Hey everyone! Sorry that I took so long to update. I just didn't know where to go with this story, but I think I have a clue now! Thanks for the reviews you guys. I love all you reviewers! Now here is the new chapter. Some characters are surfacing in this story, but can you guess who? Enjoy!
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Chapter
4: New Faces
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By the time the two have reached the gates of the dojo, they were a wet mess. Kaoru sneezed softly. It was then that Battousai let go of her hands and turned around to face her. He stopped Battousai took in the image of Kaoru before him. Her kimono stuck to her body like a second skin accentuating all her curves. A barely audible growl escaped Battousai's mouth. Kaoru was so tempting. He didn't know such lustful feelings could exist in him. His body burned with desire to take her right then and there.
Kaoru's face flushed. She had her eyes averted to somewhere else; she knew the Battousai was looking at her. Right then, Battousai pushed her back onto a wooden beam and he started to kiss her fervently. Shocked by his actions, Kaoru stood there for a few seconds not knowing what to do. Battousai trailed his kisses from her face to her neck. There he stopped and start nibbling at the base of her neck. Kaoru moaned. He slowly moved his hands up to her breasts and parted the wet material from her smooth silky skin. The warm rough hands running smoothly around her breasts shocked Kaoru back to reality. She struggled to push him away, but Battousai secured himself by pushing her against the beam even harder. She pushed forward trying to get him off of her, but it only aroused Battousai even more. At one point, Kaoru stopped when she felt something hard against her stomach. Her pushing against his body only aroused him even more. She finally knew why Battousai didn't resist her from pushing against him. He was enjoying it all along. She didn't know what to do, so she took a bite on Battousai's neck. Battousai took a step back from the surprise. With this opening, Kaoru darted to her room and slammed the door shut.
Battousai stood there. What the hell was I thinking? I can't do this while I'm on a mission! Plenty of other women will go for me if she doesn't. But that's the thing. Kaoru was different from other woman. Damn that girl for causing me all these problems.
From the corner of this eye, Battousai could see Yahiko approaching him. What does this kid want now! He was already having a hard time with the Kaoru, and now he has to deal with her younger brother. What a day…
"Hey busu," yelled Yahiko as he came closer. "My stomach is growling! I need food! Come out here and get me something to eat! Not only that, you have to finish laundry!"
There was no answer.
"Hey say—"
Yahiko was just about to rap on the shoji and make Kaoru come out when an arm reached out and stopped him from doing so.
"Your sister isn't feeling well. She needs some rest. I'll cook and finish the rest of the chores up," he said.
"Fine with me. As long as I don't have to eat the busu's cooking."
"You should watch your mouth," Battousai said coldly. With that said, Battousai left Yahiko standing in front of Kaoru's room.
"Why does he care," mumbled Yahiko as he walked away to tend his own matters before lunch starts.
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"I don't care," Battousai scowled, chopping those poor vegetables furiously. I don't care about her or anything that has to deal with her. The only thing I probably want from her is a good time in bed; it's all lust and no love…right! She probably has never slept with anyone before. Bouttsai grinned evilly. Maybe I can teach her a thing or two…No! I cannot do this. Another side of Battousai argued that a girl as innocent and beautiful as she is doesn't deserve him. Screw her innocence Battousai argued back as he tried to fight his good side off. Throughout the whole cooking process, Battousai kept on arguing with himself. When lunch was ready, he pushed his thoughts away and called everyone to eat. Yahiko came to the table within a heartbeat. He started chowing down on the food immediately. All Battousai could do was stare at the speed the kid was consuming his food. That kid is going to choke and die someday at the rate he eats… Another thought struck Battousai's mind. Where is Kaoru? Battousai figured she was probably still in her room, so he went to call her for lunch. He knocked on the shoji lightly. He could hear some light shuffling around. He waited for a minute. Kaoru hasn't said a thing. Battousai's patience was wearing thin. He knocked on the shoji harder this time.
"Lunch is ready."
"By not answering you earlier was a sign that I didn't want to eat. I'm not hungry. Leave me alone," she said with a slight hint of anger in her voice.
