Date Started: June 8, 2005

I am so sorry! I haven't touched this fiction for about… three months! I feel horrible about it, but I was caught up with finishing school, studying for finals, and then a month long writing contest that I did not finish… and yeah. But! I am back! I am making this chapter nice and long… I hope… just for you guys! I hope that this chapter is better than the last one….

Butterfly Kisses

By: Hotaru

Rating: R; for language, gore, and some adult material

Standard Disclaimer:

I do not own Rurouni Kenshin in any way whatsoever. I do, however, own any characters that I may introduce as my own, and this plot line. If I catch you stealing it, you grovel at my feet and beg forgiveness, or die.

Chapter 5

Cool dark eyes stared out of the window as he held back the curtains. The scene was lively outside, the sun shining brightly as it began to turn red with its setting, the bushes and few trees swaying in the light breeze that made its way through the park. Plenty of people crowded the area, walking up and down the sidewalks. Laughter rang out from small children who were playing on swings and sliding down slides. This, however, was not of Hiko's concern, as he was looking back and forth along the streets, searching. No such luck.

The building he was inside of was filled with choking smoke and the scent of booze. Many drunken men filled the room, shouting and bellowing out laughter in their drunkenness. The rooms were dimly lit, the furniture worn, the heavy curtains stained from age and beer. Scantily clad women ran about the place, taking orders, bringing out food, entertaining the men. None of this seemed to bug the large man sitting at the wooden table that shook whenever he shifted his arms off of it.

Pulling back the curtains again he scanned the street. He was very uncertain. 'Battousai should be here by now…' Allowing the curtains to bring back the blessed dimness, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Quick reflexes reacting, a large hand grasped the wrist of the one touching him.

"Calm down, Hiko." Recognizing the smooth voice, his eyes filled with an unseen relief, and he relaxed his body. Kenshin walked around to the other side of the table, pulling a girl along with him, a girl Hiko recognized to be Kamiya-san. She was wearing what she had been wearing the night before, when he had met her for the first time. A jacket, obviously the Battousai's, hid the blood covering her once starched, white, button down shirt. He baggy jeans didn't look so bad however. Her long black hair was in a ponytail. The red head gestured for the young woman to sit down, and then once doing so, he too sat. Hiko spoke again, "How on earth did you get in here without me realizing?"

The assassin looked up with his amber eyes, "I had to get rid of the car. We came in through the side."

Surprise appeared on Hiko's face, "Get rid of it? Why?" Kenshin bluntly said, "We were ambushed and shot at." The boss merely nodded, and got onto what the true purpose of this meeting was, "Now, down to business."

Kaoru tensed up more than she already was. She did not like the place they were in, too many drunken men. She was grateful for the protection of Kenshin, as she kept her dark blue eyes lowered, trying not to attract attention. She silently sat at the table listening to the small conversation that had begun.

The elder man spoke to her, "Kamiya-san, what is it that you received in that envelope?" She looked up in surprise at the fact that the conversation was being directed at her. Both men stared at her expectantly, Kenshin a little more so.

"Umm… well, it was a gem of sorts." She figured she might as well go along with it. They were at least not raping her, forcing her to do things she didn't want to do. Reaching into her jean pocket, she brought her fist tightly around the little red gem.

"What do you mean, 'a gem of sorts?'" Hiko continued.

The young woman hesitated, "Well, umm, it is…" She brought her fist out of her pocket and showed it to them. Tiny, blood red, and circular in shape. The dark eyes brightened, and then dulled, as Hiko tried to think of the significance of it. Kenshin simply stared at it for a few moments, and then looked away.

The head of the group broke the tension filled silence, "Do you have any idea of what this is?"

Kaoru stared down at it, and closed her fingers around the precious jewel, and brought it back into her pocket, "I… I am not sure." She lied through her teeth, disguising it with a confused voice.

"Not sure?" The red head pondered, as he stared at her hand in her pocket, as if he were burning a hold through her hand to see the jewel. He had a feeling that she was lying, as did Hiko, who doubled his question, "Are you absolutely sure? You can trust us. We are trying to help you."

