The Devil Wears a Pinstriped Suit

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed while I was away. Sorry it took so long. The next update will come much sooner, I promise!



Sosoru



Chapter 26



It's not really hard to figure out where everything started to go wrong. One could argue it was day one, when I decided to pursue this married man. Another might say it was when I recognized I was in too deep, but decided to proceed. I would be inclined to agree with the person that thinks the latter. A one point, this situation was controllable. Few people were involved and little was at risk. However, it had turned into an unrecognizable monster that's consumed the lives of many I cared about. At the center of this beast was me, and the fuel in its belly; my selfishness. Well, let me spread the blame just slightly. I was selfish, but Kenshin's recklessness added unneeded fuel to the fire. And what of Aoshi? Did he have an obligation to his friend since college to keep his secret, or the obligation to tell the truth to the woman he's protected since his youth? Did he have to sleep with said woman when he was committed to someone else? But, this all started with a little flirtation at an Outback Steakhouse between the flame-haired lawyer and the savvy vixen.



I placed my drink, a strong, but flavorful Amaretto Sour, onto my counter and shook my head. So much was going on and so little made sense. What do I say and who do I say it to? Tell Missy the whole truth? Can she even handle it right now? Tell Tomoe and prove her suspicions true? Or, do I let the individual players sort through their own messes at the moment? I could only imagine the lies being told to Tomoe by her husband that very moment. Not for a moment did I believe he intended on dissolving his marriage. This made the knock on my door very curious.



My body, in a state of slight sluggishness induced by the alcohol, felt unbelievably heavy. It was a struggle to pull the two halves of my terry rob closed and tie the belt around my middle. Another knock came and my feet shuffled a bit faster, annoyed the person outside wasn't making use of the custom doorbell I had installed. My hands, unsteady, made contact with the doorknob. Without looking to see who was there, because it would have taken too much effort, I opened the door. I was surprised to who I saw. In fact, I was shocked sober.



"Aoshi?"



"I know this may sound odd, but may I come in?" he as much respect he could muster for me.



"Odd? That is an understatement, Aoshi," I replied.



My nostrils were flaring in rhythm with my racing heart. How dare this bastard come to my home and expect to talk to me? About what?



"Look, I know we don't like each other..."



"Another understatement..."



"Fine, we wish the other was dead,” Aoshi said, finally returning to himself.



"That's better," I shot.



"Let me in and I'll explain things to you," he returned.



I thought about it for a second, the stepped aside to let the tall, slender man inside. He, respectfully, removed his shoes and made his way to the kitchen. The dim light made his navy polo and slate grey pants look nearly black, but his ice-blue eyes were as piercing as ever. He was a man blessed with beauty. He looked to me for permission to sit. I waved my hand as I moved over to the bar to fix him a drink. I may not have liked the man, but I'm never a bad hostess. Aoshi took the drink, a scotch on the rock as we both sat down. The two of us were closer to each other than ever...without trying to kill one another. This unsettled me a bit. Whatever he was about to discuss had to be heavy to outweigh his disdain for me. Suddenly, the house was stuffy and uncomfortable. My spider-sense was tingling with the feeling I was being watched. As unbelievable as it may have been, I decided a retreat to the patio was in order.



"Let's go outside and talk," I said to Aoshi as I led the way.



He followed without a word. In fact, he seemed to be relieved to not be within the confines of my house. Something was definitely up, I thought as I pushed the sliding door aside and stepped out onto the yard. The patio was a few paces away from the house, unenclosed with a sitting area and hot tub. I sank down into the elegant steel chairs, which were heavily cushioned, and invited my strange guest to follow suit. He nodded and lowered his tall frame, though he did not make an effort to get comfortable.



"Keep your voice down and keep it brief. I don't want ears listening," I said tartly, my eyes darting to my neighbor's yard.



"I will get straight to the point," Aoshi assured after taking a sip of his drink. "It's more than a coincidence that after Enishi showed up, ish hit the fan. What did he tell you about himself?"



"I will admit, I do not know much about him. I did not realize he was Kenshin's brother-in-law until afterwards," I said quietly.



"So, you're a homewrecker and a wanton?" Aoshi said with way too much attitude than was appropriate.



"Not that I care about your opinion, but I do not usually do the one-night-stand thing. I was actually trying to forget about Kenshin...but, I had the feeling something was off this morning with Enishi," I admitted.



"Enishi hates Kenshin and is unnaturally protective of Tomoe. He resents being sent away to American and that I got to protect her. He is a very dangerous man, Kaoru, and very influential," Aoshi explained.



"I understand that much, but why come to me?” I quizzed.



Aoshi said nothing initially, taking another sip. It seemed that he was willing to be patient. There were truly details I had no idea about. From Aoshi's silence, it seemed to be possible that Enishi didn't just get lucky finding me, but that he knew I would be at that bar. Swallowing the last gulp hard, Aoshi wiped his mouth free of any remaining liquid and proceeded.



"Enishi has bigger plans," Aoshi said anticlimactically.



"I see," I said, "But I don't understand what we are to do about it."



"Neither do I, but I think you can come up with something. You are, after all, the master of lies and deception. Not only that, I know that if you words fail, your fists can finish the conversation," Aoshi said with a playful smirk.



That was the least amount of animosity he had shown to me. In fact, I would have been inclined to believe he was being humorous. Yet, something was not right. Granted, I am strong, but Aoshi and Kenshin were trained Yakuza. I was proficient, yes, but proficient in my world could mean nothing in theirs. Secondly, I'd never fought for survival. Physical confrontation was not my trade skill.



"You were being lax, Aoshi. I have no doubt you are capable of protecting yourself and Tomoe," I said, trying to get myself off the hook.



"I lack your mastery of manipulation," Aoshi responded frankly.



"You make me sound like a bad guy," I chuckled.



"I think you are smarter than Enishi," Aoshi revised.



"Obviously I'm not if I couldn't see through his seduction," I said. Then, I leaned ever so close to the man next to me and whispered in a low tone. "He could have my house bugged right now, hence why we are outside. But, that doesn't mean there are no cameras spying us."



I then pulled away quickly and scowled. At first, Aoshi looked a bit perplexed. But when I shot him a quick wink, he understood.



"I don't know why I even bothered to come to you," Aoshi said in his usually icy tone.



"Since you don't know, please show yourself out. I'm not getting involved in your problems," I replied tartly.



Aoshi stood up and politely bowed, but there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes I had not seen before. I'm not sure when he though this world-class lawyer would turn into a covert-operator, but it seemed I didn't have much choice in the matter. I had gotten into something much bigger than myself and the world I had known. But, there would be hell to pay for the persons who underestimated the will and determination of Kamiya Kaoru.