Author's Note : Ack on way for camping trip. Sorry for delay. Hurt wrist in karate. Later!!
Chapter 10The people did not exist. The buildings did not exist. All the existed in his mind was the target. Feelings that had been packed away in the recesses of his mind slowly leaked out, drowning his eyes in gold. He knew it was dangerous to let the assassin kiss the surface again but there was no choice. He needed all his resources to catch up with the fastest man in the world.
Soujirou switched from the main road, bounding between the walls of two adjourning buildings until he reached the roofs and continued his race up there. With a small smile he turned sharply, seeing a blur of red out of the corner of his eyes as Himura struggled to follow. He just needed a few more minutes to reach his destination and then Soujirou's plan would be set. Unfortunately Himura had different plans.
The architecture of Venice created a rooftop maze and Kenshin saw his chance when a taller building suddenly rose up to the left. He moved quickly, skipping sideways until he was on the higher roof and running above Soujirou.
Soujirou lost him for only three seconds but the brief hesitation in his decision of which way to turn cost him. Suddenly, the sky above him rippled and he was skidding across the roof as the full weight of Himura hit him.
They rolled together coming towards the edge of the roof and both desperately hanging on as they fell. A second was all they needed to reorient themselves. And then Soujirou attacked. His arms used to hold onto the eave, he unleashed a fast side kick. Kenshin moved quickly and brought his own foot up, catching Soujirou's legs with the sole of his foot.
The move forced both of them away from the other and as they swung back, Soujirou was already moving his other leg for an attack. Kenshin let go of the eave with one hand and quickly swung it to the other side, as if he was on a set of monkey bars. Soujirou used his momentum to do the same, throwing another kicks from behind.
They continued like this until Kenshin reached the end of building. Soujirou smiled deeply, realizing he couldn't escape the attack this time. He swung to kick again but the metal in his hands started to buckle.
Both men looked up but before they could do anything the eave broke free and both were sent into the dark waters below. Kenshin felt the cold grip him like death's hand itself and he struggle to reach the surface. As soon as his lung took in enough oxygen he turned around frantically, looking for his prey. But he was no where in sight.
"KENSHIN!" Sano called reaching the middle of a bridge and seeing the tell tale red hair in the water. "Where's Seta?"
Kenshin turned to him. "I lost him."
Sano blinked and nodded slowly. He walked towards on end of the bridge and helped Kenshin out of the water. He didn't say a word as the redhead took off, jogging down the path that lined the canal as he searched for Seta. Sano couldn't say anything to Kenshin now anyway. He had seen the golden gleam in his friend's eyes and knew that he wasn't dealing with Kenshin anymore.
Misao was still sick. Either that or someone had replaced her mind with a dense cloud. She was aware of the smaller things. That Kaoru was next to her. That Megumi was clucking in her eye medical commands. That Tokio was pushing them forward. That Seta-san was walking next to her.
No, not Seta-san… Okita-san. It was Okita-san right. She remembered the two of them leaving the hotel. That was the plan, he was going to pose as Seta-san and bring her to a Juppongatana site and…
"It'll be simple Makamachi-san," Okita assured her. "And I'll stay with you as long as I can."
Misao nodded and walked a bit stiffly as they approached the door. She felt her feet slow down and her heart catch in her throat. There was something wrong… she could feel it.
"Okita-san," she started but he held up a hand and nodded slowly. Yes he felt it too.
"We should leave," he said quickly.
"I don't think that will be possible."
The two turned and Misao did a double take. Suddenly there were two Okitas in the small courtyard. When the full impact of what was happening hit her, she started to back away.
"That's not possible," Okita said. "We only left half an hour ago."
"I don't hold the title of the world's fastest for nothing," Soujirou smiled.
Okita returned the smile as he crouched down into a defensive position. "Go Makamachi-san," Okita said. "I will hold him off so you can…"
His eyes went wide and Misao realized her mistake too late. A gruff hand wrapped itself around her waist while one covered her mouth. It took one startled breath to understand what was happening.
The chemical burned into her nose and stole her consciousness away. But not quick enough for her to miss Okita as he called out her name. Or to miss seeing Soujirou drive his sword deep into Okita's side.
Misao felt her stomach clench and she knew that it wasn't from the medicine. She needed to warn Kaoru. She needed to warn all of them. She turned to tell her friend what was going on only to realize that Kaoru was no longer holding her up.
