Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
A/N: Hey y'all. I'm back and writing again! This chapter takes a lot of emotions and hardwork, I started it even when my IGCSEs exams were going on. So please do show some support and review to let me know what you think! I thank Andreea for encouraging me and still leaving me reviews! Thank you, my dear!
Chapter 20 : Who Is The Red-Hair Man?
Enishi had a great time watching Kaoru doing 'fashion shows' in the shops they walked into. He could not believe that anyone could shine as radiantly as her, her beauty made him ache. Enishi normally could not tolerate with accompanying woman to shopping and helping them to pick out clothes. But for the woman he loved, he was willing to make the sacrifice. He wanted to live in this moment, but there was still a shadow looming over them; Kaoru's past.
Right now, they are sitting down at one of the benches in the shopping mall. Both tired and ladened down with shopping bags full of Kaoru's clothes and accessories.
"Enishi, is ice cream nice?" Kaoru asked, pointing at a ice cream shop.
Enishi looked at the colourful ice-cream shop and then at Kaoru's brilliant blue eyes.
"Haven't you eaten ice cream before?" he asked.
"Yeah," Kaoru replied, "but I forgot what it tasted like. It looks delicious, but my brain is somehow telling me that I shouldn't eat it."
Enishi nooded, "Yeah, I suppose your brain would do that. You have a bad case of asthma, Kaoru. You're not supposed to eat ice cream…"
"But…"
"How about I'll get a small cone and we'll share it? Of course, I'll only give you a little bit…"
Kaoru pouted and stared hard at Enishi. Enishi just laughed and touch her head affectionately.
"Stay here and rest, I'll go get the ice cream." He said, walking to the ice-cream shop.
He had been watching them. And that fool Enishi was too enchanted by Kaoru to notice his presence. She was wearing a creamy pink dress, glowing with her musical laughter and sparkling eyes. His blood boiled at the sight of Enishi's arm possessively around her waist. They were like happy lovers, laughing and talking like there was no tomorrow. Only that the whole scene looked very odd to him.
They were not supposed to be together. The Kaoru that he was looking at was a different Kaoru. The Kaoru he knew was calmer and quieter, not this cheerful creature who kept teasing Enishi all the time. The Kaoru he knew was not so open with others, and she was not supposed to be so friendly with someone who should be her enemy. It was like as if someone had sucked out her personality and replaced it with a new one.
Not that he didn't like the Kaoru he was looking at right now. He liked her constant laughter, her sometimes childish movements and her cheerfulness. The Kaoru he remembered usually looked worried, with shadow in her eyes. She now looked carefree and happy…together with Enishi.
Kenshin felt like destroying everything around him.
He had been dying to approach them. But yet something told him not to. He didn't want Kaoru to see him yet. He could tell from Enishi's eyes that he knew what was going on. Despite his own happiness of spending time with Kaoru, Kenshin sense his uneasiness and the sadness in his eyes. He would need to talk to Enishi first.
His chance finally came when he saw Enishi walking away to the ice-cream shop, leaving Kaoru at the benches. Enishi had better answer some questions…
Enishi looked down at the colourful and delicious looking ice creams in tub below him. His eyes skimming through them, thinking about which flavour Kaoru would like best. He finally decided to pick raspberry mixed with strawberry. When he paid for it and took the cone from the person, he turned around to see the burning amber eyes of the Battousai.
"We need to talk," he growled.
Enishi nodded, and followed him. There was nothing else he could do. He didn't want to cause a scene or to have Kaoru to remember the man she loved. He wanted Kaoru to at least have fallen in love with him before she remembered Kenshin.
Kenshin led him out of the shop, making sure that Kaoru did not see them. They came to a quiet corner.
"I want to know what is going on, now." Kenshin said.
"What do you mean?" Enishi asked, he was not going to give in so easily. The Battousai had caused enough damage.
"Don't play dumb with me, Yukishiro. Kaoru is different. What did you do to her?"
"What you did to her, you mean?" Enishi mocked, "From my point of view, I did nothing but good by rescuing her and being there for her when she was in critical condition."
"Critical condition?"
"Yes, you should know by now that by now. You've seen her unleashing her full powers at the Aorta's headquarters. You know very well that her body and mind was not built or trained to withstand the power within her. It's a miracle that she survived. For weeks we thought she was dying."
"She seemed healthy and happy now."
"Yes," Enishi said, a twisted smirk appearing on his lips, "and that is only because she lost her memories. And because she didn't remember her troubles and her past, she is carefree."
"She lost her memories?" Kenshin asked, his eyes widening in shock. He had not expected that, "What do you mean?"
"She doesn't remember you, or anyone else. She had forgotten about everything that had happened. When she first woke up, she didn't even know her name. She didn't know her age, or what she looks like until I brought her a mirror. She had forgotten everything completely."
