GONE

Chapter Seven – Struggle to Break Free

Thank you so much everyone for your review. I have another couple of chapters coming your way with a bit of action sprinkled in. Hope you all enjoy it. Onward to the story…

Day 5 - Niigata - 7:45pm

"I had expected to get caught by now." Takashi had spoken too soon, "There he is!" He was spotted by one of the police officers from the Niigata Prefecture. 'Well, at least I was able to get word to the Chief.'

Takashi was surrounded by five officers. He held his hands up to show he wasn't a threat, "Excuse me gentlemen, but what seems to be the problem?" "You there, you have been suspected of crimes against our Prefecture." "There must be some mistake," Takashi played the part. "I was simply getting in touch with my Prefecture to let them know of my departure."

"You heard him, he's sending messages no doubt of his crimes and trying to escape!" Takashi chuckled dryly to himself, 'If I was trying to escape I would leave some blood in my wake at least.' The guards apprehended him and bound his hands in rope. "I'd like to know what crimes I supposedly committed." "You are charged with murdering our Chief."

"Murder! That's absurd. I only came here to…" "Shut up swine." Takashi was punched hard in the stomach by one of the officers. He slouched a bit coughing from the impact. "Take him away."

The guards navigated the growing mass of spectators outside. "Everything is alright, we've caught the suspect!" one of the officers yelled to the crowd of people. They walked a short distance to the local Prefecture. They cut the rope on Takashi's hands before shoving him in a cell. Takashi just stared daggers at the officer before resigning to one of the benches in the cell. 'This is going to be a long night…'

Yahiko ran back to the window of the inn to brief the Lieutenant of Takashi's capture. "Good thanks for the update Mr. Myōjin. Let's just hope that will keep the police busy and out of the way for a while." Yahiko nodded in agreement and jogged back to his post.

Day 5 – Fujita Estate – about 7:50pm

"Looks like we're up." Aoshi simply nodded and followed Hirohito to the front gate of the Estate looking official with a folder under one arm.

"Halt! Who goes there?" "I am with the Tokyo Prefecture Mr. Hirohito Matsui and this is my associate. We have come to investigate the manor under suspicion of trafficking women."

"What! Now hold on," came from one of the guards. "You have no proof." "Of course we do," Hirohito held up the file folder for the guards to see. "Let me see that." "Under no circumstances am I allowing you to see a police file. Where is the owner of the Estate? I want to speak with him immediately." 'These guys might actually let us in.' Aoshi merely stood there with one hand on a kodachi and the other at his side.

Day 5 - Fujita Estate Interior – about 7:52pm

"What seems to be the cause for the commotion Ms. Izumi?" "Well Lord Masaru, it seems like some police officer is shouting some rather hair-raising accusations at the front gate." "What kind of accusations?" "I stepped out for a moment myself and heard him mentioning that the Estate is a front for trafficking women." "What!" Masaru couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Wait here, I'll go see to this matter."

Masaru left through one of the side doors of the mansion and made his way toward the gate. "Excuse me everyone, but what seems to be the problem?" Masaru was met by an officer with a file in his hands. Standing beside him was a man in dark clothing wearing a coat of all things. He could tell that the man was not to be crossed if a battle were to ensue.

"Excuse me Mr.?" "My name is Lord Masaru Fujita. I am the son of the owner Lord Akui Fujita. I believe you two are trespassing." "Well, I haven't set a foot on your grounds. I was just informing your men that I am here to conduct my investigation into the women that have been trafficked at this location." "You are grossly mistaken sir. There aren't any such nefarious actions as you describe happening here. The women of this establishment can come and go as they please."

"Can they though? From my understanding there seems to be a 6-meter wall keeping them in, not to mention two gates that seem to be guarded and locked at all times. Perhaps except for if the guards or owners were to leave. You haven't noticed women coming here to "learn" to become ladies to be missing without a good reason as to why?"

