A/N: Sorry it took so long. I was in Japan and Thailand for two weeks and then varsity preseason started right after I got back so I felt really tired for a couple of days after that… then the story slipped my mind and when I remembered I was on my way to Maryland. After that I really have no reason as to why I haven't updated earlier… I AM SO SORRY!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

Mansion of Secrets

The Midnight Dance

"What the hell are these?"

The six teenagers had just returned from the Halloween party. The object of their attention was the collection of red envelopes scattered all over the floor.

"And we're supposed to know how? Are we the all knowing gods and you are the stupid peasant?" Megumi asked sarcastically as she picked on of the letters up.

"Who's it for?" Misao asked as she bent to pick up another one of the letters.

"It's for Kaoru," Megumi answered as she handed her envelope over to Kaoru.

"It's a love letter… well poem actually." Kaoru sighed at the confused looks from her friends. She was about to say something when Megumi interrupted her.

"Kaoru has a secret admirer?"

"Our Kaoru's so grown up!" Misao shouted as she and Megumi enveloped Kaoru in a hug.

"You've gotta be joking," Sano said as he watched Kaoru struggle to get out of the other two girls' hold.

"She's not laughing."

"Shut up Aoshi!" Sanosuke growled at the other teenage boy.

"Can you read it out loud to us Kaoru-san?" Kenshin asked with a bright smile.

"Sure, I guess," Kaoru said as she finally managed to get out of the two girls grip.

'My love was locked behind a hidden door

Down long passages unlit

On one of the darkest of celebrated nights

You stood out like a beacon

A call of hope for a soul long lost

A call this soul was unable to resist

I followed the long winding road

Finally reaching your home

A place called the Mansion of Secrets

Built for you alone

A place where you can hide

In the corners of your mind

As I opened the wooden door

I was basked in marvelous light

The door to my love had been found

The hope in my soul released

I raised my hand to the Lord

For I had found you

So let me find your door

Let me find your hope

Let me see your past

Let me free you from the dark

Let me help you find eternal peace

For you are the love of my life'

'Find your peace during the midnight dance

Follow the steps under the full moon

Swaying with the trees in their sorrow

For then you shall find the place inside of you

Where all things shall become true

That is the entrance to the Mansion of Secrets'

The leaves danced through the night, each one a different shade of gray. The wind played the music, a mournful tone that broke the hearts of those still awake to hear it. This was the midnight dance.

When Kaoru had stopped reading the letter everyone had started talking about how strange the poem was for someone who was in love. However, Kenshin had watched as her eyes continued to skim down the page. It was for this reason that he was holding one of the red letters in his hand. It was for this reason that he was watching the midnight dance.

What kind of advice was this? Was this man trying to say that she would find her love in this 'Mansion of Secrets' or was he saying that she would find the answers to her past? If Kaoru was supposed to be able to hide in the corners of her mind in this mansion than why would she be able to find love there? If this was truly a love poem then the answer would be the former. However, Kenshin did not like the sound of 'eternal peace' for all of its meanings, and therefore kept the latter possibility open for question as well.

Kenshin sighed and rolled over to his other side. He really wanted to go to sleep but this letter was bothering him. Besides, Hiko had asked him to watch over Kaoru and to report any possible threats to Kaoru's wellbeing to them. Was this letter a threat? If so then who wrote it?

Kenshin stood up and walked over to the window. He touched the glass with his finger tips, only to pull them away quickly as a chill ran through his body. True, it was cold outside (after all it was October), but there was something else wrong… he could just feel it.

Kaoru had sat on her bed and listened to the wind, feeling the effect it had on her body. Eventually she gave into the temptation and went over to her CD collection. She pulled out a random CD and stuck into the CD player before standing in the middle of the floor. When the first couple of notes began to play her feet were already finding there way across the floor in her version of the midnight dance.

Kaoru continued to dance as the CD switched tracks. She felt shivers going down her spine as the eerie music seemed to fit perfectly with the sound of the wind howling outside. She did not know who the artist for the CD was. All she knew was that it was some American band that Misao absolutely hated. (Hence the reason for buying the CD.)

During the middle of the track, Kaoru felt her foot fall out from under her. She braced herself quickly as she fell to the ground, her hand resting on the object that had caused her to slip.

It was the envelope for the letter that she had gotten earlier that night. She was about to throw it away in the trash so that she would not slip on it again when she noticed something.

