~Chapter Twelve- What's the use of living, if you're losing the one life you cherish more then your own?~
Mr. Orasumi stood in front of Karou's bedroom door when Kenshin and Karou had gone upstairs together, before departing for sleep.
Misao and Yahiko had hit the sack earlier, on a count of their long swimming and playing all day long.
Sanoske on the other hand, was planning on going out and drinking with some of Mr. Orasumi's servant guys, whom he had made friends with that day.
It was already 15 minutes to 11 p.m., and so it was about time that everyone got to sleep at the mansion.
Kenshin figured Sano wouldn't come back until the next morning anyway.
"Well, Miss Kamiya, as you can plainly see, my guards are of great skill. They will make sure that nothing harms you tonight, until we capture the bandit!" Mr. Orasumi explained to Karou as he motioned to the guards outside her window on posts, and the guards in front of her doorway.
"There are more guards at other places in the mansion as well. I can assure you that everything will be just fine." Mr. Orasumi finished with a smile.
Although he didn't look the way he did in the window earlier, Karou noticed that he seemed overly pleased with something.
She suddenly remembered that she had to tell Kenshin what she had seen, or else he may be hurt!!!
She waited until Mr. Orasumi began to walk away.
"Kenshin!!" She whispered quickly over to him.
Mr. Orasumi turned around, and glared at Karou.
He knew now.
He knew that she was trying to tell Kenshin something….and he knew what that something was too.
She stepped back.
Kenshin stared at her for a moment, in confusion.
"Yes, Miss Karou?" He replied.
Karou looked towards Mr. Orasumi.
He continued to stare directly at her.
He suddenly snapped his fingers.
"The hunt has now begun for the bandit. Get in your room, Miss Kamiya! Now!" He snapped.
Karou looked to Kenshin.
Kenshin stared back at her still.
He then looked up to one of the guards.
"Please…….take good care of her." Were his only words, before turning to walk away.
One of the guards then grabbed Karou's wrist.
"W…WAIT! KENSHIN! COME BACK!" She cried, knowing it was her last chance to tell him of the danger he might be in.
Just as Kenshin turned around to face Karou again, the last he saw of her was her hand reaching out to him, and then she was pushed into her room, and the door was locked tightly.
Kenshin didn't like how they were acting now…..Mr. Orasumi, and the guards.
"Come on, Mr. Himura. It's getting late, don't you agree? Why don't you go up and get some rest." Mr. Orasumi stated with a pat on Kenshin's back.
Kenshin nodded.
"Yes….alright."
~10 Minutes later~
Kenshin sat on his bed, his night clothes on, brushing out his hair.
It always got into so many tangles, it was ridiculous!
After he set his brush down though, his long red hair running down his back, he looked up at the ceiling, and sighed loudly.
"Karou……they promised you'd be alright……..but can I really trust these people with your life? Mr. Orasumi…..and those guards…….they didn't want you to tell me what you were trying to say. Why?" He questioned himself aloud.
He laid down on his bed, the place Karou had slept the night before.
That time seemed like ages ago….and yet it had only been a mere 24 hours in the past!
He remembered how Karou ran and ran to find him…to get to him…..because she was so afraid that she'd never see him again….that she'd die alone and scared with…..him.
He lowered his head, and his fists tightened in his lap.
"If anything happens to you behind my back…….I would………..I would…………."
He saw tears collecting in his eyes suddenly!!!
He put his face into his hands, and sat there, trying to think of something else to take his mind off of things…..but it was no use.
He saw Karou's sweet smile, and her beautiful blue eyes…..and then saw her being slaughtered, as if she were nothing but a lowly girl that had nothing and wasn't anything!!!
He would break his promise to never kill again if anyone did that to her.
He then snapped out of his angry trance, and sighed again.
"What am I thinking? Karou is safer then she would ever be with me right now. I'm sure everything will be fine. I need to stop this worrying!" He told himself aloud as he pulled down the covers on his bed, and laid down.
As she shut off the light, he remembered Karou again.
How she had laid there, so tired….so helpless in the spot he was laying in now.
He lifted his hand and made out the shape of it in the dark around him.
"She held this hand…….and………"
He put his hand up to his scarred face.
