A/N: Another transition type chapter. There are just so many things that need to happen in a very short period of time and it is really starting to bug me that it is taking so long to get through it. GRRRR! But it can't be helped. Things can only happen so fast… you can't rush the time factor, and you can't rush how fast the human being can move through it, so we are stuck until this particular event has worked its way out. AND yes… the dance is still going to happen… but all of this is a necessary set-up for WHAT has to happen during and after the dance--pre and post all hallow's eve. ^_~ So, remember, it is still like only 5:30 or so in the afternoon on Halloween day, and everyone is still standing in the hallway of the school just outside of the Gym where the dance is supposed to be… the entire (or most of) Senior class, and a smattering of Juniors who were 'drafted' to help out with the decorating, Master Saitou, his wife, Hiko, and Dharma. The teenagers are on their way back from Kenshin's dorm; ie: Ruakii, Kaoru, and Soujiro. They left a sleeping Kenshin and Cleo together in his room after he plowed his dear old 'daddy'.
So, just to bring everyone up to speed, so no one is confused… that is where everyone is right now… and the police are on the way (summoned by dear Tomoe after Ruakii threw her his cell phone)… but, I want to remind everybody about our much beloved and possibly forgotten ghostly couple residing in the lighthouse… we are not threw with them yet. There is still so much let to do… so much left to happen… geez, this story could go on for another 10 chapters… damn. That is almost depressing. I hope everybody is ready for a bumpy ride, because that is what we are in for. Just thought I'd let you all know where we're going. ^_! Just in case there were some confused souls out there.
Now, on to the fireworks…
"" = conversation
'' = thoughts
Glossary: Kodora=Small Tiger, Oodora=Large Tiger
Chapter Twelve
Facing Your Demons
The police sirens could be heard coming closer and closer as their high pitched annoying whines and screams became clearer. It would only be a matter of moments before they descended upon the school, and then, who knew what was going to happen.
Kaoru, Soujiro, and Ruakii ran quickly across the snowy campus racing the sirens trying to beat them to the school. Trying to get there before any more damage could be done to Kenshin's already ravaged psyche. They had to stop that Man, that horrible, abusive Man who was no doubt going to try and blame Kenshin for the whole ordeal that had taken place in the crowded hallway of the school. They could not let that happen. Not again.
"Do you hear that, Master Saitou?" Hiko Seijuro smiled malignantly into the stern face of the thinner man standing just a few feet away from him. "That is the sound of the end of my son's enrollment in your school."
"We'll see about that, Mr. Seijuro. We will just see about that." The boiling inside of Saitou was unlike anything the Martial Arts Teacher had ever experienced. He wanted to reach out and tear this man's head off and piss down his throat, but he knew he had to hold him temper if he was going to have a chance with this one. After watching the interaction between Kenshin and this asshole, Saitou was even more resolved in the belief that Kenshin was innocent, but he was also beginning to feel something else that he had not bargained for.
Paternal outrage.
Suddenly he felt like the Father who needed to jump in the middle of the fight and protect his off-spring from being hurt, from being used, from being blamed. He wanted to protect Kenshin... and his younger siblings. ?What the hell am I getting myself into?'
Several feet down the hallway lay a stunned but conscious Dharma Himura and her large round lavender colored eyes were wide with terror as she listened to the sirens coming closer and closer to the school. Oh God.' She pleaded within her broken heart. Don't let him do this again... not again.'
"Mrs. Seijuro? Are you all right, Ma'am?" Dharma looked up into the soft dark brown eyes of the School Master's wife... what was her name?
"I... I don't... Where is Kenshin?" Frantically she looked around the long hall noticing the apparent absence of her eldest son, and then his younger siblings. "Where are Cleo and Sou?? Where are my children??" Her voice was bordering on hysterical as she tried to scramble to her feet but collapsed to her knees when a wave of dizziness over came her. "Ooooo.... what has happened?"
"Please, Mrs. Seijuro. You really should just sit still for a couple of minutes. You took quite a nasty fall when you fainted, and I think you might have bumped your head. So, just set still, all right. Wait for the dizziness to pass."
"Ok... I mean, thank you." A trembling hand rose and rubbed a sore spot just over her right temple. "Maybe I did bonk my head a little."
"I thought you might have the way you went down like a bag of stones."
"What happened?" Worried violet eyes anxiously searched Tokyo's face as the woman tried to remember what had been going on before she... "Hiko! Oh God! He's going to try and kill Kenshin... You have to stop him, he'll kill him if he doesn't back down... he will, I just know it... please..."
"Shhhhhh, it is all right. You missed all the fireworks, Honey. Kenshin laid the old man out with one hit, and that animal never got the chance to lay a finger on him. He's fine... other than I think he passed out from the stress and shock when it was over."
"Passed out?"
"Yes, my son and Kenshin's girlfriend, Kaoru took him back to the dorm. I am sure he'll be fine, so try not to worry. He's a good boy. Strong... stronger than most his age."
"Yes, I know..." The voice trailed off with the ring of humiliation and self-loathing. "He always was." Tokyo gently stroked the woman's flaming hair off her pale face and noticed the scar of a long cut running down her left cheek. It had long since turned white, but it was over three inches long as it ran from the corner of her eye outward along her cheekbone.
Gently touching it with the tip of her fingers, Tokyo asked in a soft voice. "What happened?"
"I didn't have his laundry done." It was an absently spoken answer that pulled hard at Tokyo's heart and soul as she gazed with more intensity at the pained yet empty face of Kenshin's mother.
"Why didn't you leave?"
"Kenshin... Cleo... Sou... He would have thrown Kenshin and I out on the streets and never let me see the other two again... he would have abandoned us with nothing but the clothes on our backs."
"But you have rights..."
"He's a lawyer... he has lots and lots of friends who are lawyers. I would have gotten nothing and my children would have been the ones to suffer the most. He isn't always bad, you know." Dharma cast a short glance at the woman kneeling beside her. "Only when Kenshin was at
home... then it was World War III every day."
"Kenshin wouldn't give in, would he?"
A harsh laugh passed through the red-haired woman's lips before she chocked on a dry sob. "No, he was too much like his real Father in that area. He always had to protect everybody else no matter what happened to him, and there were so many times I was afraid.... I thought... I..."
"You thought your husband was going to kill him before he stopped beating him?"
"Yes..." It was the ragged cry of a tortured soul, and the violet eyed woman who had given Kenshin his beautiful exotic looks dropped her head in shame and let the tears slide freely down her face.
"Well, we are not going to let that happen again, are we?" Dharma's head snapped up at the sound of a young angry feminine voice, and found herself looking into the glittering diamond sapphires of Kaoru Kamiya. "Kenshin has been through enough at the hands of that... that... that animal, and WE are not going to let that MAN feed him to the police... ARE WE?"
"I... we... what?"
"Come on, Lady. Get a hold of yourself." Suddenly the chirping voice of Kenshin's self- designated savior was harassing Dharma from the other side as Misao Machimaki squatted down next to her and shoved her sharp indignant features into her line of vision. "This is your son we are talking about... and he happens to be ?ur' friend, and WE aren't just going to give him up without a fight, so..." Misao looked around and indicated the myriad of faces that now surrounded Dharma on
all sides; Aoshi, Ruakii and Tomoe, Sano and Megumi, Kaoru and Soujiro, and herself. "You are either throwing in with us to protect him from that rotten pig, or you aren't... what's it gonna be?"
Dharma's head was swimming and she felt like she was on the verge of another faint as she stared into first one and then another of the strong young faces watching her with such intense expectation. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought her son would ever have such friends. Friends willing to put up a 'fight' for HIM, but here they were standing around her like she was some sort of circus freak waiting for her to decide if she was willing to fight for him too.
"I-I guess I'm throwing in with y-you." She finally stammered and the group of teenagers around her whooped with victorious excitement. 'Oh my... what have I done?' And as if she had heard the thought slip across Dharma's mind, Tokio leaned over to her and whispered gently,
"You are helping your son, Mom... for the first time, you are really helping him. Be proud, I think he would be."
"What the hell are they all doing down there?" Hiko straightened his tie for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes though he found his attention now occupied more with the commotion going on around his Wife than with the approaching police sirens.
"Dharma!" He called in a sharp voice causing the small red-haired woman to jerk around violently in response. "What are you doing? Come here, Darling."
"It is your choice, Mom..." Soujiro's beautiful blue-gray eyes held hers as he tenderly helped her to her feet, while casting a furtive look in his Father's direction. "Time for you to choose."
"Soujiro! What the hell is going on down there? Get your Mother and the both of you come here... Now." The implication and threat were obvious if not implied and both hung in the silence of the old hallway like the gossamer of spider webs clinging to every nook and cranny seen yet unseen.
"Just a minute, Dad..."
"No 'just a minute' young man. I said, come here now, and I meant it. Get away from those people and bring your Mother with you."
"What's wrong Seijuro?" Sarcasm and dislike dripped from Saitou's voice as he moved to stand beside the bigger man. "Afraid they aren't going to obey you this time? Ehh? Afraid the old power-hand is slipping a little bit after the Kodora slapped your ass down with one hit?"
