See 1st Chapter for Disclaimer
It was a quiet night on the out skirts of Tokyo. The owls were calling out into the night, the moon was high overhead, the streets were free of pedestrians as this was past midnight, a time when everyone was quietly asleep in their beds.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF HELL JUST HAPPENED?"
Oh yeah, that is unless you happen to be in the Kamiya Dojo where a group of evil ninjas just attacked and ended up poisoning a certain short scar-less redhead with short hair in a Chinese shirt who was being treating for thorn apple poisoning and just had her wound cleaned with lukewarm water.
If that was the case then you would see, and hear, a man in a white gi with the symbol for bad on his back and a head of hair that looked slightly like a chicken, whom was also quiet superstitious, shout loudly before jumping back to the far wall with his mouth agape while a short boy in a yellow and gray hamiaka was rolling around on the floor laughing and pointing to before mentioned chicken head. At the head of the patient was a woman (since the old man would have probably had a heart attack) who was obviously a doctor with a red hand mark on her face she got from being slapped out of a daze, she was still treating the boy/girl. There was also a man with red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his face sitting next to the now male dark haired boy with wide eyes and a very concerned looking young woman who didn't seem to notice the change at all, who was instead watching the red-haired samurai.
Chapter 8: Strongest Group of Ninjas: The Horrible Oniwaban Group
Kenshin couldn't believe what he had just seen. A girl, who looked incredibly similar to himself except shorter had just…changed, into a young man. His master had always said there were more things in the world than he could possibly understand with his logic but the student had only just thought it was his old master's stupid insults to his intelligence. Now, he wasn't so sure…then again knowing Hiko it was probably meant as both.
Finally getting his wandering mind back under control Kenshin started to hear something. A voice…a female voice.
"Kenshin? Kenshin you're alright aren't you? You're not going to faint or anything right? Kenshin?"
Oh yeah, it was Miss Kaoru's voice. Finally back in reality but still a little discombobulated at the sudden distraction the wandering ex-manslayer decided to use the great and all encompassing reply what would answer even the most confusing of questions. A word so mighty and yet completely meaningless that no dictionary within all of Japan could put down its meaning least they run out of room.
Kenshin looked over to Kaoru and blinked while a confused expression covered his face. "Oro?"
"Oh good," the girl replied. "Now, about what just happened…"
-The Next Morning-
"Oh hey do it again do it again!"
*Splash*
"Ok now my turn!"
*FSSSSSSSHHHH*
Ranma repressed a groan as he sat out in the back yard of the dojo while the old man Dr. Gensai's granddaughters were 'playing' with him. It had been going on for about five minutes now, the youngest of the pair held a small bucket of water while the older girl was using the teakettle.
Well, the girls seemed to have adjusted to his sex changing curse the fastest of the group. Kaoru and Yahiko were still a little unsteady about it but not that their attitude got in the way or anything. Actually Sanosuke seemed to take it the worst out of all of them, even after the explanation of Jusenkyo he looked at Ranma a little nervously. Then there was Kenshin, Ranma really didn't know how to gauge that man's reactions to the curse, he kept his emotions too hidden, even if he seemed to be all smiles on the outside, Ranma knew he was nothing like that underneath.
Right in front of her Ranma could hear Yahiko snickering in delight at the obvious discomfort the transsexual was feeling, but she did her best to ignore it. That, and the constant changes as a sort of amusement. She really hated it when people used her curse as a form of amusement, but then again Ranma had often transformed to entertain Tomoe when the girl was younger or needed an older woman to talk to. She seemed to relate more to her 'mommy' than her 'daddy'.
Another splash of hot water followed by immediate cold brought Ranma back to reality before she spit out some liquid that had gotten in her mouth. Yahiko was now completely hysterical from the look on the redhead's face. What the heck did I ever do to deserve…ok, that was kinda a stupid question.
Inside the dojo Sanosuke stood near the entrance and watched Megumi come in a set down near the tea set before she started preparing everything. He had to admit, she didn't look like she was the kind of person who would be involved with the Yakuza, but all the other evidence spoke to the contrary, and in his pocket Sanosuke held the most damning evidence of all.
"I never dreamed that I'd meet such good people," she said to herself as she poured some of the warm liquid into the cups.
