Chapter 3: Hidden in Shadows
Note: As usual, standard disclaimers apply. All the Rurouni Kenshin characters
do not belong to me. They are the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Sony, Jump
comics, Media Blasters, and all those other people who are responsible for
bringing us Rurouni Kenshin. I am merely borrowing them for a short time.
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It was a perfect night for lawlessness. Heavy clouds obscured any light that the moon or stars might have offered, and rain continued to pound relentlessly against the rooftops of the buildings in downtown Kyoto. Streaks of lightning occasionally lit up the otherwise pitch-black night, punctuated by the loud claps of thunder that continued to rumble mercilessly. And in the midst of the storm a lone individual made her way through the deserted Kyoto streets, her features hidden underneath the hood of a cloak that had been pulled down to conceal her face. She continued down the wet streets, her stride never wavering despite the fact that her sandals and tabi were soaked all the way through. Turning into a narrow alley, the figure stopped in front of a small house, and surreptitiously glanced around to make sure there were no followers before rapping on the wooden door. Within seconds the door slid open and the cloaked woman slipped inside, finding a welcome shelter from the storm.
The room she entered was sparsely furnished, the interior lit by a single candle placed upon a low table located in the middle of the floor. Behind the table a young man sat with his legs tucked neatly beneath him, his handsome features slightly obscured by the lack of light in the room. Bright green eyes peered out from behind sandy-colored bangs expectantly as the drenched newcomer gratefully took a seat across from him.
"You're late," he admonished his guest lightly.
"I had to make sure I wasn't followed. You know the others would never allow me to become involved in this whole business - they don't think I have the skills."
The young man shrugged. "Maybe they're just worried about you."
"That doesn't make it any easier, Hiroshi-kun," she countered wryly.
"I suppose not," the man named Hiroshi replied. "And you've never been the type to sit back and let everything pass you by."
Ignoring her companion's good-natured jibe, the woman reached into the folds of her cloak and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. "I want this delivered to Tokyo immediately."
If the request seemed strange to Hiroshi, he gave no outward sign of it. Nodding in assent, he slipped the parchment into the folds of his gi without any further questions. "Anything else?" he asked.
The woman shook her head and stood up to leave. "That's all for now. Just make sure that nobody else finds out I was here tonight." With those final words she slipped through the paper doors as quietly as she had come, disappearing into the rainy night without a backward glance.
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Aoshi stared into the dark moodily, watching the brief flashes of lightning illuminate the wooden panels of the Aoiya's ceiling. Despite the weariness plaguing both body and soul, sleep continued to elude him as he lay unmoving on top of his futon. Minutes had slowly passed, turning into hours, but not even the well-practiced techniques of meditation had managed to court sleep to his side. Apparently insomnia was an enemy that even the greatest ninja could not defeat so easily.
Aoshi sat up with an almost inaudible sigh, pushing the dark bangs away from his eyes with a controlled gesture of frustration. As long as I'm awake, I might as well do something useful, he thought ruefully as he softly padded over to the opposite corner of the room. What better time to examine a crime scene than the middle of the night? There would be no policemen to hinder his search, and it would be a valuable opportunity to look for clues that he might have overlooked before.
Reaching for the dark outfit that hung neatly on the wall, he quickly exchanged his light sleeping yukata for the darker material that made up the uniform of the Oniwabanshu. After a moment's hesitation, Aoshi's eyes turned to the pair of kodachi lying next to his futon, both carefully sheathed in a single scabbard. Without giving himself enough time to ponder the wisdom of his decision, he reached for the weapons and exited the room, sliding the doors shut behind him.
Making his way through the corridor, Aoshi quietly passed Okina's personal study, taking extra care not to make any unnecessary sounds. After reaching the far end of the hallway, he paused for a moment before a door located at the corridor's end. Misao's room. Though he tried not to show it, Aoshi had been greatly worried about her since they had stumbled upon the massacre of the Hideyoshi family a few days earlier. Resisting the urge to slip into her room and check on her the way he had often done when she was a young child, he silently continued on his way, prepared to brave the violent torrents of rain that continued to pour from the skies.
