Author: Arashi
Website: www.kenkaya.com
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin nor am I making any money off this story!
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Sanosuke's attempt to remain hidden was particularly pathetic. In hindsight, he realized that he must have looked stupid as he dropped Yahiko to the ground and dove inside the guest room. Everyone had spent an entire minute staring at him. Unfortunately, it was all he could come up with. He rolled to his feet inside the room and turned in an instant, sliding the door shut behind him.
"Chikusho this is not good." Sano turned his back to the door and spread his hands behind him, holding the door shut. It was then that he noticed Megumi. This is DEFINITELY not good. She looked at him furiously as she tried to regain her composure and decency. "Don't give me that look, Fox. I think we're really in trouble." His pants chose that moment to start slipping. Sano released his hold on the door just in time to catch them. He tied his pant strings hastily but when he reached behind him to hold the door all he found was air.
"Ano Sano?" Sanosuke jumped in surprise and turned around looking rather guilty. Kenshin stood in the doorway with a questioning look on his face.
"Kenshin! It's Yahiko's fault!" Sano frantically pointed at Yahiko who had slumped to the floor in a daze. Megumi covered her face and shook her head in embarrassment.
"It's alright Sano." Kenshin said calmly. "Plans have changed a bit. Why don't you two come have some dinner? We'll explain everything afterwards." Kenshin turned to go but stopped, looking Sano and Megumi over. "Feel free to take a minute to get yourselves cleaned up first." He gave them a little smile and then walked into the hallway, pulling Yahiko to his feet and half dragging him down the hallway. Sanosuke slid the door shut once again. He leaned against it, exhaling in relief.
"Phew, we're not in trouble." He turned to grin at Megumi but the smile never made it to his face. She was still glaring at him. If her look had been any harsher it would have been lethal. Sano gulped. "Maybe I spoke too soon." His hands reached for the door slowly but he didn't get it open in time to escape.
Down the hallway they were about to start eating when they heard Megumi yelling. Random curses and threats mingled freely with harsh comments about Sano's intelligence. Finally, the incoherent string of phrases turned into a series of angry questions. "Why didn't you hear Yahiko open the door??? Do you know how this makes us look!?? I told you we should behave ourselves!!! Why did I listen to you??? Sano no baka!!"
A string of insults and threats followed and a moment later everyone heard a pair of running footsteps in the hall. Sano slid past the open door and then darted inside, diving for cover behind Kenshin. Megumi was a few paces behind him and when she made it to the open door she stood searching quickly for her prey. Her eyes were smoldering in their anger as she immediately noticed Sano cowering behind his red-haired friend. A picture instantly popped into Kenshin's head of a fox chasing a chicken and the resulting fate of the poor bird. Kenshin held up his hands and put on his best happy, calming face.
"Maa Maa, Megumi-dono. Please calm down." Sano peeked around Kenshin's shoulder.
"Yeah, c'mon Fox. Relax."
"You." Megumi turned and grabbed the nearest object and hoisted it threateningly above her head. Sano yelped and held Kenshin directly in front of him as the bucket flew through the air and struck Kenshin in the face. As Kenshin went limp Sano swore.
"Chikusho Fox, who do you think you are? Jo-chan?" Kenshin's body may have been protecting Sano from the front, but no one was protecting him from behind. The crack of Kaoru's bokken caused all the young men to wince in sympathy.
"What's that supposed to mean, Sanosuke?!" Sano grabbed the back of his head and turned to see Kaoru towering over him threateningly.
"Stay out of this tanuki girl! I can teach the rooster a lesson by myself!" Megumi had procured a stool and she was ready to throw it.
"Your aim is off, vixen! That's my husband you hit!" Kaoru waved her bokken angrily in Megumi's direction.
"Rooster-head is the one who put Ken-san in danger! Stop pointing your toy sword at me!"
"That's why I was GOING to take it out on Sano!"
"Fine, we'll both make him suffer!" Kaoru and Megumi both turned their evil looks at Sano. Sano backed up against the wall, getting as much distance between him and the two crazed women as possible. They advanced threateningly and just when Sanosuke knew he was a goner, an unexpected event took place.
"Leave my brother alone!" Outa was on his feet and he dashed into the path of Megumi and Kaoru. He put his hands out protectively so that no projectiles could get past him. Sano cowered behind him, putting his hands on the young boy's shoulders so he could move him in the way if someone did try to hit him. Outa mistook it for gratitude.
"Get out of the way Outa." Kaoru and Megumi continued advancing but Outa didn't budge and couldn't have if he'd wanted to.
