05/06--- Chapter under went plastic surgery to clean away a few glaring errors and better prepare for upcoming events. Basic plot remains the same, if you care to skip over and move directly to the most recently uploaded chapter. Thank you. DoC

Chains Required, Whips Optional

A Tale of Rurouni Kenshin

Chapter Two: Life Is Just a Bowl of Pits

The world was bouncing and swaying. Wood creaked and scraped against metal braces. And there were other noises. Sounding of pain, sympathy… fear. The very air was oppressed with fright and worry. Everything continued to bounce and sway.

Those voices, he should know em'. They were people. Girls. Young. He knew them. Another distinct moan sounded near by. He knew that voice too. Those pain filled moans were all too familiar for some reason. Who ever was behind them, seemed to be garnering attention from the other three voices.

Wrestling with the black curtain that blanketed and muffled his senses, Sanosuke mentally swore. He needed to know what was going on. Where was he? Who were these people? He wanted to… to ease them some how. The curtain finally yielded. Slowly, it gave way, but the main act on stage was quick to take hold. Pain.

Well, one question answered. The moans belonged to him.

"Sanosuke!" The voice was breathy, tinged with a pain of its own, "Sano, please, wake up. Please! Open your eyes…"

Something tugged at the jacket on his waist, "Please, Uncle Sano! Open your eyes!"

This groan he dampened. The young man realized he couldn't afford to worry these people like that. Kaoru, Ayame, Suzume… those were the names behind the voices. He drew on his renowned stamina, elk brown eyes that bellied the thin figure opened to greet the world. To soothe those girls. Cornflower irises met his gaze. Tired, weak, pained. Kaoru. He was sprawled in an ungainly position on a seat far to short for his frame. The ex-gangster's head was cushioned by the young assistant master's lap. Ayame and Suzume knelt beside the seat, both of their hands wound in his coat.

"Yey! Uncle Sano, you okay?"

"Yeah Uncle Sano, you 'kay?"

Kaoru sighed and gently brushed the stray bangs from his forehead. "Thank Buddha."

He wanted to respond, but lips made of lead refused to move. Invisible weights worked to bring down his eyelids. Pain tore at his right shoulder, and a whispered sting made itself known on his left side mid rib cage and in his midsection. The shadow pain he associated with bruising covered the greater part of him. The young man's stomach roiled. This was… all wrong. What the hell had…?

Right, they had been attacked. Kaoru had been… Eyes shifted towards the young woman's middle, right side. A bandage had been hastily wrapped there. It was soaked red. Sano realized then that his own abdomen was bare. The wrappings removed to work as bandages for the girl and his shoulder. Now that he had realized it, the coppery scent of blood burned strong in his nostrils. Kaoru's, his own. His belly squirmed. The world lurched again and he fought the bile that burned at the back of his throat.

Eyes turned back up to the eldest girl, he struggled with brute determination against his disobedient mouth. What had been in that rag? Didn't matter right now. "Where…?"

Kaoru closed her eyes and leaned back, one hand beside her, the other rested on Sanosuke's chest. "A carriage. After you were… taken down, they took us all about a kilometer from the dojo and loaded us in. I don't know where we're going; they don't have windows in here."

A carriage, that explained why the world was moving like it was. "Shit."

This was followed quickly by a child's reprimanding, "Uncle Sano…"

He would have snorted if it didn't sound like so much work. Instead, he took a deep breath, and swallowed hard. "Why?"

A little girl, must'a been Suzume, began explaining quite properly, "Because swearing sounds bad and good grown ups don't say things like that 'cause it's im- improper."

Kaoru laughed weakly. "I think he was talking to me, Suzume-chan. Why were we taken? I- I don't know for sure. They haven't said anything directly to us. But, from what I've overheard…" She glanced carefully at the two tender young girls in their presence, "The… men who took us work for someone with a grudge against Kenshin. We're being taken hosta-… umm, kept in their company to bring Kenshin out."

Sano sighed and allowed his heavy eyes to close. Figured. Everyone had a grudge against the legendary hitokiri it seemed. He never blamed it on Kenshin, but really, didn't these guys live lives of their own? Wait, this out of the man that held a grudge against the Ishin Shishi for how long. Ah hell, that was different… Never mind, that was also off topic. Opening his eyes again he asked his final, and perhaps most important question. "You… Okay?"

