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Preys	By : kamorgana Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 5568 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 26
- 27
- 28
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I don�t own Rurouni Kenshin. The characters belong to Watsuki, but the plots, ideas, OCs and text are *mine*.
Preys
Chapter 27: Spider webs

After Saitoh had left, Tokio curled into an armchair, smoking and pondering over her behavior. How could she be so obviously caring? Everything was going too fast.
All had changed since a few days ago, since they were spending each night and part of the days together, without even questioning the fact. Though last week she thought that all she could expect was some professional complicity, they had now more than that, something personal and intimate. Their mind games had changed nature. It wasn�t a war anymore. It was a way of interacting, something that they shared. She liked the light in his eyes, when he won, and the way he smirked when she did. He didn�t try to dominate her anymore, at least not in the way he did before, not to crush her. He didn�t treat her as an enemy, but as an ally, as a partner. Their minds worked in a very similar way and, even though they had different opinions on many subjects, deep down, they had also the same way of thinking. Since they had gone after Takeda together, she had realized it, and she knew that he had, too.
These last days, he had been supportive, in his way, but he had, whenever she had been upset, even for personal reasons. His down-to-earth logic was maddening, sometimes, yet it was reassuring. He didn�t lose his time on soothing, meaningless words, he pointed at facts, and it was much more effective. He had also cared enough to explain his behavior after their argument about his contact. For many people, it was a given, but coming from him, it was a meaningful sign. It had made her realize so many things. He had been upset at her bodyguards, because he wanted to protect her by himself. She usually didn�t appreciate this kind of behavior, but she did because it was him, because she had understood that it was his way of caring. He did care for her. He had also calmed down when she had hinted that their presence allowed them to spend time together, and she knew that it wasn�t only for sex, he wouldn�t bother to talk to her and banter with her otherwise. Neither would he have come to her after he had learnt about Kondo�s stroke, instead of disappearing for a while, like he had after Soushi�s death. He was never lying nor pretending about what he felt or think. She couldn�t believe that she had been so dense, and didn�t realize that he didn�t express himself with words, but with actions.
She also knew why she had been so stupid and insecure, when it wasn�t like her. Was she ready for this one, she wondered wearily, her old reflex of burying the feelings she couldn�t control reappearing. She sighed. She couldn�t deny it.
She was falling in love with him.
She took a long, cleansing breath. It seemed that the world didn�t collapse because she had admitted it. It was too fast, and scary, but it was the truth. She missed him already, wasn�t that crazy? It wasn�t only physical. She admired him, his integrity, his intelligence, and his devotion to duty. His ruthlessness and cruelty were only the expression of his untamable nature and his demanding temper. She still didn�t like when it was directed at vulnerable people, yet, she understood why. He was saying the truth, only the truth, and all the truth, whatever it had to hurt, because he despised hypocrisy and lies. He was demanding with himself, and expected nothing less from the others. He despised weakness, because he had none.
And feelings were a weakness to him. That was why he would never love her. She had always known, and that was the reason of her attempts at denial. He cared for her, and respected her. That had to be enough. She was puzzled to accept from him what she wouldn�t accept from any other, to accept the idea that she would be hurt, without even trying to escape.
Well, it wasn�t like she had had a choice. She was doomed, she thought, sheepishly.
It didn�t throw her in the depths of despair, yet she was grateful, this time, when her cell-phone rang.
***
Saitoh spotted Chou waiting for him. Today, his contact had chosen an underground parking lot for their meeting. This guy was always so melodramatic, though for once, he had reasons to be. The cop entertained the thought of surprising him again, as a little payback for his frustration, but he nixed it. The moron was very able to shoot him before thinking.
�What do you have for me?� he asked, at a few paces away from him.
Chou turned to him, and Saitoh noticed that his face was bruised.
�They got you.�
�Well, it could have been worse. I told you, I knew zilch, and being a police informer,� he added with the smug smile generally announcing a serious session of bragging, �I managed to convince them that I could play double game. I�m supposed to let them know, if the police gets a lead on Shishio. They didn�t nail him yet, and they are seriously pissed.�
Saitoh raised a brow: �They found Raijuta, though.�
�Oh, yes, they got him. Of course, they didn�t tell me, I made a little of listening at closed door. Pretending to be passed out is very useful. They underestimated me.� He was puffing his chest again.
