Hey everyone! Guess what!? Okay…BESIDES the fact that I've updated…what else!?
((silence))
It's my 16th BIRTHDAY! YAY! I was rushing through this like crazy! I was torn between making this one BIG chapter or two SMALLER chapters. But as a gift for Kitsune KeNsHiN (Whom helped me get through this problem) I've made it LONGER! I just hope you guys won't fall asleep half way through…Please enjoy! But then again…please don't flame! I'm scared of those things…
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WARNINGS: It's DARK and watch the LANGUAGE use. DON'T FORGET—this fic is ALL about OOC ness!!! (If you can't handle it, DON'T READ IT! Don't say that I didn't warn you!)
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Royal Past
Chapter 10: Starless
By: S3r3nity
Keys:
'…' = Thoughts
"…" Speaking
Previous Chapter
Kaoru turned her head and faced the mysterious man who was now looking at her. "He knows who we all are…" she said quietly.
"What!?" Sano cried, "How could you tell him!?"
"She didn't…" the man replied with a deadly tone of voice, "I've already seen all of you…"
The rest of the gang grouped up together with suspicion. The man continued speaking, "I saw all of you from the dark tower…and from the museum…almost about 2 week ago…" He finally reached up to his mask and pulled it off. Kaoru gasped.
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"Battousai…" she whispered as she saw bright amber eyes revealed behind the eye mask. He watched everyone carefully.
Everyone else began to back up in fear. "The m-ma-man slayer!?" Misao said shakily.
Kaoru nodded and Misao immediately backed up to Aoshi, "What do you want?" she asked angrily.
"I'm not here to hurt you," was Battousai's reply, "I'm here to find the princess like all of you are…" His amber eyes glided around the entire group.
"WE ARE NOT!" Misao cried furiously until Aoshi laid a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.
"It's finally time that we meet," Aoshi said calmly and held out his hand. Battousai reached out and shook it. "So how did you come out of the book?"
"Ask her…" Battousai murmured and narrowed his eyes to Kaoru. Kaoru backed up nervously as Aoshi's eyes followed to her along with everyone else.
"What are you talking about?" she murmured, "I don't think I did anything…"
"There's a spell in this book…" Aoshi pointed out as he held out his hands in front of him. Then the book back from the Dark Tower appeared in his hand. "This 'Golden Book' had a blank page, however, I knew it wasn't empty at all…" Aoshi said slowly as his eyes narrowed more onto Kaoru, "You read the spell didn't you?"
Kaoru stuttered and began to babble words out, "I, uh…well—he…and I…men chasing me…"
Kaoru looked at Aoshi who was now looking deeply into her eyes, sending deep shivers down her spine. 'Stalling is not working………'
"Well…I was just reading out loud!" Kaoru defended, "I didn't know it was a SPELL!"
Aoshi watched her reaction then replied, "That's fine…"
Everyone mouths dropped wide open, Battousai stood emotionless. "What!?" Megumi cried, "Aren't you angry at her? She's putting everyone's lives in danger and you just accepted it!?"
"Shut up fox…" Sano nudged her side sharply and glared into her eyes immediately stopping her screams.
"It was eventually going to happen," Aoshi muttered, "Why do you think we were born with powers? Because the Dark Wizard was finally born and we have to find the princess so we can stop it." Everyone stood hesitantly in their spot.
"That's right…" Battousai replied sharply, "I want to prevent anything from happening this future…so we should start by finding the princess first."
Everyone then looked at each other as confusion rose. "What do you mean!?" Sano exclaimed unbelievably, "You came from the past and never knew what the princess looks like!?"
"Well…if I knew how she looked then I wouldn't need your help," Battousai growled back, "She was forced to cover herself in a cloak so no one can see her face." Everyone began to calm down and looked at Aoshi for any possible advice.
He sighed, "We'll teleport to the Lotus Temple right now, it's better to settle things there."
Kaoru nodded along with the others in unison, Battousai merely shrugged. They gathered together and teleported out of the yard.
A pair of blue eyes watched as Kaoru, the strange red hair man, Aoshi, and the others teleported out of the Mansion's property.
"Are you sure they are the ones to take care of the book, Mrs. Hajime?" Okita asked the elderly woman standing next to him. Tokio nodded, "The aura surrounding them is good, I know that I left the book in right hands." A few seconds after finishing her words, Tokio collapsed to the floor.
