Kaoru chews her bottom lip, reading once more over what she has already written. She has been trying all day to compose a letter to Hijikata-sensei, but the right words won't seem to come. She has been in Otsu for almost a month; in two days she is expected to meet the Aizu merchant convoy at the pier. There has been no word from Dr. Gensai or Maekawa-sensei, though Kenshin checked each time he went into town. There is a chance that her guardians have written to the Commander directly, but Kaoru cannot chance it. She will go to Otsu, meet the merchants and pay them as planned, but instead of returning to Kyoto with them, she will give them a letter for Hijikata-sensei explaining why she could not return. It is a risk, and they will have to leave Otsu shortly after the merchants. But Kenshin had said there were other safe houses where they could stay, and if needed, they could simply go straight to Takasugi in Choshuu.
She is alone in the cottage; Kenshin has gone once again to Otsu to sell medicines, to scout out the pier, and check one last time for letters from Edo. With her ankle still nagging her all these weeks later, he had thought it best to go alone. He'd wrapped it tight before he'd gone, the bandages holding in place the poultice he'd made to help with the pain. He'd chided her, saying that an apothecary's wife who wouldn't keep off her feet and allow his medicine to work properly was bad for business, and she had laughed and promised she would sit still at her desk and not go anywhere.
Kaoru sets down her pen in frustration, and buries her face in her hands, groaning in disgust. It shouldn't be so hard to write this letter! There are several crumpled attempts scattered around her, and this one is likely to join them. She gives herself a shake; she will take a break, make tea, and then try again. She gathers up all the balls of paper into her lap and slides along the floor to the fire pit, where she dumps them unceremoniously into the flames. "And good riddance!" she tells them, sticking out her tongue.
She hums while she waits for the water to boil, spooning tea into the teapot and setting a cup on a saucer. Her shawl slips from her shoulders and she absently rights it; with the newly papered-over windows the cottage was much warmer, and she didn't really need to wear it inside except that she liked to. She liked throwing it around Kenshin when he came home, stamping his cold feet while she took his rosy cheeks between her hands to warm them. She liked when he wrapped them up in it while he pressed his cold nose into her neck and told her that he was home. In the near-month that she has been married, there have been many such things to like.
Kaoru smiles radiantly, though there is no one else to see it. It doesn't matter, because she is happy. And Kenshin too, never seemed to cease smiling. They tend to their little home, make medicines, play with the local children. They talk endlessly of the things that have come before and the things still to come, and while there will undoubtedly be troubles on the horizon, Kaoru has hope. They have endured so much already, but they are together, united on their path towards a peaceful era, and they would overcome whatever else might come their way.
She cups her tea in her hands and sighs across it contentedly. Kenshin will be home in a few hours, and Kaoru is going to surprise him with dinner. Nothing too extravagant—she will reheat the soup he'd made that morning, and once the radish is shredded and the fish sliced, there was really only the rice that'd she actually have to cook. But she could do that, Kenshin had taught her and it was well within her limited kitchen skill-set. He'd told her that cooking was just like the sword; it was all about timing and precision and sensing when things were right. And once she'd understood that, she had decided to face it like any other opponent, with fierce determination and lots of practice.
Kaoru finishes her tea and cleans the dishes, and then she pulls on Kenshin's haori. She breathes in the familiar earthy musk as she puts on first her right zori, and then her left. She stands hesitantly, slowly putting weight onto her ankle. But the bandages hold firm and there is no pain. Kaoru grins and picks up the bucket next to the door. She slides open the shoji to find that it is snowing once again, and she frowns, concerned for Kenshin walking home. She begins to gather snow into her bucket quickly and decides to add hot sake to the menu for the evening.
"Help! Please, Kaoru-chan!"
