Hey all!
I'm back in action everybody! A million sorrys for the wait on this new chapter, but it wasn't my fault! (I had it done on the 10th, but fanfiction.net wouldn't let me upload any documents til the 17th!) Thanx to everyone who reviewed chapters 1-3. You guys are so encouraging! Not much else to say, so Sapphire Wings Inc. proudly presents Chapter 3 of I'll Protect You Always.
sapphirewings
Disclaimer: I dreamed last nite that I owned Rurouni Kenshin. Then I woke up and it was all a dream. ;;
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Chapter 3 Surrender to the Feeling
The glowing sun was barely visible as a raven-haired woman stirred from her sleep. Kaoru's deep blue eyes fluttered open as she steadily gained consciousness. She sat up on her pallet and looked out her window. 'It's too early for me to get up' she thought groggily. Lying back down, she tried to fall back asleep only to be distracted by the sound of birds merrily chirping outside. She finally surrendered to the morning and rose to her feet.
Kaoru tiptoed through the dojo hallways as to not wake the other occupants. She didn't mind living with her friends, but she loved it when it was quiet and peaceful too. She wasn't quite sure what to do at this hour. As she passed Himura's room, she considered waking him for a moment, but decided against it. She knew he wouldn't be annoyed with her for waking him, but she decided that it was a perfect time to take a bath without any interruptions, guaranteed. She grabbed a kimono to change into afterwards and went out to the courtyard.
A sliver of the rising sun was visible through the trees as Kaoru walked through the courtyard to the bathhouse. To the east, there was an orange glow across the horizon, but the western half of the sky was still a deep blue clustered with stars. The light-skinned maiden marveled at the beauty of the morning for a moment, her eyes scanning the sky. She was so awestruck by the sight that she didn't even notice the red haired man watching her.
Clutching her kimono close to her, she turned around to take in all of the sky. She must have been holding it too tight because a moment later, the silk material slid between her grip and fell into a rather dewy section of the dirt ground. She sighed slightly as she bent to pick the garment up. Holding the now-dirty kimono up in the sunlight to examine it, someone approached her.
"That will need washing Miss Kaoru, that it will", a kind voice behind her stated.
Startled for a moment, Kaoru abruptly spun around and found herself face to face with a smiling Kenshin. Breathing a sigh of relief, she smiled back at him.
He looked down at her mud-stained kimono, he continued, "If you would like me to, I could wash that now and it would be dry by lunch time."
"That would be great. I was planning to wear this when I go shopping with Megumi this afternoon. Thank you so much Kenshin", she said gratefully.
"Not a problem Miss Kaoru", he said. He looked at her face-to-face and locked eyes with hers. He suddenly found himself entranced by her beauty. Her long raven hair, her light and soft skin, the way her eyes resembled the sky above them when they sparkled.
Catching himself staring, Himura blushed slightly. He pulled his orbs from their gaze with great difficulty. He closed his eyes in fear that if he opened them, he could not resist her innocent gaze.
Kaoru's breath caught in the back of her throat when she locked eyes with the rurouni. His deep amethyst pools were so entrancing, yet they taunted her to reach for him. She could not tear her gaze from him as she drunk in every feature of his handsome face.
It was he who looked away first, leaving an empty feeling in the young woman's heart. 'Maybe he just doesn't.' Her vision blurred as small tears formed in her sapphire orbs. She quickly turned so Kenshin wouldn't see her crying. "I'm going to go take a bath now. I want to take one before Yahiko and Sanosuke wake up", she stated simply while choking back tears."
And then she ran, not looking back at the concerned man she left behind.
Kaoru must have sat there for a good 20 minutes thinking about Kenshin. Every memory of them together seemed to flash through her mind. She smiled while remembering how he came to her rescue when she was kidnapped by Jin- eh.
