Chapter 9: Those Awful Red Eyes...
A/N: Guess what! It's me again! Yay! I'll see what I can do about fixing this mess I've made...maybe it'll turn out ok. You never know, I always end up doing bad things like this. Even when I joint-write with Ashes Of Reality, I always end up writing tragedy. All right, enough of my rambling. Let's see now...what is there that I want to tell you...OH! Dude, the REAL Kenshin comes on tonight (Today being Saturday) and I'll finally get to see what happens! Even though we still have...5 episodes until Kenshin defeats Shishio. Dude, I know so many things that I'm not supposed to, it's not even funny. Argh. I hate working in the house so much. Just today I had to clean the entire kitchen (sweeping, mopping, dishes, blahblah, the usual), DO laundry, dust the living room, and...I don't remember. But it was stuff. And I don't like stuff. And...I'm sure you're tired of hearing my complaining, so I'll go write the story now.
Disclaimer: You know, I'm kinda glad I don't own RK. Cause if I did, then I most likely wouldn't be able to write fanfic's about it. Cause the fanfics I wrote would be episodes, and some of the ones I write are...well not possible. *sigh* My life is so complicated.
~^~^~
"Sano...Sano...Wake up Sano..." Megumi sighed. The roosterhead had been watching Kenshin for the past eight hours. He was supposed to wake her up after she'd had four hours of sleep, but being the ahou he was, he'd evidently let her sleep. 'He can be so considerate sometimes...' Megumi smiled fondly. Then she resolved herself. "Sano!" she pushed the chair over.
"POODLES!!" Sano yelled sleepily as he woke from the floor. Megumi didn't hesitate to laugh over his predictament. "Dreaming of poodles? That's different." she giggled. "I wasn't dreaming of poodles." Sano stated. "Oh really?" Megumi raised an eyebrow. "Oh well, it doesn't matter, it's time that you went home and got some--" "I was dreaming about you." Sano continued. Megumi stopped mid-sentence.
For a minute they just sat, staring at each other. Sano was the first to speak up. "Megumi, yesterday when I saw the bloodstains on your kimono and thought that something had happened to you, I realized something very important. I knew at that moment that if anything ever DID happen to you, I would die. I understand how Kenshin felt now Megumi...I love you."
Megumi stared, wide-eyed. The roosterhead loved her? The roosterhead loved her! Tears of joy welled in her eyes, and she broke into a smile. "Oh Sano!" she choked, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Megumi?" Sano interpreted her tears for rejection. "It's ok Megumi. You don't have to feel the same." from the floor his shoulders slumped dejectedly.
"No roosterhead no baka! I love you too!" she collapsed down to the floor where Sano lay. He broke into a full-fledged smile and sat up to embrace her. And once again, Megumi knew that with Sano, everything would be ok.
~^~^~
Megumi smiled from the chair. There was nothing really for her to do except watch Kenshin and think, but he still hadn't moved from the position they'd left him in last night. He was still deathly pale, and Megumi was slightly worried that he'd already died and his heart was just beating anyway.
That was a creepy thought. Megumi shivered and wrapped the blanket more tightly around her. She had to keep this room very cold, for when Kenshin contracted the fever he would need help keeping his body temperature low. Most likely they would still end up using ice.
~^~^~
Sano peered into the room. He hadn't been able to sleep very well, knowing that Megumi was alone in the room with a potentially dead Kenshin. For some reason that thought bothered him very much. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like it. He caught himself smiling; Megumi was just so adorable when she slept.
Movement caught his eye. Had Kenshin just twitched? Surely it had just been a figment of his imagination, a cruel trick his overworked mind had played. Still...He walked over to Kenshin. He still hadn't moved. "Must have been my mind." Sano whispered to himself.
After Sano left the room, Kenshin opened his eyes. What was going on? He was supposed to be dead. Damn them, they must have kept him from dying. Without his life-blood, Kaoru would never be free. His body burned with fever; the heat it radiated oddly reminded him of Shishio. He knew he wasn't able to move yet, and his eyes burned with the effort of keeping them open. Or maybe they just burned, like everything else.
