All for Love- Chapter Eleven Disclaimer: All characters of Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, JUMP comics, and Sony Entertainment. Sano followed Irushi through one more tunnel, the one that led into the mansion. He noticed the lush furniture and the beautifully embroidered drapery. This guy must be loaded, he thought to himself as he stopped to admire a suit of armor that was propped up near one of the doors. He reached up to touch it when Irushi�s hand came to halt him. �That is a priceless piece of medieval history! One touch will cause it to fall apart! Now I ask that you back away slowly. Yes, that�s it.� Irushi�s expression of anxiety did not fade until they were both down the hall in front of a massive wooden door. �Please do not touch these pieces. I have wandered far to collect these for Mr. Austin, and he�s got some odd sort of sixth sense so that he just KNOWS when someone�s been fiddling with his collection. I�ve had to kill many warriors who were much too curious, Sanosuke- and much too greedy,� he added darkly, raising his hand finally to knock on the door. He paused a moment before he reached over and turned the knob. �Get ready Sanosuke. You are about to meet the one person who is responsible for making me who I am today. I truly admire him. I know that you will like him too.� And with that Irushi pushed the heavy door open. The hinges screeched as the door moved slowly away from them, and Irushi left Sano�s side, gliding smoothly over the marble tiled floor, and up an incline of stairs to situate himself beside a throne. On the throne sat an elderly man dressed in a fine white fabric suit, nothing like the clothing that Irushi wore. He had no sharp metal circles on his boots, and no weapons hung at his hip. His shoes were black, polished to shine, and on his head he wore a white hat. This old man looked sharp down to the thick cigar that he puffed on repeatedly, but that caused a fit of coughs to suddenly explode out of his mouth. It sounded as if his lungs would soon follow. Sano discreetly raised an eyebrow. That high-classed image couldn�t hide that fact that Austin was ill. He wasn�t sure how long he could hold back. THIS was the man who had such an impact on Irushi�s life; some old guy from a foreign country, with no honor, and one whole leg in the grave? Sano couldn�t take his eyes off of the frail figure sitting above as if he were a god. This guy couldn�t be for real. None of it made any sense. Why would this old bastard have such a grudge against Japan? He could understand why Irushi would harbor such feelings, but he couldn�t see how this connected to Austin. He had lost his son and with that a fortune in an oil empire. Was that enough motivation for such a huge vendetta? As Sano looked at the exchange that now took place between the two, he wondered if any of this trouble was coming from the old man at all. Irushi took the cigar from the old man�s fingers and put the flame out on the hilt of his sword. The old man glared up at him, but Irushi seemed not to notice. �Mr. Austin, you know how bad these are for you yet you still insist on smoking them. I�m going to have to keep a closer eye on you,� Irushi scolded gently pocketing the cigar. The old man narrowed his eyes. �You say that all of the time, but I always manage to do what I want. Everyone here fears you, but they love my money. A tip here and there behind your back gets me any food, any drug, and any whore that I want. You could learn from me. Being intimidating all of the time can only work for so long, Corpus. No one has left my services yet. You haven�t scared anyone away.� Irushi looked amused. �That�s because I killed them before they could think about being scared. Now, you�re being rude in front of my guest. I have brought someone from downtown Tokyo who may be rather useful to us. A former gangster named Sagara Sanosuke. He�s got a unique fighting style and determination tougher than your mother�s buffalo steaks, but there�s something about him that bothers me.� �Okay, then look further into it, if he seems that suspicious. But he looks impressive. Strong, with a lot of endurance. Let�s hope that he�s not a rat- and let�s hope that your crack about my mother�s cooking doesn�t filter on back to the States. She may be 82 years old, but she�ll pick up her shotgun and shoot you on sight if she sees you even attempting to walk up the road.� Austin grinned up at him, and Irushi shot him a look of mock fear. Sano stood at the door patiently watching them, wondering what it was they were saying. The only words he understood from the two were his own last and first name. Hmm. So they�re discussing me now. I wonder if I can keep this up for much longer. Saitou would be much impressed if I got these two to tell me anything else of what they�re doing. I wonder if he had some undercover ass follow me in here. It would be like that goddamned wolf! Irushi turned now to face him. �Sanosuke, please come up here. Mr. Austin would like to personally say hello to you.