Kaoru was completely confused as to what was going on
Kaoru was completely
confused as to what was going on. The Battousai was.she did not want to call it
protecting, but it was something odd.
Gohei on the other hand
was terrified. Kaoru felt a faint stab of pity for the man, his face had
bleached of color, and he appeared to be on the verge of fainting. It seemed
that the vapors where not something limited to woman.
"Pathetic." The
Battousai hissed his voice a tightly controlled whisper that sent shivers down
Kaoru's spine. His voice was again that smooth combination of silk and darkness.
"What.what are you
doing here?" Gohei practically whimpered, his words tumbling over
themselves as if he knew they would be the last words he spoke to the near
silent Dojo grounds. Grounds that he had long since coveted and watched from
afar.
The Battousai gave him a
bored look, his eyes conveying his distaste. "I don't think that is any of
your concern; you will soon no longer be among the so called living." His
voice was flat and darkly amused.
Kaoru turned her head
towards the Battousai's back, her eyes darkening with surprise at his harsh
tone. Shifting she wrinkled her nose when his silky hair clung to her face and
tickled her nose.
Kaoru sighed, muttering to
herself, shifted again and breathed deeply in relief when she saw Yahiko and
Sano. Even if Sano was carrying Megumi; much to Kaoru's surprise.
"Busu," Yahiko
grumbled as he skidding to a halt. "Are you alright?" There was
actually worry in his eyes, and Kaoru was quick to reassure him.
"I am fine
Yahiko." Kaoru assured, ignoring the painful pulsing of her shoulder, and
the protective arm holding her to the Battousai's side.
The Battousai angled his
head to shoot her a thoughtful look before he gave her a rather hard push back
at Sano. "Don't think about leaving." He warned the fighter. "I
am much faster than you could ever hope to be." The underlying threat was
clear.
With that, Kaoru heard the
unsheathing of his Katana; faster than the eye could follow the Dojo grounds
became littered with bodies. They fell like puppets whose strings had been
carefully cut.
The mutilation was
horrific -screams dying as soon as they started-, and she could practically
feel the echoes of torture. Sometimes he would leave a man alive, missing some
important part of his body, and after his screams started to grate on his
nerves, the fool's head would roll and his body would collapse. Kaoru turned
and buried her head in Sano's arm in an attempt to hide from the sight.
Then, if Kaoru had any
thoughts of trying to walk around the carnage to leave the scene of battle,
Sano had her in his arms and was moving towards the dojo. To her surprise,
there was no protest from the Battousai.
Peaking over the top of
Sano's shoulders Kaoru watched as Kenshin reached Gohei. The man had appeared
to wet himself and was standing with his sword trembling in his hands.
Kaoru did not see what
happened next, Sano moved around the edge of the Dojo too quickly, but she
heard him scream. It lasted longer than any of the others.
Yahiko watched Sano move
back into the Dojo and then sighed. Kaoru's eyes had been very wide, and he
wondered if perhaps he or Sano should sit with her tonight. She was going to
wake up screaming and they did not want the Battousai to use it as an excuse to
hurt her.
He looked up, the hairs on
the back of his neck tingling, and was surprised to see the Battousai watching
him. Ignoring him, he began to collect the dead bodies' -sometimes in pieces-,
quickly stacking them to be removed later. It would not do any good for Kaoru
to be sick later if, and when, she left the Dojo.
Besides, the smell of warm
blood was causing his teeth to ache.
"How did you
know?" The question was soft, and if the Battousai thought it odd that he
was being questioned, he said nothing. His eyes did narrow in an expression
that Yahiko could not place, but he made no move to touch Yahiko.
Placing the blade to his
mouth, he ran his tongue along the edge cleaning the steel. Yahiko wondered, in
a moment of sick awe, how he managed not to cut his tongue off. Yahiko had
never seen iron as sharply honed as the blade the Battousai so casually played
with.
