A Road Less Traveled
by Tin Mandigma


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This is a Rurouni Kenshin-inspired fanfic written
entirely for entertainment purposes only. Standard
disclaimers apply.

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NOTE: Uh, some parts may read like a history lesson.
Some details are factual, others are purely imaginary ^^;;
I only have basic knowledge about Japanese history
and society so... ^_^;; The dialogue in the later
parts may sound problematic, especially since I think
they're partially, if not wholly, OOC. Yare, yare.

ROUGH DRAFT ^^;;


Part 8: To Disown


"So, what were you and Sano talking about earlier?"
Kaoru asked casually later that afternoon.

Megumi looked up in surprise from the letter she
was reading. "What?" 

Kaoru shook her head with a slight smile as she leafed
through a bundle of yellowed paper. "He looked pretty
embarrassed," she said idly. "Did you propose to him already?"

Megumi laughed lightly and reached out to swat Kaoru
with a faded piece of newsprint. "Nosy little brat," she
said fondly.

Kaoru's eyes widened. "Megumi, you didn't--" Megumi's expression
turned downright smug. Kaoru let out a delighted laugh. "You
dirty old woman..."

"Hey!" Megumi protested. "That's not fair!"

"I wondered why he fell down the porch when he went out 
with Yahiko earlier," Kaoru said, grinning.

Megumi choked. "You're not serious--"

"*And* nearly got run down by a passing cart on the way
to town," Kaoru added.

"And all I gave him were a few subtle hints," Megumi sighed.

"Like?" Kaoru drawled.

Megumi just smiled enigmatically and wouldn't answer. Kaoru groaned.
"Megumi! Not fair!"

"Hey, do I ask you to give me a blow-by-blow account of your
private moments with Ken-san?" Megumi asked, raising her eyebrow.

Kaoru flushed slightly but she only shook her head. "Have it
your way then," she retorted. "But I want a more comprehensive
report after I see him comb his hair, okay?"

"That drastic, huh?" Megumi said dryly. "But I bet getting Sano
to comb his hair will take more than what I was ready to offer
him a while ago," she mock-sighed.

Kaoru giggled. "Why don't you write him a love letter then?" she
said slyly. "That'll send him running!"

"You mean like the one I'm reading right now?" Megumi said 
teasingly. She cleared her throat and straightened in her seat. 
"Honored husband," she intoned solemnly. "I would like to ask
your gracious permission to go to your room tonight..."

Kaoru laughed. "I bet he's gonna love that."

"Hmm..." Megumi murmured, smiling. "But I don't think Ken-san 
would appreciate our output as much. Love letters are hardly 
enough to divulge the identity of our mysterious visitor," she 
finished dryly.

Kaoru sighed. "Yeah. Pity we couldn't find anything more
useful than skimpy snippets of information," she said, frowning.
"Only the usual stuff--grocery lists, contracts, notes,
deeds of sale, the occasional imperial decree..." She blew her 
bangs off her forehead tiredly. "The Shizukus are just so--so normal!" 
she complained.

"At least we tried," Megumi pointed out. "It's a good thing
Ichiro-san had the key to this room. Otherwise, we wouldn't
have *anything* to contribute tonight at all." She looked around at
the small cramped space which served as storage room and former
library, crammed to the ceiling with bundles of papers and old
books. Smiling ruefully, she looked at Kaoru who was sitting
beside her on the floor. "You look awful," she commented
as she took note of Kaoru's dirt-streaked face. 

"Squatting on the floor for half the morning and the entire
afternoon definitely does not become me," Kaoru said with
a slight moan, running a hand through her tangled hair. She
turned to Megumi. "Look, I'm just gonna go to my room and
fix myself up a little. The guys are probably on their way home
already."

Megumi nodded. "You go on ahead," she said softly. "I'll stay here
for a while, y'know, see about these papers and all."

"You're sure?" Kaoru asked as she stood up, brushing away the
dust on her sleeves absently. "We could always clean up later
on. Besides, we haven't even made a dent on *half* the stuff here."

Megumi waved her hand airily. "I still need to practice my lines
for tonight," she said mischievously. "Can't let Sano monopolize
the conversation, y'know."

Kaoru grinned. "You could try doing somersaults if you want to
outdo him." She assumed a mock-thinking stance and then shook
her head mournfully. "Nah. Sano might just decide to do his
Kabuki act again and that would be the end of everything. You 
two are such good exhibitionists! Made for each other, I'd say." 
She ducked the inkpot which Megumi threw at her. 

