Another Chance…
Archangel and Female hitokiri Battousai
(R)- Angst, violence, romance Greek, Christian and Japanese culture in one
Syn: an angel grants kaoru the possibility to go ten days into the pass to undo the people who made Kenshin scars. Can she do it without going crazy from the sadness and hurt in her heart?
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Running somewhere away from everything, I shelter something in my bosom which has opened my eyes to truth. A bleeding dark truth. Running under a raining sky of tears, I seek shelter. As the rain falls, the weight in my hands become heavier. It feels like I hold a sin in my hands, but I won't admit it. I can't. The wind is cold and the night is pitch. The lanterns on the streets grow dim and its almost as if its too unbearable to see where I'm running to.
Still I hold this young woman in my hands. She is barely breathing, and from the scent of her breath she was drunk. Looking down at her just momentarily, I can see the blood I've spilt on her innocence.
Running far, into the distance, I still run with her, hoping to the reach the Ishin in safety.
Tonight my mission has gone completely wrong.
Because I am known as the bad guy.
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For hours lying on my bed, I could think of nothing but Kenshin. I could see things I never could. And when I saw these images, these, these flashbacks, they always came with a woman I could never see. She was there, perfect, loyal and at his side in every image, in everything. In a sense it confused Kaoru. 'Why can I see these things? Images of Kenshin with a woman. Constantly they're together. She comforts him and in positive way becomes the only thing he has to call his. I fear to some extinct this is the legend's wife, Tomoe.' She sighs, 'every image I see of her, I can never make out her face. It's always blurred or always turned away. Why? Why can't I make out her face?'
The images race within, the flashbacks come alive, and the pain it resumes full pace.
The candle dims in the room, as Kaoru stares at the ceiling, seeing things she could never see before in her life. And then like a heartbeat, it made sense. If Kaoru did not know any better, she'd say these things came from the original past she was not meant to interfere in.
Then a single imagine burst past all the others. Kaoru gasped for air as she narrowed her eyes and began seeing something she wish she did not…
A woman walks under a sky bleeding in blood and rain. She stops. She looks up…her eyes are dense with a colour of burgundy…the colour of blood in its richest hues. She blinks back…
"You…you caused the rain to bleed" Kaoru barely whispered the same words of a past that she was never a part of. Haunted by the ghostly flashbacks, she breathed deeply. Closing her eyes tightly, Kaoru cringed inside and then in the perfect darkness of all her heart, two perfect tears fell…
'And all I would ever have to do is run away from this madness which is denser than blood…'
Kaoru still saw in her mind…a picture of this new girl in an Era that was not welcoming. A manslayer who was too blind to break free and soldiers, who's hearts were sewn to war. In all her infamous worry and the pains of her heart, Kaoru was not feeling any success. True, she saved Kiyosato, but nothing seem to change. All that did change was Kenshin's hate to her. For unknown reasons he hated her, descriptively it riddled in his eyes.
Clutching herself tightly, she gritted her teeth wanting to scream so hard. The times were so different. Back home her Kenshin was so wonderful, gosh, in a sense, she regretted even making such a big fuss about everything, but now, she was facing the music. The music of pain. 'I don't fit in. It's clear Kenshin doesn't want me, around. This world doesn't welcome me anymore. It's talented in hate and bullshit. Everybody is the same thing, nobody, not even the man I would do anything for can understand me. Why, why am I so tortured? Why am I left in a resounding darkness where I am the only one who cares to the find the light? T-This isn't right, it's just hypocrital bullshit'
Already her lungs burned, and her eyes were sending clear streams of water cascading. Small beautiful rivulets trickled down magically, lighting her face to a beautiful sadness.
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"You know the rules Himura, no whores…"
"She is not a whore"
"Hmm, this is the second one Himura. How many more women are you going to bring here? I run a respectable Inn you know, not some brothel." She snarled.
Kenshin looked at her. His eyes flashing gold. Like the cold temperature around him, his voice had also dropped octaves low.
"Open, the door. Now" came that devoid voice that often was used at one's death.
The woman huffed before shutting the eye piece. Ten seconds later, the door opened.