He then decided to scoot over to the other side of the bed.
He turned to face the spot he had just left.
The cold-ness of the sheets now cooled him, and he tried to focus on just sleeping.
*Everything will be okay. First thing tomorrow…..I'll go downstairs and find Karou sleeping in her bed soundly, not a scratch on her. They'll catch the bandit tonight most likely…..and…….Karou……will…..finally…….be……………….safe.* He told himself in thought, just as he drifted off to sleep.
~One floor down in Karou's room.~
Karou brushed her hair in the mirror, as she had done the night before, and then braided it neatly, and placed it over her shoulder.
She looked to her bedroom room.
The guards were talking outside of it.
She sighed, and looked up at the ceiling.
*Kenshin's room is right up above mine.* She suddenly figured out.
She lowered her head, and placed her hand over her heart.
It beat in a normal rhythm at the time…..but she could recall not too far in the future when it would beat rapidly with fear again.
Amazing enough, she wasn't scared right now, she just felt trapped, unable to do anything about what might happen in the near future!!
Her bottom lip quivered a bit, and her heart began to beat just a bit faster.
"Kenshin……please stay alive." She whispered to herself.
After another few moments, she walked over to her bed and laid down.
She turned off her lights, and stared at the ceiling still.
She knew that Kenshin was so close to her…..right above her head…..and yet…..she couldn't get to him.
All of a sudden, one of the guards un-locked her door and peeked in.
She shut her eyes instantly, to make it look like she was asleep.
She knew something was starting to happen.
"Is that girl asleep?" One of the guards asked.
After a few seconds of silence, the other guards spoke, "Yes. Looks like she knocked out good too."
"That's great! Now we can get the job done faster." The other guards explained.
They closed her door again, and locked it.
She could still hear them talking though.
"So what do we do to help the boss out?" One began again.
"Well, all he says for us to do is make sure this girl doesn't get out of her room…..which should be pretty easy, on a count a she's dead asleep!" The other explained.
"Oh yeah! So…..seeing as we don't have anything to do, wanna go get some sake for the night from one of the kitchen maids?" The other stated.
"Oh yeah! Them kitchen maids are pretty sexy, you have to admit! Let's hurry, before anyone notices we're off duty!" The other guard cackled, and then Karou heard them rampage down the hallway, and down the stairs.
Karou opened her eyes finally, and jumped out of bed.
She didn't turn on her light, but she ran to the door, and looked underneath it.
The two guards had left their lantern!
It was perfect!
Karou tried the door handle, but obviously it was locked, so she started to pound on the door, hoping it would somehow unlatch, but she knew that would work either….and it would probably just give away her only chance to get to Kenshin to tell him about the danger!
She had to get out though! Somehow!!!!!
She frantically looked around the room, able to see in the dark now that her eyes had adjusted.
*Maybe…I can use the Kamiya Kashin swords style to break down the door!! And also to get away from the guards!!! But I left my wooden sword at home……..* She began to think.
She looked at the chair sitting beside the chesterdrowrs.
*The leg of the chair! I can break it off and use that!! Perfect!* She figured out, and rushed over to the chair.
She began to shake and undo the hinges holding the chair together, and finally, one of the legs fell off onto the floor.
She picked it up and looked it over real fast.
It was about the right length.
She faced the door again then, and positioned herself.
Then she thrust herself at the door, and broke it to pieces!!
Without a moment to lose, she ran out the broken down door, and into the hallway.
She grabbed the lantern on the floor, and ran down the hall to the staircase.
"What the hell was that noise!!!???" She heard one of the guards say as she reached the hallway opening.
Suddenly, the two guards appeared at the staircase leading downstairs.
She gasped, and rushed to the staircase going up.
She had made it up 3 steps, and then one of the guards grabbed the chair leg she was hanging onto.
"LET ME GO!!!!!!" She cried, but then remembered that the stupid chair leg wasn't attached to her body! (lol)
She simply let go of the chair leg, and the guard fell back, running into the other guard, and they both fell down the stairs, pilling on top of one another!
Karou then proceeded up the stars at full speed.
