Disclaimer: Well, what can I say? I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any creations from it. Now let's go and see our RK kiddies in action....
AN: I did say that this was supposed to be a 'cheerful' fic. My apologies for making it darken for the past couple of chapters... I hope another update as well as some (hopefully) humour would make it all up for you guys and gals out there. /smiles/ Enjoy! Thank you all very much for your support! You're all an inspiration! And best wishes to all for the new year!
Hidden in Study - Chapter 15 - By Cherry Chibi
- - - - Previously - - - -
It was dark. So dark. She couldn't tell where she was with the blindfold screening over her eyes. Misao's fingertips managed to scratch the surface of the earth that lay still underneath her. She had tried her best. Flailing her arms and legs as well as biting the hands that grabbed her. She had attempted to escape only to be beaten and thrown back to her spot.
Who were her kidnappers? Why did they want her? She didn't know the answers so she decided to stay safe and remain where she was. Hopefully someone will come for her. Hopefully someone will come for her safety. She hoped and she prayed for it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
She was on unfamiliar ground. This really wasn't what she needed right now, it was like completing another step in making her grave. 'Um... maybe... I came from that direction...' Kaoru headed straight for a tall and very old looking tree that looked like it marked the corner of a mulch covered path. As soon as she got there, she stopped and looked around desperately. From fear and frustration, she could feel the tears coming up. 'Oh please... just let someone find me... anybody...'
She couldn't have run away so far from the school right? She couldn't have gone so far to a point where no one would walk by because there was a path along here. Kaoru closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. "Alright," She said out loud, "I know that I'm feeling... scared... and... really scared... but I have to think. I have to be smart..."
"You seem lost... need any of my help?" A young female voice said from behind.
Hope exploded and Kaoru almost jumped. "Really?! Thank you so much!" She looked at the other girl with a slight amusement. 'What's up with the rags...?' Kaoru thought to herself as she examined the girl. Well, her 'saviour' wasn't exactly wearing rags but it looked it. There were white bandaged wrapped tightly around the wrists, ankles and forehead... the edges of the clothes looked stained from dirt and worn out. Besides the clothing and bandages, Kaoru could see that she had very clear eyes and brown hair. She looked about Kaoru's age, or else slightly younger.
The girl felt Kaoru's examination rather nerve racking and tried to ward off the embarrassing feeling by forcing a cough and turning her face away. "My name's..."
"SHUURA!!! GET YOUR LAZY SELF RIGHT HERE NOW!!!!" The sudden roar caused the girl to shriek. Her eyes looked as if they had suddenly bulged out of her skull. "SHUURA!"
"I'm coming!" Shuura coughed out her reply. It looked as though she really had a scare from hearing the male voice. Turning immediately to Kaoru and said, "Quickly, hide." After a moment of making sure that Kaoru hid safely behind a few thick bushes, she rushed off towards the direction of the voice.
"SHUURA!"
"I said I'm coming!"
'What's that about?' Kaoru thought to herself. The shouts were relentless and it caught Kaoru's curiosity. 'Maybe I should... follow.'
- - - -
The girls held a private meeting in Tsubame's room. Their whispers bounced off the walls and reflected upon their worried faces. Megumi, Aya and Tsubame were seated in a small triangle. Aya had to return home after her older brother gave her the narrow 'evil' eye. 'Sheesh... every time he gives me that look, it gives me the chills.' She thought while rolling her shoulders back a little. "I can't believe what a mess has been made..."
"I second you on that." Megumi added to Aya's remark. Tsubame simply nodded. "There is a list of problems that we have to worry about. First, Misao has been kidnapped and Kaoru is no where to be found. Second, there is a risk that those two would have their identities exposed among the guys..." She scowled with the pain of having to do some more problem solving.
"There are still years to go before school finishes... so we can't let people find out about them." Tsubame said quietly, "I don't want them to be forced to leave either..."
"But Saitoh already knows about Misao... I trust that he won't tell anyone." Aya said confidently. "We can probably tell him about Kaoru."
An uncomfortable silence settled among them. It was beyond their control on what actions were to be taken... they had to be careful about what they would do or else it could make things worse. Eventually, Aya couldn't take her helplessness anymore.
