Aoshi watched Kaoru, seeing the anger flaring in her eyes. He sat
impassively as the younger girl slammed her hands onto the desk.
"What do you mean, we're not going to Osaka?"
"It's out of our jurisdiction," he said firmly. "We will let the authorities there deal with the shipment when it arrives."
"It's our case," she argued. "And our informant who's out there."
"Now who is overly concerned about an informant."
Kaoru balked for a second but continued to press the issue. "But I told him we'd be there!"
"Then that was a mistake on your part."
"Aoshi…"
"Kamiya-san, this is no longer up for discussion."
Kaoru frowned and stepped back. Whenever Aoshi switched back to formality, she knew he wasn't going to budge. But she had promised Kenshin they'd meet in Osaka. And how could she possibly trust officers in another city not to blow his cover? She was going to find a way to get to Osaka even if Aoshi was dead set against it.
"So what do we do know?" she asked, trying not to sound too bitter.
"There's a lead," Aoshi said. "The three men killed had all met several days before their deaths in two laboratories. One was the military laboratory outside of Tokyo."
"Right," Kaoru said, "well we can't exactly ask the military what they were doing there."
"No… but the second laboratory was in a DoCoMo building in Tokyo."
"So did you call them yet?"
Aoshi shook his head. "I can't call them."
"Then what, should we go down and ask them face to face?"
Aoshi shook his head. "They'll demand legal papers to do that and we have no documented proof that the three men met there."
Kaoru paused. "Wait a minute… then how do you know?"
Something started ringing under the desk. Aoshi pulled out his cell phone and put it up to his ear. He paused a minute and nodded. "Yes, we'll meet you there in five minutes."
* * *
The open road stretched to the horizon in both directions as Kenshin kept the black BMW to the left of the rig. The long silver truck had two escorts, Kenshin's car and the identical one of the other side driven by Enishi. Which was probably for the best since he didn't think the two of them would survive the drive to Osaka in such a cramped space.
Of course the man sitting in the passenger seat was probably less agreeable then Enishi. At least with Enishi, Kenshin was sure they would try to kill each other three minutes out on the road. But Saitou just sat there silently, like a cobra preparing for the moment to strike.
It had been a long discussion before they reached the decision to have a visible escort. They all agreed that the Juppongatana would not let them reach Osaka without a fight, now that it was common knowledge that the destroyed warehouse had been empty so there was no point in hiding.
Saitou suddenly shifted and pulled something out of his coat. He brought it up to his lips and let it rest there while he continued his search.
"Please do not smoke in the car," Kenshin said, holding onto the wheel to control his voice.
The only reaction was the click of the lighter as Saitou lit the cigarette. He took in a deep drag and let out of the smoke, the cloud filling up the car. "What did you just ask, Battousai?"
Kenshin's grip tightened on the wheel. He knew Saitou was doing this to annoy him. The two had known each other back when Kenshin was the Hiten's main assassin and without fail, they always clashed when they came together. Back in those days, Saitou was still head of his own organization and the fights between him and Kenshin had been numerous but without a winner.
In fact, Kenshin was surprised that Saitou had not challenged his return to the Hiten. Instead, the other man had simply shrugged and pulled out a cigarette when Hiko made the formal announcement. Obviously, Hiko had made sure it was a peaceful transition.
And that disturbed him most of all. Hiko had only made reference to Kenshin's betrayal in the cemetery. After that, it was like it had never occurred. Looking through the rear-view mirror, Kenshin saw the wooden box with the strange sword in it. No, Hiko had accepted what happened and even gone so far as to let Kenshin have a sword that could not kill anyone.
Saitou opened the window and tossed the cigarette out. He reached over and grabbed the two-way radio. "Still all clear," he said briskly.
There was a crackle and then Hiko responded. "It's too quiet." The man said. "Keep an eye on the road."
Saitou put the microphone back and went to close his window when he suddenly stopped.
"What?" Kenshin asked, seeing the other man freezing in place. Saitou was looking out the window at the sky.
"Crop duster," Saitou said.
Kenshin's brow furrowed. He looked out to the side of the road. There were no farms here. Just forests lining the road.
Saitou took the mic in his hand again. "Hiko… look in the sky behind you."
There was a long pause before Hiko responded. "I see it. Enishi and Kenshin, pull the cars behind the truck."
Kenshin shifted gears and let the truck move ahead before slipping behind it and right next to the other car. Saitou reached over and took off his seat belt. He hit the button near Kenshin and the roof to the car started to fold back. Reaching in the back, he pushed the two wooden boxes out of the way and grabbed a long metal tube.
Next to him, Hiko was performing identical actions. Both men stood up and steadied themselves on the windshield of the convertibles. They brought the launchers up, rested them on their shoulders and took aim.
"NOW!" Hiko yelled.
The air around Kenshin was lost in a plume of smoke as the two rockets took off. There was the sound of a loud explosion and Kenshin could only guess that they'd hit the plane tailing them. As the smoke started to clear, Kenshin suddenly realized their mistake.
"It was a diversion!" he called out.
Saitou's head whipped around just in time to see the blockade ahead of them. Five cars blocked the road and several armed men waited there, raising their automatics to take aim. Before he could shout a warning to the other car, the men opened fire.
* * *
Kaoru and Aoshi sat at a café across from the DoCoMo building. Kaoru was still frowning slightly at the thought that Aoshi had gone off without her and gotten so far ahead in the case. But when she saw the small girl with the long braid, Kaoru couldn't help but smile. She looked over at Aoshi with the happy look and he just blistered, knowing she was thinking all the wrong things.
Misao walked over, wear a long jacket and sunglasses. She was carrying a large duffel bag over her shoulder and she smiled at them as she walked up and took a seat.
"Eesh… did it have to be so hot today?" she asked pulling at the jacket. She looked up and smiled at Kaoru.
Aoshi cleared her throat. "This is my partner Kamiya Kaoru. This is Makamachi Misao."
"Nice to meet you," Misao said.
"You too and thank you for helping us the other day," Kaoru said with a smile. "You got me out just before they could…" Kaoru trailed off. "Well, thanks I guess. So you're working for Japanese Intelligence."
