the seduction of fire
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: Just Enishi being an idiot, completely harmless. This is the non-
violent chapter, I suppose.
chapter two
painting the ocean black
Enter and rejoice this pedestal,
Where the rainbows hide,
Your destiny,
Mystery of all time.
Portishead
Everybody has their days, I certainly have mine. I'm not perfect; god knows
I have my fair share of skeletons in the closet. But certain things remain
the same. I have my responsibilities. It's not like I can all of the sudden
stop being who I am.
Session XXVIX: Kamiya Kaoru, Age 19
Wake up, Misao.
Mama?
Wake up, Misao. Everything is alright.
Misao's eyes snapped open, her breathing erratic and her fists
clenching the blankets skewed around her waist. She was sweating
unbearably. What happened? Where the hell was she?
I'M GOING TO KILL HER
"Kaoru," she choked out. "Kaoru!"
Gentle hands pried the blankets from her fists and she found herself
pulled into a warm embrace.
"I'm fine," came the soothing reply.
Misao pulled back slightly, her eyes drinking in the comforting sight
of Kaoru. She looked worn, dark circles under her eyes and worry lines
etched in her forehead. Guilt began to eat at her. How could she forget?
How could she forget what Kaoru had been through?
"I'm fine," Kaoru repeated softly. She pulled Misao back into her
arms. "You on the other hand are not. I want you to sleep, Misao-chan. You
need to sleep."
Misao buried herself in the older girl's embrace, seeking comfort in
the scent of lingering jasmine. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I failed you."
Kaoru brushed her sweat-matted hair out of her face. "You didn't fail me."
"Hai. Hai, I did fail you," Misao answered feverishly. She could feel the
tears threatening to spill. "I failed you."
Kaoru tightened her embrace. "You're alive," she answered simply.
"That's what matters to me."
The tension briefly left Misao. "I don't wanna dream tonight. Will
you take the dreams away?"
She felt Kaoru ease her back into bed, pulling the covers around her.
A smile graced her lips as she felt Kaoru brush a kiss against her
forehead.
"Sleep," she murmured softly. "Just sleep."
~~~
Will you take the dreams away?
Kaoru shut the door to Misao's room with a quiet click. She leaned back
against the door, her eyes closed tightly.
Will you take the dreams away?
"You coddle her too damn much."
Her eyes opened slowly and she was greeted by the unwanted presence of
Enishi. Enishi stood against the opposite wall, his gaze dropping as she
looked up.
"And you were supposed to be helping her," she responded flatly.
She pushed herself away from the door and started towards her own room down
the hall. She didn't feel like dealing with him at this particular moment.
"Someone needed to be watching you."
She stopped and whirled around. "I'm not a goddamn piece of glass, Enishi."
"You-"
She lifted a hand. "You want to be useful to me. Leave me to deal with
myself alone."
"Kaoru-"
"Iie."
"Kaoru-"
"Iie."
"Goddamn it, Kaoru!" Enishi reached and grabbed her by the wrist, pushing
her against the wall. "You're your own fucking worst enemy."
Will you take the dreams away?
"You know who attacked the kid," he continued. "And you're going to do
something stupid. You'll drown-"
Watch the sea, Kaoru. Watch the sea. It will be your greatest strength and
your greatest enemy.
\
Suddenly, Enishi fell to his knees with his hand around his throat. He was
struggling to breathe.
"Go," she murmured dangerously. "Go and find the information on Hajime
Saitou liked I asked you to."
Will you take the dreams away?
And as she entered the sanctuary of her room and passed her vanity, she
noticed that her eyes were silver.
~~~
Author's Notes
Before anyone jumps the gun about WKUA, I'm going to say this once
and once only. Right now, I'm writing an author's note that is going to
explain what exactly is going to happen with the story. No, no. I'm not
discontinuing it. I'm going to be rewriting chapters seven and eight
because I wasn't happy with them. Obviously, there was a hiatus with the
fic and this one as well. But the fact is. Real life. Again, I'm not going
to get into it now but I'll talk about it in WKUA.
This fic is going to take priority as of now. I like this fic. In
fact, I've been in love with this idea and actually have several chapters
written but I want to do this fic right. Don't worry, it won't be slow. And
yes, I have finally gotten over being angry with ff.net. And if the
formatting does in fact, suck. I apologize, but know I hate it too. It's
ff.net's fault.
Anyhow, thank you to all of you who have stuck with this story thus
far.
