Disclaimer: I do not own, in any way, Rurouni Kenshin. Watsuki-sama does. I'm only borrowing his characters for a while.

Special thanks to Kamorgana who gave me useful comments while pre-reading this chapter. Also, I want to thank Firuze Khanume for her support.

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Chapter 2 – On the road to perdition

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June 25th, the morning after

Tokio was looking to the morning life of the city throughout the Aoiya's windows. Everything seemed to be just like yesterday. As if nothing at all had happened in the park last night. The passers-by didn't seem to care about the coldly murdered girl. They were fed up with this kind of stories.

But having seen the body, Tokio was unable to forget so easily. Today, she was really happy to be a loner: like that she avoided meeting sick murderers… She absolutely couldn't understand murderers. She could have tried to find the answers in her psychology books, but she doubted that there would be a satisfying explanation for this kind of behaviour. And, after all, she wasn't specialised in criminal psychology.

She looked at Aoshi, once again busy with his paperwork. He didn't seem perturbed at all by what had happened the night before. But he was never perturbed. He had seen so many crimes, had witnessed so much evil that he knew better than to be affected. Maybe he had some answers…

"Aoshi…?"

"Hmmm…"

"Do you have an idea why someone would violently kill a teenage girl?"

Aoshi raised his head and answered his sister's question.

"You know, Tokio, streets are filled with crazy people. Their minds work in a strange and absurd way. They don't think rationally like you and I would. They overreact, they get furious or paranoid. And someday, they completely loose control of their minds… Last night, there are a lot of chances that a jealous lover simply killed his girlfriend."

"Maybe… At least, that proves my point. Avoid human contacts and you'll stay out of trouble…"

Aoshi looked at his sister for a while. A deep feeling of understanding passed between the two of them. They both preferred loneliness. Not for the same reasons, but still, they could comprehend the other's point of view.

"I'm deeply sorry, Tokio, but I think that you'll have to put those life principles aside for a while…" said Aoshi, after a long silence.

"What do you mean?" she answered, already on her guards.

"Nanami, the girl who works at the Aoiya's front desk, will be absent for a week. I need a replacement."

Tokio almost choked as she heard these words. She finally answered, with a touch of despair and indignation in her voice.

"And you chose me?"

"Well, who else? And besides, I hope you realise that as you are not working right now, you are living here for free. Maybe it's time you start doing your share…"

"And what would I have to do?" asked Tokio, now resigned.

"Be the receptionist. You stay at the front desk, you welcome the customers, you assign them to a table and you take the reservations. If the restaurant is crowded with people and the waiters just can keep up with the commands, you'll have to give them a hand."

"Anything else?" asked Tokio, thinking that it was already way too much.

"Well, now that you mention it… If that police inspector, Hajime Saito, ever shows up, buzz me right away. Then, lead him to the private tea room. Stay with us. If he ever wants us to work for him, you'll make him fill the files…"

"And who is going take care of the restaurant during that time?"

"I'll take dispositions as soon as you leave my office."

Tokio remained silent for a while, thinking. Aoshi really wanted a job assignment badly and she could understand why so easily. There was still so much activity in the spying business when she had left the country. But now… In the few weeks that she had spent here, nothing had happened. Nothing. It was just normal that he prepared Saito's visit and…

"Tell me, Nanami didn't really call off for the week…"

"No. You are right. I was the one who called her off. You see, Nanami doesn't know anything about the Oniwabanshu's organisation. She's just a girl I hired a few months ago, after some of the original staff quit. I still haven't decided if I can trust her or not. So, in the meantime, I better keep her out of the way when it's time for serious business…"

"Oh! I see. But I hope that you'll come to trust her soon. I wouldn't like having to do her job on a regular basis…. When do I start exactly?"

"Now. The first clients will start arriving in less than an hour."

"Better get ready then…"

Tokio got up to leave the room, not really happy about all of this but realising that she had to help. She was, indeed, not really doing her share. As she reached the door, Aoshi's voice stopped her.

"Try to be kind with people for once. They won't bite you, you know… And besides, I wouldn't appreciate it if your bad temper discouraged my clients from coming back… "

"Very funny! You just had to hire someone else if you were to complain that much…" said Tokio abruptly, before leaving the room.

***

June 25th, early afternoon

Working at the restaurant was a painful experience for Tokio. Smiling to everyone. Chatting with people while she led them to their table. So unlike her… But she had to. Aoshi was right; she couldn't frighten clients with her lousy attitude.

