Lunar Sun

By Aka Ketsueki

Mandatory Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin ©.



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Chapter Five: Gifts Galore

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The taste was that of the oldest wine, fine to the point of perfection, deliciously thick, yet flowing down one's throat as if it were water, but always leaving a lusciously addictive aftertaste once consumed. This addiction was what lured many to the brink of insanity and far beyond, changing a simple obsession into a full out bloodlust. However, if one manages to overcome the bloodlust, and learn to anticipate only the rapture that resulted from the drink, then one will reach what others call a state of pure bliss.

It was in his 100th year in Isolation that Battousai finally understood what it was that his own master had been trying to teach him all along. The kill was necessary, the kill was encouraged, but it was not what you enslaved yourself to. No matter how many you kill, no matter how many you drain, it will never be the same as your first. You can never again reach the same high you achieved as when you first tasted it, and until you accept this, you will forever be enslaved to your addiction.

In Battousai's case however, he not only accepted the said philosophy, but went beyond it as well. After all, why settle with trying to get back to one's first high when it is possible to go beyond it and into ecstacy? Why remain satisfied with the small amount of power gained from completely drinking another's essence, when you can obtain so much more with so little effort?

For those who know the truth, life for eternity is actually quite the blessing.

Unfortunately, not many know the truth, so it's only obvious that most of the Earth's shadowed population was filled with unappreciative brats that killed left and right or hated their existence altogether. Among those that hated existing was one Kamiya Kaoru, the only creature even more addictive than power to the almighty Lord Battousai of the Blood Realm.


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"Come on, Kaoru, tell me who the crazy guy is that's wasting so much money on you!" begged Megumi once again as she followed her roommate around the kitchen, doing her best to make the other woman confess.

Leaning against the counter next to the refrigerator, Megumi sighed as Kaoru scanned the contents of the fridge for something to consume.

"Why won't you tell me, Tanuki? The guy can't be all that bad if he has so much money. He bought you a car, for goodness sake! A car that costs more than this apartment, mind you," stated Megumi in slight annoyance at how she hadn't found out who the mysterious man was. "Can't you at least tell me his name?"

Choosing a Mountain Dew before slamming the refrigerator close, Kaoru gave her roommate a glare before pushing Megumi aside to get to the straw drawer.

"Must you always drink your soft drinks with a straw?" asked Megumi out of irritation from having been left clueless all week long.

Opening her can of Mountain Dew and adding her straw, Kaoru simply slipped on her beverage as she moved over toward the kitchen table.

Sitting across from her friend, Megumi pursed her lips into a thin line and settled for glaring at the luckiest girl she had ever met and known personally.

Tired of avoiding the situation, and the ones that had sprouted from it, Kaoru sighed.

"Kenshin," answered Kaoru as she stared straight into Megumi's onyx colored eyes.

"What?" asked Megumi startled, surprised that the other girl had actually spoken.

Rolling her eyes, Kaoru repeated, "Kenshin. His name is Kenshin."

"Kenshin?" asked Megumi, tasting the name as it rolled off of her lips. She gave a long and dreamy sigh as she whispered, "Even his name sounds romantic... You're so lucky, Kaoru, you actually get to a scream a manageable name in bed."

Having had been sipping her drink while Megumi was daydreaming, Kaoru was able to obtain the full effect of surprise by spraying the green liquid from her mouth at her friend's last comment.

Speechless, Kaoru could only stare at Megumi in absolute horror and mortification.

Laughing until it seemed like tiny fox ears were forming on her head, Megumi gave Kaoru a knowing smile. "Oh, don't look at me like that! You know that you've thought about it, Kamiya Kaoru! Personally, I'd gladly spread my legs for someone who was as rich and delicious looking as your Kenshin, especially if he bought me my own estate and island!"

Kaoru frowned as she grabbed a nearby napkin and cleaned up her mess, ignoring the part about her last two "presents." "If you knew what he looked like, then why did you bother to ask me?"

"Of course I knew what he looked like! Did you really think I wouldn't take a peek at that lovely heart-framed picture on your desk?" asked Megumi as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I just didn't know the hotty's name."

