Kaoru wakes up
in a bed wearing a bathrobe. It takes her a while,
but she recalls that she was last knocked out
by a cloth soaked in some sort of drug used by
Enishi. Desperate to escape wherever she is, Kaoru
takes in hand a nearby pot and passes through
the empty halls of what seems to be a mansion.
When she reaches and opens the front door, Kaoru
finds herself looking over an inlet. From behind,
Enishi's voice is heard, telling her that she
has no chance of escaping. Kaoru turns around
quickly, prepared to hit her kidnapper over the
head, but Enishi is bandaged up quite nicely from
his fight with Kenshin. Enishi explains to Kaoru
that she is at a station used by his organization
to ship goods via sea into Tokyo. There is no
escape except for a weekly ferry, but the area
itself is like a natural prison. In due time,
Enishi promises to set his prisoner free - when
Kenshin dies. Kaoru questions Enishi upon why
she was not killed. Enishi turns his back to her
and sets forth to return inside the mansion, saying
that such a thing is not an important matter of
discussion.
Gein, who meets
up with Enishi inside, had overheard the conversation,
but could care less. All the masked man wants
is a ride back to Tokyo, as he has important work
to tend to. Quietly in his mind, Enishi thinks
it's about time to get rid of Gein before he begins
speaking. He, like the other comrades, is no longer
necessary for Jinchuu.
Misao tears down
Kaoru's memorial in joy. She wants to tell everyone
of the good news, but Aoshi warns her and the
others not do so such a thing. There are no guarantees
that they can get Kaoru back just yet, and telling
Kenshin that Kaoru is not dead could have harmful
results. Aoshi predicts that if Kenshin knew that
the Kaoru killed was a fake, he would drive himself
to defeat Enishi and rescue Kaoru, but in the
end, would begin wandering again due to the fact
that he failed to protect the one he loved. The
only guarantee that they'll get the good old Kenshin
back is if he finds the answer to all of his problems
himself.
First things are
first. Misao suggests that they start finding
leads to Kaoru's whereabouts. Aoshi thinks he
can dig up some information from someone who'll
be arriving in Tokyo soon. As for Yahiko, he believes
the best way to find out such a thing is to head
to a stubborn, yet very reliable source - Lieutenant
Fujita Goro, also known as Saitou Hajime.
