**I own Orion Kohaishu--for I made that character up--my friend who I RP with used it as her pen name but she also owns me.....though another friend owns me as well....hmmm..i've got to talk to them about that-Anyways!-much love lil' Koinu ^_^***
Chapter 12: Birth of Choices
"Son of a bitch!" a feminine voice screamed. A woman covered in bed sheets and medical gear hissed in pain as her blue eyes fluttered open. She squinted her eyes, not used to the light yet in the room she was in, and looked around. She saw wooden floors and walls in every direction she looked, except for a big window that over looked the city.
"Hey...Missy...could you not scream...my head is killing me...," a deep though cocky voice pleaded near her.
"Sano?....what the hell happened?" Kaoru asked as she looked in his direction.
"I don't really recall. The last thing I remember was gettin' into my car and you givin' me the wrong directions," he groaned as he shifted a little on the bed.
"First of all, I did not give you the wrong directions you just interpreted them incorrectly. Second of all, I'm guessing we just survived a car crash," she winced again as she moved her arm.
"Missy, you did too give me the wrong directions! And I never get into car crashes!" he shouted.
"Shut up you Rooster head! And if you never get into car crashes, what the hell are you doing here? In pain, I might add?" she shouted back, biting back tears of pain.
"This must be hell. Yes, I've died and being here with you yelling at me, is my hell," Sano responded as he turned on his side.
"I'm glad you guys are well enough to bicker and fight, but you need rest to recover from your injuries," a voice interupted from the entrance of the room.
Sano and Kaoru both looked up and nodded, sighing and groaning from the pain.
Kaoru furrowed her brow for a minute and asked, "Okon.....why are we in the Aoiya? Shouldn't we be in the Hospital?"
"I second that question," Sano groaned into his pillow.
Okon smiled before she answered the question and said, "Omasu and I were ordered to retrieve you from the Hospital, courtesy of Lord Aoshi."
"Why? Were we in any danger?" Sano asked as he shifted to face Okon.
Okon bit her bottom lip though responded, looking at Kaoru, "Ms. Kaoru should have been transported to her brother's estate to be privately looked after. Since that did not happen, we, the Oniwaban, believe that he was the one behind the car accident."
Kaoru's eyes widened, her action causing her to wince and moan in pain, though responded lightly, "Why would my own brother....do that to me?"
"Because he must have found out that you were betraying him by coming to us and helping with his downfall," Okon responded as she took some pain killers out from her pocket.
"Well, your family is pretty messed up," Sano bluntly said with his eyes closed.
"Sanosuke Sagara, you have no idea what my family went through to provide a home and food for us! My brother sacrificed everything to get to where he is now! I just want him to realize that he already has power and to stop killing and hurting others!" Kaoru snapped. She fell back to her pillow, her head shifting from side to side with her eyes closed in pain.
Okon placed a hand on Kaoru's head, and felt it to be burning with fever. Her eyes widened in fear and ran out of the room to get more help.
"Missy? Missy? What's wrong with you? Kaoru?" Sano strained his voice in worry as he looked at the woman writhing in the bed next to him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Why? Why did he have to be an officer of the law to hide his true identity? Being in a whole different career would have been too easy to see through, and he just had to pick being an officer.
Saitoh growled and placed the undercover red light on the roof of his car as raced after the blood red Ferrari 360 Spider that sped right through a red light.
'Why is my luck so bad, that I am the only officer in this fuckin' area to see this happen?' he cursed as he caught up to the bumper of the said car. He rolled down his window and pointed to the side of the road where he could extract his fury on the person who was currently delaying him in his mission. The car flashed it's blinker and pulled over to the side. Saitoh followed suit, accompanied with a string of colorful curses.
Saitoh checked behind him in the back passenger seat to see if Shinta had stirred at all through his private argument. Content, Saitoh nodded to himself and opened up his door.
The gravel crunched under his boots as he made his way to the current source of his problems. Saitoh walked up to the car and waited for the window to slide down. The tinted window slid down slowly, revealing a young woman who looked like she was in a rush.
'That makes two of us,' Saitoh growled internally.
"License and registration please," Saitoh grounded out, glaring at the woman.
The woman, whose dirty blonde hair was being blown across her face from the light occasional wind, arched an eyebrow and looked him and up and down.
"Why? You don't look like a police officer to me, buddy," she responded as she popped gum in her mouth.
Saitoh fisted his hands at his sides to keep his anger in check.
"I assure you that I am a police officer of the law. Now please hand over your license and registration. Not cooperating with an officer will result in jail time. I suggest you do so," Saitoh glared. He really needed a cigarette.
