It had been many days since he had slept well.
Too many.
The effects were not physical; he was too used to the restless sleep of a warrior who fought for days on end. But the lack of sleep, combined with a lack of time to meditate appeared to be eroding at the calm and patience that he had worked so hard to cultivate over the years.
Shirotome had sensed his impatience. His worried face reflected it. At Aoshi's various requests, he had nodded. A money trail would be checked on each of the suspect names from the Kiyone customer list and the addresses of their homes and businesses found. Shirotome was an excellent negotiator when it came to information, and he had numerous favors to collect upon. His "I will do my best" reassured Aoshi enough to sleep as Shirotome had ordered him to.
But it was a restless sleep. His mind dwelt on the information given to him by various persons thus far: Shirotome. Saitou. Cho. These were men who he knew to be allies. Kata. A stranger, who he trusted only because Sagara apparently did. And Shimada - an enemy with his own motivation for helping. He attempted to weave together the information they had provided him into something which would guide him as to where to go next for his search for Megumi Takani.
It frustrated him to be still digging for information, running around haphazardly looking for the killer of one woman in hopes of finding the other who he hoped and believed was still alive. He had only hunches and suggestions, and he needed something more concrete. As much as he hated to admit it, he was relying on Sagara's more direct approach to yield answers. When midday came, he would be here as would be Shirotome. Perhaps then, the three of them would be able to see more clearly exactly where to go and what to do.
That there was still something still to hope for eased his mind enough to try to sleep. But just as he had reached a deeper level of sleep, he heard and felt someone approaching the hotel.
With a speed that was remarkable for a half-asleep man, he took his position in a tree near the entry way to the hotel and waited for that presence to identify itself.
"Damn street names," a familiar voice muttered from the entrance. "This better be it."
Aoshi looked down from his perch in the tree and saw Sanosuke Sagara scratching his head. "And just my luck, everyone appears to be out."
Aoshi apparated before Sagara, perhaps not with as much fluidity as Hannya had been renowned for while still alive, but it took the younger man by surprise nevertheless. Sagara backed away instinctively upon seeing him.
"You are early." Aoshi sheathed his swords.
"Someone not a morning person?" Sagara cocked his eyebrow at him. "I thought you might like to know that our opium dealer turned up. My 'friends' had news of him and when I went to talk to the man, I found the dealer left for dead."
"Dead?"
"Left for dead." Sano repeated obstinately. "But he wasn't dead. Dr. Gensei was able to look at him. He'll eventually recover."
Aoshi felt a glimmer of hope. "Was he conscious? Does he know where Takani-san is?"
"Not really." Sano sighed. "I tried to talk to him after Dr. Gensei had looked him over, but he needs more rest. I've left him at the dojo with Kenshin just in case whoever did this to him gets wind of him being alive and tries to finish off the job."
"That man must recover. He may be our best lead yet." Aoshi realized that he was betraying his worry. "Perhaps while we wait, there is still something we could do. My contact is looking into suspicious names I found amongst the records at the Kiyone House."
"Records?"
"Ah." Aoshi rubbed his head. "I'm certain that the person who was responsible for hiring the men who attacked the Aoiya is linked to that place. I returned there last night."
"Shinomori," Sano blinked. "The person I found was not too far from the Yanagibashi district. Perhaps-"
"Perhaps Megumi Takani is somewhere there. If we're fortunate, one of the names my resource is investigating will also be located in or near the Yanagibashi district. That will be the first place we look."
"What if nothing turns up?"
"Then we wait for your dealer to wake and hope we have that much time."
Sagara's expression mirrored the displeasure that Aoshi felt at his own suggestion. Whoever they were dealing with was ruthless and by the tactics used so far, apparently quite willing to kill or use violence on those around them. Both men feared that Megumi Takani would be the next person to die at their unknown enemy's hand.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sound of the opening door scraping on the floor woke her from an unplanned nap. She had fallen asleep at the workbench, her head using several books as a pillow.
She looked up at this strange guard, who brought in a tray of food and set it before her. As she looked down at the open pages of the book that rested on top, she suddenly remembered her captor's last words to her.
She felt suddenly fearful. "What time is it?"
"Half past ten," the guard answered.
She relaxed slightly. There was still time before her captor came back -- time to puzzle over the two versions of the poison that was in her brother's book. "Thank you," she said while eyeing the tray.
"My master told me to tell you that there is nothing in the food. He said you'll be needing a clear mind and steady hand."
"Did he?" She decided regardless not to touch it. "Your master is very kind," she said blandly. She would waste no sarcasm on the guard or distinguish him with any sort of attention, lest he too be somehow punished by the master for simply talking to her.
When he disappeared, she pushed the tray aside and stared again at the book. She didn't understand Kenichi. It was not like him to be this careless. The later entry must surely be the refined poison, but he was more meticulous than this. Why then did he not remove the earlier entry?
She flipped through the rest of the book, glancing at the other formulas that were for other things. Of the formulas, only this one did Kenichi mark as fatal and only this one shared the same strange poetic verse despite the different ingredients.
She frowned and decided that she didn't have the time to deliberate over the matter. Ingredients were plenty. She'd simply make both.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sagara had insisted on sticking around until Shirotome returned. Aoshi suspected that the man did not either trust him to not go anywhere without him or that Sagara was simply afraid of getting lost again.
Shirotome was somewhat surprised when introduced to Sagara, but there was unmistakenable relief on his face as well. Exactly why, Aoshi was not certain.
Shirotome surprised him by revealing to Sagara that he was directly assisting Aoshi on this matter of finding the doctor and the enemies of the Aoiya. But it made easier the discussion that was to follow.
Two persons according to Shirotome's research were in or near the Yanagibashi district. The other two were much more difficult to track down; census and bank records for those were missing or more difficult to track.
One man was Kurisawa Aki.
The other was Morisato Genji.
