I did this story a WHILE ago, so now I'm editing it and continuing it hopefully…
Wish me luck!
Chapter 2: Supply and Demand editedBattousai traveled alone, as per usual. This man, with the trademark red hair, was no stranger to death, blood, or anything along that line. An assassin to the very core, he stalked his targets with undaunted stealth. Some he warned, some knew their time had come before he entered the room, and some never even knew of his presence. Dressed in a simple red gi and white hakama he strolled along, wary of his surroundings. The path that he traveled was paralleled on both sides by trees, easy hiding places for those wishing to make names for themselves with the blood of the mighty Battousai.
With his target already lying in a mottled puddle of his own insides three days ahead of schedule, there was no rush to the mighty hunter's walk.
As always, one hand rested on the hilt of his Sakabatou and the other swung with vigor at his side. He was contemplating what he should do next, keep wandering or return to Kyoto. The path beneath his feet grew more and more beaten and, of course, he noticed this change. He was approaching a quaint inn, and it was growing dark. He turned to watch the setting of the sun.
Even the manslayer appreciated sunsets. His fierce amber eyes momentarily grew softer as they caressed the pinks, purples, and deep reds that flew like brushstrokes across the sky.
Takeda Kanryu was holding court in the steamy depths of the kitchen. A boy, Yutaro, shifted from foot to foot nervously. 'Stupid girl! I didn't tell her to run THAT far.' He thought to himself.
"Who among you has information as to the whereabouts of the Kamiya girl?" questioned the large man as he paced back and forth in front of all of the servants. "Well? Don't expect me to believe that no one knows anything. I AM NO FOOL!" Takeda brought his foot down hard, literally. The entire floor shook with the impact of his foot upon the worn boards. Yutaro could not help himself and cringed. Mr. Takeda, with the eyes of a hawk, saw his falter and immediately closed in.
"You! Where is she?" he screamed at the youth as he grabbed his collar and hoisted him into the air.
"She ran off into the woods, sir!" Yutaro inwardly began to smash his head into a wall.
"Stupid boy, you'll pay for withholding this information from me!" With this, Takeda threw the boy into the north wall of the kitchen and stomped out.
Kaoru, woken from her light slumber by a snake trying to hide in her serving skirt, clung more tightly to the tree in an effort to stand. She was weak from lack of food and her muscles still ached from all of her running. Still she had to get back to the inn before Takeda began beating the other servants for information.
A cry issued forth from her mouth as her muscles gave out on her again. The pins and needles had started and were arching up towards her torso. With her back against the tree she sighed and recalled the days events.
It had started fairly nice; Yutaro and Yahiko had begun laying off a bit on called her "ugly" and "hag". She tried not to show it much, but these comments had an effect on her soul. Then came the meeting with the boss, Mr. Takeda.
"You wanted to see me sir?" implied Kaoru as she stepped through the sliding door and into his office.
"Yes, please sit." He replied without looking up from his papers. She did so and hoped that this would be a nice meeting.
" Now, onto the news." He turned his face to her, and it was definitely not smiling. "You're attracting too much attention here Kaoru. You're always covered in bruises, though I have no idea where they could possibly come from," Kaoru opened her mouth to interject but he continued, "and somehow you always wind up half raped." He sighed with mock concern. " I'm willing to give you a chance to fade into the background, however, this may not be an easy task for you. One screw up and I sell you to the next willing buyer that comes along. Got it? Good. Now, off you go."
"But Mr. Takeda! I…"
"No. I don't want to hear excuses, go…" She sighed, got up, bowed to him, and left the room.
She was sure to be sold now. Away from all of her friends and into the sweaty hands of some pervert who liked his girls young. She groaned loud and slowly turned her groan into a scream. No one could hear her, no one cared. She took to screaming some choice words at the trees that went on about their lives with nary a care.
She jumped up without noticing and began to beat at the tree whom had just moments before given her shelter. When she had lent most of her energy to this useless beating of the foliage she leaned against it and panted. It was getting cooler now as day descended into dusk and, realizing that she now had the use of her legs back, she began to trek towards home.
She did not feel like running, nor was she in much of a hurry to get back to that horrid place. Kaoru rolled her shoulders, which hurt from hunching over by the tree, and began to hum a cheering melody to herself.
The Battousai had decided to survey the inn's surroundings and check for possible security problems. He walked to the left of the main building, keeping out of sight, and circled the first row of houses. Finding nothing special, he walked through the passageway and into the courtyard, where he looked down into a pair of brown eyes.
He locked these eyes with his and flicked his sword an inch from its sheath. This sound was greeted by a slightly audible whimper, as the girl dropped the tub of water she was holding to the ground. "Only a girl…" he said to himself. He resheathed the sword.
"What do you want? Have you registered with Mr. Takeda in the office?" she whispered.
He decided to toy with her and stepped closer, "I'm sorry, you'll have to speak up." The corner of his mouth twitched upward with a smirk. She repeated her words a little louder for him. The manslayer again stepped closer, stopping only inches from the abandoned washtub at her feet. She was quivering now.
Tae continued to stare into the eyes of the man before her. He was a bit taller than she, but his aura was huge. He even looked girlish to a point but an X-shaped scar on his cheek betrayed his bloody past. His eyes, amber like a cat's, gave a fierce look that peered into her soul. She placed her shaking hands behind her back, and began to back away. Battousai followed.
