"Ello! Here is the next update to Twisted. I hope that you all enjoy a darker version of the Rurouni. I promise to get some good Batts/Karou for you all. Not so much in this one cause they have some things they need to work out!
Amber Linings will hopefully be in the next few weeks!
Ravyn
I do not own Kenshin or anything related to the Anime.
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Yahiko had never seen Kaoru in quite the state she had been in for the last two months. She was throwing herself into the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu like it was going to save her life.
She had lost weight; the result, he supposed, of the lack of edible food that they managed to produce between the two of them. They had finally created a system…she edged spices in miniscule, he tasted until it came out decently.
They were getting better. They had only caught the kitchen on fire twice, and so far they had only spent one night in the back sick as dogs because of whatever they had thrown together.
Yahiko had decided, a long time ago, that if he ever caught a single glimmer in her eyes directed at another man, he was forcing him at pain of a sound beating to marry her.
She was hurting and there was nothing he could do. So he practiced with her, stayed at the Dojo instead of moving out, and worked himself to the bone.
He chopped wood, helped with the laundry (when no one was looking), attempted to learn to cook, and managed –somehow- to work at the Akebeko to make money.
Not that they needed much between the two of them.
"Yahiko?" Kaoru questioned, coming around the corner, her expression perplexed. She was holding a bundle and Yahiko wondered when she had gone to the market.
"Hai?"
Kaoru smiled, or the movement that now counted as a smile, and held up the package.
"Lunch?" Her voice was amused. Yahiko put his bokken down, mentally planning his next attack on his Shinhondai. The Tofu vender had been sending her looks that had nothing to do with her choice of Tofu.
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Misao sat on the ledge of her window, her bangs ruffling into her eyes. She hardly noticed, however. Her generous mouth was pressed so tightly together it seemed to form a single line. The hands holding her Kunai were white with their grip.
If she had looked behind her, she would have seen the precariously balanced Oniwabanshu members straining to see her face.
Makimachi Misao was hardly ever angry, but this was the first time they had seen her in such a black mood since Aoshi had left her.
"How dare he..." The words were soft, deadly, and colored with the temper she displayed less and less these days. It seemed impossible, but her hands tightened even more on the small knives.
Dropping down from the window she spun, staring at the group who stared wide eyed back at her. "He LEFT her AGAIN!" The kunai flew and were halted by the wood next to the door. Heads turned to stare at how close the blades had landed, and the sound of someone swallowing was loud in the silence.
Misao sighed then. "Go away." She wanted to sulk, fume, and generally break things, alone. Misao knew how hard her friend had to be taking it, knew herself the pain of losing what you loved.
"Damn you to hell, Himura!" Misao snapped, more kunai falling into her small hands, and the door to her room shut, bodies scrambling to get out of her range.
"Someone should go get Aoshi." Okina mused, but paused to note only he was close enough to hear his words.
Kenshin leaned against the side of the building, gradually counting down the days till he would leave Kyoto and finish what he came to do. He had finally finished his business with his master; Hiko's surprise at seeing him had been…almost enjoyable.
He was almost finished. All that was left to do was warn a few individuals of his presence, of his threat, and he could go back to hunting his true prize.
But first, he had debts to pay. Punishment to deliver. Three years he had wanted to protect her, to destroy those who had hurt her.
Now he would.
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Kaoru was sitting cross-legged on the porch, her large eyes raised to the slowly drifting clouds. It was a trick Yahiko knew she used when she was attempting to stop crying.
In her hand was the carefully written letter from Misao. On the porch next to her was a small bag of coins, a debt fulfilled, Misao assured her.
"He left." Yahiko was angry. Everyone now knew he was gone. Apparently, Misao knew it. Not surprising, with the skills the Oniwabanshu hid up their preverbal sleeves. Kenshin had truly left the country.
Kaoru raised large, haunted eyes to his face. "Yes, he did." Her voice was soft, still broken, but there was lightness to the tone that hadn't been there before.
Misao's letter had cheered her more than he had thought.
There was an unspoken truce then, not to speak of him again.
Yahiko hated. Kaoru mourned.
As far as Yahiko was concerned, Himura the Rurouni was dead to him.
Hopefully to her as well.
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Kaoru stared at the paper, her lips parted in either shock or surprise. She wasn't sure which was more important at that point.
Six months now; winter was beginning to approach. Misao's little bag of coins had been hoarded and had gone towards making the growing Yahiko warmer clothes.
