All for Love- Chapter Twelve Disclaimer: All characters of Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, JUMP comics, and Sony entertainment. �How many officers do you have on standby?� The Wolf looked down at the Rurouni. His amber gaze hardened as they met the violet eyes of the latter. He expected incompetence, but was granted a smile. �One thousand. They have surrounded the Austin Compound and are awaiting their order to attack. We shouldn�t wait too long to go inside. I get an odd feeling whenever I think about Sano.� The smile faded and the expression grew hard. �I want to get him out of there already. There is no need for him to be in there anymore. If you want information then you can always beat it out of one of the gang members. But I will wait no longer.� The amber eyes softened slightly. He nodded his head and looked ahead at the immense structure before them. It loomed against the mountain, ominous in its size. �I want him out of there as well. He has done enough. It�s time to relieve him.� * * * * * * * * * * * Megumi had slipped quietly away from Kenshin and Saitou as they had their conversation. She moved swiftly avoiding a group of police officers that were posted just behind the spread of forest. They hid themselves so as not to be noticed by anyone in the compound. She was impressed. She always thought that the police just ambushed scenes, and killed anyone within arms reach of them. But this time they were calm and patient; perhaps they were cautious because they knew that a fellow officer was inside. Megumi moved on, ducking expertly into the greenery of the bushes so that she could get to the base of the mountain. She had noticed a faint light coming from the side and she wanted to see if it were some kind of secret opening. If she could determine that, then they just might be able to sneak inside and possibly take care of things before they became too dangerous. Megumi got closer. Just a few hundred feet. She strained her eyes in the darkness, and moved a few more yards. She peered at the faint light again. YES! It is an opening! She held her breath in excitement. We have a way to sneak in! I have to tell Ken-san before it�s too late. She backed away a bit. The opening was among shrubbery so they would not be seen when they made their entrance. It was perfect. Megumi felt her heart beat as she thought of the prospects. Sanosuke, we�re getting so close. Just a matter of moments before I can see you again-! She heard a footstep behind her. Then she saw darkness. * * * * * * * * * * * Irushi moved closer so that he stood right before Sanosuke. Sano was taller than this man, and so he had to shift his gaze to look down at him. What he saw made him want to pass out. Irushi�s eyes had grown darker than their original black color, if that was possible, covering the entire lense so that there seemed to be nothing but ooze floating within the eye sockets. Sano couldn�t stop a shudder from going down the length of his spine. He wondered if this is how the eyes of a demon looked. Irushi moved closer still until he had to crane his head back to look up at Sano. His eyes narrowed as he regarded the gangster with scrutiny. Sano sucked in his breath but made no move to push Irushi away. He didn�t want to touch this man, but he felt his own strength drain away with each second he stood where he was, glaring up at him. Sano felt it all now, the evil that this man had become and the intention he had to destroy all that Japan had struggled to become. He had a huge chip on his shoulder and Sano wondered if he was strong enough to flick it off and knock some sense into him. Sano took a deep breath and searched those wickedly horrible eyes again. He saw nothing that would lead Irushi to believe that he had been betrayed. Irushi merely doubted Sano�s credibility, and he was trying to see if he could intimidate him into a confession. Sano resisted the urge to sigh with relief, for he had not totally lost this man�s trust. Now that it was established he shook off any fear and repulsion he had left, and showed Irushi some more of the gangster, Zanza. Sano grabbed a handful of Irushi�s collar, and lifted him up so that his feet dangled inches above the floor. He pulled the man close so that Irushi had no choice but to look into his eyes. Sano winked. �Hey, if you want me to stick around and help, we�re going to have to discuss something called personal space. I don�t get this close to anyone unless I�m beating the shit out of him.� Sano paused for a moment, his expression turning into a scowl. �Now, it seems that you doubt my intentions. I�ll admit to you that I don�t give a shit about any of those other Yakuza. I don�t belong to a gang because I don�t need anyone. I�m my own gang, and I fight like it, so if you have a problem with me then do something about it.