Dark
Chapter Four
A/N: Hey, y'all. If you see something about 'knives' here, and you're confused, reread chapter 2, I fixed it. Hope you're enjoying yourselves! I'm so happy to have this fic back up. I'll let you all in on a little secret. I was on vacation, when I found that this had been deleted. And I'll tell ya, it ruined the rest of my vacation. Not to mention the fact that I burst into tears when I read it. So, whoever did it the first time, PLEASE don't do it again. *Mutter* Or I'll have to come after you with MY Katana, and it isn't a reverse blade! *Cough.* *Innocent look.*
Sanosuke finally managed to disengage the ebony-haired girl from around his throat.
"Uh.. hi, Missy." He mumbled. Battousai was not in a good mood to begin with. This didn't help. He, almost sulkily, crossed his arms.
"You know each other." Suddenly they were both blushing. Sano rubbed the back of his neck, at a loss for words.
"Sano used to baby sit me." Kaoru informed her captor shamelessly. Sano waved his arms around frantically all of the sudden, trying to stop her. She ignored him completely. "He worked with this little babysitting group – Sekihoutai Childcare."
No reaction.
Bland face.
"They were disbanded when their leader was accused of stealing from the houses and their reputation was tarnished."
Battousai glared with no reaction for a moment – and then did something totally unexpected.
He started to laugh.
Not a little chuckle or a derisive snort, but a huge, real, belly-laugh.
Both stared in utter shock. Sano because he'd never heard Kenshin actually laugh like that before, and Kaoru for the same reason, as well as the fact that she'd suddenly noticed that he looked kinda.. handsome.. with his hair down. It made him look less rigid and mean. Until one saw his golden eyes, of course.
Battousai was on the floor now, rolling around in pure, utter glee. He looked up at them, and the two amused parties (Actually, Kaoru found it kinda funny, Sano did not find it in any way humurous) realized with varying degrees of shock that his eyes were not amber, but instead a soft, lupine violet.
His voice was even different. Kinder. Happier. Kaoru was shocked, Sano was but to a lesser extent.
"Sekihoutai CHILDCARE?" He choked on more laughter. "Sano – you told me that was the name of your street gang! That you did!" Suddenly, Kaoru realzied what was so funny, and couldn't help but giggle softly.
It was as though he was coming out of a dream. Battousai swam back to this surface, and everything changed as though a switch had been thrown.
Before Kaoru's stunned eyes, his features hardened and his eyes faded back into gold. Even his stance differed. Kaoru wasn't any sort of Ki-reader, but even she felt the palpable change in the strawberry-haired assassin's.
Battousai glared at her, and was somewhat surprised when she returned his look. After a few moments of the chilly silence, Battousai posed one of his crisp, almost-questions.
"Why were you unconcious on the couch?" Sanosuke fielded that one, he'd seen the blood on her face and clothing after peeling her off of him.
"Missy has this thing about blood. It kinda makes her faint." He informed and glaring red-head.
Kaoru watched with an odd facination as the eyes swung back to her.
"Why didn't you tell me." She almost admired his ability to make a question into a statement.
"Didn't give me much of a choice." She pointed out airily. He merely shrugged, admitting to and dismissing the fact all at once.
He gave a lazy wave toward the bathroom, inviting her wordlessly to use it. She didn't move.
"I'll need new clothes."
"And I'll find you some. Go." She did as ordered, closing the door softly. An added click indicated that she'd locked the door. Battousai almost smirked – he had a key. But he decided to allow her that added sense of security. As though he'd go in there while she was taking a shower or something!
"So. Sano. Got anything to fit her?" He said almost jokingly. To his surprise, Sano reached behind the couch and threw a bag at him. Battousai caught it quickly. He opened it, curious.
Inside it he saw a hooded sweatshirt, a cotton tanktop, and sweatpants.
"You anticipated this, didn't you?"