It was hard to notice at first sight because the two colors were almost exactly identical, but there was writing on the inside of the envelope. Kaoru carefully tore the rest of the envelope apart so as to read the whole entire message.

'The rest of my message you need to find

And if you are unable to do so you must be blind

For on the envelope is a spot completely white

Not to mention it lies in plain sight

So go down to where you found sea of red

And watch the video before you go to bed

So until we shall be able to see each other

I shall hope that I'm not such a bother'

"Hello?"

Kenshin sighed with relief as he heard the sound of the voice of his foster father/teacher/mentor on the other end of the line. After thirty minutes of pacing around his room Kenshin had finally decided to ask for help. There was no way that he would be able to find out what was bothering him if he didn't talk to someone.

"If you don't answer soon I'm going to hang-up. Do you know what time it is?"

"Wait! Don't hang-up! I need your help Hiko-sensei!"

"It's twelve thirty in the bloody morning Kenshin," Hiko growled on the other side of the line. "This better be good otherwise I'm going to beat the shit out of you when I see you next."

Kenshin ignored Hiko's threat and explained what was bothering him. "First there's something completely wrong with Misao-san's boyfriend. Sanosuke, Aoshi, and I all agree on this. Not to mention he was constantly watching Kaoru-san."

"She's a pretty girl. It's only to be expected."

"Misao is his girlfriend."

"Ever heard of cheating?"

Kenshin sighed in exasperation. Sometimes Hiko could be really annoying. "Anyways, that's not the main problem. When we got home from the party today there were a bunch of red envelopes lying all over the ground, all of which were addressed to Kaoru-san. Each one contained a love poem that was relatively disturbing."

"What was so disturbing," Hiko asked, now sounding somewhat interested.

"Well there was 'A place called the Mansion of Secrets, Built for you alone, A place where you can hide, In the corners of your mind' and then there was 'Let me help you find eternal peace' which in my mind usually means death."

"True, true," Hiko replied, his tone thoughtful. "Well let's think about this…"

Kaoru was currently sitting in the living room surrounded by two mounds of red envelopes. The mound on her left was of letters she had already checked, the mound on her right was of letters she had yet to check. She gave out a groan of frustration, for although she felt this sense of urgency to find out what was it the mysterious letter with the whit spot, it was a very tedious task that she did not feel like performing at the moment.

"Found it!" Kaoru practically shouted with joy as she quickly tore open the envelope in her hand. She turned it upside down so that the flap was above her palm and shook it until a DVD fell out into her palm. She quickly ran over to the DVD player and stuck the DVD in while she turned on the TV. Once everything was finished Kaoru grabbed the DVD remote and ran back to the couch so that she could watch the video.

She waited for a minute watching the blank screen in front of her before she sighed in frustration. She was about to turn the TV off when a voice started to speak to her.

"Hello my dear," came the voice from the blank screen. "Although you do not know who I am I have known you for quite a while. I wouldn't consider myself a stalker but I held your father as a man of high importance, and when I saw a picture of you from him I fell instantly in love. Anyways, here are a couple of mementoes I have of you and your parents that I found in the office files of your father. I hope you enjoy them."

Kaoru sat in front of the TV with tears pouring down her cheeks as a bunch of pictures made there way across the TV screen. There were pictures of her on her first birthday, not to mention all of her other birthdays, as well as pictures of her playing with her parents in the park. One of her favorite pictures was of her and her mom standing in the kitchen making cookies. Her mother was laughing at her as she stood in shock with baking flour all over her body.

There were also a couple of video clips in amongst the pictures. One of her favorite videos was her father teaching her how to hit a baseball. Her father stood on the mound and tossed a ball towards her. She laughed as the camera focused in on her to show her face screwed up in concentration as she swung and completely missed the ball.

She sat on the couch, watching moments like this for what seemed like forever, before the words appeared on the screen.

'This is the midnight dance.'

She watched in horror as the images passed over the screen. Screams tore at her throat as she watched that night happen all over again before her eyes. She watched as her parents fell down before her, and she watched as she picked up her father's sword, ready to defend herself for all she was worth.

As the images continued to play through her mind the screen went blank and the voice came back on.

"We've found the maps darling, no all we need are the codes."

Her scream pierced through the air, joining the howl of the cold wind blowing outside.