"I'm not moving Kaoru-dono!"
"Don't talk to my mommy that way!" Kenji's little voice joined in the mix as a bowlful of hot soup splashed against Outa's pants. The little boy had crept up behind his mother and tossed his bowl of soup once he was in range. Outa howled and jumped in the air. Kenji ran off giggling but in a moment he was running for his life. Outa raced off after him, instantly changing Kaoru's focus.
"Leave Kenji alone!" Bokken above her head, Kaoru chased after Outa who chased after Kenji. Meanwhile, Sano was left with no protection against Megumi. She prepared to bash him with the stool but Sano jumped to his feet and dashed back toward the group. As he ran through the food he tried not to knock anything over but he wasn't completely successful. One kicked tray ended up landing in a certain Okashira's lap.
"Kuso Rooster-head!! You ruined my new outfit!" Misao was on her feet in an instant. "Kencho Kick!" She flew through the air in Sano's direction but he deftly avoided her patented "demon bird kick". Instead, Misao's foot and Yahiko's face became acquainted. Yahiko roared to his feet swearing profusely and chased after Misao.
"I didn't mean to kick YOU Yahiko!"
"Chikusho weasel girl! That hurt!"
While the two groups chased each other around causing havoc and destruction, Tokio and Chou turned to each other in silent wonder. Tokio blinked in confusion, having never seen this side of the group in all her visits to the dojo. Chou had nothing to comment so he shook his head slowly, shrugging his shoulders slightly. Tsuyoshi, Eiji, and Yutarou were soon caught up in the insanity as food, trays, and practice swords flew through the air. Outa and Tsuyoshi took the opportunity to renew their unsettled argument and were soon rolling on the floor in a cloud of arms and legs. The entire time, Megumi lined up for a shot with her stool. When she thought she had one, she let her stool fly. Her trajectory was off and she realized a moment too late that Sano would never be hit by the projectile. When the stool crashed into Shinomori Aoshi's face, Megumi suddenly realized how childish she was being, and how being childish often got you in trouble. For a moment she cringed, fearing Aoshi's reaction. Oddly enough, there was none. The stool had hit him with enough force to leave Kenshin "oroing" on the floor, but the former okashira of the Oniwabanshu didn't even blink. Instead, he paused briefly and then sipped his tea.
"Aoshi-sama!" Concern quickly turned to a threat. "Leave him alone Fox!" Misao was so caught up in the madness of the moment that she didn't think twice as she procured her kunai from nowhere and threw them at Megumi. Megumi stared blankly as four kunai flew through the air in her direction. There was no way she could dodge them in time. Someone was by her side in an instant and hefted her off her feet and out of the way. Once Megumi was out of the way, the four kunai continued seeking the next victim who was unlucky enough to be in their path.
All fighting stopped and all eyes were riveted to the kunai, as they seemed to fly through the air in slow motion directly toward Tokio. A collective gasp escaped their lips as the kunai continued, oblivious to how much trouble everyone would be in if something happened to Saitoh Tokio. Those who closed their eyes in horror missed Tokio's reaction. In one sweep, she caught all four of the kunai in her hand. Her movements were so fast that some of the viewers didn't even see them. It almost seemed like the kunai just disappeared out of the air and magically appeared in her hand. Misao, Megumi, Sanosuke, Kaoru, Kenshin, Yahiko, Yutarou, and Outa all sighed in relief as Tokio dropped the kunai to the ground unharmed.
"Are we all finished yet?" Everyone stared at her in silence. Once again, they were reminded of the fact that Tokio was there for a reason. "Let's finish what's left of our food." It was a reprimand without any sort of malice or anger, and it hit home with the Kenshin-gumi. Everyone stopped what they were doing and moved to their places quietly, in a mix of shame and embarrassment.
"Whoa." Sano commented in quiet awe as the scene instantly changed. Megumi looked over at him and suddenly realized that he had been the one who had saved her from the kunai. She also realized that he was still holding her in his arms. Their earlier argument popped back into her head and she squirmed uncomfortably.
"Put me down rooster-head." She whispered. Sano looked over at her; apparently he too had forgotten that he was holding her in his arms.
"Oh, sorry fox." He set her down
without a complaint or further comment. Megumi moved away from
him and composed herself. No one made any comments about her
behavior so Megumi tentatively knelt on the floor in front of
her tray.
After a moment, Sano plopped down on the floor next to Megumi.
He took a look at his tray of undamaged food and then glanced
around at everyone else. "So um" He muttered,
searching Tokio's face for answers. She held up her hand.