Masaru was taken aback by the accusation. But the more he dwelled on the information presented before him, the more questions that formed there. 'There have been a lot of women to this Estate. I've never had the chance to remember them as most don't stay here too long.' "And where do you suspect these women are disappearing to might I ask?"

"Quite simple; they are sold into arranged marriages to rich men from far away under false pretenses." 'This can't be true, can it? And yet, I was unable to convince father to annul Ms. Kaori's marriage earlier. I even pleaded and offered to marry her myself.' Masaru was sick to his stomach thinking something like this could be possible. "No, I won't believe this. I will have my father explain this misunderstanding."

With that, Masaru head back towards the mansion. He stopped to have a conversation with one of the guards.

Kenshin was about to descend the stairs when he noticed a commotion below. 'Everyone's running to a specific area.' There was a rapping on a nearby window that made Kenshin dash into one of the unlit rooms. The rapping continued drawing Kenshin's attention to it, "Oro, Ms. Misao?"

Kenshin walked through what seemed to be a small bedroom and quickly opened the window. "Himura! It took longer than expected to find you. Did you find Kaoru yet?" Kenshin stepped aside so Misao could enter, "No I have not. I was given some good information from one of the women here. She looked and sounded so much like Ms. Kaoru."

Misao pulled down her mask, "What! Is it Kaoru then?" "No," Kenshin shook his head no. "She said her name was Kaori and she had brown eyes." "Interesting. Is she Kaoru's sister or something?" "I do not know, that I do not. What are you doing here Ms. Misao?"

"Oh right. I was sent here to back you up and create a diversion if you need it. Master Aoshi and Officer Hirohito are outside now demanding to be let in under suspicion of trafficking." "That must be what the commotion is below. Ms. Misao, do you think you can get a key from someone? I believe it to be Satsu. Ms. Kaori said he wears a key around his neck."

"So you want me to steal a key from the neck of an assassin huh. I'll need a diversion to get that close." "I can keep him busy for you Ms. Misao." Kenshin's anger started to peak remembering the reason he was there. "No need Himura, I have just the distraction in mind."

Kenshin was a little perplexed by Misao's confidence. "You are certain?" "Sure am. Where will you be?" "Well, Ms. Kaori said I have to get to the basement. The entrance is by the main staircase on the first floor." There was loud talking occurring outside where Kenshin assumed was the first floor. He crept out into the hallway and saw a man clad in black at the foot of the staircase.

"Who's he Himura?" "I think he is Satsujin Ono. Ms. Kaori described him as wearing all black." Misao thought a moment, "Wait here Himura and follow my lead." She dashed back into the room while pulling her mask back up and jumped out the window. Kenshin looked towards the room, 'I wonder what Ms. Misao has planned.'

After Misao had jumped out the window she dashed across the roof and made her way down to the first floor. She picked the lock of one of the doors in record time and took out her many throwing stars aiming them at each candle she came across nearby. She made sure to cut them in half to prevent them from being re-lit quickly. Then she turned her attention to the ones in the distance throwing with impressive accuracy. Within a mere twelve seconds, all of the candles of the first-floor hallway were extinguished.

After exactly two minutes of waiting, the lights seemed to go out below like a wave. Kenshin smiled slightly before heading from one end of the hallway to the other slashing all of the candles. His quick speed made short work of each of them.

Misao spotted her mark who was confused for the moment by the sudden blackout. She raced forward. Using sleight of hand, she grabbed the key and used a kunai to slice the string in one fluid motion.

Satsu noticed a sudden breeze pass by him in the dark, 'This has to be an ambush.' He took out his wakizashi ready for a fight, his eyes adjusting to the sudden change in light and senses sharpening. When nothing came he looked around searching for an intruder.

Misao was used to the dark and was often referred to as a cat by her people. 'Great, he noticed me pass by, doesn't look like he saw me taking the key though.' Misao rushed upstairs to the now darkened second floor and entered the bedroom. "Very effective plan Ms. Misao." "Aw shucks Himura, it was nothing. I see you followed my lead regarding the lights up here." "Yes, and I also managed to extinguish the candles on the third floor as well."

