By: Naela
Category: AU, romance, action/adventure, dark
Summary:
A stranger arrives at the Kamiya residence to stay for an extended period of time. Though no one knows anything about him, Kaoru finds herself intrigued by the man. What no one realizes is that this man has come to Japan for a mission of revenge and will stop at nothing until he's complete it.
Author's Notes:
This would be my first RK fic. I'm so excited! I know the fic's going to be a little dark and Kenshin really isn't Kenshin but I suppose you could consider him as Battousai. It's one of those 'modern day fics' and I couldn't resist writing one. The plot bunny just came. Special thanks goes out to Kitt for beta reading my story. Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer:
Rurouni Kenshin is copyright to Nobuhiro Watsuki.
Chapter One – His Arrival
She'd scrubbed the place from floor to ceiling and worked on cleaning it for nearly four days. Though it was rather spacious, the apartment was cleaned out a day before the deadline. Not that it was really necessary since it would soon regress back to its dirty state in the span of a few days but the thought that she could accomplish such a feat made Kaoru proud.
Having spent most of her time on cleaning she'd neglected her schoolwork. It was fortunate that Kaoru had chosen a week that was free of any sort of tests or projects. The finals were over and soon the school year would end and she could spend her summer focusing on the dojo and her training.
Today would be the day that the "guest" would arrive. He was apparently an important friend of the family's but he'd left for America before Kaoru had the chance to meet him. She found his importance rather doubtful. In the seventeen years she'd been alive she'd never heard a word whispered about this guest.
Important or not he'd been given a room to stay in their apartment and no one was to bother him unless he wanted to be bothered. Her father had said nothing else about the man, not even giving her a name to greet him with. Her father did however; give her a date and time of when their guest would arrive.
She was sitting at her desk, tapping her pencil against her math textbook. Her mind, however, was more on the houseguest than on her work. The sound of a car door being shut made the girl stop her tapping. Kaoru pushed her chair back and peeked out of the window. Below she saw a small black car of a model she couldn't identify. She never had a strong enough interest in cars to tell the difference between one from another.
Though she had no real proof, Kaoru was certain that the guest had arrived. Jumping to her feet, she paused momentarily in front of a mirror. She appeared presentable enough and headed out to the living room. Her father was already away at work and left hours earlier, her brother had decided to go off to spend the day with friends. Kaoru was left in charge of giving the guest a proper welcome.
Like the many times before, her intuition was proven correct. There was a sharp rap on the door. It was repeated only twice and had Kaoru been in her room, she would never have heard it. Hesitating, she wondered about the stranger beyond the door but pushed her thoughts aside. She would have enough time later to know the man. Twisting the lock, she opened the door. What she first saw was three boxes stacked perilously on top of the other. The second thing she saw were the wobbling legs of a man who was bearing more weight than one should handle.
Suddenly afraid that the boxes would topple on her and half wondering how the man had managed to knock, Kaoru quickly stepped forward. "Here! Let me help you with that," she offered. The guest said nothing and flinched aside when she laid a hand against one of the boxes. His face was hidden yet he managed to walk straight into the living room. There he dumped his boxes in unceremonious manner. Obviously the contents inside them didn't bear enough credence to be handled gently.
She frowned and studied the man, trying to process what kind of personality he had. From behind, all she could see was his fiery red hair, tied back in a topknot. In some ways she was reminded of a samurai, like the ones she'd seen in her textbook. Deciding that there was no way of discerning a person's character from behind she pushed the thoughts away and began to close the door.
That was when he spoke, startling her with his deep voice. "No, don't." He was in a crouching position, still with his back turned to her. Kaoru wasn't certain if he was speaking to her or to someone else. She rolled her eyes, of course he was speaking to her, there was no one else in the apartment.
"I have more belongings downstairs."
"Ano, do you need help?" Kaoru asked.
The man shook his head and without another word he walked past her. Kaoru had been glancing elsewhere and only got a second to glance at his profile before she was once again staring at his back. The profile alone wasn't enough to give her more information on him.
She glanced after the guest but he was already gone from sight. Heaving a sigh, she turned back towards the luggage and wondered if she should help him unpack or if she should just leave it as it was. The logical part of her brain told Kaoru that she would be annoyed if she discovered that someone had gone through her belongings and it was natural to assume that this guest would feel the same way.
Kaoru would have gone back to her room and continued on her homework but curiosity had her remain. She stood waiting for him by the door, every once in a while peeking past the frame only to see no one there. It was during one of her moments where she was fighting the temptation to rummage through his items when the guest arrived, this time balancing two boxes and dragging a large suitcase behind him. Once again his face was hidden behind the pair of boxes.
