Assignment
The dark room was impeccably neat despite the disheveled man sitting behind an old desk. His back was turned, staring out of a window that overlooked a cluster of sakura trees. The pink blossoms fluttered to and fro from a gentle wind that swayed the tree's branches. When the man turned around to face the door before him there stood a man who had not been there a minute ago. The man behind the desk appeared to not be surprised at all by the sudden appearance of a stranger. The stranger donned a white hakama and a magenta gi that accented his red brown hair and lavender eyes.
"You came." he said, his voice emitting a sense of power and expectations.
"What is my assignment?"
The stranger's voice was low and quiet, giving an idea that he was always calm and thoughtful.
"A girl."
"You know I don't do regular bodyguard work." His voice gave away no sign of impatience, but his strange lavender eyes gleamed from the fading sun outside.
"She's special."
"A wife of some powerful politician?"
"No...the savior of our country."
"What powers does she possess?"
The man took a long pause.
"She's...a soulsucker."
"Soulsucker?"
"There is just one left and that's her."
"Why do I need to protect her if she can already kill with one touch?"
"She's our weapon for Shishio. Considering all our previous attempts, nothing short of taking his soul will outright kill him. If she gets assassinated before she can touch him then we have little chances of ever crushing Shishio's revolution. Your assignment is to guard her day and night till she fulfills her mission. I have handpicked several other bodyguards but you will be the head leader of it. You will protect her at all costs. Understand, Battousai?"
"Yes."
The man leaned back in his chair and gave a small sigh.
"She is outside by the sakura trees, go and protect her."
The stranger was turning to leave when the man said one more thing.
"Your bodyguards will all be meeting here tomorrow afternoon, be ready."
The stranger silently closed the door behind him and the man relaxed, rubbing his eyes with his aristocratic hands.
"Damn assassin...scares the crap outta me every time."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He found his way to the sakura garden easily enough and could spot a young girl sitting on a bench. She was wearing a dark purple yukata with pink blossoms sprinkled on the edges of the bottom. There was a long white scarf that covered most of her face, leaving just her eyes and a part of her nose out. Her blue hair was waist length and flowed with the wind that brushed along her clothes. She turned her head to him upon feeling someone staring at her and the Battousai was almost taken back by her eyes. There was a lonely sorrow in those radiant blue eyes, which quickly switched to curiosity when she saw him. She got up, gave a polite bow to him, and sat back down.
He then noticed she was wearing what appeared to be matching white gloves to the scarf. She didn't say a word, as if she already knew who he was and the reason to why he was there. There was nothing particularly interesting about the small grove of trees but her eyes latched on to the petals as if they had a special meaning to her. This quietness went on till the sun had finally settled down for the night to rise. She stood up and faced the Battousai, the wind catching the scarf's tail and letting it ripple in the breeze.
"And you are?"
"Your bodyguard."
"Ah, I see. I am Kamiya Kaoru."
He didn't say anything.
"You won't give your name?"
"There is no need for it."
"Very well, you can tell me when you feel ready. Shall we go back into the house?"
She led the way without a word and opened the door. Her hand quickly let go of the door handle when he held it open. She led him upstairs and stopped before a pair of doors.
"The room across from mine will be your quarters and the other bodyguards. If you will excuse me, I must retire for the night. Oyasuminasai, nameless one."
Her eyes twinkled with humor and she entered her rooms. He opened the doors to his quarters and found a handful of interconnecting rooms. They were small and comfortably furnished, enough for four people including himself. He went through every room to remember his settings then exited the room to knock at Kaoru's door. In a few seconds she opened it, still dressed in her yukata but without a scarf. Further observation showed a delicate face that looked as easy to smile, as it was to cry. She still had the gloves on.
"Yes?"
"I need to check the rooms, and I will be sleeping here tonight."
Her eyes grew hard and he could see a stubborn strength in them.
"If you are to be guarded by assassins then you cannot sleep alone. The best time to kill is always at night."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I can see your point, but will you be in the exact same room that I sleep in? Or one connected to it?"
"The same room. I take no chances when it comes to assassins."
She let out the breath and opened her eyes. He was expecting her to shout and yell about the new conditions but she didn't. She opened the door wider to let him in, careful to stay back from his passing figure.
"This is just the sitting room, my bedroom is the door on the right."
He looked around carefully, taking in everything. There was a redwood table that had several books scattered on it. Some watercolors of forests decorated the white walls. Other than that, it was as simply furnished as his quarters. He opened the doors to her bedroom to see a large futon in the middle of the room and many windows around the walls. There were two chests of clothes and a long mirror.
"You aren't sleeping in your bedroom."
"Why not?"
"Too many windows, it makes it easier for several assassins to come in at once. Also, if the glass breaks, it can easily land on your body."
She stared at her bed, as if contemplating whether or not it was all worth it, then nodded her head.
"For how long will we have to go about doing this?"
"Till your job is done."
He almost wished he hadn't said those words...almost. The aura of the room plummeted and he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable.
"My job, huh?"
She looked at him with critical eyes.
"I hope that was a joke."
When he didn't say anything, a flash of regret passed her eyes and she turned her head away.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Understand what?"
"The meaning of your own words."
*Please review~! This is a totally new idea that I've never pursued before. And if anything is confusing, here is the basic story: Kaoru possesses the power to take someone's soul and put it in herself, but in doing so, it will kill her as well as the other person. She can't touch ANYBODY, or else she might suck his or her soul. And of course...Hehehe...romance grows between Kenshin and Kaoru, but it can't go anywhere because she can't touch anybody.
