Chapter 2: Untitled

A/N: And Human Chew Toy said: "Let it be known that this story is not being created as a fanfiction! It is being written first and foremost as an original, and sometimes -even though I go through it with a fine tooth comb- little things slip through. If you notice any of these things, please lemme know. I'm doing my best, but sometimes I don't notice the little things (and it leaves me with a brown-eyed Kaoru.>. ).

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original storyline. I'm just shamelessly exploiting them for my own selfish reasons.

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"Misao, I know you really do want to come to the movies with me. You always go to the movies with me." Kaoru pleaded. "Don't make me go by myself…" she threatened. Why was it her best friend always brought out that incredible urge to hurl the phone across the room? "Kaoru, I'd love to go, but I've told you already, I'm busy…"

Kaoru gritted her teeth, her grip tightening on the cordless phone. "Ok, don't worry about it Misao. I'll go to the movies alone, and when I get butchered like that one girl on Scream, you'll be sorry." She said, and hung up. She immediately regretted it. It wasn't Misao's fault that she was so single.

Even Misao had a date. It was, after all, Saturday night. She was happily going out to dinner with her Aoshi. Kaoru rolled her eyes before sighing and walked back to her bedroom, debating whether she wanted to go out at all. Cruising the town really wasn't all that fun to do alone. She shrugged and pulled on a black tank top and khaki shorts. Anything beat staying here. Alone.

She peered outside, yep, still dark. Kaoru grimaced. She really hated these fall nights, when it got dark so early and was just cold enough to put a chill in the air. She pulled her long hair up into a ponytail and soon enough she was jogging out to her car, lip curled in disgust at the dust caked on her beautiful black baby. "Stupid road work." She muttered. "Never seems to be done." Inside she turned on the radio, and finding an appropriate song for her mood, pulled out of her driveway.

Her anger and frustration eventually dissipated as she slid around gravelled curves, clouds of chalky white dust billowing behind her and settling on her car. After nearly spinning out around a curve and hitting a wide-eyed tourist, Kaoru decided to calm her speed-demon inner self. The radio blared as she drove along, angry at the world and all the happy people in it. Eventually she would cool down, but most likely not until after the movie. She'd chosen the one that looked the scariest, and actually hadn't even cared to remember the name, just hoping that she came out of it scared out of her wits.

And she did.

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Battousai lurked in the shadows. No one knew him by that name, well, except for the ones he killed. They rarely seemed pleased to find out his name. He sighed. He really did like telling it to people...maybe it was just his sense of drama getting to him. He almost missed his human days, when he'd been the star of the theatre productions and had had the opportunity to perform for so many. Now he had plenty of time to perform...but couldn't risk the publicity. With a heavy sigh he broke out of his depressing thoughts.

Tonight was the night. She would be his…and he would be hers, if she would have him. Most likely she wouldn't. Too bad. That just made what he planned to do all the more pungent. He wanted her, God how he wanted her, and until this woman, nothing had stopped him from getting what he wanted. This time his failure was chalked up to the unfortunate arrival of her doggy friend, but soon enough…soon enough she would be alone, and no one to hear her screams but him…

A shiver of delight raced down his spine, and an evil grin split his face. She would scream for him. His pointy teeth glinted in the evening light. The time couldn't come soon enough for him.

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Kaoru had never been more terrified in her life. Well, actually, she had, but at this time and moment she was pretty scared. She always hated those horror movies that used things that were possible in reality. It made her imagine those things, like burglars in her car and mountain lions in her house. She sighed.

Around every corner and in every shadow she saw them, all waiting for her to glance their way so they could disappear without a trace, or appear elsewhere. She glanced in her rear-view mirror. A lone car drove behind her, inspiring thoughts of serial murderers and kidnappings.

She sped up a bit, turning onto her road without using her blinker. "That'll throw 'em off." She whispered in satisfaction. It wasn't like people did that everyday or anything...

