A/N: Here we go, chapter nine! Hey, someone requested that I write more RK fics. Well, I've just started to write a new one. Check it out, it might be interesting. I hope, lol. It's an AU fic, where the whole gang goes to highschool (Oh, yes, SO origional, neh?) and the name of it is 'The Revolution High Chronicles'. It isn't out yet, but it should be very soon. Okay then..
Kenshin: You're obsessed with AU fics, aren't you?
Dove: Yup! YUPYUPYUPYUPYUPYUPYUP!
Kenshin: Dove-chan, have you been eating apples again?
Dove: Eh.. no! Of course not! *Hides apple*
Kenshin: You promised to cut back!
Dove: It's to HHHHHHAAAAAARRRRRDDDDD!!
**LaTeR tHaT nIgHt**
Dove: Hello. My name is Dove-chan and I'm an apple-o-holic.
Others: Hello, Dove-chan.
Kenshin: ^-^… -.0 She's gonna get me for this later, isn't she?
Sano: Oh, yeah. Sleep with one eye open, Kenshin.
Dark
Chapter Nine
Kaoru froze. Battousai blinked at her reaction. She turned with a smile that was painfully fake.
"Um.. Well.. Nothing really.."
"What is it, Kaoru?" Sano decided to take mercy on Kaoru.
"We were considering sneaking her out to get some icecream. You know, to welcome Aoshi and Misao." He lied easily. Kaoru nodded eagerly, agreeing whole-heartedly to Sano's excuse.
Battousai clasped hands with Aoshi in an almost friendly way.
"Well, no need to sneak her out. We should all go, I wouldn't mind an icecream cone." He said, to Kaoru's utter amazement.
"No kiddin'?" Sano voiced Kaoru's own thoughts. She was still staring at Battousai.
"Yes. As long as Kaoru promises not to try anything funny."
'He KNOWS!' She thought in a sudden panic. His eyes said it all. 'How does he KNOW?'
"Oh, ah, sure! Of course not!" Kaoru said in a pinched voice, with a tense, way-to-high laugh to go with it.
Misao was a lot smarter than people gave her credit for. She knew when an interruption was needed.
"Well, Miss Kaoru, you're not going out in those rags, are you?" Kaoru gave Misao a questioning look, before looking down at herself.
The clothing she was wearing was rumpled, somewhat blackened (Probably from her encounter with Gohei, she decided) and all-in-all sort of used.
"Well, Miss Misao. These 'rags' are all I have." She grumbled. Misao grinned, suddenly grateful for the fact that she was almost Kaoru's height.
"Good, because Misao has entirely to many clothes." Said Aoshi in an almost.. teasing.. tone.
"AOSHI!" Misao giggled. "But really, Kaoru, I think I have some clothes that are to big for me."
And that was how Kaoru found herself dressed in a shiny purple tank-top, and black jeans.
And how they all found themselves in an icecream parlor.
Now, Kaoru was not one to go all crazy with the guilty pleasures of life. But she LOVED icecream.
And from the size of that tower of icecream that Battousai called a 'simple' icecream cone, so did the assassin.
**
"Thanks for the icecream!" Sano called as he headed into his apartment. Battousai steered Kaoru into the apartment she was, for a moment, almost tempted to call home.
Aoshi and Misao followed.
"Aoshi, you can have the couch, I'll take my chair, and Kaoru do you mind sharing that bed with Misao?"
"No problem." Her voice was oddly weak. Her head was getting light. "I'm really tired, I'll just head off to bed.." She vanished from sight. They heard the sounds of a door opening and then closing.
Battousai took his seat, and Misao sat on one side of the couch while Aoshi sat on the other.
"So. Himura. Where'd she come from?"
"I was ordered to kidnap her." He said vaugely.
"AND?" Misao pressed.
"And then I was supposed to kill her but I asked for her." He grumbled.
"You did WHAT?" Aoshi asked, almost showing emotion. "How could you do that to someone her age?"
"It was the only way to save her life, blast it!" He growled in response. Misao's voice was tiny.
"But Himura, you took away her freedom twice in a row without asking her permission."
"Yeah, I know." His tone was very final.
"Do you love her?" Both Misao and Aoshi asked at the same time, her tone considerably more intrested. Battousai glared at them and refused to answer.
**
Kaoru fell into the bed, utterly exhausted. She hated when she felt so weak. If only she had her pills.. She fell asleep.
::: "Only two things matter to me, in this world, Kaoru."