Shirotome shook his head as he handed over several different records on the two men to Aoshi. "For all practical purposes they appear to be ordinary men. Both are businessmen. Morisato is doing quite well for himself outside the Yanagibashi district, while Kurisawa records indicate his luck is not so good. I'm not sure that either of them are good leads. Maybe with a few more days I can dig up more extensive information on their clients and contacts--"
"Sagara." Aoshi turned suddenly to the other man, who apparently was enjoying Shirotome's hotel food. He gave the man a few seconds to chew and swallow the food Shirotome had provided. "I want to see this guard. I shall go to the dojo. In the meantime, would you be willing to explore your talent for spying?"
The younger man's face grew suspicious. "What do you have in mind?"
"I want you to watch Kurisawa's place. "
"Kurisawa?" Shirotome looked displeased. "Morisato makes more sense. He's outside the district and doing well for himself. Perhaps he is profiting off the doctor."
"I understand that." Aoshi frowned. "But a man who chooses to live in the district and yet appears to be losing money is either incompetent or hiding something. It will be easy for Sagara to move around there regardless during the daytime. If Shimada is lurking there, I will be recognized. Until that guard awakens--"
"It's all we can do now, isn't it?" Sanosuke 's words reminded the two that it wasn't really their decision. "I'll check out Kurisawa."
Sanosuke was rewarded with a nod from Aoshi. "If you find something, leave a message here or come to the dojo. Do not move alone."
Sano gave the man a knowing look. "The same goes for you."
"Understood." Aoshi stood from the table then. "Shirotome-"
"Yes?"
Aoshi glanced at Sanosuke's gi. "Make sure Sagara is more properly dressed for the district. Sagara, you do not want to be recognized. Zanza's presence will raise suspicions."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
From a little eatery across the way, Sano was in a good position to observe the comings and goings of the man Aoshi had wanted him to spy on.
Kurisawa was a confectioner. A man who supplied many of those in the district and outside with sweet things. The women of the restaurant were agreed on his competence with the candies he produced and told him he should sample some of the wares. Sano asked whether candymaking was a profitable business and the ladies shook their heads. Despite his solid reputation, it appeared though that there was not much money to be made off candy.
When Sano had filled himself to the limit with the food that the restaurant could offer, he decided that he would evaluate the business for himself. He wasn't quite certain if Shinomori would approve of his methods as he strode over to the storefront purposefully, but at the very least if nothing turned up out of all this spying, he'd have candy for Outa and the other children at the dojo.
Boldly he walked over and greeted the young man who worked behind the counter. "I'd like a few of these," Sano pointed at some brown sugar candy.
"That's our best kind," the kid nodded sagely. "Always sells out."
Sano knew a con when he saw one, but grinned anyways. "Then I'll take all of it."
"Of course, all one kind is boring. Mint candy goes well with sugar candy."
"Ahh-" Sano gave the kid a funny look. "Perhaps I'll take some-"
"And these rice candies of course are great-"
"Err-" Sano nodded weakly and simply watched the kid as he picked up the candies piece by piece and placed them into the bag.
"And those," the lad pointed up to some jars on a shelf behind him. "Newest stuff from Europe. Bet you've never had those."
"Chocolate."
"So you have had them?"
"Uhh. yeah." Sano wondered uncomfortably whether that was a safe thing to reveal. "Why not add it to the pile?"
The kid grinned, obviously pleased by his response. He reached up and made the effort to reach for the jar with the prized candy. As he did, his sleeves slipped back to reveal bruises on his arm.
Sano frowned slightly at the sight, but instead came over and helped the kid. "There. I got it."
"Thanks." The kid looked slightly relieved as Sano placed the jar safely on the counter and immediately turned to the task of taking out the precious few pices. "This stuff is expensive. Kurisawa-san has it because people ask for it, but it's still hard to come by. It can't be wasted."
"So your candy shop owner doesn't' make these?"
"No, but he makes everything else in the morning."
"I see. Well, give him my thanks. I'm sure my brother will love these."
"Of course he will," the kid looked pretty happy. Sano didn't really know if Outa would care all that much for the candy, but he apparently made this kid happy with a huge gigantic sale. "Sure, I'll make sure to thank him for you when he comes back later."
"Thanks!" Sano waved and decided he had enough of the district. Seeing the kid reminded him that he didn't have all day to sit around pretending to spy on some poor candy shop owner. Outa would be done with his practice by now. And dinner would be cooking at the dojo. If he recalled correctly, Kenshin was cooking today. He decided to hurry back.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sound of laughter in the courtyard drew Aoshi out.
Sagara had returned with bags of what appeared to be candy, and his younger brother was attempting to browbeat him for it.
As soon as Sagara saw the other man, he stopped teasing his brother and sheepishly handed Outa all the candy and shooed him off. "Go share it with the other kids and your teachers!"
Sano and Aoshi watched the young boy trot off happily. Aoshi broke the companionable silence by raising the business at hand. "The dealer is still not awake."
"And Morisato? Anything strange about him?"
"Other than he deals in blackmarket goods, I would say no."
"So perhaps Shirotome was right." Sanosuke mused. "I mean Kurisawa is a candy-maker. A boring businessman who doesn't make enough money, according to what the neighbors say."
"Was he there?"
"No, he left a kid to tend the shop. That's how I ended up with all that candy," Sano shook his head. "I couldn't exactly say no to a kid who looked like he needed the sale."
Aoshi noticed the slight frown on Sagara's face. "What is it?"
"Well," Sano looked uncomfortable. "It's not my place to say this and I'm not trying to say anything about Kurisawa, who the kid genuinely seemed to like and respect, but he had these bruises on his arm."
"Bruises?" Aoshi narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah, like he had been in some sort of scuffle. They were sort of fading, but even so. That poor kid-"
"How old was the boy?"
"Fourteen, fifteen. Maybe younger. Why?"
"We had a run-in with a young thief a short time ago. Omasu had gotten into a scuffle with the thief. The thief escaped with bruises."
Sagara gave him an exasperated look. "How many fourteen year olds are there in Japan, Shinomori? And how many of them get into scuffles all the time?"
"Nevertheless," Aoshi frowned aware that he could as well be grasping at straws.. "I want to see this place for myself. I'll go."
"Well if you're going to insist, then I'll go with you."
