Sorry guys. I had MAJOR writer's block. I knew what I wanted to happen, but I simply couldn't get it to sound the way I wanted to. And to my new reviewer, no, my grammar is not the best. I did change this story from present tense to past tense and I do make errors from time-to-time. It is hard to find your own mistakes. Sometimes I read the chapters out loud and still miss stuff. I would love to have someone help me proof-read, if you are up to the task. Anyhoo, on with the show.

Chapter Twenty One

I had gotten about half way through my quitting speech before Carter burst out into hysterical laughter. It was my fault of course. I was trying to bullshit him and he knew it. I was way too panicked and emotional for the excuse I was trying to pull off. Plus, Carter was a very observant man. I knew he saw this coming, perhaps long before I did. Still, I had to try. I couldn't just come out and say, "I am quitting my very lucrative job because of a man you warned me not to chase." No, that wouldn't have sat quite right. Then again, me telling him the case was emotionally draining, dealing with a guilty party, was crap as well. As Carter laced his large fingers together and rested them on his desk, I sighed and waited for him to say whatever it was he was going to say to me.

"So, Kamiya, you've finally backed yourself against a wall?" he asked, still chuckling.

"Yeah," I admitted.

"With Kenshin, I presume?" he asked again, his tone still light. I knew that would not last long.

"Yes..."

Carter leaned back in his tall leather chain as his smile turned into a stern gaze. His usually boring, brown eyes flickered with a fire, perhaps it was a burning hatred for me. He'd warned me, twice, to be cautious in dealing with Kenshin, but I did not take him seriously. Now, I sat here, in his office with the great view of the river, telling him I was about to quit my job. As I've said before, Carter was a very smart man. He could see me for what I was worth and never let me think I could blindside him. I knew this was not about to be pretty.

"Kaoru, if you don't finish this case, I will sue you myself. You name it; I'll get you for it. I can do that, that's why my name is on the big shiny sign that lights up at night. Have you noticed that, Ms. Kamiya?" he asked, putting the heels of his black Italian shoes on top of his mahogany desk. I nodded obediently.

"Yes, I have noticed," I responded.

"Good. Now, I don't care how you handle this. I don't care if you drive your car off a bridge, jump off the top of the RenCen or blow your brains out in your office..."

"Geez, Carter. I said I was quitting, not that I was suicidal," I interrupted.

"Quit this case and you will be," he said to me, unblinking.

I tried to inhale, but the task proved nearly impossible as my chest closed in around my lungs. I had never heard that tone in Carter's voice, complete and utter detachment. I knew just how serious he was, he was always serious. It was my fault for not taking him more serious…and his warning. I didn't know what I was going to do, but Carter just made the list of possibilities one shorter.

"Yes, sir," I said quietly as I rose from my seat and walked towards the door.

"And, Kamiya," he boomed, causing me to turn around.

"Yes?"

"You aren't as smart as you think you are," was all he said as he spun around in his chair and faced the large window, ignoring my presence.

Yeah, thanks, Carter. That's the one thing I had already figured out. I was hoping to get some other kernel of wisdom, something that would help me get out of this self-created mess. But, he left me with nothing but a snide final remark to my face and his door at my back. How I wished I had listened, for at that moment, I felt powerless. And I was. I had no control, and that was not something I was accustomed to. What I needed was focus. Every road has its pits. I just fell into the Grand Canyon, but it is conquerable none-the-less. If leaving the case is not an option, I wondered, what is my next step?

I walked down the hall, my heels clicking loudly. On my way down the elevator to the parking structure, I remembered a similar afternoon…the afternoon which led to the night I first met a particular breed of vermin.

Aoshi.

Aoshi was the key, I remembered. Yes, I had to find him…and Tomoe. I didn't care much about the woman…but that ice-eyed man seemed to anger me. Maybe it was the way looked at me with hateful, disapproving eyes every time he saw me? No, it was something else, something else that fueled the now-mutual hate that lay between us.

Then, it came to me. It was the man's blatant hypocrisy.

Now tell me, how hypocritical was the man that hated me for sleeping with Kenshin, a married man, but was probably sleeping with a married woman at that moment? Now, yeah, I agree, it's his prerogative, but for him to portray himself as holier-than-thou, only to taste the fruit of same delicious sin...I cannot appreciate that in the least. And then, to get my baby sister caught up in his mess. I had to slap myself for not stopping her. I completely mishandled the situation. I had no excuse for being so careless. And because of it, my problems were intensified. For example, exactly how was I going to find Aoshi? It wasn't as if I could get his number in the phone book. I couldn't call Tomoe under any circumstances, even though I only had the house number. I didn't know where either one of them...

Wait a second, I pondered. I didn't know where Aoshi lived, but I could definitely find out. I scolded myself for not thinking of that sooner. I pulled out my cell and dialed my sister as I put my key into the ignition of my car.

