VISION
Several days passed after Kenshin had found the wounded girl by the side of the road. By now word had spread to every corner of the estate that the lord had rescued a human female and brought her home.
He insisted that his intent was to find out what had happened that night. His concerns lay first and foremost with the clan and that the human was the last surviving eye witness.
Megumi had labored continuously throughout the nights and even some days over the young woman and applied all of her skill in slowly rejuvenating her.
Kenshin had decided to keep the young woman in the room closest to his on the second floor. Aside from it being the second largest bedroom in the estate, its close proximity to him would ensure her safety from the rest. Not that anyone would dare to surpass his authority and touch a human that was under his care. The room's size also allowed Megumi to practically convert it into an intensive care space for the young woman's rehabilitation.
While she slowly recuperated and slept through the nights and days, the castle bustled on in its daily routines. Kenshin's time in this world comprised of running multi-million dollar industries during the day. The nights were filled with seduction and appeasing his burning appetite with the vital life force that his body raged for. His business conquests paled in comparison to his conquests in bed, but he was never quite satisfied. He would often think about what it was that he truly wanted and if someone like him could ever hope to attain it. He would toy with them all until a new one would attract his attention, but only momentarily until he would tire of it.
Kenshin never entered the young woman's room and had no intentions of visiting her as she rested. He had no attachments to humans and didn't desire to create any now. He'd spent centuries carrying on in his comfortable pattern and was determined not to let any one disrupt it.
Yet whenever he would retire to the sanctuary of his room, the steady beat of her heart echoed through his mind. In fact, the thumping would pervade his senses from the moment he entered the castle. No matter which corner he sought refuge in from the drumming, it would find him. He would feel the warmth radiating from her mortal flesh even through the thick stone walls between them.
Of course he could sense the heartbeats and thoughts of all mortals, but hers was much stronger and pervasive. Normally he could tune the sounds in and out as he wished, but it seemed as if hers would find him regardless of his intentions of not wanting to be found. Ignoring the sensation, he decided that he wanted nothing more to do with this mortal than just have his questions answered and send her on her way.
One evening he called a meeting with the trusted group that he'd known for centuries. They sat in the main room and comprised of: Sano, Megumi, Yahiko, Aoshi, Misao, Ninna, and Kenshin. They'd all assembled early in order to discuss their next move regarding the rumors of the wolves.
The room was flooded by the last of the setting sun's rays and the group waited for night to descend. For so long humans assumed vampires were only night stalkers, but Kenshin had realized the potential that the myth had for their survival. He wanted to remain discrete and exist in anonymity and as long as the mortals remained ignorant, his kind could move among them.
The truth was that while their powers were minimized during the day, by no means were they damned to remain only in the shadows of the night. He'd seen centuries pass as the mortals speculated on the existence of his kind. They'd always been wrong in their assumptions and so he grown to thrive on those superstitions.
"I told you Kenshin, we need to act swiftly and hunt those bastards down before they get any of us." Sano grumbled.
"And I've already told all of you that we need to think this through. After centuries of peace we can't just start wars between us and them. Besides the mangled bodies we found there's no definite proof that the attacks were from them." Kenshin replied.
"I agree with Kenshin. We need to be methodical and find out exactly what happened that night." Aoshi stated in his stoic tone.
Misao merely shook her head in agreement and looked towards their leader once more.
"What about all the rumors and sightings? We can't just go on ignoring them and pretend that they don't exist" Sano argued his temper rising as usual.
"Be quiet rooster head! All we have is circumstantial evidence, but no definite proof. Aoshi-sama is right, we need more information first" Misao retorted.
Sano dismissively crossed his arms across his chest, "Keh, suit yourselves. But I don't see why need to wait until one of those fleabags attack one of us to admit what we already suspect."
Kenshin responded only with a heavy and solemn stare in the direction of the angry man. "That's exactly why I want everyone to do as they are told. The castle will be under heavier surveillance constantly and no one is to spend excessive time outside the gates. Not until we get this all sorted out."
All were silent as they acknowledged and digested their leaders' orders.
