A/N: Here we go again. Ah well, #11 is a lucky number, so hopefully this one rolls off the press like it was born for the job. Which it was. This came out late due to a sudden and debilitating bout of illness on my part, possibly food poisoning. I really just wanted to die for about 6 hours straight… always when I'm on vacation or have somewhere extremely important to be, dammit!

Chapter 11:

As soon as they were left alone and he was reasonably sure their hosts were out earshot, Zoro turned to Tashigi, eager to voice his immediate and serious concerns. After all, with her sort of nature she likely hadn't actually considered the possibility of an ambush from people like this. Crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes, he spoke. "You know, she's taking this awfully well. We did beat up some government officials in a nearby alleyway, and we're escaped convicts."

Tashigi did indeed give him a slightly confused stare for a moment before replying. "She probably doesn't know about the 'convicts' part, but it is true that the fact that we've seriously disobeyed the law doesn't seem to be bothering her much at all." The female swordsman admitted, "Do you think there's something more going on here?"

He nodded shortly. "A trap, maybe. To send a kid out to bring us in, offer us food and lodging. She's probably calling the cops as we speak, and they'll pounce as soon as we let our guards down."

"Hmm. Well, even if that is the case," And it did seem likely at that point, "We should take what we can get out of the situation. We can always run if they show up, and if she's really working with them they already know our position anyway. And if she's not…"

"Yeah, I guess we should at least get a meal out of this." Zoro admitted, since he didn't think poison was really the common mode of fugitive capture in most parts. "And some time to dry off would be nice. Maybe we can stay until it stops raining."

"Might as well try for that." With that decided, the two of them took another few moments to observe the room they'd been left in. No surprises there, but the muffled din of a crowd of customers in the front room became more apparent in the silence. Zoro took a few more steps forward, shaking a little more water from his clothes.

"Well, at least they shouldn't try anything against us directly. Not without a good number of armed men, anyway."

"What makes you so sure? An ambush works best with the fewest people possible involved." Tashigi moved to one side of the room, checking out a second doorway that apparently led more toward the front of the building.

"I don't think they'd have the guts to come up against me with anything less than a small army." He replied confidently.

"Since when do you inspire that kind of terror in random people? If they knew who you were maybe, but these people should be pretty much clueless from what we've seen."

He turned to her seriously. "I'm a pretty intimidating guy."

She sniffed derisively. "To the uninformed, I suppose."

Zoro, of course, found this statement innately amusing. "Uninformed, eh? So you don't think so?"

"The only things scary about you are your supposed wit and the absolute horror of your directional sense."

He couldn't help but snicker at this statement and the tone in which it was delivered. "I guess you would say that. After all, when we first met you decided I just looked hungry." He knew he had taken a gamble mentioning that whole incident, but she didn't hackle up at the memory as he had expected.

"You did, at the time." She pointed out, "You also looked dirt poor."

"Eh, well, best to look the part if you're living it." Zoro shrugged, leaning backwards in his chair. The conversation didn't get a chance to go any further however, as their host chose that moment to return.

The woman, Kajou's mother, walked in carrying two plates of food as well as some folded cloth that was hanging over her forearm. "Here's the meal I promised you, eat your fill. And I've brought some dry clothes for you two as well, since you're both soaked through."

"Er, thanks." Tashigi, despite the bluffing powers she had demonstrated back at the bar the day before, was apparently at a loss as to how to be nonchalant about potential betrayal of trust.

Apparently ignorant of the tension from the two swordsmen, Kajou's mother continued, stepping over to the table and putting the plates down. "I hope this will do, it's the same thing we're feeding the rest of our customers tonight."

Zoro raised one eyebrow after a look at the clothes he was abruptly handed a moment later. "These belong to your husband?"

"No, they were my oldest son's." Okay, referring to offspring in the past tense was never a good sign, so Zoro decided to drop the subject. Even he was capable of tact on occasion, and the woman was feeding him.