� Sano took a deep breath and made his way up the short incline of steps to confront the man who was allegedly making so much trouble for Megumi. Unbeknownst to both men, Sano gave Henry Austin the once over. It was a trick he learned from Saitou, which he had to admit, was quite useful. From what he scanned off the old man he was right to assume that he was sick. The cough was a symptom of a serious illness, which made him seem much older than what he was. If Sano guessed correctly, Henry Austin was at the most sixty years old. His condition made him weak, therefore causing Irushi to take such care with him. From what he saw of his hair it was white, as was his beard, and his skin was pale with blotches of red on his cheeks, and forehead. His hands looked rough, yet wrinkled with the same kind of blotches around them. They were not strong hands. This old man was no major threat on his own. The threat was the young Japanese warrior who stood protectively next to him. Irushi held his hand out as a gesture of welcome. �Sanosuke, I would like you to meet my benefactor, Mr. Henry Austin.� He circled his arm around Sano�s shoulders and pulled him forward to the old man. Sano�s first impulse was to shake the man�s arm off, and flip him down the stairs. Yet he reminded himself that this was part of the job and allowed himself to be led closer to Henry Austin. Sano had no idea how to say hello in English, so he stuck to his usual polite greetings and granted Austin a slight bow. Henry Austin bowed in return and said politely in Japanese, �Welcome to my home, Sagara-san.� Sano almost fainted at the sound of his language coming out of this man�s mouth. He figured that Irushi must have taught it to him. The pronunciation was not perfect but it was good enough to communicate with the ignorant scum whom he associated with. Sano quickly collected himself and fell into his old personality of the gangster, Zanza. He looked around surveying the room and a long whistle escaped his lips. �So how did you manage to get yourself such a nice pad while the rest of us are living in slums? My apartment building couldn�t even fill up half of this room.� Sano met Austin�s eyes with an icy stare. �What are you doing in my territory, old man?� Austin regarded him humbly. �Your territory? Well let me apologize to you then. I was very rude to move in without letting you know that I had business to take care of in town. Please accept my sincerest apologies. I�m here because I�m trying to gather the strongest men on my team. I have plans for Tokyo, and it would be an honor if you would allow me to follow through on them with you at my side. I�ve heard lots of stories about you, and Irushi couldn�t stop talking about you once we arrived in Japan. He wanted to meet you desperately, and I�m glad that he was able to find you.� He stopped and glanced up at Irushi. �I�m really impressed, Corpus. You know how to pick a warrior.� Austin turned back to Sano. �I would love for you to join our group. What do you say, Sagara-san?� Sano was taken aback. How could this be so easy? No! Don�t allow this to be so easy. Be the badass you were known to be. Don�t let them see that so much within you has changed. He shook his head, and took a few steps back. He felt Irushi�s eyes burn holes into him. He knew that they must be searching for any sign of deceit, and he had to make sure that his cover was legitimate. �Che, you think it�s gonna be that simple? I was very well known in my time and I don�t come cheap. I ran all of Tokyo, and I�m going to resume my old position as its gang leader- even if it means that I have to take you out. What kind of deal do you have that could interest me?� Irushi stood impassively beside Austin whose lips began to spread into a wide smile. He looked up to Irushi again, and poked him in the ribs. �You know, he has your spirit, Corpus.� He then turned to Sano. �I like your attitude, Sagara-san. Here is what I have to propose. You will work with Corpus on my most secretive plan. He has helped me devise a way to get all of Tokyo to follow someone who can make things right in this city. I don�t know if Corpus has indulged you yet, but I once had a son and he died of cholera in a city called Aizu. He couldn�t be cured just like so many of the other people who contracted that horrible illness and then eventually succumbed to it. It hurt me tremendously, but it was also sad to see so many others suffering with no way of being cured. That made me think of a cause that will benefit the good people of this country. I can help this country out tremendously with my financial support, but the authorities don�t see the image I have painted for them. They still want to embrace the old ways but times are changing, and it is time that this place got a glimpse of what it is missing. That is why I need your help. I need you to help these people see that what I have in mind is for their own good, and if this Meiji government refuses to be open to it, then we need to get rid of them. They are not doing a good job. They had such a bloody battle to gain leadership, and now twelve years into the new government and they barely know what to do with themselves let alone the rest of the population. I need you to help me open their eyes.