Deadly Promise
Chapter 3
~Time is a storm in which we are all lost
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Everything was so blank at first, white and empty. Then pain started to seep through her bones followed by a chilling wet cold. She gave a moan and tried to open her tired eyes but the harsh sun glaring down made her eyes clench tightly. She had a headache that throbbed like somebody was hitting her repeatedly and she was disoriented. Her body felt like it had been battered, kicked, and tossed around for hours and hours. What had happened that made her feel so ached? She slowly rolled her body till she was on her stomach and cautiously opened her eyes. It was a long stretch of rocky beach which was bordered by a forest of dark trees. The roaring crashes of water warned her that the river's edge was but a few feet away. Inch by inch she scooted herself farther up the shore and away from the river's powerful pull. First off, she had to muster up enough energy to actually stand up. She pushed her arms up but plopped down with a sharp hiss of agony, something was sprained inside, maybe a rib or two. Maybe three as she starting to feel more of her body's hurts. Two or three sprained ribs, bruises and scratches everywhere, twisted or broken ankle. How did she manage to get so hurt? Had she been in the river for that long? There was the crack of a twig and she twisted her head up to see a man step out of the border of trees. White silver hair, stunning turquoise eyes, and an expression of stone greeted her. Enemy or friend, she couldn't tell but her head was getting tired and she rested it back on to the stones. His light steps came closer and closer until they were right by her ear. She gave a sigh and closed her eyes, waiting for him to do whatever he was going to do. From that cold expression from before, she had a feeling it wouldn't be good. As much as she would like to jump up and start running away, there was no way she would be able to defend herself at this state. Strong arms gently and gradually lifted her up to his chest. Her head lolled into his chest by its own accord and she helplessly gave into her body's demands. Her drenched clothes had prevented her own body from trying to warm up and the warmth of his body made her tempted to give a tiny purr of delight. In a walk that was almost a glide he began to head back to where he had come from and Kaoru issued no complaints or questions. The trees grew thick and there appeared to be no path but he treaded through the forest by his instincts and they soon came upon a small meadow. There was a good sized hut that had been lovingly built. A small fenced off area held a tiny barn and a gallant white horse that galloped to them when they walked nearby. It gave a nicker as he stepped into the hut. It was immaculate and well lived in, a futon had already been set out as if waiting just for her. As gently as he could he set her down till she was in a comfortable position.
"Do you have any memory of who you are?" His voice was very soft but articulate and clear. Kaoru had to piece together what he had just said before she could understand. Memory...you....
"No, I don't." She answered back after a long thought. "I don't remember at all."
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"You lost her?" The voice rumbled out, anger barely in check. "Baka-deshi! Did I not tell you how important your assignment was?! Why in Kami's name did you even come back?! Go find her right now before your master finds out about this! All our plans are thrown with the trash if you don't find her as soon as you can!!"
Kenshin gave a quick bow and slid the shoji door shut before Hiko could rant any further. Every one of his assignments in the past had been important, why was Shishou so worried about this one? Her only value came from the fact that she was a sister of Kamiya Sanosuke, recently made master of Suiko's lands. There were so many other people that could be kidnapped to turn the tables on the war, why the girl whose lands weren't even that substantial or of much worth? A servant was waiting outside, holding the reins of a fresh horse. Kenshin hopped on without another thought and kicked his heels to go at a canter. How was he to find her? The river had been fast due to the spring's rain and even at his best guess, there would still be hundreds of chances of where she could be. She even might have drowned. It was going to take more than just himself to find her. He quickly yanked on the reins and turned to a different direction, one that would take him to the Oniwabanshu, the best in tracking down people. Their meeting place in the city wasn't too far from his own quarters and wasn't unknown in the underground world. As if sensing Kenshin, a tall man stepped out from the doorway and turned to stare at him. Kenshin gave a nod of his head before he jumped down. The man silently whirled around and went back inside, Kenshin following him. There were a few greetings around from impossibly strange looking men, that is if they were human. The man continued to lead him deeper into the building till they came upon a tiny sitting room, large enough for two people to sit and drink tea. Steaming tea was already set out and both men took a seat across from each other.
"She's an inch or two shorter than me, dark blue hair, blue eyes, and a hot temper." Kenshin said calmly as he picked up his teacup.
"No sign of her yet, my men are still looking around the western part of the river's course." There was a huge crash outside and both men held their breath as they awaited the small storm that was coming closer and closer. The shoji door slammed open and in the doorway stood a young girl. She had a frown on her face and her expressive eyes spoke a million words as they were glued on to the tall man.
"Aoshi-sama! How could you handle business without me?! Especially when it involves Kenshin?" She scolded as she slid the door shut, the men scooted over to make room for her. She took her customary spot right next to Aoshi and sat straight as she gave out the news.
"We had heard about your assignment so I ordered some men to keep an eye out just in case. We were chasing after the man who had cut the bridge's ropes so we weren't able to save the girl. However, we have been keeping an eye out everywhere for her since yesterday. No sign yet, sorry Kenshin. We do, however, have some information on the man behind it. Some spooky looking guy with weird eyes called Jineh. We have reason to believe he is a hitokiri because he displayed some amazing speed and strength when we tried to capture him. He calls himself Kurogasa."
