Crimson Tears : Chapter 10
Clarity
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Aoshi pulled the slip of a woman after him, firmly grasping her delicate wrist in his powerful clasp. The pair began to run at full speed, hoping that their fears were unfounded. Surely, Battousai had not struck again and surely he did not make victims of their acquaintances. The sooner they arrived at the scene, the sooner they would find reassurance of Misao and Soujiro's health.
It didn't take long before they ran into proof.
Rounding a sharp corner in the narrow passageways, Aoshi's six foot figure slammed into that of Sanosuke Sagara. Kaoru promptly lost her balance as Aoshi's grip on her hand sent her tumbling forward into the awaiting arms of an incredibly imposing figure that neither of the Americans had previously encountered.
After Kaoru's wrist slipped out of Aoshi's grasp he then used his free hands to catch hold of Sanosuke's shoulders as the boxer did likewise, thereby preventing a mutual embarrassing fall to the cold stone floor.
"I've been looking all over for you," Sano shouted to the couple as he removed his hand from Aoshi's shoulders when the blue eyed man glared at him in annoyance. Aoshi ignored him and possessively pulled Kaoru out of the strange man's hold and pulled her to his chest protectively with his arms securely locked around her waist and whispering quietly in her ear.
"Are you alright?" Aoshi inquired barely above a whisper as he looked the tall man up and down in barely concealed disdain. He was an imposing figure with long dark hair hanging near his waist and a long white coat that was the size of a whale.
Kaoru nodded, but when it became clear that Aoshi would not be satisfied until he heard a verbal answer she consented. "I'm fine," she reassured him as she studied the man whose arms she recently vacated. He was so familiar and yet she couldn't quite place him.
Sanosuke cleared his throat rather loudly, earning him Shinomori's attention. Sano smirked. "Sorry to interrupt you two love birds," the twin frowns served to direct him to his point. "I was looking for you. Misao and Soujiro were just found."
Kaoru's eyes grew wide and she exchanged concerned looks with Aoshi.
"They aren't dead," a deep cavernous voice boomed from the handsome stranger who was now sporting an incredibly arrogant look. "Those brats are too stubborn to die so they are just unconscious."
Aoshi turned his attention to this new guest whom he had not previously encountered. "And who are you?" He asked with as much politeness that he could muster. He could feel Kaoru's finger nails digging into his flesh from where she held onto his arms. There was something about this man that was affecting her. He too felt a sense of familiarity.
"I prefer to be called master, but I suppose you could call me Hiko," the man answered with a nod of greeting to the question. "And you are the icicle and the raccoon girl," he surmised, barely suppressing a smirk.
Aoshi felt his temper rise at the demeaning nick names and the severity of the situation was forgotten momentarily. However, the raccoon girl beat him to the punch as she slipped out of his arms and marched towards Hiko.
Kaoru raised a finger and began to poke the muscle bound giant in the chest from her imposing five feet nothing height. The scene would have been comical, but Aoshi Shinomori was not one prone to laughter.
"Listen here you big gorilla," Kaoru began. "If you are going to insult my fiancé and I with such childish names then you had better be prepared for our behavior to mirror such expectations!" She declared with a final and firm prod to the man's sternum.
Hiko raised a brow as the young woman's tactics and caught her hand after the last poke. "And yet you call me a gorilla, no wonder you and my stupid apprentice got along so well." Hiko trailed off towards the latter part of the comment and Kaoru was unsure if she heard him correctly. Hiko grinned arrogantly at her as he pulled the woman to his chest and gave her a quick hug, by resting one hand on the small of her back and the other under her butt, lifting her up higher.
He then released her and watched her face burn scarlet. The look of pure venom on Aoshi's face caused him to laugh again. He looked over at Aoshi. "Just wanted to see if you had any emotions icicle. I guess when it regards your fiancé you do." Hiko stressed the word, implying something akin to skepticism in his tone.
Sano's throat cleared yet again and he began to pop his knuckles. He roamed his chocolate orbs on the three others before speaking. "Oh, I see you are paying attention, finally." Sanosuke turned back around and gestured with his hand that they should follow. "We just found them and were hoping you could check out the scene."
The quartet's footsteps echoed down the stone corridor as a pair of dark eyes watched their departure. The young man felt a deep sense of longing as he watched them retreat into the room of the crime. How he wished there was something he could do to defeat the Battousai! He knew the identity of the cursed being, but he too was cursed. He was cursed to serve as witness to the acts of horror but be unable to do anything to make them cease.
It was a side effect of the curse. It was something the gypsy woman had not intended. But then again, he doubted if she had intended for Shinomori to willingly follow the others into the curse.
He clinched his fists at his sides. It was always the unaccounted element that was not factored into the equation that would prove folly. For this he was thankful and could only hope that this time around they would be capable of breaking the curse. The first time they had failed and would be doomed to repeat it in each following reincarnation.