"Get outta here," Megumi growled.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Kaoru laughingly said as she shuffled
out of the door with a hurried wave at Megumi.

Megumi shook her head, smiling wryly. Trust Kaoru to--

"Are you sure you kept your robe closed when you were talking
to him?" Kaoru quipped as she poked her head round the door.
"I could've sworn his nose was bleeding..."

"Kaoru!" Megumi hollered. Kaoru only winked at her mischievously
before disappearing once again, her footsteps fading down the 
corridor. Sighing in mingled exasperation and amusement, Megumi
relaxed in her seat, stretching her feet out luxuriously beneath
her.

Late afternoon sunlight streamed in desultorily through the half-
open window, creating pools of pale yellow streams on the faded
floor. Megumi's expression turned contemplative as she
studied the stacks of papers scattered every which way around her.
She and Kaoru had spent nearly the entire day looking through
the various paraphernalia left over by generations of Shizukus.
While the entire experience had been--Megumi glanced ruefully
at the letter on her lap--'entertaining,' it had also been frustrating.
Kaoru had been right when she said that they only had 'snippets,'
if the odd and exremely *small* bundle of papers and scrolls 
lying carefully beside her was anything to go by. She doubted if they
knew more than they did at the beginning save for the fact that
they did manage to verify some facts about the Shizukus.

Namely that they were very rich, had an extremely reputable genealogy
and were very very careful of their good name, curse them, Megumi
thought sourly. The epitome of a noble well-bred Japanese family.

So what the hell were ghosts doing in their house?

A faint gust of wind blew in, ruffling the papers which responded
with a tired crackling sigh. The letter on her lap gently rose
to the air in all its aged frailty and Megumi reached out hurriedly 
to grab it. The paper drifted easily into her hands with an ominous
rustle. 

'I suppose I could go ask Shizuku-san...' Megumi considered the option
and then shook her head. He was probably off to Hong Kong or
some such exotic place. Besides, she didn't think he knew anything
more than she did and if by some chance he was privy to some pieces
of family history which were carefully edited from this particular
selection, she wasn't sure if he would take kindly to her prying
him for it.

Megumi reflected on this for a moment and then sighed in resignation.
Despite his devil-may-care reputation, Shizuku Asano was an aristocrat
to the teeth. He wouldn't do anything to compromise his family
name simply to help a ragtag group of whatnots hunt down a couple of
ghosts lurking in his mansion. Unfortunately, his ancestors seemed to
have shared his thinking with regard to preserving their pedigree.
In short, the Shizukus were one notoriously *uncooperative* lot, dead
or alive.

Shadows began to lengthen in the room, signaling the onslaught of 
twilight. Megumi stood up wearily, wincing as her joints popped
with a distinct crack. Too much sitting, she decided with a moan
even as she bent down to retrieve her and Kaoru's 'contribution'
to tonight's--festivities. She eyed the room as she straightened up,
making sure that she didn't leave anything lying around, but she
couldn't see clearly in the gathering darkness. Maybe she had 
strained her eyes beyond tolerance. Too much reading.

Or maybe night just came too soon in this place nowadays.

Megumi turned away abruptly, unwilling to pursue *that* train
of thought. There would be more than enough time for that later.
She lugged her uneven bundle of papers out into the hallway,
trying hard to ignore the protest of her tired limbs. More time
for that later, too. Without looking back, she shut the door behind 
her with a firm click. She should go find Kaoru, ask her about 
dinner and clean *her* face before Sano and Yahiko started making remarks 
about haggard foxes.

Maybe *they* had more luck.


"Nothing," Sano announced loudly. "Absolutely nothing. Not a single
piece of relevant information. Sorry." They were all
grouped around the dining room table; Kenshin at the head,
Sano and Yahiko on one side, Megumi and Kaoru on the other.

"Sano, do you have to shout?" Kaoru muttered. "We
could hear you just fine."

"Along with the entire town," Megumi contributed darkly.

Sano glared at them. "I wasn't shouting! I was just trying to
make my point clearer--"

Kenshin raised his hands in conciliation. "OK. Fine. We understand,
Sano." He waited until Sano had slumped back on his seat with
a scowl before speaking again. "Have you tried asking the locals?"

