A/N: YES! I managed a timely update! I think it's mostly because I'm so nervous about changing my hard drive tomorrow. -sobs- It sucks, but it must be done. ANYWAY! If you sent me anything in emails such as fanart… I'll probably be losing it so please send it again sooner or later. It would make me a happy Zig-zag. And thanks to Nekotsuki for beta-ing all the chapters!

Reviewers!

Zimi - I love to surprise people.

Droparmor - I'm glad you were surprised to find out Reizo was the spy.

lolo popoki - I have everything on disk… at lest I hope I do.

WolfDaughter - Nope, he's a spy alright.

FairyMage - Thanks for the heads up with the typos.

Shadow Wolf of the Blue Moon - Thanks, but I think I have the whole story on disk from the last time my computer crashed. I also made an extra disk this time just in case.

AuburnMoonlight - Um, Reizo you might want to hide for a little while.

Hitokiri Musei - Hope this was a quick enough update!

Chapter 23 - A Tricky Spy

Itsuo and Yasuo quickly went to Katsura and told him their suspicions of Reizo being a spy.

"So no one knows where Neko is?"

"She's nowhere in the inn!" Itsuo said, clearly shaken by the events. "Even more important, sir, is that if Reizo really is a spy, then the Shinsengumi knows where you are! You have to leave immediately!"

Katsura shook his head. "This doesn't make sense! Why would Reizo suddenly blow his cover? Why would he go after Neko instead of Himura? He's had plenty of chances to kill Himura, he carried him back here unconscious! Not to mention he's been around me a long time! Why didn't he send the Shinsengumi after me all those times?" Katsura was very confused; either Reizo was a very poor spy, had been given special orders, or he knew something. In the midst of all this thinking, something else dawned on Katsura. "Who's with Himura?"

"Wha-what do you mean?" Itsuo asked, both doctors looking at each other, confused. "You mean right now? I don't think Reizo is going to come back for Himura, especially right--"

"That's not what I'm worried about." Katsura rose from where he sat, making his way to Kenshin's room. "I'm worried about what he's going to do.

"Kenshin pushed his swords through his belt. Reizo should have never given them back to him. He would make him regret that. He stumbled a little, still weak from staying in bed for so long. 'I have to get out of here before they return.' He knew Itsuo and Yasuo would never let him leave, he had to move quickly. He just had to walk out the door … that was opening by itself. "K'so. I'm too late." He straightened, determined to get out that door.

Takeo was surprised to see Kenshin up, let alone dressed. "What are you doing, Himura?"

"I'm leaving," he stated, walking up to the doctor as steadily as he could.

"I don't think so." The news had quickly spread about Neko's disappearance. "Not in that condition. You'll just make things more difficult."

Kenshin glared at Takeo. "Get out of my way."

Takeo took a step back. He had never known Kenshin before the second addition to his scar. He had known him to be cold and frightening, but not like this. "No." He put both arms on the frame of the door. "I'm not going to let you leave." Takeo tried to steel himself, reminding himself that Kenshin was injured.

Kenshin growled and grabbed Takeo's arm, hard. "I said, get out of my way." He pushed the doctor out of the way. Moving down the hall, he was quickly stopped when Takeo grabbed his arm, right above the wrist, with both his hands.

"Himura! Stop! Stop right now!"

Kenshin turned and glared at him with all his might. "Let go." Takeo was frozen with fear. Seeing that Takeo wasn't going to let his arm go, Kenshin grabbed his own hand and forcefully pulled his arm out of Takeo's grasp. His world spun from the jerky movement and he stepped backwards until he ran into a wall.

"See, you're not strong enough! Get back into bed." Takeo put his arm on Kenshin's shoulder and attempted to lead him back to bed.

"Don't touch me!" He pushed Takeo's arm off him.

"Himura! Stop!" Both Takeo and Kenshin looked over at Katsura who was hurrying down the hall with Itsuo and Yasuo right behind him. "I'll find Neko, you need to rest." Kenshin growled; he wasn't about to deliberately disobey Katsura, but he wasn't going to go back to bed either. Katsura could tell Kenshin wasn't going to listen to reason. "Himura, either you get back in bed, or I'll force you."

Kenshin gritted his teeth. "I'm going after Reizo, I can handle it."

"No you can't."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" he shouted.