The dark room was impeccably neat despite the disheveled man sitting behind an old desk. His back was turned, staring out of a window that overlooked a cluster of sakura trees. The pink blossoms fluttered to and fro from a gentle wind that swayed the tree's branches. When the man turned around to face the door before him there stood a man who had not been there a minute ago. The man behind the desk appeared to not be surprised at all by the sudden appearance of a stranger. The stranger donned a white hakama and a magenta gi that accented his red brown hair and lavender eyes.
"You came." he said, his voice emitting a sense of power and expectations.
"What is my assignment?"
The stranger's voice was low and quiet, giving an idea that he was always calm and thoughtful.
"A girl."
"You know I don't do regular bodyguard work." His voice gave away no sign of impatience, but his strange lavender eyes gleamed from the fading sun outside.
"She's special."
"A wife of some powerful politician?"
"No...the savior of our country."
"What powers does she possess?"
The man took a long pause.
"She's...a soulsucker."
"Soulsucker?"
"There is just one left and that's her."
"Why do I need to protect her if she can already kill with one touch?"
"She's our weapon for Shishio. Considering all our previous attempts, nothing short of taking his soul will outright kill him. If she gets assassinated before she can touch him then we have little chances of ever crushing Shishio's revolution. Your assignment is to guard her day and night till she fulfills her mission. I have handpicked several other bodyguards but you will be the head leader of it. You will protect her at all costs. Understand, Battousai?"
"Yes."
The man leaned back in his chair and gave a small sigh.
"She is outside by the sakura trees, go and protect her."
The stranger was turning to leave when the man said one more thing.
"Your bodyguards will all be meeting here tomorrow afternoon, be ready."
The stranger silently closed the door behind him and the man relaxed, rubbing his eyes with his aristocratic hands.
"Damn assassin...scares the crap outta me every time."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He found his way to the sakura garden easily enough and could spot a young girl sitting on a bench. She was wearing a dark purple yukata with pink blossoms sprinkled on the edges of the bottom. There was a long white scarf that covered most of her face, leaving just her eyes and a part of her nose out. Her blue hair was waist length and flowed with the wind that brushed along her clothes. She turned her head to him upon feeling someone staring at her and the Battousai was almost taken back by her eyes. There was a lonely sorrow in those radiant blue eyes, which quickly switched to curiosity when she saw him. She got up, gave a polite bow to him, and sat back down.
He then noticed she was wearing what appeared to be matching white gloves to the scarf. She didn't say a word, as if she already knew who he was and the reason to why he was there. There was nothing particularly interesting about the small grove of trees but her eyes latched on to the petals as if they had a special meaning to her. This quietness went on till the sun had finally settled down for the night to rise. She stood up and faced the Battousai, the wind catching the scarf's tail and letting it ripple in the breeze.
"And you are?"
"Your bodyguard."
"Ah, I see. I am Kamiya Kaoru."
He didn't say anything.
"You won't give your name?"
"There is no need for it."
"Very well, you can tell me when you feel ready. Shall we go back into the house?"
She led the way without a word and opened the door. Her hand quickly let go of the door handle when he held it open. She led him upstairs and stopped before a pair of doors.
"The room across from mine will be your quarters and the other bodyguards. If you will excuse me, I must retire for the night. Oyasuminasai, nameless one."
Her eyes twinkled with humor and she entered her rooms. He opened the doors to his quarters and found a handful of interconnecting rooms. They were small and comfortably furnished, enough for four people including himself. He went through every room to remember his settings then exited the room to knock at Kaoru's door. In a few seconds she opened it, still dressed in her yukata but without a scarf. Further observation showed a delicate face that looked as easy to smile, as it was to cry. She still had the gloves on.
"Yes?"
"I need to check the rooms, and I will be sleeping here tonight."
Her eyes grew hard and he could see a stubborn strength in them.
"If you are to be guarded by assassins then you cannot sleep alone. The best time to kill is always at night."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I can see your point, but will you be in the exact same room that I sleep in? Or one connected to it?"
"The same room. I take no chances when it comes to assassins."
She let out the breath and opened her eyes. He was expecting her to shout and yell about the new conditions but she didn't. She opened the door wider to let him in, careful to stay back from his passing figure.
"This is just the sitting room, my bedroom is the door on the right."
He looked around carefully, taking in everything. There was a redwood table that had several books scattered on it. Some watercolors of forests decorated the white walls. Other than that, it was as simply furnished as his quarters. He opened the doors to her bedroom to see a large futon in the middle of the room and many windows around the walls. There were two chests of clothes and a long mirror.
"You aren't sleeping in your bedroom."
"Why not?"
"Too many windows, it makes it easier for several assassins to come in at once. Also, if the glass breaks, it can easily land on your body."
She stared at her bed, as if contemplating whether or not it was all worth it, then nodded her head.
"For how long will we have to go about doing this?"
"Till your job is done."
He almost wished he hadn't said those words...almost. The aura of the room plummeted and he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable.
"My job, huh?"
She looked at him with critical eyes.
"I hope that was a joke."
When he didn't say anything, a flash of regret passed her eyes and she turned her head away.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Understand what?"
"The meaning of your own words."
*Please review~! This is a totally new idea that I've never pursued before. And if anything is confusing, here is the basic story: Kaoru possesses the power to take someone's soul and put it in herself, but in doing so, it will kill her as well as the other person. She can't touch ANYBODY, or else she might suck his or her soul. And of course...Hehehe...romance grows between Kenshin and Kaoru, but it can't go anywhere because she can't touch anybody.