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

Thanks to Kamorgana, for her wonderful advises on this story. ^-^ Thanks also to Firuze Khanume, whose judgement I trust. ^-^

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Chapter 4 – According to the media…

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July 5th, in the morning.

Tokio was, once again, lying lazily on the couch while her half-brother was silently filling a report. Only, it was with less casualness than it had been eleven days before.

Everyone was a bit tensed. The two crimes were very alike and had occurred at only at an interval of one week. Because of that, three days after the second murder, a considerable number of journalists were still assigned to the case. The affair had received a wide coverage as the media all hoped, for the good of their ratings, that the two crimes were related… They were waiting for the autopsy results with great anticipation.

Tokio and Aoshi were also waiting. Saito had said that he would come to talk with them in a few days. It had not occurred yet. In spite of that, Tokio was almost certain that the tall inspector would pay them a visit one day or another. She had seen enough of him to know that he always exactly did what he had announced, no matter what. He had too much self-discipline to act otherwise. But Aoshi was afraid that he might come too late. That the murders would already be solved and that the Oniwabanshu wouldn't even have the chance to help…

The Oniwabanshu's job at the parents' house was almost over. With no other assignments in sight, things didn't look very good for the spying organisation. It was even becoming hard to hide the truth to everyone…

Things hadn't improved during the last few days. Far from that. Tokio had checked the records. They were even more disastrous than before. After the murder of July 1st, the restaurant had been completely deserted for the first two days. People were a bit afraid to come into the neighbourhood. Very slowly, things were picking up again, but customers seemed to come only reluctantly, because they didn't really have another choice: they could only afford the Aoiya's cheap meals…

All in all, the murder had totally cancelled the beneficial effects of the surveillance job and caused even more damages to the Oniwabanshu's already precarious finances.

Brother and sister went on living like as if nothing was wrong, but they both knew that things had to improve rapidly. They spent almost their entire days in Aoshi's office. From time to time, they would exchange a few words, but that was all. Knowing that her brother was truly worried, even if he didn't show it, Tokio had even stopped teasing him.

Deprived of her favourite hobby, Tokio was beginning to feel bored. She had been looking forward to the end of her work for the Aoiya, but now that it was over, she was starting to regret it. She wished that she could have escaped Aoshi's presence. Things were too tensed around here. But with no money to spend, going out of the building was out of the question. Aoshi had suggested that she took a walk, something inexpensive, but she had never been very athletic…

She knew that she should use this spare time to find a job. And, in this crazy world, a job for someone who had studied psychology shouldn't be so hard to get… She had enough diplomas to obtain a good job. Maybe even one where she wouldn't have to interact much with other people. And if a good salary could come with it, she wouldn't complain.

That way, she would also be able to help Aoshi. She would start paying for her own expenses and maybe do a little more than that. She was aware of the fact that it was very unfair that Aoshi was the only one paying for Misao's studies. She had been raised as well by the girl's grandfather. She didn't really like the idea of helping that noisy girl, but she felt like she had to. It was her duty.

She looked outside and sighed. Yes, finding a job was what she should do, but she was not really ready to put this plan into action. Another day, maybe… She was gazing out, not really aware of what she was blankly staring at, when she noticed a tall policeman coming their way. Hajime Saito had finally came to the Aoiya.

"Aoshi…"

"Hum…?"

"Saito is coming this way…"

Aoshi raised his head from his work. His expression was still placid but Tokio could feel a touch of almost imperceptible touch of relief in his voice as he spoke the next words.

"Could you go downstairs and bring him here before Nanami starts questioning him?"

Tokio simply nodded, knowing that it wasn't the right moment to discuss Nanami's perspicacity, which was close to zero in her opinion. She left the room as told and she emerged in the hall just as Saito entered the building. He didn't look too happy to see her, but he also looked resigned. He had obviously expected to find her here…

As Saito remained silent, Tokio told him.

"Inspector, my brother will be receiving you in his office, upstairs. If you would just follow me…"

Walking behind her, Saito couldn't help noticing that she was looking very different from the last two times they had met. She was wearing tight jeans and a tight black sleeveless shirt, revealing most of her perfect body's forms. Her hair was almost loose, as only a pin had been put, in a hurry, in the front to prevent her long tresses to fall back in her face. She looked less strict and formal than she did when working. She was definitely different from the more distinguished and feminine women he was used to meet. And all of this physically attracted him even more. As she unintentionally swayed her hips while walking, he tried to ignore every memory of their single night of passion that tried to resurface. Too much trouble. Not worth it.

"Here we are." said Tokio as she opened the door leading to Aoshi's office.

Saito got in. Both men looked at each other for a while and acknowledge each other's presence with a little head bow. Then, Saito took a seat, in front of the desk. It was a very uncomfortable wooden chair. It contrasted greatly with Aoshi's large leather armchair. Visibly, he was the one in charge here and wanted to remind it to everyone. But even with this, Saito still looked like the real boss…

Thinking that her presence was not really required, Tokio was about to leave when Aoshi stopped her.

"Tokio, I would like you to stay."

