Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.
The Story
"She and Eichi grew up together. I met her when Koshijiro took me in," She said in clarification for Megumi who had probably never meet Tomoe. "She is a few years older than me. She was like a sister to Eichi and I. Eichi adored her and followed her everywhere. She was beautiful and, as she got older, her beauty attracted many men.
"Eventually she got an offer of marriage to a man from a higher class. Such a marriage would elevate her family and help them out greatly, so she accepted. He was everything her parents could hope for. He was kind and cared for their daughter. But, as we know, appearances can be deceiving. Once she married him, we lost contact with her. It was five years until we saw her again, and she was very much changed. She was never his wife, he just wanted a play thing. We talked a lot once she came back. I think my background made it easier for her to open up to me.
"The Battousai also worked for this man. Back when he was a manslayer. By the time she married the man, the Battousai already had a reputation and she knew to be wary of him. She had little interaction with him, but he was always there in the shadows, ready for an order.
"At first she hated him because he never tried to help her. But then one night, she left her husband's quarters and she saw him crouching in the shadows. He had just come back from a mission and had come to report. He was just sitting there, shaking. How long he had been there or how much he had heard, she didn't know. But in the moment, she realized; he didn't help her because he didn't know. For the first time she realized he was just like her, he had signed up for something thinking it was good. She believed that in that moment he opened his eyes and started to see. Started to realize just what he was doing. Something changed in him that night. He started getting in trouble for not completing missions. She knew he became like her, desperately trying to find a way out.
"After that night, he started trying to make her life easier. He tried to lessen the blows and even took some for her. That's how he got one of the scars on his cheek. Eventually he helped her escape."
"Then why does Eichi hate him?" Megumi asked.
She sighed, "About a month after she came back, Tomoe killed herself," Dr. Gensai nodded sadly, he remembered that. "Eichi was devastated. He knew some of what had happened to her, at least that the man she married wasn't who he said he was and that the Battousai had helped her escape. In his sorrow, he came to the conclusion that it was the Battousai's fault. That if the Battousai hadn't waited so long to help her escape, then she wouldn't have died."
"He blamed the Battousai, not the man who had hurt her?" Megumi asked. "Why?"
"The man was just a name, while the Battousai was this person to be feared. I don't know. To him it made sense. All I know is he started training to become a policeman right after that and here we are now."
"But Karou, why did she do it?" Dr. Gensai asked.
"I don't know. It's the one question I have never been able to answer. She didn't seem like she wanted to die. The last time I talked to her, she told me how she wanted to dedicate her life to making sure no one else ended up like her. I never saw it coming and I still ask myself how I never saw it coming. I was her closest friend and I never saw it coming. I should have. I should have seen it and stopped her," She couldn't stop her voice from shaking, this was her biggest regret. Megumi put a comforting hand on her back.
"I do know this," she said once she got her emotions under control. "Whatever the reason, it was not the Battousai. She held nothing but kindness and gratitude towards him."
Someone started cackling, they looked up to see a shadow of a man outside the cadge. His ki was practically dripping with blood, he was a true manslayer with a lust for blood.
Kenshin's mind flooded with relief when he saw Yahiko, "Yahiko, I am glad you are alright. We thought you had been taken as well."
Yahiko just ducked his head in acknowledgement. He didn't need Yahiko to say anything to understand what was going through the boy's mind. "Miss Karou would be proud of you, that she would. I am very glad you are here to help instead of caught," It wasn't much, but it was all he could say to assuage Yahiko's feelings.
Yahiko nodded and looked slightly less angry with himself. "This is Tsubame and Tae. They are friends of Karou. Tae works with Megumi."
"Megumi's gone to," Sano said in a dejected voice. He looked about how Kenshin felt.
"Where's Aoshi?" Misao asked walking up with the girls in tow. The moment they saw Yahiko they ran to him, on the verge of tears. He quickly calmed them down and soon enough they were smiling again.
"Aoshi stayed behind to follow the men we caught," Yahiko told them.
"Men you caught?" Kenshin said not quite understanding but unable to stop the bud of hope that those words brought. Yahiko quickly filled them in on what had happened.
"So those men will lead us to where they are being kept?" Sano said, voice back to its usual strength.
"It will at least give us a clue, which is more than we currently have," Master Hiko said.
They all moved to the living area to wait. It felt like days before Aoshi finally retuned. The moment he walked in the door, Misao was at his side, making sure he was uninjured. Kenshin held back his questions, knowing Aoshi would not withhold information.
