Truly Madly Deeply
Leona Blake
Part Five: The Beginning of the End…
Kaoru woke up taking in the view of her surroundings. The last thing she could remember was being snatched from behind, and then a blinding pain, before her world went dark. As Kaoru adjusted herself, she noticed from the lack of pain she expected that her kidnappers were gentle with her.
The room she was in looked like an old fashioned tea house, clean, polished wooden floors, he futon was covered in silks and other delicates, and she noticed that she had been washed, her hair had been left down, and that she was wearing a silk yukata with pink designs on it. Kaoru's stomach turned as she remembered that a man had actually done the kidnapping.
No sooner had her thoughts actually formed when to sweet looking young girls her own age came into the room.
"Is the young princess satisfied with her sleeping accommodations? Master had this all arranged for you."
"I'm…fine…thanks…why am I here?" Kaoru looked edgily at the young girl whom had spoken to her.
"Master will see you and explain in a minute, until then we have to dress you and make you look appropriate for your purpose."
Kaoru nodded bleakly. She had not been tied up, meaning that either very strong number of guards were walking around her imprisonment, or she could leave at will. Kaoru decided that in the least, these girls were engaging and wouldn't be able to inflict harm upon her in any way. Slowly Kaoru permitted the girls to help her dress into appropriate kimono, a lovely silk design of high mountain peaks in a luminous gray color, surrounded by an overwhelmingly designed sunrise full of yellows and pinks. A Grey Obi with pink lining and lace went long with it, and finally a gray hair sash with pink sakura petals went into her hair.
"THERE! You're ready!" the second girl, whose name was Oya stated, finally satisfied with Kaoru's appearance, "I shall go and summon Master…" She smiled pleasantly as she left the room; meanwhile the second girl put away the futon and nodded to Kaoru.
"Follow me princess, sessha will show you to the room where Master will meet you." Kaoru cringed at the familiar term 'sessha' being used by someone other then Kenshin.
Kaoru followed the young girl into the hallway, which was just as old fashioned, and still very well preserved, and upon reaching the right shoji screen, she was showed into a more modern looking room, within which sat a cool looking man with dark red hair that reminded Kaoru of old crusted blood.
"Princess, hello, welcome to my home. My name is Sesshomaru, please, join me over breakfast while I explain to you why you were so rudely kidnapped and brought here."
Kaoru looked that the man who called himself Sesshomaru, he did not look like the man she had been kidnapped by. Fearing that disobedience would only earn her beatings, or death, Kaoru sat down at the heavily polished table and smiled at her host, "Thank you for being so polite, but perhaps before you begin what ought to be a very good story, please explain to me why everyone calls me princess…"
Sesshomaru grinned at the question, "What inquisitiveness, are you not afraid of me princess? I shall tell you, young miss, when the time is right, when the story gets there."
"My name, as I said is Sesshomaru, I was good friends with your fiancé, Yukio, during the war, however, he seems to have forgotten what friendship meant in those days. He was my very best friend; we were to two greatest battosai on the imperialist's side. The only one greater was your friend Kenshin, the legendary hitokiri battosai. But after the war, hitokiri disappeared, and Yukio and I had to split our ways. Yukio, mad with anger that he was not considered the most powerful of all battosai, took off to look for your friend Kenshin, while I began to attempt to clear my family's good name of the blood I had put upon it through out my sightless battosai days.
"I have heard of Kenshin a great deal in the past several years, I have heard that you have be-friend him. Even certain rumors reached me that you were more then friends, the wildest yet was that he was living with you … but in any case… Yukio, even more outraged by this…decided to kill both of you. By the bruises you had when you got here, I can tell he got close. You have been asleep for a week, princess.
"As for you being called a princess? Well, to everyone here, you are of very high prestige …and I for one regard you with great pride, you should hear the wonderful things people say about you. 'The one who tamed the demon.' 'The beauty that conquered the beast.' And many other such things…to those who still feared the great hitokiri battosai, you are a heroin.
"Now we come to why you are here. I would be honored if you would allow me to protect you until Kenshin finishes his business in Kyoto. I fear it is very unsafe for you anywhere else."
Kaoru nodded, she had understood what was coming from the moment he had started talking.
"Shadou, come here!" A sudden whoosh of wind and a handsome young man, also Kaoru's age stood beside her.
"Yes master?" Kaoru jumped ten feet into the air, it was the same voice as the one her kidnapper had.
"Shadou, I want you to track down Sanosuke and Yahiko, tell them to go to Aoish and Misao, and then come here, Aoish will know what to do. If the meet Kenshin on the way good, if not I need you to go to the dojo, stay there for a week, see if Kenshin shows up, if he does not return in one week, return her."
"Hai, Master…" The man disappeared…