AN: Hi, guys. It's me again. I hope you hated my last chapter cuz it deserved it. I mean, Tomoe was in it and i don't have much experience working with her. I must say, I hate Tomoe. Anyway, here's our guest speaker. It's Alex Ebert!
Alex: …Hi, everyone…
Me: Alex, what's the matter?
Alex: I got dumped…again.
Me: You poor thing. It must suck knowing Justin is married and you can't keep a girl.
Alex: All my ex-girlfriends in black jettas are driving me insane…
Me: Aw…Well, hold on to your sanity just until i finish my um…interview or whatever you wanna call it. So, uh, what did you think?
Alex: Ugh…I think I was a good boyfriend! … What did I do wrong? Wasn't I the perfect guy? I'm funny, I'm…fun…Maybe I'm not…Maybe it's my hair…Maybe she doesn't like it so she doesn't like me. Man, I hate girls like that…
Me: Alex?
Alex: Oh, I'm sorry…I just…I'm so damn lonely…
Me: Well, yes, we understand, but, uh…About a certain review I got…I deeply appreciate your constructive critisism, i really do, y'know. I needed someone to say it sucked, but really, Dragontales? I don't think my story is quite like dragontales in any way. Nope, not really…hmmm…well, except maybe the fact that there is a guy and a girl in both plots…However i do believe Kaoru and Kenshin are a bit older than the kids in dragontales…other than that i don't think there is anything. Any dragons…mmmm…nope…Uh, pretty rainbows…Hmm…no…shrugs Can't see a thing…
Alex: Her baby sister liked dragontales…Man! I'm falling apart! I'm never going out with a girl that has a black jetta again! They're cursed!
Me: Well, guys…here's the story in case you're sick of hearing about other people's problems…I shoulda picked a happy person…sigh…
Disclaimer: I got nuthin to do with the creation of the Kenshin series so…yea…you get it…and, btw, The whole Alex getting dumped thing came from the Black Jettas song by his band ImaRobot about how all his girlfriends are attacking him with their Black Jettas. I have no idea whether he has recently been dumped or if his girlfriend's little sister liked dragontales…or even if she had a little sister for that matter… Enjoy, or don't enjoy…just read please…
Part Nine: Tomoe
The first snow rolled in and covered the ground in a thin sheet of white.
Kaoru lay depressed on her futon for the next few days, saying that it was because her ribs were starting to bother her a bit, which they were after the big fight she had the other day. She had been punched in the ribs and it sent pain all through her body. Kenshin stepped in and helped even though she was really mad at him after that.
Kenshin knew this wasn't the real reason she wouldn't get up but he didn't know why she was still holding such a grudge about Tomoe being left alive. It's not like she was a threat or anything. She was now working here as a new waitress, the few other ones relieved at the slightly less amount of work they had to do.
"I don't know what I'm doing…" Kaoru whispered to herself sadly, "I'm embarrassing myself by laying here day after day…I gotta get up and take a nice bath or something…Tomoe may have taken Kenshin but I can't make him my reason for living, not when he isn't there for me…"
Kaoru rolled over and winced at her newly bruised ribs. They may not have been why she was unable to get up but they still hurt. It was funny…They only started hurting the night Tomoe fell into Kenshin's arms…Maybe…was her pathetic I-never-want-to-get-up-'cause-I'm-so-depressed stage making her incredibly weak?
She stood up and walked out of the room, heading down the hall to the bathroom. She made herself a fire for some hot water then went back inside to take her bath.
The steamy water felt good and soothed her aching parts. She closed her eyes. The silence made her think to herself…
Was Kenshin really in love with this Tomoe? Was he really never coming back to her? How could he do this? That Tomoe was a heartbreaker, Kaoru could tell. She had broken Kaoru's heart by stealing the one she loved and next she was going to break Kenshin's heart. Kaoru didn't want that…Her poor unsuspecting Kenshin who had no knowledge on how to love, who to love, anything about love…
But if Tomoe didn't break his heart he would be happy. They would get married and live together. They would have children and raise a family together…They would be a couple madly in love with each other and live happily ever after while she rotted in self-pity…
Kaoru opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She watched as the ceiling was blurred by her tears and felt her tears spill over her eye lids, her eyes stinging at the beckoning of more tears…
Suddenly she saw her father, there, right in front of her. He grabbed her chin firmly and stared her straight in the eyes.
"Kaoru," He said strictly, "Stop crying. Right now. You're my tough little girl. Get a hold of yourself."
