Best of Intentions: Chapter Twenty-one
Misao began to fidget while the royal man before her kept staring. It was flustering that a man who was nearly identical to her Aoshi-sama would be so blatantly interested in her! "Perhaps I should go and see what is taking Soujiro so long," Misao offered, standing from the table.
Joseph stood with her and grinned. "Then let us be off," he agreed. Misao's jaw dropped at his suggestion of going with her.
"But," she stuttered, "but you can't come."
"Whatever do you mean? You certainly can not abandon me here." Joseph took a step towards her, causing Misao to take a step back in reaction. "How will you protect me from those who wish to capture me and do harm if you are not with me?"
"I," Misao answered, swallowing thickly. Her mouth suddenly felt rather parched. A heat wave must have swept through Prague resulting in the rise of temperature. "I need to see what is taking Soujiro."
"Then let us be off," Joseph offered her his arm. "You can be my personal body guard. Once when I was visiting my mother in the Orient I had a samurai man who served as my body guard. He walked alongside me and was ever vigilant." Misao reluctantly took his arm. "Unfortunately for him no one seemed particularly interested in me and he didn't get to fight a single man."
"I can only hope to be so unfortunate," Misao muttered.
Joseph patted her arm with mocking sympathy. Misao suddenly missed Aoshi's stone-faced attitude. Joseph's sarcasm was certainly nothing the female ninja was accustomed to and she didn't care for unfamiliarity.
"Hurry along; perhaps your team knows what has become of my twin." Joseph's eyes twinkled with amusement as he looked down at the short woman on his arm. "I would like to meet the man that would cause you to throw sharp and deadly weapons at him for merely talking to a lovely blonde woman."
Misao bit her inner cheek to keep from responding to the prod. She would not be the source of this royal pain's amusement!
OOOOOoooooOOOOO
"What you are saying Karl, is that you believe by kidnapping me your party will gain the attention of the monarchy." Aoshi raised an ebon brow at the man in charge of the group that had kidnapped him and Kaoru.
Karl blinked at Aoshi's summary of his actions. "Your father will have to listen. He can not turn a deaf ear to me when his son's life is in my hands."
"His illegitimate son and his bed-warmer if you will," Aoshi answered, his voice low and dangerous. "The Czech nationalists would do better if they changed the country legally by swaying the people over to themselves by winning elections. If the people, whom you claim you are representing, desire to be represented by you the elections would reflect this."
"We can not have elections unless your father allows them to take place," Karl replied as he stalked around the table, coming to stand directly in front of Aoshi.
"Very well, you should begin by untying my hands and feeding me and my companion." Aoshi leaned back casually in his chair, looking every bit like the royal man he was impersonating.
"Adolph," Karl called, gesturing for the bear of a man from earlier to untie Aoshi. Karl stood behind Kaoru and cut the plastic lock binding her wrists. Gingerly she rubbed her sore wrists.
The ninja waited until his hands were unbound and Adolph was standing in front of him before he reached up and wrapped his hands around the throat of the nationalist. "Next time check the identity of someone before you decide to kidnap him," he warned in a deadly growl.
"Aoshi no!" Kaoru cried, afraid that Aoshi would kill the man with his bare hands. Aoshi released the man, but not until he had closed off his trachea long enough for him to pass out due to lack of oxygen. Karl had taken hold of Kaoru during this time, taking a gun and pressing the barrel against her temple.
Aoshi's deadly gaze scared both Karl and Kaoru. "You have good intentions," Kaoru speaks to Karl. "You can not force the monarch to do what you want. But if you truly wish to change the country for the people you have to let the people gain the attention of the monarch. You need the proof of the people's voice." Her eyes seek out Aoshi's both thinking she sounds uncannily similar to Kenshin with her diatribe.
Karl lowered his gun marginally and Aoshi took the opportunity to shove Kaoru behind him and take Karl's wrist in one hand and his neck in the other. He knocked the gun to the floor with a harsh shake. "Vow to me that you will go about this politically and not as a terrorist." Karl agrees with a shake of his head. "If you go back on your promise, I will kill you."