"Fine, go starve yourself," he scoffed and padded away.
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Kaoru sure didn't mind starving herself as long as she didn't have to face him. That jerk…he thinks he can do anything just because he's the Battousai. But Battousai isn't a jerk all the time. There are times when he seemed genuinely nice and caring…like that time when he offered his hand. His eyes were so captivating that they stole Kaoru's breath away when she raised her eyes to his glinting gold eyes. He may be mean at times, but deep down, he's definitely not the cold-blooded manslayer. No, he's not. He was definitely something more than the Battousai role that he played. It barely came across Kaoru's mind that she didn't know Battousai's real name, and that bother her quite a bit. Calling someone a manslayer all the time isn't that polite. Plus, she's very curious about him. He seemed so much more than what he appears to be, and Kaoru wanted to find out everything about him. Thinking so hard made Kaoru tired, so she decided to take a nap
When Kaoru finally woke up, dinner time has passed. Her stomach growled like a tiger. Now that Kaoru thought of it, she didn't eat lunch or dinner. Another rumble came from her stomach. Her tummy cannot take it anymore, so Kaoru got up and headed to the kitchen to see what she can cook up…or try to cook up.
Kaoru walked outside. The night was extremely peaceful. The after-rain smell hung around the air, tingling Kaoru's noise. Yahiko's snore could be heard every now and then. She looked at the room across from hers where Battousai resides. She hoped he was asleep by now so that she didn't have to see him. Talking to him is a hard feat. After what has happened, Kaoru doesn't know how to act around him. Should I be mad? Should I act as if nothing has happened? Why should I even care? That's right. I shouldn't care. Forget this, I'm hungry. Kaoru finally reached the kitchen. To her surprise, there was a dinner saved for her. At first, she thought it was so sweet of Yahiko to save her some dinner, but she knew Yahiko way better than that. Yahiko isn't that considerate. The next person that popped into her head was Battousai. Kaoru took a look at the dinner; her tummy gave a loud growl. Not wanting to think anymore, Kaoru decided to focus on satisfying her tummy instead.
"I didn't expect you to be this hungry. If you want more food, I can cook some more."
The voice startled Kaoru. It was a quiet, but serious voice. She nearly dropped her bowl of rice and choked on the food she was swallowing. The voice came from the person she dreaded to see. Things just never seem to go her way.
He watched her closely, waiting for her to say something…anything. Battousai felt really out of place leaning on the kitchen door, watching Kaoru eat. He felt like he has to do something, but he didn't know what to do.
"I'm sorry for the event that took place earlier," he blurted. That was the thing he wanted to do: to apologize. Being the Battousai that he was, he shouldn't have acted out like that. He was known to be unemotional and lack any kind of feelings. There was no way a girl like Kaoru could turn him into an emotional mess that he was. No, Battousai refused to believe it. Instead, he blamed it on not being around women for such a long time. Battousai did not remember when was last time he has been with a woman. With that in mind, he convinced himself since Kaoru was the only girl he's been with after so long, it is only natural for him to feel these sexual urges resurfacing. But that doesn't explain why you care about her. Shut up. Battousai shook his head to clear his thoughts. Stupid conscience.
"Umm…It's okay," replied Kaoru. Her voice shook Battousai out of his stupor. He's been standing there for several minutes just staring into nothing. He finally focused his eyes and came back to reality.
"Well…I should get some sleep now," mumbled Kaoru. "Good night…"
Battousai could tell that Kaoru was struggling to say something. Her mouth twitched slightly and she furrowed her brows. Adorable… Battousai had his lips turned up to a small smile, a true smile that hasn't been on his face for years.
"What is it that?" he asked. His voice came out a little harsher than he expected. Kaoru looked at him with surprise and confusion mixed together on her face.
"Huh?" Clearly, Kaoru had no idea what he was talking about.
"What is it that you want to say," Battousai uttered every word out slowly and clearly as if speaking to a child.
"How dare you treat me like I'm stupid!" exclaimed Kaoru. Out of nowhere, a bokken appeared in her hands and she flung it at Battousai. He was able to avoid the bokken a second before it was too late.
