Ronin Kaoru; Kyoto Arc

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Chapter Three; Burn Baby Burn

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When a person cannot deceive himself the chances are against his being able to deceive other people.
-- Mark Twain

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AU- *wrestles self out of coffin*

*Gasps for air*

I'm Alive!!! They buried me alive!

By that, I mean I have just escaped my relatives. Almost. It'll be a while before they find me again. Christmas vacation shouldn't resemble evading capture by enemy forces.

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Michael Creighton narrowly escaped with his life.

He ducked into a handy service passage concealed in the immaculate wooden panels gracing the corridors of his Aunt's posh western style mansion. Not a moment too soon, either. A few seconds later a decidedly tiny and frail looking woman who appeared to be pushing 180 stormed by.

Michael held his breath and prayed to every god he could think of hat his Great-great Aunt would, in her temper, forget the secret passages riddling her domain.

The thick carpet underfoot could not completely absorb the sound of her fragile damask satin slipper stomping against the ground and her deep, rich voice made the chandeliers shudder as she bellowed at the top of her prehistoric lungs.

"Michael, you will not avoid me this time! We're going to discuss this if it kills someone and I guarantee the casualty will not be me!" She snarled in a tone that could, and on occasion had, scared hardened criminals out of their bluster.

'Please don't find me' he prayed. 'I'm not here! Ignore me!'

Perhaps his mental emanations worked for Hurricane Great-great Aunt Jebediah stormed on down the hall spewing death threats all the while. Michael didn't dare let his breath out until she was gone.

Sometimes he really hated being the sole heir to an entire Lordship. Especially now that he was old enough to consider marriage. Great-great Aunt Jebediah wouldn't be happy until she saw him settled down with a girl of her choosing and happily producing as many heirs to the Creighton name as physically possible.

'I'd rather be a Kenshi' he thought sulkily. 'At least when I'm on the business end of a sword, I know where I stand. Sometimes I wish that my life could change.'

He slipped out of the service stair and fled in the direction opposite that which Aunt Jebediah was searching in. Luckily his room was in that direction and if he was lucky he could get to his chambers, change into his 'work clothes', grab Conover and make a hasty exit; stage right.

Little did he know that his path was already secured. He needn't have worried about little things like obstacles, especially not when certain beings had selected him as their personal tool.

Aiden remained just beyond the physical plane that Michael inhabited, technically he occupied space in that plane but he was neither visible nor tangible. He could however exert influence on that plane; influence that he now employed to keep the nosy relative of his Catalyst occupied elsewhere.

It galled him no end that he would have to restrict his plans to the physical limitations of a plane-bound. However it was unavoidable, even he was subject to the ebb and flow of the time-line's possibilities.

When the possibility spectrum was expanded and there were many possibilities available in the Time-line then he could enter and interact with that Time-line's course of history, but when the possibility spectrum contracted and very few possibilities existed then he courted a paradox just by nearing the Line. He needed a human who existed within the spectrum to represent his interests when he, himself, could not.

For a brief moment, Aiden had considered ignoring the rules and willfully bringing on that dreaded paradox in order to retrieve his rightful position as the center of Raven's life but common sense quickly won out. While it was well within his abilities to weather the psychic storms and spatial warps brought on by paradox he knew that very few shared that ability. A paradox could potentially wipe out this timeline and every Line resembling it, causing a chain reaction that could destroy the entire Flux.

However he was not so much concerned with the loss of the Flux as he was with Raven's own ability to survive. There would be no point in destroying the woman he sought to regain, he told himself but a deep, secret part of him screamed in agony at merely contemplating the idea of hurting her, intentionally or otherwise.

He'd play this game her way.

***

Crash.

Shards of pottery and drops of tea sprayed the near vicinity with almost benign shrapnel. Kaoru cursed vilely as she glared at the mess at her feet.

Kaori, who had been witness to this accident hopped to her feet and went for a rag to clean up with, leaving her supremely annoyed mother to pick up tea cup bits off the tatami.

