And Twisted is up and running! Wee! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Thanks tons to everyone reviewed ( I am envious of people who actually respond to everyone individually...I am afraid I never have the time...like now for instance...updating between classes!) Once again the Beta is out of town so I am afraid this hadn't been read over. Forgive!
Ravyn
Warning: Um...not much of anything in this chapter. One does have to build up plot once in a while...
Darkness tugged against the growing light that streamed over the mountains, uncertain at its ability to remain in control. Two men stood there, watching as it grew, the sun winning in a slow fight that occurred each night and they watched with a sense of impatience.
“He still hasn’t shown.”
“He isn’t going to. Saitoh has been watching all of his underlings with something akin to obsession. It’s why I told you to kill them the first time. He has young children; I fail to see how difficult it is to kill one of them.” The other replied lightly. “In the Bakumatsu you would have been able to take care of this already.”
“In the Bakumatsu we would be using the man you are trying to kill to take care of it.” A reminder.
“He saw too much. He is the only link left to the murders. I doubt he even remembers me from that night, but it’s important that his memory stays blank. I don’t care if he can finger me or not. I want him disposed of.” There was a note in the man’s voice that hadn’t been there before.
“Hai.”
“As for your friend, he has run out of chances. I am sure the Wolf of Mibu has his share of enemies in the department and you will be able to recruit them easily. I want the other one killed.”
“Yes sir.” Pained.
“Good.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Misao asked as she followed Kaoru back to the Hajime household. “I mean…he has kids? The idea of Saitoh having children just seems to turn my stomach.”
Kaoru laughed at her. “There very sweet children for all of who there father is. However, I agree with you on the idea of several children with Saitoh’s blood running around is slightly…well, I like to think they take after their mother.”
Misao sighed. “You make it sound like that’s better. I still think she has very high, very holy connections.”
Kaoru gave her an amused glance as they pushed past the gate. “What gives you that idea?” Her tone was curious.
“Just something that Kenshin said once.” Misao said lightly, dismissing it. “Don’t worry about it…that has got to be the most adorable little boy I have ever seen in my life!” There was a definite arch of surprise in Misao’s voice. Kaoru couldn’t blame her. The first time she had seen the middle child of Tokio’s, she to had been taken in by his adorable chubby face.
Kaoru smiled at the toddler watching them from the safety of his mother’s lap, his face flushed with sleep and slight tear tracks on his little face. Kaoru had fallen in love with Tsuyoshi the first time he had blinked his wide, pale-gold eyes at her. Currently he was sucking on his thumb as if it was the answer to all his problems, still sniffing. At two-years of age he seemed to take after his mother in all things except the eyes.
Bellowing came as five year old Tsutomi came tearing around the corner, waving the stick that was supposed to be a Katana, and his sergeant brother, Mishima Eiji, had a rather exasperated expression on his face that reminded Kaoru more of Saitoh than anything, as he ‘ran’ away from his adoptive brother.
“Tsutomi, what have I told you about running with something in your hands?” Tokio asked, frowning at her sons dark eyes as she handed Kaoru the baby without pausing in her tirade. “Do you and your father need to have another discussion on rules?” There was a note in Tokio’s voice that suggested that he would rather deal with his father than her.
“I’m sorry Tokio-san.” Eiji said bowing to her, his expression far more solemn than Misao remembered it. “It was partly my fault.”
“Be as that may Eiji, Tsutomi needs to remember the rules as well. Since I need my back porch swept off, you two may contemplate why running with a stick is dangerous, and then you may come back and tell me. Now say hello to Kaoru and her guest, and then move along.” Tokio instructed.
Eiji politely made there welcome known, and Misao grinned cheerfully at him. Eiji looked surprised, but a smile blossomed on his face as he recognized her. He calmly elbowed the suspicious looking child next to him, and Tsutomi bowed as well, the familiar greeting echoing from his lips before scowling and following Eiji to get the brooms and rags.
Tokio sighed and patted her stomach in a manner that made both Kaoru and Misao question if she was wondering about the third. With her track rate, she was probably having another boy. Tokio must have read something in there expressions, because she laughed. “Hajime wishes to name him Tatsuo if it’s a boy. Knowing my luck, it will be, and I will forever be out numbered without any help.”
Kaoru had already settled down against the porch, her spine resting against the pillar, the baby clutched in her arms as Tsuyoshi tugged slightly at her hair and leaned up against her in the manner of a baby who knew someone. He was sucking his thumb harder now, a fist full of dark hair in his other hand.
