Chapter 4: Preparations.
"Suminasen, Himura-san. Saitou Hajime is not here."
The commissioner had seen them as soon as they arrived. He had been surprised to see Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru so soon after the battle with Shishio. They had both been wounded, Kenshin more so than Kaoru, and he had not expected to see either of them for several weeks. Unfortunately, he seemed to have no answers that the pair had wanted to hear.
"Do you know when he will return?" Kenshin asks.
"Iie. He muttered something about a village, then left later that day. He has been away from Tokyo for eight days."
Kaoru gasps at the reference to the village despite herself. Kawaji looks to Kaoru with a perturbed look crossing his face. He jabs a finger at Kaoru.
"If you know something, you had better tell me!" he yells.
Kaoru angers visibly, taking a menacing step towards Commissioner Kawaji. Kenshin steps in front of her quickly.
"Maa, maa, Kaoru-dono. The Commissioner is just worried about Saitou." He turns to Kawaji. "Arigatou, Commissioner Kawaji. We will leave you to your work."
"Ano.." Kawaji starts as Kenshin begins to pull Kaoru through the door. Kenshin turn to the Commissioner. "If you have any information, I can assign some officers to assist you." he continues pensively. "About my out-burst, gomen nasai."
Kenshin nods and thinks for a moment. "We still have injuries from the fight with Shishio." Kenshin starts. "A carriage would be useful."
Kawaji nods immediately. "There will be one at the Kamiya Dojo before night fall."
"Arigatou, Kawaji-san."
Kenshin bows formally, then walks out the door, leaving Kaoru glaring at the commissioner. A hand reaches back through the door, grabbing the back of Kaoru's kimono and pulling her gently from the room.
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A dark figure sits in the shadows, watching the reactions of the warriors.
These baka-yarou are not even worth this effort. The Shinsen Gumi would destroy this village in the time it take an eye to blink.
The warriors had found the bodies of the six slain earlier by himself and Aoshi. They were in the process of searching the village even as Saitou sat watching. As soon as the search died down, he was planning to slid into the village to see what he could find.
On the other side of the village, Shinomori Aoshi sits, likewise hidden in shadows, watching the warriors searching for him and Saitou. They had broken off the raid after Aoshi had aggravated the injury he had received from the battousai just weeks ago. He could not admit that he had been so severely injured, so, in his pain, he made an uncharacteristic joke about Misao-chan being mad at him as the reason for his pained expression. The bodies were found moments later and they had been tearing the village apart for hours since.
What had happened to the actual villages was yet to be determined. All either of them had seen so far were the fighters that seem to inhabit the town now. All either of them could do was wait for the excitement to die down before entering again.
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"Oi, Jou-chan! Where's Kenshin?"
Sanosuke's voice can be heard easily as he walks through the gate. Kaoru was standing on the wooden stairs to her home, speaking with Megumi, and looks up.
"He's inside, Sano." She returns.
"Arigatou." he says as he quickly moves past her into the dojo.
"Konnichiwa, Sanosuke-san." Kenshin says as Sano enters. Kenshin is re-wrapping his injuries from Shishio. "It is good to see you, that it is." he says with a large smile.
"Aa." Sanosuke says, then gets straight to the point. "Something's going on, Kenshin. Fighters from all over town have disappeared." Kenshin looks at Sano with a curious expression. "Hai, hai, no one will really miss them, but many talked about a mysterious village where they would gain power before leaving!"
Kenshin rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Aa. It is a good thing I planned for you to go with us."
"Nani?" Sanosuke asks, confused.
"Saitou left Tokyo a couple days after our dreams started." Kenshin says. "He mentioned a village."
"Aa." Sanosuke repeats. "You couldn't keep me away from this." he says, cracking his knuckles, a pleased smile on his face. "Oi!" he yells suddenly. "Does this mean you aren't planning to try to sneak out to fight this on you own this time?"
"Aa." the rurouni replies. "Like I could keep you or Kaoru-dono away."
"Aa. You finally get smart." Sano smiles briefly, then a thought occurs to him. "What about Yahiko?"
"His injuries were severe. I hope to leave him with Megumi-dono."
"Oi!" a voice yells from behind. "Not a chance I'm staying with the fox-woman!"
"Maa, maa, Yahiko-chan." Kenshin says, trying to calm the youth. "You have been too badly hurt. You need rest. Megumi-dono would agree."
"Hai, she would." a feminine voice sounds from the tobira.
Kenshin and Sanosuke turn to see Megumi standing at the entrance. Sano smacks his forehead.
"What is this, a party?"
"You should be happy I came." she says. "Some one needs to talk you out of your stupidity. All of you. You haven't even rested up from the Shishio incident!"