"Damn me and my butterfingers." She muttered coarsely.

Her daughter reappeared with the rag and made short work of the displaced tea before it stained the floor mats. After a few minutes of work all the evidence that remained of the accident were the collection of ceramic shards in Kaoru's hand, a damp rag, and a slightly shiny spot on the tatami.

"What brought that on, Kaa-chan?" The ten-year-old asked as she took the sharp fragments from Kaoru and wrapped them in the rag she held. "You just went stiff all of a sudden, and you should have seen the look on your face."

Kaoru attempted to laugh it off. "Jumpy nerves, I suppose, someone just walked over my grave."

Kaori did not look impressed. "Really. From the looks of it, they drove a caravan over it." She pivoted on her heel and went for the waste bin out back. "I'll get you another teacup, Kaa-chan!" She called over her shoulder.

"Arigotou!" Kaoru called back and knelt back down beside the calligraphy set that she had been utilizing to instill a modicum of proper handwriting in her daughter.

She examined Kaori's latest attempt critically. She had set her child to copying down some of the scrolls where her father had set down the basics of Kamiya Kasshin.

Kaori's calligraphy was still somewhat crude and unpracticed, but Kaoru detected a natural grace the letters and a bold stroke that characterized her hand. Kaoru chuckled in pride as she gave herself a mental pat on the back for teaching Kaori so well.

'Getting egotistical in our old age, aren't we, o-baba?' Kaoru thought to herself as she daughter herself. 'This is Kaori's achievement, not yours. You just set her feet on the right path, it was up to her to walk it.'

Besides, her spelling still stunk to nirvana.

Kaoru smiled indulgently and set the paper down. She sprinkled the ink with fine sand to speed its drying process. Spelling could wait until another day.

"I've got your tea, Kaa-chan, and Megumi-san made sakura-mochi too! We ran out of oolong tea so I made uji tea instead." Kaori swept in with a tea tray balanced on slender fingertips. There were two cups of tea on the tray, but Kaori already had a fresh cup already in the room... perhaps Megumi would be joining them.

Kaoru paused momentarily to admire her child; Kaoru was in her habitual white gi and pale yellow hakama. Today she had her hair bound up in little Chinese buns and pigtails with yellow ribbons tied on the buns on either side of her head. The hairstyle suited her.

A flicker of movement in the hall beyond Kaori alerted Kaoru to Shinnosuke's presence. She smiled past Kaori at him. "Care to join us, Shin-chan?" She offered, although she strongly suspected that Kaori had already extended the invitation. She and Shinnosuke were partners in crime these days and were rarely found when one was not within the near vicinity of the other.

Saitou's progeny stepped sheepishly into the room with them and bowed. "Konbanwa, Kamiya-sama. I was helping with the chores today. I would be honored to remain withy you for a short time."

Kaoru nodded serenely and he dropped to a lotus beside Kaori. The boy had impeccable manners, she had to give him that, but she also suspected that Saitou expected his children to be perfectly mannered at all times. Shinnosuke was certainly that.

He smiled when he did his requisite chores, he said thank you when Enishi reprimanded him for a fault in his footwork, he made small talk while he held Yahiko still for Kaori to get a clear shot at him; in short that mask never wavered. Saitou definitely passed on his strongest traits.

Shinnosuke however, was different from his father or perhaps represented a younger, more carefree Saitou (a concept that honestly scared Kaoru). He didn't have the iron edge that Saitou had or the man's tendencies to walk up to his problems and slice his way through them; Shinnosuke was sneakier than that. He was more likely to smile that infuriating smile and deal out 'please's and 'thank-you's until somebody snapped.

There was very little Kaoru knew about Shinnosuke, but then he didn't exactly invite one to be intimate. He was kind and jovial, but something in his manner kept everyone at arm length. Especially when he opened those eyes of his. He had beautiful eyes, all jewel-like topaz and citrine, however there was an expression permanently etched into them that made people step back. There was a reason he kept his eyes shut.

