Disclaimer: I do not own Kenshin, though I wish I did T.T
A Guardian Devil
Chapter One: Hello, Stranger.
Kaoru's POV.
People always say that if you wait long enough, good things will come. I believe I was born the luckiest girl in the world. I had a loving father, a caring and beautiful mother, and a cute little baby brother named Yahiko, who was four years younger than me. But in life, luck never stays with one person. On my twelfth birthday, Father died. He was on his way home when he saw a couple of the village drunks picking on a girl around my age. He tired to stop them, but Father never did like to fight. When things got out of hand, one of the men accidentally stabbed him in the back. The town doctor couldn't stop the bleeding.
Mother grieved for a time, but got herself together and raised our family with a steady hand. Things were hard. Women rarely worked, but mother was strong and I admired her greatly for it. A year later, she remarried for Brother and me to a rich, man of high society named Shakku Arai. He was kind to us, yet he always did associate with queer people. Kamatari Honza was a particular friend and was always invited to parties and dinners. He was a gentleman to mother, but every time he looked my way, a cold shiver races down my spine. Yahiko disliked him as well, but the maids of the household would never put in a bad word against him. But I know that he's tumbled with a good number of them so I can't trust their judgment.
.>
November 15, 1679. I'll never forget this day. Three years has passed since mother's remarriage. Life was serene and Mother was expecting another baby. Yahiko and I have already grown to love our unborn sibling. But that night, our mansion was attacked by a mysterious group of soldiers. Shakku pushed Mother, Yahiko and I into the master chamber and ran off to fight the infiltrators. We stayed in our room for hours. Downstairs, the terrible sound of clashing steel and screams echoed down the halls. At an hour before midnight, the sounds stopped. Mother pushed me under the bed and Yahiko into the closest. Then she crept to the door and unlocked it to see outside. The door suddenly burst open and at the doorway stood Kamatari, smiling at mother. I saw her shoulders relax with temporary relief before he bent down and gave her a sickening kiss.
"I've always thought you were beautiful…" he whispered. Then he brought up his sword and pushed it though her stomach. My baby sibling died, mother's breath slowed as she fell to the ground. I bit back a scream and prayed Yahiko would stay put. But through the crack between the doors of the closest, Yahiko saw everything. Filled with rage, he leapt out and charged at Kamatari, dagger in both hands. Kamatari's men grabbed him from behind and one slammed the blunt end of his sword across Yahiko's head. Kamatari, taking one last glance around the room, walked out. His men dragged my unconscious brother after him. Once the last solider left, I crawled out of under the bed and over to my mother, taking her increasingly cold hands in mine. She looked at me and said,
"Leave, Kaoru. They're looking for you."
"No mother," I cried, I couldn't control the tears any longer, "perhaps I can take you with me and find a doctor."
She started to laugh, no unkindly, but coughed up blood instead. My heart constricted at the sight.
"There's a servant's passage behind the tapestry of angels. Go though and ride to Austaria. Shakku has…connections…there…." Mother's breathing became more and more ragged. With the little strength she had left, she unclasped her necklace and handed it to me.
"From your father…" she said, and passed away.
I gave my mother's lifeless hand a last kiss, clasped the chain around my neck and left. Making my way through the tunnels of the servant's passage, I finally emerged at the stabled. A man in livery not of our household was guarding the door. I took up a nearby rake and hit him hard across the back of his head. He crumpled like a puppet and I ran to the fastest horse I knew we had. Without even harnessing it, I jumped on and was out the castle gates.
Still, I knew it would not be so easy to get away and I was right. Kamatari's men found their unconscious comrade and rode out immediately in pursuit. Rain fell like knives on my face and the road before me became slop. Still I rode on, knowing that if I stop or slow down, I'll be dead. For half an hour, I rode at a gallop, but they were always just behind the corner. At one turn, the ground was especially slippery. My horse slid across the mud and I flew off, hitting the back of my neck on a tree root. The last thing I saw before I fainted was a flash of red.
When I came to again, the world was black.
I opened my eyes. I know I did. I could feel my eyelids moving up and down. Yet I couldn't see anything. Startled, I sat up and immediately regretted it. My head throbbed and my eyes stung. Once the pain subsided, I groped around. Warmth to my left: a fire, and a blanket over my body. Was I Kamatari's prisoner? No, the accommodations would have been either much less comfortable or much more extravagant. So where was I?
"You shouldn't move around so," an unrecognizable masculine voice sounded near me. I heard footsteps and felt a spoon pushed not too gently against my lips. I kept my mouth stubbornly shut and turned my head. The spoon followed.
"I didn't poison it," he said. "It's just some soup. You must be hungry since you've been out for two days."
I suddenly realized I was ravenous and cautiously sniffed the broth. Mother had taught me when I was little how to tell the difference between herbs by smell, because some looked so similar.
At the thought of mother, images of that night began to flash in my mind: Kamatari's kiss, Mother's dead eyes, Yahiko unconscious and carried away. Over and over again, I saw him lifting the sword and thrusting it through Mother's stomach. Bring my hands up to my eyes, I screamed. A new feeling filled my heart, a feeling I was startled didn't come to me two nights before. It washed unheeded into my veins, my blood… revenge. I wanted to kill the traitor so bad, I wanted to make him pay for what he did to my family.
Without notice, tears welled up in my eyes and I began to cry. Tears of anguish and rage at myself for being a coward and hiding slid down my face and onto the blanket. I was weak. Now, I am blind, a cripple and so powerless that I was accepting help from a stranger. Throwing off the blankets, I unsteadily stood. I found a wall and followed it until I was at the entrance of the cave. I knew the man was watching me, but he didn't try to stop me until I tripped and started to fall. Only then did his hand rapidly shot out and grab hold of my wrist. I knew it wasn't to help, it was to prevent me from going further.
"Let go," I told him in my coldest voice.
"Your blind. How far do you expect to go before you get killed?" he questioned, matching tone for tone.
"Far enough," I replied and started to twist his arm in the way Yahiko taught me. Apparently, my captor knew the trick because before I knew it, my arm was behind my back and I was pushed against the wall. I brought up my foot and stomped hard on his. His grip temporary loosened and I ran out of the cave as fast as I can. It wasn't fast enough though because a second later, I was caught again.
"You can't see, much less get revenge."
I froze.
"Who else could have fought off those man?"
My knees weakened. I would have slumped to the ground if he weren't holding me up. He was strong.
"I can help you 'see'."
My heartbeat quickened.
"But it comes with a price."
And just as quickly, my heart stopped.
"I haven't any money," I finally managed to squeak out.
"You're necklace will do."
I immediately brought my hand up and gripped it tightly. "From you father…" Mother had said. It was the last thing she gave me before she died. But if this man can help me, Mother, Shakku and Yahiko can be avenged. With shaking hands, I reached back and unclasped the lock. I held the necklace out and the man took it. But as he started to pull his hand away, I grabbed it and asked,
"What's your name?"
He seemed startled at first by the simple question and then was quiet for a few minutes, as if in thought.
"Kenshin," he finally said, "Himura Kenshin."
"My name is Kaoru," I said. Then I reached out to his other hand and took the spoon. He hadn't spilled the soup, even after moving so much, and I greedily gulped down the broth. It was delicious. Strong and a good cook… god, I hate him.
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Blu3jay