Sorry for the late update guys!!! Well here's the newest chapter! Sorry for the long wait, thanks for being so patient! I know that the last chapter was confusing...but PLEASE bear with me! Everything will clear up! That's all I have to say, please enjoy!
Important note: Please go lightly with the reviews...I've recently broke up with with my boyfriend (just one of those relationships that will never work out) And I don't have the mood to go over with readers who aren't happy with my writing.
WARNING: Still dark...and a moment of B/K ness! (More to come in the future)
-
-
-
Royal Past
Chapter 11: Bring Me to Life (Part 1)
By: S3r3nity
Keys:
'...' Thoughts
"..." Speaking
-
Previous Chapter (Brush up!!!)
Kaoru and the gang discovered Misao's mother dead, a mysterious man named Kihei appeared and convinced everyone that it was her doing.
Under so much anger, everyone turns against Kaoru and hurts her. As a result, Kaoru attempted suicide from a mysterious presence.
While the rest of the gang stayed at the Lotus Temple...they discovered that something was deadly wrong. On their way back to Misao's house--two new strangers appeared and Kaoru's innocense was finally recognized.
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!" the voice cried, "Too late!..."
-
-
-
Everyone watched in disbelief as they saw another Kaoru look-alike standing above the unconscious friend. Her red eyes glowed happily.
"Who are you!?" Aoshi demanded, his cold eyes flickered with anger. Sano stood by Aoshi with a fireball ready in his palm.
"You dare kill me?" the woman asked with mock hanging on every word. She revealed her left wrist—it was the same slash Kaoru made on herself. "She and I are both connected now! All thanks to you!" She laughed loudly.
Aoshi took action. "Megumi!" he demanded, "Heal Kaoru right now!" Everyone watched as Megumi rushed to Kaoru's side. She grabbed Kaoru's bloody arm and held her hand over the gash.
"It's not healing!" Megumi reported. She covered Kaoru's cut with a cloth to stop the blood from flowing out. "There's a barrier surrounding it!"
The woman continued to cackle. "I told you already, silly girl..." she replied, "She and I are connected..." Everyone waited for her to continue.
"By darkness..." she said gravely with a smile playing on her lips. "Kihei provided the bait...you guys were stupid enough to take it." And with that she laughed once more before fading out of the scene.
"Follow her!" Aoshi ordered to Sano. Immediately, Sano nodded and ran out the door. Aoshi's eyes followed to Misao, who was now sitting in the corner of the bathroom floor.
"Misao...?"
She buried her head further into her knees. "Go away..." she warned. Aoshi walked up to her and tilted her chin up and looked deeply into her emerald eyes. Tears began to stream down her face. Misao pressed herself into Aoshi's opened arms.
"I'm so stupid!" she muffled under into his chest. "...I was so upset that I wanted to blame it all on someone! I couldn't control my emotions! And the one who wound up getting hurt was my best friend..."
Aoshi hushed her and held Misao more closely in his arms. "Don't pay attention to that yet...we all felt the same emotion." he scolded, "Save Kaoru first...then we'll deal with this later! Beating yourself up isn't going to help!"
She nodded and pulled out of his embrace. "What was that thing, anyway?"
"Chaos..."
Aoshi, Misao, and Megumi turned their heads to the voice that came from none other than Battousai. He approached to Megumi and held Kaoru's arm.
"Chaos has no form whatsoever. It is formed by darkness...she feeds on your guilt until you're left vulnerable. Then it takes over your body and haunts your mind until you give up on everything and die. That's when she achieves her full power and spreads chaos all over the world."
"Are there any ways to save her?" Misao asked with hope.
"Only one..." Battousai replied.
"I'll do it then!" she declared. Aoshi stopped her and shook his head.
"I will..." he said calmly. "I won't let her die..." Misao glared at the man and opened her mouth to protest.
"Shut up!" Megumi cried out, irritated. She touched Kaoru's forehead. "Chaos is probably haunting her mind as we speak!"
"But didn't we just see Chaos escape out the door?" Misao asked impatiently.
"Chaos has two forms...one spiritual inside the mind and another physical around the house..." Battousai informed. "Everyone will have to split up in order to find both!"
Megumi and the rest stayed silent. "I think Battousai should go inside Kaoru..." she said out of the blue. "Kaoru will only want to die when she sees us...and that'll give Chaos its advantage."
