DISCLAIMER!: Rurouni Kenshin characters (c) Watsuki Nobuhiro and Shonen Jump and whoever owns it. Don't own anything, anyone, and don't want to, so please be kind and don't sue... ? ^^x CHAPTER TWO ~ Pan Kenshin did his laundry in absolute silence, coupled with the tearing shrieks of Yahiko and Kaoru training. The words of his Shishou burned deeply into his heart. Seriously hurt? But he didn't want anyone to be seriously hurt... no, not any of his loved ones... he walked towards the front yard to hang the clothes... and he must protect them against this mysterious foe... (although it's really kindda obvious who it is) "Kaoru-dono, Sano's not here yet?" Kaoru stopped and looked at him. "What do you mean 'not here yet'? He's never even left Saitou's house ever since stepping into it!" Kaoru made a face. "I see..." Kenshin smiled to himself. *So either Saitou's locked him up or Sano's having his tenth rematch with Saitou now... I'll just go take a check on them.* "Kaoru-dono... I'll be going out for a while. Please take care of everything from here then." ~ Rurouni "Hey! Rooster-head! How long do you intend to continue lying there?" Saitou took a long drag out of his cigarette while he waited patiently for Sanosuke to get up. Sanosuke, however, appeared to have no intention of getting up. He continued lying on the ground panting heavily... "If you don't get up soon, I shall have to think of what happened in the past...like the time you got trashed so bad by me you were left without the energy to even crawl around to look for your teeth..." Sanosuke sat up as if he had been electrocuted. "NANI?!" He glares daggers at Saitou, who merely smirked in reply. "Ready to continue with Round Ten? I have to warn you, I'm getting a little tired of your inability to hurt me. If you fail to scratch me in this round, I shall have to boot you out of my house. Tokio isn't feeding you for free, you know?" "WHY YOU...CRABHEAD! YOU'D BETTER BE CAREFUL, I'M SERIOUS THIS TIME! I MIGHT EVEN KILL YOU!" Sanosuke yelled as he cracked his knuckles... ~ Poping "Yaa.....!"Sano yells as he dashes toward Saitou with an outstretched fist.Saitou nonchalantly grabs his fist,and throws a quick punch at Sano.However,Sano dodges it,and uses his other hand to strike Saitou in the face. Saitou just smiles,showing no ill effect from Sano's punch. "Hmm,you have made a slight improvement from the previous fight,eh?" Sano retreats,taking deep breaths,not knowing what he has to do to deal even the slightest amount of damage to Saitou.... Meanwhile,at the Kamiya Dojo..... "No,not like that!"Kaoru shouts at Yahiko. "Hey,I'm trying my best already,you ugly thing!"Yahiko retorts. "UGLY THING?I'll teach you a lesson,you spoilt brat..."Kaoru exclaims,starting to get agitated. Yahiko sticks his tongue out at her,then runs away. Kaoru gives chase,and thinks(sigh...this child always gives me headaches.I wonder how Kenshin is doing now?) ~ Sano Kenshin strolled down the busy streets of Tokyo slowly, deep in thought. Events of the past few days filled his mind. He was deeply worried about the safety of his friends, just like he always had been. ~ Pan Of course, as usual, he didn't notice where he was going and ended up crashing into a sumo-wrestler instead. He apologised quickly and proceeded his way to Saitou's house when he had a gigantic snap. He was being followed. ~ Rurouni His eyes narrowed to slits. He could not sense his follower's fighting spirit, it was obviously someone whom he could dispose off in a flash. Who would send such a clumsy tracker whose efforts to remained unnoticed only screamed out to Kenshin that he was being followed? Unless... somebody wanted to let him know that he was being followed, to let him know that every move he made was being observed, every word he said... He stopped, "Dareda?" There was a hint of danger in his voice. "Himura-san..." Kenshin turned round. *Seta Soujirou... no wonder I couldn't sense anything from him. Still, he should be able to follow me without my notice if he wanted too.