Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin; I am merely borrowing some of its characters for a few chapters. The Vampire facts are not mine, I'm going by the facts that I actually find. I really don't believe in portraying Vampires the way that they're not, it's disrespectful to our fellow creatures that share our world.

Summary: The rain will cleanse my past, will wash away my worries, and rid me of my memories; Let It Rain….

Let It Rain

Written By Shadow Empress

Chapter One

The rain; she always did love the rain.

She loved the feel of it against her creamy milk colored skin, enjoyed the sound of the rain pouring down on the ground, and her eyes marveled at the elements that always came along with the rain.

Thunder roared as the water from the Heavens poured and lightning became the only source of light in her world that was now shielded by large black clouds, which loomed in the sky like a barrier from the Earth to the ever immortal sun. Her hate for the sun had only fueled her adoration for the stormy weather.

The 21-year-old look alike loathed the sun more than she did the mortals that were constantly after her very soul; if she still had one that is.

If it weren't for the fact that she could never again be in the sun's presence, could never again feel the sun against her skin, then maybe she wouldn't have learned to detest the sun in such a manner.

One would think that she loved it, held the memories of the sun dear to her heart because it was the only safe way for her to feel the warmth of the golden orb in the sky. She had been alone too long to ever learn to be able to love anything or anyone but the rain.

She loved the rain.

The clashing, colliding, and mayhem that accompanied the rain every time it came brought peace to her heart, even if it were just for a few minutes.

It seemed that every time she had a bad day the rain would come and it would comfort her in the easiest of ways, lulling her to relax with its symphony of music, making her laugh with its constant plays, and washing away her terrible memories. Then again it always rained in Bergen, Norway; her location in Europe for the time being.

The cold and damp area of Bergen, Norway was her favorite vacation spot and she had made a vow to come back at least once every decade to relax in her small apartment and watch the rain fall.

Yes, she knew that she was a Vampire, knew that she was forever cursed of being part of the Damned Society. Even after a century of being converted she still couldn't get over the fact that she was now forced to drink from humans or rob from a Blood Bank if she wanted to keep her trail cold for the Hunters.

Luckily she only had to feed on human blood once every month to survive, the blood of the very thing that she use to be.

However, she constantly needed blood within her system, so every two weeks she would drink the life liquid from farm animals to fulfill her hunger. The taste wasn't as fulfilling as human blood, but it would do until she absolutely needed the blood of a mortal.

The Human race was fortunate that she was not like most of the other Vampires that drank nothing but human blood that they either retrieved from a Blood Bank, Donors, or their own Sources.

The Vamprie scowled to herself as a disturbing thought entered her mind at the mention of Sources. It was sickening to think about how some Vampires would actually have sex with their food.

Sources were fed from once a month to keep the body flowing and working properly, but it was absolutely disgusting for a Source and Vampire to sleep together, for that would be like a human sleeping with a cow before he or she ate a hamburger; it was simply not done.

But what repulsed the Vampire the most that so many thought that her Kindred drank from the neck to get to the artery. If one were to actually do such a thing, then the human would merely die of blood loss, due to the fact that with every heart beat the blood would come spurting out of the artery. Ang most Vampires knew better than to drain a human completely, because if they did then they wouldn't have a chance to come back for another feeding.

Not many knew this though--knew that most experienced Vampires drank from the vein of their prey--for humans were too busy thinking that Vampires were actually like the ones that they saw in the movies.

It made the female Vampire growl in distaste every time she thought about it; Vampires were nothing like what the film directors portrayed them to be, not at all.

Shaking her head of such trivial thoughts, the creature of the night stood up from near the window where she had been watching the rain and walked into her small living room.

Disappointed that the rain had stopped so early, the female sat on the small white leather couch that was seated before the 13-inch television screen.

Getting herself comfortable in her white t-shirt that went low enough so that it showed her belly button and her white pants, the Vampire turned on the TV to the closest news channel.

"In later news, from around the globe, there have been miraculous amounts of murders in Las Vegas. Countless people have been found with a large sum of blood drained from their bodies and a few have even been found butchered," began the anchor woman.

