Tanuki To Ryuu

Hey, its me again!   Sitting in my computer room at 1 AM trying to write

this fic because I can't sleep due to extreme allergies.   Tanuki To
Ryuu is one of the few joys I have right now.   Thank you fans for your
kind words.   And please keep the e-mails coming!   I think the response

is the only reason I can keep going right now.

Chapter 6: Rumors and Exaggerations

***
        The dark employer sat in silence as he pondered the events that
were just reported to him.   The woman defeated Akiro the Destroyer,
when dressed in a kimono no less, and the man she claimed engagement to
was indeed the Hitokiri Battousai.   That made matters difficult.   He
decided to send his small group of ninjas, the Five Shadows, to spy on
the pair and report what they discovered after a few weeks of
observation.   He needed to plan better before he could use another one
of his top soldiers.   There were only 4 left of the elite after Akiro's

defeat and he suspected he needed to keep them in reserve.

***

        Kenshin sat on the rooftop of Kaoru's house and watched the
clouds float gracefully by.   It was one week after Akiro the
Destroyer's defeat by Kaoru's hand.    Afterwards, he was arrested under

suspicion of murder by the local police.   Akiro's silence and blank
stare as he was dragged away showed his broken spirit after his second
defeat by a woman.   Yahiko and Yutaro were treated for minor injuries
and resumed their lessons the next morning.

        Kaoru exited the dojo in her kenjutsu outfit and pinched the
bridge of her nose.   "I swear those two kids will drive me insane," she

muttered.   "Kenshin?   Kenshin, where are you?" Kaoru shouted.   She
then sensed his presense and smiled when she realized where he was.
Kaoru threaded her bokken into her belt and lept onto the roof.   Kaoru
really enjoyed wearing a hakama for the freedom of movment when compared

to a kimono.   "Kenshin," she said as she walked towards Kenshin. "What
are you doing up here?"

        "Ah, Kaoru," Kenshin said as he turned to face her, "I enjoy
watching the clouds on a day like this.   After the harvest there will
be a rather strong winter, so days as bright as today will be rare for
the rest of the year,"   Kaoru sat down next to him and looked up at the

clouds.

        "Kenshin, when will we tell everyone that the 'engagement' is a
lie?" Kaoru asked.   The embarassment she received from the rumor was
almost intolerable if not for the occasional displays of affection
Kenshin showed in public to keep the rumor going.   "I already defeated
Akiro, so the danger should be past, right?"

        Kenshin's head didn't turn when he answered her.   "Kaoru, the
person that spied on us that night wasn't Akiro," he turned to face her,

"Whatever is going on is rather big, and for whatever reason, you are
the target,"   Kenshin smiled at Kaoru then sighed.   "Kaoru, truth is,
about this engagment?  I think..." and at that moment a pigeon flew
right into the back of Kenshin's head, "OROOOOO!" Kenshin cried in pain
as the bird landed on Kaoru's shoulder.

        "Kenshin!" Kaoru cried, worried, "Are you alright?"   Kaoru then

noticed the bird on her shoulder and that it had a note tied to its
leg..   "What's this?" Kaoru wondered as she pulled the note off.   When

the note was free from the bird's leg, the bird prompty took off and few

into the sky.   Kaoru unrolled the note and started reading it.
"Kenshin!   This is a note from Misao and Aoshi!"   Kenshin moved closer

to Kaoru to read the note with her.

        "Why did they send us a note?   Is it good news or bad?" Kenshin

asked.

        "Hmm," Kaoru pondered, "It seems Misao wrote it.   Oh," Kaoru
blushed, "she's congratulating us on our engagement.   How the heck did
she know about it in less than a week, and in Kyoto no less?"   Kenshin
chuckled slightly and glanced at the letter.

        "Well, she is a ninja," Kenshin answered.   Kenshin glanced at
the bottom of the letter and saw the handwriting changed.   "This bottom

part seems to be from Aoshi.   He's mentioning an increase of activity
in Tokyo and that he'd appreciate if we keep our eyes open,"

        "What kind of activity?" Kaoru asked as she scanned the bottom
part of the letter.   "Hmm, weapons being moved into the area and some
murders.   That does seem a bit strange,"  Kaoru handed the note to
Kenshin.   "How do we contact them when we do know something?"

        "I guess a normal letter would be good as anything," Kenshin
answered.   Kaoru then looked back at Kenshin and realized their earlier

conversation was cut short.

        "Hey, what did you want to say about the engagement?" she asked
as she looked at Kenshin with a curious expression.

        Kenshin scratched the back of his head and nervously chuckled,
"Its just that I think its not a bad..." Kenshin started when he was
interputted by the shouts of Yahiko.

        "Hey Kaoru, tell Yutaro he can't throw his shinai!" Yahiko
shouted from the door of the dojo.

