Depend On You
by Hotaru
Author's notes:
Yeah, I forgot some essentials like the disclaimer and rating warnings. So I'll put them here, okay?
All reviews will be answered after this chapter. I've only got 8 so far, so it shouldn't be hard. Please, to those other readers out there, your reviews are the only thing that inspire me. Tell me if you like this story or if I should go get a life and flame this one for good!!!
Yeah, I'm wordy. On with the story!!!
Disclaimer: I would like to own rurouni and will give my lifesavings to Watsuki for that, but hey, life isn't fair, so I don't own him, that sucks!!!
Rating: PG-13 but ratings may change as fic progresses. Don't say I didn't warn you!!!
Thanks to all my reviewers: Kyaa-Kyaff, Jason M. Lee, kyanos, and Nightrain. You're the first people who reviewed this and I owe u guys 4 life!!!
Oh, and by the way, I DON'T flame reviewers. (And I don't have rabies, so even if I bite, well, he he....)
Now, did I say on with the story? Yare, Yare....
Chapter 4: Dangerous Minds
I look back and realize
It's hard to hurt things
You cannot touch
Harder to touch
Things you cannot feel
Harder to feel
Things you cannot understand
So in order to love
I must understand beyond feeling
Feel beyond touch
Touch beyond hurt
Only then do I love
When all boundaries dissolve
When you and I become Solitudes meeting
Enishi threw a punch at Kenshin, sending him reeling backwards, even with the hilt of his sword raised in an obvious gesture of defense. In the corner, the girl slumped forward as she tried to stand up, her legs refusing to cooperate as she urged them to move forward, her eyes still on the commotion ahead.
Meanwhile, Kenshin cursed himself for letting his guard down, the girl's eyes sending signals he couldn't ignore, some of them comforting, imploring, but most of them begging him to leave. He could only wonder at that, as he ducked to the sides, evading another aimless punch from Enishi. The girl must have realized by now that he had come to rescue her. Wasn't that what she wanted? He wanted to see her eyes again, to seek the answer to the puzzle in his mind, but Enishi lumbered towards him, grabbing a steel file and some scissors and throwing them at him carelessly. Kenshin also vaguely wondered at that.
He knew Enishi to be a better fighter. Or perhaps it's the effect of the chip he had taken from the Kamiya girl…
Feeling almost sorry for the scientist who seemed so out of it now, he grabbed and pushed a metal cart filled with tubes and wires from behind him, putting it between himself and Enishi, then kicking it as hard as he could, allowing it to drag Enishi across the room and against a wall, pinning him effectively. As Enishi groaned and struggled to push the intrusive object away, Kenshin grabbed the girl's hand, pulling her to her feet.
Almost instantly, she whimpered at his touch, her other hand reaching out to free herself from his grasp. He ignored it, pulling her behind him without looking back.
Already, he can hear Enishi's anguished shrieks, and the sound of feet rushing from outside the door.
Cursing softly under his breath, he kicked a ventilation shaft open, pulling the girl behind him even more urgently.
Again her other hand tried to push his hand away.
He looked back, his violet eyes impatiently cold and distant, worry etched on his features as he asked.
"What do you think you're doing?"
She looked back, eyes defiant, her sapphire eyes demanding.
They stared at each other for five seconds, neither one speaking.
It was then that he noticed.
A wire was protruding from the wrist he held, the pin embedded on a vein that had burst and was bleeding profusely. Immediately releasing her at the sight of blood trickling on the floor and marking their path, he took out a scarf from beneath his coat then wrapped it around her wound, careful not to apply more pressure than needed.
She looked at him strangely, wondering why he seemed to be keeping his eyes averted from her, even as he dressed her wounds.
The reason only became clear when he removed his long coat and threw it over her shoulder.
"I don't want you catching a cold."
With embarrassment, she realized that the blue lab gown she had been wearing had completely slipped off her shoulders, revealing intimate parts of her in several places. She blushed, wrapping his coat tightly about her, holding out the other, unbandaged hand to him, as he unconsciously reached out to lead the way.
Everywhere around them, sirens echoed, announcing their escape.
. . . . . . . . . .
"Tomoe-san? Are you alright? I think you haven't heard a single thing I said since the time we got here," Akira Kiyosato, Tomoe's business partner, colleague, and close friend who's been with her since she joined the Seta Law Firm Inc. three years ago gave her hand a squeeze, forcing a wan smile on her lips.
He shook his head.
"Hey, it's not the end of the world. I don't know Himura that much, but from what I see, he doesn't seem to be the guy who ups and leaves a woman without a good reason."
Tomoe glared at him. "Oh, and would it help if there's a good reason, Akira?"
Akira backed away slightly, noting the edge in her voice. He smiled. "Okay, maybe he doesn't up and leave, period."