"Another woman I see" Okani rudely said.
"Yes?"
"Humph. You hitokiris, there's no end to the surprises is there?" Okani asked looking up at the drenched soldier.
"No, 'guess not" he whispered.
The woman sighed.
"Leave her here. Looking at her, she's a pretty girl. Far too pretty to be a whore. Leave her, I'll dry her up and you'll come back for her" she said.
He nodded. Going to his room, he entered, quickly stripping himself of his drenched clothes. Wiping his cold skin with a towel, he shook his head back and forth getting all the water out. Pulling the strap from his hair, he drove his hand through his locks before adding back the strap.
Exiting the room, he returned to the kitchen where Tomoe was leaned against the wall, dry and in a yukata. Her head was leaned against her shoulder as she was slowly sliding down the wall. Kenshin picked her up, carrying her to his room.
Placing her down on the futon he let his eyes stare back at her. For sure everyone was going to think he was a very sexual player when they saw Tomoe. It was the second woman he'd brought home, that meant a second explanation to Katsura.
Usually Kenshin's not affected by mere girls or women, but it seems lately they've been changing him. Even though change was what he desperately wanted deep within himself, he reckoned he was an assassin, something so coarse its impossible to change.
Sitting near the window, he looked out at the rain. Slowly his thoughts trailed to Kaoru and how she had affected his life. To him it was crazy how someone he didn't know, knew everything there was to know about him. Even those kept secrets from all. It confused him as well as amazed him. For starters, how could somebody know the secrets you never told, or the experiences or feelings they never endured? It was just very odd.
"Hmm" moaned a tired drunk female.
Kenshin was awoken from his train of thoughts by the site of the awaking woman. The woman slowly opened her eyes and watched around the room. As she glanced around, she noticed the young boy at the window, staring out. Battousai's senses were highly developed and he quickly felt her eyes upon him. He turned around and watched back at her with not one emotion upon his face.
"You're awake aye?" he sarcastically asked.
"Where am I?" questioned Tomoe softly, still scanning the room for a clue as to where she was. Looking down at the clothes she wore, worry crossed her face. Breathing deeply she asked "Why did you bring me here?"
Battousai had no answer for her. True, why couldn't he just leave her in the rain to drown herself or better yet get raped by the late-looters.
"Figure it out" came that cold expression
"I asked a question" she drew again.
"And I gave an answer. Figure, it out" he hissed.
"Good sir, spare me the fact that you have killed so brawly in front of me, all I ask is why I am here"
"Imagine, being left on the streets, late at the night. The world is sleeping, the rain is falling, but evil minds are about. Leaving you there meant two things, one to drown in the oncoming floor or be raped by vagabonds." He uttered coldly.
"Then, then I-I guess I should be owing you an apology. Samanu-san." With that she bowed.
Battousai was very impressed. Not much people did that, regardless how feared he was. Returning his gaze outside the window he watched the darkness of the night.
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"Kaoru, Kaoru!" a voice whispered, "Wake up. You need to wake up. Aghh, wake up, come on, wake up already, Kiyosato needs you."
Kaoru hesitantly woke up, only to view the disappearance of a bright light inside her room. Knowing that it was the angel Celeste, she decided to go to the place where Kiyasoto was left to rest, not knowing what trouble would befall her before the night was over. She looked up towards the wall of her room taking her bokken which hung as a display. She crept stealthily out her room and unto the hall. The very dark hall. She could hear the sound of rain.
'Oh great, just what I need, God's blessings!' Kaoru thought cruelly.
It was about midnight when Kaoru made her run from the Ishin. Opening the backdoor silently, she made her way on the streets of the wet Kyoto.
Following her form were golden eyes that could not sleep, at least, not so early. Leaving her to be, he entered his room lying against the wall holding his blades near him.
Kaoru on the other hand was following the recurring white light. Celeste appeared again and confronted her.
"Make haste!" she cried. "I don't have a very good feeling about tonight, so please be fast and at your best."
Kaoru nodded and ran off into the shadows of the night.
