Author's Note:
Kenshin is slightly OOC here (from what we're used to anyway) keep in mind
the situation at the moment and the fact he is NOT Kenshin-Rurouni so he
will not act the same. Just clearing that up before I get "What in the
WORLD? WHY/HOW is Kenshin acting like that?!"
Kudos go out to my beta Regan!
As always, read, enjoy and review!
~LadyShiin
~*~
"What is on your mind, little one?" Shulya asked. She sat at her loom, her fingers pulling deftly at the threads, binding them together. The separate threads melded together beneath her fingers - they were the threads of destiny that formed the tapestry of fate that Shulya held in her hands, and she was the one who wove them.
"Many things," Kaoru murmured.
"Such as?" Shulya prompted.
"Too many things. My thoughts are all tangled up in my mind."
"Untangle them then," Shulya advised. "Sort them out and tell me what they are."
Kaoru sighed. Many threads of thought, each tinged with a different color of worry. Which one to select first to tell? Which one was hardest to sort out? Which color of worry glowed brightest? She grasped at the first one that came within reach.
"I don't understand Kenshin," Kaoru confessed. "I don't understand his motives toward me. He threatened war on Kasshin if a Princess was not sent - I'm not a Princess! I'm not a Queen either! He married me - supposedly - but it does not feel true. I'm not a Princess and I'm a Pretender-Queen. I feel like a fake."
She chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't get his actions either. He avoids me, he doesn't tell me anything and I just know he's hiding something from me. I'm being kept in the dark while everything else around me knows whatís going on - everyone but me. I hate not knowing."
"I see," Shulya smiled sympathetically.
"I just want to know . . ." Kaoru murmured. "Why does Kenshin act like he does when he's around me? What exactly is the part I have to play in all of this? What exactly is going on? Why me?" She closed her eyes. "Too many questions and not enough answers."
"That is how it must be," Shulya said softly. "That is the only way it can be."
Kaoru sighed softly, opening her eyes slightly to peer at Shulya. "No other way?"
"None," Shulya confirmed.
"I'm afraid," Kaoru told her. Her voice was low and hushed.
"Of what, little one?"
"Of everything. Of failing when the time comes to do whatever it is that I have to do. Of letting down everyone who counts on me."
"You won't," Shulya replied. "They will be there for you. They will support you. They won't allow you to falter or fail."
"That's good to know." Kaoru resumed chewing her bottom lip, her frown fading but not disappearing completely.
"You have no reason to be afraid, little one. Unsure, yes. Afraid, no." Shulya turned back to the loom and resumed her weaving. Kaoru watched her silently for several moments, sorting once more through the threads of her thoughts.
"When did I begin to remember all of this? Before my visits to you were forgotten like dreams. Now they linger and remain. Why is that?"
"Because the time is growing closer. Things are beginning to be set into motion and the Prophecy is starting to unfold itself. Already it has begun, that it has. Parts have come true and others hover there waiting." A strand of black crept closer to the interwoven blue, gold-violet, plum, and silver threads.
"It will not be easy. You will suffer and you may even die little one. But you have a chance to defeat the darkness. A chance to keep the world free. And perhaps . . . perhaps a chance is all that you need," Shulya said thoughtfully.
"Better than nothing," Kaoru agreed, but her voice lacked enthusiasm.
"Indeed it is." Shulya was silent as she concentrated on her weaving and Kaoru spoke no further, leaving her to her task.
Minutes passed . . .
Shulyaís gasped exclamation drew Kaoru out of the protective, soothing cocoon of silence that had wrapped around her. Surprised, she watched as Shulya's fingers literally flew over the loom, tightening a thread here, adding another, pulling a loosened one back into the pattern, cutting another free with a pair of silver scissors that Kaoru had never seen before.
The cause of her distress became evident as Kaoru moved toward her.
The gold-violet thread was fraying.
Kenshin's thread.
"Go!" Shulya said, her voice sharp. "You must! Quickly! Leave me now! Oh little one leave now before it is too late!"
"What's the matter? What is going on?"
"Go Kaoru, go now!" Shulya commanded, tearing her gaze away from the loom. Her silvery eyes were shimmering with what Kaoru would have named tears. "Go now! Delay would mean disaster!" She was frantic.
Kaoru.
Shulya never called her Kaoru. It was always little one, whenever she did address her. Never her name. Never.
Kaoru nodded, a lump of fear forming in her throat. "I'll go." As the decision was made she could feel the dream complying with her wish: ending.
"Hurry," Shulya whispered. "Hurry!"
~*~
For a brief disorientating moment Kaoru lay on her pallet, her vision blurry and mind sleep-fogged. Sleeping . . . dreaming . . . The dream!
She bolted upright, all traces of sleep disappearing. Her gaze jerked to the area where Kenshin slept and she found it empty.
He was gone.
He was in danger.
But how could she help him? Kenshin was far and away a better fighter than she was. What could she do to protect him? To save him?
Shulya had seemed certain she could save him - no matter how illogical it sounded that she would be the savior.