"Mrs. Hajime!" Okita cried as he held the elder's cold body. Tokio coughed loudly and smiled. "I've overstayed my time…" she whispered, "It's time for me to go…"
Her body slowly began to glow, her energy then reached into the air. Okita covered his eyes with his bangs then look back at Tokio, "Very well…I'll take care of this place, don't worry." He managed to put on a smile.
"Very well…" she said softly as she felt the life in her body leaving, "Everything is done…just tell the cops that Gohei killed me and that I left everything to you."
Okita bit his bottom lip and nodded. Tokio manage to take one more gasp as she felt the last of her energy dissolve into the air, "It's time for me to reunite with my future…"
She slowly closed her eyes and looked back at Okita. Okita smiled and said his last words, "Don't forget to tell Saitou that I said 'hi'!" Tokio nodded then fell into deep darkness. Okita looked into the air as he saw small rainbow bubbles slowly shimmer into the sky. "Go find her…" he whispered, "…Go back to her true self…"
They reappeared to the Lotus Temple. Kaoru shuddered at the cold—well part of it was because of Battousai. They all remained quiet in the frosty night air—suddenly a loud scream piece through the silence.
Misao's emerald eyes snapped open as she quickly levitated above the ground. "Guys, that's my mom!" she declared. They quickly ran down the stairs while Misao levitated ahead.
Kaoru stayed behind and jogged slowly. 'It can't be!' she thought quickly at the mist of her problems, 'Please don't let it be true!' Kaoru's pacing jog began to shift into a quick sprint. Finally she gasped as she saw Misao leaning towards a bloody body on the floor. Kaoru approached slowly.
"No…" she whispered as she saw Misao's eyes fill with tears. She hugged her best friend. Misao sobbed loudly while holding onto the one she loved most.
Megumi crouched down and held her hands outwards over Mrs. Makimachi's wound. Everyone watched as her hands glowed brightly over the bloody body. A jagged choke escaped from her mouth and tears rushed out.
"It can't be!" Misao collapsed to the floor and cried. "It couldn't have happened…it shouldn't have!" she bellowed.
Kaoru continued to hold her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Misao…" she murmured sincerely with tears flowing from her eyes.
"You'd better be…" a gruff voice echoed down the street. Everyone's attention turned to the sound.
"It can't be!" Megumi said shakily while looking at the figure.
Sano gazed with wide eyes. "Impossible!" he exclaimed with disbelief.
Aoshi and Battousai gazed eagerly towards the shadow by the tree. "Gohei…" Aoshi replied expectantly.
Then an elderly short looking man came out of the shadows and laugh maniacally. "WRONG, it's Kihei" he chirped proudly, "Kihei Hiruma, older brother of Gohei."
"What do you want?" a small voice interrupted sharply into the air. Misao's eyes were dark and filled with rage.
His small eyes jerked towards her, and he smirked. "Don't you want to know who killed your mother, little weasel?" he taunted slowly, "More like…who gave us the clue to find her?"
Immediately emerald eyes shot towards the short man. "Who, then?" She asked darkly. She held her mothers body more protectively in her arms.
He smirked. "My little brother, Gohei, claimed that he met a girl at the museum." He ranted and looked at Kaoru with a huge grin, "…she challenged him to a battle and lost. However, she coward out and ran away. But my dear brother managed to grab a fistful of her hair…"
He paused for a dramatic silence. Misao's patience continued to wear out. "Whose hair!?" she demanded.
Kihei's smirk continued to extend. "Well…while Gohei went to the ball…I used that hair to track down where her home base was…and while I was there…" Once again Kihei used another disturbing pause.
"Go on…" Aoshi barked while glaring with his dark blue eyes.
"…I saw that woman…" he nodded his head to Mrs. Makimachi. "And killed her as replacement for the girl who ran out during Gohei's battle." He cackled loudly.
Misao formed a few kunai's in her right hand and stood up. Kihei stopped laughing. She panted heavily with rage glowing through her once before cheerful looking eyes.
"That doesn't answer my question, bastard…" she replied menacingly with anger. "I'm going to ask you one more time…who was that girl?"
Kaoru watched carefully—Kihei looked back with a smile playing on his lips. "You, Kaoru…" he confirmed gravely. She backed up.
"No…it wasn't…" she retorted quickly. A kunai shot at her necklace transforming her ball clothes to her old pair of jeans and tank top. Kaoru watched as the necklace descend to the floor before looking back at Misao.
"Misao I didn't…" she began but was cut off when another kunai cut her left arm.
