Chapter 210: The Beginnings of Action

(Sunlight streams in a high window. Kaoru stirs.)

Kaoru: Mmmm ... Kenshinnnn ... is breakfast ready? (hearing no reply) Okay, just five more minutes...

(Suddenly she sits bolt upright.)

Kaoru (thinking): Idiot! Five more minutes?! What on earth happened... (And why am I wearing a bathrobe?)

(The last thing she remembers is Enishi grabbing her.)

Kaoru (thinking): That's right--I was sure he was going to kill me. But he held a cloth soaked in some kind of drug over my mouth and I blacked out ... I don't know how much time has passed, but I've definitely been taken somewhere. Anyway ... first I've got to get out of here!

(She takes stock of her room, which is sparse but well furnished.)

Kaoru (picking up a vase and thinking): This'll do for a weapon... (trying the door) It's open... (entering the hall) I don't see any guards ... There's no one here at all. As still as the middle of the night...

(She moves down the hall.)

Kaoru (thinking): I hope everyone's all right ... Sanosuke, Megumi, Yahiko ... Kenshin ... I'm making you worry about me again. I'm sorry. Just wait, I'll be back soon. I'll be back--

(She opens another door and is confronted with a cliff, overlooking a small inlet.)

Enishi (behind her): It's no use trying to run away.

(Kaoru whirls, vase at the ready, but is stopped by Enishi's appearance--bandages, arm in a sling--and the dull look in his eye.)

Enishi: It's a deserted island, a relay station my organization uses to ship goods by sea into Tokyo. It's at least 20 kilometers to the nearest island, and there are sharks in the area. On top of that, except for the inlet you see before you, it's all shear vertical precipice. Aside from the weekly ferry, no one can get in or out. In short, it's a natural prison. You'll just have to be patient. Sooner or later I'll send you back to Tokyo.

Kaoru: ... How soon?

(Enishi smiles.)

Enishi (thinking): As soon as Battousai dies. (aloud) Well. Not long.

Kaoru: Just tell me one thing. Why didn't you kill me? I was sure ... I'd be killed.

(There is a moment's pause. Then Enishi turns back to the house.)

Enishi: That's not something we need to talk about.

(Kaoru watches him go.)

Kaoru (thinking): Was it pity? ... No. That can't be it. He all but said during the fight that there was no such thing in his heart. I don't understand. (remembering his smile) But it seems like his revenge is complete. Something's happening to Kenshin. Kenshin-- ... I can't leave it like this. Somehow, I have to get off this island!

(Enishi encounters Gein in the hallway.)

Gein: "Not something you need to talk about"? It's certainly not something you like to talk about with strangers.