Chapter 5

A strange mixture of thick coffee and gasoline hung in the air as they entered the Rome train station. Most of the tournament players were already there, milling about the trains as their luggage was loaded. Stray piece of newspaper blew in the air as whistles scattered the buzz of conversation.

"Now don't forget to wear your jacket when you go outside," Kaoru said, pulling Yahiko's coat over him. "And don't go outside unless you're with a chaperon."

"Remember to never take your eye off the ball," Kenshin continued, "and keep your defenders in line."

Yahiko rolled his eyes. "Okay, MOM, DAD." He watched as their faces turned red. He snorted. "You guys are too easy."

"Yahiko-kun! We have one more seat in our compartment!"

It was Yahiko's turn to blush before mumbling a good bye and heading towards Tsubame. Kaoru and Kenshin waved him off before turning towards each other with an embarrassed look.

"I'd say you get used to his teasing but you don't," Kaoru smiled.

"That's for sure," Megumi said as she joined them. "Doesn't help when you give him fodder by acting like a married couple."

Kaoru face turned several shades of red before she managed to hiss out a 'Megumi!' and then laughing a bit as she shook her head. Megumi was right and Kaoru had no reason to be embarrassed anymore.

Kenshin had a little oro look on his face and shrugged his shoulders a bit, settling on grabbing Kaoru's hand and pulling her towards the train.

"Oi! We have to share the compartment," Sano called out as he reached the group with Aoshi and Misao in tow.

"Oh they are going to have fun in Venice," Misao smiled, eyes glittering with stars. "Romantic gondola rides, long walks along Saint Mark's square, finding secret alleyways in the streets to share time along together…"

"Knowing Kenshin," Sano broke in, "it'll be more like falling into the water off the gondola, getting mauled by the pigeons in the square who think his hair would look nice in their nest, and getting lost in the maze of streets."

"Sano!" Megumi tried but she was already laughing. Inside the train, Kenshin let out a sneeze. "Really, it's not fair to tease him when he's not here to defend himself."

A train whistle sounded right behind them and Aoshi watched as the sign above the train flickered to show that the train was departing.

"You need to go," he said simply. "We'll be in touch."

"Right," Megumi nodded. "See you guys later!" She walked towards the train, leaving Sano behind.

"OI! Who the hell is supposed to take you luggage aboard?" he called out. But she was already out of earshot.

* * *

Thirty minutes into the train ride, Sano was almost falling asleep as he watched the landscape roll by. Megumi had her nose in a book while Kenshin was watching Kaoru frantically search through her bag.

"Do you need help?" he finally ventured, watching as she put the bag down on the floor in disgust.

"I can't find something," Kaoru said. "Can you come with me to the luggage car to look for it?" Kenshin nodded and stood up, trying to gain his footing as the train lurched. He gave Kaoru his hand to steady her. They walked out of the compartment, letting the door slam behind them. As soon as they were gone, Megumi let out a snicker.

Sano looked over with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

Megumi looked at him from over the edge of her book. "You didn't fall for that too did you?"

Sano was perplexed. "Fall for what?"

Megumi shook her head. "I guess Kaoru was right."

"Right about what? What are you getting at fox?"

"You don't think she really lost something, do you?"

Sano looked at her. "She said she couldn't find something. What else could she mean?"

"That she wanted some time alone with Kenshin."

Sano shook his head. "That's the problem with women, they never say what they mean. Did she really think that Kenshin would say no if she said let's go find a quiet space and…"

"Knowing him?" Megumi put down her book and cleared her throat, pulling out her best Kenshin voice. "Demo, Kaoru-dono, the train is not steady, we might fall down and you could hurt yourself."

Sano looked over at her in surprise before his face broke out in a smile. "That was pretty good, megitsune."

Megumi smiled a bit. "So you can see why sometime we women have to resort to sneaky approaches."

"Except you," Sano replied. "You tend to be straightforward."

"I find it wastes time to joke around," she returned.

"Good approach. So why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

Megumi blinked, realizing she was caught in a trap of her own making. "Nothing is bothering me."

