Author-chan's notes: Hey everyone. I'm out with chapter 12! Things seem to be rolling along here. I've been extremely happy lately, cause I got the first volume of Peacemaker Kurogane (both the DVD and the manga.) It's so good! Ever since I started reading up on the history of Rurouni Kenshin, I've become obsessed with the Bakumastu, particularly the Shinsengumi. PMK just helps feed my little obsession. (Sighs dreamily Okita-san…) Well enough of my ramblings, on with the story!
Key:
"talking"
'thoughts that can only be heard by thinker, a.k.a. private thoughts'
/thoughts that can be heard by thinker and spirits, a.k.a. telepathy/
&&& indicates scene/time change
Like Father Like Son
(Chapter Twelve: Identities)
The outskirts of Tokyo
Of all of Genji's henchmen, Sai was the smartest, craftiest, slyest and most creative of them. Heck, one could say that Sai was smarter than Genji himself. In Genji's group of thieves, Sai was the information gatherer. He kept up to date with all the rumors on the streets as well as all the police and government files. The police station was so pathetically easy to break into in Sai's opinion. Sai also knew how the worth of every piece of merchandise that he ever came across, making him essential to the thieves when they sold their loot on the black market.
But despite his usefulness, did Sai get any respect? No! He did so much for Genji's little group, yet what he got nothing in return. Well, nothing except babysitting duty.
Sai grumbled at that. He had thought the original plan was to drop the kid off at the police station. But no. Genji had to change the plan at the last minute and try to use the kid as a hostage for ransom. Sai was betting that at the moment Genji was writing up a ransom note with that chicken scratch he called handwriting.
Sai glared at the chubby ball of fluff lying in his arms. It had been an entire hour since the group had kidnapped the kid, and the baby was still asleep! The tiny little thing had slept though everything, from Genji shooting Zanza's arm to the mad scramble back to the thieves headquarters. Sai couldn't believe that the kid didn't wake up at the gunshot. It was almost like the baby wasn't disturbed by it, as if it had heard gunshots before. Or maybe the kid was deaf or something…
Sai sighed, and tried to readjust the bundle in his arms. Shou had promised Sai that he would bring a basket to put the baby in, but so far, nothing. Well at least the kid was silent, which was a good thing. Boy, could that kid yell!
For some reason, Sai was having an uncomfortable feeling as he held the bundled up little baby. In fact, Sai had been feeling strange ever since Genji announced that they would be robbing the Kamiya dojo. Something about the name of that place set Sai's nerves on end. Was there a rumor about that place? Sai couldn't remember.
As Sai moved the baby to a more comfortable position, the thief took account of the how the kid looked. The baby was small; but then again all kids were small. The round cheeks and the weight of the baby told Sai that the kid was healthy, and he knew the kid had good lungs in him…at least he thought it was a him. Sai didn't bother to check for physical evidence, but with a name like "Kenichi" the kid was most likely a male.
Sai frowned a bit as he took note of the child's skin tone. Was it natural for a baby to be so pale? Was it natural for anyone to be that pale? The kid was so light it caused the long fringe of eyelashes that fanned over the kid's cheeks to look darker than they really were. The rest of the baby was covered up in some sort of blanket-wrap. Out of curiosity, Sai pulled down the little hood that the blanket created to see how much hair the little tyke had. As soon as he did, Sai's world came crashing down.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
&&&
At Megumi's clinic
Megumi was having a slow day. Very few patients had come in, and to top it all off, they only were there for minor injuries or check-ups. Although this was boring for the doctor, Megumi had to admit it was good that no one was in great danger.
"MEGUMI-SAN!!!" Kenji's voice yelled as the swordsman burst into her office.
"Kenji-kun!" Megumi blinked, looking at the redhead, "What's the matter?"
"Sanosuke," Kenji gasped out, "Gunshot. Dojo. Quick."
"Nani?!" Megumi cried, her eyes wide.
"I have to get Kenichi," Kenji told her quickly, turning away to head out the door, "Take care of Sanosuke."
"Hai," Megumi nodded, quickly grabbing a packed bag she kept in situations like this. The doctor swiftly raced to the dojo, barely noticing the unnaturally dark clouds that were gathering when earlier it had been a perfect blue. As she ran, she prayed that her idiot husband didn't get himself killed this time.
&&&
Back with Cho
Cho swore as he looked up at the darkening sky. He hated rain. Rain meant that his prized swords could get wet and rust. Rain meant that his bright red coat would absorb water making it cling to his skin and add weight to his clothing making it harder for him to move like he wanted. Rain meant puddles that made splashes making it hard to walk silently. And rain meant Cho's signature hairdo would become wet and limp, causing the strands to fall down and make him look more like a mop-head. Yep, Cho hated rain.
So Cho decided it would be wise to take down the idiot punks before the rain fell. Which wouldn't be too hard for him, after all they were just a bunch of punks with little fighting abilities.
