Chapter 7
"There she is!" Juro shouts.
Aneko drops her arms. "What are you talking about?" she asks.
"Why are you at this dojo, assassin? Have you come to kill everyone here!"
"…I'm not an assassin," Aneko says with fear.
"Kenshin, that's the assassin who tried killing me! That's the dagger!" Juro shouts. He rushes towards Aneko and tries to punch her. She grabs his arm and flips him onto the ground. "She's going to kill me this time!"
"Shut up," Aneko says, "You think I'm going to let you punch me without defending myself? I'm not the person you think I am."
"Liar!" Juro shouts. "I remember it; you were wearing your hair up in buns and wearing black. You changed clothing and your hair style to mask your identity. No one else around here looks similar to you!"
"Cut it out!" Yahiko screams. "You're the one lying!" Yahiko leaps into the air and swipes Juro with his kendo stick. Juro falls unconscious.
"Yahiko!" Kaoru shouts. "What did you do that for? That isn't in the teachings of the Kamiya Kasshin style!"
"I know Kaoru, but the guy wouldn't shut up," Yahiko replies, "He was starting to bug me."
Sanosuke stands up, "Someone here is lying. It's either that moron or you Aneko. Who is it?"
"He's got me mistaken," Aneko says. "You don't trust me, at all."
"How am I suppose too!" Sanosuke shouts. "Each time something happens with the murders and the Sanada Ninjas, it always leads up to you!"
"Fine!" Aneko shouts. "I'll deal with this myself! I don't need anyone's help!" She leaps over the fence and runs off.
"Damnit! Get back here!" Sanosuke says. He starts chasing her.
"We have to go after them!" Kaoru shouts. She and Yahiko begin to run but Kenshin pulls them back.
"What are you doing! You're just going to let them run off!" Kaoru shouts to Kenshin.
"Yeah Kenshin what are you thinking!" Yahiko shouts afterwards.
"They need to resolve this on their own," Kenshin says calmly. "She needs to confess to Sanosuke. I already know that Aneko isn't the assassin…that I do."
"How do you know?" Kaoru asks. "I didn't think so, but how do you know for sure?"
"At first you'd think she was… each time someone was killed she was out of site. For the past days she's been here with us. No murders have occurred for days. Someone is setting her up," Kenshin explains. "Besides, she has a kind heart. It isn't of a murderer."
"I didn't think about that…" Kaoru says, "Neither did Sanosuke."
"Yeah but where are they going Kenshin?" Yahiko asks. "Aren't you worried the Sanada Ninjas will attack them?"
"Let's hope not," Kenshin says.
"Yeah," Kaoru says. "Anyway, I'm hungry. Should I prepare us dinner?"
"No," Yahiko says, "Kenshin should." Yahiko sticks out his tongue at Kaoru. Kaoru and Yahiko beat each other up while walking inside. Kenshin, behind them, hears something and turns to his left. He spots a shadowy figure by the trees, it runs off.
"C'mon Kenshin," Kaoru says, "Help me prepare dinner."
Kenshin shrugs it off for the time being and goes inside to help Kaoru.
-
"Aneko! Stop!" Sanosuke shouts, continuing to chase Aneko. She continues to run, ignoring him. Aneko begins to cross a bridge until she sees Matsu and four other ninja's on the other side. She stops in the middle. Sanosuke shouts, "Aneko, this side!"
"I don't need your help!" Aneko shouts to Sanosuke. She climbs onto the ledge of the bridge.
"Don't do it!" Sanosuke shouts. He starts running towards her.
"If all of you are after me, come and get me!" Aneko shouts. She dives into the water.
"Damnit!" Sanosuke shouts. He hesitates for a second, and then jumps into the water.
A ninja watches them swim through the water, "What do we do Matsu?" he asks.
"I know where the current is taking them," Matsu answers, "We'll meet up with them there and surprise them. Besides, we can't get the gunpowder wet…"
-
With the intense tides, the waves push Aneko and Sanosuke straight down the channel. The tides are too strong for both of them to steer themselves onto the land. The weight of the waves pushes Aneko underwater and begins to drown. Sanosuke takes a deep breath and swims after her. He catches her before she could fall any deeper, but when he returns up to the surface, he realizes she's unconscious. He holds onto her arm as the waves continue to push them forward. Up ahead, he sees a dead tree in the water that fell when a storm snapped it from the trunk. Approaching it, he grabs onto it with his free hand and pulls Aneko onto the tree. He pulls himself onto the tree and puts Aneko onto his back. He climbs onto land and rests for a second.
He tries shaking Aneko but she doesn't move. "Wake up…" He says, trying to shake her back to consciousness. Aneko still lays unconscious. He puts his hand on top of her heart. "She's still breathing…" He sits there, trying to come up with an idea. He looks around. They are surrounded by trees and the only thing he can hear is the sound of the trickling water of the current behind him. "Where are we…? I've never seen this place before." He examines the forest once again. He pulls Aneko up onto his back and proceeds north, into the forest.
