Between the Devil
and the Deep
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic
by Gemini
Rated: R for language and blood. Lots of blood. Buckets. Gallons, oceans...okay, sorry. Anyway, moving on.
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki, Sony, Shonen Jump and lots of other people. Notably absent from that list is me. I don't own it. I'm just borrowing.
For Moonspark, who will be surprised because I didn't send this to her to edit.
Chapter 12: Scars
At first, Kaoru wasn't exactly sure where she was, but as her vision cleared it became obvious that she was standing in the middle of her quarters. She had no idea why she was just standing there or how she got to in that position. She blinked as she looked around the darkened room, wondering why it looked so different. Her eyes landed on a small gold and crimson-colored ornamental rug lying next to the large, dark paneled bed her father had brought back from some exotic locale long before she was born. Her face paled and she felt the air rush out of her lungs in a strangled gasp. That rug shouldn't be there. It had been ruined when her father had been murdered. Jineh had used it to carry her father's severed head to show the crew.
Why was it there? She bit her lip and crept forward, wanting to see if she could touch the rug and verify its existence. As she moved, her eyes caught on her desk chair, more specifically, on a black coat that hung over the back of it; a coat too large to be hers. Sano didn't own one like that and neither did Aoshi. Besides, their coats wouldn't be in her room anyway. She peered at it, once again feeling something close to shock when she recognized the gold braiding along the cuffs and on the shoulders; it was her father's coat.
'What is going on here?' Her mind screamed. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth and she realized that she had bitten her lip hard enough to make it bleed. A movement from the bed and a muted grunt caused her to jump about a foot in the air. She was fairly certain that her voice was nowhere near that deep.
'Who is in my bed?' She moved closer, her eyes studying the formless lump under the covers. She had a suspicion, but she didn't want to be right. The lump grunted again and shifted, muttering something in its sleep. Behind her, she heard a giggle, stopping her in her tracks.
"No…please, no…" She whispered, not sure who she was begging. She knew who was behind her, laughing quietly, but she didn't want to turn around, didn't want to see. Against her will, her body turned, her heart thumping wildly in fear. Silhouetted against the large windows that ran across the back of the room, partially hidden by large crimson curtains was her fifteen year old self. Her younger self was sitting on the wide sill that served as a sort of window seat, it had been her favorite place to sit and daydream when she couldn't sleep.
Tears rose in her eyes as she studied the young girl she used to be. Sweet and innocent, despite being raised on a pirate ship. Her father had always been so protective of her, as had his men. They were like family to her. The girl rested her head against the wavy panes of glass, humming a nameless tune low in her throat as she waited for drowsiness to come. She had slept in a smaller bed behind a silk screen on the other side of the room, always under her father's watchful eye.
The large mahogany clock that hung over her father's desk marked time quietly, the brass pendulum swinging silently as the hands ticked off the seconds and minutes. Kaoru looked from her younger self to the clock, dread rising like bile in her throat. She knew what time it was. "Oh, no, no…no…please…don't…" She murmured brokenly, knowing what was about to happen. "Wake up, please! Daddy! Wake up!" She screamed, running to the bed to shake him awake. She still had a few minutes. She tried to shake him, but she couldn't seem to put her hands on him. She turned to her younger self, still sitting by the window, humming and half asleep. "Kaoru!" She yelled. "Get a sword! Jineh's coming! Please! You're…"
The door to the room crashed inward and what seemed like a sea of men burst in. Too late.
She watched, wide eyed and helpless as Jineh shot her father point blank in the chest just as he rose from his bed. Behind her, she heard fifteen year old Kaoru scream. She rushed forward and tried to help her father, but her hands passed through him, she didn't exist in this world. Her father slumped to the ground and moaned, his hand pressed to the wound in his chest. For a split second, it seemed like he saw her. His blue eyes widened and his free hand stretched out, his lips forming her name. Another shot from Jineh passed through her and hit her father. His body jerked from the impact and he toppled over, dead. She turned away when she heard the tell-tale sound of Jineh's sword being unsheathed. She couldn't stop him and she didn't want to watch.