Misao's smile never faltered. "Used to anyway. After this, they'll probably fire me and throw me in jail for treason. So we have to figure out what's going on," Misao said, "so they can promote me instead." Kaoru smiled slightly, suddenly getting a grasp of how much the younger girl was risking.
"We need to get into DoCoMo," Misao continued, "so we can access their computer system and see what those scientists were working on."
"Can you just break into it from outside the building?" Kaoru asked.
"I'm not a computer hacker," Misao said. "And even if we could break into the system, the lab computers have no connection to the main network. We need to physically make a connection to one of the network wires to get the information."
"What's the plan?" Aoshi asked.
Misao looked around and quickly flashed them with what was under her coat. It was a uniform for Unified Nippon Computer Systems. "They installed the main network at DoCoMo." She closed the coat and pulled out a map from her duffel bag. "All we need is to get here, on the 75th floor," she said pointing to a location on the paper. "The main network wires cross through here and about twenty feet above that is where the secure lab is."
"Okay, so what do you want us to do?" Kaoru asked.
Misao smiled and turned to open duffel bag towards them, showing them the two uniforms folding neatly inside.
* * *
Sano sat on the couch in the living room trying to read the newspaper. But he just didn't have the patience for it. Since Kenshin left to go back to their apartment, Sano had had nothing to do or anyone to speak to. He was going to go insane with cabin fever.
And then, just when he thought he was at the breaking point, there was a knock at the door. Standing up, he didn't care who it was. Salesmen, religion recruiter, he'd take anyone! Well so long as it wasn't…
"Megumi," he said suddenly seeing the longhaired woman standing in front of him struggling with an armful of bags.
"A little help," she snapped. "Or is too much to hope you have some sense of chivalry in you."
Sano frowned and snatched a few of the bags from her grasp. "I thought a woman like you wouldn't want to admit she was too weak to handle a few bags."
Megumi strode into the kitchen and dropped the remaining groceries on the table. "You can have strength," she said. "I'll take brains over brawn any day."
Sano blistered slightly, realizing that there was a double meaning to that. "Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but I'm not as dumb as you think I am."
"Ah," Megumi said, grabbing a potato and starting to slice it. "So you finished middle school."
"Yeah that would fit your little picture of me," Sano yelled, "but I was studying at Keio High School. Only when you're not handed things on a silver spoon, it's a lot harder to do the things you want to."
Megumi thrust the knife into the potato, spinning to face him. "You think I was handed things? That I didn't have to work hard to get where I am?"
"Exactly. You act like such a spoiled little girl when things don't go your way, what else would I think?"
Megumi's eyes shot open. "How dare…" She reached behind herself to grab the potato to throw at him, forgetting the knife embedded it in. She cried out the second she felt it pierce her skin. Clutching her hand on the wrist, she watched the long red line appear on it.
"Nice move," Sano said, grabbing a towel and turn on the water.
"Go away," Megumi said resolutely. "I can take care of it myself."
"Can't you just stop be so damn defensive for three seconds," he said, taking her arm and pulling it in front of him. "I know what I'm doing."
Megumi cringed feeling the cold water hit the open wound. "Hold that there," he said. "I saw some alcohol in the bathroom."
She watched him go and fought back to urge to yell. He was right to go for the alcohol and telling her to hold the towel down to stop the blood. But… but it was unfair. She was a doctor for God's sake! She could take care of herself.
He walked back with the medical alcohol and other supplies and took the towel away. "This'll hurt a bit."
No shit, she wanted to say. But she bit her lip to stop the words. He watched her as the alcohol hit the open wound. She never flinched, her eyes stayed fixed on the wound the entire time. Noble, proud and strong. If she just didn't feel like she had to make sure everyone knew she was those things all the time, she might be a bit more tolerable.
He took the cotton square and placed it in her palm before wrapping the gauze around her hand. As soon as he was done, Megumi examined her hand with a frown. "You're good at that."
Sano smiled slightly, realizing that that was about as close to a thank-you as he was going to get. "Yeah, well you have a friend like Kenshin and you need to learn good first aid skills, that baka and his kill-none rule."
Megumi nodded slightly. Sano was very dedicated to his friend, she knew that after the incident with the bomb. "So you think he got back in the Hiten organization okay?"
"Kenshin?" Sano said. "Yeah, no problem. Knowing the lucky SOB he's probably sitting on a velvet chair surrounded by a bevy of beauties.
* * *
Kenshin forced the wheel over far as it would go and the Beamer slide to the left of the road, grating against the shoulder and sending up a dozens of piece of stone to hit him. Saitou had folded into the passenger seat, holding a gun and firing over Kenshin's head as they passed the blockade.
The other Beamer hit dirt on the side of the road and eventually spun to stop. With a curse, Kenshin got ready to turn the car around to go help the other two men. But the radio suddenly crackled to life.
"Keeping going! Get the truck to Osaka!"
Saitou frowned and looked back as he watched the retreating black car. Just before it dipped out of sight, he could see Hiko firing the rocket launcher as at the blockade, Enishi covered him with a semi-automatic. The road exploded as the parked cars were hit and even as Kenshin's car sped away they could still see the fire in the distance.
Saitou turned around so he was facing front again. He picked up at the radio and switched the channel. "Is the truck okay?" There was silence on the other end. Saitou repeated his message with a frown. The truck had plowed through the blockade like a knife through butter. But the driver…
"Pull the car around to the driver," Saitou said.
Kenshin nodded and shifted gears up, dashing in front of the truck. It took longer than he thought and looking down at the speedometer, he realized the truck was going way much faster now. He pulled the car so that Saitou was right next to the driver's seat.
Saitou stood up and looked into the cab. The driver was slumped over, half of his head taken out by gunfire. "Hold the car steady."
Kenshin nodded and Saitou leaned over, opening the truck door. He waited for a few minutes and then stretched a long leg over and into the cab. As soon as he was inside he pushed the dead driver to the side and took control of the truck.
"We should be clear to Osaka," the radio next to Kenshin said. "I don't think they could have anticipated Hiko taking out the blockade."
