Going after the robbers wasn't an option, unfortunetly. Kenshin sighed deeply, staring up at the ceiling of his room. The night sounds aorund him were quite soothing, but inside, his mind was in chaos. If Kaoru had looked into the room, she would only have seen him laying on his palet, a blanket down to his waist, face seeminly peaceful. His purple eyes were tingled with slight amber, betraying the fac tthat the battousai was barely-hidden beneath the surface. Half of him wanted to track down the robbers that had dared to lay and hand on and threaten his Kaoru, but the other half could not contemplate it. The problem WAS that he was even THINKING about going after them. Since battousai emerging that afternoon, Kenshin had been in dilemna. Break his vow and destroy the scum that had encured his wrath...or keep his vow and always feel that he should have given into his insticts. Posessive insticts. Protective instics. Muderous instincts. Innocent Kaoru had no idea what had been released that day. And if she thought that things would just go back to the way they had been before, she was gravely mistaken. She was his now and he soon would claim her before the world. But he had to be cunning about it. Not scare her away.
But for the moment, he would see how the wind blew. If she gave into her passions, then she would be his. If she hid them, he would bring them to the fore and let them free. Yes, Kaoru was his...she just didn't know it yet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaoru tossed and turned, her body feeling hot and bothered. She couldn't get the vision of Battousai's amber eyes staring at her with such hunger. Kenshin had NEVER looked at her in that manner and up till the robber, she'd despaired that he would ever see her as anything more than a friend or a little sister. No...She blushed a fiery red as she again felt the way his hands had moved over her skin, the way he'd kissed her. Kenshin didn't see her as a sister or a friend, no, not at ALL. "I must be crazy!" she whispered, running her hands over her lips as if searching for his. They were the swollen testament to his desire for her. And she wanted his tocuh again...but not the gentle Rurouni's. Battousai's. "HOw can that BE?" she demanded aloud, staring up at the ceiling as if it held the answered. And what on earth was she going to do in the morning when she would have to face him again? She sighed and tried to bury the memory to the back of her mind. There was only one thing she could do; forget it. Pretend it never happened. It wasn't likely to happen again, in any case. Kenshin kept Battousai far back into his psyche and only let him loose when he fought, or his friends were in danger. If SHE was in danger.
She sat up abruptly as a thought occured to her. Would the robbers come back? What if battousai was loosened again?
["Mine,"]
Kaoru felt a hot flush burn over her skin when she remembered his tone of voice. So possessive. So lustful.
["I am here now and I want you. BADLY."]
"No, no, no! Bad Kaoru!" she reached up with both hands and covered her hot cheeks. Thinking about Kenshin's words were just making it WORSE! And she hadn't said no either...one hand dropped to her lap, the other went to her neck. The bite-mark still hurt, but it was bearable. It had been so, so-primative of him to mark her that way! She knew he had been trying to regain control, but she wasn't stupid. She also knew that he had marked her as his. Battousai's woman. Not the Rurouni's-HIS. She flopped back down onto her futon, blue eyes going to the screen of her door. Would Battousai emerge one night-maybe tonight, for all she knew-and come for her? It wasn't over at all. But she oculd hope that the Rurouni maintained control over his emotions. If not...then how could she deny him?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sun rose warmly over the Dojo as Kaoru emerged, determined to put the day before completely behind her. She padded down the hall and peeked into the kitchen, but Kenshin wasn't there. She gave a sigh of relief and continued down the hall and into the sunshine. And intimate breakfast with Kenshin would not be welcome right then! But where were Yahiko and Sanosuke? She looked around the yard and immediately spotted the person of her chaotic thoughts. Kenshin had his back to her, calmly washing clothes. "Oh no!" she whispered, heart dropping into her feet. If she and Kenshin were alone-
"Good morning, Miss kaoru" Kenshin's cheerful voice broke into her thoughts, making her start in shock. She should have KNOWN that he was already aware of her presence. Kaoru repeated the words inside her head several times over, searching for even the smallest hint that Battousai was near the surface. To her relief, it didn't. She stared hard at his back for a long moment until he paused and turned his head to look at her. For a long moment their eyes locked and she saw a hint of gold enter the violet depths of his eyes, but then it was gone and he turned away. Once again, she sighed in relief. And then it hit her. That mixture of Kenshin and Battousai, the gold on violet in his eyes, it was another personality! Her mouth fell open. Kenshin had more than just Battousai and Kenshin inside him.
["Why? I've already seen you"]
That was right! She'd seen this aspect of his personality before. Last night when he was watching her re-dress, but had not turned away, to her embarassment. Perhaps this personality was even more dangerous. It was...unpredictable and could turn to either the dark Battousai or the gentle Kensin easily. It was the Rurouni; mixture of both. She clasped her hands together to hid the trembling her thoughts had induced. "It's a normal morning, Kaoru. Act normal!" she hissed to herself, walking around the deck until she could step down to the grass.
Kenshin looked over his shoulder curiously. Kaoru had been very silent, but he could not really blame her for it. A part of thought that it was from the fear of yesterday's events with the robbers, but the Battousai in him knew that her behaviour stemed from him. His eyes glinted a hard purple as Kaoru approached him, her expression caught between apprehension and force cheerfulness. "Deny all you like, Kaoru" he whispered, eyes flashing hot amber. Kaoru faltered a few meters from Kensin, caught by the gold in his eyes. Battousai! He was looking at her in a calculating manner that made her skin crawl. He said something low, which she was sure she was not meant to catch and then he smiled. But it wasn't a cheerful Kenshin-smile, oh no. It was the sort of smile a wolf would give to the lamb he was about to pounce on! "Kenshin?" she managed, licking her lips. His burning golden eyes followed the movement hungrily and she quickly withdrew her tongue.
