God! Long time no see, un? Well, this chapter has been ready for… months really, but little ol' me was just plain lazy to correct it after it passed through my pre-reader. Speaking of which, Moon is back. And, ironic as it is, my other pre-reader is gone. My luck!
Well, I've already finished writing the next chapter, but I may have another laziness attack and not show it to you in two years or something, so I want lots and lots of reviews for this chapter, if you want to see the next!
Even through eternity
Chapter 10
Aoshi got out of the shower and cleaned the steam on the mirror with a small towel. He dropped the towel and stared at the face in front of him. There were no lines surrounding his eyes, nor around his mouth. He didn't have a single white hair. Nothing new, right? After all he was an Immortal. So he had stayed in the same physical state he had been when he had first been killed. But the years had left its marks. In times likes this, when Aoshi stared at himself looking for something new in his face, he could remember himself back when he hadn't been an Immortal. He knew that for some it was hard to remember those times, but for him they were imprinted inside his head and chest. He would sometimes consider those few years to have been the happiest of his life. Just sometimes… because most of the time he would laugh at how that Aoshi seemed to think he knew the world and knew everything there was to know. That Aoshi, like any human who had the average life expectancy of 55 years (in that time, of course), had planned his life for that time, more or less. People made plans according to their time of life. A man that feels that he has 55/56 years of life makes slightly different plans from a man that can live for centuries.
So, when he thought real hard about it, Aoshi had to laugh at what his former self thought relevant about the world. The easiest example was Misao. It was one of the hardest things for him to swallow when he thought what he had missed out on with Misao, because his former self thought that he could live on air and deep thoughts and because he thought Misao just wasn't the one. The one! Today Aoshi was divided into thinking he had been a stupid, egotistic fucker or a romantic, completely cut out from the rest of the universe. His former self thought that meditating all day, thinking about his sour life, would make peace with the gods and himself. When he had told Misao meditation had helped him, he hadn't been lying, but it hadn't given him what he had hoped it would. No peace came with meditation, only a numbness in the soul. And, when he found out about that numbness and looked around, he was alone with no family and no friends. And, most importantly, no Misao.
That was the reason why he was looking at himself in the mirror, looking for changes. Something had to have changed! His soul was awake again. And it felt like it weighed as much as a feather. So it didn't come as a surprise when he caught his lips smiling at himself. He wasn't as stern as before. He smiled more or grinned, he didn't know what to call it. But he never smiled for nothing! He never walked around looking at flowers and the wonder of nature! He was feeling like a hippie. And the thing was that he had a duel in less than an hour. He was up to his neck in all that crap about Immortal gangs and corrupt Watchers and he didn't give a rat's ass about it! He was running over the clouds.
"Aoshi, my old pal, you've got it bad." He said, smiling at the mirror. He grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist. He opened the bathroom door and walked out to his room. He was surprised to find Misao in the room looking out the window with a wineglass in her hand. She looked over her shoulder when he entered the room and smiled at him. After seeing his state of dress, she turned around.
"I was going to say you have a great view from this window, but suddenly I just discovered something more worth watching." She said, obviously running her eyes over his chest. Whatever Aoshi had been expecting from her, it hadn't been that comment, for he looked pleased, but he had no idea what to say. Misao placed her wineglass on his nightstand and walked near him. He thought she was going to hug him, but she started walking around him. He then felt one of her fingers caress his spine from top to bottom. When it ended, the finger remained there right over his butt. "This is one of those moments when I'm happy about us being Immortals, because you certainly have lots of lines I wish to explore."
He was still dripping and he felt her lips suck one drop dry. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He wouldn't mind if she dried him of all the water like that. But his plans were shattered when the finger that lay on his back started moving inside the towel and, after one or two seconds, Misao had ripped it from his waist.
"You're still wet, Aoshi." She said, with a nasty tease voice. "We have to do something about that." She moved the towel over his back and worked very slowly.
"Have I done something to earn me this… personal service?" Aoshi asked, fighting hard the urge to turn around and do her against the wall.
"It's totally on the house, my lord. Trust me, I don't mind." The towel moved over his butt's right cheek. "At all."
