Date Started: June 30, 2005

Well then, I am at it again. I know the last chapter was suckey, and I expect reviews for… hmm, well, the crappiness of the chapter. I finished writing it and after putting it up on the internet realized: her injuries are WAY to common. I need to be more creative huh? Bleh… I have recently been kind of out of it and hyper …. Sooooo that may be why I haven't been writing up to my standards. Oh well, hope this chapter is something for you guys to like!

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.

Lurking through the shadows of alleyways, Battousai managed to keep a low profile in the morning light of day. Soon enough, he arrived at a small clinic that seemed to be very slow with business. A woman sat at a desk in the front, with a cute uniform of a knee length black skirt and a white blouse and black jacket. A cute light pink scarf was tied around her neck and the bow was off to the side. Looking up, she saw the red head standing there with the petite young woman whom she recognized to have been a patient only a few days ago.

"May I help you?" The secretary asked politely. Curiosity filled the worker's mind about the man. His presence gave off a dark aura. Lowering the small frames from her green eyes, she scrutinized some more making sure to notice his every detail. The man walked forward.

A cool voice came out of his mouth, "She has an injury to the hand." He looked down at her with his uncommon amber eyes, "I believe she went into shock about ten minutes ago." He felt that she was more than just an average secretary.

Immediately, flipping her long braid over her shoulder, the woman hit a button and spoke into a microphone, "Dr. Takani, please report to the front immediately!" The urgency in the voice made the man's features seem to sharpen. After making the announcement, she turned back to Kenshin, and just as soon as she was preparing to say something, Megumi's tall frame rushed through some double doors. She looked more like she was jogging rather than running. "Kaoru…" She whispered as she saw them, "Come with me and explain." He nodded, and followed the female doctor. They rushed through the hallways until they were in a small room with a chair and small table bed of sorts, "Lay her down here."

After doing so, more questions were asked, "What happened? Who are you?"

The golden gaze was hard, and he began to stare her down as the assassin slowly replied to the questions, "She cut her hand on some glass, and I believe she is in shock. It all happened about ten to twenty minutes ago." He reached for her hand, and lifted it up, showing his very crude bandage. Megumi immediately unwrapped it, and closely scrutinized the cut. It was still bleeding.

She pulled on some gloves, and got a clean rag from a drawer and some disinfectant. Pouring the smelly liquid from the bottle onto the towel, she then began to clean the cut to the best of her ability. Once it was clean she placed the rag onto the still bleeding cut and said, "Apply pressure to this. Don't release it. I'll be right back." Then, the brown eyed doctor left the room. After a minute or so, Kaoru began to stir. Opening her dark blue eyes, she whispered, "What are you doing?" Then, she tried to sit up, but Kenshin pushed her gently down with his hand, "No. You stay right where you are."

The skin on her face seemed to begin to gain a flush again, "But." He placed a finger against her lips making the statement that she should stay quiet and calm. The past events seemed to have slipped her mind, and he was happy to leave things that way, if only for a little while. Just as she promised, Megumi returned soon. Kaoru had already gone back to sleep back to sleep. Swiftly, a needle was unwrapped from its sanitized package, and like most medical needles, it was already threaded. Even though the girl was seemingly passed out, ether was held over her nose to make her slumber deeper.

The doctor said, "Remove the rag. I'm going to begin stitching up this little injury." Kenshin submitted to the request, and silently watched the professional begin her work. The man seemed a mystery to her. He had spoken barely any words the whole time, "Who are you?"

Those sharp, golden eyes flickered like fire to meet her brown gaze, "I am surprised you have not guessed it yet." He paused a moment, and looked back at the unconscious girl, then back at the doctor, "You are a friend of hers are you not?"