Aoshi released him. "Who are you?" Karl asked, holding his wrist, realizing that Aoshi had broken it.
"One who is dangerous to cross," Aoshi answered him in Japanese. Aoshi kicked Adolph in the leg on his way out of the room. "Your friend will wake up soon." Aoshi lifted his arm and placed it around Kaoru's shoulders as she came to his rest against his side. "Keep your men away from us as we leave your hospitality."
Karl's eyes narrowed. The young man sounded and acted too much like Joseph. The royal heir was known for his outrageous lies.
"Are you sure we can just walk out?" Kaoru whispered, her voice reflecting her anxiety. She trusted Aoshi with her life, but she really didn't care to be testing that trust at the moment.
"Of course," Aoshi answered, avoiding her inquiring gaze. His eyes darted quickly into the dark corners of the large three story home they were inside. It was around the size of what he imagined Yutaro's home looked like. He prayed that he would be able to make the direct comparison in the near future.
"What about your swords?" Kaoru asked, causing Aoshi to stop cold in his exodus. That would certainly explain why he felt like he was forgetting something.
He turned abruptly, catching Karl stalking close behind him, gun drawn. "My swords," Aoshi demanded, causing the man to lower his gun slightly before drawing it straight again. "Why do you not look like you are returning my swords?" He asked in an emotionless voice that caused Kaoru to shiver.
"I think we should re-evaluate our situation," Karl answered as he loaded a bullet into the gun's barrel by cocking it.
Aoshi's icy eyes narrowed calculatingly as he pushed Kaoru behind him. On the wall to his left several geode rocks were displayed. Karl shook his head no at him, seeming to read his thoughts. Aoshi ignored him and he picked up a geode the size of his palm and threw it at Karl at the same moment that the man squeezed the trigger.
Aoshi pushed Kaoru into the far wall on the left, his body serving as a shield as the bullet embedded itself in the wall approximately two inches away from them. The gun clattered to the ground as Aoshi's projectile rock crashed into the nationalist. Kaoru gaped at the sight of the unconscious man.
"Is he dead?" She asked, her voice resembled more of a squeak.
"Merely unconscious," Aoshi clarified. He frowned slightly. He had aimed for the man's forehead and he hit is squarely. Hopefully he didn't damage the poor fool's brain or anything. He certainly didn't want the man's political lackies to come after him. "We should leave before he wakes up," he took her arm and they began to run.
"Don't you think we should check on him?" Kaoru asked in between breaths.
"No."
Aoshi's answer was so resolute that it shocked Kaoru. Kenshin would have checked on the man. However, Aoshi and Kenshin were certainly two different men. She thought she had stopped comparing them to one another, but apparently she was wrong. All that really mattered was that she and Aoshi get out of their situation alive.
OOOOOoooooOOOOO
Kenshin surveyed his expanding search party. They would not be successful parading through the streets in such a large group. If there was any evidence, no doubt it would be inadvertently destroyed. However, he knew they all wanted to help search for Kaoru and Aoshi.
"Sano," Kenshin gained his best friend's attention. He had an idea. There was too much distraction traveling together, so he would resolve that issue.
"Yeah, Kenshin?" Sano asked distractedly as he was preoccupied with flashing suspicious looks between Megumi who was avoiding his eyes and Hiko who looked bored as usual. "Did you find something?"
"We must either trim the numbers of our party or split up," Kenshin informed him.
Yahiko overheard Kenshin's words from his position near Megumi and Yutaro. He was sick of Megumi trying to treat him like a child. He was practically grown and he would not let something as trivial as age prevent him from searching for Kaoru. "I'll search for her on my own," Yahiko warned Kenshin coming to his side.
