Well, here you all go! Another chapter of Twisted, and hopefully I didn't make you guys wait to long this time! Quite a bit of plot devolpment this chapter. Hope you enjoy.
Ravyn
Warning: A little bit of salt, and little bit of lime.
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Kaoru awoke with the knowledge that it was early. She supposed the fact that she had gone to bed much sooner than normal accounted for the fact that she was up before the early rays of the rising sun. Kaoru sat up and hugged herself, her chin digging into her knees as she contemplated exactly how she was going to handle this morning.
He wasn't going to have anything to do with it.
Kaoru chewed on her bottom lip in a nervous fashion, her fingers tapping against her calf. This wasn't planning against the Rurouni, and even that took great planning. Kaoru took a deep breath and decided to believe him when he said that he and the Rurouni were no longer the same. It was as good an explanation for her needs as the rest.
How much of him had remained the Rurouni? Kaoru smiled as she heard the sounds of Yahiko stumbling out of bed, his swearing amusing to someone who determinedly managed to fill the roles of sister and mother…Kaoru pushed the blanket aside and decided on her best course of action as she dressed in her practice clothing.
Alright…if he wasn't the Rurouni, then he was correct; she couldn't act like he was. Kaoru tied her hair up and nodded to herself. This weeping, emotionally destroyed woman was not who she wanted to be. She didn't need Kenshin, whichever Kenshin he was, to destroy her or fix her.
Kaoru nodded her head again. This…this was no more difficult than dealing with a crazed psychopath…a situation she had dealt with more than once in her short life. First the men of her father's crowd, then Jineh, then Saitoh, and the list just got longer…but perhaps the worst was Enishi.
Kaoru wondered if perhaps her time on that island hadn't been part of the slow crumbling of her emotional stability. Oh…Enishi had done nothing to hurt her, but her own mind had turned everything against her, especially when Kenshin hadn't come for her.
Devotion to Tomoe had all but ruined Enishi's life…and Kaoru had seen the same lingering emotion in Kenshin's eyes. Kaoru closed her eyes in thought. Perhaps that was her problem…the lingering doubt that a cloud of plum blossoms was going to come and sweep him away again. This part of Kenshin would have been even closer to Tomoe than her Rurouni would have…
Kaoru wondered if the dark, twisting swell of emotion was part of her now.
Standing she slipped on her tabi and then opened the door.
Time to face the sunshine.
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Kenshin noticed the change as soon as she walked in the door. It was in the way she held her head, the straight line of her shoulders and spine. She didn’t flinch away from his eyes, even though he knew they were the color of gold. She didn’t hesitate to serve the food into portions, nor did she flinch away from his conversation.
So, his little Thistle had decided to step up the next part of the game. His mouth curled up in one corner, delight racing in his veins. His Kaoru had finally begun her own downfall.
Lovely.
Kenshin waited until breakfast was over, and Kaoru was rising from her seat with her dishes, before he decided to broach last night’s exploration. “Yahiko and I went and had a word with Saitoh last night.” Kenshin commented just before he swallowed the last of his tea.
Kaoru paused and then settled herself back down. “What?”
Yahiko nodded. “We let that wolf know what was up!”
Kaoru turned and stared at Kenshin incredulously, and Kenshin thought with no small amount of pleasure that it was the most unguarded expression she had given him since he got back. “You threatened him?”
Kenshin poured himself a half cup of tea, and blew softly on the steaming liquid. “I reminded him of his priorities. He is not the only one who has something worth keeping safe. He is a wolf in almost all his aspects, and his wife is also important to him. He won’t be bothering you again.”
Kaoru stared at him. “You…threa….you…”
Yahiko rolled his eyes. “We would have taken you too, but you looked really tired.”
Kenshin agreed. “The wolf would have been insulted by your presence. I can chastise him, but I would prefer not to cross blades with him on a whim.” He leveled Kaoru with an interestingly intense gaze that made the hairs on the back of her neck raise in warning. “Saitoh said someone had attacked Tokio as well. Are you sure you haven’t had any strange visitors?”
Kaoru frowned and looked at Yahiko questioningly. “I haven’t forgotten anyone, have I?”
Yahiko looked upwards, his lips pursing in thought. “Well…there was that one day we were visiting another dojo and we came back to fresh tracks around the gate. Someone said a politician had been by, remember? We thought he was looking for Kenshin?”
Kaoru frowned. “Not really.”
Yahiko nodded. Turning, he looked at Kenshin with curiosity. “It wasn’t one of your normal visitors, if you catch my drift. I remember, because I was helping one of the neighbors with the leaves in their yard, and she mentioned that the carriage was very new. She described it for me, but she didn’t get a look at the man. It didn’t sound like any coat of arms I can remember.”