Aoshi really wanted to ask her what had happened to all her worry over Nicolai, but that would be a real turn off. He actually felt bad about the guy! He went insane because of his affair with his wife and after that discovery, Aoshi was in his mansion being dried up by Misao, Nicolai's ex-lover. And loving it. Well, he didn't really consider Misao Nicolai's ex-lover. She was simply Misao. The love of his life… the one that was platting kisses over his spine and going down on her knees to dry his legs.
"Can you imagine, Aoshi?" Misao asked.
"Imagine what?"
"Imagine the times I daydreamed about this. About the day I would have the chance to know these lines and planes." She touched his right knee and kissed his thigh. "Don't go getting an enormous ego, but you always were really special. You always stuck out like a sore thumb." Aoshi thought best not to say a thing, not to make a sound, not even breath. Do not go and get an enormous ego, she said? Right. Okay Misao, try being dried up by a gorgeous, hot woman telling you you're great and see how your ego comes out of the shock.
He felt her rise and walk up to his front. He knew she had realized the products of her actions but she looked up at his face. She placed the towel around his neck and pulled him to her.
"How does it feel to be in every woman's, you know, wet dreams, Aoshi?" She asked with a smile.
"I… I never really thought… about it." He answered.
"Well, don't go getting any ideas. You're mine. I promise you, I'll be spending eternity over you, alright?"
"No problem here." He said, still having problems thinking.
"Great! Now clean up and dress. We have to meet Nicolai in twenty minutes." She gave him a peck on the cheek and left the room. But not before grabbing her wineglass. At that moment, Aoshi finally saw the product of having meditated for so many years. Otherwise he would have gone homicidal over that murderous tease. Aoshi had never felt more played then at that point and the irritating part was he didn't give a damn!
"Yes, Aoshi, you've got it bad."
Aoshi decided to take the blue Mercedes again, but he didn't decide whether he was pissed at Misao or not. She entered the car and talked to him as if nothing had happened. She had changed her clothes to black leather pants and a dark blue turtleneck. Aoshi approved of her choice, because white pants and a purple top didn't seem the clothes one should wear to a duel. She sat beside him, placed her dark glasses and changed the radio station. Then she looked at him.
"We'll be late, Aoshi." She said, as a matter of fact. He woke up from his trance and started the car. He got caught up in simple things she did. So it was impossible for him to not be captured when she told him she would be spending her life exploring his body. This woman was a killer!
Aoshi drove them out of town to the big estates part on the outskirts. He had set the meeting in a place where he had already fought two duels. So he was more or less playing on his grounds. The place was part of a huge abandoned property that had grass up to a person's thigh and garbage all over the place. It was totally abandoned. The road they were driving was also abandoned. Not one car was seen besides their own. All the estates had high walls, as if telling off any visits. There was no way neighbors there knew each other. They were completely isolated.
Aoshi got them there in five minutes, which was the exact time they had planned to get there. Misao made a joke about him planning it. They got out of the car and looked around to see if anyone had got there before them. No one was in sight. The wind made the grass move, which made a funny noise that ran over the entire place. They sat on the car's hood waiting to see if anyone showed up.
"That was some stunt you played on me today." Aoshi said, looking in front as if he were talking about the weather.
"Was it? Did little old me scared big Aoshi?" She said, placing an arm around his shoulders.
"I wouldn't say scare." He answer, turning around to met her face mere inches away from his. "If we didn't have this meeting you wouldn't have gotten out of that room, Misao." He said, before grabbing her face and kissing her. He wouldn't mind spending his days kissing her. Her lips were so soft and full! But he had to breathe and so did Misao. Just when they were starting their second kiss, they heard the sound of a car arriving. Nicolai had come after all!
They saw a silver Nissan park some meters away from them. The passenger's door opened, and Nicolai stepped out of the car. In the driver's sit sat a guy they couldn't see, because of the lights. Aoshi immediately got off the hood and waited for Nicolai to come closer. But he didn't, he just looked at them from afar. Misao looked closely at his face.