With that, Cho walked a little faster, not thinking about the fact that the dark clouds were talking a long time in spilling out their water.
&&&
The outskirts of Tokyo; Back with Sai and Kenichi
Sai was panicking. He was screaming like there was no tomorrow. Of course the little brat in his arms woke up too, and decided to add his cries to Sai's yells.
The kid had red hair. Red! That was bad, very bad. There were only a few people in Japan with red hair, most of them being foreigners. But Sai knew he wasn't holding a foreign baby. What would a foreigner be doing hanging out in a dojo with Zanza as a nursemaid and a name like "Kenichi"?! No this kid was Japanese, pure and simple. And the only person in Japan who was not a foreigner with red hair was Hitokiri Battousai.
Sai had only thought of it as being a joke in saying that the sword they stole belonged to the legendary assassin. But as Sai began putting things together in his head, he realized it might not have been just a simple joke. Zanza's warning about the babe's father or grandfather coming after them echoed throughout Sai's head. With hair like that, Battousai and the baby in his arms were related.
And of course Sai just had to remember the rumor he heard about the Kamiya dojo. A rumor that stated that a mysterious wanderer with red hair and crossed scars had married the assistant master there over seventeen years ago. The rumors that circulated around that wanderer were enough to set Sai's nerves on end. An undefeatable swordsman with red hair and crossed scars once lived at the Kamiya dojo. An undefeatable swordsman with red hair and crossed scars once became known as Hitokiri Battousai. The dots connected in Sai's mind, and with Sai's lightning fast thinking, they connected very, very fast.
'We're going to die, we're going to die!' Sai chanted in his mind, 'We kidnapped Battousai's grandkid. Got to be grandkid, with how Zanza was talking. We kidnapped Battousai's brat's brat! Damn it! According to the rumors Battousai's brat isn't as kind as Battousai himself! We might as well shoot ourselves now!'
"SAI!" a voice shouted as the shoji was thrown open wide and Shou walked into the room from outside, "Why the hell are you and that kid wailing?!"
"WE'RE GONNA DIE!!!!!" Sai yelled into Shou's face. Shou growled at the other thief and smacked him. Hard.
"Ahou!" Shou yelled at Sai, as he grabbed the wailing baby out of Sai's arms and tried to calm the child. After a few minutes the baby's wails quieted down to minor hiccups.
"S-Shou, look at that kid," Sai whispered, shaking slightly, "Is there something odd about him, or is it just me?"
"Well, he's kinda pale," Shou muttered, looking the baby over, "And he's got weird hair. Red like the sunset."
"Or blood," Sai said morbidly, "Do you know what other person in Japan has red hair?"
"A foreigner?" Shou shrugged.
"Try Hitokiri Battousai," Sai hissed, "We kidnapped Battousai's grandchild!"
"Wha?" Shou's eyes widened, "Shimatta! B-but I thought Battousai was dead!"
"Ever heard of ghosts, moron?" Sai snapped. Shou gasped.
"Shimatta!" Shou swore again, "That would explain the weather outside!"
"What are you talking about?" Sai asked, as he threw the shoji open to glance out side. What he saw outside caused him to nearly faint.
The sky was filled with dark clouds, causing what should have been noon to be as black as night. Tendrils of lightning flickered throughout the sky, but there was no rain, no thunder. It looked like even the sky itself was angry at what the thieves had done. But it wasn't the sky that scared Sai so much. It was the figure that was coming closer and closer each second. A flash of lightning illuminated windswept tresses upon the figure's head.
The hair was a bloody red.
"Kami-sama!" Sai choked out.
###
Back with Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi frowned at the sky. So unnatural. Slowly his frown became a smirk. Someone had caused a ghost, and a powerful one at that, to become very, very angry. He would have felt sorry for the poor fool that evoked the spirit's wrath, but he was having too much fun enjoying the show. It had been much too long since something like this had happened.
'I'm surprised none of the other ghosts or spirit mediums have stepped in to restrain this rampaging spirit,' Yamaguchi mused to himself, 'Unless of course this ghost is protected by a kami…'
Yamaguchi smirked at the sky again, before he turned away. He had more important things to do than wonder after the rampaging of a violent ghost. There were other mediums that would deal with that. He had to find Himura Battousai, whether he was dead or alive.
Getting back on task, Yamaguchi made a beeline for the last place he need to look –the Kamiya dojo.
###
Back with Kaoru
Kaoru looked at the run-down building in front of her and her son. Here. This was where her Shinta was being held.
Kaoru hoped that he was alright. Sure, she knew that as his status as a forced reincarnation caused her husband to be very hard to kill, but she also knew that regardless of that, he could still feel pain. It wasn't like his pain receptors went away. And it wasn't like he had suddenly gained increased healing. From what Kaoru had gathered from Shinigami, Shinta only got increased healing if he was delivered a fatal blow. And even then, Shinta was subjugated to immense pain.