"Yeah," Yahiko responded. "But all they gave us was the usual stuff.
The Shizukus are a rich family, decent, religious, can't say anything 
bad about them, blah, blah, blah. Nothing new."

"And the municipal records didn't contain anything more
interesting than land deeds, right?" Kenshin asked reflectively.

Sano snorted. "And records of births, deaths, marriages... I 
suppose we're lucky that they still had something about the
Shizukus on file. I mean, they're a pretty old family. Besides,
a lot of records were burned or were misplaced especially  
during the time of the Restoration. Confusion in the bureaucracy
and all that stuff."

"So we're basically back to square one," Kaoru said matter-of-
factly.

Sano rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. He looked
exhausted, Megumi noted. 'Probably overturned the entire
municipal office during his stay... and then some.'
"Well, I wouldn't say that, Jo-chan. We did find out when
this house was built, who built it, etc. But that's about
everything we've got."

"Boring stuff," Yahiko mumbled. 

Kenshin turned to the women. "What have you got?"

Megumi and Kaoru glanced at each other for a moment.
"Uh, we came up with a sketchy family history, Ken-san," Megumi
offered tentatively. "Information about the Shizuku family
tree, basic household routine at one time or another, some
inside gossip..."

"Like?" Yahiko asked interestedly.

"Love letters," Megumi said dryly. "From a wife to a husband
asking for money to buy a new kimono."

"Racy," Sano drawled.

"Prim and proper, that's what they were," Kaoru commented.
"What about you, Kenshin?"

Kenshin shrugged. "Well, I spoke with Kozue-dono..."

"Must've been interesting," Sano muttered.

"And got some needed background on the supernatural," Kenshin 
continued complacently. "Kozue-dono impressed me as something
of an authority on the subject. I got more information on 
ghosts, possession and haunted places than I ever bargained
for," he concluded ruefully.

"What did she say?" Megumi asked.

"Basically that ghosts do exist," Kenshin answered. "That
they usually haunt places where they still have unfinished
business..."

"Like what?" Sano put in. "Unbought kimonos?"

"Sano..." Megumi growled.

"But ghosts are only the spirits of dead people, right?" Kaoru 
murmured. "How about demons? Elementals?"

"I think we can rule out that possibility for the moment,"
Kenshin responded. "They do exist, according to Kozue-dono,
but she thinks that what we're dealing with here are ghosts."

"You filled her in on the situation?" Sano protested. "Kenshin..."

"Not much but just enough to ensure that I got what I needed,"
Kenshin said. "Or at least a bare minimum of it. Besides,
Sano, she *felt* something during the night she was here. And
she said that there are definitely ghosts, spirits, lurking about."

"But *our* ghost was quite a  strange one," Kaoru said. "Or
at least *I* felt it was."

"What do you mean, Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked, turning to her.

Kaoru's eyes darkened reflectively. "I don't know. I just thought
it was pretty, well, incomplete, you know? Like there was something
missing in it, almost as if it was just a fragment of a larger
being."

Megumi nodded slowly. "Yes. There seemed to be a pretty  
repetitive pattern to its appearance *and* to what it said. 
Or what it wanted to say, at least."

"Maybe what we've encountered was just a--remnant," Kenshin
responded after a brief silence. "I think that the spirit is
stuck in some sort of," he paused, "of frozen memory, some
event it couldn't quite let go of. Its 'unfinished business'
... and a probably painful business at that if the emotions it
radiates are anything to go by."

"They seemed the same to me," Kaoru said softly. "Even--
repetitive, as Megumi said. Anger, hate, anguish." She 
looked distant for a moment. "All the same... over and
over..."

There was silence for a moment.

"We need to find out just what this 'unfinished' business
is then. But if the Shizukus were as clean as pure linen..." 
Sano sighed in frustration. "We're not gonna get anywhere."

"Maybe it was an outside event. Like the 'war,'" Megumi said 
slowly. "Disturbance of some sort..."

"We didn't hear about any war," Yahiko put in. "The town had
always been peaceful, or so the old timers said. Even during
the Bakumatsu, it was left untouched. But we're not entirely 
sure about that."

"Sano's right," Kenshin said quietly. "Unless we can narrow
our search down to specifics, whether it be a time, place or
event, we're definitely *not* going to get anywhere at all. 
The best we can do right now is to put together what we have 
and come up with basic starting-points, definitions of the 
situation we can work with."

