Soujiro stared blankly at the ceiling of his room. His mind in a haze as he recalled the previous conversation with his leader the night before.
-flashback-
Soujiro stomped his palms flat against the table, his eyes burning with anger directed at the older man sitting in front of him.
Kamatari, Yumi and Hoshi, the only other occupants in Shishio’s office, looked alarmed at the display of emotion from the normally reserved Tenken.
Shishio, however, didn’t even flinched but did quirked a hairless eyebrow at one of his two best assassins’ antics.
“Why can’t you let me fight him? I know where Battousai has taken Kaoru.” Soujiro said angrily, though his voice was still not above its’ normal pitch.
Shishio clasped his hands together and used his arms as a base of support for his chin. “Soujiro, I highly doubted that the footprints would still be there the next time you go. Also, by slim chance that the marks weren’t washed away by the rain, how sure are you that you would successfully find the Battousai’s residence? And if you did, you’d risk the possibility of putting Kaoru in danger.”
Seeing Soujiro’s eyes widen slightly, Shishio continued his explanation.
“The Battousai is a smart and highly suspicious man. If you had followed him, there is no doubt that he would have suspect that Kaoru is somehow involved and that is the last thing we would want him to believe.”
Shishio paused to let Soujiro reflect more on his words. For a few moments, there was silence.
Finally, Soujiro asked. “But Shishio-sama…Why Kaoru? Why not me or Kamatari or someone else from the Juppongatana? What is your reason for choosing Kaoru to take the task?”
Shishio shook his head in dismay. “Have you not realized it yet Soujiro? Kaoru is the only member whom neither Battousai nor anyone else alive has seen. Also Battousai had seen her fight with a bokken so he would never suspect her as the infamous yet unknown Deafusu Shidobu of the Juppongatana.”
“Regardless to what rumors say, Battousai isn’t perfect. He has to have his own weaknesses and strengths just like any other person. All that I have told you now are my reasons why I choose Kaoru for this assignment. With her charm she will be able to persuade Battousai to reveal his weakness.”
Shishio smirked as he added as an after-thought. “No one is immune to Shidobu’s charms, not even Battousai the Slasher.”
-end flashback-
Soujiro sighed and glanced at the clock atop his night stand. It was nearly late morning. Kamatari would be upset if he skipped on breakfast.
And the last person you’d want to get pissed is Kamatari. The guy can even be scarier than Shishio when he wants to.
Besides, Kaoru wouldn’t like it if he starved himself while she was away.
“Soujiro! You better take care of yourself or else I’ll punch your sorry face until it’s an exact replica of your ass!” Soujiro could already imagine Kaoru saying those words to him.
He chuckled at the thought but got up from his bed either way. Grabbing a spare light blue gi in his drawers, Soujiro slung it across his shoulders and slid his arms inside the sleeves. He knotted the ties of his gi securely, covering his previously-bare chest.
Since he already had his pants on, Soujiro founded his sandals and clasped the straps together. Fully dressed, Soujiro opened the door and walked outside into the hallway.
Shishio’s last words rang in Soujiro’s head and the dark brown-haired young man slightly frowned.
‘Yes, Kaoru is a charming person and beautiful as well.’ He thought.
Soujiro could only hope that Battousai doesn’t fall for her.
As he had did.
X-x-X-x-X
“How old are you?”
Battousai cocked up an eyebrow in question. Kaoru wanted to slap herself for asking such a thing but she was curious.
After Battousai had entered, he questioned Dr. Gensai about her condition. Dr. Gensai told him the same thing that he told Kaoru. Also, the doctor gave Battousai a small list of vitamins she should take for her fast recovery and for her immune system to become more resistant.
Afterwards Dr. Gensai bide them both goodbye, taking his granddaughter Suzume along with him.
Now, only the two of them are left in the room.
“Twenty-five. Why do you ask?”
Kaoru shook her head. “Ah, just wondering.” She replied.
Honestly, Kaoru first thought that Battousai was in his late thirties like Shishio but he looked not a day older than twenty-one!
Battousai’s voice broke Kaoru out of her musing and she turned to face him.
“How old are you?”
‘Should she tell him?’ Kaoru debated in her mind.
Mentally she shrugged. Why not? It’s not like he’ll use their age differences against her.
“I’m nineteen,” She answered.
Battousai nodded his head as if he approved. Kaoru wondered how finding out that they’re just six years apart could make any difference.
Hmmm….
X-x-X-x-X
“Pass the mashed potatoes Anji.” mumbled Usui from at the end of the table.
“Not until you say please.” Anji replied in his monotone voice.
