A/N: This was definitely written for watching too much Alias, and the Bourne Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum…oh and reading the Alex Rider series (I just read Snakehead - SO GOOD!) Obsessed with espionage? Pretty much.
Standard disclaimers apply.
020: Contract
He lowered his head, his red bangs hiding his eyes as his father was lowered six feet under.
"He will forever be remembered as a hard worker, a good friend, and a loving father…" The priest droned as dirt was placed over the wooden coffin.
The red-haired man snorted at the last remark. Hiko Seijuro was hardly a loving father. The sayings were true – once you were dead, you truly became a saint.
A few of Hiko's coworkers patted him on the back in sympathy. He nodded at them all, not saying a word. Since that was what they expected – him to be in tears, not trusting his voice, trying to be strong.
But Kenshin felt nothing, nothing but a strange new sense of freedom. There would be no more long, painful nights of training. No more tutors or having Hiko come back from trips with fresh injuries, wondering what he was doing.
He was free of everything.
Maybe he would enroll in the local high school and finally become a normal kid.
He walked closer to his father's grave until he was standing directly across from his gravestone.
"It was bound to happen…you always traveled too much." Kenshin murmured, stuffing his hands inside his pockets. "I'm not going to continue tutoring. I think I'm going to go to public school. Actually be a normal kid. So…sorry that I'm going against your will…but it's my house and my money now." He paused for a moment, staring up at the perfectly blue sky. "I don't know what the hell you were thinking by making me do all that shit…but trust me…I'll be cleaning out your office and I will find out." He swallowed before looking back down at the gravestone. "Rest in peace, father." He whispered finally before turning on his heel toward his car.
He would let Mr. Genzai, his "butler", handle the rest of the funeral while he would go home and sort through his father's belongings.
When he reached his car, he looked across the parking lot to find a man who looked over at him before turning away to his own car. A few others as well, mostly were giving sympathetic glances.
Kenshin knew the first man was not at the funeral.
He drove home calmly, checking his rearview mirror often. Nobody followed him on the way home. Of course, nobody would be able to get into his property given that there was an electronic gate that wouldn't open if you knew the password. It was also covered with infrared cameras and will pick up any person that dared to climb over the fence.
His father was a very cautious person.
He never understood why, exactly. Although, he was willing to bet his money that it had to do with his job.
His mysterious job.
After seeing the Bourne Identity he couldn't help but think that his father worked for the CIA. It was entirely possible. Hiko would suddenly leave for a plane and not come back for a week later with a fractured bones, bruises, and cuts.
But he kept that theory to himself.
When Kenshin opened the door to Hiko's office, he couldn't help but feel sad. Entering his office had always been an exciting experience for him since Hiko never allowed anyone to go inside. But now it felt like a burdening task for him to complete.
Walking around the brown throw rug in the middle of the wooden floor, he made his way to large leather chair behind the cherry wood desk.
He sat down in the comfortable black chair, turning on the computer in front of him. A blue screen with a white box came on, asking for a name and password.
Kenshin stood up and walked to his father's shelf where he removed five books from the bottom, revealing a sleek black box. He put his hand on the side, after feeling a slight prick on her middle finger, he heard a soft humming before the box opened, uncovering gadgets and papers. He had seen Hiko do this through a crack in the door when it was open slightly when he was younger. Of course, Hiko would always find him and tell him to go to his room or else he was to get beaten.
Shuffling through the pile, he pulled out a gadget that looked very much like a credit card. It was placed on top of the screen, which began to swirl with numbers and letters for five seconds before it revealed a box that read "installing settings".
He had successfully broken into his father's computer.
He had also seen him do this when Hiko was muttering about forgetting his new password and needing to access his computer right away. That time he didn't tell Kenshin to leave…it was almost as if he wanted him to see that gadget and how it worked…
He shook his head, stopping that train of thought and focused on the three folders that were the only items on the desktop. They were labeled, Current, Past, and Kenshin.
He opened up the one with his name, immediately curious as to what his father was hiding.
The first document was from Word with the title: If you are reading this…
He doubled clicked.
It was a rather brief message, which was to be expected since Hiko was a man of few words. But that made whatever he said extremely important.
Kenshin read over the words very slowly:
Kenshin –
If you're reading this, I'm no longer of this world (I apologize for sounding very cliché). It also means that you have been sneaking around in my office and have found certain gadgets of mine. If I wasn't here I would beat you for it.
