Before you read: This is an alternate universe Rurouni Kenshin story, meaning that most of the scenarios you will find here cannot be found in the original RK series. If you do not like that kind of story, then I suggest you click on the back button and look for another. Otherwise, if you're still reading, then thank you for your interest! I know I still have another story left undone, but I couldn't resist writing a new one, especially when ideas still run fresh in my head. ^_^ Inspiration hit, and I had to seize it. Carpe diem. I do hope you like this new story, partly based on Zhang Yimou's "Hero". I just love that movie!
Please do not forget to leave a review after reading. I would very much appreciate what you think, since the continuation of this story would depend entirely on readers' comments. ^_^
Three is to One
by: Ezra
Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 1: The Employment
For the rest of the world, March 4th was going to be just an ordinary day. The baker would bake his bread, the singer would sing her songs, and the dancer would dance his steps. The children will play, the dogs will bark, the women will gossip. The sun will shine on the sky like yesterday. Or will it rain?
Suddenly the clouds began to darken. Shinomori Aoshi took this as a sign and took out his trenchcoat from the closet. He checked his watch. 9:30 AM, it read. He had an appointment in an hour and a half, and if he wished to be on time he had to leave soon. He walked down the flight of stairs in his two story-apartment, grabbed a hat on the stand and stepped outside. There was a black limousine parked across the street, its driver leaning against its sleek black exterior, waiting. Without as much as a nod, Aoshi hopped inside the limo. The driver followed inside and drove.
The passenger tried to make himself comfortable inside the vehicle. The driver turned on the radio, just in time to hear the DJ say, "Looking out the window, I think it's going to rain today, so I advise all those going outdoors to brink an umbrella or a jacket just in case..." Aoshi looked outside. Sure enough, the sky had turned gray, and the glass was beginning to moisten. Rain.
He hated the rain. Every man has his reasons for hating something right? His own reasons ran deep in his soul, something he could never forget until he had accomplished his mission in life. Aoshi shook his head. His thoughts were getting darker and darker by the minute and he needed a distraction badly. He spotted a small refrigerator a few meters from him. He opened it, and found a variety of snacks and candy bars inside.
"Go ahead and take one," the driver said. "We have a long way ahead of us."
"A drive to the palace does not take more than an hour," Aoshi replied.
"There's been a change of plans. I was instructed to bring you to the secretary of defense," the driver explained.
"Who told you to?"
"Secretary Kashiwajaki Nenji did."
Aoshi nodded, taking a chocolate bar from the fridge. If the ride was going to be long, he needed at least some sugar to keep him steady, especially with his condition...
What was supposed to be an hour's drive became half an hour's. The limousine arrived at it's destination at 11 AM, just in time for Aoshi's appointment. There he was received by a pair of military cadets and then ushered to the ninth floor. There the cadets left him in the hands of two higher-ranking officials, Majors Katsura Kogoro and Saitoh Hajime. Aoshi merely nodded in acknowledgement, which satisfied the former but definitely not the latter.
"Please follow us," Katsura spoke as he and Saitoh proceeded to a room labelled "Meeting Room D". The room was brightly lit and pleasantly decorated with a long wooden table right in the middle. Seated around it was the Secretary of Defense and the Japanese Prime Minister himself. After giving both men a polite bow, Aoshi was asked to sit down, and the two majors followed. Immediately Secretary Kashiwajaki spoke.
"Shinomori Aoshi, I presume you know the reason you have been called for," he said.
"It is my due date," Aoshi replied, fishing a different-looking floppy disk from his trenchcoat.
"It's all here," Aoshi said, waving the floppy in the air nonchalantly. He handed it to Major Saitoh who was about to insert it in a regular drive A. Aoshi stood up, snatched the floppy back and said, "It's a 100 MB floppy. You need a special driver to read this, not an ordinary Floppy A. Why do you think would I store top secret information in an easy to read floppy diskette?"
Saitoh's face wrinkled with anger and Major Katsura immediately intervened.
"I have already requested for the special driver Shinomori-san, Saitoh-san. It should arrive any moment now," he said.
And right on cue a cadet knocked on the door of the meeting room and came in, bringing with him the special driver. Aoshi took it from him and hooked it to the computer. After several minutes' of setup, he finally had his presentation open. Before he began, however, he asked everyone to sit down. He struck one of Saitoh's very sensitive nerves.
"You asked me for information, and here I have it. Oniwabanshu spies have discovered more information on the current assassination attempts and rumors of events like coups and many more. So far, what our organization has discovered only deals with the assassination attempts. Whoever is behind this political crisis has taken great care in cleaning his tracks, and I regret to say that our spies are having a hard time digging them up," Aoshi said.
"Some spies you are," Saitoh mumbled.
Aoshi pretended not to hear the shrewd remark.