�What else did you learn?�
�Wow, wow, you seem quite impatient to me today, and honestly, after it took you almost 5 fucking minutes to answer my call, you could�.� he suddenly fixed a point at the base of Saitoh�s neck, and smiled naughtily. �OK, I see. My apologies to the lady�.�
Saitoh gave him a deadly look, and then tugged on the collar of his shirt, that he had forgotten to button, to hide a mark Tokio had made.
�I�ll make it fast, then. Of course, they aren�t stupid, and they pronounced no name, nor the nicknames we used to have, even when talking to each other. But I managed to get that they aren�t after everybody, only four of us, and they�re looking for the little fishes like me in case we still have links with them. It�s connected to some old thing, which would provoke the scandal of the century, because of a recent change of alliances. They said that they got one down, this is Raijuta, I suppose, and that they were hot on the trail of two others. They have a way to find Shishio, apparently, they had a trick to contact each other, and he uses it in his killings. If you find what is it��
�I know what it is.�
Chou groaned. �No gold star, OK. But what I wanted to tell you is: expect them to show up tomorrow where Shishio and co will strike.�
�Wait. Is the other Slayer another ex-soldier?�
�They aren�t sure, but they surely hope for it. It will ease their task. I understood that once the four guys hit the ground, they would breathe again.�
�Shishio goes down, you�re safe. And you still inform me?� Saitoh was very dubious. The guy was a moron, but not a fool.
�They won�t risk attracting more attention by eliminating the rest of us, I told you. Low cost/benefit ratio, they think like businessmen, you know, and they surely count on these �Fab Four� elimination to be an example, if any of us was tempted to blabber. On the other hand, you�re my most guaranteed regular paycheck. I also have the definite feeling that you won�t make too many efforts to catch Shishio alive�.�
Saitoh stared at the man, a smirk creeping on his features.
�That�s what I thought. Well, I have to hit the road. I know that the answer is no, but if you had a not too rotten tip that I could throw them, about the police�s progress�.it could help my case a bit.�
The cop waited that he reached the exit, to announce: �I�ll see what I can do.�
Chou whirled around, grinning: �My salutations to the lady.�
He then disappeared in the stairs, running like a kid, while a snorting Saitoh checked his phone, and called back Shinomori who had sent him a text message.
�Finished with Seta only now?�
*I finished a while ago, you took time to call back.* The profiler�s voice was a bit uptight.
*I�m at the office. Seta knows the partner�s name, and I�m sure that it�s the old one.*
Saitoh heard an exclamation of triumph behind Shinomori. �Makimachi progresses?�
*She entered the system just before I was back. She is trying to crack the code, and she is quite successful. We�re just near to solve that case.*
�I�m here in 15 minutes. You called the others?�
*I called Takagi-san, not Sagara, Kitaoka, and not Yukishiro. We�ll see once we have the name.*
�As always, enthusiastic,� finished Saitoh.
This was his day, he thought, cutting the communication, the anticipation of the hunt seizing him again. The Slayers had escaped him for too long, and today, he was going to get them.
***
�Are you sure that Seta isn�t playing with you again?� asked Saitoh, entering the section�s room.
�Aoshi-san would know it.� Makimachi�s answer had been automatic: her eyes glued to her screen, she was furiously typing on the keyboard of her computer, encouraged by her first success.
�Except for what the president of your fan club thinks, of course,� he corrected, bemused.
Aoshi sent a disapproving look to his partner. After he had waited for more than one hour to answer his call, because he was too caught in a �private conference� with his boss, Saitoh had better be easy on the criticism. He contained a remark about them not arriving at the same time. They should care about behaving like professionals, before saving the appearances. He�d have a word with Tokio about it. He overcame his annoyance, to focus on the case.
