Best of Intentions Chapter 19
Walking arm in arm, Aoshi led Kaoru towards their hotel. The streets seemed surprisingly empty in the area they were currently traveling. It was as if people knew to be away. "I was thinking that when we get back we could maybe go to the ballroom and dance," Kaoru suggested, breaking the silence.
Aoshi made a non-committal sound. He had forgotten that the hotel would be hosting dancing every evening that week. His pale eyes twinkled at the thought of gliding across the floor with Kaoru in his arms and impressing all the other dancers and then kissing the most beautiful woman with everyone's attention focused upon them.
"What are you thinking about?" Kaoru asked suspiciously as she gazed up at him, trying to peer past his dark bangs into his eyes.
He cleared his throat before looking down at Kaoru to answer her question. "Just you," he answered, finding himself ridiculously pleased when a blush spread across her cheeks.
"Hey pretty lady, how about you dump that pretty boy and get yourself a real man," a deep voice called from the recesses of the alley they were passing. A large figure stepped out of the darkness, at least half a foot taller than Aoshi with a good two hundred pounds more of bulk.
Aoshi stopped, placing his arm protectively around Kaoru as she pressed against him at the sight of the large man and his buddies. There seemed to be at least seven of them. Like rats in the sewer they seemed to come out of nowhere and fast. "If I was to choose to ambush someone I would first make certain that it wasn't someone whom could easily outmatch me," Aoshi spoke in Japanese to them.
Naturally it seemed that the men didn't understand a word spoken to them in the foreign language and only leered more. Aoshi stepped in front of Kaoru as he pulled out the kodachi he hadn't used in many weeks. He hoped that his muscles were still in prime enough shape to deal with the challenge before him. His face was void of all emotion as he was ready to shield Kaoru and protect both of their honors.
"Arrogant blue blooded bastard," the apparent leader sneered using Japanese and stepping past the large bulky man. He looked at Aoshi, holding the double blades, with a looking of loathing that he certainly didn't deserve.
"He may be arrogant but his parents were married!" Kaoru interjected stepping out from behind her protector. "And he's not a blue blood! It's red!" She shouted, raising her fist.
The lead man laughed at Kaoru cruelly. "Perhaps we should cut him open to make sure it's really red?" He suggested. "If he's anything like his father, his heart is black and most likely so is his blood."
"Step back Kaoru," Aoshi ordered quietly.
"No, I won't let you fight alone," she argued, holding the water globe tight to her breast.
"You have no weapon; just let me take care of you for once, alright?" Aoshi moved to stand in front of her again and was somewhat relieved when Kaoru rested her head against his back in defeat. He flipped his blades over in his hands readjusting himself to their balance.
"I can't believe you've taken up the art of swordplay since we last saw one another," the man scoffed. He gave Kaoru an appraising look. "I guess that woman must be better in the bed than your mother. I know your father never would have tried anything foolishly heroic for his bed warmers."
Aoshi remained silent waiting for the first offensive move to be made. He preferred to take the defensive stance. Also, he was confused as to what the man was talking about. It was obvious that he had him confused with someone else. That didn't matter much at the moment though. The only thing that mattered was getting back to the hotel with Kaoru safely.
It all seemed to happen in a blur. All the men seemed to attack at once, or at least tried to do so. They couldn't get past the quick movements of Aoshi's double blades. He didn't particularly relish in killing men but he had not qualms about doing so if they got too close. So far the blood was minimal and none was his own.
He parried the attack of one man carrying a staff, sending the wooden weapon flying. "Kaoru, get the bo!" Aoshi ordered, moving so that Kaoru would be able to reach the object. "I'm going to need your assistance," he reluctantly admitted to her when he ducked just in time to barely escape losing his head.
Kaoru grabbed the staff and stood with her back to Aoshi's. She held the staff like she would one of her wooden swords, ready to do the sword fighting style her father had taught her so well as a young girl.
It didn't seem to take long before the only two left to be fought against were the large bulky man and the one that had spoken Japanese. The others were unconscious from blows to the back of the head from the flat end of Aoshi's blade or Kaoru's staff or suffering from painful flesh wounds courtesy of the sharp end of the kodachi.
Kaoru was exhausted and panting, having to exert more energy due to her confining dress. She rested heavily against Aoshi's muscular and sweaty back, trying to muster more strength should the battle continue. Aoshi spoke coldly to the leader, "Your men have been defeated. Leave us in peace and I'll allow you to live."
A cruel smirk graced the other man's face. "Oh I don't think you'll be killing me today." He raised his hand and gave a flick of his wrist. Unfortunately it was a signal to more men that were hidden in the shadows. Two tranquilizing darts embedded themselves in the flesh of Aoshi Shinomori and Kaoru Kamiya.
The leader of the gang walked over towards the two as they both slumped to the ground, the darts taking immediate affect. "Take their weapons," he ordered his remaining men. He looked down at Kaoru and prodded her gently with the toe of his boot, a lecherous grin playing over his lips. "The bastard prince was gracious enough not only to accept our hospitality but to bring us such a pleasant gift too."
oooooOOOOOooooo
Misao was trying to stay open minded. She didn't need to kill Aoshi and Kaoru. She'd just find them, make sure Aoshi was safe, arrange an accident for Kaoru, and then sooth Aoshi's broken heart. A smirk crossed her lips; it promptly slipped away when she realized how unlike herself those thoughts were. She wouldn't wish ill on her friend!