"What did you call him?" Hiko's voice hissed out between clenched teeth as he turned a malevolent looked onto the smirking school master.
"Kodora... You know what that stand for, Yes?"
"What are you talking about? It's his middle name, and that is all it is... nothing more."
"You so sure about that, MISTER Seijuro? Are you even aware it has a meaning?"
"It's a fucking name..."
"It means 'Small Tiger' in Japanese. The word 'Oodora' means 'large Tiger'. I wonder, does that name have any meaning for you, MISTER Seijuro? Oodora? Wasn't that Kenshin's REAL Father's middle name? Hmmmmm?"
Swinging away from the sarcastic innuendo's that the school master was trying to feed him, Hiko once more shouted at his son and wife, but, oddly, they remained standing where they were.
"Mom?" Soujiro looked deep into his step-mothers haunted violet eyes as he gripped both of her shoulders in his hands. "What are you going to do? What are WE going to do? He's waiting and you know he's not going to wait much longer..." A frown of angry sadness turned the young mans well shaped mouth as he felt a tremor of pure fear quake though the petite frame of the woman he had called Mother for more than 13 years, and a rise of righteous fury began to boil with in him.
"I'm not going," Her voice was so small and so quiet that Soujiro had to strain to hear her as she spoke, but the words themselves were very clear as was their meaning.
"You are going to have to say that to Him, Mom... Say it to Him." Another shiver flooded though the small woman and he wrapped a strong comforting arm around her shoulders pulling her up against his side. "It is Ok... You are not alone anymore. You don't have to do it alone anymore. There are a lot of people who know now, and he can't get away with it this time. I won't let him."
"Neither will I." Kaoru took Dharma's hand in her's and squeezed it tightly.
"Neither will we." The chorus of Kenshin's friends spoke in overlapping tones, but each of them was there behind her. She could feel them, and then, appearing on the other side of Soujiro with a determined look on her lovely face, was Tokio Saitou.
She was not alone.
At that moment, four uniformed policemen walked through the doors and came to an abrupt halt. It looked like the last stand at the Alamo or something to them the way all these people were divided up. What the hell was going on here?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ahhhhhhhh, shit..." Kenshin raised a heavy hand to his forehead and rubbed absently at the dull ache he could feel forming between his eyes. ?reat!' He thought sourly. 'Another fucking headache. That is all I need right now. Just one more thing to make my life that much more unpleasant.' Gritting his teeth, he decided that finding something to take for it before it got out of control and turned into a migraine might be a good idea so, he gingerly started to roll over onto his side when he found himself impeded by a heavy weight on his chest. "What the..." Then his eyes blew open wide as he took in the tumble of curling brilliant red locks that was spreading over his arm and shoulder. It was just a shade or two brighter than his own color, but it would probably get a little darker as she got older just like his had.
Lost in a state of total wonderment and awe Kenshin gazed disbelievingly at the angelic beauty of the sleeping little girl who was snuggled tightly up against his side, her head pillowed in the curve of his shoulder. Her skin was pale pink and flawless as fine porcelain, and the dark-brown eyelashes that whispered upon her flushed cheeks were in a stark contrast to her fairness. She was so small laying next to him, yet so huge when compared to his memories of the last time she had slept next to him.
He could remember a bottle being propped up on his chest, and a fuzzy pink cat, named 'Sam' clutched tightly in her chubby baby arms... and that blanket. That horrible, rotten blanket that had to be with her everywhere she went. Smiling, he recalled how many times they had set on a chair in front of the dryer waiting for that said blanket after their Mother had finally pried it out of sticky hands and washed it. By then it could usually stand up by itself. A low rumble of laughter echoed with him as he remembered how anxious the little-one would get when it seemed to take forever for the dryer to stop and the blanket could be retrieved. 'I wonder where that old thing is now?' He thought with wry amusement. 'Crumbled away to dust no doubt... it was so old and well-worn.' Unnoticed by him, his arm gently tightened around the precious Angel sleeping beside him so peacefully beside him holding her close and then resting his cheek upon the downy softness of her hair.
"So long..." It was a whisper of feathers that brushed through the Angel's hair as he spoke. "So very long." And he turned slightly so he could press tender, loving kisses into the tangled mane of golden-red. "I missed you so much, Poppet... so much." His voice grew chocked and rough as a wave of longing and pain swept over his soul, and the tears of his solitary loneliness burned behind the fringe of his thick brown lashes threatening to spill as he wrestled to maintain his control over his emotions, but someone was listening, and tears were filling the crystal clear sweetness of her round blue eyes as well.
"I missed you too, Kenshin." Cleo reached out across her brother's chest and wrapped her little arm around him as best she could squeezing him while she moved up and pressed her face against his warm neck. "I don't want you to ever go away again, Ok? Please say that you won't ever go away again? Please? Please?" Tiny little sobs began to shake her little body and Kenshin at last lost his grip on his emotions giving in to the grief and longing that he had kept so tightly bottled up inside of him since he had been sent away from home.
"I never wanted to leave, Cleo... It was not my choice, Baby. I wanted to stay... I wanted to stay with you and Sou... and Mom. But I couldn't... I just couldn't." He tried hard to swallow past the lump in his throat, but found it to be impossible. It was just too big and he ended up chocking on a sob that shook the both of them. The fact that her big brother was so sad and was crying again seemed to upset the little girl very much, and she pushed herself up off his chest so she could look into his face her own tears forgotten. A worried frown touched her tender mouth and she reached out to cup his face in her small hands trying to wipe away his tears.
"Please don't cry, Kenshin... Please don't cry. It will all be Ok. You'll see. We will figure everything out, and everyone will be able to stay here with you... except Papa." Dark blue eyes narrowed in anger and pain as Cleo thought about her Father and what had happened in the school. "He was bad to you today. He said mean things and he was bad. I don't like Papa anymore. I want to stay here with you. Can I? Please, Kenshin? Can I stay here with you? Sou, Mama and Me... we could all stay here with you and we could be a family again, and YOU could be the Papa."
"Oh Baby," Kenshin chocked back another sob and sat up pulling the little girl firmly into his arms, and cradling her against his heart, buried his face in her soft neck and the tumble of curls resting there. Then he cried. He cried like he had that morning with Kaoru only these were not happy tears that slid down his face. But he had no more control over these than he had had over the others, and he just let them come. "I love you, Poppet."
"I love you, too." Her little arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and she was hanging on to him for dear life. He was here again and she was not going to let go. Not ever. "Does this mean I can stay?" The innocent question brought a new flood of tears as well as another round of gentle chuckles from the beloved brother that held her so close.
"I don't know, Cleo... I don't know what is going to happen, but I promise you one thing..."
"What?" She asked as she pulled far enough away to look into his moist purple eyes.
"I'm not leaving you again, no matter what happens... I'm not ever going to leave you again."
"You promise??" Anxious blue diamonds searched his serious features as her small hands cupped his face once more.
"I promise... I'll find a way... somehow, no matter what, I will find a way." Eyes glowing violet-gold rose to look up at the ceiling as Kenshin pulled his little sister back against his chest and wrapped his arms securely around her small body. 'I will find a way.' He thought fiercely. 'I will.'
His headache was completely forgotten.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"All right, somebody better be telling me what the hell is going on in here... School Master?" The rough voice of Sargent Randy Thomas sounded like sandpaper on cement as he suspiciously surveyed the odd scene of people gathered in the hallway of the high school. They had received an urgent report of a fight going on at the private school, and he and his partner, Ben Foster, had been the closest black and white in the area so they had responded first. Close behind them had been Martin Hail and his Rookie partner, Lexie Monk. The four of them had met up in the parking lot at just about the same time so they were making a fairly good show of force by all walking in together, but what they walked into just was not 'jiving' with the report that had crackled over the radio.
"Hey, Sarg..." The husky smoker's voice of Sally Olsen, the precinct dispatch officer had floated sexily over the CB inside the patrol car drawing both men's attention immediately. They had looked at each other and exchanged knowing smiles because it was a well-known fact that everyone in radio range would be listening as well. The buxom, attractive red-heads voice was infamous among the patrol units because of its deep throaty quality.
"Like satin on silk... don't it just get you hot... damn!" A lascivious grin had crossed Ben's face as they waited for Sally to contine.
"Hey," Randy thumped him sharply in the arm though he was grinning too. "She is a sweet lady... don't talk about her like that." Rubbing his arm, Ben had laughed in the face of his superior's semi-outrage. It was NOT a well-known fact that the Sargent and the Dispatcher had been dating for a couple of months, and the ?'sexy voice' jokes were not as funny as they used to be, but Ben could still get away with one every now and then.
"What ya got for me, Sal?"
"There is some sort of a disturbance going on over at Ivy Payne High... sounds like a fight."
"A fight?" Randy and Ben exchanged annoyed and disbelieving glances. "Those snotty rich kids don't know how to fight.... are you sure?"
"That's what the caller said... that some kid was getting it from his old man."
"Are you shitting me, Girl?"
"RANDALL..."