'Shishio must have despised his life.' Kenshin thought. The heat was almost too much for him to bear, the darkness was threatening to come back. But Kenshin didn't want to fall unconscious, not just yet. He needed to think.
What did he need to think about? He'd forgotten. The flames licking at his body distracted him that much. He could feel little rivulets of sweat running off his body; he shivered. The beads of sweat chilled him. Odd, he thought the coolness would have been welcome, but it only worsened the flames.
He can't take much more of this torture. 'If only I could move!' he thought. Try as he might, he was still to weak to do much more than shiver. He could barely blink; he had to keep his eyes closed for a moment before reopening them. His body shivered frantically in the effort to cool him, but it wasn't working. His temperature climbed higher, every degree growing closer to the point where he would lose it.
He couldn't let himself reach that point.
He didn't want to die.
A bead of sweat rolled from his forehead into his eye. His eye complained, stinging and burning and forcing him to squeeze it closed. He didn't realize he had enough strength to move until he'd already wiped his eye. 'I'm stronger than I was.' he noted.
The heat consumed him totally. He felt like the air that penetrated his lungs was ice; the cold of the room almost made his moist, fiery skin steam. 'I can't take this...I'm still not strong enough.' Kenshin lost himself in the darkness once more.
~^~^~
Megumi opened her eyes. When had she fallen asleep? It didn't really matter, for it didn't seem that Kenshin had moved. Or was his hand slightly to the left of where they'd placed it. Standing, Megumi walked to Kenshin, examining his hand. Megumi felt the heat from Kenshin's body even as she stood three feet away. 'My God. His temperature shot up so quickly!'
She placed her hand on Kenshin's forehead, trying to judge the height of his fever. As soon as her cool hand touched his brow, his eyes shot open. Megumi recoiled slightly from the small, angry eyes. 'He's delusional. I must be careful.' she noted. Kenshin's left hand slowly rose to grip her wrist. The heat of his palm stung her skin. 'This is not good. Oh, I wish Sano were here!' a frantic look displayed itself in her eyes.
"Woman, why do you touch me with your hands of ice?" Kenshin growled. His voice was odd, neither that of the rurouni or that of the Battousai. His eyes weren't normal either. They were slightly wider than normal, and bordered between dark pink and red.
"I...I'm sorry. May I please have my hand back? I only wanted to see the extent of your fever." Megumi replied. Kenshin reluctantly released it, his eyes narrowing. They seemed to pierce Megumi's very soul. Whoever this was, she didn't like him.
Kenshin sat up. Where had he gotten all this strength? His body couldn't possibly be strong enough to facilitate this much movement, it wasn't humanly possible. 'His body is being fueled by the sheer heat of his fever!' Megumi deduced. This creature was not Kenshin. It wasn't even the Battousai.
It was a new creature, a dangerous creature. A man that would do anything to satiate the horrible heat within himself, pushing himself outside of his limits to satisfy something that would never be satisfied. There was no doubt in Megumi's mind that this man would not hesitate to kill her with his bare hands if she angered him.
Kenshin stood. His dangerous red eyes reflected the light and even though they stood four feet apart, Megumi could feel the heat from his fever. If she didn't bring it down soon he would completely lose his sanity. He was already pretty far gone, but could still be saved. If she could bring his fever down. But that would require his cooperation, and it didn't look like he would offer it readily.
Sano strolled down the hallway. 'I wonder if Megumi has woke up yet.' he chuckled quietly to himself. He peeked in on Kaoru to find her peacefully sleeping. Megumi had finally brought her out of shock, and though she'd been in a coma, she needed rest. So she was sleeping.