And what if those thieves got it into their mind to use the sakabatou on Shinta? The sakabatou was a holy weapon, and Shinta could easily die to a holy weapon, even his own. It wasn't that hard to skewer a baby on a sword, even a reversed-blade one.
Kaoru moved closer to the establishment that held her beloved prisoner. She was vaguely aware that Kenji did the same.
Yes, between her and Kenji this Genji character would pay for taking away someone they held dear.
###
Back with Yahiko and Chizuru at the Akabeko
"What could be taking Kenji so long?" Chizuru murmured, "He was supposed to be here half an hour ago with Sanosuke and Kenichi."
"Maybe he got caught up in the storm," Yahiko suggested, gesturing outside, "It is getting dark outside. Maybe he didn't want to go out until it cleared up."
"But it's not raining," Chizuru pointed out, "And a little water has never stopped Kenji before. Something must have happened."
"You don't think it might be your family's assassins, do you?" Yahiko asked worriedly.
"I hope not," Chizuru whispered, looking down.
"Do you want me to go over and check?" Yahiko asked.
"No," Chizuru shook her head, "I'm just going to go back to the dojo."
"NANI?!" Yahiko yelped, "You can't go out there alone! At least let me go with you!"
"If that's what you want," Chizuru nodded, with a sight smile, "I'll go get Sasuke from Tsubame."
###
Back with Cho
Cho grinned to himself. He was almost there at the thieves' hideout. Lucky for him, he had gotten a tip from a local snitch on the location of a hidden entrance. He would be easily be able to catch the robbers by surprise. And most of it was underground, meaning he wouldn't get wet once the rain started.
Finally, he reached the end of the tunnel he had been traveling in. Cho pushed up on the trap door located above his head and then quickly lifted himself out. He discovered that he was in a room inside the hideout, and that he wasn't alone. Two of the robbers were there, but thankfully their backs were turned against him.
Looking at the two robbers, he noticed one of them was carrying a bundle and was holding it close to his shoulder, so that the top of it was visible to Cho. After a few blinks and a second good look, Cho realized the bundle was really a baby.
'Hey, that kid has red hair and violet eyes!' Cho thought in astonishment, 'No way, these thieves kidnapped Battousai's brat's brat?!'
###
Back at the dojo
"Baka rooster," Megumi scolded Sano as she finished bandaging him up, "I told you to stop courting death a long time ago. I'm your wife, so you don't need death as a mistress."
"This wasn't my fault," Sano, who had regained consciousness when Megumi arrived, muttered, "That bastard shot me!"
"No excuse," Megumi frowned, "You better be glad Kenji-kun is so fast. If he didn't get to me as fast as he did, you could have suffered much worse. Especially since you move around so much, that bullet might have gotten lodged in your shoulder more firmly, causing you to risk serious internal bleeding, not to mention lead poisoning."
"Yeah, that's the great thing about god-like speed," Sano said with a smile, as if in a lame half-joke. Megumi sighed.
Suddenly, they heard a knocking at the dojo gates.
"Wait here, tori-atama," Megumi said, standing up, "I'll be back as soon as I get rid of this salesman."
"Come back soon, Kitsune," Sano called back to her, as she left the room.
Megumi reached the gate and unlatched it, peering out to the person on the other side. Megumi's eyes widened as she identified the man standing there.
"You! What are you doing here?!" Megumi gasped, backing away from the tall man in her view. Without missing a beat, the man Chizuru knew as Yamaguchi-san strode into the dojo grounds calmly as if he had been invited in.
"My business in none of your concern, Kitsune," Yamaguchi drawled.
"I see you haven't changed a bit," Megumi frowned, glaring at the man. Although Chizuru knew this man as Yamaguchi, Megumi knew him under a different name, just like the rest of the Kenshin-gumi had. She knew who he was, and something in her knew what he was here for too. He was here for a certain red-haired rurouni who had been dead for two years.
"I'll ask you again," Megumi gritted out, carefully keeping distance between her and the lanky invader of the dojo, "What are you doing here, Saito?"
Author-chan's notes: And there! Yamaguchi's identity has been revealed! I was quite surprised, even after all the hints I gave in the last chapter, only one reviewer guessed Yamaguchi's identity correctly! And just so you all don't go off and yell at me that Yamaguchi isn't Saito's alias, but rather Fujita Goro is, let me explain. Saito was born with the name Yamaguchi. However when he was nineteen, he had to leave home and change his name, like Chizuru mentioned earlier. But what she didn't mention was that the reason why he left home was because he killed someone. Hence, Yamaguchi became Saito, went to Kyoto, joined the Shinsengumi (with support from the Aizu clan) and went on his way of becoming a figure in history.
Well, please R&R!