Title: "Through Amber Eyes"
Rating: R
Authoress: Anzu2
Summary: Crimson liquid spilt, death cheated, and rape. Can a growing relationship survive such an assault of the outside world? Or has blood permanently stained his hands? Be warned, not all is at it appears. Told through the hitokiri; Battousai-Kenshin/Kaoru, Sano/Megumi
Me: Hey folks, I know I haven't updated my other fics, but this one was just screaming at me to be written! Plus, I figure the break from my Inuyasha fics will clear my head a bit. RK has been my favorite anime for…3-4 years. I missed writing RK fictions, and because I've become a better writer than what I once was, I figure I'll write another.
Sabbi: wow Anzu, that's a long announcement.
Corey: Can I do the warning? Puh-leeeez?
Me-sweatdrop- fine
Corey:Warning: Expect extreme sarcasm; please do not take anything he says seriously. It is also suggested that you actually know about the references to Tomoe; otherwise you'll be lost in some places. If you don't know who Tomoe is, you're missing a big part of the series.
And so, you have been warned…
Hello there.
You may know this one, or seen this one walking about. Sessha is very easy to notice with my red hair and cross-shaped scar. Sessha's eyes tend to be purple and some say this one is very friendly.
But that's not me, that's the rurouni.
I am no rurouni. I am an assassin who's survived through the Bakumatsu, through the blood and pains of war. I have killed some so that others may live, and no scent of white plum or jasmine can take away the stench of blood that has permanently stained my hands. No matter how much the ignorant fool wants to deny it, no matter how much he wants to rid his life of me, I will never die. Though I am imprisoned behind his façade, I can see what he sees, hear what he hears.
Excuse me, I'm rambling. I tend to get that way when talking about that whelp.
I'm going to tell you the truth behind this ignorant, naïve optimist. So I'm warning you now that if you want to hear a lovey-dovey, cutesy, romantic adventure, look up those Sailor Moon fictions, or jump off a cliff. It's your choice. I'm not going to lie and tell you a happy-ending; those are for immature weaklings who can't handle the truth.
So you're staying? That was your last warning.
Now imagine a beautiful woman. Have her eyes be gentle, have her black hair held in a ribbon; give her a kimono clinging to her every curve, give her courage, strength, knowledge of swordsmanship, and attitude.
Got it? Alright, now let's begin.
One can only imagine the darkness of Kyoto during the era in which I killed. I was a panther among game, picking them off before they could even attempt a strike at me. They were the times where I was in control. My amber eyes piercing through the black night as I stalked my targets. Then the one time I slipped, I met the most beautiful woman…
But that's an entirely different story. Besides, I'm sure most of you know it anyway. Let's move on.
But in that upturn of events, and my state of shock, the rurouni took hold. He became stronger, and resisted me with a vow not to kill. Can you believe that? He vows not to kill. A little late for that, don't you think? But I let him keep his ideals; let him have his petty dreams. Even ten years later, I let him have his way. But then we met her.
Remember that beautiful woman I told you to picture? Insert it now.
Her fiery defiance, her stance…her body…
Sorry, going off-track again.
The rurouni at least is good for some things. He's polite, charming, a gentleman. All traits I have long since abandoned. He wants her, I want her, and she wants the rurouni. Imagine how annoying it became with his shy and awkward nature around women, wanting a woman but never have the guts to go for her. I would yell at him, call him a coward, and a disgrace to his sword.
Then it happened. Our lady in which he swore to protect was kidnapped. It figures the past would come to haunt us. His name was Jin-e.
The fuckin' stubborn rurouni refused my aide until it was almost too late. I had my first breath of freedom, and it was to fight for the one I love. How romantic. I had to teach the guy not to touch what was mine. But right before I could gain control of the ruro, Kaoru – that's her name- broke free and Jin-e committed seppuku. So much for the ruro's blood-less life; and to think, that was just the start.