"Yup. I heard about your orders, and I know how you tend to leave blood wherever you go." Battousai gave Sano a dirty look. He dropped the bag on the door knob, informing Kaoru curtly.
A few seconds later, Kaoru reached out and took the bag off, closing the door firmly.
She considered her options. Finally, she decided to keep the smaller knife in the elastic of the pants and the larger one in the front pocket of the sweatshirt.
A few minutes after that important decision, Kaoru came out. The blood was gone from her cheeks and hands. She wore the new clothing.
"What time is – what?" They were both staring at her. She planted her hands on her hips, annoyed. "WHAT are you two staring at, exactly?" She threatened, more than asked. Battousai blinked, surprised at the way she'd spoken to them as though they were in HER house or something. He gave her his scariest look. She gulped, but did not change her stance, or her glare. Sano chuckled.
"Uh.. you clean up pretty." She wasn't there anymore. Suddenly, her fist smashed into the top of Sano's head.
"Grr."
"How do you DO that." He wondered. She flipped her hair over her shoulder airily, spraying him with water, and stalked into the bedroom. She slammed the door behind her and that was that.
What Sano didn't say was that she was WAY to thin and pale. Without the makeup on her face, her pallor was clearly visible. And the way the clothes hung off of her suggested that she might be sick.
"You can stay, if you want." Battousai growled and walked out of the room.
"Nah, I don't think I will." Sano informed the ever-attentive bookcase. He stood, opened the door, and left. Battousai hadn't bothered to put the code back on.
Ten minutes after Sano left, Battousai came back out and typed the key-numbers to lock the door. Then he leaned against the wall next to the door of the room Kaoru was in and went to sleep.
A/N: I really hope that you all liked it, I'm starting to get into the real plot. Promise. And yes, it's still a romance. Um.. 46 reviews for chapter 5! ^_- Oh yeah, and a little poll. Okay, just somewhere in your review, put:
A – if you want the filler chapter to be every two chapters
B – if you want the filler chapter to be every four chapters
C – if you don't want a filler chapter at all
I aim to please! ^-^
Okay. Some responses.. *Looks around for the paper.* KENSHIN!
Kenshin: Yeeesss?
Dove: Where is it?
Kenshin: Where is what?
Dove: The. Paper.
Kenshin: *Enjoying himself* What paper?
Dove: You have it, don't you?
Sano: Hey, Kenshin, what do you want me to do with that paper I nicked from Dove-ch.. oops.
Dove: *Tackles Sano* GIVE ME THAT!
**Some Bloodshed Later**
Dove: Okay then! Here we go..
Ann – Here you are, and thank you!
Midoriko – Heh. Thank you, you're welcome. ^-^ *Amused* Um.. please be careful not to ruin the carpet with your tears, my friend. ^_-
Moonblossom – Of course I'm not mad! Good idea, so I made that poll. I don't have any problem with a well-thought-out request. ^_- Thank you for the review!
Pidge – Thanks
Kiyara – Thank you so very much! Two reviews in a row, I'm so pleased! I love your name, too, it's very pretty.
Kurokumo – Oh my. I'm SO SORRY. I didn't mean to spell your name wrong, a thousand apologies. Does this make it better? *Holds out offering of cheesecake*
Zacola – Wow, thank you! Triple review, I'm very happy. ^-^ *Dances the happy dance* Of course I don't just leave stuff. I'm to obsessive. So here you go. Heh.
LunaAngel – I'm glad you liked that part, I've always wanted to see Kaoru tackle Sano. ^_-
Daine - *Blushes bright red* Oh.. Um.. Well. Thank you. You're too kind!
Baka-Ryu – Lol. AGAIN WITH THE KENSHIN THING! ARRGGHH! You need to stop doing that – that smile turns me into an eager to please pile of mush! *sigh*
Thank you everyone for reading, and I'm SOOO sorry it took me so long, but I've been really busy. Remember, 46 reviews for chapter 5.