Soujirou smiled at her and shook his head. She felt something in her side and realized it was a gun digging through his jacket pocket and into her ribs. Her eyes locked on his in understanding what he meant.
"Where the hell are we supposed to be going anyway?" Megumi asked looking around.
"It's just a little further," Soujirou said as he dragged Misao forward.
Saitou tossed his cigarette into the canal. Not like the water was cleaner then an ash tray anyway. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.
Nothing yet. Hiko's voice came on the other end.
"Nothing here either," Saitou replied. He quickly shut the phone and continued walking. Bloody town was like a freaking maze. They had thought that staying behind Okita would be okay but a couple of quick turns and they had lost him in the city. And the address he had given them was useless, the numbers here impossible to find.
He was about to light another cigarette when something rolled in front of him. He bent down and carefully examined it. It was a small Italian coin. His brow furrowed as he picked it up.
A second one rolled from the darkness and Saitou let it lay on the ground as he moved quickly towards the shadows, hand resting lightly on a gun concealed in his jacket. Half way there, however, his hand dropped and he took the final two steps as a run.
"Okita!"
The smaller boy was lying in a pile of trash, a thin red trail of blood coming out of his mouth nothing compared to what was coming out of his side.
"…sai…"
Saitou shook his head to tell him not to talk but Okita pressed.
"Ma… maka… se…se…ta."
"I understand," Saitou said, preparing himself to relay the message to Hiko. "I'll take you to the hospital now."
Okita forced himself to smile a bit and then sank into oblivion.
One hour had passed. Hiko and Sano sat in the room quietly as Aoshi typed in the background, drawing up plans of the city and looking for any place that could hide a secret installation.
Kenshin was out on the balcony, sitting on his knees as his golden eyes surveyed the expanse of the city. He was looking for something, anything that might give them a clue.
"Wait a minute!" Sano said, suddenly standing up.
"What is it now?" Hiko snapped.
Sano spared him a glare as he turned to Kenshin's back. "Remember on the train ride over here, you and jou-chan got into some trouble."
Kenshin slowly turned around and Sano had to fight the urge to balk at the cold stare. "Remember the fight? You said there were Juppongatana and Italian mafia there."
Kenshin eyed him and then slowly nodded.
"Didn't you bring back a briefcase?"
Kenshin nodded again. "It is locked and obviously triggered to destroy itself."
"What briefcase?" Aoshi asked, momentarily looking up from his laptop.
Sano moved to the closet and grabbed the case, bringing it to the table where Aoshi sat. Aoshi glanced at it and nodded.
"It does appear to have traps set but…" he paused and moved a finger across the serpent emblem on it.
His eyes suddenly lit up and he moved quickly, running out to the hall and heading towards his room. The group slowly moved towards the briefcase, trying to see what he had seen.
"When we went down to examine what Kaoru had seen," Aoshi said, "there was a dead body there. I wasn't sure what it meant at the time but I took this from it."
He showed them the ring with the serpent on it. Slowly he moved it towards the emblem and lined up the snakes. The ring pulled forward and locked in place. Motioning the others back, he slowly turned it and an audible click filled the room.
Aoshi flipped open the briefcase, eyes scanning the contents before they were snatched up by the other men.
"I have plans of Venice," Sano said, rifling through his pile.
"These are schedules for the Carnival," Hiko added.
"And I have the name," Kenshin finished, holding up a document.
"A contract?" Sano said, getting a glimpse of legalese.
"So to speak," Kenshin hissed. "It is an agreement between the Juppongatana and a mafia family. Shinomori, look up the name Valentina."
Aoshi nodded and moved towards his computer. The map of Venice reappeared and slowly several regions were shaded red.
"They have a strong presence in this town," he said. "Where did you lose Seta?"
Kenshin walked over and glanced at the map. His finger landed on an area and Aoshi zoomed in on it.
"There… a bakery on the corner. And it looks like it's got an underwater tunnel running right under it."
"That would explain why I lost him in the canal," Kenshin said. "We'll go there now, and they'll take us to the Juppongatana," he finished, not a trace of uncertainty in his voice.
He walked towards the door and threw it open only to come face to face with Saitou. The two golden eyes locked together. A wordless agreement was made and the two men walked out side by side with the remaining group following them.
"Exactly where are we going, Okita?" Tokio demanded, stopping and turning to face him.
"I said," Soujirou replied. "To an exit."
"I think we're moving more into the center of the building," Tokio retorted. "I think there is something very wrong here."