"I was merely asking you what is it that you wanted to say!" Battousai explained as he tried to avoid Kaoru's oncoming attack.
"Well, you don't have to say it in that tone of voice! I was trying to muster up the courage and the right words to ask you for you name! That was all. I'm sorry if I was a little preoccupied, because I am after all dealing with someone who is very hard to work with…YOU!"
What Kaoru said stopped Battousai on his tracks. No one has ever asked him for his name. He never told anyone before. He almost forgot his own name at one point after being known as the Battousai. He went by the name Battousai for so long that it was hard to think of himself with a different identity. Battousai…the manslayer. That is who I am…the person that makes it rain blood…the person who killed his closest companion…
WHACK
Too late, he was unable to avoid the last strike. Kaoru hit him on the forehead with her bokken.
"Oro…" Battousai had the daylights knocked out of him.
"Oro? Now since, you're so disrespectful to not give me your name, I'm just going to call you Oro from now on. Good night Oro-chan." Kaoru dusted herself and headed to out of the kitchen.
"Kenshin"
Kaoru stopped a few steps away from him. She turned around and looked at him.
"My name is Himura Kenshin," he said. He didn't know why he told her his name. Maybe there's a part inside of him that needs someone to know who he REALLY is. Nah…he thought. I just don't want to be called Oro-chan.
"Alright. Good night Kenshin," Kaoru said softly. She smiled at Kenshin and walked to her room. Kenshin…what a beautiful name. It fits him perfectly…the heart of the sword.
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Kenshin sat at the corner of the dojo and watched Kaoru practiced with Yahiko. It was a new day and Kaoru was acting like nothing has happened. Everything was back to normal again and Kenshin was glad. He gazed at Kaoru. He watched every moment she made; it was like a captivating dance. Kenshin couldn't get his eyes off her. The way her long lush hair swung with her body, her slightly flushed cheeks, and the warm glow that exudes from her face made her look like a goddess. Kenshin's thoughts were cut off shortly when he felt a ki outside the dojo. Not wanting to worry Kaoru and Yahiko, he excused himself by saying he needed to get some tofu for lunch. He picked up the tofu bucket on his way out to the dojo. The ki he felt earlier was getting closer as he reached the gates. He slowly opened the gates and found no one around.
"Come out now before my blade finds itself in your heart," Kenshin said taking a few steps forwards.
A figure jumped down from a nearby tree; it was a messenger from the Ishin Shishi. The messenger looked quite scared, and who wouldn't be when facing the Battousai? Kenshin sighed inwardly. The messenger was too scared to even say word.
"Say it," Kenshin prompted.
"K-Katsura wants to see you. He's at a nearby temple not too far from here."
Kenshin nodded at the man to let him lead the way. While Kenshin make his way to Katsura, he couldn't help but wonder what was so important that would make Katsura himself come here.
After walking for about a mile, the temple was now visible to Kenshin. A few minutes later, he was walking up the stairs to meet Katsura. Kenshin slid the shoji doors open to the room where Katsura was in. He walked in slowly and closed the door securely shut behind him. Katsura had his back turned to Kenshin. He was looking out the window, deep in thought.
"You wanted to see me, Katsura," Kenshin simply stated to let Katsura acknowledge his presence in the room. Katsura finally turned to Kenshin.
"Indeed," Katsura frowned. It was not often that Kenshin was greeted with a frown on Katsura's face. Something must be bad.
"I have some bad news for you, Himura," Katsura said. "There is news that there is someone plotting an attack on the dojo. We are still trying to figure who and eliminate them. But as of right now, Kamiya-san's daughter is in danger, and we need you to be on full alert. When we find out more about this person, we'll contact you immediately."
