Disclaimer: RK and it's characters are not mine, they belong to Nobuhiro
Watsuki. Brilliant man that he is.
A.N. Sorry for the delay in this update, if any of you are reading my other fic, you know why. If you're not, then I'll keep this short and say I've been swamped.
Well, here's chapter two. It took me ages for two reasons, I was busy, and I was never happy with what I had written, nor did I know where/how to end the chapter. I think I did okay with it this time. Talk about major case of writers block tho! GRR!
Anyways, it's finally here, so R&R pls!
Enjoy!
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The Past Returns
Chapter 2
Shinomori Aoshi sat meditating in his room. He had the distinct feeling that Misao wasn't pleased with him. She had been rather peeved when she stormed out of the Aoiya earlier, and he had a feeling that her anger was caused by him. Of course, he had no idea what he had done.
But an unhappy Misao wasn't acceptable in Aoshi's eyes.
He opened his eyes to stare at the blank wall. He glanced around the meticulously clean room. His eyes landed on the neatly folded futon in one corner, the small closet containing his few possessions, including a long white trench coat that still had blood of his fallen comrades on it, there was a small chest in another corner and a sword alter that held his original kodachi.
Rising, Aoshi padded quietly over to the chest, knelt and opened it. Inside was his Oniwabanshu uniform, a few kunai's and his two kodachi's. He could remember vividly when he donned his uniform for the first time after running amok in Kyoto and forming a semi-alliance with Shishio.
It had been because of Misao.
She was responding to a favor asked by the Kamiya girl. Misao had found an old diary, one that belonged to the Battousai's wife, and was bringing it to Tokyo. He had chosen to accompany her. He told himself that it was to act as an escort and a guard for the young woman, but he was only lying to himself. He had gone to Tokyo with her for two reasons.
One, because his fallen friends had still not received a proper burial, and he knew that if anyone deserved to get a proper burial it was those four men. And Misao had to be there, for they were her family.
But the second reason, the one he ignored for the most part, was the biggest driving force.
He went to Tokyo with Misao because he knew that if he stayed while she went, he would miss her terribly.
Somewhere between teaching her martial arts when she was a child and seeing her small form running towards him as a young woman, he had grown extremely attached to her. He told himself it was a brotherly instinct, but even brothers grew tired of their younger sisters. Aoshi never did. Not with Misao.
It was her energy, her laugh, her smile, that gave him the desire to keep going. She was the reason behind his return, and she was the reason he had his Oniwabanshu uniform back.
And now she was pissed at him.
Aoshi carefully replaced the lid on the chest and rose. He slid the shoji door open and stepped out into the hall. It was dusk and Misao still hadn't returned.
He walked down the stairs and headed straight for the main door.
"Finally stopped grumbling huh?" Okina's voice stopped him. Aoshi turned to see the former ninja sitting quietly in the receiving room, his eyes closed and a huge grin plastered to his face.
"I wasn't grumbling, Okina."
"Yes, yes, whatever. Misao headed for the forest. That's her usual refuge whenever she's angry." Okina said, and took a sip of tea. Aoshi nodded, slid the door open, and walked out into the evening.
Okina smiled to himself. 'It's good to have that boy back' he thought to himself. He had thought it everyday since Aoshi's return to the Aoiya. He hadn't told anyone, but he missed the young okashira terribly. Even now, with his silence and reclusive personality, just knowing he was upstairs, or at the temple, was enough to calm Okina. They had suffered enough loss with the deaths of Hannya, Shikijo, Beshimi, and Hyotoko. His family was together again, and that was what mattered to him the most.
It took no time at all for Aoshi to make his way through the city and into the forest. Outwardly, he was calm and collected. Even in his mind he was silent. But deep in the recesses of his consciousness, he was pretty ticked at Misao for running off for no good reason. He didn't understand why she had yelled at him. He had been his usual self when she talked to him that morning. And she had been her usual self too.
He long black braid was the same; her bright green eyes were the same, her uniform....
Aoshi winced.
She had not been wearing her uniform that morning. She had been wearing a very nice kimono, and he hadn't even noticed.
"You've been spending too much time meditating, Shimomori." Aoshi muttered.
In the 8 months since he returned to the Aoiya after the battle with Shishio, Aoshi had done nothing but meditate. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had registered the fact that Misao had grown up in his absence. But he was still the typical male overall, and failed to notice and then compliment her, while she wore a brand new kimono.
Still mentally cursing himself, he set out into the forest. He figured he would find Misao somewhere in the centre, where there were fewer people walking. She would still be pretty angry, but ultimately, he would apologize, compliment, and then bring her home.
It was only as he walked further from the outer edge of the forest that he started noticing something was amiss. The usual chatter of the wildlife was absent, as if there had been a big shock that silenced them. And there was a smell that clung in the air. It was faint, but Aoshi could sense it. Something that smelled burnt.
The burnt smell increased as he proceeded, and his pace increased. He had a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong.
He was right.
He broke through some foliage only to see a large clearing in the distance. The setting sun provided very little light in the forest because of the thick branches overhead, but the clearing was void of any such branches so it was brighter.
The clearing was chaos.
