A/N:
Due to contrary belief, I am still alive and writing. I know it's been a really long time but things have been really hectic lately and all the ideas I had for this story just kinda flew out of my head.
So without further ado, the next chapter to "Whispers of the Blade." Dun dun dun! (Yes, I know that that was really corny ;-p )
Standard Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin & Co. does not belong to me. I am merely incorporating the characters into a story for my own twisted amusement.
Soujirou listened carefully to the conversation taking place at the table across from his.
"They say she's as skilled as the Battousai!"
"I don't believe it. One has talented as the Legendary Manslayer? As well as a woman?"
"It's true. I heard it with my own ears from Shishio's henchmen. Apparently Shishio's taken up base at that abandoned warehouse near the docks."
Hearing those last few words, Soujirou quickly gathered up his belongings, dropped a few yen onto the table, and left.
He's heard a lot of rumors about this new female assassin that was as good as the Battousai and from the descriptions he's heard, he was positive that it was Kaoru. If this 'Shishio' somehow has Kaoru under his control, then he would just have to pay Shishio a little visit.
'This is it, it's now or never.'
The Battousai fought ruthlessly and Kaoru knew that she was fast running out of energy. If she is to defeat the Legendary Manslayer tonight, then she would have to strike soon.
Crouching low on her haunches, Kaoru's entire body tensed before launching herself forward towards the Battousai, her body gracefully spiraling through the night air as she flew like a seraph.
While spinning, Kaoru's hair had come loose from its high ponytail and was now wrapped around her body in a gleaming dark cocoon. To Kenshin, she looked magnificent. Her eyes sparkled intensely as her brow creased in concentration. She was all fire and beauty.
Preparing himself for her strike, Kenshin eased himself into Battoujoutsu stance, hand resting lightly on the hilt of his katana.
As molten amber met burning sapphire, Kaoru spun one last time as her katana whipped out in one swift fluent motion, gleaming deadly in the moonlight.
Drawing his katana with god-like speed, Kenshin brought it up to counter the assassin's thrust just as it was about to cleanly separate his head from the rest of his body.
Neither budged for the next moment. Both were intent on holding their position.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a figure cloaked in black charged towards the two fighters.
At first Kaoru wasn't even sure what happened. All she knew was that at one moment, She and Kenshin were in a deadly lock, the next she was sprawled across the damp ground.
Looking above her, she noticed that another figure had taken her place in the struggle against the Battousai.
Clothed in an outfit identical to the one she herself was wearing, the newcomer was a young man hardly taller than herself with hair of the deepest brown possible.
'No, it can't be...'
At that moment, the young man forced Battousai back with his sword. Whipping his katana behind him, Kenshin was able to prevent himself from falling over.
Eyes narrowing at the new warrior before him, Battousai quickly slipped into battoujoutsu stance once again, lips curled slightly in a snarl.
The young man turned his head around, meeting dazzling blue depths.
'It's him...after so long...much too long....'
"Sou-chan...."
The words came out barely above a whisper, but those two words were like the taste of sweet cool liquid to a dying man. From those words alone, Soujirou felt the surprise, the worry, the anguish, the longing behind them. He felt all of her emotions, and all of them were directed towards him.
She was as beautiful as always. The silky strands, flawless complexion, soft lips, and bright blue eyes, all as he had remembered them to be. He wanted to do nothing more at the moment then scoop her up and taste those luscious lips of hers. But with a bloodthirsty assassin standing less than fifty feet away, that would have to wait until later.
Soujirou knew that Kaoru was more than capable of taking care of herself. After he had found Shishio's base, he pledged alliance to the man under the false pretense that the Battousai had murdered his family, and the reason he wants to join Shishio is to get revenge. Soujirou knew that Shishio did not believe him but does not know why Shishio had accepted into his group anyways. Since joining Shishio, he had heard many tales of Kaoru from the other members of Shishio's clan. They spoke of her like she was a radiant goddess; her skill was unmatchable, except for the demon standing before him. Soujirou had hoped that Kaoru would be at Shishio's stronghold but learned that she had been sent out on a mission. Worried for her safety, Soujirou decided to find her and then take her away from Kyoto. Sneaking out of Shisho's stronghold took hardly any skills on Soujirou's part. Soon, he was on his way to save his beloved. He expected to find her, but never did he expect to find her locked in a deadly battle with the Battousai.
