From: "L. Sith" It's been a while. I don't write very fast. For those that have missed the 1st two chapters, thanks to Tokio, it's archived in: http://www.miburo.com/fanstuff/fiction/mibuw1.html C&C are always appreciated (even if it is just to tell me how horrible the fic is). My thanks in advance. -- Sith ------------------------------------------------------------------ Special thanks to Erin Ellis and Miss Led. Warning: The first part of this chapter is a little violent. Disclaimers: RK does not belong to me. This is not for profit. Chapter 3 The moon had already crawled halfway across the night sky and most of Tokyo's model citizens had gone home hours ago. In the stillness of the night, three boys wandered through the most influential neighborhood in Tokyo, slowly making their way towards Senator Tayama's residence. The full moon illuminated the well-paved roads perfectly, but that didn't prevent Tayama Mashito from stumbling, falling flat on his face, and taking Yuuhaku Nako down with him. Yuuhaku Timi turned around and regarded his idiotic friend and brother critically for a moment. Mashito seemed too drunk to realize that he had fallen. While Nako, being slightly more sober, was trying ineffectively to untangle his limbs from Mashito's. Neither of them was about to regain mobility any time soon. Left with no other choice, Timi left the two clowns lying in the middle of the street and continued his trek towards Tayama's estate alone. Although the three of them had walked down the same path at this late hour for most of the summer, something about this night sent shivers up Timi's spine. Timi glanced around to make sure that no one was watching him before ducking behind a row of tall bushes that stood parallel to the back wall of the estate. He located the hidden gate and knocked softly. He waited several minutes for Mika to let them in. When no response came, he started pounding against the gate. Timi was tempted to try the front door instead, but that would get Mashito in trouble. Timi crouched down, propelled himself off the ground, did a back flip and landed softly inside the estate. Timi thought as he removed the wooden bar that held the back gate closed. Timi shook his head sharply. When did he start believing all this nonsense about ki? Besides, could an inanimate object like a house have ki? Just as Timi was about to push those silly ideas out of his mind, he heard a girl's terrified scream coming from the house. Timi sprinted across the garden and headed straight towards Mika's room in the west wing. He quickly pried open her window and climbed in. There was no one inside. However, through the room's open doorway, he could hear the sound of clashing metal followed by falling objects and frenzied footsteps. Nervously, Timi took out his only kunai and held the short knife in a throwing position. Timi carefully inched towards the open doorway. The sweat from his hand coated the kunai's handle, making the object difficult to hold onto. Timi took several deep breaths and forced himself to relax his grip on the knife. His trusty kunai suddenly felt so alien and cold in his grasp. The sounds of combat halted abruptly. Timi pressed his back against the doorframe and peered around the corner into the hallway. He could see a girl with a long braid lying on the floor and a swordsman standing over her inanimate form. The assailant posed with his katana held above his head for an instant. Then the sword began its downward descent. Without even thinking, Timi leaped into the hallway and hurled his kunai at the assassin. The killer turned towards Timi in surprise. The assassin, having detected a razor-sharp blade flying towards his chest area, attempted to change the direction of his katana to deflect the new threat. But due to Timi's speed and proximity, the killer couldn't bring his sword around in time to avert the impending doom. The kunai slid between the assassin's ribs and entered his heart. With a soft groan, the man toppled backwards and fell on the floor. His body convulsed, his limbs flailed about, and his hands stretched towards the girl lying on the floor. Timi stopped and stared at the unexpected movement on the floor. He had never seen anyone getting killed before, but the man's reaction just didn't seem right. Timi panicked. He didn't have anymore kunais left. He looked left and right and did the first thing that popped into his head. He dashed back into Mika's room and randomly grabbed an article off the floor. He dragged the object, a large vase, into the hallway and smashed it against the assassin's head. All body movements ceased immediately. Timi gazed at the corpse lying at his feet. The body had twisted