REVISED CHAPTER Rated R for language
(Author's note): In this Kenshin has not received his cross scar yet.
I will try to keep my chapters longer – I am a somewhat terse writer.
Do not worry, this is completely KK and KB.
Loosely based on Dr. Zhivago.
Oh yes, and Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me. God knows what I'd do to it if it did. Teehee.
Love and Revolution: Chapter 2
The Constellation's Answer
"Your…sister?" Kenshin stared dumbly. From the circumstances, he can safely conclude that this white-haired smiley-faced man has just been shot by his own sister five minutes ago and is right now heartily discussing her wedding plans.
Enishi saw the look Kenshin was giving Kaoru and instantly snapped from his brief welcome. "That wench," he said. "Is not my sister. This wench is mine for the taking."
Kaoru let out a defiant snarl. Kenshin couldn't help liking her snarl. It was very carnivorous.
He gripped his sword again. "It seems to me," he said glacially, "that this wench is hardly yours at all, for if my eyesight is correct it seems she has just shot you with a pistol. Do you know how to tame your women? Or better yet: do you know how to handle them?"
Enishi laughed. "I'm liking you already, Himura. Unfortunately, my dear sister is not with me at this moment. She is on the East Wing, down the hallway with the bird centerpieces. She has been calmly awaiting your arrival."
"…" Kenshin scrutinized the white-haired man for a moment. That poisonous stare had been replaced by a sardonic grin in a matter of seconds.
"Shouldn't you be a little more indignant? Need I remind you of your current situation?" Kenshin hissed, looking back at Kaoru. Without notice, almost automatically his hand steadied her shoulder. It was slightly shaking, slightly paralyzed.
Enishi almost scoffed. "Need I remind you that my woman can do what she wants with me. Besides…" he licked a stream of blood off his fingers. "I gave her my permission."
Kaoru simply glared. She hadn't said a word since Kenshin entered. He certainly didn't know what to make of the situation, but it was evident that this man who claimed to be his future brother-in-law was hysterical, and to add to the bizarreness of the situation it appeared that the only psychopath in the room was the victim of the gunshot and not the bearer of the weapon. The bearer of the weapon, on the other hand, seemed thoroughly angry and shocked at the same time.
"What did you do to her?" Kenshin demanded, gripping the girl's shoulder.
"Are you sure you want to pry into a man's private life?"
Kenshin grew impatient. "Listen, if you don't want your next wound to be your head flying out of the window, you better tell me what the fuck you did to this girl."
"You guessed it right. I fucked her, and man, was it good."
There Kaoru let out a yell, struggling out of his grasp and stumbling toward Enishi. An officer quickly grabbed her by the arms and pulled her away. "Calm…down! Calm down!"
"So you raped her. I see. For that, the Jinsa will have your head."
"He did NOT!" screamed Kaoru, her voice raw with indignation.
Without hearing Kaoru's utter, Kenshin stiffened into battle stance. There was only so much he could tolerate, and this insolent idiot would be the first of tonight's string of intolerable lives severed…
"HIMURA!" called a deep-throated disembodied voice. A dashing, long-haired man stepped into the room. "Idiot, this isn't the time or place to start another damn rampage. That is your brother-in-law!"
Kaoru's eyes shot open wide. So it wasn't a lie!
"I don't care. He needs to die," Kenshin said nonchalantly.
"No. You, idiot, need to go to the East Wing where she is waiting for you." Hiko shot him the Evil Malice stare. Without another word, he grabbed Kenshin by the sleeve and half-dragged him out the door.
Kenshin stole another glance at the pistol-holding girl. Her eyes had not left him. But they were not friendly—nor were they antagonistic. They simply stared in half-wonder, half-resentment, vastly empty, strangely grateful.
Hiko disappeared without a trace by the time Kenshin reached the East Wing. Shit. Kenshin's mind reprimanded. You forgot to ask her name. He wasn't sure if his slightly discombobulated head was referring to his new unknown wife or to the mysterious girl who had him so stupefied he could hardly remember the direction he was going in.
Her gaze had been so feral. Judging from the looks of her, she was dangerous, in an innocent sort of way. Kenshin cursed to himself. Such oxymoronic thoughts. No wonder why Hiko always told him to take women lightly as grains of salt.