"You bitch!" Misao spat with disgust in her tone, " You're a coward! What kind of a friend are you!? You know that I only ACTED like I disliked my mom! It's not like I have NO feelings for her!!!" She ranted on, "You don't know how much I cared about her!"
"MISAO!" Kaoru cried desperately, "I really didn't…" Kaoru took a step towards her enraged friend. "Megumi, help me!" she begged. Megumi looked at Kaoru afar with hatred. "You're a traitor," she shot out with fury.
Kihei smirked as he watched Kaoru beg Sano for help.
Kaoru tugged onto his shirt frantically with desperate motion. "SANO!" she cried. He looked down at her with no emotions in his eyes. 'SANO! PLEASE!'
"Save it for some other sap, missy…" he spat at her bewildered face.
She looked around her whole group of friends and kneeled down.
"Guys…help me!" she pleaded, "I'd never do such a…" A hard blow collided to her left cheek. She looked up at the person who offended her. Her desperate sapphire eyes met with cold blue ones.
Immediately her world of support came crashing down. "Aoshi…?" she managed to squeak out before collapsing onto the floor. Tears and pain streamed out.
Aoshi looked at Kaoru with eyes full of hatred. "Unforgivable…" he murmured with detestation.
"I--really--didn't…" Kaoru choked out between sobs. Misao growled in frustration and yanked Kaoru's hair with her left hand.
"You killed my mom!" Misao interrupted angrily, "For that you're not worth anything to US anymore!" Kaoru continued reach out to Misao's hand that was grabbing her hair. "Please, you've got to listen to me!' Kaoru thought desperately.
Immediately after the first contact Misao released Kaoru's hair. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrieked and backed up as if diseases are infected into Kaoru's body.
The girl instantly shot a hand full of her deadly daggers towards Kaoru without hesitation. "DIE, Kaoru!"
Kaoru's eyes lit up in alarm as she saw the weapons hurl towards her. She looked at Kihei eyes that were filled with delight. 'Perfect…' he thought happily then frowned. 'She need just a little more before I can take over…'
"I hope you're damn happy about what you did, Kihei…" she grumbled. Kaoru watched as the kunai's headed for her. She closed her eyes and waited for knives to pierce through her skin.
Right then a shadow hovered over her and Kaoru opened her eyes. Battousai quickly grabbed his sword and stopped the weapons halfway from Kaoru. He growled in annoyance.
Misao shook her head and yelled at him angrily. "Dammit!" she cried, "Why are you protecting her!?"
"Because it's my duty." He simply replied as he stood protectively in front of Kaoru with a fighting stance in place.
Megumi stood with Misao, Aoshi, and Sano at the opposite of the other two. "Well do us a favor and make it NOT your duty!" she commanded.
Battousai stood firmly in his place. "I can't do that." He declared determinedly.
"Then we'll have to take you down, first," Aoshi acknowledged. Kaoru let out a stifled sob loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Battousai, stop…" she whispered softly, "Don't—it's my battle…" She stood up and looked at everyone with pain in her eyes as Battousai moved into his normal position.
"Guys…" she began, "You know I would never do such a thing like…" Another kunai flew and cut her left leg. Kaoru gasped in pain and stopped walking immediately.
"We don't want to hear what you've already done." Misao replied with impatience. "We want to hear what you have to say!" Another kunai formed in her hand.
"Fine," Kaoru cried, "I give up trying to convince you guys to listen to me!" She took off her jasmine earrings Megumi and Misao gave before the ball, and then threw it on the floor.
"You all believed t-th—this bastard that we hardly know!" she stuttered and pointed to Kihei. "You're all so ignorant!" Tears of fury ran down her pale face as she watched all of her so-called "friends". Kaoru looked at the stoic man straight in the eyes.
"Especially you, AOSHI!" she sobbed, "I thought you would've trust me…like how I trusted you!" She balled her hands into a fist. "Instead, you hurt me and threw your words back at my face! I hope you're all happy now!" She collapsed on the floor panting furiously.
Kihei watched with satisfaction playing over his face. 'She's finally broken…it took a while than expected because of Battousai—but it still worked. Now it's time…' He pulled out a bracelet with black beads and made a jingly sound. "Follow her, Chaos…" he whispered while smirking. Soon the bracelet began to form into a cloud of black smoke and faded away.
"Hell yeah, we're happy…" Misao retorted, "Now get out of our lives since you know what you did wrong…"
Kaoru looked back at Misao. "I did nothing wrong! Why won't you believe me!?"
