The Guardian

By: Wildfire Sky

Go ahead and say it. I'm irresponcible. I can admit it when I do something wrong, and keeping you guys waiting is a wrong thing. However, I don't neglect you totally out of choice, I do have many other things to do, important things, that get in the way of my writing. Enjoy and R&R!

The Guardian

Chapter Six

The boy curled up in the back corner of the spacious tent, his unseeing eyes darting every which way. Although his world was doused in total darkness, his mind continued to tell him that he could still see...that he was still the normal child he'd always been. Blind? There was no way. No way his life could be ruined so easily. He could still see...if he could just open his eyes...

"What are you doing, huh?" A hand lightly brushed over the boy's forehead, wiping the tiny beads of sweat from his brow. The boy instinctively flinched away, cowering further into the darkness. There was a low chuckle and a rustle of clothing.

"My, you are an interesting creature..." Suddenly a hand wrapped around the boy's face, heaving him to his feet. Hot breath rolled over the boy in waves as he struggled to escape his assailant. "You're strong too...a beautiful creature that's wasted on society, don't you think?"

Confusion settled in to the boy's mind, his brow knitting together. Wasted on society...?

Instantly, all rational thought was torn from his mind as the rough, slimy feel of a tongue ran up his cheek. His struggles increased with renewed ferocity, trying to break this man's hold.

Arms wrapped around him, a pair of lips descending onto his. Instinctively, the boy snapped at the flesh, drawing a surprised cry as the man dropped him to the floor. The taste of blood in his mouth, the boy crawled away, searching desperately for the exit.

A hand grabbed his ankle, roughly pulling the child back and flipping him over onto his back. "Damn brat..." The boy fell still as the cool kiss of a blade tickled his skin, a heavy weight settling over his thin frame. The hand returned, brushing his hair from his face, only this time, the boy couldn't move.

"That's right...calm down..."

The lips were back again, caressing his unresponsive body.

"I'm not going to do anything you won't like...trust me..."

Finally, as the hand trailed down the boy's stomach and grasped his trousers, the child spoke, his voice meek and strained.

"Stop it."

The hand froze, the body over his tensing, "What did you just say?"

The boy took a deep breath before repeating himself. "I said...stop it..."

There was a deep throated chuckled, the blade pressing down further, "What makes you think I'll listen to some brat like you? Yusan-sama placed me in charge of you, and that means I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, understand?" The sting of a slap punctuated the words, "I said...understand?"

Defiantly, the boy shook his head, glaring blindly up at the man on top of him, "You are youkai...go back to hell..."

The blows that flowed were quick and merciless, never pausing long enough for the boy to recover. With each slap, each connection of bone and flesh, the man grunted happily, his pleasure more than obvious as it pressed up against the boy's stomach, causing his to wince in disgust.

"Oh, you bad boy..." The blows stopped, "You see what you made me do? I didn't want to hurt you, but you were just so bad!"

This time, when he was kissed, the boy could not respond, his body beaten beyond response. He could only lie there, bleeding and moaning as his tattered articles of clothing were ripped from his body and tossed away. It was too sudden, the feel of flesh on hot flesh, a suddenness that left the boy quivering uncontrollably. The man rose up slightly, his breathing heavier and more excited, droplets of sweat falling from his skin and onto his captive's.

"I suggest you relax...it can be much less painful if you do..."

Squeezing his blind eyes shut, the boy prepared himself for the pain and violation that was about to be forced upon him...and then, it happened...

"What is going on here?"

"Ieeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhh!"

"Sanouske Sagara! If you don't stop moving, you'll only make your injuries worse!"

"Well it hurts damn it! Why can't you be more gentle?"

"Why can't you stay out of trouble? It's almost an everyday occurrence!"

Kenshin smiled at the scene before him, Sano and Megumi once again at odds with each other, locked in a battle of lung capacity. At the moment, it looked to Kenshin as though the entire ordeal would end in a stalemate until, that is, Megumi gave his broken arm a vicious twist. The scream that ripped through the air caused even Kenshin to wince.

