October 7, 2006
I am sitting here comfortably in my hotel room, in the wonderful city of Chicago. I'm visiting a college! Go me! I am going to make it there. Haha. Well then, I have had this idea eating the back of my mind for a few days, so I thought I should write it. I plan on making this a full length story, so it should be interesting. Enjoy.
Shinkansen – bullet train
I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.
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Double Edged Title Subject to Change
Prelude
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As Kamiya Kaoru made her way down the busy streets of Harajuku, her heart leapt as she saw something bright in her peripheral vision. Turning her head sharply to the left, she hopelessly searched through the crowd across the street, 'No,' she told herself, 'He's gone. There's no way that he could be here, let alone Tokyo.'
For perhaps the thousandth time, the young woman replayed a scene in her head:
"Kenshin!"
Kaoru froze as she saw the bullet hit him in the chest near the heart. His bright, red hair framed his face, having been untied during the fight, as he fell to his knees. The bodyguard turned his head to look at her stricken form, and gazed at her with his beautiful, but cold, amber eyes, "Run." Without any second thought, she had immediately obeyed her faithful bodyguard, and fled the scene.
Her heels clacked against the pavement as she hurried, the crosswalk light blinking red. Despite the fact that Kenshin had been her personal bodyguard, she couldn't get his memory out of her mind, constantly thinking anything red could be him, and it was driving her insane, 'Kaoru, forget him!' She berated herself, 'You're only bringing yourself more pain.'
Finally reaching her destination, Kaoru looked up at the tall skyscraper. She had a meeting with her step-father, Katsura Kogoro. It had been a while since she had seen him, and she smiled inwardly. While the man did many things that were not exactly lawful, the girl knew he did these things for her own personal safety, as well as the well being of many Japanese citizens. Again, she thought of Kenshin, and the way he had protected her from that bullet. It had been months earlier, but again, she could not forget.
Loading into the elevator, she noticed another man enter the building. She silently noted him, and figured he was her newest bodyguard. Ever since Kenshin's death, any bodyguard that had been assigned to her had kept his distance, and was usually replaced within one month. Kaoru wasn't quite sure as to why, but she personally did not care.
The bell of the elevator brought her out of her thoughts, and Kaoru stepped out, and onto the top floor of the business building. There was a mahogany desk to the right, a desktop computer, printer, and other office equipment on top, and a secretary silently working. The left wall had a landscape hanging, and a small table and chairs. Walking up to the desk, Kaoru said in a soft voice, "I'm here to see my father."
Looking up, the secretary noted her, "Welcome back, Kamiya-san! I'll let him know." The girl had green eyes and a cheerful composition. Kaoru observed as she pushed the call button and said, "Katsura-dono, Kamiya-san is here to see you." After a moment, the bright secretary directed to Kaoru, "You can go on in." Before heading to the door, Kaoru noted the nameplate that sat on the desk, Makimachi Misao.
Taking a breath, Kaoru strode to the door, and pushed it open. The large windows that looked over Tokyo were thinly curtained, giving the spacious office a bright tone, but not overbearingly so. A tall man stood up, came around a desk, and greeted her, "Kaoru," He gave her a warm hug, the girl returning it gladly, "How was your trip over here? Not too boring I hope?" She had taken the shinkansen from Kyoto, preferring the view of the country-side to the boring sky from a plane.
"No Dad, just fine and dandy. I noticed the new guy you've got following me. How long has he been around?"
The elder man chuckled, and said, "Oh, since yesterday. You're getting better at figuring out whose following you." Stepping back, the business man said, "Well, let's get a look at you."
He studied her slim figure, dressed in a stylish skirt and top, black heels, and a purse. The girl had her hair up in her usual ponytail, which fell over her shoulder in dark strands. Light make-up was applied to her eyes, enhancing their blue beauty, and her pale skin was vibrant, "You're looking better than ever."
Katsura was pleased with the way his daughter looked. After the apparent death of the Battousai, Kaoru had gone through a serious state of depression, and the man wasn't sure she would get over it. At least Kaoru had not discovered that Himura Kenshin was also the shadow assassin for the Choshu Corporation. The two had not been lovers, but Kaoru had always confided in the cold man. The fact that he was a killer might not sit well with her. He set his lips in a firm line, as he considered what her reaction would be to today's meeting.
"Anyway Dad, what's with the formal meeting? Why not have met for lunch?" Kaoru went and sat in her father's big chair, gracefully dangling her legs over the armrest. She looked at him with a curious look, "Has something happened that the media shouldn't find out about?" She smiled lightly. Katsura Kogoro was, after all, one of the most powerful business leaders in Japan.
He shook his head, "No, no… it's just, you might find the thing I am going to tell you, well, a bit shocking." The man was a bit hesitant. He knew that his daughter would most likely be very angry by the end of their get-together, and be rushing back to Kyoto and college. The girl would be very upset indeed, and not only for one reason, but two.
"Look, Kaoru," He came around the desk and crouched down in front of her, "I know that you have been getting over the death of Kenshin." The girl's face paled at the mention of his name, "But there's something you really need to know about him."
Her blue eyes narrowed, pained, as she looked at him suspiciously, "What have you not told me Step-Father?"
'Oh yeah… she's pissed.' She had used Step-Father, and whenever she called him that, she was angry. Standing up, Katsura looked out the window, running a hand through his hair, "Well, you see, after you had run, Battousai killed the man who had tried to kill you."
"I know that, and I will be forever grateful for it," She said. The girl brought her legs around in front of her, and sat correctly in the swivel chair.
Katsura continued, "After that, we came to the scene, and found him passed out on the ground. We took him to the hospital-"
Kaoru cut him off, sounding very angry, while keeping her voice low, "You don't mean to tell me that-"
Both were prevented from speaking as the double doors were opened wide. Misao was quickly following a red haired man, protesting his entry.
Katsura froze.
Kaoru nearly fainted.
And Kenshin came into the room.
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Oh no! A cliffhanger in the prelude! You will have to just add this story to alerts or something to find out what will happen in chapter one. Chapter one will return to the normal length of my chapters, i.e. 5-10 pages, maybe longer.
This isn't all about Kaoru and Battousai reuniting after his so called "death," if you couldn't tell by the things that Katsura mentioned. There are several other things that are going on underground, and there will probably be quite a bit of angst and drama. This story will have a serious plot okay?
Reviews are welcome, and very much wanted.
Until Chapter One,
-Hotaru
October 8, 2006