CHAPTER 5: LEADER

Sanosuke was surprised when he woke up. Yahiko was already gone. He must have taken Tsubame back to the Akabeko already. Perhaps Tae and Tsubame left together themselves. Not only was he gone, but he found him in the dojo. And not only was he in the dojo. He was sparring with Kenshin. He watched quietly. They hadn't actually started yet. Megumi was standing on the other side of the dojo. She was watching, and watching close, especially in regards to Kenshin's condition. The door on the other side of the dojo opened next to Megumi, and Kaoru stepped in, wearing sparring clothes. Kenshin spoke, "Are we all ready Miss Kaoru?"

"Yes. You?"

"Yes." Kenshin solemnly stepped into the middle of the dojo. Then Sanosuke realized. They were gonna both take Kenshin on! "Sano. You can watch." Sanosuke didn't know he was being obvious, but then again, it was very rare to sneak up on someone like Kenshin. He smiled pleasantly. But under that smile, he was ready to spar.

"Be careful Kenshin. Abuse and sparring are two different things."

Yahiko yelled, "HEY! WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

"Don't worry Sano. I'll be careful.", Kenshin said, with that smile of his. The smile that seemed to soften the most hard of hearts.

Sanosuke decided to declare himself the referee for the match. "Ready?", Silence. Time seemed to stand still as Kenshin stood between Kaoru and Yahiko. His smile had disappeared and was replaced by a stern look. If they never approached an opponent with murderers eyes, then they wouldn'be able to stop a murderer. Sanosuke shouted, "BEGIN!"

Instantly, Kaoru and Yahiko went in an all out dash at Kenshin. He ducked in time, and the team that fought above him clashed. He stayed crouched in between them, he went to sweep out their feet with he bokken so wonderfully provided by Kaoru. Kaoru jumped realizing what was happening. Yahiko started to jump, but the bokken caught the tip of his foot. He landed on his back. Kenshin quickly made footing and blocked Kaoru, who in her jump up, actually tried a Ryu-Tsui sen. And it was impressive. She had never actually tried Ryu-Tsui sen but she had seen it. Kenshin blocked with Ryu-Sho sen. The force however, was uneven between them. Kenshin would never go all out in a fight like this, but he wouldn't not give them a challenge. Kaoru was sent up a few feet but landed gracefully on her feet. When Yahiko looked up after hitting the floor, he saw Kenshin ready to attack. Kaoru jumped in for the block. Kenshin's eyes widened at the resembelance. The resembelence to Tomoe, when she defended him. Yahiko took his oppurtunity and thrusted out from next to Kaoru. Kenshin jumped back a step, with a look of surprise on his face. He dodged the attack entirely but he wasn't expecting it to be so fierce. Yahiko and Kaoru were now standing, side by side. Kenshin stood only a few feet away. The air was thick with tensity.

Kenshin smiled pleasantly and spoke, "Yahiko, that was very good. And Miss Kaoru, you defend very well, that you do. You were able to save Yahiko. Just like...", he stopped. To bring that story back now would be pointless. The battle with Enishi was over, and a new one had begun. He had not told Kaoru of all that had transpired thus far. Not since after they left to see Katsu. Come to think of it, she hadn't even asked. But he knew she would want to fight. If he left, she would follow him.

"Miss Kaoru, there is a very serious matter we all need to discuss."

Kaoru lowered her weapon, as did Yahiko.

"Sano came back for a reason. Those two men from the past who attacked you were hired again. And it would seem that it is also another from our past who has arranged everything. The drawings. Those men. Perhaps more to come."

Kaoru was shocked. She didn't want to ask because she was afraid he wouldn't let her get involved. But he just let her into the situation. Perhaps he finally realized, she would always follow him. Sanosuke spoke up, "Yea. You never told me who forced Katsu to do this. I gotta pay him back.", he said, as he slammed his fist into his open palm.

Kenshin exhaled, and spoke, "The merchant of death has returned Sanosuke. Kaoru. It's Kanryu Takeda."

In Sanosuke's mind, time stopped instantly. His mind raced. Not only was this quite possibly a turn for the worst but it had the potential to change everything. "Kenshin. That's not good."

"I understand Sano. Buit we need to be ready for..."

"No. You don't understand. I told you that Megumi wasn't the only one I sent for."

