A/N: Look! Just like I promised, it is up and this is the first week of February. Go me! Forgive grammar mistakes because the last quarter of this chapter was rewritten in a sudden attack of plot bunnies and probably should be edited more than it has been. Rated T for vampiric activities. Enjoy!
Eternity in a Grain of Sand
Chapter 2
Slowly, Kenshin stretched away from the files cluttering his desk. Ever since that night eight months ago, he'd been searching for her in all his spare time. He'd called in his old friend Aoshi to help out. The spy and assassin was only too willing to help, providing every rumor he found of a female vampire with infinite power and raven hair.
This latest information was no less promising than anything else Kenshin had already received. It was insubstantial at best—a report on a beautiful vampire wandering the Riviera and stirring up a little local interest. The only photograph Aoshi had managed to find was from a distance and poorly focused.
Again Kenshin touched the face in the photo, wondering for the thousandth time, Are you here, Kaoru? Is this where you hide from me?
He was becoming desperate. She was all he could think of. During the day, her face haunted him, causing him to search everywhere for her hair, her eyes, her lips. Always he was turning to glance at a woman he'd spotted out of the corner of his eyes, hoping and then being disappointed when he discovered it was not her.
His preoccupation was affecting him on the job. Saitoh had commented the other day that he had barely managed to eliminate the most recent wild vamp. And what really got on Kenshin's nerves was that the wolfish man was right. One more mistake on Kenshin's part in that last fight and he probably would have died.
Even in sleep he could not escape her. More often than not, he dreamed memories, reminiscing over better days. But every dream always ended with that same cold dismissal and he woke in his bed sweating and chilled.
With sudden resolve, Kenshin decided to call upon his last and least favorite resource. He rooted his cell phone out of the clutter on his desk and dialed the long distance operator, requesting a patch to Germany. The German operator answered in turn and he gave her the number he needed. All too soon, the other line was ringing in his ear.
His heart jumped when the line clicked open and a gruff voice demanded, "What exactly is it you want, baka deshi?"
oOoOoOoOo
"Always to the point, aren't you, shishou?"
"I told you I didn't want to hear from you again unless it was absolutely necessary."
"I'm trying to find someone."
"NO! Absolutely not. I refuse to help you with that moronic job you took for the Council. Go to hell you little…"
"Shishou! This isn't for the Council. This is for me. I…I need to find her."
There was silence on the other line for a moment. "'Her'?"
Kenshin almost growled. "Yes, her."
"So you finally got over that other one dying, then?"
"No, shishou. It's the same woman. She staged her death."
"Ah. Continue."
"I saw her about eight months ago, but she ran from me. She's all I've been focusing on in my free time."
"And you still haven't found her? She must be good."
Kenshin felt an inner satisfaction at his shishou's unintentional compliment, but turned to other, more important matters.
"Shishou, you're old enough. Perhaps you've met her before. Kamiya Kaoru?"
The line was silent for a very long time. "Yes," he answered at last. "I know her."
"Have you heard any rumors of her? Anything hinting at her whereabouts."
Again, the line was silent. Finally Hiko said, "How much does she mean to you?"
"I would rebel against the Council if she asked it of me."
Hiko was quiet and Kenshin sensed he was not satisfied.
"Please, shishou. I'm not looking for her just for my own reasons. I fear for her life. The last time I saw her, she was…not herself. It was as though the life had been drained out of her. She was…a shell. I am afraid she might try to destroy herself."
"Hmmmm." Kenshin waited, not even breathing as his shishou deliberated. "Are you in love with her?" The question was abrupt, but Kenshin did not hesitate. "Unquestionably."
"She passed through here not too long ago and visited me. She told me she would be hiding out in Transylvania. In fact, she told me the irony of it appealed to her. She was planning on staying for at least a year. She was through these parts two months ago. I'd guess that she's somewhere right around border country, up in the mountains where the humans dare not go. Is that enough information for you?"
Kenshin could not stop his wide grin. "Yes, shishou. Thank you very much."
