A/N: Extremely cliché, but I couldn't resist, mate!

Absolution: Chapter Four

Aoshi leaned with his head against the room's cool wall. A cup of tea rested on his bent knee and he occasionally took a sip of its steamy contents. Kaoru had still not awakened and looked peaceful with her long hair tied back in a loose braid while lying curled up into a ball on her sleeping palate. And he still hadn't come to a decision about whether or not to return her to her friends. If the boy was with Misao things were more complicated than he wanted.

There was a brisk knock on the door to their room. Aoshi set aside his tea and rose fluidly to his feet. He could sense no mal-intent coming from the hallway so he opened the door a few inches and blocked any view of the room with his body's large frame. The smiling face of Soujiro Seta greeted him from the other side.

"Good morning, Shinomori-san. Have you changed your mind?"

Aoshi couldn't believe this kid. "No," he said shutting the door.

A determined foot blocked the door. "It would be a shame if something happened to your companion." Soujiro might have been smiling, but the threat was difficult to ignore.

"I will think about it," Aoshi conceded.

"Great! I've got a gift for you." Soujiro held a brown package out to him. Aoshi accepted the lightweight parcel. "I'll find you this afternoon," Soujiro said moving his foot.

Aoshi finished closing the door and leaned against it heavily. He'd need to do some research with a few of his contacts to learn about this Shishio character. His eyes wandered in the direction of his sleeping hostage. What was he supposed to do with her while he met with Shishio? He couldn't let her wander off because then he'd lose his advantage. He could return her to that boy, Yahiko, but that would have made his efforts be wasted.

Kaoru began to stir with the first vestiges of awakening. Her mouth opened in a large yawn and she stretched her arms high above her head arching her back in the process. The visual was a little too enticing for him.

"Are you awake?" Aoshi asked. She answered his question by blearily opening her eyes and giving him a lop-sided smile. "Get up. We need to see a few people."

"Right now?" she asked sitting up, her shirt gaping open in the front.

"Now is always the best time," he said sagely.

She must have noticed the state of her dress because her hand fisted over the material and held it in place. "I can't go around looking like this! I need a bath and change of clothing!"

"Fine. We'll go to the baths."

Kaoru blinked at him owlishly. "What do you mean by we?"

Aoshi went to the large armoire and pulled out a pair of robes supplied for the baths. "It's a public bath provided for the guests of these rooms." He tossed the smaller one towards Kaoru and started to slip out of his own clothes starting with his shirt. He heard her gasp and looked over his shoulder to see that she'd averted her eyes from his figure.

"I suggest you change now, because I won't avert my eyes," he warned.

"You! You wouldn't!"

He paused in loosening the strings holding his pants. "Do you really want to test that theory?" The sound of rustling fabric was his answer. He kicked off his pants and slipped the robe over his shoulders. He gave her a few more seconds before turning in her direction.

Kaoru's clothes were stacked in a pile at the pillow of her bedding and she stood wrapped tightly in her robe. She stared at him with wide eyes. He repressed the urge to chuckle. Foolish woman. Did she think he was interested? He was interested only in attaining the title of the strongest—he'd not be distracted by something as simple as a female.

"Come," he said heading for the door that lead to the bath and not the hall. He hated leaving his kodachi but it wasn't practical to carry them to the baths without looking suspicious, however a man and woman together was an easy story to explain. Except, she wasn't following. "Kaoru, come."

Hesitant steps followed and he waited for her at the door. "There are separate baths for men and women, right?" she asked standing beside him.

"Have you never been to a public bath before?"

"I don't know, there's a year and a half of blank in my memory, remember?" she huffed out in annoyance.

"There are two baths here." Aoshi started walking and she followed after him. What would Battousai think if he could see them now? His sworn enemy, Aoshi Shinomori, escorting the most important person to him to the baths in nothing but a robe. If anything would bring out the amber eyes of the man-slayer this action surely would.

The wooden stairs creaked under their combined weight and as they approached the baths the steamy air opened up his sinuses much like the hot tea did earlier. It was true that there were two baths, but both were full of men and they didn't look like pleasant company.

Kaoru's hands gripped Aoshi's sleeve and she leaned against him much like she did in the forest. "I don't need a bath," she whispered.

All the men were watching them. The larger bath had three overweight men with enough teeth between them to fit inside a teething baby's mouth. The smaller bath had two scraggly looking older men who had a particularly disturbing lecherous glint to their dark eyes.

Aoshi slipped his arm around Kaoru's shoulders and stepped to the smaller bath. "Get out," he ordered the two older men.