Kaoru knew that Shinnosuke had the potential to become a very dangerous man one-day, it was inevitable. The cub of a wolf is still a wolf. She could only hope that her teachings would help shape that person he would be.

Still, at the moment he was a basic of the basics kenjutsu apprentice who had a tendency to walk into walls and run off at the mouth about western culture.

Kaori served him a cup of tea, which he savored as though it were a fine wine. "Uji tea." He murmured. "My mother rarely serves it at home." He took another sip. "A loss to our household."

"It's good isn't it?" Kaori beamed; she'd made the tea. The beverage was the one thing she could make in the kitchen and not ruin.

"Very good." Shinnosuke assured her. "Did you know that in Britain they put milk and sugar in their tea? They also drink it in tiny little cups with little handles on the sides."

"Milk?" Kaori made a face. "What's wrong with them? Milk is for babies and sugar would ruin the tea."

Shinnosuke shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea, my studies have not revealed to me the reason why they feel the need to spoil perfectly good tea. Tea should be drunk for the sake of its natural flavors, not clouded up by other tastes."

The two children nodded to one another in perfect accord, Kaoru mentally rolled her eyes. Perhaps it was her fault for raising Kaori in a monastery; the girl was far beyond other children of her own age group.

The conversation drifted onto other idiosyncrasies of foreigners and Kaoru was content merely to listen in, until Kenshin showed up that is.

Thanks to the eerie silence of his ki, Kaoru couldn't sense him until he was practically on top of her so he regularly snuck up on her. If they were alone, he teased her unmercifully, if they weren't then he went all stiff and corpselike on her until she dismissed whomever she was with so he would relax.

The ex-hitokiri had been something of a permanent fixture at the dojo these days and he was never far from her, she had only to turn her head to see a glimpse of red hair in the sunlight or a sardonic curve of his smile.

Try as she might, she could not fathom his reasons for tailing her everywhere she went. The old Kenshin had given her space... unless she was hurt, sick, or mildly depressed then she had a Kenshin shaped shadow attached to her ankles wherever she went.

When she confronted him over it he smiled that enigmatic smile and said something cryptic and confusing like "Why not?" Or "you're an intelligent woman, Kamiya. You know why."

She was starting to consider pulling her hair out or better yet, pulling his hair out.

"Hello, Kamiya. I trust I find you well?" Kenshin said expressionlessly.

Koru gave an undignified squeal as she registered his presence behind her. She was on her feet in a second and growling in his face the next. "How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me?" She snarled at him.

"Until I stop." He replied blandly. "May I speak with you outside?"

She blinked, forgetting her anger she nodded. "Of course. Carry on without me, children."

"Kay, Kaa-chan." Kaori chirped. "Have fun!"

"Have a pleasant... chat." Shinnosuke added sweetly.

Kaoru momentarily considered smacking some manners into both children, but Kenshin took her by the elbow and steered her out of the room. She yelped something in protest but he didn't turn her loose until they were both in a secluded part of the garden. She felt her pulse become erratic.

How many times had she fantasized this situation? Hadn't she dreamed this a million times in her secret heart? Wasn't this exactly what she'd always wanted her Kenshin to do?

Her Kenshin.

There was romance in her girl-hood fantasies. Now Kenshin's hand was white knuckled on the hilt of his katana, not his sakabatou. Gripping his weapon was Kenshin's signal of stress, not nervousness.

"There is something we must discuss, Kamiya" he said slowly. Inch by inch he became more human and less starch. His fingers were still clenched on his blade though. "You felt the disturbance just now?"

Her eyes widened as she realized that he was referring to the chilling sensation that had caused her to destroy and teacup. "I did."

"I have never felt anything like that before, and I sensed nothing pleasant from the source." He said darkly. "Do you have any ideas?"

Kaoru pursed her lips; for once she was at a total and complete loss. Like him, she'd never felt anything like it before in either lifetime yet Kaori and Shinnosuke had seemed oblivious to it.