Misao and Aoshi nodded. Megumi glanced at everyone then faced Battousai. "Give me the Golden Book, Aoshi..." she asked quietly. She grabbed the book and flipped the pages till she found the one thing she was looking for.
"To destroy Chaos..." she read, "One has to go into the victims mind and save them from being devoured by darkness."
"What about the other side?!" Misao snapped impatiently.
"I'm getting to that!" Megumi replied angrily. "To destroy the physical form..." Her eyes widen.
Misao approached Megumi carefully. "What...?"
She stopped, "The spiritual form has to be destroyed. If not...then the physical form, known as Chaos, will keep regenerating her powers till no end. Therefore, succeeding in the mission she was first created for."
"This is a dangerous mission, Battousai," Aoshi informed, "Are you really up to it?" He watched as the manslayer nodded his head with determination. "Very well..."
"Okay, Battousai..." Megumi notified. "Place your left had upon Kaoru's head..." She beckoned for him to sit next to her. "Battousai...?"
The manslayer continued to look at Misao and Aoshi. "Go after Chaos..." he commanded icily. Misao remained silent and walked out the door. Aoshi soon followed after.
He paused before moving out. "Save her, Battousai..." he whispered something barely audible. "Please..." He immediately teleported out before anyone else could reply.
Megumi felt Kaoru's heartbeat. "It's getting shallow, Battousai!" she declared. "Hurry and place your left hand on her forehead!"
He simply nodded before settling down next to the unconscious girl.
She glided quickly through the house with three pairs of footsteps hot on her trail. She immediately headed out to the door and attempted to break the force field.
"Can't get out, Chaos?"
The demon turned around to see Tokio standing by the door. "So...this was your doing?" The demon asked curiously, her red eyes wandered to the new girl.
"Actually...it was my partners..."Tokio answered quickly without missing a beat. "And now it's time to destroy you!" She shot an arrow at Chaos, who failed to avoid the deadly dart. At the same time, Misao with Aoshi and Sano appeared.
"It's about time!" Tokio looked at her bow. "I've just weakened Chaos a bit..."
"Then it's time to take her down!" Misao replied determinedly. Her kunai's began to form in her fists as everyone got into battle stance.
The demon's wound recovered as she looked at the group.
"What?" Tokio replied with confusion.
"Ahh..." she smiled with amusement. "So this is to be the end of me, eh?" Chaos looked at everyone in the eyes. "So much hatred..." she murmured. She then took in a deep breath. "Show me what you got!"
With a battle cry, Misao lunged at the demon. "Too slow!" Chaos declared loudly. A pitch black sphere at the base of her palm as she hurled the weapon to Misao.
The girl fell down grasping her stomach painfully. She removed her arm to reveal a bleeding hole created by the bomb.
"Awwww..." Chaos taunted mockingly, "It wasn't powerful to blast through your stomach..." She shrugged and formed more energy balls. "Well...at least you had a chance to taste it!" she laughed manically. "Just wait until I achieve my full power...then you'll learn what fear is..." She waved her arm once more.
Soon a swarm of energy balls heading to Misao. Everyone in the room watched to see what Misao will do.
"Kansatsu Tobikunai!"
Right away more kunai's flew out and countered against the energy balls. Everyone covered from the loud explosion. They watched as the dust cleared out—Misao was unharmed.
Her palms reached out as she panted heavily. "There's NO way I'm going to die," she declared determinedly. "As long as Kaoru's still alive, then I'll continue to fight!"
Chaos continued to smirk as she recovered from shock from earlier counter attack. "Amazing..." she commented. "Looks like you learn to advance your powers quickly. I guess I won't go easy anymore..." Everyone braced themselves for the impact as she waved her hands once more.
"False alarm!" she laughed loudly. "Your guards are weak, pathetic ones...allow me to show you why!" She waved both arms swiftly—immediately the fighters were sent flying across the room slamming against the concrete walls.
Tokio got up shakily. "What the hell was that?" she winced as she rubbed her head.
"A special type of telekinetic power," Chaos replied back. "Want to know another one?" She held her hand out and tightened her fist.
"What's going on?" Misao asked quickly, suddenly she stopped. Her attention turned to the brown-headed girl struggling to breathe. Her body was lifted in mid air as she was flailing around to be released.
