Dark Side
Chapter2
Battousai kicked the side door open and strolled in carrying the girl he had saved who was snuggled in his arms, her head rested comfortably against his shoulder and her hair was everywhere. The few people that were still up in this late hour stopped and stared. It was a strange sight, seeing Battousai, their best assassin, carrying a bleeding/half dead girl and then followed by a ruffled boy behind them. The girl was badly injured and seemed to have passed out, her features though would indicate that she could be no older than 20. Even in her current state she looked cute, and maybe even beautiful with a little more maturity in her complexion. One of Battousai's co-workers decided to talk out of pure drunkeness
"Hey hey, Battousai, where did you pick up that cute chick huh? Such fresh meat, did you wear her out too much that she fainted? I'd like to know." He chuckled. But all he got in answer was a cold stare from the boy as they walked past him. "Seriously, I never thought a boy can be that scary" he said to no one in particular and walked off to rest...
Battousai was less than pleased with his work that night despite his big kill. He had never faced a situation where he would have to save someone. Although those were his original intentions.
After leaving his master he had come to know that in order to protect one must kill, and he was only an assassin, a pawn in the political schemes of politicians, what was his place, a man that had already murdered countless men in his short period in Kyoto, to save someone's life. Did he deserve such an honor?
The answer of course was No, and that was the very reason that he couldn't leave her in the rotten hands of those dirty ruffians either. So the situation that he was in was none other than frustrating. He almost sighed and continued on towards his original destination.
A man sat in his study while he read a letter. The half dark room was candlelit just like all other rooms at night, thick swabs of wax mounted at the base indicating its long hours of work. Shadows of him and the woman that played a flute danced on the floor; his face was that of concentration. Scrolls of unfinished letters and ink rested upon the desk in front of him. It would appear that he had already read the letter many times over from the way that his eyes darted from one spot to another spot. And occasionally, he would write something down. With one final sentence, his letter was finished and he folded it up and placed it into an envelope being careful to not damage the edges. Then, he took up his brush once again and wrote the name "Katsura" on the front. "Deliver this letter to Takasugi." He ordered the woman beside him as he handed it to her.
"Yes, of course, sir Katsura." She took the letter from him with both hands and hid it in the folds of her elegant Kimono. Then she gave him an alluring smile.
He smiled back not mentioning how strained it seemed to be.
A sudden knock on the door broke the soft atmosphere that had surrounded the room.
"Come in." The woman hurried to clean off his desk. And then, in walked Battousai, his best assassin who looked unharmed after his assignment. The girl he was carrying looked much differently. The man looked at Battousai questioningly.
"Katsura San." Battousai began, "I found her and the kid being offended by a group of ruffians." He said after noticing the look. An almost shameful look crossed his deadly features.
"So you saved them?" The man finished for him. A slightly amused expression crossed his chiseled features.
"Yes." Battousai answered. "She needs a room. And the boy." Katsura messaged his eyes and sighed.
"Well, we don't have any spare rooms right now so I say they'll have to sleep in yours. Unless you would like to just silence her." Katsura was amused to see some sort of emotion from his assassin. "She DID see you kill did she not?"
"Yes, she did."
"Ms. Mayete. Would you please take the girl and the boy and clean them up?" He asked politely.
"Of course Katsura san." She smiled and called in another woman who apparently also works at the inn and they both carried the girl and the now sleeping boy out of the room.
"So, how was it? Did you succeed?" Katsura went and closed the door after carefully scanning the dark hallway for any sign of a person.
"Yes, he is dead." Battousai answered.
"Good, you have done well Kenshin." Katsura for the first time in a long while felt relieved but he was nowhere near being happy. "Go to bed now and get some rest. You are dismissed."
"Thank you sir." Battousai stood up and bowed, then he exited through the paper doors silently.
"What are you going to do with him Katsura?"
"I don't know, Takasugi, I don't know."
Upon the arrival of Battousai to his room, he found the girl already sound asleep. The boy however was still up; he sat in a corner and watched him silently.
"What's your name?" Battousai asked as he knelt down beside the window. A light breeze blew some hair into his face but he didn't bother to brush them out of his eyes.
"Yahiko, Yahiko Myoujin Kamiya." He answered without any fear. "The son of Towa Myoujin Kamiya, a Shougitai samurai." Battousai was silent for a moment. "And hers?"
"Kaoru Kamiya, she's my sister." He answered again, fearlessly. "Who are you?"
"That's not for you to know." Battousai said and closed his eyes.
"Go to bed." He ordered and Yahiko wrinkled his nose but knew better than to argue. Before he drifted off to sleep though, Battousai walked over to the girl named Kaoru and lifted her blanket to check her wound. The girl decided that out of all the time that she could have woken up, it was then and there, and the first thing she could see through her blurry vision was a handsome man who had beautiful and seemingly soft red hair along with stunning gold eyes and a cross shaped scar. His sharp features were half lit by the moonlight that shone through the open window.
He's beautiful
And then she realized that he was touching her and her gi was off…
A fist was half way to Battousai's face when it was caught. Another one came flying but was dodged skillfully. Battousai squeezed her wrist hard causing her to protest painfully.
"I'm just checking your wound, stop moving." The tone at which he said those words with left no room for discussion.
Kaoru however, apparently being the stubborn girl that she is, forcefully pulled her wrist out his grasp and jumped up, then she grabbed a nearby broom and she broke the head off with her knee to get the handle that is similar to a boken. Kaorulowered herself into astance and readied herself for battle. Battousai witness the decapitation of his broom with amusement.
"Calm down, I was just treating your wounds." Kaoru was too afraid to listen so with a cry she charged at Battousai at full speed. The thrust was useless for Battousai caught the handle and pulled it forcefully from Kaoru's grasp making her trip forward. Now that she is without a weapon, Kaoru prepared a fist that was aimed at Battousai's face but her brother stopped her.
"Kaoru, stop it!" She turned around abruptly and saw her kid brother climbing out of his futon. "Can't a growing boy get some decent sleep around here!"
"Yahiko, you're all right, what happened?" She ran to him and saw some bandages wrapped around his forehead and all the things that happened before she fainted came rushing back to her. "Oh." She managed to mutter before she eyed Battousai strangely.
"Go to sleep." Battousai said calmly and threw the broom handle aside. The girl seemed to be Okay
"Where are we?" Kaoru asked eyeing her new surroundings cautiously.
"That's not important, go to sleep."
"I don't know where I am and you expect a girl to sleep with a total stranger in the room?"
"You are at the ishin shi shi's inn, and I will not do anything bad to you so go to sleep."
"The ishin shi shi's inn? I can't stay here! Yahiko, let's go!" She began to pull a very bothered Yahiko out of bed when the stranger cut her off.
"You can't." Battousai was getting more annoyed by the second.
"What!" Kaoru exclaimed. "What are you talking about? Me and Yahiko are leaving!"
"You heard me. You are not allowed to leave."
"So me and Yahiko are prisoners here?"
"Yes."
Something in Kaoru brain clicked.
Red hair, cross shaped scar, gold eyes, could the rumours be true?
"You, you are…" Her face suddenly paled considerably.
Battousai only gave her a spine-chilling glare.
"Hitokiri Battousai."
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Notes: AHA! I was actually pretty pleased with how this chapter turned out. Of course, my neighbor gave me some pointers. But hope you enjoyed the second revision!