To the matters of importance: I know you will not continue your tutoring or training as my will clearly states. You're too stubborn for your own good. But there is also nothing more I can teach you – you're ready.
"Ready for what?" Kenshin mumbled to himself before continuing to read:
Very soon you will get a phone call. The person who will be calling will use the alias Hiroshi Noda. He will ask you if you would be interested in joining the company Fox & Co. Say yes.
Take care of yourself – always watch your back. Never assume you're safe – including in this house.
Hiko
Kenshin was immediately suspicious of this letter. His gut was telling him that the letter had been altered in some way. Re reading it slowly, he found the source:
Say yes.
No, Kenshin thought as he stared at the illuminated screen. He wanted Kenshin to say no.
He stood up from the comfortable chair and looked around the office very carefully. Nothing seemed to be out of place.
Looking down at the carpet, he found something completely off.
Kenshin had learned a trick from Hiko – the carpet hair was all in one direction. He always made sure to enter his room carefully, walking around his throw rug, so that the hairs on the carpet didn't move – showing dark marks where someone had stepped.
There were plenty of dark marks in the brown carpet in Hiko's office.
He narrowed his eyes in thought. Who would come into the house? Wouldn't the security alarms go off?
Unless it was someone that Hiko was familiar with.
His eyes flew back to the desk, finding only two pictures – one of himself with Hiko on a trip to Japan where he learned a bit of kenjutsu. The second was a beautiful picture of his late wife – forever smiling with the sun shining behind her.
Kenshin's eyes lingered on his mother's face for a few moments. He swallowed and looked down at the drawers to his left and right. Figuring all the drawers would need a key he strode back to the safe and fished around until he found a small silver key on a silver ring.
"What the hell were you involved with?" He murmured softly to himself as he unlocked the drawer to his right. Inside were a few folders stuffed with papers, which Kenshin merely dropped to the floor. He found a small hole at the wooden bottom. Grabbing a ballpoint pen from the desk, he stuck the point in the hole and hooked it open.
The first thing Kenshin noticed was a certificate. Reading closely, it was a document that certified that Hiko Seijuro was an employee of the CIA.
Wait, Kenshin thought quickly, excuse me?
His eyes didn't fail him the first time – his wild suspicions turned out to be the truth.
This led to many questions that he knew would never be answered.
He sighed and picked up the pile of papers from the floor, only for something white to catch his eye. It came from under the desk. He carefully pulled it out, which he immediately recognized to be paper. It finally came out with slight difficulty, given that it was folded into eighths.
This was the real letter Hiko intended for him to read.
With slightly shaking hands, he opened the letter which had Hiko's familiar scribbles in black ink.
Kenshin –
If you are reading this, it means that you're not actually an idiot. But don't let that get to your head - you're still dense.
Talk to Mr. Genzai and let him go – thank him for all that he has done and tell him to lie low.
In the corner of your closet there's a hole underneath your old running shoes. Inside you'll find everything you need.
I'm sorry if I haven't been the best father – it's entirely my fault. Sometimes we let business get in the way.
Run and never look back from here. They'll be on your tail.
Hiko
Kenshin had a funny feeling that Hiko left a rather large mess for him, and he wasn't quite sure if he was able to handle cleaning it up.
When the sun went down, Kenshin was always more on edge. All the monsters came out at night.
After emptying out the safe, taking the photographs from his father's desk, and printing out a few documents from Hiko's computer, Kenshin ordered Mr. Genzai to leave – thanking him for practically raising him.
He bit his lip as he lied on his bed. It was almost as if he had just given away his first teddy bear – he had given away what was too close to his heart. If it weren't for Mr. Genzai, he was sure that he would've ended up just like his father.
Was that why Mr. Genzai was hired? To allow Kenshin to have a bit of heart?
Whatever the reason was, he was still going to miss him.
Deciding not to linger on such heart-aching thoughts, he walked across his room to where he closet was. He slid open the door which hid his old running shoes – he never found the time to give them to away.
He pushed them all aside and was still surprised that a hole was, in fact, at the bottom of his closet. He had a hard time believing that Hiko actually got down on his hands and knees and ripped apart floor boards.
