Disclaimer: Um…about owning Rurouni Kenshin…I'm still working on that one…
Author's Note: Firstly, I LOVE my wonderful reviewers! You guys are the best! Talk about inspiration ::does happy dance::. I've even got a beta reader now! Okay, I realize some of you may be a wee bit confused, but don't worry you're supposed to be. I planned this story out to be, among other things, an action/mystery. Also, character pairings will be cannon with a little bit of Battousai thrown in. That means you can look forward to BxKxK, SxM, and AxM. Unlike the previous chapter, this chapter will be longer than the last and you can expect somewhere around this length in chapters to come. Lastly, this chapter will be significantly lighter in mood with considerably less angst. Don't worry, the story will be more along the line of what you saw in the first chapter with darker emotional tones. However, I do need to get the plot up and rolling before all the heavy angst stuff kicks in. Enjoy!
Italics character thoughts
Bold Italics past conversation being remembered
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Crimson Tide
Chapter 2: The White Crane
"Misao."
There was no response.
"Misao, are you sure you know where you're going?"
Still no response. Kamiya Kaoru grated her teeth at the sight of the younger girl before her who was currently doing her best to ignore Kaoru's inquires. Growling, Kaoru tried again.
"You know Misao, as much as it pains me to question the senses of an Oniwabanshuu member…I am beginning to believe you have utterly no idea where this noodle house is!"
"What?!" The girl cried in indignation. "How could you even think that?"
Well that got her attention. Kaoru thought wryly. "Maybe the fact that we have been wandering around Kyoto for over twenty minutes now. Honestly, I don't know how you managed to track your Aoshi down."
Makimachi Misao shot Kaoru a look that promised pain. In reality, Misao had been no closer to finding Aoshi then she had ever been before Himura Kenshin came along. Kaoru, however, did not need to know that.
"In matters of my Aoshi-sama, its sheer instinct. The bonds between us are so strong that nothing can separate owwwww!" Misao was forced to paused her romantic ramblings long enough to nurse her now injured foot. "That hurt, Kaoru! Besides, what do you care if the noodle house has moved?"
"It hasn't moved" Kaoru screeched while lunging at Misao. "You just can't find it!"
Misao ducked as the temperamental kenjutsu instructor took a swing at her and danced around the many stalls in order to find refuge. "It's a beautiful day. Just enjoy the scenery!"
"Misao, its almost noon and over ninety five degrees! What am I supposed to be enjoying?" Kaoru cried while trying to catch Misao despite the constriction of movement caused by her garment.
"Well maybe if you didn't wear those awful kimonos you wouldn't be so hot! How many layers does that thing have anyway?" Misao countered while dancing into a nearby narrow alley.
"Too many…" Kaoru muttered. "Besides, not all of us have Oniwabanshuu gear to wear."
"Well I could have loaned you some if you had only asked nicely." Misao chirped while ducking behind some overhanging laundry to avoid another one of Kaoru's swings.
Exhausted from her losing battle against her garment, Kaoru finally gave up and leaned wearily against the wooden frame of the building beside her.
"That still doesn't help my current kimono. It will take forever for me to wash out the sweat and dust stains"
"Why don't you get Himura to wash it?" Misao questioned, still careful to keep the drying laundry between her and Kaoru. "He's the one with the laundry fetish after all."
"Kenshin has…" Kaoru paused. "He hasn't been doing any chores lately."
"Yeah I noticed," Misao snorted, "When you said you were coming to Kyoto we offered for the Kenshin-gumi to stay at the Aoiya in hopes of getting a free house-keeper. So far we've been very disappointed." Misao concluded, coming to stand by Kaoru.
"Kenshin has allot on his mind lately." Kaoru gave Misao a halfhearted nudge. "He has…this place brings back old memories." She whispered.
"He really hates Kyoto, doesn't he?" Misao questioned.
Kaoru could only nod.