� Sano thrust Irushi back so that he stumbled over his own feet struggling not to fall over. He figured that his little gesture would make Irushi snap, so he fingered the hilt of his sword and readied himself for a fight. But Irushi stayed where he was, eyeing him calmly. The fight inside him was gone, or perhaps it was only temporarily hindered. He regarded Sano with uncertainty as he made his way back to the throne to stand beside a stunned Austin. The old man was absolutely incensed. �You dare young man to show such disrespect! I�ve had soldiers killed for less than what you just pulled!� The old man�s face was red with anger, and the veins on his neck swelled unnaturally. Irushi placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him. �It�s alright, Mr. Austin. I have reason to give this warrior another chance. I like someone who has balls enough to confront me face to face.� He turned to Sano with a smile on his face, yet his eyes were still the same dark evil. �You showed no fear, Sanosuke. I need someone like you. But as I revealed before, I have no problem unsheathing this sword once again if need be. Don�t make me condemn you to the same fate that was bestowed upon your poor bandana. Am I to trust that you understand all of this?� Sano sighed inwardly, and kept his hard gaze locked with Irushi�s. �I understand that I�m here to do what I can on my own terms. I haven�t changed my mind. I�ll help you bring the fall of the Meiji government, but I don�t want to threaten the peace that the common people have found for themselves. You may have no compassion for them, but they are my people and I�ll be damned if some strange country comes in to impose its way of life on them. The Meiji needs to die, but not at the expense of the people.� Irushi gazed at him through slits. �What are you saying, then?� Sano matched the stare. �I�m saying that I have no problem hurting the Meiji government. But if you hurt the people then you�ll have a problem with me.� Austin looked as if he were going to explode. �You damned fool! How dare you think that we will accept any of this-!!� Irushi smoothly cut in, �- I�m fine with it. We�ve wasted enough time, Mr. Austin, and we�re late for our meeting with the other department leaders.� Irushi turned to Sanosuke again. �Sagara, I want you to wait for me in my study. I shouldn�t take very long, and once I am done I will come to tell you what your assignment will be.� Sano felt that glare bear into his soul. If he looked at Irushi any longer he feared that the gaze would rip right through him and devour him whole. His eyes moved away and he looked to Austin who sat on his throne still seething with anger. Sano wondered what it was about Irushi that made this old man so devoted to him. The more information he gathered, the more he thought that Austin had less and less to do with the whole operation. He had some interesting things to tell his officers; now the only thing left to do was to find one of them. Sano turned and made his way down the stairs. As he descended the steps he felt that odd thing once again- the darkness within that threatened to reveal him. He silently wished that he could shake it off. He made a plan to try and leave the house for a while. As Austin and Irushi had their conference he would find one of the many undercover officers who patrolled Tokyo and tell him everything. But then he wondered if he even had to go that far. If he wasn�t mistaken, he could swear that there was another officer among them posing as a gangster. He inwardly cursed Saitoh�s lack of faith in him- Goddamn that Wolf! At the door he stopped and looked up the stairs. Both father and surrogate son were gone. Not too much time to get this done, he thought as he opened the creaky door and left to get his work done. * * * * * * The tunnels were simpler to go through now, so Sano was pleased with that. Once he traveled through something, no matter how tricky the turns were, he had it permanently recorded in his head. Another useful skill he had learned from the Wolf. The more he stayed in here the more he came to appreciate Saitoh�s hard-ass training. But soon enough he passed the floor of Irushi�s private room and for just a split second he considered waiting in there. A presence behind him made him change his mind. �Inspector Fujita awaits outside with the Battousai. Go now before they lose their patience and ambush this place.