"You don't mean..."

"I did. I sent for Aoshi Shinomori."

The room went silent. All of them were breathless. This was going to complicate everything when he got there. And odds were, Kanryu knew that they would send for Aoshi. Somehow, it all seemed too planned. Like it was laid out for something. But they had allies Kanryu didn't know about.

"Sano.", Yahiko beagan, "When will he be here?"

"I sent for him a few days ago. I thought he would be here by now."

Megumi spoke, "If that manfinds out about this, whoknows what could happen."

They all stood still, lost in thought thinking back to the days when they had rescued Megumi Takani and defeated Aoshi, and then saw Kanryu kill the Oniwaban group. Kenshin broke the silence, "We'll be ready for when he arrives, until then..." again, Kenshin smiled that disarming smile; "why don't we get a dinner ready for their arrival?"

The grass was high and thin. As Misao walked she kept on thinking that there were bugs crawling on her legs, but it was only the feeling of the grass. She followed Aoshi Shinomori who was carrying his kodachis. "Lord Aoshi, why couldn't we take the train? I keep thinking I've got spiders crawling on me. It's gross." Aoshi stifled a smile. She was so innocent at times that to see her fighting the Jupon Gattana at the Aoiya seemed almost like the polar opposite of who she was now. Aoshi stopped infront of her. "Wait here." He stepped forward and stopped under a tree but the grass was still high. He removed the two kodachis and rapidly spun in a spiral, bringing the swords close to the ground. He made a cirlce, af low grass. Then he took a step and cut the grass that was where he stood.

"What are you doing?", Misao asked. He did some things so suddenly it always surprised her regardless of what it was.

"Lunch.", he said. Simple enough.

"I guess that makes sense. It's better than eating in the long grass.", thought Misao. But she couldn't help but to wonder. It was considerate of him. She lowered her napsack and took out some of the rations they had taken with them. She handed him some riceballs she prepared before they had left Kyoto. Misao couldn't help herself sometimes. She really cared about Aoshi, and at times he seemed so cold and distant she didn't know what to do. Did he care at all? Did he know that his silence was more piercing than his words to her? Maybe that wasn't always true. There were times when she would expect him to be silent. And generally, he was. She continued to ponder as they ate under the tree. But through her pondering she realized, this was her chance to make conversation. She had tried to make him talk when they asked for help in their battle with Enishi, but he remained silent for the most part. She would try again.

"It'll be good to see Himura and the others again, won't it?"

"Yes." was all she got. She decided enough was enough. She wanted to be bold on him for once.

"Why don't you ever talk?"

She could see Aoshi stop chewing the bite of the riceball he had taken, and blatantly swallow it. To her, the thoughts building to the question helped her ask it, but to him, he may have had no idea it was coming. He said nothing. He only stared into nothingness. Misao pressed on, "You don't talk. You hardly said anything when you told me to get ready to leave." Her mind brought back the memory. "A letter from Himura's comrade came in today. Get ready to leave.", was all he said. "Lord Aoshi. You fought against and with Himura through so much. He is one of your closest friends and you know he would help you if you let him. But he knows that you won't. You're just so quiet all of the time. It makes it seem like something's wrong all of the time. That makes me sad."

Aoshi still stared into nothingness, but Misao watched as his eyes shifted and looked straight into hers. "Misao Makimachi." He used her full name! Her eyes shot wide. He wasn't ragarding her as he usually would. And that was usually with nods. "The letter we received may not have been from Himura himself, but there is a battle ahead of us. We are not going for just another visit. The time to fight is upon us again." Misao understood. He was ragarding her as a warrior. As a member of the Oniwaban group.

"Yes. I understand. Just try...to smile sometime. Ok?"

And then they were silent again. It was a silence Misao was wishing she could break, but she could not think of anything to say that would be appropriate. So they continued to eat, and when they had finished, they continued. Misao couldn't help but feel like she stepped on his toes a little, but she didn't want this silence to go on forever. They weren't very far from Tokyo now. They would continue now until they got there.

