Summary: The two religions, Sanctus and Diablos, have never been at peace. Meet Kamiya Kaoru of Sanctus, Oracle of Shinzuru, and Himura Kenshin of Diablos, Prophet of Kurayami. Chaos is set free when all find out that the Oracle and the Prophet are engaged. B/K.

Pairings: Battousai/Kaoru

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, at all. All the characters belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki-sensei. The only thing in this story that is mine will be the OCs and the plot itself.

Cryptic Faith
Chapter Two – The Reactions

Within the Church, everything was violent. The townspeople had gone home, extremely upset at what the Prophet had done to the Oracle. He had defiled her holy being and did it in front of such a crowd. The Oracle herself could not move, her heart stopped beating and time seemed to stand still for her. The fates seemed to want to go against her. The goddess was clearly upset; Kaoru could hear Shinzuru's voice pounding in her mind. She did not remember what had happened thirteen years ago. The goddess had shown true mercy to Kaoru twelve years ago, when she was five. The Prophet's words clearly said they met thirteen years ago, a year before the goddess had anything to do with Kaoru's life. Pain etched on her features as she recalled what happened but an hour ago.

"Kaoru-sama! Word has been spreading and the entire world of Sanctus is falling into chaos," said Misanagi urgently as she approached the distraught Oracle. She was no longer wearing her white robe but her clothes as the Okashira of the Sanada Ninjas. Kaoru was wearing an informal kimono now, instead of the white and gold robes of earlier. It was she always wore when the ceremonial robes were not being used. "Kaoru-sama!" she repeated, more urgently this time as she held the Oracle's hands. "I don't know what happened thirteen years ago, but I do know that the Prophet was saying the truth, no matter how much I do not want to believe in his words. He held such an air of confidence that only the truth could bring out in a person," whispered Misanagi, a worried look appearing in her face.

"Misanagi, I can't remember anything that happened before Shinzuru-sama saved me twelve years ago," she spoke, her voice showing that she was evidently in pain. She was holding on to Misanagi for support, her knees weak as her mind was thrown into so much turmoil. How could she continue to serve Shinzuru, if she was promised to a man of Kurayami? How could she live with that fact? Her sapphire irises burned in anguish as she tried so hard to remember. "I don't even remember the faces of my parents!" she hissed, her nails digging into Misanagi's shoulders. The female ninja paid no mind, trying her best to calm down the Oracle before she did anything rash. "And he kills! He kills!" she said, extreme fear overcoming her sense of rationalism. For the first time in her life as the Oracle, Kaoru could no longer see a light shining in front of her eyes. For the first time in her life as the Oracle, her followers could see that she was in pain, that she could no longer think straight, that the life she knew had been thrown a way just like that.

The brown haired ninja swore against the Prophet and his plans for making the Oracle his wife. Was it Diablos' plan to do this and effectively destroy their only link to the goddess? It was a common fact, be it Shinzuru or Kurayami, that if their Oracle or Prophet was still alive, they would not choose another until they died. The Prophet and the Oracle were both young that by the time either one of them died, the loss interaction with their beloved goddess would affect them so much that Diablos would survive and Sanctus would most likely not. Tears of fear and uncertainty had already begun falling as Kaoru fell to the ground. It was as if she wanted to claw someone's eyes out. She could not handle the news; she didn't even remember seeing him. It would have been easy, seeing as he had the brightest of red hair, almost like blood, and his amethyst colored eyes were very rare but she could not remember at all.

"Do you… do you want some water?" asked Yuuko uncertainly, her teal eyes reflecting the worry she felt within her. All the others were busy trying to suppress the rage of the believers while Misanagi and Yuuko were left to comfort the distraught Oracle. Anyone would react the way she did, if they found out that she had been promised to someone in Diablos most especially if that someone was the Prophet. "Onee-sama?" asked Yuuko once more, trying to get some sort of response from the Oracle. When she did not reply, Yuuko fell to the ground in fervent prayer, hoping that the goddess would hear her words and that she would spare their beloved Oracle from the turmoil in her heart. Words flowed effortlessly from her mouth like water from a pitcher. Shinzuru's screams of anguish at what had happened the year before she and Kaoru met had started to lessen. She was hearing the words of one who was hoping against all hope that Kaoru would be alright.

