A/N: So, I realize I might be biting off more than I can choose by posting this, but I really wanted to put this up and get some feedback. It's been on my liveJournal, but I don't have a lot of activity on that...yet. This is something I plan on continuing, but the whole plot line has some kinks that need to worked out first. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to it's respective owner and creator.
He hit the wooden floor with a resounding smack, the motion made clumsy with his hands tied behind his back in a tight knot. Nothing on his face showed any signs of pain say for a small twitch by his eye, but he'd be lying if he said the fall didn't send an unpleasant jolt through his tired and abused body.
"Wait here," commanded the man leading him and the guards. Kenshin watched as his captor walked towards the back of the room where there was an opening leading to a hallway, covered only by a shabby curtain. He disappeared behind it and the room stilled in silence.
Kenshin attempted to sit up a little while he waited with his...escorts. He'd only meant to lean back to try and alleviate some of the tension on his shoulders, but ended up receiving a sharp warning tug from one of the five ropes tied around his neck, choking him momentarily. His head swung immediately to the little punk who'd done it – a short kid with messed up hair and too much attitude for Kenshin's liking – and shot him a warning glare.
The kid twitched noticeably, but regained his composure quickly. Kenshin continued to stare at him out of the corner of his eye, trying to gage the will of the young man before lowering his gaze to the floor in assumed submission. This was still a delicate situation he was in, after all.
His attention returned to the opening ahead of him as the sound of footsteps made their way out of it, followed shortly by the man who was creating them. A wave of unease passed over Kenshin as he realized that the… man before him wore nothing but women's clothes – and flamboyant ones at that. Silks and cashmeres from head to toe, in bold colors with belts and jewelry to match, eerily complimenting his styled haired and equally beautiful face, all topped with heeled boots that looked too pointy to be comfortable. The outfit was so convincing that Kenshin could only tell it was a man from this distance by the width of his shoulders and the definition in his arms.
Oh, and also by the giant scythe he was currently holding with one man-sized hand.
Changers were nothing new to him. But this certainly put a wrench into Kenshin's plans, who had not expected to be beheaded by a cross dresser when he'd allowed his capturers to drag him here. Or, at least, not this early on. Nor, Kenshin deliberated, to be sacrificed as a substitute. Much to his relief, though, the wannabe woman didn't take more than a step past the entry way, moving only so far as to station himself beside it while saying nothing. He leaned back against the wall; one leg crossed over the other in front of him, and he barely spared Kenshin a glance.
More minutes passed on in silence, leaving Kenshin plenty of time to imagine what other kinds of characters would reveal themselves from behind the curtain. He'd known the vagabonds of the sea were a different kind of people, but the few he'd seen so far had completely blown any of his expectations out of the water. By now he could only hope their leader didn't have two heads.
Or think of him as more than a prisoner of war.
His thoughts were postponed when the sound of hurried footsteps once again carried through the unseen hallway before him. The gate must have been recognizable, because the five men stationed around Kenshin suddenly righted themselves up and tightened their grips on the enchanted ropes binding him. Even the Changer perked up, drawing away from the wall and turning to face the entryway.
Kenshin inhaled a deep, calming breath, preparing himself for the worst and hoping for the best.
The footsteps – two sets this time – grew louder until the man from earlier reappeared. He immediately stepped aside and pulled back the curtain so that a second person could emerge from behind him, the latter having to duck slightly to the side to maneuver what was quite possible the largest Captain's hat Kenshin had ever seen through the entryway.
His captor released the curtain and the owner of the hat slowly tilted up.
Finally, the leader of this wayward group would be revealed to Kenshin. After today, there would be no more guessing as to who or what lead this little faction that caused so many problems in his own rebellion.
Anticipation dragged every second as the person before him straightened. The hat, which was so large that it covered the sight of the Captain's upper torso while bent over, moved upward, allowing Kenshin to see the white of the person's shirt, then the leather chest armor, and an exposed neckline. The shoulders came into view, uncovering a little woodland animal that had positioned itself on one side – right next to its master's face.
He felt his blood run cold.
Oh Kami….
Kenshin realized belatedly that he'd sucked in an intense breath through his nose, the ropes around his neck and hands tightening in warning as the men around him prepared for a reaction. But Kenshin could hardly feel the pain in his body anymore – let alone move – as the sight before him shocked him into paralysis.
