Chapter Twenty-Three: Innocent?
Sano began to tremble as he heard the jury's decision. The defendant collapsed into his chair in shock. The noises from behind him becoming deafening as he moved his hands to his forehead; salty tears falling down his cheeks as he the word's of the jury rang in his ears like church bells on a Sunday. He just couldn't believe it.
"Sanosuke Sagara," came the familiar warm voice as someone touched his shaking shoulder, the voice soothing and strong.
Looking up he met warm charcoal eyes and hugged the occupant of the wheelchair closely to him as he moved his head into her hair, tears falling freely now.
"What are you crying for rooster head? You won! You're innocent," snapped Megumi angrily, angry that he should cry, but nonetheless she patted his back soothingly.
"I'm not crying! I'm just so happy," lied Sano as he quickly wiped his tears so she wouldn't see them.
He let go of her when he heard a cry from behind him and saw Magdaria run straight into his arms as tears brimmed her eyes.
Suddenly he was being engulfed in hugs and pats, and the noise level began to rise. He could feel his old self-coming back. Could now smile after all those days in prison worrying about the trial that he had just won. He couldn't helping laughing and crying, it didn't matter who saw him, he was just too happy to care.
Kaoru watched a crowd gathered around Sano with a smile on her face, but inside she wasn't happy at all. She didn't understand why, she should be happy that her friend was found innocent, that she had helped save him! But still, something ate away from the inside out; Kanryu's words flooding through her mind.
She turned to go call her grandpa, and saw Shura sitting alone in the back as Tomoe came up to her. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as Tomoe grinned and left the courtroom with her sister. There was something wrong, but she didn't know what. She only shook her head. She had done her part today, there was nothing left to do. Sano was innocent, and that was all that mattered.
Walking out of the courtroom, she made her way to the payphone. Looking through her purse for loose change, she accidentally dropped a coin. Sighing, she went to pick it up before it rolled into a corner. Upon looking up, she realized where she was. She was at the same spot that Shura and the cloaked figure were at. Something snapped in her head as ideas began to flow through her mind like electrical currents from lightning.
Her mind began to swirl as memories began to pour through her mind like a flash flood through a town. Memories of the past, memories of her parent's death, memories of her as a witness, memories of her studying crime scenes, and most importantly the memory of her younger brother Yutarou.
She held herself against the wall weakly, trying to stand.
Why are these memories coming back now? I thought I moved on. Why are they plaguing me now? Thought Kaoru as she closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. She had promised herself not to cry; to remain strong from them. But she couldn't help it, the memories were coming back and her mended wounds began to bleed again. They began to bleed with pain and sorrow, reminding her of her injured past.
Kaoru held her arms and began to take deep breaths. She was going to be strong no matter what. There was no way she was going to cry over something that has already happened. She can't change the past, and there was no use remembering it. Closing her eyes she began to calm down.
A warm hand touched her shoulder in comfort, looking up she saw Misao smiling weakly at her.
"I guess we both have to get over our pasts, don't we?" Asked Misao with a weary smile as she applied pressure to Kaoru's shoulder.
Kaoru only nodded as she remembered Misao's own experience with something similar to this. They had both lost someone, and they were both happy to have helped Sano. Even if they couldn't save the others, the were able to help another victim.
Misao and Kaoru embraced to help calm each other, giving one another each other's warmth and strength to move on. Feeding on each other for power to withstand their memories, to heal themselves of their past sorrows and losses.
The two slowly parted and smiled at each other, their eyes promising never to cry over the past to move on toward their futures.
"Hey Missy, weasel girl! I wanted to thank you two," cried a familiar voice from behind them.
Sano came to a halt as he saw them, he was wearing his old grin again.
Kaoru only smile as Misao whacked Sano upside the head for using the old familiar nickname. Her heart began to warm as Misao chased Sano around and them calling each other names; this was her family now. They were her friends, her family, and her sanity. She didn't know what she'd do without them.
"I guess things are back to normal," came a deep rich voice from behind her.
Turning around her sapphire eyes met with molten golden ones that seemed to bore into her very soul as she drowned in its lava pits. Her eyes began to seek his for any sign of emotion but it was blank as usual, but this time they began to sparkle, began to glow with an internal flame as they watched her own azure orbs dance.
She felt her breath catch as he moved closer and moved a hand on her shoulder, their eyes locked onto each other.
"Thank you for everything," said Kenshin as he smiled at her.