Luckily, she continued her previous train of thought, apparently just as eager for a subject change as he was. "You two can go ahead and get cleaned up and changed first. I'll show you the way upstairs. There's no point in making you sit down here and eat while you're soaked through, and the food will keep."

And that was a custom-made excuse to get them to drop their guards. Undoubtedly. The woman paused as she finally noticed the stares she was getting from her two new guests. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, well…" Tashigi stepped in before Zoro could come directly to the issue. "It's just that… why are you doing this for us?"

Or perhaps she'd be direct herself, though likely a lot more polite than Zoro would have been. He stood back, arms crossed over his chest and eyes narrowed intimidatingly. Time to show Tashigi what he was made of in that department.

"Well, you two saved Miki from a very dangerous situation. Isn't that reason enough?"

"Isn't this aiding and abetting criminals though? Shouldn't you be at least slightly concerned about that?" Zoro asked bluntly.

"Criminals already? So you two are in more trouble than come from just attacking some city guards then."

"Isn't the whole city guards thing enough for you?" He replied.

"It would be, if I didn't already know that those three in particular won't bother reporting sure a loss of face. What they'd lose would be worth much more to them than getting vengeance on you two."

Zoro snorted. "Oh yeah? If that's the case and you know it, why are they still around and causing trouble? And why should we believe what you say anyway?"

"They're still around because, despite their cowardice, they're actually fairly good fighters." She explained, "Most of us townsfolk wouldn't want to go up against them, and any group large enough to do so safely would easily be classified as a mob. And the government doesn't let things like that slide at all."

"You all must be incredibly weak then." Zoro concluded, which earned him a frustrated sigh from Tashigi.

"I suppose we two actually got off quite easy with them tonight then." Tashigi tried being a little more politic, and perhaps a little less arrogant. "But even so, there must be some chance of retribution for our actions. If you don't dare to go up against their like normally, why do so now? And wouldn't helping us fall under something just as serious as mob formation?"

"…. You have a military mind. Your friend seems more the brawler, but you've obviously had tactical and legal training."

Tashigi gulped and took a step backwards. "It's… a hobby…?"

"I'm sure."

"…"

She then did the one thing Zoro and Tashigi hadn't expected. She laughed. "You two… you're not from this island, are you?"

The pair froze, exchanging a glance. Was this it, the moment where the door would be broken down by local officials out for their heads?

"It's easy to tell." She continued, "You don't have the air of locals, and some of the things you say and do show that you really don't know what's happening here. Even the few merchants who are allowed to come into the docks know that much. Plus, I've never seen someone with bright green hair before…"

Tashigi coughed a little at that last bit, as Zoro glowered in her direction.

"But there's no need to be so nervous." The woman chuckled as the two swordsmen's gazes snapped back onto her form. "I haven't reported you two to the authorities, if that's what you've been suspecting."

"Hmph. Just you saying that doesn't mean anything. As a matter of fact, it just makes you more suspicious." Zoro narrowed his eyes, one hand creeping back towards the swords slung across his back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tashigi take a step backwards, closer to his side, a look of concern on her face. Whether it was worry about being recaptured or alarm over the possibility of Zoro actually attacking a civilian woman, he wasn't sure.

"Well, suspicious or not, I prefer to speak the truth. The men who went after Miki were in the wrong, and it's a rare person nowadays that will do the right thing regardless of the consequences. I also prefer to be one of those rare people myself."

"Once again, you saying so doesn't mean squat to us." Zoro fired back.

"Oh my. You two must have been having a rough time if you're this wound up."

"Actually, he's just naturally paranoid." Tashigi corrected. "But even so, you'll have to excuse our lack of immediate trust."

"No, it's quite understandable. Stay as long as you're comfortable then, but you should at least listen to what we have to say. It may help you remain free on this island."

"Hmph." Zoro leaned against one wall, the comforting weight of his swords against his back calming him somewhat. "Start talking."

