Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue

A/N: Who has Kenji? Will it be revealed in this chapter? Or will I be evil and delay the truth? Mwahahahahahahaha!

Thank you to all of you who keep on reviewing!

I apologize about this chapter, it has to be one of the worse one's I have written for this story so far. Please bear with me, I promise the end is near XD


The sun was setting when Kenshin left, he had convinced Kaoru to stay behind. His battle with her seemed a little too easy, was this a bad sign for his upcoming one with Subaru? He hoped not.

0-0-0

Kaoru was mad. Did she not just have a conversation with her husband pertaining to something very similar to this? She would show him, she would show all of them. Kamiya erm... Himura Kaoru would not be left behind. Kaoru left when she was certain that Saitou had lead his battalion to the front gates.

She stealthily snuck up to the manor in the dead of night. Today must have been her lucky day, there was an open window and double her luck, she could actually reach it! As silently as she could, Kaoru vaulted through the window landing in a crouch looking for anyone who would attack her, but the room was empty.

'They must all be occupied by Saitou,' she surmised smirking at the wolf's plan, as she went to open the door across the room from the window she had entered through. Grabbing the handle she let out an inaudible yelp when someone grabbed her wrist.

"What do you think you are doing?" It was Yuji.

"Did you follow me?"

"Captain Fujita said to keep an eye on you," He replied simply. "He said you would do something like this."

"Well it's nice that Saitou cares." Kaoru mumbled sarcastically, not completely comfortable having Yuji being her babysitter.

"We need to get out of here, if Subaru finds you-"

"Indeed," Replied an amused voice that was neither Kaoru, nor Yuji. "It looks like you are too late Yuji, for I have found the little bird."

Kaoru gulped, 'Just my luck to run into Subaru unprepared.'

"I am shocked, Hayao Yuji, a member of one of my most trusted families, is the rat. You boy will experience a fate worse that my little bird will."

"I will not go down without a fight." Yuji declared lunging at Subaru, "Run!"

Subaru backhanded the man, and grabbed for Kaoru in one swift motion. "I don't think so." Knocking the girl out he flung her limp body over his shoulder like a rag doll. He was going to have fun this time around, he would save Yuji for later, right now he had a little bird to torture.

0-0-0

Figures that this mansion would be hard to find your way around in, Kenshin was just grateful that this one didn't have any traps. He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he had passed by that picture at least three times. 'Why couldn't Saitou give me a map?'

'Maybe he thought you were competent enough, guess he was wrong.' Well, well, his other side wants to talk today? Could his day get any worse?

Some one should have told Kenshin to knock on wood.

'Okay,' he thought to himself, 'I went left last time, so this time I will go right.' Boy was the rurouni on it today!

Slowly, Kenshin made his way through the shadows, creeping ever closer to Subaru. He hadn't felt such a need to bring a person to justice like this in a long time.

0-0-0

Saitou grumbled to himself, it was most likely something about idiots who don't know how to put up a good fight.

The barriers around the manor were easy to breakdown, and a pile of unconscious ahous -as he liked to call them- littered the ground in testament to his grumbling. He was directing whoever was idle to throw the fools into carts, and ship them off to be contained until they could be shipped off to a prison.

A few things were on his mind. The first being if the battousai had taken care of Subaru yet. Or, had he screwed up miserably and would be needing his help? He hoped not. The other thing lingering in the back of his mind was where the hell Chou was, how long did it take to locate a brat? Especially one that stuck out like a sore thumb (much like his idiot father).

0-0-0

He was tired, his feet hurt, and he still was no closer to finding the little monster than he was four hours ago.

Chou sat on a rock, the air was humid too, making his broom-like hair flop right in his face. 'Damn Saitou for putting me on baby duty!' he thought pathetically. He was having a pity party, and no one was going to stop him.

"Broom-head?" Except for maybe that.

"What the hell is a rooster like you doing here?" The worst of it was that the baka rooster wasn't alone, tagging along was a weasel, an iceman, and that brat kid, whatever his name was. "Go to hell!" His day just kept getting worse.

Having his balls chopped off by Subaru was looking pretty welcoming right now.

"Now that's not a nice thing to say," Misao said feeling the need to make Chou's day all the more painstaking. "So, Broom, or should I say mop, you know that hair just doesn't suite you..." She said at a mile per second, "Anyway," She continued slowing down a pace. "I know you're in on this, why don't you tell us which way Kaoru and Himura went?"

"The wolf had a suspicion that you would show up. He alerted every officer that, if they saw any of you, they were to arrest you on site." Chou rubbed his temples the weasel was not helping his newly developing migraine.

Aoshi grunted, it was probably his stone-faced form of a laugh, but it worked on Chou.

"Screw you all! I have work to do. I don't have time to lead your asses anywhere."

"What kind of work, broom-head?" Yahiko chimed in.

"That would be classified information, brat." Chou stood up and popped his neck, as if limbering up for a fight.

"I think we should hold him down and unclassify the information, what do you say ice-man?" Sanosuke said approaching Chou with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"That has to be the best thing you thought of all day," Aoshi responded viciously, surprising everyone present, pulling out one of his kodachi he approached Chou. He was followed close behind by a kunai bearing weasel and a shinai carrying brat.

"Okay, yeesh, no need to get violent." Chou said backing down, "I am looking for the Himura's spawn, he's been kidnapped from Subaru."

"WHAT!"

And from that point on Chou's migraine got much worse.

0-0-0

Kaoru came to in a fuzzy haze that was reminiscent of the last time Subaru had abducted her. She was on something soft and had covers pulled up to her shoulders. She blinked a few times to clear her vision. What she saw made her stomach churn, she was facing Subaru, and lying in a western style bed.

"Nice to see you awake bird." His voice was soft, but to her it was dangerously soft.

"Oh my Kami!" She hissed out, before she scurried backwards until she hit a cold hard floor and backed all the way to the wall. Kaoru scrambled to her feet looking for something to use as a weapon. Spotting a vase she grabbed it and brandished it over her head.

"Now bird, you aren't actually thinking about taking me on with a vase are you?" His eyes played between amusement and disbelief. "I killed your brother easy enough and he had a sword at his side."

Kaoru threw it at his face distracting him long enough for her to grab the flimsy wooden chair beside her, and break it over the man's back ((a/n: it works, trust me)). It was enough to bring him down long enough to vault over him and run out into the hall where she was grabbed by something very strong, and very solid. Kaoru almost had it in her to scream, but the figure stopped her by clamping a callused hand over her mouth.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

To be continued...


A/N: Next chapter, all will be revealed mwahahaha! Oh and to let you know, someone will be having a bag of cyber-cookies of their choosing at the end of the next chapter.