"Fine, let's make a plan." She said calmly, "We have to find a way to locate Misao and Kaoru. They can't have possibly gone too far. Whoever would have kidnapped Misao couldn't have gone through town because that would cause too much of an attraction... Kaoru ran right? She couldn't have gone too far either..."
Tsubame thought for a moment. "I didn't see any carriage tracks or horse hoof prints..."
"We can't locate them alone. Let's face it. Among us three, Aya is the only one who has the physical capabilities of doing ground searches quickly. We're going to have to tell the guys." Megumi believed that her friends wouldn't do something that would betray them. "Kenshin, Aoshi, Saitoh, Sanosuke, Soujiro..." She listed them, "I trust those guys." The look in her eyes made Tsubame and Aya nod in agreement.
"Alright, we'll tell them." Tsubame said.
Without warning, the door slammed open and in came a fairly cold looking Aoshi and a babbling Rooster-head. "Hey, calm down man!" Sano was following Aoshi closely. He looked a bit alarmed, just as he took another step; he hid his bruised arm against the doorpost, "Ouch! Jeez... you didn't have to go that far in the torture..." Sano mumbled.
"Don't you knock?!" Megumi fumed at the two guys.
"Talk about timing..." Aya said quietly to Tsubame.
"What are you exactly planning Megumi?" Aoshi questioned, "I don't find it funny sending the Rooster-head as a decoy to distract me from..." Aoshi was cut off by another interruption.
"Aoshi! There you are!" Soujiro entered the room with a smile bright as ever. "A message from Saitoh, Taka has been kidnapped and they have located a track that was supposed to be hidden. He needs your help in..." He voice trailed off and looked around the room. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
Aoshi and Sanosuke just stared at Soujiro as if he was joking. This was the first that they had heard of anything thus far. "What did you say?!" Sanosuke finally reacted, "Kidnapped?!"
"Continue explaining." Aoshi added.
Soujiro let out a nervous laugh. "Sure is tense here. Okay, well, since you have a better suited style in sneaking around, Saitoh wants you to help. Not only is that going on but it seems that Kenshin has ran off somewhere too... seems like he's desperate in finding someone."
"Where's Saitoh?" Aoshi asked oddly in haste.
"Down at the front gates." Soujiro responded. He wasn't even given any extra time to explain further before Aoshi was out of there. "He's fast."
"You can say that again." The others echoed in response.
Sanosuke then remembered Soujiro mentioning Kenshin and then asked, "So what's this I hear about Kenshin?"
- - - -
Kaoru was carefully climbing up a tree as she kept her eyes on her targets. Shuura had finally stopped. To her surprise, there was a dieing campfire... scraps of leftover food and... 'What on earth?! Misao?!!!!!!!!!' Her best friend looked a mess. She was gagged, tied up and blindfolded... From simple curiosity, anger raged up and down her throat. 'What is the meaning of this? Who the hell are these people?! Misao! Oh Misao, what did they do to you?!'
Who cares if she was lost now? Who cares about her personal problems? It felt as though all her issues flew out the window after she realised that her friend was in trouble. Top priority - save her best friend and punish the evil-doers.
"Shuura! What was taking you so long?!" A grumpy and very rough looking man appeared before Shuura. Unexpectedly, he looked like a foreigner to Kaoru. "Hurry up and add more firewood! The Capt'n ain't coming until tomorrow!"
"Sorry, yes... I'll hurry." Shuura kept her head low as she scavenged for the pieces of dried wood to add to the campfire. The bright orange flames eventually crawled onto the pieces of wood and breathed out streams of black smoke.
'Hm... Rough but not exactly bright.' Kaoru commented on the man. 'I wonder how many of them are there. And why is Shuura with them?' It looks as though she would have to wait a bit longer before she would be able to do anything.
Timing seemed to be on her side at that moment. Two other men appeared, looking fairly similar to the initial guy. "Hey, when can we get rid of this brat?" One of them asked as he let out a snort and spat a ball of gunk onto the dirt ground.
"I told you already, we hafta wait for Capt'n."
'That foreigner needs to get a life.' Kaoru thought as she observed with distaste. 'Better save Misao soon... I'm sure that I'd hate to be in her position.' So there were three guys that she was up against. There was the possibility that she would be up against Shuura too... which she hoped won't happen. 'Ehehehe... now, I'll make sure these guys will regret for what they have done.'