"Please Sanosuke-san, we can wait to discuss it until after we eat." Her eyes rested on the children quietly munching away. Sano looked over and realized that she didn't want to talk about it in front of the children. Without another word he dug happily into his food.
~//~
Silence prevailed throughout the remainder of the meal. There
was some scattered small talk but it never caught on. Megumi
was still too angry to talk, Yahiko and Misao were still pissed,
some of the younger children were pouting, Kenshin didn't have
much to say, and Aoshi never has much to say. Sano sat in silence
eyeing Tokio and Chou. The blonde haired former member of the
Juppon Gatana shot Sano strange looks but didn't break the silence
so Sano started ignoring them.
After dinner was finished Tokio turned to Eiji and Yutarou. "Would you two take the children outside and keep an eye on them?" Yutarou looked over at Kenshin and Kaoru and when they didn't seem to object he nodded.
"Sure." He got to his feet with Eiji and the two young swordsmen took the three younger children outside. "Thanks for dinner." Eiji and Yutarou both gave Tokio and Kaoru a little bow of appreciation as they herded the children from the room.
"Yahiko-kun." Yahiko looked up at Tokio.
"Hai, Tokio-dono?"
"Would you please go get the Sake from the kitchen." A smile crept to Sanosuke's face as he picked his teeth with a toothpick. Yahiko nodded and got to his feet, leaving the room.
"So are you going to tell me what's going on now?" Sanosuke asked, turning to Chou and Tokio.
"Perhaps we should wait for the Sake." Tokio replied. Chou grinned and Sano folded his arms indifferently.
"Fine by me. But I don't know how a little Sake is going to make a difference."
"You'll need a drink when we're through with you." Chou leaned forward with an evil smirk.
"What's that supposed to mean, broom-head?"
"I shouldn't have to explain it, rooster-head. It means you're not going to like what we have to tell you!"
"Then maybe the Sake isn't going to make a difference and you should just tell me what's going on right now." Sano narrowed his eyes and glared at Chou.
"Well, here's the situation in a nutshell." Chou closed one of his eyes and regarded Sano with the same evil smirk. "We're taking you to Hokkaido to do a job for us and you don't have any choice in the matter." Sano growled low in his throat. Everyone else sat in tense silence.
"Why the hell don't I have a choice?" Chou pulled a paper out from his vest and tossed it to Sano casually. Sano glared at Chou for a moment before opening up the paper and reading it over. His jaw clenched angrily as he read.
"What is it Sanosuke?" Megumi asked, leaning over to try and read the letter. Sanosuke crumpled it up before she could.
"It's a warrant for his arrest." Chou informed Megumi and the rest of the gang. "Mr. Tani is still very interesting in seeing you punished for your crimes." Chou was grinning. In a flash, Sanosuke reached across the trays of food separating them and grabbed Chou by the collar of his gi pulling him closer.
"Kisama!" Sano roared and Chou's eyes bugged out in shock as he grabbed at Sano's hand in an attempt to free himself from his grip. Megumi tried to pull Sanosuke back and Kaoru, Kenshin, and Misao all called out in surprise. Sano was about to pull back his other fist and pummel Chou's face but he didn't have a chance. The whole thing happened so fast that Kenshin didn't even have time to get over there before Tokio put a stop to it. She was sitting right next to Chou and in an instant she lashed out jabbing Sanosuke in the elbow and wrist pressure points. His hand fell away from Chou's gi and he looked over at Tokio in astonishment. His entire arm was paralyzed. A moment later Yahiko walked back in with the Sake.
"Did I miss something?" Everyone was staring at either Tokio or Sano who held his arm to his chest like he was afraid it was going to be cut off.
"Chikusho! What did you do to my arm?" Tokio was calm as she replied to Sanosuke's furious question.
"I simply immobilized it. I'm sorry but I can't have you hurting one of my fellow agents. Don't worry, it will wear off shortly." Sano swore under his breath. "Are you ready to listen now Sanosuke-san?"
"Like I have a choice." Sano muttered. Tokio regarded him in silence for a moment and then turned to the rest of the group.
"As some of you already know, my husband is working in Hokkaido right now." Tokio made eye contact with each of the people in the room. "He has been stationed up there since early spring working on the same assignment."
"What kind of assignment?" Sano interrupted.
"There were some strange reports coming from the Hokkaido Provincial Prison and my husband was sent to investigate." Sanosuke's eyes narrowed.
"A prison?" Coming from Sanosuke the word sounds like a curse.