"Don't mention it. Just make sure I don't hear from you for the next fifty years or until you cut your damn ties with that stupid Council."
The line went dead in Kenshin's head and he immediately began dialing Aoshi's number.
oOoOoOoOo
Kenshin stared around at the gray landscape of the desolate mountains. This place had been abandoned by humans long ago and the chill world was slowly reclaiming the small stone huts that had once dotted the landscape. The tang of old blood was strong and beckoning in the air, reminding him of why the humans had abandoned this world. He felt Aoshi approach from behind him, followed quickly by a bouncing and energetic young vamp who had somehow wormed her way into the cold okashira's heart.
Kenshin had first met Makimachi Misao on a return trip to Japan. She'd been tracking the same vamp he was intent on slaying. The loose vamp had murdered her entire family; she'd just been lucky enough to be out of the house. Kenshin had found them just as the vamp was sucking the last of her blood out of her body. Once the loose one was disposed of, Kenshin had immediately changed the girl. In her, he had sensed a determination to live that rivaled his own and for that, he admired her. He had left her in Aoshi's care assuming the spy would give her a good grounding in the lessons of the underworld. He had never expected the romance that had sparked between them like lightning on dry kindling.
Aoshi drew even with Kenshin and halted, his trench coat flowing in the biting wind. "Supposedly, she came by this way not long ago. The local informant told me he thought she was headed for the abandoned castle farther up the mountain."
"What are we waiting for?" cried Misao as she rushed past them, darting from rock outcropping to precipice like a fluttering moth. Aoshi shook his head before following, gliding along the ground like a shadow after his lover. Kenshin watched the two in bewilderment for a moment before following, clinging the shadows and moving as though he were flying.
They traveled quickly. Misao was sensitive to the presence of other vampires and always knew when she was within a mile of any, even if they were hiding their ki. Aoshi and Kenshin were relying on her to tell them when they were getting close. Twilight was drawing around the mountains like a thick blue blanket when Misao suddenly halted, her nose in the air like a hound scenting a quarry.
"Have you found her?" Kenshin asked, trying to keep the impatience from his voice. He'd expected to find her long ago, believing Kaoru would feel safe enough to move freely this far from civilization.
"I've found someone. They're very far away, but they don't seem to be moving."
Without warning, she took off, changing their course so they no longer followed the worn foot path along the face of the mountain. Kenshin hesitated for only a moment before following. Aoshi glanced around, feeling the inklings of suspicion on the back of his neck. Something seemed…not right. But he was unsure what. Carefully, he loosened his kodachi in their sheath before slipping off after Misao and Kenshin.
oOoOoOoOo
Kaoru shifted in her chair, lifting her eyes from her book to scan the horizon visible out the window. The sun was setting, sending a wash of red across the mountains. The color reminded her of his hair. Quickly, she shook the thought from her head. She could feel ki approaching. Whoever was coming was very strong. She had feared this. One of the local vampires had managed to sense her before she could escape his range. He had squealed on the strange, ancient vampire passing through his territory.
She slid a bookmark into the thick tome in her lap before setting it aside on a dusty, ragged table. Such a strong presence would take preparation to destroy. Kaoru drew herself from the chair, stretching her muscles in a way that did absolutely nothing to relieve her tense joints. Even after three thousand years her human habits still died hard.
Slowly, she stalked to her small pack and dug through it, searching for her small ivory dagger and its matching onyx partner. They were remnants of the ancient days. The wise Egyptians had spelled them against vampire kind. Even with all the power Kaoru had amassed over the years, the daggers still burned her bare skin. Lovingly she stroked the stone and hieroglyphics, ignoring her stinging fingers. If she concentrated, she could still decipher what half the words meant.