� When Sano turned around to confront the presence, he saw no one there. At the far end of the hall he did see the guard he had noticed when he had arrived earlier, standing alone. The guard seemed not to notice him, but at close inspection he was in fact watching Sano. Sanosuke figured that this was the other undercover cop. Keeping an eye on me, huh? I knew that damned Wolf had no faith in me! He saluted the guard who continued to ignore him, and made his way outside. He had found an exit among the shrubbery and resisted the urge to kiss the dirt as he ambled out of the compound and into the cool night air. He immediately felt the presence of many, the police force who hid themselves well inside the forest, and soon enough he was able to spot the one whom he did not want to meet at that moment. He saw the cigarette smoke swirling above his head. Shit, I�m fucked. Sano actually considered going back inside and trying his luck with Irushi. But then he saw a friendly face, Kenshin�s face, among the shadows of the forest and he began to feel more at ease. No matter how much training and fights he had, he always felt better in situations when Kenshin was involved. He remembered telling Kenshin that he could sit this one out, but from what he had just learned, his friend�s involvement was inevitable. Kenshin stepped forward to greet Sano with a wide smile. He looked so relieved to see him in one piece that Sano felt bad. He really was worried, he thought regretting the secrets that he had kept from his best friend. He really wished that he had disregarded the rules of the Secret Police and taken Kenshin into his confidence. He definitely would have understood the situation. Kenshin looked up at his friend, his eyes taking in Sano�s appearance with one sweep. �I�m glad that you are safe, Sano. Megumi-dono was so worried as were the rest of us. That man did not hurt you did he?� Sano noticed the concerned look on Kenshin�s face. He wondered why Kenshin asked that question. Then the wind blew his bangs into his face and he remembered. He pulled the remains of his bandana out of his jacket and held it out to Kenshin. The Rurouni took the tattered fabric from his fingers and examined it. He didn�t look pleased. �Sano, this was split at your forehead! That man could have killed you!� That statement awarded a snort from the Wolf. �Dumbass. I knew that this would be too much for you to handle. I�m surprised that you didn�t come out with worse, or that you came out at all. I expected you to be dead.� Then Saitoh fixed Sano with an icy glare as he blew smoke into his face. �Perhaps you should regret that he couldn�t grant you that favor, Rooster.� The anger at their earlier battle had returned with a vengeance and Saitoh found it difficult to keep it under control. Yet, he didn�t want to admit that he was glad that Sano had made it out of the Compound. The sting in his back reminded him to be angry with this insolent jackass so that he could keep his foul mood. He couldn�t let his concern for Sano�s safety color his motives for this operation. He looked his officer up and down and determined that he had suffered no injuries- but perhaps he had some information to share. �Wolf, I�ve got no time to trade insults with you. I found out some vital information about what they�re going to do. They told me the whole thing and it sounds really bad.� He relayed the entire incident to Kenshin and Saitoh who listened with growing apprehension. It was bad indeed. Kenshin was the first to speak. �It is not much different than what Shishio was trying to do. This guy sounds dangerous, even more so since he has foreign influences who may be much more powerful than our government. What do you think, Saitoh?� "I think that the Japanese Westerner may be more of a problem than we think, but we can still stop him. He has Yakuza on his side who will easily be defeated by my officers. Kyuuto Irushi will have his hands full if he has no soldiers to help him in his battle.� Kenshin whirled on Saitoh, eyes blazing with intent. �No one is to be killed. I made that clear to your officers and they agreed to it. I will go in and talk to Kyuuto Irushi myself, and your soldiers are here to hinder any attacks. They are not here to cause unnecessary deaths and I won�t tolerate any! Leave it to me. I will go in and deal with the leader.� Saitoh shook his head slightly and flicked cigarette ash onto the ground. �I don�t know why I put up with having you as an ally. You always make my assignments much more difficult that they need to be. It would be much easier to exterminate the scum that lives within those walls. Why must we spare them the wrath of the people? They want to wage a war on us. I see no reason to hold back.� He cocked his head toward Sano. �My officer is out, and I see the other trailing out as well.� Sano followed Saitoh�s gaze and saw the officer who had posed as a guard, amble out from the shrubbery. He moved through the leaves rather slowly, and soon they all realized that the officer was injured. When he reached them he collapsed against Sano, grasped onto his lapel, and moved in close to whisper weakly into his ear, �They have your woman�I couldn�t� do much to save her. They found me out and sliced me up�I know that she�s important to you, so I�held on as much as I could so I could tell you�Go�and save her�sorry I couldn�t do more�� His voice trailed off, and his body slumped down against Sano who caught him and laid him gently on the ground. Sano�s jacket was soaked with the fallen officer�s blood, and he took it off to drape it over his face. His fists clenched tightly, as he slowly rose to his feet. Irushi had to pay. This officer didn�t deserve any of this. He had a family who was