a/n: hoping you find this chapter just a tad longer than the last one... it was kinda short, so yes, I apologize... don't forget to review!!

disclaimer: been there, done that...

Exchange
Chapter 14: Memory

Kaoru stared at herself in the mirror, long and hard. She craned her neck again to stare at the patch of offended skin. She growled involuntarily in annoyance. She shut her eyes and thought hard. He was good. She would admit that much. He'd managed to reduce her to a pile of mush in his arms with only a few pretty, possessive words and some… marks.

She opened her eyes and ran her fingers over the mark again before groaning. She didn't have anyway of covering it except illusion magic, but Kenshin would be able to identify it easily and she didn't really want to keep the illusion up all the time.

'So what to do…' she asked herself.

She supposed she could use human makeup although she'd rather not; he would most likely notice that too. With a sigh of frustration she put her hands on the sink. She would just leave it as it was. He would be amused beyond belief when he saw it, but it would be better than if he discovered she was hiding it.

She had even tried to readjust her collar so that it covered the mark, but they way he'd done it made it nearly impossible…

Wistfully, her mind drifted back to when he pulled back. He'd simply made his proclamation and disappeared, leaving her to collect herself in the hall. She hadn't fallen to her knees, which was something she was grateful for; she would've died if she had. She assumed that he was up to his eyeballs in male satisfaction which was why she hadn't emerged from the bathroom in nearly twelve hours. Her taking up the bathroom was probably an issue for him, but she didn't particularly care.

She peered past the wall in the hall to see if Kenshin was sitting on the couch watching the flames in the fire flicker like he had done so many other times, but his seat was empty. She deemed it safe to enter the living room and took up the couch, wondering vaguely where he had disappeared to. She glanced towards the corner of the room where he typically left his swords to see if they were gone as well, but they sat exactly where he'd last left them so it was obvious that he wasn't out on duty for Hiko.

Speaking of Hiko… It had been a while since she'd checked in with anyone in the demon realm… She could feel her eyelids starting to drop even as her thoughts raced between Kenshin and her people. Her reasons were muddled now. After everything that she'd experienced in her stay in the human world, she had to wonder if Kenshin really was as evil as everyone had branded him.

She fingered her collar thoughtfully, wishing that he would have gotten rid of it. It was terribly itchy when it got wet and not to mention a bother. Her eyelids were heavy now and she was having a hard time fighting off sleep with the way she was sprawled out on the couch with the warmth of the fire adding to her comfort.

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Kenshin walked down the streets, smirking to himself. The last time he'd seen Kaoru she was standing in the hall with a dazed expression on her features that had made him smug with satisfaction. He had wanted her from the start and he was finally getting what he wanted… Sometimes she drove him mad with her coldness, her lack of emotion, that he'd almost given up on his goal. Almost.

He hadn't really expected it to be so easy, but then again, she hadn't exactly refused his advances… He had realized that Kaoru would probably need some time to herself to realize what had happened as well. Besides, the way she locked herself in the bathroom was an excellent indicator of this.

He wondered if she'd be out by the time he returned or not. Chances were once she figured out that he wasn't there anymore she'd come out.

He didn't really intend to go back to the apartment so soon, but curiosity was proving too much for him to bear. He slowed his walk and turned around. She was probably out. He just had to see… He closed his eyes for a moment, smiling happily. When he opened them again, he had to dodge to the side to avoid walking into a man.

"Watch where you're going, Battousai," the man sneered.

Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise. "It's you!"

Enishi laughed. "Yes. It's me. I wouldn't leave your woman alone for too long, after all, look what happened to Tomoe."

Kenshin snarled and grabbed the collar of Enishi's coat. "What. Did. You. Do."

"Nothing permanent," he promised sourly. "At least not yet."

Kenshin threw him to the ground with a low growl, staring upon him as if he were an insect waiting to be crushed. He debated whether or not he should kill him, but decided that Kaoru was more important at this moment. He took off towards the apartment, intending to find Kaoru.

