Summary: When Kenshin hears about Shishio's betrayal at the hands of the Ishin Shishi, he is determined to find the truth about his former comrade's death. His quest for vengeance leads him to several top members of the former revolutionary outfit, but when someone starts beating him to the kill, Kenshin realizes all is not as it seems. BKK.
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Watsuki Nobuhiro. The situations in this story however, do belong to me.
Rating: T
Thanks to all my lovely reviewers! I love you guys. I really hope you like this chapter. krystalMage crosses her fingers-
-
Chapter Five
-
-
Recap
"It won't last long. You'll be free of all this, and of me."
"I can't wait for that day."
The silence that followed screamed louder than any words could. Her anger swarmed around and coiled itself around her frame, blocking any urge to look at him and seek answers once again.
"Well you know Miss Kaoru, if our circumstances were slightly different, I have no doubts that you would have been positively my most favorite person." He turned away. "Feel free to have a shower. And don't worry, we're on the 25th floor, this apartment has no balconies and only one entrance, so unless you want to end up as fudge on the pavement, there's no way for you to run."
Kaoru bristled. Slowly, without making a sound, she picked up the chair he had been sitting on, gripping it tightly with her hands she advanced slowly before lunging and bringing the chair down on him.
End of Recap
The thwacking sound of wood connecting with her kidnapper's head rang in Kaoru's ears. Her captor raised his hands and clutched his head briefly before collapsing on the floor in a heap. He writhed as his head exploded in pain. Kaoru stepped back. The chair clattered to the floor as it slipped from her hands. Her hands were shaking. She clamped them over her mouth, shocked at her daring and the success of the attack. She frantically looked around the apartment and spotted the door. She raced to the door as fast as her legs would allow. Pulling desperately at the doorknob, she turned to take one last look at the man who had shown her pure horror and fear for the first time ever in her life. She fumbled with the chain latching the door shut. Even as her fingers shook and her heart beat madly in fear, she finally pulled the door free and ran out into the hallway, slamming the door shut behind her.
Her breath came in short bursts. Half hopping, half running, she raced down the hallway.
She was free.
-
-
The pain seemed to float around his head in circles, floating out from the base of his skull to the top of his head. He winced and gingerly touched the back of his head, softly groping and sliding his fingers through his hair to locate the exact location of the wound left by Kaoru's blow. He froze momentarily when he felt his viscous blood oozing out of his scalp. He pulled his fingers out and studied them briefly. He couldn't help flinching at the sight of blood tainting his hands once again. The fact that it was his blood made no difference to him. The only thing that mattered was that he had blood on his hands.
Dirty…..dirty….stained hands….tainted hands….will I never be free?
His hand began to shake. Kenshin clutched it tightly with the other hand but the shaking would not stop. He stared unblinkingly at the red tint seeping through his fingers down onto his palm. His breath quivered in his throat and he began to tremble spasmodically.
Misao rushed out from her hiding place and knelt down beside him. She tried to soothe him but he slapped her hands away and retreated to the wall. His hair came undone and hung in clumps around his face and his trembling was getting worse, as he began to convulse erratically. His eyes were wild, but whether it was fear or anger that plagued him could not be said for certain. Misao was flabbergasted. She had never imagined seeing the all- powerful Battousai of the anarchy so helpless and disturbed. He was acting more than slightly deranged and it scared her. She strode away from him and flipped open her phone. Hurriedly punching in a number, she held the phone to her ear and prayed it would be answered quickly.
The line came alive on the third ring. A brusque voice answered.
"Tell me."
Misao clutched the phone tighter, pushed it further against her ear and began to talk faster than she could blink her eyes.
"Aoshi-sama!! It'smeMisaoandthankgodyourestillhereIhadthoughtyoumigthavegonebacktoKyotothen wewouldhavebeendead!."
"Misao…" Aoshi tried to interject but Misao too busy pouring her heart out to bother to listen.
"I'msohappyIgotthrough.YouarenotgoingtobelievethistheplanistotallyruinedandHimuraisactinglikeaschizophrenic……."
"Misao……." Aoshi tried once more, but Misao was having none of it.
"Himura'sactingreallyweirdandhe'sscaringmeandIdon'tknowwhattodoandIwishyouwerehereI'mfeelingsoconfusedrightnow.
