AN: Hi there. This is my newest story, Beautiful. It might be a little dark; darker than all my other stories… maybe. First multi-chaptered fic in the Rurouni Kenshin section, but hopefully it'll have a good following. This is a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast,with my own twists.
Beautiful
Chapter One… Rose Castle
Note: Rurouni Kenshin doesn't belong to me, nor does Beauty and the Beast. This is a Kaoru x Kenshin (Battosai) pairing. I'm going to make this a five-chaptered fic, so the chapters are going to be on the long side. Chapter includes: introductions to Kaoru, a few footnotes, some flashbacks, and uhm, other stuff. Yeah, that's it. Read!
B e a u t i f u l
Please don't worry… I'll be home soon.
His words rang in her head as tears slipped down her cheeks. Her stupid father – he promised her… promised that he would be back.
She had told him not to take that road, that it had rained the previous night, and that it was not safe. He laughed.
Who was laughing now?
She was without a father, a mother, or a family in general.
The next morning, Kamiya Kaoru found herself stiff and cramped, aware of dried tears on her cheeks and sore knees. She blinked slowly as understanding seeped in.
She had fallen asleep in front of the funeral room, where her father had laid. He was gone now, his remains left to the world, scattered by the winds.
Her fist pounded the ground and her shoulders shook with past memories. He was fit and alive just a week before… how could it be over?
Kaoru hugged her knees rocking back and forth, waiting to be found by one of the servants so that she could let herself be led away and pampered until she calmed down.
No one came.
As two, three hours passed, Kaoru resigned herself to her fate and slowly got up, pain awaking in her muscles and joints. Her home was empty, scarce for but the cobwebs and her old nurse maid.
Riku-san stayed only to remind her that her father's debts had still yet to be paid and that the collectors had come early in the morning, taking everything of remote value. Riku reassured her that she had not let them touch Kaoru's personal belongings. She also mentioned that they might come back the next day, and told Kaoru to leave quickly.
Quietly, Kaoru thanked her and saw her out.
"Oh, before the collectors left, one of them stopped to give you something." Riku said, holding out a worn piece of paper.
It was a will. Her father's will. And… a letter.
The tears fell once more as Kaoru stared at her father's familiar messy scrawl, and at how he tried to keep it neat, conscious of how Kaoru always rebuked him for his illegible writing.
When Kaoru finally looked up from the letter, reading it, but not, Riku was gone and the house was mercifully empty.
Kaoru let out a sob and fell to her knees, crying in the silence.
Dear daughter,
I'm not going to start the letter with a cliché 'if you are reading this, than I must be dead' that you always find in your fantasy books. I'm sorry if this finds you early in your life, but there's nothing helping that now.
With this letter, I have enclosed a will. You have inherited a castle left to me by an old friend of mine. I never liked it; castles are always far too draughty and dreary. You know my affliction for that kind of stuff. Back on the subject of the castle, my friend told me never to go there. He said a monster lived there and that there would be no peace for the unlucky one who found their way there. But I don't believe it. A monster that couldn't be overcome by my daughter? You brought happiness and joy into my life, Kaoru. I have never liquidated all that I owed and I know that soon the home you called yours would be taken away. I hope you find this place suitable, and the so-called monster that resides here will find your company pleasurable, I'm sure.
I'm trying to keep my writing legible, as you see, but I fear I'm not doing a good job. I hope you are happy. I love you, Kaoru, and I know your mother does too.
In her room, Kaoru looked at her bed, her shelves full of fantasy books that she devoured, the paintings of her mother, and of her old dolls. She reached for her dolls now, hugging them tightly, needing special comfort tonight.
She left her room the way it was, falling onto her bed of lacy pink covers. When the morning came, Kaoru would think of what to do.
Slowly, sleep came, but with a price. Her dreams were full of memories of her late mother; her cheerful smile, glistening raven hair and welcome hugs. She remembered the sickness that overcame her; the fevers and the blank glassy eyes. On the night that she died, she hugged Kaoru for the final time and stroked her hair, whispering nonsense.
She was eight at the time.
Next came the awful dreams of her father, and all the time they spent together.
When her mother died, her father took time – too much time – off work and spent the days playing and laughing with his daughter. His debts slowly grew and the wonderful mansion and home they once had was crumbling under their feet.
She remembered the times, before her mother died, when there were grand balls every week. Kaoru was allowed to stay up far past her bedtime, to watch the dancers in their dizzying costumes and sparkling jewelry.
Her father would dance with her, holding her tightly around his knees as he stumbled around the dance floor. Those were precious moments to Kaoru.
Tears leaked from her eyes, unbeknownst to her, as the memories kept coming.
Kaoru had never stood out. She was the plain one with all her friends. Megumi was tall, flirtatious and had dreams of being a doctor. She was pretty and the men kept flocking to her.
