Butterfly Kisses chapter 10, a rurouni kenshin fanfic

Date Started: July 18, 2005

Yes, I know, Hiko got knocked out. Umm…. there have been technical difficulties with my host family's computer. I think there may be a virus cause every time I try to go to websites, that little 'an error occurred' thing pops up, the one that says 'don't send' etc, and whenever you hit don't send, the entire window closes. It does this every time, like, I went to update my new story, Happiness in Slavery, (ahem… previously untitled, go read it.) and I couldn't update it cause of the damn problem. I can't even check my email because of it. So, sorry if it takes forever to get this up… but maybe when I finish the chapter the problem will be fixed! fingers crossed

Guess what? I am going to Kyoto in August for a few days, so I will get to look around and get a little familiar with it. So, if I write anything in this story in Kyoto (my other story takes place mostly in Kyoto) I can be sort of accurate I hope. Now, I hope you like this chapter that I am making sure is longer than ten pages!

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.

Hiko worked his way through the crowded Tokyo streets, in search of his assassin and captive, Where the hell could they be? He had searched the streets since he had woken up, and it was nearly sunrise. His first stop had been the club in hopes that someone had seen them. Apparently a couple had been there, but left about thirty minutes or so after arrival in quite a hurry, the man with red hair and the girl with blue eyes. He knew it was them. But what had happened afterwards? Where had they gone?

He was getting close to the area where the club was, when he again scanned the area as he had done earlier. Luck seemed to take the large man's side this time around, as he picked up some familiar life forces not to far from where he was. The ki was immobile, and was pulsating calmly. The sun was beginning to peek its face over buildings, as its rays reached through the considerable amounts of smog that hung in the city. The boss made his way towards the ki, following his instincts, and stood in the back street that the battle had been fought the night before. Looking around the area, he spotted the dried up pools of blood that covered the ground. Hope that wasn't him… or the girl. Then, the dark eyes rested on the doorway of the old building. It was them, he had no doubt about it. He walked up to the door, and was slightly shocked as the door slid open the moment that the man was going to open it.

Kenshin's eyes looked up at Hiko, and they relaxed as he recognized the said intruder, "It's you." He moved away from the door way and gestured, "Come in."

Nodding, the leader bent his head so he wouldn't hit the door frame, and entered the shabby abode, taking in its poor conditions, "I see you managed to find yet another place to reside."

"It's only been three nights." Came the curt answer of Battousai, "And it would probably be smart if we continued to stay in a different place every night." Pausing, waiting to see if Hiko would say anything, which he didn't, he then continued, "Unlike you, Hiko, who continues to stay where he resides. Where were you last night? We were ambushed."

Looking sternly to his pupil, he said, "I stay where I do because I do not care if I am found, which is what happened. I was knocked out by a dart." Thinking a few moments, the man spoke some more, "My window was open. The only thing that boggles my mind is how could I not notice how anyone on our list of enemies would be able to get by without being detected."

"If you have not already noticed, my place was discovered, they probably discovered her place, and if I had not destroyed that jewel, we would have been discovered again. They knew because Kaoru knew. The jewel was a control mechanism of sorts, and I have no doubt that it also worked as a tracker and a telepathic source to our plans."

Dark eyes met golden ones, "You destroyed the jewel?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He just told you did he not?" Kaoru's voice sliced through, as she walked up behind the red head. Her voice quavering slightly, she continued on, "Shishio was… inside my head. He was speaking to me through the mind, everything I said or thought he knew." Her voice had become stronger now, "The damn thing glowed every time the man would communicate with me." She held out her bandaged wrist, "So, we took care of it."

Hiko took little comfort in what she said, and the sight of her treated wound, their dirty skin, and bloodied clothing, made him remember the bloody street, "None of you were hurt otherwise? What exactly happened after you left the club?" Slight concern carried in his voice.

Kenshin closed his eyes, a sign that he did not want Kaoru to tell his boss about him being injured. She saw and understood, and decided to go on and tell the story, most of it at least, "We left the club quickly and ended up here so that he could get rid of the jewel. Shortly afterwards, Shishio showed up and attacked Battousai. I ended up stabbing the damn bastard in the back with a dagger that Kenshin gave me. Then his skin began to go all melty on us and he was evacuated from the area by his men. It began to rain shortly afterwards and so we stayed here last night. That's the story."

