~Aoshi/Kaoru Recommendation: 39 Days, by Koji-Belle

AU: The casts of Rurouni Kenshin and Inuyasha must work past their differences to 'survive.' They must face the horrors of stalkers, icy personalities, & short tempers. Will the prize be money or the chance to find love in unexpected places? (Principle Pairings will be Aoshi/Kaoru & Sesshoumaru/Kagome)



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Crimson Tears

Chapter 4: Day One

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Enishi Yukishiro had a limousine waiting for his American guests at the airport. A few other individuals had already arrived and he had them presented to their rooms. It would seem that the Americans were the only group to have formed a four person team.



All the other guests arrived with either a partner or the intention of participating solo. His sister had been too nervous to interact with the guests and requested to be left alone and undisturbed until the arrival of Kamiya.



Anxiously, Enishi stood out on the terrace, awaiting his limousine. The cool breeze of his ancestral home blew through his stark white hair. His gaze scanned the road, searching for signs of more visitors.



A tap on his shoulder disturbed his solitude. He turned to see his cook standing behind him with something in her hands. Tae raised her hands and offered a steaming mug of her famous English tea. Enishi took the mug and gave his servant a dismissive nod of his head.



Tae retreated back indoors, leaving her master to stand vigilant on the terrace.



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Aoshi observed Kaoru intently. She had barely spoken since the incident on the plane. Her small, delicate hands nervously wrung together as she worried her bottom lip.



"Stop," Aoshi commanded in his soft, powerful voice. Kaoru stopped chewing her bottom lip to look at him in confusion. Aoshi remained silent, but reached his thumb towards her bottom lip.



He brushed off the drop of blood that had accumulated there. "Stop chewing your lips." He explained as he left his thumb to linger upon those lips for a moment longer than necessary.



Kaoru's expressive sapphire eyes closed at the sensation as she reached for Aoshi's wrist and pulled it away. Aoshi redirected his attention away from her to peer outside the window. Their destination was now in view.



It was a magnificent castle. As his attention was diverted he jumped unnoticeably when Kaoru pressed herself tightly against his side to share in the awesome view.



Sanosuke, whose presence was long since forgotten about by the other two, whistled at the sight. "What do you think about that fox?" He asked, nudging Megumi.



Megumi, who had been keenly watching the interaction between Detective Shinomori and her favorite Tanuki, let her dark eyes fall upon the vision that had captivated her companion's interest.



"Woah, boy," Megumi chastised the love of her life as she reached over and shut his lower jaw that had fallen open in awe.



Sano turned to Megumi with a grin as he rested his strong arm across her shoulders. "I'm glad we came fox, no way could I come up with a get away retreat at a place of this caliber."



Aoshi made no objections as Kaoru continued to lean against him to share the view. True, there were plenty of windows that she could peer out through, but he preferred her looking through his window. "I've never seen anything so magnificent," Kaoru whispered.



Aoshi abruptly sat back against the cool, leather seat, causing Kaoru to lose her balance and topple over because of her precarious balance, landing in the detective's lap.



Embarrassed, she tried to support her weight on her forearms to prevent her face from being where it shouldn't be. Noting her reddened features, Aoshi felt some sympathy for the woman and with both hands grasped just above her hips to move her back in an upright position. He reluctantly released her and closed his icy orbs in mock relaxation. "Nor have I been witness to something so magnificent before now either." Aoshi agreed, not certain himself as to what he was referring to exactly, be it the castle or the woman beside him.



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Enishi smirked when he noticed the limousine outside the locked gates of his estate. He called for the only other servant that would be present for the next two weeks. The daughter of his cook was a shy young girl. She ran to his side and bowed her head respectfully.



Enishi ruffled her short brown hair, eliciting a giggle from the child, before speaking. "Tell my sister that they have arrived," he ordered.