"Ahhh... sorry..." Randy actually blushed. Everybody knew Sally hated bad language over the radio and was not adverse to admonishing anyone about it. Even the brusque Sargent. "Ahhh, we'll go check it out... Car 317 out." Then he had looked into the smirking face of his partner and slugged him even harder than before. "You shut your mouth, Ben. I swear to God... You say one fucking word and I'll..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... just drive." Much to the Sargent's displeasure, Ben had silently chuckled all the way to the school.
Now, Randy, Ben, Martin, and Lexie stood in the congested hallway trying to piece together what could possibly have happened. It did not look like a fight. It looked more like a stand off.
"Master Saitou?" He spoke again looking for the tall slender man who was the Head Master, and someone he had known for more than 10 years.
"Sargent Thomas." Randy's light green eyes narrowed as he watched the thin faced man separate himself from the crowd of students and approach him.
"You wanna tell me what the hell is going on here, Master?" The intelligent lime green gaze of the Policeman met and held the sharp topaz eyes of the Educator as he folded his arms across a muscle heavy chest. "I got a call that some kid was up here duking it out with his old man... Is that what's going on here because it sure looks a lot more like the beginnings of fucking riot."
"I know what it looks like, Sargent, but if you will allow me a moment to explain, I am sure you will under...."
"Officer," The great booming voice of Hiko Seijuro interrupted whatever Saitou was going to say as the big dark-haired man rudely walked up to the pair and shoved his nose into the middle of their conversation. "I think I would be much better in giving you the details of this 'Incident' since I was personally involved, and the School Master here," He waved an absent hand of ignorant dismissal toward Saitou failing to notice the suspicious shift in the Sargent's gaze as it moved to him.
"Is that so, Mr...."
"Seijuro, Hiko Seijuro. I am a Corporate Lawyer from Denton. My... son has been a student here at Ivy Payne for the last three years."
"I see, go on." Saitou was watching Sargent Thomas carefully and he could see the intelligent Policeman taking stock of the arrogant blow-hard in front of him. "You said ?ou were involved in the said 'Incident'. Am I to gather the other said party to be this son of yours?"
"Of course. You are very astute." A dry smile curved the thin lips as Hiko jammed his hands into the pockets of his expensive trousers.
"Why, thank-you, Mr. Seijuro. We do try down here in these little out of the way places, although I am sure our methods are nothing to compare to those up in New York." The pleasant friendly smile Randy was wearing nowhere near reached his eyes as his ?'senses' began to tell him just what sort of a 'man' he was dealing with here. "Why don't you tell me what happened with you and your son." Of course, he had noticed the hesitation, however slight that the other man had inadvertently used when initially speaking about the young man in question, and THAT had immediately caught the Officer's attention.
"He's always been an unruly boy... difficult to control, I am sure you understand."
"Of course."
"We had a slight... eh, argument, and he rebelled against my authority just as he always did and it caused a... ahhh, altercation in which he struck me."
"He struck you?" A faint note of skepticism crept into the Policeman's voice as he eyed the other man. "I find that difficult to believe, Mr. Seijuro, considering your size. Just exactly how old is your son? 16? 17? He could not possibly be large enough to inflict much damage on you."
"Oh, on the contrary, Officer. Kenshin is quite skilled in Karate and he used that against me quite viciously. Threw me to the ground he did. He might have even broke a rib or two."
"Broke a rib?" The skepticism was growing, and Randy was starting to become impatient with the arrogant Lawyer in front of him. "You don't look like you are in much pain, Sir, if I say so myself."
"I hide it well."
"I'm sure." Turning to his three comrades, Randy motioned for them to join him. "Lexie, I want you to find this Kenshin kid and get him over here..."
"Yes sir."
"Ben, start talking to these students and see if anybody saw anything they are willing to talk about."
"Sure thing, Sarg."
"Marty, I want you to take Mr. Seijuro's statement while I talk to Head Master Saitou here and get his side of the story."
"You got it..."
"That really is not necessary, Officer. I have told you everything you need to know."
"I am sure you think so, Mr. Seijuro, but down here in the boonies, we do stuff a little different than you do in the big city. We try to get ALL the facts before we go carting people of to jail... especially kids."
"Perhaps you do not understand ?HO' my son is, Officer." The 'know-it-all' sound to Hiko's voice brought the irritated look of the Sargent's face back around to him, and he let a smile of pure satisfaction curl his thin lips. "I thought not. Might I enlighten you?"
"Oh please do. I can hardly wait to hear this."
"Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Officer. If you do not perform your function here to my liking, I will have no qualms about reporting you to your commanding officer."
"Go ahead, Mister. It wouldn't be the first time." Randy faced the arrogant offensive man. "But I doubt you'd get too far. You see, I don't believe a single word you're telling me, so if you want to make any points with me, threatening me isn't going to win you any brownie prizes."
"Why you insufferable little cretin, how dare you talk to me like that."
"I dare a lot of things, Mister... You might be surprised how many. But if you still got stuff to tell me, spit it out. Otherwise, quit wasting my time 'cause you are really starting to get on my nerves." Hiko's dark green eyes narrowed into splinters of pure hatred as he looked into the immovable planes of the annoyed Sargent's face. He was going to have to be more careful if he was going to make this work out to his advantage. Much more careful.
"Very well, let me enlighten you about Kenshin. Are you aware he already has a criminal record?"
"He's a juvenile... so that is fairly irrelevant unless he killed somebody or something."
"Well, aren't you the perceptive one."
"Excuse me?"
"He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter three years ago after he shot a shop owner to death while trying to rob and vandalize his store."
"Is that so... well, that does tend to shed a little different light on things." Randy scratched his chin as he contemplated this unique turn of events, but he was still unwilling to trust the suave businessman any farther than he could throw him despite the kid having a record. "Ok, I get it... but if your son was convicted of manslaughter like you say, what is he doing here instead of being in a lock-down?"
"Oh, well..." Hiko gave the Sargent his most disarming smile as he launched into his caring father act. "That was my doing. I did not want to see the boy further influenced by the criminal world, and the District Attorney was inclined to agree with me since Kenshin had no priors... so, we sent him here to Ive Payne to set out his four year sentence confined to the schools campus while under constant house-arrest and supervision."
"Interesting idea... and how did it work out?"
"Well, he seemed to be improving, or so we thought... up until today, of course."
"Of course..." The Sargent's intelligence factor had just about had enough of this pious asshole's bullshit, and his irritation was rising swiftly. "Now tell me, if your boy was way over here in Evermore, and you and his Mother were clear up in Denton... who was responsible for the kid?"
"Why School Master Saitou, of course. He and his wife were granted temporary guardianship and custody of Kenshin until he graduates... which would have been this year if he had not violated his probation."
"Violated his probation? Just exactly HOW did your son violate his probation, Mr. Seijuro?"
"He struck me." The smugness in the smooth educated voice made Randy want to vomit all over the man's $400.00 shoes as he tried to fathom just how stupid this jerk thought he was.
"He struck you?"
"Yes. And that is a strict violation of his parole. He is strictly forbidden to engage in any sort of violent physical contact, and if caught, he is liable for arrest and immediate incarceration in the nearest adult facility."
"Adult facility?"
"Of course... he is almost 18. He is most definitely of an age to be held accountable for his actions on an adult level. I am sure you will agree."
"Uh-huh... Tell me, Mr. Seijuro, just exactly who threw the first punch in this so-called altercation? Your son... or YOU?" A feeling of immense satisfaction filled the officer as he watched a flush of pure outrage stain the lean features of the arrogant dark-haired man.
"How dare you!" Rage flared through Hiko's system as he looked into the nonplused gaze of the burly officer standing only a few feet away from him. "Are you insinuating that I attacked my own son?"
"No Sir. I am not insinuating anything... I am down right accusing. BEN?"
"Yeah Sarg?" The other officer trotted back over to his partner. "What do ya need?"
"You got anybody over there who has anything interesting to say about this whole thing?"
"Yes Sir... the whole lot of those kids are all saying the same thing."
"Which is..."
"They saw the red-headed boy holding a little girl who was screaming her head off about not wanting to be handed over to this guy," He gestured to Hiko with his thumb. "And then the kid handed her over to a dark-haired girl they said is his girlfriend."
"Ok... what else."
"After that, all hell broke loose... They say this guy rushed the kid with his fist raised, but the kid jumped out of the way before he could hit him... and then the two of them were talking about something, but nobody could hear what they were saying, but whatever it was, this guy rushed the kid with his fist again. That is when they say the kid 'Dropped him'."
"Dropped him?" Randy turned and looked at his partner skeptically. "Just how big is this kid, Ben?"
"From all the descriptions I got, he's about 5'5" maybe 5'6", 130-145 pounds at the most. He's not a big kid... slender, lean frame."
"And he 'dropped' this guy?"
"Yup. They said he ducked the punch the old man threw at his head and slammed his fist into his chest... said the kid threw this guy a good eight maybe ten feet."
"Jesus..."
"The School Master's boy is over there... He says this kid is the best student in his dad's Martial Arts class and that the move he used on the big guy is designed to use his own force against him."
"I know the move, Ben." A hundred and fifty thoughts were suddenly swirling around inside of the Sargent's brain as he tried to picture a kid that size plowing into a man the size of the one standing next to him. The very idea boggled his mind, but then... didn't that Jet Li movie star guy do it all the time? He wasn't very big either.