Kenshin grabbed the microphone. "I think they did. Look in the sky to your right." Kenshin waited until he saw Saitou turning towards the second small plane coming towards them.
Kenshin looked in the back. The rocket launcher was gone, Saitou must have lost it when they passed the blockade. And he had no other weapon in the car but the two swords.
The plane flew over the truck and two figures dropped on to the back of the trailer. Kenshin reached back and grabbed the Saitou's box, pulling the sword out of the scabbard and then pushing the leather sheath into the spokes of the steering wheel. Taking the box, he jammed it in between the seat and the accelerator. The car was now running straight down the highway at an increasing speed. He had about half a mile before the road turned again.
Grabbing his sword from the box, he shoved it through the belt on his black pants and stood up. The wind was merciless, whipping his hair around and threatening to blind him. Kenshin reached down and got a good grip on Saitou's sword. He motioned for the other man to speed up.
The truck started to pull ahead and Kenshin waited until the cab was clear. Then without a second thought he let forward with a cry and drove Saitou's sword forward. The metal pierced the side of the truck with ease and Kenshin got whipped towards the back of the cab as he held on tightly and inertia tried to fight him.
Muscles straining, he pulled forward and rested his stomach gently on the hilt of the blade while bringing up his right foot. He had to time this correctly or the truck would completely pass him before he landed. Pushing off, he felt the blade bend before snapping upward give him the push he needed. He kept the jump short and landed on top of the cab.
He looked up, one knee on the top of the cab, the other bent in front of him. The wind was pushing him from behind as he stared down the length of the cab to the two figures there. The black turtleneck offered little protection against the cold but if he felt it, Kenshin didn't show it. He brought his hand forward and rested it on the hilt of his sword, the red ponytail suddenly whipping forward as he shifted his shoulder down to prepare for the attack.
"Hey Chou, looks like they left us something to play with after all."
"Good thing Kamatari," the man with tall blond hair said with a smile. "I thought this job might not be fun."
"He's cute isn't he?" Kamatari asked, the wind blowing against her clothes. "I'm almost sorry we have to kill him." She shifted her stance and Kenshin finally saw the weapon, a long staff with a scythe at the top and a ball and chain on the bottom. That was supposed to be a sword?
"I get the sword," Chou said, pulling out two from the many that were strapped on his body.
There was a cry and they both let the weapons fly at once. It took a second for Kenshin to realize that they weren't moving, it was only their weapons flying at him. What kind of sword did Chou have??
Kenshin jumped, barely avoid the blade and the spikes ball as he jumped upwards. The truck started to pull away giving Kenshin the little push towards the two combatants he needed. He drew the sword out and let loose a battle cry
Chou and Kamatari looked up but sun reflecting off the blade momentarily blinded them. Kamatari saw it first but it was two late. The power of the Ryu Tsui Sen hit her square on the shoulder, driving her at such a force that her feet pushed through the metal of the trailer's roof.
Chou blinked, seeing the damage caused with one blow and barely had time to react. Pulling on of his swords he attacked with all his strength as Kenshin turned to face him. There was no way he could avoid it, Chou thought striking forward.
But suddenly Kenshin was gone. Chou stumbled slightly from the lack of something solid to absorb the weight of his attack. As he moved, he saw a flash of red and realized Kenshin was already behind him. That speed… it was impossible.
A devastating Ryu Kan Sen hit him in the back of the neck. But the reverse blade didn't cut flesh, just caused a considerable amount of shock to Chou so that the man was out cold before he even hit the floor.
Kenshin paused for a second before quickly drawing the sword along his thumb and resheathing it. He walked along the length of the trailer towards the cab. From his seat in the front, Saitou smiled slightly watching the figure move towards him. Two strikes were all Kenshin had needed to defeat the two Juppongatana lieutenants. Soujirou may have failed to deliver the true Battousai but this one might just be useful.
Kenshin paused at the edge of the trailer looking down at the patch of road visible between the cab and trailer. He couldn't even guess how fast they were going. Looking up he saw the ocean following suddenly appearing ahead of them. Osaka was not far now.
* * *
"So what about Kaoru?"
Megumi looked up from the pot and over at Sano chopping away at the vegetables. "What about her?"
Sano held up his hands. "Calm down! The girl has saved my life twice. She just seemed nice."
"Kaoru's very nice," Megumi said, trying to keep the edge from her voice.
Sano smiled. "You got the whole big sister routine down pat, almost as good as the stone statue she calls a partner."
Megumi's anger flickered but died down. "You wouldn't understand," she finally said. Sano shrugged slightly. From what he heard of Gensai and Kenshin conversation, he understood perfectly.
"I just thought it was strange, a nice girl like that as a cop," Sano finally settled on.
Megumi smiled, just ever so slightly. "She tries to be tough but Kaoru could never make it as a street cop. She's just too nice sometimes. Really, she couldn't hurt a fly."
* * *
The man's head snapped backward and he fell to the ground, revealing a very angry looking Kaoru, arm still outstretched from the punch.
"Kaoru!" Aoshi said, somewhat in shock.
Kaoru turned back with a smile. "Problem solved."
"You shouldn't have done that," Aoshi said.
"He was going to call for back up," Kaoru said. "What else could I have done?"
"Oi, keep it down there!"
Looking up at the ceiling, Kaoru and Aoshi watched as Misao's head slowly emerged from the open panel. Her long braid tumbled downward as she hung upside down, hands firmly gripping the laptop.
"You don't want to draw attention to…" Misao trailed off seeing the unconscious guard. "Ah, I guess I have to hurry up," she said disappearing into the ceiling.
Aoshi turned back to Kaoru as soon as she was gone. "Kaoru!"
"No argument Aoshi!" Kaoru said, putting her heads on her hips.
"But… you don't just hit people," he said, still slightly in shock.
"What else was I supposed to do?"
"Talk him out of it, give him a good story…"
"It wouldn't have worked! He had already been back here three times. He was obviously suspicious…"
"But Kaoru… you hit a security officer!"
"Yeah I did," she said, slightly upset. She knew it was wrong, the poor man on the floor was only trying to do his job just like they were. "But there are two people counting on us to succeed at this. If we can't figure out this case then Misao is going to be in a lot of trouble and Kenshin…"
"I knew this was going to get back to him," Aoshi frowned.
