Author's Notes: Well... I hope to clear up some things you didn't like to much in the last chapter.
Adrenaline Adoration
Chapter 5- Obliterated Obstacles
Kenshin wandered aimlessly around the marketplace; he had originally left the protective confines of the dojo in order to buy more rice. Having already succeeded in the task far too quickly for his liking, Kenshin began to feel uneasy about returning to a home that would be empty. Normally Kaoru would have gone shopping with him; since she left, Kenshin had never even bothered to leave the dojo and stock up on food. If he didn't cook, then Tae or Megumi would smuggle some food into the kitchen for him. It had been odd how bored he managed to become over the course of three months since Kaoru had disappeared with Kiyo; there was still no communication from her, but Kenshin had managed to keep that thought out of his mind.
His busy days had suddenly become much shorter; the laundry never took hours to do any longer, the dojo was constantly in pristine shape since Yahiko had moved in with Sanosuke, all the rooms around the house were clean down to the crevices in the wood grain. All Kenshin could truly do to entertain himself was either think or train, andhe had taken to training quite quickly; thinking always managed to either make him angry or upset, and he would much rather ventilate those emotions through his sword. Having noticed the overhang of the trees surrounding the dojo yard, Kenshin had vowed he would cut them down; even if he had to go off and buy himself a katana to do the job, he would.
Luckily for him, the sakabatou managed to work fine; all he had to do was flip the blade, perform some fancy maneuver, and soon a tree branch had fallen to the ground, anxiously awaiting to be drug into a brush pile and burned. That job in itself hadn't taken very long; it was times like those Kenshin cursed the super sonic speed that the Hiten Mitsurugi techniques required. Everything sped by so quickly except for the minutes and hours of each day; the more he did, the less there was to do, until he had nothing to do but spend hours a day either soaking in the bathhouse, training, or staring blankly toward Kaoru's door and thinking.
None of the options ever entertained him enough, though, and finally Kenshin had decided to go shopping. He had extra money left over from helping the police take care of Shishio; it had been his secret stash, something that Sanosuke couldn't smuggle out of the dojo when he 'needed' to go gambling. It was a fair amount of change, he had to admit, and now he was glad that the police chief had convinced him to keep it. There was no possible way he could live off the money for the rest of his life, of course, which spurred a new idea into his skull of getting a job. That was quickly dismissed; even if he did try to, where would he get one? Creating the first laundry service in Japan?
Shaking his head, Kenshin turned his attentions back to other things. It had been a month and a half since Aoshi had agreed to help look into Kiyo Nishawagi's life; and there had not been a single report from the Oniwabanshu since. Kenshin had thought about writing to Misao and asking what kind of information they were keeping from him, but even if Misao was a vivacious, talkative girl, she knew the code of a ninja was to keep all things quite until told otherwise. The image of Misao attempting to extract information out of Aoshi was entertaining enough, but Kenshin knew better than to ask her to go through with it. Misao would most likely jump at the chance to question her 'Aoshi-sama', but Kenshin feared more for Aoshi's sake at end of Misao's chatter than for Misao herself in that pariticular scenerio.
Having not been paying attention, Kenshin slammed face first into another person, his face buried in their long raven hair. He pulled away and mumbled a myriad of apologies before allowing himself to look at the person he had run into. At first he could only distinguish it was a woman, and a very demure one at that, but she was facing away from him, obscurring his veiw of her profile. Taking a moment to compose himself and breathe, the thought suddenly hit him.
How many women in Tokyo walked around with their hair up in a ponytail secured with a blood stained indigo ribbon?
"Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin nearly shrieked. "Is that you?"
She turned and faced him, her eyes downcast and dripping an extreme sadness he wasn't accustomed to. When it finally settled in that she was looking at Kenshin her eyes brightened momentarily and she smiled; there was so much she wanted to tell him, so many things that she wanted to know. Realizing her status, though, her eyes immediately shot back toward the dusty dirt of the main road. Kenshin reached toward her, but she jumped away, gripping darkly at the sleeves of her kimono to keep them around her wrists.
"I can't talk Kenshin…"
"Are you late? I'll walk you back home, that I will, Kaoru-dono…"
She gave him a deep, unexpectedly blank look. "I'm sorry, you can't Kenshin, I just… Nishawagi-sama is here, I'm just waiting for him to come back out."