"No. I don't want your cover blown. Tell Himura that I've left and go inform Shirotome of what you've told me. I'll simply go to observe the boy and confirm it. Is there a place where we can meet?"
"There is a restaurant across the way."
"Fine, meet me there when you've finished. If I am late, wait."
Sano looked at him warily. "Remember, what you promised earlier. You're not to go do anything without me."
Aoshi nodded and then quickly disappeared.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As her stomach rumbled, she was reminded that she had not eaten all day.
The poisonous concoction was done. Or rather, the one made from the second formula was done. At the moment, the other was still cooling in its bottle. It needed a little bit more time and it too would be ready.
A heavy step approached from the hallway. Megumi instinctively picked up the first bottle and held it in front of her.
Her captor gave an almost kindly smile as he saw her with the bottle in hand. "You've finished."
"My brother had two formulas. The second one is done, and the first-"
"I have no interest in the first-" He deftly took the bottle from her. "Is this it?"
"Yes, of course."
"Wonderful." He removed a small glass tube from her table and used it to draw up some of the bluish-white fluid into the glass column. "I am pleased that you were able to deliver on your promise. Most pleased." He gave her a studied look. "But we don't know if it works. Did you really make it as you were supposed?"
"Of c-course I did."
"Well, one needs to be sure." He smiled nastily for a moment before calling out to the guard. "Guard, please come in here."
She gasped. "You can't mean to test that on him. That would be too cruel."
"Yes, very cruel. Like what happened to the other guard, I suppose. But you'll be glad to hear that is not what I plan." As the guard entered and suddenly grasped her, she realized the meaning behind the man's smile. "I mean for you to test your own work, doctor. If you have deceived me, you will live and I will know of that deception. But if you are affected, well-"
She struggled against the guard vainly. She was too weak; with his one arm he was able to restrain her. "You can't make more of that without me, and you know it."
"I can't?" He drew closer to her and waited for the guard to force her mouth open with his other hand. "You told me how to make it dear doctor. In excruciating detail. You simply don't remember that part."
She nearly gagged as he forced her to consume a small dose of the poison. She panicked as she realized that she hadn't eaten anything all day, and with an empty stomach even the smallest of doses would have a strong effect.
She felt her legs weaken and buckle. Both men simply allowed her to slip to the floor. "Semi-paralysis," her captor chuckled. "The first symptom. Just as you said earlier. Very good, doctor. I am impressed both by your skill and your honesty now. This certainly is a good development. Perhaps I won't need your niece after all. With this, and with your brother's 'truth serum' I shall have quite a collection of drugs."
Her legs not moving, she tried to use her arms to strike out at the man. If she could only could break that vial. "Youuuu bassshhht-"
"Second symptom," he noted to no one in particular. "Speech impairment. Your vocal chords perhaps. In the next hour, the paralysis will spread from your legs to your upper body. Your arms first, then everything else. Your lungs, your heart, and with your heart paralyzed, your brain will slowly stop functioning." He paused. "A rather painless death, although somewhat slow. I suppose that is one of the weaknesses of the drug. Now that I know it works, my only regret is that it isn't reversible."
"Reverssshible?"
"What a terrible man your brother was, doctor." He shook his head. "To create such an evil thing with no antidote. How much more interesting this could be then couldn't it? Instead of a serving as an instrument of death, it would be an excellent item to blackmail with. Oh well," he sighed. "I won't bore you with such chatter now." He turned to the guard and said rather pleasantly, "The doctor won't need your services anymore. I'm sure she'd rather enjoy this time alone. And we other business to attend to upstairs."
With the strength she could muster, she tried to reach for one of the objects on the floor. Her anger compelled her to at least throw something at the man. But as she grasped one of the books on the floor and feebly attempted to throw it, it simply landed a few feet away from her captor.
"Oh, of course dear doctor." Her captor turned back around at the sudden noise with a thoughtful expression on his face.. "Since this will be our last conversation, I wanted to clear my conscience about a little lie I told you. Aoshi Shinomori is here in Tokyo looking for you after all. I suppose that should comfort you to some degree. I'm sure he'll be sorry that he wasn't able to talk to you about the future plans you had. But don't worry too much on that. I expect that I'll be seeing him soon. In fact, really soon." He chuckled. "I'll tell him how you wanted to protect him and your niece. He will die a happy man, that one."
"Die?" She managed to croak out.
"Oh yes," he began closing the door. "He'll be joining you shortly."
~ ~ ~ ~
Aoshi knew it wasn't quite dusk yet, but he didn't require it to move unseen.
Something bothered him immensely about the series of odd coincidences that were occurring.
Kurisawa -- an ordinary man who for all practical purposes did not fit the profile of the criminal. And yet, he suspected him nonetheless.
He did not dare show himself openly at the candy shop. It was still open, and from his vantage point on a roof across the street, he could see the boy moving about inside.
He couldn't quite see the face. But something about the way the boy interacted with the customers that came bothered him. Something about the way the boy moved bothered him as well. Sagara was right. The boy was an excellent salesperson, an excellent actor and his movements showed that he had been physically wounded somehow in the past - somehow they struck him as being slightly off balance.
Two men came up to the counter and appeared to engage the boy. The boy pointed to several empty jars excitedly.
Aoshi narrowed his eyes as he looked at the men more closely. Could one of the men there be Kurisawa?
It appeared so, as the men helped the child close the shop and shut the windows and doors to the open front, Aoshi took the time to observe each of them and assess their level of threat. None appeared to be very strong. If necessary, he could take them now. But-it wasn't yet time.
A bird whistle suddenly caught his attention. A familiar one - one used by Oniwaban. He looked around quickly and saw the source of that sound several rooftops further down the road. Sagara sat crouched and was giving him a small hand signal.
Aoshi moved quickly towards the other man. "You've seen Shirotome." Aoshi said flatly. "Only he could have told you about that whistle."
"Of course," Sano shrugged. "And he wants you to return to the hotel. Okina is on his way here to Tokyo. As backup. Shirotome wants you to wait."