"Dead." Kaoru whispered. Hiruma Gohei had been found murdered in his home. The paper screamed it had been the work of a Hitokiri…a skilled one, for there was no trace of anyone being in the home besides the mutilated body.
Actually, now that she thought about it, there had been a series of murders. Murders of people whose names she had known.
Kaoru ran a shaky hand through her bangs, her breathing uneven. Most days what she wanted to do was crawl under the covers of her futon, pretend Kenshin was holding her, and cry.
She couldn't do that to Yahiko. She knew he stayed up and listened for the sounds of her tears, knew that she couldn't let him know the depth of her feelings.
She had never learned Ki the way 'he' had. But she could read people, and the growing anger and resentment in Yahiko's eyes were tangible. Kaoru knew he was beginning to learn the lesson of hate she had so desperately tried to shield him from.
Hating Kenshin wouldn't bring him back anymore than loving him had kept him at her side. Fact. Kaoru was simply going to have to get over him.
If she could find the strength of will.
Some days she hated, others she wept inwardly, others she railed at the world. The only thing that kept her from falling into depression as she had last time was sheer force of will, Yahiko's constant presence, and the occasional surprise.
But she hadn't found the inner strength to let go completely yet. And now people who had once threatened her and Yahiko were turning up dead.
She crumpled the newspaper up tightly in her fist.
There was a nasty ball of suspicion growing in her stomach. What she had previously thought was she was suddenly unsure of.He was in China, and someone else was ridding the world of any threat that could appear to her Dojo.
She had no idea who it could be. None. And that alone terrified her.
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Kenshin leaned against the wall, his eyes closed, the dark coloring of his gi shielding him from stray strands of moonlight.
He had been followed. Frowning, he reached past the thick walls and felt for the life force he desperately needed to attend to.
It was shining, but not as brightly as it once had. It had been hurt, and while it was strong, it was…duller. Less flame, less punch, and that alone was a reason to track his other half down and gut him.
He wouldn't, simply because if he stayed away much longer then she was going to crack. Crumble into small pieces of dust on the Dojo floor.
He would have to move carefully, allow her to assure herself he wasn't going to leave her like the Rurouni.
He had learned patience. She was worth the time he would need.
It didn't mean, however, that he couldn't seduce her into giving into him. She was his now, his to protect and desire, and she would want him with the same passion he wanted her.
The Rurouni had let her go; he never would. Even the insane mind of Jineh Udo had realized his claim from the depths of the Rurouni's mind.
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Kaoru knew something was wrong the moment she entered the gates to the Dojo. Yahiko should have been outside, sweeping the fall leaves away from the porch.
"Yahiko?" Kaoru questioned, her unease growing as she stepped inside. Her hand began to creep backwards as she took in the signs of a struggle. Three bodies crashed into her view and Kaoru started.
"Duck!" The sound was garbled, the sound of a struggle hard in her ears. She grasped her bokken just as something connected with the back of her skull, the world disappearing in a flicker of light.
"Kaoru!" Yahiko grunted as two more bodies dove on top of him, their forms suppressing him so tightly that it was hard to breathe.
"Hold him still!"
"Trying!"
"Tie his arms first, and his feet!"
Yahiko struggled blindly, a desperate need to reach Karou in his veins. He had no chance, however. He was bound and gagged, the unconscious bodies of three of the men in front of him.
He watched as a man picked up Kaoru's dazed form. She started to struggle, and he dropped her like a sack of potatoes. Yahiko watched her hit the floor and the soft whimper that fell from her lips infuriated him.
Yahiko growled, his temper flaring. He was going to hurt that man, badly.
"You sure this will bring him out of hiding?"
"Everyone knows this woman is his weak spot."
"Then why in the seven layers of hell did you drop her? He might find out!"
Kaoru coughed and attempted to find her bokken to beat the living tar out of the man who had dropped her, but was rudely stopped when a foot buried itself in her ribs.
Yahiko struggled, attempting to figure out exactly what the man was talking about. The only person who they ever attempted to bring out of the shadows to fight was long-gone into China.
Everyone knew –that-, the idiots.
"The boss is sure he is back?" There was a touch of lust and disbelief in the man's tone. It was obvious that he wanted to sample the 'bait.'
Yahiko felt something cold, and very, very angry begin to crawl through his veins. If Himura Kenshin was back, Yahiko would kill him himself.
Yahiko was willing to sell his soul if that was what it took to kill the man who had walked out on him, on Kaoru. Twice.