"MISAO!" Aoshi snapped as his patience ran out.
She stopped short. "Yes Aoshi-sama?"
Aoshi sighed. "Slow down. Take a deep breath."
Misao blinked and then breathed deeply. Aoshi smiled.
"Now talk."
Misao swallowed. "Everything's gotten messed up Aoshi-sama. Kaoru's escaped and Himura is acting really strange. He keeps staring at his hands and shaking. Kaoru's been gone for at least five minutes but he hasn't even made a move for the door yet, so I'm confused…what exactly am I supposed to do now? Should I return? Do we consider the mission over, since the target has escaped? And what should I do with Himura, he's acting totally loony. He's beginning to freak me out."
There was a slight pause at the other end of the line. Misao waited. A slow crackle across the line interrupted whatever it was that her leader had just told her. Misao strained her ears and asked him to repeat what he just said.
"Follow her and bring her back."
Misao hesitated. She didn't want to put Kaoru through anymore misery. The girl really didn't deserve to be dragged into all of this. She bit her lip and turned back towards Kenshin, who had begun to stand up jerkily. He was regaining his composure. His hands weren't shaking anymore as he steadied himself by leaning against the wall.
"Aoshi-sama, that's all very well but…..shouldn't we think of doing something for Himura first? I mean he seems pretty disturbed."
A soft chuckle at the other line caught her attention and she looked away from the upset hitokiri to concentrate on what her leader was saying.
"He's a hitokiri from the revolution. Being disturbed is nothing new to him. But it may make things very unpleasant if that girl is not brought back."
"But Aoshi-sama!"
"Find her and bring her back. I'll handle Himura."
Misao opened her mouth to speak again but the line was cut. She stared forlornly at the phone before shoving it into her back pocket and heading out the door. She ran down the hallway to the stairs and swiftly descended, taking the stairs two and three at times. Finding Kaoru and bringing her back to their safe house was her responsibility now. She could only hope that Kaoru hadn't gotten very far. Although, even if she did manage that, it would not be a difficult matter to track her down even if she had gotten away in a taxi or bus. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the place where Kaoru chose to hide while things blew over.
Misao knew her inside out. She knew that the first place where Kaoru would take refuge would be with Sanosuke. She had to find her before Kaoru contacted him. Trying to sneak her out from under Sanosuke's (very) watchful eye would be next to impossible.
Sanosuke pretended to be a reckless, carefree guy who moved at his own pace and didn't give a damn about what happened around him but the truth was that if he kept one eye closed, he had two eyes open at the back of his head. Sanosuke never missed a beat about anything. She did not want to cross Sano's path especially when it came to Kaoru. He was insanely protective of her. The hospitalised frames of Kaoru's former boyfriends who had (very foolishly) cheated on her were testimony to the fact that nobody messed around with Kaoru and got away with it. Nobody.
She rammed her foot down hard on the accelerator and swerved her car out of the parking space. The screech of the tyres on the asphalt made her cringe as she snapped her head around, checking if any of the guards had been bothered to make an appearance to castigate her rough driving. Apparently, none of the guards could be bothered. She drove out of the parking lot.
Once out on the street, Misao began to search for her wayward captive. Discreetly scanning the street for a girl in rumpled evening clothes shouldn't prove to be too difficult. Kaoru hadn't rested properly for close to two days. They had graduated the day before she had been whisked away from the club and the late night partying after that had exhausted her already, added to that the sock of being kidnapped and bound for close to twenty four hours couldn't have helped her mental state at all. She had been through hell in those twenty four hours. Her mind and body were both tired and she was a nervous wreck. There was no way that she could escape in such a state.
Misao chewed on a piece of caramel gum as she watched people rushing to work. Men in dark suits with briefcases, worrying about deadlines, promotions, receding hairlines, reduced libido and how to snare the boss's good favour and sleekly-dressed women running their lives over and over in their heads, work, glass ceiling, home, chores, errands, faking orgasms, whether or not to accept that indecent proposal which may lead to something better or may not, the younger man or the sugar daddy. Each seemed trapped inside the web of their thoughts. As she watched Misao wondered what the imperialists used to think when they saw what the world had become since the revolution. Was it enough? Was it justified?