"I'm sorry." Tashigi shot a glare at Zoro, which he rather felt he didn't rightly deserve. "It's just… these past few days have been very trying. And we have some serious problems to sort out that might keep us here much longer than we'd like."

"Problems you say?"

"Well, when we were captured…" She made an odd sound as she abruptly bit her tongue, but the damage was done.

Zoro straightened up. Tashigi had just let slip something that was unquestionably new to their host. Why had he let her, with her naïve nature, speak in the first place, dammit? And how would the woman react to the news that they were undoubtedly fugitives?

Reaction… none? Well, another raised eyebrow, but… had she already figured that much out? Who the heck was this woman, and what game was she playing?

"You two… You lost your crewmates, didn't you?" This new voice came from the entrance to the kitchen, causing the two of them to twitch and swivel around to face the new speaker. The soft voice matched the form in the doorway, revealing the girl the two had rescued earlier in the day.

"What…?" How many of them were there, that knew about all this then?

Kajou's mother stepped in to explain, "It's common knowledge of the sorts of things Kanraku and his men inflict on unsuspecting travelers. It happens often enough that a few people like yourselves escape every now and again."

Another shared glance, and then Tashigi asked one of the questions now burning in both of their minds. "So there are others? Like us?"

She nodded, "Most don't stay free for long, one way or another. In these past few years, I personally have known of only about half a dozen people in this town who escaped from Kanraku and his men. To meet two of you on the same day, traveling together… I can't help but wonder…"

"Wonder what?"

"Ah well. All in good time for that." Before Zoro could get righteously irate about that particular sidestep, she continued, "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet have I? I'm terribly sorry. My name is Kizake, you've met my son Kajou, and Miki is one of my employees. You rescued her on her way to work this evening."

"Lovely." Zoro's voice dripped sarcasm. "So were you actually going to say or do anything to convince us that you aren't stabbing us in the back this evening, or should we just take off now?"

"Impatient." She shook her head.

Zoro ignored that, continuing his own interrogation. "So, if there were or are other people like us, where are they now?"

"And why hasn't the World Government heard about this situation?" Tashigi chimed in, another unwanted and naïve statement.

"The World Government…" It was not his imagination – there was some bitterness there when this strange woman referred to that all powerful organization. "I doubt they're very concerned about what happens on this island, one way or another. Whether they choose to ignore us or if a blind has been placed over their eyes in regards to this island I'm not sure, but either way they're not likely to be involved here anytime soon."

Kizake moved over to the plain wooden table and pulled out a chair. Sitting down, she gestured for Zoro and Tashigi to follow her lead. "Have a seat. If you don't trust us enough to get changed into dry clothes at the moment, why don't you two go ahead and at least eat your dinner?"

Since there was no reason to refuse that request, the swordsmen stepped over to the table as well, gingerly settling down in two more open chairs. Zoro spoke once again. "Fine. Free food is free food, but you'd better get talking if you want anything more from us."

"I understand. I suppose I should tell you how this all started." Sitting back in her chair and intertwining her fingers on the table in front of her, she began. "Five years ago, this island was a vastly different place..."

Five years previous…

"Dad!"

"Kajou! Come back here!" The irate voice of a young man echoed off the buildings lining the unpaved street.

"Wait, Dad!"

An older man came to a stop, turned around to face the six-year-old that was pelting after him, and waited until the youngster came sliding to a stop just before him. "Kajou, what do you think you're doing?"

"I want to go with you to the parade grounds today!"

"Oh? Well, today is…"

"Come on! You took Kashu last week! I want to go too!"

"I know, I know. But not today, okay?"

"Why not? You always say 'not today', and then I never get to go!"

"Kajou!" The original pursuer finally caught up with the pair, and grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck. "Where the hell did you think you were going?"

"Lay off, Kashu! I'm gonna go with Dad today!"

