The Mysterious Blonde (Sanosuke Sagara) Pt. 22

Ume followed the disguised Kaito over to a large tree. Kaito held up the silver headed cane he had been carrying and tapped the tree slightly. A rope tumbled down from a branch and Kaito grabbed ahold of it.
"C'mon," he said. Hehanded the rope to Ume as shesighed. She took a few steps backwards, jogged to the tree, jumped up, landed on the tree, and then jumped up to a high branch.
"C'mon," Ume mocked. Kaito sighed and leaned on his cane.
"So, why did you bring me into a tree?" Ume asked. Kaitopointed to a branch.
"Move the branch with ribbon on it to the left," Kaito intructed.Ume lookedto her left and noticed a large branch with a red ribbon tied around it. Ume moved it aside and gasped. Behind the branch was a perfect veiw of the intire Kamiya Dojo. Ume saw Yahiko and Kaoru practicing out side of the dojo, Sanosuke sleeping in the grass, and the top of Kenshin's head. He was probably doing laundry.
"I've been watching you, Ume," Kaito said. Ume glared down at him.
"Why did you just sit and watch me when you could've gotten me at any time!?" Ume snapped. Kaito turned his back to Ume and leaned on the tree.
"Because I wanted to see if you would come and find me," he said. Ume made a 'Tsk,' noise.
"Are you ready for our deal?" Kaito asked. Ume quickly looked back down at him.
"Of course!" she hissed. Kaito pushed off of the tree and started walking down the path.
"Follow me then," he said. Ume jumped from the tree and walked behind Kaito. She wanted to keep an eye on him, just incase he tried something funny.
"You don't have to glare at me like that, I'm not going to do anything," Kaito said. Ume remained silent. Kaito stood about as tall as Sanosuke, maybe an inch shorter or so. Both Ume and Kaito were silent as they walked into town. Kaito pulled his hat down lower over his face, as to not be noticed by any police walking around. Ume just followed him, pretending to just be going the same way as him. Kaito then suddenly turned down an empty alley way. Ume glanced around and then followed Kaito. He led her through a maze of alleys until he came to a solid metal door. He glanced around to see if anyone had followed them.
"Alright," he said, pulling out a key and unlocking the door. He swung it open and stepped aside, allowing Ume to walk in. Ume didn't even glance at Kaito as she stepped into the dark room. Kaito followed her and closed the door. Every thing around Ume went completely black,
A surprise attack in the dark!? Ume thought, spinning around. Suddenly bright lights flickered on. Ume sheilded her eyes from the sudden brightness.
"Where am I?" Ume asked. She opened her eyes and noticed she was in a huge ware house. Ume had no idea that there were warehouses like this in Tokyo. It was pretty empty, save for a few alrge boxes and a large grey tarp that covered something. Kaito stepped away from a light switch and walked over to the tarp.
"Electricity? When did this-"
"I brought the lightbulbs home from France, had some of my....friends build this ware house," Kaito explained. Ume stared at him hard.
"Why do you need an intire ware house?" Ume asked. Kaito glanced at her and smirked.
"That is besides the point. Would you like to talk about the deal?" Kaito asked. Ume tilted her head to the side.
"I want you to do something for me....and in return, I'll give you....this!" Kaito grabbed the tarp and quickly pulled it away. Underneathe it was a woman who seemed to be sleeping. She had long curly blonde hair and was dressed in very odd clothes. This woman was obviously not from Japan. Ume's blood ran cold as she looked from the woman to Kaito. Kaito held a hand out to the woman.
"Go ahead, she's alive," Kaito said. Ume took a step forword, but then stopped.
"This has to be a trick...she's....she's dead!" Ume said, pointing to the woman. Kaito smiled at Ume.
"You killed her! I know that she's dead!!" Ume shouted. Kaito shook his head.
"Calm down and I'll tell you the story. But for now, embrace your mother," Kaito said. Ume stared at him for only a second more, before she ran to the woman and fell to her knees.
