Darkening
MysticShadowWanderer

Disclaimer: :her hand is getting really tired:

Chapter Two: Yamiwosukasu

With a groan, I opened my eyes. Sleep had been elusive last night, taunting me but never really letting me escape. That woman was the cause of all of it. Her words were starting to get to me, eating at my mind until it was driving me crazy. Why couldn't I remember how old I was, or my real name? I still couldn't, even with an entire night to think about it. Needless to say, that fact alone was more than just slightly disconcerting.

She said that she would see me again soon. How soon? Why did I feel the need to see her right then and there? How was she taking over my brain like this?

I decided that maybe some food would help me, and I began the routine of my day just like that of any other day by going to breakfast. Much to my dismay, I found that I wasn't hungry this morning. The pattern of my day had been interrupted. As I picked at my food listlessly, I wondered how much worse this could get.

Every day I did the same thing, with a few variations every now and then. I woke, ate breakfast, retreated to my room for a while or went to the temple or market, trained and meditated, ate dinner, went out to complete an assignment, returned, washed, and then went to bed. It wasn't much, but it was consistent, for the most part, and I had begun to feel comfortable in the dullness that had become my life lately. If I didn't eat breakfast, I threw off my whole day, not to mention that I would likely have to eat later, which I never did. This was not good.

"What's wrong, Himura? You're looking at that food as if it killed your mother."

Oh dear gods, this day is just getting stranger and stranger. I usually was finished with breakfast before Iizuka showed up, and was spared the irritation of having to listen to him try to hold a conversation with me. I glared hard at him, setting my chopsticks down.

"Oh, sorry about that," he mumbled through a mouthful of breakfast. "Don't know anything about your mother. No offense meant, of course, if offense is due for that."

I left in the pretense that he actually did offend me with his remark. In truth, it really only annoyed me to have my schedule ruined, I hadn't even thought of my mother when he made the comment.

I wandered the grounds, too unnerved by the disturbance of my day to know what to do with myself. Pacing seemed to be a good way to pass the time until I could get myself back on track.

"Do you always do that now?" That was her voice. What was she doing here? "Come on, let's get you out of here for a while."

"No. Absolutely not," I replied.

"And why is that?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows in an expression of curiosity.

"Because it's simply unacceptable."

"With who, your superior?" Her arms were now folded across her chest as she tapped her sandaled foot against the dirt.

"No. It just... it's not."

"Really, Battousai," she huffed. "That's a bit strange, even to me. You ought to just come with me, we have a lot to talk about."

Practically dragging me behind her, she kept a firm hold on my arm until she thought we were far enough down the road to let me go. I tucked my arms behind my back and eyed her cautiously, inquisitive as to what she would do next. Part of me wanted to take her hand, but I wasn't sure why, so I ignored that particular desire. It was strange how I felt I knew her so well.

"Don't you have any name besides Battousai?" she asked suddenly. "It seems so impersonal."

I hesitated for a moment. "Kenshin."

A smile lit her face. "I like that name."

"If you know so much about me, why didn't you know that already?" I frowned.

At that, she actually laughed aloud. "If I knew everything, what fun would there be in getting to know you again?"

"Again?" Perhaps she was crazy. That would explain all the nonsense that she was speaking. Still, something within me was awakened by her words, and I didn't understand what it was.

"Yes, of course 'again'. You'll know what I mean, but not yet. You remember some things, but you don't remember all. That's to be expected of course."

A frustrated sound escaped my lips. "What the hell is it that I'm supposed to be remembering?"

"Oh no you don't," she replied, in an almost chastising tone. "You have to figure that out for yourself. I do wish you'd hurry, though, because things are getting slightly chaotic without you around to keep them in order."

Keep them in order? Now I was thoroughly confused. I'd never had anything or anyone to keep in order, and I certainly didn't need that type of pressure right now. Being a hitokiri was hard enough as it was without the added responsibility of whatever it was that she was talking about.

"Come on, Kenshin," she said, tugging on my hand impatiently. "Let's go for a walk in the woods."

The warmth of her small hand in mine was foreign and customary at the same time as she pulled me off the path and into the forest. We were both quiet as we walked, but she seemed happy, at least. I didn't understand why, and I didn't know why I was letting this woman that I barely knew drag me off to who knew where. Maybe it was because, for all the attempts that I made to convince my mind that it was illogical, it felt that I already knew her. Without warning, she stopped and sat down, right where she was, pulling me down with her.

When she turned to look at me, her eyes were darker, more soulful. There was something important on her mind that she wanted to say.

"You know... I missed you," she whispered. "I missed you a lot."

"What?"

"I can't explain, not right now. I know you'll understand later." She laid her head on my shoulder comfortably. "I just... missed you."

The weight of her head was nice, I realized, and it too felt familiar, as if we'd done this before. It irked me that I couldn't understand what it was that, apparently, I was supposed to recall, but I found that if I closed my eyes, it became easier to ignore. Kaoru sat very still as I nodded my head.

Light that gave way to darkness. All around me were burning flames, licking at my skin but not burning it. They didn't dare burn me. She was there beside me, wrapped in barely concealing silk and veils. She placed her arm around my waist as I stood on the platform, my amber eyes glaring down, surveying...

