All Things Deadly

By: ShadowElite

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin's not mine. Never was, never will.

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Kaoru walked out of the bathroom, ignoring the gaze of her red-haired captor. She walked to a nearby chair and sat down, slowly drying her hair.

"Who are you?" Kenshin asked as he watched her dry her hair. She paused in her actions as she replied. "Why are you asking me this now?"

"Just tell me. Are you Kurochou? Telling this might just save you."

"Save me?" Kaoru laughed bitterly. "How the hell would telling something like that save me? Wouldn't it condemn me?"

Kenshin sighed as he whispered softly, "It would certainly save you some pain."

"Huh? What did you say?" asked Kaoru, "I didn't catch it just now."

"Nothing. I didn't say anything. Just…" He hesitated before continuing. "I f you ever want to say…who you really are…I'm here. Before it's too late."

"You are sure weird, Battousai. Telling your captive something like that." He ignored her reply as he pointed to the door beside him. "This leads to the bedroom. You will be sleeping there tonight."

He pushed her to the door. "You can't escape, so don't bother trying."

"You think I don't know that?" She glared at him before opening the door roughly and slamming it in his face.

Kenshin sat back down on his chair. Why did he tell her all that? Why did he offer a second chance? He knew she wasn't going to answer, so why bother even asking? Could it be that he wanted her away from the tortures Kastura will give? If that was the reason, then why did he want her away from it? Honour? He didn't think so. Pride? Doubtful. Pity? Not that much. There were people much worse than her. Care? He paused for a moment. Could it be that he cared for her?

He shrugged off the thought. Assassins don't care for people; they kill them. They are just soulless machines, with no emotions; unable to feel anything.

Well, whatever it is, he wasn't going to let it control him. She is nothing; just a tiny speck of dust.

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"Your breakfast." Kenshin said as he placed a loaf of bread on the table.

Kaoru reached out and tore a small piece out. The taste of the bread was truly disgusting. It was hard and had a sour, grainy aftertaste. "Eww. How long have this bread been here?"

"If you don't want it, then don't eat it. However, don't expect me to give you anything else."

Kaoru glared at Kenshin angrily. She reluctantly took a few bites and washed them down with a glass of water.

She placed the glass back on the table and stared at the glass for a moment before questioning, "Hey, will I see you again?"

"See me?" replied Kenshin, surprised.

"Yeah, like talk to you again or whatever."

There was a moment of silence before Kenshin answered.

"Maybe."

Kaoru smiled bitterly as she got up from her chair. "Maybe, huh? That's a nice replacement for 'no'."

"Time to leave." Kenshin said, ignoring her last statement.

He led her towards the chamber, passing various staircases and corridors.

"Yo, Kenshin! Where did you snag this babe?" asked one of the men they were passing by.

Kenshin ignored his question as he continued walking.

The man grabbed Kaoru by her arm and winked. " Why don't you join me instead of that scrawny fella?"

Kaoru give a look of disgust and attempted to pull her arm away, but the man just held on even tighter.

"Now, sweetie, let's go to my room, shall we?" He grabbed her waist and pulled her into his arms.

Kenshin paused in his steps and said in a soft but deadly tone. "Let go of her."

The man let out a bark of laughter. "You think you can stop me?"

"Do not force me." Kenshin warned in a low tone. The other men looked nervously at Kenshin, murmuring in low tones.

"I don't get why everyone is so scared of you. They are all just cowards. Let me tell you, Battousai, " He scorned at the name. "I'm not a single bit afraid of you."

He spitted on the ground. "Just a scrawny brat."

Before anyone could see it coming, Kenshin had the man pinned to the ground with just one strike.

"One more smart-assed comment like that, you can kiss your pathetic life goodbye."

Without caring whether Kaoru followed or not, he walked on.

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Kaoru was led into a room with only a small ceiling light. The walls were old and painting was peeling off, some parts had dark stains on them, which looked like dried blood. A small metal chair was placed in the middle.

"Welcome Kamiya-san." Kastura said with a mocking smile. "Or should I say, Kuro Chou?"

Kaoru remained silent.

"Why, are you afraid of me, Kuro chou?"

"I am not the person you speak of."

"We shall see about that." He snapped his fingers and two burly looking men grabbed her arms from behind and forced her to sit on that metal chair. They tied her firmly to the chair, ignoring her yells and kicks. One electrode was attached to her head and a second attached to her leg. This was to provide a closed circuit.