It just couldn't be…
The Captain stood up straight, confident and commanding even while standing a foot shorter than both of the two men on either side. One eye, the right, surveyed the room before landing on Kenshin – the other eye had been covered by a black eye-patch.
A woman…
Kenshin could feel his eyes bulging out of their sockets as he became sucked into the female's cool gaze. It felt like he'd stopped breathing.
A real woman.
He just couldn't believe it.
Another rush of chills coursed through him as the woman – and captain - walked towards him. Her hat, which he'd thought ridiculous only moments before, made her look formidable when coupled with the rest of her attire. Knee high leather boots overlapping form-fitting pants; a white, long-sleeved blouse with a leather bustier buckled over it, covering her breasts (which looked very real – a rarity); numerous belts that clung to curved hips, holding equally numerous weapons; gloved hands; and a modest amount of jewelry that was befitting her physique – all of it high quality and rare enough to mark her at Captain's standing.
Not that any of that really mattered. He had been overcome by her gender alone.
He almost wished she had been a two-headed man. At least then he would have known to get the hell out of here.
Now everything was going to be different.
His eyes never left hers as she closed the distance between them, until she stood only a foot away. Kenshin could feel his senses being overwhelmed completely by her presence. This close he was able to smell her scent very easily – something flowery and so very distinctly feminine – and was able to determine the color of her eye to be blue. Her skin looked softer and smoother than anything he could think of, and the features of her face held that delicate roundness that only members of her sex could ever hope to achieve.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, and Kenshin didn't know if it was because he hadn't seen a woman this close in who knows how many years or if it was simply her.
The creature on her shoulder – a small, two-tailed, black-striped critter he recognized as a rare ring cat from the forests (his forests) – mewed at him as the female captain began to remove her gloves. He watched the movements out of the peripherals of his eyes, but never broke contact with her own.
Her face was stoic, revealing nothing more than her desire to look at him. Kenshin's mind felt muddled and he struggled to get a new sense of his surroundings and situations. A small voice was shouting in the back of his mind to pay attention to what was happening, but all the realizations this woman had brought him by her appearance alone had consequently blocked that noise out.
Kenshin attempted to read the woman's ki and aura, but found his efforts blocked by the ropes around his neck and wrists. Even so, he could still feel an unknown energy being emitted from her – something akin to warm syrup with a pinch of odd spice – that caused his heart to hammer with nervous anticipation, blood hot and rushing in a direction quite inappropriate for the situation.
The realization that his body was reacting to this woman of its own accordance reminded him that he needed to be in control of himself, and he clamped down on the ecstasy filled feelings.
Another mew came from her pet before her hand came up and grabbed his face out of nowhere. The action jolted him out of the last of his reverie and he closed his eyes momentarily, the ropes around his neck tightening even more as he swallowed reflexively. She forced his face to the left, then swiftly to the right, jarring his neck in the process. Her strong grip around his chin reminded him that he was still here as a prisoner and treading on unstable grounds, female or no female.
Kenshin opened his eyes again and watched her as she examined him with a critical eye. He couldn't tell what she was looking for, but she whipped his head side to side a few more times before stopping to run her thumb gently over the scar on his face. The caress had more of an effect on him than he cared for; emphasizing again how rarely he felt the touch of another these days, let alone a woman's.
She let go, dragging her fingers pleasurably along his chin as she did so.
She signaled to the men around him and the ropes pulling at his necks and arms loosened greatly. He was watching her warily now, critically assessing her actions and the situation when she grabbed his head again and thrust it forward so his chin made contact with his chest. He felt her brush away the hair at the nape of his neck. Fingers traced a shape there, and he knew she was evidently looking for something, but the caress only served to send his mind and nerves reeling again. His eyes closed in unwanted pleasure, and he let out a small sigh of relief when she let go fairly quickly.
Kenshin straightened but didn't have time to think about where she'd look next as she ripped his shirt open and pulled it back from his shoulders.
Her face hovered inches from his own.
And she looked displeased.
"Sano," she demanded, the first words spoken since the head guard had told them to wait. Her voice broke the tension in the room with slick ease, commanding and strong – but no louder than a conversational tone.
