Here ya go! Chappie eight, ready and awaiting your response! Sayonara!

Disclaimer:

Pain is red

Sorrow is blue

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin

And I'm guessing neither do you


Excerpt from chapter seven: Carmine Corpses:

His own aura instinctively reached out and entangled in hers, urging him to find her and claim her for his own. Shaking his head, he strolled back to their table before he realized what was wrong. Eyes narrowing, he laid a hand on the nearest vampire, watching dispassionately as the figure crumbled away under his hand.

'They're dead…'

Kaoru suddenly appeared in front of him and she nodded at his mental statement, the moss green spirals of disgust slowly creeping up her aura as the corpses began to randomly fall to pieces…

"So you've noticed have you? Oh well…I suppose I'll just have to kill you too…"


Yumi rose to her feet and waved a manicured hand at the blonde that had just entered the main room.

"Cho, take care of these fools and fix the corpses, Battousai and his little wench should be here soon!" Kaoru blinked in confusion before she realized Yumi still didn't know who they were. Battousai snorted and his hand went to the sword hanging off his belt,

"Why do you want Battousai?" Yumi laughed at his question and sat down again in her chair, swirling her drink around in the crystal wineglass.

"I don't want him dead, my Master does!" A strange smile appeared on her lips, and Kaoru could practically see the tiny hearts floating around the green haired woman's head.

"But now…I must go…Cho," the blonde drew out two of his swords and began walking towards the pair, "Good. Take care of them quickly, I'll be back soon to wait for Battousai and I want them dead before I return." Cho nodded, his eyes never leaving his prey even as Yumi disappeared in a bright red cloud smelling strongly of roses.

"Well she's gone…" Battousai looked at Kaoru when she spoke and he nodded, dropping his illusion. Kaoru followed suit, casting a sad glance at her wrists when the bracelets disappeared to be replaced by her arm guards, her quiet mutter audible throughout the now silent room.

"Aw…I liked those bracelets…" Battousai chuckled at her words and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, grinning when the scent of Cho's fear permeated the room.

"B-B-Battousai!" Battousai smirked and slid into his stance, flicking his sword out an inch from its sheath.

"Well, well, well…" Cho shivered but lunged at the red head, a worn battle cry ripping out of his throat. Instantly, Battousai pulled his sword out of the sheath and sent it whistling through the air, ripping through muscle and bone in an arc of steel. With a wince, Kaoru watched Cho's head roll to the ground and disappear into a pile of ash, the faint remnants of stolen blood on Battousai's sword and on the floor where the lifeless body had landed before deteriorating into ash.

"That was…quick…" Kaoru mused, prodding the pile of dust with her foot. Battousai nodded and returned the sword to his side.

"Too easy…he was either newly made or not living in the first place." Kaoru shrugged and withdrew one of the daggers hanging off his belt. Ignoring Battousai's questioning gaze, she walked to the table Yumi had sat at and began hacking away at the wood, tracing a moon into the surface.

"This is your sign right?" He smirked at her off handed question and his arms snaked around her waist, his mouth resting next to her ear,

"You remember?" Kaoru snorted and tried to pull away,

"Yeah…so what? LET GO OF ME!" Practically growling in anger, she finally managed to yank herself out of his grasp before returning to her artwork, overlapping the image with her own sign, a star.

"There…now I have to get to Misao…she's going to be worried when she wakes up." Battousai smirked and laced his arms around her waist again before Kaoru viciously pried them away.

"Going so soon Koishii?" Kaoru snorted and stalked out of the bar, sending out her aura in order to find the nearest Hellhole. Turning around the corner, she quickly located the portal and stepped into the center, flames sprouting up as she began moving her arms. Off to the side, Battousai watched in amusement (and a little bit of lust) as she began to slowly weave the spell, her lithe body twisting and turning in some arcane dance. It seemed his little Kitten needed to dance to release her magic…Battousai himself just needed to concentrate, Hiko having effectively smashed the need to perform an action out of him at a young age.

