Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. Even the Kuroya. The Kuroya were inspired by the gang in the game Tenchu: Fatal Shadows. Please note that in this story I've altered the Kuroya characters and their personalities from the game, though they're pretty much the same-ish.
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Chapter 3 – The Wolf Brings Bad News
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The next morning Soujiro woke to find himself still outside with a blanket draped over him. He had obviously fallen asleep as he had been looking up at the night sky and now with a stiff neck he shuffled towards the kitchen where he heard someone moving about.
Peeking his head around the door, he saw Kenshin making breakfast for everyone while Kaoru was trying to help but only making a mess of things. Soujiro cleared his throat and rasped, "Uh, good morning!"
"Good morning Soujiro-chan. Did you sleep well? I saw that you fell asleep outside, did Misao-dono kick you out of the room?" Kenshin asked, still focusing on the cooking while Kaoru gave up trying to help and proceeded to wipe her hands of an unknown substance using a dishcloth.
In that brief moment Soujiro felt instantly pained, being reminded of how he used to try and help in the kitchen whenever Kiko was short staffed. The pain was immediate, but fleeting and after a while it dissipated and he regained his composure quickly.
"Oh no, Misao-san didn't kick me out. I just couldn't sleep and I sat outside so that I didn't wake her up with my tossing and turning," Soujiro said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Sorry about that, Soujiro-san. If we had known Misao would be paying us a visit as well, I would have organised for Yahiko to stay at the Akabeko during your stay," Kaoru said apologetically.
"It's no trouble really. Though I'm a little worried about the fact that Misao-san fell asleep crying last night," Soujiro said, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen casually.
"Don't worry about her, Soujiro-san. Misao is having some problems at home, but it's nothing she can't handle. She's a strong girl, that she is," Kenshin told him before picking up two breakfast platters, turning to Soujiro and asking cheerfully, "Ready for breakfast?"
Most of that day went by calmly, though Misao kept complaining and causing trouble because she was in a bad mood from lack of sleep the night before. However, the relative peace was disturbed when there was a knock on the door of the dojo. Misao rushed to open it and nearly fell over backwards when she saw who it was.
"Weasel girl," Saito murmured, appraising her after having not seen in two years. After a moment he smirked and pushed passed her into the dojo. He stood in the courtyard and looked around as if he was looking for someone in particular before turning to Kenshin and stating grimly, "I'm assuming you haven't heard then."
"Heard what?" Kenshin asked as he stopped doing the laundry and looked up at Saito in concern.
"Aoshi is on his way into town," Saitou stated before taking a long drag on his cigarette and blowing the smoke out in the direction of Kenshin's laundry, earning him a disapproving frown from the latter.
"Aoshi-sama?" Misao asked in a daze, not even realising that she had just called him by his previous honorific instead of the demoted form of -san. At the thought of him, her emotions yo-yoed. At first she felt her spirits lift at the prospect of seeing him, but after remembering the reason she was there in the first place they dropped again.
"Yes," Saitou affirmed casually, flicking his cigarette butt at her. Instantly Misao took out a kunai and threw it angrily in the direction of the cigarette butt, effectively skewering it on the tree next to Saitou.
Raising an eyebrow in amusement he looked around at the skewered cigarette, noting that her aim had improved considerably, before turning back to them and continuing as if nothing had happened, "It appears that the Oniwabanshuu received a letter threatening your life shortly after you ran off in the night. Guessing that you were here, Aoshi was sent here and he will be arriving within a day or so."
"You're- you've got to be kidding me, right?! Mou! I don't want to see him! That's the last thing I want! Can't they just leave me alone? I can take care of myself!" Misao raged before clumsily running into the dojo, tripping over her kimono slightly in her haste. She didn't want to see Aoshi just yet. She wasn't ready to face him and his accusations. She wasn't over him yet.
"Why are you here then Saitou?" Kenshin asked after Misao had slammed the shoji to her room shut angrily.