The woman shrugged and pulled her license and registration from her glove compartment. She handed them over to Saitoh with a wink.
'The only thing I'd do for free would be to shoot this woman now,' Saitoh thought as he took the paper and license from the woman.
He turned and walked back to his car, checking over the license.
'Orion Kohaishu? Interesting name.... Now all I need for my day to be completely shitty is for her to have a record a mile long...,' he groaned as he opened the door to his car.
He typed in the information into the State County Municiple District System, a computer, which was situated in his car where the A/C used to be.
Yup, a mile long record of criminal offenses just waiting for him to justify.
'Fuck,' he thought as he grounded his teeth in annoyance. He looked back to where Shinta lay uncomfortably in the back seat. There was no way he was transporting some tramp like her with a body in the back seat.
He walked back to the car, license and papers in hand, and replied with forced formality, "Please step out of the car and assume the position Ms. Kohaishu."
The woman in the car chuckled lightly and replied, "No officer, you assume the position."
This was going to be a long day. A very long day.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Megumi groaned and shifted her position in the hospital bed, trying to find a comfortable position. Pain shot across her face when her face touched her pillow. Her eyes snapped open and she managed to stifle a scream of pain. Her eye sight blurry from the high dose of morphine, she groaned and looked around her room for a clock. Her whole face felt numb as her conciousness returned to the world of the living.
'I'm...never doing this again for those two little spies...,' she thought as she closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
"Oh! Dr. Takani! You're awake!! The doctors here are so worried about you! What happened?" a high pitched voice ripped into Megumi's ears.
Megumi whimpered though answered the young nurse, "I...I don't remember Nurse Amagawa...I feel like shit now, though. I think whoever knocked me out gave me some morphine..."
"It's ok Dr. Takani, you just take your time. And yes, a high dose of it, too. It'll take a while for it to exit your system. So just rest for now," the nurse comforted, placing her hand on Megumi's head.
"Dr. Takani?" a deep male voice asked.
"Mm..yes?" Megumi asked groggily.
"I'm sorry to report that your patients have disappeared while you were unconcious. I'm terribly sorry," the tall brown haired doctor explained.
Megumi groaned, and feigned anger and self loathing by fisting her hand as tightly as she could.
'Good, Okon and Omasu got them out of here safely. I just have to play the part now to keep it up," Megumi thought.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Bright blue eyes glanced around an oval shaped room fitted with dark blue carpets, round futon chairs with crimson and dark blue cushions, a long two by five oak desk sat near the closest wall to him. In the corners were each one six foot tall palm trees, and on the dark gray walls hung maps of Tokyo. Pretty nice for a temporary base. Soujiro's hands found their way into his pockets as he kept staring at Shishio's office. There were no windows here, he noticed. The room kept the dark and imposing nature of it's designer.
"Sorry to waste your time, Soujiro," a sinister voice mocked behind the young boy.
"Oh, no Mr. Shishio, you're not wasting my time. I was just looking around the temporary base," Soujiro replied cheerfully.
"You always seem to do that each time we move," Shishio pointed out as he walked to the oak desk. He placed a folder marked HIMURA in one of the numerous drawers then sat in his big velvet lined swivel chair.
"I can't help it, Mr. Shishio. Each time it's different and new,"he replied grinning.
"Did you do what I assigned you to do?" Shishio asked, eyes focusing on the boy standing in front of the desk.
"Yes," he replied bowing,"I took care of it last week as I recall. The plan is in motion, Mr. Shishio."
"Excellent news, Soujiro. I can almost feel the power in my hands now," Shishio said nefariously, his red eyes flashing.
"But, Mr. Shishio, I do have a question," Soujiro spoke up, his brows knitted in thought.
"Make it quick, kid. We have a meeting in a few minutes,"Shishio said bluntly, sitting back in his chair.
"Why did I need two time machines to go to the past? I would have thought just one would be enough," Soujiro asked curiously.
Shishio smiled darkly before he replied,"Well, there is only enough power in each machine for a single trip. Why else would we have just one in our warehouse set up for Ms. Urako Himura to steal?" Shishio chuckled at his ingenious plan at trapping Urako Himura. All the pieces of the chess game were now down to check mate. And she made a fatal mistake. He could almost see her falling to him, proving that he was all powerful. He licked his lips in anticipation.
"I see," Soujiro replied, finding a seat near the table.
