Battle Front: Chapter Fifteen

Kaoru pushed open her door wearily. Her entire body was fatigued thanks to her worry about Sanosuke's health and the frustrating emotional rollercoaster Enishi and Aoshi were sending her through. She shut the door but didn't bother to lock it. Who would walk into a room uninvited in a secure military facility? It had been a long day and night and after sleeping in one of those uncomfortable hospital recliner chairs in Sano and Enishi's room she was ready to release the kinks in her muscles.

It had taken some pleading and tears in the eyes to get the staff to agree but eventually she'd gotten her two guys a shared room. Megumi was on watch and frankly Enishi had started to blatantly ignore her whenever he wasn't sending her one of his brooding looks. He wasn't happy about sharing a room.

But she didn't care that he wasn't happy about it. She'd called in a sick day from work and her number one priority was pouring a warm bath and filling the water with a generous amount of cucumber-melon flavored bubbles. She kicked off her shoes at the door and then went to the bathroom to start the luxurious bath that she completely deserved.

After starting the water and pouring in a good amount of bubbles she went to her bedroom and ran her finger along the little silver rectangle under the keyboard to get her laptop out of standby to check her messages. Her little sister had been instant messaging her for most of the day—or night depending on your time zone perspective—rather persistently on her Facebook. Technically she wasn't supposed to have any Internet, only Intranet for security purposes. However, it would seem that Katsu had a few talents—such as acquiring Internet access for his select group of friends.

Kaoru slipped out of her clothes and covered up with her big, warm, fluffy blue bathrobe and messaged Misao back.

'What's got you so animated?' Kaoru typed.

'Finally! I was making sure you're alive. And I tried calling the emergency number to reach you but whoever I talked to said no one was allowed to talk to anyone at your facility. It's all over the news.'

'How do you know I'm alive? I could be a spy writing this in Kaoru's place.' Kaoru grinned at her own cleverness. Then Misao's words dawned on her. Why would they be on the news? Military business wasn't broadcasted in details to the general public. It would be a huge advantage to the enemy—assuming they received the same international coverage on television and Internet. 'What was in the news?'

'There was a nuclear explosion. Aren't you like irradiated?'

'No…'

'You sure?' Misao asked.

'Pretty sure.'

'Must be a military cover-up. Don't be surprised if you can't leave anytime soon then.'

'I'm here for another several months anyway. It really doesn't matter. I gotta go, there's a bubble bath calling my name.'

'Totally understand. Call me later. Or at least send me an email?'

Kaoru was about to type back when her Internet connection was suddenly lost. It was a strange occurrence, but certainly nothing to worry over. She was in the desert and sandstorms tended to affect the signal.

Kaoru walked away from her desk deciding not to commit herself to either communication with her sister and not stressing herself over why the Internet connection failed. If there was such a story on the news she'd be finding out about it soon, hopefully. The aroma from the bath was refreshing and inviting. Kaoru poured in a little more of the bubble bath solution before shutting off the water. The bathroom mirror was fogged up and the water was just shy of scalding—just the way she liked it.

She dropped the robe on the floor and slid into the bath to give her muscles and mind the relaxation it craved. The mystery behind the news story could certainly wait. She wasn't sure what time it was, but it seemed to be morning given that the sun was up. Kaoru closed her eyes and breathed deeply and felt the tension melt away from her body.

There was a cool breeze, but she thought nothing of it. The air-conditioning probably kicked in. It wasn't until the bathroom door swung open and Aoshi stood there red-faced and angry that she realized she probably should have locked that front door after all.

"Sorry, I thought, there were clothes on the bedroom floor, and I thought…" Aoshi trailed off, his red face turning pale. His eyes didn't leave her form in the bath though.

Kaoru crossed her arms over her chest even though the bubbles were dense enough that her ex-boyfriend couldn't see anything even with his keen vision. "Clothes on the floor, a girl in the bathroom, yes, I can see why that would make you angry. Do you mind not staring?" She grit her teeth in irritation. "I'm kind of naked here."

Aoshi's complexion returned to normal and he leaned comfortably on the door jam. "I noticed."