Misao just stared at him in disbelief; 'I only managed one floor in that time. Leave it to Himura to upstage me.' Misao simply chuckled, "Well Himura I knew I could count on you. As promised, one key from Satsu." "Thank you Ms. Misao," Misao dropped the key in Kenshin's hand.

'I came back inside from getting four of the women situated in the carriage outback. Now I come back to find this.' A thought crossed his mind all of a sudden. He ran out of the library back to the Head Mistress and the remaining girls. "What's the meaning of the sudden darkness?" Masaru was wary. The remaining girls and Izumi were so distracted by the events outside, that no one heard Lord Masaru returning let alone that the lights in the hallway were extinguished.

"Lord Masaru, Head Mistress; I want you to take the rest of the girls and go to one of the rooms and lock the doors. Lord Masaru, please look after them." "Yes, Mr. Iwasaki. Let's go everyone to my bedroom since it's larger." Everyone rushed up the stairs holding to the railing in the dark. "Ms. Izumi," Satsu stopped the woman. "Where is Ms. Kaori?" "Last I recalled she was taking a bath before she was to travel." "Go. I will get Ms. Kaori."

Satsu ran to the doorway that Masaru entered through and pulled a guard aside. "Tell the men in the carriage to leave now. We're under attack." "Sir?" the guard looked at the man shocked. "Go!" he ordered, "And tell them not to stop for anything." The guard scampered off. Satsu rushed back inside and followed in the group's path but departed to the second floor instead.

Misao and Kenshin hid in the bedroom hoping they wouldn't be discovered. When the group passed on their way to the third floor, Kenshin turned to Misao. "Ms. Misao, I need you to search for Ms. Kaori. She was in one of the bathrooms on this floor." "You mean there's more than one? Ok, ok. But where are you going?" "I am going to rescue the woman in the basement being held captive. I believe she might be Ms. Kaoru." Misao's smile was lost by the darkness, "Go and bring our girl home." Kenshin nodded and bounded down the stairs.

Once Kenshin got to the 1st floor, he searched in the dark for a stairway. It didn't take long, he was able to make out an entryway where the stairs led downwards. He rushed down the steps reaching for the handle of the door. Once inside, he surveyed the room for the weapons rack. He spotted it in the dim lighting on the far wall. He ran to the weapons rack, 'Now if I recall, she said to pull the torch in the center.' Kenshin pulled the torch and watched the wall part forming a passage. He walked through checking first to see if anyone was around.

Satsu found Kaori dressed in a yukata with one arm rested on the toilet lid while she was sitting on the floor. Her head was down and he caught the words she was mumbling. He looked her over noting that she seemed unconscious. He grabbed her arm which caused her to jolt awake. "No!" she yelled. Satsu anticipated her trying to get away. He placed tape over her mouth and struggled to subdue her while binding her hands in rope.

She kicked Satsu and tried to get away but was smacked hard across the face. "Try that again and it won't just be a warning next time." Kaori caught the cold glimpse in his eyes and halted in her retaliation, knowing that he would make good on the promise. He lifted her on his right shoulder and left the bathroom.

Misao saw Satsu as he was leaving the bathroom adjacent to her. 'That must be them. Should I attack him?' Misao was too slow at pondering what to do. Satsu was already headed up the stairs when she exited the bathroom. 'Where's Himura when you need him.'

Day 5 – Niigata – about 8:10pm

Yahiko had just updated Lt. Rin, "Some of the lights went out at the mansion you say?" "Yes sir," Yahiko answered. "That must be the distraction. Great job Mr. Myōjin, keep it up."

"Is everything ok out there?" Sano was bored to tears, now he understood what Yahiko felt being left behind all those times. "Yes, everything seems to be ok. My concern lies with the police here. If they interfere things could get…complicated."