Her eyes began to seek his in hopes of finding out his intentions. As if sensing her uneasiness, Kenshin's eyes softened a bit.
"So are you two going to kiss or what?" Asked Sano with a grin, Misao smiling right beside him.
Kaoru and Kenshin blushed crimson as they broke apart and looked some where else.
Sano and Misao only began to laugh out loud at the scene, causing the others who were waiting in the courtroom to come out.
"What's going on?" Asked Hiko confused as he saw his nephew fidget and his best lawyer blush a nice tinge of pink.
Before Sano and Misao could answer him, Kaoru whacked Sano and began to chase the two outside and into the parking lot, screaming names at them as the two laughed.
Kenshin only chuckled at the scene and relaxed. Things were going back to the way they were, and he felt his own burdens lift as he looked into the cerulean sky and its fluffy white clouds.
"It's time to move on," came the deep voice of Hiko as he patted his nephew on the back and walked out towards the waiting limo.
Yes. It's time to move on. Thought Kenshin as he walked out of the court hall.
~*~*~*~
The building of M.R.S. was silent apart from the constant scratches of a pencil writing down notes. It was a Saturday, and most was either at lunch or at court to hear Kanryu's hearing. Each one hoping the man would get into jail.
Kaoru wrote down notes as she read a contract over and over. Each time looking at the signatures that were signed upon it, and each time rereading a paragraph to make sure that she hadn't skipped anything. It was odd that she should be doing this when she didn't have to. The case was closed, and due to double jeopardy she wouldn't be able to do the case over if she wanted. Though why would she? Sano was innocent. But maybe she'd be able to do another trial to find out who the real killer was.
She sat there all morning looking at all the contracts that were ever made by Akira, Kanryu, and Mr. White together.
The ringing of her cell phone made her put down the contract and answer.
"Hello. Kamiya speaking," said Kaoru as she placed the paper and pencil down on the table that was placed before the black sofa that she was on.
"Kaoru? Where are you?" Came the voice of Megumi.
"I'm at the office. I'm just reading a few contracts," said Kaoru, at least she wasn't lying.
"I thought that you'd be at the trial. Well it's still good then. Do you mind going to the hospital with me? I have to do a check up, and later we can grab a drink and both go back to the office. I missed a lot while I was my coma," said Megumi.
"Sure thing. Just let me get my stuff organized," said Kaoru.
"Thank you," said Megumi as she hung up after a quick goodbye.
Sighing, Kaoru flipped her phone closed and went to get her things. Quickly placing her items within purse and shoulder bag, she walked out of the office.
Telling the clerk at the front door that she was leaving she left the building.
~*~*~*~
"It's nice to see you again Kamiya. How have you been Megumi? Are you feeling better after the operation?" asked Katsu as he walked over to them in a his doctor robes.
Kaoru shook his hand as Megumi nodded to him.
"Well let's get you on a bed and see if your injection of bone marrow is doing what it's suppose to. Becky! Can you lead Miss Takani to a separate room and do a few scans?" Ordered Katsu to a blonde that was a few meters away.
Nodding the nurse walked over to Megumi.
"This way please," said the nurse as she walked Megumi towards an empty room.
"I'll be waiting," said Kaoru as she waved to her friend goodbye.
Katsu smiled after her and then looked at Kaoru with a friendly expression.
"Do you wish to come to my office and wait?" Asked Katsu.
Kaoru only nodded as the man led the way to a white tiled room. The room had shelves upon shelves with patient information, bottles of medicine, and many test tubes each one with its own unique label. There was a small table with a newer computer on it and two simple chairs before it. The room was about 3/4 of Kenshin's office.
"Sit down," said Katsu as he walked around and sat down at his tidy desk.
Kaoru silently obeyed and waited for him to talk. She knew that he wanted to tell her something.
"You're a smart person Kamiya, and I know that. Though there was something that puzzled me about the crime scene. To tell you the truth, I use to work as an investigator for the police, so I was able to get some inside information on the evidence. I managed to get something that might interest you," said Katsu seriously as he opened a drawer to his right and handed her a bag that held glimmering diamonds.
Taking the bag she gasped at what she saw.
"But this is Kanryu's gloves," said Kaoru as she looked at it.
"Look at it more closely," Ordered Katsu.
Squinting her eyes to see the design better, she noticed that the diamonds were all still sparkling and it seemed brand new. There were no scratches, no dullness, not a single thread was out of place. Kaoru furrowed her brow and looked up at Katsu.