Hurry! Shulya's voice whispered through her mind as desperate as before.
Kaoru got to her feet, yanking on a pair of boots and binding the laces quickly. Her sleep-clothes were fine - no need or time to change them. Kaoru had followed the trend set by the others around her by sleeping in the clothes she wore during the day. Nightgowns were unheard of here.
She grabbed her sword that lay near the bed and tied the belt from which it hung around her waist with quick fingers. She slipped it into its loop, feeling the sheath bang against her leg with the movement. She had not taken up sleeping with her sword as Kenshin did, but rather kept it near her, close within reach.
If sheíd taken a moment to reflect (a moment she did not have) Kaoru would have been amazed at just how much she had changed since leaving Kasshin behind and coming to Hiten. The differences between the two countries were vast; it was like comparing a tame kitten to a fierce tiger.
But she did not have time for such thoughts. Her sword at her hip, Kaoru dashed out of the tent. She did not think of rousing the others - she had to get to Kenshin. Wherever he was.
It was far past the middle of the night. The moon was high and the sky beginning to lighten, the stars fading as dawn approached. The night air was chill and a cool breeze whipped in her face as she ran.
The wind carried a smell that made Kaoru's stomach clench in nausea. Death, decaying things, corpse-rotted earth. The wind swirled it around her until it was all she could smell. She could taste it in her mouth, feel it saturate her pores. It swept away from her inch by inch forward, as if beckoning her to follow.
Fighting back the bile that rose in her in her throat, she followed the wind. Wherever there was death and fighting, Kaoru knew she would find Kenshin.
The wind led her away from the encampment in the meadow, past the corral that held the horses. They were milling about nervously as she ran by, a bright sheen of sweat on their flanks and white edging their eyes.
Something was most definitely wrong.
The horses felt it too.
Kaoru lengthened her stride, her pace increasing slightly as she ran. Urgency ate at her. Shulya's warning, the scent on the wind, the actions of the horses all coupled within her.
Her feet took her where they would, past the river, almost to the mountains that curled around the meadow.
There she found Kenshin.
From where he stood all she could see of him was his back. She felt herself relax once she noticed there seemed to be no vast amounts of gushing blood, missing limbs or broken bones. Maybe he was all right; maybe she had been wrong, and Shulya, too. Kenshin didn't look to be in trouble. There was nothing wrong with him that she could tell.
That she could see . . .
Was it her imagination or did the air around Kenshin seem darker? Thicker? The edges of his form seemed blurred and black. As if darkness itself had pounced upon his body.
"Kenshin?" Kaoru said softly.
A strained-looking tremor ran through him - an odd jerked motion.
"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked again, stepping toward him.
What she saw almost made her take those steps back.
Opaque darkness had settled over him in a tight embrace. The edges wavered slightly as if touched by an unseen wind and Kaoru caught a flash of red amidst the blackness. Eyes.
The darkness spilled into Kenshin's nose and mouth. It wrapped itself around his throat and body seeking to crush and strangle, completely immobilizing him. Kenshin's golden eyes were dim, the life draining from them.
"Kenshin!" Without a thought for herself Kaoru leapt at the shadow- creature.
Her sword flashed silver as she pulled it from its sheath and it arced toward the creature. Kaoru expected it to have no effect - the body of the creature seemed as insubstantial as mist. It would simply part away from her sword unharmed, then reform to attack her rather than Kenshin.
Instead the creature let out a high pitched keen, shriller than an eagle's and many times more piercing as Kaoru's sword made contact with it. Her sword glinted blue as she hacked at the shadow, desperate to free Kenshin from it. The blackness was being cut away and Kaoru watched as it vanished into the air.
The creature released Kenshin and turned, disappearing too quickly for Kaoru's eyes to follow. It had not been killed or destroyed, merely defeated.
Kaoru slid her sword back into the sheath, the odd blue glow fading before she could take any notice of it. She dropped to her knees beside Kenshin. His eyes were wide open, glassy and unfocused. A mottling of bruises curved around his throat. Placing two fingers to the underside of his jaw Kaoru sought for his pulse and found it, weak but steady and rhythmical.
How was she supposed to get him back? Kenshin was near her height, making him quite cumbersome to drag back and she was not sure of the extent of his injuries. Movement could irritate them and cause even more complications.
Still . . . if she left him here alone there was no telling if the shadow- creature would return and attempt to kill him once again.
Torn by indecision Kaoru didn't notice Kenshin stirring, his eyes opening and closing and the life filtering back into them.
"Kao . . . ru?" Kenshin's usually smooth voice was hoarse. No wonder since the shadow-creature had been well along in its attempt to strangle him.
"Are you okay?" Stupid question to ask, Kaoru mentally kicked herself. Of course he wasn't okay!
"Aa," Kenshin murmured lowly. He braced a hand against the ground and attempted to get to his feet. Kaoru saw a flicker of pain cross his face and accompany the motion. She gently pushed him back against the ground.
"Stupid," she told him. "You're not okay! You're injured! You shouldn't be moving at all! Much less be conscious!"