Except for the fact he was disgusted by his foster father's wanton way of simultaneously having three-fourths of the female population. Of all the stalwart grace, charming looks, and prodigious magnitude of Hiko, the one thing Kenshin couldn't stand was his utter man-whorishness.
He approached the doorway now. The floor was decorated with yet another China-sized Persian rug, this time in a garish sort of orange. The walls were mottled with ugly centerpieces of various patterned birds he guessed were caught from luxury sport hunting. He approached the room in the back. There was a woman sitting on a lacquered bench, her hair pulled into a loose ponytail.
"Kenshin?" she called. "Kenshin Himura?"
"That's me." He said. The girl appeared out of the shadows, her face in a haze.
"Tomoe. Yukishiro Tomoe."
"Pleased to meet you," Kenshin said, and held out his hand.
"I think I will be your wife."
"Yes. My wife."
She was beautiful and elegant, with her arms wrapped in a silk shawl. When he looked into her delicate face he saw stark black eyes, with two white bubbles. He breathed in, taking her scent, faintly nostalgic. "I'm taking you did not hear what happened to your brother?"
"What happened to my brother?"
"He was shot. On the shoulder."
"Oh my god! That was the noise I heard?" Her soft eyes brimmed with concern.
"Yes."
"Is he alright?—Who did it?"
"It was a girl. A girl with black hair and blue eyes."
"Oh god." Her face went from alarm to sorrow. "I see."
"Who is she?"
"She is Kamiya Kaoru…"
"Kamiya? As, in, patron Kamiya?"
"Yes." Tomoe stared in silence, her eyes filled with mourning.
Kenshin shifted uncomfortably. "If she's the daughter of patron Kamiya—and your brother has— "
"When my brother has an obsession, he stops at nothing to satiate it. Now I guess he's gone too far. I warned him not to harm Kamiya's daughter in any way, but he couldn't listen to me. It's like his eyes glazed over when I told him I was disappointed in him."
"What relationship does your brother have with her?"
"Well—it's complicated." Tomoe said, a little firmly.
Kenshin didn't want to dig any farther. The last thing he wanted was to invade his new wife's affairs.
"I'm going to see if he's alright—"
"Don't bother," Kenshin said darkly. "They've probably sent him off by now."
A long silence ensued. He found himself wondering why someone as gentle as her could have such an asshole for a brother. The lights were dimming and few people remained in the dance hall. The chandelier flickered.
"On a lighter note," Tomoe said softly. "I haven't been out of that stuffy room in ages. Shall we
dance?"
Kenshin nodded, escorting his new wife onto the half-deserted floor.
Kaoru was running. She ran up five flights of stairs. God, she just needed a closet to hide in. Enishi was raving. He was crazy. She needed to escape.
She wished there was a chance to aim the pistol straight between those mocking eyes of his. All her life he's done nothing but blackmail her father with threats. And she'd just found out the day before yesterday. It sure did explain a hell of a lot. The year before, her father had introduced her to a charming young man, suave and clean. He was Yukishiro Enishi, a rich young man, eight years her senior.
But she knew better than to become his plaything. The truth is, Kamiya's empire was slowly crumbling away. There was a reason why her father gave private transactions in the safety of his home. There was a reason why Kamiya was only a thin whisper of rumor and hearsay among the parties and Jinsa army.
Her father Kamiya was dying. He swore that Kaoru will be protected after his passing, so he entrusted Enishi, his biggest donor, to protect her. The more Kaoru got involved, however, the more she slipped into a sinister game. More than once Enishi has tried to plant his lips on hers or reach beneath her clothes. More than once was enough. He had never been her boyfriend. She had grudging obliged to her father's wishes in conversing with Enishi and attempting to befriend him. However, he wanted something she couldn't give to him.
:flashback:
That night in the ballroom, it had been outdoors on the balcony when she heard soft footsteps behind her. She'd been contentedly gazing at the visible constellations and the silent moonlit courtyard when she felt a cold hand touch her bare shoulder. Instantly she had recoiled.
"Kaoru," he had said. "Kaoru, why do you wince at my touch?"
"I think you should know," she had replied quietly. "I do not intend to be with you."