But not this time.
Because this time, Shinomori, Hiko, and himself had also been reborn and introduced to the situation early. So many others from the original carnation were here as well. Yahiko watched as they vanished into the drawing room where Misao and Soujiro lay in catatonic states.
When Yahiko regained the memories of his past life he knew that he had to leave his beloved sister. He had been gifted with a sense of foresight but could not completely foretell the future. He was aware that only with his absence would Kaoru be led to Saito eventually.
Only with the aid of the wolf would she be able to defeat the madness of the all consuming Battousai. That was where things failed the previous time. She was not lead to Saito until the very end. Shinomori had happened upon the situation too late in the course and they all ended up perishing.
Yahiko made sure that would not be the case this round.
He and Hiko both would make certain that the curse would be broken this time. None of them deserved to be cursed. The best that Yahiko and Hiko could hope was for few casualties.
Sighing, Yahiko turned back into the shadows. He could do nothing. His part in all of the drama was over. He could serve as a mere spectator and root for the man and woman who practically raised him in Japan at the end of the age of the Samurai. He could only hope that some how they would be victorious over the evil that would haunt them eternally otherwise.
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Enishi watched as the doors opened, revealing four more individuals, of which only one held his interest. "Kaoru, come here," Enishi entreated as he ushered Kaoru to join him as he stood with his back resting against the bookshelf of the large drawing room where the crime took place.
Kaoru walked towards him cautiously, wary of the prone bodies of Misao and Soujiro and ever aware of Aoshi Shinomori's intense gaze upon her back. Enishi's turquoise eyes seemed to study her every movement until she reached him. He then smiled at her slyly before placing both hands upon her shoulder and leaning down to speak quietly into her ear.
"Kaoru, tell me what you know about the Battousai. I was not aware that it was his style to leave victims alive." Enishi began, he pulled back locked eyes with her awaiting her answer.
The feel of his powerful hands still on her shoulders unnerved the journalist but she kept her composure and met his gaze head on and spoke loud enough for all those in the room to hear. "It is not in the Battousai's habit to leave victims alive. It is highly unusual for him to leave behind any witness. It is my belief that perhaps they were not planned assassinations on his part and he does not kill randomly as some have surmised. Or it is possible that he wants to be caught."
"She's right," Kenshin agreed, coming out of the shadows he was recently standing within. He and Tomoe were both hidden from the presence of the new arrivals. Megumi looked up from Misao, whom she had placed a cold compress to her forehead for a moment and then looked back down to her patients.
"How long have you been here Himura?" Aoshi asked, keeping his voice calm and reserving his suspicions to only his mind and not arousing others to his belief.
Violet eyes flashed amber for a split second, not long enough to fully register the act. "I have been with Enishi discussing your whereabouts, Shinomori." Kenshin remarked fairly coldly before smiling innocently at him. "Good to see you Master Hiko," Kenshin gave a brief bow to the giant man whom merely nodded in response.
No one seemed to notice Kenshin's slip but Aoshi. His lips thinned as he looked over briefly to Kaoru to see if she too had noticed, but much to his dismay her attention was focused on Enishi.
"How long have they been in here?" Kaoru asked the white haired British lord. Enishi frowned slightly as he raked a hand through his unruly hair that had fallen over his eyes, obstructing his view of the young journalist.
"We only happened upon this scene a few minutes ago. Himura and I were in a nearby room and walked past this room and noticed a pair of feet. I ran into my sister and Megumi a few rooms away and now we are here." Enishi recounted.
"I see, so you saw no one leaving this room?" Aoshi demanded from his position as he leaned down over the bodies and examined their wounds. A blow to the back of the head for both was revealed. The wound was not enough to kill, but enough to cause a small coma.
Kaoru left Enishi's side and bent between Megumi and Aoshi to examine the bodies for herself. Megumi pointed out the location the blow took place. "Their pulse is strong and breathing normal, not labored in the least. But this slight bruising at the base of the skull is indicative of the blow they both sustained." Megumi locked serious brown eyes with Kaoru's sapphire. "Whomever did this was a professional. This could easily have killed them both were just a bit more pressure used."
Kaoru looked past the doctor towards Aoshi. "He didn't want to kill them," she stated.
Aoshi asked the question on everyone's mind. "Megumi, when will they awaken and will they remember who did this?"
Megumi shook her head. "I can't truly say. However, there is a very real possibility that they will not remember. It is common that recent memories would be lost. They may wake up later today, but with the professionalism and precision of these blows, I doubt if they will recall what happened."
Sanosuke sent his fist slamming into the wall at the proclamation, startling everyone in the room from their deep thoughts. "Fudge! There's a murdering psychopath who is picking and choosing who he knocks off and who is worthy enough to be placed in a coma. What the fudge are we supposed to do?"