"When do we get to snatch the other girl?" The second grumbled.
'Wha?' That caught Kaoru's attention.
"Cap'n said that we would do it as soon as we can. But we have to wait until things settle a bit before we can start... I can't wait to get this over with. It serves the Kamiya Family right for taking the land."
'Huh? Hold it right there buster...'
"Yeah and for the money we've lost, I'm sure that Capt'n has something good in store for their kids."
'Alright, I take back what I said earlier.' Kaoru thought while fuming. 'I'll make sure that these guys will regret for even messing with the Kamiya Family.'
- - - -
He was sure that Kaoru would take this direction. Battousai was carefully considering all the paths that she might take. 'Damn it, how can I find her in such a complicated place?!' For awhile, Kenshin had been silent. This was indeed what he needed. Having a second doubtful voice inside your head was no fun when you're trying to find a girl who had stormed off with a head filled with all sorts of thoughts. 'Kaoru, you better not have gone too far.'
Just as he was on his way, he bumped into unexpected people.
"What's up with that face Kenshin?" Sanosuke said with a grin. He turned over to Soujiro who cheerfully added on.
"Looks like you'll need some help."
"I don't need your help." Battousai said that was near a threat. He was really in a need to get moving. Who knows what could be happening to Kaoru within this timeframe? Maybe those guys have gotten to her already.
Sanosuke gave a warning look, "I'm afraid that you haven't got a choice. We know where Akai might be." He then pointed towards an old looking tree that wasn't too far away. "Check that out. Looks like someone has been around there. The bushes have been put slightly out of their natural shape too... you can even see the snapped branches. Oh yeah... and you can also see..."
"I get the point." Battousai said impatiently. "We have to find Akai quickly."
- - - -
"Those kidnappers should be along this path..." Saitoh said quietly as he and Aoshi followed a path which had been made recently. The beaten down grass was a dead giveaway.
Aoshi was driven by something he couldn't really understand. It was like a fear shaking his insides that made him get moving. He feared for the safety of his friend and more... 'The culprits will pay.' In a short moment, Aoshi took notice of the sky. It was gradually darkening, a sign that told him that night was coming soon and that meant they would have to hurry or else they'd have no light to show them the way.
- - - -
Kaoru snuck into a tree hollow and waited for Shuura. Initially, Shuura had been the one who told her to hide so it would only be natural for the girl to want to go back and check up. So she waited in a hiding spot where she knew Shuura would cross. Footsteps were heard and at the sight of the girl, Kaoru tugged her clothes and pulled her back.
Shuura gasped in shock of having something pull her so suddenly. When she realised who it was, she relaxed. "Sorry for keeping you waiting."
"Don't worry. What I want to know is what are you doing here?" Kaoru asked quietly. Her voice was a definite, commanding voice rather than a sweet, questioning one. It made Shuura feel uneasy.
"I can't tell you..."
"You'll have to tell me." Kaoru said, "Because that girl you kidnapped... happens to be my best friend." She narrowed her eyes to emphasize her point. After a moment of silent warring between their locked eye contact, Shuura gave in reluctantly.
"I don't mean to be part of it. It's just that before I was living in a village with my father... it's sort of similar to your situation except in the end... I..." She gestured to herself and that seemed to have explained the rest of the answer. "You have to be careful with them..."
Kaoru made sure that no one else was around. "How about a deal? You help me save my friend and I'll help you get away from them." She made it sound so simple that Shuura almost wanted to agree straight away. But then doubt came...
"It's not as easy as that... if you do that then the Captain will be mad and he will send others..." Shuura seemed to really be worried.
"But the next time he comes we'll be ready and he won't be able to lay a finger on you or anyone." Kaoru reassured. "Come on, what do you say?" She only needed a quick reply, a simple one would do. When Shuura finally nodded her head, Kaoru smiled. "Great. Here's the plan..."
- - - -
'Someone come...' Misao thought to herself. She was sore, hungry and there were a mixture of feelings within her. It was sickening really. She wanted to be back at the dorm where she could be comfortable and warm. There was nothing that she could do besides sit, wait and hope as well as listen to the conversations that went on. 'Please... anyone...'