"Should I w.. walk you to your r-room?" she asked a tried to give a meek smile. She backed into something solid and her smile disappeared. The wall of the courtyard held her there like an unforgiving sentinel. The battle-worn samurai continued to advance on her until he had pinned her against the wall with his own body. He slowly leaned down to her ear and, grinning, said, " Only if you wish to die…"
"TAE! DINNER FOR ROOM 3 IS READY!" a young boy screamed as he exited the kitchen. The scarred man's head snapped toward him.
"Yes, Yutaro! I'm coming!" she shouted as she eagerly ran from the man's presence. Later that night she would have nightmares about cold yellow eyes. Tae quickly hugged her savior and ran towards the first row of rooms.
The young boy gave no response to the girl and asked simply, "Are you looking for the office?"
"Yes, in fact. I am tired and wish to rest."
The boy scowled at the Battousai and muttered, "This way…" He turned towards the office and began to walk. Battousai followed.
After being introduced to Takeda, Hitokiri Battousai took his seat across from Takeda's desk.
"So all you're here for is a night's rest? Are you sure there is nothing else that we could provide you with? There are a few girls hidden away in the kitchen that are very…"
"No." came the stout reply, "Just a room."
"Alright, we'll give you room five." The man tugged at a line hanging beside his desk and somewhere outside a bell rang. "The girls are placing linens in your room now. I trust you will find everything to your liking. I'd like to talk to you about one more thing though, Mr…"
"My name is not important."
"Of course. I have a girl here that I, unfortunately, can no longer afford to keep on my staff. I was wondering if maybe you would be interested…"
"Does she work?"
"Oh yes! Kaoru has worked here since she was a small child and has done every task asked of her. It truly does hurt to give her away."
"Give her away? You want no payment?"
"Oh no, she is too dear to me to made a profit of."
The Hitokiri questioned the shady man's motives silently. It would be of obvious benefit to the Battousai as he remembered his own quest, which was near at hand. "I'll take her off your hands."
"Excellent!" Takeda jotted quickly on a piece of paper, then folded it and handed it to Kaoru's new master. "Her name is Kamiya Kaoru. Just give this to her when you wish to leave and come to me if you have any problems."
Without another word the swordsman stood, bowed, and exited the room. After he was gone, Takeda pondered the man. He was slim, toned, obviously a swordsman. He certainly looked the part of the stories he had heard of the legendary Battousai the Manslayer. He decided, however, that the man's identity was none of his business and returned his attentions to the papers before him.
As he made his way to his room the hunter paused. A low sound was coming from the woods. The sound reverberated off the tree trunks and echoed ever so slightly. It sounded like… humming... He gripped the hilt of his sword and jumped into a tree.
Kaoru approached the inn with stealth in mind. However, someone had noticed. She emerged gingerly from the treeline, and peered around for any of Takeda spies who might just so happen to be around. Suddenly, the young servant caught the slightest of movements in her periphery, when she was yanked backwards. Her back soon collided with a tree with a solid THUMP and a calloused hand covered her mouth. She felt the cold bite of metal on her throat.
Her eyes, which she had not noticed closing during this ordeal slowly peeked open only to be met with blazing orbs of amber. The body pressed against hers was lean, lithe, slightly muscled, and feminine. What is wrong with this woman?
"Who are you?" issued a manly voice the depths of the "woman" now holding her captive.
"Lemme go lady, I work here!" Kaoru twisted and tried to escape her grasp, which was tight and did not budge.
"WHAT did you call me?" came the almost canine growl. Kaoru noticed the sudden slack between their bodies before she noticed the strong fist hurtling towards her. The fist connected with her jaw and there seemed to be a silence in the forest before she fell to the ground.
Kamiya Kaoru realized her grave mistake. "Sir, sir! I meant no offense!" She brought her hands up to protect her face from anymore rock-fisted blows. The man that she failed to identify correctly grabbed her by her collar and hauled her up high against that self-same tree. He brought his knee up to support her weight and keep her there.
Kaoru was blatantly aware of that knee between her legs.
"What is your name? NOW before I choke it out of you!" he barked at the quivering girl he had pinned to the tree.
"K..Kamiya Kaoruuuu, now let me GO!" But Battousai would not release his hold on her. He stared like a zombie into her intoxicatingly blue eyes. Those eyes, now clouded with anger and hate, would surely be the end of him.
He reminded himself of their setting and released her, keeping his eyes on what he now knew to be his new slave as she released her verbal wrath upon him.
"Just who do you think you are manhandling me like that? You could have killed me!" she screamed at the man as she rubbed her sore behind. There came no reply so she stomped off in the direction of the kitchen muttering about broken tailbones.
Battousai stalked toward his room for the night, analyzing the data he had collected from his brief encounter with Kamiya Kaoru.
Her eyes were a striking blue and accompanied her raven hair well. Her body was toned from years of work and struggle and she was very much a woman. Her body curved gracefully, this he could tell from her soft body as it was pressed against him and the details the moonlight revealed. Her attitude was fiery when provoked and he wished to see more of this; it was strangely attractive on her.
This trip would be one to remember…