It was true. Kenshin wouldn't even be in Kyoto if not for her. She had received a legal document summoning her to Kyoto to pick up an inheritance left in a will. In reality, the inheritance was for her father, Kamiya Koshijiro, and was left by one of his old friends who had recently died. The friend apparently had not known of Kamiya Koshijiro's death years earlier and had desired to leave a piece of his estate to his fondest companion from his youth. Since Koshijiro had no successor and no remaining male relatives the inheritance was transferred to Kaoru.
The sum of money was by no means large. However, any funds were needed by Kaoru who supported Yahiko, Kenshin, and the occasional freeloading of Sanosuke. Kenshin, the eternal worrywart, insisted on his and Yahiko's escorting Kaoru to Kyoto to pick up the money despite his personal misgivings towards the city. Unfortunately, in the transaction process, the bank housing the records and will had burnt down in a recent fire. This caused considerable delays and only heightened the dispute amidst the bickering of the deceased man's kin who opposed any portion of the estate going to a single female kenjustsu instructor who was boarding the former Hitokiri Battousai. Needless to say, the extended stay in Kyoto had put immense strain on Kenshin.
"No…well maybe…"
Kaoru sighed and redirected her attention to Misao who seemed to be rambling on about something.
"Kaoru," Misao flashed the girl one of her brightest smiles. "I think we should go this way."
------
Sake.
Kenshin paused his sweeping to stare at the empty bottle lying on the lawn. It was half crusted with dirt, most likely discarded a while ago.
Hiko always used to leave his sake bottles lying around.
Kenshin's grip on the broom tightened.
He had been meaning to see his former master.
"Once you have mastered the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, you will never give into the hitokiri again."
Kenshin could feel him stirring underneath the surface of his conscientiousness. His presence had only grown stronger over the past months. The extended stay at Kyoto had only made things worse.
Kenshin had mastered the Hiten Mitsurugi's ultimate succession technique.
But the Battousai still remained.
Why haven't you gone?
Kenshin rubbed his temples in agitation. He had acknowledged the fact that he needed to see his Shishou as soon as he had arrived in Kyoto. But he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Fear.
Kenshin sighed heavily. He was afraid. Possibly more so than he had been in years. He was afraid of what his Shishou might tell him. Afraid that the Battousai would no longer emerge in battle but his presence would haunt his every-day life. Afraid that the Battousai was no longer a mere manifestation of his bloodlust side, but a part of him that had matured as a separate personality over the years.
Afraid of what the Battousai wanted.
Kenshin was not blind. Lately, the biggest struggles, the incidents where Kenshin had to fight the hardest to keep the Battousai submerged, always occurred in the presence of one common factor.
One common person, to be specific.
His grip on the broom tightened considerably. Kenshin resumed his sweeping…
…his thoughts turning to the scent of jasmine.
------
A smoky haze filled the small room. Slender slits of light fell between the wall's sidings but failed to cast any sufficient light on the room's elderly occupant. Seigawa Toshiro sat behind a Western style desk cluttered with papers and chewed absently at the cigarette caught between his lips. Utterly absorbed in his thoughts, he failed to hear the first knock and only responded when a muffled voice sounded from behind the door.
"Come in." Toshiro's horse voice resounded.
"Sir." A tall man with dark features entered the room. His face lay impassive underneath the hood of his oversized forehead and gaunt cheekbone shadowed his sides. At his waist hung a wakizashi and katana.
"Iwao." Toshiro did not bother to look up at the man.
"Sir, we have had a mishap."
Toshiro still did not direct his gaze towards Higashido Iwao. "And?"
"It has been taken care of."
"That is good." A puff of smoke rose towards the ceiling. "What happened?"
"An accountant, one of the new ones, found a discrepancy in the records." Iwao strained to see the reaction of his boss. Failing in the dim light, he continued. "I am sure he would have alerted Reijirou immediately."
Toshiro glanced up. "Did he?"
"No. I disposed of him."
"That's what I like about you, Iwao." Toshiro said in a gruff chuckle. "You're fast."