"Well, Sargent? Are you going to arrest my son or not?"
"Sounds to me like he was defending himself, Mr. Seijuro. Sounds to me like you're the one who might need a little cool down time in our local gray-bar motel."
"You can't be serious. I never laid a hand on the boy."
"Not for want of trying, did you?" Hiko's face suddenly began to take on a very sickly ashen quality. Something was not going right.
"He refused to return my daughter to me. I had every right to demand his cooperation... and he blatantly refused."
"Uh-huh, and that was deserving of a fist in the head, eh?"
"He needs to learn his place. He has always been an uppity disrespectful boy."
"I'll bet... Ben?"
"Sarg?"
"You seen Lexie yet? I sent her to find that kid."
"Ah, no Sir... I haven't seen her come back. Do you want me to go look for her?"
"Yeah. I really need to talk to that kid."
"Yes Sir." The younger policeman turned and jogged off in the direction of the dormitories where the school master had said the boy was supposed to be.
"I demand to know what you are going to do about this, Officer. Kenshin is in direct violation of his parole and I want him arrested."
"On what grounds?"
"I want to press charges for assault..."
"Why don't you shut the hell up and go stand over there where I don't have to look at you for the time being."
"You can't..."
"The hell I can't... get out of my way and go over there." The angry officer pointed to a vacant space across the hallway where he wanted Hiko to go stand. "I'll let you know if I need anything else from you." Flustered and worrying, Hiko moved away from the irritated policeman and went to stand on the other side of the hall. Things were not panning out the way he had planned them. That they were not.
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She felt like she had check three dozen rooms by the time she knocked on one that actually had someone in it. Carefully opening the door at the muffled 'come-in', Lexie peered into the small room and took notice of the two people setting on the bed. Both had flaming red hair, and the evidence of tears was evident on both of their faces. Upon seeing her uniform, the young man stood up holding the small girl close to him in a very protective manner, his dark violet eyes wary as he faced the young policewoman.
"What do you want with me?" The voice was low toned but clear and steady. "If you have come for my sister, I am afraid I can't let you take her just now." A muscle began twitching in his jaw as he stood his ground defiantly. "You see, I have not seen her for almost four years, and... and I would just like to spend a little more time with her... that is all. I'm not kidnapping her or anything, I just want to see her."
"I'm not here to take your sister away, Kenshin." Lexie tried to sound as reassuring as she could, but noticed that the apprehension and tenseness withing the young man did not waver the slightest fraction. "But I did come to take the two of you back up to the school. My Sargent has some questions he want to ask you about... about what happened between you and your Father."
"He is not my Father." The words were spoken in the coldest voice Lexie could remember ever hearing, and it sent a shiver up her spine as she watched the violet eyes shift and become tinged with gold.
"Excuse me? What did you say?"
"He is not MY Father. He is my step-father... He has never been MY Father."
"Your step-father? We were not aware of that." It was an interesting piece of information, but before she could say anything about it, a tiny voice pipped up and caught her undivided attention.
"Papa is a mean man, and I don't want him to be my Papa anymore. I want Kenshin to be the Papa." Lexie's bright hazel eyes shifted from the cold stern face of the young man, and came to rest on the delicate features of the little angel in his arms.
"What do you mean, sweetie? How is your Papa mean?"
"He does mean things and stuff. He's not a good Papa."
"I know, you said that already, Honey... but what kinds of mean things and stuff does your Papa do? Can you tell me?" Cleo looked up into Kenshin's face anxiously and started to worry her lower lip between her tiny white teeth.
"It is Ok, Poppet. I think you can tell this Lady what Papa does."
"Are you sure, Kenshin? I don't want Papa to get mad at me again. If he does, he'll put in the closet again, and I'm scared of the dark." Kenshin gritted his teeth as a wave of angry frustration washed over his soul, but he just hugged the little body closer to him and kissed her cheek.
"It's Ok to tell, Cleo... I promise I won't let 'him' put you in the closet anymore, Baby. I promise."
"You promise?" He nodded and pressed his forehead against hers for a moment, and then she turned her wide bottomless blue eyes back to the patiently waiting policewoman. "If I tell, you have to promise not to let Papa hurt Kenshin, Ok?"
"I'll do my best, Honey. I promise. I don't think your brother is really in trouble anyway."
"You don't? You mean they aren't going to make him go away again?"
"We'll try our best not to let that happen, Honey, but you need to tell me about your Papa."
"Ok." She wound her little fists into handfuls of her brother's long red hair, squished her cheek up next to his, and then started to talk. "Papa hits things when he's mad... and he throws stuff too. He broke Mama's purple vase with the roses in it one day cuz he was mad. It made Mama cry but he just yelled at her and stuff."
"What else, sweetie? What else does your Papa do?"
"Sometimes he used to hit Mama, but not for a long time, but I remember he hit her lots in the face. Her nose used to bleed and once I found her tooth on the floor, but the tooth fairy didn't come." Large blue pools of childish confusion looked up at Lexie for a moment. "Doesn't the tooth fairy like grown-ups?"
"I-I don't know, Honey. Maybe she saves her presents just for little kids... you know, so they can have something to replace the tooth."
"I guess... Mama never got anything for her tooth. She just threw it in the garbage." A fat round tear slowly began to slide down Kenshin's opposite cheek as he listened to the horrible things his little Angel had been forced to watch when all she should have had to worry about was Sam and her blanket. Lexie was not unaffected either, as she felt a large lump of emotion begin to swell in her throat.
"Does your Papa hit anyone else, Honey? Does he ever hit you?"
"No... Sometimes he hits Soujiro, but he just puts me in the closet when I'm bad. I don't like it in there cuz it's really dark and I'm always afraid the monsters are gonna get me."
"No more monsters are going to get you, Poppet." The young man's voice was deep and husky with his pain as he pressed another kiss against the beautiful little face. "I won't let them get you."
"Are there monsters here, Kenshin?"
"No, Baby. There aren't any monsters here. They have been gone for a long, long time now, and I don't think they will ever come back... so you don't have to worry about monsters while you are here with me, Ok?"
"Ok. Are you going to be the Papa now, Kenshin? Are You?"
"Oh Baby-girl... I don't know what is going to happen, but I guess we better go with this Lady and find out what is going on."
"No!" It was a shrill cry of pure terror and Cleo wound her arms in a strangle hold around her brother's neck bring a squeaked cry of surprise from him as she did. "I don't wanna go back! I don't wanna go!" She sobbed and buried her face in Kenshin's neck. "Papa will try to take me away again, and then he'll hurt you. Please don't make me go, Kenshin. Pleeeeaaase...."
"He will not take you away, Poppet... calm down. I told you I would not let him take you away from me. Please don't cry... please don't cry." His hand began to rub comforting circles around on her shuddering little back as he crooned to her gently. That was all Lexie needed to know.
"Cleo, Honey..." Lexie tentatively approached the terrified little girl who was clinging to her brother like a leech. "I don't think you need to worry about your Papa taking you away from your brother."
"I-I don't *sniffsniff*?"
"No, sweetie. I think that you should stay right where you are for the time being, and that is what I'm going to tell everybody, Ok?"
"Promise?"
"Promise." That seemed to appease the little girl at least somewhat, and she finally agreed that they could go back to the school as long as she could stay with Kenshin. So, after closing the door of his room shut behind them, Lexie led the two siblings out the front of the dorm where they bumped into Ben.
"Hey, Lex... where ya been? The Sarg is waiting for you, he really wants to talk to this kid." Ben's sharp brown eyes quickly assessed the tight emotional faces of the slender red-haired teen and
his young sister, and he really did not like what he saw. Both of them looked exhausted and emotionally worn out. "You look like you've had one hellova day, Kid."
"You could say that." Kenshin attempted a cordial smile in the direction of the new officer, but it was a poor attempt and he finally opted for just nodding in acknowledgment.
"Thought so. Sargent Thomas wants to talk to you, so you need to come with me, Ok?"
"Yes Sir. It's all right if I keep holding my sister isn't it?"
"Sure, Kid... Looks like it would take a hellova crowbar to pry her off anyway." That remark finally succeeded in bringing the hint of a smile to the teens lips, and a wry chuckle rumbled in his chest.
"You have no idea, Officer. You have no idea." Ben grinned at the boy and put a steadying hand on his slender shoulder as he leaned close to his open ear.
"You just might be surprised what I think, Kid. You might be real surprised." Then he winked at the confused look that crossed the young man's face as he motioned for everyone to head back over to the school. "Come on. We better get a move on. The Sarg really hates to be kept waiting."
"Another impatient man... Great." It was the almost imperceptible muttering of disgruntled and tired teenager, and it put smiles on both officer's faces when they heard it.
"You have no idea, Kid. You have no idea."
"You might be surprised, Officer. You might be really surprised." Ben laughed out loud and continued to lead his small entourage back to the school and Sargent Thomas. The Kid was probably right, they all probably would be surprised by what he had going on inside of his head if they knew.
If they only knew.
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Ok, there it is. I hope it was enjoyable… and I hope everybody feels like sticking around for the rest. I have got so many things planned (up my sleeve--if I had any). I promise you all a lot of mystery, angst, heavy situations, limey's coming up, a lot more romance between Kenshin and Kaoru, a few romantic surprises… a lot of other surprises. Only the tuski-san knows.
