Kenshin sat quietly in the private compartment he had rented the day
before
Kenshin sat quietly in the private compartment he had rented
the day before. His sword was propped up against the shoulder closest to the
door. Kaoru had been asleep since the morning before and as far as he could
tell, she would probably stay that way for another day, perhaps two. Her head
was cushioned on his lap and her breathing was slow and even. He had tried
settling her on the other bench but when the train lurched she simply rolled
off. He was now forced to keep her close enough to keep her on the bench. She
was wrapped in a plain yukata and bundled in a blanket, but he had blurred her
frame easily and they would arrive in Kyoto
at night and no one would be any wiser to her presence. He let his eyes linger
over the curves he memorized thoroughly over the past week and his mouth curled
into a possessive smile. Her hair was a loose tangle around her pale skin and
the fingers of his left hand were buried at the base of her neck; tangled in
the hair there.
He couldn’t stop the little possessive gesture and he didn’t really try to.
He was learning that the part of him that accepted her as his mate craved the
contact and if he satisfied it in little ways then he wouldn’t have to cuddle
her in the ways that curled his stomach. Driving her past her sanity was
something he enjoyed, forcing her to cling to him and beg while she sobbed in
her pleasure; gratifying. Cuddling, coddling, curling around her; breathing in
her scent, needing her to snuggle against him; these things angered him.
He was not a man used to tempering his touch for anyone. He glared down at
the top of her head. Her face was turned towards his knees, and the moment she
was comfortable; she had bunched the material of his pants in her small fist
and sighed; as if the contact soothed her. There were going to be complications
from the bonding, complications he wasn’t sure he was going to want to deal
with. Even now he could feel her, cushioned in the back of his mind, a tight
swirl of emotions and the steady pulse of her heartbeat echoing through him.
There was a residue of her gift settled against his own; the blackness of his
soul had fought her for a moment but then let her in and the darkness that
could turn on him if he wasn’t careful, settled under her. He didn’t know what
to make of that.
He had several things to ask his Master. The least of being of her own
limitations, he had noticed that she was uneasy earlier when there neighbors
had gotten rowdy and he had been forced to build a shield for her gift. It
didn’t fight him, but he could sense that it was weary of him. That amused him.
Her body was his now, and yet part of her was still fearful. How amusing. He
needed to learn how far he could push her and the only way that could work was
if she was awake enough for him to take her on hunts. She would hate it, fight
him on it, but his little pet would learn how to care for herself. After that
if she chose to feed from him alone, he wouldn’t object.
The train began to lurch to a stop and he untangled his hands and gently
teased her fingers loose from his pants and picked her up. She was a boneless
weight in his arms and he made sure the blanket covered her from the neck to
fall over her bare feet. He was ignored as he left the compartment, and he flashed
a great deal of fang at the only vampire there that would see past the
limitations he placed on the humans’ eyes around him. He hadn’t brought any of
her things from the dojo. His mouth curled in contempt. Anything she would need
he would provide for her once she woke up. He had already sent a missive ahead
and his servants had her size and should have been working on her proper
wardrobe. No mate of his would wear clothing such as she chose to wear in
Tokyo. She had an image to uphold here and she would learn soon enough. Kenshin
scowled slightly as she shifted in her sleep, her nose brushing against his
neck as she sighed in bliss. She might fight it when she was awake but in sleep
she acknowledged his ownership and his claiming; was satisfied by it.
He would have to find a way to use it against her.
~*~
Kaoru awoke slowly, aware that she was still tired but she
had that feeling that always came when you had slept too late. Shifting against
the heavy press of the quilt, she sat up slowly, her hair tumbling around her
shoulders in a messy tangle. Kaoru shoved it out of her way and frowned. She
hadn’t forgotten to braid her hair before bed since she was a child. Looking
around with curious blue eyes, she blinked in surprise. The room was set up in
western furnishings. The bed under her body was soft and comfortably warm. She
sunk against the mattress and it surprised her; feathers perhaps? There was a
simple set of wooden chairs and tables; and next to the window there was a
western desk. The floor held familiar woven mats, and she recognized several
other things as being Japanese and she was thankful to find herself in a
familiar Yukata. But how had she gotten here? Kaoru glanced outside and blinked
in utter surprise at how light it was outside.
Tossing black the guilt she padded over to the window to overlook a well
tended garden. There were large, gorgeous trees rising up, blocking the view of
the window even though she could see out. She heard the muffled noises of
voices and would have stood there all day if the western door hadn’t opened and
she turned to see Kenshin leaning against the door jam.