“Hello to you to Tsuyo-chan.” Kaoru crooned as she rocked the baby and smiled at Tokio. “I hope we aren’t interrupting anything. Misao and I barely escaped without company as it was.”
Tokio shook her head and poured Misao a cup of tea and then put another cup in front of Kaoru. “Of course not; the children are always happy to see you. I admit I had forgotten that Eiji knew you, Misao-san.” Tokio politely commented.
“Please just Misao,” Misao replied sipping the tea with pleasure. “I was there when Himura and Saitoh found the boy. In fact, it was just before the Shishio incident if I remember correctly. He is a very brave boy.” Misao decided not to mention the fact that she and Eiji had hidden and watched Soujiro break Kenshin’s sword. She felt bad about admitting anything about the Rurouni in front of Kaoru.
Kaoru didn’t seem to mind, cooing down that little boy who was making grabs at her ribbon and giggling as Kaoru tickled him. It struck Misao, suddenly, how good of a mother Kaoru was going to make. She had never thought about it before, but she realized it suddenly. Kaoru needed a family, preferably a large one, and the Rurouni hadn’t only denied himself his dreams, but Kaoru’s as well. There had to be a way to get Kaoru to accept the Battousai’s advances.
“Eiji doesn’t speak of those days often.” Tokio commented softly, a smile hovering in her eyes as she watched the woman. “However, Saitoh gave me the bare facts, since I refused to allow him to drop a child on me without telling me why. Eiji has been a wonderful addition to our family, and his help with the children is wonderful. However, I am assuming you two still have some shopping to do, so I must make this quick.”
Misao nodded, ignoring Kaoru’s frown. “Yes. We are going Kimono shopping. I plan on helping her pick out the fabric. Do you know any seamstresses around here who would be able to put it together for her?”
Tokio smiled and offered a few names. “They are very good at what they do. I find with the boys now I rarely have time to do more than repair their clothing. They are very reasonable in their charges as well, and do beautiful embroidery.”
Kaoru scowled at both of them, but Tsuyoshi tugged on her hair and smiled brightly at her, and her expression softened. “I don’t really need…”
“So,” Misao asked as she cut Kaoru off. “Where you able to get anything out of Saitoh.”
Tokio sighed and put her cup down. “Not as much as I had hoped. He was still slightly irked with this Battousai of yours. However, he to is starting to look internally at the Meiji government; he has also been searching among the officers here. However, I don’t believe that he will be successful.”
Kaoru nodded. “I agree. There going to be looking for Kenshin and Saitoh’s contacts. That’s where your going to come in handy, Misao.”
Misao looked up. “You want me to look into it?”
Tokio smiled. “Kaoru has told me about your adventures across Japan and the fact that you have been making several valuable contacts along the way. We were hoping you had some that might know a thing or to about the government.”
Misao looked thoughtful. “Now that you mention it…I will send out a pigeon as soon as I get back to Kyoto. If were lucky, by then we might have a bit more information at our hands to give him. He is completely trust worthy, so don’t worry about it getting back to whoever it is trying to kill you that we are looking into it. This is just the type of thing he enjoys.”
Kaoru smiled at her, adjusting the sleepy toddler. “We trust your judgment. Tokio,” Kaoru asked as she turned to her friend. “We probably aren’t going to be able to keep our friendship secret much longer.”
Tokio nodded. “I know. However, we can be completely honest when we tell them we haven’t been exactly keeping it from them.” She smiled as she looked at the time. “Unless you two are planning on missing lunch, you should probably be getting that cloth. Misao, the lady I suggested should be on your way back to the Dojo. If you takeKaoru by to get measured and then for a final fitting it should be fine.”
Misao beamed. “Thank you. Would you like us to clean up this mess for you?”
Tokio shook her head and accepted Tsuyoshi from Kaoru. “No. Eiji and Tsutomi will be happy to do that for me. You two run along, and check in before you go back to Kyoto, Misao. If I come up with anything I will send Eiji with a note, like normal.”
Kaoru smiled and waved goodbye to Tsutomi and Eiji as they came around the corner. She could tell Misao was bouncing with questions and waited until they were out of earshot before raising a brow. “What.”
“Eiji just walks into the Dojo and gives you notes, and Yahiko hasn’t figured it out?” Misao demanded, surprise on her face. Kaoru laughed at her, giggling as they continued to walk back to the market.
“Of course not; he drops the note off with Tae as he runs errands for Tokio. Now Tae on the other hand adores her job as spy mistress and is very secretive about it. She is always coming up with the most hysterical excuses to get me alone to give them to me. Its how Tokio and I have communicated for months. We don't really want to keep out friendship a secret but it was better at the time.”