Kenshin smiled softly at the young man, some lavender specks returning to his irises. He placed his hand upon the back of Yahiko's neck paternally. "No you will not, you will be coming with me." He spoke up for the benefit of the rest of the party. "We will be splitting up so that we can cover more ground quickly."
He gestured towards Soujiro, "I want you and Yutaro looking together." A silent message passed between the two former assassins. Soujiro nodded in understanding and imitated Kenshin's move by placing his hand at Yutaro's neck. They then turned and left the group, disappearing into the shadows.
"Sanosuke, I want you with Megumi," Kenshin ordered. Megumi's mouth opened to seemingly protest but Kenshin gave her no time for arguments. "With Sanosuke's style of fighting he is the most likely to need medical assistance." Megumi's mouth shut, unable to disagree. Meanwhile, Sanosuke scowled down at Kenshin's implication but became calm when his friend winked at him.
"Right, come on Megumi," Sano invited walking towards the female doctor. He had a lot of questions to ask her about whatever was going on between her and Hiko.
Hiko and Tatiana looked at one another and then at Kenshin. "I was hoping to travel with you," Tatiana spoke.
Hiko crossed his arms over his chest and continued to look dully at Kenshin. "I can not order my master around," Kenshin stated, giving the obligatory respectful bow of his head. "You will accompany Yahiko and myself."
Kenshin took off with Yahiko on his right and Tatiana on his left. He did not look behind him to see what Hiko would choose to do. Perhaps he would help in the search, but it didn't matter. The student had surpassed the master long ago and frankly he did not need his assistance.
"You put Sano and Megumi together so he could find out what's going on between her and Hiko, didn't you?" Yahiko asked quietly. Kenshin didn't answer, but Yahiko nodded to himself. "I thought so," he answered his own question. He glanced over at the Russian royalty. He was pretty impressed by her, but compared to his Kaoru she could never compete. He frowned slightly as he looked away, intent on finding any signs that might lead to Kaoru's whereabouts. 'What would happen to Kenshin when he finds Kaoru and Aoshi together and happy?' He wondered silently.
Kenshin stopped in front of a heavily gated compound. There was a large house at the end of the long drive. He didn't really see any evidence to indicate that Kaoru and Aoshi were inside. But his instinct told him that they had hit pay dirt. He turned to Yahiko and gestured towards the padded lock of the gate.
Yahiko grinned, "You remembered," he said proudly as he pulled out a small set of narrow tools from his pockets. He went to work on the lock and quickly popped it off. He grinned with satisfaction up at his hero. "Some trades of thievery are best remembered."
"Yes," Kenshin agreed with his grip upon his sword's handle tightening as he reflected upon Yahiko's statement. He was a former thief as well. He stole lives.
OOOOOoooooOOOOO
After Karl was out of the way Aoshi wasted no time in searching the estate quickly. He found a guard and upon threat of death the man led him to his weapons. The ninja knocked that man out and led Kaoru to freedom fully armed.
There didn't seem to be much trouble getting out of the building. Most of the men must have been elsewhere on the streets trying to cause distention amongst the people because they certainly were not guarding the compound. They reached the drive in front of the large estate and continued to walk briskly, listening for sounds that might indicate there were guard dogs or armed men.
Two large German shepherds came running towards the pair with fangs bared and salivating at the mouth. Kaoru gasped, having never seen such creatures. Aoshi did not bat an eye as he pulled out his double blades and decapitated both dogs in one fluid movement. Kaoru shuddered behind him. He flung the blood off his blades and sheathed them at his back. "I'm sorry, but there would have been no reasoning with them," Aoshi assured her causing her to laugh lightly at his humor.
Aoshi began to lead her once more. Then he stopped cold, surprising Kaoru, who had kept walking. Therefore she stumbled backwards when Aoshi had stopped while his grip on her arm remained, causing her to yo-yo in his stationary direction.
"Why did you stop?" Kaoru asked, but she received no answer. "Is it more monsterous dogs?" She asked in fear, as she followed the ninja's gaze and gasped at the unexpected sight.