�I shattered him. Seta idolizes Shishio, and didn�t believe that the partner could win. But as I exaggerated the consequences of his wounds to the maximum, and mentioned Raijuta�s death, he�s going to think about it. He knows it all, Saitoh, maybe not what Shishio�s missions were, but the other members of the unit, and with which one he used to kill. It wasn�t Raijuta. I�ll go again tomorrow, and this time, he�ll talk. Especially with Makimachi�s information.�
Nodding, Saitoh picked up the ringing phone, his expression getting smugly ironic. �Hiko-san. What an honor�well, I don�t think that this is any of your business��
Aoshi frowned as Saitoh�s eyes turned intense, his features sharpening, his tone lowering, deadly. ��.What do you mean? �.When?�.I take care of it�..Yes, I�ll let you know�
He hanged up brutally, and addressed Aoshi, reproachful: �Hiko got contacted by Takagi�s bodyguards. She dismissed them, and when he tried to call her, she wasn�t answering her cell-phone. You told me you spoke to her. When, exactly?�
Aoshi frowned, too. �I told you that I *called* her. But I only left her a message, as she wasn�t answering.�
�A message?� snapped Saitoh.
The profilers� eyes conveyed clearly: I thought she was with you.
�I had a call from my contact, I had to go,� groaned Saitoh, while dialing her number. Aoshi felt the cop�s cold rage growing as the seconds passed, and there was still no answer.
Misao had followed the exchange, lifting her face from her computer.
�Maybe she went to Kamiya�s. Sano and Tsunan wanted to drink there tonight, and they tried to get Enishi to join. Or maybe she is with him? She was worried about him�.�she proposed, with a contrived smile.
The phone rang again. Saitoh took the call, half-relieved, half-furious. Makimachi was right. She was calling back. He was going to give a little piece of his mind to that foolish woman, later�
�Kitaoka?� he listened a second, and put the speaker on. �It�s done.�
They could hear Sagara yelling in the background, and a woman�s sobs. Tsunan�s voice was disincarnated.
*�. I�m at Kaoru�s apartment, she has disappeared. There�s no blood, nothing is broken�but it�s the Slayers. The boss�s bag and her gun are on the living�s table, with the ribbon that Kaoru wore today, and there is a note in evidence next to it. It says: �I win. Shishio Makoto.�*
***
Tokio slowly got out of the darkness. She opened her eyes, to meet darkness again. Her hands were tied-up, she realized at the same time. Too tightly, it hurt. Her ankles were also restrained. Her vision adjusted to the feeble light level. She was in a huge hangar, metallic stairs and structures standing against the prefab walls like a giant spider web, big containers abandoned here and there. It smelled terrible, of oil and chemicals�.oil and chemicals?�.Kaoru-san, unconscious, was tied up, too, on the opposite side of the place, under the platforms�.what were they doing here?
Her brain adjusted to the situation. She began to remember. The phone call. The terrified voice, barely recognizable�.
[flashback]
�Takagi-san?�
�Kaoru-san? Is that you?�
�Please, can you come to my place? Please�.�
�What happened?�
�It�s Enishi�.he�s here, he�s crazy�..I locked him in the�.�
Tokio held her breath as the girl went silent, for several seconds.
�In the bathroom,� she finally said, her voice trembling even more. �He says I betrayed him�.I don�t want to call the police, but he needs help�.�
�I�m there in 10 minutes�.�
�Thank you�.Please, hurry up!�
She seized her bag, bewildered. What was happening to Enishi? He had been disappointed that Kaoru wasn�t there to welcome him, but�.He was still under investigation. Her bodyguards� discretion didn�t include lying to the police. Kaoru-san was right, better to keep them out of it. She decided to send them away.
[end of flashback]
She had gone to Kaoru�s apartment. And when she had arrived�.
�Awake already?� a hissing, low voice asked ironically.
***
Tsunan had stopped talking, obviously giving them the time to recover.
�Go on,� Saitoh ordered coldly.
*As Kaoru was really late to the bar, when she had said she�d come, her boyfriend and Tae went to check on her, and they found the door of the apartment wide open. Nothing was broken, and no blood, as I told you. Tae saw the note and called us at the bar, 10 minutes ago. I recognized the boss�s stuff, so I called the precinct and the traffic immediately, in case he had just gotten them. We finished interviewing Tae, and Kenshin, he completely lost it, poor guy, and Tae is hysterical, they have no clue. We�re going to interrogate the neighbors. I call you as soon as we have something*
�Hurry up,� he snapped, hanging up.