"Because you were the only who saw Gohei!" Megumi barked. "You're the ONLY one who would be stupid enough to challenge people you know you'll lose to!" Kaoru remained silent. The tears that were once dried up began to fall once more. Kaoru simply got up and ran off. The group stood silently as they watch Kaoru faded from their sight.
"Serves her right," Sano murmured as he watched Megumi pick up the pair of earrings Kaoru threw at the ground.
Misao collapsed on the floor and cried while gently holding her mothers body. Aoshi crouched down and comforted the hysterical girl. "It's okay, Misao…" he whispered.
"Should I call the cops?" Sano asked Misao. She simply nodded and continued to cry.
Kihei glanced at the disturbed group and began to walk away, smirking. "Perfect…" he muttered with satisfaction.
Sano looked up at the dark sky. "Looks like it's going to rain…" he declared. "I think it's best if we go back to the temple…"
Megumi nodded and went over to Misao. "Misao…" she called out, "I think it's best that we leave to the temple." She watched the girl shake her head.
"Not until the cops come…" Misao whispered. Immediately sirens rang loudly down the street.
Megumi nodded her head. "Very well…" she replied while looking around. Instantly, she noticed something wrong and faced Aoshi. "Aoshi…have you seen where Battousai went?" she asked. She watch his blue eyes open in alarm.
Everyone looked at their surroundings—Battousai was nowhere in sight.
Kaoru leaned over the window and watched as the cop cars raced down the street with sirens ringing piercingly in the air. A drop of water landed on her small hand—it began to rain. 'No stars are out tonight…all hope is gone…' A lone tear slid down her pale face.
"I didn't do it…" she uttered through her sharp sobs. "I really didn't…"
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and stopped. Her eyes wandered from the hand on her shoulder and trailed up to meet amber eyes.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" Kaoru snapped as she tossed Battousai's hand off her shoulder violently. "Get the hell out!" she cried.
"Do you think you can take all your anger out on me?" He smirked, "Go ahead…all I'm saying is that it'll do nothing to help you…"
"YES IT WILL!" Kaoru yelled, "You caused all this!" She balled up her fists and thrust the right one at Battousai's face. "It's all your FAULT!"
'If he never came into my life—I would've been DEAD…and everyone would be happy without me!'
Kaoru immediately felt her hand hit nothing. She was soon slammed onto something solid. Kaoru lay flat against the wall breathing heavily. "Let me go…" she cried while struggling against his grasp.
"Is it my fault?" Battousai whispered into her ear while pinning her against the wall, "I never asked to be released in the first place."
Kaoru stopped panting and tears of fury ran down her face. "I don't need this! Let me go! And get the hell out of my life!!!" she roared.
"All the things happening right now is caused by you…" He murmured into her ear, "It all started when someone didn't listen…" Finally, within' a blink of an eye he was gone.
Kaoru stood silently and was breathing rapidly once more. That's when the truth started sinking in.
'Everything IS my fault… …'
Misao woke up from her short slumber. She groaned and found herself wrapped by a pair of strong arms. She looked up and saw Aoshi's face near hers—he was sleeping soundly. 'He was watching over me…' She thought quietly. 'I wish mom was still here to do that…' She sighed.
"Are you okay now?" a deep voice rumbled near her. Aoshi was looking down at her carefully.
"A little…" she murmured. "Did I wake you up, Aoshi?" Her emerald eyes looked up at him with worry.
He shook his head. "I was just resting…" he whispered.
Misao looked around and realized that the both of them were sitting on the front porch of the Lotus Temple. "What happened to me?" she asked, "Where's Sano and Megumi?"
"They're sleeping inside the temple…" he replied, "And right before the cops came you collapsed from exhaustion."
"Oh…" she murmured while tugging on her braided hair. "What did you tell them?"
"That we were out when your mom was murdered and that's when they took her body away…" he replied, "I also told them to inform your grandpa about her before anything else takes place."
Misao smiled, "Thank you…" She looked up at the dark sky then frowned.
"What's wrong?" Aoshi asked while looking at the girl in his arms.
"Mom use to love looking at the stars…" she whispered, "But tonight…because of her death—the sky is starless…"
Aoshi held Misao tightly hoping that she wouldn't begin to cry once more. "It's okay," he comforted, "She's in a better place now…" He felt her head nodding on his chest.
"I know," she whispered yet tears continued to fall. 'But that's not good enough, Aoshi…something's wrong…'
Kihei walked down the street, still smirking at his plan. 'That girl is so gullible! Just like her friends!' He began to cackle loudly. 'I'll get my revenge for you, Gohei, Kaoru will soon get what she deserves!'
