Rain of Blood
Digi*girl: The font thing or weird marks is really getting on my nerv¡Khow come I can¡¦t see them? But thank you guys so much even the font is weird and you still read it!! XD Maybe try to refresh the page or something. I don¡¦t know what I did wrong to have those weird marks¡Kehh, some help maybe? And I wanted to give a special thanks to my wonderful reviewers¡KKriska and Aisuru! Cuz you guys have reviewed my story ever since my first chapter! Alright, last thing, how many people think this is a Bakamatsu fic? And how many people can see the weird marks? Raise your hand¡K
Disclaimer: RK does not belong to me.
Chapter eight¡Xdanger arising
She can¡¦t think. Her mind was not working.
She felt as if all the life had drained from her body as she stood on weak legs.
Darkness. Everywhere.
She tried to cry out, tried to move, but none prevailed.
Suddenly, a scene flashed before her.
Trees. She saw the dried leaves fell as they landed all around her. Wind. The wind was blowing. Breathe. She was standing before an old looking shrine.
A familiar feeling rushed through her body as she saw a figure a few inches away from her.
Fear.
She tried to reach the person; she commanded her legs to move.
What she saw made her breathe caught in her throat.
Blood. On the ground. On the wall like splashed paints.
Quietly, she could hear muffled sobs. Someone was crying.
She looked more closely, there was a katana lying on the ground, drenched in crimson. The cries got louder as she went towards the source of the voice. Everything was so vague, so blurry.
And suddenly, her heart stopped. She can¡¦t breathe. The person kneeling on the ground¡Kit was all too familiar. Blood seeped through his dark blue gi and his face was specked with them. Rocking back and forth, back and forth. It was then she realized he was holding someone limply in his arms. Tears fell from his eyes. Violet to amber. Amber to violet.
Everything had become clear, so painfully clear.
There, in front of her, was Kenshin. Blood splattered all over him, cuts and bruises covered his arm and face. He was crying. Kenshin was crying. The sobs she heard earlier came from him. The lifeless body coated with blood stayed in his arms as he continued to rock back and forth.
She wanted to scream, to run. Anything. But her legs stayed on the spot as tears burned her vision. Stop¡Kplease! No Kenshin!
He buried his face in strands of black hair as he held the person, afraid to let go. A hand fell limply from his grasp and landed softly on the bloody ground. Pale, the skin¡¦s so pale. Kenshin lifted his weary face up and his eyes became numb. Empty. The face of the person in his arms tilted to the side.
And then, everything stopped. The sobs stopped. The wind didn¡¦t blow anymore. Kaoru didn¡¦t need to breathe anymore, her heart can stop. The moon doesn¡¦t have to glow. The sun doesn¡¦t need to burn.
In his arms, the pale face she was seeing. Herself.
Then the sobs came again. This time, she could hear them clearly:
¡§Kaoru¡KKaoru¡Kwake up! Open your eyes¡Kplease¡Kdon¡¦t leave me¡KKaoru¡K¡¨
Darkness again.
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¡§Kenshin!¡¨ Kaoru screamed, her body bolted up and beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She breathed heavily, her conscious gained.
¡§Kaoru! Kaoru what¡¦s wrong? Are you all right?¡¨ Kenshin popped up beside her and stared worriedly into her eyes. His hands rested firmly but gently on her shoulders.
Kaoru shuddered and turned to face him, eyes tearing. Her hands went up to touch his face. Clean, no blood and bruises. ¡§Y-you¡¦re here¡K¡¨
Kenshin leaned in to her touch and whispered huskily, ¡§I¡¦m here¡Kit¡¦s only a nightmare, everything¡¦s fine now,¡¨
¡§But everything seemed so r-real¡K¡¨ she said, the images once again emerged.
¡§Tell me,¡¨ he said wearily, closing his eyes, ¡§What did you dream about?¡¨
¡§N-no¡K¡¨ she clutched onto his gi and pleaded, ¡§Please, no more¡K¡¨
Kenshin stared at her watery eyes. The way she was crying made him want to change the world for her, then everything would be all right. His eyes softened, ¡§We don¡¦t have to talk about it if you don¡¦t want to, Kaoru.¡¨ He said quietly
Kaoru nodded her head and the tears fell again. The dream, she never wanted it to happen. Ever. Yet, it seemed so real. When she met Kenshin, her whole life had changed. Kaoru started to have visions of the past.
