Well, here's the third chappie. Hope you like it! Oh, BTW Aoshi doesn't appear in this chapter, but don't worry he will, later.



"… We will be landing in ten minutes in Kyoto. The

temperature in Kyoto is 12 degrees…"

Misao didn't bother to listen to the rest and looked

out the window, where she could see her city. The trip

from Prague to Kyoto hadn't been that big, but a

constant nervousness ate away at her. She could see

the tall buildings, the lights of the city, some

yellow some red; one could really see Kyoto was a city

with life.

Misao looked at her other side, where Nicolai was

sitting, reading a large book. He looked absolutely

relaxed, as if he didn't know they were working

against a powerful mad man. The stewardess came closer

to them and asked him to put the cigarette out, once

it was prohibited during the landing. Nicolai closed

his book and looked at her.

"So, how are you coping?" Nicolai asked, smiling.

"You know what? I think I missed the retched town!"

Misao said. Yeah, she missed the town, but the mere

thought of visiting Jiya's grave gave her a queezy

feeling. She had never wanted to think about the death

of that old man and the disappointment he must have

felt when she had simply disappeared with no word. How

had they reacted when they found out she had gone

away, without even leaving a letter or talking to one

of them. Misao had, over the years, regretted ever

leaving them like that. The constant memories of them

were heart breaking. Sometimes at night she would have

nightmares about Jiya's death or one where Aoshi came

to her and died too. If she hadn't been Immortal, she

was sure she would have already been dead, because of

those nightmares.

She was still deep in her thoughts when she felt

Nicolai shake her arm.

"We've landed, Misao."

They got out of the plane and headed for the check

out. The airport was packed, with people everywhere.

Misao didn't like environments full with people very

much, for she would have that feeling whenever an

Immortal came close. At first she had been amazed with

the number of Immortals one could find in a public

place. She grabbed her bag and dressed in her long

coat. Even if it was kind of hot, Misao knew it didn't

last very much and, in no time, the cold would

eventually take the city.

Nicolai guided her through the crowd until Misao

recognized a tall figure. Saitoh. She didn't know he

was supposed to be waiting for them.

"Well, well! You did come, Weasel!" Misao was, for a

while, a bit confused: she hadn't heard that hated

nickname for so long!

"Ohayo for you too, Psycho cop."

Saitoh guided them out of the airport, to a black car

that was waiting for them. Saitoh barked an address to

the chauffeur and then turned to them.

"You're staying in an apartment in a building we own.

I think it's fine for you. It's spacious and not very

conspicuous."

Misao looked at the passing scenery. She still saw

some of the old buildings, some of them had been

renewed, but the majority was of big, tall buildings.

Misao sighed. Just like any other city!

Saitoh proved to be kind of nice, telling Nicolai a

bit of the city's history, telling him of the great

fights he had seen in there. Saitoh had, over the

years, managed to get over the fact that Kenshin was

better than him and would always beat him. Of course

when Kenshin grew older, along side Kaoru and their

kids, Saitoh probably would have had the chance of

beating him, but to him that would have been a

disgrace. So Saitoh settled for telling he had fought

against and along side great swords men, him being one

too. Of course he didn't forget to mention Aoshi.

"Aoshi?" Nicolai asked, diverting his eyes to her.

"I've heard this name somewhere. Did you know him,

Misao?" Before Misao could open her mouth Saitoh

answered for her.

"Of course she did! He kind of raised her, didn't he?"

Misao glared at him, but he was busy looking out the

window. "Alright, people. This is it. I would love to

take you two to your apartment, but I have better

things to do. See you around."

The chauffeur took their bags out of the trunk and

transported them to the main door. Misao got her bag

and looked at the pair of keys, where the number eight

and the letter A was written. They rang for the

elevator and went to the eight floor. The flat was

indeed big! The door gave way to an enormous living

room. The living room had two doors, one to a dining

room and the other to a corridor. That corridor had

access to two rooms, the dining room, the kitchen, the

bathroom and a terrace. Both rooms had balconies that

gave way to a terrace. Misao had to agree the house

was beautiful.