She heard herself scream but she wouldn't turn around for that sound, either. She didn't want to watch as those men held her down and took turns raping her. The image was already burned into her memory; she didn't need to reinforce it. She shuddered, tears pouring down her face. Why was she here? What was the point of torturing her like this?
Kenshin's brows knitted as Kaoru stirred restlessly, broken words tumbling from her swollen, bitten lips. She was crying, tears slipping down her feverish face, as she whispered pleas for someone to stop something, for her father to help her.
He hated not being able to help her. All he could do was mop her forehead with the wet washcloth to cool her somewhat. Megumi had given him a tea made of crushed chrysanthemum to try and pour down her throat for the fever that had developed several hours into his vigil at Kaoru's bedside. He had given her a full dose already, but the fever showed no signs of abating. Sighing, he wearily wrung out the washcloth and dipped it into the basin at his side before gently wiping away her tears.
There was a knock at the door and he absently called for whoever it was to enter.
Yahiko came in, carrying a fresh basin of water and some food on a tray. He set the tray down next to his guardian, fidgeting slightly. "Kenshin?" He asked nervously, taking in the older man's exhausted appearance. He looked drawn, tired, his expressive violet blue eyes were shuttered, all emotion carefully concealed.
The redhead looked up and smiled slightly, dispelling a little of the tension around his eyes and mouth. "Yes, Yahiko?"
"I brought you something to eat. Hiko wanted me to ask if you needed a break. He said he could take over for a while."
Kenshin shook his head. "I'll be fine. Tell him not to worry." He couldn't explain his irrational need to stay by Kaoru's side to himself, let alone Hiko.
Yahiko nodded and bit his lip. "Is she going to be okay?" He asked in a small voice.
Kenshin studied Kaoru for a long moment before replying. "I don't know. She's strong, but the wound was deep and she lost a lot of blood."
Gingerly, the little boy knelt next to Kenshin, his eyes locked on Kaoru's restless form. "I want her to be better." He said quietly. "I mean, I don't know her all that well, but I like her. She's nice."
Kenshin smiled and rested a reassuring hand on his ward. "I feel exactly the same way, Yahiko." He replied, giving the boy's shoulder a squeeze. "I want her to get better, too."
Megumi tossed another bloody rag into the waste pile and sighed, rolling her shoulders to relieve some of the stiffness in them. Beside her, Misao was looking a bit worse for wear, white faced and blood spattered, with large, dark circles under her haunted green eyes.
"That's the last of it." Megumi said, scrubbing her hands free of blood in a basin of clean water.
"What was the final count?" Misao asked quietly.
"Five dead. One critical." Megumi replied, her brown eyes sliding over to where Misao stood, her fists clenched at her side. "Maybe you should go get some rest, Misao. It's been a long day for all of us."
Woodenly, Misao nodded and walked out of the galley without washing off the blood that covered her. Megumi scowled at the girl's retreating figure as she shook the water off her hands.
"She's feeling mighty guilty about all of this." Hiko observed from his perch by the stove. He was absently feeding his parrot a bit of stale bread and feeding himself a little sake.
"Not surprising. It is her fault, after all." Megumi replied testily.
Hiko shrugged. "She's just a kid, Megumi. Do you think anywhere in her pampered little mind there was any thought that this might happen? No, I don't think so."
"That doesn't excuse her, Hiko." Megumi's voice was like acid. "She is responsible for this, whether or not she intended it."
"Still, Doc, there's no use being mad at her. She's a sweet kid, a little annoying, maybe, but sweet. And the guy she was supposed to marry…he's got a mighty bad reputation. Wife beater, philanderer, possibly a murderer. I don't blame her for trying to find a way out." Hiko grunted as he hauled himself to his feet, the sake jug hanging loosely from one big hand.
"Why are you, of all people defending her?" Megumi asked, one thin eyebrow arched.
"Shit, Doc, what am I, a fucking troll? Listen, what were you doing when Kaoru found you?"