"Speed had nothing to do with it." Iwao responded darkly "I received a letter from several of the sailors complaining about not being reimbursed. They had purposely entered their expenses into the accounting books to circumvent it from happening again. I tracked down the books just as Getsu was reading them."
"Getsu, huh? I haven't heard of him." Toshiro leaned forward in sudden agitation. "Anyway, how the hell did the ship crew not get paid?"
Iwao merely shrugged. "I'm guessing the payment transactions got lost in the bank fire."
"So our actions have consequences do they" Toshiro murmured, regaining his previous calm demeanor. Leaning back in the oversized chair he let a slight smile trace his lips. "What would you suggest now?"
"Sir," Iwao shifted slightly. "I am sure you already have a plan."
"I do." Toshiro's face crinkled as his expression exuded benevolence. "But I do not hire the empty headed. I select those with intellect. My employers are an extension of both my fist and mind. Surely you can not fault me for asking your opinion?"
The old man's words were warm and lulling. In that moment, Toshiro seemed nothing more than a frail old man asking the opinion of his dearest companion.
He's testing me.
Iwao inwardly smiled at the thought. Toshiro did not need to test him on such matters. Toshiro always had and would have a way of wielding power. And information was power. Only a fool would withhold what he knew from the old man.
"Sir, I would make sure all the accountants are my subordinates."
Toshiro arched a delicate eyebrow, "Aren't they?"
"Almost. Getsu Shohei was one of Reijirou's hand picks. He was a fluke that we had our eye one anyway. But," Iwao paused as his massive brows furrowed. "There is another."
"One of Reijirou's hand picked flunkies?"
"I'm not sure."
The benevolent old man was gone. Before Iwao sat a hardened businessman with a contemplative gleam in his eye. Iwao had a sneaking suspicion that Toshiro already knew all this.
"So we have a little sparrow, do we?"
"Possibly," Iwao felt reluctant to give a definite answer when he was still unsure himself. "The information is still unclear."
The papers were flung from the desk in a violent motion from Toshiro's fist. The resounding crash of the lamp that had been so callously swept aside rang unnaturally loud in Iwao's ears. Toshiro's words echoed in the following stillness.
"Clip the bird's wings."
------
For once in her life, Makimachi Misao was actually considering the possibility that she may have been wrong. After creating a few short cuts she seemed no closer to finding that blasted noodle-house than she had been that morning. Currently she and Kaoru were wandering through a back alley behind several shops and, due to the dirty look of the place, she was sure they were in a disreputable part of town.
Misao shook her head. Being in such a seedy area was beginning to make her nervous.
Or maybe the sounds of Kaoru beginning to growl behind her had more to do with it.
"Misao…" Kaoru's voice had taken on a tone that promised pain and lots of it.
Misao was about to turn and flash Kaoru one of her winning smiles when she stopped suddenly."If we don't find that noodle-house soon kami-sama help me I'll-ack!" Busy seething, Kaoru slammed into Misao's no-longer moving frame.
"Kaoru!" Misao cried. "Do you smell that?"
"I'LL KILL YOU!" A very irate Kaoru lunged for Misao's throat.
"The noodles!" Misao cried while trying to avoid being throttled. "Kaoru, I smell the noodles being cooked!"
Kaoru paused, "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Misao took an experimental sniff. "Yes I'm sure! They have to be! Only one person in Kyoto makes noodles that smell like that and that's Mizue!"
"Who's Mizue?" Kaoru's momentary anger disappeared at the prospect of being fed.
"Yorishima Mizue is the owner and chief of the noodle house I've been telling you about!"
"Well then lets go!" Kaoru dashed off in the general direction of the noodle house.
"Hey!" Not wanting to be outdone Misao ran after her companion. "You were the one asking dumb questions!"
"There it is! I see it!" The back of what appeared to be a restaurant came into view.
Kaoru paused and turned to Misao.
"Come on," she extended her hand. "Lets go around to the-mou!"
Misao grabbed Kaoru's hand and hurtled through the back door.
"-front." Kaoru finished.
"Mizue!" Misao exclaimed before tackling a very startled girl at a stove.