Misao suddenly dropped to the floor. "We need to move now," she said, grabbing Aoshi and pulling him away.
"What happened?" Kaoru asked in surprised.
"Someone detected the connection," she said. "Security'll be here any…"
A group of men turned the corner at the end of the hallway and spotted them. Pointing, they started to run towards them.
"That doesn't look like building security!" Kaoru cried just as the men began to pull guns from the jackets, a bit of red flashing from under their coats.
"Juppongatana!" Aoshi cried, grabbing the two girls and shoving them through the door to the right.
The trio found themselves standing on a stairway landing. From the stairs below, they could hear more men approaching them. Without a word, they headed up the stairs, tearing through the first few floors.
"We need to get to the roof!" Misao said.
"And then what," Aoshi said, pulling Kaoru forward to keep up with his longer legs. "We should get off at another floor."
"The hallways on the floors will be in lock down," she said. "I told you… the security system is intense! The roof is the only place to go."
"What's on the roof?" Kaoru said, her breath starting to come faster now. The guard rail next to her exploded as a fury of bullets hit it.
"Whatever it is, it'll be better than this!" Misao cried.
Twenty floors later, they pushed out of the door and found themselves on the roof. Misao ran to the edge of the building and looked down, seeing ninety-five stories of space beneath her. Kaoru and Aoshi split, moving to look for someway down but there was nothing. Aoshi's fist slammed into the concrete railing, his anger finally getting through. He needed to get the two girls away from here somehow. He paused and suddenly realized Kaoru no where in sight.
The door they had come out of flew open and the armed men came onto the roof, guns firing. Misao jumped to the left rolling away as bullets ate the ground behind her. She dove for cover and found Aoshi there as well, tearing off the uniform to get to his gun. Misao followed suit, grabbing the pistol she had strapped to her upper thigh.
With a silent agreement, they both stood up and fired at their attackers before ducking down to reload. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire was interrupted by something at the other end of the roof.
"What is that?" Misao cried.
"It sounds like a helicopter," Aoshi said, looking back carefully. The concrete shed that held the door from the stairs blocked his view.
"There was a helipad on the map of this building," Misao said. "Maybe there was a helicopter on the pad and Kaoru got to it." Aoshi frowned. "She can fly a helicopter right?" Aoshi nodded. "So what's the problem?" Misao said, snapping the next round into her gun.
The helicopter suddenly rose from the side of the building, directly in front of them. In the cockpit, Aoshi could see Kaoru giving them a thumbs up. He grabbed Misao and pushed her down to the ground as Kaoru tipped the nose of the copter towards the roof of the building. The blades came forward, the wind blowing the Juppongatana members back and towards the other edge of the roof.
Kaoru straightened the helicopter and slowly lowered it towards them. Aoshi let go off Misao and the girl looked up with surprise. "She's a bit more aggressive than usual," Aoshi said, "when she's flying one."
Misao nodded, eyes wide open as they ran towards the open door. Pushing Misao inside, Aoshi followed and quickly closed the door. He pulled the helmet on just in time to hear Misao screaming in excitement as she took a seat next to the pilot.
"Kaoru! That kicked!!"
Kaoru smiled. "I love helicopters almost as Aoshi loves his bike." With an evil look, she pushed the throttle to the left and the helicopter tipped to one side, sending Aoshi crashing into the wall. He could hear Kaoru laughing as he did.
"All right," Kaoru said, bringing the helicopter around again and leaving the DoCoMo and most of Tokyo building in her wake. "Let's go."
"Kaoru, take a left and head towards the police helipad," Aoshi said.
"No can do," Kaoru said. "We're not going back to Tokyo."
"What?"
"We're going to Osaka," she said firmly.
"Kaoru, you can not fly this helicopter to Osaka."
"The fuel gauge says I can."
"Ah…" Misao said breaking in, "maybe you two should just calm down a bit…"
"Kaoru, turn this helicopter around right now."
"No."
"We are NOT going to Osaka."
Kaoru's eyes glowered and pushed the throttle forward. The helicopter tipped down and started to head for the ground.
"Osaka!" Misao cried, watching the surface of the Earth suddenly rising up to meet them. "Osaka is just fine!!"
Kaoru smiled and righted the helicopter. "You're out numbered," she sang into the mic. Aoshi glowered and she started to push the throttle again but Misao caught her arm and shot a look back at Aoshi that made it clear that the argument was over.
* * *
"So when they finally landed," Megumi said letting the spoon fall into the soup bowl again, "Aoshi swore up and down that he would never get into another helicopter with her unless it was a matter of life and death."
Sano laughed slightly. Amazingly enough, he and Megumi had managed to hold a civil conversation for almost ten minutes now. He didn't know how much longer it would last but he would take what he could get.
"She's that bad a pilot?" he asked.
Megumi shook her head and was a silent for a minute. "No, Kaoru's an excellent pilot, almost as good as her father was." Sano didn't say anything. Somehow, every time someone mentioned Kaoru's father, the conversation just died.
Megumi blinked and looked up at the clock. "I have to go to work," she said standing up and putting her napkin on the table.
"Right," he said, watching her move. He cleared his throat and tried to muster up the courage to say the next few words. "It was a… good dinner."
Megumi turned with surprise. "Well, you helped make it," she said.
Sano paused. "I didn't mean just the food," he said in a tone barely above a whisper.
Megumi arched an eyebrow and got a wicked smile. "Yes, well with Gensai away with the grandkids, Yahiko at a friend's house and Kaoru and Aoshi at work, this was about the only thing I could think of to pass the time."
Sano let out a frustrated laugh. "You never make things easy do you?"
Megumi's smile widened slightly. "Never. Ja!" she said walking towards the door. Sano stood up and started to collect the dishes just as he heard the front door open. But instead of the retreating footsteps of Megumi, he heard a strangled cry.
Dropping the dishes, he ran to the living room and found a blond woman holding Megumi by the throat. As soon as she locked eyes with him, Yumi smiled and pushed Megumi towards him. Sano barely had time to react to catch her.
