A/N: Another day, another chapter… -yaawwn-
StormHornet – Thank you! You are so luffly!
Maggie the bitch – Haha! I glub chu Maggie! And guess what… YES YOU ARE! Or… actually… YES YOU WERE!
Rurouni-maxi – Yeah… -sweat drop- Sorry 'bout that…
Battosaichick – I know, I didn't want Tomoe to die! And thanks for your support LOL!
Reignashii – Yupperz! See you then… oh, wait… then is now! Ahaha!
Royal blueKitsune – You find out why Kaoru couldn't save them later on… or in this chapter, I forget. Oh, well. And fluff-wise? –sweat drop-
Recap –For a while we sat in peace, with my occasional sniffling or whispering of the word, "Tomoe…" I was just getting drowsy. Kami-sama knows how long that battle has been going on, when I heard another most unwanted cry.
The Color Black-Red – Chapter 4"FATHER!" I screamed. This time Kenshin could not hold me back. I rushed out to my fallen father and cradled his head in my arms. Even if it had always been awkward between us because of his high status I still loved him. He still was my Otousan, after all. "Oh, Father…" I whispered. I started to cry hysterically.
"My daughter. I'm… sorry. Never forget…" he winced, "…that… that… your Father loves you…" He reached up and touched my cheek. He smiled and then his hand fell from my cheek and his eyes grew glassy.
I bowed my head and closed my eyes. Father rarely showed such caring. My tears fell still. "I love you, Otousan," I whispered. My tears fell on his face and I gently wiped them away. Closing his eyes, I stood up. "I know you'd want me to be strong," I whispered. "You wouldn't want me to wallow in my sadness, would you? I'd practically walk into his plan. He would surely catch me, me, lost in my tragedy. I will always love you father, and I will miss you." I stood up and heard my name called.
"Kaoru!" It was Kenshin. He looked very, very frightened.
"Nani?" I mumbled. I realized he was staring behind me. Why? I turned cautiously, round. I saw my nightmare. Daemon, Lord of the Black-red, stood behind me. I stumbled back, terrified of the man who stood before me. He wore his usual attire, red cloak and black gi and hakama. His black hair swung a bit over his eyes. If he was not evil, and I did not love Kenshin, I would have said he was very handsome. Except for his eyes. He was not wearing his mask so his blood red eyes shone like garnets. "Hello, Koishii," he greeted. After a pause he grabbed me by the waist and grew to an enormous size. I struggled but to no avail. "We meet again," Daemon whispered.
"Let go of her!" Kenshin rushed out and drew his sword. "Put her down, Daemon!"
Daemon laughed. He was the size of a giant. "Well, I would let her go…but you wouldn't want her to be hurt, now would you?" He loosened his grip on me and I screamed.
Kenshin paled. "No!" His eyes hardened. "We can strike a deal, monster!"
Daemon narrowed his eyes and picked Kenshin up. "Hmm, let me think…no! Foolish mortal! Have any last words to say to your lover?" He asked.
Kenshin paled. "You're going to slay her?"
"Aww…those weren't very nice last words, Himura. And, no, I'm not going to kill her…" Daemon grinned. Both Kenshin and I let out a sigh of relief.
"Yet."
Kenshin gasped, though I was near to screaming.
"Well, Himura, its time for you to be off. And don't forget, Kaoru, in her final days will remember the last words you said to her, 'You're going to slay her?' Daemon imitated Kenshin's voice and snickered. Daemon then brought his hands together – hard. We were in them.
"Ittai!" Kenshin rubbed his head then clasped my hands. "Kaoru –" But then Daemon flung out his right hand, the one with Kenshin in it, and Kenshin went spiraling up into the sky before disappearing with a poof.
"Where is he?" I yelled. Kenshin was all I had left.
"Nowhere dangerous. Only in the Sands Of Shadow," Daemon laughed.
"The Sands of Shadow?" I gasped. It was a perilous place. All who ventured into the Sands of Shadow were never heard from or seen again. Though, occasionally, a person will pass the Sands and hear horrible screaming. "No…" tears leaked from my eyes. "You monster!" I yelled with all my might.
"Maa, maa. Don't be like that." His voice was mocking. "Come, Kaoru, we must leave for my palace. I assure you, you will be quite comfortable there. For the time being." He chuckled and rose up in the air. "Now, I have a horrible outer image. Other villains detest me for I don't have a wife. Well, now I have found the perfect girl for the job."
