Battle Of The Bands!
Chapter 3-The Manslayers
WARNING! DISTURBING CHAPTER! That's all I'm gonna say, hope you enjoy it, and please don't hate me and try to find me and kill me :).
Kaoru woke up early the next morning and sat at the table as she waited for Megumi and Misao to wake up. It didn't take long for the other two to join her at the table and Misao smiled cheerfully, "Hey Kaoru, you're up early."
"I didn't sleep well, Misao, I'm worried about Kenshin."
"Why are you worried about Kenshin?" Megumi asked as she sat down.
"Last night after the movie this guy named Saito came up and started talking to Kenshin and he got... hostile and protective. He wouldn't let Saito near me, he even made me get behind him like Saito was going to bite me or something."
"So I take it Saito isn't an old friend?" Misao asked
"I guess not, Kenshin wasn't real happy to see him. But I'm worried, I've never seen him act like that before."
"Maybe he's got a split personality and he's half sweet and cool rock star and half psycho killer out to murder pretty girls."
"That's not funny Misao! Kenshin wouldn't hurt anyone!"
"I agree with Kaoru, from what I can tell Kenshin's just an ordinary guy with some secrets. I wouldn't worry too much about it Kaoru, he'll probably tell you about it eventually."
"I doubt it, I asked him about it last night and he asked me to drop it."
Kaoru suddenly looked up and started giggling and Misao gave her a strange look, "What's so funny?"
"Look in the livingroom."
They all turned and started giggling, in the middle of the livingroom was a groggy, not properly dressed Sanosuke. He was wearing Megumi's deep blue nightgown and his hair was a wreck, he looked like he'd just got back from a fight. Misao couldn't help herself and called out to him, "OH SANOSUKE!"
He turned and smiled, still half asleep, "Hey girls, what's up?"
"Not much from what I can see from here."
Kaoru playfully hit Misao and giggled, "I love your outfit Sanosuke, it is just SO sexy!"
Sanosuke looked down at himself and turned pink before he put on a grin, striking a pose, "Is it me? I think it matches my eyes, although I must say it does nothing for my skin tone."
All the girls busted up laughing and the phone rang. Misao calmed herself and answered it, "Hello?"
"Is Sano there, it's Kenji."
"Sure, hold on a second, hey Sanosuke, it's Kenji."
Sanosuke took the phone from her and answered, "What man?"
All of the sudden a loud 'WUZZUP!' came through the receiver as all three men on the other side yelled into the phone. Sanosuke rubbed his now sore ear and chuckled, "Very funny, what did you need punk?"
"It's getting late and we need to start practice, so get out of Megumi's clothes and come on."
"How'd you know I'm wearing Megumi's clothes?"
"You're actually wearing her clothes? OHHH GO SANO!"
"Damn it! I walked straight into that one, just shut up and I'll be there in a while."
"Bye."
Sanosuke hung up the phone and went back to Megumi's room, changing into his clothes and fixing his hair before he came back to the kitchen, "See ya later girls, gotta go."
"Bye Sanosuke."
"Bye Megumi."
He gave her a quick kiss and left before Misao raised Megumi's hair up and looked at her neck. Megumi swatted her away and laughed, "No hickeys this time."
"Does he have any?" Kaoru asked playfully
"Well... not where you can see them any ways."
"EWWWWW! THAT'S GROSS MEGUMI!"
Megumi laughed and Misao got up and went to her room, returning a couple minutes later with her purse, "Where you going, Misao?"
"To the music store, they got a new CD I've been wanting to get. You guys wanna come?"
"Sure, I need some new music."
Megumi and Kaoru grabbed their purses and followed Misao out to her car before they drove off to the music store.
MEANWHILE
Sanosuke entered the warehouse and greeted the others, "Hey guys, sorry I'm late."
"I told you we should've gone with him."
"Yeah then maybe Megumi would still be alive and hickey free."
Kenshin and Kenji laughed at Aoshi's comment as Sanosuke came on stage and got his guitar ready, "Shut up and lets play."
"What song, Kenshin?" Kenji asked
"Let's try 'One Last Breath' by Creed."
"Alright, one... two... three..."
They started playing and the song went smoothly until they reached the ending. After the ending chorus they heard a loud snap and suddenly Kenshin yelped out in pain, "Time out!"
"What happened?" Aoshi asked concerned
"My string snapped back on me."
"Let me see." Sanosuke looked at Kenshin's arm and saw a long gash on his forearm where the string had hit him, "Dang! It got ya good, Kenshin."
"And the fight is over! The score is E string 30 and Kenshin 0!"
"Shut up and go play with yourself, Kenji!"
Everyone laughed and Kenji simply made a face at Kenshin as he looked in a little box for strings, "Shoot, I'm out of strings, you got any Aoshi?"
"All I got are the ones for my bass, I don't know if they'll work for yours or not."
"That's ok, how about you, Sano?"
"Which one you need?"
"I need an E."
Sanosuke looked in a small bag near his feet and shook his head, "Nope, I got everything but an E."
"Damn! I'll be back, you do what you can without me."
"Where you going?"
