Disclaimer: Ok, so I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. I have a plan to get it, though. All I need are a life's supply of rubber bands, five cans of coca cola, a screwdriver, and a gigantic replica of Elmo. Hmm…
Hey guys!!! Its nessie…finally, finally, FINALLY back from the deadddddddddd. Naw, just kidding, more like back from the deadly disease of writer's block. And also back from suffering the deadliness of A COMPUTER GONE WRONG!!! Lets just say that I wrote out the whole chapter about Neko's past. It took me a MONTH. A damn MONTH, I'm telling you. Then I upload the stupid chapter, and…to make a long story short, it was the most messed up chapter I have ever seen. Really, really screwy. So, I go through and try to fix the whole thing, when I realized…I didn't like the chapter much to begin with. In fact, I didn't like the whole concept of Neko's past to begin with. It makes her seem waaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too nice and like she's the victim. But I want her to be EVIL!!! So, the whole chapter was erased, and I was back at step one.
Ruri: You know…I think that all of this is just and act to get you to forgive her. I say NAY!!! Do not forgive the one who has kept you on the edges of your seats for about THREE MONTHS!!!
Nessie: Come on…cut me some slack, guys…Ami, you believe me, right? My only honest, true, loyal friend?
Ami: Me? Pssh, hell no.
Nessie&Ruri: WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT???????????????
Ruri: What happened to you being a kind, loving suck up?
Ami: I've decided to show my true side. For only being a little taller than four feet, I can be strangely violent and have scary mood swings.
Ruri: Its true, people. She beats me up all the time.
Nessie: She's never beaten me up.
Ami: You're right…I should get started on that…(moves her little four foot nine inch frame menacingly towards our favorite author)
Nessie: Oh God, Why hast thou forsaken me!!!!!!!
Anyways, time to get on with the chapter. Tootles!!!!nessie
Sleep thou, sleep thou, and I will wind thee, wind thee,
In my arms.
So doth the woodbine…
The sweet honeysuckle gently entwist.
Sleep thou, sleep thou…
I will wind the in my arms…
The female ivy so entwines the barky fingers of the elm.
O how I love thee!
I will wind thee in my arms…
In my arms…
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Neko gaped at the order she had just been given. Had she heard wrong? Neko did a rare thing and lifted her head to stare disbelievingly at the elderwoman.
"I'm sorry…did you just say to re enter Sin and kidnap…kidnap…are you sure about this?" She was answered with a sharp slap across her face. Inwardly, Neko sighed. This was so typical.
"Of course I'm sure!" Sobo snapped, then softened. "Neko dear, I think that he would be useful to us. Not to mention he might solve a few things if left alone for too long…and you know as well as I do that we just cannot let that happen. I was a fool to think that obtaining The Maiden would be enough. We need him as well." Neko nodded. It seemed to make sense, except…
"What about the younger one?"
"Hmm?"
"You know, the girl…" the name escaped Neko at the moment, making her furious inside. Three years inside Sin to forget the name of that girl…
"Oh yes. Her. She is no trouble at all. Leave her to be, love. It is the boy I want." Again, Neko nodded. She would succeed in her mission-and soon she would help The Plebeians gain the power they so deserved.
"Yes, elderwoman. I will capture-"
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Soujiro sighed and rubbed his head. He had managed to intercept a Plebeian message over the radio many days ago-that had been the easy part. Now he had to unscramble the words. Why did these Plebeians have to make his job so damn hard? It just didn't make sense…Soujiro pressed the play button on his tape recorder and listened to the hollow, rough sounding metallic voice coated in static.
O, Dame in the Night! Book. her not!
It made no sense, and Soujiro was having a heck of a time unscrambling the words without some sort of code to go by. Whoever this message was intended for had to have been very good with words.
And Kaoru missing didn't help his concentration.
It had been days, and still no sign or word. Kenshin had locked himself in his room and hadn't come out for days…everyone was worried about him. Misao was jumpy and nervous, even Aoshi couldn't calm her or stop her from biting her nails down to nubbins. Sano and Megumi were both so upset that they ran into each other in the halls-and apologized. Tsubame seemed to retreat into a shell-she didn't talk to anyone except Yahiko, and even then the words were seldom and hushed. Soujiro wondered if Misao's theory was right. If Kaoru had run out by herself then they should have been able to find her.
