Scars Chapter Two

            Sano saw the change as it occurred.  The calm peaceful look of a dreamless slumber vanished, and the muscles of Kenshin's face contorted.  Then his eyes opened, they were not the beautiful shade of purple as they were, less than five minutes ago-they were amber.  Kenshin's whole body posture even changed.  As he got up, his movements were no longer spontaneous and fluffy, but uncannily purposeful and mechanical. 

He scowled as he looked at himself.  He walked to his bedroom door, and opened it, looking directly at Sanosuke. 

            "Konchu, do I look like an assassin in this?" Battousai looked down at his attire.

            Sano rolled his eyes at the man. "I don't control him, you know. I am merely the clean up man, and we just happen to be friends. I don't tell either of you what to do."

            The man scowled, and slammed the door.  He exited the room five minutes later, wearing all black.  There were no two people as contrast.  They were opposites, dark and light, hot and cold.  The man cloaked in black came out, and seemed to glide over to the couch.  He stopped in mid stride, seemingly thinking about something. 

            "You had that mirror cleaned up fast."  He coldly spat at Sanosuke. 

            "It is my job, Battousai." Sano spat back mockingly. 

            Battousai spun around, towards the back of the living room, where his sword was located.  He stopped in front of it, but didn't move to take hold of it. 

            "Konchu, why do you bother with me?"  Battousai asked in a monotone whisper, a voice that sent shivers down the spine. 

            Sanosuke moved from his lounged position into a hunched over slouch.  He reached inside his leather-jacked pocket, and pulled out a red bandana.  He held it in his hand, and looked at it.  Then he tied it around his forehead. 

            "Why do you live the way you do?" Sano asked when he had his bandana secure. 

            The man, standing in front of the sword, didn't move.  His head was bowed, his long red locks of hair hiding the gaping holes to his soul.  Then he seemed to come to a resolve with himself, for he loosened a little and looked up at the sword again.  He slowly reached for it.  He grasped a hold of it, and secured it to his side, with his belt. 

            When his eyes met with Sano's, they were the color of amber.  His posture had become tense again.  He just stared at Sano, as if testing his resolve.  Then his face tightened into a look of disapproval.  He then tied his long fire red hair into a high ponytail. 

            "Did you get a message, Konchu?" He asked in his normal monotone voice.  

            "No.  You will get a call." 

            The two men just stayed motionless in the room, Battousai standing by his sword holder, and Sanosuke sitting hunched over in the armchair.  The silence and stillness of the room made time seem endless, like the figures were statues, frozen as they were, forever.  Then the sound of the telephone cut the silence, and the Battousai's movements, though agonizingly slow, ended the stillness.  Sano's eyes followed his every move, and were locked to his eyes as he stared off into empty space, holding the receiver to his ear. 

            The room was silent, as Battousai listened to whoever was instructing him, his eyes moving in his sockets, unfocused as if in a daze. 

            He said, "Yes" into the air, and then the line went dead. Battousai didn't waste any time, the receiver fell into its place, and he headed straight for the door, Sanosuke in toe. 

            Just a little way down the street there was a parking garage for the apartments.  Battousai pulled out of his pocket a card, and ran it through the gate lock. The gate opened.  They went up the stairs, stopping at the fourth floor.  Battousai then pulled out a set of keys from another pocket, and pushed a button, and the sound of a car unlocking was heard. 

            The car was black with neon green lights on the wheels and underneath the car.  The windows were tinted black, and the interior was black leather.  Battousai first went to the trunk, and pulled out a bag that contained a black leather trench coat, and black leather gloves.  He threw another pair at Sano, who was standing next to the passengers' door, ready to get in. 

            Battousai got in, and they sped out of the garage, rubber burning into the cement. 

            "In a hurry tonight?"

            Battousai only let the car have more gas. 

            They drove for about fifty minutes, they were in the inner city, and he was starting to slow down. Battousai's eyes scanned the area carefully, taking it all in.  He finally stopped the car in a back alleyway and got out, followed by Sano. He locked the doors, and the horn sounded lightly, but after that, there was only black silence.  Sano had to squint his eyes to follow Battousai. 

