Here are a few definitions to help clarify a few Japanese words that are used in the story.

Tsuka: Handle of a samurai sword.

GONE

Chapter Six – Infiltrating the Hornet's Nest

For any of those who are not familiar with using the metric system, myself included, I'm using the metric system for accuracy. 1 Meter = approximately 3.37 feet, 3 Meters = approximately 9.84 feet, and 6 Meters = approximately 19.69 feet. If in doubt, multiply the # of meters by 3 or 3.37 to get the units in feet, or just note these instead. Onward to the story…

Day 5 - Fujita Estate Interior - about 3:30pm

Kaori awoke with a start. 'What…what happened to me?' She looked around, 'I'm in the bedroom? But, how? What happened? …Think.'

Not long after there was a knock on the door. She stared at the door for a moment before kicking off the covers and walking quickly to the door. "Ms. Kaori?" She paused psyching herself up then opened the door, "Master Masaru, what brings you here?" Kaori opened the door for Masaru to enter, Kaori moved towards her bed once more to have a seat.

"Why, I wanted to see how you were doing. I was growing a bit worried when I learned from the Head Mother that you've been unconscious for 14 hours." "Fourteen hours!?" Kaori frowned at that fact.

"Yes, Mr. Iwasaki said he found you unconscious last night. The Head Mother mentioned you had suffered a head injury when you arrived. You really shouldn't push yourself too hard Ms. Kaori."

'Mr. Iwasaki? Wasn't that the guy in all black? Why is my memory fuzzy?' Kaori began to frown. "Are you alright Ms. Kaori?" Kaori halted her brooding, "Yes, I'm ok."

Sakiko checked in on Kaori on the Head Mother's behalf. 'The door's opened. Maybe she's already awake.' Sakiko was poised to knock on the opened door but halted at the scene before her, instantly angering. She's with Lord Masaru.'

Masaru looked her over, "Well you seem ok, and that's good. Ms. Kaori, I was hoping you would do me the honor of joining me for dinner some time." Kaori stared shocked for a moment, "You want to have dinner with me? Together?" Masaru laughed lightly, "Yes, just the two of us." 'Is he asking me out on a date?'

"Excuse me," Sakiko entered the room. Both Masaru and Kaori turned to her giving her their attention. "Lord Masaru, I'm sorry but Ms. Kaori is already engaged to another."

Masaru brought his attention to Kaori shocked, "Is that true Ms. Kaori?" Kaori looked as confused as Masaru, "I…don't think so. I wouldn't marry so soon after just leaving a previous marriage." "Oh Ms. Kaori, you're so forgetful sometimes. We talked about it briefly when we first met."

Kaori searched her memory, 'I would have remembered something like that. Then again, my memory has been a bit fuzzy lately. Even last night…I know something happened.'

"It's true. There is an arranged marriage in place. Ms. Kaori is spoken for." "Well Ms. Kaori, if it is a marriage that my father has arranged, I'm sure he will annul it if I ask him to. Wait here, I'll speak with my father regarding the matter immediately."

Masaru stood and bound for the door with a purpose that Sakiko hadn't seen before. 'He's supposed to have eyes for me!' "Listen Kaori, Lord Masaru and I are going to be together. So please stay out of it." Kaori was slightly taken aback by the angry statement, "I have no intention of getting in a relationship right now. You said something about an arranged marriage earlier…?"

"Yes, but so we're clear we never spoke about it in detail. Usually, after a year or so, each lady here would expect to be leaving bound for a wealthy bachelor somewhere. I actually just learned about it this morning. Ms. Izumi said a few of the girls are leaving today including you. That's sort of why I was sent to check on you."

Kaori stood up abruptly, "I was never told about any arranged marriage. If I recall, you mentioned some women agree to marry rich bachelors, not to be sent off to marry! Who am I expected to marry?" "Well, it is part of your contract for being here. Free room and board, and being able to learn anything from around the world. In exchange, if a wealthy bachelor chooses you as a bride then you're expected to fulfill that role."

This left a bad taste in Kaori's mouth, "I've only been here for 2 days. How am I expected to become a "proper wife" if I haven't learned much of anything yet?" "I do agree it is way too soon. But this is out of my hands."