Looking back Misao couldn't say she actually knew Nicolai. They had been lovers for some time, and then they had lost contact for ages. Until he called her out of the blue. During the time they had been together, she hadn't truly been interested in knowing his history. They had been friends, with sex mixed with it. She just had the feeling she knew him better than she did, because their way of thinking had been alike. Or at least, it seemed to. He had been the perfect fling. So, why was he here, in the middle of nowhere, after her and Aoshi's ass? What had happened in the life of Nicolai Mastny to make him this pissed off at them?
Those had been Misao's thoughts when Aoshi had been taking a shower and now, looking at Nicolai's face, they came back to her. His lips were set in an angry grimace, his nostrils flared up and his eyes seemed to want to kill Aoshi in a hundred million ways. She had first tried to explain his reasons, tried to justify him. But looking at him gave her no room from justifications. Now she craved for explanations. So she interrupted the silent between Aoshi and Nicolai.
"Mind telling me what's going on, Nicolai?" She asked, still sitting on the hood of the car. Nicolai's eyes moved from Aoshi's face to hers. The hate in his eyes seemed to be replaced by despise. She had never seen him looking at her like that. Then he smirked.
"Why is there any need for an explanation? This is merely a duel between an Immortal and another." He replied.
"Cut the crap, Nicolai." She replied. "You were supposedly working with us. What happened to originate this turn of events?"
"I just realized who was the winning team." He said. Misao looked at him, wondering if he really thought she was going to believe him. Aoshi, who had been leaning against the car, moved near her. "He won't tell us a thing, Misao." He whispered.
"We were having a conversation, you lousy fucking prick!" Nicolai said, with anger clear in his voice. Aoshi looked at him and by the look on his face he seemed to be thinking. Then, Aoshi smirked and got even closer to Misao, caressing her face.
"You know, Misao, we don't really need to hear him out. I can finish him in two seconds for you. What do you say to that?" Misao briefly wondered what the hell Aoshi thought he was doing, but when she caught sight of Nicolai's utter hate and anger in his face, she quickly understood the plan. Apparently, public demonstration of love between her and Aoshi didn't fit Nicolai very much. And maybe he would get mad enough to tell them something.
"Aoshi, baby, I know you can do that. You're so strong and clever." Even in the middle of their predicament, Misao couldn't miss the amused glint in Aoshi's eyes. "But maybe he knows something." Aoshi gave her a peck in the cheek and smiled.
"You're right love, as al—"
"Shut up! Both of you, disgusting mother-fucking bastards!" Nicolai screamed. "You stand there and think you're on the good side. That you're the good ones, fighting for justice! Both of you are backstabbing sons of bitch! Mister Perfect Aoshi sleeps with other people's wives and thinks he can get out of it, as if nothing happened. Miss Virgin Misao acts all proper and all and thinks she's so much better than everyone, but when she finally lets a guy do her, she screams another guy's name at the top of her lungs!"
"What?" Misao asked. Aoshi, at that moment, could only look at Nicolai with as much hate as the last had showed before. He couldn't help but hate the guy just by hearing those things about Misao. If he could, he would like to keep the mental images of Misao having sex with another guy out of his mind.
"Do you know, Mister Perfect? Do you know this bitch screams your name every time she's doing it?" Nicolai stopped to gather his breath. "I mean, I can let one time pass, but two? I mean, you have to be a really good screw, man!" He then started to laugh hysterically. After this, Misao couldn't look Aoshi in the face and neither could Aoshi. Neither one of them knew what to think.
"And this is the reason you want to kill us?" Misao asked. "I mean, do you think it's worth it?" Nicolai stopped laughing and looked at them. Then he reached inside his coat and laid hold of his sword.
"Trust me, it is."
Then he launched at Aoshi, who had his katana ready. Misao quickly got off of the hood to follow the fight closely. She realized Nicolai had to be totally enraged or mad, because his skill had nothing on Aoshi's. He had started a fight where his goal was to kill his adversary, but now he was fighting for survival. But Aoshi wasn't exactly cool for a fight, he was clearly enraged at Nicolai's comments. He had already managed to wound Nicolai's neck and leg badly. When suddenly Misao felt another presence behind her. Before she could turn around and lay hold of her katana, she was wounded in the back. It was a clean cut, from the top to the low of her back.