It looked as if something exploded near the centre of it, there was a huge dirt crater in the middle, with debris littering the whole clearing. Dirt, rocks, branches, everything. There were several trees that had scorch marks on their trunks, and the lower branches had been cracked off.
Aoshi stood and surveyed the damage for a few moments. His eyes swept the entire clearing, catching some detail now and then. In one end, there was a few piles of rope, Aoshi went over, bent down and picked up one piece. It had been cleanly sliced off with a sharp blade. Near each of the 5 piles, there was also a long piece of fabric. The ground was covered with dirt, but the faint impressions of bodies were still visible to his trained eye.
There had been five small people bound and gagged in these exact spots just hours beforehand.
Aoshi pocketed some of the rope, and one of the gags and stood up. His eyes swept over the clearing again. Branches, rocks, dirt... and a sheathed sword. He immediately went to the sword, stooped and inspected it. The saya was old and well worn, as well as the hilt of the katana. Aoshi picked it up carefully and a sudden stench of stale blood hit him. The sword in his hands had defiantly taken many lives once upon a time. He unsheathed the blade.
It was clean. Perfect, meticulously, clean. The blade looked brand new, but Aoshi's gut told him it was well over a decade old. Whoever the owner was, they were proficient at cleaning and caring for their sword.
Aoshi re-sheathed the blade and stood up. Not too far from the swords resting place, there was a pile of linen bandages. He went over and picked up a piece. It was off-white because of so much use, and it had blood on it. Someone out there was injured from the explosion.
Using his training as a ninja, Aoshi scouted the scene and surrounding areas in an attempt to determine what happened. He found two kunai embedded in a tree trunk high off the ground, which pinned two pieces of light blue fabric. It looked like Misao had been there, and attempted to rescue the five prisoners from their captors. But she hadn't been the one to free them from their bindings. The clean cut of the rope could only have been made by a sharp sword, and kunai were no where near that sharp.
That meant that someone else had shown up and helped Misao, someone who used a sword to slice the captives free, and then lost it when he got caught in the explosion. The bloody bandages had probably dressed a wound from the explosion or from the captors as they fought, and now they were all gone.
With the sword, the bloody bandages, Misao's kunai, the blue fabric, the ropes and the gag, Aoshi left the clearing and headed back for the Aoiya. There were 5 possible witnesses he needed to find. He just hoped Misao had helped her fallen comrade and was safe back in Kyoto.
He had a gut feeling that his hopes were futile, and Misao was gone.
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The pigeon fluttered to a rest on the windowsill beside Okina. He glanced over at it and saw a message attached to its leg. He held out his hand and the bird flew into it. He quickly relieved the messenger of its baggage, and it flew out the window to return home. Obviously a response was not necessary.
He hated getting letters through pigeons. It was usually Oniwabanshu business when information and news were brought to him through the birds. Try as he might, he knew he would never be fully retired. He would always be a member of the elite group of ninjas, and someone would always need their help.
He opened the letter and read.
Okina, come immediately, urgent. Uziu Kei.
Okina frowned. He hadn't heard from Kei in a very long time. Anytime he got a message from Kei, something bad happened. It had been Kei that had brought the Kanryu job to Aoshi's attention. It had been a good job, but 4 members of the Oniwabanshu had died.
Okina sighed. He couldn't very well ignore the letter. Although there were times when he wanted to more than anything, he couldn't. He stood up, grabbed his hat, and headed for the door.
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Uziu Kei was an older gentleman, like Okina. He owned a small infirmary on the outskirts of town that doubled as a hostel. Anyone who needed medical attention, no questions asked, could be brought there. Kei was a wealth of information for the Oniwabanshu. After the revolution, Kei had retired as a doctor for soldiers and planned to raise his young daughter with his wife in peace. The hostel was a side hobby of his. He couldn't bring himself to stop practicing medicine.
"Okina." A voice called. Okina turned and found Aoshi approaching the hostle. Okina noted the katana at his waist but made no comment. Aoshi would tell him in good time.
"Aoshi. What brings you here?"
"Misao is missing." Aoshi stated simply and knocked on the entrance to the hostel.
"Missing! What do you mean?" Okina exclaimed. At the mere mention of Misao being unaccounted for caused his heart to clench painfully. The door slid open to reveal Uziu Kei. His silver hair was in disarray, his kimono was rumpled and there were dark circles under his eyes.
"Okina, thank goodness you came. There's an extremely important matter we must discuss. Welcome Shinomori-san." The gentleman said, beckoning the pair inside. He slid the door shut behind them and led them to the waiting room.
"Aoshi." Okina said, trying to get an explanation out of the silent man. Kei motioned for them to sit and the two complied.
"We seem to have a problem, Okina." Kei said. Okina's attention was momentarily drawn from Aoshi at his friend's words. He noticed the frail doctor's pale looks immediately.
"What is it?" Okina asked.
"My daughter was almost kidnapped by a group of samurai today. She witnessed Misao being taken by them."
Aoshi's worst fear was confirmed by the statement, and the empty hallow feeling in his stomach was immediately replaced by a burning ball of hatred and anger at the samurai. Whoever they were, they kidnapped the wrong girl for so many reasons!