¡§Together, we can make new memories, and erase the scars of our past.¡¨
To that Kaoru held, even it seemed like an impossible, childlike dream.
¡§Kenshin¡K¡¨ Kaoru whispered. Kenshin glanced down at her.
¡§Hold me.¡¨ Kenshin¡¦s heart skipped a beat. Kaoru was staring directly in his eyes, waiting silently. His mind spinned.
Shakily, Kenshin reached out his hand grabbing Kaoru¡¦s arm and pulled her to him. Wrapping his arms around her protectively he rested his head on her shoulder tentatively. Kaoru in return held him closely, breathing in.
¡§You smell of forest, of trees,¡¨
-----==-----
Night had fallen. The moonlight above reflected on the empty street. Kenshin looked up, there were no stars tonight. Nor was it raining.
He continued to walk in silence. His light footsteps could be heard barely as the crickets chirped from a distance. Shadows loomed over dark corners and alleys; the red haired Hitokiri lifted his head up, frowning. Eyes cold.
It was strangely quiet tonight. Not a soul dared to make its appearance.
Crack.
Kenshin snapped his head to the left, alarmed. He gripped the hilt of his katana and jumped over to the nearest tree. Staying low, he watched intently without breathing once. Covered by the leaves.
Nothing.
His instincts wouldn¡¦t betray him. Someone was there, in the dark alley. The assassin jumped down from the tree swiftly devoid of any sound as he lowered himself with his hand carefully on his katana, almost piercing through the shadowed alley with his amber eyes.
A branch snapped. Before Battousai could turn toward the sound of the voice, four shadows surrounded him. He stood in the middle, glaring coldly at the four intruders. One of them with black spiky hair grinned wickedly, ¡§Battousai,¡¨
¡§What do you want?¡¨ Battousai declared deadly.
The man laughed. Battousai threw an angry look towards the other three enemies in annoyance. His grip on his katana tightened.
¡§Pick up your katana and fight Battousai!¡¨ the one from his left roared. He stole a glance at him. Tall, skinny with brown hair.
¡§Name yourself,¡¨ Battousai said curtly as he unsheathed his katana, pointing at the browned hair.
The lofty killer smirked. ¡§Getting there aren¡¦t we Battousai?¡¨
¡§Shut up,¡¨ Battousai¡¦s eyes danced in ocher flames as he breathed in sharply. He crouched, his katana held up straight in front of him.
¡§We¡¦re going to kill you, Battousai. Whether you like it or not.¡¨ Another said.
The Hitokiri smirked coldly, ¡§Try me.¡¨
At the blink of an eye, all four lunged him. In a god-like speed Battousai leaped out from the circle as if he disappeared. The man with black hair gritted his teeth as he pulled out another sword and charged at him.
Battousai saw that coming and blocked that man¡¦s heavy blow one after another. His mind twitched as he dug under the swing of the sword and somersaulted over the killer, landing behind him. He brought his katana up prepare to crash it down when the killer whirled around to block his weighty attack.
The man was better than he thought.
But he was no match for the legendary Hitokiri.
With an angry yell, his katana cut through the air unhindered and landed with a thwack on the killer¡¦s shoulder. The man froze in shock. Battousai smirked; the man¡¦s eyes were glued to his sword. The red haired assassin gave a quick push to his katana as the hilt of the sword banged the man¡¦s chin forcefully, sending him to stumble backwards, falling to the ground.
One down, three to go. He whirled behind and saw the other three charging towards him.
-----==-----
Her chest tightened. It became hard to breathe.
Kaoru clutched her kimono tightly. Why was it so hard to breathe all of a sudden? A dreadful, horrible feeling rose in her. She sat on the futon quietly and tried to inhale and exhale deeply.
Kenshin.
The name popped up in her head all of a sudden.
¡§Kenshin¡K¡¨ she whispered. It took a second for her to sink in the meaning of the name, ¡§Kenshin!¡¨ she stood up abruptly and stared worriedly out the window.
