Chapter 2: Strength and Honor
"Sano! Yahiko! ANYONE! Hurry!" a young girl dressed in ninja clothes and sporting a long braid burst through the dojo gates screaming for help.
"Oi, Misao! Calm down what are you yellin-"
A tall man with spiky brown hair, who had been walking around the corner of the building, was cut short when a kunai knife came dangerously close to his ear.
"What's the big idea?! I told you not to just chuck those things at people! Your aim's not perfect you know." He ended with a smirk, prepared for another assault, but when none came he dropped his hands and instantly turned serious.
"What are you doing here anyway? What's wrong?"
"You mean you don't know?"
"Know what? What is going on?!"
"You didn't even notice Kenshin and Kaoru were gone!?" Misao asked incredulously.
"Well ya, But I figured they took Yahiko with them to the Akabeko and I was just about to go after them..." he paused when Misao started looking around frantically, panic twisting her features.
"Are you sure Yahiko isn't here?!" she almost shrieked the question in her current state. "Are you absolutely sure?!"
"Yes I'm sure, I just looked all over the whole damn place! They're not here. What is the MATTER?! Tell me what's going on!" But Misao only stopped to raise clenched fists to her face and squeezed her eyes shut as if against a terrible image. Her lips started moving nonstop and Sano had to strain to hear her near incoherent mumbling.
"I didn't see him... I didn't see him... she was crying... what if he...what if they-"
Both they're concentrations were suddenly broken when the dojo gate burst open for the second time that day.
"YAHIKO!" Misao screamed, snapped from her somber state, and nearly tackled the boy who was doubled over, hands on knees, and breathing heavily.
"Hey! Watch...it! Misao? What...are you...doing here?" the young boy managed to wheeze out between panting breaths.
"Thank God..." Misao whispered in response and touched Yahiko's arm as if to make sure he was real.
"What is your problem?" he asked, his breathing becoming regular, but then he caught sight of Sano. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" he yelled. "I ran to you're place, and then to the clinic, then the Akabeko, and I couldn't find you anywhere!!
"Hold up! Why were you looking for me anyway? Would someone please tell me what is going on!!" Sano yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
"Kenshin and Kaoru are missing, stupid! I woke up this morning and no one was here! I figured maybe they were at the Akabeko, or the clinic or with you. You were my last hope. I can't find them anywhere and -"
"They're not here!! They're not even in Tokyo!" Misao cut in, finally coming to her senses. "They've both been taken. It was Enishi."
"WHAT?!" both boys nearly screamed simultaneously. Sano recovered first.
"Explain." He commanded, deadly serious now.
"I was coming back from the shrine, visiting Aoshi, when I thought I saw him. Enishi, I mean. Of course I became suspicious and followed. He got in a carriage after talking with some men and headed down the road towards Tokyo at a fast pace. I knew a short cut that would help me keep up on foot so I took it, losing sight of the road for a few minutes. By the time I reached the road again the carriage was gone. I knew it wasn't ahead of me so I headed into the woods to search for it. When I finally I found the carriage it was empty and there were men surrounding a shrine and they had Kaoru. I hid in the brush and watched as Enishi came out of the shrine and walked over to Kaoru..." Misao told them what she had seen and heard earlier that morning while Sano and Yahiko listened intently. "...After they headed off, I ran to a pigeon post on the outskirts and sent a bird to Okina and Aoshi to warn them to prepare for trouble, look for Kenshin, and find out what's going on. Then I ran here as fast as I could to bring you to Kyoto. I have a feeling Enishi's got something big planned, and we got to stop it!"
"Yeah!" Yahiko chimed in. "We're the Kenshin-gumi! Enishi can't hurt Kenshin! He's the strongest!" he said while turning to the other two, waiting for their reassurance. Sano ruffled his hair, humoring him.
"Right, kid. Now let's pack up! It looks like we gotta fight ahead of us!" he said on a happier note, trying to lighten the mood... it worked.
"Don't call me CHAN!" he yelled after Misao and Sano as they sprinted for the exit and the dojo gate was flung open for the third time that day. Without breaking their stride, the Kenshin-Gumi ran straight to the clinic to collect Megumi, and then finally headed for Kyoto.
"We better hurry, it's getting colder," Megumi told them, raising her face to the sky as they hurried down the road. "I've heard that the snow season is to be starting any time now, and these clouds look very promising."
In Kyoto, miles away, a certain redhead awoke to find himself alone, lying on the bare wooden floor of yet another dusky room. Sitting up to observe his surroundings more closely, a searing pain sliced through his middle and he grasped his side reflexively. When he pulled his hand away there was blood staining his palm and his eyes widened as he remembered what had happened. The facial shift brought to notice another less painful, but nagging pain at the base of his neck. Reaching up to investigate, he found that his hair had been crudely arranged in a high ponytail, the hair band so tight that his hairline pulled his skin painfully. Kenshin hastily moved to rebind it in its usual low, inoffensive rurouni style, but a sudden scream pierced the silence and stilled his movements.
"NOOOOO! Don't do this! You CAN'T do this! It's so WRONG! SOMEBODY HELP!!"
"KAORU!!" Kenshin yelled in response, twisting sharply towards the sound, the movement causing another intense throbbing to spread from his bleeding side throughout his body. It left him trembling and he dropped to one knee, struggling against the pain engulfing him. And then he heard it. Enishi's laughter.
The last straw broke.
The mixture of anxiousness for Kaoru's safety, the shattering pain racking his body and the fury he felt towards Enishi and himself brought forth an absolute rage he hadn't felt in 13 years. A rage that caused the pain to abate, his senses to sharpen, and his eyes to turn such an intense shade of yellow they glowed amber. He gave a wild battle cry that revealed his intense inner struggle and with God-like speed, flung open the only door and stepped into the piercing afternoon light. Shading his eyes with one hand and crouching as if expecting an ambush, his eyes adjusted to the offending brightness and he took in an awesome sight.
Whether they thought him a young hero or a bloodthirsty killer, it seemed
that all of Japan had come to witness the fall of their most legendary samurai,
the Hitokiri Battousai.
Well! Looks like there's gonna be just THREE chapters! OOOO man I hope you guys
are liking this! I've never seen (or read) the Jinchuu arc so sorry if Enishi is
weird and keeps laughing but all I know about him is the OVAs, what he looks
like, and that he's crazy. This is actually AFTER the Jinchuu arc (I guess)
everyone already knows who Enishi is and there's a little twist to it I had to
add to his character that you'll see in the last chapter. You can probably guess
if you've seen Gladiator. Okay, ANYWAYS please R and R and give me your advice.
By the way I looooove kenshin and kaoru and I haaaaaate angsty fics too. After
this is over I'll write a happy one, just give me your ideas.