"And foremost of those are Kozue-san's pearls of wisdom on the
occult," Sano drawled.

Kenshin smiled at him beningly. "Precisely."

"Congratulations, Sano," Yahiko muttered. "You hit it first
go."

"I am not 'hitting' anything," Sano growled. He slammed his fist
on the table with a resounding crack, causing everyone to 
stare at him in alarm. He shook his head at the bewildered
faces around him as he stood up abruptly. "Come on."

"Are we going somewhere?" Megumi asked slowly.

"Yep," Sano said matter-of-factly. "We're eating outside. My
treat." His stare narrowed warningly as both Kenshin and Yahiko
opened their mouths to speak. "And no wise cracks got it?"

Everyone nodded silently.

"Besides," Sano said as he strode out of the room. "The gods know
we need sustenance, one more nourishing that what either
Jo-chan or the Fox Lady have to offer, before I have to listen
to any more of Kenshin's stories."


"Anyway," Kenshin said between sips of tea. "As I was saying
earlier, ghosts do not..."

Sano looked at him askance from his bowl of sake. "You
never give up, do you? Kenshin, we haven't been here for
more than five friggin' minutes!"

"Oh, just shut up, Sano," Megumi nudged him hard on the ribs,
eliciting a howl of pain and a promise of fox-traps. 
"Please continue, Ken-san," she said sweetly.

Everyone sweatdropped. 

"Uh, yes, Megumi-dono."  Kenshin cleared his throat. "Based
on what I gathered from Kozue-dono, what we're dealing with
here is a case of possession," he said softly. 

"Wait a sec--" Sano protested.

"OK," Kenshin sighed. "The *possibility* of possession."

Sano smiled slightly. "That's better."

"Possession being defined--"

"By those who believe in them," Sano countered.

Kenshin didn't miss a beat. "All right. Possession is defined
*by those who believe in them*, a group which of course does not 
include Sano..."

Sano glared at him balefully. "Hey..."

"... as the 'taking over' of the faculties of a live being
by some entity, force or spirit for its own purposes. In 
our case, well, we still have to determine what that purpose
is." Kenshin took a deep breath. "And to do so, we need some
background info to work on." He looked around the table.
"How about it?"

"Fine," Sano shrugged. "I said I'd cooperate, right?"

"For about the nth time," Yahiko said, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, brat," Sano growled. 

"Get to the point, rooster head," Megumi growled back.

"Well, excuse me--" Sano began indignantly.

Kaoru smiled wryly. "And we're off!"

Kenshin cleared his throat again. "Uh, minna, why don't we do
this by rote? I already gave my share so why don't you
go ahead, uh, Yahiko? 

Yahiko smirked at Kenshin knowingly as he inclined his head
faintly towards the still arguing couple. "OK," he said loudly.
"Getting down to *business*..." He coughed for emphasis while
glancing pointedly at the simmering Sano and scowling Megumi.

"Found out that the original house was built some time during 
the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century by a certain
Shizuku Keisuke. The land was already part of the family's
possessions even earlier, maybe two generations before; a gift 
by the local daimyo to an ancestor for loyal service or 
something. Uh, I'm not sure about that," he said, smiling sheepishly. 
"All the bureaucratic crap was kinda getting to me then."

"No exact dates as to the building of the house?" Kenshin inquired.

"Not in the records, no," Yahiko said, shaking his head.
"The guys at the municipal office lost their copy of the original
documents, including the deed to the land. Besides, it was a
private gift, not state land, so there wasn't much effort to get
everything down to paper until the infamous fire which happened 
around 1660. The house was rebuilt on the, uh, same site I guess by--
let's see--1665," Yahiko frowned. "We're sure of that since the
records concerned with that event are on file." He shrugged.
"I asked around town for more information but basically, the
people just repeated everything the officials said."

"That was great, Yahiko," Kenshin said, flashing a warm smile at
the boy who looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Hey," Yahiko muttered. "No big deal. Was just doing my part, is all. 
Besides," he said with a faint grin, "I don't want to deal with Kaoru 
while some weird ghost tinkers with her mind. Twice the pain for me."

Kaoru swatted him lightly on the arm. "Shut up, you!"

Kenshin glanced around the circle. "And Megumi-dono?"

