Disclaimer: Doing this for free...etc, etc..
Chapter 15: Buying Time
"You're right! You should continue, that you should!" replied Kenshin with a big grin on his face. Seto narrowed his eyes in suspicion. As Aoshi continued Sano pointed to his little figure then winked giving Seto a direct clue as to who it was Aoshi had kissed when he was young. Aoshi ignored the teasing grins from his two best friends and took up the story once more. Victoria chuckled lightly and got up; all the boys stood at the same time.
"Well you boys carry on. I have some phone calls to make," she announced looking at the time on her cellphone. She promised to return in a while after she checked the progress with Misao.
"Progress Sensei? Progress of what?" asked Sano perplexed. Victoria merely smirked mysteriously and walked away without another word. Kenshin sighed as they took their seats again. Aoshi frowned but said nothing. His Sensei was in full scheming mode, there was absolutely nothing he could do but wait and see what would happen. He couldn't help worrying though that his teacher's scheming would scare Misao off. The only one who seemed unperturbed was Sano. He sat back down on his chair and played with his little Optimus Prime.
"You know I've met your Aunt," Seto began trying to steer Aoshi back to his story. He didn't want Aoshi's storytelling to be derailed by his would-be fiancée's wishy-washy attitude. Their sensei had said it would speed him on the road to acquiring power and now that he knew that, he didn't want any distractions.
"I rather liked her," he added. It was true, Oume Kujacu was an interesting person and Gozaburo had been terrified of her (with good reason!) and that made him like her even more. Kenshin and Aoshi did a double take and Sano's head whipped up quickly his hands freezing in mid-transformation of Optimus.
"You like Oume? What? Why?!" Sano blurted out.
"You met my Aunt and you liked her? The only person I know who would say that is Tokio," Aoshi added surprised.
"Tokio-dono defies logic sometimes! After all, she did marry Saito-san, that she did!" Kenshin put in cheerfully.
"Yea! Don't remind me!" Sano countered annoyed. But by now Seto knew that Sano liked Aoshi's big brother and just acted annoyed because it was expected of him.
"Mrs. Oume seems like an intelligent and reasonable person who can appreciate intelligent people. From what you tell me of Tokio, it seems logical to me that they would like each other," Seto countered evenly. Sano laughed and Kenshin shook his head.
"Yes, you are correct of course; my aunt does like people with intelligence and determination. Something Tokio possess in spades," Aoshi added.
"So do I assume that after the Olympics you decided to remain in the USA to begin your training?" Seto asked. He knew that Aoshi had finished his high school program in a Japanese/American school in California. It was obvious to the older men that Seto was not interested really in Oume's likes and dislikes or in relating his experience with her. He wanted the rest of Aoshi's story.
"Well, we spent part of the summer with Sensei in California," Aoshi began drifting back into those tumultuous days again. He talked about going on outings with Tokio and learning to surf with Hajime. Tokio helped Kenshin improve his English.
"Sano and I speak and write in English quite well, in fact Sano has native fluency but Kenshin only had the barest understanding of it," Aoshi explained.
"Really? I assume you learned in the British boarding schools you attended but how did you learn Sano?" Seto asked curious. Sano looked up from his study of Optimus just for a moment to shrug and smile nostalgically.
"I was born in California. My dad was a US Marine. He met my mom on his first time stationed here. He served several tours in Japan on account that he could read and write the language," he explained. On his last tour of duty his father was recruited by NCIS and given a more permanent post in Japan acting as a liaison with the local police in Japan.
"So you don't have any family in California I presume?" Seto asked as he put another stone on the Go board. He was curious how Sano ended up staying in Japan if he was American. Sano shook his head. He explained that his grandfather was the only family he had at the time of his parents' death but he was a marine too still in active service. His grandmother had died of cancer before he was born and his father was an only child. His mother's family had disowned her when she married his father and left to the US.
"I was staying with Detective Mazaki's family waiting for my grandfather to return from Helmagistan to get me, when his chopper was shot down and he and all his men were killed," Sano finished solemnly. He explained that his mother's family refused to take him so his father's Japanese partner adopted him.
"I didn't know that," Seto pointed out solemnly. Aoshi's friends were an interesting breed of people. They were people who understood hardship and tragedy yet rose above it.
'Without being a bunch friendship-speech spewing saps,' Seto thought studying the board absently. He was glad to have invited them in.
"My parents and my grandpa didn't leave me with nothing. They left me a lot of money at least and a house in LA so I was able to go back and finish high school in California," Sano added not looking up from the little toy on his keychain. Kenshin added the he and Aoshi went to live him and finished high school in California with Sano and went to the same college as Tokio.
"Old man Mazaki was too honorable to touch any of my money so I put a good chunk away for Anzu for when she graduates high school but don't tell her 'cuz she gets really sappy and sentimental. It's embarrassing!" Sano commented between amused and annoyed. Seto laughed so loudly that the sudden bout of laughter surprised the men with him. Sano laughed, immediately understanding what Seto found so funny.
"So you've gotten the "friendship is magic" speeches huh?" he asked but laughed knowing well the answer "I don't know where she gets it from 'cuz the old man and mom are not like that at all!" Sano added. Kenshin laughed too and agreed.
"Yes, Sensei is often saying her mind is a library of romance novels and fairytales," Aoshi commented amused.
"I love my baby sister but it really gets hard to hear," Sano laughed and warned that any attempts to make her stop just made things worse.
"Her new friends must really like her if they can handle it, that they must!" Kenshin pointed out amused.
"Yugi and his pals are just as bad, trust me," Seto countered laughing.