Her body stopped and her arms lifted into the air, the pentagram at her feet mimicking her actions. Slightly irritated, Battousai took a step forward but she was gone before his hand could land on her arm. Cursing the fact he had been so distracted by her movements, he angrily turned and took a few steps before his wings burst out of his back and he lifted up into the air, he needed to make sure the guards recognized what was his…

I'll be back for you Koishii…just you wait…


Kaoru sighed and waited for her entire body to appear before stepping out of the slowly dying embers of her spell. Yawning, she stretched for a second before darting off towards the apartment she shared with Misao. Reaching the door in a minute's time, she forcefully gave a mental shove on her instincts, wincing as her previously comfortable fangs slid into her gums with a burst of pain.

"Ouch…" Briefly wondering about their reluctance to return, she skipped happily down the hallway and got into the elevator. As the doors slid open on her floor, she frowned, her still sensitized nose picking up a faint floral scent. No one on this floor had the strangest mix of roses and blood…only one person, well, vampire, fit that description.

Eyes widening, her fangs immediately lengthened again and she slammed the door open, her aura flaring out to seek Misao's own bubbly presence. Frowning, Kaoru unhesitatingly voiced a call into the silent apartment.

"Misao!" No answer. Sniffing around, she found herself wandering into her absent roomies' bedroom, her nose picking up the vivid scent of bloody roses. Sapphire eyes narrowed as they fell on the white envelope sitting innocently on the edge of the bed and she gently picked it up, holding it delicately between her nails as she scanned it for any spells. Not sensing any enchantments, she opened it and scanned over the message emotionlessly.

Just as silently, she turned and left the apartment, the letter drifting down to the carpeted floor, the curly red cursive stark against the white of the paper,

WE HAVE HER


The door swung open easily under her mental shove and she strode in, wings flaring out behind her in anger before they vanished. The dark shadow sitting at one of the tables smirked and waved a manicured hand.

"Kaoru, darling. How nice to see you!" Kaoru didn't reply, only glaring in response. Yumi pouted and rose to her feet, one hand holding her off the shoulder robes from touching the floor and the other cradling her cheek in amusement.

"No hello? Oh well, down to business then!" Yumi waved at the empty tavern, "I waited here ALL day, hoping you'd come after you killed Derek, but you didn't show up! So I had to resort to…other measures." Kaoru snarled in anger and her fangs glinted in the sparse candle light. Yumi laughed but quickly fell silent when the scent of another vampire drifted into the tavern,

"Yumi, this is her? Battousai's spawn?" Yumi nodded at the deep voice's words and quickly sat back down, her hands falling into her lap. "Very well, get the human." Yumi nodded again and scurried off into the kitchen to obey the bodiless voice's command, returning instantly with a struggling Misao in her grasp.

"Hey! Let go of me you blood sucking dead freaks!" Her aquamarine orbs landed on Kaoru and she shrugged, "no offense Kao" Kaoru smirked and flicked her long ponytail over her shoulder,

"None taken Misao. Now…give her back!" The deep voice erupted into a laugh but the bearer of the scent still remained in the shadows.

"Now now…Kitten is it? We can't just hand her over to you…oh no…" Kaoru could almost feel the smirk that appeared on their face before he spoke again, "you have to give us something in return…a bargain." Kaoru glared but leant against the door frame,

"What do you want?" Another dark chuckle echoed around the room

"I want many things…but at the moment…you" As soon as the word left his mouth, Misao began to flail angrily,

"NO WAY IN HELL KAORU! DON'T DO IT!" Misao smirked, a sudden arrogant calmness settling on her features, "It's not like they can kill me because I'm their bargaining chip." Yumi shook her head slowly and her fangs began to lengthen threateningly,

"We can't kill you…but there are some things MUCH worse than death." Misao let out a barely audible whimper at her words and Yumi laughed, scraping her fangs against the girl's pale neck teasingly. All the anger drained out of Kaoru's expression and she took a instinctive step forward, her hand twitching as if she wanted to reach out a grab Misao from their clutches. The unknown voice laughed again and a large black leather collar landed on the ground, followed quickly by a pair of arm braces made of the same material.

"Put them on if you don't want your friend to suffer the consequences Kitten." Kaoru hissed but obligingly knelt down and scooped up the accessories. Immediately after she pressed the leather to her arms, a row of silver buckles appeared, tightening until there was no chance whatsoever of Kaoru pulling the guard off.

Growling, she held out her now bound arm, gesturing to Misao,

"Hand her over and I'll put on the collar." Yumi paused for a minute,

"Give us your word." Kaoru sighed and reached up to prick her finger on her fang, smearing the blood on the ground in front of her in a makeshift star.

