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WARNING: This story is "semi-dark"-it has dark elements (violence, etc) but it's not a darkfic! Actually, there's quite a bit of romance in it.... ^_-
This story takes place after the end of the Kyoto story arc. After that, it takes a sharp left turn into its own world. Elements of the Revenge story arc may or may not show up later on in the story. The Kenshin Gumi already know that Saitoh survived the destruction of Shishio's stronghold.
As always, C&C is greatly appreciated! ^_^
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Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shuiesha, Sony Music Entertainment, and associated parties. The characters of these series are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author.
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Text Conventions:
( ) are character thoughts
* ----- * ----- * marks the start and end of flashbacks
[ ] denote visual or time notes
Somehow, Tokio managed to flag down a passing carriage. Before anyone quite knew what happened, the wealthy carriage owner was falling over himself to be helpful to the beautiful lady with the injured companion. Of course he wouldn't mind letting her borrow his carriage for a few hours. Just send it back when she's through using it. A few bloodstains on the upholstery? No problem....
"Kamiya-san, I'll take you to a doctor...."
Kaoru grabbed Tokio's arm with a bloodied hand.
"Saitoh-san...."
"Yes?"
"Take me to Megumi... Takani Megumi. She's a doctor.... Please, it's very important!"
Tokio checked the long slash along Kaoru's stomach. It was bleeding steadily but not too heavily. Reapplying her makeshift bandage, she said, "All right, if it's not too far away."
She raised her voice slightly. "Driver? Do you know where a Dr. Takani lives?"
He said, "Oh yes! She's a very good doctor. Here we go." The driver snapped the reins and the horses headed off at a brisk trot.
Inside the carriage, Tokio held Kaoru against her and applied firm pressure on her wound. A very quiet Eiji sat on the opposite side of the carriage, clutching Tokio's and Kaoru's packages.
"Saitoh-san...," Kaoru murmured.
"Call me Tokio."
Kaoru smiled weakly. "Then... you can hardly go on calling me Kamiya-san." She took a few deep breaths. "Tokio, no matter what happens, please make sure... that Megumi gets in touch with Kenshin and Sano. Tell them... that they have to... stop Misao. Something's... terribly wrong with her. Tell them to warn Shinomori Aoshi. She means to... kill him...."
"Yes, I will. Now relax, Kaoru."
The quiet confidence in Tokio's voice reassured Kaoru that no matter what happened, Kenshin would get her warning.
(I don't understand. Why are you doing this, Misao? What are you trying to do? Is she really capable of killing Aoshi? Does she have a chance of succeeding? Yes, she just might. He'd never expect an attack from her....)
As she fretted about Misao's inexplicable actions, Kaoru gradually slipped into unconsciousness.
A few seconds later, a man ran in and shouted, "Dr. Takani! There's an injured woman in the carriage!"
Megumi quickly ran outside and flung open the carriage door. Inside, there was a thin, almost scrawny boy. On the other side of the carriage was a beautiful woman who was holding a blood-soaked bandage against the stomach of a younger woman....
"Kaoru!" Megumi glanced to the other woman and demanded, "What happened to her!? Never mind! You can tell me later! You, driver! Help me get her inside!"
A few minutes later, Megumi had Kaoru in bed and was examining her wound. Fortunately, it wasn't too deep and was bleeding only sluggishly. She stared at the long clean slash and turned to Tokio.
"What was it? A knife or a sword?"
"It was a sword."
Megumi gasped sharply.
"She was very quick. If she hadn't managed to dodge, she would probably be dead."
"Yes.... It will require stitches, but she should recover without any complications."
"Takani-san. Kaoru insisted that I give you a message. She wants to you get in touch with Himura Battousai and warn him...."
Megumi interrupted before Tokio could finish speaking. "Warn him about what!?"
"I think it would be best if I explained things personally. The matter is somewhat complicated."
The doctor rushed over to the table and quickly scribbled out a note. Sticking her head outside the clinic, she called one of the neighborhood boys over.