Holding her hand on the door she wondered whether or not to close it. She glanced at the guest doubtfully and finally decided to shut the door when he made no protest. After she was sure that the door was locked Kaoru turned to face the guest with cheerful smile.
"I'll show you to your room," she said. Approaching him, she stuck out a hand. "I'm Kamiya Kaoru."
She waited for a response from the man but after a few moments had passed and he'd said nothing she pulled her hand away. What was up with the guy? Holding back a sigh she planted a hand on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "Well?" she asked, irritation was deeply ingrained into her voice.
There was a pause. "Himura."
Not quite satisfied with his answer, Kaoru continued on waiting. The man however refused to give her any further information. Guest or not she began to think of him as being an exceedingly rude man. The least he could have done was give her a full name. If this man hadn't been a total stranger she would have grabbed her bokken and given him a few whacks over the head.
"Fine," she spat.
The stranger stared at her now, his face holding the look of one who was expecting something of her. Kaoru didn't quite register his expression but was rather intent on staring at him. Much of his face was hidden by his long red bangs but they did nothing to hide the pair of scars on his face. One made its way down his cheek, following the contour of his chin while the other slid across his cheek and intersected the first. Together they formed an unusual pattern: a cross. More impressive about his face were his violet eyes that seemed to struggle against a losing fight in keeping his emotions back.
'Violet eyes… red hair…' The man looked more American than Japanese but he'd spoken her language with perfect ease.
"Are you going to show me my room?" he asked. His expressionless face was now marred with a slight scowl.
Breaking out of her thoughts, Kaoru blushed under his glare. She bowed her head slightly as an apology and began gesturing at him to follow. The man did so, picking up a box and staring at her with his intense gaze. His room was located in the long hallway, the first room to right. It'd once been a study room, merely used to keep books and unused toys. Her father had cleared the room a few weeks ago and Kaoru had vacuumed and cleaned the entire place just yesterday. It smelt of lemons and required an open window to air out the stench. The room wasn't very large but it was certainly larger than Kaoru's room and its red carpeting made her wish she'd had that shade for hers. The white walls were barren of any sort of decoration though it was rather obvious that pictures once hung on them.
"Here it is," she replied. "Do what you want with it." Turning to face him she was startled by the change in his expression. What was once scowl was now wide-eyed shock. She blinked and in that instant the shock was gone and was replaced by a calm and expressionless mask. She wondered if she'd imagined the entire thing.
Himura barely acknowledged her when he entered his room and set down his box. His silence was beginning to irritate the girl as she watched him head back for the living room. Kaoru didn't hang around long enough to watch the man moving his belongings. She was fed up with a man who didn't want to hold a conversation and retreated back to her room.
As she sat on her desk she tried thinking of a solution to a math problem but her mind continued on wandering back towards the guest. The most prominent question in her mind was about how long the man would be staying with the family. She considered speaking with her father about allowing such a person into their home but decided against it. If her father thought that this man was worthy enough to stay with them then she'd trust his judgement.
From down the hall she heard the soft click of a door being closed and knew that Himura finished moving all of his belongings. Focusing back on her work, Kaoru pushed all thoughts of the red-haired man out of her mind.
***
Kenshin didn't like it here. That was the first thing he decided when he walked up ten flights of stairs. To add insult to injury he had to share an apartment with a bratty girl and others he didn't know. He wondered for the fifteenth time why Hiko didn't just get him his own apartment.
'Stop your whining,' he could almost hear the large man tell him. 'Ten flights are nothing compared to some of the stuff I've put you through.'
Pulling a switchblade from his back pocket he plunged it into the cardboard box and with a few swift movements he sliced the top open. Inside were his books. There were over fifty of them in the box and he'd bought them years ago. He read them once before letting other priorities in his life take over.
He pushed the box aside since there was no place to put them. His bed would be arriving soon along with his desk and shelves. As if through some divine influence the doorbell rang. Kenshin didn't bother to answer it knowing that the Kamiya girl would do it and just as he'd expected he heard the door to her room swing open and her running footsteps.
Going back to another box he cut through the tape, not bothering to glance inside when he heard knocking on his door.
"Himura, your bed's here." It was the girl.
He pushed aside the rest of his luggage and opened the door. There four largely built men standing behind her. He stepped past Kamiya and nodded towards his room.
"Just put it in there," he replied. "I'll figure out where to put it later."
"Yes, sir."
'Sir?' He wondered if Hiko or one of his friends sent these men. He didn't bother to dwell on the thought. Instead he went to one of the open windows of the apartment. Tonight he'd scope out the area and memorize the routes around the building.