Kanryu was a ruthless man. And he knew that. He was a murderer, a drug dealer, a thief, a con artist, and since a short time ago, half toothless. He felt that his new golden implants suited him rather well but the only thing he loved more than that was where they money to do it came from. He strolled over to the Akabeko. He knew it was possible to find someone here from the dojo. Perhaps he would even find the Battousai here. Maybe. Maybe not. He knew that they had visited this restaraunt semi frequently but he took his chances. Why not right? He had been lucky so far. And so it would seem he was again. He was the only customer. Tae quickly greeted him, "Hello sir! Well today I suppose you can sit wherever you would like."

"Thank you Miss, that's very thoughtful."

Tsubame came out and brought him some tea only a moment after he sat down. "Thank you my dear." She couldn't help but stare. It wasn't his teeth that caught her glare. "Is something wrong?" Tsubame studdered and apologized for staring. She left, brought him another tea and went to back to her working area. She was staring at the flower in his pocket. He smiled at the thought. Such innocence. He was beyond it now, and to keep anything of the sort on his person would only fail at cleaning his defiled hands. Tsubame came out with some sushi. Her eyes still remained on that flower. "Do you like this flower my dear?" Tsubame only nodded. She felt as if there were a large crowd watching her and she forgot her cue. "You may have it." Kanryu took the flower from his breast pocket and placed it in her hair.

She was finally able to say something, "Thank you."

"Not at all my dear. It's my pleasure to see that bright little smile on your face. And that flower suits you."

Miss Tae was peering from behind the cutain to the kitchen area, watching all that was happening. He seemed very proper. Tsubame made her way back to the kitchen area. "Well Tsubame, it seems you got a little tip from our customer."

"He seems nice.", she said with a smile.

"Well", Tae began "I'll tell you what. It seems like there aren't a lot of customers today. We'll have lunch now and you can take the rest of the day off." Then she whispered. "You can go to Kaoru's and show Yahiko your new flower." Tsubame blushed but said nothing.

Kanryu must have overheard them. He asked, "Would you two like to have lunch with me?" They both froze. He could hear them? Sure, the man had an odd appearance. Just from his basic appearence he seemed rather well off. The look of a business man. But he perceived more than Tae thought she would need to give him credit for. But still, it was only a friendly invitation.

"Now that's a wonderful idea!"

They quickly prepared lunch for themselves and went to see Kanryu. Tsubame turned to Tae, "Ummm. Miss Tae."

"Hmm? Yes?"

"Um. I was wondering. Uh."

Miss Tae smiled. She knew exactly what Tsubame wanted. They were as close as sisters. Tae could never mistake that shy look in her eyes, that attempted to disguise the feelings behind them. "Yes. You may go to the dojo now. Don't forget your lunch." Tae handed Tsubame her lunch and sent her off. Tsubame began to walk to the dojo.

Kanryu wondered, as Tae sat across from him, "Where is she off to?"

"She's going to visit some friends. I gave her the rest of the day off."

"Ahh I see. That's very generous of you. They must be good friends, she seemed very excited."

"Oh yes. They're very nice people. They come here every once in a while." They both ate and talked for a while. Small talk. What's your name? Where are you from? Have you ever been to...? After getting to know Kanryu a little bit Tae found that she had to ask something. It was nagging at her. "Pardon me sir. I don't mean to pry but may I ask what happened? It looks like it must have been difficult to get through."

"Ah. You're refering to my teeth. It was actually only until a couple of days ago that I was half toothless. I got into a little scuffle some time ago. I was hit by a sword in the mouth and lost several teeth."

"Oh my! Who would do such a thing? That's downright barbaric!"

"Indeed miss, it is."

"Hey, boss!", a voice interupted.

Kanryu turned around. Tae stiffined. The man held a large smooth stick. His hair stood straight forward, long and dark. He made her nervous.

"When do I go?"

"Any time you want to. Just make sure you get the job done. I only assigned you one, so it shouldn't be too hard."

Suddenly, Tae felt cold only adding to her stiffness.. She had a feeling that this man was not who he was letting on to be, but as long as he didn't know she thought that she would most likely be safe.

"Fine, I'll meet you back at headquarters.", and with that the man was gone.

"I apologize miss. He interupts a lot and he can be quite rude at times."

Tae smiled, "Oh it's no problem. We have had our share of brawls in here." She couldn't help but think of Sanosuke as she said it. Speaking of, she was wondering how they were. No doubt Yahiko was probably recovering from the devastating hit she made on him. She forgot how much of a raging drunk she could be. She figured she shouldn't try any more drinking games. But still, there was something about that dark haired man that she didn't like. And the fact that these two knew each other made her uncomfortable. She could feel herself begin to sweat.