“You’re awake.” He stated quietly, his eyes flicking down to her bare ankles
and rising up slowly to her flushed face and wild hair. Kaoru blinked at him in
confusion and slowly nodded.
“Where are we?” Kaoru asked finally. She didn’t recognize the taste of the
air so there was no way they were in Tokyo.
“Kyoto.” He informed her lazily. “You need a bath.”
Kaoru brushed a hand through her hair and gave him an indignant look. “I was
aware of that, thank you.” Her tone was clipped and he looked amused. “However;
I have no idea where the bathhouse is!”
“You could ask.” He sounded even more amused and Kaoru bit down on the urge
to hit him. He looked…looked…far too possessive of her in that moment. His eyes
gleaming in his face with that little smile curving his sulky mouth into
something dangerous, as if he knew something she didn’t.
“You could volunteer the information.” Kaoru returned right back, feeling
slightly uneasy around him. The part of her that had snaked under her skin was
uneasy as well, but the part of her that Enishi had unleashed was rolling back
and sighing in contentment at having him this close. In fact, she realized with
a start, that somewhere inside her she felt a small spark that hadn’t been
there before. It was hot and dark and pulsed to a different beat than her own
heart. Something clenched in her stomach.
He simply shot her another one of those lazy, covetous expressions and moved
forward. Kaoru watched him move with a bit of hesitation, and when he reached
her he moved so his lips brushed her ear. “Don’t get to comfortable, pet. I
will send a maid to help you bath and you are going to learn how to hunt for
yourself. Then,” his teeth nipped her ear. “I will remind you of a few things.”
A masculine breathe of amusement and he was leaving her with her mouth slightly
parted in surprise. He had…played with her? And what was that thing he had done
to her ear why would he…
Kaoru went pale. Images from the past week that she had apparently been
attempting to repress danced forward. Enishi. Kenshin. Kenshin watching her
from a curtain of loose hair while she begged for…Kaoru turned bright red and
covered her face with her hands. No wonder she needed a bath. She distinctly
remembered them…in the bath…but… Kaoru felt something stir inside her and she
ignored it. It was that same little wicked part of her that had enjoyed
watching Jineh struggle while she ripped him to pieces. It was stronger now,
and she had the nasty feeling that it would continue to grow and that Kenshin
would be encouraging it. Shaking now, she looked up startled at the knock and
saw a woman who looked as young as was but her eyes were dark with years.
“Follow me, Himura-dono,” she said in a cultured, utterly subservient voice.
“I will be honored to help you with your bath.” Kaoru was going to argue that
she could bath on her own, but there was a look in her eyes that suggested that
this woman would be utterly polite and submissive to everything she said, but
if Kenshin gave an order, it was being kept.
What had she woken up to?
~*~
Misao dropped next to Yahiko so quickly it startled the boy.
“They arrived in Kyoto a day ago.” She told him. “Kaoru will probably sleep a
bit longer but I don’t doubt that he will bring her by when he has to go out.”
Yahiko looked at her. “Why?”
Misao paused. “The Oniwabanshu has served Hiko for many, many years and now
that Kenshin has been named his heir, we serve him as well. We would do many
great things to keep her safe and he knows it.”
Yahiko gave her a thoughtful look. “You say “we” but you don’t follow Aoshi
as your Okashira.”
Misao grinned. “My sire was the leader of the Oniwabanshu for many years. I
could probably make a pretty good argument that I should be in charge, but
Aoshi-sama, for all that he is a cold bastard, is actually a very good leader.
My disagreement with him has nothing to do with his running of my family. If he
gave me an order as my Okashira, I would obey without thought. It’s the orders
he gives me as my mate I can’t stand.”
Yahiko grinned. “So you admit he is your mate but you don’t want anything to
do with him?”
Misao laughed. “You’re catching on. Aoshi has a lot of crawling to do before
I consider taking him back.” There was a distant expression on her face. “There
was…a long time ago. Perhaps twenty years or so…I knew he was my mate before he
even acknowledge me. I used to think that it was because he didn’t want to see
me or perhaps he had other things to worry about; even worse, perhaps it was
because he had buried his instincts so far into himself to protect himself
during the purging that he didn’t know I was.”
“What was it?” Yahiko asked. “That last one is possible. Battousai killed a
lot people during the purging. He wasn’t amused by the attempted assassinations
on Hiko’s life.”
