Bodyguard Blues

Kaoru sat at her desk filling out paper work on the new case. She was still trying to figure out what happened to all the girls that fell prey to the rose serial killer. She didn't have much to go on, but it was enough to keep her going through the night. She sighed as she finished entering the last bit of information into her computer. While she sipped her coffee, which was cold by now, she read the report to herself.

"Rose serial killer: No physical description except male. Goes after women between ages twenty-two and thirty-four. Eight women dead. He rapes victims, brands them with a rose to the neck, then strangles them to death with clothing or rope. No finger prints on victims. Leaves victims in abandoned apartments, business buildings, and warehouse." She scanned through the reports until she got to the victims list.

Shintaro Yuki, age 26, murdered by strangulation around midnight August 5, 2005.

Yamoto Ayame, age 32, murdered by strangulation around 9:30 p.m. August 25, 2005.

Hatsuhito Shiori, age 22, murdered by strangulation around 11:00 p.m. September 14, 2005.

Kentaro Tsubara, age 30, murdered by strangulation around 10:30 p.m. October 4, 2005.

Usamaki Ura, age 34, murdered by strangulation around 8:00 p.m. October 24, 2005.

Minamota Kanna, age 24, murdered by strangulation around 12:30 a.m. November 13, 2005.

Kamiya Tomoe, age 28, murdered by strangulation around 9:00 p.m. December 2, 2005.

When she was finished looking at the list, she looked at her watch. It was almost six o'clock. Everyone else had left except for Saitou, who was just locking up his office. Kaoru started to shut down her station as her boss approached her. When he stopped next to her desk, he had his usual cold look on his face.

"What are you doing here so late, Kamiya?"

"Just reviewing the case, sir," she answered with no emotion in her voice. Saitou had never seen her be so blunt. She was usually full of energy and smart-ass remarks, but today she was totally out of it. He could tell she hadn't eaten anything or slept in awhile "I'll be going home now."

"Kamiya, didn't you forget to do something today?" Kaoru sighed and picked up a bundle of flowers. "You don't have to work so hard now. Take a day or two off. It'll help."

"I already told you, sir. I don't need a break. The sooner I put away this guy the better." Kaoru finally turned around and walked out the door. Saitou frowned as he picked up his phone and dialed.

"Yeah, she just left. Follow her."

Kaoru made her way down to the cemetery with her flowers. She didn't have to look long before she found her sister's grave. It was the only fresh grave in the whole section. After laying down her flowers on the grave, Kaoru folded her hands and started to pray. She never knew how hard it would be to let it go, but she managed to speak without a tear.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your service. I didn't really deserve to be there anyways. I don't even deserve to be your sister after all the things I said to you. I wish I could tell you how sorry I am for saying such things, but I can't go back and undo the things I've done. I can, however, try to make an amends for you. All those girls will get there justice. I will make sure I find this guy. I won't rest until he's behind bars. That's the least I can do for you, Tomoe." Before Kaoru left, she noticed that someone had left her sister a purple Ayame. It was strange because Kaoru had also left her those flowers. Who else could have known that ayames were Tomoe's favorite?

Kaoru was finally at home with a bottle of scotch waiting for her on her table. It had been a birthday present from Sano, and she knew just how to use it. It didn't take long for her to get drunk, but she didn't care. Even though she wasn't a big drinker like rooster-head, all she wanted to do tonight was get drunk. She wanted to forget everything around her. It must have worked, because she didn't even hear the knock on her door.

"Kaoru-dono, are you in there?" Kenshin asked. He pressed his ear to the door, only to hear soft sobbing then a gun click. "She wouldn't. Would she?" He didn't want to take any chances. He was supposed to protect her, and that's what he was going to do. He knocked down her door and charged in. "Suicide is not the answer!" He soon found out that Kaoru was just cleaning her gun. By the time Kenshin realized what was happening, Kaoru already had her gun put back together.

"You jackass!" she yelled as she started firing off rounds at Kenshin. When the clip was empty and the smoke cleared, Kaoru gasped. Kenshin had avoided every shot, and now there was an outline of him on the hallway wall. "Wow! That was amazing. Nobody should be that fast."

"When you're in my line of work," Kenshin said as he sat across from her, "you need to be that fast." Kenshin looked at the empty bottle of scotch then Kaoru. I would hate to see how sharp her aim is when she's sober. "I'm sorry to break in, but I thought…"

"That I was going to kill myself?" Kaoru interrupted. She brushed back her hair to reveal her bloodshot eyes. She hadn't slept since she found out Kenshin would be her new partner, and on top of it she was completely wasted. Even though she slurred her words, she still managed to go on with the conversation. "I'm not going to throw my life away, not after I made such a promise."

"And what promise is that?" Kenshin asked.

"Don't play stupid. I know you heard me at the cemetery." Kenshin let out a small "oro?" when he heard her. "That's right. I knew you were following me." Kenshin looked surprise.

"How did you know?"

"I'm not as helpless as you may think. Besides, after what Saitou said, I knew he wouldn't leave me alone. Well, you can tell him something for me. I'm a big girl, and I don't need a babysitter. I work alone, but now I have to drag you along with me. I don't need some veteran detective to help me solve this case. I've been working on it for almost four months. I won't let this guy get away, and I won't let you get in the way either." Kaoru got up and grabbed her half-full glass.

"Kaoru-dono, I think you've had enough."

"I'll drink as much as I want, thank you." Kaoru downed the rest of the alcohol in one gulp. Kenshin was worried she might chew him out again, but he sighed when he saw her red face. After she hiccupped, she started to speak. This time there was a certain sadness in her voice. "It's all my fault. I cursed her. I told her she would die and now she's gone." Tears started to fall from her eyes as she continued. "I don't deserve to be forgiven. I'm just as bad as the killer."

"That's not true, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin said as he got up. "You're a great person. You want justice for your sister. I'm sure she forgives you."

"What do you know? Have you ever lost someone you wanted to die? I'm a horrible person. Death is too good for me. I can't die now. I won't die. I'll avenge Tomoe and my mother." Kenshin couldn't believe what she had said. She was so hard on herself, yet she was strong enough to go on. In fact, he did know what it was like to lose a loved one. That's what made him want to help her so bad. Kaoru's voice snapped him back to reality. He could barely understand her slurs, but he managed to make out her last question. "Kenshin, can you stop moving so much?"

Suddenly, the room started spinning on Kaoru. Her legs felt like rubber and she could no longer hold herself up. She saw the ground coming towards her and then everything turned black. Lucky for her, Kenshin caught her just in time.

"I was wondering when you would pass out." Kenshin pick her up and placed her in bed. Even though she reeked of alcohol, she was beautiful when she was asleep, but he wouldn't dare take advantage of a defenseless person, let alone a woman. After tucking her in, he called Saitou. "Saitou, this is Kenshin. Kaoru-dono is alright. She's in bed. I think she'll need the day off tomorrow. I'm going to stay here and watch her if that's alright. I'll see you in the morning. Bye."

After he fixed the door and locked it, he went back into the room and sat in the chair, watching Kaoru all night long.

Sorry it took so long to update. My internet just got connected. It might be a while until I can update again since I'm starting my senior year in high school, but I will try my hardest. Again, if you have any ideas, please let me know. I have to go check my email. I'm sure it's overflowing with junk mail and fan fiction mail. Cya.