-
"Kenshin, it's getting late…" Kaoru says, "I'm worried." They are sitting on the porch looking at the sky.
"Ms. Kaoru, we can only wait for now," Kenshin says. "I think they will be all right. I have a good feeling, that I do."
Kaoru smiles at Kenshin. "All right," she whispers. She wraps her arms around Kenshin and closes her eyes. Kenshin kisses Kaoru's forehead and leans on her.
-
Meanwhile, Sanosuke continues to walk slowly, deeper into the forest. The full moon shines from the sky and for a while, there is nothing but silence. Moment's later, Sanosuke spots orange flames ahead. Squinting his eyes, he sees four torches. "Matsu…" he mumbles.
He begins to walk closer until he steps onto a pile of branches, stirring a huge crunch sound. The five ninja's suddenly stop walking. Sanosuke freezes.
"What was that?" one of them asks.
"Sounds like it's coming from over there…" another one says. He points towards Sanosuke's direction.
Sanosuke begins to run. Matsu signals the others to run towards his direction. Sanosuke can barely see ahead of him but follows the sound of water. The sound got louder, and found himself in front of a waterfall. He runs through it and behind the pouring water, he finds a cave. He places Aneko down and sits quietly. Through the water he sees the four orange lights pass by. Minutes later they were no where in site.
"Damnit, we lost them," Matsu says. "It's too dark, let's find them in the morning. They won't find their way out of this forest so easily…"
Sanosuke takes a deep breath and leans against the rocks. He looks over to Aneko, who still lays unconscious. He walks out of the cave.
-
Hours pass, and Aneko finally wakes up. Immediately she sees flowers surrounding the walls of the cave, amazed. She notices her kimono top is missing, and all she's wearing is her pants and her bandages she wrapped around her chest. She looks over and sees the rest of her clothes above the fire.
"You were going to catch a cold in those wet clothes," Sanosuke calmly says.
"…Thanks…" Aneko mutters, "My head hurts…"
"You should eat something," Sanosuke says, handing her a cooked fish on a stick.
Aneko takes a bite. "Where are we…?" she asks. "What happened? The only thing I remember is diving off the bridge."
"You blacked out in the water; we got washed up onto land, and chased by Sanada Ninjas. We'll have to stay here for the night; they still might be out looking for you," Sanosuke says, refusing to look at her.
Aneko looks down for second. She looks back at Sanosuke. "I put you through this, I'm sorry."
Sanosuke doesn't respond. He sits quietly by the fire. Aneko scoots closer to the fire and scratches her right shoulder. She notices her wound healed, and sees her tattoo of a shuriken.
"You saw my tattoo, yet you never asked about it…" Aneko softly says.
Sanosuke looks over. "I'll ask now then. Why do you have the Sanada Ninja seal tattooed onto your shoulder?"
Aneko looks down. "I was a Sanada Ninja… In fact, I was going to be crowned as leader. Eleven years before the revolution started my father was studying abroad here in Japan where he met my mother. I was born the following year however; my father had to return to his homeland because of Japan becoming an isolated country under Lord Tokugawa's rule. Year's passed and I began training under my mother, but she later married a samurai and had another child. She was too busy caring for it, so I finished my training under my grandfather who during the time was Leader of the Sanada Ninjas. He had no son by blood, so I was suppose to be appointed as the next leader. That never happened… my step sister trained under my mother but never finished. However she was appointed leader and is still the leader till this day... The Sanada Ninja's were never evil or corrupted like this until she became leader."
Sanosuke looks at Aneko sympathetically, "Why didn't you become leader?"
"I left Japan when I was ten years old. I went to search for my father in his country. I never found him, but I never came back to Japan until now. After hearing news that the Sanada Ninjas formed alliances with the Black Knights and tried taking over Japan from my father's country, I had to return. I have to stop my sister, and redeem the name of the Sanada Ninjas."
"Where was your father from?" Sanosuke asks.
"Germany…" Aneko answers with a sob.
Sanosuke comes over to Aneko and holds her, rubbing her back as tears streamed down her face. "I remember…" Sanosuke softly says, "Fighting the Black Knights and the Sanada Ninja's to save the Divine Elixir a year ago. Your sister is Misanagi Moriya… she's the assassin. Why is she killing Germans?"
"I don't know…" Aneko says still sobbing, "That's what I trying to find out… I must stop her…"
"I will help you," Sanosuke says, "I will...don't you worry." Sanosuke embraces Aneko, lifts her chin up, and wipes the tears from her eyes. They gaze into each other's eyes, and Sanosuke leans in to kiss Aneko. Sanosuke lowers her onto the ground holding her, and continues to kiss her.