Well, here we go. Another story. I hope everyone likes it. However,
there is one thing I want to make perfectly clear: THIS IS AN AU FIC!!!!
IF PEOPLE SEEM TO ACT A BIT OOC, IT'S OKAY!!!!! SO, PLEASE, NO FLAMES
ABOUT THAT. Just wanted to clear that up before I started.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, and all characters do not belong to me unless specially noted. Don't sue, or I'll cry.
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Once More by Supersaiyanchicken
Once more, she was covered in blood. The blood of her enemies. The blood of the men she had just killed. She stood, as she had uncountable times before, and stared at the sky. It was raining. The small droplets hit her eyes, but she didn't blink. She was used to it. A tongue of lightening flickered across the sky, closely followed by a loud boom of thunder. She lowered her head. A few drops still clung to her eyelashes, but she brushed them off and returned her katana to its sheath. There was no more to do here. Her job was finished.
* * * * *
He entered his room, threw his sword down, and collapsed onto the dirty, ragged bed. The day was over at last. He had killed a lot of men today. Over twenty. They died so easily...at times he felt it was wrong to kill them. But if he failed...he would die instead. And so he killed. In this world, the strong live, and the weak die. That was the way he lived every day of his life, ever since his parents had died from cholera.
"Battousai-san?" He lifted his head from the pillow and looked toward his door. An old woman was standing there. He gave her a small smile.
"What is it?" he asked.
"You are wanted downstairs." He pushed himself up and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Very well. I'll be down in a minute."
* * * * *
She sank down into the water. It was warm. She always enjoyed having a hot bath after a killing. It calmed her down. The water rose up to her chin. She laid her head against the side of the bath and closed her eyes. A soft sigh escaped her lips. Sometimes, she wished she could end the violence...end the killing...end the blood. But it was too late. Too many bodies, too many victims. She couldn't stop now.
She lay for five minutes, eyes closed, thinking. Then she rose from the bath and grabbed her sword and clothes. Sliding shut the rice paper door behind her, she looked down the hall. There was still some blood on the floor and walls. That was to be expected. She had, after all, entered this family's house and killed them all; who did she expect to clean up the mess?
She made her way carefully, taking great pains to avoid stepping in the blood. She had just taken a bath; there would be no point if she got dirty again so soon. She reached the front of the house and stepped onto the porch. The breeze felt good against her warm, wet, naked skin. She tilted her head back and allowed the gentle wind to dry her. Standing like this for a moment, she realized how tired she was. She wearily stepped back and sat down against the outside wall of the house. Maybe just a few hours of sleep would do her good...it would be a bit dangerous...but then, these times were always dangerous. And without another thought, she closed her eyes and drifted off...
* * * * *
"Tomorrow morning, then." He nodded and left the room. Another assignment. Fortunately, it wasn't until the next morning. He would have enough time to rest before then.
He returned to his worn-out bed and covered himself with the thin blanket without bothering to remove his clothes. Of course he didn't need that much sleep, but it was occasionally nice in a way to have more sleep that required. He closed his eyes. However, it was almost an hour later before he finally fell asleep.
* * * * *
Saitou Hajime stepped onto the porch. She was lying there, shivering in the morning wind. Foolish girl, sleeping naked and completely exposed on the porch. If someone had found her, she would have been dead. He prodded sharply with his toe. She immediately opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Saitou-san!" she gasped, smiling slightly. "You scared me." She stood up and stretched. Saitou looked away as she put on her clothes. Fitting her katana and wakazashi at her side, she stepped around him to look him in the face.
"So, why are you here?" she asked. He frowned at her.
"You have another assignment. You were supposed to be there by now." Kaoru's eyes grew wide. She cursed and turned to go.
"Be careful," warned Saitou over her shoulder. "We have heard reports that the Ishin Shishi also has plans to execute this same man. Be very careful so as not to meet. We do not need more blood on our hands." Kaoru smirked and replied, "Just hope for his sake he stays out of my way." She walked off, leaving Saitou on the porch.
"Women," he grunted. Then he left as well.
* * * * *
Blood. On the sword. But not too much. Good. Clean. Quick. Quiet. There shouldn't be any complications this time. He wiped his sword and returned it to its sheath.
"Hold it!" He looked up, startled. There was a girl there. She was holding a katana.
"Who are you?" he asked, already searching for weaknesses. She had long, raven hair, but that was tied back, like his; it wouldn't get in her eyes. Her stance left her open on the right... an easy hit, if it came to fighting...he hoped it wouldn't.
"Do you honestly believe I would tell someone like you my name?" she asked, sneering. He shook his head.