The gravity of the very troubling questions was forgotten in light of the boxer's word choice. Soft laughter came from the woman in the wheel chair, further confusing all those in the room. Tomoe's dark eyes twinkled with rare amusement. "Did you just say fudge?"
Embarrassment clouded Sanosuke's face as he looked over at Megumi who was snickering at his expense. "Yeah, well," he scratched the back of his neck. "The Kitsune doesn't like my using foul language so I've been trying to improve."
As everyone laughed at the man's expense Kenshin smiled at him sympathetically. "It is an admirable goal Sano, that it is." Violet eyes offered a much welcomed understanding.
"Thanks Himura," Sano replied gratefully as the others stilled in their laughter and focused on the situation at hand.
Aoshi stood and offered his hand to help Kaoru to her feet. "There is nothing more we can do then. Megumi make certain that the two are well cared for. We shall take turns guarding their unprotected forms."
"What do you suggest the rest of us do during that time?" Hiko demanded, not one to be ordered around.
"Search for clues, find the Battousai," Aoshi answered simply.
Hiko grunted in response before leaving the room.
"Come on Kitsune, there really isn't anything else you can do for them. Let's go try to find out something to catch the murdering turd." Sanosuke ushered for Megumi to join him. She gave one final look towards her patients and then followed her rooster head outside.
"If you'd like Kaoru, I'll take the first watch with you. We can compare notes," Enishi offered, earning a frown from his sister and bitter glare from Aoshi. He ignored both warnings.
Kaoru bit her lip and looked first at Aoshi and then at Tomoe and finally at Kenshin who had retreated into the shadows once more. How was it that he was so easily forgotten. "Actually, I'd like to brainstorm with Aoshi right now." She began apologetically. "But later we could," she offered in amendment.
That brightened Enishi's mood and he smiled charmingly at her. "Very well, I shall hold you to that. Come dear sister," he moved behind her wheel chair and pushed her out of the room.
Kenshin stepped out of the shadows. "I'll be seeing you miss Kaoru, Aoshi." He then ducked out of the room and disappeared once more.
As soon as they were left alone, the pair shut the door behind them and looked down at the still forms of Misao and Soujiro. "Did Hiko seem familiar to you?" Kaoru asked Aoshi.
He shook his head. "Not especially, did he seem familiar to you?" He asked as he guided Kaoru towards a large reclining chair in the corner of the room. He sat down and pulled her into his lap while wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin upon her shoulder and closing his eyes wearily.
Kaoru relaxed against him, feeling reassurance in his presence. "They all seem so familiar. I know them, I know I do. I feel that I have met them all before. I felt that I had met you before as well. I had the same feeling with Hajime as well."
Aoshi stiffened slightly at the name of the wolf, a tinge of guilt about lying about the phone call creeping into his mind. "Whom all have you felt this familiarity with?" He prodded. He too felt that he was somehow linked to many of the characters in this drama.
Kaoru shrugged. "Almost everyone," she whispered. She thought she felt the gentle brush of Aoshi's lips against the base of her throat but was unsure. She was about to turn and ask if he had done such a thing but he tightened his hold on her, keeping her in place.
"Why don't you rest some, perhaps more answers will come in your dreams?" Aoshi suggested. He was unsure what led him to kiss her throat but was hoping that perhaps she wouldn't notice. He could not be getting attached to this woman. He was merely protecting her and the safest place for her to be was in his arms. That was the only reason he was holding her so possessively.
He would ignore the unexpected anger he felt when he thought of another touching her so casually or intimately.
"I'm worried about Kenshin," Kaoru confessed. "How did he know your last name?"
Aoshi sighed troubled at the question. It was the same question that was racing through his mind. "I am unsure, Kaoru. However, I believe he is definitely one that deserves to be investigated."
Kaoru nodded in agreement. "Yes, Kenshin, Enishi, and Hiko are at the top of my list of suspects. I'm sure that after I talk to Enishi later one on one that I will have more answers."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Aoshi protested, a sense of fear chilled his blood at the thought of Kaoru left alone in Enishi's presence.
"I already have been alone with Kenshin and I couldn't really tell with him. I think it would be best if you were to interrogate him while I do Enishi." Kaoru suggested. She didn't catch the flinch that shook Aoshi's frame as he pictured the word do and Enishi involving Kaoru. He didn't like that picture one bit.
"Fine," Aoshi consented.
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He paced back and forth listening to the ringing of her cell phone. Why wasn't she answering? He cursed when he received the error message once more. "Why didn't I make sure you set up your blasted voice mail Tanuki?"
Hajime Saito snapped shut his cell phone and angrily shoved it inside of his pants pocket. He glared once more at the idiotic British police officer that could offer him no help what so ever.
