General Disclaimer

Title: Unknown
Rating: PG (just in case of some violence)
Summary: Anything I could think of to say would give it all away.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or SH22 (too bad...)

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Prologue

Kaoru Kamiya crept silently through the darkened dojo, hoping not to wake her two slumbering companions. Not that anything short of an explosion would wake Yahiko. A ghost of a smile crept across her lips, which soon faded. Kenshin, on the other hand, would worry. Kaoru guiltily wondered if she shouldn't have told him she was going out. However, he would have insisted on following her and she wanted to be alone with her thoughts.

A short distance away, she stopped and leaned against a sakura tree that overlooked the river. Closing her eyes, she let the sound of the moving water wash over her and soothe her troubled mind. She was confused about her emotions, about Kenshin, and mostly about everything.

Until recently, she had been sure that she loved the red-haired samurai. However, after the incident with Enishi, she began to wonder if perhaps it wasn't misplaced gratitude. For a month she had ignored these thoughts and tried to act the way she had before. Only she couldn't ignore them any longer. She had to think this out, so that her mind would be clear....

Granddad would have known what to say in this situation. He had always known how to make anything better, just by his affable grin and twinkling blue eyes. Kaoru blinked and shook her head, wondering why she had thought of that. That old man...he had been just a dream...a figment of her imagination....

There was a sudden gust of wind, and the moon that had lit the sky with its milky white glow went out, casting everything into darkness. She saw a flash of light and shivered. A thunderstorm. It had come up so quickly she hadn't even noticed it's approach. She moved as fast as she could through the pitch black that was interrupted intermittently by lightning, trying to get home.

As the sound of thunder boomed louder, signifying the storm's closeness, she gasped as she felt a hand take hold of her arm. Startled she tried to jerk away, but the grip was like an iron band. She could feel the circulation leaving her fingers. She stopped midstride and tried to see who her captor was.

Another flash of light lit the sky, and for a moment the woman was silhouetted against the dark background. Kaoru gaped at her opened mouthed in surprised recognition, but quickly shut it as the barrel of a gun was pointed directly at her face.

"Good girl. Come along silently now, and all will be well," the woman hissed out.

"T...T..okio?" Kaoru stammered.

Thunder drowned out the older woman's words, but the menacing thrust of the weapon told Kaoru enough. She shut up and allowed herself to be dragged along, her mind racing for a way to get free without getting shot. And to come up with an explanation for why Hajime Saitou's wife would want to abduct her.

Unless it was so the Mibu wolf could get to Kenshin. Annoyance built in her breast. She was so tired of this, of being used. Why couldn't everyone just leave her family alone?

Before she could announce her defiance, she was thrust into a building and then she felt the cold metal of the gun at the back of her neck.

A light flickered on, and she blinked in the sudden brightness. But soon she could make out the figure who held the candle at a short distance away from the two women. His tall stature and aristocratic features weren't all that difficult to recognize. However, Kaoru noticed in surprise, he looked quite shocked to see them, even if he did cover it up quickly.

"Tokio, I see you've decided to make your move after all," Saitou stated calmly as he sat the candle on a nearby desk.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Tokio responded, with a smirk in her voice, "and unless you hand those papers over...the girl dies." There was an ominous clicking sound, and Kaoru realized that the hammer of the gun had been pulled back.

Saitou gave no sign that he had heard and sat nonchalantly on the edge of the desk. "Now why would I do that? These papers could cause a world war, if found in the wrong hands. Of course, that's what your lover wanted, wasn't it? A great war in which he would emerge the supreme ruler?"

"Except he's dead," Tokio murmured flatly.

"What's going...eufff!" Kaoru grimmaced as the woman kicked her in the calf.

"I said to be quiet! Now," Tokio continued in a calmer voice, "I am going to continue his legacy. It's too bad you didn't figure out who I was sooner, Mister Hol...."

Before she could continue, there was a loud crash as a bolt of lightning hit the roof, causing it to cave in. In the chaos that followed, Kaoru escaped and ran outside. She didn't stop running until she saw the dojo, and then she slowed, trying to catch her breath. She sighed in relief as she saw a familiar figure watching the road in concern, which turned to a shriek as another bolt of lightning struck just in front of her.

She threw her hands up in front of her eyes and cringed, before everything went black.