"It doesn't
matter." The Battousai's voice was flat and dark, his tone telling Yahiko
that he would not go into detail. His eyes sparked with the faint flare of Ki
that went with the drinking of blood and Yahiko could suddenly see why he was
addicted to death.
Yahiko watched him enter
the Dojo with an expression that was a cross between disgust and terror.
"Then I wouldn't have asked." Yahiko whispered to the empty
courtyard, his own voice hard. Someone who could kill and drink of life as
easily at the Battousai did was a man who had no business with Kaoru.
~*~
Kaoru was busy slapping
away Sano's prying fingers when a hand closed around her upper arm and she was
hauled forward, her feet barely brushing the ground.
"Don't lie."
It was a harsh command and Kaoru bristled at his tone, the demand for obedience
from a man she neither respected nor liked, only feared.
"I don't." Kaoru
retorted; neither caring nor questioning what exactly caused her to be so
tongue in cheek where this man was concerned. His ease for removing breath from
human bodies was apparent but that only seemed to encourage the way she toed
the line around him.
The Battousai paused,
turning his head he looked down at her, their faces close together thanks to
their alike height. His lips twisted into some variation of a smirk, and then
he twisted her sore arm painfully to the side, stressing her already throbbing
shoulder to the point of suppressed tears.
Kaoru gave a hiss of pain;
then found herself being dragged forward again. "It wouldn't have hurt if
you hadn't yanked on it." Kaoru growled her voice faint with defiance even
as the strength of his grip and the darkness of his Ki robbed her of breath.
Because she was behind
him, she missed the flash of amber in his gaze. He moved so fast that Kaoru was
again twisted off balance as she was pushed up against the door, wondering how
he always managed to catch her off guard.
"Never
question me." His warm breath fell across her face and she forced herself,
again, to hold his burning gaze. "I have been generous so far in dealing
with you, little human, do not make me regret it."
Kaoru was not sure how
long he stood there, one hand next to her head, the other griping her arm
gently; his furious gaze burning into hers.
"Am I interrupting
anything?" Megumi's voice questioned, her tone dark, the irritation in her
voice apparent and seemingly unapologetic.
The Battousai simply moved
back, his eyes never leaving Kaoru's trembling form. "Her arm." His
voice was silky, and the darker undercurrents suggesting that perhaps it wasn't
exactly her arm that his thoughts, and eyes, were drawn to.
Spinning quickly, he was
gone.
Megumi sighed in vexation.
"I hate healing humans." Megumi stoutly refused to take into
consideration that she had once been human; that would cause her to hurt. And
Megumi never hurt if she could help it. However, causing pain in others,
especially children such as this with well-placed words, well that was child's
play.
Kaoru gasped in surprise
when Megumi's pale hands brushed against her shoulder, causing the stinging
sensation to disappear. She stared wide eyed at Megumi when
something -whatever it was that seemed to be haunting her blood
lately- jumped up and ran along the path Megumi's hands followed.
Megumi eyed her for a
moment, her gaze as sharp as the sword the Battousai wielded. "Are you sure
you're human?" Her tone was mocking, meant to leave an impression and echo
back into the girl's ears when she would least expected it.
Kaoru jerked back at that,
her sea-dark eyes wide. "Yes." Her voice was fainter than she liked,
her eyes showing hidden doubts to half-formed questions; almost formed shadows
that would linger for agonizing moments of doubt.
Megumi gave a half shrug,
her mouth twisting into a hard smirk, and then she turned and disappeared into
the shadows, leaving a startled, vulnerable Kaoru behind her.
Megumi jumped slightly
when a strong hand reached over and pulled her into a room. Megumi raised a
cool brow at a furious Sano, her expression sliding into an uncaring concern.
"Why did you ask
Jou-chan that particular question Kitsune?" Sano questioned irritably, his
eyes hard chips of ice as if he knew the answer and was furious because of it.
Megumi looked amused,
refusing to show how he had startled her. "Because it's the truth."
