Heaven's Intervention

Author's Notes: Whew! I can't believe I finished up this chapter quick. I mean, I'm surprised myself. Must be all those quiet days in the office doing nothing. XD And it's also the first time I wrote a chapter completely thru a computer. Because usually, I write it down on my notebook and as I type, that's when I edit them or make some corrections. But this chapter... Typed all the way, baby! Erm, forgive me. I'm just hyperactive right now. So if there are any misspelled words or grammatical errors... I'll be looking thru them later on when I print this out.

This is shorter than the previous chapters but... I actually think it's ok. My writing here was influenced kind of, by Dan Brown's novels, where I'm trying to let you see what's happening simultaneously at different places. I hope you'd get the flow.

Disclaimers: Everything Rurouni Kenshin is not mine. The name was from a movie of the same name/title. At the last chapter, too, the Italian restaurant concept was inspired by Jane Drew's fic that I adore.

Kidnap!

Everything Rurouni Kenshin is not mine. The name was from a movie of the same name/title. At the last chapter, too, the Italian restaurant concept was inspired by Jane Drew's fic that I adore.

The lower floor of the modeling agency was buzzing with activity. On both sides of the makeshift ramp, rows and rows of clothes rack can be seen making that side of the floor an open closet where the models would run to after strutting down on the ramp to change into their next attire with assistants readying the garments. In front, a table was laden with every cosmetics available, with two, sometimes three make-up artists doing different styles of make-up on different models and showing them to Misao, giving her choices on which scheme to use on the date of the fashion show. A table next to it, phones has been set up and several people were manning them, calling up the seamstresses and tailors, following up on the clothes that have not been delivered or sewn yet, or calling guests reminding them of the fashion show or inviting them to it. It's only about two weeks before the show and there was already tension in the air. The shouting matches were even lessened, but not the baleful glares nor the scathing noises that they cannot help but mutter.

Misao was up on her toes trying to get everything ready at least one week before the show so that everyone could have a break before the big night. But it seems that things didn't want to go her way. Some of her seamstresses have gone missing, some were calling in too sick to continue making the dresses and no one can take over because they, too, were busy finishing the other designs of Misao. She has been experiencing extreme headaches because of these, and the only consolation, or rather relaxation that she has were her dates with Aoshi. But that, too, was becoming less frequent, as she was becoming busier each day and he was becoming occupied with something that he doesn't want to talk about. Although knowing Aoshi, she was not surprised, except for his comment when she dared express her concern.

"You've been more quiet than usual, Aoshi-sama," Misao had said, her voice laced with concern as she looked at him over the food laid on the table.

"Don't worry about me, Misao," he had told her. And after a few seconds of silence to which the designer had already pushed the idea into the back of her mind, he spoke again. "It's you I'm worried about."

"Nani?" she asked him, confused.

Something flickered in his eyes, as if he had not intended for that statement to slip out, but Aoshi just said, "Your food's getting cold and you have to return to the office soon, right?"

And that ended that discussion.

Presently, Misao was trying not to pull at her hair at the ruckus Kaoru and Chou was having, or at the distant banter going on between Yahiko and Yutaro, his twin brother (a professional photographer) about the merits of having Yahiko's hair all spiked up or not on the pictures. Then, there were the incessant "Makimachi-san!" of the assistants all-over. It was enough to make a girl scream.

And she did.

At once, everybody quieted down but nobody dared to look at the source of the sudden noise. Except for Kaoru, her twin brothers, Sayo (who was shooting some photos for the magazine), Mutsumi, and Shikijou.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she said out loud, "I'm going to the boutique and no one is to disturb me today unless it's an emergency," or it's Aoshi-sama, she silently added. "And I'm going to take Soujirou and Kamatari with me."

With that, she went to get her things and got out of the office, with the two models and Shikijou on her trail.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Blessed quiet. The afternoon sun was filtering through the glass windows of the boutique, casting a glow of red-orange rays that made the few occupants of the shop think of tranquil moments and soothing music. Misao's demeanor, however, was something else. Instead of becoming her usual bouncy self, she had just gotten crankier and irritable. Especially after receiving a phone call on the way to the shop.

She can't believe that Aoshi was canceling their dinner for tonight. It was the only thing that she's looking forward to all day and he has to call if off! It didn't help that she has not been getting enough sleep these days. She's worrying on what would happen if all the dresses weren't finished by next week, what's happening to her dressmakers that they were not able to continue working on the clothes, what's Aoshi working on that's making him more subdued than normal, and what in Kami's name did she do to receive these kinds of problems when the biggest and grandest fashion show she has ever done will be in two weeks time! Sighing, she told her companions that she'll just be in her office and they can do whatever they like while in the shop, just that nobody was to leave her in the shop all by herself. And with that, she went inside the room and immersed herself in meditation, something she learned from living with Aoshi during her teens, to at least help her balance herself even just a little. Because Kami knows that she can't stay quiet nor still for a long period of time.