The head seemed to be satisfied with the story, "Well, as long as you two are alright. I think we should go ahead and leave. I think it is soon that Shishio must be confronted by Polaris."

"No." Her voice slivered out cold. She unconsciously gripped her katana that was at her side tightly. Noting this, the man asked, "And where did you get that beautiful sword?"

"It is mine. I have had it for years." She released her grasp, and said, "If I let Polaris out again… she might not allow me to wake up. I will not risk that. She wants me gone until this is over."

"I see." After a short pause, Hiko said, "Come with me." He turned around and headed out of the building and continued, "There is an assignment for you tonight, Battousai, and you, Kamiya-san, are involved as well."

"GAAH!" Screams of rage and horror permeated the rooms of the entire fifth floor, "NO! This is not possible!" The master's room was littered with scattered objects. He stood off in a dark corner, the numerous wrappings were seen to hide his features, again clad in loose kimono. His shoulders were heaving, showing signs that most of the tumult had been created recently. Everything had gone wrong the night before. Nothing had happened like it was supposed to have.

He was supposed to have defeated the Battousai. He was supposed to have taken Kamiya and forced her to awaken Polaris once again. He did not realize how close he really had been to achieving both. Shishio, had been very careless. The man had been so focused in his fight with the assassin that he had not realized that the girl had a dagger covered in her blood, and that she had been heading towards him, and indeed, had hurt him.

Her blood. Her power. It had turned against him. Just as it had done before.

Flashback

Fire raged on around the two figures standing, facing each other, "Polaris, my love, come back to me!" A pleading voice cried.

"No." Silver eyes flashed black, the fire causing them to look red, "Your wants are not worthy of my power. You can't stand the two of us to be combined as one, the way it should be." She had begun walking around him in a circle, her eyes always watching him.

Shishio had a stricken look on his fine face. His shirt clung to his sweaty skin, his hair was plastered to his forehead and the back of his neck. He carried a dai katana in one hand, and in the other, kunai. His state was quite the opposite of Polaris.

Polaris had on black clothing, a tight black shirt that rose above her naval, black pants and boots, and a long black trench coat with red trimming. Her eyes were darkly coated with black eye makeup, her lips as red as blood, and her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail samurai fashion. She gripped the hilt of her katana with both hands, never lowering her guard, of course, giving off her lethal affect. However, there were numerous injuries inflicted upon her. She had a thin cut above her right eye, that was bleeding, but did not obscure her vision. One slash ran along the shoulder of her jacket, and blood had dripped down to her hand. Across her flat stomach, another gash bled, bled as did many other injuries that would doubtlessly leave ugly scars..

"We could rule together, all of Japan, NO, the world." Greed consumed the man's mind. The fire seemed to be held back, for it was spreading throughout the building, but had not come closer than ten feet to the two, a circle like perimeter surrounded them.

She bit back with the remark, "Your greed for power has clouded your vision." Finishing off her final circle, the woman stood in front of him again. Her eyes changed from black to silver, "Now, you will be-" Her words were cut off by the kunai being stabbed into her side, "You think that will stop me?" She spoke through her teeth, her voice containing pain and anger. She placed her small hand atop his large one, then, gripping tightly, she used all her will to pull his hand along with the kunai out of her side, and then brought his arm around and dug it deep into his chest, her blood then mixing with his.

The man's eyes contained shock, and she said, in what sounded like two voices, "We are more powerful together, than one separate from the other." She released her grip from his hand, and then sheathed her sword, and turned around. She began to walk slowly away, her hand pressed against her side, her right arm limp, finally allowing her injuries to begin to take their toll on her body. The fire as if on cue, cleared away from her as she continued to leave, "NO! Polaris, please!" But the man's cries were ignored.

"For every physical wound you have inflicted upon me, you will forever feel it on your skin." Screams of pain permeated the building. All of his skin looked as though it were melting. Shishio was crawling on the ground. He had left his sword behind. The heat began to overtake him, as the flames began to close in on him, and then, he blacked out.