"Misao?" The girl faltered. "What are you doing here?"
"We've been looking for you all morning and we're starving!" Misao had still not let go of the girl.
"We…?" Mizue extracted herself from Misao's bear hug.
"Kamiya Kaoru." Kaoru bowed politely. "Pleased to meet you Yorishima-san."
"Feed us!" Misao exclaimed. "We've been looking for your restaurant all morning."
"Misao…" Mizue's face drained of all color. "Do you have any idea where you are?"
"Forgive us for intruding in on your cooking" Kaoru gave Misao a pointed look. "Misao just wanted to see you. We will go to the front of the restaurant and be seated."
"No!" Mizue grabbed Kaoru's sleeve. "Please, you have to leave!"
"But we're starving!" Misao cried.
"Please, you don't…" Mizue faltered. "Misao, you're in a brothel."
------
"Seta Soujirou." The words slipped unheeded from his lips. Formality had been momentarily forgotten by the rurouni.
"Himura-san," the Tenkan gave a deep bow. "Shinomori-san informed me of your stay here. I am truly grateful to see you again, albeit under different circumstances. There is something I must ask."
The rurouni paused his sweeping and returned the gesture. "Forgive me for my rudeness, Seta-dono. Sessha was merely sweeping the steps of the Aoiya, de gozaru ya."
"There will be an occasion when I need to speak with the Rurouni," Soujirou's features distorted slightly as his smile widened. "However, for now I wish to speak with Kenshin. There is no need for masks."
Kenshin's face was tilted downwards, the shadow of his red bangs hiding his eyes from view. "Yet yours are no different from mine."
------
Last night he had symptoms of respiratory failure.
Takani Megumi felt a heavy weight descend on her chest.
You've seen this before.
"Kanryu."
Yes.
Megumi shook her head vehemently.
Poor thing. You just can't escape the spider's web.
"Kami-sama not again." She whispered.
And you thought you had forgotten.
Why was it now she had to remember? These feelings of self-loathing that welled up inside of her and threatened to suffocate her cool demeanor. Kanryu was the past. He should stay there.
She hadn't remembered this last night. There was no time for self-pity when Sanosuke had hovered on the verge of consciousness at her doorstep. She recognized the symptoms of an over-dose immediately, her mind taking in the blue of his lips, nails and even tongue when he drawled. The pupils of Sanosuke's had eyes dilated briefly before he began to convulse wildly. Megumi had immediately taken hold of his wrist and almost recoiled at the rapid rate of his pulse. Still convulsing he lost consciousness, his shallow breathing dying in a sputtered wheeze. She had immediately given him mouth to mouth, relieved when his constrained breathing resumed even as he remained unconscious.
He had gone into a shallow coma.
There was nothing else she could do besides keep watch over him. She had known he was drugged; the symptoms of respiratory failure were obvious. It could have been caused by a number of things, even the alcohol on his breath. But she had known.
He said he knew.
The thought made her want to cry. Sanosuke had known what was happening. Megumi shook her head violently as the unwanted tear slipped down her cheek.
"I've never seen a kitsune cry."
Nothing could have made her regain her composure better than the sound of that feeble voice. Megumi leveled her seething glare at the now awake patient before her.
"Sagara Sanosuke," she hissed, her voice dropping dangerously "what were you doing taking opium."
"So that's what they put in the drink…" Sanosuke inhaled sharply as he felt the doctor's fingers snake around his neck.
"How dare you knowingly take opium and then come staggering to me for help!"
"I didn't know…" He gasped feeling her choke hold leave him. "…I didn't know they had drugged me until it was too late…"
------
Kaoru wasn't sure whether to hug Misao or strangle her.
On one hand, she had made a new friend in Mizue, and currently had the most precious child on earth on her lap. She was also eating what had to be the world's most heavenly noodles in a cool back room away from the oppressive summer heat.
On the other hand, the cool back room happened to be situated in the back of a brothel and her new friend Mizue happened to work in that brothel.