Kaoru and Megumi stopped as well, concentrating on Tokio and then Okita. Misao locked eyes with them and they saw it in her eyes. Fear.
"Ne, Okita," Kaoru said walking towards him. "Let me take Misao for a while." But Soujirou didn't move to let her go.
"That's not Okita," Tokio said slowly.
Kaoru's eyes widened and she stepped back, running into Megumi. Soujirou watched them with caution.
"I had hoped you would not figure that out until we reached our destination. But since you have…" He pushed Misao forward into them as he pulled the gun out of his pocket. "We'll have to do it the hard way. Now, continue down this hall until I tell you to turn."
"You bastard," Tokio hissed.
"Maybe, Tokio-san," Soujirou smiled, "but I am not the one who was not able to tell the difference between a hated enemy and a man I considered a son."
Tokio bit her tongue and glared at him menacingly. Misao choked a bit as Kaoru pulled her up.
"Okita…" she said softly, looking up at Soujirou. "You didn't…"
"Move now ladies," Soujirou said cheerfully. "The party is about to begin."
"It doesn't make sense," Hiko frowned as they crouched by the alleyway. "Why would the Juppongatana come here?"
Aoshi shook his head. "I don't know yet but there are many pieces that are coming into place." He looked around for any sign of Saitou or Himura before continuing.
"Have you heard of Alenia Spazio?" Aoshi whispered.
"Is he a movie star?" Sano asked softly.
Aoshi pushed back the insult before continuing. "No, they're a satellite company based in Italy. They were in direct competition with DoCoMo last year to place a new network of cellular phone satellites."
"Last year?" Sano asked. "Wasn't that when…"
Aoshi nodded. "Yes, the satellite the Juppongatana had attempted to modify for themselves was the last needed for the DoCoMo network."
"The one that we wanted to modify as well," Hiko replied. "But also the one that was sunk to the bottom of the Japanese sea."
"Indeed," Aoshi said. "There were many people after that satellite, your organization, mine and the Juppongatana. The only thing was we never could figure out what the Juppongatana wanted it for." He paused, letting his thoughts collect. "Whatever it was, they've obviously transferred it over to the Italian system."
"What does that…" Sano started but he was cut off by Hiko's hand.
For a moment he didn't realize what was going on until he saw the air shift slightly and the door to the bakery fly open. Two second later three men came crashing out the window.
No command was issued. The three men moved forward quickly, securing the Italian mobsters as Kenshin and Saitou finished inside. A moment later, Saitou called out to them to come inside.
Sano watched the others run in without a second thought. He paused for a moment, wondering if he was the only one with any sanity left. Kenshin was in full assassin mode, Aoshi was saying more words then he probably had in his whole life and Hiko was taking orders from Saitou.
But he followed them anyway, knowing that it was his only chance to help Megumi and the others. And as he followed their echoing footsteps, it occurred to him that the bakery didn't look so big on the outside.
"Where are we?" Sano asked.
"Under the canals," Aoshi replied, touching the walls. "It looks like an old sewer canal."
Sano shook his head. What was it about sewers these days? But after a few minutes of walking, he realized that this sewer, unlike the one in Rome, had been recently redone. In fact, the floors had been paved straight, the walls had lights and there was a door up ahead.
Sano looked at it with a frown. "I guess we should find a…"
Saitou pulled out his gun and fired at the area around the door knob. Kenshin kicked at it as soon as he was done and the door came crashing down. The two men stepped inside, ignoring the blaring alarms.
"…silent way in…" Sano finished, shaking his head and following them.
Soujirou jumped at the noise and frowned deeply. This wasn't a good sign. Neither was Tokio-san's foot heading straight for his arm.
Damn that woman, he smiled to himself. She not be able to beat him in speed but her cunningness was unmatched. He tried to dodge the attack but he was off guard and she made contact with his broken wrist.
"GO! NOW!" Tokio yelled at the girls.
And for once Kaoru was inclined not to question her orders. With the help of Megumi, she quickly began to move away, dragging Misao with her.
Soujirou sighed. "Really, Tokio-san. You are being most difficult."
"I try," Tokio retorted, slipping into a defensive stance.
"Fine, if it must be this way, I'll dispose of you and retrieve the rest of them," Soujirou smiled.
"That's assuming you can kill me," she said.
"Kill you?" Soujirou replied. "Never. Yumi would never forgive me if I…"
Soujirou ducked barely in time to miss the twin kicks that headed towards him. He ducked the first one and then used his low posture to push himself into a back flip as she tried to sweep his legs.