"Aoshi," she warned.

"Fine," he said with a sigh and looked away. He went and sat at the vanity in front of the mirror.

"You're watching me through the mirror!"

Aoshi shrugged, but didn't deny it.

"What are you doing here? This doesn't seem like distance to me. You want to wait until I'm done with my bath?"

He grinned. "Not really. The scent is soothing."

True, the scent was soothing, but Kaoru suspected his stubbornness was more related to his perverted guy-ness. "And you're here, why?"

"You and Enishi. I saw you kissing him. I thought he was here. And then I saw the clothes on the floor…" he trailed off.

"What business is that of yours?"

"Are you kidding?" Aoshi asked incredulous before turning to face her directly. "We're supposed to have space from another, not testing the waters with other people."

"I thought you said we were supposed to be testing the waters. Actually, I'm pretty sure those were your exact words."

Aoshi folded his arms over his chest and set his jaw. "Well then I retract the aforementioned statement."

"You can't retract a statement like that!"

"The bubbles are starting to fade."

"Ugh!" Kaoru shouted grabbing her robe and covering herself while getting the terry cloth soaked in the process. "How can I possibly enjoy my bath with you here now?"

Aoshi's eyebrow quirked up. "Are you serious?"

"We are broken up. Now, why are you here really? And get out of my bathroom while I'm getting dressed." She grabbed the bar of soap in the dish on the side of the tub and threw it at him.

He easily evaded the projectile and the soap hit the wall in a dull thud. "In what? There are no clothes in here."

"That's because they're in my room. And you're not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be free to walk around my apartment butt-naked if I should so desire."

"With the front door unlocked? That's certainly inviting trouble."

"Obviously! Seeing as you're here! Trouble!"

"I can see this conversation is going no where. Why don't you get dressed? I'll wait in the living room. With the front door locked."

"Yeah, why don't you do that?"

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Enishi covered one of his ears with his free hand and growled. "Why would they sound that ridiculous siren? I'm in the hospital for Pete's sake. Can't I have a little peace?"

"You can have all the peace you want. When you're dead," Sano said laughing at his own cleverness.

The door to their shared room opened and Megumi rushed in with a worried expression. "We're on lock-down. No outside communication is allowed."

"The mandatory silence isn't anything to worry about. We're at war. It happens," Enishi explained. "However, the lock-down part is a bit unorthodox. I'm not sure I'm familiar with the protocol."

"That's because it never happens," Sano said pushing himself up to sit straight in his bed. "You think this means we're being infiltrated?"

"I have no idea, but we can't stay like sitting ducks in this room ready to be picked off. They always go for the hospital first." Enishi ripped off the sling around his arm and tested its strength. It was weak, but functional. He then began to unhook his IV lines. He was just grateful to not have a catheter. He did not want to ask Takani for help if he could avoid it!

"Paranoid much?" Sano asked.

The lights flickered and then went out. The backup red lights illuminated the hospital sector. Then there was the sound of a woman screaming—one of the nurses? Perhaps it was a scream out of shock of being plunged into darkness. Or perhaps it was something more.

Megumi began to unhook Sanosuke from his IV lines. "Sometimes the paranoid ones are right. I hate to do this prematurely, but I really don't want to risk angry men with guns coming in here and putting more holes into you. I've got to be back at work tomorrow and I won't have time to patch you up."

Sano gave her a sloppy grin. "Just prop me against a sturdy wall, give me a gun, and tell me which direction to shoot at. I'll do just fine."

"With as much pain killers as you are on I doubt if you even have clear vision. More likely you'll shoot yourself in the foot," Enishi said. He went to the closet where the scrubs and t-shirt Kaoru had gotten him were located and put on the pants under his gown before shucking the gown and putting on the t-shirt. He then pulled out Sano's civilian clothing and held it out to Megumi. "Help him get dressed while I see if I can find out what's going on out there."

"Yukishiro?" Sano called, causing Enishi to pause at the door. "Don't get dead, okay? It would really upset Missy.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

"Sir," Soujiro whispered coming up behind Kenshin. "I found the point of infiltration in this sector."