"I'm really glad I took Mokuba to Burger World today," he added and missed the surprised but pleased look the men with him exchanged with each other. Sensei was right as always in just a couple of hours of talking and storytelling Seto had come a long way! Aoshi decided it was time to continue his story. Seto was making a great deal of progress.
"So you're right. We remained in California and helped Kenshin with his English," Aoshi continued. He explained that they had volunteered to help Tokio with a fundraiser for victims of the storms that hit Baharavia that year. Tokio took a liking to Sano and she started helping them out right away.
"Tokio was a test I failed," Aoshi continued his eyes glued on the board but his mind was far away.
"Failed? I don't understand," Seto countered confused. From the investigations Gozaburo had forced Seto to do for him on the Shinomori clan, he learned that failing was not something Aoshi ever did.
"These two dorks were all suspicious of poor sis," Sano replied shaking his head in disappointment.
"Tokio was very nice and helpful. She was generous with her time and her food. But she would say almost nothing meaningful about herself," Aoshi explained. She was clever and cheerful but she always avoided saying anything at all about her daily activities and often avoided meeting their families and friends.
"So she's a private person. I don't see anything wrong with that," Seto countered with a frown.
"That's what I said! See! Even Darth Kaiba agrees," Sano exclaimed looking vindicated. Kenshin shrugged apologetically.
"She seemed like she was hiding something…something dark," Kenshin added solemnly. Aoshi invited her to go to Disneyland with them towards the end of summer. But there was an ulterior motive to his invite. He wanted to find out what she was hiding.
"I assumed that her secretiveness had some dark purpose. That she intended to use us somehow. I was wrong," Aoshi sighed regret etched in his face.
"Very wrong!" Sano reiterated self-righteously.
"Anyway, our trip to Disneyland was delayed. My cousin died in a car crash a month after the Olympics ended and Tokio was out of the country," Aoshi continued but frowned at the board. He didn't like remembering how badly he had misjudged Tokio. He explained that Tokio participated with Nightraven in various charities that sent medical professionals to countries requiring humanitarian relief operations.
"So you went when you returned," Seto prompted.
"That's right. My father remained behind in Japan to help my Aunt. My uncle Kamo was put in a rehab center following Hana's death," Aoshi explained. He added that Hajime had been posted in Japan and was spending all of his free time with Mai. His mother had taken a leave of absence from her job and stayed with him for a month.
"And while we were all there we were successful in getting momma and my father together," Aoshi added with a tiny smirk of satisfaction.
"You gotta hand it to the wolf tho…he may be a pain but he knew exactly what to say to momma to get her to give Hannya a chance," Sano pointed out. He had put away his key chain and had taken out his phone. He was busy texting as he spoke. Seto didn't ask the follow up question. He knew by now that if it was relevant to the story they would tell him what the "wolf" said to his mother so she would go out with Hannya. If it wasn't relevant, then he wasn't interested.
"And speaking of the wolf…Tokio says he just got home," Sano added reading his text and quickly typing a reply.
"I was not aware that Nii-sama was gone?" Aoshi asked. Kenshin turned a confused look towards Sano.
"I thought Saito-san had paternity leave?" Kenshin added confused.
"Yea, the wolf's been gone since last Tuesday, that's why I stayed last week and part of this week with Tokio. If you dorks called or showed up more often you'd know that the wolf won't take his paternity leave until Tokio goes back to work so she won't feel too bad about leaving their new baby!" Sano retorted annoyed and grumbled that they had no right to call him girl-crazy anymore.
"You two jerks can't see past Misao and Kaoru's skirts!" he grumbled angrily at them as he typed into his phone. Aoshi frowned and was going to say something when Victoria came back in a hurry, her face set in a frown as she glared at her phone.
"Sanosuke, come with me please," she ordered very solemnly. They all got to their feet but she frowned at them.
"You three stay here. Aoshi continue the story please," she ordered and hurriedly pulled Sanosuke away. Seto watched puzzled as she went away. His hearing wasn't as far-reaching as he wished it were. However, in the years of plotting to destroy Gozaburo he had taught himself – among other skills – to read lips. He saw she said "Not here! We'll go to my car!"
He looked at Aoshi and Kenshin and both men were looking at each other with frowns on their faces but said nothing.
"Sanosuke is not wrong Aoshi," Kenshin began solemnly. Aoshi nodded
"Yes, we have been rather inattentive of late," Aoshi agreed solemnly. Seto just watched and waited. He wanted the rest of the story and was suddenly worried that this segue way might derail it but Aoshi took a deep breath, his eyes focused on the Go board and he continued his tale…
-0-
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Aoshi watched Tokio surreptitiously as they walked around the big souvenir shop in Tomorrowland. She smiled at a Star Wars mug and Aoshi was slightly startled when she looked up and caught him watching her. Again!
'How is she so good at that?' he asked himself annoyed. He found out right away that he could not sneak up on her and now he realized that she could not be watched without her noticing. She smiled at him and turned away to head for the register with Sano chatting happily with her. He grabbed a little keychain with Mrs. Emi's name on it from the display he was standing behind and headed towards the register too. Kenshin caught up with him and he looked as despondent as Aoshi felt. They had failed to gain any new insight on the mysterious Tokio all day!
'Why is he so trusting?' Aoshi asked himself for the millionth time since they met the beautiful and mysterious Tokio. Normally, Sano was just as paranoid as he, but not this time! Kenshin was usually the more trusting one yet he was the only one agreeing with Aoshi. The two boys settled in the checkout line with Tokio and Sano. Sano had several souvenirs for his little sister Anzu and his mom to pay for. Kenshin had a t-shirt for his brother and a snow globe for his mom.