"Where are you at?" I asked as soon as Misao picked up.

"Driving to Aoshi's," she replied flatly.

"He finally called you?"

"No."

"Where does he live?"

"Why do you care?"

"I'm asking the questions right now. Where does he live?"

She answered me with loathing silence that told me everything she wanted to tell me; not a g-damn thing. At that point, I was filled with such urgency and disgust I could have mistaken it for food poisoning. My stomach growled as I wanted to growl at Misao for making the seconds pass in such a lulling secession. I knew what was going on in her newly deflowered mind. My involvement would only make things worse, and she probably correct in her unverbalized assessment. But, she finally broke under the pressure, for she was still my baby sister.

"Near the Bridge, on East Grand," she replied shortly.

"I need some numbers, hun," I said.

"2374," she said.

"Fine, I'll meet you there. Don't go in without me," I said clearly, as if I were speaking to a five-year-old rather than my adult sibling.

"Alirght," she whispered before the line clicked and my focus was again the road.

I wove through traffic like the cords of a wicker basket. Luckily for me, and everyone else on the road, I had taken several defensive driving classes in California. They trained the stunt men out there, and I definitely learned from the best. I just didn't think they would appreciate how I now used the skills obtained. Then again, they already got their paycheck, right?

I slid into a parking spot on the right side of the divided street. Grand Blvd was one of the most historic streets in the city. It cut a semi-circle though the near-downtown area, taking you from one sprawling bridge to the other, one of the East Side and one on the West. Some stretches looked to be desolated ghettos, full of unkempt buildings nearly a century old. Other stretches looked like postcards, with front yards of green grass thick as carpet that spanned from house to street and tall, strapping trees shading the houses from the glaring sun during searing summer days and caught breezes during the humid nights. This was where Aoshi resided. It was a tall, wide three story house that had a spiral staircase on the northern side that made it seem like the tower to a castle. The red brick separated four wide windows clothed in white shutters with a dark-shingled roof for the top of the outfit. It was not the kind of placed I expected a man like Aoshi to reside. Maybe one of those sleek, modern condos was more his style, but a historic house where he lived.

Immediately, I noticed I had parked right behind Misao's empty car. A putrid feeling entered my gut as I saw she was not waiting for me like I instructed. She was becoming more and more bothersome as the days went on, I thought as a trotted up the walkway and hopped up on the front porch. My hand was balled to knock when I noticed that the door had not been shut completely, and I could actually hear the pitter-pattering of my sister as she scurried up the stairs. I darted in, following the sound, it being my only guide in the unfamiliar surroundings. For some reason, time seemed to be moving in slow motion. The light pounding of sock-clad feet ceased. I heard a door creek open as I reached the top of the stairs, panting. I could see Misao. She was further down the hall, unmoving in front of a doorframe through which I could see nothing.

Oh, no.

Then, as if reading a script, I saw Kenshin pull up to the house from the window at the top of the stairs. But, oddly, my mind was not on him at that very moment. Instead, I walked slowly to Misao, who did not yet seem aware of my existence in the scene. Before I could lay a hand on her shoulder to peer inside the room which had her transfixed, a warm, hard hand fell upon mine and nearly scared me out of my pumps. I whipped around to see Kenshin. How did he get up here so fast, I thought, or was it that I was moving so painfully slow? I turned away from him and with a rush of strength, I pulled Kenshin off of me and stood beside the figurine that was my darling sister.

My heart sank to the pit of my belly as I again felt Kenshin behind me. Too shocked to move, he brushed between my sister and me. My eyes carefully scanned the scene of two pale bodies tangled between sweat-drenched sheets. Kenshin stood over the two sleeping bodies, exhausted from their apparent activity.

I was afraid.

Was Kenshin…going to kill him? Kill them both? In their sleep, while they were totally unaware of the world around them. Not knowing the group that had gathered about them as they lay naked under the sheets in each other's arms?

Misao swayed from one side to the other before falling into my arms. I braced myself against the door, making a thudding sound. I was there, but it didn't feel like I was. I was watching, participating, but it didn't feel like it was me. I was dreaming. It had to be a nightmare I was in, that had me backed against a wall, holding my sister who had fainted from the shock. My mind was telling me to leave, but I could not muster the strength. Kenshin looked back at me, and he was different. His eyes… flaming amber hatred shone in his eyes, making his face hard, as if carved of marble.

I was afraid.

I was no longer the head-strong vixen that had my eyes on a forbidden prize. I was no longer the mouthy, outspoken rebel that set out to get it. I was full of neither calm nor focus. I was afraid. I was afraid as Kenshin grabbed the arm of Aoshi and jerked it vigorously, rousing him. And I, back against an icy wall, holding Misao, my knees failing me as I was helpless to the scene.

I was afraid.