Innocents Pay Chapter 14 (Code Lyoko)

Aelita and Yumi walked in with the other Maiko. Imitating the other girls' poise and mannerisms, the girls hoped the could evade detection. Aelita whispered into Yumi's ear, "Keep an eye out for a man named Yoshitoki. We must protect him, from whatever danger he might be in." Yumi smirked. "How can we protect him if we can't find him?"
"Instead of making stupid comments, maybe you could help find him?" Aelita's usually calm, sweet voice had unmistakable traces of venom in it. Yumi was taken a little aback. "Aelita, what's wrong?"
"Nothing that will interfere with what we are doing. Now let's find this Yoshitoki guy."
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Ulrich sat behind, and couldn't stifle a yawn. "Hey Einstein, are we just going to stay here until we beat Sergei? Or when are we going to take a break?"
Jeremy scoffed, "Ulrich, this is the end of the world we're talking about. There is nothing more important than stopping it."
"But Jeremy, it's Saturday! We haven't stopped since Neil died Tuesday last week! That can't be healthy."
Jeremy ceded ground. Although he was smart with technology, he'd never paid much attention to his bodily needs. As he thought about it, he realized just how tired he was. His bones ached. He had a migraine. "Fine. Besides, I should go to church tomorrow. I missed it last week. And then I'll take Aelita out to lunch. We haven't done that for forever!"
Ulrich sighed deeply out of satisfaction. He had pulled Jeremy out of his shell, at least for awhile. It seems that was his job, keeping Jeremy out of oblivion. Groaning as he stood up, Ulrich realized just how much Aelita owed him. It wasn't everyday he dedicated himself to keeping someone human.
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After a solid fifteen minutes of asking around, Yumi and Aelita still had not found Yoshitoki. They slumped against a wall. Suddenly, a Maiko came up. "Yumi, you said you were looking for a man named Yoshitoki? He just walked in. Impress him with your skills at playing shamisen, and you may win his heart!" Completely ignorant of the look of disgust that came across Yumi's face, the girl propelled her to the prime playing area. Aelita, still resting agains the wall, smiled. Apparently, all their asking around had been noticed, and misconstrued as two girls with a crush. Yumi could monitor their mark, and she'd get some rest. And that was when another Maiko walked up. "Aelita, you where looking for a man named Yoshitoki? He has just arrived! Win his heart with your ready wit as you serve him!"
Although she protested more vocally, Aelita, too, was propelled over to the man whose life was in her hands.

Silently entering through, the emperor's guards made little commotion until they were directly behind a seemingly random man. And then they made plenty of commotion, grabbing the man by his arms, and forcing him to the ground with a sword at his throat as the hushed crowd watched. Another guard announced the man's crime, treason. The young man was furious, but quietly so. He was a samurai, after all. As the guard with the sword lifted his arms to decapitate him, he simultaneously kicked the guard holding him in the groin and stole the man's weapon, a foot long tanto blade. A short, violent duel followed. The young man parried the blow from the man with the sword, and returned it by stabbing him through the chest Two more guards rushed into the fray, but the man hand already picked up the full sized sword that had been intended to lift his head from his shoulders. He tossed the tanto away. It skidded to a stop by Aelita's feet and without thinking, she scooped it up and hid it in her clothes. Meanwhile, the duel was going badly for the enemy of the emperor. He had been wounded in the shoulder, and though he killed another guard, it was obvious he wouldn't last long. As the other guards held back, unwilling to go first, the man spat at the emperor, and then drove his sword through his own stomach, whispering, "I have died with honor."
Yumi could see Yoshitoki stiffen, and suddenly, she noticed that there were four guards behind him. Thinking quickly, she smashed the shamisen across one of their heads. The noise made everyone in the room turn their heads-including Yoshitoki, who noticed the men ready to murder him. He whipped around, but already, one of the men was pressing the tip of his katana into his throat. A guard pronounced the crime, once again; treason against the emperor. Hardly knowing what she was doing, Aelita whipped out her blade and swung with all her might at the guards arm. She did not know about the process of making a true katana. She did not know how incredible sharp and strong these blades are. So she was utterly surprised when it severed both of the man's hands, and then continued to slice entirely through his leg. Blood sprayed across her face and borrowed garments. But she had given Yoshitoki the time he needed to cut his way through the remaining guards and escape through the door. Aelita looked down in horror at what she'd done. The man she had attacked would undoubtably die. Bursting out into tears, she kneeled by his side, sobbing, "I'm sorry!  I-I didn't know this would happen, I d-didn't want to hurt you!"
Surprisingly the man smiled. "It is...alright. You have done...what your honor requires, protecting your shogun. Do not worry, I have many sons...the Ishyama family will live on." The other guards were not so lenient. In fact, the two girls were about to be killed when Jeremy brought the back.

But that's ancient history.