~IMPORTANT NOTE~ 2/19/2011 Post: For those of you who have this story on alert you will notice two things. This is a lot further back in the story than where the original version was, and two hopefully its not nearly so boring. I would advise starting again at chapter one before reading through the next segments, because a lot of it is completely different. Sorry about that. Hittocere
Warning! Saitou is OOC! Oh, and Rin is just some random character that's based loosely off Len Kagamine, I just liked Rin's name better. So I own nothing of course related to any of them, not even the ensuing chaos... Enjoy.
Last time in Prince:
"Thank you Himura, I needed to hear that," Katsura whispered, "I'll have the assignments given to you immediately." Katsura's hand left his shoulder, and heavy footsteps sounded in the direction heading away from red head. Kenshin walked very slowly showing his uncommon grace as he tried not to jump in excitement at the idea of assignments. Assignments meant he could leave, and that meant he could scout the town to find out more about the Canine turf war that was going on.
He had long suspected that some of the Shinsengumi were Canines, but he had yet to find true evidence on the matter. What Katsura was about to assign him was promising for finding out more. What better way to investigate something quietly than to have a corresponding assignment? He could not think of a more opportune way of taking care of the matter. He would prepare for the assignments, carry them out, scout for his own records, and finally he would establish some rules for them to follow.
Later ~nightfall after the first extra assignment~
Kenshin was sitting on the roof of a building somewhat inconspicuously, however he was attracting attention at this point. The type he needed in order to work on his own work. Having fed well his power was spilling out in attempt to be a little more discrete, he watched as the night lurkers shot him odd looks as they passed by. There were a few he recognized, most were unfamiliar, a few Shinsengumi even looked up his way with an approving nod.
He also noticed a stark white figure moving about, he had noticed the smell first white plums. The girl had appeared recently and seemed to enjoy night walks. Since she was unarmed and tended to brighten the night for some they kept the more foul men away from her and left her peacefully alone. Kenshin himself had found her staring at him once, she was nothing short of gorgeous. Not the type of girl he would get involved in the true nightlife business.
"You seem distracted tonight, something the matter?" that was one of the Choshu men, whom happened to be a creature of the night. He proved an interesting source of information, he also suggested these little night ventures. "You seem troubled as well, are the wolves acting up again?" He let out the breath he was holding turning to look at the younger vampire.
"Nothing to serious, just our mysterious moon maiden. Yue san, kirei na… What have you uncovered this night Rin san," Kenshin asked following the white cloaked woman with his eyes, "has there been any word on the power struggle?" Rin followed his line of sight, frowning slightly at the woman.
"Its been confirmed, the counts left a successor. The wolves can smell whomever it is, they say they are in Kyoto watching our every movement. They wonder why he or she hasn't taken up the reins yet," Rin seemed rather interested in the whole power struggle between the night creatures. Kenshin usually let the more social man investigate since he was supposed to stay out of sight. "Strange thing is, the wolves seem to think he is amongst us, I have seen no evidence of anyone with anywhere near the required amount of power to control our races." Kenshin barely held back the smirk threatening to grace his lips.
Of course there was no evidence, he worked damn hard to keep it that way. He had no interest in taking up Sophitia or Felix's titles, however if he didn't Japan would be over run by things more foul than Hiko could have produced for his ghost stories. Werewolves didn't even come close to the things that plagued his nightmares, no his were cages. Cages where he was loved then treated as trash, worshipped trash no less! Kenshin had to bite back the sneer that almost graced his features.
"Of course not, whomever it is doesn't want to be found. I can understand why no one would want to lead them," Kenshin jabbed a finger in the Wolves' general direction, "would you want to take over this mess Rin san?" The other man shook his head, watching the wolves run about on their errands. "When the heir shows himself the world will fall on his shoulders, I pity the soul that ends up in charge of our sorry lot." Rin nodded in agreement, he knew all too well that secrets were gold about this sort of thing. He didn't really understand a whole lot about the red head, but he did understand his unease.
"A sorry lot indeed, getting involved with a bunch of idiots like us. Isn't it some sort of taboo to get involved in the human wars? I feel bad for the heir, he's going to have a lot to explain to the rest of the Counts," Rin mumbled sadly, "you did know that there are more Counts right? I know you don't know a whole lot about the system, but you do know that much right?" Kenshin nodded, he knew some information on it, a lot more than most people would figure.
"The foreign Counts of the western countries, they tend to transfer power more often than our own countries due to the interference of the religious influences in their areas. There are of course other health hazards, but those fanatics are the worst lot," Kenshin answered bored almost, "I lost count after the twenty fifth Count I heard of. Its simple enough to determine their origin if you know your stuff." Rin looked somewhat impressed, he seemed to have more to say so Kenshin let him continue.
"I had also heard of such things, not to mention that some countries share a single Count. They say Chugoku and Nihon share one, I am not sure where the boundaries lie myself," Rin admitted watching the nightlife grow more human again. Kenshin shrugged, he knew where every single boundary was, he was required to by Sophitia and Felix before he left. He also knew that depending on power these lines changed, Sophitia had once told him that from what she could sense his was very large.