"And how exactly are you going to explain this to all those good people out there?" Sanosuke asked as he fished around in his pocket until he found the medicinal packet that had been there since last night. His voice startled the woman and caused her to turn around while he finished his question. "…explain to me exactly why you have something like this? Why do you have opium?" he finished with a shout before tossing the drug on the floor.
Out of the corner of his eye Sano saw Kaoru standing in the doorway, wearing a yellow kimono with a flower design with a confused look on her face. "Opium?" she asked. Kenshin was behind her, leaning against the wall, but he said nothing.
"Well?" Sanosuke demanded. "I'm waiting for an explanation lady!
"It's because, I was the one who made it," she replied sadly.
Sanosuke blinked in a bit of surprise that was quickly covered up by his anger, he had to admit that he didn't expect her to confess to her crime so quickly. But it made little difference. "I see," he said. "So you're the one who gave that stuff to Yoita and killed one of my best friends."
"Wait Sanosuke," Kaoru told him before turning over to Megumi. "Miss Megumi, please tell us the reason, why is it that you have opium with you?"
Megumi only looked at the missy with big brown lost eyes, not saying anything. It was at that time that Kenshin had finally had enough and decided to finally step in. Moving out of the doorway he stepped up behind Kaoru. "Could it be, it's because you're the daughter of a Mr. Ryusei Takani, Miss Megumi?"
That seemed to shake the woman about of her trance and she spun around to face Kenshin with a confused and somewhat despite expression. "How in the world do you know my father's name?"
"Perhaps we should take a seat that we should," the scarred man replied.
A few moments later Kenshin was sitting down in the middle of one of the back rooms of the household. Megumi was across from him while Kaoru had her place next to him and Sanosuke sat off to the side with his arms crossed and head down, obviously not wanting to take part in the conversation.
"So it's as I thought," Kenshin said. "The Takani family from Aizu was a family of doctors that spanned many generations. However, they got involved in the Aizu War between the Imperial army and the Izu clan. Mr. Ryusei ended up missing, along with both his brothers and mother. It was said that only the youngest daughter of the family was left alive."
"So then, the daughter was Megumi," Kaoru reasoned.
Kenshin nodded. He symphonized with the woman, being alone and the last of your family is hard under any normal circumstances, and a war was hardly normal. "It must have been very difficult to go through all those hardships."
"It was difficult," she replied. "But the hardships I faced back then were nothing compared to what happened afterwards. I came from Aizu to Tokyo five years ago to make a new life for myself while apprenticing under a certain doctor. But that doctor, I didn't know at the time that he was partners with Kanryu, and although they had their differences, he was making opium to be sold on the black market. Then, they had an argument and the doctor was killed, and I was forced to make opium in his place."
"So it was Kanryu," Sanosuke muttered before raising his head and seeing a tear drop from the woman's eye.
"I had worked so hard over the years to become a wonderful doctor like my father," Megumi continued. It was clear to anyone that she was trying not to cry, and yet Kenshin could see all the tears gathering in her eyes. "Yet here I am, making lethal drugs that are taking people's lives instead of saving them. I, I thought of killing myself hundreds of times, but I could never go through with it!"
"So then," Kenshin cut in. "Why was it that you ran away from Kanryu at that particular time Miss Megumi?"
"I was forced to make a new kind of opium," she told him while reaching into her kimono and pulling out more triangular packets. "It could be mass produced cheaply. But if this got out to the public then it would be a disaster. So, I took all the opium I made and ran."
From his place on the floor Kenshin nodded. "And since you're the only one who knows how to make that opium, this is why Kanryu is so persistent to get you back. Going so far as to even send the Oniwaban group after you."
"This Kanryu guy is horrible," Kaoru said.
"People like him usually don't give up so easily," Kenshin told them as he got to his feet. "It's better for you to stay with us for the time being that it is."
"But I-"
"I believe that it is time that you stopped blaming yourself for what happened," Kenshin cut her off after opening the door and looking outside. "You've suffered long enough, and it's time you forgave yourself for something that was not your fault in the first place that it is." He turned around and smiled at the women in the room with him "Right, Miss Kaoru?"
"Yes," she agreed. "I know exactly how hard it is to be all by yourself. I think that if Dr Gensai, Kenshin and the other weren't around I might still be all alone, just like you."
The younger woman gave the older a reassuring smile, but the whole cheerful moment was ruined as Sanosuke slammed his hand into the ground and groaned before standing up and moving out the door. "Sorry, but I just cant be as forgiving as you guys," he said before walking away. "One of my friends is dead because of her."