As if a miracle occurred, Kaoru's tears began to lessen. Her breath was starting to normalize as she stretched her hand out towards Misanagi, her hand constantly opening and closing like she was trying to grasp the air in front of her. Her vision started to blur as her body began growing heavy. She was starting to forget all of the mess that had happened just an hour ago. Her eyes began to grow heavy as her body began descending to the marble floor, a slightly peaceful look on her face. Sleep was starting to take over her body, the mercy of the goddess to help her forget what had just occurred. In a matter of seconds, the Oracle lay sprawled on the marble floor, her cheeks against the cool, white stone. Time seemed to stand still for everyone as they saw their beloved Oracle on the ground, unconscious.

"Kaoru-sama!" said Misanagi urgently as she rushed towards the side of the raven haired girl, a worried look etched on her features. Misanagi tried to shake the Oracle awake but it seemed that she was in such a deep sleep. With all her strength, Misanagi lifted the Oracle and struggled as she began walking to the room of the Church where Kaoru would stay. All the others looked at the hardened face of Misanagi in fear. "Yuuko-san, look for any one of my ninjas. Tell them that their Okashira wants this Church surrounded, every entrance and every exit. The Oracle is asleep and she needs her rest. Tell them no one from Diablos should enter this holy ground. If they are able to, I will personally kill them if they aren't already dead." Yuuko nodded slowly as she rushed out, trying to find any one of the Sanada Ninjas.

Up on the window sill, an amber gleam shimmered as the golden irises stayed focused on the sleeping figure of the Oracle. "I didn't mean to scare her that badly," whispered Kenshin to himself as he stood up. Leaping from such a height, Kenshin moved towards the branch as the features of the Oracle remained etched in his mind. Since thirteen years ago, he hadn't really seen Kaoru face to face. Of course, he did see her when her picture was on the news but never personally and she had grown up to become a very beautiful woman in those thirteen years. "Soujiro, let's go home now. I'm tired," said Kenshin as his feet padded softly on the wood of the branch. The younger boy's dark eyes shone slightly before nodding. Taking once last look at the architecture behind him, Kenshin's eyes dulled until they were violet. With a sweep of their cloaks, the two men were gone as if they had never been there in the first place.

The Diablos Main Temple

The people walking down in the dark hallway were guided by the bright, burning light coming from the fire of the torches. An orangey glow illuminated the otherwise black of the hallway as two sets of feet padded against the floor. The black of their cloaks hid their bodies as they continued to walk. A slight shimmer of silver against the dark black of one of the figures' robes glinted against the darkness of the hallway. Usually, it was much brighter than this, as the sun also shone in the marble hallway of the temple, but it was night wherein they relied only on the light of torches held by statues carved out of the same marble they were walking on. The grandeur of the area they were in was hidden by the inky black of the night, only to be visible during the day.

"My Prophet, where are your elders?" asked another person clad in black as he rushed over towards Kenshin and Soujiro. The two men stopped, Kenshin's eyes flashing a wild gold as he looked at the person who questioned him and silently motioned him to press even further. "My Prophet, the elders who were left here wish to have a meeting with them, as well as you and Soujiro-sama," replied the messenger as he gulped in worry. He did not want to anger the Prophet, the sole person whom their god could speak through. "They, they are waiting in the room in the second floor, near the eastern balcony," informed the young man before bowing and leaving the presence of the Prophet. Soujiro's lips twisted themselves into that plastic smile as he faced Kenshin.

