Aoshi

Aoshi sat on one of the two seats in their compartment. Misao had unfolded hers into a bed already. She had called the one by the window and Aoshi had watched with amusement as she had laid spread-eagled, then as the train jerked to a start she had fallen off, laughing. Her happiness was infectious and he suppressed a smile as she sat up on the floor, rubbing her head, still laughing.

Then she had gotten up, sat on her bed and looked at him. "Aoshi-sama, should I go and find out where Heishin's room is? I'll take note of all the other passengers too." Her face was serious, no hint of the laughing girl just a minute ago.

He nodded. "Be careful and try to be inconspicuous."

"Me? My middle name is inconspicuous!"

"You don't have a middle name." he said with some confusion.

"It's an expression." She laughed. "I'll be careful!" She left, closing the door carefully behind her. Aoshi sat down for a moment, then stood and opened the door, looking both ways down the swaying corridor of the train. Finding that no-one was there, he closed it again. He took off his coat, his jacket, his vest and his tie for ease of movement, laying them neatly on his bed. Then he opened the narrow window and carefully climbed onto the roof of the moving train.

He crouched there, the wind blowing his hair and ruffling his collar. Aoshi rolled up his sleeves and got his bearings. He silently calculated the distance between each train car and the distance of the train cars themselves. Too far to jump comfortably – but definitely possible. He could see that there was a hatch on the roof of a car one down from his.

As he reckoned the distance of his car to the engine, he became aware of another presence on the roof. Aoshi turned and for a brief moment – he saw a flash of red hair and a slight figure disappearing into the window of a car two down from his. It couldn't be… His eyes widened and his hand went to the knife he had strapped to his upper arm.

Then Aoshi shook his head. No. He's dead. Disappeared ten years ago. There's no way. I'm stressed out and must have seen a bird. He relaxed a little.

Aoshi sat down more comfortably and lit a cigarette, mentally outlining a plan of action and a backup plan for the job. Plan A, Plan B, Plan C… And Plan D. But let's hope things don't come to that. Misao would say I am worrying too much and if we actually went through with Plan D… She'd be very annoyed. But I somehow have a bad feeling about this. And Misao… She must be back now. I've been up here for a while. I'd better be getting back.

He stubbed out his cigarette and swung down through the window just as Misao lay down on her bed with a huff.

By some good-natured yet puckish trick of fate, Aoshi ended up over top of her, one hand by her ribs and the other by her head, his knees on either side of her hips, faces inches away, breath quickened. Oh shit-

Then she met his eyes. And he had no idea what to do. His mind, for the first time in years, was completely and absolutely blank. All he could see were her wide sea-green eyes with fluttering eyelashes, her soft-looking lips parted in shock, a light blush dusting her cheeks. He could only think of her lithe frame beneath him and her heaving ribs, a surprised gasp of air and his name coming from her mouth. "A-Aoshi-sama…!?"

When he could finally open his mouth and form semi-coherent words, all he said was, "…I …Checked the roof." Then, much more calmly than he felt, he got up and put on his tie, vest and jacket. Then, pausing, he turned back to her, willing the pounding in his chest to slow. "Did you see a man with-" She was still sitting on the bed, her legs folded under her, breathing hard, hand over her heart. "…Are you alright?" he asked carefully.

With a quick blink Misao's facial expression instantaneously changed into that of mock reproof. "Oh, honestly, Aoshi-sama! Please be careful! You scared me pretty bad right there. My heart is really pounding right now, you know?" she waggled a finger at him.

As is mine. For a very different reason, I think. Shit. …These are going to be a very long three days. The job. Think of the job. No time for things like this. What am I even thinking. I'm not thinking. I need to be more careful. The job. The job. "I apologize." He said. "I did not realize you would be back so quickly. So, where is Heishin?"

"A carriage down from us. Third room down." She said. "Two bodyguards in front of the door and two inside. When we were boarding I saw a metal curtain in front of the window. I'm eighty percent sure that it was Heishin's window. It's infuriating – almost like he knows we're gonna kill him."

"He's expecting a hit. But nobody could've tipped him off about us. The only people who know about this are Okina, the two of us and the four back at the mansion. So there must be someone else as I had feared." Aoshi nodded thoughtfully. "I see…" he looked up frowning, another thought coming to him. I just have to make sure. "Did you see a man with red hair and a scar on his left cheek?"

Misao folded her arms. "Well there was a guy with red hair, but he didn't have a scar. He was really nice and he was so polite I thought I had done something wrong." She laughed. "He kind of sounds like a lady and he's rather short."

Still frowning, Aoshi tapped his fingers on the wall. "Did he have anyone with him?"

"Yeah!" Misao nodded. "His wife is a journalist and they have two boys, a fourteen-year-old and a four-year old." She shrugged. "I think the older kid is adopted."

"…I see."

Misao looked curiously at him, but didn't ask.