"I swear by the Black Star that I, Kaoru, also known as Sapphire, childe of Lord Battousai, heiress to the Shadow realm, will place this collar around my neck and obey any spells that may accompany it WHEN Misao, claimed by Ao- the royal guard known as Ice and by myself, is set free to go to a location that pleases her and will not be influenced further by you or your kin." After her eloquent speech finished, Kaoru bowed her head and allowed a final drop of blood to fall directly in the center of the star. At her actions, Yumi nodded and released Misao, who quickly ran to Kaoru's side.

"Kao! No don't go!" Kaoru rolled her eyes playfully and scooted Misao out the door with a firm hand.

"You know you can do nothing here except get hurt. I put you in this situation by living with you so I have to take the responsibility for my actions. Go to the palace Misao and ask for Ice…you'll be able to recognize him, trust me" Misao nodded fearfully and left, refusing to take her eyes off of her vampryic roommate until well after the door had swung shut.

Inside the tavern, Kaoru sighed and picked up the lone piece of leather, tugging inquisitively at the high collar of her leather vest.

"Um…excuse oh you bodiless bastard…how do you and your little petal princess over there expect me to put a collar on with a turtle neck?" Yumi stepped forward after a silent urging and handed her a piece of dark sapphire cloth. Suspicious, Kaoru didn't touch it until the vampire groaned and waved her hand in the air, tracing the outline of a flower with six petals with swirls of rose petals that followed in the wake of her sweeping hand.

"I swear on the Flower of Six that this shirt is not spelled in any way shape or form and will not harm or inconvenience you." Soothed by the oath, Kaoru reached out and grabbed it, turning around to unbuckle the leather vest before sliding the given shirt over her head. Glancing down at herself, Kaoru frowned at the midnight blue shirt that now adorned her slim figure. The shirts fabric and the material of her pants didn't match and, while the colours did look good together, the shirt didn't cover much, ending just beneath her chest and left her shoulders and arms bare except for two puffy little sleeves attached to her arms.

After staring at the innocent looking choker, delaying the evitable, the star on the ground pulsed bright silver and Kaoru flinched, quickly wrapping the collar around her neck in order for the buckles to do themselves up. She had sworn an oath on her sign and her title and now her sign was warning her that it was getting impatient.

A vampire's sign was like an image of their soul. Different shapes and images had different meanings to show a vampire's powers and attitude. To fail an oath made upon ones sign would ultimately destroy them, even though many humans had believed that vampires, were-creatures and ghouls didn't have souls, being dead and/or half human. The truth was that a human's soul was not complex enough to contain the power needed for transformations and magic, so when they were converted, their human soul was altered and changed into one of a supernatural being. To kill that soul would be like taking cutting off a human's arms and legs. They would still live…but they would be a shell of their former self, unable to use their powers and the natural inherent magic all supernatural creatures were made up of. The lack of magic would slowly drive them insane until they killed themselves in the most painful of ways.

As the last clip snapped into place, Kaoru's thoughts were thrown back into her present situation. As the world began to turn fuzzy at the corners and black teased the edges of her vision, she frowned and growled, her hands going up to her neck to instinctively pry the leather off. The last thing she saw before her world succumbed to the darkness was Yumi's pleased face looming above her and the overwhelming scent of the unknown man growing heavier.


Misao gasped, clutching the stitch in her side as she ran. Sliding to a stop in front of a giant metal gate, she furiously threw her body against it.

"LET ME IN!" Two guards materialized out of the shadows and gazed her curiously,

"Who are you?" Misao gaped at them but tried desperately to remember the names Kaoru had spewed out while trying to remember to keep her real name a secret,

"Um….call me Kunai! Uh, Kunai, c-claimed by the Royal guard Ice and Sapphire, childe of Lord…Lord…Battousai! Heiress to the Shadow realm and um…" unable to remember anymore Misao glanced up pleadingly at the guards,

"PLEASE! I need to get in!" One guard began to wave up at a large tower before the other stopped him,

"How can we be sure she is really claimed by the Lady Sapphire? Or by Captain Ice? She doesn't even look were and she can't possibly be a vampire because she's touching the gate." The first guard lowered his arm and stroked his chin with long fingers.

