A/N:
I really want to thank y'all for all of the reviews! The missing review-responses last time were my fault, by the way. Well, Kenshin won out over Battousai. *Watches as Kenshin punches himself in the face* And.. ah.. so I'm going to call him Kenshin unless he's killing/fighting/ticked/wants blood. Okay, two of my wonderful reviewers (Shinori and CurlsofSerenity) suggested some fantastic names. Kurai, meaning 'Alter Ego' and Akuma, meaning 'Devil'. It's so very hard to choose between them, so I'm about to flip a coin. Okay.. *Flips said coin* And.. it's.. Akuma. I'll use Kurai for another character, kay? Moving on.. *Turns on TV* *Cyborg 009 is on*
Dove: *Stares* Exactly HOW stupid is Cartoon Network?
Kenshin: What's that mean?
Dove: FIRST they take Yu Yu Hakusho off! And then they take YOU off! And then I think they took Kikaider off! KAMI-SAMA I'M CLOSE TO FOREGOING CARTOON NETWORK TOTALLY! *Cough* Lucky for them they still have Trigun on. Stupid freaks. ARGHHH!!!
Kenshin: *Drops to knees* PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T HAVE ANOTHER BREAK-DOWN! PLLLEEEAASSEEE!!!!!!!!!
Dove: *Staring* When did you go from great powerful wonderful kick-butt swordsman Battousai to weak, sobbing, grovelling.. you?
Kenshin: That was mean!
Dove: I know.. *Guilty look*
Kenshin: SANO!
Sano: Kennnsshhinn! Um. Hi! *Trying desperatly to hide the laptop, earrings, necklaces, pillow cases, and other really nice objects behind his back.* What can I do for ya?
Kenshin: Why are you robbing Dove blind?
Sano: *Chucking things behind his back out the open window behind him.* Robbing? Never! I wouldn't stoop so low!
Dove: Hey! That's my - throw that laptop freak and you'll never hold another pair of dice AGAIN! I SWEAR!
Sano: *Choke* Um. Okay. *Puts laptop down.*
Dove: *Tackles Him* I KNOW YOU AREN'T STEALING MY PLUSHIES, DVDS, AND OTHER KENSHIN-ORIENTED STUFF THAT I HAVE!!!!
Dark
Chapter Seventeen
Kenshin woke up the instant that the sun sent a few rays over the horizon. He looked down at Kaoru, or Rain, who was still sleeping soundly in his arms. How was he going to get her to revert to a personality that could handle the 'tea house'?
She stirred, mumbling soft words. He leaned close as she repeated what she'd said.
"Ken-Ni.. don't let them... they'll hurt me.." She groaned, and started writhing some. He tightened his arms around her, keeping her from thrashing to terribly.
"Rain.. Rain, wake up!" He whispered. She grumbled, trying to twist away from him. He shook her. Her eyes snapped open.
Worried violet eyes stared into stunned blue eyes. They stayed in that limbo for another few seconds. And then Kaoru started to scream.
Kenshin winced as her splitting scream numbed his poor ears. He released her and got to his feet, backing away and watching her. She just kept right on screaming. He had to admire her lung capacity. He looked at her eyes as she continued to shriek. Kaoru-eyes.
Wondering how he'd managed to jolt her out of her eight-year-old stage, Kenshin shouted to be heard over her shriek.
"KAORU! SHUT UP!" His voice was a bit harsher than necessary. Her voice froze in mid-shriek. After a few more seconds of thier stand-off, Kaoru broke the silence.
"Why.. why were you..? Why am I?"
"You switched personalities on us yesterday. We got to meet Rain. And I doubt she's the last we'll meet."
"We?" Kaoru asked, genuinely confused. "Oh! Soujiro!"
"Yep." Kenshin didn't bother to mention that they'd been playing that pirate game, or that Soujiro probably wouldn't know not to call her Rain.
"Well, then why were you in bed with me?" She asked calmly, smoothing her hands over the velvet 'dress' she had on self-conciously, albeit a little curiously.
"You asked me to stay. Anyways, I only woke you up because you were having some sort of nightmare." Kaoru nodded with a sigh.
"One more question-"
"You're wearing those because you and Soujiro and.. ah.. I were playing a game and apparently you two decided to use my curtains as a gown." Kenshin interrupted with a smirk. He saw her face go a brilliant shade of red. She certainly was taking it all in stride, if a bit embarrassed.
"I'm going to go make breakfast." He informed her, spinning on his heel. "I believe that some of Rumor's clothes purchases are in the closet."