Sano pursed his lips as he
looked at her. "What do you mean it's the truth? Jou-chan is human."
His tone was firm, as if he was attempting to convince both Megumi and himself.
Megumi sighed in vexation,
wondering if it was possible for a vampire to be any stupider. "Oh I will
give you that, but tell me, how much of her is Human?"
Sano yanked her close at
that, his face twisted into a snarl. "Jou-chan will become monsters like
us!" Even as he spoke the word's he had to force the wiggling seed of
doubt back. "She will never be like you or I...do you understand?"
Megumi laughed at that.
"Oh you poor delusional fool. Do you think that Battousai would be
interested in something that was human? Something that's much weaker and less
than he is? I am telling you this; she is not a full human. I don't know
what is quivering in her blood, but there is something and it's strong. Too
strong. And whatever it is, he will either control it, or he will kill
her."
Sano scowled down at her,
absently in some part of his brain noticing the gentle overtones of cinnamon
radiating from her skin, his gaze watching the flash of pride, amusement and
something far too vulnerable echo in her gaze. Something he wanted to smooth
away.
Sano pushed her away with
something like a scowl. "You're wrong Kitsune."
Megumi raised a single
brow in his direction. "Am I?"
Turning on her heel, she
left Sano to himself, and the even darker questions her words had spurred.
Spinning he headed toward
where he sensed Yahiko, knowing the young man was going to need to get some of
his own frustrations worked off. Kaoru would be safe enough with all of the
dark Ki that surrounded this place. Only an idiot would attack something that
lived here.
Pulling out his fish bone
he mutinously chewed, refusing to think about what that bitch had told him.
Kaoru was human. There was
no way anyone as kind and pure as she was could have the blood of his race
running through her veins. Even if her ability to touch people could almost be
a gift, even if her looks where unnatural for a mortal. It didn't matter, Kaoru
had been raised in the mortal world, and that was where she was going to stay.
He hoped.
~*~
Kaoru, in a fit of
frustration, blew angrily on the bangs that fell playfully into her eyes. Her
hands, moving quickly with the washrag in her hands, removed gunk and grim that
stuck to the dishes from breakfast.
She had promised Yahiko
that she would finish up the breakfast cleaning, and she had meant it. Kaoru
let out a low growl and gripped the bowl tightly in her hands, her frustrations
at the current situation growing, the anger showing in her Ki.
Sano had apparently
forgotten -or simple not cared- that she was able to hear and that the Dojo had
very thin walls. Not to mention the fact that she was just in the kitchen.
Taking Megumi aside where their voices would echo down the hallway had been
both stupid and enlightening.
Kaoru, for the moment,
forgot the fact that she was holding a bowl and washing the dishes. In her
minds eye she was mentally strangling every single male who was currently
staying under her roof.
It was difficult to
understand why everyone insisted she was more than she was. Her father had been
human, and her mother had been human, so how in the world could she be part
anything?
She was not stupid, she
knew how Yahiko and Sano looked at her sometimes, and even if they denied it,
she knew they wondered as well. How could something mortal befriend something
of the shadows?
Did they not see that the
past did not matter to her?
Then there was the
Battousai, a man whose presence seemed to take up the entire room and slowly
remove the ability to breathe from her lungs. He was darkness, sin, and all
that was untouchable rolled into one. She was left feeling raw after an
encounter with him, something that left her on edge and irritated.
It did not matter that his
presence caused whatever it was she had been feeling lately to surge -like in
the Dojo- did not matter that his face was perfection. That the scar only
enhanced his dark looks or the fact that his eyes seemed to engrave themselves
into her soul with each glance.
He was Vampire; she was
Human. He was all things that she hated, everything that was denied to her
human form. But damn it all if she wasn't the proverbial moth to the flame.
She hated herself for it.
Kaoru ducked her head, her
knuckles turning white with the pressure she was exerting; then swore when she
felt the fragile bowl break in her hand, the jagged end digging deeply into her
palm. Blood surged to the surface and spilled down her wrist.