“They still haven’t found the Mastermind.” Misao absently commented before
shaking herself free. “I knew that wasn’t the case when he came back from
facing Shishio. He and Himura had made there alliance and nothing would break
that. Unless he betrayed Himura,” her mouth curled into a mocking smile. “He
knew I was his mate, I saw it in his eyes. He knew what I was. I guess after
700 years of living alone he decided he didn’t need me. He arranged for me to
be bound to someone else until my death and…and…” her expression was dark.
“Some would think I am being too hard on him but he broke me that day. So I
fled to pick up the pieces and learn who Misao was outside of the Oniwabanshu
and to find out how weak I was. I found various teachers who took outrageous
advantage of me, but I lived. I learned. I am who I am because of all of that
and if he thinks I am going to run into his arms because he now realizes he
made a mistake, he is a bigger bastard than I originally thought. He was the
only one who left me, so I guess me finally leaving him surprised him.” She
shrugged.
Yahiko nodded his head. “You remind me of Kaoru.” He told her quietly. “She
has a sad past for living so few years and Battousai only makes it worse.”
Misao smiled a slow, happy smile. “He won’t always. Not if he doesn’t
realize himself, but Kaoru is better off with him than anyone else.” She
assured him. “He won’t let anyone else abuse her gift, and no one else can say
that. Don’t worry about her. She will learn to take care of herself as well.”
Yahiko looked at her in disbelief. “Sure.”
Misao threw her head back and laughed, clutching her sides as she gave into
her hilarity. “Oh Yahiko,” she said wiping her eyes. “When all this is over and
Kenshin wants to go and drag Kaoru around Japan, you should stay here and train
as Oniwabanshu. I think you would do very well.”
Yahiko went still and then his expression went distant. “I had forgotten he
had another decade or so of travel.”
Misao looked at him, suddenly sober. “I know. It hurts to be left behind or
to leave those you care for behind. The good part is, Yahiko, that you both are
going to live for a long, long time and that you won’t have to worry about
loosing her anymore. Who is going to kill Himura’s mate?”
Yahiko sighed and sat back, an expression on his face suggesting he didn’t
want to know.
~*~
“You mean she is here?” The voice was excited and the woman
on the floor shivered with fear. When he was excited she normally found herself
tied down to the floor and being beat so he could absorb her pain. He loved to
gloat and her family gave off residue sweet enough to be candy. Hate surge in
her heart towards the girl who had escaped. She should have been there, fresh
blood, to take away the sting on her own shoulders. Her nails didn’t protect
her fingers as she dug into the wood.
“I felt residue that isn’t from one of ours.” She whispered. “She is young
and healthy and she bares the stench of our blood.” Stench, because they were
cursed; but because there had been something darker in the taint; something
that had lurched at her and left her weak. She shivered at the feeling of
yawning darkness.
“Very good, little one,” a hand patted at her hair. “We shall have to make
plans to trap our little bird that has flown away. See to it at once.”
She fled, both from the hatred that seeped in her bones at his contact, and
the knowledge that for ever second she was in his presence, he ate away at her
gift and added it to the storage of power that he kept hidden away. He wanted their
gifts and he was slowly stealing them.
Nothing could beat him. Not even death could claim this man.
He sat back when she left and turned to the man they had brought to him
three days ago. His hair was dark blond with sweat and grease and his eyes burned
in his tan face. “I want all the information you can give me on this…Kaoru, my
little escaped bird. Once you do, and once you take care of this…this…Battousai
and his foolishness; then you shall rise above your kind as my heir and we
shall take down the last of the High Lords. Shishio could not do this, and if
you fail me your fate will be the same as his.” He smiled then, a dark cold
smile. “Do not fail me.”
Enishi dropped his head a nodded, a cold smile on his lips. “I long for the
day I bend my knee as your Heir. Shishio was a fool and I will bring Battousai
down, regardless of what it takes.”
“See that you do.”
~*~
Kaoru tugged at her obi with a bit of apprehension. The dark
grey colored material was a nice contrast to the water jewel green of her Kimono
and matched the dark swallows that had been carefully embroidered. The Egyptian
cotton was soft against her skin and she was unused to such careful stitching.
The fabric and cut screamed money, and she had been apologized to all morning
for not having colors that flattered her face and figure more appropriately.
She had been assured that they were buying the material as they spoke and would
have something for her by the next day.
Kaoru had only stared at them. She had been slightly horrified when she found
out that Kenshin had dragged her across Japan in only her yukata and without a
single stitch of clothing to her name. The woman who helped her, who had looked
horrified when she asked for her name; had been extremely helpful and promptly
dunked her into a bath. They had simply asked her what scent she preferred and
then produced it in both soap for her skin and soap for her hair and then
allowed her to scrub herself clean and then chunked her into this Kimono.