It was during that time she had looked into the matter regarding boundaries. Sophitia had discovered that only one classification existed above counts, and that there wasn't always one of this classification. Counts were to answer to the Imperial Prince, a being that could put their power to shame. A being of ancient powers far beyond the scope of most supernatural creatures, it had the power to destroy worlds if angered. Sophitia continued her research until she came across several reports.
The Imperial Prince, the being of untold power was a dragon, at least from her understanding of the reports. He was rumored to have been a Chinese Prince that was the second born, and when his brother was attacked he defended him. This attack had cost him his mortal life as he changed to defend his brother, he was forever doomed to be worshipped by the people. In time the people became afraid of this boy, for he reverted after the attack to being an ageless child.
The ageless child was locked away, and the reports ended there. Sophitia had never heard of such a legend, but noticed the fear that had graced his face. The reports and stories were never mentioned again, she never told Felix, and he had been spared the question that gave him chills to this day. Kenshin vaguely realized that Rin was waving a hand in front of his face.
"Yes?" Kenshin responded bored, the wolves were circling. "Oh, time to escape." Rin nodded following him across rooftops. The two vampires made their way back around to another perch, at that time Rin spoke again.
"Do you think he exists still? The Imperial Prince I mean?" Rin asked. Kenshin suppressed a shudder, well that explained why he had remembered Sophitia mentioning that again. He shrugged, trying to decide upon an answer. He decided upon riddles, they always had worked well enough on Felix.
"When at last the Imperial Prince falls, he will again rise to his throne, and the paladins will come to slay him lest he surrender to his deepest fears. Not that there isn't power hidden in this city, but an Imperial Prince? I doubt that. What utter nonsense, right Rin?" Kenshin stood up stretching, "well I suppose someone has to do something. I wonder if interfering would be the right thing to do?"
"What do you mean interfere? What exactly are you planning Himura kun?" Rin looked up at Kenshin's form despite his size. "You never mentioned that you could interfere before." Kenshin looked over at him, then at the nearest set of Shinsengumi wolves on patrol. "Just what are you going to do?"
"Nothing that wouldn't be considered showoff," Kenshin smirked, and decided he had enough shadows in this matter. He jumped down letting some of the extra energy carry him off in a one man race through the city, rubbing his hands against several objects around town to leave his scent for the wolves to find. He bolted past the wolves making them turn as he passed them brushing his hands against their uniforms. "Nice night isn't it?" he whispered leaving them bewildered behind him. He made his way back to Rin quietly without touching anything else with his bare hands. Rin was shaking his head watching the wolves stare at each other for a moment.
"What the hell have you done?" Rin hissed at Kenshin as he perched in the shadows watching with more than evident amusement, "now they have your scent!" He watched them sniff their sleeves gingerly, then noticed the odd behavior as the two literally looked like they were in shock. One started to howl, and Rin almost ran except Kenshin urged him to continue watching. Others came, Kenshin motioned for Rin to go listen in on them. The not so naïve vampire wasn't so sure about it, but he snuck up on them.
"Are you sure, this is the scent we are looking for?" one of the captains asked sternly. One of the ones Kenshin had brushed nodded, "the counts' scent is imbedded in this scent. Trace it, I want the owner found." That was the captain of the third squad of the Shinsengumi.
"Yes sir, and if he won't agree to meet with us?" one of the lower wolves responded. The captain looked up sniffing the air, Rin backed away slowly as the captain met his gaze.
"It doesn't seem like that will be a problem seeing as there is someone watching us now," the responded, "isn't that right vampire? There is someone around here who is watching us right now besides you isn't there?" Rin swallowed wondering if he should run or not when he felt Kenshin appear closer yet downwind from them.
"Why should we answer you? What are you going to do to the successor if you find them?" Rin asked eyeing the captain and trying to throw as much malice as he could into the expression. Kenshin snickered lightly at his attempt drawing the wolves' attention. He gave them a sneer that could freeze flames. "Who's to say that once you find them you won't kill them?" Rin was doing pretty good at this despite his failing glare.
"You misunderstand my, our intentions young vampire. We wish nothing more than to offer our alliances yet again with the controlling party. We would like to also offer our condolences with the passing of the former count and countess," he explained smoothly. Kenshin made a slight noise attracting their attention again.
"I misunderstand nothing," Kenshin let his voice settle into its real pitch, "I have heard of your attempts to locate Felix and Sophitia and their successor. There is one flaw in your approach, perhaps he doesn't want to be found. Your attentions would make him that much more vulnerable." The captain let the weight of his stare settle on the fifteen year old appearance of Himura Kenshin. "You cannot deny that the attentions of our entire world on one being would be anything other than distractions in his cover life."
"You… I've seen you before. Your scent is almost impossible to find, Choshu assassin," the captain bowed his head slightly, "I should have realized your true identity sooner. I had always thought it strange that such a scent followed a normal looking child, however in light of the situation I now understand." Kenshin knew then he had exposed himself a little more than he intended, but it might work in his favor.