Please¡Kwherever you are, be all right.
-----==-----
Battousai panted heavily. He was tired. The first three men were all beaten up badly, lying separately on the street. He glared coldly at the last killer, who was as tired as him as well.
¡§We¡¦re not yet finished Battousai,¡¨ the killer panted. Battousai swallowed and continue to pant. He did not have time for this.
¡§Get out of the way,¡¨ Battousai demanded threatingly.
¡§Over my dead body you will,¡¨ the killer shouted and raised up his thorny rod, preparing.
Battousai sighed frustratingly; he dashed toward the man in a flash and gave a clean cut to the arm, slashing it off. The man yelled in pain as blood swooshed out of the gash. Battousai took the time and ran, while his mind only focusing on one thought.
Run Kaoru RUN!
-----==-----
Kaoru turned her head toward the door. Something wasn¡¦t right. She walked steadily towards the exit and stopped, pausing lightly. She grabbed the nearest object and found out it¡¦s a wooden stick of some sort.
Better than nothing, she concluded inwardly. Cautiously, she touched the paper door and slid open bit by bit. She peered through the line of darkness coming from the crack and watched.
WHAM!
Three silver daggers embedded the wood behind her, Kaoru¡¦s instincts overtook her as she bent down quickly, and more daggers flew from the crack. Kaoru got up and tore the paper door open, only to be revealed by a slim looking man, staring at her in the eye. Kaoru gasped and smacked the wooden stick over the intruder forcefully.
The intruder grunted. Kaoru kicked him in the stomach and the man bent down, clutching his abdomen, while Kaoru gave another influential blow for the head with the wooden stick. At last, the man fell down to the floor, unconscious.
Kaoru smiled in triumph and disbelief. She silently thanked the wooden stick and stared down at the fallen man. Her head snapped up when she heard footsteps that came to a sudden halt. Her eyes widened.
¡§Kenshin!¡¨
¡§Kaoru¡K¡¨ he breathed. Staring in shock at the man underneath him. ¡§What the hell happened?¡¨
¡§A man wanted to attack me, so I gave him a piece of my mind.¡¨ She glared down.
Kenshin went in complete silence. This girl can take care of herself professionally. He shook his head, ¡§Kaoru pack your things, we have to leave, now.¡¨
Kaoru didn¡¦t question him; the expression on his face stated it clearly. She hurried back to the room and Kenshin came with her. While they packed their belongings quickly, Kenshin started in a low tone, ¡§They knew where I live,¡¨
¡§Who?¡¨
¡§Yukishiro.¡¨ Kenshin¡¦s face darkened as he said this name.
Kaoru froze suddenly; the kimonos fell to the ground with a soft thud.
Kenshin stared at her confusingly, ¡§Kaoru?¡¨
¡§You are mine.¡¨
¡§Kaoru.¡¨
Those turquoise eyes.
¡§Kaoru!¡¨ her head snapped up. Kenshin watched with a worried face, ¡§Daijabu?¡¨
Kaoru didn¡¦t say anything. That name. Her mind triggered something. She shook her head quickly and forced a smile, ¡§I¡¦m fine Kenshin. We should hurry.¡¨
Kenshin watched her from beside, concern etched all over his face. But time was slipping. They need to hurry. With the last glance around the quarters, Kenshin and Kaoru left.
Once again, the legendary Hitokiri Battousai disappeared into the empty streets of Tokyo. But this time, he held hand in hand with someone alongside.
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Okay¡Kso they left. And the dream that Kaoru had was suppose to be important. Oh yes I have the plot all planned out, just yesterday¡Kmuaha-muahahaha!!! *ahem* the next chapter will be called ¡¥Stained Affection¡¦. Some very, and I mean VERY mushy moments for Kenshin and Kaoru here¡Kdon¡¦t sue me please! I update the story everyday, because I kinda finished the first few chapters before I submitted them. You know, it takes COURAGE! So maybe until chapter ten the updates won¡¦t come on as everyday anymore. Maybe once every¡Kfour days? Or a week? I don¡¦t know. Thanks again!!