Kaoru was looking around the area she had been escorted to. Westerners had
such odd ideas about houses. The walls were thick and the doors were odd. They
had wanted her to wear a soft-shoe inside but she had simply pulled on her Tabi
and they told her pair of sandals was waiting for her at the door. Kaoru looked
around and almost jumped out of her skin when she noticed Kenshin. He was
watching her from eyes that gleamed with knowledge of something that bothered
her.
“Let’s go,” Kenshin ordered as he turned away. He was wearing a dark grey Gi
that almost, but not quite, matched her obi and black pants. Kaoru thought he
looked good in those colors, but didn’t understand why they were both dressed
down in darker colors today. Kaoru hurried to catch up and sorely missed her
own training clothing. She just knew he was going to make her prance around in
constraining woman’s clothing for the rest of her life. Narrowing her eyes, she
promised that she would get her hands on something else if she had to drag
Misao in for help. Kaoru stopped mid-step and blinked in surprise. Misao,
Yahiko, Sano…were they here in Kyoto to?
“What?” He asked, turning to give her an impatient look.
Kaoru moved to catch up with him. “I was wondering what happened to the
others after Enishi grabbed me.” His eyes flared at her question, and something
dangerous flickered in his eyes; and Kaoru was startled by the fact that she knew
that danger wasn’t pointed at her.
“There with the Oniwabanshu.” He turned and headed down the steps. “Don’t
fall behind.”
Kaoru gaped at him before attempting to do as he said, swearing under her
breath with the most vile words she could think of. This damn Kimono was giving
her all sorts of grief. It wasn’t like the comforting clothing she had worn at
home to remind herself that she was a girl, but this was for someone far
grander than she was. She felt like a child playing dress up and was thankful
they had let her keep her plain hairstyle. She hated putting her hair up in
those elaborate styles that used the smelly kohl and used hot irons to curl.
Tae had dragged her into doing it once and she had refused to do it again. Her
hair made up for being so plain by being long, thick, clean and shiny. When wet
it hung just past her hips and she had always made a point to care for it. Her
hands would always have short nails for Kendo. Even if being a vampire kept
them from breaking, she refused to wear them long least she accidentally cut
herself.
“Kenshin,” Kaoru tried as she finally caught up with him, annoyed at his
gait. “Will you please tell me where are going? And will you please slow down?
I can’t walk properly in this damn thing.”
His eyes flickered to her face and he did slow down and she sighed in relief
that his next words killed. “We are going to teach you to hunt.”
Kaoru wasn’t sure when she had clutched his arm, but she was suddenly a lot
closer to him, his muscled arm trapped between her small hands and she was
staring at him. “What?”
Kenshin gave her an amused looked that twisted in seriousness before she
could blink. “You are going to learn how to make your own kills, pet. Its time
you learned.”
Kaoru felt sick. “You want me…”
He put one hand in the small of her back and began to push her forward with
an ease that should have been impossible with her digging her heels in as hard
as she was. He didn’t even seem to notice her efforts, and Kaoru suddenly had a
sickening feeling as to why she was in gray and green. She blended in better.
“You don’t have such a problem stealing blood from me, Kaoru.” He informed her softly
as he pushed her towards an alley.
Kaoru gave him a horrified look. He didn’t bother to move and one they were
hidden he let her go. “This is how it is going to go. You can pick someone out,
using your gift if you wish, and help put them out of their misery by killing
them; or, you can let me pick someone out, who I think will taste better for
you.” His eyes flickered. “I prefer young, healthy, and female.”
Kaoru gave him another horrified glance.
“It’s better, pet, if you learn how to control you gift now.” He told her
lazily. “So start scanning.”
Kaoru stared at him. “Scanning?”
He gave an impatient little noise and sighed. “What I mean, is that you need
to open up your gift like you did with Jineh. Learning how to catch your own
kill will also teach you how to control your gift. Right now I am shielding
you. I am going to drop those shields layer by layer and you’re going to see
how each layer felt in your mind.”
Kaoru stared at him. She didn’t understand what he was saying but something
inside her shifted in warning but before she could say anything she felt
something curl away from the part of her that was always reaching and she went
still. It was like…looking through a glass at someone and seeing something
besides their reflection. Like this was the other side of the still pond.