*KENSHIN!!!!!!!!! PLEASE STAY ALIVE!!!!!!!!! I'M COMING!!!!!!!!! I'M ALMOST THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*
~In Kenshin's room~
Kenshin slept peacefully, breathing neatly and steadily, not too loud, and not too quiet.
He was an expert when it came to sleeping, that was for one thing.
He had been taught, after all, living through the revolution, to sleep through pretty much anything!
Almost unnoticeably, a shadowed figure of a man crept across the room, and to the foot of Kenshin's bed.
His shadow fell over Kenshin's sleeping form.
The man smirked devilishly.
"Well, Mr. Himura, we finally meet. Lord Orasumi has told me many good things about you, like how you saved his life…as well as many other lives these past 12 years after the revolution, and your ending days of being Battosai the Manslayer. You're really a fine man….but unfortunately, you're getting in the way of Lord Orasumi's plans to kill Lady Kamiya…..and so he wants me to take you out of the picture….permanently. Don't take it personal or anything, Himura. I'd rather see you alive now then dead. The government and the Meji era really needs a guy like you around….but you know what they say……follow your master's order's, right? I hope you enjoyed your last day of sunlight….for it will truly be your last…………and so……..Farewell…..Mr. Himura."
The man pulled the sword out of the cloth pouch, the same one Karou had seen Mr. Orasumi give to this man.
The man dropped the cloth to the floor, and then raised the blade over his head.
"I bet you'll miss that Kamiya girl, won't you? I'm sure you won't be seeing her in heaven, now will you? Mr. Orasumi has decided to keep her alive, as long as she marries him and becomes his slave for the rest of her days! A fitting end for her…..since her samurai will never be there for her again."
With those words said, Kenshin opened his eyes, and saw the blade flying towards him.
It such a small amount of time, he could do nothing to stop the sword from cutting him in half!!!!
But then…….
"PLEASE NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Karou screamed as she threw herself over Kenshin's body.
The blade stopped inches away from her back.
Kenshin was so confused! But he had heard the man's words about Mr. Orasumi's plans with Karou. He felt so betrayed by the old man he had risked his life for!!!
But right now……Karou was to be dealt with…..but……more less she was protecting him!!!
He looked up at her face.
Tears were streaming down her cheeks rapidly.
"YOU LITTLE BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU GOT IN THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The man shouted, and lifted his hand, shoving it into Karou's back!!!!
"REMOVE YOURSELF FROM HIMURA!!!!!!!!! IF I DO NOT KILL HIM, I WILL BE KILLED INSTEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He threw another fist into her back, but she didn't budge.
"PLEASE………DON'T KILL HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T KILL HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I BEG OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE…………SPARE HIS LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SPARE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She cried and cried.
The man's teeth grinded.
Despite the erg to kill her, he couldn't, because if he did, he would be in huge trouble with Mr. Orasumi, who planned on keeping her alive!
"I SAID GET OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He pushed her to the floor, but she held onto Kenshin, and he fell with her.
Her body still shielding his body.
Kenshin suddenly felt so helpless in her arms, and he couldn't move a muscle.
"Horrible bitch……get up and off of him!!!!!!!!!!!" The man hissed, kicking her.
She sat there and cried, keeping Kenshin in her arms, pressing his head to her chest.
"No……..I won't let you kill him…….I won't……….NEVER!!!!!" Her voice trembled, but she stayed in power, refusing to let him kill the man she held in her arms…..the man she knew she could never live without.
The shadowed blade was put back into the pouch, and the man spit at Karou's back.
"By the end of tomorrow, both you and Himura…..will not ever see each other again. Take a good look at him, Miss Kamiya. Take in his picture……and never forget it. It's a hard and long life as a slave…….and you may need that image to survive Lord Orasumi's orders." The man explained, and then disappeared into the shadows.
After the room was empty, Karou continued to cry.
She just cried, and didn't let go of Kenshin.
She looked down at him, he was staring back up at her, so confused.
"Kenshin…..Kenshin…….I…..I…..I tried to tell you that……that Mr. Orasumi……...he…….was going to kill you tonight. But……I never was able to." She whispered in a cracked voice.
"But I won't let them…….kill you……ever……not ever. I'll never let them take you away from me." Her voice cracked, and got louder.