"I think Sano just needs to take some time to figure things out that he does." Kenshin looked away from the street fighter's departing form and to the woman. "Give him some time and he'll come to terms with this on his own," he told the woman. The former manslayer's smile decreased a bit when he saw her eyes were full of tears again.
Out in the back yard Ranma passed the ball to Ayame before looking out the corner of her eyes towards where Megumi was cleaning the plates from breakfast earlier this morning. She had to admit that the doctor made good food, and from what Ranma picked up from Yahiko during a conversation over the meal, it was much better than Kaoru's.
It was another thing that unnerved Ranma about this place, the fact that the resident tomboy couldn't cook if her life depended on it. It was if that old saying about history repeating itself really was true. Well, Ranma wouldn't start to really worry until Sanosuke got completely lost going somewhere that a five year old to walk to, like Kyoto for example.
"Hey Auntie Ranma get the ball," Sazumi told her.
The voice brought Ranma out of her trance and she lunged forward to knock the plaything back when a flash of movement on the edge of her vision caught her attention and made her trip, falling flat on her face, and chest; even after all these years that part of her female body never did toughen up.
"Auntie Ranma are you ok?" Ayame asked.
Ranma just looked up at the two little girls and gave a little smile. "I guess I am still a little sick," she replied. "Why don't you girls go and play by yourselves, I think I'm going to get some rest." When the two children nodded and walked off with their toy Ranma looked back to Megumi and saw her running out the gate in a panicky hurry. Well now, what have we hear?
Sanosuke frowned as he followed Megumi through the light forest and further away from the populated parts of the city.
He had come to the dojo earlier that evening to help Kenshin protect the woman. The street fighter still hadn't forgiven the woman for what she had done, but that didn't mean he was going to let Kenshin and the others face something like the Oniwaban Group without some kind of backup. Ok, maybe he had been a little worried about the woman as well, but not much.
Sano ducked behind a tree as Megumi ran into what appeared to be an old, short, traveling merchant in a long coat and cap. "Hello, thank you so much for stopping by today," the man said in a scratchy voice. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No, I don't think so," Megumi replied in a confused tone.
"I see," he said before raising his arm to take off his cap. As the 'old man' did he showed that a striped sleeve and a dark blue glove covered his arm. "However, this is something you can help me with!" Halfway through his sentence the man's size seemed to swell and the clothes suddenly burst apart revealing the ninja that had carried Beshimi and the fire breather off last night.
Megumi tried to scream but the ninja with the demon mask reach forward and covered her mouth. "Kanryu Takeda is waiting for you," he said with a laugh before jumping up to a tree and used his legs to rebound off the trunk, flying into the forest while Sanosuke gritted his teeth in frustration.
Up in the trees Ranma watched with a scowl as Sanosuke ran after the Oniwaban ninja.
As it was, her options were quit limited. Going after the pair to help the street fighter was out of the question, her job for Saito required the utmost secrecy, and displaying skills that rivaled the Battousai's wasn't in the character of a wandering teenage martial artist.
With no other real choice the redhead dropped to the ground and started to make her way towards the dojo. Just because she couldn't fight didn't mean she was powerless.
Leaning against a tree Aoshi Shinomori watched out of the corner of his eye as his employer met with the Megumi woman while Hanya stood off to the side if she tried anything. Not that she would of course, but Kanryu seemed to have an almost paranoid need for security.
"There's no need to worry," the cooperate rat assured her. "As I wrote in that letter I promise not to hurt you Miss Megumi. All I want is for you to come back where you belong, I promise to just forget everything if you just come along quietly."
"And I assume you want me to make opium again," she replied.
"Of course. After all, making opium is your job. You certainly never had a problem with it up until now, right?"
The woman let a 'humph' before crumpling the note in her hand even more. "I just couldn't go through with killing myself, that's all. Because, if I stay alive and remain in the medical field I knew that someday I would be reunited with my family. That is why I couldn't do it."
"That's a wonderful story Miss Megumi," he replied. "I'm sure you'll meet your family again someday."
"But now I have finally made my decision. I don't care if I don't ever see them again. If it means that I have to go back to making drugs that kill people, then I would rather die right now!"