"So who's that shirt for?" asked Sano cheerfully, noticing the little pink bundle in her arms. She was silent for a second and she smiled sadly as she looked at it.
"I promised my little sister that if I ever went to Disneyland I would buy her something with Tinkerbell on it," Tokio replied sadly. She opened the shirt, smiled and showed it to him. Tinkerbell twinkled cheerfully from the center of the tiny girly shirt.
"Where is your sister?" Sano asked more softly.
"She died almost ten years ago," she replied sadly. She shook her head and smiled at Sano once more.
"What about your parents?" Sano asked his eyes reflecting Tokio's sadness.
"My parents and my little brother died then too. I've been on my own since then," she added as they moved closer to the register. Kenshin and Aoshi flinched; they exchanged a guilty look as they followed quietly behind Sano and Tokio.
"How old were you?" Sano asked with a frown.
"I was twelve," she answered non-chalant. She shrugged and explained she had stayed with some of her mother's relatives for a while but she didn't like it there so she left for college almost 3 years after they died.
"So, you've been in college since you were fifteen? Wow! Hey Aoshi! That means she's smarter than you!" Sano teased and laughed.
"I knew that. Sensei sent us to learn from her, remember?" Aoshi replied with a shrug. Tokio laughed and smiled at Aoshi. He looked away suddenly embarrassed by the way she smiled at him. Her turn at the register finally came up and they all moved with her.
"Is this all together?" the cashier asked cheerfully as they all put their items in separate piles on the counter.
"Yes," Aoshi answered emphatically. He moved forward quickly and put the keychain and his credit card down on the counter before Tokio, Sano or Kenshin could protest. The cashier rang everything up quickly. Tokio turned and smiled at him.
"Thank you," she replied happily and the very pretty smile she gave him made him feel ashamed of his earlier misgivings.
"No, thank you…for being our guide today," he said solemnly as the cashier handed them their bags.
"What do you guys want to do now?" she asked cheerfully as they all left the store.
"I'm hungry! Let's go eat," Sano suggested right away.
"You're always hungry, that you are!" Kenshin laughed.
"Where would you suggest Tokio-dono?" Aoshi asked solemnly.
"Well, there's only one place to go: The Rainforest Café!" she proclaimed cheerfully. "You guys will love it!" she insisted as they headed out of the park…
Dinner had been a cheerful affair. Aoshi was surprised by how easy it was for Sano to get Tokio to answer questions about herself. In retrospect he realized that he had been waiting for her to volunteer the information whereas Sano had been very direct and honest from the first moment they met.
'Trying to be sneaky is not the way to win Tokio's confidence,' he thought as they walked Tokio up to her apartment. Sano and Kenshin chattered cheerfully with her as they walked down the long hallway towards the door to her apartment. He distracted himself with his surroundings. The building was a long, rectangular shape with single room apartments on both sides of the hall meant mainly for students. Tokio lived on the last apartment to their right, on the second floor. Her front door was right next to the fire escape at the opposite end of the hallway they were walking.
"Goodnight Tokio-dono!" Kenshin began cheerfully as they arrived at their door. Aoshi added his goodbye more formally and bowed politely. Tokio smiled at him and bowed back thanking him for inviting her along.
"See you tomorrow!" added Sano very cheerfully. But to Aoshi's utter shock he hugged her tight and even more shocking she just laughed and hugged him back. They waved once more and headed down the hall again leaving their new friend at her door shifting her packages and the mail she picked up on the way up to get to her keys. As they began walking down the steps Sano planted himself in front of them.
"You two jerks owe Tokio an apology!" he growled angrily. Aoshi's eyes were cast down to his feet. He said nothing. He was the kind of person who didn't like sharing every gory detail of his life and openly despised people who tell their life story to every stranger they meet.
"You are right Sano," he began without looking up. He had been a hypocrite! And worst, he had failed Sensei's first mission for him: to gain Tokio's confidence.
"We should go right now, that we should!" Kenshin suggested eagerly. Aoshi didn't reply, he simply turned and hurried up the stairs with Sano and Kenshin close behind him. As he reached to top of the stairs and turned into the hallway his eyes went wide with shock.
Tokio was on the ground her packages and mail strewn about her. She looked like she had lost consciousness. A man stood over her with his back to the boys kicking her over and over with extreme violence. As he ran down the corridor Sano yelled something but Aoshi wasn't paying attention him.
The man attacking Tokio was well-dressed, tall and good looking with very chiseled features and short, light blond hair. He paused in his attack of their friend and turned to see Aoshi. He looked at the boys unconcerned; he rolled his eyes and shook his head then turned to continue his attack on Tokio. Aoshi reached him then, grabbed him by the collar, turned him around and smashed his fist into his face.
The man stared at him with shock and tried to say something but Aoshi didn't let him. He smashed his fists over and over into the man's face and stomach. Tokio's attacker tried to retaliate at first but quickly realized that he was outclassed. He stumbled away from Aoshi trying to escape. Again Aoshi didn't let him. He grabbed the man by the collar and rammed his head down into his knee then slammed him into the wall and continued to rain punches on him until the man slithered to the ground insensate. Temporarily satisfied he turned away from his opponent and went to Tokio.