She sheathed the daggers at her hips and drew a ball point pen from a zippered pocket. With the pen, she began sketching symbols across the back of her hand up her wrist. Giving an unnecessary flourish, she closed off the last design and flicked her fingers experimentally. Lightning sparked at her fingertips, leaping at the small and unfortunate lamp that had first caught her attention. The lamp flared white hot for a moment before melting into a molten puddle on the floor. Kaoru watched with morbid satisfaction as the liquid metal began sizzling through the wooden floor. Kaoru focused on her approaching company. The vampire was very close now. She glanced at the lamp again. Whoever was after her, they were in for an unpleasant surprise.
oOoOoOoOo
Misao approached the crumbling castle carefully. Its molding portcullis hung threateningly over the entrance, giving a sense of foreboding that did not pass from the girl as she continued into the courtyard. Everywhere brambles crawled up the sides of the castle, tearing into the very stones as though they were no more than sheets of paper. Misao paused for a moment, awed by all that time could do to destroy an entity. Staring upon the castle, she began to understand what Kenshin had meant when he said Kaoru was dying even though she was immortal. Simply because time does not ravage the body does not mean it also leaves the mind untouched.
Misao's pause was all that was needed for Kaoru to have the young vampire at knife point. Aoshi and Kenshin had expected this action and prepared Misao for it. She held perfectly still now, staring Kaoru in the eye and lifting her chin slightly so that her throat was bared—a universal sign of submission in the vampire world.
Kaoru stared at the young woman before her almost apathetically. "Why have you trespassed here?"
"Please. I'm young. I only sought protection for the night." Misao pleaded softly. Her act was well rehearsed and rolled off her tongue without a single hitch. Kaoru's gaze sharpened, as though trying to see into the young one's very soul.
"Can you swear to me by your true name that you mean no harm to me?"
"I can."
"Do so and you may roost with me for the night. Perhaps longer if you don't bother me too much."
Misao opened her mouth and started softly chanting in the ancient language of the immortal, something every vampire knew instinctively the moment they crossed the barrier of death. The words rolled off her tongue in sounds of gravel and fire and water, of wind rushing through the trees and lions roaring in their dens. It seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth around them, startling birds from their nests and making small game run for cover. When she finished chanting, Kaoru withdrew her knives.
"You're more powerful than I suspected. Who taught you?"
"A spy named Shinomori Aoshi."
Kaoru did not miss the warm spark that bloomed in the girl's eyes. "You care for him a great deal?"
"You have no idea."
Slowly, the older vampire turned away. "I'll show you where you sleep, young one. What is your name?"
"It's Makimachi Misao," the girl declared with a smile so brilliant it made Kaoru's lips twitch.
"I'm Yukishiro Tokio." Kaoru inwardly smiled as she thought of her sources of inspiration for her false name—Kenshin's only lover from when he was human and Saitoh's formidable wife.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tokio. Thank you for your sanctuary."
"It was not a problem."
Kaoru led Misao through the ancient passageways, pushing through cobwebs and layers of dust that returned to their original positions after the women had passed. Misao watched the webs knit themselves back together behind her and gulped. Kenshin had told her that Kaoru was powerful, but she had not expected this. The woman did not seem to even be consciously working to repair the things she damaged behind her.
"This is where I've been sleeping," said Kaoru as she pointed into the room where the molten lamp was slowly cooling. "You may nest with me if you like, or there is a suitable bedroom right next door." She indicated a room with a door rotting off its hinges. Misao moved forward and poked her head into the bedroom.
A magnificent and tragic four poster bed dominated the room. Tattered silks hung in curtains around the bed. The mattress had been split open by some animal who had taken refuge in the castle years ago. Feathers spread over the rust red bedding in wisps and spirals of angelic fluff. Dust hung thick in the air, tickling at her nose without ever making her sneeze. Something about the room immediately warned Misao away. She could smell blood here. Something horrible had happened here long ago. She turned back to Kaoru.
"I'll nest with you tonight, if you don't mind."
The older vampire gave a bare hint of a smile, as though Misao had just passed some important test. "That's fine." Without another word, Kaoru turned back into her room and went to her chair, picking up her ancient book and beginning to read again. Misao wandered around the room, studying the rotting furniture and the volumes of books that were dripping crumbling bits of paper onto the floor. Carefully, she sat on the floor and began drawing archaic symbols in the dust, studying Kaoru from under her eyelashes.