He finally approach to a corner and was about to turn when he saw three shadowy figures in the dark. Kihei squinted to see who was up there.
"Who's there…?" he asked cautiously while keep an amused smile on his face. One tall man stood next to a small petite feminine figure. He then stopped as he made out the final shadow. A smaller masculine figure stood out of them all and revealed the outline of a slim body. Kihei instantly recognized it. 'It was that swordsman with that group earlier!' he thought quickly.
"Well…what a surprise!" he exclaimed while pretending to gasp in surprise. "What brings you here?"
The feminine figure revealed herself. She wore a pink halter-top and khaki pants. Her shoulder length brown hair was revealed under the streetlight with her light brown eyes.
"Cut the crap, Kihei!" she cried out while crossing her arms over her chest. "Tell us what happened to Chaos!"
Kihei's smile faltered slightly. "Why, I don't know what you youngsters are talking about!" he said nonchalantly.
The girl's eyes didn't change. "Stop lying and tell us…" she murmured dangerously and waved her left arm. Golden lights emerged from the crescent shape light and formed into a bow. Her right hand opened and created an arrow.
"Well…?" She tapped her right foot impatiently.
"Like I said before…" he gritted under his teeth. "I don't know what you're talking about…" This time it was said more forcefully, his hands turned into fists.
Before the girl could continue asking further questions. Kihei summoned three dark ninja figures around him.
"Get them!" he commanded.
"Damn, I knew he was lying…" she cursed under her breath then turned to the companions next to her. "Are you ready, Saitou?" she asked innocently.
The tall masculine man looked down at her oddly and shrugged with his dark brown narrow eyes. "What to you think?" he asked while smirking. "Not like I'm never ready…"
She let out a loud huff and shrugged. "Whatever…" she replied while sticking her tongue at him. "And these clothes are new too…" She looked down at her outfit and sighed hopelessly.
"I'll buy you a new one…" Saitou said coolly while forming a sword in his right hand. "Now will you stop complaining, Tokio?" He was obviously irritated by her complaints and her sudden appearance. 'She's been here for less than five hours and yet…' he took a quick glance at her and sighed. 'I think I'm going to have a BAD headache…'
"Very well then," She replied determinedly and aimed her arrow at one of the ninja's. "I'll take on one, you take on two…" Before any else happened a gush of wind blew past her.
"Not fair, Saitou!" she cried and ran forward to attack one of the ninja's herself. As she dashed toward the fight, she turned to the last forgotten companion. "Keep an eye out on Kihei!" and with that she continued to move onto battle.
Kihei's smirk faded off as he saw Saitou disappeared from Tokio's side in a flash and sliced one of his ninja's in an instant. As he watched the pair fight with his leftover warriors he decided to break away. That was until another surge of wind past by the man. Fear radiated from Kihei's eyes as he removed his arm off his face.
"Battousai…" he whispered out while shaking. A tiny smirk appeared on the manslayers lips.
Kaoru struggled endlessly on her bed till she finally sat up and sighed. 'No matter how much you try to forget it…the pain won't go away...'
She felt her arm where Misao's kunai hit her and bit her lip. "I won't cry," she gasped in pain as water from her eyes demanded to rush out. "I just need a shower," she chirped as happily as she can, "A nice, warm, relaxing shower…" Kaoru went into the bathroom quickly.
Her shaky hands reached to the faucet in the bathtub. Kaoru sighed in relief as she felt the cool liquid flow through her fingers. She let the tub fill as she grabbed her nightgown and a few other items in her room.
Kaoru ran back and placed the items on a nearby chair in the bathroom. She sighed and began to comb her hair. 'You need to calm down Kaoru…you're going insane!' she thought alarmingly. Kaoru immediately stopped brushing her hair when she saw her own reflection.
"Kaoru…" the reflection spoke as she approached closer to the frightened girl.
"Stay away from me!" she cried.Kaoru blinked for one second and looked around to see if anything was surrounding her. There was nothing…she once again looked at the mirror.
"I'm real, Kaoru…" the image replied. "I'm you…"
Kaoru jumped back, startled. "I AM insane!" she whimpered shakily while looking ahead. "Why are you here?"
