The Sacred Night, Chapter 23
I saw her leave. Misao had to be going crazy with Aoshi keeping her on house arrest, especially when she didn't know why yet. She crept out as quietly as she could, which, believe me, is incredibly quietly. I was a vampire and I didn't even hear. If it was possible for anyone to hide from a vampire, the ninja girl could have done it. Unfortunately for her, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, there was no hiding from any decently intelligent vampire. Misao knew this, but was probably past the point of caring.
I had to feel sorry for her, since she had only seen six people since her husband had begun refusing to leave her alone. It was all for her safety, but Aoshi could be a bit intense sometimes and not realize the stress he put on people. I didn't stop her, since she needed some air, but I did keep a very close watch. I sensed her walking out of the building and across the street. She walked very slowly and in a kind of wavy line, like she was just wandering aimlessly. If she decided to teleport somewhere I couldn't sense her, I was in deep trouble when Aoshi found out, so I thought it prudent to tell her what I was doing.
Misao-dono,
Himura-san! Please don't tell Aoshi-sama!
I wasn't planning on it. I know you need some air, but I just wanted to warn you that wherever you walk, I'll follow closely enough to sense you, and if you teleport, we will both be in a bad situation.
All right. I'll stay in the city, then. Just don't tell Aoshi-sama.
I kept her in my senses, but nothing was happening. She was just walking around the city after dark, like any adult should be able to do. Whoever this hunter was probably didn't keep a very close watch over her, because this seemed like the perfect opportunity. She was alone and they shouldn't have been able to sense me watching, but I disguised my ki as much as I could just in case. I wondered just how competent this hunter could be, and if there in fact was any such person. She was just standing on the sidewalk, calmly speaking to a human male. Aoshi may have been the slightly jealous type, but this particular individual didn't seem to produce much of a response from Misao. She was probably giving him directions or something like that.
I was suspicious, and Misao was well within my range of senses, so I scanned the surrounding area for any outstanding ki I didn't know. None were within my range, so I doubted anyone dangerous could sense her. They couldn't be following her, so the only way they could get to her now would be to have a vampire teleport into a planned place blindly once he or she had been signaled that she had walked into it, and what were the odds of that? They'd have to be a team of both vampire and human, which was not unheard of, but relatively uncommon, since it is difficult to work closely with someone who considers you fair game for his or her next meal.
Before I could think any more about it, exactly what I'd feared began to transpire. Several strong ki appeared close to Misao and the human male, who did not seem afraid or surprised by their coming. Misao began to fight, but was dismally outnumbered and captured quickly. I was there in less than a heartbeat, sword in hand, heedless of the suspicion it would arouse in passersby, if in fact they took notice of anything in such a crowd. Never one to jump into an easily preventable fight, I tried the direct approach.
"Let her go," I commanded, sword pressed to the neck of the human who, ironically enough, seemed to be the leader. The vampires fingered their weapons, which were much less conspicuous things like knives or even guns, but waited for the order. The human nodded, and the four others converged in me. I removed my sword from its position holding him, since I knew he would be the only one not concentrating on me, and that Misao could easily best him should he try anything. In the meantime, I brought my focus to the four vampires surrounding me.
As vampires, they had a natural advantage over humans in speed, among many other things, but none of that would work with me. As a human, I had been almost as fast as a slow vampire; as a vampire, I was ultraviolet. I ducked between them as they danced around me, searching for my ki image in the absence of visual input. They were about average for vampires, and thus not nearly as good as others I'd beaten. To be fair, though, I had never fought a vampire I hadn't beaten. When I was alive, my shishou had been the only human who could match my skill, and he had surpassed it by thousands of times. I didn't know if he could still do that now that I was a vampire, but I was afraid to find out. They barely knew what had hit them, and soon there were only Misao, the human, and me standing.
"Let her go," I ordered again, putting away my weapon. The human appeared to consider it, and then got an inquiring look.
"May I ask you something first?" I nodded, too impatient to waste words. "Are you, by chance, the… ah, I see you are!" He exclaimed, pointing as if to punctuate his words. "I'm honored to meet you, Battousai-san. My name is Takeda Kanryuu. I had no idea you were connected to this young lady and her husband. Are you close?"
"That doesn't matter. Let her go,"
"We'll get to that, Battousai-san, be patient," he cajoled, not succeeding in making me more patient. "I'd like to make you an offer you can't refuse,"
"I'm certain I can,"
"I'll pay you ten times the amount I paid all four of them together,"
"To be your bodyguard?"
"Yes, but also to do other things, as the situation demands,"
"Capture, fight, kill? I don't want to do those things. Let her go,"
"She's free! Go on, girl, get out of here. Now will you talk to me rationally?" Misao disappeared, and I sensed her back in my house shortly.
"Will you leave her alone?"
"I can't promise anything…" my hand went back to the hilt of my sword, and he got the point. "Anyway, I would pay you very generously,"
"I don't care. I don't want to work for someone who kidnaps innocents for no reason,"
"I have a reason. Perhaps not a reason you would approve of, but then I didn't ask your approval, did I?"
"Why?"
"Her husband broke an agreement we had, and I need her to make him see reason,"
"You have a grudge against Aoshi," I restated more truthfully.