        "It was a fair hit!" Yutaro countered.   The two boys then
started to argue.   Kaoru got up and sighed slightly.

        "I better keep them from killing eachother," she said as she
walked to the edge of the roof.   Kaoru gracefully stepped off the roof
and landed onto the ground.   Kenshin heard her as she shouted at her
two students in the dojo, "Yahiko!   I thought you matured more than
this!   And Yutaro, you should take this more seriously!   Ok, I want
the two of you doing a thousand strokes, perfectly!"

        Kenshin smiled as he heard Kaoru instruct her two students and
he slipped Aoshi's note into his sleeve.   Kenshin stood up and felt a
light autumn breeze rustle his clothes.   He then suddenly sensed
something secretive nearby and saw some shadows blur on the dojo's roof.

Kenshin narrowed his eyes and concentrated, but sensed no actual
hostility.   'Spies', he reasoned, 'ninjas, and not very good ones at
that.   They must be gathering information.   Its best if I corner one
alone and interrogate him.' Kenshin decided.   But to do that
successfully, he needed Kaoru's help.

***

        After Yahiko and Yutaro were dismissed from their lessons, Kaoru

was extremely surprised when Kenshin grabbed her in a tight embrace and
carried her into her room and closed the door.   "Kenshin!   What do you

think you're doing?" Kaoru protested.   Kenshin remained quiet for a
moment and Kaoru got scared.  "Kenshin, please" Kaoru pleaded, as she
feared the worst.   "I'm not ready, please," Kaoru wimpered as she moved

slowly to the other side of her room.

        Kenshin looked at the situation and realized how bad it looked.
He smiled at Kaoru and moved closer to her, slowly and whispered, "Maa
maa, Kaoru, its nothing like that.   There are ninjas on the roof,"
Kenshin explained, "I had to make a show.   Can you scream convincingly?

I have a plan to capture them."

        "Sure Kenshin," Kaoru answered and she made a loud estatic
scream of "KENSHIN PLEASE!", then looked back at Kenshin.  Kenshin
blushed at Kaoru's faked scream.   "Now what is your plan?" she
whispered.

        "We ambush them tonight in town," Kenshin answered with a smile.

***

        The five shadow's leader had no idea his team were found out so
early on their reconnisance mission..   He was currently following the
woman and her fiancee as they walked through the streets of Tokyo.   He
was unable to hear what the two said to eachother, but it looked like
the normal lovey-dovey stuff young couples say.   He signaled for his 4
comrades to keep moving.

        His employer seemed to think that these two were a threat to his

plans.   The man seemed fragile and the woman was a tomboy, but
regardless of the leader's opinion, the Five Shadows watched them.
Earlier that day, the man and woman, to the best of the leader's
knowledge, were physically intimate for half an hour.   The man and
woman laughed together and seemed to genuinely enjoy eachother's
company.   The Five Shadows watched the two walk into an area that they
knew was a blind alley, yet they followed.

        When the ninjas reached the rooftops above the alleys, they were

surprised that the alley was empty.   "Looking for us?"said a man's
voice and the Five Shadows turned around to see the man and the woman on

the roof.   The man drew his sword and handed the sheath to his woman.
The woman held the sheath like it were a bokken and both looked like
they were ready for combat.   The man regarded the ninjas then said to
his woman, "Kaoru, you take the ones on the left," and he then blurred
as she moved forward to attack.

***

        The battle was over in mere seconds.   Kenshin dispatched three
of the ninjas with practiced ease while Kaoru knocked out a fourth with
the aid of Kenshin's sheath.   The fifth fled in terror when he realized

he was grossly outclassed.   Kaoru was about to pursue the fifth but
Kenshin put his hand on Kaoru's shoulder and stopped her.

        "We got four of them," Kenshin stated.   "The fifth will report
the group's failure to their boss,"   Kenshin tied three of them up as
Kaoru tied up the fourth.   The two waited until the ninjas regained
consciousness.   "So, which looks like he knows the most?" Kenshin asked

Kaoru.

        Kaoru pulled the masks off all four of their captives and
studied each one with a harsh eye.   "I think this one" she said as she
poked him on the head like she was selecting a fruit.   Kenshin flipped
his sakabato over to show the sharp edge then kneeled down to look at
the ninja Kaoru selected.

        "Really?   He looks kinda stupid to me," Kenshin answered.   He
then poked another one of the ninjas.   "What about this one?"

        "I don't know, Kenshin," Kaoru said, "He has that cross-eyed
look 'duh' look."   Three of the ninjas were scared for their lives and
decided to sell-out their leader.

        "It was him!   He is our leader!" three of the ninjas shouted as

they gestured with their heads at the fourth.   Kenshin and Kaoru
grinned at eachother then tethered the three other ninjas over the roof
of the building, then dragged the fourth back to the dojo.