He turned to Kenshin's room. The door was closed, but did he hear voices? Was Kenshin awake?! He hurriedly opened the door to find...someone he didn't know. The hair and build were Kenshin's, but the eyes most certainly were not. Who was this guy? His eyes were red, piercingly red.
Sano inhaled sharply. Something was not right. "Kenshin, this is Sano, do you remember Sano?" Megumi said quietly. "SPEAK NOT WOMAN." Kenshin demanded. Sano had never heard Kenshin speak so harshly, not even as Battousai. "Kenshin?" Sano took a step into the room. The horrible red eyes narrowed, they were slight specks now.
Kenshin trembled, anger radiated from him almost as much as the heat of his fever. The only difference was Sano was well aware of Kenshin's anger. Megumi stared. This was NOT good. "Sano. He's delusional from his fever. It's gone too high and has driven him slightly insane. We need to bring it down, but he will have to be restrained. He's going to fight us, and with him being as skilled as he is...that's not good. His fever is controlling his body, and he feels that everything is against him."
Sano resolved himself to the task. There was a very high possibility that he would be injured. Kenshin was glaring at Megumi now, he'd told her not to speak. Sano caught the fury of Kenshin's glare, and in an instant was there to catch Kenshin's hands as Kenshin sprang on Megumi.
Megumi shrieked before diving out of the two men's way. Kenshin quickly threw Sano's hands off. 'Where did he get so much strength?' Sano thought frantically. Even he was having problems holding the furious fists of the delusional rurouni. Finally the realization hit him. This was the part of Kenshin that had always been held back, the angry monster that festered inside of him. And it was loose.
Then Sano slipped. He left an opening and Kenshin brutally punched him in the throat, causing Sano to release his other hand. He then stood and turned to Megumi. "You, my dear woman, are a nuisance. I do not like nuisances, nor do I suffer them to live." he growled.
Sano choked in the background. He was having extreme trouble breathing, but had he just heard Kenshin threaten Megumi? He had to get up! Try as he might, he couldn't move, only gasp for air. Megumi trembled as Kenshin approached her. "What's wrong wench? Do you fear me? That's good, for you definitely should."
Kenshin raised a hand to strike Megumi. And two arms wrapped brutally around his waist from behind, lifting him off the ground. He kicked and struggled, but couldn't hit the adversary behind him. "Let me go if you value your life!" he growled. "I'd have to say it's the other way around." Sano croaked.
With a mighty snarl, Kenshin broke Sano's hold and was in an instant ready to fight him. "Don't hurt him!" Megumi called from her cowering position on the floor. "He tried to hurt you and you still defend him!?" Sano choked. His throat was partially closed off. Kenshin had hit him pretty hard. "It's not the REAL Kenshin!" Megumi said. Though this was not Kenshin, it WAS Kenshin. "Sano, don't hurt him! If his body sustains any more damage, he probably won't make it through his fever!" she cried.
Sano studied Kenshin carefully. The small man growled from his stance at this injustice. How was he going to restrain him without hurting him? Kenshin didn't give him time to think about it, simply disappearing from Sano's view. Sano turned, but before he knew it, a barrage of punches punished him from above, and by the time he'd looked there, Kenshin was gone.
Sano kept being brutally battered as Megumi searched in vain for a glimpse of Kenshin. She couldn't see him at all. Then, as Sano fell to one knee, Kenshin was standing before her. "Wench, stand up and face me. I want to see the fear in your eyes." Megumi slowly stood, her knees trembling. Kenshin noted this, and a malicious grin spread across his face.
And then everything went black for him.
"Sano! I said not to hurt him!" Megumi cried, holding the sagging Kenshin up in her arms. Barely. "Help me..." she begged. Sano swallowed to diminish the lump forming in his throat and picked up the unconscious rurouni. "We'll have to restrain him." Megumi sighed.
~^~^~
A/N: Wow, this chapter didn't go ANYWHERE I'd planned. I just kind of...sat down and wrote. And this is what I got. I like it though. Hopefully you will too.