"Have you checked the equipment?" asked Kastura.

"Yes, Kastura-san. It is really to be used." Answered Kenshin in a stiff tone. He looked at Kaoru's smooth skin with regret. Assassin or not, no woman should be put under such torture.

"Tell me who you are."

"Kaoru Kamiya."

"Wrong answer."

Kaoru felt a jolt of electricity going through her body and let a surprised gasp.

"That was approximately 5mA of current. A relatively harmless shock. The electric chair you are sitting on is different from the usual ones. It is not made for execution, but for torture."

"You are despicable."

Kastura let out a low chuckle. "Glad you realised. So, are you going to tell me the truth or not?"

"Don't kid yourself. I am not the person you think I am."

'Damn. This is going bad. I need to escape.' She looked around and frowned inwardly. 'No good…two bodyguards, one assassin, no windows.'

"Indeed. Any woman made of lesser material would have blurted out their deepest secrets in fear. I admire you, Kamiya. See if you can handle 10mA."

Kaoru gritted her teeth as she felt her muscles contract violently and a hot, burning sensation under her skin.

Kastura stopped the current and asked again, "Are you ready to tell me now?"

"I have no secrets!"

Kaoru's muscles ached with pain, causing her to bit her lip, drawing blood. She barely had a breather before the torture began.

"20mA."

This time, the pain was unbearable. Her body felt like it was on fire. Unable to stop herself, she screamed out in pain.

"Who are you working for?"

"I work for no one! No one!" She screamed out.

Kastura sighed.

Driven by an unknown urge, Kenshin felt the need to protect her from further damage. Taking a risk, he spoke up. "Kastura-san. I think that is enough. Any more, she might slip into unconsciousness, which is of no use for us."

"True." He motioned to his bodyguards to release her. "Bring her in here tomorrow morning."

Kenshin nodded and lifted Kaoru off the chair. He could feel her muscles still contracting and feel the heat through his insulating gloves.

"Make sure she does not escape." Added Kastura as he left the room with his two bodyguards.

Kenshin watched Katsura walk out of the room with a grim face. Kastura was not finished with torturing this girl and he knew he would not stop until the girl was dead. Knew it too well.

Flashback

"I don't know! I don't know!" screamed a young woman.

She was sitting in the exact same chair in the dark, blood-spattered room. Her skin was severely burned and she was having trouble breathing. Her pulse was faint and blood was dripping out of her wounds.

"Don't lie to me, woman! Tell me now!" demanded Kastura.

"I am not lying!" The woman cried desperately. She looked towards the crimson-haired man standing in the shadows and pleaded, "Save me! Sav-"

She let out an ear-piercing shriek as she felt the current burn through her skin, burning her internal organs, finally, stopping her heart. The woman looked at the man with a soft smile before falling unconscious.

Never to be woken up again.

Flashback

He looked down at the woman in his arms and imagined her dead, imagined her cold. Will he be unable to save her, as he had been unable to save that lady? Will he be adding one more scream to torment him in the night?

He did not know. He did not want to know.

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Kaoru opened her eyes and stared into a ceiling that was not hers. She had a most horrible nightmare involving her being strapped to a electric chair and that she—

Wait. That wasn't a nightmare.

It was real. And it wasn't going to end anytime soon. She absolutely HAD to escape. Forgetting that she was injured, she sat up abruptly. She immediately winced as she felt full force of her injuries. How could she frigging escape with this wounds?

"You shouldn't be up."

She looked up and spotted the crimson-haired man leaning against the doorpost.

"Here." He threw a small object to her. "It is for your burns."

"I don't need it. I can manage just fine." She said with a glare.

He ignored her retort as he closed the door behind him. What was he expecting anyway? A 'thank you'?

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She seriously doubted that this plan would work. One, she was not fully healed. Second, she would not be able to escape the eyes of her captor unless he was really blind or something.

Ah well, she was going to get killed anyway; it was just a matter of time. Better to get killed on her terms. She slipped out of the bedroom as soundless as possible, ignoring her captor sitting against a wall with his head bent. She frowned. Weird. The front door was not locked. Why would he be so careless? This must be a trap.

She peered out into the corridor, expecting to get caught for trying to escape. To her utmost surprise, there was no one there. Strange. Did Battousai actually want her to escape? She slipped out of the apartment and slowly crept towards the stairs.