Her eyes widened and he faded away into the steam around her. From that steam came her mother's voice, "Kaoru, be strong. You can't let a man get in between you and living, Kaoru. Kaoru, cheer up…" Kaoru briefly saw her smiling face but it was gone just as quick as her father's was.
Kaoru nodded and smiled slightly, ridding the rest of her tears by letting them fall and she closed her eyes again, soon after falling asleep…
When Kaoru awoke, there was no more steam and the water wasn't even hot anymore. Her fingers were pruny though, so she decided to get out of the bath…
When she was dressed she left the bath house with her wet towel, her damp hair resting over her right shoulder, black and somehow elegant…
Kaoru was walking back to her room when Tomoe walked past her, "Oh, um, pardon me, but where should I put these kimonos?"
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, um, you don't work here?" Tomoe blushed.
"Well, I'm an assassin here, Tomoe…"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know there were women--oh, you know my name?"
"Yes…" Kaoru said then walked away…
Kenshin walked into the room to see Kaoru sitting on her futon, leaning against the wall, asleep. This surprised him because it reminded him of his own habit of sleeping sitting up. It worried him. There was something in her hand. It was an ink painting, it was small compared to most portaits like it, but obviously it was of her and her parents when she was young. The elegant brush strokes showed destinct features on the faces and clothes. Kaoru's face was not that different from that of the small girl in the picture, Kenshin noticed, even though she was now very much a grown girl.
He walked up closer to get a better look at it when he saw that Kaoru's eyes were fluttering open.
"Kenshin…?" She said, fully awakening, "Ahem, erm, sorry, I fell asleep…"
"Is…Is that what your parents looked like?" Kenshin asked, trying not to sound too nosy.
"Um, yes, my mother hired an artist to paint a few portraits of us one year. He did a couple small ones and a large one. My mother said he had very reasonable prices for his work. I didn't even know what that meant when she said it, but I bragged about the man to all of my friends. He was such a nice guy…" She looked like she was trying to smile, but just couldn't.
"Um…Well, your mother was very pretty…uh…I think I'll skip dinner tonight…I'm not hungry…So don't order any for me, okay?…" Kenshin was scrambling for words then decided to just drop the conversation because he was making a fool of himself. Which he never did…
For some reason he felt strange, like he was guity for something. He had a strange feeling that he hurt Kaoru in some way…But how? He couldn't understand himself. He was always confusing himself, and it was frustrating.
As he sat down on his futon Kaoru said, "Niether am I…" And leaned back against the wall, staring at the picture and letting her eye lids slowly and reluctantly fall shut once again, as did Kenshin…
Tomoe was walking across to the bath house when a hand grabbed her from out of the shadows and pulled her into the forest.
"Tomoe-chan!" The voice of a boy exclaimed quietly, so as not to alarm any of the assassins, "God, did I miss you! Tomoe, sister, I've finally found you…"
"E-Enishi…!" Tomoe exclaimed, both surprised and frightened.
"Of course it's me! Tomoe, I've looked everywhere for you, all this time! At last…"
"Enishi, what are you doing here?"
"Well, you see, I've been working with the government to find you and now I got you back! We tracked you down and turns out you're working for an underground assassins' guild that has been searched for for years! So, come with me you have to tell my friend everything about them that you know. You will come, won't you, sister?"
"Enishi, I--…" She didn't know what to say to him. Truth is, she had been talking to the assassin that found her in the street the other day a lot and had actually taken a liking to him. She thought he would be a very intimidating person, which he was sometimes, but she found that she could, if she tried hard enough, dig out a softer character that slept deep inside him. You could almost say she could fall in love with this side…
"Sister?" Enishi put on a face that she never could resist…He was her little brother after all…
"A-Alright…Enishi…I'll go with you. But I'll warn you now: I don't know much of anything…" Tomoe said.
Kenshin awoke to the sound of frightened voices outside his room.
"Master! The new girl! She's gone! We've checked everywhere, she isn't here!" A waitress said frantically, "What if we're found out! We'll all be—"
"Don't even think like that, don't worry either. We'll find her…I'll have Battousai take care of it. He found her in the first place after all…" With that said Hiko burst in the room but Kenshin was already standing and ready to leave.
"I heard, sir…" He said, starting to walk past him.
"Wait!" Kaoru shouted, stumbling off of her futon, "I'm going too, sir! I found her with him! If he needs backup he'll have it, we could be dealing with the government here, sir!" Kenshin glared at her. He could do it himself, why does she always have to butt in?
"Good, go on, track her down, and bring her back. If we don't get her back…we're through, found out, dead…"
Kenshin nodded and the two assassins walked out only to be stopped by the waitress that was frantically reporting to Hiko a few moments previously.