"You know Kenshin?" When the boy nodded, she said, "Give him this note right away. If you can't find him, get right back here. Run!"
Megumi watched the boy scamper off on his errand, then turned back toward the patiently waiting Tokio.
"I'm sorry, I haven't had an opportunity to thank you for taking care of Kaoru."
"I'm glad to help in any way I can."
"Well, I better take care of that wound."
However, before Megumi took another step, there was a tremendous commotion in the clinic as a whole crowd of people rushed in. One of the men was holding a severely bleeding child. The sound in the clinic was deafening as the child wailed, women cried, and men shouted. The only thing Megumi could figure out was that the child had an accident in his father's workshop.
She bit her lip. The child was much more badly hurt than Kaoru. If should didn't do something immediately, the boy could die within minutes. Megumi turned to Tokio and said, "Excuse me, but could you keep an eye on Kaoru? Dr. Genzai's out of town visiting some patients and I have to deal with this first. Just make sure the bleeding doesn't get any worse...."
"Of course." Tokio give Megumi a deep bow. "If you will forgive my presumption, but I do have some medical skill. If Kaoru's injury only needs stitching, then perhaps you will allow me to take care of it while you tend to the child?"
Megumi liked her quiet air of competence. An extremely loud scream from the boy made her decision easy. "Thank you! The supplies are in that cabinet. Excuse me!" She rushed over to the seething crowd of panicked people.
"Sir, put the child down here. No, let go of him! Please you have to give me room to work. Can you please get that woman out of here! I can't tell you how bad it is until I've had a chance to examine.... BE QUIET!!!"
(He's really out of it today. He's been like this ever since the Chief Inspector dropped by.)
Sano was sitting on the porch, chewing on a twig. He yelled, "Hey! Aren't you supposed to be scrubbing the floor or something?"
Yahiko stalked over to him and snarled, "I finished that an hour ago! So there! Bleeh!" and stuck out his tongue.
The sounds of the ensuing wrestling match barely registered on Kenshin's mind. He thought, (Something's not right. The sun's shining and there's only a few clouds in the sky... but it just doesn't feel right. I can almost smell the stench of death and violence in the air.... Just like Kyoto, all those years ago... when blood ran in the streets like rainwater....)
(Over thirty people dead in a week. But who can it be? It can't be Saitoh. This isn't his style at all... it's much too wasteful. But I definitely saw traces of Shinsengumi blade work....)
He glanced up as soon as he heard the patter of footsteps. A local boy ran into the compound and stopped in front of Kenshin, gasping heavily for air.
"Here... a... message... from Takani-... san.... Important...."
Yahiko and Sano stopped in mid-grapple and watched as Kenshin quietly rose to his feet and wiped his hands dry. He opened the note and started reading.
Sano dumped Yahiko on the ground as soon as he saw Kenshin's jaws clench and his hands tighten on the paper.
"What's up, Kenshin?"
Crumpling the note in one hand, Kenshin reached for his sakabatou and said in a flat voice, "It's a note from Megumi-dono. Kaoru-dono's been hurt."
As one, the three of them headed out of the Kamiya compound at a dead run.
(That boy... looked familiar,) thought Kenshin, before concentrating on more important things like....
"Megumi-dono! Where's Kaoru-dono?"
The doctor glanced up at them with a harried look on her face. She snapped, "Didn't you get my message? Her injuries aren't life-threatening. However, this boy's injuries ARE. Sano! I don't care how you do it, but get these fools out of here! I can't work with all this commotion! Yahiko, get me a basin of cold water!"
"Ah... right." The boy scurried off while Sano started to haul away various people.
"Where's Kaoru-dono?"
"She's over in the other room." Megumi jerked her head toward the back of the clinic.
Kenshin swiftly walked to the door and flung it open. The first thing he saw was Kaoru, lying pale and still on the bed. There was another woman in the room, who was just drying her hands.
He closed the door behind him, shutting out the shouting and other noise. Kenshin sank down beside the bed and gently grasped Kaoru's wrist. He could feel her pulse under his fingers... a bit fast, but reassuringly steady. He sighed quietly and closed his eyes in relief.
