Here's the next chapter. Sorry for the late update. I got distracted by another story. I hope you like it. If my made-up character has the same name as someone else's character from a different fanfiction, I apologize, it is unintentional.
The Escape
Once she got her breath back they got up to follow the others. She paused as she passed Jine's body. After a slight hesitation she bent down and untied his short sword from his belt. She wasn't going to stand by and let Kenshin do all the fighting. As long as the sword stayed in its sheath, it wouldn't taint her father's teaching. Kenshin looked at her but didn't question her decision.
After that, they ran where the others had gone. They ran and hopped. In the end the found themselves in a large room with no other apparent doors. Aoshi and Sano were standing there. Sano looked like hell and she knew he needed medical treatment. Aoshi tried to hide it, but she could tell he was hurting as well. They must have faced similar opponents. None of them were in fighting condition. They needed to get out, but they still hadn't found Megumi and Dr. Gensai.
"Where were you being held?" Sano asked as they looked around the room.
"It was somewhere dark, probably underground," she replied. They started to move to look around, but she stopped them. "We need to tend to your injuries."
"We need to find them," Sano shouted. She wanted to push but Kenshin placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Obviously, Sano wouldn't see reason. She trusted Kenshin's knowledge of his friend.
Sano and Aoshi looked around while she tended to Kenshin's shoulder. When she was done he traded place's with Aoshi so Aoshi could be tended to. She was very glad she had decided to wear her hair in a ribbon the day she had been taken, even if it was her favorite ribbon. The extra cloth was coming in handy. Sano refused to listen to her and continued to look around.
They searched for a hidden door in the walls and floors, but to no avail. They were running out of places to search when they heard clapping. The entire backwall of the room lifted to reveal a man standing there clapping. He looked average, nothing unusual. It was only his suit that told you he was part of the upper class.
"I congratulate you," he said. She glared at him. So, he was behind this, go figure. Takashima Akira, the man who burned down her dojo.
They all grouped back together, "Where are they," Sano demanded.
"I'll have to admit," Akira said ignoring him. "I didn't think all of you would make it. I guess those men weren't as strong as they thought they were. Well, at least I don't have to pay them."
"Where are they," Sano shouted.
Akira smirked, "You didn't think I wouldn't have a backup plan. Unfortunately, Jine demanded she be present for the fight," he said pointing at her. "But I needed something in case you all won. You are too good to let get away."
"What did you do to them," she demanded as a bad feeling grew in her stomach.
"I just gave them something to drink," he said with a smile. She couldn't find the words to reply. Megumi should have known not to drink anything. For the past few days Kaoru had been the one to try the water first since she could recognize the most poisons and since she was immune to the drug. Megumi would have known not to drink anything, but they could have forced her.
"Now, I have a deal to offer you," Akira continued. "Give up, and I won't turn your friends into slaves."
"Why the hell should we believe you?" She demanded. She wasn't going to trust a word he said without proof.
He smirked, "Such a temper as always Karou. I see you still haven't learned your lesson," she ignored the other's confused looks and glared at Akira. "I thought you might need some motivation, so I had them brought here for you to see," he said as a covered cadge was pushed up.
If he was telling the truth she didn't know how she was going to get them out of there. Sano was already losing it and she didn't know how she would react to two people she cared about in pain.
Akira dramatically grabbed the cover and pulled it off the cadge. She and the others tensed, only to be confused. There was nothing in the cadge. Akira was obviously not expecting this either because he just stared in shock. Whatever was happening, it wasn't going to his plan.
"We need to get out of here," She whispered to Kenshin. He nodded and glanced at Aoshi. Aoshi nodded. They would both be needed to get Sano out.
"What did you do," Akira finally shouted at them, recovering from his shock. "Guards!"
"Where are they," Sano said moving forward but the other two held him back.
"We need to go Sano," Kenshin said.
Sano looked towards Kenshin with desperate eyes, "I can't leave them."
"They are not here," Kenshin said understanding the desperation. There was more to this than just Megumi. "They are not here. If we stay and fight, we will never help them. We must go." Sano sagged and let them pull him back.
Guards were flooding through the door behind Akira, they wouldn't be able to get away. Her mind raced through options when she saw a rope in the track the wall had used to slide up. That's why the sliding hadn't been smooth. She didn't know why Akira was using rope, but she took what she could get.