"Idiotic creatures, they should learn to keep their activities low. By this time next week they'll completely expose us," cursed the Vampire, her sapphire orbs narrowing in exasperation; it was amazing how her own Kindred could act so foolish and not think about the consequences.

Standing up, she clicked off the TV in annoyance and walked into the kitchen that had just about enough room for one person to work their way around in the small area.

Looking through the cabinets, she smiled when she found her indigo ribbon and quickly placed her long lavender locks that had cascaded onto her shoulders into a high ponytail and took out a loaf of bread from the fridge and a knife from a drawer.

The sound of the phone ringing pounded in her ears, her sensitive hearing amplifying its loud wailing.

Growling, she picked up the cordless phone to her right.

"What?" snapped the Vampire, not at all happy over her pervious thoughts on how humans disrespected her culture.

"Who woke up on the wrong side of the coffin? You need to chill out Kaoru; maybe you'd like to join my in Las Vegas this summer? I'm telling you, you need to get away from Europe," came the lecturing reply on the other end of the line, the familiar voice causing the other Vampire to roll her eyes.

"Look, I'm just about to make a sandwich and I haven't fed in a few nights, so spare me one of your speeches, Misao. I'm not going to go to Las Vegas just to stop a newbie that's just been infected," stated Kaoru calmly as she held the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she reopened the refrigerator.

"Come on Kaoru, if you don't help me stop them then our Society will be exposed, and you know that Hiko won't be happy," pleaded Misao, hoping that her friend would join her on her new assignment.

"If that Vampire wants to stop an adolescent that obviously has no mentor from the way that he's killing so many people and drinking so much blood, then he can do it himself," said Kaoru with a shrug as she shut the refrigerator door closed after she took out the baloney and cheese.

"Kaoru, you know what it's like to just become a Vampire; you were only turned a century ago! We both know that this new one won't stop until his brain and body catch up with his new transformation and that might take weeks," reminded Misao, her voice begging the other Vampire to join her in Nevada.

"You want me to join you in the States?" asked Kaoru as she sliced the loaf of brown bread into two horizontally.

"Well duh! I need you to come down here before dawn. We can stay at my penthouse together while you're there so that you have a place to sleep during the day," said Misao as if she had expected her friend to give in.

"I never said that I'd go," reminded Kaoru as she added a few slices of baloney to her growing sandwich.

"Kaoru!" yelled Misao on the other end as Kaoru swore about stupid weasels and their loud voices.

"No need to scream in my ear, I can hear you even if you were whispering," seethed Kaoru as she tried to clean out her ear so that she could hear again.

"Please Kaoru? What if this one is an Inheritor?" asked Misao, trying to persuade her into coming all the way from Europe to the United States.

"That must suck for him then to be born a Vampire; probably just reached puberty or something," said Kaoru in revulsion. She knew all to well how painful it was to be human and then suddenly have your life turned upside because of something you couldn't prevent.

"Therefore we must help him! Come on Kaoru, you helped me, can't you help me help him too?" urged Misao.

"Why don't you just help him yourself? You do know…." Began Kaoru but was quickly cut off.

"I saw Battousai at a night club in Las Vegas two nights ago dancing with a few girls," added Misao seriously.

"What?" asked Kaoru incredulously as she forgot all about her sandwich and went to wash her hands in the sink. Her friend's tone had changed so drastically that it almost seemed unreal.

"I'm serious, I saw him at a night club two nights ago with two Sources. He probably took them out to have fun and there was another Vampire with him too," said Misao quickly.

"Inheritor or Classical?" asked Kaoru as she leaned one hand on the counter near her sandwich and the other holding the phone.

"Most likely Classical, he's too old to be a Night-timer, but his blood did have a small amount of human blood, though I'm guessing he just fed from one of the Sources, so he couldn't have been an Inheritor," remembered Misao.

"Did they leave Las Vegas yet? What did the other guy look like?" asked Kaoru, curiosity getting the better of her.

