Had I known his name, and what he stood for…
Would it have made a difference?
Kaoru grunted. The feeling in her legs had long been lost as she staggered under the weight of the man who had one arm slung heavily over her shoulders. The cool night air bit at edges of her sun burnt cheeks. It was an interesting mixture against the soft warm breaths brushing against her neck.
"We're almost there." Kaoru murmured, more to reassure herself than the man besides her. "See those lights there? It's not so far away."
The warrior said nothing. Whether from exhaustion or annoyance—it was difficult to tell.
Kaoru focused on the lights in the distance. It gleamed dully against the brilliance of the star lit sky, promising food and shelter. Kaoru tried in vain to wet her lips. It felt as if the whole summer desert had decided to take residence there.
"You should leave me." The voice was dark and husky, sending unfamiliar jitters through the young priestess.
Kaoru started, flicking annoyed eyes towards the region of the man's face.
"Don't be ridiculous. I said we're almost there."
Silence hung in the air for several seconds as Kaoru felt the weight of the man's scrutiny. She was sure that his expression would be in the nature of "unreadable" if she were to look up, so she didn't bother with the effort. Nevertheless, Kaoru couldn't help but feel as if she were being weighed on some invisible scale.
Then just as suddenly, when she was sure he was just going to settle for skewering her to death with his devastating eyes—the warrior mummers even more softly,
"I didn't ask for your help."
Kaoru sighed, her legs suddenly feeling ten times heavier. Why was it that someone couldn't just try a simple 'thank you?' Was it too much to ask for? And really, what was she to say to that?
Perhaps a cutting 'I know.' or a sarcastic 'Sure, next time I'll ask your water bloated body before I help. If I don't find any notes expressly demanding to be saved, I'll just pretend I didn't see anything. I'll even re-arrange the plants as to better hide your carcass so that no one else will make the same mistake.'
In the end Kaoru decided that the latter would take too much breath and settled instead, for a disgruntled "You're wasting my precious saliva."
It seemed to startle the man into another bout of silence, and he remained that way until the dusty outer roads gave way to the smoother roads of a small village.
Kaoru rapped her knuckles soundly on a wooden door. The word 'inn' was almost completely faded from the sign tacked to the front. The archway was rusted and the surface had splintered from age. 'Or perhaps it wasn't age,' the priestess thought darkly. Midnight colored eyes swept the streets looking for signs of ravage, but it was difficult to tell whether poverty or warriors befell this place.
The door swung open revealing a delicate looking woman. She was dressed in faded garments; the thread bare material neatly wrapped around her body. Kaoru bowed awkwardly, her left hand making the familiar greetings of a high priestess. The woman seemed surprised, but bowed respectfully in return.
"I'm terribly sorry." The woman began. "It is not in our custom to turn away those of the elite temples, but there isn't much to go around. I'm afraid I cannot extend my hospitalities."
Kaoru smiled tightly. There was a time, not so long ago, when the presence of a priestess in any village was of the highest honor. To turn one away was unspeakably disgraceful. But then again, survival was probably universally more important than decorum.
The young priestess shook her head lightly. "I am not asking for your hospitality. I am a paying customer."
The woman blinked, her gaze shifting from Kaoru's face to linger on the form of the taller man in Kaoru's arms. Catching herself, the woman nodded quickly. "Please come in priestess, you are most welcome."
Tugging lightly on the warrior's sleeve, the pair followed the woman through the dimly lit inn. Their hostess slid open a paper lined door to reveal a small sleeping cot. Next to it was a simple table, upon which, a dying oil lamp gave the last of its strength to light the room.
"Dinner comes with the room. I will bring it to you shortly."
Kaoru frowned, looking towards the woman. "But, there's only one cot."
The woman looked back at her without much sympathy. "You only paid for one room."
With Kaoru gaping something akin to a deeply affronted fish, the hostess turned on her white socked heel and departed from their presence.
"Pleasant woman, that one." The warrior remarked dryly as he watched Kaoru try to rearrange her features back to the region of normal.
"What, does that mean I only get one dinner?" Kaoru muttered irritably.
"If you do, I still want some."
Kaoru turned to the man standing besides her, not entirely sure what her reaction should be. While she was certain that she could muster something more appealing than dumbfounded, no other emotion rushed to the forefront. Was the man teasing her?
"Are you teasingme?" There, not so hard. When in doubt, speak your mind.
He looked down at her, one side of his mouth tilted in a boyish smirk.
"No. I'm hungry."
Kaoru swallowed uncomfortably, sure that her heart had done something that suspiciously resembled a skip. It was either that, or she was due for a heart problem in the very near future. She wished someone had warned her about the charms of men. A girl might reconsider jumping headlong into a career of priestess-hood for a face like his.