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"Damn," muttered Aoshi under his breath. Closing the lid of the trunk he had been peering into, he stood up and gave the small room one final glance before finally admitting defeat. After meticulously searching the Hideyoshi house from top to bottom, he still had nothing to show for his efforts. There were no new clues, no suspects, not even the slightest trace of evidence that could point towards the killer. Perhaps it was time to head back to the Aoiya and get some sleep, Aoshi thought. He was about to tuck his kodachi away under the folds of his trenchcoat when a muffled sound suddenly reached his ears. The sound was faint and would have been easily dismissed, but Aoshi's instincts told him differently, warning him of impending danger. Lean hands tightened their grip on the sheath of his kodachi and the ninja stealthily slipped back into the shadows just before the paper doors slid open.
Concealing himself behind a tall screen standing in the far corner of the room, Aoshi's eyes narrowed as he observed the figure that had just entered. A hooded cloak concealed the person's identity, but judging from both height and movement, Aoshi quickly concluded that he was dealing with a female. Apparently a skilled female too, for she moved around almost soundlessly, her motions both swift and precise. He watched in silence as she went about the room, carefully inspecting everything with what seemed like an expert eye.
The mysterious woman was approaching the screen when Aoshi took action, swiftly unsheathing his twin blades within the space of seconds. A flash of metal glittered in the moonlight just before both weapons landed conveniently at the stranger's throat, mere centimeters away from a lethal blow. There was no time to react and the woman stilled beneath her attacker's kodachi.
"Who are you?" growled Aoshi without preamble, his authoritative voice demanding an answer.
"Maybe I should be asking you the same question," came the slightly muffled reply from beneath the hood.
"I'll ask you only once more. Who are you and what are you doing here?"
The figure remained silent, but there was an air of defiance in her stance. Without any warning she flew into the air, easily evading the kodachi at her throat, and flung out her arm in a wide arc. Flashes of metal headed towards Aoshi, but he easily blocked the attack with his blades, deflecting the small weapons so that they landed on the floor with a thud.
There was no doubt that the weapons were a set of kunai, but Aoshi barely had a moment to consider the ramifications of his discovery. The intruder was escaping. Without further thought he followed in pursuit, easily catching up with his opponent just as she reached the doors. She was fast, but not fast enough for the former Oniwabanshu okashira, and without warning Aoshi gracefully flew into the air. He landed right in front of the fleeing woman, efficiently blocking the only exit from the room. With both kodachi in his hands, Aoshi regarded his opponent with a cool gaze.
"Don't try that again," he ordered. His calm tone revealed no emotion as he slid one of his blades back into its sheath, keeping the second one pointed dangerously close to the woman's chest. Grabbing her arm in a firm grip, Aoshi reached out to tug at the hood hiding her face. The heavy material fell back just as a flash of lightning illuminated the room, clearly revealing angry turquoise eyes and a wealth of dark hair pulled back into a braid.
Aoshi took a deep breath to hide his shock, and only one word managed to escape his lips. "Misao."
Bright eyes blinked up at him in confusion, and the girl suddenly relaxed under his grip. "Aoshi-sama," she murmured just before her body went limp and she collapsed against him in a faint.
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Notes -
1. Ummm...the screen Aoshi is hiding behind is one of those semi-see through things that are often used to divide a room. I just thought that might be worth mentioning =)
2. I had trouble writing Misao in this chapter. I hope she's not too OOC and stuff - and at the end of the chapter where she faints, I know some would say she's not that weak. But chalk it up to shock and being up all night and not eating =)
3. And the scene with Aoshi not being able to sleep...umm that would be due to me and my unusual sleeping habits of late. According to my friends, I'm insane for not being able to sleep at 3 in the morning. Blame my rotten sleeping patterns on physics =)