Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Rurouni Kenshin.

Being the Target

By: LilBlueFairy

Kaoru's bags laid dejectedly to the side, not a zipper had been unzipped and dust began to gather on its black exterior. But the lack of attention to the fully loaded luggage was a small matter compared to what Kaoru was facing now.

Kaoru's tear-filled eyes looked remorsefully at Misao's large incisors and she gave a silent sob.

I guess the saying is true. When it rains, it pours.

Kaoru tossed the thought aside and tried to find the positive outlook as her friend's sliver-blue eyes filled with crimson tears.

"Well at least you're not dead, that means that we can still have that Buffy mara..th..on." Kaoru gave a small nervous laugh and watched as her friend analyzed her newly acquired claws. "Maybe we should change it to another show or something. Like the best chick flicks of the nineties marathon!"

Misao shook her head and looked back at Kaoru, finally acknowledging what she said. "You're right. At least I'm not dead. No," a dark sob/laugh made its way from her throat, "now I get to be part of the undead."

Kaoru watched as her normally cheerful friend crumpled to the floor with weak legs and crimson drops made red streaks down Misao's pale face. "Oh Misao!" Tears that she held back finally broke through, "It's all my fault! If I hadn't ticked off that red-haired freak maybe he wouldn't have targeted you as well! I'm so sorry," Kaoru said to herself as she hugged her mourning friend.

"Red-haired freak?" Misao's tears quickly stopped and she pulled back from the sniffling Kaoru. "What red-haired freak?"

"You know the sexy, red-head that's blood-sucking killer!" Karou glared hatefully at an undeserving spot but then realized what she had said. "Oh, no offense, Misao!" Kaoru blushed as she thought back to the vampire's sensual methods of torture. What a jerk!

"Sexy! Did I just hear the 's' word come out of your mouth?" Misao asked with a small smile, unphased by Kaoru's careless words.

"Yes, well he is! And I've said sexy before!" yelled Kaoru indignantly.

Misao gave a her a deadpanned look. "Josh Groban doesn't count. You haven't seen him in real life with your own two eyes." Kaoru began muttering about how sexy singers and movie stars do count but it went unheard as Misao looked at her friend's ruffled appearance. "So what did this sexy, mysterious red-head do?"

Tears and arguments were forgotten as Kaoru's face flamed a bright red. "Well first off he cursed the world with Listerine! Not to mention, he tried to slice me in half with that sword of his! And he got way too friendly for my tastes and I mean WAY too friendly."

Misao let out a small giggle, "Has little Kaoru finally been introduced to the ways of the opposite sex?"

Kaoru huffed and tried to force her blood cells back to the rest of her body and away from her face, too bad that was impossible. Stupid uncooperative blood cells! I made you! You should obey me! But her blood still ignored her. Giving a big sigh, Kaoru realized that her friend kept asking about that sex offender despite the fact he nearly cut through her like butter!

"Hey! Aren't you the least bit upset that I was nearly cut in half?"

Misao's lively eyes danced, while her shoulders casually shrugged. "Of course I am, Kaoru, but you're here, aren't you? So I can't worry about the past. Now tell me what else happened."

Kaoru debated on tell her friend the rest of the story. After looking at Misao's curious face, she decided some things were best left unsaid. "N-Nothing." Stupid stutter!

Misao gave a smirk and that made Kaoru snap. Jumping up into a standing position, Kaoru pointed a finger at Misao's long, graceful nose. "No more smirking! No more! I can't take it! What is with you people and smirking! There are more options than just smirking."

Misao's smirk twitched and soon was lost to a full-blown smile that couldn't hold back the rounds of laughter that were bubbling up from inside. "Apparently the red-head likes to smirk too."

Kaoru's flaming face sucked in large breaths of air to recover from her recent explosion. "If only you knew."

Misao's laughter began to die down and she wiped off the crusty trail of bloody tears. "Now tell me more about this hunk."

"No way! You still haven't told me what happened to you!"

Suddenly the jovial atmosphere died and Misao's eyes became guarded. "I… I'm…. I'm just not ready to tell you what happened." Kaoru felt guilt flood her being and gave a small sigh.

