A New Battle

Chapter 9 - Learning The Past

Kaoru awoke the next morning with a start and looked around frantically for Kenshin but was relieved to find that she was alone and safe in her room. Her mind drifted back to the previous day's events and she began to remember exactly what had happened. She remembered fighting with Kenshin about him being a vampire then they started kissing, then she recalled something sharp cutting into her throat before she passed out. She raised her hand to her neck and let out a shiver when she remembered Kenshin's fangs, it felt so strange to be bitten, it hurt slightly and made you want to fight but at the same time it was calming and seductive, making you want to give into the sensation. Kaoru got up and wobbled over to the wall and looked into the mirror, vaguely seeing two puncture scars on her neck where Kenshin had bitten her and she let out a sigh, "I need to talk to him..."

She carefully made her way down the hall and looked into his room only to find that he wasn't there. She made a quick check of the dojo and finally found him sitting against one of the support beams on the porch, his eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly, indicating that he was asleep. Kaoru knelt next to him and raised her hand to push some hair away from his face, but just as she touched him his eyes shot open and he grabbed her wrist, causing her to let out a cry of surprise. Kenshin seemed to snap out of a trance and blinked several times at her, "Kaoru... I'm sorry, I'm not a really good person to around when I'm asleep."

"It's ok... sorry I scared you."

Kenshin let go of her wrist and they sat in uncomfortable silence for several minutes until Kaoru couldn't stand it any longer, "Kenshin... what happened yesterday?"

"I'm really not really sure myself, all I know is that I got carried away, but please believe me when I say that I never meant to hurt you."

"Then... why did you bite me?"

"I didn't mean to... it... it's been so long since I've kissed a woman that I just... lost control and forgot to retract my fangs is all. I know it probably means nothing to you but I'm sorry."

Kaoru nodded and looked to the ground as a frightening thought entered her mind, "Kenshin... since you bit me does that mean that... I'm going to turn into a vampire?"

Kenshin smiled and shook his head, "No, it's actually not that simple to become a vampire, one bite won't change you, it doesn't work that way."

"Then how do you become a vampire? I always thought that you had to be bitten by one?"

"You do have to be bitten, but three times by the same vampire, if three different vampires bite you then you'll just be weak from blood loss and have a bunch of holes in your neck."

Kaoru couldn't help but crack a smile at the comment, even when she was upset he could make her smile, but even so there were some things that she needed to know and not even his charm could make her forget that, "Kenshin... I know you've been lying to me about being a vampire and I know there's so much that I don't know about you but... I want to know if you'll tell me."

"Kaoru, I..."

"Kenshin, please! No more lies, no more secrets, just tell me everything so that I can understand what's going on! I need to know!"

Kenshin looked into her eyes, seeming to search for something until he finally gave her a soft smile, "You'll beat me senseless if I don't tell you, won't you?"

"Yes!"

"Well... where should I begin?"

"You can start with telling me about this vampire that you're trying to kill."

"His name is Norihiko, he's a young vampire, like myself, we're from the same time period and we've been going at each others' throats for well over a hundred years. He's young but dangerous, he's one of those vampires who enjoys killing and he'll do anything for blood. Lately he's been attacking young women and... taking advantage of them while they're unconscious."

Kaoru's eyes went wide with shock, "Is that why you've been following me everywhere?"

"Yes, he won't attack if they're with someone, he prefers to stay in the shadows and just grab those who're alone and more vulnerable."

"So this... Norihiko is the one who attacked me that night?"

"Yes, and because you got away from him he knows how strong you are and he'll do anything to get you. But don't worry, I'm here to protect you, you have nothing to fear."

Kaoru nodded and they returned to the silence once more before she leaned over and rested her forehead against his arm, "I'm sorry, Kenshin."

"For what?"

"About yesterday, I overreacted, I shouldn't have said those things to you, I was..."

Kenshin stopped her by placing a finger to her lips, smiling gently at her, "Don't be sorry, I'm the one who should be apologizing to you."

Kaoru shook her head, "Let's just forget about it, ok? But... there is something I want to know."

"What's that?"

"Who are you, really? I mean... where do you come from, how did you become a wanderer?"

"It's a long story, Kaoru."

"I have the time."

Kenshin smiled, "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"You mentioned earlier that I was the only person you've cared for in over a hundred years, just how old are you?"

"Physically I'm about eighteen or nineteen but literally I'm a hundred and fifty-six."

"A hundred and fifty-six? Just when were you born?"

"1849."

"That means that... you lived during the Meiji Era!"

"That I did, that's how I knew so much about that movie of yours, I was there during in most of those battles that they were talking about."

"I see... wait! You were IN those battles?"

"Most of them, yes."

"Were you a samurai?"

"No, I was an imperialist, I fought against the Shogunate with the Choshu clan."

Kaoru thought about the facts for a moment then a realization donned on her, "Wait a second... Battousai wasn't your grandfather... you are Battousai, aren't you, Kenshin?"