"Mom! Mom!" Ume called, shaking her slightly.
"She won't wake up, she will only sleep. I've drugged her with a special medecine that puts you in a heavenly sleep," Kaito pointed out. Ume glared up at him.
"Tell me what happened!" Ume hissed. Kaito nodded and starte pacing.
"On that fateful day when you witnessed our mother's death...Well, let me start at the real begining," Kaito said. Ume listened to him, but she didn't look at him. She just stared into the face of her sleeping mother.
"In the middle of the night, while you were alseep, I snuck into the kitchen. Mother heard a noise and got up. We met in the dinning room where, after she had screamed, you awoke. You rushed down to the dinning room and saw me stab Mother multiple times," Ume cringed as the memories of her own mother's death appeared in her mind.
"But that's not really what happened," Ume turned and looked at Kaito.
"Then what happened!?" Ume asked.
"When we met in the dinning room, I hit Mother on the head, thus knocking her out. I left her in the kitchen and pulled out my secret weapon...." Kaito paused.
"I have a friend who makes human puppets. He owed me a favor so I asked him to create a puppet of our mother. These puppets are life like and are able to bleed real blood. I swaped the real Mother with the puppet and stabbed the puppet!" Kaito said, he seemed pretty proud of himself.
"But why go through all of the trouble?" Ume asked. Kaito glared down at her.
"I needed you to be filled with hate! I needed you to come and find me so that I could fight you with all that I am! And....I needed you to do something for me..." Kaito slyly looked at Ume. She paused for a long time.
"What are the terms for this.....deal?" Ume asked. Kaito smiled.
"I'm glad you asked. If you do me a little favor, I will turn myself in and you may live happily ever after with Mother!" Kaito paused and turned to look at Ume. She stared londingly at the sleeping woman.
".....What do I have to do?"
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"Hey,have you seenUme?" Sanosuke asked. Kenshin shook his head and hung up the last of the laundry.
"I have not. She said that she was going for a walk earlier this morning," Kenshin said. Sanosuke sighed.
"It's already passed lunch and Ume's not here to fix me one of those oblet things," he complained. Kenshin chuckled.
"I believe it's pronounce, 'omlet'," he corrected. Sanosuke just shrugged and started to walk away.
"Where are you going, Sano?" Kenshin asked, taking off the white rope and letting his sleeves fall to his sides.
"I'm going to the Akebeko for lunch, see ya," Sanosuke said, walking towards the front gate. Halfway there, he noticed Ume step in.
"Hey, Ume! Just in time!" Sanosuke said smiling. Ume glanced at him.
"It's passed lunch time and I'm starving! Can you make me-"
"Sorry Sano-san, I have no time," Ume said, brushing passed him. Sanosuke thought for a moment and turned around. He noticed something long and shiney in Ume's hands.
"Hello Ume-dono. How was your walk?" Kenshin asked, smiling at Ume. She walked over to Kenshin and held up her arm, pointing the long shiney object at him. It was a fencing saber. It had a long thin blade, a silver hand guard and a small hilt. Ume pointed the tip of the blade at Kenshin's neck.
"Ume-dono!" Kenshin gasped, jumping back. Sansoukefollowed Umeand noticedshe waspointing a strange looking sword at Kenshin.
"Ume!'
"I'm sorry Ken-san, but I must do this," Ume said, thrusting the sword at Kenshin. He easily dodged, not drawing his sword. Ume continued to swing the sword, mainly thrusting at Kenshin's vital organs.
"Ume-dono! Please tell me what's going on!" Kenshin said. Ume kept silent, continuing to thrust.
"What's going on?" Kaoru asked. She and Yahiko walked out of the dojo and noticed Ume attacking Kenshin.
"I don't know! Ume just comes in with this freaky looking sword and starts to attack Kenshin!" Sanosuke said. Yahiko and Kaoru gasped.
"Ume-dono!"
