky, we might find Himura there and we'd be hitting two birds with one stone,' he told them. He paused and looked around at Kaoru. 'Kaoru, you haven't said anything, what's wrong?'
Kaoru was still gazing intently at the picture. She swallowed again. 'I…I…' she stammered. She was still in a state of shock; not quite being able to believe that the guy who had helped her could be all what the Captain had claimed him to be. She tore her eyes away from the picture, and managed a short smile. 'Nothing, I'm fine. I was just...I mean, just…look at his face!'
'Huh? His face?' Sano said, confused. He looked back at the picture and studied it for a moment. He frowned. 'Okay...I'm looking at his face but I'm really not able to see what about it that's getting you so worked up.'
'I'm not getting worked up about it!' she protested. She waved a impatient hand at the picture. 'I mean, for God's sake, look properly at him! He looks at peace with himself…so calm…how can he look like that knowing the things he'd done?'
'Don't be fooled by appearances, Kaoru…the outside sometimes reflects the opposite of the inside,' the Captain told her. 'And Himura's a very good example. You're right, you know, when you see him for the first time, you don't really think that he could be a murderer.'
Kaoru nodded, her eyes still fixed on the picture. Boy! You can say that again! I didn't suspect him in the very least! Should I tell the Captain about him? But then…Her attention was diverged when some one knocked at the door. Next, a pretty girl with brown hair and green eyes had stepped into the office. Kaoru shot a glance at Sano and saw that her friend's jaw had dropped; she knew he was going to go goggles about this girl. That was typical Sano.
'Sayo-kun...what took you so long?' the Captain scolded her gently.
The girl blushed faintly and lowered her gaze. 'Gomen nasai, Sagara Taisho,' she said, with a slight bow to her head.
'It's alright, never mind that now,' the Captain replied, smiling. Kaoru thought that was rather unfair, because they never got off with an, "It's alright, never mind that now", when they were late; all they got was a severe telling-off. Sano, on the other hand seemed too busy staring at Sayo to complain. He gestured at the two of them. 'Sayo-kun, I'd like you to meet two of my field agents; Kaoru Kamiya and Sagara Sanosuke.
The girl smiled politely at them and bowed again. 'Hajimemashite? Watashi wa Amakusa, Sayo,' she said in fluent Japanese.
Sano stared, bewildered, at her. Japanese as he was, he grew up in the States and didn't know a single word of his mother tongue. He looked around at the Captain for help, and looked back nervously at her. 'I'm sorry...I...I didn't quite understand what you said,' he murmured.
The girl blinked. 'Oh, I'm sorry, I thought, since you are Japanese, you would...' she said and glanced at the Captain who shook his head. She smiled at Kaoru and Sano and bowed her head again. 'Forgive my, rudeness...my name's Sayo Amakusa. It's very nice to meet you.'
Sano, too, was bowing deeply. 'Sanosuke Sagara,' he said quickly. 'It's very nice to meet you, too!'
Kaoru had to stop herself from laughing out loud. Instead, she smiled at Sayo and gave her a tiny wave. 'Hello, Sayo,' she said.
The Captain put an arm around her shoulders. 'Sayo is an agent in the Japanese secret investigations, and she's come all the way from there to help us with the Himura case,' he told them. 'She knows a lot more about the man than I do, considering she's had a run-in with him before, and I'm sure she'll be a great help. In fact, she'll be coming with us when we go to the place where Himura keeps his loot, which is, dare I say, now.'
Kaoru blinked in surprise. 'Now?' she repeated. 'Why do we have to get this done so soon?'
The Captain gave her a patronizing smile. 'Kaoru, don't you think that Himura will be notified that five of his troops have been captured by the FBI?' he asked her, and Kaoru, realizing what he was getting at, blushed, embarrassed, and nodded. 'We have to go there quickly before he gets any chance to make any escape plans...and the sooner, the better. Unless, of course, you're not up to it, because then I could ask another agent to...'
'No, I'm up to it,' she interrupted him, feeling indignant that the Captain might question her abilities. Also, she wasn't about to let the chance to see Himura again slip from between her fingers; that man really intrigued her. She looked back at Himura's picture. What is behind this guy?
-
'This is it'
The four of them stood in front of the door of the old, big warehouse. Its green paint was pale was chipped, and it looked absolutely deserted; in fact, they wouldn't have thought to look there if they hadn't been told about it. The whole area was cold and damp from the rain, which had only stopped a few minutes ago...not to mention the fact that the area, itself, looked empty and deserted. The warehouse stood towering above them like an ugly, dirty mound.
'Not too classy, is it?' Sano said, sarcastically. 'So, shall we go in?'