* "Himura-san," Soujirou smiled. "Good to see you again." "Why were you-" "-following you? There isn't any rule saying that I can't walk behind you. Besides, you should know by now that I deliberately made my presence known to you. Coming from me, personally, be careful, Himura-san. There are powerful enemies after your head, trust no one. Not even the people closest to you." ~ Poping "Then why are you being so nice,telling me all this?" Kenshin inquires,feeling suspicious about Soujirou's intentions. "Heh,ah....I'm just trying to be helpful,that's all." Soujirou replies with a smile. ~Sano "I...don't think so. You helped set us up didn't you?" "Er...I just happened to be there at the moment?" Soujrou offered lamely. He smiled brightly, disarmingly. Kenshin's eyes narrowed to thin predatory-like slits. He gripped Soujirou's arm firmly. "Tell me about what's going on." An unreadable expression crossed Soujirou's face. The smile died upon his lips and he leaned down slightly. He spoke softly. "Kenshin, I have no hatred for you and no reason for revenge against you. I accepted that fact the Shishio-san lost during battle with you. Believe me when I say that I'm trying to be helpful." With that, he pulled loose from Kenshin's grip and promptly lost himself in the crowd. "Soujirou..." ~ Pan The winds blew harshly, snapping Kenshin out of his lingering glance. He checked the skies, and realized that if he wanted to be there when Sano was being booted out of Saitou's house, he had to sidetrack into a lonely maze of alleys. Soujirou's words never once left his mind... if he were to trust him, then Kaoru-dono, Yahiko, Sano had to be kept a clear distance from... but could he do that? Should he even trust Soujirou? Shishio Makoto is dead... yet soujirou was seemingly working under someone of similar calibre... "Well, I'd better hurry!" Kenshin called out loud to no one in particular in the lonely alley. He dissolved into a mischievious grin. *can't wait to see how Saitou boots Sano out of his house...* Then he stopped abruptly in his steps. He should've know, a path of myriads was hardly the place for a shorcut as he slapped his forehead in utter disappointment at himself. *I can't believe this... I'm lost!* ~ Rurouni Meanwhile, in another part of Tokyo... A shadowy figure smiled inwardly at the thought of how events were unfolding itself. *Everything is going according to plan. The black tide of death is slowly closing around my most hated opponent. Death? No. Lingering perdition. Death was too easy. I want to see him split, broken...Himura Battousai...* ~ Poping Kenshin looks around,and knows that he has to backtrack and take the long way there if he doesn't want to spend the whole day searching.As he was turning back,he could hear a faint sound of footsteps.Someone has been following him....He put his hand on his sword,ready to do battle,but nothing happened,so he let out a sigh and went on his way. After what seemed like ages,Kenshin finally reached Saitou's place. He found Sano lying there motionless,and hurried to his side,but Saitou calmly says "Don't worry,he's just taking a long nap.....Come,I have something to tell you." They sat down,and talked over bowls of piping hot ramen,cooked by Tokio herself. "There's something I want you to do...."Saitou says without looking at Kenshin. ~ Sano "Nani?!" Meanwhile... Kaoru and Yahiko stared angrily at each other. They had been at it for a few hours now and Yahiko still refused to admit that she was better than he was. "Excuse me, is Kamiya-san here?" Kaoru and Yahiko looked up, startled. A tall, muscular policeman loomed over them. He walked into the dojo without any further invitation. "Saitoh-san sends you a message. He wants you to go to the nearby forest immediately. Something has happened to Himura-san. Please follow me." With that, he turned on his heels and left. *Kenshin in trouble?* Kaoru and Yahiko stared at each other, worried. Without another word, they both turned and ran after the officer's retreating back. A slow evil smile spread across the officer's face. ~ Pan Saitou finished his story with another long drag at his tenth cigar while Sano starts to rouse. He did not need to say anything anymore. Kenshin's absolutely shattered face told him everything he needed to know. "But... what has stealing a police uniform got to do with all this you have just told me?" Kenshin awkwardly questioned. "Oh plenty," Saitou answered "disguising as a policemen has quite some benefits involved anyway..." he smiled as he looked at the expression on his arch-enemy's face. "Then why are you telling me all these?" Kenshin was not very amused at the way everyone except him seemed to know everything and enjoyed warning him of all these very much. Sanosuke started to sit up. "Don't ask. Anyway it's quite late now, so I advise you take the short-cut through the forest. Take the oil lamp outside the door." Saitou pointed to a speck of light outside the window and started walking deeper into the house as Sano stood up. "The moonlights tonight are thin, Battousai." Kenshin snapped like he never did before and whirled around. "We're taking the forest route, Sano." ~ Rurouni "Consider yourself lucky!" Sanosuke snapped at Saitou, who merely arch a brow and gave him a bemused smile. Sanosuke scowled, then whipped round and hurried after Kenshin's retreating back. "Hey! Kenshin! Wait up!" Sanosuke jogged after him. *For a guy this short, he's fast...