"I am." It now seemed that Megumi was the one answering rather than asking the questions. The woman seemed familiar to him. He was not quite sure where he had seen her before. He didn't know if he could trust her with his identity either, "You aren't one of those people who have been after Kaoru are you?" Her eyes narrowed, "If you are-"

"If I am, what are you going to do about it?" His gaze seemed to be more pressurized again, the doctor finished stitching up the gash, and knotted the stitches. He continued, "Do you seriously think that if I were the enemy, that I would bring her here, let alone have anyone treat her?" The voice became more cold, "I will kill the next person who tries to hurt her."

The woman suddenly felt that she should be very afraid, and indeed she was. The voice continued, "You know Sanosuke?"

The mention of her fiancée, who at the present was missing, suddenly made something click in her mind. Sano had once mentioned a comrade that he had once worked with. One with red hair, and golden eyes. One who killed mercilessly, a man who contained no heart. Clearly, her lover had been wrong. The actions of the man in front of her had not been heartless. The show of protection over her good friend Kaoru, had been revealed in the Hitokiri Battousai.

"Where the fuck are they!" Hiko thought angrily. It was a rarity for his assassin to be late. It was almost 8:30. Reaching into his pocket, the man found his cell phone and dialed a number. He was soon rewarded with Kenshin's voice on the other line, "I know. We are supposed to be there. There are some complications right now. Let's meet tonight at 10."

"Fine. Meet at the other club. See you then. But I expect a good excuse for this." Hiko then hung up the phone, "Sumimasen… check please."

Dark was just falling upon the city. He stared up at the north star through the smog filled skies of Tokyo, "Polaris…" The name was whispered softly, filled with love, "When will I at last have her again?"

Yes, Shishio had planted the gem in her. He had hoped that it would keep her under his control once she had arisen. Her presence in the world had been far to brief to manage that. What troubled the ruler of Japan the most, was what had caused her to go back to sleep inside the wretched Kamiya girl.

It had been years since he had seen the girl in the flesh. He had seen her on video tapes from the constant surveillance, but that was all. His mind was lost as he thought back to the time when he was in his early twenties, and Kaoru was fresh out of high school. She had just been accepted to Tokyo University, and wanted to study astrology. They had run into each other in a hallway and he had helped her gather her sprawled belongings.

Flashback
"Aah!" A small yelp of surprise emitted itself from a young woman as she was knocked to the floor by a man rushing through the hallways. Her bag and some files were spread across the hallway. He paused and turned to look at the girl. Her long black hair was tied back in a simple fashion, yet it was beautiful. She glared up at him fiercely, uncommon blue eyes mixed in with her Japanese features, "What where you're going idiot!" She knelt down on her knees and began to gather the scattered papers.

"Gomen nasai. Let me help you." The tall young man offered, his black hair falling into his black eyes. He knelt beside her and picked up the last of the papers and placed them back into the file folder. Handing them to her, his fingers brushed against hers as she grabbed it from him, "Thanks." She bluntly said, obviously still pissed off.

He was now staring at her, "What's your name?" She seemed a little shocked at first, and then seemed to relax a little, "I guess there's no harm in that. Kaoru." The man flashed a gentle smile, "Shishio. Pleased to meet you." The two stood up, and she reached out her hand, "Nice meeting you Shishio. See you around."

End of flashback
The memory of their first meeting. It had been so innocent, yet, he had fallen for her. He had loved her once, truly loved her. But, once he had come to power, and discovered things about her, he fell for greed, and that love was tainted. He hungered for the power of everything. He hungered for Polaris, the one whom would rule by his side. He would make sure Kaoru slept forever, so that the one he now believed he was in love with, could be with him, "Foolish girl. To think you can hide from me forever? With your Battousai?"
Many things had gone on since the two had left the hospital. First off, Kaoru wanted to get clothes. Unfortunately, she was told she could not return to the apartment. He had wanted to go back and get the dai katana. The manslayer wanted to have it, in case she ever decided she wanted to use it. He knew she was trained to use the sword, otherwise she wouldn't have it. You never had a deadly weapon like that unless you knew how to use it.