"Misao." Okina whispered. His blood had run cold. Misao was gone. Kidnapped.
"That's not all. She said there had been a wanderer who stopped and helped them escape. Another samurai, she said. He carried a sword."
The word 'wanderer' snapped both Aoshi and Okina out of their thoughts and forced their eyes back to Kei.
"What?" Okina asked.
"Wanderer?" Aoshi asked.
"What did he look like?"
Kei looked from the former ninja, to the present leader of the Oniwabanshu and back again. Apparently the word 'wanderer' meant something to them.
"I don't know. Linn didn't say." Kei replied, referring to his daughter. "But she did say the kidnappers all wore the same light blue haori's with a white diamond pattern on the sleeves. She remembered that distinctly." Aoshi pulled one of the bits of fabric out of his sleeve and looked at it. There was a small scrap of white on the otherwise blue fabric. It must have been part of the diamond pattern on the sleeve. "She also said that there had been a great explosion."
Aoshi's original thoughts were all confirmed by Uziu Linn's story. Misao was taken by a group of samurai, they all wore blue haori's, and there had been a third party.... a 'wanderer' who had come to the rescue. At least until the explosion and then who knew what happened to the wanderer? But one thing was for sure and that was the fact that Misao was missing.
"Why had Linn remembered the haori's so distinctly?" Okina asked.
"She remembered seeing them when she was a young girl during the revolution." Kei replied warily, running a hand over his face.
"The revolution?" Aoshi asked.
"Yes. It was the uniform of the Shinsengumi."
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Aoshi put some extra kunai and a few onigiri's into a bag he was packing. He was in his full Oniwabanshu uniform and his two kodachi were resting on his folded up futon, ready to be secured to his waist. He tied the bag ends together and closed it firmly. Grabbing his kodachi's he turned to the door to find Okina standing in its frame.
"Are you going to find Misao?" Okina asked. Their journey back from Kei's had been a silent one. Aoshi had been his usual self and kept his thoughts inside. Okina still hadn't asked about the sword, but he didn't have to. He knew that Aoshi kept things only for a reason, and that sword must have had an impact on him. It now rested on the sword alter in his room on the higher position, just above his original kodachi .
Aoshi had purposefully kept the sword. The smell of old blood prevented him from throwing it away. He had a very distinct feeling that it was a very special sword to whoever owned it. He also had a feeling that the wanderer was the owner of the sword and if he ever met the man, he would want to return his sword.
"No, I'm not." He replied. Okina was surprised by the response. He was so sure that Aoshi would go out hunting for the lost girl immediately.
"Why not?"
"Because this is more than we can handle." Aoshi replied.
Once upon a time Aoshi would never dream of asking for help from anyone. His pride and ego prevented him from being a proper ninja and leader. Both needed to rely on their team mates and needed to know when to ask for help from those best suited for the job. Aoshi knew now was a time when he would need help.
Aoshi moved past Okina and proceeded down the dark hallway. Night had fallen and Misao had been missing for a few hours. If he left now, he would reach his destination in a day or so, if his horse ran most of the way. Time was of the essence and the next train wasn't until two days time.
"Then where are you going?" Okina asked, following the young man down the stairs to the main entrance.
"Tokyo. I'll be back in two days." Aoshi replied, and then disappeared into the night.
"Tokyo." Okina murmured. He smiled for the first time since that afternoon as he listened to Aoshi's retreating footsteps. The man was going to Tokyo to get the best possible ally in this new fight.
Himura Kenshin.
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Kenshin stood in the kitchen of the Kamiya home cutting up the blocks of tofu into smaller pieces. He didn't mind the mundane task of cooking. He loved doing it ever since he started cooking for himself and Hideki back during the revolution.
Kenshin's chopping paused.
Hideki Sakura. He hadn't thought of her in a very long time.
"Kenshin, is dinner ready yet?" a soft voice called behind him. Kenshin turned slightly and smiled over his shoulder at the young woman in the doorway.
Kamiya Kaoru stood in her plain purple kimono. Her raven black hair swept up in a ponytail and tied back with a blue ribbon that brought out the depth of her blue eyes. She smiled gently at her rurouni as she watched him chopping.
"Very soon Kaoru-dono. This unworthy one just needs to add the tofu to the stew." Kenshin replied, returning to his chopping.
"Alright, I'll prepare the table." she said, and left the kitchen. Kenshin paused in his chopping again for a moment and allowed himself to think about the woman who just left.
She had somehow managed to break down the wall he had erected around himself and found a way into his heart. Not only as a friend, but as something much more. She had become his life. Without her, he wouldn't have much to live for. He would still live, but it had already been proven that he would be a mere shell of a man without her. He lost her once, he wasn't going to lose her again.
Of course, he didn't bother telling HER this. He couldn't. He wasn't worthy of her. He had done too many terrible things in his life to ever deserve the happiness she could give him, or even the happiness he already had for that matter.
A huge crash, followed by some yelling snapped him out of his trance. Quickly depositing the tofu into the stew, Kenshin covered the steaming liquid to allow it to heat some more, and left the kitchen to see what was broken.