"Don't be afraid," the reflection cooed while looking at Kaoru directly in the eyes. "I'm feeling the same way as you are…and I'm scared…' She held herself in fear and looked at Kaoru with frightened eyes. "Help me…"
With little courage,Kaoru walked up to the bathroom mirror and held out one hand to touch the image. Surprisingly the reflection placed her hand to meet with Kaoru's. "What can I do…?" she asked. "I've wasted so much innocent lives…" tears came down her face once more. "I…"
"You can repent…" was the reply that came out of the reflection. "Atone all those lives you've taken by sacrificing yours."
"What?" Kaoru asked in surprise. "How…?"
"You know how…" the voice echoed, "There's a way…there's always one…"
And with that the image faded away and back into Kaoru's own reflection. Kaoru search the mirror frantically. Her hands ran over the glass with rapid pace.
"HOW?" she asked while sobbing hysterically, "How can I repent?" She slouched down on the floor and buried her head on her knees. She slammed her fist against the wooden floor—suddenly she heard something like steel hitting the ground. Her head snapped to where the sound came from. Her question was just answered.
Kaoru slowly crawled to the bathtub that was near filling up with water. She reached out to the hidden object that seemed to appear at her time of need. Her soft hand ran over the blade ever so slowly.
Suddenly she was snapped out of her trance when she heard water rushing out. Kaoru turned to the bathtub that was beginning to overfill. However, she paid no attention to it and continued to look at the dagger in her hand.
"I'm scared…" Those words began to fill her mind.
Kaoru shook her head. "It's not right," she repeated over her thoughts. "It's not right at all…"
"By sacrificing yours…"
Tears streamed out as Kaoru began to choke in fear. "It's practically suicide!"
"Repent all those lives that you've taken…"
She held both hands over her ears. "That's still not right!" she cried.
"…It's all your fault…" the voice echoed over and over. "…do you want it to continue on if you stay alive?"
Kaoru stopped sobbing and looked down at the dagger.
"It's a gift…" a feminine voice said comfortingly.
"A gift…?" she repeated in confusion. Kaoru held the blade in her hand and looked around. "But…"
"This is your chance to escape!" the voice screamed triumphantly. "Don't let it go to waste!"
After hearing the word 'escape', Kaoru held the knife closer to her heart. "That's right…I can end everyone's pain here…"
"See…it's not a bad thing…"
Kaoru continued to be swayed by the unknown presence, completely unaware of the dark cloud surrounding her.
"Think of it as a ceremony…for the good of the future…"
A smile played upon Kaoru's lips. She held the dagger with her right hand and brought it up to her left wrist.
"I must repent…" she repeated, "And stop all pain that started because of me…"
'For Misao's pain…' her thoughts added.
And with that Kaoru immediately performed a downward slash, feeling the blood rushing out of the slice on her flesh, a satisfied grin appeared on her face.
"Everyone…please, forgive…me…" she whispered before falling into eternal darkness.
The ceremony was completed…
Misao had finally calmed down as Aoshi continued to hold her close. The serenity was broken when Megumi came rushing out, panting furiously with Sano following closely behind.
"Something's wrong!" she reported alarmingly.
Misao and Aoshi stood up quickly and watched what the two had to say.
"What's going on?" Aoshi asked with cold eyes gliding over the pair.
"Sano handed me Kaoru's earrings…" Megumi reported as she held out the familiar jasmine jewelry. "I had a premonition and it was held at Misao's house…as I went inside…it was all dark…cold…"
"And?" Misao spoke like it was nothing.
Megumi didn't waste any time, "Kaoru's life is in danger!"
Misao scoffed and turned her head in disgust. The older woman frowned.
"Misao…" she scolded. "There's no time to be angry when your once best friend is in danger…"
"Battousai will save her…just like before!" Misao cried, "He's always there!" Megumi opened her mouth more but stopped.
A new feminine voice interrupted. All eyes turned to it in an instant. They watched the girl with curiosity.
"Battousai was with me…" the girl informed.
"Where's your proof?" Aoshi asked obviously irritated by the new presence.
"Don't ask…" she retorted, "He's right here…" In an instant Battousai stood by her side. "Anything else you need?"
Everyone's eyes opened—fear and anxiety began to appear on their faces. Aoshi watched Misao carefully.
"Gosh…" she cried angrily, "Aoshi, teleport everyone to the house…Kaoru's bound to be safe!"
With that, everyone with Battousai and the newcomer teleported back to the house.
An eerie silence lingered as everyone looked around.
"Everything looks the same…" Megumi commented-- suddenly she panicked, "No…there's another presence here…"
Rushing water was heard upstairs. Without hesitation Aoshi ran up along with Megumi and Sano. Misao continued to look around.