Inside the hole was a shoebox. What was in the box didn't surprise him for some strange reason:
Multiple passports, cash of different currencies…and a gun.
He was going to have to run.
"Shit!" Kenshin hissed, slamming the door shut and getting on his hands and knees to where his black duffle bag was. He quickly threw in all the contents of the shoebox and a few spare changes of clothes. "You couldn't have given me a bit more time?" He growled as he left his room in haste. Freezing in the middle of the hallway, he quickly walked back to his room and glance around it one last time. "Stupid, keep moving, don't look back." He tore his eyes away from his room and shut the lights.
He didn't look back again.
The first time Kenshin remembered specifically going to the airport and on a plane was when he was seven-years-old. This was the first instant when Kenshin knew there was something off about Hiko.
Hiko was making sure Kenshin knew what exactly each stop was for. Which papers would be given when, which direction to go to, etc. It was very overwhelming for him. He looked at all the other children around his age in jealousy – they didn't have to pay attention to what their parents were doing.
Now more than ever, he was thankful that Hiko had forced him to pay attention at such a young age – if he didn't, he was sure he would be having a nervous break down.
As he weaved his way through the crowd of people, he listened to bits of others' conversations, hoping to come up with a place to go to.
"I wish we weren't going to Paris for the fourth time!" A young girl whined ahead of him.
"I can't believe you forgot the sunscreen! Honey, do you realize how white my skin is? I'm going to fry under the Guatemalan sun!"
"In India we'll purify our souls." A hippie-looking man said to his equally hippie-looking female partner, who nodded to him in agreement.
He didn't know where to go – every place to him seemed obvious. It was when he saw a guitar case with a British flag sticker on it, he decided to go to England.
They would never suspect he would go to the CIA's greatest ally. With that thought in mind, he bought a ticket for the next plane to London.
Kenshin enjoyed England very much – London especially. The only problem he had was that he felt that he stuck out a lot more than he did in other cities. Which was why after he got his luggage, he went to the nearest pharmacy and bought hair dye and a pair of scissors.
He had died his hair a very dark brown and cut it so it was above his shoulders. As soon as he came out of the bathroom of the pharmacy, he felt a lot more protected – nobody gave him a second glance.
Except one girl.
He was eating a sandwich as he watched a group of boys skateboard in a park, almost wishing he could join them, having done a bit of skateboarding himself. When he was about to start the second half of his sandwich he felt a pair of eyes on him.
She was dressed like a punk – short black skirt, black net stockings, black buckled boots, and a black long sleeve shirt. Also watching the boys, her eyes shifted from the skateboarders to Kenshin.
In any normal situation he would've immediately gotten up and left – he no desire to be someone's entertainment. But this girl had the most beautiful eyes…
He was openly staring at her, wanting more than he ever wanted in his life to go up and talk to a stranger.
She smiled at him and gave a small wave. He smiled at her, feeling rather uncomfortable given that it was the first time he'd smiled in days.
To his surprise, she got up from where she was sitting and strutted to where he was. She gracefully sat next to him and eyed his uneaten half of sandwich in his hand. He silently offered it to her, to which she accepted.
"I've never seen you around here." She said with a lovely British accent.
"I'm just visiting the city." He replied with an accent more common heard in northern England.
She gave an impressed smile. "That's the best impression I've heard from an American."
He raised an eyebrow. "Thanks." He replied in his normal accent.
She held out a hand. "I'm Kaoru."
"Shinta." Kenshin replied automatically, shaking her slender hand.
She took a bite of his sandwich and looked at a boy who was trying unsuccessfully to jump in the air, flip his board, and land on it.
"So what brings you here?" She asked casually. "Not many Americans know of this place."
He shrugged. "I've been here a few times. My family and I used to travel a bit before they died."
"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, sympathy in her eyes.
He shook his head. "My mom's been gone for a while…but yeah…my dad just died recently."
She put a comforting arm around his shoulders. "Death is part of life…which is hard to accept."
He nodded. "Yeah. It's just weird to think that I'm no longer going to get yelled at my dad ever again." He said with a chuckle.
She squeezed his shoulder before standing up. "I have to go…thanks for the sandwich even though I'm not a fan of mustard. Maybe I'll see you around?"
"Maybe." He said lightly, waving to her before she turned around and walked away.
He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in deeply. She was sure to visit his dreams that night.