"Plenty of room to share," the one on the right said.

Aoshi narrowed his eyes. "I won't have my pregnant wife sharing waters with any one but me."

"Pregnant!" The two men scrambled to their feet and hurried to the other bath, grabbing their abandoned robes on the floor in the process. At the mention of the dreaded 'P' word all the men averted their attention and went back to their previous conversations.

Aoshi went to the bench that held the bath's towels and picked up one for Kaoru and himself. "Slip this on under your robe," he instructed. He guided her to the empty bath and shed his robe with only a small towel covering his waist. He didn't miss the way Kaoru's eyes focused on the bullet scars on his legs. He eased into the waters and waited for her to do the same.

She wrapped her towel around her torso and upper legs hiding her figure completely before gingerly stepping into the steaming water. She sat across from him as far away as possible and stared at the water.

"You won't get clean that way," Aoshi pointed out submerging himself and scrubbing his hair. He kept his eyes open underwater and watched as Kaoru submerged herself in front of him and was cleansing her hair in the same manner. When he finished he sat up and waited for her to finish.

An older attractive couple approached the baths, a man and woman in their mid-sixties holding hands. The man had long white spikey hair and the woman's grey-streaked blond hair was pulled back in a loose bun, the robes showed that both were in great shape—the man muscular and the woman lean but well-endowed. They looked first at the loud larger bath and then focused on the smaller one with Aoshi and Kaoru.

Kaoru rose from the water then, hair dripping and the older woman smiled and started to approach their bath.

"We were worried about these public baths until we saw you," the husband confided as his wife led them. They stepped into the waters wearing their towels and Kaoru moved to sit next to Aoshi clearly more comfortable with him than with the strangers.

"How did you manage to have it all to yourself?" the wife asked. "The other one looked rather crowded."

Aoshi's arm slid around Kaoru's slick shoulders and his fingers pressed possessively into her skin. "I didn't want my pregnant wife to have to share with so many."

The wife clasped her hands and looked at her husband with a crinkled-eye smile. "Isn't that wonderful, Jiriya?" She looked back over at them. "Young love," she said dreamily.

"It's great, Tsunade. But you think everything's wonderful after a few rounds of sake." He grinned over at Aoshi and Kaoru. "You don't mind sharing with us?"

"It is a public bath," Aoshi said. Kaoru still hadn't spoken. He looked down at her and noted the red coloring spread across her cheeks and had a feeling it had nothing to do with the warm temperature of the water. "Relax, today will be long," he whispered softly in her ear.

Jiriya burst out laughing. "Oh son, you might as well stop that whispering of sweet nothings, once she has that kid she'll blame you for every minute of labor." He held up his hand with his fingers curled together like a claw. "See this? I can't even flex them. Tsunade here broke them on our second child."

Kaoru swallowed thickly.

Tsunade elbowed Jiriya harshly in the ribs. "Cut that out." She smiled sweetly at Kaoru. "He's lying." Jiriya rolled his eyes and waved his fingers—completely uncrippled—as proof that he was fine.

The banter was pointless and as much as he enjoyed seeing his loud-mouthed hostage silenced—enough was enough. Aoshi gave the older couple a brief nod of his head. "We must depart," he said rising from the water and helping Kaoru to her feet.

Her towel started to come apart in the center and Aoshi reached out and stayed the impending disaster by holding it together. Unfortunately for Kaoru the center of the towel happened to be the valley between her breasts. She reached up and clasped the area shut herself effectively trapping the ninja's hand within her own.

He pulled his hand away silently and picked up their robes, wrapping her up first and then himself.

"It was nice meeting you two!" Tsunade called out to their retreating backs.

Aoshi picked up another towel and handed it to Kaoru. "For your hair," he explained. His had already dried for the most part, but he could remember in his youth having to take extra care of his longer hair. They trudged up the steps and Aoshi tried to map out his plan for the day.

"I remember you getting those scars on your legs," Kaoru said quietly. She looked up at him from the side. Her face showed no signs of embarrassment from the baths, only a confused expression.

She remembered? That would be troublesome. He needed to be focused on defeating Battousai. She was proving to be a distraction.

"What exactly do you remember?"

"A loud noise and then blood. You were shot by some sort of rapid fire weapon and there was so much blood," she said softly. Her eyes stayed locked on his. "Was it just a dream or did that happen?"

His jaw tightened. Of course it would have to be THAT memory that she brought up. It was only the same memory that haunted him every second of every day. "It was no dream," he said looking away.

