The Assassin's Curse
Author's Note: Hello everyone! I know it's been forever since I've updated (or at least that's what it seems like to me). I've been in Washington D.C. on a school trip this past week and that's why I haven't updated. I hope you all liked chapter four (especially now that I use proper grammar (most of the time) thanks to my two beta readers who deserve a round of applause: Onyx Dawn and ShirubaNeko!) Also a big thanks must be given to all of my readers and reviewers! I thank you guys so much, you give me motivation for writing well! - I'm really hoping that the plot of this story will begin to thicken within the next few chapters. So keep checking, this is where the story starts to get interesting! Once again thank you all for reviewing! I feel so inspired! -
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me nor do any of its characters, only the contents of this story, all else belongs to the great author Nobuhiro Watsuki.
Now, here is chapter five! I hope you like! -
Our Blood-Stained Hands
Two Weeks LaterKaoru ambled through the darkened hallways of the inn. She could now freely explore the premises to her heart's content, with a few exceptions. The sun had long ago set and the moon was now high, she had tried to sleep but couldn't. Sleep would not take her this night. She had a lot to think about, and no matter how hard she tried her mind just wouldn't settle.
She reflected on the events of the past two weeks in amazement. She and Battousai practiced nearly everyday from noon until when he felt they were finished. Each day had been as dreadful as the one before. The first time Kaoru had seen Battousai show any emotion had also been the last, that first day when she saw how broken he really was. Tonight he had been sent on another 'mission'; that was what Kaoru began calling his assassinations. The only thing she knew about tonight's mission was that he left with six other men. Frankly, that's all that she wanted to know about it. Kaoru wandered into the front room when her name reached her ears.
"Kaoru!"
"Oh, Megumi! What is it?" Kaoru moaned irritably.
"Why are you here? It's kind of late," Megumi whispered, not wanting to wake anyone in the inn who had found sleep.
"Couldn't get to sleep," Kaoru answered groggily. "What about you? Why are you up so late?
"Oh…well-" she started but was interrupted by a panicked voice coming from the entryway."Megumi-san!"
"Usagi!" Megumi rushed over to a bloodied man- no, a bloodied boy who staggered into the inn along with numerous other men who appeared to be in equal, or worse, condition. "What happened!"
"We w-were o-out-outnumbered," Usagi whimpered as he collapsed into Megumi's arms.
Another staggering figure appeared in the doorway with an unconscious man strapped over his shoulders. "Megumi-san, it's Tsukuname, he's injured pretty badly," he said.
"Bring him over here," Megumi ordered. "Okami! Kaoru, come here. I need your help."
Kaoru did as she was instructed as another woman came flying out of nowhere. Kaoru figured it was Okami.
"Kaoru, take Usagi," Megumi said sternly, handing the now weeping boy over to Kaoru. "Okami, bring in some futons and blankets."
Okami came back just moments later bringing four futons and multiple blankets with her. She hastily laid them down in a row and set the blankets off to the side.
Kaoru immediately seized the chance to lay Usagi gently down on a nearby futon. She grabbed a spare blanket on the side to prop his head up. Likewise, Megumi and Okami began to lay the unconscious man, Tsukuname, on another futon.
"Okami, go boil water. Kaoru, go bring fresh cloth," Megumi's voice, through all the chaos, remained composed and commanding.
Kaoru followed Okami to the kitchen where she knew she would find clean cloths. She gathered up as many as she could manage and stumbled with her bulky load back out into the inn's entryway, which was now littered in bloodied men and supplies.
Kaoru walked into the room and stopped dead in her tracks. For right before her eyes was Battousai, helping a badly wounded man limp inside.
"Megumi, this is the last of them," he said and with his free hand shut the door behind him.
"Good. Lay him down there," Megumi signalled Battousai, pointing to the last unoccupied futon.
Kaoru snapped out of her daze. She hurried over to where Okami had set the boiling water and dumped the cloths beside it. Megumi was ministering to Tsukuname and Okami was aiding another man who looked almost as bad as him.
Kaoru didn't want to be pessimistic at a time like this, but Tsukuname looked like he wouldn't survive the night. There was a gaping hole in his side, blood oozing from it uncontrollably. A five-inch gash spread across his forehead, if he survived there would forever be a scar marking him. Kaoru guessed his arm was broken, for Megumi had begun to place it in a splint. He had multiple other minor injuries, cuts, and bruises; he looked almost as if someone had beaten him with club.
The man Okami was tending to was conscious, though barely. He didn't seem to be in much better condition than Tsukuname, though it appeared that he might have a chance at surviving.
Kaoru didn't need to be told to tend to Usagi and the other man, both of whom appeared to be in better condition than the other two. She chose a cloth and wet it in the scalding water then carried it back to where Usagi lay.