Yahiko left to return to his lookout.

Day 5 – Fujita Estate Exterior – about 8:11pm

"I demand to be let in!" "Mr. Matsui look." Hirohito gave Aoshi his attention, especially since it's the only thing he's said after being with him. He saw in the distance that a carriage was waiting for the back gate to open. "Where is that heading!?"

The guards turned their attention to the rear gate, "That's none of your concern." "Dammit, they're making a run for it. Quick, to the stables." Aoshi complied and followed Hirohito to the stables.

"What's happening?" Yahiko called to the pair. "There's a carriage leaving. We're after it." Yahiko watched the two pass by on their way to the stables. He turned his attention back to the Estate. He noticed out of the darkness the other officer approaching. "Mr. umm…" "It's Junichi kid. Have you been looking out here?" "Yeah, the Lieutenant told me to keep watch here since no one would suspect a kid to have killed the town's Chief." 'Well, I most certainly missed a lot.'

"What's with all the commotion? Mr. Hajime told me to find out while he climbed a nearby tree to scout the mansion." "Mr. Aoshi and that other officer Hirohito I think is his name said that there's a carriage leaving the Estate." "What!" Junichi was on alert. "Have you told the Lieutenant yet?" "Not yet, I didn't want to miss anything that might happen at the Estate." "Go brief the Lieutenant, I'll wait here for you." Yahiko left to update Lt. Rin on the commotion.

Day 5 – Fujita Estate Interior – about 8:13pm

There was a knock on Lord Fujita's door. He opened it partially and was able to make out Satsu's form in the darkness. "Satsu what's going on out there?" Satsu made his way into the room, Lord Fujita just now noticing the girl on his shoulder. He closed the door, "Akui we have to leave now." "What about the girl?"

Satsu set Kaori down on the ground unceremoniously. She doesn't know much but it might come back to her. "Wait, where the heck is her choker?" "No idea, but that's the least of my worries. The lights are out in the hallways on all floors. I think the Battōsai is here."

"Dammit," Lord Fujita grabbed his belongs, "Where the hell are the police? I thought you sent them a message." "Yes, I thought I sent them a clear message to exact revenge while we left unnoticed." "By message do you mean…?" "Yes, I dealt with the police Chief since he wasn't doing his job protecting this establishment and notifying us of their arrival." 'What are they talking about?' Kaori was lost. Lord Fujita sighed mostly out of exasperation of his partner's need to kill, "I'm ready."

"Ms. Kaoru," Kenshin called into the cell quietly. The woman stirred on the cot in the cell. She woke up with a start, "Who?" "I have come to rescue you, that I have." Kenshin pulled out the key unlocking it. The girl stood and walked quietly to the cell's entrance. She threw her arms around him, "Thank you so much for rescuing me."

Kenshin frowned and pulled away, "You are not Ms. Kaoru." "Ms. Kaoru? No, I'm not her." Kenshin was beyond frustrated by now, 'Where is Ms. Kaoru!' "How did you get that key?" "This? I followed Ms. Kaori's instructions and a friend stole it from the guy in black." "The assassin? Then that means he'll be here any moment. Come we must leave," the girl grabbed Kenshin's arm trying to get him to leave.

Kenshin was reluctant, "Wait Ms.?" "Asuka Nakano," she clarified. "Ms. Asuka, have you seen anyone with blue eyes?" "Please let us leave. Then I shall answer any questions you have." Kenshin sighed, grabbed Asuka's hand, and led her back to the hidden doorway. Keeping Kaori's warning in mind, he had remembered to use a rock to keep the door propped open. He grabbed the edge of the brick entryway and pulled to open it.

"We should hurry Ms. Asuka." Kenshin grabbed her hand and rushed through the training room.

Satsu picked up Kaori again who struggled a bit before going back to the uncomfortable position on his shoulder again. "We have to hurry." Lord Fujita opened the door to the room and held the door for Satsu.