Megumi gave strict orders for Kaoru to lay low and take it easy. She had been worried about Kaoru's whereabouts for the past few days. No answer at the phone, or anything. Kenshin reassured the doctor that he would take care of her. They had conversed briefly of Sanosuke. She revealed that he was her fiancée, and that he had been missing for a little over six months. The assassin told her he knew he was still alive, but that was all he would say. She could get nothing out of him. The last thing he had told the doctor was that nothing was to be said about who Kaoru was with or where she was. Let alone that she had seen her. The woman simply nodded and by then, Kaoru had woken up.

They could not really go out in public, so, Kaoru could not buy clothes. Several phone calls later, Kenshin had found someone who could lend her some clothes. Kenshin didn't like who they were getting them from, but all the girl wanted was something clean, and not what she was wearing.

They had walked in the shadows, keeping low profiles. By noon, they had reached one of the finest apartment complexes in the city, and then they entered through a side entrance. Kaoru looked about in shock at the luxury of the place. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the floors were covered in lush rugs, and the people were so polite. However, when they reached the room, and the door was answered, she was shocked to see who answered the door.

"Hello Battousai," And he turned to stare at her, "And HELLO beautiful."

"Sanosuke!." The young lady exclaimed, her face flushed. She carefully hid her injured hand behind her back, and stood there. Kenshin figured she would be shocked. She was friends with Megumi after all, "I can't believe- where have you- what are you DOING living in this place! Why the hell-"

Sanosuke placed his hand over her mouth, and said, "Shut up and get inside. I don't want to create a big scene or anything." With that, Kenshin kind of pushed her into the room, and then shut the door.

The outburst finally came, "What the hell are you doing living in a place like this, while no one knows about it, ESPECIALLY Megumi. What the fuck is your problem! Where have you been all these months! What do you think Megumi will say when she finds out you've been in this city all this time!"

"Calm down Kaoru." The man slayer was silently watching. Sanosuke somehow got her to calm down a little, "I have had to stay away from her to keep her safe. I can't let her know where I am until everything is over. They can't know that I am associated with her, or she might get hurt."

"Like Yahiko." The girl quietly said. She sat down on a plump chair and silently contemplated. She didn't seem to get all that riled up when it came to Yahiko this time, "Well, all I can say is you better talk to her soon. I don't know what you got yourself into this time, but, well, just don't hurt her."

The spiky haired man smiled gently, and then stated, "So, you need clothes huh?" She sweat dropped, "Yes."

"Fun!" The young man exclaimed and then disappeared into another room. Kenshin walked over to her, and knelt down in front of the girl, "Stay calm. I don't want you getting sick or anything. Remember you are still recovering from this morning."

She looked at him, "I know." For some reason, despite the kiss and her anger towards him over last night, she could not keep being angry with him. He had done so much for her, and that included taking care of her this morning. This red haired assassin was beginning to become more of a companion to her rather than a captor. The two stared at each other a few moments longer, and then the golden gaze turned away from her and he stood up. A few moments later, Sano came in with an armload of clothes.

"Where the hell did you get all those?" Kaoru suspecting something asked.

He looked down at them and then said, "Oh, these? I happen to like collecting female clothing." A look of disgust appeared on her face, "I'm just kidding jeez… They belonged to my partner. She's about your size."

"Your partner?"

"Long story." The guy stated shortly, and then, "Now get up, take these clothes, and go into the other room and change into whatever you think you'd actually wear."

"What do you mean 'whatever I'd actually wear?'" Kaoru asked as Sano snickered. The girl then walked into the next room and slammed the door behind her as she was suspicious of the whole thing.

Kenshin merely watched the spectacle silently. He wasn't sure if he actually wanted to see Kaoru in what she would end up being stuck wearing. Knowing Sano's past partner, well, she was one who dressed with… interesting styles.

Several minutes later they heard a death sentence, "ROOSTER! I'LL KILL YOU!" Her scream was muffled by the door, so it was no where near as loud and scary as the intended effect. The spiky haired man broke out in peals of laughter, and had to sit down. The assassin kept his stony face, yet on the inside, he was laughing as well. It was nice to hear the girl's annoyance, rather than her depressed state and revengeful promises.

