"You say they're headed for Yokahama?" asked Saito.
Chou stood against the wall of the large office. The police station had very large offices on the upper floors, usually kept for high-ranking chiefs and officials. Saito Hajime sat in a large leather chair, behind a desk full of papers. They were old police records, ancient by Chou's standards. Personally, he would never have the patience to do any sort of paperwork, let alone look through old documents that were ancient history.
"Yeah," the blonde-haired samurai told him. "He and that 'chicken- boy'."
Saito smiled. That immature punk might have gotten smarter over the last seven years, but he was still a punk. As he sat behind his desk, Saito remembered the youth's fight with that monk in Shishio's fortress. After seeing the beating that kid went through, Saito couldn't discard him as just a kid anymore. He had been a man, even then. Now, according to Chou, the punk was actually settling down with a woman, and yet still kept up his technique.
That brought his thoughts to his own wife. Saito would never admit this to anyone, but he missed her. How he hated being away for weeks at a time. She deserved better than that. After all those years of support while he was always leaving her, she was still in love with him. Truth was, he had never lost the love he had for her all those years ago. She alone was his happiness. There were times long ago when it was her love that kept him home, and not out searching for the battousai.
"Oi, Saito," Chou shouted. "You ok?"
"Yes, Chou," came a gruff reply. "I was just thinking." He stood from his desk. "I'm going to head to Yokahama. If we saw them leave, then so did the enemy. I want you to stay here, and protect the Kamiya Kashin Ryu Dojo while Himura and Sanosuke are out of town."
"What?" Chou responded. "No way. I'm coming with you. You can't hog all the fun."
"I know how this foe thinks," said Saito seriously. "Trust me. You'll get all the action you need while you're here. Besides, if the battousai's woman is hurt, then we could lose Himura for good."
"What do you mean by 'for good'?" Chou asked.
"Himura Kenshin's life revolves around those he cares for," said Saito. "Especially his wife. If she were to be killed, I doubt even his friends would be able to keep him from changing back to the hitokiri he once was."
"So after all these years," noted Chou, "he still has the hitokiri buried somewhere inside him."
"You can't take the samurai out of the samurai," said Saito. "If Himura's wife is killed, his anger will force him to do anything to avenge her death, even if it means destroying himself to do it."
"How do you know?" Chou asked.
"Because," answered Saito. "Because I know how he feels."
An hour later, Saito had left. Chou watched the uniformed samurai board a police carriage, and take off heading for Yokahama. The blonde warrior watched until the dust trails from the carriage wheels disappeared around the block corner. He sighed.
"Oh well," he said. "Time to baby-sit."
Chou headed off in the direction of the Kamiya Kashin Ryu Dojo. Chances are, they'd give him a hard time if he were to just walk right in and tell them he was going to be hanging around for a while. That just happened to be exactly what he was planning on doing. He never did like the secret spy job missions. He'd much rather just get the bull out of the way and be done with it. And so on he went, through the city streets and toward the dojo.
Meanwhile, already at the dojo, Yahiko was back from his trip to Tsubame's grandparents house. He listened intently to Kaoru as she informed him of the recent events.
Standing almost six feet tall now, Yahiko looked much like Sanosuke did at his age, but with a sword and a blue gi. He had a sakaba made to mimic Kenshin's blade, which enabled him to conflict a great amount of damage without straining his muscles like he did when he used a wooden sword. Under his spiking hair, his eyes were determined. The young samurai was taking the news surprisingly well, and the look he had told his former teacher that he was ready to do his part.
"So there's a chance that these guys might try to attack the dojo even while Kenshin's away?" Yahiko asked.
"Yes," said Kaoru. "That's why I need to ask you to stay with us for a few days."
Yahiko nodded. But there was something strange in the tone of Kaoru's voice. It was very slight, almost unnoticeable. It was as if she was admitting something, some sort of weakness. True, Yahiko had grown much stronger than her, as well as a better fighter, but Kaoru was no slouch either. She had been training consistently even while married to Kenshin. Yahiko thought she was probably the most dangerous woman in all of Japan. But something still was a little odd.