Megumi paled slightly. "You know perfectly well…"
"That you were being held against your will, forced to make opium and do Lord knows what else. We lost three good men storming that island to rescue you. Remember what Kaoru said?"
Megumi scuffed the bloody floor with her foot, looking a bit petulant. "That she'd always help out a friend."
Hiko nodded. "That's the way she is, the way her father was, too. It can be fucking annoying sometimes, that idiotic idealism. But let me tell you something, Doc, without them, I'd still be pissed drunk, sleeping under a bridge, you would still be making opium, Sano would be dead, Aoshi would be doing things I don't even want to contemplate…do I need to go on?"
Megumi shook her head, abashed. "I didn't think…"
"No, you didn't. You can't blame Misao anymore than you can blame the Captain for this, for the dead. We all knew what we were getting into when we joined this crew. Death is just one of the many things we have to deal with and I, for one, happily signed up knowing full well that one of these stupid little charity missions that those damned Kamiyas are so fond of might get me killed. We all did." Hiko took another swig of his sake before setting the clay jug down with a decisive thump. "Now, I'm going to see what's taking that fucking kid so long."
A/N: Short, introspective little piece. I wanted to give you a little something while I worked on the final couple of chapters. Take some history, add a bit of character development, a dash of plot and stir! Bake in a 350 degree oven until a knife inserted into chapter comes out clean. Cool and frost with...ok, I'm taking the baking anaology a bit too far.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. It's a bit of a downer, I know and I'm sorry. I apologize to Kaoru for torturing her and I promise I'll make it up to her somehow. Maybe I'll have Kenshin make her waffles, naked.
Kenshin: But, Gem-dono, what about burns? Hot batter could splash on this unworthy one's...
Gem: Quit complaining! I got Kaoru stabbed! The least you could do is make her waffles naked.
Kenshin: But I saved her life! Can't I at least wear an apron?
Gem: I'll think about it.
Ahem. We're going to head over to the Miburo to see what's going on with Shishio and Saitou in the next chapter. And then what?! No one knows, least of all me.
Thanks for all the reviews. I want my cookies now.
-Gem-chan, Gemini, Gem, whatever.
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic
by Gemini
Rated: R for language and blood. Lots of blood. Buckets. Gallons, oceans...okay, sorry. Anyway, moving on.
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki, Sony, Shonen Jump and lots of other people. Notably absent from that list is me. I don't own it. I'm just borrowing.
For Moonspark, who will be surprised because I didn't send this to her to edit.
Chapter 12: Scars
At first, Kaoru wasn't exactly sure where she was, but as her vision cleared it became obvious that she was standing in the middle of her quarters. She had no idea why she was just standing there or how she got to in that position. She blinked as she looked around the darkened room, wondering why it looked so different. Her eyes landed on a small gold and crimson-colored ornamental rug lying next to the large, dark paneled bed her father had brought back from some exotic locale long before she was born. Her face paled and she felt the air rush out of her lungs in a strangled gasp. That rug shouldn't be there. It had been ruined when her father had been murdered. Jineh had used it to carry her father's severed head to show the crew.
Why was it there? She bit her lip and crept forward, wanting to see if she could touch the rug and verify its existence. As she moved, her eyes caught on her desk chair, more specifically, on a black coat that hung over the back of it; a coat too large to be hers. Sano didn't own one like that and neither did Aoshi. Besides, their coats wouldn't be in her room anyway. She peered at it, once again feeling something close to shock when she recognized the gold braiding along the cuffs and on the shoulders; it was her father's coat.
'What is going on here?' Her mind screamed. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth and she realized that she had bitten her lip hard enough to make it bleed. A movement from the bed and a muted grunt caused her to jump about a foot in the air. She was fairly certain that her voice was nowhere near that deep.
'Who is in my bed?' She moved closer, her eyes studying the formless lump under the covers. She had a suspicion, but she didn't want to be right. The lump grunted again and shifted, muttering something in its sleep. Behind her, she heard a giggle, stopping her in her tracks.
