Deadly Promise

Chapter 2

~What was once a burning flame to live is now a flickering spark that is slowly being blown away by the winds of change

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It was past the setting of the sun and the two riders had yet to stop for rest.  Kaoru could feel every muscle ache, but she gritted her teeth.  There was no way she was going to complain to him; not if her pride had anything to do with it.  Her thoughts kept drifting back to Tomoe; she had looked like she had recognized the kidnapper ... but how?  And why did she leave so peacefully?  Before she could stop herself, she let out the tiniest sigh, so small that you could barely hear it, but he did.

"We'll be stopping at an inn shortly," he said, wondering why she had yet to complain.  He had been waiting for her to go off like she had earlier.  But she was strangely quiet and demure throughout the ride, very unlike the fiery woman who was trying to protect her cousin.

Tomoe ... it had been a long time since he had last seen her, too long.  She had grown up from an awkward teenager to a refined and graceful woman.  And he had been too busy to watch the change happen.  The inn finally came in view and there was a young hostler waiting outside.

"We've been expecting you," the hostler said as he bowed and took the horse's reins.

The man jumped down and Kaoru looked at the ground warily.  The height was somewhat dizzying and there was no way she wasn't going to get down without falling.  Hands grabbed her waist and slid her off the horse's back.  Her legs lurched as they touched the ground and she found herself being carried bridal style into the inn.  She was so light in his arms, hardly more like a child.

"Mou!  I can walk you know!  I'm not some little kid," she complained.

He carried her into the inn, so much for the demure maiden back then.  Several pairs of eyes swiveled towards the arguing girl, one in particular interest.  "Maybe if you stopped acting like a child, I would refrain from treating you like one," he said in his soft voice.  She promptly closed her mouth and concentrated on the fabric of her kimono, wondering why he hadn't grown crazy with impatience with her pestering attitude.  She was trying so hard to be annoying and unbearable and he had barely twitched an eyebrow.  What was she going to have to do to get this man to react?

"Must be your first wedding night, eh," commented an old woman as she passed by.

Kaoru turned bright red at such a bold statement and scrambled to get out of his arms, completely embarrassed.  "I'm fine," she hissed and he finally released her, making her almost fall.  "Baka," she mumbled, straightening out the wrinkles in her clothes.  She gave a rather proud look at her yellow kimono, dusty, smelling of horse, and wrinkly.

After being nearly beaten into the clothing by Sano himself, she had felt too much like a noble and less like a warrior.  The persistence of her brother in getting her to wear female clothing was strange, as if he was reminding her that she shouldn't be there to fight, that she didn't belong.  She hiked up the kimono sleeve on her right arm and made a furious fist, if that was what Sano was implying, then he was in for a beating the next time they meet.  That is, if they meet again.

She lowered the kimono sleeve in dismay, considuring that she was being kidnapped.  Could it be that she might be tortured to death for information she didn't know?  Or held hostage against her brother to turn the table for Shishio??!!  The last one made her mentally punch herself, why hadn't she figured that out sooner?

Seeing that a war was starting over Suiko's lands, of course she would be a prime target to blackmail Sano into giving up!  So was that the real reason to Sano forcing her to leave?  Then that must mean that her kidnapper was working for Shishio!  While Kaoru was trying to figure out the thoughts running through her mind, her captor was looking at her with amused eyes.  He could see every emotion in her face as broad as daylight.

Never had he seen someone show their feelings so clearly for everybody to see.  He took great interest in seeing the color of her eyes change, right now it was a stormy blue, reflecting a look of anxiety on her face.  'She must have finally figured out how grave her situation is.  Maybe she'll finally stop being such a burden...'

"Hey, kidnapper, when are we eating," she asked innocently, her face wiped clean of the multitude of emotions from before.

He gave one quizzical look then began to follow the owner of the inn to their room.  Odd, he had expected her to finally ask who he was and who he worked for.  And she asks him what they were eating?  The owner slid open a door to a spacious room, reserved especially for him.  After whispering instructions on a meal for two, he stepped inside after the girl.  She gave a sullen look while standing in the middle of the room.

"We're sharing," she asked in a dull voice, obviously irked that they had to sleep in the same room.

"I don't need prying eyes and ears right now.  We'll be a married couple till we arrive at our destination."  There was a tap and he opened the door to show servants with two trays of food.

It was simple fare, rice, fish, and some pickled vegetables, but Kaoru ate with good appetite.  When she was done she looked around the room properly for the first time, not focusing the on the one futon like she had before.  A chest of drawers looked promising.  Perhaps there was a yukata there to borrow.  She was about to get up when he interrupted.

"Where are you going," he asked, watching her with guarded lavender eyes.

'Wait...lavender?  Weren't they gold before?'

"Clothes, I don't want to wear a kimono if I am to meet your 'leader.'"  This time she got up without any more interruptions, but she began to wonder if she had to ask for permission to do anything.  The chest revealed to a disappointed Kaoru only a few yukatas that looked like it had seen better days.  With a shrug, she slipped it on behind a changing screen.  When she came out, the trays were gone and the futon had bed sheets on it.  She looked at the futon, then the man, then the futon again.  He gave a small sigh after he blew out the single candle in the room.

