Love... Hate... and Then There's You

Written by: JadeFoxxx (AKA: Devil-Babe-911)

Summary – She had been betrayed by everyone she had ever let close to her heart, never trusting them or anyone else again...until she met him. Battousai the Manslayer...Can she find the trust and love that she's longed for...in an assassin sent to kill her? Kagome/Kenshin RKIY

Anime – Rurouni Kenshin/InuYasha

Main Couple – Kagome/Kenshin

Genre – Romance / Action / Adventure

Rated – M (Medium Violence) (Medium Sexual Themes) (Excessive Blood and Gore) (Attempted Rape) (Excessive Language)

Waking Up To Scarlet and Meeting Sensei!

The mediocre teacher tells.

The good teacher explains.

The superior teacher demonstrates.

The great teacher inspires.

-x-x-x-

Kagome wasn't sure why, but...across from her was whom she believed to be the very man whom was watching her the night before...prior to her foolishly falling into her deep slumber.

'Talk about reckless decisions...but...why did he not attack?'

"..." She got on her hands and knees and quietly made her way over towards the young man with the cut across his cheek. He had red hair that rivaled the color and beauty of a rose. It looked soft to the touch; her hand moved without her consent, running her fingers through the scarlet locks. She jumped back in shock when his eyes snapped open to reveal stunning violet orbs.

"It's impolite to touch someone while they are asleep." The young violet eyed man said in a soft yet cold voice. His tone reminded her of Sesshoumaru in a way.

"It's impolite to stalk someone, yet you seemed to have no problem with doing so."

He tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Stalk?"

She sighed, "Follow, tail, shadow, pursue...whatever term of phrase you want to use. You were doing so the other day."

"...if you knew...then why—"

"—did I fall asleep? ...I was sleepy..." Her cheeks heated up slightly and she turned away with a small pout. He seemed baffled by her attitude but said nothing, only frowned. "Look, since you have not killed me yet I'm going to presume that you have no intention of doing so, at least, not anytime soon. I'll...talk with you later, Scarlet." With that said, she vanished. He stared in shock, his sword clinched tightly in his grasp.

"...wha...?" He frowned and thought back to before he fell asleep. He had been contemplating whether or not she was faking sleep or really asleep.

-Flashback-

The young man glanced down at the raven haired beauty with the white/silver streaks. He was now standing right in front of her, his sword was not only drawn but also pressed lightly against her cheek.

'She doesn't look dangerous at all...' His violet eyes trailed over to her sword which lay forgotten on the ground beside her and him. He frowned and his free hand moved in a slow motion upwards, his fingers tracing the cut on his cheek. 'For now...you can live for now...but I shall decide...what fate you will have...when you've awaken.' He leaned up against the wall across from her, well aware of the cries of pain and agony around him, the scent of blood heavy in the air. He let his sword fall gently against his shoulder before letting a light sleep consume him.

-End-Flashback-

'I wonder...why I'm still alive...she got close enough without me knowing, could have even killed me...so then...why...?' He glanced up and watched as the clouds started shadowing over the battlefield. He placed his sword back at his side and stood silently, taking off in the same steady pace that he always moved in.

-x-x-x-

Kagome frowned, crossing her arms in irritation. She hadn't found a nice spring to bathe in yet and to be frank, she was pissed.

'Maybe I should have told Jakotsu and Bankotsu to leave Kilala alive. At the least she could sniff these things out. All I can smell is the rustic scent of lingering blood and the decaying of rotting copses. Ah well, no sense crying over spilt milk...that isn't right...maybe by rewording it a bit...'

"No sense crying over spilt...blood...?...yeah, that's right...spilt blood." She said the last part in a whisper, so soft that most wouldn't even be sure if she had said anything at all. "Why does it hurt though? They betrayed me...GAH, why am I even thinking about it!?" She glanced up and her eyes widened, pinching her arm a bit she winced but then smiled a large grin. Right before her eyes was an onsen.

