Crimson Tears: Chapter 7
Day 3
That night, as Kaoru slept on unawares beside him, Aoshi was being plagued with a disturbing dream. It was more of a nightmare.
He was dressed in those garbs of the past again. He and that Misao girl have gone into a village that was near Kyoto. It was known for being the residence of several gypsies. What he found disturbed him greatly. Saito was leaning against a building, holding his abdomen his sword bloody in his hand. At his feet lay a woman, dead of a wound caused no doubt by his blade.
Not far from him Kaoru was seen, blood was heavy on her skirt. She didn't seem to have any wounds but the blood was so much. She and the red haired man, Himura, her husband, were grasping onto one another. His body was cut up, his flesh was covered in his life's blood and at least three of his wounds looked mortal.
His normally lavender eyes were amber with fury as they locked on Aoshi's ice blue ones. Misao had started to run to Kaoru's side but that look that Kenshin sent Aoshi caused him to stop her with a firm hand upon her shoulder. He pointed her towards Saito, to deal with the wolf of Mibu.
Aoshi walked over towards Kenshin and kneeled beside him awaiting his request. Gasping for breath, Kenshin's voice remained strong. "Kaoru, you must protect her. My life is spent. I only regret that I couldn't have confessed my love to Kaoru sooner. I wasted so many years. Tell her that for me after I'm gone"
He swallowed thickly. "Tell her that I'll always love her. Tell her not to concern herself with the words that were spoken today, there was no truth to it. Tell her that all is well." His eyes closed behind heavy eyelids, when they opened lavender orbs peered back at him. "Protect her for me Aoshi. Do not let her die." With surprising strength he gripped Aoshi's forearm. "Promise me Aoshi."
"I will not let any harm befall Kamiya Kaoru, this I, Aoshi Shinomori, swear." Kenshin's grip went lax as he moved his hand to Kaoru's cheek before falling to his side as he joined all those who had fallen under his blade during the revolution and his long deceased family in eternal rest.
Aoshi removed Kaoru from Kenshin and placed her across his lap. He could feel her breathing was shallow and her pulse was too slow. He looked over at Misao who had helped Saito to his feet.
"This is useless. We are both about to join the Battousai in moments." Saito told him, his voice void of any emotion as his eyes first fell upon the dead woman at his feet, then to Kenshin's body, and finally rested on Kaoru.
He pulled himself out of Misao's helpful hold and limped towards Kaoru. He rested his hand upon her forehead and looked at Aoshi with a trace of sadness in his amber eyes. "I failed her. I won't do it again." Then Saito Hajime, the wolf of Mibu fell to the ground dead.
"Come Misao, we must get Kamiya to the doctor and fast." Aoshi began to run, holding his burden close to his chest. He knew she had suffered a miscarriage but surely she would survive. The baby was gone but he knew that Kaoru was strong. Besides he made a promise to protect her and he would.
He arrived at the Aoiya while Misao continued to run and seek medical help. Aoshi knew a little about medicine from his time of trying to prove the best warrior alive after the death of his comrades. His chest was littered with scars from all the blades that pierced his flesh.
He removed Kaoru's clothes, shaking himself when he paused to admire her. The woman was dying and he was fantasizing about a dead man's wife. A dead man who was alive but fifteen minutes ago and had this young wife travel across Japan out of concern for him.
She had lost so much blood by the time the doctor arrived. That useless doctor that had told him there was nothing he could do. She had lost too much blood. Aoshi had demanded the doctor use his blood to replace hers but the doctor was unaware of the Western medicine technique that allowed the transfer of blood from a donor to a recipient.
He yelled at the man and demanded everyone leave him alone. The door shut behind them and he was left alone with Kaoru, who was about to die from blood loss following two fine warriors, Himura and Saito to the grave. Tears began to swim in his icy orbs, their glacial covering fracturing under the intense emotions.
Kaoru surprised him then. Her hand rose to his cheek and brushed away the single tear that had escaped his tight control. She smiled at him. No, she smiled for him. "Thank you Aoshi, you did everything you could. Do not be upset. It is my time." She said it so calmly, she couldn't possibly be ready to die. She was too young!
