In the Shadow of the Vampire

By: Psychotic Tanuki

Chapter Three: Gifts of a Dead Woman

A scream erupted through the Genzai Medical Clinic.

            Megumi and Kenshin whipped their head around towards the small room where Kaoru resided. Without a second thought, Megumi ran towards her patient's room while Kenshin glared, before quickly following. Damn bitch. He was close to getting Megumi under his control again, not that she'd remember anything now. Stupid humans only remember what they want to remember, he smirked. For a doctor, Megumi was painfully unaware of her own trauma and selective memory.

            He walked briskly to Kaoru's room, this was getting much more complicated than he would like. He peered inside the room to see the patient curled up in a fetal position, screaming and vomiting. They had left her alone for less than five minutes, and already she was causing him trouble. Any former thought that she could be of any use flew out the window and Kenshin frowned.  He needed to speak with his shishou.

            "Kaoru…Kaoru…what's wrong?" Megumi wanted to smack herself, how could Kaoru answer, when all she could do was scream? Then as abruptly as she started, she stopped.

            "Kaoru, Kaoru, are you okay? What happened? What did-" Megumi licked her lips, she nearly forgot that Shinta was with them and Shinta didn't need to know that Kaoru saw visions. "I'll be right back." Megumi hurried out of the small stuffy room and into the clinic.

            "Shinta? Shinta?" She looked around, the redhead was no where to be found. Furrowing her eyes in suspicion, she concluded that he must have left after hearing Kaoru scream. She'd probably scared off her first possible job applicant and with good reason. Hurrying her steps, she walked back into Kaoru's room. Kaoru had sat up and was 'zoning' out, and with her past experience with Tomoe, 'zoning out' was never a good sign.

            She knelt onto the green carpet and stared up at Kaoru. "What did you see?"

            "I saw through the eyes of death." Kaoru's lips were in a firm line and she turned to look at Megumi, who inwardly shuddered but willed herself to ask her next question.

            "What happened?" Kaoru stared at Megumi, her azure eyes were cold and Megumi noted how they seemed to see right through her.

            "I died."

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            Seta Soujiro frowned as he stared at the black and white squares in front of him. He was never good at chess; it required too much thought and why think when your place was to serve your master? Nevertheless, Misao had wished to play chess, in order to 'impress her Aoshi-sama'. They were in one of Tokyo's many parks, playing a game of chess and to Soujiro's dismay; he was losing for the 10th time.

            "Would you sit still? I can't concentrate with you all jumpy." He smiled a strained smile as Misao hung upside down from the tree.

           "No no no no- I must be able to think and I think best when there is blood in my head." She smiled a half smile closed her eyes. Soujiro scowled, he knew exactly what she was thinking about. She was thinking about how to convert her 'Aoshi-sama'. Oh how he hated Aoshi Shinomori. He looked at his pieces and moved his rook to capture Misao's knight.

            "Your turn." Misao smiled as she flipped down into the bench across from him. It was clear she wasn't happy losing her knight, and with a childlike innocence, she boldly moved her queen forward.

            "Checkmate." Misao was happy again as she danced around Soujiro, who slumped forward in defeat. If he were to beat her in the mental field, perhaps then, he would be able to gain her respect, but alas, Soujiro was a simple minded vampire and Misao was undeniably very clever. He fondly remembered the words of his…friend Yumi. "He's not bright but he'll get the job done."

            "Ne, Sou-chan, your not very good at chess are you?"

            "No, Misao-san, I'm not."

            "Aoshi-sama is, he always beat me. Hee hee." With that she climbed up the tree again in her T-shirt and capris, looking like a scruffy boy instead of a girl. Soujiro clenched his teeth and smiled again. He was sick of hearing about her 'Aoshi-sama', and he was sick of hearing how great this Aoshi was at everything. For the first time since his conversion, Soujiro felt the pang of jealousy, anger and the utter feeling of being weak. How he hated being weak.

            "Ne, Smiley-" Soujiro looked up to see Sanosuke, who was decked out in his doctor scrubs and a giant smile on his face, "I got an idea you just might like."

            "Sou ka?" Soujiro smiled, an idea he had been entertaining in his head was to rip out Aoshi's throat in a bloody mess, but he highly doubted that was what Sano had in mind.

            "How would you like to go on an old fashioned massacre? Like in the good old days." Soujiro smiled. In a massacre, no one would really blame him for killing Aoshi, would they?

            "Honto ni? Master has allowed it?" Sano shrugged his shoulders.

            "He's been preoccupied. Perhaps a bloodbath would offer some fun, maybe send that Rurouni into hiding for a while in his guilt." They both snickered while a now serious Misao sat above them. A massacre would be fun, but would Aoshi be happy with her? They didn't even have Master's permission. Besides, she hadn't been part of a massacre yet, and she would dearly like to.