The doctor took out two test tubes full of blood and showed them to her.
"This one was a sample of Akira's blood before he died," said Katsu as he showed her the light red in his left hand.
Kaoru nodded as she stared at it.
"And this one, is from when he was found at the crime scene," said Katsu as he showed her the dark maroon tube.
She nodded, it was natural for blood to turn darken when it was out of the body for a certain amount of time.
"The tubes are vacuumed pack right when the blood is placed within them," said Katsu.
Kaoru lifted an eyebrow as she followed his eyes to the other test tubes. Each one ranging to very light red to a dark red color. She looked back at him.
"Then again this blood was collected a few minutes after he died and blood tends to change once it's out of the body and once a person dies," said Katsu as he stared at the tube in his right hand.
The nurse Becky came in before Kaoru could say anything.
"The results are ready," said the nurse with a polite bow for interrupting them.
"Alright then. Do you mind placing this back on the shelf Becky?" Asked Katsu as he stood and handed her the tubes before walking out of the room.
Kaoru stood and was at the door when she heard a crash. Turning around she saw the two test tubes on the ground and spilling out its contents.
"I'm so clumsy," scolded Becky to herself as she looked at the mess. She quickly raced out of the room to get gloves and material to clean the mess.
Kaoru looked at the mixed blood, her eyes began to squint as she looked at what was happening. The blood seemed to split apart, one color this way and the other another way. She rubbed her eyes as she watched the blood slowly progress; her eyes went wide in horror.
She quickly turned and saw Becky who apologized for nearly knocking her over, and walked into the room, gloves in hand.
The Harvard law student quickly made her way to the room that she saw Katsu go into not that long ago, and saw him picking up the equipment and Megumi putting on her coat.
"Ready to go?" Asked Megumi with a smile.
"Yeah. We better get back to the office. I need to get these papers done," said Kaoru as calmly as she could, she was surprised at how calmly that came out. She patted her shoulder pack to show her that she needed to get her work done.
Megumi nodded and thanked Dr. Katsu before leading the way out.
Kaoru bowed to the doctor before quickly rushing out to catch up with Megumi.
"Let's get some coffee first," said Megumi as they walked out of the white hospital building and went to find Kaoru's midnight blue Porsche.
"Okay," said Kaoru, not really paying attention to what she was saying. Her brain was too busy processing what she had just learned and witnessed, and it was trying to remember something but she wouldn't allow it. Remembering wasn't a good thing, remembering only made things worse. She wanted to know why it was that she was so shaken up at what she saw, yet she didn't want to risk remembering something that should remain in the past and not looked upon in the present.
She drove quickly to the shop, terrifying Megumi who had never known Kaoru to pass street lights when they were about to turn red. The girl usually would slow down and stop, but today she just went right through. Her turns were even dangerous, it felt more like a roller coaster ride than a normal car ride.
"You should learn to slow down Kaoru, and learn how to drive like normal people," said Megumi as she moved her hand to her chest as they got out of the car and went towards the coffee shop.
"If you thought that was bad, you should ride with Kenshin when he's in a hurry," said Kaoru with a mischievous smirk that made her friend cock an eyebrow at her.
Walking in the restaurant they ordered their drinks and waited at a table, Megumi nibbling on a blue berry muffin.
Sitting down Kaoru began to think things over, her brain trying to process what was going on and what could have really happened that night of the Sakura Ball. Her brain cells beginning to work faster as she came up with more ideas, it worked quickly and began to form pieces together. But there was still something that was missing, but she wasn't sure what it was.
"Kaoru!" Yelled Megumi in her ear, two cups of coffee in her hands.
Jumping from the sudden noise, Kaoru looked up at her friend.
"Are you daydreaming about a certain guy?" Asked Megumi with a smug grin on her face.
Kaoru only rolled her eyes in exasperation as she stood up and took her cup of coffee.
"You were, weren't you?" Asked Megumi, hoping to get some juicy information.
"Why would you say that?" Asked Kaoru in irritation as she turned and faced her friend.
"I called your name like ten times, and you seemed like you were looking at something really interesting," said Megumi with a mock grin as they got into Kaoru's car.
Kaoru only sighed and shook her head as she got in. She took another drink of her coffee before placing it in the cup holder and backed out of the lot.
"Hold on! Let me put on my seat belt," said Megumi as she quickly put her coffee down and placed on her seat belt.