Kaoru let out another well
placed explicit and felt around for the clean rag she normally kept close by
for such purposes. Blood in a house full of vampires was something she
attempted to keep at a minimal.
Kaoru dropped the jagged
bowl into the sink decided to fish the pieces out later. Grasping the edge of
the rag she was about to place it on the pulsing cut when she felt long, lean
fingers wrap around her wrist, halting her movements.
Looking looked up startled
both by the touch and the gentle possessiveness the movement conveyed,
something that sent her stomach into convulsions, she froze when she met eyes
the color of molten moonlight.
She starred at him, both
wondering at his interference and the odd look in his eyes. Kaoru stiffened
when she recognized it. Blood lust. His grip did not need to be any stronger;
the faint touch promised retribution if she but moved it a hairs breath.
"Must I watch you all
the time?" The Battousai questioned smoothly, the forefinger of his right
hand traveling above the running blood, hunger lacing his tone. "You seem
to be delightfully attracted to hurting yourself little human."
His mouth curved into
another of those sinful smiles, leaving her utterly speechless. "Of
course, if you need a constant babysitter perhaps I should confine you
somewhere...more appealing? Perhaps your room, or to your futon."
His eyes seemed to glow
darkly for a split second and Kaoru was shaken by the utter desire she saw.
Every heartbeat seemed to be strained as she felt the slow slide of blood on
her forearm.
"Battousai..."
Kaoru growled darkly, her eyes flashing. She was vulnerable, she knew it and by
the almost amused look in his eyes, he knew it as well. Kaoru felt the faint
trembling start in her veins, the foreign sensation of control. However, this
only seemed to delight the Battousai instead of warn him off.
He was playing with her.
He leaned forward until
their noses touched, his warm breath puffing over her lips causing her to suck
in a deep lungful of air in surprise. His movements where quick enough that she
had to strain to keep up with him. "Kenshin."
"What?" Her
voice was faint as she tried to think of something other than the soft brush of
his bangs against hers. The soft hold on her burning hand a stark reminder of
the vulnerability of the situation, the fact that he was close enough to brush
his lips to hers.
A human, something that
should have repulsed him; Sano and Megumi's words echoed strangely in her
ears.
"My name, little
human, is Kenshin." He watched her from carefully guarded eyes, eyes that
flickered with strange lights, and then he reached over, and tugged the clean
cloth from her good hand. Slowly, as if mocking the fact that she was powerless
to stop him he placed the gushing wound into his mouth.
Gently he ran his tongue
over the bleeding skin, his tongue pulling off the excess blood. He repeated
his actions with deliberate slowness, the motions soothing the torn, aching
skin. His eyes never left hers, as if he was watching for something. Kaoru
sucked in another lungful, her eyes wide as she watched his tongue flick out
repeatedly.
Once he had completely
cleaned off the jagged cut, he wrapped the laceration. Then he moved, bringing
her arm up higher, his mouth slithering across the trail of blood that had
dripped down her arm.
"You should have
Megumi look at this." His voice was again in that dangerous silky voice,
his tongue snaking out to clean off his bottom lip in a slow, savoring move.
"I would hate for it to bleed too much." There was a rich tone of
want in his voice, and knowing that it was caused by her, her blood sent her
insides to shivering.
Kaoru stared at him, not
really sure how to handle the situation, knowing suddenly that any aggressive
move on her part would have her on the floor. Human blood acted as an stimulate
for vampires, teasing to life the senses that most humans took for granted.
Sano had once told her
that only mates could stimulate a male Vampire the way a simple drop of blood
could. Kaoru forced herself to remain perfectly still -curbing the instinct to
hit him with a bokken- having no desire to end up naked and under him.
That thought caused her
blood to heat but turn her stiff with terror.
Kaoru licked her lips,
cringing when the Battousai watched hungrily. His eyes spoke of a want she did
not wish to awaken.