"Yes, if you want to put it bluntly, I suppose I do,"
I was tempted to ask what Aoshi had done- or not done- to incur this man's wrath, but I decided that would be best left between them. I knew all I needed to know and didn't feel like discussing what he would pay me if I wanted to work for him, which I didn't. I informed him I was leaving and did exactly that. I was back in my house soon, thoroughly annoyed, but getting over it since the man couldn't find me to begin making offers again. That was one perk to being a vampire: I could sense humans and follow them anywhere faster than they could walk, or even drive, there, but they couldn't follow me unless I allowed them to do so.
I wasn't convinced he was finished with Misao yet, either, so I felt certain I had to confess my lax to Aoshi, since he obviously had more knowledge on the situation and was closer to it than I was. I didn't look forward to his reaction, but it had to be done. I wanted to see if I could talk to Kaoru in the meantime. I probably couldn't tell her much, if anything, of what I'd found out, but perhaps I could help her stop worrying and redeem Aoshi in her esteem. I didn't know, but it was worth a shot.
It didn't matter anyway- she was sleeping again, and I didn't disturb her. I went to try and sort out what I would say to Aoshi, which wouldn't be easy. I didn't want to think about what he would do when he found out I had almost let Misao get killed. Knowing Aoshi, he would use the most intimidating weapon he possessed: his bizarre ninja silence. By far the scariest thing about him was that he could remain calm, right down to the eyes, when there was a storm going on inside. His ki was even difficult to read.
Aoshi eventually came to find Misao so they could go home together. I dreaded it, but there was no avoiding telling him the truth, unless I planned on handling the situation myself, which I doubted could be done, given the personal nature of the reason for the hunter's actions. I asked him to stay and talk to me in private. We went to the small balcony, the closest thing to privacy that could really be achieved with Misao there. We could both resist her efforts to hack into our minds, but only if we were aware they were going on. Misao was the stealthiest person I had ever met when she wanted to be, and her loudness other times only made her skill in silence more surprising. Aoshi stood and waited for me to speak.
"I know who is after Misao-dono, that I do," I began. There was no visible reaction except a nod, but I could imagine that if anything, he was probably confused as to how I could have that knowledge, especially when he didn't. "She went outside tonight, and a bound human with four vampires attacked her," he began scanning my house for Misao's familiar ki, but found it and seemed satisfied.
"You let her go outside when I told you I thought it was too dangerous," he stated firmly, more to point out to me that he knew than to find out.
"Yes, I did," I answered. My reasons weren't important right then. I had disobeyed. I doubted there would be consequences other than what had already started, though. Aoshi was silent for a moment, but went on.
"You said you know who it is,"
"The human said his name was Takeda Kanryuu," I didn't continue, since if the man's motives were as he had said, his name should be familiar to Aoshi and tell him everything he needed. Aoshi was silent again.
"I understand," he finished simply, leaving with Misao to ponder the situation alone.
In spite of the danger I had put Misao in, I could not help but think I had done her a service. If she hadn't gotten attacked that night, I wasn't sure we would have ever found out who was behind the effort to capture her, or it would have taken longer, at least. Misao wouldn't have seen the moon for ages. There was one other thing. Since Misao now knew Aoshi's reason for acting as he had, she would no longer suspect him of cheating on her with the human he had bound, and since she knew, there was no point left in keeping it a secret from anyone else.
Perhaps I should tell Kaoru about it, because she also was rather unforgiving of Aoshi. If I told her the truth, though, she would worry, and was worry better than resentment? If I let her think Aoshi was cheating on Misao, she would distrust him for quite sometime, even after it was proven that he had done no such thing. She may someday need to trust Aoshi, and her life may depend on it.
"Kaoru-dono?" I whispered, in case she was still asleep.
"Kenshin?" She asked sleepily, rolling over toward me.
"Were you asleep? Don't let me bother you,"
"No, Kenshin, it's fine. I'll talk to you any time of the day or night," she smiled, and I smiled back.
"Do you remember when I told you I was sure Aoshi was not cheating on Misao-dono, but couldn't tell you why?" She nodded. "Misao-dono knows about it now, so I don't think Aoshi will mind if I tell you," she sat up, ready to listen attentively. Misao was important to her, and if something threatened to make her unhappy, Kaoru would do her best to banish it. "A hunter is after her, and Aoshi did not want her to worry, but thought she would be safer if she were not left alone. Tonight she went outside and the hunter attacked her, but she was not hurt, that she wasn't. Aoshi knows who it is now, and it will all be taken care of soon,"
"I feel so bad about being angry with Aoshi now," she mumbled after a pause.
"I think he will forgive you, that he will,"
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Cattibrie393: yes, Misao is often funny. I adore her, as well as Aoshi- he's such an enigmatic and mysterious character, you can't help but wonder about him.
Kenshin's My Man: glad you like it. I wasn't going for fluff with this fic, though. Really, angst is my thing, and I thought I was accomplishing it. Glad you're writing a story, though. I can always use more vamp stories to read! If it's going to take awhile to get it posted, email it to me, please.
Asuka the Ice Demon: so you're another Sano fan. I dunno, I never really enjoyed him as much as the others, but I like him some. Glad you're awaiting my story so anxiously… I try to update every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, but occasionally I can't. glad everyone's in character… I've got someone in an upcoming chapter I'm afraid might mar that unblemished record…
Yuhi-thedoerofevildeeds: glad you like it, and sorry if the chapter was short. I usually try to make them 2000 words.
Invader Zim: yes, Kaoru will be better eventually, but it's coming slowly. I should be updating on schedule until further notice! Kenshin has this thing about feeling guilty whether or not he should… it's one of the most endearing things about him, though it's so sad. I love your long reviews!