Images flitted at the side of the road, pulling her gaze every now and then. Most of them, however, looked poorly thought up and overdone. She was so tired…she sighed, turning her attention back to the road, and for a moment the images went away. That is, until one particularly well-thought up image stood on the side of the road.

Kaoru squinted at the figure ahead. That wasn't a make-believe halucination that her mind had produced! There really was someone standing on the side of the road. 'Hey, he's kinda cute…' her mind said as she assessed the upcoming stranger.

Dark red hair splayed down his back, held in place by a band. It reflected golden in the moonlight, just as his violet eyes reflected golden, almost like those of a cat. Though he was dressed in all black, it somehow made him stand out, instead of blending in. A smirk graced his features, and when Kaoru didn't slow down, he stepped directly into her path.

"Feck!" Kaoru cursed, jerking the wheel roughly to her right, and the car dove off the side of the road and plunged through the trees. A shriek battered at her throat as she finally had the presence of mind to slam on her brakes as tree branches pummeled and scratched at her car. How she managed to miss those trees is a mystery to all. Her car came to rest in a moonlit clearing, engine ticking as heat rose from under the hood. She climbed out, leaving her lights on, and looked back in the direction she'd plunged. She wasn't that far into the woods…or had that bastard just walked on and left her to rot here?

The feeling of being watched quickly grew into full-blown paranoia as Kaoru neared the road but still saw no sign of the figure she'd almost hit. Maybe she really was insane. "But then, maybe you're not…" came a whisper from behind her. She whirled around, only to find nothing. That voice had definitely not been in her head.

"Over here…" it taunted, from the bushes deeper in the woods. "Come find me, my delicate little blossom." Kaoru growled and spun in a circle. Only her father had called her that. "Who are you!" she demanded.

"I'm a secret, known only to myself and the few who evade me." Came the reply. "But you may call me Kenshin."A body materialized to fit the voice. He stepped from the bushes, posture laced with menace, arrogance, and an undercurrent of…something Kaoru couldn't quite put her finger on. "You're the guy I nearly ran over! Why you have to go and fecking jump in front of me!" she demanded, stalking the few steps until the distance between them was mere. She poked him in the chest with her pointer finger. "You knew I was coming! I saw you!"

Kenshin grabbed the wrist in front of him, his gaze momentarily fixed on the pulsing vein, but narrowed golden eyes trailed slowly back to her face. His grip was not gentle, and he could feel her struggling to pull away. He heard her gasp as he pushed her against a tree, her wrist captured above her head. Her eyes shone with fear. Just what would he do with her? He leaned towards her, his lips mere centimeters from hers. "It does not bode well for frightened females to taunt me. I don't have very much self-control." He whispered, his breath like butterflies against her lips. "You'd best not throw yourself at things unknown."

Kaoru dared not move. Who was this man? This man who could walk in front of her car, entice her to walk further into the woods, now had her held helpless against a tree and still made the first stirrings of passion tingle through her stomach even as he wound hidden threats around his words? "Who are you?" she whispered again, her voice filled with fear. She knew she held no power against this man, whoever he was. "I am your destiny, Kaoru Kamiya." Kenshin said, a grin growing as suddenly, he stepped back into the forest and disappeared .

Kaoru's arm dropped. She sank, breathless, to the leaves beneath her. The rich smell of sap was dominant as she struggled to regain her composure. Her destiny? What had he meant? That really didn't make much sense. She stood, a bit uncertainly, but stood nonetheless, and resisted the urge to run back to her car. She had never really been one to believe in fate and destiny and all those things, so this really didn't fuel much of an answer inside her.

The words traced in the dust on her car, however, were enough to strike fear and wonder in her heart.

"My presence haunts your footsteps"

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A/N: Well, that is as far as I've written so far. Well rewritten would probably best be the word there. ANYHOW, Feel free to drop me a line! Sorry about any inconveniences I've caused. (Because I'm sure there are some.)