"Tell me now, what have we done? We don't know!
I can't allow what has begun to tear me down,
Believe me now, we have no choice left
With our backs against the wall!

'Cause we're all to blame
We've gone too far
From pride to shame
We're trying so hard
We're dying in vain
We want it all
Everyone, don't we all?"

-Sum 41 "We're All to Blame"

-A really good song. Plus I was listening to it while writing this chapter. lol.

Chapter 9: Infiltration

Kaoru POV

The Hummer slowed to a halt about a block from the NOIR HQ. "Get ready folks; we're here!" came Misao's loud voice from the front. "Oh YEAH! I forgot to mention! Man! Aoishi, would kick my ass if I forgot to tell you guys this! If you have a message for each other, we'll relay it to that person. Unfortunately, these nano chips only work with the main hub; so you can't communicate with each other."

"Hai," we answered at once before the back doors of the hummer opened.

We slid out of the Hummer into the dark cloak of the crescent moon night. I pulled on my solid black mask with two eye holes over my head, hiding my hair and face in the stretchy cloth; Kenshin and Sano followed suit.

We slinked in the shadows, invisible to the naked eye even without the aid of my camouflage. After a few minutes of silent footfalls and shadow walking, we reached the entrance of my old employer, NOIR. The black wrought iron gates stood in front of us; its dark look daring us to pass. There were little blinking security cameras-glimmering about the gates and further on into the premises.

I thought to myself so that the nano-device would pick up my message. "We're here, with a bunch of security awaiting us."

"Good," said Misao's voice in my mind. "Enter and don't forget to communicate with us. It's midnight. Good luck."

Kenshin glanced at me, his eyes a solid gold.

"Careful" his eyes said to me.

"You too," I replied as I watched Kenshin's retreating back disappear in the darkness. Sano patted my back and his eyes twinkled encouragement, his mask slighty creasing asif he was smiling, before departing to my right. I sighed inwardly, realizing that this was the first time I'll enter NOIR as an enemy.

I gathered up my ki from the quick pockets of energy stored in me and released it; my body molded itself with the colors of the surroundings. I'm invisible. I backed up from the gate and ran towards it, vaulting over the gate in one smooth motion. I pulled out my electronic sensor, a credit card-sized device, and activated it, running the scanner of the gate.

No alarms were activated. Good.

Back at HARM

Aoishi gazed at the flickering hologram in front of him on his desk. Three blue lights shimmered in three different locations of the HARM model.

"Sir, they have entered the premises," Misao's voice crackled on the speaker.

"Good. Keep up the good work," he replied, before turning back to the hologram. "What's wrong Yahiko?" he asked at the silent figure in the far corner of the room.

Yahiko stood up and walked towards Aoishi's desk. "Do you think the mission will succeed?" he asked, his usual obnoxious tone replaced with one that mimicked Aoishi's emotionless voice.

Aoishi looked at Yahiko, sorrow tinting his dark blue eyes.

"Yes it will succeed. But at what cost?"

Mission

Kaoru POV

I crept towards the main entrance, listening for any footsteps human or animal. When I reached the door, I pulled out the electronic sensor and scanned the door. I found the keypad and opened it with my pocket knife. After cutting a few wires, the keypad was disabled and the door opened. No alarm sounded..

I took a step into the building and the main room greeted me. The walls and ceiling were covered with huge sheets of steel and laced with wires and security cameras. Guards patrolled everywhere in the enormous main hall. I glanced up and saw two metal rafters about 40 ft. above me. I stepped further inside the main hall and performed my quickstep up the wall and grabbed the two rafters with my hands, my feet dangling in the air. I flipped my feet up and entwined me hands in feet into the thick black rafters.

All I have to do now is wait.

Kenshin POV (Just after Kenshin left Kaoru at the entrance of NOIR)

I crept along the edges of the building, hiding in the dark shadows cast florescent lights of the HQ. I slid my fingers a few inches in front of me till I felt the cold hard handle of a door. I checked for cameras, predicted their view points, and swung around and faced the door, pulling out my electronic sensor out of my pocket.

3 laser chambers and a keypad.

Elementary, my dear Watson.

I easily bypassed the mediocre security and snuck in. I was greeted by bright lights blinding me and the clicks of XM16E1 automatics.

Oh Crap.

"What's wrong?" Misao's voice said in my head.

