Twice the Debauchery

A Rurouni Kenshin Fan-Fiction

Synopsis: Two months into dating, Kenshin and Kaoru live deceptively mundane lives. Kaoru, 21 years old, studies at a high-ranking university in Tokyo as a music major. Kenshin, 32, is a successful and well-respected neurosurgeon at the local hospital. Despite their strong feelings for one another, both have been hiding a very big secret: they are both assassins working under adversarial syndicates. During their last assignment, they cross paths on opposite sides of the coin.

CHAPTER FIVE: SUBMERSION

Kenshin: In an act of submission, she lowers her guard – vulnerability and defeat reflected in the familiar blues of her eyes. My mind is failing to catch up with my body in time as I swiftly and relentlessly come down upon her surrendered form. Time stands still, despite everything happening within a fraction of a second. Panicked heat spreads throughout my body like wildfire, and all I see is a flash of red.

*It's a particularly beautiful summers day today. The temperature floats upon a perfect 77 degrees. The sky is brilliantly blue; mostly clear with wisps of clouds here and there. Songbirds sing their tunes and flitter against a pallet of azure in frivolous play. Cherry blossom petals are swept away in the gentle gusts of wind and create a steady rainfall of flower. Though I am early, I can't help but to check the time at my wrist in antsy anticipation. As I look up from the analogue instrument I am greeted with dancing blue iris'. Flustered, she blurts out an apology for making me wait; though, I'm not entirely listening as much as I am experiencing. Adorned in a sage summer dress with scattered yellow flowers, a pretty pink paints her cheeks. The ebony hair that is normally pinned up billows wildly in freedom, and there are crow feet at the corners of her eyes from smiling so heartily. She takes a seat next to me, the look in her eyes scream of hunger and excitement. I enjoy cooking for her, and the resonating peace that I feel when I'm beside her. I set the bentos that I had carefully prepared, taking off the lids to reveal the contents. "Itadakimasu!" She claps her hands in jovial gratitude. The halcyon moments spent in her company is treasure to my soul. *

With precision that surprises even myself, I stop my blade at the very moment it touches her skin; a lick of blood spilling from the point of contact with the cool steel.

"Kao-ru?" Her name tumbles out my mouth a notch below a whisper. Her eyes open slowly, a sanguine expression beset upon an otherwise solemn countenance.

"Kenshin –" Relief dances upon the keys of my spoken name like music to my ears; I almost smile but she goes stiff before I have the chance, and angles herself over-shoulder, her eyes narrowing. "Questions can wait – are you here for Takeda?" She asks as she crouches down to grab her fallen sword, her gaze taut and unwavering.

"Yes." I pause for a second, mulling over the current predicament. "I take it that you are as well." I pick up on whatever presence had set her off – someone was approaching us.

"I'm sort of a one-man act.." She trails off with a shrug of her shoulders "this is going to complicate things, Battousai." She smirks at me playfully, ebbing away at the tense situation we're currently in; though, I wonder if she has recognized who I was from the start.

I scoff. "Right back at you."

"We'll figure everything out once we see this through. Stay focused, they know we're here now." She pulls the mask back over her face and winks at me.

Kaoru: We dance around each other in appraisal; he is skilled, but I am better. Our steel clashes in a momentary stand-still; I break the contact by directing the flow of my opponent's weight and sweep him from underneath his feet. He springs back up as quickly as he falls in a reverse get up. I need to end this quickly so that I may catch up to my red-headed companion who I graciously let take the lead.

It is my wit and audacity that will make me conqueror of this battle. He goes in for the kill, and with careful intention I dodge it by a hair as to minimize the window of his possible reaction time. In a fountain of blood his arm plops to the floor, and his head is quick to follow. Out of habit I flick the blood off my blade and precede forward. Almost there.

A staccato burst of gunshots sends my heart through my throat and stops me dead in my footsteps. Concern grips at my mind and strangles my sense of judgment in a haze of fear. The only thing that matters to me is his well-being now. I burst through the twin doors of the room they're in without a second thought, but I am too late.

He was gone without a trace. Takeda's body laid crumpled in the middle of the room, a departing gift from the man I'd never see again.

I may or may not write a post-one-shot. Who knows! I kind of like this angsty ending for a short story, only time will tell I suppose… But hey, I just recently binged on the Seven Deadly Sins :D And I gotta say, I LOVED it. Seriously guys, it hit all of my cravings *_* Till next time