/\(;-;)/\
^Firkin!
A/N: Guess what! It's me again! Yay! I'll see what I can do about fixing this mess I've made...maybe it'll turn out ok. You never know, I always end up doing bad things like this. Even when I joint-write with Ashes Of Reality, I always end up writing tragedy. All right, enough of my rambling. Let's see now...what is there that I want to tell you...OH! Dude, the REAL Kenshin comes on tonight (Today being Saturday) and I'll finally get to see what happens! Even though we still have...5 episodes until Kenshin defeats Shishio. Dude, I know so many things that I'm not supposed to, it's not even funny. Argh. I hate working in the house so much. Just today I had to clean the entire kitchen (sweeping, mopping, dishes, blahblah, the usual), DO laundry, dust the living room, and...I don't remember. But it was stuff. And I don't like stuff. And...I'm sure you're tired of hearing my complaining, so I'll go write the story now.
Disclaimer: You know, I'm kinda glad I don't own RK. Cause if I did, then I most likely wouldn't be able to write fanfic's about it. Cause the fanfics I wrote would be episodes, and some of the ones I write are...well not possible. *sigh* My life is so complicated.
~^~^~
"Sano...Sano...Wake up Sano..." Megumi sighed. The roosterhead had been watching Kenshin for the past eight hours. He was supposed to wake her up after she'd had four hours of sleep, but being the ahou he was, he'd evidently let her sleep. 'He can be so considerate sometimes...' Megumi smiled fondly. Then she resolved herself. "Sano!" she pushed the chair over.
"POODLES!!" Sano yelled sleepily as he woke from the floor. Megumi didn't hesitate to laugh over his predictament. "Dreaming of poodles? That's different." she giggled. "I wasn't dreaming of poodles." Sano stated. "Oh really?" Megumi raised an eyebrow. "Oh well, it doesn't matter, it's time that you went home and got some--" "I was dreaming about you." Sano continued. Megumi stopped mid-sentence.
For a minute they just sat, staring at each other. Sano was the first to speak up. "Megumi, yesterday when I saw the bloodstains on your kimono and thought that something had happened to you, I realized something very important. I knew at that moment that if anything ever DID happen to you, I would die. I understand how Kenshin felt now Megumi...I love you."
Megumi stared, wide-eyed. The roosterhead loved her? The roosterhead loved her! Tears of joy welled in her eyes, and she broke into a smile. "Oh Sano!" she choked, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Megumi?" Sano interpreted her tears for rejection. "It's ok Megumi. You don't have to feel the same." from the floor his shoulders slumped dejectedly.
"No roosterhead no baka! I love you too!" she collapsed down to the floor where Sano lay. He broke into a full-fledged smile and sat up to embrace her. And once again, Megumi knew that with Sano, everything would be ok.
~^~^~
Megumi smiled from the chair. There was nothing really for her to do except watch Kenshin and think, but he still hadn't moved from the position they'd left him in last night. He was still deathly pale, and Megumi was slightly worried that he'd already died and his heart was just beating anyway.
That was a creepy thought. Megumi shivered and wrapped the blanket more tightly around her. She had to keep this room very cold, for when Kenshin contracted the fever he would need help keeping his body temperature low. Most likely they would still end up using ice.
~^~^~
Sano peered into the room. He hadn't been able to sleep very well, knowing that Megumi was alone in the room with a potentially dead Kenshin. For some reason that thought bothered him very much. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like it. He caught himself smiling; Megumi was just so adorable when she slept.
Movement caught his eye. Had Kenshin just twitched? Surely it had just been a figment of his imagination, a cruel trick his overworked mind had played. Still...He walked over to Kenshin. He still hadn't moved. "Must have been my mind." Sano whispered to himself.
After Sano left the room, Kenshin opened his eyes. What was going on? He was supposed to be dead. Damn them, they must have kept him from dying. Without his life-blood, Kaoru would never be free. His body burned with fever; the heat it radiated oddly reminded him of Shishio. He knew he wasn't able to move yet, and his eyes burned with the effort of keeping them open. Or maybe they just burned, like everything else.