"They haven't left yet, not that I know of. The Juppongatana was pissed off when they found out about the adolescent. Those two were most likely there to stop the kid from becoming insane or joining the Malkavian Clan; Shishio seemed to be keen to have his men follow them around," said Misao, her words filled with disgust and irritation as she spoke about a Clan of her own Kindred.

"There's no way that the kid is going to become that mentally unstable, not unless he isn't taught or put into his place within a few nights. What did the other guy look like?" repeated Kaoru.

"Right to the point as always, I see. Well he had spiky brown hair and he drank a lot. He alsohad this white coat on that had the word 'bad' on it in Japanese characters," said Misao as she tried to remember.

"Sagara Sanosuke…. I should have known," said Kaoru mostly to herself.

"Something bad about that?" asked Misao, perplexed at how her friend's mood had abruptly changed.

"It means I'll have another to deal with before I can get to him. By the time I get there it should be an hour before dawn. Do you think that we can spot them before then?" asked Kaoru.

"So you're going? Yes! I knew that you'd go," said Misao happily, especially after I mentioned him, added Misao to her self mentally.

"See you then, Misao," said Kaoru.

"Bye! Have a nice flight!" said Misao before clicking off the same time her friend did.

"The things I do to find you Battousai," whispered Kaoru as she grabbed her white purse and a black trench coat. She could only hope that the airport would allow her to catch a last minute ride.

Making sure to grab her money as well, she walked out and locked her apartment; the half done sandwich left forgotten on the counter.

.:oXo:.

What am I? What have you done to me?

You're a Vampire. You were on the brink of death; I gave you a second chance.

Why me? Why couldn't you just let me die?

I couldn't see you die. A beauty such as yourself wasn't meant to die.

I can't believe you did this to me!

I can't either….

.:oXo:.

"This place has gotten more active since the last time we were here," admitted a tall man with spiky brown hair and sparkling chocolates orbs as he rode in the night in a black Porsche.

"We haven't been here for decades, of course it's changed," said a shorter man with long red hair placed carelessly into a low ponytail, in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, but you still look 24," added the other man as he drove along the night enjoying the dazzling lights of Las Vegas and the water works.

"You look 22 and you're still just as idiotic as the day we met. I guess wisdom coming with age doesn't really apply to you Sanosuke," said the redhead with a chuckle, gaining himself a dark glare.

"Shut up Kenshin," snapped the other man threateningly.

"Can we not argue and just relax? I came here to get away from the rain," said Kenshin as he leaned back into his seat, his black pants and short sleeved shirt blending into the night.

"We've known each other for what… a century and a half now? For as long as I've known you, you use to love the rain, and now you're doing all that you can to get away from it. Why?" asked Sanosuke curiously as he looked at his friend's tense face; the other Vampire had changed without even knowing it.

"I don't know, I just don't like it anymore," answered Kenshin with a shrug.

"You're becoming weirder and weirder by the day man, you need this time to relax, so let's relax. So, where do you want to go to tonight to get your mind off of things now that we've fed enough to last us the rest of the month?" asked Sanosuke with a grin on his face.

"To get you some better clothes," mocked Kenshin as he looked at his fellow comrade's khaki pants and old white jacket.

"Shut up," growled the Vampire as he turned in towards a department store.

"This time, I'll help you choose the outfit," said Kenshin smirking as he got out of the car, glad that his features weren't as pale as they were before he had drank his fill a few nights ago.

"As long as no gay guy touches me, then I'm fine," said Sanosuke, a shiver running down his spine as he remembered the last time that a male had tried to 'dress' him.

Laughing heartedly, the two stepped into the store, happy to be alive and well after their latest assignment.

.:oXo:.

Now what?

What?

What do I do now that you've…changed me?

You drink blood.

Why?

Because it's either you get your nourishments from blood, or you die.

But I already drank blood when you infected me….

Are you trying to say that I gave you a disease?

No.

Good.

I'm saying you are the disease.

….

.:oXo:.

"Great, you're here! Did you find the place okay? Where's your luggage? You didn't even bring your weapon?" Kaoru was bombarded with questions the moment she entered the penthouse that took up one side of the entire top floor and was greeted by a none too happy Misao.