* Finally catching up with Kenshin, Sanosuke took the lamp from him and trudged silently beside him. Kenshin's face was partly covered in shadows, what little light the lamp gave off illuminated his delicate features, accentuated the lines of worry creased into the face of the weary wanderer. Kenshin tensed suddenly, like a coiled spring, his hand reaching out to snag something dangling from the branches overhead. A blue ribbon. ~ Poping "Kaoru dono...." Kenshin whispers,his face fully displaying his extreme worriedness. "Why are you always so fast,Ken......"Sano says while panting heavily,before being shocked by what he sees before him.Kenshin sees a piece of paper beside the ribbon,and opens it up.It reads:"Battousai,meet me near the temple tomorrow night,if you want to see the girl again.And oh,you can look for the boy on your own...." Kenshin drops the paper,and rushes off to find Yahiko. "Where are you going to...."Sano exclaims,while still trying to catch his breath. "Yahiko!Yahiko!"Kenshin shouts,looking around everywhere,and searches through the bushes as well.He suddenly stops,finding Yahiko lying there,bounded and bleeding...... "Yahiko...,hang on....."Kenshin says,as he picks him up. ~Sano "Who hit me?!" Yahiko glared angrily around him. "Whoa....w-why's the room spinning?" "You and Kaoru were ambushed in the forest. Lie down, you need plenty of rest." Kenshin's worry was reflected plainly in his voice. "What were you doing in the forest, brat?!" Sanosuke's angry question was tinged with a hint of worry. Yahiko gave a soft moan and began to recall the events that had occured only a few hours ago. ~ Pan "This really weird looking police came bearing a message from Saitou, he said you were in trouble..." Yahiko started. "Saitou? But we were bashing each other up the entire day, he couldn't have sent any message!" Sano interrupted. "Were you bashing each other up or were you getting bashed?" Kenshin probed. And for that he got bashed up by Sano. "Anyway we followed him to a nearby forest." Yahiko continued. "Kaoru got smart and realized what kind of enemies could be lurking for you Kenshin, even as a policeman, and all this could be a hoax, so she deliberately hung up her ribbon on the branch when the policeman mentioned that we were arriving..." Kenshin and Sano's eyes glimmered with anticipation. "Go on." Kenshin coaxed. "We came to a clearing." Yahiko plainly stated. "Uh huh?" Sano raised his eyebrow. "And then..." ~ Rurouni Kenshin and Sanosuke inched closer, all their concentration fully focused on the young, rather battered up Myoujin Yahiko. "And then?" Sanosuke asked impatiently. Yahiko took a deep breath before he tersely continued, "And then the world went black...and I woke up here." "What?! That's it?!" Sanosuke practically shrieked. "What more do you want?!" Yahiko growled. "I was hit from behind by someone else!!!" Kenshin remained passive in the light of Sanosuke and Yahiko's little squibbling. ~ Poping "You better get more rest,Yahiko..." Kenshin says to stop the quarrel. He kept very quiet after that,his mind preoccupied with tomorrow night's events.He wondered who his adversary was going to be,and whether Kaoru was still doing ok.Yahiko went back to sleep,with his saliva slowly dripping out of his mouth.Sano just sat there,his head lowered and his arms folded. The next evening arrived soon enough.Kenshin and Sano began on their journey to face Kaoru's captor,but just before they stepped out of the front door,Yahiko shouted out "Wait for me,I....I want to go too!" "You still have not fully recovered,so you had better stay here and recuperate.Megumi-dono will take care of you."Kenshin assures him. "That fox...are you sure?"Sano airs his doubts.Yahiko looks disappointed as he heads back into the dojo. ~ Sano "You and Megumi have your differences, but I'm sure you know as well as I do that she'll never let us down." Sanosuke looked down, with an unreadable expression etched upon his face. *He seems to be hiding something... Is it possible that during the short period of time after which Megumi joined us, his feelings for her have developed to the point where they are the exact reflection of mine for Kaoru?* "What?" Sanosuke asked a little defensively. He'd noticed that Kenshin seemed lost in thought. "Nothing. Sano, how do you really feel about Megumi? The two of you can't seem to stand each other, but deep down inside..." Sanosuke paled a little. Kenshin decided to let the matter rest. END CHAPTER TWO