The limousine pulled up in the drive and came to a halt. Enishi walked down the stairs in front of his castle to greet the newly arrived guests. The limo driver walked around to the back and opened the door for the passengers. The first to emerge was a tall man with spiky black hair pulled back by a red bandana. Enishi's first impression was that he was some sort of gang member.



Next to come out was a seductive woman with long midnight colored hair and eyes of the same dark hue. She winked at him before looping her arm around the gangster's elbow.



That couple was the followed by a tall, silent, imposing man. The tall figured scanned Enishi with a critical eye. He was obviously the detective of the lot. There were no lines upon his face, indicating that he was an expert at guarding his emotions, thereby making himself impossible to read. He would be a dangerous foe to make, Enishi decided.



However, it was the last member of the party that truly attracted Enishi's attention. He had always been curious about Kaoru Kamiya. It was hard to not be interested when one's sister obsessed about the individual. However, the lord never imagined her to be so beautiful.



Kaoru climbed out last from the limousine, Aoshi reached back almost at the last instant to help her out. It was as if he felt a sudden urge to appear possessive in front of the British lord. Enishi watched the exchange with a furrowed brow, he was unaware of the writer having any attachments.



"I bid thee all welcome," Enishi greeted, bowing at the waist to his guests. "You will tell me your names as we walk inside, but please, only one name.  I want the mystery guests to know as little about one another as possible."



Megumi moved to walk alongside Enishi, and didn't notice the slight downward turn of the corners of his lips. She was not the one he was interested in learning about. "I'm Megumi and this handsome brute is my rooster-head. Or Sanosuke if you would prefer." Megumi smiled charmingly at the host as she gestured to herself and Sano.



Enishi nodded at each of them in turn. Then he looked over his shoulder at the silent couple that followed a few paces behind. They both seemed to be analyzing every detail of his estate. "And who might you be?" Enishi inquired, as large sapphire eyes met his turquoise ones.



"I'm Kaoru and this friendly man is Aoshi." Kaoru smiled at Aoshi, who silently scowled at her for the remark. His ice blue eyes clearly reflecting his displeasure at her sarcasm.



"Of course, Kaoru Kamiya, it's a pleasure to meet you." Enishi smiled charmingly at her and he turned to face her fully and extended his hand towards her. Kaoru blinked at him for his familiarity but met his offered hand regardless. Enishi took the opportunity to pull her hand towards his lips and kiss them gently.



"Forgive me, I forgot your last name was not to be used." Enishi reprimanded himself, inwardly smirking at the redness that colored Kaoru's cheeks. Aoshi's heated glare was the only thing that prevented him from smiling visibly.



Kaoru seemed to recover from her brief embarrassment. She was rather confused by her actions lately. She never blushed! The only man that had ever made her blush was Hajime Saito so how was it that now a detective from California and a British lord could make her cheeks flame up?

They entered inside the castle and a small child closed the door behind them with a quick bow.  She then ran off down the dark corridors.  Enishi gauged the reactions of his guests.  They all seemed rather impressed with his home inside and out.  He too gave his home the once over, allowing his eyes to rest upon the ancient tapestries, antique furnishings of all sorts, and silver and gold decorating all the walls.

"You live here?" Sanosuke asked in admiration for the luxurious wonders of the castle.  A feminine throat cleared, before Enishi could answer.  He noticed his dear sister lurking in the shadows, hidden from the five of them as they stood just within the door. 

"I see you have collected some more of our guests, Enishi," the woman declared, with five sets of eyes focused upon her.  She wheeled herself closer towards the ensemble, nervous in the company of so many strangers.  A smile lit her face when she recognized Kaoru Kamiya.  She extended her hand towards her.  "You must be Kaoru."

Kaoru smiled self-consciously and shook hands with the woman.  Her hand shake was firm, giving no obvious sign of her ailments that most likely led to her being in a wheel chair.  She had to wonder what struck this woman and also how she and Enishi seemed to know her.  "Yes, I am Kaoru."