Please Review… let me know if you think 10 or more chapter is too much more…
And if any of your are interested… I do have 2 other Kenshin Kaoru fanfictions on ff.net. They are period proper to the series and can be reached from my ff.net authors page. Just click on the highlighted 'Kanzen ne Tsuki' on the top of this page, and scroll to the bottom of the authors page for fiction summaries. Until next time…poof*
So, just to bring everyone up to speed, so no one is confused… that is where everyone is right now… and the police are on the way (summoned by dear Tomoe after Ruakii threw her his cell phone)… but, I want to remind everybody about our much beloved and possibly forgotten ghostly couple residing in the lighthouse… we are not threw with them yet. There is still so much let to do… so much left to happen… geez, this story could go on for another 10 chapters… damn. That is almost depressing. I hope everybody is ready for a bumpy ride, because that is what we are in for. Just thought I'd let you all know where we're going. ^_! Just in case there were some confused souls out there.
Now, on to the fireworks…
"" = conversation
'' = thoughts
Glossary: Kodora=Small Tiger, Oodora=Large Tiger
Chapter Twelve
Facing Your Demons
The police sirens could be heard coming closer and closer as their high pitched annoying whines and screams became clearer. It would only be a matter of moments before they descended upon the school, and then, who knew what was going to happen.
Kaoru, Soujiro, and Ruakii ran quickly across the snowy campus racing the sirens trying to beat them to the school. Trying to get there before any more damage could be done to Kenshin's already ravaged psyche. They had to stop that Man, that horrible, abusive Man who was no doubt going to try and blame Kenshin for the whole ordeal that had taken place in the crowded hallway of the school. They could not let that happen. Not again.
"Do you hear that, Master Saitou?" Hiko Seijuro smiled malignantly into the stern face of the thinner man standing just a few feet away from him. "That is the sound of the end of my son's enrollment in your school."
"We'll see about that, Mr. Seijuro. We will just see about that." The boiling inside of Saitou was unlike anything the Martial Arts Teacher had ever experienced. He wanted to reach out and tear this man's head off and piss down his throat, but he knew he had to hold him temper if he was going to have a chance with this one. After watching the interaction between Kenshin and this asshole, Saitou was even more resolved in the belief that Kenshin was innocent, but he was also beginning to feel something else that he had not bargained for.
Paternal outrage.
Suddenly he felt like the Father who needed to jump in the middle of the fight and protect his off-spring from being hurt, from being used, from being blamed. He wanted to protect Kenshin... and his younger siblings. ?What the hell am I getting myself into?'
Several feet down the hallway lay a stunned but conscious Dharma Himura and her large round lavender colored eyes were wide with terror as she listened to the sirens coming closer and closer to the school. Oh God.' She pleaded within her broken heart. Don't let him do this again... not again.'
"Mrs. Seijuro? Are you all right, Ma'am?" Dharma looked up into the soft dark brown eyes of the School Master's wife... what was her name?
"I... I don't... Where is Kenshin?" Frantically she looked around the long hall noticing the apparent absence of her eldest son, and then his younger siblings. "Where are Cleo and Sou?? Where are my children??" Her voice was bordering on hysterical as she tried to scramble to her feet but collapsed to her knees when a wave of dizziness over came her. "Ooooo.... what has happened?"
"Please, Mrs. Seijuro. You really should just sit still for a couple of minutes. You took quite a nasty fall when you fainted, and I think you might have bumped your head. So, just set still, all right. Wait for the dizziness to pass."
"Ok... I mean, thank you." A trembling hand rose and rubbed a sore spot just over her right temple. "Maybe I did bonk my head a little."
"I thought you might have the way you went down like a bag of stones."
"What happened?" Worried violet eyes anxiously searched Tokyo's face as the woman tried to remember what had been going on before she... "Hiko! Oh God! He's going to try and kill Kenshin... You have to stop him, he'll kill him if he doesn't back down... he will, I just know it... please..."
"Shhhhhh, it is all right. You missed all the fireworks, Honey. Kenshin laid the old man out with one hit, and that animal never got the chance to lay a finger on him. He's fine... other than I think he passed out from the stress and shock when it was over."
"Passed out?"
"Yes, my son and Kenshin's girlfriend, Kaoru took him back to the dorm. I am sure he'll be fine, so try not to worry. He's a good boy. Strong... stronger than most his age."
"Yes, I know..." The voice trailed off with the ring of humiliation and self-loathing. "He always was." Tokyo gently stroked the woman's flaming hair off her pale face and noticed the scar of a long cut running down her left cheek. It had long since turned white, but it was over three inches long as it ran from the corner of her eye outward along her cheekbone.
Gently touching it with the tip of her fingers, Tokyo asked in a soft voice. "What happened?"
"I didn't have his laundry done." It was an absently spoken answer that pulled hard at Tokyo's heart and soul as she gazed with more intensity at the pained yet empty face of Kenshin's mother.
"Why didn't you leave?"
"Kenshin... Cleo... Sou... He would have thrown Kenshin and I out on the streets and never let me see the other two again... he would have abandoned us with nothing but the clothes on our backs."
"But you have rights..."
"He's a lawyer... he has lots and lots of friends who are lawyers. I would have gotten nothing and my children would have been the ones to suffer the most. He isn't always bad, you know." Dharma cast a short glance at the woman kneeling beside her. "Only when Kenshin was at
home... then it was World War III every day."
"Kenshin wouldn't give in, would he?"
A harsh laugh passed through the red-haired woman's lips before she chocked on a dry sob. "No, he was too much like his real Father in that area. He always had to protect everybody else no matter what happened to him, and there were so many times I was afraid.... I thought... I..."
"You thought your husband was going to kill him before he stopped beating him?"
"Yes..." It was the ragged cry of a tortured soul, and the violet eyed woman who had given Kenshin his beautiful exotic looks dropped her head in shame and let the tears slide freely down her face.
"Well, we are not going to let that happen again, are we?" Dharma's head snapped up at the sound of a young angry feminine voice, and found herself looking into the glittering diamond sapphires of Kaoru Kamiya. "Kenshin has been through enough at the hands of that... that... that animal, and WE are not going to let that MAN feed him to the police... ARE WE?"
"I... we... what?"
"Come on, Lady. Get a hold of yourself." Suddenly the chirping voice of Kenshin's self- designated savior was harassing Dharma from the other side as Misao Machimaki squatted down next to her and shoved her sharp indignant features into her line of vision. "This is your son we are talking about... and he happens to be ?ur' friend, and WE aren't just going to give him up without a fight, so..." Misao looked around and indicated the myriad of faces that now surrounded Dharma on
all sides; Aoshi, Ruakii and Tomoe, Sano and Megumi, Kaoru and Soujiro, and herself. "You are either throwing in with us to protect him from that rotten pig, or you aren't... what's it gonna be?"
Dharma's head was swimming and she felt like she was on the verge of another faint as she stared into first one and then another of the strong young faces watching her with such intense expectation. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought her son would ever have such friends. Friends willing to put up a 'fight' for HIM, but here they were standing around her like she was some sort of circus freak waiting for her to decide if she was willing to fight for him too.
"I-I guess I'm throwing in with y-you." She finally stammered and the group of teenagers around her whooped with victorious excitement. 'Oh my... what have I done?' And as if she had heard the thought slip across Dharma's mind, Tokio leaned over to her and whispered gently,
"You are helping your son, Mom... for the first time, you are really helping him. Be proud, I think he would be."
"What the hell are they all doing down there?" Hiko straightened his tie for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes though he found his attention now occupied more with the commotion going on around his Wife than with the approaching police sirens.
"Dharma!" He called in a sharp voice causing the small red-haired woman to jerk around violently in response. "What are you doing? Come here, Darling."
"It is your choice, Mom..." Soujiro's beautiful blue-gray eyes held hers as he tenderly helped her to her feet, while casting a furtive look in his Father's direction. "Time for you to choose."
"Soujiro! What the hell is going on down there? Get your Mother and the both of you come here... Now." The implication and threat were obvious if not implied and both hung in the silence of the old hallway like the gossamer of spider webs clinging to every nook and cranny seen yet unseen.
"Just a minute, Dad..."
"No 'just a minute' young man. I said, come here now, and I meant it. Get away from those people and bring your Mother with you."
"What's wrong Seijuro?" Sarcasm and dislike dripped from Saitou's voice as he moved to stand beside the bigger man. "Afraid they aren't going to obey you this time? Ehh? Afraid the old power-hand is slipping a little bit after the Kodora slapped your ass down with one hit?"
"What did you call him?" Hiko's voice hissed out between clenched teeth as he turned a malevolent looked onto the smirking school master.
"Kodora... You know what that stand for, Yes?"
"What are you talking about? It's his middle name, and that is all it is... nothing more."
"You so sure about that, MISTER Seijuro? Are you even aware it has a meaning?"
"It's a fucking name..."
"It means 'Small Tiger' in Japanese. The word 'Oodora' means 'large Tiger'. I wonder, does that name have any meaning for you, MISTER Seijuro? Oodora? Wasn't that Kenshin's REAL Father's middle name? Hmmmmm?"