Tsubame arrived at the dojo. She knocked and opened the door. "Hello!"

Sanosuke was sitting in the front on the porch area, with Yahiko. They seemed to be absorbed in conversation. Sanosuke was talking. Actually. He was poking fun.

"COME ON! ADMIT IT! YOU LIKE HER!"

"SANO! KNOCK IT OFF!"

"ADMIT IT SHRIMP!"

Kenshin spoke form behind them, "Yahiko, I believe you have a visitor." Their conversation abruptly stopped. Everything abruptly stopped. "Yahiko, you have to move."

"Oh. Right." Yahiko walked to Tsubame as Kenshin and Sanosuke exchanged a humorous glance, both holding back a laugh. "Tsubame! Came for a visit? Hey! What's with the flower?"

"Do you like it little Yahiko?", she asked with a smile.

"Yea, it's really pretty."

She couldn't help but show her excitement, "You really like it?"

"Well, yea."

In an instant she hugged him. She hugged so tightly, Yahiko could barely move. Yahiko turned to Kenshin and Sanosuke. Sanosuke was whispering, "Go kid, go!"

Yahiko whispered back, "Sano, don't make me hurt you."

Tsubame spoke, "Thank you Yahiko, that's so nice of you to say!"

Kenshin approached Tsubame and Yahiko. "Tsubame, I'm actually glad you came. Lunch is almost prepared. Miss Megumi and Miss Kaoru are working together to prepare it."

Yahiko muttered, "Sounds dangerous."

"Well, Miss Kaoru and Miss Megumi are working very hard to prepa...", he stopped. He stopped so suddenly it was just flat out awkward.

"What's wrong Kenshin?", Sanosuke asked. Sanosuke now stood.

Kenshin asked Tsubame, "Miss Tsubame, may I ask where you got that flower?"

"Oh! A customer gave it to me! He's a very kind and pleasant man!"

"Do you know who he was?"

"I don't know him, but he was a little strange. He had gold teeth."

Yahiko spoke instantly, "Tsubame, stay here! Sanosuke, tell Kaoru and Megumi to be ready while we're gone, we don't want another surprise attack here!"

"Right!", Sanosuke ran to warn them.

Kenshin was frozen where he stood, "Miss Tsubame, please follow Sanosuke to Miss Kaoru and Miss Megumi." He said it with as much of a smile as he could muster. But it wasn't enough to hide the fact that something was horribly wrong. She did not say anything, but only did as she was told. She ran to follow Sanosuke. It was strange. It felt like a storm was coming. Perhaps Kaoru or Megumi would be able to tell her. Kenshin still stood still. Sanosuke ran to Kenshin at the gate. "Kenshin, are you ready?"

"Yes."

Then they ran. They ran fast. Sanosuke picked up Yahiko on the run, and once again,the town was a blur to him. "Hold on tight runt!" And they continued to run. They created a slight scene on their way to the Akabeko. Many wondered why they were in such a hurry. And why one of them was carrying a kid on his back. It looked like a kidnapping.

As they ran, Yahiko's mind raced like the town in his sight. His thoughts raced. He thought about Megumi. If she hadn't escaped Kanryuu, they might not have fought him. They might not have met Aoshi. They might have lost in Kyoto. Then, they arrived. Yahiko thought it must have been the fastest they made it there. The door was closed. Locked.

"MISS TAE!" There was no answer. She was not closed. Not yet.

Sanosuke stepped forward, "Kenshin, stand back.", Sanosuke then punched the door. But Kenshin could distinctly hear two hits. The Futae-no-kiwami. The door shattered into many small pieces. They weren't even fighting and Sanosuke was already in a no-play mood. They all ran inside. Kenshin shouted, "MISS TAE!!!" No answer. Yahiko ran into the back area, fearing the worst. His heart was racing, pouding. They followed him. And there was Tae, tied up to a wooden beam in the back area, unconscious and with a flower in her hair near her ear. She was breathing. As Kenshin approached Tae to untie her, he stopped.

"Kenshin, what's wrong?" Without a word, Kenshin took the flower and smelled it.

Kenshin answered Sanosuke, "It's hakubaino. White plum."