She looked back into his hooded eyes, scowling at man's raw sensuality. It should be a crime that he was so beautiful.
"You can have some, if I get the cot." She offered, pulling him into the room.
He raised a brow. Kaoru wished she could raise hers half as well as him.
"But I'm injured remember?"
Kaoru pointed to her own aching feet. "So am I."
The man narrowed his eyes looking down where she had pointed. Kaoru felt a strange giddiness wash over her at his concern. Waving her hand expansively she muttered a quick, "Nothing a good night of rest won't cure."
Helping him into a sitting position, the priestess righted herself, stretching to relieve the tension in her muscles.
Setting her things down around the edges of the small table, Kaoru let her eyes trail around the room. Briefly she wondered if there was a place to wash up. Momentarily, there were two things that she would consider killing for: one was a decent meal- the second was a hot bath. Since the first was due at any moment, it was only logical to inquire about the second.
"I'm going to go look for a bathhouse. Would you like me to bring in a basin for you to wash up?"
He nodded. Kaoru flashed a wry smile and padded to the door. "I'll be back."
Stepping out into the sparsely furnished hallway, Kaoru slid the door gently behind her. At the previous inn, the bath-houses were located in the back of the building. Remembering this, the priestess turned down the hall to her left, away from the corridor she had entered earlier.
The layout of the place was actually quite simple, the long corridors joined together to form a large rectangle. Rounding the next hallway, the young woman spied an entrance that wasn't lined with paper. If the steady steam that seeped beneath the door was any indication, this was probably the illusive bathhouse.
Kaoru almost leaped with excitement. The anticipation of sitting in water above room temperature was heaven in the form of a gigantic basin. Life really was about the simple luxuries.
Stepping inside, the priestess was pleasantly surprised to find the women's washroom empty. Quickly divesting herself of her soiled clothes, Kaoru stepped into the steamy water letting the heat slowly melt away the aching tension in her muscles.
Sighing happily, she let herself slide under water, her dark silken hair fanning out like an exotic mermaid.
Resurfacing, Kaoru brushed back the long strands away from her eyes. Turning casually towards the door as she heard it open, her large blue eyes widened with a mixture of confusion and horror. The latter was growing at an exponential rate.
In strolled two men, no doubt other guests of the inn. They were chatting amiably among themselves, a towel wrapped around their lower regions. Kaoru quickly diverted her eyes. Their tops were expectantly unclothed.
Kaoru slid lower under water, her cheeks flaming.
Elydis forbid, was she in the men's washroom?
She ransacked her brain. Was there another bathhouse? Had she grossly missed the one designated for women?
Dark blue eyes darted around the room as she tried valiantly to suppress the rising hysteria bubbling in the region of her chest. Her incredibly naked, exposed, unclothed chest.
Kaoru sank a few inches lower.
Why in all that was holy didn't she think to bring a towel?
She highly doubted that she could make a mad dash for the door without being noticed, followed, or gawked at.
Her heart pounded harder. This was it. She was going to die of hyperventilation.
The men entered the large basin without paying much attention to her.
Kaoru attempted to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. If things went well, perhaps the men would just stay on the other side of the washtub and leave without incident once they were done. In the meantime she would just sit here patiently, silent as stone until they left.
One of the two men turned his eyes towards her half submerged head. Nudging the other man, he cocked his own head in her direction, a smarmy look in his eyes.
Kaoru narrowed her lashes.
The other man smiled, no less reassuringly.
Kaoru swallowed. Maybe she could scream.
The problem was of course, would anyone come to help a gargantuan idiot that paraded herself naked in the men's washing chambers? Well, not parading perhaps. But, it was almost like she was asking for it.
"Hello lovely. Are you here by yourself?"
Kaoru kept silent looking past him.
"Hey missy, my friend's talking to you."
Kaoru jerked away from the hand that reached to wrap around her slender shoulders.
"Don't touch me." She hissed.
"Aw, don't be so unfriendly miss. We can show a beautiful girl like you a real good time."
"I don't think so"
The man smirked, nudging his friend in the same way that Kaoru was beginning to find exceedingly annoying. If there were any reasons why Elydis kept a strict policy against men, this was probably a good indication why.
"Our little whore doesn't think we're good enough for her. What do you say to that?"
A silver blade suddenly gleamed wickedly at the man's throat, followed by a purring soft voice.
"I'd say she's right. Why don't you apologize to the lady for your mistake?"
Kaoru jerked her head around, looking up to find a stunning view of a warrior standing bare-chested, holding a finely crafted blade. His flaming red hair spilled around his body, throwing dark shadows across the gleaming gold of his eyes. In all objective respects, he was a fantastic specimen of a man.
A slight flick of the blade drew an immediate.
"I—I'm sorry miss. It was our mistake. P-Please forgive us."