Leaning forward he took
one more careful pull at the soft skin of her wrist before shooting her one of
those taunting, amused looks that spoke of a game she did not understand.
Shaking slightly she watched his form leave in a silent, sure footed way that
left no doubts in her mind that she was in trouble.
Stifling a sob she felt a
deep trembling - a calling of sorts-start somewhere in her blood; it rushed
through her system with the speed that left her shaken. Kaoru gripped the sides
of the counter top, unconcerned with her bleeding hand. She felt lightheaded
and wondered at what exactly it was that caused her knees to feel like jelly.
It was worse when it
simply stopped.
Kaoru closed her eyes and
decided a bath was needed and an early night. This was too much. Her brain
needed time to process the overload of information and feelings.
Kaoru shuddered. If the
simple glide of his tongue on her palm was going to leave her feeling
vulnerable, then she was terrified of what he could do otherwise.
For some reason, she just
could not get the lingering touch of his mouth pushed out of her mind. The red
haired Vampire was wreaking havoc on her senses and it was driving her insane.
It should have felt like a
violation, everything he did was an invasion of her life, her home. It also
appeared if the look in his eyes was anything to go on, her body was the next
thing he was intent on having. He may have only wanted her for lustful reasons,
but it still terrified her. The raw emotion that he showed; the need to
dominate. She just could not figure out what about her was dark enough to need
to be possessed.
~*~
His tongue was still
tingling from the rich taste of her blood. The secrets her blood had told him.
It had whispered to him, the way his vampire instincts churned at her own
Vampire blood and the wish to take her; to meld her power to his. To mate with
something that was only half of his potential. Snarling he stalked away from
her and her rich, addicting blood.
Kenshin paused as he
entered his room, a dark look crossing his face. Kaoru was not completely
human; his blood was reacting to that, because it would never react to
something as filthy as simple human blood.
This charge that was in
her blood was racing through his veins and it was not something a human could
give, and that was something that tantalizing.
What secrets, exactly, was
his little pet hiding?
But even the fact that she
was a possibly half-blood did nothing to curb the aching desire in his loins or
to dampen his instincts.
He needed to kill
something.
~*~
He sat in the filth that
was a home by human's standards and licked the fresh blood from his lips. The
house across from the Dojo was now empty and ready for his occupation.
He could keep a better eye
for opportunity here, where their Ki would be easy to read. Easier to hide his
presence the closer he was to the Battousai.
Reaching down he carefully
cleaned his favorite dagger with his tongue, enjoying the now cool blood that
ran down his throat and rolled around his tongue.
He would enjoy tasting
this creature that so captivated the Battousai, enjoy stealing what innocence
she had long before the Battousai could; before her warm body died in his
arms.
Revenge would be his.
He would be able to
possess and delight in the terrified screams of both pain and passion from the
delightful creature so carefully hidden by the Dojo walls.
The Battousai would pay
for the mistake of letting him live. He had been Shishio's best spy for a
reason, and even now, he bore the facial scars from the Battousai's blade. He
would return those scars for a pain that would haunt the Battousai for an
eternity.
The Battousai may not have
known that the blue-eyed half-ling was his mate, but he did.
The Battousai would never
taste her first blood -her child's innocence- would never know it was he
who brought her into woman hood, never know what it was like to have her body
pliant under his with the changing.
A sinister smile crept
across his face as he broke out into a sweat at the thought of her silky skin
under his tongue and her writhing form under him.
Her blood as it stained
the floor and her life Ki slowly flickering out as her heart pushed precious
blood into his wanting mouth.
Slithering he moved as
close to the window as he dared, waiting for the time that the Battousai would
be far enough away from his gift and he could steal the precious creature that
would die by his hands.
Battousai would not be
able to track them if only he had enough time.
He would be patient.
~*~
Kenshin walked down the
path that had been beaten into submission by endless numbers of filthy human
steps. Humans had little concern for that which was trod under foot.