He watched her come around for another attack as his hands hit the ground and he pushed into the air. Bringing his hands forward, her caught her foot and twisted her ankle until he heard it pop in his hands.
If she felt it, Tokio gave him no sign and rather came at him with a barrage of attacks. He blocked the first two but the third hit his broken wrist and it crackled under the pressure. He stepped back, giving them time to breathe and reassess.
Yes, he had done damage to her leg, most of her weight as one the back one. He moved to sweep it from under her but she countered, aiming the back of her hand for his wrist.
He stopped the sweep and pushed back re-establishing their stalemate. She glared at him and moved to place a kick right on his side. He prepared to counter it and realized all too late it was a fake. Without so much as a grimace, Tokio shift her weight to broken foot and kicked at him from the opposite angle, connected with his bad wrist and slamming it into his ribs.
Soujirou stumbled backwards and watched as Tokio's face contorted in pain, the bone in her leg pushing out of the skin as it broke. She landed on him, driving them both into the ground.
Soujirou didn't waste a moment. He grabbed her shirt with his good hand and pushed so her head was above his. He shifted to the right, brought a bent knee to her side and let his foot wrap around the other. He turned quickly, reversing their positions in one move.
Tokio found herself on her back suddenly, the pain in her leg, threatening to steal the remaining bit of consciousness she had left. She looked up at him to see what his next move was but saw he was no longer paying attention to her.
He stood up quickly and took off, leaving her on the trailing edge of wakefulness. She saw him leave. Saw the ceiling that replaced him. And finally saw gold before she passed out.
Kaoru didn't complain as Misao's weight dug into her shoulder. Shooting a glance over to Megumi, she knee she was in the same situation. They just moved down the halls, trying to find the way out.
Megumi suddenly stopped and Kaoru staggered off balance. She looked back, ready to catch Misao if Megumi dropped her but tiredness was not the reason Megumi had stopped. She was looking through a window on a door.
"Megumi?" Kaoru hissed.
Megumi shook her head. "It can't be."
"What?" Kaoru demanded, moving towards her. She looked into the room and saw nothing of true interest. A large glass room in the middle filled with vials and other scientific equipment.
"Megumi…" Misao said looking up at the doctor.
Megumi blinked and shook her head. "We need to go," Megumi said quickly.
"Megumi, what's going on?" Kaoru demanded as Megumi shot forward.
"That was a sterile laboratory," Megumi replied grimly. "There was another one just like it…in…"
"Where?"
"Las Vegas," Misao said weakly.
Kaoru tried to process everything as she and Megumi ran down the hall. "Wait… you mean that…"
"The Juppongatana still has some of the virus," Megumi finished.
Saitou carefully took her pulse. The damage to her leg was extreme and it would be life threatening if not cared for carefully. He looked up, locking eyes with Kenshin before turning back to his wife. He stood up and looked over at Hiko before following after Kenshin. Hiko looked a bit startled but reached down to collect Tokio.
"You two go ahead, I'll take her back to the surface," Hiko said.
Aoshi nodded and grabbed Sano's arm pulling him forward. "What just happened back there?" Sano demanded.
"It appears Himura and Saitou made an agreement," Aoshi replied.
"An agreement?"
"That they would retrieve all the women together," Aoshi finished, quickening his pace to catch up with them.
Well, now I've heard it all, Sano thought himself grimly. Kenshin and Saitou working together to help others. He could only hope Megumi was in a less stressful situation then he was.
Megumi closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't believe this is the only way."
"Come on Megumi, you have to help me strap her in."
"I mean… the chances are just… impossible!"
"Stop being silly," Kaoru chastised. "Just get in."
"On a freighter ship, I can understand. In a secret military base in the middle of the desert, I'll buy that too. But what the hell would there be a helicopter in an underground base in a place that has more canals then streets?"
Kaoru sighed and strapped herself into the seat. A second later Megumi followed suit, grumbling to herself. Kaoru ran through the check list, bringing up the helicopter's system one by one.
"Kaoru?"
"What Megumi?"
"Ah… correct me if I'm wrong, but you need to go up right?" Kaoru nodded. "How do you plan to do that with the ceiling above you?"
"I'm working on that," Kaoru stated, flipping through the switches, hoping one would open the roof.
There was a rumbling underneath her and the floor began to move upwards.
"Kaoru… the roof is still there," Megumi said looking outside.
