Obsession
By Vitreux
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me. Sniff.
Chapter Two
Dancing Shadows
-revised-
No! Please spare my life!"
SLASH!
Blood streaked down Battousai's face as his eyes remained dull. He flicked his sword before sheathing it with a soft click. It was the same everyday.
It always was.
The mortal moon shone piercingly above him and he clenched his fist. He was a manslayer; he took people's lives away because he believed what he had done was a step toward a better society. He chose this path because he would do anything to bring a brighter future to Japan, even if he had to face death itself. He did not hesitate, he could not hesitate.
"Battousai, you seemed a bit tensed." The Hitokiri ignored his comrade's comment and walked deeper into Kyoto's most chaotic corners. A wind picked up causing Battousai's crimson hair to sway with the rhythm, on the corner of his eye he caught something blue as its wings fluttered to rest on a flower's petal.
"What are the odds to find a butterfly and a flower in such a hectic place?" a slayer with green eyes remarked and bent down.
Battousai's mind snapped at a particular word and he found himself lost in a pair of deep azure eyes that belonged to a raven-haired beauty. He was frozen in a time where the scent of jasmine was the only thing mattered, until a crushing sound reached his ears and brought him back to reality.
The green eyed slayer stood up and tramped the flower under his foot, twitching it under his heavy weight. The blue butterfly flew up to the stretching night and Battousai's mind wandered somewhere far along with it.
Butterfly stood quietly and placed her palms against a window, her eyes focusing on a dragonfly that danced across a sparkling river under the moonlight.
"I see you as a whore, nothing more."
It was an obvious fact that she could not become a normal person, for too much tears had been shed and the spirit within her faded away during these years. Ever since she grew up her body was dedicated to royal landlords, drunken gangsters, as long as they could afford money- she would have to sell her body. She was like an empty shell; it was the only method she found in order to keep her sanity.
Forget who you are, forget forget forget.
Her eyes settled on the scar on her white flesh. It was made out of blood, out of pain. She had the habit of carving it deeper again and again so it would forever stay. It was a symbol to remind herself that no matter what she do, she was destined to be trapped inside Sakura House under the name Butterfly. The pain gradually became numb, but the ache in her heart refused to go away.
"Butterfly, may I have a word with you?"
The prostitute slipped her arms inside her kimono and turned to follow the head mistress out to the quiet hallway.
"Battousai came yesterday to see you." The older woman studied her reaction, Butterfly hid it well. "He's a deadly warrior, the greatest of them all. You know what I speak of…"
"Hai." Butterfly answered quietly.
"Good. You must capture him with your beauty dear, the prize will be profound." The head mistress smiled deviously.
Butterfly understood what the head mistress wanted and she cast her eyes down to the floor.
"He is the key to our fortune, with his reputation Sakura House will bloom perfectly." The woman placed her hand on Butterfly's shoulder. "Get him revolve the world for you." She tightened her grip.
Butterfly closed her eyes. "Hai."
"I hope you realize how important this is. Best luck to you." The head mistress turned swiftly and disappeared into the dark hallway.
After a long moment, Butterfly stepped back and walked into her room.
"Let him revolve the world for me…" she whispered when she sat down on her bed, memories of yesterday crawled into her mind and she saw his eyes again. Those mysterious, powerful amber orbs. She thought she could see through him when she held his gaze, but in fact she could not find anything there. His eyes revealed nothing to her. The more he tried to conceal, the more she wanted to see. Who was this man? His presence was a window in Butterfly's world; because of him she had the chance to peek outside and realized there was someone else other than her customers, other than those filthy, demanding pigs. He was different in every way, this Hitokiri Battousai.
It took her few minutes to register the sound of broken sobs coming from the other side of the door, Butterfly found herself walking toward the source and she was met by a weeping young girl, curling herself up outside Butterfly's room.
"Hey," Butterfly's voice softened as she bent down. "What's the matter?"
The girl tilted up her tear stricken face. "Kamiya…Kaoru-san…"
Butterfly's blood ran cold in her veins.
Kamiya…Kaoru…
The name shattered the walls Butterfly built around herself in an instant.
Kamiya Kaoru…
Blood drummed in her ears and the name echoed in her turmoil mind. It was a name she deserted ages ago, a name now very strange and imaginary.
"Who…Kaoru?" Butterfly managed to utter, confusion spread all over her delicate features.
"Kaoru-san…" the girl wailed.
Butterfly wrapped her arms around the small form and brought her inside her room, patting her back and comforting her while she stared at the wall. "Shh…it's all right."