The young woman offered him a tired smile and ran her free hand through his bangs. "I'll be all right. As soon as we get out of here. I just… I feel so useless. I'm nothing more than a thing to be used against Kenshin. I…"

She trailed off as Sanosuke's large calloused hand was gently laid over the one on his chest. It had been an effort to do that, but she needed physical comfort. "Jou-chan… N- not you're fault."

He would say these words to her. And Sagara Sanosuke meant them. Though, in his own heart, he realized that he himself was very much at fault. He had not protected his little sister in her time of need and those two kids. As a fighter, and as a friend, he had failed. This was why he would not allow Kaoru to burden herself as such. Not for his responsibility. Neither would he burden her with his own conscious. She didn't need to worry any more. He squeezed the hand he had trapped; the young woman turned it in his grasp and returned the sentiments. "I know, thank you."

The cabin remained silent for a few moments; Sanosuke allowed his eyes to fall shut again and focused his attention on keeping the contents of his stomach right where they were as the carriage continued lurching along. Ayame, in a tiny voice spoke up, "I'm scared."

"I know, sweetie, but we have to be brave right now." Kaoru counseled.

Sano sighed and silently freed the little girl's hand from his jacket and held it in the palm of his right hand. After a moment he gathered Suzume's there as well. His left hand still covered Kaoru's. Sanosuke knew he had few options. He may have failed them in the first place, now it was up to him to free them. Gritting his teeth, he prayed for the carriage ride to be a long one despite his touchy tummy. He would need all the strength he could get to return to him before that dark wooden door was opened again.

---------------

Increasing his pace again, the red head realized he was very nearly at a run. Yahiko was panting hard beside him in an effort to keep up on his shorter legs. Something was nagging at him. He could not name it exactly, but Kenshin knew that something was terribly wrong.

He appreciated the silence of the youth beside him, an understanding beyond his age. Yahiko had questioned him when mid market trip he had turned and headed straight back for the dojo. Kenshin had told the boy of his feeling of ill will and Yahiko had questioned no further. A good choice as the elder of the two was in no mood for such things at the moment.

Kaoru-dono was in danger, of that there was no doubt.

All ready narrowed eyes hardened as they're approach of the dojo showed the gates wide open. He stopped. The boy slid to a stop a few paces ahead of him. "What are you doing, Kenshin? Kaoru never leaves those gates open, this is bad! Come on, we have to get in there and…"

"I do not believe there is anyone in there at the moment, Yahiko. However, a sense of danger prevails here. I suggest we enter with caution, that I do."

The boy stiffened slightly and glared at the outer walls of the dojo as though he expected an attack to spring from them. Kenshin knew better. There was no sense of presence with in those walls. He would not tell his young companion such, as what ever was there would require Yahiko to be on alert. Taking the lead, the red haired Rurouni cautiously walked through the gates.

Yahiko looked about everywhere, scrutinizing the property. "Everything looks all right out here, Kenshin, I'll go check inside."

The man's eyes however, had drifted toward the ground. Bangs covered what may have been a flash of amber in their violet depths. "You will find nothing inside, that you won't. What we seek is in the back."

"What do you mean by that? I…," The boy glanced at the ground for the first time himself, and noted the dark spots that haphazardly stained it. "Blood. Oh."

Kenshin continued on with out waiting for Yahiko to draw his conclusion. Fear burned in his belly and drove him to the source. A chilling scene awaited the two behind the dojo. A struggle had obviously taken place, a great deal of blood shed. The boy gasped in shock of it, the samurai had no time for such trivials.

Quickly he took in and assessed the area. The two blood pools, now soaked into the dirt, the ground around them suggested who had left them. The one nearest the steps expressed a body print of someone small, but not a child. Kaoru-dono. The other was nearer the well; a much larger frame had fallen here, and put up quite a struggle in doing so. The prints and scars on the yard suggested that this person was the one who fought hardest. Kenshin's lips thinned, Sanosuke's style was easy to recognize. Tatterings of cloth in one area of the yard looked like the typical mouth covering of a ninja. Or a man who wanted disguise.