"I got some names, at least," Megumi responded. "The Shizukus are
native to this district, or at least that's what we gleaned from 
various accounts. Their clan rose to prominence during the 
Ashikaga period, with most Shizuku men rising to the top ranks
of the bureaucracy. They retained their influence through the
Onin War in 1477 which led to the downfall of the Ashikaga and 
the civil war in the 1500's. Mostly through bribery and sweet
talk, I guess," she said wryly. "They cooperated with the Nobunaga
faction against the daimyo Imugawa and achieved even more prestige
when Nobunaga finally came into power and so on until the Tokugawa
period. A certain Shizuku Takeshi--I think he was the only son
of the clan head at that time--was a personal favorite of 
Ieyasu-sama," she finished with a suggestive lift of her eyebrows.

"Oro," Sano whistled.

"And the house?" Kenshin asked.

"The original house was built during the 1390's by Shizuku Mitsuke
who was the acknowledged patriarch of the family," Kaoru spoke
up. "I read that in a missive written by someone called... hold
on a sec," she muttered as she leafed through the sheets of
paper she held in her hands. "Um, yeah, Okawa Kentaro. A local
scholar, I guess, writing for his patrons. The entire thing
expounded on the virtues of the Shizuku family more than it
gave actual facts but Okawa included a series of short biographies
of some of the more prominent members of the family which was
pretty useful," she said dryly. 

"And...?" Sano prompted.

Kaoru shrugged. "Well, the Shizukus had their eccentricities.
One ancestor had a reputation of going around in women's kimonos
while another was a notorious gambler. Megumi hinted at Takeshi-san's 
not-so-manly," she coughed, "activities. Okawa made passing mention 
of Takeshi's 'beloved' bodyguard and a note by one disapproving 
aunt said something about the inconvenience of taking hot baths 
in the cold of winter with only a servant,however, er, highly 
esteemed, for company. But Takeshi was also a highly-placed official in
this district and he had a respectable family life and he was
also very discreet."

"Like the lot of them," Megumi sighed.

"He died in 1608 and his son Hojo inherited the estate," Kaoru
said. She placed the papers on the table and smiled ruefully.
"That's about it for now. Megumi and I decided to concentrate
first on the early history of the family before moving on to
the more recent stuff since the former's bound to be more 
time-consuming *and* more pertinent right now..." 

Kenshin smiled back at her. "That's fine, Kaoru-dono. You and
Megumi-dono did a great job."

"No shit," Sano muttered. "No wonder you guys looked like
you'd been digging through the sewers of Kyoto when I
saw you earlier."

"And *you* looked like you'd been swimming in them," Megumi
said pointedly. "What's the deal, Sano?"

"Your turn," Yahiko said, pointing his chopsticks at him.

Sano threw up his hands. "Fine. You think you've got it
all," he sniffed deprecatingly and ducked as Megumi aimed
her bowl at him. "You guys..."

"Get on with it, chicken head," Yahiko retorted through
a mouthful of rice.

"Not much to report," Sano said wryly, crossing his arms
in front of his chest. "Yahiko mentioned that the house 
burned down around 1660 and that this event was on file
in the official records. The fire was pretty extensive;
the entire house was gutted down to the last beam of wood
and it even spread to the nearby estates. Luckily, the
house *was* pretty secluded so the townfolk were able
to control it somewhat when they arrived."

Kenshin stared at the ceiling introspectively. "And
casualties?"

"There were a couple of injured policemen but only one
recorded death," Sano sighed.

Kenshin straightened abruptly. "Who?"

"The Takeshi guy's son. Shizuku Hojo," Sano answered 
matter-of-factly.

Megumi frowned in confusion. "But the servants..."

Sano shook his head. "Only Shizuku Hojo. No servants, no
nothing. And certainly no cute bodyguards."

"That's strange," Kaoru murmured. 

Kenshin turned to her. "Did Okawa say something about this
man, Kaoru-dono?"

Kaoru bit her lip. "Well, only that passing mention about
Hojo being Takeshi's only son. That's all. I guess he wasn't
as newsworthy as his father."

"And who rebuilt the house?" Kenshin asked reflectively.

"A distant cousin," Sano muttered. "Forgot the name. 
Apparently the collateral lines had to be extensively
re-assessed after the death of Hojo."

"Didn't he have any family? Of his own, I mean?" Yahiko 
questioned as he leaned forward in the table.