The Battousai was no ordinary assassin. He was the legendary manslayer, and he would stop at nothing to kill a target. Glancing back one last time at his beloved, Soujiro charged forward. There was no way he'd ever let her get hurt, not if he was still breathing.
Eyes feral at the sight of the young man before him silently challenging him with his intensive gaze, Battousai growled low in his throat before bringing his katana before him. He had seen the way the newcomer had looked at the girl assassin and knew instantly that the young man was completely in love with her. He didn't bother to find out how the girl was looking back at the black banged warrior. For some reason, he was almost afraid to find out.
Curbing those thoughts to the dark recesses of his mind, Battousai lunged forward this time leaping high up into the air before falling straight down, sword aimed for the tender skin at the base of the young man's neck. Moving with incredible speed, the man quickly side-stepped Battousai's attack bringing his own katana up to swipe at the blurring figure of gold and red coming towards him once again.
Riveting around, Soujirou dodged the attack gracefully but didn't have the agility to counter the feral man's next attack. Thrusting his katana deep into the warrior's stomach, Battousai glared at him for a moment before harshly pulling his sword out. The young man's eyes had widened into saucers. They were so large that for a second, Kenshin thought they might pop out of their sockets. Turning around, Kenshin flicked his wrist sharply, cleaning his katana of the blood staining it while hearing the sound of a body lightly hitting the ground in the background.
Looking up, amber eyes slowly met with terrified sapphire ones. Rising to her feet silently, mouth slightly agape in horror, she let out one terrible cry before rushing towards the fallen man.
"Sou-chan!"
As she lay weeping above the him, Kenshin simply stood there, frozen in place. His heart wrenched for some reason, seeing her cry so fretfully about that other man, the one whom she clearly loved.
Releasing a howl of his own, Kenshin swiftly flew over to the woman. Without even giving her a moment to register what he was doing, he picked her up and ran off into the night, disappearing into the dark shadows.
"My Lord Shishio, I'm afraid we have some rather...er...well...bad news."
Eyes narrowing to mere slits, the words practically dripped like venom from the man's mouth.
"And what would that be, hmmmm?"
Stuttering with fear, the man trembled uncontrollably. Shishio was not known for being merciful.
"I am afraid, my lord, that our prime assassin, Kirei, has been...actually what happened was...she's been kidnapped by the Battousai."
Deciding to just spout the message out in a sudden burst of courage, Kokojo rocked from foot to foot nervously as he awaited his master's response.
Needless to say, Shishio's glare at that moment could have burned the poor man into ash on the spot, but the one who was burning was not Kokoju. Shishio himself was wrapped in a fiery onslaught.
Rising from his golden throne, Shishio's body glowed bright red with the embers that wrapped him from head to toe. Taking a step towards the visibly shaking servant, Shishio's steps burned the floor as he took agonizingly slow steps towards the object of his attention.
Drawing closer and closer, Shishio did not stop until the flames on his body were licking Kokoju painfully on the chest.
"Do you mean to tell me, that the key to the success of my plan has suddenly been plucked away from me by Battousai, my arch nemesis, who works for the same people who would gladly throw me into the fires of hell and WATCH ME FRY?"
At this point, the messenger was practically melting from his fear as well as the fire searing his body. Grabbing the man by the color, Shishio easily threw the man across the room landing against the opposite wall unconscious.
"Enishi!"
Emerging from the shadow near the door, the calm appearance of Shishio's left hand man appeared.
"Yes, master."
"I want you to find out where Kirei is and then immediately report back to me. I will not be defeated so easily, and if I am going to burn in the fires of hell then I will drag the whole of Japan into the inferno with me!"
"Arggg! Put me down!"