"What're they, daddy?"
"Money, and your mother. But you took the second one away from me!"
"But.. I'm here!"
"What's your point? You killed her to get here."
"I didn't mean to."
"Well, you did. And I hate you."
The dream changed, it went very violent very quickly.
Blood stained the walls. Kaoru screamed as she saw the knife slash right through the man next to her.
"Stop it! Stop it!" She shrieked, grabbing the nearest object available. Unfortunatly, two cushions and a poker were the only arsenal available to the desperate twelve-year-old. She chose the metal poker, swinging it at her assailent.
The knife flashed, cutting deeply into her wrist.
She screamed again and the poker flew out of her hands.
The man advanced. She could see his face.
It was large, and very familiar.
Very, very familiar.
Someone ran between them.
Red hair?
"Don't touch her, Jin'Ne. She is a child, and an innocent."
"She's a witness, Battousai."
"Don't call me that, and she's a child, this is probably just going to fade right out of her memory." He turned, and Kaoru saw his beautiful lavander eyes.
They were to clear, so innocent. Unstained. Pure.
She reached for him.
And the knife tore right through him, cleaving him in half.:::
Kaoru's scream brought the other three to the room instantly.
Battousai saw the way she was thrashing, and went to her side.
He grabbed her shoulders, and held her down. She sucker-punched him right in the jaw. His eyes crossed momentarily. But he didn't let go.
"Kaoru, wake up. KAORU!" He shook her. Her eyes snapped open. They had a glazed look that showed that she was seeing right through him. Just before she started gagging.
He watched with almost-facination as blood spilled from her mouth. He saw the source, her gums were hemorrhaging. He picked her up – she still wasn't under the covers – and carried her to the bathroom.
Battousai set her on the counter. She just sat and stared, as though catatonic. He cleaned the blood off of her neck, chin, and mouth. And he caught the blood whenever more came. Finally, the hemorrhage stopped.
Kaoru began to wake up. She saw Battousai's sort-of worried face and screamed again.
"What's wrong?" She breathed deeply, heart thundering in her ribcage.
"Nothing. Nightmare. I can't breath." There was blood under her nails, she noticed as her head got light again. Pain rushed through her and she thrashed. Battousai caught her before she fell. "I.. I don't feel good.." Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell into a dead faint.
"AOSHI!" Battousai shouted. "GET ME MEGUMI!"
A/N: Oooh. Dramatic cliffhanger. I'm sorry if I messed up something. I'm kinda at a loss here. I have a limited amount of information about Leukemia. If someone knows anything about Leukemia, please send it to me or post it in their review because I'd be very very very grateful. I want to be accurate, and I need more info on the symptoms and the treatment (Like the bone marrow transplant) and stuff. Thank you! ^-^
Kenshin: Great! WHOOO HHOOOO! This chapter is OVER! Sano, break out the Sake!
Sano: *Brings out four jugs of Sake.* Here ya – woah.
Dove: *Chugs an entire jug*
Sano: Er.. that might not be a good idea, Dove-chan.
Kenshin: It's your fault. You're a bad influence.
Dove: *Giggling* In-flu-ennsssseee! HEHEHEHEHEE!!
Sano: Her giggling sounds like you, Kenshin.
Kenshin: Are you CRAZY? I do NOT giggle! Under any circumstance!
Dove: Kenn-ssaammmaaa gggiiigggllleeeesss! HEHEHEHE!! ^-^
Sano: *Recording everything for blackmail material*
Saitou: Why do ~I~ have to read these? *Sighs* *Smokes* Fine.
Moonblossom – Lol! I'm glad you enjoyed that. ^-^
Vanilla Bean – My response above is basically for you. Chapter one should be out soon.
Mystic Gohan – Kenshin: Thank you! | Sano: Yeah. Excuse us while we run for our lives.| Dove: Heh. ^-^ Hope you enjoy chapter 8 in the disguise of chapter 10. ^-^
Baka-Ryu – Lol. Thanks. I probably couldn't make the love scene to intense if I tried, it'd make ME ill. ^-^ I don't understand that last part of your review..
Daine – MWAHAHAHAHAHA! I like leaving cliffhangers. Lol.
CurlsofSerenity – Thank you. Um.. well. That's disturbing. A post-story. Lol. Alrighty, more medical stuff! Yay! ^-^
LunaAngel – Well, there's an intresting analogy. Lol.
