Summary: Darkfic. Kaoru feels an inexplicable dread and nervousness whenever she meets her best friend's fiancée. She warns Tomoe about him only to get caught in his sinister game of lust and desire. The stage is set and the game begins. BK.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. It is the creation of Watsuki Nobuhiro.
Rating: M. Rated for adult situations
Warning: MATURE. This is a MATURE fic; it has adult themes running through the course of it. If your parents would not approve of you reading something like this, don't read it.
A Game of Chess
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Chapter 1: The First Move
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Smoke curved and danced along the ceiling. Kaoru watched as the grayish white plumes slithered along the plastered ceiling, finally letting loose as the wind caught them and lured them out of the window. She pulled the cigarette in for another long drag. Blowing the smoke out of her mouth, she sat up and gently turned her head left, right, up and down. She was trying to work out the kinks in her neck. It was feeling so sore, like the rest of her body. Pursing her lips together she stared fixedly at the empty canvas sitting on the easel in front of her. Bending gracefully, she picked up a roughly sharpened charcoal pencil and twirled it between her fingers, willing herself to think.
Her thoughts ran playfully over a number of things she could put on this empty space and give it life. Smiling absently, she pressed the tip of the pencil onto the canvas, allowing her fingers to shape a figure without thinking. Her fingers worked quickly, striking deeply with the charcoal to emphasize here, smudging the lines with the pads of her fingers to soften the expression there. As she lost herself in the scribble, scrape and scrabble of the pencil, her tensed muscles began to relax. Sometimes she would lose herself in watching the spirals of the lead on the canvas, forgetting what she had been drawing. She sometimes wondered if she were really the one drawing. Her mind would drift away so far that it seemed as though her soul had leaked into the stark white fabric stretched over wood and it was not she who was guiding the pencil but the pencil that held the strings to her soul and was painting her.
Kaoru froze. This was not what she had intended to draw today. Today was all about breaking away from yesterday and emerging stronger. It was not about dressing the past in milder shades to make it look better, safer…..to make it seem right. Because it wasn't. It wasn't right. Not by any measure. All the wishing in the world wouldn't make it right. She bit her lip mercilessly; willing Kenshin's face to disappear from the clean, simple lines on the canvas. She reached out with her fingers to touch the sketch. This face….it was a face etched on her heart, her mind, and her every thought. It was a face she couldn't….wouldn't forget. A face she had no right to think about.
She bunched her fingers together in a fist and slammed it against the easel. The easel toppled over and landed on the floor with a clatter, upsetting brushes and paint tubes. The bottle of turpentine oil tipped over. Its contents spilled recklessly across the canvas. The pungent smell of the oil filled the air of the room. Kaoru exhaled. She silently surveyed the mess she had made. Wearily, she stood up and walked over to the easel. Hoisting it up with her hands, she set it aside, and began slowly picking up all the brushes and tubes of paint one by one. Once everything was put back in its place, only then did she allow herself to turn towards the ruined sketch.
She lifted it gingerly off the floor, handling it as though it were a delicate thing. As though it would break into a thousand pieces if she was too rough. She turned the canvas over and laid it back, right side up. Once again, she reached out to touch his face but stopped herself in mid-movement. She had to stop doing this to herself. This madness had to stop. Now.
Kenshin was dangerous. He saw too much. His eyes ripped off the haughty mask of aloof and uncaring cynicism she wore for the rest of the world. He didn't let her lie when he was around her. He would never let her escape from herself. He knew her in a way that nobody, not even Tomoe knew her. He knew he could be merciless, unrelenting to the point of being cruel with her because she had no where to run when she was with him. He saw through every trick, every guise she pulled. He had done it time and again. Wrenched open her heart-shaped box and found his own face looking back at him.
She loved him.