Katsura was surprised; Himura had never taken that kind of voice with him before. Kenshin was starting to remind him of how he used to be before he had asked Tomoe to be his sheath. He knew there was no way Kenshin was going to be talked into getting back into bed. "I'm sorry, Himura."

Takeo understood Katsura's message and grabbed Kenshin's arm again. Snarling, Kenshin tried to pull his arm free again. Quickly Yasuo and Itsuo moved in to help Takeo. Itsuo grabbed Kenshin's left arm, Takeo took a firm hold of his other arm, and Yasuo moved behind him and started to push him back to his room. "Himura! Please calm down!" Yasuo yelled as Kenshin locked up his knees and pushed back against the three doctors. Even working together Kenshin was unmoving.

"Release me!" He yelled, desperately trying to get his arms loose from Takeo and Itsuo. "Let go!"

'This isn't working! He's so strong!' Itsuo was amazed by Kenshin's strength, but he knew he had to be hurting. "Forgive me, Himura." He quickly pressed on Kenshin's healing gash. He pressed it hard enough to hurt him, but touched it gently enough that it wouldn't damage the injury any further.

Hot, blinding pain raced up Kenshin's side, to his shoulder, and up his neck. With a cry, his legs folded underneath him and the three pulling on him fell forward a step or two when his resistance suddenly gave out. "Itsuo! What did you do!" Yasuo yelled. He didn't want to hurt Kenshin.

"Just move!" They quickly dragged Kenshin back into his room and onto his bed.

Kenshin was enraged at being hurt. "I'll kill you!" he shouted, now kicking with his feet. "Let me go!"

"Please! Lie still!" Takeo yelled, pinning Kenshin down by his shoulders. Itsuo grabbed Kenshin's ankles and stopped his kicking. "Yasuo!"

"I'm working on it!" he shouted back, knowing that Takeo wanted a sedative. He ran to the medical supplies and quickly began to fill a needle.

"NO!" Kenshin shouted, as he tried to sit up. "Leave me alone!" He nearly threw Takeo off him. Seeing that the doctors were having trouble, Katsura came in and held Kenshin's arms to the floor. Kenshin was too distracted to even realize that Katsura was helping to hold him down.

Yasuo came back, holding the shot, and pulled up Kenshin's sleeve. "Stop!" Kenshin snapped, as Yasuo tried to find a spot on Kenshin's arm to give him the shot.

'His arm is too tense. I won't be able use this if he doesn't loosen his muscles.' He looked towards Itsuo, wishing there was another way. "Itsuo, do what you did out in the hall." Itsuo nodded and gave Kenshin's wound a gentle squeeze. Kenshin yelled out again and for a split second his muscles relaxed. A second was all Yasuo needed to administer the shot.

Kenshin cursed as the needle's point was drawn out of his skin. He still struggled to get free, but it didn't take long before his movements began to slow. "K'so." He knew he wasn't going to get free. "K'so."

Kenshin's eyes were starting to close against his will. Katsura, Itsuo, and Takeo slowly took their weight off him. He attempted to sit up only to fall back down. He had no strength left. Yasuo stood. "Himura, what I gave you was a sedative. You'll fall asleep in a few moments. I want you to relax. We'll find Neko." He began to leave and gave a quick movement with his hands, telling the others to follow. The group looked back one more time to see Kenshin squirming slightly on his bed in a desperate attempt to stand up. "Please rest, Himura-san," Yasuo said with a tired sigh.

"That's an order." Katsura added, before they left, shutting the door.

Kenshin tried a few more times to sit up. Each time he landed with a small thud, the impact sending waves of pain from his injuries. His arms started to feel heavier and heavier. His eyes would slowly fall shut and he would struggle to keep them open, but as they started to do it more often, the harder it got to re-open them.

He was about to give in to the drug when the door to his room was slowly opened and closed again. Raising his head and opening his eyes just enough so he could see who was at the door, he felt like screaming. "How did you get past everyone?" he growled to the figure in the door.

The man laughed. "As a spy you learn some stealth." Reizo walked into the room and held up a needle. Kenshin's eyes opened a bit wider when he saw it, fearful of what it could do. Reizo, on the other hand, smirked slightly. "I guess I won't be needing this after all." He leaned down and set the needle on the floor. It rolled away from him and finally stopped when it hit the wall, hidden by shadows.