"Really?" Sano asked. "I guess that page you've been starting at for the past twenty minutes must be real interesting."

Megumi glared at him a bit with a frown. "What would you care anyway," she settled on turning away and looking out the window.

Sano sighed and let his legs stretch out and rest of the opposite seat. "Right, after all I'm just a shallow, stupid ex-gangster."

Megumi didn't let her gaze drop. "You're not stupid," she said softly.

"What?"

"You know what I said," she replied. "You said you went to Keio High so you can't be stupid."

Sano looked at her. He dredged up the memory he had told her about that and found it was almost a year old, right when they had met. "How did you remember that?"

Megumi crossed her arms. "How indeed. After all, I'm just a self-centered egomaniac. Right?"

"I never said that."

"But you thought it."

"Well you sure as hell haven't given me a reason to think otherwise," Sano yelled. And instantly regretted. "I meant…"

"You meant exactly what you said," Megumi interrupted. "I know how it is. Look, there goes Megumi, queen of the universe. She so high in the clouds she doesn't take the time to notice the peons running around her feet. Picks on the weaker ones but doesn't even know how to fight back if they ever did."

"I never said that," Sano repeated firmly.

"But you thought it," she replied again.

"No I didn't! Yeah, you're self-centered, yeah you think own the world. But I never thought you were mean or weak or anything like that."

"Maybe not consciously."

Sano clenched his fist. This was more infuriating then their usual banter. "Look, you can beat yourself up all you want, but don't drag me into it."

That finally broke Megumi's stone gaze to the window as she turned to face him. "What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm saying. You've dug yourself a little hole of self-pity and you want me to cover you up with the dirt. Well, it ain't happening."

"This isn't self pity!"

"Really? Who the hell else is telling you things like that?"

"They don't have to tell me! I know that's what they're thinking! I know they think I'm weak. I couldn't save myself back then and I couldn't…" Megumi trailed off, the sudden surge of anger burning out.

"Couldn't what?" Sano asked, watching her.

Megumi turned back towards the window, biting her lip. Silence settled in the room before she muttered something softly.

"What?" Sano asked.

Megumi frowned and looked at him. "I said I couldn't warn Aoshi about Kanyruu's gun."

"He said you were in a headlock."

Megumi shook her head. "It shouldn't have mattered. If it had been anyone else…"

"Okay, so you tend to have friends who fight like demons. Doesn't mean you have to be the same."

"You don't understand," Megumi sighed. "Kaoru taught me some self defense and it works okay in most conditions. But I forgot everything when Kanyruu stepped in the door."

"That's not about techniques," Sano said. "It's about confidence. It's hard to have that when you're face with something that you're afraid of."

"None of you guys are afraid."

"That's not true," Sano retorted. "We all get scared of things sometimes."

"Like what?" Megumi asked, skeptically.

"Well for Kenshin… it's Kaoru. She terrifies him sometimes."

Megumi stifled a laugh. "I don't think that's the effect she's going for."

"Doesn't matter," Sano smiled. "To him, she's this perfect girl who never had to deal with half the shit he did and she's still interested in him. He's so ready for her to just drop him when she gets it through her head what he used to do."

"Kaoru wouldn't do that. And besides, that's not the point."

"Sure it is. Come on, how many times has he been in a fight where Kaoru was hanging in the balance. But he's always won no matter how worried he was that something would happen and he would lose her. That's not just his skills."

Megumi sat quietly a bit, not quite ready to give up the argument. "And you? What are you terrified of?"

Sano looked at her. "Me… well… nothing."

Megumi snorted. "There goes your argument then." Sano sighed and muttered something under his breath. "What was that?"

"I said I was afraid of spiders, okay?"

Megumi looked at him, trying to contain her laughter. "You mean to tell me that if in a fight, a spider dropped down from the ceiling, you'd freak out?"

Sano frowned. "No. But that's because I have confidence."

"Yes, confidence that you can defeat something that's not even the size of your pinky toe."

"Oh just forget it!" Sano huffed. "Remind me never to try to help you again."