"Good work, Seta," Himura said. He pushed the speak button on his ear piece and contacted Saitou. "General, we've located three points of infiltration. I recognize these men, sir. They are part of an elite faction led by the International Terrorist Shishio Makoto."

"Take out the fodder, Himura. But we want Shishio alive for interrogation. He works for a bigger fish and that's the man we want," Saitou ordered.

"Roger that," Kenshin said ending the call. He turned to Soujiro. "Our first priority is the protection of the civilians and the biological department. There is some sensitive research information that we cannot risk falling into the hands of terrorists. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. What about the invaders?"

"I'll handle them."

A smile spread across Soujiro's lips. "I suppose its true then. You really are a one-man army, sir."

"I'm no army. I'm an assassin."

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Kaoru had just slipped on her shoes when the lights went out. She hurried into the den where Aoshi waited. "Did you hit a breaker or something?"

"Your station doesn't normally do drills like this do they?" Aoshi asked at the same moment. They looked at each other in the dim gray light. "And why would I know where your breaker is?"

"I don't know. Maybe you're not really the Aoshi I knew, but a ninja spy impersonating him. And that being the case it is only logical to assume you'd know where the breaker would be located."

"Ridiculous."

Kaoru pondered the events of late. Not only had several of the people she cared about been involved in a dangerous mission, but her Internet connection was suddenly severed, and now the electricity was cut off. Could that all be related? It was war, so why wouldn't it be related?

Aoshi gripped Kaoru's elbow. "We can hash out our relationship later. I need to go to the lab. There is some sensitive data there and we need to make sure it's not been stolen or compromised. I haven't even had time to fully comprehend its importance, but I know we can't let it be taken."

"If it's sensitive data, why are you trying to take me?"

"Because I'm not about to leave you alone here when something dangerous could be happening."

"Or maybe it's just a bad sandstorm," Kaoru suggested causing Aoshi to take pause and consider the more plausible situation.

"This facility runs on generators. A sandstorm should be irrelevant."

The voice of General Saitou came over the loudspeaker. "This is a code Red Tango. Act accordingly."

"Red Tango? Sounds like a dance," Kaoru said. "What's he talking about?"

Aoshi blinked at her incrediously. "Didn't you even read that pamphlet they gave us before we came here with the various codes in it?" Kaoru merely stared at him blankly. "It's an emergency transmission. This compound has been invaded. And we are to arm ourselves accordingly and report to our stations for duty."

Kaoru groaned. "Why did I sign up for this?"

"So you can live debt free," Aoshi said snagging her elbow once again. "I'm pulling rank here. I've been made part of a sensitive security issue and I need your assistance."

"Does that mean we're going to your station? The only station I can think I should report is maybe the clinic."

"You're coming with me."

"I don't have any weapons. What am I supposed to do? Cry at them?!"

"We'll stop by my quarters first. I have something that might interest you."

"I'm not interested in anything in your quarters," Kaoru said stubbornly folding her harms over her chest.

"For the love of--!" Aoshi ran his fingers through his short crop of hair in frustration. "I have a bo-staff that you might like to use."

"And what are you going to use? Your wit?"

"Actually, I have a pair of swords I'm going to use."

"Like Deadpool?"

"But without the running commentary. Come! We've wasted enough time."

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Enishi grit his teeth from the discomfort. He didn't realize how badly his arm hurt. It seemed that those pain medications were more than candy after all and now that they were out of his system he sorely missed their presence.

Saitou's announcement didn't do much to change his destination. He couldn't fight off bad guys without a weapon. And he didn't think his biting sarcasm would be particularly effective in this situation. Seeing as he was hospitalized technically he didn't have to heed Saitou's request. There were plenty of other soldiers for Saitou to command.

He needed a weapon!

The sound of men talking down the hall caused him to pause before turning the corner. He didn't recognize the language—which was probably a bad sign. He sneaked a peak around the corner and was disturbed by what he saw. One was a short feminine looking man with a large scythe and the other was a huge man with a white turban around his head who looked like a priest that ate a bus—or maybe just a large horse.