Mumbling about sly foxes who went into people's rooms uninvited, Kaoru grabbed her drink and sat down on their brand new, black Italian leather couch in front of the matching Plasma television.

"Why don't you just go out with the him, Kaoru? Kenshin seems like a sweet enough guy," said Megumi as she made her way over to the couch and sat next to the sulking bachelorette. "You have to at least go out with him once for all that he's given you. Aren't you the least bit guilty about how he's showering you with all of these presents while getting nothing in return?"

Biting down on her straw, Kaoru nodded in agreement after Megumi had nudged her side for a good ten times.

"Great! Now let's get you dressed and ready to go out tonight!" said Megumi excitedly as she jumped off the couch and made to drag Kaoru into her room to change.

"Megumi," complained Kaoru, refusing to budge from her seat on the couch.

"What?" asked Megumi out of exasperation as she placed her hands on her hips, looming over Kaoru in an intimidating fashion.

"Let me call him first," said Kaoru, reminding the other woman that a date had to be set up before one could prepare for it.

Covering up her embarrassment with a sheepish laugh, Megumi then threw Kaoru the new blue cell phone on the couch's armrest, motioning for her to quickly make the call.

"I'm going to just go pick out a dress while you're talking to him, all right?" With that said, Megumi left Kaoru alone as she went to Kaoru's room in search for an appropriate gown for the evening.

Shaking her head, Kaoru looked down at her cell phone, remembering how surprised and annoyed she had been when she found it laying innocently on her bed with bouquets of roses all around it. In fact, she had found quite a number of other things around the apartment after returning home from cashing her checks that day.

After reading Battousai's first card, it had become obvious as to who her mysterious hitokiri was. She had almost slapped herself for not realizing it in the first place.

Placing her semi-full can of Mountain Dew on the glass table in front of her, Kaoru dialed in the number she had memorized over the last few days.

Worrying her lower lip as the phone began to ring, Kaoru closed her eyes when no one picked up after the first two rings, hoping that no one would answer so she could simply call the whole thing off. However, the Fates had other things planned for her, because just as she was about to disconnect her call, a female voice answered.

"Hello?" asked the hoarse, sultry voice of a girl Kaoru couldn't recognized.

Forcing herself not to slam her flip phone shut and throw it out the nearest window, Kaoru asked as politely as she could manage, "Is Himura there?"

"Himura?" questioned the woman.

Left eye twitching at the thought of someone not knowing the name Himura, Kaoru asked once more, "Battousai?"

Kaoru couldn't help but raise a brow as she heard the girl yelp and protest before a masculine voice she hadn't heard in decades answered.

"Missy, is that really you?" asked the man on the other line in disbelief.

"Sanosuke?" questioned Kaoru, now confused as to why her old friend was answering Battousai's cell phone.

"Missy! I haven't heard from you for a long while," said Sanosuke. Kaoru could practically see the Vampire's trademark grin over the phone.

"Yeah, it's me," confirmed Kaoru. Unable to help herself, Kaoru asked, "Why do you have Battousai's cell phone?"

"He accidentally left it behind when he came over to my apartment for something," answered Sanosuke. "I had placed it on my night stand for safe keeping, and one of my girls answered it when you called."

"Oh," was all Kaoru could say.

"So, are you finally going to get back with Lord Battousai, Missy?" asked Sanosuke suggestively once he realized who it was Kaoru had been trying to reach.

Gritting her teeth, Kaoru asked sweetly, "Sanosuke?"

"What?" asked Sano cautiously, not liking Kaoru's tone of voice.

"Do you realize that you just let a girl, who doesn't even know Battousai's codename, touch his cell phone?" asked Kaoru.

Kaoru only had to wait a few seconds for her words to sink in, and then grinned at the other Vampire's predicament.

"Fuck! Why the hell did you have to go and call at this time of night, Missy?" whined Sanosuke, the sound of fabric ruffling and curses reaching Kaoru's sensitive ears. There was a moment of silence after the sound of a door slamming was heard and Kaoru felt her brows raise at Sanosuke's suddenly pleading voice, "Missy, you've got to help me!"

