Chapter 13

Yahiko tugged on Chloe's hand, which held Remy tightly to her body. Her eyes, wide with shock, came down to look at him and she blinked. He tilted his head to the side, telling her silently that they ought to go down to the right. The child in her arms gave a sound of protest – a sign – making her see the importance of moving away from the battle scene. Just as they began to silently hurry on their way, she heard the faint murmurings of a conversation – Aoshi was speaking to the intruder – such a small child! No more than five years younger than she was. She saw the smile that seemed endless on his face and found it scary. How could one fight with such a face?

The insistent pull of the young Shinomori boy had them turning to the right and then finding their way down the maze of hallways to what looked like a dead end. Yahiko, however, touched a part of the wall, which lit up in a hand shape – much like the ones she had seen by the apparent doors of the house – and the wall slid open, revealing a small boxed in area with a control panel on one side and a cylindrical area that seemed to fall straight downwards. Yahiko pushed her in, looking back to make sure no one was actually following them and stepped inside as well. The panelling slid closed once he was through and the boy efficiently began to tap keys. Dim lights on the walls lit up and the footing that they were on began to move in a circular path downwards.

Chloe was too dumbfounded by the events that had just transpired that she watched with a dropped jaw as their surroundings moved steadily. This was all too surreal – samurai, secret passages, technologically advanced gadgets that safely brought them to what she figured was a safe haven for them. She could write a story about this; The Adventures of a Freak Magnet. The thought took her by surprise as it was a title made unconsciously. Was she a freak magnet?

Downwards they went; the movement steady and smooth.

She has always had experiences with such people – the ones she had actually gone for as potential boyfriend material in her earlier years in Smallville resulted in craziness; all three of them were meteor freaks of sorts… only Clark was the source of the meteor phenomena. She had even thought Lex was in the category of 'Wall of Weird' material, but her research on him had been cut short due to the later occurrences between Lionel Luthor and her. All a fancy of the past, she thought as the image of the Torch headquarters flitted through her mind.

"Hayaku; hurry up," Yahiko hissed in a low voice when the platform stopped.

He jumped out and made an impatient gesture with his hand to urge them on. Chloe quickly clamped down her thoughts and did as the boy said, knowing he was the only one who could get she and Remy to safety. As they moved, the light followed; turning on when they were close to it and switching off when they were far. Chloe watched as Yahiko hurried ahead and was awed when her surroundings were flooded with bright lights, revealing an underground hideout she noticed that there were others there already, huddled in a group. One woman got up and rushed over to the young boy to hold him close in a tight embrace. Chloe stopped a few feet away from the pair, watching as Yahiko's face turned a beet red colour. He was muttering something in Japanese that she couldn't understand.

Turning away from them, Chloe looked down at Remy who glanced at her at that same moment. Before she could form any words with her mouth, the child nodded solemnly. It was all the reassurance she needed. Giving him a fearful smile, she turned away, noting that the woman – the trademark blue eyes and raven hair of a Shinomori family member – and the spiky-haired boy who had brought them down to this shelter were coming towards them.

"I'm Shinomori Kaoru, the remaining sister of Yahiko and Aoshi," the woman said, her piercing blue eyes trained on Chloe's face. "I'm sorry you had to witness this on your first visit to our home."

The blonde shook her head and smiled sardonically. "I have a knack for having 'trouble' follow me around. At I have one more thing to add to my 'list of bizarre incidents'."

"You're quite funny," Kaoru said with a grin. "I like that." She cocked her head to the side and raised a brow. "You're definitely not one of Lex's women. His choice is usually brunette, leggy, and psychopathic; three characteristics that are lacking in you."

Chloe was going to comment on that when from above, there was a loud bang and the walls shuddered. The blonde's eyes widened and her heard fluttered and she instinctively held Remy closer to her.

"Come over here with the rest of the group," Kaoru commanded.

"What was that?" Chloe asked in a whisper.

"The fight is still going on. They have a knack for destructing at least two rooms in the house before the intruder finally leaves."

It was daunting to see that the Shinomori woman was not in the least deterred by the sounds above her. It made Chloe feel foolish for being shuddering like a leaf. "How long does this usually last?" She tried hiding her fear by using a strong voice.

"An hour at the most… but considering it's only smiley-face, it'll probably only take another ten minutes."

"I take it he's a regular?" There was a swift nod in answer. "Why does he always come?"

"He's warning us," the raven-haired woman answered simply, her voice curt to show that questioning her further would not get anymore answers.

Chloe pursed her lips together and stayed in the group quietly listening and jolting when the bangs from above shook the walls surrounding them.