"Fair enough. But I do not wish to fight you." He looked for possible means of escape. The garden only had one entrance, and she was standing right in front of it.
"You are interfering with the Shinsengumi. You have to die." She jumped at him. He managed dodge the attack and rolled behind her. He drew his sword in classic Battou-Jutsu style, but his sword cut the air. She appeared behind him and brought the blade speeding down at him.
"SHIT!!!" He managed to swing his own katana up and block her strike. He pushed her away and jumped back. Her smile grew wider.
"So you can fight pretty well," she said. He didn't reply. He was concentrating on backing up slowly toward the entrance. Only a few more feet...
"HEY!!!" she cried. "Don't think you can get away from me!" He was surprised by her awareness. Not many fighters would have noticed that. He sighed.
"That's enough, I think." He returned his sword to its sheath. "I do not wish to prolong this fight anymore." She looked dumbfounded. After a minute, she walked straight up to him and punched him in the gut. He coughed and hunched over.
"What's the matter?" she asked mockingly. "Punch pretty hard for a girl, don't I? Don't want to fight because I'm a girl? I can fight better than any man, for your information! Or do you want to die instead? Because I can do that too." She indicated her sword. He gave no response. She glowered at him.
"Fine!" She swung the sword at him. In one swift movement, he drew his own sword and cut through hers. The blade went onward, cutting through her shirt and drawing blood. She fell on her back. He kneeled over her and gave her a small smile.
"I'm very sorry, but you left me no other choice." He sheathed his sword. She looked away.
"You win this time, but next time you won't be so lucky." He stood.
"Well, I hope you are okay. That wasn't a deep wound, so you should be fine."
"And...since you beat me...it's only fair that I tell you my name...it's Kamiya...Kamiya Kaoru." He nodded.
"And if you ever manage to defeat me in a fight, I will tell you mine." He left the garden. She groaned and forced herself to sit up. He was right: it wasn't too bad a wound. The bleeding had already stopped. She got to her feet. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked him. He didn't kill her, despite the fact that she would have killed him if their positions had been reversed. Of course, it was a mistake he would regret: in the end, she would kill him anyway. Kaoru reached for her broken sword and looked at it.
"Shit. Saitou-san's gonna kill me."
* * * * *
"There was a problem?"
"Yes. Apparently the Shinsengumi was after the same man. They sent one of theirs."
"And you killed him?"
"...uh...actually...it...wasn't a 'him.'"
"What?!"
"It was a woman..."
"They have women fighting for them now?! How low will these bastards go to win?"
"Regardless, she was very skilled at fighting."
"Did you kill her?"
"Well...no..."
"WHAT???!!! Are you telling me that we have a member of the Shinsengumi who knows you and is walking around freely?!" Battousai nodded.
"It would appear so." The man sitting at the desk slammed his fist down.
"This can't happen! You have to find her and kill her!" Battousai looked startled.
"I cannot do that. I do not kill women."
"Bullshit! You can't treat her different than anyone else if she is a member of the Shinsengumi!"
"I am certain we can find another way to prevent her from talking..."
"NO!!! You have to shut her up yourself! That's the only way we can be certain. If she tells everyone about you, you'll be dead in a week!" Battousai hung his head.
"Of course. I shall see to it immediately." He left the room.
* * * * *
Why? Why is he so...why don't I want to kill him? He humiliated me. He has to pay. What's wrong with me?
She walked down the street, past the lighted windows of other families who could be heard laughing and speaking pleasantly. But she paid them no mind. Lost in thought, she didn't notice anything going on around her. She brushed by someone and muttered an apology. No time to deal with civilians now. Suddenly, she found her arm in a strong grip. She turned around and saw that the man she had just passed had grabbed her.
"I said, 'You got a problem?!'" he growled. She wrenched her arm out of his grasp. His eyes narrowed and he drew his sword.
"Leave me alone," she said quietly. Her hand inched toward her katana's hilt. Two more huge men stepped out behind the first. They surrounded her.
"You hear that, boys?" he asked, a horrible grin appearing on his face. "This wench thinks she can order us around." The other two laughed and drew their own swords.
"Your choice," she said. The first man's chest ripped open. Splattered with bright red blood, she pulled her sword out of him and faced the other two.
"Who's next?" she asked, smirking. The tip of her tongue appeared and licked a drop of blood off her face.
"You little bitch!!!" The second guy charged at her. She swung her blade straight through his neck. More blood spattered her legs and feet. The third man looked at his two friends and grew pale. She began to laugh and took a step towards him.