The strange woman's smile faded as her vision fell upon the diamond engagement ring on Kaoru's left hand.  "You may call me Tomoe."  Enishi followed his sister's eyes and then noticed the ring himself.  He nearly growled at the sight because he was starting to have some very positive thoughts about the fortnight concerning a certain single journalist.


"I'm glad to meet you Tomoe," Kaoru told her sincerely with a friendly smile.  Tomoe turned her saddened eyes to meet her brother's turquoise ones.  The look of jealousy that flashed through his indicated that he too had seen the ring.

"I have read a great many of your works."  Tomoe confided, smiling at Kaoru once again.  "I wanted to offer you my condolences on the end break up of you and your fiancé, Chief Saito.  But, I suppose congratulations are in order."

Aoshi cleared his throat at the innocent assumption.  A rise of jealousy flowed up his spine as he moved to stand beside Kaoru and wrap a possessive arm around her waist.  He leaned down and kissed her lightly upon the cheek.  "Actually, Kaoru and I are engaged."  He explained calmly as he drew away from the addictive woman at his side.

Sanosuke snickered at the tone, Aoshi used, but Megumi promptly elbowed him hard in the ribs, silencing the jovial boxer.  Megumi smiled politely when Enishi had looked over at them.  "So what are the activities for this evening?"  Megumi inquired.

Enishi looked down at his watch.  The Americans had arrived a bit later than he had originally planned.  There some business about a flight delay according to his limo driver when he had called to report in earlier that evening.  "You are later than I had anticipated.  The other guests have already retired for the evening."

"The other guests are already here?" Aoshi questioned.  He had seen no signs indicating that others were present.  He didn't quite trust a man who would set up a mystery fortnight.  The entire situation was odd.

Enishi regarded the detective coolly.  He definitely did not care for the ebon haired man.  Just because he seemed to think he was a marble statue didn't mean he had to act like one.  "Yes, there are other guests here.  They arrived much earlier in the day.  Dinner was actually served an hour ago."

Aoshi's arm slipped from Kaoru's waist and fell to his side.  Kaoru turned to him and placed her arm on his, gaining his attention.  His ice blue eyes locked with her sapphire ones.  "I'm not feeling very well.  You know I didn't sleep well on the plane.  I'd like to turn in early."

Detective Shinomori relaxed his posture slightly.  He turned to Tomoe and offered a polite nod of the head and then addressed Enishi.  "Would you be so kind as to have us shown to our room?"

Enishi looked across at Megumi and Sanosuke who found the tapestry particularly interesting and were blatantly ignoring him.  It would seem that the women had no intention of rooming together.  He looked over at Tomoe; she would be concerned that Kaoru would be distracted.

"Why don't you allow me to show them to their rooms?" Tomoe suggested.  Enishi couldn't deny her any requests and nodded his consent.  "Follow me, I'll show you to the elevator."  Kaoru and Aoshi followed the woman silently, both curious about how an elevator was installed into such an ancient castle.

Still, there seemed to be no life inside the castle other than the people they had just been with.  Where were all the guests?  Kaoru shivered, she felt a chill run deep within her veins.  Something bad was going to happen.  She didn't get bad vibes for nothing.

"Are you cold?" Tomoe asked, she was intently watching Kaoru as the elevator rose to the third floor.  Kaoru shook her head no.  Tomoe merely raised a brow, putting the little incident into the back of her mind to ponder at her leisure later.  The doors opened and the three emerged.

Tomoe led the way to the fourth door on the left.  There were only three other individuals staying in this wing of the castle.  It included herself, these two, and one of the other guests, an interesting man with brilliant red hair.

Kaoru felt another chill, but kept herself from shivering.  She didn't want to act like something was odd.    Her actions were always being too closely scrutinized.  She didn't want to overreact and cause a stir.