"The Hokkaido Provincial Prison is a maximum security prison for dangerous offenders and traitors to the Meiji Government. In short, it is a den of evil. Any people that the Meiji government doesn't want to deal with are sent there. The location is one that creates a formidable natural prison. It is essentially impossible to escape from, even without all the guards armed with the latest weaponry."
"What do you mean by 'natural prison'?" Yahiko inquired.
"The prison is located in central Hokkaido in the mountains. It is high enough that the snow never leaves the ground. If a prisoner were to escape from the prison they would freeze to death before making it out of the mountains. If someone does manage to escape, prison policy is usually to let them die of exposure."
"Nice place." Sanosuke snorted derisively. "But I still don't get what Saitoh is supposed to be doing there. Or more importantly, how I fit into any of this." He gave Tokio a serious look.
"My husband has been tracking movement into and out of the prison. In the last few years, the prison has been transferring in many dangerous criminals. In the prison itself, many of the prisoners are killed on a yearly basis. Members of the staff and prison guards are also killed quite often. The numbers themselves are alarming, but more alarming by far is the identities of those who survive and those who die." Everyone was silently listening to Tokio explain, looks of concentration on their faces. Tokio paused a moment to look them over.
"Please continue Tokio-dono." Kenshin said as she met his gaze.
"The people who are killed, be it prisoner or faculty, are those that are loyal to the Meiji government. Even the guards and captains in charge are known for their disagreements with the government. Another common element among the victims is a lack of radical tendencies. If someone is rational or levelheaded they are killed. If they are not accomplished warriors, they also suffer the same fate. In short, the only people left in the prison, prisoner and otherwise, are violent, irrational warriors with anti-Meiji sentiments." Tokio gave everyone a moment to let things sink in then she continued. "Many political prisoners from the Bakumatsu are there as well. Strangely enough, over the last few years we have lost outside record of those political prisoners who are actually still in the prison." Misao looked a little surprised.
"Has someone been destroying police records?" Tokio nodded.
"It seems so. And no accurate records have been sent from the prison itself. This is one of the original indicators of the problem. My husband has been placed in charge of retrieving information from inside the prison."
"Well, that shouldn't be hard." Yahiko commented. "Can't he just walk in there and request the information? Even if there is something strange going you should still be able to get information from them. If they refused to give the information everyone would know there was a problem and then the army could move in and take them down." Chou gave Yahiko a look of astonishment.
"You're smarter than you look kid." He said with a grin. Yahiko, in turn, glared at him.
"We tried that from the beginning." Tokio informed them sadly. "A formal request for information is met with perfect procedure. They give full access to their records and the prison itself. Everything is neatly carried out and comes out looking as though there is nothing going on. Each death at the prison is documented and filed. Prisoners are exactly where they are supposed to be. Those prisoners that are thought to be missing are not even on the records or they are reported as deceased. Everything appears to be running smoothly when formal requests for information are sent in. Of course, when compared to the other files and information we have, it is easy to determine that the records have been falsified. Unfortunately, there is so much red tape that the government cannot act until we have solid evidence."
"Hang on, I'm not following ya." Sanosuke rubbed his tingling arm and looked at Tokio in confusion.
"Try using smaller words Tokio-san, the rooster is about as clever as a stump." Chou glared at Sanosuke.
"Watch it broom-head, I'm this close to shutting your yap." Sano held up his hand with finger and thumb an inch apart to show Chou exactly how close he was. Tokio looked at Sanosuke patiently.
"Sanosuke-san, please do not threaten Chou-san anymore." Sano dropped his hand and looked back at the beautiful woman. "What I am telling you, simply put, is that they have been lying to everyone outside the prison. This information leads us to believe that there is some type of conspiracy going on between prisoners and prison faculty. The idea that such dangerous criminals may be unchecked has caused quite a bit of commotion in the Keishichou."
"But what do you need ME for?" Sanosuke looked exasperated.
"Well Sanosuke-san, with your interesting background you are in a perfect position to lend us your assistance." Sano's eyes narrowed.
"What's so interesting about my background?"
"You are one of the only surviving members of the Sekihotai, an army falsely punished by the Meiji government for some of its own crimes. You are a former gangster and fighter for hire. You have a reputation for instilling fear in your opponents. You attempted to bomb government buildings to make former Ishin Shishi's pay for their crimes." At the mention of his one night stint as a terrorist a wry smile came to Sano's lips. Yahiko and the others looked at Sanosuke in confusion.
"When did that happen?" Yahiko interrupted Tokio's listing of Sano's background information. Kenshin and Sanosuke gave each other a strange look.
"You never told them?" Kenshin shook his head in response to Sano's question.
