Disclaimer:
Sano: I would much rather die than be owned by Kalasin
Kenshin: Hai, hai…
Kalasin: ALRIGHT, CUT IT OUT! jeez…
A/N: okidoki…this is chapter 11! Wow, I'm actually writing my eleventh chapter! *looks around sheepishly* ok, my shallowness is starting to show…I think we better get on with it now…
WARNING: Might be a bit brutal, okay? I mean, there IS fight scene, therefore it's only necessary that I elaborate a bit. It comes with my reading Neil Gaiman, I guess…
Chapter 11: Finding Kaoru…
Yahiko tapped his foot impatiently. What was taking Kenshin so long? He had been planning this fight for a long time and the guy was simply depriving him of a chance to prove himself! How annoying! Muttering stuff about adults, he climbed the tree and leapt to the side of the gate.
***@***
Kenshin was panting. But he was not doing so because he was tired and ready to collapse. He was doing this simply because he was fighting two battles, one with the guards and one with Battousai. The smell of blood was strong even in the impending rain, and though he had not killed anyone, or perhaps because of it, he felt like Battousai was already taking control or that he was about to at any moment.
He leapt into the air and swung his sword diagonally and landed gracefully on his feet. The man he was fighting cried out in pain as he bled from the shoulder wound the red-haired man gave him.
Lightning.
Thunder.
Kenshin swiftly pivoted to the left as another man charged at him with a kodachi. He dodged backwards, but was unable to block another man's blade which cut him deeply in his side. Turning around suddenly, he swerved his sakaba-tou from lower right to upper left then turned to the first man and aimed for his leg.
His opponents tried desperately to hit him again, but Kenshin was able to fight them off more easily now that they were wounded.
A spray of blood splashed into Kenshin's face as one of the men fell on a heap, unconscious but not dead. The salty taste of blood seeped through Kenshin's mouth, and he forgot for a while that he had another foe to fight as he struggled to win against Battousai.
If only…
Why, if only he could slice the man's throat, then slit his stomach open and mercilessly cut his chest up. He could then behead the other man…and then later on do the same to Enishi…
After all, he had done so tons of times during the Tokugawa Regime, slicing his enemies' organs and cutting off their limbs for the dogs to eat, bathing in the warm, red blood rich with a metallic smell, not caring for the sweat on his brow and later on licking his katana after a long, bloody battle; trying to forget the empty, hollow stares from the eyes of the men he had slaughtered.
Meanwhile…
Kenshin heard a gun being calibrated again, and expected to hear a shot soon and pain, but nothing came.
He turned around, and sheathed his sword when he saw Yahiko. The boy was standing proudly over the body of the other man, his bokken in hand. "Well, Kenshin? I don't hear any thank you's…"
Despite the cold, harsh rain and cruel thunder, the older man found himself smiling. "Indeed, I thank you, de gozaru yo; but now we have to make our way inside." His eyes swept up the magnificent structure of the manor, and his eyes turned to a darker blue as he saw the silhouette of someone on the highest window.
***@***
"You're hurting me!"
"Does it look like I care?"
"You should! I can bite your hand again anytime soon!"
Kaoru bit back a whimper as Enishi threw her to the cold stone wall. Her legs were already shaking as he had dragged her up ten flights of stairs and endless corridors. "You really are insane, aren't you? Why the hell did you bring me up here, anyway?! What, does it have anything to do with that guy outside?"
Enishi threw her a dirty look and cupped her face in his hand roughly and tightly. "You know nothing about what I have had to go through because of Battousai, Kamiya, and so I would greatly appreciate it if you shut up!!!"
Kaoru's eyes widened in horror. Battousai…Battousai was the one fighting Enishi's men? Was it because of rivalry? Or did the man simply want to kill Enishi and be famed as the man who had killed such a powerful magician? She tried to open her mouth and speak, but found she couldn't. Her voice was gone, and for some apparent reason her hands moved on their own upwards on the wall and would not get off it no matter how hard she tugged, so that she was pinned to the wall of the dungeon-like room.
She silently pleaded that Enishi would turn around and face her, for he was standing and looking at the door as if it might burst open any moment. She was going to give him the deepest scowl ever, right in front of his face, for putting her under such a spell.
And if only she could, Kaoru would've shrieked in terror—the beautiful woman had appeared again, right beside her captor. The woman put a finger to her lips, smiled and disappeared, then appeared right beside Kaoru. And she was whispering something still with that smile…
"The Man with the Dragon has already rescued his fair maiden, Kaoru…Don't YOU want to be rescued, too?"
Then she vanished again, leaving Kaoru dazed.
***@***
Yahiko tugged at Kenshin's gi with urgency. "We have to hurry, Kenshin! He's going to hurt her!"
Kenshin nodded, and grabbed the boy's hand, both of them running to the grand wooden double doors. Kenshin pushed it open with all his might, and silently prayed as they entered that his Assassin side would not take over as he fought Enishi, even though he thought that very impossible: already his capability of sensing his enemy's ki was improving. He could feel Enishi's anxiety and his surprising amount of energy and even a fair amount of such confidence.
The problem was, Kenshin could not directly pinpoint where Enishi was. There were tons of stairs and he did not know which would lead to the topmost floor fastest. The manor was vast and empty, and even Yahiko looked around in confusion at the many doors and halls.
'Where, where, where to go? Left? Up that flight or the other? What is Enishi planning?' He grabbed Yahiko's hand again and they took one of the stairs on the left. They climbed non-stop for as long as Kenshin convinced himself he was continuing to detect where his foe's ki was coming from.
***@***
Enishi knew Battousai was on the right track. He watched Kamiya in the corner of his eye, then formed an image of the red-haired warrior in his mind. He brought his index and middle finger to his chest, and whispered feverishly with fierce concentration. He grabbed hold of his ki to keep it from flowing out, and then turned to Kaoru.
She was frowning at him and clenching her fists. But not for long. Soon, he had her wincing in pain as bolts of sharp heat and invisible blades started to wound the skin on her shoulders and arms.
***@***
Kenshin cursed under his breath. Enishi's ki was gone, just like that! How stupid could he be, forgetting the man had magic to protect him! He was about to look around frantically and take the hall to his left to another flight of stairs, thinking it would lead him to that uppermost room when something peculiar happened.
All of a sudden he seemed immune to Yahiko's complaints of their slow progress. Whether he was insane or not, Kenshin could distinctly smell the scent of jasmine, and it was coming from the door to his right…
A/N:
Aaaand..cut!
There you go! I hope you liked it! THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! review, okay! THERE! I hope you guys noticed how long that was! Whew! I'm going on retreat this Wednesday! Whee wish me luck! :)