Etched In Black Ink

MysticShadowWanderer

Disclaimer: It's not supposed to hurt this much... But it can never feel the same again... (If anyone knows the name of that song and the band who sings it, let me know, because I don't, but I heard the lyrics and loved them. It's driving me nuts)

Chapter Two: The Devil Has My Ear Today

"Be good now, Kenji," Kaoru said, kneeling to look her son in the eyes. Battousai stood behind her, nodding in silent agreement, his cold eyes turned on the boy. "Don't do anything that you think I would tell you not to do. And I mean it."

"Yes Momma," the child mumbled, kicking at the ground. He didn't like the neighbors much, they were terribly boring to him. Not to mention the fact that they always looked at him and his mother somewhat strangely. They appeared not to even dare glance at his father.

It was an odd thing that he'd taken so readily to calling Battousai his father. Most children who had grown up for the first five years of their life without any father figure would be a bit wary to give the title to anyone, but Kenji had called Battousai 'Father' from the moment Kaoru had told him who the redheaded man was. It seemed right to the child.

"I don't like those people," Kaoru muttered as she walked away arm-in-arm with Battousai. He looked sharply at his wife.

"Then why, pray tell, did you leave our son with them?"

She sighed. "They aren't bad people, and I know they're trustworthy, but every so often I feel like they're staring at me. Still, they're better than any of the other neighbors. It's not so easy to get along here. People treat us differently."

Battousai frowned at that. He knew that Kaoru was intelligent enough to realize why she got strange looks from the people that lived nearby, and he also knew that she knew that it was unavoidable. After all, they were dissimilar than everyone else, and Kaoru was still struggling with her English. He'd had enough time before he'd met her to perfect a multitude of languages, and she was smart enough to pick up quickly when he taught her, but it was difficult to learn a second language, especially one with so many nuances as English. He tightened his hold on her as they crossed the street to their own yard; thinking about all the trouble she'd had in his absence made him feel even more strongly possessive of her, though at a second moment's thought, he realized that perhaps he should have felt guilt. It seemed that, even with several years that had changed him, guilt was still an emotion that he was incapable of exhibiting. Some things never changed.

Pulling open the gate, he gave her an over exaggerated bow and waited for her to pass before he followed her, slapping her backside when he caught up to her. Kaoru shrieked and jumped, caught off-guard by his sudden playfulness. He'd never been that way before. It seemed that five years could change a man, even one that wasn't entirely human. That made her stop and turn to stare at him.

"What?" He raised one eyebrow and awaited her question.

"Just how many women were you with when I wasn't there for five years?"

Battousai blinked and fumbled for words. After all they'd been through, she didn't trust him? The very thought hurt more than anything he'd ever felt in all his long years, more than the death of his adoptive mother, more than the pain they'd shared when they took blades to each other's skin, more than the time she felt guilty because she killed, more than the time he'd almost lost her during that long voyage to America.

"There were none, love," he said resolutely. "There were none and will be none, ever again."

Kaoru searched his eyes with hers, and was finally satisfied with his answer. "You must have been so lonely..." she said in a low, seductive tone. "So hungry..."

Battousai smirked and opened the front door for her. "I was likely to starve to death," he whispered in her ear as she passed.

Slamming the door behind him, he spun her around and took her in his arms. She grinned up at him before he captured her lips with his in a fiercely possessive kiss. Her knees weakened at the intensity and passion he poured into the embrace, and she realized just how much she'd missed him. Being without him for five years had been so difficult, and she'd struggled to survive without his strong arms there to catch her when she fell. All that had kept her going was the knowledge that one day he would return, that and their mischievous son.

"I need you so badly," she groaned as they broke apart. "Please."

"Hush, darling," Battousai said softly. "I know... I know..."

They made their way quickly to their bedroom and Battousai gently eased Kaoru to the bed, murmuring 'slowly... don't rush.' Her lips burned at the side of his neck as she covered any skin she could reach with loving kisses. Pressing his body firmly against her, he pinned her down and wrapped her in a firm embrace. Her small hands came up to stroke his neck, his shoulders, his chest, and he leaned back to allow her more access. Eagerly, she accepted what he offered, and tugged at his gi, which he still insisted upon wearing, until it came off. Her eyes lit up as she could drag her nails down his back and, after loosening the strings, delve her hands into his hakama to run her fingertips up the backs of his thighs. He groaned and bit her ear gently in response before blowing into it.

"You naughty thing," he chuckled huskily. "You still know how to drive me crazy."

Before she could respond, their frantic motions were stopped by the sound of someone outside screaming extremely loudly. They both froze, then sat up, listening intently. Kaoru's eyes widened as the keening shriek continued, high-pitched and panicked. Battousai exchanged a glance with her and, before she could say anything, grabbed his gi and shrugged into it, adjusting his clothing while she fixed hers. He nodded to the question in her eyes; the scream was coming from across the street, from the house they'd left Kenji at. All at once, their trance-like state was broken, and they were dashing down the hall, heading for the scene of the commotion. Battousai's hand was already reaching for his katana, and Kaoru put a palm to her hip to reassure herself that her hidden dagger was still there.