Kaoru’s breathing quickened as she watched the people walk buy. Just small
things, like annoyance or displeasure whispered through her emotions. Kaoru
gripped the side of her kimono when she felt him curl back another layer and
this one was worse. It was like someone had thrown a rock into the pond. The
image shattered and bounced along and where there were groups of people it was
dizzyingly bright. Lust, envy, love; these were coming off them in clouds and
waves and mixing. She swayed a bit on her feet. Kaoru almost cried out in
disbelief as he dropped the next one. It was like being thrown into the middle
of a stampeding crowd of horses. Kaoru stumbled back, as if she had been
physically slapped, her eyes only seeing the clashing of rays and thundering of
emotions that were suddenly pounding in her head. Behind her there was
darkness, thick and rich and whole and she buried herself in it to block the
sounds, the ragged pulling at herself, and whimpered low in her throat as she
clung to whatever was so quite.
When she felt Kenshin’s Ki brush against hers she whimpered again and then
whatever had been blocking the incredible noise the crowd had been giving out
was gone and all that was left was the faint throb of the first missing layer.
Kaoru stayed were she was, gasping into something warm and pulled back only
when she felt the first stirring of impatience. Looking up she stared at him in
surprise, and he was giving her a look that was both calculating and amused.
“Why were you so quite?” Kaoru asked her voice hoarse as if she had been
screaming.
Kenshin reached up and played with one of the dragon-locks on the side of
her face. Then he smiled, a crooked, dangerous smile that had her stepping
away. His hand tightened and she stopped, feeling uncertain even as she felt
the emotions he was feeling run through her like water to a sieve. “Death is
always quite. Pick your target.”
Kaoru stared at him opened mouthed, but she could feel the drum of his Ki
around her and she gulped. It was ready to go out and feed. Kaoru wondered if
his gift feed off the deaths around him and she suddenly remembered Sano
mentioning him getting stronger by feeding off the death of the Bakumatsu. She
could feel the linger blood on the ground here…it had only been ten years and
she could still feel it. Kaoru raised her eyes to his face, confused. “What
happened here?”
He looked slightly startled before his eyes flicked around and a smile
tugged at the corner of his mouth. “The fifth division of the Shinsengumi died
here.” His tone was amused. “They got in my way.”
Kaoru hesitated and then licked her lips. “I never understood why you choose
to fight for the Ishinshishi.”
Kenshin gave her a sharp glance and then the corner of his mouth curled up.
“It’s simple really. They were the underdog, and while I could have cared less
who would have won, the Shogun’s targets were hardly out in the open. With them
I could slaughter at will and once I had built up the reputation I wanted; they
wanted me to slaughter.” A dangerous smile curved along his mouth. “If the
Shogun could have offered me more death or the single rights to kill that the
Ishinshishi did, I would have fought for them just as easily. There was an
added benefit I hadn’t expected. With all this talk of “peace” and “no swords”
in a few years Japan will be helpless against our kind. No more samurai’s with
there ability to sense Ki. I am sure some will keep up the old traditions but
most of the population will be mine for the taking.” His voice was dark with shadow
and amused satisfaction and Kaoru shivered.
“You have half a candle mark to pick a target.” Kenshin informed her,
turning to look at her with all the shadow in his eyes. “I already have mine
picked out and marked. That is your last warning.”
Kaoru licked her lips and turned to the crowd, her heart hammering in her
ears. Her teeth were biting down hard on her bottom lip and it took her long
deep breathes to ignore the blessed stillness behind her. She wanted to go and
crawl into his chest and irked her. Badly. What she really should want to be
doing was taking a stake and driving it into his heart for making her do this.
She didn’t know how long she stood there, her eyes flicking back and forth,
side to side, before she finally found something that might work. She knew,
without knowing, that if she picked something horrendous then Kenshin was going
to hand her the body of a fresh young girl. She was going to have to eat
something…healthy; like a child drank milk. That sent a shudder down her spine.
It was a girl, and that ate at her stomach, but she was depressed and
dangerously so. Her bearing suggested that she was going to take her own life
within a matter of hours, and while Kaoru couldn’t say how she knew this, she
did know that that girl would die a lot less painfully at her fangs than by
ramming herself with her father’s katana. Or however she planned on killing
herself.
“Good choice.” His breath feathered in her ear. “She is strong and healthy.
You need all the energy you can get after last week.”
Kaoru turned and glared up at him. “She is going to kill herself anyway.”
Kaoru couldn’t stop the twinge of pain in her voice and he gave her a look.
“You’re going to have to learn to move without being scene.” There was an
edge of disgust in his voice. “Move through their blind spots, use your gift to
manipulate how they see you. You control their emotions. Make them believe that
you are unimportant.”