"Sanosuke, help her!" Misao commanded, she tightened her grip on her stomach as the battle continued on.
"Take this demon!" Sanosuke hurled a fireball at the woman. Unable to be caught off guard she used her other hand and reflect back. Sano was hit straight on and was sent flying backwards.
"Useless..." Chaos commented. "Don't waste my time..." She continued to attack Tokio telekinetically.
Megumi sat patiently by the two unconscious bodies. She placed her hand upon Kaoru's head and held an emotionless expression. The woman sighed and turned to face the manslayer.
"Battousai," she prayed silently. "All lives are counting on you..." A teardrop fell on her lap. "Please...save Kaoru..." She hung her head down and cried.
A sound of waves crashing upon rocks was heard from the high cliffs. Dark clouds surrounded the beach and a deadly storm was brewing. As raindrops began to fall footsteps began to approach the vicious weather.
"It's time," she whispered. "The sea is calling for me..." She looked at the black cloth wrapped around her left wrist.
Kaoru walked to the end of the cliff and looked at the sharp rocks being crashed by water.
"That's right, Kaoru..." the dark figure replied while walking next to her. "You're making the right choice to stop all this madness," he whispered pleasantly.
She spread out her arms and embraced the wind pushing her forward. Her right foot began to take its first step.
"Stop right there." A cold voice commanded urgently.
Kaoru stopped and turned around. "Huh...?" Her eyes met with Battousai's. Struggling to breath evenly, she turned back to the cliff.
"Is this the right choice?" the manslayer asked angrily. "You're friends are fighting for the sake of your life right now..."
The girl continued to look forward. "Really?" she asked casually.
"Yes..." Battousai replied without hesitation. "I'll prove it."
Kaoru was about to turn her head back until the dark figure appeared beside her and stopped her.
"Don't look!" he warned. "That man is tricking you so that when you live, he'll make your life miserable once more! Remember that time when he turned on you when you were alone!"
Kaoru felt tears well up in her eyes. "I remember..." she echoed.
"And don't forget how alone you felt!" he murmured. "He left you forsaken when he was supposed to PROTECT you!" Kaoru choked back the lump developing in her throat.
"I did protect you," Battousai countered back evenly. "Don't believe that demon." He glared at the male figure. "He's only trying to take your life!"
"That's not true!" he yelled back. "I'm trying to save her life! At least I didn't abandon her!" He turned his head desperately at Kaoru. "Hurry before he messes with your mind with illusions!"
"The only thing you're abandoning is yourself," Battousai answered calmly. "Turn around...and I'll prove that everyone didn't leave you..."
Kaoru turned her head and faced the manslayer. She watched as he went and cut his left arm with the blade of his sword. She winced at the blood and held tightly on the cloth on her left wrist. Kaoru watched in amazement as within' a minute the cut faded away magically.
"Remove the cloth on your wrist," Battousai whispered urgently.
"It's an illusion!" the figure protested with anger. "You'll only be filled with more pain!"
"Shut up!" Kaoru walked past the figure and looked at her wrist. Her milky white hand when up and prepared to pull the black material off until a pair of strong arms pulled her back. She screamed, as the spell put upon her was broken.
"You're not going anywhere!" the spiritual demon removed the cloak to a feminine man. His black long hair was pulled back into three low ponytails and his pale face shone with dark lipstick. His entire body was covered with a white coat. A spider like design was place across his shoulder like armor.
Kaoru gulped as she felt his grip tighten around her neck. "Otowa is my name..." he introduced casually. "And killing this girl is part of my game..."
Kaoru thrashed helplessly in his arms. "Let me go, you transsexual!"
He simply laughed. "No, thanks..." Otowa looked at Battousai with eager eyes. "So, Battousai...think you got me figured out huh?" He watched as the manslayer glared dangerously at him.
"Let her go..." Battousai said with a forceful emotion as he grip the hilt of his sword as a warning.
"You think I'm afraid of you?!" Otowa sneered. "I'm known as the human weapon!" Kaoru opened her eyes wide in recognition of the name.
'I've heard that from somewhere before...but where? It's so familiar...'"I, too, was sealed in the past, Battousai," he explained clearly without missing a beat. "As the past was reborn, I joined Kihei to destroy you! If it weren't for you're appearance then darkness would've conquered!"
