Rain of Blood
Digi*girl: Hey all! Sorry for the loooong delay¡Kwith my exams coming up and all. Gotta study hard! Enjoy this chappy!! ^O^ Oh and happy birthday to me!!! My 14th birthday! I¡¦m so young! Hahahaha¡Kpresents! I want!
Disclaimer: RK does not belong to me.
Chapter twelve¡Xbreakdown
Kaoru looked out the window, Kenshin was beside her, packing his things. The room was silent, except for the shuffling, which Kenshin had created. Neither of them spoke for a long time.
Kaoru sighed inaudibly. Kenshin glanced at her sideways.
¡§What are you sighing about Kaoru?¡¨ he asked, stopping his packing for a moment.
¡§Iie,¡¨ Kaoru forced a smile upon her lips, ¡§Let me walk you to the front gates ne?¡¨
Kenshin kept his gaze fixed as he nodded solemnly.
As Kaoru and the Hitokiri walked hand-in-hand to the gates, Kaoru slowed, eyes watering.
¡§Kaoru?¡¨ Kenshin tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. They were full of tears.
¡§K-Kenshin¡K¡¨ she snuffled lightly.
¡§Ne Kaoru¡Kdon¡¦t cry¡K¡¨ he wiped the tear from her face and stiffened a scarcely smile for her only. ¡§I promise I¡¦ll be back.¡¨
¡§Y-you promise?¡¨
Kenshin nodded. ¡§You wait for me.¡¨
¡§Himura,¡¨ Okina approached them, his face grave. ¡§It is time.¡¨
Kenshin didn¡¦t say anything, still holding onto Kaoru¡¦s frail hand. Squeezing it for support, he suddenly became afraid.
Kaoru kept her head down, she didn¡¦t want to see Kenshin¡¦s eyes, for she knew she would drown in them and could never get out. Oh kami-sama, why do the good always brings out the bad¡K? I don¡¦t want you to go Kenshin! I truly don¡¦t!
-----==-----
Misao clutched her chest tightly, gasping for breath as she ran. Her hands held onto a tiny object like it was her life support. Her heart pounded heavily against her chest, her mind only focused on one thought.
-----==-----
¡§I¡KI want to give you something, something to remember me by.¡¨ Kaoru whispered as she untied her hair and black falls fell over to her waist gracefully. She held out the blue ribbon- the one that Kenshin had returned it to her.
Kenshin breathed in sharply, taking once again the blue ribbon, he accepted it genially as he swallowed the lump in his throat.
¡§Aoshi-sama!!¡¨ an anguish cry echoed from somewhere near. Kaoru¡¦s gaze fell upon Aoshi, who was turning his head frantically to search for a certain ninja girl. His heart hammered as the words played over in his mind.
¡§Misao!¡¨
¡§Oh kami-sama¡KAoshi!¡¨ Misao stumbled in front of Aoshi before falling into his opened arms, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
¡§Aoshi-sama¡KI¡¦m so stupid! I-I¡¦m sorry I ran away from you yesterday¡KI didn¡¦t know what to do! I thought you always see me as a little girl!¡¨ she sobbed into his chest as Aoshi smiled in realization. He stroked her hair softly.
Okina watched the scene with his clouded gray eyes.
¡§Hush now, Misao. Now you know how I feel,¡¨ Misao pulled back to reveal her sapphire eyes and stared up genuinely up at the young man. ¡§I¡¦m sorry¡K¡¨
Kaoru felt a pair of strong arms that wrapped her up, Kenshin¡¦s blood red hair brushed past her cheek as she sighed, resting her hand on his arm.
¡§Wait for me¡K¡¨ he said softly.
¡§Of course.¡¨
¡§Aoshi-sama¡KI want to give you something.¡¨ Misao held out the tiny object in her hand and he realized it was a chain, the one he gave to her when they were young.
¡§Misao?¡¨
¡§Please keep it safe. Remember me when you fight¡Kyou¡¦ll have to come back.¡¨
Aoshi nodded.
The sky darkened as Kaoru¡¦s tears flowed down her face, she put her hands over her mouth as she stared at his retreating figure. His back is like a picture, that will forever etched into her mind since the day he went off to war.
-----==-----
Thunders bolted and rain splattered. A day hasn¡¦t gone by when Kaoru haven¡¦t thought about Kenshin. It now has been the fourth week since the war, and still there were still no news.
¡§Don¡¦t worry Kaoru. They¡¦ll be fine.¡¨
Those words opened and closed each day, as Kaoru began to accept the bitter truth. There was no happiness without him. She felt tired. Her body ached for his touch again, even for a minute, a second.
Sometimes at night she would dream, of a place coated with crimson. Then it would always rain, the rain of blood. She would see Kenshin, the Hitokiri Battousai stained with cuts and bruises. And sometimes he would bleed.
¡§Kenshin!!¡¨
Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she gripped onto the futon, gasping for breath.
A dream.
It was only a dream.
Tears rolled in her eyes as Kaoru curled herself up in a ball. She felt empty.
¡§Where are you Kenshin¡K? Where are you?¡¨ she sobbed into the stillness of the night, she could only blame kami-sama for what pain and suffering she had gone through. But in reality¡Kcould she?
¡§Kenshin where are you?!¡¨ her angered yell echoed from the bottom pits of her consciousness, to where she could not tolerate.
-----==-----
Enishi placed his sword down, eyeing the land view. Everything¡¦s been erratic these days. Even the birds had gone quiet. Moreover, blurred pictures of her began to materialize before him. At times he could see a wisp of her raven hair. A touch. He couldn¡¦t help but laugh.