The restaurant was a success. There was no doubt about it. It was always full. People enjoyed coming here. They loved the atmosphere, the food and the cheap prices. Mostly the cheap prices. In fact, Tokio thought that it was the only reason why the place was always crowded.

But now that lunchtime was finished, the Aoiya was almost silent again. Only a few customers were still at their tables, chatting or reading the newspaper. The rush hour was over. Tokio sighed with contentment. She would now be able to take a few hours off before people showed up for the evening meal.

She really needed those few hours. While she was working in the noisy crowd, her mind had been loudly screaming, protesting. She would have felt so much better if she could have escaped this and join the calmness of the second floor…

She sat near a window, in a dark corner of the restaurant. She pulled her cigarette pack out of her pocket and lit one. She didn't smoke very often. Only when she badly needed to relax. Like yesterday, after the events in the park…

Once she finished her cigarette, she immediately lit a second one, prolonging the pleasure. She always enjoyed the little ritual she had developed over the years. Outside, nothing existed anymore. She closed her eyes and forgot about the morning commotion and about the unpleasant task she would soon have to perform again.

Finally, she slowly opened her eyes and looked by the window, almost unaware of what she was seeing. Cars, delivery trucks and some cyclists. A merchant was opening his shop on the other side of the street. A little boy was stumbling and violently falling on his knees. Two college girls were coming toward the Aoiya. One with a long braid and the other one with a high ponytail.

Registering the last sight, Tokio stopped daydreaming. It was Misao and her friend Kaoru. She'd better check what they wanted…

She got up and walked toward the main door. She reached the front desk just as the two girls came in.

"Tokio… Is it true? Were you there…?" asked Misao, looking a little concerned.

"What?"

"The murder. Is it true that it happened near where we were last night? Did you saw it happening?"

"Yes, it's true. But no, I didn't see it. We had almost left the park when it occurred. And when we came back to check what was going on, we only saw the dead body…"

"Oh! It so it is true… If we had still been there when it occurred, we could have help. We could have witness something important."

Tokio looked desperately at the two young girls. When they had came in, she had thought that they would panic. But no, they were only willing to do something to help. It was true that Misao had always wanted to be one of the Oniwabanshu. But she was still too young and inexperienced for that. She was unaware of potential dangers and this was a dangerous job. And she shouldn't have led her friend in that path…

"Girls, you couldn't have help. And, as I told you, Aoshi and I haven't witness anything at all." Tokio finally said, wishing that they would understand and leave her in alone. "And now that I come to think of it, aren't you both supposed to have classes right now?"

"Yes, but we really had to find out about this. So we took a longer lunch break and came here." pleaded a guilty Misao.

"Why not simply call? Phones do exist, you know. You wouldn't have missed your classes…"

The girls suddenly looked very embarrassed and confused.

"We… we haven't thought about that before…"

Of course they haven't thought about that, sighed Tokio. Those girls really needed brains… Maybe that, with years, they would learn a few things. It would help. But right now, they still knew nothing about real life. They were living practically cloistered in an all girls' college. …

"Well, remember it next time" said Tokio sharply, wishing that there wouldn't be a next time.

The girls didn't need to be told twice. They had realised that Tokio's mood had seen better days… But as soon as they were outside, Misao couldn't refrain the need to come back in. Alone.

"Tokio…?"

"Yes Misao." answered Tokio, a bit discouraged.

"As Aoshi was there last night, do you think that he'll work on the case?"

"I don't know… He hopes so, but it isn't his decision."

"Oh! I see…"

The girl then turned around to finally leave the place. But before she went out, Tokio made a last rude comment.

"Misao, I hope that you are discrete about those things when you are with your friends…"

"Yes, of course. I can keep a secret, you know." said Misao honestly.

"Good."

Tokio stared at the door for a while, appreciating the quietness of the room. Then, she took a quick glance at her reservation book, to check when the first clients would arrive, and she was happy to discover that it would not be before another three hours. She would need it.

"You shouldn't be so harsh on them, Tokio."

She turned around to discover that Aoshi had witnessed the whole scene, from a dark corner of the hall.

"I'm not harsh. I'm realistic."

"You know, those girls could surprise you one day. They make mistakes, like you did when you were young. But they are definitely cleverer than you think…"

***

June 29th, four days later, in the evening

A few days had passed since the murder. Newspapers had found new subjects to talk about. Everyone had seemed to forget that it had ever happened. Inspector Hajime Saito didn't even came to see them at the Aoiya. Aoshi had practically lost the hope of a visit. Solving the case was probably too easy to require his help.