"Will you help that idiot? He's forgotten every word of English we taught him!" Sano urgently yelled at him. He was on the ground with Tokio cradled carefully on his lap. His arms wrapped protectively around her. He pointed his head towards Kenshin who was speaking in Japanese into Tokio's phone and was obviously frustrated because no one understood him. Aoshi hurried into the tiny apartment and took the phone from Kenshin and spoke quickly to the 911 operator then returned to his friends who were trying to wake the unconscious Tokio. Tokio's attacker slithered away through the fire escape door while the boys were distracted…
The ambulance arrived in minutes that seemed like hours to Aoshi. Tokio was conscious now but she was delirious. She kept telling Sano to run away so he won't get hurt.
"I am gonna smash that guy into a pulp when I find him!" he growled as Tokio's eyes rolled back in her head and she mumbled incoherently. The police and paramedics finally showed up. They examined Tokio and asked Sano what had happened. Jonathan Nightraven or Night as he liked to be called – Victoria's security chief and right hand man – was with them and he glowered at the neighbors that only now at the sound of the sirens did they emerge from their apartments. A tall young man with dark blonde hair wearing jeans and tee-shirt walked in step with Night. Aoshi spotted right away the gold police badge clipped to his belt. He bent over Tokio – whom the paramedics had transferred to a gurney – he stopped them to talk to her.
"He did this, didn't he?" he asked her gently as he leaned over her. He had a very sad look in his eyes. Tokio reached up and grabbed his shirt.
"Marty! Don't let him hurt them! Please!" she begged tearfully "Please! They have nothing to do with this! Please!"
"It's fine Tokio. I'll take care of everything. I promise," he said soothingly. The paramedics wheeled her away and Sano followed without hesitation. Aoshi and Kenshin stood routed to their spot. The detective came forward and identified himself as Marty Deek. He had gone to school with Tokio but had graduated last year and signed up with the LAPD.
"Come on you two. Victoria's expecting you back," Night began gruffly.
"You're gonna explain to them?" Marty asked Night. Night just nodded not taking his eyes off of Aoshi and Kenshin. He had already guessed what both boys intended to do. They intended to go searching for Tokio's attacker.
"Are you hurt?" Marty asked Aoshi. There was blood on the young man's shirt and on his hands.
"No, it's that thing's blood," Aoshi replied the disgust too evident in his voice. Marty chuckled amused.
"I better get back to the station so I can head off that whiny bitch!" Marty chuckled. He shook hands with Night and Kenshin turned to Aoshi and squeezed his shoulder.
"I would shake hands but I really don't want Chris' blood all over me," he began but Aoshi shoved his arm away.
"You know who he is!? Why aren't you going out to arrest him right now?" Aoshi demanded angrily. Kenshin had calmed enough now to remember his English lessons and was able to follow the conversation. There was a strange darkness in Kenshin's eyes as he scowled at Night and the detective.
"Night will explain," he said with a frustrated sigh. "Nice to meet you guys," he said as he turned away and hurried down the hall.
"Come on. We'll stop at the hospital and check on her," Nightraven announced and started to walk down the hall. A part of Aoshi's mind that was functioning outside of his rage registered that Nightraven had picked up Tokio's things and put them inside the apartment then locked the door. He had done all of this while they spoke to Det. Deek.
"Why aren't we going after him? Why aren't the police going to arrest him at the very least?" Aoshi growled at him without moving from his spot. Kenshin glared at Night too waiting for the answer.
"Don't even think I'm going to let you run off after him!" Nightraven glared back "Come on you idiots and I'll explain on the way!" he ordered but Aoshi and Kenshin wouldn't move. Night marched back over to where Kenshin and Aoshi were rooted to their spots.
"I'm not playing around with you idiots! Come willingly or I'll drag you!" Night growled inches from Aoshi's face. He knew he should've been afraid of Nightraven. He had seen during their training for the Olympics how strong the man was, but the demon had a hold of him and he stood his ground.
"Aoshi, let's hear Mr. Nightraven out first. We need information. It would be reckless for us to head out without knowing more," Kenshin said calmly but there was a tone in his voice that Aoshi had never heard before. He looked at his friend and saw in his eyes a reflection of the demon growing inside Aoshi. Aoshi relented and without a word he followed Night back to their limo.
Night sent the limo back to their teacher's house and directed the boys to the town car he was using.
"We'll get Sano first because I'm not going to repeat myself," Night growled at them. They rode in silence to the hospital and they followed Night without a word as they entered the emergency room. He registered Aoshi and had his hands cleaned and checked out before they went looking for Sanosuke.
They found Sano pacing nervously in an empty room. Sano quickly explained that they had just taken Tokio to get some x-rays and that the doctor was afraid she might be suffering a concussion. He complained that they hadn't let him go with her.
"It's ok; the doctor on duty tonight knows what's going on. She'll take care of her," Night began.
"What is going on?! Night, all these people act like this has happened to her before! They're all pissed off but they don't say anything!" Sano hissed out in frustration. Aoshi and Kenshin looked up at Night. Night signaled a woman in the nurse's pen. The woman hurried over to him.
"Dr. Turtle these are Tokio's new friends. I need a quiet place to explain things," Night began solemnly. The woman nodded equally solemn and shook hands with the boys then led them away to a small office down the hall away from the emergency room.
"Just call me when you're done. I'm admitting her tonight. She'll have to stay at least tonight and maybe tomorrow," she advised solemnly and left the room closing the door quietly behind her.
"Ok, tell us what's going on?" pleaded Sano desperately. They watched Night expectantly as he locked the door and planted himself in front of it.
"The man you saw tonight is Chris Peters and he is a relative of Tokio. For some reason he is well protected from the law," Night began without preamble. He explained that many have been the law enforcement officers who have tried to put him behind bars only to find their jobs and their homes threatened.