"Ma'am, what's your name?" Usagi asked weakly as Kaoru bent over his wounds to clean them.
"Shhh…don't talk. My name's Kaoru," she whispered softly.
He ignored her command and continued talking, "Are Tsukuname and Koji- are they going to be alright?"
Kaoru didn't answer his question. "Quiet. It's not good for you to speak," she whispered sternly, though she didn't raise her voice.
And so Usagi fell silent. The next three hours were spent like that: cleaning wounds, bandaging the injured men, and trying to calm them. In all five out of the seven men who came in were hurt. Two were crucially injured, two more only lightly. The last man only sliced his arm, a minor injury compared to the rest.
After Usagi and the other man Kaoru tended to were stable and asleep she went over to check on Megumi with Tsukuname, whose life still hung in the balance.
"Megumi, how can I help with him?" Kaoru gently asked the weary woman.
"Take a cloth and wet it with cold water. We need to calm his fever. His wounds must have gotten infected somehow," Megumi instructed as she continued to mop up the blood from his side that wouldn't cease to flow.
Kaoru immediately dashed to the kitchen and wet a cloth down with cold water to the point where it dripped. The blood on her hands permanently staining the cloth.
"Megumi?"
"Place it on his forehead. Hold it there to help the fever die down," she commanded, wiping the sweat and blood from her brow.
They stayed frozen like that for a long while until finally Megumi exhaled a sigh of defeat.
"Megumi?"
"He's dead,"
As if to be sure he was Kaoru placed her soiled hand over his cheek and found it deathly cold. A silent tear trickled down her face as she mourned the death of a man she never knew but had tried to save.
"Don't worry, Kaoru," Megumi consoled. "We tried."
Kaoru only nodded and said, "We can at least save the rest."
Megumi then pulled the blanket that lay crumpled up at Tsukuname's feet up over his head to let him finally rest.
The other men were now awake, seeing as they couldn't sleep more than a couple of hours at a time due to their wounds. Okami began aiding them in any way they may have needed it. Megumi went to check on the man whose sliced arm had been bandaged by Kaoru.
Kaoru perked her head up when she heard footsteps coming from the front hallway. They stopped just short of entering the room.
"Megumi?"
"Oh! Katsura-san," Megumi stopped what she was doing and really stood up for the first time in hours, her bones stiff and her muscles sore.
"Could I speak with you?" He then added, "In private."
"Of course." Megumi had wanted to be able to speak with him too. "Okami, could you take care of things here?"
"Hai, Megumi-san," Okami assured.
When Megumi left, Kaoru looked around the room. And for the first time since he'd come she saw Battousai. She guessed she'd known he had been there and just never noted it. Her weary legs struggled to lift her up, but they got her to her feet and carried her over to Battousai. As she drew nearer she noticed blood dripping slowly but steadily from his upper right arm. She halted just in front of him, which caused him to glance up at her with his emotionless glare.
"You're injured," Kaoru pointed out blandly.
"Just a scratch." Battousai brought his good arm up to his wound, obviously hoping Kaoru would stop pestering him.
Kaoru squatted down to where he sat on a bench against the wall. She reached out and drew his hand away from the wound only to find it stained scarlet by his own blood. "I don't think it's just a scratch. Let me see it," she ordered, never once glancing at his face.
She gently pulled his right arm out of his gi so she could examine it more closely.
And for some reason unknown to him, he didn't stop her.
Kaoru reached down beside her hip and grabbed a white cloth. She dipped it in a water bucket at her feet then brought it up to his gash, dabbing at it and wiping away the blood. He didn't wince once at the sting.
While continuing to work she began talking mildly, "How does Battousai get a wound like that?" She inquired knowingly.
He remained still, silent as stone.
"I mean, how does one such as he get cut by a sword?" Kaoru pressed.
"I can't remember; I felt no pain," Battousai answered, hoping to shut her up.
"You were trying to save them, weren't you? All of these men would have been killed if you hadn't stepped in," Kaoru said.
"Iie. During a group assassination everyone looks after themselves and themselves alone."
"Don't lie. It doesn't suit you," Kaoru advised as she began wrapping the gash.
"I'm not."
Kaoru just left it at that. She knew otherwise.
They remained silent for awhile as Kaoru finished bandaging the wound.
Then she asked, "How did you get that scar?" She reached up to the cross-like scar on his left cheek. He grabbed her hand roughly and violently jerked it from his face.
"It doesn't matter," he hissed vehemently.
"Maybe not, but it marks you," she whispered back, not once breaking eye contact.
"I can't remember how I got it. It's just a scar, it doesn't mean anything," he growled.
"You do remember, and you won't ever forget how you got it I imagine," she persisted.
"I will forget then," he promised.