Kaoru licked her lips. “That’s…impossible.”
He gave her a hard glance. “I mean it. Imagine what it would be like if all
those people were under you, couldn’t see you, and for damn sure couldn’t touch
you.” He waited until she looked like she was complying before pressing a hand
to the small of her back and shoving her forward. “If you want to eat, little
bird, you will manipulate your gift to cover a broad space. Through the
shields, and if you don’t, you will not eat until you figure it out.” His tone
was flat and hard. “Go get your dinner.”
Kaoru stumbled into the crowd after his hand settled into the small of her
back and then shoved her into the walking people. As she stumbled she reached
for both the instincts she had learned as a human and the gift that writhed
under her skin. It danced up and she struggled to make it understand what she
wanted, what she needed.
It twisted out of her like ribbons of fire, the dancing of colorful fabric
in a summer’s sweet wind. However, as she struggled, beads of sweat falling
down her forehead in small droplet of water, she was ignored by the people
around her.
Kaoru stared at the girl who was glaring at the flower stand. How on earth
was she supposed to do this? She didn’t understand this whole mind control
concept and she didn’t understand…Kaoru paused mid thought. Chewing on her
bottom lip for a moment she sent out a tentative trailer and attempted to
remember how Enishi had entered her mind. He didn’t use the same approach
Kenshin did…but he had used something that was a cold echo of her gift; so if
hers was an emotional level of Enishi’s…
Kaoru was sweating profusely by the time the girl moved and seemed to drift
into the alley, her expression blank and cold. Kaoru licked her lip before
following. Kaoru felt something sick lurch in her stomach and Kenshin’s words
only made it worse.
“Good. That was unexpected, but I will teach you a few different ways next
time.” Something in his tone told her he was satisfied by something. “However,
you’re going to have to kill her. Here is how it works. You will drink until
you feel the slight change in blood, it becomes sweeter, and then you will be
able to feel her life-force snap. I promise, no matter what the gift, all
vampires feel it. Some, more than others.” There was a hint of satisfaction in
his voice. “Let me know how you do absorbing her death.”
Kaoru gave him a horrified look, and he smirked at her before slashing open
the girls neck so she could smell the blood her body had been starving for.
Kaoru gave him a furious glance but walked over and bit down and drank deeply.
She didn’t know how long she drank but Kenshin was right the blood did start to
taste richer and then…
Kaoru dropped the girl like a sack of rice and stumbled backwards. If she
hadn’t crashed into Kenshin she would have landed hard. His hands caught her
arms firmly and he whipped her around to glare at her. Kaoru gave a gasp
struggled to breath past the sensation of her own lungs and heart shutting
down. Struggling past the feeling she barely recognized the feel of his wrist
against her lips but she bit down on reflex, and most likely an impulse sent by
Kenshin. As soon as the warm blood touched her tongue it was immediately easier
to breath and the feeling of suffocating and struggling through the ink ended.
It took another warm mouthful to make herself let go and then she stumbled into
the wall and slid down it while he stared at her with a cold expression on his
face. Kaoru ignored him and tucked her knees to her chest and fought against
the tears that were gathering behind her eyes.
He said nothing, and for that Kaoru was thankful. The girl was on the ground
gasping for air, and Kaoru knew, her stomach churning, that she was struggling
to breathe as well. There was the sound of a katana unsheathing and then the
girl was quite. Kaoru was also thankful he was strong enough not to cause the
thud that happened with steel hit bone. She was suddenly dragged upwards and a
pair of hands were grasping her forearms and steadying her as she looked
upwards.
“Pull yourself together.” He ordered quietly. “I am shielding you again.
Next time we will see if that happens when I shield you from her death. You
will learn to hunt on your own. I cannot, will not, continuously hunt
for you.”
Kaoru swallowed hard, the rush of his blood in her mouth so much more addicting
than the taste of the girl. She nodded slowly, attempting to bring up her hands
to wipe at her cheeks. He didn’t wipe her tears away from her face, but he did
hand her a piece of cloth. “Clean yourself up.” He ordered quietly before
turning away from her. “I killed the girl, so I won’t need to feed. Were
heading back. I will deal with this when we get back.”
Kaoru stared his back helplessly for a moment before she followed,
attempting to figure out what the cause of the steady pulse of whatever it was
burning in him from the inside was.