"Aren't you going to find out what happened to your friend?" the girl asked while looking angrily at Misao.
Misao glared back. "What should I?" she retorted while crossing her arms.
"Because…" Tokio replied impatiently, "Even though she had done something to hurt you…doesn't mean that she won't try to earn back your forgiveness!"
Misao stared at the girl strangely—she couldn't find anything else to say. What Tokio said scared half of her and half was hoping it wasn't true.
Tokio arced her eyebrow, "Well…?"
"Fine!" Misao replied angrily and stormed off. Both Tokio and Battousai eyes watched as the immature girl stomped her way upstairs.
"You have a way with words," Battousai remarked with no emotion.
Tokio faced the manslayer and giggled. "Really?!" she asked openly, "Thanks!" She calmed down and looked forward with a serious expression. She sighed, "I think Saitou had hated me ever since I appeared."
"Give him time," he murmured. "He's not use to working with partners…"
She nodded and patted Battousai on the back. "I know that's what you feel too…" Tokio replied, "Thanks…" Her brown eyes looked into his eyes and noted the coldness that was filled within' it—she shuddered when she saw another emotion. "I'm going to see if Saitou is done with the trap…" she stuttered while stumbling back. He nodded.
Battousai examined her actions carefully before moving on to his duty—the girl. In a blink of an eye he was gone.
Misao panted quickly, her walk became a sprint, her heart twisted in worry. "Kaoru wouldn't do anything as reckless like that…" Misao assured herself. 'She just wouldn't do that…'
She cursed as the halls seem to stretch endlessly.
'Kaoru will be inside…laughing carelessly…like always …'
Finally like as if time stopped she reached her destination.
'She'll be fine…'Misao took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
"What's going on?" she asked breathlessly. Aoshi, Megumi, and Sano looked at her with wide eyes. Misao took the time to scream. "What the HELL is going on!?" she repeated.
"The door's not opening…" Megumi replied. "Aoshi tried to teleport in but it looks as if a barrier preventing that."
Misao held her hands out and formed a fist full of kunai's. "Move out of the way!" she warned.
Aoshi and the rest moved away at Misao's willpower. With one thrust Misao broke the barrier. Without any warning she levitated and kicked down the bathroom door. All eyes peered into the room—fears were awakened.
A loud cackle rang out in the air. Misao choked back her sobs. "No…" she whispered in disbelief.
Kaoru's lifeless body lay sprawled across the floor. Her once rosy lips turned pale white, her long black hair spread across her face. Blood from her cut continued to pour out endlessly as a cloud of black smoke surrounded her.
"You're all too LATE!" a voice cried, "Too late!…"
Authors note:
Kihei: This character is known as Gohei's older brother (?) in the MANGA! Yes…sadly, I couldn't bring Gohei back to life :) So I replaced him with his brother!
Tokio and Saitou: Yes…Tokio was the same one who died but was reborn into the new life already. (I will explain that later) Both of these new characters will have a big role in the near future.
If you were wondering…no, the Battousai that hurt Kaoru wasn't the REAL one!!!
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And it ends here! Please don't flame me! I know it's not good! Please forgive me!
((bows down))
I promise that it'll clear up by next chapter! So just bear with me… :)
I'm lovin' the long reviews! Thanks! But I'm kind of curious (yes, I got a review from someone who thinks this fic is boring…) Am I putting too much description in this story?
((sighs)) yeah…that's why I'm afraid of writing…hehe…
Review Response :
Tigerrelly- I just love cliffhangers!!! I'm so happy that I'm still doing a good job…I was worrying myself that I might've fallen back on writing. I don't know, maybe I have. Thank you so much for reviewing!!!
LuneTigre- Yes! I care that you're back! YAY! Yup, I have updated! I hope you're not upset about this chapter! Thanks for reviewing!!!
anime-addiction- I have updated! Please don't be angry if this chapter was too upsetting! Thanks for the review!!!
AlexineBlue- I'm glad you liked the last chapter BUT did you like this one? I don't know how I even come up with these stuff…my whacked out mind and me. ((sighs)) Thanks for reviewing!!!
Gothic Misery- Hey! What happened to your old account? Yeah…I'll have to check out that story. I'm glad you like this fic so far…I just hope you won't dislike it for this really bad chapter…thanks for the review!!!
Dark-Neko-Goddess- No problem on reviewing your story! It's really interesting! I have updated BUT I'm not sure if this made any happy because it's so…depressing…I'm sorry! Thanks for reviewing!!!
