Silent Curses

Part 2: Wolves and Vampires

Kenshin could feel the darkness closing around him, he made it toward a wooded area near Tokyo, he turned his head found he could hear it. Two wolves were fighting, at least one was still keeping up with the larger one.

A large black wolf grabbed a slightly smaller, but still big white wolf with a black streak along its back. Kenshin could tell which one was which, he smelled this scent before, his back going rigid, he suddenly realized that there were three other werewolves watching. Sanosuke's small white form suddenly was against a tree.

"I will just let you stay your beta role, but you are going to let us Mibu stay," the larger wolf growled and grabbed Sanosuke.

"That's not how Tokyo pack works, we take in strays, we don't...let another pack control us," Sanosuke growled and tried to stand, but his body was too hurt, that was when Kenshin rushed forward.

"Oh...you have a vampire?" a young white wolf like boy appeared, his large yellow eyes was staring at him.

The leader looked coldly, "I know you, your scent..." the wolf walked off. "I will discuss this with you later...The Mibu will join the Tokyo Pack, Sanosuke..."

"Like hell," Sanosuke leaned against Kenshin in his human form. He was breathing hard, he turned his head back to his friend who was blinking. "How do you know the Mibu?" He walked back to the house.

Kenshin looked up, his eyes round and a little curious as he walked with him. "I have no idea..."

"Okay, coming from a vampire who can't even hunt anything other than a rabbit..."

"I can hunt bigger things, I just don't like to," the vampire protested, he walked on and shook his head. "I don't drink human blood, that's just...feels wrong."

"Look, you seem like an okay vampire, but seriously, you acting out like this isn't funny anymore!" Sanosuke walked ahead and glared. "You were the Hitokiri Battosai, I can give that, but seriously...have you ever even tasted human blood?"

That was when Kenshin's eyes darkened and he back away from him. "YES! Yes, I have...and I won't again!" He whispered and looked sad. "I swore to never harm a human again."

The werewolf turned and looked at him. "Look, there are many vampires who are like you, but you are taking this a little too seriously! Vampires need blood to live, that's a given."

"Don't you think I know that?" Kenshin looked angry, his eyes lowering. "Do you think I asked to be born a vampire?"

"Wait, you're a born vampire?"

Nodding slowly, Kenshin let out a gasp. "Is that rare?"

"RARE? Kenshin, you're saying you're from a noble house?" His friend turned pale and looked angry. "Kenshin..born vampires are nobles, that's the only way around it. How can you be a noble?"

"Oro? No idea, I was just born this way."


Kaoru was the first thing Kenshin protected, it was evident with the way he acted, he smiled at her even if she accidentally hit him. He lay one night rubbing his head, then shook it. "Kaoru-dono, needs to control her temper," he thought aloud and sighed. "It wasn't seesha's fault Yahiko calls her names."

He turned his head and smiled as Sanosuke came in from the gate, he blinked and smiled. "Are you just going to lie there?" Sanosuke pulled him along. "I was hoping you would join me on something...apparently those idiotic wolves just about made a problem with a werecat tribe now I have to work with trying to fix it. Wanna come?"

"Oro? Sure I guess," Kenshin got up and wondered why he felt like he was doing something he shouldn't. He walked through the streets. "Why are you making me come?"

"Look, that idiot wolf thinks you are part of the pack, so I have to go and talk to Miaka," Sanosuke growled and walked toward the river. "I can't believe those wolves pissed her off..."

Standing near the river was a pale girl with yellow eyes dressed in a traditional kimono and sighed. "So I take it you are not responsible for that idiot black wolf." She was staring and moving closer to Sanosuke.

"No, I'm not and I want him gone as much as you do, Miaka-san. They are assuming that a member of the Tribes of the Moon was taken in by us," Sanosuke pointed to Kenshin. "The guy isn't a member of my..."

The feline changer walked up to Kenshin and her eyes narrowed. "A member of the Moon Tribe," she whispered and glared. "Fine...I never knew one of those were..."

"Look, he's from a group called Himura," Sanosuke informed her.