Wolf – *Giggling* Oh, thanks! ^-^
Son Lila – Lol. Thank you!
Eikichi – Your wish is my command!
Ruroken – Okay!
AzNfRiSbEeDrAgOn – Oh. Well, thank you very much! I'm very pleased that you like my fic!
Luna – Uh.. cool..
Angie – Lol! Now, and thank you!
Bishi Crazy – I'm actually not a huge fan of chocolate.. but other people are and if my story can compare, my day has been made! Lol!!
Kurokumo – Oh. Cool.
Nanikilover/Brukaoru – MWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Tani-chan – Thanks! (Hope you feel better, here, have some chicken soup! *Rewards reviewer with a nice hot bowl of chicken soup*)
Koniko-chan – Can you keep a secret? I'm 'The neverending typist' because I stay up to unearthly hours just typing and reading and stuff, and I have no real life. So typing is what makes my day bearable. Lol. Yeah, I'll send ya an invite soon! Well. Thank you! I like those parts too! ^-^
Pidge – Okay-dokay!
Sailor Scout Buddy – Lol. What do you mean?
Evillaughingtalkingwall – Okay. Cool. Lol! *Whacks Kenshin upside the head* Kenshin: OW! What was that for? | Dove: *Shrug* Ask the reviewer!
Sailorscoutbuddy – Lol, and why?
LadyChrisA – A'course you can come! Yeah, I got you email. I forgot to reply. Excuse me while I go jump in the well. I'll be drowning myself if you need me.
CrazyFireKitsuneGirl – Of course you can come! Lol. Thanks.. and.. wow. What a compliment!
Kitty – Thanks! That's an intresting idea..
White Tiger – Thank you!
Akira – Lol. Thanks!
Okay, everyone, just so ya know, it took me over 20 minutes to reply to all of these reviews! I'm almost in tears, thank you for all of the fantastic response! ^-^
A thing about the party – Instead of in email, it's going to be at EZboards, I'll send the link when I get it done. I'm bored. So, yeah. Lol. ^-^
I can't believe it, 144 reviews. Incredible. Okay, for the next chapter, 152. Yeah, that's a good number. Anyone else noticing that I only ask for even numbers of reviews? That's 'cause odd numbers totally freak me out. Lol.
Okay, I can't wait to put the next, much more plot-ridden, chapter up so hurry and review! Heh! ^-^
P.S. Did I mention that I take bribes to put up more chapters for less reviews? ^_-
Kenshin: You're obsessed with AU fics, aren't you?
Dove: Yup! YUPYUPYUPYUPYUPYUPYUP!
Kenshin: Dove-chan, have you been eating apples again?
Dove: Eh.. no! Of course not! *Hides apple*
Kenshin: You promised to cut back!
Dove: It's to HHHHHHAAAAAARRRRRDDDDD!!
**LaTeR tHaT nIgHt**
Dove: Hello. My name is Dove-chan and I'm an apple-o-holic.
Others: Hello, Dove-chan.
Kenshin: ^-^… -.0 She's gonna get me for this later, isn't she?
Sano: Oh, yeah. Sleep with one eye open, Kenshin.
Dark
Chapter Nine
Kaoru froze. Battousai blinked at her reaction. She turned with a smile that was painfully fake.
"Um.. Well.. Nothing really.."
"What is it, Kaoru?" Sano decided to take mercy on Kaoru.
"We were considering sneaking her out to get some icecream. You know, to welcome Aoshi and Misao." He lied easily. Kaoru nodded eagerly, agreeing whole-heartedly to Sano's excuse.
Battousai clasped hands with Aoshi in an almost friendly way.
"Well, no need to sneak her out. We should all go, I wouldn't mind an icecream cone." He said, to Kaoru's utter amazement.
"No kiddin'?" Sano voiced Kaoru's own thoughts. She was still staring at Battousai.
"Yes. As long as Kaoru promises not to try anything funny."
'He KNOWS!' She thought in a sudden panic. His eyes said it all. 'How does he KNOW?'
"Oh, ah, sure! Of course not!" Kaoru said in a pinched voice, with a tense, way-to-high laugh to go with it.
Misao was a lot smarter than people gave her credit for. She knew when an interruption was needed.
"Well, Miss Kaoru, you're not going out in those rags, are you?" Kaoru gave Misao a questioning look, before looking down at herself.
The clothing she was wearing was rumpled, somewhat blackened (Probably from her encounter with Gohei, she decided) and all-in-all sort of used.