"Who do you suppose those people were that were killed?" Ninna asked apprehensively.
"From what I gather and from the lack of news reports or police bulletins, most likely they were homeless. Usually they are considered pretty invisible and dispensable." Aoshi responded without changing his tone.
Ninna felt her stomach tighten at the gory scene Yahiko had described after surveying the area. "But why were their bodies strewn about like that?"
"Can't say for sure, but it could be a sign of retaliation against us or just a coincidence of some extremely sick group of people" Aoshi responded.
She swallowed hard, "You mean…they're taunting us?"
"Of course they are" Sano interrupted. "They came into our turf and were pretty much calling us out" his eyes darkened with fury. "Bastards…"
"Then why wouldn't have they stuck around and confronted Kenshin? Why did they just leave?" Megumi chimed in.
Everyone went quiet momentarily. Kenshin knew that while his companions were all quite strong compared to any mortal, the wolves would be a definite threat to them. "We need to concentrate on keeping our eyes and ears open for anything. Sano you have pretty good ties in the city, you should try to get some information on any developments. Aoshi you concentrate on any new developments the police may have. We'll just have to be on guard until we know exactly who or what we're dealing with."
"And hide like a scared bunch of pussys…" Sano mumbled.
Kenshin shot him a quick glance before Yahiko broke the heavy mood. "So what's the story with that girl?" he asked inquisitively.
Everyone's attention was captured instantly by the question and all eyes were set on Kenshin.
"I believe that Megumi will be best able to update us on that" he stated.
Megumi looked around the room and cleared her throat. "Well it took several blood transfusions, and we practically had to convert the room into an OR, but I think that she's recovering steadily. She's really very lucky that the company runs the hospital. Otherwise I don't know how we could've managed such a large amount of blood to be transfused into her without alerting anyone on the outside. I've also taken the liberty of having Aoshi check for any missing reports that would fit her description, but it seems that there are none. She could either be a prostitute or runaway although in either case, there should be some sort of police file on her."
"When will we be able to speak to her?" Yahiko asked.
"Yes, is she awake yet?" Ninna added.
"No, of course not. We would've all already been aware of her presence if she were conscious." Megumi replied sardonically and continued on. "I've had to keep her unconscious and heavily drugged otherwise she'd be in an immense amount of pain. She's recuperating at her own pace, and I can't say for sure how much longer it'll take although she's very lucky just to be alive."
Megumi trailed off and left a silence within the group. They thought about the young woman upstairs, heavily bandaged and what she would have to say once awake.
"Fine, with that settled you all will need to stick together when you go out during the night and even during the day." Keshin ended the statement directing his attention on Sano. "That's an order!"
The group nodded in agreement. All except Sano, who merely acknowledged him with a "Keh, fine!"
Kenshin looked around at the group and then promptly dismissed them and they all started to scatter to plan their evening. Kenshin thought about what the new night would bring his way and contemplated on remaining in the castle to continue and plan about the situation at hand. What he wanted above all was to protect them and he would do so at any cost.
As he made his way up the staircase that would lead him back to his room, Megumi walked along side him.
"Sir Ken, what do you make of all this?" she asked.
"I can't make any assumptions until I know the truth Megumi. But regardless of whether there is a threat from the wolves or not, we must always be on guard. I'm afraid that we're getting too comfortable in thinking that living in this castle will enough to shield us from the world."
The two walked in silence up the staircase, which stretched dozens of feet wide and was blanketed with a plush, red carpet. As they ascended the stairs, Kenshin noticed that Megumi was carrying her small black bag once again.
They walked down a long hallway lined with large paintings hung at intervals of every few feet.
"You're checking on her again?" he asked.
Megumi's lips curled into a discrete smile. "Yes, I would like to check on her once more for the night."
They reached the tall wooden doors leading into the slumbering girl's room. "I could use some assistance for a moment Sir Ken."
Taken off guard by the request, Kenshin struggled to respond. "I don't know how much help I would be without becoming more of an obstruction." He was happy with the excuse and for keeping his tone mellow.
