Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. FF is non-profit, meant for entertainment only.
FF can be archived anywhere, just let me know where. Please send no flames, I'm sensitive. For all other comments 0_o you may contact me at kaoru_koishii@yahoo.com
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Prologue
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Kamiya Kaoru walked into her room tossing her school bag into a nearby chair before she too tossed herself onto her bed. "What an exhausting day." She spoke out loud. At seventeen her dark ebony hair and deep blue eyes made her a rarity amongst other girls. Some days she literally had to beat the boys off. They thought that because she was so young, or perhaps because she was petite, that she wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. Ah, but that's where they were wrong.
She smiled as she closed her eyes.
Her father had a family friend train her in the art of kempo since she turned five. Her father had thought she would look too much like her mother and because of that he'd wanted her to be able to defend herself. So she wouldn't meet the same fate her mother had.
Kaoru turned her head to the side to look at her clock on the nightstand. She had to start packing. Today had been the last day of school for her. She was reluctant to get up. She really didn't want to go but she was all her father had and she had to support him. She had never been selfish and she would not start now. Kaoru got up and began packing her things in the boxes her father had brought her. Soon they would be off to the states.
"Kaoru-chan." Her father knocked on the door lightly before entering.
"Hi papa." Kaoru greeted from behind fortress of boxes. She had been packing for hours now.
"I thought we might have dinner together," he said taking a seat at the end of her bed.
Kaoru looked around her room. "Sure papa, let's go." She said reaching for his hand. She was about a third of the way on her packing. Not bad considering she still had two more days. So she had plenty of time.
"I really think you will like New York."
Kaoru looked up at her father. She smiled at him as he continued.
"It's very much like Tokyo and with your English you will have no problem at all. You'll have some time before classes start. I've cleared my day already so I can go with you to the NYU orientation."
"That's fine, papa." Kaoru responded. Her father looked very much like her uncle or maybe it was the other way around. Her father was tall, fairs skinned and with deep expressive eyes. They were a dark brown, almost black. At forty-five her father was very handsome. She smiled as he continued to talk. He was very excited about being promoted. This move was a big deal for him.
She listened intently all through out dinner, nodding her head and answering, as she should. He knew she didn't want to go even though she'd never said anything. He knew.
She got back to her room. Changing her clothes before she continued her packing. She wanted to be at least half way before she stopped.
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It was so dark. The blackness of night seemed to cover everything in sight blinding her to what lays in the shadows, looming. She feels the bitter cold of night as a breeze picks up carrying the sound of hushed whispers so cold and frightening. She knows there is something out there, she can feel its presence hiding in the corners of shadow. The presence stalks her, she is sure it follows as she backs away. The presence haunts her.
She feels a chill glide over her, seeping through her clothes and into her skin. There is a but a glimpse of gold for a moment before it vanishes, leaving her in complete darkness once again.
The gold comes again but its form is shrouded in shadow, speaking to her without words. The wind picks up and the silken whispers return. For a brief moment she feels the need to embrace the dark. So terrifying it seems but she is curious, drawn. Gold colored spots appear in the dark again but they're so far away, she wonders about the distance. She feels lost and confused yet she is aware of the twin pools of gold growing closer. Wind and whispers merge into a single voice, still so low, it's nothing more than a hushed murmur. It calls out to her yet she is unable to make out its words.
The twin pools gold have stopped; suddenly it occurs to her that these are the eyes of the stalking presence. A presence she's felt all her life. They look down at her now filling her with need and desperation. Yearning flares in their depths, the flicker of emotion eats at her mind because she recognizes it. She knows those eyes. She's seem them before.
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Kaoru woke up slowly. Feeling the last webs of sleep drifting away. Such a strange dream. She dismissed it but couldn't help feeling a sense of foreboding. She shook her head and headed for the shower. Today she would finish packing. They would be setting off for the states the day after tomorrow and she wanted to be done with it.
She'd spent the entire day working hard trying to forget, still the feeling hadn't lessened instead it'd grown stronger. If she didn't know any better, she'd say it felt like a warning. She laughed that didn't make any sense at all.