Sano shrugged. "Beats me. After the fire, things went pretty
much back to normal and eventually, it was forgotten."

"But surely there were speculations, theories..." Megumi 
protested.

"Sure," Sano drawled. "But what is there to speculate about?
I mean, the house must have been positively *ancient* by the 
time 1660 rolled around. Yeah, there's such a thing as 
remodelling and all but, let's face it, the Shizukus were
sticklers for tradition. You said so yourself that they were
a pretty conservative family. I don't think they're the type
to tamper with what their ancestors have been so good to pass
on to them or somethin'." 

"Yes. That's true," Kenshin said slowly. "But Shizuku Hojo 
bothers me..."

Sano placed his cup on the table with a thud. "Why
should he? You think the fire's directly connected to what's
going on right now?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Kenshin answered carefully as he studied
Sano. "But it's the only concrete evidence of a 'disturbance'
in the history of Shizukus which we're sure about as of
the moment."

There was an uneasy silence as Sano and Kenshin stared
at each other before Sano turned away to gaze moodily
at his sake.

Yahiko coughed as he glanced at the scowling Sano. "Uh, 
Sano?" he asked tentatively. "Are you OK?"

Megumi watched in alarm as Sano's face darkened even further.
Kenshin and Kaoru stayed silent; Kenshin's expression was
inscrutable, Kaoru's worried.

"Sano?" Megumi said gently as she reached out to touch him.

She felt his arm tauten beneath her fingers for a brief
moment and then he relaxed visibly, taking a deep breath,
the shadows lifting from his eyes. 

She didn't remove her hand.

"Sorry, guys," he said, smiling ruefully. "I don't know what
came over me..."

"What do you mean?" Kenshin asked quietly.

Sano shrugged. "I dunno... Just a feeling," he muttered. 
"I'm sorry..."

Kenshin glanced at Megumi for a fleeting second before turning
again to Sano. "It's all right, Sano," he said. "I think you're
tired."

"Yeah," Sano responded. " Or maybe I had too much sake."

No one answered for a moment.

Finally Kaoru said, "Uh, maybe we should go. It's getting late
and we need some rest." She looked questioningly at the others
who nodded with slightly relieved smiles.

"I'll get the bill," Sano offered as he stood up abruptly.

Megumi watched him go, her eyes dark with worry. Something had
gone--wrong a few minutes ago. Nothing terribly big, more like 
a small disturbance on  Sano's part but the expression she'd
seen on his face had frightened her.

He'd looked--guilty?

But of what?

Her gaze roved around the restaurant restlessly, darkening
even further as she noted the cheerful customers, the
cozy atmosphere, the bright lights.

She'd thought that leaving the house meant they could leave
their ghosts behind and attempt to regain the normalcy of
being together again after so long.

Now she was not so sure.


They walked home in uneasy silence, their feet scraping 
against the dusty road with abrasive hurried strokes.
Megumi slid a glance at Sano who was walking beside her,
hands thrust deep into his pockets. He hadn't said a word
since they'd left the restaurant. For that matter, *none* 
of them had so much as looked at each other since that
last--conversation. Megumi's lips thinned. She wanted to
say something, anything, to distract them all from their
dangerous inward absorption but no words surfaced in her
mind to provide the much-needed release. And so they
walked on.

Megumi felt herself tensing as they neared the bend leading
to the house. She could glimpse its outlines from where
she was; immense, graceful, teasingly discernible and yet 
incredibly dark in the shadows of late evening. They rounded 
the bend in a silent pass and approached the gateway, picking
up their pace with eerie synchrony as they did so before stopping
abruptly in front of the wooden structure. Megumi heard a faint 
rustling in the quiet followed by the slightly louder jangle of 
metal hitting metal. Kenshin fumbling for the keys, she surmised. 

There was a brief pause and then the wooden gate swung open 
with oiled ease. Megumi walked after Kaoru into the
entrance quickly, suddenly feeling cold. She felt Sano's
arm brush against hers and Yahiko's presence at her back 
as they passed through the archway in a tightly-knit shuffle
and the chill fled. For a moment.

"Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin's hissing whisper carried startlingly
over the 

Megumi sensed Kaoru tense in front of her. "Yes?" she whispered
back.

"Did you leave a light open in--in that room?"
 
"No, I didn't," Kaoru answered, confused. 