***

        The Five Shadow's leader sat on the dojo floor, scared out of
his wits.   He heard that the man was the Battousai but doubted it until

he saw the man blur before his eyes.   The woman was also fairly skilled

as well, which he already knew when he heard she defeated Akiro not
once, but twice.

        The Battousai and his woman walked into the dojo with their arms

full.   The Battousai held a large watermelon and the woman had several
sets of kunai in her hands.   "Are you sure, Kenshin?   Misao only gave
me a few lessons in this," the woman asked.

        "You'll do fine," the redheaded man assured her as he gave the
leader an evil grin.   The man set the watermelon down a good meter away

from their captive and said, "This is a little game.   Kaoru hasn't ever

been extremely good at kunai practice, even with some instruction, so
she'll practice with this watermelon first.   Remember Kaoru, your goal
is to miss the watermelon!" he shouted back to his woman.   The woman
grinned and threw a handfull of the kunai and all of them struck the
watermelon head-on.

        The leader started to sweat as he saw the man grab the kunai and

pull them out of the watermelon.   The man walked back to the woman and
handed the kunai to her.   "Sorry, Kenshin," the woman apologized,
"Every single one hit the watermelon.   I guess I'll do better with a
live target, BLINDFOLDED!"   The woman tied a heavy blindfold over her
eyes and stood in position to throw.

        "WAIT!" the leader cried in terror as he felt his bladder give.
"I'll tell!   My employer has a mansion near the river front!  Past the
old stone bridge next to the well!   Please don't make her throw those
thing at me, PLEASE!" the man pleaded.   The Battousa roughly picked the

ninja leader up and dragged him to the police.

***

        Kenshin and Kaoru charged the mansion with a fierce battlecry.
Kenshin Kuzu-Ryu-Senned the gates wide open and Kaoru ran in with her
bokken ready.   When the dust settled, both Kenshin and Kaoru wre
surprised to see that the mansion was deserted, apparently for only an
hour or so.   "Damn!" Kaoru cursed under her breath.   "We just missed
them!"

        Kenshin kneeled down at the courtyard and examined the ground.
"There were at least 30 men here, maybe 40," he said as he stood up,
"But you're right, Kaoru, they are gone,"   Kaoru looked at Kenshin, a
frightened look on her face.

        "Forty?" she asked with slight fear.   "Why would anyone
assemble 40 people just to attack me?" Kaoru asked to herself as she
stumbled.

        "It can be 400 men, and I won't let them touch you," Kenshin
assured her.   "I also think that this person's purpose is more than to
attack you.   Something about this seems bigger,"

***

        The dark employer knew he barely avoided a confrontation with
the Battousai.   The one ninja that did escape informed him quickly of
their failure.   That meant, of course, that the Battousai would
eventually get the location of his base.   It was easy enough to
transport his men and their equipment to the secondary location, but it
was still a loss.   He, of course, swiftly disposed of the failure of a
spy a good distance from the old base.   He didn't need the Battousai to

know who he was just yet.

***

        Yahiko and Yutaro arrived at the dojo early the next morning.
They bickered, as usual, on the way to the dojo.   When they entered the

gates, however, they were both surprised to see Kaoru dressed in her
kimono and deep in conversation with Kenshin.

        "What are you two guys doing?" Yahiko asked Kenshin and Kaoru.
"We came for our lessons,"

        "Yahiko, today is your day off, same for you Yutaro," Kaoru
said.   "Kenshin and I have to make... arrangements,"

        "Arrangements for?" Yutaro asked.   He didn't want to miss too
many lessons.

        "Arrangements for our wedding!" Kenshin announced as he pulled
Kaoru close to him for emphasis.   Yahiko looked at the two spectically
then pointed at the sheet of paper between them.

        "Then why are you two writing a letter to Aoshi and Misao?
There's a battle coming, isn't there?" Yahiko asked in exictement.

        Kaoru coughed to get Yahiko's attention, "They're being invited,

you idiot!   Now go out and visit Tsubame!   You have a day off!" Kaoru
shouted at Yahiko.   Yahiko walked out of the gates with Yutaro right
behind him.

        "So who is this Tsubame?" Yutaro asked with interest.

        "No one that you'll meet!" Yahiko shouted.

        "Oooh, Yahiko's got a girlfriend!" Yutaro taunted as the two of
them left the dojo's gates.

***

        "Whew, that was close!" Kaoru sighed.   "You're right, Kenshin.
This engagement is really useful!"

        "It is," Kenshin replied.   "So does the letter say everything
we've discovered?"

        "We didn't discover much," Kaoru answered.   "Besides, why can't

you write this letter?"

        "Oro?  You saw my handwriting before, right?" Kenshin asked with

a puzzled look on his face.   Kaoru giggled in response.

***

That's Chapter 6!   The mystery continues to unfold!   Everyone, please
don't feel shy and e-mail me!

In Chapter 7... The mystery unfolds... some more?



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