Fanfic by Blueroseulan

Standard Disclaimers Apply! RK doesn't belong to me!

PREVIOUSLY ON CHAPTER 2:

"She's with the Hitokiri Battousai isn't she!"

"I…She.." Maeba stuttered.

"ISN'T SHE!" he roared.

Before the poor old woman could even nod, the pig was off again.

"STUPID WOMAN! You're frightened with what he could do right?"

"I didn't know!" Maeba defended.

"FUCK THAT WHORE! TELL HER I'D BE BACK TOMORROW AND THE HELL I'M GOING TO HAVE HER! AND MAKE SURE SHE'S RESERVED TOMORROW NIGHT!"

K

N

K

CHAPTER 3:

Battousai had hidden both the two of them in the shadow of the backstage. He could clearly feel her still shaking from the recent outrage, tears threatening to fall. Of course, he had no intention to bed her, merely wanted to repeat their rendezvous together like the past night. Stealthily and carefully escorting her back to the room, he was just about to warn her to meet him again by the spring when his sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps.

"Hush… the old woman is here." He warned.

She grew panicked. "What do we do? She'll pull me out if she sees we've not yet done anything!"

His voice was cool and unhurried. An exact opposite of what she heralded in hers.

"Take your clothes off."

Her eyes widened and her lips formed a big 'O'.

"Excuse me?"

"I said take your clothes off. Cover yourself with a blanket and pretend that you're nearing orgasm." He repeated.

Though she was both surprised and scandalized with his words, his tone held no room for argument and she hastily undressed while he turned to the other direction. Normally, being in a state of undress was usual for Kamiya Kaoru, but as she hurriedly took off her kimono, she couldn't help but feel a lot nervous and queasy about it.

But she had no time to ponder over her emotions and she scurried to cover herself with a blanket, watching as Battousai messed the futon, he, being naked from torso up.

"She'd be here any time. Mess up your hair." He fairly warned.

She bid as she was told and true to his words, scant seconds after, they heard a loud knock on the door.

"Bite your lips and moan." He hissed.

She threw him an indignant face but his expression told her something that made her create something akin to a moan escape from her lips.

"Louder!" he spat out in a whisper.

A look of sheer bewilderment crossed her face but though enraged, she bade herself to moan louder, creating nonsense as if it was a game. She frowned, throwing him a dark look before whispering in between her created whimpers.

"You too!"

Rolling his eyes he gave off a loud groan, one that made her suppress her laughter while she stood up, answering the impatient knockings on her door. Adjusting the blanket and Messing up her hair, she was thankful for the darkness or Maeba would not have missed the dark red blush staining her cheeks.

The old woman was mentally debating inside her mind whether to wait up or go. Mentally, she knew that Kaoru was doing her work and need not be disturbed; But her other side won and she decided to knock louder till a head pops out of the shoji. Imagine her surprise when the woman appeared, wearing apparently, only a blanket, clearly having been disturbed in her job. The man they called Battousai was lying on her bed, naked and panting, hair mussed up. He was clearly reaching the peak of his orgasm and was moaning Kaoru's name, a string of words such as 'I need you' and 'Get Back here and fuck me' escaping his lips. Far too embarrassed by the moanings she had heard and by the way her niece had appeared in the doorway, the older woman tried to stutter and scurry about, but not before hearing the tired voice of her niece.

"Auntie, Next time, don't bother me, I'm busy with my work. Okay?"

Had it been any other time, Maeba would have marched straight up to her niece and gave her a good scolding. But now was not the most conventional of times and the older woman could just nod and leave them alone.

Returning to the room and shutting the door with an emphasized 'click' Kaoru grabbed her kimono and carelessly tied the obi in place before she turned to her guest, eyes full with irritation, disbelief and bafflement, she berated with a hushed whisper

"What the hell was that about?"

Instead of giving her an answer, his face clearly showed confusion and even growing irritation.

"What was what about?"

She rolled her eyes. Heavens! Wasn't it obvious?

"The thing you did! Goodness…"

He raised his hand defensively, rising up and reaching for his gi. "I was merely protecting both of us. "

"But you didn't have to show that much! And that moanings and your words… Do you have any idea how you embarrassed me?" she fairly screeched.