But Kenshin refused to believe anything other than betrayal…
Soujiro sighed. He was glad that he gave Tsubame the day to rest…he wouldn't be able to get any work done with her moping around and refusing to say one word. He yawned and played the message over and over again. He had a feeling that this was important…that he needed to find its true meaning.
O, Dame in the Night…
Dame in the Night…
In the Night…
Soujiro jumped, as if he had been stung by a bee. Looking frantically for pencil and paper, her finally found a purple crayon stub and ripped a long strip of light blue paper from one of Kaoru's "check ups". Immediately, he wrote the letters down and set to work. Crossing them off, rearranging them, crumpling pieces of paper up and throwing it behind him, Kaoru's check up sheet becoming increasingly smaller. Instantly,
O, Dame in the Night! Book her not!
Had become…
Neko! The maiden, tonight! Brother.
Soujiro gaped. His heart thumped in his chest. Neko…The Plebeians…it all made so much sense…her grabbed his cell phone and punched in the numbers for Tsubame's room. He was so excited he didn't hear the footsteps…
"Hello?" The small, shy voice of Tsubame sounded scratchy and so far away on his phone. Soujiro practically crushed the phone in his fingers.
"IT'S NEKO, TSUBAME!!! NEKO!!! SHE TOOK KAORU! IT WAS NEKO!!!" Tsubame rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"Soujiro? Is that you?"
"YES ITS ME!!! IT WAS NEKO!!" Soujiro took a deep breath. "Don't you get it, Tsubame? It was Neko all along! She must be a spy for The-"
"That's quite enough." Soujiro jumped. He whipped around, and found himself staring into black eyes.
"Neko…" The phone fell from his hands as Neko's hands connected with his throat. Tsubame's voice was heard faintly-before the phone crashed onto the floor. If you didn't know better, you would have thought Neko was smiling. She carefully swung the unconscious body of Soujiro over her shoulder.
"We shall have no trouble from you," Neko hissed. She noticed the remaining blue paper on which Soujiro had scribbled down the anagram. She took a black pen from her pocket and wrote neatly across it-
You're with The Plebeians now…
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Kaoru sat on her bed, chewing on a sticky rice ball. Sure, The Plebeians had better food, but their entertainment sucked. She sighed, and plopped the last bit of rice into her mouth, chewing slowly and licking her fingers. She had asked Neko if she could at least have a yo-yo or something…but the answer had been a very cold, very mean "we don't allow such contraptions here, Miss Kaoru." Plus, she had to wear the formal kimonos…and they were very, very hard to walk in. Kaoru was beginning to wonder if she should try her blinking game again…
"My sweet, you'll be so happy!" Kaoru cringed at Sobo's sticky-sweet voice. "We have company for you!!" Stretching her arms and picking off flecks of dust, Kaoru stood up and straightened her kimono. Sobo tended to be picky with Kaoru's appearance. She wondered who would be visiting her. Another crazy Plebeian, here to bow and murmur words of "love" and "devotion"? She hoped not.
"Who is it?" Kaoru shouted through her door, delaying actually having to open it. She could practically hear Sobo's sugary smile.
"Someone from that little club you were in when we found you…what was the name again? Oh, that's right, Neko dear, it was called Sin, wasn't it…"
Kaoru swung the door open and gasped. Soujiro…bound and gagged? His gaze drifted up towards her. He looked very annoyed.
"Why…why did you need him?" Kaoru felt panicked. Soujiro shouldn't be here, he should be back at Sin…but would she be a horrible person if she admitted she was happy to see him? There was hardly anyone worth talking to.
"Let's just say he was a bit too smart…ugh, he positively reeks of Sin. Neko and I just thought that it would be nice if the two of you got to talk. That's how considerate we are, right, Neko, my love?" Neko nodded stoically. "You may do what you want with him, just don't make us deal with him. Unlike you, he has sunken too deeply within the depths of Sin to be saved. This is disgusting, I can hardly breath. Let's make our leave, Neko." Neko turned to leave. She was met with a hard slap across the face as Sobo grabbed her hair and swung the violet-haired assassin around to face Kaoru again. Neko made no sign of pain.