Misao shook her head. “If you ever get bored with being a Kendo instructor, I need a second in command.”
Kaoru laughed. “And give up being able to bash Yahiko and other arrogant boys around and get paid doing it? Thank you, but no.”
Misao smiled back, but she caught something flickering in the back of Kaoru’s eyes and it bothered her. Her friend was planning something she realized with a surprise. Something that had nothing to do with the current murder attempts at that. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Kaoru raise a brow, some of the shadows behind her eyes clearing.
She would find out what was going on.
Misaohad beensuspicious since their meeting with Tokio and Kaoru couldn’t help but sigh. Maybe she was being a little wistful, but she wanted to keep this to herself a little longer yet. It had been holding Tsuyoshi that had done if for her, finally clinched the last of what she needed to go together. The year that she had been without Kenshin had been agony, not just because he had gone and shattered her heart, because she had realized that she was never going to get to fulfill certain dreams that hand haunted her footsteps since the Rurouni had walked into her life.
Her family, a family, something to be with her once Yahiko grew up and left; something warm and soft and hers, something that she could count as her own. Her mouth tightened slightly with determination. She had accepted the truth now it was time to unravel it. Thankfully, Misao had excellent taste in fabric, because her brain was chewing on something completely different.
Truth. Kenshin was in her Dojo, and what reservations about having herfot the timehe planned on staying at the Dojo shattered. That mean that he was willing to take whatever she would give him and much, much more. It was in his eyes, and she remembered, the hot press of his mouth. So he wanted her. What could she do with that?
Truth. He was going to leave eventually. There really was no hope against it. He had proven time and time again that the call of the road, of the ocean, of the freedom of open skies and wide fields was greater than anything she could offer him. With that knowledge open before her like a history book, what would she do about it?
Truth. She wanted a family. No matter how she attempted to return the glances of the Tofu vendor, it hadn’t worked. There was nothing there for any man besides the one who was determined to break her. So, if she knew he was going to leave then perhaps she could…a baby. Squaring her shoulders slightly and staring absently at a fabric the color of amber twisted with sunshine, she admitted to herself the dark thought that had been plaguing her since last night. A child…something of his to keep as her own.
That would take planning. Kenshin couldn’t be aware of her plans, or else he might not agree with her. Once she was pregnant, she would have to keep it to herself. Tokio had been a darling when it came to helping her understand the relationship between a man and woman and had even gone over both the joys and pain of being a mother. Kaoru pursed her lips, calculating how soon until her next cycle. Megumi had been rather tactless in her explanations of a woman’s body, but had made it perfectly clear when she was most likely to have a child, and that information had been, at the time, to help her escape pregnancy, but Kaoru was going to use it for the opposite now.
She supposed she could use her future pregnancy as a way to keep Kenshin to her, but that would break him. No matter how much she wanted to hurt him for hurting her, she knew she never would. Instead, she would do her best to hide it. As soon as this little escapade was over, the people behind her attempted murder gone, he would be as well. He had all but admittedthatthe only reason that he had come was to save her. The only thingthat would put a hitch in her plans was if he could tell she was with child. She would have to ask Tokio how soon it had taken Saitoh to tell that she was with a baby and plan accordingly.
She would have to take this slow, because if she threw herself into Kenshin’s arms and bed then he would be suspicious. That meant slowly edging into it. Without getting her heart broke. She could do that. She could fall into his kisses, his touch, his body and accept that he could only give her this one shred of him and take it and hold it close to her heart. A baby would do wonders to keep her from shattering when he left this time, because it would give her something else to think on. She hoped it had his eyes.
“What about this one?” Misao asked, holding up a piece of fabric. It was forest green with inserts of paler shades of greenin the shape of bamboo shoots and small splashes of almost yellow in bamboo leaves encircling the fabric.
Kaoru smiled brightly. “Perfect.” Everything would be okay, then. Kenshin could wander where his heart led him, and she would keep her secret. Smiling broadly, she followed Misao to pay for the fabric and head to the seamstress to get it fitted to her body. She would enjoy this splurge because if everything went right any money for clothing would be to fit her soon-to-be-swollen body.
Kenshin thoughtfully chopped the block of Tofu that Yahiko had fetched for him, his mouth turning downwards as he thought about what Yahiko had told him. Perhaps sending Yahiko was his way of making sure that Kaoru was alright with the current attempts on her precious life, but he hadn’t expected what Yahiko had told him.