He could already feel his temper rising up. Uh-oh…. This is no good… my temper matched with hers…

"We just did what we were supposed to do." He replied, trying to simmer his bubbling anger.

"And what were we supposed to be doing?" she asked indignantly.

He gave her a dark look. "Well, if it wasn't that obvious, we were pretending to have sex."

"WHY!"

"Because that's what whores do and that's what you should do."

The Hitokiri Battousai never expected those words to come out of his own mouth but the most that he didn't expect was the hard painful slap that stung his scarred cheek. Had he been carefully on guard, he would have caught her palm and it would never have collided against his skin. Yet he was distracted; both by his own words and her reaction.

For a moment she couldn't speak. Too angered to even have any coherent thought on her mind. Yet once again, her eyes spoke volumes and it was enough for him to feel the consequences of his harshly bitten words. She was shaking with suppressed wrath, her body movements betraying her impassive face, fully showing him how she felt.

No one spoke, but the tension in the room itself was more than suffocating. Both heard the midnight chime of the clock and the man reached out to her.

"And where are you taking me?" her tone held a bitter resentful tone.

"To the forest."

"No you're not taking me."

"Yes I am."

The shadow assassin really tried to make their escape easy and uncomplicated. Really. But not to be undone, Kaoru put a hell of a fight, struggling against his grasp and pushing him away from her. In the end, both landed in the forest floor with a loud oomph with Kaoru toppled over the form of the swordsman. Momentarily forgetting her rage, she had the grace to blush with their awkward position. After with what seems like an eternity, she pulled away and stood up at her feet, dusting invisible particles in her kimono and dreadfully wishing that her eyes had not given away the true feelings she had for him.

If ever he saw something in them, he certainly didn't show it. But something akin to guilt flickered in his face as he stood up and began walking away.

Kaoru didn't surely feel at least bit satisfied with his reaction. Culpability began to filter her mind as she stared at his back. Of course he had no other intentions but to help not only her but also both of them. He didn't do anything bad or outrageous, mainly asked her to undress, moan and act as if they were doing something. Not necessarily asking her to actually do it with him. So, why the hell should she feel mad?

I… well... erm… e-eto…

For the record, Kamiya Kaoru's mind went blank.

Any other reason?

Zero

Nil

None.

Fine, she'd give up.

Well… maybe a reason is… it was supposed to be romantic and stuff? He'd be at least a bit gentle and not exactly ordering me to undress…

Of course she knew it wasn't his fault.

Really.

Huffing in indignation and unadmitted guilt, she frowned. So, she had no valid reason to be angry with him and the next thing to do was to ask for sorry. Yep. That was what she ought to do right?

Thus, Kamiya Kaoru found herself walking towards the direction of the small spring where a red haired hitokiri rested. Her heart thumped wildly on her chest, uncertain if her intrusion was accepted. She knew he was aware of her presence. He was an assassin right? So, he knew she was there. But still, he didn't move, making her more nervous.

"I'm sorry."

The hitokiri Battousai looked up. Surprised with what she had said, her face filled with guilt.

"I shouldn't have done that. I knew you were only trying to help both of us." She murmured with heart felt regret

Again, he was taken aback. Here he was, the one who had said many nasty words, phrases that had stung, and still, she was the one asking for an apology? Truly, this woman never ceases to amaze him.

When he made no reply, Kaoru assumed that he was still angry with her past behavior and she began to walk away, her heart heavy with guilt.

"Matte."

He was standing up and his eyes glittered with an emotion Kaoru could not place. He ushered her to come near him and she did, giving her another rare opportunity to study the fine lines that marred his face.

"I'm sorry too…for saying those words…"

She looked away, eyes filling with the bitter sting of tears and her lips forming into a sad, bittersweet smile.

"What you said…It is true…" she murmured.

He noticed the wounded look that passed her face and he once again cursed himself for being so uncouth with his words. He wished for nothing more than to take back everything he had said and kept quiet in its stead. But what is done is done. It cannot be taken back.

A tentative hand rose to stroke a stray tear that had fallen on her face. But the tears would not stop and soon, he had Kaoru once again sobbing in his arms. Cheesy as it may sound, the Hitokiri Battousai found himself for the second time, in an incomprehensible situation.