He stayed at a cheap hotel for two nights before finding a used car, that he thought he would take illegally but leave money for the owner, and take the ferry with the car to France where he would begin his road trips through Europe.
Everyday he kept an eye out for Kaoru, the girl in black, but hadn't seen her. It was only the day of when he was about to leave when he bumped into her.
"Hi! How are you this…cloudy day?" She asked cheerfully.
"Good…I'm actually leaving London tonight." He said.
Her eyes widened. "Really? So soon?" She sighed. "Well, if you're going to become a vagabond then might as well get a move on, right? Never stay in one place for too long."
"Exactly."
They began walking down the street side by side. "I've always wanted to go backpacking through Europe. It's always been a dream of mine."
He smiled. "Yeah? My…caretaker if you will did that when he was young. Every night before I went to sleep he'd tell me an adventure or something exciting that happened with him and his friends."
She took his hand and took his breath away when she stared at him with her bright blue eyes. "Let me come with you."
"You wouldn't want to come with me…it's not going to be extravagant at all." He said calmly.
"I'm not high maintenance girl! Besides, it would look better if you were with a girl and not by yourself. I'm sorry, but people get the wrong idea when a guy is traveling alone…in all black." She said, staring down at his all-black ensemble.
"Yeah, and having you with me would make us both look suspicious." He replied with a smile, looking down at her all-black outfit. "I can't. Your family…" He started.
"I'm eighteen. I can do whatever the hell I please." She said defiantly.
Kenshin sighed, running his free hand through his bangs. The last thing he wanted was to involve an innocent person in his father's messy work. However, he found himself weak under her gaze. Hiko was right – he did have a soft spot for women and children.
"Alright. But you have to listen to me whenever I say we leave." He said seriously.
She squealed before hugging him. "Thank you. Besides, I can be of some help – I know a few languages."
Kenshin hugged her back briefly before pulling away. "So do I. Do you know how to speak French?" She nodded. "Okay…and are you okay with…illegally purchasing a used car?"
So they began their journey through Europe. They traveled through France and around the coast until Spain until they came back to France. They also went to Italy, Switzerland, and Germany.
Finding an old list of contacts in his duffle bag, he found someone who made a fake passport for Kaoru, and they flew to Australia to splurge.
It had been a little less than a year of playing the false roles of a young couple deeply in love.
Kenshin wasn't quite sure how to feel about Kaoru. They were beyond the stage of friendship, but they weren't quite lovers – they had yet to kiss each other.
But he wasn't quite ready for it, either.
They were currently lying on a beach, watching children play on the shoreline, their wet skin sparkling under the high sun.
"Who'd of thought you could get color?" Kaoru said suddenly, looking across at his lean body that was turning a pale golden color. She sighed before closing her eyes, facing the sky once more. "I will forever stay white."
"You're perfect the way you are." Kenshin said, not looking over to her.
He heard the smile in her words. "Thanks."
They fell into a comfortable silence, just listening to the cries of seagulls, the crash of the waves against the shore, and the laughter of children.
Kenshin never felt more at peace.
"Really?" Kaoru asked softly. His eyes shot open – he didn't realize that he said those words out loud. She reached out a hand to grip his tightly. "Me too."
He swallowed, feeling the palm of his hand tingle at the contact. He knew it was wrong – he shouldn't have gotten so attached to her.
But what was done was done.
"What do you want for dinner tonight? I was thinking of getting the steak – I heard another couple saying it was delicious. That and some red wine would be good." Kaoru said, stilling holding his hand.
"Sounds good." He said, squeezing her hand a bit when she was about to pull away.
For some unexplainable reason, he wanted her near.
He continued to have a gentle grip on her hand until he felt himself drift into a deep sleep, letting the heat slowly trance him into darkness.
She woke him up a little over an hour later, telling him that they should go back to the hotel since it was almost four o'clock.
They walked back to the hotel hand in hand as they usually did, but this time he didn't feel as if it was such a necessity. He actually wanted to do it this time.
While he was in the shower the food has come. He joined her in the living room portion of the suite where she was pouring two glasses of red wine.
"I think they got our orders a bit mixed up – one of the steaks is a little pink. Do you mind which one you get?" She asked, putting the wine bottle down.
"No – I can have the pink one, it's fine." He said.