Aoshi shook his head stubbornly. Visions of all his comrades dying and of him living pranced around his mind. It wasn't fair! He took one of his blades and sliced his wrist and then he sliced the wrist of Kaoru's that was near his face. He linked their wrists together. "Take it! I don't want it!"
Kaoru's sapphire orbs widened at the feel of Aoshi's blood mixing with hers. She shook her head at him sadly. "I know what you are trying to do and It won't work Aoshi-kun. Please live for me." He shook his head and stared at their wrists, willing his blood to replace hers.
"I promised not to let anything bad happen to you." He looked down at her and moved so that his mouth was but an inch from hers. Their noses touching lightly in the process and told her forcefully, "I will follow you into the next world if that is what it takes to fulfill my promise." He solemnly vowed.
Kaoru's eyes closed painfully, as her heart was running low on blood to pump. "No Aoshi, you don't want to do that. We were cursed! Kenshin, Hajime, and I were all cursed! I can't have you suffer our fate. Please Aoshi, take back those words before it is too late." Tears began to leak from her closed eyes as she tried to protect the man before her from a fate worse than death. He didn't need to know!
Aoshi knew she had but moments to live and bearing witness to those tear drops drove him over the edge. He couldn't stop himself from crushing his lips against hers in a brief lip lock, it was something he had always wanted to do since he first met her. The only problem was when her mouth wasn't running she was in love with Battousai. He opened his icy orbs to lock with hers again. She looked so confused.
He smiled sadly at her, mimicking the smile she had given to him only recently. "No Kaoru, my fate is tied with yours. I have made this pact with blood and sealed it with a kiss. I will protect you."
Then he saw her lips curve into a small smile, knowing that she was not alone in the end. He knew that was one of her biggest fears, to die alone. He looked down at his wrist that was still bleeding freely. He could stop the blood flow and live, without her, without his rivals, without his friends. Or, he could join her now.
Aoshi woke up gasping for breath as Kaoru was shaking him. "Aoshi! Are you alright? You were crying in your sleep. I've never seen you like that. What happened? Please tell me." Kaoru was pleading with him, voice full of strength. It was full of strength because she was alive.
Aoshi pulled her to him and hugged her close against him whispering near her ear while he hid his face within her dark silky hair. "I'm just glad to be alive and that you are alive as well."
Kaoru lightly rubbed small circles on his lower back where her arms rested. What was he talking about? "It's alright Aoshi, you were just having a bad dream. But it's almost ten in the morning. We over slept." Kaoru informed him, feeling his stiffen slightly when she mentioned the time.
Aoshi pulled back sharply, seeming to have gotten over his little emotional episode, completely confusing Kaoru in the process. "I can not believe I have slept that late." He looked towards the window on the other side of the room to see the midmorning sun.
Kaoru stood from the bed and offered an unsure smile to ease him. "Well we did stay up late last night trying to meet the other guests. It only makes sense that you would be exhausted."
"I suppose," Aoshi replied, allowing his emotionless mask to blanket his face once more. He would have to be careful in this environment. Spending so much time with Kamiya was making him hallucinate. He wasn't thrilled about having an over active imagination.
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A half hour after waking, later in the morning than intended, Kaoru tossed the beanbag back to Aoshi and he caught it aptly. She turned to smile at the young man beside her whom the hackeysack belonged to. He had a bright smile on his face.
Aoshi surmised that perhaps his facial muscles were stuck in that position because no one in the right mind would smile that often.
"So, Soujiro, what brought you to this castle?" Kaoru asked, her journalistic nature taking effect.
"I've always enjoyed a challenge. I had never done anything like this. But, when Master Shishio told me about this I jumped at the opportunity." Soujiro explain, smile never wavering from his countenance.
"And this Shishio is here as well?" Aoshi inquired. He and Kaoru had been fairly unsuccessful in finding the twenty some odd other guests. They did however meet Soujiro. It was all he could do the night before to prevent Kaoru from banging on all the doors until she found the one named Yahiko.