"Why… why are you doing this to me?" she sobbed.

He couldn't speak, mainly because, he himself didn't know why. Instead, he continued to stroke her back in an attempt to pacify her cries.

"Why? Why are you so kind? Why!"

Kind. Hah! How he wanted to laugh with the irony of her words. Kind? An assassin is never kind.

Cruel.

Yes. That was the right word.

"I am not kind. I am cruel and I kill." He said, unflinching.

She gazed at him with bloody red eyes, her face filled with confusion.

"But you help me!"

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm a killer." He bit out.

"It is! For me…" she whispered. Before burying her face in his chest.

He was surprised, astonished and amazed with her acceptance.

"No one has ever thought of me like that before…" he murmured. Unconsciously wrapping his arms around her shivering form.

She was quiet for a moment, her sobs dying down, before she spoke once again, her words surprising him and making him tighten his embrace.

"No one has ever been kind to me ever since I stepped in the teahouse."

His eyes flashed with sympathy as he pondered over the thought of the parallelism of their fates. And here I was, thinking I'm the unluckiest person alive…They were both bound by the threads of cruel demise. Subjected to pain and suffering. He subjects, she, subjected. There was an unmistakable bond that had forged between them, making him drawn to her like a moth in an oil lamp, however uncanny it may be. They had barely known each other, not even the first of their names, but hard as it is for him, the Hitokiri Battousai found himself trusting the young prostitute.

He gently led her towards the mossy bank of the spring where their reflections were softly illuminated by the moon. Throwing him a questioning glance, he pointed towards the sparkling water.

"Do you see both of us?" he admonished. She nodded and he continued.

"We are one and the same."

She was surprised by the depth of his words and she couldn't help but ask.

"How so?"

He kept a sober face, his seriousness evident.

"We are both held under the cruelty of life."

Bowing her head, she nodded in resignation. Content in just watching their reflection in the cool waters below. Gazing at his face, she lifted a delicate hand, touching the cross scar that marred his cheek.

"Does it still hurt?" she whispered gently.

He looked away, avoiding her touch. Such brief caress is and never will be permitted to an animal such like he. It just isn't proper.

"Don't." he simply said.

"Why?"

"Because I am tainted and touching me will make you impure."

Mildly she shook her head. "I am a whore… I will forever be impure and unclean. Both in the eyes of men and women alike."

He was taken aback with the harshness present in her voice. Did she think of her so impure and so violated?

"No… don't say that… a woman's profession should not be the scale of comparison with the limpidness of her heart and soul. "

Kaoru took in a deep suck of breath. Unsure whether to feel euphoric with his words or cry and sob. She chose none of the two and instead voiced a question that left the man uncomfortable.

"Something in you more than intrigues me… Hitokiri Battousai… tell me… who are you…?"

Inwardly, he was debating with himself. Do I tell her who I really am? Or would it be one of the worst decisions I could ever make in my whole damned life? Maybe she's a spy… or maybe she's just one of them…

She seemed to sense his anxiety for she was quick to dispel his doubt.

"I'm no enemy. You should know by now. But if you don't want to tell me… it's okay… I'm not forcing you…" she murmured.

That was the last to break his hesitation, speaking in a low voice he ushered.

"Himura Kenshin. That's my name."

She was surprised with his reply. No reservation, no stipulation et al.

He continued, astonishing her further more with his willingness to open up.

"I used the alias Hitokiri Battousai for the reason same as yours. To protect my name and myself. No one knows my true name. You are the only living soul who knows who I really am. I don't know why I told you. But I just did."

A grateful lovely smile spread across her lips making his heart flutter lightly in his chest.

"Th-thank you for telling me… Himura-san…."

He nodded. Inwardly, he felt as if a great mass had been removed, the heavy burden he felt weighing down his heart melting away. It was as if, his guilt had been relieved, making the terrors of his fucked up life dissolve by just the mere fact of telling her his name.

"I've told you my name… it's your turn to tell me yours." He whispered, nearing her and locking gazes with her.

She nodded, and in a voice so fragile he thought she would break, she whispered.