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A wide-eyed man in black fell to the feet of Kenshin. Nay, he was Kenshin no longer. He was a point where Battousai had taken full control. The young woman that was Kaoru watched from the sidelines, clutching her throat. The spell Jin-eh had put on her was suffocating her ever so slowly, death claiming her with every second that passed.
Battousai stared down at his defeated opponent with golden eyes, hatred radiating out of every inch of his being. He would kill this man for what he did to Kaoru. He would kill him not only to save her from the spell, but to release his rage upon the rivaling killer.
A deep voice escaped the manslayer's throat. "Your life as a swordsman is now over. And so is your life as a human being", he purred with satisfaction as the blade of his sword was flipped over.
Kaoru's eyes widened with shock when she heard these words. This was it, if Battousai murdered this man, Kenshin would be no more. She watched in horror as the blade was raised into the air, in a striking position. The scene seemed to stand still for a moment as a breeze blew into the moonlit clearing.
"What are you doing?" Jin-eh asked in a harsh tone. "In order to free the girl of the spell, you have no choice but to kill me."
Blazing amber was all that was seen in Battousai's anger filled eyes. "To protect Miss Kaoru. I will become a manslayer once again!" he shouted into the night.
Kaoru gasped and Jin-eh began to laugh triumphantly. "That's it! Kill me and join the taste of the blade!" he shouted back.
"Die."
The sword seemed to fall in slow motion down to Jin-eh's head. In those few seconds, Kaoru remembered the time Kenshin saved her from Gohei. He had said, "A sword is a weapon. The art of swordsmanship is learning how to kill. What Miss Kaoru says is sweet and innocent talk that only those whose hands have never been stained with the blood of men can believe. But I much prefer Miss Kaoru's sweet and innocent talk over the truth, that I do."
At that point, it did not matter to Kaoru that she could not draw breath. It didn't matter that she was within death's grasp. All that mattered, was him. Tears filled her eyes. 'It's all over. I've lost him, I've lost Kenshin.' The blade was nearly inches from Jin-eh's skull and in a moment of crisis, Kaoru shouted the only thing that made sense.
"NO!!!!!"
The scene froze at the sound of her voice. Kenshin's sword was an inch away from slaying Jin-eh. Two sets of shocked eyes turned to look at Kaoru, and to her relief, the rurouni's had returned to violet. She realized then that she could breathe again, but was exhausted from not getting any air for so long. Knowing that she could pass out any second, Kaoru had one more thing to say.
"Kenshin, don't go back to being a manslayer. You can't use swordsmanship. to kill", she whispered faintly before falling to the ground in exhaustion.
"Miss Kaoru", the rurouni exclaimed. He rushed to her side and caught her before she hit the earth. "Miss Kaoru, you've got to hold on, that you do!"
'That you do.' Those words brought more joy to her then a million students enrolling in the Kamiya dojo. At the feeling of his touch, consciousness rushed back into her. She had hugged him in a friendly manner several times, but he had never held her. All she could do was repeat his words. "I've got to hold on, that I do."
"You'll be alright, that you will"
"Yes, I am alright.that I am", she whispered. Using her newfound strength, she sat back up, tears in her eyes.
"Miss Kaoru?"
"I'm alright now Kenshin."
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Yes, the battle with Jin-eh proved that Kenshin cared about her deeply. But how? As a friend, a sister, maybe more? She pondered this for a while before washing herself and rising from the furo.
The soft towel wrapped around Kaoru's body was comfort to her restless mind. 'Even if he doesn't love me, he will always be by my side', she thought. She grabbed a second towel and wrapped it in a turban atop her head. After drying herself off, she reached for her kimono on the ledge next to the towels, only to find it gone. Thinking it may have fallen, she searched the floors with no results. Then it hit her; she had given it to Kenshin after it fell on the wet ground. She frantically searched the entire bathhouse, hoping to find a spare gi or something. She found nothing.