Boring- ((hands out barf bag)) I'm sorry if this fic doesn't suit your taste but that's just me…I'm sorry that I can't change the details. Thanks for the useful review!!!
xia xue- There is no such thing as reviewing too late! I'm so happy that you still like this story! Sorry for the long update! This is beginning to be hard to write…so please go along with me. Anyways, that you so much for your review!!!
Animeps- Thanks for reviewing! Kaoru is a normal girl…no special powers or anything…well for now that is… Thanks for the review!!!
animegrl1047- I'm glad you enjoy this fic so far, sorry for the suspense though! I just can't get enough of those! Thanks for reviewing!!!
rkfan246- Ahhh! A flame! ((grabs a bucket of water)) Phew…glad it wasn't one! :) I'm glad you enjoy this fic so far…please don't get upset over this chapter! Thanks for reviewing!!!
Nightcrawler- It's okay that you haven't reviewed earlier! I'm happy that you like this story so far! Thank you for reviewing!!!
himesama16- I hope you understand why Kaoru gasped last chapter! I hope you liked this chapter even though it's horrible…Thanks for reviewing!!!
kenshin's-angel- Yeah I lost the contest…BUT that's okay! No problem about reviewing your story because I like that story of yours! When are you going to UPDATE!? Anyways, hoped this chapter didn't ruin your mood or anything! Thanks a lot for reviewing! !!
nirada C.- Yup, this is a B/K story. Yes, I might make Battousai fall for Kaoru first…or maybe not…we'll see! Thanks for the review!!!
Victoria- Yup, Gohei's dead, BUT what about Kihei? Hmmm…LOL…hoped you liked this chapter even though it wasn't the best since it was so dark…anyways, thanks for the review!!!
tintin-chan- Yup, Battousai is in the story now…! I hoped you liked this chapter even though it wasn't the best! Thanks for the review!!!
The evil witch- Thanks for reviewing! Hope that this chapter was as "good" as my others ones. Thanks for reviewing once again!!!
HoNeyZ-RiNoA- Thanks for voting for me on the contest! Makes me so HAPPY even though I lost. Anyways, yeah sure I'll help you on your fic! Thanks for reviewing!!! :)
KK4eva- Hope you enjoyed this chapter! ((blush)) I'm so happy that you like this story!!! Thanks for reviewing!!!
Kitsune KeNsHiN- Thank you so much for helping me on my problem!!! It's so cool to know someone like you! Anyways, I hoped this chapter wasn't too bad…it is my first time writing something like this…so sad and depressing. And it went to 17 pages long...Yeah…Thank you once again! And thank you for reviewing! :)
kik-ting- Yes, the suspense is a total killer! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :) Thanks for reviewing!!!
BLONDE GOTH- Wow…on your last review you sound really HYPER! HAHA… Yeah…I totally dislike Megumi for hanging all over Kenshin!!! Grr…that's why I'm not going to do it! :) Yeah…sunburns really hurt! My summer is okay…hoped yours was okay!!! Thank you for the review!!!
Fire Kitsune- Yup I have updated! Hoped this chapter was good even though it was so…different from my other chapters. I'm so happy that you like this story so far!!! Thanks for reviewing!!!
NARGIEGIRL21- I has been over a month since I've updated! I'm very sorry for making you wait that long! I hoped this chapter wasn't too…out of place. Thank you for the review!!!
baseballfreak202- WOW…thanks for saying that my fic is awesome…((I personally don't think so))…Ummm…I don't know if he'll have any special powers since he's pretty good the way he is right now. ;) Thanks for reviewing!!!
YES- Sorry for the long wait!!! Well at least I've updated, right? Anyways, hoped you like this chapter! Thanks for the review!!!
ch3rrybl0ss0ms89- I hope you enjoyed this chapter because it was very complicated for me to write! Thanks for reviewing!!! Yes, I love the suspense!!! MUAHAHA!!!
Mori'quessir- It's okay that I've lost. It means a lot to me that you like my fan fics!!! Thank you very much!!! :) YUP! Gohei is dead and he's NEVER coming back! ((I hated that guy…)) Thanks for reviewing!!!
Nauriell- I'm glad you like this fic! Really…is updating really good for my health? Hmm…I don't know…Thanks for reviewing!!! :)
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OMG…that was a lot of reviews! But I did it!!! If there were any mistakes made please tell me, since I DID rush through it.
Thank you very much for reading and please…Make me happy!:) And I'll update faster!
See you guy on the next update! ((Next month...I hope...))
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REVIEW!!!