Letter of Marque
Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic
by Gemini
Rated R: For cursing and other naughty things
Disclaimer: This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.
The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'
Chapter 2: Found
"Tell me again why I have to go to this thing Yahiko?" Kenshin grumbled as he shrugged on his dress uniform coat.
"Because Mrs. Sekihara would be very offended if you didn't." Yahiko replied from his perch on his guardian's bed. "And you DO NOT want to get her mad."
"True." Kenshin straightened his coat and adjusted his tie. "How do I look?" He asked the boy, spreading his arms for inspection.
Yahiko sat back to get a better look at the older man. "Good. I bet the ladies will be all over you tonight." he said with a mischievous grin.
Kenshin sighed. "That is precisely what I don't want. Why did Tae have to invite me to this party? She knows I hate going to society functions."
"Probably because she wants to see you married off." Yahiko replied, with the strange wisdom of an extremely observant nine year old.
Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "You've been listening to the cooks again, haven't you?" he accused.
"It was the maids, actually, and they have a lot of interesting things to say." Yahiko replied innocently.
"I have no doubt." Kenshin said, all the while thinking to himself that he should have a little talk with the help.
"Do you think Yuki will be there?" Yahiko asked, trying and failing to be artless.
Kenshin scowled. "Probably. Yet another reason to avoid the Sekihara mansion tonight."
Yahiko giggled. "She's a pretty interesting lady. She makes you nervous."
"She makes me nervous because I'm not entirely sure she's sane. I'm certain her mother isn't." Kenshin sighed.
Yahiko burst into gales of laughter, rolling around on Kenshin's bed.
Kenshin smiled at the young boy's laughter, all the while feeling slightly guilty about having this conversation with a nine year old. Still, over the past year he had found that once Yahiko came out of his shell, he proved to be quite intelligent and observant. It was easy to forget how old he was sometimes.
While he waited for Yahiko to calm down, Kenshin pondered the problem of Yuki Hidaka. The young woman had decided that she would marry him and no amount of protestation on his part would change her mind. As far as she and her horrible mother were concerned, all that needed to be done was set the wedding date. Local gossips had already honed in on the juicy story, much to Kenshin's total irritation, their wagging tongues inventing love where there was none or speculating on the reasons for his seeming indifference. They couldn't seem to wrap their minds around the fact that he simply did not like her.
But why shouldn't he like her? She was a beautiful young woman with her own fortune to recommend her and many felt that Kenshin was being terribly stupid by dragging his feet and avoiding her. But Yuki Hidaka had the intellectual capacity of a sponge, her vapid expressions about as beautiful to him as a barnacle on the hull of his ship. He had his own money with no need for more and besides all of that, there was also the fact that he was already in love with someone else.
He sighed. He often thought of Kaoru, especially when confronted with Yuki. He spent a lot of time comparing the two and the society belle always came up woefully short against the pirate captain. That fact made his lips tic upwards at the irony of it all. He should want to marry Yuki and kill Kaoru, not the other way around.
"Kenshin, it's almost seven, you're going to be late." Yahiko piped up lazily from the bed.
The smile disappeared. "Right, right." Kenshin grumbled. He turned and regarded the boy with a stern gaze. "You will be in bed by ten o'clock, no later and I don't want you gossiping with the staff, you pick up all sorts of bad ideas."
Yahiko rolled his eyes. They both knew that the minute Kenshin left, the boy would be down in the kitchen, snitching food and listening for interesting tidbits of information. His guardian tolerated it only because he found it secretly useful to know what was going on under his own roof.
"Yes sir." Yahiko said with a mock salute.
Kenshin grinned and ruffled the boy's hair, ignoring his yelped protests. "Pray for me, Yahiko, I'm off to run the gauntlet."
"Good luck and God Speed, Captain." Yahiko intoned. Kenshin laughed and bid the boy good night.