itself into a bizarre pattern and the face had been distorted beyond all recognition. Under the assault of the vase, the killer's nose had pushed itself into the soft tissue of his brain and half of the upper lip had been torn away. Through the hazy moonlight, the head resembled a grinning skull. Timi stood, rooted to the spot, unable to take his eyes off the corpse. The man's blood flowed from the wound in his chest onto the clothing and then trickled to the floor. A small crimson pool began forming near Timi's feet. The whole scene resembled a ritual sacrifice out of some poorly written story. But strangely, Timi felt nothing, just a big blank emptiness. His mind simply refused to accept what he was seeing. None of what happened could be real. Good people did not kill, and he was a good person; therefore, he couldn't possibly have murdered the man. All of this had to be a nightmare. Timi's mind fastened onto that concept as its last refuge. A small voice inside Timi snapped him back to reality. Timi tore his eyes away from the corpse and scrambled towards the girl with a long braid lying next the killer. "Are you okay Mika?" He asked with concern as he carefully helped her into a sitting position. Immediately, he realized that the girl in his arms was not Mika. "You're not Mika!" Timi accused her, his voice full of shock, disappointment, and righteous anger. Upon realizing his mistake, Timi promptly dropped her. Misao's body hit the floor with a loud thump. The pain overwhelmed all her senses and almost caused her to black out. She gritted her teeth and managed to take a couple of shuddering breaths. Blood slowly seeped through the cut across her back and a general numbness engulfed her. It felt good to just lie on the floor, cushioned by the warm darkness. But she needed to stop the bleeding; she needed to get to a doctor. Misao forced herself to get to her feet. She could see the boy a little ways down the hall, kneeling at the side of a pony-tailed girl. He had maneuvered the girl's body into a sitting position. However, because the neck had been half-severed, the head hung limply off one side. He held her head gingerly between his hands, carefully placing it on her neck, and tried to make it stay. But as soon as he let go, the head fell off again. The boy seemed surprised by the result and tried it one more time. So the same sequence of events repeated itself, and each time, there was that small glimmer of hope in his eyes. Misao couldn't stand seeing him like that anymore. She stumbled to where he was and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Stop it. She's dead. There is nothing more you can do." Timi looked up at her uncomprehendingly. "We've got to go." Misao urged softly. Timi turned his attention back to the head that he held in his hands. The logical part of Timi's mind mocked him. Timi wanted that annoying voice in his head to shut up. He wanted to tell the girl to go away and leave him alone. He wanted to do so many things for Mika. He wanted to take back all the nasty comments he had thrown at the child. But it was all too late. There was nothing more he could change; there was nothing more he could do. Timi lowered Mika's body down the floor, placed it in a resting position, and closed her eyes. Timi turned to face Misao, "You are right, it is time to go." ********************************************************************** Midnight came and went and all was quiet at Kamiya Dojo. Sanosuke had left hours ago, right after he finished devouring another free meal. Yahiko had abandoned the idea of waiting up for Kaoru and Misao and had just fallen asleep in the living room. Without its regular combatants, the usual turmoil that surrounded the dojo dissipated. Kenshin sat alone on the porch and watched the stars. The weight of his sakabatou rested comfortably against his shoulder. The lateness of Kaoru and Misao's return worried him, but he firmly pushed his paranoid fears aside. With Shishio defeated and Japan at peace again, the two women should be perfectly safe. There was no reason for him to overreact. So Kenshin simply leaned back and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Unfortunately, the tranquility was short lived. Before Kenshin could even begin to appreciate the stars' beauty, Kaoru threw open the front gates and yelled, "Kenshin, hurry! Misao needs help!" ********************************************************************** "Ten people spent a whole afternoon tearing Senator Shiniya's office apart and the budget projections are still nowhere to be found! Where did Shiniya hide them? In his grave? Can't that jerk get himself assassinated at a more convenient time?! Without the