He was thankful that he hadn't so much as heard a whisper from either Himura or Misao.
"Yes, Shishio and his mistress Yumi are both here. I'm surprsied you haven't met them yet. I didn't think the castle was that big." Soujiro told them, his smile slipping off his face as he held his chin in some sort of silent contemplation.
A scream caught the attention of the three who had become absorbed in their own private reflections. They raced down the hall, Soujiro getting there faster with impressive speed.
Lying on the floor was a woman with long red hair that reached her waist. Aoshi felt slightly ashamed at his self for feeling disappointed that the red hair didn't belong to someone else. He crushed that feeling; jealousy wasn't something he was familiar with. Besides, it wasn't like he had anything to be jealous over. It wasn't like he cared about Kaoru. He was just supposed to protect her.
Himura, Misao, Enishi, and a woman with long lavender locks stood around the body.
Enishi's normally calm features seemed slightly disturbed. He looked confused before bending over the victim to check her pulse. His turquoise eyes locked with Kaoru's sapphire ones. "She's really dead. This isn't part of the game."
Kaoru moved closer to the victim and leaned against the same wall Himura was propped against as she fought the wave of unexpected emotions surging within her at the site. Aoshi leaned down towards the body and turned her on her side, the gaping hole that stretched vertically from hip to sternum confirming she was beyond revival. It would seem as if the woman was slashed across her torso with a sword.
The only times Kaoru saw anything of that nature was in her dreams and the crime scenes related to them. But, even those gruesome images weren't akin to this. Battosai was efficient with his killings. Normally it would just be a quick thrust to the heart or an extra grin carved across the throat stretching from ear to ear. This however had nothing to do with the Battosai for she would have seen it happening, right?
Aoshi continued to examine body across from Enishi, silently wondering where Megumi was with her forensic expertise. From the touch of the victim's skin he surmised that she had been dead for at least half an hour. That would have been right after he and Kaoru had awoken for the day, so the possibility of Battosai being the perpetrator was still valid.
He watched as Soujiro comforted the unfamiliar woman.
Enishi sat back away from the victim, a worried expression marring his handsome face. However, the sight of the bloodshed didn't seem to disturb him.
Aoshi stood and moved to stand before Soujiro and the woman. "Were you the one who screamed?" He asked her. She didn't look like she wanted to answer the blue eyed detective.
"It's okay Yumi, you can trust him," Soujiro coaxed her as he tried to calm her down.
She nodded, turning her gaze to meet Aoshi's.
"Did you see anyone else?" Aoshi demanded, rifling his thin fingers through the ebon bangs that had fallen over his eyes.
She shook her head, no. "I didn't do it though!" She began to break down into hysterics.
Aoshi hated dealing with hysterical women. He looked to Kaoru for help. She offered him a weak smile telling him silently she would assume the interrogation of the witness. She pushed against the wall to move away from it.
However, in pushing against the wall she caused it to rotate and she and Himura disappeared behind a stone wall.
Aoshi glared at Enishi as he moved towards the wall and began prodding it, ignoring the dead victim now. He had other priorities of greater concern at the moment.
He could not find the triggered device to open it. He turned to Enishi who had risen beside him. "How does this open? Where does it lead?"
Enishi stared at the stones. "Once it is activated, it can only be accessed from the other side. It leads several miles underground. I've never actually checked it out all the way."
Enishi scratched the back of his neck as he stared at the stones harder. "I don't normally live at this castle; I'm usually in the city working with business deals. Perhaps Tomoe will have a better idea. Of course, they will probably realize they can open the wall back from their side and be rejoining us shortly."
A few minutes had passed and neither Koaru nor Himura re-emerged. No noise traveled through the stones either. Aoshi's fist slammed against the wall in defeat. He then took a cleansing breath to calm his anger. "Tell me exactly what you know, Mr. Yukishiro."
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Kaoru didn't understand. One moment she was leaning against the stone wall and the next she and Himura had fallen into darkness. The pair had tumbled down a flight of stairs at the unexpected loss of balance.