"No! Please! Leave me alone!" He turned and tried to run. She dashed forward and ran her blade through his back. Pulling out the sword one final time and allowing the blood to wash over her, she stepped back to admire her work. Lucky, no one else could see it. By the time someone would find them, she would be long gone. But for the moment she was happy to simply stand there. She heard thunder overhead. Good. Rain was coming. She liked rain. She felt strangely peaceful in the rain. The smell of blood was heavy in the air. She raised her sword to her face and looked at the blade. It was covered in blood. She wiped it on the headless man's clothes and sheathed it. Looking at her hand, she saw some blood still on it. Bringing her hand to her lips, she licked the blood off and savored the taste in her mouth.
A light drizzle began to fall. She looked at the sky. Clouds obscured the stars and moon. There was little light. Good. She would be less noticeable. Glancing once more at the three bodies in the street, she turned and left.
* * * * *
He heard a scream and broke into a run. There was blood. Lots of it, by the smell. He rounded the corner and found three men lying on the ground, dead. Such senseless killing...
He looked up. Strange...along with the smell of blood, the faint but unmistakable smell of jasmine hung in the air. He had smelt the same scent on her...and that meant that she was close. He had come from the west. So she could only have gone east. He heard a door open. Someone was coming. Time to leave. Rain began to fall. He ran off as someone walked out into the street. He heard a shriek, but didn't stop.
* * * * *
Her outer clothes cast aside, she allowed the rain to wash the blood from her body. It was a shame: her outfit was too drenched in blood to be worn again. She'd have to find some new clothes...hopefully another woman lived nearby. In the meantime, she was content to wear her undergarments only.
She heard footsteps approaching fast. She backed up into the shadows, clutching her sword, ready to strike anyone who saw her. Her eyes strained to see through the darkness...it was HIM. Less than a day had passed and she already had to battle him again? Perhaps fate was against her.
She hoped he wouldn't notice, but she knew that was futile. He was too attentive and too meticulous not to spot her. He paused no more than ten feet in front of her. She saw him look down and cursed herself. She had forgotten to grab her clothes. He kneeled down and picked up the cast- aside garments. Then he stood.
"I know you're still here," he said, his eyes flashing. "But I promise not to kill you if you give yourself up." She almost laughed aloud. Kamiya Kaoru give herself up? This man was more delusional than she thought. He had drawn his sword, looking in every direction for her. He would never see her if she attacked now. A perfect opportunity. Why not seize it?
"Die!" She burst from the darkness and swung her sword.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, and all characters do not belong to me unless specially noted. Don't sue, or I'll cry.
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Once More by Supersaiyanchicken
Once more, she was covered in blood. The blood of her enemies. The blood of the men she had just killed. She stood, as she had uncountable times before, and stared at the sky. It was raining. The small droplets hit her eyes, but she didn't blink. She was used to it. A tongue of lightening flickered across the sky, closely followed by a loud boom of thunder. She lowered her head. A few drops still clung to her eyelashes, but she brushed them off and returned her katana to its sheath. There was no more to do here. Her job was finished.
* * * * *
He entered his room, threw his sword down, and collapsed onto the dirty, ragged bed. The day was over at last. He had killed a lot of men today. Over twenty. They died so easily...at times he felt it was wrong to kill them. But if he failed...he would die instead. And so he killed. In this world, the strong live, and the weak die. That was the way he lived every day of his life, ever since his parents had died from cholera.
"Battousai-san?" He lifted his head from the pillow and looked toward his door. An old woman was standing there. He gave her a small smile.
"What is it?" he asked.
"You are wanted downstairs." He pushed himself up and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Very well. I'll be down in a minute."
* * * * *
She sank down into the water. It was warm. She always enjoyed having a hot bath after a killing. It calmed her down. The water rose up to her chin. She laid her head against the side of the bath and closed her eyes. A soft sigh escaped her lips. Sometimes, she wished she could end the violence...end the killing...end the blood. But it was too late. Too many bodies, too many victims. She couldn't stop now.
She lay for five minutes, eyes closed, thinking. Then she rose from the bath and grabbed her sword and clothes. Sliding shut the rice paper door behind her, she looked down the hall. There was still some blood on the floor and walls. That was to be expected. She had, after all, entered this family's house and killed them all; who did she expect to clean up the mess?
She made her way carefully, taking great pains to avoid stepping in the blood. She had just taken a bath; there would be no point if she got dirty again so soon. She reached the front of the house and stepped onto the porch. The breeze felt good against her warm, wet, naked skin. She tilted her head back and allowed the gentle wind to dry her. Standing like this for a moment, she realized how tired she was. She wearily stepped back and sat down against the outside wall of the house. Maybe just a few hours of sleep would do her good...it would be a bit dangerous...but then, these times were always dangerous. And without another thought, she closed her eyes and drifted off...