He didn't bother taking his carriage. Tae was his next door neighbor, after all. True, she wasn't exactly "next door", more like two miles away, but he hoped that the cool night air would calm him before he arrived at Tae's for a night of torture.
He got about a mile and half down the road before the Sekihara mansion came into view. The entire house was lit up and he could hear strains of music and laughter. Tae never did anything small and her parties were no exception. It locked in a person's social status to be invited to one of her events, and if you weren't invited, then you obviously didn't matter. Kenshin had always politely declined Tae's invitations, but she had recently become quite impatient with him and threatened pain and possibly death if he didn't come to this one.
Kenshin sighed and did a final check of his person to make sure he was in order before stepping onto the gravel driveway and walking reluctantly up to Tae's front door.
"Captain Kenshin Himura!" The butler announced and the crowd buzzed. Kenshin fought the urge to roll his eyes. Why on earth did Tae insist on having each and every guest announced? Probably so she could catch any party crashers, he thought wryly.
The woman herself swooped down on him as he stepped into the formal parlor. "Kenshin! You naughty man, I was almost certain you weren't coming!"
He smiled politely. "But you yourself ordered me to come, upon pain of death, if I remember correctly."
She tittered behind her hand. "Well, I'm happy to see that it worked. Remind me to threaten you more in the future."
He nodded seriously. "I shall make a point of it."
Tae smiled and slipped her arm into his. "Let's make the rounds, shall we?"
He almost sighed again, but stopped himself. He didn't want to offend Tae, he was genuinely fond of her. They had been neighbors for years, but he really hadn't gotten to know her until he had brought Yahiko home. At a loss for what to do with a child, he had gone to his only neighbor for advice, as she had a daughter of her own. She had proven to be enormously helpful and the two had become friends. Kenshin just wished she hadn't decided to make getting him a wife her personal project.
She towed him around the room, introducing him to every lovely young single woman she found. The proportion of eligible young women to regular party guests was staggeringly large and as she pulled him towards yet another giggling girl, he became rather suspicious. It felt like he was being auctioned off.
"Tae?" he whispered. "There seem to be a rather large number of young women here tonight, more than usual."
"Oh? I hadn't noticed." she replied, looking sly.
This time, he did allow himself to sigh. "Tae, you know that I'm not interested in finding a wife." He murmured.
"Nonsense! You and Yahiko need someone to take care of the two of you." She replied with an air of condescension.
"We do. We have maids and cooks…"
"That's not what I meant and you know it. Yahiko needs a mother and you…rattling around in that big house, practically alone…it depresses me to think about it." She shook her head.
He wanted to say more, but he was stopped by the feeling of utter dread that suddenly engulfed him. The feeling he only got when…
"Madame Hidaka and daughter, Yuki Hidaka." The butler intoned.
Kenshin groaned. "Oh no…not them. You invited them, too?" He looked at Tae, feeling betrayed.
"I had to." Tae whispered back apologetically. "The Hidaka family is very important; to not invite them would have been social suicide."
"Suicide sounds very tempting right now." He muttered under his breath as Yuki made a beeline for him.
"Just smile and nod. Smile and nod." Tae murmured, a fake smile plastered on her face.
"Miss Hidaka, how pleasant it is to see you again." Tae said brightly to the young woman as she approached.
Yuki's smile was equally saccharine. "You know mother and I would never miss one of your parties, Madame Sekihara." She said, her eyes on Kenshin.
Kenshin bowed stiffly. "Miss Hidaka." He said, trying not to be obvious about his dislike.
"Oh, Kenshin!" She tittered, using his first name loudly, so that everyone in the room would know they were on a first name basis. "You know you can call me Yuki." She slid her arm into his free one and batted her eyelashes at him.
He almost lost it right then, but Tae pinched him hard in the side as she withdrew her arm. "Play nice." She hissed, sotto voce, stepping away slightly.
Kenshin gritted his teeth and managed a pained smile. "Forgive me, Miss Hidaka, but it would be terribly rude for me to be so familiar with you." He said politely, hoping she would get the point.