"You little idiot. Haven't you been paying attention at all for the last week?" This point was emphasized by a fist to the top of the skull. "There's a royal inspection today! That's way too important for those guys to have a brat like you getting under their feet."

"Hey now, what's all this?" Yet another person joined the trio, strolling up with an easygoing grin.

"Ah, Shaku. Sorry, I'm running a little late today."

"No kidding! I was about to leave without you. Of all the days to pick to procrastinate…" The younger man complained, pulling at the collar of his dress uniform uncomfortably.

"Heh, well, it's not in my nature to worry about these things." Roushu smirked.

Shaku sniffed in mock irritation. "It's not in your nature to worry about anything, boss. That's why you have me, after all."

"It's job security for you, at least." He grinned back. "Now then. Kajou, you can't come with me today, but we'll see about you coming in tomorrow, alright?"

Staring earnestly up at his father, the youngster felt compelled to ask, "Really? You promise?"

Shaku chimed in with his own bit or persuasion. "We're doing full drills tomorrow, provided there are no schedule changes, so it should be much more interesting than seeing the inspection today anyway."

"Well… okay… I guess." Kajou didn't bother hiding his disappointment, but here was no point in arguing any longer. He was getting what he wanted, only a little later than he'd planned.

Roushu slapped his hands together briskly. "Alright! So, I'm off, and tell your mother I might be a little late for dinner tonight, okay?"

"Yes sir!"

"This inspection… it's really coming out of nowhere, isn't it?" Shaku spoke after the two men had been walking for a few minutes.

Roushu cocked his head to one side, thinking for a moment before replying. "Hmmm. Not really. I don't know how much you and the other soldiers have heard about our negotiations with the World Government…"

"You mean about joining up with them?" Shaku waved one hand dismissively, "That's been an off-and-on thing for years now. Our country isn't really big enough or influential enough to draw much of their interest, I had thought."

"That's been the case in the past." He admitted easily, since it was common knowledge anyway, "But with the massive increase in pirate activity in the past couple of decades, and especially in these last three or four years, they're working on their own expansion programs. Located where we are, we're a natural stronghold. I think they're finally coming to appreciate the usefulness of that."

Shaku raised one eyebrow, smirking. "Eh? So you actually do pay attention to things like this sometimes?"

"I know how to tune in to the important parts. That's why I'm the boss." He yawned lazily. "Anyway, there are some representatives from the Marine base on the next island visiting right now, and the King is set to impress them."

"With us? I guess I should be flattered."

"Just make sure everyone behaves themselves today, and it should go off without a hitch." Roushu admonished his second in command, mock seriously.

"Well, I suppose if it's only for one day…" The two traded grins once again, picking up their pace as the parade grounds finally came into sight.

Kajou was waiting. The sun had set over and hour before, but he remained perched on the sloping rooftop that overhung their front porch. His father was very late tonight, which was extremely unusual. In his own childish mind, he had come to a conclusion that revolved around his father breaking his promise, that Kajou wouldn't get to go in with him tomorrow based on the fact that his father just wouldn't come home tonight.

Of course, he didn't want this to actually be true. It was just his frustration coming to the surface. His father never broke a promise without a very good reason, after all. Kajou didn't always understand the reasons, but Kashu always told him how important it was that Roushu be somewhere else, that he couldn't be there. It was times like those that Kashu actually acted like a big brother, not just a jerk like usual.

But here he was. Waiting for that familiar figure to round the corner of the buildings down the street, trotting along as if running through the door could change the fact that he was already very late.

The youngster perked up as a person did indeed come into sight at that moment. After only a moment of observation, and despite the darkness, he was disappointed. That person definitely wasn't his father. Whoever it was, they were coming toward the house though.

Kajou slid to the edge of the roof and dropped down to the ground. That was a trick that always got Kashu and his mother very upset since it was almost a ten foot drop, but he'd never hurt himself doing it yet. There he stood and waited for the stranger to arrive, after noticing the sound of the front door opening behind him at almost the same moment that he landed. Obviously he wasn't the only one in the house watching and waiting.