"She's here sir! She's here!" A familiar stranger girl came rushing towards the campsite. Her voice was sounding very serious and fairly excited.
"Who's here?" A grouchy voice questioned. He sounded impatient and ready to strike at the girl. There was a chewing sound heard. Was he eating something?
"She's here! The other girl we're supposed to snatch! I saw her alone on the path just back there!" Again it was that girl. They were talking about Kaoru. Misao knew it. It was then she worried about her friend.
'Don't get caught, please don't get caught...' Misao felt her muscles tensed when the three men who had been seated around the campfire got up excited. They sounded pleased with the news.
- - - -
"Smoke... do you smell it?" Saitoh questioned Aoshi. His nose was sensitive to many different smells. Fire smoke being on the list. "They must be close." The two continued trekking along the path in predatory silence.
- - - -
"Shut up you brat, do you want to scare off our target?" The grouchy man pushed Shuura abruptly behind as he and the other two went ahead. "Watch the camp." He commanded brutally. Shuura kept her silence as she hurried back to the campsite. In her pocket, was a small sharp kunai that Kaoru had given her.
Soon a tied up girl came to view. Shuura settled beside her. Misao tensed and curled up into a smaller ball. "Shh... keep quiet okay? I'm going to help free you." Shuura said quickly but as clearly as possible. After hearing her sentence, Misao relaxed and her face was turned towards Shuura's direction. First, the blindfold was removed and then the cloth that gagged Misao.
"Thank you." Misao said with a grateful smile. "Thank you so much..." Tears were coming from relief.
"It's not over yet. Stay still while I cut the ropes."
- - - -
Trusting a firm tree branch to be her weapon, she prepared for attack. Night had fallen and hence she was given the advantage. 'I'm gonna kick their butts.' Kaoru thought. She had climbed up a tree so that she could look out for the three thugs.
One came into view... and then another... and then another....
'Got ya.' She made a jump.
"Where...?" Before one of the thugs could finish his question, a branch landed on the crown of his head. "Oomf..." Kaoru took one down and stood face to face with the other two. A sinister grin on her face.
"Hello. I believe that you have my friend." Kaoru said sweetly.
"Bitch..." The main thug growled. "I'll kill you..." He took out a dagger and launched an attack at her. Kaoru cleanly dodged him and struck against his back... hard. Without waiting for any other responses, she struck the third man in the gut. The blows had been hard and took the thugs down for the time being. She would have loved to keep beating them down but she was more concerned about Misao and Shuura. The fact that it was getting darker by the minute gave her all the more reason to hurry and find them.
Holding onto her tree branch tightly, she ran towards the campsite. "Girls? Where are you?" She called.
"We're here." Misao came into view, she was standing beside Shuura with a really happy look on her face. There was a moment of silence before Misao exploded and threw her arms over Kaoru's shoulders. "Thank you so much! Thank you... I was so scared! Thank you so much..." Kaoru hugged Misao back.
"It's alright. We should head back to the dorm. Let's hurry." And thus, the girls made a run for it.
- - - -
The three thugs - or more rightly, stooges - got up from the ground after making their recovery from the sudden blows. Each angered by the thought of being beaten by a girl, even more frustrated thinking that they had been fooled by another girl and even more outraged knowing that they might have lost their captive.
"What are we waiting here for idiots?! Go after those brats!" The main guy roared. After groaning and growling, they ran back the way they came except were forced to stop when they came face to face with a duo. "Get out of our way!"
"No." An amber eye boy looked directly back at them. Aggressiveness pulsing from his aura. He unsheathed a sword and pointed the blade at them. "I believe that you three have something to confess to."
"Yeah," A spiky haired boy held up his fists, ready for a fight. "Where are they?"
"I SAID GET OUT OF MY WAY!" One of them lost his patience and charged forward with a knife, he was pulled back after feel a blow at his chest and legs. Minor cuts appeared and he began to bleed. Shock coated his eyeballs. A third boy appeared and he wore a smile that sent shivers tingling in his toes.
"My, my... how rude." Soujiro held his blade ready.
"You have three seconds to tell us where they are." Battousai said calmly.
