A/N: Wow, I'm so pleased
A/N: Wow, I'm so pleased! Two reviews! I guess it's time to find the Yukishiro siblings and see what they're up to…
Kaoru had collapsed on her bed as was her ritual. The girl was practically nocturnal now, sleeping during the day and working during the night. Megumi checked in on her like she had every afternoon for the past year. Kaoru was really something special, and it worried Megumi that one of her best friends was involved in something so dangerous.
The tall doctor walked into the kitchen and dragged Sano into a corner. "You are going to tell me everything. Now. Kaoru is under a lot of stress; this spying business is eating away at her health."
Sano was about to protest that there was nothing wrong with his Jou-chan's health, but the look in Megumi's eyes warned him to comply. The doctor was certainly a scary woman when angry. Lowering his voice, Sano told her everything he knew, from Soujirou's activities to the assassination attempt happening tonight.
Wrenching her arm from Sano's grasp, Megumi quickly ran up to her room. Gathering her things, she began to pack, with every intention of leaving this place immediately. Unfortunately, that's exactly when her phone began to ring, signalling that Tomoe was requesting her company immediately. Grabbing her bag of medical supplies, she left quickly, running quickly down the stairs into the deeper levels of the estate. Skidding to a halt in front of a plain wooden door, Megumi flattened her hair and smoothed her clothing. There was no point in greeting Tomoe looking like a tramp.
After two firm taps on the door, Megumi entered the room. It was plain, looking as if nobody lived in it. But the tall woman knew better. Tomoe was a unique kind of person; her aura was unlike anything she had felt before. Unlike her younger brother Enishi, Tomoe had no interest in war or money. In fact, she didn't have much of an interest in anything. Tomoe's fiancé had been the elder sons of a powerful general in the Loyalist Army. Unfortunately, Akira had died in battle a few weeks before the wedding.
Tomoe had been devastated, but she didn't show it. Only Megumi had known, having been at Tomoe's bedside for three weeks. For three weeks, Tomoe slept as if dead. Enishi had nearly gone mad with grief, unable to do anything without his beloved sister. His black hair had even turned white with the stress he had been under.
In fact, this whole ploy against the Resistance was fuelled by revenge. Enishi had turned against the killer of his brother-in-law to be. Enishi's target was the legendary Hitokiri Battousai. By making himself as prominent as possible, and with the backing of Shishio and his goons, Enishi had made himself a prime target for the assassin. And now, the plan was being set into motion.
Megumi sat down on the chair, waiting for Tomoe to appear. The older woman was radiant in her beauty, but her eyes were flat. Unperturbed, Megumi leaned forward and began relaying the information.
"It's finally time. The Resistance is going to be here at midnight to fight Enishi. I'm going to get out of here as soon as possible. Please allow the servants to escape; they have no part in this." Megumi hoped she was getting through to the woman; Tomoe's face didn't change at all. Then, there was a small nod.
Sighing in relief, Megumi reminded Tomoe of their promise to each other. In return for Megumi's help, Tomoe had forced Kanryu to find information on Megumi's family. Tomoe pulled out a folder from her purse and pushed it across the table. Trying not to seem too eager, Megumi picked up the folder and walked out of the room. This would be the last time she did something like. Hoping Kaoru and Sano would be alright without her to watch over them, Megumi packed up her bags and left through another back door. And that was the last anyone saw of her.
Kaoru woke up to the sound of many footsteps. Tae stepped in the room, looking shaken. About to ask what was wrong, Kaoru was stopped by the appearance of tears. "We have to leave. The Resistance is coming." She left immediately, running into the hall again.
Kaoru had been hoping that the evacuation would be done under the cover of night so that everyone could escape easily. Instead, there was a mass panic in the halls. People were running hither and thither; belongings stuffed into bags and free arms. Children were crying, and the guards were shouting something. Closing the door, she took a deep breath and tried to piece everything together.
The Resistance was coming tonight. The servants were escaping. That means that they knew the Resistance was coming. But for that to happen, someone had to have warned Enishi. Meaning…the Resistance had been betrayed! Feeling panic settling in her stomach, she bolted out the door to find her friends.