"Found you," Yumi said with smile as she drew her gun.
"What do you mean, we're not going to Osaka?"
"It's out of our jurisdiction," he said firmly. "We will let the authorities there deal with the shipment when it arrives."
"It's our case," she argued. "And our informant who's out there."
"Now who is overly concerned about an informant."
Kaoru balked for a second but continued to press the issue. "But I told him we'd be there!"
"Then that was a mistake on your part."
"Aoshi…"
"Kamiya-san, this is no longer up for discussion."
Kaoru frowned and stepped back. Whenever Aoshi switched back to formality, she knew he wasn't going to budge. But she had promised Kenshin they'd meet in Osaka. And how could she possibly trust officers in another city not to blow his cover? She was going to find a way to get to Osaka even if Aoshi was dead set against it.
"So what do we do know?" she asked, trying not to sound too bitter.
"There's a lead," Aoshi said. "The three men killed had all met several days before their deaths in two laboratories. One was the military laboratory outside of Tokyo."
"Right," Kaoru said, "well we can't exactly ask the military what they were doing there."
"No… but the second laboratory was in a DoCoMo building in Tokyo."
"So did you call them yet?"
Aoshi shook his head. "I can't call them."
"Then what, should we go down and ask them face to face?"
Aoshi shook his head. "They'll demand legal papers to do that and we have no documented proof that the three men met there."
Kaoru paused. "Wait a minute… then how do you know?"
Something started ringing under the desk. Aoshi pulled out his cell phone and put it up to his ear. He paused a minute and nodded. "Yes, we'll meet you there in five minutes."
* * *
The open road stretched to the horizon in both directions as Kenshin kept the black BMW to the left of the rig. The long silver truck had two escorts, Kenshin's car and the identical one of the other side driven by Enishi. Which was probably for the best since he didn't think the two of them would survive the drive to Osaka in such a cramped space.
Of course the man sitting in the passenger seat was probably less agreeable then Enishi. At least with Enishi, Kenshin was sure they would try to kill each other three minutes out on the road. But Saitou just sat there silently, like a cobra preparing for the moment to strike.
It had been a long discussion before they reached the decision to have a visible escort. They all agreed that the Juppongatana would not let them reach Osaka without a fight, now that it was common knowledge that the destroyed warehouse had been empty so there was no point in hiding.
Saitou suddenly shifted and pulled something out of his coat. He brought it up to his lips and let it rest there while he continued his search.
"Please do not smoke in the car," Kenshin said, holding onto the wheel to control his voice.
The only reaction was the click of the lighter as Saitou lit the cigarette. He took in a deep drag and let out of the smoke, the cloud filling up the car. "What did you just ask, Battousai?"
Kenshin's grip tightened on the wheel. He knew Saitou was doing this to annoy him. The two had known each other back when Kenshin was the Hiten's main assassin and without fail, they always clashed when they came together. Back in those days, Saitou was still head of his own organization and the fights between him and Kenshin had been numerous but without a winner.
In fact, Kenshin was surprised that Saitou had not challenged his return to the Hiten. Instead, the other man had simply shrugged and pulled out a cigarette when Hiko made the formal announcement. Obviously, Hiko had made sure it was a peaceful transition.
And that disturbed him most of all. Hiko had only made reference to Kenshin's betrayal in the cemetery. After that, it was like it had never occurred. Looking through the rear-view mirror, Kenshin saw the wooden box with the strange sword in it. No, Hiko had accepted what happened and even gone so far as to let Kenshin have a sword that could not kill anyone.
Saitou opened the window and tossed the cigarette out. He reached over and grabbed the two-way radio. "Still all clear," he said briskly.
There was a crackle and then Hiko responded. "It's too quiet." The man said. "Keep an eye on the road."
Saitou put the microphone back and went to close his window when he suddenly stopped.
"What?" Kenshin asked, seeing the other man freezing in place. Saitou was looking out the window at the sky.
"Crop duster," Saitou said.
Kenshin's brow furrowed. He looked out to the side of the road. There were no farms here. Just forests lining the road.
Saitou took the mic in his hand again. "Hiko… look in the sky behind you."
There was a long pause before Hiko responded. "I see it. Enishi and Kenshin, pull the cars behind the truck."
Kenshin shifted gears and let the truck move ahead before slipping behind it and right next to the other car. Saitou reached over and took off his seat belt. He hit the button near Kenshin and the roof to the car started to fold back. Reaching in the back, he pushed the two wooden boxes out of the way and grabbed a long metal tube.
Next to him, Hiko was performing identical actions. Both men stood up and steadied themselves on the windshield of the convertibles. They brought the launchers up, rested them on their shoulders and took aim.
"NOW!" Hiko yelled.
The air around Kenshin was lost in a plume of smoke as the two rockets took off. There was the sound of a loud explosion and Kenshin could only guess that they'd hit the plane tailing them. As the smoke started to clear, Kenshin suddenly realized their mistake.
"It was a diversion!" he called out.
Saitou's head whipped around just in time to see the blockade ahead of them. Five cars blocked the road and several armed men waited there, raising their automatics to take aim. Before he could shout a warning to the other car, the men opened fire.
* * *
Kaoru and Aoshi sat at a café across from the DoCoMo building. Kaoru was still frowning slightly at the thought that Aoshi had gone off without her and gotten so far ahead in the case. But when she saw the small girl with the long braid, Kaoru couldn't help but smile. She looked over at Aoshi with the happy look and he just blistered, knowing she was thinking all the wrong things.
Misao walked over, wear a long jacket and sunglasses. She was carrying a large duffel bag over her shoulder and she smiled at them as she walked up and took a seat.
"Eesh… did it have to be so hot today?" she asked pulling at the jacket. She looked up and smiled at Kaoru.
Aoshi cleared her throat. "This is my partner Kamiya Kaoru. This is Makamachi Misao."
"Nice to meet you," Misao said.
"You too and thank you for helping us the other day," Kaoru said with a smile. "You got me out just before they could…" Kaoru trailed off. "Well, thanks I guess. So you're working for Japanese Intelligence."