Training his sight to her, Kenshin attempted to diffuse the problem she was trying to hide. Normally he could tell what exactly was wrong with her; Kaoru was an open book like no other, allowing the world to search through the pages of her life and personality without worrying what anyone else though. He knew something was wrong, but her eyes and facial expressions were devoid of any hint as to what it was. Her ki was weakened and trembling; it was almost as if she was afraid of him. But the fact that bothered him the most was why she was calling her husband by his surname instead of his first name; Kaoru had never called anyone by their surname unless they demanded her respect.
"Kaoru-dono…" Kenshin began before stopping and allowing his hand to reach out to a deep, blackened mark on her neck, extending from her left ear down to her collarbone. "How did you get that bruise?"
She shot back quicker than before, her hand shooting straight up to the mark on her neck. "I fell the other day on Nishawagi-sama's stairwell… I'm still getting used to the slippery floors. I hit my neck on the banister. It's alright; don't worry so much about me, you'll get wrinkles and grey hair."
'She said that the night before Kiyo turned up, when we were at the dojo all alone…' Kenshin reminded himself.
"If you say so, Kaoru-dono…"
"Oh Himura, how nice to see you again!" came the overly cheer-filled voice of Kiyo as he stepped in between the two. "I didn't expect to see you here."
Kenshin bowed, not liking the way Kiyo was looking at him. "Sessha was out to refill the rice bin at the dojo, that he was."
Kiyo smiled in an unnerving, cheesy manner. "Well then, Kaoru and I should be off, perhaps we will see you again sometime?"
"Hai."
Taking Kaoru by the sleeve of her kimono, Kiyo led her through the crowds, weaving in between the small gaps in the people. Kaoru allowed herself to be led forward; it would be better on her if she didn't fight Kiyo off now. There had been no time for her own punishment, she realized too soon; it was Kiyo's turn to take his own measures in discplinary action. She winced inwardly, and butterflies began to flutter around in her gut; she knew the procedure when it came to Kenshin. And as much of her dignity that Kiyo had already stolen, she was not prepared to give in to that much. It had been a deal at their wedding; Kiyo would wait for her consent to take her to bed.
And he hadn't.
Every time she spoke of Kenshin, Kiyo had reinstated the same form of punishment; directly to their room, and a single futon, no holding back. She had fought him the first few times, but Kiyo was stronger and larger than she was. The more she fought, the harder it was on her aching body. She had learned to push any thoughts of Kenshin aside; seeing him in the streets and conversing with him, even if she was trying to escape, would only add fuel to the fire of hatred Kiyo held for him. Slowly Kaoru let her tears fall, knowing if they fell now instead of later, it would be so much easier.
'You've cursed me, Kenshin, and you don't even know it… I'm so sorry…'
Swinging in a deep, deadly arc, Kenshin's sword penetrated the floors of Kaoru's untouched dojo. He let out a hoarse, rage filled cry before shooting off to perform another high-frequency technique; at the moment he wasn't positive how else to react to everything that was catapulting within him. Kiyo had destroyed the Kaoru he knew; he couldn't remember ever seeing Kaoru as scared as she had been when Kiyo took a hold of her and took her away. No enemy of Kenshin's had ever sent tremors to her heart like Kiyo was, and it made Kenshin even angrier to realize that it wasn't his position to save her from him. The only person who could protect her now was Kiyo, even if it was to protect her from himself. Kiyo had the right to see to her protection as he saw fit, and there was nothing Kenshin could do about it.
But that didn't mean Kenshin had to be happy about it. There was no use for the rurouni façade anymore; as much as he denied it, Battousai was still a part of the rurouni as well, and both parts of his heart and soul were itching to teach Kiyo a lesson. Still being able to control his emotional outburst, he had taken to pretending every single wooden object in the dojo and around it were Kiyo; pretty soon, there would be nothing left if he didn't stop, but Kenshin didn't care. He was too far gone to stop anytime soon. He could never have imagined feeling a rage this deep. At least Tomoe didn't have to suffer the way Kaoru was; Tomoe was never afraid of him, it was more him being frightened of her views toward him. Kiyo petrified Kaoru, and that only forced Kenshin to hate the man more than he had before.
A sadistic grin flew over Kenshin's face. So it was possible for him to hate someone; he had forgotten the last time he felt like he could. He didn't hate any of his enemies; more or less he simply pitied them. Saitou had always been a special case, though; Kenshin didn't hate the guy, he was just irritated by him. The fights they had always forced him to use the pinnacle of his skill, and he had always thought better of Saitou for forcing that much out of him; sometimes he wondered if they had been on the same side during the Bakumatsu, if they would have managed to be friends. They only had a rivalry; there was no hate to it.