Kaoru sat down in defeat and gave a small smile. "So the red-head's name is apparently Battosoy, Battosack, or something like that. And he really is incompetent on the way to treat a lady. His body is kind of small but is really built but not overly built to where it's completely disgusting, you know?"

Misao leaned in, allowing the happy, lighter atmosphere to return. Kaoru gave a small smile at Misao's inquisitive nature. I never thought I would be happy to talk about the jerk, but a lot of things have been surprising me lately.

The sun rose and crossed the sky as Kaoru related her unusual take of the past three days to her best friend.

Meanwhile...

The loud and happy climate of the room suddenly changed into a light murmur and a peaceful atmosphere, as he entered the large dinning area. Apparently, they could all feel his solemn presence as he slid open the shoji door.

Most of the groups of men surrounding him kept playing their cards, ignoring the dark and deadly aura he gave off. A few of the more trustworthy and older members gave a small wave of acknowledgement his way and he gave a small nod in return, but his thoughts were not on the individuals he looked at, nor were they on the business meetings he had later on. Instead they had been stolen by a small pixie. A pixie that had now recently joined the undead.

Aoshi's memories took over again and soon all he could think about was how he had found her. Her small, innocent face laying on the cold dirty concrete, body limp and pale from the loss of blood, and her clothes torn and barely covering the glowing skin. The small scars that littered her small frame were slowly fading, despite the fact that they weren't recent wounds and cause by previous fights. But the most drastic thing that stuck out and the reason for her now unconscious state lead to two puncture holes in her delicate neck, but those were slowly sealing up and fading.

Two silver kunai lay near her small slight frame and more could be found around the alley, mostly buried in the concrete walls. This girl was good at what she did. A small pile of ashes could be seen underneath one of the kunai and showed that she fought to the very end.

Aoshi nearly shook his head to rid himself of these distracting thoughts but that would be unnecessary and undignified from one of the top leaders of one of the top vampire slaying organizations.

The Oniwabanshu was the best and most elite group of human vampire hunters in all of Tokyo, if not the entire eastern hemisphere, and was a subdivision of the leading vampire control unit in the world today. Tsuki, founded and run by a vampire surprisingly enough, was the largest organization that helped to control and destroy the number of soulless vampires in the world. It was sad to say that when a person was first turned, they would lose their soul during the transformation or they would eventually lose it to the addiction of blood and consume too much, causing them to become nothing more than animals. It was terrible to see how many failed to keep their souls but it was what Tsuki was for. To protect the innocent and to prevent an uprising of lost vampires, or those who had lost their souls to bloodlust.

Aoshi gave an unnoticeable sigh and made his way to his office, no matter how hard he fought it and meditated, he could never forget the girl. "Misao."

Had that been the twentieth or fiftieth time he had let her name flow from his lips? The memory of the girl's ragged state in the alley filled his mind again and he couldn't quite grasp what had happened in the past seventy-two hours. His mind drifted back to the the evening that changed Misao's life forever, and thought of the man that had been the only witness to his moment of weakness

Three days ago...

Okina sat back in his booth calmly. He sipped a small cup of sake and relaxed in the dimly lit restaurant. It was his favorite restaurant. It had great food, a nice atmosphere, and beautiful service. And he meant BEAUTIFUL service.

A curvy waitress in a small black skirt and white blouse waited on the table next to him a with a small smile. His calculating eyes took in her nice legs and a brilliant planned formed. Placing his cup down calmly he eyed his weapon of choice.

His hand delicately picked up the seemingly clean spoon and gave a calculating glance to the open space on the right of his small table. He tactfully measured the required distance and let the spoon fly.

It made its destination but that was expected of the former Oniwabanshu leader. Clearing his throat in preparation, he placed a hand upon his perfectly straight and healthy back and bent it at an angle.

"Excuse me, miss."

The waitress finished taking orders and looked at the elderly man with a large white mustache and goatee. "Yes sir?"

He gazed into the waitress's kind brown eyes and gave her his best pathetic old man look. "I unfortunately dropped my spoon and my back is to weak to bend down and get it. Would you do this old man a kind favor and pick it up for me?"