"No. That boy-I'm sure that's the boy we saw at the Aoiya. As for waiting, unless Okina is moving as quickly as possible, it'll be several days-we must continue."
"Who're the three guys who're with him?"
"Three?" Aoshi turned his eyes back towards the shop. "There were two."
"Well, there are three now. And the party is breaking up-"
Before Sanosuke could finish his comment, Aoshi was already on his feet, lightly running across the rooftops. He would have warned Sagara, but the man was quick enough. He winced slightly as he heard the man running behind him. While Sagara was quick, he was not as quiet as he would like him to be.
He decided not to worry about the matter. He was determined now not to lose sight of these men, who were riding down the street in a cart full of items.
He kept a sharp eye on them - the boy, the two men who had helped close the shop -- one of which was Kurisawa. And the third man -- Shimada.
~ ~ ~ ~
Sanosuke was really starting to worry.
Shinomori was moving too quickly, a bit impatiently.
Not that it was any problem to keep up, but it seemed a bit out of character for the man to be so hasty.
As he turned a corner, he was relieved to see the ninja in the shadows. As he caught up to him, Shinomori spoke. "They've entered the compound."
Sano looked at the stone wall that separated the compound from the main street. "Not a very big place."
The other man nodded. "I've managed to take a look. It is not big. Nothing like the Takeda estate."
Sanosuke frowned at the reference. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant of memories to be dredging up now of all times. "Any idea how many guys?"
"No." Shinomori said flatly. "The grounds are not guarded openly. It looks like any ordinary home. However, the men and the boy entered the house. Shimada as well."
"Shimada?" Sanosuke felt a bit confused.
"The man who was orchestrated the attack on the Aoiya."
"Do you think Megumi is there?"
"I believe so. But even if not, I will make sure to extract that information out of them."
Sano realized then that the man intended to go in and simply attack. He admired his forthright approach, but even this seemed a bit reckless. "Shirotome will be pissed."
"Shirotome isn't a fighter. He's an ally, but has never been a true Oniwaban."
"Oh well." Sano shrugged. "Two against an unknown number of enemies. Sounds like good odds to me."
"Very good odds." Aoshi gave him a slight hint of a smile.
"But do we just go charging in? Seems kind of reckless for the person who likes to know their enemies."
"I know enough." The look in Shinomori's eyes was rather cold. "Despite his cleverness, the enemy is a coward, using deception right and left and abandoning those who aren't useful to him."
"What about Megumi?"
"We must try to find her first. If at all possible, if she is there -- I want her out of there. Then, no matter what happens afterwards, our fight will already have been victorious."
"So where do we start?"
Aoshi paused for a moment, considering their enemy. There were many differences between this man and some of those he considered equal in criminal intent. But this man valued his appearance as an ordinary successful businessman. The fact that there were no guards outside the home, that his employees appeared innocuous, but were in fact criminals themselves needed to be considered in addition to his past experiences with other criminals. He thought back to the last time Megumi Takani had been in captivity. He chose the tower to confine the woman; his employer, the basement.
From what he had seen of the place, it was quite big, but like most traditionally built homes, did not feature a tower or top floor. It made up for that deficiency by sprawling across the grounds. "We'll start with the buildings furthest away from the entrance, and look also for a cellar."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Megumi knew that she would have very little time before she was completely unable to move. But she dragged herself up on the workbench, where in his haste her captor had left the book behind.
She knew he would come for it later. Even though he probably had copious notes taken during whatever conversations she had with the man, she could still do what she could to ruin it. It would be her last act of retribution against the man who otherwise would be unstoppable.
Her last act.
As she considered that, she was aware of the disappointment associated with that knowledge.
But life was full of disappointments.
Next to the book, stood the bottle that her captor had left behind in his state of glee. To him, it was inconsequential; it was the failed potion, according to him.
While she still had the use of her arms and hands, she should pour it out as well. Or, she thought somewhat sardonically, drink it. After all, the other one had a pleasant taste of flowers. Perhaps this one would taste like fruit. Or grass. Or one of the other strange things Kenichi had changed in this formula.
How funny to think of chasing down one poison with another. Two poisons would surely interact in an unpredictable way. She could develop purple spots. Grow another arm. Have strange hallucinations, all before inevitably dying.
Or, be perfectly fine.
She blinked. Of the drugs in Kenichi's notebook, this was the most deadly, the one with no apparent cure. But this also was the only one with two entries, with different compositions. Her captor had taunted her stating that Kenichi should have created an antidote to create the perfect poison for blackmail.
But perhaps he had and she had simply failed to realize it until now.
The bottle before her, might save her.
As she lifted the bottle to her lips, she briefly considered that if she were wrong - well, she'd be dead regardless within the hour.
Her hands were trembling - whether from the drug or from fear she did not know. But she swallowed a portion of the liquid in the bottle, not daring to overdo it in case it was meant to be ingested in a similar proportion as the other liquid.
She made a face and set the bottle down. It definitely tasted terrible. Not like fruit, but charcoal.
'Stupid woman,' she thought to herself. 'What kind of antidote tastes like charcoal?'
She put her head down on the book and closed her eyes, trying not to dwell on the question. Only time would tell. She had to wait now to see if it was her time to die
~~~~~~~~~~
a/n: Let's pretend I am not about to post up the next part so that I can demand lots of reviews. Actually, I'm hoping some things are confusing you now as well as making sense to you. Daiji's comments were really good because I saw that I wasn't explaining enough of what Aoshi was doing. He was being methodological with basically nothing to go on. Sometimes when there are no leads you comb and comb for little clues hoping for something bigger. Sorry for the confusion on Aoshi's thought process. Aoshi and I think alike sometimes and that means I don't explain things as well.
Lots of scene shifts. Yeah. It's bad and I realize I could break this piece up into lots of little ones, but neener neener, I'm a posting-weener! (That makes no sense.)
I'll address the rest of your comments in the next part folks. I'm so happy to get there. You have no idea. It's been sitting mostly written on my computer for *weeks*. I had to write so much in between I despaired ever getting there! I'm seeing the beginning of the end! Yeah yeah yeah!