Sanosuke finally managed to calm down, and just as he was done laughing, the door opened. What they saw made both men's jaws drop, the red head not catching himself this time. Kaoru stepped out of the room, with a very red face. She wasn't necessarily wearing revealing clothes, but they clung to her curves and showed off her form. The low rise camo skirt went about four to five inches above the knee, and was purposely torn in places, safety pins randomly stuck here and there, zippers adorning the pockets, and a black army belt was worn over the belt loops, the buckle off to the side. Her top was a tight fitting, light pink T-shirt, with a silver star imprinted on the front, her flat belly barely revealed. This so called partner obviously liked to get attention from people, or her style would have not been so.

Even though the outfit was not sluttish in any particular way, Kaoru disliked getting stares, and she was fuming as she felt the penetrating ones of the two men. She preferred shirts that weren't skin tight, fitted yes, but not annoyingly so. She despised skirts.

"Well, hello sexy." Sano whistled.

"What your mouth. If Megumi heard you say that you'd be dead." The woman seethed at her friend's fiancé. She refused to meet the golden eyes of Battousai, because she didn't know what she would see there if she did, or what she would do, "I want a computer, internet access, and a credit card…" No answer, "Now!"

10 PM
The two appeared to be nothing more than a couple strolling down the lit up streets of downtown Tokyo. No one paid any heed to them, as the red head stood closely next to the blue eyed girl as they made their way into a large building, music echoing from its doors. Kaoru seemed to be in a better mood, having the satisfaction of ordering some clothes, which Sano had so generously paid for. People gave jealous glares at the two, girls drooling over him, guys whistling after her. Kenshin sent a death glare to all the men, and would grasp the hilt of his sword that was carefully hidden under his jacket.

The girl seemed to be becoming more comfortable in the man's presence. She felt she was safe and secure. Despite some of the things he had done to anger her, and betray her trust, that trust kept returning, with every thing he did to help her. His arm brushed against her bare one, and she flinched, "Gomen." The soothing voice, that was filled with so much coldness, yet, emotion entwined with it, "Come on. I need to tell you something before we see Hiko." He offered his hand to her, making sure his captive saw it. The sapphire eyes stared momentarily as she hesitated, and then placed her small hand into his calloused one.

He led her to a dark corner, where few people mingled. There were a few couples here and there, making out and feeling each other up, "Could we, umm…" Kaoru began, feeling extremely uncomfortable. The red head nodded in understanding, and took her to a more populated area, that was still low in population.

"He's going to ask you questions. A bunch of them, about last night. He is going to try and get things out of you that you probably won't want to tell him. I am just telling you…" He paused trying to think of the right words to say, "Try to keep your emotions under control alright?" His voice was again soothing, this time the emotion mixed in was concern for her well being.

Some raven locks fell into her face as the girl was looking down, taking in the information. Looking up, her eyes were firm, "I'll try. I just… that's all that's happened the past few years. Questions. Every time I got caught, they would ask me questions, and more questions… they would… do things… to try and get me to talk." She was struggling with what she was saying, not wanting to talk about it. This one was strong, "I don't believe that you guys are going to hurt me, intentionally that is, but… I don't think I can take it anymore."

The amber eyes looked back into hers in understanding, "Hai." He brushed back the hair from her face. She said one last thing, "If he asks me anything I don't wish to answer, and even tries to get me to answer it, I will no longer work with you and your organization." The last couple of words were allowed to settle in as the music playing in the night club continued. It was a soothing techno. After a few more moments, Kenshin began to walk towards a wall. She didn't even notice it until she felt her arm tug against his grip as she still stood there.