Five minutes into creating a delectable breakfast of Miso soup, and pancakes Kenshin heard Kaoru scream. He turned to run into the room when he heard the door open. Holding the large wooden spoon like a weapon, Kenshin headed for the hall. He stopped short when he saw Kaoru. She was staring at him helplessly.
He almost started laughing. She'd screamed from the sheer horror of the clothing she had on. A black tanktop that proclaimed 'Touch and Die' and a pair of tight black leather pants.
"How could you let her BUY something like this?! It looks horrible on me!" Kaoru berated. Actually, Kenshin completely dissagreed with that. But he sure wasn't telling her that. And besides, if she wore that to the Doozo Yoroshiku, something was bound to happen.
"I wasn't shown what clothes she had chosen. Keep the tanktop, but change into a pair of sweatpants - I have some extra drawstring ones in my closet." Kaoru smiled thankfully and dissapeared back into the room. Kenshin snorted in amusement and went back into the kitchen.
Soujiro, incredibly, had slept through it all.
"SOUJIRO! WAKE UP!" He shouted in the kid's ear. Soujiro grumbled, and rolled over. Still snoring lightly. Kenshin stared at him for a few moments, And screeched it again, louder than before. Soujiro didn't even twitch.
With a sigh, Kenshin decided to just save him a plate and stood. Turning, the red-head sneezed, making a tiny little 'ech-ee.'
Soujiro yelped and leapt to his feet.
"Geez! What is wrong with you? I'm trying to sleep! Cover your mouth when you sneeze!" Soujiro grumped.
"Not a morning person, I take it?" Kenshin almost chirped. His cheerfulness was only there to tick Soujiro off, in reality Kenshin was just as tired and grumpy as the kid.
"Gee, ya think?"
"You can go take a shower, that usually works." Kenshin suggested as he walked out of the room.
"Oh, okay." Soujiro growled. He felt like a total moron for yelling at THE Battousai like that, but he was tired and the stupid moron had WOKEN. HIM. UP!!
He folded up the blankets and stacked them in his arms to replace in the cabinet. And then, without bothering to knock, Soujiro opened the door and walked into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind him and locking it.
He started to replace the blankets, humming softly. As he finished putting them away, he closed the door, and turned. His jaw dropped.
The scream of one ticked Kaoru and one scared to death Soujiro mingled in the apartment. Kaoru started to bash him over the head repeatedly with a handy toilet brush, screaming about 'perverted little kids'.
Soujiro raced for the door and pulled frantically at the handle. He realized it was locked as Kaoru abandoned the broken scrubber and started smacking him.
"HELLPPP!" Soujiro screeched as another stinging slap connected with his jaw. He hastened to unlock the door. As he jerked it open, Kaoru all-out punched him.
"I'm soorrryyyyy!" He babbled as he fell out the door.
**
Kenshin started at the scream. Wondering what on earth was going on, he headed for the bathroom, hearing shouting and flesh connecting. And then the door flew open and Soujiro fell out, landing at Kenshin's feet.
Kaoru stood there stark naked. Kenshin's jaw dropped.
"K.. Kaoru.. wha.. OW!" A bar of soap smashed into Kenshin's face. He wasn't even DOING anything! She slammed the door shut, screeching about perverts.
Soujiro sat up once the lock on the door clicked.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled through his swollen jaw. "I didn't know she was in there."
"Well, at least you're up now, kid." Kenshin actually grinned, And then he lifted Soujiro up by the front of his shirt, placing him on his feet. "Breakfast will be ready in five minutes. You should probably lay down.. and then hope to the gods that you didn't revert Kaoru to her homicidal personality. If she comes out armed, then hide."
Chuckling softly to himself, Kenshin left the room. Soujiro stared after him for a moment.. and then went and hid.
**
Breakfast was uneventful, except for the minor incident where Kenshin and Kaoru had to combine forces to get Soujiro out from under the bed.
**
"You need a television." Kaoru and Soujiro informed Kenshin at the exact same time. He glared at them - they had SO been planning that.
"No I don't. But I DO need to figure out what I'm going to do with you, Soujiro, seeing that you aren't a guest or any-" Kaoru put a hand over his mouth. Kenshin stared at her incredulously - what was she thinking, doing such a familiar thing?! He grabbed her wrist, twisting and spinning her. This caused her balance to be completely upset and she ended up in his lap.
"Erk!" She announced, struggling against his grip. He loosely placed his hands on her shoulders, with enough power to keep her still. He ran a finger along her neck, causing her to shudder.
"You really shouldn't do that, Kaoru." He whispered in her ear, voice getting less like Kenshin and more like Battousai. His eyes flashed golden.