“She was coming back into the market like she come from somewhere.” Yahiko had admitted thoughtfully. “They went straight to the cloth-stand and she and Misao went through bolts of fabric; she looked distracted. I didn’t have time to stick around, because you needed the Tofu, but I thought you would like to know.”
How very interesting indeed. Kenshin added the tofu to the pot of Miso, the most common addition to the meal. He had already started to grill the tuna Aoshi had brought in earlier, and there had been something in the man’s expression that had set something off in Kenshin’s brain.
He too was aware that the women were off doing something they were reluctant to share. He hadn’t expected those results when Aoshi had offered to fetch the second part of there afternoon meallate because the woman had errands to run. Nor had he expected both of his shoppers to have an unexpected revelation in the Market. Aoshi hadn’t been able to find them, and then Yahiko had seen them coming back from some distant part of town. The resident section of town. Who was it exactly that Kaoru knew over there? There was one option that he didn’t particularly want to think about; but Yahiko had described them as laughing, and if she had gone into Saitoh’s residence, there it would doubtful either woman would have been smiling.
Something, however; wasn’t right. Kaoru and Misao had arrived a few moments earlier, discussing some bit of news they had gotten from Tae. He wondered if Aoshi had checked the Akabeko when he had looked for the girls, but scolded himself on the fact that Aoshi was a good tracker. Probably almost as good as he was.
“Kenshin!” Kaoru’s voice came from behind him, and he was careful to smooth the hard edge from his eyes when he turned, an inviting smile on his face. Not the Rurouni’s, never that, but one that was meant for her alone. He had missed her, and it was well that she knew that.
“Kaoru.” Kenshin softly drawled, watching her silently for some sign of where she had been. Her Chi showed him that she was content about something, and there was no darker gray of guilt or unease. “Did you have a good time with Misao?” The lack guilt bothered him; that meant that this was not the first time she had done this.
There, a flicker of something he couldn’t name but it wasn't anything that could tip him off to what she had done. If anything, it was a flicker of determination with a bit of unease, but she smiled and it disappeared, leaving behind a flare of satisfaction. She was a bundle of emotions today.
“Of course, although that girl really needs to learn to slow down,” The smile that crossed her face was fond. There was no ill will to Misao’s impulsive nature, if anything; Kenshin could feel her admiration for her.
“I take it you something you liked then?” Kenshin asked as he angled his head to invite her to sit down while he finished grilling the fish. She took his invitation and picked up a knife and began cutting a few of the vegetables he hadn’t gotten to yet.
“Hmm.” Kaoru admitted. “We dropped the fabric off at a seamstress, since I doubt I will have time to make it myself.” There was something in her tone that surprised him, and he shot her a look, but she continued to chop the vegetables as if nothing had happened. “Did everything go well for you and Yahiko?”
Kenshin’s eyes narrowed slightly. There was something different. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he wasn’t going to argue with it either. When her eyes met his there was a bit of shyness there, and it was covering something else so he decided to go along with whatever it was that was bothering her.
“It went fine. Yahiko finished the laundry, and I got time to practice.” Kenshin softly replied, watching to see if there was a reaction to the idea of him practicing. Surprise flickered through her eyes and then she nodded.
“I’m glad then.”
The rest of the meal was finished with added speed as they chatted ideally over nothing. Kenshin wasn’t sure what was going through his Tanuki’s mind, but there was defiantly something. Frowning;he watched as she went to set the table while he put all the food into the serving dishes, his movements more from habit than his attempts to do them. His brain was stuck on the expression in her eyes and the way she had been absently chewing on her bottom lip.
While occupying the back of the Rurouni’s eyes, he had learned that that particular habit was not one of nervousness, as the Rurouni thought, but when she was plotting. The last time she had massacred her lip, he had found himself going to the hot springs. The time before that, the occupants of the Dojo had ended up in a drunken piles on the floor while she slipped off to Kyoto to see Misao. Because Yahiko and the Rurouni hadn’t wanted her to go so close after the Enishi ordeal.
It was best to stay on his toes then. If she was planning something, he had a feeling it had either something to do with him or something about him. She was far cleverer than the Rurouni had given her credit for, and the he looked forward to finding out what was cooking around in her brain. Her brain was a unique and he enjoyed dealing with it. She kept him on his toes, not an easy feat, and it was surely going to be entertaining to say the least.
Settling down he kept an eye on her and decided that whatever it was that had sent her to the market, or better yet, away from it, it wasn’t something new. She didn’t feel guilty about it because she had been doing it under the Rurouni’s nose. Which meant that she wouldn’t feel guilty, because it wasn’t something she felt guilty about; Kenshin settled back to wait patiently for her to tell him. It was a game of cat and mouse with her.