"What? Why do I have to help you for your carelessness?" asked Kaoru mockingly, enjoying the tortured noise that escaped Sano's throat at her answer.

"Because you got me into this situation and you know it!" complained Sanosuke childishly. "Please, Missy? You're the only one that can still call our new leader informally and still live. Please? With a cherry on top and chocolate sprinkles? You wouldn't let me be killed over such a little thing as not taking proper care of Lord Battousai's cell phone, would you, Missy?"

"Let me think about it..." teased Kaoru.

"Missy!" shouted Sanosuke desperately.

Moving the phone away from her ear, Kaoru growled. "Oh, all right, just stop yelling in my ear. You owe me big time, Sagara Sanosuke!"

"Yes, thank you, Missy! Meet me on the corner of Gale Street on 23rd Avenue in half an hour. See you there," said Sanosuke, hanging up before Kaoru could say farewell.

Sighing, Kaoru flipped her phone close and stood up, bracing herself for Megumi's reaction to her new set of plans.


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Parking her Mercedes Benz at a nearby parking garage, Kaoru stepped out of her car and automatically locked it before slipping her keys back into her Louis Vuitton purse.

Walking the rest of the way toward Sanosuke's designated corner, Kaoru sighed as she spotted a male silhouette beneath the lamppost.

"Hey, Sano!" shouted Kaoru, quickening her pace once she got close enough to identify the mob of spiky brown hair.

"Missy!" greeted Sano with a wave of his semi white gloved hand as he raced into the street to meet her halfway.

Kaoru's smile faded into a frown when she got close enough to notice that the Vampire was still wearing his same old white attire, certain that the character "Bad" was on the back of his jacket.

"Don't look at me like that, Missy, you act like you just found a dead dog on the street instead of an old friend!" sighed Sanosuke as he raced a hand through his uncontrollable hair.

"I'm sorry, Sano, but honestly, don't you think it's about time you wore something appropriate for the current era you're in?" asked Kaoru, the look of disapproval etched into her pale face.

"What's wrong with my outfit? A lot of gang members wear this type of clothing today," defended Sano.

Rolling her eyes, Kaoru waved the subject off before asking, "Did you buy the new cell phone yet?"

"Bought it right before I got here. A friend of mine, I think you know him, Katsu, gave me one that has already been charged and ready to go," said Sanosuke as he revealed two identical cell phones from different pockets in his coat.

"Did you switch the SIM card from the old cell phone to the new one?" asked Kaoru after nodding her head in approval at the two identical products.

"SIM card?" asked Sanosuke blankly.

"The Subscriber Identity Module card," said Kaoru, sighing out of frustration at Sanosuke's confused expression. "The card that holds all of the information." Kaoru glared and shook her head at the Vampire's lack of knowledge of the new century. "The card that lets you switch cell phones without having to start a whole new plan and losing all of your stored data?"

"Oh, you mean that thing!" said Sanosuke as realization dawned on him.

"Yes, 'that thing.' Now did you place it in the new cell?" asked Kaoru.

Laughing nervously, Sanosuke admitted quietly, "Uh...I didn't know how...to do that."

Willing herself to calm down, Kaoru snatched the two cell phones away from the idiotic, overgrown rooster and switched the SIM card from the old cell phone that reeked of human into the new one.

"You're lucky that the SIM card for Kenshin's cell is located inside the phone, or you'd have had to buy a whole new one," said Kaoru as she closed the cell phone shut, glad that she had decided to wear her black gloves.

"You know I never think that far," said Sano as he threw the old cell phone into a nearby trash can.

"When do you ever think?" teased Kaoru as she turned on the cell phone to make sure that it worked. "How much battery did he have before that girl picked it up?"

"It was down a bar when I last looked at it," said Sanosuke as he shoved his hands into his coat pocket.

"When you answered it?" asked Kaoru absently as she went through the cell phone's Caller ID to erase her number.

"Yeah, I had to pry it from the girl's hands to get the cell phone and caught a glimpse of it," confirmed Sanosuke.