Too many.
The effects were not physical; he was too used to the restless sleep of a warrior who fought for days on end. But the lack of sleep, combined with a lack of time to meditate appeared to be eroding at the calm and patience that he had worked so hard to cultivate over the years.
Shirotome had sensed his impatience. His worried face reflected it. At Aoshi's various requests, he had nodded. A money trail would be checked on each of the suspect names from the Kiyone customer list and the addresses of their homes and businesses found. Shirotome was an excellent negotiator when it came to information, and he had numerous favors to collect upon. His "I will do my best" reassured Aoshi enough to sleep as Shirotome had ordered him to.
But it was a restless sleep. His mind dwelt on the information given to him by various persons thus far: Shirotome. Saitou. Cho. These were men who he knew to be allies. Kata. A stranger, who he trusted only because Sagara apparently did. And Shimada - an enemy with his own motivation for helping. He attempted to weave together the information they had provided him into something which would guide him as to where to go next for his search for Megumi Takani.
It frustrated him to be still digging for information, running around haphazardly looking for the killer of one woman in hopes of finding the other who he hoped and believed was still alive. He had only hunches and suggestions, and he needed something more concrete. As much as he hated to admit it, he was relying on Sagara's more direct approach to yield answers. When midday came, he would be here as would be Shirotome. Perhaps then, the three of them would be able to see more clearly exactly where to go and what to do.
That there was still something still to hope for eased his mind enough to try to sleep. But just as he had reached a deeper level of sleep, he heard and felt someone approaching the hotel.
With a speed that was remarkable for a half-asleep man, he took his position in a tree near the entry way to the hotel and waited for that presence to identify itself.
"Damn street names," a familiar voice muttered from the entrance. "This better be it."
Aoshi looked down from his perch in the tree and saw Sanosuke Sagara scratching his head. "And just my luck, everyone appears to be out."
Aoshi apparated before Sagara, perhaps not with as much fluidity as Hannya had been renowned for while still alive, but it took the younger man by surprise nevertheless. Sagara backed away instinctively upon seeing him.
"You are early." Aoshi sheathed his swords.
"Someone not a morning person?" Sagara cocked his eyebrow at him. "I thought you might like to know that our opium dealer turned up. My 'friends' had news of him and when I went to talk to the man, I found the dealer left for dead."
"Dead?"
"Left for dead." Sano repeated obstinately. "But he wasn't dead. Dr. Gensei was able to look at him. He'll eventually recover."
Aoshi felt a glimmer of hope. "Was he conscious? Does he know where Takani-san is?"
"Not really." Sano sighed. "I tried to talk to him after Dr. Gensei had looked him over, but he needs more rest. I've left him at the dojo with Kenshin just in case whoever did this to him gets wind of him being alive and tries to finish off the job."
"That man must recover. He may be our best lead yet." Aoshi realized that he was betraying his worry. "Perhaps while we wait, there is still something we could do. My contact is looking into suspicious names I found amongst the records at the Kiyone House."
"Records?"
"Ah." Aoshi rubbed his head. "I'm certain that the person who was responsible for hiring the men who attacked the Aoiya is linked to that place. I returned there last night."
"Shinomori," Sano blinked. "The person I found was not too far from the Yanagibashi district. Perhaps-"
"Perhaps Megumi Takani is somewhere there. If we're fortunate, one of the names my resource is investigating will also be located in or near the Yanagibashi district. That will be the first place we look."
"What if nothing turns up?"
"Then we wait for your dealer to wake and hope we have that much time."
Sagara's expression mirrored the displeasure that Aoshi felt at his own suggestion. Whoever they were dealing with was ruthless and by the tactics used so far, apparently quite willing to kill or use violence on those around them. Both men feared that Megumi Takani would be the next person to die at their unknown enemy's hand.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sound of the opening door scraping on the floor woke her from an unplanned nap. She had fallen asleep at the workbench, her head using several books as a pillow.
She looked up at this strange guard, who brought in a tray of food and set it before her. As she looked down at the open pages of the book that rested on top, she suddenly remembered her captor's last words to her.
She felt suddenly fearful. "What time is it?"
"Half past ten," the guard answered.
She relaxed slightly. There was still time before her captor came back -- time to puzzle over the two versions of the poison that was in her brother's book. "Thank you," she said while eyeing the tray.
"My master told me to tell you that there is nothing in the food. He said you'll be needing a clear mind and steady hand."
"Did he?" She decided regardless not to touch it. "Your master is very kind," she said blandly. She would waste no sarcasm on the guard or distinguish him with any sort of attention, lest he too be somehow punished by the master for simply talking to her.
When he disappeared, she pushed the tray aside and stared again at the book. She didn't understand Kenichi. It was not like him to be this careless. The later entry must surely be the refined poison, but he was more meticulous than this. Why then did he not remove the earlier entry?
She flipped through the rest of the book, glancing at the other formulas that were for other things. Of the formulas, only this one did Kenichi mark as fatal and only this one shared the same strange poetic verse despite the different ingredients.
She frowned and decided that she didn't have the time to deliberate over the matter. Ingredients were plenty. She'd simply make both.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sagara had insisted on sticking around until Shirotome returned. Aoshi suspected that the man did not either trust him to not go anywhere without him or that Sagara was simply afraid of getting lost again.
Shirotome was somewhat surprised when introduced to Sagara, but there was unmistakenable relief on his face as well. Exactly why, Aoshi was not certain.
Shirotome surprised him by revealing to Sagara that he was directly assisting Aoshi on this matter of finding the doctor and the enemies of the Aoiya. But it made easier the discussion that was to follow.
Two persons according to Shirotome's research were in or near the Yanagibashi district. The other two were much more difficult to track down; census and bank records for those were missing or more difficult to track.
One man was Kurisawa Aki.
The other was Morisato Genji.