Kenshin finally found movement again, and reached up, placing his hands over Karou's cheeks.
He then proceeded to wipe away her many tears, and sit up on his knees in front of her.
She stared at him, now that they were eye level.
Then, in a unusually fast motion, Kenshin grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to him.
"Thank you……..Karou." He said ruggedly.
Karou's eyes widened.
"You've never called me by my first name before……it was always, "Miss" Karou. Not just plain or Karou." She stated, and almost instantly wished she had kept her mouth shut.
Kenshin smiled, making sure she didn't see that smile.
"Oh…..but that's what I always call you…….just not…….aloud." He explained simply.
Before Karou could say anything more, Sanoske and the real guards that had been out drinking with him and the servant guys, all ran into the room, and to Kenshin and Karou's side.
"Little Missy!!!! Kenshin!!!!" He cried. "What's going on here!!!??? The guys and I got in late, and heard lots of noise coming from up here!!!! Did something happen????!!!!!!" Sanoske continued.
Kenshin and Karou were brought to the basement downstairs, where Mr. Orasumi couldn't find them.
Some of the guards that could be trusted woke up and brought Misao and Yahiko to the basement as well, just to be safe.
There, Kenshin explained what had been happening, and what had also happened the night before, all the while, Karou was being cradled by Misao, a large blanket over the two of them.
Everyone but Karou and Kenshin looked shocked after Kenshin's story was complete.
"So…you're sayin that the Missy here was almost killed last night, and you went to talk about it to Mr. Orasumi the next morning, thinking that you could trust him with Karou's life…but then he turned on you with false guards, and tried o kill you???!!!" Sanoske tried to put together the confusion for Yahiko, Misao, and everyone else that was listening, that being Sano's new friends, all the maids, servants, and guards surrounding them.
Kenshin nodded.
"He wanted to get rid of me, I'm guessing because I protected Miss Karou the night before….and so he needed to take me out of the picture, so he could finish what he had planned to do with Miss Karou. Only…..now he plans to keep her alive, but make her his wife, and have her as a salve until the day she dies, and have me killed instead of her!!!"
Misao held Karou tighter, as Karou heard this new part of the story she hadn't been award of until then.
"But why……..why does he want me? What did I do to him? Wasn't I…..wasn't I kind enough or something? Maybe my manners are slipping…..I don't understand at all." Karou sobbed in Misao's arms.
Kenshin gave a depressed look in Karou's direction.
"Don't you worry your head, Missy. Your manners were just fine…..it's something else……something else that that Orasumi guy wants out of you." Sanoske suddenly spoke up.
He knew Kenshin didn't know what to say.
Kenshin smiled to Sanoske, and then stood up.
"That's where I come in. I plan to get to the bottom of why he would want to do this to Miss Karou. And now." Kenshin looked to Yahiko.
Yahiko pulled the reverse-blade sword out of his kimono shirt, and handed it to Kenshin.
He took it, and slid it into the rim of his sash.
As he turned to go, Karou looked up quickly from her and Misao's blanket.
"Kenshin!!!"
He turned to her.
"Please…..don't get killed." Karou said in a sad tone.
He smiled at her, and then he left the room.
"I can't believe we've been serving this guy….this guy that would attempt to kill such an innocent girl." One of the servant guys stated.
"That's nothing….I think I at one time loved the man years back when he was younger and I as well!!" One of the older maids complained.
"What fools we all were. I say we quick from here on out and go chase our wildest dreams! What do you all say to that?" One of the guards exclaimed.
"Yes……let's."
As they all began to leave the room, Sanoske, Yahiko, and Misao turned to Karou.
"I wouldn't….let that man kill Kenshin…….because……..I………." She began to say.
"We know, Karou. We know." Misao said, placing her hand on Karou's shoulder.
Karou placed her hand on top of Misao's.
"I was willing to die back there in the dark…….to save Kenshin. I don't know why….but the words kept passing through my mind as I sat there, protecting him from death…………….What's the use of living….if you're losing the one life you cherish more then your own?"
~OMG!!!!! KEEP READING!!!! KEEP READING!!!!~
~Smile B~