He entered the sitting room only to find it in disarray. The bowls, chopsticks and sitting mats were strewn everywhere, the table was overturned, and Kaoru had Yahiko pinned as she pummeled him with her boken.
Myojin Yahiko, first apprentice of the Kamiya Kasshin Style stood no chance up against his teacher. Kaoru was much too smart to allow him the upper hand. Their current position was probably due to him mouthing off about her looks, as he usually did.
"Mah, mah! Yahiko this unworthy one has told you time and again that you should not make fun of Kaoru-dono." Kenshin said as he righted the table. At Kenshin's presence Kaoru immediately stopped her beating of Yahiko and got to her feet.
"Kenshin, tell this ugly girl to stop being so ugly, and I'll stop making fun of her!" Yahiko scoffed as he brushed himself off.
"Kaoru-dono is not ugly, Yahiko. This unworthy one thinks she is quite beautiful." Kenshin replied, placing the bowls and chopsticks back on the table neatly. The moment he spoke the words, he wished he hadn't. They were the truth of course, but he knew Kaoru had a small crush on him, and he wouldn't allow her to be stuck with someone as lowly as himself. In order for her attentions to leave him, he constantly avoided any sort of confrontation. However, that carefully laid out plan was just blown out of the water by his slip.
Kaoru blushed prettily and dipped her head to hide it. Kenshin swallowed his own discomfort and resumed his cleanup.
"UGH! How could you say that about her Kenshin? I had respect for you!" Yahiko sneered, grinning evilly at Kaoru.
As much as he insulted the woman, Yahiko loved Kaoru a hell of a lot more than anyone else could. She was his mother, sister, friend, and teacher. She was his centre. It was Kaoru who dragged him away from the yakuza's and brought him under her roof.
She had a profound effect on several men who were blessed with her friendship and love.
"Why you-!" Kaoru started, rolling up her sleeve. Yahiko ducked behind Kenshin for protection.
"Kaoru-dono! Please don't be hasty!" Kenshin exclaimed.
A pounding on the main gate of the property stopped any encounter from happening. There was a moment where everyone froze, Yahiko clinging to the back of Kenshin's gi, Kaoru holding the front in a vain attempt to get to the kid through the samurai and Kenshin stuck in the middle facing a very angry Kaoru.
The pounding continued.
"Battousai!" a voice called. A very familiar voice.
Kenshin left the sitting room and went out to the main gate. Kaoru and Yahiko close behind him. He opened the door to reveal a sweating, heavily breathing Shinomori Aoshi.
"Aoshi." Kenshin said.
"I need your help." Aoshi said. Kenshin took one look at the ninja and stepped aside, granting him entrance into the gardens. There was something extremely wrong in Kyoto if Aoshi came and asked for help.
Aoshi stepped through the door and without a word between the two, Kenshin lead him into the sitting room. Kaoru and Yahiko merely exchanged glances and followed.
Kaoru didn't want to know the reason for Aoshi's unexpected visit. Just by looking at his face, she could tell it wasn't good news. And if it was bad news coming from Aoshi, that would mean Kenshin would once again set off for Kyoto, one place Kaoru didn't want him to go.
"I'll get straight to the point Himura." Aoshi said after seating himself. Kaoru froze in her position. Aoshi never called Kenshin anything but 'Battousai'. For him to suddenly switch names like that something terrible must have happened.
There was a brief pause, as if Aoshi had a hard time voicing the request.
But Kaoru saw it. The flash of ache in his eyes. Something akin to regret. Aoshi's normally cool exterior crumbled before her eyes just from that slight change.
"Misao has been kidnapped."
Shock coursed through the three residents of the Kamiya dojo. Misao had been kidnapped!?
"By what has now been confirmed as a group of Shinsengumi samurai."
There it was. The link that forced Kenshin back to his murderous past as a manslayer. It always came back to haunt him, no matter what was asked, it always had to do with his past.
Kenshin's heart fell to his feet.
There was nothing anyone could do or say to change the fact that Kenshin was once again needed in the worst possible place to him, Kyoto. He would return to that city, and fight for his life all over again. But he would never complain, and he would never imagine refusing. Especially since someone very dear to him had been kidnapped.
Yahiko sat in silent shock.
But the Shinsengumi. Kenshin highly doubted he was still strong enough to deal with a group of them. He may have acquired the Hiten Mitsurugi succession technique the previous year, but even as the strongest ishin hitokiri, he had always had backup whenever he was against a group of opposing samurai.
All thoughts of Shinsengumi were immediately pushed aside in Kenshin's head. He would deal with them when the time came. The most important matter was that Misao was gone, and Aoshi needed his help.
"When do we leave?" Kenshin asked simply.
Kaoru remained frozen, and a slow silent tear slipped down her face.
Kenshin was going back to Kyoto to face his past once again.
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A.N. Righto, that's the end of this chapter. I think I'll be okay regarding writing now. I think this chapter was hard cuz I wasn't sure how to work Kenshin/Kaoru/Yahiko into the story.
One of the other problems I've been having is the question of whether or not Sano/Megumi will be in this fic. Seeing as how I stuck to the manga storyline in the prequal and worked around it, I've come to a crossroads as to whether or not those two will be in this fic. I'd love to hear any feedback anyone may have. So let me know what you think!
