Disclaimer: RK is not mine =**(
Someone asked me earlier where I got the idea for this fic from. Umm.. I've read a couple of Soujiro fics and I really like how each of the authors portrayed him, such as "Patchwork Family" and "Anata No Tame Ni" (the sou/kao or kao/ken fic) Also I read "Oblivion" and "That's It" where Kaoru gets amnesia. So it's kind of a combination of the two ideas, but there's more to it than that. You'll find out in later chapters.
~ A Memory Forgotten ~
Chapter 5
"I have no reservations about killing worthless scum like you," Saitou remarked curtly. "Now speak."
After cooling his senses, Fuji decided to speak. "We . . .we work for Fujimoto Akane."
Saitou's eyes showed a hint of surprise and recognition when he heard this name. What is that ahou planning?
"Continue," Saitou said in a stern and cold voice. The katana was thrust further towards its desired object. His blade now only centimeters away from piercing Shiori's throat.
Fuji began to speak.
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Soujiro stood dumbfounded by the doorway. Where is Kamiya-san? He looked upon the futon that Kaoru was lying upon and found that the bedsheets were in a disarray. Some of the sheets were thrown to the side.
Someone probably already found her!, Soujiro thought in a panic.
He quickly rushed out of the room to find the doctor. The boy ran into the doctor's office without announcing his presence.
He was shocked at the scene. The doctor's papers were all scattered on the floor. There were small blots of red stains on them.
Soujiro kneeled down next to the stained paper and touched the red blots with his forefinger. He rubbed it against his thumb. The warm, redness was sticky between his two fingers. The blood is still fresh!, Soujiro realized. They must have just taken her! Soujiro got up in a quick motion. He turned around aiming for the door. Before he reached out to open the door, his eyes peered downwards and he found a small river of red blood flowing from one of the corners of the room.
Following the trail of blood, he found that the stains became darker and more prominent. Soujiro could still see the red liquid towards the opposite end of the room. As he looked up to see the origin of the blood, he saw a lifeless hand lie limply behind a screen door.
Soujiro slid open the door and the body rolled over. The doctor's lifeless eyes were staring up at Soujiro. The boy shivered. He had just talked to him an hour ago! The doctor was most likely dead, but Soujiro decided to check for a pulse anyway. To his dismay, there was none. In an act of kindness, the boy put his hands over the doctor's eyes and closed his eyelids.
Determined to find the girl who intrigued him so much, Soujiro dashed out of the room in a lightning fast pace using his Shukuchi skills to the best of his ability. (A/N This was seen in the Kyoto Arc during his fight with Kenshin ^_^ God-like speed that even surpassed that of Kenshin's.. sugoi ! ^_^ )
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Back in the Tokyo Jail Cell
Fuji began to speak.
"Well, you already know that we work for Fujimoto Akane. I'm surprised Saitou, don't you remember him? He was part of the Shinsengumi also," Fuji said with a smirk.
Saitou became less tense and drew back his katana a little from Shiori's pulsing throat. Shiori breathed a sigh of relief.
"I remember that ahou. What is he planning now?" Saitou demanded, his yellow wolf-like eyes staring down at its prey.
Fuji shifted a little on the wooden seat feeling uncomfortable at the way Saitou was glaring at him. He gathered up his courage as he continued, "A..as you well know . . . Fujimoto was involved in the Tokugawa government activities before the Bakumatsu. He had a particular group that would watch out for those people who opposed the Edo rule and once he found them, he would annihilate them. Friends and family were included."
"Aku – Soku –Zan," Saitou interjected.
Fuji and Shiori looked up at him as he made the comment. The police officer took another puff of his cigarette and then put it out by flicking it to the side of the cell. The red flame from the cigarette mesmerized the prisoners as they saw it spin in the air and finally drop on the ground. The soft landing was deafening to them obstructing the silence in the cell.
"Continue," Saitou commanded taking his blade and thrusting it towards Fuji.
Fuji jumped up in shock. His face pale and cold sweat poured down the visage of the trembling man. Fuji continued shakily, "H—ha – hai, Saitou-san. As this continued, our boss had found out from spies that one of the people in his own clan swayed in their beliefs. That person wanted to help overthrow the Tokugawa rule and government."
Saitou pulled the blade back a little.
Fuji took a breath and then continued on while Saitou was still watching him, his eyes not having even blinked once.
Fuji looked at his hands, clenching and unclenching them in his nervous fit. He then continued on with his story, "well, Fujimoto reacted to the situation and decided to kill all those around the traitor: his family, friends, and all others who had associated with him. However, somehow that traitor must have found out that Fujimoto knew about his betrayal. He and some of his friends escaped before Fujimoto's men were able to ambush them at night. Only his wife and some friends were caught and killed."
Sanosuke becoming impatient cried out, "So what's this got to do with our Jou-chan?"
Yahiko interjected, "Yeah! What do you want Kaoru for?"
Sano, speaking through clenched teeth added, "This better not be another plot to get revenge on Kenshin." His eyes narrowed at the two prisoners.
Fuji and Shiori looked at the two visitors with annoyance. Sano and Yahiko just glared at them.
Saitou becoming impatient with the prisoners stated, "Answer them."
"Iie, we don't know why our boss wants her. He just gave us the orders. We don't know the connection between that traitor and the girl or this Kenshin," answered Shiori truthfully.
Yahiko and Sano fumed at their answer. They were getting nowhere! Sano punched the wall using his Futae-no-kiwami skills leaving a vivid dent in the stone wall. Shiori and Fuji gasped at the sight and swallowed hard then turned back to Saitou.
Saitou commanded to them, "Then tell us the name of this traitor. Is his location known?"