"This is supposed to be non-conspicuous?" Nicolai

asked, looking at one of the rooms over her shoulder.

"Hum… Okay, whatever! Which room do you want, Misao?"

They settled down and placed their clothes in closets.

After a while, Misao entered Nicolai's room.

"Nicolai, I'm going out, okay?"

"But, where are you going? I'm the foreigner here,

remember?"

"I'm just going to wander a bit, but I'll return in no

time."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Even when the sun is shining in it's fullest, in the

prettiest of days, there are places that will never

shine, places that will never transmit nothing but

suffering, pain and desolation. One of those places is

the graveyard. That place where you finally end, the

place where you stare at a stone instead of the face.

Misao pushed her hair back and cleaned her tears with

the back of her hand. In front of her was one of those

stones, the fifth one she saw in the same day, with a

name and some dates.

Jiya…

There it was, the proof. He had died at seventy-two

years and, most probably, laughing.

«With all the love from those present and the loved

absent. Loving friend, father and grandfather.»

'The loved absent'. That was her, the one that had

ran, without a word of explanation. Misao's knees gave

in and she fell over the grave, crying. She felt so

lost, so alone! Even if it had to happen, she couldn't

believe he had left, that he hadn't been chosen to be

like her, with her forever. Once again Misao

considered her state a curse. A curse decorated with

gold and that gave her what so many wished for… but

still very much a curse. She had to go through

centuries without her family and friends. Those

friends that she had met when every second gave a damn

to her. Now every year passed by and she looked at it

only as a number. Before she had always been so

anxious for her birthday, now she kind of had two and

they meant nothing to her. Technically she was a

hundred and thirty-nine years old, but crying over

that grave made her feel like she was a little girl

again.

Between her despair, Misao remembered another grave.

She had seen all of them, except THAT one. Misao

raised to her feet and looked around her. Saitoh had

handed her an envelope when she had got out the car,

with the location of all of them, but where was

Aoshi's? He wasn't there, she could see in the

document he wasn't. Where else could he be? The image

of a clearing with four graves came to her mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flashback

His big back was turned to her as he continued walking

in front of her. Misao could only follow, straining

her legs to go on. His trenchcoat seemed to fly around

him, surrounding him. His face was set in a cold

manner, as if what they were doing wasn't very

important to him. Who knew, maybe it wasn't!

Misao moved branches aside and followed. And followed.

And followed.

"Aoshi-sama, is it very far away yet?" She didn't want

to look like a little girl that couldn't stand a day

of walking, but they had left the Aoiya yesterday and

today they were meant to be in a special clearing.

They hadn't stopped walking, since that morning, when

she had slept for four hours. And the sun was setting

already! She wasn't used to walking that much anymore.

"No."

Misao could very well feel happy, but he had said that

an hour ago. Well, she couldn't exactly complain,

since it was because of her request that they were

where they were. She had finally managed to summon the

guts to ask him to tell her where their friends were

buried. He had simply said 'We leave tomorrow'. And

they had!

But she wasn't in that much of a rush. She wouldn't

mind if they took three or four days to get there, she

would rather have it that way in fact. It would give

her more time to be with her Aoshi-sama. But he looked

anxious about that entire 'meeting'. Misao was still

thinking about his strange behavior, when he raised a

tree branch and steeped into a clearing. Following

him, Misao found herself staring into four stones.

"My friends." Was the only thing Aoshi said, falling

to his knees.

End of Flashback

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Misao took the document Saitoh had given her and

searched for anything on Aoshi. Nothing. Not a mention

of the man. She stared at the paper, deep in thought.

How could have Saitoh neglected that information? If

it had been any other person, Misao might think he had

left that information out, out of pity. But it was

Saitoh she was thinking about, and that man knew no

pity, even if he had grown a bit nicer. It would be

more probable if he had did that to make her think

about the subject, just to torture her.

Misao grabbed her cell-phone and dialed a number. The

three beeps she heard seemed to go on and on, without

stopping, until a rough voice spoke on the other side.