"That's much better" she sighed, her eyes returning to the sight of rain outside the window.
Akira scratched his head. "Look, if you're gonna sit around and mope all day, you might as well go out with me for a drink or two. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not making a pass at you or anything, but I really hate seeing you so down in the dumps like this. It's so not like you."
She sighed again, finishing her tea as she slung her bag on her shoulder, looking up at the eager face that met hers. "Alright. But none of your sleazy, sexist jokes, Akira, and I mean it. All I want is some quiet, and maybe just a little conversation… but like hell, who am I kidding? Anything I say will be just about Kenshin because I can't get him off my mind and you'd be pissed having to hear the same things over and over again because I'm crazy…"
"And in love."
She snorted, finally standing up. "More than ever and I can't help it…"
. . . . . . . . . .
"Shinomori Aoshi I believe?"
A figure lurking in the darkness asked, the voice guttural and deep, like a wolf's.
"What do you want, Saitou Hajime?" the man with menacing ice blue eyes asked, his coat swishing around his legs as he turned to regard the man behind him with discomfort and aversion.
Saitou flicked the ashes off his cigarette as he approached, the deep hollows of his cheeks reminding Shinomori of dead, old skulls.
"You haven't answered my question Saitou…"
"Aaahhh, still impatient I see. Have you been busy lately Shinomori? Of late, I was beginning to wonder about your whereabouts. I mean, you weren't as active as Himura five years ago when he was still Battousai, and now that your network has become obsolete…"
"Worried about me being jobless, Saitou? I didn't know you have a soft spot in you."
The voice of course, dripped with sarcasm. Saitou snickered.
"You're forgetting that I work as an Information Specialist now. So tracking down missing agents shouldn't prove very difficult for me, if at all…"
"Oh, don't worry. You won't be missing me all that much, really. After all, since your agency got Himura on strings, your bosses have been keeping me busy with a lot of work…"
"Really now. May I know what kind of work, Shinomori?"
"Do you really think I'd tell you?" Shinomori scoffed at him, walking away with a grin. "But since I hate to waste your time—you do have to spend a lot looking for me, didn't you?—why don't you go ask Hiko? He might have something to say why I'm here in Tokyo, and what Dr Yukishiro has been up to lately…"
Dr. Yukishiro? The name was very familiar, of course. He was the protégé of the late Dr. Takeda Kanryu, the scientist who was linked to the scandalous spread of a deadly virus—Anthrax 09—in Otsu, which killed thousands. Though closely linked to the brilliant scientist, Dr. Yukishiro's background, however, appeared "clean" and did not connect with any evidence pointing to Kanryu's involvement in the tragic incident. Technically speaking then, Dr. Yukishiro should not be a serious concern to the authorities, though the fact that Shinomori brought him up was enough to cause serious doubts on the part of the intel officer.
With this thought in mind, Saitou turned his back on Shinomori, walking in the opposite direction. Then, as if in jest, he called out.
"If you see the Battousai, say hello for me. I'm sure you two will bump into each other one of these days. And if you manage to kill him, well, that means I only have you to get rid of…"
Shinomori chuckled, but his face remained as impassive as death. "That will not come easy, Saitou. But hey, you'll say hi to Tokio for me, won't you? And the baby—aahhh, Setsu, isn't he?—say hi to him for me too. He'll grow up to be a wonderful boy if you stay away as much as you can...Something tells me though that THAT isn't at all a problem..."
Even against his habit, Saitou turned, eyes gleaming savagely, cigarette forgotten as it dropped lazily to the ground, tiny flickers of light trailing its path. But Shinomori was nowhere in sight, the shadows swallowing him up completely under the golden moon.
. . . . . . . . . .
The night wind was vicious, the cold, biting into her skin as she blindly followed her guide, his hand moist in her numbing grasp. They've been walking for an hour through godforsaken alleys where cats feasted on smelly scraps and people huddled in dark corners, darting indifferent looks through dull, lead-gray eyes. The hopelessness was overwhelming, suffocating her as she angled and half-stumbled through the littered side streets towards the dark cloaked stranger before her, who had not uttered a single word, nor turned to look at her even once, since that time when he bandaged her wounded wrist and had given her his long overcoat to keep the temperature out, and her dignity in.
She bowed her head as one man looked at her imploringly, his arm reaching out, as if to emphasize his need. She didn't want to look away, but it was the best thing she could do to keep his thoughts as far away from her as possible.
She closed her eyes as the voices in her mind roared, some angry and bitter, others hopelessly lost, and muffled by pain...
Something cold and clammy attached itself to her leg, forcing her to break from her guide's grip, her posture that of a frightened, but defensive cat...
Kenshin turned around, only to find a dirty, calloused hand gripping her thigh, his nails dug deep into her pale, white skin.
