A/N: Hot damn! THANK YOU for all of your amazing feedback! :D The last chapter was the most-reviewed of this fic so far! I love how into it you guys are getting! I'm all for the gushy fluffiness, but writing suspense is what I do best, so these chaps are super fun to write. **Evil cackle**
For those of you who are worried about Kenshin cheating / Kaoru being at a disadvantage, I get it. Yes, it does seem like he's pulling all the strings, but keep in mind that Kaoru was the one who proposed the bet in the first place. And as flustered as she was, she did still agree to it... and she's allowed to go anywhere in Japan. Our darling Red has plenty of justification to use whatever means necessary, just like Kaoru can use whatever means she deems necessary. ^.^ Have no fears, my darlings!
Subway
*-* 13 Hours Remaining -*-
*Kenshin's POV*
Tapping my foot anxiously and rolling the glimmering ring between my fingers, I sipped at my coffee as calmly as I could. I'd spent half the night prowling the streets, trying to just catch a hint of her ki, but I was ultimately left disappointed. The few hours of sleep I'd gotten had been awful, and by six am, I was ready to get back to the hunt.
How had they not been able to locate her yet? She had to have shown up on at least a few of the cameras around the city. From there it was just a matter of facial recognition and someone from the team verifying that it was her.
I jumped at my phone as it rung, though I was surprised that it was Sano on the other end. "Her kid brother was in on it. We've almost finished tracing the phone she borrowed from his buddy." A muffled shout in the background interrupted him. "Shut it, brat! He's not gonna force himself on her! It don't matter if they never get married—he just wants her to himself. You even admitted that it was a great idea!" Sano heaved out a sigh before speaking more directly into the phone. "Ok—looks like she's still in Kyoto. In a hotel—" he laughed. "Oh, man. THAT was a ballsy move on her part! She's in the hotel right across from the Shir—"
Sano was cut off by an abrupt crash. Two different shouts sprang into my ear. There was a bit of scuffling, loud cursing, and then the line went dead.
Feeling admiration and irritation swell my chest, I sprang up and was on my way within a moment. Making a few calls as I sank into the morning rush, I felt a grin curl my lips. There was no way she'd escape me this time.
I'd just managed to slip past her hotel's lobby when I felt my pocket vibrate. It was a text from one of the Oniwabanshū. 'Target acq. North. Req. mall.'
Biting my lip and looking skyward in exasperation, I turned back and raced to the subway. It would be much quicker than trying to navigate the early morning city traffic on the streets. The mall was a reasonable destination. Lots of people. Big crowds... but not this early in the morning. Stores wouldn't even open for another hour or two.
I'd only made it one stop before my phone went off again. "SHE ESCAPED!" a voice shouted before I'd managed to even acknowledge that I'd picked up. "Great intuition, that girl! Jumped out and fled to the south! You might be able to run into her underground." I ended the call as I jumped out of the subway before the doors trapped me inside.
Great intuition? That was an understatement. She was glorious. Genius. I was going to teach her to never jump out of a moving vehicle again, and then smother her until she understood just how damn impressed I was with her. I hadn't thought it possible to be more attracted to her, but she'd knocked me breathless yet again.
I couldn't wait to return the favor…
Racing over to the area that she would come out of if she'd decided to jump off at this stop, I scanned everyone's face like a hawk. Without ripping my eyes away—I'm not sure if I even blinked—I hit a few buttons on my phone and relayed the turn of events to the team, urging them to keep their eyes peeled on all the cameras in the area.
I waited a few minutes before coming to the realization that she wouldn't have gotten off at this stop. She'd been fleeing her hotel, which meant that she knew I was nearby. Why would she have gotten off anywhere near the hotel?
Cursing, I ran to the southbound line and jumped in the next subway that came. She'd most likely switch lines and go in a different direction, but she would only do so after she'd passed the hotel—therefore eliminating the odds of running into me.
The next text floored me again. 'Headed to Osaka.'
How the hell was she already headed west?!
I leapt off the subway the moment the doors opened, and was halfway to the west-bound line when another buzz in my pocket stopped me. 'Go up to the street. Black sedan across the street with tinted windows. You'll never catch her if you stick with public transport.'
Grinning, I shot off in that direction. Send me on as many false trails as you'd like, little dragonfly. You'll never outrun me.