"Father?" Masaru emerged from his room a lit torch in hand. Masaru's room was on the other side of the hallway a little further down the same hall from Lord Fujita's, close to the stairs. "Father, where are you going?" Akui and Satsu passed by without a word to Masaru. "Where are you going with Ms. Kaori?" Masaru asked as they reached the stairs.

"Please father," this caused Lord Fujita to pause in his step. "What is it boy!?" Lord Fujita's patience was running thin. "Do you know the police are asking questions about women being trafficked overseas? They are accusing us of serious crimes. Tell me there's some sort of misunderstanding?" 'What! Trafficking women?' this caused Kaori to struggle more to get away. The other women in Masaru's room were listening in; Sakiko was next to the door listening to everything clearly.

"Lord Fujita we must go." "Father, answer me!?" Lord Fujita turned around and approached his son threateningly, "Yes boy, women are trafficked here. Not just to wealthy rich men from overseas, only those who are virgins get that luxury. The ones that are whores are sent to establishments that suit them, like brothels. But some like Chie Noguchi who couldn't keep her mouth shut was stabbed repeatedly to find out what she told random strangers. And what was left of her was burned and left to rot. And before you go to the police feigning ignorance, just remember you profited off of those wonderful women that were sold."

Masaru took a couple of steps back not recognizing the evil in his eyes. Sakiko gasped at the venom in Lord Fujita's voice and the despicable acts she unknowingly took part in. Without another word, Lord Fujita left with Satsu. Masaru dropped the torch, he was in shock and disgust and placed a hand on the nearby wall to balance himself.

Kenshin and Asuka left the basement and were ascending the stairs to the first floor. He halted immediately hearing a pair of footsteps descending rapidly. Out of nowhere, Misao appeared seemingly from the stairs and grabbed Kenshin leading him to the kitchen nearby. She held a finger to her mouth indicating not to make a sound. The three crouched near the doorway of the kitchen. They listened as the footsteps drew near for a moment before descending the stairs again. Misao peered in the dark hallway and waved Kenshin to follow.

She led the way back where she had entered the 1st floor. After they had exited the door on the other side of the manor that led outside, Kenshin pointed to the obscured rope hanging from the wall. "Go," Misao instructed, "Get her out of here. I'll make sure no guards get in the way." "Thank you Ms. Misao." Kenshin grabbed Asuka's hand and ran quickly towards the rope.

"Are you able to climb Ms. Asuka?" "Umm," Asuka was unsure of herself. "How long were you a prisoner?" "Five days now I think." 'Ms. Asuka is more than likely weakened.' Kenshin didn't hesitate, "Hold on to my neck and back." Asuka followed instructions and jumped up and wrapped her arms and legs from behind Kenshin. Kenshin grabbed the rope and started to ascend.

"Come on Himura." Misao looked to Kenshin and a guard that was approaching. The guard stopped briefly noticing movement in the distance. He aimed his gun at the movement focusing on the target. Suddenly, there was a metal ping and movement that caused him to throw off his aim. The guard looked around confused. Misao swooped in and leaped up wrapping her legs around the guy's neck. She used her momentum to flip them both backward.

This grapple caused the guard to almost lose consciousness. The guard began flailing trying to loosen the grip around his neck. Misao didn't let up and used her legs to suffocate the guard. Eventually, after ten more seconds, the guard stopped flailing. Misao loosened her hold and checked his pulse. Satisfied he was still breathing, she dashed back to the shadows.

'They're almost there.' Misao checked the perimeter and saw no one coming, 'Thank goodness it's dark out.' She turned her attention back to Kenshin, 'Good, they made it.' Misao dashed to the rope, ran up the wall a couple of meters then grabbed the rope to quickly scale the wall the rest of the way.