Shirotome shook his head as he handed over several different records on the two men to Aoshi. "For all practical purposes they appear to be ordinary men. Both are businessmen. Morisato is doing quite well for himself outside the Yanagibashi district, while Kurisawa records indicate his luck is not so good. I'm not sure that either of them are good leads. Maybe with a few more days I can dig up more extensive information on their clients and contacts--"
"Sagara." Aoshi turned suddenly to the other man, who apparently was enjoying Shirotome's hotel food. He gave the man a few seconds to chew and swallow the food Shirotome had provided. "I want to see this guard. I shall go to the dojo. In the meantime, would you be willing to explore your talent for spying?"
The younger man's face grew suspicious. "What do you have in mind?"
"I want you to watch Kurisawa's place. "
"Kurisawa?" Shirotome looked displeased. "Morisato makes more sense. He's outside the district and doing well for himself. Perhaps he is profiting off the doctor."
"I understand that." Aoshi frowned. "But a man who chooses to live in the district and yet appears to be losing money is either incompetent or hiding something. It will be easy for Sagara to move around there regardless during the daytime. If Shimada is lurking there, I will be recognized. Until that guard awakens--"
"It's all we can do now, isn't it?" Sanosuke 's words reminded the two that it wasn't really their decision. "I'll check out Kurisawa."
Sanosuke was rewarded with a nod from Aoshi. "If you find something, leave a message here or come to the dojo. Do not move alone."
Sano gave the man a knowing look. "The same goes for you."
"Understood." Aoshi stood from the table then. "Shirotome-"
"Yes?"
Aoshi glanced at Sanosuke's gi. "Make sure Sagara is more properly dressed for the district. Sagara, you do not want to be recognized. Zanza's presence will raise suspicions."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
From a little eatery across the way, Sano was in a good position to observe the comings and goings of the man Aoshi had wanted him to spy on.
Kurisawa was a confectioner. A man who supplied many of those in the district and outside with sweet things. The women of the restaurant were agreed on his competence with the candies he produced and told him he should sample some of the wares. Sano asked whether candymaking was a profitable business and the ladies shook their heads. Despite his solid reputation, it appeared though that there was not much money to be made off candy.
When Sano had filled himself to the limit with the food that the restaurant could offer, he decided that he would evaluate the business for himself. He wasn't quite certain if Shinomori would approve of his methods as he strode over to the storefront purposefully, but at the very least if nothing turned up out of all this spying, he'd have candy for Outa and the other children at the dojo.
Boldly he walked over and greeted the young man who worked behind the counter. "I'd like a few of these," Sano pointed at some brown sugar candy.
"That's our best kind," the kid nodded sagely. "Always sells out."
Sano knew a con when he saw one, but grinned anyways. "Then I'll take all of it."
"Of course, all one kind is boring. Mint candy goes well with sugar candy."
"Ahh-" Sano gave the kid a funny look. "Perhaps I'll take some-"
"And these rice candies of course are great-"
"Err-" Sano nodded weakly and simply watched the kid as he picked up the candies piece by piece and placed them into the bag.
"And those," the lad pointed up to some jars on a shelf behind him. "Newest stuff from Europe. Bet you've never had those."
"Chocolate."
"So you have had them?"
"Uhh. yeah." Sano wondered uncomfortably whether that was a safe thing to reveal. "Why not add it to the pile?"
The kid grinned, obviously pleased by his response. He reached up and made the effort to reach for the jar with the prized candy. As he did, his sleeves slipped back to reveal bruises on his arm.
Sano frowned slightly at the sight, but instead came over and helped the kid. "There. I got it."
"Thanks." The kid looked slightly relieved as Sano placed the jar safely on the counter and immediately turned to the task of taking out the precious few pices. "This stuff is expensive. Kurisawa-san has it because people ask for it, but it's still hard to come by. It can't be wasted."
"So your candy shop owner doesn't' make these?"
"No, but he makes everything else in the morning."
"I see. Well, give him my thanks. I'm sure my brother will love these."
"Of course he will," the kid looked pretty happy. Sano didn't really know if Outa would care all that much for the candy, but he apparently made this kid happy with a huge gigantic sale. "Sure, I'll make sure to thank him for you when he comes back later."
"Thanks!" Sano waved and decided he had enough of the district. Seeing the kid reminded him that he didn't have all day to sit around pretending to spy on some poor candy shop owner. Outa would be done with his practice by now. And dinner would be cooking at the dojo. If he recalled correctly, Kenshin was cooking today. He decided to hurry back.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sound of laughter in the courtyard drew Aoshi out.
Sagara had returned with bags of what appeared to be candy, and his younger brother was attempting to browbeat him for it.
As soon as Sagara saw the other man, he stopped teasing his brother and sheepishly handed Outa all the candy and shooed him off. "Go share it with the other kids and your teachers!"
Sano and Aoshi watched the young boy trot off happily. Aoshi broke the companionable silence by raising the business at hand. "The dealer is still not awake."
"And Morisato? Anything strange about him?"
"Other than he deals in blackmarket goods, I would say no."
"So perhaps Shirotome was right." Sanosuke mused. "I mean Kurisawa is a candy-maker. A boring businessman who doesn't make enough money, according to what the neighbors say."
"Was he there?"
"No, he left a kid to tend the shop. That's how I ended up with all that candy," Sano shook his head. "I couldn't exactly say no to a kid who looked like he needed the sale."
Aoshi noticed the slight frown on Sagara's face. "What is it?"
"Well," Sano looked uncomfortable. "It's not my place to say this and I'm not trying to say anything about Kurisawa, who the kid genuinely seemed to like and respect, but he had these bruises on his arm."
"Bruises?" Aoshi narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah, like he had been in some sort of scuffle. They were sort of fading, but even so. That poor kid-"
"How old was the boy?"
"Fourteen, fifteen. Maybe younger. Why?"
"We had a run-in with a young thief a short time ago. Omasu had gotten into a scuffle with the thief. The thief escaped with bruises."
Sagara gave him an exasperated look. "How many fourteen year olds are there in Japan, Shinomori? And how many of them get into scuffles all the time?"
"Nevertheless," Aoshi frowned aware that he could as well be grasping at straws.. "I want to see this place for myself. I'll go."
"Well if you're going to insist, then I'll go with you."