A streak of bright light flashed across the street as the sun flashed briefly against a large glass set against the wall of a shop. Misao glanced towards it. The glass was probably meant to be fit inside one of the many upscale boutiques on the street. Staring at it idly, she was about to turn away when she spotted Kaoru. She was crouching behind a service truck that was unloading boxes of merchandise for one of the shops. She knelt next to the giant wheel of the truck, darting glances everywhere around her, looking as tense as a coiled rope of steel.
Misao clamped her teeth down down hard, dividing the sticky candy in her mouth. She pulled up the handbrake and released the keys from ignition. She turned her eyes back and forth along the street, checking for any patrol cars or close-circuit cameras. The last thing she needed was to have her face plastered on a surveillance video. She'd been instructed to disappear from the lives of the clueless bunch of people she had befriended four months ago. She could no longer risk being seen in Tokyo.
Convinced that the coast was clear, Misao swung her legs out of the car and rose to her feet in one fluid movement. Nonchalantly she retrieved her bag and an electric buzzer from the backseat. It wasn't as though she were expecting Kaoru to resist, but just in case she did so, albeit in nervousness, she needed something to persuade her to be silent and not make a scene. She took measured steps towards her former friend, taking care not to walk too fast or too slow. The pace had to be just right, fast enough to match the rushing bodies around her and slow enough as to avoid startling Kaoru.
-
-
Kaoru watched the busy street warily. She was tired of running and needed to find a safe place to stay. She had no doubt that the man who had kidnapped her probably knew where she lived, in fact she wouldn't be too surprised if she ran home right now and found him sitting comfortably on her living room couch. The man had that kind of air around him. Getting in and out of any place wasn't going to give him much of a challenge. She couldn't go home or back to her college dormitory. Even if she could, she wouldn't feel safe at all. She needed to be somewhere where she knew nothing could harm her, someplace where security was certain. And there was just one person right now who could make her feel like that - Sanosuke Sagara.
A taxi rounded the corner. Kaoru slowly rose to her feet. She stepped forward and was about to walk to the curb to wave at it when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She whipped around in shock. It was Misao.
Kaoru stared at her. Her eyes were wide open in surprise and disbelief. Misao appeared to be a little startled herself.
"Kaoru….where have you been? I've been looking for you for so long." Misao spoke with concern. She wasn't lying. She really wasn't deceiving anyone when she said that. She really had been looking for her for the past one hour. One hour was a long time for Misao and she couldn't help but feel a hearty respect for this girl who had been nothing more than a target, a number on a file for her. Even she, a stellar Oniwabanshu operative hadn't had an easy time trying to locate Kaoru once she had left the apartment. She'd covered her tracks very well. In fact, had she not been who she was, Misao would have gladly nominated her name for recruitment to the stellar secret society.
Tears welled up in Kaoru's eyes as she looked at the figure of her friend. She held her arms out and enveloped Misao in a tight hug.
"Misao….I've been so scared. I'm so glad you found me. It was terrible and I wanted you all so bad, you and Sano and Megumi and I couldn't believe it was happening to me, and I just didn't know what happened, and why, and I don't know. I'm just so glad you found me."
Misao patted her back reassuringly. "There, don't worry. I've got you now. I was really worried when I couldn't find you anywhere. I thought that maybe I'd lost you. That was really scary."
"Yeah, really scary." Kaoru managed to mumble something through her sniffles.
Misao smiled. Kaoru felt as though she could finally put the nasty experience of the night behind her.
"Come on, let's get you home."
"No! Not home, Misao, not yet. He might know. He might find me."
"Not your house silly, we're going to my house. Come along now, this way. Careful, do you need help to walk?" Misao gently held her elbow and began to lead the way to the car park."
"No I can walk." Kaoru held on tightly to Misao's hand, not willing to let go even for a second. Misao smiles at her once more, and pulled her along. She held the door open for Kaoru, and tucked a thick blanket around her. Carefully, she fastened the seatbelt over the blanket, effectively binding Kaoru with it. Kaoru didn't seem to notice though, she was just thankful that her friend had found her. And the warmth of the blanket was welcome to her, very welcome.
As the car started forward, the lulling motion calmed her. Kaoru turned towards Misao.
"I'm sorry I worried you guys so much."