They certainly didn't look like his comrades and if his arm wasn't practically useless and he had a weapon he was fairly confident he could take them down by himself without a problem. It would be a bit more challenging as things were, but he'd still do it though.

He needed a weapon and looked behind him at the wall in search of something that might be useful. All he could see was a fire extinguisher. It would have to suffice.

Enishi carefully lifted it from its position and tried to read the directions but the red light was too distracting and he gave up. He'd just have to wing it. He readied the nozzle and rushed forward. As soon as the one with the scythe saw him he sprayed him in the eyes with the white foam and then took the opportunity to take out the larger man, but he'd already turned away to avoid the foam. Which turned out to be an even better option because strapped to his back was a large sword.

Enishi hit the large man with the metal fire extinguisher in the back of the head before throwing it at the smaller man with the scythe. The latter's weapon clattered to the ground as he tried to catch the projectile object. Enishi stole the sword off the larger man's back and then hit him upside the skull with the pommel.

"The bigger they are," he muttered as the man crashed to the ground in a dazed heap. He then focused on the angry small man who had picked the scythe back up and was taking a vicious swing. Enishi managed to block the weapon with his newly acquired sword. "I don't believe you were invited to our party."

"No they weren't," Himura's familiar voice interrupted. A dart rushed past Enishi's side and embedded itself in the foreign man's neck. He joined his ally—the giant horse-eater— by crumpling to the floor. "Impressive for a one-armed man," Kenshin said looking up at Enishi with a slight twinkle of humor in his eye.

"I take it that wasn't a fatal dart, right?"

"Need information more importantly than bodies to deal with."

"Is the situation contained?"

"Working on it. There were three points of infiltration and we've just taken care of the second one."

Enishi relaxed. It was already over. "Seta taking care of the third?"

"No, he took care of the first. You and I will take care of the third."

"You want my assistance?"

"No, but I don't want to explain to Tomoe you getting yourself killed over here while there was something I could do about it."

"Why you arrogant son of a –"

Kenshin raised his hand to silence Enishi. And as he was the superior officer Enishi reluctantly zipped his lips—metaphorically speaking. "Captain Yukishiro, I'd like you to assist me in securing the labs two levels down from our current position."

Enishi tested the sword he'd just acquired. It would work even if it was a bit awkward to manage with only one good arm. Himura stepped past him and shot another dart into the chest of the man Enishi had already set unconscious before he spoke into his headset to inform Seta of their position and to clear up the prisoners.

Enishi tried to see Himura's weapon and it reminded him of the cross-bow weapon of France's elite forces. "I don't suppose you have an extra?"

Himura continued to walk and completely ignored his question.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Sano was breathing heavily, but he wasn't sure if that was from the pain or the excitement. It didn't matter to him that they were being invaded. What mattered was that he'd finally be able to get some action again. He was sorely disappointed when Soujiro rushed past him and then turned back toward him.

"You can go back to your room, Sagara," Soujiro said. He then turned to Megumi with a friendly smile that was meant to be reassuring. "This area has been secured, Dr. Takani."

"How about the other areas? Is Kaoru secure?" Megumi asked.

The smile slipped off Soujiro's lips. He looked past Megumi and Sano and was surprised to find that Kaoru wasn't with them. If something happened to Kaoru, Misao would never forgive him. Marry him? Probably. However, she'd make his life miserable until the 'death do us part' became a reality. "Is she back at your apartment?"

"She was. I have no idea where she is now. And apparently, neither do you."

"Did Enishi go with her?" Soujiro asked.

"Apparently you don't know where he is either," Megumi said with a role of her eyes. "The military is so inefficient."

"Hey lady, Uncle Sam is paying your checks so don't be such a harpy," Sano said. He yawned wide and then cringed in discomfort as the movement strained some neck muscles. "Is there anything I can do? Or am I still officially out of commission."

"You can get hooked back up to your IVs and listen to what your doctor has to tell you. You're off duty for at least the next week, Sagara," Sourjiro answered. "Don't stress yourselves. I'll find Kaoru."