"Music store, I need strings, see ya guys."
"Bye."
Kenshin left the warehouse and walked to the music store, it wasn't a block away from where they were practicing so it wouldn't take him long to get back. As he entered the store he saw people listening to CDs and records but he couldn't see any guitar strings. He suddenly heard a familiar laugh and he looked over to see someone he recognized. He smiled evilly to himself and snuck up behind them.
Misao found an old CD she was looking for and showed it to Kaoru, "Check this out! This is so cool!"
Kaoru read the songs and shook her head, "Misao, those songs are so lame!"
"They are not, I'm getting it."
"Well then you listen to it with your headphones because I don't want to hear it."
"Why not?"
"Because, those songs are older than Kenshin. Please don't tell him I said that."
Misao glanced behind Kaoru and smiled, "I won't."
Kaoru smiled and went back to looking at a CD she'd found, then all of the sudden she felt arms wrap around her and pull her against something, "Kaoru!"
She squealed in surprise and tried to pull away from her attacker but they were too strong, "Let me go!"
"Kaoru, it's me."
She stopped struggling and turned around to see Kenshin, a smug grin on his face, "How are you?"
"Kenshin, you jerk!"
She punched him in the stomach and he laughed, "You always hit me."
"Because you always scare me!"
"I can't help it, you're so cute when you're scared."
"Creep! Why didn't you tell me he was behind me, Misao?"
"I wanted to see what you'd do."
She laughed and gave Kenshin a hug and he smiled, "Now, what's older than me?"
Kaoru flushed and quickly changed the subject, "Hey look, a guy that looks like Sanosuke."
"Nice try, Kaoru, so what're you girls doing here?"
"Getting CDs, what're you doing here?" Misao asked
"Getting guitar strings, you know where they are?"
"No, I haven't seen any."
A store clerk came by and Kenshin stopped him, "Excuse me."
"Yes sir?"
"Do you have guitar strings?"
"We sure do, they're in the back on aisle six."
"Thanks. It figures they'd be in the back of the store where no one can find them."
Kenshin headed to the back of the store and the girls laughed before Misao paid for her CDs and headed for the door, "You coming Kaoru?"
"No, I'm going to wait for Kenshin, you two go ahead, I'll catch up."
"Ok, we'll be in the store across the street."
Misao met Megumi outside and they headed across the street to a clothe store. Kaoru paid for her CD and went outside to wait for Kenshin. A few minutes later she heard a deep voice next to her, "Hello there."
Kaoru looked up and saw Saito standing next to her, a strange smile on his face, "Kaoru wasn't it?"
"Yes, you're Saito, right?"
"I am, and these are my companions."
Kaoru looked around and saw three more men standing around her. One was about Saito's height with gray hair and very beady eyes, he looked sinister and evil. Another was a couple of inches shorter than Saito with white hair and small glasses (kind of like John Lennon). And the last man was near six feet and he was covered head to toe in bandages, his shirt and jeans covering most of them. Kaoru glanced nervously from one to the other and somehow found her voice, "So... who are all of you?"
"I'm Jine Udo."
"I'm Shishio Makoto."
"And I'm Enishi Yukishiro, you are?"
"Kaoru."
"You're Battousai's woman aren't you?" Shishio asked
"Battousai?"
"I take it Himura hasn't told you who he really is, has he?"
"What do you mean?"
"Himura's not who you think he is, he's dangerous." Saito said calmly, taking a puff of his cigaret.
"Kenshin dangerous? I doubt that."
"Himura's not a person to take lightly, girl, one minute he's all sweet then the next minute he's a demon."
"You're lying, Shishio!"
"Is he? I've seen first hand what that monster can do to someone, once he's had his fun with you he'll kill you." Enishi said with menace in his voice.
"That's a lie! Kenshin would never hurt me!"
"Boy does he have you brainwashed. Trust me, Kaoru, once Himura is tired of you he'll get rid of you." Jine smirked
Kaoru was angry now and she yelled at them, "You're all lying! Kenshin is a good man and he'd never hurt anyone!"
"You're the one who's lying, girl! I've seen what he's capable of, he'll kill anyone!"
"You're wrong Enishi! Kenshin would never kill!"
"I've seen him kill! He killed my sister!"
"What?" Kaoru froze in shock, she didn't just hear Enishi say that Kenshin killed his sister! He had to be lying or she had to of heard wrong!
"Kenshin killed my sister and if you think that he won't kill you too then you're a fool. I suggest that you get as far away from him as possible if you value your life."
"You're wrong... Kenshin... Kenshin's not like that... he wouldn't hurt me..."
"Why don't you come with us and we'll show you what we mean."
Shishio took her arm and started to pull her with him but a voice at the door stopped everyone in their tracks, "I suggest you let her go, Shishio!"
They all turned and saw a very unamused Kenshin standing in the door. He went up and pushed Shishio away from Kaoru before he stepped in front of her protectively, "What is this, torment the innocent girl day? Why don't all of you leave?"
"We were just warning your cute little girlfriend about you, Battousai."