Smoking against the wall, a man smirked at the sight of the woman. Throwing the cigar to the floor, a man with a thin mustache and drunk beady eyes saw a figure run by, a figure of a girl. Iizuka smirked. Unknown to him, it was Kaoru. He leaned off the wall thinking there might be more of her friends up ahead. He hurried toward the barren road and pursued the shadowy character. Trailing stealthily behind her, trying to see who it was, he stopped suddenly. She had stopped and was suspicious. Looking around into the dead of the night, Kaoru saw no one. Yet she could not stop feeling that someone had their eyes fixated upon her. She took out her bokken and kept it in her hand. Iizuka then realized who it was and became very interested in where she was heading off to at such an ungodly hour.
Kaoru on the other hand ran like never before to escape whoever it was lurking in the dark. Turning around she saw no one. Iizuka basically didn't want to run, his excuse exactly. Why run? Besides, it didn't bother him she had a 'way' doing things. Turning around to go back home, he wondered what Kenshin would think when he told him. Meanwhile Kaoru had arrived at her destination. She unlocked the door and slid it open. Inside she saw Kiyosato struggling to pick himself up from the ground. He seemed to be in great pain and was looking for a way to end it. Thankfully Kaoru had arrived in the nick of time and prevented the failure of her mission. For if Kiyosato died then everything will be as in her future. This was the one thing she did not want. She took care of Kiyosato until he could rest peacefully once more. She left him asleep, with a bowl of fresh water next to him. Silently, she left the room and locked the door. It was just after two in the morning when she'd finish her task. The angel Celeste appeared to her in the usual bright flash of light.
"It's a really good thing you woke me up" Kaoru said. "Thank you so much for not letting my mission become a failure. I appreciate it."
Angel Celeste nodded. "It is my mission, Kaoru," she replied.
Approximately thirty minutes later, Kaoru reached back to the place she was staying. She turned to say goodbye to Celeste, but she had already vanished out of sight. She silently opened the door and crept in.
A dark blue dawn arose. There already standing tall in the cool air of a new day was a young woman whose heart burned a story of its own. Her lover dead and her murderer under her nose, she finds herself in two worlds, one in honour to revenge her fiancés death, the other to fall back into the boundary of sanity. But every tear that fell from her face and she tasted, became a sin for her to understand. Became a burden than was invisible.
'My name is Akira (or is it Kiyosato, whatever) Tomoe. I swear from the very words of my mouth, Hitokiri Battousai will be slaughtered, by a soft hand, a gentle hand, that shall feed into his heart, and before his eyes that he would learn to love me for, I shall rip that heart of his and feed it to the dogs. For my love…for my Kiyosato…for you…my beloved…' a tear fell down her face when she felt his spirit in the wind.
Okani awoke that morning, the old woman letting out a tired yawn whilst rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"Ohayo…" came a soft velvet voice. Full of maimed graciousness.
The woman smiled.
"Good morning…you must be that miss Kenshin brought in last night…" the old woman scratched her head looking at the girl as she listened tentatively to the woman.
"Kenshin?" she repeated… "that gentleman…with the red hair and --- and" Tomoe paused thinking of his blade. The same blades zoomed up dripping blood… her lovers blood. She screwed her eyes shut. 'No…not now…' Tomoe lightly rubbed her temple. Fluttering open her eyes she looked at the woman, "yes I know him."
"Come Tomoe…come help me feed those men…" Okani spoke, "those greedy silly men" Okani was hoping to get at least a little giggle, but whatever it was, that hindered Tomoe from smiling certainly made Okani deduct, as Kaoru, this woman was also hurting. But as Kaoru, Tomoe showed her sadness in the perfection of patience. It was indeed a gift as well to behold…but how much of a gift is it when you can't even smile!
--Knock knock knock.--
"Ms. Kaoru get up," came a voice. "Katsura wants to speak with you immediately!"
After some seconds of silence, she replied, "What for?" She dragged herself up and changed into something more appropriate. Some minutes later, she stood outside the room of Katsura. She was allowed in and asked to sit.
"Good morning Ms. Kaoru, please, sit" came the soft toned gentleman.
"I am Katsura, but I guess you already know that" the man said
"Yes I do" she paused, "may I ask, what's this about?" she asked interestedly.