"Well, Kenshin-san, it seems that you will never be able to rid yourself of these elders of yours from the times of the older Prophets," said Soujiro with a slight laugh as the two of them began to walk to the room the messenger had spoken of. Kenshin idly nodded as he ran a hand through his long blood colored hair which he had set free before tying it back once more. "Maybe you should be like the Oracle, having absolutely no elders to judge what is going on and what to do about it. The Oracle only has a few trusted people around her and her personal guard, the Sanada Ninjas. Beyond that, no one else is close to her. With the presence of the elders, it seems that they're the ones running Diablos when it should be you, Kenshin-san," said Soujiro thoughtfully as he rubbed his thumb against the skin of his chin, "It's just a suggestion but it seems like a truly good choice to me."

"Yes, Soujiro, it seems like a good choice," said Kenshin tiredly as they began ascending the marble steps. More torches lit their way as they moved on to the room where some of the other elders. They were the only ones walking to that room, the elders who were with them earlier lying in the cold ground, their bodies already rotting. The Prophet's eyes showed irritation as he frowned, his amethyst eyes flickering gold as the continued walking. He wondered why he even put up with the elders. Probably because the older Prophets had put up with them but he would take no more of their prodding. "Soujiro?" spoke Kenshin as they stopped in front of a wooden door. The dark coal eyes of the Tenken looked up at the red haired male. "Do not kill them unless they infuriate me, no matter how annoyed you are at them," said Kenshin as he reached out his hand for the knob of the door, "Wait at least until after the meeting." The Tenken nodded with his usual smile on his face.

"Soujiro! Do not let the Prophet do menial work!" berated one of the elders, Shibahara Tazuya, as he stood up, his hands against the mahogany table. Soujiro merely shrugged it off as he walked slightly behind Kenshin who didn't seem to pay any attention to the other elders. As soon as he found his seat, Kenshin immediately sat down with Soujiro at his right. All of the other elders looked at Tazuya, who remained standing, before looking at the Prophet. "My Prophet, where are the other elders? I'm sure that there were twenty with you when you went to… wherever you have gone to," asked Tazuya with a tone of confusion painting his voice, "And what did you do there, if we may ask."

"It doesn't matter where they are. What matters is that this meeting finish soon because I'm tired," hissed Kenshin, a headache thrumming against his temples. Soujiro looked at the elders with a smile that warned them death if they continued adding to Kenshin's growing headache. Of course, he'd have to wait until Kenshin agreed to let him deliver their deaths but he was a generally patient man. He could wait for a year without getting irked at all. "And what did I do there?" said Kenshin softly, annoyance coating the words that escaped his lips, "What I did there does not matter to you, if you do not want to die now. I'm sure you all have your families to go home to. Do not test my patience." The murmurs arose from the elders as ideas of what happened earlier came into their minds. The twenty elders were dead for irking the Prophet and he had visited the Oracle and had announced, formally or not, the predicament at hand. They were engaged.

"Why, my Prophet, did you do that?" implored Tazuya with a tone of evident annoyance. He was longing to tear the hair off of Kenshin's head and shake some sense into the Prophet. Never have they had such a reckless and uncaring Prophet who had tasted the blood of many in his days as Battousai but never in the history of Diablos did they have a Prophet so loved by the people and so blessed by Kurayami. Battousai never killed for money. He killed for the sake of his justice. As Battousai, the teachings of Diablos were spread out since he was never really in one place for long. He walked and acted like a normal person. People were attracted to him like metal was attracted to a magnet. They had never seen him angry like this, until the elders found out about a promise between himself and the Oracle forged thirteen years ago, when he was a mere child of six. "Why?"