The waitress gave a sympathetic smile and found the spoon, she didn't question how the spoon got that far, and bent down to retrieve the missing utensil. She turned back to the old man who had a giant smile on his face and happily told him that she would retrieve him another one.

Okina's mind plan had succeeded and his suspicions where confirmed. That waitress had a fine a-

A sudden ringing shocked the old man and he reached for the vibrating cell phone. As he tried to open it, he dropped the phone on the floor.

Okina gulped and looked to see if the waitress had comeback or not. He glanced down at the small screen and saw that the call was from Aoshi, the leader he had appointed to take his place. The call must be important. So looking around quickly to see if the coast was clear, Okina bent down to grab his phone and quickly felt pain in his cranium.

The waitress glared at the perverted senior and shoved a fork in his direction. Her tray, which had been the weapon to deliver the pain, was tucked securely under her arm. She stomped away in anger. Her face flushed with embarrassment at being checked out by an old man. Okina glanced at the cursed cell phone in his hand and then noticed something.

He turned around in his chair and called out in a loud voice, "Hey! I needed a spoon. Not a fork!"

A silver missile aimed at his head shot towards the old man and the outward curve of the spoon hit his already bruised and deformed head. That woman would make a great Oniwabanshu member, he thought as he rubbed his forehead while staring at the spoon that had landed on the table after it bounced off his head.

He gave a giant sigh and looked at the cell again. He had missed Aoshi's call. That wasn't good.

Okina fumbled with the buttons trying to figure out the dang contraption that Aoshi made him get. After managing to find the missed calls menu, he quickly scrolled down and recalled the young stoic leader. There was barely a dial tone before Aoshi picked up. "My place. Now."

Soon Okina heard the annoying dial tone and realized that Aoshi had hung up. That boy always got straight to the point.

Leaving some cash on the table, Okina quickly left the building and gave a powerful leap. He was soon racing across the rooftops to Aoshi's place.

Yes, it's true. The former leader of the human department of Slayers was a vampire, and that's why he resigned. Many thought it was so he could relax and become an old pervert and while part of it was because there was too much tension lying between him and the humans. Sure he could be their friend, but not their leader. It was different to take orders from a vampire than to joke with one.

That's why he appointed Aoshi, an abnormally powerful human, to take his place.

He trained Aoshi and allowed him to slowly reign over the Oniwabanshu. He hardly ever got called on by Aoshi anymore, not since he fully took over the business, but that didn't mean Okina didn't still visit. Okina felt as if it was his duty to teach the boy things other than just the way to run a vampire slaying organization. No, he needed to teach him how to have fun. That boy needed to lighten up and enjoy the wonders of a woman, but if Okina knew Aoshi at all he would know that Aoshi still had that stick up his as-

Okina slipped as he made his final jump to Aoshi's forty-five story apartment. As he comically leaned back with arms waving to see if he could regain his balance a powerful hand grabbed his shirt out of the shadows and yanked him inside the cold apartment.

"You've been drinking again."

The cold statement filled Okina's ears but he didn't care, it was true. There was no sense in hiding it. "Yes, I have. And I've been having a great time while I was at it! You should join me sometime. You know there are some luscious wom-"

"I have a problem."

Okina's offer stopped in its tracks. Aoshi finally admitted it! "I'm glad you realize that! I was beginning to wonder if you liked women at all. You had me and the men scared. We could never tell if you were gonna bust out and come out of the closet and tell us or what, so the men and I started a bet, but I knew I could have faith in you! Now, if you will just tell the men…"

"Shut up."

Okina shut his mouth quickly and looked around Aoshi's bedroom. It was bare and only contained a futon, a lamp and some candles. A small table was placed at the other end of the room and some green tea sat there cold. If Aoshi had made some green tea at this time of day, there was a big problem.

It was then Okina noticed her. A small pale form was placed in his large futon, her slim figure covered by blankets. Her face was too pale and Okina realized she was dying.

"What happened?"