Upon hearing footsteps entering the dojo, Kenshin spun toward the doorway, holding his sakabatou in a defensive stance. Anyone who decided to disturb him during his few moments of release would regret it; whoever it was had better have a better reason than 'revenge' for coming to him at the moment.
Aoshi turned the corner, his stoic gaze slightly amused with the condition of the dojo. "If I had known there was a fight here, I would have come prepared with more than the information you requested, Himura."
Kenshin let his sword slide back into its sheath and then allowed himself to examine the dojo for the damages he had caused. A deep sweat drop formed on his head; he would be in here reconstructing the dojo for a week, he realized unenthusiastically. At least that way he wouldn't be bored. Turning his attentions back to Aoshi, Kenshin motioned for him to walk toward the dining area.
Both men settled into kneeling positions and they shared a cup of tea in silence before either spoke again. Kenshin looked at Aoshi intently before he decided to ask for the information straightforward. It was still as difficult as ever to predict the man before him; not as difficult as Soujiro had been, but still vexing.
"What did you find out?"
Aoshi looked up at Kenshin between his bangs before positioning himself straightforward and closing his eyes to think. There were a few things he had discovered that he didn't want to explain, so he had to word his explanation to the Battousai without fault. He would know something was missing if he didn't meticulously plan out the wording of his report.
"They live in the richer part of Tokyo, approximately a quarter of a mile from the Akabeko. Kiyo is a business man as you stated, but he's not a normal businessman, as you presumed. Actually, in all truth, Kiyo isn't a normal man." Aoshi explained. "Kaoru is alone at the home most of the time with the maid Miako. I had Misao disguise herself and ask to become hired help for a while, until she had enough money to pay for a trip back to Kyoto, so most of the information is from her. I'm most surprised that Kaoru didn't discover who she was the entire time they were there."
"You're skipping details. How does Kiyo treat Kaoru?" Kenshin persisted.
The response that Kenshin received was complete and utter silence. Aoshi did not move from his position; he simply sipped some more of his tea. Kenshin allowed the silence to last for ten minutes before he became irritated and bored, and then asked once more. It was obvious to him that the answer wasn't a happy, flower strewn pathway as he had secretly been hoping; but then again, he had known that long before he had even asked Aoshi to help him.
"What is the relationship, Aoshi? You're skipping details, and I'm not letting you leave the dojo until you tell me!" Kenshin demanded, his eyes narrowing into small slits and slowly changing their color. "I need to know."
Setting his teacup down, Aoshi gave a cold stare directly back at him. "You're too brash Battousai, or else I would have told you already."
"Then tell me now, or I'll go find out for myself."
"It's not a good relationship, if you insist on knowing." Aoshi responded casually, taking another sip of his tea. "Kiyo tends to drink a lot, according to Misao, and he can easily become enraged to a violent proportion. Kaoru has not written or visited you because she isn't allowed to; Kiyo has made it clear that she isn't even allowed to mention your name, Battousai. For the most part they sleep in separate rooms, but Kiyo has taken Kaoru to his a few times."
"And?" Kenshin questioned. "Does she comply?"
Sighing, Aoshi continued. "She doesn't; apparently he was supposed to wait until she felt ready. So far, I have not heard from Misao or seen for myself of Kaoru ever once consenting to the actions; for the most part she fights, but Kiyo has overpowered her each time."
"He's raping her?" Kenshin demanded. "You weren't going to alert me to that? Aoshi, that's serious, and the police should be taking part in the case! If he's… raping her…"
"No." Aoshi responded, lifting his palm up and silencing Kenshin's uncharacteristic outburst. "They will not take action in this case, Battousai. Kiyo holds far too much power; he has the power to shut down the police stations if he wished. They won't interfere. And besides, you only listened to one part of what I said. He drinks and becomes easily enraged, as I stated before, but that's not it. He doesn't need to drink to randomly slap or hit Kaoru when he likes."
Kenshin didn't say anything; he kept his eyes narrowed toward the table, battling within himself for control. For all the wrongs Kiyo was doing, he still wouldn't let himself murder the man; even though the rurouni within him wanted to chop Kiyo into tiny little pieces, throw them to the wolves then burn the wolves and bury the ashes in the deepest lake he could find. It seemed that both parts were agreeing with each other, although Battousai's version of Kiyo's death was much harsher. But rash actions such as these wouldn't help the situation; it was more important for him to clear his mind and figure out how he was going to get Kaoru away from Kiyo.
