Heat Chapter 4: Guest

Kenshin sat for a while watching the girl on the futon's chest rise and fall steadily. She had fallen asleep quickly once she finally laid down. He couldn't understand his curiosity with her, but one thing he knew, were his instincts, and they wanted her alive. The storm was finally upon them, but the thunder did not bother her restful sleep, and an unfamiliar part of him was glad for it. He stood silently, and moved closer to the girl. He crouched down near her for a moment, watching her face. She wasn't really the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but she had an inner strength and defiance that stirred at something in him. It was a courage he wasn't sure she was even aware of herself, but he had seen it, and if she didn't fear him, it might be more prominent. He had watched as her dojo was burned, her scent had caught his attention on his way back to the house, and he strayed from his normal path.

Kenshin remembered how she had fought against the three men, though it was futile. He had watched distastefully as she had been knocked unconscious, and carried through the woods. Biting back a snarl, he remembered what they had wanted to do to her, and before any harm could befall this strange woman before him, he had made his appearance. He had been recognized by one of the males, and that was all he had needed. The men raced back to town, as if they could escape him if he had wished to chase them. A small grin formed at the corner of his mouth. He had only wished to watch her, never intending to show himself before her, however… something deep inside him wanted her alive, and until he could figure out it's reasons, she would remain so. He had been surprised that the toad had even attacked her with his own scent filling the air around her, but toads weren't well known for being the smartest of demons.

In a fluid motion he stood, pushing the part of him back that wanted to simply remain by her side. Disgusted by this part of himself, he left the room; he had a guest.

Kenshin made his way to the front door and opened it to see a rather annoyed looking water demon. She was petite, with a long braid hanging down her back. She gave him a glare and strode past him without so much as a "hi". She walked into the entranceway and sat down on a bench near the fountain in the center of the room. Kenshin shut the door, he had known she was angry from his summons; water demons such as her were particularly easy to read.

"Why did you summon me Battousai." It wasn't really a question, it was more a demand and she carefully eyed him. He moved to stand a few feet away.

"Shishio has killed Hannya." He said, and she turned her head quickly in his direction, her eyes wide and hurt. The storm outside shook the house. "I need you to calm down Misao." He said, "I can't have you tearing the house apart."

"Why would he do that? Hanya was only there to visit, as per the treaty. Making sure he wasn't doing… anything he shouldn't be. We should have just killed Shishio during the war and be done with him!" she yelled, her voice filled with pain at the news. "Why am I here then? You didn't need me here to say this."

"True, I don't. But I summoned you for two reasons. First, these lands have been in drought, and need the rain. I lack a water demon at my disposal, therefore I needed you." He said calmly, though his voice was devoid of any real emotion.

Misao scoffed, "As if I'm the only water demon around."

"Misao, I understand that you are mourning." Kenshin said, reminding himself to be patient. He couldn't empathize with as much as Misao loved Hanya. Hanya had been like family to Misao, she had grown up with him, and he had taught her everything she knew.

She was obviously struggling to keep herself from crying, and the house shook once more. "What is the second reason you brought me her?" she asked, her shoulders tense, tears beginning to stream down her face. She couldn't keep it bottled up for long.

"Well I'm having doubts about your ability now, since you seem unable to control your emotions." He stated as if the second reason suddenly no longer mattered.

She glared at him angrily, then forced herself to calm down. The rain outside began to weaken and slowly let up all together. Nodding at her, Kenshin continued, "I want you to spy on Shishio." Her eyes widened at his request, and he continued. "With the permission of Aoshi of course. Being a water demon, there is no place you can't go, no where you can't squeeze into, and I already know you have been trained in subversion. The Oniwabanshuu have trained you well. Shishio is not only a threat to me, but to Aoshi, and Saito as well. We need to know what he is up to, and I need to know my information is coming from a reliable source."

There was a long silence. Kenshin didn't doubt that she would accept to take the message back to Aoshi, but it was easier to communicate to Aoshi if he got Misao agreed first. He would need to meet with Aoshi soon regarding this, but he knew if Misao thought she was needed to go in, then she would fight Aoshi to let her go. Being his mate, it would be easier for her to confront him about doing something dangerous rather than him telling Aoshi that his mate needed to go into Shishio's territory. Misao watched him for a long time, the tears still streaked across her face, the silence seemed to stretch on forever, until finally, understanding dawned on the small demon.

She looked away and the corner of her mouth curled up. "Battousai… it's unlike you to use such underhanded methods. I understand your reasons, however, it's quite an insult to Aoshi-sama." At that Kenshin actually laughed, it wasn't quite the cheerful laugh you would expect, though it was obvious he was humored by her statement.

"Yes, I knew you were likely to see through my request." He grinned at her, though Misao missed it as her head was turned from him, watching the fountain. "Especially being Aoshi's mate. I am surprised you still call him 'Aoshi-sama'."

Misao shrugged, the death of Hanya had made her, much more amicable.

"I have a room ready for you. I have another guest here today, you will stay across the room from her, and take care of her tomorrow while I tend to other matters. It seems Megumi hasn't quite taken to her, though you know how Megumi can be."

Misao looked back at him at this information and raised an eyebrow. She grumbled at the mention of Megumi, "If you wouldn't let the rooster rile her up so much, she'd probably be much more pleasant."

Kenshin's eyes narrowed threateningly at Misao and she became rigid. "It is not my concern." His voice was like an ice dagger, that seemed to scrape down her spine, causing her to involuntarily shudder. He turned and walked away, Misao understood his meaning by the action and stood, silently following angry red haired demon.

Kenshin walked through a long hall, then turned and opened the shoji for Misao. "You will remain here." His voice was cold, and distanced. He then pointed at the door across from her, "The girl is in here. Make sure she eats tomorrow." He then turned and walked back down the hall towards his own quarters.

Misao sighed, she knew she had gotten too comfortable talking to Kenshin, anything that insinuated insubordination… like her telling him what to do for instance, and he would snap back to being the cold, Sentinel leader he was. Sighing, Misao turned and walked into her room, shutting the door and laying down to sleep. Misao curled up and fell asleep, not even bothering to change into a yukata. Her dreams were far from peaceful, the pain of Hanya's death tortured her sleep.

AN: This is a crazy short chapter, but it's been so long since I updated that I figured I should post this in the meantime. I actually HAAAATE this chapter, but I have better ones coming up. The reason I dislike this chapter the most is because of the writing, it could be written much better than this. Oh well, a better chapter is coming soon. I just didn't get to write much while in the states, I had a lot more people wanting to hang out than I thought I would haha.

In the next chapter you'll get to learn more about the different demon classes! Writing Kenshin like this isn't easy, and I'm not sure I made him react the way I really wanted him to, I've been away from a computer for too long :P

Another chapter will be out within a week though!