Exchange

Chapter 3: Demonstration

Kaoru rubbed her temples attempting to keep her temper in check. She was sitting on the roof of a building that belonged to a politician. A corrupt politician to be specific. Takeda Kanryuu was not particularly known for his political dealings, but rather his drug dealings. It had to be stopped, or so the Battousai had said. That man drove her crazy with his stupid smirks and steaming eyes.

Her guns were strapped to her thighs, visible only through the slits on the sides of her dress that revealed flashes of her legs. The dress was black, something that would hide the blood on her clothes should things get messy. In her right hand she held a katana. It was far from perfect. She longed for the demon crafted steel that she practiced so regularly with. The hilt felt foreign in her hand compared to what she was used to. Swearing softly she gazed through the window to her right carefully. He was sitting in his chair, smoking something. Whether it was simply a cigarette or something with a little more kick, she didn't care.

She crept to the window and unlatched it easily. The window flung open, catching his attention. His eyes swung to the window and she slipped out of sight. He looked out to his left than his right and when he returned his eyes to the center she was standing in front of him with a dark look in her eyes and a pistol pointed at his forehead.

"You've breathed your last breath," she whispered pulling the trigger.

The bullet was embedded in his head before he had the chance to scream. The silencer worked effectively and no one came rushing upstairs. She hopped in the window and searched the room for anything she might find useful. He had a pair of kodachi hung on the wall. She squinted at them, finding them oddly familiar. Her eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth when she realized just who they belonged too.

This was the man how had tried to tame Aoshi. She remembered his sad story about how his comrades had given their lives for him to escape. His loyal swords had been left behind in the confusion and here they were. She grasped them lovingly after sheathing her own katana. He would be pleased to see them again.

She strapped them to her legs just below her guns, intending to keep them until she returned to her own world.

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She walked down the quiet road, humming a soft tune under her breath as she dragged Kanryuu's body along by the collar of his shirt. Her mind drifted back to the party that she was being forced to attend as the main event.

"Gentlemen!" Battousai greeted with a grand smile on his face. "Meet my woman."

She sputtered at that, wondering just who the hell he thought he was to go telling such absurd lies.

"Charmed," she had uttered through gritted teeth.

"She's beautiful," one man whispered. "Where'd you get her?"

"She's a demon," Battousai told them, taking a handful of her hair and running his fingers through it.

"You should've known that, Sano. Kenshin only keeps demons, remember?" Another said. "Humans bore him or something."

"Oh, I could just eat her up!" a cheery voice rang out. "Can I borrow her for a bit? To test some of my creations?"

"Kamatari. She's not a doll," Battousai told him.

"But-but she's so adorable!"

"She will be the one to get rid of Takeda," he told them all, cutting Kamatari's rant off.

"Her? A feeble demon like her?"

"Don't underestimate her. She is-was the leader of her kind," he informed them with a wicked smile.

"Will we have proof of his death then?"

"She's to bring the body back. Isn't that right, Kaoru…?"

She bit her lip to keep from lashing out with her tongue before nodding slowly.

The men stared at her for a few more moments before Battousai offered them drinks. They'd gladly agreed and followed him to his mini-bar, leaving her alone in the room. She breathed deeply, happy to be on her own again, even if it was only for a little while. She sat on the couch and fingered her collar thoughtfully. She'd never memorized the deactivation spell for it having never thought she'd be in this sort of position.

"So her name is Kaoru?" a woman asked. The only other woman than herself if she was correct.

"Yes," Battousai answered.

"She is a gorgeous demon. Do not let her slip through your fingers like the last one, Kenshin."

"I will try, Yumi."

Kaoru hated the way they talked as if she were not even there. Then again she hated them all. It was people like them that had driven her to make the bargain in the first place. Her fangs pricked her lips as she thought about their race. Most of them were no better than him. They were all curious and nothing seemed to sate that curiosity.

"Oh look! How sweet, she's baring her fangs already," someone said and she glared at them, hissing.

"Kaoru," Battousai said in warning. Her collar burned and she hissed again.

"I think I'll go now," she said, standing up quickly.

"You have two hours," he told her and she bared her fangs at him again as if to tell him to back off.

He smirked as if it amused him and she slammed the door behind her only after she grabbed her weapons…

She bit back a growl at the memory. She was most likely in for an even more annoying show when she returned with his body.

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The door opened loudly and she strode in, dropping the body on the ground at their feet before retreating to the bathroom. It was time she made contact.

"I told you she was capable," Battousai said. "Kaoru."

"What?" she asked, halting in her trek.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to shower," she said, not turning around. She began walking, uncaring if he didn't want her to leave or not. Her collar would burn if he was unhappy with her. She would know.

The bathroom door closed with just as much force as the front door had. The first thing she did was fill the tub impatiently. She knelt down beside it before muttering the connection spell.

"Kaoru," Megumi acknowledged. "That didn't take long."

"What do you know?"

"He was the one who took Tomoe. And killed her, granted it was an accident… but still…"

"I already knew that."

"Oh… Well, It would seem that he's in quite the interesting organization. He used to be a hitokiri for the Ishin Shishi. He gave up killing, maybe, two years ago? Something like that anyway," Megumi told her.

"So that's why…"

"He was trained in a demon style, Kaoru," Aoshi said abruptly coming into view.

"What style?"

"Hiten Mitsurgi."

"Talk to Hiko. Now."

"Yes, leader," the both said, bowing.

"I'll make contact again as soon as possible," she said before splashing the image away.

She scowled softly when she realized she'd neglected to tell Aoshi about his kodachi. She reasoned that there would be other opportunities. For now, she needed to shower and get out of that dress…

She opened the shower door and looked in. The bottles of white plum shower gels were gone. Instead she noticed bottles of jasmine. Her scent. She stared at it for a moment in wonder before actually climbing in. He paid attention. And she hadn't even asked him to buy her something more feminine…

Shaking herself out of her amazement and shut the shower door behind her once she was in. She turned the water as hot as she could bear. The hot water flowed over her body and she savored the feeling of being clean.