If Usui had eyes, he would’ve rolled them. “Fine. Please pass the damned potatoes Anji.”
The Black Monk gave an uncharacteristic smirk but passed the said bowl of food.
Henya, the Birdman of the Juppongatana, noticed Soujiro’s lack of interest in his food and nudged the younger man in the ribs.
“Are you gonna eat that?” He asked, pointing at the last piece of uneaten chicken in Soujiro’s plate.
Soujiro pushed his whole plate towards the malnourished-looking man-bird hybrid.
“You can have it. I’m going to the gym to practice.”
Soujiro stood up from and grabbed his sheathed katana that hung behind his chair. Silently, he walked out of the room without so much as a goodbye.
“Well, Tenken sure is perky today, isn’t he?” sarcastically asked Fujimaru’s master, pointing a long, clawed finger at the Tenken’s back. (AN: Sorry I forgot his real name. Help!)
“He’s just worried about Deafusu Shidobu.” Kamatari explained.
A chorus of ‘ahhs’ emitted in the dining hall occupied by the Juppongatana, minus two, members.
The Blob, a pink man who is inhumanely chubby and whose IQ rivals that of a pea’s, merely scratched his head in confusion.
“Duh...”
“Eww! That’s gross! Get away from me Blob!” exclaimed Kamatari as the Blob’s drool dripped down his clothes and food.
“Duh…” was the Blob’s intelligent reply.
X-x-X-x-X
Kaoru fingered the hem of her cream-colored yukata, uncomfortable at the way her companion was staring at her.
Vaguely, she wondered who had changed her clothes.
Kaoru frowned prettily. If it was Battousai, she swore she’d kick him in the place where the sun doesn’t shine.
“Suzume and Ayame were the ones who’d dressed you. I thought that you might not be comfortable in your damp kimono.” Battousai said out of the blue, breaking the silence between them.
Kaoru nodded her head, making sure not to look into the hitokiri’s eyes. For some reason, she felt unease being under his gaze.
She let out a surprised gasp when Battousai suddenly grasped her by the chin and forced her to look at him.
Battousai frowned when he saw the small tint of something akin to fear reflected in her gem-like eyes. Usually he didn’t have a problem that someone feared him and even relished in those emotions but for reasons unknown, seeing it in her eyes frustrated and greatly displeased him.
“Where is the fearless maiden that I saw last night fighting off a group of men even though they vastly outnumbered her? I wish to see that brave young woman, not the meek and scared weakling that I see before me now.” He practically growled out the words.
Kaoru narrowed her eyes, their color drastically changing into sapphire-silver. With a force she didn’t expect to show, Kaoru angrily slapped his hand away from her.
“How dare you speak to me in such a way as if you know me,” she hissed at him, her anger rising up to the surface, breaking the cold icy barriers she put around herself.
“Who are you to judge me as so?” Kaoru continued, already pissed to the point that she didn’t care if anyone would hear her. “You may be the Battousai but I am not afraid of you!”
Electrified sapphire-silver eyes glared at the redhead before her. Even when red swirls began to appear in Battousai’s amber eyes, Kaoru’s stare remained unwavering.
Then to her outmost shock, the red tints disappeared in his eyes and Battousai let out a hoarse laugh.
Strangely, Kaoru found his laugh deep and sexy. Not that she would ever admit it, even to herself.
Battousai looked at her with amused amber eyes, a satisfied smirk on his face. “Now that’s the woman I saw last night. My proud, beautiful Raven.”
Kaoru raised both her eyebrows. “I am not yours.” She said calmly, though the silver in her eyes deepened.
“Yes you are; mine to hold, mine to care for, mine to break.” Battousai murmured as he leaned forward until their faces were merely inches apart.
A smirk twisted in his lips as he added. “And mine to touch.”
His amber eyes held a hypnotizing gaze in them that Kaoru let him inched closer. Only when she felt his warm breath blowing her loose raven hair did she came back to her senses and held a hand between them as a barrier.
Kaoru’s sapphire silver eyes intensified as she said in a dangerous voice. “Don’t touch me. I’m not some piece of property that you can just throw away when you grow tired of it.”
In a flash, Battousai grasped Kaoru’s outstretched hand and gripped it; not hard for it to leave a bruise but enough for her to feel the pain.
Kaoru gasped at the sharp pain and Battousai took this opportunity to press his lips against her opened mouth and kissed her.
As he kissed her, Battousai placed his hand at Kaoru’s nape to support her head while snaking his free arm across her slender waist and pulled her closer to his body.
Kaoru didn’t respond at first, but her body soon began to have a mind of its own and Kaoru found herself kissing him back.
