Chibisensei: Hello, it's me again! Despite my massive work load (ugh), I managed to come out with another chapter. I'm really flattered by all your nice reviews and it makes me feel good to know that this story is being read. To tell you the truth, I came up with the idea randomly when talking to my mom about RK. Unfortunately for her, I'm not going to let her read too much of this story because we all know how much parents do not like reading…mature stuff…written by their children, no matter what age. Be warned that Battosai is going to be a bit intense in the beginning of this story. He does not trust anyone in the ward so his aggression will be rather extreme. Once again, I do not own RK in any way, shape, or form (unless you include manga and DVDs) and never will. That being said, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 3: Dealing with the Devil
Kaoru heard the ruckus from Megumi's office and quickly rushed towards it. Her eyes widened as she saw Sano struggling to restrain a very angry Battosai.
"Oi Kenshin, don't make this harder than it has to be!" yelled Sano through gritted teeth.
"Let. Go. Of. Me," hissed Battosai.
"Damn it, Kenshin!"
"I am NOT Kenshin!" In a quick movement that took Sano by surprise, Battosai was out of his hold and knocked him to the ground. Sano fell hard and was knocked unconscious. Megumi, who was waiting for a chance to tranquilize him, froze as he put his foot on her boyfriend's throat. "Don't even think about it," he warned. "He may be the rurouni's friend, but I have no qualms about killing him. If I had a weapon in this room, I assure you he would already be dead." 'Leave him alone!'
"Stop it!" screamed Kaoru. "Let him go!" Battosai turned his head to the azure eyed woman.
"Why should I?"
"Because you're hurting him!" Battosai looked at his foot.
"He knows how much I loathe being touched. This is his fault, not mine."
"And you think that justifies this?" Battosai frowned. He felt Kenshin fighting to regain control, but he ignored it. These people needed to be reminded just who they were dealing with.
"Are you challenging me?" Kaoru looked at the fallen Sano and then Battosai.
"Yes!" Battosai took his foot off Sano's throat with a smirk.
"In that case…" 'Stop it, Battosai!' He disappeared from view and Kaoru blinked. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her waist from behind. She felt his hot breath tickling her ear like a feather and shuddered unconsciously. "I accept." A flash of ki made Battosai frown, followed by a painful prick.
"Aoshi," he stated coldly. The head psychiatrist pulled the syringe out of his back.
"Pull yourself together, Himura." The world began to spin and a lopsided smirk crossed Battosai's face.
"You make it sound like I have a choice," he slurred. Kaoru felt Battosai's arm disentangle as he slumped to the ground.
"You can move now, Kamiya-san," said Aoshi. "He will not be waking up for a while." Kaoru nodded slowly and moved away from Kenshin, her heart beating furiously in her chest. No man had ever gotten that close to her before. Once, a drunk frat boy tried to kiss her at a party in college, but that didn't work out so well for him. He ended up with a concussion courtesy of her roomate's umbrella. But this man had invaded her personal space in an instant. She bit the inside of her cheek. Sakura was right: Kenshin Himura, no Battosai, could be menacing. She took a deep breath. But she wasn't about to let that stop her. Not on his life!
"Are you okay Sanosuke?" asked Megumi concernedly, helping her now conscious boyfriend up. He gritted his teeth as he put a hand to the newly formed lump on his head.
"Anyone get that cab driver's license plate cause, so help me, I'll sue his ass." Megumi bit her lip nervously. Did he have head trauma? Sano tossed Megumi a lopsided grin. "Relax, Fox, I'm just kidding." Megumi smacked him and Sano cringed. "What the hell was that for!"
"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she yelled. Sano smirked.
"Cool it, you know I have a hard head. A little bump like this can't hurt me." Megumi bristled with barely restrained anger.
"Sagara-san," said Aoshi coolly. "Why don't you make yourself useful by doing your job. You were put in this ward for a reason." Sano shot a glare at his superior and opened his mouth to retort when Megumi threw him a glare of her own.
"Yes, Master," grumbled Sano sarcastically, picking up Kenshin and placing him on his bed. Megumi left the room. Aoshi looked at Kaoru.
"Help them with the restraints. I'll search the room." Kaoru nodded as Megumi came back with cloth restraints. Kaoru took one and tied the strap to the bottom left corner of Kenshin's bed. She lifted Kenshin's leg and attached the restraint to his left ankle. Sano and Megumi retrained the rest of his limbs. Kaoru looked at Kenshin. Just minutes ago, he was ready to kill someone, but now he looked so helpless and innocent.