Chapter Four
A/N: Hey, y'all. If you see something about 'knives' here, and you're confused, reread chapter 2, I fixed it. Hope you're enjoying yourselves! I'm so happy to have this fic back up. I'll let you all in on a little secret. I was on vacation, when I found that this had been deleted. And I'll tell ya, it ruined the rest of my vacation. Not to mention the fact that I burst into tears when I read it. So, whoever did it the first time, PLEASE don't do it again. *Mutter* Or I'll have to come after you with MY Katana, and it isn't a reverse blade! *Cough.* *Innocent look.*
Sanosuke finally managed to disengage the ebony-haired girl from around his throat.
"Uh.. hi, Missy." He mumbled. Battousai was not in a good mood to begin with. This didn't help. He, almost sulkily, crossed his arms.
"You know each other." Suddenly they were both blushing. Sano rubbed the back of his neck, at a loss for words.
"Sano used to baby sit me." Kaoru informed her captor shamelessly. Sano waved his arms around frantically all of the sudden, trying to stop her. She ignored him completely. "He worked with this little babysitting group – Sekihoutai Childcare."
No reaction.
Bland face.
"They were disbanded when their leader was accused of stealing from the houses and their reputation was tarnished."
Battousai glared with no reaction for a moment – and then did something totally unexpected.
He started to laugh.
Not a little chuckle or a derisive snort, but a huge, real, belly-laugh.
Both stared in utter shock. Sano because he'd never heard Kenshin actually laugh like that before, and Kaoru for the same reason, as well as the fact that she'd suddenly noticed that he looked kinda.. handsome.. with his hair down. It made him look less rigid and mean. Until one saw his golden eyes, of course.
Battousai was on the floor now, rolling around in pure, utter glee. He looked up at them, and the two amused parties (Actually, Kaoru found it kinda funny, Sano did not find it in any way humurous) realized with varying degrees of shock that his eyes were not amber, but instead a soft, lupine violet.
His voice was even different. Kinder. Happier. Kaoru was shocked, Sano was but to a lesser extent.
"Sekihoutai CHILDCARE?" He choked on more laughter. "Sano – you told me that was the name of your street gang! That you did!" Suddenly, Kaoru realzied what was so funny, and couldn't help but giggle softly.
It was as though he was coming out of a dream. Battousai swam back to this surface, and everything changed as though a switch had been thrown.
Before Kaoru's stunned eyes, his features hardened and his eyes faded back into gold. Even his stance differed. Kaoru wasn't any sort of Ki-reader, but even she felt the palpable change in the strawberry-haired assassin's.
Battousai glared at her, and was somewhat surprised when she returned his look. After a few moments of the chilly silence, Battousai posed one of his crisp, almost-questions.
"Why were you unconcious on the couch?" Sanosuke fielded that one, he'd seen the blood on her face and clothing after peeling her off of him.
"Missy has this thing about blood. It kinda makes her faint." He informed and glaring red-head.
Kaoru watched with an odd facination as the eyes swung back to her.
"Why didn't you tell me." She almost admired his ability to make a question into a statement.
"Didn't give me much of a choice." She pointed out airily. He merely shrugged, admitting to and dismissing the fact all at once.
He gave a lazy wave toward the bathroom, inviting her wordlessly to use it. She didn't move.
"I'll need new clothes."
"And I'll find you some. Go." She did as ordered, closing the door softly. An added click indicated that she'd locked the door. Battousai almost smirked – he had a key. But he decided to allow her that added sense of security. As though he'd go in there while she was taking a shower or something!
"So. Sano. Got anything to fit her?" He said almost jokingly. To his surprise, Sano reached behind the couch and threw a bag at him. Battousai caught it quickly. He opened it, curious.
Inside it he saw a hooded sweatshirt, a cotton tanktop, and sweatpants.
"You anticipated this, didn't you?"