* * * * *
"Tomorrow morning, then." He nodded and left the room. Another assignment. Fortunately, it wasn't until the next morning. He would have enough time to rest before then.
He returned to his worn-out bed and covered himself with the thin blanket without bothering to remove his clothes. Of course he didn't need that much sleep, but it was occasionally nice in a way to have more sleep that required. He closed his eyes. However, it was almost an hour later before he finally fell asleep.
* * * * *
Saitou Hajime stepped onto the porch. She was lying there, shivering in the morning wind. Foolish girl, sleeping naked and completely exposed on the porch. If someone had found her, she would have been dead. He prodded sharply with his toe. She immediately opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Saitou-san!" she gasped, smiling slightly. "You scared me." She stood up and stretched. Saitou looked away as she put on her clothes. Fitting her katana and wakazashi at her side, she stepped around him to look him in the face.
"So, why are you here?" she asked. He frowned at her.
"You have another assignment. You were supposed to be there by now." Kaoru's eyes grew wide. She cursed and turned to go.
"Be careful," warned Saitou over her shoulder. "We have heard reports that the Ishin Shishi also has plans to execute this same man. Be very careful so as not to meet. We do not need more blood on our hands." Kaoru smirked and replied, "Just hope for his sake he stays out of my way." She walked off, leaving Saitou on the porch.
"Women," he grunted. Then he left as well.
* * * * *
Blood. On the sword. But not too much. Good. Clean. Quick. Quiet. There shouldn't be any complications this time. He wiped his sword and returned it to its sheath.
"Hold it!" He looked up, startled. There was a girl there. She was holding a katana.
"Who are you?" he asked, already searching for weaknesses. She had long, raven hair, but that was tied back, like his; it wouldn't get in her eyes. Her stance left her open on the right... an easy hit, if it came to fighting...he hoped it wouldn't.
"Do you honestly believe I would tell someone like you my name?" she asked, sneering. He shook his head.
"Fair enough. But I do not wish to fight you." He looked for possible means of escape. The garden only had one entrance, and she was standing right in front of it.
"You are interfering with the Shinsengumi. You have to die." She jumped at him. He managed dodge the attack and rolled behind her. He drew his sword in classic Battou-Jutsu style, but his sword cut the air. She appeared behind him and brought the blade speeding down at him.
"SHIT!!!" He managed to swing his own katana up and block her strike. He pushed her away and jumped back. Her smile grew wider.
"So you can fight pretty well," she said. He didn't reply. He was concentrating on backing up slowly toward the entrance. Only a few more feet...
"HEY!!!" she cried. "Don't think you can get away from me!" He was surprised by her awareness. Not many fighters would have noticed that. He sighed.
"That's enough, I think." He returned his sword to its sheath. "I do not wish to prolong this fight anymore." She looked dumbfounded. After a minute, she walked straight up to him and punched him in the gut. He coughed and hunched over.
"What's the matter?" she asked mockingly. "Punch pretty hard for a girl, don't I? Don't want to fight because I'm a girl? I can fight better than any man, for your information! Or do you want to die instead? Because I can do that too." She indicated her sword. He gave no response. She glowered at him.
"Fine!" She swung the sword at him. In one swift movement, he drew his own sword and cut through hers. The blade went onward, cutting through her shirt and drawing blood. She fell on her back. He kneeled over her and gave her a small smile.
"I'm very sorry, but you left me no other choice." He sheathed his sword. She looked away.
"You win this time, but next time you won't be so lucky." He stood.
"Well, I hope you are okay. That wasn't a deep wound, so you should be fine."
"And...since you beat me...it's only fair that I tell you my name...it's Kamiya...Kamiya Kaoru." He nodded.
"And if you ever manage to defeat me in a fight, I will tell you mine." He left the garden. She groaned and forced herself to sit up. He was right: it wasn't too bad a wound. The bleeding had already stopped. She got to her feet. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked him. He didn't kill her, despite the fact that she would have killed him if their positions had been reversed. Of course, it was a mistake he would regret: in the end, she would kill him anyway. Kaoru reached for her broken sword and looked at it.
"Shit. Saitou-san's gonna kill me."
* * * * *
"There was a problem?"
"Yes. Apparently the Shinsengumi was after the same man. They sent one of theirs."
"And you killed him?"
"...uh...actually...it...wasn't a 'him.'"
"What?!"