"Aoshi, how well can you throw?" He gave her a look that said he was offended. She pointed to the rope, he got the message.
His aim was perfect, and the wall came crashing down. It would buy them the time they needed to get out. She followed them back the way they came and soon enough they were outside. She would have enjoyed the feeling of the sunlight if it hadn't been for the guards chasing them.
Aoshi took the lead, zigzagging around buildings. It wasn't long before they lost their tail and were able to slow down.
"Do you know what happened to the others Miss Karou?" Kenshin asked her as they continued to follow Aoshi.
"No. When I was taken they stayed where we were being held. They obviously weren't where Akira thought they would be.
"How do you know that man?" Sano asked darkly.
"He's the one who burnt down my dojo," she said. Sano's anger was understandable.
"So, we just left Megumi and the old man there. Now what?" Sano said.
"We figure out what happened to them and quickly," Aoshi said. "For now, we go back and get our wounds tended and inform the others. We do nothing for them passing out in the street."
Solemnly they followed Aoshi.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Tsubame asked as he lead them around the building and through a door he knew was there. It led them into a small storage room. Hidden under some boxes was a small door that dropped them into the tunnels under the building. From the tunnels they would be able to find where Akira kept his cadges.
"Yes, they won't be expecting it. We can slip through unnoticed while they are distracted by Kenshin and the others."
"And how exactly do you know where you are going?" Misao asked.
"Just trust me," he said, not really wanting to talk about it. "A thief knows these things. Or ex-thief in my case."
They didn't argue and followed him, it wasn't like they had any better idea. He was just glad his memory of the place was still there. It had been a while, but it hadn't changed much. The tunnels were the same and had not been collapsed, unless Akira had moved his cadges, he at least knew where to start looking. They used flashlights that Misao had given them, to navigate the dark tunnels. The flashlights gave off just enough light to see but not enough to be seen from a distance. As long as soldiers weren't hiding in the dark, they wouldn't be seen.
Eventually they came to the cadges just in time to see Megumi and Dr. Gensai being lead out. Silently, they followed.
"I want them drugged and in this cadge in ten minutes. I'm going to watch them squirm for a while," Akira's voice ordered. The voice made him angry, but he held himself back. Now was not the time for grudges. Besides, messing up Akira's plans would send him into a rampage. And being the cause of that was almost as sweet as hitting the man in the face would be.
He and Misao peaked into the room while Tsubame kept watch. There were three guards with Megumi and Dr. Gensai. "We need to knock out the guards," he whispered. He didn't know where Karou was but first they needed to help Megumi and Dr. Gensai.
Miao smiled and pulled something out of the folds of her clothing. If he had to guess, it was a blow pipe. She cracked open the door and quickly hit all three guards. He ran in to catch the two closest guards while Misao caught the third, quietly lowering them to the ground. Tsubame went to the to the Megumi and Dr. Gensai and released them.
"What are you doing here?" Megumi whispered.
"Rescuing you," he replied. "Where's Karou?"
"They took her away a little before they came and got us," She said. He wanted to search for her, but helping them came first, Karou wouldn't want it any other way. He would get them out and then go back for Karou.
"We need to get out of here without anyone noticing."
"We could take their uniforms and Misao and Megumi could wear them," Tsubame said. "Then we just hide their bodies and Misao and Megumi send guards in here to deal with the cadge. The rest of us would hide in the tunnels."
"Could you find your way back?" He asked Misao. She nodded.
Before long the cadge was covered, the men were hidden, and Miaso and Megumi were dressed up. He and Tsubame helped Dr. Gensai back to the tunnels and waited. It seemed like an age before Misao and Megumi showed up. They were both cracking up as they took off the uniforms.
"You should have seen the guards faces when we told them they were supposed to be helping with the cadge," Misao said. "They looked terrified by the time Megumi was done yelling at them."
"It's been a while since I've had to act like that. It was fun," Megumi said.
He rolled his eyes, "Come on." They followed him back the way they had come and soon enough they were back at the trap door.
"Here's the way up. I'm going back for Karou," he said.
"Yahiko, you can't go back by yourself," Tsubame said.
"I can't leave Karou."
"Kenshin and the others are here. They'll find her," Misao said.
"But what if they don't?"
"Then we will come back. It's better to know they haven't found her then running around looking for her when they have. Then we would have to come back and rescue you," Misao said.