"His name is Higurashi Miroku , but the boss hasn't told us any information about his whereabouts," answered Fuji. (A/N: If you're wondering where I got this name, I watch Inuyasha also. Hehe.. so I just combined Kagome and Miroku's name.. eck).
"Shik-sho!" cursed Sanosuke.
Yahiko was balling his hands up into a fist, clenching them so tightly that his knuckles became pale.
"Where is Fujimoto now?" questioned Saitou looking into both Fuji and Shiori's eyes.
"He's probably not at the hide-out now since he knows both of us have been captured," remarked Shiori.
"Then take me to his old hide-out," said Saitou curtly. He was getting really aggravated by both of the criminals. They weren't giving him any usable information. But why do I care what happens to that Kamiya girl? Oh well, Battousai will be furious when he comes back and finds her missing. Thinking of that, he just took out another cigarette from his jacket and lit it. He took a puff and blew the smoke in Fuji's face causing Fuji to blink and sneeze.
"Do I have to drag you there? Or should I use some more persuasion?" remarked Saitou with another smirk on his face. "I'd gladly enjoy breaking a few more of your weak bones."
Fuji and Shiori sweatdropped as their faces became as pale as the moonlight. They looked at each other and agreed silently as they began to speak.
"We'll take you! We'll take you!" both of them exclaimed in unison, hands and legs trembling due to the fright that they have of both Saitou and the spiky-haired man outside of the cell.
"Lead the way," Saitou remarked calmly as he walked towards the cell door. Both prisoners held their heads down low as they walked out, afraid of what would happen to them. Their legs were trembling so much that they were amazed at the fact that they could even walk.
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Soujiro ran back to that same road looking for the three thugs that were talking earlier by the side of the tree. Now where did they go? Thought Soujiro as he scanned the area. There's not a trace of them anywhere! Soujiro was getting frustrated. The sun was already starting to set in the late afternoon sky.
I've got to find her before sundown, he thought in determination.
He quickly walked in a brisk pace down the road looking for any signs of where the three thugs could have gone.
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Fuji and Shiori were out of the Tokyo police station followed by Saitou, an extremely pissed Sanosuke, and an anxious Yahiko. Yahiko glanced at the two people who were leading them to the hideout, I hope we find information on where you are, Kaoru. He silently made a prayer to himself.
As the five glanced up at the purplish hues of the sky, each had their own thoughts to meditate upon.
Fuji and Shiori, being in the same situation kept making sideways glances at each other, their sweat was rolling off of their foreheads in streams. They were scared of what their boss would do to them once he found out that they led these people to their hideout. Shiori took a glance behind him and saw that all three followers were staring at them. He quickly turned his head back to the path. More sweat came off of his forehead.
We're in deep shit either way, thought Shiori. But at least there's a chance that we'll survive if we show them the hideout. The police guy gives me the creeps. At the thought of him, he shivered as pain shot up from his arm (A/N: Remember Saitou broke his wrist when he was under scrutiny).
Meanwhile, Sanosuke was walking behind them keeping a close eye on their movements. They better not try to escape from us. He looked down at his feet while walking and kicked a rock with a lot of force. Sano was pissed. I can't believe Jou-chan is gone again!! If I had been more aware of what was going on, we would not even be in this situation!! Shit!! I'm so stupid. Megumi is right, I am a baka. Sano dug his hands deep into his white pant pockets, still cursing himself for his stupidity.
Yahiko turned his head to get a glance at Sano. He saw that his friend was really pissed. Yahiko turned back to face the backs of the two attackers. His eyes were glum and his heart was heavy.
Kaoru was worried about me and came out to find me. This is all my fault! If I had gotten back to the dojo earlier, Kaoru would still be here and we'd be having dinner, Yahiko thought.
Yahiko's eyes became a little glazed over. He didn't want to tear up right now. He was determined that they would find Kaoru and that she'd be okay. She's my sensei after all. She knows how to protect herself, Yahiko thought, trying to comfort himself with the fact that Kaoru would be fine.
Saitou, taking stiff and brisk steps, was glaring daggers at the backs of both Fuji and Shiori. He was most disturbed in hearing that Fujimoto Akane, a prominent member of the Shinsengumi during the Bakumatsu was involved in this fiasco.
Did he want to lure Battousai to him by using the girl? He thought as he took a long drag from his cigarette.
Saitou looked out at the setting sun. It was starting to get late. Damn, Tokio is going to be mad when I get home. That ahou is going to pay dearly for making my wife wait. He flicked his cigarette to the side and took out another one from his jacket pocket as he continued to follow the two in front.
As they rounded the next corner, Shiori noticed a flash of blue. He nonchalantly glanced at the retreating figure and his body froze in place once he recognized the man.
It was the guy who knocked him unconscious that night.
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- To be continued
A/N:
Please read and review!!! It would be really appreciated. The story that was told by Fuji and Shiori is important to the plot development and will be referred back to as the story progresses.
I'm trying to make my characters and plot be as believable as possible. There are moments where characters are a bit OOC, but I hope you don't mind.
I'm not exactly sure how many chapters this story will be and yes, Kenshin will be returning to Tokyo soon. ^_^ Hehe .. I feel bad for putting him through this ordeal, but hopefully it'll be worth it in the end. Kenshin & Kaoru are my favorite couple. But don't worry Soujiro will be okay too.
Oh yeah, if you have any suggestions about where I should go with this story, please leave some feedback. I'll give each idea some consideration. Thnx again.
Special Thanks to: Nicky, wolfpack, Uenki, Princess of Darkness, Tsugoi Kakarlena, kenshinfan, Souryusen, and Sanosuke Sagara for your support!