"Why did you let that girl in your bedroom in the first place? I thought you were over that whole 'Fuck and Drink' thing," said Kaoru as she went further down into the list of numbers, doing her best to use up a bit of the new cell phone's battery.

Leading his new friend off of the road and onto the sidewalk, Sano sighed.

"I was having a bad day," said Sano, rummaging through his pocket for a cigarette.

"Who doesn't have a bad day when Battousai just suddenly shows up and demands something?" asked Kaoru distastefully, going through the addresses stored into the SIM card's memory.

"Nah, it wasn't because of Lord Battousai," said Sano as he plucked a white cigarette into his mouth, looking through his pockets once more for a lighter.

"Oh crap," whispered Kaoru once she remembered something, stopping in her tracks at their situation.

"What?" asked Sano, temporarily forgetting his own problems to stop and look at his friend.

"This doesn't have his scent on it!" reminded Kaoru.

Sanosuke's eyes dilated in panic as the cigarette fell from his lips, forgotten on the cold cement.

"Oh shit!" cursed Sanosuke, both at the loss of his cigarette and their predicament. "Do you have anything with his scent on it, Missy?"

Kaoru shook her head. The only thing she had of him was the pendant around her neck and blood scent was much different than body scent.

"What do we do?" moaned Sano, pulling at his hair as if by doing so his brain would pop out and give him an answer.

"Calm down, Sano!" hissed Kaoru as she sensed a presence nearby in the darkened alleys around them. "Maybe if you just return the cell phone to him like this, he won't mind. The girl's cheap perfume is no longer on it, and as much as I hate to admit it, Battousai can be understanding."

"Understanding with you! He'd kill me in an instant for being so brainless," groaned Sano depressingly as he paced back and forth.

Kaoru sighed, knowing better than to try and reason with the other Vampire.

"Sano, stop moving around and look at me," ordered Kaoru.

Reluctantly, Sano obeyed, his head slightly bent in submission to his upcoming fate.

"You still have a chance of living if you're willing to go the distance," said Kaoru seriously, still unable to believe what she was going to suggest next. "If Battousai hasn't come for his cell phone by now, then that means he's either sleeping in the Blood Realm or far too busy to care. And from years of experience, I'll tell you right now that Battousai wouldn't give a wink if he were late for something if it meant leaving behind something that belongs to him."

"You mean Lord Battousai is...sleeping?" asked Sano, his head snapping up as he caught on.

Kaoru nodded. "Battousai doesn't rest unless he absolutely needs to, and when he does rest, he doesn't care about anything but recovering his strength." 'Unless, of course, it has to do with me.' Added Kaoru mentally.

A spark of hope lit up in Sano's chocolate eyes.

"You mean you would actually do that for me?" asked Sano, tears of gratefulness forming in his eyes.

Kaoru stared at the Vampire incredulously.

"What makes you think I'm going to sneak into the Blood Realm and into Battousai's chambers just to help you?" asked Kaoru.

"Please, Missy! Please!" begged Sano as got down on his knees and began to tug at her trench coat as a child would to get its way.

"There is no way I'm going to go into Battousai's chambers alone," said Kaoru, taking a step away from the groveling creature.

"Please, Missy? I'll go with you!" offered Sano, once again making his way to Kaoru on his knees.

Unable to continue seeing her friend in such a state, Kaoru sighed before pulling Sanosuke up off of the ground with her one free hand.

"All right," yielded Kaoru as she tucked Battousai's new cell phone in her coat, hating her self-conscience. "When you help someone, you help the person until the end."

"YES! Thank you, Missy!" said Sano, crushing his smaller friend in a bear hug.

"Okay, okay, just put me down, you're crushing my new Louise Vuitton," said Kaoru, dusting herself off once Sano let go.

"Come on, then," said Sano as he began to jog toward the nearest subway. "There's a portal in the back of the subway that goes right into the main city. If we're fast enough, we can make it to Lord Battousai's castle within the hour."

'Way to go, Kaoru! You just got yourself into another messy situation,' thought Kaoru sarcastically as she ran after the disappearing white dot, cursing her inability to say "No" to friends all the way.


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