"No…please, no…" She whispered, not sure who she was begging. She knew who was behind her, laughing quietly, but she didn't want to turn around, didn't want to see. Against her will, her body turned, her heart thumping wildly in fear. Silhouetted against the large windows that ran across the back of the room, partially hidden by large crimson curtains was her fifteen year old self. Her younger self was sitting on the wide sill that served as a sort of window seat, it had been her favorite place to sit and daydream when she couldn't sleep.
Tears rose in her eyes as she studied the young girl she used to be. Sweet and innocent, despite being raised on a pirate ship. Her father had always been so protective of her, as had his men. They were like family to her. The girl rested her head against the wavy panes of glass, humming a nameless tune low in her throat as she waited for drowsiness to come. She had slept in a smaller bed behind a silk screen on the other side of the room, always under her father's watchful eye.
The large mahogany clock that hung over her father's desk marked time quietly, the brass pendulum swinging silently as the hands ticked off the seconds and minutes. Kaoru looked from her younger self to the clock, dread rising like bile in her throat. She knew what time it was. "Oh, no, no…no…please…don't…" She murmured brokenly, knowing what was about to happen. "Wake up, please! Daddy! Wake up!" She screamed, running to the bed to shake him awake. She still had a few minutes. She tried to shake him, but she couldn't seem to put her hands on him. She turned to her younger self, still sitting by the window, humming and half asleep. "Kaoru!" She yelled. "Get a sword! Jineh's coming! Please! You're…"
The door to the room crashed inward and what seemed like a sea of men burst in. Too late.
She watched, wide eyed and helpless as Jineh shot her father point blank in the chest just as he rose from his bed. Behind her, she heard fifteen year old Kaoru scream. She rushed forward and tried to help her father, but her hands passed through him, she didn't exist in this world. Her father slumped to the ground and moaned, his hand pressed to the wound in his chest. For a split second, it seemed like he saw her. His blue eyes widened and his free hand stretched out, his lips forming her name. Another shot from Jineh passed through her and hit her father. His body jerked from the impact and he toppled over, dead. She turned away when she heard the tell-tale sound of Jineh's sword being unsheathed. She couldn't stop him and she didn't want to watch.
She heard herself scream but she wouldn't turn around for that sound, either. She didn't want to watch as those men held her down and took turns raping her. The image was already burned into her memory; she didn't need to reinforce it. She shuddered, tears pouring down her face. Why was she here? What was the point of torturing her like this?
Kenshin's brows knitted as Kaoru stirred restlessly, broken words tumbling from her swollen, bitten lips. She was crying, tears slipping down her feverish face, as she whispered pleas for someone to stop something, for her father to help her.
He hated not being able to help her. All he could do was mop her forehead with the wet washcloth to cool her somewhat. Megumi had given him a tea made of crushed chrysanthemum to try and pour down her throat for the fever that had developed several hours into his vigil at Kaoru's bedside. He had given her a full dose already, but the fever showed no signs of abating. Sighing, he wearily wrung out the washcloth and dipped it into the basin at his side before gently wiping away her tears.
There was a knock at the door and he absently called for whoever it was to enter.
Yahiko came in, carrying a fresh basin of water and some food on a tray. He set the tray down next to his guardian, fidgeting slightly. "Kenshin?" He asked nervously, taking in the older man's exhausted appearance. He looked drawn, tired, his expressive violet blue eyes were shuttered, all emotion carefully concealed.
The redhead looked up and smiled slightly, dispelling a little of the tension around his eyes and mouth. "Yes, Yahiko?"
"I brought you something to eat. Hiko wanted me to ask if you needed a break. He said he could take over for a while."
Kenshin shook his head. "I'll be fine. Tell him not to worry." He couldn't explain his irrational need to stay by Kaoru's side to himself, let alone Hiko.
Yahiko nodded and bit his lip. "Is she going to be okay?" He asked in a small voice.
Kenshin studied Kaoru for a long moment before replying. "I don't know. She's strong, but the wound was deep and she lost a lot of blood."
Gingerly, the little boy knelt next to Kenshin, his eyes locked on Kaoru's restless form. "I want her to be better." He said quietly. "I mean, I don't know her all that well, but I like her. She's nice."