The kitchen and dining room was a pile of rubble and in the middle of it all was Aoshi and Soujirou. The younger man, with his perpetual smile, panted and held onto his wounded arm. "It's coming, Aoshi – very, very soon. Shishio is hungry for your blood and Kenshin's… unless you switch over to our side, then you'll be spared, along with the rest of your family."

Once again the boy began to move – his feet carrying him fast across the ground. Aoshi stood still for a moment and finally lunged to the right, crossing both the blades and slicing them outwards in one movement. The wind whistled as the two swords moved through the air and he heard the definitive cry of his opponent as one of his swords sliced into his skin. On his left, he watched the body bounce once and finally skid to a stop. Aoshi turned his head and waited for Soujirou to push himself up – painful as it was – and finally look at him with a slight cringe on his still cheerful face.

"I'm not easily deterred or beaten, kid," Aoshi growled, his cold eyes growing all the more frosty. "Let him hit me with all he's got."

The boy chuckled despite the throbbing in his injured body. "You're cocky, Aoshi-san. But, you'll soon see what it's like to be looked down upon. Until next time."

Having said that, he jumped out into the garden and disappeared from eyesight. Aoshi took a deep breath and collapsed, holding his upper body from the floor only with the aid of his two swords. Soujirou had caught him; cut into his legs and his right side, but they weren't fatal. He was lucky… very lucky. Just when his body was about to finally give into his fatigue, someone sounded the front door bell, causing him to snap his attention. Who could that be? He hadn't heard the police.

Faintly, he heard a voice calling – male, familiar, yet not someone close to me… - it got faint then grew louder and louder.

"Chloe! Remy! Shinomori! God damn it, where the hell is everyone?!"

Aoshi pursed his lips. Lex Luthor. He could hear the worry that was in the bald man's voice even though there was evidence he was trying to hide it. He heard the sound of heavy footsteps making their way towards the destroyed area of his house and finally stopping where the door of the dining room had been. "Luthor," he rasped in an irate tone.

"Shinomori, what the – where is Chloe and Remy? Are they hurt? What the hell happened here?"

"If you would help me up, then I could show you where they are," he said with more force as he tried to push himself up but slumped down unsuccessfully. He wasn't a man who liked to be helped, but at that moment, he knew that Luthor needed reassurance or the man would never leave him alone.

Aoshi felt his right arm get slung over Lex's shoulder while another arm held him around the middle to lift him up. He hissed in the pain that it caused but he clamped it down and grunted, indicating for them to move towards the hallway again. They passed a series of hallways slowly before they got to the same dead end that Chloe, Remy and Yahiko had been in. Using his left hand he touched the wall and it slid open, revealing the platform. The rest of the trip down to the shelter was tense and quiet, but when they finally got there, he heard cries of relief and dismay from Kaoru and Yahiko. His siblings saw to him, freeing Lex of any constraints; allowing him to seek out Remy and Chloe who he assumed (and hoped) were there as well.

"Lexie!" a child cried from across the large enclosed area.

He felt his body loosen with relief as he spotted his son running towards him in his childish steps and moved to meet him halfway. Remy threw himself at Lex and the man lifted him into his arms and held him close. "I'm so glad you're safe," Lex murmured, his eyes closing for a moment.

They snapped open again, however, to search for a certain blonde. She stood just off the side of the rest of the group, her eyes wide, her complexion pale and her body trembling. He slowly made his way to her and he stopped just a half a meter in front of her. He looked down at her, her lips shaking her eyes shining with fearful tears. An unspoken message passed between the two.

Chloe took one step to him and burrowed her face into his chest, her arms going around both Remy and Lex. The bald man, in turn, felt his breath catch before he slipped his arms around her and embraced her. And for once in his life, Lex Luthor, the man that always hid within and rarely came out, felt complete.

"They're coming with me, Shinomori," Lex growled when they were in his office. "I don't care if you want to spend quality time with them, but I don't trust your security here –"

"You are acting young and foolish, Luthor," Aoshi cut in. He sat on his table in his home office, already bandaged up. "Even if they weren't here, they'd be in direct danger of these men that I faced. Takeshi –"

"His name is Remy, damn it; get it right!"

"Fine, 'Remy damn it'," he answered back, loving the fact that he was really pissing the man off with his childish approach. "The fact still remains that the boy is bound to me by blood as well. No matter where you go, they will follow you."

"You know, your little cousin told me that you'd have answers, but you're being as vague as she is. I want an explanation for this craziness and I want them now."