"I hid my scent because I didn't want to be found, I only came forward because I had to. This changes nothing, my loyalties are to the Choshu clan and yours I can presume are to the Shogante. I'm only going to warn your side once, if you use all of your abilities against Choshu I will use mine. I will not hold anything back," Kenshin held his hand above his katana, Rin had managed to work his way beside him. The captain looked disappointed, for the life of him Kenshin had no idea why.
"I was hoping that we could put the war aside amongst ourselves while the succession is going on… We will restrain ourselves, for it is not our wish to make an enemy of you," the captain explained, "we had a favor to ask of you actually. During Halloween there is a ceremony amongst our kind to honor the moon. All of the lycan will be there, if we could introduce you as the true successor the wars of our races would cease leaving only the human war. We would do anything to have you attend the festival."
Kenshin motioned for Rin to leave, the vampire looked at him unsure but followed the silent command. He took his hand away from the hilt, and approached the werewolves to let them fully understand what he was about to say.
"This is neither the place nor the time to discuss this. My associate is young and does not understand that under the circumstances you will not attack me for any given reason. I will leave a spot marked, I will expect a meeting place and time left there for me. Somewhere far more private than a public street," Kenshin looked each of them in the eyes, "do not approach me on the street under any circumstances. I do stay in town, have a discrete non-Shinsengumi member leave a notice in my room if I am needed for my other duties. You'll find me there with the window open during the daytime." The captain nodded bowing respectfully, as did the other Werewolves.
"Thank you your grace. We are grateful that you are willing to take the time to discuss this with us. I believe you are right and I will be taking my leave." The captain was more than respectful, despite his very predator appearance. Kenshin bowed his head a little before catching up to Rin who was waiting near the Choshu base.
"How come you never told me you were the heir?" Rin looked more than a little disappointed, "I wouldn't have said anything, but you nearly gave me a stroke." Kenshin laughed slightly, red hair streaming like a banner behind him looking quite fearsome. He opened the doorway shuffling in laughing before Rin.
"There was no point, it's a fact but it doesn't change anything for the better. There's still a war and I am going to do my part. Aren't you Rin?" Kenshin asked, the other samurai shrugged. He was unsure of a lot of things at the moment, but he knew one thing for sure. He wasn't about to mess with the Battosai again. He figured even the wolves were going to be wary of the red head, even on a good day he always had a slight edge of temperament.
"Of course, does this mean I have to add any honorifics though?" Rin questioned. The red head shrugged, "I'll take that as a no. Well see you after the sunlight Battosai." Kenshin nodded heading for Katsura's room. He had accomplished a lot in all actuality, he had eliminated his targets and taken care of Katsura's growing issue of the wolves. The Choshu leader was still awake, but of course he was preoccupied with a fair distraction. He tapped on the door gathering the clan leader's attention easily.
For being rather caught up in business Katsura finished up rather quickly. Kenshin entered wearily, Katsura motioned for Kenshin to join him. The young heir sat down, he had much to tell the Choshu leader yet so much that he couldn't. Katsura motioned for his consort to leave noticing the distinct look of seriousness on Himura's face.
"To what do I owe this honor Himura san?" Katsura could feel the tense energy rolling off the young man in his employ. The not so young Hitokiri sighed and looked his employer straight in the eye, "you have something important to tell me don't you… Something that requires my utmost attention?"
"The wolves won't be bothering you anymore, I have taken care of that tonight as well as my assignments. Don't forget that there are things out there bigger than this war for the Emperor, Katsura san," Kenshin sighed softly, "in order to deal with your wolf problem I had to get a little more personal than I wanted… you are aware that I am not what I pretend to be, but I unfortunately have so much more to hide and not just from you. What I can tell you is I will be having some discrete visitors for a while in exchange for the wolf problem, I just wanted you to be aware of them and that I really didn't want them here." Katsura felt his mouth open far enough to admit flies to freely enter as they wished, then abruptly shut it only to let it fall open again. He was fully aware that Himura wasn't human, but that he had enough standing to get rid of the werewolves entirely from one visit?
The man wanted to hug the fake human sitting across from him, he had just relieved quite the burden from Katsura's shoulders. The manslayer before him had more talent then he originally supposed, and a hell of a lot more political leverage than the kid, no man, would ever care to admit. He almost wished he had the guts to ask what it was that he was hiding, but figured it would be rude to ask after all Himura had just done.
"I don't know how to thank you," Katsura finally said watching the man's reaction, "you have no idea how much you have done for the Choshu clan this night. I was losing men so fast to them, I thought I would be left with only my… special volunteers such as yourself." Kenshin resisted the urge to smile, "thanks for the warning." Kenshin rose and was halfway out the door when he decided to answer Katsura's statements.
"You are welcome, good night Katsura san," Kenshin shut the door and worked his way to his room slowly. His shoulders felt so heavy, he collapsed against the bookshelf too eagerly as his swords made his ass stick up uncomfortably for a moment. He adjusted the swords and was asleep within moments.
AN: That's all from me for now, sorry about the reposting, but I didn't like how it was flowing at all.