Dropping the struggling woman onto the floor in the middle of the room, Kenshin quickly looked her over.
She was defiantly glaring back at him, eyes sparkling bright with barely contained anger. She herself was a complete mess. The black shirt and pants that she had adorned were wrinkled and stained with mud. Her hair was simply a dark mass of tangles and knots. She looked like she had just been thrown into a lion's pit. In other words, she looked completely and utterly delicious.
Looking at the petite woman lying in front of him, Battousai's amber eyes flashed as his eyes met with those depthless orbs. Seeing that she was still defiantly glaring back, he smirked at her. This one will be hard to tame.
"What is your name," Kenshin asked in a low smooth tone.
"Kirei."
'Kirei...it suits her.' Smirking once again, Kenshin leaned in close to the girl.
"Well, Kirei, from now on you are going to be traveling with me. Without you, Shishio is going to be on his hands and knees begging Choshu for mercy."
"I don't care about Shishio at all! It's the lives of my friends that I care about!"
Her sudden outburst surprised Battousai. 'She's not doing Shishio's bidding voluntarily?'
"What do you mean? Explain." Eyes narrowing into slits, Kenshin's voice was barely above a rumble.
Sighing, Kaoru held back her tears as his gaze demanded an answer from her.
"Shishio threatened to kill all those important to me if I don't help me," Kaoru confessed in a small voice unusual for her. "I really have no choice."
'Shishio, you bastard. Forcing an innocent girl to be your pawn by threatening those she loves...like the man from earlier tonight.' At that thought, Kenshin's eyes narrowed again. He had had many before her, but the thought of another taking the spot in her arms made his blood boil. 'What was it about this girl? Her grace, her beauty, the way she fights...'
Kenshin could hardly control his desires. As he was moving forward to capture those soft ruby reds, a loud bang came from the door to the room.
A second later, the door came crashing down.
A/N:
Yup, it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but it will have to do since I kinda typed it quickly.
So REVIEW!!!!
I really need ideas for where this story is going, and I'd love to hear what you guys think.
Until next time...
annie
Due to contrary belief, I am still alive and writing. I know it's been a really long time but things have been really hectic lately and all the ideas I had for this story just kinda flew out of my head.
So without further ado, the next chapter to "Whispers of the Blade." Dun dun dun! (Yes, I know that that was really corny ;-p )
Standard Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin & Co. does not belong to me. I am merely incorporating the characters into a story for my own twisted amusement.
Soujirou listened carefully to the conversation taking place at the table across from his.
"They say she's as skilled as the Battousai!"
"I don't believe it. One has talented as the Legendary Manslayer? As well as a woman?"
"It's true. I heard it with my own ears from Shishio's henchmen. Apparently Shishio's taken up base at that abandoned warehouse near the docks."
Hearing those last few words, Soujirou quickly gathered up his belongings, dropped a few yen onto the table, and left.
He's heard a lot of rumors about this new female assassin that was as good as the Battousai and from the descriptions he's heard, he was positive that it was Kaoru. If this 'Shishio' somehow has Kaoru under his control, then he would just have to pay Shishio a little visit.
'This is it, it's now or never.'
The Battousai fought ruthlessly and Kaoru knew that she was fast running out of energy. If she is to defeat the Legendary Manslayer tonight, then she would have to strike soon.
Crouching low on her haunches, Kaoru's entire body tensed before launching herself forward towards the Battousai, her body gracefully spiraling through the night air as she flew like a seraph.
While spinning, Kaoru's hair had come loose from its high ponytail and was now wrapped around her body in a gleaming dark cocoon. To Kenshin, she looked magnificent. Her eyes sparkled intensely as her brow creased in concentration. She was all fire and beauty.
Preparing himself for her strike, Kenshin eased himself into Battoujoutsu stance, hand resting lightly on the hilt of his katana.
As molten amber met burning sapphire, Kaoru spun one last time as her katana whipped out in one swift fluent motion, gleaming deadly in the moonlight.
Drawing his katana with god-like speed, Kenshin brought it up to counter the assassin's thrust just as it was about to cleanly separate his head from the rest of his body.