It was what she hated the most about herself. It was what kept her awake every night. She would spend every single night tossing and turning, wishing he was lying next to her, the heat of his body and his desire keeping her warm, his strong arms holding her close, his lips drifting across her skin, his hands wandering over her body, teasing her, making her beg when he took his time, coaxing her out of her shell when all she wanted to do was curl up at his side and sleep. He was her wildest dream come true and her most terrifying nightmare come to life. He stole her away from herself slowly and refused to give her back.
Kaoru pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them. She rocked back and forth. Rubbing her arms slowly, she tried to warm up but the numbness of her will had spread into her body and become cold. She flinched when her back touched the wall. It was colder than she had expected it to be. She turned her face towards the wall, and leaned her forehead against it, despite shuddering.
A wry smile twisted her lips. Perhaps Megumi was right. Maybe she really was a masochist after all. Maybe she enjoyed hurting herself. That would explain why she didn't just march over to Tomoe and tell her. She didn't have the courage to face her friend and tell her the truth. She would rather be silent, and let Kenshin drag her back into his arms. She would rather let him use her as he pleased than tell Tomoe everything and stop the affair.
She was sleeping with her best friend's fiancée. And she had no intention of stopping.
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Flashback
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Tiny spurts of pressure tickled her leg. Kaoru shifted slightly. The humming became more pronounced. She ignored it. It stopped soon after. She sighed. This had to be the most boring class she'd had the misfortune of attending. She couldn't wait for it to get over. Her eyes widened as she felt her phone ringing once more. She leaned forward and propped her chin on her hand, twirling her pen faster till it dropped. Hiding a smug smile, she bent to pick up the pen and retrieved her phone from her bag on the floor. She straightened and discreetly read Tomoe's messages.
'Call me the second you step out of class! URGENT! Call me! #$&'
Kaoru smiled and moved on to the next message.
'Call me the second you step out of class! URGENT! Call me!#$&
Her smile widened into a grin.
'Call me the second you step out of class! URGENT! Call me!#$&
Kaoru frowned slightly. Three times was overkill. Damn it Tomoe, what is with you?
'Call me the second you step out of class! URGENT! Call me!#$&
Alright this is plain annoying. Kaoru angrily punched a few buttons with her thumb to read the last message, although she was already pretty sure where it had come from.
Sure enough, there it was. Like a pimple on your nose. Inescapable. 'Call me the second you step out of class! URGENT! Call me!#$&
Kaoru raised her eyebrows. It had to be something really important for Tomoe to lose her brain and send her five messages saying the exact same thing. She looked at her wrist only to remember that she'd forgotten to wear her watch. Not one to be defeated by something as trivial as a missing watch, Kaoru leaned back in her chair and shot a look at the clock hanging on the wall. The class wasn't due to finish for another hour. She sighed and willed the hands to move faster. At this rate, Tomoe would have to come here and collect her corpse because she was definitely not going to survive this class.
"Kamiya!" A small piece of chalk came hurling in her direction. She caught it just before it hit her nose. The chair slammed back on all four legs. Scowling she looked down. The professor was frowning at her.
"Time won't pass fast enough for you Kamiya? Is there a problem? Or are you just too damn smart for this class?" His voice practically dripped with poison. He was heralded with snickers and giggles, while others stared at Kaoru patronizingly. She narrowed her eyes. As her eyes landed on the lanky, bald man standing at the head of the class, she smirked.
"Yeah, actually, that's exactly what I was thinking. This so-called class is a fucking waste of time and space."
He looked as though he might burst. "What did you say?"
Kaoru sighed. She stood up, picked up her books and bag and started walking towards the door. As she walked past the professor, she smiled acidly.
"Don't let me stop you. Go ahead. I'm pretty sure there's still a lot up there that's not completely brain dead yet. So you can enjoy nullifying any gray cells you missed the first time."
The snickers were in her honour this time, even though she was hardly concerned. She barely restrained herself from whooping for joy the minute she stepped out. She made a beeline for her favorite spot on campus grounds. It was a huge oak tree. Its trunk tilted a bit to the left, making it very comfortable to lean against. Kaoru sat at the base and fished her cell phone out. Punching in the numbers without thinking, she waited for Tomoe to pick up the phone.
