Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

A/N: Woot another chapter! I am really sorry that my updating has been so slow lately, blame it on Senior year, (but I think I have caught senioritis...) I wrote this while listening to Morning Musume... you would be surprised at what that music can do to you XD


"Where in Kami-sama's name do you think you're going?"

His reaction did not surprise her in the least bit, she had expected him to act like this. She couldn't really blame him, after all that she has put him through.

"Over the hill and through the woods." Kaoru replied sarcastically looking at her husband. She shook her head, and offered him a comforting smile, "I was waiting for you to catch up, we are meeting someone here."

"What are you up to?" He hated to be led around like this, "Have you lost your mind?" He kept his firm grip on her arm.

"The moment I met you," Kaoru retorted with every ounce of love. She put her hand on top of his to release his grip, "Saitou wanted us to wait here, we are going to be escorted to where Subaru's new mansion by one of his agents."

"And you couldn't have told me this earlier?" He asked, a little irked, she had tricked him, she was too sly for her own good.

"Absolutely not!" Kaoru snapped, "I know you better than you think Himura Kenshin, if I had told you earlier I would not be here, you would have most likely taken Sano with you instead. Not to mention if I had mentioned anything to you Aoshi, Misao, Yahiko, and the greater Tokyo area would have known. I will not put anyone else in danger, and I know neither will you." Her voice was like fire, and Kenshin was bound to get burned.

He just stared, 'She does know me better than I do, sometimes...' after another moment of silence Kenshin looked around, "When are we supposed to be meeting this 'undercover agent' of Saitou's?"

"You're not going to fight me on this?" Kaoru asked a little flabbergasted, that was way to easy.

"I know you better than you think as well," Kenshin replied "I know there is no point in arguing with you now."

Kaoru just stared at him with her mouth open. "Well that's just great! I left two hours early because I thought you would protest, like you always do!"

"Oro!" She really had planned this out, and now she had that look in her eyes, be careful rurouni don't say the wrong thing, "Where did you get the idea that I would..."

"...Do this on your own, Or choose Sanosuke, or someone else to go with you?" Kaoru said finishing his sentence.

"Erm, yeah basically." Kenshin said feeling a little dumb.

"History." Kaoru turned away to hide her smirk 'this is gonna confuse him... dense baka.'

"History?" He had no idea what she was talking about.

"Yes, history, do I have to list off all of the instances in chronological order?"

He didn't respond, she was getting angry, this was never a good thing.

"Lets just start with, Kanryuu Takeda shall we? It was okay for Yahiko, and Sanosuke to come along wasn't it? I mean Yahiko had been training for what a month? Yes he was perfectly able to handle anything!"

"Koishii..." He tried to calm her down, but it only added fuel to the fire.

"Don't you dare try to coddle me!" She yelled.

"Oro!" Duck and cover, duck and cover!

"I am sick and tired of being treated like I am some fine china that is to be looked at not touched," This had been building up inside for a long time now, it was a good thing that Kaoru had two hours to get this all off of her chest (poor Kenshin). "I was not forced to be thrown into my father's kendo teachings just so I can sit at home and twiddle my thumbs like every other woman! I will not do that!"

"I know Kaoru it's just that-" Kenshin tried to interject, but the poor rurouni went unheard.

"I will not be idle while others try to rescue my son!" her voice faltered and her shouting died to a dejected whisper, "I failed him once, it will not happen again."

Kenshin wrapped his arms around her, "Have you been holding this in all this time?"

Kaoru sighed, and nodded, relishing in the security he gave her.

"Am I interrupting something?" A masculine voice cut through the night air, "You are the one's Captain Fujita asked to take down Subaru?"

Kaoru's breath caught at the sound of the familiar voice, "You!" she took a step back, "Seiju's brother!"

The man bowed his head, "I cannot begin to apologize for what I have done to you, I could not go easier on you, I was ordered by Subaru to kill you, I tried hard not to put you through to much."

"..." She remembered quite clearly what she had gone through, "And the mental torment? You could have at least spared me that."

"Once again, I do not expect you to forgive me, I do not deserve it, I was under strict orders nothing more." The man bowed apologetically.

"Remind me to yell at Saitou later..." Kaoru said under her breath to Kenshin.

"Just yell at him?" he highly doubted that was all she would do, Saitou should be afraid, hell hath no fury like a tanuki scorned. Kenshin shuttered at the fate that the mibu wolf was sure to endure.

"We should leave," Seiju's brother interrupted, "It will be dawn in a few hours, and Captain Fujita wants us to report to him by noon."

And so they walked. Silence fell quickly on the trio, each with there own thoughts. Kenshin, about the task that lies ahead, can he protect his loved ones, and save Japan at the same time? Kaoru, dwelling on the past, could she really trust this man claiming to be an officer of Saitou's? The officer, wondering what Captain Fujita is planning at that very moment.

-

Saitou sneezed, damn the fool who was talking about him!

He had been thinking everything over, hopefully the raccoon wouldn't mess this up. He wouldn't have anyone else caught up mess in this Subaru had created. It was bad enough he had to stoop so low as to ask for the Battousai's assistances, but the fact that he had to leave getting him out without anyone following him to Kaoru was a sad prospect. But the alternative was much worse, especially if it meant working with the weasel girl, and the Okashira. He shuttered, the thought of Misao coming within a fifty foot radius of him was just too much, that girl was just too happy, and loud for her own good.

He looked down at the mansion; it was at the base of a cliff, 'No doubt having a tunnel escape route, the coward.' Saitou thought to himself. Below he could see men by the hundreds going through what looked like drills, 'Crazy freak of a coward,' he corrected his thoughts.

Subaru, he was not a smart man, nothing of the sort, but he had this commanding, and leadership roll about him. If his ideas weren't so twisted, and his belief's weren't based on dictatorship, and Darwinian philosophy ((A/N: I know this is like 20 years ahead of Darwin... but you get the point.)), he may have been a great leader. That fact made the mibu wolf shutter again, but what made him even more uneasy was Subaru's power to manipulate people. It had worked on those men down there. Saitou wasn't about to let the rest of Japan fall into that kind of trap.

Even if it was the last thing he did.


To be continued...

A/N: I never miss my chance on making Kaoru yell at poor Kenshin :evil cackle: not that he doesn't deserve it sometimes. XD

Does anyone know if I spelled Kanryuu Takeda right? I let a friend borrow my manga so I couldn't check my spelling.

Until the next chapter!