"What made her lost her memories?"
"I suspect that her violent asthma attacks triggered an effect on her brain, causing her to lose her memories or the powers inside her have stored away the memories away somewhere deep inside her so that she wouldn't remember."
Kenshin stood in the darkness for a long time, silent. He didn't know what to say; Kaoru didn't remember him. So of course she wouldn't remember that she was in love with him. Now, she due to her lost of memories, she had completely cut the ties with him. How was he going to face her? To her, he would be a stranger she had obviously put her trust completely in Enishi.
"What did you tell her? I'm sure she is curious about her past."
"I told her the truth, I even told her about you and the others, I just skipped the sad and complicated details, that's all. She cannot handle so much in her condition. Which leads to what I've always wanted to ask you, what did you do to her?"
Kenshin gave Enishi a death glare, "That's none of your business."
Enishi smirked, "Fine. If your don't want to share information with me, I don't see why I should help you."
"Who said that I needed your help?"
"I'm your only connection to Kaoru."
"I think we've been gone for too long. We can't leave Kaoru for too long. Here's my contact number. Call me, if your don't I'll just come after her and take her away."
Kenshin pushed a piece of paper into Enishi's hands and left.
Enishi laughed. He had actually won an argument with the Battousai, with him changing the topic so quickly.
Then, he realized that the ice-cream had melted and was dripping down his hands. He didn't notice it before. He would just need to buy another one.
Cursing under his breath, Enishi walked back to the ice-cream shop.
He was right; they had left Kaoru alone for too long. She was now staring at the crowded ice cream shop with anxious eyes. Her hands fidgeting in her lap. He walked past her and turned to catch her eyes.
Kaoru was momentarily distracted and looked at him, a bit stunned. Kenshin wasn't surprised, who wouldn't have that reaction? It's not everyday you see a man with red-hair and glowing amber eyes.
He was sure that he had made an impression on Kamiya Kaoru…again.
"Why are you gone for so long?" Kaoru asked, annoyed.
Enishi smiled sheepishly, "There were so many people. I had to wait."
"But you were gone for at least 25 minutes!"
Enishi smiled, "Yes, and I finally got your ice-cream. Let's eat it."
Then, Kaoru realized how childish she was being. She touched Enishi by the shoulder and smiled apologetically at him.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I panicked and thought that you've left me here."
Enishi laughed and touched her cheek affectionately, "I will never leave you, Kaoru. Don't worry."
Kaoru gave him a small smile.
It was only when Kenshin got onto his car that he finally realized the full impact of how much Kaoru's memory lost was affecting him. What if she will never remember? Again, he wanted to kill himself for what he had done to her. He could not believe that he was such a monster before. And to remember, he didn't even have good intentions when he set out to seduce her. At that time, she was just another challenge. She was different from all the other women he had come across. Before they were lovers, she was mysterious, quiet and sometimes icy. Then, soon, he found out that Kaoru was a kind hearted woman with unaffected warmth even when the whole world was against her. He remembered the way Megumi had treated her, and Kaoru didn't even fight back. She was gentle, sweet and she was begging for him to listen her during that last painful meeting in the hotel.
He had shamed her and humiliated her, taking her by force. And she had wept, telling him that she loved him. In the beginning, Kenshin was telling himself that he was so furious with her when he found out her involvement with Aorta was because she had hurt his pride. Now, he realized that it was because he loved her too. The weeks he had spent with her, holding her hand, kissing her lush pink lips, and all the tender hugs; they were the most secure and magical weeks of his life. It was just too bad that he only realized that much later. Kaoru gavehope to everything in his life.
He had never told her anything about his past. He kept everything to himself. He was selfish, while she was generous and willing. Now, Kenshin finally realized how much he had put Kaoru through. He couldn't really blame her for cooperating with the Aorta. They were threatening her, telling her that they would kill people. They also told her that he was the bad guy, and Kenshin saw no reason why she shouldn't believe them. After all, he used to be an assassin, a killer with no mercy. And Kaoru was smart, though she was in love with him, she did not completely trust him. But, she stayed true to him. She didn't tell the Aorta anything.
No matter what, Kenshin decided, he was going to make her fall in love with him again.
"Enishi?" Kaoru called from her room. They had returned from their shopping trip, and she had changed into her comfortable whit pajamas, ready to go to sleep. Still, she decided that she should thank Enishi for the lovely day she had.
Enishi rushed in, "Yup? What's wrong?"
Kaoru shook her head, "No, nothing's wrong. I just want to thank you for the lovely afternoon. And are you sure that I didn't spend too much money today?"
Enishi laughed, "Of course I'm sure. And you're welcomed, I had a lovely time with you too. Plus, you need clothes."
Kaoru smiled gratefully at him and said, "Thank you so much for everything. You even gave me the last bite to the ice cream and-" She trailed off, suddenly remembering the red haired man with the queer burning eyes.