She handed him the plate closest to him before raising her wine glass. "To…living freely and culture enrichment for a year." She said.
He smiled and nodded, clinking his glass with hers before taking a sip. He watched a small smile bloom on her face before she took a sip of hers.
They began their meal in silence. She was cutting her steak carefully, looking up at him every so often.
He suddenly felt as if something was very, very wrong.
His mind whirled a million miles a minute, trying to figure out what suddenly had changed. He felt his demands from his mind to his fingers were slower than usual as he tried unsuccessfully to move his index finger.
The wine looked like blood all of a sudden, making him feel slightly ill.
He froze for a moment, looking as if he had finally figured out a mystery that had been obvious all along. Taking a breath, he gently put the wine glass down and got up from his chair, his back tense.
"Shit." He cursed softly.
"What?" Kaoru asked curiously.
He cleared his throat, suddenly finding it difficult to speak. "Um…well…just so you know…the reason why I've lied to you wasn't because I was being overly cautious."
"Oh?" She asked, interested.
"It was because of you," he gave a mirthless chuckle, "I wanted to protect you."
"I'm sorry…this has to be done. My boss wants information from you." She said softly as Kenshin dropped to his knees before passing out on the floor.
Taking a deep breath, she stood up, pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed.
"It's done."
"It took you bloody long enough."
She rolled her eyes. "He's more cautious than I thought. For an amateur…he's really quite good."
"We'll have men come up to the suite in five minutes to take him. In thirty minutes get on the jet at airport and get back here."
"Understood." She pocketed her phone and stared at the boy on the ground. Kneeling to see his peaceful face, she unconsciously moved his bangs away from his face.
"I think I knew you were protecting me." She murmured, looking at the roots of his hair and noticing they were ginger. "If I didn't know better…I'd say you –"
She was cut off when three men in all black came into the suite. They stared at her with a confused expression, wondering what she was doing with her hand by his face.
"Such a young boy. While he's sleeping he looks years younger." Kaoru said lightly, standing up. "He should be knocked out for the entire trip home. I think I added a bit more than necessary but…" She shrugged as a flippant gesture.
"You have no mercy…do you?" One of the men said with a slight chuckle, picking up Kenshin in both his arms. "Wow…he's really light. Has this kid been eating?"
With that, the men left the suite, leaving Kaoru alone to pack her small amount of belongings. Only when she was on the jet she whispered sadly, "No, I don't," answering his statement earlier.
When Kenshin first became conscious, the first question that popped into his mind was where he could be in the world.
He slowly opened his eyes to find himself facing a cement wall. In fact, he was confined in a small cement room. His body was sore from sitting on such an uncomfortable chair, his hands tied behind tightly. Looking around, he found a wooden table in front of him, and nothing else. Narrowing his eyes, he found a small black camera in the corner of the room.
He stared at it with a raised eyebrow, knowing that someone was watching him. He wanted answers, and he was in no mood to be toyed around with.
A few minutes later a tall man wearing a dark suit came into the room, glaring at Kenshin with piercing blue eyes. He shut the door behind him quietly before saying in a deep voice, "You're going to tell me the number on that contract."
"Excuse me?" Kenshin asked, not expecting that. What contract was the cold man speaking of?
The cold man froze for a moment before explaining. "Your father promised us that you would be under our services when you came of age. It binds you to us. He went back on his word and erased all traces of it. But he forgot one very important thing – you still know of it."
Kenshin stared back at the tall man blankly. "I found out not even a few hours after his funeral that my father was in this…field of work. I didn't even know of this contract."
"Oh yes, you do." The cold man took a few steps closer to Kenshin. "Think about it. Did Hiko ever say anything about a contract to you?"
Kenshin knew that he should've simply said no, and that he probably could've been set free, or could've been cut a deal.
But he couldn't help but think back – wondering if any confrontation he had with his father ended up having double meaning.
Nothing seemed to be suspicious until he came across a very simple memory.
He was about nine-years-old and he was eating a bowl of cereal across from his father, who was doing paperwork. Kenshin was watching his father curiously, wondering what was making his father's brow furrow. His father looked up to his son, clearly not finding it comfortable having someone stare at him.
"Are you done?" He asked, nodding towards the half-eaten bowl of cereal.
"Yeah."
"Then get your books ready – I'm teaching you Japanese first."