'I really do hope that Master Masaru is able to get the marriage annulled, because this isn't right.'

Day 5 – Niigata – 6:00pm

Kyō had been waiting outside of the town for 3 hours now. He finally saw two sets of horses and carriages approaching from the south. 'That must be them!' The carriage took an additional ten minutes to finally reach the town. Kyō waved down the drivers trying to get their attention. The drivers slowed the carriage recognizing the officer a short distance away and the carriages came to a stop.

"Are we finally there?" Kenshin was eager to stretch his legs and stepped out of the carriage. Saitō and Aoshi exited following Kenshin. Sano also left the other carriage followed by Yahiko and Misao, Megumi just stuck her head out to see what was going on.

"It's good to finally have you all here. I was asked to meet you at the gate. We didn't want to alert the guards in the Fujita Estate of your arrival. The Lieutenant asked me to guide everyone to the inn." "Lead the way," Saitō wasted no time.

Everyone followed behind Kyō as they walked through the streets. People were hustling about to finish getting what they needed before the shops all closed for the evening. "You all made great timing. We weren't expecting you to arrive for another 3 to 5 hours."

"Well, the horses did most of the work. Mr. Hajime showed no mercy and pushed those poor things to travel for 18 hours straight. We only rested for 4 hours before traveling again. They deserve to rest now." Saitō merely glanced at Misao, 'If we didn't rush to get here, I believe we would've missed our opportunity to catch these guys.'

"What's going on over there?" Kyō looked to where Sano had indicated, "Not sure. I'll check it out after I get everyone to the inn. Everyone must be starving after the trip you've had." "Oh boy, food!" Megumi just shook her head, 'I knew Yahiko would mention food.'

"Ah, here we are." Kyō entered first holding the door for the rest of the group to enter. "Greetings everyone. How many rooms will you need?" "Inn-keeper they will be with us for a little bit. We may need 3 extra rooms later. But can you please prepare 10 meals for dinner?" "Yes of course," the inn-keeper left to direct his staff on the orders. The group followed Kyō to the first-floor room where Lt. Rin was waiting. "Here you are, Lt. Rin is waiting. I'll go find out more about the commotion earlier."

Saitō entered the room first with the rest of the group to follow. "Greetings everyone. You've managed to make it here in record time." "Oh, a bed! I've always wanted to sleep on one of these." Misao ran to a bed and fell backward onto it. She squealed in joy, "Ooo so soft." "Ahem, yes another western custom," Lt. Rin cleared his throat. "If you like that, then you'll enjoy the bathtub and toilet."

Misao sat up straight, "They have those here!? I gotta see." "Hey me too," Yahiko joined Misao followed by a curious Megumi.

"Lieutenant is there any way to get inside the Estate?" Kenshin was very restless and wanted to find Kaoru asap. "I anticipated that you might want to get started immediately. So I…" Lt. Rin's statement was interrupted by the whoosh of the bathroom toilet, "Oh my gosh, Master Aoshi you have to see this!"

The loud noise caused a sudden wave of alertness from everyone except Lt. Rin and Saitō. Saitō rolled his eyes; during his travels he had already become familiar with the upgraded bathroom facilities. Aoshi left with Sano at Misao's beckoning.

Kenshin didn't leave wanting to hear more from Lt. Rin, "Lt. Rin please continue." Rin brought his attention back to Kenshin, "Oh, sorry about that. As I was saying, I have Junichi scouting the perimeter. He's due to return by 7:00pm. I think it would be best to try and infiltrate the place tonight after he returns." Kenshin nodded in agreement.

"Hey Kenshin, there's already hot water coming out of that thing in the bathroom sink. And the toilet thing allows you to use the bathroom indoors," Sano indicated while re-entering the room. "Is that so…? Kenshin was only half paying attention to Sano, his thoughts were set on infiltrating the mansion.

Soon after, a knock was heard at the door. Lt. Rin opened it to greet the inn-keeper. After a moment Lt. Rin addressed the group, "Everyone, dinner is prepared. Please follow me." Kenshin and the entire group followed Lt. Rin to the dining area. 'Hopefully we can kill time eating until Lt. Rin's men return. We're so close. Ms. Kaoru if you're there please be safe until I get there.'

