Here's the next chapter. Sorry its kind of short. I hope you enjoy.
The Wakening
He had fallen asleep, how had he let himself do that. No one was in the room with him. His head still hurt, but not as badly. Pulling himself out of the bed Tsubame had given him, he went in search of her and her sister. He was angry at himself for falling asleep when Kaoru needed his help and angry at them for encouraging him to. He knew they were only trying to help, but Kaoru needed him. Didn't they understand that?
He followed the sound of voices to the back of the restaurant, staying hidden until he knew what was going on.
"Why should I tell you anything? Sneaking around like that and startling us," Tae said.
"I apologize for scaring you," Aoshi said. Yahiko let out a sigh of relief, if Aoshi was there they he could find Kenshin. All the anger left him in a rush and left him unable to move for a second.
"That still doesn't explain why you snuck in here and started asking strange questions," Tae said.
"Tae, he's a friend," he said, finally walking out. Tae was standing protectively in front of her sister while Aoshi stood still on the other side of the yard. Trying and failing at looking harmless.
"Yahiko, how are you feeling?" Tsubame asked running up to him.
"Better thanks to you two," he said.
"Yahiko, you say you know this man?" Tae asked, Aoshi was silent as always.
"He's an acquaintance of Kaoru's," Tae nodded, accepting this answer. "Kaoru was taken," he said facing Aoshi. He couldn't exactly say he needed to talk to the Battousai while in front of Tae and Tsubame. Ignorance kept them safe. He knew Aoshi would understand what he needed.
"We know," Aoshi said coming closer. "Dr. Gensai and maybe Megumi were also taken."
"Megumi was taken? What's going on?" Tae asked.
"Maybe we should discuss this inside," Tsubame said. After she got approval from her sister, they all went inside. He quickly told them what had happened with Eichi, leaving out that it was Kaoru helping the Battousai that angered him so much. Aoshi then filled them in on what Ayame had told them.
"We are still trying to figure out where they have been taken," Aoshi finished.
"Well the two men who attacked us earlier might be of some help," Tae said.
"Where are they?" he asked.
She lead them outside to the shed, revealing the two men tied up inside. They were expertly bound so they had little ability to move.
"Kaoru's not the only one with secrets," Tae said at their confused looks. "We've kept them unconscious with that," she said indicating the smoking plants near the door. "Shall we wake them up and see what they know?"
Aoshi shook his head, "They won't talk."
"Then what do we do?" he asked.
Aoshi pulled out some paper and a pencil, writing something down. "You are to go here. As for them. We untie them and let them wake up normally."
Tae smiled, "Then all you need to do is follow them as they run back to their leader with their tail between their legs." Aoshi nodded, a look of approval on his face. Yahiko started to wonder if he ever really knew Tae. "Well then, shall we get these men untied and then we will be on our way."
"But," he started to say but Tsubame cut him off.
"They are our friends too. We want to help." Now he was wondering if he really knew Tsubame.
"Besides, I'm sure you can use the help and it is probably safer for us to be near the Battousai anyway." He was speechless. How had they known about Kenshin, he had been so sure to make sure not to say anything. Aoshi just nodded, if he was surprised, he didn't show it.
Before long they left Aoshi to watch over the unconscious men while they worked their way towards the address Aoshi had given them. Tae and Tsubame moved with more speed and stealth then he ever thought them capable of. He was slightly hurt that Tsubame had never told him about this. But at the same time he understood, keeping your secrets close is what kept you safe.
When they got close they ran into Sano who looked somewhere between angry and lost.
"What are you doing here kid?" He asked.
"Aoshi sent us here. What's wrong?"
"They got Megumi."
"She's strong," Tae said, trying to reassure him.
Sano bristled, "Who are you?"
"They are friends," he cut in quickly. Sano looked ready to attack them.
Sano didn't look pleased, but he backed down. They followed him the rest of the way to a large but unassuming house. After a quick negation on who everyone was, they were ushered inside.
Kaoru woke to a pounding head and aching stomach. It took her a second to remember what had happened. As the memories slammed back into her head with force, making her headache worse, she got to her feet.
"Yahiko?" she called softly, there was no response. That caused the dread to increase in her stomach. If he wasn't here, what had they done with him? She hoped with all her might that he had just hidden and stayed out of harm's way, but she knew her student. He was stupidly brave.
She sunk slowly back to the ground fighting tears. It was her job to protect him and she had failed. She hadn't even been able to fight the men who broke into her apartment. What kind of swordsman was she if she couldn't even protect her home and her pupil. It was happening again, she lost her home and people she cared about. She wanted to just curl up in a ball and give up, but she couldn't. Yahiko was out there somewhere and needed her help. She refused to let herself think that he was dead. Slowly she calmed her emotions, she couldn't do anything for Yahiko until she helped herself.