~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~
She frowned. She seemed to do that more often since the disappearance of Urako. Her black hair, tied and fashioned in her usual braid, swayed with her movements as she hobbled to her friend's room. To her, everything was strangly linked to Urako, as if Urako held some sort of key to something wonderful, or evil depending on who used her to open whatever she hid. Used. Misao grimaced at the thought of the word. It made the woman she fleetingly admired seem so much like a possesion to be bought and sold.
But the reason for her disappearance still plagued Misao's mind. She knew how and by whom, just not the exact reason why. It obviously took her away, letting Shishio do whatever the hell he wanted. Not that he hadn't when she was around, but now he could do it openly as well. Why did Shishio want her sent back in the past? Or was it the simple answer-to just have her out of the way. Misao didn't think so as she shook her head. Shishio, as she knew him to be from fighting off his goons and trying to stay alive business-wise, wasn't the type of person who had a simple answer to anything. There was a well thought out plan somewhere in his mind.
Misao opened the door to Kaoru's and Sano's room, and saw many different personal nurses attending Kaoru.
Frowning and curious, Misao hobbled quickly to her bedside, pulling a chair close to sit in.
"What's going on?" she asked aloud.
"She's burnin' up or somethin'," Sano provided, sitting up a little on his bed.
"She's what?!" Misao gasped, racing her eyes over Kaoru's still form.
"Misao, calm down! We have her condition stablized. It's ok now," a nurse explained quickly.
Misao sighed in relief though quickly tapped Sano on the head, "Don't do that Rooster-head! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Hey! I'm injured here!" he shot back.
"And what? I'm not?"
"You two shut up! Kaoru needs her rest not her friends squabbling!"Okon whispered harshly, her eyes narrowed at the both of them.
Misao sunk back in her chair, feeling ashamed as she glared at the ground. Sano closed his eyes and shifted in his bed for a better position.
"You shouldn't even be here Misao. Lord Aoshi will be very angry at you if he finds that you are not in your room getting rest," Okon reprimanded lightly, replacing the washclothes on Kaoru's head with new ones.
Misao's eyes widened; her gasp obviously telling everyone that bit of information had slipped her mind. She nodded vigorously and got up to hobble back to her room.
Okon looked at Misao with an arched eyebrow and replied, "Honestly Misao, how do you expect to get better when all you're doing is aggravating the wounds?"
"I just wanted to see how my friends were doing! And this is a minor problem, easily fixed," responded Misao as she hobbled towards the door.
Okon shook her head in dissatisfaction while Sano chuckled and sighed, "Stupid weasel girl."
"I heard that Rooster nuts!" Misao shot out before she closed the door.
'Shit, if Aoshi catches me now, it'll be hell,' she thought as she made her way down the halls.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Saitoh's eyes twitched and narrowed in anger at the young woman in the car. His jaw clentched in supressed fury as he tried to compose himself. He ground his teeth and closed his eyes.
"Fantasizing already are we? That is a new record," the woman's voice invaded his mind as his eyes snapped open.
"Excuse me, Ms. Kohaishu-but I don't fantasize about trash. Now stay here while I get some backup," Saitoh practically growled as he left
"Oh I'll be your back up," Orion said as she winked seductively.
'Does this woman ever stop?' Saitoh growled in his mind.
"Shove your sexual innuendoes up your ass and tape it shut with duct tape you vapid whore," Saitoh snapped angrily.
"Your mother never loved you as a child, did she?" the woman questioned, fingering her hair.
Saitoh closed his eyes and swore under his breath, "Fuck it. Fuck it all to hell."
"I can see why, with language like that..." the woman pressed, leaning on the lowered window.
Saitoh glowered at the woman, and walked away stating, "If I ever see your annoying face again, I will hunt you down and kill you. I can assure you."
"I look forward to it," the woman responded as she blew him a kiss.
"Not if I kill you first," he shot over his shoulder as he walked away.
'She isn't worth my time at this moment. I need to get Shinta to Hiko and gather the information he collected,' he thought as he lit up a cigarette.
He sighed and shook his head as he opened the door to his car and strapped his seatbelt on. He checked once more in the backseat to make sure Shinta was alright. Seeing his phlegmatic form still there in the back seat, Saitoh grunted and turned the ignition key to start up the vehicle.
'Why me?' Saitoh thought as he pushed the gas pedal all the way down.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Soujiro ran a nervous hand through his pitch black hair as he walked away from the last meeting in Shishio's office. His lonely footsteps echoed in his tiny ears as his eyes stared blankly ahead of him in thought.
The meeting had been about plans to take over Urako Himura's power through any means necessary. They were prepared to use blackmail, threats, and overwhelming force to make her fall. Shishio was counting on the fact that Hiko was trying to put together his own version of the small time machine so that they could get Urako back. Shishio was proving to be a force to be reckoned with in these past few hours. He took out the one thing that he and his competetors wanted for themselves.
