The Art of Seduction: Chapter 9
Gone
By Iridian
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Rurouni Kenshin, they all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama.
Kaoru awoke to find herself bound tightly to a bamboo chair, her arms and legs lashed onto the wooden frame.
She looked around, taking in the bareness of the room, grey pockmarked walls, and a cold steel door, but otherwise…nothing.
She sighed quietly to herself, trying to muster up hope as to why this wouldn't be a problem.
Kenshin was right. Déjà vu is better than constant surprise.
She began to assess her injuries, noting the bleeding and chafing around the ties, as well as bruises that she was sure weren't there before.
She had to hope that Kenshin and her father would come for her. Unfortunately, this wasn't going to be a situation she could handle herself. Kaoru sighed, realizing that she herself could make no headway, and decided to sleep, hoping that that would pass the hours away, and ward off the sinking feeling that was making its way into her stomach.
---
Kenshin paced his bedroom, his eyes narrowed, and his ki raging out of his skin.
Who took Kaoru, and how had he been so stupid as to not sense the man while he was on his own property, manhandling his wife?
FlashbackKenshin heard a faint scream coming from outside in the courtyard. Kaoru's ki flared to life for a brief moment, then faded to next to nothing. Kenshin raced outside, finding nothing there and any trace of Kaoru gone.
Kenshin searched for a trail, anything that he could follow, and came up with nothing.
Was this the reward of years of being Battousai?
End FlashbackKenshin stopped pacing, instead casting a cursory glance over the indigo silk ribbon that was the only evidence that his wife was ever there. He imagined another man ripping it out of Kaoru's hair, touching her silky black hair, running his fingers through it – touching Battousai's property.
His ki flared once more, his eyes glowing amber and his nails cutting red half-moons into his callused palms.
He gripped the hilt of his sword, the blood from his palms soaking the grips dark cherry red. A single drop spilled over, slipping inside the scabbard, staining the hidden blade.
Whoever did this would pay for it dearly. After all, this was already his third strike on Battousai's list. Trespassing on his property, touching his property, and then stealing his property. Battousai was nothing if not territorial, and in his eyes, the kidnapper was already burning in hell.
---
Aoshi folded his legs underneath him, exhausted in the short five-hour span that had been frantic, but had still managed to be the slowest time he had ever gone through. Himura's wife was missing, and the day after their wedding, no less. He considered it a personal affront to himself and the Oniwabanshuu that they had managed to steal her away. He would ensure that Kaoru was brought back safely. This was now a matter of honor, and if they had harmed a hair on her head, they were dead. And if they had killed Kaoru, then he would leave them to Battousai.
Aoshi shivered, thinking what Battousai would do to them.
They would get what was coming to them, for messing with them.
---
Megumi bustled about, checking her stores of herbs and salves, readying for disaster. While she was not entirely sure said disaster was actually going to be of the magnitude that she foresaw, it was best to be prepared at all times.
She had seen the shock and pure unadulterated rage that had radiated off the men in the dojo. Kaoru was probably the weakest spot for all of them. Not that she was particularly of specifically emotional vulnerability, but she represented a matter of honor. She was the wife of the lord, and as all the men on the estate had pledged their lives and swords to them, it carried over to Kaoru's illustrious person as well.
Now, everyone was in uproar and well, quite frankly, rightfully so.
But Megumi couldn't help but feel resentment towards her. Kaoru had managed to draw out the most powerful men in Japan to fight for her, and because of their foolishness, many men would be killed, and she would have to deal with an overflow of men crowding her clinic, awaiting treatment for their wounds. But Megumi knew, that however egregious, directly afterwards, they would go out and most likely die fighting.
Megumi's hand trembled violently while measuring out comfrey leaves, spilling the dried faint green leaves from the balance, some of the driest crumbling into dust upon contact.
She just hoped that she wouldn't see any familiar faces on her operating table.
---
Kaoru had, unfortunately, been unable to achieve anything much more restful than a fitful doze, woken alternately by the strange sound of silence that permeated her barren cage. She had been alternately worrying her constraints, and then her lip, and she was pretty sure that if she continued to bite at it, she would break the skin.
Her mind spun for a moment, one of the first moments of true imbalance that Kamiya Kaoru had ever felt in her young life.
Why is everything spinning? It's so strange…
The grey walls spun, but seemed to blend seamlessly together again, and no sooner, had already spun out of control again.
She gave her head a firm shake, ridding it of the fog that was drawing ever closer.
Her eyes flashed in front of her a myriad of colors, then faded into an all consuming bright crimson color that seared the back of her eyelids even when her eyes were closed, and she was sure that there wasn't an so much sunlight in the dank room…
The crimson began to darken to a all-consuming black, and she closed her eyes….and gave up.
A creak sounded eerily loud in the pervading silence, and a tall man stepped into the room.
