Disclaimer: I don't OwN RuRoUnI kenshiN
JeniNeji Comments: Thanks for all the awesome reviews, they really are a muse to any author. Really, thanx! Once again, thanks to my beta-reader Gabi1994 for her wonderful job, she's really a nice beta-reader, I would recomend her, so, I won't take more time, enjoy!
xxoOoxx
The Voice
6
xxoOoxx
These perfumes I bathe you with,
to the gods, I bought.
Safety.
Balm.
xxoOoxx
He could feel the uneasiness of his partner. He didn't know what to do, everything had been because of him. Was she upset because he was holding her? Did she need some sort of comfort he was unable to give her?
It came as a surprise though when she turned abruptly and faced him. Her eyes were wild and confused, but as soon as they met his amber ones, they seemed to soften and she finally relaxed. He felt his being stir uncomfortably, not sure what to think of her, he did not know her, had never met her from before, before she had been taken.
He closed his eyes as he felt the warm palm of her hand touch his right cheek, covering his cross scar. How could he have forgotten where that scar had come from? It had been in that assignment, the very same one that had doomed his partner, The fight with Kiyosato Akira. He had defeated the man, had made a hole on his neck out of anger, but had been surprised by the sting on his left cheek and the subtle sound of a silenced gun. He had turned angrily to the wounded woman behind him, her hand shaking fearfully. She had stood, trying to escape him, but he killed her mercilessly, she had wounded him.
Kaoru's breath ghosting across his neck jolted him back to reality. She was pulling herself up and snaking against him, nibbling and kissing his neck and jaw. He gasped surprised, but, most of all, uncertain. What was happening? She had rejected him all night, but was now trying to tempt him like this.
"Kaoru?" he asked and took hold of her right upper arm and cheek, pushing her away gently "What are you doing?" he asked huskily, the way she was beginning to pin him against the bed crying out for him to respond.
"I am…" she began but suddenly stopped as if realizing what she was doing. Her long black hair hid half of her face, but he could see her blue eye looking at his shirt. Her hands came to the simple white shirt and pulled it up, exposing his abdomen and then she bent down with a smile "…kissing you", she finished and began to do just that, once in a while mischievously licking him as well.
He groaned against the sensations and pushed her to the side, holding her against the bed "You don't want this Kaoru" he forced himself to tell her, but her blue eyes settled on him accusingly.
He watched her eyes turn from one side to another, before her shaking fingers began to trace his lips and her eyes hardened. "You know nothing" she told him resentfully, turning away from him abruptly and standing.
He watched as she began to pace the room, cursing softly, small tremors wracking her body. She loosed a strangled noise and kicked his laundry basket furiously, spilling the few dirty garments inside. She continued to mutter, as if for the first time she was confronting her captivity and her present freedom. He could only watch her with pity, it hurt to see her acting like this, but he wasn't sure what to do. His eyes widened as she began to pull her hair and sob, the sound was awful, he felt as if it was eating his heart away. He couldn't hold himself unmoving anymore and pushed the white sheets away and stood, but was once again paralyzed. He watched as she began to take off her shirt and threw it angrily on the floor before stomping on it hatefully, still in a faraway place, cursing and muttering incomprehensive things. After the shirt, came the jeans, and she grabbed them throwing them away from her to hit the wall, her sobbing growing in intensity, before she suddenly fell to her knees.
He was frozen, he was nothing against her pain. A pain he was not sure he had ever seen displayed before, a pain which seemed far worst than a sword slash. With the passing of time, she was lying on the wine carpet, sobbing softly now. He didn't know how to respond, or what was going on only that she was breaking herself, punishing herself, when the only one guilty here was him. He didn't know how, but he knew, yes he knew, that she despised herself, her body, her frailty. Her current state of undress told it all. She had lost more than she had believed possible. He knew now what she had endured, what he feared had passed, she had been used.
