He slid open the main entrance to the clinic door, silently stepping inside. Aoshi loosened his tie and sat down on the cushions that lined the waiting room. His eyes drifted to a spot where ribbons of moonlight flowed through the window.
He had searched the embassy for nearly an hour. One of the valet outside had said that he saw a woman matching her description, but she had left with a gentleman in a carriage. She had apparently fainted, feeling ill, the gentleman said. When Aoshi asked what he had looked like, the man tartly replied that he had his eyes only for the woman, not her companion.
Straightening in his sitting position, Aoshi sensed Kei enter the room.
"Where's my sister?" Kei asked.
He hesitated before answering. "I don't know."
Even in the darkness, Aoshi could see Kei's expression of shock and disbelief. "What do you mean by that?"
"She's missing," Aoshi said calmly. "We decided to leave early. I waited for her…but she never came."
"You bastard! How could you let someone do this!" Kei lunged towards him, grabbing his shirtfront.
Aoshi let him, knowing full well he could have counterattacked if he wanted to.
"I knew you staying here was a bad idea. I told her that-"
"Takani-sensei," Aoshi interrupted. "I-" His eyes widened in alarm.
"What? What is it?"
Aoshi shushed him. Then he heard it. The whistling of a kunai, followed by a thump.
Silence.
Their visitor was gone. Aoshi crept to the clinic door and slid it open. The knife was imbedded in the doorframe with a note tied around it.
Kei's eyes rounded.
Aoshi pulled the letter out while Kei lit a lantern. After unfolding it and skimming its contents, Aoshi set it on a table, looking outside, his lips pressed together in a grim line. Kei snatched the letter and read, his jaw dropping in horror.
"Shinomori Aoshi, location twenty-one, this afternoon if you want answers regarding Takani Megumi," Kei whispered shakily. "She...She's been kidnapped? W…Why?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Aoshi responded. "They're trying to lure me out…and she has something they want…"
"What?"
"I wish I could answer that..."
"What are you going to do?" Kei asked.
"Meet the sender as requested," Aoshi answered.
Kei looked at him for a moment. "Where's location twenty-one?" he asked in a puzzled tone.
Instead of answering, Aoshi headed down the hallway leading to his room, pulling off his tie.
"Shinomori-san!" Kei called out. Then he dashed after the onmitsu, viciously grabbing his arm.
In the blink of an eye, Aoshi had maneuvered his arm so that the male doctor no longer had him by the sleeve. "It's late. We should both get some sleep..."
"Why didn't you answer my question?"
"As I said, Takani-sensei-"
"Dammit, don't play games with me!" Kei nearly shouted.
Aoshi let out a breath. "All right..." He opened the door to his room. "Location twenty-one is one of the designated meeting areas the Oniwabanshu used whenever they were in Aizu."
Kei's face went completely ashen. "Please tell me that an Oniwabanshu didn't kidnap my sister..."
"I don't know," Aoshi responded calmly. "I'll know later in the day..." He closed the door of his room, leaving the doctor to himself.
***
The blades glinted in the afternoon sun which filtered into his room. Aoshi took a deep breath, examining the two kodachi peeking out of its single sheath.
When was the last time he picked up these swords to fight against an enemy? It had been a long time...a year...possibly two? He had trained and meditated nearly every day, but he hadn't fought an opponent in a while. Thanks to Okina's suggestion, he had brought the kodachi with him to Aizu, concealing them in his bag. When he had fallen ill, one of Jiro's children had brought his belongings over to the clinic.
Aoshi examined the blades once more before placing them back inside their casing.
Takani Megumi. So many questions he had. Who kidnapped her? Why?
"Shinomori-san," Kei spoke up from the doorway of his room.
Aoshi turned, tucking his sheathed swords against his arm. "Nani?"
"I want my sister back," Kei said, swallowing.
"I know," Aoshi said quietly. "I'll do everything I can to bring her back."
Kei closed his eyes, his fists clenched tightly. "She told me everything about you...I told her having you here was dangerous, but she kept you here anyway." His eyes flashing, he spat, "This is all your doing, Shinomori. If you hadn't dragged her along into...whatever your affairs are...she wouldn't be missing!"
Aoshi looked away. After that comment, what else could be said?
"Sumanai..."
"You come into town, thinking you can do whatever you want to, asking to use our resources, dragging her along on searches..."
"Your sister helped me of her own free will," Aoshi insisted. Yet deep down, he knew he was partially to blame.
"Why couldn't you look after her?" Kei demanded. "With all your training, I know you have the skill!" He cursed. "I just found her again after all these years...I can't lose her now!"
"She saved my life. So I will save hers."
The young doctor studied him for a few moments. Anger still flashed in his eyes. "She obviously thinks there's a redeeming quality in you...considering what you've done in the past. For her sake...I hope she's right. I don't want her hurt anymore than she has been."