Dinner came and went, but it would be another twenty minutes before 7:00pm arrived. The group was headed back to the room. "Lt. Rin!" "Kyō," Lt. Rin greeted. "I was wondering where you went to." "Sir I have some news." "Ok, we'll discuss things back in the room."

Shortly after, the entire group returned to the room. "Now what's the news about?" "There was a disturbance when Mr. Himura and the others arrived. I went to investigate and found that the Chief of this town was killed. There was chatter that the newcomers that had arrived were responsible."

"Well, that's troubling…" Saitō stepped in, "So they're painting targets on our backs." "What do you mean?" "Young Myōjin, I mean that Fujita's men want to keep us occupied or possibly captured. Most likely so he can escape."

Just then, the door opened to reveal three men entering the room. This earned the attention of everyone. "Hirohito, Ryota, Takashi, I'm glad to see that you've all returned safely." "Thanks Lieutenant. But I think there's a problem. When we left Sendai, the horse and carriage we were following seemed to take a long route back to Niigata."

"What are you saying?" Saitō asked before Lt. Rin could ask. "Hello, I'm glad that you've all made it as well. What I mean is that they deliberately took a long way home. I think they spotted us following them. And I don't think Satsu Ono was with them. We stopped somewhere yesterday evening. Three men left the carriage but Ono was nowhere in sight."

"Which means Satsu could have double backed to arrive here sooner." "I say let's storm the place and look for the little Missy." "I think it's too risky for all of us to be seen together since now we'll probably be arrested for suspicion of murdering the Chief here."

"Lieutenant, allow me to go alone. I know how to be stealthy and can handle myself in a fight, that I can." "I have no doubts of your talents Mr. Himura. My men will try to get a message to the Chief back home. We'll also create a diversion to keep the guards at the Fujita Estate occupied. Kyō!"

"Yes sir Lieutenant." "I want you to ride back to Tokyo this minute to deliver a message to the Chief. I have a feeling if you try to send a telegraph, you might be arrested on the spot. We've already looked into the background of the Chief here and know him to be loyal to Fujita. I'm sure the Superintendent will want to hear all of this as well. Take Ryota with you."

"Yes sir, at once Lieutenant." Kyō and Ryota took their leave to get horses and ride back to Tokyo. "Mr. Himura, You should meet up with Junichi. Let him know to report back once he's done." "Thank you Lt. Rin." "Yoshida." Rin turned to Saitō giving him his attention. "Let me go with Himura. I can be his backup in case he needs it. Besides, you could use another lieutenant in the field."

"Great idea Mr. Hajime." "We should probably leave here without arousing suspicion. What do you think Himura?" "We should take the window." Kenshin and Saitō moved towards the window to sneak out of the inn. "Be careful Sir Ken." Kenshin nodded his head in return. He opened the window and hopped through it easily with Saitō following behind. Lt. Rin closed the window behind them.

"Now, we need to create a diversion. Hirohito, head to the guards at the mansion and demand that they let you in to inspect things. Give Mr. Himura about twenty minutes before starting though." "I can lend a hand Lieutenant." "Thank you Mr. Shinomori."

"Hey, I can back him up also." "Mr. Sagara, I think it would be best if you were to help out here and protect everyone." "Besides Rooster, Mr. Shinomori is more intimidating. Those guards may not take you seriously," Megumi ruffled Sano's hair for good measure. "Cut it out. I can be menacing Foxy," Sano pouted. "Sure…" Megumi taunted.

"Be careful Master Aoshi," Misao hugged Aoshi. Aoshi nodded and pat Misao on the head, "I will." He and Hirohito left to distract the guards.

"Takashi." "Yes sir?" Takashi stepped forward. "I need you to get caught." "Sir?" Lt. Rin sighed, "I need you to try and send a telegraph to the Chief. I know the police here will be waiting to arrest you. You've already been seen in Sendai as a police officer sending messages there. They need to catch someone for the suspicion of murdering their Chief. We'll work with Commissioner Kawaji to get you out." "Yes sir." Takashi trusted the Lieutenant wholeheartedly. He walked off to complete his task.