As the door clicked closed, he opened his eyes and got off the ground and followed her. He watched as she fiddled with the lock on the window and slid the window open. He heard movement from the right and glanced at the girl still on the ledge. She had not noticed their presence. Having no choice, he threw two kunai at them, effectively silencing them. There was a soft bump on the ground as the guards fell and the girl turned her head towards the noise before leaping out into the open night.

Kenshin walked back into his room and went into the kitchen. He took a bottle from his cupboard and emptied half of its contents into a clean glass. He picked up the glass and drank deeply. After a few seconds, he collapsed on the ground.

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"That girl escaped?" Kastura yelled, eyes burning with anger.

"She escaped through one of the windows and escaped into the forest." The poor man delivering the news was trembling from head to foot.

"Escaped? Bring Himura to me! Let him explain how a mere girl could escape Battousai!"

The man nodded vigorously and sped out of the door.

"You called me, sir?"

Kastura turned around and glared at Kenshin. "Explain!"

"She drugged my drink and by the time I woke up, she had left the compound." He lied smoothly.

"I am extremely displeased with your performance tonight. You are to bring her back here."

"Yes sir."

Kastura looked Kenshin in the eye and said. "Do not disappoint me again."

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Kaoru knocked on the door, with her slightly dirty hand and waited patiently for the door to open.

Misao yawned as she opened the front door. "Kaoru, why the hell are you here so late? It is 1am in the morning, you frigging idiot." She rubbed her eyes of sleep and peered at Kaoru closely. Kaoru's clothes were filled with mud and there were small cuts along her arms and legs due to the rough surface of the trees. "What happened to-"

Kaoru covered her mouth and whispered. "Not now. We are in the open."

"Oh yeah. Sorry. Come in."

Kaoru closed the door behind her and sat down on one of the chairs.

"Are you gonna tell me now?"

"No."

"Kaoru, tell me! It must be big if you are all bruised like that. Did you get an electric shock or something? Your skin is peeling and some parts are a bit blackish."

"It serves no purpose to tell you. I need a new look and my weapons." Replied Kaoru. If only Misao knew how close she was to the truth.

"You only talk about serious stuff do ya." Misao rolled her eyes. "I'll get your stuff. You go shower and clean yourself up. I don't want my carpet dirty."

Kaoru took a quick shower and put on a clean pair of shorts and a long sleeved shirt to hide her bruises.

"Are you dying your hair?" asked Misao as she rummaged through her wide range of hair dyes. "Which colour?"

Kaoru thought for a moment. "Red. No wait. Brown." Why was she thinking of him at this time?

"Brown?"

"Yes."

"But red will look much better on you."

"It's my decision."

"Very well." Misao said with a sigh. She tossed the bottle to Kaoru, who catched it silently.

"What weapons do you need?"

"Preferably a dagger." Kaoru walked into the bathroom again and poured the dye onto her hair and rinsing it with water after a couple of minutes. She dried her hair and applied lipstick and eye shadow.

"Do you need some ointment for your burns?" yelled Misao from across the room.

"No. I have some." Kaoru took out the ointment that Kenshin had given her and applied it on her burns. It was no use to leave it there anyway.

"Who gave you that?" asked Misao curiously as she walked back with the weapon in her hands.

"Must it be from someone?" answered Kaoru testily.

"Should be." She peered closer at the object. "See? No brand name. Plus it looks stronger than the feeble ones out in the market these days. Who is it from?"

"No one."

"Kaoru, you never tell me anything!" Misao groaned. Kaoru tucked the dagger into her pocket. She opened the front door and walked out.

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"Kurochou. Have you completed your mission?" asked Yamita as Kaoru walked into the room.

"No. I'm afraid, I have to decline this assignment."

"Reason?"

"My abilities at this point cannot defeat him."

"That is indeed a pity. You do know you are arguably the best among all the assassins I have right?"

"I am truly sorry." Replied Kaoru, bowing her head.

"You will have to work hard and make sure no one touches my clients then."

"Understood." She bowed her head again and left the room.

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An: Kaoru isn't really a seducer-killing-type. She only used that tactic because she knew she could not have gotten any chance at all if she just approached him like that.

Kuro Chou – Black Butterfly

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Links to where I got the info on electric shocks and of that sort.

http:// en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Electricshock

http:// www. All about circuits. com/vol1/ chpt3/2. html

(Take out the spaces)