Ambush.

"Then, go ahead and carry out the plan. You can handle this, Ken-chan!" Misao exclaimed in my head.

Then Kaoru's voice said "All I have to do now is wait."

"Good Kaoru. Go Ken-chan! Sano is on standby!"

I grinned behind my mask in anticipation.

Let's tango, I thought as my eyes fully adjusted to the lights. I pulled out my katanas, deflected the rounds of bullets fired at me, and vaulted myself over the large group of grey suited guards. I swirled my katanas around like a fan, a cascade of crimson blood splattering everywhere. I landed and sprinted down the main steel sided corridor searching for the alarm system. After a few minutes of running, I found a bright red wired box with a lever inside of it in the center of the wall to my left. I pulled out the tiny chip Misao handed me and stuck it into the appropriate cable inside the box. Then I pulled the lever down.

Nothing happened for a second. Then red lights flashed everywhere and a robotic voice filled the corridor.

"Alert! Alert! All guards head to the East wing! I repeat all guards head to the east wing."

Suddenly, I felt something white-hot burn the flesh on my arm. I flipped backwards and turned around. I was facing the entourage of guards I had left at the entrance.

"Alright Misao. My job is done. I'm going to play around with these pawns. Tell Kaoru to get going! And Sano better do his part, or else Kaoru will be in trouble!" I said in my mind.

"Okay, get to work!"

Right at that moment, soldiers appeared behind me, blocking off any chance of escape. The only way out of here was the path of bloodshed; kill every one of them!

"1,000 against one," I said as I charged at the first guard with a Doryusen at the first few guards, then turning around and attacking a few guards behind me with a Souryusen.

West Wing

Sano POV

Damn this is stupid, I thought as I swung my Zanbatou at a guard violently shooting at me with a semi-automatic, slicing through their puny armor.

"Well hurry up and finish with this goons and turn on the alarm on your side, you numbskull! Do you realize that Kenshin has already finished his part and is waiting for you to lighten the load of fighters on his side? Bakai-mono!" yelled Megumi's voice in my mind.

Man she's one hot broad when she's angry like that!

"I heard that! Now hurry up and finish your job! When you're done with your stupid fighting, go down the hallway to the right and look for the alarm box!"

I sighed inwardly and ran forward through the few remaining guards, killing them as I went. My sword now glistening with freshly drawn blood. I went down a hallway and saw the little red box with a little red lever inside.

Alright found it! Now where did I put the little chip thing?

"How are you an assassin? Anyways after you find it, look a little under the lever and there should be a couple wires. Connect the three gold pins of the chip into a matching socket connected to the end of a wire. Then pull the lever down. By the way, Kenshin did this with no help! Agh, hang on. Misao is going to take over now!"

Whatever, I thought as I followed her command and heard a metallic voice blare along with the sudden flashing of red lights.

"Alert! Alert! Split guards between East and West wings! Intruder alert!"

"Good job, Sano! I'm here! Go crazy and have fun!" Misao's childish voice said in my mind.

This is a lot better that having that crazy fox lady yell at me, I thought.

"Uh, Megumi said she heard that and told me to tell you to shut the hell up."

I chuckled and leaned on my Zanbatou, taking in the numbers of soldiers. About a hundred.

Alrighty let's play! I thought as I saw quite a few guards charge at me with guns and an evil intent in the atmosphere. To kill…funny that's how I feel.

I swept down with my Zanbotou, stabbing through a few of the soldiers' chests. I pulled out my sword and attacked with my left hand to my left and my right fist collided with some poor guard's face who thought he could attack me from the right while I was distracted. I heard the satisfying sound of bones crushing before I slammed his body sideways into a few soldiers, causing them to fall like dominos. I cracked my knuckles before continuing.

BTW Kaoru

Kaoru POV

I slid down the rafters as soon as I heard the second alarm go off. The guards in the main hall left down a corridor to the right. "Okay Misao, where to now?"

"It's Megumi. Misao is helping Sano and Kenshin right now. From the information Aoishi got from his spy, you got to head straight down the main corridor and then take a left. About 30 steps down that hall, look on the right side and you should see a little blue button. It'll be hard to find."

I followed her instructions and when I reached the spot where the little button was supposed to be. I let my hand brush lightly around the area till I found the little button.

Okay, found it.