At the mention of the name Kenshin's eyes glinted, showing a few specks of gold in his lavender eyes. His grip on his sword tightened just a little bit.
"Is the name familiar?" Misao asked, already noticing his tense muscles.
"I have an idea of who he might be, though I can't be sure."
*Damn it all, if Jineh is involved, then everything will get more complicated* The hitokiri had been a thorn at Kenshin's side, constantly trying to push the Battousai into a fight but recently he had disappeared. Only to reappear now and kill off his assignment...so that was Jineh's intent. Try to kill the girl in order to force him into a fight? Such pathetic and dishonorable measures taken just to win the title as the strongest, Jineh would never win. Kenshin moved to stand up but Misao pounced on him.
"Wait, there's more...not about Kurogasa, but about the girl Kaoru. She isn't a Kamiya, she isn't even Sanosuke's biological sister."
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He didn't ask any more questions after that, quietly and expertly healing her wounds. Her cuts were bandaged, bruises stopped throbbing after a cream had been put on, and her chest... he had been polite enough to allow her to cover them while inspecting the lower part. A bit of poking and prodding must have given him the information he needed because he bounded her chest tightly with bandages after applying a smelly green cream. After the doctoring had been done he served her a cold meal leftover from lunch, watching her as she ate. She narrowed her eyes.
"I thank you for helping me, but stop staring." She croaked out, her voice feeling like she had been screaming for hours.
"I'm not staring, I'm observing." He pointed out, pushing tiny glasses up with a finger.
"Why are you observing then?" She said, pushing her empty bowl aside.
"You should lay down, your body needs to heal." He stood up and left, leaving her alone in the hut. Hours later, after dusk had already settled in, he came back, sweaty and without a shirt. She turned her head away, embarassed, and looked up at the wooden beams of the ceiling. After letting a few minutes pass by she turned her head to see the hut empty again. Was this how he was going to be like for the next few days? Her thoughts proved true. He came in only to take a few things every once in a while and to give her hot meals. Other than that, he avoided her like she was some kind of oni demon. It got to the point where she was desperate for human company, having only the walls to stare at with a blank mind. She still couldn't remember anything, no matter how hard she tried. Everything was an empty slate, like her mind didn't want to remember who she was. However, at random moments, when the sun shone bright into the hut, she could grasp a blurring image of something red. She gave a weary sigh and tried once more to sit up, but winced at the pain and flopped back down.
"This is so pitiful." She said to herself.
"Tired of being weak?" A deep voice said. Kaoru turned her head to the doorway to see the man looking at her with a strange glint in his eyes.
"Yes, and no. I'm just tired of lying down and doing nothing. And I'm feeling a lot better too." She argued as he walked nearer. He bent down and scooped her into his arms, she immediately grabbed hold of his neck.
"Kora! What are you doing?!" She yelped as he carried her out.
"Fresh air will do you well." He stated as he stepped out into the meadow and carefully placed her amidst a cluster of blooming wildflowers. She gave an admiring sniff at one of them as he sat down next to her.
"Your memory isn't back yet." He said rhetorically.
"No, but I'm starting to get the feeling that you know who I am." She said as she stroked the velvet petals of a flower she had picked. "Am I right?" She looked up at him with a twinkle in her azure eyes.
"Perhaps." He answered cryptically and plucked the flower from her hand to place it in her hair. He stood up and took her in his arms again. "You've had enough fresh air."
"And you're avoiding my question." Kaoru said with a frown. "Put me down right now, I'm not so unwell that I can't stay outside by myself."
"And what can you do? Hobble away to escape to some destination you don't know? Or try to beat me with weak hands into telling you?" He asked her, still holding her in his arms.
"That's not fair, picking on an invalid." She pointed out as he began to walk towards the hut.
"There, you just admitted yourself that you're not well enough to do anything." He ducked his head to go inside and placed her back on the futon. She angrily crossed her arms and turned her head away from his amused look.
"I'm not some child that needs to be looked after, I can take care of myself and I say I feel well enough to leave."
He suddenly leaned over so that he was encasing her in between his arms, his head knelt so close that only a few centimeters separated their faces. She jerked back from the movement and was frozen by eyes that looked almost primal. He closed his eyes and deeply inhaled her scent of jasmine.
"No, you're not a child." He whispered and in a movement as quick as before he left the hut. Kaoru let out the breath she had been holding and a blush flooded her face at what had just happened. Did she see desire in his eyes?
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Kenshin angrily hopped onto his horse's back but gently tapped it's sides to head west. Hiko had to have known about this, there was no doubt about it. His shishou left no stone unturned when it came to assignments, and leaving out this particular detail about Kamiya Kaoru was something Hiko would have never done. But he had done it, and intentionally as well. This put the whole war into a completely new perspective for him, and suddenly, a million things started to come together like the perfect pieces of a puzzle.
"Shishio, what are you planning?" Kenshin muttered to himself as the horizon spread far ahead, the distant sun settling down into the cold beauty of the night.
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