Kenshin gave up his attempt to rise and simply laid back down, looking up at her with an unreadable expression on his face as she towered over him. "How did you find me?"
"I woke up and you were gone. So I followed you." Kaoru said the first thing that came to her mind. She couldn't exactly say a dream-woman she visited in her sleep had told her he was in trouble and to go save him. "I found you being leeched off of by some kind of shadow-creature."
"And you defeated it?" There was a note of surprise in Kenshin's voice.
Kaoru shook her head. "Not really. More like I drove it off." She gazed around her surroundings warily, half expecting the shadow-creature to pop out of the ground and not be too surprised if it actually did. "I hope it doesn't come back."
"It won't," Kenshin said. "Demons don't like sunlight much and it was not very strong."
The sky was beginning to brighten and Kaoru could see a few stray flickers of golden light as the sun began its ascent. "How did it overpower you then if it was not very strong?"
A look she would have almost called sheepish had it appeared on any other face but Kenshin's crossed his. "I did not expect it would try and possess me."
"Oh." There really wasn't much else Kaoru could say to that, except berate him some more for being such an idiot. But Kenshin looked beat up enough already. He didn't need a tongue lashing from her, though she knew he was going to get one from Megumi.
Kaoru turned her gaze to the sky. Dawn was spilling across it. The light was growing brighter, the darkness quickly diminishing and disappearing.
"How do you propose we get back?" she asked Kenshin.
"By walking," he said practically.
Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Well I didn't expect we'd fly. But you're injured. You shouldn't be moving at all."
"I'll be fine."
"Not until you get some healing. Megumi will skin me alive if I move you. You are not fine."
"I said I'm fine, Kaoru." Kenshin's golden eyes were flashing. "I'm fine!"
"You can't even get up Kenshin," Kaoru pointed out. "You probably have a couple sprained - if not broken - ribs as well. You are not fine." Kaoru rubbed at her face in aggravation. They were getting nowhere and arguing was not helping. "Stop being so stubborn."
"How do you propose we get back then?" Kenshin turned her question back on her.
"I don't know."
Kenshin snorted. "Well that's as good an answer as any."
Kaoru raised an eyebrow in annoyance. She never would have guessed that Kenshin could be like this: irritating, arrogant and a pain in the butt. She really hoped he was acting this way because he was in pain. If this was the way he usually acted (when he wasn't aloof and as distant as a ten foot pole) Kaoru would make sure to beat it out of him.
"Don't bite my head off," she snapped, her temper rising to match his. "I didn't ask for you to go off hunting demons or whatever it was you were doing."
"I didn't ask for you to follow me."
"Lucky for you I did! You could at least be grateful!" She seethed.
Kenshin didn't reply and Kaoru didn't expect him to. Arrogant, selfish, jerk! She fumed.
"Thanks," his voice was low.
"What?" Kaoru asked.
"I said thanks," he ground out.
"Oh. You're welcome," Kaoru blinked.
"That still doesn't solve the problem of getting back since I can't move." Kenshin's eyes narrowed to a mild glare as he spoke. "And I highly doubt you can carry me."
"I can't carry you," Kaoru said in agreement. An idea occurred to her. "Could you lean on me?"
"Lean on you?" Kenshin mused. "I suppose."
"Best chance we have unless you want to stay here for hours, waiting for someone and not sure when or if someone will come looking for us."
"You could just walk back yourself."
"I don't want to leave you alone," Kaoru protested.
"I'll be fine -" Kenshin started but Kaoru cut him off.
"Stop already! You are not fine!"
Kenshin made a soft grumbling sound in his throat and Kaoru's lips twitched into a smile at the sound. He sounded like an offended cat and the analogy was apt when his catlike golden eyes and aloof mannerisms were added to the picture.
"Here." She held out both hands to Kenshin and bent over him slightly, bracing herself. "Grab my hands and I'll pull you up."
Silently Kenshin did so and Kaoru tugged as hard as she could, pulling him to his feet. He swayed slightly and she threw one of his arms over her shoulder to help keep him standing. Kenshin let out a soft hiss as he put weight on his left leg.
"You okay?" Kaoru asked in concern.
"My ankle," he muttered.
"Nothing we can do about it now. We'll have Megumi look at it later when we get back."
Kenshin nodded in agreement and they started off.
"What happened to your sword?" Kaoru asked after they had gotten a few feet.
"Demon absorbed it," Kenshin grumbled.
"Absorbed it?" Kaoru asked, eyes widening.
"Yes."
"Then how come mine was able to have an effect on it?"
"I don't know."
"Lovely," Kaoru muttered. "One more mystery to add to the mix."
Kenshin quirked an eyebrow at her and she took it as an invitation to talk. Since they were stuck together for however long it would take to get back she might as well try to pull some answers out of him.
"Can I ask you a few questions?"
"Sure."
"Promise to answer them?"
"It depends on the content of the question," he said smoothly.
Kaoru glowered at him. "Will you answer my questions or not?"