With a sadness he had not felt in a decade and a need to comfort someone that he wasn't sure he had ever felt he walked towards her and took her numb body on his arms. She didn't flinch, for the first time, but it didn't bring him joy, instead, it only served to sadden him even more. She no longer care, she no longer fear anything, nothing could be worse for her anymore than what had already happened.
He made his way towards the bathroom and turned on the light. Still, she remained unresponsive. He sat her over the toilet and helped her steady her position, and after making sure she was not going to fall he opened the curtains of the shower. He expertly opened the knob and warmed the water. After making sure it was at the right temperature, he proceeded to undress himself. Her eyes never moved towards him, and he wasn't sure if he should be grateful or scared, but he preferred to ignore it for the time being. He glanced at her lower underclothes, but decided to leave them on, not wanting to disturb her further.
He took her in his arms and helped her in to the shower. After carefully sitting them up in the tub, he proceeded to push the knob, so the tub would fill with warm water. For some seconds his amber eyes watched their mingled legs until he saw the water level rising.
The warm water was falling over them both, making their long hair cling to their faces, shoulders and back. For him, it served nothing to take the foulness off him, but Kaoru had began to stir, although only slightly, it was better than nothing. Her eyes had started to blink and she was looking around the place, curiosity starting to make its way on to her expression.
Feeling a little better he extended his hand and caught his shampoo and splashed some onto his right hand. With his left he put the bottle on the bathroom floor and then pulled Kaoru against his frame. She tensed a moment, rejecting the movement, but then flowed with it and settled against him slowly. He began to wash her hair, his ginger scent coating her dark hair, and bubbles began to appear as he massaged her scalp. He shook his head in disappointment as he realized that the amount of shampoo he used was not enough for her longer hair and had to splash some more onto it. He realized that having her with him was going to prove to be costly…
He continued to bathe her in silence, and she seemed fine with it, even helping him, turning so he could reach some difficult places. It was only when he reached her abdomen that he stopped. "Kaoru" he whispered with concern.
She turned away from him as if ashamed. He pushed her to turn, and she did. She was now facing him, her long hair covering most of her, but not the object that had attracted his attention. His golden eyes fell on her hips and a strange metallic badge the size of a quarter. "Is this his?" he asked as realization sank in "He's tracking you".
Tears sprang from Kaoru's eyes and she nodded brokenly, her hand coming to the back of her head reflexively. "He…he…" but she broke and began to sob again.
He watched as once again, Kaoru fell into despair. She was being followed by Yukishiro and Aku-Soku-San, she had no way to escape her fate. She would end up dead by the company's doing or by Enishi's. She had led him, the enemy, Yukishiro, to his door.
"He…won't let me go" she cried "I told him nothing, nothing, I swear…but, he just…he won't stop following…he promised" she forced out and her blue eyes widened, fear taking the best of her.
"Everything is going to be all right" the readhead said as he caught her on a hug "He won't take you again, I will kill him".
xxoOoxx
It was early in the morning, but he was already making his way towards Battousai's residence. It would be a nice way to engage in battle against the manslayer, a beautiful moment to get revenge for his broken pride and heart.
That was what Hajime Saitou was thinking as he walked the lousy streets of Kyoto.
That was what Yukishiro Enishi was thinking as he neared the very same house in Kyoto, but from the opposite side.
xxoOoxx
It was almost mid day when she finally came to. She quickly scanned the room, fearing to find the white haired man at her side, watching her, but instead, she found a smaller body, reclined against the headboard. She let out a deep breath and began to sit up. The feeling of the sheet caressing down her back instantly told him she was undressed , the sensation too familiar lately for her to miss it, and she reflexively held the sheet against her, saving her already lost modesty.
"Maybe you should rest a little more" a soft voice advised, amber eyes falling towards her, something akin to concern on their surface.
"I am all right" she said softly, her eyes falling on the pillows, avoiding his naked upper half. She felt terrible, weak and lost, what had she done last night? How could she? What was she turning into?