"I know… just a second…"
"Kaoru…"
"A couple more…"
"KAORU!"
There was a large crash as the roof doors opened upward. "Bingo," Kaoru smiled, looking over at Megumi who had her hands still clamped onto the seat.
The rotor began to turn and Kaoru carefully moved the throttle. The take off wasn't as smooth as normal but it was a strange way to do it. So she completely ignored the movement in the back of the copter.
Soujirou ran, his smile faltering as he realized where the girls had gone. Off all the places, they would have to find the hanger. He saw them in the copter and ran towards it just as the floor began to move upward.
Kenshin and Saitou had just seen him disappear into the room as the sound of a motor filled the air. Wasting no time, they dashed inside to following him.
Soujirou jumped into the back of the helicopter as it took of. It had been modified after its service in the military to accommodate more seats but the back of it was largely empty. It was more then enough place to crouch down and prepare to attack.
Kaoru worked to steady the large vehicle and glanced out at her surroundings. It took her a minute to realize they were in the middle of the water. It was shallow and the doors were acting as a barrier to keep the water out of the base.
The copter was several feet in the air when Saitou and Kenshin reached it. Neither paused as they leapt upward, each catching hold of one of the legs and swinging freely in the air.
"SHIT!" Sano cursed as they watched the copter veer off from sight.
"Come on," Aoshi said, pulling him towards the back of the hanger. There was a thin stream of water coming from the hole in the ceiling and if Aoshi was right then there should be some aquatic based transportation nearby.
Kaoru looked over and nodded at Megumi. As soon as she did, she caught sight of the movement in the back, just as the console in front of her exploded into sparks. The helicopter bucked as the bullet did its damage.
Soujirou grabbed the side of a chair to keep from falling. Much to his dismay he realized it was being occupied by Misao. She didn't waste anytime belting him in the face with her good hand.
Saitou had just climbed in as Soujirou stumbled into him. With no time to react, the lanky man's legs stepped backwards and he pitched out of the plane, landing in the deepening water below.
The speed boat sped by him, Sano taking a moment to through out a life ring as they passed. Saitou would be fine, he told himself. All that mattered now was the helicopter and the people inside.
Kaoru tried to maintain control of the copter but it was no good. The controls were shot and it was out of control. She looked around and grabbed a crowbar from near the driver door. She wedged it into the throttle to keep it steady.
"Megumi! We need to get out of here," she screamed over the motor. Megumi nodded quickly. "Get Misao, I'll take care of Seta!"
Megumi moved quickly and unstrapped Misao. The younger girl pushed herself up and fell onto her, unbalancing them both.
Kaoru walked slowly towards Seta, her hands up in defense and her feet desperately trying to maintain balance as the helicopter pitched and yawed out of control. Soujirou looked up and moved for his gun only to find he had lost it on the ground.
Kenshin swung upward, more cautiously then Saitou had but with results that were rather similar. He ran into Megumi and Misao and the two unbalanced women quickly spun away and hit the ground. The helicopter pitched to one side and with nothing to hold onto, Megumi and Misao fell out of the open door and into the waters below.
"SANO!" Aoshi called out, seeing them fall. But the other man was already at the side of the boat, jumping into the water. Aoshi steeled himself and forced the boat to continue after the helicopter.
"Kaoru!" Kenshin called as she almost followed Megumi and Misao.
"Kenshin!" she called grabbed onto the seat and trying to maintain her balance.
He struggled forward to reach her but the helicopter pitched again and suddenly she was hurtling towards him.
He felt her, every inch of his body as it made contact. And for a moment, the golden eyed demon in his mind relaxed. But then he was falling, out the open door and Kaoru was no longer there.
She grabbed his arm, desperately hanging on as he swung in the open air. She was the only thing keeping him from falling and he could see in her eyes how much the strain was. He was getting ready to get back in when he saw Soujirou coming from behind and pointing the gun towards him.
Kaoru saw a flash of light across Kenshin's face and she knew what it was. The metal on the gun had just reflected off one of the helicopters lights. She looked at his eyes and could almost see Soujirou approach.
She locked eyes with him, blue shoving away the last traces of gold until only purple remained. There was no anger in them anymore. Just fear. Fear because he knew what she was going to do.
"I love you," she mouthed as she let go.
And then he was falling. Falling backwards she turned around to face Soujirou. Falling as he saw the explosion of the gun in the empty space of the helicopter. Falling as the helicopter veered towards the water.
And underwater as it hit the water, exploding the moment it did.