"She'll be fine with some rest."
Kenshin glanced up at the woman standing next to the bed. She gave him a gentle smile in return.
"I see."
"Excuse me, but you are Kenshin, correct?"
"Yes. Why...."
Tokio gave him a polite bow and said, "Then I have an very important message and a warning for you from Kaoru."
He rose to his feet and said, "What is it?"
Behind him, Sano and Yahiko rushed into the room. Sano said, "How's Jo-chan...."
Kenshin made a sharp gesture. "Sano. Wait a moment." Turning back to Tokio, he said, "What is the warning?"
"She said that you must stop Misao from killing Shinomori Aoshi."
"Yeah!" chimed in Yahiko.
Tokio didn't appear to be the least bit offended by their comments. She patiently waited for Kenshin to respond.
In even tones, he said, "Why would Misao do such a thing?"
She bowed her head. "I don't know. I met Kaoru and Misao for the very first time this morning. I can only tell you what I saw."
"Which is?"
"I saw Misao attack her friend Kaoru with no apparent provocation."
"Hold it! You mean to tell us that MISAO did this to Jo-chan!?"
"Yes."
Sano reached out and grabbed a hold of Tokio's wrist. She gasped quietly, but didn't try to struggle. Clutching the front of her kimono with his other hand, he hauled her halfway into the air and snarled, "I don't know what your game is, you lying little bitch...."
"She's not lying," a weak voice whispered.
Kenshin was instantly kneeling by Kaoru's side. "Kaoru-dono! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. And it's all true. One moment she was fine and the next moment, Misao tried to kill me." Tears shimmered in her eyes. "Kenshin, something's horribly wrong with her! I don't know what's going on, but she really means to kill Aoshi! I could see it in her eyes! You have to stop her!" She struggled to sit up, but Kenshin gently pushed her back down again.
"Fine, we'll take care of that. You just rest, Kaoru-dono."
Lying against the pillows, Kaoru gave them a faint smile. Her eyes abruptly widened as she saw what Sano was doing. With a definite expression of panic, she yelped, "Sano, you idiot! What are you doing!? Let go of her!"
"Huh?"
"Baka! She's Saitoh Hajime's WIFE!"
Dead silence followed.
Sano stared blankly at Kaoru's anxious face. Without even noticing, his hand opened and dropped Tokio. She landed on the floor with a hard thump. She sat there for a moment, giving them all a faintly bemused look.
With a stunned expression, Kenshin stammered, "You're... you're…T-T-Tokio!?"
"....duhhh...," was Yahiko's only comment.
Tokio slowly got to her feet, discreetly rubbing her sore hip. She edged away from a still frozen Sano and gave them an exquisitely graceful bow.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Saitoh Tokio. I've heard a great deal about you, Himura Battousai."
"You've GOT to be kidding, Jo-chan," mumbled Sano.
"Do I look like I'm joking!?"
Tokio coughed delicately and said, "Um, about Misao...?"
Kenshin shook his head rapidly. Shocking as this discovery was, they had much more serious things to worry about. "Kaoru-dono, is there anything else I need to know right now?"
"No, that's it. I can tell you the rest when you get back."
"Sano! We need to get a message to Kyoto right away! Yahiko, stay here with Kaoru-dono."
Getting no response from Sano, Kenshin ended up forcibly dragging the still stupefied man out of the clinic.
Kenshin said, "No. It's true. So that's Tokio."
Sano gave his friend an accusing stare. "You knew!? And you didn't tell me!?"
"It didn't seem that important...," Kenshin mumbled.
"I still don't believe it.... Naw, can't be.... Uh, Kenshin? Just where are we headed, anyway?"
With a grim look on his face, the swordsman replied, "To one of the Oniwabanshuu message centers. They have carrier pigeons. I'm not sure what's going on, but we need to put Okina and Aoshi on guard."
"Oh, I get it!"
"What's wrong, Kenshin?" Sano whispered.