Aoshi briefly wondered exactly how much of their history did she tell Kei. Their tie to Kanryu, he suspected was a given. But there was more. He said quietly, "Your sister is much stronger than you think." When the other man didn't respond, a ghost of a smile touched Aoshi's lips. "I wouldn't be surprised if she found a way to escape."
"How do you know?" Kei scoffed.
"Because she escaped me once," Aoshi responded easily before turning to exit the clinic.
***
Megumi looked around her room. She appeared to be underground, in a storage shed, perhaps? The only way out was through a wooden trap door several feet above her head. She'd go for an escape if she knew where she was. Two guards were posted at the door, preventing a quick getaway. She sat on the ground, cupping her elbows.
She couldn't believe it. He was responsible for all this. Her throat clogged with anxiety. It would only be a matter of time before he got what he wanted from her...
***
In spite of what he said, he still felt responsible for her disappearance. Aoshi knew that he shouldn't have gotten her involved. Anytime anyone got involved in Oniwabanshu affairs, there was the possibility of disaster.
Nevertheless, he would do everything he could to bring her back to her waiting sibling. It was the least he could do for her, after all she had done for him.
He waited patiently in a clearing several miles outside of town, knowing that he would not be disturbed there. Large trees loomed over the surrounding area, providing a natural barrier against passersby.
Immediately, he felt a presence. Aoshi turned, his eyes widening at the man who stood behind him.
"You," Aoshi muttered.
The older man nodded his head once. "It was something that needed to be done..."
"Why the deceit, Jiro?" The onmitsu studied the man with whom he'd been acquainted with since he was a child. A trusted friend of Okina and the Oniwabanshu. Like a shooting star, that trust had faded in an instant. How could he have not seen it coming? He should have. Trust. A very fragile gift indeed.
The older man reached behind his back to retrieve his weapon, a staff made of extremely strong metal. Heaving a deep sigh, his grip on his weapon choice tightened. "I am sorry, old friend. But now is not the time for explanations..."
Narrowing his eyes, Aoshi unsheathed his nitou kodachi. "So be it..."
A/N: Okay, who saw that coming? Honestly, now. Don't you LOVE these cliffhangers? Sorry if this is so short, but I feel I ended it at the right part. I'll need some time to create the fight scene between Jiro and Aoshi since I'm TERRIBLE at writing those things...And I have NO CLUE how to spell the attacks Aoshi performs. (Research time!) I'll be REALLY surprised if I post a chappie within 3 days. Thanks a lot to everyone who's been reading this fic.
He had searched the embassy for nearly an hour. One of the valet outside had said that he saw a woman matching her description, but she had left with a gentleman in a carriage. She had apparently fainted, feeling ill, the gentleman said. When Aoshi asked what he had looked like, the man tartly replied that he had his eyes only for the woman, not her companion.
Straightening in his sitting position, Aoshi sensed Kei enter the room.
"Where's my sister?" Kei asked.
He hesitated before answering. "I don't know."
Even in the darkness, Aoshi could see Kei's expression of shock and disbelief. "What do you mean by that?"
"She's missing," Aoshi said calmly. "We decided to leave early. I waited for her…but she never came."
"You bastard! How could you let someone do this!" Kei lunged towards him, grabbing his shirtfront.
Aoshi let him, knowing full well he could have counterattacked if he wanted to.
"I knew you staying here was a bad idea. I told her that-"
"Takani-sensei," Aoshi interrupted. "I-" His eyes widened in alarm.
"What? What is it?"
Aoshi shushed him. Then he heard it. The whistling of a kunai, followed by a thump.
Silence.
Their visitor was gone. Aoshi crept to the clinic door and slid it open. The knife was imbedded in the doorframe with a note tied around it.
Kei's eyes rounded.
Aoshi pulled the letter out while Kei lit a lantern. After unfolding it and skimming its contents, Aoshi set it on a table, looking outside, his lips pressed together in a grim line. Kei snatched the letter and read, his jaw dropping in horror.
"Shinomori Aoshi, location twenty-one, this afternoon if you want answers regarding Takani Megumi," Kei whispered shakily. "She...She's been kidnapped? W…Why?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Aoshi responded. "They're trying to lure me out…and she has something they want…"
"What?"
"I wish I could answer that..."
"What are you going to do?" Kei asked.
"Meet the sender as requested," Aoshi answered.
Kei looked at him for a moment. "Where's location twenty-one?" he asked in a puzzled tone.
Instead of answering, Aoshi headed down the hallway leading to his room, pulling off his tie.
"Shinomori-san!" Kei called out. Then he dashed after the onmitsu, viciously grabbing his arm.
In the blink of an eye, Aoshi had maneuvered his arm so that the male doctor no longer had him by the sleeve. "It's late. We should both get some sleep..."
"Why didn't you answer my question?"