You're in for a ride.
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: Just Enishi being an idiot, completely harmless. This is the non-
violent chapter, I suppose.
chapter two
painting the ocean black
Enter and rejoice this pedestal,
Where the rainbows hide,
Your destiny,
Mystery of all time.
Portishead
Everybody has their days, I certainly have mine. I'm not perfect; god knows
I have my fair share of skeletons in the closet. But certain things remain
the same. I have my responsibilities. It's not like I can all of the sudden
stop being who I am.
Session XXVIX: Kamiya Kaoru, Age 19
Wake up, Misao.
Mama?
Wake up, Misao. Everything is alright.
Misao's eyes snapped open, her breathing erratic and her fists
clenching the blankets skewed around her waist. She was sweating
unbearably. What happened? Where the hell was she?
I'M GOING TO KILL HER
"Kaoru," she choked out. "Kaoru!"
Gentle hands pried the blankets from her fists and she found herself
pulled into a warm embrace.
"I'm fine," came the soothing reply.
Misao pulled back slightly, her eyes drinking in the comforting sight
of Kaoru. She looked worn, dark circles under her eyes and worry lines
etched in her forehead. Guilt began to eat at her. How could she forget?
How could she forget what Kaoru had been through?
"I'm fine," Kaoru repeated softly. She pulled Misao back into her
arms. "You on the other hand are not. I want you to sleep, Misao-chan. You
need to sleep."
Misao buried herself in the older girl's embrace, seeking comfort in
the scent of lingering jasmine. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I failed you."
Kaoru brushed her sweat-matted hair out of her face. "You didn't fail me."
"Hai. Hai, I did fail you," Misao answered feverishly. She could feel the
tears threatening to spill. "I failed you."
Kaoru tightened her embrace. "You're alive," she answered simply.
"That's what matters to me."
The tension briefly left Misao. "I don't wanna dream tonight. Will
you take the dreams away?"
She felt Kaoru ease her back into bed, pulling the covers around her.
A smile graced her lips as she felt Kaoru brush a kiss against her
forehead.
"Sleep," she murmured softly. "Just sleep."
~~~
Will you take the dreams away?
Kaoru shut the door to Misao's room with a quiet click. She leaned back
against the door, her eyes closed tightly.
Will you take the dreams away?
"You coddle her too damn much."
Her eyes opened slowly and she was greeted by the unwanted presence of
Enishi. Enishi stood against the opposite wall, his gaze dropping as she
looked up.
"And you were supposed to be helping her," she responded flatly.
She pushed herself away from the door and started towards her own room down
the hall. She didn't feel like dealing with him at this particular moment.
"Someone needed to be watching you."
She stopped and whirled around. "I'm not a goddamn piece of glass, Enishi."
"You-"
She lifted a hand. "You want to be useful to me. Leave me to deal with
myself alone."
"Kaoru-"
"Iie."
"Kaoru-"
"Iie."
"Goddamn it, Kaoru!" Enishi reached and grabbed her by the wrist, pushing
her against the wall. "You're your own fucking worst enemy."
Will you take the dreams away?
"You know who attacked the kid," he continued. "And you're going to do
something stupid. You'll drown-"
Watch the sea, Kaoru. Watch the sea. It will be your greatest strength and
your greatest enemy.
\
Suddenly, Enishi fell to his knees with his hand around his throat. He was
struggling to breathe.
"Go," she murmured dangerously. "Go and find the information on Hajime
Saitou liked I asked you to."
Will you take the dreams away?
And as she entered the sanctuary of her room and passed her vanity, she
noticed that her eyes were silver.
~~~
Author's Notes
Before anyone jumps the gun about WKUA, I'm going to say this once
and once only. Right now, I'm writing an author's note that is going to
explain what exactly is going to happen with the story. No, no. I'm not
discontinuing it. I'm going to be rewriting chapters seven and eight
because I wasn't happy with them. Obviously, there was a hiatus with the
fic and this one as well. But the fact is. Real life. Again, I'm not going
to get into it now but I'll talk about it in WKUA.
This fic is going to take priority as of now. I like this fic. In
fact, I've been in love with this idea and actually have several chapters
written but I want to do this fic right. Don't worry, it won't be slow. And
yes, I have finally gotten over being angry with ff.net. And if the
formatting does in fact, suck. I apologize, but know I hate it too. It's
ff.net's fault.
Anyhow, thank you to all of you who have stuck with this story thus
far.
You're in for a ride.