Tokio would soon be able to stop working in the restaurant. Still two days and it would be over. It would be three long and unpleasant days, but somehow, she had grown almost used to this routine. She still needed her cigarette break in the middle of the afternoon to relax, but her work hours were not as tiring as they used to be.

She hoped that the last customers would soon leave. If she were running the place, she would have put a bit of pressure. But Aoshi was the one in charge and he would not have appreciated it.

She looked down at the pile of bills on her desk and she started to calculate the evening incomes. What she had found out during the last days troubled her very much. Guessing what amount of money was needed to run this place, and now fully aware of the incomes, she had started suspecting that the Aoiya was in deficit. She had checked last year's expenses in the files and, assuming that the situation was still the same this year, the restaurant was clearly loosing money. A couple of hundreds every day… At the end of the year, it made a considerable amount of money…

Yes, the place was always crowded, but in the end, it didn't make much difference.

Tokio looked at the night's results and sighed. Still another night without profit... She wondered for how long things had been this way. As she stared cleaning the front desk, a man came in the Aoiya. He was preceded by a strong cigarette smell.

"I'm sorry, sir. We are about to close. We are taking no more customers for the night." she said, without looking up.

She just went on cleaning the desk. As the man didn't move, she finally looked up, wondering if he was deaf... But instead of the insistent customer she expected to see, her eyes met those of Hajime Saito.

"I'm sorry, inspector… I had not realised that it was you." said Tokio, pressing the hidden buzzer in order to warn Aoshi.

"It's ok. You are Tokio Takagi, right?"

"Yes. That's correct."

Tokio was quite impressed by the man's memory. She had thought that he had barely paid attention to her… She had been wrong. And if the inspector's bored expression hadn't been so uninviting, she could have sworn that there was a touch of interest in his eyes. But it was probably just an illusion.

"I'll take you to the private tea room. You will be able to talk freely there. You won't be disturbed."

Just as they walked away, Tokio noticed Shiro, one of the Oniwabanshu, coming to take over her job at the front desk. Yes, Aoshi had really planned everything…

They reached the designated room and entered. Aoshi was already there, looking like he had spent the whole day in the room. He had probably used the service stairs in a hurry.

"Saito-san… What a pleasure to see you. Please sit down." said Aoshi, while showing the example.

As Tokio closed the shouji, she observed the two tall men. Both were physically in shape, were calm and knew exactly what they wanted. They were both at the head of an organisation and, as far as she knew, had both devoted their life to their ideals of justice. But the comparison ended there. One had the power while the other one was vulnerable. One was at the highest point of his career while the other one was at the lowest point. One looked damned sexy in a bad-guy way while the other one looked charming in a more refined way…

"So, Shinomori, did you or Takagi remembered anything special about the other night?"

"Unfortunately, no. But we had the chance to observe the girl's small group of friends during the firework. So, I have a good idea of what kind of relation there was among them. Maybe that could help you…"

"Maybe…" answered Saito, evasively.

As she sat down beside her half-brother, Tokio noticed that he seemed disappointed by Aoshi's answer … He did not clearly show it, but a small frown had appeared on his forehead. He had been hoping for something else.

The discussion began; under Tokio's attentive ears.

"Was your investigation successful until now?" asked Aoshi.

"No, it wasn't. As we feared, no one witnessed anything at all. We got the analysis the lab performed on the corpse today, but it doesn't help us much."

"How come?"

"Well, they confirmed that the girl was stabbed with a sharp object, like a knife. But that wasn't the cause of her death. She died when her neck was broken. Was it voluntarily or did it occur while she fell on the ground? No one can say it for sure."

"And the other results…?"

"There are no other results… Well, yes there is: they found nothing. That is the result. The murderer left absolutely no trace. So we can't perform DNA analysis or anything like that."

"That's rare."

"Yes. Two possibilities could explain that. One, the killer is damn good and he is used to this sort of things. Two, he's just a lucky guy…"

There was a short silence during which both men thought about the latter possibility.

"You said that the murderer might just be a lucky guy. So, it's a man?"

"Probably. That killing required quite an amount of strength. Only a few women would have been able to do it. And also, according to the specialists in the domain, women usually don't use that kind of violent technique: they prefer poison or things like that. So, there are good chances that our killer is a man and not a woman."

"According to you, what could be the cause of this?"

"No idea. The relatives we questioned could not point out one single reason why that girl could have been murdered. Her love life had been calm and steady. Her friends seem all respectable to me. And her family honour can difficulty be doubted."