Surprised, she wondered what was going on in Aoshi's mind. But without any questioning, she obeyed and sat on another uncomfortable wooden chair. There probably were more files to fill. Or maybe he wanted her opinion. He had always trusted her judgement and since she had come back to live in Japan, the link between them was even stronger: they were both adults now. And, after all, it was true that she had followed the case closely, having almost been a witness of the two crimes.

"So, Saito, what brings you here today?" finally asked Aoshi.

"We have some new developments on the case. Last night, we got the autopsy results from the lab."

"And?"

"Once again, the murderer left absolutely no trace on the body. Nothing. So, we can't really conclude that it's the same murderer, but also we can't really conclude that it's not the same one."

"Tricky…"

"Yes. But I tend to think that it's the same person. The two crimes look too much alike and, I don't think that there would be, in such a short lapse of time, two murderers wise enough not to leave any trace behind. It's rare to even find one, so…" said Saito, backing his words with a disdainful snort.

"I see."

Both men remained silent, thinking. They were fully aware of the difficulties lying ahead. Tokio looked at each one of them, wondering what their next actions would be.

"And who is the new victim?" finally asked Aoshi, breaking the silence.

"An eighteen years old girl. She dropped out of school last year. Her life has been very tumultuous since then. Tons of ex-boyfriends. She tended to regularly go in the bars, even if she was underage. She had fake ID cards. Who knows where she got them… She was not living with her parents anymore and had very few contacts with them. I think that they disagreed with the life she had chosen."

"With what you're telling me, now wonder that young girl was walking alone in the streets late at night…"

"Yes. That's true. "

"And is there any apparent link between her and the other girl?"

"No. Not at all. No common relations. Both were living in different districts and had very different lives. Except from the fact that both victims were women and were about the same age, nothing seems to link them."

"And…" said Aoshi pensively "If that was the link… If the killer was only seeking to kill young girls, without any good reason… That was seen in Kyoto, once."

"Yes, I know. But it's too soon to tell if that hypothesis is the right one. It's true that we found, so far, absolutely no motives for the killing of the first girl. But it's very likely that we will find one for the killing of the second girl. Her life was a real mess. A lot of people disliked her. And she had a lot of bad acquaintances. We have to investigate further before jumping to conclusions. We absolutely can't say that the murderer is killing only for the fun of it… And we are not even sure that it's the same murderer."

"Yes, of course."

"Talking about the first girl, you still don't have anything for me?" asked Saito.

"No. The parents' house was closely watched twenty-four hours a day for the last five days. And still, there is absolutely nothing."

"Yeah, I don't think that there ever will: it was just in case… Anyway, go on with your surveillance. I don't want to take any risk."

"Okay. Is there something else you would want us to do for you?" asked Aoshi.

Tokio looked at her brother's suave look. He really wanted another assignment. And she realised that she was wishing for the same thing.

"Yes."

Both brother and sister let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

"The second girl had three known boyfriends over the past four months. Here are their names and their address. Follow them night and day. I want to know everything about their whereabouts. Everything."

"Consider it done."

As Tokio began filling the papers, both men remained silent. Everything that needed to be said had been said. They didn't bothered starting a useless conversation. Saito signed the files and then informed them about the next actions.

"I'll contact you soon to know where you're at. If anything important happens, you know how to contact me."

"Yes."

"As everything is settled, I'll leave then…"

Tokio got up, to accompany him to the front door.

"No, it's not necessary. I know the way." said Saito, shortly.

Brother and sister waited until they were sure that their guest was gone. Then, Tokio started talking.

"You have three different people to follow and a house to guard. And you have only four spies left. Plus you… You are going to overwork yourselves."

"We've been through worse than that."

"If you say so…"

"And besides, I have a charming sister to help me…"

"What? Is that why you asked me to stay?" exclaimed Tokio, disillusioned.

"Manager of the Aoiya and chief of the communications within the Oniwabanshu's network. Doesn't that sound good to your hears?"

"No."

"You'll get used to the idea…"

***

July 5th, six o'clock in the evening

Tokio was still not used to the idea. She was fuming, smoking heavily in a corner of the office while Aoshi gathered his spy attire: a gun, just in case, bullets, a walkie-talkie to communicate with the other spies in case of emergency.

Even in her present state of mind, Tokio was paying close interest to what her half-brother was doing. She had seen him do this small routine hundred of times, but had never grown tired of it. It was always an exciting moment.

This time wouldn't really be a challenge. Aoshi would only take Omasu's place for a while in front of the parents' house. He probably wouldn't witness anything important, as there were very few chances that any member of that family had ever done something reproachful in their whole life. Only the thought of seeing one of them use a bad word was laughable. But Tokio and Aoshi both felt a little frenzy anyway.

The six o'clock news was playing in the background. Nothing important was being said. The first report of the day was on how the particularly bad weather had affected the tourist industry this year. Journalists always made that kind of report once in a while, when they had nothing else to say.

Annoyed, Tokio was about to turn off the TV when a familiar figure appeared on the screen. Saito. Journalists were interviewing him. She raised the volume and both she and Aoshi listened closely to the report.