Shishio had men watching Himura's friends, affiliates, and family; who were waiting for his call to kill them or capture them. Shinta Himura, however, was under a personal watch by Saitoh. Soujiro's job was to give Saitoh some information about his next mission in Shishio's plans. Shishio had told Soujiro where the Wolf was to be heading and to catch him before he entered Hiko's hideout.
Soujiro needed to be strong for Urako, it was what she would have wanted. He needed to pull through this for her. She was the one who told him to go with Shishio and be her private mole. She didn't want her brother to know about his actions in obtaining valuable information from Shishio. So, she helped Soujiro fake his death and organize his death certificate and sending his valuables under another name. All this done in secret without anyone else knowing. Of course, Shishio was curious, but Soujiro had a viable alibi up his sleeve. He explained that he could work exceptionally better if he left his own life behind and devote his whole person in helping Shishio gain more power.
Soujiro turned a corner and jogged up a flight of stairs taking him out of the basement-like compound. He needed to get to Urako first when she got out of the past and tell her everything.
He checked his watch; it was around 4:00 p.m. He needed to get to Saitoh quickly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Misao got back to her room unscathed. Unscathed by Aoshi, that is. She sighed in relief when she successfully got her room and hobbled back her bed. It creaked and moaned from old age as she shifted to get a better position on it. She leaned her head back on her comfortable pillow and closed her eyes to think.
The door creaked open and a pair of heavy footfalls entered her room. Misao snapped open her eyes and looked toward her door.
"A-Aoshi!" she squeaked from surprise.
"Misao, have you been off your ankle today?" Aoshi questioned gently as he walked to her bedside.
Misao blushed and bit her lip as she responded, "Umm well, the thing is...Y'know.......Aoshi....I can explain-"
"So...you've been on it. Why do you hurt yourself more than you need to, Misao?" Aoshi asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
Misao sighed and looked down to her entwined fingers. "I was just worried about my friends, Aoshi."
"You know that we would never let them die Misao,"
"I know that Aoshi--but that doesn't stop me from worrying!" she shot back.
"I just don't want you to be any more hurt than you are. I know that your friends are important to you Misao. But..,"
Misao looked up into his icey stare, searching for the emotion she held for him in her own heart.
"But..?" she prompted.
"You're ....important to me, too," he said almost inaudibly as he gently caressed her face with his hand.
Misao's eyes widened and softed as she placed her hand ontop of his and leaned her face into his hand. Her lips parted in a genuine smile and brought his outstretched hand to her small lips.
She kissed his hand lightly replying, "You're so very important to me, too Aoshi."
Then, the most beautiful thing Misao had ever had beared wittness to, shined. Aoshi smiled. He smiled for her; letting his lips stretch further than a smirk. Letting his pearly white teeth peek out from behind his soft lips.
"Misao...I-"
"Yes?"
"I....I wanted to tell you, that I-"
"Aoshi, I love you,"
"..love you,"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~BEGINNING OF DREAM~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Where was Urako? She was supposed to be here! Why isn't she looking for me like she always does? Where did she go off to now? She promised that she'd never leave me! She promised! She never goes against her promises!
An empty cry echoed through the darkness; a cry of a young boy. Shinta realized he was the one who was crying; feeling the feeble vibration of his cracked voice against his throat.
He tried to stop himself from crying, from feeling pain and anguish. He felt exactly like he had when his parents were slaughtered and when he saw Urako take up a katana and protect him. He didn't want her to spill blood, he didn't want her to live her life alone.
"WHERE ARE YOU!!!" he screamed in pain.
"WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?" he choked on a sob as he felt his knees weaken under his weight.
But why was he feeling this way? He knew in his heart that he would see his sister again. She promised! Something must be seriously wrong to make him feel this way. The stress was building up and creating the worse case scenarios in his head. Urako would be back, he just knew it. This hopelessness he felt in his heart was just a figment of his dreams.
Yea...that was it......just a figment of his dreams....
~*~*~*~*~*~END OF DREAM~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Shut up, you moron," a voice snaked into his ears.
He groaned and closed his eyes tighter as he felt pain all over his body.
"You've been moanin' and groanin' the whole trip here, and not in a good way," the angered voice cracked again.
"Sai-Saitoh? What the hell-?"
"Shut up and I'll explain, kid. But first, where did you place those photographs?" Saitoh's voice cut in sharply.