The three who accompanied her to the boutique looked at each other after gazing at Misao's retreating back, before shrugging to one another and went about doing their thing. Shikijou grabbed a chair and positioned himself at the office's door. Kamatari began sifting through the racks of clothes, smiling a little too sweetly at the assistant who was hovering at her. Soujirou on the other hand, contented himself to sit at Misao's table, idly turning the pages of each magazine that he happens to pick up.

Minutes passed by, until Kamatari had exhausted all the dresses in the shop and she can't think of anything else to do. With a frustrated sigh, she plopped down at one of the chairs positioned at the outer portion of the table and looked over at the other model.

"Sou, want to walk around the block a bit?" she asked as her fingers drummed on the table. She pushed a strand of hair from her face as her eyes flickered over to Shikijou's form before settling at Soujirou's.

Glancing up from the magazine he was engrossed with, he shrugged. "Ok." He replaced the magazine where he found it, stood up, and looked at Shikijou with that famous smile on his face. "We'll be right back," he told the bodyguard who nodded his assent.

With that, the two models strode out of the shop and disappeared from the immediate view of the guard.

A few minutes later, noting that Misao has made no sign of going out of her office, Shikijou left his post at her door and went to relieve himself at the toilet of the neighboring restaurant. At which point, two individuals went in to the shop, smiled at the saleslady in greeting and went straight to the office. A few seconds later, they came out with Misao who seemed to be leading them to the back door. The sales lady thought nothing of the behavior so she went back to her duties.

Shikijou came back a minute later, knocked on the office, and hearing no answer, opened the door to discover it empty. He quickly came back out and questioned the shop assistant where the designer was, who answered timidly that the two came back just a few minutes ago, went directly into the office and came out with Misao leading the way towards the door at the back. The guard rushed out to the back to find an empty alley, except for a green ribbon lying on the ground.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The lower office of KR Mokei, Inc. has not changed its atmosphere even as the designer left. In fact, it became even more chaotic as everyone hurried to finish or at least made some progress on what they were doing before Misao decides to come back and inspect things. Kaoru had been yelling at the models on their errors while Mutsumi was calling out orders on the assistants who were already scurrying to do everything as quick and efficient as they can. Sayo was trying hard to maintain her cool as she tried to get good angles and shots of the scene while fighting the urge to go and grab Yutaro, who was still arguing with Yahiko on the best viewpoint to take his close-up for the magazine, to help her take the pictures so she can already leave the pandemonium that was the office.

And that's what Aoshi happened upon when he visited the agency during lunch: Kaoru screaming, Mutsumi barking orders, Sayo fidgeting, and the twins having one of their rows. And no Misao nor Shikijou in sight.

Moving his way through the squash of people, Aoshi approached his cousin. "Mutsumi," he said as soon as he reached her back.

"What?" the woman asked as she turned around angrily to face him. "Oh. It's you," she muttered irritably before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "She's not here. She nearly broke down from the tension so she's at her shop with that bodyguard of yours and two of the new models." She had turned around after her greeting and related the events without looking at him. "Azumi! You're doing it all wrong! Do you want to ruin that dress?" she hollered to a tiny woman who had stopped and looked like a deer caught in headlights a scant second after addressing the man behind her.

"Hn." Aoshi muttered, as he squeezed Mutsumi's shoulder who nodded absently, before making his way out of the jungle that has become of Kaoru's office.

As he rode the elevator, he took out his phone and was about to dial Misao's number when Shikijou's number flashed on the tiny screen.

"What happened?" he demanded as soon as he took the call. The bodyguard would never call him directly unless there was an emergency.

"She's gone. From what her assistant told me, she was last seen accompanying Soujirou Seta and Kamatari Honjou towards the back door. The two went out minutes before and I left her alone with her assistant to take a leak at the neighboring restaurant. When I came back, she wasn't in her office."

Aoshi heard the hesitance from the guard. "Is there something else?" he asked, his cool composure slowly slipping as he got out from the elevator and stalked towards his car where Hannya was waiting.

"Sir... I found the ribbon she was wearing earlier lying on the alley behind her shop."

The stoic man paused in his stride before cursing angrily. "Kuso!" Before quickening his pace and began snapping orders. "Search the whole place. Look for anything that you think would be useful. Try to track her down. Maybe they're just somewhere around the vicinity. Give me a call within an hour." Then he snapped his phone shut and got into the car, not even waiting for Hannya to open the door for him. As soon as his assistant went inside, "Call Sagara and tell him that Misao's gone missing. Then call Hajime. Tell him the same thing and that I want his best men to investigate the area of her office." He paused, quietly thinking of his next course of action. "Tell them to meet me in my office in two hours and inform Omasu to cancel all the meetings that I have this afternoon."

