Title: Sorcery
Began: 03/05/2006
Category: Fantasy/Romance
Rated: T- violence, adult language, and adult content.
Summary: Hitokiri Battousai became a legend. His existence questioned. His identity was unknown. And a young woman appeared to answer it all.
Disclaimer: I am not the sole owner of Rurouni Kenshin anime. Nobuhiro Watsuki is the proud owner of it. But I do own my story.
Chapter One
As the Prince among his people, Kenshin Himura traveled alongside his Uncle to his kingdom not so far away. Their mission delayed their journey home and he could only imagine the upheaval in his kingdom. As the Prince, he was significant and most sought after. In other kingdoms, they saw him as a threat and were willing to do everything in their power to conquer his land.
The sky was dark with clouds, perfect for misdeeds. He searched the grounds for any threat while his Uncle sipped on warm rum. Kenshin ran a hand through his fiery crimsoned hair. Exhaling a sigh, he glanced at his Uncle whom looked at him with keen interest. Hiko Seijuro, his admiral teacher, taught him a unique swordsmanship -one said to be such a vast mystery. After intense years of training, his senses heightened, thus conveying the reality of nature. Also he learned magic, which assisted him to understanding nature.
His Uncle halted his horse and hopped off his back. He followed, predicting his Uncle scanned something he missed. He studied his surroundings, scanning the meadow, the small hills and the horizon. Yet, he could not sense what initiated his Uncle to discontinue their journey home.
Pointing, he watched as his Uncle began walking toward a specific hill. Baffled, he saw his Uncle raised one large hand to his sword and move into a familiar stance. As if on cue, the hill distorted and the swish color of green blended into somewhat of a puzzle. Color upon color added to the puzzle creating a vivid hue and then the environment changed. The puzzle broke apart to reveal the castle they had been looking for. The castle stood on a rocky rise cradled in the bend of a small river that vanished within a thick cloud of trees. The original building looked as if it expanded throughout the centuries and had been well updated, but its site remained in a deserted location in order to keep intruders away. With a small move, a flash appeared warning intruders away. Anyone would have a hard time penetrating the castle's natural defensive barriers. They did not.
They reached the first magical barrier near the first rows of trees. The first warning seemed as a surprised encounter. The owner of the castle must have been practicing with dark magic because dark symbols formed an intriguing weave around the two men whom tried to pry their way into the castle. With a flicker of a hand, a man-size hole opened in the energy shell protecting two men from the on slaughter of dark magic. Kenshin stepped through and closed the portal behind him, making sure to leave no evidence behind. His Uncle who stepped before him nodded his approval and kept continuing their journey toward the castle. They both could have taken down the wards but refrained from doing so as not to warn the Dark User of their arrival.
The next barrier was the closed gates. Fortunately, there was a small door located in a mass tumble of weeds. Any normal home would have no such matter as a hidden door. This carefully hidden door left him and his Uncle to assume the guilt of the Dark User. Obviously the Dark User attempted something disdainful, something his mind did not want to conjure.
Kenshin was about to penetrate the magic of the door, when his Uncle stopped him by shaking his head in disapproval. Raising his hand and closing his eyes, he scanned the primary ground of the castle. The guards were highly alert while patrolling the familiar grounds. Beyond that, there were servants fast asleep in the attics or stables. A separate building was behind the castle. His brows furrowed as he scanned in the castle. And for a moment, a fleeting expression caused his forehead to wrinkle. He could feel his Uncle staring at him intently, probably wondering why the sudden change in facial features. There was a light aura that caught Kenshin's interest. Deciphering the aura in his mind, he made it out to be a young girl no older then the age of seven. His forehead wrinkled more in concern as he tried to comprehend her reasons for being up at such an awkward hour and her presence in the Dark Castle. She could have been a slave, but a slave as young as her would never be allowed to walk in such a fine castle. She could have been a servant, but servants were not allowed to wander the castle at night. Not unless… No. He guessed her parents owed a debt to the Dark User, thus they gave him their child -not that their child would hold any significance to the Dark User.
Finally opening his eyes, Kenshin nodded his head as an okay to continue. The guards were no longer patrolling around the hidden door, giving both men a chance to enter the Castle Grounds undetected. They entered and moved away from the main entrance to a small entrance used by both guards and servants. As they entered the castle, a corner chamber on the second floor captured their attention. It was brightly lit and a familiar aura that was felt by Kenshin outside the castle engulfed his mind. Removing the thought from his mind, he focused on his primary target. The Dark User was up there working, and had no sense of awareness that his castle had been breached.
Moving quietly up the stairs, Kenshin scanned the area once again for any other presence and his facial features contorted to one of bafflement. Again the strange aura of the girl was around the area; only he could not locate its direction. He looked at his Uncle silently asking him if he felt the same aura. His Uncle nodded his head as well.