Grinning, Kaoru stepped on the gas after backing out.
~*~*~*~*~
Kaoru finished her coffee as they got onto the elevator, smiling as she saw Megumi try to calm her breathing after her little 'joy ride' back to the office. She never thought that she'd be thanking Kenshin for teaching her to get use to such rides, and teaching her a few tricks as well when wanting to get somewhere quickly. It also never hurt to be able to learn a few narrow short cuts either.
"I-I am never, and I mean never going to let you drive with me anymore unless I'm behind the wheel!" Shouted Megumi as she placed a hand on her chest, the other one holding her Star Bucks cup.
The lawyer only shrugged as the elevator door opened. Stepping out, they were surprised to see Shura packing her things.
"You're leaving?" Asked Megumi as the two walked over to her.
"Yeah. I'm leaving with my family after Kanryu's trial," said Shura as she went back to placing her items into her box.
"Where to? And why do you have to wait?" Asked Megumi.
"They're at the trial, and we're leaving to the States," said Shura absent mindedly as she gathered her things.
Kaoru blinked at her. They were at the trial? She never knew that Shura had any family members, let alone know that they would have something to do with Kanryu, since only relatives and friends of the defendant or the other side could appear in the courtroom.
"Want any help?" Asked Megumi.
"It's alright, I can handle it," said Shura as she placed her photos into the box.
The two only nodded and left to their own work areas.
Remembering that she still had the empty coffee cup in her hand, she went back out towards the trashcan.
Walking into the lounge where the trashcan was, she saw a blue envelope in the inside. It looked brand new and the letters written on it seemed fit for royalty. Letting curiosity take over, she took out the blue envelope, the letters sparking something from her memory. When she had bent down to look at the envelope, the contract signed by Kanryu, Akira, and Mr. White floated out and landed on the floor. Picking up the paper and the envelope her eyes went wide.
Kaoru raced out of the lounge and looked around for Shura.
"Megumi! Where's Shura?" Questioned Kaoru frantically.
"She just left," said Megumi as she stared at her friend.
"Why didn't you stop her?" Yelled Kaoru as she raced over to the elevator and pressed the button.
She began to bang on the elevator but knew that it would be hopeless. Seeing the fire escape, she raced down the stairs. She had to find Shura; she was the only one that could testify her conclusions.
Running faster than she had ever before, she nearly rammed into a wall from her speed of coming down the stairs so quickly. She placed her palms out in front of her so she could bounce back and quickly ran down the steps.
I have to catch her! Thought Kaoru breathlessly.
~*~*~*~
Shura carried her heavy box out of the building after giving the clerk her ID. She stepped out and walked over to a waiting white Lexus. The trunk popped open and she placed her box inside as she waited for the person in the passenger seat to get out so she could get in.
A person in white clothes and black sunglasses stepped out, she smiled at her family member as she touched her fully shaped abs and let her through.
Shura silently sat in the back as she looked forward.
"Let's go anata. The plane leaves in an hour," said the passenger as she kissed the driver on the lips.
The man with his black sunglasses on smirked into the rear view mirror as he saw his silent sister-in-law, before stepping on the gas and leaving behind Tokyo.
"Wait!" Shouted Kaoru, but the car has long since left.
She moved her hands to her thighs and began to breath in and out. Kaoru wanted no more than to collapse right then and there.
All that running and for nothing. Thought Kaoru with an inward growl.
A limo pulled up and before she could faint someone grabbed her limp body.
Looking up, she saw worried violet eyes that began to drown her in its depths. She moved a hand to the scarred cheek and slowly rubbed it with a smile.
"Kaoru! What happened?" Questioned Kenshin as he grabbed her hand that touched his left cheek, and squeezed it tightly.
"The killer.... The killer... It was..." Began Kaoru but she was losing consciousness.
"What? Who? Who was the killer?" Asked Kenshin as he shook her, ignoring the fact that a crowd was forming.
"What happened to Missy?" Asked Sano as he broke the wall of humans that were surrounding them, and knelt down beside her.
"Tell me Kaoru! Who?" Asked Kenshin as he shook her, trying to make her tell him.
"It was... It was..." Kaoru couldn't finish her sentence, she blacked out from exhaustion.
"KAORU!" Yelled Kenshin as an ambulance was heard, someone in the crowd was smart enough to call one.
~*~*~*~*~
A/N: THE END???