Keta Himura
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.
Protector Chapter 1
Kaoru Kamiya watched the clock on the wall with a glazed over stare. Her fathomless blue eyes blinked slowly as she rested her head in one hand and absently twirled a strand of midnight black hair around one finger. Afternoon sunlight streamed in through the three large windows, lighting up the, otherwise dim, interior of the room.
To say that she was bored would be an understatement. She had been waiting for the past fifteen minutes for her history tutor to arrive. Another five minutes of waiting and he rushed in, took a moment to organize himself and then, almost immediately, launched into a lecture on the Renaissance. Nothing she didn't know already. She was very ardent about her studies because it had been drilled into her head as a young child that being smart would get you places. Anyway, she had already read the chapter on it. It had been extremely interesting, but the way her tutor was droning on monotonously made it seem like one of the most boring topics she had ever covered.
"Ms. Kamiya? Ms. Kamiya?" Kaoru jerked back to reality as she realized that the hour was over. She looked up at the teacher to see him looking down at her, frowning slightly, as if surprised she hadn't answered him the first time.
"Pardon me." She said, softly. He just nodded, the corners of his mouth still turned down and his brow knit in disapproval.
"I would like you to read this chapter tonight, please." He said, coolly.
"Yes sir." Was her quiet answer.
"Then I will bid you good day." He said and with that he gathered up his papers and left.
Kaoru sat for a few more seconds, once more allowing her mind to wander. The subtle sound of someone shifting their body weight behind her, snapped her back to reality once again. She sighed and glanced back at the person standing next to the door.
A protector, a guardian. The reminder that she could never really be alone. The bodyguard assigned to her was with her for most of the day. There were always two with her in public and one when she moved around the house. Thankfully she was allowed to do some things (in the house) on her own, but there was always someone close by, at least within shouting distance and the bodyguards all had very good hearing.
Kaoru was the only daughter of one of the most powerful man in the country, who had, over the years, become one of the richest as well. It had caused her to be the key target for many kidnappings. She and her father made up their small family and anyone knew that the way to hurt someone was through the person they loved the most and that was Kaoru. The first time had been eight years ago and she had been ten at the time. There had been a few attempts after that, but none were successful. Her father only hired the best after all.
FLASHBACK
Kaoru's father had become an extremely important man. She wasn't sure just what had changed, or what he had done, but she knew that it had been good. She knew that he had a government job and he had worked hard for the position after her mother had died. Although he wasn't home often, he had still managed to be a good parent, making sure that she did well in school and had friends. He squeezed in the time to teach her the Kamiya Kasshin style, making sure she could adequately defend herself.
She had been walking home from school one day, humming quietly to herself under her breath, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It startled her as she had been off in her own little world. She looked up quickly and saw an tall man with an angry, scary look in his face. It was an extremely frightening situation for the ten-year old. As his hand tightened, she opened her mouth to scream, but his free hand clamped itself over it and then her world her gone black.
She had woken up, groggy and disoriented. Her wrists had been clumsily bound and a dull ache had settled in comfortably behind her eyes. She took in her surroundings. She was lying on a dirty floor, in a small, dark room. There were no windows to bring light into the little cell and a stout, wooden door was the only entrance.
The door opened a few minutes later and in walked the man who had apprehended her in the street. At the sight of him she became scared and then surprisingly angry. As she looked at his smirking face, her anger won and burst out in a torrent of words.
"Why are you doing this? What do you want with me? Who are you. I don't even kno-" Her words were abruptly cut off when the man came up and backhanded her viciously.
"Shut your mouth you stupid little girl. You are to be silent and I will do the talking. You are in no position to make any type of demand. I am the one in control here and if you ever want to see daylight again, you will behave yourself." He hissed at her.
She was still in shock at his treatment of her and one hand was unconsciously cradling her flaming red cheek. Tears had welled up in her eyes, but she held them back, not wanting to show the man any kind of weakness. Instead as she came out of her stupor, the anger came back, burning white-hot. She glared up at him, but he didn't notice and continued to talk.
"Did you know that your father is an extremely important man, Ms. Kamiya? How much do you think he'll give to get you, his only daughter and the only family he has, back? I would say quite a lot." The man was cruelly toying with her. She could barely keep her emotions in check, but only the threat of another smack and never seeing daylight again, helped her to keep her emotions in check. "You are the key to getting what I want and that is power and of course money. So, you will be a good little girl in here and we will see who will win in the end." With that concluding statement he walked out of the room and the sound of a lock clicking could be heard in the silent room.
For three days Kaoru stayed in the room, being fed twice a day by a small woman who avoided her gaze whenever she entered the room. The last day was when she heard the gun shots and voices. Feet came pounding down the hallway soon after and she huddled in the corner of her cell, trying to make herself invisible. She could hear doors being flung open, but when the noise stopped in front of her room, she knew that the person was fumbling with the lock. It clicked, admitting the people outside.
She closed her eyes and then peeked them open. In walked a police officer, his eyes casting around for something and apparently she was the one he was looking for. He turned and called to the people in the hallway.
"In here. The little girl is in here. Your daughter is safe, sir." Her father came bursting in and without further ado grabbed her up in a fierce hug. She buried her face in his shoulder and started crying.
That was when her father hired the bodyguards and decided that she would stay at home with tutors, instead of going to school. They moved to a larger house and many security measures were taken, ensuring the occupants safety.
It was later, when she woke up screaming and crying, in the middle of the night, that she knew that she would never forget that single experience. Her constant reminder was her absolute terror of the dark.
END FLASHBACK
Kaoru sighed once more. Her father had changed over the past eight years. He was driven by something that had been pent up inside him for a long time. He was extremely protective of her and she did all she could to take care of him, but he had withdrawn from her. He was her only family and she had never had any desire to leave her home. She kept her goals and ambitions in sight, knowing that she might take a little longer to reach them then a normal person. She was fine with that, although many times she felt constricted by her lifestyle. She recognized the need for a bodyguard and knew that she didn't want to put her father through the fear of losing her again.
'Okay,' she told herself. 'Time to stop sighing. You've been doing that too much lately.' She got up from her seat and left the room. Her silent shadow peeled himself away from the wall to follow her to her destination.
I hope that you enjoyed the first chapter. I think that I tend to use the word 'extremely' a great deal. Does it have an element of suspense, or is it totally predictable? If there is anything else you noticed please let me know. If the fanfic seems too similar to one you've read or written, please tell me because it is completely unintentional. I just had an idea and decided to see where it would take me. Bye!
Keta Himura