"Yeah? What were you going to say?" Enishi asked.
"I…"
"What's bothering you, Kaoru?"
Kaoru hesitated before answering him, "It's just that I saw this man. I've never seen him before, but when I looked into his eyes…something happened to me. There's a jerk in my heart and I can't help but to feel that I've seen him before. Is it possible that I have known him before I lost my memories?"
Enishi stiffened and finally bit out an answer, "It is possible. But the people who knew you, they're not from around here, Kaoru. So I think you can't possibly have seen any of your friends. Plus, if he knows you, wouldn't he have said hello?"
Kaoru nodded, "That's what I thought. But there is something special about him. When he looked at me, it was liked he was trying to tell me something with his eyes. And, they are of the most extraordinary colour! They were golden…"
"Golden?"
"Yes, and he had flaming red hair too."
In his mind, Enishi confirmed that it was Battousai that Kaoru was talking about. Obviously, the Battousai made sure that Kaoru had seen him. And he had left a deep impression. This was not good.
"Hmm," Enishi said, "I am not sure if you knew this man before. Maybe if you see him again, you can point him out to me. For now, I think you shouldn't worry too much. I think that you should sleep, and maybe you will regain your memory once your body is in good condition."
Kaoru nodded, "Okay,"
Enishi smiled and pressed a light kiss against her forehead, "Sleep well." Then, he left, closing the door silently behind him.
Kaoru watched him go, and despite his advice for her sleep; she was wide awake, unable to put the red-haired man out of her mind. Somehow, she knew that she must have known him before.
That night, Kaoru's dreams were plagued with pictures of her past. All the things she couldn't understand.
"You found Kaoru?" Sano asked, his eyes wide.
Kenshin nodded grimly. The rest stared at him in stunned silence, waiting for him to volunteer more information.
They had been traveling from towns to cities and everywhere, searching up and down for her and now that they had finally found Kaoru, the whole situation seemed odd.
"What happened, Kenshin?" Hiko asked finally, after a long pause of silence.
"Nothing happened," Kenshin replied, "I just saw her with Enishi at a shopping mall this afternoon. They were shopping for her clothes and she has lost her memories."
"Busu lost her memories?" exclaimed Yahiko.
Kenshin shot him a death glare and the rest too looked at Yahiko disapprovingly.
"Kaoru has no memories of anything that had happened before. She does not remember us, her family or even herself. When she woke up, she didn't even remember what she looked like. Enishi told me that it is due to her special powers locking them away or it could be triggered by her asthma attacks."
"Does that mean she doesn't remember you too?" Megumi blurted.
Kenshin nodded again.
Okita sighed, and said, "What do you think we should do now? Is Enishi treating her well?"
"Yes, he was the one who rescued her and helped her. You can't expect anything less from Yukishiro, he's in love with Kaoru," Kenshin replied with eerie calmness, "Meanwhile, we shall wait for him to contact us and figure out an appropriate approach to this situation."
"Is Enishi going to cooperate?" Sano asked.
"Yes. If he doesn't, I'll hunt him down."
"Do you know Battousai and the others are?" Aoshi asked Misao, "We need to look for them, I've heard some things, I think something bad has happened."
Misao sighed, "Yeah, I know. I managed to contact Okina last week and he told me about everything that has happened. The Aorta association has completely been destroyed by Kaoru and she is missing. She had unleashed her powers and they are afraid that…"
"That she would die?"
Misao nodded.
"Kaoru's fragile body couldn't contain the special gift that she has. Though she has enough training with weapons and is perfectly capable of defending herself, her mental mind is too weak. She doesn't have the strength in her heart to control her powers properly. And, she has asthma."
"I'm afraid that I have to leave you soon, I need to join Okina and help them with the search. I tried to contact Okina the past few days but I couldn't reach him. I will have to look for them myself."
"Who says that I'm going to stay here? I'm perfectly fine now to go with you."
Misao looked at Aoshi doubtfully, "But…"
Aoshi touched her hand assuringly, "I'm feeling fine and my body has healed, let me go with you. I would be worried if I let you go alone."
Misao smiled and nodded. She could not believe that everything had turned out good between her and her Aoshi-sama. She had decided to give another chance at the relationship, she couldn't possibly give up on him. She couldn't. She loved him too much to do that. And now that she knew that he loved her just as much, she was in bliss. Aoshi loved her with a fierce protectiveness and tenderness that Misao sometimes didn't believe that it was real. Though things could never be like before and there were some awkward moments between them, Misao was sure that they were going to do just fine.
"Okay, let's go!" Misao exclaimed.
Aoshi smiled up at her.
A/N: Okies, here's the end of this chapter. Do review to let me know what you think! If there are mistakes with grammar or any typos, I apologise.