She turned around to see the Japanese guy from Nicolai's group, holding a bloodied sword. He launched at her, but she jumped to her right, while seizing hold of her katana. She rose and deflected another attack with the katana's sheath, while her katana cut his left arm.
When the muscles strain, they need oxygen. So the heart beats much quicker to take blood to those same muscles, which in turn will get oxygen to them. Experienced sportsmen and trained people are able to avoid that drawback. After much exercise, they manage to get their body used to that strain. But in sports, as in a fight, there are many points that must be taken into account, for they matter almost as much, or the same, as a hard training.
Some common realities are nervousness, disease or, of course, lack of concentration. Why am I dwelling on this matter, you ask? Well, after making sure you know all this, I'll know for certain that you understand when I say that the fight Aoshi was at that moment battling, wasn't one of the easiest. No, his adversary wasn't especially bright or strong. He wasn't tired, nor sick, nor even nervous. He was, pure and simple, totally and utterly enraged. Aoshi, Mr. Cool, was as mad as he didn't remember ever being.
He didn't know anymore if making Nicolai mad had been all that bright of an idea, because he ended up just as mad! In the end, they were on equal grounds, except for the skill. No matter how mad Shinomori Aoshi became, fighting and the way of the sword was so engraved in him, that most of it came naturally to him. He had been learning how to fight since he could walk, and even in a crazy state of mind, he would know how to survive. He was a fighter after all!
When that thought crossed his mind, he managed to win back some of his mind. During that period of clarity, he knew even before he looked, that Misao was engaged in a battle, like himself. Before he looked, before he heard her sounds, he felt another heartbeat inside his ribcage. Another rhythm of the thumping of blood, was clear in his head. He knew what was happening. Sometimes when an Immortal was in very deep contact with life around himself, he would be able to make a sort of contact with beings around him. That was happening to him now, for the second time in his entire life.
But the contact was soon broken when Nicolai took a swing at him and broke his concentration. He managed to cut Aoshi's face, below his left eye, but he soon received pay back. Aoshi twisted his katana in his hand, so that the hilt turned upwards, and he plunged it in Nicolai's stomach. Just when Nicolai doubled over himself, Aoshi jumped out of his sword reach and turned his sword again. While turning it, Aoshi distinctly felt the blade cutting flesh. Nicolai's head rolled a bit far from them and his body dropped to the floor with a sickening thud.
The first lightning bolt appeared over his car, followed by millions of them. Aoshi felt a bolt touch one of his fingers and the current move up his body, to his brains. Thousands of bolts made the same trip, all concentrating on his brains. It wasn't painful, no. It was exhilarating. No wonder certain Immortals got addicted to it. It was refreshing. A true Awakening for those who never died.
When it died down, Aoshi fell on his knees, a bit tired from the fight and all that energy running around his body. Right when he was catching his breath again, that other heart invaded his senses, that running blood took hold of his veins and now he felt the oxygen lacking. But he wasn't the one lacking oxygen, she was.
Aoshi looked up, to see Misao crouching down and that Japanese guy almost over her. Aoshi was in a dilemma: get involved in the fight and save Misao or act honorably and leave her to deal with the guy? He knew that she would be extremely pissed off, if he invaded the fight, but he couldn't care less. This was Misao, his mate, which was in risk of losing her head right in front of him. He didn't want another close friend to die, while he looked and did nothing. Four were enough. Just as Aoshi rose to give the other man a piece of his mind, Misao did it herself. Aoshi saw her left hand leave the hilt and it closed like a fist and dived right in the middle of the Japanese wide open legs. Aoshi totally froze and just stared as Misao grabbed the guy's family jewels, while piercing him with her katana through the chest.
Then it all happened too fast. Misao jumped from under the guy, a bit to far from him, a car drove out of nowhere between the two of them and then drove away, with the Japanese guy inside it.