"That is hardly the way to exit a room of The Maiden, my darling Neko. Show some respect." Dark eyes met Sapphire when Kaoru and Neko locked glances. Neko quickly looked down and bowed so low her eyelashes brushed the dark wood floor.
"I hope you accept my apology," Neko murmured. Kaoru blinked, then realized she was being spoken to.
"Oh. Umm, yeah. Sure." Kaoru waited while Sobo and Neko made no move to leave. She had never felt so stupid.
"You can, uh, leave now." Neko nodded deeply and once again Sobo had her cotton-candy smile on. Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Soujiro. She quickly untied the tightly wound bandages around his wrists and removed the cloth in his mouth. "
Soujiro!" Kaoru smiled sweetly. "You're just in time to get in on the fun. Care to join me in my eating frenzy?"
"What's with the kimono?"
"Hello to you too." Kaoru yawned and headed back over to the buffet still filled with delicacies. "Apparently I have to wear 'formal attire' to show respect to the, er, 'elders'. Worshiped or not, I still have to wear the kimono. I wonder what they'll give you." Soujiro rolled his eyes.
"Nothing, probably. They may keep you for a bit, but I don't think they want me around for much longer." He eyed Kaoru's plate full of cakes and candies. "So I may as well stuff myself. What do you have over there?" Kaoru plopped a chocolate covered cherry in her mouth.
"Everything imaginable. So, how's everyone at Sin?" She leaned forward, anxious. There was one name she desperately wanted to hear.
"Misao's jumpy without her 'Kaoru-chan' there. Aoshi's having a heck of a time trying to control her. I don't think I've heard more than two words from Tsubame. And Megumi and Sano are so distracted, they're nice to each other." Kaoru's jaw dropped.
"Whoa. No way." She felt her heart instinctively begin to pound in her chest. She took a deep breath.
"How is-"
"Ritz is fine. There's no need to worry, Misao is taking care of him in her room." Kaoru felt her shoulders droop. Not exactly the words she was looking for. She didn't look up in time to see Soujiro's mischievous smile.
"And, of course, there's Kenshin." Kaoru jumped. "I haven't seen him in days. He's just been locked up in his room." She felt guilt settle in her stomach.
"Locked in his room? Is he…is he worried about me?"
"I think he's a bit angry. He thinks you ran off on your own."
"Ran off?" Kaoru scoffed, trying to laugh it off. "I lived better in Sin than I've ever lived on my own. Do you think someone will find us here?" She hoped Soujiro wouldn't notice how quickly and urgently she had changed the subject. He shook his head.
"I don't know, Kaoru. Kenshin hasn't been able to find this place in all the years I've worked for him…our chances don't seem high." Kaoru slumped. She looked up at Soujiro, her gaze defeated and pained.
"So…so you and I are just going to sit here and wait for The Plebeians to come and kill you off and then pump me full of poisonous juice? You're saying there's no hope for us? None whatsoever?" Soujiro looked thoughtful. His eyes sparkled. Kaoru raised an eyebrow.
"What are you thinking?" She asked suspiciously.
"We do have one hope."
"What?"
"More like who." Kaoru rolled her eyes.
"All right. Who?" Soujiro grinned and crossed his arms.
"Tsubame."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"I told you she didn't run off on her own!" Misao cried happily. Aoshi nodded warily…he had been hearing this same speech since Tsubame informed them all of Soujiro's last phone call…which was at three in the morning. Now Sano, Megumi, Misao, Aoshi, and Yahiko all stood crowded around Tsubame as she typed away on her computer. Kenshin stood in the corner, reading an article over and over. They had searched Neko's room and found no clues…none except an old rusted key with a five-petal rose. Tsubame had had the key examined in Soujiro's computers endless times; she had scanned pictures of it and searched his filed, but could find no match to the uniquely designed teeth of the aged key.