"Miss Kaoru!" Kenshin shouted her name as his arms wrapped around her and pulled her frame against him, effectively cushioning her fall on the hard floor.
They landed about fifteen stairs down on a slight platform that was the only thing that prevented them from falling down countless more stairs.
Kenshin landed upon his back, hard with Kaoru landing on top of him. The breath was forced out of his lungs as he reflexively tightened his arms around her.
"Kenshin are you okay?" Kaoru asked, her voice laced with concern as she pulled her arms away from Kenshin's chest to cup his cheeks. She turned his face to either side, checking for any damage.
"I'm fine Miss Kaoru, but how did you know my name?" Kenshin asked, his violet eyes squinting in the darkness in his effort to make out her features, but to no avail.
Kaoru released his face and he unwound his arms from her as they both rose to their feet. Kaoru leaned against the wall, careful to not push any possible levers as she tried to calm her frantic heartbeat caused from their tumble. "I don't know. I just, you must have told me." Kaoru decided.
Kenshin shook his head as he grabbed hold of her elbow. "It doesn't matter. Right now we need to find our way out of here." Kenshin told her as he began to lead her down the stairs.
"Shouldn't we be going up the stairs? Maybe we can open the wall again." Kaoru argued, refusing to allow him to pull her after him.
Sighing in exasperation, Kenshin turned to her. "Miss Kaoru, I can not see and do not want to feel along a wall that most likely has more traps that could cause us injury."
Kaoru chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought over his reason. "But, isn't it more dangerous to travel down stairs into darkness, not knowing where this path leads?"
Kenshin tapped her nose with his index finger. "Not quite. I'm rather familiar with traveling underground. I can feel the outside breeze from here."
He reached for her elbow again and she allowed him to guide her, although reluctantly. "I still don't think this is a good idea. I don't feel any breezes. I think you are either hallucinating or lying."
Kenshin paused. He turned to look at her, his eyes had finally adjusted and he could barely make out the sapphire gems that flashed at him in ire. "I do not lie."
Kaoru looked away from him and huffed indignantly. "Yeah, well as if I haven't heard that line before. You men seem to think you are always right even when you have no clue what you are doing."
Kenshin decided to let that comment slide and continued to pick their way down the stairs. Truth be told, she was right. It would be easier to get back to the others by going up the stairs. However, this was the easiest way to get some time alone with Kaoru.
That Aoshi fellow didn't seem particularly fond of him and he really felt like he needed to speak with Kaoru. There was something about her that drew him to her. It was as if destiny had drawn them together. It reminded him of the feeling that drew him to his mentor, Hiko.
The two walked in silence in the dark. Kaoru moved her other hand to lay gently across Kenshin's arm that currently had possession of her. "Kenshin, I don't suppose this is a good time to tell you I suffer from Achluophobia."
Kenshin faltered in his footsteps. "What kind of illness is that? Do you need some kind of inhaler like for Asthma? Or shots like for Diabetes, because if so, I don't know what to do to help you." Kenshin's voice began to sound a bit unnerved as he all sorts of wild possibilities flashed through his head at what that elusive word could possibly mean.
"It's a phobia actually," Kaoru corrected.
"Okay, so would you mind translating that to simple terms for this unworthy one?" Kenshin asked as he continued guiding them further into darkness and deeper into the ground.
"It's a fear of the dark," Kaoru voiced barely above a whisper.
Kenshin stopped walking and turned towards her. "Are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious! Why would I joke about something like that?" Kaoru demanded, her temper rising and starting to feel rather representative of the Tanuki that Hajime had dubbed her as.
"Do you think you'll be able to handle it down here then? I mean, I'll be here to protect you. But, will you be alright?" Kenshin asked worried, he ignored his own annoyance at her raised voice; it was a bit entertaining to have her yell at him. Nobody ever yelled at him, except for his mentor.
Kaoru closed her eyes briefly, there was hardly any point to keep them open anyway, and it wasn't like she could actually see anything in front of her. "I'll be alright."
Kenshin accepted her answer. Now that he had her alone with him he should ask some questions. Maybe they had met before when they were children. He knew her from somewhere!