It wasn't until several hours later that Okina left, needing to rest, but before he departed he warned Aoshi that the girl would wake tomorrow night and be mad with an unquenchable thirst. The only thing to save her would be blood. Aoshi nodded absent-mindedly. It wasn't the first time he would have witnessed an awakening and he knew the mad and vicious animal he would have to face.

Aoshi sat down as the pale girl behind him glowed lightly, her body already changing and forming into a vampire. He quietly did some paper work at the desk across from the futon, but that didn't keep him preoccupied long because his mind would keep wondering back to the girl and his memories of her. "Misao."

That would be the first of many times he would say that name in the next couple of days. He sipped his cold green tea and ignored the lack of warmth. Aoshi finally had felt exhaustion settle over his form and quietly retired to the couch in his living room.

All day, his dreams were filled by the pixie that was slowly becoming that which he hunted. Some dreams where pleasant and were of the days before the harsh incident that separated them forever.

Aoshi quickly woke up as the sun was setting. It would be soon. The moon would rise and tell him if she was strong enough to live or not.

He walked to her still but beautiful form and allowed his fingers to lightly touch her cheek where the dark smudge still resided. "Aoshi-sama."

He pulled his hand back quickly, his heart thumping against his rib cage. Did she still remember him? The question went left unanswered because the long curved lashes that lightly swept her cheeks fluttered open revealing two glowing red voids that served as eyes.

A dark hiss escaped from her lips and she quickly leapt across the room. She wasn't strong enough. A heavy weight settled over his heart as reached for his sword, but he came up empty handed. His back straightened and his eyes where the only part of him moving as he searched for his misplaced sword.

"Looking for this?"

Misao had grabbed his sword as she leapt away. Shit, this one was smart. But Aoshi really wasn't surprised, Misao was always clever.

She dropped the sword away from him and circled him slowly. "It's been along time Aoshi-sama." She bit out the 'sama' angrily. She flexed her claws and bared her fangs menacingly. Aoshi didn't flinch nor move, he stood as straight as he had been before.

"Yes, it has," he responded coolly, which seemed to only infuriate the little beast more.

Her body halted suddenly in front of the small desk on the other side of the room, his teacup still sitting where he had left it from the night before. Her eyes glared at him with hurt and anger, which threw Aoshi for a spin. How can she be hurt? She has no soul. Right?

"I have a soul! I've always had a soul! And you've always stepped on it and ignored it, you bastard." Aoshi's eyes widened at the insulting term. Misao never talked like that.

"Sure I did! I just didn't say it out loud. I loved and cherished you and then you run off! And now you're going to kill me? What did I do to you?"

Aoshi looked at the snarling vixen and saw her breathing heavily. She was fighting her thirst! "Misao…"

A hiss was aimed at him and she took a step back, but her muscles were still tense, she was ready to pounce at any moment. "Don't you do it! Don't speak my name! It's not fair! All my love for you meant nothing! You were always cold and harsh. I was no better than a common tramp on the street!"

She looked down at her claws and her face tensed with hurt and sadness. "You always looked down on me. No matter what I did. I loved you with every fiber of my being. I respected and honored you. I thought you were cold for a reason. As if you wanted to be cool and mysterious. But now I know! You never loved me. I was just some dumb brat that got in the way and now that I'm not even a human being anymore, you can just kill me off."

Suddenly her small form turned quickly and retrieved the forgotten teacup. Her hand gripped it tightly before she tossed it at the cold human statue. It made contact with his large chest and seemed to not even effect him, when it reality it stung harshly. His eyebrow rose quizzically and he fought back a small grin. Yep, that was definitely a Misao move. Only she could make a weapon out of a teacup.

"Don't act as if you know me! You have no right! I've changed since then. I'm not the little girl that adored you anymore!"

Aoshi watched her motions and listened to the rise and fall of her ranting. Everything spoke of hurt and betrayal but her movements always showed her hidden beauty. Sure she was a little boyish, but now she was a woman and her mannerisms spoke it. Even in her darkest of times. That's it!

"You're the darkness inside of Misao."