Megumi smirked a bit and let the conversation lap into silence before she finally got the courage to ask her next question. "So how do you get confidence?"

Sano shrugged. "Practice helps. And facing your fears."

Megumi smiled. "So you don't panic around spiders anymore then?"

Sano frowned. "I knew I was going to regret that."

"I'll make sure that only everyone knows about it," Megumi replied.

There conversation fell into silence again, the rhythmic sound of the train over the tracks slowly lulling them into a peaceful state. Sano's eyes were starting to close and even Megumi was struggling to stay awake.

"Oi, megistune."

"Hai, tori atama."

"I might not be able to help you face your fears but I can give you a chance to practice your fighting."

Megumi quickly blinked awake and looked over at him. He was staring at her through half closed eyes but was clearly awake. She nodded a bit and couldn't help but to let out a smile as his eyes fell fully asleep.

* * *

"So what do you need to find?" Kenshin asked as he looked around trying to find her luggage. Probably wasn't smart to check everything in, he thought as he looked at the mass of luggage that was piled up in the small cart in the back.

Kaoru smiled and reached up, wrapping her hand around his ponytail and pulling him back.

"Oro?" he said, falling backwards.

"Baka," she smiled. "I didn't want to 'find' anything."

He looked clueless. "Well then we should get back. The train is not steady and we could fall down and…"

"And I could hurt myself," Kaoru replied.

"Aa… demo…"

"Looks like owe Megumi another thousand yen."

"Oro?"

"Just forget it."

"I don't think I should," Kenshin frowned, "since your obviously upset about something."

Kaoru bit her lip and tried to think about how to best broach the subject. But as her mind began to whirl, her eyes caught sight of something. A briefcase with a tiny brand on its side. Slowly she followed the blackened mark around the brown leather until she finally understood.

"Snake," she said under her breath.

That did nothing to clear things up for Kenshin. Instead, he watched helpless as she pushed past him and towards the briefcase. He watched as she reached into her pocket and produced a ring, lining it up next to the brand.

"They're the same," Kaoru whispered.

"Where did you get that ring?"

"It was on a body in the sewer," she replied softly.

"A what?" Kenshin asked, realizing she had left a couple of things out of her story.

"It's not important right now," Kaoru said. "What is important is…"

The door slid open and something in the air just made Kenshin move. Without a word, he quickly pulled Kaoru down to the ground and behind a pile of baggage. One look to her made he realized she felt the same thing. Something was definitely not right.

They were speaking Italian, a language which neither of them understood but from the tones it was not laid back chit chat. The door opened once more and someone walked in. One of them sounded frantic and suddenly there was a barely audible pop in the air.

Kaoru's eyes flew open as one of the men dropped to the ground, lifeless eyes staring at them. The new person stepped forward, heavy boots hitting the ground as he did. A long jacket swished across the ground. Kenshin tightened his grip on Kaoru's arm.

"Toss the body out the back."

"Yes sir."

The man reached down to pull the body and Kenshin realized two things. One was that he was wearing a ring on his hand exactly like the one Kaoru had. And second was that by leaning down the gangster suddenly caught sight of them.

Before the thug even had a chance to react, Kenshin was on the move, pulling Kaoru with him as he moved towards the end of the cart. Gunshot exploded around him, sending tatters of luggage into the air. He pulled open the door at the end, pushing Kaoru outside first.

The cold air hit her first and she barely caught herself on the rail at the end of the train. Looking down all she could see was the blur of tracks as the sped backwards and into the horizon.

"Go up!" Kenshin said, pushing her towards the small ladder. He turned and watched the door they had just exited. It opened slightly but he kicked it closed again and then moved out of the way as a hail of gunfire ripped through it.

Seeing that Kaoru had made it up, he quickly grabbed the rail and vaulted upwards, grabbing on to the side of the training and hauling himself up on to the top train. Kaoru had crouched down, fighting against the wind as it pushed against her small frame. He wrapped an arm around her waist and started to walk with her.

"Can you stay here?" Kenshin yelled as he got her to the middle of the train. Kaoru nodded and steeled herself.