As usual, it sailed right over her head. She pressed against him and smiled seductively. "Oh, Kenshin, you can be familiar with me any time you like."
Tae bit back a giggle and he glared at her over Yuki's head.
"Oh, Captain Himura! I see Yuki's found you! You can't imagine how happy we were when we heard you were attending this party! It's ever so very nice to see you, especially when you're so hard to get a hold of." Yuki's mother, Ayaka, plowed through the crowd towards them, her voice high and reminding him of nails on a black board. She attached herself leech-like to his other arm, practically pushing Tae out of the way.
"A pleasure to see you as well, Madame Sekihara." She said as an afterthought.
"Indeed." Tae replied archly. She gave Kenshin an apologetic look and withdrew to greet her other guests.
Kenshin resolved himself to get through the evening without drawing the ornamental sword that hung on his side and using it either on the two giggling morons attached to his arms or on himself, no matter how tempting it might be.
"Madame Hamaguchi, with guests Keiko Fujiwara and Hiroshi Fujiwara." The butler announced over the crowd. Kenshin wasn't particularly interested in who had just walked through the door, he was more concerned with how to detach himself from the two women currently stuck onto him. Until he looked up and saw…her.
Kaoru Kamiya had just unexpectedly walked back into his life.
A/N: I wasn't going to post this just yet, but I decided that today wasn't a good day to die. So, here you go. Agony over. Kenshin isn't getting married, Yuki's just psycho. A real bunny boiler, that one. More chapters coming, but not necessarily soon. I've got final assignments due, the holidays are looming and I'm moving. Don't worry, though, I'll definitely update a few times before the New Year.
I'm glad most of you decided that I ended 'BTDATD' the right way. I'm also glad that when I started my car this afternoon, it didn't explode. Thanks for the reviews! You guys make me happy.
Sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep
A Rurouni Kenshin AU Fic
by Gemini
Rated R: For cursing and other naughty things
Disclaimer: This Rurouni Kenshin franchise is owned and operated by Earl "Nobuhiro" Watsuki,
Tim "Shonen" Jump and "Sony" Jones. There are also a few silent partners I can't recall.
The events in this story take place one year after the end of 'Between the Devil and the Deep'
Chapter 2: Found
"Tell me again why I have to go to this thing Yahiko?" Kenshin grumbled as he shrugged on his dress uniform coat.
"Because Mrs. Sekihara would be very offended if you didn't." Yahiko replied from his perch on his guardian's bed. "And you DO NOT want to get her mad."
"True." Kenshin straightened his coat and adjusted his tie. "How do I look?" He asked the boy, spreading his arms for inspection.
Yahiko sat back to get a better look at the older man. "Good. I bet the ladies will be all over you tonight." he said with a mischievous grin.
Kenshin sighed. "That is precisely what I don't want. Why did Tae have to invite me to this party? She knows I hate going to society functions."
"Probably because she wants to see you married off." Yahiko replied, with the strange wisdom of an extremely observant nine year old.
Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "You've been listening to the cooks again, haven't you?" he accused.
"It was the maids, actually, and they have a lot of interesting things to say." Yahiko replied innocently.
"I have no doubt." Kenshin said, all the while thinking to himself that he should have a little talk with the help.
"Do you think Yuki will be there?" Yahiko asked, trying and failing to be artless.
Kenshin scowled. "Probably. Yet another reason to avoid the Sekihara mansion tonight."
Yahiko giggled. "She's a pretty interesting lady. She makes you nervous."
"She makes me nervous because I'm not entirely sure she's sane. I'm certain her mother isn't." Kenshin sighed.
Yahiko burst into gales of laughter, rolling around on Kenshin's bed.
Kenshin smiled at the young boy's laughter, all the while feeling slightly guilty about having this conversation with a nine year old. Still, over the past year he had found that once Yahiko came out of his shell, he proved to be quite intelligent and observant. It was easy to forget how old he was sometimes.