Kaoru drops her spade in surprise to find Tomoe running up the hill towards the cottage. Kaoru runs towards their gate to meet her, and Tomoe skids to a stop, falling to her knees in front of it, out of breath. The older girl grabs hold of Kaoru's kimono in an uncharacteristic display of emotion, and Kaoru is so taken aback that she stands rooted to the spot in shock. "Please help me Kaoru, they have Enishi!"
Kaoru blinks and then her training takes over, years of carrying the sword that protects and months of serving the people of Kyoto in the Shinsengumi. She takes hold of Tomoe's arms and lifts her to her feet, hauling her towards the cottage. "Come inside first," she says calmly, shutting the shoji behind them. "Who has Enishi?" she asks.
"Yakuza, they kidnapped him in Kyoto!"
Kaoru slides off her sandals, crosses the floor and opens the trunk where she and Kenshin keep their clothes. There are several yakuza gangs in Kyoto who were using the unrest in the city to their advantage. Kaoru keeps her temper firmly in check; she had warned Tomoe that Kyoto was dangerous, but she hadn't listened. And two samurai children, well dressed and without a guardian or guards were an easy target. "How much did they ask for him?"
"Ara?" Tomoe exclaims, and Kaoru wills herself to be patient.
"The yakuza who took him. How much did they ask for ransom?" Despite appearances, the Yukishiro family did not have a great deal of money; they had their title and their pride and little else. Kaoru's father had been generous with Yukishiro-san when he had taken him on as his steward, but Kaoru doubts they have much to spare for ransom. She clicks her tongue in frustration—a few of her furisodes would have been sufficient, but what's left of them is in Muko. She will have to wait for Kenshin, and then try to take Enishi back by force. It is not the safest plan, if they took too long, and if the Yakuza were threatened, they might simply kill their hostage. She pulls her hakama and a kimono from the trunk, and rummages around for her kote, trying to keep her worry from showing.
"Oh…" Tomoe says, tucking her hair behind one ear.
"Never mind," Kaoru says. "Do you know where they took him? And how many there are?"
"I… I don't know how many," Tomoe says. Kaoru finds her kote at last, buried deep in the back corner, and her fingers brush against the wallet Hijikata-sensei had given her. Kaoru bites her lip. She is supposed to pay the merchants, but surely there is enough? She didn't stay at the expensive inn, after all. And maybe with Kenshin with her, they wouldn't have to use it at all.
"And they have him at a woodcutter's cottage," Tomoe continues, pulling a map from her sleeve that shows Otsu, the cluster of farms close to where Kaoru lives, and a cross to mark the cottage in question, deep in the woods to the east. Kaoru looks the map over; they can follow the river most of the way there. "It should take a few hours in this snow," Kaoru muses, "but as soon as my husband returns-"
"No!"
Kaoru raises her gaze from the map in surprise, meeting Tomoe's fear-stricken face. "They… they said we only had until sundown!"
She chews her lip, weighing their options. "All right. We'll go now," she promises. "I'll leave him a note and your map, and he can follow behind us." Kaoru lifts her hands to her obi and starts to pull it loose. Tomoe stands to help her, and Kaoru quickly changes into the men's clothing with her aid. "It is just like when we were children," Tomoe says softly, "only then I'd be changing you from hakama to furisode, Kamiya-sama."
"Just Kaoru," she reminds her, knotting her belt and then bending to kneel at her desk. Her latest letter to Hijikata is sitting there, and the ink in the dish is still wet. She draws a fresh piece of paper over her letter and writes a quick note for Kenshin. Gone to woodcutter's cottage to help Tomoe. Back before dark. She pulls the ribbon from her hair and folds it neatly beside the note, with Tomoe's map underneath it. Kaoru pulls on his black haori and winds her shawl around her neck, tucking Hijikata-sensei's wallet into her kimono. From a drawer in the desk she removes her only hairpin, the small golden one Ikumatsu had given her. It is sturdy and sharp, a weapon that could be worn in plain sight. "Do you still have that dagger?" she asks Tomoe.