"You should start by the bath house, she never returned from her bath last night…" She told them and Kaoru smiled gently at her.
"Thank you," She said, "Don't worry, we won't let anything bad happen. We'll bring her back and everyone will be able to stop holding their breaths. In fact, stop holding them right now. There's nothing you have to fear…" She tried comforting the woman and then turned and left behind Kenshin.
When they got outside they stood immobile and looked around, searching for anything obvious before they started their search. This was a test. Their was no time for Hiko and Katsura to do the dirty work. They had to stay insolated from anywhere with connections to the government in case Tomoe did rat them out. So Kaoru and Kenshin were put to a test that would jepordize everything they were loyal to if they failed. They couldn't fail.
"She obviously escaped into the forest," Kenshin practically whispered, "There's no where else…"
Kaoru nodded, silently dreading the outcome if they couldn't find her. Images of returning to see everyone dead and the government officials standing there with their flashy modern guns and equipment. Shaking her head she forced the images out of her mind and walked over to forest.
"I-Is that…Are those footprints?" Kaoru asked. Even though it was broad daylight it was hard to tell.
That was another factor against them. It was the beginning of the day. Night and the shadows that they were so dependant on were quite far away. There was no time to wait for them. They had to act now, not then…
Looking closely, Kenshin noticed that they were. There were quite a few. There was definately more than one person.
"Kidnapped?" Kaoru asked to herself. They were unsure but they followed the few footprints that were scattered here and there throughout the forest where the earth was soft or a bit of snow managed to get in through the thick green of the trees.
About a half an hour into the forest they found a towel hung on a tree. She must have left it behind because she wanted to be found and left it as a clue, she thought no one would find it all this way into the wood, or it was a burden to bring along with her…No matter what reason was hers for leaving it, they knew they were at least on the right track.
They followed her trail, if you would call it a trail, all the way to a clearing in the forest. There was a cabin resting silently in the far end of the clearing. Since there were no trees here sheltering the ground, it was covered in thin snow and many footprints were visable now, Kenshin and Kaoru grew nervous. Either, there was a person or two that like to walk around back and forth, or there were several people here, all gathered to this one secret place.
"This is bad, Kenshin," Kaoru muttered. If Tomoe had spilled about the organization, they were through. Unless the two of them managed to kill all of the men in there. But no doubt there were others who already knew that were informing everyone in the government right now.
"This is really bad…I told you to kill her, didn't I?"
"Don't worry…" He said clearly, and calmly, "We'll listen to what they're doing and then move on from there…"
They moved in closer to the building and listened at the door. They heard voices but only three. The footprints must not have been from today. Last night, perhaps. This gave Kaoru a sense of relief.
"So, Tomoe, you have information to give us, why don't you talk?"
"Yeah, come on, Sis, just tell them where you were, what you saw. You won't be blamed or anything if that's what you're worried about."
"I…I didn't…Well, I just worked for them in the kitchens. That's where I stayed, I didn't see anyone or anything. Please, you…you have to believe me. I don't know any faces or names, I'm sorry…"
Kenshin blinked. She wasn't telling them anything. She was loyal to him. They must have kidnapped her…He was glad that she was acting trustworthy. He still didn't know if he trusted her, of course, but she was probably trustworthy…
There was silence. Why was there silence? What was happening? Kaoru tensed. Something was going on…
"Enishi, go, go into the forest and take cover. We need you on the look out now."
"What! Why now? She's my sister! I want to be with her! You can't throw me out now!"
"Enishi, I sense someone is watching us. Go, now…""Argh! Fine! But you owe me big time!" Enishi growled. They heard him stomping over to the door and hid against opposite sides of the building. He stormed out and walked over to the forest angrily, past Kaoru. Kaoru jumped up and grabbed him, covering his mouth and holding onto him tightly around his arms and waist.
Kenshin swiftly made his way to Kaoru and her captive, "We'll need to tie him up and make sure he isn't heard, or we'll need to kill him," Kenshin whispered to her. Enishi struggled furiously, eyes wide with fear and muffled screams not getting past Kaoru's hand, tight on his mouth so he couldn't even bite her away.
"You can't kill him, he's just a child!" Kaoru whispered frantically back at him. Enishi's breath was growing fast as his eyes swiveled from place to place, to see where he would go if her got free and how he would get free in order to get there.
Suddenly they heard a loud slap come from in the cabin and a thud on the floor along with a wimper, indicating that Tomoe had hit the ground after a hard blow.