Looking around she saw nothing, it was almost pitch black where she was. A small amount of light in the distance was the only thing she had to see by and it did nothing to illuminate her current situation. The floor was made of dirt, she could tell that with her hands. Slowly she stood up and moved forward, sliding her feet and waving her arms in front of her. Eventually she came to some bars, turning she followed the bars until they intersected another set of bars. She followed those until she tripped over something.
"Watch it," the person she had just tripped over snarled.
"Megumi?"
"Kaoru? What are you doing here?" Megumi asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," she said seating herself next to Megumi.
"Some men came to my home and knocked me out. I woke up here."
"Same thing happened to me. Do you know what they want?"
"I would guess it has something to do with..."
"But then why would they take you. I'm the one connected to them," she said understanding what Megumi was saying.
"Maybe they guessed I knew something too," Megumi said with a shrug that said they wouldn't be wrong if they thought that. She understood what Megumi was getting at. They had to watch what they said, who knew who was listening in the dark.
"Maybe you should fill me in on everything that has happened since we last met, so I don't feel as much in the dark," Kaoru quickly filled her in on what had happened with Eichi. In a quieter voice she told Megumi how she had cut off contact with Kenshin for safety.
"So, you think your friend Eichi is behind this?" Megumi asked.
"Maybe. I'd like to think he isn't but it's the only explanation that makes sense. Did you get a look at the men who took you?"
"No, it happened fast, all I know was there was a group of them."
"That's what happened to me. They broke my door down," she said angerly. That was going to cost a lot to fix.
A low groan alerted them to the presence of another person. Slowly they made their way towards the voice. They found someone on the floor and slowly helped them sit up.
"Where am I?" They said.
"Dr. Gensai?" She said, and more dread settled in her stomach. They wouldn't hurt Ayame and Suzume would they?
"Kaoru? What's going on?"
"That's what we are trying to figure out," Megumi said. "Are you feeling ok?"
"I have a headache but otherwise I feel fine. You're here too Megumi? Is anyone else here?"
"Not that we know of," Kaoru said. "Did men break into your house as well?"
"They did. What about Ayame and Suzume? Have you seen them?" Dr. Gensai asked getting frantic.
"No. I can't find Yahiko either," she said putting a hand on his back to calm him down.
"You don't think they would hurt them, do you?" Megumi asked.
"I don't know. But if they did, they will pay," she said choosing anger over fear.
They fell into silence, all with their own thoughts. Eventually she moved away to continue her circuit of their cell. It wasn't that large, and she didn't trip over any more people. They were alone against whoever had taken them.
She had cut off contact with Kenshin, so he won't know anything happened. It was good because they were probably after him. It was bad because he wouldn't know she needed help. It was up to her to get out of here. By herself or even with Megumi, she could figure it out. But Dr. Gensai was old. He couldn't fight or run fast, and she wasn't leaving him behind. She didn't know if she could keep them all safe let alone escape. Her breathing started to pick up as her mind raced through what she knew and reasons why they had all been taken.
She finally noticed she was hyperventilating when she started to get light headed. She pulled her knees up and rested her head on them, focusing on calming her breathing. Now was not the time to lose it and start panicking.
A hand came to rest on her back. "We'll figure out who they are and what they want. Then we'll figure the rest out," Megumi said.
"How can you be so calm?"
"I'm not," Megumi said, and she could feel the hand on her back shaking. "But unlike you I'm not trying to figure out everything on my own."
"Sorry," she said, putting a comforting arm around her friend. It was rare for Megumi to show such emotion. It showed how scared she truly was. They were all scared, for themselves and for those they cared about. But Megumi was right, trying to figure this out on her own wasn't going to help anyone.
"Besides," Megumi whispered in her ear. "The Battousai might not notice your missing, but someone will notice I'm missing."
Her whole body sagged as relief flooded through her. Megumi was right, Sano would notice she was missing. Through that they would notice she was missing. Saito was also out there. He might have cut off contact, but he would still check up on her. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out what had happened, what with her door on the floor. Saito could fill Kenshin in on what was happening. Kenshin would come for them, they weren't alone. Just like last time, Kenshin would help her find a way out of the darkness.
"Kaoru," Dr. Gensai spoke up. "Maybe you should inform us as to why Eichi would go to such lengths to catch the Battousai."
He was right, taking a breath she started. "Do you remember Tomoe?"