Their tongues were entwined, each trying to dominate the other. But it was when the redhead pulled her even closer against him that realization hit Kaoru like a cold slap in the face.
Her pleasure was replaced by disgust. Both at herself and at the man holding her in his embrace. Kaoru couldn’t believe that she was actually kissing open-mouthed the guy who just happened to be her lord’s most hated enemy.
Kaoru never felt as vile as she did right now.
Kaoru placed both hands firmly against Battousai’s chest and pushed hard, trying to get him off her to no avail.
Then an idea crept into Kaoru’s mind and so she waited for just the right moment. Withdrawing her tongue as far as possible from his, Kaoru bit him as hard as she could.
His yell muffled, Battousai pulled away from Kaoru, releasing her from his hold, and clamped his mouth. His amber eyes darkening with pain.
Kaoru fought down a smug smirk as she saw a tiny trail of blood dripping down the corner of the redhead’s mouth.
Then to her surprise (Kaoru cursed at herself. What is it about this man that just left her surprised?), Battousai lowered his hand to reveal a smirk on his lips.
Before she could question why he wasn’t angry at her, Kaoru yelped as Battousai leant forward once more, only this time he did something she completely didn’t expect him to do.
He bit her lower lip hard to the point that it bleed. He cupped her face and, in a slow and sensuous manner, Battousai licked the blood off her lip. Once the blood was gone, he kissed her again. This time though, it was quick and just on the lips.
Battousai chuckled as he saw Kaoru’s surprised expression.
“You have the most gorgeous shade of eyes. A beautiful sapphire that glitters with pure silver, such a rare combination of eye colors.” He murmured.
Kaoru scoffed. “This coming from a man who has amber eyes that gleams red. What a hypocrite.”
Battousai smirked. Not letting go of his hold on her face, he lifted his chin so that his mouth hovered just beside her ear.
“Mine.” He whispered to Kaoru softly before he pulled away.
Growl.
Both looked down at Kaoru’s stomach where the sound had come from. Kaoru blushed red with embarrassment.
‘Oh great.’ Kaoru sarcastically thought. ‘What perfect timing.’
Battousai chuckled again, finding the various changes of situations amusing.
“I’ll prepare your breakfast. In the mean time, don’t leave this futon.” He ordered.
Releasing his hold on her, Battousai stood up from his crossed-leg sitting position and turned his back towards Kaoru to leave the room.
Just as his hand grasped the handle, he glanced back once more at the raven-haired young woman sitting in the futon. Her sapphire-silver eyes gleaming with various emotions.
“Always remember this, my pet. I play for keeps. When I said that you are mine and mine alone, I mean it.”
Leaving those words for Kaoru to ponder on, Battousai slid the shoji door open and stepped out of the room.
As the door closed behind him, Kaoru sat still unmoving. Only when Battousai’s footsteps grew fainter, then out of earshot, did she relax and lied back down on her futon.
Kaoru let out the sigh she was holding and stared up at the ceiling.
Just what had she gotten herself into?
X-x-X-x-X
Soujiro stood at the center of the gym, his katana grasped in his hand. Tiny pieces are what remained of the countless wooden practice dummies that Soujiro had eliminated.
He snapped his wrist, flicking his katana as if to remove imaginary blood from his blade, before he slowly sheathed his sword back into its scabbard.
Kaoru…
X-x-X-x-X
to be continued
Sapphire: Well? Did you guys like it? I hope so…Man was it hard writing this chapter! Would you believe I spend almost an hour thinking of how to write the kissing scene without being too gross? Sigh.
Anyway, I think that in this chapter, I had revealed a more humane side to Shishio and the rest of the Juppongatana. Also I mentioned somewhat the relationship of Shishio and Yumi. Believe it or not, I actually love this pairing. Yumi’s so dedicated to Shishio that she still loved him despite that he killed her. These two are my favorite evil couple. Enough said.
Also, if I had missed out someone in the Juppongatana, please don’t hesitate to notify me. My memory’s not as sharp since I haven’t seen the series for a while now…
Lastly, yes I know that in the RK series, Kenshin wandered for 10 years before he met Kaoru. But in this fic, Kenshin is still the Battousai so he never wandered as a Rurouni. Also I made Kaoru and Soujiro older because I don’t like the 11 years difference (for Kaoru that is) to Kenshin. In simple terms, Kaoru was born at the time of Bakumatsu. I hope this clears things up about the history of the fic.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me (if you don’t want your questions publicized that is). My email can be found in my bio for those who are members.
Now, click that purple button below and send me a review! or criticism if you want, just as long as it’s constructive and not destructive. (winks)
Pa-alam! For now that is. Hohoho! (smiles)
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