The ringing of her phone made her stop laughing. She listened closely. The ringing came again, so she was sure she wasn't crazy. She picked up her cell phone noticing it was her father. "Hi papa."
"Kaoru-chan." He greeted back. "Listen, I'm closing some last minute deals so I won't be home for dinner."
"All right." Kaoru said taking a seat on the corner of her bed.
"Try not to stay up too late. I'll see you tomorrow, ok ."
"I'll right papa." She smiled a bit before she said her goodbyes and hung up the phone. She was used to him breaking their dates so it didn't bother her like it used to when she was small.
She decided that after a small snack she would come back and finish her packing. If she finished her packing today then she'd have the whole day off tomorrow. Maybe she could get some last minute shopping done.
She walked down the hall suddenly feeling anxious. In all the years that they'd lived here she had never felt fearful before. She tried to shake off the feeling but instead she found herself turning on all the lights in all the rooms that lay in her path.
She fixed her self a quick snack feeling better now that the lights were on. She took a bite out of her sandwich as she made her way down the hall. Real brave, she thought as she took a wide turn around the corner of the hall, peaking over before she went any further. Why did she think there would be someone there? She laughed nervously and continued to her room. She was determined to finish today.
Kenji Kamiya entered his home. Surprised by the amount of lights. He entered quietly and cautiously. He left his briefcase on the sofa as he made his way to his daughters' room. Fate couldn't take away his daughter too. Life couldn't be that cruel. He reached her door noticing the light in her room was still on. He pushed the door quietly.
She looked like she was sleeping, lying on her stomach. She hadn't even changed into her pj's. Kenji drew closer until she was within reach. Then slowly he felt for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he felt the steady pulse. His greatest fear was something happening to her. He threw a light blanket on her before living her room. He was about to shut the light off when he thought better of it. She must have left them on for a reason, as strange as it sounded he felt that was the case.
He left the room and went back out, reaching for his briefcase as he passed by the sofa. Life would be easier for them once they were settled in New York. He settled on his bed picking up the picture of his beloved late wife. 'Why?' He thought sadly. 'Did you ever leave me alone.' The blue-eyed beauty in the picture smiled at him with warmth.
"I hope the bastard burns in hell for what he did to you."
He placed the picture back on his nightstand and moved over to the small mini bar he had in his room. He'd taken up drinking ever since his wife had passed on. Always before bed. It eased the loneliness and the bitterness he felt. "Kaiya." He thought before tossing back a drink.
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Kaoru looked around nervously. She had never been out of Japan. And she was very excited despite been under the weather. It was odd the way the flu had taken over her.
Kenji took his daughter's hand, smiling at her before pulling her along. She looked pale. He'd noticed but he hadn't wanted to say anything. It would be hours before they arrived at their destinations. It looked like they were some of the last people to board the plane.
Kaoru sat back and relaxed.
"Why don't you take a nap. I'll wake you later." Kenji said patting her hand.
She nodded, closing her eyes and sinking into her seat. She'd been plagued with odd dreams in the last couple of days and it had only increased her anxiety. She was beginning to feel like she was been watched. She exhaled slowly. Her body relaxed and slowly she settled into slumber.
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Nightfall has found her alone with whatever this obscurity hides. The presence that's taken on form is near. Somewhere in the darkness, he is there. She breathes in deeply breathing the heady scent of the darkness.
The twin pools of gold approach, advancing the space between them in but a few strides.
His eyes so deep and intense they speak to her without words. Eyes that hypnotize, making her complacent. The look consumes her. The way they devour the sight of her. She can't hide from those eyes; they steal her secrets, here in the dark. Stirring her soul, teaching it to yearn, to long. For him.
She resists still.
Standing close to him but with enough room to turn and run away. She is fascinated by him, learning about him little by little. She yearns to steal his secrets the way he's stolen hers. Flickers of emotion flash through his eyes but they are always too fast for her to catch.
Fascination is quickly becoming obsession. He frightens her but she refuses to flee. The wind stirs around them. He whispers something but she still can't make out the words. Yet she knows his voice, the same way she knows his eyes. She knows him.