End of Flashback

The two were shown into a very nice establishment, a place for those of upper society. It was a shop for traditional wear, very expensive clothing at that, "Why?" Kaoru looked up at Hiko in question. Battousai's gold eyes remained impassive. He had had to do this many times, "Our mission tonight." He had not told her anything about what was going to happen. Apparently, Kenshin already knew, and was going to tell her when they were on the way there.

"Oh." And then she went silent, and began studying the room. The walls were trimmed in a creamy wall paper that had thin golden pinstripes. Draperies that matched the gold hung around the large windows. A miniature chandelier hung on the ceiling, and the floor was finely carpeted. They had removed their shoes at the entrance. She felt very out of place with the state of her self.

"Aah… Hiko-sama, Himura-sama," A relatively thin but well dressed man entered the room, "We have been expecting you." He turned his warm brown eyes towards the suspicious blue ones, "And who is this fine young woman?" He seemed to be daunted not by the blood covering her, as if he were used to it.

"She will need to be fitted in your finest kimono, no matter the charge. It will of course, go into my account." The man's face lit up at Hiko's words, he seemed almost jittery.

"Of course! Of course!" He clasped his hands together, "It has been ages since we have been so privileged to have a woman of such beauty fitted in our finest masterpiece. It shall be my pleasure to make sure she is taken care of as if she were royalty." Her face had slightly paled, at the man's very flamboyant gestures and speech. She had never been spoken of in such ways, let alone that she was a beauty. And if she were so, how could she be even beautiful with her current state? Her thoughts were interrupted by the man gently placing his hand just below the back of her neck, pushing her forward, "Come now…"

"Kamiya Kaoru." The hand on her back made her uncomfortable, and she shied away from his touch. Kenshin took note of this and stated, "Morikawa-san, she has been through many trials recently, please do not make her uncomfortable." And then made a small gesture with his hand towards her back, "Ah, of course." Then, he refrained from touching her, "I will take her upstairs to the ladies."

"Kamiya-san should be ready at the specified time." Hiko reminded the clothing designer.

The man bowed, and then said, "If you two gentlemen would wait a few more moments, I shall have my attendants come to prepare Himura-sama." And then he turned his attention back to Kaoru, "Follow me, Kamiya-sama, right this way." And with that, the two disappeared through a small doorway.

Kenshin said, "Sometimes, I really don't like him."

Looking down, amusement was in Hiko's eyes, "Don't tell me she's growing on you? Affection can not-"

"No. I just wish to respect her. And she dislikes being touched by men." As he finished the sentence, another man entered, and said, "Himura-san, please follow me."

"See you after the mission Hiko." Then, Kenshin disappeared in a doorway, just as Kaoru had. Hiko chuckled, and then left the establishment.

What she had thought was simply a clothing store, was much more than that. The many upper floors contained many different things. Right now, Kaoru was relaxing in a bathtub. After being escorted upstairs, the man called Morikawa being careful not to touch her, she had been greeted by two women, one who looked around Kaoru's age, and another probably about ten years older, and left with them.

One woman led her towards what was a bathroom, the younger girl remaining behind. Kaoru was told to take her time taking a shower and cleaning up. The blue eyed girl was greatly pleased to hear that. She was shocked at how huge the place was. The shower had been luxurious, hot water pouring over her sore body. Her ruined clothes were now wadded up in a ball in a corner, her katana resting on a sink.

Now, Kaoru felt her muscles loosen, and she relished in the heat, soaking it all up. The tub was enormous, and the water rose all the way up to her chin. She decided she had been long enough, having already been in the water close to twenty minutes, and stood up, the water dripping from her body. She reached for a fluffy, white towel, and wrapped it around herself. Her wet hair was pulled back in a low bun, and she left it that way.

After picking up her sword, she walked to the door, and opened it a crack. Sticking her head out, she looked left and right, and seeing the elder woman sitting on a bench reading a magazine, Kaoru said, "Excuse me!"