The Captain nodded. 'Yes, but we shall also split to cover more ground more quickly; Kaoru and I will go together, and you two will go in the opposite direction,' he told them. 'One shot in the air means success, two shots mean trouble. Now, before you go in, I want you all to be extremely careful; Himura is not your everyday criminal; he will not hesitate to kill you if you prove to be a threat to him...so, if you see him, run away in the opposite direction and call for the others, have I made myself clear?' The others nodded. 'Good luck.'
He and Sano both pulled the doors open, and the four of them walked inside. They took a look around; the warehouse consisted of the ground floor, and there was an iron staircase which led up to the first floor, and it went deep inside. The Captain gestured for Sano and Sayo to take the ground floor, and they both nodded. Sano gave them the thumbs-up, before taking out his gun and walking further into the warehouse with Sayo. The Captain and Kaoru had turned and went for the staircase.
'Stay behind me,' Sano instructed her.
'Okay,' Sayo said, quietly.
As they walked deeper into the warehouse, they found themselves both taking out their flashlights to light up their way, considering the place was so dark they couldn't even see where they were placing their feet. They flashed their lights around and were able to see a few boxes scattered here and there, but nothing else. They soon got to the back of the warehouse, and Sano felt around for a door or something. He grunted in annoyance.
'This is weird…where the hell is everybody?' he muttered. No sooner had the words left his lips, a group of ten masked men appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them. He flattened himself against the wall and pulled Sayo back with him. 'The sneaky bastards. They waited until we got to a dead end so that they could corner us. Crap!'
'Does this suit you better, though?' Sayo asked, eyeing the men warily.
Sano grinned. 'You bet,' he said, feeling excited. 'Let's get 'em!'
They both attacked simultaneously. Sano had been taught well; he knew where to use each move, each punch, each kick; he could say he was one of the best when it came to martial arts. But, obviously, Sayo had been trained well, too. Sano watched in amazement as she moved stealthily between their enemies, kicking that and punching the other, without getting a single hit in return…she didn't even use her gun!
'Sano, why are standing there gawping like an idiot? Get a move on!' she snapped.
'Oh, yeah,' he murmured, blushing shaking his head.
'Behind you!' she cried.
Sano spun around just in time and caught the bat a man was planning to clobber him with. 'Oh, no you won't,' he hissed.
Sano swung the bat around, with the man still clinging to it, and smashed them both against the wall. The man dropped to the floor, unconscious. Then, Sano used the bat to club another guy heading for him. The bat hit him with a satisfying crack and he dropped in a heap to the floor. Before they were even done with the first batch, another group of men appeared….now there were nearly fourteen against two!
Sano glanced over at Sayo and was relieved to see that she was doing fine; none of the men got even close enough to touch her. She was good; he had to give her that. 'Hey, Sayo! Do you need assistance?' he asked as he slammed a man in the stomach with his elbow. 'Shall I fire two shots?'
Sayo kicked a man in the gutter using an awesome karate move. Then she straightened up and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. 'That's funny, I was about to ask you the same thing,' she said, smirking slightly. 'I thought you needed help.'
Sano grinned. This girl was perfect.
-
The first floor consisted of many small rooms and one long corridor in between. They had been inspecting each room at gunpoint, and they had managed to find a bag of stolen money, but that was about it. No guards, and certainly no Himura. As they went further inside, they had to use their flashlights to see where they were going. Using flashlights would put them at a disadvantage with their enemies, but seeing as there were no enemies whatsoever, they thought it would be fine.
'I don't like this,' Kaoru mumbled. 'It's just too quiet.'
'Yeah, I see what you mean,' Captain Sagara agreed. 'Nobody's come to attack us yet.'
Kaoru gripped her gun tightly as she opened the door to one of the rooms. She flashed her light around the room and…nothing. She sighed and dropped her gun hand to her side. 'Captain, I'm worried about Sano,' she murmured.
'What from?' the Captain asked.
'This may sound a bit silly, but that girl Sayo, she doesn't seem strong enough…' Kaoru said, averting her eyes from him. 'I don't mean to be questioning your judgment or anything, but...I mean, what if they got attacked and she was completely useless. '
The Captain chuckled and squeezed her shoulder gently. 'Hey, you haven't heard two shots yet, have you? If that's not a good sign, I don't know what it is' he told her. She started to say something, but he cut her off. 'And it certainly doesn't mean that they're dead. Don't worry about Sano, Kaoru, he can take care of himself…and besides, who said Sayo-kun was weak? She's an excellent fighter…I trained her myself.'
Kaoru felt a lot more relaxed when she heard that...although, she didn't have time to indulge in her relaxation, because, at that moment, a group of men wearing black from head to toe attacked them. Kaoru switched form guard mode to fighting mode, happy that they were finally going to be having a bit of action. Just as she was about to throw her first punch in one of the men's face, the Captain shouted for her to stop.