While he waited for Yahiko to calm down, Kenshin pondered the problem of Yuki Hidaka. The young woman had decided that she would marry him and no amount of protestation on his part would change her mind. As far as she and her horrible mother were concerned, all that needed to be done was set the wedding date. Local gossips had already honed in on the juicy story, much to Kenshin's total irritation, their wagging tongues inventing love where there was none or speculating on the reasons for his seeming indifference. They couldn't seem to wrap their minds around the fact that he simply did not like her.
But why shouldn't he like her? She was a beautiful young woman with her own fortune to recommend her and many felt that Kenshin was being terribly stupid by dragging his feet and avoiding her. But Yuki Hidaka had the intellectual capacity of a sponge, her vapid expressions about as beautiful to him as a barnacle on the hull of his ship. He had his own money with no need for more and besides all of that, there was also the fact that he was already in love with someone else.
He sighed. He often thought of Kaoru, especially when confronted with Yuki. He spent a lot of time comparing the two and the society belle always came up woefully short against the pirate captain. That fact made his lips tic upwards at the irony of it all. He should want to marry Yuki and kill Kaoru, not the other way around.
"Kenshin, it's almost seven, you're going to be late." Yahiko piped up lazily from the bed.
The smile disappeared. "Right, right." Kenshin grumbled. He turned and regarded the boy with a stern gaze. "You will be in bed by ten o'clock, no later and I don't want you gossiping with the staff, you pick up all sorts of bad ideas."
Yahiko rolled his eyes. They both knew that the minute Kenshin left, the boy would be down in the kitchen, snitching food and listening for interesting tidbits of information. His guardian tolerated it only because he found it secretly useful to know what was going on under his own roof.
"Yes sir." Yahiko said with a mock salute.
Kenshin grinned and ruffled the boy's hair, ignoring his yelped protests. "Pray for me, Yahiko, I'm off to run the gauntlet."
"Good luck and God Speed, Captain." Yahiko intoned. Kenshin laughed and bid the boy good night.
He didn't bother taking his carriage. Tae was his next door neighbor, after all. True, she wasn't exactly "next door", more like two miles away, but he hoped that the cool night air would calm him before he arrived at Tae's for a night of torture.
He got about a mile and half down the road before the Sekihara mansion came into view. The entire house was lit up and he could hear strains of music and laughter. Tae never did anything small and her parties were no exception. It locked in a person's social status to be invited to one of her events, and if you weren't invited, then you obviously didn't matter. Kenshin had always politely declined Tae's invitations, but she had recently become quite impatient with him and threatened pain and possibly death if he didn't come to this one.
Kenshin sighed and did a final check of his person to make sure he was in order before stepping onto the gravel driveway and walking reluctantly up to Tae's front door.
"Captain Kenshin Himura!" The butler announced and the crowd buzzed. Kenshin fought the urge to roll his eyes. Why on earth did Tae insist on having each and every guest announced? Probably so she could catch any party crashers, he thought wryly.
The woman herself swooped down on him as he stepped into the formal parlor. "Kenshin! You naughty man, I was almost certain you weren't coming!"
He smiled politely. "But you yourself ordered me to come, upon pain of death, if I remember correctly."
She tittered behind her hand. "Well, I'm happy to see that it worked. Remind me to threaten you more in the future."
He nodded seriously. "I shall make a point of it."
Tae smiled and slipped her arm into his. "Let's make the rounds, shall we?"
He almost sighed again, but stopped himself. He didn't want to offend Tae, he was genuinely fond of her. They had been neighbors for years, but he really hadn't gotten to know her until he had brought Yahiko home. At a loss for what to do with a child, he had gone to his only neighbor for advice, as she had a daughter of her own. She had proven to be enormously helpful and the two had become friends. Kenshin just wished she hadn't decided to make getting him a wife her personal project.