"I'll stay," the young samurai said to her. "Don't worry about a thing."
"Thank you," said Kaoru. "Megummi will be staying with us as well. She's in the guest room sleeping right now."
"I see," noted Yahiko. "How was her trip to the mountains?"
"From what I've heard," Kaoru told him, "the villagers are all recovering. Whatever medicine she gave them worked really well. She really is an amazing doctor."
"Yes," said Yahiko. "But she's been an even more amazing friend to all of us…and Sanosuke has been like an older brother to me. I won't let anything happen to you two. I promise."
Kaoru detected a hint of sentiment in the young samurai's voice. Could it be that he actually admitted his affection of the one who picked on him the most? He really was an adult now. As she watched him walk off to stand at the door, Kaoru saw the man she and Kenshin had worked so hard to bring about. She even felt a little prideful, for she had been the one to teach him his budo.
"Huh," said Yahiko.
Kaoru walked over to join Yahiko at the doorway. She now saw the courtyard, pretty much the same as always. But standing at the dojo gate was a man with spiky hair, and many, many swords. Kaoru immediately recognized him. It had been so long ago, yet that guy had stood out in her mind because of his sword-toting appearance.
"You!" she shouted. "I remember you."
Yahiko was confused.
"You do?" Yahiko asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "Don't you remember? He was once one of the juppongatana, and came by the Aoiya to tell us where all the rest of his friends had gone."
Now Yahiko remembered him. How could he have forgotten a man who carries all those swords, not to mention a bright red gi? Sanosuke had an attitude with him, and he for Sanosuke. But Yahiko remembered that the red warrior was supposed to be working for the government. What would he want now?
"Why are you here?" Yahiko asked. "What do you want?"
From the gate, Chou sighed and smiled wryly. Here goes a good two hours of explanations and petty squabbling. He started walking toward them as he spoke.
"Relax," he said with another sigh. "I'm here to help you. Jeez, you try to help people and they always seem to get an attitude with you."
Kaoru watched the man swagger down the path to the stairs of the dojo. He was dressed just as she remembered him: wearing a long red gi, his long blonde hair spiking high, and the many swords he kept at his side and on his back. But why show up now?
"Sorry for the attitude," said Yahiko, "but we need to be cautious. Do you still work for the government?"
"Yes," Chou sighed. "I keep a low profile, but still do important jobs. I'm here because my boss doesn't want anything happening to Himura's wife here."
"Me?" asked Kaoru. "Wait a minute, who's your boss and why does he care about what happens to me?"
"I can't tell you who my boss is," said Chou, "but if you get killed, then your husband may not be in the right mindset to do what he needs to do."
"What are you talking about?" Yahiko asked. "What's going on?"
Chou sighed yet again.
"I won't tell you who's involved," the red warrior told them. "What I will tell you is it's big enough that the government thinks my boss and I need to be involved. My boss is going to meet up with Himura and fill him in on the whole thing, but until they get back, I can't tell you anymore than I already have."
"That's ridiculous," Kaoru shouted. "If we're in danger, then I think we have a right to know who's after us and why?"
"Yeah?" Chou asked sarcastically. "Too bad. Life is tough. Listen, just go about your business as usual and everything will be explained when your man gets back. Until then, I'm supposed to stay here and protect you."
"What?" shouted Kaoru. "You're staying here?"
"Hey," Chou shouted back. "I'm doing you a favor. You should be grateful."
"She has me to protect her," said Yahiko as he leaned against the doorpost. "Why should we need someone as rude as you to hang around?"
Chou smiled at the young samurai in the doorway. He had followed up on him as well. He was the one they called Yahiko, and even defeated a member of the juppongatana when he was a boy. Even then, Chou knew the kid had potential. Who knows? Maybe he would like this guy. But he became serious, something he rarely did.