She brought her head up sharply, as anger coursed through her, "Help me?" Her voice rose, "How? You lock me up with this guy making sure I don't do anything!" She stood up, not caring that the whole place had gone silent, all eyes focused on her, including drunken ones, "I was doing just fine on my own. If you hadn't attempted to 'help' I would at least be able to go about enacting some sort of revenge!" An unnatural wind blew through the room, the ground shook slightly.

Battousai tightened his grip on his weapon as he stared at the girl before him, her blood ki rising drastically. It rose to levels higher than he had ever felt, and she suddenly wrapped her arms around her, and let out a scream. By now, everyone in the building had stopped what they were doing, some people were quickly gathering their things, preparing to leave.

Releasing itself from its ponytail, her hair flew about her shoulders. The beautiful sapphire eyes clenched shut, as she began to emanate with a fiery glow. What no one saw was the gem she had just shown the two men was now imbedded in her right wrist, a small trial of blood seeping from the spot. The building shook, screams of fear went throughout the building. Then it stopped. The wind stopped blowing, the building stopped shaking, and Kaoru stopped glowing. She slumped to her seat, and would have fallen to the ground without the strong arms of her captor supporting her.

Kaoru's face held an icy pallor, as a bead of sweat rolled down her nose. The building had been cleared of nearly everyone, with the random straggler remaining, too drunk to have gone anywhere. Hiko look into Battousai's eyes, as he returned the stare, "Take her back to her home. Stay with her, and don't leave her alone ever. I don't care what she says, or how she complains, she must not be alone, it is far to dangerous. I will contact you later." Hiko then stood, his tall frame stepping away from the table, while pulling on a long jacket.

The assassin followed his bosses movements, and then looked back down at the unconscious girl in his arms. She looked so helpless, so weak, while he knew it was not so. This girl held so much power, that she could not even comprehend it, or control it. It was so strong that she had passed out, and was now in the current state she was in. The part that confused Kenshin the most, was that no one knew what this power was, or that's what he assumed.

Carefully maneuvering himself, he stood up, while making sure Kaoru didn't slip down to the ground. He then reached down and picked her small frame up, like he had just the day before, 'Now… how to get to her house unnoticed…' Quickly leaving the building, Himura headed down many alley ways, staying in the shadows, thus avoiding unwanted attention, until he made it to where she was currently residing.

"Hahaha!" Shishio laughed out as he felt the unbelievable surge of power course through his veins coinciding with the moment that Kaoru's ki had so powerfully distributed itself. The man looked down at Ryo who was sitting quietly in front of him, "Ryo! Now you see!" Reaching up a bandaged hand, the traditionally clad man swiftly unwrapped his face.

"Bakana…" A whisper of surprise escaped the biker's lips. Shishio's once mutilated, melted face, was now as it had looked years before, before the great fire that had nearly killed him. The face was perfectly normal in appearance, with the exception of a few scars. His black hair fell gently over his eyebrows, and the skin. No longer was it the melted, rubbery skin, it was the skin of a normal man.

"I can at last walk about as a normal man. You see! The power that that girl possesses… it can heal the cursed, it can restore things to how they once were…" He continued unwrapping bandages from his body, his hands, his chest, "I will have her physically so that she will be under my control, not just manipulated. For, not only can she heal… she can destroy."

He lay her down on the small couch that stood in her small, but clean, living room. Kaoru's skin had returned to it's normal color, but she was still out cold. Looking about, Kenshin took in more details of the place, becoming familiar with as much as possible. The living room was combined into a dining room and kitchen, a small bar separating the two. Soft beige carpet covered the floors, and the walls were a slightly darker color. Not much decorated the walls, but a few pictures were scattered about on the bar and low table.

Picking one up, the assassin recognized the spiky haired boy in the picture. The brown eyes were filled with laughter, more so than a younger looking Kaoru had. It was obvious that the two cared for each other like family. Sensing the woman stir, he placed the image back down where it had come from, and turned his attention back to her form. The blinds were slit open, as the quickly fading sun shone through, giving the appearance of shadowy stairs on everything. Spotting a lamp, Kenshin lit it on a dim setting, and then walked over to a cushioned chair across from her.