The one approaching called out to them, waving one arm over his head. "Kizake! I have a message for you!"

Kajou recognized the voice; the man was one of his father's troops. Not one that was particularly close to the family, but he had met pretty much every one of them at some point. The soldier trotted the final few yards up to the edge of the porch, addressing Kajou's mother. "Commander Roushu won't be able to come back tonight. Right after our inspection, the whole squad was requested to come to the capital for a few days. He said he was really sorry about it, but it was a royal order."

Kajou bristled in anger. It was as if everyone was conspiring against him! Before he could truly get wound up however, his mother spoke. "I see. Well, thank you for coming to tell us, Keru. Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Two or three days was what we were told ma'am."

"Well, do you have a moment to come in for coffee or tea, or do you need to head back right away?"

He blinked for a moment before smiling in appreciation of the offer. "I'm not due in until morning, actually."

Once all four of them, the three family members and their guest, were settled in the kitchen chairs, the young messenger went into a little more detail about the day's events.

"It was the first time I'd seen the King in person. I always expected him to look a little different somehow…"

Kajou's mother laughed softly, "Well, we all have a certain image of royalty in our own minds."

"You've seen him too, then?"

"Several times." She sipped her tea for a moment. "I am the wife of one of his highest ranking military officers, after all."

Kashu broke into the conversation at that point. "There were representatives from the World Government there today as well, weren't there?"

"Yes, three of them, right alongside the King." The other young man nodded. "They didn't really look like I had expected them to either."

"Really?" Kajou was also interested at this point. There weren't many foreigners that visited their island, for various reasons, and he'd never seen someone from another island before. Hearing about it firsthand was almost as fascinating.

"Yeah. One was a Marine. I guess he looked pretty normal, all decked out in that white uniform of theirs. The other two though…" He shook his head. "If I may be so bold, I'm wondering if the World Government is taking us seriously at all."

"It's never being too bold to speak the truth…" Kajou's mother had a twinkle in her eye as she quoted one of her husband's favorite sayings, "But please tell us what exactly you mean by that."

"Well, one of the others was a really young guy. Younger than me, I think. And he looked really bored during the whole session. It was actually kind of insulting, since we were all taking it so seriously. I can't imagine that someone like that holds any real power with the World Government."

"Well, appearances can be deceiving in some cases." This was Kashu stepping in, with the air of an informed man. "I've heard stories of Marines being commissioned as officers at ages as low as ten or so. It's all a matter of talent."

Kajou rolled his eyes at his brother's tone. Everyone in town knew that Roushu's oldest son aspired to be one of the first people from their country to join the Marines. He'd been obsessed with the idea for years now, and Kajou was really tired of hearing about it.

"What about the other guy?" He decided to push the conversation forward before his brother could start off on something boring about the Marines.

"The last one…" Keru trailed off for a moment. "I couldn't see him very well. He was wearing a long jacket, and a wide-brimmed hat. He seemed like he was the one in charge of the group, but I don't think he actually said anything the entire time."

"How could you tell he was in charge then?" Kajou asked, curious.

He shrugged, apparently not really knowing how to explain it. "The other two just seemed to defer to him."

"Defer…?"

"It means they stood back and let him make the decisions." Kashu explained shortly.

"But if he never said anything…"

"At any rate," Kajou was cut off and ignored by his elder brother, "I guess they were impressed by Dad's squad, if they asked them to come to the capital right away."

"Apparently."

"But why? What use could they have for soldiers at the moment?" Kajou blinked as he caught something in his mother's tone. Was she worried about this? Why?

"Well, it's well known that Roushu's command is incredibly skilled and absolutely loyal to the king." The soldier responded confidently, "Any one of us would die at his command. I think they were so impressed by that and our performance today that they're going to be using our group as royal guards and guards for the emissaries for the remainder of their visit."