proper paper work, how are we suppose to get the budget proposal approved?! Doesn't he realize that without the money, we can't buy any rice? Well, that's fine with me! Everyone in Tokyo can just starve in the coming winter!" Reina had an insuppressible urge to strangle someone. Too bad that Shiniya was already dead. "If Shiniya's part of the proposal can't be found, then we will just have to proceed without it. Hopefully the Board of Revenue will allow us some leeway in this case. I'll talk to Senator Tayama tomorrow morning. Between him and Ikaji, they should be able to convince their colleagues to pass the bill. Let's just put together our part of the proposal tonight" However, before the discussion could continue, loud knocks were heard coming from the front gate. Jie leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. "So my two idiotic sons are coming home tonight. I thought they would have gotten drunk and passed out at Tayama's like usual." Jie's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Oh, by the way, are they expecting someone to wait up and open the door for them? If so, they are even more stupid than I give them credit for. I hope they are prepared to enjoy the great outdoors tonight." Reina frowned at her father. Although Timi's and Nako's irresponsible behavior deserved punishment, locking them out was hardly the solution. At least they decided to come home tonight, didn't they? Besides, what if they were hurt? But since father was not about to budge, Reina got up to answer the door herself. Jie pretended not to notice Reina's intentions and studied the balance sheets instead. However, the force and urgency behind the pounding soon stole his attention. Although the houses in the neighborhood were far apart and sound didn't carry well, it was unusual for Timi and Nako to be so noisy this late at night. Jie got up, walked out of the room, and headed outside. He met Reina, Timi, and Nako on his way to the front gate. Jie had mentally prepared himself for a variety of disaster scenarios, but the sight that greeted him took him entirely by surprise. Nako and Timi each carried an unconscious form on their backs. On top of that, blood covered Timi from head to toe and the kid looked like he was on the verge of losing his sanity. "No it shouldn't fall off like that, please stay. Wake up, why won't you wake up…" Timi mumbled softly under his breath, consumed by the agonizing images his mind replayed. "What happened?" Jie asked quite calmly. "I … I …" Nako stammered. He needed a good way to present this, he just wished that he could think straight. "I'm not sure, we didn't go back to find out. But Timi said something about assassins hitting Senator Tayama's place tonight and about how most of the people are dead and stuff." Jie could smell the alcohol emanating from Nako, it was a wonder that the moron was able to find his way home at all. But then again, fear had a sobering effect. "Carry Mashito inside. And after you get him settled in for the night, come back with buckets of water." Nako looked puzzled but left without questioning his father's instructions. He had feared that his father would freak out upon finding him and Timi with an unconscious friend and a half-dead stranger, but things didn't look that bad. Not only didn't father freak out, he seemed amazingly calm about the whole situation. Everything was going to be okay now. Father always knew exactly what to do. So Nako placed his mind at ease, heaved Mashito's weight over his back, and headed towards the house. Jie shifted his attention to the stranger that Timi was carrying. Even the darkness couldn't quite hide the nasty wound across her back. Blood slowly oozed out of the opening. It saturated her clothing, seeped into Timi's, and dripped onto the ground. But Timi seemed oblivious to the girl's plight, or that of his own. Shock had stripped away his awareness of the outside world. Jie slowly approached Timi and hoped that the boy would show some reaction. When Timi failed to do so, Jie raised his hand and slapped the boy hard across the face. The force of the blow snapped Timi's face to the side. Timi's instincts took over and his eyes immediately focused on the source of the perceived threat. "What happened at Tayama's? Who is the girl?" The boy obviously needed counseling, but that would have to wait. Jie didn't know how long he could retain Timi's attention. "He killed everyone and was going to kill her too. I had to stop him. I think I killed him. Then she passed out. He was moving. He wasn't supposed to, was he? There was so much blood …" Timi's gaze focused on Jie briefly then drifted away. "Stop rambling and concentrate!" Jie took Timi by