"Anyone who raises an alarm against him ends up on the wrong end of the law while that bastard goes home with a big smile on his face!" he threw out disgusted. Kenshin had seen Aoshi get away with some minor things at home but only because his dad was ridiculously rich. He wondered how rich and well connected this man must be to get away with so much.
"The fact that she keeps quiet, gets up and keeps going keeps a lot of people safe!" he growled but there was a touch pride in his voice when he said it.
"That's why she's always alone," said Sano softly as he slowly sank into an empty chair.
"Then the solution is simple: we kill Chris…and make sure the body is never found," Aoshi stated matter-of-fact. Night glared at him.
"Simple huh? You don't think we haven't thought of that you idiot!?" Night growled at him.
"Chris Peters is just a stupid tool! Tokio is the heir to a legacy potentially worth millions. But she can't claim it until she's 25 at least! If Chris wants a shot at it he has to get her to step down if she dies he gets zip! She knows that and that's why she keeps getting back up and refuses to step away no matter what he says or does. But if he gets killed or disappears because of her anyone who had contact with her will die! I can't do a damn thing until I know who and how they're doing it!" he lectured angrily.
"Your little chivalry tonight is gonna cost you by the way! But don't you worry tough guy cuz their not coming after you!" Night glared at him stalking towards Aoshi who continued to look defiant.
"They'll come after Kenshin's mom! They'll come after Sano's baby sister! They'll come after your pretty little friend Misao. Or your sweet little cousin Mai might be the next child your aunt has to bury! And they can all thank you!" Night accused poking Aoshi's chest over and over with an accusing finger. Kenshin sank into a little couch staring at Night in horror. Aoshi's defiance turned to horror.
"No they won't, I'll lie!" Aoshi said thinking quickly "I'll say I hit him because he said something nasty about my friends! I'll say I went looking for Tokio but she wasn't home! I have a criminal record back home! I have been arrested for fighting! I'm rich and I'm a minor, the most they'll do is call my dad and send me home!" Aoshi countered and he smirked as Night backed off surprised. The old man smirked a little.
"He has witnesses!" Sano jumped up from his chair. "I'll say I heard the guy make fun of Kenshin cuz of his bad English and his red hair!" Sano added eagerly. Kenshin added that he could help but said it in very broken, bad English. Night smiled as he looked at the boys but the smile didn't last long.
"That will work only one time. What happens next time?" he asked very solemnly. Their smiles disappeared as they all realized what had to happen.
"We must distance ourselves from Tokio-dono," Kenshin added sadly unable to lift his eyes from his shoes. Aoshi sank in the couch next to his friend. He felt the same horrible impotence he had felt when he tried to rescue his friends from their kidnappers. He looked down at his hands clenching and unclenching them. He had failed once more and he could not bear it.
'She should've just let me jump off that cliff,' Aoshi thought in despair as he buried his face in his hands.
"We should go to the police station," Sano said after a few moments of silence. Night nodded and led them out. The boys walked in silence behind him. They watched wordlessly as Night stopped to check in with Dr. Turtle. Tokio had a couple of cracked ribs. She would be staying a couple of days. The doctor was waiting on a report from the neurologist concerning the CT scans they had to do on her. Night thanked her in a very gracious and gentle manner saying he would be back later to check on Tokio.
"I'll be on duty tonight until 6am," she let him know and hurried away to another patient.
Quietly, they all got in the car with Night and sat in shocked silence as Night hurried through the streets of LA towards the police station Det. Deek worked at. They arrived at a large brick building, officers in both uniform and plain clothes rushed in and out of the building. The sergeant at the front desk waved at Night in obvious recognition and just signaled him to continue on through. Night led the way to the elevator that would take them to the floor where detective Deek worked at.
'He must come often,' Aoshi reasoned as officers recognized Night and stopped to greet him. Each floor was the same: one big open space with desks arranged in pairs facing each other and small offices on the sides with the interrogation rooms at the far end. When they arrived at the department Marty worked at Aoshi had to reach for every ounce of self-control he possessed. Sano growled angrily but he stuffed his hands in his pockets and said nothing.
Chris Peters was there at the far end sitting next to a desk just outside of the main interrogation room. He angrily demanded that the officers rush out immediately and arrest the man that had attacked him. There was enough noise in the room though that it was hard for him to hear everything that was said to him or by him. Chris spotted Aoshi and quickly turned to the annoyed officer taking his statement with a frightened look on his swollen face. Night grabbed Kenshin and pulled him quickly to a desk and sat him down on a large chair. He looked even smaller on the big black chair. Aoshi positioned himself next to Kenshin putting his hand on his friend's shoulder catching on quick to what Night was thinking. He glared at Chris but the man looked everywhere but at him.
"Look as innocent and harmless as you possibly can!" whispered Night to Kenshin. Kenshin did as he was told. In an instant he looked like a nervous little boy.
"Offended big brother tactic! Got it!" Sano said catching on too. He moved to stand next to Kenshin, opposite Aoshi.
"Exactly! So glare to your hearts' content at Chris but do not move from here," Night added not looking at Chris again. Det. Deek came out from one of the offices from the side and headed toward Night. Night moved away and spoke to Marty out of Aoshi's hearing range. Marty nodded and smirked a little. He gave Aoshi a thumbs-up; making sure Chris wouldn't see him. He hurried back to the office he had exited with Night alongside him. Aoshi lost track of the time as he continued to glare at Chris.
