Everything Purple
violetjewelz

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters associated with the great manga/anime. Wish I did, though ...

Author's Note: OMG! I apologize for having to go on hiatus. I had a huge writer's block and I had no idea how to continue the story from where I left it of. You were probably hoping for some very long and very well written chapter from an update since I hadn't written a new chapter for so long, but I must apologize again. That's sadly not the case. This is the shortest chapter and probably the worst chapter of the story so far. I can't promise you anything, but I'll try very hard to make the next chapter I write better. But that's not all, either. -bows head in shame- There will be no review responses this time around. I will give responses for reviews for this chapter, though! So, please enjoy this short and boring chapter (if you can).

Chapter 8: An Assassin's Compliment

Knock, knock.

Battousai looked behind him to make sure that Kaoru was in the bedroom so as to ensure him and his visitor some privacy. Once sure of himself, he turned his attention to the door. "Come in."

A short, balding man came in and stopped directly in front of the Battousai. Battousai waited for the man to speak, but when the man made no noise, he glared coldly at the man. "Well?" he asked.

The short man glanced nervously to his side before looking back at the manslayer. "It is as you said, sir. About Hoke's Run, that is. Over in America ... the Union won. And what's more is that--" The man stopped and waited for the younger man to make him continue. With a nod from Battousai, he proceeded. "What's more, is that there were close to 115 casualties. Exactly as you said, sir."

It was clear that the man speaking was surprised and even though the Battousai was as well, he didn't show it. "Interesting. That's quite interesting."

The other man vigorously nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, yes. Isn't it, though?" the man, quite curious, daringly asked, "If I may, sir, how did you know about all of this beforehand?"

Battousai jerked his head towards the man and put his hand on the hilt of one of his katanas in warning. "That is none of your business. It would be wise for you to leave now. That is if you value your life." Battousai then slid his sword out of its sheath and pointed it at the man before him. "Tell me: do you value your life?"

The man's eyed widened and he backed up quickly. He slowly nodded his head once as he reached for the shoji door.

"Tell me," the assassin venomously spat.

"Y-y-yes. I-I do."

Battousai accepted his answer and sheathed his sword. "Then get the hell away from me."

"Yes, sir," came the man's reply and he was gone within seconds.

Battousai turned around and made his way to his room for the night. A shoji door sliding shut made him stop in his tracks before he could make it, though. Changing his direction, he rushed to the door and violently slid it open, revealing Kaoru hastily scurrying to her bed. The manslayer made it to her bed before she could and held out his hand, which Kaoru ran into, not seeing him there until it was too late.

"Oof," she grunted and backed up.

Battousai stood up and smirked at her. "As you heard, you were correct in your predictions."

Kaoru crossed her arms stubbornly. "Predictions, you say? I'll have you know that I knew for sure the results of that battle. It's history, after all. Happened over a hundred years ago, you know."

"More like a day," he corrected her.

"To you," she replied.

"It's truly remarkable that you knew so much about a battle that was yet to happen, I must admit that, but that doesn't prove that you're from the future."

"It's not like that's the only evidence in my defense, you know."

"Oh, is that so?" Battousai mockingly asked. "Please. Go on. Do tell."

"I will!" Kaoru assured him as she continued. "I know all these weird songs that you have never heard about, I have all these weird things that you've never known about and I wear weird clothes that you've never seen."

The assassin shook his head, not believing her. "That could just mean you're from a different place."

"I am! I'm from a different place and time! The United States of America in 2004!!"

"I have no reason to believe you."

"That might be so, but I have reason to want you to believe me. No, need you to believe me."

"That would be ...?" Battousai questioned.

Kaoru hesitated before answering, fearful of what her reply could evoke. "You said ... You said that if I was lying then you would ... you would ... kill me," she finished weakly.

"Very true," he agreed, eyes almost laughing with amusement at her temporary malaise. "But I do believe I said exactly, 'either kill you for lying to me or whatever else I want to do.' Perhaps, I have other uses for you that outweigh my desire to end your life."

"Y-your desire to ...end my life?" Kaoru echoed in disbelief. He desired to kill her? That was intolerably cruel.

He ignored her quiet and incredulous voice and voiced out his thoughts. "There's many things that I could do to you or make you do as punishment. So many choices to choose from..." He trailed off, thinking.

Kaoru was getting more disquieted and distressed as the seconds went by. Battousai was a very capable man, after all. There was no telling what could happen to her. How and why did she get into all of this shit? Was the world really out to get her that much?

A rumble from Kaoru's stomach broke the silence and she looked up to meet Battousai's gaze.

"Good idea," he stated. And, after seeing Kaoru's inquisitive face, he explained his logic. "You're hungry. I'm hungry. I don't feel like making any food. So you do it."

"Umm ... but ... I don't know how to make Japanese food. Only American and maybe a few dishes of other nationalities."

"So what? Make some American food, then."

"Are you sure? Are you sure you'll like American cuisine?" Kaoru inquired.