Kenshin chuckled, enjoying the cute, wide eyed expression on her face, "Yes, or at least I was, I haven't killed for a long time, though."

"How did you become Battousai? I mean, I've heard rumors and everything but I don't want to assume wrongly of you."

"When I was fourteen I ran away from my master and was recruited by Kogoro Katsura. Shortly thereafter a few of my comrades saw me use my battou-jutsu attack and they just started calling me Battousai."

"What's battou-jutsu?"

"It's an attack of the Hiten-Mitsurugi style, it accelerates the speed and power of the sword by drawing it out from the sheath."

"And I suppose that you're a master of the attack?"

"Yes, I've perfected everything concerning battou-jutsu, that's how I got the name Battousai. So, what else would you like to know?"

"You're sure you don't mind telling me?"

"Not at all, you've put up with me and gave me a place to stay and forgiven me after all the trouble I've caused, the least that I owe you is an explanation."

"Alright... um... why did you become a wanderer?"

Kenshin was quiet for a moment before he answered softly, "I made a horrible mistake..."

Kaoru took the tone in his voice as a hint and decided to change the subject, "Have you ever stayed in one place for a long time?"

"Yes, I stayed in one place for almost seventy years."

"Really! Where did you stay?"

Kenshin smiled, "Believe it or not... I stayed here at the Kamiya dojo."

"Are you serious! That means that you knew my ancestors!"

"Oh yes, I knew them very well, they were my family for a long time... until I started wandering again, you're the first Kamiya I've spoken to in fifty-six years."

"How did you meet them?"

Kenshin looked over at her and smiled at the curious sparkle in her eyes, "It was... 1879, I think... I was passing through downtown and this girl attacked me with a bokken. She thought that I was killing people in the area using her style but it turned out to be someone using my name in the end. But any ways, during a fight she got hurt and I took her home and she just let me stay here at the dojo with her."

"Who was the girl exactly?"

"Kamiya... Kaoru."

"Another Kaoru!"

"Yes, she looked just like you, that's one thing that caught my attention about you, when I first saw you I thought I'd lost my mind."

"Because I look like the other Kaoru?"

"Yes."

"Do I... act like her? What was she like?"

"She was very hyper at times, happy, full of life... she was mean half the time, strong in mind and body... come to think of it you are just like her, well... maybe you're not as mean as she was but..."

"What do you mean she was mean, what did she do?"

Kenshin chuckled at the memory, "I would always do something that rubbed her hair the wrong way and she would hit me over the head with her bokken... or a broom... or her fist... basically anything she could find she would hit me with it."

Kaoru giggled, imagining what it must have looked like to see Battousai get beat up by a young girl, "Who else did you know in the past?"

"I know many of your friends' ancestors, most of which they're named after. Sanosuke Sagara, Misao Makimachi, Yahiko Myojin, Aoshi Shinamori, Megumi Takani..."

"You know half of Tokyo, don't you?"

Kenshin laughed, "Yes, it felt strange being here again for awhile, at times I felt like I was in the past again but... then I'd remember that you all weren't really my friends... you were just their children."

Kaoru frowned, "Do we... make you sad?"

"Oh not at all, but... I just don't think I can handle losing my friends all over again is all."

"What do you mean?"

"I loved your ancestors dearly, they were my family... and even thought they knew I was a vampire and Battousai they excepted me and loved me. Kaoru and I were very close and..."

Kenshin paused for a moment then Kaoru noticed the sad look in his eyes and a thought suddenly crossed her mind, "Did... you and Kaoru have an affair?"

"Oh no! I loved Kaoru, yes, but I wasn't in love with her. I always thought of her as my little sister more than anything else, but we did go out for a couple of years and found out that it just wouldn't work that way between us then we spent the rest of the time just being friends."

"I see... so, what did you mean by 'losing your friends again?'"

Kenshin sighed, "I stayed here for most of my life and I watched all of my friends grow up and change while I stayed the same. They were all teenagers when I met them and over the years I watched each of them get married, have children and grandchildren... I watched them grow old and eventually... I watched them die."

Kaoru waited patiently as Kenshin took a breath to calm himself before he continued, "That was when I learned one of the curses of being a vampire... immortality. When you become a vampire you die and come back to life but your body stays the same as when you passed away, you don't change physically anymore and you live forever the way that you died. One by one I watched my friends get old and pass away, I even watched many of their children do the same thing but... Kaoru's death was the one that hurt me the most."

"Why?"

"Because... I sat beside of her and held her hand as she died."

"Kenshin... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"It's alright, I didn't mean to get all sappy like that, I must've bored you to death with all of this chatter of mine."

"Not at all, I just didn't realize that you've gone through so many pains and hardships."

"My life hasn't been as horrible as most others'. I think I've actually lived a pretty decent life, after all, how many people can talk to young people and threaten to kick their butts like you did their ancestors'?"

Kaoru chuckled slightly, "That's true I suppose. Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"How did you become a vampire and how did you get your scar?"