"Listen," Chou said to him. "I know you're pretty strong, probably just as strong as me in fact. But the point is the enemy who is behind all this is far greater than you think. You'll need me if they try another attack. The previous two were just to get Himura's attention. The next will probably be for real. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't having two samurai protecting this place better than having one?"
Neither Yahiko nor Kaoru could argue with that. Reluctantly, they both agreed to let him stay.
"Alright," Kaoru said finally. "We have one more guest room you can use. I'll show you the way –"
"Thanks anyway," Chou interrupted, "but I don't plan on sleeping."
"Suit yourself," said Kaoru. "Dinner will be ready in an hour in case you're hungry."
Chou nodded and watched the wife of Himura Kenshin walk off. He then sat down on the steps, only a few feet away from the leaning samurai, who was still watching him like a hawk. The red warrior sighed for the umpteenth time today, as he slowly surveyed the layout of the courtyard, piecing together what angle an attack may come from. But the young samurai next to him interrupted his thoughts.
"So is Kenshin their real target?" Yahiko asked him.
"Yeah," Chou answered. "But they seem to want to get to him by killing the ones he cares about. I told you, that's why I'm here."
"But why didn't you tell Kenshin about all of this before?" Yahiko asked him.
"Oi, stop asking me questions," said Chou. "I told you everything I'm allowed to tell you."
That didn't satisfy Yahiko. He would die for his friends, and do anything to keep Kaoru safe. It bothered him that once again the government was keeping things from Kenshin, and only telling him of it when they deemed it necessary. Now that Kenshin was away, they finally decide to tell him. But that was stupid timing, for it left the dojo unguarded.
And now to make amends, they send one guy to protect them? From the looks of him, he appeared to be just another hotshot samurai with an ego. Still he was once a member of the juppongatana, and Yahiko almost swore he actually felt a ki. So far, he only had that feeling around Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Aoshi. He had to be at least somewhat good. Hopefully, there wouldn't be a need to find out.
Chou stood against the wall of the large office. The police station had very large offices on the upper floors, usually kept for high-ranking chiefs and officials. Saito Hajime sat in a large leather chair, behind a desk full of papers. They were old police records, ancient by Chou's standards. Personally, he would never have the patience to do any sort of paperwork, let alone look through old documents that were ancient history.
"Yeah," the blonde-haired samurai told him. "He and that 'chicken- boy'."
Saito smiled. That immature punk might have gotten smarter over the last seven years, but he was still a punk. As he sat behind his desk, Saito remembered the youth's fight with that monk in Shishio's fortress. After seeing the beating that kid went through, Saito couldn't discard him as just a kid anymore. He had been a man, even then. Now, according to Chou, the punk was actually settling down with a woman, and yet still kept up his technique.
That brought his thoughts to his own wife. Saito would never admit this to anyone, but he missed her. How he hated being away for weeks at a time. She deserved better than that. After all those years of support while he was always leaving her, she was still in love with him. Truth was, he had never lost the love he had for her all those years ago. She alone was his happiness. There were times long ago when it was her love that kept him home, and not out searching for the battousai.
"Oi, Saito," Chou shouted. "You ok?"
"Yes, Chou," came a gruff reply. "I was just thinking." He stood from his desk. "I'm going to head to Yokahama. If we saw them leave, then so did the enemy. I want you to stay here, and protect the Kamiya Kashin Ryu Dojo while Himura and Sanosuke are out of town."
"What?" Chou responded. "No way. I'm coming with you. You can't hog all the fun."
"I know how this foe thinks," said Saito seriously. "Trust me. You'll get all the action you need while you're here. Besides, if the battousai's woman is hurt, then we could lose Himura for good."
"What do you mean by 'for good'?" Chou asked.
"Himura Kenshin's life revolves around those he cares for," said Saito. "Especially his wife. If she were to be killed, I doubt even his friends would be able to keep him from changing back to the hitokiri he once was."