As he knelt over to set the needle down, Kenshin's eyes looked over to his right. The doctors had taken his swords and had placed them just out of arm's length. He gritted his teeth and rolled over on his right side, doing his best to not cry out against the pain now running all through that side. Reizo looked up and saw Kenshin reaching desperately for his swords. "Don't Himura, you'll just hurt yourself." Kenshin kept reaching, using every last ounce of strength in him to reach them. "What are you going to do anyway when you get them? Do you really think you're a match for me right now?" he commented as he made his way towards Kenshin.

'Just a little closer.' He could feel his fingertips rub the sheath of the wakizashi, teasing him. He slid a little closer, finally able to grab it, when Reizo's knee came down on his wrist. There wasn't any force to the blow, and he had set his knee slowly on Kenshin's wrist, but the weight alone caused Kenshin to cry out.

"Drop it," Reizo growled. He pushed down on the back of Kenshin's head with one of his hands. The other was trying to pry Kenshin's fingers away from the sword. Kenshin's other hand was currently trapped underneath him. "Drop it," Reizo hissed again.

Kenshin clutched the wakizashi as hard as he could. He glared up at Reizo. "Where's Neko?"

"She's fine, now let go." Reizo was not going to allow Kenshin to arm himself; he couldn't take that chance. He grabbed Kenshin's hand and slowly began to twist it. "Let go or I'll break your wrist." He turned his wrist slowly, showing Kenshin he was serious. Soon the pain became unbearable; with a yell, Kenshin's fingers uncurled from around the sword.

As the sword clattered to the floor Reizo turned Kenshin carefully onto his back. He was too weak to even protest. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to get them to focus. One moment Reizo was a blurry blob in front of him, the next there were three of him, and sometimes there was only one.

For a moment, Kenshin thought about calling out for help. Not for his sake, but for Neko's. Reizo knew where she was. If he got away they would never find Neko. As he moved to open his mouth in order call out, Reizo quickly clasped a hand over his mouth. "Now, now," he whispered. "I don't want things any more difficult than they already are." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rag. He had guessed Kenshin would attempt to yell sooner or later.

While he pulled it out, Kenshin wasn't about to cooperate with him. He bit down on as much of Reizo's skin as he could. With a hiss Reizo pulled back his hand; however, he was still too fast for Kenshin to yell. He quickly shoved the rag into Kenshin's mouth. Then he examined his hand. Two little cuts were on his palm, barely bleeding. They still stung.

Kenshin couldn't work his arms; he tried to raise them, to get the rag out of his mouth. They were useless, he was hardly able to raise them off the floor. 'He won't quit,' Reizo noted as he watched Kenshin's arms attempt to move. Kenshin's eyes rolled around in his head, in an attempt to keep himself awake. "Just relax, Himura. It will all be over soon. I promise, I won't let Hiroko hurt Neko or ..." Kenshin was drifting, he couldn't make out what Reizo was saying. "Rest ... alright ... I'm ... help." He couldn't fight it anymore. Kenshin's eyes finally closed.

Reizo checked to make sure Kenshin was out. Now he had a bigger problem: getting out without being spotted. Last night had been easy, except for when he screwed up and woke Kenshin. It should have been so easy. The girl first, then he was going to give Kenshin the shot, and carry them both out of there. In the dead of night no one would have stopped him. Or at least get the girl without anyone seeing him, then when she came up missing he could have acted dumb. No one would have suspected him, but Himura had seen him take her and now he had to get him out of here without being stopped.

There was a window in the room, he could go out that. He had already gone out and placed a pile of wood underneath it so he could get down easier. "But first..." From a hidden pocket he took out a coil of rope. "No telling how long Yasuo's potion will last." Moving quickly, he wrapped the rope around Kenshin's body so that his arms were tied against his sides. 'Now how to move him without anyone on the street getting suspicious? I can't carry an unconscious man, tied up, with red hair, and a cross shaped scar down the road without anyone getting suspicious.' Grabbing a blanket, he wrapped it around Kenshin's body, doing his best to make it look like a cloak.

Finally satisfied, he hauled Kenshin out the window. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Reizo knew he didn't have long to hang around. Picking up Kenshin's limp form he held him as a friend who would help carry another friend who had too much to drink. Making sure that the blanket was covering Kenshin's face and any other features that would make someone suspect otherwise, he quickly got himself and Kenshin away from the Inn.