Misao had her long hair, always wound up in that braid that attracted suitors. She was pretty, petite and cheerful. The suitors came to her door almost as much as Megumi's did.
Now, her two childhood friends were married, and expecting. Misao had ventured out on a journey for that tall, cold man that she was infatuated with. Kaoru suspected that he had assented to courtship because she was unrelenting. But as she watched them, they were unquestionably happy. Aoshi always watched her with a tender look in his eyes.
Sanosuke was brass, loud and cocky. But he loved Megumi as well. He always came to her with he acquired wounds, joking that he did it for her sake.
She would always roll her eyes, but a smile always twitched near her mouth.
Kaoru was plain, with the uniform black hair; she wasn't tall, or small. She was average and sometimes she hated it.
But when her mother died, and then her father, she was invisible. She didn't stand out at all, and was allowed to mourn in peace.
Sometimes being plain was a blessing.
The next morning shone bright. The sun was shining and Kaoru got up, feeling drained.
I think the sleep took away more than it refreshed, she thought, dryly.
But she did feel better about the ordeal. Instead of weeping, when Kaoru thought of the father's death, only a sense of emptiness answered her.
She sighed and picked herself up. Gathering a bag, she unceremoniously gathered a couple of shirts and breeches. As a girl, it was frowned upon to wear men's clothes but Kaoru practiced swordsmanship, and she couldn't do that in gowns.
Gowns… Although Kaoru was as tomboyish as they come, she liked things that were pretty as well. After all, wasn't her room pink?
She turned to her closet, and viewed the gowns that hung there. Earlier in the year, Riku had sensed something of this sort; the collectors coming.
She took the best of his mother's gowns and hid them away in Kaoru's closet. It was a good thing that her mother was just as small as she was, or the gowns would never fit.
Kaoru ran her hands over them. She had never worn them; never had a reason too, but she didn't want to part with them.
Carefully, she folded up three of her mother's gowns and placed them at the bottom of her bag. She knew the gowns were unneeded and that space could be used for something more useful, but she wanted to keep a keepsake of her mother with her. Kaoru took some necessities like women toiletries, and the little money she had.
Her hands hesitated over the delicate slippers she owned and put them in the bag with her gowns. If she wore them, she couldn't go around wearing boots with them.
She packed some food for the journey, the letter, the will, and a small book of fairytales her father gave her.
She was ready. At the door, Kaoru paused and strapped her bokken(1) to her back before heading out.
(1): This is a general story; no Japanese but I didn't know what to call her sword. She didn't use actual swords or staffs. I could hardly call it a wooden sword either. Later in the story there may be a few references to Japanese words and meanings. (Ex: Hitokiri)
Kaoru studied the will as she walked to town. Her home was a little off from the main village and it was a good mile or two before she hit the usual town-markings. Her eyes shifted over the date, and all the signatures that made the will official.
Kamiya… Her eyes turned quickly away from her father's and turned to the next one. Seijiro Hiko (AN: spelling correct?). Kaoru blinked. The name sounded familiar.
Her foot stumbled in a groove and her hands went out to steady herself.
As she straightened herself out, a person stopped in front of her.
He was short, shorter than most and had a smile on his face. (2)
"Sorry, but I noticed that you almost fell. Um, is there anything I could do?"
Kaoru smiled tightly at him and shook her head. "That's quite alright. I'm good as it is."
He didn't move. "I'm Seta Soujiro." He smiled again. "If you need any help, you can just ask me." He held out his hand.
Kaoru eyed his hand and grasped it after a moment. "Kamiya Kaoru, daughter of recently deceased father and family. Orphan and not looking for friends. Nice to meet you." She took repossession of her hand and started to walk.
Soujirojogged up to her. "No need to be so hasty. I'm sure you can use a bit of company on your journey. It's a little strange to see a woman here, traveling alone but whatever floats your boat."
Kaoru frowned at the man walking beside her amiably. Hadn't she specified that she wanted to be alone?
Seta-san had a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry if I'm bugging you, but you seemed the best candidate for a friend. Y'see, I lost my provisions on the way here and I was wondering..." He trailed off, a hopeful smile replacing the last.
A soft smile framed her face and she laughed. "Only if you cook."
And that was the beginning of a strong friendship between two very unlikely people, one to come in handy in every situation.
(2): EDIT: This used to be Sanosuke but I changed it to Soujiro because there was a confusing with the timeline and some other things like that. (fancy way of saying, I screwed up.)
Also, there's no romance between Kaoru and Soujiro. It says strong friendship.
The days passed and the two finally came to the town.
Kaoru had examined the will thoroughly and read it over many times.
To a Kamiya Kaoru, a home is left to her in the village of Anguth, called the Rose Castle. Habitants of said town can direct one to its location. Anything of personal belonging is hers and cannot be taken from her.