That made the cat turn and stare. "That's virtually impossible, the Himura clan were wiped out years ago." She turned and rushed off, "Look, I'll check around, but I'm certain that the Himura clan was wiped out."

"Oro? What was...?" Kenshin asked as the leader of the cat tribe left.

"Look, I'm just curious considering that you're a vampire without a clan, there must be some branch clan that will answer," whispered Sanosuke, he was staring around. "I'm just not sure she'll find out. All I know is that half the clan was wiped out by hunters."

"Hunters?" Kenshin blinked and looked thoughtful for a moment, "Its hot, I need to rest."


Lying on his back, Kenshin could hear the sound of Kaoru and Yahiko practicing, he had joined in watching, but he was too tired. The most of the curious thought was on whether or not he was part of any Moon tribes really.

He suddenly saw a cat appearing in the yard, it was walking through and sat down next to him. "I found out what happened to the Himura clan, apparently you're the last one. One of the hunters is in Tokyo presently and she's pretty much been rogue, so you watch yourself." Miaka was sitting looking at him, then turning back into a cat, she rushed off.

Surely it was easier to walk down the street without feeling like someone was going to jump out and yell. Kenshin had learned that even though he was healing well, his feed cycles were on minium, but his own sense were on the defensive. "Kenshin?" he turned his head to Kaoru walking up. "Want to go to Akebeko with me?"

"Sure," he smiled at her as they walked, then Kaoru finally said something.

"Kenshin, I know I shouldn't pry, but are you okay? You haven't been eating and Megumi and I were just..." she smiled a little that was when she saw Kenshin turn his head.

He looked at her with low gaze and smiled. "This one worried you, I'm sorry. This one has a sad secret, and he does not want Kaoru-dono or Megumi-dono worry so horribly about me."

I have to tell her, I have to show her the truth, he whispered in his heart, he finished eating with her, he liked the taste. "Kenshin, what do you want to tell me?"

As he looked down at the pot. "Seesha likes being with you," he whispered and smiled, his eyes were down. "I'm not sure how I am telling you this. It hurts when I tell someone, because I don't know if they either are afraid of me or they will not understand. Seesha knows that people think that those who are Touched by the Moon, are bad." He was frowning feeling the sad fact, he had was going to have to speak. "I'm a vampire."

Kaoru let out a gasp, then stared down. "So you're scared that I will just kick you out?" her hands folded. "You have no where to go and I think it isn't bad that you're this way." She smiled a little. "I'm used to having strange guests."

"So I can stay?" he gave a smile.

"Hai, just don't bite anyone."

"Seesha doesn't bite a person unless that person let's me. And I still won't do it," he whispered. "I have never had human blood in years, this one doesn't like it." He took a sip of the broth in front of him. "I never had the taste for it for some reason. Even back when I was killing, I never once drank my victims' blood."

Kaoru stared in shock, she could not believe what she saw, Kenshin might as well have his fangs removed, she thought in sadness. He lived like this for years, and yet he never spoke on it.

As they walked back to the house. "You were born this way?" She asked him, then saw him nod.

"Hai, I don't rightly know anything about my family," he looked down at the ground, his thoughts on the fact he didn't know. He wondered if it was good not to remember.


Kenshin was dreaming at least he thought he was, he lay on his futon staring through the eyes of a small five year old. He was aware of a woman with red hair taking him into a room and then shutting him into a closet. He stared wondering why she did that, he heard himself crying and sobbing as the door slowly opened, and he crawled out.

He was aware that someone was reaching for him, telling him it was okay, he was safe now. "We made a mistake, these vampires weren't hurting humans," she was holding the small child up over her head. "What clan has children?"

For a moment, Kenshin could remember being told his family were humans, that he was a human child. He knew that was not true, but he bought into it, until he turned ten. He knew that now, he woke slowly that he was looking up at the ceiling his breathing was short gasps.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru walked into the room. "Are you okay? Were you having a nightmare?" She was checking his forehead. "You have a fever."

He tried to push her away, and she saw the yellow eyes. "I...have...to..." he rushed out, but found himself staring around the courtyard, he turned and stared at Kaoru. Shaking a little, he just stared at her, his lips trembling. "Kaoru-dono, please excuse seesha, he's hungry."

