Okay, those few of you that are reading this fic -
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This chapter jacks the rating up to PG-13. Blood, gore, and a dead - nah, that would be spoiling. Just don't blame me if you read this and then start suffering nightmares or stuff like that.
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Authoress does not own: Rurouni Kenshin
Authoress does own: The Sakura Dancers and the Kutaboro Group
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…
"WHAT?!"
The pair of thugs quaked in fear as their leader slammed his cup of sake down in anger. The cup shattered into pieces from the force of impact, but their boss was too unhappy to care.
"If this is some sort of prank, I can assure you it is not at all amusing! Well?"
"Go-Gomen," they whimpered, "But he was standing right the-there, and - AGH!"
One of the other men lounging nearby yanked his now bloody axe from the now-headless thugs' necks, while the one in charge fumed.
"Grr - That one is like a damned COCKROACH…"
Then he paused, and smirked.
"Such infestations really must be eradicated promptly…and the Kutaboro Group is the perfect band of exterminators to get the job done…"
"Your orders, Hiiruzaga-sama?" asked another one of the lounging men, one that sported a pair of katana strapped on his back.
"Pack up and head for Tokyo. It's only a few hours away by boat…and there's going to be so much blood to plan in the meanwhile…" .
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"What a wonderful birthday that was," Kaoru giggled to herself as she stretched out in the tub the next day.
"A surprise party…and I got to have Kenshin to myself for the entire day as well…"
Kaoru blushed and giggled again. She was still in very high spirits after she finished her bath and started for her room to change into her training clothes…which was why the nasty little surprise she found on the dojo's front step was much more horrifying than it would have been otherwise.
Not that it would have been fun to look at otherwise, of course.
Everyone within a four-block radius could hear Kaoru's shrill, horrified shriek. Kenshin and Yahiko, who had been running errands while Kaoru was having her bath, were only one block away and bolted back home to see what the matter was. .
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It was a cat.
A dead cat. .
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.
Not just any dead cat, though…
Someone had gone out of their way to find a small cat with mostly bright red fur. The defenseless animal had been stabbed repeatedly, before being gutted alive, and its eyes had been cruelly hacked into bloody sockets of mincemeat. The cat's killers had stabbed the murdering weapon - a thin dagger - into the cat's body, and tied to the bloody weapon was a note. .
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.
.
Yahiko took one good look at the dead feline and promptly bolted for the nearest place to puke. Kaoru, who had latched onto Kenshin upon his arrival, looked extremely green herself.
Kenshin couldn't see the cat particularly well, of course, but he felt less nauseated than the other two anyway. He suspected it was partly because of experience, but that was unimportant right now. It was a long while before he could convince Kaoru to go ahead and get dressed, and while she was changing, he grabbed one of the old, hole-filled blankets and wrapped the cat's body in it.
It was only later, after Sanosuke had come by demanding an explanation - attracted by Kaoru's scream - that they even looked at the note. .
.
.
.
.
The note's message was very simple.
'Recover from THIS,' it said. And it was signed, 'Master Kutaboro.' .
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.
"Guys, I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Sano started off the evening's discussion with, "But if the entire Kutaboro group is out to kill somebody, then that somebody has this unfortunate tendency to end up dead. Sorry Kenshin."
"But that's AWFUL!" Utsuki yelped, as if that would somehow change everything back towards the better.
The Sakura Dancers had made a hasty trip across town after receiving the news. It was a sensible visit as they were most likely in danger as well - those thugs from the Kutaboro Group had been run over by their cart, after all.
Kaze, as was usual for her, was sitting in a corner away from the others and their animated conversation. .
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.
.
.
"So, was it the Kutaboro Group that sent that guy to try and kill Kenshin before?" Yahiko wondered - pretty much to himself because nobody was actually listening to him.
Except for their ever-perceptive Rurouni, of course.
"I don't believe that was the case," Kenshin answered, thinking back to that battle months ago - and even calling a battle was sort of stretching things, "He seemed to be coming after me for a personal reason, that he was."
"Well, what are we going to do? Sit around waiting for the Kutaboro Group to find us so this guy can try whacking off Kenshin again?" Yahiko asked. .
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.
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.
Hanna seemed to have realized something at this point, because she suddenly started swearing in what sounded like Dutch.
"And the reason for your uncle's wagon to be so promiscuous with a chicken is…?" Yukito asked her after Hanna finished with all the Dutch cursing she could think of.
"If they knew exactly where to leave a dead cat, then they know we're all in one place right now," Hanna growled, "How much you want to bet that they're all standing outside at this very moment?" .
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.
.
There was a loud thud sound, as part of one of the dojo walls suddenly decided to grow a large spear.
"I don't take no sucker bets," Sano grumbled as they all jumped to their feet.
…
.
.
.