"Wah...Sugoi! Beautiful, clean, and serene outdoor spring...all for me...!" She sighed in bliss as she made her way towards the onsen and removed both her sack of coins and sword from its place at her side, placing them against a nearby tree. She pulled the blue butterfly hairpin from the side of her hair and placed it with her sword before beginning the process of stripping. Her white kimono sleeve crop top and black Hakama's were soon discarded in a small pile of bloody clothes.

"I'll have to wash these; getting the blood out of them won't be an easy task." She said to herself, removing her socks and tabi sandals before stepping into the warm steaming springs. She sighed in content as she leaned back onto a stone formation.

"Must be my lucky day," Kagome jumped a foot in the air, turning around so fast that her wet hair wrapped itself around her slim and toned form. Right before her stood a tall and if she was honest...handsome man.

He had long black hair that fell down just above his hips in a ponytail, two locks were left alone, placed over his shoulders and only going past them by a few inches, his bangs were wild and unruly but he was still very handsome, with his obsidian black eyes staring down at her, following every curve he could before her form was cut off by the misty spring. He was powerfully built and wore a light blue sleeveless kimono top, dark grey baggy pants tied with a white belt and tight black boots up to his shins, holding the pants in place successfully.

Over his shoulders was a white long jacket of some sort that was double layered. The bottom layer coming past his boots just a bit, lined with a red hem. The second layer came just past his elbows, also lined with a red hem. The red collar flared out over his shoulders and his lips were placed in a cocky smirk. On his wrists were two black arm bracelets, also used as a type of armor with the hard metal they were made from. A sword was held in his hand, nothing fancy on the outside, but she wondered what the blade itself was like.

"Who are you!?" He quirked his eyebrows and looked her in the eyes.

"My dear, you may call me Hiko Seijuro, Hiko, if you will."

"...Hiko..." She gave a small nod before turning away from him, much to his disappointment, and sinking back down into the water, soaking her hair in her attempts at removing the blood from her normally silken locks.

"Do I receive no name in which I can call you by, my dear maiden?"

'...' She ignored the familiar title that a certain monk had once referred to her as. "Kagome..."

"Ah, Kagome, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

"I'm flattered Hiko, but that flattery will get you nowhere." He smirked and she heard the light shuffling of clothes being removed. "Hiko, you would do best to keep both your plans of seduction and..." She glanced behind her as he untied his belt, her head snapping back, avoiding what was beneath the discarded fabric. "—yourself, away from me."

"My dear, you think poorly of me, I merely wished to bathe in the warmth of this spring. You just happened to beat me to it." She raised a brow and rolled her eyes, but other then that, she said nothing. Moving to the further side of the onsen she grabbed a plant and rock, crushing it into slime, she wiped it off of the rock and into the water, causing a few bubbles to appear and a sweat aroma to drift in the air, blocking out the scent of rustic blood.

"That's a nifty little trick you've got there. What was that that you used?"

"...Echinacea...it stimulates the immune system, promotes healing and has antiviral affects. Also...butterflies love them..." She said the last part after turning to face him a bit. He seemed taken aback with the last part.

"Butterflies, huh..." He glanced to the patch and noticed that a few wings were moving on the buds. "Well what do you know...a...butterfly."

-x-x-x-

The nameless red head whom Kagome had dubbed 'Scarlet' had lost sight of his...mission. Now he made his way into the nearest village that wasn't in the middle of the battlefield or being affected the way that neighboring villages were.

"Himura...it's going to start raining soon, you should come inside." He looked to the owner of the place that he and many other soldiers and swordsman's spent their nights resting and recuperating.

"...right..." He looked up towards the sky and noticed the grays and black's barreling into what were once light blues and white clouds cascading over them. "Akuma Hime..."

"What was that Himura?"

"...nothing. Let's get inside before the rain starts to fall. Is there anything I can help with Ma'am?"