"I smell... fresh blood," was the quiet reply.
"Oh hell...."
They circled around to the backyard. There was a large wooden shed, its door smashed open. Kenshin carefully pushed it open a bit further.
The room was littered with gray feathers and the corpses of dead pigeons.
Kenshin said, "We're too late."
"Do... do you think that Misao did this?"
"I don't know. It's a strong possibility. The person who did this was good. Most of these birds have been sliced cleanly in half, probably while on the wing."
"So what do we do now?"
"The Oniwabanshuu must have more than one station of carrier pigeons in Tokyo, but I don't know where they might be."
"The pigeon handler... do you think... Misao killed him?"
Kenshin sighed, "I don't know. I can't imagine Misao trying to kill Kaoru-dono or Aoshi, but Kaoru-dono and Tokio-dono both said.... We need to concentrate on finding her first. Once we've done that, maybe we can figure out what's really going on."
As they stepped back into the street, they saw an elderly man trudging in their direction. The man stopped suddenly, then quickly walked forward. "Himura-san! What can I do for you today?"
"Where have you been?"
The man blinked. "I just stepped out to get some food."
"Have you seen Misao?"
"No, I haven't. And I have an important message for her."
"What is it?"
The man blinked. "Uh..."
"It's very important! Something terribly wrong has happened to Misao and we need to get in touch with Okina and Aoshi as soon as possible!"
"Well, certainly, I'll send a message to Okina right away...."
"You can't. Someone's slaughtered all the pigeons. And I suspect that if you had been here, you would have suffered the same fate."
"What!?"
"You must have an alternate way of getting in touch with Kyoto!"
"Yes, yes. I'll take care of it right away. But don't worry about Aoshi-sama."
Kenshin frowned. "Why not?"
"He's already on his way here. He should be arriving either today or tomorrow...."
"WHAT!?" Kenshin and Sano both shouted.
"Yes, I was about to forward that message to Misao."
"Where is the actual message? The one delivered by the pigeon?"
"In the shed. Why?" the old man said.
A few minutes later, their worst fears were confirmed. The message was missing.
Sano said, "Kenshin, do you think...?"
"If she's found it, Misao will know he's coming. And there's no way to warn him!"
Kenshin turned back to the old man. "Is there a special trail that the Oniwabanshuu prefer to use between Kyoto and Tokyo?"
Unnerved by Kenshin's urgency, the old man said, "Uh, yes, there is. It's a forest track that runs parallel to the Toukai Way."
"Come on, Sano! She can't be more than a hour or two ahead of us. We have a chance of catching up with her, especially if she decides to wait in ambush." Armed with the old man's detailed directions, they set off in the direction of Kyoto.
"Kenshin, what are we going do when we find her?"
"I don't know, Sano."
Okina walked into Aoshi's room and said, "I would like you to go to Tokyo."
Aoshi glanced up from his book, but said nothing.
"You know I sent Misao away for a little vacation. Aside from the fact that she was driving everyone crazy with her antics, she was also supposed to check with our local agents about the suspicious deaths of my old friend Uboshita and his family."
Aoshi nodded impassively.
"I just received news of more suspicious deaths. Another fifteen, to be exact."
"What?" Aoshi looked visible surprised.
Okina nodded grimly. "All dead within the last two days. Which brings the current total to over twenty. Three entire families and close friends... all killed by the sword. Something's going on in Tokyo and I don't like it. I don't like the idea of Misao wandering around alone in that mess."
Aoshi glanced down at his hands. "She's hardly unprotected, considering that she's staying with Himura Battousai."
"But you know Misao. She's as curious as a cat. And like a cat, she's liable to go snooping a bit too far and a bit too carelessly. Besides, I think Himura has more than enough to do keeping an eye on Kaoru and that scamp Yahiko. I would prefer that you were there to keep Misao out of trouble."
Aoshi was silent for a long moment. Okina could only guess at the thoughts going on in the young man's head. Finally, Aoshi uttered a faint sigh. "Very well. I'll leave after lunch."