"Fine."
Yes, progress! Kaoru mentally congratulated herself. "Why did you want a Kasshin Royal Princess?"
"Because Tomoe told me to."
"Tomoe?" She knew Tomoe had something to do with all of this but never thought it would be because of Tomoe that she was here. "What does Tomoe have to do with all of this?"
"Tomoe is a Seer, an Oracle if you wish."
"Oh. So Tomoe told you to demand a Kasshin Princess?"
"Yes."
"But why threaten war on Kasshin?"
"Do you honestly think Kasshin would willingly hand over a Princess unless it was threatened?" Kenshin retorted.
"No," Kaoru sighed. "But I hate to break it to you - I'm not a princess. I'm a bastard child . . . my father was a prince and my mother a servant. Not royal at all."
Kenshin didn't say anything. Kaoru fought the urge to scream. Talk! Comment on what I've just said! Say something!
She sighed.
Kenshin glanced at her. "What?"
"Nothing . . ." You're aloof and uncaring and it's like pulling teeth to get a word out of you. Oh no Kenshin there's nothing wrong. Nothing wrong at all.
"You're troubled by something."
"You're so perceptive." Kaoru fought the urge to snap.
"What's the matter?"
"Are you actually showing concern toward me for once?"
Kenshin blinked, looking surprised. "For once?"
"Yes, for once! Honestly you act like I don't seem to matter at all. Like I'm nothing to you! You make me a Queen - your Queen - for reasons only the gods know and then you proceed to ignore me. You never speak to me, and you never tell me anything!"
"What would you like me to tell you?" Kenshin asked.
"Everything!" Kaoru shot back. "What is going on? What is the real reason I'm here?"
"You want to know everything?" he asked.
"Yes," Kaoru said without hesitation.
"Fine then. I'll tell you everything."
~*~
::Ducks head:: Can we say cliffhanger? Yep! Don't worry I'm not evil (not much anyway) ::tries to look innocent:: Bleh... don't think it's working! ^.^
Reviewer Responses: KawaiiChica: ^.^ You take care too and thanks! Bonessasan: Nope not given up at all ^.~ This is fic is going to keep coming and starting to go places! Fanfiction Wanderer: Eeep! No falling that's a bad thing! ^.^ One Black Tear: Glad you love it. I'm going to keep on writing more you can be sure of that. Tan-chan!: Yay! CDRS! ^.^ You've struck gold with that fic I absolutely adore it ::grin:: Can't wait for the next chapter type fast and you're computer better behave! - I loved that line in the last chapter as well I started laughing as I wrote it (goes the same for me too considering the way my gelding and mare act toward each other - or just my gelding. Smokey is absolutely besotted with Dancer ^.^ it's so cute! - though she can't stand him) Fyyrrose: ::hugs:: Thanks! SoonChaos: ::jots books down:: I shall read! Firefly: Oooh! Kenshin on top! ^.^ ::types madly:: Idyllic Bliss: Wait and see ::grin:: Hoshi-ni-onegai: I actually like Enishi (my Sky Dweller fans faint from shock) - I loved the fight between him and Kenshin in Seishouhen though his dub voice was pure and utter crud. He sounded like he had a Southern Accent! (No offense to those with Southern accents - I have an Irish one - just it was totally wrong for his character ~.~;) MoonlightPrincess003: As fast as I can! Crescent Wolf: Sorry if it's confusing (kinda meant to be that way) if you don't get anything feel free to ask. Val: Yep Tomoe knows everything ::grin:: and Kenshin will start developing a personality (besides being an aloof jerk) - he's not the happy cheerful Rurouni in this fic so please keep that in mind ^.^ Mia: Glad you love it! Teddy Grahms: O.o; Patented Update Dance? Awesome-ness! Poppy2: Yep sorry to break it to you but you will have to wait and see I'm not giving away anything ::hugs:: Crystal Renee: Eep! No going psycho! ::placates with brownies and hot chocolate:: Kyia Star: Exactly LOL! Califpinay3001: Thanks! Rekka's Angel: ^.^ - all Shiin-chan can do at the moment is smile - she's hyper at the moment. Hitokiri-miao miao: Yep Shulya is the woman that appears in Kaoru's dreams. HoNeyZ_RiNoA: Thanks on all counts! Scarlet Rayne: Yep sorta medievel-ish setting ^.^ what can I say I'm a history maniac and a fantasy freak it combines. Snow White Hyatt: ::pats back:: Sorry I can't let Tomoe die just yet she's a bit too essential to the story at the moment. Pia Bartolini: :X lips are sealed as to who's going to train her. Keirran: X.X pom pom = bad memories - think a VERY, VERY caffeine high Jessie and add poms to the mix ~.~;; I scarred people for life that day and got a new nickname: Pixie Ixchen: Glad you're happy it makes me feel good ^.^ Irksome One: It's okay you missed the last chapter ^.^ Thanks for reviewing! JML: ^.^ Thanks!! The Girl Who Cried Oro: O.o; suddenly the song "You Say it Best When You Say Nothing at All" started playing in my head O.O weirdness... Curls of Serenity: Yeah well she did kill the guy u.u; blame the family!