The red-haired man then growled deeply in his throat. "Did you not fuckin' hear what I said, bitch? Go do what one of the only things that women are useful for. Cooking." Seeing that she didn't budge, he growled again. "What're you just standing there for, you whore?"

Kaoru was now deeply infuriated. There was no way in HELL that she was going to take this. She stalked over to the man and clenched her teeth. "How dare you, you arrogant, audacious, autocratic, conceited, contemptuous, domineering, egotistical, imperious, pompous, supercilious, bombastic, exultant, vainglorious, pretentious, self-applauding, cocksure, overconfident, disdainful, patronizing, tyrannical, peremptory, oppressive, coercive, despotic, high-handed chauvinistic son of a bastard! Who the FUCK do you think you are? Calling me things that I'm not and ordering me around like some slave and then dispraising the female sex. You can fuckin' go to hell for all I care, because there's no way I'm making a morsel for a contumelious and disrespecting asshole such as yourself." Then, out of words of which to use from the dictionary in her head, with all the strength that she could muster, she right-hooked the assassin and followed with a dynamic kick to the crotch. She pivoted on the heel of her foot and walked off. "So THERE!"

It was not even a few seconds before Kaoru was up against the wall, her air supply being cut off and her body being crushed against the Battousai's own. "You whoring tramp! You floozy hussy! You fuckin' slut! You dare to disobey me?!"

"I don't have to obey you," she ground out somehow. "You don't own me."

The Battousai then laughed. Not a laugh of joy or happiness, but a laugh of dominance and power. "You stupid, stupid wench. I don't own you? Think again. I can kill you whenever I want. You're like a fly in my hands with no wings or legs. With no chance of escape. Disobey me and you die. Do you hear me, you sleazy trumpet?"

Kaoru couldn't believe it. She just could not believe it. This guy was going insane. If things didn't stop soon, who knows what he would try and do. Doing the only thing she could think of, she hung her head and stopped trying to get out of Battousai's grasp. Noticing the now lighter weight in his arms, the manslayer let go of her and backed away a few feet.

Neither moved a muscle or said a word for a few minutes, but finally Kaoru crawled over to where the Battousai was. Once at her destination, which was the assassin himself, she lowered her head, her face millimeters from the ground.

Battousai grinned, satisfied. "Ah, finally. Finally you accept the fact that you are nothing more than a slave. A servant. A scullion for my kitchen. Perhaps even my concubine on the street and my hoe in the bed."

Kaoru started to tear up, but didn't budge from her inferior position. The killer standing in front of her was painfully truthful. Somehow she was his slave and he was her master and there was nothing, absolutely nothing, that she could do about it. No matter how hard she tried. No matter what she said ... there was nothing ... nothing that she could do to get out of her predicament. All of this ... all of this shit that she was in .. All just because she went against her mother and bought those stupid DVDs off of Ebay. Kaoru's tears were now flowing heavily and dripping onto the floor.

The Battousai stopped smiling upon hearing Kaoru's cries. Did he cause her to .. cry? Wait a second? Was he feeling guilt? Remorse for what he said to her. Looking down at the young woman so vulnerably positioned beneath him, he realized that he was. He was somewhat regretful of his actions. But why? Why was he regretful? She had called him all those names, so she deserved it, right? But, he rationalized with himself, almost every single one of those adjectives were used correctly in describing him, so she wasn't wrong. Was he ... the ruthless manslayer ... wrong? And a weak woman ... right? And he was actually remorseful?

Sick of his thoughts that were getting him nowhere, he moved to the side, which in turn caused Kaoru to look up from the ground. Moving to his room, he said, "I'm going to bed. I'm too disgusted to eat."

Kaoru, trying to decide whether to be relieved or to be mad at his comment, stood up slowly and moved to the kitchen. He might not be hungry, but she sure was.

"Girl."

Kaoru stopped moving and turned around where she stood. "Yes?"

"You definitely are a stout-hearted woman, I'll give you that much," he commented before turning his back on her and opening his shoji door.

A small smile formed on Kaoru's lips as she watched him enter his room. He ... complimented her. Maybe there was more to him than just being a cantankerous dictator. Perhaps ... he had a ... heart? Maybe underneath his cold exterior there was just a lonely man who needed to be loved? And she could be the one to melt his icy heart. Then again, it could be that she just watched one too many romantic movies where a evil man turned good because of a woman's love.

Kaoru's smile turned into a huge grin. "That's it!" she decided. "I'm going to make this man feel ... well ... just feel for the first time!"

With that, the newly driven woman skipped into the kitchen and started to whip up a snack to calm her hungry stomach.

Author's Notes: Great, huh? Well, you can't say I didn't warn you! That's it for this chapter. I wouldn't be surprised if you were relieved for this chappie to end. Taking a break did not help with my writing skills. If I can even say I have any. But, if you did like this chapter (which hopefully some people will), please do review! Oh, and I must thank all the reviewers who recently reviewed and asked me to continue the story! It's easy for me to say that if no one asked me to continue, I would've stopped writing it. So, my thanks and appreciation go out to you guys and gals! :)

- violetjewelz