Neither budged for the next moment. Both were intent on holding their position.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a figure cloaked in black charged towards the two fighters.
At first Kaoru wasn't even sure what happened. All she knew was that at one moment, She and Kenshin were in a deadly lock, the next she was sprawled across the damp ground.
Looking above her, she noticed that another figure had taken her place in the struggle against the Battousai.
Clothed in an outfit identical to the one she herself was wearing, the newcomer was a young man hardly taller than herself with hair of the deepest brown possible.
'No, it can't be...'
At that moment, the young man forced Battousai back with his sword. Whipping his katana behind him, Kenshin was able to prevent himself from falling over.
Eyes narrowing at the new warrior before him, Battousai quickly slipped into battoujoutsu stance once again, lips curled slightly in a snarl.
The young man turned his head around, meeting dazzling blue depths.
'It's him...after so long...much too long....'
"Sou-chan...."
The words came out barely above a whisper, but those two words were like the taste of sweet cool liquid to a dying man. From those words alone, Soujirou felt the surprise, the worry, the anguish, the longing behind them. He felt all of her emotions, and all of them were directed towards him.
She was as beautiful as always. The silky strands, flawless complexion, soft lips, and bright blue eyes, all as he had remembered them to be. He wanted to do nothing more at the moment then scoop her up and taste those luscious lips of hers. But with a bloodthirsty assassin standing less than fifty feet away, that would have to wait until later.
Soujirou knew that Kaoru was more than capable of taking care of herself. After he had found Shishio's base, he pledged alliance to the man under the false pretense that the Battousai had murdered his family, and the reason he wants to join Shishio is to get revenge. Soujirou knew that Shishio did not believe him but does not know why Shishio had accepted into his group anyways. Since joining Shishio, he had heard many tales of Kaoru from the other members of Shishio's clan. They spoke of her like she was a radiant goddess; her skill was unmatchable, except for the demon standing before him. Soujirou had hoped that Kaoru would be at Shishio's stronghold but learned that she had been sent out on a mission. Worried for her safety, Soujirou decided to find her and then take her away from Kyoto. Sneaking out of Shisho's stronghold took hardly any skills on Soujirou's part. Soon, he was on his way to save his beloved. He expected to find her, but never did he expect to find her locked in a deadly battle with the Battousai.
The Battousai was no ordinary assassin. He was the legendary manslayer, and he would stop at nothing to kill a target. Glancing back one last time at his beloved, Soujiro charged forward. There was no way he'd ever let her get hurt, not if he was still breathing.
Eyes feral at the sight of the young man before him silently challenging him with his intensive gaze, Battousai growled low in his throat before bringing his katana before him. He had seen the way the newcomer had looked at the girl assassin and knew instantly that the young man was completely in love with her. He didn't bother to find out how the girl was looking back at the black banged warrior. For some reason, he was almost afraid to find out.
Curbing those thoughts to the dark recesses of his mind, Battousai lunged forward this time leaping high up into the air before falling straight down, sword aimed for the tender skin at the base of the young man's neck. Moving with incredible speed, the man quickly side-stepped Battousai's attack bringing his own katana up to swipe at the blurring figure of gold and red coming towards him once again.
Riveting around, Soujirou dodged the attack gracefully but didn't have the agility to counter the feral man's next attack. Thrusting his katana deep into the warrior's stomach, Battousai glared at him for a moment before harshly pulling his sword out. The young man's eyes had widened into saucers. They were so large that for a second, Kenshin thought they might pop out of their sockets. Turning around, Kenshin flicked his wrist sharply, cleaning his katana of the blood staining it while hearing the sound of a body lightly hitting the ground in the background.
Looking up, amber eyes slowly met with terrified sapphire ones. Rising to her feet silently, mouth slightly agape in horror, she let out one terrible cry before rushing towards the fallen man.
"Sou-chan!"
As she lay weeping above the him, Kenshin simply stood there, frozen in place. His heart wrenched for some reason, seeing her cry so fretfully about that other man, the one whom she clearly loved.