Looking about some more, he saw two other doors. They were simply assumed as the doors to a bedroom and bathroom, which he would look over later. The place was quite cozy, considering its plainness. Again, Kaoru moved, this time letting out a small moan. Glancing back, the red head saw her coming too, and focused his dangerous golden gaze on her.

"Holy crap…" She lifted a hand and placed it over her eyes, and continued softly talking to herself, "What the hell happened?" Moving her hand, she looked up at the ceiling, her deep blue eyes concentrating deeply, as though trying to remember. The young woman still did not notice her captor. She began to sit up, and finally, she looked over to him, "YOU!"

Kenshin closed his eyes, a small smile touching his lips, and nodded. He then looked at her again, "Yes. You wish to know what happened right?" She silently fumed, and then realized where she was.

"I'm back home…" She whispered, and then looked back at him, "Why? I thought I was to never come back here."

Standing up and walking towards her, the assassin stated, "You are to stay here, have no communications with anyone. I am to watch you at all times. After what happened in the club, we can't risk any more attempts for your capture by the enemy."

"I wouldn't let the enemy capture me again even if they had the chance." She bitterly said, "They would have to kill me first." Folding her arms over her chest, she stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

'She seems to have recovered quickly…' Kenshin thought. He followed her. Rummaging through the pantry Kaoru's muffled voice said, "Want some food?"

"Thank you, but no." A blunt refusal. Resting his hands on the edge of the wooden bar, he continued to watch her rummage about. Giving a small smile, she pulled out some rice. Turning around, she went exploring in another cabinet, and brought out a measuring cup. Pausing, she asked, "Why here though?" She headed over to the water faucet, and began to measure out water, and pour it into a simple rice steamer.

"Because this is the last place they would look. I've bolted the doors, and made sure no one can get in without my knowledge."

"Hnn.. I see." After the girl finished putting the rice in the cooker she looked about some more. Finding what she had been looking for, she pulled back her hair, and left it in a low ponytail. Now, the two were staring across at each other, sapphire meeting amber. As she reached up to grab a glass from a shelf, Kenshin saw a glint of reflection coming from her wrist. After filling up the glass with water and setting it down, he grasped her hand and pulled it towards him, wrist up.

"What is this?" He stared at the gem now imbedded there, dried up blood crusted around the now closed wound. Taking note of any expression on her face, he realized it was more shocked than confused, confusion being what he had expected from her. Brows scrunched up in slight annoyance and anger, she pulled her wrist away from him, and demanded of him, "What happened to me in that club, as you call it?"

"Your ki surged up so powerfully, that it radiated from your body like fire. You caused the wind to blow like nothing else in the building, as well as the ground to quake. Then you passed out, and all of that ceased." He again looked at the pale wrist, "It seems that gem in your arm is the result."

"Damn him!" She angrily spat out, gripping her wrist so tight her knuckles turned white. This anger was different from all the other anger he had seen from her, it wasn't an anger that overpowered her. Her blood ki powered up differently than the other times, powerful yes, but it seemed she was shielding it from something.

"Who?"

Silence reigned for close to ten minutes. The two were simply staring at each other, as darkness overcame the room, the sun finally disappearing as night was welcomed. Thunder rang out, as the earlier expected storm rolled in, and as soon as lightning flashed, it began to pour down rain. It pounded mercilessly on the windows. Lightning again came, coinciding with a clap of thunder, and the power went out, engulfing the room in darkness. The rice was forgotten, as was the water, as Kaoru formed the name, "Shishio."

To be continued...

Ok, I finished it! I really wanted to have this finished before I take off for Japan. I leave on June 14 which is approximately two days from now, because it is now about 5:30 PM, and I leave at 8:40 AM. So… hmm, I really hope you liked this chapter, I tried to make it long and interesting. Several things have been figured out ne? Give me your thoughts in a review or email.

P.S. I will try to work on this while I am in Japan, but I don't know how much free time I will have because of work my school in America is MAKING me do while I'm there, as well as stuff from the school I am attending there, and also the wonderful social life I hope to develop. But, I will try. 3 you my readers.

Date Finished: June 11, 2005