"Kamiya Kaoru is my prize, and mine alone," he whispered to himself, almost seeming to be convincing himself.
He ran long fingers through her long black strands.
His hand shook slightly, and moved to grab at the roots, taking a fierce hold on her scalp and shaking her insensate body around like a rag doll.
"MINE," he growled.
Unknown to the man, another was lurking just beyond the walls, someone who was both a friend and a foe, and a means to an end, but what the end was, was yet to be determined….
---
Kenshin paced and paced. People had been bringing in report after report, but to no avail.
They should stop trying to calm me down before I'll really be beyond them. If they would just…
Kenshin strangled a frustrated growl in his throat. He wasn't really acting the part of a calm and confident leader at this point. But he was very much past even pretending calm. His woman was missing, and he had no clue as to her whereabouts, her condition and God help them if they had damaged a hair on her head…
Even Hiko had stopped by to try and "comfort" him.
Flashback"My stupid student is in there, is he not?"
"Y-Yes."
"Well why are you still standing there? Isn't it obvious I am about to go into the door? Do you think I'm standing here because it amuses me?"
The guard outside the door scrambled to open the shoji door, revealing the massive hulk that was his master.
"So, baka deshi, lost your woman have you?"
Kenshin turned, an irritated scowl across his features, his eyes narrowed to amber slits.
"It seems as such," replied Kenshin tersely.
Hiko strode over, cuffing Kenshin lightly on the shoulder.
"Of course she's alive you baka. Why else would they take her? They need the bait, after all."
Hiko continued relentlessly. "If they had meant to just kill her, they would've shot her dead on the spot. With the man that they must've sent to sneak up on her and not be detected and taken down by that little hime-dono of yours, they must've been very skilled. Or she might've been very tired, but with your stamina, I highly doubt that possibility." Hiko snorted again.
"Pshh. That's why I'm the shishou and you're still the baka deshi."
"And tell these fools to cease their searching. You and I both know that it won't come to anything. When they are ready, they will come out. Until then, you had might as well begin preparing yourself as well."
Hiko turned, his white cloak swishing out behind him, the guard outside the door scrambling to open and close the door behind him without getting in his way again.
End Flashback
---
Tsukinoyo, Inoe, and Nari all had different ways of coping with the recent situations. Unfortunately for the estate, some of their ways were more or less destructive than others.
Nari was throwing her shuriken furiously at a line of straw targets, some of the less sturdy ones dissipating into straw dust by the sheer force and volume of the shuriken. Inoe was doing a rather impressive impression of meditation, though the small cloud of golden-yellow dust was ruining the effect. Tsukinoyo was moving through a more complicated kata, the blades of her kusigara gama flashing in the sun, the ornate iron chains flashing an oily black in the sunlight.
None knew exactly what the end of the day would bring, what anger it would cause, tension to cumulate, but it couldn't be good. Unless, by some insane miracle, they managed to bring back the lady.
Inoe tried to lapse back into her meditative breathing, counting endlessly to seven, but nothing came to fruition. Her head whipped to the side, her index and pointer fingers snapping around the glinting blade. She whipped the blade around in front of her, unfurling the thin rice paper that was artfully twined around the blade, ignorant of the people pressing her from all sides, abandoning their weapons training to come and see what this new happening would bring.
Your new sister in law is currently unharmed, but as all beautiful things are, this is only an ephemeral state. Your cousin needn't worry though, we will be sure to take better care of her than he. We look forward to your arrival on our compound, when and however you should arrive.
"We can't find them! Where did they go? Search the grounds immediately!"
The sound reached her ears, loud and brash, but they she was sat still as if mute.
"Lady Inoe, we haven't been able to locate the intruder….he seems to have disappeared…"
Inoe cut the man's hesitant explanation off with the wave of a hand.
"You are dismissed, halt the search, they will find nothing." With the imperative sentence, she whisked off, the blade and note tucked neatly into her obi.
Nari and Tsukinoyo hurried off in her wake, alternating anger and curiosity playing over their features.
Tsukinoyo hurried, forward, keeping stride with her older cousin.
"What just happened? What did it say?"
Inoe didn't answer, turning a sharp left into the main courtyard.
"Inoe!"
She thrust open the thin paper shoji doors to find her red-headed cousin sitting quietly in meditation. His eyes opened a fraction upon her entrance, but she knew that he had sensed her coming, and the urgency in her ki.
She placed the note on the low table in front of him, refolded back into its original shape, and the small shinai it was wrapped around.
He unfolded the paper, his eyes narrowing and his body tensing with anger. He picked up the shinai, examining it, then threw it into the wall across from him, the small blade sinking into the hardwood rafters, a small silvery point all that remained visible.
"Don't go Kenshin, it's a trap, I'm sure of it."
"I have too."