Looking towards the sky,
he hid a sigh of impatience for the man and boy behind him. He did wonder,
absently, why he had not killed them yet. Both were annoying and young, and he
really couldn't think of a reason important enough to keep the two fools alive.
Except for the faint
charge he could feel when Megumi and Sano where in the same room. Except for
the spark of gift he saw in Yahiko's eyes, a gift that could be used for his
advantage. It was disgusting when that sense of honor his Master had beat into
him decided to rise to the surface. Perhaps he would kill his victim slowly to
work some of the frustrations out.
Damn that girl to hell and back.
He was supposed to be
thinking about the delightful feel of someone dying under his blade, the soft
glide of steel through tendons. Not some stupid half-breed.
Kenshin snarled to himself
as he thought about the thick coat of her blood on the back of his throat. The
direct charge she had given his already impressive Ki, the addicting flavor
that had his gums aching for more.
Almost like a.
"You precious human
girl are not completely human." Kenshin mused out loud, as he walked, his
bangs covering his moonlit eyes and the amusement it showed. Baiting them, at
least, was something he could take vindictive pleasure out of. If he did not
find some out lit for the growing anger in his system, he would go on a killing
rampage.
A delightful idea but one
that would have to wait; perhaps tomorrow night, there would be no moon and
give him the perfect opportunity to test the effects she had on his blood. This
meant that he would have to take another...polite...taste.
"Liar!" Yahiko
accused his voice hot with denial and anger. He had almost forgotten about the
riff raff behind him in his delightful thoughts.
Kenshin, expecting such a
direct accusation laughed low at the direct refusal of such a truth. "I
have tasted her blood youngling." Kenshin warned, his tone a low threat,
husky with the underlying need for more of her thick, darkly desired blood.
"And if you wish to live I would not question my words again, I am not
simpleton a like your friend." He allowed a touch of power to echo in his
words, and allowed himself a touch of amusement at the faint horror in the boys
Ki.
"You bit her?"
Both of the fools behind him snapped; a righteous indignation in their voices
once they had processed his dark words.
"You fucking
Bastard!" Sano hissed.
Kenshin turned then, his
eyes lit with a dark fire. "No. Even if I had, it would be none of your
concern. Do not take me for some simpleton whom you may question."
His Ki pulsed once in warning, the darkness threatening to reach out and
consume their life source.
Yahiko glared at the back
of the Battousai's head, knowing there was nothing he could do to argue with
the man. Hating it, because feeling inadequate was something he despised.
Yahiko jumped when Sano
grasped the shoulder of younger man, and in his surprise he noted that if not
for Sano then he would have crashed head long into the Battousai's back.
"Someone is at the
Dojo." The Battousai mused, his Ki flaring darkly before he spun and
simply disappeared from sight.
"There he fucking
goes again." Sano hissed before taking after him, leaving Yahiko to
follow.
"Damn." Yahiko
swore before following wondering why his gift had not kicked in. "I hate
him."
~*~
Kaoru watched the brush
she was meticulously dragging through her dark locks as she thought over the
last few days and the dark echo of whatever it was the Battousai held over her
blood.
Kaoru looked curiously at
her features in wonder; wishing to know what exactly it was that seemed to be
drawing this vampire into staying.
A face that was pale and
refused to tan, eyes dark as the storm darkened waves, a pert nose and high
cheekbones. She supposed she held a degree of beauty, but nothing that could
tempt something as dark as the Battousai, someone so perfect in his darkness
and silky control over every situation. She was nothing more than a mere child
to him.
She had seen the women
that flitted around the Shadow World; She in all her curious beauty did not
compare to some of the bold beauties she had seen. Women who had faces that
where soft and gentle, not the strong jaw or stubborn chin she carried.
The only feature -in her
own mind- that could be worth anything was her eyes. Her mother had once told
her she had her father's families' small frame and hair but was gifted with her
eyes. Kaoru remembered that her mother had held a faint haunted look but had
always pushed it away as a child's fancy.