"So after all these years," noted Chou, "he still has the hitokiri buried somewhere inside him."
"You can't take the samurai out of the samurai," said Saito. "If Himura's wife is killed, his anger will force him to do anything to avenge her death, even if it means destroying himself to do it."
"How do you know?" Chou asked.
"Because," answered Saito. "Because I know how he feels."
An hour later, Saito had left. Chou watched the uniformed samurai board a police carriage, and take off heading for Yokahama. The blonde warrior watched until the dust trails from the carriage wheels disappeared around the block corner. He sighed.
"Oh well," he said. "Time to baby-sit."
Chou headed off in the direction of the Kamiya Kashin Ryu Dojo. Chances are, they'd give him a hard time if he were to just walk right in and tell them he was going to be hanging around for a while. That just happened to be exactly what he was planning on doing. He never did like the secret spy job missions. He'd much rather just get the bull out of the way and be done with it. And so on he went, through the city streets and toward the dojo.
Meanwhile, already at the dojo, Yahiko was back from his trip to Tsubame's grandparents house. He listened intently to Kaoru as she informed him of the recent events.
Standing almost six feet tall now, Yahiko looked much like Sanosuke did at his age, but with a sword and a blue gi. He had a sakaba made to mimic Kenshin's blade, which enabled him to conflict a great amount of damage without straining his muscles like he did when he used a wooden sword. Under his spiking hair, his eyes were determined. The young samurai was taking the news surprisingly well, and the look he had told his former teacher that he was ready to do his part.
"So there's a chance that these guys might try to attack the dojo even while Kenshin's away?" Yahiko asked.
"Yes," said Kaoru. "That's why I need to ask you to stay with us for a few days."
Yahiko nodded. But there was something strange in the tone of Kaoru's voice. It was very slight, almost unnoticeable. It was as if she was admitting something, some sort of weakness. True, Yahiko had grown much stronger than her, as well as a better fighter, but Kaoru was no slouch either. She had been training consistently even while married to Kenshin. Yahiko thought she was probably the most dangerous woman in all of Japan. But something still was a little odd.
"I'll stay," the young samurai said to her. "Don't worry about a thing."
"Thank you," said Kaoru. "Megummi will be staying with us as well. She's in the guest room sleeping right now."
"I see," noted Yahiko. "How was her trip to the mountains?"
"From what I've heard," Kaoru told him, "the villagers are all recovering. Whatever medicine she gave them worked really well. She really is an amazing doctor."
"Yes," said Yahiko. "But she's been an even more amazing friend to all of us…and Sanosuke has been like an older brother to me. I won't let anything happen to you two. I promise."
Kaoru detected a hint of sentiment in the young samurai's voice. Could it be that he actually admitted his affection of the one who picked on him the most? He really was an adult now. As she watched him walk off to stand at the door, Kaoru saw the man she and Kenshin had worked so hard to bring about. She even felt a little prideful, for she had been the one to teach him his budo.
"Huh," said Yahiko.
Kaoru walked over to join Yahiko at the doorway. She now saw the courtyard, pretty much the same as always. But standing at the dojo gate was a man with spiky hair, and many, many swords. Kaoru immediately recognized him. It had been so long ago, yet that guy had stood out in her mind because of his sword-toting appearance.
"You!" she shouted. "I remember you."
Yahiko was confused.
"You do?" Yahiko asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "Don't you remember? He was once one of the juppongatana, and came by the Aoiya to tell us where all the rest of his friends had gone."
Now Yahiko remembered him. How could he have forgotten a man who carries all those swords, not to mention a bright red gi? Sanosuke had an attitude with him, and he for Sanosuke. But Yahiko remembered that the red warrior was supposed to be working for the government. What would he want now?
"Why are you here?" Yahiko asked. "What do you want?"
From the gate, Chou sighed and smiled wryly. Here goes a good two hours of explanations and petty squabbling. He started walking toward them as he spoke.