"Don't think of rushing over there, Battousai." Aoshi warned. "Kiyo is a very skilled swordsman as well as businessman--- he fought during the Bakumatsu as well as you did, alongside the Bakufu. He has no reason to hate you, though; his squad and family never once came into contact with you, so he's not acting out of revenge, this is just the man he has become. I'm still looking further into his past; it seems that he had a wife before Kaoru and she died. We're not sure how she died yet."
"He probably murdered her." Kenshin responded, his fists tightening into the cloth of his hakama pants. "And he'll murder her too if I don't get her out of there!"
"I still have men around the home, Battousai. If he gets close to killing her, I promise they will stop it and get her out of there. Right now, you need to stay here until you can work out your thoughts and concentrate on making a plan for getting Kaoru back without hurting her more. As long as your mind is as clouded and confused as it is, you'll only be fighting blindly and you'll end up failing in the end. Meditation will help you a lot." Aoshi advised.
Kenshin glared at him. "If it was Misao-dono, would you be sitting here listening to me telling you that?"
"If it was Misao, she would be out of there. And he has shown his own aggression agaisnt her as well; don't think she's managed to get away unscathed." Aoshi responded, his voice dropping a few degrees in it's icy tone. "But I am not blindly running in to murder the man who hurt her. Give it time, and you'll figure something out. You're lucky that Misao was hired as Kaoru's personal maid; wherever Kaoru is, Misao will be there too. Don't allow your worry to get to you too much. Misao won't let Kiyo hurt Kaoru if she is there."
"I'm at least going to see what he's doing for myself; I'll decide if I have the time to sit back and think about how to get Kaoru out of this mess on my own." Kenshin responded flatly.
Aoshi nodded. "But if you make any brash attempts to retrieve her without alerting me first, I will have my men stop you, I assure you that much. We'll get her out when the time is right."
Kenshin walked past Aoshi, leaving him to himself to finish the cup of tea in his hands. He stormed off toward town, prepared to infiltrate the area surrounding the torture home holding Kaoru. Aoshi wanted him to wait; what if they didn't have time to wait? The longer they waited, the further within herself Kaoru would hide; and the further she hid, the harder it would be to pull her back. Of course, he rationalized, she would never be the same after these experiences, but the longer he waited, the more he felt as if he were betraying her in some way. There had never been a time that Kenshin had failed to rescue her when she needed him, and he wasn't going to let this time be the first. Even if Kiyo was her husband, Kenshin would not allow him to hurt his Kaoru-dono.
How could he sit aside and let Kiyo take advantage of her like that, and then rely on the same man to protect her?
There were times when Kenshin wanted to be selfish; there were days when he wanted nothing more than to storm over, demand the ability to take Kaoru back with him, and then never let her go. He had known from the beginning that something was wrong with the whole situation; how Dr. Gensai had ever been able to convince him that Kaoru would be safe with Kiyo, he would never know. He wanted to blame someone for everything, and naturally Dr. Gensai was the first choice. But Kenshin knew it was truly no one's fault but his own; he was too slow in telling Kaoru what he felt.
It passed through Kenshin's mind momentarily to call on Sanosuke for help; but if Kenshin was going to be overly brash in his efforts to get Kaoru out, Sanosuke would prove to be less than an asset. If he required help, than he would defiantly turn to Sanosuke for it; until then, the entire incident would remain between Kenshin, Kiyo, Kaoru and the Oniwabanshu.
The streets were black, but the moon glowed an eerie orange color that melted into the sky with the odd amount of cloud cover. Kenshin traveled closer and closer to his goal, completely prepared to take whatever actions necessary to maintain Kaoru's safety. Aoshi's threat of sending his men after Kenshin didn't bother him; he could easily break through whoever Aoshi sent at him. If it was for Kaoru's sake, then Kenshin could overcome anything, no matter what means it took to do so.
Misao headed directly for Kaoru's room; after her bath, Kaoru had snuck off there alone. Misao understood why Kaoru had demanded a bath soon after coming home and spending time with Kiyo; the man was a maniac with no where to push off his aggressions other than onto Kaoru. There had been many times that Misao had to battle with herself not to kill the man on the spot; there were so many instances where he was unprepared, but she knew better than to blindly do what her body wanted her to. Aoshi had instructed her not to lay a hand on Kiyo; if she messed up, then someone was going to get hurt and she would be out of the picture.
