Chapter 2

"Have we far to go?" The red-haired samurai sounded weary as he staggered under the weight of a 50-pound sack. The sweltering sun did not help matters either and Kenshin perspired heavily from the effort of putting one foot in front of the other.

"Only a couple of miles to go," replied the elderly lady cheerfully, who was plodding steadily ahead of a half-dead Kenshin. She beamed and launched into the subject for the 20th time. "It was so nice of you, young man in offering to be of assistance. I was wondering how I was ever going to lug this heavy bundle all the way home. What a great pity there aren't more nice young men in this world….BLA…BLA…..BLA"

His ears automatically shutting off the old woman's words, Kenshin trudged on with difficulty until finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she halted in front of a rundown shack.

"Won't you come in and join us for dinner, young man?" The old lady was insistent and gave Kenshin hardly any choice by yanking hard on his arm, forcing him to enter her home. "My daughter will be cooking dinner. Look! There she is…….Now don't you think she'll make a very good wife for you, young man?"

A hideously figure with distorted features and too generously applied make-up appeared by Kenshin's side all of a sudden, batting her eyelids at him as well as throwing him coy glances. "Ooooo…… what do we have here? Beautiful body…..a little short perhaps, but I can bear with that……stunning on, mister….show me your muscles…."

The sun was setting fast before Kenshin was able to shake off the girl's clutching fingers and convince the old lady that there were more prospective young men out there who deserved her daughter far more. Kaoru's gonna kill me…….Kaoru's gonna kill me……was about all Kenshin could think of as he stumbled out of the house in a hurry and sped off home. At the thought of Kaoru's terrifying expression when she got mad, Kenshin gulped and his pace quickened.

"Miss Kaoru, I'm so sorry, but you see…I saw this old lady in complications….no, no, no….that's not good enough….Miss Kaoru, guess what happened? There was this old lady who needed help badly and so…..wait, no, no…. that's still not convincing …." Kenshin was deep in contemplation when a dismaying thought struck him. "THE TOFU! I FORGOT!"

Back in the dojo…….A powerfully built stranger, surrounded by 3 tough and menacing-looking men, surveyed the 5 sleeping figures with growing anger. "The Battousai's not here, you idiot!" He slammed a great fist into one of the men's jaw, who was flung back against the wall. "But…but….I didn't know, Master," he whimpered, cowering in the corner.

"YOU'RE A FOOL! But it doesn't matter….Battousai, you're still going to die in my hands! WAHAHAHAHA…….."

His men laughed with him, but with a tinge of uneasiness. He glared at them through cold dagger eyes and they froze with terror. "What are you laughing about? Get these pathetic people and let's get a move on!"

Kenshin arrived at the dojo 15 minutes later, panting and puffing and was surprised to see it shrouded in darkness. Immediately suspicious, he moved stealthily from one room to another, his hand poised over his reverse-edged blade and his eyes probing the empty darkness for signs of movement.

"Miss Kaoru?" The words bounced off the walls, resulting in a series of eerie sounding echoes. Kao…kao…ru………ru…Kenshin silently surveyed the dining area and his sharp eyes immediately picked out the letter, tied with a ribbon……Kaoru's ribbon. Kenshin's eyes narrowed as he quickly scanned through the letter. Its contents was as expected, it simply demanded the Battousai's presence at the abandoned shrine at midnight precisely. The consequences of the instructions not being carried out remained unstated…simply left to Kenshin's own imagination.

When he was done, Kenshin's expression was even grimmer. It was obvious, he had no choice but to do as he was told. But he had time to make one visit ……before the clock strikes midnight.