"He looks like he's about to pee in his pants," Sano whispered as he continued to glare at the increasingly frightened Chris. Kenshin covered his face to laugh.
"He's a coward," Aoshi remarked angrily not taking his eyes off Chris. Chris grew more and more nervous as the minutes ticked by. Aoshi took a moment to examine his handiwork. Chris was holding a cold pack to the left side of his face and had a gauze bandage over his bottom lip. He turned away unable to stand the pressure of Aoshi and Sano's glares. He continued to growl at the officer taking his statement though the man didn't seem terribly interested in anything Chris said. He just continued to work on his computer absently agreeing with Chris. Aoshi noticed all the man was doing was clicking through his emails.
The officer with Chris suddenly stopped clicking and stared at his computer. He turned to another officer; and asked him to stay with Chris. He locked his computer screen and hurried away to the office Marty was still in. A few minutes later Night walked out with a tiny smirk on his face. He didn't bother to look at Chris. Marty and the second detective headed towards Chris. Sano opened his mouth to ask something but never got the chance.
"Just be quiet for now and watch the show," Night said with a chuckle. He ordered them to stay put and walked away. The boys did exactly as they were told. Aoshi watched Chris attentively. There was enough quiet now in the room that he could hear a little of more of what Chris shouted.
"What the hell are you incompetent idiots doing? Go arrest that guy right now!" Chris hollered at them. Aoshi strained to hear what Det. Deek replied but the man spoke in a very composed and calm tone that didn't carry over the din in the room.
Marty calmly picked up the phone and handed it to Chris who ripped it from Marty's hand growling something angrily at the detectives. As Chris listened to the voice on the phone his face went from red with righteous anger to white with abject terror. He looked up to stare at Aoshi for a moment in utter horror. Chris hung up the phone and quickly got up. He gathered up his jacket and hurried towards the staircase on the far end of the room tripping over desks and chairs in his rush to get away.
Aoshi stared surprised for a moment at this sudden turn. Chris headed towards the stairs because the way to the elevator would force him to come within a couple of arm's length of Aoshi and his friends. Chris paused at the door to the staircase and turned to look at Aoshi once more. Aoshi smirked evilly and made the tiniest motion as if to follow him. Chris' eyes went wide and he bolted through the door and disappeared in a flash. He felt a rush of power as Chris hurried to get away from him.
"What happened?" Kenshin wondered aloud staring amazed at Aoshi. Aoshi said nothing though and waited for the detectives. Marty and his partner – the detective who had been sitting with Chris – headed towards them.
Their expressions were completely neutral as they walked up to Aoshi and his friends and silently motioned them to follow to a conference room. Aoshi looked at his friends and they followed with Sano wondering aloud where Night had gone. They entered the room and the detectives hurried to lock the door and close all the blinds. Once that was done they burst into wild laughter. The boys stared at each other and watched in astonishment as the detectives struggled to catch their breath.
"What's going on guys?" asked Sano bewildered. Marty and his partner held up a finger as they tried to reign in the laughter. Marty's partner got a hold of himself much sooner and finally stepped over to Aoshi and shook his hand firmly. Marty was still bent over trying hard to catch his breath.
"I'm Detective Barry Frost. It is a genuine pleasure to meet you!" the man said shaking Aoshi's hand with both of his. Barry was slightly shorter than Marty and Aoshi by about two or three inches. Barry – unlike his partner – was dressed in a light blue-gray very modern suit and tie that was perfectly tailored to his slim athletic build. His white shirt was impeccable as was the well matched tie. His hair was cropped very short and his very dark skin was in sharp contrast to his bright green eyes.
"Oh man! That was great! Did you see the look on his face?" Marty wheezed. "I think he crapped his pants when you moved!" he laughed looking at Aoshi as he plopped himself on a chair. Kenshin and Sano started laughing with him.
"Ok settle down now," Barry tried but Marty was having too much fun as he threw his head back and laughed some more. So Barry took up the explanation.
"You guys are familiar with the terms: Diplomatic Immunity, right?" he began in between chuckles. Once Aoshi heard those words, for the first time in weeks, he smiled…
Night stood inside the stairwell leaning against the exit. He heard Chris' rushed steps as he ran down the stairs. He opened the bag of mini cookies he bought from the vending machine in the lobby. Chris stopped dead in his tracks half way down the last staircase and stared at Night with terror in his eyes.
"What did I tell you about cheating Chris?" Night began calmly. He popped a little chocolate chip cookie in his mouth, chewing slowly.
"Y-y-you can't hurt me here. There's police everywhere," he stammered and took a step back up the stairs. Night chuckled. But Chris did remember. Night was the reason he had to have reconstructive surgery on his nose. He was certain after today he would need to get his nose reconstructed again. Back when Bob and Paul still came with him to visit Tokio; Night had warned him that he would allow him to fight Tokio one on one only but he would suffer consequences if he cheated.
"Oh man you are an idiot!" Night chuckled. He had proven his pointed when he mutilated his bodyguards and smashed his nose. When Chris turned him in to the police somehow Nightraven was able to produce a dozen witnesses who swore he'd been at a café about ten miles away from the site of the attack during the time Chris and his buddies were attacked. The police even found video surveillance showing Night sitting at a table reading a book and sipping a cold drink. The time stamp on the video – along with other visual clues on the video – showed him at the café at exactly the time of the attack.
'And that bitch didn't back me up,' he remembered watching Night warily. The older man laughed and calmly put another cookie in his mouth. Tokio had been questioned by police as well but she declared that she had been out of the country until that night and was not even aware that Chris was in town let alone that he and his friends were attacked.
