This starts near the end of the OVA series, the Jinchuu??? arc, Kaoru is on the island manor with Enishi, waiting for Kenshin to come.
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'I've been
watching him for some time now... Kenshin.... It's hard for me to
believe that he was once a man slayer. But, every time I look at him,
his smiling face, and those innocent eyes... I can still see into the
depths of his mind, were those memories lay. My dreams are filled
with one thing.... my victim. His cold amber eyes, when he was but a
teen... the Battossai. Day by day the stains of those sins have been
dissipating from his powerful aura. But... he's so blood stained, his
past so horrible.. that I fear he will not reach retribution by the
time of the choosing. After so many months that we've been
together... he still has yet to realize what I am. That surprised me,
is he so blind to the trust and devotion he has for me..? I hadn't
meant for him to fall in love with me.... I hadn't meant to fall in
love with him..Baldar, what would you say if you saw me now? Would
you laugh with me... about how ridiculous it is for me to fall in
love with a mortal? Odin help me... what was I thinking? He'll grow
old one day... and I will still be the same, no marks of age... or
graying threads. Maybe... just maybe I will serve him in Valhalla...
Hel knows that I would never see him if he were cast into to
Helheim.
The first clue... long ago, when Jineh still lived.
No ordinary girl would have broken free of his spell, that technique
that had paralyzed the lungs, until the victim died of suffocation.
They believed it was because I had a strong will.... Foolish humans.
There had been many other clues after that, though none quite as
notable.
Kenshin... if you come, it might very well be the
deciding factor of your fate.' Her raven locks fluttered in the
breeze as she gazed down at the beach side view. She was in western
clothing a pale yellow robe. Kaoru's arms were folded on the railing
of the balcony... Having been there since yesterday morning, she
still stood at her perch, her back to the window, and oblivious to
the stare of the man inside. Her kidnappers voice reached
hers...
'You're waiting for him... aren't you..? Enishi
approached, closing the glass door behind him. "Even knowing
that if he comes, you will die... Still, you're hoping he'll come....
AREN'T you?!" A deep anger stirred within him, and he had no
idea why. It was surreal feeling, as if the emotions weren't even his
own. All he wanted was for Kenshin to be dead, Kaoru had never been
part of the scheme. At least.. not until a few days ago. He felt like
puppet, even though he could move his own limbs. A part of him
wouldn't stop listening to that voice in the back of his
mind.
'Why.. why, he was a mortal, a human!! She should be
mine..' Loki gazed at the woman before him. Her back was turned, so
she didn't see his eye's trailing down her body, caressing each and
every curve, every strand of hair. 'I finally have you to myself
Kaoru.. and I won't let that human take you away from me again. I'll
destroy him... and send him to Hel. There's no point in caring for
him then... he won't even remember you.' He had watched her grow, 200
years ago when she'd come to Aesir gods. He'd been at her coming of
age party, when she was granted a pearl of Freya's necklace. He had
been the one to give her wings... albet against her will. Whatever
the case, it had made her feel more like her sister Valkyries!! And
still, she disliked him. Still, she didn't love him.
It'd been
quite simple for him to take over this human's body. Enishi had
already been weak of mind, the only thing sustaining him was his
anger and vengeance. a little 'sub conscious' prodding, and he'd done
as he bid. The boy had already been a bit insane, one little voice in
his mind wasn't something surprising. This white haired man would
kill Battossai for him.
Yes.. yes I was waiting for him. And
yet, I didn't want him to come. Didn't want him to love me... and I
didn't want to love him. But.. you know how the fate sisters works...
they love to intertwine threads where they shouldn't be. She gazed
out into the distance, refusing to acknowledge his fury. Squinting
her tired eyes, she could see a small figure in the distance. Lips
curved into a brilliant smile.. He was here.
She watched as
Kenshin approached. "Kenshin!!" Kaoru tried to run to him,
but stopped within her tracks when Enishi put out his arm, blocking
her path. His words rung in her ears, clasping her hands, she watched
in terror as Enishi approached the red haired warrior. Something felt
wrong here. Very wrong. Her senses seemed to be blocked, and she
couldn't feel death in the air. It gave her a little hope. Perhaps
the two would live. But, there was another presence... one that
seemed vaguely familiar, yet hidden at the same moment. She shook it
off as just part of her vivid imagination.
She watched as they
fought, on and on and on.. it seemed to never cease. A grimace
appeared upon her lovely face each and every time that Kenshin was
hit. And was horrified when Enishi had managed to grab him by the
hair, and lay blow after blow upon his scarred face and abdomen.
After one more punch, he threw the red head on the ground, and
reached for his sword to finish his vengeance. However, Kenshin
managed to roll away, grab hold of his own weapon, and the fight
resumed.
A sigh left her parted lips when Kenshin hovered over
Enishi, sword posed in the air to finish the crazed man off. However,
at the last second, the blade slipped from his grasp, he fell to his
knees, his head upon the sandy beach floor. Kaoru watched on,
horrified at the surrender that Kenshin presented just as he had
won..