His whisper had spun a thread of threat across her ear. "I am the only one who can keep your father alive. I'm sure he hasn't told you for fear of your alarm, but you see, this gives me an advantage. One day I shall possess you. It will be inevitable."
His hand reached across her collarbone. "It's only a matter of time."
"No, it's only a matter of endurance," she breathed.
"Kaoru," Enishi huffed, gripping her arms with large hands. "Love me. Lie to me about it if you wish, but your father's throat is under my sword. You know that."
"…" Kaoru tried to wrench away, but his grasp remained. "I can't say that."
"Don't you care about your father?"
Her lip had trembled. "Of course I do."
"Then tell me so. Just a few words." His hand was sliding into the creases of her dress.
She gulped. "I love you," she said monotonously.
It's okay to lie if it means keeping my father alive, her brain told her.
"Good," Enishi said, his lips curling into a sickening smile. "Then show me."
Without warning he pulled apart her dress, his lips trailing down her collarbone leaving a trail of moisture.
Oh god. I have to stop him. There's no way—
Then she was reminded of her father's condition.
She didn't want to cry just yet. She had other options. "Enishi," she said firmly.
"Yes, lovely," he mumbled as he forced his lips on hers.
His tongue had attempted to part her lips, but she kept them stiff and dry. She broke his touch and quickly stated, "If you will excuse me, I have to go to the ladies room."
With that, she pulled her dress together and quickly disappeared without a trace.
She ran toward the storage compartment where she knew she hid something. It was her father's pistol. She had always brought it with her in case of threats. This was the time to do it. She couldn't allow Enishi to blackmail her anymore. The thought of his slobbering kisses sent unpleasant shudders to her.
"I will kill him," she fumed. "I will do this for my father."
As she inched her way back to the brass doors that Enishi stood inside, she whispered, "Please, give me strength."
She opened the doors, her gun hidden beneath her dress.
"Have you come to continue?" Enishi said, smiling.
"Enishi, I will give you a chance to stop it. Stop what you're doing. It hurts me. If you truly say you love me, then stop hurting me."
"Stop what? My dear Kaoru, have you become numb to knowing the difference between pain and pleasure?"
"I think I know pain boundlessly more than you do."
"Poor Kaoru. Then allow me to soothe that pain."
He had come toward her again.
And time had froze when she shot him.
Kaoru curled her body into a paralysis when she reached the fifth floor. "I'll be safe, hopefully."
In spite of it all, she remembered one thing about the tumultuous events of the past half hour. It was a young man, who entered the double doors with a slice of his katana, his brilliant coppery eyes effulgent with fury. He had long red hair the shade of Indian sunset, a beautiful face, and an icy voice. It was he who had made her surroundings dissolve for a couple of minutes into a haze of trivial things. His startled eyes had caught hers. It was almost hypnotic
His voice was cool and blunt to Enishi and the others, but to her he had uttered the softest gasp.
"Are you—"
She couldn't tell if they were the only ones in the room utterly entranced with each other, but she swore she almost reached up to his face.
When he left, the officers were trembling. She heard vague words, like "That was the Hitokiri Battousai—", "The tiger of the Jinsa army—", "The one from all those urban myths?", "No, the one from all those legends, idiot—"
But she didn't pay attention. The only thing she became aware of was the volcano slushing around inside her. She remembered his name escaping from his lips like a bird, the name so familiar she wondered if her head was descending into madness. "Himura Kenshin."
Kenshin. The name was stalwart but gentle. So he was the legendary hitokiri. Her father had often mentioned a Hitokiri Battousai but never a Himura Kenshin. He had explained to her the need of having Battousai in the Jinsa army to rid the other competing armies of communists and fascists and god-knows-what else.
Enishi had said he was to wed his sister Tomoe. Kaoru had seen Tomoe before when she was visiting Enishi's house. The older girl had shot her occasional glances of pity and empathy. For those she had been extremely grateful, because she knew the only thing keeping Enishi from diving into complete and utter madness was his sister, Tomoe.
But just the same, Kaoru didn't need pity. She has worked hard to take care of her father. Glances of pity would be utterly wasted on her. For a second she thought that if Tomoe was marrying Kenshin, then perhaps she would be able to see him again.
No, not perhaps. She knew she would meet Kenshin again. In her closet she opened the narrow window. The constellations confirmed it.