"No. I don't want your cover blown. Tell Himura that I've left and go inform Shirotome of what you've told me. I'll simply go to observe the boy and confirm it. Is there a place where we can meet?"
"There is a restaurant across the way."
"Fine, meet me there when you've finished. If I am late, wait."
Sano looked at him warily. "Remember, what you promised earlier. You're not to go do anything without me."
Aoshi nodded and then quickly disappeared.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As her stomach rumbled, she was reminded that she had not eaten all day.
The poisonous concoction was done. Or rather, the one made from the second formula was done. At the moment, the other was still cooling in its bottle. It needed a little bit more time and it too would be ready.
A heavy step approached from the hallway. Megumi instinctively picked up the first bottle and held it in front of her.
Her captor gave an almost kindly smile as he saw her with the bottle in hand. "You've finished."
"My brother had two formulas. The second one is done, and the first-"
"I have no interest in the first-" He deftly took the bottle from her. "Is this it?"
"Yes, of course."
"Wonderful." He removed a small glass tube from her table and used it to draw up some of the bluish-white fluid into the glass column. "I am pleased that you were able to deliver on your promise. Most pleased." He gave her a studied look. "But we don't know if it works. Did you really make it as you were supposed?"
"Of c-course I did."
"Well, one needs to be sure." He smiled nastily for a moment before calling out to the guard. "Guard, please come in here."
She gasped. "You can't mean to test that on him. That would be too cruel."
"Yes, very cruel. Like what happened to the other guard, I suppose. But you'll be glad to hear that is not what I plan." As the guard entered and suddenly grasped her, she realized the meaning behind the man's smile. "I mean for you to test your own work, doctor. If you have deceived me, you will live and I will know of that deception. But if you are affected, well-"
She struggled against the guard vainly. She was too weak; with his one arm he was able to restrain her. "You can't make more of that without me, and you know it."
"I can't?" He drew closer to her and waited for the guard to force her mouth open with his other hand. "You told me how to make it dear doctor. In excruciating detail. You simply don't remember that part."
She nearly gagged as he forced her to consume a small dose of the poison. She panicked as she realized that she hadn't eaten anything all day, and with an empty stomach even the smallest of doses would have a strong effect.
She felt her legs weaken and buckle. Both men simply allowed her to slip to the floor. "Semi-paralysis," her captor chuckled. "The first symptom. Just as you said earlier. Very good, doctor. I am impressed both by your skill and your honesty now. This certainly is a good development. Perhaps I won't need your niece after all. With this, and with your brother's 'truth serum' I shall have quite a collection of drugs."
Her legs not moving, she tried to use her arms to strike out at the man. If she could only could break that vial. "Youuuu bassshhht-"
"Second symptom," he noted to no one in particular. "Speech impairment. Your vocal chords perhaps. In the next hour, the paralysis will spread from your legs to your upper body. Your arms first, then everything else. Your lungs, your heart, and with your heart paralyzed, your brain will slowly stop functioning." He paused. "A rather painless death, although somewhat slow. I suppose that is one of the weaknesses of the drug. Now that I know it works, my only regret is that it isn't reversible."
"Reverssshible?"
"What a terrible man your brother was, doctor." He shook his head. "To create such an evil thing with no antidote. How much more interesting this could be then couldn't it? Instead of a serving as an instrument of death, it would be an excellent item to blackmail with. Oh well," he sighed. "I won't bore you with such chatter now." He turned to the guard and said rather pleasantly, "The doctor won't need your services anymore. I'm sure she'd rather enjoy this time alone. And we other business to attend to upstairs."
With the strength she could muster, she tried to reach for one of the objects on the floor. Her anger compelled her to at least throw something at the man. But as she grasped one of the books on the floor and feebly attempted to throw it, it simply landed a few feet away from her captor.
"Oh, of course dear doctor." Her captor turned back around at the sudden noise with a thoughtful expression on his face.. "Since this will be our last conversation, I wanted to clear my conscience about a little lie I told you. Aoshi Shinomori is here in Tokyo looking for you after all. I suppose that should comfort you to some degree. I'm sure he'll be sorry that he wasn't able to talk to you about the future plans you had. But don't worry too much on that. I expect that I'll be seeing him soon. In fact, really soon." He chuckled. "I'll tell him how you wanted to protect him and your niece. He will die a happy man, that one."
"Die?" She managed to croak out.
"Oh yes," he began closing the door. "He'll be joining you shortly."
~ ~ ~ ~
Aoshi knew it wasn't quite dusk yet, but he didn't require it to move unseen.
Something bothered him immensely about the series of odd coincidences that were occurring.
Kurisawa -- an ordinary man who for all practical purposes did not fit the profile of the criminal. And yet, he suspected him nonetheless.
He did not dare show himself openly at the candy shop. It was still open, and from his vantage point on a roof across the street, he could see the boy moving about inside.
He couldn't quite see the face. But something about the way the boy interacted with the customers that came bothered him. Something about the way the boy moved bothered him as well. Sagara was right. The boy was an excellent salesperson, an excellent actor and his movements showed that he had been physically wounded somehow in the past - somehow they struck him as being slightly off balance.
Two men came up to the counter and appeared to engage the boy. The boy pointed to several empty jars excitedly.
Aoshi narrowed his eyes as he looked at the men more closely. Could one of the men there be Kurisawa?
It appeared so, as the men helped the child close the shop and shut the windows and doors to the open front, Aoshi took the time to observe each of them and assess their level of threat. None appeared to be very strong. If necessary, he could take them now. But-it wasn't yet time.
A bird whistle suddenly caught his attention. A familiar one - one used by Oniwaban. He looked around quickly and saw the source of that sound several rooftops further down the road. Sagara sat crouched and was giving him a small hand signal.
Aoshi moved quickly towards the other man. "You've seen Shirotome." Aoshi said flatly. "Only he could have told you about that whistle."
"Of course," Sano shrugged. "And he wants you to return to the hotel. Okina is on his way here to Tokyo. As backup. Shirotome wants you to wait."