"What should we do?" Rin gave Yahiko his attention, "I will need you to be on the lookout outside of the inn. No one would suspect a kid to be a suspect in their Chief's murder. Also, I've heard that you've been training under Ms. Kamiya, so I know you can protect yourself. I want you to notify us if Hirohito and Mr. Shinomori are able to get into the mansion, or if the police head to the inn. Remember, don't stray far from the inn."

"Yes sir," Yahiko was glad that someone saw his potential. "Here take this Yahiko." Yahiko looked over the object that Misao had just given him and gave Misao a questioning look. "It's to play with so no one would suspect you of anything." He nodded his thanks to Misao and exited out the window that Kenshin and Saitō left through.

'Finally, something I can do other than sit around and wait.' Yahiko jogged to the edge of the building, 'This is a good vantage point. The Lieutenant probably scouted from here before.'

To his right, he could see the Estate's gate where Aoshi and Hirohito were approaching. To his left, he could make out the town and see anyone approaching. Yahiko took out the bouncy ball that Misao gave him and started throwing it against the side of the inn and catching it every once in a while.

Back inside, Lt. Rin finished giving orders. "Ms. Takani, I want you to take care of anyone that might be injured. Hopefully, no harm will come to any of them, but we should always be prepared."

"Ms. Makimachi, I would like you to assist Mr. Himura but stay out of sight from everyone. Your mission is to create a diversion on the inside. I've heard you are part of the Oniwabanshū is that right?" "Yep sure am." "Great. Because I think Mr. Himura will need help on the inside as well. I know Mr. Hajime to be a substantially good fighter, but not very stealthy, at least compared to you. Your stealth skills are an asset here." "You got it!" Misao responded enthusiastically.

Misao retrieved the small bag she used while traveling. She dug through it and grabbed her weapons and a mask as well. She equipped herself and she too left through the window as the others had. Once outside, she took off running straight, using the buildings as cover as she found a way around to get to the manor.

Lt. Rin sighed and looked to Megumi and Sanosuke who were the only ones of the group remaining; "Now we wait."

Day 5 - Fujita Estate Interior – About 7:10pm

Kaori was busy cleaning the chimney in the library. She was doing her best to avoid Sakiko and Masaru. After her brief discussion earlier with Sakiko, Kaori wanted nothing to do with her. 'The nerve of Sakiko. I think I should have a say as to whom I marry and when. I'm not going anywhere, at least until I've gotten better at cooking. And what happened last night?' Kaori had this nagging feeling that she was forgetting something.

Ms. Izumi looked all over the manor for Kaori. 'Where is that girl? Doesn't she know that she is supposed to be leaving tonight.' The library was the last place that Izumi checked. She reached the entryway to the library and saw the woman in question cleaning out the chimney. 'There she is. I'm happy to see her so committed towards cleaning, but she might over-exert herself again.'

"Ms. Kaori." Kaori turned her head in the direction of the doorway. "Head Mother!" Kaori jumped from her spot nervousness taking root. "Ms. Kaori look at you!" Kaori looked down at herself and noted the soot and dirt covering her skin and clothing. She looked back to Ms. Izumi, "I seem to be a bit dirty," Kaori laughed nervously.

"Dirty is an understatement! You are supposed to be ready to leave by now along with the others. You can't leave looking like that. Head to the bathroom and take a bath. I can't have a lady of this establishment looking dirty while traveling." "Head Mother, why am I leaving so soon? I've barely been taught much of anything. And I also need to learn how to cook."

Izumi softened a bit, "I know this may be hard. But I was told by Mr. Fujita that you will be getting extensive training along the way." Kaori sighed in defeat, "Yes Ms. Izumi." "Now off you go. Wash up completely." Kaori walked past Izumi. "Oh and try not to track the floors or anything with soot," Izumi called from behind.

Day 5 – Fujita Estate Exterior – about 7:20pm

Kenshin and Saitō spotted Junichi heading back in their direction. "Sorry, I'm a little late getting back. You didn't have to come here to check on me." "We didn't," was Saitō's blunt answer. "Oh…" Junichi was a bit confused. "What Saitō was meaning to say was that we think Satsu returned early and is planning on moving Ms. Kaoru and the others as we speak."

