Crimson Tears

Chapter 12: Tension

Kaoru felt guilty. She was in the room with helpless victims of a brutal attack and was about to make out with Aoshi Shinomori, a man she had only known for a few days time. She knew that she shouldn't be thinking about Hajime Saito at a time like this, but it was unavoidable.

No matter how much her brain told her things with that man were through, it still seemed too soon to be moving on to someone new. Things with Aoshi seemed so complicated. With the murders and attacks taking place, Kaoru knew that she shouldn't allow herself to become head-over-heels for a guy, even if that guy was Aoshi Shinomori.

However, she stopped feeling guilty as she allowed sleep to claim her as she remained sitting beside the man she shouldn't be growing close to. Visions of the past sought her in her dreams.

Aoshi shifted his position. Kaoru was getting heavy in his arms. She had fallen asleep with her head resting upon his shoulder so he decided if he was to allow her to sleep in the chair with him he might as well hold her. Her sleeping form was resting comfortably in the nook of his arm after he sat her upon his lap and began to gently rock.

His icy eyes were focused on the nearly catatonic forms of Soujiro and Misao. He was curious where Himura was. The red haired man should have returned by now to take on the next guard duty. Plus, a wicked smile crossed Shinomori's lips, he wouldn't mind giving the other man a visual to show exactly to whom Kaoru belonged.

His long tapered fingers brushed through the dark hair that was spilling over his chest from his burden. Concerns about Saito kept coming foremost to his mind. His thoughts were disturbed however, not by a presence approaching the door, but from the shifting body in his lap.

Sapphire orbs opened wide and stared into his icy ones with a look he couldn't quite identify. "What is wrong?" Aoshi asked softly, hand pausing mid-stroke through Kaoru's lustrous dark hair.

Kaoru lifted her hand to rest upon his chest, over his heart that was beginning to pound against his rib cage. "You did it, didn't you?" Kaoru asked with her eyes slightly unfocused, seeming to see past him somehow even when she was looking directly at him.

"Did what?" Aoshi demanded, voice slightly clipped with impatience. There were enough mysteries without her adding any vagueness. He was confused by the few crystalline tears leaking from her eyes. Forgetting his annoyance he gently brushed those pesky tears aside. "Did what?" He asked again with tenderness this time.

"We knew each other before," Kaoru whispered still with the far-away look to her gaze. "All of us we knew each other before." She closed her eyes briefly before opening them again, vision clear. "All of us we knew each other and we all died and were cursed. You followed me in death didn't you?"

Half-forgotten memories of various dreams came flooding to Aoshi's conscious. His breathing quickened. He knew without a doubt that what she spoke of was the truth. He shifted, suddenly uncomfortably hot with the woman held so close in his arms. "I don't break my promises," he answered after an immeasurable silence.

Kaoru smiled softly at him and drew her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her. Aoshi's arms tightened around her and their lips met in a kiss full of longing, a century in the making.

OOOOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOO

Enishi kneeled stooped over the scene. His shirt was soaked in her blood that no longer pumped through those useless veins that once contained the flowing life. He took off his glasses as he wiped away the tears that fell from his turquoise eyes.

Everything was pointless now. This whole ordeal was a mistake. The murders should have been hint enough to end the whole mess. Surely there was a way to bypass the system, he didn't know how, but he should have found a way to end the madness.

Enishi's heart was shattered as his sister lay dead in his arms. This whole disaster was for her. He wanted her to find resolution about the attempt on her life so long ago. The mysteries were to be solved, not her life extinguished. He may never discover the identity of the Battousai but he would surely find the murderer of his sister and also he would find Akira. He would die too.

Enishi would make sure that both guilty parties suffered greatly for the pain his dear sister suffered.

He didn't notice the approach of another person. He ignored the gentle tap upon his shoulder. He couldn't be bothered at the moment.

"Enishi?" Kaoru called softly as she knelt beside the distraught young man. Aoshi had sent her out to find Sanosuke for the next shift. Megumi had come to the room they guarded asking if Sano had come yet. They waited for twenty minutes before deciding they needed to search for the boxer.

Megumi stared with a look of pain and regret in her eyes. She wanted to examine the body of Tomoe in Enishi's arms, but it was obvious by the pallor of color that the young woman was long since dead and beyond all hope now. As a medical professional she knew there was nothing she could do but try to calm the survivor.