"Himura-san?" Yasuo tapped on the door lightly. The sedative would be starting to wear off soon and he wanted to be there when Himura woke up. 'He's going to be very angry at me.' Hidden in his pocket he had another dose of the sedative, a bit stronger this time, just in case Himura still didn't want to listen to reason. He had also brought three stronger men with him, just in case.

"I'm coming in Himura-san." He opened the door quietly, not wanting to wake the man he thought inside, just in case he was still sleeping. Sticking his head in his mouth dropped when he found the room empty. "He's gone!" Reizo had left no sign of struggle, so Yasuo came to the only logical conclusion he could at that moment. "How could have he left even after all that!" He turned around quickly. "I must tell Katsura-san immediately!

Elsewhere Kenshin was just beginning to wake up. His head pounded slightly, and he couldn't help but to utter a small groan. A voice called out to him. "You up?"

Reizo. Kenshin's fists shook with anger, his eyes snapped open, and there was Reizo, sitting there watching him. Kenshin attempted to sit up and yell at the man, but he found his arms pinned to his sides and a gag tied tightly around his mouth. That didn't stop him; it angered him further, but didn't stop him. He struggled against the ropes that were wound tightly around him and tried to yell past the gag that kept him silent.

Reizo couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "Will you calm down? You're just going to hurt yourself. Not to mention you might wake Neko up."

Neko? Kenshin stopped yelling. What did he mean?

He stuck out his thumb and pointed in front of Kenshin. "See? She's still sleeping."

Lifting his head as far as he could, Kenshin could just make out Neko's sleeping form. She was resting on a futon close to his feet. He looked back towards Reizo who was kneeling next to a long table, eating some kind of noodle. From his position on the floor Kenshin couldn't tell what it was exactly. The table was very long, it looked like someone could sleep comfortably on top of it.

"If you're willing to relax, I'll explain what's going on." Kenshin studied Reizo a moment. After a moment he unclenched his fists and relaxed his body. Closing his eyes, he figured he didn't have many choices right now. "Good," Reizo said with a smile. "I'll start at the beginning.

"You see, my family, we've always been spies for the Shogun. My father was a spy, my father's father, his father's … well, you get the idea." He waved his hand absentmindedly. "Anyway, I never enjoyed being a spy. Hated it, actually. I hated building someone's trust, knowing I was only building it to crush it. It hurt more and more each time I did it." Right now Kenshin didn't have much sympathy for Reizo. "Then I got an assignment I never thought I would live through. I had to befriend the Battousai. I have to admit, you were pretty intimidating.

"For a few weeks, I tried to get close to you. You're not very social." He laughed a little, but immediately stopped when Kenshin shot him a quick glare. "During the time I was trying to get close to you I leaked all the information I could gather to the Shinsengumi. What changed, you ask? Remember the story I told Neko? The day you saved my life in battle? That day changed everything.

"Being a spy and hiding as a soldier meant that I was suppose to fight as a soldier would. I killed the men on my side, and they had the chance to kill me. I wouldn't blame them, they wouldn't have know I was on their side. I felt so helpless when I was about to be killed from someone on my own side. Then you came and saved my life. Remember later I came to thank-you for what you did? I remember that day. It changed my life."

"Himura-san. I want to thank-you--"

"For what?"

"For saving me."

Kenshin's eyes moved down to the ground. "I don't want to be thanked for killing."

Reizo was surprised. He never thought the Battousai could look so depressed over killing. "This is war, everyone kills."

"Someday there will be peace. On that day…" He reached up and touched his left cheek. "On that day…"

Reizo thought for a moment. "Himura-san, what do you fight for?"

"I still remember what you told me. 'I fight for a world where people can be free. Free to chose their own paths and to live happy and free.' That moment I really started to think about what the Ishin Shishi were fighting for. If things were like what you're fighting for, then I wouldn't have to be a spy. I could be whatever I wanted. So I decided to change my loyalties. I wanted to see this new age with my own eyes. An age where someone could be what they wanted to be, not what their parents were. I stopped leaking information, or I gave false information. Any information I knew I leaked to the Ishin Shishi instead. I wanted to help in any way I could without blowing my cover."

Reizo was silent a moment. "Now, if you promise not to yell, I'll take off the gag. It wouldn't matter anyway. No one would be able to hear you." Kenshin gave a small nod and Reizo took off the gag.