His thoughts were interrupted when Yahiko attempted to take some of Misao’s fish and got several Kunai thrown at him, and the argument that broke out forced him to interfere. In the lung Yahiko made, the table shook, and hot tea splashed into Kaoru’s hands and she yelped. Misao and Yahiko irrupted into a bangle of swearing and Aoshi looked like he was caught between a drowning cat and the shore. More Kunai were tossed as Misao chased him and Yahiko yelled as he attempted to get to his Shinai to defend himself.
Kenshin reached over and grasped the knuckles Kaoru was attempted to sooth with her tongue, since she was sucking on them and glaring at Yahiko with a bit of malice in her eyes. Pulling her hand away from her mouth he examined the burn and then kissed it lightly, running his own tongue across the skin before pulling her to her feet.
“Let’s get some cream on this.” Kenshin softly suggested, pulling him after him to the kitchen where they kept the medicine Dr. Gensai religiously made for the Dojo. He dug around until he found the burn cream, which smelled slightly of mint, and gently applied it to her tender knuckles.
“You’re planning something.” Kenshin calmly informed her, keeping his grip firm and his touch light as he applied a liberal amount of the white stuff to her skin. The slight scrap of her calluses against his thumb as he ran it along the curve of her hand fascinated him. She started and then sent him a surprised looked.
“What makes you think that?” Kaoru asked her eyes wide with innocence and confusion.
Kenshin was forced to let go of her hand, so he grasped it in the other, and brushed the fingers of his left hand against her silky bottom lip. Her pupils dilated as he watched her, her breath hitching slightly as her teeth scraped the delicate skin softly when he pulled his hand back. Her tongue snaked out to follows as if to catch the taste of his skin. With a soft growl he was moving forward butt Yahiko’s voice broke through the air. “Is she in the kitchen?”
Kenshin paused from where he was a hair’s breath from her mouth and sighed. “You got lucky, thistle.” Then he was moving away from her, leaving Kaoru wide-eyed and startled.
What had she done to set that off?
Aoshi sat inside the dojo, his eyes closed at he meditated. Or, where he was attempting to. Misao’s laughter kept distracting him. This was why he went to the temple to meditate, not so much to get away from the Oniwabanshu, but to get away from her; she distracted him. She was so vibrant in his mental image of her, and when her Chi danced along his vision and senses it was difficult to think of anything but her.
Keeping his eyes closed he gave up and instead mentally went over the puzzle that had been handed to him today. Misao’s story for where they had gone had been perfect, along with Tae’s cover story. However, why would they stop on the way there and on the way back to speak to Tae? While it was easily covered, there was something off.
His Itachi was hiding something from him. If his eyes had been open, there would have been a glint there. Hannya would have recognized it, but he doubted anyone else would. Misao was hiding from him, and he didn’t like it. He had an idea about why she was as well. This game she played with the Oniwabanshu, playing on there expectations. He knew she had something she kept from them, and he had never pressed her out of respect for her privacy. He was suddenly finding that he wanted to test every layer of her that dared to move around him; instead of through him.
Frowning slightly, he wondered when it was going to come to its head. Shrugging to himself, he knew the best way to find her out was to wait her out. Misao would slip up eventually, and then he would use that crack to widen the hole until everything fell into his hands and he got what he wanted.
If only he was sure he knew exactly what that was.
He held his shoulder and swore as he ran through the more deserted part of Tokyo. This was all her fault for living through the attack. All her fault that his own brother had turned on him; attempt to turn him over to the wolf, he would make her pay.
Snarling as his looked at his own blood, dripping from his shoulder, a mocking smile curled his lips. He knew her secret, if even the Battousai didn’t. That meant he could take her from him. So easy to highjack. So easy to taste. To kill.
So easy to own.
Whew! I am pretty sure I got the names right for Saitoh's children. If I didn't feel free to let me know. Credit for finding there names goes to the lovelyanna-neko aka Adamant Eve! If you haven't read her Spy and Hitokiri then its a must! Anyway, she gives the names of the boys and credits the research she did. I am a avid reader of that story and um...was happy for the source. So yes! Go read!
Theres my plug for the day. Feel free to review!
Credit goes to Indygodusk and cocovanilla for guessingabout the baby. You each get your own Battousai clone...as I figure out to make my own! ;)
There was about six months to a year between when the Rurouni went to China and the Battousai showing up at the Dojo.