Kenshin held back a groan and obediently brought his bowl to the sink. Walking past his father, he heard him distinctly mutter…
That was it.
"Good, you've figured it out." The cold man stated calmly. Kenshin looked up at him, momentarily forgetting he was there. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me straight out?" Kenshin gave him a look, clearly reading "obviously not". The cold man let out the smallest of sighs. "Figured. I'll get someone else to get it out of you – torturing isn't exactly my field."
When the tall man left the room, Kenshin closed his eyes briefly, trying to recall any hint that suggested that Kaoru was a spy. Yes, she found it quite odd that she knew a few languages, but she explained to him that her mother was French and her father was Italian, so she knew both languages from them, and everything else she learned in school.
What a load of shit, he thought, screwing his eyes. He played right into her hands, and he was embarrassed more than anything. He was trained since birth to never trust anything anyone told him. What possibly drove him to trust her?
He then felt a stabbing feeling in his chest – pure hurt. As far as he was concerned, he bared his all to her. She knew more about him than any other person on Earth besides Mr. Gensai.
The door opened again to reveal a man covered with bandages with black hair sticking up all over the place. His hands and neck were wrapped in bandages as well, making Kenshin wonder what sort of accident the man had gotten into.
"You don't look like Hiko – you must have your mother's looks." The man stated before taking a seat on the table, looking down on the redhead. "I'm Makoto Shishio – your father worked under me."
"No wonder there were no pictures of you." Kenshin couldn't help but blurt out.
Shishio didn't seem fazed by the comment. "You belong to me now."
"Not until you get the contract, and I won't be telling you the number leading to its location." Kenshin replied, realizing earlier that the set of numbers he heard his father mutter were codes to a set of coordinates.
Shishio rolled his eyes. "Just tell me the number, kid."
Kenshin stared at the man. "Please, be serious. You killed my father just so you could have me sooner, no doubt. Do you really think that I would be willing to give myself to you?"
Shishio's black eyes turned into slits, losing his patience. "What is it?" He demanded, grabbing a handful of Kenshin's red hair and slamming his forehead to the table. Kenshin refused to speak. Shishio in anger punched Kenshin across the face. "Tell me right now, or you'll wish that you died along with your father. Or maybe we could find Mr. Gensai and torture him to insanity…" Shishio whispered in his ear.
Kenshin's face was hidden behind his long red bangs, his breath ragged.
"Are you ready to tell me the code from that contract?" Shishio asked calmly. He backed away from Kenshin, giving him a bit of space. Kenshin spat blood onto the floor before looking up and revealing his eyes – burning fire.
"No." He stated quietly but harshly.
"You would let your grandfatherly figure die?" Shishio asked.
"You'll never find him."
An evil grin suddenly grew on Shishio's deformed face. "But we know where Kaoru is." Kenshin couldn't help but freeze, eliciting the reaction that Shishio was looking for. "Tell me the number, and I will spare her."
Kenshin shook his head slowly. "How could you work for the government?" He asked softly.
"You could say we're a secret division if you will. A very small selected number of people outside it know of it." Shishio said vaguely, the evil smile still on his face. "So, would you let the girl who you traveled with for almost a year, die a horrible death, all because of you?"
"I don't know about him, but I'm not going let that happen because I'm going to kill you first." Kenshin heard Kaoru said before the bang of a gun being fired.
Shishio's eyes widened in shocked before he collapsed to the ground, blood gushing from the back of his head. Kaoru stood by the door, but walked over to Shishio's dead form on the ground.
"Fucker. I should've known what I was really for." She whispered.
"I don't understand." Kenshin stated, unsure of how he was feeling.
She looked at him with tear-filled eyes for a moment before a yell was heard down the corridor. "I'll tell you later," she said strongly, crouching down to Shishio's body and taking out a set of keys from his pocket, "but now we have to focus getting out alive."
She quickly freed Kenshin from his cuffs and handed him a gun from her back pocket. They ran out into the hall with their guns up, passing at least five bodies.
"You did this?" He whispered as he grabbed his duffle bag from a room that was guarded by a man who lay dead on the floor.
She shrugged. "I had no choice." She said with an emotionless tone. They heard more yelling and footsteps down the hall, closer than expected. "Shit, they're too many of them." She hissed.