"While the Oniwaban received a death threat, my headquarters received information from an insider informant. Which is why I'm involved," Saitou stated, "The informant led us to believe that Kanryu Takeda is organizing an assault against the Oniwabanshuu for causing his downfall over that Megumi woman. However, instead of attacking Aoshi and the Oniwabanshuu head on, he's aiming for the Okashira, which is now obviously the weasel girl. And she's in Tokyo, making it my business instead of someone else's."
"Kanryu Takeda? But shouldn't he be in jail?" Kenshin queried, scrunching up the garment in his hands as he remembered the egotistical businessman.
"His associate Jyuzou Maeda organised to have him sprung from jail," Saitou said bitterly, obviously disappointed about the fact the jail defences weren't adequate enough.
Sighing and rubbing his temples, Saitou added, "In spite of how boringly generic this all is, I took an interest in it as Jyuzou Maeda is head of the Kuroya ninja who have been causing trouble for the police since the Meiji Restoration began. This is the perfect opportunity to find them and remove them. That and retrieve that lunatic, Kanryu."
"So Kanryu is out," Kenshin said quietly before standing up and pinning his washing to the line. He stared at the damp wet fabric for a moment, remembering the carnage that Kanryu had caused with his gattling gun.
The harsh sounds of gunfire and the cries of fallen warriors seared into his mind momentarily before he stalked into the house, leaving Saitou alone in the courtyard without seeing him out. Just as Saitou turned to leave, he heard a shoji slide open and turning around he saw Soujiro standing in the doorway, his hair falling over his eyes slightly as he regarded the policeman with curiosity.
"You're in over your head if you think the Kuroya are just a bunch of pushovers. I could hear it in the way you spoke about them. It's almost as if they were pests," Soujiro told him loudly over the courtyard, having obviously overheard the conversation.
Stepping into the afternoon sun, he blinked against it for a moment before continuing, "I remember Shishio trying to cut a deal with them back when he was organising the Kyoto grand fire; they were originally the ones meant to set the fires for us. No doubt, if his dealings had been successful, Kyoto wouldn't be standing today."
"You're still a fugitive boy, are you sure it's wise for you to be standing in front of a police officer?" Saitou asked, changing the subject. His eyes had narrowed and his hand gently rested on the hilt of his sword in anticipation of a fight. However, Soujiro was in no mood to raise his sword and shook his head slightly at Saitou as if refusing an invitation.
"Oh, I'm not worried. I'm much faster than you, so I'm sure I could get away easily," Soujiro said cheerfully before sitting down on the steps leading into the courtyard, "But as I was saying, don't take the Kuroya lightly, Saitou-san, they're wanted for a reason."
"I'll bear that in mind," Saitou said before leaving the dojo, lighting another cigarette as he went.
After hearing that he had left, Misao slid the shoji to her room open and peeked out, her face tear stained and worried. While she had initially only been worried about Aoshi's arrival in Tokyo, hearing that her life was in danger had broken her out of her brief spell of misery.
While not partaking in the conversation outside, Misao listened curiously through the door as Saitou spoke to both Kenshin and Soujiro. As she heard more she became more and more fearful, remembering how Aoshi had described the battle against Kanryu and how ruthless the industrialist millionaire was.
"Don't worry, Misao-san. Nothing will happen to you," Soujiro said, sensing her fear. He turned around and smiled at her over his shoulder.
"How do you know that nothing will happen to me? You, yourself, said that they weren't to be underestimated," Misao countered fearfully, clutching the edge of the shoji tightly as her emerald green gaze held Soujiro's blue one.
"True. But you forget that you're staying with Kenshin Himura, and I doubt he'd let anything happen to you," Soujiro replied, maintaining his cheerful disposition. As an after thought he added, "Oh, and don't forget that I'm here too. I'll make sure you're safe, so don't even give it a seconds thought."
A little shocked at what he had just said, Misao stared at him in wonderment for a second before bowing her head slightly and smiling at him in appreciation. Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment and she made her way towards bath house, her long black hair billowing behind her.
Soujiro watched her as she went, feeling a familiar sensation stirring within him as he watched her scurry across the courtyard. Ignoring the emotion, he stood up and decided to make his way into to town so he could find out more about the area.