Racial slurs on the horizon.

Take Me Back to Kyoto

Kenshin let Aggie get off the bus first, holding onto her shoulders for support as he didn't see their legal guardian right away.

"You useless pupil! Didn't I tell you that I was expecting you to watch out for your little sister?" Hiko came up from behind the pair, grabbing his ear and twisting it viciously as he led them away from the bus.

"Hey, I'm your pupil too, Poppi! Don't you trust me to protect myself?"

"Of course, I trust you, little one," the master said, giving her a one-armed hug as he dragged Kenshin behind him. "But I set your brother a task this weekend and he failed in it."

"Daddy! It was late, it was a sneak attack, and it was in the girls' room! What was he supposed to do? Psychically know what these people were planning and camp out in my room to stop it?"

"If that's what it took!"

"Daddy, you're being ridiculous! Even you, with your awesome strength and power, couldn't have prevented this from happening. Sometimes people just make bad choices and we have to deal with the fallout of that. It's unfortunate, but it happens."

"My wonderfully wise little girl," Hiko praised her, releasing his male pupil to wrap his other arm around his daughter. "When I heard about the attack, I was so terrified that something had happened to you. Turns out that you took care of it yourself."

"I wasn't afraid, daddy," she said quietly, a confused look on her face. "Not after that first second. I wasn't even a little bit afraid. I just started in on him and didn't stop. If the girls hadn't pulled me off of him, I might have seriously damaged him."

"Well, I called the police for a more detailed explanation of your attacker's injuries. You did an amazing job incapacitating him. He won't be walking with broken legs and busted kneecaps. And he'll have to be transported back to Osaka in an ambulance due to the fluid in his lungs from his severe beating and broken ribs. His jaw is wired shut and he'll be taking his meals through a straw for the next couple of months at least, and his left arm doesn't work anymore. And even with all that damage, he has a severe concussion and he'll never see out of his right eye again. I'm so proud of you for defending yourself so thoroughly, Agatha. You really taught him a lesson about true strength."

"Thank you, daddy," she said happily, snuggling against him and forgetting her earlier complaint. The three left for the jeep after collecting their things from the bus.

… …

"You know, I called that campus too. Now, what is this I hear about you being disqualified from the competition, Kaoru-hime?" Koshijiro asked his daughter sternly.

"But daddy, that awful student was spreading the rumor that Aggie wasn't complaining about being fondled during her fight with Isao because she secretly enjoyed it! I had to defend her honor," the girl said angrily.

"And Aggie couldn't defend her own honor because…?"

"She was in the bathroom," Kaoru shrugged. "If Aggie had been there, she would have-"

"Aggie would have talked Tadaaki down verbally, and figured out a way to humiliate him in the process," Misao jumped in, bouncing over with her and Kaoru's luggage from the trip. "Is that why you challenged him? I didn't hear what he'd been telling the other tables."

"Yeah, you're right. Aggie never would have been caught dead brawling in the middle of a cafeteria. I'm sorry, Dad," she said contritely.

"I think that a few weeks of being grounded, some intense meditation, and a review of the principles of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu should solve this issue, Kaoru. I did not teach you our family style so that you could brawl in the streets like that no-account Sano. This style is to be used in defense of the weak."

"Yes daddy," she said ruefully. Now, thinking about it with a clearer head, it had been stupid to attack Tadaaki like she had. He'd only been using his words after all. It wasn't like the idiots around town, where they struck first and she defended herself accordingly. This time she'd been in the wrong. "I didn't mean to disgrace our ancestors."

"I'm sure they would understand, honey. You're just a kid after all," Koshijiro winked at her. "Come on, Yahiko will be waiting for us."

"Oh Kami-sama! Yahiko is never going to let me live it down, getting disqualified from nationals." The father shrugged and corralled his daughter to the car.

Misao watched them head off with a troubled expression on her face. "I guess that Okina called the campus too," she asked her silent companion.