Kenshin closed his eyes briefly, imagining the scene in action. They had been attacked. Kaoru-dono had obviously been wounded first. A battle had taken place, Sano and approximately thirteen to fifteen other men involved. Sano had been doing well. Something took him down and took him down hard. Not an easy thing to do where Sagara Sanosuke was concerned. Violet eyes again studied the area, a glint of light reflected back at him from the ground. A shell casing. Guns.

"Hey, Kenshin. I found a note here…"

The man nodded and moved to Yahiko's side where a parchment of paper was pinned to the wall with a shuriken. Kenshin stiffened as he read through it.

-Hitokiri Battôsai,

I have in my possession four people which you may want back. Two children, I believe they've been called Ayame and Suzume. Sagara Sanosuke. And of course, Kamiya Kaoru.

My conditions for their return are simple; I wish a duel with you so I may avenge the one I lost.

Let us make this interesting. Every day that passes as of tomorrow morning, I will take one of their lives. I'll save your young Kamiya girl for last.

Hurry, hurry, hitokiri!

I will see you where the sun rises unblemished and the breezes blow un-headed. Perhaps my guests will enjoy this yamajiro(1) in the sky.

Kuromori Ichiro-

Yahiko had watched him read the note, and obviously reread it a second time. "This guy has a lot of guts to take them as hostages! Kuromori?"

The fiery haired man let out a quiet breath. "The elder brother of one Kuromori Suekichi. The younger brother was a marked swordsman who fought against the Imperialists during the war. He fell to my sword."

"And this Kuromori is after revenge. Of course. I don't get it; he gives you a deadline but doesn't say where to go!"

"He is holding them at the Matsuo-jo (2), that he is."

Kenshin had turned from the note and was all ready walking toward the gate. Yahiko jogged to catch up. "The Matsuo-jo, what's that?"

"A great mansion built by a rich merchant named Matsuo. It was built on a tiny isle just off the northern ocean coast near Hachinohe (3). The piece of land is entirely hill, and the mansion is suspended high above the waters. Often referred to as the 'castle in the sky', that it is. Just before the beginning of the war it was used as a prison to hold dangerous convicts. The Ishin Shishi (4) had no men to spare during the war and the isle was abandoned."

"That can't be good news. So, North then."

Kenshin silently shook his head. "Town first, I must request a carriage for this journey. It will be nigh impossible to make this journey on foot in the time frame given. I'm afraid it will be close by horse as it is, that it will."

---------------

The carriage was slowing. Looked like the ride was coming to an end. Placing both hands on the bench beneath him, Sanosuke fought his uncooperative body into an upright sitting position. Never mind the help from Kaoru; he was sitting of his own accord. That was an accomplishment in its self at the moment. That shit they'd made him suck in, that really did a number on a guy!

"Sano, what ever it is you think you're going to do… I don't think your going to be able to do it at the moment. Maybe you should just…,"

"Just lay back down like a bump on a log? No fuckin' way Jou-chan."

Kaoru rolled her eyes at his stubborn ways. "Fine. Okay Mr. Tuff guy, what do you plan to do? Kick open the door and puke all over them?"

Sano put on his best pouting look. "And what would be so wrong with that plan? And, wait a sec, what makes you think I'm gonna hurl?"

The girl was obviously fatigued, and more than borderline frustrated. "Because you've been as white as a ghost since you woke up in here and now that you're sitting up you've gone gray. I don't need to be Megumi to figure out what comes next, Sagara!"

Well, the ex-gangster himself was way past frustrated and in no mood to hear this sweaty little girl spout off at 'im. "Listen here, Jou-chan! I gotta lot of practice at not hurlin' when everyone thinks I should. And if I need to be strong enough to do something agains' these guys than I will be!"

"Then how come you're still leaning on me? Would you like me to hold your hand while you're 'attacking' these guys too? Or am I just supposed to scrape you off the floor when their done, jerk!"

"I don't fuckin' need any one to…!"

"Stop it! Stop it please!" Fat tears were making tracks down young Ayame's face as she grasped a hold of each of the 'adult's' hands. Suzume clung to the back of her elder sister's Kimono, two bright brown eyes and an upset little face peaking out from behind a shoulder. "Big sister Kaoru, Uncle Sano, you guys have ta' stop arguing, please? I don't want to hear you arguing. Not here, please? We have to be brave now, you said. So no arguing, please?"