"That hurt!" he half-screamed, glaring up at the doctor from his prone position on the bed. Powerless to do much more, Sano resorted to taking out his frustrations on innocent ear drums and mattresses. Yet, being the experienced doctor she was, Megumi soundly ignored each of his outbursts or countered them with her own sharp reply.

"I warned you didn't I?" she questioned, matching his glare with her own, "Maybe next time you'll listen to me."

Sano opened his mouth to reply, but quickly quashed what ever he was going to say, opting for a meek, "But it still hurt..."

Rolling her eyes, Megumi turned away, absentmindedly adjusting the bottles on her shelving. It was all she could do to keep herself busy and not interrogate Sano on the events that happened to place him in her care, but the more she tried to avoid the conversation, the more tempting it became. It wasn't very often that Sanouske came to her with enough injuries to make it look like he'd been in a war, and when he did, it usually meant that there was trouble on the home front.

"So, Sanouske, did you read the paper this morning?" she said, trying to make light conversation, "The government is trying to decide whether to institute martial law in Tokyo in the wake of the terrorist attacks."

Sano snorted; glaring at his injured arm as if blaming it for the position he was in, "Damn, woman, you can be ignorant at times."

Megumi whirled around, her eyes narrow, "I was just telling you what I know Sagara! If you're so intelligent on the inner workings of the law, why don't you educate me?"

"I'd rather not." Sano hefted his body up from the cot, a painful grimace crossing his face. Megumi instantly rushed forward, placing her hands on his hard chest, but Sano waved her away, never fully making eye contact. "All you need to know is that these weren't terrorist attacks."

Megumi frowned in confusion. "If they weren't terrorist attacks...then what were they?"

But Sano turned away, limped out of the room and the clinic into the streets. He didn't want to talk about it, that much was evident...but that didn't mean he had to push her away like that. Megumi frowned to herself before going back to the medicine, angrily restocking the shelves. Sano could be so selfish sometimes! It didn't matter that she was worried sick about him! All he cared about was being the tough, brave protector of the group, when it was clear that that was Kenshin's job. Her hands slowed to a stop, her shoulders slumping in defeat as she leaned her head against the shelf.

"Sano..." she whispered, "Why can't you let Kenshin do what he does best? Why do you always have to prove that you're better...when you're not? Why can't you see that?"

"Because Sano does not wish to, that he does not."

Megumi jerked away from the shelves in surprise, turning to stare at the silent man in surprise. "Oh, Kenshin! You scared me for a moment...I...I completely forgot you were here."

A gentle smile broke out on Kenshin's face as he stepped into the examining room, closing the shoji behind him. "Gomen-nasai, Megumi-sama. I didn't mean to."

Megumi smiled, crossing her arms over her chest, "I suppose you'll never lose the assassin in you, will you Kenshin?"

The red-haired samurai paused at the comment, his face falling. "I want to, Megumi-dono, that I do...but it will be a hard task, if not impossible."

Megumi smiled at him softly, before turning away with a small shake of her head. "It's not as hard as you make it out to be, Sir Ken. Everybody can change...and whether or not that's for the best is up to them. When people say it's hard to change, they don't realize that there's at least one person in this world that's willing to help them." She looked up and over at him. "Lucky for you, Kenshin...you have four."

Kenshin's brow furrowed. "Every time you and Kaoru-dono get involved with my past, something horrible happens to one or all of you. That is why I'd rather deal with things myself."

"And by doing that, you make it harder to care about you."

The statement was merely a whisper, but Kenshin's ears easily caught it and his head snapped up in surprise. Hard to care about him? They were like family to each other...did she mean that because he refused to talk to them about his past, they felt like he was shutting them out?

Kenshin set his face, stepping up behind Megumi and grabbing her shoulders, forcing the slim woman to turn and face him. He gave her shoulders a light, comforting squeeze. "I'm not shutting you out Megumi-dono...I just don't want to see any of you hurt."

Megumi shrugged off his hands. "Then you shouldn't worry about us so much, Kenshin. We are quite capable of handling ourselves. In all honestly, I would prefer it if you talked to Kaoru than me. I'm just here as support...for both of you."