~*~
Kudos go out to my beta Regan!
As always, read, enjoy and review!
~LadyShiin
~*~
"What is on your mind, little one?" Shulya asked. She sat at her loom, her fingers pulling deftly at the threads, binding them together. The separate threads melded together beneath her fingers - they were the threads of destiny that formed the tapestry of fate that Shulya held in her hands, and she was the one who wove them.
"Many things," Kaoru murmured.
"Such as?" Shulya prompted.
"Too many things. My thoughts are all tangled up in my mind."
"Untangle them then," Shulya advised. "Sort them out and tell me what they are."
Kaoru sighed. Many threads of thought, each tinged with a different color of worry. Which one to select first to tell? Which one was hardest to sort out? Which color of worry glowed brightest? She grasped at the first one that came within reach.
"I don't understand Kenshin," Kaoru confessed. "I don't understand his motives toward me. He threatened war on Kasshin if a Princess was not sent - I'm not a Princess! I'm not a Queen either! He married me - supposedly - but it does not feel true. I'm not a Princess and I'm a Pretender-Queen. I feel like a fake."
She chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't get his actions either. He avoids me, he doesn't tell me anything and I just know he's hiding something from me. I'm being kept in the dark while everything else around me knows whatís going on - everyone but me. I hate not knowing."
"I see," Shulya smiled sympathetically.
"I just want to know . . ." Kaoru murmured. "Why does Kenshin act like he does when he's around me? What exactly is the part I have to play in all of this? What exactly is going on? Why me?" She closed her eyes. "Too many questions and not enough answers."
"That is how it must be," Shulya said softly. "That is the only way it can be."
Kaoru sighed softly, opening her eyes slightly to peer at Shulya. "No other way?"
"None," Shulya confirmed.
"I'm afraid," Kaoru told her. Her voice was low and hushed.
"Of what, little one?"
"Of everything. Of failing when the time comes to do whatever it is that I have to do. Of letting down everyone who counts on me."
"You won't," Shulya replied. "They will be there for you. They will support you. They won't allow you to falter or fail."
"That's good to know." Kaoru resumed chewing her bottom lip, her frown fading but not disappearing completely.
"You have no reason to be afraid, little one. Unsure, yes. Afraid, no." Shulya turned back to the loom and resumed her weaving. Kaoru watched her silently for several moments, sorting once more through the threads of her thoughts.
"When did I begin to remember all of this? Before my visits to you were forgotten like dreams. Now they linger and remain. Why is that?"
"Because the time is growing closer. Things are beginning to be set into motion and the Prophecy is starting to unfold itself. Already it has begun, that it has. Parts have come true and others hover there waiting." A strand of black crept closer to the interwoven blue, gold-violet, plum, and silver threads.
"It will not be easy. You will suffer and you may even die little one. But you have a chance to defeat the darkness. A chance to keep the world free. And perhaps . . . perhaps a chance is all that you need," Shulya said thoughtfully.
"Better than nothing," Kaoru agreed, but her voice lacked enthusiasm.
"Indeed it is." Shulya was silent as she concentrated on her weaving and Kaoru spoke no further, leaving her to her task.
Minutes passed . . .
Shulyaís gasped exclamation drew Kaoru out of the protective, soothing cocoon of silence that had wrapped around her. Surprised, she watched as Shulya's fingers literally flew over the loom, tightening a thread here, adding another, pulling a loosened one back into the pattern, cutting another free with a pair of silver scissors that Kaoru had never seen before.
The cause of her distress became evident as Kaoru moved toward her.
The gold-violet thread was fraying.
Kenshin's thread.
"Go!" Shulya said, her voice sharp. "You must! Quickly! Leave me now! Oh little one leave now before it is too late!"
"What's the matter? What is going on?"
"Go Kaoru, go now!" Shulya commanded, tearing her gaze away from the loom. Her silvery eyes were shimmering with what Kaoru would have named tears. "Go now! Delay would mean disaster!" She was frantic.
Kaoru.
Shulya never called her Kaoru. It was always little one, whenever she did address her. Never her name. Never.
Kaoru nodded, a lump of fear forming in her throat. "I'll go." As the decision was made she could feel the dream complying with her wish: ending.
"Hurry," Shulya whispered. "Hurry!"
~*~
For a brief disorientating moment Kaoru lay on her pallet, her vision blurry and mind sleep-fogged. Sleeping . . . dreaming . . . The dream!
She bolted upright, all traces of sleep disappearing. Her gaze jerked to the area where Kenshin slept and she found it empty.
He was gone.
He was in danger.
But how could she help him? Kenshin was far and away a better fighter than she was. What could she do to protect him? To save him?
Shulya had seemed certain she could save him - no matter how illogical it sounded that she would be the savior.
Hurry! Shulya's voice whispered through her mind as desperate as before.