The vampiress was just as Kenshin described. She was beautiful and powerful, but her eyes were dead and hollow. They were vast expanses of blue that threatened to suck Misao in without a single thought. Looking at Kaoru in her surroundings of grand opulence fallen into decay, she could not help but think that the settings fit.
After an interminable amount of time, Kaoru glanced up. "Are you aware that you've written 'squirrels will rule the world when man kind loses his nuts' in the dust?" Misao looked down into the dust with bewilderment for a moment before slamming her hand into the designs and scattering them. She looked back up with a wide grin.
"Sorry, Tokio. Sometimes I don't pay attention to what I'm doing."
Kaoru stared for a moment and Misao thought the woman might actually laugh, but the moment passed and Kaoru again became impassive and stony.
"Have you fed recently?"
The question surprised Misao and she was at a loss for words. She slowly shook her head and Kaoru rose without a word. "Then we shall hunt. I'm hungry."
Misao watched the calculating look in Kaoru's eye and wondered if the vampiress had detected Kenshin and Aoshi, despite their wards. She rose without question though, and followed Kaoru out the window, dropping the three stories to the ground without blinking.
"Tell me Misao, are you fond of venison?"
A predatory glint appeared in the young vampire's eye. "I love venison."
oOoOoOoOo
When they finished their hunt they returned to the castle. With every passing minute, Misao felt a little more anxious. Kenshin and Aoshi had never specified when they'd be coming tonight, or even if they would move tonight at all. To try and ease her nerves, she began talking to Kaoru.
"Tokio?"
Though Kaoru said nothing and did not move from her position at the window, Misao sensed she immediately had the vampiress' attention.
"When I came, you made me swear in the old language that I meant you no harm. Why?"
The answer to the question was base knowledge in the vampire world and Misao was playing the part of a fledgling. Every vampire also viewed this old magic differently. As one of the most ancient vampires alive, Misao wanted to here Kaoru's take.
The older vampiress turned and studied her for a moment, dead blue eyes reflecting eerily by the light of a waning moon. "You really are quite young, aren't you?"
"Yes," said Misao without hesitation or embarrassment. She spoke the truth and was more eager for the conversation to continue.
"In the old vampire tongue it is impossible to lie, especially when you swear by your true name."
"Why?"
Kaoru seemed startled by the question, as though no other vampire had ever asked her before. Maybe they hadn't. She contemplated for a such a long time that Misao wondered if she would answer at all. Finally she said, "Follow my train of thought with me. Vampires are the highest life forms on the planet. We're more powerful than any other animal that exists. The only reason we don't multiply as humans have is because we would exhaust our food sources due to our efficiency.
"Now, with the knowledge that on this planet, nothing can compete with us, how then do we govern ourselves? What's to stop us from doing whatever we want? Supposedly, that is the job of the Blood Council, but they are as corrupt as human government officials. The answer then, is the ancient language.
"As I understand it, when vampires first evolved, they were far more gifted than we are now. The humans would call these gifts magic. Those earliest vampires had the ability to change the very nature of the world around them—such laws as gravity and conservation of matter could be ignored with the proper means to manipulate them. These first vampires were wise and understood the need to control these powers, so they gathered and bent the very rules of the world to create the ancient language. They imbued the language with power all its own, ensuring that any who spoke in it would always speak truthfully, to help keep the language from being utilized for evil purposes.
"Of course, even the wisest cannot predict all events in the future. Many of our race have found ways to work around this barrier. It's almost trivial for them to word their sentences in truth while still holding ill intent. That's why I asked you to say something so straight-forward. Otherwise you might have sworn to me something like 'I mean you no harm for the next five seconds.' For that matter, I suppose you could have been thinking that, but you're young. I assume you're mastery of manipulation of the language is limited."
Misao stared in interest at the woman before her. Not even Aoshi had ever explained the language so well to her. She was struck with a sudden desire to know more.
"What else can you teach me?"