Thanks!
A.N. Sorry for the delay in this update, if any of you are reading my other fic, you know why. If you're not, then I'll keep this short and say I've been swamped.
Well, here's chapter two. It took me ages for two reasons, I was busy, and I was never happy with what I had written, nor did I know where/how to end the chapter. I think I did okay with it this time. Talk about major case of writers block tho! GRR!
Anyways, it's finally here, so R&R pls!
Enjoy!
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The Past Returns
Chapter 2
Shinomori Aoshi sat meditating in his room. He had the distinct feeling that Misao wasn't pleased with him. She had been rather peeved when she stormed out of the Aoiya earlier, and he had a feeling that her anger was caused by him. Of course, he had no idea what he had done.
But an unhappy Misao wasn't acceptable in Aoshi's eyes.
He opened his eyes to stare at the blank wall. He glanced around the meticulously clean room. His eyes landed on the neatly folded futon in one corner, the small closet containing his few possessions, including a long white trench coat that still had blood of his fallen comrades on it, there was a small chest in another corner and a sword alter that held his original kodachi.
Rising, Aoshi padded quietly over to the chest, knelt and opened it. Inside was his Oniwabanshu uniform, a few kunai's and his two kodachi's. He could remember vividly when he donned his uniform for the first time after running amok in Kyoto and forming a semi-alliance with Shishio.
It had been because of Misao.
She was responding to a favor asked by the Kamiya girl. Misao had found an old diary, one that belonged to the Battousai's wife, and was bringing it to Tokyo. He had chosen to accompany her. He told himself that it was to act as an escort and a guard for the young woman, but he was only lying to himself. He had gone to Tokyo with her for two reasons.
One, because his fallen friends had still not received a proper burial, and he knew that if anyone deserved to get a proper burial it was those four men. And Misao had to be there, for they were her family.
But the second reason, the one he ignored for the most part, was the biggest driving force.
He went to Tokyo with Misao because he knew that if he stayed while she went, he would miss her terribly.
Somewhere between teaching her martial arts when she was a child and seeing her small form running towards him as a young woman, he had grown extremely attached to her. He told himself it was a brotherly instinct, but even brothers grew tired of their younger sisters. Aoshi never did. Not with Misao.
It was her energy, her laugh, her smile, that gave him the desire to keep going. She was the reason behind his return, and she was the reason he had his Oniwabanshu uniform back.
And now she was pissed at him.
Aoshi carefully replaced the lid on the chest and rose. He slid the shoji door open and stepped out into the hall. It was dusk and Misao still hadn't returned.
He walked down the stairs and headed straight for the main door.
"Finally stopped grumbling huh?" Okina's voice stopped him. Aoshi turned to see the former ninja sitting quietly in the receiving room, his eyes closed and a huge grin plastered to his face.
"I wasn't grumbling, Okina."
"Yes, yes, whatever. Misao headed for the forest. That's her usual refuge whenever she's angry." Okina said, and took a sip of tea. Aoshi nodded, slid the door open, and walked out into the evening.
Okina smiled to himself. 'It's good to have that boy back' he thought to himself. He had thought it everyday since Aoshi's return to the Aoiya. He hadn't told anyone, but he missed the young okashira terribly. Even now, with his silence and reclusive personality, just knowing he was upstairs, or at the temple, was enough to calm Okina. They had suffered enough loss with the deaths of Hannya, Shikijo, Beshimi, and Hyotoko. His family was together again, and that was what mattered to him the most.
It took no time at all for Aoshi to make his way through the city and into the forest. Outwardly, he was calm and collected. Even in his mind he was silent. But deep in the recesses of his consciousness, he was pretty ticked at Misao for running off for no good reason. He didn't understand why she had yelled at him. He had been his usual self when she talked to him that morning. And she had been her usual self too.
He long black braid was the same; her bright green eyes were the same, her uniform....
Aoshi winced.
She had not been wearing her uniform that morning. She had been wearing a very nice kimono, and he hadn't even noticed.
"You've been spending too much time meditating, Shimomori." Aoshi muttered.
In the 8 months since he returned to the Aoiya after the battle with Shishio, Aoshi had done nothing but meditate. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had registered the fact that Misao had grown up in his absence. But he was still the typical male overall, and failed to notice and then compliment her, while she wore a brand new kimono.
Still mentally cursing himself, he set out into the forest. He figured he would find Misao somewhere in the centre, where there were fewer people walking. She would still be pretty angry, but ultimately, he would apologize, compliment, and then bring her home.
It was only as he walked further from the outer edge of the forest that he started noticing something was amiss. The usual chatter of the wildlife was absent, as if there had been a big shock that silenced them. And there was a smell that clung in the air. It was faint, but Aoshi could sense it. Something that smelled burnt.
The burnt smell increased as he proceeded, and his pace increased. He had a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong.
He was right.
He broke through some foliage only to see a large clearing in the distance. The setting sun provided very little light in the forest because of the thick branches overhead, but the clearing was void of any such branches so it was brighter.
The clearing was chaos.
