Disclaimer : Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shonen Jump, Viz, and Sony Productions.

Possession

Donna8157

Chapter 9 : Hot-Headed

"Why are you acting like this, Kenshin?" Sano stammered in a serious tone as Kenshin stepped inside the limousine in front of the school. The red-haired man ignored him as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

Sanosuke clenched his fists. "Why are you doing that to the poor girl? Do you feel good when you torture her like that?" he asked as he searched Kenshin's face for any emotion. The man didn't even blink and still sat there as impenetrable as a rock.

"Even if you're jou-chan's . . ."

Sano stopped his sentence when he noticed Kaoru walking unsteadily towards the car. He turned back around and faced the front as he heard her open the door. When the girl stepped into the limo, she couldn't help but notice that the atmosphere was very heavy. She looked across from her and saw that both Kenshin and Sanosuke were looking away from one another. Kenshin's low voice broke the long silence.

"Go to 'Studio 57'," Kenshin said.

"Yes, sir," the driver replied as he made a left on the street.

Kaoru cringed when she heard the name of the club. A slight tremor passed through her eyes and her hands became cold and sweaty at the thought of going back there. After twenty minutes or so, the limo finally arrived in front of the club. Kaoru's face was clouded with anxiety as she got out of the car and stood in front of the building. Kenshin ignored her and went straight inside. Sanosuke was about to follow his friend in when he saw that the girl had not budged from her spot.

He wondered what was wrong with her and looked at her strangely. Why did she seem . . scared?

"You all right, jou-chan?" he asked as he gazed at her.

Kaoru was brought out of her thoughts and nodded as she started walking again. Sanosuke narrowed his eyes in thought as she walked by him. Did something happen to her here? If not, then why would she be so afraid of going in? He shook his head as he let go of those thoughts and followed her inside.

The environment of 'Studio 57' had not changed since that night of Kenshin's birthday. There was still loud music playing in the background along with sweat and cigarette smoke oscillating in the stagnant air. As Kaoru stepped into the club, an unknown feeling of uneasiness entwined her body. Suddenly something blocked her path.

Kaoru blinked.

A leg. She looked over and saw that its owner was none other than Takeda Kanryuu. Her body stiffened when she looked at him. His dark eyes, even in the shadows of the club, seemed menacing as he looked at her with a calm smile.

"It's nice to see that you're back. What are you going to do today, doll?" he asked as a smirk appeared on his face. The way that the man eyed the girl up and down made her feel dirty. She backed away. Kanryuu grabbed her wrist roughly as she did so and her eyes widened in fright.

"Don't leave so quickly. You just got here . . let's have some fun," he drawled out as he tightened his grip. She winced from the pain as she kept quiet.

"Oh my," the man continued as he stood up next to the girl to get a better look at her face. "What happened to your face?" As he asked this his fingers moved up her shoulders and fiddled with the strands of her long, raven-black hair. He grasped it and the girl grunted in pain as she narrowed her eyes in anger.

"My, my, my. I like the look in your eyes today . . . such challenging eyes," he said as he looked at her almost as if he was toying with her. In the meantime, Sanosuke had just come inside the club and looked for the girl. He noticed that Kaoru was standing near the corner of the entrance. He furrowed his brows as he tried to get a better look of what was going on there. When he saw the other man grasping the girl's hair tightly his eyes widened in shock and he rushed over.

"Kanryuu! What the hell are you doing?! Let go of her!" he shouted with his eyes ablaze.

Kanryuu looked over nonchalantly as he gave a lop-sided grin. "Aa .. Sanosuke! You're here, too. Why don't you watch what our doll will do." With his words, the man tightened his grip on the girl's hair and jerked her head. Kaoru winced in a pain and shut her eyes as she wished that the moment would pass quickly.

"Let go of her, you bastard!" Sano yelled as he clenched his fist.

"Haha. What's wrong, Sanosuke? I'm just having some fun with . ." Before Kanryuu could finish his sentence, Sano went over and grabbed the man's wrist that was holding her hair.