The tall brunette who'd brought Kenshin here in the first place and then left behind the screen – and also the one currently holding his sword – hurried to stand next to the woman and answer her call. "Yes, Captain," he replied, awaiting her next words.
"Sano," she reiterated, straightening and backing away. Kenshin listened intently while trying not to look like it, "you have brought me the wrong man."
Sano went rigid, and clearly looked perturbed by this news. His words stuck in his throat for a moment. "Are you sure?"
Kenshin waited for the Captain to scold her subordinate for questioning her judgment, but nothing happened other than her irritated response of, "Yes."
They continued to stare at each other, Sano looking deep in thought as his captain stared at him waiting for an explanation. Kenshin lowered his eyes but waited with acute ears.
"There was no one else," Sano stated, one hand rubbing his chin as he tried to recall the events. "I'm sure of it."
The Captain turned to look at her prisoner again, her stare intensely scrutinizing him. He offered her nothing in answer.
"It's true," said the boy who had choked him earlier. "He was the only who showed the two days we were there."
Hmmm…so they had been waiting, but not for him.
The changer walked closer to the captain and her subordinate, setting the heavy end of his scythe on the floor while he snatched Kenshin's sword out of the other man's hands. Freeing up his other hand, the cross dresser removed the blade partially from its sheath, analyzing it and the intricate designs carved into the steel closely.
"This blade is no fake," he informed, re-sheathing it and handing it to the captain after a few moments. "It comes from the East."
The captain turned her attention back to him, and Kenshin didn't try to look away this time.
"So it's only the man in question then," she said, though to no one in particular. Something akin to a smirk flickered over her lips, and Kenshin wondered briefly if he'd gotten in over his head. Briefly.
She approached him again, but not close enough to touch. He was glad, because he needed to be alert now that they'd already discerned part of his identity.
"What is your name, Warrior of the East," she questioned, voice pleasant and unthreatening, almost as if she were simply asking the name of a man she'd just met in a bar.
He felt all eyes on him, and weighed his options. Words could be a tricky thing at this point.
"Shinta," he told her, confident and unyielding to her intense scrutiny. He wasn't quite ready to reveal his intentions for being here, though he'd been the one to allow them to capture him.
She gave a pregnant pause after his response. Then her face softened noticeably and a small, warm smile stretched her gorgeous lips. He found it surprisingly relaxing, and it eased him a little to know she'd accepted his first words to her.
"Shinta, eh?" the captain repeated. Kenshin felt the hairs on the back his neck stand up when she said his name, the sound smooth and silky to his ears. For some reason it sent a foreboding flutter to his gut and erased the relaxation he'd felt from her smile.
She held the sword up in both hands and placed it in front of his face so he could see it. He barely spared it a glance when she began speaking again. "Is this your sword, Shinta?"
He looked her in the eye. "Yes."
Her eyebrow quirked slightly. She passed the sword back to her brown haired subordinate, who took it obediently. Then she lifted her now freed right hand up to where her pet sat on her shoulder, allowing it to climb into her upturned palm while she took another step closer to him. "How old are you, Shinta?"
He blanched a little at the question, wondering why she would ask for something so insignificant. "Old enough," he responded, becoming suspicious of her actions and wary of the animal in her hand. Her voice had sent his stomach fluttering again, and he didn't know why. His body definitely knew something he didn't.
She took another, final step closer, bringing her close enough that had he been able to bow, his head would have made contact with her torso. Her scent hit his nose again, and it did funny things to his senses. Though the enchanted ropes around his neck prevented him from sensing magic or energy he was beginning to suspect she must possess some, the emotional rollercoaster his body seemed to be on making him so uncomfortably uneasy…
…or was he starting to feel excited?
Her hand stretched out over the top of his head, his eyes following when the little critter jumped onto his skull. The ropes pulled tight around his neck again as the cat circled in his hair before plopping down on his red locks. The feline was almost weightless, but he flinched faintly when it dug its claws into his scalp and began sniffing him.
Kenshin drew his eyes back in front of him sharply though when the back of the woman's hand settled against the side of his right cheek instead of going to back to her side. Her skin sent tingles through his body like when she'd touched his neck before, but he fought off the sensations threatening to overwhelm him.
"And what, Shinta, if I may ask, were you doing in the same area as my men?" Her voice seemed lower than before, and she gently stroked his cheek once before running the back of a finger across his jaw line and away from his face.