"So, are you with Aoshi?" He asked, trying to keep the uncalled for jealous feeling in the pit of his stomach under control.
Kaoru didn't want to lie to Kenshin. But, she owed it to Saito to keep up the charade. He wouldn't have wanted her to pretend unless there was a good reason. "I recently accepted his offer for marriage," Kaoru replied. It wasn't exactly a lie. He did ask after all.
"I see. So how long have you two known one another?" Kenshin asked, it just seemed funny to him that those two would be an item. Kaoru seemed more like the sort of person that would be with someone like, well, him, or maybe even that Enishi character, though he would be loath to admit that.
"Not too long. He helped me get over a recent heartbreak of mine and we just connected. He is a great man and I respect him." Kaoru answered. Hopefully Kenshin would stop asking such questions, it was making her nervous.
Kenshin could tell that Kaoru was uncomfortable with this line of questioning and it only made him more curious. He really could hear the roar of wind distantly now. He needed to finish his little interrogation before then. "Would you like to rest for a moment?"
He could feel Kaoru nod at the suggestion and they sat across from one another on the stairwell. Kaoru broke the silence this time. "Have you seen many of the other guests? Aoshi and I haven't really met everyone and we have tried."
"I've met a few. Are you on the third floor?" Kenshin asked, trying to steer the conversation back towards her relationship with the detective.
"Yes," Kaoru answered hesitantly.
"I believe I heard you and Aoshi when you arrived that first night. I'm also on the third floor. I have my own room, as do most of the guests according to Enshi." Kenshin informed her.
"Really, I was under the impression that we were to be housed two to a room," Kaoru argued. If that wasn't the case then Megumi was certainly going to have to do some answering for her crimes!
Kenshin shrugged in the darkness, but decided not to continue that line of conversation. It was drab and not really answering any questions. "Who do you think killed that woman?"
"I don't know. I came here because I was sort of hoping that the Battousai would also show up and be careless." Kaoru answered honestly. It should be obvious to anyone that was familiar with her work, which Himura had claimed to be.
"So do you think he did it?" Kenshin asked curiously. He hadn't expected that answer.
Kaoru stood and offered him her hand. He accepted and they began to continue the walk down the stairs towards the tunnel that was not too far ahead of them. "Doubtful, it didn't feel like something he would do. Hey," she paused in her walk as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Yes?" Kenshin replied, internally puzzling over her answer of it not feeling like something Battosai would do. How would she know what that feels like?
"Have you met, Yahiko?" Kaoru asked, her voice hitching slightly at the name.
Kenshin blinked in the darkness at her. "I have not. I heard about him from Tomoe yesterday. He apparently has been spending all his time with that teenage daughter of Tae, Enishi's servant."
"Oh," Kaoru replied, obviously disappointed as they kept walking. Would they ever get out of this darkness? It was really unnerving her. She couldn't wait to get back into the light.
"Who is this Yahiko?" Kenshin asked, a sliver of light breaking the intense darkness they had been traveling within. He could hear Kaoru sigh in relief at no longer being in darkness.
"I used to know someone by that name. He was very dear to me, but nearly ten years ago he was lost at sea. It was believed that he perished, but his body was never found." Kaoru replied, memories of the funeral held for her beloved brother flashing through her mind.
Before Kenshin could offer any words of wisdom or sympathy a new presence disturbed their privacy. The light at the end of the tunnel increased, as if a door had been opened.
"Kaoru? Mr. Himura? Are you two alright?" The worried voice of Tomoe could be heard. A shuffling of feet and two pairs of flashlights later, the silhouettes of Aoshi and Enishi could be seen approaching.
Aoshi ran to Kaoru and Enishi turned back around after spotting the two they were searching for go back and push Tomoe's wheelchair into the underground vault. Aoshi reached for Kaoru and pulled her tight against his chest, effectively separating her from Himura. He didn't trust the man, and now he was certain that he was up to something. His dream still haunted him and there were too many unanswered questions.
"Are you two okay?" Enishi inquired. Kenshin nodded and Kaoru remained silenced by Aoshi's presence as he held her face against his neck. "Why didn't you open the wall from your side and re-enter the room?" Enishi asked, suspicious at the actions.