Kenshin's face turned pale and he looked down to the ground for a long time, placing a hand over his scar as he did so, "I guess I can't explain one without explaining the other... it's kind of a long story, though."

"Would you tell me?"

"When... I was fifteen I was an assassin for the Choshu clan and one night I killed a man named Jubei Shigekura but his body guard, Kiyosato, was so desperate to stay alive he just wouldn't stay down and I let down my guard and his sword caught my face. A few months later I was returning home from an assignment and I was ambushed by a ninja."

"Did you kill him?"

"Yes, but his woman saw me and fainted on me because she was drunk. I took her home with me and we eventually became friends, her name was Tomoe Yukishiro. About a month later the Shinsengumi attacked Ikidaya and Tomoe and I were sent to Otsu to live as husband and wife."

"Why husband and wife?"

"Because they would be looking for an assassin, not a happily married man, that's what Katsura had told us any ways."

"What happened?"

"Well, a month or so later I was out in the woods checking out a noise I'd heard and someone grabbed me from behind and bit me, the same thing happened a few weeks later and after that I avoided the woods as much as I could. But one day, during the winter, I was going home from town and I got caught again but this time I had my swords with me and I fought him but he was a lot stronger than I was and he overpowered me and bit me for the third time. I still remember how it felt, it hurt so much because I was fighting him... I'd never felt pain like that before and I have yet to feel it again. I woke up sometime later and saw Gaiyo, he explained to me what had happened and he helped me get my strength back and taught me how to hunt and what not."

"So... Gaiyo's a vampire as well?"

"Yes, he's one of the older vampires so it's his job to find younger vampires and help them out like he did for me."

"What happened after that?"

"Katsura finally let Tomoe and I return to Kyoto and we lived happily for a couple of years without any problems. I would go out and fight and hunt when I needed to and Tomoe would wait for me and help me tend to my wounds when I returned. I had fallen in love with her when we were in Otsu and I thought that I would spend the rest of my life with her but... one night, after a battle, I came home and Tomoe tried to kill me."

"Why did she try to kill you!"

Kenshin sighed sadly, "Tomoe... was a vampire slayer and that man, Kiyosato, whom I'd killed a few years before, was her fiancé, so she had two reasons to kill me... revenge and duty. I tried my best not to hurt her but I was already tired and weak from fighting and she pinned me down and cut my face before I could get away from her. Without thinking I drew my dagger and... killed her... I vowed then and there that I would never kill again and I left the Choshu clan and became a wanderer."

"That was his horrible mistake... he's had such a hard life... he can't help what he is but... even so, he's still a kind hearted man inside, despite everything he's been through."

Kaoru snapped out of her thoughts when Kenshin started talking again, "I kept my vow and wandered around Japan for nearly ten years until I met Kaoru but I eventually ran into other slayers and I had to break my vow so I just... never made another one because I knew I'd eventually end up breaking it as well. That's part of the reason I tried to hide who I was from you, your grandmother found out who I was and she hated me for my past and I became a wanderer again and left the dojo. I knew that if you found out who I really was you would hate me and be afraid of me just like your grandmother was and... I can't stand the thought of either but... any ways, you don't have to worry about me causing trouble, once Norihiko is dead I'll leave and let you get back to your life and..."

"No!"

Kenshin looked over at her with wide eyes and was shocked when she reached over and grasped his hand, "I don't want you to leave, Kenshin, I want you to stay. I know I freaked out yesterday and I'm sorry for that, I have no reason to be afraid of you, I know that now. I don't care about your past or what you've done, I know you can't help being a vampire and I know that you still have to kill... but... but none of that matters to me, I just want you to stay... with me..."

"But Kaoru... it would be dangerous having me around and..."

"I don't care! I know I'm safe with you and if someone comes for you then I will protect you, no matter what!"

"Kaoru, I don't..."

Kenshin was abruptly cut off when Kaoru leaned up and pressed her lips to his, effectively silencing any further protests he might have made. After a moment she pulled away and smiled beautifully at him, "You're staying and if you sneak off and start wandering again I'll never forgive you. Like it or not you're part of my family now and I will do anything to make you happy... if you'll let me."

Kenshin smiled, "You already have, Kaoru, you don't know what those words mean to me."

"You can show me..."

Kenshin smiled and gladly took the hint, putting his arms around her and pulling her to him as he leaned down to her for a gentle kiss. Kaoru wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed happily when his hands started running along her back and waist, but before they could go further an excited Yahiko came around the corner, "Hey Kaoru have you... seen... EWW! That's so gross! You two are nasty!"

Without asking his question he turned and ran back down the hall, missing the chuckles coming from Kenshin and Kaoru as he left. Kenshin gave her a light kiss and grinned down at her, "You know... we need a warning for him."

Kaoru giggled and hugged him, "We'll figure out something, until then we'll just have to wait until he leaves the dojo."

Kenshin smiled and kissed her on the forehead, "You're worth the wait."