"Ok, then allow me to give you my assessment of the premises. The Estate is comprised of a large mansion with a barn or stalls where the horses are kept. This Estate was designed to be impenetrable. The high stone wall I estimate to be about 6 meters tall. There are two gated entrances, one in the front guarded by two guards inside of the gate. The other is in the back adjacent to the front. This one also has guards on the interior. Who knows how many guards there are on the actual premises though."

"How do you suppose we get inside this impenetrable Estate?" "Oh, I would suggest the tree here. It's the only thing that I can tell that can breach the wall, but attempting a jump from that height would be dangerous." The three looked up to the large tree nearby.

"That branch is the only thing that can get you past the perimeter wall other than the gates of course. Once inside though, I'm not sure how you would get back. Here's a rope. I was thinking that maybe you can tie it to the tree trunk and use it to climb back over the wall."

Kenshin assessed the tree limb's proximity to the stone wall. "I can make the jump to the wall from the tree limb." "Are you sure Mr? Himura? There's a 1-meter gap between the tree limb and the wall." "If Himura says he can make it then he can. We just need to make sure we help him get back." "Y-yes sir."

Kenshin took the rope that Junichi offered and scaled the large tree. He ran up the side of the tree a good 3 meters before grabbing a limb and swinging on top of it. He then jumped off of the tree trunk to reach another limb to his left. He hopped along three other limbs to make his way to the limb over-stretching the wall. Kenshin tied one end of the rope to the trunk of the tree and the other around his torso.

Kenshin ran along the limb and jumped perfectly on top of the wall. He crouched a bit to assess the manor. The exterior looked Western in style with the traditional tiered roofing. 'I could use the tiered rooftops and slip in through a window.' Kenshin untied the rope from his torso dropping the rope on the interior of the wall. 'Good the rope is obscured by the shadows.' Kenshin noted the three guards walking the perimeter before hopping down from the wall.

"Wow, he made that look easy," Junichi was in awe. "Well, what do you expect from the former Hitokiri Battōsai." "I'm sorry I ever doubted Mr. Himura."

Kenshin ran toward the mansion. He checked to see that no one was coming and ran and jumped off of a cart used for gardening than grabbed the first-floor roof above. He hoisted himself up using one hand. He walked along the first-floor roof silently until he spotted an open window on the second floor in the rear of the mansion. It was positioned higher close to the second-floor roof.

'There is no easy way up from here. Unless…?' Kenshin reached in his gi pulling out the ribbon taken from the basket. Before leaving the dojo, Kenshin thought it might bring luck having a piece of Kaoru with him. Kenshin grabbed a nearby column tossed the ribbon around grabbing hold of the other end. He used the ribbon as leverage to scale the side of the pillar.

Once he reached the roof of the second floor, he pulled himself up stashing the ribbon back in his gi, 'Well that worked out well.' Kenshin looked below the roof to the opened window that had light steam coming from inside. He glanced below waiting for a guard to pass by. Once the guard passed, Kenshin grabbed the roof and lowered himself to the window. He inspected the room briefly before entering, satisfied no one was in sight.

'A bathroom?' Kenshin walked cautiously into the room expecting someone to enter soon given that the bathtub was filled with hot water and was steaming up the room. His right hand was hovering over the tsuka of the sakabatō.

A head suddenly broke the still surface of the water startling Kenshin who had his sword drawn in an instant. 'A woman? Umm…' Kenshin's cheeks heated as he stared dumbfounded. The woman in question was waist-deep in the water, her long black hair covering most of her breasts.

She took a moment to clear the water from her eyes and noticed a man staring at her. Before she could scream, there was a hand over her mouth, a finger held up to his mouth signaling not to scream.

'What the hell! Wasn't he on the other side of the room a moment ago? And when did he sheath his sword?' "Please Miss, I mean you no harm. I am just looking for…" Kenshin was shocked; now that he was up close. He removed his hand slowly, "M-Ms. Kaoru?"

Kaori blinked staring at the handsome guy before her. Kenshin hugged her tightly before she could respond. "I have missed you Ms. Kaoru." Kaori blushed deep red. Kenshin broke the hug and was met by an angry Kaori who was now covering her breast with one arm and punched him in the head for good measure using her other arm.