She attempted to clear her mind; thoughts like these would defiantly jeopordize her disguise; this was the first time she had gone undercover, and she had done well thus far. There was no way she was going to fail now. The case was far too personal for her teenage blunders.
Opening Kaoru's door, she walked in with a smile on her face and traveled toward the hump on the futon.
"Come on Kaoru-sama; let's get you out of here and down to the kitchen! It's time for you and Miako-san to prepare dinner!" she chirped.
"I don't want to go Kisa-san!" Kaoru responded, sitting up in her futon and lifting her hands. "I don't want to… I'll poison the food with my dirty hands... I'll make it all wrong and I'll make it dirty, and then he'll hit me again…"
Misao kneeled next to Kaoru, glad the appearance she had used to disguise herself was working. "Listen to me, Kaoru-sama, you have to go. How could you dirty the food? You are as clean as the day I first came here, and I have yet to see you dirty, even once. I'm sure you'll be fine. I'll help out today if you would like! Do you want to me to set you out a new kimono and obi?"
Kaoru bit her lip and then nodded, wrapping her arms protectively around her body as Misao got up and left. She began to shake slightly; the images of her punishment were flashing through her head and making her dizzy, causing her to feel sick to her stomach. As much as she tried to persuade him, as much as she tried to fight him, Kiyo had still gone along with the grotesque punishment, and then Kaoru had punished herself for her own existence. Obviously that was what was making Kiyo so angry.
"How about this one?" Misao asked, knowing she was being overly sneaky with it.
Lifting her blank, half lidded eyes toward her maid, Kaoru suddenly hid under the covers and started shaking violently. Misao was holding up a kimono that Kenshin had purchased for her soon after their time in Kyoto; it was a light blue color, decorated with intricate yellow and silver blazen dragons and lilies. She hadn't worn it yet, since she had hoped to save it for a special occasion.
Dinner with Kiyo was not a special occasion. Anything concerning Kiyo wasn't a special occasion.
"Please Kaoru-sama; you'll look stunning in it!" Misao pleaded.
Taking the blade she kept in her bed and dragging it across her arm three more times before she even said anything, Kaoru allowed her head to emerge from the blankets.
"You know who got that for me. Nishawagi-sama…"
Misao pouted. "Kaoru Kamiya, I expected a better attitude from you! Nishawagi-san doesn't know, so why should it matter?Himura got this for you out of pure love; at least you can allow yourself the chance to imagine things are better for you!"
As soon as the words had left her mouth, Misao had regretted them. So much for her wondrous, month and a half long cover; Kaoru was sure to recognize her now. She bowed in defeat and then turned to go and find a new kimono for Kaoru.
"Misao?" Kaoru whispered. "I knew it was you all along… why are you here, anyway?"
Misao knew better than to tell Kaoru, but the girl had so little to look forward to anymore. "Do you really want to know? Put on this kimono and I'll tell you."
"I… I'll stain it. I need a red one." Kaoru stated.
Nodding and retrieving the darkest red kimono she could find, Misao knelt next to Kaoru again and whispered into her ear. "The reason I'm here is that Himura requested the Oniwabanshu to come and find you. He's been wondering why you haven't contacted him. According to Aoshi-sama, his request was really desperate. Kaoru, he wants to get you out of here! Knowing him, you'll be out soon enough if Aoshi-sama told him everything. Don't worry; you won't be putting up with this much long. We plan on taking you away in a week when Kiyo leaves for that business trip."
Tears sprung from Kaoru's eyes; she couldn't contain them any longer. There was still hope at the end of her tunnel, she realized with a sadistic smile. Kenshin was looking for her; he wouldn't let her stay here much longer. She would be free soon enough. She closed her eyes and prayed deeply to Kami that he would spare her the pain she knew would come; if Kiyo ever found her again… it would be the end of her.
'Please give Kenshin patience… I want out of here… but he has to have patience…'
"Are you coming, Kaoru-sama?" Misao questioned, putting on her maid façade once again.
"Hai, Kisa-san, I am."
Author's Notes: Argh, I feel like this is all going to fast………. But really it's not. Actually, it may be two chapters before Kenshin comes to get Kaoru. I don't know yet. But don't hate me! Hate Kiyo. Hate him.
Please leave me a review, yes!
Love and hugs—
Crystal Renee