The woman looked up and smiled gently, "Come on out, there are no men up here. We have a yukata ready for you." Hesitating a moment, the girl left the room and followed her elder to another room, where indeed, a yellow yukata with red flowers printed on it waited for her, "I will be outside. When you are finished changing please come out and we will continue to prepare you for tonight." Bowing, she then left the room. Kaoru quickly put on the garment over her naked body, and tied the red obi firmly. There were slippers waiting at the door as well, which felt very comfortable on her feet.

Leaving the room, the woman again stood from her post, and then gestured for Kaoru to follow her to another room. What happened next was something she had never before experienced. The younger woman joined the two, and they sat her down on a very comfortable cushion that rested on the tatami covered floor, taking her weapon and setting it against the wall. The room was gently heated, not warm enough to be stifling but enough to keep out the chill. They let loose her long hair, and while one woman began to brush her locks, the younger one faced her and said that she was going to treat her wrist with some medications, and then proceed to apply make up.

The medicine stung as it was used on the small, but nasty wound. At least what looked like the starts of infection, would no longer be at risk. Then, with clean strips of cloth, her wrist was firmly wrapped up. The brushing of her hair was soothing. The gentle hands did not pull the brush to hard, but was not to soft, the gentle tug giving her a sensation she had never felt. Her hair was dry and she felt hands begin to divide her hair into sections, and begin to toy with her locks.

Meanwhile, cosmetics had been brought out, "Are you hungry? I think it would be best if you go ahead and eat before we begin with your face, so that you may brush your teeth afterwards?" The simple question made her realize how hungry she really was. She had had nothing to eat since the day before, "Thank you, I am hungry." She laughed internally at the brushing her teeth part. She would like that too. The young woman bowed and then left the room, while the other woman continued to prepare the coiffure.

All of this was so relaxing. It had been years since she had been able to just relax and allow people to take care of her. About five minutes later, the girl brought in a tray with several choices of food, all of the options were light, but Kaoru knew they would fill her up. The tray was sat down in front of her, and she picked up the chopsticks that rest in between the petals of a crystal flower. She was careful not to move to much, so not to bother the woman fixing her hair. After about ten minutes, the bowl of rice, miso soup, and fish had been devoured, and the girl felt quite satisfied.

"Kamiya-san, your hair is finished, so, if you wish it, you may return to the bathroom, and take care of any needs. When you are done, please return here, so that I may put some finishing touches to it, and your face can be made up." Nodding her thanks, she stood up, and left the room, putting on her slippers as she entered the hallway. Definitely something different.

When Kaoru stepped into the luxurious bathroom again, she found that all the steam from the shower and bath had been vented out of the room, so no humidity filled the air. At the sink, there was a toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as a bar of soap and a towel. And like the other rooms, there was no mirror. I guess they want me to wait to see myself? With that, she quickly brushed her teeth and washed her hands. After doing so, she returned to the room, and hairspray and several other products were put into her hair, as well as a sweet smelling oil of sorts. Meanwhile, her make up was being applied, and after another thirty minutes, she was done.

"And now, we will take you to put on your kimono. Please, follow us."

It was nine in the evening. Kenshin stood in the lobby waiting for her. He was finely clad in black traditional clothing, white lining the sleeves and collar of the gi, his hair pulled back high, and his sword worn at his side. The appointed time to arrive at their location was ten, and knowing Tokyo, traffic would not be nice. If they were late, that was ok, but they needed to be there so that the assignment could be carried out by one in the morning. He didn't exactly know how Kaoru would react to what her role was going to be.

His ears perked, and his gold eyes turned, at the sound of footsteps, "About time, we're running-" The man's words were cut short by the appearance of her. She was escorted into the lobby by Morikawa, and was a sight to see. The kimono she wore was of crimson. The long sleeves were edged with little golden six point stars, as was the collar and hem. Her feet barely peaked out from the hem, her hands were hidden by the sleeves, as she clasped them in front of her. The obi was of a matching gold color with that of the stars, and the rope that was tied around the obi, was black. The lining of her undergarments that peaked out from the collar were black. Her hair was done up in a difficult coiffure, with a decoration of a butterfly placed at the back of her hair. Her lips were painted red, her eyes outlined in black on top, red underneath, done so precariously that it made her blue eyes stand out, rather than look like they were bleeding. The corners of her eyes glittered gold in the light of the chandelier. To finish off the look, her katana adorned her hip.