"Don't call me that, Shishio! I'm not Battousai anymore, I gave that up ten years ago."
"You gave up a lot of things ten years ago, that's how you got the scar on your face, isn't it, Himura?" Saito asked mockingly.
Kenshin shot him a death glare and his voice went two octaves lower than it should've been possible, "Shut up Saito and leave. All of you."
"Is that a threat? I'm up for a good fight today." Jine smiled evilly as he watched Kenshin to see if he'd make a move.
"I don't intend to fight any of you."
"You won't fight us because you know we'll kill you."
Kenshin looked at Enishi and his voice was surprisingly softer when he spoke to him, "I don't intend to ever fight you, Enishi, if you want to kill me that's fine but do it later when Kaoru's not around."
"Too bad you didn't say that when you killed my sister."
Kenshin suddenly tensed up and Kaoru could actually feel anger radiating from her normally mild singer. She looked up at him and if she didn't know any better she could swear that his eyes were glowing!
Saito smiled to himself and suddenly changed the subject, "So you still have a band?"
"What does it matter to you?"
"Just curious, are you in that contest next week?"
"Yes."
"What a coincidence, so are we." Shishio said proudly
"Really? And what are you called, the Annoying Freaks of Tokyo?"
"Not hardly, we're called The Manslayers."
"Fitting, you are still look like you're murderers."
"Like you used to be? You used to enjoy fighting."
"That was when I was young and stupid, I've changed since then. I haven't fought in ten years and I don't intend to start the habit back up."
"Pity, I was looking forward to a good fight."
"Tough luck, Saito, I'll fight you alright, but I'll fight you on stage, where it counts."
"We'll fight on stage alright, but we'll win."
"We'll see, Shishio."
"Let's go guys, he needs to get home and practice, he needs it."
They all laughed and headed down the street but Enishi stayed behind and glared at Kenshin, "You will pay for what you did, Kenshin, I will get revenge."
"I'll be waiting, Enishi."
Enishi turned to Kaoru and spoke rather gently, "You need to get away from him, he'll kill you."
"Leave Kaoru out of this, Enishi, she has nothing to do with this."
Suddenly, without warning, Enishi pulled back and punched Kenshin in the face, causing him to fall back slightly and he reached for his left hip, as if he were reaching for a sword. He caught himself and set his hand back at his side, ignoring the blood running down his chin from his busted lip. Enishi simply chuckled, "Old habits are hard to break, aren't they? Even after ten years you still reach for your sword to fight. I'll see you again and next time, Kaoru or no Kaoru, I will kill you."
"I'll be waiting."
Enishi turned and walked off without another word and Kenshin sighed in relief. Kaoru had her hand over her mouth in fear, she wanted to call out when Enishi hit Kenshin but her throat had clamped shut. She finally got over her shock and moved to stand in front of Kenshin, raising a hand to his lips, "Oh no, you're bleeding! Are you alright, Kenshin?"
"Yeah."
Kaoru pulled out a napkin and gently wiped the blood from his mouth before she hugged him, "Why didn't you block him?"
"I deserved it, Enishi has the right to hit me."
"No one has the right to hit anyone! What's going on, Kenshin? Who is Battousai and why did they call you a murderer? And why did Enishi say you killed his sister?"
"Kaoru... please don't... I really don't want to talk about it."
"Kenshin I need to know what's going on, you can tell me."
"No I can't! If I tell you then you'll..."
"I'll what?"
"If I tell you... you'll hate me, or worse you'll be afraid of me and I can't stand the thought of either."
"Nothing you say will ever make me hate you, Kenshin and I very much doubt that I'll ever be afraid of you. Now please tell me, what's going on?"
"I can't!"
Kaoru stepped back, surprised by his tone, he'd never yelled at her before and it startled her. Kenshin got a guilty look in his eyes and he placed his hand on her cheek, "I'm sorry, but... I just can't tell you... if I tell you it will hurt you and I care for you too much to do that to you. So please... don't ask me to tell you... I can't... I have to go, I'll see you later."
Kenshin started walking off but Kaoru caught his hand and stopped him, "Kenshin wait, please don't go, just tell me what's going on."
"I'm sorry, I can't."
"What are you hiding from me, Kenshin?"
There was an uneasy pause between them before Kenshin spoke so softly Kaoru almost didn't hear his answer, "My past."
Kenshin pulled away from her and ran off towards the warehouse, leaving a hurt and confused Kaoru behind. Misao and Megumi came over to her and put a hand on her shoulder when they saw her look of distress, "Kaoru what's wrong?"
"Kenshin... he... he won't tell me... there's something wrong but he won't tell me. He's afraid I'll hate him."
"You go to him and make him tell you. You have the right to know and if we need to we'll go and help you."
"You really think I should, Megumi?"
"Yes, come on, we'll get a drink and then we'll help you decide what to do about Kenshin."
Kaoru nodded her head and followed the others silently, her mind racing as she thought about the look she'd just seen on Kenshin's face. There was so much guilt and hurt in his normally sparkling, bright amber eyes that it almost broke her heart. She would find out what was wrong with him and she would help him, no matter what it took to do it.