"I did," Megumi spoke up. She felt the others gazes on her and
she fidgeted. "I thought it would be--better that way," she
muttered. "So that nothing would--spring on us suddenly..."

"The light's moving," Sano said quietly.

Megumi glanced up at him. "What?" she asked, her voice trembling 
slightly with shock. She felt Yahiko's hand clutch her sleeve
and she shivered.

Sano gently eased her to stand in front of him and she saw 
the house clearly for the first time since they'd arrived.
She drew in her breath sharply as her gaze focused on the Room,
as Kaoru had taken to calling it now. The light was discernible 
through the wooden slats, flickering with faint bursts of fire
which crept with agonizing slowness from one corner to another.

"Let's go," Kenshin said quietly. 

They wind howled in tune with their steps as they half-ran 
past the front entrance, turned sharply into a side arbor
and emerged into another pathway. Leaves and cracking stems
rustled behind them, beside them, giving almost frightening
life to the quiet pantomime going on in front.

"The kitchen?" Sano whispered. "What the hell--?"

"Maybe Ichiro-san's in the room," Yahiko hissed.

"Doing what? Stretching exercises?" Sano muttered.
"Then why the hell are we running away?"

"We're not running away," Kenshin whispered.

"Of course," Kaoru put in. "We're just going in through the
back door. Technically, we're not running away."

"Come on, Sano," Kenshin muttered as he fumbled with
the door. "The element of surprise, remember?" 

"Uh-huh," Sano retorted. "Right. Strategic retreat, I
think that's what they call it." 

"Sano," Megumi hissed as he moved away. "Where are you 
going?!"

"Making a strategic *charge*," Sano said stubbornly.

"You idiot, come back here!" Megumi yelled.

A wayward bough suddenly slammed against the roof with
a loud crash followed by another rising moan of the wind.
Or was it?

'Misa... Misa...'

"Oh shit," Sano burst out. "Kenshin, hurry up will ya?"

"So much for strategic charge," Yahiko snickered. "Fall
back, men!"

"Shut up, brat," Sano snapped.

The door slid open suddenly with a creaking protest. 
They stumbled inside quickly, Sano bringing up the rear.
Megumi groped for the table in the darkness, her heart
pounding, when the door ricocheted right back into place
with a deafening slam. And then labored silence. 

'Misaaaaaa....'

Sano cursed. 

"This is definitely the most exciting vacation I've ever had,"
Kaoru noted dryly.

"We have to check the Room," Megumi gasped.

But Kenshin was already moving. They followed him out of
the kitchen with frantic steps into the darkness of the dining
hall, banging into the occasional vase or screen, before
pounding down the dank hallway leading to the inner rooms.
Megumi curled her damp fist tightly at her side as she 
stumbled in the dark after the others. 

The footsteps in front of her tapered off into silence and
she stopped, too, waiting as Kenshin grabbed the door and
slid it open with dizzying speed. Light suddenly danced
across his troubled face.

Megumi quietly peered into the Room, knowing with a sense
of resignation what she would see, what Kenshin's expression
had told her as much.

Nothing.

But what was that faint wisp of black smoke curling upwards...?

Megumi leaned forward, her eyes narrowing, but only empty space
met her gaze. The lamp burned steadily on the table where she'd
placed it earlier, giving no hint that it had been disturbed
from its solitary watch.

"That was weird," Sano muttered.

"Sometimes, the way you understate things just plain amazes 
me, Sano," Megumi said dryly.

"What do we do now?" Yahiko asked.

Kenshin sighed. "I honestly don't know. But I--"

"Sleep," Kaoru said firmly. Megumi glanced at her, surprised
at the quiet determination she saw in the girl's features. 
"We need some sleep. We'll talk about this in the morning,
all right?" Kenshin opened his mouth and she shook her head.
"Kenshin, NO."

"But Kaoru--" Yahiko protested but Kenshin's hand on his 
shoulder stopped him.

Kenshin smiled. "Kaoru-dono's right, Yahiko. We've done all we 
could for today. There'll be more time tomorrow. Come on." Gently
he ushered them out into the hallway before closing the door
behind him.

"We're gonna leave the light?" Sano said quietly.

Kenshin nodded but he didn't offer an explanation. Instead he
leaned against the closed door with a thoughtful sigh. "I think
I should see Kozue-dono tomorrow again," he murmured.

"Oh boy..." Yahiko said. "This is going to be a long night."


End of Part 8