Swinging away from the sarcastic innuendo's that the school master was trying to feed him, Hiko once more shouted at his son and wife, but, oddly, they remained standing where they were.
"Mom?" Soujiro looked deep into his step-mothers haunted violet eyes as he gripped both of her shoulders in his hands. "What are you going to do? What are WE going to do? He's waiting and you know he's not going to wait much longer..." A frown of angry sadness turned the young mans well shaped mouth as he felt a tremor of pure fear quake though the petite frame of the woman he had called Mother for more than 13 years, and a rise of righteous fury began to boil with in him.
"I'm not going," Her voice was so small and so quiet that Soujiro had to strain to hear her as she spoke, but the words themselves were very clear as was their meaning.
"You are going to have to say that to Him, Mom... Say it to Him." Another shiver flooded though the small woman and he wrapped a strong comforting arm around her shoulders pulling her up against his side. "It is Ok... You are not alone anymore. You don't have to do it alone anymore. There are a lot of people who know now, and he can't get away with it this time. I won't let him."
"Neither will I." Kaoru took Dharma's hand in her's and squeezed it tightly.
"Neither will we." The chorus of Kenshin's friends spoke in overlapping tones, but each of them was there behind her. She could feel them, and then, appearing on the other side of Soujiro with a determined look on her lovely face, was Tokio Saitou.
She was not alone.
At that moment, four uniformed policemen walked through the doors and came to an abrupt halt. It looked like the last stand at the Alamo or something to them the way all these people were divided up. What the hell was going on here?
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"Ahhhhhhhh, shit..." Kenshin raised a heavy hand to his forehead and rubbed absently at the dull ache he could feel forming between his eyes. ?reat!' He thought sourly. 'Another fucking headache. That is all I need right now. Just one more thing to make my life that much more unpleasant.' Gritting his teeth, he decided that finding something to take for it before it got out of control and turned into a migraine might be a good idea so, he gingerly started to roll over onto his side when he found himself impeded by a heavy weight on his chest. "What the..." Then his eyes blew open wide as he took in the tumble of curling brilliant red locks that was spreading over his arm and shoulder. It was just a shade or two brighter than his own color, but it would probably get a little darker as she got older just like his had.
Lost in a state of total wonderment and awe Kenshin gazed disbelievingly at the angelic beauty of the sleeping little girl who was snuggled tightly up against his side, her head pillowed in the curve of his shoulder. Her skin was pale pink and flawless as fine porcelain, and the dark-brown eyelashes that whispered upon her flushed cheeks were in a stark contrast to her fairness. She was so small laying next to him, yet so huge when compared to his memories of the last time she had slept next to him.
He could remember a bottle being propped up on his chest, and a fuzzy pink cat, named 'Sam' clutched tightly in her chubby baby arms... and that blanket. That horrible, rotten blanket that had to be with her everywhere she went. Smiling, he recalled how many times they had set on a chair in front of the dryer waiting for that said blanket after their Mother had finally pried it out of sticky hands and washed it. By then it could usually stand up by itself. A low rumble of laughter echoed with him as he remembered how anxious the little-one would get when it seemed to take forever for the dryer to stop and the blanket could be retrieved. 'I wonder where that old thing is now?' He thought with wry amusement. 'Crumbled away to dust no doubt... it was so old and well-worn.' Unnoticed by him, his arm gently tightened around the precious Angel sleeping beside him so peacefully beside him holding her close and then resting his cheek upon the downy softness of her hair.
"So long..." It was a whisper of feathers that brushed through the Angel's hair as he spoke. "So very long." And he turned slightly so he could press tender, loving kisses into the tangled mane of golden-red. "I missed you so much, Poppet... so much." His voice grew chocked and rough as a wave of longing and pain swept over his soul, and the tears of his solitary loneliness burned behind the fringe of his thick brown lashes threatening to spill as he wrestled to maintain his control over his emotions, but someone was listening, and tears were filling the crystal clear sweetness of her round blue eyes as well.
"I missed you too, Kenshin." Cleo reached out across her brother's chest and wrapped her little arm around him as best she could squeezing him while she moved up and pressed her face against his warm neck. "I don't want you to ever go away again, Ok? Please say that you won't ever go away again? Please? Please?" Tiny little sobs began to shake her little body and Kenshin at last lost his grip on his emotions giving in to the grief and longing that he had kept so tightly bottled up inside of him since he had been sent away from home.
"I never wanted to leave, Cleo... It was not my choice, Baby. I wanted to stay... I wanted to stay with you and Sou... and Mom. But I couldn't... I just couldn't." He tried hard to swallow past the lump in his throat, but found it to be impossible. It was just too big and he ended up chocking on a sob that shook the both of them. The fact that her big brother was so sad and was crying again seemed to upset the little girl very much, and she pushed herself up off his chest so she could look into his face her own tears forgotten. A worried frown touched her tender mouth and she reached out to cup his face in her small hands trying to wipe away his tears.
"Please don't cry, Kenshin... Please don't cry. It will all be Ok. You'll see. We will figure everything out, and everyone will be able to stay here with you... except Papa." Dark blue eyes narrowed in anger and pain as Cleo thought about her Father and what had happened in the school. "He was bad to you today. He said mean things and he was bad. I don't like Papa anymore. I want to stay here with you. Can I? Please, Kenshin? Can I stay here with you? Sou, Mama and Me... we could all stay here with you and we could be a family again, and YOU could be the Papa."
"Oh Baby," Kenshin chocked back another sob and sat up pulling the little girl firmly into his arms, and cradling her against his heart, buried his face in her soft neck and the tumble of curls resting there. Then he cried. He cried like he had that morning with Kaoru only these were not happy tears that slid down his face. But he had no more control over these than he had had over the others, and he just let them come. "I love you, Poppet."
"I love you, too." Her little arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and she was hanging on to him for dear life. He was here again and she was not going to let go. Not ever. "Does this mean I can stay?" The innocent question brought a new flood of tears as well as another round of gentle chuckles from the beloved brother that held her so close.
"I don't know, Cleo... I don't know what is going to happen, but I promise you one thing..."
"What?" She asked as she pulled far enough away to look into his moist purple eyes.
"I'm not leaving you again, no matter what happens... I'm not ever going to leave you again."
"You promise??" Anxious blue diamonds searched his serious features as her small hands cupped his face once more.
"I promise... I'll find a way... somehow, no matter what, I will find a way." Eyes glowing violet-gold rose to look up at the ceiling as Kenshin pulled his little sister back against his chest and wrapped his arms securely around her small body. 'I will find a way.' He thought fiercely. 'I will.'
His headache was completely forgotten.
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"All right, somebody better be telling me what the hell is going on in here... School Master?" The rough voice of Sargent Randy Thomas sounded like sandpaper on cement as he suspiciously surveyed the odd scene of people gathered in the hallway of the high school. They had received an urgent report of a fight going on at the private school, and he and his partner, Ben Foster, had been the closest black and white in the area so they had responded first. Close behind them had been Martin Hail and his Rookie partner, Lexie Monk. The four of them had met up in the parking lot at just about the same time so they were making a fairly good show of force by all walking in together, but what they walked into just was not 'jiving' with the report that had crackled over the radio.
"Hey, Sarg..." The husky smoker's voice of Sally Olsen, the precinct dispatch officer had floated sexily over the CB inside the patrol car drawing both men's attention immediately. They had looked at each other and exchanged knowing smiles because it was a well-known fact that everyone in radio range would be listening as well. The buxom, attractive red-heads voice was infamous among the patrol units because of its deep throaty quality.
"Like satin on silk... don't it just get you hot... damn!" A lascivious grin had crossed Ben's face as they waited for Sally to contine.
"Hey," Randy thumped him sharply in the arm though he was grinning too. "She is a sweet lady... don't talk about her like that." Rubbing his arm, Ben had laughed in the face of his superior's semi-outrage. It was NOT a well-known fact that the Sargent and the Dispatcher had been dating for a couple of months, and the ?'sexy voice' jokes were not as funny as they used to be, but Ben could still get away with one every now and then.
"What ya got for me, Sal?"
"There is some sort of a disturbance going on over at Ivy Payne High... sounds like a fight."
"A fight?" Randy and Ben exchanged annoyed and disbelieving glances. "Those snotty rich kids don't know how to fight.... are you sure?"
"That's what the caller said... that some kid was getting it from his old man."
"Are you shitting me, Girl?"
"RANDALL..."
"Ahhh... sorry..." Randy actually blushed. Everybody knew Sally hated bad language over the radio and was not adverse to admonishing anyone about it. Even the brusque Sargent. "Ahhh, we'll go check it out... Car 317 out." Then he had looked into the smirking face of his partner and slugged him even harder than before. "You shut your mouth, Ben. I swear to God... You say one fucking word and I'll..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... just drive." Much to the Sargent's displeasure, Ben had silently chuckled all the way to the school.
Now, Randy, Ben, Martin, and Lexie stood in the congested hallway trying to piece together what could possibly have happened. It did not look like a fight. It looked more like a stand off.
"Master Saitou?" He spoke again looking for the tall slender man who was the Head Master, and someone he had known for more than 10 years.
