Jinxed
Chapter 3: Hide
By Garnet xoxo
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
Warnings: Language.
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For some reason, both pairs of eyes now fixated on the unfortunate telephone that had just spilled its guts on the linoleum. But no more than a second later, the orange-clad felon was clicking the door shut behind him and bolting it rapidly. His lengthy red hair tumbled down his back in intricate tangles, decorated here and there with pieces of leaves and pine needles. The black band that had previously held his tresses in place was barely hanging on by clinging to a few crimson strands.
Kaoru, stunned into silence, merely watched him as he secured the door. Maybe she was starting to go crazy; she had not exactly been getting enough sleep lately after all. Watching the evening news and lack of sleep was surely a recipe for insanity, right? Yeah, that was it. No way in hell was there a notorious killer standing in her apartment. Although he did appear rather solid... And Misao had just said... Shit.
Now that she had recovered from her shock and realized that she was not imagining things, the quiet didn't last long.
"What do you think you're doing!?" she demanded, her hands moving to rest angrily on her hips. "You can't just barge in here like that! I know who you are, Kenshin Himura, and I'm going to turn you in right--"
"--I'm terribly sorry, miss," he interjected, pivoting on his heel to face her. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head and his thin lips turned upward slightly. "I really didn't mean to impose. It's just that..."
"Look, I know you're that cold-blooded killer who just escaped so stop trying to play innocent, okay?" Her blue eyes widened incredulously and she pointed a slender finger towards him in accusation. "You're still in your prison garb, too, in case you forgot."
"Oh, this?" He grinned innocently, shrugging. "It's just a costume, that it is. Convincing, huh?"
Her mouth gaped open, a vein popped out on her forehead, and she stared at him in awe before absolutely exploding.
"How stupid do you think I am!?" Kaoru seethed, clenching her fists. "You broke into my apartment without even knocking and you just happen to look exactly like the guy I just finished watching a breaking news report about!" She paused to catch her breath and glowered at him.
Kenshin blinked.
"Then you try to tell me that it's a costume!? In March!? Even the biggest idiot in the world knows that Halloween is not in fucking March!"
Kenshin gradually stepped backward until he collided with the door, staring at her like a deer in headlights. He wondered why, of all the apartments he could have picked, he had to choose the one with such a temperamental occupant. Most women--and apparently men too, judging by the reaction of the one he encountered in the hallway--would have been screaming bloody murder by now and pleading for their lives. His reputation alone, according to the news, was enough to strike fear in the hearts of the majority of the population. And here he was standing in front of a young woman who didn't seem to have a fearful bone in her body.
The woman in question abruptly knelt to retrieve the busted phone, breaking his trance. His eyes narrowed somewhat as she stuffed the batteries and several messy wires back into the plastic shell. Once finished, she straightened and glared directly into his purple eyes.
"Anyway, I'll be calling 911 now," she announced before turning around, intending to lock herself in her bedroom. She ran the short distance as quickly as possible, but a vise-like grip closed around her left wrist just as she reached the door.
"Not so fast," he reprimanded. He easily wrenched the battered phone from her other hand and spun her around to face him. He eyed her curiously, thinking that surely she would be terrified at this point and submit. No such luck.
"Let me go," she commanded, her expression fierce. Her sapphire gaze bore into him and she briefly wondered how this man could even hurt a fly. His eyes were large, shimmering, and lavender for god's sake. Sure, his scar was rather intimidating and indicated a violent past, but everything else about him could be described as pretty--no, that was not an appropriate word at all; gorgeous was more like it. Most women would be willing to die for his hair and eye color, though Kaoru would never admit that maybe even she would.
He instantly complied and released her, wondering which emotion would flash across her lovely face next. It had been ten years since he had been this close to a female and he could not help but be mesmerized by her various facial expressions. So he still held the phone tightly, and tighter still when he saw her eyes seek it out. There was no doubt in his mind that she would fight and attempt to make him relinquish it; he was growing more and more curious about just how far she would go to win.
She did not let him wonder for long, as she suddenly leapt for the phone. Her hands met no resistance, only air, and she was humiliated that he had maneuvered the phone away from her so easily. A second attempt produced an identical outcome. Kenshin put the phone behind his back and cradled it safely within both hands, an amused expression crossing his face.
"What the hell are you smiling about?" she questioned in disbelief. Scowling, she immediately reached behind him in search of it; first with one arm, then both. He continued to hold it just outside of her grasp, but when she got too close for comfort a few times, he lifted it above his head. That did it.
"Give me the damned phone!"
She tackled him.
He felt his back slam against her bedroom's doorframe, quite painfully to his surprise, and her small digits finally wrapped around the communication device. She tried to twist it out of his hands as he had done to her a few moments ago but he was too strong. Groaning with effort, she stood on her tiptoes as she continued to wrestle with him persistently. And then without warning, they were tumbling down. He landed on her bed and she fell directly on top of him, her loose hair flowing over them like a silky black waterfall. Still clutching at her prize, she failed to become conscious of their proximity until one of his hands accidentally brushed her backside during the struggle. She apparently assumed that it was deliberate because knuckles cracked across his jaw in a flash. It happened so rapidly and he was distracted enough that he did not even anticipate it. The unexpected blow stunned him but it was not due to the pain; he was simply shocked that she had the nerve.
Kaoru used his obvious surprise to her advantage and stole the phone, wriggling away from him. She hastily switched it on and was thrilled when she heard the dial tone. "Now I'm going to have them take you away. Sorry that you won't be killing any more women and children in this lifetime, asshole!"