"I'm going out" Battousai suddenly announced and she turned to him indiscreetly.
"What?" she asked with a frown, "why?"
"I'm going to take those trackers away from you, I know a friend who could help" the man said, his eyes never leaving hers.
A sad smile came onto her face "That's not possible" she said with a soft voice "Most of the time they are implanted into the nerves, so if someone tries to take them out the removal will cause irreversible brain damage" she explained.
"I've heard him speak about such things, he has…helped some people, if he says he can, would you try it Kaoru?" he commented, "Do you want to be free of them?"
It took no longer than three seconds for her to nod "I need to escape them, I must continue my father's legacy, no matter what".
"Very well, I will be back in an hour…probably" Battousai said and took off the sheets and stood, and with a flaming face she noticed he was not wearing any clothes. She hugged herself and turned around, and seconds later a set of cotton clothes fell over her. She took them without turning "You can have those" he told her and after a minute, he was completely dressed. He turned to her and glared "Do not leave the apartment" he instructed "wait for me", and with that he disappeared.
She hurriedly dressed and walked out of the room and into the kitchen…deciding between cooking or something more…microwave-like.
xxoOoxx
"He's going out of the house Saitou-sama" Okita reported through his cell phone "from what I can see he's walking towards the rebels domains".
"Understood, I will follow him" Saitou replied evenly, but Okita could almost see the satisfied grin the older man must be wearing.
"I will maintain watch over the spy then"
"Perfect"
xxoOoxx
After taking a bite of an apple Kaoru walked down the apartment, making sure to leave the door unlocked. She walked towards the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor. She was feeling very anxious and sort of guilty for disobeying Battousai, but she needed to talk to someone, desperately. After making sure there was no one she recognized, she walked simply towards the public phone in front of the building, she was glad some of those old devices remained functional. Feeding it a pair of quarters she had found on her partner's apartment she dialed a too familiar number. After a few rings, it was answered.
"Katsura Oto-sama" she quickly called out.
A sigh escaped the holder of the phone, relief filling him "Kaoru-chan, are you all right?" he asked his voice heavy with worry.
"Yes, I am in Battousai's apartment" she quickly reported "I am all right, what about Yahiko?" she asked.
"He's fine, I just visited him yesterday, worried, but more than that, everything is the same. Gensai is watching over him too".
"Thanks Katsura-sama" she said more relaxed now "I'm sorry for causing you problems".
"I'm sorry for not helping you more, I am a lousy excuse for a foster parent, but your signal was blocked, I am so very sorry".
"It's all right, I was aware that any attempt to find me was going to be futile, I was on a deserted island, there wasn't even a phone. But I am all right, I wasn't hurt too much" she tried, and it sounded stronger than she had anticipated.
"Kaoru-chan, right now you are in the safest hands…Battousai has broken his connection to us, he will take good care of you. The company isn't happy at all with him nor with your findings about Yukishiro, we are filled up to the neck with work, not to mention that many see you as a threat" he explained tiredly "The Company is growing too powerful, it's becoming difficult to restrain it".
"Father, I want to tell you that I said nothing, not even my name, yet, Yukishiro knew many things, too many, I believe you have a traitor among you, you must find it" she said and stopped suddenly and glanced around her, a strange cold feeling brazing her "Oto-sama? Did you send someone to silence us?" she asked, the dread in her voice painful.
"No, I didn't" he quickly replied "Why do you ask?"
"There is someone here…I have to go" she said, fearful, if it was not an assassin sent by the Company…
"No Kaoru, wait!"
But she had hung up the phone and had dashed away and into the safety of the residential building, wildly searching for the strength to reach the apartment, and escape from whatever followed her.
xxoOoxx
To be continued…
xxoOoxx
Please comment!
People there is a community interested on new recluits for RK fanfic, short mostly, if any of you is interested, let me know.