Kaoru nodded numbly, watching warily as the two men cautiously edged away from pointed weapon. They scrambled over the side of the basin and out the door without further incident.
"Thank you."
The man shrugged.
"You were taking too long."
He stepped into the water, biting his teeth as it seeped towards his tender wounds.
"What are you doing?" Kaoru squeaked. Her voice had locked somewhere between complete silence and a screech. Was it too much to hope for that he would turn around and walk out the door? It was what a decent gentleman would do. While he was certainly no gentleman, as of tonight he was her hero. Didn't that count for something?
The man flicked amused eyes towards her.
"I'm washing myself. Care to help?"
Kaoru blushed furiously. "No."
"Pity."
Kaoru turned her back resolutely from him. She was suddenly gripped by an insane urge to submerge herself beneath the water, possibly forever.
"You know," Kaoru stiffened at the man's voice. "The lady's washroom is on the other side."
Kaoru vaguely wondered if any priestess had the powers to open up the earth. At the moment, she would have gladly traded her skill in medicine for a lifetime of escape from mortifying moments.
"I don't want to talk about it."
She was not particularly pleased by the soft chuckles radiating like little pinpoints of bonus humiliation points.
Two meals were waiting for them back in their room. Kaoru sat down gratefully and tried avoiding all eye contact with the warrior sitting across from her. She picked up her bowl of rice and worked at it with a single minded intent that would have impressed any trainer of the sport profession.
The man sitting cross-legged in front of her picked up his soup bowl with one hand and drank it slowly.
"You seem better." Kaoru ventured, offering a faint smile. There seemed little point in avoiding him forever.
He merely looked up at her over his meal. "Yes, I seemed to have recovered quicker than usual."
Kaoru cleared her throat. "You should be nearly well by the morning."
Silence.
"So what's your name?"
The man cocked his head to one side. "I thought you said I was a mass murderer."
"Mass murderer's have names too."
He was oddly silent for a moment, giving her an appraising look that was gone before she could analyze it further.
"It's Kenshin."
"Kenshin." Kaoru tested the name. "It suits you."
No response.
"Don't you want my name?"
"If you must."
Kaoru shot an annoyed look at him.
"It's Kaoru."
"It suits you." He returned easily, finishing his meal.
Sitting back with one leg propped up for support, Kenshin tilted his head at the woman.
"So where are you headed Kaoru?"
Kaoru blinked at the man for a moment before trying to focus on something remotely interesting in the room. She was stalling for time, wondering how much she could tell him. Elydis was attacked by warriors, and well—he was a warrior. While his body had had not been near the shrine, was it really safe to tell him where she was from? She didn't even know which side of the war he was on.
On the other hand, she did save his life. He probably owed her a favor even if he was an enemy.
Kaoru looked back towards him
Unless of course, he was one of those "blindly dedicated to his cause" types.
"I'm headed towards Toyko, my father has a dojo there."
That much wasn't a lie. She just didn't have to tell him why she was going there.
"What are you doing so far away from home?"
"It hasn't been home for a while. It's been years since I've visited. I'm just escaping the war I guess."
Kaoru wanted to pat herself on the back for her wonderfully generic responses. In these days, it wasn't uncommon for people to leave behind their homes in search of villages un-ravaged by battle.
"I see."
Kaoru picked at the kernels of rice stuck to the bottom of her bowl. Curiosity burned at her to ask him more about himself, but she hesitated. Somehow, she was inexplicably afraid of what he might have to say. It shouldn't matter to her one way or the other which side of the war he was on, and whether he had anything to do with the butchering of her home.
But it did matter.
She wanted so badly for him not to be involved.
"Why were you in the river Kenshin? Where were you headed?"
The man looked at her, and Kaoru imagined his eyes seem to grow slightly colder. It was strange that such a fiery molten color could be so chilling.
"I was headed to meet with my commanding officer. I was in the river because I wanted to die."
Kaoru started, caught between a mixture of empathy and alarm. Whatever she had been expecting, it hadn't been that.
"Why did you save me?"
Kaoru frowned, remembering what he had said during his fever. It left her unsettled, and more confused than before. At the very least, she was sure that he wasn't lying. But what would drive a man such as him to become… well, suicidal?
"Where was your commanding officer?"
Kenshin seemed to pause for a moment, and then he said without hesitation the words Kaoru dreaded the most.
"A small mountain shrine."
Kaoru paled visibly.
Kenshin studied her reaction, but did not break his gaze.
"Where?" Her words sounded hollow even to her own ears.
"The temple of the Eledi… Elydis."
Elydis.
There it was.
Kaoru shut her eyes painfully. She probably shouldn't have let on that it bothered her, but there was no stopping the flood of emotions racking her body. The terrible screams, Megumi's pale white face as she tried to save her underlings. Megumi Eledi—she would never see the older priestess again.