It looked as if something exploded near the centre of it, there was a huge dirt crater in the middle, with debris littering the whole clearing. Dirt, rocks, branches, everything. There were several trees that had scorch marks on their trunks, and the lower branches had been cracked off.
Aoshi stood and surveyed the damage for a few moments. His eyes swept the entire clearing, catching some detail now and then. In one end, there was a few piles of rope, Aoshi went over, bent down and picked up one piece. It had been cleanly sliced off with a sharp blade. Near each of the 5 piles, there was also a long piece of fabric. The ground was covered with dirt, but the faint impressions of bodies were still visible to his trained eye.
There had been five small people bound and gagged in these exact spots just hours beforehand.
Aoshi pocketed some of the rope, and one of the gags and stood up. His eyes swept over the clearing again. Branches, rocks, dirt... and a sheathed sword. He immediately went to the sword, stooped and inspected it. The saya was old and well worn, as well as the hilt of the katana. Aoshi picked it up carefully and a sudden stench of stale blood hit him. The sword in his hands had defiantly taken many lives once upon a time. He unsheathed the blade.
It was clean. Perfect, meticulously, clean. The blade looked brand new, but Aoshi's gut told him it was well over a decade old. Whoever the owner was, they were proficient at cleaning and caring for their sword.
Aoshi re-sheathed the blade and stood up. Not too far from the swords resting place, there was a pile of linen bandages. He went over and picked up a piece. It was off-white because of so much use, and it had blood on it. Someone out there was injured from the explosion.
Using his training as a ninja, Aoshi scouted the scene and surrounding areas in an attempt to determine what happened. He found two kunai embedded in a tree trunk high off the ground, which pinned two pieces of light blue fabric. It looked like Misao had been there, and attempted to rescue the five prisoners from their captors. But she hadn't been the one to free them from their bindings. The clean cut of the rope could only have been made by a sharp sword, and kunai were no where near that sharp.
That meant that someone else had shown up and helped Misao, someone who used a sword to slice the captives free, and then lost it when he got caught in the explosion. The bloody bandages had probably dressed a wound from the explosion or from the captors as they fought, and now they were all gone.
With the sword, the bloody bandages, Misao's kunai, the blue fabric, the ropes and the gag, Aoshi left the clearing and headed back for the Aoiya. There were 5 possible witnesses he needed to find. He just hoped Misao had helped her fallen comrade and was safe back in Kyoto.
He had a gut feeling that his hopes were futile, and Misao was gone.
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The pigeon fluttered to a rest on the windowsill beside Okina. He glanced over at it and saw a message attached to its leg. He held out his hand and the bird flew into it. He quickly relieved the messenger of its baggage, and it flew out the window to return home. Obviously a response was not necessary.
He hated getting letters through pigeons. It was usually Oniwabanshu business when information and news were brought to him through the birds. Try as he might, he knew he would never be fully retired. He would always be a member of the elite group of ninjas, and someone would always need their help.
He opened the letter and read.
Okina, come immediately, urgent. Uziu Kei.
Okina frowned. He hadn't heard from Kei in a very long time. Anytime he got a message from Kei, something bad happened. It had been Kei that had brought the Kanryu job to Aoshi's attention. It had been a good job, but 4 members of the Oniwabanshu had died.
Okina sighed. He couldn't very well ignore the letter. Although there were times when he wanted to more than anything, he couldn't. He stood up, grabbed his hat, and headed for the door.
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Uziu Kei was an older gentleman, like Okina. He owned a small infirmary on the outskirts of town that doubled as a hostel. Anyone who needed medical attention, no questions asked, could be brought there. Kei was a wealth of information for the Oniwabanshu. After the revolution, Kei had retired as a doctor for soldiers and planned to raise his young daughter with his wife in peace. The hostel was a side hobby of his. He couldn't bring himself to stop practicing medicine.
"Okina." A voice called. Okina turned and found Aoshi approaching the hostle. Okina noted the katana at his waist but made no comment. Aoshi would tell him in good time.
"Aoshi. What brings you here?"
"Misao is missing." Aoshi stated simply and knocked on the entrance to the hostel.
"Missing! What do you mean?" Okina exclaimed. At the mere mention of Misao being unaccounted for caused his heart to clench painfully. The door slid open to reveal Uziu Kei. His silver hair was in disarray, his kimono was rumpled and there were dark circles under his eyes.
"Okina, thank goodness you came. There's an extremely important matter we must discuss. Welcome Shinomori-san." The gentleman said, beckoning the pair inside. He slid the door shut behind them and led them to the waiting room.
"Aoshi." Okina said, trying to get an explanation out of the silent man. Kei motioned for them to sit and the two complied.
"We seem to have a problem, Okina." Kei said. Okina's attention was momentarily drawn from Aoshi at his friend's words. He noticed the frail doctor's pale looks immediately.
"What is it?" Okina asked.
"My daughter was almost kidnapped by a group of samurai today. She witnessed Misao being taken by them."
Aoshi's worst fear was confirmed by the statement, and the empty hallow feeling in his stomach was immediately replaced by a burning ball of hatred and anger at the samurai. Whoever they were, they kidnapped the wrong girl for so many reasons!
"Misao." Okina whispered. His blood had run cold. Misao was gone. Kidnapped.