"I'm scared…"
"What happened? Why are you sitting outside my room?"
The girl stared at Butterfly with her chocolate brown eyes and confessed, "I was told that you are the nicest person in the House, so I-I came to you…"
Butterfly gave her a faint smile.
"I was new to the House…I've heard about you, the Butterfly." She wiped her tears away. "I was doing my chores when a man suddenly grabbed my wrist and, and for the first time I-I don't like the feeling…I'm not a prostitute…so I stood outside your room debating whether I should go in, g-gomen nasai!"
Butterfly's anger rose. "Those disgusting men! You must be awfully scared…don't worry now ne? You're in my room and I won't let them touch you again."
"They're right…you are really nice." The girl said genuinely.
Butterfly wanted to laugh; instead she only soothed "Don't cry anymore, ne?"
"Arigatou…Kaoru-san." The girl said meekly.
Again, that name.
"Who…" she shook her head. "I don't believe I caught your name."
"Tsubame, my name's Tsubame Kaoru-san."
"Tsubame-chan, call me Butterfly."
Tsubame looked quizzically up at her. "Demo…demo Kaoru-san is…"
Butterfly stood up unexpectedly mad at herself and walked over to the window. "Kaoru was my name. She died a long time ago when I entered Sakura House." She said bitterly. "The head mistress tempted to erase that name and she gave me a new one. I'm Butterfly now. Kaoru means nothing to me, and never will be."
Silence.
"Gomen nasai…" Tsubame apologized in a small voice. "Butterfly-san."
Butterfly turned and smiled at her wearily. "You don't need to apologize." She patted her head softly. "I think…I think I'll go for a walk."
Battousai walked by the riverbank, the rooftop of Sakura House loomed over the trees in the forest and he stopped in his tracks to watch the towering shadow. He couldn't get the image of Butterfly out of his head. The more he tried, the worse it got. She was a plague and he was the victim, he was under a spell she cast and he could not find a way out.
Butterflies began to gather around him as he watched them fly. Those stunning blue eyes, he thought inwardly. Fists clenching he mocked ridiculously to himself.
The most feared assassin could not tear his thoughts away from a whore, how pathetic was that?
Battousai picked up his pace again as more and more butterflies appeared around the bushes.
Even those butterflies would not leave him alone.
Maybe he should go back; if he continued to walk in this forest he was sure he wouldn't get himself anywhere. He changed his direction, and out of the blue he caught a glimpse of a wisp of black hair.
So dark it reminded him the nights where there weren't any stars.
He hid himself behind a tree trunk and held back his breathing.
"I'll trace…a knife…as a river…"
He pressed his ears further toward the murmurs and he dared to peek after the voice. His amber eyes widened and he no longer had the control over his heartbeats. He abruptly positioned himself behind the tree again as thousands of questions rushed through him like a fever.
Why is she here?
Why am I acting like this?
Her voice began to fade and her shadows danced further away from him. His body moved on its own as if he was pulled by a hidden thread, urging him to follow. He was careful not to create any unnecessary noises and he walked deeper into the forest. His eyes followed her every step, every movement every gesture she made. She glided in a graceful way, the corners of her long kimono brushed past soils of the earth quietly. She indeed resembled a butterfly, how it could find its way through the darkness and how it roamed around the woods.
Then she stopped. All the beauty and elegance within her weakened too and the light that surrounded her was gone. Battousai took a step forward from his hiding spot, his eyes bored into her.
What he saw made his breath caught in his throat.
Fluently, she pulled out a tiny object inside the layers of her kimono and brought them under the moonlight.
A dagger.
The murmurs Battousai heard earlier escaped her mouth once more, this time he heard them loud and clear.
"I'm going to trace a picture, I'll trace it with a knife, I'll trace it on my wrist. As I trace that picture, a river will appear. As that river flows, all my troubles will disappear."
When her lips moved, she grabbed the dagger firmly in her hands and its sharp blade cut through her flesh.
The first trickle of blood oozed from her scar slid down her fragile arm slowly, before Battousai even knew, he rushed to her all full speed and stole the weapon away from her grasp as the dagger hit the ground with a soft thud. Butterfly's startled expression embedded into his memory as he stopped his breathing and stared into her confused eyes.
Hey minna! I'm sooo glad that ya'll like this story! As I read your humble reviews I realized that some people thought this story would be a lemon. Well, the truth is that I'm only 14 when I wrote this fic and I don't know how to write lemons... But this fic can still be wonderful without the sex scenes, I just wanted to clear on that. Thanks again! Read and review!