"You shouldn't waste your time on me, that you should not, Megumi-dono." Kenshin mumbled, backing away from her and lowering his eyes. "No good will come of it."

"Kenshin."

The samurai paused at the door. "I'll be back this evening." He silently slipped from the room and out of the clinic, beginning a slow walk away from downtown Tokyo and towards the surrounding woodlands. They were nearly an hour away from Kaoru's dwelling, which was already situated on the outskirts of the main city, so the walk would be a long one, adding to that his pace, and Kenshin didn't calculate his return until evening time.

The edge of the woods loomed up in front of him as he approached the outer limits of the city, ignoring the calling of brothel women that lurked on the streets trying to reel in customers to their house of sinful pleasures. How many times had he been tempted to enter there? Come just inside the doorstep before she appeared in his mind, forcing him to turn away in shame and trump back to the city.

"Kenshin!"

He froze, turning anxiously as one of the young women peeled herself from the small crowd of prostitutes and headed towards him, a tiny smile on her face. Kenshin took an involuntary step back, looking around cautiously for any familiar faces. Thankfully, this street happened to be empty of travelers, the city walkers sticking to the main road and shying away from the brothel.

The young woman stopped in front of Kenshin at a respectful distance, clasping her hands behind her back as she stared up at him with a smile. "Hello again, Kenshin. Do you remember me?"

Kenshin racked his brain as he stared down at her. The woman was young...probably younger than Kaoru by only a year or two, her body slim and tight, except at her chest where she'd filled out quite nicely, but that was something every brothel girl had. What was of real interest to Kenshin was her face...her young, innocent face. Big, bright green eyes stared out at him beneath full lashes, her smile beaming and wide as she waited for a response. It was then, as her smile wavered in confusion, that it finally hit him.

"Atara...dono?"

The smile was back in an instant as she launched herself at Kenshin, wrapping her arms around his neck as she stood on tip toe to reach him. "You do remember me!"

Kenshin blinked, hugging her back awkwardly before releasing her and holding her at arms length. "What are you doing in a place like this?"

"In a brothel?" Atara laughed lightly, "Because it's safer here than where you left me. Kyoto isn't kind to little girls like me, Ken-san."

Kenshin frowned deeply, pinned her with a hard stare. "Atara...I told you to stay with that family in Kyoto. You had a chance for a good life with them."

Atara gaffed. "You call that a life? Kenshin, I'm free-born...no mother, no father, and a spirit for traveling. What makes you think that I could stand to be with that stuffy family for one minute?"

"Atara..."

"I tried, Ken-san! I really did!" Atara stepped back, rubbing her shoulder and blushing. "But I couldn't help myself. I missed you and I missed moving from place to place. That family...they wanted to 'prepare me' to be a housewife for some snobby old man who couldn't get a girl on his own accord. They told me that my job was to clean, cook, and make a family, that's it...and that's bullshit."

Kenshin winced at the harsh words. "I thought that you'd want to live there...I only did what I thought was best, that I did."

Atara smiled and nodded. "I know...but your problem was that you never bothered to ask me what I wanted. You placed a little girl with a pack of strangers at the age of ten...I was...scared to say the least. After a few months I ran away and ended up here." She locked eyes with Kenshin. "You should have told me that they were still after me, Kenshin...you should have told me before I found out on my own."

Kenshin lowered his eyes. "They found you?"

"Attacked me as I was coming into the city limits. Never saw them before it was too late." Atara shrugged, "But these women...they heard them and helped me. I was indebted to them and been here for about five years now."

Atara looked over her shoulder. "They're my family now..."

Kenshin huffed lightly, glancing at the women that lounged around outside the two story building. Every once in awhile, a man would venture by and allow himself to be dragged inside, a sloppy smile on his face. His frown deepened as a woman turned towards him, blowing him a kiss and calling out to Atara to bring him inside.

"I would rather you found a different family...or at least let me find you a new one."

Atara paused in her wave at the woman, setting Kenshin with a cold glare. "I think we both can admit that your helping me led to this situation in the first place, am I right?"

Kenshin stiffened, his eyes narrowing. "Everyone makes mistakes, Atara...I wish you'd allow for mine. What happened to you won't happen again, I swear it."