Kenshin narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “Can you describe it to me?”
Yahiko did his best, but was unsure of most the details.
“It’s alright, Yahiko. I am sure one of my contacts will know who it is. At the very least, Saitoh will. He keeps an eye on the government that beat him, like a wounded wolf watching his enemy,” There was a note of distaste in Kenshin’s voice at the idea of speaking to Saitoh, but Kaoru and Yahiko knew how he had rattled the Rurouni.
Kaoru sat in silence for several long moments, her brows drawn in thought, something about the carriage Yahiko had described tugging at her memory. Shaking it off, she gathered her dishes and headed into the kitchen.
“Yahiko…you better hurry up and finish! It’s almost time for class!”
Yahiko shoveled the remainder of his food into his mouth and followed Kaoru out to the dojo, where a few voices soon joined them.
Kenshin frowned at his rapidly-cooling tea, his eyes narrowing with each passing thought. The idea that one of the higher-ups of their government was coming after his family lit something rather wild in his blood. The fact that he was going to have to remind someone why he spear-headed their troops with assassinations was not something he relished, but he would do it.
He honestly hoped they wouldn’t force him to play that hand.
He had better things to do. Like seduce his little Shihondai.
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“Okashira.” Shiro’s voice meekly asked from outside the door. It was amazing, sometimes, how his ninjas could use his rank as both question or statement. He didn’t even want to think about how a certain braided female used it.
As usual, they took his silence as permission. Which was fine. If he didn’t want them to come in, then the shoji screen door would have been shut completely. Aoshi paused as he caught the expression on Shiro’s face, and mentally wondered what Misao had done this time.
“It’s Misao-chan, Okashira.” Shiro admitted. “She didn’t show up for her turn at the tables.” There was a slight twitching to the corner of Shiro’s eyes.
Aoshi raised a brow, waiting.
“One of our train contacts said she was spotted getting onto the train.” As always, Shiro edited. He had decided that the fact that Misao had both waved and stuck her tongue out at the secret contact did not bode well for the contact. They kept those contacts secret, because Misao wasn’t supposed to know who was watching the trains, simply on the grounds that she would slip by if she knew where to look.
Apparently she already knew.
Aoshi slowly began to gather his papers, filing them according to the importance of the information. “Shiro, while I am gone, take care of the paperwork. Otherwise, Jiya is in charge.”
Shiro watched him pick up his kodachi and leave the room, his movements unhurried.
Shiro noted the time, realizing that his Okashira might catch the last train, if he was lucky.
Looking at the files, he glared. This was worse than dish duty.
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Yahiko didn’t know what to expect when he woke up that morning and helped Kenshin prepare breakfast, but the Kaoru that he found waiting them that morning was very different from the Kaoru he had been expecting. She hadn’t flinched, paused, or even bothered to do more than frown at him. Apparently, she was getting over her anger.
In fact, she had acted just like he was Kenshin…before she realized that he was leaving, before Tomoe, before Enishi…something along the lines of after the Shishio incident…
It had weirded him out.
Kenshin on the other hand, had gotten one good look at her eyes, and a slow, dangerous smile had began in his eyes and blossomed at his mouth. Yahiko had dropped his chopsticks, but Kaoru had ignored it all.
Then during the lessons that day, she had been almost patient, absently correcting him, and only smacking him on the head once. He really couldn’t understand that. In fact as the afternoon went on, he was feeling slightly out of place. There was something weird going on behind Kaoru’s eyes.
The day had been the weirdest Yahiko had ever had in the dojo. Kaoru had been cool, efficient, and dangerously sweet and Kenshin had worn a smile all day, his teeth gleaming like a predator watching its prey dance closer to its waiting claws.
Kaoru didn’t have a chance to win against this Kenshin…
Perhaps that was the point.
Kenshin the Battousai was simply smiling, a lingering tension in his eyes melting into something far more dangerous; and if he saw it, then Kaoru did as well.
Had it only been last night that Yahiko had heard Kenshin tell her not to judge him as the Rurouni? Honestly, she had been given every possible warning! Yahiko felt the rest of his resentment for the Rurouni slip into the place it should, away from this man.
Kamiya Kaoru was soon going to hit a roadblock, and Yahiko was indeed looking forward to it. How Kenshin handled the situation with Kaoru was going to be the proof that he needed to cast his judgment.
However, things were about to only get measureably worse.
“Hello!” A voice Yahiko heard only in his nightmares called out, in a sing-song fashion that was as much a warning as anything. Yahiko turned to see Misao enter the dojo, in an outfit that could only be considered…filthy.