"Have you found anything yet?" Sano mumbled, not a morning person. Not to mention the fact that he couldn't understand a thing Tsubame was doing…she shook her head. Everyone groaned.
"Ok guys, I've had enough of this. ENOUGH! This has gone on FAR TOO LONG!" Megumi shouted. The room silenced, every eye on her. Even, Megumi noted with glee, Kenshin's.
"So what do you suggest, Megumi?" Sano sighed. "We send out a search party?" The doctor shook her head.
"No. We draw straws."
"For what, Megumi-chan?" Misao asked, curious. "Whoever draws the shortest one goes and looks for Kaoru-chan? We'll never find her that way." Megumi rolled her eyes.
"Whoever draws the shortest one gets us all about a gallon of coffee and some donuts." Everyone cheered. Everyone except Tsubame. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"What is it, Tsubame?" Kenshin was immediately at the fourteen-year-old's side. "What did you find?" Tsubame choked on words. Suddenly everyone was quiet, leaning in to hear what was being said in Tsubame's hushed voice.
"I-I didn't…didn't need my computer after all…oh, its so simple, sir! Soujiro would have thought of it in a second. It's just a trick! The key doesn't really matter, it's the rose!" Kenshin nodded.
"Go on…"
"Everyone knows that the rose is called 'La Fleur Des Secrets', or 'The Flower of Secrets'. Get it?" Tsubame waited for the light bulbs to go off. Her pupils remained in the dark. She sighed.
"The Flower of Secrets. Secrets. Secrets. S-E-C-R-E-T-S."
"I don't get it," Sano complained. Tsubame bit her lip.
"Its very simple. Secrets sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it?"
"Umm, no?" Megumi offered. Tsubame closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Tecress. I wanted you to figure it out, but fine. Tecress. The rose stands for The Flower of Secrets, and Secrets is just a scrambled version of Tecress Subway Station."
"But the Subway Station was closed years, no, decades ago. Wasn't it?" Tsubame smiled.
"Correct. And I bet I know which group had that station shut down, so no one would ever use it again. All we have to do is go to the place where the Tecress Subway Station used to be, and I'm sure we'll find more there. I'll look up the coordinates." Tsubame was tapping away at her computer again.
"Hey." Megumi nudged Sano. "Did you know the rose is called La Fleur Des Secrets?"
"No." Sano shrugged. "I never took German."
"Its French, idiot."
"Right. That's what I meant."
"I've got the coordinates right here, sir," Tsubame called, pointing to a paper printing from a gigantic metal machine.
"Sano, Aoshi, Misao, get ready to go. We'll leave immediately. Yahiko, weapons. Megumi, I'd like you to be ready for any medical crisis. If we come back at all, be prepared for anything. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Kenshin." Tsubame hesitated, then looked up at the Battousai.
"Sir…what should I do?" Kenshin thought for a moment.
"Tsubame, you should look up any and all information on The Elixir." Tsubame was confused.
"But sir…"
"Its just in case, Tsubame." Kenshin paused. "In case we don't get there fast enough."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Neko ran the ivory comb through Kaoru's wet locks slowly and carefully, checking every strand. Kaoru sat in the room-sized steaming bath, her arms crossed over her chest and her face bright red.
"You know…I can wash myself…" Kaoru mumbled, sinking a little deeper into the cloudy water. It was a relaxing, luxurious bath, she had to give them that. The porcelain tub was bigger than Kaoru's entire apartment, with a large fountain in the middle. Practically boiling rose-scented water filled the bath up to Kaoru's neck, but still she sank deeper still. Neko rolled her eyes.
"I have no doubt that you can, but still, my orders were clear. Purify you so you'll be ready for the ceremony tomorrow." Kaoru looked up.
"What…what ceremony?" Kaoru could feel her heart thunder in her chest. The smirk on Neko's usually emotionless face did nothing for her nerves.
"I think you know the ceremony I speak of, Maiden. In fact, I believe you, Battousai, and Sanosuke had a rather, shall we say, lengthy conversation concerning the ceremony. A bit excited, are we?"