His Uncle initiated the first attempt of opening the door to the Dark User's room. However, the knob would not turn easily. It was then his Uncle swore under his breath, leaving Kenshin to realize that both of them fell under the Dark User's trap. Without wasting a minute more, he summoned his power and knocked the door down.
In the room laid such expensive and exquisite furniture. However, Kenshin was not interested in admiring the furniture. What mattered was the Dark User: the man behind the magnificent desk that faced the door. The Dark User sat proud and tall, a devilish smirk danced across his pale lips. His eyes twinkled.
The room's atmosphere intensified as both men stared at the Dark User, their prey.
The Dark User did not appear astonished by the two men's arrival at his office. Instead there seemed to be a satisfied glimpse before it disappeared in his starry eyes.
"The Prince known as Kenshin Himura and his excellent teacher Hiko Seijuro," he said dryly. "In what do I owe this honor in presence of such royalty?"
"You know the reason," Kenshin answered calmly yet something in his mind rang warning bells. The Dark User did not seem affected by his and his Uncle's presence. Instead, he sat back with a lazy smirk twitching at the end of his lips. What kind of man remained calm at the presence of both men far stronger than him? "Perhaps I should remind you why we are here."
The Dark User leaned back in his chair while stretching his arms above his head. He smiled wryly. "Please do so."
Hiko took out a document from his pocket and dropped it on the desk. "This is the listing of your proved charges. We do not doubt that you have committed a lot more. You have used your power with greed and selfishness and hurt innocent people in the process." He shook in his head in disbelief at the man's calmness in imbibing such information. "How could you conquer Kamiya's land? How could you kill all those people and leave no survivors, then blame that common bandits set the village on fire? Do you not feel any remorse for taking life?"
"Not really. The strong survives and the weak dies."
Kenshin clamped down on his rising anger. A surge of emotions tended to bring forth magical powers. Any loss of control on his emotions would cause him to lose control over his magic. "I suggest you take in consideration what you have done for this is the last night you will spend in this castle."
The Dark User skimmed through the pages. "Well done." His dark brows arched as he reached the last page. "It seems I have underestimated the both of you. They do not call you Hitokiri Battousai for nothing." The Dark User intently watched Kenshin. "You have discovered even the little schemes that no one would bother to discover. However," he dropped the papers on his desk. "This is not a complete list of dark schemes I committed."
Something was wrong. Even his Uncle sensed it. Both men eyed the Dark User warily, searching for any traces of fear. However, the man sitting before them seemed invulnerable. He acted with such ease as if everything was going according to his plan. It meant one thing; both men had to change the charade in the game, signifying as a means to escape before the Dark User could use dark magic on the both of them.
"So you will confess to the crimes you committed before the Council for Sorcery?" Kenshin decided to stall for time, leaving his Uncle to plot an escape plan.
The Dark User smiled lazily. "You possibly think I will give in?"
"And if you said you give in, then I would have to second mind your honor." Turning around to leave the room he said, "I would have to get permission from the Council to bind your powers for misuse and misconduct."
Before Kenshin could reach the door, he heard his Uncle yelled his name. An unpleasant sound crackled not too far from the Dark User's direction and he found himself on the floor grasping onto anything in his reach. The dark magic sent waves into his body, causing him to thrash and groan in pain. Where the hell did the Dark User get such magic? The magic was immense and although he hated to admit it, it was far greater than his own magic.
The dark magic enraged as his limbs became heavier, his breathing shallower, his vision blurrier. The agonizing slaughter to his mind ceased when his entire form was pinned to the floor. Flames popped out of nowhere surrounding his body and raging until the colors of yellow, orange, and blue filled his vision.
"Welcome to my hell, Hitokiri Battousai," replied the Dark User as he hovered above the flames. Dark symbols floated around him casting shadows to engulf the room once the office. The shadows crawled forward to the roaring flames to swallow his entire form. "Enjoy your stay for no one will come to release you in hell."
A dark laugh was the last he heard as the fire dispersed and the shadows consumed his form.
The Prince's land was taken over by the Dark User. He then conquered many kingdoms to become the ultimate leader. To ensure no one was to conquer him, he sought after magic users and granted them special privileges under his rule. Under the special privileges were they able to commit crimes and remain clean with the Council. The poor struggled to survive and later became servants or slaves. The Kingdoms, once divided, unified. But the people separated into what the Dark User called "Fitting Class" -where the strong survived and the weak died.
AN: I'm sorry about my writing mistakes and my poor writing skills. I will try my best to write a functional story. However, fanfiction is a place for people to unleash their imagination and I'm one of those people who will like to share my rk imagination. The rk characters are ooc –I think that's what you say when the characters do not have the same character personality from the anime. Also, the story is alternate universe.
Hiko will not being drinking his sake. Instead, he will stick to drinking rum in the story. Reviews are nice, but I will not accept flames.