Her eyes were wide with horror, but there was something more in them that drew his attention with something close to panic.
Her eyes... They were no longer the same sapphire blue he saw an hour ago, back in Enishi's underground facility. They were...they were piercing yellow... no...
Amber...
Kenshin froze as that particular detail registered in his memory.
The girl's irises shimmered with deadly evanescence, like the color of insanity in the eyes of one who had lived to kill, with neither hesitation nor remorse …
A killer's rage that can only belong to Battousai…
. . . . . . . . . . .
"You called? I haven't heard from you for a year!!!" the voice said, incredulity evident in her sultry voice.
Tomoe would have smiled, but her thoughts were racing, almost excited. "Yeah, just wanted to know how you're doing. Criminology is, after all, a challenging course. A doctor such as yourself have little to prove but—"
"Look, you're starting to sound like Mrs. Takani, Miss Yukishiro!!! Is this just a friendly call, or do you need anything?"
"Ouch. That almost hurts," she said, feigning hurt.
"Look, Tomoe, I don't have all day, so, is this about a guy—who's that guy you've been going out with again? Ken—Kenchi is it?"
"It's Kenshin, and yes, this IS about him. I want you to track him down for me."
"WHAAAT!!!! Are you serious? Don't you think you need somebody less—I mean—I'm a professional...a drop-dead gorgeous one at that, and not your run-of-the-mill sleuth who picks locks with a hair pin!!!"
"I'm serious," Tomoe told her, berating herself for using that serious, almost unfamiliarly cold voice. She sighed mentally, imagining release. "I never told you this, but Kenshin Himura and Hitokiri Battousai are just one and the same person. I would know because I handled his case in court, Dr. Megumi Takani!"
Megumi gave a low whistle, obviously amazed, if not shocked. "Wow, since when have you been this daring, coz? I thought you hate guys with a past—that sort of psychological bull that people throw around to excuse their behaviors. That's why you wanted to be a lawyer. You're way too picky, you scrutinize, and you're too damn suspicious, with a capital S."
"Yeah, guess I should have taken up your hobby instead."
"So what's with this boyfriend of yours? Third party, something like that?"
It took a second for her to answer, as if she had just considered that for the first time. "No. That's not it."
"Are you going to keep me guessing?"
Tomoe sighed. "Alright. This is just a hunch but I think Kenshin's old 'job' had been reactivated. Two days before he disappeared, he received a call from Secretary Katsura. He didn't tell me what it's about—and I doubt that he will even if I beg him to—but I suspect it's got something to do with some nasty secret government project. I don't know all the details about Kenshin's past, but what I do know is that he wouldn't go back into that mess voluntarily, especially when we've talked and talked about this..."
Tomoe didn't want to sound desperate but her voice almost cracked, forcing her to stop so as not to give herself away.
Megumi seemed to understand, letting the silence fall between them, like the measured rhythm of a pendulum...
"Well...if that's how it is..." she dragged, not wanting to sound so uncertain, but coming out a little like so, "I might be able to figure out how I can help."
She was being very indirect and she knew it.
Tomoe nodded, as if Megumi was right in front of her. "I don't have the luxury of time, though, I'm afraid..."
"Alright."
Megumi forced herself to speak, closing her eyes. This isn't going to be easy, you'll be breaking a lot of rules, and might have hell to pay for it, but...
"Alright, I'll see to this personally. Is that better?"
Tomoe exhaled, her bone-deep exhaustion finally finding release. "Hai. I know how hard it is, but I've only got you, and I know you'd understand..."
Megumi snickered. "Yeah, yeah, just don't make it sound like I should grow a halo right this minute. I mean, hell, I've got plenty right there in the closet already!!!"
Tomoe rolled her eyes. "Your conceited ass. Arigatou anyway, and until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Geez, you're one hard woman!!!"
"Glad you know, bye!"
Megumi put down the receiver as Tomoe hung up, her mind going in circles. If this Himura is what my cousin says he is, I have everything to lose if I blow this one!
Damn that Himura!!! If I find out you've been crossing the line, I might have to shoot you myself!!!
. . . . . . . . . .
"Look..." Kenshin forced himself to look away from the girl, and then to the man grasping her thigh, whose look reflected a hunger Kenshin only knew too well, being a man himself. He gritted his teeth mentally, acknowledging the disgust he felt for his own sex. "If you don't let go of her this minute, I will be forced to make circumstances less pleasant for you, mister..."
"Huh?" the man was feasting with the girl's thigh, and hadn't bothered to comprehend a single word of that long, winded speech. Kenshin cleared his throat, his eyes sparking dangerously this time.
"Get your filthy hands off her or you won't have something to pleasure yourself with tonight, got that?"
The man looked up, his face scrunched up haughtily, as if Kenshin was just a fly to swat...
