Chapter 26: Grandpa Okina's Return
"So you're Myojin
Magdaria, Kaoru's friend?" questioned the old man once they were on the road in
Magdaria's white Mitsubishi Eclipse.
"Yes, but I'm not very close to her," answered Sayo as she sat in the driver's
seat and looked towards the man.
"Keep your eyes on the road, you don't want to get into an accident," warned
Okina in the passenger's seat, causing the 24-year-old to blush as she refocused
her attention back to the busy highway.
Okina watched as he reentered the city of Tokyo, it'd be years since he'd been
here and he had a bad feeling about coming back. He knew the stories about the
killer from the newspaper articles, and had a strange feeling that the killer
was still out there. From the information that Mr. Seijiro had told him, the
killer was still alive from Kaoru's words before she lost her memory. If the
killer was out there and Kaoru knew who the killer was, then her life was in
terrible danger. He had to find his granddaughter and protect her at all costs.
"Mr. Kamiya, why didn't you come to Tokyo with Kaoru when she asked you? I mean
she did and still has enough money to support the both of you and she had been
complaining about you not wanting to come back here," said Magdaria shyly, as
she looked at the man from the corner of her eye.
The older man only sighed as he looked at the younger girl with hurt and old
tired eyes, making her regretting what she had just asked.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." began Sayo, but Okina only shook his head.
"Some memories are just hard to forget," said Okina as he looked at her and
beyond.
Magdaria only cocked an eyebrow at him confused and didn't dare ask any further
questions as not to make the man uncomfortable.
"If only Tokyo didn't hold so many memories," whispered Okina out loud to
himself as he looked out towards the horizon
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Man, I'm even beginning to miss Shura. Hey, do any of you have any idea why she suddenly decided to quit?" asked a man in a blue suit as he walked over to a female friend's desk.
"I have no idea, she just one day decided that she wanted to leave. I don't even know where she went," said the girl.
"Then where's the boss and his personal assistant?" asked another girl who had overheard their conversation as more people joined them.
"I heard on the news that Kamiya just fainted on the streets," said another man.
This caused more whispers as the people tried to combine together what they heard and thoughts about what could have happened.
"They act like Mr. Himura and Miss Kamiya aren't coming back anytime soon," said Tsubame a bit worried and annoyed as she walked over to her two friends whom were sitting in front of each other at Megumi's desk.
"They're not far from the truth, and I'm curious as to why Shura left too and why Kaoru wanted to see her so much before she... Well you know Misao," said Megumi as she looked at her silent friend who seemed to be too quiet for her own good.
"Know what?" asked Misao as she looked up from her own world of thoughts.
"Misao, I think that you should take the rest of the day off, you seem more out of it than I thought," said Megumi as she moved a comforting hand onto her cousin's. She knew that Misao was thinking about Kaoru.
"She's right Misao, you're not usually so...quiet," said Tsubame with a blush when she received a glare from the older girl.
"Misao!" shouted out Soujiro's voice as he raced over to them.
"What is it?" asked Misao as she stood up and faced her friend who seemed almost out of breath.
"We can't talk here," said Soujiro seriously as he grabbed her left hand and dragged her towards the elevator.
"Tell me if Mr. Seijiro gets the email!" yelled back Misao towards Megumi who only nodded as the two vanished behind the elevator doors.
"Did my brother just hold Misao's hand?" asked Tsubame as she blinked at the elevator and then turned towards Megumi who only shrugged.
"Those two have become closer, I'll have to admit," said Megumi as she straightened a stack of papers for Hajime and faced her computer screen.
"Wow, I never knew Sou to be so straightforward," said Tsubame as she tapped her left forefinger on her chin thoughtfully as she thought about what had just happened.
"What are you two ladies talking about?" asked the calm voice as a black figure walked over to them after overhearing their words.
"Shougo! What a nice surprise! How long have you been here?" asked Megumi with a weak smile as she turned around in her swivel chair and met grim dark eyes.
"Long enough to hear what I needed to know," said Shougo a bit darkly as he narrowed his eyes at her.
Laughing nervously, Megumi only gulped when the older man left the two alone.
"Is it me, or is everyone acting weird lately?" asked Tsubame as her eyes followed Shougo's back.
"Who knows?" asked Megumi with a shrug as she avoided the teenagers eyes.
"Something is definitely going on," said Tsubame to herself as she walked away from Megumi's desk.
"Hey Tsubame, do you know what's gotten into my older brother?" asked the voice of Yahiko as he rushed over to her after an encounter with Shougo.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," said Tsubame in determination as she headed towards the elevator.
"Where are you going?" asked Yahiko as he followed her perplexed.
"I told you, to find out. Are you coming or not?" asked Tsubame as she pressed the garage button.
"Wait up for me!" cried Yahiko when the doors began to close.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kaoru's eyes widened as she saw the front of the house with the grand front porch. She couldn't believe that this was the only house for miles upon miles. Around the house on the hill was lush green grass, a meadow of flowers and a group of trees that seemed more like the woods was surrounded the whole land. Then, behind the house she could see a lake that seemed to take up over an acre of land, and could feel the breeze from the water caress her cheeks as the wind blew towards them. She marveled at the way that the house was circular so that it fit the roundness of the hill's top part, and how there were two roads that you could use to get into the front of the house. Her eyes could go on and still couldn't see the end of Himura's property.
"Whatever you see, belongs to me," said Kenshin with a smile to her as the limo drove off and left them at the front porch of the large mansion.