Featherlike softness brushed against his chin and Kaoru brought his eyes back to her. "But we made it through, we survived. And we'll survive whatever else too—together."

She was so wonderfully ignorant. He brought his hand up to hers and gently pulled it away from his face.

They continued to the room and Aoshi opened the package Soujiro had left. Within the brown paper was a lady's kimono of blue background with white flowers . It didn't appear to be poisoned. Unfortunately, it meant that Soujiro and thereby Shishio was sending a message that they were quite aware of his travel companion.

"All that trouble to take a bath and I have to put back on my dirty clothes," Kaoru said with a sigh holding the clothes in question up and giving them a shake. Aoshi tossed the package towards her and she dropped her clothes in favor of catching it. "This is a kimono."

"Yes, it is," Aoshi said as he started to dress with his back to her. He looked over at her when he was finished to see she was struggling to fasten the kimono. He moved beside her to help—his hands brushed hers aside and tied the complicated bow in the back. It was much easier than the intricate one of his old ninja uniform.

They left the restaurant-inn and made their way through the busy streets of Kyoto. There was a man by the name of Takashi that had a side-job of acquiring illegal arms from the black market that would probably know about Shishio. He left Kaoru with the man's wife as she sold fabrics in the bazaar while he stepped inside the man's office.

"Okashira," Takashi greeted with a respectful bow. "It is an honor to see you. Your clan's inn is doing very well!"

"The inn's prosperity has nothing to do with me," Aoshi said feeling the need to clarify. "I need information on a man by the name of Shishio."

"The hitokiri that replaced Battousai? He's supposed to be dead."

"He's not. But that would explain a few things. I hadn't realized that was his name. The shadow lives."

"That's certainly not from the government's lack of trying!" Takashi said with a laugh. "They stabbed him and set him on fire and who knows what else! That man is a demon. Nothing can kill him."

"Shishio is alive. What else do you know of him? Anything that might be pertinent today?"

"You mean like he's into arms' dealing and probably wants to destroy all of Japan in revenge?"

"I don't know who hired to you take Shishio out, Shinomori, but that's one bad man. If you're questioning whether or not you should kill him, let me assure you, you should."

"That's not the reason."

"Why the curiosity then?"

"Have I ever explained to you before?"

"No," Takashi said with a shrug. "Doesn't hurt to ask though!"

"Indeed, you've been useful. So I'll let you know that there's an officer under cover that comes by on Tuesday afternoons asking about you."

"Ah, Yuki?"

Aoshi nodded.

"Thank you Shinomori-san, I had my suspicions about him. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Aoshi shook his head. "Well then, take care. That's a nice woman you've got. You take care of her too, all right?"

The blade of one of his kodachis was pressed against Takashi's throat. "You will not speak of her to anyone," Aoshi said.

"Of course not," Takashi agreed. Aoshi withdrew his kodachi. He found Kaoru chatting with Takashi's wife about the colors of the bolts of fabric and took hold of her elbow and pulled her away.

He sensed that he was being followed—yet again. Only this time it wasn't the smiling boy. Aoshi kept to the dense crowds careful to keep distance between Kaoru and himself and the one following. After crossing a street and using a passing carriage as a barrier Aoshi chanced a look behind to see a feminine-looking man wave at him before disappearing.

"Where are we going, Aoshi?"

Aoshi looked down at Kaoru in her fancy blue kimono with her hair pulled back in a high pony-tail with an indigo ribbon.

"Where did you get that ribbon?"

"Takashi-san's wife gave it to me. It's my favorite color." She reached up and tugged on the end of the ribbon. "You didn't answer my question."

"No, I didn't." He started walking again keeping his hand on her elbow. He wanted Battousai to face him. But when Kaoru mentioned the episode of the bullet attack he remembered Himura's words. He agreed to fight him, but it wasn't to involve anyone else. He didn't need Kamiya to lure the Battousai. And if he didn't want to accept whatever offer Shishio had for him it was made clear that Kaoru would now be in danger.

Had he saved her from a watery grave to only post-pone the inevitable? What would Hannya say in such matter? He shook his head; that was ridiculous. He was the leader and Hannya would remind him of that fact.

His mood darkened once more. He'd leave Kaoru at the inn his clan ran and would interrogate Okina upon the whereabouts of Himura. If Okina was of no use then he'd see Shishio and make whatever deal necessary with that devil in order to earn his friends the title of strongest.

"Aoshi, are you okay?" Kaoru's concerned voice interrupted his thoughts.

His fingers tightened around her elbow. "Fine."