"I didn't think there was much to tell, to tell you the truth."
"What are you talking about Kenshin?" Kaoru asked her husband. "I thought you've told me everything?"
"Well, this is only a small thing that happened between Sanosuke and I. I didn't think it was my place to tell any of you about it. If Sano had wanted you to know he would have told you himself, of that I am sure." Sanosuke grinned.
"It's nothing for you all to worry about. I just went out with my friend Katsu one night intending to blow up government buildings. Kenshin convinced me it wasn't worth it." Sanosuke and Kenshin both smiled at each other.
"It was an interesting night." Kenshin commented, remembering their midnight battle. The others looked at Kenshin and then at Sanosuke.
"At any rate Tokio-san, I think I can see what you're getting at." Sanosuke looked at Tokio. "My background and record looks pretty bad. Bad enough that I certainly wouldn't be killed in the prison due to loyalty to the Meiji government." Tokio nodded at him.
"Precisely. And you are also a very talented fighter so we're not concerned about you not being able to hold your own in the prison."
"So what? You're going to send Sano into the prison to get your information?" Yahiko asked.
"That is what we were planning." Tokio nodded at the young swordsman.
"Of course, we have the added incentive of your warrant to make sure that you help us out." Chou commented with a wry grin at Sano. "If you don't come with us, you're going to be going to prison for real. If you help us out we make sure you're record is cleaned so that you never have to worry about THIS particular crime again."
"When we reach Hokkaido my husband will explain everything in more detail but for now I think you get the point."
"Tokio-dono?" Tokio and the others all turned to look at Kenshin. "I have a question."
"Yes, Kenshin-san?"
"Why didn't you just explain this to us earlier. I'm sure we could have helped you and your husband out sooner if you had told us." Tokio gave Kenshin a smile that seemed just a little sad.
"I'm sorry, we really did not want to get the rest of you involved. My husband has been sending in undercover agents for the last few months trying to get things taken care of. Each of the agents have been discovered somehow, and killed." Everyone looked surprised. "And so you see, this is a dangerous assignment and because of that, my husband did not want to have to involve more people than necessary."
"Whoa, wait a minute." Megumi looked like she was about to get angry. "You've gotten people killed doing the exact same thing you want Sano to go do? What's to keep him from getting killed like the rest of them?"
"We are hoping that Sanosuke-san's background will protect him. We believe that the agent's true identities were all discovered, which resulted in their deaths."
"You're HOPING? So you don't even know for sure if this is going to work and you're still going to risk his life?" Tokio gave Megumi a look that seemed to say that she didn't like the situation any more than Megumi did. Megumi didn't buy it. "What if they were killed because they wouldn't agree to join the conspiracy? How can you be sure of anything??"
"We can't be sure." Tokio said quietly with a trace of sadness. "But the situation is one that needs to be taken care of before something terrible happens. I'm afraid this is a lot of pressure to place on your shoulders Sanosuke-san. Will you help us?" Tokio gave Sanosuke a searching look. He seemed to be thinking things through for himself.
"You can't possibly be considering it!" Megumi turned to Sano. "Sano, it sounds like its going to be dangerous, don't do it."
"Hey woman, didn't you hear that he doesn't have a choice in the matter?" Chou folded his arms and gave Megumi his trademark look with one eye closed.
"Of course he has a choice!" Chou just continued giving her his confident look. Megumi got even angrier. "Don't you think for a minute that you could take him in against his will! If Sanosuke wanted to he could run away again and none of you Keishichou agents would ever find him!" Megumi looked about ready to throw something at Chou. Sanosuke reached up and placed his hand on her shoulder tenderly.
"It's alright Megumi. You're right, it is my choice, and I choose to help them out." Tokio and Chou both looked relieved. Megumi turned to him angrily. He brushed his hand against her cheek and lifted her chin so she was looking him right in the face. In a soothing voice he continued. "I don't want to have to run away again..."
"But!" He put his finger to her lips silencing her gently.
"Shhhh Please Megumi. You're not making this any easier." Megumi looked down at the floor. The others watched the display quietly. There was still something strange about Sanosuke and Megumi showing their affection openly.
"So you'll help us out then Sanosuke-san?" Tokio was smiling at him again.
"You guys don't leave me much choice. And besides, Sagara Sanosuke doesn't back down from a fight." He indicated himself with his thumb for a moment and then slowly lowered his hand. "I'm ready for that drink now."
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Now you know the basic plot for the fic! Next chapter, plans are made and details are discovered. Who's going with Sano to the prison? What do they need to do first? What do the women think of all this?? Read on!