Misao could be very persuasive when she wanted to. For the life of her, Kaoru couldn't remember how Misao convinced her to eat in a brothel, albeit the employees-only back section of one.
Oniwabanshuu mind tricks maybe?
Kaoru grinned at the thought. Her hunger probable had more to do with things than any persuasion on Misao's part.
"What? But you work in the noodle house…you own the place! Why would you be in…in a brothel?"
Any lapse in the conversation on Kaoru's part was being eagerly filled by the chatty Misao. Kaoru was too busy playing with the hair of the girl in her lap, thoroughly enchanted by the unusual brown curls, to bother competing with Misao for a word in edgewise anyway.
"The noodle house burned down in the fire." Mizue appeared to be on the verge of tears. "I had borrowed money to buy the place, it was my home as well. After the fire I was homeless, in debt and without a job…"
Kaoru couldn't help but feel sympathy for Mizue. All lingering embarrassment immediately vanished.
Kaoru, the sweaty female kenjutsu instructor who has taken in the Hitokiri Battousai and adopted a pickpocket. Who am I to judge her?Kaoru's cheeks turned red from shame. Unconscientiously she gripped the young girl in her lap tighter. How could she have been so judgmental?
"Sachimi." A grey haired woman opened the door. "Lunch is over, Sachimi. It's time for your nap."
The little girl looked up from her spot on Kaoru's lap with wide green eyes. Smiling brightly she waved her chopsticks for emphasis.
"Not finished." She shook her curly head and pointed to Misao. "She ate all the food!"
Misao looked up with a mouth full of noodles and scowled. It was obvious that Sachimi's comment was not appreciated by Misao. Helpless to stop it, Kaoru burst out laughing.
"Maybe we should call you Buta-chan from now on!"
"Oi!" Misao jumped up. "Us Oniwabanshuu member have to keep our strength up, Tanuki-chan!"
Chaos ensued. Within seconds the two girls were bickering, Misao's chopsticks puncturing the air in animated exclamations of how she was not fat. The old woman's soft exclamations were lost under the hubbub of Kaoru's outrage over her much-hated nickname
"Who are you calling a Tanuki, Itachi-chan?!"
"Don't call me that!" Misao, whose temper if possible was shorter than Kaoru's, lunged forward.
No one expected what happened next. Within seconds, the old woman had pushed Misao against the back wall, her chest heaving as she gripped the girl's shoulders tightly.
"You're…" The old woman's voice cracked with sudden emotion. " You're a member of the Oniwabanshuu?"
A startled Misao could only nod.
"Thank kami-sama." The old woman slumped in relief, her vice-like hands falling limply to her side. A heavy silence weighed down on the room as the sudden change of atmosphere choked around its occupants.
"Ushiromi?" Mizue's voice sounded in a soft whisper. If the old woman heard her, she ignored it. It was impossible to tell if any sound had penetrated the intensity that surrounded Ushiromi.
"Please tell me…is Nenji-san still alive?"
Misao visibly paled.
"How do you know…" she inhaled sharply, "Jiya's name…"
Ushiromi's eyes darkened as her fragile frame trembled. Swaying slightly, she reached with tapered fingers and traced the contours of Misao's face.
"Child, as a member of the Oniwabanshuu…you must do me this last favor."
------
"So you have decided to become a rurouni."
Soujirou's smile twisted. "Yes."
A slight breeze rustled the shoji doors behind the two figures on the porch. The hollow cry of the wind chime the only sound between the two.
Soujirou broke the silence. "I am seeking redemption."
Kenshin turned towards the young man. "It is a long road to travel by."
Soujirou's grip around his teacup tightened. "I know."
Kenshin shifted slightly and placed his empty teacup down.
" I have yet to find mine." Kenshin sighed. "I can not offer you something I have yet to obtain."
"I did not come to seek my redemption from you."
Silence settled over the porch's occupants. The resonant cries of the wind chime had long since faded leaving a hollowness in the air.
"What did you come for?"
Soujirou lifted his eyes from the shadow of his bangs.
"A purpose."