"I followed the men back to where they were hiding out. No, Karou and the others were not there," Kenshin deflated but Aoshi gave him a look that said he was not done yet. "The men work for a man by the name of Gohei Hiruma." They all nodded in recognition of the name.
"He has a certain dislike of Karou, if he was given the chance, he would attack her," Saito said.
"From what I heard, it seems Eichi came to them and asked for their help in freeing Karou from the Battousai's grasp. Pretty much giving them the opportunity to attack her as long as they didn't hurt her. He and his men took the opportunity, but they turned on Eichi. I guess Eichi got drunk a few nights ago and started ranting about Karou, both about her connection to us and to the slave market. Suffice it to say, there were suddenly a lot of people after her. Gohei gave her to the highest bidder."
Kenshin's head was spinning. The only comfort he had had was that Eichi didn't want to hurt Karou. Now she was in the hands of someone who either wanted to get to him or to take her out, so she stopped interfering with the slaves. She could already be dead. His blood boiled at the thought. Again, every fiber of his will went into holding him back from losing it again.
"What about Megumi? Why did they take her?" Sano asked pulling Kenshin back into reality. Master Hiko was watching him intently, there was no doubt his master was aware of the struggle going on inside him. But, being who he was, Master Hiko would let him figure it out by himself.
"I do not know. Nothing I heard indicated they had anything to do with Megumi or the old man. That's why I brought him along," Aoshi indicated with his head. They all peered out the door towards the entry way. Eichi lay on the ground, bound, gagged, and unconscious.
Kenshin was on his feet in an instant. Forcing himself away from Eichi. He did not have enough control to face him right now. If he did, he would regret it. He left without a word, going out into the backyard to cool his head. It wasn't long before Master Hiko joined him.
"I'm impressed," Master Hiko said, joining him next to the small lake that he had just dunked his head into to cool down. "You kept your emotions under control. I don't think I've ever seen you do that."
"Karou saved my life and endangered herself because she believed in the man I am, not who I was." Was all he could say, he knew his master would understand what he couldn't say.
"She's strong that one, she won't go down without a fight."
"But what if…" he couldn't finish.
Master Hiko smiled, "Use your head for once idiot. If they wanted her dead, why go to the trouble of kidnapping her?"
Slowly the words sunk in, his body shook with relief. Master Hiko was right. If they had wanted her dead, they would have just killed her or done a public execution. Both of which they would know about by now. That meant they took her to get to him, she would stay alive, at least for now.
"But why take Miss Megumi and Dr. Gensai? It doesn't make sense."
"That is what the others are trying to figure out. They will come to us when they have the answers. Leave the interrogation to them. Saito pointed out that Eichi would probably talk as long as you weren't there, seeing as he has a rather large problem with you. In the meantime, you have some friends waiting for you."
He looked towards the porch to find Ayame and Suzume patiently waiting there. He pushed his worry back and smiled, motioning them to come over. They both grinned and came bounding over. Master Hiko silently retired to the porch to watch.
"Uncle Ken are you ok?" Ayame asked, Suzume patted his shoulder in comfort.
"I am fine, just worried about Miss Karou and the others, that I am." Ayame's smile faltered at this, he reached out and gently ruffled her hair. "They are strong, that they are."
"Ya, Karou beat bullies," Suzume added, trying to comfort her sister. It worked, Ayame's smile retuned.
"Why are you all wet Uncle Ken," she asked, and he started to regale them with a tail of him fighting with the lake. It wasn't long before he had both of them laughing and running around. It was amazing how something so simple could make him feel better. He no longer felt on the edge of losing it again.
It was almost noon before the others came out. They looked unhappy, especially Sano. Upon seeing the others, the girls ran up to them in greeting, bring with them the healing power only children possessed. They grabbed Sano and demanded he play with them. He conceded, allowing Kenshin to join the others on the porch and hear what had happened.
"Where is Eichi?" He asked.
"Saito is watching him," Aoshi said sitting down. Misao, Yahiko, Tae, and Tsubame came out with tea and joined them.
"So, what did you find out?"
"After he finished with all the shouting and swearing, he doesn't really know anything," Yahiko said angerly. Tsubame was looking at him with concern, gently she took his hand and dragged him over to play with the girls. Yahiko was doing well, but the circumstances were taking a toll on him. He had finally found a home and was becoming comfortable in it, then it got ripped away again. Kenshin had been unhappy with Aoshi for sending two complete strangers to with Yahiko, but now he was glad. Tsubame helped keep Yahiko grounded, reminding him that he wasn't alone.
