19 Thorns of a Rose

Disclaimer: Not mine so blah!

Joh: I'm finally updating! Yay! Be happy!

Note: I changed the rating because I figured that M is more appropriate…yeah…

Warnings: Language…and lime stuff

0o0o0

Battousai blinked then set her down on the sidewalk, wrapping a supportive arm around her waist as she steadied herself.

"What happened?" she asked groggily peering at him with glazed over eyes.

He didn't answer; he merely laughed and grinned down at her. "You're really something else, you know that?" He trailed off, shaking his head laughing quietly as the rain poured down on the two.

0o0o0

"Fucking rain." Kaoru growled, pulling her dripping strands of hair out of her face.

Battousai eyed her thoughtfully. "You don't like rain? Thought you would."

She scowled, turning on him, swaying slightly. "Oh yeah?" she snorted and shook her head, ignoring the way it made her head pound. "You don't know shit about me…"

He shrugged and raised his eyebrows. "And you know nothing of me either so we're even."

"Correction: I don't wanna know anything about you."

He grinned leaned towards her so that their noses were just touching. "Is that so? I think you're a bit…curious."

Kaoru rolled her azure eyes to the stormy sky. "Yeah, sure." She answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Irritably she swatted away his supportive arm, insisting that she could walk without his aid. Grumbling she stomped ahead of him, arms crossed over her chest.

Battousai honestly didn't care as he watched her body from behind. The way her thin shirt clung to her skin, revealing her body shape nicely.

'Too bad she's not wearing white…' he thought to himself, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Stop looking at me like that or else I'll kick your ass!" Kaoru warned him, not even turning to glance at him.

Normally Battousai would have made it clear who was the one giving orders but he simply waved it off. She was drunk and he was feeling a bit too lazy to cause a fight.

He merely laughed softly, tilting his head up to meet the rain pelting down.

As the cool droplets fell against his closed eyelids he couldn't help but compare Kaoru to her.

They were so different, but so much the same.

They had the same clever eyes and quick mouth. The same graceful movements…

But Kaoru was so quick to temper…while she was always so calm.

Kaoru was as rough and wild as a boy while she was always so elegant.

Kaoru fought to get her way while she used delicate manipulation to get what she wanted.

Kaoru hated the rain while she had always loved it.

But their eyes…their eyes were the same.

Cool, calculating, and spirited.

0o0

Kaoru practically threw herself down once they reached Battousai's hang out.

Battousai decided to ignore her for the moment and sat down on a rickety table, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket and a lighter from his jacket.

Kaoru watched him through one blue orb, as she smelled the smoke drifting over towards her. After a long minute of watching him exhale clouds of pearly white smoke she spoke. "I hope you die of lung cancer." She bit out nastily. She had never been a big fan of smokers. If you wanted to die there were quicker and simpler ways to go about it.

Battousai smirked and offered her a smoke, holding it pinched between two fingers.

She made a face and turned over on the beat up sofa she was resting on, so that her back was facing him.

"So Rose doesn't smoke or drink." He chuckled.

"It may not look like it but I plan on living for a long time." She answered flatly. That was true. A lot of people had told her that her life was wasted, that she no longer had a future. At least one that meant anything anyway. But all the same she wanted to live her life out as long as possible.

"Is that so?" Battousai murmured, eyes gleaming.

Kaoru sat up, glaring at him. She had heard the hint of amusement in his tone and she didn't like it. Not at all. "That's so. Got a problem?"

Battousai smiled slightly, inhaling deeply. "Not at all, Rose."

She stood up and walked steadily towards him (a great feat considering how drunk she was) only stopping when they were so close that his knees were brushing against her.

"Why is it that everything I do you find so fucking funny?" she leaned closer to him so that her lips brushed against his as she talked, words against his mouth.

He blew out a puff of smoke in her face while a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.

She pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. "You're disgusting."

He laughed off the insult and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back towards him as she made to move back. "So are you." He whispered. He held his burning ciggy in his free hand while reeling her in with the other.

Eagerly he closed the gap, pressing his lips firmly against her own. She didn't resist but didn't respond either, letting him thrust his tongue into her mouth.

Expertly, he glided his tongue over her own, feeling the out the corners of her mouth. Slowly he pulled back, needing air. With one last playful tug at her bottom lip he broke the kiss, eyeing her triumphantly.

Kaoru wiped her mouth daintily on the back of her hand, whipping her wrist out of his grip. Slowly she raised her eyes to his, a smirk playing on her lips. "So I suppose we're both revolting then, aren't we?"

"Uh-huh."

Her eyes flashed in a knowing way but she said nothing. Kaoru usually let people knew what was on her mind but this time she kept silent, still smirking strangely.

Carefully she crawled up onto the table with him, straddling his lap. She took the cigarette from his fingers and rubbed it out on the table's rough surface, listening to the hiss as she did so with satisfaction.

Tossing it aside, she placed both her hands on Battousai's face. He stared at her with a blank look, waiting to see what she would do.

Kaoru pressed her lips against his ear so that he could feel her smug smile against his skin.

"I'm. Nothing. Like. You." She purred into his ear. And with that she slid off his lap and swept out of the room, not looking back.

Battousai stared after her, blinking. Then a laugh erupted from the back of his throat as he shook his head.

They definitely had the same calculating eyes.

0o0o0o0

Joh: That was short. I'm sorry. But I updated, right? I couldn't think of anything else to write so yeah…I didn't end it purposefully there. If my writer's block went away then I WOULD have written more but…well...hope you enjoyed it!

I would also like to answer all of my awesome reviewers but uh…there are a lot…and I'm lazy…

Answers to some questions I've gotten:

The title of the story will be revealed in later chapters. Battousai isn't the only one with a past.

Is Battousai a killer? We shall see…

Is Tomoe in the story and how is she going to fit in? Again, we shall see…