"You're right, not to mention the fact that we only met Lady Sapphire this morning…I still remember Lord Battousai flying overhead and threatening us to remember her but how can we be sure?" Misao nearly sobbed but furiously began throwing her body against the gates.

"I NEED to see Ice! NOW!"

"Let her in" The two debating soldiers turned and hastily saluted to the tall vampire that had appeared behind them. Against the gate, Misao had slid down to the ground, her face buried in her arms as she held back loud sobs. Instead of falling backwards as expected when the gates swung open, a pair of strong arms swung her up into a tight hold.

"Kunai was it?" There was amusement heavy in the tone and Misao peered up through tear covered lashes at the strangers face. Immediately, she twisted violently and pulled herself out of his arms before screaming at her long lost fiancée, tears running down her face.

"LET G-GO OF M-M-ME!" Slightly shocked but not showing it, Aoshi calmly reached forward and firmly encased the girl in his arms.

"Misao, calm down." Slowly the girl subsided and Aoshi gently tugged the girl over to a nearby bench, the same one, in fact, that he and Kaoru had sat on.

"Why are you here Misao? To claim a title like that is dangerous." Misao hiccupped; reminding herself to rant at him later and quickly turned her thoughts onto a more pressing problem.

"K-K-Kaoru! She's gone! Some vampire kidnapped me and used me as ransom, she went on with some oath and promised to wear this collar a-a-and she t-told me to run h-h-here and g-get Ice…" Her words trailed off into heavy choked coughs and Aoshi calmly rubbed circles on her back,

"Calm down Misao, now tell me what the vampire looked like." Misao nodded and closed her eyes, recalling the image of the woman that had unhesitatingly strode into her apartment and knocked her out with a well placed blow.

"She had dark hair…and red eyes…used flowers and some guy called her Yumi…" Aoshi frowned at the unfamiliar name and stood, heading towards the palace. Misao quickly got her feet and stumbled after him, violently wiping away the remaining tears.

"W-Where are we going?"

"We're going to my Lord and Master…and Kaoru's creator, Lord Battousai" Misao nodded and sniffled a few times before regaining her composure,

"Do you think he can help?" Aoshi's lips twitched up into a barely noticeable smirk and he silently nodded. Misao fell silent as well and turned to gaze up at her former fiancée…well, technically the engagement had never been broken… shaking her head to rid herself of her traitorous thoughts (she was supposed to be mad at him!) she focused her attention on the giant door they were quickly approaching.

With a light push from the giant man beside her, the door swung open and they stepped into the cool marble hallway. Amazed, Misao stared up at the large tapestries that hung on the walls between giant windows, sometimes made up of stain glass scenes depicting all of the Shadow species. Pausing at a black door, Aoshi knocked and announced his name to the vampire that stuck his head through the door.

Seconds later the door opened and they stepped in, Aoshi falling down into a kneel, leaving Misao standing there stupidly. A low chuckled issued from the large throne at the opposite side of the room and Battousai strode over to them, gazing at Misao in amusement.

"You're the one Kaoru-koi claimed?" he smirked, "Ahh, now I remember, you were in her apartment." Misao bit her lip but nodded swiftly. Battousai grinned and gestured for Aoshi to rise,

"What is your business here Aoshi?" Aoshi gave a half bow and laid a hand on Misao's shoulder,

"She has something to report about Kaoru milord." Eyebrow raised Battousai turned back to the tiny girl,

"Kaoru-koi? What about her?" Misao swallowed and her gaze fell to the floor as she recounted the events of the night,

"I was kidnapped and taken to some bar here…Kaoru came and they threatened to turn me if she didn't put on a pair of armguards and a collar…" her words trailed off for a second but came back with a renewed sense of urgency as she gazed up into the amber orbs pleadingly, "she made me leave and put them on! She told me to run here and tell Aoshi what had happened! She's in trouble! You have to help her!"

"Who took her?" Aoshi spoke now,

"Misao said it was a vampire named Yumi" Immediately Battousai's jaw tensed and his hands curled up into tight fists.

"Yumi?" Aoshi nodded and barely managed to throw Misao to the ground and cover her body with his own before a wave of pure power burst from the red-haired man standing in the middle of the room. Suddenly he froze and turned to stare at the tiny girl in Aoshi's arms.