            "Are you sure that's a good idea? Last time you did something without Master knowing, he was very…angry." Sano fidgeted before giving a cold glare.

            "Let me know your answer later. I've got 'patients' to attend to." Sano strolled down the street, leaving behind a nonplussed Soujiro and a disturbed Misao. However, unknown to them, he was pissed. Soujiro wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he wasn't stupid either and he had seen through his act, and only other person left was Katsu, good old dependable Katsu. With a renewed spring in his step, Sano headed toward Tokyo's Mainichi Shinbun

            "Ne, Sou-chan…"
            "Aa?" Soujiro noticed her voice was frigid and stern, something he hadn't seen before.

            "I'm hungry. Let's go for a bite to eat."

            "Where?" Soujiro was now concerned, they had 'eaten' a pedestrian an hour ago.

            "Let's go to the Aoiya. I hear the owner's yummy."

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            Kenshin stormed into the fiery depths of hell. His shishou was waiting for him at the 13th ring of hell, and he was currently making his way through Ring number 8. The ring of people who died for love, and he always hated passing through this ring, because every time he passed through he would see the ghost of Tomoe Yukishiro. The woman whose dying words were "I give you the gift of a soul." If his soul was a gift, he wanted to return it.  And he hated how her ghostly eyes would look at him, disappointment gleaming because he was still the way he was.

            She was staring at him now, eyes sad as she sat and there staring at him, and how he paid no attention to her. She just sat there to rot in the whirlwind of hell. Thankfully, he was spared any word of her pitiful advice (like last time) and he proceeded to the 9th ring of hell. Gate after gate one thought plagued his head. Why did he feel guilt every time he passed through the 8th ring? Perhaps because he had a soul living inside him, however, deep down, he knew that wasn't true. He felt guilt before killing her. All the words of love he had whispered weren't all lies.

            Passing the 11th ring, Kenshin glared at nothing in particular. He would erase this soul, which only intensified feelings of guilt. He would get rid of these feelings of guilt as well. Kenshin had no room in his thoughts for guilt, he needed to be on task, and his task was to kill the one Tomoe had bestowed her other gift to. When he got rid of Tomoe's last legacy, only then could he be free.

            Kenshin paused a moment in front of the doorway to the 13th ring of hell, his home and the home of his shishou. Gathering his wits, he shoved the door open and bowed. Sitting upon his throne, clad in a white mantle and drinking a cup of sake, was his shishou, Satan or Hiko Seiijuro the 13th.

            "Baka deshi, I already know why you are here."

            "Then tell me the answer you goddamn bastard." Hiko flipped his hair out of his eyes and smiled.

            "But that wouldn't be fun. I wouldn't get to watch you suffer."

            "I'm not laughing." Hiko frowned, his baka deshi was tense and if it were 50 years earlier, he might be able to read Kenshin's mind. Alas, in the last 50 years, he learned to block out his thoughts and Hiko smiled. His baka deshi was nervous; this was his nth attempt at taking over the living realm and probably his closest to success. Except for the fact that neither Kenshin, nor the rouge demon hunters who were against him, had found the one with the gift; that is, until today. Both parties had found her on the same day only his baka deshi was too clueless to see that.

            "I never said you had to laugh." Hiko's deep baritone rumbled and Kenshin's hands balled into fists.

            "We had a deal. I'll help you invade heaven, if you help me get the living realm." Kenshin watched smugly as Hiko fidgeted. If he took the living realm, then Hiko would have two realms out of the three and sooner or later, all three realms.

            "She's more useful than you think. If you play your cards right, their downfall and you're rise to glory is guaranteed. And tell Chicken head that a massacre is out of the question."

            Kenshin narrowed his eyes. What was Sano thinking? And what was Hiko drinking? How could a lame, screaming child be the key to taking over the realm of the living?

            "I'm drinking very nice sake and the Fates have told me this. Do not take them lightly." Flustered, Kenshin stormed out to find Sano.

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            A tired Enishi shoved a couple of yen into the taxi driver's grubby hands and got out of the taxi. He was in front of the clinic, a place he hadn't been to in weeks, and he was already thinking of an excuse to tell Megumi. However, no words could come to his mind. What would he tell her? That he was going to follow his sister's footsteps and try to kill Battousai? Deciding that he would face the music like a brave man, he opened the door. Immediately, he didn't like the tone or feel of his home. It was dark inside, even though it was only four thirty.

            "Tadaima." His slightly nasal voice rang throughout the clinic and he received a muffled reply.