He took a deep breath, trying to control his inhuman rage. That would lead him to nothing.
The bastard had Tokio. His following thoughts had him wishing that his neurons had stopped functioning. Was she already dead? Or was she crying out in pain, right now, with no hope of survival? The image of her, her broken body lying in her blood, her messy hair sticking with it, her eyes empty, colorless, filled his mind. Another image followed, her smiling to him before he left her less than two hours ago. He could hear her voice again; he could smell her perfume; he could feel her warm body, heart beating steadily, resting in his arms after all the times he had made love to her. No. He couldn�t lose her. He wouldn�t lose her.
�The Slayers changed the rules. They never kidnapped any of the victims before, and less two at a time. And there was no blood, keep that in mind. They might still be alive.�
Saitoh turned to the profiler, slowly. Makimachi was holding the tall man�s hand tightly, pale as if she was on the verge of fainting. Nevertheless, her shining eyes were denying it.
�I�m so close, I�ll find this password,� she said forcefully. �If we can figure out who is the other�.�
She glanced eagerly at Shinomori. As he nodded approvingly, she made an obvious effort to smile, and added: �We�ll be on time.�
�I�m calling Kondo, no, Hiko. We need absolute priority,� announced Saitoh, with cold determination.
�I take care of contacting the CD,� announced Shinomori.
Tokio was still alive. She had to still be alive. And he was going to get her back.
***
Tokio turned towards the voice, and saw him. She repressed a chill. Shishio Makoto. He was sitting on some stairs near her, on his crossed legs. The image of the spider on its web imposed itself to her mind again. He stood up to approach her. He was even more repulsive in the dim light than he had been in Kaoru�s apartment. The wounded side of his face was of course less visible; nevertheless it took a surreal aspect.
When she had entered into Kaoru�s apartment, she had been face to face with a madman, holding the young woman hostage, a gun pointed to her neck. He was evil, his deformed face disgusting to look at, but still she had seen a man in him.
Now she was facing a monster. His eyes were glowing red in the dark, the smell of burnt flesh reaching her nose as he walked closer to her. She shook her head, refusing to let her fear dominate her. If she started to imagine things, she wouldn�t find a way to get out of here. She gazed straight into the frightful eyes, concealing her feelings.
He smiled approvingly. �It�s going to be very pleasant to kill you, Takagi-san. I�m so disappointed in most of my preys�.trembling and pleading immediately for their life. I wonder how long it�s going to take me to bring you there. Luckily, I�ll have all my time in your case�.�
She glanced at the windows just below the ceiling. It was still night�.How long since he had captured her? How long had she been out? Was there a way for Saitoh and the team to find them before�.Did they only realize that she had been kidnapped?
�It�s been a little more than two hours. I don�t think that they are so brilliant that they can figure out where you are, on such a short notice,� he informed her nonchalantly as he had followed her eyes.
Don�t underestimate them, bastard, she thought. Better not to provoke him. She glared at him, compelling herself to stay silent.
�You don�t ask me why you�re here?�
�You just said it. You want to kill me,� she answered scornfully. She shifted under the furious look he sent her, wincing when she felt a little metallic piece hurting her back.
Misinterpreting her reaction, his expression changed, an evil smile lifting half of his lips. �That�s right. Don�t forget who is in command here, Takagi-san. So, try to guess. Why should I want to kill you?�
She cast her glance down, to hide the hope in her eyes. When she lifted it again, she answered with an even tone, shifting little by little to get the rope in contact with the metal.
�I insulted your ego on TV. And maybe you consider, as Seta, that I�m responsible for his imprisonment? You want to retaliate.�
He answered in a thoughtful voice. �Mmm. Not bad, not bad. Totally wrong, of course, but plausible. The other girl doesn�t fit in that theory, of course. If you were right, I would have killed her on the spot, and knocked you out immediately, sparing me the annoyance of watching you carefully on the way here�.�
�Why don�t you let her go? She�s just a bait�.� She knew it was a stupid thing to say, but she had to try.