~*~
Megumi quietly went over all the herbs and bandages that she
had on stock in the Aoiya. Her hands moved with practiced ease as her mind
drifted to other places. Batts was back in town. She had felt the change in the
air two days ago when he stepped back on the soil. After healing him for the
ten years she had been attuned to his presence. She had felt the moment that he
began to absorb darkness echoing along lines of power that criss-crossed along
Kyoto that always held an echo of him. She doubted that there was a dark alley
that he hadn’t used his dark gift, taught it to kill; taught himself control.
“Collecting herbs?” Sano’s mocking drawl echoed in the almost empty room.
Megumi allowed her eyes to slid shut and taped down on the rising emotion in
her. Part of her wanted her to be furious at him, wanted to give a scathing
remark; she had gotten good at those. Another part rippled in hurt and
frustration and that was the part she attempted to mentally destroy.
“You shouldn’t bite the hand that heals you.” She returned carelessly. She
kept her expression carefully neutral and she turned and looked at him. “I
don’t have any oath that says I must put you back together when Battousai
leaves you in small bite sized pieces.”
Sano’s mouth curled into a mocking smile. “Because I insulted his pretty
little play thing.”
That hurt. Megumi took a deep breath and laughed her voice harsh.
“You know nothing of it; and I think it’s time you leave.”
He stepped closer. “Why,” he demanded his tone careless and frosty. “Soujiro
is back on his feet, completely healed. You don’t seem to be doing anything
important. Why should I leave?”
Megumi pushed everything back into its compartment carelessly, promising
herself she would be back to organize it later. Instead she went to move around
him. His hand snapped out and caught her wrist. It wasn’t a painful hold and it
scent little sparks of need flaring down her wrist at the contact. His brown
eyes were moody at they met her startled ruby eyes. “So you know to.”
Megumi jerked out of his hand and left as dignified as her retreat could
give her and locked herself in her room. She clamped her hands over her ears so
she wouldn’t have to listen to his footsteps walk away or possibly; his voice
telling her to let him in. He was almost her enemy. His animosity towards Batts
was noticeable enough to her and she had no formal training. Now that…Kaoru was
here, he would probably be dragging her around the corners of Japan. This was a
relief, but he would demand her where he could keep in contact with her and
there was no way she was going to escape him.
Sano….Sano was the opposite of the nightmare she had learned to live with.
He was passionate, hot-headed, reckless, and just a notch distracting.
Kenshin’s passion was a cold passion, his movements deliberate to extract that
most pain possible from his victims, and she feared him more than she did
anything. She had seen the way Kaoru fought against him, both tooth and nail
and gift and fang; had seen the way he watched her from his lashes. He had
never offered to take her battles, never taught her to fight, and only kept her
alive because she was necessary to him.
Now Sano had come along and he…
Megumi pressed her lips together. It wasn’t going to happen and she wasn’t
going to think about it. Sanosuke Sagara would never see her as more than
Kenshin’s “plaything”
and she would never attempt to make him see otherwise. Soujiro had headed out
that morning to start tracking down Enishi, after Aoshi has reinforced the
mental blocks that Enishi had torn though like butter. Aoshi was the oldest
Vampire Megumi knew, and while Kenshin was death and dangerous; there was
little Aoshi didn’t know something about. He and Misao would make a good
couple; as good as there kind could be. She didn’t hate Misao, even for the
scares she still bore, but she would never feel anything towards her besides
cold anger.
Megumi opened the door and went back to her herbs. If Kenshin was as
determined to kill Enishi and anyone he was connected with; as he had been to
destroy Shishio, then there was going to be a lot of dead bodies.
~*~
Kaoru had followed Kenshin back to their house. She was
quite on the way back, careful to shield her thoughts in that curious shadow
that was in her mind. Part of her feared that the shadow had something to do
with Kenshin and his endless darkness, but he never turned, never wavered; and
Kenshin would never offer her the comfort of her thoughts deep in himself.
It had to be something else. She just didn’t know what it was. Just that it
was quite and safe from the tremulous backlash of her own emotions. That was
worth more than anything else that anyone could give her, and since she had
found it during the agonizing moments of feeling the girls death pool in her
own lungs, she hid there.
He said not a word as he led them to the bedroom. He didn’t pause or say a
single world to the woman who opened the door and who closed it behind them.
Instead he moved to the window and uttered a word that seemed to echo and bit
and the room seemed a bit darker as the shades fell into place. He still didn’t
look at her as he calmly turned to her. Only once he had pinned her under those
moon-glow eyes did he say anything.
“Tell me what happened.”