He can barely conceal the worry and agitation that he's feeling. He's berating himself for not heeding his instinct earlier. He could have prevented this. He could not shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen ever since he woke up this morning. And it only intensified after he called Misao to cancel their dinner. He should have gone to the agency earlier when his instinct had told him to. But he just dismissed it as him being overprotective and not as a sign that he should respond to. He won't forgive himself if something bad did happen to his ward and he inwardly cursed himself for being trapped in a human body where his powers were dulled and limited. He knows that with the orders he had commanded, he was overreacting a little. But he can't ignore that nagging feeling. He had ignored it once, just earlier, and look what happened. He's not about to ignore his gut feeling the second time around, even if he'd look like he was overdoing things for something that has no proof and no reason for worry. But Misao knows that she'd have to tell Shikijou anywhere she'd go. She herself had asked for a bodyguard. And she didn't even leave a note. And that only reinforced what his intuition was telling him.

Misao has been kidnapped.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Her neck hurts.

That was the first thing that Misao realized as she started gaining consciousness. Her eyes blinked open and then closed again, her hand moving to cover her eyes, as the harsh white lights hurt her vision. But her hands were bound, restricting her movement. Slowly, she peered through her lashes as her eyesight adjusted before opening them fully and trying to assess her surroundings.

She was lying on her side on a couch, her hands tied at her back and her legs dangled at the side, which explained the numbness of her lower extremities. Shifting to a comfortable position, she tried to sit up and let the blood flow back to her legs, stifling a groan as she felt invisible needles pricking her limbs. Now sitting up, she looked around her and saw that she was in a large room that was sparsely furnished. There's a table at the far end of the room, several chairs scattered, and the couch that she's currently occupying. The walls were painted a pale yellow, making the florescent light in the middle of the ceiling a bit hurtful to the eyes. There's a small window to her left and a door to her right.

What happened?

Her face was thoughtful as she recalled the events that led her to having her hands bound and her staying in this too bright room.

She was in the agency, with lots of people running around.

She was giving orders back and forth.

Then she couldn't take the chaos anymore she screamed. Which felt good.

She left the agency with Shikijou, Soujirou, and Kamatari.

She got a call from Aoshi-sama, canceling their dinner, and she got more irritated.

They arrived at her boutique then after a few minutes, left her companions and went inside her office and meditated.

Her meditation got interrupted when Kamatari and Soujirou came inside her office.

Then her memory got blurry from there. She remembered being surprised at their impudence, glaring at Soujirou, then... She was standing and leading them out from her office to the back door. But why would she do that? Then they were out of the building and into the alley. She must have gotten her wits back then because she remembered turning around to confront Soujirou, before everything went black.

Her eyes widened at the shocking revelation of her memory of recent events, however hazy the last moments were. She trusted them! And to think she was saddened by the fact that she wasn't able to spend more time to get to know them better. Those two-faced, lying...

The door opened and her head whipped to the right to see the double-crossers. She doesn't know who told them to do this but she doesn't care. When she gets her hands on those two... But instead of Soujirou and Kamatari entering the room, her breath caught in her throat at who went in.

"Shu- Shura?"

The older designer walked serenely to where Misao was, her face bearing a smirk and her eyes showing a sinister glint.

"Hello, Misao."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Aoshi was pacing back and forth in his office. He couldn't find the stillness that he needs to meditate and try to spread out his limited powers on earth to search for the location of Misao, or even just a hint. He's too worried and guilty to even think of rational thoughts. That maybe, Misao just went for a stroll and forgot to inform Shikijou. That she's enjoying herself too much she hadn't the thought of notifying anyone of her whereabouts. But there's still that sick feeling deep in his stomach that tells him she's in danger. And the continuous fear for her safety was keeping his thoughts muddled and incoherent.

Slamming his fist on the table with as much controlled power as possible to avoid smashing it to pieces, he forced himself to relax. If he wanted to find Misao, he has to focus his mind on the task and not on his feelings. He gingerly sat down and began taking deep breaths, letting his mind free itself of unnecessary thoughts and concentrated on locating Misao's aura.

Gritting his teeth with frustration, he tried suppressing his impatience at finding his ward. He knew that it would take a considerable amount of time before he can feel her life force because his skills were restricted. Forcing himself once more to calm down and focus on his task, he searched again, taking his time to feel every aura he came upon, feeling that the further he got from his place, the fainter the auras get, until they're almost indistinguishable. Slowly losing hope, he was starting to stop his search when he felt it. It was weak, but he'd recognize it anywhere. Putting all his energy to put a location on that point, he focused on her life force.

He slumped on his chair a few minutes later, his energy having been significantly consumed at the task of finding his petite designer. But at least he now has an idea of where she was. All he has to do was to get some of his men to stake out the area and locate where exactly Misao was being held. That could wait though as his cellphone suddenly rang.

"Anything?" he asked calmly, his composed self had returned. He was listening to Shikijou's report when Omasu knocked and announced that Atty. Sanosuke Sagara and Chief Saitou Hajime have arrived. He motioned for her to let them in and told the person at the end of the line, "Get down here immediately."

Last Notes: Two more chapters to go. I'm not sure when those are coming out. I still have to think of the pacing of the next chapter. It might be shorter, like my original length.

Thanks for reading!