"Enishi... I've caused you so much pain...
destroyed the smile you once had. If it will bring back your
happiness, then I accept my punishment. Kill me if it will ease your
soul and Tomoe's.." Enishi listened as Kenshin offered his life
in exchange for his own well being. A chuckle left him, steadily
growing into a crazed laugh. He reached for his fallen sword near by,
and stood towering over the once proud Battossai. He didn't know what
over came him. In truth, he'd never truly killed anything. The sharp
edge glistened in the sun as he hesitated. But something in his mind
a tiny voice spoke, prodding him, urging him forward. He knew that by
killing this man, he would have committed the greatest sin... and
would never see Tomoe in heaven. But, still some part, or perhaps a
foreign being in itself caused him to grasp the hilt tightly. He
closed his eyes for what seemed like minutes, and gave in to the will
of this apparition in his mind. The blade began to decend... and his
eye's jerked open at what would have been the last moment-- when it
would have pierced that wretched mans skin... And the sight before
him succeeded in making him freeze, chilled to the bone. He felt
drops of blood splatter upon his face and a scream of pain from a
women he had grown to care for.
((TBC..............
Just
kidding!!!))
Kaoru rushed as fast as she could while Enishi's
eyes were closed. Dashing forward, her arms enveloped Kenshin's
lowered body, her cheek pressed against his back, and she smiled down
as she saw him open his eyes with that dumb founded look.
He
would not loose her, he would not make the same mistake twice. Violet
eyes opened as he felt arms embrace him. Glancing at the corner of
his eyes, he found his angel guarding him. He watched as the blade
began to descend, and moved to push her out of the way. But her
scream stopped him. He watched in wonder, it was almost as if the
world were proceeding in slow motion. Blood splattered on his face,
the blade halted just half an inch above her head. He could feel the
the pressure around him as she squeezed him tighter. He gazed upon an
angel, and finally gave in to his weariness, believing that to be
protected by a heavenly being such as this... meant he had repented.
Eye's closed, and he drifted into oblivion, a smile upon his scarred
face.
She hadn't really been thinking. The only thing on her
mind was to save him. Kaoru finally understood what that presence
she'd felt earlier was. And knew there was only one way to save both
these men. She heard her clothes tear, and a searing pain in her
back. Her voice, high pitched in a agonizing scream, just as the
blade was descending. Crimson liquid, that she recognized as her own
splattered everywhere. Sprinkling on the face of that white haired
man. It caused him to freeze, the shining razor sharp edge hovering
above her. A spasm shot through her body, as her entire wings finally
came out. The skin around it seemed to close up, merging around the
bone and feather. She could feel still feel the dull ache in her
shoulders as those feathered appendages were quickly merging with her
body and becoming part of her structure. She flapped them once,
twice, and the blood that covered them flew everywhere, and once
again the feathers were a sleek white, no longer dripping with the
crimson liquid. Her breathing was ragged as the pain began to
subside, and she glanced up at the white haired man in fury. As she
stood, the blade clattered to the ground. The man took a step back
from the Valkyrie, "Loki....", Her voice was low, almost a
snarl. It hinted danger and the rage that was causing her body to
tremble.. "Be gone.." It was almost whisper, as if she
didn't want any one to hear. Not Kenshin, not even Enishi. Her eyes
were narrowed, and a tiny bit of moisture veiled the betrayal she was
feeling right now. She had though Loki to be her friend. "If you
don't leave this instant, I WILL inform the gods of your tricks.
Either depart unharmed, or face the consequences that Odin will
surely present before you."
The thought of Odin
personally retrieving him was not all that appealing to him. Besides,
if he didn't fight back, Kaoru wouldn't be TO angry. She always
forgave him if he gave up easily. However, he feared that this time
he might've gone to far.
Enishi all of a sudden seemed to be
enveloped in a dark mist, his eye's were glazed over. But he seemed
to snap back into the real world as soon as that strange mist about
him dissipated. He stumbled forward, into open arms. Slumping to the
ground, Kaoru descended with him, caressing his cheek as he lay his
head in her lap, arms wrapped around her waist. Tears sprung from his
eyes, yet he didn't seem to be quite there. He stayed there,
embracing this gift, sobbing, and mumbling thank your's, and pleas to
be forgiven. "Sister.. sister.." He repeated those words
often, until he to had giving in to exhaustion, and like Kenshin..
slept. For the first time, truly in peace.
Kaoru watched over
them both, one hand idling running through Kenshin's hair as he
slept, the other tangling within Enishi's threads. She had managed to
move herself without waking both men, whom now slept with their heads
sharing her lap. She smiled sadly down at them, watching as they
slept in peace. The breeze blew by, and she could hear the message
that it carried along with it, and heard Loki' voice.. the cause of
that sad smile. 'Kaoru... I'm sorry.. I just missed you..' She
couldn't hate him for that.. Kaoru only sent a brief, yet reassuring
reply back. She was still angry, but that would die away within
hours.. 'I missed you to Loki... But, please.. don't ever do this
again..' Kaoru sat watching over them, gathering her thoughts.
Kenshin would have questions.. and she was sure Enishi would have
them as well. After all, he had mistaken her for his sister.
It
would be a few hours before the two men will wake, eye's opening to
the site of the night sky. They would discover that they had been
sleeping beneath feather wings.
TBC ((For real this
time))
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Wow..
I know it's been a long time since I updated, and I'm sorry about
that.. but I've been preoccupied. Hope you enjoyed this story... it's
FAR from over, so keep a look out for when I do post more. This is
just the beginning!!! For those of you wondering.. There is a love
triangle Enishi:Kaoru:Kenshin... but it will end as a K&K, I
promise. Well.. actually... I'll probably make an alternative ending
for those in in favor of Enishi. 3