"Relax," he said with another sigh. "I'm here to help you. Jeez, you try to help people and they always seem to get an attitude with you."
Kaoru watched the man swagger down the path to the stairs of the dojo. He was dressed just as she remembered him: wearing a long red gi, his long blonde hair spiking high, and the many swords he kept at his side and on his back. But why show up now?
"Sorry for the attitude," said Yahiko, "but we need to be cautious. Do you still work for the government?"
"Yes," Chou sighed. "I keep a low profile, but still do important jobs. I'm here because my boss doesn't want anything happening to Himura's wife here."
"Me?" asked Kaoru. "Wait a minute, who's your boss and why does he care about what happens to me?"
"I can't tell you who my boss is," said Chou, "but if you get killed, then your husband may not be in the right mindset to do what he needs to do."
"What are you talking about?" Yahiko asked. "What's going on?"
Chou sighed yet again.
"I won't tell you who's involved," the red warrior told them. "What I will tell you is it's big enough that the government thinks my boss and I need to be involved. My boss is going to meet up with Himura and fill him in on the whole thing, but until they get back, I can't tell you anymore than I already have."
"That's ridiculous," Kaoru shouted. "If we're in danger, then I think we have a right to know who's after us and why?"
"Yeah?" Chou asked sarcastically. "Too bad. Life is tough. Listen, just go about your business as usual and everything will be explained when your man gets back. Until then, I'm supposed to stay here and protect you."
"What?" shouted Kaoru. "You're staying here?"
"Hey," Chou shouted back. "I'm doing you a favor. You should be grateful."
"She has me to protect her," said Yahiko as he leaned against the doorpost. "Why should we need someone as rude as you to hang around?"
Chou smiled at the young samurai in the doorway. He had followed up on him as well. He was the one they called Yahiko, and even defeated a member of the juppongatana when he was a boy. Even then, Chou knew the kid had potential. Who knows? Maybe he would like this guy. But he became serious, something he rarely did.
"Listen," Chou said to him. "I know you're pretty strong, probably just as strong as me in fact. But the point is the enemy who is behind all this is far greater than you think. You'll need me if they try another attack. The previous two were just to get Himura's attention. The next will probably be for real. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't having two samurai protecting this place better than having one?"
Neither Yahiko nor Kaoru could argue with that. Reluctantly, they both agreed to let him stay.
"Alright," Kaoru said finally. "We have one more guest room you can use. I'll show you the way –"
"Thanks anyway," Chou interrupted, "but I don't plan on sleeping."
"Suit yourself," said Kaoru. "Dinner will be ready in an hour in case you're hungry."
Chou nodded and watched the wife of Himura Kenshin walk off. He then sat down on the steps, only a few feet away from the leaning samurai, who was still watching him like a hawk. The red warrior sighed for the umpteenth time today, as he slowly surveyed the layout of the courtyard, piecing together what angle an attack may come from. But the young samurai next to him interrupted his thoughts.
"So is Kenshin their real target?" Yahiko asked him.
"Yeah," Chou answered. "But they seem to want to get to him by killing the ones he cares about. I told you, that's why I'm here."
"But why didn't you tell Kenshin about all of this before?" Yahiko asked him.
"Oi, stop asking me questions," said Chou. "I told you everything I'm allowed to tell you."
That didn't satisfy Yahiko. He would die for his friends, and do anything to keep Kaoru safe. It bothered him that once again the government was keeping things from Kenshin, and only telling him of it when they deemed it necessary. Now that Kenshin was away, they finally decide to tell him. But that was stupid timing, for it left the dojo unguarded.
And now to make amends, they send one guy to protect them? From the looks of him, he appeared to be just another hotshot samurai with an ego. Still he was once a member of the juppongatana, and Yahiko almost swore he actually felt a ki. So far, he only had that feeling around Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Aoshi. He had to be at least somewhat good. Hopefully, there wouldn't be a need to find out.