Of course if it really was Kenshin, these unorganized idiots were never going to take him, by surprise or other means. Kenshin was more than a match for more than twice this number, and all they had was an unconscious Karou and himself tied as bait.
Ahous.
Yahiko began to work at loosening the bonds that held him, just as Misao had taught him so long ago. It was so easy, to twist the knots around, to find the ways to loosen them.
He looked up at Kaoru's face, noted the white pallor to her skin. Her eyes were wide, and something very dangerous was beginning to grow in her gaze.
Something dark.
Yahiko broke through his bonds just as Kaoru twisted and kicked the man's leg out from under him. He was lunging at her dropped Bokken as something grabbed his leg.
He didn't expect to get interrupted mid-kick. He didn't expect Kaoru's strangled half-choke, as the man was she was fighting against dropped, a wakazashi blooming from his back.
Outside he heard what sounded like a gargle, similar to the sound Sano used to make when they held his head under water to sober him up.
The sound of blood filling lungs as you attempted to breathe; he had heard that one often as a child. This sound seemed to be a combination of both.
Yahiko stilled his movements and watched as a shadow filled the corridor.
"So you came." The man said, turning, and Yahiko watched in surprise as the color bleached from his face.
"Yes." Yahiko frowned at that voice. It was dark, deep and held an undertone of danger that sent a shiver down his spine.
Kaoru had gone very, very still. Her lips were parted, her eyes huge. The dark anger had left her form, leaving a surprised, still tension. She knew who it was.
He had heard that voice, once.
Tilting his head, his movements slow and tense, he met with a sight that chilled and angered him at the same time.
Standing in the doorway was Kenshin. He was different, though. He carried few of the lines he had a year ago, his face seemed less mature... and his eyes glittered gold.
Yahiko knew he was staring at the Hitokiri, but he wondered what had brought Kenshin back, and what had brought this about.
He didn't have time to put the pieces of the puzzle together, not when Kenshin moved into the room, the katana dripping with blood.
Yahiko felt something well up inside him: disgust, distaste…disbelief? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that Kenshin had broken his vow.
"Let the boy go." His voice was silky, untamed, with an unmatched power of savagery.
Kaoru must have felt the same, since she took one, faltering step back, her eyes never leaving Kenshin's face.
Not sparing a glance at the Battousai, for that was who he was, Yahiko grabbed his bokken and moved towards Kaoru's side.
Kenshin shifted his weight forward, the intent clear in every whisper of power that clung to his form.
He had every intention of killing every man there.
The man who had been in charge panicked, terror in his eyes and stance. This was no Rurouni who had given up his promise to never kill, this was a monster created in the Bakumatsu. This was the man who had carved a new Japan out of the flesh of his enemies. "We heard you didn't kill, that you are merciful to those you fight against."
Yahiko watched, his eyes round. This wasn't Kenshin. This was no Rurouni to forgive even as he fought. To allow the police to handle his enemies. This was a man who cared only for his own law, and those who it protected.
Besides, they had hit Kaoru. Even the Rurouni aspect of his personality would never forgive that. Or, at least that would have been true at one time.
His sword clicked, the sound driving coherent thought from those who awaited his words.
"I might have once belonged to a person who acted as you described. He is no longer a part of me, and I do not forgive. Especially when it comes to her."
Yahiko froze. He was going to have one hell of a time getting the blood out of the wood. He wasn't even sure if it was possible.
"Don't you dare!" They were the first words she had uttered since the attack started, and Yahiko felt something akin to relief at the steel in her tone. "You will not kill in my Dojo."
Kenshin turned to look at her, and Karou steeled herself for the darkly glittering gold she had seen twice. Once against Saitoh, and once against Jineh. She sensed a difference this time. Something was…untamed.
"Hai." Amused, a dark whisper; and then he moved.
The men crashed through the weak doors, going into the yard. Yahiko didn't see what Kenshin did to them, didn't want to see.
He knew they were dead, the heavy metallic scent of blood harsh in the air.
Kaoru gave a choked sob and sank to her knees, her eyes unseeing as she shook. He was back. Damn him.
Yahiko dropped to her side and picked up one of her hands, it was ice cold.
"Kaoru." Yahiko tried. She didn't look at him, didn't look at anything. Her small teeth were biting into her lip and she was shaking.
"Kaoru." The voice whispered the name as the shadow slid so closely in front of her. Too close.
His presence shook Kaoru out of her stupor and she lunged backwards before his fingers could brush her tears away. She wasn't even sure that was what he was going to do.