            As they walked down the alley, you could hear the faint sound of music coming from somewhere close.  Off in the distance, there was a window that had a light on. 

            Upon closer inspection, the music and lights were coming from the same place.  The room, with the light coming out the window, was on the first floor.  As both Battousai and Sanosuke approached the window, the music became louder, and the voices from within the room started to become more apparent than the music, that seemed to cover them.   There were three distinct voices, all men.  Two were yelling and the other was trying to get the other two to shut up. 

            Just as Battousai had reached the window, and was about to take a look inside, the window shattered, as something was thrown at it.  The object fell into the alley, and in the darkness, was concealed. The yelling within, along with the music, filled the alleyway with sound.  Also the smell of smoke filled the air, as it leaked through the now ruptured window. 

            It wasn't cigarette smoke, Sanosuke knew the smell of cigarettes and this was not the right smell.  Battousai motioned at Sanosuke and pointed to a door that was less than two feet away, adjacent to the window.  Sanosuke had done this enough times to know what he meant, although the first time the assassin had pulled this stunt, he had no idea what the guy was trying to get at by pointing at a door.  I mean what did he want, for him to go in?  Was he insane?  But Sanosuke knew.  So he nodded, and put his hand on the doorknob.  He bowed his head, and took a deep breath, something he did every time, just to calm his nerves, then he barged into the room. 

            The first reaction from within, was shock.  This caused them to look at the door, and the intruder.  Now there was normally a fast reaction when it came to people like this, they were very trigger happy, so within a few seconds, after their cracked minds had processed that the intruder was not one of their own, they pulled out their guns.  Now as this was taking place, Sano just stood there, in the doorway, and even though they had guns cocked and ready to fire upon him, his face was relaxed, and his lips were pulled back into a smile. 

            Then as they all were about to pull the trigger-blood.  Battousai used the distraction to enter the room from the back window, and came up behind them.  He took the one closest to him out first, by cutting him in half, at the abdomen, then with lighting speed, he took out the two standing around the table towards the middle right of the room by decapitating both of them, and lastly by this time the last man in the room, had turned to face him, and as he moved his arm to point the gun at Battousai, he found a sword in his throat.  So there were four, when they had only heard three.  If there had been twenty, they still would have had no chance. 

            Sanosuke felt something wet on his chest.  He looked down at himself. 

            "AWW MAN! Did you have to splatter the blood all over the room?  I mean; this shirt was new!"  He wined to Battousai. 

            Battousai gave him a stone cold glare full of annoyance.  He then looked at his clothes, unadulterated by the blood.  For one second he allowed his face to distort into an evil smile.  Then just as it had appeared, the smile vanished, and his face was once again nothing but stone.

            "Konchu, bugs are foul creatures. Always in unclean places, covering themselves with filth." He said coldly.

            Sano pulled out his cell phone and turned it on and dialed another number, as they both walked out of the room, and back to Battousai's car.  Battousai removed his coat, folded it neatly, and laid it in the oversized bag. He then removed his gloves, one finger at a time. They were like a second skin, a perfect fit. 

            "Why do you wear gloves?" 

            Silence was his reply.  But Sano was in one of those moods, more curious than normal, and just as stubborn as the assassin. 

            "I mean you never get dirty, you seem to splatter the blood on every place in the room, except on yourself.  Why even bother with the gloves."

            Normally silence would follow no matter how much he pushed a subject, silence or a glare that looked like it could kill, but this time it was different.

            "Filth."

            One word, a word that could be taken as meaning many things.  Filth of what?  Of whom?  But Sano knew that it was all he would say, even if it hadn't answered or addressed his question.  It was one more word uttered, than normal, which was a plus anytime.

End Chapter Two 

(A/N) 

Konchu - insect

I knew that I wanted to give Sano a name that Battousai would call him, it had originally been Gnat, but I liked Konchu better in the end.  I had even considered Bouyo, which means fly, but that is the name of Kagome's cat, and I couldn't think of a fly when I read it, only the fat cat, so Konchu it was.