Going into the forest, he bit his lips, he found himself hunting down a rabbit. The fact that Kaoru's touch brought out a reaction, one that he knew very well. Tomoe-koishii gave me the same feeling, she made his instincts run wild. He had grabbed a rabbit and bit draining it, he licked his lips still feeling the guilt. He buried the animal, as he walked from the forest, he felt the same fear as always.

Kaoru-dono knows I'm this, I didn't want her to see me, he thought, he turned his head and found something familiar, a scent he knew well.

"So your senses aren't a total loss, Battosai," a voice was dark and he saw the werewolf that fought Saonsuke. "So that beta is friends with..."

"Seesha does not..." Kenshin glared at him, his vampire instincts were sharp now. "Just..."

Kenshin could see the werewolf, it was someone he knew well. A creature he saw from the distance as he walked about the city of Kyoto so long ago. "Don't remember do you? We crossed swords so many times, Hitokiri Battosai."

"You're a werewolf, I just thought you smelled bad," he whispered and continued to walk, that was when the wolf glared.

"I am not finished with you. I will meet with you tomorrow."

"So be it," Kenshin answered coldly and walked away.


It was the next morning and Kenshin gave a soft hiss as he lay on his side, he opened his yellow eyes, he was on defensive. He then moved to the roof, he had not figured out how he got there, but he did, he would wait and watch, he knew that night Sanosuke got into a huge fight with that wolf was recouping. The one thing that Kenshin did not expect from that night, he had found the bloody mess, Miaka was there too.

"Don't worry, Megumi-san fixed the problem," he turned to see Yahiko, he knew the boy was aware of things, but the fact remained Kenshin was impressed with one thing the kid figured out, the vampire truth. The funny part was that Kenshin hid it so well, yet Yahiko was able to see right through it.

"Do you really drink blood?" Yahiko asked him suddenly.

"Oro? I do, but I won't drink human blood, that I won't," Kenshin gave a disgusted look at the very idea. He looked at the boy. "How did you figure it..."

"Come on, you have fangs," the kid pointed out and laughed. "Not to mention, To-san told me enough times about them. He said there are two kinds, ones who don't hunt humans and those who do. Those who do usually get hunted down by vampire hunters."

Yahiko's family were vampire hunters, "The vampires who don't hurt people and drink animal blood are usually the kind that live in the wilds so they don't have any connection to the human world."

Learning a little from the kid, Kenshin nodded and smiled. "I see, this is good to know...might help me explain something about how I feel."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it, Yahiko."

He looked up as he saw the werewolf, the man was familiar now, at least in the sense that his smell was going a little. You smell of blood, werewolf, he thought coming down from the roof.

If the fight had ended well enough, Kaoru watched in her horror, though Kenshin had controlled his vampire instincts, "oh let it out," the werewolf laughed. "I want to see how a real vampire fights."

"NO!" Kenshin growled, his eyes wide looking at Kaoru in almost fear. "This one will not hurt anyone in the sight of those he loves."

With in the moments, Kenshin still fought back. "THAT IS ENOUGH!" a voice rang out over the room, for a moment, both just stared at each other.

It was the same problems, it was always the push to fight, Kenshin thought feeling horrible, his eyes closing as he heard what was being told. He lay on his back afterward, he put his hands flat to the floor and just gazed, he didn't want to move from the spot, his fangs were elongated. "Forced to part with one that I cannot bear to part with now, Tomoe-koishii, what does this one do?" he reached up touch his face letting his fangs grow back a little. "This one must..yes before he parts."

He had packed his things, holding the bag, he stared at Kaoru who was standing at the gate. "Kaoru-dono," he felt her hand on his, then she rushed to hold him. His eyes widened feeling the pulse of her blood, he let her move closer, his fangs slowly elongated. "I cannot..."

"Kenshin! Please," she whispered her arms returned ot holding him tightly. "I...don't want you to..."

"If I bite, I will hurt," he whispered and he felt her hand. "I cannot.." His instinct spoke, he felt his fangs going into her shoulder letting himself hold her, then let her go. "I don't understand what I did."