Heart Of The Battousai

Chapter 1- Discovery

It was late at night, the wind blew harshly through the darkened tree limbs, rustling the leaves wildly as they snapped off and fluttered to the ground. Swords clashed together and battle cries rang out in the dead silence of the night as the moon shone bright red, illuminating the fallen bodies of the soldiers lying on the cold and bloody ground. Battousai ignored the shouts and sounds of the battles going on around him as he headed home, he was finished for the evening and whatever went on between the other clans wasn't his affair as long as his clan was left out of it. He paused by a nearby creek and splashed some water onto his face and chest, washing off the blood of his recent battle. He looked into the gently moving water at his reflection and traced his scar thoughtfully, letting out a small groan before heading off towards home once more.

As he was going he heard a shrill scream and ran off towards the direction the sound came from. He didn't know why he was going, it wasn't his problem if a woman got killed because she was stupid enough to come out at such a late hour, but even so, he ran faster as the screaming started to die down. By the time he reached the meadow it was already too late, several soldiers lay dead and their belongings taken, most likely by bandits. He looked around and saw a woman near a tree trunk and ran up to her, kneeling beside of her to check her pulse, "She's still alive."

He looked around to make sure no one else was around before he shook her shoulder, his voice cold but soft, "Hey, get up."

The woman groaned and cracked her tired eyes open to look at him, she moved her lips and whispered something but it was too soft for him to hear. He leaned his ear down close to her mouth and nudged her again, "What did you say? I didn't hear you."

"T... the... brush... check... the... brush..."

The woman's eyes suddenly went wide and her body went limp as she stopped breathing, he checked her pulse again but found nothing this time. Battousai gently shut her eyes and looked around the small clearing, seeing a small shrub near a cluster of trees, "The brush, huh?"

He went over and checked all of the bushes thoroughly, only to come up empty handed. He looked to the dead woman and sighed, "She must have been delirious, I guess I should just head back, there's nothing I can do here now."

Battousai got up and dusted himself off before heading back the way he came but before he could go very far he heard the bush behind him rustling ever so slightly, followed by a soft sound, like a coo or a small cry. He arched an eyebrow and went back to the brush, checking once more closer to one the trees, finding a small package there wrapped up in an old blanket. He picked it up and looked at it thoughtfully, "This must've been what she was talking about, I wonder what it is."

He started to unwrap the package, letting out a soft gasp when it suddenly started to move. He hastily tore the blanket away and his eyes almost jumped out of his head when he saw what the package was. In his arms was a small child, numerous cuts and bruises dotted its skin but other than that it appeared to be fine, aside from being dirty. Battousai looked around the meadow to see if anyone was there, hoping the parents would be nearby but he saw only the fallen bodies of the soldiers and the woman. He let out a cry of surprise when the infant started to cry, he tried bouncing it on his knee but that only made the child cry harder, apparently not liking his attempt at comforting it. He finally hooked one arm under the child's back and patted its chest lightly with his free hand, slight panic in his voice as he spoke quietly, "Hey come on, shut up already, kid."

Surprisingly the baby stopped crying and just started cooing, sleep taking over as its little body gave out. Battousai let out a sigh of relief and wrapped the infant back up in the blanket before standing up and heading towards the entrance of the meadow. He passed the woman's body as he did so, looking from her to the infant with almost sad eyes, "She must've been your mother... don't worry kid, I'll find someone to take care of you."

Battousai headed into town and stopped the first person he saw, which luckily was a woman, "Excuse me?"

"Yes sir, what is it?"

"Do you know who's baby this is?"

The woman took a look at the baby and smiled, "It's a beautiful child but, sadly, I've never seen it before, sorry I can't help."

"Thanks any ways."

Over the next two hours he interrogated about a hundred people, but none of them knew who the child belonged to, most had never even seen anyone with a child in the past several days. Tired and aggravated, Battousai found some rest as he sat in one of the local bars, trying to figure out what to do about his current mishap. The baby wiggled in his arms and he looked down at it, happy to see that it was still sleeping soundly, "What am I gonna do? I can't take care of a kid, I have more important things to do than change diapers."

The baby suddenly let out a shrill scream, startling the normally calm manslayer half to death as he tried to shush it, "Come on now, you're ok, stop crying already."

The baby continued to cry and he gently pushed it up into the air, trying to play with it but the crying got worse, causing him to groan, "What's the matter with you?"

"Try changing the diaper."

Battousai looked beside of him and saw a young woman standing next to him, a young child standing next to her as she smiled at the frustrated man, "What?" he asked dumbly

"Try changing it, that might help."

"I don't have any diapers or anything, lady."

"Here, you can have one of mine."

She handed him a diaper and he gently set the baby down on the table as he tried to change the diaper but failing miserably at it, causing the baby to become even more upset. The woman giggled and gently pushed him out of the way, "Let me show you."

He watched her with blank eyes as she easily complete the task, a slight flush coming to his face as he realized just how easy it really was and that he couldn't do it. Once she was finished the baby stopped crying and went back to sleep before Battousai picked it up again, his voice cold and emotionless as he whispered, "Thanks."

"No problem, you're not a very experienced father, are you?"

Battousai gave her a cold glare, "It's not mine, I found it out in the woods, the parents were killed."

"Oh I see, well it's kind of you to take care of it."

"I'm looking after it until I can find someone who can take care of it, you don't know anyone do you?"

"No." she said simply with a smile.

"Do you want it?"

The girl laughed, "Oh no, I have two myself and that's more than enough, but even if you do find someone you won't be able to let it go."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you obviously have a good heart, most people would've just left it out there to die, and you seem to be a nice guy and if my instincts are right you're going to fall in love with that child very quickly and you won't be able to let it leave with anyone but you."

"I doubt it, I don't get attached to things."

"You will, trust me. Any ways, sorry I can't help you out anymore than I have but I have to get my little one home... here."

The woman reached into her bag and handed Battousai a bottle, getting him to raise an eyebrow as she headed for the door, "What's this for?"

"Trust me, you'll need it, good luck."

"Hey wait... thanks for nothing, lady."

Battousai looked down at the sleeping baby in his arms and sighed, "Great, just great... what the hell am I supposed to do with a baby?"

End of Ch. 1, is it ok? I know it's a little bit slapped together but I've had this one stashed away in my dresser for about a year and I got bored so... here I am, again :). Any ways, let me know what you think and if you like it I'll have ch. 2 up soon, 'k. Love ya!