"You swore then too, Kenshin." Atara back away from him, her smile thin, "I'll see you around Kenshin...maybe. If you're every lonely or anything like that, stop by alright? I'll see if I can get you a good deal or something."

Kenshin frowned. "That won't be necessary, that it won't."

Atara shrugged again. "Suit yourself, Ken-san. Oh, and one more thing...I'm not like these other women. They respect my choices and don't force me to sell myself." She winked at him. "I did what you suggested and I'm still pure...I'm only here to stay out of the light and out of danger."

Kenshin nodded slowly. "That's good Atara, that it is..."

"It's better than the past, Ken-san...much better."

Toorima sat in the tree's shadow, basking in the heat he allowed himself to indulge in. Despite the fact that the sun still reigned over the afternoon sky, there were enough trees in the forest to allow him to enjoy the day every once in a while. He couldn't help himself. Yes he liked the dark...yes, the sunlight scared him, but he still needed it. He needed to know what life was like outside of his cave and know what was happening in the world and whether or not he needed to interfere in some matters.

In fact, it was he who turned the tide of the last diplomatic election by taking out a few key players in the race, players that threatened to destroy his very livelihood.

Toorima leaned back against the tree trunk, closing his eyes in content. He took this time to plot and scheme, should the need arise, and today he was doing exactly that, plotting and scheme against his current target.

Battousai.

Toorima clenched his teeth at the thought. Although there'd only been one short confrontation between them, the interaction had left him frustrated and angry at both himself and the Battousai. That damn man had looked so calm even though his only weapon was in his possession. And despite that fact, Battousai was still carrying on as if nothing had happened! Was the man really so overconfident that he thought he could defeat Toorima with his own hands?

Toorima frowned, opening his eyes and glaring at the forest around him. What's worse is that he didn't kill off the Battousai when he had the chance. He'd been too anxious and giddy and allowed something as pathetic as police sirens to scare him off. Even with the police coming, they were too slow...Battousai could have been dead, his 'family' arranging his funeral, by now, but no...He had to get cold feet at the last minute.

Spitting viciously at the ground, Toorima pulled back his hood to rub at his red eye as he stood, tossing the cloak back into place. He need to get back, his captive was waiting for him.

A sound to his left caught his attention, and he looked up, quickly scanning the surrounding area. His eyes narrowed dangerously, his gloved hand hovering towards the concealed blade in his cloak as he moved through the brush silently, cautiously skirting around any beams of sunlight that happened to break through the thick canopy. Whoever it was, they were getting too close to his home.

Concealing himself behind a wide truck, he paused, concentrating on the strong waves of ki that flowed through the forest. Toorima's face darkened evil. It was him...Battousai...out for an evening stroll through the woods. He watched, keeping his ki hidden, as the Battousai glanced around before settling against a tree and closing his eyes. Toorima continued to watch carefully, watching for any sign that the Battousai might have detected him...but it was as Toorima was thinking about approach, that he noticed the steady rise and fall of the older man's chest.

Toorima grinned. The opportunity couldn't be any better...once quick slice across the throat and everything would be finished. He could go back to taking out political nuisances and stashing away his earnings. Toorima completely unsheathed his weapon and came around the tree, and as he found himself standing over the sleeping form of Kenshin, raising his blade to make the kill...

Toorima stopped. Dropping his arm and stepping away. What the hell was he doing? When had he degraded himself to this level? His desperation to kill off the Battousai was getting out of hand. The opportunity to fight and kill the Battousai was too good to pass up, or waste. However, he wasn't a fool...the Battousai was strong and he needed to even things out a bit.

He grinned viciously. Tonight...he would do it tonight...and the Battousai would see dawn in a whole new picture.

Updated! Huzzah! Oh, and by the way, look forward to the summer. No school, no applications, no interruptions. It's the best time of the season for writers in school because now, my only assignments are entertaining you. And I plan on making an A+ this semester.

A/N: The story behind this new character will be explained in later chapters so be patient, I don't randomly put people in and don't give them a purpose (even if it's minimal and you kill them off later), because that's just bad writing.