'Shishio must have despised his life.' Kenshin thought. The heat was almost too much for him to bear, the darkness was threatening to come back. But Kenshin didn't want to fall unconscious, not just yet. He needed to think.
What did he need to think about? He'd forgotten. The flames licking at his body distracted him that much. He could feel little rivulets of sweat running off his body; he shivered. The beads of sweat chilled him. Odd, he thought the coolness would have been welcome, but it only worsened the flames.
He can't take much more of this torture. 'If only I could move!' he thought. Try as he might, he was still to weak to do much more than shiver. He could barely blink; he had to keep his eyes closed for a moment before reopening them. His body shivered frantically in the effort to cool him, but it wasn't working. His temperature climbed higher, every degree growing closer to the point where he would lose it.
He couldn't let himself reach that point.
He didn't want to die.
A bead of sweat rolled from his forehead into his eye. His eye complained, stinging and burning and forcing him to squeeze it closed. He didn't realize he had enough strength to move until he'd already wiped his eye. 'I'm stronger than I was.' he noted.
The heat consumed him totally. He felt like the air that penetrated his lungs was ice; the cold of the room almost made his moist, fiery skin steam. 'I can't take this...I'm still not strong enough.' Kenshin lost himself in the darkness once more.
~^~^~
Megumi opened her eyes. When had she fallen asleep? It didn't really matter, for it didn't seem that Kenshin had moved. Or was his hand slightly to the left of where they'd placed it. Standing, Megumi walked to Kenshin, examining his hand. Megumi felt the heat from Kenshin's body even as she stood three feet away. 'My God. His temperature shot up so quickly!'
She placed her hand on Kenshin's forehead, trying to judge the height of his fever. As soon as her cool hand touched his brow, his eyes shot open. Megumi recoiled slightly from the small, angry eyes. 'He's delusional. I must be careful.' she noted. Kenshin's left hand slowly rose to grip her wrist. The heat of his palm stung her skin. 'This is not good. Oh, I wish Sano were here!' a frantic look displayed itself in her eyes.
"Woman, why do you touch me with your hands of ice?" Kenshin growled. His voice was odd, neither that of the rurouni or that of the Battousai. His eyes weren't normal either. They were slightly wider than normal, and bordered between dark pink and red.
"I...I'm sorry. May I please have my hand back? I only wanted to see the extent of your fever." Megumi replied. Kenshin reluctantly released it, his eyes narrowing. They seemed to pierce Megumi's very soul. Whoever this was, she didn't like him.
Kenshin sat up. Where had he gotten all this strength? His body couldn't possibly be strong enough to facilitate this much movement, it wasn't humanly possible. 'His body is being fueled by the sheer heat of his fever!' Megumi deduced. This creature was not Kenshin. It wasn't even the Battousai.
It was a new creature, a dangerous creature. A man that would do anything to satiate the horrible heat within himself, pushing himself outside of his limits to satisfy something that would never be satisfied. There was no doubt in Megumi's mind that this man would not hesitate to kill her with his bare hands if she angered him.
Kenshin stood. His dangerous red eyes reflected the light and even though they stood four feet apart, Megumi could feel the heat from his fever. If she didn't bring it down soon he would completely lose his sanity. He was already pretty far gone, but could still be saved. If she could bring his fever down. But that would require his cooperation, and it didn't look like he would offer it readily.
Sano strolled down the hallway. 'I wonder if Megumi has woke up yet.' he chuckled quietly to himself. He peeked in on Kaoru to find her peacefully sleeping. Megumi had finally brought her out of shock, and though she'd been in a coma, she needed rest. So she was sleeping.
He turned to Kenshin's room. The door was closed, but did he hear voices? Was Kenshin awake?! He hurriedly opened the door to find...someone he didn't know. The hair and build were Kenshin's, but the eyes most certainly were not. Who was this guy? His eyes were red, piercingly red.