Kaoru stared blankly at her for a moment, her dead eyes showing a spark of surprise. Then she laughed. "Young one, Misao, I like you to be sure. You're bright. But I will not teach you. I will never raise another fledgling again."
Misao felt a wave of disappointment, but her curiosity pressed her on. "Why not?"
Kaoru's face became suddenly cold. "Do not inquire of things that are not your business," she stated cruelly before turning away to stare out at the moon.
Misao shrank from the ice in the woman's voice. Now she had glimpsed the fate Kenshin so feared. Kaoru had shut herself away from the world—was in fact slowly shutting down every emotional capacity she had. Without emotion, what would be left? The answer chilled Misao. An unfeeling killer.
oOoOoOoOo
The moon had long ago set when Misao felt ki flare to life not far from the castle. To her, the ki was familiar and comforting. To others, it would feel like the ki of something insignificant—a dog or some other medium sized animal. Misao glanced at Kaoru. The woman had fallen into the catatonic state that vampires considered sleeping and she did not seem to have noticed the ki. With the utmost care, Misao rose and disappeared from the room.
In short order, she'd crossed the hills and found Aoshi. He was leaning against a tree, blue eyes glowing like chinks of ice in the darkness. She promptly threw herself into his arms and kissed him. He seemed surprised but complied as he sensed desperation behind her kiss. The absolute coldness Misao had felt from Kaoru had left her desperate for someone who was still alive on the inside, even if he didn't show it outwardly.
When they broke away, Kenshin materialized from the shadows. He was smirking at them slightly, but refrained from saying anything. Misao promptly dropped from Aoshi's arms and met both men's eyes.
"What did you think?" asked Kenshin.
"She was just like you said. Everything on the inside is dying. The only time I got a reaction from her that wasn't indifferent was when I asked her why she'd never train another fledgling. I'd assume she was thinking of you when she snapped at me."
Kenshin nodded, his eyes distant and contemplating. "What else?" he said absently.
"She's on guard. She had a knife to my throat the moment I stepped onto the grounds. The knives she had feel enchanted. She also had a spell sketched on her hand. I don't think you're going to be able to talk to her without having her tied up."
Kenshin seemed to consider this information for a long time. Aoshi and Misao remained quiet waiting for him to come up with a plan of sorts. "I agree with you, Misao," he said at last. "We're going to have to detain her somehow before I even try to get close to her. Do either of you have any suggestions?"
Aoshi spoke immediately. "I have a drug that, when mixed with her next meal, would render her unconscious for quite some time."
"Would she be able to detect it?"
"I've tested it on all of the Oniwabanshu. Not one of them realized their food was drugged until they started feeling groggy."
"Still, Kaoru is more powerful than all of your ninja combined. Would the poison fool her?"
Aoshi frowned for a moment. "I don't honestly know. The poison is natural, not magical. It is odorless and tasteless. All the vampires I've used it on so far have never noticed it in their food. However, none of them have even compared to Kaoru in power. However, we have no other alternatives."
"Then we'll have to try. Misao, do you think she trusts you enough to take a meal that you offered her?"
"I'm positive of it," said Misao with enthusiasm. "She seems to think I'm naïve about the ways of the vampire world."
"Alright, then all we need to do is get the drug."
"Already taken care of," said Aoshi as he dug into his trench coat. His hand emerged with a small ornate glass bottle. Wire roses twisted around the faceted, red glass and a thick sticky potion was visible through the sides.
"Perfect," said Kenshin, smiling enough that his fangs dropped past his lower lip. "Misao, I think Kaoru would probably be in the mood for some rabbit this morning."
Misao took off without question and returned hardly two minutes later bearing a brace of fat rabbits. Aoshi took the silver-haired rabbit from her and uncorked the bottle, passing his fingers over the glass as he tested the ingredients with magic. When he was satisfied, he looked up at Misao. She began shielding his presence without question so that the magic he was about to work would not attract Kaoru. The okashira began to mutter as he turned the bottle upside down over the rabbit. The potion emerged as a mist and gathered around the rabbit's hide before slowly sinking downward. Aoshi continued to murmur until he was sure that the blood had been saturated with the potion. He rocked back on his heels and looked back up at Misao. She removed her ward and lifted the rabbit.