Aoshi could still feel Misao trying to catch her breath back and her beating heart was inside him. Both of them looked at each other and, without a word, dove inside their car and followed the other one, who was already a bit far. Aoshi started the car, while Misao tried to see the other car.
"I think they went through those pines. Is there a road behind them?" Misao asked, looking from the pines to Aoshi. When she leaned back against the seat she still felt the wound on her backside. It still hadn't healed.
"Hai. After those pines there's a small country road that connects with the national road, 30 km from here, if I'm not mistaken." Aoshi headed for the pines to and, after passing them, Misao saw a small road that most probably was part of an estate. Lucky for them the road was straight, so they finally saw the escaping car, some distance in front of them.
Saitoh put out his cigarette and turned the engine off. He didn't get out of his car right away. Instead he looked ahead and sighed. He had been a cop before he died, and he had continued working as one after that; and he knew what it meant to work as one. But the entire present situation was getting out of hand and pretty messy and confusing.
He looked at himself in the rear mirror and found a pair of tired eyes looking at him. They still held that amber glow, but the last few years had been very tiring. Even if he and Aoshi and that Weasel girl managed to beat all those bastards, what was the point? Yeah, sure, for the better good! The bad guys had to lose to the good guys, like in the politically correct movies. And then what? Get back to his bachelor life and pretend he liked it. It was so strange the feelings he had been having those last few days. He was a man of the Meiji Era and, even if he wasn't exactly a very friendly man, he was used to his environment. His whole way of life was set in those days, and he had always felt empty facing a future he shouldn't be in. He had watched his wife become older and died in front of his eyes and all his acquaintances with her. Hell! He even missed that ahou chickenhead! All of them and that world were part of him. And, contrary to expectancies and believes, he hated his life. But, he thought raising his eyes to the Shinomori mansion, Saitoh Haijime didn't give up on anything. And he would die fighting, for sure.
He finally opened the door and got out of the car. Ten marble steps preceded the mansion's front door. After ascending those stairs, Saitoh rang the bell and lighted another cigarette, while he waited for someone to open the door for him. As expected, Shirai opened the door with his fixed facial expression, and Saitoh wondered if Aoshi had taught him that little trick. But, as soon as Shirai noticed that it was him in front of his master's door, he looked kind of happy.
"Saitoh-san, I'm so glad to see you right now!" The butler declared, with a relieved look to his face. " Come right in and please follow me." Saitoh was led through the large living room, until Shirai faced a closed door. The butler knocked twice, then waited.
"Hai?" Saitoh heard Aoshi's voice answer.
"Sir, Saitoh-san is right here. May I introduce him in?" He asked.
"Yes, Shirai, come right in." Shirai opened the door and then stepped aside to let Saitoh pass. Inside the room was an office, with a cherry wood table where Misao was sitting, facing the door. Aoshi sat on a large chair, behind the table. Both of them held a glass of red wine. Saitoh couldn't help but notice that Misao looked tired and frustrated with something. Aoshi, like always, looked calm. Shirai entered after him and looked at Misao.
"Does the lady need anything?" He asked, his voice coated with concern. Misao gave him a weak smile and shook her head.
"No, Shirai. I'm feeling much better. Thank you for your concern." Shirai bowed and then excused himself. Saitoh took another drag from his cigarette.
"I thought I was tired, but you two look like shit." He declared. Misao sighed and Aoshi rubbed his forehead. "I came here because, as you might've noticed, all the action is here now. I received notice today that Kurisumi and Heiji were found dead."
"Where?" Aoshi asked, taking a sip from his wine. "Do you want something to drink, Saitoh?" He asked. He's first reaction was refusal, but he decided to accept.
"A Martini would suit me fine. Shaken, please." [can you picture Saitoh asking for a martini? Bwahahahaha] Misao got up from the table and moved to a mini bar set on the far right end of the room. Both men watched as she poured the liquids inside the shaker and then pour it into the wide glass, that already contained an olive. She moved closer and handed him his drink.
"Aoshi and I found Nicolai, Saitoh." She stated. His only reply was an arch of one eyebrow. "It appears like he joined Timon and Diego even before he got here."