the shoulders and shook the boy. "Who IS she? Why did you bring her home?" Jie wished that he could just rip all the information he needed out of the Timi's mind. "I don't know who she is. I didn't have time to ask. But I couldn't just leave her there, she was gonna die. And I didn't know what to do so I ..." "So you decided to drag a corpse half way across Tokyo?! Ahou! Have you LOOKED at her wound?! Do you know how difficult it is to survive an injury like that? Even if the damage wasn't fatal, she probably died of blood loss on the way here. You should have left her at Tayama's! By bringing her home, you've managed to leave a bloody trail for the ninjas to follow. LITERALLY! And with Ikaji living right next door, you've just made him their next target." "Should we call the police?" Reina asked nervously. She couldn't believe that Senator Tayama was dead. "No, we can't do that" Jie dismissed the idea out of hand. "Because of Saitoh?" "Also because it would publicize Mashito's whereabouts, and it would make Ikaji their next target. Considering the scope of this crime, I would be surprised if there is NO leak within the police. The …" "What do you want me to do with the water?" Nako interrupted as he stumbled into sight with a large bucket in each hand. Jie immediately focused on the impending operation. "Which way did you take to get home?" Jie snapped out the question. "Through the woods, of course. We wouldn't take the main roads, we're not that stupid." Nako felt quite offended. "Go and wash away the bloody trail you guys just created. And do me a favor, please don't replace it with a trail of wet pavement!" Nako nodded in acknowledgement. Then with the buckets in hand, he headed out of the front gate. Jie turned to Timi. Unfortunately, the boy's eyes had glazed over again. Jie didn't have time to waste. He grabbed Timi by the shoulders and shook the boy again. "Give me your shoes." "My shoes? Why do you want my shoes?" Timi blinked, feeling confused and lost. "So I can leave a false trail. Now give me your shoes." "Shoes, my shoes." Timi repeated to himself as if trying to remember something. Then a brief moment of clarity flashed across his face. Timi bent down, took off his shoes and handed them to Jie. However, in the process, Timi lost his grip on the body he was carrying, and the girl started falling towards the ground. For a second, the sash on the girl's ninja outfit fluttered in the wind. The movement caught Jie's eye. He immediately reached out and grabbed the sash in one hand while his other arm wrapped around the body. He managed to catch the girl right before she hit the ground. Jie stayed immobile for a moment and studied the bloody strip of cloth that he held in his left hand. Then with a sharp jerk, he tore the sash from her waist. "Father?" Reina reached out her hand and took a few steps forward out of surprise. "Huh?" Jie asked absentmindedly as he removed his arm and allowed the girl's body to fall rest of way to the ground. "What are you doing?" Jie picked up Timi's shoes with his free hand. "I need to create a false track to lead pursuit away from this area. After all, a neighborhood full of wet pavement may look a little suspicious." "What do you want me to do?" "Get Timi cleaned up and into bed. I'll be back in a couple of hours. I can take care of the rest later. See ya." Jie headed towards the front gate with a bloody sash and a pair of shoes in hand. "What about the girl?" "Get rid of the body. I don't care how you do it, just make sure that you don't leave any evidence." Jie replied without a second thought. Reina looked down at the body lying at her feet. The girl's eyes fluttered briefly. "Umm, I think she's still alive. Are you sure you want me to just bury her?" Jie glanced over his shoulder at Reina and was about to state his thoughts. But before the words left his mouth, the girl's form caught the corner of his eye. Guilt wrenched at his heart. "Get the doctor, but make sure that he will be discrete." Jie left the house quickly after that. He wasn't sure how many more of these "emotional decisions" he could afford to make. He suddenly found himself with enemies that he didn't account for. Circus acts or not, these assassins could cause major problems. Jie couldn't allow himself to be distracted at this critical junction, especially if he wanted to get rid of Saitoh for good. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Next chapter: Kenshin will finally do something =) Saitoh will make a reappearance. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- eGroups' Valentine's Day Gift Guide - Shop Here Now: Click Here ------------------------------------------------------------------------