"You do remember though, right?" Night asked but the question was obviously rhetorical.
"You ambushed her and then kept kicking her after she was down. I'm pretty sure I explained that this was cheating. And I told you there would be consequences if you cheated," Night continued in a casual tone that belied the danger in his words.
"I thought about making good on my promise of killing you but then you wouldn't learn anything and that's what you need, a lesson…a sharp lesson!" Night concluded with a maniacal grin on his face. He straightened up taking a half step away from the door and Chris began backing away very quickly. A slightly paunchy older man in a dark gray suit blocked his path up the stairs. Chris whirled around frightened then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the badge hanging on the man's jacket pocket.
"Detective! This man is threatening to kill me! Arrest him!" Chris ordered imperiously at him. The detective looked at Night then at Chris. Night was leaning casually at the door with a confused look on his face. He held the bag of cookies out in the direction Chris and the detective were standing.
"With what? A bag of cookies?" the man asked perplexed "Other than the high sugar content, that bag of cookies seems pretty harmless to me," he added solemnly. Night laughed.
"Hi Vince! What's up?" Night called up cheerfully to the detective. The detective came around the shell-shocked Chris and continued down the stairs. Chris turned slowly towards the two men now standing in front of his only way out.
"That's sergeant Korsak to you mister!" corrected cheerfully the detective. Night laughed and offered the sergeant a taste of his cookies as he congratulated him on his promotion. Vince Korsak stuck his hand in the bag and popped one of the cookies in his mouth. He chewed it thoughtfully.
"A little stale but harmless," he assessed casually. Night just laughed and offered the sergeant another cookie and Vince gladly took it. Korsak turned to Chris; his face was pale.
"A squad car is waiting to take you down to the hospital. You really need to get that looked at," Vince suggested solemnly pointing to Chris' swollen face. He added that a uniformed officer would accompany him to the hospital and stay with him by his grandfather's request. Once he was released he would have a police escort to the airport also by his grandfather's request. Night smiled and opened the door for Vince and held the door open for Chris. Vince stepped out onto the lobby and waited for Chris with a very solemn look on his face.
"You got lesson number one today. I wonder how many lessons it will take before it sinks in," Night said softly as Chris slowly went past him. Once out the door he hurried away as fast as he could. Vince smirked and tossed Night a jaunty salute then followed Chris out. Night laughed as he watched him for a minute then hurried back up to where the boys were waiting for him…
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"We didn't know where Night went or what he did to Chris until many years later," Aoshi said pausing from his story for a moment as Kenshin and Sano laughed. Sano had returned from his brief consultation with Sensei. He said nothing of what they discussed.
"We found out around the time Sis first started dating the Wolf. That was a really long, crazy weekend!" Sano added with a chuckle, playing once more with his little Optimus Prime keychain. Kenshin laughed too.
"A story for another time, Seto-kun. You really must get to know Saito-san before you can get the full effect of their hilarious courtship," Kenshin added laughing.
"A take it you didn't introduce them to each other right away then," Seto asked.
"We didn't introduce them at all!" Sano jumped in.
"We decided that it was best that Nii-sama and Tokio not meet. We liked Hajime but we liked Tokio more," Aoshi began explaining Hajime was a "love-em and leave-em" kind of guy when they met him. Sano laughed.
"Yea! And I was all for her never meeting that damn wolf but, you know, fate's a bitch and they ended up working together 4 years later," Sano laughed.
"And Nii-sama fell hard," Aoshi added amused.
"She did make Saito-san work for it though," Kenshin chuckled as he pulled out his little keychain and began playing with it as well. He had a figure of Bumblebee that he assembled and disassembled very quickly over and over again.
"And I would've paid good money to see her tell him no!" laughed Sano. Aoshi explained that Hajime had always been very successful when it came to attracting women.
"It came as a shock to him when Tokio rejected him – not once – but twice," Aoshi added amused. "In retrospect that was perhaps why he pursued her so relentlessly," he reasoned. Seto nodded but his face frowned in concentration.
"I find it strange though that you knew them both for years yet – not even by accident – they ever met each other," Seto pointed out suspicious.
"That…was on purpose," Sano began solemnly.
"Yes, let me pick up where I left off," Aoshi put in…
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Aoshi sat at the table in the conference room with his friends but he had mostly tuned them out as he concentrated on the swirl of ideas in his head. The two detectives had excused themselves to go call Tokio and let her know everything was ok and file some reports. They suggested stopping by Tokio's apartment and picking up her school books to which the boys readily agreed. Kenshin and Sano chattered on excitedly about how awesome it was to have "Diplomatic Immunity" and they wondered why their parents didn't tell them. Aoshi knew why his father had not said anything: it was obvious the old man didn't want him to abuse the power.
'And it is great power,' he thought as he imagined all the things that he might do with it. First on his agenda was tracking down that bastard and making him pay for what he did to their friend. Then he would have to figure out how he could use it to fight against his family's enemies. Kanryu Takeda was at the top of the list. He was in charge of the Jolly Devils and several other gangs in Kyoto and Domino. He was fairly certain Kanryu had ordered the Jolly Devils to kidnap and torture him and his friends and Aoshi vowed he would see him pay tenfold for that.
Night arrived then and let them know they would leave in a few minutes. Sano right away asked him where he'd gone. Night just shrugged and said he'd gone to talk to an old friend who had just gotten promoted. Sano gleefully informed him of everything he had missed.
"So did you figure out what you're gonna do with this new power?" Night asked Aoshi, not missing the scheming look in the younger man's eyes.