"Hai. I will return to my duty now." With that, Kenshin left the room. Many thoughts were running through his head as he tried to get himself together. First off, he was afraid of Kaoru's safety. Second, he wanted to find whoever this person is and cut his head off. How dare he try to involve an innocent girl such as Kaoru into his evil scheme to get to Kamiya-san. For the past few days that he has been in the dojo, Kenshin has lived a normal life. He almost forgot that he was the Battousai at times. Now, he was thrown back to reality with this ill news. Kenshin cursed himself for actually thinking that things will get better soon when in fact, they are not. The sun slowly began to set. The day was getting late; soon, night will fall. Kenshin still needs to purchase the tofu, so he hurried himself to the market.
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Kaoru furrowed her eyebrows as she watch the sun slowly beginning to set. Where is he? Kenshin has left the dojo to get tofu a few hours ago and he's still not back yet. Kaoru was getting worried. She's been sitting on the porch (is that what you call it?) of the dojo waiting for his return. Not wanting to wait any longer, Kaoru decided to go out and search for Kenshin herself.
"I'm going to go look for Kenshin!" Kaoru yelled. Before Yahiko could answer, she left the dojo and headed to the market.
When Kaoru reached the market, there were only a few stores left that was open. Everyone was getting ready to go home and have dinner. Her eyes scanned the crowd for the red-headed swordsman, but he was not to be found. She asked the tofu vendor if a red-headed man came by to buy some tofu. The vendor shook his head to answer: negative. Kaoru dropped her head in defeat. When Kenshin gets home, he's going to have hell for making me run around to look for him! Kaoru fumed.
She turned around and started her way towards home when she heard a cry from an alley nearby. Being the curious person that she is, Kaoru ran to the source of the outcry to find a little boy sprawled on the ground with a man hovering over him with a whip.
"You little punk! I told you to go to the market to buy a barrel of rice, not a bucket!" yelled the man.
"Y…you…only gave me…enough for…a..bucket..uncle," the boy gasped. He held on to his ribs, breathing heavily. His eyes were watery, but he tried to blink back his tears.
"FOOL! Do you not know how to barter for a better deal!" The man lifted his whip again, ready to crack it on the boy's back, but Kaoru came in to interfere with this horrid sight. She smacked her bokken on the man's wrist, which made him drop the treacherous thing onto the ground.
"How dare you hit your nephew like that!"
"You little bitch, don't make me show you your place in this world. Go home and cook some dinner women. This is none of you business."
"It is my business if you're mistreating other people!" she yelled. Kaoru got into her fighting stance, holding her bokken up ready for another attack. The man gave Kaoru a crooked grin. He gave a loud whistle. Within a matter of a few seconds, a group of men appeared from the shadows before him. There were about twenty or so men standing behind him.
"Please miss…go..before you…get……hurt," whispered the little boy by Kaoru's side.
"Never! I will not leave you like this," she replied. She knew she can't fight all twenty men, but she has to try. Someone was in need for her help, and she can't just walk away.
"Hey, look at this little party here," someone said. A man with spiky brown hair with a red bandana on his head walked into the alley. He chewed on a fish-bone, smiling at a group of men.
"Aren't you guys ashamed of yourselves that you need such a big group of people to hurt this jou-chan here?" he cockily said.
Then men seethed with anger. Then the uncle of the little boy signaled to attack. Kaoru and the brown-haired man ran to attack as well. Kaoru fought off the men one by one, while the other guy used his fists to knocked the other men out. While Kaoru was fighting having a little bit of a hard time with the uncle holding the whip, another man sneaked up on her with his sword ready to slash her from the back. The brown-haired man noticed the glint of the sword from the corner of his eye. He quickly ran towards the girl, but time was running out. So, he threw himself at the girl to pushed her away, while in the meantime taking the blow. The blade caught his left shoulder and left a large wound. He fell on top of Kaoru on the ground. Kaoru tried to shake off the shock she received. Her eyes widened at the immense amount of blood coming out of the man that tried to save her.
"Run, jou-chan," the guy murmured. "I'll try to fend them off for as long as I can, so that you can escape." Tears were begging to fall from Kaoru's eyes. She didn't intend on someone getting hurt in order to try and save her. Anger and fear stirred in Kaoru's body. She has to fight. It is impossible for her to leave the guy behind with these ruffians. There was no way he could fight as well as he can with that left shoulder.