Kenshin looks into her eyes. "Aa, Megumi-dono. That is true. But this needs done. I can feel it. So can Sanosuke-san and Kaoru-dono. Even Saitou can feel it."
The woman doctor gasps at the name, remembering watching Saitou and Kenshin battle inside the Kamiya Dojo. He had attacked Sanosuke earlier that day, stabbing him through the shoulder and breaking his blade off with-in the wound, leaving the fighter to die. The fight was brutal to watch, with both warriors forgetting that they were in the dojo, even in the Meiji era. Their minds were back in the revolution, where the two had last seen each other and had battled on opposing sides. During that fight, Kenshin had put away his ways as Himura Kenshin, a rurouni who had vowed not to kill. He was, once again, Himura Battousai, the revolutions most feared assassin. They were reliving that battle, eleven long years before, that was interrupted.
That was the scariest that Megumi could ever remember being. Not for her personal safety, so much, as for losing Kenshin. Even if he had won the battle, it seemed Kenshin would be lost to the battousai with-in him.
"I'll never understand how you two worked together long enough to stop that maniac in Kyoto. But, kuso, how could you go talk to him?" Megumi asks, before she thinks about it.
The two warriors look at Megumi in surprise at her unwomanly out-burst. It is unusual for her to forget her manners with-out the constant taunts of Sanosuke.
"Oro?" Sanosuke joins Kenshin in what has become his personal habit. Kenshin is the only person any of them have ever heard using it in this way.
"Saitou was not there." Kenshin says quickly. "He had already left for our mysterious village."
"I see." Megumi says, rubbing her chin. "Good. " she says after a moment of silence. "Leave it to that baka-yarou."
"Megumi-dono." Kenshin says softly. "We have to go."
"Then I have to go with you." she says. Both warriors look at her, a surprised look on their face. "Both of you are too stubborn to mind your wounds, then some one will have to."
"Oi," Sanosuke says, "Jou-chan is coming. She can mind Kenshins wounds." The smirk on his face shows what he means.
A bokken cracks against the back of his head, knocking him to the dojo floor.
"Good hit, tanuki-onna." Yahiko says, laughing hard.
"Keep it up, Yahiko," Kaoru says, "and you're next."
"I guess that's settle, then." Megumi says before Yahiko can farther insult Kaoru. "We all go."
"Oro...." Kenshin sighs as Sanosuke gets up and begins arguing with the women. The rurouni turns and walks away with one thought crossing his mind. It is a good thing I requested that carriage, that it is.
"Suminasen, Himura-san. Saitou Hajime is not here."
The commissioner had seen them as soon as they arrived. He had been surprised to see Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru so soon after the battle with Shishio. They had both been wounded, Kenshin more so than Kaoru, and he had not expected to see either of them for several weeks. Unfortunately, he seemed to have no answers that the pair had wanted to hear.
"Do you know when he will return?" Kenshin asks.
"Iie. He muttered something about a village, then left later that day. He has been away from Tokyo for eight days."
Kaoru gasps at the reference to the village despite herself. Kawaji looks to Kaoru with a perturbed look crossing his face. He jabs a finger at Kaoru.
"If you know something, you had better tell me!" he yells.
Kaoru angers visibly, taking a menacing step towards Commissioner Kawaji. Kenshin steps in front of her quickly.
"Maa, maa, Kaoru-dono. The Commissioner is just worried about Saitou." He turns to Kawaji. "Arigatou, Commissioner Kawaji. We will leave you to your work."
"Ano.." Kawaji starts as Kenshin begins to pull Kaoru through the door. Kenshin turn to the Commissioner. "If you have any information, I can assign some officers to assist you." he continues pensively. "About my out-burst, gomen nasai."
Kenshin nods and thinks for a moment. "We still have injuries from the fight with Shishio." Kenshin starts. "A carriage would be useful."
Kawaji nods immediately. "There will be one at the Kamiya Dojo before night fall."
"Arigatou, Kawaji-san."
Kenshin bows formally, then walks out the door, leaving Kaoru glaring at the commissioner. A hand reaches back through the door, grabbing the back of Kaoru's kimono and pulling her gently from the room.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A dark figure sits in the shadows, watching the reactions of the warriors.
These baka-yarou are not even worth this effort. The Shinsen Gumi would destroy this village in the time it take an eye to blink.
The warriors had found the bodies of the six slain earlier by himself and Aoshi. They were in the process of searching the village even as Saitou sat watching. As soon as the search died down, he was planning to slid into the village to see what he could find.
On the other side of the village, Shinomori Aoshi sits, likewise hidden in shadows, watching the warriors searching for him and Saitou. They had broken off the raid after Aoshi had aggravated the injury he had received from the battousai just weeks ago. He could not admit that he had been so severely injured, so, in his pain, he made an uncharacteristic joke about Misao-chan being mad at him as the reason for his pained expression. The bodies were found moments later and they had been tearing the village apart for hours since.