Kaoru got to her feet, yanking on a pair of boots and binding the laces quickly. Her sleep-clothes were fine - no need or time to change them. Kaoru had followed the trend set by the others around her by sleeping in the clothes she wore during the day. Nightgowns were unheard of here.
She grabbed her sword that lay near the bed and tied the belt from which it hung around her waist with quick fingers. She slipped it into its loop, feeling the sheath bang against her leg with the movement. She had not taken up sleeping with her sword as Kenshin did, but rather kept it near her, close within reach.
If sheíd taken a moment to reflect (a moment she did not have) Kaoru would have been amazed at just how much she had changed since leaving Kasshin behind and coming to Hiten. The differences between the two countries were vast; it was like comparing a tame kitten to a fierce tiger.
But she did not have time for such thoughts. Her sword at her hip, Kaoru dashed out of the tent. She did not think of rousing the others - she had to get to Kenshin. Wherever he was.
It was far past the middle of the night. The moon was high and the sky beginning to lighten, the stars fading as dawn approached. The night air was chill and a cool breeze whipped in her face as she ran.
The wind carried a smell that made Kaoru's stomach clench in nausea. Death, decaying things, corpse-rotted earth. The wind swirled it around her until it was all she could smell. She could taste it in her mouth, feel it saturate her pores. It swept away from her inch by inch forward, as if beckoning her to follow.
Fighting back the bile that rose in her in her throat, she followed the wind. Wherever there was death and fighting, Kaoru knew she would find Kenshin.
The wind led her away from the encampment in the meadow, past the corral that held the horses. They were milling about nervously as she ran by, a bright sheen of sweat on their flanks and white edging their eyes.
Something was most definitely wrong.
The horses felt it too.
Kaoru lengthened her stride, her pace increasing slightly as she ran. Urgency ate at her. Shulya's warning, the scent on the wind, the actions of the horses all coupled within her.
Her feet took her where they would, past the river, almost to the mountains that curled around the meadow.
There she found Kenshin.
From where he stood all she could see of him was his back. She felt herself relax once she noticed there seemed to be no vast amounts of gushing blood, missing limbs or broken bones. Maybe he was all right; maybe she had been wrong, and Shulya, too. Kenshin didn't look to be in trouble. There was nothing wrong with him that she could tell.
That she could see . . .
Was it her imagination or did the air around Kenshin seem darker? Thicker? The edges of his form seemed blurred and black. As if darkness itself had pounced upon his body.
"Kenshin?" Kaoru said softly.
A strained-looking tremor ran through him - an odd jerked motion.
"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked again, stepping toward him.
What she saw almost made her take those steps back.
Opaque darkness had settled over him in a tight embrace. The edges wavered slightly as if touched by an unseen wind and Kaoru caught a flash of red amidst the blackness. Eyes.
The darkness spilled into Kenshin's nose and mouth. It wrapped itself around his throat and body seeking to crush and strangle, completely immobilizing him. Kenshin's golden eyes were dim, the life draining from them.
"Kenshin!" Without a thought for herself Kaoru leapt at the shadow- creature.
Her sword flashed silver as she pulled it from its sheath and it arced toward the creature. Kaoru expected it to have no effect - the body of the creature seemed as insubstantial as mist. It would simply part away from her sword unharmed, then reform to attack her rather than Kenshin.
Instead the creature let out a high pitched keen, shriller than an eagle's and many times more piercing as Kaoru's sword made contact with it. Her sword glinted blue as she hacked at the shadow, desperate to free Kenshin from it. The blackness was being cut away and Kaoru watched as it vanished into the air.
The creature released Kenshin and turned, disappearing too quickly for Kaoru's eyes to follow. It had not been killed or destroyed, merely defeated.
Kaoru slid her sword back into the sheath, the odd blue glow fading before she could take any notice of it. She dropped to her knees beside Kenshin. His eyes were wide open, glassy and unfocused. A mottling of bruises curved around his throat. Placing two fingers to the underside of his jaw Kaoru sought for his pulse and found it, weak but steady and rhythmical.
How was she supposed to get him back? Kenshin was near her height, making him quite cumbersome to drag back and she was not sure of the extent of his injuries. Movement could irritate them and cause even more complications.
Still . . . if she left him here alone there was no telling if the shadow- creature would return and attempt to kill him once again.
Torn by indecision Kaoru didn't notice Kenshin stirring, his eyes opening and closing and the life filtering back into them.
"Kao . . . ru?" Kenshin's usually smooth voice was hoarse. No wonder since the shadow-creature had been well along in its attempt to strangle him.
"Are you okay?" Stupid question to ask, Kaoru mentally kicked herself. Of course he wasn't okay!
"Aa," Kenshin murmured lowly. He braced a hand against the ground and attempted to get to his feet. Kaoru saw a flicker of pain cross his face and accompany the motion. She gently pushed him back against the ground.
"Stupid," she told him. "You're not okay! You're injured! You shouldn't be moving at all! Much less be conscious!"
Kenshin gave up his attempt to rise and simply laid back down, looking up at her with an unreadable expression on his face as she towered over him. "How did you find me?"