"That's not all. She said there had been a wanderer who stopped and helped them escape. Another samurai, she said. He carried a sword."
The word 'wanderer' snapped both Aoshi and Okina out of their thoughts and forced their eyes back to Kei.
"What?" Okina asked.
"Wanderer?" Aoshi asked.
"What did he look like?"
Kei looked from the former ninja, to the present leader of the Oniwabanshu and back again. Apparently the word 'wanderer' meant something to them.
"I don't know. Linn didn't say." Kei replied, referring to his daughter. "But she did say the kidnappers all wore the same light blue haori's with a white diamond pattern on the sleeves. She remembered that distinctly." Aoshi pulled one of the bits of fabric out of his sleeve and looked at it. There was a small scrap of white on the otherwise blue fabric. It must have been part of the diamond pattern on the sleeve. "She also said that there had been a great explosion."
Aoshi's original thoughts were all confirmed by Uziu Linn's story. Misao was taken by a group of samurai, they all wore blue haori's, and there had been a third party.... a 'wanderer' who had come to the rescue. At least until the explosion and then who knew what happened to the wanderer? But one thing was for sure and that was the fact that Misao was missing.
"Why had Linn remembered the haori's so distinctly?" Okina asked.
"She remembered seeing them when she was a young girl during the revolution." Kei replied warily, running a hand over his face.
"The revolution?" Aoshi asked.
"Yes. It was the uniform of the Shinsengumi."
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Aoshi put some extra kunai and a few onigiri's into a bag he was packing. He was in his full Oniwabanshu uniform and his two kodachi were resting on his folded up futon, ready to be secured to his waist. He tied the bag ends together and closed it firmly. Grabbing his kodachi's he turned to the door to find Okina standing in its frame.
"Are you going to find Misao?" Okina asked. Their journey back from Kei's had been a silent one. Aoshi had been his usual self and kept his thoughts inside. Okina still hadn't asked about the sword, but he didn't have to. He knew that Aoshi kept things only for a reason, and that sword must have had an impact on him. It now rested on the sword alter in his room on the higher position, just above his original kodachi .
Aoshi had purposefully kept the sword. The smell of old blood prevented him from throwing it away. He had a very distinct feeling that it was a very special sword to whoever owned it. He also had a feeling that the wanderer was the owner of the sword and if he ever met the man, he would want to return his sword.
"No, I'm not." He replied. Okina was surprised by the response. He was so sure that Aoshi would go out hunting for the lost girl immediately.
"Why not?"
"Because this is more than we can handle." Aoshi replied.
Once upon a time Aoshi would never dream of asking for help from anyone. His pride and ego prevented him from being a proper ninja and leader. Both needed to rely on their team mates and needed to know when to ask for help from those best suited for the job. Aoshi knew now was a time when he would need help.
Aoshi moved past Okina and proceeded down the dark hallway. Night had fallen and Misao had been missing for a few hours. If he left now, he would reach his destination in a day or so, if his horse ran most of the way. Time was of the essence and the next train wasn't until two days time.
"Then where are you going?" Okina asked, following the young man down the stairs to the main entrance.
"Tokyo. I'll be back in two days." Aoshi replied, and then disappeared into the night.
"Tokyo." Okina murmured. He smiled for the first time since that afternoon as he listened to Aoshi's retreating footsteps. The man was going to Tokyo to get the best possible ally in this new fight.
Himura Kenshin.
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Kenshin stood in the kitchen of the Kamiya home cutting up the blocks of tofu into smaller pieces. He didn't mind the mundane task of cooking. He loved doing it ever since he started cooking for himself and Hideki back during the revolution.
Kenshin's chopping paused.
Hideki Sakura. He hadn't thought of her in a very long time.
"Kenshin, is dinner ready yet?" a soft voice called behind him. Kenshin turned slightly and smiled over his shoulder at the young woman in the doorway.
Kamiya Kaoru stood in her plain purple kimono. Her raven black hair swept up in a ponytail and tied back with a blue ribbon that brought out the depth of her blue eyes. She smiled gently at her rurouni as she watched him chopping.
"Very soon Kaoru-dono. This unworthy one just needs to add the tofu to the stew." Kenshin replied, returning to his chopping.
"Alright, I'll prepare the table." she said, and left the kitchen. Kenshin paused in his chopping again for a moment and allowed himself to think about the woman who just left.
She had somehow managed to break down the wall he had erected around himself and found a way into his heart. Not only as a friend, but as something much more. She had become his life. Without her, he wouldn't have much to live for. He would still live, but it had already been proven that he would be a mere shell of a man without her. He lost her once, he wasn't going to lose her again.
Of course, he didn't bother telling HER this. He couldn't. He wasn't worthy of her. He had done too many terrible things in his life to ever deserve the happiness she could give him, or even the happiness he already had for that matter.
A huge crash, followed by some yelling snapped him out of his trance. Quickly depositing the tofu into the stew, Kenshin covered the steaming liquid to allow it to heat some more, and left the kitchen to see what was broken.
He entered the sitting room only to find it in disarray. The bowls, chopsticks and sitting mats were strewn everywhere, the table was overturned, and Kaoru had Yahiko pinned as she pummeled him with her boken.