depending on him to return home just like so many of the other policemen who were here tonight. He looked around and surveyed the scene. There were so many of them here, taken from their homes to prepare themselves for another battle. Austin and Irushi had no regard, and certainly could not care less for the lives of these officers. But I care! I care about all of them, and I don�t want to see any of them taken out like this one was. They don�t deserve it, and neither do those gangsters that are inside. None of them deserve this except... Just thinking the name made his blood boil. Irushi. He had to make his pay. He had to get Megumi out of there most of all; but in order to do that he had to face that son of a bitch. Sano looked to Kenshin and Saitoh who were both gazing down at the dead officer. Neither of them had heard what the dead man had said. �Oi! They have Megumi inside. I think that she may have wandered away without your notice. I have to go in to meet with Irushi about the assignment he�s going to give me. I have this under control but there are some things I want to know before we make our move. Plus they�ve got Megumi, so I don�t want to jeopardize her safety. This meeting that I�m going to have with him is going to decide how the rest of this is going to go. You guys can�t do anything until you know that she�s safe, so see if you can get another officer to sneak around and keep tabs for you.� Sano paused when he saw a grin form on the Wolf�s face. That told him that he already had another spy working on the operation. Sano was relieved that Saitoh was so far ahead of him, yet a small part of him still believed that the Wolf doubted his abilities as an undercover agent; so the gesture also annoyed the hell out of him. He turned to Kenshin now, who had not taken his eyes off of the dead officer. Sano could tell that this man�s death angered him greatly, and he knew that he would listen to any plan that would spare as many lives as possible. �Kenshin, I�m going to need you to do me a favor. Don�t make a move until you get word from the spy that Megumi is out of the way. I want to get her away from Irushi before anything happens. And with that in mind I have something else to tell you.� He fixed Kenshin with a steady gaze. �If that bastard Irushi does anything to Megumi, you won�t be able to stop me from killing him- so don�t get in my way.� Kenshin studied Sano for a moment and thought that he saw a slight amber glow form around his eyes. He wanted to convince him of some other way to deal with Irushi, but then he remembered how his own eyes had glowed when Kaoru�s life had been threatened. His vow to never kill again; the Black Hat, Jin�e had caused him to forget this vow. Saitoh the Wolf had caused him to forget it as well. He could see why Sano would forget his own good nature and go after Irushi�s blood. He didn�t want to see his friend shed any blood, but he knew if he were in Sano�s situation, he would most definitely forget his vow for good. He felt Sano staring daggers into him awaiting his response. He stared blankly back at him, and finally nodded in agreement. Sano� expression softened a bit, as his eyes conveyed how grateful he was. He knew that he could count on Kenshin. He nodded in return confident that his friend would be the one to keep this plan moving, and silently left them both to rush back into the compound. Kenshin and Saitou hid among the trees once again as they watched Sanosuke make his way back inside of the compound. When he was out of sight Saitou lit another cigarette. �So, you gave the Rooster permission to kill him. Isn�t that a bit hypocritical, Battousai?� Kenshin glanced up at the Wolf with cold, piercing eyes. His voice was dead of all emotion. �I don�t need to give Sano permission to do anything. He is his own man who lives by his own rules. I merely let him know that I understand his situation completely. I know how it feels when the one you love is in danger. From what I remember, you made me feel that way once.� Saitou grinned evilly and took a satisfying drag from his cigarette. The voice of the Battousai always pleased him. If I irk him just a little more, maybe I can get the Hitokiri out of him again. He�s halfway there already! But it seemed as if Kenshin was wise to his attempts. His cold expression was gone and he was back to his friendly old self. He smiled up at Saitou and said cheerfully, �Let�s not to wait too long before we go inside. I know I told Sano that we�d wait for some information, but if things get ugly he�s going to need our help. The guards know to watch for our signal if they are needed and to make sure that no Yakuza try to escape.� And with that, Kenshin made his way to a tall mound of foliage suitable to hide in, leaving Saitoh bewildered once again. He put his cigarette out thinking that Kenshin must have multiple personalities, and made a gesture for his guards to be prepared. Then he followed the Battousai. Chapter 13 Fanfiction Archive Main Page |