Shinta opened his weary eyes and tried to focus his blurry vision on the smoking figure infront of him. He felt as if his body was lying down at a weird angle. He groaned and tried to remember where he put the photographs.
"I think they're underneath the front passenger seat," he groaned again," I'm not so sure, Saitoh."
"That's fine, that's good enough for me," he rushed, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the car door.
'Car door? Where am I?' Shinta thought as he tried to find where he was by touch.
He began to sit up, though the blood rushed to his head, making his head pound even more.
"Fuck!" he swore loudly as he clutched his head in his hands. His head began to feel like pins and needles as he remembered how he was tortured in Shishio's chambers.
'But how the hell did I end up in the back seat of Saitoh's car?' he groaned in pain.
"Mother fucker!" he screamed again,"I need some medical attention now!"
The car door opened and Saitoh's smoking figure came back in a rush, his cigarette crushed between his thinned lips. He placed something in his coat pocket and tossed the file folder of photographs on the front passenger seat of his car.
"Hold on to your nuts, kid, we're flyin' you to Hiko's place," Saitoh muttered as he turned the ignition and shifted the gears to Drive.
"I fucking hope so, my head is killing me," Shinta moaned.
Saitoh chuckled drove away from where ever they were. Shinta didn't know, nor did he care.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Soujiro watched as the car pulled away quickly and disappear behind a giant dust cloud. He completed his task and gave Saitoh the information he needed. Soujiro didn't know what was going to happen, nor could he find out for he was with another person. He only knew by feel of what he held, which was two time machines and a piece of paper. But he didn't know what they were for-they didn't feel as heavy as the ones he used, so they might be decoys.
"You done sight-seein', boy?" a voice snapped irritably.
Soujiro turned abruptly, smile in place, and replied cheerfully, "Of course Mr. Cho."
"Feh, whatever. Let's just get the hell out of here," he grumbled as he sat back in the leather seat of Soujiro's car.
Soujiro nodded silently and turned the ignition and shifted his car into Drive.
Something was nagging at him, something life-threateningly important, but Soujiro shrugged it off as he drove out of the Car Impound.
There was nothing to fear, Urako was coming back according to Shishio. Then, everything would be better. He would make sure of it.
The darkening sky groaned above them, telling them that the day had finally died.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N:::: That is it my kiddies!!! oooo interesting huh???? ^_^ hehehehehe--I hope so--so far, all ya'll who responded to 'What do you think?' are completely off course from what I have planned, so that is good, in my book. ^_^ *grins* Muahahahahahaahaaaaaaa!!!!! *composes self* I'm fine...I'm O....K.....^_^ chappie responses!!!
Elendair: *hugs pillow* YAY!! My pillow came back!! Woot! *snuggles against pillow*mmmm*looks up*...ummmmmm hey...everyone else...*blushes and clears throat* yea....*untightens her hold around her 'pillow' and walks a safe distance away* There's nothing to see here people!!! *grins* Ok Ok...here's Urako, Elendair ^_^
Urako:*pounces on Elendair and kisses him*Hehehehehe--mm I missed ya, love fuz!
Sano:...love fuz?...man YOU have issues with pet names....
Urako: -_- it's one of the many cute lil' names i have for Lap Kitty
Sano:There's another one...Why don't you just call him Elendair?
Urako:..B/c I only call him that wh-
OK!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sorry...we lost the feed to THAT conversation...0_0 *blushes*
Orion Kohaishu: Hey!!! That was sooooo hilarious when we did that!!! *laughs ass off* Dude....sugar high....at night time....completely dissing that guy as well....THAT wAs SOOOO FREAKIN FUNNY!!!!!! makin' him think we were one drunk person at your house....*laughs* So you CAN count to 20 without being naked!*laughs* ahh....too funny ^_^--Warning to all others reading this....Do not attempt to RP at night while drinking Sunkist....unless you are prepared to face the sugar high induced consequences. ^_^ **You flyin' the cuts straight sittin' on yo' ass gettin' your drink on and your snack on, while we floss n' fly this mo-fo all over this bitch. East coast, West Coast--it don't matter--ni'er we'll get you to your hoe n back again lickity split, no shit**--Ghetto Delta
KenshinObsession: OooO Thankies!!! *hugs* Reviews from you are so fun to read!! ^_^
KoishiiSweet: hehehehehe--I hope you like this chappie as well!!*hugs* Your reviews are gratifying to this unworthy one!*bows* I love them!! ^_^
Lara-Chan:I love your enthusiasm when reviewing my chappies!! It makes me smile, that it does!! *hugs* Thanks soo much ^_^