She knelt down alongside Kaoru and gently eased Tomoe's body out of Enishi's arms as he turned to hold Kaoru to him. She noticed with calm brown eyes that the blood stains upon his formerly crisp white shirt had transferred to Kaoru's pale yellow one.

Megumi felt for Tomoe's pulse and knowing it was non-existent was still disheartened. Her skin was cool to the touch not cold, implying she had been dead for at least two or three hours. Rigor mortis had not really set in yet.

Kaoru allowed Enishi to hold her. His face was buried against her neck, tears cooling her flesh, so recently heated from her time spent with Aoshi. She let herself be clung to like a lifeline. There was nothing she could do but hold the man. It was heart breaking to see such a strong man reduced to a distraught little boy.

Megumi shook her head in the negative when Kaoru's eyes sought hers for the unspoken question. "Enishi, do you know who did this?" Megumi asked calmly. She tried to ignore the fear for Sanosuke's safety in light of this evidence. What kind of monster would destroy such a helpless woman?

Enishi's arms tightened around Kaoru, crushing her almost painfully against him as he turned to regard Megumi. He glared at her coldly. "Would I be crying like some pathetic child if I knew who did this?"

He turned his head back into Kaoru's hair and breathed deeply, seeking to sooth his tumultuous emotions. His mouth found her ear where he whispered his request. "You better damn well figure out who the Battousai is, or else I will kill everyone in this building, myself included. My sister must be avenged."

Kaoru shivered involuntarily at the eerie request. She knew he was not kidding. He would kill everyone in order to insure his sister's murderer paid.

Aoshi cleared his throat and pulled Kaoru away from Enishi. He recognized the mad look in the rich lord's eyes. "I don't think I will allow you to become a mass-murderer yourself Yukishiro. Tomoe wouldn't have wanted that," Aoshi replied in his soft voice that commanded authority. He frowned internally at the blood that now coated Kaoru's pale yellow shirt and tried to ignore the burning rage he felt at seeing Enishi holding her so close to him.

Enishi rose, hands shaking at his side in anger and rage. "I will not tolerate these murders in my home. My sister, my SISTER, lies dead at our feet! What would you have me do?" His pale eyes flashed with violence and a madness that lurked beneath waiting for the opportunity to arise.

"I will find the Battousai," Aoshi vowed.

"We'll all go," Kaoru interjected. She didn't like the look Aoshi had now. It was the look of a lone hunter. She had seen that look too many times with Hajime Saito. That look had nearly gotten him killed, though he would never admit it.

Aoshi was about to protest but thought better of it. No one needed to look over Misao and Soujiro. If Battousai wanted them dead, they would be dead, there was no doubt about it now. They needed to find Sanosuke and the other guests, like Hiko, Yahiko, and of course Kenshin.

Enishi picked up the body of Tomoe and carried her back towards the room that contained the unconscious forms of Misao and Soujiro. Then the quartet walked silently, examining the hallways for any trace of the muscle bound fighter.

The red bandana lying in the hallway was their clue. A door slightly ajar stood nearby. Within the room lay the unconscious form of Sanosuke Sagara. Megumi rushed to his side, shocked at seeing such a huge man knocked unconscious, but was relieved to find him breathing, shallowly, but breathing.

Aoshi didn't wait around. "I want no arguments; I can take care of myself." He looked directly at Kaoru, leaving no room for protest. "I'm going to find the others then return."

Kaoru ignored his no-protest look. "You can't go alone!" She cried frantic to protect him. She rushed to his side and held his arm tight within her small hands, determined to not allow him to make a hero of himself at the expense of his life.

Aoshi shook off her grasp. "I must do this." He lifted his hands to her cheeks and cupped them gently. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, stifling any further protests. He didn't want her in danger. With Tomoe dead, he knew that Enishi was innocent of the murders. There was safety in numbers.

Aoshi pulled back from the kiss, leaving Kaoru slightly dazed and with tears in her eyes. He hated seeing her cry. "Take Sagara to the other room." He turned on his heel and left them behind.

No one else argued.

OOOOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOO

"We have to do something!" Yahiko protested as he paced in front of Hiko and Shishio. It was still unnerving to be before the formerly mummified man from the past. He certainly didn't trust him.

Hiko leaned back and calmly drank from his jug of sake. He watched the boy with some amusement. "You know that we are not allowed to interfere."

Shishio's cinnamon eyes grew darker in hatred. His Yume was dead at the hands of the Battousai. This life he had not committed the sins of his past, but he was still forced to be impotent in regards to the cursed Battousai. "The Battousai will die at my hands," he vowed.

"If you kill him then this nightmare will never end." Hiko explained calmly. "I've explained this countless times. We must not interfere. If we were to accidentally kill him then all this would be for nothing and history would simply repeat itself in the future over and over."

Yahiko growled in frustration. "We can't just sit around and wait for everyone to die!" His outrage wasn't one-sided.

Hiko stood, towering over the two other males. "Look, I don't like sitting here being the observer either. However, if we interfere the deaths are pointless. They will happen over and over. This time around is the best chance to end the curse."

Yahiko leaned against the wall, head hitting the stones behind him. "I know you're right, we haven't all been re-incarnated at the same time before. Besides, he's not killing everyone."

"He has killed too many," Shishio retorted. He wanted no more of this conversation and stormed out of the room.

Hiko watched him leave with resignation. "You're going to let him go?" Yahiko demanded in shock.

Hiko shrugged as he sat back down and drank some more sake. "It's his business if he wishes to die. You and I, and the ones he had knocked unconscious were never killed in his former incarnation. The others were victims, accident or not. It is not our place to interfere."

OOOOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOO

It didn't take long to find Himura. Aoshi had only turned a few corners before he discovered the red haired man walking with a purpose down the hallway. Kenshin didn't offer his customary smile but frowned in greeting.

Kenshin's normally peaceful amethyst eyes were now a molten gold. "She belongs to me," he spoke softly. "You are not a part of this," he glanced sadly at his blade wanting to raise it to destroy his rival. He was not allowed.

He grinned suddenly, chilling Aoshi to the bone. He found himself paralyzed by the hypnotic look in those golden eyes. Mentally he fought the unseen force but to no avail. What sort of magic held him prisoner?

The Battousai grinned, a mischievous gleam rose in his eyes, "I can not kill you with this, but I'm sure I can figure another way." The dull side of the sword struck Aoshi upside the head, and he crumpled to the floor much to his dismay.

The darkness in Aoshi's mind was disturbed when he awoke. Only he found himself in chains, upside down in a boat that was rapidly filling with water as it sank in the moat outside Enish's castle. The water that found its way through his nose woke him rudely.

He twisted so that he lay on his back and tried to pull out his trusted kodachi blades that were within the sheathes under the back of his shirt. He had put them back in that position when he went in search of Kaoru and found her with Enishi.

The blades were sharp, but he could only hope that they could defeat the thick metal of the chains that held him. Aoshi was a skilled diver so if worse came to worse he might be able to struggle to shore in spite of the chains.

All he knew was that he must find a way to Kaoru. He knew who the Battousai was. He also knew that although the Battousai and Kenshin shared a body, it was not the same person.

There was a splash nearby. Aoshi wanted to scream in outrage. How dare Battousai come back now! He was almost free, he could sense it. The water was rising but he would escape, he had to.

A pair of familiar, but not unexpected amber eyes glew in the dark. "Having some trouble I see?" Hajime Saito asked with a mocking tilt to his voice as he used his lock pick to undo the chains that would have been the death of the Californian detective.

"I would have been fine," Aoshi answered as he rubbed his sore wrists and replaced his swords into their sheathes. He gazed at the chains, he had made some progress. Another half hour and he would have broken the chains. Too bad the boat had about another minute's worth of buoyancy.

"I'm sure," Saito agreed. He pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes and watched for a moment as the boat sank completely in the water. "Good thing Yukishiro doesn't keep alligators in this water."

For a moment, the Battousai was forgotten as the two men swam to shore. After climbing out of the water they regarded one another. "Kaoru is safe," Saito stated more than asked. He watched his old friend through narrowed, suspicious eyes.

"I won't allow anything to happen to her." Aoshi assured him, meeting his gaze head-on.

TBC