Misao laughed. "Don't be silly idiot. We were just worried because we didn't know where you'd gone off. Don't do that again. Who was that guy anyway?"
"I don't know. I…don't even know his name. I have no idea who he is, and why he did all this…I'm sorry. I was really stupid."
"Hey don't worry about it. Now that you're back, everything will be fine."
"Yeah….hey, where's Sano?"
"You haven't talked to him yet?" Misao asked cautiously, watching Kaoru's face.
"No. I was planning to take a taxi to his place when you found me. I wanted to call him, but I had no money and my phone….I don't remember where it is. I didn't get a chance to contact him."
"Well, he'll know soon enough, no need to worry."
"Yeah I guess. Misao? Is something wrong?"
"What? No! Of course not, why would anything be wrong?"
"You seem really tense."
"Well…. Duh! I was worried. Of course I'll seem a bit tensed. "
"I'm so sorry Misao." Kaoru reached forward and tried to hold her hand out to her friend but the blanket was tucked so tightly around her that she couldn't move. She fidgeted a little, trying to get a little space to move around.
Misao looked at her. "Don't do that. I tucked you in like that for a reason. I want you to relax. Okay? Just get some rest. We'll be there soon."
Kaoru nodded slowly. She was feeling exhausted. Besides, now there was nothing to be scared about. Misao was here, with her. Her friends would soon surround her and everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours would just be a bad dream and she could forget about. She frowned. "Well you know Miss Kaoru, if our circumstances were slightly different, I have no doubts that you would have been positively my most favourite person." He had lied to her. Everything he had said that night on the dance floor was a lie. He just wanted to use her to get to her uncle.
Kaoru shut her eyes. His face swam in front of her eyes. She opened them with a start. Staring at the ceiling, she thought about him. He was such a strange man. Kidnapping her, and for what? She frowned once more. Now that she thought about it, why had he kidnapped her? Why would a man risk persecution by the stringent laws of the country by doing something so reckless. She was not close to her uncle but if he had known about her Kogoro Katsura connection then he should also have known that anyone who attempted any harm to her would be severely punished, regardless of whether or not she wanted it.
What did he want from her uncle? He said it wasn't about money, but then what could it be about? It's always about money, isn't it? All the crimes in the world can be traced to greed. Greed, and thirst for money or power. What was this man greedy about? What did he want?
She felt her eyelids slide shut and the faint sound of the engine as it hummed to a stop. She forced herself to open her eyes even though she didn't want to. She turned to Misao, but Misao wasn't in her seat. Kaoru sat up. The door opened. She looked up at the person standing outside.
It was Misao. She had a sombre expression on her face. She quietly unbuckled the seatbelt and took away the blanket, folding it carefully before tossing it in the backseat again. She stepped back and held her hand out to Kaoru. Kaoru stared at the outstretched hand in confusion before taking it and stepping out of the car. She looked around and then back at Misao in confusion. They were standing in the foyer of a very large and very old house. She couldn't recognise it at all. The place seemed to be a throwback to the past. It was built in the fashion of houses before the revolution, when the country was still slumbering in its age-old custom of life. It seemed as she were standing in a small pocket where time had stood still for years, where the fiery sparks of the revolution had never reached.
"Misao, where are we? I've never seen anything like it before."
"And you won't see anything like it anywhere else either." A voice that was painfully familiar to her floated out from within. She froze and turned slowly to face her captor.
-
-
He was leaning against the doorway, dressed in a plain black shirt and blue jeans. He was holding an icepack to his head. He stepped forward and dumped the icepack in an earthenware basin sitting next to the stairs.
"You've been a very naughty girl Miss Kaoru. I hope you will behave this time round or….I might have to become quite unpleasant. And I really don't want that. We hit it off so well yesterday, do you really want to spoil all that? Don't make me do anything that I may regret later on. It's like I said before, you could possibly be my most favourite person, let me keep on believing that."
He turned and walked back inside. Kaoru snatched her hand away from Misao. She turned to face her, her eyes flashing wildly in anger.
"Misao, what the hell is this place! And what is he doing here?"
Misao took a deep breath. "This house is the headquarters of our organisation Kaoru."