"Oh… yes," she answers, and Kaoru nods approvingly. She had tried once, to teach Tomoe how to throw a hairpin, but she'd been terrible at it. Tomoe was much better, thanks to her familiarity in the kitchen, with an actual knife. Kaoru winds her loose hair into a bun at the top of her head, secures it with the pin, then gets to her feet and picks up her daisho, pulling the covers free.
"Good," she replies, sliding her swords into her belt. "Don't use it unless you have to." Kaoru dumps snow over the fire and steps into her zori. She grabs Tomoe's hand and leads her out of the cottage, into the heavy falling snow. "Let's go get him," she says.
The two women follow the river until they reach a small path, barely a break in the thick brush of the woods. Kaoru has been sending her spirit ahead of her, and the way is clear, giving her more time to focus on her thoughts. Most yakuza would have taken their captive to their local headquarters where it would be hard for the authorities to step in but not so secluded as this, and the strangeness of the woodcutter's cottage sticks out to her. Kaoru turns it over in her mind, trying to see what she is up against. Why take the boy so far outside of the city?
She follows Tomoe's swaying back, deep in thought, and as they walk further and further from the river, something in the air begins to slowly weigh on her, making the space between her shoulder blades tingle. She sweeps her eyes left and right in a constant arc, wondering why she feels so on edge. Kaoru forces her spirit even deeper ahead, and then it hits her; she has lost her swordsman's sense. She halts in consternation.
"Kamiya-sama?"
"I can't feel my spirit," she murmurs. She scans the trees around them, and her eyes rest at last on Tomoe. The older girl tucks her hair behind her ear and folds her hands in front of her. It nags at Kaoru's already tense nerves, and she frowns. Tomoe was reserved, but when it came to Enishi she was fiercely protective. She had been distraught, in the cottage, at the thought of waiting for Kenshin, but now she seemed content to walk at an easy pace. She seems altogether too calm for someone whose brother was being held captive by a gang. Kaoru's eyes narrow and her heartbeat begins to sound in her ears, because too many things feel wrong. "How exactly was Enishi kidnapped?" she asks softly.
"They took him while we were in Kyoto," Tomoe says simply, and Kaoru shakes her head.
"No, not where. How."
"Oh… we… we were walking…" She seems to falter under Kaoru's intense stare, and Kaoru's stomach flops as several more gaps in Tomoe's story suddenly become apparent. She'd had a map of where Kaoru lived, but no ransom note…
"How did you know?" Kaoru asks quietly. "How did you know where I lived?"
"Your husband said-"
"My husband said our home was far. That was all."
"Kamiya-sama…"
"It's Kaoru! Himura Kaoru, Tomoe."
The older girl sinks to her knees. "Please forgive me," she whispers. "I didn't want you involved. He killed Akira. He stole my happiness."
Kaoru gapes at her in disbelief. "No," she gasps. This could not be happening. Hijikata-sensei's words echo in her mind. You rush in to help others before thinking. She shuts her eyes and Kenshin is once again kneeling in the clearing before her house in Muko, his eyes sad and resigned. I can tell no one. I can trust no one. Kaoru cannot feel her spirit but her temper burns in her heart. It was not fair, how the world seemed out to destroy him, when all he was and all he has been fighting for was kindness and peace. "I will not be used against him," she warns Tomoe.
"I'm afraid it's too late for such a promise, Ohimura-dono."
Kaoru spins on her heel, sword leaving its sheath in a blinding flash. She does not quite have her back to Tomoe—the girl had a knife. But she is now face to face with a tall man dressed in black, his silver hair and beard muted beneath the forest canopy and the falling snow. The silver haired man. The man who had taken her father from her, who had killed Omae-dono in her place. Rage bubbles over from deep in her centre and Kaoru drops into a defensive stance. "You," she grates. "Murderer!"
The silver haired man inclines his head and smirks. "Yaminobu Leader, Tatsumi," he introduces himself. "We meet at last, Ohimura-dono."