That triggered an idea, perhaps Kenshi who had developed their ken-ki only picked up the sensation. It could have happened in her first life with her oblivious to it. There were thousands of times when Kenshin had broken off in mid sentence or suddenly frozen in the middle of a chore and trouble had always come hard on the heels of that strange action.

Was it a premonition of sorts? An early warning system?

She had no clue.

"You're thinking of something." Kenshin intuited.

'Way to hit the nail on the freaking head', she thought uncharitably.

"It's foolish." Kaoru admitted reluctantly.

"Foolishness is better than nothing." He prompted. "Please, share this idea."

Kaoru automatically slipped her arms into he sleeves and sought a place to lean against one of the available garden trees. She considered how to word what she would say.

"A ... mentor of mine experienced similar things, I believe. I have no way of knowing. Kaori was with me when the anomaly occurred yet she didn't react, I could only assume she didn't feel it. It is possible that when I was with him, I had not developed my alternative senses acutely enough to register the sensation. Yet often times he would stiffen or drop things when there was nothing to alarm him." She said slowly.

"Understandable." Kenshin agreed neutrally.

"The only reason I'm considering this is...well; danger always arrived shortly after one of his episodes. I came to understand that something was warning him, perhaps this is something similar?"

A surprised smile lit Kenshin's face. "There is a viable theory. Perhaps if we contact your old mentor..."

"No!" Kaoru flushed at her outburst. "No" she repeated more calmly. "We can't do that; he's... unavailable."

Kenshin didn't need to be told twice, he didn't even press her for details. Anyone else would have at least given her a dubious look; Kenshin just discarded the idea and moved on.

That was something she really had to appreciate in a man.

"I believe I'll ask around and see if anyone else... uh... felt it." She murmured. Her arms were still in her sleeves and she found her gaze drawn to the ground. She felt useless.

Useless was a mere stone's throw from helpless.

Before she realized he'd closed the distance between them, She felt Kenshin's fingers under her chin as he drew her face up so she looked him directly in the eyes, directly into smoldering, molten amber eyes.

"You shouldn't look down." He murmured. "It makes you look like you are frail and you are not. You should hold your head up high, even when you are distressed. There is a natural pride in you and it deserves to be displayed, Kaoru."

She decided right then and there that she loved the way he said her first name.

His fingers gently stroked her jaw line as he spoke and Kaoru was suddenly aware of the slight difference in their heights; he was maybe an inch taller than her... perfect kissing distance and he was so very close...

He drew in his breath abruptly as her eyelids reflectively fluttered down to half lidded. She gasped as he turned her loose and backed up several steps, she saw he was breathing hard and his eyes had never burned brighter.

... yet so very far.

Shame burned bright in her cheeks. "G-gomen!" She stammered. "Gomen nasai!" Without another word she fled those blazing eyes.

He called out after her, but she ignored him.

'You lost control, Kamiya.' her conscience howled at her. 'Only for a second and see what you've done!'

Tears stung her eyes as she vaulted the courtyard wall. She'd done it all for him, and see what she'd done? Screwed it up all over again.

Kaoru the failure.

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Seiyuu; Konnichiwa minna-san! Sorry for the delays in updates on Ronin Kaoru Kyoto arc, as some of my lovely reviewers have halfway guessed, I have finally replaced that wrecked car of mine.... With a hunk of junk Subaru that's almost half as old as I am. I've named him Musashi, after that samurai who never bathed. He is crude, yet effective. The other part of the problem is named Justin, no he's not my computer she's named Hotaru-chan (after a special friend of mine) No, Justin is my new beau and he's rather distracting as boyfriends go.

NOTICE!!! No one is allowed to steal Musashi or kill Justin in order to clear my way for writing. I am much too attached to either of them and would likely quit writing all together in order to track down the offender and kill them in a manner that would give even a Klingon nausea.

You may, however, take Justin hostage or something similar. Musashi is immune to all of you.