Sano inhaled sharply. Something was not right. "Kenshin, this is Sano, do you remember Sano?" Megumi said quietly. "SPEAK NOT WOMAN." Kenshin demanded. Sano had never heard Kenshin speak so harshly, not even as Battousai. "Kenshin?" Sano took a step into the room. The horrible red eyes narrowed, they were slight specks now.
Kenshin trembled, anger radiated from him almost as much as the heat of his fever. The only difference was Sano was well aware of Kenshin's anger. Megumi stared. This was NOT good. "Sano. He's delusional from his fever. It's gone too high and has driven him slightly insane. We need to bring it down, but he will have to be restrained. He's going to fight us, and with him being as skilled as he is...that's not good. His fever is controlling his body, and he feels that everything is against him."
Sano resolved himself to the task. There was a very high possibility that he would be injured. Kenshin was glaring at Megumi now, he'd told her not to speak. Sano caught the fury of Kenshin's glare, and in an instant was there to catch Kenshin's hands as Kenshin sprang on Megumi.
Megumi shrieked before diving out of the two men's way. Kenshin quickly threw Sano's hands off. 'Where did he get so much strength?' Sano thought frantically. Even he was having problems holding the furious fists of the delusional rurouni. Finally the realization hit him. This was the part of Kenshin that had always been held back, the angry monster that festered inside of him. And it was loose.
Then Sano slipped. He left an opening and Kenshin brutally punched him in the throat, causing Sano to release his other hand. He then stood and turned to Megumi. "You, my dear woman, are a nuisance. I do not like nuisances, nor do I suffer them to live." he growled.
Sano choked in the background. He was having extreme trouble breathing, but had he just heard Kenshin threaten Megumi? He had to get up! Try as he might, he couldn't move, only gasp for air. Megumi trembled as Kenshin approached her. "What's wrong wench? Do you fear me? That's good, for you definitely should."
Kenshin raised a hand to strike Megumi. And two arms wrapped brutally around his waist from behind, lifting him off the ground. He kicked and struggled, but couldn't hit the adversary behind him. "Let me go if you value your life!" he growled. "I'd have to say it's the other way around." Sano croaked.
With a mighty snarl, Kenshin broke Sano's hold and was in an instant ready to fight him. "Don't hurt him!" Megumi called from her cowering position on the floor. "He tried to hurt you and you still defend him!?" Sano choked. His throat was partially closed off. Kenshin had hit him pretty hard. "It's not the REAL Kenshin!" Megumi said. Though this was not Kenshin, it WAS Kenshin. "Sano, don't hurt him! If his body sustains any more damage, he probably won't make it through his fever!" she cried.
Sano studied Kenshin carefully. The small man growled from his stance at this injustice. How was he going to restrain him without hurting him? Kenshin didn't give him time to think about it, simply disappearing from Sano's view. Sano turned, but before he knew it, a barrage of punches punished him from above, and by the time he'd looked there, Kenshin was gone.
Sano kept being brutally battered as Megumi searched in vain for a glimpse of Kenshin. She couldn't see him at all. Then, as Sano fell to one knee, Kenshin was standing before her. "Wench, stand up and face me. I want to see the fear in your eyes." Megumi slowly stood, her knees trembling. Kenshin noted this, and a malicious grin spread across his face.
And then everything went black for him.
"Sano! I said not to hurt him!" Megumi cried, holding the sagging Kenshin up in her arms. Barely. "Help me..." she begged. Sano swallowed to diminish the lump forming in his throat and picked up the unconscious rurouni. "We'll have to restrain him." Megumi sighed.
~^~^~
A/N: Wow, this chapter didn't go ANYWHERE I'd planned. I just kind of...sat down and wrote. And this is what I got. I like it though. Hopefully you will too.
/\(;-;)/\
^Firkin!