The moment he made it to the hallway he could tell something was off. It was just like the first time, only worse. There had been no struggle, he noted, staring at his open door. There was a blanket on the floor as if to say she had been asleep before she was taken.

There wasn't any blood, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to kill Enishi for taking her from him. He should have killed him when he'd seen him on the street.

He would find Kaoru if it was the last thing he did and he would paint the streets red in his efforts. Again.

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The first thing she noticed was her head hurt. She hadn't had such a headache since… last night. When Kenshin had questioned her. She rubbed her head, moaning softly in pain. Her memory was fuzzy. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the couch in front of the fire. She'd heard the door click open and assumed that it was just Kenshin when…

When… That's right. Someone had hit her on the head before she had fully woken up. Her eyes narrowed, thinking past the pain to consider all of the possibilities. She was a hostage. Bait. Someone to draw Battousai. Kenshin.

A sigh was heard in the small, dark room. The pieces starting falling into place. Enishi was the only one that she could think of that wanted revenge on him. She buried her head in between her up drawn knees in attempt to lessen the throbbing.

She stayed that way until she heard the creek of a door. Her head shot up in time to lock eyes with the demon that had defied her so.

"Enishi," she whispered. "Why?"

"You should know why. He killed my sister and now you take his side! You are in love with him!"

She flinched. "I have no affection for that man. I do however pity him. He is innocent and you persist to accuse him for something he did not do intentionally!"

"Now who is the liar, Kaoru? You dare to sit here and lie to my face when you know I could kill you right now," he growled out. "You have never cared for our people."

Her eyes flashed. "We have had this argument, Enishi, and it ended in you running away like the coward you are."

"I didn't run! I planned," he said, grinning. "And Tomoe helped me, dear leader. She is the mastermind. This is all for her."

"She is dead, Enishi! And she would not want you to do this!"

"What do you know?! You know nothing of my sister or her emotions! That monster that you've been living with murdered her and she wants to see him die!!" he screamed. "It's all his fault!"

Kaoru kept quiet, not wanting to anger him further. He was already agitated as it was and it wouldn't do to make him even angrier. Her mouth drew into a firm line, a sign of her unhappiness. He didn't make anything easy, even when he obeyed her. He had always been a troublemaker and he'd simply taken it too far this time.

"Enishi," she started softly. "What happened to that lost little boy that I helped so many years ago?"

"He died," he whispered harshly. "He died when his sister was ripped away from him."

"Oh Enishi," she sighed out. "She died happy. She died for what she believed in and she wanted you to be happy. She never wanted this."

"She told me exactly what she wanted. She knows that you betrayed her, Kaoru. She knows that you joined forces with Battousai and now she wants you to die too."

Kaoru's eyes widened. He was truly insane. Tomoe would never wish death upon anyone. Ever.

"You're delusional," she murmured in shock. "Completely and utterly delusional."

"I'm not." He smile wickedly. "You will die and he will watch as you die, ever so slowly. Tomoe will have her revenge."

"Listen to me, Enishi," she started sharply, "Let us call Tomoe right now. Let us hear what she wishes together."

"There's no need. She is here, smiling upon me at this very moment," he told her. "She smiles for me."

Kaoru didn't answer, attempting to find someway to reason with him further. A summoning was obviously out of the question now. He truly believed that Tomoe was with him always. She had never taken well to be the damsel in distress, but in this situation there was nothing she could do but wait.

Kenshin would be furious, of course. He probably already knew that she was missing, but she had no idea exactly how he was going to find her.

"He is on his way, dear leader," Enishi said sweetly. "Never fear. Your beloved Battousai shall come for you."

"I don't need his help, you realize," she said harshly. "I could kill you now."

"And then Tomoe wouldn't have her revenge," he snarled. "She will be happy! And Battousai will die!!"

Enishi's breathing was irregular now and his veins were clearly visible. Kaoru had just about had enough of his insanity. Tomoe was not there and she hadn't wished death upon Kenshin. Enishi had been driven to the brink of his sanity and it was time that he dealt with the consequences.

And she planned on delivering.

a/n: review!!