"Sir, apparently, the lab results showed that there might be a link between the two deaths. Is that true?"

"It didn't show that there was a link. But it didn't prove that there was none."

"Then, should we conclude that it is a serial killer?"

"No. It's way too soon to tell. The investigation…"

Saito's words were cut off and the journalist made his own comments.

"As police inspector Hajime Saito, officially in charge of the investigation, pointed out: there might be a link between the two deaths. In fact, as in both cases, a very young woman was murdered, we think that the population should be warned: young college students should be very careful… Let us remember what happened, a little more than ten years ago, when a murderer savagely killed many young women…"

Shocked, Tokio abruptly turned the TV off.

"Did you see how they changed the truth? How they played around with Saito's words? And now, after only two deaths that can't be linked for sure, they are telling people that we are facing a serial killer murdering only young woman…?" asked Tokio with disbelief.

"I know. Journalists always enjoy a touch of sensationalism…"

"A touch of sensationalism… This is more than just a touch. You've heard him… And now, he is going to make the population panic." realistically said Tokio, shaking her head.

"Not many people really give credit to what journalists say."

"You'd be surprised… They know how to manipulate the public in order to get good ratings. I've seen tons of stories of this kind in a class I had taken a year ago. And now, this is going to interfere with the investigation. You'll see."

"Maybe…"

"If they had just respect what Saito had said. That man told them the truth. He knows is job and…"

"Tokio…" Aoshi cut out.

"What?"

"You don't have to take that man's defence. We both saw the report."

"Yes." she admitted regretfully.

"And besides, I think that you'll take that man's defence no matter what he says."

"What…? How…?"

"You think that a spy would not even be aware of what's happening under his own roof?"

Tokio remained silent for a while. She had forgot her stepbrother's talent for nosing into others' private life…

"So now, if we add Saito, what is the count of your numerous love affairs?"

Tokio felt outraged at the comment. But after all the nagging she had done since her return, it was only normal that Aoshi finally found a way of taking revenge. As she stayed quiet, thinking about a way of regaining the upper hand, Aoshi slowly left the room to go to work.

"You'll regret this later… romantic-boy." muttered Tokio.

***

July 7th, early afternoon, two days later.

Tokio was trying to focus on her job at the Aoiya and chase any other thoughts away, but it was hard. She was constantly bombarded by news reports on the case. Not to be in rest and miss the scoop of the year, other journalists, on other channels, had soon repeated the theory, almost telling that it was the truth. Talk about journalism ethic…

And now, she couldn't read the newspaper in peace. Almost every page talked of that new case. Each title was shocking, to catch the reader's attention. She put disdainfully the newspaper aside, having already read and seen too much. For sure, people would start panicking. And there might not even be something to panic about.

Aoshi was back from his long work shift. He had tried to sleep a bit earlier on, but without much success. So now, he was glancing at the latest financial reports. In a few hours he would have to start working again.

Finally, Aoshi sat beside her on the couch and they both remained silent, trying to forget all their current problems, just appreciating the other's presence. Only people who are real friends can stay together like that, saying absolutely nothing, without feeling uncomfortable.

From time to time, noises from the restaurant's downstairs reached them, but they were used to it. They didn't really hear it anymore. Finally, coming back to reality, Tokio asked the question that had tormenting her lately.

"Aoshi… Do you really think that these work assignments can save our finances? Because, the way I see it, it's only a temporary measure…"

"I know. Hiring a few agents for surveillance doesn't pay much. Only a real partnership would really help us. If the investigation continues leading nowhere, as it seems to be the case, Saito may be tempted to offer us one."

"You still haven't found anything interesting about the three boyfriends?"

"Investigating about their life can be quite interesting. But it's not really useful. We have to search elsewhere."

"You think that the journalists may be right? Even if they prematurely announced it, you think that there might be a parcel of truth behind what they say?"

"The more I think about it, the more I see it as a serious option. It's really too soon to start frightening the population like that, but journalists are right about one thing: as long as we don't know for sure, young women should be careful."

For a while, Tokio found nothing to reply to that. Aoshi never stated anything if he didn't really mean it. And, in the domain of murder investigations, he was the expert.

"You are worried about Misao?" she asked, finally catching the double meaning of the last words.

"She's impulsive and she is not really aware of the danger. You heard what she said the other day, after the first murder. She thinks that she can help. She has always wanted to be an Oniwabanshu member. We should double-check her intentions and her whereabouts…"

"But you can't really do it: you are almost constantly on duty."

"I can't, that's true. So, would you mind paying her almost daily visits? Only until we learn more about this case."

Tokio sighed before silently giving her accord. Another unpleasant task was being added to the already long list. And, as far as she knew, the case was still far from being solved.

To be continued

To the reviewers:

Special thanks to Gaby (hyatt, Aiteane, Wolf of Mibu, Shinichi Dori-chan, DustyFall, Kamorgana, Ouatic7, IceRain, Badgerturtle, L. Sith and JadeGoddess, who took the time to review this story. (^-^)

À la prochaine,

Mary-Ann