"As I said, Takani-sensei-"
"Dammit, don't play games with me!" Kei nearly shouted.
Aoshi let out a breath. "All right..." He opened the door to his room. "Location twenty-one is one of the designated meeting areas the Oniwabanshu used whenever they were in Aizu."
Kei's face went completely ashen. "Please tell me that an Oniwabanshu didn't kidnap my sister..."
"I don't know," Aoshi responded calmly. "I'll know later in the day..." He closed the door of his room, leaving the doctor to himself.
***
The blades glinted in the afternoon sun which filtered into his room. Aoshi took a deep breath, examining the two kodachi peeking out of its single sheath.
When was the last time he picked up these swords to fight against an enemy? It had been a long time...a year...possibly two? He had trained and meditated nearly every day, but he hadn't fought an opponent in a while. Thanks to Okina's suggestion, he had brought the kodachi with him to Aizu, concealing them in his bag. When he had fallen ill, one of Jiro's children had brought his belongings over to the clinic.
Aoshi examined the blades once more before placing them back inside their casing.
Takani Megumi. So many questions he had. Who kidnapped her? Why?
"Shinomori-san," Kei spoke up from the doorway of his room.
Aoshi turned, tucking his sheathed swords against his arm. "Nani?"
"I want my sister back," Kei said, swallowing.
"I know," Aoshi said quietly. "I'll do everything I can to bring her back."
Kei closed his eyes, his fists clenched tightly. "She told me everything about you...I told her having you here was dangerous, but she kept you here anyway." His eyes flashing, he spat, "This is all your doing, Shinomori. If you hadn't dragged her along into...whatever your affairs are...she wouldn't be missing!"
Aoshi looked away. After that comment, what else could be said?
"Sumanai..."
"You come into town, thinking you can do whatever you want to, asking to use our resources, dragging her along on searches..."
"Your sister helped me of her own free will," Aoshi insisted. Yet deep down, he knew he was partially to blame.
"Why couldn't you look after her?" Kei demanded. "With all your training, I know you have the skill!" He cursed. "I just found her again after all these years...I can't lose her now!"
"She saved my life. So I will save hers."
The young doctor studied him for a few moments. Anger still flashed in his eyes. "She obviously thinks there's a redeeming quality in you...considering what you've done in the past. For her sake...I hope she's right. I don't want her hurt anymore than she has been."
Aoshi briefly wondered exactly how much of their history did she tell Kei. Their tie to Kanryu, he suspected was a given. But there was more. He said quietly, "Your sister is much stronger than you think." When the other man didn't respond, a ghost of a smile touched Aoshi's lips. "I wouldn't be surprised if she found a way to escape."
"How do you know?" Kei scoffed.
"Because she escaped me once," Aoshi responded easily before turning to exit the clinic.
***
Megumi looked around her room. She appeared to be underground, in a storage shed, perhaps? The only way out was through a wooden trap door several feet above her head. She'd go for an escape if she knew where she was. Two guards were posted at the door, preventing a quick getaway. She sat on the ground, cupping her elbows.
She couldn't believe it. He was responsible for all this. Her throat clogged with anxiety. It would only be a matter of time before he got what he wanted from her...
***
In spite of what he said, he still felt responsible for her disappearance. Aoshi knew that he shouldn't have gotten her involved. Anytime anyone got involved in Oniwabanshu affairs, there was the possibility of disaster.
Nevertheless, he would do everything he could to bring her back to her waiting sibling. It was the least he could do for her, after all she had done for him.
He waited patiently in a clearing several miles outside of town, knowing that he would not be disturbed there. Large trees loomed over the surrounding area, providing a natural barrier against passersby.
Immediately, he felt a presence. Aoshi turned, his eyes widening at the man who stood behind him.
"You," Aoshi muttered.
The older man nodded his head once. "It was something that needed to be done..."
"Why the deceit, Jiro?" The onmitsu studied the man with whom he'd been acquainted with since he was a child. A trusted friend of Okina and the Oniwabanshu. Like a shooting star, that trust had faded in an instant. How could he have not seen it coming? He should have. Trust. A very fragile gift indeed.
The older man reached behind his back to retrieve his weapon, a staff made of extremely strong metal. Heaving a deep sigh, his grip on his weapon choice tightened. "I am sorry, old friend. But now is not the time for explanations..."
Narrowing his eyes, Aoshi unsheathed his nitou kodachi. "So be it..."
A/N: Okay, who saw that coming? Honestly, now. Don't you LOVE these cliffhangers? Sorry if this is so short, but I feel I ended it at the right part. I'll need some time to create the fight scene between Jiro and Aoshi since I'm TERRIBLE at writing those things...And I have NO CLUE how to spell the attacks Aoshi performs. (Research time!) I'll be REALLY surprised if I post a chappie within 3 days. Thanks a lot to everyone who's been reading this fic.