A dark chuckle spilled from her lips. "Give the boy a medal. I'm the one, who's dealt with all the pain, insecurities, and anger from her. And guess what, I'm a pretty forgiving person! In fact I can't remember over half the faces of those who have done me wrong," the dark Misao took small steps toward the silent Aoshi, "but I remember you quite clearly. Every line of your face is etched in perfect detail since I last saw you."

A clawed finger lightly traced a cheekbone, leaving a warm tingling sensation where her finger made contact. Aoshi suppressed a shiver of delight and had to remember his training and how to concentrate.

Her small body was so close to him his arms literally ached to hold her. It was if he had benched pressed 50 times his normal amount, and was now feeling the after effects.

A small whisper of breath played across his neck, yet he made no movement to stop her. A small hesitant voice spoke softly. Her voice drifted to his ear and clouded his mind that he had fought so hard to keep clear.

The words rang in his head making his eyes close and his jaw become taut. His fists clenched, making his knuckles turn white. It was then when she bit his neck harshly.

Misao's eyes closed in euphoria as Aoshi fought with every muscle in his body as he prevented himself from taking the small girl in his arms and breaking his self-imposed celibacy.

She greedily took a large amount of blood before she regained her senses. Misao's gray-blue eyes shot open as Aoshi began to slump from the lack of blood. She quickly removed her fangs and let her first set of bloody tears fall from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Aoshi-sama! Aoshi-sama! I'm so, so, so sorry." she cried into his shoulder as the apologies kept flowing from her mouth. Aoshi rested lightly on his knees as Misao supported him on her knees. He placed a hand on her shaking back and allowed a small smile cross his features. The dark Misao was gone.

She laid him carefully on his futon and quickly ran to find a bowl of water, some rags and some bandages for his neck. While she was gone, Aoshi quickly set up his mental barriers, cursing himself for not doing it sooner. A small grimace played upon his lips as the bite began to burn. When she had found the items, Misao made a mad dash for his room and carefully set the objects down.

She glanced at his neck and noticed that it was no longer bleeding but already closed up and was on its way on healing. She lightly touched it and Aoshi gave a small hiss as he quickly took in air. "Oh! I'm so sorry."

"Hn." Aoshi didn't know what to say. All he thought was that she shouldn't be sorry at all. The reason why he had sucked in air was because the small mark was acting like a sexual-stimulant and her touch alone was already driving him crazy. But Aoshi remained quiet and didn't allow her to realize this information.

A cold wet rag graced his forehead and peace over took his body. He was almost asleep when she had gotten up and left the room. Propping his tired and aching body on his elbows, he tried to summon the strength to sit up or stand or do something! He hated to appear weak in front of others.

As he was situating himself, Misao pushed open the door with her back and carried in a tray of green tea. The smell instantly calmed Aoshi and he allowed himself to fall back against his futon. Besides, it's Misao. She isn't like the rest, said his tired mind.

Misao quietly helped Aoshi sit against the wall and gave him a warm cup of the precious green tea. Aoshi took small sips and found the ache in his body disappearing and his growing headache fading. After he had finished the calming liquid, Misao helped him back into bed and stayed with him till he fell asleep.

As Aoshi began to drift from consciousness, the words she had so sweetly whispered to him still danced in his head. Those words cursed him, just as she had been cursed.

The next time Aoshi awoke, he found the sun had already set and Misao, dressed in one of his smaller shirts and a pair of boxers, looking at him expectantly. Once that she had seen that Aoshi could get up on his own, she left the room so he could get dressed.

When Aoshi exited his room, he saw a small assortment of food on the table. Fruits and a bowl of rice waited to fill Aoshi's growling stomach. A small blush that he couldn't fight made its way to his cheeks as it made its hunger known loudly.

Misao gave a small giggle and patiently waited for him to finish his meal. Aoshi couldn't help but feel off balanced as Misao sat quietly. This wasn't right. Misao was always talking and sharing her adventures of life. Aoshi studied the silent girl more closely and noticed her eyes where glazed over and weren't shining and twinkling like they normally were. Apparently, her soul was still healing from the turning.

"Sleep well, Aoshi-sama?" She said quietly as he finished his meal.

"Yes. You?" He felt a little guilty for her zombie-like state and decided that talking to the girl wouldn't hurt.