"Organisation…what organisation? What the fuck are you talking about? Why did you bring me here? This man kidnapped me! He drugged me, lied to me and locked me up! How could you bring me back here?" Kaoru screamed back at her.
"Kaoru, it was something I had to do."
"You did this on purpose?" Kaoru's voice trembled. She felt the world spin and turn in front of her eyes. She stumbled back, away from Misao. She slowly shook her head, willing that everything she was hearing was a lie, and that it was all a nightmare she would soon wake from.
Misao sat down on the wooden parapet that circled the house. "I was assigned to follow you and gain information about you. Everywhere you went, everyone you knew, the people you met, everything." She looked up as Kaoru also sat down.
"Every week I made a report about my progress. How far I had gotten in getting close to you, things like that. When we had enough information, we decided to make our move."
"You're joking aren't you? This is all some sort of weird prank you guys are playing on me right?" She looked around. "Okay so where is everyone? Alright guys, you got me! I'm terrified!" She turned towards Misao once again. Her vulnerability was obvious from the look on her face. "Misao…you got me. Just end this now please."
"I'm sorry Kaoru. This is not a prank. You were brought here for a purpose. This is no lie. It's real. And it's best if you start accepting it."
"I can't accept it! I won't! Why have you brought me here? And who are you people! I want answers Misao!"
"I can't give you those answers. Only he can." Misao jerked her head towards the house.
"Who is this guy, and what did I ever do to him? Why can't he just leave me alone?"
Misao stood. She dusted some imaginary lint off her clothes. Tossing her braid behind her shoulder, she spoke once more.
"There really isn't any point in talking about any of this now. We need to go in. You have a job to do."
"Yeah. Now that your job is over, you're through with me aren't you? I hope they paid you well for your trouble." She replied bitterly.
A nerve twitched near Misao's mouth. She looked away and shrugged. "Perhaps. Don't expect me to get emotional about this. You were a job, an assignment I had to complete for my organization. I had people counting on me to do this."
Hot tears of anger threatened to seep out of her eyes. Kaoru blinked them away and set her jaw decisively. She stood up.
"I counted on you too. But you betrayed me. You're a deceiver Misao, and a liar. Just know that a traitor has no friends. You will be betrayed as easily as me one day."
"We all must do what we have to Kaoru. That's how the world goes round. "
"Oh shut up Misao! Spare me the fatalistic I-did-what-I-did-because-I-had-to bullshit! You were paid! You were paid to trick me! You were responsible for spying on me and to deliver me into the hands of an enemy. And you did it!" She stood abruptly. Fury flashed in her eyes.
Misao laughed nervously. "You know, you almost sound scary when you say that."
The resounding sound of a slap echoed in the empty courtyard. Misao flinched. Her cheek burned with stinging pain. Gingerly, she rubbed her cheek with the palm of her hand and raised her eyes to face Kaoru, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Don't you dare mock me you little bitch," she snarled. "I'm in this situation because I trusted you to watch my back, but this isn't over yet. So help me god I will get back at you for putting me through this shit. No matter what."
Kenshin reappeared at the door. Sensing the tension in the air, he coughed slightly. Both the girls looked away. Kaoru hugged herself protectively. Misao stared up at the rafters on the roof before stalking off in search of something to vent her frustration out upon. Kenshin ruffled her hair as she walked past him, earning a punch in the arm. He chuckled and leaned against the door once more, silently observing his captive once more. Kaoru bristled and looked back at him challengingly.
"What?" She spat out in a voice that was more than slightly vicious.
He smiled at her. "You look cute. Few women could manage that in a ruined dress and mangled hair but you still do it Miss Kaoru."
"Whatever. Aren't you going to go after your girlfriend or something?" She asked cattily.
He laughed. "Misao isn't exactly my type." He raked his eyes over her frame hungrily. "I like my women curvaceous."
"Shut up! Stop trying to act like you know me or something."
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Hmm, now that you mention it, it's ironic. I should be the one getting angry Miss Kaoru, but you don't see me throwing a fit, do you?"
"Angry? What the hell! What should you be angry about? I escaped, and your little lackey brought me back!"
"Ah yes, Misao is terribly effective isn't she? Even though she doesn't look like it. Coming back to your question, you're forgetting your manners again Miss Kaoru."