Misao's smile never faltered. "Used to anyway. After this, they'll probably fire me and throw me in jail for treason. So we have to figure out what's going on," Misao said, "so they can promote me instead." Kaoru smiled slightly, suddenly getting a grasp of how much the younger girl was risking.
"We need to get into DoCoMo," Misao continued, "so we can access their computer system and see what those scientists were working on."
"Can you just break into it from outside the building?" Kaoru asked.
"I'm not a computer hacker," Misao said. "And even if we could break into the system, the lab computers have no connection to the main network. We need to physically make a connection to one of the network wires to get the information."
"What's the plan?" Aoshi asked.
Misao looked around and quickly flashed them with what was under her coat. It was a uniform for Unified Nippon Computer Systems. "They installed the main network at DoCoMo." She closed the coat and pulled out a map from her duffel bag. "All we need is to get here, on the 75th floor," she said pointing to a location on the paper. "The main network wires cross through here and about twenty feet above that is where the secure lab is."
"Okay, so what do you want us to do?" Kaoru asked.
Misao smiled and turned to open duffel bag towards them, showing them the two uniforms folding neatly inside.
* * *
Sano sat on the couch in the living room trying to read the newspaper. But he just didn't have the patience for it. Since Kenshin left to go back to their apartment, Sano had had nothing to do or anyone to speak to. He was going to go insane with cabin fever.
And then, just when he thought he was at the breaking point, there was a knock at the door. Standing up, he didn't care who it was. Salesmen, religion recruiter, he'd take anyone! Well so long as it wasn't…
"Megumi," he said suddenly seeing the longhaired woman standing in front of him struggling with an armful of bags.
"A little help," she snapped. "Or is too much to hope you have some sense of chivalry in you."
Sano frowned and snatched a few of the bags from her grasp. "I thought a woman like you wouldn't want to admit she was too weak to handle a few bags."
Megumi strode into the kitchen and dropped the remaining groceries on the table. "You can have strength," she said. "I'll take brains over brawn any day."
Sano blistered slightly, realizing that there was a double meaning to that. "Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but I'm not as dumb as you think I am."
"Ah," Megumi said, grabbing a potato and starting to slice it. "So you finished middle school."
"Yeah that would fit your little picture of me," Sano yelled, "but I was studying at Keio High School. Only when you're not handed things on a silver spoon, it's a lot harder to do the things you want to."
Megumi thrust the knife into the potato, spinning to face him. "You think I was handed things? That I didn't have to work hard to get where I am?"
"Exactly. You act like such a spoiled little girl when things don't go your way, what else would I think?"
Megumi's eyes shot open. "How dare…" She reached behind herself to grab the potato to throw at him, forgetting the knife embedded it in. She cried out the second she felt it pierce her skin. Clutching her hand on the wrist, she watched the long red line appear on it.
"Nice move," Sano said, grabbing a towel and turn on the water.
"Go away," Megumi said resolutely. "I can take care of it myself."
"Can't you just stop be so damn defensive for three seconds," he said, taking her arm and pulling it in front of him. "I know what I'm doing."
Megumi cringed feeling the cold water hit the open wound. "Hold that there," he said. "I saw some alcohol in the bathroom."
She watched him go and fought back to urge to yell. He was right to go for the alcohol and telling her to hold the towel down to stop the blood. But… but it was unfair. She was a doctor for God's sake! She could take care of herself.
He walked back with the medical alcohol and other supplies and took the towel away. "This'll hurt a bit."
No shit, she wanted to say. But she bit her lip to stop the words. He watched her as the alcohol hit the open wound. She never flinched, her eyes stayed fixed on the wound the entire time. Noble, proud and strong. If she just didn't feel like she had to make sure everyone knew she was those things all the time, she might be a bit more tolerable.
He took the cotton square and placed it in her palm before wrapping the gauze around her hand. As soon as he was done, Megumi examined her hand with a frown. "You're good at that."
Sano smiled slightly, realizing that that was about as close to a thank-you as he was going to get. "Yeah, well you have a friend like Kenshin and you need to learn good first aid skills, that baka and his kill-none rule."
Megumi nodded slightly. Sano was very dedicated to his friend, she knew that after the incident with the bomb. "So you think he got back in the Hiten organization okay?"
"Kenshin?" Sano said. "Yeah, no problem. Knowing the lucky SOB he's probably sitting on a velvet chair surrounded by a bevy of beauties.
* * *
Kenshin forced the wheel over far as it would go and the Beamer slide to the left of the road, grating against the shoulder and sending up a dozens of piece of stone to hit him. Saitou had folded into the passenger seat, holding a gun and firing over Kenshin's head as they passed the blockade.
The other Beamer hit dirt on the side of the road and eventually spun to stop. With a curse, Kenshin got ready to turn the car around to go help the other two men. But the radio suddenly crackled to life.
"Keeping going! Get the truck to Osaka!"
Saitou frowned and looked back as he watched the retreating black car. Just before it dipped out of sight, he could see Hiko firing the rocket launcher as at the blockade, Enishi covered him with a semi-automatic. The road exploded as the parked cars were hit and even as Kenshin's car sped away they could still see the fire in the distance.
Saitou turned around so he was facing front again. He picked up at the radio and switched the channel. "Is the truck okay?" There was silence on the other end. Saitou repeated his message with a frown. The truck had plowed through the blockade like a knife through butter. But the driver…
"Pull the car around to the driver," Saitou said.
Kenshin nodded and shifted gears up, dashing in front of the truck. It took longer than he thought and looking down at the speedometer, he realized the truck was going way much faster now. He pulled the car so that Saitou was right next to the driver's seat.
Saitou stood up and looked into the cab. The driver was slumped over, half of his head taken out by gunfire. "Hold the car steady."
Kenshin nodded and Saitou leaned over, opening the truck door. He waited for a few minutes and then stretched a long leg over and into the cab. As soon as he was inside he pushed the dead driver to the side and took control of the truck.
"We should be clear to Osaka," the radio next to Kenshin said. "I don't think they could have anticipated Hiko taking out the blockade."
Kenshin grabbed the microphone. "I think they did. Look in the sky to your right." Kenshin waited until he saw Saitou turning towards the second small plane coming towards them.