"The room's clean," announced Aoshi. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a hospital to un-lock." The three employees nodded. As Aoshi exited the ward, Kaoru wondered why no one said anything to him about the almost murder of Sanosuke Sagara. She turned as she heard Sano sigh.
"Buddy," he said to Kenshin. "That other personality of yours is a real bastard sometimes. Hopefully Jou-chan over here is the one who could piece you back together." Kaoru looked at Sano.
"You're not angry with him?" Sano scratched the back of his head.
"It's kind of complicated to when your best friend is Kenshin and Battosai's Kenshin while Kenshin is also Kenshin." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Well, you know what I mean."
"I think so." He chuckled.
"You know, Jou-chan, quite a few people ran for the hills when they saw Battosai like that. I'm surprised you stayed." Kaoru looked down.
"It's my job. Besides, I couldn't have even if I wanted to."
"Why's that?"
"She challenged him," Megumi interrupted seriously. Sano looked at his girlfriend.
"She what?"
"She challenged Battosai." Sano slowly turned back to Kaoru.
"Maybe you should run for the hills."
Kaoru sighed as she sat down at a table in the hospital cafeteria. After the little incident with Battosai, she was shown her office and had intently studied the ward 3 case files until lunch break. Misao Makamachi suffered from frequent bouts of mania. An additional diagnosis of ADHD was also recorded. Soujiro Seta was the newest patient in ward 3 and had yet to be diagnosed. According to his file, he had been a victim of child abuse that lasted through most of his youth. Kaoru looked at her hands. But Kenshin's file…it didn't seem to add up. It listed Battosai's claim to be a hitokri as a delusion of grandeur which would have been believable had she not have seen what she did today. He had moved so fast she didn't even see it. That wasn't something a normal man could do. The memory of his firm body against her back gave her goosebumps. Even worse, she didn't think they were from fear.
"I heard you met Battosai," said a voice. Kaoru looked up to find Sakura holding her tray of food. "Mind if I sit?" Kaoru shook her head and Sakura sat down, beginning to much on an apple.
"He said he was a hitokri," stated Kaoru. "Battosai, I mean." Sakura swallowed.
"That should be in the file."
"It was, but I don't see how a delusion could give anyone skill like that. He had to have held some kind of special training to beat a big guy like Sanosuke. The strange thing is that there is no record of him anywhere before his admittance here 6 years ago. Nothing." Sakura swallowed.
"Did you consider that he's telling the truth?" Kaoru looked at her new friend quizzically.
"What do you mean?"Sakura glanced around for eavesdroppers before settling her gaze back on Kaoru.
"Let's just say that not everything in this hospital is as it appears to be. There are a lot of war veterans here both as patients and as staff. Battosai-san being an actual hitokri is not as farfetched as it sounds."
The sound of silence resonated throughout the Ikedaya compound. Dead bodies of both Ishin Shishi and Shinsengumi lay scattered around the area.
"Shit!" cursed Kenshin, running towards the armory. Gunshots sounded in the building. In an instant his sword was unsheathed and he glanced inside, his back against the wall. A lone female Ishin Shishi was crouching behind a weapons crate, firing at the 6 Shinsengumi in the room. Bullet holes marred the box and a few had succeeded in making it out the other side. Kenshin narrowed his eyes and snuck his way towards the back entrance. The poor bastards didn't even know what hit them. Blood splattered everywhere as he cut through their bodies like butter. The young woman peaked out from behind the box when the firing stopped. She smirked.
"Figures it would be you who saved my sorry ass, Himura; always the hero." Kenshin grit his teeth angrily.
"What the fuck are you doing here Keiko-san? You're supposed to be in the safe house!" Keiko scoffed.
"Regardless of what my father says, I am, first and foremost, a soldier. It's my duty to fight. He's my commander too. Besides, the safe house isn't exactly 'safe' right now."
"Do you know where he is?"
"That Okita bastard captured him, but we managed to get him back. He's injured, but very much alive."
"So why are you still here?" he ground out. "I can't afford to babysit you right now!" Keiko took put new clips in her guns and attached them to her side.
"And I don't have time to be lectured by a brat!"
"Do you know where Tomoe is?"
"She's in the safe house. That's why I'm still here. Friends don't abandon each other." Kenshin cursed and began to make his way towards the manhole leading to the basement passageways. "Wait!"