Enishi was struggling to get free with all his might upon hearing this but Kaoru tightened her grip even more, "Shh…We won't hurt you, promise…We'll help your sister…"
Kenshin's eyes widened as he looked from the cabin door to Kaoru. She was never simpathetic to Tomoe. She hated her. Why was she offering to help her now?
"Cooperate with us and we will make sure you are both safe. That guy in there is a bad guy, Enishi, he'll hurt her and he'll hurt you. He already hit her."
Enishi's eyes squinted as he tried to prevent tears from escaping, but to no avail. They spilled over his closing eyelids and fell onto Kaoru's cold hand.
"Sorry, kid…" Kenshin murmered as he ripped Enishi's sleeve and bound his hands with it. Then he ripped it again and bound his legs. Tearing a final piece, Kenshin gagged Enishi. They set him down against the side of the building as the shoji door slid open and the man walked out. Tomoe was still lying on the floor inside, a trickle of blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. She lifted her head and watched as he walked out.
"Enishi! Where are you! You lied to me, Enishi! Your sister is useless!"
Kaoru glimpsed at Enishi and saw the fear in his wide eyes. She jumped up and lunged at the government official, noticing that he was quite large, more than she had expected, at least. He turned around soon enough to dodge her attack. But she charged at him again. He just punched her aside, knocking her onto her back, and, seeing Enishi, gagged and bound at the side of the building, pulled out a knife.
"Your sister's well-hidden dagger, Enishi! Watch as I kill your friends with it!"
Enishi struggled hard against his restraints but couldn't get free. His voice wasn't as muffled as it was when when Kaoru's hand was over so his screams were heard and the man smirked at his pathetic sight. Turning his focus back to Kaoru, gasping and clutching her stomach, after having the wind knocked out of her.
Kaoru got back up and got into stance. She attacked him once again but he dodged to the side at the last second and swung to strike Kaoru in the heart with his short blade. But Kaoru was fast too, and she managed to escape the attack, she thought.
But she didn't. A sharp pain, beyond any other she had ever felt woke her from her battle daze. It was the sharpest pang of pain in her side. She looked down and saw a smooth black handle sticking out of her side, near but just above her hip. It wasn't stuck all the way in but blood was trying to make it's way out of the wound, pouring out around the silver knife.
The man was watching her with a smirk before he grabbed her and pulled her closer so he could pull it out. He shoved her away and she landed a good few feet away, clutching her freshly made wound. It bled badly all over her and around her, leaving red stained snow where it used to be white.
Kenshin's eyes were staring as he was paralized at the side of the building. His eyes were as wide as Enishi's, and then he snapped. He screamed in anger and threw himself with his sword unsheathed already, he seemed to be in a berserker mode. He passed Kaoru lying limp on the ground, her breathing quick, bleeding so much from such a small wound. He was also blocked by the man as Kaoru had been. The bloody dagger in his hand made Kenshin even more furious.
At this point Tomoe was sitting up and watching nervously. She didn't want Kenshin to die. Not when they were as close as they were. He was the only person she had trusted since Kyosato…well…She couldn't see Kenshin die too. Not everyone she cared for. Enishi she hoped was safe, hiding in the woods, running for help.
She watched the battle get heated. She decided to get up and go stop it. If she didn't Kenshin would surely die. She ran over to them, the events happening were a blur. She didn't know what was going on but she kept her eye on the man from the government. When she saw her knife flash in the sun towards Kenshin she paniced. There was nothing else to do, so she did it…
Kenshin swung his attacks furiously, until suddenly he felt his sword pierce flesh. His attacking stopped and he focused his eyes. He saw…Tomoe…She had a sword stuck in her upper back…his sword. How did his sword…?
Kenshin saw the man he was trying to kill pinned to Tomoe on his own sword and, as he realized what he had done, time froze…
AN: Sorry it was so long, guys! I didn't mean it, i swear! I meant for what happened to happen, cuz, y'kno, i had things planned out, y'kno…Sorry ahead of time if you have to wait, cuz, as i explained to sum folks, i deleted the entire story and i have to re-write it, so yeah…sorry for taking so long this time, btw…Stay tuned for another exciting chapter of despair soon!
To the Reviewers: I gotta thank you so much, I mean, this is the first, like, epic ficcie I wrote. It may not be close epic, but it's the longest one I ever wrote. So even if you say it sucked, i dont care as long as you give me some advice. Saying it's like dragontales isn't good advice, i must say. Those of you that have been reviewing from the very beginning, you're the best, thanx! See you soon, i swear, i already started re-typing the next chappie!