� Sano raised his hand as a gesture for Austin to stop. His mind was reeling from his words, and this was just the motive for all of this trouble. How does this guy plan to take over Tokyo? �Your sentiment is nice, Mr. Austin but I heard that you were planning some violence of your own. Even though I was out of commission for a couple of years I still heard some things here and there. I heard that you have something against a lady doctor in Tokyo, so much so that you had somebody try to rape her. Something like that doesn�t convince me that you have good intentions for Tokyo. I may not like this government, and these cops can pretty much kiss my ass, but this is my city and I don�t want the people here to get hurt by someone who doesn�t belong here. If you want us to work together then think of some non-violent way to appeal to the people since you are, after all accusing my country of committing all of these acts of violence. The people have had enough, and just want to live their lives. If I can make it as easy for them as possible, then I�m in. Other than that, I�m going to have to run you out of here.� Sano momentarily met Irushi�s eyes, and his knees almost went weak. He actually saw a scowl on his face, and it made Sano nervous. He kept an impassive face, and met the scowl with one of his own. He hoped that it wasn�t too tinged with the worry he was actually feeling. Irushi snorted and shook his head. Mr. Austin sat beside him, quietly studying Sano. �My, for a merciless gangster you certainly have a lot of compassion. Why should you care about what we do to these people? Why should you care about what we do to some lady doctor? She happens to be, Takani Megumi, the daughter of that doctor who could not cure Mr. Austin�s son. She is nothing but a whore who fell in with a bad group and ended up becoming a drug dealer. How is it that she is allowed to practice medicine with her background? She is the typical example of those corrupt people who get away with murder and then go on and live their lives as if that will make it all go away. There�s someone else like that as well, and I can�t stand it that he still lives. Your friend Himura Battousai has got to be the supreme hypocrite to walk these streets of Tokyo. He taints the new era with his mere existence, and he preaches non-violence when he was the deadliest killer of his time. How can this government allow someone like him to live? This era is filled with Himura Battousai�s who have done wrong yet pay nothing for it. I want to see people like that banished from Japan-and if they refuse to go peacefully, then I will just exterminate them.� Sano felt his breath catch in his throat and for a moment he couldn�t breathe. So he wanted to get rid of people like Kenshin, and Megumi because he felt that they paid nothing for their crimes. God, the ignorance of this guy! If he only knew what Kenshin had done for not only Tokyo but for all of Japan. If he only saw the skill that Megumi had for treating those who had severe conditions. Her touch is like something sent from God! Sano stopped and met Irushi�s hard gaze again. He sighed. If he knew any of this it wouldn�t make a goddamned difference because he�s so convinced of his cause. This guy has a huge chip on his shoulder. How far can this go before he gets tired of my resisting him? �Sanosuke.� Sano jumped at the sound of his name. It was Irushi who had said his name. �Sanosuke, I want to try and understand what you are proposing. If you are to become part of our faction, it must be on your terms. Your terms are that we try and influence the people of Tokyo to trust our ideas through non-violent means because you do not want to hurt anyone. What kind of bullshit is that?� Sano felt his heart begin to beat rapidly. Irushi�s eyes turned to fire as he moved one step away from Austin�s side. His hand rested on the hilt of his Katana his fingers gently rubbing at the metal. �I spent some hours with you explaining my past and how I came to be with Mr. Austin, and you have the nerve to suggest that we adjust our plans so that no one gets hurt! Let me tell you exactly what will happen, Sanosuke. I will infiltrate the police department and become one of their top officers. Once I am entrusted and bestowed with praise for my good work, then I will begin to destroy its reputation. There will be horrible murders in the streets of Tokyo committed by a policeman. I will leave nice, obvious clues that lead these crimes directly to the police department. The murders will be horrendous because I have pretty hard feelings towards Japan in general, and could care less whether a few civilians taste the blade of my sword, or kiss the barrel of my gun. This will cause the public to run amok with fear of the police, and break free of its control. At this point I will no longer be a part of the police department, and therefore I will organize a revolt against them where all of the poor civilians, and the gangsters will fight to regain control of the peace that they will believe has been taken from them. The samurai who have put away their swords will happily take them on again. Once I get the support of the people then I will spread this attack to other regions. The Japanese government will be unable to control such a massive amount of angry citizens that it will be at the threshold of another civil war. And once that begins to ferment I will introduce Mr. Austin as the one who will save Japan from its miserable state.