"Draw your sakabato!" Ume snapped, thrusting at Kenshin again.
"Ume is from France, right?" Kaoru asked suddenly. Yahiko nodded.
"Then that explains it," She mumbled. Sanosuke glanced at her.
"Explains what?" he asked. Kaoru watched the fight carefully.
"Ume is using a technique called 'fencing'. It's very popular in France right about now. The saber that Ume has is very thin and a little wobbly, not good for slashing like any japanese sword. The fencing saber is used to stab and make little cuts, used for wearing your opponent out," Kaoru explained. Yahiko just stared. He had never seen anything like it. Ume wasn't as fast on her feet as Kenshin was, but she could hardly see Ume's hands or the saber.
"I'm going to stop this," Sanosuke said. Kaoru turned to him.
"No! She must have a good reason for this, so you shouldn't interfere." Kaoru said. Sansouke stopped, grumbling. Ume thrust one last time and managed to catch Kenshin's shoulder. He winced lightly, but used his sheath to hit Ume in the ribs. Ume gasped and jumped back, holding otno her side.
"Ume-dono, what is going on?" Kenshin asked again. Neither of them were breathing hard, even though they had been fighting pretty hard.
"I can't tel you," she breathed. Sanosuke glared.
"That's stupid! Just tell us why you attacked Kenshin!" Sanosuke shouted. Ume paused for a second, staring at the ground.
"I wish I could tell you....good bye," Ume then turned and ran off, grabbing onto the large wall and jumping over it.
"Ume-dono-"
"Oh no you don't!" Sanosuke shouted, he quickly grabbed on to the wall and jumped over, chasing Ume.
"She's fast," Sanosuke mumbled, staring at Ume's back. She was a good ways ahead of him. Just enough to make it easy to lose her. Sanosuke followed her into a dark alley. He ran through the maze and finally turned the last corner.
"She's....she's gone," Sanosuke breathed. He took a few steps forward and noticed a large metal door. He placed his hand on the knob and turned it, he swung the door open and glared inside.
"UME!!" he shouted. Sanosuke noticed he was in a giant ware house. Standing off to the left was Ume, a tall guy with long black hair dressed as a merchant and an older woman who had long blonde hair and was sleepping. The man glared at Sanosuke and then at Ume.
"How could you let him follow you!?" Kaito hissed. Ume glared at Sanosuke and then at Kaito.
"I didn't know he was following me!" Ume snaped back.
"Destroy him and I'll give you Mother. I will destroy The Battousai later," Kaito whispered to Ume. Ume glanced at the sleeping woman and then at the ground. Kaito walked to another door.
"I have some business to take care of, I'll be back within the hour," Kaito said to Ume. He then walked out of the door and dissapeared. Sanosuke looked at Ume.
"Ume, what's going on?" he demanded. Ume just walked towards him.
"Who was that guy?"
"None of your business!" Ume punched at Sanosuke. He dodged and punched back. Ume grabbed his fist and twisted it. Sanosuke let out a shout as Ume then picked him up and slammed him on the ground. Sanosuke lay on the floor for a moment. Ume stared down at him. Sanosuke then grabbed Ume's leg and pulled her to the ground. She fell on her butt and kicked Sanosuke hard in the shoulder. Forcing himself ontop of Ume, Sanosuke pinned her down. His hands held onto her wrists, and his shin pinned down her legs. Ume glared up at him.
"Ume, tell me what's going on! Was that you'r brother?" Sanosuke shouted.
"I said stay out of it!" Ume shouted. Sanosuke let go of one of Ume's arms and went to punch her in the face. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact.......But it never came. Instead, the floor next to Ume's head crumbled. Ume opened her eyes and noticed that Sanosuke was no longer mad. He seemed.....calm.
"Ume....please," Ume stared at Sanosuke for a moment and then turned her head to look at the sleeping woman. Sanosuke looked over his shoulder to see.
"Who is that?" Sanosuke asked.