The ex-assassin narrowed his eyes, one arm moving towards his belt. "I see..."
The man blanched as Kenshin walked towards him, unsheathing his long Japanese sword ever so slowly, allowing the metal to slide stealthily, steel grating against wood...
But the girl had beat him to it, her small, pale hands gripping the man's arm, her knuckles and veins bulging from beneath deathly white skin...
Kenshin ignored it, still holding on to his sword, knowing that the girl's strength is nothing against the size she would be up against.
Until he heard the man scream.
Kenshin stopped, the man's shrieks reaching several octaves, shaking the eery depths of the darkness around them.
He sounded like he was suffocating, or that something inside his head was being coiled tightly like a wire, forcing him to grab the sides of his head and hit it against the nearest wall he could find.
Kenshin would have simply stared, if he hadn't seen blood dripping from the man's nose, and the sides of his head, staining the wall with ugly, splotches of dark vermilion.
THAT forced him to move on his feet and help the man who, a second ago, he would have sliced into ribbons for sexual assault...
All this while, the girl stared, her eyes glowing, lips bloodlessly white and trembling.
Kenshin inched towards the man, the dark turtleneck sweater beginning to cling to his skin uncomfortably as he prepared for the only course of action he could think of. There was no other way.
The girl flinched as Kenshin punched the man in the gut, forcing him on his knees, his head sinking between them and away from the wall. When he struggled to get up, Kenshin hit him squarely on the jaw, forcing him to fall on a heap of crates, the ugly cracking noise giving him some assurance that the man will not get up this time.
He didn't.
Kenshin surveyed the mess, making sure that the man was just unconscious but not fatally damaged. He knew that if he had resorted to anything less violent, the man would still be hitting his head against the concrete wall, killing himself in the process.
Not that it was something to mourn about.
One less scum in the world does nothing to make it brighter.
He comforted himself with the thought that murder does not have to be unnecessary...
He turned to face the girl, his eyes narrowed, cautious, perplexed.
But she was gone.
. . . . . . . . . .
Author's comments on reviews:
Jason M. Lee: Thanks 4 the attention!!! By the way, I like your comment about Kenshin being some kind of a "James Bond" type of secret agent here. Actually, "License To Kill" is the only JB movie I sort of liked, so I thought of using the term for fun, and because well, it perfectly describes what government assasins do (from my limited point of view that is!!!) Though in character...let's see...maybe not. I hate sex and violence (Though it does excite, doesn't it? Especially when you find it novel?) especially unnecessary ones. Violence and sexual content in this fic are warranted by what's to come next, though I might break my own rules too, who knows, go fig. that out!!!
And about the Battousai with a "B"? Sorry for the slip. I know what you mean. I'm kinda careless...bwa ha ha...so careless I write fanfics every night, even if my ulcer gets me!
Kyaa-Kyaff: Love you!!!! You make the world go round for me. I think that's the highest compliment I can give someone who has a lot of heart!!! Thanks 4 the encouragement!!! I'll write this fic even if it's only 4 you... (Okay, 2 much flattery there, but hey, I mean it!!!)
kyanos: My story's amazing? You really are way too kind!!! I appreciate your comments and would like to hear more from you!!! You and Kyaa-Kyaff are just way too cool, I love you guys!!!
lere: My fic becoming a classic? I love that compliment, and it spoils me I'm such a brat!!!! I never dreamed of anyone saying that and I'm amazed, swamped, speechless (okay, I'll settle for the other two since I'm way too wordy to be speechless). I'm glad you found this to be very, very good and I hope you really get to read until the very end...Because I won't start a chappie without your review—see I'm so spoiled!!! (Ducks as flame thrower roars overhead.) ^_^ Arigatou so much!!!!
Nightrain: Yeah, I know, this sessha just robbed Spielberg millions for using that term pre-cog. Geez, can't even spell it. Does it have a dash? No? Actually, I decided to use this term because I was looking 4 something more or less familiar, instead of inventing my own that might confuse. But yeah, had to raise an eyebrow myself whenever I'd come across this word in my fic cause I know there's something better to call it though what, I dunno!!! Love if you suggest something... I'm out of ideas!!!
Thanks for the comments too!!! You guys know how to make me smile!!!
Sandy: I'm glad you like my fic!!! Gods, you're a dream, with a review that long!!! I hunger for long reviews (I'm vain, I suck!!!) and you really made my day. Glad you agree about Tomoe's character here, since I try as much as I can to re-invent characters by exploring subtleties in the old one, rather than totally making them from scratch. I don't know, maybe I just like them the way they are. Oh, and if you wanna know if this is gonna be a K&K? Well, read on and find out!!! I might be a little selfish and go for my own preferences (being a K&K fan myself)!!!