Kaoru saw Soujiro's expression, and panicked, thrashing wildly in Battousai's grip. He moved his hands to her elbows, keeping her arms pinned to her sides and making it impossible for her to hit him. She moved to kick him, but he trapped her legs by wrapping his ankles around her own.
"Let me go! What is wrong with you! LET GO!" She screeched, Her thrashing becoming more of a desperate twitching.
"Oh, but why?"
"Because if you don't, I will kill you, Battousai." Kaoru's voice had suddenly gone silky.
He didn't loosen his grip at all.
Unfortunatly, she was serious. She twisted, bringing her still-bony hip into his groin with shocking power. This loosened his grip somewhat. She continued her twist, freeing her left arm. She brought her fist into his Solar Plexus, with 113 pounds of seriously ticked female behind it.
He completely lost his grip, seeing stars. She sprung away from him, landing on the back of the infamous blue couch in a low crouch.
Battousai took a few deep breaths, blinking in a beamused way. He took in Kaoru crouched on the couch, and came to decision.
"I think you should handle this." He closed his eyes, relaxing. His eyes opened as violet. "Yes. I should, you idiot. Just because she did that.. you scared her right into another personality, moron."
Kenshin stood, looking at Kaoru.
"Hi. I'm Kenshin Himura. You are..?"
"What makes you think I'm going to tell you."
"Come on.." He said in a coaxing tone. Her green eyes narrowed on him. Wait! Green eyes!? He stared at her eyes in shock. When he thought about it, only Kaoru had blue eyes. Rain had eyes closer to silver, Rumor had eyes more gray, and this person had green. Fantastic, something to remember.
"Akuma." Her voice was harsh. Soujiro stood, and went behind Kenshin. A nice, safe place.
"Nice to meet you. Mind reverting back to Kaoru?"
To his complete and utter shock, Akuma shrugged, closed her eyes, and then reopened them. Kaoru was blinking at them in a dazed expression.
"What.. how.. why? Augh.." Kenshin finally had it figured out. The other multiples knew of each other's existence, and could even control when they came out. But Kaoru was left in the dark about it.
Which was good, because they were there to protect her. As soon as Akuma had deemed Kenshin to not be a threat, it was safe for Kaoru to come out.
This was going to be a very, very long day.
They had to pull Soujiro out from underneath the bed at least seven times.
"No escape attempts, the phone is disconnected, blah-blah-blah. We'll be back soon. Try not to trash the place."
Kenshin left, holding Kaoru's elbow. Soujiro groaned.
"YOU DON'T HAVE A TV, OR A COMPUTER, OR anything WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO FOR THE NEXT THREE HOURS!!??" He shouted at the highly intrested door. Upon recieving no response from the no longer listening hunk of wood, Soujiro went to Kenshin's companion sword, which he'd left behind while favoring the Sakabatou.
They reached the Doozo Yoroshiku rather quickly. Kaoru stepped out, and waited for Kenshin, looking up at the sign. Great, it was going to be like the gentlemen's club. She hoped there wouldn't be a repeat of the previous events.
"Keep your head down, and don't talk." Battousai told her in his trademark cold voice. He'd changed into his assassin self, halfways to keep up appearances and halfway because he had to. He adjusted the Sakabatou and went in, this time letting Kaoru walk by herself a couple of steps behind him. His stride was swift and purposeful.
Sano was waiting at the door.
"The boss said to leave Kaoru out here."
"WHAT?!" Battousai growled, furious. "They'll rip her apart! She's a little girl and-"
"I." Kaoru said in a sharp tone. "Will be fine. Now go on into your meeting. I'll be sitting at that table in that shadowy corner curled up in a chair with my head down."
Battousai smirked.
"Alright." He lifted a chain off of his neck. She'd never noticed it before. It had an intricate design, a bengal tiger in mid-lunge. Only the stripes were replaced with little swords. It was quite a dazzling effect, and almsot life-like. All in a shiny silver, with a gold chain.
"This is my insignia. If anyone messes with you, Kaoru, just flash it and if they don't back down they will die. It's the rules."
"Okay.." She slipped it onto her neck. He smiled at her, slightly, and then dropped his face into a mask of impassiveness. His golden eyes glimmered as he turned, opened the door, and strode inside.
Sano and Kaoru waved, and then Kaoru threaded her way over to the table.
She was there for a grand total of two minutes before a hand clamped down on her shoulder. Her hand closed around the pendant, and she spun.
Gohei leered drunkenly down at her. And this time he had a friend.