Kenshin jumped to the tree limb but was thrown off balance when he landed due to the extra weight on his back. "Whoa," Kenshin voiced and tried to balance himself. A hand reached out to him grabbing his arm allowing him to gain his footing. "Whew, thank you Saitō." "Think nothing of it." Saitō let go of Kenshin. "Ms. Asuka you can let go now."

Asuka who had her eyes closed opened them, "Thank goodness. She got down off of Kenshin's back, but how do we get down from here?" "Hold on one moment Ms. Asuka." Kenshin looked over to the wall glad that Misao made it safely over. She too hopped over to the large limb. "Makimachi, how the hell did you get over there?" "It was easy…but a ninja never reveals their secrets."

Kenshin shook his head at Misao's statement and started pulling the rope back to their side. With all of the rope retrieved, he dropped it to the ground. "There you are Ms. Asuka. Try using the rope to get down." She nodded and grabbed hold of the rope slowly lowering herself to the ground.

"Who the heck is Asuka? I thought that was Kaoru." Kenshin shook his head no, "I am as disappointed as you are Ms. Misao. But Asuka said she would answer my questions once I got her to safety." Misao frowned and looked back to the wall, "So Kaoru's still in there?" "What the hell happened in there Himura, Makimachi?" Both sighed, Misao simply jumped down startling Asuka who had just reached the ground herself. "Let us head back to the inn. We can plan more there." Kenshin too jumped down to the ground, Saitō followed.

"This way," Kenshin grabbed Asuka's hand and ran across the road. "Kenshin, you're back. Misao? When did you leave?" "Hey Yahiko." Misao looked in the direction of the gate entrance, "Where's Master Aoshi?" "He and Hirohito grabbed a couple of horses from the stable and went after a horse and carriage that left the Estate."

Kenshin's attention was also drawn to the Estate gateway, "Did they say who was leaving Yahiko?" "No, just that someone was trying to flee." Yahiko started eyeing the woman before him, "You're not Kaoru." "She is not Ms. Kaoru, that you are right Yahiko." Kenshin brought his attention to him, "Ms. Asuka may be able to answer some questions about Ms. Kaoru's whereabouts." Yahiko nodded looking back at the woman before turning away to run to the window of the inn. The others followed suit.

"Sir Ken! Welcome back." Everyone entered the window and Saitō closed it shut. "Missy you had us worried sick. And you might need a bath." "Sano, this isn't Kaoru," Yahiko informed. "Huh? What gives Kenshin?" "Ms. Asuka, these are my friends: Ms. Megumi, Sanosuke, Saitō and Misao and Yahiko you just met." Asuka followed as he introduced everyone. "My name is Kenshin and this is Lt. Rin."

"Lieutenant?" Asuka stepped back fearful. "It is ok Ms. Asuka. We understand your apprehension." "You believe that the police here are run by Lord Fujita?" Asuka nodded. "Well, Lt. Rin here is from the Tokyo Prefecture." Asuka breathed a bit out of relief. "Ms. Asuka, perhaps now you are able to answer a few of our questions?" Asuka nodded in agreement with Kenshin's question.

"For starters, where's Kaoru?" "Hey, why don't you leave the questions to the grownups kid." "I'm not just a kid y'know." "I don't know of a Ms. Kaoru. When did she go missing?" "Five days ago," Megumi informed. "That's the same time the new girl showed up. Here, let me explain from the beginning."

Asuka found a seat on the floor before continuing, the rest of the group followed except Saitō. "Like many of the girls at the Estate, I too was brought there by one of the guards. I was lured by the luxury of the Estate and the opportunity to better myself. Problem is, I couldn't remember who I was to begin with. I became close friends with one of the girls there, her name is Chie Noguchi."

"Chie?" Misao interrupted. "I overheard that Satsu guy and Lord Fujita telling his son that he was running a trafficking scheme. That, women who were virgins were sold to rich bachelors overseas, and those who weren't were sold to brothels. He mentioned Chie by name. Saying that she was tortured for information by stabbing to see who she blabbed to. He said he burned what was left of her and left her to rot." "Chie…" Asuka was saddened.