"Himura?"
It was the Kamiya girl again. He glanced at her over his shoulder. "What?"
"Are you hungry? I can cook something for you if you want."
The 'no' on the tip of his tongue was ready to be voiced when Kenshin hesitated. He reprimanded himself for his bad manners. This girl was, after all, trying to make him feel welcomed and he couldn't blame her for trying. He gave a curt nod. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw her smiling before entering the apartment's kitchenette.
The hired men soon left after an hour. By that time Kenshin was sitting at the counter, eating a bowl of plain rice. Every other dish that the girl had set out was burnt beyond recognition. Knowing better than to insult a girl's cooking he'd continued on eating without complaint. Even the rice was burnt and hard to chew.
When the meal was eaten the Kamiya girl stood to begin gathering dishes. As she reached for Kenshin's bowl, he placed a hand on her arm, shaking his head. "I will handle the dishes," he replied and stood, pushing his seat back. Kamiya opened her mouth to protest but Kenshin was already at the counter with a stack of dishes balanced on one hand.
He stood over the sink and let the water run as he began rinsing. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and he cleaned the plates with practiced ease. It'd been well over eight years since he needed to wash anything but the feeling was still familiar. It was him who would come back from a day's work to find dinner already cooked. After dinner she would try to do the dishes but he would always insist on doing them.
Setting the last of the plates on the rack, he dried off his hands and turned to find the place empty. The Kamiya girl was probably in her room. He glanced briefly at the clock as he walked into the hallway seeing that it was barely past five. There was plenty of time to set about organizing his room and then to scope out the neighbourhood.
He stopped in his tracks, standing still in the shadows. He was doing it again. Hiko told him not to organize his life as a schedule, which his whole purpose in Japan… or at least that was what the older man wanted him to think. But habits were hard to break and Kenshin always felt more at ease when he had a plan. Ignoring the words of his mentor, he proceeded to his room.
It took Kenshin only a total of three hours before his room was set about the way that he liked it. His bed was set so that the distance from the door to the bed was the same as the distance from the bed to the window. Over his bed was a rack of swords that Hiko had arranged to be sent to Japan ahead of time. Kenshin found the weapons waiting for him in his rented car. Most of them were ancient and were beyond being useable, only placed there for decoration. The bottom five swords were the ones he'd wielded ever since he'd acquired the set from Hiko.
Asides from the set of swords everything else in the room looked normal.
Normal… now there was a word that could hardly apply to him. Turning away from his room he shut the door quietly behind him and headed for the streets of Tokyo. Dressed in his navy blue shirt and grey khaki pants he had tucked under his belt his small tanto.
Since it was summer, the sun took its time to set. Kenshin disliked walking in broad daylight since it made him stand out to others too easily. Especially in Japan where his trade mark red hair stood out even more in a crowd of people that normally sported darker shades of hair colour.
It was hard to believe that he was of pureblooded Japanese descent. Neither his parents had his hair colour, nor did his grandparents, nor did anyone else going back in his family lineage. Hiko had related to him once that his father had doubted his mother's fidelity. Blood tests had been done to show that Kenshin was indeed his biological son. To this day it still remained a mystery where he'd acquired his red haired genes.
Stalking the streets with light but brisk steps he cast his eyes downwards. As it became dark the crowds began to thin out. It didn't make much of a difference but it was less overwhelming for him. It'd been a while since he'd lived in Japan but everything was becoming familiar to him, the crowds, the bright lights, everything.
It sickened him.
Deciding that he was fed up with sight seeing, he began searching for a different target. Kenshin soon found what he was looking for, a bar that was quite a distance from the Kamiya residence. Pushing the door open he let the crude smells of the place invade his senses.
***
"Hey, ugly, what's with all this junk?"
Kaoru ground her teeth as she turned to face her brother. He was seven years her junior but the boy already had the insolent mouth of a rebellious teen. Bringing her fist down on his remarkably hard skull she answered, "Our guest came over in the afternoon." She locked the boy in the crook of her arm and began grinding her fist into his skull.
"OW!" Yahiko wriggled out from her headlock and rubbed the top of his head. Sending her a scowl, he asked, "What's he like?"
Kaoru shrugged and recalled her interaction with Himura. "Rude… he's an ass."
Yahiko smirked. "I think I might like him then." With that he bounded to his feet and ran into the hall. It only took Kaoru a few moments to realize that her brother had just gone into Himura's room.
"Yahiiiiikoooo!!" she wailed and raced after him.