He looked down at Kaoru who attempting to claw out his arm. "Give it up, girl..." He swiftly gripped her throat in one move and continued to add pressure. Kaoru loosened her grip. "That's right..." he commented slyly in victory.
"You bastard..." Kaoru gasped while recovering from the lack of air. "You—!"
"Battousai!" Otowa taunted while covering one hand over Kaoru's mouth. "If you want this girl saved then fight me!" He released Kaoru and pushed her towards the edge of the cliff and blocked the path by standing in front of her. "Or else...she dies...and then Chaos would be set free!"
Battousai frowned and got into his battle stance. He looked at Kaoru, "Don't go anywhere..." Kaoru nodded in return.
The fighter lunged forward with speed. Kaoru watched in amazement, as clinking sounds were heard, she turned her attention to Otowa. "No..." she whispered with terror as Battousai got in front of the demon.
"BATTOUSAI!" she cried. He dodged Otowa's attack gracefully and glanced at her. "Stop! Otowa's the master assassin of hidden weapons! Stay away!" she warned.
Fear struck as Otowa dropped two containers on the floor. Kaoru covered her mouth from air and held her breath as she waited to see what happened to Battousai. As the dust cleared Battousai was nowhere to be seen.
"No..." Kaoru's eyes began to water. "He can't..." She sank to the floor.
Otowa cackled in victory. "Yes! The disappearing potion worked!" He approached Kaoru slowly. "Now, it's your turn to join Battousai..." he declared with a dangerous tone.
"She will not..." Kaoru and Otowa turned to see none other than the manslayer, alive and unharmed.
Otowa eyes open wide with fear as Battousai approached him. "Oh shit..." he murmured with fear.
Battousai continued to walk; his amber eyes glowed gravely with bloodlust. "It's cowards like you who uses cheat tricks such as hidden weapons." He posed in his battle stance with his hand gripping the sword tightly. "And I will teach cowards like you what it's like to use weapons of death..."
Otowa pulled Kaoru's hair and yanked the girl roughly to her feet. Kaoru cried in pain. "Stay away or I will kill the girl!" he threatened. Kaoru felt his body shaking with fear.
Battousai continued to walk on until they were at close range to attack. Suddenly he stopped shaking. 'Perfect...' He grinned with satisfaction as he reached for another weapon.
Otowa laughed pleasantly. "A concealed weapon is a weapon made primarily for assassinating. But to use them effectively, you have to know the best place to hide them..." He explained clearly. "Allow me to show you..."
Kaoru sensed danger and looked to see a smirk on Otowa's face. "Rokudoko..." the demon said out of the blue. Kaoru opened her eyes wide as she saw a cage like spider legs surrounding her. Her senses kicked in. 'Wait a minute...that's not a cage... that's a hidden...'
She screamed as Battousai was hit by one of the blades. "Battousai!!!" Kaoru watched as his body turned and blood splattered all over the ground.
As tears began to fall from Kaoru's eyes, Otowa continued to speak. "But a hidden weapon's expert like myself, I know that the true secret isn't where it's hidden, but how!" He looked at the blades placed upon his shoulder proudly. "And this hidden weapon has proven to be more lethal since it was cleverly hidden as an ornament on my clothing!"
As Otowa continued to cackle, Kaoru reached down and felt his side. Her eyes widen as she felt the hilt of a smaller weapon and grasped it tightly.
"Hyoko Otowa the Human Weapon...can hide weapons better than any opponents' imagination!" he claimed, "It is I, who was able to kill the infamous hitokiri, BATTOUSAI!"
"Battousai!" she cried in hopes of him to get off the ground. "Get up!!!" she pleaded desperately.
Otowa yanked her head back and breathed in her scent. "Soon, you, my pretty..." he taunted while rubbing his face against her soft skin. "...Will be sacrificed in just seconds..."
A soft wing past by the two as they both saw the manslayer recovered from the attack before, glaring at the demon once more with his cold eyes. It was obviously clear that his patience was wearing away. Otowa stopped laughing and gaped. "You're not dead?!"
The manslayer pulled his sword out and held it out. "Cowards like you can't kill manslayers like me..." His expression turned deadly as he prepared to attack. "I'm going to teach you a lesson." At the next blink of an eye he was gone.
"Where is he?!" Otowa murmured frantically while spinning around. He reached for yet another weapon. Kaoru, still captured in his arms, turned and saw a bomb. With the last of her strength she pulled out the weapon at his side.