"Now that's quiet touching," Kanryu said while walking closer to the woman and moving the large cigar that he kept in his right hand away from his mouth. "But I won't let you die alone. Perhaps the Kamiya Dojo will have a mysterious fire, and in the ruins they'll find the bodies of many dead and innocent children."
As the Megumi woman looked on at the businessman in shock Aoshi turned the rest of the conversation out. He had no doubt that the leech would do something like that to try and force her into submission. Of course it would be the Oniwaban group that did the dirty work, not Kanryu himself.
Aoshi leaned back against the tree, and an image seemed to flash in his head. It was of a girl, less than ten years of age, with dark black hair done in a ponytail, a slender frame, and cute little ice blue eyes. Miaso Makimashi, the last surviving relative of the former Leader and a girl he had left in Kyoto many years ago under the care of another Oniwaban member.
Why would he think of that child at a time like this? It was true that he and the other members of his group had practically raised the girl, and she seemed to look at Aoshi as if he were the dearest thing in the world to her.
It wasn't that he missed her, Aoshi knew that. It was more like idle curiosity, as if wondering what Miaso would say if she saw him now. Would she…approve of him? Was that it? Why would I think something like that? Aoshi wondered as he felt Hanya and the other man approaching while Megumi stood there motionless.
"Why aren't you taking Megumi Takani with you right now?" he asked as the businessman passed his tree. "Could even the notorious Kanry Takeda feel threatened, knowing he faces the legendary Battousai the Manslayer?"
"The way I see it is if we make Megumi leave on her own free will then the Battousai will have no motivation to get involved," he replied before walking off.
Aoshi just shook his head, corporate fools like him had no clue as to the workings of someone like the Battousai's mind. They never would be able to understand as much as they tried. "Motivation huh?"
"Leader," Hanya said. "There is a rat in hiding."
"Let it hide Hanya," Aoshi told him coolly. "The only one that matters to us is Kenshin Himura, the legendary Battousai the Manslayer." As the ninja bowed and disappeared into the tree tops Aoshi turned and walked away from the meeting place. Behind him, he could hear the sobbing of the Megumi woman as she collapsed onto the ground from anguish and hopelessness.
"Kenshin, come take a look at this," Miss Kaoru's voice called out.
From his place in front of the fire alongside Yahiko, Kenshin looked up to see the dojo's owner running up to them with a letter in her hand and a surprised expression on her face. "Hey Kaoru is that note from Miss Megumi?" the boy asked while standing up.
"Yes," the girl replied. "It says that she's going back to Aizu."
"What?" Kenshin mumbled before reaching over to look at the note. It was just basic flattery and a thank you for Miss Kaoru's hospitality, while mentioning on the side that she would be returning to her ancestral home. IT took Kenshin about a whole two seconds to see that it was all a lie.
He was about to tell them that when a shout came from the back gate. "MR. HIMURA, MR. HIMURA," the three dojo's occupants looked over to see the newest redhead resident of the dojo come bursting through the gate. Ranma ran up to them and then doubled over for a moment as if to catch her breath.
"Hey there Ranma, anything wrong?" Yahiko asked.
"Mr. Himura," she said again before taking another breath. "I was going out for a walk to get some fresh air when I saw Miss Megumi out in forest a minute ago. She was with one of those men from last night and, and some man in an expensive looking suit. I didn't get to see much because they left with her a few minutes after I walked by, I don't think they saw me though."
Kenshin nodded as the girl only confirmed what he had thought was going on. "Damn," he mumbled. "Miss Megumi must be going back to Kanryu because of what happened last night. Most likely Kanryu threatened to hurt innocent people if she didn't return."
"What, why that dirty scum," Yahiko shouted.
"Kenshin, we have to do something about this," Kaoru told him.
"That we will," Kenshin told them. He looked over at the redhead for a moment and saw she was still trying to catch her breath. "Ranma, are you in any shape to fight?"
"No, I think I'm still drained from that poison running through my system," the girl replied.
"That's just as well," the swordsman said. "Yahiko, Miss Kaoru and I will head down to the Kanryu mansion to try and rescue Miss Megumi. Ranma, stay here and if you see Sanosuke tell him what's going on, if he doesn't come back before sunset then I want you to head over to the police station and tell the police chief there what's going on. Just mention my name and he'll cooperate."
"Yes sir," the girl responded before pulling herself back up strait.