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Kaoru's eyes snapped open. She looked around wildly feeling disoriented. A dark haired man peered at her with concern. She blinked and her father leaned forward feeling her forehead. "Papa." She was so confused. For a moment there. She hadn't known it was her father.
Kenji looked at her concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Papa." She didn't quiet know how to put it. She looked out the window of the plane. The further from Japan they got to more dread filled her. "I don't feel too well." She said turning back to face him.
"Is it the flu?" He said grasping her hand. Worry crossed his feature. Her hand was so cold.
"No," she said softly.
"We'll see a doctor as soon as we land." He said giving her hand a squeeze.
She nodded and smiled lightly. She had a feeling, that what she had wasn't the flu. It was hard to explain but she felt the dream might be the cause.
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"Mr. Kamiya all I can tell you is that it must be the stress of the move. Everything else checks out fine."
"Look at her." Kenji roared. He took a deep breath and tried again. "Does she look like she's fine to you?" He said pointing at his daughter.
Kaoru hugged her coat tighter to her body. The air conditioner was on way too high. She looked at her father who seemed really mad about something. The doctor and him had moved away as soon as her check up had finished. She caught some of the word but not all of them. All in all she still had no idea what they were saying.
"Come one." Kenji barked at his daughter.
Kaoru's eyes widen but she followed her father out, quickening her pace as she sought to catch with him. "What did he say?"
"Idiot. Thinks its stress."
Kaoru pondered on it for a moment. "Stress can be a powerful thing. It can cause panic attacks and . . . . "
"Enough!" Kenji cut her off. He turned to face his daughter. "I don't believe its stress koneko." He said touching her nose. "I want a second opinion. We'll go to a different doctor tomorrow."
Kaoru nodded.
Kenji held her hand pulling her closer to him. He loved his daughter more than life. She was all he had left. He didn't want anything to happen to her. He pulled her along to the end of the street. There they stopped while he hailed a cab.
Kaoru felt weary of all the moving around. She hadn't been able to fall asleep on the plane after her dream. Now several hours later she felt dead on her feet. Her eye lids where so heavy; they drooped from time to time. She felt the cab stop and she looked around. A yawn escaping her lips as they got out.
Her eyes didn't really take notice of the building. She did however notice the doorman and the long strip of red carpet they were walking on. The man greeted them, opening the door so they could come in. She smiled at him as they passed by. Finally she would get some sleep.
Kenji led her out of the elevator, looking at the doors as they passed by. He stopped them in front of room 504 and opened the door. The entire living room was lined with boxes, everywhere he looked there they were. He made his way around trying to find her room. He felt her leaning more of her weight on him. She was going to fall asleep standing up. He sighed finally reaching the last door. He was glad her bed had been set up. He lay her down but she was asleep before her head touched the mattress. He dug through the boxes until he found a blanket. He covered her before he left the room, leaving the door ajar just in case she needed something.
Kenji woke with a start. Nightmares seemed to plague him when he worried over Kaoru. He'd also forgotten his nightcap. He quickly got up and made his way over to the bathroom. A quick shower and clean clothes then they'd be off to another doctor.
"Kaoru? I was just coming to get you," He said as he looked at her closely. He'd almost knocked her over in his haste. She was smiling brightly. She was pale but she seemed happy.
"I woke up early." She said as she followed him. "I started setting up my things. My room is huge, bigger than the one back home."
He listened to her chatter paying careful attention to the way she spoke. They walked through a sea of people before he decided they should take a cab. They'd venture the subway system at a later time.
The cab dropped them in front of the hospital. He hesitated afraid of what they would say. He helped her out and together they made their way in. Suddenly afraid, he crossed his fingers hoping that it really just was stress.
This prologue moved a bit too slow for my taste. After a lot of deliberation I decided to post the story as is though. I figure, if I change my mind I can always fix chapter one to incorporate some of this. For those of you waiting for Battoussai, well don't be sad, this is the only chapter he wasn't in. So yes, he will be in all the others. I'm a big Batt/Kaoru fan.
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Remember that anything between these lines means Dream Sequence.
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