"The possible assassination targets are: Finance Secretary Kawamoto Yuji, General Sakamoto Ryota, and even Major Saitoh Hajime, to name a few. I shall give you a more detailed list of the rest of the targets after this presentation. I suggest that the government grant extra security to these people," he continued. Images and profiles of the mentioned people flashed on the projector screen, complete with information like blood type, medical history, and even hobbies. Saitoh's eyes widened when he saw the line, "Smokes cigarettes often." written on his profile. He swore.
"Interesting," Secretary Kashiwajaki mumbled.
"What's more interesting is this," Aoshi said. "We have also uncovered fragments of the bigger plan, the final blow to the Japanese political crisis. It is the assassination of the emperor himself."
"You're kidding," the Prime Minister whispered.
"We believe that there is an organization behind this scheme, but as to what organization we have two leads at the moment: the Shinsengumi & the Ishinshishi."
Suddenly Aoshi's cellphone rang. He took his mobile from one of his inner pockets and received the call from his assistant, Makimachi Misao.
"Okashira," a feminine voice spoke. "We have just confirmed the involvement of the Ishinshishi Choshu faction. They have two skilled assassins and one woman after the emperor. Okon and Omasu have just come back from their mission with short profiles of the assassins. I have them right now."
"Good. But when can you get the complete profiles?" Aoshi asked.
"By tomorrow, Okashira," Misao replied. "But what we have right now is enough information you can give to the Prime Minister at the moment. The names of the assassins are: Sagara Sanosuke, Kamiya Kaoru, and Himura Kenshin."
"Zanza and the Battousai plus one woman," Aoshi said.
"But I warn you, okashira, that the woman is as good as either of the two."
"We'll see about that," was the response, signalling the end of the conversation.
Aoshi hung up and reported the findings to the rest of the men.
"Zanza, Battousai and a woman eh," Saitoh muttered, stroking his chin. "The best assassins in all of underground Japan."
"Why? How are they threatening?" the Prime Minister asked.
"They use traditional weapons sir," Secretary Kashiwajaki replied.
"What do you mean by 'traditional'?"
"Battousai and the woman use a katana, your excellency," Major Katsura explained. "Zanza uses his bare fists, but when needed he uses any weapon within his reach. They are experts, sir. One may think that they had come straight from the Tokugawa era and transported to the current millennium by magic."
"But of course their skills are none too extraordinary," Saitoh added loftily.
"Major Saitoh, I do believe you are in the dark," Aoshi spoke. "Battousai is a known assassin, but there hasn't been a single lawyer in the whole country who succeeded in proving he murdered their client. He's swift and sure, leaving not a single trace of his existence. Uncovering as much information about Battousai requires an extraordinary amount of effort. The Oniwabanshuu spent years tracing him, and the closest we get is a single hair."
The top official shivered involuntarily.
"And in line with this new information, I do believe we have a special task for you Shinomori-san," Secretary Kashiwajaki spoke, standing up. "Don't we, Prime Minister?"
"Yes," the man replied solemnly.
"We want you to use all your efforts in finding and successfully eliminating the three assassins as quickly as you can. You very well know the threat they pose to the current government, and if they are not removed from harm's way we will never achieve peace. You will receive an official pardon from the government for any heinous crime you may commit in completing this endeavor, just as long as you do deliver the heads of the three assassins right in front of us," the secretary ordered.
After a moment's pause, Aoshi replied, "On a silver platter. But what will I get from this?"
"Name your price," the Prime Minister said.
Aoshi paused once more.
"I demand a minimum of ¥5,000,000.00," he said.
"As long as you complete your mission, you will have it, and much more," the Prime Minister said. "But we will need to meet some other day to discuss the measures you are going to take. This is not something to be taken lightly Shinomori, and I want careful coordination between the two of us, understand?"
Aoshi nodded.
"Does this mean I am dismissed?" he asked.
The Prime Minister nodded, and Aoshi walked out of Meeting Room D. Quickly he retrieved his cellphone from his pocket and dialed Misao's number.
"Pick me up," he spoke as soon as she answered.
"Hai," was the only reply, and they hung up.
Soon enough, when Aoshi reached the entrance of the government building, a white four wheeler was right in front of it, waiting for him. Misao was inside.
"Okashira," she greeted, giving him a small salute. "I have just received word from our friends. They are already at The Teahouse as we speak."
Aoshi was pleased at her performance.
We are the Oniwabanshu, Prime Minister, he thought, stepping inside the car. We are our own boss, and we work for no one, not even for ¥5,000,000.00. We chose those whom we work with, and we chose carefully. Very carefully.
End of Chapter 1 // To be continued...
Author's Note: I honestly have no idea about the government system in Japan. If anyone would be kind enough to enlighten me, I'd be very, very thankful! I do know that they have this Diet thing and that the emperor's only a symbol, blah blah blah... ^^; Wutever. Please enlighten me!
Thanks for reading. ^_^ Please don't forget to review!