"The pleasure is mine," hisses Kaoru. "For my Father and Omae-dono, your work as a ninja will end this day."
"So hasty," he admonishes. "I'd love to test the mettle of the fabled Shinsengumi hero, Kamiya Kaoru, but it is the wife of Hitokiri Battousai that I am interested in."
Kaoru grips her blade and evens out her breathing. She harnesses her temper, a wild beast whose strength she will need to defeat the man in front of her. Kenshin's guilt, her own remorse, it would all end here. She will kill Tatsumi and it will be the final stone she ever has to carry. "Come."
But Tatsumi does not move; instead he throws back his head and laughs. Kaoru grits her teeth and lunges, but before she has even completed her step something sharp sinks into her right shoulder with so much force it drives her to her knees. She cries out in pain, throwing her face skyward in time to see another black-clothed figure emerge from the trees above her. His forked tongue flicks out from behind the sharpened teeth of his wicked grin as he pulls a clawed glove from her shoulder. Kaoru covers the wound with her left hand and staggers to her feet, turning to keep the two ninja and Tomoe within her lines of sight. Adrenaline fires in her veins and she lifts her sword once more. She needed to get out of here as soon as possible, back to where she could use her spirit.
It is the whistle that gives away her newest opponent; his axe sings through the air and Kaoru has enough time to leap sideways, mindful of the ninja in the tree. The leap is true, but her landing is not. Her left foot slips in the snow and she lands awkwardly. Before she can recover, the hulking, axe wielding ninja is above her, swinging the blunt edge of his axe down and Kaoru is trapped. The back of the axe comes down hard on her right leg, and Kaoru howls over the sound of the bone breaking.
"Sumita," Tatsumi cautions. The hulking ninja lowers his axe and steps back from Kaoru, looking at her with wary eyes.
Her lungs are burning, and for a few moments, there is nothing but pain. But Kaoru is samurai, and she is strong. The pain becomes another part of her, a numbness that is easy to ignore, and Kaoru plants her blade in the ground and hauls herself to her feet. She puts all her weight on her left foot and trusts that the bandages Kenshin has wound there will hold. She pulls her blade free with a determined noise that is half scream, half sob. Tears flow down her cheeks but she raises her katana once more. "Come," she hisses.
"Incredible," Tatsumi breathes, and shakes his head. "I am almost sorry to snuff out such a strong spirit."
"Come!" she screams, and launches herself forwards. Something stings in her left side and Kaoru stumbles, falling into the snow. It is agony, but she makes herself sit up, the fingers of her left hand searching until they find the dart in her hip. She pulls it free as a fourth ninja appears from behind a tree. Numbness is spreading down her left leg and shooting towards her shoulder. Kaoru moans in frustration and tries to stretch her left hand towards her sword, to grip it with both hands, but her arm will not move.
"Nakajo's chusen rarely misses," Tatsumi tells her, "and his stilling agent is very effective. In a few moments you won't be able to move at all, Ohimura-dono."
Kaoru glares at him with absolute hatred, and her right hand tightens around her sword. Tatsumi's eyes widen. "Still? Still you would fight?" He sighs. "Then must I kill this woman to convince you? She has outgrown her usefulness, now." He advances on Tomoe, who backs herself against a tree and grabs clumsily for her dagger.
"Stop," Kaoru croaks. "Stop." She throws her sword away, only a few feet with her gradually stiffening limbs. She knows that cannot fight anymore, and it is not worth risking Tomoe's life.
Tatsumi takes Tomoe's dagger from her and tucks it into his kimono, and the girl sinks into the snow in dazed relief. Nakajo picks up Kaoru's sword, and pulls her sheath and wakizashi from her belt. Kaoru stares at her empty right hand in defeat. She had only her hairpin as a weapon now. The Yaminobu Leader stands before Kaoru and he smiles. "Forgive me, but I can't have you thinking you might be able to take back your swords and wield them, Ohimura-dono." He bows once, and then his foot crushes her right hand. It tears a scream from her that leaves her throat raw, and the pain is finally too much. Kaoru faints into the snow, and Tatsumi unwinds her bloodied shawl from her shoulders.