"YAAAHHH!!!" she cried loudly and stabbed the demon at the stomach. Otawa immediately released the unlighted bomb and stumbled back after releasing his grip. As he lunged for Kaoru, Battousai reappeared and sliced downwards from the shoulder. Kaoru flinched as she felt blood splattering all over her clothes.
Otowa stumbled back grabbing his shoulder in pain. He continued to grin. "I'm not going to die by myself..." he informed while sneering. "This illusion was made by me and the victim herself...if the victim can't break out of this illusion, then you're stuck in here forever!" With one thrust of a container, a heavy fog occupied the land.
Kaoru coughed and squinted. She looked around panicking as she realized she was lost. "Battousai...?" she called out for him. "Where are--" She felt an arm cover her mouth. Kaoru immediately knew who it was.
"As the last thing I'll do before my death..." he whispered into her ear. "I will kill you..." Before she could react, Kaoru felt herself falling backwards. She attempted to reach forward to escape but the heavy body was tightly attached to her. "NO!" she cried as she felt her leg slip off. She and the dead Otowa fell down the cliff.
She felt the dead body releasing its grip on her. Kaoru looked up, the cliff was so high...she fell bit by bit never missing a sound of crashing waves below her.
"So, this is what's it like to experience death slowly..." she whispered. Kaoru felt a pair of arms holding onto her. She gradually opened her eyes and saw Battousai. She looked down as the rocks were becoming clearer in view.
"You're going to die, Battousai!" Kaoru scolded. "Let me go and save yourself!" She pushed him away.
"This is your illusion," he replied softly. "Break it." His amber eyes dug deeply into Kaoru's.
Kaoru shook her head. "I can't...I don't know how..." She buried her head deeper into his chest.
"You do, Kaoru..." Battousai whispered gently, "You just need to trust in yourself...believe strongly in what you believe in."
"What if I don't...?" she asked quietly. Kaoru felt Battousai release his hold.
"Then you deserve to die..." She opened her eyes and found herself falling alone. Kaoru looked down and saw the rocks becoming clearer in view. The waves were crashing the rocks enthusiastically as Kaoru came in closer.
Kaoru looked down hopelessly. "What do I do?" she choked within' her sobs. "I can't do this..."
She held the rag around her wrist tightly. There was only one answer...
'Is this how I truly want to live my life...? Do I believe this is the way that I'm supposed die? I haven't even said...'
Her eyes widen as her thoughts came into realization. She was just seconds away from the destination. "Battousai..." she whispered. "I've found the answer..." Kaoru closed her eyes tightly.
And with that, the sound of waves echoed for the last time.
-
-
-
Authors note:
Otowa- He's a character from the manga part of Enishi's Jinchuu. He looks like a transexual and is the human weapon assassin. He makes up the best part of the evil character in this story, ne?
FYI about my other fics:
All my fics aren't dead! It'll just be a while before I start updating them.
ABOUT THIS FIC:
More B/K moments in the near future! More battles, more enemies, more pairings! PREPARE!
-
-
Special thanks to:
Artemis, princess-oro, hannah , Jupiter's Light, ney , mattiasprite, horse-crazy-gurl, haha , Luli451, KenshinslilAngel , Doctor Kiba, crasyducky, kik-ting, Rishu , tigerrelly, tintin-chan , FANG SISTER 1 aka:RAY , legolasEstelstar , Kitsune KeNsHiN :), animegrl1047, Zackire, psychotic-catster, Darkvampir129, victoria , ch3rrybl0ss0ms89 , Reignashii, winged spirit-kitsune, Angela Himura , himesama16, samuraiduck27, jen , Nauriell, Ochanoko, BabyKaoru-Sama, xia xue, Dorito , Inuchic515, animemistress419
-
-
I don't have time to do the response. Every writer gets lazy at one time or another...Please forgive me!!! Special thanks to all who reviewed though! I love you guys soooooo MUCH! THANK YOU ALL! Thanks for the birthday wishes (I feel so happy...)
-
((Gives a hug to everyone!!!)) THANK YOU!
-
-
HAPPY HALLOWEEN GUYS! Eat lots of candies!
-
-
-
-
I'm out till next time! (Check my info to see when the next update is!)
-
-
-
-
10/30/04