"No, we're not," Kaoru scowled. Inside, her heart had skipped a beat. She would be pumped full of Elixir tomorrow. Realization hit Kaoru like a ton of bricks.
She could be dead by tomorrow.
And she had never been able to tell Kenshin how she really felt.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Sano stared at the run-down building before him. The Plebeians had really picked a junkyard for their secret hideout. He gave a sideways glance at Kenshin. Something about the leader of Sin had been bothering him lately. His normal deep amber eyes seemed…violate. His mood was melancholy. His nature was…noble, soft.
Weak…
Sano wondered when this had happened. It certainly hadn't happened overnight. He had a strong suspicion that it had to do with a…certain girl who had entered their lives only a few months ago. A girl who had caused such upheaval…a girl who had changed all of their lives in so many different ways…
But now wasn't the time to ponder over life issues. Sano peered around the dark, dank subway station. He heard the squeal of rats and instantly cringed. Ever since a certain incident with Megumi (which involved an albino mouse and a can of super glue), Sano had been a bit…scared…of rodents.
"Its so dark…I can hardly see…" Misao squinted and clung on to Aoshi's arm. He kept a wary hand on his sword, his Oniwabanshuu senses sharp as ever. Kenshin's blade was already out, reflecting the thread of moonlight trickling in through a crack in the ceiling. For a few moments, all was quiet. Sano coughed.
"So…what are we waiting for?" Sano looked down at the tracks and grinned. With a swift move he had jumped from the platform down into the deep, dark pit, landing with a crunch on metal and stone. Immediately Kenshin's thoughts were filled with concern. His instincts screamed.
"Sano….be carefu-" Kenshin heard the sword being drawn in horror. He felt as if he were moving through molasses as he ran to the edge of the platform and leapt into the dark abyss. He couldn't see a thing.
"Sano? Sano!" Kenshin shouted desperately. He smelled blood…where the hell was Sano?!
"Oh God…" Misao breathed. Kenshin didn't turn as she landed softly next to him, followed by Aoshi. "Where is he? Aoshi-sama? Where is Sanosuke?"
"I'm right here. Jeeze." Sano scratched his head as he jumped over the unconscious body on the cold ground. "You guys need to have a little faith. But good news? This rundown pit actually goes somewhere." Kenshin nodded, trying not to show how relieved he was.
"Everyone on their toes. I don't know how many others are guarding this station, but I do know there will be others." Misao grinned, her knives already poised and ready to kill.
"Got it."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Kaoru sat on her large bed, feeling like her insides were ripping apart. Neko had informed her that she had to spend her final night in seclusion…which meant no more talking with Soujiro. But she had begged for at least a few minutes with him…she wanted that at least. Neko had frowned, but Sobo had agreed, smiling sweetly and promising to return with her "purification clothing". She tugged at the sleeves of her yellow kimono and wrinkled her nose. She smelled so much like roses it was sickening. The silence between the two friends had become awkward. Kaoru wished he would say something.
"Kaoru, I have a question to ask you. And you have to promise to tell the truth." Kaoru nodded, relieved to have conversation.
"Sure. I promise." Soujiro looked up and their eyes locked. Soujiro looked cool, calm.
"How do you feel about Kenshin?" Kaoru practically jumped out of her skin. The relief left as quickly as it had come. She felt a pink blush heat up her cheeks as she bowed her head…how was she supposed to answer that? She wished Soujiro would drop the subject!
"Kaoru, you promised to tell the truth," Soujiro pressed. Kaoru bit her lip, refusing to meet his cool gaze.
"I…I promised to tell the truth…" she paused. "But I didn't promise to answer!" She finished triumphantly. Soujiro sighed.
"Fine then. Your silence tells me more than any answer would." The pink blush turned crimson. Kaoru swore silently in her head. Damn!
"No fair…" she protested meekly. She swore again. What a lame comeback! Silence settled again between them, but this time Kaoru welcomed it. It was certainly better than Soujiro's version of the Spanish Inquisition. That's why she began to feel sick when Soujiro spoke for the second time.
"Kaoru?" He asked casually. Kaoru closed her eyes and took a deep, tired breath.