"Why did I do it?" hissed Kenshin, his eyes a dark gold with hints of red in them. It was known that the god Kurayami favored Kenshin above all the other Prophets he had chosen in the past. Soujiro heard Kenshin talk at night, when he passed by to make sure the red haired man needed nothing more. Kenshin was talking to Kurayami, as if they were best friends. In short, they were. That night, they were talking about when Kenshin's family had died of an epidemic around twelve years ago. Kurayami had pitied him and had yet to choose a Prophet, as the last one died a few days before the death of Kenshin's family. Kurayami taught him the ways of a Prophet and eventually let Kenshin practice swordsmanship under the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. Kurayami knew everything of Kenshin, even the promise of thirteen years ago. Soujiro knew this because days after, Kenshin had confided in him. "I did it because she deserves to know the truth. We were more than just friends thirteen years ago."

"Please excuse us both," said Soujiro as he stood up, Kenshin doing the same action shortly afterwards, "Walking all the way to a small town that is a bit a way away and back here to Kyoto is no small action, especially doing it in under two hours, both ways." The elders were left dumbfounded as they watched them make their way to the door. Tazuya began walking towards them, to try and make them stay but to no avail. Soujiro, as fast as lightning, drew out his katana and pointed it near Tazuya's neck. The older man looked at Soujiro, nervousness in his eyes. Kenshin stopped walking, to hear what Soujiro had to say. "Please don't try Kenshin-san's generosity, Tazuya-san. I could easily kill you all but I need his word to do so. He hasn't given it yet so consider yourselves lucky, gentlemen, Tazuya-san." As fast as he drew out his katana, Soujiro sheathed it. "Oh yes, all of you are relieved from your duties as elders. From this point on, only a select few will surround Kenshin-san and see to it that his needs are met." Wordlessly, the two swordsmen exited the room to get their rest.

An Old Japanese House

Wide sapphire blue eyes peered into the pond as the figure who owned them crouched beside the pond. Her hand was stretched out, her fingers touching the cool water as fishes danced around but never going near her. A frown formed on her face as she stretched out her hand even more, trying to reach at least one of the fishes. Behind a tree, amethyst eyes were watching the young girl, strands of his oddly colored hair sticking out. Half of his body was hidden as he remained where he was, a small smile on his face. The girl in front of him was cute, trying to reach out to touch at least the scaly body of one of the fishes. In all his years in Japan, he knew it was useless to try and touch a fish. They would always dart away from you or swim near your hand if you were giving them food. Stretching out her hand even more, the girl tried to maintain her balance as she was near the edge.

"Ah!" she screamed as she slipped falling into the water. Without any control of his body, the young boy dashed forward, pushing himself to catch the girl before she fell into the water. He couldn't reach her in time to so he did the next best thing. He'd cushion her fall. The area she was about to fall in wasn't too deep but she could hurt herself. He hated seeing girls hurt. Tears didn't suit their faces. Opening her eyes, the girl expected herself to be drenched with water but instead, a mass of blood red hair that stuck to a young boy's face met her gaze. "Wh-who are you?" asked the girl timidly as she remained where she was.

"I-I'm Kenshin, Himura Kenshin," spoke the boy softly as his face reddened slightly, "And I'm six years old." Without any warning, the girl in front of him brought down her face and kissed him softly on the lips, a childish, innocent kiss. Kenshin's fingers found their way to his lips, his amethyst eyes flecked with traces of amber showed confusion.

"Thank you very much," she said shyly as she ran a hand through her raven locks, "I'm Kaoru, Kamiya Kaoru, and I'm four years old."

Tsuzuku…

Notice how different Kaoru's and Sanctus' reaction to the news compared to the reaction of Diablos. Of course, the latter actually knew about the promise. Kaoru did, but she forgot about it, remember?

The end is cute. It's a flashback of sorts on how they first met. And Kaoru was the one who initiated the kiss this time! Of course, she didn't exactly think of it as anything beyond a sign of thanks.

I'm sorry if my paragraphs are so… chunky. I can't help it, it's my writing style. Please understand though!

Thank you all for supporting me in my venture to the world of Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction! Hopefully, I'll be able to finish Cryptic Faith and perhaps, write more stories in not only Naruto but Rurouni Kenshin as well.

See you guys soon and please review so I know where I can improve on!