"That's my mother," Ume said. Sanosuke gave her a confused look.
"But I thought you said-"
"I was wrong. If you get up, I will tell you the whole story," Ume said quietly, not looking at Sanosuke. He slowly got up and allowed Ume to sit up. She let out a sigh.
"It all began one night in France. It was around midnight when my mother heard a noise in the kitchen. She got up to see what it was and...." Ume paused.
"I heard her scream so I quicky got up and ran into the dinning room. There I saw Kaito kill my mother," Sanosuke let out a small gasp.
"But Kaito says that he only knocked out my real mother, swapped it for a human like puppet and then killed that. He says he used that plan to get me to follow him so he could makea deal with me."
"That deal was that you had to come and kill Kenshin to get your mother back," Sanosuke said. Ume stared at the ground and slowly nodded.
"I can't go back there again....after what I've done..." Ume mumbled. Sanosuke sighed.
"Didn't I tell you that we're here for you? Let's grab your mom and we'll go back to the dojo together, alright?" Sanosuke stood to his feet and held a hand out to Ume. She stared at him for a moment.
"But what about Kaito?" she asked. Sanosuke rolled his eyes.
"Me and Kenshin will take care of him, let's go." he said. Ume paused in thought for a moment. She then smiled and grabbed onto Sanosuke's hand. He pulled her to her feet and then wrapped his arms around her. She was pressed up against his strong chest.
"Ume, I can't believe that you would run off and try to do this on your own. You need to learn that you have people who want to help you," Ume pulled awayslightly and looked up at Sanosuke. She could feel his heart beat quicken.
"I just want to help you, Ume," he whispered. Ume could only nod her head. There was a moment of stillness. It seemed that all time had stopped around them. Sanosuke slowly leaned down and closed his eyes. Ume also closed her eyes and leaned forword. Their lips touched slightly, until Ume stood on her tippy toes. Their lips locked and Ume wrapped her arms around Sanosuke's neck. Ume could feel Sanosuke's heart pounding on his chest. Ume also felt her own heart beating hard. This kiss wasn't like Shiro's 'surprise' kiss. This was different. Ume could actually feel this kiss, feel Sanosuke's warmth, and feel her heart race. Sanosuke pulled back slightly and opened his eyes. Ume did the same and looked into Sanosuke's dark brown eyes. He let out a light chuckle and pulled away. Ume blushed slightly and laughed too. She had no idea what else to do.
"I'm sorry it wasn't your first kiss," Sanosuke said. Ume shrugged and smiled at him.
"To me, it was." she said. Sanosuke smiled back at her.
"C'mon, let's get Mom to the dojo," Ume said. Sanosuke nodded and walked over to the sleeping woman. Ume picked her up bridal style and headed for the door.
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After getting to the dojo and explaining what had happened, Kaoru sighed.
"If you had told us all in the begining, we wouldn't have this problem," she said. Ume looked down.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't want to worry every body," Ume said. Sanosuke sighed.
"So, how long is she going to sleep?" Yahiko asked, staring at Ume's mom.
"I don't know. Kaito said he drugged her with something," Ume said shrugging.
"She's very beautiful. She's the one from France?" Kaoru asked. Ume nodded and smiled.
"I wish she was awaked to hear that," she whispered.
"What is her name?" Kenshin asked.
"Clarabelle,"
"Whoa, that's very French," Yahiko said. He took a few moments to try to pronounce it right. Everyone sat in the dojo in a circle. Clarabelle lay on the floor sleeping next to Ume. Kenshin sat on the other side of her.
"So, will this Kaito guy come after you?" Yahiko asked. Ume nodded her head.
"Probably. I didn't succeed in killing either Ken-san or Sano-san. Plus, I kidnapped Mom. He'll defenatly come after me," she said, sighing.
"Well, when he does, we'll be here to help you, right?" Sanosuke asked. Everyone smiled and nodded.
"Right!"