A/N: There seems to be a bug with . I've been getting some review notifications via email, but none of them are populating on the site. Hopefully it's fixed soon so I can read your feedback!
For those who are confused about when this is going to end, I'm sorry for not clarifying well enough. This last bet is the last 'arc' in NBAR. I have another three chapters written after this one, and there will likely be another one or two after that, so expect this to end around chapter 58. Maybe 60, if I feel like writing an epilogue of sorts. Have no fears—I will reveal the victor of this bet before the end!
Cornered
-*- 27 Hours Remaining -*-
*Kenshin's POV*
I tapped my foot impatiently as the doors parted before me and sprinted out before they'd even fully opened. The air here normally revitalized me, but I was too panicked to allow the familiar scents and breezes to sway me. Running up the mountainside, I ducked into the undergrowth halfway between the bus stop and the path that lead to Master Hiko's house.
I knew she was here. Something in Hiko's harsh voice had made it too obvious that she was with him. He'd sounded just a touch too angry to be normal, and I instantly envisioned my Kaoru sitting with him while he shared more horrible stories about my awkward youth.
Hiko was right about one thing—I really was an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Of course she would come here! She was a very independent woman who could hold her own in anything she set her mind to, but to endure three days without contacting anyone she knew would drag her spirits down. She loved talking to people and she loved sharing their company. Since she'd temporarily forsaken her friends, this option was clear as day!
Sensing two ki, I grinned as the old house came into view between the trees, and I kicked my feet even faster off the ground.
The ring in my pocket was going to be on her finger within minutes, and it was going to stay there. Permanently.
I found Master Hiko sitting at his table in the house. He didn't even look surprised as I barreled inside, which in hindsight, shouldn't have surprised me. Why would I have surprised him? He pulled the ochoko to his lips, dragged in a hearty sip, and placed the tiny sake cup down before swinging his gaze over to me.
"What in the hell has gotten into your head, boy? I go without hearing from you for months at a time, and today you call me five times and then show up unannounced?" He glanced at the wooden wall clock to his left and snorted. "What did you do? Jump on the bullet train immediately after I hung up?"
"Yes," I told him confidently. His dark glare was menacing enough to make me want to take a few steps back, but feeling a feminine ki hiding nearby kept my feet rooted. "You taught me that honesty was one of the greatest virtues, Master, yet here I've caught you in a lie."
He raised his brow and leaned forward. "Oh?"
"Where is she?"
"I told you that your girlfriend wasn't here, you buffoon."
I stalked closer, feeling a strange combination of apprehension and victory. Certainty and anger. Possessiveness and greed. "You have an extra cup out, Master. And there's a woman nearby—the bathhouse?"
Hiko's face fell from a confident smirk to dark seriousness. "You wouldn't dare interrupt a young woman's bath," he stated, as if daring me to do something so uncouth on his property.
Gloomily, I parked my rear on a cushion beside the one Kaoru had been using. Hiko produced another cup and was visibly surprised when I downed the sake without a blink of hesitation. His expression melted back into a look of triumph as he poured me another round.
"So," he said, sounding notably happier as his sipped his own drink. "You must not want her that badly," he taunted. "It shouldn't have taken you this long to figure out where she might go."
"I checked all of Tokyo!" I defended, clenching my fists atop my thighs. Did he realize that he'd just admitted that Kaoru was here? How else would he have known about the bet? As long as I remained focused on the ki moving about in the bathhouse, I'd have her. There was no way Hiko was going to stop me from catching my future wife. "She fell off the grid so I had to recruit half my contacts to help me search the camera network!"
"Why the hell would you think she'd stay in Tokyo?"
"When I checked her computer in the morning, she'd printed off train tickets and her browser was still open on a hotel in Osaka. The decoy was too obvious, so I knew that she was trying to send me halfway across the country while she snuck back home. She was planning on lounging around while I panicked on half a dozen trains and buses. She must have been staking out our apartment and realized I hadn't fallen for her trick. That's when she came here."
"Idiot," he snorted as he took another sip of sake. At my incredulous expression, he explained. "Didn't you consider that she's smarter than you? Why would she not think you'd check her search history? If she she had half a brain, she would have known that you'd see her arrangements and catch up to her in no time. She knew you would see through the decoy. She knew you wouldn't fall for it. She has you so pegged that she's anticipated all of your movements."
The idea that Kaoru knew my thoughts so intimately made my chest swell and my fingers tighten. I needed her in my arms. Now. "Anticipated all except for this one," I breathed silkily. She'd emerged from the bathhouse and was coming back this way. She'd have all of ten more seconds of freedom before I made her mine forever.
I was so intently focused on the approaching ki that I didn't notice Hiko's smirk. She was right around the corner when I sprung up in rage. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" I heard myself shout as I realized too late that while the ki was feminine, it wasn't Kaoru.
A tall woman sauntered into the room, smiling widely. Her gaze turned to Hiko's bright face. "Hiko, darling," she cooed sensually as if she hadn't even seen me, "I believe we've had enough time to cool down." Ignoring me completely, she strode over to my former teacher and sat in his lap.
I turned my head before I could see anything else, and I felt my cheeks burning almost painfully. I stumbled gracelessly toward the door, appalled by the implication of what they had done and what they were about to do again. Shoving my feet haphazardly into my shoes, I instinctively grabbed a scrap of paper that was lying in the corner by the door and sprinted back down the mountainside without another word.
I didn't stop until my feet hit the sidewalk at the edge of the forest. Grimacing one last time in disgust, I violently shook my head and cleared all things Hiko-related from my betrayed mind. The devious bastard had planned the whole thing! I'd have bet my life that Kaoru had been there when I'd called! They'd both have anticipated me rushing over, so Kaoru must have escaped immediately, and as my punishment for letting Kaoru get so far away from me, Hiko called one of his lady friends over!
Quaking in disgust and anger, I slowly loosened my fingers and unfolded the familiar stationery. I had no doubts that this was Kaoru's blue paper from her desk, and her handwriting was unmistakable. It was only a scrap—it must have torn on something as she escaped.
-aka Prefecture
-isha Honden
-788
This was her hand-written scrawl. It had been torn, but it was enough to guess her destination. The Kasuga Taisha Honden in the Osaka prefecture. A palace that was over a thousand years old. She'd even mentioned it once—her father had taken her there when she was a child.
That was an hour or two away, depending on traffic. If she had left immediately after I called, she'd only have a couple of hours before the shrine closed. Would she go directly, spend the night in Osaka, and return to the shrine in the morning? Or would she realize where her note had been torn? Would she realize that I'd figure out her destination?
Grimacing in deep thought, I automatically stepped on the bus that would take me back to the heart of Kyoto.
Hiko wouldn't have approved of her travelling alone to a place she'd only been to once—and especially not so close to sunset. He'd have recommended she spend the night locally and head out in the morning. Whether or not that shrine would still be her destination was a complete toss-up, but I felt suddenly confident.
Hiko would have talked her into staying in Kyoto until the morning. Bet or not, he'd value her safety over having a hand in my defeat. Hiko had connections with several places in the city, but the most likely place he'd send her was the Shirobeko.
With a target gleaming in my mind, my eyes narrowed on the city I was approaching. I wasn't going to be misled again.
Kaoru was as good as mine.