Walking along, the two finally reached an almost unnoticeable door in the wall. The assassin knocked three times and then slid open the door. No one was there. The room was dark, only the lights from the club peeped in as they smoothly went by. The girl felt his grip on her hand tighten, and then he whispered, "Take this." He slipped a small dagger into her hand, and then released his grip. She simply nodded, noting that his eyes had gone emotionless, the golden depths hardened. He placed a hand underneath the flaps of his long coat, preparing to unsheathe his weapon if necessary.

Sliding the door shut, he flickered the lights on. Kaoru's blue eyes scanned the area. She felt uneasy being in this room with the door shut, and not because of the fact that she was alone with the man. Something else. The unbearable feeling of being watched overcame her. A small click was heard, as her ears perked. It was from the left. Looking, she moved just in time to miss the sharp darts that flew in her direction, "KENSHIN!" She shouted as she saw them continue in his direction. He saw what she was shouting about and brought his sword out in a flash, the darts reflecting off and flying off into the walls.

"Let's get out of here." He told her. He did not turn his back to the room as he began to slide open the door, "Come on." The girl nodded and mimicked the red head by not turning around, always keeping the room in her sight. She quickly backed out and was followed immediately by Kenshin. He sheathed his sword, and Kaoru kept the dagger concealed in her hand. He gripped her arm lightly so as not to loose her. The two made their way towards the center of the dance floor, the most crowded area. People rammed into them, moving bodies crushed together moving to the beat of the hypnotic techno.

The captor and captive faced each other when they reached the middle of the floor, and Kenshin wrapped an arm around the girls waist. She stiffened, but he reassured her, "I'm not going to try anything. Just look like your having a good time." His eyes were still cold, and he appeared to be scanning the area. Kaoru nodded, and slipped the dagger into her pocket, and then placed her arms around his neck. He placed his head close to hers, his chin resting on her shoulder, "I don't know what just happened in there… but that is where Hiko was supposed to meet us. I am not liking the way things are going." His warm breathe tickled her ear, as they were dancing.

"Do you think we may have been betrayed?" The question startled him, the assassin not ever thinking of the possibility from Hiko, his once master. Keeping his voice even, he stated, "That is always a possibility." He paused, choosing his words carefully, "But if that's the case, then no one in the organization can be trusted." The words shocked her, as that included Sanosuke in the bunch.

She too was being careful with what she said, and keeping her voice relatively low, she spoke into his ear, "What is, the entire organization were working with Shishio. What if this is all a fraud." Pausing she said, "What if you are one of them!" The girl pushed away from him, placing a hand in her pocket, gripping the hilt of the dagger tightly.

The yellow eyes softened, as he allowed his emotions to show themselves. What she saw in his face truly made her scared, not for herself, but for his sanity. There was a mixture of pain, sorrow, betrayal, and hate. She could tell that this man, this assassin, was close to breaking. Never before had she seen such emotions, not even within herself. The captive realized that this man would in no way hurt her. He couldn't, because hidden in all those negative emotions, there was something else. She couldn't tell what it was exactly, but it was something akin to protection, maybe even… 'No. That's not possible…'

"I'm sorry. I should have known you wouldn't betray me as well." There was a moment of silence, and she placed her hands back around his neck, to the safety of his protection, "I… I trust you." The words made his heart skip a beat. No one had ever said anything like that to him before. No one had ever felt safe around him, not even Hiko. Hiko had been his master, and Kenshin had mastered his style. All of it, including the secret move. Hiko didn't know that the secret was known to the assassin, but that was because Battousai had discovered it on his own. The words that filled his mind made him have a sense of happiness. He returned his arms around her waist, and said, "Thank you."

The two danced on silently and as the song ended, he whispered, "Be alert. I sense foul play coming." Then, they left the dance floor and began to make their way out of the building. Nearing the exit, another hushed whisper entered her mind, but this one was not spoken, 'Careful beloved. We wouldn't want you getting hurt now would we?' "Huh?" Now outside, Kaoru stopped.

"What is it?"

"It… it's nothing. I'm just hearing things." She walked to his side and asked, "So, where do we go now?" 'Wouldn't that be interesting to know? Be sure and tell me!' The voice again, "Shut up!" She shouted to it.