"You" Misao glanced up, "You're human. How are you here?" Misao blinked and sat up when Aoshi pulled himself to his feet.

"I don't know…they brought me here." With barely restrained anger, Battousai stormed over and hauled the girl up by the front of her shirt,

"Did they give you anything?" Misao nodded and fished in her pocket to bring out a small black ball no bigger than a marble. Placing a finger on the orb, Battousai tensed even further. Curious, Aoshi reached out to take the marble before he was violently cut off by Battousai's hand.

"Don't take it away from her…it is what keeps her alive." Yelping, Misao hurriedly stuffed in back in her pocket, zippering it shut to keep the orb safe.

"What do you mean, keeping me alive?" Battousai waved his hand impatiently,

"It is a pure orb of someone's aura, a link to darkness. In this world, no pure being can exist and compared to us, tiny human, you are like the holiest of priestesses." Misao shuddered and took an instinctive step back, accidentally knocking into Aoshi's chest.

"So if I lose this, I'm going to…?" She trailed off into a question and Battousai smirked,

"Slowly get torn apart, particle by particle until the darkness consumes you and you turn into a mindless blob of evil energy, content on sucking the life out of anyone who steps foot near you. Now, onto more serious matters…" Misao pouted at the slight but listened attentively to what the vampire lord was saying,

"Now, I am going to hunt down who ever thought they could get away with touching what is mine, Aoshi, you are to guide this girl around until Kaoru is returned and can adequately protect her. Do not travel into the mortal realms and do not let her out of your sight. Understood?" Aoshi nodded and watched as the man stalked out of the room, practically radiating tightly reigned anger.

"Misao, follow me."


"Get up!" Wearily, Kaoru opened her eyes, cursing as a bright light nearly blinded her.

"What the hell?" There was a sharp kick delivered to her stomach and she curled up, still trying to get a grasp on what was happening, "W-Wha?" Above her there was a groan of exasperation and a small hand descended on her shoulder.

"Rise and shine Princess." Kaoru rolled her eyes but flipped gracefully to her feet, landing in front of a short haired girl who was looking decidedly irate.

"What is it?" The annoyed girl glared at her and rolled her eyes,

"Come on, apparently our lord," Kaoru nearly winced at the blatant sarcasm but the girl continued, "wants to see you." Eyebrows rising, Kaoru obediently followed the girl down a dingy hallway, taking in the girl's ragged appearance.

She was wearing a red kimono type shirt, the front open to reveal her breast bindings, with a purple sash winding around her waist. The sash tied in the front and hung down to her knees, making a nice contrast against the beige pants and brown wrappings that went from foot to knee. Similar brown wrappings were on her forearms and a white wrapping wound around her head, covering her short brown hair. The ends of the headdress trailed down to a point a little further than her back and Kaoru briefly wondered how she managed to wrap the entire thing on everyday.

The ends of the bandages swirled around and the owner glared at her, her brown eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"What are you looking at?" After taking a quick glance at the three pins stuck into the front of the head wrap, Kaoru unhesitatingly voiced a question into the expectant air,

"Who are you, where am I, who is this lord person and what are you going to do to me?" The girl looked up at her, amusement in her eyes.

"Don't ask a lot of questions do you? I'm Shura, you're at my old warehouse before I was enslaved, no one knows and I have no bloody idea." Kaoru nodded and flicked her loose hair over her shoulder,

"Do you have a ribbon?" Shura snorted and handed over an elastic,

"Now hurry up, you took far too long to wake up." Kaoru grinned and tugged on arm guards.

"Anything to please his lord" Shura grinned at that but didn't slow their now frantic pace. Within seconds, both using their inhuman speed, they appeared in front of a large iron cast door, which promptly opened. Kaoru took a step forward, glancing back when Shura didn't follow but at her encouraging nod, continued on into the unlit room. Suddenly another beam of light fell on her eyes and she fought the urge to curse, blinking rapidly instead.

"Ah! You must be the ever lovely Kaoru I've been hearing so much about. My lord just loves to talk about you!" With a grimace, Kaoru looked up and gazed at the brown haired man.