"Are you sure?" Saito asked impatiently as the worm squirmed in front of him.
"Yes sir, there is no way inside of Yukishiro manner once the gates have been locked and the castle sealed from the inside." The young, skinny rookie shook his head enthusiastically as he pushed up his wire rim glasses up his crooked nose. "I'm afraid there is no way in Captain Saito, it is simply impossible."
Hajime Saito glanced past the officer's head and noticed the 'No Smoking' sign. Deliberately, he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a flick of his lighter. He raised the cigarette to his thin lips and inhaled deeply before blowing a ring of smoke out towards the officer's face.
"Nothing is impossible moron. I suggest you get me to that castle and I'll find a way in without your idiotic help." Saito threw the cigarette to his feet and stomped out the flame. He watched the rookie like an eagle circling his prey.
The young man nodded his head. "Yes, of course sir. I'll see to it that you are taken to the castle, but…"he trailed off nervously, unsure of how to speak to the American.
Saito raised a brow at the fool. "There is no buts, just get me there." He turned on his heel and began to leave the station, intent on waiting for a vehicle to pick him up. Before leaving the room he turned at the door. "I don't need any of your pathetic excuses for backup. Just get me there. I'll be waiting by the road for my transportation."
Young officer Collins watched as the man dubbed the wolf left him alone. "No wonder they call him the wolf. No one he deems his prey has a chance." Officer Collins then lifted the receiver to arrange transportation for Saito. He had no intentions on being a name on that man's 'To Kill' list.
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He walked to her room. It still smelled like her. The scent of Jasmine helped to calm the insanity he knew was brewing just under his surface. However, the ringing sound coming from the nightstand was upsetting his recently found tranquility and would have to be vanquished.
Battousai lifted the cell phone and looked at the name on the caller identification. His forehead creased in anger as he recognized a most hated name. The tossing of the cell phone outside of the balcony window was completely justified and not in the least over dramatic.
He sat upon the large bed and leaned against the softness of the mattress. He should have been the one to share a room with Kaoru, not Shinomori. He did not belong in the equation. He would only serve to mess things up further.
Battousai was fully aware of the curse. He could do nothing to stop himself from carrying out the assassinations. The only being that helped him retain even a little bit of his identity was his wife. With a great deal of sadness he knew that she didn't even realize that she was his wife.
"She is mine," Battousai declared, amber eyes blazing possessively as he began to sharpen the blade of his Samurai sword.
The sharpening stone ran smoothly along the deadly sharp edge.
Once satisfied that the Japanese steel could not possibly be sharper he raised it above his head and slammed it into the mattress in the location he was sure Shinomori had been sleeping. The scent of Jasmine was too great on the other side, but he was still unhappy.
The feather mattress released white feathers under the force of his blade. That would not be nearly as satisfying as when he took out Shinomori. He had no business in this story. In the back of his mind he could feel his humanity struggling to sway his thoughts to stay his temper. He would ignore that voice. He could ignore that voice easily.
The only times he couldn't ignore it is when her voice was inside his head or her tears began to flow. Her tears were stained with the blood from his murdering hands.
It had happened a few times.
When he was drawing his blade to take out the next victim she would be in his head trying to deter him of the deed. She had been successful quite a few times. But she was not always there and he could not beat the curse without her. Without her voice constantly helping him to fight the demon that was now inside of him he could not ignore the calling of the gypsy curse.
"I'm sorry Kaoru. You know this is not what I want to do, but there is nothing that can stop me save my blood on your hands." He left the room, careful to shut the door behind him.
He needed to check on the two unconscious individuals. It was important that they remain catatonic, else he would have to kill them regardless that they were not part of the original curse.
"What are you doing man?" Sanosuke asked as he caught him leaving Aoshi and Kaoru's bed room. "Whose room were you coming out of?" He asked suspicious.
He smiled at him, but it wasn't a very comforting smile as he unsheathed his anachronous sword.
Sanosuke's eyes grew wide in confusion as the dull side of the blade crashed against his throat and sent him flying into the wall. He tried to yell out, but discovered his voice lost. The blow was meant to keep him from attracting attention.
The Battousai stood over Sano's slumped figure and shook his head as the man tried in vane to speak. "It is useless." He smiled once more in false serenity. "Don't worry; I'm not supposed to kill you."
He raised his sword once again, "But that doesn't mean that I can let you interfere." He then brought down his blade, but fortunately for Sanosuke Sagara it was not a fatal blow, but rendered him as useless as Misao and Soujiro.
The Battousai looked at his sword forlornly; it seemed misplaced to fight with a sword and to discover it free of any blood shed. He sheathed the blade and then began to drag the boxer out of the hall way into a closet in the hallway. No need to invite more caution.
TBC