"Well Yahiko is right; we did actually learn some things," Tae said. She was very unique, he didn't quite know what to make of her. Her ki felt like a regular person, but if he focused, he could find holes. Almost like her ki was wearing a mask. It was something he had never felt before.
"What did you learn?" Master Hiko prompted.
"He got drunk in a bar in the city, which means that whoever is behind this is from there, which also explains why the rumors about her haven't reached us," Aoshi said. "At the same time, Gohei and his men are not connected to the upper class. They just torment people but don't really get involved in anything to do with the upper class."
"So, whoever approached Gohei with an offer had to be from their circle. They would never trust the word of some rich guy. So, it is probably a hired mercenary."
"That still doesn't tell us much. There are a lot of mercenaries. Whoever hired the mercenary went to the trouble of taking Dr. Gensai and Megumi. None of this explains that." Kenshin said, understanding why Yahiko and Sano were so upset. If this was all they got.
"Taking them says this is more than just Karou's connection to us. All three of them are connected to the slave trade as well. Dr. Gensai is the main person who supplies Karou with herbs," Aoshi added before Kenshin could point out that Dr. Gensai wasn't connected to the slave market. "They could have guessed he knew how to make the concoction she uses on the slaves. Which would also explain why they were after Yahiko."
"So, their connection to us just gave this person access to them?"
"No," Tae said. "Then they would be dead. But they aren't, to our knowledge, and who ever took them would want to make their deaths public. To send a message."
"What do you think they are planning?" Master Hiko asked, looking at her intently.
"With them, they damage our fight against the slave trade and get the opportunity to catch you guys. But that is a lot of effort for them. After all, they've left such things to the police so far. My guess is they want to catch you but not kill you or turn you in. How much do you think someone would pay for a slave with your fighting abilities, any one of you?"
Misao started shaking, Aoshi did what he could to comfort her while getting over the shock. Even Master Hiko reacted to this, "You think…"
"It is only a guess," Tae interrupted. "I think if they can catch you without killing you then they will. They don't like getting their hands dirty. This way they get rid of a problem and make a profit."
"Threaten our friends to get us to submit," Kenshin said. "They can't honestly be relying on that. To most people, we are merciless killers."
"The mercenary," Aoshi said. "How many people would pay to get a chance to fight you."
"So, whoever they hired has to at least have a chance of beating Kenshin," Master Hiko said.
"Another manslayer," Kenshin said softly.
"That narrows it down," Tae added.
"But it's not just me. You guys won't just wait around for me to be defeated."
"Their first move will probably be to separate us. Then we each have to fight on or own. They probably have qite a few strong fighters in their employment. One on one, we stand a chance. Change that so we are outnumbered and our odds of winning decrease. The best option is to not get separated but we can't rely on that," Aoshi said.
"It would be best if just Sano, Aoshi, and I went. We are the best fighters and then if we fail at least Saito and Master Hiko would still be here," he said.
"If even one person loses, then we are back to square one and they will have more hostages. While we lose one of our strongest fighters," Misao said. They all fell silent as they all though of ways around this.
"I may not have a solution for success but…" Tae drifted off.
"What?"
"If you all fail, there is a way of stopping the drug from breaking your mind. Then at least you have a second chance to escape. But, it…well, it would not be easy."
"There is a way around the drug? Why do you not use it?"
Tae shook her head, "It's not a way around the drug. The drug only works on you once. If you guys are exposed to it and recover before you go, then it can't work on you a second time."
Misao gasped, "That…," she couldn't find her voice. There was a joy in her eyes at the prospect of never going through that again but also a horror of them intentionally going through it.
"Could you even do that?" Kenshin said, mind whirling. "And it would take so long, can we spare that much time?"
"As long as Yahiko can make the cure, I can do it. As for the time, it might take us just as long to find them anyway. While you guys are recovering, Tsubame, Yahiko, and Misao can follow leads. Misao is immune and the other two are too young."
"Then if they are caught, they will just be killed," Aoshi said, showing some anger.
"We will be careful," Misao said calming him down. "If you are really going to go through this, then it is the best option."
"That's the question then, are we going to go through this?" Master Hiko said. Again, they fell silent. Should they intentionally try and break their minds? Go through all that just for a slim chance that they could fail.