Now, I'm not going to bore you with useless details you probably all know. You probably want me to go on with the story so that it's at the here and now. But first let me get this straight. You may stereotype me as being a vicious monster, bloody-thirsty, and seductive, and well, maybe I am. But if you cut me, I bleed. If you step on my foot, I curse. If you rip me to sheds, I cry. Well, no not cry….but I'm sure it'd hurt like hell. But that's not the point. The point is that I'm human, and humans make mistakes. Just remember that.
-
It started on a cool spring day. The sun beamed down heavily upon my head, sweat collecting on my forehead. I was almost done chopping the firewood, a daily chore around the dojo. The ruro let me chop the firewood because I enjoy it so much. I imagined each log as a human head as my sword sliced through it, cutting it down to the middle and splitting it apart.
Disgusted? Good.
I was about to chop another piece when my woman called me. And she is mine; don't let anyone tell you different. If by chance you come along someone with an assumption other than my own, please give me their name, address, and what they will be doing the night you tell me. But I must continue.
She said that she was going to go to the store for tofu, and to take care of the dojo while she was out. She said she'd be back by that evening. That was when one of my instincts kicked in. I thought, 'A woman alone, beautiful, walking down a road by herself, no one to protect her from the unknown…is she crazy?'
I ordered the ruro to go with her, but he had sensed the danger also.
"Kaoru-dono, do you want this one to join you?" He said with his traditional smile. She gave one of her own.
"No thanks. I'm fine on my own."
"But Kaoru-dono, it could be dangerous for you to walk all alone at night…"
"I told you, I can take care of myself. Besides, I don't want you there; I wanted to talk to Tae about something."
I grumbled in the back of his mind to him.
'Like that isn't obvious that "something" is us.'
He agreed, but he did nothing to encourage his presence any further.
"Okay Kaoru-dono, I'll take care of the dojo."
"Thanks again Kenshin!" she said, and then she was off.
Oh look, I'm foreshadowing. Moving on.
Well, I wasn't in control of him, so what could I do? He refused to betray her trust in him to watch the dojo. So I tried to convince him, sorry if this next part gets confusing – after all, I am talking to myself.
'You stupid ruro! I can't believe you let her walk out of here!'
Kaoru-dono is a grown woman, she does not necessarily needs this ones help to shop.
'Ruro, if anything happens to her, I swear I will take over while you sleep and kill someone!'
Do you think this one wants something to happen to Kaoru-dono?!
'It's hard to believe you love her.'
This one loves Kaoru-dono with all this one's heart and soul! It's hard to believe you don't trust Kaoru-dono's ability to protect herself.
'It's hard to believe you do.'
Sessha believes she can handle the common man.
'I say we check on her.'
But Kaoru-dono told this one to watch the dojo.
'Like it's going anywhere, c'mon. You know we can still do it.'
This one does not deny our specialty.
'All right, agreed. We go.'
Oro…
Now, one ability of ours is sort of a secret. No one really knows about this, so I trust you to keep it quiet. When we merge, some describe this moment as "his eyes were a mixture of amber and purple", we have a trick we used often in the Bakumatsu. We can slip into shadows. Hiko taught us this when we were learning defense, and it was extremely difficult to learn. I don't suggest learning it unless you are willing to be thrown in a forest hunted by your master, and by god knows what for several weeks. If you do, you can reach Hiko-sensei at 1-800-dontcallme.
We moved swiftly through the shadows, gliding along, seen by no eyes but our own. We searched by the Akabeko, by the pathways; but to no avail could we find our Kaoru-dono. Just as we finished sneaking around the tofu shop we heard the most terrifying sound. One which we haven't heard in so long a time, that it shook us right down to our bones.
The screaming of someone truly shaken by fear.
The screaming of someone being hurt.
The screaming of our name.
Me: who loves cliffies? I love cliffies.
Sabbi: is it true?
Me: mmmhmmm, I do, I do, I doooooOooo
Corey: So did you peoples like it?
Me: oh yeah, feedback people! I expect constructive criticisms.
Corey: FUDGE MONKEYS!
Sabbi: And for all those who are new to Anzu2, it means "review" in Corey-language.
Me: Also, my profile is jammed, I can't update my profile on FFN, So you'll just have to check all my stories if you want status.