Kaoru sighed softly.
Putting the brush down she propped her head up and moaned into her hands. Too
much thinking brought on the tight stress knots that usually took a great
amount of hot water and Sano's strong hands to work out.
Sighing as she propped her
head on her hands, she noted the unnatural quite in the Dojo.
Megumi was sleeping in a
room to her left, while Kenshin- now that he had told her his name she couldn't
seem to think of him as simply the Battousai- Sano, and Yahiko had all went out
to chase down a quick meal.
Kaoru shuddered at the
thought of simply thinking as something living and breathing as nothing more
than a walking buffet.
It left the place quite,
and surprisingly defenseless. Yahiko had assured her that nothing would be
stupid enough to attack this place since it practically reeked of the
Battousai's touch.
Sano had muttered
something about staking his claim with his Ki and by doing that wrapped the
entire Dojo in a sort of warning.
However, Kaoru still held
a hint of unease, wondering, perhaps, if Kenshin had underestimated his
enemies. Nevertheless, Sano and Yahiko would not leave her completely
defenseless.
Setting her brush down
Kaoru hesitated when she heard the faintest sound of soft padding on wood.
Feeling the alarm she had been feeling all night pull at her senses she
stilled.
"Kamiya".
Kaoru turned in surprise;
startled that someone would call her by her last name. Kenshin, she loathed to
call him that but it was less intimidating than constantly referring him to him
as the Battousai, would have said her name or called her little human. Sano or
Yahiko would have called her by her first name.
Her body reflexively curled
backwards. She raised her now properly bandaged hand to her throat -in a move
of panic- and attempted to scream. Whoever it was moved as deceptively quick as
Kenshin.
"No," the voice
whispered in her ear, his tongue tracing the ridge even as he spoke, leaving
her feeling very exposed. "Not this time. What the Battousai wants to
claim, I shall claim first. With utmost delight". There was a faint
undertone of madness to his voice and Kaoru strained to see the features of
whoever it was.
The grip on her neck and
mouth refused to allow for such movement.
She was roughly hauled up
onto a shoulder. Even as he tore through the Dojo and then out of the courtyard
Kaoru was screaming at the top of her lungs, knowing faintly that it was
futile. Her struggles seemed to be useless, as she was easily overpowered.
However, even as she
screamed Kaoru became aware of the faint echo, as if her screams where trailing
behind her. It also seemed -in a faint sort of way- that she was moving at an
incredibly slow pace as she struggled against whatever it was that was holding
her.
Kaoru made a note of the
river that raced by, and the trees that seemed to blend in together with the
furious pace this vampire was setting. The cool and bloodless skin under her
palms proved he was shadow.
However, even as she was
bounced uncomfortably and twisted against his shoulders, beating against his
back, she wondered at the seemingly alteration of time. Kaoru groaned when he
shifted her, the breath being forced directly out of her lungs, leaving her a
boneless weight on his shoulder.
Kaoru whimpered in pain
when she was tossed onto an unforgiving dirt floor, unaware of how long she had
been screaming. She was also unaware of how long she had been bouncing along
the shoulders of this thing like a sack of potatoes and had no idea how far
from Tokyo she was.
How far she was from the
slimmest possible chance of escape. Kaoru mentally cursed herself for being so
weak even as she raised her eyes to her captor.
"Well it seems that
his greatest weakness is finally mine." Kaoru starred in horror, keenly
aware of the sharp pressure in her mind, a trick she had seen Sano use once.
The last thing she
remembered before her body blacked out was whomever it was coming at her was
holding a thick coil of rope.
~*~
Megumi was waiting for
them on the deck, her face ghostlike against the dark backdrop of the Dojo.
Yahiko looked around and
couldn't see any sign of the Battousai. "Where is Kaoru?"
Megumi's lips thinned.
"Someone took her."
Sano moved forward angrily.
