DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin and Rurouni Kenshin characters are exclusively owned by Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shueisha, Sony Entertainment, Jump Comics and associated parties. Please note, this is purely fiction and for entertainment purposes only. This story is not meant for sale or profit.
Author's Notes: This is my first Alternate Universe Fanfic about Kenshin and Kaoru falling in love during modern times. It's not your typical love story and it is OOC. (Drama/Angst/Romance) Fatal Love Fanfiction by Gypsy-chan Enjoy!
Please Note: This story was not written to offend those in the medical profession or in the law enforcement field. It was written from my over-active imagination. The characters, the characters in various professional capacities and the events in this story should not be taken literal in anyway. OOCness and unethical practices will prevail throughout this story. Thank you for reading. Enjoy! ^_^
Part Eleven
"Unfortunately, Hiko caught me swinging his sword around. He was furious. After enduring several excruciating hours of lectures, Hiko finally told me that I had potenial. He could see it in the way I swung his sword around. So he decided to train me in Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. He became my master and I was his student. From that point on, I always called him Shishou."
********************************Training with Shishou was very hard. I would make so many mistakes in practice that he started calling me baka deshi. He called me that so often, that I had wondered if he had changed my name again. Every day after school, I would rush home so that I could practice my swinging techniques. When I had finished practing on my own, we would practice together.
Shishou taught me the basic principles behind the Hiten Mitsurugi School. He said it was to embrace the philosophy of using the sword without prejudice, to protect and preserve life. Shishou explained by using these principles I could always protect the weak.
During my last year of high school, I was making plans to go away to college. I wanted to major in business finances. Shishou didn't agree. He wanted me to stay and finish my training. Hiko Seijuro was the thirteenth master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. He wanted me to be his successor. It was a matter of honor and tradition.
I disagreed with him. I felt that teaching others how to better invest their money to have a secure future was more important than becoming a master of an ancient technique. I reasoned that Hiten Mitsurugi was fine back in the days of the Bakumatsu. But in these modern times, the use of various sword techniques only serves as a good tourist attraction. After several heated arguments, I left. That was over ten years ago.
Sometimes, I wished that I could have stayed and finished my teaching. Maybe things would have turned out differently for me. But now it's too late. My Shishou has disowned me and my parents and Tomoe are gone forever. I'm all alone in this world now. There's nothing left to look forward to."
"Mr. Himura, you're only alone in this world if you want to be," replied Kaoru as she rested her hand on top of his. "But if you open your heart, you'll find someone out there willing to help you."
Kenshin glanced downward at her hand resting over his. He was impressed by her genuine concern for him.
"Why does she continue displaying such warmth and compassion toward me? I am unworthy of her kindness? Most women would find me repulsive. They would never touch the hands of a man stained with blood. But here she sit, still resting her hand upon mine as though I was someone worthy of her touch.
Sitting here with Dr. Kamiya feels so natural. It's as if we've done this in the past. But none of that really matters now. She's a young professional woman and I'm an older convicted murderer. It would be unlikely and unethical for anything to happen between us."
He moved his hand ever so slightly causing Kaoru to glance downward. She blushed and quickly removed her hand from off of Kenshin's while apologizing profusely.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Himura, please forgive me. I didn't mean to..."
"I know," smiled Kenshin. "It's alright."
Suddenly, her secretary buzzed her on the intercom. Kaoru went over to her desk and pressed the intercom button.
"Yes, what is it Yuri."
"You have a visitor Dr. Kamiya."
"I'm in a middle of a counseling session."
"I know, but there's a gentleman waiting to see you. He's been waiting for over an hour."
"Who is it?"
"He refuses to give his name but says you are expecting him."
Kaoru hesistated for a moment and then replied through the intercom,
"Tell the gentleman that I'll be with him shortly."
"Yes Dr. Kamiya."
Kaoru turned to Kenshin and said, "I'm sorry for the interruption but..."
"There is no need to apologize Dr. Kamiya. We can continue our session another day," he smiled.
Before responding to Kenshin, the door to Kaoru's office began to open slowly revealing a tall dark figure.
"May I come in?"
Kaoru was startled by the man but then replied, "Yes, please come in and have a seat."
As the tall dark figure entered Kaoru's office, icy blue eyes beamed over to lavendar orbs.
Kaoru quickly introduced them.
"Kenshin Himura, this is Dr. Aoshi Shinomori. Dr. Shinomori is a fellow colleague of mine. He specializes in criminal psychology in Kyoto."
Kenshin stood and extended his hand to Aoshi, "Please to me you Dr. Shinomori."
Aoshi didn't accept his hand but rather walked past Kenshin and sat opposite Kaoru. He began to stare at Kenshin.
Kaoru looked between Kenshin and Aoshi and felt the tension rising in the room. She quickly paged her secretary.
"Yes, Dr. Kamiya?"
"Please send in Mr. Sagara. I would like for him to escort Mr. Himura back to his cell."
Yuri became nervous due Sano not returning as he had promised.
"This is just great! He should have returned over fifteen minutes ago. I knew I should have stopped him. Now we'll both get in trouble. Well I guess there's only one thing to do."
Yuri cleared her throat and replied, "Mr. Sagara stepped to the men's room. He should be back in a moment."
"What! He's not suppose to leave."
"Yes I know but, when you got to go, you got to go."
"Alright. Please let me know as soon as he returns."
"Yes Dr. Kamiya."
As Kaoru focused her attention back into the room, she noticed the coldness between the two men.