Battousai didn't take the time to open the gate, instead he jumped over it, hauling Kaoru with him, which was a momentarily frightening experience. They practically flew across the street and through the open gate of the neighbors' yard. Standing there on the front porch, sucking a bloodied thumb, was their young, redheaded son. Kaoru yelped in shock and relief and swept the child into her arms as soon as she reached him, hugging him tightly to her.

"Are you alright, Kenji-chan?" she asked, near-frantically.

"Yes, momma, I'm fine," he replied, sounding somewhat bored.

While Kaoru fussed over their son, Battousai was surveying the situation. Nothing looked amiss, but he could still hear that terrible, blood-curdling scream that refused to cease. It was coming from within the house, but he hesitated to step through the door.

"Kenji," he said, turning deadly serious eyes on his son, "what happened here today?"

Kenji stared his father straight in the eyes and shrugged, resuming his thumb-sucking. It was then that Battousai glanced at the child's small, chubby hands. The palms were coated in blood. Kaoru followed his line of sight, and gasped, almost dropping Kenji when she realized what that meant. Battousai opened his mouth to interrogate the boy, but never got the chance.

"You! YOU!" A distraught woman shouted at them as she ran out of the house, her hair wild from being pulled on and her face marred by tears that still flowed. "You two are responsible! You and that... that... that devil child! I could kill you now! How could... Why... You are all damned to Hell!"

With those words, she ran back into the house, and they could hear a great shuffling noise, like she was frantically looking for something. Battousai had the dreadful suspicion that he knew what that thing was. The confirmation came when the woman came tearing out into the yard, looking as if she were possessed by demonic forces, and, with violently shaking hands, pointed a rifle in their direction. Kaoru turned her back quickly, shielding Kenji.

"Turn around, woman, and let that child be given what he deserves! That child that is the spawn of Satan! That cold-blooded murderer!"

Battousai stepped forward, planting his body firmly in front of Kaoru's exposed back.

"There shall be none of that," he said, his tone low and commanding. "If you hurt my son or my wife in any way, I refuse to take responsibility for my actions."

"So it was you! It was you that fathered that... that... monstrosity! That demon! You deserve death more than anyone in the world!"

Though Battousai could hardly believe that she could get her trembling finger on the trigger, the woman took aim, poorly, and fired at him. He blocked the bullet with his katana, and then swept down on the woman, who suddenly thought she was looking at Satan himself. Her scream of horror was cut off as she fell to the ground and wallowed in a pool of her own blood. Battousai looked on indifferently, and Kaoru covered Kenji's eyes with her hand.

"Momma," he whined. "I want to see!"

Kaoru simply stared at him in shock. This was her son? So much like his father, but yet... so entirely different. There was something in him that frightened her so much that when Battousai had sheathed his katana, she handed Kenji to him.

"We have to leave," Battousai said, breaking the cold silence. "We have to get out of the state."

"First the man that used to live next door, then this woman's husband, than the woman," Kaoru said, hanging her head limply. "We've all committed the same sin."

Battousai's eyebrows raised as he regarded her. "You killed again?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I had to."

He simply turned on his heel and walked out of the yard, crossed the street, kicked their own gate in, and stalked into their house. Kaoru followed meekly. Kenji was soon locked in his room, for lack of anything better to think of to do with him.

"What do we do?" Kaoru asked, flopping down in a kitchen chair and dropping her head in her hands.

"Like I said, we leave," Battousai replied. "We have to be gone by sunrise tomorrow. Now..." He paused briefly, "what is this about you killing again?"

"The man next door... he used to stare at me. I ignored it until he started to talk to me, say lewd things. I tried to tell people, but they refused to believe me. I didn't mean to kill him... it's just... he came in our house once, pinned me down... I had no choice..."

Battousai held her shaking body in his arms, stroking her head as she cried. She cried for her son, for her husband, for herself, for everything that had gone so wrong just when she thought that things might be able to be right again.

"Sh, sweetling," he consoled as he lifted her out of the chair and took the seat himself, cradling her gently in his arms. "We'll find a way out of this. We always do. Think of how many times things were awry in the past, but we fixed it. We can start over."

"But it's so much to put Kenji through," Kaoru mumbled through her tears. "He's so young."

"He just grew up today," Battousai reminded her. "He has to learn, now more than ever, that actions have consequences. He has to finish his training."

That was the last thing that Kaoru wanted to hear, and she voiced her concerns.

"Yes, it is a killing technique, but it also teaches self-control. It was also created to protect the innocent..." he trailed off there, knowing that he had misused the technique, and knowing that Kaoru would be upset with that.

"Do you think it will help?"

"I hope so."

A/N: Wow. Little kids are more fun when they kill people! :cannot STAND small children: Alright, alright, I'm sorry, but I can't help but make the kid act older than his age and slightly nuts, because, well, I hate little kids, and plus, the kid's not a normal human, so there. Besides, it's my story, so there! As a note, he's not a cold-blooded killer, and he's not a psychopathic killer, he's just a little kid that does what instinct tells him and doesn't yet know how to control himself. He's not evil, just young. Oh, and by the way, the chapter title is a line from A Perfect Circle's "Weak and Powerless."