"I am Kamiya Kaoru… otherwise known as The Bluerose of the Sakura Teahouse."

The hours passed without the couple's notice. Each moment was filled with growing connection as they found themselves snuggled under the old tree of oak knowing more about one another, realizing that they were united more with just the thought of being dirty and immoral. Kaoru was surprised how she could get the assassin talk little by little about his past. She now knew he worked for the Ishinshishi; a group of royalists trying to bring forth a new era. In return, she had told him how she had entered the teahouse and became the famous Bluerose.

"My father died when I was fourteen. Maeba-jiisan adopted me and trained me to become the proper geisha. She fed me, clothed me and gave me a roof above my head. But in exchange

Of this, she pushed me into a profession I didn't even dream of, a job I so loathed it came to the point where I wanted to kill myself. It's so hard you know, identifying yourself as a social outcast, a whore… a prostitute who sells flesh and sex for men. It's humiliating but it's reality."

He didn't speak. Only pulled her closer to him, trying to dissipate the bubbling anger he felt for all the men who had touched her. Something inside him had marked her unmistakably as his. No words were needed. Her words were enough to clear the distinction.

She shivered and scooted closer to him, bodies in an impossible distance, resting his cheek at the crown of her head, he asked.

"Bluerose… where did that come from?"

Again, her lips curved into a bittersweet smile. One that he hated to see and loved to replace with another without pain.

"Maeba-san christened me as Bluerose because according to her, blue roses are far the most exotic and striking among all plants in the world. Hard to cultivate and very sensitive, they are by far the best and the most exceptional. Very special she says… but," she paused, her face turning wistful, "I do not think as quite the same. "

"Why?"

"Because," she continued, "For me, blue roses are foolish. A symbol of deception. They say roses are red, a perfect picture of love, compassion, purity and spirit. A rose such with a color of blue does not carry those same intense emotions. Instead, a Bluerose will always be a symbol of impurity, immorality, lost innocence and a corrupted soul. It depicts an image of forlorn suffering, the lapis lazuli color something that resembles misery, loneliness and wretchedness."

Self disgust and loathing was evident in her voice, making him cringe inwardly. Her voice was full of defiance and anger, he could tell, yet she kept a straight face and he all the more developed the urge to wrap his arms around her and to protect her from all the nightmares life threatened to bring.

And so, that was what he just did.

To say she was surprised would be an understatement when she felt his arms wrap around her form. Shocked with the stunt he just pulled off; Kaoru could only remain deathly still, taken aback with the assassin's forwardness.

Even the man himself was surprised with what he had done. But what was done was done and he never felt regret. Instead, he closed his eyes, relishing the feel of her under his hold, memorizing her intoxicating scent of jasmine and burying his face in the fall of her hair.

"I will protect you… from now on…"

His whisper made strange sensations run down her spine. It was his oath, his promise and she knew he was an honorable man. It would be foolish if she didn't trust him now and it would be imprudent if she denied that she felt something for him.

Closing her eyes and reaching to touch his arms, she rested her chin on the well-chiseled muscles on his chest. How she wished time would stop and trap both of them in its grasp. How she wished…

"I wish, tomorrow never comes…"

Surprised with the tone of sadness she placed on her words, the man looked up, understanding settling on his gaze as realization dawned to him that she was adamant to leave him just as he was to her.

"Me too…"

And then, under the yellow bluish shadow the moon illuminated and the weeping sakura blossoms that swayed on the midsummer's night, he kissed her, uncertainty and fear dissipating in his lips. No words were needed, no permission to be asked. Everything was conveyed with the kiss they shared. Yearning and understanding fully felt and conveyed, both could only close their eyes and pull one another tighter, never wanting to let go and the mere thought of separation painful.

TBC…

AN: So there… they've opened up to one another haven't they?

I was told that blue roses are indeed very hard to cultivate. That's why Kaoru's situation is so ironic. ( You see now why I had to use bluerose…It would be too hard to think of an alias with a proper explanation…)

I found the mock love-making amusing. Typing that part made me laugh imagining how the two would have looked like. Anyways, don't forget to leave a review before you go to the next chappie!

JA!

BLUEROSE