"Ms. Kaoru?" Kenshin stumbled back and was confused a moment rubbing the sore spot on his head. "Turn around," Kaori barked angrily. Kenshin's breath hitched and immediately complied. Kaori grabbed a towel, 'One minute I'm rinsing the soap from my hair and the next this guy shows up.' She climbed out of the tub and wrapped the towel around her, 'This will have to do for now.' "You can turn around now."

Kenshin turned around slowly, "I am so sorry Ms. Kaoru. I was just surprised that I have finally found you, that I have." "I'm sorry but, I don't know you." Kenshin was shocked and hurt. He walked up to her slowly and carefully, "What do you mean?" "My name is Kaori Mayaki not this Ms. Kaoru you keep calling me." "But, you look and sound just like Ms. Kaoru."

'My memory might be fuzzy, but I'm not this Ms. Kaoru.' Upon closer inspection, Kenshin noticed one subtle difference between Kaori and Kaoru. Kaori's eyes were a light brown color whereas Kaoru's were blue. 'Weird, I'm usually anxious around other guys, but not him for some reason.'

Kenshin looked at her hoping by some miracle she was in fact Ms. Kaoru. 'Could Ms. Kaoru have a twin? Twins are not that common, but it is a possibility.' Kenshin sighed realizing his mistake, "I am sorry Ms. Kaori. I am looking for a woman that looks just like you, but she has blue eyes."

"Blue eyes, in Japan?" Kenshin just nodded. "She must be someone unique." 'Then again, this guy isn't any ordinary man either. With red hair and purple eyes, he must draw a lot of attention. Apparently, he is a very skilled swordsman.'

Without warning, the memories from last night came flooding back. Kaori grabbed the sides of her temples due to the sudden headache that came with the memories. "Ms. Kaori?" Kenshin held out a hand eager to help but not wanting to startle her again.

"There's a woman in the basement being held captive. She might be who you're looking for. I couldn't see her very well, but she had light-colored eyes. I snuck in following a guy in all black. The woman said he was going to kill her," the fear from last night came back to her.

"Who was going to kill her?" Kenshin's expression turned serious. "I think his name is Iwasaki. The woman in the cell said to get the key from him to free her. I remember seeing the key tied on a string around his neck." 'I do not know of an Iwasaki, but if he is involved I have to stop him.'

Kaori noticed the orange glint in his eyes, 'Whoa, did his eyes just change? I'd much prefer his original eyes.' There was a nagging feeling that Kaori had, to go with him. "Ms. Kaori, it is not safe here. Are you able to leave the Estate?" "I…don't know. I was told that I'm not to leave without a guard accompanying me." "Then lie low and stay hidden. I shall return to get you out of here."

Kenshin headed for the door but was stopped by Kaori grabbing his arm. "Wait. The guy in black is an assassin." "I have a feeling I know who you might be referring to. And if it is the same person, then I know what to expect." "Do you know the way to the basement?"

Kenshin thought for a moment, "I was planning to look around until I found it." "Well, I can tell you how to get there. Go downstairs to the first floor and take a left. Very close to the stairs, there will be a staircase that leads down to a door. Once you go through the door, cross the training hall and there will be a weapons rack that will have three torches around it. Pull the center one above the rack and it'll open a secret door. Go through the door and you should find the woman in the last cell on the right. I haven't found a way back after the secret doorway closed though."

"Thank you Ms. Kaori," Kenshin placed a hand on her hand. "That was a big help." "Wait, what's your name?" Kaori had a strange notion that they've met before. "Oh, excuse me Ms. Kaori, I most certainly forgot to introduce myself, that I have. My name is Kenshin, Kenshin Himura."

"Kenshin…" Kaori responded slowly. Kenshin gave her a small smile before turning to the door once more to complete the task before him. He dashed into the main room of the bathroom before reaching a door to the hallway. He made sure no one was in sight before stealthily navigating the hallway.

A moment longer and he would have noticed the surprised look in the girl's face and saw her crumble to the floor on her knees with her hands holding her head in pain.

I hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far. There's more to come Until next time…