"I hope that you two will be comfortable here.  I am down the hall about three doors.  If you would like to talk or anything, you are always welcome."  Tomoe offered before leaving the couple and retiring to her bedroom.  She had a great deal of thinking to do.

Aoshi shut the door behind him and locked it.  He placed both his and Kaoru's bags of luggage on the large couch that sat under the great window of the room.  There was a large canopy bed in the center of the room with a red velvet bed spread.  He looked back down at the luggage and then back at the bed and finally allowed his vision to settle upon Kaoru. 

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" Aoshi asked, Kaoru looked as if she needed some time to think.  Kaoru shook her head.

"No, I don't think it's a good idea for me to be alone right now."  She sat upon the bed and kicked off her shoes.  Aoshi walked towards her and settled beside her on the bed, allowing himself to sink into the softness of the mattress as he laid upon his back with his arms resting behind his head.

"Something is bothering you."  Aoshi stated simply, not looking at Kaoru, but choosing to focus on the red velvet canopy.

Kaoru laid back beside him and turned on her side, to look at him.  "Sometimes, I get these feelings.  I try to ignore them, but if I do they will only get stronger.  I have a bad feeling about this whole situation.  I'm afraid someone may get killed."

Aoshi turned his head to look at her when she stopped talking.  "Well this is a murder mystery vacation.  Do you think there is foul play afoot?"

Kaoru shrugged. "I don't know.  We didn't even meet anyone.  But you saw the way Enishi and Tomoe reacted to me.  It's as if they set this up just so they could get me here."

"They did both seem rather interested in you."  Aoshi smirked, "But who can blame them?  You are a rather entertaining Tanuki."  He teased her easily.  He had never acted so openly in front of anyone before.   At least, not since he lost his friends in high school.

Kaoru stretched her arms high above her head as she sat up on the bed.  She then stood and walked towards her luggage and pulled out her night clothes.  Aoshi was watching every move she made closely.  "Do you think you could turn around for a moment while I change?"

Aoshi complied and turned, listening to every unzip that was taking place behind him.  Why was he so tempted to turn around?  "Do you want me to sleep on the couch?"  Aoshi asked, back turned to his fiancé. 

Kaoru looked down at the couch and then over at Aoshi.  He was so tall; the couch would surely be uncomfortable.  There was no way she would be able to fall asleep on it.  "We're both adults here.  I don't think it would be very fair of me to force you to sleep on the couch."  Kaoru walked back towards the bed and pulled back the covers, slipping inside of the cool sheets. 

Aoshi turned around when he felt the added weight upon the bed behind him.  He looked down at his watch and decided against adjusting it to the time of Great Britain.  He would prefer to do the math and calculate the time in his head.  He then removed his watch and kicked off his shoes.  He unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it to the couch, followed by his jeans.

Clothed in nothing but his boxers, Aoshi climbed into the bed.  Kaoru moved away from him when she felt his body heat become close.  Why was she sharing a bed with this man she barely knew?  She knew why.  It was because Saito trusted him and because she was certain that nightmares would haunt her in her sleep.  It had nothing to do with how absolutely god-like he looked.  Just to prove the point to herself, she wouldn't even sneak a peak at his perfectly chiseled body.

Aoshi kept his eyes closed until he was confident that the woman beside him had drifted off into sleep.  She rolled over onto her side, drawing herself closer to his warmth subconsciously.  She shivered in her sleep.  Sighing, Aoshi wrapped his arms around her lithe frame and drew her up to his chest, resting her cheek over his heart. 

He had a feeling that he wouldn't get much sleep that night.  If those crimson tears from earlier and her bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep were any indication, he would only get a few hours of sleep before something disturbed his slumber. 

However, he would certainly enjoy those few hours to the best of his ability.  He allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he felt Kaoru wrap her arms around his chest and squeeze him closer to her.

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TBC


Quote of the day:  "The world doesn't stop being funny when people die, nor does it cease to be serious when people laugh."