Releasing a howl of his own, Kenshin swiftly flew over to the woman. Without even giving her a moment to register what he was doing, he picked her up and ran off into the night, disappearing into the dark shadows.
"My Lord Shishio, I'm afraid we have some rather...er...well...bad news."
Eyes narrowing to mere slits, the words practically dripped like venom from the man's mouth.
"And what would that be, hmmmm?"
Stuttering with fear, the man trembled uncontrollably. Shishio was not known for being merciful.
"I am afraid, my lord, that our prime assassin, Kirei, has been...actually what happened was...she's been kidnapped by the Battousai."
Deciding to just spout the message out in a sudden burst of courage, Kokojo rocked from foot to foot nervously as he awaited his master's response.
Needless to say, Shishio's glare at that moment could have burned the poor man into ash on the spot, but the one who was burning was not Kokoju. Shishio himself was wrapped in a fiery onslaught.
Rising from his golden throne, Shishio's body glowed bright red with the embers that wrapped him from head to toe. Taking a step towards the visibly shaking servant, Shishio's steps burned the floor as he took agonizingly slow steps towards the object of his attention.
Drawing closer and closer, Shishio did not stop until the flames on his body were licking Kokoju painfully on the chest.
"Do you mean to tell me, that the key to the success of my plan has suddenly been plucked away from me by Battousai, my arch nemesis, who works for the same people who would gladly throw me into the fires of hell and WATCH ME FRY?"
At this point, the messenger was practically melting from his fear as well as the fire searing his body. Grabbing the man by the color, Shishio easily threw the man across the room landing against the opposite wall unconscious.
"Enishi!"
Emerging from the shadow near the door, the calm appearance of Shishio's left hand man appeared.
"Yes, master."
"I want you to find out where Kirei is and then immediately report back to me. I will not be defeated so easily, and if I am going to burn in the fires of hell then I will drag the whole of Japan into the inferno with me!"
"Arggg! Put me down!"
Dropping the struggling woman onto the floor in the middle of the room, Kenshin quickly looked her over.
She was defiantly glaring back at him, eyes sparkling bright with barely contained anger. She herself was a complete mess. The black shirt and pants that she had adorned were wrinkled and stained with mud. Her hair was simply a dark mass of tangles and knots. She looked like she had just been thrown into a lion's pit. In other words, she looked completely and utterly delicious.
Looking at the petite woman lying in front of him, Battousai's amber eyes flashed as his eyes met with those depthless orbs. Seeing that she was still defiantly glaring back, he smirked at her. This one will be hard to tame.
"What is your name," Kenshin asked in a low smooth tone.
"Kirei."
'Kirei...it suits her.' Smirking once again, Kenshin leaned in close to the girl.
"Well, Kirei, from now on you are going to be traveling with me. Without you, Shishio is going to be on his hands and knees begging Choshu for mercy."
"I don't care about Shishio at all! It's the lives of my friends that I care about!"
Her sudden outburst surprised Battousai. 'She's not doing Shishio's bidding voluntarily?'
"What do you mean? Explain." Eyes narrowing into slits, Kenshin's voice was barely above a rumble.
Sighing, Kaoru held back her tears as his gaze demanded an answer from her.
"Shishio threatened to kill all those important to me if I don't help me," Kaoru confessed in a small voice unusual for her. "I really have no choice."
'Shishio, you bastard. Forcing an innocent girl to be your pawn by threatening those she loves...like the man from earlier tonight.' At that thought, Kenshin's eyes narrowed again. He had had many before her, but the thought of another taking the spot in her arms made his blood boil. 'What was it about this girl? Her grace, her beauty, the way she fights...'
Kenshin could hardly control his desires. As he was moving forward to capture those soft ruby reds, a loud bang came from the door to the room.
A second later, the door came crashing down.
A/N:
Yup, it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but it will have to do since I kinda typed it quickly.
So REVIEW!!!!
I really need ideas for where this story is going, and I'd love to hear what you guys think.
Until next time...
annie