"Hai?"

"Saitoh. I got that paper you gave me." Misao said,

looking at it.

"And…?" Saitoh said, with a bored voice.

"There's a grave missing. Where is he?" She said,

trying to avoid Aoshi's name.

"Hum… what the hell are you talking about?"

"Aoshi's grave. Where is it?"

"I figured you'd ask that. Look, Misao, I don't know

where a grave with the name Shinomori Aoshi is. There

are certain things even I don't know, as much as I

hate to tell you." Saitoh said.

Misao said her goodbye and hung up. Before, she would

have given everything she had not to see his grave,

now she couldn't stand not seeing it. She had to see

it! She had to set an end to their story. Over her

life she had moved as if living between chapters of a

book: close one, begin another. Her story with Aoshi

wasn't finished and she had lived all that time with

it, carrying a weight on the back of her head that

would never leave her. How could someone like him mark

her so much? She still found herself comparing all her

lovers and male friends with him, and they lost time

and again. Without her knowing or willing, he made his

way through her mind and stayed there, daring her to

forget him. As if proving to her that she would never

be left alone, he would always be with her. She had

found, after some time, that she liked that company.

She sometimes thought she would never have lived so

much, if she didn't have him around. When her life got

rough she found him there, with his calm and

objectivity, always bringing her to a safety, never

letting her drown in her sorrow. His qualities were

something to achieve and his flaws were her limits. He

was her North. So, in very many ways, Misao was still

very much dependent on him. Even when her rage took

over, he was there, telling her his story, remiding

her that rage, revolt, fear and revenge led to

nowhere.

So, what would happen if she saw that gravestone?

Would that presence disappear? Did she want it to

disappear?

Misao closed her coat and walked out of the graveyard.

As she had predicted the weather had gotten worst,

winds blowing the trees to their wishes, lifting leafs

from the floor, carrying clouds of dark promises. It

was going to rain sooner or later. Misao walked down

the street and was crossing the road when a lightning

bolt shook the sky and, after a while, thunder

followed. One always after the other, sometimes side

by side. Like someone she knew, always with another

after him…

There it was again. The powerful and beautiful

lightning, casting a yellow wonder in the sky. And

then… a rough and late as ever, thunder. And, after

ten minutes, the large and heavy drops of water on her

forehead. Rain. It was quite fitting that on that day

it rained. She was surprised it hadn't rained earlier.

A trip to the graveyard followed by rain. How very

fitting.

She saw numerous cabs driving around and could have

called one of them, but she preferred to walk home.

The apartment wasn't that far and she got there in no

time. With her eyes and head bowed, Misao didn't see

Saitoh's car parked in front of the building, until

she was five meters from it. The chauffeur stood in

front of it, smoking his cigarette, waiting for his

boss. She entered the building and made her way to her

flat, as fast as she could. Saitoh was in her living

room, sitting on one of the large blue sofas, showing

something to Nicolai.

"I'm glad you got home, Misao. Saitoh has been showing

me some photographs of the victims." Nicolai said.

"Good God! You're soaking wet. Go change into

something warmer or you'll catch a cold."

Misao dropped her bag and moved to her room to change.

Actually the last thing she wanted to see at that

moment was photographs of the victims, with theirs

head all cut off. Yeah! After a visit to the

graveyard, nothing better! She returned, dressed in

tight black pants and a loose shirt. Nicolai must've

been in the bathroom, for only Saitoh was there,

sipping his drink.

"Well, if the type you like is like this fellow, I

really don't understand why you ran around Icy for so

long." Saitoh said, with a teasing smile to his face.

"Shut up, asshole."

"No, really. Nicolai is all attentive and caring and

yadda, yadda. Aoshi was… well he wasn't exactly

attentive to people, was he?"

"Aoshi-sama was attentive to what he had to be." Misao

said, getting sick of the conversation.

"Kami! Still referring to him as Aoshi-sama. Man! You

are loyal, aren't you Weasel?"