� God, he is mad! Sano thought to himself. He felt the sweat on is forehead slide down his face. Something was getting closer, and he knew that it wasn�t good. The aura around Irushi was black, and the words he spoke seeped with the hatred of someone who had no kind of compassion. He had something against Japan, and he meant to make it pay for all the hardships he had experienced. He�s mad just like Shishio Makoto, but he seems to have an added ally in Austin. He�s from another nation and Irushi has those foreign influences, which make him more of a foreign enemy than a local one. Austin�s homeland is very powerful. If they get the people to revolt against each other there will be no unity. Without unity then there is no way to defend against those outsiders who want to move in and create their own twisted way of life. Suppose Austin�s country is in on this entire idea? How would Japan look to them? They would make us look weak to the rest of the world and then we would be at their mercy. Sano�s head swam with one incredulous idea after another; the war between his people, the bloody battles for justice- the fall of his country. Sano couldn�t stop thinking about it, and he knew that he was giving away too much with the expression of worry that colored his face. This was too much. How would Saitou and Kenshin stop this guy from proceeding with any of this? Would this be like it was with Shishio? Would they be able to defeat them? Sano�s hand unconsciously went to his katana, and Irushi immediately drew his sword and struck. The movement was too fast. Sano had no time to react or block it. From its speed he knew that Irushi�s blade had connected but there was something odd about it. He waited a moment and then looked himself over. No pain. No blood. Then he felt something. His bangs came down over his eyes, as his red bandana loosened, and slid down the sides of his head. He held out his hand and caught it before it could hit the ground. He looked it over quickly; it had been sliced in half- right at his forehead. Sano gasped. This guy could have split my forehead apart! He looked up and met Irushi�s gaze. His heart froze. �Sanosuke, I must apologize for acting so rash. I am very jumpy around fellow warriors, especially when they are in the presence of Mr. Austin. As you can see I am very protective of him. He is very old and feeble, and he can�t fend for himself. That�s what I am here for. Right?� Irushi glanced down at Austin who smiled gratefully up at him. �I have taken the place of your lost son, and I�m going to avenge his unnecessary death among other things.� He turned to Sano again. �Japan has been long over due for a new era, Sanosuke. The Meiji Era is corrupt. It is worse that the Isshin Shishi. Everyone is a crook, and to be a crook is to be a coward. Instead of fighting for beliefs, you all feel that you can buy them. The only ones who seem to go by the old code of fighting for honor are the gangsters which is why I have associated myself with them.� Sano�s shock faded and he shook his head sadly. �Fighting for honor? Yakuza fight for one thing and it�s themselves. There is no honor in selfishness. How do you plan to unite a bunch of scum to fight for your cause?� Irushi narrowed his eyes. �How is it that you have such ill feelings toward your kindred? Are you not the one who is the worst of them? Zanza the gangster, who decided to take this on as his lifestyle for what the Isshin government did to his group the Sekihou Tai. You became a gangster because you hated what they did to your master. You felt cast aside by a government that had nothing but selfish ideas. You fought for yourself, and grew strong for yourself. You were amazingly strong, and well known for it-until you met that bastard the Battousai. That pompous piece of shit caused you to believe that you were weak just because you couldn�t beat him. But, you fought for your ideas. Your ideas. You did not fight for anyone else. Your fights were not over a cause that would benefit Japan and the Meiji Era. You fought for yourself...at one time.� Irushi�s last words revealed it. Sano met his calm gaze, and it was all there. �At one time...� his voice trailed off. He congratulated himself on being able to get them to tell him their plans. Now if only he had someone to leak all of this information to then he could congratulate himself on a job well done. But looking at Irushi it seemed as if that was not going to happen. Chapter 12 Fanfiction Archive Main Page |