"What are we going to do with him now?" Saitoh asked. Aoshi shrugged his shoulders.
"No need to worry. I've dealt with the man and he's taken care of." He placed his glass on the table. "Then we chased the Japanese guy of his group for at least 15 km; at the end of which, he started firing at us. Misao managed to shoot the guy who was driving his car, and it crashed into one of those huge walls." Saitoh took a sip from his Martini and he had to admit she knew how to do them. He looked at her and found her staring at his hand that was holding his lighted cigarette. By the look of things, she needed it more than him.
"Want it, Weasel?" He asked, showing her the cigarette. She shook her head again.
"No, thanks. Took me fifteen years to quit them."
"Well, it's not like you don't have until the end of the world to stop again." He declared, but continued smoking it and looking at Aoshi.
"Well, the guy that was driving seemed dead, but we don't know if he was an Immortal or not. The Japanese guy, on the contrary, jumped out of the car just in time for a fight with Misao." Saitoh observed Aoshi looking at Misao, with concern. " Unfortunately the owner of the crashed wall appeared and we had to go, not to call attention." Aoshi sighed and grabbed his glass again. " I sent my team to watch the site, all the same."
"What are we going to do?" Misao asked them both. " We have no idea where they are and what or who they'll do next! Besides that, this business is starting to call too much attention. And they are getting very dangerous! I'm amazed the Immortal society hasn't realized what was going on!"
"That's because the Watchers are covering it. By the way, I've had a team working on the files we stole from them and trying to contact our friends inside the Watchers."
"And?" Aoshi asked.
"The Watcher assigned to watching Timon is one Milo Tamen and he's disappeared for six months. I doubt he's dead, but I think we need to find him." At that moment a cell-phone rang and Aoshi picked his up.
"Hai? Yes, Monty, I hear you... Did you take photos of those guys? Good. I'll be there as soon as possible." Aoshi hung up and looked at them. " A group of Watchers came to the crashing site and cleaned it up. Monty says they even paid the wall guy for the damages! He took photos of them and I'm going to the office to see them to try and identify them. You're coming with me?" Both Misao and Saitoh nodded, and in minutes, they were all inside Aoshi's Mercedes, heading for downtown Tokyo.
The office was located in a tall building, one of those where the firm's name was placed on the building lobby. Aoshi's office was named «Shinomori's Security»; simple, direct and it pretty much managed to cover all the operations handled on that floor. They got outside of the elevator and a middle-aged woman greeted Aoshi.
"They're all in the computers room, Shinomori-san." Aoshi nodded and led them to that room. There, sitting each in front of a different computer with their eyes strained on the screen and typing like mad, sat six people. When Aoshi closed the door, they all looked up.
"Chief, we've managed to identify two of those Watchers." One man said, typing. After one second, the large screen on the far wall turned on and the picture of a blonde guy, with a long, blonde pony-tail appeared, talking with another guy. This one was shorter, obviously Japanese.
"Who are they, Monty?" Aoshi asked the man. Monty typed again and the computer isolated the blonde guy's face. Next to it appeared his data.
"Meet Milo Tamen, Chief. He's…"
"Timon's Watcher." Saitoh said.
"Exactly. The guy's 36, single and has had a brilliant carrer, that is until he disappeared six months ago and never appeared again. We don't know where he's been or if he's been in hiding, but it seems obvious he's working with Timon on this one." Monty typed again and the other guy appeared. " This is Eric Takanoha. He's 27, and he started working not long ago."
"Has he disappeared too?" Asked Misao.
"No, he's been going to work and reporting like he should, every day. He's currently living at the Warehouse district." Monty printed the guy's data, along with his address, and gave it to Aoshi.
"Well, let's pay a little visit to Takanoha. What do you think?" Aoshi suggested.
"It's not like we have anything else." Misao said.
"What about the others?" Aoshi asked Monty.
"There's two more, but we haven't managed to identify them. I'll call you as soon as we do."
"You do that" Then Aoshi, Misao and Saitoh left the officer and the building. They headed for the Warehouse district.
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Thanks for reading,
MaRiAnA-chan