"You don't." Her grey eyes pleaded with him, the hair around her face rustling in her agitation.
Kenshin strode out of the room, grabbing his katana and gesturing to a man to ready his horse. As soon as he exited the doors, his hand whipped up. A second blade was in his hands, the paper wrapped around it in the same manner as before. A small ink painting of a dove was detailed on the paper. It was lashed to a pole, bleeding from its wounds and staining the white feathers dark red.
Kenshin growled deep in his throat.
"Halt the searches immediately. If I see one person out there, armed, right now, they will regret it."
He stepped out, grabbing the reins from the startled attendant who had just gotten the horse.
Mounting, he turned the chestnut mare in the direction of the mountains, where his shishou, Hiko, lived.
Something needed to be done, and soon.
The wind whipped his long red hair back from his face as he rode at a fierce gallop up the path.
Inoe stood in his wake, watching his frantic ride.
"Go back to your tasks."
Everyone left the working square, heading in different directions.
Only the three cousins remained.
"Inoe?" Nari's eyes were uncharacteristically cold, her posture erect and proud. Tsukinoyo stood beside her, an emotionless façade on her face.
"Come inside."
Tsukinoyo and Nari stepped inside, the former immediately squaring her shoulders and stepping forward.
"What the hell just happened? I demand to know, Kenshin is my cousin as much as he is yours, and Nari and I both live here, don't we?"
Inoe sighed, a brief wispy sound that quickly blew away. "I intend to tell you."
She held out her thin hand, gesturing for the two of them to sit, while settling herself more comfortably, arranging the dove grey folds of her kimono around her.
"Kaoru has been kidnapped, and they are intent on playing games with us. They have the upper hand, for as well as I can see it, Kaoru is the prize, and at this time, they are the ones in possession."
"Do we know who it is? Surely we can figure it out, and rescue her!" shouted Tsukinoyo, her voice agitated, but subdued.
"It is not so simple. If they managed to steal her right from under our noses, who's to say they won't be able to do it again should we get her back? We have to try and sabotage them," replied Inoe.
"You know who it is, don't you?" asked Nari quietly.
"It is quite the gathering of people, to be honest. Mainly, the Juppongatana. However, with recent findings, for the past few months now, we have found them to be communicating with the Jinshuu, as well as the Shimabara Christian groups. We thought nothing of it, they have long since maintained the rivalry, and no matter how much diplomacy they attempt, reaching an agreement would be near impossible for them."
Inoe folded her hands in her lap, her eyes dropping to the table.
"We have underestimated them, it seems. Their anonymity is a farce. We will have to wait for them to make their move before we try anything. Kaoru's safety is on the line. As it is, they will have her drugged to the gills. They know of Saitoh's unorthodox parenting methods, and won't be taking any chances on losing their lead."
"Can we do nothing but wait?" said Tsukinoyo.
"Not unless we risk Kaoru, and that is an impossibility."
Nari shut here eyes, but her stance seemed to firm, and she opened them once more to meet those of her cousins.
"Kenshin will find a way. I believe he's already gone to find his shishou, and as of yet, he has never failed at solving a problem before."
"I hope so."
---
Kaoru woke with a start, her head pounding.
Where am I?
Her head was throbbing painfully, colorful dots dancing in her vision, obscuring her line of sight. The dimpled wall in front of her blurred, going black before coming back with a dizzying mix of red and orange.
A blurred head appeared in front of her, and she squinted, trying to focus the image more.
Ash white hair and a pair of silver circular glasses came into focus, sharp grey eyes looking at her smugly.
"Enishi?"
"I see you haven't changed a bit. Still the same little girl as you always were."
He walked forward, reaching out to tilt her chin up, her confused blue eyes meeting his.
"But so much more worth as a woman, instead of the child. Able to attract lovers now, are you?"
His grip on her chin tightened, and this time around, it hurt.
"What have you to do with this anyway. Enough of this, Enishi, let me go!"
"Not so fast. I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm not just looking out for my own interests, after all. Rest assured, you'll be seeing your husband again." His face practically dripped disdain at the word "husband".
"What? Enishi this is ridiculous, how could you do this to Tomoe? You-."
"Tomoe is dead to me! She was dead to me as soon as she left my side to marry that fool Saitoh. When she left mother and father to be with that scum!" His chest rose and fell rapidly with each breath.
"She never-."
"SHUT UP!" he roared. His hand swung out, catching Kaoru across the face, blood immediately rushing up to color a red handprint on her face.
A small trickle of blood stained her chin, her chapped lips breaking open.
"Now look what you've done. You made me angry, and look what happened. Don't do that again. I don't like marring your pretty face."
"Wait…"
Her protest fell on deaf ears. Enishi turned, and disappeared out the door, shutting it behind him with a decisive slam.
Sorry for the long wait! I'll be trying to get these up fast from now on, promise!Iri
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