What had happened to the actual villages was yet to be determined. All either of them had seen so far were the fighters that seem to inhabit the town now. All either of them could do was wait for the excitement to die down before entering again.
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"Oi, Jou-chan! Where's Kenshin?"
Sanosuke's voice can be heard easily as he walks through the gate. Kaoru was standing on the wooden stairs to her home, speaking with Megumi, and looks up.
"He's inside, Sano." She returns.
"Arigatou." he says as he quickly moves past her into the dojo.
"Konnichiwa, Sanosuke-san." Kenshin says as Sano enters. Kenshin is re-wrapping his injuries from Shishio. "It is good to see you, that it is." he says with a large smile.
"Aa." Sanosuke says, then gets straight to the point. "Something's going on, Kenshin. Fighters from all over town have disappeared." Kenshin looks at Sano with a curious expression. "Hai, hai, no one will really miss them, but many talked about a mysterious village where they would gain power before leaving!"
Kenshin rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Aa. It is a good thing I planned for you to go with us."
"Nani?" Sanosuke asks, confused.
"Saitou left Tokyo a couple days after our dreams started." Kenshin says. "He mentioned a village."
"Aa." Sanosuke repeats. "You couldn't keep me away from this." he says, cracking his knuckles, a pleased smile on his face. "Oi!" he yells suddenly. "Does this mean you aren't planning to try to sneak out to fight this on you own this time?"
"Aa." the rurouni replies. "Like I could keep you or Kaoru-dono away."
"Aa. You finally get smart." Sano smiles briefly, then a thought occurs to him. "What about Yahiko?"
"His injuries were severe. I hope to leave him with Megumi-dono."
"Oi!" a voice yells from behind. "Not a chance I'm staying with the fox-woman!"
"Maa, maa, Yahiko-chan." Kenshin says, trying to calm the youth. "You have been too badly hurt. You need rest. Megumi-dono would agree."
"Hai, she would." a feminine voice sounds from the tobira.
Kenshin and Sanosuke turn to see Megumi standing at the entrance. Sano smacks his forehead.
"What is this, a party?"
"You should be happy I came." she says. "Some one needs to talk you out of your stupidity. All of you. You haven't even rested up from the Shishio incident!"
Kenshin looks into her eyes. "Aa, Megumi-dono. That is true. But this needs done. I can feel it. So can Sanosuke-san and Kaoru-dono. Even Saitou can feel it."
The woman doctor gasps at the name, remembering watching Saitou and Kenshin battle inside the Kamiya Dojo. He had attacked Sanosuke earlier that day, stabbing him through the shoulder and breaking his blade off with-in the wound, leaving the fighter to die. The fight was brutal to watch, with both warriors forgetting that they were in the dojo, even in the Meiji era. Their minds were back in the revolution, where the two had last seen each other and had battled on opposing sides. During that fight, Kenshin had put away his ways as Himura Kenshin, a rurouni who had vowed not to kill. He was, once again, Himura Battousai, the revolutions most feared assassin. They were reliving that battle, eleven long years before, that was interrupted.
That was the scariest that Megumi could ever remember being. Not for her personal safety, so much, as for losing Kenshin. Even if he had won the battle, it seemed Kenshin would be lost to the battousai with-in him.
"I'll never understand how you two worked together long enough to stop that maniac in Kyoto. But, kuso, how could you go talk to him?" Megumi asks, before she thinks about it.
The two warriors look at Megumi in surprise at her unwomanly out-burst. It is unusual for her to forget her manners with-out the constant taunts of Sanosuke.
"Oro?" Sanosuke joins Kenshin in what has become his personal habit. Kenshin is the only person any of them have ever heard using it in this way.
"Saitou was not there." Kenshin says quickly. "He had already left for our mysterious village."
"I see." Megumi says, rubbing her chin. "Good. " she says after a moment of silence. "Leave it to that baka-yarou."
"Megumi-dono." Kenshin says softly. "We have to go."
"Then I have to go with you." she says. Both warriors look at her, a surprised look on their face. "Both of you are too stubborn to mind your wounds, then some one will have to."
"Oi," Sanosuke says, "Jou-chan is coming. She can mind Kenshins wounds." The smirk on his face shows what he means.
A bokken cracks against the back of his head, knocking him to the dojo floor.
"Good hit, tanuki-onna." Yahiko says, laughing hard.
"Keep it up, Yahiko," Kaoru says, "and you're next."
"I guess that's settle, then." Megumi says before Yahiko can farther insult Kaoru. "We all go."
"Oro...." Kenshin sighs as Sanosuke gets up and begins arguing with the women. The rurouni turns and walks away with one thought crossing his mind. It is a good thing I requested that carriage, that it is.