"I woke up and you were gone. So I followed you." Kaoru said the first thing that came to her mind. She couldn't exactly say a dream-woman she visited in her sleep had told her he was in trouble and to go save him. "I found you being leeched off of by some kind of shadow-creature."
"And you defeated it?" There was a note of surprise in Kenshin's voice.
Kaoru shook her head. "Not really. More like I drove it off." She gazed around her surroundings warily, half expecting the shadow-creature to pop out of the ground and not be too surprised if it actually did. "I hope it doesn't come back."
"It won't," Kenshin said. "Demons don't like sunlight much and it was not very strong."
The sky was beginning to brighten and Kaoru could see a few stray flickers of golden light as the sun began its ascent. "How did it overpower you then if it was not very strong?"
A look she would have almost called sheepish had it appeared on any other face but Kenshin's crossed his. "I did not expect it would try and possess me."
"Oh." There really wasn't much else Kaoru could say to that, except berate him some more for being such an idiot. But Kenshin looked beat up enough already. He didn't need a tongue lashing from her, though she knew he was going to get one from Megumi.
Kaoru turned her gaze to the sky. Dawn was spilling across it. The light was growing brighter, the darkness quickly diminishing and disappearing.
"How do you propose we get back?" she asked Kenshin.
"By walking," he said practically.
Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Well I didn't expect we'd fly. But you're injured. You shouldn't be moving at all."
"I'll be fine."
"Not until you get some healing. Megumi will skin me alive if I move you. You are not fine."
"I said I'm fine, Kaoru." Kenshin's golden eyes were flashing. "I'm fine!"
"You can't even get up Kenshin," Kaoru pointed out. "You probably have a couple sprained - if not broken - ribs as well. You are not fine." Kaoru rubbed at her face in aggravation. They were getting nowhere and arguing was not helping. "Stop being so stubborn."
"How do you propose we get back then?" Kenshin turned her question back on her.
"I don't know."
Kenshin snorted. "Well that's as good an answer as any."
Kaoru raised an eyebrow in annoyance. She never would have guessed that Kenshin could be like this: irritating, arrogant and a pain in the butt. She really hoped he was acting this way because he was in pain. If this was the way he usually acted (when he wasn't aloof and as distant as a ten foot pole) Kaoru would make sure to beat it out of him.
"Don't bite my head off," she snapped, her temper rising to match his. "I didn't ask for you to go off hunting demons or whatever it was you were doing."
"I didn't ask for you to follow me."
"Lucky for you I did! You could at least be grateful!" She seethed.
Kenshin didn't reply and Kaoru didn't expect him to. Arrogant, selfish, jerk! She fumed.
"Thanks," his voice was low.
"What?" Kaoru asked.
"I said thanks," he ground out.
"Oh. You're welcome," Kaoru blinked.
"That still doesn't solve the problem of getting back since I can't move." Kenshin's eyes narrowed to a mild glare as he spoke. "And I highly doubt you can carry me."
"I can't carry you," Kaoru said in agreement. An idea occurred to her. "Could you lean on me?"
"Lean on you?" Kenshin mused. "I suppose."
"Best chance we have unless you want to stay here for hours, waiting for someone and not sure when or if someone will come looking for us."
"You could just walk back yourself."
"I don't want to leave you alone," Kaoru protested.
"I'll be fine -" Kenshin started but Kaoru cut him off.
"Stop already! You are not fine!"
Kenshin made a soft grumbling sound in his throat and Kaoru's lips twitched into a smile at the sound. He sounded like an offended cat and the analogy was apt when his catlike golden eyes and aloof mannerisms were added to the picture.
"Here." She held out both hands to Kenshin and bent over him slightly, bracing herself. "Grab my hands and I'll pull you up."
Silently Kenshin did so and Kaoru tugged as hard as she could, pulling him to his feet. He swayed slightly and she threw one of his arms over her shoulder to help keep him standing. Kenshin let out a soft hiss as he put weight on his left leg.
"You okay?" Kaoru asked in concern.
"My ankle," he muttered.
"Nothing we can do about it now. We'll have Megumi look at it later when we get back."
Kenshin nodded in agreement and they started off.
"What happened to your sword?" Kaoru asked after they had gotten a few feet.
"Demon absorbed it," Kenshin grumbled.
"Absorbed it?" Kaoru asked, eyes widening.
"Yes."
"Then how come mine was able to have an effect on it?"
"I don't know."
"Lovely," Kaoru muttered. "One more mystery to add to the mix."
Kenshin quirked an eyebrow at her and she took it as an invitation to talk. Since they were stuck together for however long it would take to get back she might as well try to pull some answers out of him.
"Can I ask you a few questions?"
"Sure."
"Promise to answer them?"
"It depends on the content of the question," he said smoothly.
Kaoru glowered at him. "Will you answer my questions or not?"
"Fine."
Yes, progress! Kaoru mentally congratulated herself. "Why did you want a Kasshin Royal Princess?"
"Because Tomoe told me to."
