Disclaimer: I do not own the Rurouni Kenshin series or any of its creations.

A/N: Welcome to Code Catfight, where there is a great dispute between the female gangs. The leaders are: Megumi Takani (22 years old), Misao Makimachi (18 years old) and Kaoru Kamiya (18 years old).

The Underworld leaders are: Sanosuke Sagara (19 years old), Aoshi Shinomori (25 years old) and Kenshin Himura (26 years old).  I hope that you'll all enjoy this. This story takes place in modern times. ^-^x

Code Catfight - Chapter 1 – By Cherry Chibi

 'A Stormy Night'

* * * *

Rain poured over the city of Kyoto. Lightning lit the skies and ended quickly with the deep applaud of thunder. An eighteen year old girl with shoulder length black hair, sapphire blue eyes and milky skin ran along the footpath. She skid around a corner and dodged passed a group of people to avoid any accidents. She was a small built person. Kamiya Kaoru was a teenage girl who hadn't had such a great life although it was filled with great happy memories.

Her parents divorced when she was fourteen and they left her with a large sum of money which supported her for all of her needs. At the age of sixteen, her foster father was murdered brutally by someone who the police never caught or even had a clue about. She now lived by herself in an apartment, attended a good school and led a gang known as the Rising Sun.

 "I'm going to catch a cold," Kaoru growled while she held her umbrella above her head and ran. "Some Friday night this is," She took entered an apartment building and closed up her umbrella. She hastily shook off any excess rainwater before heading to the elevators. She looked at her bag and realised that it the zip had been opened. "Oh no," She dropped her bag onto the floor and checked everything. The books had managed to escape from any major damage but there was something valuable missing. "My-my flute," she glanced around the reception, hoping that her instrument may have dropped out of her bag somewhere in the room.

Kaoru wanted to burst into tears. It truly wasn't her day. She walked over to the reception and asked the lady if she could take care of her bag while she went out to search for her treasured item. The receptionist gladly accepted. "Thank you so much!" Kaoru said as she ran out the door. Rainwater soaked into her hair as she searched desperately for it.

 "I should've thought about bringing an umbrella," Kaoru said as she searched, somehow while she walked her feet led her into a dark alley. The coldness bit into her flesh. It wasn't just the weather, there was something else here that she didn't like. Whatever it was, she was better off leaving it alone. Her eyes darted onto the ground and immediately she dashed towards the direction. "There it is!" She picked it up her small black case by its handle and turned around. "I better get back-," She froze when she heard a man scream. A man with red hair and amber eyes stood in front of a dead corpse. Blood had splashed in puddles on the cobblestone ground and on the alley walls. Kaoru gasped and accidentally caught the murderer's attention. Her fearful eyes made contact with his fierce amber flames.

 'Run for it Kaoru,' She thought but her body was frozen in its place. The man approached her slowly with his sword drawn. He was soon only mere inches away from her, still wearing his fierce expression.

The rain had ceased.

 "You must die," He raised his sword to strike. With immediate reflexes, Kaoru jabbed a plank of wood that was lying on the ground into his side and spun kick to trip him over. It was obvious that he didn't expect her to fight back. The man's red bangs were pushed away from his face and revealed a cross shaped scare on his left cheek. He soon leapt back on to his feet with a furious glare. He was surprised that the girl hadn't made a run for it when she had her chance but however, he would've had to kill her whether it was now or in a few minutes.

 "I'm not afraid of you," Kaoru said strongly, "I'm not afraid of you killing me either," She flicked a dagger from her sleeve. "But I won't die without fighting." Playing innocent was her specialty. She dodged Kenshin's blade but no matter how fast she was, he was faster. She was soon forced against the brick wall with a blade against her neck.

Kenshin felt a smirk creep on his face. This girl seriously was futile. She amused him. It may be fun to keep her around for a while longer. He wiped the blade of his sword clean with the bottom of his shirt. "What is your name girl?" He asked coldly.

 "Why should I tell a stranger?" Kaoru replied defiantly, "Especially someone who is going to kill me." She was still on the alert for any sudden attacks. She took a quick withdraw of breath when Kenshin's deadly amber eyes shone brighter. They were more fearful than before. "Eeto… Kamiya Kaoru." She said hesitantly.

Kenshin sheathed his sword and walked the opposite direction into the darkness. 'Kamiya Kaoru,' He repeated in his mind, a thought ticked and his legs slowed into walking pace, 'she is that girl who I have been hearing about at the night club…' He stopped dead in his tracks, 'That girl who is the rich man's daughter and now is part of a conflict between the Rising Sun, Poison Ivy and Black Hearts…' Kenshin sprinted around a dark corner.

* * * *

Kaoru shivered as she entered the apartment building. She picked up her school bag and headed towards the elevator. When the elevator doors opened, the soaked and cold girl jogged through the halls of the second floor and reached her room door. She unlocked it and entered. Kaoru ran fumbled along the wall and flicked the light switch. However, the lights didn't turn on. She cursed under her breath.