"The rest of you go get changed and then meet me at the front of the compound," Kenshin said.
As the sun set behind her Megumi slowly walked towards the Kanryu estate with her head held down towards the ground. She couldn't run away, not from Kanryu, and not from opium. This hell of making drugs that killed people seemed to be a never-ending cycle of death, and it would take the blood of innocent people if she were to break it by suicide.
"So then, what're you planning to do? Are you going back to Work for Kanryu Takeda?"
The woman looked up and gave a surprised start as she saw the street fighter from earlier today standing at the gate. What in the world was he doing at a place like this? Was he going to kill her if she tried to go back to Kanryu? Well, if that was the case she couldn't let him, Megumi still had one more thing to do before she could die. "Don't worry, I don't plan on ever making that opium that killed your friend ever again. I promise I won't."
Sanosuke removed himself from leaning against the wall and walked towards her with his hands in his pockets. "You know Kanryu isn't exactly going to be thrilled to hear that."
"I just promised you didn't I?" she replied. "So don't get in my way. I'm in a hurry."
"Don't be in such a hurry to die!" Sanosuke told her once she walked past the large man causing her to stop. "You've got Kenshin and Sanosuke too on your side. There's no need to try and be a martyr."
She turned around and blinked at the man in confusion. "You too?"
"Come on, the girls are waiting for you at the dojo, and somewhere out there, your family is waiting too," Sanosuke told her before trying to lead the woman away.
Megumi turned away from the man and shook her head. "Thank you for your kind words," she said. "But even if I was able to find my family, how could I face them now? I'm a criminal who's part of an illegal operation. There's no way I could erase such a dirty past."
"QUIT BEING SO SELF-RIGHTEOUS!" Sano yelled. "Do you think you're the only one in the world with a dirty past? If you die here, do you think it's going to bring my friend back to life? If you're alive then you can repent for what you've done. Someday, you will see your family again, but if you die then that one chance you had is gone."
Megumi stood there as the man's words sunk in. Why was this man fighting to save her from herself? Because of her one of his friends had died? Should he want her dead?
Tears started to form in the woman's eyes again, today must have been a record for her, she never thought she cried this much before. But, then again she never had that much to cry about either, life with Kanryu held no hope, and it was hard to mourn over loosing something when you were already at rock bottom.
"Hey look out!"
The doctor felt Sanosuke's arms grab her from behind and knock her away from her former position just before a large iron ball and chain came crashing down on the pavement where she had once stood.
"Hey now I'm impressed, not many people could have dodged that one," an arrogant voice called out from behind them.
As they both turned around Megumi could see a large man standing in top of the brick part of Kanryu's fence. He held the other end of the chain and a dark brown suit covered all but his hands and head. As for his body, it seemed to be incredibly muscular and his face had numerous scars on the jaw that seemed to resemble tiger stripes while two more formed a cross over his left eye while long brown hair cascaded down his back. "I'm the dungeon guard of the Edo Castle Oniwaban Group, Shikijou. Now if you don't hand the broad over to me quietly, then the next attack will crush all your bones to dust!"
"Just try it loser," Sanosuke shouted.
"So then, the Battousai along with a boy and a woman are going to challenge the Oniwaban group?"
From her place near the door Ranma scowled as Saito blew out a puff of smoke while sitting on his desk. She didn't see how the guy could possibly like those things. Ok sure there was no surgeon general's warning in this day and age but a guy that good had to feel some depravation of lung capacity.
"Yes, that's pretty much it," Ranma replied with squeezing her cape out. Stupid freak rainstorms, she thought. "The fighter for higher might have gotten there ahead of them, I'm not sure. But since they all left a good half-hour ago Kenshin and the others should be at the gates by now.
"Alright," the policeman replied. "Go there and have a look around, I'll send in some men about half an hour past midnight to clean up any of the mess."
Ranma nodded before flapping her cape a few times to make sure it was dry enough then turned around to leave after putting it on. "Oh, by the way," she said. "How is Tomoe doing at your place? You and your wife are taking good care of her I hope?"
"My wife enjoys the company," the man replied. "Although, I do find it funny that she refers to you more as female than male, Miss Saotome."
"Don't make me have to hurt you Saito," Ranma said.
The man just chuckled a bit as Ranma opened the door and called out for one of his assistants to come in and round up a small squad of police swordsman for an operation later tonight.