Chapter 6

Sano had gone off somewhere just after breakfast and had returned with a map of Mari's home and the surrounding area. Only D questioned where he got the map and Sano just smirked. He decided to drop the matter and began looking over the layout of the area, trying to come up with some sort of plan to find Aoshi.

Misao had come in with Karou, Yahiko, and Kenshin as Sano and D were trying to make some kinda plans. Kenshin promptly sat down next to D and pointed out a few things he had missed.

"She's liable to have several guards all around her home and the surrounding area if she's as powerful as you say D-dono. I suggest looking for a weak place in their defenses, usually around the sides of the complex and not the back like most people think," Kenshin said as he traced several portions of the map. D simply nodded and stood, picking up his sword and hat as he headed for the door.

"Oye! Where are you going?" Sano said, standing to face D.

"Daytime is the best time to attack Mari and her people. They operate mostly at night and daytime is their weakness." And with that D headed out the door to where his horse was being cared for.

Kenshin took a quick glance at everyone and dashed out the door after D, his sakaba in hand and Sano right on his heels.

(The day before …)

Aoshi surprised himself when he awoke with a groan and found himself back on the bed. He felt stiff all over and the side of his neck throbbed with pain. As he sat up holding the side of his neck he realized that he wasn't alone. Mari was sitting at the foot of the bed, watching him with an amused smile.

"Did you sleep well? It's been almost two days now."

Aoshi just looked at her in shock. Two days! How could I have been asleep for two whole days? The last thing I remember was waking up a little while ago and seeing her come in… we talked and then…The realization of what had happened hit Aoshi like a ton of bricks and he rolled off the bed to get as far away from Mari as he could. She simply stood up and looked at him with the same amused smile, like the one you give a child when they do something cute.

"Stay the hell away from me!"

"Aww, but I'm not finished yet Aoshi-sama," she said as she walked towards him, making Aoshi back up against the wall. He threw a quick glance at her before bolting for the door, kicking it down with one strike and rushing out before the guards could figure out what happened.

"Well, don't just stand there you fools, GET HIM!" Mari screamed as she came out of Aoshi's room, giving the guards a push to get them going. Aoshi had dodged around a corner and out of sight by the time the guards started after him. With a frustrated shout Mari began to chase after him herself followed closely by her two guards.

Aoshi quickly tried the first door he came to and with luck it opened. He quickly dove inside and closed it behind him, putting his ear to the door to listen. He held his breath as Mari and her goons came racing past. He heard one of them hesitate before going past his hiding place and he breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to look at the room he dashed into he stood there in shock for a moment. Aoshi thought he had come into a funeral parlor since there was a big hardwood and silver coffin laying in the middle of the room upon a table. The rest of the room looked normal except for that one fact.

Turning back to the door to listen, Aoshi made up his mind to leave this room and find a way out of there before he ended up in a box like that. Checking to make sure the way was clear he crept back out into the hallway and headed back towards the room he had been imprisoned in. When he ran away from there he'd noticed a few windows along the wall but didn't have a chance to take advantage of them.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Aoshi flung the door wide open and made a mad dash for the nearest window. Just before reaching the sill one of Mari's guards appeared out of thin air to bar his way. Making a last ditch effort to escape he charged right at the guard, only to find him gone and Mari standing in his place. Seeing her caused him to stop short, giving the guard, who appeared behind him, enough time to grab Aoshi in a fierce bear hug.

"Found you my little treasure," Mari purred as she ran a long nail down Aoshi's cheek as he struggled. "Aww, don't fret my dear, it will all be over soon. We will have company tomorrow morning and all will come to an end."

With a nod from Mari, the huge guard smacked Aoshi upside the head to knock him out. The last thoughts Aoshi had as the darkness closed in were…who's coming…and how will this all end?

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Please R&R!