"Well, Miss Misao. These 'rags' are all I have." She grumbled. Misao grinned, suddenly grateful for the fact that she was almost Kaoru's height.
"Good, because Misao has entirely to many clothes." Said Aoshi in an almost.. teasing.. tone.
"AOSHI!" Misao giggled. "But really, Kaoru, I think I have some clothes that are to big for me."
And that was how Kaoru found herself dressed in a shiny purple tank-top, and black jeans.
And how they all found themselves in an icecream parlor.
Now, Kaoru was not one to go all crazy with the guilty pleasures of life. But she LOVED icecream.
And from the size of that tower of icecream that Battousai called a 'simple' icecream cone, so did the assassin.
**
"Thanks for the icecream!" Sano called as he headed into his apartment. Battousai steered Kaoru into the apartment she was, for a moment, almost tempted to call home.
Aoshi and Misao followed.
"Aoshi, you can have the couch, I'll take my chair, and Kaoru do you mind sharing that bed with Misao?"
"No problem." Her voice was oddly weak. Her head was getting light. "I'm really tired, I'll just head off to bed.." She vanished from sight. They heard the sounds of a door opening and then closing.
Battousai took his seat, and Misao sat on one side of the couch while Aoshi sat on the other.
"So. Himura. Where'd she come from?"
"I was ordered to kidnap her." He said vaugely.
"AND?" Misao pressed.
"And then I was supposed to kill her but I asked for her." He grumbled.
"You did WHAT?" Aoshi asked, almost showing emotion. "How could you do that to someone her age?"
"It was the only way to save her life, blast it!" He growled in response. Misao's voice was tiny.
"But Himura, you took away her freedom twice in a row without asking her permission."
"Yeah, I know." His tone was very final.
"Do you love her?" Both Misao and Aoshi asked at the same time, her tone considerably more intrested. Battousai glared at them and refused to answer.
**
Kaoru fell into the bed, utterly exhausted. She hated when she felt so weak. If only she had her pills.. She fell asleep.
::: "Only two things matter to me, in this world, Kaoru."
"What're they, daddy?"
"Money, and your mother. But you took the second one away from me!"
"But.. I'm here!"
"What's your point? You killed her to get here."
"I didn't mean to."
"Well, you did. And I hate you."
The dream changed, it went very violent very quickly.
Blood stained the walls. Kaoru screamed as she saw the knife slash right through the man next to her.
"Stop it! Stop it!" She shrieked, grabbing the nearest object available. Unfortunatly, two cushions and a poker were the only arsenal available to the desperate twelve-year-old. She chose the metal poker, swinging it at her assailent.
The knife flashed, cutting deeply into her wrist.
She screamed again and the poker flew out of her hands.
The man advanced. She could see his face.
It was large, and very familiar.
Very, very familiar.
Someone ran between them.
Red hair?
"Don't touch her, Jin'Ne. She is a child, and an innocent."
"She's a witness, Battousai."
"Don't call me that, and she's a child, this is probably just going to fade right out of her memory." He turned, and Kaoru saw his beautiful lavander eyes.
They were to clear, so innocent. Unstained. Pure.
She reached for him.
And the knife tore right through him, cleaving him in half.:::
Kaoru's scream brought the other three to the room instantly.
Battousai saw the way she was thrashing, and went to her side.
He grabbed her shoulders, and held her down. She sucker-punched him right in the jaw. His eyes crossed momentarily. But he didn't let go.
"Kaoru, wake up. KAORU!" He shook her. Her eyes snapped open. They had a glazed look that showed that she was seeing right through him. Just before she started gagging.
He watched with almost-facination as blood spilled from her mouth. He saw the source, her gums were hemorrhaging. He picked her up – she still wasn't under the covers – and carried her to the bathroom.
Battousai set her on the counter. She just sat and stared, as though catatonic. He cleaned the blood off of her neck, chin, and mouth. And he caught the blood whenever more came. Finally, the hemorrhage stopped.
Kaoru began to wake up. She saw Battousai's sort-of worried face and screamed again.
"What's wrong?" She breathed deeply, heart thundering in her ribcage.
"Nothing. Nightmare. I can't breath." There was blood under her nails, she noticed as her head got light again. Pain rushed through her and she thrashed. Battousai caught her before she fell. "I.. I don't feel good.." Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell into a dead faint.
"AOSHI!" Battousai shouted. "GET ME MEGUMI!"