"Don't forget, no matter how terrible the memories. Let that scar be a reminder to you. Always remember, but don't dwell on it. Learn from the past, but don't live in it. That's something we all need to do," she said firmly as she tore her hand from Battousai's grasp and laid it over his scar to emphasize her meaning.
After a few moments she took her hand from his cheek and laid it in her lap to join her other one.
She stared into his eyes for the longest time until she was sure he understood her. Then she broke the gaze and lifted herself to her feet saying, "You're done."
She then left him to tend to the other men.
Battousai sat there awhile pondering what she had said. As he got up to head for his room he glanced back at her and thought, 'This woman is going to cause me more trouble than I ever anticipated.'
"Megumi, how are the men?" Katsura inquired as he shut the door of his office.
"I don't know. You tell me," Megumi sassed. "We have one man dead, another critically wounded, and three with minor injuries thanks to your miscalculations!"
"I know, I know. You have every right to be angry with me," Katsura said, sighing heavily. "But we have more important things to worry about."
"Like what?"
"Our spies think they finally tracked him down," Katsura answered as he walked to his desk and removed a small stack of papers from a larger pile.
"You mean…?"
"Hai, Shinomori made a report on where we think he's been all these months. Look through that and you'll understand what I mean," Katsura handed the thin stack of weather-stained papers to Megumi and then ambled over to the office's lone window.
Megumi fingered through the stack, studying the finer details and skimming the rest. After getting a general idea of the report's contents she glanced up a Katsura, whose back was turned to her. "The Shinsengumi? He's sided with them?"
"Hai. In fact, it's my opinion that it was his spies who alerted the Shinsengumi of tonight's assassination. I spoke with one of our injured and he says our six assassins were ambushed, so obviously the Shinsengumi knows of some of our plans," Katsura sighed regretfully.
"Do you know what plans he knows about? Does he know about her?" Megumi gasped anxiously.
"Who, Kamiya? I don't think he does. The only ones who know about her are you, Okubo, Seigo, and myself. I don't think we have to worry about that yet anyway. We still have some time," he reminded Megumi.
"We don't have much. She's learning faster than I'd ever expected. If he finds out about her, then he won't waste much time in coming here," Megumi briskly turned around and shoved the files back at Katsura.
"Don't worry too much, Megumi. If everything turns out as it's supposed to then he will be eliminated before he has a chance to come here."
"I wouldn't be so sure. You've never been on the sharp side of his blade as I have. Shishio Makoto is not an easy man to bring down."
"Damn it!"
"Sano? What's wrong?" Yahiko asked, peeking into the room from behind a freshly painted wall.
Sano crumpled up the already torn map and tossed it to the side when he said, "Two weeks, two weeks! It's been two weeks, we still haven't found a clue as to where she is!"
Yahiko, feeling it safe to step foot in the room littered with trash and sake bottles. He walked over to where Sano sat on the floor and set down the god-forsaken beverage he'd been ordered to get. After setting it down, he lifted himself to his feet and went to retrieve Sano's discarded map.
"We're not even in Kyoto yet," Yahiko stated, straightening out the torn and crinkled map of Japan. "You didn't honestly expect to find her that quickly? Just keep asking the people around here about her."
"Yeah, but I thought we'd at least have found some kind of sign," he sighed exasperatedly.
"Just keep looking!"
"I know, I know, I know. Are you packed? We gotta keep movin' if we're gonna find her," Sano said, getting up and slinging his pack over his sore shoulder.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Yahiko mumbled, silently fuming.
Sano just ignored him and strode out the door to find the owner of the house they had been boarding at for the past two days.
"Iie, you probably need that money more than we do," the aged owner protested when Sano tried to compensate him for housing both the travelers.
"Just take the money," Yahiko muttered from below only to receive a kick in the shin from Sano.
"Please, take the money and we'll be going," Sano politely insisted after shutting up the boy next to him.
"Only if you're sure," the man replied hesitantly.
"We're sure," Sano said, handing him the money. "And once again, arigatou."
Sano turned away from the house and began walking along the path next to the house. Yahiko trailing after him, struggling to keep up with his longer stride.
After they were out of hearing range Yahiko huffed, "Since when did you get manners?"
"I figured I'd try Kaoru's approach to strangers, instead of yours. And what do you know, it worked!" Sano mocked sarcastically.
They walked along the path in a comfortable silence when Sano suddenly stiffened.
"Sano, what is it?" Yahiko whispered loud enough for only his companion to hear.
"Shut up. We're being followed," he shushed and began to walk slower.
As he did, Yahiko noticed he began to subtly inch closer to the thick trees beside the road. Though the sun was, by this time, high above the horizon the forest remained black and still. Yahiko hadn't noticed anything coming from the forest, much less a stalker. Yet, Sano was used to this sort of thing more than he was. Then Sano suddenly came to a dead stop. Had Yahiko not been watching where he was going he would have ran right into him.