"Who.."
"Hello little lady. I'm Riyjouta (Sorry if that's spelled wrong)." The man said with a grin as leering as Gohei's. Kaoru flipped her hand open, revealing the pendant. Both men blinked at the insignia.
"So Battousai claimed you, hmm? Well, that will make this more fun." Gohei chuckled. Riyjouta obviously knew better. He was gone a breath after hearing 'Battousai'.
Gohei looked for him, but then shrugged. "Ah, well. More for me."
Kaoru figured out what he was doing and started to thrash as his hand locked onto her wrist. She opened her mouth to scream and he clamped his hand over her mouth before she managed to even squeak.
"That's no good." He purred. She could smell alcohol and wrinkled her nose in disgust. He yanked her to her feet, and dragged her through a long hall, up two flights of stairs, and through another hall. Kaoru fought as hard as she could, but he was impossibly strong and knew exactly which pressure points could subdue her. And not to mention that he was really, really tall.
Gohei dragged her into a small dark room, despite her resistance. He flung her hard, and she hit a wall with a sharp crack. He gripped her throat, so that she couldn't cry out.
With no effort at all, Gohei tore Kaoru's shirt. It left her with a thin layer of cloth between her and his lecherous hands.
She twisted with renewed spirit. She knew what he wanted. And she sure as shootin' was NOT going to give him it. Tears of frustration and fear poured from her eyes. Stupid Battousai, not giving her a weapon. Stupid her for not asking for one. Stupid Gohei for being there.
She was completely exposed from the waist up. But shockingly, still Kaoru. She was actually trying to figure out where Akuma was. Or Rumor. Or even RAIN! She didn't want to be there!
Kaoru tried to evade unconciousness and Gohei's attempt to kiss her. She twisted her head and sank her teeth into his vile arm. She felt blood filling her mouth and the instant nausea. But she didn't let go.
He jerked, releasing her neck. At that instant, she opened her mouth and screamed,
"BATTOUSAI!!!!" spitting out blood as she did so. Gohei reared back and struck her across the face. She felt a bruise already forming on her cheek from his sudden attack. "No!" She whimpered as he started to lower his lips on hers. She was exhausted.
And then she heard a very odd sound. Screaming, cracking. And then the ground gave out from under her feet.
When the dust cleared, Kaoru saw Gohei still right in front of her. But his eyes were wide in complete fear. Dazed, she turned to see.. Battousai? She looked up, and stared.
Everything clicked. He must have heard her cry and then.. sliced through the support beams, taking out a six by five chunk of the second floor. Awful architecture. Must talk to the inspector about that.
Battousai crouched next to her, swiftly removing his trenchcoat and wrapping it around her. Kaoru clutched it to herself gratefully, starting to shiver.
He stood, and then moved in front of her protectivly.
"What is WRONG with you?!" Battousai hissed. "I made it clear LAST time that you were you leave her alone you waste of air!" His eyes turned into molten lava, sparking with his anger.
Kaoru was terrified and gratified at the same time. He was protecting her! How.. er.. romantic.
He drew his sword slowly, letting the sound ring through the suddenly silent main room of the Doozo Yoroshiku.
Gohei's breath was coming in heaving gasps.
"I didn't know she was-"
"Yes you did!" Kaoru's voice rang out. "You said that it would 'be more fun'." She smirked at Gohei's white face. Did the man actually think she was going to PROTECT him or something stupid like that?
"Gohei Hiruma. I am afraid that now you must die, as befit the rules of the Syndicate. You saw my pendant, however you ignored it. This is inexcusable. Get your weapon. Now."
A/N: Yes. Now it's a cliffie. I'm sorry for the delay. Partly my fault, partly ff.net's fault.
I got Inuyasha Volume 1!! WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Anyone want to send me some fanart? Please do, I will love you eternally! ^-^ *Still has to finish her OWN fanart*
The next chapter will be all fighty and swordy and Battousai-y and.. stuff. Yeah. Now I have to plot how to get the next volume of Inuyasha. ^-^
Kenshin: I have nothing to say.
Soujiro: *Fast asleep*
Sano: *Very Drunk* Pretty stars..
Dove: Quit staring at my guitar, Sano. It's creepin' me out.
One last note: No review responses today. I'm to lazy. If you have a question that you want answered, just put a ^-^ at the end of your review and I'll email you. One big THANK YOU for all of the reviews!