"Just who the hell are you?" The man laughed and waved his gloved hand,

"You're late and that's not important…however, THIS is…" with a snap of his fingers, the door slammed shut and chains darted down from the ceiling to wrap Kaoru in a sturdy silver cocoon. "There! Isn't that better? Now you can't fight back!" Snarling at the man, Kaoru fought viciously against the chains, trying to reach far enough to possibly sink her teeth into the vile man's neck.

"Let me go!" The man shook his finger and drew out a small sparking bright red orb which promptly burst into flames. The man laughed, apparently perfectly comfortable with his hand on fire, and drew out a similar orb, this one black.

"Amazing how similar they look but have such different meanings…" With a firm toss of his head, he returned the black orb to his pocket and placed the fire orb against her collar, watching in delight as the equally fiery vampire arched in pain. "Well, well, this is more enjoyable than I thought!" he sighed, "but he did trust me to get a job done…" With that, he shoved the ball violently against the buckle of the collar, watching in satisfaction as it melted in.

"What d-did you d-do to me?" Kaoru's furious yell prompted the man into a fit of laughter.

"Don't worry Kaoru dear…just give it a moment…it'll soon settle in…" Kaoru glared at him,

"What are you talking about?" A sharp burst of pain darted up her spine and she winced, sinking her fangs into her lip. The man sighed at the sight of blood and his hand went down to his pocket protectively,

"You're fighting against it Kaoru darling, just let the spell win." Kaoru's eyes widened and she began to claw at her own skin, hoping to get rid of the chains, however in that spilt second when her attention wavered from the pain, the spell settled in. Slowly her eyes drifted shut and her head fell forward against her chest, blood trailing down her chin onto her blue shirt.

Breathing heavily, the man stepped forward and ran his finger against her collarbone, smearing the blood against his glove.

"Soon…soon…." He reached out and cradled her pale cheek in his hand, staring fixatedly at the two puncture wounds in her neck… "So soon now…"


Now wasn't that ending a weeeee bit creepy? (and crappy?) I mean, wow, its amazing what happens to your brain when you're babysitting…fun fun. I got a laptop! I'm so happy! I'm actually writing on it right now while the kid is sleeping…his mom should get here soon hopefully…hn…whatever… ANYWAY! Reviewer responses:

I'd like to say thank – you, luff ya lots to:

royal blue-Kitsune
Aya45
Reignashii
Snow Leopard
Loveywhatever
Shears
Iridescent Twilight
ToHeLlWiThThEnIcKs
Nilnil
Demonwolf98
Tameka-tanuki-jouchan
Mary

Steph – Heh, thanks but sadly enough I couldn't find some colours that started with the right letter…and I was forced to find a website…it didn't help me much, but hey, it shows how sad and pitiful I'm getting eh? (lol :P) Anyhoo! Got any colours to suggest?

AnimeLCgrl – All-girl's school isn't actually that different amazingly enough, but I came from a tiny little neighbourhood so I grew up with most of the guys I went to school with…hmm, I wonder if that has anything to do with my ultimate disinterest in hot guys? (Excepting Jake Richardson! (Guy from Hangman's Curse…he's the epitome of hottie goodness!) and yes…there are snobs…sigh I'm one of the nerdy-goody-two-shoes-who's-friends-with-everyone-because-I-smile-too-much…lol :P

Kaori-Angel – AND EVERYTHING NICE! MWAHAHAHA! Boys are made of slugs and snails and puppy dog tails… mwehehehehehe (not as evil as mwAhAhA, but still evil enough to get the point across (and people say I'm sane!)). That was fun…as I said to AnimeLCgrl, an all-girls school isn't that much different from normal school (I think…hmm…nothing to compare to) anyhoo, glad you liked my chapter and I hope I keep up to expectations!

BradyBunch4529 – Thanks, such purdy words! I'm flattered that you think so! Hope this chapter is just as good or even better! ; )

Greenalterego – Heh, thanks...I think...:P lol, anyway, this is just for fun, I know some of this story sucks, but I'm proud of parts of it and yeah...sigh even I'll admit Kaoru bitten by possessive Batts IS pretty cliche (cries)but I'll do my best eh:P Anyhoo! Loved the constructive critisism and I hope I can add some twists to it, any suggestions? Mwah. Please review again! (a.k.a me begging for you to stop me from falling TOO deeply in the pits of clichedness)