"Give that to the boy to take with the note," he tells Sumita.
Kenshin hums to himself as he walks, each step ankle deep in snow. Iizuka had kept him longer than he'd hoped with news that was all the same: Katsura was still at large, Takasugi was still bogged down in Choshuu by the weather. But the snow was their ally—it would delay the merchants, perhaps give them more time before Kaoru had to disappear. There was still no letter from Edo, but that was all right. The snow had probably slowed the letter, too. For now, Kenshin was guiltily content to remain snowed in with Kaoru. He shifts his grip on the basket of groceries he is carrying. He'd bought extra, thinking the snow might keep them at home, and he hopes it might. He can't think of a better way to spend a blizzard than next to his wife. Kenshin smiles; he has bought namagashi to surprise her. The air is cold and his feet are damp, but Kenshin feels warm. He is on his way to their cottage and she would have a fire burning, a lantern lit, a shawl and an embrace to wrap him in.
It is hard to see the cottage as he climbs the hill towards it; at first he thinks it is only the slanting snow and the driving wind, but then he realizes there is no light coming from their papered windows. Kenshin frowns and quickens his steps. Kaoru had promised to stay home, off her ankle, and it wasn't like her to let the fire go out. Perhaps she had gone to the village; one of the children had caught a cold and Kaoru had been going down each day to help tend to her. But she had promised to stay home, and Kenshin's mind, prone to worry, suggests that something more sinister may have happened. He practically runs the rest of the way to the door.
"Kaoru?!"
The cottage is empty, dark, and cold. But Kenshin is a trained assassin, the best in Kyoto, and his senses kick into overdrive. From the strength of the scent of smoke in the air, Kaoru had been gone for a few hours. The trunk where they keep their clothes is open and shows signs of upset, and Kaoru's kimono and obi are pooled on the floor. Kenshin dismisses the possibility of bandits; there are no signs of struggle. His eyes dart first to the sword stand where his daisho remain but Kaoru's are gone, and then to her desk. Her ribbon is sitting atop a folded piece of paper, next to a hastily scrawled note.
Kenshin drops his basket and pulls the shoji closed. He steps out of his sandals and lunges across the floor, grabbing the note. He fears that the Shinsengumi had somehow found her, that'd she'd had to leave in a hurry. But her note is even more surprising. She'd gone into the woods with her friend from Edo. He groans slightly, picking up her ribbon and tucking it into his kimono, scanning the map she'd left him. Kenshin pulls his hakama and kote from the trunk. He has no idea what kind of help Tomoe-dono needed, but if Kaoru had taken her swords he could hazard a guess. And while he knows she can take care of herself, if she thought he'd be able to sit in the cottage and wait for her to come home, well, such a thing was impossible.
Sufficiently attired, he slips his swords into his belt and steps into his zori. Kenshin opens the shoji, and there, sitting atop his fresh footsteps in the snow, is Kaoru's shawl. It is neatly folded, not haphazardly dropped, but placed there on purpose, covered with only a light dusting of snow. Kenshin picks it up and the neat folds slip in his grasp, revealing a bloody edge. He cries out; opening the whole shawl, and a note falls out, the kanji on the outside landing face up in the snow. Kenshin's heartbeat pounds in his ears; it is addressed to Hitokiri Battousai.
"The abandoned mining village at daybreak. We four are waiting…"
He crushes the note in his fist. They had Kaoru. They had hurt Kaoru. His mind blanks with insurmountable fury and he steps out of the cottage where he had been just a man dreaming his peaceful dreams for the future. He steps into the blinding snow, a deadly killer.