Kenshin looked in the back. The rocket launcher was gone, Saitou must have lost it when they passed the blockade. And he had no other weapon in the car but the two swords.
The plane flew over the truck and two figures dropped on to the back of the trailer. Kenshin reached back and grabbed the Saitou's box, pulling the sword out of the scabbard and then pushing the leather sheath into the spokes of the steering wheel. Taking the box, he jammed it in between the seat and the accelerator. The car was now running straight down the highway at an increasing speed. He had about half a mile before the road turned again.
Grabbing his sword from the box, he shoved it through the belt on his black pants and stood up. The wind was merciless, whipping his hair around and threatening to blind him. Kenshin reached down and got a good grip on Saitou's sword. He motioned for the other man to speed up.
The truck started to pull ahead and Kenshin waited until the cab was clear. Then without a second thought he let forward with a cry and drove Saitou's sword forward. The metal pierced the side of the truck with ease and Kenshin got whipped towards the back of the cab as he held on tightly and inertia tried to fight him.
Muscles straining, he pulled forward and rested his stomach gently on the hilt of the blade while bringing up his right foot. He had to time this correctly or the truck would completely pass him before he landed. Pushing off, he felt the blade bend before snapping upward give him the push he needed. He kept the jump short and landed on top of the cab.
He looked up, one knee on the top of the cab, the other bent in front of him. The wind was pushing him from behind as he stared down the length of the cab to the two figures there. The black turtleneck offered little protection against the cold but if he felt it, Kenshin didn't show it. He brought his hand forward and rested it on the hilt of his sword, the red ponytail suddenly whipping forward as he shifted his shoulder down to prepare for the attack.
"Hey Chou, looks like they left us something to play with after all."
"Good thing Kamatari," the man with tall blond hair said with a smile. "I thought this job might not be fun."
"He's cute isn't he?" Kamatari asked, the wind blowing against her clothes. "I'm almost sorry we have to kill him." She shifted her stance and Kenshin finally saw the weapon, a long staff with a scythe at the top and a ball and chain on the bottom. That was supposed to be a sword?
"I get the sword," Chou said, pulling out two from the many that were strapped on his body.
There was a cry and they both let the weapons fly at once. It took a second for Kenshin to realize that they weren't moving, it was only their weapons flying at him. What kind of sword did Chou have??
Kenshin jumped, barely avoid the blade and the spikes ball as he jumped upwards. The truck started to pull away giving Kenshin the little push towards the two combatants he needed. He drew the sword out and let loose a battle cry
Chou and Kamatari looked up but sun reflecting off the blade momentarily blinded them. Kamatari saw it first but it was two late. The power of the Ryu Tsui Sen hit her square on the shoulder, driving her at such a force that her feet pushed through the metal of the trailer's roof.
Chou blinked, seeing the damage caused with one blow and barely had time to react. Pulling on of his swords he attacked with all his strength as Kenshin turned to face him. There was no way he could avoid it, Chou thought striking forward.
But suddenly Kenshin was gone. Chou stumbled slightly from the lack of something solid to absorb the weight of his attack. As he moved, he saw a flash of red and realized Kenshin was already behind him. That speed… it was impossible.
A devastating Ryu Kan Sen hit him in the back of the neck. But the reverse blade didn't cut flesh, just caused a considerable amount of shock to Chou so that the man was out cold before he even hit the floor.
Kenshin paused for a second before quickly drawing the sword along his thumb and resheathing it. He walked along the length of the trailer towards the cab. From his seat in the front, Saitou smiled slightly watching the figure move towards him. Two strikes were all Kenshin had needed to defeat the two Juppongatana lieutenants. Soujirou may have failed to deliver the true Battousai but this one might just be useful.
Kenshin paused at the edge of the trailer looking down at the patch of road visible between the cab and trailer. He couldn't even guess how fast they were going. Looking up he saw the ocean following suddenly appearing ahead of them. Osaka was not far now.
* * *
"So what about Kaoru?"
Megumi looked up from the pot and over at Sano chopping away at the vegetables. "What about her?"
Sano held up his hands. "Calm down! The girl has saved my life twice. She just seemed nice."
"Kaoru's very nice," Megumi said, trying to keep the edge from her voice.
Sano smiled. "You got the whole big sister routine down pat, almost as good as the stone statue she calls a partner."
Megumi's anger flickered but died down. "You wouldn't understand," she finally said. Sano shrugged slightly. From what he heard of Gensai and Kenshin conversation, he understood perfectly.
"I just thought it was strange, a nice girl like that as a cop," Sano finally settled on.
Megumi smiled, just ever so slightly. "She tries to be tough but Kaoru could never make it as a street cop. She's just too nice sometimes. Really, she couldn't hurt a fly."
* * *
The man's head snapped backward and he fell to the ground, revealing a very angry looking Kaoru, arm still outstretched from the punch.
"Kaoru!" Aoshi said, somewhat in shock.
Kaoru turned back with a smile. "Problem solved."
"You shouldn't have done that," Aoshi said.
"He was going to call for back up," Kaoru said. "What else could I have done?"
"Oi, keep it down there!"
Looking up at the ceiling, Kaoru and Aoshi watched as Misao's head slowly emerged from the open panel. Her long braid tumbled downward as she hung upside down, hands firmly gripping the laptop.
"You don't want to draw attention to…" Misao trailed off seeing the unconscious guard. "Ah, I guess I have to hurry up," she said disappearing into the ceiling.
Aoshi turned back to Kaoru as soon as she was gone. "Kaoru!"
"No argument Aoshi!" Kaoru said, putting her heads on her hips.
"But… you don't just hit people," he said, still slightly in shock.
"What else was I supposed to do?"
"Talk him out of it, give him a good story…"
"It wouldn't have worked! He had already been back here three times. He was obviously suspicious…"
"But Kaoru… you hit a security officer!"
"Yeah I did," she said, slightly upset. She knew it was wrong, the poor man on the floor was only trying to do his job just like they were. "But there are two people counting on us to succeed at this. If we can't figure out this case then Misao is going to be in a lot of trouble and Kenshin…"
"I knew this was going to get back to him," Aoshi frowned.