'This is just great. Now what am I supposed to do?' she thought. Her options weren't good. She could either run to her room as fast as she could avoiding everyone she could, or she could stay here and wait for someone to realize she was missing. After a mental debate, she decided to take a risk and sneak back to her room in nothing but a towel.
Ever so slightly, Kaoru opened the bathhouse a crack. She observed the actions in the courtyard. Kenshin was the only one there, his back to her as he washed her kimono. She looked at the dojo and assumed that Sanosuke and Yahiko were still asleep because it was still silent. She snuck another glance at Kenshin. It would be easier to sneak past a dozen military guard dogs then the well-trained samurai.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door wide enough to let herself out. Making sure the towel covered her enough, she bolted.
Gentle hands scrubbed the silk of the colorful kimono. Kenshin always made sure that he cleaned Kaoru's clothes with tenderness. Probably because he imagined her wearing it while he cleaned. He held the garment up to the sun and imagined her wearing it. He brought it back down and practically cradled it in his arms. Thoughts of holding her like this often drifted across his mind. He was truly in love.
'But I am not worthy of her.' the red-haired man thought as he dropped the kimono back into the soapy water and continued washing. '.My past is too blood-stained compared to her innocent ways.'
A scent suddenly reached his senses and he was alerted of another presence in the courtyard. He recognized Kaoru's scent immediately and turned around to speak to her. His mouth dropped open when he saw that she was wearing nothing but a skimpy towel as she sprinted to the dojo. Amber flecked eyes looked up her young body as she ran, memorizing every curve and every feature.
Quickly he turned his head from her and took deep, calming breaths. Desire flowed uncontrollably through his body as the image of the young maiden was burned into his mind. He needed to touch her soft skin, run his hands through her hair, press her rosy lips against his. When his eyes opened again, they were no long a beautiful purple, but deep amber. Battousai had risen in a moment of passion and wasn't about to be suppressed. For once, he wanted to surrender to his wishes. A mischievous grin spread across his face when idea struck. Without hesitation, Battousai used his god-like speed and dashed into the dojo.
The back door of the dojo slid open as Kaoru ran in. Relief, sweet relief fell upon her. Getting to her room had to be a lot easier then getting past Kenshin in the courtyard. Nevertheless, she ran through the hallways as fast as she could to reach her destination. She turned the final bend and saw a glimpse of her room before she ran into something very solid.
Two people hit the floor hard. Kaoru opened her eyes and found herself in Kenshin's muscular arms. Her towel was still covering her miraculously. She looked up into Kenshin's eyes. A gasp caught in the back of her throat when she saw his orbs had become pure gold. Her heart stopped and a blush crept up her cheeks when he smiled warmly at her.
A deep voice issued from his mouth that was most un-Kenshin like. "Hello Kaoru", he purred. One of his hands came up to her face and flipped her raven hair out of the way. His gaze was almost mesmerizing on her. She felt her body go weak at his touch. Kenshin had never made her feel this way, so why could Battousai?
Their faces slowly grew closer together. She could feel his hot breath on her skin. Her eyelids closed as she prepared to meet his lips.
"Kenshin!!!! Is breakfast ready?!?!" Yahiko's annoyed voice brought the two back to reality. They could hear footsteps growing close and separated quickly. Kaoru hurried to her room, but not before sneaking a glance at the man she had come so close to sharing her first kiss with. His eyes were closed and he was taking deep breaths to regain control. Sensing her gaze, he opened his eyes. Amber and amethyst swirled together in his depths. He closed them again and she disappeared into her room.
Still in her towel, Kaoru collapsed onto her futon. 'What just happened?' she thought. Whatever it was, she liked it. She liked it and wanted more.
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Author's comments: Yea yea I know, it's kind of an abrupt ending. But I wanted to finish this chapter before Friday. This chapter didn't really turn out the way I expected, but I'll put all the stuff I was thinking in the next chappie. Alright, now's the part where u RR and tell me if u like it, hate it, or something in-between. Expect chapter 4 by next week!
Luv always
sapphirewings