"As polite as always, you truly are a blessing. How they managed to snag you in the war is beyond me. Hmm...could you help the girls in the back move the dishes to the front? We just got a new shipment in."

"Yes...of course," He moved in, glancing back once more before turning to do as asked.

-x-x-x-

Hiko looked back at her and noticed her glaring at the pile of clothes by a nearby tree. They had been in the water for a good fifteen minutes.

"Too far away?"

"No...My clothes are covered in blood. "

"..."

She felt the water move and turned to see what was happening, her head turned back quickly, her face red with embarrassment. 'Lucky, I can't get out until I clean my clothes and even then I'll be waking in soaking wet clothes!'

"Here." She glanced back cautiously and saw him dressed, holding out his white jacket with the red lining.

"...?"

"You want to clean your clothes, don't you?"

She stared at it then back at him...

"Turn around!" She said stubbornly, her cheeks still faintly pink from blushing.

"...of course." He turned away and listened as she removed herself from the water. She took the jacket and wrapped it around her lethal form.

"Thank you." He turned back and frowned.

"How old are you?"

"18...I know, I look older, don't I..."

"You look to be in you early twenties. 21, 22 maybe."

"Nope, 18."

He sighed in disappointment but then smiled. "My student should be 18 by now."

"...student?" She looked up from the stream she was washing her clothes in, the blood floating down stream in little wisps.

"Yes, he was 16 when he left me though. Having gone off to fight for his own...idealistic...dreams."

"What kind of idealistic dreams?"

"A world without war. He wishes to rid the world of those who pursue war."

"Stupid Student..." She said as she returned to what she was doing.

"Oh, why do you say that?"

"...Idealistic dreams are fine, but as they approach reality, the costs become prohibitive."

"Would you not fight for your own ideals if you knew they be reali—" He was silenced with a glare, one that Sesshoumaru would be proud of. She sighed and clenched the pink orb around her neck, the only thing that she had left on when bathing.

"If it were proved to me that in making war, my ideal had a chance of being realized, I would still say "no" to war. For one does not create a human society on mounds of corpses."

She hung her clothes on a branch and sat down, pulling her now clean and wet hair over her shoulder, she started to braid it, placing Jakotsu's blue butterfly pin at the end where the band wrapped firmly around it. She stood straight and taking her sword from the tree she wrapped the cloth that held the sheath and her bag of coins around her waist, tying the jacket securely.

"So, aside from ideals, what's he like?"

"Do you mean, what is his personality or what does he look like?" She blushed and took a seat across from the man.

"...both."

"Well, for looks, he has long red hair and —"

"Violet eyes?" She asked, interrupting him.

"Yes, you have met him?"

"About an hour or so ago. I call him Scarlet because I don't know his name."

"Kenshin Himura."

"...Kenshin...Um, Hiko...could you...could you train me in the same style you trained him!" She placed her hands together almost as if praying, her eyes sealed shut as she waited patiently.

"...why?"

"Because...I want to fight him one day, not kill him, but fight. A true battle against this...Kenshin..."

"Not kill, your clothes say otherwise."

"I was dragged into the war without any knowledge of what I was fighting for or against. I will leave the battlefield if you will train me."

"...Fine, your name, the one they gave you?"

"Akuma Hime Battousai."

"Demon Princess...tell me, would you consider that name properly given?"

"I don't think they could've chosen one more fitting if they'd tried."

"Oh...?"

"I'll explain one day, just not...not now."

"That is fine."

"Thank you for understanding, Seijuro-Sensei."

He nodded and leaned back against the tree. Kagome leaned against the opposite side of the same tree, her eyes fell shut; her hands grip on her blades hilt was unyielding. As she fell into a dreamless sleep, her heart constricted as the thought of her ex-friends filled her mind.

'Midoriko...why does it hurt so much...'

-x-x-x-

Me: Not really the longest chapter I've written, but they will get much longer, of that I promise.