"No. That boy-I'm sure that's the boy we saw at the Aoiya. As for waiting, unless Okina is moving as quickly as possible, it'll be several days-we must continue."
"Who're the three guys who're with him?"
"Three?" Aoshi turned his eyes back towards the shop. "There were two."
"Well, there are three now. And the party is breaking up-"
Before Sanosuke could finish his comment, Aoshi was already on his feet, lightly running across the rooftops. He would have warned Sagara, but the man was quick enough. He winced slightly as he heard the man running behind him. While Sagara was quick, he was not as quiet as he would like him to be.
He decided not to worry about the matter. He was determined now not to lose sight of these men, who were riding down the street in a cart full of items.
He kept a sharp eye on them - the boy, the two men who had helped close the shop -- one of which was Kurisawa. And the third man -- Shimada.
~ ~ ~ ~
Sanosuke was really starting to worry.
Shinomori was moving too quickly, a bit impatiently.
Not that it was any problem to keep up, but it seemed a bit out of character for the man to be so hasty.
As he turned a corner, he was relieved to see the ninja in the shadows. As he caught up to him, Shinomori spoke. "They've entered the compound."
Sano looked at the stone wall that separated the compound from the main street. "Not a very big place."
The other man nodded. "I've managed to take a look. It is not big. Nothing like the Takeda estate."
Sanosuke frowned at the reference. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant of memories to be dredging up now of all times. "Any idea how many guys?"
"No." Shinomori said flatly. "The grounds are not guarded openly. It looks like any ordinary home. However, the men and the boy entered the house. Shimada as well."
"Shimada?" Sanosuke felt a bit confused.
"The man who was orchestrated the attack on the Aoiya."
"Do you think Megumi is there?"
"I believe so. But even if not, I will make sure to extract that information out of them."
Sano realized then that the man intended to go in and simply attack. He admired his forthright approach, but even this seemed a bit reckless. "Shirotome will be pissed."
"Shirotome isn't a fighter. He's an ally, but has never been a true Oniwaban."
"Oh well." Sano shrugged. "Two against an unknown number of enemies. Sounds like good odds to me."
"Very good odds." Aoshi gave him a slight hint of a smile.
"But do we just go charging in? Seems kind of reckless for the person who likes to know their enemies."
"I know enough." The look in Shinomori's eyes was rather cold. "Despite his cleverness, the enemy is a coward, using deception right and left and abandoning those who aren't useful to him."
"What about Megumi?"
"We must try to find her first. If at all possible, if she is there -- I want her out of there. Then, no matter what happens afterwards, our fight will already have been victorious."
"So where do we start?"
Aoshi paused for a moment, considering their enemy. There were many differences between this man and some of those he considered equal in criminal intent. But this man valued his appearance as an ordinary successful businessman. The fact that there were no guards outside the home, that his employees appeared innocuous, but were in fact criminals themselves needed to be considered in addition to his past experiences with other criminals. He thought back to the last time Megumi Takani had been in captivity. He chose the tower to confine the woman; his employer, the basement.
From what he had seen of the place, it was quite big, but like most traditionally built homes, did not feature a tower or top floor. It made up for that deficiency by sprawling across the grounds. "We'll start with the buildings furthest away from the entrance, and look also for a cellar."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Megumi knew that she would have very little time before she was completely unable to move. But she dragged herself up on the workbench, where in his haste her captor had left the book behind.
She knew he would come for it later. Even though he probably had copious notes taken during whatever conversations she had with the man, she could still do what she could to ruin it. It would be her last act of retribution against the man who otherwise would be unstoppable.
Her last act.
As she considered that, she was aware of the disappointment associated with that knowledge.
But life was full of disappointments.
Next to the book, stood the bottle that her captor had left behind in his state of glee. To him, it was inconsequential; it was the failed potion, according to him.
While she still had the use of her arms and hands, she should pour it out as well. Or, she thought somewhat sardonically, drink it. After all, the other one had a pleasant taste of flowers. Perhaps this one would taste like fruit. Or grass. Or one of the other strange things Kenichi had changed in this formula.
How funny to think of chasing down one poison with another. Two poisons would surely interact in an unpredictable way. She could develop purple spots. Grow another arm. Have strange hallucinations, all before inevitably dying.
Or, be perfectly fine.
She blinked. Of the drugs in Kenichi's notebook, this was the most deadly, the one with no apparent cure. But this also was the only one with two entries, with different compositions. Her captor had taunted her stating that Kenichi should have created an antidote to create the perfect poison for blackmail.
But perhaps he had and she had simply failed to realize it until now.
The bottle before her, might save her.
As she lifted the bottle to her lips, she briefly considered that if she were wrong - well, she'd be dead regardless within the hour.
Her hands were trembling - whether from the drug or from fear she did not know. But she swallowed a portion of the liquid in the bottle, not daring to overdo it in case it was meant to be ingested in a similar proportion as the other liquid.
She made a face and set the bottle down. It definitely tasted terrible. Not like fruit, but charcoal.
'Stupid woman,' she thought to herself. 'What kind of antidote tastes like charcoal?'
She put her head down on the book and closed her eyes, trying not to dwell on the question. Only time would tell. She had to wait now to see if it was her time to die
~~~~~~~~~~
a/n: Let's pretend I am not about to post up the next part so that I can demand lots of reviews. Actually, I'm hoping some things are confusing you now as well as making sense to you. Daiji's comments were really good because I saw that I wasn't explaining enough of what Aoshi was doing. He was being methodological with basically nothing to go on. Sometimes when there are no leads you comb and comb for little clues hoping for something bigger. Sorry for the confusion on Aoshi's thought process. Aoshi and I think alike sometimes and that means I don't explain things as well.
Lots of scene shifts. Yeah. It's bad and I realize I could break this piece up into lots of little ones, but neener neener, I'm a posting-weener! (That makes no sense.)
I'll address the rest of your comments in the next part folks. I'm so happy to get there. You have no idea. It's been sitting mostly written on my computer for *weeks*. I had to write so much in between I despaired ever getting there! I'm seeing the beginning of the end! Yeah yeah yeah!