This chapter jacks the rating up to PG-13. Blood, gore, and a dead - nah, that would be spoiling. Just don't blame me if you read this and then start suffering nightmares or stuff like that.
.
.
.
Authoress does not own: Rurouni Kenshin
Authoress does own: The Sakura Dancers and the Kutaboro Group
.
.
.
.
…
"WHAT?!"
The pair of thugs quaked in fear as their leader slammed his cup of sake down in anger. The cup shattered into pieces from the force of impact, but their boss was too unhappy to care.
"If this is some sort of prank, I can assure you it is not at all amusing! Well?"
"Go-Gomen," they whimpered, "But he was standing right the-there, and - AGH!"
One of the other men lounging nearby yanked his now bloody axe from the now-headless thugs' necks, while the one in charge fumed.
"Grr - That one is like a damned COCKROACH…"
Then he paused, and smirked.
"Such infestations really must be eradicated promptly…and the Kutaboro Group is the perfect band of exterminators to get the job done…"
"Your orders, Hiiruzaga-sama?" asked another one of the lounging men, one that sported a pair of katana strapped on his back.
"Pack up and head for Tokyo. It's only a few hours away by boat…and there's going to be so much blood to plan in the meanwhile…" .
.
.
.
.
.
.
"What a wonderful birthday that was," Kaoru giggled to herself as she stretched out in the tub the next day.
"A surprise party…and I got to have Kenshin to myself for the entire day as well…"
Kaoru blushed and giggled again. She was still in very high spirits after she finished her bath and started for her room to change into her training clothes…which was why the nasty little surprise she found on the dojo's front step was much more horrifying than it would have been otherwise.
Not that it would have been fun to look at otherwise, of course.
Everyone within a four-block radius could hear Kaoru's shrill, horrified shriek. Kenshin and Yahiko, who had been running errands while Kaoru was having her bath, were only one block away and bolted back home to see what the matter was. .
.
.
.
.
.
It was a cat.
A dead cat. .
.
.
.
Not just any dead cat, though…
Someone had gone out of their way to find a small cat with mostly bright red fur. The defenseless animal had been stabbed repeatedly, before being gutted alive, and its eyes had been cruelly hacked into bloody sockets of mincemeat. The cat's killers had stabbed the murdering weapon - a thin dagger - into the cat's body, and tied to the bloody weapon was a note. .
.
.
.
.
Yahiko took one good look at the dead feline and promptly bolted for the nearest place to puke. Kaoru, who had latched onto Kenshin upon his arrival, looked extremely green herself.
Kenshin couldn't see the cat particularly well, of course, but he felt less nauseated than the other two anyway. He suspected it was partly because of experience, but that was unimportant right now. It was a long while before he could convince Kaoru to go ahead and get dressed, and while she was changing, he grabbed one of the old, hole-filled blankets and wrapped the cat's body in it.
It was only later, after Sanosuke had come by demanding an explanation - attracted by Kaoru's scream - that they even looked at the note. .
.
.
.
.
The note's message was very simple.
'Recover from THIS,' it said. And it was signed, 'Master Kutaboro.' .
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Guys, I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Sano started off the evening's discussion with, "But if the entire Kutaboro group is out to kill somebody, then that somebody has this unfortunate tendency to end up dead. Sorry Kenshin."
"But that's AWFUL!" Utsuki yelped, as if that would somehow change everything back towards the better.
The Sakura Dancers had made a hasty trip across town after receiving the news. It was a sensible visit as they were most likely in danger as well - those thugs from the Kutaboro Group had been run over by their cart, after all.
Kaze, as was usual for her, was sitting in a corner away from the others and their animated conversation. .
.
.
.
.
"So, was it the Kutaboro Group that sent that guy to try and kill Kenshin before?" Yahiko wondered - pretty much to himself because nobody was actually listening to him.
Except for their ever-perceptive Rurouni, of course.
"I don't believe that was the case," Kenshin answered, thinking back to that battle months ago - and even calling a battle was sort of stretching things, "He seemed to be coming after me for a personal reason, that he was."
"Well, what are we going to do? Sit around waiting for the Kutaboro Group to find us so this guy can try whacking off Kenshin again?" Yahiko asked. .
.
.
.
.
.
.
Hanna seemed to have realized something at this point, because she suddenly started swearing in what sounded like Dutch.
"And the reason for your uncle's wagon to be so promiscuous with a chicken is…?" Yukito asked her after Hanna finished with all the Dutch cursing she could think of.
"If they knew exactly where to leave a dead cat, then they know we're all in one place right now," Hanna growled, "How much you want to bet that they're all standing outside at this very moment?" .
.
.
.
There was a loud thud sound, as part of one of the dojo walls suddenly decided to grow a large spear.
"I don't take no sucker bets," Sano grumbled as they all jumped to their feet.
…