He nodded, cruel amusement crossing his face. �Tokio-san, - as we are bonding here, I�ll take the liberty to call you by your first name; it�s the most intelligent thing you said so far. You see, it�s precisely why I can�t let her go. Even if I wanted to�.�
She frowned, trying to ignore her headache and to find the meaning of his words. Her submission seemed to have him talking. �I don�t understand. Didn�t you just use her to get me, like you used Komagata�s body to frighten me�.�
She cut off as burning red flames regained intensity in his eye. If a look could kill, as people said. How ironic.
She moved back a little more, her self-control retrieved, and hope filled her as she felt the metal between her hands. She started imperceptibly to graze the ropes against it.
He knelt in front of her, cupping her face with his burnt hand. She swallowed in disgust at the repulsive contact.
�Your deductions are annoying me, Tokio-san. I�d better explain it to you now. In fact, everything is partly your fault, as you said. If Soujiro had been with me�.I was very proud of my creation, and he was serving me faithfully. My current associate isn�t that easy to control.�
�Who is it?�
�Oh, you�ll see by yourself, I�m pretty sure that he�ll show up tonight,� he answered with a knowing smile. �Let�s come back to the reason why you are here. You got in my way. I had been waiting for two weeks�.two weeks for that moment. And you spoilt my pleasure, and humiliated me as I had to retreat. I lost a fight because of you.�
She widened her eyes.
�You�re smoking a lot, Tokio-san. How would you feel if you had to wait for two long weeks for one single cigarette, to be deprived of it at the very moment you�re going to light it? Wouldn�t you be furious and frustrated?�
She nodded. He was getting absorbed in his discourse. The ropes were thick, it would take time, and she took advantage of his fading attention to apply more strength. Aoshi used to say that lots of serial killers needed at one point to explain their gestures to their �worthy� victims. Unfortunately, just before killing them. She fought back the panic, trying to understand his logic. Maybe she could find a way to manipulate him�.
�And I�ve been shot. I couldn�t even try another one that night, no matter how much I wanted to.�
So they had been right. In that state of mind, he had been nowhere near Misao afterwards, or�.. She shivered retrospectively at the idea he might have.
�Are you going to tell me that it was Saitoh�s fault and not yours? That he stopped me and shot me, not you?�
Hajime�.Her heart clenched thinking of him. She overcame her emotion. Focus on staying alive, Tokio.
�No. The operation was under my responsibility,� she answered clearly.
�Good answer. If you had denied it, I would have had to remind you of it, in a very unpleasant manner for you.� He trailed his contorted finger on the line of her nose. �We�ll come to it later, anyway,� he added with a dirty smile.
She contained a sigh of relief as he finally took his hand off her. She wasn�t sure that she could have endured the sickening touch any longer.
�It�s in the police like in the army. The underlings may commit mistakes, but the officer is responsible. You are hence responsible for my frustration. You understand that, don�t you?�
�In a sense, yes.� She managed to stay noncommittal. She had to gain time. Even if she freed her hands, her feet were still tied-up. And she had no weapon. No time to fall into despair. She had to think more, to figure out a way to get Kaoru and herself out of here.
�You know, my associate intended you to be the replacement of Yukishiro Tomoe. As your troops were there the other night, I guess you figured out our tactics and our targets. This one,� he nodded disdainfully towards Kaoru, �was supposed to be his next one. But, because of his unexpected move, I decided to take the whole operation in hand. We had always known that our alliance was only temporary, anyway.�
He was�.briefing her? He was explaining his crimes to her as if it was a military operation.
�What move are you talking about?�
�I came back here, wounded, to realize that he had taken her�.to make a present to you. I could have understood that his fragile ego needed to be avenged. He�s very instable and insecure, you know, it�s inconvenient, but he has other qualities. Nevertheless, I couldn�t tolerate him using Yumi for that�.I had to kill her, but I could keep her here with me. I liked to talk to her, to hold her. She understood me. He transgressed our pact. We had to deal personally with our women. Not to use them against the other.�
He had stood up again to pace nervously around her. Tokio was feeling nauseous, at the idea of him holding the rotting body she had found on her armchair.