((And to everyone that wanted to know, CDI is the Cyber-Defenders Institute. Basically we were working for the government on computers for 2 weeks Check out public.lanl.gov/cdi if you want to learn more))
I really want to thank y'all for all of the reviews! The missing review-responses last time were my fault, by the way. Well, Kenshin won out over Battousai. *Watches as Kenshin punches himself in the face* And.. ah.. so I'm going to call him Kenshin unless he's killing/fighting/ticked/wants blood. Okay, two of my wonderful reviewers (Shinori and CurlsofSerenity) suggested some fantastic names. Kurai, meaning 'Alter Ego' and Akuma, meaning 'Devil'. It's so very hard to choose between them, so I'm about to flip a coin. Okay.. *Flips said coin* And.. it's.. Akuma. I'll use Kurai for another character, kay? Moving on.. *Turns on TV* *Cyborg 009 is on*
Dove: *Stares* Exactly HOW stupid is Cartoon Network?
Kenshin: What's that mean?
Dove: FIRST they take Yu Yu Hakusho off! And then they take YOU off! And then I think they took Kikaider off! KAMI-SAMA I'M CLOSE TO FOREGOING CARTOON NETWORK TOTALLY! *Cough* Lucky for them they still have Trigun on. Stupid freaks. ARGHHH!!!
Kenshin: *Drops to knees* PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T HAVE ANOTHER BREAK-DOWN! PLLLEEEAASSEEE!!!!!!!!!
Dove: *Staring* When did you go from great powerful wonderful kick-butt swordsman Battousai to weak, sobbing, grovelling.. you?
Kenshin: That was mean!
Dove: I know.. *Guilty look*
Kenshin: SANO!
Sano: Kennnsshhinn! Um. Hi! *Trying desperatly to hide the laptop, earrings, necklaces, pillow cases, and other really nice objects behind his back.* What can I do for ya?
Kenshin: Why are you robbing Dove blind?
Sano: *Chucking things behind his back out the open window behind him.* Robbing? Never! I wouldn't stoop so low!
Dove: Hey! That's my - throw that laptop freak and you'll never hold another pair of dice AGAIN! I SWEAR!
Sano: *Choke* Um. Okay. *Puts laptop down.*
Dove: *Tackles Him* I KNOW YOU AREN'T STEALING MY PLUSHIES, DVDS, AND OTHER KENSHIN-ORIENTED STUFF THAT I HAVE!!!!
Dark
Chapter Seventeen
Kenshin woke up the instant that the sun sent a few rays over the horizon. He looked down at Kaoru, or Rain, who was still sleeping soundly in his arms. How was he going to get her to revert to a personality that could handle the 'tea house'?
She stirred, mumbling soft words. He leaned close as she repeated what she'd said.
"Ken-Ni.. don't let them... they'll hurt me.." She groaned, and started writhing some. He tightened his arms around her, keeping her from thrashing to terribly.
"Rain.. Rain, wake up!" He whispered. She grumbled, trying to twist away from him. He shook her. Her eyes snapped open.
Worried violet eyes stared into stunned blue eyes. They stayed in that limbo for another few seconds. And then Kaoru started to scream.
Kenshin winced as her splitting scream numbed his poor ears. He released her and got to his feet, backing away and watching her. She just kept right on screaming. He had to admire her lung capacity. He looked at her eyes as she continued to shriek. Kaoru-eyes.
Wondering how he'd managed to jolt her out of her eight-year-old stage, Kenshin shouted to be heard over her shriek.
"KAORU! SHUT UP!" His voice was a bit harsher than necessary. Her voice froze in mid-shriek. After a few more seconds of thier stand-off, Kaoru broke the silence.
"Why.. why were you..? Why am I?"
"You switched personalities on us yesterday. We got to meet Rain. And I doubt she's the last we'll meet."
"We?" Kaoru asked, genuinely confused. "Oh! Soujiro!"
"Yep." Kenshin didn't bother to mention that they'd been playing that pirate game, or that Soujiro probably wouldn't know not to call her Rain.
"Well, then why were you in bed with me?" She asked calmly, smoothing her hands over the velvet 'dress' she had on self-conciously, albeit a little curiously.
"You asked me to stay. Anyways, I only woke you up because you were having some sort of nightmare." Kaoru nodded with a sigh.
"One more question-"
"You're wearing those because you and Soujiro and.. ah.. I were playing a game and apparently you two decided to use my curtains as a gown." Kenshin interrupted with a smirk. He saw her face go a brilliant shade of red. She certainly was taking it all in stride, if a bit embarrassed.
"I'm going to go make breakfast." He informed her, spinning on his heel. "I believe that some of Rumor's clothes purchases are in the closet."