'No, Kaoru!' he shouted, throwing four men off him at once. 'You take the door, I'll handle them!'
Door? Kaoru looked around and noticed the door at the end of the corridor. She looked back at the Captain, who was still fighting with the men. 'But, Captain!' she protested. 'You can't do this alone! You can't fight them all by yourself!'
'Just go!' he ordered, aiming a kick at one man. 'I'll be fine!'
'But…oh!' she mumbled, and strode towards the door, fuming, shoving one man out of her way as she did. Did the Captain think she was weak? She could handle any thug just fine, why did he insist on doing everything himself? She wanted to be of help…what was so big about going through that door, anyway? She aimed a strong kick at the door and it flung wide open. She stepped into what seemed like an office-a large, spacious office with only a desk, a chair and a cupboard. 'Whoever owned this place was a tad too cheap.'
As her eyes got adjusted to the darkness of the room, she noticed something else other than the owner's minimalist taste. She noticed the owner himself; standing there with his unblinking violet eyes fixed on her. Kaoru stood on her guard, watching him; this was not your everyday criminal, as the Captain had told them. This was a guy who set her thinking about him merely for the fact that he had given her his umbrella. This was a guy who looked at her in such a way that made her skin crawl and made her feel completely exposed. This was a guy who gave her the impression of being so peaceful when he was the exact opposite. No, this definitely was not a normal criminal.
'Thanks for the use of the umbrella,' she said airily, still watching him closely. He didn't say anything; he only smiled and nodded, with his eyes still upon her. Why does he keep staring at me like that? 'I was wondering about what made you come out in the rain just to give me your umbrella when you know that you're wanted all over the country…wouldn't that get you caught?'
She expected him to say something then, but he didn't. She gripped her gun tightly and tried to keep it pointed steadily at him. 'What's the matter? Cat ate your tongue?' she said quietly. She was quite surprised when he turned on his heels and ran out through a door in the corner. 'Wait! Where are you going? Come back here!'
She tore after him. But on the inside, questions were colliding in her head; this was Kenshin Himura? The professional assassin? Then, why did he run away from me when he could've easily shot me dead? With a feeling that she was being led into a trap, she ran through the door into another room, only this one was totally empty. She spotted him running away through another door. She ran after him…to find herself standing on the balcony of the first floor. Kenshin was standing there, his back to the railing.
'Don't you move,' she hissed, pointing the gun at him.
This is getting too easy. What? No guns? No attacks? What was wrong with this guy? Was he fooling around with me? He just smiled softly at her…his smile was so peaceful. It was so composed and serene it sent a chill down her spine.
But…how?
Her gun hand shook. What should she do? Should she shoot him? But there he was, just standing there smiling at her. Why should she shoot him? He looks so sweet; he doesn't look like a criminal…but she wasn't given time to think…
'Kaoru! What are you doing? Shoot him!' she heard the Captain shout from somewhere behind her.
She was taken by surprise, and before she could stop herself, and despite her trembling, she pulled the trigger. But with incredible speed, Kenshin leaned backwards over the railing to avoid the bullet, and fell right over. 'NO!!' she cried…was it out of worry, out of anger…she didn't know…
She hurried to the railing and looked down. She saw him landing on his feet, and then running away down the aisle. She watched him until the darkness of the alleyway swallowed him up. She sighed, and immediately paused. What was that sigh for? Was that a sigh of relief? What was wrong with her? Why didn't she shoot him again? Follow him?...Anything?
What had happened to her?
'Kaoru!' The Captain stepped onto the balcony beside her, and clapped a hand on her shoulder. 'Kaoru, you let him escape! Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?' Kaoru shook her head miserably, suddenly wishing that she was badly injured, so that she'd escape the Captain's stern look. He bent down so that he was in level with her, and grabbed her by both shoulders. He spoke his next words very slowly. 'Kaoru, why didn't you shoot him?'
Kaoru looked away. She squatted down on the floor and hugged herself. 'I don't know, Captain! I just don't know!' she choked.
-
Japanese words and their translations:
Gomen nasai: I'm sorry. (polite)
Taisho: A general or lord.
Hajimemashite? Watashi wa Amakusa, Sayo: How do you do? My name is Amakusa, Sayo. (used for first time meetings only)
-
A/N: So, how did you like this chapter? Was it good enough? I really hope it was…yeah, yeah, I know you have more questions about the story now, but as I told you before, telling you anything will be giving you hints, and I don't want that…I can just tell you it's gonna be a really eventful fic…anyway, now that you've finished reading, could you be a dear and send me a review?...please?
- S. N. B.