"I raced to the airport and barely managed to get a ticket, just got off the plane, drove here in a crazy taxi cab that didn't know what the red light meant, and it's almost close to dawn; can you please just give me a break?" asked Kaoru as she slumped into one of the black leather couches that was placed in the living room.

The other Vampire only bounded over to the door and locked it, her ebony locks tied neatly into a long braid, which fell past her waist, following her every movement.

Sitting down in her black and white skirt with a collar white shirt, the Vampire seemed more like a school girl than a 50-year-old daughter of a Damned and she barely looked 18.

Looking around, Kaoru noticed that the penthouse was fairly large and had one master bedroom and two smaller guest rooms in the back. Out in the living room the three set of black leather couches created a semicircle around a large flat screen TV that you could see to your right when you entered the home. On the left was large marble tiled kitchen and there was a spare bathroom just next to the guestroom on the right side of the long hallway.

"You had the place painted white again? Wasn't it green just a few years ago?" asked Kaoru as she looked at her friend who was beaming happily that she had noticed.

"I really didn't like the jungle type look, so I had it changed. Do you like it?" asked Misao happily.

Kaoru only nodded her opinion. Even if the place was a lot more luxurious than her own, it didn't have the homey feeling that she got when she was in an area that rained, or was at least damp and had a lot of precipitation.

"Come here, I got a huge window installed to the right just beside the big screen TV," said Misao as she took Kaoru's hand and dragged her off of the couch.

Dropping her purse onto the couch, the Vampire followed her friend towards the black velvet curtains. Her eyes widened as the curtains were pulled away to reveal the majestic lights of Las Vegas and the tall buildings that encircled the hotel.

"Look down there, towards your left," said Misao, her voice full of excitement as she watched Kaoru's expression glow when she the grand water display before her.

"It's beautiful," gasped Kaoru, her eyes twinkling like a child just about to go on a large roller coaster for the first time.

"I knew how much you liked the rain, and the place is pretty dry, so I wanted you to be able to see the wettest places," mocked Misao, smiling when her friend hugged her.

"This is wonderful! But you really didn't have to do this for me, or is there another reason," said Kaoru with a frown as she pulled back and inspected her friend to see any hidden motives.

"Okay, I did it for myself," admitted Misao jokingly as she pulled up her hands in defense, causing the two to laugh.

"We have one hour," began Kaoru, her expression serious as she looked at Misao.

"He'll have to sleep as well in an hour, he's not accustomed to the light," stated Misao.

"I was talking about Battousai," said Kaoru.

"Well he has to sleep too you know! You have all of eternity to find the bloody bastard and kick his ass for leaving you like that! This one only has a few weeks before he'll live the rest of his life in a mental hospital or an asylum," said Misao just as seriously.

Sighing in defeat, Kaoru only nodded.

"Great, let me get my coat and find a dagger or something for you," said Misao with a smile as she rushed down the long hall way towards the master bedroom.

Slouching back into one of the comfortable sofas, Kaoru only closed her eyes; her body feeling the effects of the sun rising and alarming her that she needed to rest for the upcoming night so that she wouldn't be tempted to go into the sun's harmful rays.

.:oXo:.

So we can still go into the sun?

Yes, but you'll feel weak, ill, and you can get harmful blisters.

Then why I do always get so sleepy before daw, if I'm allowed to go into the sun even with the consequences?

You're a Classical Vampire so the effects of the sun will be more painful to you than it is for Inheritors and Night-timers; your body's only doing it for protection

Why aren't I an Inheritor or Night-timer?

Because I was the one that changed you, and I'm a Classical Vampire.

So?

Therefore you're a Classical Vampire! Plus, you can't be one of the other two unless you were born that way.

That's not fair! You should have been born an Inheritor or Night-timer!

I think you're missing the point….

.:oXo:.

A/N: That's about it; I hope that you guys liked the chapter. Oh yeah, the italic dialogue is very important because it tells an inner story and plus it allows me to put Vampire facts in it too.