"Ahem…" Himura managed to say, "We need to leave now." Kaoru nodded, and walked towards him, and then she turned around and told Morikawa, "Thank you." And then continued to leave the building with Kenshin. He held his arm out towards her, and she had accepted it. She still had not seen herself, but she assumed it was impressive, considering the assassin had been speechless for about five minutes. When they were outside, she did not even notice the cold, for the rich material of the kimono prevented it from seeping into her skin, aside from her face and neck.

A limo was waiting for them, and the two got in, and then they were on their way, "So what exactly is happening tonight?" Kaoru asked first thing. He looked into her questioning eyes, and was hesitating with what he was going to be telling her, and how he was going to do it.

"Well, we will be attending the anniversary party of the new rule, hosted by Shishio." He heard her intake of breath, but she did not let anything show through in her face, "Our mission is to be completed by one in the morning. Apparently, Shishio is planning to make an appearance, despite what happened last night."

"When is he supposed to make his appearance?"

"Midnight."

"And what is the purpose of this mission?"

He waited a few moments before answering the question, and then Kenshin replied, "We are supposed to take him out."

"Boy!" The door was burst open, and light poured into the room, slightly blinding Yahiko for a few moments, as his vision adjusted to the light. A heavy grip pulled him up off the bed, and the man said, "It's time you meet the boss." And before Yahiko could let out a complaint or refusal, he was being pulled out of the room and into a hallway. He was roughly led along, and then was finally stopped in front of a doorway. The man with a mohawk knocked and then said, "I have the boy."

"Enter…" A voice said, and then the door opened. Yahiko's vision fell upon Shishio only moments after being painfully pushed into the room. His wound seemed to getting better at least. Shortly after his waking up, it had been treated properly. If there were anything good he could say about this place, is that they treated wounds with disinfectant. His brown eyes saw not a man, but a mummy. He knew he shouldn't think badly of his enemy when in the same room… but he couldn't help it, or his wanting to laugh.

"You think this is funny do you?" The voice that came out through the bandages was calm, and then continued, "I suppose it would seem funny to one so young. I was your age once too you know, fifteen, mischievous, always one to get into trouble, full of pride. Yes… if our situations were reverse, as well as our ages, I would find the man in front of me very funny looking." Yahiko found it very stifling in the room suddenly, "But then again, you are looking into the eyes of the leader of all Japan, and the person who will soon be the one to unite all the major nations of the world, so that there will be one world power. I only need one more thing to accomplish this." The boy continued to remain silent. He was determined not to speak unless he were going to insult the guy who had hurt Kaoru so. She had taken him in two years ago, given him a home, and he could not forgive Shishio for all the pain, "Would you care to know how I am going to accomplish that?" Shishio waited a moment, "No? Well, I will tell you anyway." The kimono clad man walked towards the boy, "Ryo, leave us."

"Before I leave, sir, may I tell you some thing?"

"Is it important?"

"Very." Shishio then nodded, and Ryo continued, "Tonight, the Hitokiri Battousai and his comrade, Kamiya Kaoru will be making an appearance at the party. They plan to take you out."

"Take me out? Hahahaha! They can sure as hell try!" He grabbed Yahiko's shirt front, and pulled him forward, nearly lifting him off the ground, "With the boy alive, I am sure we will be able to negotiate something… Polaris, in exchange for the boy's life. Thank you Ryo, I was already informed of this little matter, however, this goes to show your loyalty towards me. You will be rewarded with… hmm… a new bike perhaps?" The man's eyes lit up at that, and he said, "Thank you sir." Then, the biker bowed low and left Yahiko with Shishio.

"Well then, where was I?" The dark eyes were staring into Yahiko's chocolate ones, "Ah, yes, I remember." He released his grip on the shirt and motioned for a cushion, in the now clean room, "Please, sit down, Yahiko."

"I am fine standing."