"We'll be near. Send out a magical message when she's out and we'll bind her up."
Misao nodded and began trotting down the hill, desperately trying to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
oOoOoOoOo
Misao slipped into the room silently, though she knew Kaoru was awake and therefore aware of her presence. Without pause, the young vampire crossed the floor and set the rabbit down before Kaoru, uncaring of the motes of dust she raised with her movements.
"I know we just fed last night, but I was hungry again and thought you might be too."
Kaoru glanced sideways towards the young girl. Misao was already retreating to her corner to enjoy her own meal.
"It's been so long," Kaoru said softly, "since I was around a youngling. I'd forgotten how often you get hungry." She looked again at the rabbit sprawled on the table before her, its eyes wide and dull. "Thank you for your consideration."
Misao mumbled something, but she had already began drinking from the rabbit and was hardly intelligible. Kaoru sank her fangs into the tender flesh of the neck and began drinking slowly. Rabbit always tasted strongly to her and she drank it like she would drink a vintage wine—something to be savored.
At long last, the rabbit was dry and Kaoru set its carcass aside, though she was tempted to throw it out the window for the scavengers. Misao had finished her rabbit long ago and was already scanning the bookshelves in hopes of finding something written in a language she could understand.
"Do you mind if I stay here a while?" she said, though her eyes didn't stray from the titles.
Kaoru opened her mouth to try and speak, but her tongue felt heavy and dry. She swallowed and tried again but her blurring vision distracted her.
"Tokio?" Misao asked. Her voice sounded very far away.
Black roses were blooming across Kaoru's eyes now. Somewhere deep inside she realized she'd been drugged. Her ability to move was quickly draining. Misao had turned and was near; Kaoru could sense her. With a last effort of strength, she opened her mouth and willed her tongue to move in the proper manner. The word she uttered made the air flash as though lightning had gone off and the smell of ozone permeated the air. Kaoru could feel the magic washing through her veins, burning away the poison.
As the magic faded away, Kaoru found her ability to move returning. She wriggled her fingers experimentally before slowly rising and cracking her knuckles. Misao cowered in the corner and flinched at the sound of air rushing through joints. Slowly, Kaoru turned her predatory gaze on the girl, her blue eyes filling with silver as rage started to simmer through her blood.
"Tell me, Misao, where did you get those rabbits?"
Though Kaoru's voice was soft, a hard edge was hidden beneath the velvet, a knife carefully hidden away and ready to strike.
"I…I…" the girl stuttered, unable to think past the fear that was clouding her mind. Though part of her reaction was an act, Misao was genuinely afraid. She had had faith that Aoshi's drug would do the trick. She hadn't expected to have to deal with an ancient, raging vampire.
"Did a vampire with long red hair give it to you?"
Relief immediately started to trickle through Misao's veins. Perhaps she would live through this after all.
"Y…yes…" she whispered, trying to draw into the stone wall as though she would pass right through it. Her attention suddenly focused elsewhere as she felt a familiar burst of ki somewhere outside the castle. Kenshin and Aoshi had felt Kaoru's power and were on their way.
Kaoru's eyes blazed a pure and shining silver. Misao looked in wonder at the sparkling depths. The only other vampire whose eyes she had ever seen change color were Kenshin's. She had assumed it had to do with his power levels. Now part of her wondered if this eyes weren't keyed into emotion as well.
"So he found me," Kaoru murmured. She surely must have also sensed Kenshin and Aoshi. "You tell him something for me, Misao." Kaoru stalked closer, her gait smooth and predatory. "Tell him that if he should ever try and interfere with my life again, I will disembowel him and leave his heart out for the crows to pick at."
Misao's eyes widened at the cruel threat. She had known Kaoru would be angry, but not to the point of threatening Kenshin's life. She had been under the impression that, though Kaoru hated Kenshin she also loved him.
"Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Kaoru whispered as she leaned in towards the young vampire.
Misao could not quite find a voice to answer, so she simply nodded, her body trembling violently beneath the old vampire's gaze.
"Excellent," Kaoru hissed, her fangs dipping beneath her lip to glint in the light of morning. Kaoru's shape became indistinct, the lines that so clearly defined her body wavering in the rays of the sun. Quite suddenly, her form dispersed, as though she had been a soap bubble and someone had popped her.
oOoOoOoOo
When Kenshin and Aoshi arrived in the room, Kaoru was long gone and Misao was slumped against the wall, looking as though she'd just lived through a hurricane. Aoshi immediately crossed the room and lifted the young girl up in his arms. It was a supreme effort of will on Kenshin's part not to simply barrage Misao with questions. He gave the girl a moment before quietly asking what had happened.
Misao blinked dazedly up into golden eyes before slowly telling him, including as many details as she remembered. Her tongue fumbled on Kaoru's threat, but she delivered it none the less. Kenshin's face went blank and cold. Both Aoshi and Misao watched suspiciously as the redhead turned away from them.
"Go home, you two," he ordered them before disappearing out the door.
"Where are you going?" Aoshi demanded as he rushed after Kenshin down the hallway.
"I'm going to get her. She traveled a long way with her spell. She'll be exhausted and the only person I can think of that she would go to is in Germany. If I hurry, I can be there before she recovers her energy."
"We're coming with you," Aoshi said stubbornly, almost running to keep up with the smaller man.
"No, you are not," Kenshin said as he came to a halt suddenly. He rounded on them, visibly shaking and Aoshi nearly backed away from the rage he felt broiling in the other vampire.
"She could have killed Misao," Kenshin continued, growling out his words. "I will not have anything happening to either of you simply because I was stupid enough to underestimate her. "Now go home."
Without another word, Kenshin whirled and stalked away, power drawing up around him in a shadowy cloak. He reached the window at the end of the hallway and jumped out, his power and superhuman strength making him almost fly out before he gradually fell to the earth. He had disappeared into the day before Aoshi even reached the window.
oOoOoOoOo
Kaoru slowly materialized in the forest. It took a supreme effort of will to pull herself together. At one point, a sudden wind nearly made her lose sight of her true form. But finally, she was whole and intact on a nearly invisible pathway. Stumbling, she pushed through the underbrush and into the clearing around a house. There was a man already waiting for her just outside the house.
He moved forward with smooth, easy strides and lifted her up just as her knees gave way. She glared up at the man, noting that he was, as always, immaculately kept.
"I can't believe you told him where I was," she growled at Hiko Seijiro, attempting to lift her hand to strike his shoulder and failing miserably. The tall man chuckled as he turned back to his house.
"You didn't honestly think I'd lie to my baka deshi, did you?"
"I know you wouldn't lie to him; I just thought you wouldn't tell him anything at all," she mumbled asexhaustion began to pull her into unconsciousness.
"It was for your own good," he told her as he deposited her in his guest bed.
"When I have enough strength, Hiko, you and I are going to have a long discussion, and not all of it will be talk."
Hiko simply laughed again as he backed out of the room. "Whatever you say, Kaoru. Whatever you say."
Glossary type thing:
baka deshi: idiot pupil (Hiko's nickname for Kenshin)
shishou: teacher, master
okashira: Aoshi's title as leader of the Oniwabanshu
kodachi: Japanese sword that is shorter than a katana, but longer than a wakazashi; specialized for defense, but Aoshi has developed a double kodachi style that allows him to use them offensively (I don't know why I included this word, since if you know the universe of RK, you know what they are)
A/N: Due to the new rule about reviewer responses, I will be posting my response to my one reviewer (bows to reviewer) on my livejournal. A link can be found on my author's page. In the mean time, I don't know when the next update will be, but I am shooting for the end of the month, especially since I will have time to write, what with my wisdom teeth removal keeping me homebound and a five day weekend after that. Until then, thanks for reading.