Her socked feet slid against the bare floor as she came to a stop in front of Himura's room. She nearly slipped at the lack of inertia and grabbed onto the doorframe before falling onto her back. She was shocked at how neat and orderly Himura had set up his room. Noting momentarily at the books piled on the shelves, Kaoru then focused her attention on what her brother had already noticed.
She screamed when she found herself facing the sharp end of a sword. Jumping backwards she glared at her brother and slapped the weapon out of his grip. It fell to the ground with a loud clatter. Kaoru knew that the neighbours downstairs would be soon calling to complain about the noise.
"Yahiko!" she scolded. "You're not allowed in his room!" Picking up the sword she stared at it momentarily. She wasn't at all too surprised that Himura would own such things.
"But he has swords!" he exclaimed, pointing at the rack. "These are sooooo cool! Better than that stupid bokken you always make me use."
"At least a bokken can't hurt people," Kaoru retorted and held out the sword. "Put this back where you found it."
"Well not with you," Yahiko retorted and ducked a blow to his head. He snickered as he bounded back into Himura's room. He frowned as he noted something wrong. "Hey Kaoru, don't you find it strange that this rack has an empty space?"
Kaoru glanced at the frame and realized that her brother was right. If Himura could afford that many swords then he would have at least bought one more for that space unless… She blinked and impatiently gestured her brother out of the room. "Don't you have homework?" she questioned.
"I finished it over at my friend's house."
Kaoru sighed. "Fine, then go play with your Nintendo or something."
Yahiko snorted and rushed off to the living room and began setting up his PS2. Kaoru watched him with a small smile on her face before turning her gaze towards the clock. It was well past ten, she'd let him play for half an hour before forcing him off to bed. Her father wouldn't be home for at least another two hours and who knows where Himura had gone. She flinched at the loud volume her brother had the TV set on.
"Turn that down, you brat!"
Glancing at her over his shoulder, he stuck his tongue out.
***
It'd been well past two in the morning when the guest came back. Kaoru, who had fallen asleep by then, was awakened by the heavy thudding on the door. There was no doubt in her mind that it was Himura and part of her was irritated by his rude awakening. There were people asleep and here he was trying to wake up the dead.
She slipped out of bed and went to the front door, thrusting it open. She was ready to give the man a piece of her mind when she nearly fell backwards under the sudden weight of Himura. The man collapsed into her arms and despite how he looked he was heavier than she'd imagined. Stumbling under his weight she propped him up against the wall and managed to close and lock the door without having Himura topple over. She grunted as she dragged the man towards his room. His breath was on the back of her neck and from the smell she knew that he'd been drinking.
"…No…" he muttered and pulled away from her. With a sudden spurt of strength he ran for the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. Kaoru jumped at the loud noise and glanced around. Yahiko's door was still closed that boy would probably sleep through a tornado. Her father on the other hand… she walked towards the door and found it locked. Pressing her ear up against the wood she heard only silence where as she'd usually hear his calm breathing. That meant that her father was awake.
Shaking her head angrily, she approached the bathroom and banged on it. "Next time you decide to come back drunk, Himura, you're going to be sleeping in the hall."
His only response was a disgusting retch and the sound of his vomit falling into what she hoped was the toilet. Her hopes were revealed true when she heard the sounds of flushing. She hesitated, not knowing what to do. She never had to deal with drunken people before. What did one give to a drunk? Gravol? She scowled. It was his own fault that he was drunk; let him deal with it alone.
She reached her room and sighed in frustration. His fault or not she couldn't just let him fall asleep in the toilet. Heading back for the bathroom she found the door unlocked and Himura leaning against the bathtub. His unruly bangs fell over his eyes making it impossible to tell whether or not he was asleep or just dazed.
"Himura?" she questioned.
There was no answer, which probably meant that he was asleep. She reached his side and just as she was about to lay a hand on his shoulder, his hand shot forward, grasping her arm, yanking it with a twist. Kaoru held back a screech of pain. Trying in vain to struggle out of his grip she caught sight of his amber eyes peering at her from underneath his bangs. Kaoru turned away, unable to meet his gaze.
His grip loosened and somehow the redhead managed to stand. With both of his hands on her shoulder he struggled to walk. Kaoru tensed as she tried to support both herself and the drunk.
"Kamiya…" he croaked and collapsed on top of her. Her knees bent under the weight. With strength that surprised even her, the girl managed to carry Himura into his room. Anger and irritation made her toss the man onto his bed. She left him like that, not bothering to spare a second glance at the guest. Returning to her bed, Kaoru tried her best to sleep. It took the girl quite a few hours when slumber came and when it did it was with the image of Himura's amber eyes imprinted on her mind.