Amazingly, the assistant master of the Kamiya dojo looked as utterly chastised as he felt. Go figure, took a six year old to point out the obvious. Sanosuke ran a hand through his unruly hair and let out a long breath. "Yeah, yeah, kid. Fine." He was in no mood to allow for easy defeats, even in pointless battles. But still, "I'm umm… I'm sorry."

Kaoru offered her own general apology as well. They sat in silence for a time as the carriage came to its final halt and the listened to the muffled orders being passed around outside. Sano snorted. "Wonder how much of our little yelling match they just heard?"

"Enough to think we hate each other, I'm sure."

"You really think pukin' on 'em would be a good plan?"

"I thought you said you knew how to hold it in."

"I do, figured I could just take aim and let fly."

"All you'd do is tick them off, Sanosuke."

The young man grinned mischievously; it prolly looked odd with the pallor of his skin in the dim light of the carriage. "So, they'd be messy and ticked. 'Sides, I'd rather make a mess all over them than over you."

Kaoru glared pointedly at him. "Gee. Thanks."

Ayame and Suzume, whose mutual expression was becoming more disgusted as the conversation continued, grimaced at each other. Suzume then turned a dirty look on the adults. "That's ucky."

At that moment, the door opened. Four men entered, each with a hand gun and found a hostage to aim it at. The apparent leader inside spoke up, turning his eyes specifically on Sanosuke. "Any of you thinks of doing anything and one of your little friends is gonna bite the bullet, got it? Good. Sagara, up and out first."

Hauling himself to unsteady legs, the young man swayed. More than he needed to, but the weaker they believed him to be, the better. The speaker groaned pointedly and aided him to the entry way. Sano looked out over a large group of men, more 'en fifteen here. Not as good of a time to make a stand as he had hopped. And not with pistils aimed at his companions. They had stopped along a beach. Six row boats were pulled onto the shore there. Sanosuke groaned. He really hopped they weren't going on a ship. Eyes lifted across the waters and widened abruptly.

An island. And a big structure. He should know about this, he'd heard about it once in the underworld…

The man behind him was apparently fed up with his gawkin', as he 'helped' the ex-gangster down the stairs. Bet the guy's buddies weren't too pleased with his shove when the found themselves sprayed in a most unwanted shower. On hands and knees at the bottom of the steps, Sano grinned slightly to himself. At least his stomach felt better.

A disgruntled ninja-wanna-be hauled him again to his feet and he was half dragged over too a long boat. The man holding Suzume clambered in as well. Kaoru and Ayame were separated from them. The young man felt grim and starred wordlessly over the waters, his minor triumph all ready forgotten. That island… that giant stone and wood structure…

Could it really be the Matsuo-jo?

Language notes:

(1)Yamajiro: mountain castle

(2) -jo: The suffix –jo on the name of a castle literally means 'castle'. In this case Matsuo-jo.

(3)Hachinohe: This is a city near the northern part of mainland Japan. It's a coastal city on the Pacific Ocean side of the country.

(4)Ishin Shishi: Loyalist or pro-Imperialist patriots who fought to restore the emperor to his ancient seat of power.

BTW: For anyone who would like to know. Matsuo-jo is entirely a fictional castle. You won't find any actual reference to it. I just sort of dreamed it up for the purpose of a nice set for a portion of this fic, all right?

Author's Note:

Wow! I'm really impressed with you folks! I'm used to my review crowd in DBZ land, but I wasn't sure how well the audience takes over here in RK land. Thank you very much for this wonderfully pleasant surprise!

I'm sorry, no, this is not a Sano/Kaoru romance ficcy. It's not a romance at all. I'm telling you, I'm writing this strictly for blood, gore, pain, and angst! Sano and Kaoru are marked as the main characters on the story because, that's what they are. I guess I'd just like to be different in the story pool by having those two work off of each other with out any romantic inclinations. Besides, excuse my narrow point of view, but those two? That would be odd…

Now then, how was that? Recommendations for me? Criticisms? Fluffy comments to make an authoress giggle? I'll leave that up to you.

Once again, next chapter will be posted when I get it typed.

DoC