"Let go, Kanryuu!" the spiky-haired man said menacingly as he looked into the other man's eyes. The man with glasses trembled in fear at the fierce ki that flowed from the other's body. Everyone's attention was diverted to the corner of the club as they watched the fiasco that had just started to take place.

"Stop it!" A voice yelled from the center of the room. It was Kenshin. "Let go of her, Kanryuu! If you continue to bother her, I won't let you get away with it!" Kenshin's voice reverberated within the room and everyone looked at the man with glasses. Redness began to fill in Kanryuu's cheeks as he felt his pride deplete. He quickly let go of the girl's hair and Sano released him from his grip.

The man started to shake out his wrist from the pain and turned his attention to the young man with red hair. "Kenshin, what's wrong? I just wanted to play with her again. I thought you had enjoyed it, too," he said as he turned towards the girl and gave her a sickening smile.

"I'm warning you," Kenshin spat out in a strong tone as he looked at the other man sternly and pointed his finger at him menacingly.

"Hey what? What's wrong with you? I thought you said . . ."

"I only let you borrow her for that day!! Don't touch her again!!" Kenshin commanded as he looked at him with his piercing cold eyes.

Kanryuu's face became contorted at Kenshin's harsh words and pushed Kaoru in front of Sanosuke. An oppressive atmosphere filled the club for awhile as Kenshin and Kanryuu seemed to face off with the stares they were giving one another. After a while, Kanryuu looked away and roughly gulped down the beer in front of him. Everyone started to move away from them and things began to return to normal.

Kanryuu clenched his teeth as he watched as the three of them started to walk away. He felt belittled as if he had lost face in the crowd full of people at the club. I'll get my revenge on your, Himura! He then looked at the girl who was standing next to the red-haired man. And I'll enjoy it also, he promised himself with an evil smile.

As Sanosuke walked away, an unwelcome realization came to him. Judging from how Kanryuu had treated Kaoru, something terrible must have taken place that other night. Something that had made the girl afraid of coming back to the club. He shook his head sadly as he shoved his hands into his jeans and continued to follow Kenshin.

What the hell was Kenshin thinking letting them "borrow" her? What a sick thing.

Sano sat down at one of the tables off to the side of the club and ordered some beer. When it came, he drank a swig of it and sighed. He watched as Kaoru stood behind Kenshin while he completely ignored her as usual. His fingers tightened around the bottle as he gulped the liquor down.

"Oh my, if it isn't Sagara Sanosuke?" a husky feminine voice called out.

Sanosuke turned around and saw a scantily clad woman saunter over to his table. Her face was heavily made up and the pungent fragrance of cheap perfume surrounded her. He frowned and turned away. This however did not stop the woman from coming over and flirting with him.

"Hey Sano," she said as she lightly pushed him on the shoulder and giggled. "Don't you remember me? It's me, Arashi," the woman said as she batted her mascara-laden eyelashes at him.

"I'm not interested," he said sternly as he took another gulp of his beer.

The woman widened her eyes, but then smiled again broadly as she giggled in a high-pitched voice. "Oh . . Sano . . stop playing around," she said as she leaned over and started to make circles with her finger on his chest. "I know you missed me. We used to have so much fun together." She pouted her lips as she turned his face towards her own.

Sanosuke narrowed his eyes. "I told you, Arashi. I'm not interested. I'm not the man who I was a year ago. Go find someone else to bother," he said as he jerked his arm away from her.

She frowned when she saw that the man was serious. "Fine! Be that way! It's not as if I care. I can get any man I want," she said fretfully as she stomped away. Sanosuke shook his head in annoyance as she left.

It was true. He had changed.

The stench of beer and sweat along with the blaring music and flashing lights in the background made Kaoru's head dizzy. She stood there and wished that she could leave the place. In fact, sometimes she wished that she could leave everything behind and start anew. She hated the way she was treated as if she were nothing. But again, there was always that voice that nagged her in her head. She was the one that begged Hiko-san to be taken in and she had said that she would do anything.