She didn't have long to wait. "Hello?" A breathy voice answered at the other end. Tomoe sounded breathless like she'd been running or worse, having sex.
Kaoru paused, thinking quickly. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's me."
"Kaoru?"
"Well, who else? Geez Tomoe, you're the one who was going insane sending me messages to call you back the minute I got out of class."
"Huh? But wasn't your class supposed to end in an hour?"
"It was."
"Then how come you're talking to me?"
"I walked out. I was bored."
"Kaoru! You can't keep doing that."
"It's alright. Anyway, what happened? What are you getting so excited about?"
"Well I needed to talk you – ah!" Tomoe cried out, not managing to finish what she was saying. Kaoru removed the phone from her ear and looked at it thoughtfully for a moment.
"Tomoe?" She asked tentatively. "I can call you back if it's a bad time….."
"No! I mean, umm, just come meet me at our usual place tonight okay? Be there by nine. Don't be late."
The line went dead. Kaoru blinked. She stared at the phone once more, before grinning. Whoever it was sure had Tomoe entertained, if the breathlessness, and the muffled cries were anything to go by.
She stood up. She had about four hours before she had to meet Tomoe at the club. It was time to get moving.
Kenshin leaned back into the couch. He looked around the club disinterestedly. Beside him, Tomoe sat chatting to one of her classmates whom they'd met as they entered. As the girl stood, she smiled invitingly at Kenshin and turned to leave.
Tomoe scooted across the sofa and snuggled up close to him. He smiled down at her. He lifted his hand and pushed away the lock of hair that fell on her face so he could see her properly.
"Why are we here again?" He asked, idly stroking her hair. Tomoe smiled back happily at him.
"Because I want you to meet Kaoru. I haven't been fair to her. I keep telling her about my fantastic boyfriend and she hasn't even met you yet. That's hardly fair, is it?"
Kenshin's fingers stilled for a heartbeat. Kaoru. Could he ever forget that name? Could he ever forget her?
"Kenshin? What's wrong?" Tomoe was looking at him with concern. He shook his head in response and smiled to let her know everything was alright. She was satisfied by his little act and so didn't pursue the matter.
He sat back and watched as yet another of Tomoe's friends appeared and drew her conversation. He didn't mind though. There were certain things he needed to get off his mind first. Things like Kaoru. He knitted his brow. He had to stop doing this. Kaoru was part of his past. She had left him, without a word, without a reason. She was a closed chapter in the book of his life. He glanced at Tomoe. Yes, that's what he had to do. Forget about the past and think upon the present. It wasn't like she was the only person with that name. Other girls could be named Kaoru as well.
"There you are! I thought I told you not to be late." Tomoe's voice cut through his jaded thoughts and brought him back to the club. Kenshin looked up. Tomoe was talking to a girl standing directly in front of her. She was hidden from his sight by Tomoe. This was obviously the girl she had been talking about. Kaoru.
He waited as both the women chatted animatedly. Apparently this Kaoru liked to move her hands a lot when she talked, whatever she was saying was making Tomoe laugh uproariously. In spite of himself, Kenshin felt a spark of interest.
Tomoe moved. Kaoru stepped out.
"Kaoru, I want you to meet Kenshin, my fiancée!" Tomoe hugged Kenshin tightly, gazing up at him with adoring eyes. Kenshin smiled at her before looking up. His eyes widened in shock and recognition as they landed on Kaoru.
Kaoru.
"Kenshin…."
Amethyst met cobalt blue and time stopped.
Author's Notes
Just to dispel any confusion that may (or may not) have arisen, the Prologue of this story is actually what is going on in the present. This chapter takes the story from a few months back. In other words, the flashback starts in the section where Kaoru is sitting in a class. The first section of this chapter is what happens directly after the prologue.
I hope it's not too confusing and that you all like this chapter.