"Ohh, no!" I shook my head violently, shuddering at the thought.
"Oh, yes!" Daemon grinned. "Once I'm finished with you, I'm going to kill you."
"Then you won't have a wife for a very long time!" I said defiantly. "Thanks to you, my powers are almost all gone! I could not revive my father from death!"
Daemon cursed under his breath. "You'll be alive for a while then. But – ah! – You still have your sorceress powers, do you not?"
I stayed stubbornly silent, praying he would not come to the conclusion that I still had them. I did still have them, though that is fortunate and unfortunate.
He smiled triumphantly. "When guests are around, you will be sitting on the throne, smiling –"
"I'd rather die!"
"Then you will die!" he snarled. "And so will your precious friends!"
"Oh, no! You can't!" When I lived in my mansion I had many, many friends. My two best friends (besides Kenshin and my … my sister) were Shinomori Aoshi and Shinomori Misao, his young bride. I had many friends, like my friend Shura, whom I named my horse after. There were many others. "Please, don't."
"Well, my dear, we must be going." Daemon rose into the air and we were transported to his castle. We arrived and settled on the floor. The room was made of black marble. Few windows shed little light. Only the burning lamps on the wall made it possible to see, though it was broad daylight outside. Truthfully, I did not know if there was an outside to this place. Guests crowded around, mumbling. "Guests!" Daemon cried. "Meet my wife… anou… eeto… White Crow! The mistress of Phantom Palace!" He leaned down and whispered, "Kiss me on the cheek!"
"Never!"
"Do it! Or see your friends die!" Daemon snarled. Shuddering in disgust, I kissed him lightly on the cheek. Thankfully, it was over in about 5 seconds so I was free. I am so sorry Kenshin…
The guests inspected me. Many approved, many frowned. Someone stood up behind the group. I gasped. I recognized him! It was none other than Shinomori Yoichi! Before I had a chance to call out someone cried:
"She is not your wife! You are not officially married!" I looked to see the speaker and nearly fainted. It was my old friend, Shinomori Misao.
"Yes." Daemon's eyes flashed. "But you will treat with the same respect as my official wife!" People murmured, "Yes, yes." Some nodded.
How I wanted to alert Misao! But I could not draw the attention of my 'husband'. Oh, please. Let me be free. My wish was granted. For once.
"Leave for your room, koishii. We will meet later." He stuck a flower in my hair. I shuddered, realizing that it was a poppy. The black and red flower. Then I obediently started up the stairs, trying to catch Misao's eye. She caught it and followed me quietly.
When we arrived in my room she said, "I had no clue you were evil like me! Wonderful!"
"What?" I blinked back tears. "You deceived me?" I ripped the flower out of my hair.
"What?" Misao looked concerned. "You must be evil – you are my dear Daemon-sama's wife!" She sighed wistfully. "I did not know Daemon-sama had a wife…oh, I missed my chance to be with him forever…"
"What?" I was confused. The Misao I used to know - and consider my friend – was always, always dreaming about Shinomori Aoshi. She would go 'Aoshi-sama! Aoshi-sama!' It was her hobby. When they finally got married it was like a dream come true for her. "You… you and Aoshi split up?"
"Oh, yes! Many, many years ago! Of course! He disagreed with me being evil and he always liked you. At the time I was so jealous! Remember that time that he kissed you and I wouldn't speak to you for ages? Well, now he works for good at one of his father's villages." She perked up. "Oh, I love his father so! So wondrously evil! He had the idea to take you from that…good place!" She shuddered. "It must have been horrible for you to have been captive in the middle of all that…goodness!"
"Misao –"
But Misao interrupted me. She was known for interrupting and abruptly changing the subject. "Have you seen that awful goodie-goody that you used to like? Hmm…what was his name?"
"Himura Kenshin," I said quietly.
"Yes!" She grinned. "He's good, that's the problem. You know, he was really cute as a teenager. Have you seen him since you became bad? How long ago was that by the way?"
"Yes, I have seen him. And I…" I trailed off. I had been evil for about one hour. But I couldn't tell Misao that. "Um…I have been evil for…umm…so long I can't remember!" I finished quickly and I could tell Misao suspected something.
She narrowed her eyes. "Well," she said curtly, "I must be going." Then she promptly left the room. I sighed in relief. Then I stared out the window, waiting for my 'knight in shining armor'.
TBC…A/N: Daemon has returned and Misao is evil! GASP!
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