Chapter 1: Untitled
A/N: Yes, yes, I know. I'm having quite a few problems with the server, but I chose to bear with it and just completely remove the old story from the site. It kept screwing things up. ANYHOW. Blah, blah, blah, if you are a new reader, welcome to my story. If you're not...welcome back. I'll talk to ya later. OH! Quick note: If you are firmly set in your beliefs that Kenshin could never be evil, or that Kaoru could never end up with another man besides Kenshin, please don't flame my story. If you do I may have to become Human Chew Toy, the sullen authoress. Don't make me do that.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original storyline. I'm just shamelessly exploiting them for my own selfish reasons.
> >
Life was dull.
Or at least, that's the way Kaoru Kamiya saw it. She sighed and plopped her chin back down onto her hand, that was currently propped on the counter, waiting patiently for a customer, any customer, to ask her some mundanely stupid question that she really didn't need to answer in the first place. "Do you guys serve corn dogs." she mimicked in a deep, slightly retarded sounding voice. "Psh. Other side, loser." She wondered again why exactly she'd taken this job. 'Oh yeah…I'm poor.'
Unfortunately, business was slow.
Mind-numbingly slow.
So mind-numbingly slow, that Kaoru was playing solitaire. And cheating. As a matter-of-fact, it was so slow, that she was not only playing and cheating at solitaire…she was playing, cheating, and still losing at solitaire.
In a moment of distraction Kaoru caught herself staring at the counter. The sickening green color made her think of a hospital bedpan. Who knew that the remains of the fly she'd squished earlier still lay smeared all over the counter? Talk about disgusting. She wrinkled her nose, pulling herself back into a standing position, but not making a move to clean up the counter. Why didn't this job offer stools? She tossed a gaze towards her cell phone, wondering if any of her friends would be able to talk at this time of night.
Were they? No.
She scowled and settled into waiting. They should close before too long anyhow.
It wasn't too much longer before the store closed and Kaoru was free to go. She scowled and picked at the muck underneath her acrylic nails. She really hated this job, with her manager harassing her constantly about how large her posterior was, her fellow co-workers bickering about who had said what to whom, and somehow she ended up getting stuck in the middle of everything. At least she could go home now.
It was so dark…and she was parked so far away. 'Why is it so deserted?' she thought. "It's usually buzzing at this time of night…" she said aloud, mostly just to hear her own voice and make sure that she wasn't having some bizarre dream. Even the moon was scary. It sent shivers down her spine and made her look over her shoulder. Her footsteps echoed down the streets, chasing her shadows as she walked. She really hated having to walk so far, but there were only four parking places, and with twelve employees...well it worked on a 'first come, first serve' basis. She hadn't come first.
A large, full moon shone brightly overhead, pulling Kaoru's thoughts towards things of folklore, and magic. Oh how she wished a fairy tale would happen to her! A wonderful fairy tale where life wasn't boring and unimaginative, where it was exciting and the heroine always got the man! Well, not always, but still. She recalled one in particular, not a fairy tale but brought to her memory's surface by the current night situation.
'He lurks in my shadows, always staying just two steps from my line of vision. I never see him, nor hear any evidence of his presence, but that small prickle at the base of my neck lets me know he's there. He haunts my footsteps…'
"He haunts my footsteps…" Kaoru breathed as she stared up at the moon. It was so beautiful, and so menacing. It was just dark enough for anything to be hiding in the shadows of the bushes…She swallowed as her mind began to play tricks, causing her scalp to prickle and her steps to quicken.
By the time the parking garage came into view she was practically running. When she saw her car, she did in fact break into a run. Fumbling with her keys she frantically unlocked the door, whirling inside and slamming the door. Inside her breath came in short, quick little gasps, betraying her self-induced terror.
"Kaoru, you're so stupid." she said to herself as she put the keys in the ignition and started the car. She sat for a moment, looking around the inside of the garage and just taking a few to calm herself down. A light flickered at the farthest end of the garage, where she'd came in a few minutes before.
> >
Outside in the bushes a figure crouched stealthily. The time was nearing when his debutante was essential. Until then…he could wait. Dark, violet eyes watched as Kaoru pulled out of the garage and off into the night, red tail-lights reflectinggolden in his gaze.
He knew where to find her. He'd been there before.
Not too long afterwards, the mysterious figure lay once again shrouded by the bushes, this time outside the Kamiya home. Silent eyes watched as Kaoru's car windows rolled up, and she stepped outside.
Instincts within him roared to race forward and claim her, to make her his own as he viciously wanted, but now was not the time. He would have her soon enough, but this knowledge was not enough for his quarrelling instincts. They screamed for her blood, though he wasn't sure why. He crept ever silently closer, closer, nearer and nearer and she was so blissfully unaware, ignorant of his doings. He was so close he could smell the scent of her perfume!
He was so close he could touch her. A long, slender hand reached forth, only to be snatched back when a small jingle rang through the chirp of the crickets and cicadias. A large canine body followed that jingle, happily trotting up to Kaoru, tongue lolling. For half a second, dog instincts pricked, muscles tensed. Large brown canine eyes met with feral, angry golden ones.
He flitted away, his movements so studiedly silent and quick that few had ever seen them. His moment had been stolen from him. But this was not over. He would have her, she would be his. He would lay claim to the blood that flowed through the veins of Kaoru Kamiya, if it was the last thing he did!
> >
A/N:Well there's one chapter. Continue on, if you'd like. Drop me a line!