"It was a woman..."
"They have women fighting for them now?! How low will these bastards go to win?"
"Regardless, she was very skilled at fighting."
"Did you kill her?"
"Well...no..."
"WHAT???!!! Are you telling me that we have a member of the Shinsengumi who knows you and is walking around freely?!" Battousai nodded.
"It would appear so." The man sitting at the desk slammed his fist down.
"This can't happen! You have to find her and kill her!" Battousai looked startled.
"I cannot do that. I do not kill women."
"Bullshit! You can't treat her different than anyone else if she is a member of the Shinsengumi!"
"I am certain we can find another way to prevent her from talking..."
"NO!!! You have to shut her up yourself! That's the only way we can be certain. If she tells everyone about you, you'll be dead in a week!" Battousai hung his head.
"Of course. I shall see to it immediately." He left the room.
* * * * *
Why? Why is he so...why don't I want to kill him? He humiliated me. He has to pay. What's wrong with me?
She walked down the street, past the lighted windows of other families who could be heard laughing and speaking pleasantly. But she paid them no mind. Lost in thought, she didn't notice anything going on around her. She brushed by someone and muttered an apology. No time to deal with civilians now. Suddenly, she found her arm in a strong grip. She turned around and saw that the man she had just passed had grabbed her.
"I said, 'You got a problem?!'" he growled. She wrenched her arm out of his grasp. His eyes narrowed and he drew his sword.
"Leave me alone," she said quietly. Her hand inched toward her katana's hilt. Two more huge men stepped out behind the first. They surrounded her.
"You hear that, boys?" he asked, a horrible grin appearing on his face. "This wench thinks she can order us around." The other two laughed and drew their own swords.
"Your choice," she said. The first man's chest ripped open. Splattered with bright red blood, she pulled her sword out of him and faced the other two.
"Who's next?" she asked, smirking. The tip of her tongue appeared and licked a drop of blood off her face.
"You little bitch!!!" The second guy charged at her. She swung her blade straight through his neck. More blood spattered her legs and feet. The third man looked at his two friends and grew pale. She began to laugh and took a step towards him.
"No! Please! Leave me alone!" He turned and tried to run. She dashed forward and ran her blade through his back. Pulling out the sword one final time and allowing the blood to wash over her, she stepped back to admire her work. Lucky, no one else could see it. By the time someone would find them, she would be long gone. But for the moment she was happy to simply stand there. She heard thunder overhead. Good. Rain was coming. She liked rain. She felt strangely peaceful in the rain. The smell of blood was heavy in the air. She raised her sword to her face and looked at the blade. It was covered in blood. She wiped it on the headless man's clothes and sheathed it. Looking at her hand, she saw some blood still on it. Bringing her hand to her lips, she licked the blood off and savored the taste in her mouth.
A light drizzle began to fall. She looked at the sky. Clouds obscured the stars and moon. There was little light. Good. She would be less noticeable. Glancing once more at the three bodies in the street, she turned and left.
* * * * *
He heard a scream and broke into a run. There was blood. Lots of it, by the smell. He rounded the corner and found three men lying on the ground, dead. Such senseless killing...
He looked up. Strange...along with the smell of blood, the faint but unmistakable smell of jasmine hung in the air. He had smelt the same scent on her...and that meant that she was close. He had come from the west. So she could only have gone east. He heard a door open. Someone was coming. Time to leave. Rain began to fall. He ran off as someone walked out into the street. He heard a shriek, but didn't stop.
* * * * *
Her outer clothes cast aside, she allowed the rain to wash the blood from her body. It was a shame: her outfit was too drenched in blood to be worn again. She'd have to find some new clothes...hopefully another woman lived nearby. In the meantime, she was content to wear her undergarments only.
She heard footsteps approaching fast. She backed up into the shadows, clutching her sword, ready to strike anyone who saw her. Her eyes strained to see through the darkness...it was HIM. Less than a day had passed and she already had to battle him again? Perhaps fate was against her.
She hoped he wouldn't notice, but she knew that was futile. He was too attentive and too meticulous not to spot her. He paused no more than ten feet in front of her. She saw him look down and cursed herself. She had forgotten to grab her clothes. He kneeled down and picked up the cast- aside garments. Then he stood.
"I know you're still here," he said, his eyes flashing. "But I promise not to kill you if you give yourself up." She almost laughed aloud. Kamiya Kaoru give herself up? This man was more delusional than she thought. He had drawn his sword, looking in every direction for her. He would never see her if she attacked now. A perfect opportunity. Why not seize it?
"Die!" She burst from the darkness and swung her sword.