Kaoru blinked hard, trying to stem the flood of tears.
"What's wrong?"
His voice was soft, incredibly sensuous; almost like he actually cared. As if he wasn't a murderer like the rest of them. The irony was beautiful. Hadn't she accused him of being one?
Kaoru looked up, attempting a bitter smile. Her heart was sinking towards her feet—no, it was free falling towards a place she could not save it from.
Here before her sat the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Moments before she had deemed him a hero, saving her from unspeakable shame—and all this time, he really was the enemy. He may not have been present, but it was his squadron that had ransacked her home.
And here she was, sharing a meal with the very man who would have sought to slaughter her and her sisters had he the chance.
Her mind was reeling, but on the outside Kaoru managed a hoarse reply. One that wouldn't give him reason to finish what his faction had failed to do.
"Forgive me. I had always loved that place since I was a girl. It was a sister shrine to mine. I had friends there."
Kenshin nodded. "I'm sorry."
"Yes, so am I."
Kaoru wiped a stray tear from her cheek before turning away. It didn't matter, she told herself. She would be gone in the morning, and she would never see him again.
"Let's go to sleep. I'm tired." Kaoru picked up their emptied trays and set it outside the door.
Laying down on the floor with her back to the warrior, Kaoru shut her eyes and attempted to sleep.
Kenshin Himura watched the back of the young girl silently through the strands of his blood red hair. His expression was unreadable. Standing with feral grace, he walked over to the girl and laid a spare blanket over her.
Blowing out the light, he closed his own eyes, and waited for sleep to claim him.
Whew! After a whole year I've finally posted again. Apologies for those of you, who waited so long for this update. Hopefully it was worth it? . As a bonus, I've decided to do something out of the ordinary. Answer your lovely reviews! (the ones with questions) To the ones without questions, I want you to know I adore your support. ) It was my goal to keep writing this story as long as there was even one person out there that enjoyed it. You guys have no idea how much your reviews encourage me to write.
Chibi-san: Excellent questions! But I guess you'll just have to find out won't you? Muhahha. ahem As for particular religions—I kinda just made one up for the sake of the story.
Rayne: Aww.. thanks for breaking the 50th review. I broke the 40th on yours! D Your story is fantastic (I recommend everyone to read it) And of course I'd tell you the whole story plot if you wanted to hear it. The only problem is… you don't. T.T
LadyofWolves: This may come as a surprise, but I was actually quite alarmed. Rayne was reading up on my reviews and waved me over. I only skimmed the first line and had a small heart attack about your cousin. Yeah… gullible, that's me. On the same (somewhat twisted) note; I was flattered you composed the death of your cousin to spur me to write. Nothing like the threat of mortality to get those creative juices going.
Felix02: O.O Really? sobs You're too kind. I was starting to loose faith in this story, but I'm so glad you appreciate this style. It's a bit slow, but I promise you it will pick up quickly.
Drawkcab: Gosh—I really hoped you haven't died. Yes, I realize it's been a year, but better late than never right? Heh heh.
Kean: Yes, I do love my ambiguous endings. (probably unfortunately for you guys) As for their age, I'd say you've got it right on the money. And thanks muchos for the compliment, I'm glad you enjoyed the story.
Lanse: here here! I personally love comedy too much to completely forgo it. Even in dark, depressing stories. Btw, wat's up with your stories? Haven't seen them coming for a while? I really want to thank you for sticking by my writing and your thoughtful reviews.
kimi.the.water.spirit:
I know you didn't have any questions, but I still wanted to
thank you for your faithful reviews. ) I'm flattered you put me
on your favored list for this story as well as TAoMC.
Reignashii: Your name rolls right of the tongue. Nice. And yes, it does stink of a set-up doesn't it? Poor Kaoru. (
Kawaii-mei and goldmund: All I can say is.. you will find out….eventually…
Mukyuu: Nope.. its not Hiko. And that's all I'm going to say.
Starknight: Thank you for that wonderful critique. Any and all helpful comments are welcomed. I actually do a vague outline for all my stories so I don't forget them. I actually have another one lined up, but one thing at a time ne? (aka. It's still half-baked.)
Also many thanks to: Fashionista, Kitsune Kida, Sapphire Lupe, Dreycy-chan, Loviegurlie, enchantedsleeper, Brittanie love, Jisusaken, Bradybunch4529, Nekosuki, Ruronichik13, Rose, Risachi, Nadia, Scythe195, Seriah Black, jezebel, Prince Aoshi, Seikkyokuka, Happy Vampire, Chibibren, Insane-Bankotsu-fan, steph, Andrina, angelstarhikaru, jessa, for their wonderful comments. (Hope I didn't miss anyone.)
. Until next time, happy readings!