As soon as the words left her mouth she found herself flat on her back, immobilized. His hands gripped her arms with unbridled might, pressing her slender body so firmly into the mattress that she thought she would plunge through it. Now it was her turn to look like a deer in headlights; she could only gaze up at him, wide-eyed and disoriented as her long raven tresses cascaded all around her. She could have sworn that his eyes were changing colors; they swirled with a violent combination of purple and gold instead of appearing to be solid lavender like before.
"What did you say?" Kenshin growled, his voice menacing and yet barely above a whisper.
She could not find a voice to answer him with; even if she could, she had no idea what her response would be. His threatening stare sent an involuntary chill throughout her entire body and she bit her lip to refrain from crying. This was by far the most frightening situation she had ever experienced and she screwed her eyes shut, praying that it was all just a horrible nightmare. But after a few brief moments, when she forced herself to look again, he was still above her. He glared at her with eyes that were indisputably far from the ones he had walked in with; they were slanted and pure yellow, the color of amber. These were a murderer's eyes.
"I..." Quivering slightly, she gulped and inhaled deeply in order to maintain her resolve. Her mouth reopened to finish speaking but only a strangled whimper was emitted from her lips. His rough hands were hurting her and she knew there would be bruises littering her arms later... If there was a later.
"You what?" His molten eyes narrowed further, if possible, and he did not break his stare. He was practically shaking with fury and his eyebrows were twitching.
"Well it's true, isn't it!?" Kaoru unexpectedly shouted into his face, tears finally forming within her sapphire eyes. Her heart fluttered nervously. "I've heard about all of them and seen all of their pictures... Innocent people..," she sobbed.
"No," Kenshin stated plainly, golden eyes burning with rage. He yanked his hands away from her hastily as if she had burned him, and then stood from the bed, seething.
"But..," she began, sitting up and blinking away the tears that had threatened to fall. She tried to choose her words carefully, lest he harm her again. "I thought... I mean, that's what I heard--"
"--You shouldn't believe everything you hear," he snapped, lowering his head and shutting his eyes as if he were in pain.
"So you didn't...?" Kaoru trailed off and moved hesitantly to perch on the edge of the bed, the telephone long forgotten. She stared up into his face, which looked oddly serene when his eyelids were concealing those scorching amber orbs. She could not understand how it was possible that this was the same person as the one five minutes ago. Maybe he really was insane, like everyone said, and he switched personalities like people changed their underwear.
"No. I didn't," Kenshin whispered softly, and Kaoru could feel his heart aching. He hung his head and allowed unruly crimson bangs to veil his face from her view. "I could never..."
"Then why? How could they say such things about you?" Kaoru questioned, livid. But she was infuriated for a completely different reason this time; the apparent cruelty of the media disgusted her, as well as her own willingness to believe everything they said. Although it was entirely possible that she was being even more naïve now, by believing him, she could not shake her gut feeling. And so when he spoke again, she recoiled.
"Because I have killed... More people than I can even begin to count," he responded, his voice sounding drastically gentler and much less abrasive. It was bizarre, considering the words that were currently flowing from his mouth. "But they deserved to die. They were evil, corrupt."
"And you're not evil for killing them?" Kaoru retorted, appalled. All traces of fear were forgotten, having been shocked out of her by his confession. "You can't extinguish evil with evil so that just doesn't make any sense!"
"I understand that not everyone sees things as I do," he began, his head still lowered. "And it's difficult to prove my intentions to anyone, especially the law. But I did what I felt was right. I killed those who committed some of the crimes that they claim I'm responsible for. The law will put the blame on anyone who is convenient so they can keep the public calm and under their control. They don't want to show the world that they're incapable of discerning the true murderers so they lock someone else up and keep quiet about it."
Kaoru listened eagerly, amazed at what he was saying. She wondered how her life had gone from ordinary to intricate in less than twenty minutes.
"And I don't know if you've noticed," he continued softly, "but it didn't get any better while I was behind bars. I couldn't stand the fact that no one was doing anything about it, so my chance arrived and I escaped. I still can't believe it myself."
He stepped toward her and she flinched, groping for the phone and steeling herself to run, but he merely halted in front of her and raised his head. A silent gasp escaped her lips as his eyes gazed into hers, bright purple instead of molten gold.
"I'm sorry," he apologized gently, his expression severely pained as he observed her pale arms. They were riddled with dark bruises that appeared so harsh in contrast to her white skin. "I truly did not mean to--"
Thunderous pounding on the front door interrupted his sentence, and he spun on his heel to investigate. Kaoru, eyes wide, stood and ran after him. She stopped a few feet from Kenshin and stared at the wobbling door as realization hit them both.
"Police!" yelled a voice from the hallway. "Open up!"
Kenshin turned his head slowly to peer at Kaoru, looking defeated. He watched her features flicker from one facial expression to the next: surprised, uncertain, worried, upset, and then the one he did not anticipate--determination.
She silently mouthed a word to him then, a word that caused the tiniest spark of hope to ignite within his soul.
Hide.
And then she padded to the door, deliberately slowing her pace, to meet the police.
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Author's Note: So, was it any good? Please review and let me know. I hope I did at least an okay job at keeping them IC. If not, well, I guess I just suck at life.
PidoChan: Thank you!
Sulou: Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Onhiro: Well she kinda did beat his head in, I suppose. LOL.
Thornmage: I'm glad you like it, thanks!
SzaharaTheSame: I'm glad it was worth checking your email! You were right-on about his innocence and Kaoru hiding him, as you can see now. :)
Michika-chan: It makes me so happy that you could feel the excitement too... That part was pretty difficult for me to write. Thank you!