the seduction of fire
by eve
disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership to Rurouni Kenshin, but if anyone's willing… a towel-claded Battousai would be a very nice package in my mailbox.
warning: Very violent imagery ahead with themes such as murder and suicide involved. A lot of evilness in this chapter, people!
chapter one
shadow of the sun
Unable so lost,
I can't find my way,
Been searching, but I have never seen,
A turning, a turning from deceit.
Portishead
My memories are blurred. Mere fragments, pieces… broken and distorted. I don't remember much. A name, maybe. The color of someone's eyes…my mother maybe? All I know is this my destiny. To fight, to protect, and to die… I am know as the Priestess and nothing more.
- Session I, Kamiya Kaoru: Age 14
Her fingers danced over the scared symbols etched in the skin of the dead man. Blood was caked to the corner of his mouth and she could see how he died… over and over again. Amber eyes, cold and haunting, the raising of a sword that gleamed like the moon's eerie light. She sighed and withdrew her hand from the body. So it was true then. They were looking for her.
"Kaoru?"
"Hmm?"
"We should leave the area. We've been here far too long."
She looked up at Enishi, lips contorting into a frown. Her hands traced over the symbols once more, her eyes wandering around the area. "This deliberate. He won't come back. I was meant to find this body."
Enishi's eyes widened in surprise. Kaoru raised a slender eyebrow. You didn't think that I'd find out, she mused quietly. She stood up, brushing her hands on her pants.
"He could be watching," Enishi murmured, oblivious to the fact that Kaoru had indeed heard him and that she did have some idea to what he was hiding from her. Kaoru winced as she stepped back to survey her surroundings once more. There's no fucking way I'm going back to that goddamn wheelchair.
"He's not," she responded. "It's too obvious."
"Kaoru…"
She ignored him, taking another step back. Kaoru pulled off a glove from her right hand and pulled out an ofada, muttering a chant. A low blue light began to shimmer around her open and palm and then she released the ofada, the light brightening and surrounding the entire area. handprints… blood… the screams. bodies, so many bodies…
She frowned. "You didn't tell me Battousai was the one after me."
Water cleanses. Fire burns.
"You weren't supposed to find out," Enishi tried. She could detect the nervousness in his voice. Her vision focused. Blood covered every inch of the wall in front of her. The curb was scorched, the bleakness of the black ash covering the ground like dying shadows. Her eyes followed the pattern the spell the ofada released. Battousai had help. Great. More things to worry about, more tracks to cover. A slow smirk briefly crossed her lips. However, it didn't mean Battousai understood what he had gotten into.
Kill her wasn't exactly the simplest of things to do or understand.
Water drowns. Fire spreads.
"Why didn't you tell me Battousai had been sent to find me?"
"You needed to recover. You still need to recover."
She turned towards her companion, her eyes darkening. Her expression was dangerous. She motioned with a wave of her hand. "Make sure this is clean. Contact Misao-chan. She knows what to do."
"But-"
Her lips curved into a something that resembled a smile.
"Let him come."
Bring it on, Battousai. I promise you a wild ride.
I see my mama in my dreams sometimes, laughing and smiling. There are two others as well, faces and names…Papa? I can't remember. I dream… It's dark. Very dark. I see blood and sakura blossoms. I cry in my dreams. Mama? It hurts too. I want to remember names, but I can't. Sometimes I see my mother's body. Mama's eyes were so blue. And then I see the flames… Only blood and sakura blossoms."
- Session XIV, Kamiya Kaoru: Age 6
"Sometimes I wonder about you, Battousai."
He grunted and didn't even bother to turn around, leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed and he began to focus his mind on the energies in the surrounding area. He heard the rustle of clothing and then paper, and then cocked one eye open. He was greeted by a manila folder, papers trying to escape.
"What's this?"
"Information. On the girl."
"From who?"
The response was a growl. He perked up at the more movement in the area, but said nothing. He reached out and grabbed the file, the papers flying out. His eyes caught two names and several words… Shinomori, Haijime… cold, dead… in the river… neighbors heard screams… body… daughter was five… disappeared from hospital… therapy.
Briefly, his eyes flickered with something akin to some sort of emotion. His hand reached up and touched his heart forcing himself to calm down. Weakness. Humanity. Two qualities he could not afford in the business of assassination. But somewhere inside himself, his intuition was telling him to stay away… he was going to get involved.
"I can't tell you."
He pushed himself away from the wall. "You never can."
"Battousai?"
He said nothing, disappearing into the shadows as quickly as he came.
"BATTOUSAI!"
It'll have to get done. No matter how involved, I get…
They're my family to say the least. I'd still be on the streets if it weren't for Kaoru and Enishi. They're my family and I wouldn't trade them in for the world. My family…I'd die for them.
- Session XXIV, Makimachi Misao: Age 13
So she was supposed to be watching the Battousai. Okay, small guy with red hair and wicked glowing eyes. Check. Weird person that she couldn't tell whether or not it was a man or a woman handing a file on Battousai a file on Kaoru-chan. Check. A slow smirk crossed her lips. This was way too easy. Not only did she have the spy gig under her belt, but her computer hacking skills were phenomenal a la Kaoru. So the information that Battousai had gotten for whatever group was trying to kill Kaoru was merely the stupid police report that had been filed.
She leaned back against the wall as the Battousai passed. God bless ki control. The thing was she knew that he would still sense her… she just had to play it like a squirrel or bird or something rather. No biggie. She could hear Enishi's sneer in the back of her head. Don't fuck it up kid. She was in the hospital long enough. Fuck it up and I'll kill you.
Which is why she told him to shove it where the sun don't shine.
He pissed the hell out of her. Him and his stupid obsession with Kaoru-chan. She knew the older girl tried nothing to think about, especially in her predicament. But Kaoru-chan had confided in her once or twice that there were times were it pissed the hell out of her. Kaoru-chan's nasty temper only came when she was dealing with Enishi. The idiot coddles her too much. Enough to drive someone up the wall.
Speaking of which, she jumped and grabbed the ledge to lift herself over. Tokyo's skyline glittered quietly, lights jumping place to place and forming a scheme of colors. It's peaceful almost… the people of Tokyo had no damn idea what was going on. It was kind of sad, in away…
A whisper of voices and slight rustle of clothing caught her attention and she crouched back into the shadows. And she strained to hear---
She won't let us in… you know that…
I could care less.
You're full of it. You care.
I'm going to kill her.
You won't be able. Why did you alert the others to hire Battousai?
The chase…
The chase, Misao's eyes widen… Oh god…
Kaoru… Kaoru… Kaoru…
The world started to spin and she felt a shearing pain in her side. Misao lunged forward as if she was fighting an invisible opponent. mama…papa, please stop… stop/stop/stop/s/t/o/p/… don't hurt her… memories… blue eyes.
b----l----u----e--------e----y----e----s
What's happening to us?
Author's Notes:
Yep. I'm intentionally trying to confuse all of you. ^_^ I promise the story will be understanding-worthy. Seriously. The story's turning out the way I planned, so I'm happy. WKUA's next part will be due out soon, I'm still fine tuning. It's turning to be really depressing… Megumi's going a tiny bit, well nuts. But give it a couple more days. Review please!