Both of them heard the sound of the bathroom's door

close and Nicolai's steps, so they stopped. Nicolai

sat, on a couch opposite to them, and looked at one

photo. Misao grabbed another. When she saw the body of

a woman, that appeared a little older than her, all

dried of its strength and vitality, she almost felt

like vomiting. She could see some dried blood in her

skin, near her neck and breasts.

"Well, do you know how old that woman there was?"

Saitoh asked, looking at the photo in her hand. " Four

hundred and eight. She was part of a famous gang from

Chile. Apparently they were called here, to do a major

drug deal, and they were all killed. All of them had

bullets in them, so they were killed while asleep.

Most of the victims were killed like that and a large

number were simple Immortals, some of them not older

than you and me, Misao."

Misao looked at another one, this one with two bodies,

of two men, side by side, with their head next to

their bodies.

"Alexander and Charles Gosh, both rich boys.

Apparently they were even younger than us. Came here

because they received invitations to a major ball. Got

killed that same night. So, the killer isn't killing

randomly. He chooses his victims and draws them here,

where he kills them along with his group. Why he has a

preference for Japan, I don't know."

"How do you know he kills in groups?" Misao asked,

picking another photo.

" Two of my groups got inside one of the Watchers

buildings and got a disc full with information about

this mass killer. The only thing they didn't get was

his name and face. Only some of the things that are

crucial to us! Ahous! Well, here's a copy of it all.

You can read it later, now I want you to came with

me." Saitoh said, handing Misao a CD.

"Where are we going?" Nicolai asked.

"While you were in the bathroom, I got a phone call

telling me we have another victim. A man, it appears.

And this one looks like he was important."

Saitoh got up and opened the main door, while Misao

got her coat and Nicolai his. They got into the car

and gave his orders to the driver. Misao paled when

she understood they were going to a place near Aoiya,

or where the Aoiya should be. She trembled as the car

got closer and closer, until it parked on the other

side of the street from it. Saitoh got out the car, as

well as Nicolai, and they waited as Misao called all

her strength. By the look of the old building, no one

had taken interest in that historical place – the home

of the Onibanshu. The windows and doors were sealed,

with wood planks, with graffiti all over the place. No

one was in sight. This was a conflict that had to be

kept out of the police's knowledge, so the less noise

one did, the better it was. She got out the car and

followed Saitoh, with dread, to the back of the Aoiya.

There she found three men, one with a camera and the

other two smoking. Saitoh pulled one of them to the

side and began talking to him, while Misao and Nicolai

were left looking at the corpse. This time, they

hadn't even left the face and the Immortals were only

able to find out who it was by the fingerprints.

Apparently they had successfully plugged into the

Watchers database and were getting information from

there.

"This is strange." Misao said.

"What is?"

"That they are able to get into the Watchers database

so easily, don't you think Nicolai?"

"My dear, once you find exactly what you want, these

days, in ain't hard getting it." Nicolai answered.

Misao sighed and walked around the corpse. She had

always been frustrated with Nicolai's innocence,

always believing one could do whatever he set his mind

to. How sad! Saitoh came closer to them.

"They say we have to leave fast, before the Watchers

get here. Actually they must've seen us already, but

they can't stop us from seeing this anymore. I don't

like them running around our affairs, intervening

where they shouldn't. Dicks."

Nicolai laughed, but, when he looked at the other two,

stopped. Saitoh was just looking at the corpse and

Misao had walked away, trying not to puke. Saitoh

pulled out his cigarette case and took out one

cigarette; he still used matches to light the

cigarettes. He just stood there, taking big drags from

the cigarette and, once in a while, he looked at

Misao, who sat in a bench near a big wall. Soon Saitoh

finished his cigarette.

"Lets go." Saitoh said, walking away. Misao got up and

followed him.

"So, now what?" She asked. "Go back home?"

"Hai, you two have to read what that disc I gave you

has. We talk tomorrow. Now enter the car."

----------------t.b.c.



I'll be waiting for some reviews or else… or else nothis, I'll post it in a while, don't worry.

JA!

MaRiAnA