And anything included this.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she shook away that feeling of pain and sadness. She didn't need that now.

"Oh Kenshin!" a shrilly feminine voice called out.

Kaoru was knocked out from her thoughts by her voice. She looked over to where it came from and saw a woman wearing a tight black mini skirt and black tube top walk over towards where the red-head was sitting. She could have been beautiful if not for the heavy makeup and cheap perfume. Her nose instantly wrinkled in disgust at the sight.

Kenshin had a feral grin on his face as he saw her approach and motioned for the woman to sit on his lap. She giggled as she complied and kissed him on the cheek.

"Oh, Kenshin . ." she murmured as she played with his strands of red hair. At that moment, she noticed the other girl standing behind Kenshin and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Who's that?"

"No one," he said as he got up. "Let's go dance." The woman giggled and made a face at Kaoru almost if telling her that she had won this round. Kaoru scoffed inaudibly. It's not like she would have wanted to be with him in the first place.

With a bottle of beer in his hand, Kenshin and the other woman made their way towards the center of the dance floor. As a new song started up, the woman started grinding against her partner. Kenshin let her do whatever she want as he just drank the alcohol. While he was doing this, he looked over at the side of the club and saw Kaoru's eyes. Her pure sapphire-like that were watching him from afar. As Kenshin saw the look in her eyes, there was faint convulsion around his pupils.

He shook his head as he tried to forget that she was there and then turned to the woman that was dancing with him. He suddenly lifted her head and kissed her on the lips. She seemed surprised at first, but then smiled wickedly as she placed her arms around his neck. She then returned his kisses aggressively. Kenshin's lips continued down her neck and the woman started moaning with satisfaction as her hands groped around his chest.

Kaoru who had been watching the entire time turned around, her face red with embarrassment and shock.

Sanosuke saw her reaction and slammed his bottle on the table. He couldn't take it anymore. He had seen what Kenshin was doing on the dance floor and his face turned to disgust and resentment as he saw that the two of them got more serious. He jumped out from his seat and walked over to Kaoru.

"Let's go, jou-chan," he said roughly. "I can't stand watching him anymore!"

He turned on the balls of his heels as he was about to walk out, but then noticed that the girl didn't follow him. He furrowed his brows when he saw that she just stood there with her head down.

"I don't understand. You're just gonna stay here and watch that?" he asked in a sarcastic manner as he gestured emphatically towards the couple making out.

". . ."

Sanosuke sighed as he calmed down his frustration and ran his hands through his brown hair. Seeing that there was nothing that he could do, he just took a seat beside Kaoru.

After a few minutes, Kenshin and the other girl came back to the table. An arrogant smile was pasted on the young man's face as he looked at Kaoru. The blue-eyed girl only turned away from him. When he sat back in his seat, the other woman who had been dancing with him got on top of him and started kissing him again. While she was doing this, she slowly unbuttoned his white collared shirt and began caressing his bare chest that glistened with sweat.

Sanosuke slammed his fist on the table. He had had enough of this.

"Stop it, Kenshin! This is disgusting!" he yelled as he looked at his friend with piercing eyes. Kenshin looked up at him with bleary eyes.

"If you don't want to look, then just go back!" he said dryly as he challenged him.

"Fine! I'll go back! Jou-chan, get up. Let's go," he said as he grabbed onto Kaoru's arm. The girl didn't budge from her position and the man looked at her with a confused expression.

"I'll . . I'll just stay here, sir," she said as she unwound her arm from his hands.

Kenshin narrowed his eyes. "You go, too!" he spat out. Kaoru looked at him with a surprised expression on her face.

"Didn't you hear me? I said go back with Sano!" he shouted as he waved his hand telling her to leave.

"I'll . ."