Sano was easy to spot. He was directing everyone out the kitchen entrances. Flattening herself against the wall, Kaoru edged closer to him until she was within touching distance. Seeing how harried he was, she waited until the crowd had departed. Luckily, nobody had been trampled in the mad rush. In a few moments, the kitchen was empty. Sano turned to envelop Kaoru in a tight hug. He looked weary.
"The fox is gone. I guess she really was a fox. You better get out too, Jou-chan. There is no way that Enishi's going to let you live after this. You need to tell the Resistance to get out of the city. They won't survive this; it'll be a massacre." Kaoru just hugged Sano back.
She whispered quietly in his ear. "You better go too Sano. You're in this as much as I am."
"No way, I'm sticking with Soujirou. That guy really needs help. He's been in the sickbay since last night. I'm going to get him out of here." With this, the tall man sprinted away down another hallway.
Kaoru rummaged through her belongings, packing away the necessities. She supposed this was the chance she would get to start over. If not, then nobody could say she hadn't tried. Taking courage from her resolve, she ran out the kitchen and into the courtyards. She found herself in front of the bar from a few nights ago.
Of course! Hiko would be able to warn everyone of the impending massacre! Thanking her feet for running instinctively, she pushed open the doors. The bar was empty. There was no furniture. There were no patrons. She even checked the back room. It was empty. The only other door led to an outside entrance. There was nobody left.
Slumping in defeat, she walked outside to find a familiar yellow taxi waiting outside. She quickly opened the door and was about to explain everything when he held up a hand. "I know," he said simply. "Get in."
Unable to argue, she sat down, too agitated to strap on her seatbelt. "Where are we going?" She asked as he began to drive.
"The battle." It was then that Kaoru noticed that Aoshi had foregone his usual yellow taxi-driver attire for something more comfortable. It seems that they weren't letting her off quite yet. She wanted to tell him that she didn't want to go to the battle. She wanted to tell him that she wanted to escape. But one look at the firm resolve on his face soothed her. Adopting a casual attitude, she laid her head back. The stage was set.
Enishi glared at Kanryu and began typing furiously on the computer. "Are all the arrangements ready?" His voice was cold and harsh.
If Kanryu had been a lesser man, he would have flinched. "Yes. We have been ready for weeks. The Battousai should be here at midnight. Even Lord Shishio is coming to pay his respects. It seems that a lot of people are looking for a corpse tonight." He left calmly, shouting orders to the soldiers in the halls. The Resistance probably knew that they were ready; it was the fault of the Takani woman. After this was over, he was going to hunt her down. Sneering at the piles of weapons, he picked out his favourite. The Gaitling gun was a monster of a gun, guaranteed to do a lot of damage. He put in the middle of the room and sat on a chair. It was time for a smoke.
In the meanwhile, Enishi was getting ready as well. His forces were ready to deal with the Resistance specifically. The Juppongatana sent by Shishio were a great help; he knew that they were an excellent mercenary and would take out Battousai in no time.
Eyes narrowing at the thought of the flame-haired devil, Enishi's fists hardened. How dare that man kill Akira? How dare that man hurt Tomoe? Enishi's heart pounded desperately in his chest. How many days had he spent, sitting with his sister who was at death's door? How many tears had he cried for the ones he loved? His anger grew tenfold as he contemplated how painfully exacting his revenge would be. He would make Battousai suffer for his crimes. This was his Jinchu.
Kaoru was painfully aware of the fact that she might not survive. It flowed through her veins and into the beating of her too-loud heart. Frightened, she clutched the armrest. She barely registered Aoshi patting her hand and telling her that she could leave. Shaking her head to indicate her dissent, she grabbed his hand like it was a lifeline.
She could that the fighting had already started. Aoshi jumped out of the car, grabbing two silver pistols from under the seats. He ran towards the fray, his long trench coat flapping behind him like a cape. Kaoru could only duck and whimper as a stray bullet hit the windshield, leaving spider web cracks in its wake. She could make out Kenshin's red hair as he jumped around, giving orders. Even Misao was there, dodging bullets with catlike grace.
The stage was set and the battle had begun. Kaoru only hoped that she would live to see the end.
A/N: Ok, so here are the Yukishiro siblings as requested. I hope everyone liked this new chapter…I've been writing furiously because of all the reviews I got for my other stories! I'm so happy! Please expect a new chapter tomorrow (if I have time!) Thanks for reading! And review!