"What do you mean someone took her?"
Megumi rolled her eyes,
crossing her arms and glaring down at Sano from the top step. "I mean she
is no longer here. Someone else was here. They are both gone leaving to the
evidence that Kaoru was taken somewhere if the screams I heard where any
inclination of Kaoru's desire to go."
Sano growled. "Listen
here bitch," Sano started threateningly.
"Stop harassing
Megumi, Sano." The Battousai's cold voice whipped at him. "The
Vampire's name is Jineh. Only he is gifted with a gift that could get him past
my wards. Unfortunately his gift also allows him to be almost impossible
to find unless he wants to be."
Yahiko paled. "You
mean you can't find him?"
The Battousai glared at
him, his eyes burning brightly with an anger that Yahiko had never seen before.
"Yes." His voice was dark and sinister. "For now I cannot."
Yahiko swore violently,
Sano echoing the words as their thoughts went to the dark haired women who was,
at this moment, being held by a sadistic vampire.
"This is your entire
fault." Yahiko hissed, pointing his finger dangerously at the Battousai.
Part of him felt extremely guilty that his own gift of foresight had been
unable to help, partly furious that the Battousai had done so little to protect
Kaoru. It never occurred to Yahiko until much later that he had expected
the Battousai to protect something he had threatened to kill on several
occasions. "If you hadn't come here she wouldn't be in trouble."
Yahiko never saw the blow,
just felt it jar his entire body by the way he crashed into a tree. He slid
down the tree, his body refusing to move as the snapped bones took there time
in mending.
When he managed to look
up, he met the mocking gaze of Megumi. "Stupid youngling."
Sano walked over and
helped Yahiko stand. "As angry as we all are Yahiko, getting yourself
killed by the Battousai isn't going to help any. Besides I have a hunch."
Yahiko
rubbed the back of his head and winced. "And that would be what?" His
spine was killing him and he was not surprised at the idea of torn vertebrae.
"Well the Battousai
went that way while you where dazed," He pointed toward the river,
"Which means he might be able to partly track Kaoru. Which also means that
he might be able to find her."
Yahiko frowned. "But
Sano all he has done so far is threaten or throw her around, why should he
really care about what is happening to her?"
Sano froze, his face
tightening as the truth to Yahiko's question finally hit home. Truth that he
had been fighting against for some time. "Do you remember what we said
could kill the Battousai?"
Yahiko rolled his eyes.
"What does that have to do with Kaoru?"
Sano gave him a hard look,
turned, and walked off.
Yahiko froze when the
meanings behind Sano's words echoed in his brain. The Battousai's comments on
her not being human, his interest, Kaoru's reactions. Kaoru was the Battousai's
mate, and she was in danger.
"Fuck."
He did not know which was
worse, being in the snare of a corrupted Vampire, or being destined to mate the
vilest of his kind.
'Oh Kaoru. Please be
safe. From both of them.'
~*~
Kenshin moved along the
bank, his eyes hard, and the hand on the hilt of his sword white with the
pressure he was extending. If a Vampire master smith had not forged the sword,
it would have shattered under his furious hold.
Someone had taken what he
had clearly marked as his. Jineh, of all people, someone who knew far
better than most; he knew not the touch what was his.
Kaoru was his.
There was no mistaking the claiming his Ki and blood had already placed on her
still mortal frame. There was no mistaking the reaction her vampire-touched
blood had given.
Whether Kaoru liked it or
not, his little pet was in fact owned by him. There was nothing she could do or
say to get out of it, and he would claim her body simply because he wished it.
Jineh would die once he
got his hands on him for touching what belonged to him. For touching something
that his hands did not deserve to hold.
"Mine." Kenshin
whispered, snarling when the wind echoed his words back at him. Allowing his
eyes to slip into the killing mode he used when on hunt, he grinned displaying
his long, elongated teeth.
'Mine.'
He was coming, and when he
found Jineh, there was no god that could save his damned soul.