A muscle in the Japanese man's jaw ticked in attempt to control his anger. They were both stubborn men and that in itself was not a healthy combination. The silence that settled between them stretched on for a long while before Aoshi finally turned his head and let out a quite snort. "You would have to find out eventually, anyway," he mumbled under his breath, then looked back at him with hard eyes. "You have heard of Shishio Makoto."

"Yes, he killed our fathers." He paused. "I had started an investigation on that, but everyone refuses to cooperate and those who actually comply with my requests end up dead, so I've just left it at knowing it was him."

"He is a powerful man. No one has really seen him, but they know his work when they see it: total mutilation of a body by use of bullets, but mainly sword."

"I noticed there were aberrant symbols on my father's body when I went for the autopsy." Lex's voice was characteristically dead at that point – an apparent distancing from the things he was saying. "To me they're just a jumble. But I know you have an idea of what it means."

"It is a message, Luthor," Aoshi informed him. "A message in a dialect of Japanese that has almost been forgotten, but my family, Himura Kenshin and Shishio are the only ones remaining who know it. However, Shishio never stayed the full session it was taught."

"They're all the same message aren't they?"

Slowly, Aoshi pushed himself off the table and ambled towards his chair – one of the few things there that was typically western: a Lazy Boy. "'The monster will come and swallow you whole'. That is what is always carved into the victim's body."

"Why is he so vengeful? What did you do that made him so angry with you?"

"It's not what I did, but more of what I did not do." He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. "Shishio and Kenshin were both rivals in many ways. In the past, they were both notorious assassins, always doing the job succinctly and efficiently. However, Kenshin was always the favoured one. Perhaps it was because his features, his methods and his heartlessness were all striking and left a bigger impression on those the victim knew. This angered Shishio greatly.

"One day, when he had basically had enough of this favouritism, he confronted Kenshin and challenged him to a fight. He agreed, so they battled it out. It was very long, but Kenshin came out the winner. When his employers heard of this defeat, they thought it was appropriate to take him out. So they burned him… or at least tried.

"Shishio survived the fire he was subjected to and killed each and every businessman who had been in on his murder. He will not rest, however, until Kenshin is finally killed by his own sword. I was asked to join him as he knew that Kenshin had defeated me in a battle in previous years. But Shishio doesn't understand that it was through that particular fight that I gained back my wits and saw what was most important: my family and their wellbeing."

"So now you're a target as well," Lex murmured. "Wouldn't it be better, though, to join him if it means to save your family the pain and suffering they are going through now?"

"You talk of dishonour, Luthor," Aoshi snapped one eyelid lifting to regard his visitor angrily. "The Japanese do not think highly of such things. Unlike the Americans, we are strong behind our beliefs and will do anything at all costs to preserve our name and honour and prevent shame."

"But isn't the safety of one's family far more important than ego at this point?" the bald man asked.

The other shook his head. "You don't understand anything about the Japanese. You may know our language and may interact with them through business but you don't know our true nature. And for that, I pity you."

"Look, at the moment, I don't care much whether or not I know anything about you and your culture. Right now, I would just like to take Chloe and Remy back to the mansion where they belong. But before I do I just have one question to ask you: why was the Luthor family targeted? I have nothing to do with this conflict between you and this crazed man, yet my father was killed by him."

Aoshi shrugged. "That is something that I can't answer. If it had been Remy he tried to kill, then it would be a different story… but it wasn't. Perhaps there is someone in his group that seeks their own vengeance as well."

At that idea, Lex's expression grew grim. "I thank you for the information you have disclosed; I'll be going now."

The raven-haired man merely grunted in acknowledgement as Lex left the room to search for Chloe and Remy. When the three were together once again and in Lex's Porsche, Remy piped up. "Lexie came. Lexie was worried."

The bald man, who was behind the wheel, smiled a little. "Yes, I was worried… for the both of you." He glanced to the side to look at Chloe, noting that she was trying to hide a gleeful smile and the blush that coloured her cheeks. Well, someone needs to care, he thought looking back at the road ahead. Might as well be me. And the smile on his face grew imperceptibly.

To be continued...

A/N: Vocabulary!

(name)-nii - brother (name)

Doko ni iru - where are you?

(name)-chan - honorific for younger individuals

Nan dai - What is it?

Aa - Yes

Nani - what?

Gomene - Sorry (informal)

kunai - small dagger

Ja - '(see you) later' (informal)

Thanks to those who have reviewed! :)

I've gone back and edited the previous chapters so hopefully all the strange parts with 'two year old' and 'four year old' has been fixed.... he is four years old btw.... yeah.. --; see what reviewing can do? :) it helps! really! :)