"We're gonna find that guy Chris and pound him into dust!" Sano answered cheerfully for Aoshi. Aoshi said nothing and just met Night's eyes unflinchingly. Night just shrugged. It was all too obvious that that was what he intended to do.
"Ok, and while you guys are busy doing that; I'm gonna get on a plane and go take out Kanryu Takeda and dismantle his organization. With my connections and resources I should be done by Christmas," Night announced casually. Rage suddenly exploded inside of Aoshi as he shot up from his chair.
"You have no right to do that!" Aoshi growled at him, fury making him see red suddenly. Night marched over to him matching Aoshi's glare.
"Why not tough guy? I'm bigger and stronger than you and I have all the resources needed to take him out. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take that bastard out!" he challenged angrily.
"Because I'm supposed to do it! I'm the one who should crush him! He's mine…" but he suddenly stopped realizing what Night was trying to teach him. He learned at that precise moment that – just like his Sensei – Night was always trying to teach him something but never in the way he expected the lesson to come.
"He's your what tough, guy?" Night asked. Night looked over at Kenshin and Sanosuke. Sano looked confused but Kenshin caught on right away. He nodded to Aoshi. Sano caught on too but was having a harder time letting go of the idea of hunting Chris down and beating him to a pulp.
"He's my opponent, as Chris is Tokio's," Aoshi replied feeling the rage of the demon ebb away. He had no right to take away Tokio's chance at victory over Chris anymore than Night should step over his chance to take out Kanryu.
"Smart boy," began Night with a tiny smirk. "But you are still a boy. Take a page from Tokio's book, be patient and train hard! There's a reason Victoria sent you to her. Learn to use your brains as much as your fists. Vicky and I can buy you the time you need to get stronger and one day we'll be sitting in the bleachers watching you and your friends take him out for good," Night lectured. Sano still looked from Aoshi to Kenshin with a desperate look in his eyes. Kenshin and Aoshi had already given up the quest but Sano was still having a hard time letting go. He said nothing though.
"I'm gonna see if Marty and Barry are ready. You three stay here," he ordered and walked out of the room without another word.
"We can't just let him come over and wail on her whenever he wants!" Sano complained to them in a panic.
"No, no we won't," said Aoshi right away. He began pacing the room as he spoke.
"We buy her time…the same way Sensei and Night will be buying us time against Kanryu. She needs to be at least 25 so only four more years for her. We can watch over her until then," Aoshi began.
"Alright! Now we're talking," Sano agreed enthusiastically.
"In the meantime we learn and we train. We are not ready to take Takeda on Aoshi, but we can buy each other time, that we can," Kenshin agreed. Sano nodded.
"We take another page from Tokio's book… we don't tell anyone about our plans and we don't tell anyone about Tokio; especially the wolf!" Sano added.
"You're right Sano. Hajime is a man of the law and we will have to step outside it to do what we have to do," Aoshi agreed. They huddled back at the table to make their plans…
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"Not fighting other people's battles is good advice," Seto commented sagely. It was something he firmly believed in. He fought his own battles and never wanted anyone to fight them for him. The occasions that had forced him to team up with Yugi to help his little brother and/or protect his company had been difficult for him to bear.
"We went to great lengths to keep Tokio and the circumstances of her life a secret from our families," Aoshi continued. As years went by though others come into the fold. Hiei and Kenshin had a tousles with Chris a couple of times but since his friends are 5 foot 2 inches give or take, Chris had said nothing of their encounters. Shuura was the next after Kenshin and Sano to cross paths with Chris but again Chris never dared to admit he was beat up by a pretty and petit young girl. Hajime's friend Tori had also her own battle with Chris but again Chris said not one word about it.
"Of course not! What coward would?" Seto laughed "but I can see where you would have difficulty simply walking away from her plight," he added solemnly.
"Now just to be clear, it's not like Sis was some damsel in distress waiting around for us to save her!" Sano pointed out right away.
"We learned soon enough that Tokio detested violence in any form though when pressed she could fight but she would fight very dirty. She favored trickery and disguises for overcoming opponents and difficult situations," Aoshi explained.
"Tokio-dono could handle herself and she did come to our rescue plenty of times," agreed Kenshin cheerfully "let us not forget Tokio-dono's little trip down to Helmagistan," he added proudly. Aoshi sighed.
"Nii-sama never lets me forget it and neither does he let me forget Colombia," Aoshi added shaking his head annoyed
"Yea, that was a disaster. But, I'm not taking all the fall for that mess! Night was supposed to be watching her!" Sano pointed out defensively.
"It's why Night-san went easy on us when we got back. It was the only time he did not double our training!" Kenshin reminded them cheerfully. Seto looked from one man to the next with a frown. Sano pointed out that Night had been brutal after the Helmagistan disaster. As they traded comments about their punishments on failed missions Seto noticed the thread of the story was lost, he needed get it back.
"Colombia? Helmagistan? You guys want to fill me in?" Seto asked.
"Yes, I'm sorry. Colombia was actually one of our first missions just after we finished high school. It was just supposed to be a harmless training mission. We were escorting a peace mission to Colombia bringing medical relief to a remote coffee farming village hit hard by a tropical storm. Tokio was leading the medical team as she had done many times for the organization she and Night worked with," Aoshi began.
"Night-san donates and is heavily involved in the organization she was part of so he always participated in her mercy missions. He suggested we tag along and start getting a wider view of the world," Kenshin added.
"The old man thought that Kanryu was supplying the cartels with weapons and suggested we do a little recon while we were there," Sano added. Seto sat back and listened glad to have the story back on track…