Misao suddenly dropped to the floor. "We need to move now," she said, grabbing Aoshi and pulling him away.
"What happened?" Kaoru asked in surprised.
"Someone detected the connection," she said. "Security'll be here any…"
A group of men turned the corner at the end of the hallway and spotted them. Pointing, they started to run towards them.
"That doesn't look like building security!" Kaoru cried just as the men began to pull guns from the jackets, a bit of red flashing from under their coats.
"Juppongatana!" Aoshi cried, grabbing the two girls and shoving them through the door to the right.
The trio found themselves standing on a stairway landing. From the stairs below, they could hear more men approaching them. Without a word, they headed up the stairs, tearing through the first few floors.
"We need to get to the roof!" Misao said.
"And then what," Aoshi said, pulling Kaoru forward to keep up with his longer legs. "We should get off at another floor."
"The hallways on the floors will be in lock down," she said. "I told you… the security system is intense! The roof is the only place to go."
"What's on the roof?" Kaoru said, her breath starting to come faster now. The guard rail next to her exploded as a fury of bullets hit it.
"Whatever it is, it'll be better than this!" Misao cried.
Twenty floors later, they pushed out of the door and found themselves on the roof. Misao ran to the edge of the building and looked down, seeing ninety-five stories of space beneath her. Kaoru and Aoshi split, moving to look for someway down but there was nothing. Aoshi's fist slammed into the concrete railing, his anger finally getting through. He needed to get the two girls away from here somehow. He paused and suddenly realized Kaoru no where in sight.
The door they had come out of flew open and the armed men came onto the roof, guns firing. Misao jumped to the left rolling away as bullets ate the ground behind her. She dove for cover and found Aoshi there as well, tearing off the uniform to get to his gun. Misao followed suit, grabbing the pistol she had strapped to her upper thigh.
With a silent agreement, they both stood up and fired at their attackers before ducking down to reload. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire was interrupted by something at the other end of the roof.
"What is that?" Misao cried.
"It sounds like a helicopter," Aoshi said, looking back carefully. The concrete shed that held the door from the stairs blocked his view.
"There was a helipad on the map of this building," Misao said. "Maybe there was a helicopter on the pad and Kaoru got to it." Aoshi frowned. "She can fly a helicopter right?" Aoshi nodded. "So what's the problem?" Misao said, snapping the next round into her gun.
The helicopter suddenly rose from the side of the building, directly in front of them. In the cockpit, Aoshi could see Kaoru giving them a thumbs up. He grabbed Misao and pushed her down to the ground as Kaoru tipped the nose of the copter towards the roof of the building. The blades came forward, the wind blowing the Juppongatana members back and towards the other edge of the roof.
Kaoru straightened the helicopter and slowly lowered it towards them. Aoshi let go off Misao and the girl looked up with surprise. "She's a bit more aggressive than usual," Aoshi said, "when she's flying one."
Misao nodded, eyes wide open as they ran towards the open door. Pushing Misao inside, Aoshi followed and quickly closed the door. He pulled the helmet on just in time to hear Misao screaming in excitement as she took a seat next to the pilot.
"Kaoru! That kicked!!"
Kaoru smiled. "I love helicopters almost as Aoshi loves his bike." With an evil look, she pushed the throttle to the left and the helicopter tipped to one side, sending Aoshi crashing into the wall. He could hear Kaoru laughing as he did.
"All right," Kaoru said, bringing the helicopter around again and leaving the DoCoMo and most of Tokyo building in her wake. "Let's go."
"Kaoru, take a left and head towards the police helipad," Aoshi said.
"No can do," Kaoru said. "We're not going back to Tokyo."
"What?"
"We're going to Osaka," she said firmly.
"Kaoru, you can not fly this helicopter to Osaka."
"The fuel gauge says I can."
"Ah…" Misao said breaking in, "maybe you two should just calm down a bit…"
"Kaoru, turn this helicopter around right now."
"No."
"We are NOT going to Osaka."
Kaoru's eyes glowered and pushed the throttle forward. The helicopter tipped down and started to head for the ground.
"Osaka!" Misao cried, watching the surface of the Earth suddenly rising up to meet them. "Osaka is just fine!!"
Kaoru smiled and righted the helicopter. "You're out numbered," she sang into the mic. Aoshi glowered and she started to push the throttle again but Misao caught her arm and shot a look back at Aoshi that made it clear that the argument was over.
* * *
"So when they finally landed," Megumi said letting the spoon fall into the soup bowl again, "Aoshi swore up and down that he would never get into another helicopter with her unless it was a matter of life and death."
Sano laughed slightly. Amazingly enough, he and Megumi had managed to hold a civil conversation for almost ten minutes now. He didn't know how much longer it would last but he would take what he could get.
"She's that bad a pilot?" he asked.
Megumi shook her head and was a silent for a minute. "No, Kaoru's an excellent pilot, almost as good as her father was." Sano didn't say anything. Somehow, every time someone mentioned Kaoru's father, the conversation just died.
Megumi blinked and looked up at the clock. "I have to go to work," she said standing up and putting her napkin on the table.
"Right," he said, watching her move. He cleared his throat and tried to muster up the courage to say the next few words. "It was a… good dinner."
Megumi turned with surprise. "Well, you helped make it," she said.
Sano paused. "I didn't mean just the food," he said in a tone barely above a whisper.
Megumi arched an eyebrow and got a wicked smile. "Yes, well with Gensai away with the grandkids, Yahiko at a friend's house and Kaoru and Aoshi at work, this was about the only thing I could think of to pass the time."
Sano let out a frustrated laugh. "You never make things easy do you?"
Megumi's smile widened slightly. "Never. Ja!" she said walking towards the door. Sano stood up and started to collect the dishes just as he heard the front door open. But instead of the retreating footsteps of Megumi, he heard a strangled cry.
Dropping the dishes, he ran to the living room and found a blond woman holding Megumi by the throat. As soon as she locked eyes with him, Yumi smiled and pushed Megumi towards him. Sano barely had time to react to catch her.
"Found you," Yumi said with smile as she drew her gun.
