I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage and ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Single line means scene change.
Slowly, I gazed at the ballroom. Everyone was gone, that is, with the exception of the two drunks that were passed out on the floor, and Neko. She smirked at me and sauntered over to where I was standing.
"So how is your first trip to demon world?" She sneered, folding her arms and surveying the room.
"What do you want?" I growled.
"To get you damn humans out, but besides that, find out who that guy is."
"Wow, I didn't know you were that deep."
"Shut up." Neko pinned me up against the wall behind us. "I am a full blooded demon; I could kill you in an instant. Don't tempt me."
"Like hell." I gasped, trying to breathe.
"Really?" She dropped me. "What could you do against a demon like me?"
"BEER!" Ohkami's voice interrupted us.
We both looked over to see Ohkami doing some sort of drunk dance in the middle of the hall. She kept tripping over Sano who was still passed out on the floor drunk. Then Ohkami saw us and started skipping over.
"The mighty Princess of Demons approaches." Neko sneered.
"Hey," Ohkami was starting to come out of her drunken stupor. "How come she gets to wear a cool dress?"
For the first time I realized what Neko was wearing. It was a floor length, black silk gown with a slit up to her waist on both sides. The dress was trimmed with red roses and she had a black one in her hair.
"Because I am a member of the higher court." Neko smirked. "Princesses have to wear pink."
Ohkami growled low in her throat. It looked as if she was going to pounce on Neko.
Suddenly, a piece of paper floated down from the ceiling and landed on Sano's head. He stirred and picked the piece up. Then he looked at us; a look of pure terror in his eyes.
"What does it say?" I hurried over to him.
"Look." He handed it to me.
"Many secrets await you." I read. "Be quick about it though, for those you hold close to your hearts won't live much longer. Secrets will be unveiled and you will have to choose. The Princess will have her problems; as will the Kitsune Majin."
"Who sent it?" Ohkami looked at me with a dark look on her face.
"It doesn't say." I replied. "We better move quickly."
"Why go after those so called friends?" Neko asked as Sano, Ohkami and I were heading toward the door. "If they're your friends, they should be strong enough to get out of whatever they're in."
None of us responded; we just kept walking. Once we reached the door, Ohkami turned and saluted Neko before we headed to find our friends.
"Where do you think you are going?" The demon from last night's voice surrounded the three of us as we stood in a clearing in the woods.
Ohkami had insisted that she sort of remembered the land, and we had of course followed her. We'd gotten lost about an hour ago and none of us had known where we were. At least the voice gave us some clue, though not much.
"What do you want?" Ohkami yelled into the air.
"Many things Princess, including your nice ass."
"Bite me!" Ohkami growled menacingly.
"I would love to."
"What the hell do you want?" Sano put his arm protectively around Ohkami.
"The Orb of Death, and you Princess, are going to find it for me."
"Not likely ass hole."
"Well then maybe the Kitsune Majin can convince you for me."
"Hell no."
"Really?" The voice came from behind us.
I turned to see the same cloaked figure from last night. This time, however, the hood was down and I could see his face. He reminded me some what of the old man from the bar. A toothy smile crossed his face and his beady little black eyes seemed to glisten when he saw me.
"I believe that I have something you would kill for." He snapped his fingers.
"What the hell?" My jaw dropped.
Out of no where Saito, Kenshin and a group of people I'd never seen before appeared. They all seemed to be tied up. As I tried to move toward them, the man stood between us.
"Your friends are my guests." He smiled. "If you wish to get them back, though, you can convince the Princess here to find me the Orb of Death."
"Really?" I smiled devilishly. "And why should I do that when I could just defeat you?"
With that, I pulled my sword and went at him. He dodged, but barely. A gleam in his eyes told me he was enjoying this. Gritting my teeth, I landed and turned before lunging.
"Excellent." He laughed. "Excellent. You are truly the student of Souzou Sagara."
"What?" I stopped mid lunge. "What did you just say?"
"He's still alive you know." The man smiled.
"Liar." I whispered, lunging again.
This time, as my sword was thrust into him, he became a cloud of smoke. Laughter filled the clearing and I glared at the place where he had been.
"This is going to be very, very amusing Kitsune Majin. We will meet again soon."
I headed over to the others, who had already untied Kenshin, Saito and the group on the ground. Saito tried to get me to look at him, but I wouldn't. There was a strange sort of silence for a few moments.
"So…" Ohkami decided to break the silence. "I guess we should head back."
"Where are we?" One of the people asked.
I turned to look at them. There were two women and a young boy; I recognized one of the women, Megumi, as the one who had cared for me when I'd been injured fighting Saito not long ago. The other two looked like swordsmen.
"I don't know." The young boy mused. "Hey Sano, what are you doing here? And who is your girlfriend?"
"Be quiet Yahiko." Sano nearly took the kid's head off.
"Sano's got a girlfriend." The girl taunted.
"Kaoru." Sano growled.
"So these are your human friends." Neko's voice came from behind us. "This is going to be very amusing."
"We're kind of busy right now." Ohkami bared her teeth at the cat demon.
"You aren't." Neko climbed out of a tree. "But it seems as if the Kitsune Majin is. What is it, afraid of your emotions?"
"Go away." I growled; storming off toward where I thought the castle was.
Tears threatened to fall as I ran through the woods. I came upon a waterfall and stopped. Sighing, I popped down on the bank and let my feet soak in the water. Then, I heard footsteps behind me. Two arms encircled me and I relaxed.
"It's going to be okay Izumi." I heard Kenshin whisper in my ear.
"Damn it Kenshin." A few tears escaped as I buried my face in his chest. "What am I going to do?"
"Shh. It's alright. We don't even know if he really is alive."
"He is. I know he is. Back then, something didn't add up. He left me a letter; it said that he would come for me, and never to forget him. I didn't think anything of it then, but now…"
"Let's go now."
Somehow we managed to find our way back to the castle. Everyone else was waiting for us. The cooks had prepared food for us but I wasn't hungry so I went out into one of the gardens. Kenshin and Ohkami had followed me and we sat quietly for a few moments there.
"So…" it was Ohkami who broke the silence. "Do you really think that guy in the woods was telling the truth?"
"I know he was." I said, miserably.
"But then what about that whole ghost incident not long ago?"
"Magic probably. You know, I really don't care. I wish we'd never come."
"It's going to be alright." Kenshin put his hand on my shoulder.
"Well." I sighed, "I'm done being the center of attention. Why don't we figure out what this Orb of Death is and why that guy wants Ohkami to go after it."
"The Orb of Death is an object that can bring the entire human race to its knees." A voice from behind us said. "It is so powerful that its creators made it so that only the heir to the demon throne may use it. That person is Princess Rini."
"Souzou?" I whispered, looking toward the voice.
"Hello Izumi." Souzou leaned against one of the archways surrounding the garden. "It's good to see you again."
He started walking toward us.
"It's good to see you again Kenshin." He bowed his head to Kenshin and bowed to Ohkami. "It is good to see that you are still alive Princess."
"Impossible." I didn't even recognize my own voice.
"No it isn't." He knelt down and took my hands in his. "I said I'd come back for you, and I have. We'll never be apart again. I promise."
A/N: This is a really sweet ending. I just had to bring Souzou back, I mean, what kind of story would it be without him? Anyway, in the next few chapters there will be a few romantic moments: Sano x Ohkami, Izumi x Souzou, Izumi x Saito, and maybe a Kenshin x Kaoru. Hope everyone likes!