"What now?" Keiko tossed him a gas mask.
"The gas line was cut down there over a half hour ago. You'll die without one." Kenshin put the mask on.
"Fine, now get out of here!" He opened the manhole and jumped down.
"As if," muttered Keiko, running out of the armory.
Kenshin awoke abruptly, the hazy memory still clouding his mind. He struggled only to find himself in restraints…again. As reality set in, he let out an audible sigh.
"How are you doing?" asked Sanosuke, strolling into his room. "You're finally awake I see." Kenshin turned his head in guilt.
"This one is sorry about earlier, that he is. Perhaps, it would just be better to keep this one under sedation…for everyone's safety." Sano walked over to his best friend.
"Don't be ridiculous. That wouldn't be fair to you. Besides, Battosai just caught me off guard. No harm done." Kenshin didn't reply and Sano sighed. "Look, I've been facing off with him for 3 years now and I'm still alive. What happened today was a fluke on my part. You should know by now I could handle myself."
"You don't understand," said Kenshin. "Today was the first time this one was unable to hold Battosai back. He had complete control. This one had no influence whatsoever." Sano's eyes widened.
"What?"
"He's getting stronger." Sano ran his hand nervously through his hair.
"Oh boy…"
Kaoru came back into the ward feeling a bit better than earlier. Hitokri or not, she was not going to let Battosai get to her. He may have been able to scare other people away, but not her. She would show him whose boss! Kaoru walked casually to Kenshin's room. He should be conscious by now.
"Kenshin?" she whispered to the restrained man. "Are you awake?" Kenshin opened an eye.
"This one is. What are you doing here? Didn't Megumi-dono and Sano tell you to leave?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't look for them; I just came here."
"You shouldn't be around this one, that you shouldn't," sighed Kenshin. "Battosai-" Kaoru frowned.
"Battosai is my patient too. You and he are my patients." Kenshin smiled sadly.
"So naïve you are Kaoru-dono. No one could help this one." Kaoru crossed her arms.
"Shut up." Kenshin's eyes widened in shock.
"Oro!"
"That's the kind of mindset that prevents healing and I will not tolerate it in our sessions!"
"But-"
"But nothing!" Kenshin shrunk away. 'Oh, feisty.' 'Don't you even think about it!' 'Too late.' Kenshin winced in pain. Kaoru got closer to him in concern. "Kenshin? Are you alright?" It looked like he was having some sort of headache. "Kenshin?" Kenshin closed his eyes and opened them again. They were now gold.
"Hello," Battosai greeted with a smirk. Kaoru clenched her fists. It was time to lay down the law!
"You're not going to scare me away," said she. "You could try, but I'm staying." Battosai looked at the young psychologist coolly.
"Who said I wanted you to leave?" Kaoru blinked. "You challenged me remember?" Kaoru bristled. "What's the matter? Afraid of me now?" She frowned.
"No." Battosai chuckled darkly.
"Then why did you shy away just now?" Kaoru didn't answer. "That's what I thought."
"Let's start out with a simple question." Battosai raised an eyebrow. "Where were you born?"
"What?"
"Where were you born?"
"Somewhere," he wise-cracked. Kaoru got up and began to walk away.
"Fine, be that way." Battosai narrowed his eyes.
"And where do you think you're going?"
"If you don't want to talk, I'm not going to force you. I'll see you later." Battosai looked at her strangely.
"Not much of a shrink are you?"
"I'm not the one who is tied to a bed," she shot back. Battosai growled.
"You should learn to control your tongue."
"And you should learn to control your temper. See ya." Battosai smirked as she turned to leave again. She was quite the firecracker; not at all like the other shrinks. He liked it.
"I'll tell you what. You let me out of these restraints and I'll answer your question." Kaoru stopped.
"Why should I?"
"Because you'll get no answers if you don't." Kaoru turned to him. He had a point. If she refused not only would she not make any progress with him, she would seem weak. She would never give Battosai that kind of satisfaction.
"Okay," she said walking up to him. Battosai looked surprised.
"Okay?" She began untying the restraints. They fell to the ground and Battosai looked at her.
"You are a very foolish woman. Very foolish."
Chibisensei: Yes, Kaoru's stubbornness overrode her logic. Heh, not a good way to start a career.
Chapter 4 Preview:
'You know you like her too,' Battosai smirked to Kenshin. Kenshin sighed.
'This one can't. It's not right.'
'But you still do.'
'…hai.'