"What….are you talking about?" Kaoru rolled her eyes.
Kenshin sighed. "It's inconceivable. How can a girl who is so beautiful lack such basic common sense? You hit me, Miss Kaoru, with a chair no less. And I was seriously hurt, but you haven't once asked me how I'm feeling. I'm hurt."
"Are you insane? You actually expect me to ask you how you're doing. You're crazy."
"That's my problem. I begin to expect too much of people."
"If you're quite done babbling to yourself, can I leave?"
"Of course, just as soon as you talk to your beloved uncle. He'll send some nice people here to take you back to your cosy little home and then you can forget all about this."
"Why can't I just leave right now, and get back to my cosy little house even earlier? How's that sound to you?" She replied in a saccharine sweet voice.
"Oh come on, Miss Kaoru. Surely you can spare me a few moments to cherish once you're long gone."
"Let me leave!"
"I will. When it is time to leave. There's a time for everything. A time to live, a time to die, a time to run, and a time to kill…." He trailed off in the midst of saying something. A man appeared in the door and gestured towards him. Kenshin nodded at him.
He stepped forward and grasped Kaoru's elbow. She struggled against him but he refused to let go. Turning around, he guided her inside the house. In spite of herself, she began to look around curiously. The house was lavishly decorated. Soft, worn wooden floors, rich rugs and carpets thrown randomly on the floor and countless antiques were placed in every room they passed. Finally they came to a sparsely decorated room with a low table and two chairs. There was a phone on the table. The receiver was off the hook.
Kenshin picked the receiver up. "Ready, Katsura?"
Kaoru stared at him. His voice had changed. When he had been talking to her, it had still been the soft, velvety voice of the man she had danced with in the club, now it was the voice of some stranger – icy, cold, and unrepentantly deadly. He held the receiver out to her. She looked at it uncertainly. He raised an eyebrow.
She took the receiver and slowly held it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Kaoru! Thank god you're alright! Don't worry child, I will get you out of there before you know it. I will"
Kenshin snatched the receiver from her hands. "How many times must I tell you Katsura? Don't jump the gun. It annoys me."
"I'm sorry Battousai. I was just happy at hearing her voice."
"And such a pretty voice it is isn't it?" His lips twisted into a smirk.
Katsura patted his forehead with a handkerchief. "Ye-es, it is."
"We wouldn't want anything to happen to it, would we?"
"No. No of course not."
"Good, and to ensure that nothing happens to it, what are you going to do?"
Katsura swallowed. He raised his hand to loosen his tie further, only to remember that he had removed it from making this phone call. But the mere sound of Battousai's voice made him feel like the noose was getting tighter around his neck.
Kenshin waited. "Katsura….you're doing it again….wasting my time."
"No! I remember, I'll do whatever you want. Tell you anything you want to know. Anything."
"This is why I'm so fond of you Katsura, it takes a long time to make you understand anything, but once you're there you don't forget the lesson." Kenshin smiled widely. "I'll call you tomorrow to tell you her location. You will send one of your people to collect your precious niece, and in the interim, you will tell me what I want to know. Are we understood?"
"Yes. Understood."
Kenshin gently put the receiver back in its cradle. He rested his hand on it and looked down at the table.
"Who are you?" Kaoru asked softly.
He turned and looked at her questioningly. She no longer seemed angry, but curious.
"What do you mean?"
"Who are you, that my uncle would be afraid of you?"
He smirked. "Miss Kaoru, no offense to your family, but it doesn't take a lot to scare your uncle."
"He wasn't just scared. He was petrified. Who are you?"
Kenshin bent his head. "I'm nothing special. Just someone who knew your uncle in the past."
"An old friend?"
"Something like that."
"Why would an old friend become an enemy and try to cause hurt to someone?"
"That's exactly what I want to ask him, Miss Kaoru."
Author's Notes
Yeah baby! I'm finally, oh my god, finally out with this chapter!
Author Feelings Bar chart
Sense of accomplishment – 67
Relief – 14
Nervousness- 9
Happiness-10
I hope that adds up, if it doesn't…..well then we all know why I didn't take Math as my major. Buwahahahahhaha!
Hope you all like this chapter, we're getting warmer now. My personal favourite part of the story will soon be coming and the mystery will thicken. Yay!!!