"Where are we?" Kenshin asked, once he was able to.

"Away from Kyoto. I found an old two room shack, and that's where we are."

"Why? Why did you do this?" he struggled against the ropes.

Reizo sighed. "Hiroko," he said grimly. Kenshin froze and starred at Reizo. "He found you. He's the one who ordered me to do this." Kenshin's mouth moved into a snarl. "He figured out where they were hiding you, he's going to attack tonight. He's expecting you to be knocked out from that drug he gave me. I didn't know what to do, I just knew I had to get both of you out of there. I came across this place while looking for somewhere to hide you and Neko."

Kenshin's thoughts were racing, focused on one thing. Reizo said that Hiroko was going to attack and Katsura was still there. "Untie me!" he yelled, trying to free himself again. "Katsura-san is--"

"Relax." Reizo put a hand on his shoulder. "I left Katsura-san a note warning him of the attack. Not to mention my actions must have warned everyone by now to get out of there." Neko moaned slightly and the two froze, looking at her. She just yawned and settled down again. Reizo let out a sigh of relief. "I'll check and make sure Katsura-san has left. On one condition. You stay here! You're in no shape to fight against Hiroko should you run into him."

Kenshin gave a small grunt, but didn't deny it. Actually he was feeling kind of tired again. 'Yasuo's sedative must not have completely gone yet.'

"Are you listening, Himura?"

"Hm?" He hadn't even realized that Reizo was talking.

"I said I'd untie you if you promise to stay here. Someone needs to watch over Neko."

He eyed Reizo carefully. "Why would you untie me?"

With a tired sigh, Reizo rubbed his eyes. "I'm trying to help you. The only reason I tied you in the first place was because I thought you would kill me as soon as you woke up." To Kenshin's amazement, Reizo reached over and started to untie the knots. "Now don't kill me," he joked as he pulled the ropes away.

Kenshin sat up, suppressing a groan as he did so. His right side ached relentlessly. "I'm going, I'll make sure Katsura-san has left. There's some soup there if you want some." Kenshin didn't attempt to hide the annoyance in his face; he wasn't about to have soup, especially if it was offered by someone connected to the Shinsengumi. Reizo merely shrugged. "You don't have to eat it, I just thought I would offer some. It's on the table if you change your mind." With that he walked out the front door, leaving Kenshin and Neko alone.

'Should I trust him?' Kenshin looked over at Neko; she seemed fine. Sleeping peacefully, a wet cloth on her head to keep her fever down. Reizo seemed to be taking care of her. 'He had me, he could have killed me easily if he wanted to.' He was confused. Part of him wanted to pick up Neko and get the hell out of there, wherever they were. Somewhere near Kyoto. The other part of him just wanted to go back to sleep. His body demanded more rest, the healing gash on his side started to pound in rhythm to his injured rib.

He leaned his head back down, sleep overcoming his tired body and mind quickly.

Takeo looked around the room. He couldn't believe that Himura had walked out on his own. Yasuo was a very wise doctor; his sedative should have worked. His eyes stopped once more on Kenshin's swords. His eyes always went back to the swords. Why hadn't he taken them with him? It just didn't make sense, could the sedative have clouded his thoughts so much that he had forgotten his swords? Takeo didn't think so.

He searched the room for more clues; his eye caught a quick glimmer of light. Looking towards the source, he found a stray needle. It was full and ready for use. "Who would have left something like this behind?" he thought out loud. "I don't think anyone here would have left this behind." Takeo suspected foul play in Himura's disappearance.

Something was wrong. Kenshin wearily opened his heavy eyes, blinking a few times. "Yay! You're up!" Neko's voice called to him. "Where are we? I don't remember coming here."

Kenshin carefully sat up, pain running through his every nerve. "I'm not sure where we are," he admitted.

Neko was already sitting up. She cocked her head to the side slightly. "Why don't you know?"

"Reizo brought us here." Something didn't seem right. He warily got to his feet, unable to hold back a yell as he did so.

"Kenshin!" Neko cried, worried about him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." With dizzying steps, he made his way to the door. Leaning on the wall, to keep from falling over, he slowly opened the door just enough to take a peek outside. As he did he wanted to take back what he had just said to Neko.

Outside was a band of Shinsengumi with a smirking Hiroko in the lead.