Back Home without Kiriko
Kenshin almost cried out loud with joy as he approached his home but it was a short-lived excitement when he remembered that he was coming home without his little girl. The sun had set but the sky was still laced with orange, red, purple, and blue. As he and the Shinomori family got closer to the house, Kenshin noticed that the lights were on but no one was in the yard. They entered the gate slowly. Kenshin was trying to buy some time so he could think of something to say to Kaoru about Kiriko.
"Battousai, why are you walking so slowly? I thought you would be glad to be home." Aoshi blurted out loud.
"Shhh….I am Aoshi but I don't know what I'm going to say to Kaoru yet."
Aoshi didn't say anything. As they walked up the path Kenshin stumbled on a rock. "ORO!" he yelped. Then the house door slid open and Kaoru came running out of the house. She flew into Kenshin's arms. It happened so fast that Kenshin lost his footing and they fell on the ground.
"Oh….Kenshin….. I……. missed …..you ……so…..much!" She said in between kisses.
Kenshin hugged her tight. "How did you know we were here?"
"Kenshin I know your 'oro' any where……..we?" Kaoru looked up to see Aoshi giving her a strange look and Misao trying to hold in her giggles. She jumped up off him.
"Oh I didn't know you brought guests….." She looked amongst them but didn't see the face of her beloved daughter. "Kenshin where is Kiriko?" Kenji, Kano, Sano's family and Yahiko's family came out of the house to greet Kenshin and Kiriko.
Kenshin got up off the ground and stared at Kaoru with sad hurt filled eyes. The tears spilled out of Kaoru's navy eyes like two waterfalls.
"Kenshin…..don't you dare tell me my daughter is dead."
"No!" Kenshin gave her a comforting bear hug. "No, that's not it at all."
"Then where is she, Kenshin? You told me in the letter that she would be with you when you came back. Why did you lie to me?" She cried in his shoulder.
"Kaoru, you know I would never lie to you. At the time the letter was written, the information was true………I think we better all go inside and I'll explain everything."
Kenshin kept his arm around her as they all went back into the house.
Once they got inside, Kenshin introduced the kids to Aoshi's family. Saganno sat in the corner of the room. Other then Kiriko's own family, he anxiously wanted to see Kiriko again. It didn't take long for Kenshin to get right into what they wanted to hear. He explained about the letter and his time with Hiko. He told them what Hiko told him but this time he chose to tell them about Hiko's theory that she was born a Battousai. Aoshi and Misao looked at each other when he said this because they didn't hear this version of the story. Kenshin thought he heard Kenji say 'no wonder she's so good' but he didn't ask about it. Finally he told them about Shishio Makoto's son, Shio. Everyone gasped when they heard this news. He told them how this Shio was coming to Tokyo looking for him.
"Don't worry Kenshin we'll keep a look out for this guy." Yahiko spoke up.
"Thank you Yahiko but that's not the part I'm really worried about…" Kenshin took a long pause. He turned his gaze to Kaoru. "…. The thing that worries me is something else Hiko said….Some how throughout Kiriko's journey she met Shio."
The whole group said, "WHAT!"
"There's more……Master Hiko informed me that Kiriko might have a slight…….how can I put this……..infatuation with him."
"What do you mean infatuation!" Saganno yelled out and jumped to his feet. He surprised everyone with his out burst.
"Saganno, I don't know if this is true. I'm just going by what my Master said…..Now this is were I need everyone's help….As I told you Kiriko is on her way home but I need everyone to spread out around Tokyo and keep a look out for her. I just hope she didn't meet up with Shio again."
"And if they do meet up, won't he hurt her because she's your daughter?" Sano asked.
"I thought about that too but she met Shio before she got to Hiko's place. If I recall, I think Hiko told me that Shio helped her with something…..The thing is Shio doesn't know that she is my daughter and Kiriko doesn't know anything about Shishio Makoto, so neither one would think that they were in danger."
Everyone thought about this for a moment. Then Saganno headed for the door.
"Saganno, where are you going?" Megumi asked.
"I want to start looking for her tonight."
"Saganno, it's dark out there. You won't be able to see anything." Sano protested.
"I don't care, dad. I won't be able to sleep until Kiriko is safe in my arms…I mean, home." Everyone in the room stared at Saganno with surprise. He blushed slightly then walked out the door.
Aoshi got up, "Saganno is right. The sooner we find Kiriko the better. And besides, she should be approaching Tokyo's boarder pretty soon. Once we get her out of harms way, we can concentrate on Shio. We'll work in shifts. Saganno has already volunteered for the night shift. So I would like Sano, Yahiko, Kenji, the Battousai and myself to join him. We'll meet back here at dawn then the rest of you have the day shift. Does that sound like a plan?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Okay you guys go out and find my daughter!" Kaoru said as she pushed them out of the house.