Jerking my head, I snapped back into reality. I must have fallen asleep for a moment, after all, I didn't get nearly enough last night, even for my standards. The dream I had was strange.

"What did you see?" she murmured.

I glanced at her, bewildered. "Nothing, I was just asleep."

She smiled sympathetically. "No, Kenshin, you weren't." Reaching up, she touched my face gently. "You were remembering. What did you see?" The question was a little firmer now, she was demanding an answer.

"Fire and darkness," I responded slowly. "You."

Her eyes brightened as she smiled widely. Brushing her lips across my cheek, she settled back at my side with a happy sigh.

"Soon," she turned her eyes toward me thoughtfully, "soon we will be able to take up our places once more. Death will reign as it once did." The light in her eyes suddenly didn't look so innocent. It never was, I realized. I had just been misinterpreting it. "You were so glorious then," she sighed. "You still are. It will all come back with time."

I looked down at her. So she thought I was glorious? A smirk creased my lips. The expression on my face was mirrored on hers.

"Together... soon..." she promised, more to herself than me, I thought. "Think of the terror we will inspire."

The quiet excitement that tinged her words was impossible to deny. Though I wasn't entirely sure of what she was trying to express, I got the distinct feeling that I was finally heading down the path that was right for me; I had purpose.

It didn't surprise me much when she tilted her head upward and pressed her lips against mine, her fingers trailing over my cheek lightly. The kiss was deeper than the one she gave me last night, and I found myself unable to pull away. At the risk of becoming redundant, I decided that this was familiar, something I'd experienced before. She broke away after a moment, leaving me silently burning for more of her touch, and grinned wickedly at me.

"When you remember more, you'll be able to enjoy more of the same. Now, I think it's time that you get back to... whatever it is that you do to pass the time these days."

Though I'd thought she hadn't been paying attention to where we were going when she first dragged me into the trees, she expertly navigated out of the forest and back onto the main road. When I turned to go one way, she headed the other.

"Wait!" I called out. "Where are you going?"

"Home, of course," she answered. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

I nodded as she began to walk off again, and started to make my way back, but I couldn't help but instinctively worry about her safety. It was dangerous for women to be out alone in these times, or in any times. I just had to trust that she could defend herself.

"Where have you been all day?"

"Nowhere. Just walking."

Iizuka raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't ask any further questions, which I was grateful for.

"Well, anyhow, here's your assignment for tonight."

He handed me the black envelope and we parted ways for the time being. Once in the privacy of my room, I opened the envelope to read and memorize to contents. The familiar call of bloodlust began to rush in my veins again; it was like this every time I had to kill.

I was grateful to the shadows as I waited for the man to step around the corner. I didn't have to wait very long before he appeared in front of me and I jumped out noiselessly. Little did I expect my attack to be blocked, but the challenge was not unwelcome.

Backing off a short distance, I sized up my opponent. He was a little taller than me, and a little more heavily muscled, but neither of those things were a concern to me. I darted forward, only to find my strike parried again. Blocking his counterattack, I leapt upward, delivering a Ryu Tsui Sen that proved his undoing.

I wiped my katana clean and sheathed it, stepping back to admire my handiwork briefly. His corpse was crumpled in a horrifically lovely way, blood still spilling out of his body and pooling beneath him. There was nothing in the world that could compare to this feeling, and I relished in it.

The blood washed as clean as it ever did, which sometimes didn't feel clean enough, but tonight was more than adequate. I sat on my floor, head bowed and eyes shut, attempting to get more sleep than I did the previous night.

Death will reign as it once did... What had she meant by that? The prospect was, admittedly, intriguing.

Sleep came much more easily to me this night, and I succumbed willingly to its clutches.

Her body, trembling beneath mine. My hands, setting her skin on fire in the darkness. Her lips, working over my chest carefully, teeth pulling at my skin every so often until she could taste my blood. I could taste her skin, her lips, her tongue, her blood.

Whispered names. Hushed moans.

Then darkness, complete darkness in a way I'd never experienced before. Out of the darkness came shapes, unidentifiable, but they bowed before me. There was a man with spiked hair, wearing white. Who was he? She was at my side, as ever. There was a bond between us. I didn't understand. I didn't need to understand, because I loved her.

I was holding a blade. The man kneeling before me had angered me. Within seconds he was dead, his blood staining my feet as I stared down at him indifferently. She laughed cynically, her arms wrapping around me and her lips falling on my skin wherever it showed. She loved me in return. I took her in my arms...

A/N: Yikes. Sounds like Kenshin's got a bit of an OCD problem. But who am I to talk about that, since I freak out if my schedule gets messed up? Dammit, if I don't get fifteen hours of sleep, that just throws my ENTIRE DAY off. :grin: I'm having fun with this... Hopefully I'll get to have a field day with this whole "evil Kenshin" thing :does a lil dance: Listened to a lot of hard rock while I was writing this... I've decided that New Found Glory's new song is really good even though they usually kind of suck. Rob Zombie kicks ass.

Translation: "yamiwosukasu" - "to peer into the darkness" yay for weird expressions... :shrug:

Fun fact! "Bakahashinanakyanaoranai" means "once a fool, always a fool", although we still say that it's actually something about "stupid chopsticks." Hey, I don't make this stuff up, I just randomly pull it out of strange sources.