A/N: Oooh. Dramatic cliffhanger. I'm sorry if I messed up something. I'm kinda at a loss here. I have a limited amount of information about Leukemia. If someone knows anything about Leukemia, please send it to me or post it in their review because I'd be very very very grateful. I want to be accurate, and I need more info on the symptoms and the treatment (Like the bone marrow transplant) and stuff. Thank you! ^-^
Kenshin: Great! WHOOO HHOOOO! This chapter is OVER! Sano, break out the Sake!
Sano: *Brings out four jugs of Sake.* Here ya – woah.
Dove: *Chugs an entire jug*
Sano: Er.. that might not be a good idea, Dove-chan.
Kenshin: It's your fault. You're a bad influence.
Dove: *Giggling* In-flu-ennsssseee! HEHEHEHEHEE!!
Sano: Her giggling sounds like you, Kenshin.
Kenshin: Are you CRAZY? I do NOT giggle! Under any circumstance!
Dove: Kenn-ssaammmaaa gggiiigggllleeeesss! HEHEHEHE!! ^-^
Sano: *Recording everything for blackmail material*
Saitou: Why do ~I~ have to read these? *Sighs* *Smokes* Fine.
Moonblossom – Lol! I'm glad you enjoyed that. ^-^
Vanilla Bean – My response above is basically for you. Chapter one should be out soon.
Mystic Gohan – Kenshin: Thank you! | Sano: Yeah. Excuse us while we run for our lives.| Dove: Heh. ^-^ Hope you enjoy chapter 8 in the disguise of chapter 10. ^-^
Baka-Ryu – Lol. Thanks. I probably couldn't make the love scene to intense if I tried, it'd make ME ill. ^-^ I don't understand that last part of your review..
Daine – MWAHAHAHAHAHA! I like leaving cliffhangers. Lol.
CurlsofSerenity – Thank you. Um.. well. That's disturbing. A post-story. Lol. Alrighty, more medical stuff! Yay! ^-^
LunaAngel – Well, there's an intresting analogy. Lol.
Wolf – *Giggling* Oh, thanks! ^-^
Son Lila – Lol. Thank you!
Eikichi – Your wish is my command!
Ruroken – Okay!
AzNfRiSbEeDrAgOn – Oh. Well, thank you very much! I'm very pleased that you like my fic!
Luna – Uh.. cool..
Angie – Lol! Now, and thank you!
Bishi Crazy – I'm actually not a huge fan of chocolate.. but other people are and if my story can compare, my day has been made! Lol!!
Kurokumo – Oh. Cool.
Nanikilover/Brukaoru – MWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Tani-chan – Thanks! (Hope you feel better, here, have some chicken soup! *Rewards reviewer with a nice hot bowl of chicken soup*)
Koniko-chan – Can you keep a secret? I'm 'The neverending typist' because I stay up to unearthly hours just typing and reading and stuff, and I have no real life. So typing is what makes my day bearable. Lol. Yeah, I'll send ya an invite soon! Well. Thank you! I like those parts too! ^-^
Pidge – Okay-dokay!
Sailor Scout Buddy – Lol. What do you mean?
Evillaughingtalkingwall – Okay. Cool. Lol! *Whacks Kenshin upside the head* Kenshin: OW! What was that for? | Dove: *Shrug* Ask the reviewer!
Sailorscoutbuddy – Lol, and why?
LadyChrisA – A'course you can come! Yeah, I got you email. I forgot to reply. Excuse me while I go jump in the well. I'll be drowning myself if you need me.
CrazyFireKitsuneGirl – Of course you can come! Lol. Thanks.. and.. wow. What a compliment!
Kitty – Thanks! That's an intresting idea..
White Tiger – Thank you!
Akira – Lol. Thanks!
Okay, everyone, just so ya know, it took me over 20 minutes to reply to all of these reviews! I'm almost in tears, thank you for all of the fantastic response! ^-^
A thing about the party – Instead of in email, it's going to be at EZboards, I'll send the link when I get it done. I'm bored. So, yeah. Lol. ^-^
I can't believe it, 144 reviews. Incredible. Okay, for the next chapter, 152. Yeah, that's a good number. Anyone else noticing that I only ask for even numbers of reviews? That's 'cause odd numbers totally freak me out. Lol.
Okay, I can't wait to put the next, much more plot-ridden, chapter up so hurry and review! Heh! ^-^
P.S. Did I mention that I take bribes to put up more chapters for less reviews? ^_-