Though no sooner than he had stopped he spun around and lunged into the dense foliage, disappearing from sight. When Yahiko charged in after him he saw that Sano had the situation well under control, though he could not see what the person looked like due to Sano's bulk. One bear-like hand clamped around a small neck, keeping their stalker pinned to the trunk of a thick oak. His other hand had been thrown to the side to help keep his balance. Sano's captive struggled to get free, grappling at the hand that had him fastened there.
"Who are you!" Sano barked.
"It's not nice to shout at a lady," the person, apparently female, gasped for air.
Sano loosened his grip, but still kept a firm hold on her neck. " When that lady has been following me for nearly an hour now, I have the right to question her! Now, who are you?"
Instead of answering she continued to wrestle her way out of his grip. Beads of sweat trickled down her face as she was having trouble finding air. Yahiko could here choking noises emitting from Sano's other side.
"Sano! Don't kill her!"
"I'm not, not until we get some answers," he snarled, barely glancing back at Yahiko and then refocusing his gaze on the small woman. "Now, tell us why you were following us! I'm not one known for my patience!"
The woman sounded like she was trying to retort but was finding it difficult. And so, using her last ounce of air she grabbed hold of Sano's large hand around her gullet with her much smaller ones. Contradicting to their size though, was their strength. Once she had a firm grip on his wrist she kicked up her leg and with surprising force kneed him in his lower abdomen.
The unexpected blow caused him to kneel down and wrench over in pain, he wrapped his arms around his stomach allowing his captive to escape.
Without wasting a moment the woman seized her opportunity to escape. Then in a blurred motion she appeared on the opposite side of Sano and Yahiko, a comfortable fifteen feet away.
When Sano had regained air he glanced up, still holding his stomach. His eyes then met hers, but no longer did hers hold any fear or innocence as they had before. No, now he saw confidence and cunning held in those large, emerald orbs.
To be continued…
Author's Note: Hello again! Sorry for the long wait! Well, that was chapter five! It really wasn't the best. I actually like how I had it planned out and then I encounter writer's block for the last part of the chapter. So it probably sounds a bit sluggish. Anyway, I hope you liked chapter five! I'm so happy because the plot within the plot is beginning to unfold! Oh! Once again, I'd like to thank my magnificent beta readers for taking the time to read and help edit my story! Thanks to Onyx Dawn and ShirubaNeko! Oh, now in my review responses I'll only be answering those of you who have questions, but I will give all of my reviewers a general thanks! -
Review Responses:
Black Metalmark: Thanks you so much for your compliment! I really feel honored to know that you think I'm such a good writer! I just started writing because I felt like it, I never really thought that people would like my work! So once again, thank you! -
Xxbeast-boyxX: Yea! Another reviewer who thinks I'm a good writer! I feel so loved! I'm also impressed that you actually reviewed all of my written chapters so far! Most people don't do that! Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you liked chapter five!-
Jisusaken: I'm glad you like my story! It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside! - I hope you liked chapter five, I know there isn't much happening right now. But, trust me I have a lot planned for this! Thanks so much for reviewing! -
REIGNASHII: I feel honored! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed chapter five! I know I enjoyed writing most of it! And remember to keep reviewing! Thank you so much! -
CHIBIKenshinta-chan: You like my story! Yea! And don't worry Kaoru's is definitely going to try and find more about Kenny! Trust me, next chapter she finds out one of the most important things about him! Once again, thanks so much! I feel loved! -
froggi3: I'm so happy you like my fic! Oh, and I don't think you'll be too disappointed in how it turns out! I hope I'm not giving away too much information there! Anyway I hoped you liked chapter five! -
nilnil: I'm so glad you liked my story! I hoped you like Onyx Dawn's story as well! She is such a great author! Thanks for reading both of our fics! -
Mad-4-Manga: I feel loved! You reviewed all my chapters! You deserve extra thanks! Thank you! -
erica6060: I'm so glad you like it! I also hope that your stories are coming along nicely! They sound like great plotlines! -
Onyx Dawn: Hello, my wonderful beta reader! Thank you so much for betaing chapters four and five! I hope you liked chapter five, although I think it dragged a little too much for my taste, but that's okay! - I need to read your other stories and you need to update soon! Well, once again… Thank you so so so so so much! I feel so loved! LYLAS! Buh-bye! -
P.S.: I know many of you have heard this before, but for those of you who haven't I'd like to suggest a story. For anyone who likes Harry Potter I highly suggest you go read Guilty as the Arctic Winds written by my friend Onyx Dawn. It's an amazing story with a deep plotline and her writing quality is excellent. So please go read her stories, they don't get nearly as much credit as they deserve! Thank you! -
Author's Note: Once again, thanks to all my reviewers! And to everyone else please read and Review! Thank you so much! -