"Why is Aoshi staring at Mr. Himura in that manner. I better do something to break the ice in here."
"So, what brings you to Tokyo Dr. Shinomori?"
"Have you forgotten Dr. Kamiya? We were suppose to attend a seminar together this afternoon."
Kaoru's face paled. She had forgotten all about the seminar.
"Yes, I believe I did forget. I've just been so busy lately."
"I see," replied Aoshi as he slanted his eyes toward Kenshin.
Kenshin looked back at him but remained silent.
Kaoru's eyes switched between the two. She turned to Kenshin and said, "Dr. Shinomori is the author of many interesting books. He has just authored another book entitled... Uhm... I'm sorry Dr. Shinomori, could you please tell me the name of your book again?"
"It's entitled, "The Wandering Criminal Spirit."
"I'm interested to know what your book is about," Kaoru replied nervously. "Please tell us what it is about."
"My book tracks the activities of modern day criminals and the crimes of their ancestors."
Kaoru arched her eyebrow at Aoshi and said, "How did you develop that theory."
"My theory is based on the many interviews I have conducted with various prisoners over the years. Through the use of hypnosis and meditation, I found that deep within the soul of the hardened criminal, lies the murderous spirit of his ancestors. By analyzing their crimes, I discovered similarites in the crimes of their ancestors."
"Wait a minute, are you trying to say that certain people are destined to become criminals due to crimes committed by their ancestors?" asked a now wide eyed Karou.
Aoshi nodded while still keeping his eyes locked on Kenshin.
"I find it hard to believe that a person's life is predestined in that way," replied Kenshin as he narrowed his eyes at Aoshi.
"You are entitled to your skeptisms on my findings, however, I can prove my theory by starting with your ancestors Mr. Himura. Tell me, what do you know about your ancestors?"
"My grandparents died before I was born and my parents died when I was eight years old. I really don't know much about my ancestors."
"I, however, do know all about your ancestors," stated Aoshi as icy blue eyes bore into lavendar.
"My research has found that you are a direct descendant of the legendary Hitokiri Battousai."
"Aoshi Shinomori! How could you say such a thing to Mr. Himura!" yelled Kaoru. "That's absolutely ridiculous!"
Kenshin calmly shifted toward Aoshi.
"Your findings from your research is a matter of personal opinion," replied Kenshin. "However, I am curious as to what motivated you to research my family history."
"Mr. Himura, are you familiar with a man by the name of Kanyru Takeda?"
Kenshin began searching his mind at hearing the name, Kanryu Takeda. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he recalled who Kanryu was.
"Yes," he replied, "Mr. Takeda was a former client of mine. I handled many of his investments."
Kaoru began getting a bad feeling about what was going to happen. She turned to Aoshi and asked, "What are you trying to prove Aoshi?"
"My theory," he replied while focusing on Kenshin.
"During my first year of college, I took on a part-time security job at the mansion of Kanryu Takeda. I enlisted the aide of Hanya, Beshimi, Shikijo and Hyottoko. They were not only my fraternity brothers but they were also like family to me.
One day, while performing our security duties, we heard shouting and a loud banging sound coming from Mr. Takeda's office. The sound was made by furniture being smashed against the wall.
Upon entering Kanyru's office we found that he had destroyed everything in the room. He began screaming and shouting over his life being ruined by Kenshin Himura. Apparently, he had lost millions of dollars behind one of your bad investments."
Kenshin lowered his head as Aoshi continued speaking.
"Kanryu pulled out a semi-automatic weapon and began firing around the room. My legs were hit from the stray bullets. As I fell to the floor, Kanryu continued to fire wildly. Hyottoko used his body as a shield to protect me. He was the first to die of gunshot wounds. The next was Shikijo, Beshimi and then Hanya. Kanryu finally turned the gun upon himself ending the bloodshed. On that day, I lost the only family that I have ever known.
I dropped out of college and sunk into a deep depression. I became so depressed, that I couldn't bring myself to put flowers on their graves. Finally, after nearly a year of depression, I received professional counseling. It helped me cope with the loss of the ones who meant the most to me.
I finally went back to college and took up theology. I began practicing meditation. It helped me to obtain inner peace. During the countless hours I spent in meditation, my mind often reflected on the day my friends died protecting me. Their deaths were caused by two men. Kanryu Takeda and Kenshin Himura. I knew what type of man Kanryu was. He was all about money and power. His greed for money is what brought his life to an end. But I knew nothing of you, his financial advisor.
I decided to see what kind of person you were. I learned that you had been sentenced to prison for inside trading but the charges were dropped. On the surface, you appeared to be an average man who had been dealt a bad hand in life. However, a year later, your name came up in the news again. But this time, you were involved in murder.
As I sat through your murder trial, I carefully observed you from a distance. I noticed your behaviour was somewhat cold and aloof. Not once did you show any remorse for your murderous crime. I could sense a killing spirit in you and watched how you stared at others. It made me wonder about the inner working of the criminal mind. I wanted to explore this area more. So I changed my major from theology to criminal psychology.
I began my internship in Kyoto at the first prison you had been incarcerated at. By that time, you had been transferred to another prison. The senior psychiatrist at that correctional facility allowed me to study your file. That's when I began my research into your past and that of your ancestors.
I discovered many similarities between the Hitokiri Battousai and you. You both were killers of men. It appears as though killing is apart of your past Mr. Himura, a past you can never escape."