"Sargent Thomas." Randy's light green eyes narrowed as he watched the thin faced man separate himself from the crowd of students and approach him.
"You wanna tell me what the hell is going on here, Master?" The intelligent lime green gaze of the Policeman met and held the sharp topaz eyes of the Educator as he folded his arms across a muscle heavy chest. "I got a call that some kid was up here duking it out with his old man... Is that what's going on here because it sure looks a lot more like the beginnings of fucking riot."
"I know what it looks like, Sargent, but if you will allow me a moment to explain, I am sure you will under...."
"Officer," The great booming voice of Hiko Seijuro interrupted whatever Saitou was going to say as the big dark-haired man rudely walked up to the pair and shoved his nose into the middle of their conversation. "I think I would be much better in giving you the details of this 'Incident' since I was personally involved, and the School Master here," He waved an absent hand of ignorant dismissal toward Saitou failing to notice the suspicious shift in the Sargent's gaze as it moved to him.
"Is that so, Mr...."
"Seijuro, Hiko Seijuro. I am a Corporate Lawyer from Denton. My... son has been a student here at Ivy Payne for the last three years."
"I see, go on." Saitou was watching Sargent Thomas carefully and he could see the intelligent Policeman taking stock of the arrogant blow-hard in front of him. "You said ?ou were involved in the said 'Incident'. Am I to gather the other said party to be this son of yours?"
"Of course. You are very astute." A dry smile curved the thin lips as Hiko jammed his hands into the pockets of his expensive trousers.
"Why, thank-you, Mr. Seijuro. We do try down here in these little out of the way places, although I am sure our methods are nothing to compare to those up in New York." The pleasant friendly smile Randy was wearing nowhere near reached his eyes as his ?'senses' began to tell him just what sort of a 'man' he was dealing with here. "Why don't you tell me what happened with you and your son." Of course, he had noticed the hesitation, however slight that the other man had inadvertently used when initially speaking about the young man in question, and THAT had immediately caught the Officer's attention.
"He's always been an unruly boy... difficult to control, I am sure you understand."
"Of course."
"We had a slight... eh, argument, and he rebelled against my authority just as he always did and it caused a... ahhh, altercation in which he struck me."
"He struck you?" A faint note of skepticism crept into the Policeman's voice as he eyed the other man. "I find that difficult to believe, Mr. Seijuro, considering your size. Just exactly how old is your son? 16? 17? He could not possibly be large enough to inflict much damage on you."
"Oh, on the contrary, Officer. Kenshin is quite skilled in Karate and he used that against me quite viciously. Threw me to the ground he did. He might have even broke a rib or two."
"Broke a rib?" The skepticism was growing, and Randy was starting to become impatient with the arrogant Lawyer in front of him. "You don't look like you are in much pain, Sir, if I say so myself."
"I hide it well."
"I'm sure." Turning to his three comrades, Randy motioned for them to join him. "Lexie, I want you to find this Kenshin kid and get him over here..."
"Yes sir."
"Ben, start talking to these students and see if anybody saw anything they are willing to talk about."
"Sure thing, Sarg."
"Marty, I want you to take Mr. Seijuro's statement while I talk to Head Master Saitou here and get his side of the story."
"You got it..."
"That really is not necessary, Officer. I have told you everything you need to know."
"I am sure you think so, Mr. Seijuro, but down here in the boonies, we do stuff a little different than you do in the big city. We try to get ALL the facts before we go carting people of to jail... especially kids."
"Perhaps you do not understand ?HO' my son is, Officer." The 'know-it-all' sound to Hiko's voice brought the irritated look of the Sargent's face back around to him, and he let a smile of pure satisfaction curl his thin lips. "I thought not. Might I enlighten you?"
"Oh please do. I can hardly wait to hear this."
"Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Officer. If you do not perform your function here to my liking, I will have no qualms about reporting you to your commanding officer."
"Go ahead, Mister. It wouldn't be the first time." Randy faced the arrogant offensive man. "But I doubt you'd get too far. You see, I don't believe a single word you're telling me, so if you want to make any points with me, threatening me isn't going to win you any brownie prizes."
"Why you insufferable little cretin, how dare you talk to me like that."
"I dare a lot of things, Mister... You might be surprised how many. But if you still got stuff to tell me, spit it out. Otherwise, quit wasting my time 'cause you are really starting to get on my nerves." Hiko's dark green eyes narrowed into splinters of pure hatred as he looked into the immovable planes of the annoyed Sargent's face. He was going to have to be more careful if he was going to make this work out to his advantage. Much more careful.
"Very well, let me enlighten you about Kenshin. Are you aware he already has a criminal record?"
"He's a juvenile... so that is fairly irrelevant unless he killed somebody or something."
"Well, aren't you the perceptive one."
"Excuse me?"
"He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter three years ago after he shot a shop owner to death while trying to rob and vandalize his store."
"Is that so... well, that does tend to shed a little different light on things." Randy scratched his chin as he contemplated this unique turn of events, but he was still unwilling to trust the suave businessman any farther than he could throw him despite the kid having a record. "Ok, I get it... but if your son was convicted of manslaughter like you say, what is he doing here instead of being in a lock-down?"
"Oh, well..." Hiko gave the Sargent his most disarming smile as he launched into his caring father act. "That was my doing. I did not want to see the boy further influenced by the criminal world, and the District Attorney was inclined to agree with me since Kenshin had no priors... so, we sent him here to Ive Payne to set out his four year sentence confined to the schools campus while under constant house-arrest and supervision."
"Interesting idea... and how did it work out?"
"Well, he seemed to be improving, or so we thought... up until today, of course."
"Of course..." The Sargent's intelligence factor had just about had enough of this pious asshole's bullshit, and his irritation was rising swiftly. "Now tell me, if your boy was way over here in Evermore, and you and his Mother were clear up in Denton... who was responsible for the kid?"
"Why School Master Saitou, of course. He and his wife were granted temporary guardianship and custody of Kenshin until he graduates... which would have been this year if he had not violated his probation."
"Violated his probation? Just exactly HOW did your son violate his probation, Mr. Seijuro?"
"He struck me." The smugness in the smooth educated voice made Randy want to vomit all over the man's $400.00 shoes as he tried to fathom just how stupid this jerk thought he was.
"He struck you?"
"Yes. And that is a strict violation of his parole. He is strictly forbidden to engage in any sort of violent physical contact, and if caught, he is liable for arrest and immediate incarceration in the nearest adult facility."
"Adult facility?"
"Of course... he is almost 18. He is most definitely of an age to be held accountable for his actions on an adult level. I am sure you will agree."
"Uh-huh... Tell me, Mr. Seijuro, just exactly who threw the first punch in this so-called altercation? Your son... or YOU?" A feeling of immense satisfaction filled the officer as he watched a flush of pure outrage stain the lean features of the arrogant dark-haired man.
"How dare you!" Rage flared through Hiko's system as he looked into the nonplused gaze of the burly officer standing only a few feet away from him. "Are you insinuating that I attacked my own son?"
"No Sir. I am not insinuating anything... I am down right accusing. BEN?"
"Yeah Sarg?" The other officer trotted back over to his partner. "What do ya need?"
"You got anybody over there who has anything interesting to say about this whole thing?"
"Yes Sir... the whole lot of those kids are all saying the same thing."
"Which is..."
"They saw the red-headed boy holding a little girl who was screaming her head off about not wanting to be handed over to this guy," He gestured to Hiko with his thumb. "And then the kid handed her over to a dark-haired girl they said is his girlfriend."
"Ok... what else."
"After that, all hell broke loose... They say this guy rushed the kid with his fist raised, but the kid jumped out of the way before he could hit him... and then the two of them were talking about something, but nobody could hear what they were saying, but whatever it was, this guy rushed the kid with his fist again. That is when they say the kid 'Dropped him'."
"Dropped him?" Randy turned and looked at his partner skeptically. "Just how big is this kid, Ben?"
"From all the descriptions I got, he's about 5'5" maybe 5'6", 130-145 pounds at the most. He's not a big kid... slender, lean frame."
"And he 'dropped' this guy?"
"Yup. They said he ducked the punch the old man threw at his head and slammed his fist into his chest... said the kid threw this guy a good eight maybe ten feet."
"Jesus..."
"The School Master's boy is over there... He says this kid is the best student in his dad's Martial Arts class and that the move he used on the big guy is designed to use his own force against him."
"I know the move, Ben." A hundred and fifty thoughts were suddenly swirling around inside of the Sargent's brain as he tried to picture a kid that size plowing into a man the size of the one standing next to him. The very idea boggled his mind, but then... didn't that Jet Li movie star guy do it all the time? He wasn't very big either.
"Well, Sargent? Are you going to arrest my son or not?"
"Sounds to me like he was defending himself, Mr. Seijuro. Sounds to me like you're the one who might need a little cool down time in our local gray-bar motel."
"You can't be serious. I never laid a hand on the boy."
"Not for want of trying, did you?" Hiko's face suddenly began to take on a very sickly ashen quality. Something was not going right.
"He refused to return my daughter to me. I had every right to demand his cooperation... and he blatantly refused."
"Uh-huh, and that was deserving of a fist in the head, eh?"