Yahiko shifted slightly in front of her. The anger that had been so dominant earlier raged in his veins; it didn't matter that Kenshin was the Hitokiri.
There were so many unanswered questions; the least being the statement Kenshin had made only a matter of moments before.
He didn't care.
"Get out." Yahiko flared, his dark eyes flashing.
Kenshin raised a brow, as if daring him to try to back his statement up.
"You will not stay here." Yahiko insisted, every part of his body crying that he protect Kaoru from the pain this man's presence was sure to bring.
She was gasping for air behind him, shaking with the suppressed sobs. Kenshin's molten gaze flickered from Yahiko to Kaoru.
"Let's get Karou settled into her room, Yahiko, and I shall explain a few things." His words had not changed tone, but Yahiko recognized the warning and the order.
Yahiko wasn't given the chance to argue as he was gently pushed aside when Kenshin went to kneel at her side again.
"Kaoru." Kenshin tried again, aware that the only reason she wasn't scrambling away from him was because of the wall behind her. "You have to calm down."
Kaoru took great gulping breaths, shaking her nerves back into place. She couldn't figure out what had her so upset; it wasn't the first or last fight she would be in.
She was attempting to ignore him, his eyes boring into her as she hid behind her bangs. She wasn't crying, not yet at least. She was aware of the fact that she was shaking, but she only wanted to go to sleep.
"Go away." It was hardly a thread of sound, but he caught it.
He slid back then, his eyes never leaving her face. "Yahiko, can you get her to bed?"
Yahiko stood and pulled Kaoru to her feet. She didn't look at either of them, simply allowed herself to be led to her room where she firmly shut the door, leaving Yahiko in the hall.
Leaving Kenshin in the hall.
Kenshin watched Yahiko struggle with his emotions. He let the boy work through his anger, the pulsing emotions that he easily felt.
He had his own temper to struggle with. Someone had used Kaoru, again, to draw him out.
It had worked.
However, they hadn't expected him to murder those who had hurt her. They didn't know that thanks to the carefully retained attachments to the Oniwabanshu, he would begin to track their leader.
He couldn't hide his presence from Aoshi for long. The Rurouni had written him a letter asking him to keep an eye on Kaoru.
Misao would make sure he did.
So when he was in Kyoto he had made sure to reacquaint himself with Shinomori.
"She is not coming back out tonight." The words were hissed to his left, and Kenshin admitted that Yahiko had grown up some these past six months. "What do you want?"
"Outside."
Yahiko's teeth were grinding so hard Kenshin could hear them, but the boy did as he was told.
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Kaoru slipped into the Yukata she had laid out that morning, her movements mechanical. She didn't know what to think, what to feel.
Hurt. She could deal with that. She had dealt with it so often these past months that it was a part of her.
Anger. Kaoru was too tired to be angry. Hadn't had the energy for months.
Love. Kaoru gave a bitter half-sob and forced herself under the covers of her futon. Love…so far it had gotten her nothing. She didn't even know what it was anymore.
Hate…
Perhaps.
Sliding her eyes shut, she prayed for sleep. Prayed he would be gone soon.
She simply didn't have the strength to deal with him otherwise.
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Yahiko flopped onto the deck, his hands fisted in his lap as he waited for Kenshin to start talking. To explain why he was here and different than when he left. It was only the minute changes in Kenshin –his eyes, his face- that kept Yahiko from going for Saitoh in hopes he would kill this form of Kenshin.
He had so many questions running through his brain that he didn't know where to start, how to find a point to begin to solve the puzzle of the madness surrounding this night.
Besides, if he didn't figure out what the hell was going on, Kaoru never would. She was most likely to start yelling and throwing things. Or become very quiet, and not say a word.
He blinked when he noticed Kenshin watching him. He had no idea how long the Hitokiri had been standing there, that unreadable expression on his face.
"Why are you here?" The question came out more vulnerable than he intended, and Yahiko grimaced.
A ghost of a smile flittered across the Hitokiri's face, but it disappeared. "I have my reasons."
"You're going to break her."
Kenshin sat down; the moonlight glinted in the dark shades of his hair. "I am more than aware of the damage done by the Rurouni."
Yahiko noted that his knuckles had turned white, they were gripping the hilt of his katana so tightly.
"What do you mean, the Rurouni? You're the same person!" Yahiko cried, his voice rising in agitation.
"NO." Kenshin firmly responded. "Not anymore."
Yahiko gaped.