Kenshin looked around the room they were in – the walls made of cold cement. He examined the floor – it was made up of paving slabs unlike the cell he was in, but in the far corner there was a circular metal plate.
"What's this?" Kenshin demanded, walking over to it.
"I think it's an old sewer line – we installed a new system since the old one has chemicals that – what are you doing?"
Kenshin was on his knees, trying to pry the lid off. "Help me out with this."
She silently obeyed, getting on her knees and helping him left the heavy plate to the side. They looked down at the tunnel – which was completely black.
"Please tell me you have a light of some sort." He said, holding the palm of his hand out.
"Are you crazy? What if it's blocked off? We'll just be at a dead end – we could get stuck down there." She exclaimed in a high whisper.
"Okay, then," he reached over to the back of her neck and pulled her face toward his for a soft and brief kiss, "incase we don't make it out," he whispered on her lips before getting on his stomach.
She handed him her cell phone, "it's the only source of light."
He opened the phone so the light came on before wriggling himself into the hole. It was pitch black – but the light coming out Kaoru's cell phone revealed the slimy interior of the tunnel, which made it easier for him and Kaoru to slide through. But it smelled horrible inside – making bile rise to his throat. He felt very constricted, as if he was buried alive.
After a few minutes of maneuvering, his hand lightly brushed over a metal surface.
"This is it." He whispered before holding the phone by his teeth to put hands flat against the metal and pushed until a grating sound rang in his ears and a brisk wind brushed his face. He slid it so he could squeeze through, which would be enough space for Kaoru who was a bit smaller than he.
He pulled himself through quickly so he could help Kaoru, who didn't seem to need any, although she did gasp as soon as she got through. They both shivered as they ran into the woods, completely soaked.
Two Years Later…
Kenshin Himura and Kaoru Kamiya, ages twenty and twenty-two respectively, were toasting to a glass of Cristal in an extravagant French restaurant.
"To the complete destruction of division Fsubx." Kaoru said with a satisfying smirk on her face.
"To us doing it together." Kenshin added with a smile before clinking his glass with hers.
They both took a sip, enveloped in a thoughtful silence. After a minute, she put her glass down on the table and stared at him intently. "What are you thinking?"
He shrugged, placing his glass to his left. "I don't know. I don't like the idea of being involved in such a…thing."
She nodded, expecting that answer. "I think I've had my fair share of government agencies." She looked down at her lap before meeting his violet gaze. "What do we do then?"
"We could do whatever – we could actually backpack around Europe and actually see everything. And you won't have to worry about getting me anywhere."
Her eyes reflected guilt that she had been harboring for over two years – she regretted it.
"Do you want to do it?" He asked softly.
She bit her bottom lip and ran a finger over lip of her glass. "I feel like I should repent – help others, you know? I feel like I was on the bad side for two years."
He nodded, understanding. He looked up at the elaborate paintings on the ceiling, weighing his options. Her eyes were on him, he sensed them as he thought for a minute. "I wouldn't mind…"
"I will not let you do this because of me." She said sharply, momentarily taking him aback.
"Look, I was trained to do this anyway, remember? I feel like I should do it…just for my father, since that's what he wanted in the first place. We could do it for a few years or however long we want to do it…and then we can just go along from there." He then leaned in, a smirk playing on his lips. "Besides, I think we could make a good pairing on the field, don't you think? I think we're very comfortable at changing aliases – especially being Mr. and Mrs. Oki."
She laughed fondly at the memory. "We could use that again, I suppose." Her eyes shifted from happiness to a passionate intensity that made his heart rate increase. "I want us to be married, though." She whispered before turning a delicate shade of pink, which rarely happened.
He reached over and held her hand. "I do too." He looked down at her left hand, suddenly wanting to see a diamond ring on her fourth finger along with a platinum band. "Maybe we could backpack for a year…get married in Italy…and then go out into the field."
She beamed. "I like that plan. We'll call them after dinner – the special looks amazing." She pulled away and looked down at the menu, a happy smile still lingering.
"Yeah, we'll have to be specific about the contract…and I'm going to make sure I see every word of it." He said before looking down at the menu as well. He agreed, the special did look to die for.
A/N: So my iPod is being a complete bitch - I'm in a really bad mood so I'm sorry that these closing words aren't very cheerful - tomorrow I'll feel better after getting out of school at 11:40 :)
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MissGoalie