A small smile traced Kenshin's lips. "A purpose to live."
"Yes"
"I had always lived," Kenshin's eyes meet Soujirou's, "because I was too unworthy to die."
"You lie." His knuckle tightened. "Guilt does not give you the strength to live, only to continue. You are actually –living-."
"Soujirou," Kenshin smiled warmly, "life itself is the biggest purpose…"
"Kenshin."
Kenshin looked up to find Kaoru and Misao at the gate. He cast a quick glance to Soujirou who nodded his head. The conversation would be continued later.
Kenshin's countenance flickered briefly. Soujirou's smile twisted as he watched the mask slide firmly into place, the purple eyes widening as a silly grin spread across his face. It happened in a matter of seconds, the harmless rurouni front was now standing before Soujirou, politely questioning Kaoru and Misao on the subject of lunch and smiling at their apparent enthusiasm. Soujirou remained in the shadow of the porch.
"Kaoru-dono, Misao-dono," Kenshin cleared his throat and extended a hand towards Soujirou. "…we have a guest."
Misao stiffened and reached for her kunai.
"Aoshi brought him."
Misao visibly relaxed. Above all else, she trusted her Aoshi-sama. Kaoru, not recognizing Soujirou, made a mental note to question Misao about her initial discomfort later.
"We have another guest." Kaoru bent down and tugged at the bottom of her skirt.
It was then Kenshin saw the little girl behind her, tightly clutching the folds of Kaoru's kimono.
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A/N:
Still interested? I hope so because I'm just getting started (pulls out rather lengthy plot guide). Heheheh. I almost feel sorry for the Kenshin-gumi…
As always, please hit that review button as hard as you can! Remember, nothing cures a lazy writer's procrastination like a good review!
Glossary:
a.Buta-chan – Buta is Japanese for pig. So Buta-chan is essentially calling Misao pig girl instead of weasel girl.
b.Tanuki-chan – Raccoon girl. Saitoh, the bestower of nicknames in Rurouni Kenshin, was the first to call Kaoru this. Understandably, Kaoru doesn't appreciate being compared to a Raccoon (actually, a Tanuki is a raccoon dog, but all the translations call her raccoon girl).
c.Itachi-chan – Weasel girl. Once again, Saitoh thought this one up and Misao hates it when people use it. Maybe that's why everyone in RK hates his/her nicknames. After all, if Saitoh thinks up the name it can't be nice.
d.Sessha – This unworthy one. Sessha is Kenshin's way of saying I in RK. Irritating yes (Kenshin is anything but unworthy), but its one of Kenshin's trademark Rurouni expressions. Personally I prefer the masculine 'ore' that the Battousai uses.
d.De gozaru ka/yo/ya - Kenshin tacks on this polite and very formal inflection ending all the time. Almost impossible to translate, the closest counterpart is 'that it is'. 'Ka' is used when it's a question, 'Yo' when it is a statement that needs emphasis, and 'Ya' when it is merely a statement. Sometimes, he just goes with 'de gozaru' (that's Kenshin for you, always tripping you up). It was common to samurai and ninja, because they usually serve masters, and it's a very archaic form of 'de gozaimasu'. In the RK series, Kenshin is the only one who uses it because he's so cool no one cares if his speech is in a time warp. Now if Saitoh said 'de gozaru' we'd all be seriously disturbed…
e.Sama - Can mean master, lord, or the speaker's Superior in terms of being a direct inferior/servant/rank in the military of the one being addressed.
f.San - Connotes a politeness, and mild formality, like Ms. or Mr., usually applied with acquaintances, new or otherwise.
g.Dono - Much more formal than "san". It's also Ms. or Mr., but this can connote that the one speaking is inferior to the one being addressed but not directly under his/her command. Kenshin is really the only one who uses this because he has an inferiority complex. Hehehe…
h.Chan - Connotes familiarity. Used between friends, usually among girls. Girls can also address men this way, but then they would have to have a very personal relationship with the man, like a boyfriend, or a cousin, or a friend since childhood, or a brother, etc.