"Three... two..." Sanosuke started to count down.
"YOU BRATS ARE PISSING ME OFF!" The main thug roared. A bunch of kids weren't going to scare him so easily. For all he knew, they were probably bluffing.
"Get out of our way if you know what's good for you." The second added.
The bleeding thug narrowed his eyes, "You'll die for that."
"One. Time's up." Sanosuke grinned as he took the initial attack. Battousai and Soujiro also charged forward. They were going to have to torture the information out if they had to.
- - - -
Saitoh and Aoshi stopped in a middle of an unoccupied camping area. The fire was burning brightly. To one spot, Aoshi observed cut robes. Saitoh looked around and saw no sign of anyone. "No one?" It seemed strange.
"Unless they have taken Taka elsewhere..." Aoshi unsheathed his kodachi as a safety measurement. As the two took a few more steps into the area, a stench struck them. 'Can't be...' He didn't want to think what could've happened to Misao. There was a sharp metallic scent of blood in the air.
Had they come too late?
"Hm..." Saitoh seemed angry. "If they left, this whole evening was a waste of time. Though I'd doubt they'd leave a campfire like this..."
There were grumblings that were approaching closer to them which brought Saitoh and Aoshi into alert mode. The smell of blood was becoming stronger. Aoshi narrowed his eyes. 'Damn it, why does it have to be so dark now?' He made out three figures coming. 'The kidnappers?' He managed to catch a few sentences...
"...Bury... body..."
"...relief..."
"I'm gonna have to clean... dagger..."
The three men froze and stared at Saitoh and Aoshi. They were lost for words. Too bad for them that Aoshi and Saitoh couldn't see what they looked like because it felt that Aoshi and Saitoh caught enough of their sentences to launch their own attack.
- - - -
Kaoru, Misao and Shuura arrived at the dorm. There was a feeling of safety sweeping over them as they walked through the gates. "It feels so nice to be on safe ground..." Misao said, unable to stop laughing. "I need a bath."
"Yeah... me too." Kaoru agreed. "Hey Shuura, what'd you think? You're finally out of those thugs' hands..." She only caught a smile from Shuura. As they walked silently towards the buildings, they were greeted by three others girls who looked as if they had been waiting at the steps for a while.
"Misao?! Kaoru?!" Megumi was on her feet instantly. A smile of surprise plastered on. "I can't believe it!"
"You're back! Thank goodness!" Tsubame managed to say.
"Alright! Where are the others?" Aya looked around in search for the guys.
Kaoru raised an eyebrow, "Others?"
"Yeah, the other guys went out to search for you two." Megumi replied.
The girls looked at each other in silence before sighing. "Guess they would have to come back disappointed..." Misao said and then she laughed. "But I'm so glad that they worried about us... though I hope that they would hopefully come back tonight..."
"And who is your new friend?" Aya looked over to Shuura who had been standing aside nervously.
"This is Shuura. She helped me save Misao." Kaoru said while smiling encouragingly at Shuura. "She's going to stay with us from now on."
- - - -
"Man... I can't believe we beat up those guys for nothing... who would've guessed that Akai would come along to save Taka..." Sanosuke was walking with his hands clasped behind his head. He looked across the Battousai who seemed a lot calmer than earlier. "Hey, you listening?"
"But you have to admit, it was a good work out." Soujiro said in attempt to lighten up the mood. "It's good practice to use your sword... only the blunt side though." He laughed lightly.
Sanosuke joined Soujiro and chuckled. "Oh yeah... I think I'd need to use the bath though. Those thugs make me feel disgusting. How about you Kenshin?"
"Hm... yeah." Battousai didn't feel like talking.
"Come to think of it, weren't Saitoh and Aoshi looking for those guys?" Soujiro said thoughtfully.
"Those two can take care of themselves, we should get home." Sanosuke said while waving a dismissive hand in the air. "I doubt that those thugs could get a third beating..."
- - - -
Before them lay a pile of bruised men. Aoshi and Saitoh walked away fairly irritated but relieved at the same time. 'At least it was a good way to let out anger...' Aoshi thought to himself sarcastically. Who would've thought that Misao and Kaoru would have gotten away before they arrive? At least they were safe...
- - - -