That was all it said, with a couple of footnotes and signatures. She turned it over and scanned the back. There wasn't anything there except for marks here and there for what she guessed to be ink spills or something of the sort. Dismissing that as clumsiness on her father's part, she folded the will carefully and tucked it into the pocket of her cloak.
"I guess this is goodbye?" Kaoru said, smiling at her new friend.
"Till next time."Soujiro hugged her and released her before waving and turning. He walked down a street path whistling.
Using the few coins she had, Kaoru bought bed and board at a local inn. She asked around and found a place where she could get a carriage to take her to the town she wanted to go.
Anguth… Kaoru had only been there once, with her father. It was a pretty village; the people who lived there were friendly and cheerful. If that was her new home, she could be happy there.
The next morning, Kaoru awoke bright and early. She grabbed her pack and cloak, fastening it around her neck. She walked to the carriage she hired the day before and told the man where she wanted to go.
It would take at least a day to get there, so Kaoru settled herself in and got comfortable. She didn't have much to do, so she brought out her book of fairy tales and read them over and over again. She never got tired of them.
As a little child, she loved books. Kaoru could take a fantasy book and read it over thrice in the span of a day.
She loved any type of book, historical, romance, adventure, but most of all, she loved fantasy.
She loved the magic, the dragons, everything!
Maybe one day she'll meet a dragon… or a magician or a magic prince trapped in a spell, needing a beautiful princess to rescue him.
Kaoru sighed. She knew that'll never happen. Then she smiled and returned to her book. But it couldn't hurt to dream…
He sighed. It was a long time ago, but he remembered every detail. The boy had come to him…
And he placed a sword in his hands. That night, Himura Kenshin became a monster.
If only, if only they could erase time, and change history.
Katsura stared at the masonry in front of him.
Carefully, he picked up the metal knocked and let it drop, perpetually.
The door slowly opened, and a deep baritone voice called out.
"Enter."
"We're here, miss." The carriage driver said.
Kaoru awoke with a start. She nodded. "Thank you."
"That will be 20 coppers." The driver looked at her, expectantly.
Her eyes widened. 20 coppers! She could have gotta a room and board for a week with that!
"Uhm," Kaoru fumbled for her purse. She came up with one silver piece.
The driver's eyes gleamed. A silver was worth at least 30 coppers.
She smiled weakly at him. "You wouldn't have any change, would you?"
He grinned and shook his head.
Kaoru gave the man her last coin. He sneered at her and snapped the reins.
The carriage took off, unjustly with her money.
As she watched it, and the cloud of dust it picked up, a familiar voice snapped her out of her trance.
"Kaoru-san? I didn't know you were in Anguth."
Kaoru turned and smiled. "Soujiro-kun, it's good to see you again."
He nodded. "Likewise. What are you doing here?"
"I inherited some castle. I'm here to claim it."
He blanched "You don't mean the Rose Castle?"
"The very same." Kaoru smiled.
"Kaoru-san, you shouldn't go there."Soujiro started seriously.
Kaoru laughed.
"You haven't heard the stories."
Kaoru shook her head. "I'm sure that that's all they are; stories."
Soujirolooked dubious but Kaoru started to get angry. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but this is the only place I got to live, alright?"
He nodded. "Do you need directions?"
Kaoru smiled at him. "Thanks."
Soujiro dropped Kaoru off in front of the castle. The front of it was magnificent. There were towers, and great windows, with vines covering it.
Kaoru recognized the plants as roses, and frowned, because it was rose season, and they weren't blooming.
Soujirosmiled at Kaoru and nodded. "I'll see you some other time."
She nodded as well. "Thanks for the ride."
He smiled brightly. "Thanks for the food."
She waved as he galloped down the path.
Slowly, Kaoru turned to face the large castle that loomed in front of her.
She crept into the doorway and pushed open the great wooden door. Kaoru didn't think she should knock, seeing as the castle was hers.
But nevertheless, she called out to see if anyone was there. "Hello?"
Her voice echoed.
Surprisingly there was a few candles lit, and Kaoru slowly tiptoed into the main hall.
In an open room to her right, there was a person sitting in a comfortable-looking armchair.
He was wearing a black cloak, the hood pulled up.
Two molten amber eyes stared back at her, fire framing his face, accenting his pale skin and smirk.
"I take it you're Kamiya Kaoru?"
AN: How did you like it? It's gonna be a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, if you weren't aware, with my own twists.
Haha, the chair scene reminds me of Cardcaptor Sakura, with Eriol and his chair in his mansion :giggles:
So, this is going to be a slightly dark fic… no smut. No lemon. I couldn't write it even if I wanted to :shudder:
A kiss or two :wink: maybe. Lol
I hope you liked it! Please review!