"Yup. I heard about your orders, and I know how you tend to leave blood wherever you go." Battousai gave Sano a dirty look. He dropped the bag on the door knob, informing Kaoru curtly.
A few seconds later, Kaoru reached out and took the bag off, closing the door firmly.
She considered her options. Finally, she decided to keep the smaller knife in the elastic of the pants and the larger one in the front pocket of the sweatshirt.
A few minutes after that important decision, Kaoru came out. The blood was gone from her cheeks and hands. She wore the new clothing.
"What time is – what?" They were both staring at her. She planted her hands on her hips, annoyed. "WHAT are you two staring at, exactly?" She threatened, more than asked. Battousai blinked, surprised at the way she'd spoken to them as though they were in HER house or something. He gave her his scariest look. She gulped, but did not change her stance, or her glare. Sano chuckled.
"Uh.. you clean up pretty." She wasn't there anymore. Suddenly, her fist smashed into the top of Sano's head.
"Grr."
"How do you DO that." He wondered. She flipped her hair over her shoulder airily, spraying him with water, and stalked into the bedroom. She slammed the door behind her and that was that.
What Sano didn't say was that she was WAY to thin and pale. Without the makeup on her face, her pallor was clearly visible. And the way the clothes hung off of her suggested that she might be sick.
"You can stay, if you want." Battousai growled and walked out of the room.
"Nah, I don't think I will." Sano informed the ever-attentive bookcase. He stood, opened the door, and left. Battousai hadn't bothered to put the code back on.
Ten minutes after Sano left, Battousai came back out and typed the key-numbers to lock the door. Then he leaned against the wall next to the door of the room Kaoru was in and went to sleep.
A/N: I really hope that you all liked it, I'm starting to get into the real plot. Promise. And yes, it's still a romance. Um.. 46 reviews for chapter 5! ^_- Oh yeah, and a little poll. Okay, just somewhere in your review, put:
A – if you want the filler chapter to be every two chapters
B – if you want the filler chapter to be every four chapters
C – if you don't want a filler chapter at all
I aim to please! ^-^
Okay. Some responses.. *Looks around for the paper.* KENSHIN!
Kenshin: Yeeesss?
Dove: Where is it?
Kenshin: Where is what?
Dove: The. Paper.
Kenshin: *Enjoying himself* What paper?
Dove: You have it, don't you?
Sano: Hey, Kenshin, what do you want me to do with that paper I nicked from Dove-ch.. oops.
Dove: *Tackles Sano* GIVE ME THAT!
**Some Bloodshed Later**
Dove: Okay then! Here we go..
Ann – Here you are, and thank you!
Midoriko – Heh. Thank you, you're welcome. ^-^ *Amused* Um.. please be careful not to ruin the carpet with your tears, my friend. ^_-
Moonblossom – Of course I'm not mad! Good idea, so I made that poll. I don't have any problem with a well-thought-out request. ^_- Thank you for the review!
Pidge – Thanks
Kiyara – Thank you so very much! Two reviews in a row, I'm so pleased! I love your name, too, it's very pretty.
Kurokumo – Oh my. I'm SO SORRY. I didn't mean to spell your name wrong, a thousand apologies. Does this make it better? *Holds out offering of cheesecake*
Zacola – Wow, thank you! Triple review, I'm very happy. ^-^ *Dances the happy dance* Of course I don't just leave stuff. I'm to obsessive. So here you go. Heh.
LunaAngel – I'm glad you liked that part, I've always wanted to see Kaoru tackle Sano. ^_-
Daine - *Blushes bright red* Oh.. Um.. Well. Thank you. You're too kind!
Baka-Ryu – Lol. AGAIN WITH THE KENSHIN THING! ARRGGHH! You need to stop doing that – that smile turns me into an eager to please pile of mush! *sigh*
Thank you everyone for reading, and I'm SOOO sorry it took me so long, but I've been really busy. Remember, 46 reviews for chapter 5.