"Aa," Aoshi nodded, shouldering her luggage and heading for his car. Misao followed sedately.

"Is he mad that my ninja training failed me?" she asked quietly. "I should have known there was an intruder in our suite. I should have stopped him from attacking Aggie like he did. I should have-"

"As I'm sure your friend has already pointed out to you, there is no shame in not knowing an enemy is there when he is unexpected. But you have a point, it is likely time to step up your training to include ki reading. According to Hiko-sama, Aggie-chan has discovered this new talent and has begun developing it through meditation. If she, with this ability at her disposal, couldn't prevent the attack on her life, how were you expected to?"

Her boyfriend's words soothed her troubled spirit. She wrapped herself around his free arm and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Aoshi-sama," she whispered. "You know, now that Aggie's gone all meditation crazy, she might come and ask you about techniques and stuff. She was hard core meditating every night. I couldn't believe it, it looked so boring, but she was totally into it."

"It may appear boring, Mi-chan. But it's anything but. I am happy that Aggie-chan has embraced this part of her training. There is a great deal of power to be found in the meditative mind."

"Whatever you say, Aoshi-sama," the girl said, sounding skeptical. They loaded up into their car and left for the Aoiya. Okina had been very watchful about their time together since Misao had managed to snag her crush's attention.

Soujiro watched the trio of girls take off with a troubled frown on his usually smiling face. If he'd been smart, he would have led Agatha away from her friends and into an ambush by the Hiruma brothers the night before the tournament ended. But with the whole Nakamura incident, things had been too hot - there'd been too many eyes on the dark-skinned girl - to successfully carry out their plan. Not to mention that he doubted the brothers would have succeeded. Isao was about the size and weight and sheer girth of Gohei. If the girl could take on him without issue, then surely she was on the same level with the brothers. His phone rang on the way home.

"We're still waiting here in Tokyo. Where's the girl?"

"Have you not been listening to the news, Hiruma-san? Agatha was attacked by-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know all about that. Something about a rape attempt on the campus. All you have to do is lead her away from the others and we'll take care of the rest."

"Our team left Tokyo this morning. We're back in Kyoto. There were too many eyes on her to lead her away from the group. The News crews were stalking her, looking for reasons for the tournament to be filled with scandal. I-"

"You know what I think, Seta-san," Gohei suddenly growled into the phone. "I think you're starting to actually believe the hype you've caused being in that school. You're starting to enjoy being a regular high school student. But you're not. You gave up that life when you agreed to kill people for money. Forget kidnapping the girl. She's too much trouble. Let's just kill her. Hiko will be heartbroken to discover his little princess murdered. He'll-"

"He won't stop until we're both dead, Gohei. Think this through. We want him devastated, not in a blood fury. We stick to the original plan. Kidnap her, hold her hostage, and demand his seat as the head of the Japanese Council."

"And once he has her back, he will revoke everything and we'll be back where we started. Hiko's too powerful. We either need to break him or permanently incapacitate him. A dead daughter will do wonders in that department. I want her dead. I want her dishonored and dead."

"No. We stick to the plan, my impetuous brother. Dead, Hiko flies off the handle. Alive, we hold that which is most precious to him in our hands. Dishonor on her body will break his spirit and we'll have everything we ever wanted. He'll be full of impotent rage and unable to change the past. Full of guilt and-"

"What if the stubborn nigger talks him out of his guilt? We need to silence her. Permanently."

"I was paid for a kidnapping job," the Tenken reminded them. "I will get her away from her people. What happens to her then will be your responsibility."

"I'm glad we understand one another, Tenken," Kirei said professionally, an evil smile in his voice that bothered the teenager for some reason. He disconnected the line and shouldered his belongings. With two taps of his foot, he was on his way home, moving faster than anyone would think possible. Yes, being an average high school student suited him, but Gohei was right, he'd given up that life when he'd agreed to kill people for money. It was time to get back to work.

Uh Oh. Looks like Agatha is in trouble. Tune in next week to see what happens next.