The man looked concerned, "Are you ok?" The blue eyes were stricken with slight terror, "Don't say any names or locations of anything!" Her hands were placed on her head. His sharp eyes saw the glow of the jewel in her wrist. He reached for her hand and brought her arm in front, palm up, so that the gem could be seen in view. 'I know what you are up to my love.' The gem glowed again.

A small scream of irritation escaped her lips, "Stop it! Get out of my head!" The people in the area paused and gave the two a weird look, but continued on their way. Kenshin pulled her into an alley way and asked her, "What's wrong?"

"He…" She was shaking, "He's in my head!" 'That I am. Hahaha! And I'm not leaving until I choose to do so!' "Stop it! Shut up!" He noticed that just before she had said that the gem again glowed.

He grasped her wrist, "We have to get the jewel destroyed. It's a control mechanism." She looked at him her eyes filled with fear, and she simply nodded, "Just get him out of my head." Kaoru herself brought out the dagger he had loaned to her, "Do it. A little more pain won't hurt me."

"Are you sure?" She merely nodded. The man reached into a pocket of his jacket and brought out some gauze and bandages, so that she wouldn't need to be rushed back to the clinic. They couldn't risk it, "I'm sorry if this hurts." He gripped the dagger tightly, not wanting to hurt her. The blue eyes were shut tight, "I'll live." And then he placed the tip of the blade close to the jewel, and quickly cut around it and dug into the skin and then he finished with a flick of the wrist and the blood red stone removed itself from her.

The girl had not cried out, but he felt her stiffen. Her eyes were still shut tight. He dropped the blade and with skilled hands, the assassin placed the gauze over the open wound, and quickly wrapped the bandaging tightly around so as to stop the bleeding as soon as possible. He spotted the gem once that part was completed and then concentrated a little and then it shatter into billions of pieces.

Unfortunately, moments after, powerful ki meandered into his mind, and it was not hers. It was someone else's. Some whom he had not seen in a long time. Kaoru seemed to sense him as well, 'That's good… she can now sense ki.' The girl soon was on her feet again, standing next to him. She had picked up the dropped dagger that still had her hot blood on its cool steel. She was in a defensive stance, looking ready to kill anything. The man drew his katana from its sheath. And, as if it were planned the two said consecutively, "Show yourself… Shishio."

"Well, well, well, don't we have two smart fighters?" The black eyes reflected in the bright light of the full moon, "It is true, that I am him. And I have come to claim what is rightfully mine, from him who has stolen it." He stepped forward and the two prepared themselves for the worst, as Shishio too drew a sword. They were surprised by his appearacence as well asthe sword in his hand: akatana, that only looked all to familiar: hers.

YAY! A LONG chapter. Hehehe… or I call it long. Its 5046 words and is ten pages long! Longer than anything I've put up in a while ne? Wee…. A cliffhanger. Those are always fun. I am glad to have more time to write now that I settled into my new host family's house. Yea… I had to move to a new host family, but this is the last move I'm making until I go back home to America. Hmm…. Happy July 4th I should say. It's actually July 5th where I am, but it's still the fourth in America.

Yah… I took a Japanese final today and probably blew it. I can't tell if I've been putting a bunch of Japanese or not into this story. I haven't gone back and read it yet. If you want more Japanese put in let me know and I'll start integrating some. If you don't that's cool too. I expect some praise for writing a long chapter for once k? Do you like it? I am pretty sure that I know how I am going to end this story. It's not soon… but I would say the story is halfway done. I know that there will at least be fifteen chapters. And Kaoru and Battousai are finally getting close! Wee… maybe more fluff in the next chapter and definitely blood and a fight scene. And some things revealed about Shishio and Kaorus past relationship. No more boring crap. Please review if you like whats happening.　Is it making sense or is it really confusing? Until next time! Jaa ne!

Hotaru

Date Finished: July 5, 2005