Kenshin was standing there along with Yahiko and a strange blonde lady. Her eyes were locked on the golden eyes of Kenshin. His irises held no trace of their soothing lavender tones. She couldn't breath. She was hardly aware that Aoshi was at her side, his hand holding her arm, his body next to hers. But she knew from the intent expression on Kenshin's face that he was well aware of it.
"Kenshin," Kaoru whispered, barely noticing that Aoshi had started moving again in the direction of their friends. He led Kaoru there, ignoring the jealous fires that began to grow within his belly at the way she had said Kenshin's name.
"You are a long way from China," Aoshi commented to Kenshin.
"You are a long way from Kyoto," Kenshin countered.
Kaoru could feel the tension, especially with the way Kenshin glared at Aoshi. He must have been angry because she had been in danger. There was no reason for her to suspect that he might have been jealous of her being with Aoshi. He had made it clear that he loved her, but only as a friend.
Yahiko bit his lip, suppressing his urge to hug Kaoru. This was an important moment and he wasn't about to supplant an excuse to delay the brewing battle. Now that they had found Kaoru he was confident that she was no longer in danger and he'd have plenty of opportunities to call her ugly and such.
"I'm so glad to see you," Kaoru said, her smile directed at both Yahiko and Kenshin. It helped to dissolve some of the tension. She pulled her arm out of Aoshi's grasp and wrapped them both around Kenshin's neck, hugging him tight as tears of sorrow, happiness, and anxiety all wrapped together brought them trailing down her cheeks and soaking his shoulder.
Kenshin's arms snaked around Kaoru's waist in response and he buried his face in her thick, silky hair. "Kenshin, it was awful! These men thought that Aoshi was some prince and then they kept insulting me. Then they kidnapped us and tried to kill us. And then those horrible dogs!"
Kenshin rubbed his hands soothingly through her hair, gently patting her back. "Everything is fine now," Kenshin assured her. His eyes boring angrily into Aoshi's behind her back.
Kaoru stepped out of his embrace, catching him off guard. Her face metamorphasized into a mask of rage. "And how dare you not answer my letters! I thought you were dead!" She jabbed her pointer finger hard into his chest. She turned back towards Aoshi, her face as serene as a kitten. "We should keep moving before Karl wakes up or something else happens, don't you think?"
Aoshi could only nod, unsure of how to respond to her strange behavior in any other way. He exchanged looks with Kenshin and he knew that Kenshin hated him at that very moment. He was never more glad of the former assassin's vow to not kill. Kaoru might have been naïve to Kenshin's feelings for her but Aoshi was not. He took advantage of the other man's lack of confidence and took Kaoru for himself. However, he wouldn't regret his actions one bit.
The blonde lady spoke at this time, "Its amazing Mr. Aoshi just how much you look like my cousin Joseph." She extended her hand to first Aoshi and then Kaoru. "I am Tatiana," she introduced herself.
Kenshin looked back towards the direction of the estate, having heard someone approach from the wooded areas lining the drive. He saw a large bear of a man standing with a poised gun directly at Aoshi and heard the trigger being pulled. Kenshin pushed the ninja out of the way and both fell to the ground heavily as more shots were fired.
Tatiana pulled out a small hand-held pistol from under her skirts and shot the gunman, killing him instantly. She shook her head in disgust before surveying her party's damage upon hearing Kaoru's heart wrenching scream.
Kenshin and Aoshi were both on the ground. Blood was everywhere and it was hard to say where the bullet holes were.
Kaoru fell to the ground beside the two men that she loved. Her heart broke, knowing that if either of them received a mortal blow she would be a wrecked soul.
"Neither Megumi or Yutaro are here," Yahiko whispered in fear. It was then that he realized Kenshin had taken both medical personal out of their party for a reason. He had expected someone to die. Had he planned it? "No!" Yahiko cried, falling to his knees beside Kaoru.