"I didn't sleep. Not till I'm ready."

He gave a nod of understanding. It was not usual for a newly-turned vampire to walk around as if they were sleepwalking. Their mind was on auto-pilot and would only find peace once their soul did.

"Come, we will find something for you to feed on and then maybe you'll be able to rest." He ignored the dishes and decided to clean them later and take Misao out to find her next meal.

It had been about midnight when they had left and it wasn't until three hours later that they found a suitable candidate for Misao.

Aoshi knew that if Misao found out that she had one of her first feedings from someone innocent then she would never forgive herself. So they carefully searched the city until they found a lecherous pimp who was currently beating one of his unfortunate hookers.

Tears fell from the young girl's eyes as she was pounded in the stomach repeatedly. "What did I say about leaving your station?" The pimp lectured as he damaged the young girl.

He stopped and allowed her to fall to her knees in pain so he could hear her soft, pain-filled reply. "S-Sorry s-s-sir. I needed to check on my little brother. I won't do it again."

The pimp slapped the girl roughly and grounded out, "I don't want excuses! Now prove to me that you're worth keeping."

It was then Misao attacked and saved the young girl, killing the pimp in the process.

His mouth was open in a silent scream as his life was painfully drained from him. His beady eyes were wide open in fear and his hands tried to claw at Misao to stop her.

The young hooker watched in fear and amazement before she was seized by the arm and pulled to a standing position.

"Here's some money. Go find a real job and never speak a word of this."

Aoshi placed 35,000 yen in the young teen's hands. She nodded quietly and ran quickly out of the alley, hoping she would never have to see it again.

After Misao drank the last drops of his blood she fainted and would have hit the ground if Aoshi hadn't caught her. He carried her light body to a nearby bench and laid her down gently before he made a quick call to his organization to find out where she lived.

After properly disposing of the body, receiving Misao's address from his informants, and locating Misao's home, Aoshi carried Misao in his arms into her building as he rode the elevator he realized he only had about three more hours till the sun rose and he would have to leave her again.

He spent those last precious hours picking her front door's lock, making sure her room was sun proof, and staring at her lovely, tranquil form.

He brushed a stray tendril of hair away from her face as he was getting ready to leave. "Misao." Her name was heaven on his lips and he missed saying it, but he would have to get used to that loneliness again as he left her apartment.

As he made his way back to the elevator he bumped into a small petite form that reminded him of the one he just left. Dark hair framed azure eyes and a happy smile played across her lips. Sure, she had more feminine features and you could easily tell the difference but her sunny disposition was what made the difference.

"Misao."

But he didn't stop. He didn't even help the girl up. He had to leave. Leave before he could never let go.

Present

Aoshi finally awoke from his reminiscing as a cup of green tea was set before him. He looked up, thinking to see Misao and was disappointed to only see one of the maids. His behavior was ridiculous but he couldn't seem to fight it. The words that the dark side of Misao whispered in his ear would forever linger in his mind.

"Even in the darkness, I still love you."

Kunai: A small silver throwing knife.

Hey all you awesome readers! I know this was a bit darker than the last two chapters, so I'm sorry if this chapterwasn't as amusing. I felt that Misao become part of the undead was not a very happy topic and felt that it need to reflect in this chapter.But I still hope that you enjoyed this chapter and don't worry our precious sexy red-head will be a big part of the next chapter! Also, sorry for the late post! Life just decided to have fun with me and prevent this from coming sooner. And THANK YOU! I was so amazed at the number of reviews! I nearly cried. Every one of your reviews meant so much to me!

I have a very important issue I need to share with you!

Due to new rule, I am no longer allow to give Shout outs at the end of my chapters! But sense I love to reply to your reviews I'm am going to e-mail you if you give me an address! That is what I am attempting to do for the last chapter (sorry if you didn't give me an address! I loved your review!), and will do in the future till something else can be figured out. Oh! And excuse them if they are late! I'm at a very busy point in my life right now, but hopefully I will be able to get the replies out soon! Sorry for the unhappy situation and please keep sharing your thoughts and opinions with me!

I love reviews!