"And who is that girl exactly?"

"A seventeen years-old college student. She got good grades at school and her teachers all appreciated her. She was popular and she was president of her class. She came from a wealthy family. Two younger brothers, no sister. The parents are still living together. Everyone looked very affected by her death. As far as we know, she never took drugs and had absolutely no money problems. She's just a normal little Miss Perfect."

"There might be some skeletons in her closet…"

"Maybe… But if it's the case, they are hidden very well."

There was another pause during which both men glared at each other. Saito had said all he had to say. The ball was now in Aoshi's court.

"And what do you want from us exactly?" asked Aoshi, finally getting to the point.

"I need people who would discretely observe every movement in the parents' house. Just in case. To be sure. Could one of your men do it?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"Now, tell me what you witnessed the other night…"

Aoshi started telling the few facts he had witnessed. Who was there that night. Who talked with whom. Who didn't seem to be in good term with whom. Tokio was surprised that he had noticed so many things, but after all, he was a spy.

Finally finished with his story, which didn't seem to interest Saito much, Aoshi got up to leave the room.

"Saito-san, it was a pleasure to see you here. We'll do our best to help you in your investigation. Tokio will make you fill the usual papers."

He left the room, leaving them alone. Tokio looked at the tall man sitting in front of her for a while. His strange amber eyes were shinning strangely under her gaze. He was amused by her presence. A mocking smile slowly appeared on his thin lips as he lit a cigarette. Tokio liked what she was seeing. He wasn't trying to be nice. He was just being himself. Rude, direct. And she liked it.

She observed the pile of papers that Aoshi had left right in front of her and started searching for the right form.

"So… What do you need exactly, inspector?"

"A man, twenty-four hours a day, in front of that house."

"For how long?"

"We'll start with a week and then, we'll see."

Tokio filled the spaces in silence while Saito observed her, smoking.

"I'll need your signature here, there and here." she said finally.

She observed him while he filled the designated spaces. He had a precise handwriting showing his strong will and his determination. Having finished, he stood up. She did the same and they faced each other for a while.

Tokio was beginning to really appreciate the man… She had seen him take control of the situation the other night. She had now witnessed how he handled business. She liked it. He went right to the point and only provided the needed information. He seemed to be strong minded and judgmental. And, he was definitely damned sexy.

She hesitated for a while. She was certain that Aoshi wouldn't appreciate it if she began messing with one of his business contacts… But it was so tempting. And she knew that he wouldn't refuse: the interest she had noticed in his eyes earlier was back. This time, it couldn't be just an illusion… He was just good at hiding his pulsions.

"I'll have to wish you a good night, inspector. Unless…" she said as she delicately grabbed the lapel of his jacket, in the most tempting manner.

He tensed. He had vaguely hoped for this, but he was unprepared for this sort of proposition. Her attitude was bold, unusual for a woman, but he liked it. Also, the girl was pretty. He had been attracted to her from the first moment he had seen her.

However, she was Shinomori's sister so he might have to see her again and that was a point against it. But a woman willing to give herself to him, without further presentation was so tempting. He was used to hunt, not to be hunted. And it had been so long since last time… He slowly began to give in her little game, thinking that, as the case would soon be solved, he probably wouldn't even have to come back to the Aoiya.

They soon got carried away, forgetting any concept of modesty. They used each other's body and followed their sexual urges. But never their mouths met. A intense physical relation between two heartless persons…

All of her life, Tokio's relations had began like that. A meeting, a need for passion, followed by a short-lived relationship. It would probably end that way this time also. But she didn't care. Right now, she wanted him badly and he wanted her. That was all that mattered.

To be continued…

Author's comments

Tokio's opinion on Misao and Kaoru is not mine. In fact, Misao is one of my favourite characters. And, as Aoshi pointed out, they might have more brain than what she thinks.

About Saito's reaction: I already mentioned in chapter 1 that Saito sometimes spends the night with a girl. He never calls them back as he doesn't want anyone to invade his privacy. This time is not different. He thinks that getting rid of Tokio will be easy as, once the case will be solved, he won't have to go to the Aoiya anymore. Only, he is not aware of the fact that solving the case might take longer than he thinks…

To the reviewers

Special thanks to Aiteane, Kamorgana, External Darkness, Kakashi-fan, DustyFall, Lalalalala, Wolf of Mibu, L. Sith, Firuze Khanume and Yu~ki~ko, who took the time to review this story. (^-^)

À la prochaine,

Mary-Ann