"I rarely use the futon to sleep," he reassured her, tucking himself in a corner near the bed.  His two swords were placed in a sort of cradle in his arms and he closed his eyelids in the pretense of sleep.  She stared at him for just a minute longer then slipped under the bedcovers.  She felt slightly guilty at making him sleep uncomfortably in the corner, but he was most likely a henchman of Shishio.  Still, he didn't seem evil and lecherous like most of Shioshio's underlings.  However, she would not put her guard down, she was very sure that he worked for Shishio.  Why else would he kidnap her when a war was starting?  Repeating that to herself over and over inside, her breathing eased down into the slower rhythm of deep sleep.

~*~

She had dreamed of her father again, but it wasn't like the nightmares she had before.  This one felt so warm and comforting.  She was a little girl again, sitting her father's lap and hugging herself to his gi.  Large hands enveloped hers and she held on as tightly as she could.  He gently tried to pull her hands off, but she murmured a firm 'no' and held on even tighter.

"Kaoru-dono, Kaoru-dono, please wake up," said a voice from far away.  Wait, that didn't sound like her father.  She opened her eyes to see her captor leaning right above her and her reflexes took over, punching him in the face.  He neatly caught it, holding both of her hands.  Wait ... both of her hands?  He looked down at where she was staring and quickly let go of them.

"Hentai," Kaoru screamed, hitting him with her pillow.

He grabbed the pillow out of her hands.  "You were the one who grabbed my hand first," he pointed out while Kaoru fumed.

"I-I did," Kaoru asked, wincing at her rather spontaneous reaction.  "I'm sorry.  I-er- usually don't do this.  It's just ever since my father ... never mind."   She kicked off her covers only to realize that part of her yukata had come undone during the night, revealing a little too much leg for comfort.  He turned around to let Kaoru adjust the yukata with a furious blush on her face.

"Do you have an extra gi and hakama with you," she asked hopefully as she stood up and stretched.  He jerked his head at a bundle of clothes sitting near the futon.  She muttered a thanks and changed behind the screen.  It must have been his own clothes because they hung like a black dress on her own lean frame.  She had to loop the belt two times before tying it in the front.  When she stepped out he gave a small smile before turning back to his breakfast.  Noticing his look she gave a frown and sat in front of her own tray of breakfast.

"Just what's so funny?"  She took a sip of her miso soup.  "I don't care of I look ridiculous, but if I really look that terrible, then tell me instead of hiding it."  She was about to berate him some more when she realized that she was talking to her enemy.  She snapped her mouth shut and concentrated on eating her breakfast.

Noticing her sudden silence he stared at her till she began to squirm under his gaze.

"What," She finally asked, getting aggravated.

"You're very different from your cousin," he remarked while sipping his tea.  Finishing it in a gulp, he stood up and tucked his swords back in his belt on his left side.  "Come.  We still have more journeying to do."

"Another horse ride," Kaoru complained while she followed him out.  "Hey, how do you know Tomoe?  Have you kidnap her at some point, too?"  She watched as he went down on one knee again to help her get on the horse.  Once more, the ground seem miles away and she looked straight ahead to avoid getting scared.

"We ... were acquaintances in court a few years ago."  His voice had dropped back into emptiness.  He was leaving something out, something important, of that she was sure.  He sounds almost sad again.  Were his memories that bad?

"Were you something more," she asked, hoping to find out more about him.

"What makes you say that?"

"Just by how you sound.  You sound like you're remembering something," Kaoru stated nervously as the horse began to canter.  'Too fast, it's going a little too fast.'

"Perhaps you assume to know too much," he said stiffly before urging the horse into a full gallop.  Kaoru leaned back as far as she could into his arms, wondering when she was going to fall.  The next time she asked him questions, it would be when they weren't on top of a gigantic animal that could dropkick them at any second.  He finally stopped before a long bridge, the horse breathing heavily and sweating from the hard run.

"You know, you still haven't answered my questions," Kaoru said.

He hopped off, then grabbed Kaoru by the waist and nearly threw her down to the ground.  He pressed her against the horse's side, bending his face close to hers.

"Why do you keep asking questions?  Why do you want to know more about me?  Do you really want to know about my past that much," he asked dangerously, his purple eyes showing flecks of gold.

Kaoru didn't back down.  Was it stupidity running through her veins or bravery?  "Because I want to HELP!!!  Is that so awful?!?!?!  Wanting to HELP somebody?!  Well maybe you wouldn't know since you keep pushing away people who want to know more about you or share your past!!  No wonder why you always seem to be alone!!!!"

Kaoru pushed him away and began to stomp on to the bridge.  Her eyes flew wide open when she realized she was in the middle of a rope bridge, a place she had feared all her life.  She took a step back when the bridge began to sway .... and then it dropped.  She turned to start running back, but only caught a glance of her captor's stoic face before she fell hundreds of feet below towards a rushing river.

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*Eh, a little shorter than I expected but I had to stop it there. the next chapter will be about what went on at the bridge and who cut the ropes holding it. and duh, of course Kaoru doesn't die, she's stronger than that!