"Good. Hit the button and it should open up to a secret passage. Enter and just keep going down the main hall."

I hit the button and the door slid open slowly and fell back into the wall. I stepped in and the door automatically closed behind me. I followed the main hallway and after about a couple minutes I reached a set of large metal doors.

Now what?

"Go through them. That's all the info I got. Aoishi said his spy never had time to check out what was behind that door. So go, and good luck."

Oh boy thanks.

I opened the door by pushing a little button to the left. It opened and an elevator opened up. I stepped in a looked at the little panel of buttons by the door. I hit the little plastic button with "Archives" written on it.

West Wing

Sano POV

Whew! That was fun!

I looked around at the carnage I had just inflicted upon the corridor I was fighting in. The walls were painted abstractly with the crimson blood from my opponents, all of whom were lying in state that wouldn't allow them to come back for second helpings of my sword. The walls flashed in the light of the red warning lights in the corridor; it felt like I was in a horror house. But I wasn't appalled at all.

"You done?" Misao's voice said happily.

Yup kiddo! Want me to head over to Archives?

"As soon as possible!"

Hai, I thought as I swept off my mask and brushed a hand through, failing to tame the spikey brown mass. I threw aside the mask on floor. I wiped my hands on a nearby corpse's shirt and cleaned my Zanbatou while I was at it. I shouldered the faithful blade on my shoulders, not feeling its 70kg weight at all.

Then I heard a whisper.

"Good work, Zanza…"

"Who's there?" I asked quietly to the shadows of the corridor.

"Who indeed."

In front of me, stepping out of the shadows was a tall, well-built man in tight black uniform. I couldn't make out his face in the dim red lights. I saw the man pull out a sword, a katana by the shape, and waved it at me, inviting me to fight.

Yo Misao. It seems Kaoru is going to have to wait a little while. It seems like Noir sent me a bishop instead of a pawn's .

"Are you going to be alright?"

Yeah. Just worry about Kenshin and the little missy.

"Yo! How are you doing?" I asked cheerfully to the newcomer.

The man looked at me with a pair of wolfish hard silver-black eyes. I could make out a little of his face now that he had come a little closer. It was a fairly handsome face, but he looked like a jerk. His dark hair smoothed back in a sauve, arrogant manner. He was far to muscley to my liking. Plus his face held a look of evil.

But he broke out in a smile.

"Doing alright! You seem to have taken care of these guys without too much injury. Make sure you wrap up your left arm when you get home!" he exclaimed in a shockingly cheery voice that was contrasted sharply to his appearance.

I grinned at him pulling my Zanbatou in front of me and drove the point down into the ground.

"You guessed correctly. I got a bullet wound there, but it's no big deal. However, I'm getting the impression that you didn't come here for my concern."

He grinned back.

"You're right." He said pulling his sword up to eye level and placing one hand on the blade, fingers splayed along the edge, while the other had was positioned at the hilt in a shake-hand grip.

"Check mate." He said in a serious tone, one like a wolf, as he attacked at an alarming speed.

I didn't even have time to react.

One second he was in front of me, the next I felt a searing hot pain on my chest. Blood…my blood…was spouting everywhere. I looked down at my injury. He had stabbed my right shoulder, purposefully missing any vital organs. But it still hurt like hell. I felt my body sag backwards and I landed in what felt like slow motion on my back.

Pain…mind numbing pain.

I looked up, trying not to close my eyes, trying to muster the strength to pick up my sword. But it wasn't in my hand. I saw him standing over me, with my Zanbatou in his white gloved hand.

"Nice sword, moron. Just work on your defense and you could have put up some kid of fight. The only thing you can do is attack. What a pig-headed fool. Moron, if I were you, when you wake up, rescue the girl. The other man you brought has no chance of survival. You lucked out sincce I was the one who fought you. Otherwise, if you'd fought him, you would be dead," he whispered, only so I could hear.

I tried to move my mouth to ask him what he meant by that but the only words I could form were: "Who…name?"

He grinned wolfishly at me, his piercing eyes shining malevolently.

"Saito Hajime."

As I was losing consciousness, I felt my body being picked up and the feeling of something being strapped around my body as if I was being captured.

Sorry Misao, I thought as my mind went blank.

East Wing

Kenshin POV

Damn I think the full force of the NOIR attack squad came at me.