"Not at all, please come in." Megumi insisted as she gently pushed open one of the doors. The woman was never used to taking no for an answer.
The room was dark except for the glowing screens of the monitors that Megumi had set up around the bed measuring heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and other vitals. Plush rugs and spreads were sprawled out on the dark wood floors. The bed was a massive king size, its tall posts had been hand carved and intricately adorned centuries ago. The heaviness of the wood was offset by the soft white sheets spread over it.
Kenshin and Megumi walked inside and he could now see the small, frail figure of the girl he'd rescued, slumbering peacefully. The young nights moonlight cascaded through the glass, French doors of the balcony entrance and bathed her in its brilliance. She had gained more color in her skin from the last time he'd seen her, and looked regal after being cleaned up and cared for. Her hair was spread around her in a black velvet blanket and he could hear her steady heartbeat clearly.
Megumi quickly went to work and first clicked on the lights bringing the grand chandelier to life. The room was flooded with the warm light as mirrors and glass glistened. The young woman seemed to glow in the new light and Kenshin couldn't seem to keep his eyes from her.
Megumi cleared her throat, "If you would please pass me a few things so I can change her bandages?"
Kenshin nodded and tore his eyes off the girl momentarily to take his place next to Megumi as she hovered over her.
Megumi gently peeled back the pristine, white sheets away from the girl's upper body. She was clothed in black, silk button down pajamas and he could now clearly see the rise and fall of her chest. Megumi slowly began to unbutton the black top from the bottom and only went about halfway up to her chest.
White, gauze bandages were wrapped around her slender waist and were slightly soaked with blood.
"Scissors" Megumi instructed.
Kenshin reached into the black bag placed at the foot of the bed and fished out a shiny pair of physician's shears. He handed them to Megumi who then began to gently cut away at the bandages.
After several snips, Kenshin could see the creamy white skin that was previously covered. Only a smaller bandaged area remained where the wound still needed to be tended to. The young woman seemed to have quite a toned form and he could clearly see her belly button just under lean abs.
His eyes darkened to deep amber and he could imagine tasting the skin there. How she would taste as his tongue would flicker up and down her soft skin and trace circles around her navel. What sweet noises she would make as his finger nails lightly traced up and down her smooth skin. He swallowed hard and bit down on his lower lip. A small trickle of blood formed under the piercing from his sharp, elongated incisor and he quickly moved his tongue over it. A familiar burning desire began to form in the pit of his stomach. It'd been hours since he'd tasted blood on his tongue and those cravings were not to be ignored.
"Kenshin!" Megumi repeated for the third time, snapping him out of his haze. "I need some cotton and that opaque white bottle to clean off her wound" she plainly instructed.
He quickly averted his eyes and fished out the requested items. Meanwhile Megumi gently removed the bandage tape and more gauze that covered the wound. Kenshin looked up after retrieving the items and saw that she had healed considerably. Megumi had done her best in stitching up the wound and Kenshin was certain that the injury would leave a lasting scar across her flesh.
As Megumi poured over cleaning off the wound and the area around it, she frowned at the gradual healing progress. "Tell me again why WE couldn't have just healed her?" she asked without looking up from her work.
Kenshin breathed heavily and looked away from the scene and out the large French doors. "She just needs to answer some questions I have. I don't want any further transformations or younglings especially in these uncertain times. Do what you can for her and hopefully we can talk to her soon."
"And if she doesn't survive?" Megumi asked, "Complications, infections, what if I can't do anything further for her?"
"Then she's just another dead human" his tone was indifferent and he continued to gaze absently out into the night.
Megumi returned to setting fresh bandages on the wound as Kenshin finally looked back at the unconscious woman. He looked towards her face and wondered what she would have to say once awake. "You need to wake up soon" he thought.
Megumi shifted the girls' torso slightly to bandage around her waist. Her strength made no work of balancing the girls' upper body off the bed as the other hand made quick work of wrapping the bandages around several times.
As she was being moved from her resting place, the girls' facial features seemed to twist slightly in pain. Kenshin's eyes narrowed on her and he concentrated on her quivering lips, but she remained unconscious. A muffled moan escaped her and Megumi looked up from finishing up on tying the knot of the bandage.