He looked at Yahiko for a moment, and then said, "Suit yourself. Now, I was about to tell you how I plan on uniting the world? Yes, your wonderful sister figure, Kaoru, has plans with her savior Hitokiri Battousai, to destroy me tonight by crashing my party. However, they will not succeed. And why is that?" Yahiko remained silent, "Because, I will force her to bring forth Polaris, demanding that Polaris never again try to kill me, that she will heal my wounds that were so painfully inflicted upon me for the second time in my life last night, and make sure that forever, Kamiya Kaoru will sleep. Polaris will use her powers whenever I demand them to be used. I alone have seen Polaris' full powers, but now, it shall not be so." Another pause to see if Yahiko had anything to say, "And how do I go about convincing her?" Silence, "Well, with you of course."

"YOU BASTARD!" Yahiko shouted out, "I would rather die than have her put through more hell! I know you will abuse her, even in the form of Polaris. You say you love her, but anything you love, or you say you love, once its purpose has expired, you destroy!"

"Oh, so you do speak? How nice. Well then, we will make you look presentable for tonight, and you shall see how things go shall you not?" And with that Shishio snapped his bandaged fingers together, and summoned forth a man, "Please prepare the boy for tonight, and make sure his wound is treated again. We don't want him to die before the end of the night."

"Yes, my lord." And then the man grabbed Yahiko's shoulder, and half dragged him out of the room, while Yahiko continued to rant and scream at Shishio in curses.

"Ahahaha, poor boy, you have no idea how powerful your bond with Kamiya is, that she would do anything for you to live on."

The car barely moved. The traffic was insane, moving at about half a meter every minute. Battousai looked at the clock that glowed gently in the radio control that was in the back seat of the car, 10:15. Kaoru noticed this, "You said that his appearance was going to be at midnight. We can't be that far from where this party is, and I'm sure the traffic is being caused by everyone going."

"Possibly." His voice was soft, "When we get there, we probably won't be recognized for who we really are. You will need to be careful to hide your katana with you sleeves however. I do know that when Shishio enters and scans the room, he will probably see you and recognize you. I hope you can negotiate with Polaris, because most likely he will try to get her out with a bribe of sorts. I don't know what he will bribe you with, but it will probably be something good." Kenshin paused and looked over at her stiff form.

He slid closer to her, and took her icy hand, and with his free hand, he placed two fingers under her chin and made her look at him, "I know Polaris wants you to sleep… but,"

"In the end… we are meant to be combined as one. I know that the last time Shishio and I had a showdown, we became two in one. I am not quite sure as to why she has suddenly had a craving to take over completely. Previously, she would have jumped at the chance to keep us combined… the only reason we didn't was because of my will." She paused to think, and then continued, "I'm sure you have noticed a few times where she seems to be there, but I am still in control? Like last night when I stabbed Shishio?" He nodded, "We were one, but I chose not to stay that way, and forced her back."

The car moved forward quickly and made a sharp turn, causing Kaoru to fall atop Kenshin. She began to laugh, and he looked bewildered. He hadn't seen her laugh like that before, in a girly way. However, the moment was cut short, as the car's brakes were slammed down and then the sound of glass and metal crunching together.

Oh I am evil! The cliffhanger of doom…. Ok, I'm over exaggerating. Did I not make this long or what? Well… its not that long, but over 10 pages and 5000+ words. I am suddenly obsessing over length…. It makes me worried. And yay, Yahiko is alive and well… even though he is gonna be used as bait. And, the climax of the story shall be occurring in the next chapter. I think this story will be finished within three chapters or so. I might make it longer though… there are two ways I can end this story.

Hmm… you'll see Aoshi and Misao some in the next chapter. So the computer is NOT fixed! It's horrible! I am gonna try and update this tomorrow at school… if I can get to the USB port in the god forsaken back of the computer. If not, well… at least this chapter has a date that it was finished. Thanks for your reviews guys! They are loved, and wow… I've got thirteen or so people watching me for alert. Tee hee…. So, keep reviewing so I will finish this baby! –and please forgive the crappy beta job-

- - - AND READ HAPPINESS IN SLAVERY! ONE CHAPTER UP… THE SECOND IM TRYING TO GET UP (CH 2 FINISHED) - - -

Hotaru

Date Finished: July 24, 2005