"He needs to learn his place. He has always been an uppity disrespectful boy."
"I'll bet... Ben?"
"Sarg?"
"You seen Lexie yet? I sent her to find that kid."
"Ah, no Sir... I haven't seen her come back. Do you want me to go look for her?"
"Yeah. I really need to talk to that kid."
"Yes Sir." The younger policeman turned and jogged off in the direction of the dormitories where the school master had said the boy was supposed to be.
"I demand to know what you are going to do about this, Officer. Kenshin is in direct violation of his parole and I want him arrested."
"On what grounds?"
"I want to press charges for assault..."
"Why don't you shut the hell up and go stand over there where I don't have to look at you for the time being."
"You can't..."
"The hell I can't... get out of my way and go over there." The angry officer pointed to a vacant space across the hallway where he wanted Hiko to go stand. "I'll let you know if I need anything else from you." Flustered and worrying, Hiko moved away from the irritated policeman and went to stand on the other side of the hall. Things were not panning out the way he had planned them. That they were not.
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She felt like she had check three dozen rooms by the time she knocked on one that actually had someone in it. Carefully opening the door at the muffled 'come-in', Lexie peered into the small room and took notice of the two people setting on the bed. Both had flaming red hair, and the evidence of tears was evident on both of their faces. Upon seeing her uniform, the young man stood up holding the small girl close to him in a very protective manner, his dark violet eyes wary as he faced the young policewoman.
"What do you want with me?" The voice was low toned but clear and steady. "If you have come for my sister, I am afraid I can't let you take her just now." A muscle began twitching in his jaw as he stood his ground defiantly. "You see, I have not seen her for almost four years, and... and I would just like to spend a little more time with her... that is all. I'm not kidnapping her or anything, I just want to see her."
"I'm not here to take your sister away, Kenshin." Lexie tried to sound as reassuring as she could, but noticed that the apprehension and tenseness withing the young man did not waver the slightest fraction. "But I did come to take the two of you back up to the school. My Sargent has some questions he want to ask you about... about what happened between you and your Father."
"He is not my Father." The words were spoken in the coldest voice Lexie could remember ever hearing, and it sent a shiver up her spine as she watched the violet eyes shift and become tinged with gold.
"Excuse me? What did you say?"
"He is not MY Father. He is my step-father... He has never been MY Father."
"Your step-father? We were not aware of that." It was an interesting piece of information, but before she could say anything about it, a tiny voice pipped up and caught her undivided attention.
"Papa is a mean man, and I don't want him to be my Papa anymore. I want Kenshin to be the Papa." Lexie's bright hazel eyes shifted from the cold stern face of the young man, and came to rest on the delicate features of the little angel in his arms.
"What do you mean, sweetie? How is your Papa mean?"
"He does mean things and stuff. He's not a good Papa."
"I know, you said that already, Honey... but what kinds of mean things and stuff does your Papa do? Can you tell me?" Cleo looked up into Kenshin's face anxiously and started to worry her lower lip between her tiny white teeth.
"It is Ok, Poppet. I think you can tell this Lady what Papa does."
"Are you sure, Kenshin? I don't want Papa to get mad at me again. If he does, he'll put in the closet again, and I'm scared of the dark." Kenshin gritted his teeth as a wave of angry frustration washed over his soul, but he just hugged the little body closer to him and kissed her cheek.
"It's Ok to tell, Cleo... I promise I won't let 'him' put you in the closet anymore, Baby. I promise."
"You promise?" He nodded and pressed his forehead against hers for a moment, and then she turned her wide bottomless blue eyes back to the patiently waiting policewoman. "If I tell, you have to promise not to let Papa hurt Kenshin, Ok?"
"I'll do my best, Honey. I promise. I don't think your brother is really in trouble anyway."
"You don't? You mean they aren't going to make him go away again?"
"We'll try our best not to let that happen, Honey, but you need to tell me about your Papa."
"Ok." She wound her little fists into handfuls of her brother's long red hair, squished her cheek up next to his, and then started to talk. "Papa hits things when he's mad... and he throws stuff too. He broke Mama's purple vase with the roses in it one day cuz he was mad. It made Mama cry but he just yelled at her and stuff."
"What else, sweetie? What else does your Papa do?"
"Sometimes he used to hit Mama, but not for a long time, but I remember he hit her lots in the face. Her nose used to bleed and once I found her tooth on the floor, but the tooth fairy didn't come." Large blue pools of childish confusion looked up at Lexie for a moment. "Doesn't the tooth fairy like grown-ups?"
"I-I don't know, Honey. Maybe she saves her presents just for little kids... you know, so they can have something to replace the tooth."
"I guess... Mama never got anything for her tooth. She just threw it in the garbage." A fat round tear slowly began to slide down Kenshin's opposite cheek as he listened to the horrible things his little Angel had been forced to watch when all she should have had to worry about was Sam and her blanket. Lexie was not unaffected either, as she felt a large lump of emotion begin to swell in her throat.
"Does your Papa hit anyone else, Honey? Does he ever hit you?"
"No... Sometimes he hits Soujiro, but he just puts me in the closet when I'm bad. I don't like it in there cuz it's really dark and I'm always afraid the monsters are gonna get me."
"No more monsters are going to get you, Poppet." The young man's voice was deep and husky with his pain as he pressed another kiss against the beautiful little face. "I won't let them get you."
"Are there monsters here, Kenshin?"
"No, Baby. There aren't any monsters here. They have been gone for a long, long time now, and I don't think they will ever come back... so you don't have to worry about monsters while you are here with me, Ok?"
"Ok. Are you going to be the Papa now, Kenshin? Are You?"
"Oh Baby-girl... I don't know what is going to happen, but I guess we better go with this Lady and find out what is going on."
"No!" It was a shrill cry of pure terror and Cleo wound her arms in a strangle hold around her brother's neck bring a squeaked cry of surprise from him as she did. "I don't wanna go back! I don't wanna go!" She sobbed and buried her face in Kenshin's neck. "Papa will try to take me away again, and then he'll hurt you. Please don't make me go, Kenshin. Pleeeeaaase...."
"He will not take you away, Poppet... calm down. I told you I would not let him take you away from me. Please don't cry... please don't cry." His hand began to rub comforting circles around on her shuddering little back as he crooned to her gently. That was all Lexie needed to know.
"Cleo, Honey..." Lexie tentatively approached the terrified little girl who was clinging to her brother like a leech. "I don't think you need to worry about your Papa taking you away from your brother."
"I-I don't *sniffsniff*?"
"No, sweetie. I think that you should stay right where you are for the time being, and that is what I'm going to tell everybody, Ok?"
"Promise?"
"Promise." That seemed to appease the little girl at least somewhat, and she finally agreed that they could go back to the school as long as she could stay with Kenshin. So, after closing the door of his room shut behind them, Lexie led the two siblings out the front of the dorm where they bumped into Ben.
"Hey, Lex... where ya been? The Sarg is waiting for you, he really wants to talk to this kid." Ben's sharp brown eyes quickly assessed the tight emotional faces of the slender red-haired teen and
his young sister, and he really did not like what he saw. Both of them looked exhausted and emotionally worn out. "You look like you've had one hellova day, Kid."
"You could say that." Kenshin attempted a cordial smile in the direction of the new officer, but it was a poor attempt and he finally opted for just nodding in acknowledgment.
"Thought so. Sargent Thomas wants to talk to you, so you need to come with me, Ok?"
"Yes Sir. It's all right if I keep holding my sister isn't it?"
"Sure, Kid... Looks like it would take a hellova crowbar to pry her off anyway." That remark finally succeeded in bringing the hint of a smile to the teens lips, and a wry chuckle rumbled in his chest.
"You have no idea, Officer. You have no idea." Ben grinned at the boy and put a steadying hand on his slender shoulder as he leaned close to his open ear.
"You just might be surprised what I think, Kid. You might be real surprised." Then he winked at the confused look that crossed the young man's face as he motioned for everyone to head back over to the school. "Come on. We better get a move on. The Sarg really hates to be kept waiting."
"Another impatient man... Great." It was the almost imperceptible muttering of disgruntled and tired teenager, and it put smiles on both officer's faces when they heard it.
"You have no idea, Kid. You have no idea."
"You might be surprised, Officer. You might be really surprised." Ben laughed out loud and continued to lead his small entourage back to the school and Sargent Thomas. The Kid was probably right, they all probably would be surprised by what he had going on inside of his head if they knew.
If they only knew.
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Ok, there it is. I hope it was enjoyable… and I hope everybody feels like sticking around for the rest. I have got so many things planned (up my sleeve--if I had any). I promise you all a lot of mystery, angst, heavy situations, limey's coming up, a lot more romance between Kenshin and Kaoru, a few romantic surprises… a lot of other surprises. Only the tuski-san knows.
Please Review… let me know if you think 10 or more chapter is too much more…
And if any of your are interested… I do have 2 other Kenshin Kaoru fanfictions on ff.net. They are period proper to the series and can be reached from my ff.net authors page. Just click on the highlighted 'Kanzen ne Tsuki' on the top of this page, and scroll to the bottom of the authors page for fiction summaries. Until next time…poof*