Kenshin smiled and rested a reassuring hand on his ward. "I feel exactly the same way, Yahiko." He replied, giving the boy's shoulder a squeeze. "I want her to get better, too."
Megumi tossed another bloody rag into the waste pile and sighed, rolling her shoulders to relieve some of the stiffness in them. Beside her, Misao was looking a bit worse for wear, white faced and blood spattered, with large, dark circles under her haunted green eyes.
"That's the last of it." Megumi said, scrubbing her hands free of blood in a basin of clean water.
"What was the final count?" Misao asked quietly.
"Five dead. One critical." Megumi replied, her brown eyes sliding over to where Misao stood, her fists clenched at her side. "Maybe you should go get some rest, Misao. It's been a long day for all of us."
Woodenly, Misao nodded and walked out of the galley without washing off the blood that covered her. Megumi scowled at the girl's retreating figure as she shook the water off her hands.
"She's feeling mighty guilty about all of this." Hiko observed from his perch by the stove. He was absently feeding his parrot a bit of stale bread and feeding himself a little sake.
"Not surprising. It is her fault, after all." Megumi replied testily.
Hiko shrugged. "She's just a kid, Megumi. Do you think anywhere in her pampered little mind there was any thought that this might happen? No, I don't think so."
"That doesn't excuse her, Hiko." Megumi's voice was like acid. "She is responsible for this, whether or not she intended it."
"Still, Doc, there's no use being mad at her. She's a sweet kid, a little annoying, maybe, but sweet. And the guy she was supposed to marry…he's got a mighty bad reputation. Wife beater, philanderer, possibly a murderer. I don't blame her for trying to find a way out." Hiko grunted as he hauled himself to his feet, the sake jug hanging loosely from one big hand.
"Why are you, of all people defending her?" Megumi asked, one thin eyebrow arched.
"Shit, Doc, what am I, a fucking troll? Listen, what were you doing when Kaoru found you?"
Megumi paled slightly. "You know perfectly well…"
"That you were being held against your will, forced to make opium and do Lord knows what else. We lost three good men storming that island to rescue you. Remember what Kaoru said?"
Megumi scuffed the bloody floor with her foot, looking a bit petulant. "That she'd always help out a friend."
Hiko nodded. "That's the way she is, the way her father was, too. It can be fucking annoying sometimes, that idiotic idealism. But let me tell you something, Doc, without them, I'd still be pissed drunk, sleeping under a bridge, you would still be making opium, Sano would be dead, Aoshi would be doing things I don't even want to contemplate…do I need to go on?"
Megumi shook her head, abashed. "I didn't think…"
"No, you didn't. You can't blame Misao anymore than you can blame the Captain for this, for the dead. We all knew what we were getting into when we joined this crew. Death is just one of the many things we have to deal with and I, for one, happily signed up knowing full well that one of these stupid little charity missions that those damned Kamiyas are so fond of might get me killed. We all did." Hiko took another swig of his sake before setting the clay jug down with a decisive thump. "Now, I'm going to see what's taking that fucking kid so long."
A/N: Short, introspective little piece. I wanted to give you a little something while I worked on the final couple of chapters. Take some history, add a bit of character development, a dash of plot and stir! Bake in a 350 degree oven until a knife inserted into chapter comes out clean. Cool and frost with...ok, I'm taking the baking anaology a bit too far.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. It's a bit of a downer, I know and I'm sorry. I apologize to Kaoru for torturing her and I promise I'll make it up to her somehow. Maybe I'll have Kenshin make her waffles, naked.
Kenshin: But, Gem-dono, what about burns? Hot batter could splash on this unworthy one's...
Gem: Quit complaining! I got Kaoru stabbed! The least you could do is make her waffles naked.
Kenshin: But I saved her life! Can't I at least wear an apron?
Gem: I'll think about it.
Ahem. We're going to head over to the Miburo to see what's going on with Shishio and Saitou in the next chapter. And then what?! No one knows, least of all me.
Thanks for all the reviews. I want my cookies now.
-Gem-chan, Gemini, Gem, whatever.