"Misao, you're going to make her cry." "Sorry, Ms. Megumi." "So then, Ms. Chie was the woman that was found outside of Tokyo." Everyone turned to Lt. Rin. "The description of her wounds matches. Ms. Asuka, when was the last time you saw you're friend?" Asuka thought a moment on Megumi's question, "Maybe ten days ago now." "I'm sorry to inform you dear, but the woman we found outside of Tokyo is your friend."

"I always feared something bad happened to her. She was a bit of a chatterbox." "Oh, then she would've gotten along with weasel girl here." "Hey Sano, my name is Misao." "Enough with the shenanigans, please continue miss," Saitō wanted to get to the heart of things. Asuka looked at the hardened man a moment then continued her story. "Chie was the one that made me aware of what was going on at the Estate. She made me remove this…" Asuka held out the choker she had.

"That's pretty," Misao commented. "It may look that way but look at this." The girl flipped the gem over to reveal some sort of patch with a tiny mechanism around it. "What is that?" Sano was curious. "I'm not sure what it is. I just know it makes you confused and forget. I forgot two years of my life. When they bring you there, they make up some story, some lie so everyone else would believe the farce that they've created. Since I couldn't remember the past two years, I wholeheartedly believed the lie as well. When I removed this, the effects took a few days to wear off."

"May I examine that? I think this patch releases a toxin that's absorbed by the skin. I may be guessing, but this mechanism may be triggered by time and releases the toxins at a certain time of day." Asuka handed the necklace to Megumi. "You might be on to something Ms. Megumi. At nights, a lot of us were exhausted. I always thought it was strange that we all felt sleepy around 10:30pm almost exactly."

"Curious," Lt. Rin voiced. "Possibly something they brought back from overseas…Akui Fujita does travel a lot." "Technology, I'm telling you it's no good. It'll take over your soul." "Not this again Sano. Some grownup you are," Yahiko recalled Sano's paranoia his 1st time riding a train and getting his picture taken.

"Ms. Asuka, did everyone have to wear those." "Why, yes Kenshin." Kenshin searched his memory, "I didn't see Ms. Kaori wearing one." "Was she the girl that was about my height and had long dark hair as well?" "Yes." "Then that is her choker." "Wha..?" came from Sano. "She snuck down to the basement following the man in black. I spoke with her and managed to snatch this from her. But she was knocked out by the man in black."

"Could that have been Kaoru?" Yahiko was hopeful. "I do not believe so Yahiko. Ms. Kaoru has blue eyes and Ms. Kaori has brown eyes." "Oh," Yahiko was sad all over again. "Just a moment Kenshin, all of the girls have brown eyes at the manor." "How is that even possible?" Lt. Rin was skeptical. "Well, I too had light brown eyes. But after removing my necklace, my eye color changed to a silver color, my original eye color."

"Hey yeah," Sano inspected the girl's eyes. "So, you're saying the toxin in this patch has the ability to change your eye color?" "Yes but only to brown. I don't know why. I heard that Lord Fujita's wife had brown eyes and long dark hair. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or something."

"So…the woman I met, Ms. Kaori…" "She might just be your friend that you're looking for. Two days haven't passed yet, so the toxin is still in her system, at least until tomorrow night. Did she show any signs of intense headaches? Or maybe appeared to be very sick? I recall feeling awful for those two days." "Yes, she did." Kenshin, who was seated, stood heading for the window.

"Wait, Kenshin?" Yahiko and Sano called after him. "Where are you going?" "Ms. Kaori Mayaki is Ms. Kaoru and I am going back to rescue her."

Whew, that was another long chapter, I guess 5000 words is becoming the norm. Once I started, everything just kept on rolling. Yes, there you have it Kenshin/Kaoru fans, Kaoru is alive. So please set down your pitchforks, hahaa. Things are really picking up the pace for Kenshin and the gang. Until next time…