The feeling was indescribably pleasurable, and made him forget about the claws hooked in the skin on his head – he almost didn't hear her question. He had to close his eyes and take a moment to banish the effects (which he was positive now were created by a magical force and therefore required the most disciplined self-control) she had on his body.
"Well?" she asked, voice angelic.
He replayed her words in his head and felt some of the anger he'd had earlier from being dragged here return, and welcomed the strength it brought to his body. His eyes steeled over, and he knew they had changed when the two men behind the woman tensed noticeably, though the captain herself only pulled her hand back fully.
"I believe the East lands are my home. It is you who should be explaining your presence."
He could feel the energy of his escorts coursing through the ropes, and felt satisfaction in the fact that he had not lost as much control of the situation as he'd thought. They were all still easily coaxed into alarm so easily.
Kenshin watched the female captain in front of him, unrelenting in his stare and presence. Suddenly there was a hiss above his head, and he winced very subtly when the claws were retracted from his skull and the feline jumped from his head onto the floor – quickly scurrying back to its mistress and launching itself into her awaiting hand. It jumped again onto her empty shoulder, settling itself back into its original spot under the large rim of the captain's hat.
The room remained silent, enough so that the woodland creature's purr could be heard throughout the entire room.
Kenshin didn't smile, but the situation was such that he felt something was about to give in his favor. She could not deny that it was she who had been crossing borders and not himslef. It seemed his intuition was correct, because she signaled to the guards to once again slacken the ropes, and that small smile reappeared on her face.
THWACK!
Or maybe not.
Kenshin's head whipped to the side, his upper body lurching a little with him. He could say he saw the blow coming, but the strength with which she'd dealt the back-handed slap with had been mind-boggling. His cheek felt numb, and it was taking more than a few seconds for him to collect his bearings and feel the pain that was sure to come.
He brought his head slowly back to its original position, only to be immediately dealt another blow to the same spot, this time with a closed fist. This time he did lose balance, landing his shoulder into the wood floor and hitting his head with a hard thunk.
"You want to play games!" he heard the woman bark, and he inclined his neck to look up at her, eyes honing in on the clenched fist she still held up in the air. She gave a nod and the ropes retightened, this time to a point of actually choking him and he struggled to breathe a little. A wet dribble ran down his chin, and he instantly knew that one of her rings had cut him.
Kenshin couldn't manage a response, but it didn't appear she was waiting for one when she came closer to kick him in the gut. He sputtered a bit, but somehow managed to absorb a good portion of the blow.
"If you're going to lie, then lie," she spat at him, and he wondered momentarily how she'd known when he'd been so confident. "But don't feed me your bullshit answers," she finished, giving him another kick in the side.
There was no time for rebuttals, though, as the only door to the room was thrown open suddenly.
"Kaoru!" he heard someone call. The voice was young, and high, but slightly panicked. The intruder's footsteps echoed through his ear from where it was pressed into the floor.
"Kaoru!" the person called again, and Kenshin watched as a young teen came into his line of vision and up to the captain, bowing briefly.
He couldn't stop his eyes from widening a second time, unable to believe what he saw.
Another female… And a young one at that!
A violent tug came from one of the ropes around his neck, and Kenshin glanced at the older boy just above his head. He'd noticed Kenshin's stare, and hadn't been pleased.
Kenshin dismissed him, turning his attention back to the two females in front and trying to not to cough so he could breath. The younger had pulled out a small letter and given it to the captain, who was reading it over quickly. Her one exposed eye popped open suddenly, and it swept the letter once more.
"Take him to the cellar," she announced after finishing, not sparing him another look. Then she grabbed his sword out of Sano's hands unceremoniously, "and put him in the warded prison with the highest level bindings."
"The highest level!" the young boy behind him sputtered. "What for?"
Kaoru had already begun walking back towards the hall from which she had entered, the young girl following quickly behind her. "Because I said so," came her calloused response. "Station three guards with him. Everyone else is to be up top in five."
She was already gone behind the curtain when she'd finished giving orders, and Kenshin watched her go. Three men were suddenly on him, and he made a valiant effort to get them off, upset by this unforeseen turn of events, until the heavy back-end of the Changer's scythe came down on his head.
They carried his limp form to the cellar.