Myojin Yahiko, first apprentice of the Kamiya Kasshin Style stood no chance up against his teacher. Kaoru was much too smart to allow him the upper hand. Their current position was probably due to him mouthing off about her looks, as he usually did.
"Mah, mah! Yahiko this unworthy one has told you time and again that you should not make fun of Kaoru-dono." Kenshin said as he righted the table. At Kenshin's presence Kaoru immediately stopped her beating of Yahiko and got to her feet.
"Kenshin, tell this ugly girl to stop being so ugly, and I'll stop making fun of her!" Yahiko scoffed as he brushed himself off.
"Kaoru-dono is not ugly, Yahiko. This unworthy one thinks she is quite beautiful." Kenshin replied, placing the bowls and chopsticks back on the table neatly. The moment he spoke the words, he wished he hadn't. They were the truth of course, but he knew Kaoru had a small crush on him, and he wouldn't allow her to be stuck with someone as lowly as himself. In order for her attentions to leave him, he constantly avoided any sort of confrontation. However, that carefully laid out plan was just blown out of the water by his slip.
Kaoru blushed prettily and dipped her head to hide it. Kenshin swallowed his own discomfort and resumed his cleanup.
"UGH! How could you say that about her Kenshin? I had respect for you!" Yahiko sneered, grinning evilly at Kaoru.
As much as he insulted the woman, Yahiko loved Kaoru a hell of a lot more than anyone else could. She was his mother, sister, friend, and teacher. She was his centre. It was Kaoru who dragged him away from the yakuza's and brought him under her roof.
She had a profound effect on several men who were blessed with her friendship and love.
"Why you-!" Kaoru started, rolling up her sleeve. Yahiko ducked behind Kenshin for protection.
"Kaoru-dono! Please don't be hasty!" Kenshin exclaimed.
A pounding on the main gate of the property stopped any encounter from happening. There was a moment where everyone froze, Yahiko clinging to the back of Kenshin's gi, Kaoru holding the front in a vain attempt to get to the kid through the samurai and Kenshin stuck in the middle facing a very angry Kaoru.
The pounding continued.
"Battousai!" a voice called. A very familiar voice.
Kenshin left the sitting room and went out to the main gate. Kaoru and Yahiko close behind him. He opened the door to reveal a sweating, heavily breathing Shinomori Aoshi.
"Aoshi." Kenshin said.
"I need your help." Aoshi said. Kenshin took one look at the ninja and stepped aside, granting him entrance into the gardens. There was something extremely wrong in Kyoto if Aoshi came and asked for help.
Aoshi stepped through the door and without a word between the two, Kenshin lead him into the sitting room. Kaoru and Yahiko merely exchanged glances and followed.
Kaoru didn't want to know the reason for Aoshi's unexpected visit. Just by looking at his face, she could tell it wasn't good news. And if it was bad news coming from Aoshi, that would mean Kenshin would once again set off for Kyoto, one place Kaoru didn't want him to go.
"I'll get straight to the point Himura." Aoshi said after seating himself. Kaoru froze in her position. Aoshi never called Kenshin anything but 'Battousai'. For him to suddenly switch names like that something terrible must have happened.
There was a brief pause, as if Aoshi had a hard time voicing the request.
But Kaoru saw it. The flash of ache in his eyes. Something akin to regret. Aoshi's normally cool exterior crumbled before her eyes just from that slight change.
"Misao has been kidnapped."
Shock coursed through the three residents of the Kamiya dojo. Misao had been kidnapped!?
"By what has now been confirmed as a group of Shinsengumi samurai."
There it was. The link that forced Kenshin back to his murderous past as a manslayer. It always came back to haunt him, no matter what was asked, it always had to do with his past.
Kenshin's heart fell to his feet.
There was nothing anyone could do or say to change the fact that Kenshin was once again needed in the worst possible place to him, Kyoto. He would return to that city, and fight for his life all over again. But he would never complain, and he would never imagine refusing. Especially since someone very dear to him had been kidnapped.
Yahiko sat in silent shock.
But the Shinsengumi. Kenshin highly doubted he was still strong enough to deal with a group of them. He may have acquired the Hiten Mitsurugi succession technique the previous year, but even as the strongest ishin hitokiri, he had always had backup whenever he was against a group of opposing samurai.
All thoughts of Shinsengumi were immediately pushed aside in Kenshin's head. He would deal with them when the time came. The most important matter was that Misao was gone, and Aoshi needed his help.
"When do we leave?" Kenshin asked simply.
Kaoru remained frozen, and a slow silent tear slipped down her face.
Kenshin was going back to Kyoto to face his past once again.
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A.N. Righto, that's the end of this chapter. I think I'll be okay regarding writing now. I think this chapter was hard cuz I wasn't sure how to work Kenshin/Kaoru/Yahiko into the story.
One of the other problems I've been having is the question of whether or not Sano/Megumi will be in this fic. Seeing as how I stuck to the manga storyline in the prequal and worked around it, I've come to a crossroads as to whether or not those two will be in this fic. I'd love to hear any feedback anyone may have. So let me know what you think!
Thanks!