¡§I¡¦m going to search around the area, stay close.¡¨ He informed them coldly and went into the woods with his sword.
¡§Where are you emi?¡¨ he voiced his thoughts without much thinking as he touched the wooden bark, before tearing it down and crumpling it by his own hands.
Hate. He felt so much hate.
Then he saw those pair of laughing azure eyes, gazing at him like it was a dream. The hate and the anger were gone. All that left was affection. He reached out his hands and tried to grab the blurry image, he was so close. He could feel her presence at the place. Would he finally found the girl of his dreams and cherish her? He began to walk, as the eyes guided him. Before he knew it, he was standing before a village.
His breath was caught in his throat as the feeling became stronger than ever.
She was here.
-----==-----
¡§Want some?¡¨
¡§Thanks,¡¨ Kaoru took the rice ball in Misao¡¦s hands and nibbled at it, looking at her reflection in the river.
¡§You know what? My mother taught me when I was little,¡¨ Misao said, while eating the food as well. ¡§You know how to make them?¡¨
¡§No,¡¨ she said absent-mindedly, thinking of a certain young man.
¡§Misao,¡¨ she began softly, Misao glanced at her sideways, ¡§Nani?¡¨
¡§You know a man by the name of¡KEnishi?¡¨
Misao thought for a moment as Kaoru stopped her eating, now having her full attention on the thinking Misao. A few seconds later, she shook her head.
¡§Do you know the full name?¡¨
¡§I-I can¡¦t remember,¡¨ Kaoru buried her face in her hands. ¡§It came to me yesterday night¡Kthe name.¡¨ She breathed in heavily. ¡§It was so familiar¡Kare you sure you don¡¦t know anyone by the name of Enishi?¡¨
Misao shook her head once again. ¡§But if I have the full name, maybe I could search for you.¡¨
Kaoru smiled bitterly, ¡§Iie, it¡¦s no problem.¡¨
They were silence for a few minutes. The only sound was of the river. Misao then spoke, ¡§Do you remember anything, about the guy named Enishi? Who is he? Is a he, right?¡¨
Kaoru nodded then later shook her head, ¡§I-I don¡¦t know. All I remember was¡Kthe hatred. The anger.¡¨ The last of the Kamiya kin tried to grasp a piece of memory in the darkness, but none prevailed. She sighed frustratingly.
¡§Maybe he¡¦s your lost friend in childhood or something. It couldn¡¦t be possible if a name just suddenly pops up in your head if you don¡¦t know who they are,¡¨ Misao added, hoping to help her friend.
¡§No, it doesn¡¦t feel that way. I think that¡Kwe¡¦re deeply connected, in some way. Last night when I was sleeping, his blurred image just¡Kappeared out of nowhere.¡¨
Misao stared at her sideways, ¡§That¡¦s odd,¡¨ she commented quietly.
¡§Yes I know.¡¨ Kaoru stood up slowly, ¡§I think I¡¦m done here, I¡¦m going for a walk around the area. Don¡¦t worry, I¡¦ll be back before nightfall.¡¨ She smiled.
¡§Alright. Be careful!¡¨
-----==-----
Kaoru walked, while her mind was set on something faraway.
Who is he?
More importantly, does he even exist?
¡§I¡¦m going mad without you Kenshin no baka.¡¨ She said aloud. No one was around. So she could say or do whatever she wanted.
She stopped by a red tree remembering Kenshin¡¦s blood red locks. She smiled. Things were so different without him. She didn¡¦t know how could a Hitokiri make her feel so lost, until now. She loved him ever since that day under the rain. Simple. But she hadn¡¦t had the chance to tell him. She didn¡¦t even say ¡¥I love you¡¦ when he left. Next time when she sees him, she¡¦ll definitely say those three precious words. She vowed on it.
A wind nearby picked up, as she heart pounded against her chest.
Breathe. Her mind told her to.
Kaoru breathed in deeply, engulfed by the scent of nature around her. She closed her eyes and smiled.
Think. Reach deeply into where your heart lays, and try to grasp the vague memory. May it set you free.
Kaoru fluttered her eyes open. She looked worriedly around her as if in search of someone.
¡§Enishi¡K¡¨ she whispered. ¡§Yukishiro,¡¨ she croaked, louder this time. ¡§Enishi Yukishiro!¡¨ she shouted into nothingness.
So she ran.
Her heart pounded within her as her mind swirled.
Enishi. The man with the turquoise eyes. The man who was set to kill Kenshin¡K
¡§They knew where I live,¡¨
¡§Who?¡¨
Kenshin¡¦s face darkened.
¡§Yukishiro.¡¨
¡§Oh Kami-sama¡K¡¨ she prayed.
Then suddenly she heard footsteps. Long, steady footsteps. Her instincts overtook her as she stopped running. Her breathing became erratic and uneven.
Angst.
Her azure eyes deepened into a shade of darker blue as she searched frantically around. The footsteps were getting louder. Her heart raced.
Pain.
A stronger wind picked by as the leaves rustled in the background. She closed her eyes and tried to hear more clearly. The footsteps were gone. The person stopped. She tilted her head up as she felt another presence.
You are mine.
The leaves flew up into the sky as a loud gasp and a thud were heard in the woods.
¡§Enishi!¡¨
Muahahaha!!! A cliffhanger!! BWAHAHAHA!! Well I¡¦m sure the next chapter will be up soon after the exams are finished! Yay! Stupid damn exams¡Kwho invented them anyways? Thanks minna for all your support! You guys makes my day!