I looked at the 589 corpses that lay strewn about me (I counted). I was exhausted with all the fighting, my body riddled with shallow but painful wounds. Blood was seemingly painted all over me. My eyes felt slightly dizzy from the constant flashing of strobe red lights from the alarm and blood loss. I knelt, using my katanas as a crutch. i swept off my mask, to cool my heated, flushed face. I needed to catch my breath.

Misao, I'm done.

"KENSHIN! We have a problem! I lost Sano! I don't know what happened to him. He's not responding!"

Do you want me to go?

There was a pause.

"No. We have to finish this mission. Sano wouldn't want to be the cause of a failed mission. Listen, head to Kaoru. I'll give you directions as soon as you reach the main hall! And hurry! The sooner you help Kaoru, the faster we can help Sano!"

Hai.

I picked myself off the floor, stumbling slightly. I shook my head, ridding any sign of weariness from my outward appearance. I raised my head high and began walking to the right corridor, toward the main hall.

I didn't make it very far. I heard the soft thumping of a heart to my left.

"Please reveal yourself, sir," I asked calmly, not bothering to waste energy even to turn my head.

A young man stepped out of the little shadows in the hallway. He was of average height, with a katana strapped at his waist. He was wearing a black outfit, an assassin's outfit. He was a handsome man but one thing threw off his strong calm appearance: his eerie smile. It was a smile, yet it was more menacing than any expression on any assassin's face.

I've seen it somewhere before.

"Are you the one who rescued that white haired man from the forest about a week ago?"

"Ah you remember me? That's a nice surprise! The name's Soujiro. Soujiro Seta to be precise! Your face tells me you're a little tired from fighting. I hope that hasn't worn you out," he said in a childish voice. He then started laughing softly "I think it would be wise for you to prepare yourself!"

And without warning, he began hopping up and down, like a tennis player ready to retrieve a serve. But he started hopping faster and faster. In a matter of seconds, his feet had completely disappeared.

"So you know the quickstep?" I asked pulling out my dual katanas. He grinned in reply.

Suddenly, he attacked, at a very high speed. Luckily I'm no amateur.

I pulled up one of my blades to block the attack and pushed back at him, the force of my block knocking him off balance for a few seconds. I used that to my advantage and swung down at him with my other katana at his face.

He had disappeared.

"You know, Himura. Even though you hide your injuries well, you can't hide the fact that your power level has significantly decreased due to the beautiful planning of my commander," I heard behind me. "You fought with half the forces stationed at this base. You're a first class fighter no doubt, but you're in way over your head in that exhausted state!"

I quickly dodged to the left out instinct alone, but I wasn't fast enough.

I felt something cold and ruthless split open my right side. Pain beyond measure was coursing through my veins. I felt my adrenaline kick up, trying to stave off the feelings of unconsciousness.

I knelt to the ground, my body failing to move. It took so much energy to stay awake…

Misao, is Kaoru alright?

"Yeah. According to Megumi, she's almost at the Archives right now. Why?"

Just don't think I'm going to make it there in time. I'm kind of tired at the moment.

"Kenshin! Were you in a fight just now?

Bingo.

"I can leave right now! Megumi will stay in the van to watch out for Kaoru. I'll be on my way!"

No! Wait, stay there. We can't go against the plan. I'll be fine. Just stay in the hummer and find out what happened to Sano and watch Kaoru's safety.

Silence.

"Hai," Misao said, dropping her normally cheerful tone.

Soujiro stepped in front of me, looking at me with a benign smile.

"I won't kill you. I would love to have fought you at your full strength. We'll see about that, perhaps in the near future? I'll just knock you out for a little while now. Sorry," he added as his hand swiftly came toward my neck.

I felt some pressure on the side of my neck, hitting the oh-so-sensitive vein that was holding on to my consciousness.

I felt my mind slowing down rapidly into darkness as I tried to stay awake…I'm sorry Kaoru.

Sorry everyone for the delay. Somehow, my document manager decided to die out on me. A lot going on in this chapter, plus I brought in Soujiro and Saito (awesome people in the Kenshin Saga!) I know it's alot of characters, but bear with me! Huge storyline in next chapter! It'll all make sense, I promise! Please Review! I have a ton of hits but not reviews! Is my story really that awful? Anyways, see you hopefully tomorrow, if my document manager doesn't fail out on me again! Thanks for reading this far!

-KishofWings