She towed him around the room, introducing him to every lovely young single woman she found. The proportion of eligible young women to regular party guests was staggeringly large and as she pulled him towards yet another giggling girl, he became rather suspicious. It felt like he was being auctioned off.
"Tae?" he whispered. "There seem to be a rather large number of young women here tonight, more than usual."
"Oh? I hadn't noticed." she replied, looking sly.
This time, he did allow himself to sigh. "Tae, you know that I'm not interested in finding a wife." He murmured.
"Nonsense! You and Yahiko need someone to take care of the two of you." She replied with an air of condescension.
"We do. We have maids and cooks…"
"That's not what I meant and you know it. Yahiko needs a mother and you…rattling around in that big house, practically alone…it depresses me to think about it." She shook her head.
He wanted to say more, but he was stopped by the feeling of utter dread that suddenly engulfed him. The feeling he only got when…
"Madame Hidaka and daughter, Yuki Hidaka." The butler intoned.
Kenshin groaned. "Oh no…not them. You invited them, too?" He looked at Tae, feeling betrayed.
"I had to." Tae whispered back apologetically. "The Hidaka family is very important; to not invite them would have been social suicide."
"Suicide sounds very tempting right now." He muttered under his breath as Yuki made a beeline for him.
"Just smile and nod. Smile and nod." Tae murmured, a fake smile plastered on her face.
"Miss Hidaka, how pleasant it is to see you again." Tae said brightly to the young woman as she approached.
Yuki's smile was equally saccharine. "You know mother and I would never miss one of your parties, Madame Sekihara." She said, her eyes on Kenshin.
Kenshin bowed stiffly. "Miss Hidaka." He said, trying not to be obvious about his dislike.
"Oh, Kenshin!" She tittered, using his first name loudly, so that everyone in the room would know they were on a first name basis. "You know you can call me Yuki." She slid her arm into his free one and batted her eyelashes at him.
He almost lost it right then, but Tae pinched him hard in the side as she withdrew her arm. "Play nice." She hissed, sotto voce, stepping away slightly.
Kenshin gritted his teeth and managed a pained smile. "Forgive me, Miss Hidaka, but it would be terribly rude for me to be so familiar with you." He said politely, hoping she would get the point.
As usual, it sailed right over her head. She pressed against him and smiled seductively. "Oh, Kenshin, you can be familiar with me any time you like."
Tae bit back a giggle and he glared at her over Yuki's head.
"Oh, Captain Himura! I see Yuki's found you! You can't imagine how happy we were when we heard you were attending this party! It's ever so very nice to see you, especially when you're so hard to get a hold of." Yuki's mother, Ayaka, plowed through the crowd towards them, her voice high and reminding him of nails on a black board. She attached herself leech-like to his other arm, practically pushing Tae out of the way.
"A pleasure to see you as well, Madame Sekihara." She said as an afterthought.
"Indeed." Tae replied archly. She gave Kenshin an apologetic look and withdrew to greet her other guests.
Kenshin resolved himself to get through the evening without drawing the ornamental sword that hung on his side and using it either on the two giggling morons attached to his arms or on himself, no matter how tempting it might be.
"Madame Hamaguchi, with guests Keiko Fujiwara and Hiroshi Fujiwara." The butler announced over the crowd. Kenshin wasn't particularly interested in who had just walked through the door, he was more concerned with how to detach himself from the two women currently stuck onto him. Until he looked up and saw…her.
Kaoru Kamiya had just unexpectedly walked back into his life.
A/N: I wasn't going to post this just yet, but I decided that today wasn't a good day to die. So, here you go. Agony over. Kenshin isn't getting married, Yuki's just psycho. A real bunny boiler, that one. More chapters coming, but not necessarily soon. I've got final assignments due, the holidays are looming and I'm moving. Don't worry, though, I'll definitely update a few times before the New Year.
I'm glad most of you decided that I ended 'BTDATD' the right way. I'm also glad that when I started my car this afternoon, it didn't explode. Thanks for the reviews! You guys make me happy.