"Oh just some news I've heard about you" he paused to look at her intently.
"News?"
"Yes, news" he paused to sip his tea, "are you aware of the term konichi?" he asked.
"Yes. I am. Why?"
"Well, last night Himura-san and Iziiuka-san both saw you leaving our premises. Women usually don't leave the Ishin at midnight. I mean, what business is there for such a young woman as yourself to be on the unruly streets that late?" he asked.
"I have my reasons" came her snappy response.
"Well Ms. Kaoru, your reasons may not be good enough for me not to suspect you're a konichi (female ninja). Now let me ask you, are you a konichi, for the Shinsen, for somebody?" he asked interestedly.
"Look, I don't know where you'd get that idea, but I'm no konichi okay?" she sounded ticked off, and man she looked it too.
"Okay. My second question would be how do you know about Kenshin? He says you know quite a bit about him, how?" he asked
"Lets just say if I told you the question would be, would you believe me. In fact Katsura-san, I know quite a lot about everyone. The Ishin, the Shinsen, even you." She said.
"Oh? Mine explaining?" he asked.
"Why not! What I know about you is that your heart was in a good place, but that crashed. You became so corrupted in the Bakumastu war that you didn't even realize you were beginning to lose it. War is something you really can't stop. You push these men, some of them boys into a battle that will plague their lives, forever. You're a good man, with an alive conscious an era like this, but have you ever imagined, ever thought, that after the war, the mark of killing a man or sin of losing a life creates scars of trauma? Mr. Katsura, I know a lot about all of you, and all of you are alike. Corrupted" she whispered.
"So you say"
"So I know"
"Let me ask you Kaoru, very seriously, how do you know Kenshin?" he asked.
"Kenshin." She sighs, "how could I not? Since young his life has been sad. Lost both his parents to some disease, grew up in a slave-trade, became talented in Hiten Mitsurugi and resounds his name as the Battousai. How could I not know the crying child in the legend? He's just a boy Katsura. Manipulated by you. How much will you whisper in his ear to kill this one and that one? How much more blood will fall? Come on, this isn't sense, this is nonsense. I really wish Katsura-san, that your wife could really look you in the eye and love you 'coz damn, I don't know how she does it" she uttered.
"Silence" he hushed her.
"Just telling you the truth, no need to get all 'defensy' on me" she said sarcastically.
"You know a lot about everyone. I don't know how but I'll respect it for the while, eventually you will return and tell me everything, including the truth. For now, I'll let you go on thin warnings. Break the rules of the Ishin and you'll suffer the price" he spoke in a warning-tone.
"Understood?" he asked
"Yup, can I kindly go now?" she sounded like a bored twelve year old.
"Yes."
"Good" she got up leaving him to be, "nice talking to you" she said before shutting the shoji shut.
Katsura sighed. She knew so much about Kenshin. Was Kenshin in trouble? Katsura didn't know.
As Kaoru was lead away from Katsura's office. She bowed her head remembering everything they discussed. Not looking where she was walking, she came crashing into someone.
Falling flat to the ground, she looked across at the girl.
Seeing all the clothes on the ground, Kaoru felt bad for not looking at where she was walking.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm such a klutz." Kaoru began helping her.
"It's okay. It's my fault, not yours." She whispered softly.
"Hah! No, don't say that, its totally my fault. See, I have klutz on me" Kaoru pointed out.
The girl giggled lightly. "You're very funny"
"I try" she paused, "you know, I haven't seen you around. Are you new or something?" Kaoru asked.
"Yes. Just arrived last night" she spoke softly.
"Oh, well um, I'm Kaoru, who're you?" Kaoru asked.
"Oh forgive me and my bad manners, I'm Tomoe Yukishiro" she smiled lightly at the young woman.
It was then Kaoru lost her humour and everything happy-go-lucky.
'T-This is Tomoe?'
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Archangel + Fhb authors' notes: We updated? Lol, okay, very sorry for taking that long. N-ways, I hope you guys like the update, it's a bit different from what some of you have thought but its gonna develop.
Words to memorize:
Konichi/Kunichi- a female assassin or ninja.
Please review!