The guy stood up ready to and held his fists up, ready to attack again. Kaoru picked herself up as well and got into a fighting stance. The guy looked at her with bewilderment in his eyes.
"I said run missy! Not stay here and fight!" he said annoyingly. Kaoru didn't even answer him as she took off to fight the rest of the men. Not knowing what to do, the man fought as well in hope that they'll both make it out alive. But luck didn't seem to be on their side when he heard a loud crack; Kaoru's bokken was cut into two. He stole a glance at Kaoru to see how she was doing. One of the men took the man's dividing attention to his advantage and swung at him. The attack connected on his thigh and left a large cut on it. Before Kaoru could turn to see what has happened, the uncle landed the whip on her back, knocking her to the floor. Kaoru screamed from the pain she felt coursing through her back. The man winced at her scream as he tried to get to her and protect her from getting hurt. He stood before the girl as three men came with their sword attacking at once.
"Shit. This is going to hurt," he muttered as he tried to balance himself. He entered to the right to knock one of the guy out, but he was too slow when the other two swung their swords at him. He closed his eyes, ready to take the pain, but it never came. Instead a loud clash of steel rang through the alley. He popped open his eyes to see a short red-haired man extending his sword to block the attack that would've killed him. Suddenly the red-haired swordsman disappeared. The two men wondered where he went. Before they knew it, he was standing behind them pulling his sword out of their bodies letting them crumple onto the ground. He turned to the rest of the men.
"Leave before you experienced the same fate," he said in a deadly low tone. Most of the men took that a cue to leave, so they all scattered and left. There were a few men left standing there including the uncle of the little boy. Either they're too scared or they are actually stupid. Kenshin glared at him with his annoyance. Then the uncle finally spoke up.
"The little boy…he belongs to us," he gulped.
"Not anymore. He doesn't deserve to be abused by assholes like you." Kenshin said coolly. "If you want to fight about that, I will be glad to." With that said, Kenshin lowered himself to fighting stance.
"Kenshin?" A voice broke through the eerie silence surrounding the scene. There was a body lying on the ground. It moved slowly and turned to reveal the face to Kenshin.
"Kaoru!" To Kenshin's surprise, Kaoru has been laying on the ground near the man the he has saved the whole time. At first he thought it was just some girl, but now he saw the face and realized it was Kaoru. Seeing Kaoru on the ground hurt made Kenshin's blood boil. Uncontrollable rage ran through his body. Damn fuckers...they'll pay for this shit.
The men saw that Kenshin had his attention elsewhere, so they took that moment to run towards Kenshin and attack. They must be stupid. Kenshin caught their movements from the corner of his eyes. He took off with his god-like speed. Kaoru watched the event that took place in horror and amazement. She was witnessing the legendary Hitokiri Battousai kill. He moved with grace and speed, like a dancing a dance he knew so well. A dance of death. A minute later, all of them lay crumpled on the ground. A pool of blood formed around each of the body. Kenshin flicked his sword to remove the blood. He slowly sheathed his sword and slowly walked towards Kaoru. He knelt in front of her. His amber eyes leveled with her sapphire ones. Concern and anger filled his eyes. Without saying a word, he picked Kaoru. She gave a loud yelp when his hands touched her back. Kenshin grimaced when he realized he has touched her wound. He looked at the spiky haired man.
"Can you walk?" his voice was low and cold. His tone made it clear that Kenshin isn't going to take, "no" as an answer.
"Uh..yeah," he replied.
"Good, I need you to carry that boy. Follow me," he ordered. The man winced as he limped over to the boy and picked him up from the floor. His thigh was has stopped bleeding as much. Hopefully, he'll make it to wherever he was going. So that's what the Hitokiri Battousai is like…he wondered as he limped behind the Battousai.
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A/N: Whee! One chapter done! I'm already working on my next chapter! Okay okay, I know this story is slow, but I'm trying to make a really good scheme, so you readers won't be bored by the same thing happening over and over again. SO, please bear with me here. Hmm…so does anyone know who those characters are that appeared in this chapter? Hehe.