"I knew it! You added an extension, what are you using for that new area on the second floor of the East Wing?" asked Sanosuke as he looked up at the tall house that was the size of about half an acre of land all on a very tall and gigantic hill.
"If you weren't so blind you'd realize that I built a tower," said Kenshin as he rolled his eyes.
"How much did you spend on the whole house?" asked Sano as he looked back at his friend.
"It cost a bit over 3 million just to get this standing and that doesn't include what I placed inside the house and the land," said Kenshin calmly as his friend's jaw dropped open.
"I thought that you'd have spent less.... Man, you spent this much money on a private house? What else did you put in this? Last time this place barely had anything and look, they even added a tear shaped pond in the center of the front area, and this flooring isn't just concrete anymore, it's pure white stone too," said Sanosuke as he stopped on the ground of emphasis.
"My real estate in Japan is much larger than this," stated Kenshin, confused as to why he'd become so shocked.
"But look at this place man! It's like paradise! That lake was man made wasn't it?" asked Sanosuke as he finally realized that there weren't just large lakes in Nevada.
"Sanosuke, the last time we were here was close to over eight years ago," said Kenshin.
"And it's changed for the better," said Sanosuke with a grin to his friend.
"This is Las Vegas?" asked Kaoru a bit confused.
"No, this is an area far away from Las Vegas but we're still within the area," said Kenshin as he smiled at her when she nodded.
"Why are we staying out here for, let's go in! We both have a lot to see Missy," said Sanosuke as he grabbed her wrist and moved to open the marble stoned twin doors that was just under a huge balcony that caused Kaoru to look up.
"You might want to use the key to the house before you set off the alarm system," said Kenshin as he walked over to them, causing his friend to sweat drop and let go of Kaoru's hand as he caught the keys.
"Nearly forgot from all the excitement," said Sano as he turned the key in the key hole, and stepped back when the doors suddenly began to swing in on its own.
Kaoru stepped back and jumped when she bumped into Kenshin who held her elbows, she didn't know that inanimate objects could do things without someone else moving to do it.
"It's done automatically, almost everything is here. Don't be afraid, I'll show you around the house. Once you've got it memorized you can go anywhere in the house by yourself," said Kenshin comfortingly, as he led her in with her arm holding onto his elbow.
Nodding, the 24-year-old followed the two older men into the house.
~*~*~*~*~*
"What is it Sou?" asked Misao once the
elevator doors opened and allowed them to enter the garage parking.
"Not here," said Soujiro as he grabbed her hand and led her towards his car.
"Why not?" asked Misao when they entered the blue BMW.
Starting the vehicle, Soujiro quickly pulled out and sped out of the garage
opening after showing his ID card to the scanner that allowed people in and out.
"Now can you tell me what's going on?" asked Misao as the man beside her sped
towards who knows where.
"Yes," said Soujiro as he turned towards her with a smile.
"Why couldn't you just tell me in the office?" asked Misao as she remembered to
seatbelt herself.
"Because we'd have been overheard and the parking lot has cameras all over, I
can't afford for our conversation to be heard," said Soujiro as he focused on
the road, the grip on his hand tightening.
"Then hurry up and tell me already," said Misao as she shifted in her seat so
that she could come face to face with her.
"Master Shishio, Hajime, and Shinomori all have a plan to get more power over
the company," whispered Soujiro.
"What does that have to do with me?" asked Misao confused.
"It has to do with Kamiya; that's why I wanted to talk to you. Those three want
to get to Kamiya, to get to Himura. You know that in the state that she's in
now, Kenshin won't deny her anything," said Soujiro seriously, as he looked at
her with hardened azure eyes.
"But those three don't know about it, in fact no one does but you, Megumi, Mr.
Seijiro, Dr. Katsu, and me. Plus, now she doesn't even trust anyone but Kenshin
and that dumb rooster head," said Misao as she clutched her fists.
"Yes, but once she begins to remember she'll remember those that are closest to
her for the longest and that person is..." began Soujiro.
"They want to brainwash Grandpa Okina to hint to Kaoru about something, and then
she'll tell Himura who'll do as she wishes.? But Grandpa Okina won't listen to
them!" protested Misao as she sat up straight.
"Ever heard of sweet talk, or that old saying you can catch more flies with
honey than vinegar? They haven't completely finished their plans, but I know
for sure that they're going to try and make it seem that it'll be for Kamiya's
best interest that whatever they want be done," said Soujiro as his hands
tightened around the steering wheel.
"Then let's get going to the airport!" shouted Misao as she looked ahead on the
road.
"Magdaria has probably already picked up Okina, we have to get to her first,"
said Soujiro.
"So where are they?" asked Misao as she looked at him, afraid that something bad
might happen should the other three men get to Grandpa Okina first.
"Her house," said Soujiro.
"How do you know?" questioned Misao with a raised brow.
"Because, that's where Hiko told her to bring him until he got the e-mail from
Himura," said Soujiro.
"If Himura used a jet then he should be there in a few hours," said Misao as she
grew anxious for him to hurry up and get there.
"Not if he used his most expensive jet; he should be there by now. Let's just
hope that he's taking his time," said Soujiro as he sped up.
"How long do we have before Hiko goes to her house?" asked Misao.
"Thirty minutes, Hiko should be leaving the building by now since his cell phone
can check email, but Shinomori has already released someone to pick him up a few
minutes before we left," said Soujiro.
"Magdaria lives an hour away though!" said Misao, thinking about what could
happen if the others got there before they did.
"Not if we crank it up a notch," said Soujiro with a grin at her and stepped on
the gas pedal.
A/N: That's about it, I hope that you all liked it!