"What is it?" she replied wearily. She prayed for normal conversation…conversation lacking the name Kenshin.
"Are you in love with him?" Kaoru practically screamed. Well, at least it was devoid of the name Kenshin.
"Soujiro…" Kaoru managed to squeak out, her voice sounding strange and strangled. "Why are you doing this? Does it even matter? Tomorrow I'll be injected with Elixir and then a few hours later I'll be dead. Cold. Lifeless. I'll never even see the man again. Never talk to him. Train with him. Look at him. Get to know him. The world will go on turning. He'll forget me eventually. And I'll just be dead. Dead and forgotten. A year from now he'll probably wonder what my name was." She let her eyes close and tried not to picture his face. "It doesn't matter anymore."
Soujiro was quiet.
But only for a moment.
He touched Kaoru's shoulder softly and smiled. He quickly wiped a few tears from her eyes that Kaoru hadn't realized had formed.
"I don't think that's true." Kaoru looked up.
"What?"
"That's bogus. You've changed him. And not just the color of his eyes, either. I've never seen Kenshin like this…ever. I doubt that he'll forget you. Even if you don't make it through this…and I can't guarantee that either of us will survive. But I can guarantee that he will never forget your name. None of them will."
"What a touching speech. It brought tears to my eyes too, love." Kaoru jumped at Sobo's syrupy words. "But I'm sorry to say that my little Maiden has to come with me now for a peaceful evening of peace, prayer, and purification." Kaoru jumped up in protest, but Sobo held up her hand in confirmation.
"I'm sorry, darling, but I was generous enough to give you a few minutes with this…friend of yours. Now its time to make yourself worthy of the Elixir…and of fulfilling The Plebeian legend. Its time to leave, dumpling." Dumpling? Kaoru cringed. She made to stand up, but…she couldn't make her legs work. She sent a helpless look towards Soujiro. Sobo sighed.
"You young folk are so lazy these days. Neko, love? Our Maiden needs a bit of assistance." She pointed the violate-haired girl towards Kaoru. Neko nodded.
"Yes, elderwoman." With a strong yank she pulled Kaoru off of the bed and began dragging her towards the door. Kaoru felt panic wash over her and instantly felt like she was going to lose her lunch.
"Soujiro!" She cried frantically. "I'm too scared! I don't know what to do!"
"Its all right…everything will turn out all right, Kaoru!" he shouted. "Calm down…think happy thoughts!" Sobo slapped him immediately.
"You shouldn't call The Maiden by name when you yourself reek of Sin," Sobo hissed coldly. "You should show some respect for an unclean dog."
Kaoru looked over her shoulder and saw the doorway fast approaching. Using all of her strength, she wriggled out of Neko's grip and turned back to Soujiro.
"Soujiro!!! About your question…" Soujiro looked up at the woman before him.
"The answer…"
"…is yes."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rejoice!!! The author lives and updates!!!Nice chapter, eh? Well, not really, I guess…it was kind of boring…but just so you know we're beginning to roll into the final chapters. But there are still many issues to resolve…so I can't exactly give you an estimate on how many chapters are left…so hang in there :)
Kiisani: (looks around her) Wow, this is so cool! I've never been here before!!!
Ami: That's because nessie has neglected you for the past thirteen chapters. She's such a lazy-butt.
Nessie: Hey…
Ruri: Anyway, go on!!! Introduce yourself!!!
Kiisani: Hi, I'm Kiisani (who will now be referred to as Kii, seeing as Kiisani takes too long to type). I'm usually pretty happy-go-lucky, and nessie has never seen me get angry or sad. I'm pretty nice to everyone…usually…except I'm the only one brave enough to steal nessie's hair ties. I have red hair (like Ami!!) and am absolutely GORGEOUS!!! (strikes a pose)
absolute silence
Ruri: riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight…
So, thanks to everyone who has put up with my late updating. I hope this satisfies you until the next chapter…which is bound to be totally interesting, I promise. So, until next time, this has been Nessie (aka chocolatechipp aka Shokora no Sakuhen which means chocolatechipp in Japanese. Isn't that cool?).
Tootles!!!!nessie