            "Okaeri nasai! I'm in the back storage room!" Enishi frowned. The back storage room was his room. What was she doing in his room? He threw down his sword from his back and took long strides towards his room. The door had been already open and Megumi sat tiredly in his chair, and his turquoise eyes widened as he realized a woman was sleeping in his bed, her face was oddly familiar.

            "Megumi-san, who is that?"

            "Where have you been for the last three weeks? Your school called, you haven't shown up for the five months. Tomoe wouldn't like that you're a 20 year old, college dropout. And she's a …friend of mine."

            "Tomoe wouldn't like that you're hosting teenage fugitive girls and then lie that they're your friend. I've been busy."

            "She's 25, older than you, and how busy?"

            "Very busy." Megumi sighed. Enishi had been…distant lately. She didn't question it that often, deep down, she already knew that he was a vigilante, and that for housing one, she could be arrested. Still, for both their sanity, she pretended she didn't know.

            "Alright. So how'd you know she was a fugitive? She doesn't even know she's a fugitive."

            "I have my sources." Enishi looked at the sleeping Kaoru, and was relieved. Five months of searching for her and Battousai at the same time drained him. He had found the world's savior and she would finish what his sister couldn't.

            "She's not Tomoe. It wouldn't be wise to even try." Enishi set his wounded and betrayed eyes upon the person he was closest to, after his sister.

            "How can you say that? Tomoe passed on the gift to her, how could she not be ready?"

            "Even Tomoe can make mistakes." Megumi sighed and replaced the wet towel on Kaoru's forehead and tried her best to ignore Enishi's accusing stares. "I'm going to head down to the hospital; my shift is in an hour. If a man named Shinta comes, tell him I'm sorry; he can have the job and take care of Kaoru's fever." Without a word, Enishi nodded and sat where Megumi used to sit and stared at the girl sleeping in front of him.

            Kaoru lay nervously on her bed. She had woken up sometime in the middle of their conversation and decided to keep quiet about it. She was unsure of what to think. Some woman named Tomoe had given her a 'gift', and she was a fugitive. Her day couldn't get any worse. And yet, her mind kept trailing back to her vision of her own death. The sickening feeling of dread at the bottom of her killer's stomach as he stabbed her to death hadn't gone away. Kaoru feared that it would never go away. Kaoru had seen many things in her visions for the last five years, and they'd all come true. So obviously, she was going to die if she stayed here. More than ever, Kaoru felt the need to leave Japan.

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Myoujin Yahiko didn't like his boss. He didn't like anything about his life except that Tsubame was in it. So it was quite normal to see a grumpy Yahiko dumping out the Akabeko's garbage, while muttering things 10 year old boys should not be muttering. Today, however, had been especially bad. Stupid Katsu showed up, and when Katsu shows up, it usually meant a pissed Tae, which in turn meant he'd get no food. Just was in that incredibly stupid letter anyway? He was always showing up with those red letters, so, Yahiko figured they were bills. Tae was always complaining about how she 'didn't have enough blood to keep her damn boss happy'.  What else could she be talking about? Like the owner of the Akabeko would drink blood, there were no such things as vampires.

            So then, imagine his delight to find that Tae, in her hurry had thrown out the letter into the garbage instead of burning it, like she usually did. After making sure that no one was around, he hastily tore open the letter.

            He didn't notice that Tae was looking right at him through the window. Her eyes were no longer squinting, they were open in their golden fury, and behind her was an unconscious Tsubame. All Myoujin Yahiko knew was that he had to get away from the Akabeko, he and Tsubame both needed to get far away

            Tae looked on as he stuffed the letter into his pocket and shoved the rest of the garbage into the dump. And she smiled a feral smile as he looked up and saw her looking at him. That stricken face was going to be the last face he ever wore before she ripped out his throat. Laughing maniacally, she watched as he tore down the street, giving him a 10-second start.

            And watching her, was another man with golden eyes, snuffing out his cigarette, he figured he'd go and save that ahou of a boy and take him in. He had a good eye for possible vigilantes against the growing vampire population. That boy had the same look that Enishi Yukishiro had 5 years prior. He walked leisurely into the kitchen of the Akabeko. Noting Tsubame's prone figure, he snorted. She wasn't worth his time, Tae wouldn't kill this little girl, after all even half vampires had bills to pay and free work wasn't something Tae was about to give up. Sauntering out of the kitchen, he lit another cigarette and headed after the crazed restaurant owner.  Mibu's wolf was back in business.

AN: Thanky to all those who have reviewed so far ^^ and sorry it took me forever to post this. High school isn't all that great when your teachers are demanding hogs... Feedback please…and please be nice but in a constructive way ^^