"Besides," Tsubame said. "We aren't out of danger yet and Dr. Gensai will need assistance. We need you right now."
He clutched his fists in frustration. Torn between two obligations. Tsubame was right, but that would mean he was abandoning Karou a second time. What if something happened to her? Or worse, what if she hated him for turning his back on her. What if she kicked him out? He knew the fear was irrational, Karou had promised he would always have a home, but he couldn't stop the fear.
"Fine," he said. "But if Kenshin didn't find her, I'm coming back." He helped Dr. Gensai to his feet and they left the storage room. Slowly making their way through the town. Misao and Tsubame led, keeping an eye out for anyone, while Megumi took up the rear.
"We should be far enough away," Megumi said. "Let's take a break."
They sat down and Tsubame pulled a flask of water from somewhere, handing it to Dr. Gensai. The old man had never complained, but it was obvious he was hurting.
He couldn't help but wonder where Misao and Tsubame managed to hide things. He didn't have anything hidden in the folds of his clothing. How did they do that?
"How are you doing?" Tsubame asked Megumi.
"Fine now that I'm out of that place. I think we are both tired, but we are alive and unharmed. More than I was expecting when I was kidnapped."
"Misao, how far do you think we have to go?" He asked. He wasn't sure how long Dr. Gensai would last. The minimal medical knowledge he had learned from Karou was telling him the old man needed rest and a good dose of cold medicine at least.
"We still have a while to go but if we get a bit further away, it should be safe enough to call for a pickup."
Once they were ready, they continued on. He helped Dr. Gensai to the best of his ability, but the old man wasn't doing good and the walking wasn't helping. Misao led them to a hidden spot to wait while she pulled a phone out of her magical clothing and called for a ride. From the look of it, she got an earful before she was allowed to speak. Once she was done they sat in silence to wait.
"Misao, I hope you have a good explanation for why you are here," Aoshi said materializing from an alleyway. How the hell had he known they were there?
Misao looked down, "We thought we could be of some help," she said quietly.
"Where are the others," he demanded.
"Coming, I went ahead when we heard you three were waiting here for pickup. What were you thinking, following us?"
"Helping," Misao said indicating Megumi and Dr. Gensai. Aoshi seemed to be noticing them for the first time, though he didn't look that surprised.
"I see, so you were the ones behind that. While I am glad you were there…" He drifted off. And ran a hand over his face. "It was dangerous. Please refrain from such recklessness in the future. You cause enough worry on a regular day. At least tell me what you are planning."
"I will," Misao said looking concerned. She went to Aoshi and put a supporting hand on his elbow, directing him to sit with the others. "For now, you should sit down." He looked between the pair. One with the look of admiration, the other with adoration. Karou had said Miaso loved Aoshi, but she seemed pretty oblivious to the fact that he was in love with her.
"Did you find Karou?" He asked, afraid to hear the answer.
"She's with Kenshin," A huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. Karou was alright, he hadn't abandoned her a second time. He stood and waited until her heard the others approaching.
"Yahiko," Karou called running up and embracing him. He didn't resist her. "I'm so glad you're ok. I was so worried."
"I'm sorry for not helping you," he said.
She shook her head, "You did the right thing. I'm so proud of you." His hands slowly moved and embraced the back of her shirt, he had needed to hear that. She released him as Kenshin and Sano walked up. Sano looked like he had been beat up, not done the beating up.
"What the hell happened to you?" He said and received a whack on the head.
"Shut up brat. Hay fox, glad you're ok." Sano said trying to be nonchalant, but everyone could tell he was relieved. Megumi smiled and reassured him she was alright.
"How did you managed to find Miss Megumi and Dr. Genasi?" Kenshin asked.
"Yahiko did," Misao said. "It was his idea from the start."
"How did you know where to go Yahiko?" Karou asked him.
He looked down at his feet. He didn't want to talk about this in front of everyone. "Can we talk about that later?"
"Alright," she said. He sighed in relief, he really didn't want everyone knowing his past. He was ok with Karou knowing, but not everyone else. "I'm just glad everyone is alright."
They all sat and chatted quietly, filling everyone in on what had happened. He, Misao, and Tsubame kept watch. He listened idly, not really that connected to what they were saying until Karou mentioned Akira was the man who burned down her dojo. His stomach dropped, maybe he shouldn't tell her anything. If she knew the truth she would definitely kick him out.