"I don't like that smile," Soujiro informed her, watching his traveling companion carefully. She glared at him, making him self conscious of his own plastered on smile. "Point taken," he muttered."
Misao stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her. Standing in the doorway of an apartment was Aoshi, she had no doubt about it, and he was with a woman. The woman was attractive with shoulder-length blond hair and she was touching him gently on the shoulder and laughing. Misao's hands went to her throwing darts as she began to feel utterly betrayed.
Not only had Aoshi, the man she loved, abandoned her for her best friend but now he had abandoned her best friend for some floozy! "I can't believe he would do this to Kaoru!" She hissed through clenched teeth.
Soujiro looked at her surprised by the vehemence in her tone. He quickly turned to follow her line of sight. He wasn't sure whom Misao was talking about. He saw a tall man with dark hair standing beside a blond haired woman. 'Why would Misao be so angry about that?'
"Poor Kaoru! She's as much a victim to that jerk as I am! Most men could only wish to be so lucky as the have the love of two amazing women such as us! That moron is willing to go and throw it away for some foreign airhead!"
Soujiro wanted to tell her that the man they saw was not Aoshi Shinomori. But in fact he was most likely the bastard prince they were trying to protect since they did seem to have some similar characteristics.
Misao never gave him the chance to speak reasonably to her. She carefully aimed and then threw one of her darts so that it landed embedded in the wooden frame of the apartment where the two apparent lovers stood. The man and woman both looked down at the dart with shock and fear mixed on their faces.
The man turned towards the source of the deadly weapon. Upon looking at his face, Misao noticed the subtle differences. Her eyes widened as she saw the prince who looked so much like her childhood crush. Soujiro cleared his throat beside her and took her wrist in his. "We better get your dart back and explain ourselves."
oooooOOOOOooooo
Yahiko and Yutaro were laughing about their brilliant plan. They were walking along the streets, peering in the window fronts of all the stores as they slowly made their way back in the direction of the hotel.
"So we'll be leaving tomorrow. What are we going to do when we actually get to Germany?" Yahiko asked. Now that they were almost there he was starting to become anxious about seeing Yutaro's home. It was different when Yutaro visited Japan. This time Yahiko would be the foreigner. Since Kaoru and Aoshi would be there too he wasn't too terribly worried about feeling like an outsider.
"There is plenty to do," Yutaro assured him. "But I'd really like to take you all to this clock store. There are hundreds of cuckoo clocks on the walls. It's so beautiful and amazing." He grinned, "When they all start going off at the hour it's a sound like you've never heard before in your life!"
Yahiko stopped in his tracks and stared in disbelief at the sight before him. Yutaro was about to ask him what was so interesting when he followed his line of sight and gasped himself. Kenshin, Sanosuke, Hiko, and Megumi were in Prague across the street from them. "What are they doing here?"
As if hearing his words Kenshin looked over, lavender eyes meeting Yahiko's dark ones. Yahiko was about to hurry towards the group and demand an explanation for their unexpected presence when something from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He forgot about Kenshin as he ran deep in the alley towards the object.
Kenshin abandoned his company upon seeing Yahiko run for the alley. He didn't explain that he had seen Yahiko and Yutaro; he just took off after them. He had hoped that Kaoru would be with Yahiko. He thought that things might have been better with a buffer between them. They both loved Yahiko like a little brother.
The scene that greeted him made his heart stop in his chest. Yahiko and Yutaro were calling Kaoru and Aoshi's names frantically down a dark alley. There appeared evidence of some sort of scuffle and quite a bit of blood. "What's going on?" Kenshin demanded, coming to Yahiko's side.
"It was my idea," Yahiko said softly, dark eyes searching the equally dark alley.
Gently, Kenshin took hold of the young man's shoulders. "Yahiko, tell me what you know." He looked at the strange object in Yahiko's hands. "Is that a water globe?"
"It's Kaoru's," Yahiko answered absently. "She wouldn't have left it here, not after he was the one to give it to her."
"Yahiko, I want you to tell me everything. Where is Kaoru?" Kenshin asked, forcing the young man to focus on his face.
Dark eyes blinked at him, the clouds clearing behind them. "Kenshin?" Yahiko jerked out of his hands. "Why are you here?" He turned to look at Yutaro. "Aren't we in Prague?"
"Yes, you're in Prague," Kenshin answered him, letting his hands fall to his side. He could hear the running steps of Sanosuke coming towards them. "I'm here in search of a royal heir that is in danger of being kidnapped." He glanced around the scene more closely and looked for evidence as to where Kaoru might have been kidnapped. From the looks of things it seemed that Aoshi was right beside her when it happened.
At least he was somewhat comforted to know that she wasn't by herself. But there was a fear in his heart at the idea of someone that could defeat Aoshi Shinomori in battle.