"Kaoru" Battousai purred at her, dropping the dripping cloth that he had been washing. He got smoothly to his feet, eyes locked on hers.
"Oi! Kenshin!" Sanosuke said, strolling in the gate.
Kaoru started and her blue eyes skittered hurriedly away from Kenshin's.
Battousai frowned darkly at the interuption, then his softer side emerged and he turned with a smile. "Sanosuke! Good morning. Where have you been?" he asked politely, sinking back down before the wash tub.
Kaoru could only stand there frozen, mouth dry. Battousai had been there in broad daylight! With no bad-guys to provoke him. She swallowed hard, vering away from Kenshin and heading back to the deck. She sat on the edge, feet dangling and nervous eyes going from Kenshin to Sanosuke.
Sanosuke smiled and looked down at his newly-bandaged fists. "Oh, I just took care of some business last night and I needed Megumi to patch me up"
Kaoru's eyes widdened and she looked quickly at Kenshin to see his reaction. It was obvious that Sanosuke had gone after those robbers.
Kenshin's smile never slipped, but he threw a sidelong look at Kaoru to see her reaction. He could not have done after the robbers himself without killing them and Kaoru would not have forgiven him for breaking his vow. So, he had gotten out of bed, after his thoughts the night before and woken Sanosuke to do it for him. Kaoru looked startled, but not displeased. Kenshin nodded, hiding his violet eyes specled with gold beneath his red hair. His hair served a perpose. It could hide his expression at times, but also as Battousai, golden eyes gleaming at his enemies from the shadowed planes of his face struck fear into the hearts of men. "Did you get hurt, Sanosuke?" Kaoru asked gently as the tall man walked over to her. She could not have stood the thought of him getting hurt because he had been defending her honor. She had no doubt that Sanosuke would have stuck out after dark anyway, if it had not been for her vehemance at dinner the night before.
["I don't want you to go after them for me!"]
["I'd kill them for you, Kaoru. You know that. You're like the sister I never had"]
["I know...but still. Let the police handle them"]
Sanosuke grinned at her wryly, aware that she wasn't too happy with him from the look on her face. He knew she was remembering their conversation from dinner. "You mad, Missy?" he teased, peering at her from under his brows.
Kaoru turned her face away, crossing her arms. She wasn't happy with him...but she WAS happy all the same. "Don't you use that puppy-dog look with me, Sanosuke!" she ordered. Then she turned back to him and grinned. "Did you hurt them bad?" They deserved what they had gotten from her 'older brother' for the indignity they had put her through!
"Oh yeah. They cried like baby's" he rolled his eyes, grin widdening viciously. "And bled like stuck pigs!"
"Good!" kaoru said in satisfaction. "Where are they now?" "With Saitou in a nice filthy jail cell"
"Very good" Battousai said quietly, face still hiden from their's. He rinsed out the cloth he was washing, keeping his glowing golden eyes from them. In thier depths was a fierce, animal viciousness and satisfaction that would have scared Kaoru. Sanosuke knew how badly Kenshin had wanted to go after those men and gut them, so he would not have been terribly surprised to see Battousai's expression.
"Yeah, well it was fun anyway" Sanosuke yawned widely and leapt onto the deck. "I think I'll get some shut-eye. Wake me for lunch, Missy"
"Of course" Karou said, smiling at him proudly. He wasn't a bad guy, he just lacked direction adn he had some bad habits. But he really was the brother she had always wanted. "You've earned it-for once!"
"Hey!" came the indignant yelp from inside.
Kaoru heard and screen open and close and then there was silence. To her shock, she found herself alone with Kenshin. Again. Would he go all battousai on her again? He turned to look at her as he sensed her eyes on him, giving her a warm gentle smile.
"Would you like some breakfast, Miss Kaoru?" he asked her, keeping his voice light. He knew that the Battousai had scared her minutes before and realised that he had pushed it to fast. Kaoru needed to be seduced, not run-over. She needed to be treated gently, then with passion, not rail-roaded by her unpredictable house-guest. No, he would go slow and surprise her. Take her off-guard. His smile widdened in genuine happiness as she stared at him warily. "I am almost finished with the washing, that I am"
That I am? Ah! kaoru relaxed when she saw that nothing was going to happen. Perhaps it had been a fluke, with both of them too raw from the events of the day before when they had met a few minutes ago. She smiled tentatively, then genuinely as he continued to watch her with open, gentle eyes. "I'd love some!"
Kenshin nodded and got to his feet, but his gi caught on the basket of clean washing and it tipped, spilling a few items into the dirt. "That will need washing again, that it will" he sighed and sat back down again, putting the dirty cloths back into the wash-tub. Kaoru giggled as she watched all of that, knowing that her clumbsy Kenshin was back. Battousai would never have been so careless!
"Kenshin" she said coaxingly. "Leave those till after breakfast? I'm hungry" she really was!
Kenshin stopped what he was doing, eyes considering. If he made breakfast, then Kaoru would be next to him at the table. He smiled. Perfect.
Home FanFiction Princess Destiny Mine