Five minutes into creating a delectable breakfast of Miso soup, and pancakes Kenshin heard Kaoru scream. He turned to run into the room when he heard the door open. Holding the large wooden spoon like a weapon, Kenshin headed for the hall. He stopped short when he saw Kaoru. She was staring at him helplessly.
He almost started laughing. She'd screamed from the sheer horror of the clothing she had on. A black tanktop that proclaimed 'Touch and Die' and a pair of tight black leather pants.
"How could you let her BUY something like this?! It looks horrible on me!" Kaoru berated. Actually, Kenshin completely dissagreed with that. But he sure wasn't telling her that. And besides, if she wore that to the Doozo Yoroshiku, something was bound to happen.
"I wasn't shown what clothes she had chosen. Keep the tanktop, but change into a pair of sweatpants - I have some extra drawstring ones in my closet." Kaoru smiled thankfully and dissapeared back into the room. Kenshin snorted in amusement and went back into the kitchen.
Soujiro, incredibly, had slept through it all.
"SOUJIRO! WAKE UP!" He shouted in the kid's ear. Soujiro grumbled, and rolled over. Still snoring lightly. Kenshin stared at him for a few moments, And screeched it again, louder than before. Soujiro didn't even twitch.
With a sigh, Kenshin decided to just save him a plate and stood. Turning, the red-head sneezed, making a tiny little 'ech-ee.'
Soujiro yelped and leapt to his feet.
"Geez! What is wrong with you? I'm trying to sleep! Cover your mouth when you sneeze!" Soujiro grumped.
"Not a morning person, I take it?" Kenshin almost chirped. His cheerfulness was only there to tick Soujiro off, in reality Kenshin was just as tired and grumpy as the kid.
"Gee, ya think?"
"You can go take a shower, that usually works." Kenshin suggested as he walked out of the room.
"Oh, okay." Soujiro growled. He felt like a total moron for yelling at THE Battousai like that, but he was tired and the stupid moron had WOKEN. HIM. UP!!
He folded up the blankets and stacked them in his arms to replace in the cabinet. And then, without bothering to knock, Soujiro opened the door and walked into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind him and locking it.
He started to replace the blankets, humming softly. As he finished putting them away, he closed the door, and turned. His jaw dropped.
The scream of one ticked Kaoru and one scared to death Soujiro mingled in the apartment. Kaoru started to bash him over the head repeatedly with a handy toilet brush, screaming about 'perverted little kids'.
Soujiro raced for the door and pulled frantically at the handle. He realized it was locked as Kaoru abandoned the broken scrubber and started smacking him.
"HELLPPP!" Soujiro screeched as another stinging slap connected with his jaw. He hastened to unlock the door. As he jerked it open, Kaoru all-out punched him.
"I'm soorrryyyyy!" He babbled as he fell out the door.
**
Kenshin started at the scream. Wondering what on earth was going on, he headed for the bathroom, hearing shouting and flesh connecting. And then the door flew open and Soujiro fell out, landing at Kenshin's feet.
Kaoru stood there stark naked. Kenshin's jaw dropped.
"K.. Kaoru.. wha.. OW!" A bar of soap smashed into Kenshin's face. He wasn't even DOING anything! She slammed the door shut, screeching about perverts.
Soujiro sat up once the lock on the door clicked.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled through his swollen jaw. "I didn't know she was in there."
"Well, at least you're up now, kid." Kenshin actually grinned, And then he lifted Soujiro up by the front of his shirt, placing him on his feet. "Breakfast will be ready in five minutes. You should probably lay down.. and then hope to the gods that you didn't revert Kaoru to her homicidal personality. If she comes out armed, then hide."
Chuckling softly to himself, Kenshin left the room. Soujiro stared after him for a moment.. and then went and hid.
**
Breakfast was uneventful, except for the minor incident where Kenshin and Kaoru had to combine forces to get Soujiro out from under the bed.
**
"You need a television." Kaoru and Soujiro informed Kenshin at the exact same time. He glared at them - they had SO been planning that.
"No I don't. But I DO need to figure out what I'm going to do with you, Soujiro, seeing that you aren't a guest or any-" Kaoru put a hand over his mouth. Kenshin stared at her incredulously - what was she thinking, doing such a familiar thing?! He grabbed her wrist, twisting and spinning her. This caused her balance to be completely upset and she ended up in his lap.
"Erk!" She announced, struggling against his grip. He loosely placed his hands on her shoulders, with enough power to keep her still. He ran a finger along her neck, causing her to shudder.
"You really shouldn't do that, Kaoru." He whispered in her ear, voice getting less like Kenshin and more like Battousai. His eyes flashed golden.