"Tomoe?" She knew Tomoe had something to do with all of this but never thought it would be because of Tomoe that she was here. "What does Tomoe have to do with all of this?"
"Tomoe is a Seer, an Oracle if you wish."
"Oh. So Tomoe told you to demand a Kasshin Princess?"
"Yes."
"But why threaten war on Kasshin?"
"Do you honestly think Kasshin would willingly hand over a Princess unless it was threatened?" Kenshin retorted.
"No," Kaoru sighed. "But I hate to break it to you - I'm not a princess. I'm a bastard child . . . my father was a prince and my mother a servant. Not royal at all."
Kenshin didn't say anything. Kaoru fought the urge to scream. Talk! Comment on what I've just said! Say something!
She sighed.
Kenshin glanced at her. "What?"
"Nothing . . ." You're aloof and uncaring and it's like pulling teeth to get a word out of you. Oh no Kenshin there's nothing wrong. Nothing wrong at all.
"You're troubled by something."
"You're so perceptive." Kaoru fought the urge to snap.
"What's the matter?"
"Are you actually showing concern toward me for once?"
Kenshin blinked, looking surprised. "For once?"
"Yes, for once! Honestly you act like I don't seem to matter at all. Like I'm nothing to you! You make me a Queen - your Queen - for reasons only the gods know and then you proceed to ignore me. You never speak to me, and you never tell me anything!"
"What would you like me to tell you?" Kenshin asked.
"Everything!" Kaoru shot back. "What is going on? What is the real reason I'm here?"
"You want to know everything?" he asked.
"Yes," Kaoru said without hesitation.
"Fine then. I'll tell you everything."
~*~
::Ducks head:: Can we say cliffhanger? Yep! Don't worry I'm not evil (not much anyway) ::tries to look innocent:: Bleh... don't think it's working! ^.^
Reviewer Responses: KawaiiChica: ^.^ You take care too and thanks! Bonessasan: Nope not given up at all ^.~ This is fic is going to keep coming and starting to go places! Fanfiction Wanderer: Eeep! No falling that's a bad thing! ^.^ One Black Tear: Glad you love it. I'm going to keep on writing more you can be sure of that. Tan-chan!: Yay! CDRS! ^.^ You've struck gold with that fic I absolutely adore it ::grin:: Can't wait for the next chapter type fast and you're computer better behave! - I loved that line in the last chapter as well I started laughing as I wrote it (goes the same for me too considering the way my gelding and mare act toward each other - or just my gelding. Smokey is absolutely besotted with Dancer ^.^ it's so cute! - though she can't stand him) Fyyrrose: ::hugs:: Thanks! SoonChaos: ::jots books down:: I shall read! Firefly: Oooh! Kenshin on top! ^.^ ::types madly:: Idyllic Bliss: Wait and see ::grin:: Hoshi-ni-onegai: I actually like Enishi (my Sky Dweller fans faint from shock) - I loved the fight between him and Kenshin in Seishouhen though his dub voice was pure and utter crud. He sounded like he had a Southern Accent! (No offense to those with Southern accents - I have an Irish one - just it was totally wrong for his character ~.~;) MoonlightPrincess003: As fast as I can! Crescent Wolf: Sorry if it's confusing (kinda meant to be that way) if you don't get anything feel free to ask. Val: Yep Tomoe knows everything ::grin:: and Kenshin will start developing a personality (besides being an aloof jerk) - he's not the happy cheerful Rurouni in this fic so please keep that in mind ^.^ Mia: Glad you love it! Teddy Grahms: O.o; Patented Update Dance? Awesome-ness! Poppy2: Yep sorry to break it to you but you will have to wait and see I'm not giving away anything ::hugs:: Crystal Renee: Eep! No going psycho! ::placates with brownies and hot chocolate:: Kyia Star: Exactly LOL! Califpinay3001: Thanks! Rekka's Angel: ^.^ - all Shiin-chan can do at the moment is smile - she's hyper at the moment. Hitokiri-miao miao: Yep Shulya is the woman that appears in Kaoru's dreams. HoNeyZ_RiNoA: Thanks on all counts! Scarlet Rayne: Yep sorta medievel-ish setting ^.^ what can I say I'm a history maniac and a fantasy freak it combines. Snow White Hyatt: ::pats back:: Sorry I can't let Tomoe die just yet she's a bit too essential to the story at the moment. Pia Bartolini: :X lips are sealed as to who's going to train her. Keirran: X.X pom pom = bad memories - think a VERY, VERY caffeine high Jessie and add poms to the mix ~.~;; I scarred people for life that day and got a new nickname: Pixie Ixchen: Glad you're happy it makes me feel good ^.^ Irksome One: It's okay you missed the last chapter ^.^ Thanks for reviewing! JML: ^.^ Thanks!! The Girl Who Cried Oro: O.o; suddenly the song "You Say it Best When You Say Nothing at All" started playing in my head O.O weirdness... Curls of Serenity: Yeah well she did kill the guy u.u; blame the family!
~*~