Kenshin turned around and stood up, already anticipating the two figures pulling themselves onto the train. One looked Italian, in a tailored suit that made him appear too much like a Mafioso to be anything but that. But it was the second man that made Kenshin's blood start to boil.

"Cho," Kenshin started, watching the blonde man look at him.

"Himura," Cho called out. "How nice to see you."

Kenshin frowned. Why did the Juppongatana always have to show up? He watched as Cho pulled out a sword and motioned to his comrade. The gangster nodded and started to walk forward, crouched down while Cho strode confidently forward.

"I would offer to lend you one of my swords but I am rather attached to them," he smiled. Kenshin frowned, realizing what it meant.

A second later, a sword snaked out from behind Cho and headed right towards him. Kenshin jumped to avoid it and suddenly found himself almost three feet from where he had started.

It brought him closer to Cho, letting the other man take a sword from his side and charging Kenshin. The redhead moved quickly, bending backwards so he was parallel to the ground and the sword passed above him. His hand snapped forward, wrapping Cho's wrists, and he stood up, bending his adversary's arms painful back until his hand opened and the sword dropped.

Kenshin caught it on his foot and pushed Cho backwards, reaching down to grab the sword. Cho looked at him furiously, realizing that not only was Kenshin now armed, he was armed with one of his swords.

But Cho's upset face slowly faded into a smile. During the small fight, his henchman had managed to snake closer to the girl and was about to grab her. Kenshin turned around to see what was going on but he couldn't react as Cho launched another attack. His chest constricted a bit when he realized Kaoru was in danger but there was nothing he could do.

Kaoru looked up, watching the Italian man talk to her and reach into his pocket to pull out a gun. Her leg muscles tensed as she prepared herself to fight. She felt like a feather in the breeze as the inertia of the train threatened to throw her off. Keep you feet planted on the train and you'll be fine, she told herself.

The man pulled out his gun just as Kaoru stood up. He brought it up to her face and she smacked the hand away. His hand flew backwards as the wind caught it and she watched his face contort as his shoulder was stretched to its limit, the gun flying from his grip. She didn't need to understand the language to know whatever he was spouting at the moment was not pretty.

He started throwing punches and Kaoru blocked them all. But he threw them in such rapid succession that she wasn't able to get a single blow in. A few minutes of this though, she suddenly saw something that was much more dangerous then the man in front of her.

"KENSHIN!" she screamed, seeing him fighting valiantly against Cho.

He caught her eye and looked, suddenly realizing what she saw. With wide eyes, he tried to do something but Cho was already on the attack.

* * *

"So where do we start?" Misao asked.

Aoshi moved wordlessly into the room and pulled out a suitcase. He opened it and pulled out two wetsuits, throwing one towards her.

"Kaoru found a body in the sewers. I want to go check it out myself."

Misao nodded slowly and watched as he started to pull off his shirt. She frowned a bit, knowing that this was not Aoshi's normal coldness. There was something different about this. She walked forward and put a hand on his bare arm. The iciness of his arm alarmed her a bit but not as badly as the intensity in his eyes as he looked at her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice suddenly very small.

He kept looking down at her and suddenly broke his glance away. "I will be fine when we catch Kanyruu."

Misao nodded. "We will. But… is that all that's bothering you?"

He looked back at her with a nod. "Yes."

Misao bit her lip, knowing he was lying. So she softly wrapped herself around him and let her warmth soak into his cold skin. "I don't believe you," she whispered. "But I know you won't tell me. Whatever it is, it will be all right."

He closed his eye tightly for a moment before he let his arms wrap her and nodded softly.

* * *

Kenshin tried to say something but Cho was relentless.

"LISTEN TO ME," Kenshin yelled.

"Stop trying to distract me," Cho retorted, attempting another attack.

Kenshin's patience was about worn out. This fight was unnecessary and he obviously had bigger things to worry about then Cho.

"I'm trying to tell you…"

"Just shut up!" Cho interrupted before launching another attack.