Kaoru saw Soujiro's expression, and panicked, thrashing wildly in Battousai's grip. He moved his hands to her elbows, keeping her arms pinned to her sides and making it impossible for her to hit him. She moved to kick him, but he trapped her legs by wrapping his ankles around her own.
"Let me go! What is wrong with you! LET GO!" She screeched, Her thrashing becoming more of a desperate twitching.
"Oh, but why?"
"Because if you don't, I will kill you, Battousai." Kaoru's voice had suddenly gone silky.
He didn't loosen his grip at all.
Unfortunatly, she was serious. She twisted, bringing her still-bony hip into his groin with shocking power. This loosened his grip somewhat. She continued her twist, freeing her left arm. She brought her fist into his Solar Plexus, with 113 pounds of seriously ticked female behind it.
He completely lost his grip, seeing stars. She sprung away from him, landing on the back of the infamous blue couch in a low crouch.
Battousai took a few deep breaths, blinking in a beamused way. He took in Kaoru crouched on the couch, and came to decision.
"I think you should handle this." He closed his eyes, relaxing. His eyes opened as violet. "Yes. I should, you idiot. Just because she did that.. you scared her right into another personality, moron."
Kenshin stood, looking at Kaoru.
"Hi. I'm Kenshin Himura. You are..?"
"What makes you think I'm going to tell you."
"Come on.." He said in a coaxing tone. Her green eyes narrowed on him. Wait! Green eyes!? He stared at her eyes in shock. When he thought about it, only Kaoru had blue eyes. Rain had eyes closer to silver, Rumor had eyes more gray, and this person had green. Fantastic, something to remember.
"Akuma." Her voice was harsh. Soujiro stood, and went behind Kenshin. A nice, safe place.
"Nice to meet you. Mind reverting back to Kaoru?"
To his complete and utter shock, Akuma shrugged, closed her eyes, and then reopened them. Kaoru was blinking at them in a dazed expression.
"What.. how.. why? Augh.." Kenshin finally had it figured out. The other multiples knew of each other's existence, and could even control when they came out. But Kaoru was left in the dark about it.
Which was good, because they were there to protect her. As soon as Akuma had deemed Kenshin to not be a threat, it was safe for Kaoru to come out.
This was going to be a very, very long day.
They had to pull Soujiro out from underneath the bed at least seven times.
"No escape attempts, the phone is disconnected, blah-blah-blah. We'll be back soon. Try not to trash the place."
Kenshin left, holding Kaoru's elbow. Soujiro groaned.
"YOU DON'T HAVE A TV, OR A COMPUTER, OR anything WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO FOR THE NEXT THREE HOURS!!??" He shouted at the highly intrested door. Upon recieving no response from the no longer listening hunk of wood, Soujiro went to Kenshin's companion sword, which he'd left behind while favoring the Sakabatou.
They reached the Doozo Yoroshiku rather quickly. Kaoru stepped out, and waited for Kenshin, looking up at the sign. Great, it was going to be like the gentlemen's club. She hoped there wouldn't be a repeat of the previous events.
"Keep your head down, and don't talk." Battousai told her in his trademark cold voice. He'd changed into his assassin self, halfways to keep up appearances and halfway because he had to. He adjusted the Sakabatou and went in, this time letting Kaoru walk by herself a couple of steps behind him. His stride was swift and purposeful.
Sano was waiting at the door.
"The boss said to leave Kaoru out here."
"WHAT?!" Battousai growled, furious. "They'll rip her apart! She's a little girl and-"
"I." Kaoru said in a sharp tone. "Will be fine. Now go on into your meeting. I'll be sitting at that table in that shadowy corner curled up in a chair with my head down."
Battousai smirked.
"Alright." He lifted a chain off of his neck. She'd never noticed it before. It had an intricate design, a bengal tiger in mid-lunge. Only the stripes were replaced with little swords. It was quite a dazzling effect, and almsot life-like. All in a shiny silver, with a gold chain.
"This is my insignia. If anyone messes with you, Kaoru, just flash it and if they don't back down they will die. It's the rules."
"Okay.." She slipped it onto her neck. He smiled at her, slightly, and then dropped his face into a mask of impassiveness. His golden eyes glimmered as he turned, opened the door, and strode inside.
Sano and Kaoru waved, and then Kaoru threaded her way over to the table.
She was there for a grand total of two minutes before a hand clamped down on her shoulder. Her hand closed around the pendant, and she spun.
Gohei leered drunkenly down at her. And this time he had a friend.