"You bitch!" he said as he let his temper get the best of him. He threw the bottle in his hand onto the ground and it shattered into a thousand pieces. The gaudily dressed girl who had been kissing him looked at him in shock. Sano grabbed onto Kaoru's arm and took her away as he looked at Kenshin who was still sitting in the chair.

"You're in the worst condition today, Kenshin!" he berated.

As Sanosuke and Kaoru walked out of the club, the girl leaned her body on Kenshin again and started to kiss him once more. The red-haired man creased his face in disgust and pushed her away with all his strength. She fell onto the ground.

"Fuck off!" he said.

"What the hell?" the woman said as she sat there on the ground, confused as to what just happened. She looked at Kenshin and he seemed to ignore her as he opened up another bottle of beer. With a dark frown, he chugged it all in one gulp.

"Taxi!!" Sanosuke called out as he waved his arms around. The taxi stopped in front of the two of them. After he helped Kaoru get in first, he went inside the car. The girl had a pensive expression on her face as she continued to look back at the club.

"Don't worry. The chauffeur's still here . ." he said.

Even though she knew that, she couldn't erase the worried look on her face because she was concerned about Kenshin.

"Where to?" the taxi driver asked.

"The Hiko estate," the spiky-haired man answered. The driver nodded his head as he turned on the engine. As the car started to drive away, Kaoru turned her head back towards the building and then lowered her head.

Sano clenched his teeth. Kenshin . .that bastard. . why does he do that to her?

The two of them remained quiet throughout the ride and just looked out the window. It was already dark outside and the stars had come out. When they arrived at the estate, Sanosuke was the first to get out. He stretched his arms and took a deep breath as he let the night breeze fill his lungs. He then walked towards the driver's seat and paid him the taxi fare. He was about to walk towards the door, when he saw Kaoru falter as she got out. He ran over and caught her right before she fell.

The first thing Sano noticed was just how hot she was. Her temperature that is.

He quickly steadied her and felt her forehead with the back of his hand.

"You have a fever, jou-chan!" he said in alarm.

"I'm . . I'm okay, sir," she said in a weak voice.

Sano grimaced. "What do you mean you're okay? You're going in and going to sleep right now!" he said with a worried look on his face as he supported her into the house. She didn't seem to have much strength to walk up the three flights of stairs so he lifted her up into his arms.

She looked up at him in alarm. "It .. I can walk on my own . .sir," she stammered with her eyes wide open.

Sano smiled impishly. "I'm strong, jou-chan. And you're pretty light anyway," he said. He grasped her firmly next to his body so not to accidentally drop her and started to walk up the stairs with Kaoru in his arms. Once he was in front of the girl's room, he kicked open the door with a loud bang. He walked over to the bed and laid her down gently as he covered her in some blankets.

"T-thank you, sir," she whispered weakly as she closed her eyes.

"Anytime, jou-chan," he said with a smile. He then hurried down to the kitchen and brought back an ice pack to place on her forehead. When he came back, it seemed that he fever had gotten worse and her breathing had become a little irregular. He frowned.

Did she hold it in until now?, he thought with a worried expression on his face. He silently reprimanded her for being so careless about her own health while he sat in the chair next to her bed.

-

-

-

-

- To be continued

Author's Notes :

Please leave a review! Thanks very much! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. =D Hehe.

Special thanks to De Lazy Lime, cyjj, Tenshi-no-Hana-chan, Coodle, Oni Tokage, InuLimbo, super, Ryoga, Kaoru Gal, Raeyn-chan, kirie-kun, Fuu, Chibi Kiki, kik-ting, SC Gurl, kimi.the.water.spirit, Sugar-Crazy-Fox, rkfan246, Piper, xia xue, Reignashii, rain angst, Ochanoko, S3R3nity, Mz. Amber Eyes, Anonymous T, Baby Kaoru-sama, Azulene, cutie-chan-XD3, kenshin's-angel, Spike-Faye, and saotome for reviewing! Thank you! =D