She shook her head. "Once again, why? The king has royal guards. They're a special squad, intensively trained just for that position."

Chagrined at his own oversight, the young man admitted, "That's right, he does…. But I didn't see any of them around today."

"None? That can't be right. The King doesn't go anywhere without at least one group of guardsmen." Now there was no mistaking the worry in his mother's voice, and Kajou felt bewilderment creeping in.

Keru thought for a moment more. "Well, maybe there were a few, but I didn't really notice them. They didn't seem to be doing much."

"Well guarding isn't very exciting. At least that's what Dad always says." Kashu concluded.

"Yes, that's true." He smiled, back in a more upbeat mood almost instantly. "I'm sure they were quite bored, having to stand around and watch all of us undergo an inspection. I know I was about to fall asleep, and I was involved!"

"Hmmm. Well, if you were that tired earlier today I suppose we shouldn't keep you much longer." Kizake stood and carried her mug to the sink. "After all, it's a long trip to the capital city from here. Would you like another cup of coffee before you go?"

"No, that's alright. I really should get going." Keru had apparently just realized how late it actually was. "Thank you for your hospitality, and do you have any messages for me to give to Commander Roushu?"

"Just the usual!"

"Gotcha." He flashed them a grin before turning toward the door. "I'll take my leave then."

Roushu stepped through the door of the barracks he and his men had been housed in overnight, squinting his eyes against the morning sun. Peering out over the capital city from his location on a natural high ground that housed the Palace and all of the royal buildings, he sighed.

"A little early in the morning to be so downbeat, isn't it?" Shaku appeared from the door way as well.

"I had to break my promise to Kajou…"

"Oh yeah." Shaku was quiet for a moment. "You'll make it up to him. And I'm sure he understands, since we sent Keru to let them know about us being called in."

"I'm sure you're right." Roushu turned and headed toward the stairs that led down to the massive Palace courtyard. He called over his shoulder, "We're supposed to be ready and in formation in twenty minutes. Why don't you go and make sure all of them get a move on, eh?"

"Yeah sure. I'll tear 'em away from their breakfasts right away." With that, Shaku disappeared back indoors, leaving Roushu alone.

He sighed once again as he began working his way downstairs. There was something… off about this whole situation. Like his subordinate, he had noticed the lack of presence from the royal guardsmen the day before as well. Oh, they were there alright, but few in number and they seemed extremely unmotivated… barely moving, really.

And besides that, the King himself wasn't acting quite right. Now, Roushu wasn't arrogant enough to think that he knew the King on such a personal level as to truly intuit his moods and such, but something about the day before had been just not right. Their mighty ruler had seemed… dazed. Extremely quiet. As if he had also contracted whatever was afflicting his royal guards so severely.

Perhaps that was it. An illness of some sort. Naturally they would be loathe to spread word of such a thing among the populace, as it would cause undue worry if it was a minor ailment. Of course, the depth of symptoms that the King had been showing were far from minor…

Roushu didn't get a chance to continue his train of thought, as he was accosted as he reached the bottom of the staircase. "Ah, Commander Roushu!"

Turning to face the voice, Roushu saw it was one of the World Government representatives from the day before. The youngest, bored looking one, no mistake. "Ah, hello. I didn't get your name before, Mr…?"

"Rokku. I'm Rokku. Do you have a moment?"

End Ch. 11

Next Time- Roushu & Kashu! A Father's tears and a Son's rage!

Ending Note: I lined myself up for this one too… but I HATE writing kids! I just can't get into that mindset without feeling dumb. I, myself, was never a child. I sprang fully formed from the forehead of Zeus, I'll have you know. Newsflash: This story is now 80 pages long. Wow, what a number. Ah, and I was inspired last week as well, and went on to write a semi-smut scene for later on in this story. (Yes, there will be things like that in here eventually! I may have to raise the rating…)