Kaoru stared at him for long moments before she took strength from that
quiet shadow. “I do not want to talk about it.” Her voice was quite in the
room. Quiet because she didn’t fill the room with her words the way he did.
Quite because there was a deathly silence after her spoke declaration.
“Don’t want to talk about it,” his voice was low with temper and he moved
forward, a whisper soft glow of predator silk. “I don’t remember giving you a
choice about it.”
Kaoru’s chin rose. “You will not bully me.”
Her back hit the wall with enough force to jar her as her teeth clacked
together painfully. Once her body recovered from the abrupt change of
direction, she had no choice but to meet the darkness in his eyes with her own
fire. As always her gift sprang to her command without her thought and his eyes
narrowed and she felt as he pulled away his shields, all but the last, leaving
her disoriented and dizzy.
“If you wish to use your gift against me, Kaoru,” he breathed in her ear,
“you’re going to have to learn to control them yourself.”
It writhed under her skin like a living thing and his grip on her arms
tightened a fraction as if something surprised him.
“Now, you will tell me what happened.”
Without his control keeping her wild gift tame it reacted violently. The
emotions, the sensations, of drowning in her own blood, the blackness that
reached up to swallow her, flared in her blood an pressed into him from there
connection. He went still, as if he was unable to move, and she struggled
against the sensations of an emotional death that had started on the inside of her
gut and rushed into the black-hole that was his gift.
“Stop,” he ordered her fiercely, catching her jaw and meeting her eyes with
his. “Leave it.”
Kaoru felt bile rising in her throat and he shifted the palm of his hands so
that they were pressed against her bare skin of her neck. The contact soothed
some part of her, but her gift flared at him until she went blind with it, and
then it was over. She was standing with her hands pressed into the gap of his
Gi, her cheek resting against him. His hands were on her arms, but were loose
now. He made no move to hold her or move her, so she stayed there for a moment,
breathing against his skin and absorbing the cold feeling of silence that was
so calming that came off him in waves.
“How interesting.” With her ear against his chest she could almost breathe
again. Her gift was still there, still un-caged, but it seemed to be alright
now and wasn’t attempting to leap from her skin like a mad, wild thing. “How
very interesting. I wonder, little bird, if you’re away of what you just did.”
Kaoru raised her eyes to his face a breathed in and out. “What,” her voice
was raspy. “Are you talking about?”
“You just gave me the feelings you were feeling at the time.” His voice was
calm and slightly amused. “Your gift took the emotion of death, turned it into
a living, breathing memory, and you shoved it into me like I was filter.” There
was an edge to his voice.
Kaoru swallowed. “I…”
His fingers came to trace her jaw line and there was an edge in his eyes
that could almost have been violence. But he made no move to strike her or hurt
her. Instead his eyes churned, gleaming with something else instead.
“I will want to see how far this will get me.” There was an edge of
thoughtfulness that edged in his voice that scared her. Her gut clenched and
his mouth curved into a dark smile.
The knock on the door was her saving grace.
“Sorry, my Master. You apprentice is here.”
Kenshin moved away from her and moved downstairs. She was forced to follow.
Soujiro was waiting for them. He had bowed low to Kaoru and then given his
report, maintaining his half bow. It had surprised her when they had been told
they had a visitor and that she had been included in on the conversation. The
wording had been clipped and she had the impression that Soujiro was recovering
from sort of chest wound and decided to ask Misao about it later.
“I have a lead on Yukishiro.” Soujiro quietly informed his Master.
“Shinomori-san thinks he can track him through the residue he leaves in the
minds of those who he controls for even a short period of time. Accused him of
being sloppy. He wished to know if you wanted us to report back what we find
and come hunting with us tonight or if you would prefer to come now.”
“Meet me at the Aoiya tonight.” Kenshin said firmly. “There are things I
must take care of first.” There was a note of dismissal in his voice and then
Soujiro rose from his position and Kaoru caught a fluttering of pain as he
straitened and then left.
He turned to her and gave her a dark look. “Go get cleaned up. You’re
staying at the Aoiya tonight with Misao. I don’t have the time to teach you to
keep up your shields. She is the next best to teach you. When you’re ready for
me to lower the shields, I am sure you can figure out how to contact me.” There
was a hard edge to his voice and Kaoru had the gut instinct that in order to
contact him, in the way she thought he was suggesting, that she was going to
have to give something of herself up first.
That was the way it always seemed to be with this man.
As she went to bath and change out of the bloody Kimono, she wondered if
this was how the rest of her life, which was now a very long life, was going to
be.
She would learn how to control her gift. Then, this would end.