"The pain from her stitches…" she continued to speak, but Kenshin was completely unfocused on her words.
He continued to look at the girl but in his minds eye he saw much more. His thoughts went into her mind, but he wasn't sure if it was the other way around. Muscles tensing from the vision he fought to gain control. "What…what is she doing…" he thought still not wanting to alarm Megumi.
Kenshin's older and much more powerful status ensured that no other immortal could dare to read his thoughts. He was able to read the thoughts of anyone he chose, and upon consuming their blood, he could see into their memories. Even subconscious thoughts and memories unlocked before him. So how was this very mortal woman doing this to him? What was she doing to him was a better question?
He could see a woman, black hair, in fact the same black hair as the girl he'd rescued. She lay lazily across a disheveled bed in a rancid smelling, sleazy room. The air in the room was thick with smoke from cheap cigarettes and he could not immediately tell who was smoking. Was there someone else in the room besides him and her?
Slowly he made his way across the room and towards the figure on the bed. The vision blurred slightly as the colors seemed to take on a tainted red tone. The furniture and walls became a deep garnet red. He continued to make his way across the squeaking, worn wooden floor and inhaled the odor of the smoke.
As he neared, her figure came into focus and he saw that she was completely nude. She lay motionless on the bed, legs hanging over and feet barely touching the floor. Making no effort to cover herself out of shame, Kenshin looked to see if she was dead, but saw that she was breathing. Her perfectly proportioned breasts heaved up and down and her lips would part momentarily as she gasped for air. She wasn't choking though; she just seemed to be out of breath.
He was left completely perplexed at the image of her strewn carelessly across the bed and wondered if she could see or sense him.
Her eyes were closed and Kenshin licked his lips in anticipation of finally seeing her open them. He stood over the bed now, looking down at her and took in her form. Her skin took on a pale shade of pink and the sheets she lay on were blood red. The normally raven-black hair also had a tinge of red through it.
Hesitant to touch her for fear of disturbing the vision, he looked around the room to figure out the source of the nauseating smoke. In the far corner, perched on a chair, he made out a darkened silhouette of someone, decidedly male from the sheer size of the shadow. The man brought a skinny, lit cigarette to his darkened face and puffed. He let out a small cloud of smoke, which only further confused Kenshins' ability to see his face. Kenshin tensed for a moment and frowned at the darkened figure. Who was he and why was he in this room with her?
Just as Kenshin opened his mouth to demand answers, she suddenly clasped her hand on his wrist. Her grip was cold and tight as she seemed to finally begin to open her eyes. Kenshin forgot about the shadowed figure and focused his attention back down at her. Slowly her lids parted but in his centuries of seeing every creature that inhabited this world and the next, Kenshin was in shock over what he saw before him.
No pupils, no irises, just black. Her eyeballs were completely ink-black and now wide open. She clung to him for dear life it seemed and started to convulse, her eyes still wide open. He could see her mouth open and close and he struggled to read the words that fell from her lips, but failed. Her grip tightened on his wrist, but he felt himself being pulled from the vision. The smoke became thicker around them and she began to fade from view.
"Kenshin!" Megumi turned to him finally in order to catch his attention. "What's wrong with…" but he didn't wait for her to finish. He mentally shook himself for getting lost in the vision and didn't even look towards the patient resting in the bed.
"I'm sorry, I need to take care of something important", and with that he practically flew out of the room.
Finally reaching the sanctity of his private chambers, he clasped his chest in order to gain control over his senses. Panting heavily, and still seeing her naked image in his mind, he wondered about just what he'd seen.
"Shit…" he breathed heavily and only now noticed how out of breath he was. His century's old, cold heart raced with a ferocity that he hadn't even felt in battle. Her face still invaded his thoughts, as he continued to gasp for air.
"What…what was that?" he thought.
Please leave a review. Obviously there are a lot of questions, which should all be answered as the story unfolds.
Thanks to: lovelylady2all, Angel of lonelyness, margiegirl21 for the support!