At first the British lord felt that Aoshi was being over-protective and paranoid, but after talking with Tomoe and looking for the other end of the tunnels he was suspicious about the action himself.
"I felt it would be a better idea to exit through the tunnel," Kenshin replied in a deadpan voice. The carefree smile he had plastered to his face for the past few days long gone at the disturbed feeling he had at seeing Aoshi hold Kaoru. It wasn't as if he really knew her or anything, but it still felt wrong.
"A better idea?" Enishi repeated quietly to himself when it became apparent that Kenshin was not about to elaborate. He and Aoshi exchanged disbelieving looks. "Well, how about dinner then? I'm afraid the two of you have been wandering these passages for quite a few hours."
"What time is it?" Kaoru asked, it was ten thirty when they were investigating the murder. It couldn't have been that much later.
"It's nearly five," Aoshi answered her, casting Himura an icy glare.
"Five?" Kaoru repeated in disbelief.
Aoshi looked past her towards Enishi as they all left the confines of the underground. It was crisp weather outside. Next to him, Kaoru shivered, causing Aoshi to wrap his arms tight around her and pull her to his side to share warmth. "Lord Yukishiro, if you would excuse us, we would like to take dinner in our room."
"Of course," Enishi answered slightly distracted. He was still pondering Himura's answer for why they journeyed down the passageways. He should have pounded on the stone wall at least. He looked from Kenshin to Kaoru, perhaps the two had intended on privately conversing with one another.
With a murderer in his household he couldn't ignore any odd behaviors.
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Back in their room, Kaoru explained to Aoshi that Kenshin was harmless. He wouldn't hurt a fly.
"Kenshin?" Aoshi interrupted her as she was beginning to talk on and on about how wonderful the red haired man was. "I thought his name was Himura."
"Oh, it is, but his first name is Kenshin." Kaoru explained, hoping that Aoshi wouldn't ask how she found this out. Hopefully the detective would assume the red haired man had shared the knowledge with her.
"Did he tell you his first name?" Aoshi demanded as he finished off the remainder of food on his plate and set it aside on the small table near the door of the room. His eyes dared Kaoru to lie to him as he relaxed on the bed that they were sitting upon.
"No, I blurted it out after we fell down that first set of stairs. But, I must have met him before or he must have told us what it was earlier." Kaoru answered, certain that the man had introduced himself to them earlier and that was the explanation.
Aoshi looked thoughtfully at the large painting that was on the wall behind the bed. His dream from the night before plaguing him. He looked back down at Kaoru. "Have you been having any odd dreams lately?"
"No," she answered. "The only odd sort of dreams I have, you'd know about them," she joked trying to lighten the dark mood her companion had obviously fallen in. "Did you? Is that why you slept so late this morning?"
Aoshi laughed softly at that. "Why I slept so late? I believe when I awoke you were still sound asleep my dear."
Kaoru blushed cutely at that and crossed her arms indignantly. "Well, maybe I was just sleeping late so that you wouldn't feel bad about being a bum. I'm sympathetic person don't you know?"
Unexpectedly Aoshi, reached over and hugged her to him. He inhaled her scent and was reassured that she was indeed alive and well. "I was really worried about you," he confessed in her ear, his breath tickling her skin as he spoke.
"There was no need to worry, I was perfectly safe," Kaoru reassured him, tentatively hugging him back in return.
Abruptly, Aoshi released her and stood from the bed. "You should rest; I'm going downstairs to talk with some of the other guests. Don't let anyone in here, do you hear me?" He paused at the door, and looked back at her over his shoulder.
Kaoru nodded silently and he opened the door to leave, locking it behind him.
TBC
Aoshi/Kaoru recommendation:
Sorrow Mingled Tears by Massao-na-Mizu
Kaoru escaped the abusive Lord Battosai and was rescued by the stoic Aoshi Shinomori. Now blinded and having no idea of what her savior looks like Kaoru must deal with a jealous Misao and an angry Lord Battosai.