 "Why today?" She breathed frustrated. She dropped her school bag clumsily onto her floor and carefully made her way to her bathroom in her large two bedroom apartment. Through the darkness she tried to make out the features and avoided walking into any corners. Her breathing started to become ragged. 'Oh please, let the electricity come back soon,' She closed the bathroom door and stripped off her soaked clothing. She got into the shower and turned on the warm water.

With a mingled sigh, she closed her eyes and memories flooded her mind once more. A small smile reached her lips while she rinsed her hair. Laughter, warm smiles, a close relationship with her family and great friends… What more could a girl want?

When there is an upside, there is always a downside, that's the side which Kaoru often tried to hide from everyone else. She was a gang leader and controlled a nightclub called Dragon's Flame, she often had to work there to gather information, not many people knew that she served as a waitress and was also a disguised geisha. No one knew that she was Shadow except for her guardian. He often asked her to see to high classed men of all sorts; just to relax their nerves and to gather important facts. But he had been watching her carefully, almost, like a father figure, making sure that no one touched her.

Fifteen minutes later, Kaoru was out of the shower brushing her hair with the little clear vision she had on the mirror. Her sky blue silk gown clung onto her shoulders, her black wet hair in several locks as she brushed them. When she was done she left the bathroom and out towards the lounge room.

A flash of lightning lit her room white and vanished. Kaoru looked towards the window with awe. She took a withdraw of breath when she made eye contact with amber eyes from earlier on, less than half an hour ago. First, he decides to spare her life, now what was he planning to do? Kaoru swallowed. She didn't like the thought that he had managed to get into her apartment when she was unarmed.

Another flash of lightning lit the room and Kenshin disappeared. Kaoru shook her head and walked towards her bedroom. 'It's just my imagination,' When she entered her bedroom she was welcomed by a pair of amber eyes. 'Shit… maybe it's not my imagination.' Her heart was starting to race. She took a few steps around Kenshin, her hand traced along her dressing table and her fingertips traced over the handle of her dagger.

 "You really are the rich girl," Kenshin muttered coldly, he was leaning against the wall, looking too calm for Kaoru's taste. "You know that a girl like you, at the age of eighteen, shouldn't be involved in such business alone?" He was eyeing her closely. "The others are further experienced in assassinations and the like, you are…" He paused to catch on his thoughts, "Only a rookie."

Kaoru just smiled innocently at him. How dare he call her a rookie? He'll find out soon enough that under her angelic appearance was a deadly killer. Her hand gripped tightly over the handle of her dagger.

 "I wouldn't even think about picking up that dagger," Kenshin suddenly said, "It wouldn't be a very smart choice,"

Kaoru titled her head to a side and picked up her dagger. She twirled it in her fingertips playfully. "You really think that by mocking me you're going to get anywhere?" She asked.

 "In fact, yes," He replied, "I know more than you think and I have been searching for you," Kaoru's smile disappeared and she looked at the man seriously.

 "Who are you? Why were you searching for me?"

 "Battousai is all you need to know." Kenshin said, "I warn you that being in such conflicts will get you killed, I see that your group won't even last, however, I do offer you my organization's cooperation." He was going to take this opportunity, if he could pursue her into joining her group with his, a boost will push his organization ahead of the others and he would gain more control.

 "You seriously think that I would join you that easily?" Kaoru said scornfully, "However, what am I supposed to do? I've just finished my schooling, I guess that I would need more work especially since I don't plan to get any other jobs." She paused for a bit. "How about this, my group will join you, but we would be on the same level, I will remain in control of my people and you will remain in control of yours, but we will support each other both with weapons and money."

Kenshin arched a brow. She looked innocent but she was smart. He thought about her offer. "That'll be acceptable," He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards Kaoru.

Kaoru placed the dagger on the surface of the dressing table, "Nice doing business with you Kenshin," She smiled at him when he had a sudden flicker of surprise in his eyes, "What? You expect a leader not to know her threats, rivals and let alone, the great legends?" She clasped her hands together. "Well, just to show you my appreciation for your offer, why don't you use the bathroom and stay in the spare bedroom for tonight hm?"

She pushed the man out of her room and towards the bathroom. After forcing him in, she closed the door and walked back towards her bedroom. 'That smell of blood was disgusting,' she thought to herself. It was surprising how she wasn't afraid of him anymore, well, not in the way as she was before. He was impressively intimidating.

* * * *

A/N: There is a nice introduction to the story… hope that you liked it. *Smiles* I didn't put in the name of Kenshin's gang yet 'cos I'm lost for ideas, so if you guys have any ideas, could you either send it to me by email or even in the review? Thanks. Um, next chapter is when the actual storyline starts (hopefully), you'll see a few flashbacks and it will explain how lock these 'catfights' have been going on. Prepare to be amused (hm…). Until next time- Ja!

~Cherry Chibi~