Kenshin's patience broke. He waited for Cho to jump up in an attack and then moved to follow. Both in the air, Kenshin blocked Cho's attack and threw up a kick, connecting with Cho's exposed midsection. It was a solid blow and without anything to steady himself, Cho flew backwards, over the edge of the train and onto the tracks.

Kenshin spared him a glance to make sure he was still alive before heading towards Kaoru.

"KAORU!" he yelled, watching her block another attack while yelling at the guy.

"He's not listening!" she yelled back.

Kenshin frowned and moved towards the fight. But fighting against the wind was proving more tiring after a fight and the disaster was inching closer. He wasn't going to make it in time.

Kaoru obviously realized that and she shot him a glance, her eyes telling him to get ready. He nodded and she lifted a foot off the ground. The roundhouse kick was quick but low so the blow landed on his side, unbalancing the gangster and sending him over the edge of the train, scraped by the gravel around the tracks, but alive none the less.

The kick did exactly what Kaoru was afraid off. Without both feet on the ground, the wind pushed her easily and she lost her balance, thrown towards the end of the train. Kenshin caught her as she came towards him and let the force of her push him backwards so that he landed on his back.

The tunnel suddenly tore over their heads, the low ceiling only inches away. Kaoru clutched him tightly, not daring to look up. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about what was going on around them.

* * *

Twenty minutes after they left, Kaoru and Kenshin finally dragged themselves back into the car, clutching the briefcase as they did. Megumi and Sano looked at them with shocked expressions. That was to be expected. Their clothes were disheveled, their hair was falling across their face and both barely had a breath to spare between them.

Kaoru and Kenshin ignored them, dragging themselves towards the seat where they curled up against each other and just fell asleep, leaving Megumi and Sano to stare in complete disbelief.

* * *

Misao's nose wrinkled. She wasn't sure if it was the sewage around them or the decaying body barely visible in the murky depths that made it so bad. She treaded away and back towards where she had left Aoshi, the flashlight on her head sweeping towards the other beacon of light.

"Found it!" she called out.

Aoshi's light turned towards her and she saw it bob up and down in a nod. Misao moved towards the body, looking at the bloated hand that was just poking out of the water. It was really grotesque, this single white hand trying to reach for the surface.

Watching it, though, she realized that it wasn't moving at all, even as her feet made currents in the water around the rest of the body. Kaoru had said it was tied to the bottom of the sewer so it should still be moving back and forth as she approached it.

She realized her mistake too late. The wire was invisible and the only indication it was there was when it moved in the water creating small ripples. Misao froze, realizing it was a trap and turned to warn Aoshi.

Before she could, though, she heard something pop. Her movement in the water had been enough to set over whatever trap had been set. But there was no explosion, no rapid gunfire… what kind of trap was this?

Ten feet away from her, she heard three distinct plops in the water. Looking the direction of the noise, she watched as the water began to move in a pattern, three esses across the otherwise placid surface.

It took a moment to realize what the source was but the moment she did, Misao started to scream. Three water snakes were skimming the surface of the water as they headed straight towards her.

* * *

Author notes: ARGH! Anyone else feel like they barely have enough time to write a chapter let alone thank all the wonderful reviewers who take the time to say great job? I always feel like that. But I'm going to try.

JML : I read your updated story and it's great. But stop updating when I'm on vacation. Thanks for the constant reviews, there are much appreciated.

Vesca : I think that would have been a good scene too ^_^ And happy new year to you too!!

nemo : Hope things are cheerier for you. The trinket is explained in this chapter obviously.

kodachi&kuni : yes, please go to Pedatrics, it is rather important ^_^

Omochi : Yeah, he is a bad man… but we all know what happens to bad men when our heroes get a hold of them.

Gochan : No cookie for you!! BAD, Gochan. Now go update a story or something… kidding!!

Gemin16 : Cameras are the devil for poor Kaoru.

JadeGoddess : Right… Sou-chan… hmmm… I wonder if he should be good or bad…

Chri : What a great review. Thanks soooo much!

Ayce Shade : *nods in agreement* Okay… till next time then! Thanks again everyone ^_^