�I wanted to kill him for that, of course. I had to heal my wound a bit first, and that got me some time to think, and to prepare my revenge. I thought that we would have turned against each other after killing you�.you were an important target, from the beginning. Imagine, the Mayor�s niece for a start, and in the end, you, the leader of the investigation, and the one who had nailed Soujiro. I first thought that the press conference you gave, insulting us, had made him cross the line. But I then realized that he had a good reason to end our alliance there. So it gave me the idea of taking you both here.�
�What reason? Why Kaoru?�
He ignored her. �She was less easy to frighten than I thought. It took me some time. I had to threaten her to wait for and kill her boyfriend to have her call you�.� He laughed sarcastically, out of sadistic fun. Tokio repressed a shudder.
�And even though, the stupid bitch was about to spill the beans while talking to you. Too bad she doesn�t know to hide her feelings as well as you do, Tokio-san.�
He knelt in front of her again. �I wonder what you�re thinking now?�
That you are the most devious creature I have ever met. You make me sick, and wish I could shoot you now. Yet, she just repeated coldly:
�That you didn�t answer to my questions. What reason? Why Kaoru?�
�Oh, for the target�s choice, we have different tactics. I like to choose at the last moment. Surprise attacks are much more efficient. Once I recognized the territory, I�m going to the first convenient one�.Prostitutes are very convenient. It became a habit, like a signature, you see. Soujiro and him like to choose before, usually amongst women who have been insulting or mean to them�.That brought us only troubles. Soujiro caused our failure killing the old cow, it�s the only time I�ve been dissatisfied with him.�
�I don�t see Kaoru behaving like Seta�s stepmother,� she argued.
�Oh, but she insulted him in another way. It seems that she betrayed his feelings. And still, the thickhead turned against me because he can�t bring himself to kill her.�
She faced him, astonished, for several second, then her gaze traveled to the still unconscious Kaoru, over his shoulder. She noticed a shadow moving carefully towards the girl, as Shishio laughed out again, hysterically.
�That�s the most entertaining! You understand, now, why I can�t release her, and why I�m sure that he�ll show up here tonight? Yes, Tokio-san, she knows him, and you know him too�.and you would never have believed that he could be my partner!!!!�
***
Saitoh had obtained from Hiko even more than he had thought. As soon as the cop had uttered the words Slayers, the Mayor had given him authority over the whole police forces, in order to find Tokio and the Slayers, and would assure that every public service of the city would provide support. Shinomori had informed Hijikata, and was assuring the liaison with the other departments, knowing that Saitoh would be on the field as soon as they�d get a lead. Makimachi was feverishly continuing her task. It was a question of minutes.
Saitoh jumped on his ringing cell-phone. Aoshi sensed the shift in his partner�s attitude.
��The witness is positive?��Any idea of the direction?��Good. We�re going to need all the help we can. Call Yukishiro and�.WHAT?�
His wild snarl rattled the others. �For once they�re right�.I don�t have any time to lose with that now. Once you�re done, go to Takani, it seems that we can�t get in touch with her. Get the results about Komagata. This is another chance to find Shishio.�
Banking fires in his amber eyes, he turned to Shinomori. �A neighbor saw her car leaving. She was driving, an unidentified man in the back seat, but he recognized Kamiya next to him. Kitaoka has already ordered a search on it. The bad news: Yukishiro has disappeared. His cell-phone is cut, so they called at his place to have a rat on the phone: he knocked out the detectives Takeda had still on his tail.� His voice was dangerous when he addressed Misao. �You can give up on that. Yukishiro is too young to be Shishio�s old partner. But he is the other bastard.�
***
Tokio couldn�t believe it. Shishio was still laughing, head tossed back, not paying attention to her. The shadow untied Kaoru, and as the man turned his face to her, she recognized Enishi.
To be continued�.

As usual, thanks a million to my beta-readers, Firuze, L.Sith and Mary-Ann. Thanks to mightmightymunson (^-^).

IMPORTANT author�s notes:

Not much to say on this chapter, but an important warning for the following. I announced very dark parts for that fic, there will be in the next two chapters, and you can figure out why. Yet, some people will NOT like what is going to happen. If you think that you can�t like the issue, whatever the way it is done, please stop reading. I don�t want to waste your time.

Next chapter: The truth is revealed.
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