"Who.."
"Hello little lady. I'm Riyjouta (Sorry if that's spelled wrong)." The man said with a grin as leering as Gohei's. Kaoru flipped her hand open, revealing the pendant. Both men blinked at the insignia.
"So Battousai claimed you, hmm? Well, that will make this more fun." Gohei chuckled. Riyjouta obviously knew better. He was gone a breath after hearing 'Battousai'.
Gohei looked for him, but then shrugged. "Ah, well. More for me."
Kaoru figured out what he was doing and started to thrash as his hand locked onto her wrist. She opened her mouth to scream and he clamped his hand over her mouth before she managed to even squeak.
"That's no good." He purred. She could smell alcohol and wrinkled her nose in disgust. He yanked her to her feet, and dragged her through a long hall, up two flights of stairs, and through another hall. Kaoru fought as hard as she could, but he was impossibly strong and knew exactly which pressure points could subdue her. And not to mention that he was really, really tall.
Gohei dragged her into a small dark room, despite her resistance. He flung her hard, and she hit a wall with a sharp crack. He gripped her throat, so that she couldn't cry out.
With no effort at all, Gohei tore Kaoru's shirt. It left her with a thin layer of cloth between her and his lecherous hands.
She twisted with renewed spirit. She knew what he wanted. And she sure as shootin' was NOT going to give him it. Tears of frustration and fear poured from her eyes. Stupid Battousai, not giving her a weapon. Stupid her for not asking for one. Stupid Gohei for being there.
She was completely exposed from the waist up. But shockingly, still Kaoru. She was actually trying to figure out where Akuma was. Or Rumor. Or even RAIN! She didn't want to be there!
Kaoru tried to evade unconciousness and Gohei's attempt to kiss her. She twisted her head and sank her teeth into his vile arm. She felt blood filling her mouth and the instant nausea. But she didn't let go.
He jerked, releasing her neck. At that instant, she opened her mouth and screamed,
"BATTOUSAI!!!!" spitting out blood as she did so. Gohei reared back and struck her across the face. She felt a bruise already forming on her cheek from his sudden attack. "No!" She whimpered as he started to lower his lips on hers. She was exhausted.
And then she heard a very odd sound. Screaming, cracking. And then the ground gave out from under her feet.
When the dust cleared, Kaoru saw Gohei still right in front of her. But his eyes were wide in complete fear. Dazed, she turned to see.. Battousai? She looked up, and stared.
Everything clicked. He must have heard her cry and then.. sliced through the support beams, taking out a six by five chunk of the second floor. Awful architecture. Must talk to the inspector about that.
Battousai crouched next to her, swiftly removing his trenchcoat and wrapping it around her. Kaoru clutched it to herself gratefully, starting to shiver.
He stood, and then moved in front of her protectivly.
"What is WRONG with you?!" Battousai hissed. "I made it clear LAST time that you were you leave her alone you waste of air!" His eyes turned into molten lava, sparking with his anger.
Kaoru was terrified and gratified at the same time. He was protecting her! How.. er.. romantic.
He drew his sword slowly, letting the sound ring through the suddenly silent main room of the Doozo Yoroshiku.
Gohei's breath was coming in heaving gasps.
"I didn't know she was-"
"Yes you did!" Kaoru's voice rang out. "You said that it would 'be more fun'." She smirked at Gohei's white face. Did the man actually think she was going to PROTECT him or something stupid like that?
"Gohei Hiruma. I am afraid that now you must die, as befit the rules of the Syndicate. You saw my pendant, however you ignored it. This is inexcusable. Get your weapon. Now."
A/N: Yes. Now it's a cliffie. I'm sorry for the delay. Partly my fault, partly ff.net's fault.
I got Inuyasha Volume 1!! WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Anyone want to send me some fanart? Please do, I will love you eternally! ^-^ *Still has to finish her OWN fanart*
The next chapter will be all fighty and swordy and Battousai-y and.. stuff. Yeah. Now I have to plot how to get the next volume of Inuyasha. ^-^
Kenshin: I have nothing to say.
Soujiro: *Fast asleep*
Sano: *Very Drunk* Pretty stars..
Dove: Quit staring at my guitar, Sano. It's creepin' me out.
One last note: No review responses today. I'm to lazy. If you have a question that you want answered, just put a ^-^ at the end of your review and I'll email you. One big THANK YOU for all of the reviews!
((And to everyone that wanted to know, CDI is the Cyber-Defenders Institute. Basically we were working for the government on computers for 2 weeks Check out public.lanl.gov/cdi if you want to learn more))