Her hakama had once been white, but was now a pale tan with several patches. Her dark brown gi was also filthy, and the hat she held in her hand appeared to have covered her hair and eyes. Apparently she was sneaking around again.
Yahiko shuddered with the memory of what exactly she could do on her own turf. Misao and Kaoru would disappear for hours, coming back dirty and bruised, with big smiles. The next time everyone went to the market there were large smiles greeting them.
Not long after that, he had come across Kaoru lecturing a man at least three times her size, holding him up by his collar, and Misao sitting on his twin, cleaning her nails with her Kunai as she offered the same lecture on how to treat a lady.
He had never told Kenshin. Never planned on telling Kenshin. Feared Kenshin’s reaction. Their secret, as long as they chose to keep it, was safe with him. Otherwise, he was going to get pounded by one of them. Kaoru, Misao, or Kenshin; one would have his head…
Kaoru stepped around him and walked over to the girl, hugging her tightly. “Misao! I thought you had Oniwabanshu business for the next six months?” Her words were curious, and Yahiko wracked his brain to remember when they had communicated.
Misao rolled her eyes. “Nah. You’re more important, and I know something is up! Aoshi has had this frown on his face for months now and keeps looking towards Tokyo as if I wouldn’t notice it!” Her words were as pitched as high as always and held that element of Misao.
Kaoru opened her mouth to reply, a genuine smile on her face, when Misao stiffened, her face tightening, her eyes losing all their smile. “What is he doing here?”
Kaoru turned her head and met Kenshin’s amused eyes. “That’s…a long story.”
Misao turned and looked Kaoru straight in the eyes. “Do you want me to kill him?”
Kaoru spluttered at that, and Yahiko ducked his head to keep from laughing out loud. No need to draw attention to himself. Besides, Misao was practically frothing at the mouth.
Kaoru grabbed her friend’s hand and dragged her out of the dojo. “Listen… never mind…Yahiko, five hundred swings.” Then they were around the edges of the dojo and out of view, but it was several minutes before Misao’s voice was out of the range of sound.
The lingering “I only need twelve kunai…really!” echoed down the street and Yahiko swore he saw Kenshin smirk.
Taking a deep breath- he was going to need the air- he began counting. He was going to need all the practice he could get.
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Kenshin paused in his sword work, relishing the feel of sweat dripping down his shoulder blades and the feeling of his muscles humming with the power of his sword dance. The fire in his blood pulsed in his ears, and he closed his eyes to find the center he had taught himself to operate out of. His control was necessary, and he would never disgrace his sword art as he had as a child.
Finishing the last, hard twist of his wrist, he picked up the gi he had dropped, sliding the cloth along the breadth of his shoulders. It clung to the sweat, sticking to the skin irritatingly. He would have preferred to tie the length of his hair high, but putting it into a samurai knot would only cause suspicion.
Walking to the dojo door, he watched Yahiko swear as he attempted to remove sweat stains. Narrowing his eyes, he let some of his Chi shimmer around the yard, testing the air for danger. When he felt nothing, he allowed his thoughts to drift to the amusing reaction of his Thistle.
She didn’t know it, of course, but her reaction to Misao’s offer to kill him had told him everything he might need to know. If he had been suffering from a confidence problem, then he would have been handed a nice pick-me-up.
He realized that most people would have looked at her act as a set back. It was a minor hitch in his plans, but he hadn’t truly expected her to fall in love with him the first time he got her to melt into his arms.
Even if the delightful press of her curves into his body had been heady, he was realistic. Besides, Hiko had always said something worth fighting for was worth the pain. While he never completely agreed with Hiko on everything, he could understand the mixed-up wisdom of his words.
He was going to have to contend with the little Weasel-girl, though. The Rurouni had never discredited Misao’s skills, even if her Oniwabanshu friends had. The girl had been on the road almost as long as he had, and he understood the skills it took to survive.
What exactly was she telling his Kaoru?
Shrugging into his gi, he turned thoughtful gaze to the streets of Tokyo. The little Itachi was a wild card. Had always been. He had once accused Aoshi of being the only one who could stop her tears. He also knew that she was the only one who could restore him to whatever Aoshi needed to be.
He actually was expecting to see the Okashira in the next few hours. He had already put another futon in Kaoru’s room and another down in the spare room Dr. Gensai used for whenever Aoshi chose to appear.
Kenshin shrugged and headed to the kitchen. Kaoru and Misao would be expecting dinner, and even though they had probably grabbed a snack, if Aoshi showed up, they would be here soon enough.
He might want to cook some extra rice…